Quaranteam - AU Ch. 06

Ty didn't need to hear any more. He leaned down and covered Lettie's mouth with his own, kissing her fiercely. Their tongues tangling for what felt like an eternity, the world around them fading away as they lost themselves in the other's embrace.

When they finally came up for breath, Ty showered her face with gentle kisses as he sought the words. "I suppose it's as good a time as I could hope for. It's always something I hoped to say, but this is probably the best time to say it. I love the connection we share, Lets. I love the easy laughter between us. The gentle banter. I love seeing your smile. I love everything about you."

He locked eyes with her and he spotted it. The tiniest hint of insecurity in those eyes. It was odd, he knew. His feelings for this woman had always been powerful, but they were so intense now, threatening to spill over and burst from him in an uncontrollable tide. But he hadn't voiced it, had he? He'd never given those feelings a shape. Of course, she was feeling insecure. Giving her another gentle kiss, he continued.

"I know I gave Lots and Alice a token of our relationship, but you and Talia have yet to receive anything. That isn't because my feelings for you are any less than what I have for those two. There just hadn't been a good opportunity until now, so..."

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the small box he'd retrieved from his room before they left. It was one of a pair of identical items. At the time he'd ordered them, he had been acting on a whim. After the accident that had nearly cost him his career, he had been sitting at home, feeling very alone. The twins had been stuck dealing with the aftermath, and it had reinforced once again how much they meant to him and how much their absence affected his mental state.

Even though he'd never intended to use them to propose, the act of purchasing them had anchored him in a time where his loneliness threatened to overwhelm him and set him adrift. A loneliness that he had managed to hide from them for fear that they would stretch themselves too thin for his sake. But it was now, after his recent ordeal that he'd been hit with the very real fact of his mortality and hadn't wanted to go without letting the loves of his life know how he felt. He'd already placed a rush order with the supplier for two more. He would not make the same mistake again.

"I kinda guess we skipped the whole 'dating' phase, but there was always that kind of feeling between us, huh. I'll make it up to you for sure, but I need to say it." He took a deep breath and dropped to one knee, eliciting a gasp from Lettie.

"Leticia. Lettie. The injury that threatened to end my career brought me to a place that I won't ever be happy to admit I was in. While I was stuck in the hospital or at home, alone, I was trapped in my own head. Smothered by my loneliness. I came to realise how much I needed you by my side. Then when I was infected with that variant of Duo, it was honestly the first time I had ever really contemplated my mortality and the people I'd be leaving behind were the worst to happen. The things I'd left unsaid. Still, I was a coward. I was terrified that breaking the status quo between the three of us would mean losing one or both of you forever. I'm glad that I was wrong. I love you. But now, even with you by my side, I'm letting my greed get the better of me. I tasted happiness and now I want more. And it strikes me that the solution is easy and yet all the more terrifying than any situation I've ever been in."

He flipped the box open, revealing an ornately carved platinum band inlaid with small emeralds surrounding the main setting. In that larger setting sat a brilliant solitaire, glittering in the evening light. Lettie was frozen, staring, tears running down her face and Tiberius continued.

"Leticia Valiant. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know I cannot profess to be yours alone, but I will do my utmost to make sure that you never feel like a lesser partner under any circumstance. I swear to do everything in my power to see that you're happy."

Ty smiled, holding the small box with its sparkling contents out to the enraptured woman as he spoke the final words.

"Would you do me the honour of marrying me?"

For the briefest of instants, the world stopped. There was no response from Lettie and a surge of fear struck Tiberius' heart. Then she surged into motion, leaping forward and crashing into the big man, bowling him over backwards as she sobbed and screamed 'yes' over and over.

As her tears eased, Lettie straddled his lap and kissed him passionately before leaning back and presenting her hand. Ty chuckled and popped the ring box open again, having had enough presence of mind to snap the box shut before he'd been tackled. Pulling out the ring, he kissed the tips of her fingers and slid the band on before moving his face to hers. His heart was light; the anxiety of moments before having evaporated and giving way to overwhelming happiness. The pair sat there, nose to nose, foreheads touching, just smiling at one another.

At least, Ty just sat there. Lettie's smile quickly grew into a grin, the subtle wiggle of her hips eliciting a groan from the big man.

"Just what are you trying to accomplish, grinding into me like that, love?"

"If you can't figure it out, we have a problem, big guy. You know what I want."

He planted a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. "I want you to say it, Lets. Say it, and I'll make it happen."

She stared into his eyes and pouted for a moment but spoke. "Love me. Make love to me here, under this tree. Make this place even more special than it is now."

"It would be my pleasure."

--

Ty let his fingers dance across Lettie's body, his tongue fighting with hers as he caressed her curves. Slowly, he undid the buttons on her blouse, laying her onto her back as he slipped it off entirely. Fortunately, the springtime grass was warm after the day, and Ty continued to undress her, kissing his way down her body.

Lettie let out a small whimper as Ty's teeth closed over her nipple and spoke in a breathless voice. "Oh God. We should do it like this more often."

Ty chuckled, pausing in his ministrations to undo his belt. "What, outside? That's pretty kinky, love. But yeah, our usual encounters are fast paced. Far more raw passion than sensuous lovemaking, but that's nice too. It's amazing, feeling how much you want me and showing you how much I want you. It pushes all of my buttons."

Lettie's expression grew lustful as she stripped off her skirt. "You can be a beast when that happens, Ty. Now come, you're taking far too long. Let me get you ready."

Both completely nude now, Ty rolled them both over and Lettie slid down his body, her slender fingers running across his pelvis and slowly stroking his erection. He shivered under her ministrations and she quickly lowered her mouth onto him, morphing the shivers into shudders and drawing a groan of pleasure.

Lettie slowly bobbed her head up and down, steadily building his pleasure and sending spasms up Ty's spine until he could stand it no more. He stopped her, pulling her back up the length of his body and parking her hips over his face. She was already drenched, but that didn't slow him down in the slightest as he went to work. Her voice rose in pitch rapidly as he ran his tongue over her folds, and he had to work hard to not let her slip away as she writhed. He kept his assault up, even past her first orgasm, the pleasure rolling over her in a tide.

"Enough! Please, I need you in me, now!" She gasped as her hips bucked again, her breath coming in short gasps. Repositioning quickly, she lowered herself onto him, unable to stifle the moan as he bottomed out in her depths.

Ty started moving, gently, rocking his hips as she rode him. His hands slid up her body, caressing her full breasts. Lettie liked having her nipples twisted, and Ty had gotten into the habit of doing that with all his partners, just to enjoy their reaction. She didn't disappoint, arching her back as the sensations drove her towards climax.

Lettie leaned forwards, showering him with kisses as she changed her movements to a sensuous grind. She slipped one hand between them and laid it over her abdomen.

"Fill me. I'm sadly still on the pill, but I want to feel it, Ty. I want to bear our children, but I'll let Talia and Alice go first."

"Whenever you're ready, love. No pressure."

"I want this. Since the day Lottie and I acknowledged our feelings, I've wanted nothing more than this. But there was always the fear that you might not. Now, I know that's not the case, but I can't help but feel impatient."

Ty didn't respond, just grinding into her harder and giving her a final thrust, getting himself deep before he unloaded everything into her. Still locked in a kiss, Lettie moaned her orgasm into his mouth as his sperm splashed against her womb.

"We've got the rest of our lives to spend together, love. I'm sure we can take our time."

--

Ty leaned against the tree, enjoying the feeling of Lettie's comfortable weight as she rested against him, her eyes fixed on the ring now resting snugly on her finger.

"Love, we probably need to head back soon. Should give us just enough time to grab a shower and set up the laptop in the study."

She let out a sigh, snuggling deeper into his chest. "I know I was the one fussing about it before, but can we reschedule? I really don't want the downer after this."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. It'll probably just mostly be negotiating for information, or perhaps an exchange of resources and personnel."

She turned and gave him a deadpan glare. "You're not going to France."

It wasn't a question and Ty laughed. "No, Lettie, I'm not going to France. I'm the central pivot of our rollout effort. I can't leave. Maybe we can negotiate to leave Damo there. He did always have a thing for French girls." He pushed off the tree, helping Lettie stand as he did and began looking for his pants.

She giggled, grabbing her own clothes and dusting them off. "Lou was kinda right about our relationship, wasn't she? I really did like her."

"Somewhat, yeah." Ty couldn't keep the embarrassment out of his voice.

"What exactly does that mean?"

Damian had always been a bit of a hornball, jumping from girl to girl, but when he had settled down for a while with a lovely French doctorate student, Ty and the twins had 'gently' informed him of the consequences that would befall him if he was ever discovered to be unfaithful to his partner. Damian had reacted as well as one could hope, getting utterly indignant at the idea that he would ever cheat, and accusing Ty of being the two timer. The argument had devolved into a shouting match that had seen the brothers stop talking to one another for almost three months.

Damian had shown up on Ty's doorstep after that time, looking contrite. When they sat down for a discussion, Damian had revealed that his then girlfriend, Louise, had overheard their argument and brought him to the table for a discussion on it. She explained she would never abide a cheater, but what he'd said to Ty had been over the line. Damian had argued that despite being completely emotionally involved with the twins, he was still going out and seeing other women. How was that not cheating? Louise had countered it by pointing out that even if they were close, they had never been intimate and never committed to each other. On top of that, the twins were also seeing other people and not just Tiberius. She had insisted that they; Tiberius, Lettie and Lottie, were each others' emotional anchor. Louise had gone on to talk about how her eldest sister was in a relationship much like Tiberius' own, but more formalised, and actually intimate. Damian had asked her to call and set up some time to communicate with that sister.

Ty had been speechless as Damian had related his conversation with Louise. He was even less prepared for the video call he'd set up with the eldest sibling of Louise Martin's family, Amélie. His first encounter with the French bombshell had been awkward, to say the least. As she explained her own relationships, he became increasingly aware of the similarities to his own life. She and her husband were each other's 'primary' partner, the one to whom they would always return, but each had their little side attachments that would occasionally pop in and out of their lives. But the important fact was that they would always go 'home'. They would always return to the place where their partner was, because that's what brought them happiness. Ty had never considered that this might be how he and the twins were viewed, but it did make a modicum of sense and he finally understood where Damian was coming from. He made it clear to his brother, however, that they didn't have that kind of relationship. Damian just called him an idiot.

"He told me that even if sleeping around wasn't what I wanted, and let's be fair, it really isn't, I should make damn sure to lock you or Lottie or both down for all of our sakes. Guess he was right."

Lettie just stared as Ty related the story. She knew that he and Damian had eventually made up, but she'd never been told the specifics. "You never told us this part."

"Well, I was kinda embarrassed, and at the time I was still unwilling to break the status quo."

"If Lou had been around, she'd have made it happen, no doubt. Maybe Damian should have stayed with her?"

Ty shrugged. "They had to part ways. His career took him in one direction; hers took her back to France. He bounced back alright. Kinda."

"Right into the arms of that crazy bitch, Céline."

The grin on Ty's face threatened to split his cheeks as he turned to face Lettie. "And there he learned another valuable lesson. Don't stick your dick in crazy."

--

Tiberius' Study, Marshall Household, Melbourne Southeastern Suburbs, Victoria, Australia - October 27, 2020 - 7:45 PM AEDT

--

Once home, he and Lettie had hopped through the shower, making ready for the video meeting. They knew the DGSE would ask for this and that, but it really wasn't likely to be a problem. The majority of the world was open to cooperating for the sake of survival. It was only natural. It was just a matter of securing that cooperation without tipping one's hand in the process. Which left Tiberius on the back foot as the video connected and a familiar face appeared on the screen.

Tiberius' sigh carried the weight of worlds. "Why am I not surprised to see that you have a hand in this, Amélie? Well, first, let me introduce you to my fiancée, Leticia Valiant. Lettie, this is the woman I was telling you about just before, Amélie Martin."

"Bonjour to you too, Tiberius." The voice of the gorgeous blonde woman on screen was like smoke and silk as she greeted the duo. The eldest of three and in her mid 30s; time and experience had forged her into the embodiment of grace and beauty, and she had made her weapon of choice a smile. "Leticia, it is wonderful to put a face to the name at last, ma chère." Her eyes locked on a point of the screen and Ty realised she was looking at Lettie's ring. "Oh my, that is a lovely ring!"

Lettie grinned. "It sure is, Amélie. It's very nice to meet you. I understand you gave Ty some good advice in the past. Thank you for that."

The French woman beamed. "Indeed, and it gladdens me to see that Tiberius finally got off his ass and made the correct choice. So much time wasted, you imbécile. Just one look tells me that this woman, and undoubtedly her sister, deserve to be loved properly. At least, I presume both sisters are involved?"

"Of course. The big lump will probably present the others with rings soon."

Ty grumbled. "The big lump is sitting right here."

Amélie laughed. " Obviously. It would be almost impossible to miss you; you fill the room. And 'others'? So, it seems that all the rumours are true."

"Ams, how did the DGSE even get wind of this op? It wasn't even sanctioned. The boys would never have cast lines for supplies or info." Ty rolled his eyes as he tried to get the conversation back under control. He held almost no hope for that though. This woman, in all of their interactions since the first, had run rings around him.

She tutted like a fretting mother, despite being no older than either Ty or Lettie. " Please, do you not think we would be watchful, when America is making strange movements during such times? And then that we would not discover the defection of Dr. McCallister? After that, we watched him carefully. And then to our surprise, not one, but two strike teams came to get him. Naturally, one, Damian's, never made it. No support, as you well know. The second, well, as shameful as it is to admit it, we do not know who they were working for, and they were a very efficient unit. So, we made contact with Damian's team and helped them cross the borders. Through Finland and Sweden, and then eventually into our beloved France. Now, the entire Directorate is involved, but I am here because of my personal connections."

"Of course you are. Ok. Let's talk shop. What do I need to do to get my people home?"

She shook a finger at Tiberius, matching it with the motion of her head. "Non non, mes amis, it should not be so...clinical. Let us talk. We need information about this Quaranteam project."

Ty just gave her a flat look. "What do you think we could give you that you're not already privy to, Amélie? I know full well that France bought in, so you should have as much, if not more information."

She pouted at him and he tried to keep his expression neutral. The woman had an undeniable effect on him, but he knew he'd never actually go after her. "You are no fun, Tiberius. Very well. Though many of our facilities are still intact, our ability to produce the vaccine is limited. We want access to your supplies."

Ty didn't hesitate. This had been one of the first things he'd considered. "Easy enough. We're in production as it is. I can have a third of the production designated for your people until we have enough for ours. Should still give us enough time to produce what we need."

"Second -"

"Really Ams? There's more?"

Amélie continued, looking completely unashamed. "Second, we would like to propose an exchange of personnel. To start with, one person from both countries, as a show of solidarity."

"Who did you have in mind?" Ty watched her carefully, but the blonde's expression was unreadable.

Probably from her training to deal with assets in the field. As long as she doesn't ask for anyone unreasonable, we can probably make this work.

Eventually, she spoke, a small smile fluttering across her lips. "Captain Damian Marshall. To be partnered with my baby sister, Louise. They reconnected after she found out he was here." The smile turned amused. "Though I will not apologise for 'accidentally' speaking of him to her."

"Obviously. He's there now, isn't he? Put him on please."

There was a small shuffling and a muffled exchange as Amélie stepped away from the screen. Moments later, a young man that could have been a smaller carbon copy of Tiberius stepped into frame, smiling his cheeky smile.

"G'day bro. How's it goin?"

--

Tiberius took a good long look at his younger brother and internally let out a sigh of relief. Damian was the only blood relative he had left, and it would be a bitter pill to swallow to have lost him to something as stupid as this. But that relief and this anger were two entirely separate matters.

"Don't 'how's it goin' me, you fucking numpty! What the actual fuck were you thinking? Did you not think to confirm your orders before you went running off? Or did someone skull fuck you so hard that peanut you use as a brain fell out your fucking ears?"