~ Chapter Four ~
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~ September 29, 1987, 12:34 am ~
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Matthew
Matthew lay in bed wide awake, wondering just what had been off in his earlier conversation with Suzannah. He'd gone with her into the sitting room with a purpose. And that purpose was not to talk about future technology or even to read her women's magazine. It had been purely romantic in nature. So how had it turned so suddenly into the weirdness that it had?
She'd asked him repeatedly for a blood sample. Wanting to preserve her own made sense. But why his?
A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand revealed just how late it was. Or early, depending on how one chose to look at it. All he knew was, he wasn't sleeping until he figured out what she wanted.
It wasn't his clock, and that was glaringly apparent when he glanced over. He wasn't home. He was staying over in one of Phillip's spare rooms. Again. He tended to do this often when there weren't many researchers in the facility. And there hadn't been anyone really in a few weeks. There were a couple of biochemists working on some cure for some disease that he hadn't really caught the name of. And that was it. He figured it was likely the time of year. It was hard to find people who wanted to stay cooped up in June when they could go on long-awaited vacations with their families.
He couldn't even remember the last time he'd been in his own bed. Because as alone as he was here at the facility, it didn't compare to how big his own house felt when it was just him.
But that was a bigger problem than he was willing to tackle. It would be easier (and infinitely more interesting) to try and figure out what Suzannah wanted from him.
Matthew had thought he'd known what she wanted. He'd been wrong about women before. But he'd really thought he could sense something romantic in her actions. Or at least, carnal.
Romance wasn't an option afforded to two people separated by time, he supposed.
And maybe he had sensed something tender in their conversations. But, if romance was something Suzannah desired, it certainly wasn't the only thing she wanted.
He'd been wanted for a lot of things. A vial of his blood was a new one. The only thing he didn't know was why she wanted it.
Matthew pondered the puzzle for a few more minutes before sitting up in bed and swinging his legs over the side.
Maybe she was still awake.
He got up, making his way down the short hallway and coming to a halt outside the door of the room Phillip had given her.
It was likely strange to knock on a woman's door this late at night, wasn't it?
It was also strange to demand bodily fluids from someone as well. So maybe they'd break even.
He rapped on the door. The sound reverberated down the hallway and he worried for a moment that he'd wake up someone else. Anyone else. And they'd peek out and see him waiting outside Suzannah's door for some clandestine middle-of-the-night liaison.
Maybe that's what this was? It was certainly not something he'd turn his nose up at. He stood by his previous assessment. Suzannah was gorgeous. And now he also knew she was smart. She was also a little weird, but who wasn't? Phillip had said she was studying infectious diseases. Or something. He'd been purposefully vague. But infectious diseases... yeah, that sounded like something that was right up his alley. Not that he wanted an infectious disease, but he'd dabbled in the past. To make a long story short, he and Suzannah had chemistry. He worked in a lab, he knew chemistry, and theirs was palpable.
He'd hesitate to say she was perfect for him, since she was technically thirty years younger than he was and this could never ever work out in the long run. But he wasn't really a long run kind of guy, was he?
He knocked one more time and the door opened immediately. Suzannah was fully dressed. Technically. She was wearing pajamas, perfectly decent nightwear by anyone's standards. Only they were silky. And short. He wasn't sure what he wanted to touch first: the sleek material that clung in all the right places, or the expanse of leg beneath the hem.
His tongue was, of course, frozen in his mouth. He couldn't remember what he had come here to say.
He licked his lips. "Uh..."
Suzannah smirked and reached for him, tugging him in by the collar of his t-shirt. "Get in here, you goober."
Suzannah
Matthew's lips met hers hungrily. A soft sound caught in the back of his throat and made Suzannah clutch at the ratty cotton of his t-shirt all the more. His breath felt hot as it washed over her face, a decent amount of stubble making the kiss feel as rough as it actually was. Their teeth clashed, causing both of them to snicker as she tilted her head for a better angle, rising on her toes to make up for their distinct height difference. As she sealed her lips over his for the second time, she felt the barest brush of his tongue and Suzannah couldn't help but moan into his mouth. It was perfect.
"Holy shit..." she murmured, hopping up onto his front as his arms encircled her waist, solving the height difference issue once and for all. His hands were hot and insistent, gripping her ass and keeping her close to his front. He hummed in agreement, a deep rumbling in his chest that would have made her knees weak had she been standing.
They made their way back to the bed somehow, a passage across the room made precarious by her unwillingness to pick up after herself. He tripped twice, but managed to make it to the bed with minimal injury. Certainly nothing that would keep him from his goal.
He let her down carefully, her back touching down on the mattress softly in bold opposition to how her hands clawed at the jersey cotton covering his chest. She needed to feel his skin.
Finding the hem, she tugged his t-shirt up and over his head, the seams popping a bit as she flung it across the room. His bronzed skin seemed to glimmer in the moonlight and she slowly ran the flat of her palm up his chest.
"You like?" he asked, a smug grin made it's beginnings on his lips and Suzannah leaned forward to capture them once more. She nibbled on his bottom lip, giggling as he moaned, leaning into the embrace.
"I think you like..." she countered.
"I think you do too..." His voice rasped as he leaned down further still to press his lips on the exposed skin of her throat. His stubble raked the sensitive skin, making her shiver in pure pleasure with every brush of his lips. Suzannah's hands went up the back of his head to tangle in his hair.
One of his hands toyed with the hem of her satin nightie. His fingers were warm on her thighs. Or maybe Dr. Slone just kept his house too chilly. Whatever it was, she didn't really care right then. His warmth was so nice.
His lips kept up their glorious, teasing torture, moving slowly down the column of her throat and over her collarbone, leaving a trail of hot and steamy kisses behind. Matthew paused at the swell of her breast, hovering over her flesh as her chest began to heave. "Can I go further?"
"Please do," she whispered, taking the opportunity to press firmly on his head until he reached her satin-covered nipple, almost painfully stiff in the cool air.
His tongue was warm and wet, probing the peak until she let out a harsh sigh and rocked her hips up towards him. His hand slid up the outside of her thigh, beneath the bottom of her nightie and locking her hip in place as his tongue continued its exploration of her nipple. She lost herself in the bliss of his ministrations, sharp flicks alternatively with long wet strokes.
Heat pooled between her legs the longer he kept things up. He settled one thigh between hers, giving her something to grip as she began to rock her hips more.
Matthew switched to the other breast, leaving the first wet and stiff in the chilly air. He tugged down on the fabric of her neckline, exposing the neglected nipple to the air before he sucked it between his lips immediately. Suzannah let out a sharp cry, shifting against him even more, her aching core rubbed against his denim-clad leg.
She tugged on his hair, but he didn't cease his ministrations; instead, he moved his hand between her legs to cup her briefly. His fingers slid beneath her panties, gliding more into the slickness he found there. He hummed once more, releasing her nipple and looking up into her eyes. His own were dark, the warm brown in a thin, barely visible ring around his pupil. He licked his lips, pink and swollen from the kisses and nibbles.
"You're so wet for me..." he whispered, almost in awe of the fact, even as his fingers moved deliciously through her folds.
Suzannah reached down, taking things into her own hands as she tugged on the button and zipper of his jeans. She pushed them, along with his boxers, down over his narrow hips. He rose up to shimmy out of them, kicking both onto the floor in the process.
She wrapped her hand around him then, pumping her hand once or twice just to see his eyes flutter closed. His head dropped down as she worked him. "Gods, Suzannah... I want you."
He was a substantial size, she noted as she swiped her thumb over the tip, She gathered the fluid there and smearing it around with her next few strokes. She nodded once. "Me too."
He reached between her legs and yanked off her panties, tossing them onto the floor with the rest of his shed clothing. He paused a bit at the hem of her nightie, but she just hiked it up around her waist and let her legs fall apart.
Judging by his face, this was definitely the right move.
He reached down to wrap a hand around himself, scooting forward just enough to be able to rub the head of his cock around her opening. "This okay?"
Nodding again, she canted her hips forward, allowing the tip to press into just slightly. His breath hitched and she took her bottom lip between her teeth as he slowly pressed himself all the way in.
She could feel herself stretching deliciously around him. Matthew was holding his breath, removing his hand as it became necessary, propping it beside her on the mattress. He gasped as his hips met hers.
Both of them froze, his head dropped down to plant a soft kiss on her lips. "You okay?"
"I appreciate your checking in on all of this, but I promise I'm not gonna break..." she assured him.
He exhaled, pulling back and pressing forward just as smoothly. It took her breath away and her eyes fluttered closed.
"Yes..." she murmured, the 's' hissing slightly as she nodded her head. "Just like that..."
He kept his movements slow and teasing until he found the angle she preferred. The one that made her toes curl into the mattress, caused her fingers to clench and release the fitted sheet beneath her.
Once he found that amazing angle, there was no stopping him. Matthew would have been rattling the headboard if there was one, but as it was, he was rocking her world. With every sharp snap of his hips, he pressed against that spot inside her just so and made her babble out his name for lack of anything else coherent to say.
"Matthew... Matthew..." she murmured instead.
"Yes... baby, yes, just like that," he crooned, hiking her leg up and over his hip to press deeper. "You feel so good."
She brought her other leg up to pull him even closer, wrapping both tightly around his waist as his speed increased, hips rocking in and out, filling her completely with every thrust.
Her fingers found their way down her body and between her legs to roll over her clit. His eyes followed the movement, and it clearly was working as well for him as it was for her, because he began working himself even harder as she stroked herself closer to climaxing.
It didn't take her long at all.
Her walls clenched around him, her pleasure radiating from where they were joined and out, out, out, to her fingers and toes. She closed her eyes against the white-hot pleasure and moaned loudly through her orgasm.
Matthew's hands tightened on her hips, thumbs pressing roughly as he plunged himself deeper and deeper still. Suzannah was just getting used to this new, rougher rhythm when he suddenly choked out her name, pulling out and letting his release splatter across her stomach. Initially warm and wet, it cooled rapidly in the air, and he whispered a soft apology above her as he reached for the box of tissues on her nightstand.
In her post orgasmic haze, it didn't even occur to her to tell him she was receiving a birth control shot and she didn't mind if he finished inside her.
But, she supposed, as her eyes fluttered closed, there was always time for her to tell him tomorrow.
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~September 29, 1987, 8:24 a.m~
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Matthew
He woke up to the sun streaming in through the window, and for once, he wasn't alone.
Suzannah was currently looking around for her clothes, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Deciding to capitalize on the fact that she didn't realize he was awake, he reached over to brush his fingertips over her bare shoulder. "Heya, Gorgeous."
She jumped a mile, throwing her shirt down and fumbling blindly for it once more before she registered that it was him in the bed with her. "Really, Ivey? Scaring a girl you just had sex with?"
"No just about it, Suze. I spent the night. You can call it that, you know." He frowned, noting her severe lack of whimsy where whimsy should certainly be. "What's wrong? Am I that bad at it?" He reached for her shirt.
"I'm leaving in four days and you won't ever see me again," she reminded him.
He frowned, swallowing hard. "I know..." He trailed off for a moment, letting her words sink in. "What? Not ever?"
Her eyes widened. "I... I mean... you won't see me like... this... again..." She gestured vaguely to herself before pressing her lips together and made another grab for her shirt. He tugged it back further.
"Am I in your future, Suze?"
"Phillip asked me not to--"
"I don't give a shit what he asked you to do. Am I in your future?"
She opened her mouth and closed it again a few times, looking like a fish out of water as she fought to find the most delicate way to not answer his question. "I..."
He felt the blood rushing through his head as he watched her flounder. "I have a right to know, Suze. I think I do, at any rate. After... everything."
She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "You have a right to a lot of things, Matthew. I just don't think I should tell you this."
"Look. This isn't about Phillip or your 'mission' or anything. This is about you and me and I need to know what I'm in for after you leave."
Suzannah sighed again, but this time she spoke, her words clear as crystal. "I've never met you before. Never even seen you in person. I've seen pictures of you. But, this is the first and only time I've actually met you."
"Am I dead?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea. All I know, is that you go missing... sometime this week actually, never to be seen again."
He sat back hard on the bed, letting the shirt drop into his lap. "Missing? Like... missing-missing? Maybe I..." He trailed off and shook his head. "What could have happened?"
She shook her head. "I don't know... I'm sorry." Suzannah sat back with him. "I'm sorry I let it slip. I really am." She covered her face with her hands. "I was the wrong person to send back in time. But for some STUPID reason, Phillip from my time insisted that it should be me."
"He must think highly of you, then. He doesn't ever do anything without a good reason."
"I don't know why... I'm not even trained in this. This isn't even my field of expertise. Telling people their futures when I should not be given that kind of authority or power. I mean, honestly... if Phillip didn't distinctly remember meeting me... gods...it was only supposed to be for seven minutes this time. But give me a week and I screw it all to hell."
"You haven't messed anything up, Suze..."
She shook her head and reached for her shirt. She pulled it over her head and stood up, making her way to the door.
"Where are ya going?" he asked.
"Out. I'm just...I need to think."
"What about your blood samples?" he asked, zipping up beside her. "We can still get those. Hell, I'll even throw in one of mine... since you seem to need it so badly."
"It's to save the world," she insisted. "I promise, that's why."
"How?" he asked. "Tell me how?"
She reached for her pants, tugging them on. "There's this... super virus... no vaccine is available because of the nature of the sickness. We aren't able to get blood samples from the victims. But you," she pointed. "You beautiful idiot. You injected yourself with a bunch of stuff. Phillip knows one of those things was an early version of the virus. We don't know if you built up an immunity, but it's the only shot we have. I need a sample of your blood to try and make a vaccine."
"Okay," he nodded. "Okay. Let's go. Do that. We'll take a sample of my blood... a few vials? And we'll put it in cryo and then you'll have fulfilled your purpose, right?"
"I wasn't supposed to tell you what happens to you."
"Nothing I can do to change it right? Fixed timelines, like Phil said."
She nodded. "Right."
"Then, I've got nothing to worry about. We can just have fun until you have to leave." The thought of her leaving left a lump in his throat. But he just swallowed it down and ignored it the same as he ignored the fact that he was supposed to go missing. One way or another, it seemed, they were never meant to have long time together. He wanted to make the most of what they had.
She nodded once. "Okay, yeah. Okay..."
"We could just... go see a movie or something?" he offered.
She laughed. "I thought we'd just be... kind of... 'spending the night' with each other." She reached over to poke his bare stomach.
He smirked. "We can't do that all day. Especially not in Phillip's guest room."
"Okay, fine. What movie are we seeing?" she asked.
"Umm... Dirty Dancing and The Princess Bride are both still playing, so... whichever one you want..."
"Is there any way we can go see them both?" she asked, taking his hand.
"Sure. I'm down for a double feature."
"And don't worry about the tickets. It's my treat," she assured him. "Or Phillip's, I guess. But I will definitely pay him back in thirty years, so yeah. My treat."
"I'm buying the popcorn, then," he said suddenly. He wasn't really bothered that she was buying the tickets, but the desire to do something for her was kind of intense at that precise moment.
"I get my own bucket, sticky fingers."
"Ouch. Cha-ching. You're not a cheap date, are you?" He tugged her back down in bed with him.
She shrugged. "I dunno. This is pretty inexpensive..."
"Oh, is this a date?" he asked, his stomach swooping again at the thought.
"Feels like one," she said. "I'm nervous as hell, worried I screwed everything up, and we're snuggling. Yep. That's the trifecta of Suzannah Jack on a date."
He tightened his hold on her fingers, "You didn't screw anything up."
"Feels like I did... I have this gross feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I can't stop thinking about..." she paused. "I just can't stop thinking. It's a problem, okay? I'm aware of it. And it's fine. It wouldn't be much of a fling if it wasn't at least a little dangerous," she said with a small smile.
"Is that what this is?"
"It's what it's gonna have to be."
He let his tongue run over his teeth. "I haven't flung anyone in a long time...might be a bit rusty."
"Same. Mind the bats if you plan on spelunking."
He laughed. "Spelunking... is that what they call it in the future?"
"I'm pretty sure no one calls it that. I'm just horribly awkward, sorry."
He shook his head. "You're not. I think you're... I hesitate to say funny. But I think you're funny."
"Glad someone does..."
"So are we flinging?" he asked.
"So long as it doesn't destroy the time-space continuum. Then yeah. Fling away."
"And spelunk?" he added.
She bumped into him with her shoulder in response. "Yeah. Flinging and spelunking."