| Title: Royal Flush � Day 4 Author: Alicia Blade E-mail: [email protected] Hey there!! Lookie, I got the next part out this week after all!! Now you can all jump for joy and celebration!!! And, while you�re doing that, you can E-MAIL ME YOUR THANKS!! ^_~ Tee hee, just kidding. But you do know how I love e-mail. Anyway, arigatou, as always, to those of you who have sent me your feedback and support, you are all SO nice!!! The baptism went very well! I loved it!! Wonderful experience! If you�re a believer and you haven�t been baptized yet, I definitely encourage you to look into it! Although, that water was COLD!! Anyway, not much to say now except my continuous love and gratitude to Edeet-chan, Lady Starra, Athena, Julcie-chan, R-chan, Kate-chan, Jen Wand, Luna L, and Miaka. Love ya�ll so much! God bless and keep you! "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 I got this scripture from Stormlight. Isn�t it cool!!?? So beautiful! Not to mention it goes well with the fic, how �bout that!! �Yoohoo, anybody HOME?!� Darien smiled as a familiar voice echoed from his living room. He glanced at the clock, just as the digits changed to 4:02. �Right on schedule.� �In here, Serena!� Only moments after, a girl of all smiles came bounding into his room. �Good afternoon, boss! Guess what!� He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow curiously. �I passed today�s math test! I am SO happy! I got a 78%!! Can you believe it?!� �No, I can�t, but I�m happy all the same, Meatball Head.� Her grin fell for a brief second before she plastered it back on and turned away from him. �I�m in too good a mood to be bothered by your insults or comments today, Darien!� Sighing, she threw her small book bag onto the bed. �Okay, so I was thinking that since I basically cleaned up the main rooms on Sunday that today I could get to work on the bathrooms, like clean the mirrors or shower or what have you� Either that or just do little things like laundry and whatever else, maybe make dinner or something�� �Actually, Meatball Head, I had another idea.� She turned to face him again. �Since you were SO helpful at the meeting yesterday, I thought I�d reward you by taking you to the beach. What do you think?� Serena looked at him for a moment suspiciously. Finally, her eyes lightened. �Really? You�d really take me to the beach?!� �Yeah, sure, if you want to. Now� don�t get any ideas, you�re still my servant, no matter where we are, but it might be kinda fun, I think.� Serena smiled brightly. �Ooh, yeah, that�s okay, whatever you say Master! When do we go?� He chuckled. �Well, you need to go home and get your bathing suit and such�� She nodded vigorously. �Okay, it�s only a 15 minute walk, I could be back in half an hour if I run!� Before Darien could say anything, she was out his door. �Huh? Hey, wait!� He chased after her, running into the hallway just as the elevator doors closed. �I was GOING to give you a ride�� 29 minutes later, a very exhausted, very out-of-breath Serena staggered back into Darien�s apartment, a plastic bag full of stuff in her hand. He looked up from the magazine he�d been reading to sweep her over with his eyes. Her appearance hadn�t really changed except for the red cheeks and slightly messy hair. �Did you have a nice jaunt?� �Huh?� He laughed, shaking his head. �Never mind. Why don�t you go change, you can use the bathroom if you want. I�ll get some stuff together, then we�ll go. Kay?� She stared at him a minute, before smiling again, still panting. �Sure! I�ll be right back!� She disappeared into the hall and Darien could hear the click of the bathroom door. He threw the magazine on the table and stood up, checking his watch. �If she wasn�t such a scatter-brain, I could have seen her at the beach and in a bathing suit by now.� He mentally smacked himself. �Stop thinking like that!� �Ooh, this stuff is heavy! What did you PUT in here?!� Darien turned and laughed as Serena struggled with the large bags. He walked over to her and took the packages from her. �Useful slave you are,� he muttered sarcastically. They staked out a place on the warm sand, as Darien effortlessly dropped the luggage onto the beach. �Ooh, let�s go play in the water!� screeched Serena, immediately taking off to the crashing waves. On instinct, Darien reached out an arm and wrapped it around her waist before she could go anywhere. �Not so fast, Meatball Head.� She looked up at him and pouted. �What now?!� �Come on, help me unpack.� Giving her slim waist a final squeeze, he turned back to the pile of stuff. He heard Serena sigh agitatedly before marching over to one of the bags and opening it. He smiled and plopped himself down on the sand, perfectly satisfied to watch his slave at work. Serena pulled out a large towel and laid it out next to their stuff. Soon, she had found more towels, sun block lotion, and two large bags. She turned to Darien after everything had been set out nicely. �Can we go in the water now?� Darien smiled. Standing, he nodded and watched as a joyous smile spread itself across her gorgeous face. Jumping to her feet, she kicked off her small sandals before pulling down her blue pleated skirt. Darien turned away slightly, watching as the perfect body was slowly revealed from the corner of his eye as he began to peal off his own shirt. Serena threw her school clothes into a heap next to the towel. Darien marveled secretly at the incredible sight before him. Long, powerful legs, slender arms, small, pale stomach now for his eyes to feast on. She wore a pale pink bikini with a halter top and small white rose pattern. He could feel his voice caught in his throat. His hands aching to feel her smooth skin, his arms so tempted to pull her against his chest, his lips suffering to taste the sweet skin� She turned to see if Darien was ready to go out yet. For a very brief moment, her eyes wandered over his muscular body. She took notice that he was wearing a pair of dark blue swim shorts, but then immediately moved her eyes up to his face as her stomach began to twist inside and small goose bumps covered her bare skin. Then she noticed the intense gaze he held on her, his eyes roving over her body shamelessly. She gulped, straightening her posture. �What?!� she asked after a moment of blushing. He snapped back to reality and looked up at her, finding himself extremely embarrassed for having been caught staring at her like that. �I was just thinking that it�s a surprise you can fit into something like that with all the junk food you eat,� he stated, switching to the old teasing game. Never failed to save him from an awkward moment as such. Serene huffed her shoulders, almost disappointed, though she told herself the feeling was anger. �Are you coming into the water or not?!� she asked, strolling past him. He watched her movements, so much more graceful than usual for some reason. �Hold on, Meatball Head, there�s one more thing I need you to do for me.� She paused, only 5 feet ahead of him. �Well I�m sure you can do it yourself. I would like to have a LITTLE fun here today!� And with that, she resumed her walk. Darien smirked and followed her, his tall legs easily passing her stride. Serena gasped as a pair of strong, warm arms enfolded around her. All of the sudden, the feeling of his hard stomach pressing up against her back became noticeably clear. He was so close� Soon, she even found herself leaning against him, though she forced her body to remain stiff. �Can�t let him know he�s doing such weird things to you! You are NOT feeling this, you hear?!� Darien bent his head down on her shoulder, smelling in her intoxicating aroma again. Images of the other day in the arcade� ravaging her smooth neck with his eager lips filtered back into his mind. His arms tightened unconsciously around her waist, provoking a quick breath from the trembling, though trying to hide it, girl. With one finger, he began to slowly, gently, trace along her collarbone, tickling the base of her neck. He licked his lips carefully. �Now� that isn�t any way to speak to your master, now is it, my pretty little servant?� he whispered. Serena squeezed her stomach tight, attempting to force the roller coaster inside to stop. She tried to clear her throat, but found she couldn�t even manage that while being so close to him. He had one hand firmly planted on her naked stomach, the other tenderly stroking down her jaw and neck. �I didn�t think so,� he whispered after her moment of silence. He gave her shoulder a small butterfly kiss before taking one hand into his and turning her around. Smiling at her with an air of victory, he began pulling her back to their towels, his fingers mindlessly caressing hers the short distance. She followed like a zombie, only snapping from her dazed trance when he sat down on the dark green blanket. With a small tug on her hand, she fell down beside him. �Now, one simple task, then you can go play, alright?� She gulped, nodding her head, wondering what he had planned. Angry and curious and disappointed and� so ready to be back in his arms� She shook her head. �He�s doing this to you again! He makes a complete jerk of himself and then you start to SWOON over him for it! What is wrong with you, Serena?! You can�t possibly LIKE being his slave!!� �Oh no? Then why are you here?� �Shut up!� �Are you still in there?� She removed her eyes from their locked focus on the blanket to see that Darien was staring at her oddly. She shook her head again. �Yeah, yeah, I�m fine! Now� what is it that you wanted me to do, mi�lord?� He smiled, holding up a small, brown plastic bottle with a yellow sun printed on it. �I HATE being sunburned. Especially on my back� and that�s what you�re here for, so�� She looked at him for a minute, uncomprehending� or maybe just surprised. Finally, his full meaning dawned on her and she rolled her eyes away from him. Grumbling, she grabbed the bottle from him. �Fine! Turn around!� He raised an eyebrow. �Ha! You expect me to do something?! YOU go around!� She narrowed her eyes, glaring stubbornly. With a sigh of defeat and more mutters, she rose to her knees and crawled around before plopping behind him. Darien smiled, making himself comfortable by strewing his legs in front of him and propping himself on his hands behind him. For the first time, Serena really let her eyes wander over his body. His back was wondrously sculpted, with strong shoulder blades and carved muscles. Tearing her eyes away, she began to pour a dab of the white cream into the center of her palm. She looked back up at him, unsure as to how to begin. Chewing lightly on her lips, she reached out and began stroking along his shoulders, massaging the oil into his tan skin. Her hands traveled down his arms before sliding back up to his broad back. Slowly, she drifted her palms down his spine, branching out and spreading the lotion out over his defined muscles. She could feel Darien tense, then relax beneath her touch and almost, ALMOST began to enjoy it. Her fingers soon found a smooth rhythm of working the lather into his skin. Darien gulped, his head swimming through a million different thoughts and feelings each minute. Her hands were so small� caressing him so tenderly� and yet she was rendering him completely helpless against whatever this power she was working over him was. He couldn�t think, or concentrate on anything other than her touches, her massages� wasn�t this the third time she had caressed his shoulders? The fourth on his arms? Was she purposely trying to drive him insane? Her hands mindlessly wandered down his sides, before working their way up and over his shoulders. He fell against her as she began to rub the oil into his chest and stomach. Neither really knew how extremely close and intimate this had become� For a brief moment, Serena remembered him at the arcade, holding her much like she held him now� On her doorstep, kissing her hand and smiling at her with those haunting blue eyes� In his office, his breath tickling her lips� At the restaurant, on his knees, gently suckling on her fingers� What was happening to her?! What were these strange feelings he had stirred in her� how could she make them go away�? And did she want to? Darien held still, leaning his back against her. Her hands unconsciously continued to stimulate his stomach as her breath got tantalizingly close to his shoulder. �Gosh, Serena� are you trying to torture me?! Am I dreaming� could SHE finally be the one trying to touch ME?!� He shuddered deliciously at the thought. And with that small, miniscule movement, Serena pulled away quick as lightning. He groaned quietly in frustration. �Yup, she�s trying.� She gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, immediately tossing any memory of the past two minutes out of mind. Call it denial, but as far as Serena was concerned, that had NOT just happened. �There ya go, all done!� she cheered happily. Darien leaned his head back, looking at her from upside-down. �Thank you very much, Meatball Head. That felt� incredible.� She blushed, clenching her teeth together and stopping her questions as to which part he was talking about before she could begin searching for answers. �And now�� he took a deep breath, �it�s your turn.� She looked up at him stunned for a minute before shaking her head roughly. �Oh, no, that�s okay, I really don�t need it!� �Or your hands on me right now� I think I�ve had enough weird feelings in my stomach to last me a month!� But, as luck would have it, she soon found those weird feelings could grow much, much stronger. �No, I don�t want my favorite slave getting all sunburned. How useful would you be then?� She sighed, closing her eyes in nervousness as he pulled away from her. The sudden ocean breeze chilled her newly uncovered stomach. She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them as she felt Darien take the sun block bottle from her and walk around to the other side. She buried her head in her knees, determined to block out anything strange he had planned to do to her. Darien poured some lotion into his palm and looked up at the girl before him. Suddenly, he wasn�t so sure about this. He bit the inside of his cheek nervously, refusing to loose control at the smallest touch of her body. Slowly, he moved his hands to her shoulders. She shuddered a little as the cold cream mixed with his warm hands brushed against her skin. She forced her muscles taunt, set in determination that his touch would have no effect on her. She knew she didn�t stand a chance. Darien smoothed the cream down her back, skipping over the small pink straps and on to the base of her lower back. He could feel her stiffen as he moved up again, teasing the nape of her neck, tickling her bare arms. Serena could feel her senses go dull at each stroke. It was so torturous, and yet� felt so right� Her walls of certainty cracked more and she allowed her tense muscles to relax at his gentle massages. Darien held back a sigh of relief when she finally eased her body. Maybe, just maybe, she might actually start to enjoy this. He hoped. That WAS the original initiative, after all. Her eyes weren�t closed as tightly anymore. Instead, she fell almost into a peaceful trance. She could hear the ocean waves crashing on the shore, and the sea birds calling from above. The soft breeze sifted lightly through her bangs as her toe dipped into the sand just off the corner of the blanket. And then it all shattered as his hands moved unexpectedly forward to her stomach. Serena�s eyes flew open as he rubbed the lotion onto her exposed skin. His body pressed to her back, his breath warm against her ear. She felt like a deer caught in headlights. She couldn�t move, and wasn�t too sure she wanted to. Her eyes darted around the beach nervously, completely at a loss as to what she was actually looking for. Soon, her eyes slammed shut. Even if she did want him to stop, she knew she couldn�t make him. And so, she just sat there, ignoring and denying every touch, every emotion welling up inside of her. Darien knew he had gotten to her. He wasn�t exactly sure what had just happened, but he had felt a sort of jolt of electricity flow through them when he had moved closer to her. He also knew, though she was trying to hide it, she was enjoying this. �I think I�ll let you do the rest,� he said, careful to stay away from any incredibly uncomfortable situations. She nodded. After a moment of silence, Serena contemplating if he was going to stop and Darien wondering if he should, he poured a bit of the lotion into his palm and turned away from her slightly. He began spreading the cream onto his own body, in places Serena had dared not go, such as his chest and legs. Soon, Serena took the bottle from him and did the same, almost wishing that he had finished the job instead. She sighed and closed her eyes, ignoring those thoughts for a little longer. She was awakened by a cold dab on the nose. She snapped her eyes open and looked to see Darien smirking at her lightly, a small dot of white cream still left on one pointer finger. �Don�t forget your face, Meatball Head.� And with that simple statement, he stood and began straightening out the blanket a little as she slowly reached up to smooth the sun block onto her nose and cheeks. Standing on the sand, she turned away to stare out at the water, commanding, or begging, her stomach to stop flipping uncontrollably. It didn�t work. �This could be a long day�� �AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! DARIEN! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!� The tortured screams echoed down the sandy beach. Darien laughed joyfully. Carrying the girl �over the threshold� fashion, he pounced in the oncoming waves, sending freezing drops onto his victim. She kicked her legs in the air as her screams died down to uncontrollable laughter. She wrapped her arms around him fearfully, still struggling to get out of his grip. Finally, he set her down, smiling broadly at her body, shaking with excitement, anger, and fun. �Ooh, you are awful, Darien Chiba! For that�� and with a clean sweep of her leg, Serena sent a wave of water hurtling at Darien. He laughed, shielding his face. Already, he was drenched, as Serena continued to splash him mercilessly. Gathering his senses, he picked up the pace, easily matching her wave for wave. She screamed and began running down the beach, knee high water splashing onto her arms and stomach. Darien laughed, watching her go for a minute before jogging after her. He couldn�t remember having so much fun in his life. A tired slave and equally exhausted master fell onto the large beach blanket. They were drenched from head to toe, each breathing heavily. Darien lay down on his back, allowing the sun to warm his goose bump-covered skin. After catching her breath, Serena, sat up on the corner of the blanket, ringing her long ponytails out onto the dry, warm beach. Her feet were covered in sand, her hair smelled remarkably like salt water, and her voice was shrill and hoarse from the constant screaming and laughing over the past hour. Strangely, she had actually enjoyed herself. Shaking her hair out again, she turned slightly to look down on Darien. He had his eyes closed, with sopping wet bangs falling over them messily. His chest heaved with every breath. His lips were parted so slightly, barely wet and just begging to be kissed� She shook her head, turning away. �Funny how he can be so serious and professional one day, and like a kid the next. The man�s like a very complicated puzzle. Whatever girl ends up with him will have her work cut out for her�� Turning again, she bit her lower lip as her eyes smiled warmly down on him. Turning over, she flopped onto her stomach, resting her head on folded arms, she closed her eyes and let the sun work its magic. A few minutes had passed in silence. Darien had finally come down from his high cloud. Opening his eyes, he turned to look over at Serena, who was lying very still with her face turned away from him. �Are you awake?� he whispered. She stirred and lifted her head, turning to him with open eyes before letting her head fall back onto her arms. �Yup,� she answered. He smiled. �Hungry? I packed a lunch for us.� She grinned widely at the promise of food and nodded her head vigorously. He chuckled. �I had a thought you�d feel that way.� He began digging through a large bag, pulling assorted items out of a large picnic basket. She sat up, stretching tiredly. After all the treats had been littered across the blanket, she wasted no time in reaching for a bag of sandwiches, while loading chips, fruits, and cheeses onto a paper plate. Darien watched with a loving smile before snatching up his own desired lunch. Serena sighed happily, setting her empty plate down beside her. �That was SO yummy, Darien! Totally hit the spot!!� He smiled up at her, still picking over his own food. There was no way he was gonna scarf it down as quickly as she had. �Glad ya liked it, Meatball Head.� She glared at him for an instant at the old nickname before letting her eyes turn to the distant waves. �Can we go back in the water now? Please?!� she pleaded happily. Darien grinned slightly. �Sorry, but it�s too early after eating. Let your stomach settle a bit first. Besides, I�m not done yet.� �Well hurry up!� He smiled, tilting his head to the side while tossing a green grape into his mouth. Suddenly, an idea hit him. �Have you ever seen those old movies about Egyptians or Greeks?� Serena looked at him curiously. �I don�t� think so�� �What about Fantasia?� �The Disney movie? Yup, I�ve seen that� why? What brought this up?� �Just an idea,� And with that, he edged closer to her, �slave.� She furrowed her brow in slight confusion. He only smiled and turned, before leaning back. Serena gasped as his head landed shamelessly in her lap. �What are you doing?!� He grinned mischievously up at her. She overcame the temptation to push him away. Darien then handed her the vine of green grapes. �Feed me, servant,� he commanded with a hint of comedy and sarcasm. If he hadn�t sounded so funny at that moment, she probably would have pushed him away after all. �Excuse me?� He only closed his eyes and opened his mouth wide. She couldn�t help but giggle. �Oh fine! You are so annoying� mi�lord!� And with that last complaint, she lifted the vine so that the grape hanging on the end was poised just about his waiting lips. He bit it off effortlessly, chewed, swallowed, and waited for the next. She sighed. Soon, Serena was picking the grapes from the branch one by one, and dropping them into his mouth. He opened his eyes once to catch her smiling down on him. She forced the smile to a frown, too late not to be noticed. With another mischievous idea, he waited until her fingers were just above his lips� Serena gasped as Darien nipped at her fingertips softly, almost unnoticeably. �Hey!� she squealed. He only looked at her innocently. She rolled her eyes before dropping another one in, careful to stay at a fairly safe distance. Every now and then, she would get dangerously close again, and he would answer with a gentle nip at her fingers. She would squirm, attempt unsuccessfully to hide a giggle, before feeding him another. Darien was glad he�d packed so many grapes. �Why is he doing this? It tickles, sort of. Oh, he�s so funny� crazy too. Wait� what am I thinking? He�s being nothing but irritating and bothersome, playing these stupid little games of his. I mean, who does he think he is, King of the Nile? Him and his stupid grapes. Still� he sure is cute when he smiles� especially that one smile� Who am I kidding? I�m actually� enjoying this� Why? I mean, this is Darien? Or, should I say, my master? Ha! Master in deed� Ya know, Serena, he really hasn�t done anything really bad to you� cleaning the apartment� the sun tan lotion� now the grapes� Nothing too horrible. What did I think he was gonna make me do, anyway? Scrub the toilet with a toothbrush? I guess� maybe� I almost, sort of, had the wrong impression about him. He is being nicer than I imagined he would have been� when this whole card game thing popped up� Strange� could I actually be starting to like the guy?� Darien raised an eyebrow as she popped the sixth grape into her own mouth, staring in a trance to some unknown point on the beach. He cleared his throat. �Um� did you forget about someone here?� Serena snapped from her reverie to stare, somewhat surprised, at the man with his head comfortably in her lap. Faking anger, she threw a grape at his face. He flinched as it bounced off his eyelid. �Hey! What was that for?� �Interrupting my quiet time!� He rolled his eyes. �Sorry, Princess, didn�t realize you were so busy!� �Hmph!� Serena stood, unceremoniously pushing him off her lap to fall onto the blanket. �Darien, what time is it?� she asked after she had brushed herself off. Darien sighed, already missing the feel of their previous position. He reached for a bag and pulled out his watch. �7:00. I guess we should get going?� �Yeah, I guess so.� They packed up quickly, tossing the bags into the trunk of his red sports car before taking off towards home. It was a mostly silent ride, a mostly silent goodbye, before Serena left inside her front door. She battled with the strange emotions all night long. Part glad she wouldn�t see him tomorrow due to her volunteer work at the hospital, and part saddened by the same reason. That night, Darien resolved that grapes were his new favorite food. Next to chocolate. Not AS long as the last, but oh well. As always, I would so appreciate your ideas, suggestions, and comments! Thanx for reading! Luv ya and God bless! <3 Alicia |