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The Quintessential Q
Chapter Forty
Mercy
The smell of fresh popped popcorn, fills the air. Emily knocks on the door of the little cottage in the woods and then lets herself in as she hears the calls from inside. "Hey everybody!"
"We started without you. But it's a Mills-athon night at Blockbuster. Or you might consider it a Disney night in honor of Lucky's windfall." Liz flips through the distinctive blue boxes. "Swiss Family Robinson, The Parent Trap, The Truth about Spring and The Rare Breed."
"Swiss Family Robinson was nothing like the book." Nik protests. "Although I always did wonder where in the world would such creatures all be in one place. It was the flaw of the novel. Although the book was entertaining."
Liz looks at him grins and guesses. "And how old were you when you read it?"
Nik mutters. "Eight. The tutor snuck it to me. It wasn't on the approved reading list. But it was nothing like this movie."
"I told ya. Disney does that all the time. It might have the same name but just like Pocahontas and Hunchback of Notre Dame they slaughtered the book." Lucky grouses.
"They did it to Hunchback too?!" Nik is disbelieving.
"They made it into a cartoon-- a musical cartoon." Liz informs Nik. Nik is speechless and horrified.
Emily drops the weighted backpack to the floor by the desk. It tips over dumping files from deception and unseen by Emily the video tape which falls half under the desk. "Ah hell." Emily starts restuffing files into the back pack.
"What the heck is all that? It can't be homework! Being grounded you're ahead of the game at old PC high." Lucky's jaw drops.
Nik kneels next to Emily and helps to gather the files. He glances down and then up at Emily. "Deception?"
"Yeah, this is what I get for not being in the office for a week." Emily sighs. "But on the plus side you can see the top of my desk again." Em jokes. She sags back into the chair by the desk and heaves the backpack onto the top. "Well I've seen all of them except for Truth about Spring."
"We waited to watch Parent Trap until you go here. But tell you what why don't we watch Rare Breed first. That'll give you time to go through your files and get rid of a couple of hours worth of homework." Lucky offers. He slides a bowl of popcorn onto the desk next to Emily.
"You guys don't mind?" Emily looks around the room.
"I'll even help if you'll allow me." Nik offers. "I still remember a few things from my days at Deception." Nik pulls up another chair and reaches out a hand. Emily hands over a handful of folders.
"I really appreciate this." Emily accepts gratefully. "Whatever I get done I can messenger over to Deception in the morning. That way I can focus on the new kiosks."
"With that Maddy person." Nik says disapprovingly.
"Maddy was looking at Nikolas like he was the last cupcake today at school..." Emily explains to Lucky and Liz. "And she was starving. I don't think he's used to it."
"Oh he's used to it." Lucky grins and teases Nik.
"Oh no he's not." Nikolas counters. "It was horrifying. I felt like a..." He flounders for the phrase.
"Like a sex object?" Liz suggests.
"Like a piece of cheesecake?" Emily adds.
"Like a piece of Beefcake?" Lucky teases.
"Enough." Nik says imperiously. "I believe there are videos to watch and work to be done." Both Liz and Emily salute. Lucky just rolls his eyes and pops in The Rare Breed. Liz is distracted.
"Wait a minute isn't that the witch from Passions?"
"What's Passions?" Lucky asks.
"It's a soap."
"Real men don't watch soaps." Nik says nodding toward Lucky. He might not know all of popular culture but Lucky had at least filled him in on that much. Lucky groans.
"I can't believe you said that." Liz pops up off the floor. "What a sexist thing to say!"
"Man, When I told you that real men don't admit to watching soaps. I meant that you don't admit it to other guys. Cut him some slack, ladies; he's still picking up the nuances."
"Oh well. That's different then." Liz curls up next to Lucky watching the movie.
Emily and Nikolas get down to work. Nik appreciates the new format that had been instituted for Emily-- simple check lists for each project. He quickly works through the familiar projects when he comes across something unexpected. "Orchid?"
Emily doesn't look up. "What about her?"
"She's working the spring line? Katherine couldn't get her agent to return Deception calls. What kind of miracles have you been working over there?"
Emily grabs the file from Nik. "Over my dead body!" Emily puts a big old veto on the project sheet. "Who greenlighted this? We went over this before the Oregon shoot."
"Em, what the hell are you doing? She's hot!"
"She's a junkie and falling apart. Orchid won't be falling apart on a Deception shoot." Emily says flatly. "I had to cover her ass already once. I won't be doing it again."
"The shoot in New York? Where you got that outfit?" Nik raises a brow.
"Okay so there were perks. I don't know why her agent keeps trying Deception." Emily leans back in the chair and frowns. "It's not going to happen. I'm going to have to call her agent tomorrow and make our position clear."
"I don't know, Em. That could get her blacklisted maybe even dropped from her agency."
"That's not my problem." Emily reaches out to Nik taking his hand and squeezing it. "I won't enable her. She's missing work, messing up. The drugs are running her life not vice versa. I promise if she gets her stuff together, goes through a program; I'll be there. But I'm betting that once she's back on her game her agent won't be returning Deception's calls again."
Nik brings the back of her hand to his lips. "It's a tough call, Emily."
"It's one that was made for me, made for my father and brother. Unfortunately, it's something I'm too familiar with."
"Okay break it up you two! We're dropping in the Parent Trap. Prepare to watch the master of submarining in action." Liz calls from the living room area.
Nik and Emily rise and move over to the couch. Nikolas sits down first and pulls Emily down next to him, close to him. Reaching over to the phone, he unplugs it from the cord. "What about the pager?" Emily reminds.
"Left it in the car. Nothing is going to interfere with the rest of our evening." Nikolas takes Emily's hand in his and runs his arm across the back of the couch. Emily leans back against his arm. Liz looks at Lucky and quirks a brow. Lucky just shrugs and pulls Liz close to him and hits play on the VCR to start the video.
"Em, Honey wake up." Nikolas brushes a hand through Emily's hair. It had been a sweet torment to have her so close snuggling up to him. Her arm was wrapped around his torso. The afghan from the back of the couch wrapped around them both.
"Don' wanna." Emily mumbles. "Sleepy."
"I know, darling. But your grandfather will raise hell if you break curfew the first night off restriction."
Emily's eyes pop open and she sits straight up. The afghan falling away. "Ohmygosh! What time is it?"
"It's about a quarter til midnight, Cinderella." Nikolas glances down at the watch he had taken off and set on the table next to the couch.
Emily looks around. "Where are Lucky and Elizabeth?"
"Lucky drove her home as soon as the movie was over. She has an early class in the morning." Nik rubs Emily's back as he fills her in softly.
"I have got to go. If I'm not home by midnight it won't matter what Grandfather says I'll be dead." Emily reaches down by the couch and grabs her boots quickly lacing them up. Nik reluctantly rises and going over to the desk collects the work that had been accomplished earlier.
"I think a ... raincheck is in order."
"Hmm?" Emily looks up from grabbing her jacket and gloves.
"We still haven't talked about your submarineing Katherine nor have we watched the final movie-- The Truth about Spring. The only one of all these movies that you have not seen."
Biting her lip, Emily pauses in zipping up her jacket. "Can we negotiate? We can watch the movie and not talk about Katherine? I promise to not fall asleep on you next time."
Nikolas runs his hands down her arms before reaching up to frame her face. He rubs a thumb over her tortured lip and after freeing it leans down and kisses Emily tenderly. "I love it that you trusted me enough to fall asleep in my arms. My only regret is in waking you. And my only solace is that by doing so I'll be granted the opportunity to have you lay in my arms again."
Emily takes a deep breath and exhales. "Oh my." Emily takes a step back. "Oh my. You do make it tough for a girl to think. When do you want this raincheck?"
"Tomorrow. After school and for as long as you can stay."
"I have to check on the kiosks but right after that." Emily comes to a quick decision and reaching up on her toes plants a kiss on Nikolas' mouth. She takes the backpack from Nikolas' slack fingers. "I'll see you tomorrow." Emily turns and leaves shutting the door behind her before she changes her mind.
Nikolas starts straightening the room and sees the video tape under the desk. Picking it up he races to the door calling to Em but it's too late she is already off the property. Nik glances at the video curiously wondering what it is...perhaps one of the deception shoots. Maybe even the one from New York. Walking over to the VCR, he gives in to temptation and slides the video in the machine then presses play.
Closing the door silently behind her, Emily leans against the door and looks at the sleeping hunk before her. Like most guys he seemed to run hot when he slept pushing the covers down to barely cover his assets and revealed the glory of his muscled chest. The cares of the day had fallen away from his sleeping face, damn. He looked... sweet. Emily unzips her leather jacket and puts her gloves into the pocket. Shrugging out of her jacket she hangs it on the door knob and crosses to the bed. Softly she kneels on the bed, she traces a finger along the edge of Johnny's face brushing his hair back. Unable to resist she follows her hand with gentle kisses trailing them from brow to his chiseled jaw. She runs her hand over his roughening jaw savoring the friction of her smooth skin against his beard.
Sliding back on her heels, Emily pulls her sweater off over her head tossing it on the floor and then smoothing her hair back. The camisole hugs her curves, the slight chill in the air raising goosebumps, or maybe it was the man before her. Leaning over Johnny, she trails kissed along the center of his chest laving his navel with her tongue. Exploring in a way she never had or could have before. Hands thread through her hair pulling her up to Johnny's half hooded eyes. "What are you doing here?" He growls.
"I'm here for you. You brought me here." Emily murmurs before straddling him. The smooth leather is cool against Johnny but soon warms. "You are still interested, aren't you?" Before Johnny can answer Emily leans over and kisses him taking advantage of his parted lips to insert her tongue. Their tongues meet and tangle. Johnny presses close to Emily-- one hand in her hair and the other at her hip. Inching along the low waist of the leather pants to where it meets the satin camisole parting it to splay his hand against her silky skin. Emily sits back her pelvis resting against Johnny's sheet covered hips. She gets comfortable fidgeting a little. Johnny grabs her hips to halt her movements before she blasts him off to space. Em uses the freedom of her hands to reach down and grab the edge of the satin camisole and lifts it over her head. She drags the satin down the middle of Johnny's chest. Her breathing quickens as she feels Johnny do the same beneath her.
Rolling Emily on to her back, Johnny leans back and studies the woman before him. He traces a finger down the middle of her chest. Studying her reaction the sucked in breath as his hand nears the waistband of her leathers. With a smooth motion he unsnaps the top and slides the zipper down. His fingers dip between leather and satin and then between satin and skin. Emily protests as the fingers are withdrawn. "Where are you going?"
"Didn't your mama teach you anything?" Johnny teases.
"Excuse me?"
"Boots on the bed." Johnny reminds. He wrestles himself from the tangle of sheets and rises immodestedly to go to the foot of the bed. Grabbing one of Emily's boots he rests it on his chest, unlaces it and then tossing it aside. While he unlaces the other, Emily trails her toes along his powerful thigh teasing the hair there pulling it slightly. Tossing the other boot to the floor, Johnny grabs both of Emily's ankles. "I have you now."
"So you do. The question is what you're going to do with me."
"Lift." Emily rolls her weight onto her shoulders lifting her hips from the bed. Johnny grabs the legs of the leathers and slides them smoothly from Emily's frame leaving her in only the matching satin panties, stretched out on his bed: open, eager and willing. Johnny kneels on the end of the bed trailing his hands over her frame as he crawls toward her between her legs. He bends her knees running his hands along the underside watching her face as her breathing grows rough and labored. The back of his hand slides up against the moist satin at the apex of her thighs. Emily gasps. Her eyes close and she presses down against Johnny's hand. Her eyes open and she rises up on her elbows. Emily threads her hand around Johnny's neck for balance leaning into him. She presses against him and then trails kisses down his neck to where his collarbone meets his breast bone. With a lovers kiss she bites down and sucks then tongues the area she had abused. Johnny shudders and presses Emily back against the pillows. "Marking your territory, Emily?" Johnny growls. His hand presses closer sliding between satin and skin. His other hand flat on the mattress next to Emily's neck.
"Is it? Is it my territory, Johnny?" Emily questions. She runs her hands down his rock hard abs to the space between them. "Is this mine too?"
"This for that." Johnny mutters. He brushes her hair away exposing the tender crook of her neck. He grazes his teeth against her neck. She bucks beneath him, pressing against him. Her incoherent moan urges him on; the scent of her drives him wild. His open mouth presses the nape of her neck the primitive urge to mark what is his drives him. Emily throws her head back and moans again. He licks the spot and then sucks on her neck. Emily presses closer to him clutching him to her. Leaning back he supports her frame against him shifting her smoothly onto his thighs. Emily wraps her legs around him. There was no more thought just instinct. Instinct to rid themselves of any barriers between them. With a growl, Johnny rips the next to last barrier between them. Skin on skin they devour each other.
"You are still interested, aren't you?" Emily's voice seems to come from far away. Johnny's eyes pop open. He lays in a cold sweat in the dark room. Rock hard and randy. Sonovabitch. He was definitely going to hell. Rising from the sweat soaked sheets he heads to the bathroom and a cold shower.