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abby82
desires and weakness
by abby82
category: missing scene
rating: Explicit
word count: 8,845
disclaimer: they don’t belong to me, no money is being made. I’m only borrowing them.
story finished: June 2022
links: LJ | AO3 | Tumblr
summary: Michael confronts Nikita about her approach towards Helmut Volker.
The bathroom in the bedroom provided to them by their target Helmut Volker was resplendent with dark cabinets and dark crown molded wainscoting walls. Nikita’s cosmetics, tubes of rouge, kohl pencils, and lotions were on the counter, scattered in artful disarray. To Michael’s immediate left, a large freestanding slipper bathtub sat enticingly. An impressive wall of decorative moss loomed over it. It was the perfect compliment to the hanging philodendrons and potted snake plants and parlor palms that filled the space. Overall, the ensuite resembled a dark, exclusive and intimate spa.
Nikita, however, was not soaking in the large bathtub. Instead, Michael could see her nude figure through the steam of the clear frameless shower door. The fragrance that filled the room added to the sensual ambiance. As Nikita moved within the shower, her pale figure would emerge through the steam offering tantalizing glimpses of her body.
If they were anywhere else, Michael could have convinced himself to appreciate his surroundings, especially given his partner on the mission. Instead, he found himself detached and sickened by the opulence around him.
The light velvet robe and silk nightgown Nikita had been wearing earlier rested on a nearby hook. When she wore them, he could see the soft contours of her body beneath the cool fabric. Her breasts swayed slightly as she moved around the bedroom and Michael had longed to reach out and ease her out of the concealing fabric.
She was exquisite.
At times Michael could hardly believe that such a short while ago the traumas of the Gelman process had been upon them. That Nikita had been alarmingly indifferent to his concern and that Michael had found himself fighting not only Section but a Nikita tasked with containing him. She was a Nikita that remembered their relationship and tried to leverage the memory of it to convince him that she still stood beside him. She was all hushed, intimate confessions and pleading blue eyes. She used the proximity of her near naked body pressed up against him to try and manipulate. That’s exactly what Nikita had become, a vessel used for manipulation. The warmth that normally encapsulated Nikita was absent. She had been reduced to a beautiful woman who could kill in cold blood. She certainly tried with him.
Nikita shifted once more in the shower and Michael took in the long, graceful lines of his lover’s body. She was positioned underneath the rainfall shower head and her hands were in her hair as she wrung the shampoo from her washed hair. Her blonde hair was heavy and darkened with water.
Upon their arrival, they had swept the bedroom and bathroom for surveillance equipment. They had found none, but Michael preferred not to take any chances. He lowered the pajama pants he wore and stepped out of them. His eyes swept over Nikita one final time through the glass before he opened the shower door and stepped inside.
The scent of bergamot, chamomile, and rose was stronger inside. He was certain that Nikita was aware of his presence the minute he stepped inside the bathroom, but she continued with her ablutions without acknowledging him, even now as he stood a few steps away.
“You here to help me wash my back?” Nikita finally offered in greeting. She didn’t turn around, but he could hear the amusement in her voice. “And all those hard to reach places?”
Michael stood there silently and continued to take her in.
“This is rather bold of you,” Nikita remarked when she turned around and eyed him appreciatively. “And in the middle of a mission, too,”
“Not so bold, if memory serves,” he commented quietly. Michael stepped closer to her and reached out with a single finger to trace the curve of her left shoulder down her arm to the elbow. Despite the heat of the shower, he felt her shiver ever so slightly at his touch. He took the sea sponge she held in her hand and squeezed it experimentally, seeing the soap suds it spilled. Slowly, he began to sweep it around Nikita’s slick breasts.
Nikita sighed softly when he grazed the stiff peaks of her breasts and her eyelids drooped at the sensation. Her hands found their way to his chest, where she outlined his pectorals. Her touch was feather light before she ran her nails teasingly down to his waist. She softly ran her fingers against his flank and down to his thighs. Her touch caused the arousal that already simmered within him to burn even brighter. His body was always acutely aware of Nikita’s proximity. It responded to her in a way that it did with no other.
Michael took in the rosiness that coated Nikita’s skin from both the heat of the shower and her growing arousal. She was exceedingly lovely. With his free hand he circled one of her nipples with his fingertips in what he knew was a frustrating gesture. Michael loved teasing her like this. Nikita huffed in frustration. She captured her lower lip with her teeth and shifted her body in an attempt to encourage more contact. At the same time, she wasn’t content to simply receive his seductive teasing. Her hands had reached the backs of his thighs and eventually she gripped his ass in a playful tit for tat. He felt her nails scrape at his skin in a way that made his cock swell even further. When Michael finally squeezed the soft mound he teased, Nikita moaned softly in pleasure.
They continued like this for several moments as he continued to wash Nikita’s torso from her shoulders and down to the wet dark blonde curls near her sex. Every single one of her curves were carefully attended to. Nikita was now clutching his forearms. He wasn’t the only one who was attuned to the other. Her eyes were dark pools of desire. She would repeatedly shift her body seeking out more of his touch. The teasing was torture for both of them. Michael watched mesmerized as soap gathered on her glistening skin and quickly washed away by the spray’s contact.
A chest high ledge ran the length of the shower. Like the rest of the bathroom, it was filled with a number of draping greenery and ferns. Toiletries were nestled inconspicuously among them. Michael deposited the sponge on an available space before he finally brought Nikita’s slick body against his own. His arousal, which had grown with every sweep of Nikita’s hands and those of his own on her body, grazed her stomach. Nikita’s mouth curved into a small smile at the contact and she provocatively undulated against it. Michael bit back a moan at the sensation of Nikita rubbing her wet body against his arousal. Her fingers caressed his shoulders and upper back. Her lips had begun to nip at his neck and her tongue would immediately soothe the mark away.
Cocooned in this private oasis, it wasn’t difficult to get lost in the moment and in Nikita’s welcoming caress. Michael’s lips grazed her cheek, her temple and he rubbed his face against hers. Like a cat, he wanted to mark her.
“You’re being quite attentive to Helmut Volker,” he whispered into her ear.
“Hmm,” she reacted, slightly dazed as he nuzzled her neck and kissed at her pulse point. She arched against him, rubbing her breasts against his chest. Her hands were draped across his shoulders and her fingers played with his wet hair.
“It’s unnecessary,” he continued, despite the tempting distraction before him. His voice was soft, but there was no mistaking his serious tone.
“I disagree,” Nikita pulled back slightly, more alert. She’d rightfully concluded that this encounter wasn’t merely an attempt to steal some private time together. “He’s a hedonist. A little flirtation can go a long way.”
“It’s not a part of the profile.” His hands dropped to her breasts and cupped their weight. His thumbs teased her erect nipples, wanting to salvage something of their earlier mood.
“You’re not exactly being friendly,” she countered, after a breathy sigh.
“I don’t have to be,” Michael twisted the peaks with his fingers and Nikita gasped in pleasure.
“Well one of us does,” she muttered before she kissed him passionately.
It was a powerful and claiming kiss. Her tongue teased the seam of his lips and Michael easily opened his mouth to welcome her in. Their lips dragged against each other; their tongues rough and aggressive with need.
Nikita wrapped one arm around his neck while her other hand drifted across his abdomen. His stomach contracted at the contact. The hand moved further down and then along the length of his cock, still painfully rigid between them. Between the sensation of her hand on him and her tongue sweeping in his mouth, Michael lost himself in the woman before him. He was hers.
Their lips soon parted, seeking oxygen; a difficult thing in the hot and steamy shower.
“I’m just grateful we weren’t asked to engage him in a threesome,” She confided. Nikita’s mouth hovered over his before she leaned in to tease his parted lips. “The way he teases you tells me he’d be open to the suggestion.”
Her fingers encircled his arousal with a tight grip and Nikita stroked him. Her hand felt wonderful. Michael leaned his forehead against hers and allowed himself to get lost in her touch. He tilted his head and nuzzled against her temple. He breathed in the aroma of shampoo and soap.
This moment was perfect in its simplicity. He’d take these moments where he could. Her touch was heady and he watched with fascination at the teasing smile on her lips. She had him right where he wanted to be.
“So instead you offer him yourself?” He questioned disapprovingly.
Nikita arched an eyebrow. She was defiant in her conviction.
One of his hands had drifted down between her legs. Through her curls, dampened by water and arousal, he thumbed at the sensitive bundle of nerves he found there. She whimpered at the contact and lunged forward to capture his lips once more. Her tongue curled against his, stroking and further driving his need for her. For the moment, they were lost in each other. Michael pulled back and took in Nikita’s face. Pleasure rippled across her features. He never tired of watching her. Her breath hitched slightly when he slipped two fingers inside her. He touched her in the way instinct and experience told him she craved.
“We do what we have to do.” Nikita’s statement broke through the sensual haze between them. Michael remembered telling her essentially those same words before she was sent back to finish her seduction of Alec Chandler. She was rightfully angry at the lack of trust between them; at the blatant manipulation of her feelings to achieve Section objectives. “You’ve advocated that in the past.”
He hated it then. He detested it even more now.
He remembered it well. He’d tracked Nikita’s growing infatuation and respect for Chandler and tiny seeds of jealousy began to grow within him. It shouldn’t have bothered him. She was just his material and she was fulfilling the promise that Section One saw in her–a beautiful woman who could ingratiate herself to a powerful and dangerous man. Instead Michael found himself silently stewing as Nikita fell for the charming and philanthropic facade Chandler presented. He also found himself disturbed by his role in withholding the truth from her.
He was never this conflicted when it came to Simone’s missions or to his own during their marriage. They came home to each other and that was what was important. Nikita, in contrast, turned his world upside down. He didn’t want her on seduction missions. He’d profiled many but Nikita was only incorporated in the most minor of scenarios. He leaned heavily on her strength and value as a field operative. For the most part it worked.
There was an edge to her now. In that moment she was all sharp edges, even as she molded her body sensually to his and received his lover’s touch. They belonged to each other. There would be no room for compromises; not with this. Anger and confusion spurred Michael to action and he pushed her back against the tiled wall. His forearms bracketed her head and his body held her in place.
“Are you on a secondary mission?” His voice was quiet but strained.
Given recent events, he wouldn’t put it past Operations and Madeline to keep him out of the loop if there was another objective.
“No,” she replied, breathless and her eyes dark.
Nikita bit back a moan as Michael further crowded against her. Her lips parted slightly in anticipation. He pressed against her with the full length of his body. Their naked and aroused bodies in complete contact. He devoured her mouth in a possessive kiss. Nikita whimpered into his mouth before she aggressively began to return his kiss. She opened her mouth and his tongue slipped in and sought out hers. There was an undercurrent of violence in their kiss. He was not going to let Section interfere with their relationship. He needed Nikita to know that. He needed her to know that no matter the circumstances, he would fight for them.
Their lips separated with a pop and he could see a small furrow between Nikita’s brows.
“You’re jealous.” She sounded confused but so certain.
He slipped a thigh between her legs and Nikita grounded herself on him, moaning at the stimulation. He felt her natural moisture coat his upper thigh.
“I’m concerned.”
He kissed her again. He held her face firmly against his and readily explored her mouth with his tongue. Nikita aggressively continued to rock against his thigh seeking out more of the stimulation it provided. It was raw and inelegant as they rutted against each other.
Nikita tore her mouth from his and cried out his name. Her hands clawed at his lower back where she pulled him closer against her.
“Please,” she begged.
He straightened against her and removed his leg from her wet center. He hiked one of her legs over his hip and Michael entered her swiftly and without preamble. Nikita let out a sharp gasp before her inner muscles tightened exquisitely around him. He filled her completely and his entrance was effortless. She was so wet. Michael kissed her again and took possession of her mouth. She matched his intensity. Her teeth caught his lower lip and she pulled.
Nikita’s arms were wrapped around him and she clutched to him with increasing ardor. Michael pulled his hips back and promptly thrust back in with strong, short thrusts. Each thrust punctuated his words. “Don’t…engage…more…than you need to.” Nikita could only respond with corresponding gasps. Each thrust drove a new and breathy gasp out of her. Michael held her face in one of his hands, keeping their eyes locked. His concern was real. His love was ever present. What was she doing?
Nikita bit her lower lip and her eyelids fluttered shut. Their bodies moved in unison. The intensity between them built with each passing second. She moaned deeply and Michael released a low growl from his chest. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and kissed the heated space between her ear and jawline. Strands of wet blonde hair curled against her neck and he mouthed at them too.
“Nikita,” he moaned into her skin.
He was drunk on the perfection of her body around him. He drove his body into hers, against the shower wall and was consumed with need for her. It was through their lovemaking that they spoke the most clearly to each other. It was how they were the most honest and most open to each other. There was nothing but naked emotion between them.
Nikita kissed his neck and licked away at the water she found there. When she bit into the skin of his shoulder after a particularly forceful thrust, Michael gripped under her thighs and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs securely around his hips and they continued moving against each other.
“Anna and Freddie are lovers…devoted…they aren’t fickle or unfaithful.”
Nikita laughed bitterly. “Too naive…money talks.”
Michael didn’t like her pessimistic attitude nor the suggestion that he was naive. He dug his fingers into the flesh of her bottom in retaliation. She gasped and tightened tortuously around him. She was going to have bruises there tomorrow.
He wanted to imprint himself on her. His thrusts grew more forceful and Nikita took them all easily. She moaned. Her pleasure was apparent and further spurred Michael on. His hands gripped her ass and he lifted her again and again over his arousal. Her breasts raked against his chest in a haphazard rhythm that was maddening.
He pressed her back against the wall securely and changed the angle of his lovemaking. He would give Nikita her climax. He pushed into her, using the wall for leverage, while he still held her legs to his hips.
“Oh!” Nikita cried out. She nearly jumped out of her skin and her fingernails dug into his shoulders where she held on.
Michael ducked his head and took one of her nipples in his mouth. He worried his teeth over the hardened bud, causing Nikita to react. Her orgasm hit with ferocity and her body attempted to bring him with her. It took immense concentration to not give into his body’s plea for release. Nikita’s cries echoed in the steaming room as it bounced off the tiled walls. He switched to her other breast and took it into his mouth as well. Nikita continued to whimper softly as her body convulsed around his.
He held still within her. Nikita’s heart beat erratically underneath his lips. The sound of the water mingled with the sound of Nikita’s slowing breaths and it proved soothing to Michael's base desire to move within her and reach his own release.
Michael lowered her legs to the ground and Nikita swayed slightly as she attempted to steady herself. His erection slipped out of her body and he instantly mourned the loss of her heat. Nikita looked around dazed and apparently confused as to why he was no longer inside her so soon after her orgasm.
He tilted her face towards his and kissed her tenderly on the lips
Before Nikita could deepen their kiss, he turned her so that she faced the glass door of the shower. Once again he molded his body to hers so that they were in full contact. Michael ran his hands from her shoulders and down her arms to her waist. His erection rested against her lower back and he kissed the space between her shoulder blades.
Nikita pushed her bottom back against him and Michael moaned with pleasure. Nikita laughed knowingly at his reaction and continued to tease him with her body.
Feeling challenged, Michael’s hands moved to her breasts and Nikita moaned as he squeezed them. Her own hands covered his and together they palmed them and tweaked her nipples. She let her head drop backwards against his shoulder and Michael sought out her parted lips. They kissed without a concept of time. Nikita arched her back against their arms and Michael rubbed his erection against her lower back and the cleft of her bottom.
His right hand abandoned the breast he held and traveled down Nikita’s flat stomach to where she was the most sensitive. He massaged her clit with two fingers and Nikita cried out. She rocked, seeking out more of his touch, of which he was happy to oblige.
She squirmed against him and Michael indulged in holding a Nikita awash with passion and arousal. It was heady to know that he was the one bringing her such pleasure.
Michael moved her forward until she was pressed up against the glass shower door. She gasped at the sensation of the cool glass on her overheated skin. With his hands on her hips he pulled her lower body back towards him. Michael guided the tip of his cock towards her opening and he entered the welcoming grip of Nikita’s heat once more. They both groaned in unison and Nikita held herself against the door.
Michael slammed into her from behind repeatedly, his hands gripping her waist. Nikita’s movements synchronized with his in perfect rhythm, moving vigorously along his length. He growled low in his chest at the feel of her hot body consuming him.
Nikita’s skin glistened with residual water and its rosy flush tempted his mouth. Sweeping wet hair from the nape of her neck, Michael peppered her neck and shoulders with sucking kisses.
From over one of her shoulders he could see Nikita’s breasts molded against the shower door with each and every thrust inside her. Her fingers were pressed against the glass, seeking something to ground herself to.
“Oh…fuck,” she whispered. She wasn’t prone to profanity during their lovemaking but he’d be lying if there wasn’t a part of him that didn’t savor the knowledge that he’d driven her to that point.
“Like that?” He asked, low and possessively.
“God…yes.”
She reached out behind them and yanked on his hair, drawing his lips to hers. Nikita’s mouth was ravenous and she moaned deeply, conveying the deep pleasure she was experiencing. Her kiss was wet, slightly uncoordinated and sensuous. Michael loved it.
His fingers left their place on her hips and skimmed across them to revisit her clitoris. She cried out at the extra stimulation when Michael made contact, whimpering into the glass door she was propped up on.
Their frenzied lovemaking was reaching a fever pitch. Nikita’s heavy gasps of pleasure along with his own answering ones were low and private. Their bodies were one with each other. It didn’t take long after that. Michael knew she was close. There was a desperation that consumed them both as they moved against each other. And then they were there…the most intense kind of pleasure coursed through them, starting at where they were intimately connected and radiating outwards. Careening towards a mutual orgasm with the woman he loved was the single most satisfying thing in Michael’s life.
In the immediate aftermath of their volatile lovemaking, all Michael and Nikita could do was breathe heavily against each other. Michael had his arms wrapped around her waist and they both leaned against the shower door. He did a few passing thrusts into her while there was still some stiffness to his waning erection. Nikita sighed pleasantly at the extra attention. It was such a simple way to keep the connection between them as long as possible. Eventually, Michael watched himself slip out of her precious heat when he’d softened enough.
A bemused laugh erupted from Nikita in a puff of air.
Nikita promptly turned around and wrapped her arms tightly around him. She buried her face in his neck. He could hear her very faintly whisper his name. She lightly kissed down his neck and to his shoulders. He was uncompromising in his own hold over her. He savored the feeling of her skin against his as she shifted lightly. He counted her vertebra with his fingertips and he took in the smell of her shampoo in her hair.
He had to look at her. He pulled back and swept her wet hair across her temple. He cupped her face between his hands and kissed her reverently–first her forehead, then the tip of her nose and finally her soft lips.
“Trust me,” she whispered when they parted. Her eyes were bright and they looked at him imploringly.
“I do.”
Michael trusted Nikita like no other but he’d be lying if her recent Gelman induced betrayals hadn’t stung. It gave Michael a glimpse into a world where Nikita placed Section above him. It was a mirror into their own past. How many times had he placed Section before Nikita? It was something that Nikita had often reminded him of. His feelings for her had always run deep but his allegiance to Section had taken precedent in most instances. Regret didn’t change the fact that he’d manipulated the most important person in his world. Nikita will forever be in her right to withhold her trust in him. Yet, she still forgave him and accepted that his love had brought along thorns with it.
“Hey, you haven’t washed.” Nikita’s hands drifted from his chest to his abdomen. She smiled playfully in a way that was entirely reminiscent of the Nikita from before. “I can take care of that for you.”
Nikita reached for the shampoo and then massaged the liquid into his hair. She smiled, clearly enjoying herself as she worked it in vigorously. Michael closed his eyes momentarily as he let himself get lost in the soothing rhythm of her hands in his hair. The sweet intimacy of her actions moved him. For his part, Michael smiled softly at her as he watched her.
She soaped up the discarded sponge and ran it over his body. The coy amusement in her face only grew as she ran the sponge across his chest and down his arms. Her attentive washing of his body was fond. Michael squeezed her bottom and Nikita playfully retaliated by returning the favor.
She kneeled before him and ran the sponge down his legs and along his feet. Like her attention to his upper body, Nikita lovingly caressed his outer and inner thighs, his knees and calves, and lastly his penis and testicles. Before she rose, she playfully nipped at his hip before she stood up straight again.
Returning the sponge to the ledge signaled Nikita’s completion of her task.
“There…ready to face the day.” The softest of smiles graced her face. Nikita’s eyes, luminous and the most exquisite shade of blue, sparkled at him
Michael traced the side of her face with his right hand and gazed into those brilliant eyes of hers that always held him captive.
With both of them washed, their lips met in the sweetest of kisses. It was a long and languid kiss that captured his devotion to the woman in front of him. Even sated, their bodies still called to each other, remembering the pleasure the other gave.
“Thank you,” he spoke against her lips. Michael kissed her top lip and then her lower lip.
The water suddenly turned cold and Nikita gasped in surprise. Michael stepped them both deftly aside before he reached for the handle to shut off the water. He looked at her in amusement as he wrapped Nikita in a plush towel. He wrapped a second towel around his hips as an afterthought.
Their mission was to wrap up today. They’d get what they needed and head back. There were still some tender wounds between them. This mission would simply delay but not stop the time they needed to heal each other.
The comfort of home was what they needed.
At breakfast, Volker threw innuendos their way when he remarked about the obscenely large hot water tank that serviced the bedrooms in the mansion and how it had miraculously reached its limits. He leered at them as he inquired if they had any complaints about his hospitality.
“Your shower is incredibly decadent,” Nikita complimented. “Freddie had to go in there and practically drag me out.” She turned to look at him and her lips quirked up in an admiring smile.
“A difficult task indeed,” Volker leered. Michael knew he was seeing images of a naked and wet Nikita in his head.
Helmut Volker’s fascination with them didn’t stop at the breakfast table.
His invitation to the shooting range was to be a brief distraction before they were to conduct the business of the day. Instead, it was the first of many tiresome activities that dragged out for the entire day.
After his failed demonstration of a Volkworks rocket launcher, Volker was determined to find an activity where he could show off his perceived skills.
They spent the day bouncing around from one corner of the grounds to another. The property was a playground meant to entertain the bored and rich.
Michael had played his earlier marksmanship as an anomaly and Volker latched onto that. They worked their way through several skeet shoot stations he had available. Michael tempered his accuracy to avoid unnecessary questions. He’d even handed the rifle to Nikita to alleviate what he could see was boredom in the listless way she carried herself. Even with her eyes shielded by sunglasses, Michael could read the subtle signs in her posture and in the tilt of her head. She too missed as much as she hit.
Nikita would stroke his arms and back affectionately all the while flashing Volker a brilliant smile. She was skillfully balancing Anna’s relationship with Freddie while continuing to charm their host.
Volker maintained a running commentary that was meant to amuse but merely frustrated Michael with its tediousness. Brunch was now in full swing at the mansion. The agreed upon time of their business transaction was upon them but still they lingered outside.
The rooms of Helmut Volker’s mansion were filled with youthful hanger-ons. They drank Volker’s alcohol, consumed his food, and used his drugs.
Rather than leave them, and put in an appearance with his other guests, Volker had other ideas.
Michael idly wondered that if he’d shown to be a consistently poor shot, if Volker would have been appeased and would have ended his attempts to discover “whose was bigger”. The truth was, Michael had enjoyed the little rewards Nikita bestowed upon him every time he hit his mark. She was physically possessive with him in ways they had never been allowed. Whether it was a squeeze of his shoulder, a peck on the lips, or her husky purr as she called him “Darling”, Michael enjoyed them all. It annoyed him to admit that in some ways he was no better than Volker. His ego had ruled his actions that morning.
“Too much fresh air can run havoc with one’s complexion. Don’t you think? Can I interest you in a game of billiards, Freddie?” Volker asked as they walked back towards the house. “I’ll have some refreshments brought our way.”
“I’d rather finish what we came here to do.” Michael’s tone was brisk, but he mentally acknowledged that they still needed to isolate Volker somewhere away from his office. “We have business to attend to in Amsterdam.”
“Freddie and I really should be going,” Nikita added. Several of Volker’s guests waved at him from the balcony they’d congregated at. “And you clearly have others wanting your attention.”
“Nonsense, they hardly know I’m missing, and you simply can’t run off on me now. I’m hoping that seeing me with the two of you will make them obscenely jealous.”
Back inside the mansion, they found themselves in a spacious game room complete with a wet bar, pool table, dart board, and several pinball and arcade games. Nikita perched herself against a pinball machine and eyed him wickedly.
Temporarily alone, Michael eased his way to her and boxed her in with his arms. His eyes dropped to her lips and Nikita licked them in anticipation. He grazed his lips on her neck and took in the warmth of her skin.
“Don’t give him any ideas,” he whispered into her ear.
She gave him a devilish smile in return before she kissed him just underneath his chin. Nikita opened her mouth as if to say something before Michael sensed Volker arriving back in the room.
“Anna, is the superior pool player,” he turned and told him.
Volker appeared delighted at the information and crowded up against them, completely disregarding their personal space.
“As deadly as she is beautiful. I would be honored to lose any game at your hand.”
And lose Volker did. They played six games of eightball, with Nikita and Michael alternating against Volker. Nikita won four matches and Michael won two. A spread of refreshments were brought in to keep them fed while the rest of the mansion ran amuck with revelers.
Volker took his losses well. The near superfluous compliments he bestowed on Nikita were repetitious. Nikita smiled gamely at the attention and provided enough reciprocal attentiveness to be polite.
Before another attempt to get their mission on track could be broached, Volker’s attendant appeared to confer quietly with his employer.
“Excellent, Alex!” Volker exclaimed at the information.
“How’s your golf game, Freddie?” Volker inquired. He had almost given up the pretense of an afternoon of friendly sportsmanship.
Michael and Nikita exchanged a subtle look. Michael knew what Volker was banking on. What kind of experience would a German drug dealer have with the polished game of golf?
“Not the best,” he answered amicably. “I haven’t hit the course in years.”
“Nothing to be ashamed of. You’re a busy man.”
A more than friendly arm was wrapped around his shoulders as Volker steered him towards the hallway. “I have a driving range on the premises if you care to brush up on your swing. Alex has just informed me that he’s prepared it for us.”
Michael’s eyes locked with Nikita’s once more. He could see curiosity in her blue eyes.
“Why not, if I can trouble you for some clubs.”
“My friend, only the best.”
Volker led them to a hitting bay on the farside of the mansion. Before them stretched a fairway marked with distance markers up to 400 yards. A generously sized basket of golf balls waited for them. A rack with assorted clubs was also positioned nearby.
Michael shrugged off his coat and handed it to Nikita before he selected his driver from a large offering and tested its weight in his hand.
Stepping up to the tee, Michael took a few practice swings, getting accustomed to the range of motion. He could feel both Nikita and Volker eyeing him with great interest.
With a ball in position, Michael swung back slowly and made contact with his target. They all watched the ball arch gracefully onto the fairway. It landed a short distance from the 250 yard sign.
Privately pleased with his yardage, Michael guided another ball with the head of his driver and took another swing. He continued in this manner, hitting about ten balls skillfully one by one before turning to his audience.
Volker applauded politely. “Bravo! You, Freddie, have many hidden talents.”
Nikita grinned and arched a very surprised eyebrow at him.
“It’s very sexy,” Nikita commented. Her eyes danced with mischief. She reached for the driver in his hands and teasingly ran her fingers up and down the carbon fiber shaft. “Always full of surprises, aren’t you?” Nikita kissed him chastely. It was a slow grazing of lips but the eroticism in her gesture was apparent. Her tongue swept out slightly and teased his lower lip. When she pulled back, her eyes were full of promise.
At some point Helmut Volker took his own swings but Michael could care less. Nikita was stroking his back in the most hypnotic way. The skin underneath his sweater tingled with every sweep of her hand.
“Alright, alright, I admit defeat,” Volker’s voice punctured the moment between them. “Even I am man enough to realize when I have been bested…repeatedly.”
“To show what a good sport I am, I say that we retire to my study. The two of you have been such intriguing company, and there’s still so much to learn about each other. I’ll even share my prized vintages with you Freddie and of course the beautiful and ever indulgent Anna.”
“You've shown to have excellent taste,” Nikita offered Volker. As he had all day, he preened at the compliment.
Tilting her head towards Michael, she gave him an inquiring look, “Do we have time, love?”
“We have been having such an enjoyable time, even though it was at my expense,” Volker commented good-naturedly. “Let’s not sully the day with our pending business, Freddie. Tomorrow. We’ll do our little transaction in the morning and you should stay for brunch before you’re on your way.”
Michael reached for Nikita’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “If Anna wants to stay, then we’ll stay.”
“You’re sure you’re not tired?” Nikita turned to ask Volker with false concern. “It’s been a physically demanding day.”
“I’m happy to report that my stamina has never been called into question. Especially when the company makes a strong impression. I must warn you both, when you run in the circles I do, my tolerance for alcohol has grown astronomically.”
Despite Volker’s earlier words of concession, it was one final attempt to surpass him in Nikita’s eyes. By the end of the evening, Michael half expected to be challenged to a drunken arm wrestling competition.
Like the previous evening, Nikita settled in on his lap. She was extremely tactile. Her fingers grazed his back, lightly squeezed at his shoulders, and caressed his hair and face. It made the evening much more bearable.
They all drank. Michael and Nikita drank moderately. Volker, excessively, but true to his word he never exhibited true inebriation. He just became more bombastic.
“No more for me, thank you,” Nikita remarked as Volker went to freshen up her drink. “I’ll be heading up soon.” Michael squeezed her thigh with appreciation.
“Oh but Anna, you can’t leave us to our own devices,” Volker whined. “Freddie may kill me for my innocent appreciation of your beauty.”
“Don’t tell me you’re looking for someone to referee the arm wrestling contest.”
Michael quietly smiled at her observation. They were both of the same opinion on where the day’s activities had led them and their intended purpose.
“Nothing as juvenile as that. Although I am somewhat embarrassed at being so obviously transparent. It’s unfair that Freddie be gifted with not only that gorgeous face of his, your obvious affections, but also numerous talents. How are the rest of us supposed to compete? Although I do consider myself a student of the more meditative arts. I’m a lover not a fighter.”
“I’d say Freddie’s harmless.” Nikita paused for effect and to look him over. “but he’s not,” she confided.
To his credit Volker didn’t squirm away. Instead he too looked Michael over.
“Well, when pushed, Greco-Roman wrestling has always been my preference,” he added before he gave Nikita a wink.
He wasn’t drunk. Michael could hold his alcohol, but the alcohol in his system did exasperate the growing tendrils of jealousy that had been coursing through his veins.
Nikita had continued her effortless handling of Helmut Volker’s attentions.
With each compliment and each flowery phrase Volker picked at Michael’s patience. He added his own brief observations to appear engaged but spent his evening wishing for it to be over.
A small but nuisance of a headache creeped in as the evening wore on. They’d finally departed Volker’s company when Nikita not so subtly whispered her desire to be tucked into bed. Nikita had sensed the mood he was in. Rather than wait until they reached their room, she leaned against him near a recessed wall niche in the hallway.
“Michael…” Nikita mouthed silently before she captured his mouth in a passionate and forceful kiss. Her tongue swept into his mouth and claimed him. It wasn’t difficult to coax reciprocation from him.
He gripped her tightly as she did him. Their mouths moved in tandem conveying the emotions that consumed them–desire, trust, and companionship. Their kiss deepened and hardened. It didn’t matter that they were in public. His arms were full of Nikita and he heard her moan when his hands on her lower back pressed her against him.
They were in a haze of mutual desire. She knew exactly what she was doing. He had no reason to be jealous. He just disliked the idea of Nikita even flirting with someone else after having been deprived of her for so long.
Michael detested this mission and the timing of it. He wanted it concluded. He was not in the right headspace for it. That could be dangerous for any operative in the field.
The clearing of a throat caused them to reluctantly part, albeit slowly. Nikita ran a lone finger down his throat before she eased away from him. Michael could barely conceal his annoyance at being interrupted when they both turned to see Helmut Volker standing before them.
Volker looked them over in mock chastisement. His mouth twisted into something resembling a lecherous grin.
“Children, please. My home is open to all kinds of amorous endeavors, but if you insist on flaunting your beautiful selves to my envious eyes. I must insist that you invite your generous host. It’s only polite. I’m feeling lonely and taken advantage of,” Volker pouted.
“We don’t share,” Michael stated plainly, leaving no room for argument. One of his hands squeezed Nikita’s shoulder before skimming down her arm, where he captured her hand.
“Pity,” Volker added, his eyes swept over both of them with lust. “Are you sure I can’t offer anything to change your minds? I’m a lot of fun, I'm told. I’m sure I can wrangle a few references if you’d like to verify that.”
“Sorry,” Nikita said before she turned her head and kissed him lightly on the neck. “Freddie has spoiled me for anyone else.”
With Nikita’s comment, Volker dropped a not so subtle glance down to Michael’s crotch.
“My dear Anna, I’ll unfortunately have to take your word for it.”
The false pretense of selling Volker Turkish heroin was concluded the following morning with great ease, if a day late. Volker continued to poke at him with poorly veiled innuendo in a floundering attempt to befriend him.
Michael succinctly informed him that they had nothing in common. The previous day’s activities should have made that abundantly clear. Yet, Helmut Volker had this odd combination of arrogance, a penchant for the frivolous and this strong need to be liked. Michael’s lack of response only served to further spur the other man on. It further triggered his competitive side. Volker would want one more attempt at breaching his defenses.
It was during their meeting that Michael decided that it should be he that occupied Volker’s time. Michael didn’t want Nikita to spend more time with Volker than necessary. He’d long tired of the charade and he wanted them back in familiar territory. An invitation to actually participate in brunch was the perfect window they needed to extract the information from Volker’s safe.
As Michael prepared to head downstairs, Nikita eyed him contemplatively. She didn’t look at him with lust or passion but with something that was much more melancholy.
“It’s not fair. Too many of those vultures down there are gonna want to get their hands on you.”
Nikita knew the motivation behind his attire. He was the distraction that would allow her to complete the mission’s primary objective. Their roles were normally reversed and it was rare for Michael to serve in this capacity around Nikita.
If it kept her from being put on display, Michael would grab the opportunity.
“The sooner I get the inventory, the sooner we can leave.”
Nikita had come to him and removed some imaginary lint from his shoulders.
“Yes,” Michael squeezed her arm in support. “Be careful. I’ll be waiting.”
Michael walked out into the hallway. The cacophony of the gathering downstairs and the prospect of a completed mission pushed him forward.
“Pull over.”
Nikita’s tone was strained. When Michael looked over, her features matched her voice. She also looked worryingly pale.
They were still on a service road that fed into the motorway so Michael was easily able to ease their vehicle onto the shoulder. They sat in silence. Nikita offered no more words and the minutes ticked by excruciatingly slow.
She had been quiet since they’d departed Helmut Volker’s home. Volker had been obnoxiously smug in his farewells, spending an inappropriate amount of time kissing Nikita’s hand and her cheek. His hands on her lingered until Michael stepped closer and Volker retreated with an unapologetic smile.
“I look forward to hearing from you. I know this will be the start of something incredibly fruitful between us.” His words were directed at Nikita with only a cursory glance towards Michael.
“Something happened after I got the inventory.”
Nikita wouldn’t look at him. Instead she fixed her gaze onto a pair of horses in a nearby pastureland. Her fingers toyed with the rings she wore. She spun them round and round on her slender fingers.
“Volker found you.”
“Yes.”
Michael had suspected as much. He’d lost sight of Volker when he left him in the company of a pair of vapid and handsy women. Barring any difficulties in accessing the safe, Nikita should have had sufficient time to get what she needed and clear the office. She was delayed in returning, but she reported completing the primary objective.
“Did he suspect anything?”
“No.”
“What happened?
“He propositioned me.”
That could mean any number of things. Volker had been making passes at Nikita for the entire length of their stay. Not to mention luring her from their bed in the middle of the night. Nikita was more than capable at shutting down unwanted attention, even with her more flirtatious and openly receptive approach during this mission.
What he saw when he opened the door to Volker’s study chilled him to the bone.
A wave of protectiveness had swept through him when he saw Volker at the ready to observe Nikita injecting herself from his personal stash of heroin. He hid it by displaying an appropriate amount of possessiveness that would be expected from a territorial drug dealer in love.
Freddie had no reason to believe that his girlfriend and business partner would stray, but that didn’t mean he liked others taking liberties with her. He beckoned Nikita with a nod of the head and she acquiesced, letting him wrap an arm around her possessively. He spoke of her as if she was an object to be coveted and Volker predictably followed suit, but not before showcasing some short lived bravado.
Michael’s fingers lovingly traced the curve of Nikita’s throat. He felt her shiver beneath his touch.
“Are you alright?” He’d asked as he inspected Nikita’s arm for needle marks. They’d made their way down the hall and back to their room. He wanted to assure himself that he’d arrived on time.
For all her time on the streets, Nikita had never resorted to drugs. No Section One mission had ever required Nikita to even come close to recreational drugs. It angered him that she'd come close to using on one of his missions.
“Of course,” she said, sidestepping more of his concerned inspection. “It’s a little too much excitement for one night, huh. Let’s go back to bed.”
Nikita kissed him lightly on the lips and turned to remove her robe. She slipped back into bed, her mauve, silk nightgown offered a contrast to the white sheets.
The whole thing troubled him. Nikita was too nonchalant about her close call. He wanted to press her on it but she’d effectively shut down the possibility by getting back into bed.
Michael could feel Nikita’s eyes on him, observing him in the partial darkness of the bedroom. He took an imperceptible breath before removing his coat and tossing it onto a nearby armchair. He took his place beside Nikita on the bed and watched the line of her shoulders.
She looked relaxed and ready to succumb to sleep, but Michael was well versed in Nikita’s body language. She was tense and she carried that tension in her shoulders.
With a light hand on the ball of her shoulder, Michael guided Nikita from her side to her back. His fingers went to her hairline and stroked her in a way that she has found soothing in the past.
“You okay?”
He couldn’t quite see her eyes due to the darkness in the room but he saw enough to see that they were clouded.
“I will be,” she answered after a while and turned away with her back towards him once more.
Michael had to believe that she was telling the truth. The knot in his stomach grew even as Nikita finally gave in to sleep.
“He asked me to marry him,” Nikita revealed back in the present.
Michael’s first instinct was to disregard the proposal as a non issue. With his joie de vivre lifestyle Volker appeared the type to throw out marriage proposals to any number of beautiful women, even those who were clearly off limits. However, it was clear that the question left Nikita shaken.
“There’s a provision in his father’s will that states he has to be married before he can inherit.”
That information further reaffirmed Michael’s initial conclusion. Michael thought back to Volker’s opening question about when they knew they were meant for each other. He’d been testing the waters from the very beginning.
“That’s not going to happen. The mission calls for us to intercept Red Cell’s acquisitions from Volkworks. Volker will be outed and there will be no further need for him.”
Michael could sense Nikita’s skepticism at his words. Normally, when Nikita would suspect manipulation she’d protectively put up some distance between them. That wasn’t quite there this time and that gave Michael hope.
“That’s not the only thing that's bothering you?”
She turned to look at him before she redirected her gaze back out onto the field.
“I would have done the drugs.” Her confession was whisper quiet. “If I needed to.”
“We do what we have to do,” Michael bitterly repeated the mantra that had inexplicably settled into this mission.
“What would you have done, if you were in the same situation?”
It was a fair question. If the cover and the situation warranted, he would have done them too. He had in the past, in miniscule amounts. It had been years since it had been required of him, though. If given a preference, Michael would choose torture over drug use any day.
There was also a difference between himself and Nikita. Her training had included drug tolerance like any other operative, but his was calibrated to withstand harsher drugs.
“I would have done the drugs.”
She nodded her head in acknowledgment. She licked her lips and took a shuttery breath.
“Michael, something’s off.”
“About the mission?”
“About me,” she clarified. “Six months ago I never would have considered doing the drugs.”
No she wouldn’t have. Nikita would have fought it and instead used her resourcefulness to maneuver herself out of the situation.
“Are you sure it worked?” Her voice was agitated and worried.”The reconditioning?”
“Yes.”
It pained him to see her like this; doubting herself and the strength it took for her to claw her way back to herself. Michael may have provided her with the tools and the time, but Nikita with her strength and her will to survive was the one who beat the atrocities inflicted upon her.
Michael reached out and traced his fingertips down her hairline and the side of her face. He lightly held her chin and caressed it with his thumb.
“I know because I see the life in your eyes. It was gone before. They were dead. You wouldn’t have questioned your actions like you are now. You would have accepted them and moved on.”
“I could just be faking it…the emotion, in a final ploy to get you to stop fighting the Section.”
“No,” he said with conviction. “You’re not. You weren’t that convincing. Not only were your eyes cold, but your entire temperament was. I saw you try to warm up to people. You were stiff, uncomfortably so. Even when you improved there was still something ill fitting about your demeanor. That’s not you now.”
“If you say so.”
Nikita pulled back from his touch and settled into her seat.
“Will you wake me when we get there?”
“Of course.”
Nikita closed her eyes. She had decided to momentarily shut out the world.
Michael started the car and shifted back onto the road.
They traveled in silence for twenty minutes before he realized that he’d missed a turn a while back. He clenched his fists around the steering wheel. Not because of his missed turn but because of Nikita’s ominous words.
The Gelman Process was experimental. Equally experimental was the procedure to undo it.
The truth was that there was no way to assure them that Nikita was free of her conditioning. All they could do was wait and observe. All Michael could do was love her.
He loves her. He wasn’t going to hide that. He was going to make sure that Nikita knew that. He was going to make sure that Nikita knew that he would always be a safe place for her to rest and shelter.
He will protect her with his life. Nikita was his life.
-30-
