something from the archives: another sunset - part 9

it's about that time liz and michael give into the attraction...

Part 9

The images were shattered, scattered across the surface of her unconscious like shards of glass from a broken mirror, impossible to reconstruct and so ready to draw blood. The only thing that remained constant was the impressionistic feelings of terror and horror. But even they were undecipherable.

*****

Liz woke up screaming in the middle of the night. The sound reverberated through the small apartment. Waking the other two sleeping forms as dawn already snaking tendrils of light across the black sky. Her bedroom glowed in the eerie gleam of purple of the early morning sky.

The taste of blood in her mouth.

Michael ran into her bedroom and gathered her up in his arms, her body damp with the cold sweat of fear, shivers racking her small frame. He cradled her head on his shoulder and she curled up in his lap. Rocked her back and forth, rubbing his hands up and down her back, stopping the chills that shook her body. Allowing the warmth and security his body offered to envelop her. The soothing phrases he murmured in her ear calming her.

She didn’t even realize she was sobbing.

Clinging to Michael for dear life. 

*****

Alex ran in when he heard her scream, but saw immediately that his baby sister was where she needed to be. It was the first moment he had ever hoped she didn’t remember. It was the first moment that he even understood why it was that she had blocked it out entirely.

He caught Michael gaze, commanding him to protect her. And went to bed. Helpless against the demons that were ravaging his sister’s unconscious. And for the first time in the past week he didn’t fall asleep and wish for oblivion. 

*****

Liz held on to Michael’s shirt desperately. Afraid that if she let go she would break. Afraid that there would never be a way to put her back together again.

She wrung the cotton fabric between her fingers, pushing herself closer and closer to Michael’s body. 

Michael was anxious. Her tears were tearing him apart. The raw need in her was driving him wild.

 

Suddenly they were kissing. He could taste the tang of blood in her mouth and the salt of her tears. The sweetness of her as her tongue danced with his.

Taking a breath they looked into each other’s eyes.

“Elizabeth…” Michael managed in a strangled gasp. As she mesmerized him with her eyes and pulled his shirt off until her hands were touching his skin. Every nerve ending was alert, her gentle touch making his skin tingle.

He couldn’t remember how to breathe.

She kissed him again. Searingly. With so much need. 

Michael didn’t want to resist. He wanted to crush her in his arms and forget that she wasn’t really his. But he did.

As he put her away from his embrace, he felt bereft. A gaping hole torn away from his entrails. 

Just one kiss and he already felt like this. Michael knew he was lost.

“Michael. Please.” But he had to say no. He had no choice. Not if he wanted to do the right thing.

“Shh. Lie still. I’ll hold you.”

“But what if—?”

“Then I’ll be here. And I’ll wake you. I’ll protect you. I’ll watch over your sleep.”

“Promise me.”

“Anything.”

“Promise me you’ll be here when I get up.”

“I promise.”

She tried to sleep. She tried to ignore the hard body pressed against hers that provided comfort. It was a safe haven. It was home. In Michael's arms, Elizabeth knew who exactly who she was.

She knew he wanted her. She could feel the press of his erection at her back. Feeling bold she reached out and touched him. 

Michael groaned. "Elizabeth..." he whispered in warning. 

"Are you telling me to stop? Because if you don't want this, I'll stop." Liz asked pausing to squeeze the tip of his hard cock.

"Fuck, no, please don't stop." Michael ground out between clenched teeth. This was more than he could control. "Fuck, baby, I need I need to touch you. Let me."

And she did. She let him touch her. She let him kiss her. She let him take her body and join it with his. And this was what she needed. This was the only thing she had wanted. 

She'd wanted to be marked as his.

He'd been marked as hers too.

Michael knew that this was a mistake. Not because he hadn't wanted it though. He had wanted it. Liz was a dream come true. And making her his was all he'd dreamed of. 

He watched her sleep.

She was sleeping a lot more calmly, her hair billowing out across his arm as she lay curled toward him.

She whimpered softly and moved restlessly a moment before settling down. 

“What am I to do with you, Elizabeth?” He said as he pressed a kiss on the crown of her head. Shifting his body closer to hers as he too fell asleep. 

*****

A rage white-hot coursed through the veins and arteries of Max Evans’s body. His eyes narrowed to slits, he watched as his girl fucked the trailer-trash kid.

She never touched him like that.

She never wanted him to touch her.

The only color he saw was red, as it thundered through his arteries, as he stood on the balcony of Liz’s room.

 

Michael Guerin would have a thing or two coming his way. And so would Alex Parker from keeping him away. Liz was his. She had always been, and she would always be.

Max watched as they slept. And turned on his heel and left once he was sure nothing more would go on.

He had things to take care of. Things to do.

And he wouldn’t stay away. No matter who told him to.