abrightboy | The Adventure Continues

For

thatsfascinating.

The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

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From:

abrightboy

"She was actually mad that I didn't get fired right away," he told her, sliding his arm down to wrap around her ribs. "But I closed a lot of cases and I guess they felt like they needed a reason. I mean. More of a reason. Or... support for her reason," he said, working through the semantics of it with a faint frown. He shook it off and looked at her. "I don't know if you met her when she was at the station. Did Colette actually consult you about Watkins' victims or just read your reports?"

From:

thatsfascinating

"Colette? Oh...the woman from the FBI? No. I saw her, but no, she never...she was your ex? I mean, I heard all about her, about how she really didn't like you. It's probably a good thing she never visited me. I would have given her one hell of a piece of my mind."

Possibly gotten herself disciplined or fired in the process.

From:

abrightboy

He huffed a laugh and kissed her.

"Not to suggest that I don't enjoy you going off on someone who deserves it, but please don't get fired for me," he told her, pressing his forehead to hers. "I'd just hate it if I couldn't solve cases with you." He kissed her again. "Besides," he pointed out with a small smile, "if it had worked out with her, I wouldn't be here with you."

His hand splayed and slid down over her spine and back up over her ribs.

"And you're much better."

From:

thatsfascinating

She sighed happily, closing her eyes as her forehead rested against his.

"You're right, you're extremely lucky," she said with a teasing smile. She cupped his cheek and gave him a gentle kiss. "So am I," she added softly. "I wish you hadn't had to go through all those terrible things, but I'm grateful that road brought you to me. My life would be so much poorer without you."

From:

abrightboy

That made him duck his head as he smiled again.

"Still. I'm sorry you're stuck having to teach me... everything. I'm sure there are days when you'd love to have someone around who could just... sweep you off your feet and make your toes curl."

From:

thatsfascinating

"I really don't mind," she said with a smile. "It's actually kinda fun to explore things with you. And I'm not teaching you everything. The things you already know how to do, you do very well. Like I said. No complaints."

She kissed him.

From:

abrightboy

He smiled with relief when the kiss broke.

"I just don't want you to get bored of me," he admitted. "Did your previous partners talk about these things as easily as you do?" he asked.

From:

thatsfascinating

"You are never boring," she assured him with a smile. "And I think we both know that very few people talk about things as easily as I do." She sighed, gently running her fingers through his hair. "A couple did. Others didn't. No one really stuck around much."

From:

abrightboy

"Their loss, my gain. But..." His eyes roamed her face for a moment. "I don't get it. I really don't. You're so patient and kind and loving. So smart and fun and beautiful. What is there to not stick around for?"

From:

thatsfascinating

She ducked her own head at that, with a smile and a touch of blush. Then she looked back up at him, with love and gratitude in her eyes, tinged with a touch of sadness. "Not everyone's like you," she said, softly and simply.

From:

abrightboy

"Well, that is definitely true," he replied archly. Not that anyone really wanted to be like him. Unless maybe, maybe they were talking about his professional skills. "I mean, I have eyes... ears... a brain..." He smiled at her and stroked his thumb over her cheekbone. "And apparently a completely different set of mental illnesses than they had."

From:

thatsfascinating

Edrisa smiled back, caressing his cheek. "I'm so glad we found each other," she murmured. "We're so clearly made to be together."

From:

abrightboy

He took her hand from his face and pressed a kiss to her wrist, where her injuries were still healing.

"How would you feel about comfortable clothing and some more cheese?" he asked.

From:

thatsfascinating

She did her best to ignore those marks. The scabs were gone, but there were still red groves in her skin. She smiled a little at that kiss. It was sweet and protective. She drew his hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss to the back.

"Sounds perfect."

From:

abrightboy

He untangled himself from her carefully and offered his hand to help her up, heading towards the bedrooms. He should probably pick up those damp swimsuits... later.

From:

thatsfascinating

Edrisa took his hand with a smile and followed him to the bedrooms, kissing him at the door to her room before letting go and heading for her bags.

From:

abrightboy

Malcolm got dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants and padded over to Edrisa's room, poking his head around the doorway again.

"Hi."

From:

thatsfascinating

Edrisa pulled on a tshirt and sweats, then fell back on the bed, arms open wide. It was incredibly comfortable. When Malcolm peeked in, Edrisa turned her head and grinned.

"Hi there." She patted the mattress next to her. "Come join me."

From:

abrightboy

Malcolm smiled and accepted the invitation, walking in and sliding onto the bed beside her, turning onto his side and draping his cast over her stomach.

From:

thatsfascinating

She put her arm over his, cast and all, and tilted her head to rest against his forehead.

"I love it here," she sighed.

From:

abrightboy

"If we have to not go to work, this is the way to do it," he agreed. "I'm excited to take you to see the village tomorrow." A pause. "And to find out how... remote we are, exactly," he added, giving her a sly sidelong glance.

From:

thatsfascinating

"I'm looking forward to it!" She gave him an equally sly sidelong glance. "To both things. I've never had sex outdoors. Have you?"

From:

abrightboy

"No," he said, not adding 'of course I haven't', because he hadn't done a lot of things and he felt enough like barely more than a virgin for one day. He gave her a little kiss. "I can see why people find it exciting, though."