Caught in the Middle Ch. 06

"What are you talking about? You need to stop this, Cedric. I don't know what kind of joke you're trying to pull, but it isn't funny."

He moved, stopping right in front of her and crouching down so that his face was level with hers. "Do you remember? I was like this, looking at the wound on your head."

Of course, she remembered. There was no way she would be able to forget that dizzying citrus scent that wafted from his body. "I felt it Maya, that day when I brought you to my room. So, don't you dare say that you do not have even the slightest interest in me."

"Things were different then," she said, struggling not to lose her voice. He stood and began pacing the room.

"That day at the beach, I couldn't take my eyes off you Maya. And after the way you opened up to me that morning, I thought it would be possible for us to, well..." he sighed and ran his hands through his hair, clearly growing exasperated. "And then I felt it. At the inn. Your energy, your power. And when I saw Richard leaving your room, I got angry."

"Thank you for explaining things to me," she choked out, unable to look at him. She mustered up enough strength to get up from the chair and walk towards him. "It's getting late. Could I uh, could I get the medicine?" she held out her hand. He gave her one pill and a small container.

"Take the one pill tonight, and the others in the morning," he instructed.

"Thank you," she turned to leave, without looking back.

*************************************

When Maya was finally allowed to retire for the night, she spent hours tossing and turning in bed, thinking about everything she had learned. She realized that things might never go back to normal with Cedric, but at least things were going so well with Richard. Her worries then shifted to the fact that she would be getting married in the morning. Everything was happening too quickly for her, and she found it hard to emotionally prepare herself. Since she'd never been in a serious relationship, Maya never spent much time thinking about what her future wedding would be like. However, she sure as hell never thought it would be in a different world to some guy she'd only known for a few months.

She loved and trusted Richard, but she was still concerned about everything that would come after the wedding, when she would be expected to act as the Source. The thought terrified her. She trembled slightly under her covers, unable to believe that it was something she would actually have to go through with. Eventually, exhaustion overpowered the worries that kept her awake, and she was able to fall asleep.

After an hour of peaceful rest, Maya subconsciously furrowed her brow, sensing a disturbance in her room. Slowly and delicately, her eyes opened, and were immediately drawn to the sight of a shadowy figure sitting by her vanity. Her breath hitched. It crossed her mind that she might be seeing things in her half-asleep state, so she nervously waited for the figure in front her to make some sort of indication of whether it was real or if she was seeing things.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I know this might not be the most convenient time for a visit, but I couldn't bear to be apart from you any longer." Maya recognized that voice. She closed her eyes and prayed for all this to be a dream.

"Did you miss me, my dear Maya?" Michael inquired as he stepped towards her. Maya's heart suddenly felt like it was going at million beats per minute. The events of that night came flooding back to her, and she became paralyzed with fear. "My pet, I thought you would be ecstatic to see me again, after all this time. I must say, it appears that you have grown even more beautiful during the time that we have been apart," he said as he stroked her cheek. His touch brought her back to reality, and she slapped his hand away.

"What the hell are you doing here? What do you want?" she demanded, now sitting up in her bed.

He quickly pushed her back onto the bed and pinned both of her wrists down, then moved to straddle her, with her body in between his knees. As hard as she tried to act tough, Maya knew that her teary eyes and trembling lip gave away the terror that consumed her senses.

"You sick pervert!" she screamed. Less than a second later, she felt a stinging sensation across her cheek. She looked up at Michael, teary eyed and confused. His hand, fast as lightening, slapped her and managed to return to her wrists before she could think to react.

"I apologize, Maya," he said with a hint of false pity, "but I simply can't have you raising your voice like that, especially at this hour. After such a long time apart, we wouldn't want for someone to get suspicious and interrupt our time together, now would we?"

Maya blinked back her tears and averted her eyes, "You never answered me. What are you doing here?" she repeated.

Michael feigned innocence, "I should think that my reason for coming here would be fairly obvious. I wanted to see you, my dear."

"If you do anything to me, Richard will come after you." Michael's eye twitched, and his face finally displayed some semblance of annoyance. He tightened his grip on her wrists.

"Listen," a change in his tone indicated that he was absolutely serious, "I would appreciate it if you would refrain from talking about other men while we're together. Understood?" Maya pursed her lips in anger, but reluctantly decided it might be a good idea to stop talking back for a little while.

"Are you afraid of me?" Michael asked, as though to ridicule her. "You are, aren't you?" he laughed as she struggled to escape his grip. "I am truly hurt, Maya. I assure you, I wanted nothing more than for us to get along," he leaned in and gently pressed his nose against her neck, slowly taking in her scent. A brief moment later his lips followed, gently dragging along the sensitive skin. A strong sense of Déjà vu washed over her, and rational thinking seemed to be something that was beyond her grasp.

One of his hands moved down to unbutton her nightgown, and Maya immediately took the opportunity to try and push him off of her. However, she found that even with one hand holding onto both her wrists, he seemed to have no problem keeping her pinned down. Panic washed over her as she thrashed beneath Michael, desperate to be released from his hold

Maya's wet, tear stained eyes looked up at him, surprised to see that those dark eyes of his were marked with curiosity. He stopped his assault on her body, looking down on her as though he couldn't decide what to do next. Unfortunately, any uncertainty he had quickly passed, and the curiosity in his eyes was replaced with triumph. He leaned down and captured Maya's lips for a third time. Instinctually she opened her mouth to cry for help, only for those cries to be cut off by Michael forcing his tongue into her mouth. She grew dizzy as he took his time with her.

As much as Maya wanted to fight back, there was an odd sensation that came with being helpless. With no control over her body, there was very little she could do. Michael's movements became agonizingly slow, and it was as though he was reminding Maya of how helpless she was. His hand returned to her breasts, which were now uncovered. He massaged the soft mounds while his tongue continued to work inside Maya's mouth.

She squeezed her eyes shut, ashamed that her body appeared to be betraying her at Michael's touch. He broke the kiss and brought his lips down near her chest, right underneath her left breast. He kissed and sucked and the soft flesh, attempting to mark her. He pulled away, satisfied at the deep purple spot he left behind. He sat upright, still straddling her, and sighed the way one sighs at a misbehaving child.

"What am I going to do with you, Maya?" he asked hypothetically. His hands sought out both nipples, and gave them a hard squeeze.

"Please!" Maya cried out. "P-please..." There was now a steady stream of tears flowing from her eyes. She turned her head away from him, ashamed at her reactions to his touch.

"'Please' what?"

"Please stop, Michael. I'm begging you. Please stop." She was shocked to see that he removed his hands from her breasts and got off of her body.

"Lucky for you," he said, taking a seat on the edge of her bed, "I'm a patient man, and this isn't what I came here for."

Michael continued, "I know you are assuming that I have come here to take you back, but for the time being, I just want to talk. I won't do anything to you tonight, if you are willing to behave and listen to what I have to say. Do we have an agreement?" Maya stared into his dark, stormy eyes, debating whether or not to actually trust him. She began to feel a slight blush creeping into her cheeks, and thanked God that it was too dark for Michael to see. What's with those damn eyes? She questioned before pulling hers away.

"Fine," she agreed, begrudgingly, moving to sit up in the bed. "So, what is it you need to talk to me about?"

"By now, you are aware of the power you possess, correct?"

"Yeah. I mean, I guess so..."

"Good. Now, while your power may be the most sought after, especially during these times of war and conquest, you are not the only person who possesses otherworldly abilities."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"After recovering from the injuries that brute inflicted upon me, I did a little traveling. Up in the mountains that surround Esfalda, there is a small, secluded village. I'd heard of a mystic living there, who's rumored to be thousands of years old, and decided to pay him a visit. It was a difficult journey, but it was worth it. He told me some very interesting things...interesting things concerning you, Maya. Aren't you curious?" Michael's smirk made Maya want to punch him, but she waited, impatiently, for him to continue. He sat down at the edge of the bed, and took Maya's hand in both of his.

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you everything that I've learned. Not yet, anyway. But what I can say is that your power is different from the previous Sources. It's much stronger. For example, normally a Source wouldn't get her power until after she slept with a man. That fact that anyone could feel it just from getting you aroused...well, it's something to look into."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" Maya cut him off, annoyed. After what she'd heard earlier from Cedric, she didn't want to hear more talk about her being aroused.

He continued like she hadn't said anything. "I also want you to be aware that being trained by these self-righteous idiots means that you'll be ill equipped to handle such power. But after hearing all this, I don't suppose you would have any interest in willingly coming with me, would you?"

Maya scowled at him, expecting him to know the answer.

Michael shrugged, finding no offense in her rejection. "I didn't think so. It would've saved a lot of time, though, but we'll do things your way," his thumb began to stroke her hand, and he appeared to be deep in thought. "People will suffer because of you, you know. Basically, you'll become an outcast. No one's going to want you. It is during this time, my sweet, sweet Maya, that I will come for you again, and claim you as my own," he looked up at her with a dark expression. "And I promise, you won't have wait too long." Maya pulled her hand away and brought it to her chest, as though he had pained her in some way.

"I don't believe you. Richard," she made sure to emphasize his name, "said that he would always protect me. I trust him, and I'm not afraid," she stated with confidence. Michael raised his hand to caress her cheek, looking at her with a mixture of sadness and sympathy.

"It does pain me to let someone else have you before I do, but it seems as though that would be the only way for you to realize that your sweet prince is not all that you think he is. I suppose you'll figure everything out soon enough. When you do, and when you're abandoned by everyone else here, I hope that you'll be prepared for me to come for you." He placed a light kiss on her forehead before standing up and walking towards the door, leaving as quietly as he came.