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Sam struggled a bit with the lock to her apartment, the long fingers gripping the key trembling slightly. Magdalene struggled to look. Yet she knew those fingers, had felt them on her skin, had them trace her curves, felt them inside her…
A change of subject then. And fast. Safer for both of them.
“How is she?” Magdalene’s words came out slightly lower than intended. Perhaps she was standing too close in her quest to, under no circumstances, look at or admire Sam’s hands as they continued to grapple with the lock. The faint scent of lily of the valley wrapped itself around her like a lover. Magdalene tugged on her collar surreptitiously. The corridor was rather stuffy, wasn’t it?
“You mean how is she now versus when you saw her three minutes ago?” Sam’s words were sass itself, but the color rising up her collar and the heat radiating from her spoke of an entirely different emotion.
“I admit, I was rather too distracted by the neanderthal at the clinic to pay attention to what he had to say. I wanted to throttle him the whole time we were there.”
Magdalene suppressed a laugh. Instead, she swallowed hard and tried not to focus on how both of them were ignoring the elephant in the hallway, while dancing around the subject with all these entirely inane questions and answers.
When Sam finally won her battle with the lock, Magdalene pushed into the room, letting Sam follow her as she stalked towards the window. She knew she was being too forward. As she stared into the darkness behind the glass, she saw neither the window nor the shadows beyond it. Her being in Sam’s apartment like this was certainly inappropriate, and she hadn’t even asked permission.
The evening was one of ups and downs, a rollercoaster ride at dizzying speed. All this desire be damned, she was shaken, her breath coming out in soft whooshes she was desperate to control. She was not going to cry.
“She’s just a child. And he almost refused to treat her.”
Behind her, all sound stopped. She must have shocked her host. Then Sam cleared her throat, though her voice still sounded bewildered when she spoke.
“You know, I think since you came to Dragons, I’ve spent way too much time trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. You do all these things, making cuts everywhere, chopping and changing, and ruthlessly throwing people out… You threaten the scholarship girls’ presence here, yet then you try to strangle the doctor who dared look at Lily sideways. I don’t understand you, Magdalene Nox.”
Magdalene took her time turning around, needing every moment to school her features–and to prepare herself for Sam’s. When she saw the raw hunger in those burning eyes that always gave their owner away no matter what game was being played, she allowed words to fall off her tongue unrestrained.
“I think you’ve been surprised by me a bit longer than just the past three weeks.”
Magdalene had no recollection of taking a step, much less several, but she suddenly found herself closer to Sam, and the air between them regained that quality it had had from the first time their eyes met... Charged.
“I still have no idea why you even looked at me back in New York.”
Sam didn’t break eye contact, the gaze palpable, holding her in place with the sheer power of its honesty and desire. Because Sam was, as always, forthright, and despite the words, despite the sentiment behind them, Magdalene knew Sam wanted her. It made Magdalene feel invincible.
She threw her head back and laughed, and when she met Sam’s eyes again, that naked desire in them made her knees weak.
“A gorgeous blonde, alone at a bar, adorable in how out of place and awkward she looked and probably felt, was finally getting the courage to send me a drink… No, I have no idea why I paid you even one jot of attention that night.”
Sam’s eyes drew together. “So you spoke to me because I was so awkward and pitiful?”
“Yes, yes, all charity on my part.” Magdalene bit her lip, desperately trying to hide her amusement. But despite an earnest attempt to combat the joy, it won out, and the smile blossomed. To Magdalene's great delight, Sam's features softened instantly as she tilted her head, her disarmament obvious.Good.It was high time she had the upper hand.
Carefully, as if the skin under her fingertips might shatter at the touch, she lifted said hand, and slowly, tenderly traced Sam’s jaw from ear to chin. Sam shivered, the reaction so sudden, so unexpected—that despite knowing she still affected this woman—Magdalene felt an answering shudder run up her spine.
Sam tilted her head slightly, and Magdalene was certain she would lean into the caress, her breath coming in shallow inhalations now, but instead, Sam’s eyes pierced her with earnestness.
“I apologize about before… What you overheard with Timothy.” Did it feel imperative now, with Magdalene’s hand on her skin, for Sam to tell the truth? To make sure Magdalene knew she wasn’t conniving? There wasn’t any need. Sam may have her loyalties split, and Magdalene could not fully trust her, but she always knew where they stood. They had been that honest with each other. They were both aware it would be a fair fight.
So she didn’t stop her fingertips from gently brushing the line of Sam’s jaw, in a whisper of a caress, before reaching her mouth and tracing the lower lip. Sam’s tongue peeked out and licked at her skin. Startled, aroused, Magdalene gasped and dropped her hand.
This was too much… Too close!
Magdalene took a step to the side, putting distance between them, aware she was effectively breaking the moment.
She needed to say something. And she needed to run away, because she wanted to stay entirely too much. And on top of absolutely every reason to leave, was one she had rarely considered. Their power imbalance. Her earlier errant thought about the inappropriateness of being in Sam’s room returned tenfold.
Magdalene lowered her eyes as she took a few steps towards the door. “About before… No apologies necessary. We do what we must. And please think about what happened in the hallway. Something doesn’t quite add up. Let’s regroup soon, I’ll want your opinion on what can be done about this before I make a decision about involving the authorities.”
“The authorities?”
“With Joel already informed—and damn George for being so efficient—I’d like to follow up on what just happened here, Sam.”
