They stood there staring at each other for
a while
before Crimson turned toward the building that her apartment was in. She pointed to it and Max thought it was a joke. There was no way she could afford an apartment in this building. It was on the upper west side; this skyscraper was home to some of the richest individuals in all of Alexandria, let alone Alexarien.
“
Right
.
You realize that apartments start at about a billion credits a month in this building? It
’
s known to be a hotspot with every amenity anyone could want included in the fee. The person who built this was a genius.
”
“
I know she is,
”
Crimson said slyly with a Cheshire grin.
It took a moment to register in Max
’
s brain. He felt the blood drain out of his face as he pondered what she meant. Finally, he opened his mouth.
“
You mean to say you built this?
”
he questioned.
“
Exactly,
”
she said, pointing to the top floor.
“
I own this whole thing, and I live on the top floor. So, you coming up by your own volition or am I going to have to make you?
”
she asked, placing the barrel of one of the pistols to his stomach and raising her right eyebrow in a playful manner.
Max
’
s heart was fluttering and he was definitely overly excited about everything that had taken place in the last day. His life always seemed so dull and boring, but now, in mere hours, it seemed to be getting turned upside down.
“
I guess I have no choice. Some mad woman wants to take me hostage as a sex slave,
”
he said, smiling.
“
Watch it, buddy. I can pull this trigger with ease. Now come on, let
’
s get off the street and get dry.
”
The two of them rode a private elevator to the fifty-seventh floor. As the elevator dinged and they stepped off, Max realized that the elevator must be only for her. She had to swipe a key to get into it and it let them off right in her living room. The apartment was massive. It appeared to take up the entire top floor of the building. If she didn
’
t own this building, it would have cost more than any sane human would pay to live in a high-rise complex.
The moment they stepped off the elevator, Crimson had tossed the pistols across the room
,
pulled her dress over her head
,
and tossed it as well. With her back facing him, he could see all she was wearing now was a pair of thong underwear and her white leather high heels. His heart began to throb and he was clearly aroused by the sight of it. Unknowingly, he let out a slight gasping grunt that caught her attention. Crimson turned her head and stopped to look at him standing there awkward and confused.
“
What? You
’
ve never seen a naked girl before? You
’
re a doctor, right? And I was wet
,
give me a break. I
’
m going to my room to get something dry and comfortable. I
’
m sure I
’
ve got something in one of the guest rooms you can wear.
”
“
I
’
ve seen naked women before socially and professionally. It
’
s just…you
’
re beautiful, and I didn
’
t expect you to rip your clothes off
like it w
as
nothing
.
”
“
Oh really? You think I
’
m beautiful?
”
she asked rhetorically.
Before he could answer, she had turned and started walking back toward him seductively. Her stomach was firm and cut; it was sleek and muscular. Her skin was soft and while and her breasts were small but perky, Max hadn
’
t noticed earlier that she wasn
’
t wearing a bra. He definitely noticed now.
He was nervous, embarrassed, and clearly aroused as she slinked back to him. She stood only inches from his face and reached up, stroking her hand across his cheek and to the back of his head. She grabbed onto his hair and gave him a hard tug, pulling his head backward, and kissed his neck. It sent a shiver down his spine and a tingle across his legs.
“
I
’
m
nothing more than
a terrible tease, Max. Pretend you only got to see me naked in a profession
al sense. I
’
m not going to have sex
with you…tonight anyway,
”
she said as she softly kissed his lips and let go of his head.
“
I barely know you and I
’
ve already felt the full spectrum of love and hate for you in such a short period of time. I can only imagine if I pick the wrong side and wind up your enemy.
”
“
You
’
ll be dead too quickly to worry about it.
”
She said it dry, flat, matter-of-fact.
At that, she turned and went into her bedroom. Max, still confused and feeling a bit used, stared at her and took note of how the muscles on her back and shoulders rippled as she walked. The way her hips swayed; he couldn
’
t tell if she was trying to be seductive or if she was
so
naturally. He wished he knew whether she was actually interested in him or
only
playing some sort of game.
“
Besides, Max,
”
he heard her holler from her bedroom,
“
it would be awful of me to take you to bed tonight when I
’
ve got a date planned with someone tomorrow.
”
“
Right, I should have known. You have a line of men waiting to pleasure you.
”
He said it sarcastically and jokingly, but he was serious.
“
You could say that.
”
When she returned, she had already gone to another one of the rooms and brought him out some new dry clothes. She was holding some comfortable plaid pajama pants and a black t-shirt for him to wear. She, herself, wasn
’
t wearing anything fancy. Just some fuzzy white pajama pants with cargo pockets and a heavy metal band t-shirt that was too big for her.
In moments, she had transformed herself from a seductive vixen to a frumpy-looking housewife. She no longer looked crazy, or untamable. She no longer looked like the wild woman who had almost gotten them killed and then subsequently rescued them in the same night. She no longer looked like the gun wielding devil he had seen earlier. She now looked tame, domestic. She looked human to him. No longer did she look like an indestructible heroine from a comic book.
“
Here, put these on. If you need your privacy, you can change in the first room to the right. It is one of the guest rooms,
”
she said, throwing the clothes to him and pointing down the hallway she
’
d emerged from.
“
Thanks,
”
Max said.
She had been pretty open with her body, but Max was feeling insecure. He decided to take her up on the offer of privacy. He walked down the hallway and went into the room she had described. It was simple. It held a queen-sized bed on an oak frame and an elegant carbon fiber dresser. The room was simple, but felt comfortable and cozy.
He finished changing and turned around to walk back to the living room, only to be startled by Crimson standing in the doorway. He jumped a little, and wasn
’
t sure if he was more startled by the fact he hadn
’
t heard her creep up or the fact she was holding the pistols again. She had a smirk on her face. She no doubt saw his jumpy nature bleeding through into his every action.
“
Don
’
t worry, I only saw your back. To my disappointment, you already had the pants on by the time I came in.
”
“
A pity for you.
”
“
Indeed.
”
She handed him one of the pistols and stated,
“
One under your pillow, one under mine. The safety is on if we are attacked; don
’
t forget it. I
’
m sleeping in here with you, so don
’
t get any ideas. It
’
s
purely because it is
safer to be together.
”
“
Okay, I won
’
t. Why don
’
t we go to your room?
”
“
Nobody but me goes to my room. Now get in bed, Max, and let
’
s get some rest.
”
As they lay in bed together, he couldn
’
t help but realize they both smelled as if they
’
d had a hard day. It was a mixture of body odor and that smell rain and asphalt had when it mixed. It wasn
’
t particularly bad, and there was a good distance between the two of them.
“
Max?
”
He
r
voice sounded soft, not like he had heard before.
“
Yes?
”
“
Don
’
t get the wrong idea, but can you hold me, please? It
’
s been awhile since I
’
ve had company.
”
“
Okay,
”
he said as he nestled close behind her, putting his head on her shoulder.
“
Thanks.
”
Crimson sighed and felt comfortable. She wasn
’
t impervious; she had emotions and needs, even if she didn
’
t show them, even if they were erratic. Her breathing began to deepen and match Max
’
s. Before they knew it, they were both deep asleep.
You Say You Want A Revolution?
“
Wake up, Max darling, wake up,
”
Crimson said
, her
voice as soft as silk as she gently shook his shoulders, waking him.
She had been awake since seven that morning. She didn
’
t need much sleep. She had already attended to some business, gotten dressed, and started breakfast. It was now ten o
’
clock. She tried to look as sweet as possible as she gently awoke Max, and knelt next to him on the bed.
Max wasn
’
t one for the morning; he hated waking up. To him, mornings were something to be loathed, not embraced, which was funny seeing as he routinely woke up at six every morning to open the clinic by seven. He grumbled under his breath and swatted at Crimson as she tried to wake him. He was lucky she didn
’
t retaliate.
He stretched and sprawled, contorting his body in all sorts of unseemly positions as he made awful grumbles and hisses. At one point, Crimson swore he was cursing at her, but the words were barely audible and unrecognizable. She stared at him for a second. If the gentle approach wouldn
’
t work, she would have to get rough.
She yanked the pillow out from under his head. His head flopped back and hit the gauss pistol she had instructed him to leave there during the night. As the back of his head wrapped the hard pistol, it caused minimal discomfort, not enough to awaken him. Before he knew it, however, Crimson was raining down blows upon his face with the down pillow that had
earlier
been caressing his head, beguiling him with thoughts of more sleep.
“
Wake up
,
sleepyhead! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
”
she shouted playfully, hitting him over and over.
Max grumbled and roared. He propped himself up quickly and was facing straight forward. He still was barely able to make words. They all sounded like noises a grumpy bear would make upon waking from hibernation. Signs of his waking didn
’
t satiate Crimson
’
s playful nature, however
,
as she blasted him straight in the face with the pillow so hard that it knocked him back to a laying position.