VANGUARD(75)

“Condom,” she whispered.

For a minute, Michael panicked, wondering where he would find a condom in this place. Then he remembered the gift from Anjali, still sitting in the bag that held his meager collection of personal items. He climbed off the bed, found the box and came back to try again.

A moment later, he put his forearms on either side of her shoulders, and lowered his body to hers. He looked into her eyes. She smiled and kissed him, putting her hands on his face. This is Sophie, my Sophie. We were always meant to be together. He slowly pushed into her tight, wet depths. She let out a gasp, her legs coming up to wrap around his waist. He pressed his forehead to hers, and they stayed that way for a moment.

“I love you,” she whispered. “You feel so good inside me.”

“I love you too, mana mila. You feel even better than I dreamed all these years.” Then the urge to move became too strong, and he began to make love to her.

She pushed her hips up hard to meet him on every thrust. He wanted to make it last, but he was battling more than ten years of anticipation, and it didn’t feel like he was winning.

She moaned his name enticingly, and Michael grit his teeth, feeling the hot excitement in his belly getting tighter. He kept going, wanting to give her all the pleasure he was feeling, and more. She pulled him deeper inside her, making him groan. On the next thrust, Sophie’s back arched up off the bed, and her body stiffened. She cried out, and a second later, her orgasm rippled through her.

The sensation of it brought him abruptly to his own peak. For one agonizing second, everything paused, and then he exploded deep inside her. The intensity of it made him cry out. When the spasms finally faded, he pulled them onto their sides so he could wrap his arms around her. Michael pushed her wild red hair away from her flushed face and kissed her.

“That was awfully good,” Sophie whispered with a smile.

“Yes.” He ran his hand down her hip, showering kisses along her shoulder. “Yes. Awfully short, but awfully good. My apologies that I could not last any longer for you.” A moment later, he reluctantly pulled away and removed the condom. He stumbled to the other side of the small room to toss it in the garbage. On the way back, he glanced up and froze.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. Michael peered into the mirror on the wall.

“I did not realize I looked so…” He trailed off, staring at his reflection.

Sophie giggled. “Sexy?”

He looked at her sharply and frowned, wondering if she was making fun of him. “I was not thinking of that particular word.”

“That’s what you look like to me. Sexy, hot, dangerous.”

He started to laugh. “I am an underweight, naked man with three frostbitten toes and a black eye given to me by a woman half my size. This seems dangerous to you?” He gestured to his battered face. The lump on his nose had turned an unpleasant shade of purple, and his left eye was ringed with black.

“Yes, dangerous. You just had your wicked way with me.” She stretched seductively, causing his cock to twitch. “Ravaged me, stole my heart, pleasured me.” She patted the bed. “Please come back and do it again.”

He laughed and lay down beside her, pulling her against the length of his body. He ran his fingers lightly down her spine, causing her to shiver with pleasure. “Cold, Mana mila?” he asked, pulling a blanket across them.

She shook her head and snuggled closer into his body. “Not with you here.”

He tightened his arms around her, and they lay together, enjoying their chance to be alone. They dozed, and when they awoke, it was dark. “Do you need to return to work?”

“They can live without me for one night,” Sophie replied. “But I suppose we’ll eventually need to find some dinner.”

“Allow me,” he said, untangling himself and pulling on his jeans and shirt. He ducked out of the room and returned with a tray loaded with food.

“Wow.” She sat up as he unloaded a couple of bottles of water from his pockets. “Are you planning on keeping me prisoner here for a while?”

“Yes. Is this a problem?”

“Not at all.”





-





Sophie didn’t bring up what had happened the previous day; it was too raw for her. They’d been under inhuman pressure for far too long, and now they had grabbed a small vacation from reality. Long overdue and desperately needed.

The team had returned. She could hear them drifting through the halls, laughing and talking after the day’s work. Sophie half-expected Anjali to bang on the door, demanding to know what they were doing. But all was quiet as she lay in Michael’s arms, listening to music on her laptop.