May 16
"But Sugar Plum fairy," Francis was earnestly confused for once, "I could have sworn you said you wanted an 'Afternoon Delight'." he glanced at the bartender who still held the offending drink aloft having tried to sit it before a slightly miffed individual.
"I said," Lia corrected mournfully, "I liked 'Sex on the Beach'." her pout turned genuine.
"Oh," the young man was suitably chagrined, "I'm sorry... I thought you were simply stating a preference there."
Liz's hand hastily covered her mouth and the grin the conversation had produced, swiveling around nonchalantly looking for something to take her mind off the shenanigans taking place at the bar.
She noticed Red, down the way, leaning casually, speaking with a man. He had been waiting for their drinks for a few minutes as the area was bustling and busy this time of night.
She watched the man for some few moments. He was comfortable in any atmosphere. Red could talk to anyone without issue. He made friends where ever he went.
She wondered what that was like? To have that kind of magnetism. To have people naturally drawn to you.
She had always had a hard time making friends herself.
Maybe people just knew a good thing when they saw it?
In the beginning, she had fought her natural attraction to Red Reddington. She had felt like a traitor, feeling so fascinated by a criminal. Evidently one could not lie to the heart just like it was impossible to lie to a child. They always saw through the bullshit. Her heart had known the truth.
Her heart swelled with emotion thinking of all the abuse Red had taken from her in the beginning, when it must have hurt him so much. It would have hurt her terribly.
Red rested his leg on the rung of a stool, leaning further into the bar, laughing at what ever the man next to him had said. She felt a smile spreading across her own face.
That smile quickly melted into stunned disbelief when two arms wrapped around Red from behind.
Feminine arms.
A dark scowl graced Liz's forehead immediately as she leaned around Mark's bulk to better see a beautiful blonde with a great figure moving into Red's back, draping herself over the man like a silk kimono on a Japanese Geisha.
And Red Reddington was not doing one single thing about the unwarranted intrusion.
"Uh, oh." Francis mumbled, having halted the bar pretzel half way to his lips. "Honey lips, I sense a darkness in the Force."
Lia glanced over to see what all the fuss was about, her own pretty mouth tightening irritably. "Intruder alert, Princess Liz." the woman leaned across Francis, her hand patting Liz's consolingly.
Liz jerked her head to her companions, her scowl increasing before returning her interest to Red and the blonde octopus wrapped around him.
"I'm sure she's just wanting to say... hello." Silas innocently remarked.
Liz glared at her guard.
Red stiffened visibly as if suddenly realizing the woman accosting him was not the one he would have preferred. He instantly pulled at the arms around his middle, dislodging the contact.
Raising from her seat, Liz addressed the group in general. "Excuse me a moment." She stated sharply.
"Lizzy, are you gonna kick some ass?" Francis stood instantly, digging for his wallet.
Liz turned back to him, shooting daggers his way before sticking her tongue out, softening the dirty look.
Silas and Mark instantly lay down a bet even as Francis had shoved the money over to a bipartisan party. The bartender counted out the money nodding his consent.
"That is just so tacky." Lia snapped.
Amanda agreed, "You are absolutely correct... men!"
Lia slapped a twenty dollar bill that she had extracted from Francis' wallet onto the bar, sliding it over. "On the brunette." her eyes flashed excitedly.
"I am so turned on right now." Francis admitted.
Approaching the bar, Liz heard the other woman whining quietly in a seductive tone. "...aren't going to hold that little indiscretion against me, now are you?"
"Red, who's your friend." Liz asked the man sweetly, her smile one of astringent tartness.
Red glanced at the new arrival, holding his assailant at arm's length. He released the woman, stepping back and away. He tried to gauge the depth of Liz's emotional involvement.
"Lizzy," he decided on discretion, "I'm sorry it's taking so long with the drinks." He was as pleasant as he knew how to be. "Natalia-"
"Red, are you going to come visit me later?" the woman in question reached out to touch his lapel. Liz's arm snaked out, halting the effort mid-way, her grip vice-like.
"Only if he wants a painful castration..." Liz stepped slowly between the two, dropping the arm she was holding.
"Natalia, Elizabeth is my fiancée." Red wrapped his arms around Lizzy's waist, smiling benevolently.
The tall blonde looked her opponent up and down derisively, a slow smile crossing the lovely curve of her mouth.
"When you change your mind..." she purred sympathetically, "I'll be waiting in the Penthouse."
Liz's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Red inclined his head respectfully. "As I said...I am otherwise engaged and have no plans to change my present circumstances." he locked eyes with the woman, his meaning clear. "At all."
"But if you should so wish to hold your breath until such time that he might have a change of heart..." Liz suggested sweetly, "by all means, do so."
Red dipped his head, hiding his silent laughter.
Natalia took the slight graciously, giving Liz one last sweep of the violet eyes before turning on her heel without another word.
Liz artfully removed Red's grasp about her waist, spinning to face his smug expression.
"What a bitch..." She looked over her shoulder at a slowly retreating antagonist. "I'm gonna kick her ass."
Over at the bar more money was laid down as all concerned watched with eager anticipation.
"Let it go." Red gathered her against him, molding his body to hers. "Look on the bright side, it didn't happen in the ladies room." He reminded her of her prophetic words.
"The evening is young..."
Natalia had made herself comfortable at the other end of the bar. She held Liz's angry gaze easily, a slight smile curving the luscious lips.
Red ran his fingers lightly along Liz's chin, turning her attention back to himself.
"You are a fiery little thing, aren't you?" He teased to lighten the moment.
"Did you see that?" Liz hissed her indignation. "She acted like I wasn't even here, like I wasn't good enough for you or something."
Red was fascinated by this side of Liz's character.
"I can be just as pretty as she is." Liz smirked her belief. "I could wear that dress she's poured herself into just as effectively."
"If you were going for the harlot look, I guess." Red placated, hoping to get things back on a more positive track. "You're more beautiful than she ever thought about being."
"And I am so good enough for you." She declared indignantly.
"It might amuse you to know," he corrected soothingly, "You are too good for me."
She pouted up at him, much as Lia had Francis. "Why didn't you pull out of her choke hold sooner?"
"In my defense, I thought it was you at first." he told the truth.
"I don't have that fake rack." her hands came to her hips.
Red chewed on the inside of his mouth a moment, controlling his amusement. "Well, she hadn't pressed them into my back at that point. I noticed her perfume before anything."
"Oh, the Musk o' Slut?" Liz asked pleasantly.
"When I realized it wasn't you, I immediately broke the contact." he reminded. "That's when she pushed–"
"Her cheap silicone..." the woman asked innocently.
"Closer." he finished.
He found himself truly relishing this moment. This was the first time that Lizzy truly made him feel that they were a real couple and he was enjoying it immensely.
"And I'm sure you didn't mind a bit..." Liz rolled her pretty eyes expressively.
Red silenced her, placing a finger against her pouty mouth. "I prefer how you feel against me."
"Y-You do?" She sounded surprised.
"I do. You're all soft, warm and natural." He ran his hands over her curves, before settling them on her hips. "And she doesn't smell nearly as good as you do." He rubbed his nose along her neck, inhaling her delicate scent.
"Sir? Your drinks." The bartender slid the full glasses across the bar, a cocked eyebrow indicating there were some dissident wage makers at the end of the bar.
Red glanced accordingly noting the guys re-stuffing their wallets with misused funds.
Silas was shaking his head woefully which indicated he had lost a considerable sum because of Red's meddling. Dembe's face was one big smile, as he waggled his fingers expectantly. The large guard continued to count out the appropriate winnings with but one deadly glare in Red's direction.
Lia and Francis were having a tug of war over a twenty dollar bill. The young woman lifted to her tiptoes, grazing Francis' mouth with a sultry kiss. The man released his claim on the bill, the distraction having worked.
Mark and Amanda seemed the only congenial participants of the whole sordid mess.
"Thank you." Red politely accepted the liquor. "Come with me." he turned his attention elsewhere. "You'll feel better after–"
"I'd feel better if I could punch her in the face." Liz was pretty positive.
Red bit his lip to master his amusement, steering Liz to their table, purposely blocking her view of Natalia.
"Aww, why'd you stop her, Red?" Francis whined. "We could have thrown Jell-O or mud at them, made an evening of it."
Lia nodded her agreement, sipping her drink delicately.
"You wouldn't have had time, Francis." Mark piped up. "Our little feral kitten would have ripped Natalia to shreds before you could make a Jell-O shot."
Amanda piped up instantly, her hand lifting graciously into the air to signal a passing bartender.
"Jell-O-shot!" She pointed to the top of her head, holding up four fingers. Lia hastily put in a thumb for her order and the bartender nodded compliantly, a grin gracing his face.
Francis shared an amused glance with his two cohorts. Silas was suddenly in a grumpy mood but Dembe was just the opposite.
"Breeding will always show." Dembe allowed his approval for how the entire matter was handled.
"Why don't you suck a fart out of my ass." Silas suggested evenly. Dembe quirked his head, his amusement growing.
"As I said..." he iterated, "breeding will show."
"You're such a poor loser." Francis observed.
"He is." Lia agreed, sucking down the shot noisily, "but he's also kind of cute."
Francis was suddenly devastated.
"Oh, not as cute as you, my little cherry cobbler." Lia hastily soothed any hurt feelings.
Red drew in a deep breath, exhaling wearily. For a moment it felt like he had a bout with Glen.
He could still feel Natalia's eyes from across the room. He palmed the top of Liz's head, swiveling her attention back to the table at which they now reposed.
Silas had the grace to forgo his mood in lieu of something more entertaining. He had watched Liz's reaction for the past few minutes to the perceived threat across the way.
"My, how the tables have turned." he philosophized.
"I know what you mean," Mark nodded his agreement, "it seems only minutes ago that the shoe was on the other foot." he glanced at Red meaningfully.
"Yeah, it's like that ménage a trois thing." Francis agreed whole-heartedly.
"Ooh, ménage a trois." Lia's eyes glazed over wistfully.
"That's Deja vu." Dembe corrected, his expression comically awry.
"Noo," Francis said patiently, "that would be..." his expression glazed over, much as Lia's had, "no actually, you're right, Dembe."
Red hoped that the end results would be as favorable as they had been earlier.
Liz abruptly pushed her seat back announcing unceremoniously. "I'm going to the restroom." she groused, before stalking her way across the room.
Red arose hastily, waving Silas off before following the woman's path.
He waited patiently outside the door for all of one long arduous minute before pushing against the door facing as he heard the click of the lock being disengaged, startling the woman into taking a step back.
"Oh!" Liz gasped as the man shoved his way inside, locking the door behind him.
"Are you jealous, Elizabeth?" he demanded in a low, rumbling tone, his eyes allowing no measure of escape.
She stood straighter, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. "...And what if I am?"
Red's mouth pulled at the corner, as he stepped closer into her space. "Are you mad... at me?"
"...No," her chin jutted out stubbornly, "...well, maybe."
"Well now..." he advanced closer, backing her into a wall, stroking his fingers down her arms. "What can I do to make it better?"
She went up on her toes, kissing him softly. "You don't have to make anything better. I'm a big girl."
"What if I want to?" his hands went to her hips, his eyes devouring the low cut of her dress.
Liz's mood mellowed somewhat as she lifted her lips for yet another sensuous kiss. She sighed happily, a soft feminine sound escaping her throat. She lifted her arms about his neckline deepening the kiss.
Time suddenly seemed a variant, the annoyance of the past few minutes fading into oblivion. The next thing she knew, one hundred and ninety pounds of aroused male was pushing her into a convenient wall.
She felt the cool surface filter into her clothing until his arms enfolded her in a cocoon of warmth.
"Lizzy.." Red breathed against her mouth, his voice rough and inflamed.
There was something incredibly thrilling about eliciting this sort of reaction from a man like Red Reddington. It was a powerful and exhilarating feeling.
"I love the scent of you." he muttered tightly, running his large hands gently down her back, his fingers curving to the taut rim of her bottom.
His tongue slipped past the sweetness of her lips the very tip flicking hers erotically. Their breaths mingled, his smelling of scotch and cool mint... hers a fruity, earthy cinnamon mix the man found intoxicating.
It was astonishing to him, how each woman had her own taste.
He situated himself more comfortably between her legs, having lifted a slender thigh which now ran the length of his outer hip.
"I love the feel of your skin..." his fingertips eased over the revealed flesh of her leg, reveling in the silken feel of the thigh high stockings he had discovered. "So warm..." he squirmed his hardness against the heat of her panties. "So soft..."
Liz pressed closer, as the man hiked the dress even further. She could feel Red's stare, sensing his total approval of her choice of undergarment.
The visual of the lace top of the stocking laying so delicately against her pale flesh was evocative of every Forties pin-up the man had ever seen. There was something inherently forbidden about those models that every man aspired to obtain.
"If I don't get this dress off you soon..." Red growled his desperation, running his hand up her thigh, his index finger moving the lace of her panties aside, as he rubbed overtly over the nub of her swollen hood making Elizabeth gasp her appreciation, "I've been climbing the fucking walls all night watching that little ass tease me."
Red stepped closer still, bumping his groin insistently against hers when she moved her leg higher on his waist.
"G-God..." the woman trembled visibly.
"I want you so badly." he hissed brokenly.
His deep voice was so tinged with lust, it shook the woman to her core.
"...Yes." she whispered wantonly, reaching between their bodies, her hand rubbing against the front of his pants.
His hand rasped roughly along the netting of her stocking, as he pushed provocatively into her touch.
"Son of a bitch." his hot breath brushed against her neck. He couldn't remember the last time he had become so aroused, so quickly.
She went up on her toes, as Red lifted her bodily, bracing her legs about his waistline. The dress was completely out of his way now, and he wasted no time in searching out the front of his expensive trousers. His fingers hesitated as they slid the offending zipper down because the door behind him rattled jarringly.
He released a heartfelt curse, a sound both pained and enraged, accompanying the vulgar expression, for the man had despised the interruption.
"Dammit..." he gritted through his teeth, the moment broken.
He eased her down slowly, stepping back, deliberately cooling his ardor.
Liz's cheeks were rosy and beautiful, her lips wet and swollen, her eyes bright with suppressed desire.
He was all about teasing the fuck out of her, but fucking her against a wall, in public, was not exactly his modus operandi.
A larger part of him was hastily revising his thoughts on the matter. A second ago he felt like nailing her wherever the hell the urge struck, should be on top of his priority list.
Pushing against the prominent erection in his pants, he adjusted it before dropping his jacket, hiding the impressive bulge.
The blue eyes had watched him absently then lifted to allow him to see that he still affected her. She smiled softly for him alone.
Cupping her face, Red lowered his mouth slowly, parting her lips sensually. "We're going to continue what we started..." she vibrated to the depth of his voice, "in our bed... as soon as humanly possible." his brow furrowed critically. "Fuck everybody else, is that all right with you?"
"As long as you fuck me..." she nodded slowly in response.
Red grasped her hand in his, pulling her towards the door. "Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about that." he advised crisply.
He literally dragged her out through the bar, Liz stumbling to keep up. The man threw a couple bills on their table as they passed, to cover the tab ignoring completely Francis' eager enquiries about their plans for the evening.
Dembe had reluctantly pulled one last time on the handle of his slot machine before falling in step beside a glowering Silas... both men hanging back a discrete distance from the amorous couple.
Silas' frown momentarily lapsed as he witness Liz's sickly sweet smile of triumph and curt wave of her fingers to a begrudgingly brooding Natalia before the ensemble exited the hotel entirely.
The tension in the car was palpable, but neither man seemed to mind in the least. They far preferred their friend's present state of restlessness to his usual quiet mode of introversion.
As the car slid to a stop at the entrance of the Villa, Red shoved the back door open, grasping Liz's hand as he exited. She moved alongside him gracefully, muttering a quick goodnight to Silas and Dembe before being escorted through the doors.
"No interruptions." Red demanded quietly, throwing a lethal glare over his shoulder before following.
Silas grinned, pointing lazily back at the hotel they had just left. "What about–"
Red's look stopped the man in his tracks. "No..." he stalked off in a fine huff, "interruptions."
Silas rolled his eyes towards Dembe. "No, interruptions." Silas mimicked Red perfectly.
Both men chuckled appreciatively for such wit.
"I wonder what they're going to do in there?" Silas turned a serious as he was going to get this night.
"Raymond always enjoys a good game of chess." Dembe managed straight faced.
Silas turned his head questioningly. "Is there such a thing as, strip chess?"
"Only in your universe, my friend." Dembe nodded sagely.
"This is way more entertaining than I thought it would be." Silas slapped Dembe on the shoulder, before heading to the bar on the South wall of their accommodations to replace the drink he'd just left behind.
Dembe glanced off towards the back of the Villa, smiling his happiness, hearing the muffled giggle of Elizabeth and Raymond's gruff rejoinder before the door slammed shut on the outside world.
"I am just glad he is finally content." Dembe replied seriously, before taking the offered bottle of beer.
Both men sat at a table, dealing out cards for a quiet game of poker. Silas looked up suddenly, a gleam in his eyes.
"Strip poker?"
"You are so pathetic." Dembe surmised.
"Just lonely." Silas shrugged stocky shoulders.
Dembe's throaty chuckle filled the comfortable silence of the room.