Title : Couples
Author : SAM aprilsam@telefonica.net
Rating : NC – 17
Keywords : JMPR, DOTC (as in Destruction of the Centre)
Disclaimer : I don’t own them.
Everyhting was going fine. Everything was going as planned.
Parker was in her office, going through some papers when she heard some noise outside. She peered through the door just in time to see her evil twin run with a sweeper team to the parking lot. She caught one of them by the elbow, trying to find out what all the rush was about. “A sighting on Jarod” came the curt reply.
She set about to follow them, and after locking all her papers in a drawer, she took off after her brother.
She was driving one of the Centre’s cars, just behind the last one of the limos Lyle had taken. She didn’t know where they were going. And most of all, she had no one with her.
Alone, since Sydney and Broots left, alone since Angelo took her little brother and left.
A small smile played on her lips. Lyle would never catch Jarod, this she knew.
She was in control. Everybody was out, everybody was safe. She had done it. She has put Angelo and her little brother in a safe house in the middle of nowhere. Sydney, Michelle, their son Nicholas and his fiancée Marianne were there too.
Ben Miller, Harriet Tashman ...
She has helped Ethan find Margaret, she had helped Jarod’s family reunite. They were all there. And without his help. She had done all that by herself. The smile grew, even though she didn’t really like the next memory that came to her mind : with Charles, Jimmy and Emily she had found someone else ... Zoe.
And Jarod didn’t seem to know where they were. He had stopped calling her. But she had kept contact with the safe house, and she knew he hadn’t located it yet.
Of course he had discovered everybody was gone and she suspected his lack of telephone calls to be a means of protecting her. If he called, he would have to ask about the disappearence of his mentor, and maybe force her to give away a clue, without wanting to. So he stopped calling.
Sometime soon, they would have to talk though. They were the ones still in the game. They had work to do. She had decided to protect everyone but herself. She had to stay in the open, she still had secrets to uncover. And Jarod would stay in too. She knew it.
Now she was driving a little too fast, in the hope of seeing her brother helpless in one of Jarod’s elaborate traps.
But then they got to a crossroad and she lost their tale when she had to let a train pass. She knew where they were heading all right. This road had to lead there. A small industrial town ... what was Jarod doing there ?
After losing almost ten minutes, she located her brother’s team in a small area scattered with warehouses here and there. Wasn’t this Jarod’s favorite playfield ?
The Centre’s towncars stood out between all the old trucks that filled the town and when she got to their location, she found all her brother’s sweepers locked away in a big cage in the basement of the warehouse. She had to stiffle a laugh : Jarod was too ingenuous !
She passed them by and ignored their demands that she free them. With a hard look, she told them they deserved what they got and that a Parker didn’t need goons to get the job done. She then went up the stairs.
It was a way of raising Jarod’s chances of getting away. If only he knew ! And at the same time, her actions would be accounted on her arrogance. The problem appeared when she found Jarod and Lyle on the third floor, standing face to face and pointing guns at each other. There she had to intervene. The sweepers had seen her going up, she had no excuse.
And if she helped her brother, Jarod’s chances would be too slim. She needed him on the outside, digging up secrets, providing her with information, getting on the nerves of the Tower. If he were to be caught, there was no one left on the inside to help him, no Angelo, no Sydney ...
Ok. So helping Lyle was out of the question. If she stood by, she knew Jarod would get out of it, he was too smart for his own good. But she couldn’t, Lyle would be glad to hand her on a silver plate to the Triumvirae as a traitor. He would know she was there and done nothing to help him stop the pretender.
One option left ...
She strode inside and pointing her own gun in the direction of the two men, she said : “Drop. Your. Gun.” ...
The two men never flinched. The only indication they had heard her was the slight smile appearing on the psycho’s lips and the anger building in Jarod’s dark eyes.
“You heard her labrat. Drop the gun”.
Desperation began to appear on Jarod’s features while Lyle’s smile grew into a wide grin.
“I was talking to you Lyle” her voice calm, collected, precise. She advanced on them and stood beside a bewildered pretender who seemed to not know what hit him. She expected her brother to laugh out loud and tell her he knew she had a soft spot for the labrat since the beginning, but he didn’t. Instead he presented her with a face as surprised and unbelieving as Jarod’s must have been at this moment if she could see it. She couldn’t for she was standing by his side, so that Lyle had now two guns pointed at him.
“What are you doing ?” hissed an angry Jarod without letting Lyle leave his gun’s range.
But she chose not to answer. Instead, she lowered her gun, and produced the handcuffs she carries with her everywhere and which are usually destined to be used on her most recent ally.
She then advanced on Lyle : “Give me your gun.”
And seeing how he seemed to ignore her demand, she requested Jarod’s support : “Jarod ?”
“Do as she says.” She could hear the uncertainty in his voice. He was not taking it. He wasn’t believing she was helping him.
And Lyle seemed to not believe it neither for he was still not moving.
“To what should we handcuff him ?” she asked, in an attempt to ascertain this reality to the pretender.
He didn’t answer but looking straight into Lyle’s eyes, he showed him he should obey by waving his gun between Lyle and the handcuffs.
Her brother gave her the gun without breaking eye contact with his nemesis. And while securing one cuff on his wrist she heard him mumble something resembling ‘I can’t believe it’.
She guided Lyle to the side of the wide room, and felt more than saw Jarod follow them. There was a thick post, one of the buildings’ load-bearing. And she decided to handcuff her brother to it.
“Hug the post Lyle.” Reluctantly, he put his two arms around it, and Parker secured the second cuff on his other wrist.
Turning to Jarod, she saw he had his gun trained on her now.
“Oh, for christ’s sake Jarod. I’ve just signed my death sentence. I can’t go back to the Centre, even ... with you as ...” Okay, he was right, if she left her brother and his sweepers there but managed to take back the pretender to the Centre, they would welcome her with open arms.
And he was right to doubt her, she still had two guns ... okay three.
‘Well, what the hell !’ she thought. She took out the two guns tucked in her waistband and holding them by the barrel, she thrust them at him.
His eyes showed surprise at first, then he exhaled with relief. Smiling at her, he took Lyle’s gun and said : “You keep two, I keep two.”
She couldn’t help but smile back. He knew her too well !
She left her car there and getting in the passenger seat of his, she realised for the first time that she had just blown her cover. Her cover to the Centre, her cover to Jarod ...
Thinking about Jarod, why was he driving so quietly ? Didn’t he have a thousand questions for her ?
Turning her head slightly towards him, she saw him gripping the wheel tensly.
“Ask .”
What more of an invitation did he need ?
Looking in the rear view mirror for any possible follower, he said : “I trust you.”
“Of course you trust me...” Now she was mad. Didn’t he want to acknowledge she had lost everything ? She could never go back there, she could never go back to her house, to get her things. She could no longer use her position at the Centre for her quest. What was she going to do now ?
As if reading her mind : “You can do a lot from the outside.”
When she turned wide eyes at him, he continued : “First we find a place to hide, we lay low for some time, then we talk, and after that we act.”
Simple really.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
They drove, okay he drove, for about three hours more, then stopped in a secluded area, in a dingy motel. Some things never change.
He got them one room, with a king sized bed ... Mr and Mrs Ford.
The idea of sharing the bed, let alone the room, with Jarod for what ? two, three days, was making her dizzy. She wanted to scream at him, throw heavy objects at his head.
But she had to contain her desperation about the horror of the situation to herself. After all it was her fault, all she had to do was stay quietly at the Centre, instead of going after her cannibal twin. All her findings, all the documents she had, everything was still there. Her best way of getting to the heart of the mystery was by being in there, and she had lost all that.
“Wait. I lost my ‘job’, but I can still go back for the documents.” She had talked aloud without realising it. So on her way to the door, she felt a strong grip on her arm, stopping her.
“Jarod!” she screamed with a slight tone of desperation in her voice.
“Later”.
“They will search my office when they learn I changed sides. They will search my house ...”
Her expression was so pleading, her fear so reasonnable, her eyes so blue ... he caved in. If they got there before the Centre discovered her treachery, their chances of clean ‘in and out’ would be higher.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Lyle was still handcuffed to the post when they got out of Blue Cove with all the documents she has gathered until then, some objects she got from her mother’s studio and the few practical clothes she had in her wardrobe.
When they got back to Mr and Mrs Ford’s room, it was already daylight outside.
They flopped side by side on the bed and slept like logs.
When Jarod woke up six hours later, he found himself unable to move, a warm and heavy object was sprawled out on his chest.
The weight on his chest began to lift, soft hair caressing his neck on it’s retreat. Then a heavy fist came crushing on his torso and he found himself yelling back, defending himself : “Hey ... Nobody forced you to sleep on me !”
She didn’t answer, just grunted in distrust before getting up from the bed and heading to the bathroom.
Five minutes passed, during which Jarod found himself unable to guess or sim what was going to happen next. Then she came out, her face fresher from the cold water Jarod guessed she had thrown on it. The make up was fading, the skirt was hiked high, and the silk shirt was untucked. Surely not the ice queen image one would expect.
But then everything was changing. The hunting team had disapparead and the tower was in turmoil. Lyle had gotten very close to capturing him, until the huntress had saved him !!! And now this ... ?
Wasn’t she undressing right there and then in front of him ?
Jarod watched her throw her skirt and blouse in a corner of the room, and then bend down, only clad in her black lace underwear, to retrieve some clothes from the bag she had brought with her from Blue Cove.
He decided it was wiser to lay back and close his eyes instead of watching her form, bent and barely covered ... okay, her ass bent and barely covered ... He opened his eyes again, to find she had disappeared behind the bathroom door.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
They had showered and eaten.
As he watched her sit on the bed, legs crossed, he knew the time had come for the TALK.
He went to sit in front of her, on the bed.
She looked so different in her jean’s and sweater, so small in her sneakers, so young without make-up, so friendly sitting there, like that on the bed ... it was overwhelming. He couldn’t stop himself and extended a hand to her face, intending on caressing her cheek. But her hand flew faster and she struck his arm back, away from her face.
He bowed his head, with sadness, and waited.
“What do we do now ?” Her voice was sharp, just as her old self. She was showing more assurance than he was.
“You tell me !” he said softly.
He had lifted his eyes to her, and holding his gaze she said : “We have to join the others.”
He had been very busy with pretends lately. Then he had discovered the desertion of the ‘Jarod retrieval team’, and found himself unable to track them down. And last but not least, all his means of connections with his father had been severed. He knew she had something to do with it all.
If the tantrum she threw on in the Centre was enough to convince them of her frustration at being abandoned by her team, he knew better. She was way too calm, way too smart ...
A knowing smile tugging at his lips, he asked : “You know where they all are, right ?”
She smiled briefly, then her face turning serious again, she said : “Jarod, I would love to rub the fact that I know and you don’t in your face, I would love to repay you for all those years by taunting you with bits and pieces of what I know ... But it’s not a time for playing games ...” And with a deep sigh, she added : “Yes, I know where they are.”
He held her gaze and she was amazed to see pride in his eyes. Where she thought she would see hurt for having been outsmarted by her, she saw relief and trust.
He didn’t even seem surprised, as if he had always known she had the ability to do such things.
It unnerved her. She wanted him to be mad at her, to yell and ... she wanted him to act like she would have acted in his place. But he stayed there, calm and smiling.
“We have to stay under the radars, for one or two days ... I suggest we stay here.”
What was she to do, stuck here in this room with him for 48 hours ?
A couple of ideas came to her mind but she dismissed them. She couldn’t keep him tied to the bed for two days ... in case they had to move fast !!!
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
She was just waking up. And again he was beside her, reading her files. He had spent almost all of his time reading those damn papers while she slept or watched bad TV.
“Don’t you ever sleep ?” She asked, remembering he had slept all right the previous night.
“Not as much as you, obviously !” he replied, still focused on the information he was absorbing.
Parker remembered that same morning, when upon waking up, she had found Jarod’s head on her chest, his cheecks tucked against the tender flesh of her breasts. He had moved when she tried to get out of the bed, but had never intended to blame her for their position !!
“Sleep well ?” he asked, averting his eyes from the black folder he was holding. He put it on the nightstand beside him and went up to offer Parker some of the coffee he had brought back when he had been out early in the morning.
“Yeah” she said, then after a few sips from her mug of coffee, “Can we move yet?”
With a bright smile on his face, he answered her : “I think it’s safe. Yes we can move.”
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
She had given him the exact location of the safe house, and then she had sat back and watched.
She let him do the ‘trail erasement’, noting with respect his skillful steps. They had been traveling for thirty hours now, used three different means of transport, and a dozen fake identities.
Several times they had changed course, moving in exactly the opposite direction from their previous route. All part of the game. The only person she knew who could find them after that was Jarod himself !
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
She had been sleeping, almost peacefully, on the passenger seat beside Jarod when she woke up to the car stopping and knew they had reached their final destination.
Jarod slowly got out of the car and she saw him wait for her in front of it in what could be described as a weary stance.
The house was big. It had been a hotel in remote times. There were three floors and Jarod could see a little balcony rounding the building and giving access to each room from the outside. He could see five windows and some low light in four of them.
“This was a hotel !” she informed as she joined him in front of their vehicle.
“Oh !! that’s why all the windows are the same size and form on the first and second floor!” he exclaimed with wonder.
“You’re really a genius !” He heard her whisper in mock surprise while moving towards the door.
He followed her and just as she was about to open the door, they heard a woman’s muffled cry come out of one of the rooms on the first floor.
“It came from the rooms on the other side” she said just before producing one of her guns and ushering him inside and up the stairs. They crept along the walls, in the darkness and in alarm mode till they got to a corridor on the first floor.
Jarod saw five doors aligned on each side and at the end, opposite the stairs, there were glass doors leading seemingly to the common balcony.
“This way” she said and led him outside. They listened carefully in hopes of hearing some noise that would lead them to the problem and some seconds later they heard an unmistakebly male groan.
They crept closer and peering inside the first window pane to their right after rounding the corner, they discovered the source of the noise. Parker’s gun was aimed straight in front of her in attack mode, which seemed inappropriate for they found themselves in the presence of a ‘wrestling’ couple. A little candle was lit by the bed giving the room an erotic glow.
The candle’s flame enabled them to recognize the nature of the activity and the identity of the couple. Nicholas and Marianne were unaware of their audience, lost in the throes of passion !
A loud sigh escaped her lips when she realised no one was in danger and reholstering her gun she turned around and rested her back on the wood panels that formed the façade of the building.
A minute or so later she realised Jarod was still in front of the window, staring agape at the active couple. Pulling him by the sleeve, she glared at him in a way that made him blush. Thankfully Parker couldn’t see it.
He had been lost in thoughts, watching with amazement the way these two people moved and touched and kissed. It was so beautiful, he had been overwhelmed by the intensity and the beauty of the emotions their lovemaking was projecting.
Then he heard her curse, in a low voice. The glass doors had closed behind them and there was no way of getting back inside.
“We’ll get in by a window !”
This clearly wasn’t his fault. But she was angry at him anyway. She knew she should’ve scheduled it otherwise. Getting there in the middle of the night wasn’t the best thing they had done.
She was about to lash out at him, whispering of course, when she realised he probably didn’t know members of his family were there. ‘Maybe he thinks there’s only Broots’ and Sydney’s families in here’ she pondered.
So calming herself, she decided she wouldn’t tell him they couldn’t use the windows because all rooms on that floor were occupied.
Last time she had been there, Sydney and Michelle were in the first room of the first floor, Jarod’s parents in the second, Jarod’s brothers in the third, the Broots in the fourth, Angelo and her little brother Gabriel, in the fifth, Zoe was in the sixth, Jarod’s sister in the seventh, Hariet Tashman was in the eighth, Ben in the nineth and in the last on, there were Sydney’s son and his wife Marianne.
If they wanted to sleep, they would need to go up to the second floor.
She had to tell him. There was no way out, he had to know ... Suddenly her mind stopped twirling inside her head ... She remembered Zoe saying : “This would be my and Jarod’s room no ?” in the high-pitched voice Parker had began to hate.
So Jarod could sleep with his stupid red-haired doll, she would go to the second floor, alone.
She was getting angrier at him by the minute and couldn’t seem to guess the reason for her unreasonable feelings. But then she remembered something else, if the presence of his father and siblings would shock him, what will it be when he discovered his mother was here too ?
She had to prepare him. But he gave her no time, and during the two seconds her musings had lasted he had turned left and advanced towards the first room to this side. Some movement caught his eye and when Parker joined him, the two stared at yet another couple of lovers in action.
She couldn’t resist it : “The ‘Green’ boys are hot !” she exclaimed, and putting her hands flat on Jarod’s back, she pushed him forward. Maybe if he saw his parents’ room, she wouldn’t have to tell him about his family.
What she didn’t expect was to see Charles professing his love to his long lost wife by skillfully moving his lips all over her body.
She heard Jarod gasp.
The shock produced by the image of parents having sex was something hard to overcome. She knew it, she had just experienced it. And just at that moment, she realised Jarod was going to have it double : first Sydney and then his parents.
“Mom !” He had whispered longingly, seeming undisturbed by the presence of Major Charles between his mother’s legs. Parker began blushing unberknowst to her prying companion, and in an attempt to bring Jarod back, she tried to sound casual : “There’s a spell on this house. Everybody’s at it. It’s unbelievable.”
But he stood before her, unmoving. She was barely able to see his eyes tearing from the weak light coming from his parent’s room. Once again she pushed him away from the window in an attempt to give some privacy to the occupants of the bed.
One minute, maybe two had passed. She had needed this time to recover her senses. Now they were standing between two windows. And Parker dreaded what awaited them in the next one.
Her hand was still resting flat on Jarod’s back, while he was standing very close to her, very still and with his body slightly turned away from her.
It came like a rush, the sudden realisation of their proximity.
She hadn’t felt it the past days, when they had accidentally brushed against each other or when they had woken to find they had cuddled in sleep. But suddenly she was aware of it, aware that touching Jarod wasn’t something familiar to her senses. In the years of hunting, they had almost never touched, save for the brutal shoves toward a Centre airplane or limo !
But now, she felt him under her palm, as if the leather jacket wasn’t even there, as if he was naked under her skin. And he burned her. She took her hand away in a sudden move that brought Jarod back.
“You knew she was here ?” he asked in a disbelieving whisper.
But she couldn’t answer, let alone lift her eyes to look at him. He had turned his body completely and was now facing her.
“Who else is here ?” came the next question. His voice seemed calmer. He realised he needn’t be mad at her. This wasn’t her fault ...
‘Wait ... what wasn’t her fault ? What fault ? This was wonderful ...’
“Let’s see the other rooms” he said with unexpected enthusiasm after taking her hand in his and pulling her to the edge of the next window.
Again they were touching and she felt unable to get her mind off of the sensation of his damp fingers clamping around hers.
Then she heard him gasp. “You’re right. Someone cast a spell on the house.” He sounded almost joyous in front of the naked body of his supposed girlfriend frantically moving above another’s man abdomen.
“Yeah?” she replied sarcastically, “Who ? Eros ?”
Zoe had just collapsed spent on top of ...
“You’re amazing !” They heard.
“Is that who I think it is ? Is my brother doing your girlfriend ?” she asked incredulously.
But Jarod just smiled and keeping the two of them out of sight, he nodded knowingly as if he was expecting the next line : “I love you.”
“I love you too ... I hope your brother will understand.”
And he seemed to understand alright. He kept grinning at the couple and his smile grew wider when he and Parker witnessed their brother’s renewed interest in his friend’s body.
Parker couldn’t understand what was happening to her. She should be relieved no?
‘Wait ... why should I be relieved ? Because that stupid (and very sweet) woman was now sleeping with my brother and not with my ... ? my what ? What is Jarod to me ?’
Nevertheless, Zoe’s not sleeping with HER ... Jarod only relieved her partially. Now that ... woman was sleeping with Ethan !!
She had met her. Understood why she stayed with Jarod’s family, and even understood what Jarod had seen in her. Her spirit was bright and happy. She could almost like her, but then ...
‘Well what the heck ? I don’t care anymore. If she makes my brother happy !’
Soon she had to concentrate on another matter as the fourth room appeared into view. Jarod turned to her and whispered against her face : “Who do you think there is in this room?” he asked excitedly. He was too close, to calm with his girlfriend’s ‘treachery’, too ...
‘Concentrate. Push him away. Be icy.’ “You mean sleeping or fucking ?”
She had meant it to sound rude, cynical ... but it had come out husky and smooth.
She felt him stiffen as if acknowledging for the first time that they were adults witnessing adult activity, not children who could giggle in silence in front of something they couldn’t quite grasp.
And speaking about children ...
“I’m so happy the others approved of our relashionship. I thought they would never understand ...”
“Debbie !” came the hoarse cry. But Jarod’s touch intervened again, leaving her trembling and electrified. He had put his hand on her mouth to stop her from giving their presence away.
She watched in a daze, Jarod’s body pressed against her’s in the dark, as Jimmy (that was the name Jarod’s clone had chosen for himself) and Debbie, little and innocent Debbie, danced around the room.
There was no music. Only a soft light coming from yet another candle.
“I thought your father was going to strangle me.”
She chuckled against him and nuzzled his neck, burying her head against his shoulder.
Parker could hardly imagine Broots strangling anyone but then ...
“She’s too young !” exclaimed Parker in a very low voice.
“They aren’t doing anything bad !” replied an ever innocent Jarod.
She turned abruptly to him and holding his hands in an exaggerated dramatical manner : “Jarod ... they. are. naked.”
Jarod’s gaze went from their joined hands to the swaying couple. He seemed to be lost in thought but then he came up with a new argument.
“They’re hardly children anymore. Jimmy’s seventeen and ... she’s ... sixteen.” He had been counting the years.
“They’re very young teens.” She said while releasing his hands and turning back to the young lovers.
Then with a hard voice, she added : “If your brother hurts her, I’ll rip his throat apart ...” Her menacing tone had gone softening as she watched the young boy who had seemed so innocent to her the first time they had met, go down on his knees in front of the young girl and begin kissing her flat belly lovingly, worshipingly.
“You were saying ?” asked a teasing Jarod when he noticed her features showing the same wonderment his had showed before.
Debbie had closed her eyes, and her knees began trembling, clearly relishing the touch of Jimmy’s lips on her skin. She passed her hands in his brown hair and opening her eyes again, as if coming back from a sensual journey, she asked : “Do you think April will visit us soon ?”
Jimmy got back to his feet and encircling her with his arms, he kissed her hair saying : “You miss her, don’t you ?”
Parker was so engrossed in the conversation going on in front of her, she barely noticed Jarod’s gasp : “You told them your name ?”
The teens were still talking and she wanted to listen to what they were saying ... about her, so when Jarod repeated his question, she waved her hand sideways at him, indicating he should be quiet.
“ ... not the same with Emily ...” was the last part of what Debbie was saying that Parker was able to catch.
Now, Jimmy’s hands were roaming all over the young girl’s back and buttocks and his lips were tasting her tiny rounded shoulders.
When he lifted his face from her neck, Jimmy said what neither Jarod nor Parker needed to hear : “You don’t feel at ease around my sister because she sleeps with your daddy ?”
Jarod felt his world swirl around him. He felt the urge to find Broots and strangle him. Then he smiled, happy to be feeling for the first time what big brothers felt about their sister’s boyfriend.
“That fall from the second story in Philadelphia must have affected her more than you thought !!” Parker wasn’t taking it well. ‘Broots with a woman ? No ...’
“Mr Broots is a very kind man. I’m sure there are many women out there that would be honoured to be with him.” Jarod found himself defending the poor man.
“Yeah ...” he heard before he spied a fond smile play around her lips. “Broots is a great guy !!”
Soon their attention was brought back to the couple they had observed the longer time between all.
The teens were now kissing passionately and when Debbie got away for air, they heard Jimmy ask : “Would you tell her about ... details ?” He seemed unsure.
“I don’t know.” Debbie seemed pensive, then she added : “I ... don’t feel the need to do so. I mean ... I can tell you everything, to you ...”
But Jimmy was still a genius and a pretender. “There’s still something. Apart from the fact that you merely miss her ...”
She nodded and cast her gaze down toward her little breasts that were pressed against Jimmy’s chest. “I think she could have made it easier on daddy.” She said in a whisper.
A low chuckle escaped Jimmy’s throat : “Yeah I remember the effect she had on him. Though I think now it’ll be harder for her to impress him while Em is by his side.”
Debbie smiled too and then leaning forward she began kissing her friend with abandon.
The two adults watched Jimmy guide his friend to the bed and lying beside her, kiss and lick her skin with expertise.
Suddenly it seemed as awkward to watch them as it had been for the other couples and Parker and Jarod moved aside, leaning against the wall and preparing for the next room, the fifth, where there was no light.
They still hadn’t moved, and she could feel his upper arm pressing against hers. She could hear his breathing. And hers.
“There must be an empty room through which we could get inside.” He said low in his throat.
He began to move. “Wait.”
He stopped and standing in front of her, trapping her against the wall, he inched himself closer and asked : “What ?”
She could feel his hot breath tickle her eyelashes and closing her eyes, she summoned the courage to say : “There must be only one room empty on this floor, possibly the sixth ...”
And before she could continue : “Who is there in the other rooms ?”
She inhaled sharply and replied : “Angelo and Gabriel are in the fifth. I guess Zoe’s room is empty. Then there’s Emily’s room, now Emily’s and Broots’. Then there’s Hariet and Ben ...”
His eyes widened and he asked somewhat loudly : “Hariet Tashman and Ben Miller are here ?”
Looking straight in front of her, she nodded, her eyes fixed on an undetermined spot on his sweater.
He put his fingers under her shin and lifting her face : “We’ll get inside through the sixth room.” And seeing how she refused to look him in the eyes : “Look at me.”
She obeyed, giving him a view on her extremely mixed emotions. She seemed vulnerable, like a loveless child and at the same time mad, like she was going to slap him across the face.
Instinctively he backed away from her then asked : “What’s the matter ?”
And when he felt the hurt replace the vulnerability and anger in her eyes, he decided to use something powerful, something he hadn't dared use until now, something sacred to Catherine, something Mr Parker had forbidden.
He used her given name : “April, please tell me what’s wrong.”
“Don’t call me that !” she hissed, between clenched teeth.
“Why ? They are. Why can’t I ?” He asked almost angry from her denying him this privilege.
Then she moved, without answering, without making eye contact. She moved away from him, passed Angelo’s and Gabriel’s window and turned the corner towards the back part of the building.
“Wait.” He went after her but stopped in front of the fifth room to watch his childhood friend’s sleeping form. Then he noticed the baby. He was sleeping in a crib to the left of the bed and was clutching a rabbit of white fur between his tiny hands.
Jarod suddenly felt his heart swell like it did everytime he found himself in the presence of a baby. And he guessed that the next day, he would be as happy to meet the little man as he was about seeing all the others.
He took off again after April and found her in front of Zoe’s former room. Her forehead was pressed against the cold glass and her hot breath was condensating against the wide window pane.
He went to stand behind her and resting his palms on her shoulders he felt her stiffen but it was forgotten when something else, something bigger assaulted her senses. His heat against her back and his soft voice caressing her ear : “Please... let me call you April ...”.
It must be the problem. She hadn’t authorized him to use the name and that was the reason to her anger. Now all he had to do was ask. And she would grant. Wouldn’t she ?
She turned around slowly. Lifting her eyes at him, she let him see she was still angry. “Don’t get near me.”
He backed away from her. “I can’t sleep in this room.” She added in a cold voice.
“Why ?” he asked innocently.
“Because SHE slept here, she used to sleep here. And it’s your room. ‘My and Jarod’s room’ ” she imitated without kindness.
“Why do you care ? Obviously it’s not her room anymore ...”
But she didn’t let him finish : “You shouldn’t sleep there neither. How can you stay so stoïc ? She’s supposed to be YOUR girlfriend. Instead she’s riding Ethan like a pony !!” Now she was shouting lowly, her eyes flaming with anger.
She was out of breath, mad beyond reason. And Jarod couldn’t seem to put his finger on the real cause of the outburst.
“Okay” he tried “I don’t get it. Why are you so mad ? I’m the one who should be jealous and I’m not. I’m happy for her. I’m happy for our brother. And I’m sure she’s better off without me...” He finished his sentence with a look of guilt that Miss Parker’s brain didn’t register.
“I don’t want to sleep alone on the second floor!” Her voice sounded calmer than her eyes let on.
His features told her he didn’t understand, so she went on : “There’s no one on the second floor. It’ll be the only occupied room.”
Her anger still sounded in her voice but her words were saying something else completely. Her words were saying she was hurt to be the only one left alone in the house.
His lips moved, he wanted to comfort her, to let her know he understood and disagreed. She was not alone. He was there.
“If it makes you feel better, we’ll sleep upstairs” he relented, “And you’re not alone, I’ll be with you. I am with you.”
When he finished talking, he heard his words repeated in his head and realised he had said what was surely about to get him killed.
But the blow didn’t come. Instead : “Okay, so we’ll go upstairs and open two rooms ... They must be dusty, still not clean and they need ventilation. Last time I was here, ...”
But he cut her off, clearly not expecting THAT reaction : “Two?”
She wanted to be alone in her room. “Why two rooms ?” he repeated stupidly.
Now a smile reappeared on her face and with incredulous eyes she asked : “You want us to share a room ?!”
His face changed too. His was showing hurt now, the hurt of being rejected.
“You’ve slept beside me before, during the three days of traveling. And you seemed okay with it.” He countered.
“The circumstances were different. It was for the need of disguise. Remember, we were Mr and Mrs Ford.”
“I thought you liked it. I thought you felt it was natural to wake up beside me ...”
His saddened voice cut through her as she remebered the feeling of belonging she had experienced when waking up, her head pressed against Jarod’s flank while he was reading the files. She had used various parts of his body as pillows and it had felt right. His chest, his left thigh, his abdomen, even his left arm ...
And now, in this house, she only saw people together, cuddling or embracing. And Jarod was there, standing in front of her, left alone like she was. She only had to extend her hand and she would find him, under her fingers, ready to give her anything. And the two of them would not be alone anymore.
Everyone in this house seemed to belong somewhere. Even Broots had found home, with Emily.
“I belong with you.” She whispered all of a sudden, rendering Jarod unable of uttering a single word. Her face was a mixture of awe and a little smile. Like she had just understood one of the great mysteries of the universe.
She took a step forward. And placed her hands on his chest. “Come on, we’ll sleep here tonight. We’ll get our things from the car in the morning.”
His smile grew wide as he nodded : “Yeah, we don’t want to wake everybody now!”
The glass window opened without any creaking or disturbing noise. They climbed inside the room which was completely dark. Jarod went around the bed and found a little reading lamp. It gave them enough light to find their way to the bed. Jarod watched Parker take off her coat and shoes. She put her gun on the nightstand beside her head and laid down on her back, eyes open, fixing the ceiling.
He followed suit and couldn’t resist to turn on his side to watch her. She didn’t move. So he drew himself closer, till there was hardly an inch between them and settled for the peace provided by their proximity.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The last few days had been exhauting and so when morning came, neither moved. They needed sleep and they were getting it, in Zoe’s former bed and in each other’s arms.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
“Hey ... I’ll never prepare enough pancakes for everybody if everytime I put one in the plate you eat it.”
“I gan’t helb it. Dey’re delicious.” Mumbles Jimmy with a pancake in the mouth.
Margaret has to slap him on the wrist when he tries to grab the next one she just finished. Then she ushers him out the back door, asking for some quiteness.
When Jimmy gets to the front of the house, he notices an unknown car. He can only guess trouble. So he runs inside and slams into Ethan who was having an animated conversation with Sydney about shrinks.
The ground floor of the hotel had three big rooms. The lobby with the old admission desk where Angelo likes to sit to watch the others from a vantage point. It was spacious and scattered with leisure sofas here and there. The lobby occupied almost half of the area.
The other half was divided between the dining room and the hotel kitchen.
The inhabitants of the house were seated here and there between the two large rooms. Some talking before breakfast, others just reading.
When Jimmy came running through the door, everybody froze.
“There’s a new car outside. I don’t know whose ...”
Debbie appeared from the large oak doors separating the lobby from the living room. Each morning she would sit on an isolated table in a corner of the room to do her homework. After breakfast she would have her school lessons with Marianne who was a school teacher when she had first met Nicholas.
“Jimmy ?” asked the young and alarmed young woman.
But Major Charles had sprung from his seat and was headed outside.
Soon they all were standing around the strange vehicle, while Ethan and Angelo exchanged knowing smiles.
Even Gabriel seemed to sense there was no danger emanating from the car for he was cooing and laughing nestled in the arms of Broots who had taken him from Emily’s arms when she had run after her father. His bottle was still clutched in Emily’s hand for she was the one who was feeding him that morning.
Charles advanced toward the car and tried to open the door. It wasn’t locked.
Suudenly something caucht Sydney’s eye and throwing himself forward he abruptly opened the back door and managed to extract a silver Halliburton.
“It’s Jarod. Jarod’s here” whispered the belgian with love and longing in his voice.
All turned towards the house, their faces tilted to the first floor.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
They were walking calmly in an attempt to stay silent. But fifteen pairs of feet on the carpet of the corridor couldn’t be silent. Nontheless, when Charles, who with Sydney were at the head of the ‘expedition’, opened the door, they found their precious Jarod asleep.
What they didn’t expect was to discover his sleeping form wrapped around April’s lean body. His face was buried, once again, between her breasts, and her face showed the most angelic and beautiful smile.
Sydney had to contain his excitement. His two children were here, safe and in each other’s embrace. All he wanted to do was cry their names, waking them so he would be able to hug them to his chest.
Margaret directed the retreat when she realised all of them had almost piled inside her son’s room. Turning towards the crowd, she directed them out the door, noticing the relieved smile on Zoe’s face.
The she heard : “Mom ?”
His voice was crackled from the sleep, hoarse dry but she recognized it. Her baby boy. Turning around, she saw Catherine’s big blue eyes on her son while his brown pools were fixated on her. She ran back to him and threw herself in his arms.
Sydney, Michelle and Charles were the last ones still in the room, and when Michelle saw Broots’ peering face through the door, she exited the room, closing the door behind her.
The two men witnessed the mother-son reunion with wonder until Sydney detected a movement from the corner of his eye. Parker’s back was now turned to them as she had lowered her feet to the ground.
“Oh baby ...” Margaret was crying, again and again. Jarod seemed unable to loosen his grip around her and so they stayed locked together for what seemed like hours and still too short a time.
Tears were now streaming down Parker’s face, Jarod’s joy touching her through an invisible bond. She could hear his breathing, his moans and his ‘Mom’s’ and just through this she felt it all. She just knew everything.
A tentative hand caressed her shoulder and she raised her teary shining eyes to her old friend. Soon she was encompassed in a strong hug, Sydney’s lips on her forehead like she was the most precious thing for him on earth.
She was aware of Charles’s eye on her, aware of the fact she had never recieved such a gesture from Sydney, maybe because she had never admitted she needed it or maybe because she had made it clear no one was to touch her.
But she was touched now and overwhelmed by it. Sydney’s tenderness was too much. But she had to deal with more, Jarod’s joy, Charles’ gratitude ...
She felt movement but only knew where she was when the embrace ended and she found herself on the other side of the bed, between Jarod and Margaret.
Jarod stood and hugged his fathers one by one.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Margaret had led the two men outside, indicating that the ‘children’ needed to refresh before they came downstairs to the others.
Not two minutes had passed when a knock on the door startled the two of them. Jarod who was still standing and therefor closer to the door went to open it, just to find all their luggage sitting there in front of their door. The ‘bellboy’ featured a happy smile and soon was drawn inside the room where the three ‘children’ embraced like it was the first time they were reunited since the ventilation shafts’ era.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The reunion with the others, Parker discovered, was one of the most exhausting things she had ever experienced. Mostly because she was not used to the emotions that went with it.
She had seen all of them not long ago. But she had nevet let herself feel anything for she knew that their parting would be painful. But now she was here, with them and she was staying. The beauty of it came crashing down on her when she found herself hugged by more than three people at a time.
Broots seemed bolder. He hugged her, talked to her like an equal and it warmed her heart. Jimmy was ecstatic. He couldn’t seem to stop talking, telling her about anything and everything.
By tacit agreement, they left all talk of the Centre and what they had to do about it for another day. Today they were all reunited again and they would celebrate.
Nonetheless, they let Jarod tell them about the way he and Parker had found themselves on the same boat and various loud laughs erupted when Lyle’s face at his sister’s treachery was described.
At some point of the day, Parker realised that everybody acted as if her and Jarod were one entity. She felt happy about it, overall when she saw Jarod and Zoe leave the lobby together, seemingly to sort things out.
She used that time to reaquaint with her little brother who couldn’t stop kneading her face with his chubby hands as if trying to convince himself of her presence. She let him and realised that for the first time, she could play with him without a limit of time, without cameras watching.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
At last. Peace and silence. She flopped on the bed and closed her eyes. Then she heard the bathroom door close behind Jarod. She lost count of time, and when she opened her eyes again, Jarod was laying on his side, on the bed, his back to her.
She had showered first and now clad in panties and a top of flannel pajamas Jarod had lent her (because she liked them), she turned to her side. Jarod’s back was still wet, drops of water still clinging to his skin, here and there. He only wore the bottoms of the same pajamas.
She couldn’t stop herself. Extending her hand, she touched him. Spreading the water on his tanned skin with the pads of her fingers.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a neutral voice.
She continued her caresses. “Your back is ... so broad.” Her voice was low and hoarse. Jarod sensed she couldn’t believe what she was saying. But her caress was so soothing. He let her.
“Tanned skin ... Muscled ... Smooth ...” she described slowly while her hand kept the feather like touch, and her body drew closer.
She was so close now, so close. She could kiss.
She blew air between his shoulder blades. He shivered. Then turned around, on his back. She had been indeed very close. Now she was glued to his side, breathing warmly onto his shoulder.
He kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling while hers roamed his hairy chest down to the tent in his groin.
She lifted herself on one elbow and extending her left hand, she undid the button to the slit in the pajamas. He wore no underwear. His manhood sprung to life, through the material.
She saw him squeeze his eyes shut.
“Hey ... it’s okay ...” she soothed while caressing his cheeck. He reopened his eyes and looked at her with trust.
Then his eyes followed hers to his hardness. She didn’t touch it, instead brought her hand to his chest, caressing his skin, kneading his muscles, teasing his nipples. Her hand slid ... higher. She was now tasting his throat with her fingers, his jaw, his lips and temples.
Jarod couldn’t understand how such a tender touch could turn him on that much.
He could smell her, feel her heat. But he knew her. Heard her even when she didn’t talk : he was not to move, and so he stayed still.
Something fresh on the tip of his hardness elicited a moan. They looked down and spotted a bead of precum.
“I’m ... I’m ... I’m ... very hard.” He uttered with difficulty.
And he even got harder when she answered in a sultry voice : “And I’m very wet.”
His sharp intake of breath caught her off guard. He was so sweet ...
She moved and came to straddle him. Positionning her feet flat on the bed on each side of his hips, she lifted her eyes to find him looking at the ceiling once again.
She didn’t mind.
His hard shaft stood against his pajama pants, straight and leaking.
With one hand on her bent knee and the other pushing her panties aside, and out of the way, she glided on him, taking him in.
A sharp cry escaped his lips. The sensation of being envelopped in warmth and wetness was overwhelming.
“I have very little experience” he said when she lifted her hips off him, her hands on her knees.
He was still not looking at her. And while getting down again, very slowly, she whispered : “Shhh ...”
Up and down, she traveled, slowly at first and then concentrating on his breathing pattern, faster and faster. Until she felt him buck his hips against her, and come in a hot spurt and a low haul.
Soon he relaxed under her. His limping penis still inside her, he said, out of breath : “I came too fast ... I’m sorry.”
“Nooo” she whispered back, leaning on his torso and extending her legs back along his.
She laid on top of him, keeping him imprisoned in her depth.
“Shhh ...” she said again, against his neck, her hands flat on his shoulders.
His arms sneaked around her, and she sensed something was disturbing him.
Lifting her head off the crook of his neck, she directed questionning eyes at him.
He was unable to say it out loud and at the same time unable to let it go. She knew what bothered him.
“I enjoyed caressing your back and your chest. I liked the feel of you inside me. And I loved watching you come, feeling you come, hearing you come ... I don’t want more now.”
She laid down again, and guessing his exhaustion and need for sleep, she added : “You have plenty of time to repay me back ...”
Just then, his sleepy brain decided that sentence was the most wonderful of all the things she had given him tonight.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
“Hi ...” He was smiling up at her, his eyes sparkling.
She had just woken up and found she was still laying on top of him. She felt a sticky tingling sensation between her legs and blushed remembering.
Pushing on her hands that were still flat on his shoulders, she raised herself and then moved from atop him to lay on her back on the bed.
He turned towards her and moved his face nearer as if he were asking for the permission to smell her or nuzzle her neck.
She moved abruptly into a sitting position on the bed, turning her back to him and lowering her feet to the floor.
He jumped and in a second he was kneeling in front of her, on her side of the bed, his eyes pleading, his hands on her bare thighs.
Then he saw her smile, her eyes cast downwards, and following the direction of her gaze, his eyes came to rest on the slit of his pajamas that was still open and gave a clear view of what was stored inside.
He stood as calmly as he could muster and buttoned his pants before sitting beside her on the bed, afraid of what she might say or do, afraid she was regretting last night.
His heart leaped in his chest when he felt her lean to his side and lay her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder just as she was saying : “We don’t have time for this. We have to get down in time for breakfast.”
‘Time for what?’ His mind was reeling. ‘She wanted to talk about last night ... maybe she needs time to ...’
“Time for what ?” He asked.
When she heard his voice, so deep, unsure but warm, so Jarodish ... She couldn’t resist. She raised her head and smiling wildly, she said : “What the hell ... We have time for a quickie !” she finished as she pushed him back on the bed and climbed on top of him.
Soon her hand found it’s way under his pants and he was hard and ready beneath her touch.
“No!” She then heard, as he flipped her over, being the one on top now. His hand went down to her panties and pushing them aside, he worked her folds with the remaining moiture of the previous night.
Jarod was delighted by her cries of pleasure that soon doubled when he replaced his fumbling fingers by a serious case of morning wood. This time, she DID come. Hard.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Flushed but satiated, they joined the others around the big rectangular table that had been ‘organized’ in the dining room.
They were late and were graced all along the meal by various knowing smiles.
Small talk and weather ‘reports’ were all that was exchanged until Charles decided he had to take things in hand.
“I think we should enlighten them about our activities.” A dark silence settled on the assembly.
All eyes were on them, except for Sydney. He was looking intently at Charles, as if drawing strength from the other man.
He was going to be the one that would explain their complex organization to his former ‘student’. Parker had a fair idea of their doings. She had been their infiltrated agent.
The belgian began in a low voice : “We cannot hide forever. We all decided to do something about the Centre. And we’re all working on it.”
Jarod’s face didn’t show as much surprise as one would have expected, not even a questioning look towards his old mentor.
“I read some of the files April brought with her ...” he began. The use of her given name obviously shaking her, he took her hand in his under the table, and proceeded : “I guess you’re planning on gathering compromising information about their illegal activities.”
Parker saw some head nods around the table but Jarod’s touch was conveying something slightly negative that unnerved her. She took back her hand, and watching him sideways she prepared herself for the objections she knew were coming.
But what she expected to hear wasn’t at all what she actually heard. Where she thought he would say : ‘It’s too dangerous, I don’t agree on all of you being involved in this’, he said : “I think it’s the wrong method”.
When Parker had withdrawn her hand, he had felt abandoned. She was as much inside his head as he was inside hers. And he knew she wouldn’t approve. He braced himself for the blow and confronted the others alone.
“You’re planning on using the information you gather to hand over to the authorities. But it won’t work. I would opt for a more offensive approach. I know how to harm them, how to destroy them.”
Things were getting ugly. Nicholas could see it in his father’s eyes, he could hear it in Jarod’s voice.
Getting up, he signaled for Marianne and Debbie to follow him. The trio withdrew to the lobby, soon joined by Angelo and a nervous little Gabriel who seemed to sense the discomfort weighting in the air.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
A heavy silence had settled in the dining room. Each member of the assembly pondering internally the implications and the possible meanings to Jarod’s input.
Parker was torn between two overwhelming feelings, contradictory feelings. She didn’t know at all what Jarod was intending on doing but she knew for sure she was going to be a part of it.
Suprising him and herself, she grabbed his hand under the table, resuming their connection and alliance against the ‘outside’.
Jarod took courage from the gesture and without even turning his head towards her, he explained : “I’ve had plenty of time to think about it. I know what should be done.”
Sydney recognized his protegé’s tone. It was the voice he would adopt each time he relayed the results of his sims, a voice that told you there was no flaws in the result, the voice that told you ‘I have thought of every possibility, and outcome. THIS is the best course of action.’
Sydney didn’t know yet what Jarod was suggesting, and maybe had he known, his reaction would have been different. Still, he had to defend his student’s abilities in front of all his doubtful family.
“I don’t know what you’re planning Jarod, but I know for sure that what you’ve come up with will be the best solution.” And turning to the others, the belgian added : “Trust me. Trust Jarod.”
Margaret’s eyes were displaying such an adoring love for her first born that all the objections died on her children’s lips when they looked at her. Jimmy wanted to protest, to defend their method. Emily wanted to reassert the value of her lover’s work.
But all kept quiet. And all were surprised when Jarod told them what he wanted to do.
“The information you’re gathering is of value. But what you’re planning to do with it is useless. The Centre has allies everywhere. And even if you managed to find some clean, non-corrupted people, their lives would be in danger and they would most likely be killed before they could do anything ...”
The reality of his words sunk in on the people around the table, and a slight wave of despondency gained them. But Jarod kept on. “The best way to deal with the Centre is by using it’s own methods, methods they’ve taught me, methods they’ve taught ... us.” The last word was whispered while Jarod turned his brown pools towards her, his anchor, his partner.
Two, three, maybe ten minutes passed, when Charles spoke again, his gaze fixed on Sydney’s. “What exactly do you mean by ‘their methods’?”
His heart was pounding in his ears, his head swimming in a sea of fears. The Centre was, again, going to steal his son from him. Only Margaret’s presence by his side could soothe his growing terror.
“Dad ...” Jarod began, but then he saw the look in his father’s eyes and his resolve faltered. April gently squeezed his hand conveying all her soul with her fingers. “Now that you’re all ... ‘accounted for’” he said with a smile, “and safe, I have no reservations about going after the Centre. I want you all to have a life, to be free.”
Small protesting noises could be heard but Jarod seemed unphased. “I think we should find a new identity and a stable life for every one of you. I can do that. And the Centre would never find you because I’ll wreck such havoc on their heads they won’t have the time for this.”
“What about you ?” asked Margaret with a teary voice.
“I have a job to do.” He replied seriously. “I have something special in store for each and every one of our dear friends of the Centre. I’ll undermine all their deals with exterior entities and that way I can get to outside investors ... I’ll destroy them, bit by bit. And definitively.”
“We could help you,” cried a distraught Jimmy.
“No.” It had been said in a cool voice, the authority unmistakable. It was Parker. And Jimmy calmed down, defeated.
Nobody could stop them. Broots saw it. They were already on their way. Jarod and Parker, the lethal couple!
“You mean we all get to have a life, and you two will go after the Centre alone?”
“We’re not alone. We’re together” replied his ex-boss, turning her eyes to Margaret’s, in an attempt to reassure the mother, that the son would be ok with her.
Everybody seemed to find April’s siding natural, save for Jarod, who couldn’t believe his own ears.
He turned to her and opened his mouth, then closed it, and opened it again. But no words came out. April however understood what he wanted to say. She could read the surprise in his eyes and she could feel the battle within him. She could have a life away from him, where she would be safe. Or she could fight by his side and he would be happy.
She answered him just as silently, her eyes bluer, her breath shorter, and her fingers tighter around his.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Things had gone smoother than one would have expected. Jarod guessed that April’s support had helped to ease things out.
Whoever was inclined to question the pretender’s decision realised soon that he would be confronting two strongwilled and convincing adults. ‘Forces of nature’ would repeat Broots, over and over.
Sydney had gone about analyzing Jarod’s decision, to which the pretender replied that he wouldn’t know how to live without the Centre in his life anyway.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
That night, their bodies and souls joined in a wild dance that led them to extreme pleasure.
At one point however, throughout the night, Jarod’s languid thrusts were interrupted by a whispered request from his sweaty and moaning lover. “I want details”.
He stopped moving, letting his hands glide up from her hips to her shoulders, and pressing her torso to his, he forced her to lay on top of him so that her face was tucked near his.
“Details?”
“I want to know exactly what you’re planning to do before we begin anything.”
Her voice didn’t show any sign of breathlessness and Jarod wasn’t surprised at all for their last joining had been the most sweet and slow one he could ever imagine.
“You said it. We’re together. If you stay with me, we’ll be equals in this. I won’t manipulate you. I promise.”
Suddenly she lifted herself, her hands flat on his chest and with a mischievous smile, she said : “So you admit that you manipulated me in the past?”
Jarod smiled when he sensed her vaginal muscles tighten around him and her knees press violently into his hips. “It went with the job you had at the time.” He said shrugging and trying unsuccesfully to stay unaffected.
Her smile grew and her body relaxed. She laid down again and after claiming his mouth with hunger, she resumed her clenching and unclenching around his sensitive penis.
“Don’t stop” he breathed out just before he began to thrust his hips up into her.
The rythm soon slowed due to her weight on top of him added to the physical exertion of earlier in the night.
“I love the way your breasts move ...”
She emitted a low chuckle, wiggling on top of him in an attempt to make them move more, for him.
He seemed delighted, extending his hands towards their roundness.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
She was exhausted, the hot water cascading down her back, doing nothing to fight her sleepiness.
When she got out of the bathroom, she found him sitting on the bed, bare skin glowing, a childlike enthusiasm on his features.
She couldn’t believe how much energy this man had. She was spent.
But she wanted her answers. So shedding her bath towel, she strode to the bed, and laid beside him in an inviting stance.
When he attempted to cover her nipple with his sucking lips, she had to force her concentration on the matter at hand.
Pushing his head away, she said : “You owe me some answers.” And arching one eyebrow at him, she suggested : “Then ...”
He exhaled sharply, not liking the direction their conversation was heading in. It would surely ruin the mood. But then again, maybe it was time they did something else. The hour was advancing, and they had to sleep, at least two hours !
“I haven’t thought about everything. It’s going to be a bit by bit thing.” He said while sitting up on the bed and averting his eyes from her nude form.
“You mean the first big deal we stumble upon, we make it fail ?”
“Yeah ...” he replied, almost sheepishly.
“Jarod!” she scolded, with anger, while moving to a sitting position on the bed.
The movement caught his attention and soon his concentration was diverted from her indignation to her bouncing breasts.
“Look me in the eyes.” She ordered.
“Okay”, he conceded. “I already have something for Lyle”.
The small smile that played on her lips had something slightly cruel about it which was surprisingly appropriate for Jarod’s plan was highly cruel.
“First thing : we create a solid history for each and every one then we create files backing it up, the identities, and some money has to be put away for them, for emergency cases. And when everybody’s safe and away, we can make our move.”
“Which will be ?” she asked.
“Let Lyle think there’s a deal to be made in an asian country. I haven’t decided which yet. Most probably one with a violent prison system.”
“Then we go there, make friends and set the trap. I was thinking about something along the lines of him breaking the law, being put in prison, and we would make the Centre think he’s dead. That way he would stay there. If the Centre thinks he’s dead, they won’t send any rescue team and he won’t be able to corrupt his way out.”
Brilliant. The boy was brilliant. She used to think that the only way to stop her evil twin from killing was to kill HIM. But they won’t have to do it. Jarod had found a perfect solution. Perfect ... How fitting for Jarod !
He was still beside her, hot and willing. She was sleepy and sore, but then she saw that PERFECT part of his anatomy that was so appealing ...
The next thing he knew, April had dipped her head ... and that was the last thing he knew !
END
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