"Mind if I shower up? I'll be quick." Ross pulled his t-shirt off. Dried flecks of blood sprinkled the carpet below him. 

"Of course you can? However ..." Alexa averted her eyes from his chest to the cinnamon dust on her floor. His pants also had spattered blood, mud, and grass stains over most of the surface area.

"Yeah."

She scrunched an eye, knowing her face would follow. "Please put your soiled linens in the garbage."

His massive shirtless figure stood in the hall for a moment. "I'll do that."

"Also ..."

Ross looked over his shoulder, his brows raised. 

"Try and be as quiet as you can. We wouldn't want to alert any..."

"Trills. Got it. Understood." He headed to the restroom.

"Towels are in the cupboard to your right."

His hand appeared from the doorway; a thumbs up.

Can't argue with thumb logic.

The girls had wanted to stay up and keep guard but they both needed their sleep. She'd given them a couple of Melatonin pills from the medical supplies. While deemed a naturopathic medication, the vitamin worked a lot like any sedative. Both girls had fallen asleep within a few minutes. Teagan had crashed in the downstairs spare room, Ross was in the shower, and Ellie slept safe and sound on the couch.

On the kitchen counter, she found Ray's cell number in her Rolodex. For a person who can memorize most things, she'd always been bad with phone numbers. Thus, the only logical reason for not remembering a ten-digit number was to retain information space for more important and pertinent data. The home cordless phone didn't yield a dial tone. She searched every drawer in the kitchen. No luck. That's when she noticed the cracked open front door.

Had she carelessly left the door open? No. Ross and Teagan came in last. The blunder wasn't hers. After closing and locking the door she pulled the shades down.

What now?

Somehow sitting next to the couch in front of Ellie felt both safe and protective. Even though she'd drawn the shades her eyes searched for shadows against the windows. Another scream in the distance confirmed her suspicions. Trills of terror had permeated Beaverton. The nickname did have a horrific charm about it. Maybe she'd start using it?

A few minutes after the sound of the shower died Ross returned to the living room. His soaked hair stood in all directions as he dried it off with one of the towels. The other he had wrapped tight around his waist. He cinched it up and sat on the floor next to her.

"Thanks. I appreciate the shower."

"Please don't do that again." Men could be so careless.

"Do what? Take a shower?" He dried his hair with the shoulder towel. Both biceps flexed and she couldn't help but stare at his wet chest hairs. Her husband had a bald chest. Occasionally he'd grow a wild chest hair, which she or Teagan would pluck. A lone hair on the chest was like the last donut in a box, sooner or later someone would get it. Ross looked like an ape from the neck down. When her eyes trailed, she saw something under the towel she hadn't expected and quickly averted them.

"You didn't answer my question." His brow furrowed.

She realized her daydream had caught her by the proverbial lab coat tail. "Sorry. I was talking about the door. Try not to leave it open in the future. I don't have to tell you how dangerous it is."

"I'll try and remember the next time I save your ass." He humphed.

"And fix your towel for goodness sakes. I can see, well...everything."

He stood... "Yes, your majesty." ...dropped his towel and sauntered out of the living room.

How infuriating.

She clenched her eyes and ground her teeth. Had she lost all control? Ever vigilant, it took a lot for her not to watch him walk down the hall. Where had he gone? Would he be coming back? Did he think she was a total bitch? Did she even care? The gambit of emotions playing with her heart and soul overwhelmed her. To put her world back into perspective, Alexa closed her eyes and recited the periodic table in her head.

When she hit the transition metal Scandium, which also happened to be number twenty-one, a set of warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. The aroma of her husband's shirt and deodorant Ross now wore made her cuddle into him like she had done on occasion with her husband.

"I...I'm sorry." Instead of hardheaded Alexa, she attempted to soften her demeanor.

"No worries."

With her ear against his chest, his voice boomed. Yet, his heartbeat remained normal. About sixty-beats-per-minute.

"It's just...the Trills are out there...and...I need to get to work."

"You're exhausted." He lifted her chin until she could see the tender whites of his eyes. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Most human males in your situation would have done the same. It's perfectly normal for your testosterone to take over in such cases. I do, however, think that dropping your towel in the middle of my living room could have been handled better."

"It's all a matter of personal preference. Besides...I knew you wouldn't look."

A shiver ran through her as if she'd touched two positive wires together. Gooseflesh ran amuck, not from the cold but from the twinkle in his eyes and his smile.

The tear he wiped from her cheek glistened on his finger. She hadn't even realized she'd started crying.

"I don't know if I can do this." She buried her head in his chest again.

"You can do anything. You're Doctor Alexa-fucking-Mason. You're the Top Gun of your profession, the best in the entire world. And if anyone can fix this world, I have no doubt in my mind that it's you."

"But what if I don't succeed? Then what? I lose Teagan and her baby?" The thought of losing him also crossed her mind. Could she take total heartache again? How would Teagan handle the loss of another man in her life? She had to face the fact...given his inability to control his instincts in dangerous situations, this brave FBI agent's chances of survival weren't very good. Had she lost her mind completely? Ross wasn't Bradley.

"I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I'll protect you three with my life if I have to." His other hand came up and cradled the other side of her face.

"Oh," she whispered.

What's he doing?

"I'll stay with you until you're no longer in need of my services. I swear it."

"You don't have to..."

He leaned in and kissed her: soft, yet gentle. His lips trailed hers as if he caressed them with a feather. Again, he pulled away.

What's the protocol here? She had no idea. He'd kissed her. Now what? Do I kiss him back? Her eyes darted from his eyes to his lips. She licked her upper lip. He tasted of mint toothpaste.

He pulled her in for what seemed like another hug.

Cuddling would be good.

She needed to be wrapped in strong arms, safe arms. Their lips met again. His tongue probed deeper. He'd cupped her backside with his hands which slid under the back of her blouse.

Definitely...kiss back.

In her entire life, she'd only kissed one man and it never felt like this. She'd heard others speak of kisses being magical. Such nonsense. Until this kiss froze the world around them. When her usually negative ions met his positives: two synapses firing with one purpose, there had to be some sort of explosion in the space-time continuum.

Then he lifted her onto his lap. She had no choice but to straddle him. Lips, full and wet, brushed the side of her neck. The energy between them intensified and she moaned. His tongue brushed against her earlobe where he nibbled for a moment. Hot, lustful breath saturated her ear.

With a forward thrust, she ground into him. Then her nerves took over and she began to shake.

"What's wrong?" The back of his hand brushed her face.

"Nothing." She lied. How do you tell a man that you can't...you mustn't?

"We shouldn't. It's not prudent to what I have to be doing right now. Ray's missing and we need to develop a better serum."

"Are you sure?" His face twisted into a cute grin, showing off his dimples.

What did he have up his sleeve? He'd seemed more chipper since he came back.

"By the way, while I was in the bathroom, I contacted Ray."

"How did you..."

"My super-secret special agent watch."

"What?" He didn't even have a watch on.

His fingers trailed up and down her spine. "Ray is safe and back at the lab. He sent the information you need to your home server."

The weight of not knowing about Ray lifted and she collapsed onto Ross again. This time she'd pressed harder against the thickness between his legs. He had no idea how bad she wanted to let him take her. Heat washed up her neck and across her face.

"It's okay if you don't. We can stop."

Alexa drowned in his eyes. Was this man a hypnotist? Every part of her wanted to get up and leave. But the lump in her throat, galloping heart rate, and humidity between her thighs said otherwise. There's no way she wanted to stop. It had been too long since she had intercourse. Even if the sex was induced by a stressful situation, she could use the serotonin release. Maybe it would clear her head. In the morning, she'd have a breakthrough and all would be in order again.

Their mouths met in a flurry of lips and tongues. That's when she noticed Ellie on the couch. She pushed him back.

"Not here."

"Which way?" Ross stood, pulled her from his waist and cradled her in his arms.

"Upstairs." She continued to nuzzle against his neck and could easily fall asleep. She had no intention of sleeping just yet.

When they reached the top of the second landing he headed for the master bedroom at the end of the hall. She pulled away from his constant kiss.

"Not there." She nodded toward the upstairs spare room and hoped he didn't mind. It would be way too awkward for them to make love in her matrimonial bed. Though, the kisses and warmth of his touch felt-perfect.

Hey y'all. If you enjoyed the chapter, please comment and vote.

Phew...this one wracked my nerves.