14 Months 07: Australia Day

"So out with it. Why are Roo and Bear here rather than fully pledged Alliance men?" Jack said pinning Zander with a scowl of his own.

"Darius and I trust them," was the simple reply but the raised eyebrow and darkening scowl on Jacks face told him that he would have to give him more than that. "We are still putting it all together, but the council have an invested interest not just in our girl but Connors and David's too. The thing is the family are interested in finding Sophie too," Zander murmured in a barely audible whisper that Jack had to strain to hear.

"Come," Jack said, seeing the seriousness of the situation and led Zander to his office. "It's clean. I sweep it twice a day," he said by way of introduction. "No one will know what's discussed in here."

"We don't know much," Zander sighed but what we do know is cause for concern. He filled Jack in on the happenings to date, pointing out that Roo and Bear didn't know the real reason for the extra muscle they wanted anytime Sophie travelled. "What Darius and I want is to know that if anything happens to us, you will come and get her. We don't know what the council's agenda is but they have said that if I didn't stand in while Darius recovered that they would take her and keep her in a safe house until they needed her. That fact alone tells us that she is important and they will take her and use her at some point. We don't want that to happen to put it mildly,"

"Welcome to the dark side, my friend," Jack laughed a full-on belly laugh. "I never knew how you all did it; followed their orders blindly and becoming Alliance drones. It was never in me to do it. I thought I had them snowed until the end though." He was the last of the thirteen to be cut from the program. He was far too independent, and questioning of the motives behind the organisation which had pretty much saved his and his friends lives. "So, you'll try to get her out before that happens?"

"We don't have all the information yet, but if they came for her tomorrow, I doubt any of us would let her go easily. She's..." Zander searched for the right word and came up blank. "Different," he finally said despite it being totally wrong for how he knew Darius felt about the girl and his growing feelings towards her.

"Different?" Jack gave him a sceptical look. He knew the story behind most of the girls brought into the Alliance games and that most were recruited into their own clubs once their time in the game was done. It was how they populated their legal as well as their dubious secret clubs with staff loyal to them. Only those girls destined for futures that could be an asset to the alliance were given any sort of freedom after the game, and that freedom was only an illusion.

"The girls we usually get in the game are survivors of a shitty childhood just trying to get by as best they can, but Sophie is more than a survivor, and her story is shittier than most, yet, she isn't hard and coarse and unemotional because of it. She's sassy and independent and will stand toe to toe against Darius's temper if you can believe that. It's pretty funny to see him back down like a tamed lap dog. It's rare we even see that temper when she's around. She has a way with people. I'm pretty sure Ash is half in love with her already."

"Asher is in love with Darius, so that's no surprise. What about you? Where do you fit into this love fest?" Zander asked.

"The jury is still out," he shrugged.

"Darius not sharing his toys?" Jack chuckled again.

"He's not only open to it but seems to be pushing that agenda. It was his suggestion we stay down here tonight as long as the extra muscle was here to keep an eye on her. It seems everywhere we go one of the Calabrese men accost her thinking she is her mother," Zander explained.

"So, you could have full access to the perfect woman we dreamed into being at fourteen and you're holding back why?" Jack asked sobering in the face of Zander's confession and his troubled eyes.

"I'm not, not exactly. I was just taking it slow. Making sure it's what we all want not just because it's expected," Zander admitted then shook his head slightly. "That's not why I came to talk to you, though. Darius was complaining to anyone that was within range that you never even sent a get well text after he was injured and perhaps you might want to visit and see what you can dig up through your turtle club contacts at the same time?"

"Maybe," Jack mused. Seeing the others return through the glass windows he threw Zander a set of keys. "You and Sophie can go check out my place and get settled while I finish up here. There are a couple of bikes in the garage the bozos can use to sight see. The security is state of the art. You won't have to worry about being there. Even the council can't get their fingerprints past the front gate without me knowing. She'll be safe. I'll call you about dinner later." With that, he swept out of his office back to the group he had been entertaining for the day.

*****

Sophie watched the two bikers, Roo and Bear, ride out of the front gate, leaving her alone in the pretty hillside house with Zander. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she wondered if the growing attraction between them had been on his mind as often as it had been in hers recently. Ever since signing the contract he seemed to back off from any moment of intimacy that could go too far even though he had been the one pushing to be included in her relationship with Darius as an equal in every way including intimacy. She worried when the two bikers had accompanied them on this trip that he didn't want to spend any alone time with her and start a more intimate relationship even if it was only a temporary thing. She hoped she was brave enough to keep pushing him and follow through when the time came.

She knew that Zander had been slowly getting under her skin. He was so different from Darius who never hid his desire and insatiable need for her. Zanders restraint while still obviously caring for her was messing with her head, and she knew she needed to protect her heart enough that it wouldn't be so painful when he left their ménage arrangement or when her time in the game was done.

She had surprised herself today by admitting she had missed him on the tour around the special effects workshop. She had missed his strong presence and quirky sense of humour. Missed the way he spoke to her and listened, really listened when she spoke. It made little sense, but it was true, she missed him, in the small amount of time he had left her side when Darius wasn't there to take his place. She closed the distance between them and, plucking up her courage. She placed a hand on his chest and leaned closer before speaking.

"Thank you, Zander. I know the costume isn't what you wanted, but it means so much to me that you are doing this," she said in a low murmur, using what little courage she had before it failed her and she leaned up pressing against his body and placing a soft kiss on his lips as her hands ran up his chest to twine around his neck. "Now that we have some time alone, I could show you how much I appreciate all you have done for me," she paused before adding, "And Darius."

There was nothing Zander wanted more, but he couldn't get her words about being a contracted whore out of his head, and he had to ask the question. He took hold of her wrists from where they tangled around his neck and lessened the pressure of her body against his by stepping back slightly before he lost the willpower to resist the beautiful girl he had become almost as obsessed with as Darius so clearly was.

"I won't treat you like a whore so don't act like one around me..." he ground out between clenched teeth, making her fall back onto her heels and pull her arms from him. He knew immediately that he had said what he did all wrong, but it was out there now, so he went on regardless of the consequences. "I'm not some guy out to get his dick wet in a beautiful woman just because he can. If I take you, it will be because we both want it not out of obligation or being paid for a service provided. I want you, but I need to know I mean more to you than just another man to satisfy."

"It is what it is," Sophie sighed and turned away from him. This was her own fault. She'd said it when he offered her the new contract with Darius and hurt him, and he deserved more than a half-hearted excuse like the one she had just given. "It was how it felt at the time. How all of that contract stuff makes me feel."

"It is what it is," he repeated. "And you're always going to feel that way?"

"No," she said quickly, but she could tell by his face that he wasn't convinced. It might have been an off-hand comment to her, but it obviously meant something to him, so she went on. "No, I..." she knew she needed to be honest and make this good if she had any hope of convincing him. She swallowed hard and placed a hand on his chest again. "I know my time in the game has been complicated, but it's hard for me to admit that someone could care for me as more than... what I was and that I could see them as someone to care for and trust," she said softly, looking him in the eyes. It felt like torture to her standing there waiting for him to accept or reject her like she had done to him when they negotiated the contract, and he made his 'girlfriend' demands.

"Care for and trust?" there was a small hint of a smile or at least a lessening of his scowl.

"Yes, I trust you, and I care for you," she admitted. "You've been messing with my head the way you wanted intimacy in that contract, but then you pull away every time we get close. I think about you when you're not around, regardless of who I've been with or what I have been doing. Honestly, it's been annoying at times, particularly because Darius seems to know why I'm distracted at times," she admitted.

"So that's what this is? A way to get me out of your system?" he probed, the gravel coming back to his voice.

"Yes, no, maybe that's part of it," she admitted and went to turn away from him, seeing that this was going nowhere fast.

"Part of it? What's the rest?" he demanded, grabbing her hand as she turned away and placing it back on his chest where it had been originally.

"You know why I'm in the game and why I signed the contract. I didn't sign up expecting to develop feelings for you. Darius made it easy to keep the deeper feelings locked down but you..." She sighed. "I'm still not sure that telling you all this is the smartest idea, but I'm willing to take the risk if that risk is with you," Sophie said quietly, not daring to look up into Zander's eyes again. This whole conversation was nothing but disappointing. She was putting herself out there and was preparing to be smashed like a bug on a windscreen when he rejected her again. She should have just walked away when he accused her of acting like a whore with her flirting kiss.

"It has been difficult to keep space between us," he admitted.

"You made it look easy," she said, peeking up at him through her long lashes.

"It wasn't easy, but that's what you wanted. Why else say what you did?" Zander accused and watched Sophie open her mouth and close it again as she struggled with why she had pushed him away and made light of his demands.

"More like I wanted to see if you stayed away," she admitted finally and saw the admission rocked him by the way he looked at her.

"I pretty much did," he pointed out. "But you've been messing with my head too," he admitted, finally touching her and placing his hands on her hips and drawing her closer. He'd almost convinced himself that keeping it PG was the best for both of them and Darius. The only problem was that he hated the idea, so, he'd kept her close, unwilling to give up on her seeing him as more than just another man to take advantage of her.

"Trying to get me out of your system too?" she teased, placing both hands on his chest again.

"Maybe," he smiled softly and skimmed a hand from her hip up to her ribcage and over the swell of her breast, appreciating her curves. The hand moved slowly up and over her shoulder and curled around the back of her neck, his fingers twisting into her hair to pull her head back to look up at him better. "But it will probably take a few times to be entirely sure."

"More than likely," she agreed and glided her hands up his chest to twist around his neck.

"Definitely," he brushed his lips over hers, "It will most definitely take more than a few times," he murmured and brought their mouths together.

He kissed her deeply, and the taste of her roared through him as he finally let go of the tight rein he had held on his attraction to her. He could feel her hip, tummy and breasts pressing against him, and his control almost slipped completely, but he fought to retain it. He wanted to take his time and savour this moment. It wasn't every day a man had the chance to take his fantasy woman to bed, and he wasn't going to rush it. He kissed her again, slow and deep. The hand at her hip slid under the material of her shirt, feeling the warmth and silky smoothness of her skin. She rolled her hips in response, causing him to groan and to grab her hip, stilling her movements against his growing hardness, he needed to keep himself in check and maintain control or this would be over way faster than either of them wanted.

"Mm," she murmured into the kiss before breaking it and moving her head back to look up at him. "It's not going to work, you know?"

"It'll work, trust me," he grinned and rubbed his pelvis against hers.

"I'm sure that will," she laughed, rolling her hips against his evident arousal. "I'm talking about you trying to slow us down," she nipped at his earlobe and then kissed it soothingly. "I don't want you slow and careful and sweet. It took me so long to admit that I want you and to instigate this. I don't want tender or soft this first time. I want heat and desire and pure unadulterated needful lust." Now that she had admitted that to herself, more so than him, she felt like a different woman. A woman who could rival the super sexy and confident Stella.

"What I need," she said, "Is to feel your hands and your mouth, and," she reached her hand down, running her fingers over the swollen ridge of his cock beneath the denim of his black jeans, "I want to feel you inside me. Hard and fast and deep!" she said breathlessly. "That's what I want right now," she moved to kiss him again, but he stepped back. Sophie thought she'd gone too far, been too forward, and he was going to slow her down or stop what was happening entirely again. Then she saw him pull off his shirt in one slick movement and toss it aside.

Zander moved quickly to kiss her again, helping her to pull off her top and unbutton the jeans. When she stepped back slightly, he didn't protest as he took in the red bra that had matched her top and, as she pushed her jeans down, the matching red panties. They came together for a kiss, and he didn't offer even a murmur of protest as her fingers flicked open the button of his jeans and her hand delved into his underwear to encircle his cock. When her fingers trailed up its length and squeezed out a pearl of pre-cum, he groaned deeply into the kiss and savoured the massaging feel of her thumb, rubbing it over the head of his cock.

Hearing him, groan filled her with a sense of feminine power, and she eased his jeans and underwear down his hips and thighs and broke the kiss as he kicked them away. Her eyes were drawn immediately to the impressive erection on display. She saw a tremor run through him and she got a heady rush that she could make such a strong man weak just by touching him, that she knew she could make him lose control. She sank to her knees before him and looked up.

"Sophie." He moaned. It wasn't a question, and it held so much meaning for her, it was almost as if her name on his lips was a plea. Then she bent forward and wrapped her lips around him. She didn't feel submissive in the moment, regardless of being on her knees. She felt strong and powerful and shared in the power he gave her over his arousal. She bobbed her head, taking more of him and swirling her tongue around the head as she went. She felt rather than saw his hands fly to her head, and his fingers twist into her hair. His hold was firm but without force, and he let her, for the most part, set the pace. His hips began to move slightly as he pushed into her mouth, and she looked up at him through her lashes.

She could see his control slipping and what it cost him to maintain the little control he retained. His teeth clenched together as he groaned out his pleasure. She wanted more than anything to give him what he needed, what he wanted, and she sucked deeper, sliding her lips over him, again and again, taking his tentative hip movements until he let out a vicious curse.

Zander was beside himself. Those lips, those wonderful, beautiful lips that he had fantasised about for so long were wrapped around him, and she was giving him the blowjob of a lifetime. He had to use all his strength to hold back and not fuck her oh so willing mouth. His hips seemed to move of their own volition. Then, suddenly, he could stand it no longer.

"Fuck!" Zander growled and pulled her off his cock and up to face him again where he kissed her like a man possessed. It took a moment for his head to clear enough to think straight, kissing her deeply as he dug his fingers into the side of her panties and ripped them from her, tossing the remnants away. When he picked her up, she wrapped her legs around his hips, then he turned, pressing her back against the wall and, while still kissing her, guided himself into her.

"Oh, Fuck, yes!" Sophie hissed as he began to fuck her. Their bodies moved in unison, and she bucked her hips as he thrust into her. It was only a matter of minutes before she raised her head back and growled, "Fuck, Zander, please..."

He shifted his weight and his hold on her, freeing one hand to slide between them and rub her clit as he continued to fuck her hard and deep.

"Cum for me, beautiful. Cum for me!" his words a low growl. He gripped her between his body and the wall as her whole body trembled, her head tipping back and her back arching as she cried out for him and became loose-limbed and pliable when she came down from the high. One of her legs started to slip from his hip, and he changed his stance, again gripping her ass. "No!" he said, hoisting her higher, seating himself even deeper. "We aren't done yet, not by a long shot," he growled. "Cum for me, Beautiful, cum again!"

She was helpless against the onslaught, his husky, growling demands, the feel of his hard body moving against her and in her. She tangled her hands around his neck and into the back of his short hair as she held on tight.

"Cum with me!" she begged. "Not alone!" she whined as if holding back the floodgates. "Cum with me, Zander!" she begged in long drawn out, high pitched tones. "Please," she breathed into the kiss he planted on her lips. She felt him swell impossibly bigger and she toppled over the edge of her next climax, her body jerking and quivering in his arms.

Zander felt her cum and her inner muscles milk his orgasm from him. Her begging so sweet and tempting, he growled deeply and let go, giving her all he had. He held her against the wall for a long time, his legs protesting but unable to move as he rested his face in the crook of her neck. It was better than he ever could have imagined, and would only get better each time they came together, he knew. He'd let her take the lead this time, but that would not always be the case. He wasn't about to lose the trust he had from her at the moment by getting carried away and restraining her without thinking about the consequences. It was the one stipulation she had made in the contract, and he knew he would have to curb his natural dominating tendencies or at least ease her into them.