Liz enjoyed feeling him move against her as he let her slide to the ground. She looked at him through her eyelashes as his hands cupped her rear and brought them closer together. "Max?"

"Yeah?" He was leaning his forehead against hers, his eyes closed.

"Take off your shirt." That got his attention.

She stared in his eyes, watching them grow darker as the seconds ticked by. Then he slowly backed away from her and started unbuttoning his shirt. It seemed to take forever for Liz. She watched dry-mouthed as more and more of his skin was revealed until she stepped forward and pushed the shirt from his shoulders. He looked at her, clearly realizing she was up to something and that she should make the next move. Liz smiled slightly. Max was a clever guy.

Shrugging out of her jacket and blouse, she wriggled out of her white jeans next, knowing that Max was following her every move avidly. When she was clad in just her panties and tank top, she straightened and let her eyes drop to his pants. "Everything else too."

Max swallowed, an endearing sign telling her he was getting nervous about her plans. But he didn’t say anything, just yanked off the rest of his clothes before looking at her again.

Now it was her turn to swallow. How can a man be this beautiful? Even stranger was that a man this beautiful, inside and out, was interested in her…

"Hey," his soft voice stopped her thoughts. His knowing gaze told her he knew she was having one of her moments of self-doubt.

She collected herself and pulled him to the bed. "Lie down," she instructed, "and no touching!"

His eyes jerked to hers at her last statement. But still he said nothing and did her bidding by lying down on the cool sheets and placing his hands flat on the bed at his sides.

Liz walked to the foot of the bed, hiding her flaming face with her hair. I can’t believe what I’m about to do! But then her eyes met Max’s and she could see his hungry desire and his overwhelming love for her, and she knew that she would do this for him. Exactly because he has never asked her to live out one of his fantasies and had chosen to expend all his energy on living out hers. But she suddenly panicked that she would make a hash of her attempt at seduction. She swallowed again and decided that the worst thing that could happen was that he could laugh at her, and knowing Max, that would never happen.

"Liz?" His voice startled her from her contemplation and she blushed when she found that she had been staring at his body while worrying about her next move. "Honey, you don’t have to…"

This brought her head up sharply. "No, I want to, I’m just a bit…"

"Shy?" he provided with a tender smile. Did she have any idea how sexy she looked to him, standing at his feet with a soft blush creeping over her face and neck? His chest constricted from the force of his feelings for this girl. This is why he wanted her so much, because she was such a tantalizing blend of innocent and temptress. He sat up, desperate to get his arms around her and hug the breath out of her.

This snapped Liz out of her moment of nervousness. "Hey! Get back down, Mister."

He lay back down slowly, suddenly unbearably exited. He watched with heavy eyelids as Liz crawled onto the bed and swiped her long hair over one shoulder so it spilled down in a beautiful chocolate waterfall. And suddenly he knew what she was going to do. Oh god!

Liz ran her hands over his feet and calves unhurriedly, letting her fingers shape him. She looked up at Max who was clutching the sheets already, his face a study in suppressed hunger. He was watching her every move avidly, like he couldn’t bear to miss one second of her seduction. She knelt next to him and bent over, her hair sliding over his skin as she trailed her lips over him. She moved up at a leisurely pace until her lips reached the sensitive skin of his hip.

A sound, something between a groan and a moan, was torn from Max when Liz’s hair fleetingly caressed his arousal. His hands were reaching for her before he even realized it. He pulled her up to his mouth urgently, fusing his lips to hers and kissing her hard. He was losing control at an alarming rate… a frightening rate. He squeezed his eyes shut, pulling back from her and taking deep breaths. This was too much. If this went on, he would hurt Liz.

"Look at me, Max," Liz instructed him in a firm voice. She had heard every thought that just went through his head. He didn’t respond immediately, so she cupped his face and forced it up towards hers. Kissing him tenderly on each eyelid, she ordered again: "Open you eyes."

Max did so reluctantly, still desperately trying to get himself under control. He blinked when he saw the unconditional love shining in her eyes.

"Stop this," she said softly. "You will never hurt me."

"Liz…"

She leant closer to his mouth. "I love making you lose control. It doesn’t happen often enough. Being a bit rough sometimes is fine with me." She straddled his hips and started sliding downwards, her hair drifting over his chest like soft silk, causing goosebumps on his flesh and tremors in his muscles. Dipping her tongue into his navel, she met his gaze: "Let go, Max. It’s allowed…" Then she moved lower.

Max arched off the bed involuntarily. The feeling of her mouth and that hair that has bewitched him for so long, caressing him so intimately was causing an explosion of lust in his body. His mind grappled to contain all the desires he felt as she used her hair to outline and trace every inch of him. He was shaking with the force of desire coursing through him.

"Turn over…" By now, Max was in no state to resist and he meekly complied. His hands curled into fists on the pillows as his mind’s eye conjured up images of what she looked like while tantalizing him. He heard the rustle of clothes as Liz undressed, only to return to sliding her body and her hair over him, from the backs of his thighs to his shoulders. Strands of her hair spilled over his cheek and into his mouth when she finally lay stretched out fully on his back. He dragged air into his lungs with great effort, hearing his own panting echo loudly in the room.

She nuzzled his ear, snaking her tongue out to trace its contours and he groaned again, starting to twist around so he could get to her. She stopped him with gentle but firm hands. "Not yet…"

Desperate. Liz wanted him desperate and completely out of control. She wanted him to do the worst thing he could to her so she could prove to him that he would never treat her badly. That even when he lost control, he would still treat her like with love. So she wriggled a bit lower, until she could press her face between his shoulder blades. Even his back is sexy… It was a stray thought. She ran her hands over his arms, feeling the muscles strain as he tried to keep himself still. Curling one hand around his right bicep, she moved the other until she could slip her index finger into his mouth. Making a small sound when he swirled his tongue around it, she took turns with her other fingers, allowing him to wet each one in turn. Trailing a wet path from his mouth, she let her fingers drift down his side before sliding her hand between his body and the bed. Max moved slightly to allow her access. Her hand found the ridges on his stomach, but that was not her target. As her hand found his arousal, she nipped his shoulder blade with her teeth before smoothing the little mark over with her tongue.

Max was close to having a heart-attack. Her touch was driving him insane and to feel her warm body lying flush on his back, with her hair drifting lightly over his sensitized skin, was just making it worse. Yes, he always wanted her, but this was…

He grabbed hold of her one arm to hold her steady as he rolled over. It was such a swift move that Liz only registered the change when she was settled on his chest, her hips trapped between his thighs. She stared at the dazed look in his eyes with astonishment. He looked… primal.

He was close to the edge, Max realized. He needed to give himself time to recover marginally… But as he watched, Liz licked her lips and moved lower, her hair obscuring her actions. Max lost it then, completely. He jerked her up, turning her on her back and entered her with a driving force just this side of violence. He dimly heard her cry out his name, but his body was beyond his mind’s control. He dragged her legs around his hips and braced one hand on the bed as the other gripped her rear, lifting her into each thrust. He had no idea what he was doing, he only knew he had to get inside her as deeply and completely as he could. Until their bodies were meshed into one. That’s what he wanted, for her to become a part of him. Liz was scratching his back, making keening sounds that only increased his desire. The explosion that slammed into him nearly caused him to black out and it took a few minutes for his head to clear. Liz was shuddering in his arms, their bodies seemingly locked into place from the intensity of what just happened. Max wrenched his head up, urgently searching Liz’s face for any sign that she was hurt or upset. He found her arched backwards in abandon over his arm, her eyes closed in complete ecstasy and her breath racing from her lungs.

"Liz…Oh god, I…"

She opened her eyes with difficulty to meet his anxious gaze. "Oh Max, that was… incredible!"

That floored him.

He finally let go of her bottom, laying her back down on the bed gently, but Liz refused to unlock her legs from around him. "Stay with me…"

"I’ll crush you."

"No you won’t."

But he moved them until they lay on their sides, their heads sharing one pillow. Liz pouted as he moved out of her. Running his fingers through her hair, his eyes avoided hers. "I-I don’t know what came over—"

She cupped his cheeks and forced him to look at her. "You lost control. And it was awesome." His eyes flickered away from hers again. "And I didn’t break in two. In fact, you nearly made me see stars." She realized how that sounded. "I don’t mean the normal flashes you give me… Max! I didn’t see any flashes! Did you?"

"No," he said wonderingly, "but I was so out of it, I don’t think I would’ve noticed." He looked at her closely. "Are you sure you’re okay?"

There was only one option to that question. "Connect with me. Find out for yourself."

His hands shook as he placed them on her face. The connection was instantaneous, a mere widening of the link that already existed between them. Her ecstasy washed over him in a wave, covering him with her glory in the way he had completely lost himself in her. He took a deep shuddering breath, relief and profound gratitude flooding over him for finding her. Liz. His other half. "God, Liz…"

Tears welled in Liz’s eyes as he rubbed his lips gently over hers. They shared long, deep, tender kisses that spoke of a love found only rarely in this universe. I love you, she told him over and over in her mind.

Afterwards, he pulled her into his side and she lay her head on his shoulder, throwing her leg and arm over him. He picked up her hand, lacing their fingers together. He rubbed his hand over her empty ring finger. "So have you thrown my ring down the drain already?" he asked amused.

Liz’s sharp intake of breath sounded loud in the silent room. "I took it off to shower earlier and then…" She looked up at him in concern. "I’m sorry, Max! It’s just… I’m not used to wearing it on my finger yet since I can’t really wear it to school, so…"

He kissed her forehead. "Don’t panic. I knew you left it in the bathroom. I’m just pulling your leg."

They lay quietly for a few minutes, before Liz asked the question that had been burning in her mind all morning. "So, are you going to tell me what made you so weird with me earlier?"