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Sibling Rivalry
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Sneaking into his sister's home post the crack of dawn ranked exceedingly low on Gerard's list of most desirable events to accomplish while in New York. However, the smug look and interrogation she would subject upon him once witnessing his post coital walk-of-shame was a thing he very much preferred to avoid.
"Gerard? Is that you?"
'Bloody, buggering hell, so much for my stealthy abilities.' "Yeah, it's me, Cassie," he said, ducking and scratching the back of his head as he entered the main room of her flat. He must look a fright. Nothing to be done for it now, she'd caught him out fair and square. She stood at the entrance to her small kitchen wearing a look of shocked amusement while holding in one hand a mug emitting the arousing scent of coffee. Still dressed in her pj's and her hair as mussed as his, Cassie appeared to have woken within the half hour. Damn, that second bout with Sarah killed his chances to fool his sister, but as he mentally replayed their lovemaking he regretted nothing.
"
So...I guess the first date went well," she said as more of a knowing statement rather than an inquiry, and raised her mug in salute. Her eyes traveled over his rumpled, yet oddly self-satisfied appearance.
"Ah, you could say so." No sense inflating her feminine ego.
One her trademark half smirks emerged, "Biggest-understatement-
ever."
"I'm not telling you a soddin' thing," he said, pointing his finger at her, "So don't bother threatening me."
"
What?" Faux virtuousness coated her face, "I would never!" Gerard's skeptical glare and evil finger compelled her to fidget. '
Good grief I hate when he does that, stupid older brother powers!' "Okay, fine I would, but can you blame me?" Cassie set her mug down on the countertop with a harsh clunk. "Since when do you stay out all night while on a business trip? I thought you wanted to get back together with Melinda? And don't you have your interview with the mayor early this morning?"
Sighing, his shoulders slumped as Cassie's accusations rang true. "Bleedin' hell, I know, Cassie, I just...she's...we were...argh," he threw up his hands, frustrated, "I can't explain it to you when I don't understand it myself."
"Understand what?" Her voice softened and she walked closer in order to touch his arm in comfort.
"I don't
know!" He repeated, his eyes pleading. "There's just something...
different about her, about Sarah. I've never met anyone like her."
"Huh, this is sounding rather serious, Jer." Cassie frowned, not liking to see her brother in emotional turmoil.
He shook his head, his hands scrubbing his face and goatee. "I don't have time for this right now. I've got to get my work together and get ready for my interview."
"Okay," Cassie backed off verbally and physically, "You want some coffee?"
"Yeah, sure...thanks, luv. I'll just jump in the shower, then." Turning, he left the main room for the single bathroom in her flat leaving his sister staring after him with a concerned look. Her brother, a complex man who rarely lived in denial or confusion of any kind, but this Sarah Williams clearly turned his world upside down in less than a week. She'd never seen the like. Cassie fretted for him, unsure how to feel about this development. She never knew Jer to be so disconcerted in regards to a woman or anything really. The straightforward answer said he was falling in love—in truth this time, but her intuition cried that more churned beneath his usual façade of control; a matter deeper than even she could easily discern, and she absolutely detested the idea.
Few things upset her brother and whatever or whoever dared trouble Gerard faced Cassie's uber-protective nature. Most people only saw Gerard—master of his world; few realized he protected a soft, squishy center with that hard candy shell. Her eyes glittering ferally, decided. She wanted to meet this Sarah Williams, the sooner the better.
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Steam billowed in the small bathroom from the hot water soaking Gerard's fatigued body. Leaning with both hands on the tile, he supported his weight. His head hung forward while the stream gently beat on the back of his neck and shoulders, clear rivulets chasing each other down his supple, toned physique to swirl in the ceramic tub before draining. The water left a biting sting as it sluiced over his scratched back and buttocks caused by sharp, feminine nails. Little sleep graced his night mainly due to more pleasurable pursuits, and he smiled remembering their bittersweet farewell a short time ago.
'Sarah.' He kissed her tenderly while they lingered in her entryway, one of his hands on the door handle, the other wrapped around her waist. She wore only a cotton robe; he was redressed in his previous evening's clothes. Both appeared happily a bit worse for wear. She made an 'mmm' sound, her tongue caressing his. 'I hate to go, but I must,' he said, not moving away. 'I know,' she replied, 'you'll be alright getting home?' Her fingers toyed with his shirt collar left partially open. 'Yes, of course, quite well, I told you your care was all I required.' She slapped his chest playfully. 'Don't joke about that. You were unconscious for several minutes. You scared me.' Kissing her again, he pulled her until their bodies touched at all points, 'I'm fine, nothing to worry about, luv. My sister's flat is but a few blocks away. I'd offer to ring you when I arrive but...' 'No, no, you don't have to check in with me,' she laughed, nervous. 'I will ring you later, be assured.' Gerard squeezed her waist firmly; her day-glow smile warmed every portion of his anatomy increasing the difficulty to leave. He nuzzled her hair above her ear; she smelled of sunshine, flowers, and them. '
God, Sarah, I really must be off. I see the mayor this morning.' But the last person on his mind was Mayor Bloomberg and that blasted interview. 'Go, it's okay.' She sounded confident, but he sensed her anxiety. 'Tonight then, I'll see you tonight?' he both stated and questioned. Sarah bit her lip stifling her giddy laughter only nodding eagerly. God, when she bit her lip! He groaned in the shower remembering how tempted he'd been to take her again in her entryway, mayor be damned. One hand left the tiles to stroke his burgeoning erection, his hips rocking to the rhythm of his grip as he drifted in his memory. '
Tonight,' he repeated, following with a searing kiss. Before enticement redirected his responsibilities, Gerard wrenched opened her door, yanked his mouth from hers, and practically flung his body over the doorsill. "Jer! Don't use all my hot water!" Cassie yelled through the bathroom door jerking him from his pleasurable daydream.
"Yeah, yeah!" He shouted back irritably, ceased his rudely interrupted deed, and rushed through his remaining shower lest she catch him out. Thirty minutes and a coffee-to-go later, Gerard raced out the door with his briefcase balancing one side and his large portfolio the other. Cassie waved her brother-shaped tornado out her front door before continuing her morning ablations for work as a burn unit nurse. Normally she worked the night shift, but Cassie's supervisor called needing additional nursing coverage so she'd gotten up early which allowed her to surprise Gerard.
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For the first time in years Sarah slept in after seeing Gerard off, the tyrannical alarm pre-silenced. She ignored her morning café routine of coffee and muffin at her chosen seat because her mind rested at ease without effort. In fact, before returning to bed she called in sick, leaving a voicemail message for the receptionist and smiled thinking of her astonished face once she heard the news. Sarah Williams never took sick leave and rarely vacation, workaholic extraordinaire and control-freak by profession—but not today. Today she was a satiated woman.
Waking up naturally and late, she rolled and stretched, popping several vertebrae. Good, she felt...very, very
good. She couldn't remember ever feeling this relaxed. Damn, Gerard was talented! A shy, little smile curled her lips as she reminisced. His possessiveness and hers! Shivering, she remembered how he seemed to channel the Goblin King and wondered again if Gerard really was who he said he was. But he
appeared so authentic! Even Jareth would be hard pressed to fake such sincerity. How could he be anyone but himself, Gerard?
He didn't laugh at her story, but he didn't believe her either. What if he told the truth? What if he really wasn't Jareth come to stalk her? Uncertain what to do with an actual non-Jareth Gerard, Sarah considered her options. This could be a short time affair regardless of the things said to one another; after all he visited on business and would be leaving in a week, as he explained late last night. But somehow that thought didn't sit well, besides he acted serious...didn't he? She frowned. He'd better call later. She might convince him to stay longer than a week and see where it led them. Perhaps if he were
seriously serious...suddenly Sarah's anxiety stirred. He must be after what he said, moaned to her last night. And what if he did call? Then what? How did
she really feel? Did she want to be attached to someone known only a day?
'Precious, Sarah, you're mine, mine forever.' Goosebumps erupted over her skin and she grew wet remembering the throaty sound of his voice when he whispered into her ear, his climax pulsing deep within her. Her answering rasping voice crying out, '
Yours, yours forever!' 'Damn, that was intense!' The freakish similarities both elated and alarmed her. She felt like iron concurrently repelled and drawn to the magnetic force of Gerard, the not-Goblin King. Fresh nervous energy roiled underneath her skin, inside her cerebellum, and she ground her teeth.
'
Guess it was too much to ask that it stay away for a full day,' she thought and got up to start her routine deciding to call Kathy to deliver the aforementioned promised details. Kathy's head would spin. Sarah sniggered with anticipation. The very least a best friend could do is share her nervous energy.
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Delayed by morning traffic, the cab ride to City Hall took longer than Gerard preferred, but at least it increased his time to mentally prepare his speech to the mayor. His sketches completed, his estimates done, only selling it remained with twice the motivation. A discreet smile formed his lips as he stared out the cab window; the saying 'kill two birds with one stone' echoing in his mind. If he won this contract his firm would reward him
and require him to stay Stateside for months, possibly years to oversee its completion.
'Sarah
,' he whispered. He wished to say her name indefinitely, each time it warmed a part deep within him. A primitive piece of him laid claim to her... Sarah Williams
. He questioned why he said such domineering words to her last night, and why she responded so
enthusiastically. It felt so right and yet...unlike anything he'd ever done or felt before.
He pinched the bridge of his nose; the sharp headache from yesterday returning in force. God, it hurt to think so much. Gerard caught the cab driver giving him an appreciative stare in the rearview mirror. Gerard winked and the driver snapped his head away, blushing.
'
Bloody poof,' he thought, chuckling softly, used to receiving doe-eyes from either sex. He, however, preferred women and now one woman especially whom relentlessly orbited his memory. Tonight, he would see her tonight. As soon as he finished this interview he would ring Sarah and arrange their evening. The giddiness thrilling through his body and settling in his groin halted at his sudden thought of Melinda.
'
Melinda...' He groaned aloud drawing the driver's eyes back to him. What was to be done about her? He bloody well didn't care to reestablish his engagement now. Not when the likes of Sarah Williams existed.
"City hall, sir," the cabbie said and Gerard mentally shook the cobwebs from his mind, so many conflicting emotions and no time to fully consider them.
"Right, then, thank you," he said, withdrawing his wallet to pay the still doe-eyed man before exiting the cab with his bags and half finished coffee. New York City hall's quad sprawled out and Gerard quickly checked his watch realizing he'd need to run to make the meeting. Last time he agreed to an early morning interview with anyone short of Queen Elizabeth, and she fell under the category of a definite maybe.
Passing through security and obtaining his visitor's badge took several more minutes, but eventually he stood inside, squeezed really, with other morning riders on the lift. Attempting his best to keep his portfolio undamaged, Gerard chose a place next to the wall and held it flat against the surface, wouldn't do to present creased and wrinkled sketches to Mayor Bloomberg. Now to exit...
"Pardon me, excuse me, I'm sorry, pardon, thank you," he said as he shoved his way through the mass in as civilized a manner possible entering the loudest, most obnoxious room imaginable without the dampening benefit of drugs or alcohol.
Gerard froze a few paces outside the lift's doors as mass hysteria confronted him. A cubicle sea occupied by professionally dressed men and women bounding up and down like prairie dogs over the top edges greeted him. Their shouts and contradictory conversations inundated his hearing, bright florescent lights battered his eyes, and dozens of ant-like workers scurried throughout. The overload caused his headache to instantly worsen, somewhere on the scale of tsunami when compared to a normal headache of a Hawaiian hang ten wave.
"Are you alright? Can I help you?" Someone, a female, asked him.
"Pardon?" he asked, looking up through from his hunched position with pinched, teary eyes. She was young, perhaps barely twenty, and quite attractive the relatively rational portion of his brain noted around the excruciating pain.
"Oh, man, you don't look so good." She grabbed his wrist, pulling him behind her. Gerard followed obediently, clinging to his portfolio, briefcase, and travel mug with desperate alacrity; the swift motion creating a bubble of nausea he pushed down with a ruthless swallow. Stumbling behind the young woman, he glanced towards the cubicle madness again unable comprehend what he saw.
"What? They're bleedin' barmy!" He said, mumbling as his brain struggled with the visual input.
"Here you go, nice and quiet," the young woman said steering him into a small, vacant office with low lighting and shut the door behind them. The immediate decrease in volume and light made him gasp in relief. His shoulders sagged, his head drooped, and he set his baggage upon the empty desk.
"Thank you, miss..."
"Sharon." She smiled, "You looked done in out there."
"Yes, a bit of a headache," he turned, pointing back to the main room, "made worse by that insanity!"
Sharon laughed softly, mindful of his pain, "Yeah, it gets crazy in the Mayor's Bullpen sometimes."
"Crazy you say?" Gerard's brow arched, his eyes clearing despite his pain, "Who's barmy enough to condone the flinging about of poultry in a professional office?"
"Poultry? You mean, like chickens?"
"Good Lord, yes,
chickens!"
"Um, yeah," Sharon said, "What was your name again? And why are you here?"
Gerard sighed heavily and rubbed his temples, the pain abating a bit. He spoke with deliberate patience. "I'm Gerard Scott; I'm an architect with a London firm. I have an interview with Mayor Bloomberg regarding designs for the 9-11 Memorial."
"Okay, well, Mr. Scott why don't you wait here and I'll let the mayor know you've arrived, alright?"
"Yes, fine," he said watching Sharon back up through the door with a wary gaze pinned on him. "Bloody New Yorkers, they're all mad," he said after the door shut behind her.
. A/N: Muhahahaha! Glad you enjoyed the smut, Moira! There's more, MORE, smut coming (pun intended). One scene is especially delicious! As for the plot...well...you'll just have to read to find out. So far this is up to 22 + chapters and counting.
