"I am so lucky to have met you." she sighed. "You are so kind and loving and you are so good to me. I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me and I just love you so much, it hurts sometimes," she whispered, close to tears.

He leaned closer to kiss her tenderly.

"I would do anything for you, Liz. You mean everything to me and I couldn't imagine my life without you. So no thanks required......just concentrate on getting better," he said as he kissed her again.

She returned the kiss just a little deeper and he responded in turn as he reached his left arm over her prone form and rested in on the bed next to her. He was careful not to disturb her injured foot but he needed to be as close to her as possible. He needed to taste her flesh and smell her familiar scent and touch her soft skin just so he could feel whole again.

She whimpered as he kissed her more deeply and he stopped because he didn't want to tire her out. He watched her face as her cheeks flushed under his attentions and he lifted his hand to smooth her hair away from her beautiful countenance. She sighed as she felt his touch again and he ran his hand down her cheek and along her jaw, transfixed by her beauty.

His fingertips traced the line of her neck and she responded with fluttering eyelids as she closed them to let all the feelings register. He continued his journey as he reached her delicate collarbone and ran along it, moving her robe as he did so, exposing her creamy flesh. When he reached her shoulder, he leaned down to kiss it. Liz's body tingled with the warmth of his lips on her bare skin.

She moaned as he ran his tongue down her upper arm, taking the sleeve of her robe as he went, until he reached her wrist. She shrugged her arm out of her sleeve and lay there with one breast exposed. He moved closer to her soft mound, his breath whispering along her skin. She could feel it hovering above her nipple which was still full and round. He blew a soft warm breath on it and it began to pucker until it stood erect.

She waited in agony for his next move. Slowly and deliberately, he moved his head closer and closer to her rosy bud. He opened his lips slightly and flicked his tongue out to touch its tip. She moaned loudly as she felt her passage contract violently, sending a flood of juice down her channel. Her breath quickened as she waited for another touch.

He opened his lips and took the whole nipple into his mouth, running his tongue over the surface and sucking gently on the orb. She brought her hand to his dark head, encouraging him for more and he didn't disappoint her. He suckled her tenderly as she writhed on the bed, not even giving her foot any thought. He kneaded the soft skin on her back lightly with his hand while his other hand massaged her right breast.

Then he spread her robe and tended her right side as he suckled that nipple, too. Her body buzzed with unreleased tension as her hands clung to his head. He moved his left hand to begin massaging her flat abdomen. She sucked in her breath as he continued to glide his hand down over her skin until he reached the tight curls of her mound.

His fingers spread out as he ran them over her pubic bone, feeling the hard ridge of it as it contrasted so nicely with the silky curls that sprang under his fingers. She groaned as he teased her flesh, until she cried out for him to continue. He ran his middle finger slowly lower, spreading her swollen labia and reaching between to rub her creamy juices around his fingertip.

She gasped as she finally got what she waited for, moving her bottom off the bed to encourage more pressure. He continued to minister to her breasts, his hot breath driving her insane while his fingers stoked her passion. He paid attention to her swollen sex, making sure he pressed just hard enough to warrant a response. He concentrated his efforts on that spot until he felt her body stiffen just before she climaxed.

She called his name as she came and he didn't stop what he was doing until he felt her body relax. He brought his hand away from her pubis and removed his mouth from her breast. She lay on her pillow, cocooned in warmth and he watched the delighted expression on her face, as her cheeks glowed from his loving. She closed her eyes as the drugs started to take effect and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

He did this for her and he was thrilled that he could make her so happy and comfortable. He snuggled in next to her and joined her in sleep, breathing in all of her lying beside him. They slept for the remainder of the afternoon, until the phone woke them around 4:00. It was Brody again, checking in and telling them that they would be leaving shortly for their return trip. When Max hung up, she stirred beside him.

"Hey Beautiful, sleep okay?" he whispered into her ear.

"Mmmm, yes," she whispered back, turning to face him with shining eyes. "Thanks to you," she smiled.

"My pleasure," he grinned.

"Mine, too, " she joked. "Ooh, I really have to pee," she winced.

He quickly rose from his resting position and carried her into the bathroom where she relieved herself.

"Max, I'd really like to have a bath. "Would you mind running it for me, please," she asked.

"No problem," he answered as he leaned over the tub to turn on the water. He added her bath salts and helped her undress. When the bath was ready, he lifted her in and began washing her with a soapy cloth. He ran it over her chest and arms and across her back. Then, he washed her legs and quickly checked her foot as he did so. The swelling was almost gone and the redness had disappeared. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He left her to soak in the tub while he returned to the bedroom. He stripped the sheets and replaced them with the clean ones housekeeping had left in the early morning. He straightened up the room and then came back into the bathroom to help Liz from the tub. He dried her off and lifted her naked body in his arms to carry her back to bed. He had laid some fresh clothes out for her and she dressed herself.

She sat back on the bed, noting the clean sheets and the tidied room.

"You certainly are Mr. Wonderful," she sighed. "I'm impressed!"

He grinned as he swooped down to give her a kiss.

"Anything for my girl," he replied. "Now, I'm going to hop in the shower, so don't do anywhere," he winked.

She laughed at his disappearing form. "As if I could."

She listened to the water run and wished that she were in there with him. Maybe later, she thought with pleasure, as she lay back on the bed to relax. She heard the shower shut off, and then she heard him brushing his teeth. Then she heard the tap water running and imagined him shaving that magnificent jaw of his. God, how she loved that jaw!

Finally he reappeared wrapped in a skimpy towel, which left very little to the imagination. His chest muscles rippled as he moved, sending shock waves through her. He moved unselfconsciously, his body firm and erect as he stood tall and proud by the dresser, searching for some clean clothes. She gazed at his form with admiration. He really did have a regal pose, she thought, as she regarded him closely.

He turned to her as he felt her eyes on him and smiled.

"Like what you see?" he joked.

"Mmmm, yes, very much so," she murmured, as she licked her lips seductively.

He laughed. "Then, you must be feeling better. I'm glad to hear that, because we have some unfinished business to attend to. But I'm afraid it will have to wait until later," he said, glancing at his watch.

"Oh, why's that?" she pouted.

"Because I'm expecting the gang back any minute now," he said as he pulled on his pants, "and I don't think it would look very good to see us in a compromising situation, do you?" he grinned.

"I suppose not," she replied. "But I'm holding you to that for later," she warned.

"Oh, don't worry, I have every intention of wrapping up our business," he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Ooh, you smell so good," she sniffed as she drank in his scent.

"So do you," he groaned as he sniffed her warm neck.

Just then, a knock came to the door. Max hopped up from the bed and quickly answered it. Their friends stood there, grubby and sweaty and ran into the room , thrilled to see she had recovered so well. They all hugged her and kissed her, even Brody. They babbled away about their day, none of it making any sense, but Max and Liz were so happy to see them , that they didn't care.

"Okay, guys, let's get cleaned up and meet back here in an hour," Brody said. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starving!"

They all swept out of the room, waving goodbye to Max and Liz.

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True to their word, they met back at their room in one hour, all cleaned up and refreshed. Max insisted on carrying Liz to the dining room. They sat down to enjoy their meal and the company of their friends. They chatted away about everything and nothing, joking with each other and thrilled that they were all back together. While they ate, a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived from the Chiams'.

They had just heard about Liz's accident, and they wanted her to know that they were thinking about her. She smelled the beautiful blooms and blushed at their significance.

"See," Max leaned in to whisper. "I'm not the only one who loves you," he said, as he squeezed her hand under the table.

They finished their meal, and then Brody excused himself, after he had satisfied himself about Liz's condition. He hadn't seen Carmen today, since she had been detained by business. He went to her room to spend the evening with her.

"Okay, guys, I'm dying to hear what you did today. C'mon , let's go back to our room!" Liz said, her eyes lighting up.

Max carried her back upstairs, while Isabel carried her flowers. When they went inside, she placed them in a vase and set them on the small desk in their room.

Max turned to his friends after he had made sure Liz was comfortable on the bed.

"Okay, Michael, give."

"Hey," Maria whined, "why does Michael always get to go first?! I have something important to say, too!" she pouted.

"Okay, Maria," Max bowed to her. "Spill."

"Well," she enthused," her face lighting up, "when I was in the staff bathroom today.....you know, doing the neccessaries......I overheard two of the archeologists going on about this old vase they found. It must've been a big deal, because they were all excited and kept saying how everyone had waited so long for this and how it was proof that it linked the cave drawings with the ruins!"

"Wow, that's great Maria!" Liz beamed. "So what vase were they talking about?"

"Liz, sweetie, I'm an eavesdropper, not a psychic," she deadpanned. "But, it must be around the site somewhere, something that important," she continued.

"Hey, I was walking past one of the temples, the Temple of the Sun, I think," Kyle scratched his head in thought," and I heard someone talking about this great find they had just discovered there...........maybe that was it."

"Well, it's something we'll definitely have to look into," Max agreed. "Anything else?" he said as he looked around the group.

"We were busy today, too," Isabel said as she pointed to her remaining friends."We decided to go back to Temple XX-A, to see if we could find out some more about that column."

"By the way, guys, the original name for that temple is the Temple of Chac," Max interjected

"How do you know that Max?" Tess asked.

"I'll tell you in a bit. Sorry, Iz, go on."

"Well, as I was saying, we thought if we could find some more evidence, then maybe we could figure out why that guy wanted to make pate out of us. So we moved the slab, you know,".....she indicated this with a swish of her hands........."Don't worry Max, " she said as she noted his alarmed expression. "We had Alex standing guard. Anyway, then we thought if we could re-assemble the column, maybe we would find something more interesting, maybe something we missed."

"Unfortunately, there were so may tourists around that Tess had to use a mind warp before we could even attempt putting the column back together. Then she did her thing and we started taking pictures of the column, rolling it around until we had covered the whole surface. Then, we smashed it again," and she indicated Michael, who stood there smirking, "and we rolled the slab back into position. Ta Dah!" she said, throwing her arms in the air."Finished!"

"Very impressive, "Max nodded his head.

"So tell us about the new name for the temple, Max?" Alex asked.

Max explained Balam's visit with them this afternoon and how he had revealed the details of his ancestors past to them.

"So, does he think you are a reincarnation of this guy?" Kyle asked.

"Don't know," Max shrugged. "We didn't get a chance to ask him, but he said he was coming back here tonight. He should be here soon," Max affirmed, glancing at his watch.

"Do you really think this guy is legit, Maxwell?" Michael asked.

"It's hard to say. What he's told us so far sounds interesting, but he hasn't given us any real proof of anything yet.....just a lot of talk," he shrugged. "I'd like to believe him, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what he has to tell us tonight."

"I have a good feeling about Balam," Liz spoke up. She reached out to hold Max's hand to signal that she supported him. "I think he's sincere......and let's face it, what has he got to gain. If worse comes to worse, we can always get Tess to remove his memory of us, right?" she asked as she looked at her friends.