Nacedo had decided that he would leave Liz alone until she returned from Boston as it would be easier for them to take care of her "condition" then. In the meantime, he instructed Tess to work on Max in Liz’s absence. She should use her powers to get him to sleep with her as many times as possible, they had to make sure she gets pregnant before Liz gets back. Tess had been reluctant to tell Nacedo that she was having trouble with putting images in Max’s mind and had merely hinted that while Liz was around, Max seemed to be less receptive. Nacedo’s answer had been: "Just do it."

So here she was, across the street from Max’s house at ten at night and no sign of the alien leader and his pet obsession yet. Needless to say, she had tried to use her supposed connection to her genetically bonded mate, but to no avail. Not even a little spark of Max anywhere in her mind. Damn Liz Parker and her big doe eyes that had thoroughly enslaved Max!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Liz smiled a secret little smile as she felt Max’s body harden against hers when he pulled her closer. He was in for quite a surprise later! But for now, she relished feeling his heat against her, enjoyed his hands shaping her hips and waist and held her breath every time his fingers just brushed the undersides of her breasts. Her body was responding to his caresses, readying itself for his possession. She could feel the liquid heat pool between her thighs and hear the thundering of her heart in her ears. Closing her eyes, Liz basked in her love for Max and his love for her. He was right. They WILL have that little boy one-day. They had many years of loving still to come and there was no need to hurry into anything. She rubbed herself lazily against him and heard his soft groan. In the meantime, they could practice the process of actually making the baby. After all, practice makes perfect…

Leaning back into his chest, she lifted one arm and wrapped it around his neck, curling her fingers into the soft hair at his nape. Her other hand dropped to find his hand splayed over her flat stomach and moved it higher towards her breast. She needed his touch there now. "Stop teasing me, Max." Her voice was husky with need.

Arrows of pleasure shot through her body at the first touch of his fingers and she arched into his hand, silently begging for more. How could such a simple action cause such a riot of sensations? And such overwhelming desire? She answered herself immediately: because it was Max. No one else had ever touched her this way, but she instinctively knew that no other touch would feel like this. She had been halfway correct when she told Max that time after Michael had returned her diary that she had tried to write down everything so that one day she would remember what it was supposed to feel like when someone touched her like that. Now she knew, NO ONE would ever make her come alive with a mere touch but Max.

Turning Liz’s face towards him with one hand, Max slid his other hand from her breast to her side and underneath the material of the dress. Although he had suspected as much, his fingers found confirmation that she was not wearing a bra. The feel of her soft, warm curves filling his palm was arousing and intoxicating. He loved touching her like this. When his lips captured hers, he moved his other hand into her dress as well. Liz moaned into his mouth, her body moving restlessly against his and heating his blood to fever pitch.

He kissed her and touched her until it felt like he would explode if he couldn’t have her soon. "Liz, we have to go home." It was said against her lips, between hot kisses.

"Why?"

Max pulled away a little. "Because I don’t want you to remember our last night being about me not controlling myself enough to get us home and to our bed."

"And if I want to remember it like that?" She pressed his hands to her breasts for one last time before turning in his arms and looking up at him. "Just you, me and the stars, Max…"

He was speechless. She WANTED him to make love to her here?

Stepping away from him completely, Liz lifted her hands and undid the halter-top of her dress. She let the material drift slowly down her body before it caught on her hips. Max couldn’t help himself and nudged the material further down her body with one hand.

"Wow…"

The dress had fallen in a crumpled heap on the ground and Liz stood in front of him wearing a red garter belt, silk stockings and a red lace thong. The roaring in his ears got louder. She was a glorious goddess with an angel face and mostly he just wanted to treat her like a princess. But then she does something like this and all his good intentions fly out the window. The moonlight was bathing her skin in a soft glow and Max wanted her with an intensity that scared him. He wanted her to be his, he wanted to be a part of her, he wanted to be so deep within her that it was hard to tell where he ended and she began. And he wanted it all right now. "Liz…" It was a soft sound. Tell me we have to go home. While I still have some semblance of control over myself.

"I want this, Max. I want YOU. Here. Now."

But still Max clung to his last shred of sanity and picked her up to carry her inside to the sleeping bags. He slid her to her feet next to his pod and looked at her for a long moment, trying to memorize the way she looked tonight. So incredibly beautiful… and almost naked.

She came into his arms eagerly and slanted her mouth over his, drowning him in the sensation of having her pressed against him while her tongue did magic things to his. His hands drifted down to the bare cheeks of her behind and he curled his fingers into her flesh, pulling her into his arousal urgently.

She leant away from him unexpectedly. "I want to be outside under your stars with you, Max."

Like he could ever say no to anything she asked of him! So he gathered up the sleeping bags and took her outside again. The moonlight made the scene look magical and somehow it seemed fitting that he would make love with Liz here in this place that used to symbolize that he couldn’t have what he really wanted. Her. His only love. This place that used to symbolize a destiny he didn’t ask for and a bride he didn’t want.

Liz undid the buttons of his shirt, scraping her nails across his skin before leaning forward and trailing her tongue over his chest. She felt him shudder and stepped back, even though his disappointed groan nearly did her in. Looking up at him from beneath her eyelashes, she hooked her thumbs in the sides of her thong and pulled it down slowly. She had always wanted to try this ever since she had read about it once in one of Maria’s romance novels. By putting your stockings and garter belt on first, you can take of everything else later without removing those two articles.

Max felt the air get knocked out of him when she straightened and smiled at him with a slight blush. How lucky could he get? Not only does he have Liz’s love, but she was doing her best to fulfil every fantasy he had ever had… and even some he hadn’t been creative enough to think up! He couldn’t take much more, so he scooped her against him and ravaged her mouth while his hands trailed fire all over her body. He wanted to touch her everywhere at once. He could feel her wet heat pressed against his arousal and knew he needed to taste her. Everywhere.

Liz nearly fainted when he sank to his knees in front of her and proceeded to kiss her stomach and thighs before moving to her center. She clung to him, her eyes closed and her head thrown back as she experienced the explosion of fire in her body. He kept the intimate caresses up until her knees gave way and he finally slid her underneath him on the sleeping bags. He held her gaze as he got rid of his last clothes, the dark desire in his eyes making her dizzy and breathless. Her mouth went dry while watching the moonlight dance over his body. He was gloriously beautiful… and hers.

Max grabbed hold of her hands, turning her left hand so that the diamond ring caught the light as he pushed into her urgently. He wanted to be gentle and slow, but he couldn’t. She had turned him inside out tonight. So gentle will come later. Right now he was desperate to make her his in the most primitive of ways.

Liz wrapped her legs around his hips, grinding herself into him as her nails dug into his hands. It was explosive and fast and exactly what she wanted. Amazingly, her release came first and triggered his. And the way her name was torn from his lips was a memory she would always treasure.

It took them a long time before they could move again. They helped each other dress, but Max shoved her thong into his pocket, saying with twinkling eyes that he needed to get it framed or something. Liz whacked his chest: "You jerk!"

He just grinned and bent down to brush his lips over hers. "I love you." Thank you for being my fantasy.

Liz stopped smiling when the reality of her impending departure hit her again. "Oh Max, I don’t know if--."

"Shhh." He stopped her with a finger on her mouth. "Let’s not think about that tonight. Let’s just go home and love each other some more." He waited until she nodded before taking her hand and leading her back to the Jeep. Lifting her inside, he covered her with his jacket before moving around to get in himself.

They drove home in silence, with Max casting glances at Liz every few minutes.

"What?" Liz asked with a smile as she huddled deeper into the jacket. It smelled like Max and it was having a profound effect on her.

"Do you have any idea how sexy you look right now? And how hard it is for me to forget that you are wearing practically nothing underneath that dress?"

She breathed his name, moving restlessly on the seat and wishing they were home already.

He watched her for a few more minutes, before lifting one hand from the steering wheel and placing it on her thigh. His hand caressed her lazily and moved ever closer to where she wanted it most. Arching towards his touch, she begged him: "Max please…"

Max held his breath and waited until he turned the last corner on the way to the Crashdown before giving in to her plea and letting his fingers find her heat. Both of them gasped in reaction and Max tore his hand away to park the Jeep behind the café with her disappointed moan ringing in his ears. He pulled her over to him as soon as the car came to a halt and she wrapped her legs around him as he stumbled to their front door and into the apartment.

Tumbling onto the bed, Max tried, for a vain moment, to remember if he had closed the door, but all that paled in importance to loving Liz. This time, he tore their clothes off in haste and didn’t have the patience to take off her stockings. Then he was inside her again and her sigh of contentment went straight to his heart. Now that he was where he wanted to be, he could slow down. Resting his forehead against hers, he felt an ache grow in his throat. "Oh god, Liz, I’m going to miss you!"

Tears welled up in Liz’s eyes as she clung to him. "Me too." The separation loomed over her menacingly and she was starting to panic. "Promise me you’ll think of me. And promise me you’ll look after yourself. And that--."

He kissed her into silence before catching her tears with his tongue. "Sweetie, you know I will. Not having you near will be a constant ache in my heart." He took a deep breath. "Stay with Nick, okay? Don’t go off on your own and… and phone me whenever you get a chance." He looked at her seriously. "Remember you are looking after the most important person in my life… Promise me you’ll be careful."

She nodded mutely and they made love with tears in their eyes and hearts. Praying the night will never end and that if it did… the next two weeks will pass quickly.

They slept fitfully, with Max lying awake and watching Liz most of the night. She clung to him in sleep and murmured his name a few times, the sound tugging at his heart.

Liz was dreaming of Max. He smiled at her and mouthed that he loved her when suddenly his face froze and Tess appeared at his shoulder. Panic flooded through Liz when she saw the blonde girl glare at her maliciously before tugging Max away from Liz. Liz struggled to cry out, but her vocal chords didn’t work and she was immobile, only jerking in fear when Nacedo suddenly appeared at her side to grab her left hand. He tore the ring off her finger and hissed in her ear: "This belongs to Tess!"

"Noooo!" Max nearly had a heart attack when the pain-filled moan suddenly erupted from Liz’s throat. What was happening to her?