Warnings and disclaimers on first part.
THE END OF THE MUNDANE – PART 5
By Friday I’m sure of my impending victory. I’ve only seen Duo in snatches throughout the week, always at work, where our paths rarely cross. Locking the door to my apartment behind me, I enter the security code and congratulate myself on a job well done. All I have to do now is stay inside and Duo doesn’t have a chance of getting to me. As long as I don’t go anywhere before eleven-thirty tomorrow morning, I’m sure to win.
To celebrate I decide to eat some Italian, my favorite food. It doesn’t take long to call in my order and then I find myself searching my fridge for something to drink with my meal. While I would like to drink a glass of red wine, I’ve always been wary of drinking alone, having seen far too many former soldiers use that as an escape from their memories.
Not wanting milk or water I choose a glass of fruit juice, the only one in common with the wine I had briefly considered. Pouring the remaining liquid into a glass, I make a note to get some more from the store the next time I go shopping. While waiting for my dinner I call Wufei and Sally, checking on them and their baby boy, Liam.
I barely have time to hang up before my doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of my food. Before opening the door I don’t forget to check the peephole, giving the delivery boy a hefty tip since I’m feeling charitable. Deciding to break my normal home routine, I opt to eat while watching television, flipping through channels for something that holds my interest. It’s easy to recall why I don’t watch television often. I settle on an old movie I’ve seen before, one Duo forced us all to watch during the war and that I had enjoyed.
Less than an hour later I catch myself nodding off. Carefully, I slowly set my food and empty glass on the table and rub at my eyes tiredly, “Must be more tired than I thought.” Thinking it a good idea to retire early I try to stand, staring dumbly at my legs when they won’t obey my commands.
Realizing my mind is fuzzy and as sluggish as my motions, I blink several times to clear my abruptly wavering vision. As grey begins to invade my sight, I see the vague outline of a person moving toward me. I want to ask what’s going on, but there’s no time as I fade from consciousness.
The first thing I become aware of is the aching of my shoulders. Attempting to shift, I frown when I can’t move my arms, fixed in place in front of me. Forcing open eyes that wish to remain closed, I discover I’m shrouded in darkness with my hands tied.
As my mind clears, I realize my chest and feet are bare, though I’m positive I didn’t get undressed before eating. As my memories fall in place, it comes to me I’ve been a fool. With my eyes adjusting to the darkness, I’m well aware I’ve done something our trainers always warn agents about…I had become overconfident and underestimated my opposition.
Starting to see shapes in the inky black, I recognize where I am and give a huff of frustration. Not only have I been captured when I had believed there was no way I could be, there is the added humiliation of being restrained in my own home. Currently, I’m tied to a piece of my own workout equipment.
Forced to acknowledge I’ve been outwitted, I speak into the room, aware I’m not alone. “You drugged me?”
The laugh comes from behind me, the husky chuckle sending shivers up my spine even with the vulnerable position I’m in. “Just an over-the-counter sedative; our bodies metabolize at about the same rate. All I had to do was figure out how much to give myself and gave you that amount.”
“How?” I can’t help asking, hearing movement behind me.
“You’re most comfortable at home, believing no one can get past the security. You forgot I was a damn good thief. If I wasn’t working for the good guys, I could make a fortune breaking and entering. I came in before you got home and dosed your juice.”
“How did you know what I’d drink?”
Again I hear that low chuckle as I feel him come near me. It’s more than just my awareness of him that helps me know where he is, his scent is getting stronger. “You’re very predictable, Trowa. I knew you’d want to congratulate yourself with a good meal. What better than your favorite food? It wasn’t hard to decide what you would drink, you never drink alcohol when you’re alone. I knew you would pick the closest thing to wine you could. All I had to do was wait a reasonable amount of time after your food was delivered to come in.”
I can’t help being disappointed in myself. I had been so sure I was able to beat Duo at his own game, and ended up losing more than a bet. “You’ve proved your point. I won’t say anything else about you taking on the hit. Let me go.”
My entire body stiffens when a finger runs down my spine, trailing the length of bones. My mind goes blank when warm breath washes across the back of my neck and there’s no way for me to stop the tremble of desire. “I’m not quite ready to let you go, yet, Trowa. I think we need to talk first and this seems to be the only way I can keep you from running off on me.”
“I don’t run away from you,” I insist, though that’s exactly what I do. “Where’s my shirt?”
“In the corner somewhere,” he says absently as two fingers run across my skin, then three. “I figured this might be the only chance I have to see you at least partially naked, so I took advantage of the situation, like I was taught.”
There’s no doubt why the air in my lungs doesn’t seem to want to come out of my mouth and I start to feel light headed until it all comes out in a rush as his mouth replaces those nimble fingers on the back of my neck. Words desert me, although my mind works as clear as possible in this situation, desire suffusing my entire body. His tongue is hot…hot enough to brand the sensation into my mind forever. As teasing touches run up and down my arms and Duo’s mouth tortures me, I’m helpless to do anything.
Fighting for coherency, I manage to speak, my words coming out as a harsh whisper. “When are you planning to untie me?”
Sensations wracking my body, I don’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed when he stops touching me. His presence moves away and I shiver in the absence of his body heat. “You have to promise not to kill me first.”
Keeping my face calm is almost impossible. It should have been expected, the one person that could break through my strict control would be Duo. He’s always been able to pull emotions from me I have no control over and now is no different. “I promise I won’t kill you.”
Long arms reach around me, quickly untying the ropes that bind me before moving away just as fast. It only takes seconds to gain my feet and turn, feeling confident now that I have a plan. This is one battle I’m sure to win and he has given me the advantage by showing what he wants.
My eyes fall on Duo and my pulse begins to race. Obviously he took his shower before leaving work and his hair is loosely tied into a ponytail that trails down his back, not having braided it yet. He’s wearing a black tank top, tucked into a pair of loose jeans that hang low on his hips. When I step forward he takes a step in retreat, making me smile slowly. It seems the prey has become the predator. “I promised I wouldn’t kill you.”
He’s watching me closely, eyes appearing black in the darkness. I know he can see me, his night vision has always been better and I let him see the expression on my face. I can tell he doesn’t know what to think of it as he backs up until his back hits the wall between two weight benches. “You didn’t promise not to beat the shit out of me,” he notes, his tone cautious. I might be fooled if I wasn’t able to see how his eyes are glowing with excitement.
I pretend to think this over, moving closer to Duo, not surprised when he doesn’t try to retreat anymore. His pride is much like mine and will only allow him to escape if his life depends on it. Bracing one hand on the wall beside his head, I keep my eyes on his, “Why did you want to take half my clothes off?”
“Hell, I didn’t want to take half your clothes off,” he snorts, not the least bit afraid of what I’m going to do to him. “I wanted to take all your clothes off.”
“You’ve seen me before,” my voice is low as I lean closer, letting my free hand tangle in the hair that drapes over his shoulder.
“When we were teenagers,” his gaze leaves my face and roams over my chest before coming back and raising an eyebrow. “We’re not teenagers anymore.”
“That’s the only reason?”
Instead of embarrassment or shame, Duo is obviously irritated by my line of questioning. “Hell, Trowa. You’re hot and I wanted to see you.”
“That’s all? You wanted to look at me?”
“Yeah. No. Sorta.” A puff of air signals his frustration. He shifts and our bodies touch for a fleeting instant, but it’s enough to have me growing painfully hard. “I’ve wanted to see you for a long time and figured this would be my only chance. At least if you did kill me I’d die happy.”
It’s a rare thing to see Duo flounder and I hate to admit I enjoy it more than I should. It seems I’ve found something he’s not completely confident about and I wonder how he would react if he could hear my own thoughts. “You could have asked if I’d mind.”
Shaking his head he lets out a low laugh. This time I’m prepared for the bolt of lust that shoots through me, although that doesn’t make it any more comfortable. My pants are extremely confining as his body heat washes over me, becoming worse as he moves again, our bodies rubbing together for an instant. “If you were interested you would have said something. You’re my boss, man. It’s not right to hit on your boss.”
In Duo’s logic that probably makes perfect sense, but I don’t understand his reasoning. “It would have been okay for me to hit on you?”
“At least then no one would have thought I was after a promotion or something. Not like all my teams don’t know I have the hots for you and all, but hell, I practically live with them.”
Trying to think past the overwhelming need to touch what is so close, I attempt to put what he said into simpler terms. “Let me get this straight. You want me. You’ve wanted me for a while. All of your teams knew, but you didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea by bringing it up to me.”
“That sums it up, except for one minor detail.”
“What would that be?” My voice is calm, but my whole body is tense, waiting for what he has to say next.
“I’ve never known how you feel about me. I still don’t.”
For the first time I see the caution in his eyes, realizing it’s time to take a chance of my own. “I think you take too many risks with your safety. You’re reckless and at least partially insane. Considering you’re my polar opposite in almost every way, I don’t have any idea why I’m in love with you.”
“I’m not reckless. I know exactly what I’m capable of and…did you just say you love me?”
I’ve never seen him as confused as he is at this moment and my heart swells at his bafflement. “That’s what I said. You have a problem with that?”
Haltingly he moves his hands to my chest, keeping his eyes on mine as he touches me carefully, as if stunned he’s been given permission. “I don’t have a problem with that,” he tells me softly, his voice low, almost reverent, “As long as you don’t have a problem with me feeling the same way.”
My willpower running low, I stop his hands by putting mine over them, needing confirmation in the form of words. I never realized how much power words have. “Can you tell me?”
His smile is slow, full of power. “What is it that you want to hear? That I want you? That I’ve wanted to be able to touch you, just like this?” He pulls his hands from under mine and teases them down my skin, his thumbs drifting over my nipples as his nails scrape my sides, making the muscles jump. His eyes remain on mine, drawing me in. “Do you want to know how I’ve dreamed of you, of having you inside me? Or do you want to hear how I love you, how I’ve loved you for years?”
I’ve heard of people being so relieved their knees go weak, but I’ve never experienced the sensation until now. I use Duo’s body to hold myself up on legs that feel as substantial as water, getting the additional benefit of feeling dense muscle pressed against me. “Good god,” I breathe, my skin feeling too hot to contain me.
“Is that a good thing?” Duo asks, his own voice strained, hands gripping my sides.
“A very good thing.” Abruptly feeling powerful, I press him into the wall, this time with more purpose. Pushing my hands under his shirt, I smile as his body trembles under my touch. “I have a feeling my routine is going to be shot to hell from now on.”
A confident smirk meets my comment, “You can bet on it, Trowa.”
Back to Part 4 On to Part 6