Oliver Sampson stands before you, water dripping off of his clothes, his wet hair curling slightly. You draw a damp arm across your forehead to wipe away the droplets there. "So how'd you like Splash Mountain?" You smile.

He shrugs. "Not bad, for a little animated bears kind of ride."

"Where to now?"

Oliver grins widely. "Pirates of the Caribbean."

You gawk at him, placing your hands on your hips. "Again? Oliver, we've already gone like 6 times."

"Seven, but who's counting? Come on Love."

"No." You cross your arms over your chest and pout.

He moves closer and takes your hand in his, pulling you along as he heads back to New Orleans Square. "Do as I say wench."

"Ooh, bossy." You smack his butt, possibly painfully in his soaked jeans. He turns, steely eyed and reels you back to him, embracing you tightly.

He moves his mouth so close to your ear that his lips brush your lobe as he speaks. "Just one more time Love? Please? After that, Indiana Jones. I promise."

"On one condition."

He pulls back slightly, still not loosening the hug. "Yes?"

"You have to buy one of those Indy fedoras."

Oliver rolls his eyes. "Love..."

"That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

He sighs. "Take it. Take you. Take the bloody hat. Now come on before the line gets bad again."

He drags you back to the line. You are smiling. Though he is trying to hide it, so is he.

You are right in front of Oliver in line, his arms are around your waist, holding you close as he places small kisses on the side of your neck.

When you reach the dock, you and Oliver are the only passengers in the back seat of a lightly populated boat. The other occupants seem to all be couples, most a little younger than the two of you, but equally as preoccupied in each other.

As you get underway, you move your hand to caress his knee as he places a proprietorial arm around your shoulders. As you round the various dips and turns, the two of you, like most of your fellow passengers, spend most of that time kissing. When you enter the section of the ride that appears to be open waters, two pirate ships on either side blasting cannonfire over your heads, you lean more tightly into Oliver's side. "I hate this part," you say.

"Why's that?"

"Well when I was little, I didn't understand that it wasn't real. I thought it was really the ocean."

"Oh?" He's smiling.

"Yeah, and I'd just seen Jaws."

"Oh." He's nearly laughing.

You poke him in the ribs. "Shut up," you can't fight your smile.

"I'm sorry. I just find that terribly cute."

You flick his silver hoop earring with your finger. "So me matey, is this a holdover from your pirate thing?"

In the next moment, you feel a bullet whizz past your heads. It seems to have much more weight than the air jet effects of the ride. You look up to Oliver, who is looking at you with equal concern. When it happens again, Oliver's eyes widen and he flips you over the back of the boat and into the water.

Seconds later, you hear a small splash as Oliver joins you. "Where?! Where?!"

He points to one of the prop pirate ships. Next to one of the animatronic figures stands a very real nasty in a pirate outfit, sporting a high powered assault rifle. You glance toward the boat you just abandoned and notice that no one there so much as came up for air.

"Swim for the boat Love, and keep your head down." You move toward the bow of the ship as Oliver swims toward the stern. As you begin to climb the scenery, hugging the boat close so as not to be seen by the assassin scanning the water, you reach into your boot. Empty. You curse under your breath, realizing you must have lost your gun in the surprise splashdown.

You are about to sink back down into the water, knowing that one of the most important rules in your line of work is if you can't be an asset, don't become a liability. And on that noble sentiment, you find the muzzle of a rifle shoved unceremoniously into your face. Before the mock-pirate can even curl his finger around the trigger, Oliver is on top of him and a struggle for the weapon ensues. They are rolling around on the plywood deck. You are coming into firing range every few seconds as you stand to the side, watching helplessly without your gun.

"Meet you at....your ride Love. Go!" Oliver nods to the right. So much for your 'real ocean'. A brightly marked exit sign with a door beneath it beckons you. You hate to leave Oliver, but if you're here for him to worry about, he could make a mistake, one that might mean... You shake your head to clear that thought and head for the door, briskly.

You sit dripping wet on a bench outside The Indiana Jones Adventure. You swear if one more tourist appraises your soaked condition with "Splash Mountain huh?" you're going to deck them. You've thought about calling your employers for backup. Unfortunately, your cell phone seems to have gone the way of your firearm. You can't seem to see a payphone in sight, and you don't want to go looking for one in case you're not there when Oliver comes to find you. 'When and not if,' you keep reminding yourself.

A shadow soon passes over you. You turn to find yourself facing blue jeans, dark with water. As you look up, you find a tall man, wearing a fedora, standing beside you. "Is this seat taken Miss?" The man tilts back the hat and you find Oliver Sampson smiling down on you.

You jump into his arms, kissing him passionately. He smiles against your mouth and places the fedora on your head before embracing you...

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

Your fingers interlace with those of Adam Klaus as the two of you wander about the county fairgrounds. It has just turned dark and the cool night air has replaced the heat of day. Adam removes his denim jacket and places it over your shoulders. He wears faded jeans and a dark blue T-shirt while you are in a knee-length green summer dress.

The light from the rides on the midway catch your eye, but Adam steers you toward the game booths. You take your hand from his and slip it around his waist. You know that you're going to be there awhile.

When he spots a forlorn little girl walking away from a booth, he walks right up to her. Adam crouches before her and produces a flower from behind his back. He hands it to her and gets her to smile. "What's your name?"

"Sara."

"What were you trying to win?"

She shyly turns back to the booth and points up. "The big pink unicorn."

He touches her nose with his finger and smiles. "Well, I can't promise anything but why don't you wait here for a few minutes and I'll see what I can do?"

She nods, still smiling and holds her flower before her proudly. Adam stands, winks at you and makes his way to the booth. The girl's mother, who has apparently been watching the whole thing, walks up to you. "Is he with you?"

"Oh yeah."

"Well it's sweet of him to try to win her a toy but he doesn't ha..."

"The game was fixed so that she couldn't win. He's a magician. He knows how to cheat the cheaters. Trust me, she'll have herself a pink unicorn in under an hour. And I have a closet full of stuffed animals for proof."

The girl's mother smiles at you.

It takes Adam ten minutes of winning and trading up for ever-larger stuffed animals before he acquires the sought-after prize. He turns to Sara and smiles. "Sure you want this one? I can get you that big one up there."

You note with amusement the panic that spreads across the face of the booth operator. Adam's told you often enough that they use the one huge prize as a draw for the crowds. With the game being rigged, most folks never get anywhere near winning it; a good thing for the operator as it's usually the only one they have.

"No thanks Mister. I just like the pink one."

Adam turns to the operator smugly as he reluctantly hands over the pink unicorn. "You're lucky the little lady isn't as greedy as you. If I come by later and you're running the same scam," he points up to the grand prize, "I guess I'll have a new present for my girlfriend."

He walks to Sara, kneels before her and hands over the stuffed animal. She hugs it first and then Adam. Her mother touches your arm. "Hang onto that one. He's going to make a good father." She leaves your side and stands beside her daughter. "Come on Sweetie, let's go home."

"Thanks Mister!" Sara takes her mother's hand and they disappear into the crowd.

Adam rejoins your side and takes your arm. "So, " he smiles, "already staking me out for Daddy potential?"

"You heard that huh?"

"Indeed. Do you agree with her assessment?"

"Of course I do. I've always thought you'd be a good Papa. After all, you have so much in common with a child." You find yourself being soundly tickled for that. You giggle and slap at his arms until he relents. "I'm just kidding. I really do think you'd be wonderful."

He kisses you, then holds you tightly. "I'm not sure I'm quite ready to be that responsible yet." He leans close to your ear and whispers, "though the trying for it is really really fun." You tickle him briefly until he kisses you.

Adam pulls back and smiles down at you. "Come on, let's go ride your rides." He takes your hand and leads you to the midway. The next half hour is spent on the "Scrambler" being pressed as tightly up against him as is possible while clothed.

Have a Magical Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

"I was going to take you out for a nice meal and this is what you'd rather do?" Rupert stops in his tracks in front of the sign for the corn maze and glares down at you.

You smile up at him prettily. "Oh come on. We can eat out any day of the year."

"Oh yes, and today is the only day of the year where we can wander around blindly while things jump out at us from the dark and scare us half to death. Am I the only one who remembers that we live on the Hellmouth?"

"No, today is the only day we can do it and not have to worry about anything more than a scare if someone jumps out at us. Come on, I thought you were Mr. Halloween Guy."

He walks up to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his forehead against your own as he looks into your eyes. "Well this Mr. Halloween Guy just wanted to sit on a sofa with his Halloween Girl and feed her candy while they watch those painfully low budget horror movies she so adores."

Your lips brush his own. "We can still do that later."

He smiles. "You're an evil evil girl and I will have to punish you severely later."

"Ooh. Are you going to stake me?" Your eyebrows raise as you say it and though you can't tell in the near dark, you think he might even be blushing a little.

With a sigh, he pulls away and takes you by the hand, pulling you toward the entrance. "Do you have your torch?" Rupert asks. You disentangle your hand from his and dig into your jacket pocket. You turn it on and shine it a little ahead of him and then turn it off. "Darling, it doesn't do much good to have it along if it's switched off and in your pocket." He continues to lead the way deeper into the maze.

"Yes, but the point of the maze is to get lost for awhile."

"And apparently to fall down and break your neck on the way?"

"Fine." You click on the flashlight and smile. "Maybe you're right. I'm kind of liking this flashlight thing."

He turns slightly when he realizes that you are not in fact concentrating the light ahead of him on the path but rather obviously illuminating his denim-clad butt. "Hey stop that now. It's distracting."

"I'll say it is. Shake it baby."

He walks a little faster as you continue to make comments and cat calls. Rupert keeps checking back over his shoulder, only to find you with the light still trained on his imminently squeeze-worthy butt. "I'm warning you."

There's no way you're going to deprive yourself of the lovely sight before you. In a few seconds though, the object of your concentration has moved swiftly out of the beam. You look up to see Rupert's rump running away from you at full charge, along with the rest of him.

"Rupert that's not funny!" You pick up speed to keep him within view. It's a struggle, he's quick anyway and has had actual training on how to lose someone in a chase. Soon enough, that's exactly what he's done. Your heart in your throat, you start whipping around corners faster and faster. You keep calling his name but get no answer.

As you find yourself in yet another dead end, the flashlight promptly goes dark. "Well of course!" You open the flashlight and reverse the batteries, turning it on again and still getting nothing. You lightly hit the flashlight against your leg and open it to inspect the batteries again.

Before you get a chance to switch them around, someone comes out of the cornstalks from behind you and lifts you off your feet. You scream and drop the flashlight, struggling with your captor as he pulls you back through the corn. You stop screaming and try to catch your breath when you are set on your feet in a small clearing.

You look up to the person who has abducted you, firmly intending to give Rupert a piece of your mind, only to find that it isn't Rupert at all. Even partially clouded over, the full moon gives just enough illumination to let you know that you are now alone with a vampire. And unless this person knows someone in the movie business in LA, this is the real deal and no oversized Trick or Treater.

"Rupert!" You yell as loud as you can and make a run for the one opening in the corn that qualifies as a full-fledged path. Before you get more than a couple of steps, the vampire has grasped your throat and reeled you up close to its face. You can't scream any more. You're barely getting enough air to breathe. Your hands curl over his in a feeble attempt to keep him from crushing your windpipe completely. You know you wouldn't have the strength to stop him if that was his real goal, but as he angles your neck and bares his fangs, it doesn't take a detective to figure out his game plan.

"Let go of her," you hear Rupert's voice say from behind. The vampire pivots, nearly wrenching your throat in the process.

"Or you'll do what exactly?" The creature strokes your hair.

"Me? Not a blessed thing." Rupert turns his head to look behind him. "Buffy? Buffy through here!"

As close as you are to the vampire, you can hear him gulp. "You brought the Slayer with you?"

Rupert simply smiles. The vampire slips his hand down off your throat and onto your shoulders. He throws you at Rupert as he makes a hasty retreat. Luckily for you, Rupert was expecting this and catches you easily before you can hit the ground.

Soon he has gathered you into his strong arms. His hands are smooth and warm as they caress your face. "Are you all right?"

You nod your head and look into his eyes. "I thought you said that vampires didn't come out on Halloween?"

He smiles. "I thought you said getting lost in a maze would be a lot of fun?"

"It would have been a lot of fun to get lost *together* you butthead! You ran off on me!"

"Well you wouldn't stop with the flashlight and..."

"That's just great Rupert. I can't stand that my girlfriend finds me so sexy that she loves to watch my butt when I walk so I'll just leave her out in a maze in the dark all alone so that she can be sucked dry by a vampire that didn't feel like sitting home watching All in the Family reruns. I can't believe that y..." All further argument is ended by his kiss. At first, you are still steaming, still burning off the excess adrenaline from your encounter with the vampire. Slowly though, as his lips stroke your own, and his gentle hands roam across your body, you cannot help but respond.

Suddenly a bright light hits you both in the face. "Hey, you two are going to have to leave. You're not supposed to be doing that here."

You reluctantly break the kiss and fix the newcomer with a glare that would make most people think twice. "Oh great, it's the Corn Cops." You take Rupert by the hand and start to lead him out. In a few minutes, you've made your way out of the maze and are on your way back to the parking lot.

Rupert's arm is around your waist. He kisses your temple. "Where do you want to go now Love?"

"Home."

He smiles. "You're willing to let me feed you candy?"

You look up at him. "You willing to watch Skinner with me?"

"What if I feed you the candy in the bedroom instead?"

You smirk at him. "Will there be skin involved somewhere?"

Rupert turns you to look into his eyes. "I think that can be arranged." His thumbs trace over your cheeks as his lips meet yours once more.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

"Trick or Treat."

"It's not Halloween yet Adam."

"Well I know, but we have to start early this year. I mean after all, I'm doing that big show on Halloween. And tomorrow, we've got that party to attend."

"What were you going as again?" You smile as you try to sound nonchalant.

Adam laughs lightly on the other end. "You wish."

"Hey it was worth a shot."

"So with everything getting rapidly booked up, tonight's really the last night we have to make plans for just the two of us on this your special day."

You toy with the phone cord. "You know, I always pictured you with the kind of girl that had a real special thing for Christmas or Valentine's day. How did you wind up with a Halloween chick like me?"

"Well...once I saw beneath your mask, I found myself haunted by your beauty. You could hardly disguise how spirited you were. My heart never stood a ghost of a chance..."

You groan loudly. "Okay, stop with the puns already. I get it."

"So, lady's choice. What are we doing tonight to mark the occasion?"

After a moment's consideration, you grin. "Horror-a-thon."

"That's all you want? We did that last year."

"Adam...look up the word "Tradition" for me."

"It's just that...we could do anything you want and all you want is to watch a bunch of movies you've seen so much you can recite them from memory."

"So sue me, I like it when you scream like a girl and hide your eyes against my shoulder."

"Very funny. That's really all you want? And I do not scream like a girl."

You giggle. "That's all I want. If it makes you feel better, we can start off with the new version of Exorcist at the theater and then come home for the rest."

"Yes well...I suppose that's a bit more like an actual date." You hear some noise in the background and then Adam comes back on the line. "Look Love, Jonathan's getting impatient to get on with the rehearsal so let me call around after a bit, get the tickets and everything squared away and I'll get back to you, all right?"

"Sure thing. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye now."

As you turn back to your keyboard, you realize that work always seems a little more dull after talking to Adam.

******

A message from Adam on your voice mail let you know that he'd secured tickets for an 8pm showing of Exorcist. "The first showing available after dark. Just the way I knew you'd want it." You smile as you brush your hair in the mirror. He said he'd be sending his driver for his Little Gothic Princess. Yes you're a grown up now, but for event horror you pull out burgundy lipstick, black nail polish, a black satin choker and a black velvet dress that looks like it was designed more for a renaissance fair than watching a movie. After all, in this particular realm, you're no mere theatergoer, you're a connoisseur.

From the car, you notice that almost all the theaters in town are just packed tonight. You seem to be heading for the farthest side of the city. When the car comes to a stop, it is in front of an older theater that doesn't look exactly open. "Excuse me," you say to the driver, "are you sure this is the place?"

"It's the address I was given ma'am."

"Okay." Tentatively, you step out of the car and approach the doors. As your hand reaches out, the door swings slowly open. Before you stands a man dressed as Riff-Raff from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"Do come in Miss. The Master is expecting you. You see, tonight is one of his affairs."

A smile creeps slowly across your face. "Thanks." You step past him into a fabulously decorated lobby. Coffins and tableaus line the room. It does your little Halloween heart good.

"Riff-Raff" locks the door behind you. "Follow me please." He walks you to the end of the lobby and gestures for you to go ahead to the theater at the end of the hallway.

As you near it, you see Adam there. He wears a blood-red velvet coat with tails, black pants and boots and a high-collared white ruffle-front peasant shirt. His hair is spiked with gel. He bows elegantly and extends his arm to you.

You take his hand and let him embrace you as you lean up to kiss him. "Boy you just can't do anything simply can you?"

"Nope," he says as he wraps your arm around his own. He leads you through the doors and up the stairs toward the balcony.

"So you rented out the theater?"

"For the whole night."

"Exorcist won't take that long...unless they added a lot more than I was led to believe."

"We're doing the whole Horror-a-thon here."

You stop him at the top step. "Well wait a second. I thought we'd hit the video store on the way home, what did y..."

"Madame will be starting her ghoulish celebration with the new version of The Exorcist as requested. Followed by Halloween."

You smile. "Well, that one's a gimme."

"Then Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street, Re-Animator...and if we're not asleep by then, Army of Darkness."

"All unrated versions?"

"But of course." He produces a black rose from behind his back and hands it to you. You take it, smiling and trying not to tear up. "Are you happy?"

"Oh are you kidding me? This is better than diamonds." A thought occurs to you and you frown slightly.

"What's wrong Love?"

"Well, everything's perfect and I know this was supposed to be an evening for just you and me...but part of the fun of horror in a theater is watching it in a big audience."

He smiles slyly. "So you've said many times before." He opens the door to the balcony. "If you would come this way Mistress."

You walk through into a balcony box and move over to the edge. You look down and see a large group of people in the seats below you, all in costumes. "Surprise!" they yell in unison.

You turn to Adam who is smiling. "Thought the crew might enjoy a little break as well." You look back down into the crowd and notice Jonathan dressed in a Winnie the Pooh costume and waving a paw your way.

Once again facing Klaus the Magnificent, you launch yourself into his arms and energetically affix your mouth to his. When you break the kiss, you are grinning. "Perfect now Love?" he asks.

You nod enthusiastically. "I love you."

"But of course." He smiles. He claps his hands loudly in the air and the lights dim. You take your seats as the first movie begins to roll.

You lean over and whisper into his ear. "Tomorrow night. The party. You pick out anything you want me to wear and I'll wear it." He arches an eyebrow at you and you mouth at him "Anything" followed by a suggestive wink.

He gulps audibly and puts his arm around your shoulders as you settle back to enjoy your Halloween gift.

Have a Magical Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

You present your engraved invitation at the door and enter. You slip through the crowd, surveying, watching. You're dressed as a gypsy, wearing your hair down, a floor-length burgundy broomstick skirt with a long slit up one side, a low cut, off the shoulders white gauze peasant blouse and lots of jewelry. You ease your way towards the back of the room, keeping your eyes open for Oliver and the contact you are there to find. An agent named Michaels, a real piece of scum who unfortunately has information your organization needs.

You enter the darkened coatroom in the back. "Hello?" You get no reply. You move in a little more and find the lightswitch. You flick it on and gasp at the sight before you. Michaels sits in a chair, dead and horribly mutilated.

You turn to leave only to have your wrists grabbed by black gloved hands and find yourself shoved against the wall.

"Oliver, thank goodness." He is a pirate (a suggestion you made because of his earring on one of his crankier days), high leather boots, black pants hugging him so tight it's a wonder he can breathe, a white silk pirate shirt plunging open to his navel, and a red satin scarf tied at his waist.

"Oli..." he kisses you almost desperately, a sure sign he's been worried.

He pulls back, his eyes searching yours. "We've got to get you out of here."

"Why?"

"For once don't argue, just come with me." He begins to pull you from the room.

"What's going on?!"

Oliver turns to you with barely controlled temper flashing behind his green eyes. You find yourself backing up a step. "That idiot Michaels brought your contact dossier with him! The charming gentlemen who did that," he points at the corpse, "now have your picture and are looking to make it a matching set." His expression softens and he strokes your hair. "We have got to go." He leads you out by the hand once more.

You exit carefully into the hall. Oliver draws his sig sauer and slips it into his shirt front to conceal it from any stray guests.

"HELP!!!" A female voice calls from behind a door farther down the hall.

"Great," Oliver mutters, rolling his eyes. He turns to you. "Stay right here and keep your eyes open." He starts toward the door.

"I was wrong you know." He turns to you questioningly. "About the costume I mean, you're not a pirate, you're a knight. Mind you, I prefer these pants."

He grins and moves to the door, rapping on it lightly and pulling out his gun. "Are you all right in there?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you," the woman's voice answers.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, sorry to have worried you."

Oliver turns to you again just as little holes begin to burst into the wall in a line towards you.

"GET DOWN," he screams. You drop to the floor against the wall. He dives into a roll across the open entryway, firing a couple shots as he goes. Oliver puts his hand to your hair, "Are you hurt?!"

You shake your head 'no' and he grasps your hand, "Come on!" You get your feet back under yourself as he pulls you along behind him, escaping the bullet spray.

You yelp in pain as a spark jumps off of your silver bracelets where a bullet has deflected. Oliver pulls you back into the room where Michaels' corpse sits. He opens the window and slips out. You sit on the ledge and put your legs outside. Oliver grabs you around the waist preparing to lift you down when the curtain rod above your head comes alive with the pings of bullets. He pulls you down quickly, then grabs your hand, half-dragging you behind him as the window shatters. He takes a sharp turn near the edge of the parking lot and you reach out and grab the hood of a parked Citroen to retain your balance.

Oliver heads into the bushes, taking you along, then up a steep incline to the road. A long black limo waits there, the driver holding the door open. You back away. "It's all right love, he's with us." Oliver helps you into the back.

"Will Mr. Michaels be joining us Sir?" you hear the driver ask.

"Mr. Michaels is past all his worries now," Oliver answers as he climbs in. The driver closes the door, goes to the front, and the car takes off into the night.

You grasp your wrist and wince. "Let me see that." Oliver turns on the light, takes your hand and examines the wrist. The bangle that the bullet struck is indented. He glances up at you.

You smile half-heartedly, "Wonder-Woman! Ow!"

"Sorry," he works the bracelet off your wrist and reveals a deep purplish-yellow bruise. Now even Oliver winces, not exactly comforting knowing he's been shot before and *he* thinks it looks bad.

"So am I gonna make it, Doc?" You grin up at him.

"Oh, I think you just might," he moves closer to you, stroking your hair, kissing your cheek, "with a little tender loving care. Fortunately, that happens to be one of my fields of expertise."

You roll your eyes, "So you say." He looks at you questioningly. "I haven't seen any degrees on your wall for it. You're going to have to prove it to me."

He smiles, a sparkle coming to his eyes as he kisses you on the lips...

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

The fact that the only word you can think of to describe this costume ball is "swank" just goes to show how out of place you are. Oh sure, your costume is as elaborate and elegant as the next, or even more than the next. Adam made sure of that. A pearl accented batiste empire dress, a delicate diamond comb adorns your crown of ringlets (some of your hair, some false) completing your Josephine ensemble. You hold a silver handled, white feathered mask up, obscuring your identity as you scan the room for Adam. He's such an awful sneak. He picked out your outfit, although you have no illusion as to why he chose it as you turn discreetly to the wall and re-stuff yourself into the very low cut bodice, but he would not tell you what he was wearing.

You first scan the men with three or four females surrounding them. One is a Musketeer...hmm Adam in trunkhose. No. One is Zorro and doing a pathetic Antonio Banderas impression to boot. That's definitely not Adam, you recall with a blush. You cross the crowded floor and find no sign of him. You sigh and think about leaving when you see someone promising appear from behind a sheik and Seven Of Nine.

A tall man emerges dressed as a Pharaoh. He wears a golden Egyptian full face mask with a cobalt and gold cloth covering his hair down to his shoulders, flat gold sandals, a gold snake coiled around his well toned biceps, a knee length "skirt" made of thin white material and nothing else you notice with a smile. Is this Adam, you wonder as you feel your heart speed up.

He makes a beeline for you and takes your hand. "You are the fairest creature in my Empire," he says in a very authentic Egyptian accent, "As King, I claim you for my mate." It really is a good accent, now you're not sure if this is Adam at all.

"Why sank you kind sir," you reply in your best 'New Dark Shadows Angelique' bad French accent, "but I already 'ave a mate and 'e is already an Emperor."

The Pharaoh grips your shoulders and moves in close, "I recognize no other thrones before the almighty Egyptian Empire."

Now you are beginning to get a little nervous. "Adam?"

"I command a dance." He whisks you out onto the dancefloor, his strong arm behind your back, pinning you against him. He leads you by one wrist, your other hand against his bare chest as you try to push him away.

He dances you though the crowd and clear across the floor. Before you know it, he is twirling you through a doorway and into an adjoining room. You land on a red velvet fainting couch and watch as he shuts and locks the door and then turns to you.

"Okay that is it! If that's you Adam you better speak up right now, and if it's not..." The Pharaoh says nothing, tilting his head as he looks at you. "HELP!!!" You shout at the door hoping you'll be heard over the loud music and backing up a step. Rushing at you, he grabs the mask at the beard and pulls it up. You have no time to see his face as he kisses you on the lips hard, lowering you down to the sofa once more.

You can barely breathe and you are fully panicking, bracing yourself for a struggle you bite on his lip. He yelps in pain and breaks the kiss, not moving from atop you though. "You didn't have to be so rough love!" Adam smiles down at you from behind heavily lined eyelids.

"You jerk!" You slug his shoulder hard and push him away from you as you sit up and begin to shake.

"Are you all right in there?" A worried male voice with an English accent says at the door.

You glare at Adam who is now rubbing your cheek softly, apologetically. "Yes I'm fine. Thank you."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, sorry to have worried you." You hear the Samaritan move away and turn again to Adam. "Why do I put up with you? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Adam moves your ringlets aside and kisses your shoulder. "Because I love you." He kisses your neck. "Because you know I was only playing." He rubs his palm against the exposed curves of your breasts. "Because perfect men are boring and two things I am not are perfect and boring." You grin despite your righteous indignity. "There's that beautiful smile I dream about." He tilts you to face him, kisses you and leans you back down to the couch....

Have a Magical Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

It is Giles' birthday and you are fixing him a batch of your grandmother's special secret recipe fudge. At least, you had hoped to. You've already made a mess of his kitchen, gotten all the other ingredients together only to discover you have no chocolate. He will be home soon and there is no time to run to the store. You begin to ransack cabinets. No luck. You try the fridge. You find a small box in the back of the bottom shelf containing 12 Coccoriffc chocolate bars. You can work with this. It won't make much, only enough for a small dish for Rupert. But, it will be enough.

The door opens and Rupert walks in. His hair is tussled and there are large brown dirt stains on the front of his tailored gray suit. He looks at you exhaustedly as he shuts the door.

You frown for him. "Rough night at the graveyard Love?"

"Remind me next time our local vampire contingent decides to recruit from the Sunnydale High Wrestling team to just dig up the graves one afternoon and burn the corpses then and there. I think I'm just going to shower and go to bed."

"Oh." You're disappointed, but you understand.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Oh, wait a second." You walk into the kitchen and then walk back out with a small bowl in hand. "Happy birthday."

"What?"

"It's after midnight. Happy birthday." He takes the bowl from your hands and looks inside. "They're homemade. It's not your only gift but, the rest will keep until tomorrow." Rupert smiles at you appreciatively. You can see him try to push down his tiredness and move toward you. "It's okay. Go take your shower and go to bed. I have to clean up the kitchen, then I'll be up." He smiles gently again, pops a chocolate in his mouth, then heads up the stairs.

All the dishes are scrubbed up and the counter has been wiped down. You enter the living room. You gasp and jump when you see Rupert standing there. "Gosh, you scared me." He gets a wicked grin. You notice, not unappreciatively, that he is clad only in blue jeans. His hair is still wet from the shower and is curling slightly. And, oh wow, is that an earring? You gulp at the sight of him. "I thought you were tired?"

"Nah, that shower seems to have woken me up. It's too early to be in bed." He gets that smile again. "At least, it's too early to be sleeping."

"Uh-huh." You approach him and put your hand to his forehead. "Are you feeling all right?"

Rupert clamps his hand to your back and pulls you to him roughly. "Rupert?"

He wiggles his eyebrows. "Call me Ripper." He kisses you passionately, his tongue delving into your mouth.

You push back from him. "Ripper?" Oh boy. "Would you, uh, would you excuse me for a minute?"

He kisses your neck, then nips it slightly and licks the mark left by his teeth. "Mmm-hmm," he murmurs against your skin, sending a shiver down your spine. "Just don't take too long. It's my birthday and I want to unwrap my gift."

You pry yourself from his embrace and run upstairs to use the phone. "Buffy? It's me. What the hell is wrong with Giles? Has Willow been casting again?"

"What are you talking about? What's wrong with Giles?"

"He's acting, well extremely non-Giles like. He was all tired, now suddenly, he's not. His accent is different, he's wearing jeans and he's wearing an earring!"

"Oh man, has he been eating candy bars?"

"No. Well yes, kinda. I melted some chocolate bars I found to make him fudge for his birthday. But we're not talking Cornholio here, something is definitely different!"

"Is he also of the Uber-horny?"

"Uh...yeah, How'd you know?"

"Okay, Cliff Notes version, the candy bars were cursed. Giles is thinking like a teenager again. Don't panic, it wears off. How many candy bars did you use?"

"Twelve. And uh..." You see the bowl sitting on the nightstand and tip it towards you. It is empty. "He ate them all."

"Ah. Good thing tomorrow's Saturday. Just take care of him and please keep him inside. He's too old for Juvy."

You swear you can faintly hear the Moody Blues playing from downstairs. "That bad huh? Okay, thanks. Bye." You hang up in time to see Rupe...uh Ripper, ascending.

You are about to stand up when he walks to you and stands so close you have no room to lift up off the bed. You are eye level with his bare navel. You look up to find him leering at you. "See anything you fancy my love?"

"Uh, could you uh, give me a little room to get up here?"

Instead of moving back, he leans forward. You lean back to give him room and find yourself flat on your back on the bed with Ripper leaning over you, his weight balanced on his hands which lie just to the sides of your hips. "Why would I want to do that?"

You put your hands flat on his chest to push him away but find your resolve weakening at the feel of his skin under your palms. "You're not yourself Love. It's the fudge. I used your candy bars. I didn't know they were cursed!"

Ripper smiles wider. "My fault for not getting rid of the sodding things. Might as well take advantage of the situation."

"But, you're not thinking straight. I-I don't think that we should do..."

Suddenly, he pushes forward until his lips can touch yours. They take your own greedily and you realize you can fight him no more. Your hands slide up his chest and over his shoulders, to the back of his neck. You pull Ripper deeper into the kiss. He slips an arm under your back and pulls you farther up onto the bed, laying you to rest on the pillows there. Your hands move into his hair and he growls at your increased eagerness.

His hand has sneaked up the front of your t-shirt, unhooked the clasp of your bra there and is kneading your breast. Ripper brings his kisses to your neck. As he runs his tongue along the hollow of your throat, you moan and feel him smile against your skin. "Mmm, you like that don't you? Ask me nice and you'll get seconds."

You nibble on his left earlobe till he gets really into it and comfortable then, your teeth tug at the sliver hoop earring there. "Ooh!" He pulls back to look you in the eyes and you smile. He grinds the hardness under his jeans against your leg. He suddenly sits up, straddling your legs. Ripper grips the front of your t-shirt and yanks you up to meet his lips again. He kisses you hungrily, then leans back and pulls your t-shirt and bra up over your head, throwing them across the room.

Ripper rubs his palm across your chest and then gently pushes you down on your back. He claims a small kiss before sitting back up, his hands coming to undo your fly. His hands on your hips, he slips his fingers over the waistband of your jeans and begins to back off the bed, taking your pants and underwear with him.

He stands at the foot of the bed, his gaze devouring you. You can't help but cover your nakedness a bit under his intense scrutiny. Ripper smiles wickedly at that. His removes his pants and crawls back onto the bed, stretching up to lay alongside you. You're not looking at him. Your arms are crossed over your breasts. You are wondering just how much of your Rupert is here with you. "Hey now, none of that Love." His fingers gently circle your wrists. He moves one of your hands to the side and brings the other to rest against his bare thigh. "You don't have to be shy with me Love. You're a beauty." He bends and takes your nipple in his mouth, teasing it until your hands roam into his hair, urging him to move on. His mouth moves up to bathe your neck in kisses once more while his hand slowly runs down your stomach, between your legs and slipping down to tease your sex.

You part your legs a little, hoping he'll take the hint. He lifts his head and grins at you, eyebrow arched. "Eager little thing, aren't we?" You're not quite sure how to take that. You begin to blush a bit and are starting to feel uncomfortable with this situation. Ripper notices your uneasiness and realizes he's said something wrong. "I'm sorry Baby," he says smoothing your hair, kissing your cheek, "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry. I guess you were right. I don't seem to be thinking too clearly tonight."

"Then maybe we should stop."

"No!"

You smile at his overenthusiastic reply. "Now who's the eager one?"

"Eager for you?" He kisses you lightly. "Mmm, me Love, always." Ripper's knees come between your own and he uses them to nudge your legs farther apart. As his kiss becomes deeper, he enters you slowly. He begins to pump gradually, working himself to a faster pace as he goes. Your hips are meeting his thrust for thrust. Your hands glide easily over the slight perspiration on his smooth back. Your fingers grip at his butt and he gasps against your throat. Your thighs tighten against his hips as your climax approaches. Your trembling pulls him along with you in your ecstasy. He lays on his back beside you and pulls you against his chest. You fall asleep with him stroking your hair.

You feel a shift on the pillow, then hear a soft, "Ow." You open your eyes, looking up to see Rupert pull the earring off gingerly, frown and then rub his earlobe. He looks down and finally notices you. He smiles shyly. "Morning."

"Mmm morning...Ripper." Rupert blushes at that.

"Rupert will be fine, if you please."

"Ah." You glance over at the clock. It is noon. "So Rupert, if you're planning to kill me, please do it before I wake up properly."

"Yes. That was uh...some fudge."

You kiss his chest. "I really am sorry about that."

He curls a finger under your chin. "Well, you didn't know. And I should have gotten rid of the damn things a long time ago." He smiles a bit mischievously. "Tell you what. I'll issue you a pardon on one condition."

You can't help but smile at the twinkle in his eyes. "What's that?"

"You help me to feel like I'm 16 again but without the chocolate this time."

Your smile gets wider. "That, I can *so* do." Rupert moves forward and kisses you.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl ;-)

Oliver Sampson smiles crookedly from atop you before disappearing beneath the blankets. You bite your lip to keep from giggling as his kisses tickle you on his descent. Suddenly, you hear a noise from downstairs. "OlivOhhhhhhhh!" You moan as his wandering mouth hits a particularly pleasant spot. Your hands reach under the covers and take hold of the sides of your lover's head as you bring him back out to face you.

"Something wrong?"

You nod your head and try frantically to stop the blush you know you're covered in. "Downstairs. I thought I heard something." He arches an eyebrow at you, not quite believing. You smile. "Do you think I would have stopped you if I wasn't absolutely sure?" He concedes to that with a quick kiss of your lips and slips out of the bed, shrugging on his robe and retrieving his Sig Sauer from the nightstand.

"Get your gun Love." He slaps a magazine into the weapon. "You know the drill. If you don't hear me give the all clear in 5 minutes, call it in and get out."

You nod and reach into your purse at the side of the bed. He exits the bedroom as you make sure your firearm is fully prepared. You get out of the bed and pull some sweatpants on under your sleepshirt in case you have to run for it. You dig back into your purse searching for your cell phone.

Just as you stand up with the phone in your hand, you hear a loud thump downstairs. You jump and drop the phone. "Oliver?!" You slap your hand over your mouth realizing that was the worst thing you could have done. All the same, you don't hear Oliver answering you either. You know what Oliver expects you to do. You definitely intend to call it in. After that though, you're going downstairs and making sure he's backed up. As long as he's alive, you'll gladly sit through one of his stern lectures with hardly a thought to how sexily his eyes flash when he's all angry.

You get on your knees and begin feeling under the bed for the cell phone. When you retrieve it, you stand, only to face a masked gunman in your doorway. Your eyes flash to the bed where your firearm rests. You drop the phone again and make a dive for it. The gunman fires.

You feel the bullet whiz just past your ear and throw yourself back and out of its path. You wind up on your bottom against the far wall as the gunman moves to stand over you. Before he can bring his gun down and level with you, you burst up from the floor, keeping a firm grip on his wrists. The gun fires once into the ceiling as you knock him off his feet and onto the bed with you on top. You refuse to relinquish your grip on his wrists but he quickly rolls you onto your back with his superior strength. As the two of you are struggling, you both hear the sound of a throat being cleared. Your head drops backwards to look as the intruder's head leans up.

Both of you are witness to Oliver bringing his foot up to kick the gun from your attacker's hands. Oliver then spins quickly and connects the heel of his opposite foot to the man's nose. He falls to the side of you, unconscious and with a badly bleeding nose.

"Love?" He takes your hands and helps you off the bed. As you get a closer look, you can see a purplish area on his cheek and a small cut in the corner of his mouth. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." You touch his injury. "You?"

"Fine. He surprised me downstairs. Thought he'd knocked me cold I guess."

"Lucky for me he was wrong."

"Lucky for us both. Call it in while I tie him up?"

******

"So you think it was just a regular old burglar?" You ask Rick, the liaison from your Employers, as two men in suits lead the intruder away.

"Well of course we can't really say for sure at this early stage but I ran his fingerprints and so far he hasn't turned up in any of our databases on other agencies operatives. I'll check back with you two in the morning."

Oliver nods to him and wraps his arms around your waist as Rick shuts the door behind him. Your hands cover Oliver's as he kisses the back of your neck. "Now, where were we?"

You turn and smile. "Being attacked."

"No, before that."

"Well I don't know about you...but I was still being attacked."

He grins. "I don't recall you fighting back very hard."

"Hell no. Are you crazy?"

"Let's find out." With that, he hoists you over his shoulder and takes the stairs at a full run.

You swat at his behind and laugh.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

You are standing by Rupert's side in the middle of his living room. He has laid out bowls full of strange mixtures on the table in a makeshift altar and is reciting a spell in Latin. You are handing him ingredients when prompted, and can't help but be a little turned on by the authority in his voice as he chants. Just then the doorbell rings. "Oh God, get rid of them. We're at a critical juncture!" You rush over to the door.

A few minutes later, you re-enter the room. "Damn door-to-door religious peddlers. I told them we were conducting pagan rites and perhaps they'd like to hear a little about "our" religion. You'd be surprised how fast they can run. What's that smell?" The air smells strongly like vinegar, asparagus, and rotten eggs. You look up. Rupert is surrounded by a bluish haze. His face is marred by dark purple smudges and his glasses are askew. "What happened here?"

He coughs. "I told you it was a critical juncture. If you'll excuse me, I'm going upstairs to take a shower. We can try again tomorrow." He starts up the stairs.

Your eyes are stinging from the smoke. You move across the room and open a window to air it out. You sniff at your hair and notice, with a wrinkle of your nose, that the smell has now settled on your hair and skin. "Save me some hot water!" you call up after Rupert.

You make it upstairs and remove your blouse and pants, dropping them on top of the pile of his clothes, hoping they can just be washed and not burned. You turn at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Rupert is standing there wearing only a towel around his waist, drying his hair with another. He stops, seeing you standing there clad in bra and panties. He gets a very un-Rupert like grin. You try to squeeze by him. He steps forward so that in order to gain access to the bathroom, you must either scrape yourself against the doorframe or against him. As you manage to maneuver yourself with minimum contact either way, he bends forward and grazes your cheek with a kiss. You slip into the bathroom and shut the door behind you.

The foul smell washes away from you in a warm flow of lather, replaced by the smell of vanilla. You deposit your underwear in the hamper and wrap up in a towel. You dry your hair enough to stop it dripping, comb it out and re-enter the bedroom.

Rupert is standing not two feet from the door, still wearing just a towel, and that same semi-evil grin. You startle at his presence. "Why aren't you dressed?"

"I don't know. Don't you like what I have on? I can always take it off if you'd rather..." He reaches for the tuck in the towel. Your hand over his own stops him. You feel the blood rush out of your head and straight to your hand where it covers his, as well as to other extremities.

"Rupert. What was in that spell?"

"Nothing dangerous, nothing to worry about."

"Well you're acting sorta...not you."

"Oh?" He is moving his face closer to yours, close enough to feel the heat of his breath.

"Yeah, you're acting sorta...Ripper."

"Nope. Haven't touched any chocolate lately, and nothing in that spell could have caused that kind of a change."

His lips are millimeters from yours, almost tickling your lips. You're not sure your knees are going to keep you upright much longer. "Then what do you call this?"

"I never said the spell couldn't have caused any change. I will admit, I feel a bit more confident. Even...maybe...sexier..." His lips touch yours like an electric jolt. You hand moves away from covering his own to run up his hair sprinkled chest. His hand moves away too, taking his towel with it.

Rupert moves his hand up to your towel and pulls it from your body. Your cold wet hair touches the heated skin of your back, but you really can't decide if it is that sensation or Rupert's palm on your breast that is causing your shivering. He pulls you against him tightly. You can feel his arousal hot against your thigh. His hand trails down your back, coming to rest on your ass and squeezing there while his fingers begin a little forward exploration. You squirm and lean into him. Rupert lifts you into his arms and brings you to lay on the bed.

He gently brushes a wet strip of hair from your face as his body moves to cover yours. He settles himself between your legs, his kisses covering your chest as your hands come into his hair. You begin to rub against him to encourage him on. He smiles down on you. You return his grin and grind against him once more, making him groan your name. He touches the end of his nose to your own, watching your eyes intently as he enters you. You throw your head back against the pillows, the feel of him filling you almost too good to bear. You wrap your legs around his thighs as he pumps harder and faster into you. When he feels himself getting close, he reaches down where your bodies connect and brushes your center with his thumb. You gasp his name as you climax, feeling him join you seconds later with a long moan.

Moments later, you lay in a damp exhausted tangle of limbs. He is kissing your face, smoothing your hair. "You can forget what I said earlier. Feel free to try that spell again any time. Feel even more free to screw it up if that's the result. Gee, I wonder if we could get that annoying woman to knock at the door again?"

"You know, it could be that the spell had nothing to do with it. It could be that seeing you wearing next to nothing simply makes me lose all control of myself."

You snuggle against his chest. "Hmm, could be. I guess there's only one way to find out."

"Yes?"

"Mm-hmm, I guess I'll just have to wear less, more often."

You are answered by a long slow passionate kiss...

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

You're driving on the coast up to Oliver's latest acquisition, a newly restored 120 year old lighthouse. You exit your car and head to the front door carrying a bag of groceries. You thought you'd surprise him by cooking dinner for a change. You try the handle and find it unlocked. 'I wish he'd stop doing that,' you think, 'it always creeps me out.'

You take your first good look at the place, stepping onto its blanched hardwood floor as you shut the door behind you. The walls are sparingly decorated with stormy seascape paintings and even one or two pictures of the two of you together, an infrequently sentimental gesture you learned long ago not to encourage but just be surprised by.

You sit the grocery bag and your purse on the kitchenette counter and round the corner to an alcove. You groan and slap a hand to your forehead at the sight before you. A hammock. Did that man never learn? The last time the two of you were near a hammock, you wound up with a concussion, Oliver wound up with stitches and then resorted to bribing the nurse for time alone with you in your hospital room because he was still feeling "frisky".

A noise from above stirs you from this memory. "Oliver," you call. There is no answer. You make your way to the stairwell and call up, "Oliver?" Again, there is no reply. A chill begins to creep up your spine. You move to the counter and begin to dig through your purse.

"Looking for this?" A tall swarthy man stands before you, holding your sig sauer in his hand. Clearly, you are less than thrilled as you raise your hands in the air. "Up the stairs, Little Missy. Your boyfriend will be overjoyed that the last face he sees will be yours and not mine."

'Little Missy? Okay, he's going to have to die on general principle now.' He prods you in the small of the back with the barrel and herds you up the stairs. You wind round and round and eventually you see sky. You climb the last few steps and see Oliver's face.

The wind plays through his hair and sways his hoop earring. He is wearing his best wise-ass smirk, the one he puts on when he's in huge trouble and has no clue how he's getting out of it. Now, you begin to worry.

Oliver spots you and a warm smile washes over his face. You bite your bottom lip and roll your eyes. Oliver's expression falls. You appear on the outer deck, only a brass railing separating you from a dizzying drop to the jagged rocks and ocean below.

The swarthy man who'd brought you, joins his compatriot who's been holding a gun on Oliver. You grip the railing, white-knucklingly tight. Oliver moves to your side, slipping an arm around your waist.

"Are you all right?" he whispers. You nod your head, not really looking at him. "Liar," he chuckles softly. You smile and look into his eyes. Oliver sighs, "I love you, you know."

"I know," you whisper back. Oliver nods almost imperceptibly. Recognizing your cue, you take a deep breath and gently push him away.

"Get your hands off me! You jerk! Some romantic weekend you had planned here. I show up figuring, what the hell, it won't kill me to make him dinner. Looks like I was wrong!"

"Well if you must know, I only asked you here to break up with you."

"How very considerate! Do me a favor, next time do it over the phone!" You throw a wide jab at his jaw. It misses by a mile. He grabs both your wrists in one hand and draws you against him hard. He kisses you forcefully as his other hand attaches to your back and pushes your body tighter against him. You make a show of squirming and struggling. Personally, you think you deserve an Oscar.

"Okay that's enough. Break it up you two." The swarthy man pushes against Oliver's chest and pulls back on your shoulder. When he tugs his hardest, you push off against Oliver's chest and Oliver releases you. You slam into the swarthy man and you both go flying backwards.

"Doug," the other man calls. Oliver kicks the gun from his hand and lands a left cross on his chin. The man makes a grapple for Oliver, who ducks. The man stumbles over him and topples over the railing to his death.

The swarthy man is a bit stronger than he had appeared to be and instead of dealing with him yourself as you had hoped to, you've opted for slamming his hand on the top stair, sending the gun clattering down the steps and trying to keep him pinned as best you can till Oliver can help you out.

You hear a scream as someone plummets to the rocks. 'It wasn't Oliver,' you repeat to yourself over and over. You hear footsteps approaching from behind. You glance over your shoulder to make sure it really is Oliver. The swarthy man takes advantage and kicks you off him. You sail backwards for the edge. You back hits the railing with enough force to knock the air out of you. The ache settles into your back and you force your view away from the rocks below. The swarthy man is rushing at you. You grip the railing, anticipating the collision.

Oliver intercepts him, spinning the swarthy man to face him. The man swings twice at Oliver who backs out of the way both times and then deliver a hard shove to his chest. The man crashes into the railing above your head and tips back over it. You reach up and lift his legs, sending him completely over. Oliver grabs your outstretched hand and pulls you up to him.

Oliver holds you against him, clamping his hands over your ears so you don't hear the swarthy man's departing yell. He tilts your head to face him, his hands moving to your cheeks. "Are you all right?

"No. I want to go inside and my back is *way* sore." Oliver gives you his arm and accompanies you down into his living room. The first thing you do is lock the door. He smiles as you walk back to him. As you near, he begins to unbutton your blouse.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I want to see your back."

"Oh Okay." You finish the buttons, slip it from your shoulders and toss it onto the chair, turning your back to him.

Oliver's dry fingers touch your back feather light. He draws them from your shoulder to the middle of your back. You feel him unfasten your bra. "Uh Oliver, that is *not* where the railing hit."

"I know. I can see where the railing hit."

"Oh."

Oliver lays his palm flat on your back and rubs. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No," you breathe, leaning against him and lifting your head to face him, "but you're not getting me anywhere near that hammock."

"How did you..." your smile stops him. He grins and glides a hand across your bare stomach. "No, I do have a bedroom, with an actual bed."

"Good." You slide a hand into his soft hair and pull him to you for a kiss...

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

You approach the library with your headphones on, listening to your Velvet Chain CD. As you enter you observe the room lit only by candleglow, you spy Willow across the room and head towards her. Just then, Rupert springs up from behind the counter and begins waving his arms frantically, mouthing words you can't hear. You remove your headphones as you continue in. His words, "NO! WAIT! DON'T!" are the last thing you hear as your vision is enveloped in darkness.

When your sight clears again, it is to a tangle of foliage, right in your face. The sharp impact of a branch with your forehead knocks you back. Unfortunately, your equilibrium hasn't quite caught up with you yet and you fall backwards out of the shrubbery and onto hard earth.

You look up and see sky, clouds, and a tall man looking down at you. You sit up holding your bruised forehead as the man crouches down to help you. "You all right Love?" He says in a thick English accent. "Someone having a go at you in there?" He glares toward the bushes like he's ready to pounce.

"No, I-I'm okay. I just fell." His hands come to your arms to steady you as your try to stand. "I was in... Where am I?"

"Oxford Love. Do you need some medical attention?"

You look up and blink at your kind Samaritan dumbly. He is gorgeous, can't be more than 20, and unmistakably Rupert Giles.

"Rupert?" He grins at you. "What year is this?" His grin quickly fades into a worried frown.

"Uh-huh, come on." He scoops you into his arms and begins to carry you toward the main building.

You clutch at his leather jacket, his speed making you a bit dizzy. "No wait, I don't need a doctor. I just need you to listen to me."

"I'll listen. While your head's being tended to I'll hear anything you want to say."

"No. You don't understand. Dammit! Your name is Rupert Giles. You're going to be a Watcher like your Father and Grandmother before you." He stops and stares at you for a second.

"Di-did my Father send you?"

"No. I know you, in the future. I think I walked into a spell in progress, wound up here."

"And...in this future, I'm a Watcher? With a real Slayer?" You look at him and realize you can't say anymore without possibly affecting things in your time, maybe eliminating a way to get back. You slowly close your eyes and lean against his shoulder. You feel him kiss your forehead and begin moving with you again.

You open your eyes when you feel him lay you down on a bed and smooth your hair. You find yourself in his room. You smile, observing the place plastered in posters. He is laying beside you, propped up on his elbow. His smooth face is smiling down on you, his finger brushing your hair off your cheeks. A thought occurs to you. You're now the older woman. You're not so sure you like that, although Rupert's not seeming to mind. His finger paints lazy circles against your arm. "So, tell me my future."

"I-I don't know any future. I just thought you were cute a-and I heard you were into all this weird stuff."

He smiles and bends down to your ear. "I never told anyone about the Watchers." He kisses your lobe.

"Rupert I can't. I'm sorry."

"I know. There's a paradox danger...and that's the least of it." He pulls back and gazes at you. "But, you can't blame me for trying." You blush and look down, reaching your hand to his neck and trailing your finger down to his chest. He grabs your hand and kisses your palm. "So, in this future, you're my girl?"

"Yes."

He gets a mischievous grin, leaning forward till his lips are millimeters from yours. "How about giving me something to look forward to?" He kisses you deeply before you can respond. His hand sneaks over and switches off the light.

As you feel his hands and lips caress you in unison, you hear his voice in your ear. "Love, open your eyes for me please? Wake up now?" Your eyes blink open and Rupert's worried face relaxes. He touches his hand to the gray patch at his temple and runs it back through his hair. "Thank goodness. Here, let's sit you up a little." He leans you up against his chest.

"What happened?"

"Willow was experimenting with magical barriers. U-unfortunately, you walked right into one. Knocked you out cold."

"So I didn't go anywhere?"

"Go? Well where Love?"

"The past. I got to see you," you smile, "when you were all young and lovely."

"Oh dear. Were there dinosaurs about?" You giggle, then wince at the pain that engenders in your head. "Come on Love, let me get you home." He helps you to your feet and walks you to the doors.

"Rupert?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have a leather jacket?...."

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

It's a gray Sunday afternoon. Your hair is up in a ponytail. You are wearing a tank top and loose cotton drawstring pants. You are sitting up to your computer with your back to the door when you hear it open and Oliver enter. Soon arms come around you and embrace you tightly. "What are you writing Love?"

"Oh working on a section for a friend's book. New theories about the Zodiac Killer."

He scrunches his nose up. "Bit gruesome don't you think?"

"Perfect way to waste away an overcast afternoon alone. When did you get back?"

"Just now, drove straight through from the airport. I'm dead."

You save your file and turn to him. "Poor Oliver." You smile, observing the weariness in his eyes. "Nice hot bath?"

"Fraid I'd fall asleep right in the middle of it."

"I won't let you."

His eyebrow raises in interest. "You're going to join me?"

"In a way." You smile. "Get undressed. I'll run the bath."

A few minutes later, you are sitting on the edge of the tub, waving your hand in the waters, trying to stir up the bubble bath. Oliver enters in all his unclothed glory. You blush up at him and wolf whistle. He does a body builder pose and manages a cheesy grin. You take your hand out of the water and flick it his direction. "Just get in you."

Oliver slips into the warm sudsy water, audibly sighing as he does so. He leans his head back and you take the opportunity to kiss his forehead. His warm wet hand snakes up to the back of your neck and holds your head in place so that he can kiss you on the mouth.

As you pull away, water rivulets trickle from your neck to underneath the fabric of your top, making you shiver. With a shaky hand, you reach to the bathroom counter and retrieve a washcloth. You dip this in the water and bring it to Oliver's chest. He grips your wrist gently. "You're not coming in?"

You shake your head and delicately disentangle your arm from his. You dip the washcloth again and bring it to his chest, rubbing above and below the waterline with only the thin terrycloth separating your hand from his skin. He is watching you through half-closed eyelids. You bring the towel out of the water and softly scrub your way from his right shoulder and down his arm, repeating the process with the left. When you slide the cloth around his side, it brings your face within kissing distance of his.

Oliver once more takes hold of your wrist. You turn to look at him, locking eyes. As his intense stare threatens to steal your breath away, you feel a tugging on your arm. When you try to pull away, the tugging becomes more insistent and you find yourself falling into the tub, fully clothed.

You are now lying stomach to stomach on top of Oliver, only the soaked through thin material of your pants and tank top separating you from Oliver's nakedness. His grin is predatory. As you open your mouth to protest, he leans forward and kisses you. You decide any protests can wait as you loop your arms around his neck, feeling his hands beginning to lift the hem of your top...

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

You open your eyes and roll over to find yourself looking at Adam, sleeping. You smile and reach out to lightly stroke his chest. You wonder what time he got home last night. You waited up, or tried to. He's got another television special coming up at the end of the week and has been working long hours to prepare.

You turn back over and try to ease out of bed so as not to wake him. As soon as your feet touch the floor, arms come around your waist and drag you back onto the bed. You gasp in surprise which soon dissolves into giggles as Adam embraces you tightly and places kisses on the back of your neck. You turn in his arms and your mouth slides over his own. You move slightly apart. He continues to kiss your cheek and chin, his hand toying with the thin strap of your nightgown.

"When did you get in?"

He shrugs. "Around four I think."

You run your hand down the side of his face. "Poor Adam. You should sleep."

He catches your hand, kisses it and looks into your eyes. "I will. But first." He leans forward and kisses your lips once more. This time when his hand goes to your strap, he unties it and begins to rub circles over the newly bared skin. Your arms come around him and move into his hair as his lips leave yours, kissing down your neck and traveling lower.

Just then, the telephone rings. When Adam moves back, you groan in disappointment. "Don't answer it."

"I have to Love. I'll just be a minute." He turns over and reaches for the phone. "Hello? Yes Jonathan? But... right now?"

Oh well. You retie the strap of your nightgown and climb out of the bed, heading to the kitchen. He's going to have to go back down to the theater you realize. He may as well do it on a full stomach.

As you finish making the eggs and toast, Adam clears his throat behind you. You turn and, not surprisingly, find him completely dressed. "That was..."

"That was Jonathan. You have to go. You're very sorry. You don't know when you'll be home so I shouldn't wait up."

"Uh...yeah. That's about it. Are you mad?"

You give him a small smile. "I'm not mad. I'm not happy about it. And Jonathan's timing stinks and you can tell him I said so. But, with your special coming up, it's not like it's a new thing. Eat your breakfast."

He gets a wicked grin. "Why don't you get dressed and come with me? I'll have some time between set-ups and we can have lunch."

Your smile gets wider. "You're sure?"

"Please?" You kiss his cheek as you pass him and run to the bedroom to change.

When you return, you are wearing a full, knee-length denim skirt, and a blue button down sweater. Adam smiles approvingly and takes your hand as he leads you out of the house.

Backstage at Adam's show, you are leaning against the wall being kissed thoroughly by the man himself. Too soon for your liking, they tell him the first illusion has been set up and is ready for his run-through. He kisses you one more time before leaving for the stage. While you are wandering bored backstage, you find a spacious storage closet that gives you a wonderful idea. As soon as you hear the show's technicians tell Adam to take a bow, you wait for him at the side of the stage.

When he reaches you, you take his hand and begin to run for the closet. "Love, where are we running to?"

"You'll see!" When you reach the closet you push him inside, follow him in and then shut the door. He smiles at you in the dim yellow lighting. Before he has a chance to question it, you jump up into his arms, wrapping your legs around his hips and kissing him for all you're worth.

Twenty minutes later, there is a loud rapping on the closet door. When Adam opens it, you find Jonathan standing there, looking rather embarrassed. Adam is smiling wickedly. You look down then turn around quickly, blushing. It seems you didn't exactly get your sweater buttoned back evenly. When you've corrected the problem, you turn back to face them. Adam takes your hand and leads you to wait for him in the wings once more.

The rest of the day, on every single set up break, you and Adam make a thorough exploration of every nook and cranny of the theater, the prop room, the basement, the wardrobe room, the empty box office.

At the end of Adam's lunch hour, Jonathan knocks on his dressing room door. Receiving no answer, he tentatively pushes it open. He finds you laying half on top of, half beside Adam on his long couch. Both of you fully clothed and fast asleep. Jonathan sighs and smiles gently. He clicks off the light and closes the door, going back to the stage to tell the crew that they have the rest of the day off.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

The sun is still sweltering as it begins to set behind the high ridges of the Valley of the Kings. From the artifact tent, Rupert Giles emerges in a loose white cotton shirt and pants and makes his way to where you sit. You are sketching on a pad of paper as you sit near the edge of Tutankhamen's long emptied tomb, gazing into the starry, rapidly purpling sky. He sits on the rocks behind and a little above you and begins to massage your neck, placing a kiss on the top of your hair.

You close the pad as you lose the final light of day and lean your back into his legs, your head resting on his stomach. His arms come around you in an embrace. For a while, you sit just that way, watching the stars come out and play against the clear sky, the ancient monuments silhouetted. As long as you've been here, it's still hard for you to reconcile this sight you've dreamt of seeing since you were a child. You'll both be going home in a few days and the whole thing still seems so surreal to you.

You hear Rupert shift behind you. Soon, his warm breath is at your ear, carrying his whisper. "I have something for you. Close your eyes." You obey and shortly thereafter feel cold metal around your neck. "All right, open them."

You do, and look down at the silver ankh on a silver chain which now hangs around your neck. "Oh Rupert. It's beautiful. Thank you."

"Well, I just wanted to be sure you'd have something to remember the trip by."

"As if I could ever forget. Every day spent scouring the ruins of a civilization that existed millennia before the earliest of my ancestors, I have record of, were even born. Every night wrapped in the arms of the man I love more than anything else on the planet. I think this whole experience can be safely considered indelible."

Rupert smiles. "Well, with the dig and all, we've been kind of relegated to one place. We have one weekend left my Love." He goes back to massaging your shoulders. "What would you still like to see?"

"Hmm, let me think." You consider your favorite books on the region, both historical and mythological. Trying to think of the few things you'd really regret not having been to when you were here. "Oh wait. I know." You turn to face him, eyes sparkling. "Can we please go explore the Temple of Hatshepsut? I know we saw it briefly but we didn't really get to go look around it and..."

He puts his finger to your lips and smiles. "Shh, anything you like my Love. It's a date." You smile and kiss him.

Shortly thereafter, you retire to your tent. Rupert falls quickly into an exhausted sleep after the days activities. You pull the cover up over the both of you in the now cool night air. As Rupert's arms come around you in his sleep, you doze off.

Though you set off together at dawn, it is almost noon before you reach the sprawling temple. It is unexpectedly and blissfully free of other tourists, a rarity to be sure Rupert's friend Rashid, the leader of your dig, assures you. After asking if you two will be all right, he drives off on his way to Luxor, promising to pick you back up at dusk. You take Rupert's hand and begin to lead him giddily toward the temple. He is smiling fondly at your enthusiasm.

You notice this. "What are you grinning at?"

"Oh nothing. You I suppose. You're very adorable when you're being adventurous."

You arch an eyebrow, "Uh-huh. Okay, tell me Hellmouth Guy, we've been here for weeks."

"Yes?"

"And no sign of a nice decrepit, foot dragging, curse bringing, killer mummy anywhere. Disappointed or relieved?"

Rupert smiles. "Relieved actually. Been there done that. Though she was Incan not Egyptian. And she tried to kiss me."

"What?"

"I assure you it's perfectly true."

You fold your arms across your chest and feign indignation. "Mummy gigolo."

"Don't worry, she was only trying to kill me. Nothing sensual about it."

"Ah, well that's good to know I guess."

Rupert suddenly looks past you over your shoulder, his expression growing tense. "Oh dear, it seems we spoke too soon!"

"What?!" You pivot so fast you nearly fall over, expecting a real life Karloff in full smell and strangle-o-vision. You, however, see only the sunlight bathing the ancient stone in a golden cast.

You turn back to see Rupert smiling Cheshire-style. "Made you look." He crinkles his nose and winks at you. You move your arm as if to slip it around his waist. Instead, you swat him on the butt as hard as you can. "Ow!" he jumps.

"Bad Rupert, no cookie."

"Why you..."

You take off running for the temple entrance. You know you're gonna get it when he catches you, but you can hardly breathe you're giggling so bad. You turn a corner and press yourself up against the wall. You soon realize, you're hearing no footsteps or movement of any kind, just the wind blowing through the temple. A bit worried by this, the smile fades from your lips and you come out from around the corner. "Rupert?" Nothing but your own voice echoing. "Rupert?" you call a little more loudly. Suddenly, arms grip you around the waist and hoist you into the air.

"You have defiled the temple and will be sacrificed in penance!"

"Rupert!" You're laughing as he slings you over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. "Put me down! You're being silly!"

"Oh no, no escape for you little one. You're to be my sacrifice."

"A virgin sacrifice?"

"Oh yes," his hand is on the back of your thigh, moving steadily up your leg, "those are the best kind." He carries you a little farther into the temple.

The steady sway of his step mingled with the stuffy desert air is not being conducive to your equilibrium in your upside down position. "Ooh Rupert, you really do have to put me down. I'm so dizzy."

"I'm sorry." He slides you down his front gently. You feel your feet touch the ground but your knees refuse to lock to support you and you begin to slump. He clasps you against his front and eases down into a sitting position. Rupert pulls you into his lap and cradles you there. "You okay?"

"Yes," it comes out much weaker and quieter than intended. "I just need a minute, for my head to clear." He brushes your hair from your face and rubs your back, comfortingly. Once your focus comes back to you, you realize your head is now laying on Rupert's shoulder, his neck mere centimeters from your mouth. You lean forward and kiss his throat lightly.

"Feeling better?" Your only answer is your mouth on his neck again, a bit more enthusiastic this time. "Oh that's um, that's very nice." You hand moves over his chest, undoing a few buttons and slipping inside to rub the warm hair covered skin there. Rupert is now practically purring. The hand he has been resting chastely on your knee begins to massage its way up to your inner thigh. As your fingernail grazes his nipple, he squeezes your thigh. You move your lips to his.

Rupert's fingers dance down the front of your blouse, freeing your skin to his touch. He pushes your arms away from him for a moment to send your top and bra to the ground. Your hands return to his shirt, finishing their task of opening and removing it. He eases you down off his lap and lays you back on his discarded shirt. He removes your shoes, socks, trousers and panties, each teasingly slow. He kisses you quickly, then stands to take off his pants.

His eyes meet yours as he unfastens himself. Then just before he pushes the material down, Rupert's gaze drops shyly. Your heart flutters. Damn you love this man. When his eyes find yours again, you cast a slow appraising glance up and down his glorious bare body. "Well well Professor Giles, I believe that is the most well preserved obelisk in all of antiquity." That gets a true blush out of him. You smile.

Rupert lays down beside you, his hand brushing across your chest as his mouth rediscovers your own. He slips a hand to the back of your neck, his fingers gently rubbing into your hair. He brings his body over yours and readjusts your legs with his hand. He enters you in perfect unity. You luxuriate in the feel of his smooth back underneath your sensitized palms as he works himself inside you. You feel yourself approaching climax. A light nip at his earlobe brings Rupert over with you. He moans your name against your cheek.

When his breathing calms, he gathers you to his chest as he sits up against the wall. You look up at him. "So, did the sacrifice appease your Gods?"

"I don't know about them," he pants, "but I am thoroughly appeased."

"Glad to hear it."

"We should probably get dressed. We don't have a lot of time left if you want to explore." You lick his neck and run your hand down his chest, slowly. "What are you doing?"

You smile up at him. "Exploring." Rupert returns your smile and gently lays you back down.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

Oliver takes your hand as he helps you up the stairs toward your stage side, second story balcony in Paris' Opera Comique. You know that you look nice with your hair piled high and a honey of a "basic black dress"; strapless, curve-hugging, long slit up the side. It is part of your job to assess your environment and be able to fit into that situation without calling undo attention to yourself. This environment called for elegant and so you were able to suit but it took make-up to brighten the darkness under your eyes. The truth is, you are dog tired. Oliver is as well. Only you, familiar with every pore on his body, would notice the slight weariness in the stunning green eyes before you.

Your current assignment has dragged on for almost two months now, chasing ghosts and fragments of information all across Europe. You were supposed to make contact with the liaison from your employers in the lobby an hour ago. It's an important contact as your employers were to tell you if you could go home or continue to pursue this futile mission. The liaison never showed. The second window of opportunity for the meeting will be after the performance so, haggard as you both are, you enter your box and shut the door behind you.

Oliver sits. You sit beside him and as his arm comes behind you, you snuggle closer and lay your head on his shoulder.

"Don't you fall asleep on me now Love."

"Why? I don't even like the Opera."

"Illiterate Yank," he grins down on you.

"Uppity Brit," you smile back.

The lights dim and you hear the orchestra begin. You and Oliver have not taken your eyes off of each other. You feel your heart start to race a bit as you realize that sleeping is not the only thing the two of you have not had time for in far too long. His breathing has sped up as well. He brings his hand up and very gently brushes your cheek. You lean into the touch and move your hand to cover his.

Oliver closes the distance between you and takes your mouth in a kiss. You loop your arms around his neck and kiss him back eagerly. He smiles against your mouth and you turn you head, nibbling across his cheek to his earlobe. "You're such a smug bastard," you whisper.

His hand, resting at the side of your breast, begins moving toward your back. "And you are far too easy." He nips at your neck eliciting a growl deep in your throat. "Quite the little tart really."

You gasp as he continues his kisses along your neck. "Only for you."

He smiles again. "In that case, I'm a very lucky man."

He releases your hair so that it falls loosely about your shoulders. When you feel him begin to lower the zipper in the back of your dress, you jump. "Oliver! We ca..." his continued kisses nearly make you forget your protest. You shake your head and start to push him away. "No, we can't! Somebody will see us."

He holds you tighter than ever and you hear him pull the zipper further. Soon you feel the theater's air conditioning on your bare back and you shiver. His warm hands glide over your skin for a moment more and then he pulls back. Your eyes are wide as you hold your dress to cover the front of you. His smile is charm personified.

Oliver slips out of his tuxedo jacket and rolls it into a bundle. He lays it on the floor of your box and then moves toward you again. He embraces you, kissing your cheek and pulling your dress away from your front. Gently, he lowers you to the floor, pillowing your head on his jacket. He kneels beside you on the floor as he removes his tie and unbuttons his shirt. He doesn't remove it completely but presses his bare chest against you. You groan in pleasure at one of your favorite sensations in the world. Your arms come around him and the kissing begins in earnest once more.

After a few moments, he rises again to stand on his knees. His hands move up the side of your legs and push the hem of your dress up to your waist. You see a grin play across his features as he unhooks your stockings from the garter belt you wear. Smiling, he takes one of your calves in his hand and raises it straight in the air. Placing a quick kiss on your leg, he lowers it again on the other side of his body.

His eyes on yours, he slowly unbuttons his pants and starts to lower his zipper. Impatiently, you sit up, pulling him into a kiss as you tug his pants and boxers down to his knees. Oliver smiles and leans forward, lowering you to the floor once again without breaking the kiss. Your arms slip around him under his shirt, holding him closer as he guides his erection to your opening and pushes forward. You bite back a moan and turn your head from his.

Oliver's mouth moves to your breast as he increases the rhythm of his thrusts. Your head moves restlessly from side to side as the pleasure he causes builds within you. Soon, it is becoming too much. "Oliver...Oliver you've got to st...stop. I can't keep...I'm gonna...OH!" You shout as your climax overtakes you. Pleasure and panic are warring within you as you are certain everyone in the theater must have heard you. And if they didn't hear you, they are most certainly hearing Oliver, who is currently being very vocal in his release as well. When your heart resumes a normal beat again, you listen and realize the performers on stage are hitting notes that would have easily drowned the both of you out.

He whispers in your ear. "This opera is three hours long and I know it very very well. If we time things right, this could be a terribly memorable evening."

You blush and then smile. "God I love the opera." You pull him to you in a passionate kiss.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

GylzGirl :-)

You could kill him. You could just kill him. Nice and woodsy here. Wouldn't find the body for months. "AH-CHOO!" Yet another sneeze, not surprising, your teeth are chattering so hard you think they may shatter. You wish you could stop shivering if only to keep the cold droplets of water from shaking off your hair and onto your already goose-pimpled skin.

"It'd be warmer over here by me Love." You turn to Adam and glare at him until he visibly shrinks, returning his eyes to the road.

On a whim one afternoon, one WARM afternoon, Adam asked you if there was something silly you wanted to do that you'd never done. Flippantly, you said camping.

"Camping?" he had said, apparently surprised.

"Yeah, as a kid all my friends went but I never got to. Always kinda wondered what it was like."

"Then lets go. This weekend!"

"You know how to camp?"

"Sure! Of course I do! This will be great fun. Oh hey, why don't we see if Jonathan wants to tag along? It would do him good to get out for a holiday."

You smiled at such a sweet gesture. 'Yeah,' you think sarcastically, 'what a catch.' You kissed him on the cheek and left, thinking it was nice for him to invite Jonathan. You can just envision the conversation the two of them had when you'd gone.

"No Adam, I will not do it!"

"Oh please Jonathan? Come on, you'll break her heart. She's always wanted to go camping and you're so good at this technical stuff."

Jonathan must have refused. Smart old Jonathan. Adam had pulled up in a shiny new pick-up, the bed full of tent gear. He was dressed in blue jeans and boots and a flannel shirt. He looked like he knew what he was doing. That should have been your first clue. Adam is an illusionist, by birth and by trade.

You wound up in an area of campground akin to a parking lot. He never thought to reserve. No problem. You could handle that. When you came back from your little jaunt to the general store to find tent bits spread on the ground all around Adam as he sat on a big rock scratching his head and reading the instruction pamphlet, you knew you were in trouble.

You built a fire as Adam tangled himself further in the poles and canvas. It began to get cloudy and you begged Adam to give up. "It's fine really. Let's just go get a hotel." Too late, for Adam, now it was personal.

The rain came down in cold sheets, extinguishing your fire. Adam had lost the keys under the layers of tent so you couldn't even take shelter in the cab. You would have crawled under the picnic table if not for the mud puddle underneath. Adam emerged from under the flat tent looking disheveled, wretched, and very un-Adam, but dangling the keys in his hand.

You were freezing to your bones. You were so happy to see the keys, you almost cried with relief. Adam unlocked your door and helped you in. He stuffed the deflated tent back into the truck's bed. You were quaking, drenched and cursing Adam mentally. You know he wanted you to have a good time. You know he didn't make it rain. You know he had expected Jonathan to be more pliable to his will. But, if he hadn't misled you, you wouldn't have come, and if he'd have gone to the hotel (which you're going to now) when you asked him to, your lips wouldn't be turning blue right now.

When Adam got in the car, you didn't even look at him, you couldn't. If he'd have smiled, you'd have come across the seat and throttled him.

"Almost there Love," he says chipperly. What is he so damn happy about? You're so cold you can't handle it anymore and a few audible sobs escape before you can restrain yourself again, not an easy task when the warm tears feel so good on your cheek. Now you can't look at him out of guilt as well as anger. You know he hates to see you upset. You probably just made him feel like dirt.

You pull up outside a very elegant looking hotel. 'Oh they are going to love a couple drowned rats like us.' Not that you care. You'd take a cave right now if there were warm clothes and a heater there. Adam has come around and is opening your door, a good thing since you can't even straighten your fingers. You get inside, and Adam sits you down on a small sofa next to the large fireplace in the lobby. He goes off to wrangle you a room. You are still shivering and way beyond any pride. You plop down on the floor right in front of the fireplace and hug your knees to your chest, rocking yourself until you almost feel something resembling human again.

After a while, Adam comes over and places a blanket around your shoulders. As he takes his hand away, you catch it in yours. He seems uncertain you won't try to break his arm. For a second, you give it thought but then place a soft kiss on his palm and release him. He helps you to your feet with a smile.

"They have a room ready for us love. I've had them run you a warm bath." He puts an arm around your waist and walks you to the elevator. You huddle close to him on the ride up, the warmth from his body easing your remaining temper.

You enter the room as a blast of warm air hits you in the face. You look up at him. He smiles apologetically down on you. "I had them turn the heater up high too. I also had them give us adjoining rooms so you don't have to stay with me tonight if you don't want to. I can understand that." You try to speak but he puts his finger to your lips. "Shh, it's okay. Go on and take your bath. There'll be a fluffy dry robe in there waiting for you." He kisses your forehead, chastely, and gives you a gentle push toward the bathroom.

The warm water surrounding your body felt amazing. You got out and toweled completely dry. You normally don't, but this time you blow dried your hair, running the machine over your skin before switching it off. You wrap up in the robe and walk back into the room.

The room is now lit only by candles. "Adam?" You walk around the bed and see a blanket spread on your floor with plates of cheese, fruits and finger-sandwiches and a bottle of hard cider. Next to this, Adam sits smiling. He looks wonderful, obviously having made use of the shower and blow drier in his room. He is sitting in a sleeping bag which is zipped up to his waist. From his bare chest and knowing his personality, you know the sleeping bag is the only thing he's wearing.

You kneel down across the blanket from him and quietly begin to eat. His eyes are sparkling at you as he stretches over to pour you some of the cider. Yup, just a sleeping bag. He scootches closer to you like a caterpillar, his fingers warm and soft as he touches your face.

"I thought you were sleeping in there tonight?"

Adam's hand stops its motion. "I can."

"You don't have to," you say, holding his palm to your cheek with your hand.

"I'm sorry," little more than a whisper.

"I know you are," you turn your lips to his palm and kiss. You push him back gently and unzip the bag. In one swift move, you pull off your robe and slip inside, snuggling against his chest as he zips you both in. He kisses your forehead and strokes your hair as you fall asleep in each others arms....

"Nervous?" Giles asks.

"No."

"No?"

"Uh-uh."

"If you grip the wheel any harder, your fingers may snap off."

You smile. "Well, it is the Hellmouth. Anything could happen."

"Quite."

"And if I manage to pull this off, it certainly will be a night for miracles."

"Come on now. You know I haven't been driving stick-shift that long myself. And I had to learn it on top of driving on the wrong side of the road, so this should be a snap for you."

"And yet."

"Come on," his smile is gentle. "Start it up." You do, screwing your eyes tightly shut as you do so. "It's not going to explode you know."

"Course not. Couldn't get that lucky."

"Now none of that. Put it into gear and release the clutch slowly." You start out jerkily onto the road. You're only hoping it's dark enough that he can't see you blush. It's a Sunday night in Sunnydale. The streets are typically deserted. You turn a corner slowly, very slowly, snails on downers are passing you in the left lane. "All right, we've got a nice straight stretch of road along here. Build up some speed and shift up to second."

"Okay." As you pass the 15 mile an hour mark, the theme to Speed Racer begins running through your head. You reach down to shift and can feel that it didn't make it into gear. "Uh Rupert?"

"Sorry Love, damn thing sticks." His hand is warm and soft as it covers yours, coaxing the stick into position. You lick your suddenly dry lips, your eyes meeting his in the illumination from the dashboard. "Eyes on the road Dear."

"What?" You face front again and squeal around a turn you almost didn't make. "Sorry."

"That's okay." You look up at him again...briefly. He is almost giggling. "What? What?"

"Sorry."

"What? I'm incredibly cute when almost getting us killed?"

"Well, that too yes but..."

"Yes?"

"I was just thinking back to how confident you were showing me how to use the computer...and now the roles have reversed."

"Why Rupert Giles, are you gloating?"

"Well perhaps," he says, stretching his arm behind you, "just a little."

"That's terribly petty of you."

"I do realize, yes."

"But you're still enjoying it?"

"Oh yes."

"Okay, that does it." You slow your speed and downshift, coming to a stop at the side of a deserted road.

"What are you doing?"

"Turning your car back over to you. I'll pay for lessons instead."

"Look I'm sorry, don't get mad over it."

"I'm not," you say, turning off the car and facing him. "I just feel the need to preserve my one area of superiority over you. Besides, this is too dangerous."

"What is? Sunnydale at night?"

"No. I'm in a dark, confined space with you and I'm somehow supposed to concentrate on the road? I'm likely to get us both killed."

"You find me...distracting?" Rupert's face brightens at the notion.

"I'd say yes, but your ego is about as big as it needs to get tonight, so no comment." He grins and reaches to unlock his door. You touch his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I was going to come round and drive us back."

"Oh, but do you think you should risk getting out here? I mean, there could be vampires about."

"You're right." He wears a sly grin. "What should we do?"

"Well, we could switch over inside. I could crawl over to that side and you could crawl over to this side."

"All right." You unbuckle your seatbelt and climb up to stand on your knees on the seat. Rupert scoots over. You grab the back of the seat to steady yourself, your eyes meeting his as you carefully place your knee on the seat between his legs and then move it over the far side of him to straddle his lap. He pulls you down to sit there.

"What are you doing?" You say, smiling.

"I just thought of something else I could teach you in a car."

"Is that so? And what makes you think you'll be the one doing the teaching?"

"Oh vast experience. Years and years of training."

"Really? We'll have to ask Snyder to add a class to the curriculum."

He laughs. "Oh I can just see that, Shagging 101, your instructor Rupert Giles."

Now you laugh, "Oh, we're talking about shagging are we?"

"Weren't we?"

"You're pretty confident there aren't you."

"Well I was up until about five seconds ago."

"Rupert, I'm straddling your lap in a car in the middle of the night with no one around for miles, and you're worried you've been what? Indecorous?"

"I-I that is w-well..." You lean forward and kiss him, happy to feel him respond eagerly, his hands resting on your hips, pulling you closer to him. "I forgot to show you the most important part of the car."

"What's that?" you whisper, nibbling on his ear.

He sighs contentedly, leaning forward a bit, his hand reaching under the seat. "Reclining seats." He pulls a lever and winds up flat on his back with you laying on top of him. He grins up at you again as he kisses you once more and reverses your positions, yet again. This time, you're not complaining.

You weren't sure about this assignment from the very beginning. It's not like you are a Bond girl or something, to have to take your clothes off for a mission was your definition of wrong. You agreed to do undercover work. Isn't nudity the exact opposite of that word? Taking a deep deep breath and mentally detaching yourself from any semblance of dignity, you step out of the dressing room and onto the beach.

You can do this, you decide. For one, the beach isn't too crowded, and so far all the other nude occupants haven't even glanced your direction. The sun feels good warming parts of you it has never encountered before. You're just happy you're a forward thinking kind of girl and applied sunscreen all over. A burn, in this case, would be unthinkable. Just as you are about to venture further out, you feel eyes intensely surveying you from behind.

Well, you may be naked, but you still have the gift of attitude. You turn, eyebrow raised and hands on hips, toward your admirer. Standing there, naked as you, a huge grin on his face, is Oliver Sampson.

He takes a deliberately long look up and down your body and then wolf whistles. Not cracking a smile, you look down at a particular part of his anatomy and say, "Hadn't realized it was as cold as that out here."

He looks suddenly down and you turn away giggling. "Made ya look." His arms come quickly around you and he nuzzles your neck roughly. "So now that you've gotten us into this, what are we supposed to do?" You adjust the strap of your beach bag. "Oh boy, I should make you carry this."

"Why? What's in it?"

You turn against the front of him and whisper. "Your gun, my gun, clothes for both of us and a bottle of sunscreen."

"Sunscreen? Damn."

"Yes, I remembered."

"Yes, I forgot."

"Oh, I see. Where's your blanket?"

"Back here under the tree."

"Lead the way then Jungle boy."

He walks you to his blanket, his hand on your back, just high enough to be mostly decent. "Jungle boy? Care to swing on my vine?" You smack his bottom in reply. "Ow!"

"Baby." You smile. "Lay down." He does. "No, on your stomach." He pouts. "For now," you smile. You squirt a generous supply of lotion onto his back.

Oliver jumps. "Cold."

"It'll warm up. And just don't even start." You begin to rub the cream into every inch of his skin, spending a little more time then necessary on his butt, not that he's complaining. "Okay, turn over." He does, crossing his arms behind his head with a smirk. You look down and see what that look is for. "Well I won't ask if that's a gun in your pocket, seeing as I have your gun, and you don't have pockets. Now sundial however, I can't rule out."

"Hey."

You place a quarter sized amount of lotion in your hand. "Must be what, half past nine?" He is about to protest when you seize his attention and he falls into blissful silence. You smooth in the lotion, eventually moving on to the rest of his body. "All done."

He sits up and grins. "Your turn."

"I already put mine on remember?"

He frowns slightly then smiles, "Better safe then sorry?"

You put your lips inches from his own. "Why are we here? What's the assignment?"

He leans forward and softly kisses your jawline. "Do you see the large beachhouse, the pale yellow one a little way up the hill behind the drinking fountains?"

"Uh huh," you breathe as his thumb strokes your throat, feather-light.

"We need to get in there."

"And being surrounded by acres of nude beach, we'd be more conspicuous clothed than not."

"Exactly." He kisses you.

"That and we were the only two dumb enough to take the assignment?"

"Exactly." He smiles and kisses you again.

"So let's go so we can finish this at home in private okay?"

"You're uncomfortable with every man on this beach seeing you in all your glory?"

You blush. "They aren't looking at me."

"Then they don't know what they're missing. I can't take my eyes off." He is kissing trails up your neck. "You're right though. Let's get done so I can take you home." He stands and pulls you along with him. You lace your arms around each other's waists and wander inconspicuously over to the base of the hill. You sit on a large rock there and begin necking a little more, in case anyone is watching. Soon, you both get up and start walking up the hill, hoping it looks to any observers like a couple sneaking off to do something naughty. As you pass the last ridge that will hide you from the view of any beachgoers, you dig into your bag and hand Oliver a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. You pull out the same combination for you. Next you hand out the guns, and head for the back door of the house. Oliver does a quick reconnoiter around the perimeter and determines that no one is home. You both enter through the back.

"What are we looking for?"

"The owner of the house stole some very important documents. We've checked his office already. This is the next logical place."

"I got naked for flippin paperwork?!"

"It's the assignment details for some of our operatives. He plans to sell them. If he does, a lot of the good guys die."

You calm down a bit. "Then let's get them."

After ten minutes search, Oliver emerges from the upstairs bedroom holding a large manila envelope. "Found it."

"And I've found you Mr. Sampson." Oliver surveys the scene. A large goon holds a gun to your temple and a hand over your mouth. He's also sporting a black eye and a swollen lip. Oliver smiles to himself, knowing that to be your handiwork. The man who spoke smirks up at Oliver. "What do you say we trade? Your girlfriend for the folder please?"

"Oh a polite psycho, there's a change." He looks into your eyes, seeing if you are ready. You can't exactly nod, so you wink. You hope it's enough. "No trade Danvers."

"Wrrt?" Your exclamation is muffled by the goon's hand. You tug it down from your mouth and take a step away. He keeps the gun trained on your back "What do you mean no trade?!"

"I mean no trade. Sorry Love, but duty is duty."

"You egotistical rat bastard! Duty this!" You grab your gun from Danvers, who wears a bemused expression. You turn back to Oliver, raise the gun at your side and fire, landing a bullet square in Danvers' chest. The goon is stunned for a second. Just as he brings the gun back up to take you out, Oliver's bullet silences him forever. He runs down the stairs, wraps his arms around you and kisses you breathless.

"You all right?"

You nod. "Sorry about that."

"Nothing to be sorry about as long as you're safe."

He is kissing your cheek, his hands at your back. "Oliver?"

"Yes Love?"

"Let's put the papers in my bag, get naked and get out of here so that we can go home, get naked and have some fun?"

"Yes, let's." He kisses you again and escorts you out the door.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.' "  ~Charlie Brown

Adam carries a basket in one hand and holds your hand in the other, to help you over the uneven stones. You're balancing a blanket over your arm and trying to keep from tripping over the skirt of your long white gauzy sun dress. "I think next time my Love, more information is required for these little surprise excursions of yours."

He smiles over at you. "Why's that? Careful stepping just here Love."

"You said dress for a picnic, not a hike. Not that I'm complaining. It's gorgeous here, the hills, the water. I just would have dressed a bit more practical."

"But I love what you have on."

"Flatterer."

"No I mean it."

"You always say that."

"Yeah, well I always mean it. Little step up here." His hand is soft, warm and strong against yours. He has gone nice and casual, though more suited to the environment than you, tight faded blue jeans, navy tee-shirt and light denim jacket. "Here we are."

He stops and sets down the basket, claiming the blanket from your arm and spreading it out. You have stopped in a small, tree-hidden clearing on the bank overlooking the lake. Adam kneels on the blanket and extends his hands up to you. You join him there. "It's lovely here Adam."

"Yeah, nifty little spot. We found it when we were scouting locations to tape some television adverts for the Chelsea run."

Adam lays the basket's contents out before you, plum wine, cheese, fruit, and small finger sandwiches. You eat lightly as Adam tells you of the new big illusion Jonathan's come up with this week. You love hearing him get all excited about his new tricks. His eyes sparkle and he gestures meticulously until you can see exactly what he is describing. As Adam finishes the food on his plate, you begin to clear up. He lightly touches your arm. "What are you doing?"

"The Indian Rope Trick." He arches an eyebrow at your sarcasm. "Cleaning up."

"You barely ate."

"I ate enough."

"Are you not feeling well?"

"You're clucking. I feel fine."

"Put those down and come over here." You roll your eyes dramatically and do as he requests, sitting next to his leg. He puts his hands on your shoulders and leans you down against his chest.

He moves his hand to the back of your neck and begins to massage. "What are you doing?

"The Indian Rope Trick."

"Smart-ass."

His light chuckle rumbles beneath your back. It feels nice. His other hand slips into the basket and he removes a strawberry half. Adam places it against your lips. If you open your mouth to tell him you don't want it, he's going to pop it into your mouth. If you turn your head, it's going to go right up your nose. You open your lips slowly, and he glides it past your lips. You bite and he pulls it away a little as you chew. You take two more bites this way, until you realize you've got just about one more left and get a wicked idea.

You take the last bite, ensuring your lips graze his fingertips. You feel Adam shiver slightly. As you chew, he begins to take his hand away. You take hold of his wrist and bring it back to your mouth. You lightly kiss each of his fingertips, tasting the strawberry juice there. Then slowly, you slip each of his fingers in turn into your mouth, your tongue diligently licking each one clean.

Adam shifts uncomfortably beneath you. His breath is raspy. "Oh look over there," his voice squeaks like an adolescent boy's. He slips out from under you and reaches back to pull you up. He holds your hand and walks over to a big tree on the edge of the bank. There is a rope and wood swing hanging from one of the broad boughs. He wiggles his eyebrows at you. "Wanna play, Little Girl?" Adam pulls the swing back and keeps a hold of the ropes. You stand silently, deciding. The branch seems sturdy enough. "Come on Love."

You move in front of the swing and sit down, grasping the ropes. Adam gives a little shove. The breeze feels good as it ruffles your hair and the skirt of your dress. You swing back into his arms and he pecks you lightly on the cheek, causing you to grin. He pushes again, this time slightly harder, sending you out over the water. Your stomach flutters and you grip the ropes tighter. You swing back again and Adam sends you off with a high-pitched "Whee!"

You soar out over the water again. When you reach the apex of the swing, you hear a loud snap. You stomach sinks like a stone as you realize the rope has broken. You plummet with a scream and land with a splash.

"Dear God!" Adam scrambles down the steep bank, gripping shrubbery and the occasional jutting rock to keep from falling himself. Just as he makes it to the edge of the water and removes his jacket, socks and shoes, you surface, wiping your hair from your face and gasping for air. "Thank God! Are you okay?"

"Yes," you cough. You swim towards him, relieved when your feet can finally touch bottom. As you near, he extends his hand out to you. You start to leave the water and realize it has made your white dress all but transparent. You shrink back down below the surface, looking furtively around.

"What are you doing?" Adam calls to you. You smile and open your mouth. "And if you say the Indian Rope Trick, I'll come in there and hold you under."

"I'm not coming out!"

"What? Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not. Not until it's dark."

"You're nuts. You'll freeze!"

"I can't come out. My dress has gone clear. You can see right through it." His only response in a leer. "Lot of help you are."

Adam jumps down into the thigh-deep water and disappears under the surface, re-emerging right next to you. "What are you doing?"

"The In...Oof!" you anticipate his answer and give him a light jab in the stomach. "Well, I don't have much choice do I? If your stuck out here till sundown, then so am I." His wet hair has begun to curl slightly. The shimmer of the water is reflecting in his eyes. "Besides," he nearly whispers, his arms embracing you, "I figure between the two of us, we can keep it from getting boring." His kisses you, slowly.

When you finally come up for air, you are both grinning. He closes his eyes and moves forward again. You smile bigger and splash him, right in the face. His eyes snap open as he gasps in surprise. "You little..." you splash him again. He grins evilly, anticipating revenge and moves for you. You try to swim off but you are giggling. He catches you quickly and dunks you. While you are under, you undo his fly and begin to tug his jeans and boxers off him. He releases you and wriggles the rest of the way out. You surface to a smiling Adam. You pull his clothes out of the water, over your head and toss them up onto the bank.

"Now I guess we really are both stuck," you smile.

Adam's hands are at your hips, inching your dress the rest of the way up your waist. He is nuzzling your neck. "Suppose so. What *will* we do until dusk, hmm?"

You arch your eyebrow, "The Indian Rope Trick?" Adam groans and dunks you again. When he pulls you up, you are giggling, and he kisses you...

Have a Magical Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

You are forcing yourself to stay seated on the sofa. For the last hour, you've been pacing a groove into the floor in front of Rupert's windows. He left armed to the teeth. Tonight is the night the prophecy he's been researching for months is to come about. He wouldn't give you many details so as not to worry you, just something about a portal opening, a cyclone, and the appearance of a terrible demon. You pull your satiny sleep shirt over your bare legs and lay your head against the pillows.

In another two hours, you are dozing on the couch when you hear loud British cursing and the door open. You hop to your feet and embrace him tightly as soon as he is through the door.

"Bloody stupid damn..."

You pull back and look at him in the eyes. "Well hello to you too."

He seems to see you there for the first time. "Sorry." He kisses you quickly.

"Are you okay?" He nods. "Is everyone safe?"

Rupert scoffs and sits in his chair. "Like babies in their mother's arms. Bloody typical."

"Where are the weapons?"

"In the boot of my car. I'll get them in the morning."

"What if someone steals them?"

"Let them. It's not as if we actually needed the damn things."

You come behind him and begin massaging his shoulders. "Tell me what happened."

"Nothing."

"Please?"

His hand comes up and grasps your wrist. He brings your hand to his mouth and kisses the palm. "I am telling you Love. A lot of nothing. I spent six months researching for smoke and mirrors."

You nudge him into leaning forward and help him out of his jacket. You kneel at his side, undoing his cuffs and unbuttoning his shirt. "The portal?"

He holds his finger three inches away from his thumb. "About that big."

You slip his shirt from his body, hanging it over the back of the couch. You move to sit at his feet, removing his shoes and socks. "The cyclone?" You start to rub his feet.

"Approximately a foot and a half tall."

You stand in front of him and help him to his feet. You undo his trousers and send them and his boxers to the floor. "And the demon?"

Rupert tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. "Turned out to be a rather large tarantula."

"But...with plans for world domination right?"

He steps out of his clothes pile on the floor. "Didn't get a chance to ask. Buffy's boot heel more than conquered our arachnid foe."

"Well it's just a good thing that everyone's all right yes?" Rupert nods. You tilt your head up and kiss him. "Let's just go to bed?"

He nods wearily. "Yes all right."

You take his hand and lead him to the stairs. You stop and turn around again when you feel his hand leave your own.

"It just frustrates the hell out of me. I mean most of the time we have a couple of days...sometimes only hours to prepare for these doom prophecies and here we have months and months, are completely ready. What does it turn out to be? A problem for an exterminator, not a Slayer. Sometimes this town is just so bloody aggravating is all!" He sighs loudly. "You go on up to bed. I'm going to go get the weapons in."

Before you can say a word, he is out the door. You quirk a smile and sit on the landing, wondering how long it will take him to remember that he isn't wearing anything. About a minute later, the door opens and Rupert rushes in, slamming it behind him. He looks up at you, blushing profusely.

You stand up and smile. He walks up to meet you. You kiss the end of his nose. "Bad day?" He nods sadly. "Well I predict that once we go upstairs, its going to get a whole lot better."

He leans his forehead to yours. "Can I get that in writing please?"

"Would you settle for a premonition?"

"I think so."

"Good." You slip your hands into the hair at the base of his neck and kiss him lingeringly, not even breaking contact when he lifts you and carries you up to his loft.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.' "  ~Charlie Brown

You wrap your hands around the bars of your cage and test their strength against yours, for the thousandth time. You're not sure how long you've been kept here, days for sure, possibly weeks. Your only break in the isolation has been when your captors have brought you food, and to take pictures of you daily, no doubt to assure Oliver of your continued existence. You bang your head against the iron. You should have been more careful. You KNOW better. Now, they may be using you to trap Oliver into working for them. Or Oliver will refuse and you will be killed. Either way, you're berating yourself for letting this happen.

The door swings open and you are blinded by the bright light of your captor's camcorder. "Smile pretty Sunshine."

"Bite me." You walk away with your back to the camera and sit facing the far wall.

"Oh come on now, don't be like that. Your boyfriend wants to see your smile." You lean your head down on your knees and chew on your lip. You are angry, but you are also scared. "Don't screw this up now. You're close to going home. Don't start being difficult."

You grasp the metal tray they had brought your breakfast in on and fling it toward the bars. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

"That's our girl." You hear the smile in his voice. You turn away again, covering your face with your hands, trying desperately not to cry.

"You heard the lady." It is unmistakingly Oliver's voice. You whip your head around just in time to see the camcorder, light, and cameraman go skittering across the floor.

"Oliver!" You run up to the bars. He has the keys in his hand, fumbling them as he tries to unlock your cell. You are touching his face, his hair, making sure he is real. He won't look at you. Your tears are starting to fall, and you notice one falling down his cheek as well. He gets the door unlocked. You rush into his arms and he embraces you so hard you can scarcely breathe.

"Are you all right?!" You nod against his cheek, beyond the capability to speak right that moment. He takes your cheeks in his hands and kisses you deeply. "Can you keep it together just a little longer Love? We're not out of this yet."

You nod your head yes. "You're alone?"

"Our benevolent Employers wouldn't sanction a rescue mission. But I had to come."

You smile at him. "I knew you'd come."

"Yes, well I am afraid our friends out here probably figured I would too, which is why speed is of the essence."

"I'm so sorry."

"Stop. You were home. Your guard was understandably down. You couldn't have known." He hands you a sig sauer and wipes the tears from your cheeks. "Be brave my Love, we're almost home."

Oliver takes your hand and walks to the door. Once he is sure the hallway is clear, he jogs down it with you in tow. As he starts to round a corner, you hear voices and pull him back. He spots a small room to the side of the hall and gently pushes you toward it. Footsteps pass the door and Oliver holds your trembling body, placing kisses on your jaw and neck.

Soon you hear an alarm sound. "They must have discovered you gone."

"Now what?"

Oliver looks above your head. "Now that." You follow his gaze and spy a vent, high on the wall. Oliver reaches into his back pocket and removes a Swiss army knife. He uses it to pry off the vent's covering. He makes his hands into a step and then boosts you up into the shaft. It is dark and confined. Soon Oliver is beside you in the vent. He senses your discomfort. "It'll be okay Love. We will be okay. Just crawl. I will be right with you."

You move forward on your hands and knees into the claustrophobic blackness. "Turn right just up here Love. I can see light ahead." You do slowly, Oliver keeping a hand on your ankle to keep the connection that is preventing you from panicking.

You reach a wall with a thin crack of light beaming in at the bottom. Oliver squeezes past you and delivers a sharp kick toward it. A metal grating pops off. You shield your eyes from the bright sunlight, the first natural light you have seen in many days. Oliver dangles his feet off the side and jumps down. You then feel hands about your waist, lifting you down into his embrace. Once your eyes adjust, you see that you are in a field bordering the compound you have been held in for so long.

Oliver keeps his grip on your hand and breaks into a run across the field. His superior stride and your physical condition after your confinement make it hard for you to keep up with him. Twice you stumble, only to be caught by his strong hands. "Nearly there Love, hang on." On the other side of the field is a tall stone wall. Again he boosts you up, and then scrambles up after you. When you sit up on the top, you see his car parked just below. Oliver jumps down and you follow. He catches you and helps you to the car.

Oliver peels out and drives for two straight hours, not stopping until you are in the mountains, in one of your Employer's safehouses. He has suggested you go to bed and get some rest. You kissed him and thanked him for worrying, and for rescuing you. But, you want a shower. You'd boil yourself if you could to get the smell of that place off of your skin.

You turn the water on as hot as you can stand it and lather up head to toe. As you are applying a handful of shampoo to your hair, Oliver steps in behind you. His arms come around your waist, rubbing over your stomach with a washcloth as his lips bathe your neck in kisses...

Have a Wonderful Monday!

GylzGirl :-)

You take off your sunglasses and lean back against the centuries old pillar as the wind plays through your hair. You are on location with Adam filming his second internationally televised magic special. With an actual budget behind this one, the production has moved to Greece. As the crew sets up the lighting rigs on the other side of the hill, you have wandered slightly away to take in the remaining beauty that was once Delphi.

Standing amidst the ruins with nothing but the sound of the wind makes it easy to picture yourself back in that time. Faint and ghostlike, you can almost see women with elaborately braided hair wearing loose, long flowing gowns milling about the building foundations. You can pick up a creaking noise in the air caused by equally spectral soldiers in their armor.

You close your eyes again and the breeze seems to have picked up a distinct chill. When you look again, a loose flowing gown that fastens above only one shoulder has replaced your practical jeans and jacket. You gasp in surprise only to find a masculine hand creeping across your abdomen. You turn to look but catch only a glint of metal in the sunlight before there are lips on your own, kissing you wildly.

When you finally pull back for air, you find Adam Klaus' smiling face peeking out at you from under the helmet of an ancient Roman soldier. He fondly strokes your hair while you gaze up at him, more than a little confused by all of this. "Ada..."

"Shh," he presses his finger to your lips. "I'm not supposed to be here. My people...they will likely be attacking soon. We're being issued new orders come tomorrow. But I could not go through with my duty without knowing you were safe."

If you thought you were confused before, it's nothing compared to now. "I don't understand."

"I have to get you into hiding. I have to get you someplace safe. Once everything is over, I will come back for you."

A little way off, you can hear voices. They are speaking in a language you don't recognize and seem to be growing angrier by the minute. When a word that sounds remarkably like "Spartans" reaches your ears, you see Adam's eyes widen with fear.

He spots a cave a few hundred yards into the rocks surrounding the hill and leads you briskly towards it by the hand. He goes ahead of you into its dimness. A gap in the rock formation above allows enough light in to keep it from being pitch dark. The cave is not very deep but Adam pulls you to the back and sits you down on a large rock. He kneels before you and pulls a golden medallion from around his neck.

"Listen to me now," he says as he places it around your neck. "You must stay here until I come and get you. If you are found by my countrymen, you show them this and tell them you are the wife of a Roman soldier." His hands slide into your hair. His kiss is desperate, radiating his fear. Until now, you thought Adam was playing some sort of game with you but now...you begin to feel afraid yourself. A tremble passes through you. He seems to sense this and breaks the kiss, looking up at you with eyes tearing from the depth of emotion in him. "Don't be afraid my Love. Venus did not bring us together to have me lose you now." He sits on the floor of the cave and pulls you from the rock, into his lap. He resumes his kisses as he lays back, holding you atop himself...

"Love?" Adam's voice and his hand on your shoulder cause you to open your eyes. When you do, you find yourself slumped at the bottom of the pillar. "Did you fall asleep?"

You shake your head and stand, trying to wake up. "I...I suppose I must have. Weird."

"Are you having a good time?"

You nod. "It's like coming home again."

"It looked like whatever you were dreaming was pretty...intense. Was it a nightmare?"

"Not exactly." Your eyes scan the craggy rockface just ahead until they spot the cave opening. You eagerly grab Adam's hand. "Come here a minute."

"Where?" he asks as you lead him in tow towards the cave from your dream. You dart inside, Adam ducking to follow behind you. It is just as you had envisioned it.

"I...I just dreamt of this place!"

"Have you been here before?"

"No, I haven't." It is the honest truth, but at the moment, it feels like such a lie. As you take in more of the surroundings, you see that even the rock you had sat upon is here. You feel your knees buckle beneath you a bit.

"Whoa!" Adam quickly whisks you into his arms. "I've got you. Steady on a minute."

He sits you on the rock and kneels before you, keeping hold of your hands...just like your dream. You begin to tremble slightly. "Ow," he looks down and moves his knee. Underneath, he brushes some of the dirt away from the cave floor and something metal glints up. He uncovers it a bit more and is able to pull it up. It is a golden medallion.

When he looks up at you, you seem transfixed by it. He smiles and dusts it off on his pants leg before placing it around your neck and pulling you down onto his lap. You kiss him, embracing him so hard that you knock him on his back on the cave floor. A chuckle erupts from his muffled mouth as he wraps his arms around you and rolls your positions.

Have a Magical Monday!

GylzGirl :-)