14 Months 07: Australia Day

"Please, Darius, please," she begged her words coming as little more than a high pitched whimper.

"Please what," he bit back his smirk as he removed some of his weight from her and felt her arch up against him her body taut as a bowstring before he bit into her again and listened to the heady sounds of her cries as her body shook below him. "Oh yeah, come for me, Angel."

Sophie came back to her senses with Darius kneeling once again between her legs his cock fisted in his hand as he stroked and watched her intently. One hand stroked up one side of her body and danced over her breast to stroke down the other side and across her belly as she came back to him and looked up at him with unfocused eyes as she rode out the last waves of the huge climax.

She watched as he leaned forward and rather than his fingers used his cock to make contact with her clit. The heat and hardness of the touch making her cry out and buck in response her hands gripping the headboard as her body tensed and relaxed under the slow torturous back and forth, circling movements as he rubbed his cock over the plane of her pussy. She lifted her legs as if to wrap them around his waist, but he shook his head slightly and clicked his tongue, and she lowered them again.

With all of the teasing, Darius's breathing was laboured now and coming out in long shudders. He moved over her again, pressing his cock lower but still rubbing not pushing into her. He drank in her cries and whimpers, moving his cock back up to her clit again to continue the slow torturous dance. He was going to lose control, but he wanted her to understand that he cared more about her pleasure more than his own, unlike the men she would have had to service in Michelle's club.

"Fuck, Darius! Just Fuck Me!" Sophie finally cried out, unable to take anymore.

"Hmm?" he said as if not bothered at all instead of being too close to losing control himself. "You need something? Desire it even?"

"Alright I need this, I need this just as much as you. I've never just gone through the motions with you," Sophie cried out again as Darius rolled her clit with the head of his cock.

"I know Angel, but I needed you to know that too," he groaned and finally slammed into her, knocking the breath from her body with the impact of it.

"Fuck! Darius!" her breathless voice was no more than a whispered croak. She felt tears blurring her vision as she took everything he gave her. He felt so good, so hard, so hot! Her pussy clenched around him as he started at a slow rhythm, his groans counterpoint to her whimpers of pleasure as she tried to hold him inside her. It seemed like only minutes before another climax was building inside her, and she was garbling sounds instead of words as she tried to tell him.

"Oh yeah, Angel, cum for me again. Now!" Darius growled at her.

Sophie's brain barely acknowledged the wonder she felt that he could encourage her the way he did when she could barely make intelligible sounds let alone string them into words or a sentence. His hands gripped her hips almost painfully, but they dug in deep as he continued to pound into her and send her over the edge again into pure bliss.

The sight, the sound and the feel of this girl were too much for Darius to take and he let out a roar as her orgasm milked his cock for his. He lay over her exhausted and resting his neck again on the pillow beside her head. He continued to move in shallow, gentle thrusts and was rewarded by the feel of her body riding another wave beneath and around him. They lay like that for long moments until he felt her hand come to rest on his cheek while the other stroked down his back.

"You are so gorgeous, Angel," Darius said gruffly then pulled his head back to kiss her again his chest rubbing against her hard nipples. "You okay, Angel?" he asked, looking into her eyes realising he had been a little rough on her.

"Perfect," she smiled squirming a little to find a comfortable position to look into his eyes. "Thank you."

"The pleasure was all mine," he grinned and bent his head, playfully biting at her lip and pulling it into his mouth. "And I'm not sure we are done yet," he said and rolled taking her with him and helping her to straddle his hips as he nudged back into her again. "Your turn to torture me for a little while, I think."

*****

The trip to White Cliffs had been delayed for three days, and the fun run loomed closer than ever as Sophie and Zander stepped out of the jet to meet their running partners for a final fitting of the costume's they had chosen to run in. Zander took Sophie's hand and smiled down at her as she looked up at him as if on cue.

They were preceded by one of the bodyguards Darius had insisted on not that he had to twist Zander's arm very hard, and followed by Sophie's two stylists and a second bodyguard. It seemed strange to travel without Darius and the other brothers, and their girls but she guessed it would happen more often as the game went on until Darius was cleared by the Alliance doctor to be her partner again. It helped that the bodyguards that accompanied them were Roo and Bear from the Blackjack's and didn't stand on ceremony with her or Zander.

"This should be fun," Sophie said with a grin.

"Tell me again how I got stuck with the shirtless, tattooed character?" he asked as they slid into one of the waiting cars.

"Well," Sophie turned to consider him. "Would you like the truth, or would you like me to tell you what you want to hear?"

"Why aren't they the same thing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "The truth," He grumbled at her.

"Stede wouldn't agree to the costumes unless he was the Star Lord," she shrugged talking about the man who had agreed to partner with Zander for the fun run.

"I am Groot," Zander grumbled, hiding his teasing smile.

"You are Drax, only baby Groot and Rocket can fit into the backpacks for the run," she laughed easily. "Besides, Stede doesn't have the chest for Drax, and you do, plus I'm Mantis, and everyone knows Mantis and Drax go together unless you'd prefer to pose for pictures with Leah?" Sophie let her fingers trail over his pecs as he turned his dark scowl on her.

She knew he was doing this mostly to make her happy. Leah had agreed that the points for having fun with the team theme were just as important as running the race and in her new friend she found someone with a similar competitive spirit much to Stede's dismay when it came to this race.

Darius's revelation that Zander didn't want to be treated like a John any more than she wanted to be treated like a bought and paid for whore had affected Sophie more than she cared to admit. She noticed that she was wrong about him not wanting her, but rather, he held himself back when their kisses got heated and purposely put distance between them. She had begun flirting with him even more since then, pushing him that little bit further with each touch and caress, and each time she pushed him to his limit his dark scowl reappeared to pin her where she was and end the flirtation. It was like some strange stand-off between them, a barrier made from her defensive words and his stubborn refusal to be viewed as nothing more than a client, a John.

In the ensuing silence, Zander reached out and grabbed her hand, letting it rest on the seat between them and just like clockwork, she turned her gaze up to meet his. He loved that moment where their eyes met, and any uncertainty she felt about him disappeared from the amazing green depths of them, and his answering smile appeared. His will power where she was concerned was waning, and he was less sure about his plans to stay in White Cliffs overnight. At least he would have Jack as a buffer for good or evil. Possibly just the evil, he chuckled to himself and shook his head as he realised Sophie had turned a questioning look on him.

"My friend, Jack," Zander tried to explain. "It's his company we are using to create our costumes. He's an interesting character himself. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to you arriving with me."

"I guess we are about to find out. If I'm ruining your player status, I'm sorry," she grinned not sure why she was grinning exactly except that he wasn't scowling at her teasing words for once.

"No point putting it off any longer unless you want to wait for Leah and Stede to arrive?" he asked reaching for the door handle as Bear stepped out of the car to open Sophie's door for her.

"I still can't believe how different you look in a suit," Sophie giggled at Bear who she had met at the Blackjacks clubhouse over Christmas when he had been wearing scruffy well-worn biker leathers and denim.

"Heh, I'd have worn a dress to watch Jack lose his shit today," Bear winked.

"Why do I get the feeling that something other than costumes is going on here today?" she frowned at the man.

"Wait! We are here to get costumes?" Bear looked confused, but his lip curled as if stifling a grin. "I'm just here to see Jack the special effects dude as opposed to Jack, the founder of the Blackjacks or Jack the bloke I went to school with. He's a master of disguise be careful of him." Bear winked at Sophie as Zander took her hand.

"Best we get this over with then," he said as the stylists and Roo stepped from the second car.

The building was sleek for being in an industrial area. The glass walls and chrome accessories made Sophie think of the skyscrapers they had left behind in the city. They streamed through the door into a large comfortable waiting area where a receptionist smiled, taking them all in before locking her gaze on Zander and looking him up and down appreciatively.

"You don't look much like a Dark Lord," she gave a half laugh and bit her lip as Zander turned the full force of his scowl on her. "I take that back. I get it now," she held her hands up as if in surrender. "Jack is around somewhere, he knows you're here," she said and didn't move or pick up her phone to alert anyone.

"I got this," Roo said and pulled out his phone, pressing a few buttons. "He can't move two steps away from his phone. Showers with it I'm sure." The distinctive buzzing of a vibrating phone sounded behind them, and Sophie turned to look at the movie memorabilia. Several life-sized mannequins wore costumes from well-known movies, but no matter how hard Sophie looked, none of them appeared real top her. She couldn't see any sign that one was even breathing, let alone moving in any way. She walked around, trying to follow the buzzing and looking at the costumes on display. Aliens and storm troopers stood beside vampires and werewolves, pirates and bushrangers.

"Well if you were looking for the opportune moment that was it," a figure of Jack Sparrow jumped down from the pedestal he had been standing on when Sophie was looking at him making her squeal in fright and step back into Zander who stood behind her and steadied her with a hand on her waist. "Fuck!" his eyes widened as he took in the girl with Zander properly. "Is she real?" He reached out a hand toward her as if not quite sure she wasn't a figment of his imagination and looked up at Zander.

"Sophie, this is Jack. Jack, play nice and don't scare her any more than you already have," Zander grumbled.

"Sophie?" he took her hand as if not quite sure she was real.

"Yes," she gave a small smile. "It's nice to meet you finally, we've talked a few times about the costumes," she reminded him. "I'm looking forward to seeing how they all came out."

"We talked," he repeated as if in a daze.

"Alright, let go of her hand and back away from the girl, Jack," Zander chuckled.

"But you..." Jack began to say when another four people walked into the foyer, and with a squeal of delight rather than fear, Sophie withdrew her hand from Jack's and hurried over to embrace Leah grateful for the interruption to the awkward moment.

"She's yours?" Jack asked as the spell he was under broke.

"Temporarily while Darius recovers. He found her," Zander murmured watching Sophie greet her friends.

"Fuck, you could have warned me," Jack let out a long breath.

"What fun would that be? I don't think I have ever seen you speechless before," Zander chuckled. "We need to talk though, you still right for us to stay with you tonight?"

"Fuck yeah," Jack agreed without hesitation. He had been looking forward to spending some time with Zander after missing the Christmas ride this year because of a job for the Alliance, the fact that Roo and Bear had come with him was a bonus if a puzzle as to why. "Darius found her?" he gave Zander a sceptical look, but his friend only nodded. "Fucker," he grumbled. Then seemed to pull himself together and went to greet the newcomers.

"The seas may be rough, and our companions less than worthy, but I am the captain, and I will always prevail! Follow me ye landlubbers!" Jack said dramatically in a slurring Jack Sparrow voice and led the way behind the reception desk to wide double doors that led into the heart of the special effects company.

Four workspaces had been set up with a curtain that could be drawn across the entrance to each one for privacy, and an assistant waited for them there. Stede had the easiest of costumes and required little to no assistance while Leah required make-up before donning her costume as well as after as she was sprayed green and needed to let it dry. Zander too needed some make-up but not the amount Leah required while Sophie only required her face to be done and was able to get dressed relatively unaided even though the stylist had accompanied her into the room.

She and Stede chatted quietly about how authentic the costumes looked while low murmurs sounded from behind the curtains of their companions. Zanders curtain opened, and Sophie could see him in a chair as the makeup artist they had brought with their stylist dabbed at his neck and face with a grey sponge discolouring his skin. Sophie could see that his torso was covered by a skin-tight shirt already decorated with the red designs the character bore on his skin.

Sophie had to admit that a shirtless Zander even with grey skin looked pretty hot. His already short hair was slicked back closer to his skull but didn't detract from the costume at all, not that she ever would have dared to ask him to shave it for a fun run, but it could be fun to tease him a little. She smiled to herself as she stood back watching him, noting his clenched fists as the makeup artists fussed around him and spoke over his head. She knew he was only doing this for her, and at that moment, she felt her heart melt a little bit. He had done so much for her since the New Year's Ball and had expected nothing in return or at least it seemed that way when he always kept a little distance between them.

"Alright my lovely, it's your turn," Jack left Zander with one of his assistants and walked towards Sophie, indicating she should take a chair in the workspace assigned to her. Her stylist and makeup artist followed to learn how to attach the antennae she would have to wear. It didn't take long with the special moulded soft plastic and adhesive used to give her the look of the character from the Marvel universe. The prosthetic, as Jack called the antennae, changed the shape and look of her face dramatically, and she barely recognised herself in the mirror. When she stood up from her chair, she realised that Zander had been hovering close just out of her line of sight in the mirror and was scowling at her again. She wondered if he truly hated her costume, and she looked down, trying to work out what was wrong with it.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, and there was a tentativeness to her voice that showed her anxiety.

"Darius is going to lose his mind," Zander chuckled. "You look amazing," he said of the form-fitting costume that highlighted and enhanced every curve of her body.

"I know, right?" Jack chuckled beside him. "Some of my best work if I do say so myself. Okay, let's do the tech for you guys while we wait for Gamora to appear. Stede you'll be carrying baby Groot and this," he held up the iconic eighties-style Walkman. "It's programmed with 'Awesome Mix Volume one and two, and here is the backpack that little Groot will be dancing on," he held up what looked like a beat-up old speaker with straps attached to it and a small Groot doll standing on top of it. He turned on the music, and the little figure's arms and body began to dance while its feet stayed locked in place.

"Oh, wow, that so good!" Sophie grinned delightedly and moved to take a closer look feeling the beat of the music run through her making her want to dance too as Come and Get Your Love rocked through the speaker. "I can't wait to see what you did with Rocket!"

"There's a water reservoir in the speaker, and that is attached to the pistol on your side so you can spray anyone who needs it during the race. Jack took time helping Stede put the backpack on and feel its weight as well as adjust the tube running from the back of the speaker to his pistol. "It's got a pretty hefty battery life so it should keep the music blaring no matter whether you walk or run the distance."

"Doesn't feel as heavy as it looks," Stede said shrugging his shoulders up and down as the position was adjusted then walked around to get the feel of it and then jogging a few steps. "I should be good to run the five kilometres with it."

"Great, now a toy for you to play with," Jack chuckled and pointed at Zander, and from a covered section of a bench he hefted up a replica of Rocket Raccoon who seemed to be harnessed to a floating chair with no legs and holding a huge gun. "There is a larger reservoir with this one which makes it heavier to start with, but as you go, it will lighten. You can use the pistol to spray competitors much like Stede, but you also have the option of using Rocket to spray the people you pass with water." Jack demonstrated before helping Zander with the backpack pointing out the slight padding in the shoulders of his tattoo shirt to help take the weight and avoid rubbing as he ran.

"This is amazing," Leah said, finally stepping from her curtained room looking for all the world like an exact replica of the Gamora character. Then she stopped in her tracks and viewed her companions, including the two backpacks where baby Groot still boogied away. "Beyond amazing! Its fan-fucking-tastic!" she blurted.

"Seriously?" Stede chuckled and tried to frown at her. "We talked about the language, right?

"Oh yeah, but I can't help it. We are gonna fff... rock this thing!" Leah said excitedly. "The fun and costume points are all ours, but we are going to do a decent time as well. Hello, top of the leader board!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, Connor called me too, and his team's idea is pretty good as well, with my expertise involved," he winked at them.

"Probably because it was Sophie's idea in the first place," Zander grumbled.

"You gave them an idea as good as ours and our designer?" Leah turned on Sophie with a horrified look.

"We were going to partner originally and well she and her partner could pull off what I suggested better than we could. So I came up with a better idea for us," Sophie sighed. "I can't see Stede or Zander pulling off Shaggy or you pulling off Thelma for that matter."

"What are you talking about?" Leah frowned.

"Scooby-doo," Sophie said as if it wasn't obvious. "You didn't watch cartoons as a kid?"

"Let's just hope the judges are superhero geeks and not Saturday morning cartoon freaks," Leah grinned.

"Alright, let's go outside and get some photo's, then you can do a run around the building, and we can make any adjustments needed while you're here.

Zander was grateful for his friend's presence throughout the afternoon once they had changed back into their regular selves and used the miracle makeup remover provided by Jack to look normal again. Jack had ordered in a late lunch and gave the girl's a guide to tour his special effects studio with Roo and Bear in tow as well as Stede who admitted he was more than a little pleased that he had agreed to the costumes and was interested in what else Jack could provide for future challenges.