Her hands were tangled in his hair, trying to get closer to him somehow. He could feel her breasts pressed firmly to his bare skin. Her little body fit so well pressed to him. She was almost the same size as Liz. The thought made him laugh, as if he could ever compare the tramp pressing into him to his beloved Liz.

He pushed her away from him, sneering at her pitiful attempts to make him forget. "You think that's all it'll take to make me want you? One kiss and I'm yours? Do you really think it works that way? You're going to have to try something a lot better to pique my interest in you."

"Like what?" Her willingness to please him only disgusted him more. Would she really do anything just to be with him? How pathetic was she? He figured he'd push her a bit. Make sure she couldn't walk away from this situation with her dignity. Why should her dignity be intact if his heart wasn't?

"Well," his voice was callous as he walked over to his desk chair and casually threw himself into it. The action caused the bath towel covering him to separate, revealing a long expanse of thigh. "I can't say that I've found anything redeeming about your personality, but you have quite a hot little body. Why don't you show me more of it." He didn't ask. It was more of a softly spoken command than a question. Her compliance was expected.

"What…what do you mean?" she asked, her hands fluttering nervously up to her chest.

"I think my meaning was quite clear. Start with your shirt," his tone was that of casual indifference, but it was laced with authority. When she failed to comply, he gave an exasperated sigh as he fixed his eyes on her. "I thought you wanted me to like you. Wanted a chance, Tess? Well, here it is. Start with your shirt."

He had turned the tables on her. When she had first arrived she was trying her hardest to play the seductress, to prove she could be a good little wife. Now that Max was actually showing an interest in what she had been offering, she didn't know quite what to do. She stood frozen like a deer in headlights; her blue eyes round as plates, staring at him as if he'd grown another head. "Max, I..."

"I don't have time for this, Tess. You know your way out." He never realized before that he could be such a cold, unfeeling bastard, and yet he enjoyed the power he had over her. He may not be able to control his emotions any longer, but he still had control over someone. He knew it was wrong to feel this way, but it felt so good to feel something other than grief, regret, and anguish, that he couldn't stop.

As he started to rise, ostensibly to force her from his room, he heard her say, "Wait," using one of her hands to push him back down to the chair.

Her hands shook as she slowly raised them to the buttons of her blouse. With trembling fingers, she plucked at the fastenings and left the shirt hanging open on her frame. She had yet to look up and meet his eyes.

"All the way off, Tess." She jumped as she heard his voice reverberate through the small room. Shrugging her shoulders, she let the material fall from her body and stood stoically, a glint of fire shining in her eyes, as she awaited further instructions.

"Come closer, I can hardly see you from over there." The malicious tone in his voice was enough to make anyone's blood run cold as she crossed over to stand directly in front of him. She had intended to stride over, showing him that she could tolerate whatever he threw at her, but she stumbled, causing her limited confidence to falter. His eyes raked over her ivory skin, lingering on the lacy red bra she wore.

"Red," he said with a chuckle. "Such a fitting color, don't you think?" Lifting a hand, he impassively ran it across her tight stomach, making the muscles jump at the contact. Trailing his large hand up her chest, he paused momentarily to tug one of her nipples before dropping his hand. "Take this off too," he indicated the bra with a flick of his wrist.

He awaited her action, stretching back in his chair indifferently. When several moments had passed and she still hadn't moved, merely stood glaring at him, he told her, "You can always leave. Nothing's keeping you here." He knew the one thing that was keeping her here was her desire to please him, to take what she believed to be her rightful place as his mate. Their little game had suddenly become a battle of wills, and he was wondering how far she would go before giving up. There was no way she could win.

In a flurry of movement, her hands were at the front clasp of her bra. Tess deftly unhooked it, leaving her breasts bare as the scrap of lacy fabric fluttered to the floor. Clenching her hands into fists at her sides, she ground her teeth, then threw her shoulders back slightly, causing her breasts to jut forward, refusing to give in to the desire to cover herself.

"Nice. Very nice." Max sat motionless, realizing that she was avoiding eye contact. That probably made all of this easier on her. "Look at me, Tess." Instead of waiting for her to acquiesce in his demand, he reached out with one hand and raised her chin so their eyes locked. "That's much better."

His hand skimmed down her throat and then lowered to cup one of her breasts, never losing hold of her eyes. His gaze dropped to the breast that he held and he lifted his free hand to cover the bare mound. With his thumbs and forefingers, he pinched her rosy pink nipples, rolling them into hard little peaks.

"Maybe there's something redeeming about you yet." He pressed her breasts together, forming a deep line of cleavage before squeezing them until she yelped. He released the pressure, but continued to knead the soft flesh. "Quite impressive. Though your personality is somewhat…lacking, your physical charms almost make up for it." Releasing one breast, he snaked his free arm around her body and tugged hard so she fell to her knees before him with a soft "oomph", her hands lying on his thighs.

"You're even rather pretty," he remarked coolly. He let go of the other breast and brought his hands up to her head. "Silky blonde curls," he dragged his hands through them, letting the strands cascade across his fingers. "Big blue eyes," his fingertips traced over her eyelids. "Cute little nose," he gave the end a tap. "And your mouth," he traced a finger across her mouth, lingering over her bottom lip. "Especially your bottom lip. It's so full and pouty." Her tongue darted out to wet his finger as he continued to let it glide over her lip, before her lips closed around it, pulling the digit into her mouth and sucking roughly. She gave him a sexy smile before letting the finger slowly slid from her lips.

Taking initiative, Tess leaned up to once again place her lips over his. With his hands on her upper-arms, he held her inches from his mouth. "I thought I told you it doesn't work that way. Kissing me isn't going to help you any." Max's lips turned up in a sinister sneer. "Why don't we see what else you can do with your mouth?" He understood that he was pushing this whole thing rather far, but it was almost as if he didn't know how to stop things now that they had started. He refused to give in first. He was stronger than she was and wouldn't allow himself to back down now.

Tess knelt there, between his thighs, blinking rapidly in disbelief. She knew what he was asking, knew what he wanted her to do. She just wasn't sure if she could. Though she would do anything to make Max want her, this was one area she had no experience in. She silently cursed herself for trying that little finger sucking trick on Max, especially given his current state of mind.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and placed her lips on his neck, suckling the flesh there. She let her mouth slide down his body, stopping to suck and nip as she went. When she reached his nipples, she alternated between them, taking each in her teeth and flicking the tip with her tongue. She sneaked a glance up at him and saw his cool even glare staring back at her. A chill raced up her spine.

She met his eyes, not allowing herself to look away, trying her hardest to maintain a sultry gaze, as she worked her way to his six pack abs. She let her tongue slither over each of them, still peppering in kisses and nips as she went. His chest rose as he gave a bored sigh and she pulled away slightly to give him a curious look.

"You're stalling," was all he said, and with a sharp tug, he pulled the towel at his waist open, exposing himself to her.

Tess closed her eyes briefly, taking a slow, deep breath. Then her hand reached out to take a hold of him, fumbling as she tried to get a grip on his partially erect penis. Her eyes started to sting and she told herself she was not allowed to cry. For Max, for her destiny, she could do this. She began to fondle him. She had no real experience with this and it showed with her erratic strokes. As he stiffened in her hands, she fell into an easier, more natural rhythm, using long smooth motions.

She leaned down and placed kisses along his lower stomach, around his belly button, and on his upper thighs as she continued her ministrations. Maybe if she did her job well enough, he'd fail to notice that she had yet to show him what she 'could do with her mouth'. Feeling his hand come to rest gently on the back of her head, she knew that she had been wrong.

With steady insistent pressure, he guided her head to the tip of his erection. She pulled back slightly, resisting the coercion of his hand. He quickly stopped the pressure, though his hand remained on her neck. "Don't you want me to like you, Tess? Show me how much you want me." Her eyes clenched shut and her bottom lip trembled as she fought to hold back her tears. As she leaned forward to take him into her mouth, she lost the battle and a lone tear streamed down her cheek.

He groaned as the moist heat of her mouth surrounded him. Never in his life had he felt anything this intense. He had thought her small little hand felt good around him, but it was nothing in comparison. If her hand had been an oven, her mouth was the surface of the sun. The tight, hot heat of her began to bob slowly over his erection and he thought he would explode. His hand, which had been grasping her neck, now relaxed its grip and moved to massage her silken hair.

She swallowed, causing her tongue to rub the underside of his shaft, forcing a moan from his lips. If he had thought her mouth moving against him felt good, her tongue joining into the torment was heaven. Hearing him respond, Tess continued the movement of her tongue, tickling up to the ridge around the head of his penis before swirling around the tip.

For the first time since this whole thing had began, Max looked down and really saw her. Before he had been meeting her gaze, but refusing to see what this whole thing was doing to her. He had been so intent on his vengeance, he had overlooked her pain, grief, even the tears that streaked her face.

Wisps of her hair were clinging to the wet tracks on her cheeks, her small mouth spread wide to accommodate his girth, her hands gripped into fists on his thighs. He reached down to touch her face, and she paused her movement before beginning again, still trying to maintain a steady up and down motion. With delicate swipes of his thumb, he removed the evidence of her tears. He then cupped her face in one of his hands, while continuing to rub her cheek with his thumb. She relaxed under his caress and redoubled her oral efforts.

With the pressure and heat of her mouth moving more vigorously on him, Max found it hard to concentrate on anything other than the pleasure coursing through him. Of their own volition, his hips begin to arch up slightly into her mouth with each downward thrust, careful not to move too far and force himself down her throat. He had imagined this often and thought it would be great, but he had no idea just how fantastic it would feel. Of course whenever he had fantasized about this in the past, it hadn't been exactly this way. It hadn't been about anger or vengeance or having the upper hand in a situation. It hadn't been something he'd coerced the other person into, trying to make them prove themselves. It had been affectionate and tender. It was supposed to be something between two people in love, and it was not supposed to be with Tess.

Reaching out to her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and lifted her away from him. Tess looked up at him puzzled, as he grabbed his towel and wrapped hastily around his waist. He walked over to stand by the window, the curtain still pulled tightly shut, and placed a hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry," his voice was a ragged whisper laced with pain. "You should go, Tess. I…I'm sorry."

"Max?" she walked over, arms crossing her bare chest, and placed a hand on his arm.

"No! Don't touch me! Just…just leave, Tess." He flung her arm away from him and stood, muscles tense, facing away from her.

She stood beside him too shocked to move. She didn't understand his rapidly changing emotions, but she could tell he was hurting. Pushing her own fears aside, she tried to reach out to him once again. "Please, Max, I just want to help. I'll do…"

"Get out, Tess. That's all I want from you. I want you to leave." He was speaking through clenched teeth, his voice barely under control and his hands were balled into fists.

She began to weep, so hurt by his treatment of her. He was being such a bastard. All she wanted was his affection and he had used and mistreated her. He felt guilty, truly he did, but seeing her here, still half-naked in his room, was just a reminder to him of what an asshole he really was.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why can't you just…"

"Tess, please." His tone had changed yet again. Now it was an anguished plea. He turned around and reached out to her. He wiped the new tears away gently before turning her by her shoulders. Walking briskly with her to the door, he paused to pick up her strewn clothing. He slipped her shirt around her shoulders and murmured one last "I'm sorry," before opening the door and propelling her through it.

As the door-clicked shut behind her, Max turned back to his room and felt his own tears begin to fall. He hated this person he had recently become. Never would he have been so nasty to his friends or ever considered degrading another person in the way he had just degraded Tess. It was as if the pain and anger and self-hatred inside him had eaten away at his soul and replaced it with this being that was now inside him. He had to stop this, had to find himself again before the old Max was destroyed by the actions of whatever he had become.