© Carey MacLean, 2012

Chapter 6

It was Friday morning and for once, Mika had wanted to profit from the fact that she didn’t have to go to work but her eyes snapped open of their own accord.  She cursed her biological clock seeing as sleeping in meant that she technically had only gained half an hour.  Her daily work routine was wreaking havoc on her days off.

She lay there, wrapped in her cool silk sheets and smiled up at the ceiling as she remembered the easy conversation that she and Xavier had.  It was quite unusual for her to be able to feel at ease with any man other than a family member, especially after Carter’s personality had done a complete one-eighty on her.  Oddly enough, she had felt completely at ease while alone with Xavier.  Picking up the men she had offed was different to her.  First and foremost, she knew she was fully in control.  Second, her sense of respect had gone out the proverbial window when they waltzed into her hospital with their barely responsive wives in tow.  That in itself made dealing with these men a lot easier.

She finally made her way out of bed and headed downstairs to make herself a cup of coffee.  Mika’s thoughts floated toward Lance Denton.  She wasn’t quite sure how she wanted to deal with the guy anymore.  If she could simply push all of herself to the side, like with the others, she’d be able to simply wrap her legs around the man and bid him goodnight as she ended his miserable existence; but she couldn’t.

Sitting in her garden with her coffee, she pondered on alternate options.  She wanted quick and painless for herself, not necessarily for him.

When Xavier had arrived home the previous night, he couldn’t get himself to fall asleep for the life of him.  Instead, he had sat in his living room, clad in only his boxers and reviewed the files he had brought home from KGH.

He turned his head slightly to the side and groaned with the stiffness of his neck and shoulder muscles.  As he opened his eyes, he realized that he had fallen asleep on the floor as he had been leafing through the abundance of material.

He tidied up the files and got himself off the floor.  Heading into the kitchen, he pulled out the espresso beans and decided he really was going to need the java jolt.  He had far too much stuff to process and an urge he wanted to attempt to quench. 

The previous evening at Mika’s had been nice and quiet.  They had sat and talked for a couple of hours before he had gotten up to take his leave seeing as he didn’t want to overstay his welcome.  Things had remained quite subdued and respectful; he had kissed her on the cheek as he left and that was that.

He decided to head into the precinct today to run through the files he had started on; the information far from absorbed.  He figured that maybe Connor could help him out and at the same time, he’d be able to report something more substantial to the Captain.  He doubted that Saunders wanted to hear that he had nothing much due to the fact that his brain was stuck on one Mika Stafford, MD.

He was on the verge of pulling his hair out in frustration.  KGH might have been the common denominator between the whole of the deceased’s wives but beyond that, Xavier couldn’t get his head completely together long enough to process anything else.  He heard a knock and turned to find Connor standing in his office doorway.

“Dude, you look like you’ve had better days,” he came in and slapped his best friend on the back.  “Case getting to you?”

“I guess,” Xavier shrugged.

“Or is it a woman?”  He added questioningly.

Xavier let out a loud breath.

“I don’t know,” he paused and ran a hand through his already dishevelled hair.  “Maybe both.”

“I don’t get you, Xav,” Connor began.  “You’re normally so agile on your feet at wooing women.  What I don’t get is how you’ve lost it with that lady from the club.  Have you figured out who she is?”

Connor knew of the fact that Xavier and Mika had had a strong physical attraction that night but he had also known the fact that there was barely any conversation and that neither had exchanged names.  The only thing that Xavier had shared was the fact that he knew her address.

“I can always pull up her information in the system,” he offered.

“No need,” Xavier told him.

“So you caved and done your search?”  Xavier shook his head.

“No.  I dropped by Kensington General yesterday to pick up the files on the victims’ wives and she literally ran into me,” he couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

“Tell me you got her name this time and that you two have actually spoken!”

“Yeah,” Xavier confirmed and didn’t expect to see his best friend grinning like a fool for him.

The last time he had seen that grin was when he had married Suzie.

The men had gotten down to business with the Captain’s blessing.

Anything to get this case under our belts, he had told the both of them before sending them on their merry way.

“What did you say her name was again?”  Connor had asked him.

“I didn’t,” Xavier answered.

Connor gave him a look. 

“Mika.  Doctor Mika Stafford,” Connor’s face no longer registered exasperation or joy.  “Why?  What?”

“Ugh…  Look,” Connor handed him the files he had been looking through and pointed out a commonality with all of them.

It was right there.

Right in front of him.

“No way!”  Xavier exclaimed and grabbed onto each file and read through them like they were the most thrilling pieces of material he had ever laid eyes on.  “It says here-”

“That she was the main physician on each and every one of the cases,” Connor finished.

“Not just that,” Xavier added.  “She wasn’t the only one that’s been looking after these women.  Look at the next few pages.  The charts.  It’s like the whole damn health team is identical with every single one of these files.”

Connor hurried to the other stack of files that Xavier had been looking through as Xavier double-checked with each and every file that Connor had been riffling through.

“So we found it,” Xavier gulped; his heart raced at a hundred miles an hour.

He was driving to the hospital when he realized he had no clue what the hell he was doing.  He couldn’t very well walk in there and accuse an entire health team of being in cahoots or point fingers at individuals.

Connor had stayed behind to finish up some of his own files, the ones that used to be assigned to Detective Ryans.  Captain Saunders had tasked them to be partners for as long as Xavier needed the assistance.

His mind floated to Mika and the next thing he knew, instead of pulling up into the hospital parking lot, he found himself driving up the familiar four car driveway.

He realized where he was and grabbed his cell.  Sending a text to Connor, he told him not to worry about work for the weekend because he needed some time to think, devise a plan, and just generally clear his head.

He thought it odd that his body and mind were working separately these days and that didn’t bode well with him and the case at hand.  Taking a deep breath, he dialled the Captain’s number.  He dreaded what he was about to hear from the man and was thankful he wasn’t doing it in person.

“Saunders.  What is it?”  He said gruffly into the phone.

“Sir, it’s Ryans,” Xavier spoke.

“Ryans!  What’d you find out?”  The Captain asked him.

"I was calling because I think I need to step back for a few days,” Xavier was cringing as he awaited the verbal blow he was sure he would be subjected to.

“Take the rest of the day and the weekend.  You’ve done some good work Ryans but you looked like shit earlier.  I need you back in the game on Monday,” Saunders barked into the line and hung up on him.

Well that was better than expected, he thought to himself and jumped at the sound of a knock on his driver side window.

Rounding the corner to her street, she noticed the black jeep that sat in her driveway and as if her heart wasn’t pounding enough in her chest from her run, she felt it climb up into her throat as the sensation of it practically wanting to jump out of her mouth took over.

She slowed her pace to a walk deciding the last thing she wanted was to drop of heart attack of sorts with the pounding she was subjected to.

He’s just a damn man, woman, she reminded herself.  One you’ve spent the night thinking of.  One you dreamt about once you fell asleep, something in the back of her mind reminded her.

As she stopped by the jeep, she noticed that he was just sitting there.  He appeared nervous, almost scared and that’s when she noticed he was talking on his cell.  Mika waited until he put it down before knocking on his window.  She gave him an apologetic smile when she saw him jump and backed away to let him out of his car. 

There he stood in his uniform and my, was he a sight.  That’s when she rapidly took an inventory of what she was wearing, how she must look.

“Had I known you were a runner, I would have brought my shorts and joined you,” he smiled kindly.

She felt her face heat up and the chuckle gave away that he had noticed the blush.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”  She asked quickly, trying to break the sudden nerves that were threatening to get the better of her as she watched him eye her legs.

She felt quite bare all of a sudden with her spandex capri leggings and her sports bra top.

“I-I…”  His voice trailed off once his eyes met hers.  “I figured I’d stop by and see if-”

“Are you asking me out, Detective?”  She liked it when he got flustered this way; he nodded.  “What do you have in mind?”

“Anything you would like.  I thought about dinner seeing as I never took you out last night but anything else I’m game for,” he told her.

“How about we start with dinner and we take it from there?”  Mika asked him.

“Pick you up at four?”  He asked.

Mika looked down at her phone and noticed that it was a little after two thirty.

Why so early?

“Sounds great,” she told him with a smile.

“Great,” he smiled and opened the jeep door and hopped in.

Mika backed away from the vehicle and watched him back up.  He stopped and rolled down the window.

“Dress casual and bring a light jacket.”

He winked and drove off.

She had rushed into the house as soon as she had lost sight of Xavier’s jeep and jumped in the shower.

I don’t remember ever being this excited for a date, she thought to herself as she wrapped her towel around her body.

Slathering some lotion over her body, she chucked her towel into the laundry shoot and walked over to her dresser, pulled out a black set of underwear and bra.  She had the perfect outfit in mind.

She headed back and dried her hair and did her makeup.  She never really liked wearing too much so she opted with keeping things mostly natural and to the bare minimum.  She slid her dark washed skinny jeans on and then opted for a black tank top covered by her shimmery charcoal grey off the shoulder shirt.  Sealing her look with a touch of lip gloss and black ballet flats, she headed downstairs to wait.

He looked at the clock on his dashboard as he pulled up her driveway.  It was five minutes to four.  He shoved his nerves to the back of his mind and walked up to her door and rang the bell.  She answered within seconds which made him laugh internally.  He was a sucker for punctuality but he was thrilled that she seemed as excited about their date as he was.

“Hey,” he said as he handed Mika a single red rose.  “Another to add to that ridiculous display of yours I got you yesterday,” he laughed and wondered if she detected the nerves that had suddenly made a resurgence; leaving his voice shaky.

“Thank you,” she got on the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek.

He so desperately wanted to continue where they had left off the first night they had met.  She looked amazing in those tight jeans and he couldn’t help but notice that firm ass of hers when she turned toward her living room to add the rose to the others.

She came back with her purse and the jacket he had requested she bring along with them.  She locked the front door and he set his hand on her lower back to guide her to his jeep.  She passed him to jump in and he took in the sweet scent of her perfume.  He ran around and got in the driver’s seat and started the vehicle.

He drove them to the waterfront and parked the jeep.  Getting out, he rushed by the front to get to her door to assist her.  He heard her giggle as she grabbed his hand and hopped out.

“Is there a point where I get to open a door?”  She asked him.

“Only if I’m not with you and every other man out there lacks manners,” he smirked.

“I hate to break it to you Xav but you’re a rare breed,” she laughed lightly.

“So unfortunate,” he chuckled and reached for her hand as he locked his car with his remote.  “Come on.”

He began to pull her along.

They walked on the boardwalk by the water for a ways before they stumbled upon their next stop.  It was a beachside café.  A place that Xavier loved to come to that served the best Italian food.

“I figured that I’d take you to one of my favourite places,” he told her as he opened the door to let her in.  “My parents used to bring me here as a kid.  They make the best gelato in the area.”

“I’ve never had that before,” she stated and he was shocked at her revelation.

Their meal had been served and eaten; conversation flowed freely and again, like the previous night, Mika was baffled at how easy it was to be around Xavier.  Nothing was forced.  Between the shy and sweet moments, there were others that were more daring and flirtatious that balanced the entire evening out.  She didn’t know what to think about it all.  With Carter, everything seemed to have been forced, even in the good days.  She had always strived to be the perfect trophy wife.  With Xavier, she only had to be herself and she knew that that was enough somehow.  If it wasn’t, he hadn’t let on to that effect.

She watched as Xavier had made his way back to the table after excusing himself only moments before.  Her eyes were fused to his body as she drank him in through those dark jeans and that white button shirt he had rolled up to his elbows and hanging off of his torso, un-tucked.  She subconsciously licked her lips and noticed his smirk as their eyes finally met.  Quickly, she averted her eyes and felt herself blushing.

“Has anyone told you how hot it is when you blush?”  He chuckled.

Her head snapped up to look at him as he took his seat and moved it closer to hers.

“No one,” her voice came out soft and almost at a whisper.

“Well, you are,” he told her and held her gaze.

She smiled and looked away from him before he tilted her head up by her chin and leaned into her.  As she went to meet his lips with hers, there was a throat clearing noise from behind her, making her jump.

“I’m sorry.  Here’s the dessert you requested Xav,” she said shyly and as quickly as she set the bowl down, she scurried off.

Mika turned and looked down to notice the single bowl of what she could only assume as being gelato.  She reached for her spoon but Xavier put his hand over hers and squeezed lightly.

“Let me,” he scooped some and held it by her lips.

She smiled at him and indulged him.

His heart picked up as she gave in and took the spoonful of gelato in her mouth.  Xavier watched her soft lips close around the spoon.  He couldn’t deal with it anymore.  Truthfully, he didn’t want to.  The fact that she closed her eyes and then moaned as she swallowed the iced treat didn’t help him either.  He softly pressed his lips to hers and pulled away.

“You shouldn’t do that,” he told her as she bit her bottom lip.

She looked confused at his statement.

“Do what?”

“That.”

He took his thumb and rubbed it so he could free her bottom lip from her teeth.

“Why?”  She smirked.

“Because,” he started, “if you bite any harder, you’ll hurt that lip and-”

“And?”  Her smirk turned into a full out beaming smile.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who seems to want more, he thought.

“And I’d be forced to do this,” he shifted his hand to cradle her cheek and leaned in and pecked her bottom lip.  “And this,” he pecked her upper lip.  “And-”

“This,” she whispered as she grabbed his face with both hands and crushed her lips to his and whimpered when he pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers. 

“How ‘bout we finish this and get going,” he pecked her again quickly and this time, he picked up his spoon and took a bite.  “I told you it was the best,” he smirked at her as she only shook her head at him for starting something he had yet to finish.

“I have to say, I think you’ve ruined every other gelato experience for me from now on,” she looked at him and nudged his side gently with her shoulder.

They were seated on the beach as they simply enjoyed the surf rolling in.  She was glad to have brought her jacket like Xavier had suggested.  The wind coming off the water was chilly and he must have figured that she’d be content with spending the evening outside.

Silence had found them and Mika was surprised that she still felt comfortable and far from awkward.  On a few occasions, she had caught Xavier massaging his neck and the side of his shoulders.

“What’s wrong with your neck?”  She finally asked.

“Bad night of sleeping,” he looked at her and smiled sheepishly.

She smiled back and in that moment, an idea struck her.  She got to her knees and he made a move to follow her.

“Stay,” she told him softly with a hand on his arm.

She ran her hand over to his shoulder and came to a stop behind him.

“Let me see if I can fix that,” she whispered by his ear and she could have sworn that she heard him groan.

Her hands immediately went to work, kneading the knots and tense muscles as he leaned back into her.

“I have faith that you’re a phenomenal doctor, Doc but I think you might have missed your true calling,” he mumbled as he grabbed her hands so they’d come to a still.

“You think?”  She laughed lightly with amusement.

“Mmm,” he confirmed and once he leaned forward, she moved to find her spot next to him but he got up.

He extended his hand to her and helped her up.  She found her footing and noticed that the chill she had felt earlier had dissipated.  Xavier had moved so he stood right in front of her.  He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and wrapped that same hand behind her neck as he looked at her.  She wondered what was going on in his head and hoped that it was the same that was rolling around in hers.  She smiled, biting down on her lip and noticed his eyes grow darker as they zoned onto her mouth.  With that, he leaned in and kissed her nice, long, and slow.  None of them could deny the fireworks that were present.  He was extremely sensual with his ministrations.  There was no need for liquid courage; no need for sexy dancing or Latin music.  In those seconds, Mika felt most of the world disappear around her as he left both of them breathless from his kiss.

“More,” she whispered as she crushed her lips to his.

This kiss and its aggressiveness demanded more from him.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and grabbed hold of his hair so as to pull him into her as he wrapped his arms around her and ran his hands over her back. 

She felt his tongue on her lips and immediately allowed him entrance.  She moaned at his sweet and warm taste and felt his lips curl into a smile against hers.  His lips left hers and trailed down to her jaw, neck and that soft spot of hers below her ear where she let another breathless moan escape her swollen lips.

The woman was insatiable.  He simply couldn’t get enough of her which thrilled him when she pulled him in for more.  Xavier knew that the evening was drawing to a close and that he wasn’t quite ready to go home to an empty and cold bed to which he would most likely not sleep a wink.

“Xav,” Mika moaned his name as his cool hands found their way inside her shirt and onto the bare skin of her back.

He pulled away to look at her face.  She was flushed, her pupils dilated, her breathing almost at a pant and her body arched into his.

“Keep saying my name like that and we’ll both be in trouble,” he smiled.

“Keep doing what you’re doing and that’s a promise to find trouble,” she told him breathlessly as her hands trailed down his chest and she began nibbling on his solid jaw and down his neck.

“You have no idea how much restraint I’m displaying right now,” he growled as her lips found his neck following a trail where she nibbled at his earlobe.

“Don’t hold back on my count,” she said softly in a husky tone.

“Your place or mine?”  He asked as he pulled away, the sense of urgency to quench his thirst hitting him twofold.

“Which one’s closest?”  She wondered aloud.

“Mine.”

                                          *************************************

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