Roman (John) Augustus Brady schleps through down the long, empty corridors of the Salem Police Department, lukewarm coffee slopping over the rim of the bent paper cup in his hands. It’s very late and he’s tired. His blue eyes are laced with a filigree of red capillaries and circles of grey and purple shadow are smudged under his eyes.
This case is getting to him, really getting to him. He’s not even been back in the job a month and they are already throwing the bottom-of-the-barrel files at him. He’s seen enough since he’s been back at the precinct that it makes him wonder what the hell has happened to this world while he was playing at being a business man.
He had never been cut out for that kind of crap, he knows that now. As shitty as this is, this is where he belongs. In among his fellow cops, out on the street, behind his desk, following leads… nailing the scum that encrust the streets of the city he lives and breathes. Making sure they never have a chance to hurt anyone he loves.
Making sure they can never hurt his children. Or his wife.
Marlena…
He grimaces as he thinks of his gorgeous, adored wife. Away in Colorado, probably in bed by now. He wonders if she’s thinking of him. Worrying about him, knowing he will probably not go home again tonight… She has been so patient with him lately. Well, since they found out the truth really. That he’s really Roman Brady. Has been, all this time.
It’s taken them all a while to adjust. All except Doc, that is. She had just laughed, her golden eyes glittering with the gleam of the setting sun and in her graceful way, she had inclined her head and given him the tiniest and most intimate of smiles. The one that says “yes, well, everything makes sense now.”
And so it does. Well, if you don’t count the ten years or so he has spent in another lifetime. Really, the only time anything makes sense any more is when he is lying with Marlena, his body cleaved to hers, limbs folding and clutching and wild with desire. Sometimes he wonders if his obsession with his work is merely a search for a sense of equilibrium. Maybe it’s because he is afraid of exactly how far he could take his obsession with her if it remains unchecked.
Sighing, he turns the corner and heads for his office. The building is deserted at this time of the night. Anyone still in the building heads for the cafeteria about midnight. They drink this godawful coffee and shoot the breeze, giving each other hell as they prepare to hit the streets. Paperwork is strictly a daytime enterprise. Unless your name is Roman (John Black) Brady, that is.
He likes the precinct at this time of the night. It’s eerily silent but it means he can concentrate. He gets a lot of work done. When he can get his mind off Marlena, that is. Lately, she’s all he can think about but he desperately needs to catch up on his main case, as well as three others that he has running concurrently.
The DA has been gunning for him ever since he stepped foot in this office again. He was too friendly by far with the fraudulent Roman and he appears to have an agenda. Why and what for are things Roman intends to find out, but with the DA’s office throwing increasing amounts of paperwork and long-cold cases at him, he’s swamped. The DA and his secrets will have to wait.
And yet he finds himself staring off into space more and more often as the nights go by. Imagining her body moving, undulating like a long, warm, sensual wave. Imagining the feel of her skin as it rubs, hot and sticky against his. He misses her like hell and if he could blow off this case and take her away for a few days, have her to himself, just to touch and kiss and delve into, he would. But they have bills to pay. And these cases aren’t going to solve themselves.
He sighs, long, hard and heavy. Times like these, loving her in this way is nothing but fucking torture. He contemplates calling her from his cell phone and then decides against it. They really can’t afford it. And of course, it’s far too late. She might be asleep. He can see her now, lying naked and drowsy in the hot heavy air of a Colorado summer, strands of golden hair sticking to her face as she turns towards the window, looking for some kind of relief. He can see her, but he can’t touch her. Not now.
He reaches his office and turns the door handle. The metal is cool against his skin but he barely notices it as he stops in the doorway. There is someone in his seat. An arm is folded on the arm of his high-backed chair and Roman sees the hint of blue fabric – the short sleeve of a beat officer’s uniform.
He clears his throat in annoyance, but he is stopped short as the chair swings around.
“Why, hello Captain Brady.” Marlena gives him the kind of sultry smile that makes his stomach churn and all the moisture flee from his tongue and throat. She stands up and comes out from behind the desk. “I believe you wanted to see me?”
“Uh….” Roman shakes his head, his jaw hanging open. She’s dressed in the uniform of a beat cop. He’s got no idea where it’s come from and he’s not sure he wants to know. Although, even if he did want to know, he’d have no hope in hell of finding out. He can barely string a coherent thought together right now. Marlena dressed like a cop. He wonders how the hell it is that he’s never had this particular fantasy before. It’s just a uniform, but Jesus H. Christ….
It’s the way her breasts swell gloriously, hidden under starchy polyester/cotton mix. Well, aside from her nipples which are hard and straining against the closely buttoned fabric.
He takes the whole package in, his eyes sweeping over her. The shirt and a tie, a regulation black belt, complete with nightstick, cuffs and a gun tucked into a holster on her hip. And those hips… the sweet slope where her waist arcs outwards to become her hips; hips that become thighs, thighs which embrace and envelop and elicit every last shred of pleasure… The polyester blend navy blue pants and the regulation black shoes complete the uniform. Her blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail but small tendrils of it escape, framing her face, caressing the pink blush of her cheeks….
Fuck he wants her.
He swallows, aware that she is watching him staring at her.
“What are you doing here?” he asks stupidly.
“You wanted to see me,” she repeats. The way she is looking at him makes his skin burn. Makes his blood boil with the need of her. “I guess I’m in trouble,” she tilts her head, looking at him through thick lashes. “But they say in the locker room that you’re easy.” She gives him a wicked, dirty smile which makes his cock twitch. “They say that a pretty face is all it takes to turn your head. The right moves from a girl and you forget all about your sad, lonely wife, at home. All alone.” She takes two steps closer and he can see the moisture on her lips as she wets them with her tongue. He is transfixed by the way her mouth moves. By the glint in her eyes. “They say you’re lax in discipline. Is that right, Captain Brady?” She gives him another one of those smiles, daring and provocative and he groans inwardly. She has him, right where she wants him and she knows it.
“Don’t you dare say a word about my wife,” he growls defensively. His voice is strained. He already wants her so badly he can hardly stand it. But hell, she’s gone to all this trouble… “I love my wife more than anything in this world.”
“Well, why aren’t you at home with her?” Marlena raises her eyebrows and her fingers caress the top of the nightstick.
He wonders again where exactly she got the uniform from. And how many of their friends and family know about this little stunt.
He ignores her challenge and issues one of his own. “It’s illegal to impersonate a police officer you know,” he murmurs as he takes a step toward her. She holds his eyes, the hint of an insolent smile playing on her lips.
“Really?” The corners of her lips curl upwards. He really wants to taste them. It’s been far too long. “So, what are you gonna do about it, Captain?”
Roman pauses. He’s trying to still his body. Because every instinct is screaming at him just to throw her on the desk and tear off her clothes. The want is inside him, outside him, the presence of her envelops him, making him insane with need. But she wants more than that. This is a game, a challenge. She is daring him, and the thought of rising to her delectable bait is far too appealing to ignore.
He’s deliberate as he turns around and walks back to the door. He locks it and then drops the blind, his fingers firm, every movement calculated. Two can play at this game. He’s going to drive her as fucking crazy as she’s driving him.
He spins back to her, his grin nothing less than suggestive.
“Sit down, Doc,” he indicates the chair in front of his desk, but she eyes him defiantly.
“That’s ‘Officer Brady’ to you, Captain,” she tells him with a sweet and not so innocent smile. She clasps her hands behind her back which simply stretches her shirt across her breasts. Roman’s heart thumps a little faster in his chest.
“Right,” he licks his lips unconsciously as his eyes drink her in greedily. “Please sit in the chair. Officer Brady.”
She flutters her eyelashes at him, bites back a smile and goes to the chair in front of his desk. He watches her as she turns her back on him and sits down in the chair. Every movement is premeditated, every look loaded with defiance and innuendo.
He bites on the inside of his cheek, taming his smile. She stares straight ahead while he waits. And waits. And waits.
Finally, she turns to glance at him.
“I didn’t instruct you to turn around, Officer Brady,” he tells her. His tone is harsh and he sees her shudder as she turns back to his desk. Her shoulders are rising and falling now, a dead give-away. With a deliberately insouciant smile, he moves up behind her and leans over her shoulder, placing his hands on the arms of the chair.
“So, ‘Officer Brady’.” He speaks so close to her ear that her hair is brushing the side of his face. “Do you want to tell me where you got the uniform?”
Marlena shivers. “Not particularly,” she replies with as much casualness as she can muster. But he hears her swallow. Her mouth must be even drier than his. Good.
“I think you can do better than that,” his voice is low and thin. It holds warning and promise. And as he looks sideways at her, Marlena closes her eyes with the effort of maintaining her composure. “C’mon Officer Brady, you were so talkative just a minute ago. So sure of yourself…”
“I still am.” Her eyes open and she turns her head and she’s smiling again. “See, I think you’re all talk and no action, Captain.” Her breath is warm on his face and the sound of her vibrates under his skin. He feels himself getting hard and he closes his eyes swiftly, pushing himself away from the chair.
“What’s the matter?” she smiles seductively in the way that makes his stomach lurch uncontrollably. “Did I hit a sore point? Edge a little too close to the truth, Captain?”
Roman walks slowly around the chair until he is standing before her. He leans against the desk and appraises her with a sweep of his eyes. His face is impassive, only the glitter of his eyes betraying his understanding of and amusement at her game.
“I think-” she starts, her voice mellifluous with a languid and hungry desire.
“That’s enough, ‘Officer Brady’.” The sound of his voice jolts her. It’s raw and harsh and has a certain hardness to it. She wonders if this is his official “reprimand” tone. She’s not sure he has ever spoken to her like that before. She’s not sure she likes it. But… she’s not sure she doesn’t either.
Her face flushes as she drops her gaze to her lap.
“You don’t come into this office and tell me what you think, ‘Officer’.” Roman crosses his arms. “If I want to see you, it’s because I have something to say. You get to stand there and listen to it. You understand me?” He’s enjoying himself now. The pink stain that has crept across her cheeks is sweet and innocent and erotic and he’s finding it hard to control himself.
Marlena lifts his head to meet his gaze. Time to up the ante. “I understand, Captain Brady.” Her gaze is bold. Provocative. The corner of her mouth curls. It’s a brazen gesture. “So, am I in trouble then?”
“You’re in the worst kind, if you don’t tell me where you obtained that uniform.” Roman crosses his arms.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” her full lips curve into a smile that he just wants to kiss off her face. “It’s classified information.”
“And I’m your superior officer.” He arches a dark eyebrow and purses his lips slightly. “It’s your duty to tell me.”
“I can’t,” she says simply. Her lips are reddened and she parts them slightly. He sees a flash of tongue and then he gulps over acres of arid tongue, his muscles in his throat tightening. Muscles everywhere else follow suit.
“Well then…” He stands upright, scoops up a file from the desk and moves away from her. There is a thoughtful expression on his face as he paces the office behind the chair in which she sits. He waits but she doesn’t turn to look at him. She remains stock still, shoulders straight as she faces forwards.
In front of him, Marlena can hardly bear the effort of the stillness. Her heart is beating violently against her ribs and her chest rises and falls with short, needful breaths. Her face is burning and she is wet with desire and the frustration of wanting him. She can see him out of the corner of her eye as he paces to the side of the room. He leans against a filing cabinet and just watches her.
She groans inwardly, cursing him for his inordinate patience and discipline. Her body is wilfully betraying her with all the familiar signs of lust and all the while, he stands there, cool and collected, enjoying every moment of it. And she both hates and loves him for it.
“If you’re not going to tell me the truth…” he says at last, “you’re not leaving me with many options.”
“Options?” Her voice, husky with need spills into the space between them and Roman’s stomach lurches. He’s so fucking hard he can barely think straight. He wonders if the file he’s holding is adequately hiding the evidence of his rampant hard-on. He suspects it is, or maybe it’s just that she’s got enough of her own problems to worry about, because she is looking straight ahead still, assidulously avoiding his gaze.
“I kinda hoped,” her voice is thick with suggestion, “we’d skip straight to the punishment.” Now she turns and looks at him. Her ponytail swings in the heavy air as eyes, glazed with longing, peer from under thick bangs.
He clenches his jaw, the muscle in his cheek tapping out a telltale dance of self-restraint. “Stand up.” He tells her quietly. She stands, as ordered, watching him with curious eyes.
His lips twitch as he walks over to her and he stands in front of her, silently holding her eyes as she waits for his next move. The standoff is excruciating for him and he can tell she’s not faring any better than he is. Her pupils dilated, the darkness beckoning him to delve into her, to sink in her, bury himself in her sweet, humid warmth. Her lips are plump and red, beckoning him to touch them, taste them… slide between them and investigate her depths.
Marlena is lost in him, in her lust for him as he leans in to kiss her. Even despite herself, she closes her eyes as his lips hover just millimetres from hers. Every nerve in her body is afire and screaming for release, for just his touch, the taste and smell and feel of him against her. Just the merest touch….
Except…
Her eyes widen in surprise and she looks down and then looks back at Roman. He smirks and clicks the second manacle of her handcuffs around her left wrist so that her hands are cuffed behind her back.
“Roman-” she starts.
“That’s ‘Captain Brady’ to you,” he says against her ear. His breath is warm and moist, his voice vibrating scratchily against her ear. The threat and the promise held therein make her squirm under his touch. “Turn around,” he tells her.
He draws back and she looks at him. His face gives nothing away, his eyes are an impenetrable indigo fortress that shield his intentions. For the first time, she wonders if she has gotten herself into something she shouldn’t have. She knows John… Roman so well. And yet… sometimes she wonders if she knows him at all.
Ever since they found the truth, ever since he became Roman again… ever since the memories started to return, it’s like he’s unfolding before her eyes. Like he’s been an origami version of John Black and he’s unfolding into the wide expanse of being that is Roman Brady. As though having his family, his foundation restored has somehow made him different than he was before. More complicated… and less.
It’s exciting. Exhilarating. And arousing. This new, improved, confident John/Roman. Even now she doesn’t know what to call him. Because it doesn’t matter to her. That he’s Roman, or not Roman or John or Eddie or Frank. She doesn’t love him for his name. She never has. She loves him because he is *him*. Her love. Her lover. Her soulmate.
Her forever.
But forever is going to be a hell of a long time in these handcuffs. Especially if he keeps looking at her the way he’s looking at her. Like he’s a starving man, and she’s a four course meal.
“Turn around.” He repeats. A tinge of impatience marks his words.
“Why?”
“Don’t ask questions,” he growls. “You just get to follow orders. ‘Officer’.”
“What orders?” She catches her lower lip with her teeth and watches him with huge, golden eyes. Her cheeks are aflame and her heart is racing. She doesn’t know what he has in mind and she’s as nervous as a cat on hot coals. But at the same time, she can’t wait to find out. This promises to be…
Roman has already decided not to give her any advance warning of what he has in mind. He can’t wait to see the look on her face and the element of surprise is only going to make it that much sweeter.
“Just turn around.” He takes her shoulders and forcefully makes her turn around so that she is facing the door. The sound of the gasp that his roughness elicits makes his pulse pound just that little faster. Makes his muscles that little bit more tense.
He shifts uncomfortably and takes a quick breath. Fuck it, how the hell does she look that sexy in that uniform that all he can think of doing is tearing it off her. He’ll be damn lucky if he can get her where he wants her at this rate.
“C’mon,” he murmurs, curling his hand around her upper arm. He places his free hand in the small of her back and applies a small amount of pressure in the direction of the doorway. “We’re taking a little tour.”
“Where?” she doesn’t move, just turns her head over her shoulder and looks at him defiantly. “I don’t know if this is entirely due procedure, Captain. Maybe I should-“
“Maybe you should shut the hell up and get your cute ass out that door,” Roman says, a little more harshly than he intended. Marlena’s eyes widen and she doesn’t argue any further.
The halls are deserted, as Roman had known they would be. He’d traversed these corridors less than thirty minutes ago. And he knows this station like the back of his hand, knows how it runs. Knows the rhythm of life of this building. Knows the pulse of officers and criminals that flows through it.
Marlena, on the other hand, is about as jumpy as he’s ever seen her. It’s kind of amusing. In that really sweet and really fucking sexy way that she can be. In that way that makes him want to lie her on the nearest flat surface and lick her until she screams for mercy.
“Jesus!” he mutters to himself as he wipes the sweat from his face.
“What?” Marlena stops short and he finds himself barrelling into her back, his hard cock trapped between their bodies. He propels himself away from her faster than his thoughts can actually process what has happened. Faster, he hopes, than hers can. His hopes are shattered when a luminous smile curls her lips.
Busted.
“Nothing. Just keep moving, Brady,” he tells her churlishly.
Marlena says nothing, but the smile doesn’t leave her lips. In fact it settles in and her confidence grows.
Until she sees where he’s taking her.
“Roman, you can’t be serious!” Her eyes are wide with apprehension.
“You were the one that wanted to skip to the punishment,” he tells her as he unlocks the first set of gates that secures off the cells from the rest of the station.
“Roman!” she is starting to panic now, but he keeps a firm grip on her and pushes her through the opening, locking it quickly behind her.
“Captain Brady,” he reminds her. He’s smirking again as he propels her though the next set of sliding bars. He feels a shudder shimmy through her as the doors clang closed behind them. She can’t see much, it’s dark down here and the cells are several meters away. And that’s a blessing. Because although Roman knows that the cells are relatively empty tonight, but Marlena stiffens at the sounds of the low whistles and catcalls that emanate from the shadowy chambers.
“Roman!” she whispers, her heart thumping against her ribs. She’s shaking now, alternately frightened and desperately aroused. She can’t imagine what the hell he is thinking.
“Shhhh!” It’s a low urgent hiss and it passes through her like the vibration of a freight train. “Stay there.”
She watches him as he takes several steps towards the cells. He doesn’t have to say anything, the noises die away immediately. She has so much respect for her husband but this adds another layer of appreciation to that respect. Or at least, it would do if she wasn’t so damn angry at him. Although she knows she really has no right to be angry. She got herself in this situation. It’s so like Roman to take it that one step further and teach her a lesson that she won’t forget. She should know by now that she will never put one over on Roman, she will never be in control in their relationship. Because just when she thinks she knows him, he springs something like this on her, and she’s lost to him all over again.
And then he’s back at her side, his hand on her shoulder and he is guiding her to the side, towards a darkened corridor that she didn’t even know what was there.
“What-?” she begins but stops sharply as Roman’s grip on her shoulder tightens painfully. After that, she doesn’t ask again. Just walks; body trembling, heart hammering, nerves on fire. The cuffs are digging into her wrists as Roman wordlessly guides her down the darkened corridor. But she daren’t utter a sound. She just keeps on walking.
Eventually, he pulls her to a halt in front of a door and pulls out his keys. She presses her lips together and tries to calm her breathing as he jangles them noisily and frees one. He inserts it into the lock and pushes open the door. She looks at him, but it’s hard to determine his expression in the dim light as he pushes her through the door.
It’s pitch black in the room, or wherever they are and it’s stiflingly hot. No air-conditioning in this room then. Or at least none that’s switched on. She waits silently as he closes the door behind him. She starts though, as it clangs closed, the unmistakable sound of metal against metal. The key grinds in the lock as he fastens the door closed so that they are locked inside wherever they are. Marlena stands stock still, hardly daring to breath as she hears him move up behind her.
“Ready for your punishment, Officer Brady?” His breath is hot and moist against her neck and she lets out a shuddering breath. “What was that?” he asks quietly, his voice insidiously weaving its way inside her and ratcheting up the levels of lust until she is weak with wanting him. “I didn’t hear your answer.”
She opens her mouth to tell him that she’s ready, but just at that moment, she feels his tongue swipe past her earlobe and all that comes out is a strangled moan.
“Good girl.” She can hear the smile in his voice and she feels his hands on her shoulders. She carefully moves in the direction that he is guiding her until he tells her to stop.
“Roman?” she asks in a trembling voice.
“That’s *Captain Brady*, Officer,” he says in a firm voice. “You don’t take orders very well, do you?”
“No,” Marlena agrees as she feels him manipulating the handcuffs behind her. “I’ve never been very good at doing what I’m told.” She smiles now, the honey creeping into her voice. “My husband always tells me I’m too stubborn for my own good.”
“Your husband huh?” Roman grins. “Sounds like a very astute man. Hope he doesn’t mind me teaching you a good lesson.”
Marlena is taken by surprise as Roman suddenly raises her arms and pushes her up against the wall. Except it’s not a wall it’s…
*Click!*
Oh. Fuck.
“Roman?”
No answer. She swallows, feeling if he were simply to touch her in this instant, she would come, just from the sheer terror and arousal she’s feeling. “Captain?”
He doesn’t answer her immediately. Instead, the lights snap on, blinding her momentarily. But they’re not bright and her eyes adjust quickly. She looks at Roman who grins a lazy, self-satisfied grin back at her. Then she looks around the room.
It’s a small cell, only 10×12 feet. The ‘wall’ she is against are the bars of the cell. Behind them there is a second wall that conceals the bars from a viewer on the outside of the room. Inside the room with them, there is a small cot as well as a tiny table and two torn vinyl chairs. This was clearly a holding cell at one time, but it has been altered and most likely soundproofed. There are evidently several of these cells. Used for concealing and grilling informants. As well as certain, *unhelpful*, suspects.
And right now, her. Above her head, her hands are cuffed to one of the cross points of horizontal and vertical bars. She’s pinioned like a butterfly and there’s no hope of escape.
She swallows again as Roman nears her, his eyes sweeping avariciously over her body.
“What was that about a pretty face?” he murmurs, reaching out with his fingers and drawing them down her cheek. She shivers. “So, do you think you made the ‘right moves’, Officer? Turned my head?” His fingers drift from her cheek, over her jaw and down her neck. He steps closer to her and the rough, musky scent of him fills her senses.
She says nothing though, just stares up at him with luminous hazel eyes, her cheeks pink and her lips scarlet and dangerously kissable.
A slow smile curls his lips and he slips out his penknife and deftly slits the elastic on her tie. He flips it onto the floor and then silently slices the buttons from her shirt. They tumble to the floor, bouncing on the concrete. The clatter of them echoes for a moment and Marlena’s stomach tightens as Roman’s eyes roam over the white lace bra she’s wearing. And her breath catches as he raises his knife again.
With a glint in his eyes, he puts the blade to her shoulder strap and she shakes her head. “No, Roman. Roman!”
With a practiced motion, he slits the strap and then the other one. Then, with a grin, he flicks the knife closed and reaches around to unhook the ruined piece of clothing.
“ROMAN!” She’s a little angry now. That was one of her favourites. And he just destroyed it. For….
“Oh!”
She sags against the bars as his tongue makes a swipe across her nipple. And then his lips close around it and she is lost in a fog of sensation. She can feel his hands on her waist and then unbuckling her belt. She can feel the cuffs digging into her wrists as they take her weight. But really all she can feel is his tongue and his teeth as he teases her. As he sucks and bites and licks her.
Her hands flail for a moment and then she catches hold of the horizontal bar above her. Her head falls back against the cool steel and she moans loudly as Roman continues to tantalize her flesh with his expert mouth.
His fingers are nimble and he quickly undoes her regulation navy pants and drops them to the floor. She helps him, kicking off her shoes and then kicking away the offending articles. Roman looks down and laughs.
“Sexy socks, Officer Brady.” There is mirth in his voice and his impossibly blue eyes are sparkling as he looks up at her.
Her voice is hoarse when she replies. “Only the best for you, Captain.”
Roman bites back a grin and leans over, peeling off the thick socks. Then he stands back to admire his handiwork. She is wearing just the ruined police shirt and a pair of white lace panties that leave only a little to his imagination. Her ponytail is dishevelled and her cheeks reddened. And the way she is looking at him…. God, it makes his thighs tense and his stomach flip. Not to mention the pounding of his heart in his chest.
In a practiced movement, he divests himself of his gun holster. It’d been years since he’d worn a holster, but it had proved to be like riding a bicycle. What was it Marlena called it? Muscle memory. The way your body just fit into the spaces they used to occupy. Like you were made for it. Like she was made for you.
Oh Jesus, he’s not sure that he can wait much longer. She’s moving now, trying to find a comfortable position; her body, her skin and muscles undulating like waves of visual pleasure. He swallows silently, trying to ignore the dryness of his mouth. Instead he focuses on unbuttoning his shirt. Slowly and deliberately, a button at a time.
When he slides the shirt from his shoulders, Marlena stifles a groan and he sees the shimmer of muscles tightening beneath her sweat slicked skin. He sheds his own boots and socks so that he is just wearing jeans and he walks slowly towards her. As he does, he sees she is trembling almost uncontrollably and he is almost undone. He almost changes his mind at the last minute. He can unlock her hands and take her out the back exit. He can take her home and make love to her….
Oh hell, he can’t wait that long. And besides… no way is he playing chicken first. Marlena wanted to play games, she’s got games.
He moves in front of her and reaches out his fingers. He splays them across the base of her neck and then draws them down the length of her torso. She can’t keep eye contact, instead she closes her eyes and leans her head back against the bar behind her. Her skin is hot and she is shuddering with short breaths and tiny mewls of pleasure as his fingers skim the swells and valleys of her body.
Roman bites his lower lip as he watches her face. Watches her lips move in wordless supplication as he investigates the inside of her thigh. As he presses shaking fingers against the damp satin and lace….
“Ohhhhh…” Marlena gasps a violent breath and opens her eyes. Roman catches her gaze with intense indigo and then he roughly pushes his body against hers and forcefully kisses her.
Marlena closes her eyes again, submitting herself body and soul to him. His tongue enters her mouth insistently, exploring and investigating and possessing her. His hand is on her waist now and sliding down to cup her ass. And his other hand slides up her side and wraps briefly around the back of her neck before tearing the tie from her hair so that it tumbles against her shoulders. And then his fingers are tangled in her hair and his lips on her jaw and her throat and her cheek and her ear and…
Oh.. oh, God.
Roman forces his denim clad leg between her thighs and begins to grind against her. Marlena whimpers as he sucks on her neck and thrusts against her. It’s almost like torture this. Having him here, having him touching her, but not being able to touch him back. Not being able to gain purchase, not having any control. But then, she’s sure that was probably his whole point.
Rational thought flees her again as he drops his lips down throat, sliding them over her décolletage to her breasts again. And then his fingers are grazing the lace of her panties and she can feel him, so close and yet so damn far away. He’s hovering on the edge of never and she needs him so badly she thinks she could pass out from the needing and the wanting and the utter frustration of the almost but not quite….
Another groan escapes her lips as he pulls away from her again, a smirk on his lips.
“Roman!” Tears gather in the corners of her eyes as she pleads with him. “Please…”
“Please, what baby?” he grins, clearly enjoying himself. “You thought you could pull one over on me huh? Thought you’d have me right where you wanted me, didn’t you?”
Marlena bites her lower lip and nods, looking at him from beneath spiky dark lashes.
He takes a step towards her, and then another, until there are only millimetres between them. “Tell you a secret baby; you almost beat me. I almost gave in up there. Almost, but not quite.”
Marlena visibly trembles and he leans into her and slowly and deliberately licks her neck. And then, with his lips at her ear, his voice vibrating through her, “You’ve been a bad, bad girl, Marlena. I think I’m going to have to give you that punishment now.”
Marlena whimpers and squirms against the bars. Dear GOD, he’s insanely sexy when he’s like this. It’s such a turn-on for her, this change in him. She loves the sweet, sexy, sensitive Roman and she loves the Roman that will take her against the wall in sheer desperation. But this Roman, the intelligent, controlled, deliberate Roman that she sees every now and then, the one that knows just which of her buttons to push and just how to reduce her to quivering lustfulness… this Roman is something else all together.
“Turn around,” he tells her firmly. Her eyes widen but he glares at her and she thinks better of arguing. Awkwardly, she twists, crossing her wrists above her until she is facing the bars. “Good girl,” Roman murmurs into her tousled hair as he slips his hands inside the waistband of her panties. She presses her lips together, willing herself not to react, not to make a sound as he slides them over her hips and down her legs. Her breathing is rapid-fire though and increasingly unsteady as he smoothes his palms across her ass.
“You did say you wanted to skip to the punishment, didn’t you?” Roman whispers against her ear. “Because you’re such a naughty girl.”
Her eyes are closed, her lips still sealed but a tiny whimper escapes her as she nods her head. Roman can see that her cheeks are flaming now and as he pulls the belt from the waistband of his jeans, a guttural groan escapes her.
His own body is betraying his excitement in just about every way possible as he wraps the buckle end of the belt around his hand. The leather creaks as he moves into position beside her the belt wound around his right hand and the free end in the left. And then without warning, he lets the free belt go so that the wide strap whips across her bare buttocks. He doesn’t hit her hard, but it’s enough to leave a tell-tale red welt across the creamy skin.
Marlena yelps in pain and Roman grins. “Want to tell me now where you got the uniform… Officer?” She bites her lip and shakes her head resolutely. She moans this time as another crack echoes in the tiny room. “I can make it hurt… a lot more…” Roman tells her with another strike of the leather. He wouldn’t, of course. He’d never hurt Marlena deliberately, not unless she asked him to. “Do you want that?” Marlena shakes her head, her face flushed, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. He leans over her shoulder and sucks her earlobe between his lips for a fleeting instant, but long enough for the breath to catch in her throat. “Well then, Officer, you’d better tell me.” His voice is low and assured but she can feel his rock hard cock as he presses up against her rear. “Where you got the uniform….”
“I can’t….” her voice cracks as she answers him and she feels him move away. And then the pain explodes across her behind again, a long, stretch of pain that stings so that it’s all she can feel for a long moment. And then the pain fades into a prickle, a sort of sizzle that travels through her body, frying her nerves until it converges between her legs and makes her want to beg for mercy.
Makes her more than want to.
“Oh, God. Roman,” she groans. Her next words come as mere breaths, simple exhalations laced with pleading. “Please. Please.”
And that’s it. That’s all it takes to break him. He smile drops from his face as the leather belt drops to the floor. Gently, he turns her around and then forces her back against the bars, his mouth searching for hers. He kisses her feveredly, no longer able to control his need for her.
Right here, right now, he just needs her. Just needs to feel her and taste her and possess her.
Their kisses are rough and passionate. Like they can’t get enough of each other, which truly they can’t. They never can and they never will. They need each other like they need oxygen to breathe. It’s always been this way and it always will be.
Roman breaks off the kiss and grips Marlena’s jaw between his fingers so that he can see her eyes. “I love you,” he says gruffly. She bites her lip and nods.
And then he’s lowering himself to the floor, between her legs and he’s….
- GOD.
Marlena’s eyes roll back in her head as his tongue probes, finding the sweetest spots that make her tremble. She grasps the bar above her again and rocks her hips forward, grinding herself against his mouth. His hands span her thighs and he guides one of her legs over his shoulder so he can have better access. He laps at her greedily, his tongue seeking all the hot, moist secrets she holds.
And then Marlena’s beyond all rational thought as his tongue thrusts inside her. At least, until the moment when he pulls away from her.
“Roman!” She was so close she is teetering on the edge and now…. Roman looks up at her now, his blue eyes shining with lust and desire. “Roman!” she repeats desperately as she pulls on the handcuffs which clang against the steel bars. She takes a deep breath and wills herself not to think of the ache which thuds within her. Instead, she stares down at him, her eyes intense and demanding. “Please undo me. I need to touch you.”
Roman swallows and then stands up. Her eyes are a dark moss-green and they snare him so that he is helpless to refuse her. He wants her to touch him. He wants to feel her hands on him and her mouth… God help him, those lips…. His eyes are drawn to her lips which are moving noiselessly, begging him to comply with her request.
With shaking hands, he draws the keys from the coin pocket of his jeans and lifts them to the metal that encircles her slender wrists. His fingers are clumsy and it takes him several moments to find the hole with the little key. Marlena lets out a grateful sigh as she hears the metal click and her arm is released from the binding. She drapes it over his shoulder, wincing with the discomfort as he unlocks her other hand. And then her arms are circling and his hands span the sides of her waist as she pushes against him.
Roman pushes her back against the bars and her hands frame either side of his face as she looks at him. And then she is kissing him, her lips desperate for his, her tongue sliding across his skin and his lips and diving inside his mouth. She is insistent, her fingers curling in his hair, her body hot and lithe against his.
He groans as her lips slide across his jaw and her tongue finds his earlobe. She unthreads her fingers from his hair and he feels the palms of her hands brush down over his chest, seeking the waistband of his jeans. Her teeth catch the skin on the side of his neck and he sucks in a breath as she bites and licks her way across his throat. Her fingers fumble briefly and then before he knows it she has his jeans unbuttoned and unzipped.
Her mouth ceases its journey momentarily as she pushes the aged denim over his hips. He helps her, pushing the jeans down and kicking them away. The jeans are rapidly followed by his boxers before he captures her face in his hands again.
“I need you,” she says urgently. Her voice is husky and it sends spikes of desire through his stomach and into his groin. “I was lying in bed in Colorado last night wondering why the hell I was a thousand miles away from you when all I can do is think about you and how much I love you and need you.” She laughs now, and it has a lilting musicality to it that Roman just wants to drink up. “I think I’m a little obsessed with you, Captain Brady. I just can’t stop thinking about you, how you taste, how you feel under my hands,” she gives him a tiny smile, the smile that turns him to jelly every time he sees it, “the way you say my name when you’re about to come…”
“Oh Marlena,” Roman groans as he pushes her back against the bars. “Jesus woman, you think you’re obsessed? When you’re not here I can’t eat and I can’t sleep. I wonder constantly where you are and what you’re doing. And when you are here I can’t concentrate for wanting to find you and let you have your wicked way with me.” He grins at her as his hands slide between her shoulders and the shredded shirt. “Marlena Evans Brady, you are one hell of a woman.”
“And I’m married, Captain Brady, to one hell of a man,” she replies as he slides the shirt from her shoulders. It drops to the floor as his lips find her throat and she wraps her arms around his neck. “Oh God, Roman,” she whispers. “Make love to me. Please.”
Roman lifts his head and fixes her with flashing indigo eyes. The intensity of his gaze literally makes her knees buckle and she sags against him. Roman takes the opportunity to sweep her into his arms and he carries her four paces to the cot in the corner of the room.
“Sorry,” he whispers as he sets her on the rough cotton sheet that covers the thin mattress. “It’s hardly five-star. You deserve better than this.”
“I don’t care,” she pulls him down onto the cot so that he is half on top of her, achingly hard against her thigh. “Roman, I don’t care where we are. Ever. I love you so much; I want you so much it hurts. I just want you. Now.”
“God, I love you.” Roman strokes his fingers across the plane of her cheek, studying the eyes that hold the story of his entire life in pools of burnished amber.
“Make love to me,” she repeats as she brings her fingers to the nape of his neck and pulls him into a kiss. Roman closes his eyes and sinks into her embrace. His senses are filled with her, with the feel of her lips and her hands and the scent of her. He’s never happier than when in her arms. She makes him utterly complete; she makes him more than he’d ever though he could be.
He continues to kiss her but the palm of his right hand smoothes down over her shoulder and across her breast. He loves to just feel her, loves to listen to the beating of her heart, feel the warmth of her skin, follow her curves and planes with his sight and his touch. Marlena moans against his mouth as he explores her curves with his hand, following the sweeping arc of her waist to her hip and then down her thigh. And then his fingers are trailing up the inside of her thigh and his mouth is on her throat and then her décolletage and he’s kissing and licking his way across the soft swell of her breasts and his hand is slipping….
“Oh sweet Jesus,” John groans. Beneath him, Marlena’s breathing is ragged as she arches against his fingers. She’s so damn wet that he could come just from the feel of her. He bites hard on his lower lip and slides two fingers inside her, listening to her breathing quicken and then her whimpering as she wraps her arm around his neck and rocks against his body. He quickly finds a rhythm and watches her as she abandons herself to the pleasure he is generating.
His left arm is under her shoulders and she drops her head back, exposing her throat as the sensations intensify. She is gasping for breath now, tiny mewls of pleasure escaping her as he delves into her sweet, slippery warmth.
And suddenly, she seems to gather the tatters of her self control and she lifts her head, her fingers wrapping around his wrist.
“Now,” is all she says. And it’s all he needs. He slips his fingers out of her and moves so that he is on top of her. And she is surrounded by him, by the smell of him and the weight of him and his hands and his lips and his…
“Oh, oh Roman,” she breathes. “Oh God, Roman.” A tear trickles from the corner of her eye and she feels his lips sweep the moisture from her face. And then she can’t feel anything except for the way he feels inside her, hard and strong and so damn right. She pulls her legs up, wrapping her thighs around his hips as he drives into her. And it’s just unbelievable, this feeling, this joy of possessing him and being possessed by him and she could just die now and be the happiest woman that ever lived.
But Roman has other ideas as he slows and wraps his arms around her. He’s so sure in his movements and so strong, she’s still wrapped around him as he pulls her into a sitting position. He’s sitting on his heels now, Marlena’s arms and legs laced about his body, her hair cascading over his face and shoulder as she dips her head and then lifts it to swipe her lips across his ear to his cheek and his lips. He kisses her, drinking her in, revelling in the feeling of her moving against him. And she does, slowly at first, using her arms and her legs as she sways against him. And then she unwraps her legs and her knees find purchase on the rough cotton beneath them.
Roman weaves his fingers in her hair as the swaying becomes a forceful rocking and he buries his face in against her, his nose nuzzling the fragrant hollow of her throat. She feels unbelievable against him, entwined with him, the salty tang of her flesh, and the slickness of her skin as it moves against his. And God, the feeling of being inside her, the slippery, constricting warmth and the way she’s moving around him. He doesn’t think he’s got much self-control left in him now, she just feels too damn good…
“Doc,” he gasps. “Oh God, baby, I love you.”
“Mmmm,” she moans the mumbled beginnings of a reply. “Love… you…”
“Don’t…think…. Can’t hold off… much… longer, baby,” he pants desperately. He moves his hands so that they are gripping her hips. And now they are moving together, Marlena rocking her hips up and down, Roman thrusting with her. And they are swelling and surging and cresting until they are simply a crescendo of sensation, of utter, unparalleled bliss. And then Roman is gone, she can feel the shudder tear through him and it is all she needs as she teeters on the precipice.
“Oh John! Oh God, John!” She grinds herself against him as he drives against her and then she is spinning and falling and exploding in a cacophony of noise and sensation and she can dimly hear him repeating her name as he rocks against her, his face in her hair, his arms around her waist. And still, the orgasmic waves wash over her, rising and falling, eliciting cries of pleasure with every thrust.
And then, slowly, the crescendo subsides, the climax ebbing away until they are left clinging to each other in silent, exhausted contentment. There is a long moment where they say nothing, just hold each other, cheek to cheek, drinking in the satisfaction that they feel. And then slowly, Marlena peels away from her husband. Her arms still around his neck, she leans back and looks at him.
“I’m sorry,” she offers, slightly abashed.
“You’re sorry?” Roman is incredulous. “Jesus baby, that was unbelievable. What could you possibly be sorry for?”
“I….” she looks embarrassed. “I called you John. I didn’t meant to do….”
“Hee..ee..eey,” Roman laughs, shaking his head. “Doc, sweetheart, I love it when you do that. Don’t you dare apologize. It… somehow it brings me closer to you.” He grins, bringing his finger up to her face and tapping her on the nose. “You know I’ve always loved you, whatever name I went by. Same as you always loved me. So the name doesn’t matter. You matter. And you and I matter.”
Marlena swallows and nods. “I know that. I do.”
“Well then, good.” Roman leans in and kisses her gently. “God I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, baby.” Marlena smiles, her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes sparkling in the half-light. “I just couldn’t stay away a minute longer. I had to come back and see you.”
Roman eases her back onto the mattress and untangles himself so that he is lying on his side next to her. Marlena rolls over and insinuates her leg between his and drapes her arm across his torso. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her close.
“You sure did that,” Roman chuckles. “Saw me, I mean. You just about gave me a heart attack when I realized it was you in that chair.”
Marlena bites back a smile but it escapes so that her mouth curls into an unbelievably sexy half-smile. “Your face was quite a picture, I must say.”
“And you were quite a picture, believe me. Where did you get that uniform?”
“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” Marlena winks at him and disallows any further questions by way of a searing kiss….
The Next Day
“Hey bro,” Roman greets Bo with a slap on his shoulder and a hug as he enters the Brady Pub. “How’s things?”
“Not bad,” Bo grins, “hey, good to see you back Marlena. I think Pop has the kids out at the park.”
“Hi Bo,” Marlena smiles and accepts his kiss on the cheek with a hug of her own. “That’s okay, we’ll wait for them. Roman’s missed them and I know they’ve missed him.”
“Hey you two,” Hope’s voice sounds behind them and they turn around to greet her. She’s two month away from giving birth to their second child and she’s utterly glowing.
“Hi honey,” Marlena gives her sister-in-law a hug. “Gosh, you look wonderful. How’s the little guy doing?” She pats Hope’s stomach as Hope smiles radiantly.
“He’s just fine,” she grins. “We had a scan yesterday. Everything fine and right on schedule! How are things with you?” She glances at Marlena meaningfully. “You staying for a drink?”
“Things are just fine.” Marlena takes Hope’s lead and slides into a booth opposite her. However, she winces as her behind hits the seat and Hope has to stifle a giggle. Marlena flushes slightly and then grins at Hope, giving her the thumbs up.
Roman is watching the exchange between his wife and sister-in-law when the answer to his question hits him. He groans loudly. Bo, observing the exchange and knowing exactly what has just gone down, bursts out laughing.
“I’ll go get us some drinks,” he elbows Roman indiscreetly. “You look like you could use one and I sure as hell need one after the visuals I got last night after Hope told me why she lent Marlena her old uniform.”
Before Roman can say anything, he is gone, so instead, he turns and glares at his wife. Marlena just smiles at him sweetly and after a moment, he can’t help himself. He slides into the booth beside her and kisses her fervently. And then, “just you wait lady,” he murmurs. “I’m so going to get you back for this.”
“Is that a threat?” Marlena laughs and squeezes his knee. “Or a promise? Because either way, I think I’m already looking forward to whatever it is……”
The Jarlena Journal 