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THE PINK ENVELOPE 1/3
BY:LEELEE
Rating:NC-17
CATEGORY: SK/SC
Archive: OK but please ask
DISCLAIMER: No money is being earned off this work of fiction.
Warning! This story may offend some. Read at your own risk.

Many thanks to the wonderful Paige Caldwell for last minute beta read
and encouragement. Please send any feedback to Viceyy@aol.com

PART ONE

THE PASS OFF
Skinner took the pink envelope from the temp's hand and tucked it in
his jacket pocket. He forced himself to smile pleasantly and tried to
come up with something positive to say. "Well, ummm you have a good
weekend Mrs. Lee." Was all he could manage, but she didn't seem to
mind. Returning his smile with a large toothy one of her own, she
reached out to shake his hand.

"It's been wonderful working with you sir."

The woman was looking up at him with a hungry look that had been on
her face from the moment she walked in the door that morning. He let
her pump his hand a few more times before he gently disengaged
himself and discreetly wiped the moisture from her sweaty palm on his
pants leg.

"If you could just mail that I'll be able to fix the fifty-three
grammar errors I made in the report," she leered at him.

Skinner cringed at her slight southern lilt and mumbled a good-bye
before leaving the office.

He had never been so glad to leave his office in his life!

She was by far the worst temp he'd had since Kim had left for
vacation. In the course of one day she had lost three different
files, hung up on Kersh twice and her coffee reminded him of battery
acid. He had dealt with hopelessly incompetent temps before and could
always find the patience to work with them. But this one had made him
nervous and he hated that.

The woman just couldn't seem to keep her hands off him. Touching his
arm when she spoke to him. Pressing against him when he had
instructed her on how to make decent coffee. And she had bent over
his shoulder when he sat at his desk and practically shoved her tits
in his face!

Not that they were bad tits.

He had just been thrown by her aggressive behavior. Maybe a few years
ago he would have taken what the woman was so blatantly offering.
He'd rented his share of hotel rooms for quickies with hot and
bothered temps in his life. But things were different now. After
almost a year in a relationship with such an assertive woman, he was
damned if he'd sit by and take being so publicly drooled over by one
more.

The elevator was packed with tired government employees wanting to
get home and start their weekend. Skinner was eager himself. The
project in his backyard had been on his mind all week. One more
evening and it would be done.

As he pressed his way into the elevator and straightened his back to
allow the doors to shut, he closed his eyes and pictured the sailboat
in his mind. The hull had recently been antifouled and the sails were
brand new. He had painstakingly polished the brass fittings. All it
needed was another coat of varnish on the teak and it would be
perfect. Buying the used twenty-two foot Catalina sloop had been the
best thing he had done for his stress level in quite awhile.
Rebuilding it had been relaxing and now he was looking forward to
finishing the job and taking it out on the York River.

He was lost in the image of a cold beer under the hot sun with his
sails full of wind when the elevator stopped to let on another
passenger.

Dana Scully looked as though she was going to wait for the next trip
when he did the gentlemanly thing and crushed the three suits behind
him so she could get on. Her slight smile made all the grumbling
behind him worth it. She stepped in and turned her back to him, her
head tilting up to watch the numbers. She was so close he could smell
her shampoo. He found himself lowering his head and breathing in
deep.

Cold beer, hot sun, billowing sails and a redhead in a bikini?

A smile crossed his face at the prospect before he noticed the guy
next to him giving him a funny look. He jerked his head up from where
he'd been sniffing Scully and glared back at the suit until the man
lowered his eyes.

Just before the doors opened, Scully stepped back and pressed her
body against him. Her short hair tickled his chin and her ass nestled
firmly against his thighs. He was just feeling his body respond to
the unexpected contact when she quickly stepped forward again. But
not fast enough for him to mistake the move as anything other than
what it was.

She was showing him what he would be missing tonight.

The elevator reached the parking garage level and she threw a "Have a
good weekend sir." along with a smirk over her shoulder before
walking off. He was allowed to briefly admire her ass in the short
skirt she was wearing before the suits behind him all but shoved him
out of the way.

One more coat of varnish on the teak and he'd see that ass walking
around in the smallest, tightest bikini he could find.

A SPOT OF OIL

Scully watched her boss cross to his car while she was digging
through her bag for her car keys. What the hell was he doing tonight?
And what was this secret project he was working on? His curt message
on her answering machine canceling their usual Friday night date
hadn't given her a clue. She had planned on having him over for pizza
and videos. Her favorite way to unwind from a hard week was seeing
him stretched out relaxing on her couch.

Wearing, say a pair of faded cut-off jeans and a tank top?

She watched him walk up to his car and take off his coat. His dress
shirt stretched over his broad chest as he tossed the coat over his
arm and unlocked the door.

Or maybe just stretched out on her couch naked?

He had been far to busy lately and she missed him. Whatever this
project he kept alluding to was, it took up too much of his time.
Time he should be spending with her. It wasn't as though they had a
lot of free time anyway.

But maybe it wasn't his project at all. Maybe he was just getting
tired of their affair? Scully felt a clutch of panic at the thought.
She wanted this man so badly that sometimes it scared her. The best
thing she had ever done was to give into her desire for him. The past
year with him had been the best of her life.

She chewed her lip and contemplated the prospect of his getting
bored. But then she remembered how he had attacked her Tuesday night.
Not even saying hello just walking through her door and grabbing her
up to plunge his tongue down her throat. He had been so worked up
that she had ended up taking it up against her living room wall. No,
she thought, any man who acted like that with no prompting wasn't
bored.

Casting one last somewhat longing glance at him, she saw something
fall out of his coat pocket before the coat was tossed into his back
seat. He was seated in the car and had slammed the door shut before
she realized he didn't see what he had dropped. She raised her hand
and was going to call out to him but he had already started his car
and was pulling away.

It could be something important.

Placing her things in her car, she walked over towards his parking
spot to check only to find a pink envelope lying there. She picked it
up and noticed that it was sealed and had a stamp on it. Neither of
the names on it were Skinner's, but she was certain she had seen it
fall out of Skinner's coat.

She turned the envelope over in her hands and brushed at a spot of
oil on it before deciding to just go ahead and mail it for him. She
had to go to the post office the next day anyway.


The evening hadn't even begun and she was already feeling it stretch
out ahead of her like the dull evenings she used to spend puttering
around her apartment before they became lovers. She hated the
feeling. Being with him meant she didn't have to be alone on Friday
nights any more. At least she had thought it didn't. But here she was
getting back in her car with nothing better to do than sit around and
watch TV or read.


A SPLATTER OF TOMATO SAUCE

It was over her Lean Cuisine stuffed shells that she thought of the
pink envelope again. She pulled it out of her bag and looked at it
while she finished her meal. Who were the women whose names were on
it and what did they have to do with Walter? She wiped off the smudge
of tomato sauce her finger had left on it and thought about his
project. This whole situation was starting to reek. It couldn't be
that there was someone else. Skinner just wasn't the type. They had
always been so honest with one another. But the whole situation
still seemed fishy and after a year together she had every right to
know what was going on. She was going to get to the bottom of this so-
called project tonight!

Leaving her meal unfinished, she slipped her bare feet back into her
heels and pulled her suit coat back on. She slipped the pink envelope
into her pocket and set out to find out just what her lover was up
to.

End part 1

THE PINK ENVELOPE 2/3
BY:LEELEE
NC-17
See warning and disclaimers in part one.

PART TWO

Skinner climbed down the stepladder and wiped his hands on a greasy
rag. The last coat of varnish had gone on quickly and smoothly and he
stood back to admire his handy work. The sailboat was beautiful. Her
pale blue hull gleamed in the floodlight he had turned on. By
tomorrow, the hull would look even darker. Slick with water while it
crashed through the waves.

He tossed down the rag and grabbed a beer from his small cooler.
Sitting down on a lawn chair, he opened the beer and took a long
swallow. Scully was going to love the boat. He'd have to wake her up
early so they could pull it down to the launch on the York River. Of
course it would be easier if she was already here. But he wanted her
to see the boat for the first time in the light of day.

He rested back and pictured her in the bathing suit she had worn the
last time they went to the beach. He had been able to only stand
watching her sun bathing for so long before he had been forced to
drag her back into the condo they had rented. Skinner took a long
pull from his beer and felt his body respond to the sweet memory of
her moist, sun-warmed skin under his hands. He could almost block out
the strong odor of varnish and smell the coconut oil he had rubbed
into her skin. It had swirled around them while he rested back
on the condo's bed and let her ride him.

He looked at his watch again and thought about calling her. All he
would have to do was keep her occupied and out of the back yard
tonight. He'd have to shower before she got here though. The varnish
smell was strong on him and he didn't want her asking any questions.
In fact he didn't want anything coming out of those lovely lips but
moans. Then in the morning he could wake her up and present her with
their new toy properly. They could get it in the water and be sailing
by lunchtime.

The beer now forgotten on the ground, Skinner reached down and
adjusted his shorts that were cutting into his now hard cock. To hell
with waiting for the morning to see her. What he wanted was to run
his tongue down her body, slip it between her legs and lick the sugar
right off her.

Straightening up his work area, he could think of nothing else until
he heard a noise coming from around in front of the garage. It
sounded like someone had knocked over the empty cans of varnish he
had placed there. All of his instincts went on high alert. The
neighborhood was a relatively safe one but it was Friday night and he
had about twenty thousand dollars worth of gorgeous boat in his back
yard.

Flicking off the floodlight, he crept around the side of his garage
to see who was there and saw a dark figure sneaking around the side
of his garage. He put his back up against the garage wall and planned
a strategy.

But then he saw the glint of red hair in the moonlight and his body
relaxed. He should have known her curiosity would get the best of
her. The boat was supposed to be a surprise and here she was trying
to ruin it. His body surged at the prospect. He had to distract her
and keep her from seeing the boat. He could think of only one way and
he felt his erection come raging back at the thought.

A SMUDGE OF SPAR VARNISH

Scully crept around the side of the garage. She knew he was back
there. She had seen the light go out and some perverse part of her
wanted to catch him at what ever it was that he had been working on.
She had cringed when she kicked the empty paint cans. Reaching over
to right them only to get some sticky stuff smeared on herfingertips.
She had instinctively reached in her pocket to find her flashlight
only to remember that she hadn't brought it. Her sticky fingers had
brushed over the envelope instead.

She cocked her head and listened for any sign of where he was and was
about to go back around the other side when two large bare arms
grabbed her from behind. She didn't even have a chance to call out
before a hand smelling strong of varnish covered her mouth.

"Prowling or just old fashioned trespassing?" the gravelly voice
whispered in her ear. Her near panic faded to an embarrassed chagrin.
She was well and properly busted.

"You do know the penalty for trespassing don't you?" She tried to
come up with a good response. Some flippant reply to explain why she
was sneaking around her lover's garage in the dark, but Skinner
hadn't moved his hand.

He pulled her roughly against his body and she could feel that he was
only wearing a pair of shorts. A pair of shorts covering a large
erection. She rubbed her self against him and tried to pull his
smelly hand away from her mouth. His hand held her jaw in a firm
grip.

"Oh no you don't" he ground out. " No screaming. You're coming with
me and we're going to call the cops. I'll see your little prowling
ass in jail." The hand holding her to him reached up and groped her
breasts. "Umm nice tits. Maybe I'll put off calling the cops for a
while."

She held her body still. He did know it was her right?

"What were you planning on doing? Breaking in? Stealing my power
tools? No, I'm not going to call the cops. I have a better ways to
teach little red-headed prowlers a lesson."

Scully laughed behind his hand. He knew exactly who she was. One arm
went flush against her chest. Pulling her up on tiptoes, he started
to drag her toward the house. When they were about half way across
the yard she started to struggle in his arms. He seemed determined to
manhandle her, but she could walk on her own much easier.

Skinner stopped walking and in a growl that caused a shiver to pass
through her body he said, "Go ahead and fight all you want. It won't
help. I can do anything to you I want and you can't stop me."

Was that what he was planning? To do anything to her he wanted? Her
body felt hot at the prospect. He'd been forceful in the past. Hell,
she had encouraged him to be so. But this was something new.
Something almost wicked and her breathing behind his hand grew rapid.

His arms pinioned her. The yard was dark enough that she could only
faintly see the house. All she could hear other than the faint noise
of cars on the highway was his deep breaths in her ear. She felt
moisture pooling between her legs. The hand that held her chest to
his started to squeeze her breast crudely through her shirt. His
erection was pressed into the small of her back and she felt herself
getting more excited than she had ever been.

Skinner started to rub his cock against her. With words that sounded
harsh he ground into her ear. "I'll teach you to stay away from my
power tools you little thief. How about I throw you down right here
on the grass and fuck you until you can't walk."

Would he? Would he really do her right here in his yard? Her body
began to shake at the prospect of her lover fucking her right where
they stood. Of him forcing himself on her and her not being able to
stop him.

"A good hard fuck on the cold ground. That's what you need." She was
growing dizzy at his words. She felt the dampness spreading between
her legs. No one had ever treated her like this. And despite his
harsh words she could feel him stroking her breasts gently. Just like
she liked it. He wasn't doing anything more and she got the
impression that he was waiting for her to stop him.

A FEW GRASS STAINS


Her body was shaking in his arms. He had thought his actions were
turning her on. He sure as hell was. All he had planned to do was get
her away from the back yard as fast as possible and without her
inevitable questions. The nasty talk had been nothing more than
improvisation on his part. But as she held so still in his arms he
realized that he had taken things way too far and started to release
her when he felt her hand reach behind her back and tentatively
stroke down the length of his cock.

His body crackled with power from the touch and he pressed into her
hand. Spinning her around, he pulled her wrists behind her back and
held them firm in one hand. Her back was arched; her breasts were
thrust forward and pressed hard against his chest. Scully threw back
her head and moaned and he slammed his mouth over hers. Nipping and
biting her lips before plunging his tongue deep into her mouth. The
faint taste of varnish on her lips couldn't hide the intoxicating
flavor of her submission. He crushed her to him and kissed her
until he had to pull his head back and gasp for air.

He leaned down and bit at her nipples through her shirt and bra.
Telling her chest, "Mmmm yeah, gonna fuck you so hard." He reached up
under her skirt and grabbed her ass in a punishing grip. Scully's
moans inflaming him to be more outrageous. "Let me see that pussy."
He growled and grabbed at her panties to pull them down to her knees
with a crude yank. Her legs were slightly parted and he plunged his
fingers into her sex without pause. She felt slick and buttery and
cried out at his roughness.

"You want it bad don't you? You little prowling slut." He found her
clit with his finger and circled it while she held onto his shoulders
and gasped his name. Her pussy was quaking around his fingers. Her
whole body tensing.

He jerked his fingers out of her and bit off her cry with a hard
passionate kiss. His tongue driving into her mouth. His lips bruising
hers. Pulling his mouth away, he spun her back around so her back was
to his chest.

"Get on your knees slut. Now!" Scully dropped down quickly onto her
hands and knees. He followed her down and pushed her skirt out of the
way. He could see her ass faintly in the moonlight looking pale and
soft. She was shaking under his hands as he grabbed her ass in a
tight grip.

"Please Walter now." Her breathless urging making him rip open his
shorts and free his severely hard cock. He reached one hand up and
holding her at the base of the neck pinned her head and chest down to
the ground. His other hand lifted her ass high so he could enter her.
Their loud groans rose in volume when his cock slipped through her
opening and slid deep inside. He held her still. His cock buried to
the hilt inside her and let her strong muscles milk him. "Ummm what a
hot little pussy you have." She bucked her hips at his
words. Silently begging him to fuck her. He looked down at her. With
her head hidden in the darkness and her sex jutting out for his use,
he lost all control and began to brutally pound into her.

He didn't realize how turn on she was until he felt her orgasm
pulsating through her with in seconds of his first stroke. Her cries
were so loud he knew he should cover her mouth, but he was too far
gone himself. She begged for more and he gave it to her. Hard and
fast. Losing his mind when he felt her explode a second time. Telling
her to take it, take it. Gripping her hips cruelly while he shot his
load deep inside her.

She was still whimpering when his body finally stilled. He could feel
her juices dripping down his legs. She was shaking so bad that he
quickly asked her if she was all right. Only relaxing when she
started to laugh. He let his cock slip out of her and they both
moaned at the sensation.

Getting himself to a standing position was a feat. His legs felt like
Jell-O under him and as he reached out a hand to her, he worried that
he didn't have the strength to lift her up.

Scully pulled up her panties and picked up something that had fallen
out of her pocket. In the pale light he could only see that it looked
like an envelope that had been ground into the grass.

She wrapped her arms around him and they drunkenly walked towards the
house. Both amazed at what they had done.

THE PINK ENVELOPE 3/3
BY: LEELEE
NC-17

See warning and disclaimers in part one.

PART THREE

A WET FOOT PRINT

With a great sigh, he rested back into the large garden tub and
settled himself between her legs. One of his hands reached out and
flicked on the whirlpool jets turning the bath into a hot frothy
cauldron of relaxing bubbles. His body felt warm and slick from the
water. His back was hard against her breasts and she tilted her hips
so that her still sensitive sex would rub against his lower back.

"You know Walter, According to Shere Hite, forced sex is the number
one thing that woman fantasize about when they masturbate."

Skinner chuckled. "Then I guess I've answered all your fantasies."

She grabbed the bar of soap and started to lather his shoulders. The
feeling of his strong muscles under her finger causing her to wiggle
against him. "I didn't say it was MY fantasy"

He rested his head back on her shoulder and moaned when she dug her
fingers into the tight muscles of his neck. "You didn't fight nearly
hard enough to convince me of that, Dana. In fact I seemed to
remember you screaming for more."

She batted his arm because she could see the smug look on his face.

He pulled her arms around him and she ran her soap-slicked fingers up
and down his chest. Found his small nipples and circled them until
they were hard points.

"I was scared for a moment you know." She tried to make her voice
sound upset.

He made a harumph noise and bent his head up to look at her. "It
serves you right sneaking around my house! That was just my creative
way to teach you not to be so damn nosey."

Her body went stiff at that statement. "I have every right to know
what this stupid mystery project is Walter. I THOUGHT we didn't keep
secrets from each other!" She pushed him off her and tried to rise
from the tub. He gripped her thighs tightly and dragged her over onto
his lap. Holding her protesting body hard on his lap, he grabbed the
soap from the dish and started to wash her breasts. She wanted to
slap his hands away, but it felt too damn good.

"Dana," he said softly into her ear "the project is a secret and I
wanted to surprise you with it in the morning. It's something that we
can do together. Something I only want to share with the woman I
love." She felt her body melting from the combination of his soft,
sweet words and skilled fingers that were stroking her nipples in
soapy circles.

She relaxed back against him and worked her ass between his legs
until she had his semi-hard cock wedged between her buttocks. "Well,
all right. As long as I'm that woman I'll let you keep your secret a
little longer."

Skinner reached down and started to run his tongue around her ear.
His hands were causing havoc on her breasts. Gently squeezing them
and then stroking them softly. She bent her head to the side so he
could run his tongue down her neck and felt herself melting into his
body. His whisper caused a shiver to travel down her body. "You know
you're the one I love Dana. Now relax and let me show you how much."

He gave her nipples a strong pinch that brought a gasp to her lips
before sliding his fingers lower. With the whirlpool swirling around
them, his hands began to wander leisurely over her body. Stroking her
stomach and touching her between the legs before traveling down her
thighs. He soothed his fingers up the insides and she widened her
legs instinctively to accommodate him. He fondled and massaged until
she felt like liquid in his arms. The hardness of his cock was like
heaven behind her.

She felt him adjust her in his arms. Pulling her thighs over the top
of his and scooting them sideways toward the side of the large tub.
She wasn't even able to question what he was doing. Her body was so
relaxed that she just laid back and let him handle her like a rag
doll.

The whirlpool jet hitting her between the legs was a shock that she
felt down to her toes. Skinner had her positioned so it was pulsing
against her clit and she squirmed against him at the delicious
feeling. She grabbed his forearms and groaned his name.

He let the jet work her while he stroked her thighs and caressed her
breasts until her nipples were almost painfully hard and in need of a
firmer touch. The languor she had felt quickly faded away as her
orgasm approached. He seemed to know she was getting close and eased
her away from the jet. Ignoring her moan of frustration he continued
to work her body with his hands. Plucking at her sensitive nipples
and fondling her thighs.

As soon as the tension eased from her body he positioned her in front
of the jet again. The jolt of it setting her on fire. She was so
close and his hands were driving her mad. The jet seemed to be
pounding her clit and she felt herself about to explode when Skinner
once again pulled her back. Her head was thrashing against his chest
when she felt him lift her just enough to let his rock hard cock slip
inside her. The fullness made her call out and this time her moans
were answered by his own.

Skinner moved them towards the jet again. Slowly lifting his hips up
and down so that the pulsing was at one moment hitting her and then
hitting him where they were joined. He kept doing this until she felt
she would scream with her need for release. She had his shoulders in
a soapy death grip. She wanted him to start pounding into her pussy
hard or quit hogging the jet.

"Please" She finally managed to moan. She was almost beyond rational
thought. He grabbed her hips firmly to keep the jet pulsing against
her and began to quicken his pace pumping in and out of her. The
combination of the jet hitting her oversensitive clit and his large
cock filling her brought a scream to her lips as her whole world
exploded.

His harsh breathing in her ear told her that he hadn't found his own
release. His cock twitched inside her and she felt an answering
twinge of energy that was almost as sweet as her orgasm. "Jesus
Walter." She moaned her body boneless against him.

Skinner pulled her off him so suddenly that she would have slipped to
the bottom of the tub and drowned if he hadn't been tugging her out
of the tub with him.

She stood on the tile on shaky legs and looked at him standing there.
His cock throbbed with every beat of his heart and his eyes looked
wild with need. "I need you under me Dana. The bedroom. Right now."
He said and started to pull her from the room. Stepping over their
hastily discarded clothes, she stepped on something and held him back
long enough to pick up the pink envelope that had fallen out of her
pocket again. Now it had a wet footprint on it.

She held it out for him and he snatched it from her hand without
comment. He seemed to be lost in his need to throw her down and fuck
the life out of her. And she had no desire to stop him.

UNMENTIONABLE BODY FLUIDS

It seemed that he was destined to be rough with her tonight. But he
was desperate and just didn't care. The game he had played with her
in the yard was born of his desire to shock her and keep her from
seeing the boat. This roughness came straight from his need to bury
himself inside her before he exploded all over the floor.

Her body was wet and luckily still warm from the bath water when he
toppled her onto the bed. Stopping to dry them off was not in his
plans. He dropped the envelope she had handed him on the bed and
grabbed her hips so he could pull her over towards him. Standing
beside the bed, he pulled her legs up over his shoulders and without
paused buried himself deep inside her burning hot sex. He threw his
head back and groaned at the sensation.

He held both her ankles up in one hand and began to pound into her.
She looked wild sprawled out on the bed. Her hands grappling for
purchase while he slammed his hips into her ass. She felt so tight
this way. Her body was gripping him like a fist. Her ass was moist
from the bath and her pussy was soaked with her passion. He continued
to slam into her until he felt himself start to lose even the
thinnest measure of control.

He released her ankles and she wrapped them tight around his hips
when he fell on top of her. He splayed his hands on the bed above her
head and ground himself into her. She bucked and gasped below him and
he wanted to howl when he felt her hot mouth closing around his right
nipple. Her body tensing and a great gush of juices signaled another
orgasm. The force of it causing her teeth to bite down on the hard
nub and he let the howl loose as he spilled himself deep inside her.

KETCHUP

He lay on her panting for a moment. Every muscle in his body feeling
too weak to rise until she pushed at his chest and mumbled something
that sounded like "big lug".

Rolling onto his back, he turned his head and saw her sleepy
smile. "So when do I get to see it?" He just shook his head tiredly
and said "Dana" in a warning tone. She was lying with her legs spread
and dangling over the edge of the bed and her breasts rising and
falling in time with her panting breaths. She was beautiful and he
couldn't wait until the morning.

His eyes wandered her body and he saw something pink sticking out
from under her ass. "What's this?" he said and pulled the envelope
out from were it was sticking to her. He recognized the envelope
immediately.

"That was my excuse to come nosing over here tonight. I wanted to
know why I saw an envelope with strange women's names on it fall out
of your coat in the parking garage at work. Sounds dumb I know, but I
was looking for anything to get a look at the project."

Laughing softly, he leaned into kiss her smiling lips. "My temporary
assistant would only fix a report she had botched up if I mailed it
for her."

He pulled his exhausted body up and helped her move off the damp
bedspread and slip under the covers. He kissed her softly and
said, "Be right back. I'm going to get something to drink." Her eyes
were already closing and she answered him with a sleepy yawn.

Taking the envelope with him, he walked nude out to the kitchen and
slapped it down on the counter right on top of a drying puddle of
ketchup left over from his dinner. They could mail it in the morning
before they left. He shook his head and almost laughed at what his
reaction had been to his aggressive temp that afternoon. Maybe it
wasn't the fact that she had been all over him that had made him
nervous. Maybe it was the fact that he was now well and truly taken.

Grabbing a bottle of water out of the refrigerator, he headed back to
climb into bed with the only woman he wanted in his life.


EPILOGUE:

BENT, SPINDLED AND MUTILATED

Tossing the mail onto her kitchen table, the woman kicked off her
shoes and wiggled her sore toes against the blessedly cool tile. The
day had been far too busy for her feet to keep up. She groaned when
she realized that she should have been spending it doing something
fun rather than running errands. It should be a day to celebrate.
Maybe call up a friend to meet her for dinner. But she didn't have
the energy for anything more than a hot bath.

She poured herself a glass of ice tea and bent over to greet one of
her cats that was stretched out on the small rug by the refrigerator.
The Persian cracked open one eye and gave her an annoyed look before
rolling over to fall back asleep. Her other cat, sitting on one of
the straight back chairs, simply ignored her presence completely.

It was great to be home.

Scooping back up the mail with one hand, she carried her tea out into
the living room and collapsed down onto the couch. She rested back
and flicked through the bills and junk mail until she got to a
mangled, filthy pink envelope.

It had a multitude of stains on it. Her address was barely visible
under a large water stain. It was bent and torn and smelled sort of
like varnish. The woman shook her head and huffed at the
irresponsibility of the U.S. post office. She ought to complain.

Sheer exhaustion and visions of armed postal workers stopped her from
reaching for the phone. Instead she opened the destroyed envelope and
pulled out the card that was mercifully still legible. On it was
scrawled in very poor handwriting,

Happy birthday Seeker!
Thanks for your friendship and support.
Leelee
PS You'll never BELIEVE the temp job I'm doing. Woo hoo! And you
think YOU have a sexy boss!
Now go and do your damn taxes!