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Thank you so much for the follows/favs/reviews!
I'm so happy you guys liked it!

And now without further ado, the next chapter!
Have fun reading it, I sure had when I was writing it, hehe.
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Till next time, my friends!
Later!

Past The Point Of No Return

"Just my luck", Charley sighed, shaking her head as she softly kicked her flat tire.
Pulling her coat closer around her slender body before zipping it up in a feeble attempt to protect herself from the cold wind, she walked to the back of her truck and opened the tailboard.
But when she reached for the spare wheel, she soon noticed it was just as flat as the left front wheel, and she closed the booth lid with a loud bang to vent some of her frustration.
"Goddammit. Some mechanic you are", she muttered under her breath, and as she leaned against her truck that was parked at the side of the road, she took a good look around her.
Unfortunately, all she saw was a storm coming in from Lake Michigan, which explained why the road she was currently finding herself on was completely deserted.
This left her with only one option.
She had to call the guys.

Usually, she wouldn't think twice about calling them, but of course, that was before she had shared that strange night with Vinnie, now three days ago.
She felt reluctant to face him ever since and had managed to avoid contact.
Until now.
Great.
Just great.
This day just kept getting better and better.
Softly cursing under her breath, Charley climbed into the cabin of her truck and took the radio transmitter between her cold fingers.
After doing a little prayer that it wouldn't be Vinnie on the other side of the line, she pushed the small button on the side.
"Black Raven to E.T., over."

It had been Throttle's idea to use secret names while calling in, at least until they were sure nobody was eavesdropping.
Charley thought it was a good idea, except for the whole E.T. part as it wasn't really what she considered fitting as a secret name for aliens.
The guys evidently didn't agree with that theory, calling it hiding in the open, or something like that.
Whatever.
Maybe they were right, but till this day Charley still felt a little uncomfortable using the names and with slightly flushed cheeks, she waited for someone to respond, still hoping with every fiber in her body that that person wouldn't be white-furred and way too smart for his own good.
Luckily, she didn't have to wait very long.
The radio clicked, and a voice filled the cabin.

"E.T. phoning home, over."

A sigh of relief left Charley's mouth, simply because the voice talking to her wasn't high-pitched but rather husky instead.
Still, she couldn't help but roll her eyes due to the silliness of his response as it sounded so out of character, and she brought the transmitter to her mouth again.
"Line is secure on this side, over."

"Same here. What's up, Charley-girl?"

"I'm stuck down at twenty with a flat."

"And you need us to change your tire? Why Charley… and you dare calling yourself the best mechanic in Chi-Town"

Throttle finished his sentence with a husky chuckle, telling Charley he was only teasing her and nothing more but she couldn't stop herself from feeling a little embarrassed nonetheless.
The fact that she needed to explain why she was calling them instead of changing the tire herself, which was indeed child's play for her, didn't exactly help with the matter either.
"My spare is also flat", she muttered into the radio, her gaze fixed on her finger brushing away a spot on her steering wheel, but she then decided she didn't want to wait for another smart-ass response.
She just wasn't in the mood today, and she straightened her back.
"Can you please just come and get me? I'm tired."

"Sure thing, babe. I'll ask Vinnie…"

A shock went through her body, and without thinking, Charley already pushed the small button to overrule the signal.
"No, I want you to pick me up. Or Modo. That's okay, too."

There was a short silence, and she stared at the radio with burning cheeks, already regretting her response as she knew it would confuse Throttle.
And when Throttle was confused, he started asking questions.
Questions she didn't want to answer right now, if not ever.
God damn you, you stupid tire.

"We're working on the bikes. Vinnie's bike is the only one that's ready…"

He fell silent for a moment, and Charley just knew he was looking at the radio with that notorious frown upon his face before he continued.

"I could always ask him if I could borrow his ride, but that would raise some questions, of course…"

"Of course", Charley said flatly, squeezing the bridge of her nose with the hand that wasn't holding the transmitter.
Hearing the way Throttle emphasized the words 'of course' told her that questions were already raised, something she couldn't blame him for.
Even more so, he was obviously trying to tell her that asking for Vinnie's bike was a no-go, at least without her explaining to him what was going on, which she didn't, for she had no idea what to say.
In turn, Throttle just skipped to the question part.
As expected.

"Is everything okay, Charley-girl? With you and Vinnie?"

For a brief moment, Charley was back in the garage.
Back to that moment when her lips made contact with his, filling her heart with a certain longing.
Slowly, she raised her hand and touched her lips, suddenly wishing it was him who did that.
The thought alone made her abs tense in a pleasant way, and she quickly shook her head to snap out of it, knowing Throttle was waiting anxiously for her to answer.
"Yeah, it's all peachy. Just forget what I said and tell him to hurry. It's cold and there's a storm coming. Charley out."

…

It was already getting dark when Charley heard the familiar sound of Vinnie's bike approaching, and while heaving a sigh, she rested her head against the window of the cabin.
Her entire body was cramped, but not because she was sitting here in the cold, watching the lightning coming closer from the back of her truck.
It was because she had to face a certain someone she didn't want to face.
Not yet.
Not after a few more days of at least trying to grab herself together.
Kissing him had done something to her.
Something she didn't understand, but the thing that was really eating her was how they had parted ways that night.
Things had been left unspoken, something that seemed like the right decision to make back then, if only to catch her breath and try to wrap her head around what had happened.
Now, she wasn't so sure about that anymore.
If anything, it had only made things even more complicated.

And so here she was.
Nervous as hell to be in the presence of someone who she considered one of her closest friends.
That wasn't how it was supposed to be.
She was supposed to feel safe with him, just like she always did before that night.
Sure, there had always been some sort of tension, a magnetic pull so to say, but never had she been frightened to see him.
But she was now.
Utterly petrified, even.
Everything that used to be right was now wrong.
And she hated it.
Hated herself that she had given in, that night.
If not, things would have been just the same.
Safe and familiar.

Softly shrieking brakes along with metal music blaring out of the speakers announced Vinnie's arrival as his bike skidded to a halt next to her truck.
At first, Charley hardly dared to look at him, and thus she stared at the sky for a little while longer, trying very hard to keep her face blank.
To not give away her inner restlessness.
If only she could sit here and watch the storm coming closer for hours to come, but she knew that she couldn't ignore this forever.
She couldn't run from him forever, and after taking a deep breath as inconspicuous as possible, Charley glanced aside with her heart running a marathon through her chest.
Her white-furred friend just put his feet on the asphalt to keep his bike upright, and after turning off the engine and thereby cutting off the loud music, he raised his strong arms to reach for his helmet.

It didn't seem necessary for him to take it off, after all, they wouldn't be here for long, but Charley knew how much he hated the thing.
Besides, as strange as it might seem, seeing him removing his helmet really was a sight to behold.
It always was, with his impressive muscles flexing under his fur and skin, but this time, it was even more intense, and Charley caught herself holding her breath by seeing how his movement caused his hoodie to lift a few inches, thereby revealing a part of his impressive abs.
Abs that could have been hers to touch if she hadn't been so… prudent.
Damn.
Who would have thought that wearing-a-sweater-Vinnie was even sexier than I'm-showing-my-body-to-the-world-Vinnie?
She sure as hell didn't and yet here she was, almost drooling at the sight of him.
Or maybe that was because a gust of wind blew a whiff of that maddening scent of his straight into her face, sending about a thousand shivers down her spine along the way.

Knowing she was already back on dangerous grounds again, she forced herself to snap out of this… well, whatever this was, and although with reluctance, she withdrew her gaze from his body.
Her breathing became a little shallow as her eyes darted up, somehow scared to look into his eyes again, for she had no idea what to expect.
Would there be pain again, just like that night?
Would they be glassy again?
Or almost empty, like they had been right before he left?
Well, only one way to find out, and while bracing herself as well as she could, her eyes locked with his beautiful red ones.
Much to her relief, the pain she had seen that night wasn't there.

However, there wasn't much else to see either, like that deliciously boyish spark of mischief, for instance.
No, his eyes were best described as blank as he gazed back at her with a frown on his face that could mean anything, but she liked to believe it was one out of concern.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?", he asked without even greeting her, and her stomach cramped painfully by hearing the tone of his voice.
Sure, there was a hint of worry audible, but he mostly sounded distant, perhaps even a little cold.
It matched his eyes perfectly, and it literally made her feel sick.
As it turned out, their little moment had ruined more than she could ever anticipate, and even though she already sort of knew that, seeing it unfold right in front of her was a whole other story.

Clearing her throat in an attempt to get rid of the lump that was pressing painfully on her trachea, Charley nodded as she broke eye contact.
"I'm fine. Just cold and tired."
While she was talking, she rose to her feet and climbed out of the truck, making sure to stay as far away from him as possible without making it look like she was afraid of him.
Or worse - dismissive.
Vinnie nodded, his red eyes briefly watching the flat tire before he reached behind him.
"Here", and he offered her her helmet.
The fact that he did that without even looking at her made Charley almost burst into tears, but she managed to control herself as she leaned forward to take the helmet from him, thereby carefully avoiding his fingers.
Either oblivious to the tension lingering between them or ignoring it, Vinnie straightened his back as he gestured to her truck.
"We'll come back tomorrow to pick it up, 'kay?"
"'Kay", Charley mumbled stupidly, her gaze lowered as her fingers fiddled with the straps of the helmet instead of putting it on.

She should really just put it on and get on his bike, but the thing was, she was a little out of sorts due to his distant behavior.
It made her feel peculiarly on edge, almost to the point that she wanted to beg him to forget about what happened so things could go back to normal.
It was all she wanted right now, and not only because of the way he was acting right now.
She usually loved to ride with him.
To hold him tightly, to feel his tail secured around her waist, all to keep her safe as he dominated the road beneath his tires as the badass Martian he was.
But now…
Now the thought alone of being so close to him made her nauseous of nervousness as she had no idea what would happen.
Another important aspect of their relationship that used to be so self-evident but now simply wasn't anymore, and besides hating it, she was also entirely clueless about how to handle it.
And so, all she did was just stand there with the helmet in her hands and her eyes glued to her feet like some sort of idiot, thereby making things even more awkward than they already were.
Something she never thought possible and yet here they were.
Surrounded by awkwardness.

"Are you gonna stand there staring at your feet all night or are you coming?", Vinnie broke the almost smothering silence, his voice still somewhat flat, and Charley's insides twisted and turned as she glanced up at him for like a nanosecond before she lowered her gaze again.
Shit, this was crazy.
She couldn't even look at him.
How was she supposed to sit behind him on a bike that practically forced her to press her body against his?
"I uhm… I just…", she stuttered a little helplessly, but then she fell silent again, deeply annoyed by herself.
Jesus, woman.
This wasn't who she was.
She was known for being straightforward, for having her heart on her sleeve, not for stuttering like a teenage girl because of some guy.
Come on.
Just tell him how it is.
She took a deep breath to open the conversation they obviously needed to have, but much to her utter surprise, Vinnie beat her to it.

"I guess this whole no touchy-touchy-thingy of yours makes riding with me a lot more complicated, doesn't it, sweetheart?"

Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she heard that his voice was now suddenly back to normal, even more so, it sounded beyond teasingly, and Charley looked up with a jerk.
The white Martian looked back at her from under his lashes with a somewhat smug smile on his face, and it was then that it hit Charley like a sledgehammer.
He was playing with her.
This whole time.
Judging by the highly amused slash teasing look on his face, he knew exactly what was going on inside her head from the moment he got here, but instead of acting on it like any adequate adult would have done, he had decided it would be fun to watch her suffer for a little while as the boyishly playful mouse he could be sometimes.
Goddammit, this mouse.
She should strangle him with his own tail for torturing her like this, which she probably would have done if it weren't for the way he was looking at her, his eyes now suddenly sparkling with mischief once more.
It had the same effect on her as it did that night.
Intoxicating.

"I never said no touching."

The words had already left her mouth before she could stop them, something she cursed herself for, but shit, him looking at her like that just did something to her as it had done that night.
It made her want to play the game he started once again.
The very same game she had made very interesting for him by saying they could never play it again, she now suddenly realized.
Oh…
…shit.
Clearly, she had completely mishandled that situation and now, the consequences had arrived in the form of a Martian mouse with fur as white as snow who had no trouble at all to teach her that lesson.
Oh shit…
…indeed.

The left corner of his mouth twitched before it went up, transforming his earlier smug smile into a boyishly naughty one.
"Well, that certainly offers some possibilities, 'ey?"
Before she even realized what was happening, his tail wrapped itself around her wrist and yanked her closer to him.
The helmet slipped out of her hands, and almost tripping over her own feet because of the force he used, Charley literally fell into his arms with her face pressed into his chest.
In some sort of reflex, mostly because she was startled by this sudden action, she took a deep breath, but the only thing she accomplished with that was filling her nose with that awfully delicious scent of his.
Her mouth became dry, and she quickly replaced her weight from her toes back to her heels as she rested her hands on his chest to push herself away from him, knowing all too well she needed to create some distance.
However, somewhere in the middle of that process, she raised her eyes.
She didn't do it on purpose, it just happened.

The moment her green eyes locked with his, she froze.
How could she not?
His eyes were already a few tints darker again, the dark-red smoke obscuring his usually bright red irises, and the result was literally breathtaking.
Fuck.
This was again escalating very quickly.
"Vinnie…", she breathed almost noiselessly, still not ready to just give up on her morals.
"I told you…"
"What? I'm not kissing you. Just…-"
His hands drifted into her hair and he pulled her even closer to him.
Right before his nose touched hers, he stopped and he gazed into her eyes while still having that cheeky smile etched on his face.
"-…touching you. Just like you said was allowed."

His warm breath caressed the sensitive skin on the lower part of her face, making her lips tingle.
Oh boy.
He was playing a foul game here.
And he wasn't even drunk this time...
But the thing was, he didn't have to be.
Not anymore.
Maybe the alcohol had given him the courage to make his first move, but that was to be all.
Because he knew now.
He knew the effect he had on her, simply because she had shown it to him.
She had given in, and now, he owned her.
He could make her do whatever he wanted by simply using these overwhelmingly powerful charms of his.
Which was dangerous.
And so goddamn exciting.

But she had to stay strong.
She couldn't let herself be tempted to take the first step because that was exactly what he wanted.
To be fair, right now, it was exactly what she wanted as well.
Every cell in her body was craving for him a way that just wasn't healthy.
Judging the lust swirling in the dark shadows in his eyes, he was feeling the same way.
Which made her wonder if there might be more to this than just being his rebound girl…
Stop.
Don't even go there.
All she had to do was break it off.
Just break it off and go home…

Something suddenly coiled around her leg, something she knew was his tail.
Like a snake, it made its way from her ankle to her knee and from there to her upper leg, causing goosebumps over her entire body.
A shaky breath slipped past her lips as she tried to find her voice of reason, but it was awfully quiet upstairs all of a sudden.
That was probably because the tip of his tail now caressed the sensitive part of her inner thigh, and her legs started to shake.
Sweet Jesus, he wasn't even really touching her and here she was, already so close to a climax.
A moan got stuck in her throat, and Vinnie's smile became even more complacent as he slightly tilted his head.
His lips brushed against hers, and she almost took the bait.
Almost.
Just when she thought she was going to cave, he already moved on, his warm breath creating a trail on her cheek all the way to her ear.
"In my humble opinion, touching is far more dangerous than kissing…", he breathed softly in her ear, and without warning, he set his teeth in her earlobe.

Charley drew in a sharp breath, but not because he hurt her.
It was because with just one little bite, he managed to bring her to an even higher level of intoxication, and her hands took his sweater in a tight grip.
Her fingers grazed his sides while she did that, and now it was he who let out a shuddering breath, which made her realize that this little game of his actually worked both ways.
It was tempting to test his limits as well, to see how long he would be able to stay in control if she were the one teasing him the way he was teasing her.
But she didn't, simply because she already knew the answer.
Vinnie was many things, but restraint wasn't one of them.
Things would most definitely get out of hand if she was going to test his limits.
Perhaps that wouldn't be a bad thing if it didn't mean he would get exactly what he wanted from her.

But it was just like she said.
She had to stay strong.
She had to be the adult here.
She had to win this game for both of their sake.
To protect their friendship.
And her self-respect for that matter…
If only it wasn't so goddamn hard.

While straightening his back, his right hand untangled itself from her hair and drifted down.
Almost painfully slow, he pulled the zipper of her jacket down, and only the sound of it made her shiver in anticipation.
His furry fingers found the edge of her blouse effortlessly, and while resting his forehead against hers, his hand made its way under the fabric.
Teasingly, his fingers slid from her belly button up to her breasts, leaving a trail of fire on her skin, and she closed her eyes while clenching her teeth.
This was slowly starting to get too much, and yet, she couldn't get enough of it.
She slightly arched her back, thereby pressing her stomach against his hand.
If she had to be completely honest, she did that to encourage him.
She knew she shouldn't, but she did it anyway, simply because she wanted him.
She wanted him with every fiber in her body, yet at the same time, she still tried to stay in control.
It was this whole push-and-pull dynamic between them that made this whole thing even more exhilarating.
Kind of like watching a fight between God and the Devil.
You didn't want the Devil to win, but you very much wanted to see him try.

It didn't take long for his hand to reach her bra, especially not after her little encouragement.
Her eyes flew open, and her breath got stuck in her throat once more when she saw him looking back with eyes overflowing with arousal.
They were now almost black, lust completely eclipsing the red flames and yet they were still smoldering like coals in the dark.
Looking back, that was the beginning of the end.
Or maybe it was the way the left corner of his mouth curled up into a hint of that maddening smile of his.
Almost as if he was challenging her…
Scratch almost.
Of course he was challenging her.
He had been doing so ever since he mentioned the whole no touchy-touchy-thingy.
Maybe that had already been the beginning of the end.
She had no idea.
But she did know what the final straw was.
And that was his fingers slipping into her bra.
It was such a simple movement, but the impact of feeling his fur tickling her nipple was just enough for her to snap.
A soft grunt escaped her mouth as she tightened her grip around his sweater, and after slightly tilting her head, she leaned forward.
However, much to her utter shock, right before she could kiss him, he suddenly pulled back.
"You're right, sweetheart. We really shouldn't be doing this. You said so yourself."

For a moment, Charley just stood there, her eyes still closed and her hands now holding nothingness.
A certain cold crawled under her skin the moment he broke loose from her, cooling down her overheated body.
Heaving a sigh, she opened her eyes, only to see him looking back at her with a playful smile from one oversized ear to another, and she gnashed her teeth.
Goddammit, he was way too good at this game.
Vinnie: one.
Charley: zero nada niente.
Vinnie's smile grew even bigger by seeing her annoyance, and while shaking his head, he snatched her helmet off the road with his tail and gave it to her.
"Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you home."
Too dazed to protest, Charley quietly put on her helmet and climbed behind him.
After a short hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his strong waist whilst he secured her with his tail, just like he always did.
As if nothing had happened.
As if he didn't just entirely blow her away with his seducing skills and overwhelmingly sexy presence.
Never had she known he had it in him, and she wondered where he picked all this up.
It had to be Mars.
With… her.

An unsettling feeling nestled itself in her stomach, and she rested her helmeted head on his broad back.
This game they were playing was seriously risky.
Feelings could get hurt, and yet she couldn't wait for them to play the next round.
Because she knew there would be one.
And another.
And another.
It was merely inevitable.
The dice were rolled.
The pawns were in motion.
The only question was…
Who was going to make it to the finish line in one piece?