Here, on his bike, in the natural land, he reconnected with Nature, with the openness and peace of his childhood. It didn’t matter that there were no mountains, no tall peaks looming over them as they sped over the ground. There were trees and fields, animals and birds that actually foraged to exist…here the sky was clear and the air smelled clean…and he felt unshackled by the constraints put upon him by his chosen career and the cities he needed to be in to further it…… all enhanced today by the company of this woman that he wanted in his life, wanted to share his ultimate pleasures with, in private moments like this and what was to come later in this special day.

He explained when the air changed again and she sensed they were near a large town or city…they would take the bypass around Canterbury to Westcliffe before going on a few miles up the coast to stop for a rest and an early lunch in a very special, secluded place…he guessed, rightly it seemed, that she hadn’t bothered with a very substantial breakfast either.

It wasn’t long until she felt the turn as he slowed and made a sharp right into what sounded like a shell or gravel parking lot. Sure enough the bike came to a stand still and he muscled it onto the stand, swung himself off and reached back to encircle her waist with his strong hands and lift her off the seat.

Even this short ride had taken it’s toll on her legs and she laughed as she had to cling to his jacket to support herself on legs suddenly wakened to take her weight again.

“Whoa…I thought I was in good shape, but my legs feel like they’re made of jelly.”

He laughed and held her tighter to his body.

“All part of my evil plan to get you in my arms….. now if you just take that helmet off I could kiss you back to life.”

She laughed and removed the obstruction, happily letting him massage her mouth and waken her inner fire again.

“So where are we?” she asked when he reluctantly let her mouth free.

“Just outside of Brighton at a place called Westcliffe. Can you smell the tang of the ocean?”

“Oh yes….. Urs I love riding on the bike. I almost felt like we were flying, like gravity didn’t exist anymore.”

He was absurdly pleased that she shared the feeling he had every time he took the bike out.

“Come on…my friends have a restaurant here, that’s why I stopped…. Real bathrooms and Chris will have a picnic lunch ready for us to take further up the coast.”

“Why don’t we have lunch here?”

He had separated from her and started for the building, but now pulled her to a stop and back against his chest, her back snugged up tight to him. He leaned over as she turned her head up to him and kissed her with barely controlled passion.

“Because today I’m not sharing you with any one,” he whispered as he broke the kiss and gave her a little nudge forward again.

The restaurant turned out to be attached to a bed and breakfast, two buildings that looked like cottages attached by a breezeway, Maggie found as Urs described the scene to her. They were in the parking lot that was off to one side, indeed made of crushed shell and fenced with a low wall of white stone, the buildings themselves low and long, with heavily thatched roofs that overhung the mullioned windows, whitewashed walls fronted by flower beds…at this time of year only occupied by low growing shrubbery.

As instructed, Urs took them around the side, through the breezeway to the back door since the business was not yet open. He pulled open the heavy door and stepped inside, the warmth and scents from the Kitchen immediately enveloping them in a homey, welcome embrace.

“Chris, Mary?” he called out and was answered by a bellow of laughter from the right.

“On time as always…back here Ursy,” a female voice called out and they went to the right to enter the work area.

Maggie had slipped her sun glasses on during the walk to the building and stood beside Urs looking toward the cheerful voice that was approaching.

“Welcome, it’s been far too long,” the voice was that of a youngish woman.

“Mary…preggers again…how many is this, 4 or 5?” Urs said as he dropped Maggie’s hand to hug the pretty blonde woman, her tummy clearly showing an advanced stage of gestation.

“Six…if you visited more often you could keep track. And this pretty lady is…?”

Urs scooped up Maggie’s hand again as he introduced them.

“Sorry, Maggie Ryan, Mary Schmidt and that tubby guy washing his hands is Chris…two old biker friends.”

Mary hesitated slightly when Maggie held her hand out with a smile, the tiny misdirection telling her that this visitor was blind. She reached for Maggie’s hand and looked at Urs for confirmation. He nodded but said nothing, knowing that Maggie’s natural graciousness would handle the situation.

She took Maggie’s hand and gripped it firmly.

“So Urs actually has a friend willing to ride with him. Did he scare the dickens out of you with that speed he loves so much?”

Maggie laughed as she felt Urs arm snake around her shoulder.

“It was my first ride and I think he was afraid of scaring me off. He drove like an old granny on her way to Sunday church meeting. I’m hoping that the ride back will be a little more…adventurous.”

“My God woman do you realize what you’ve done? That was a challenge if ever I heard one,” Chris said as he came up to them and pulled Maggie into a friendly hug. He looked at Urs over Maggie’s head, an easy task since he was at least as tall as David and outweighed the lanky American by a good 100 pounds.

Chris released Maggie and grabbed Urs in a bear hug, leaving Maggie wondering what was happening as the two men mock wrestled. Mary took her hand and tugged her out of the way.

“Let’s let the boys play…They haven’t met up for a while and it will take a few minutes for them to catch up. I have some tea brewing, or coffee if you prefer. This way, to the left…we have a little nook for breaks before the crush after we open for business.”

She held Maggie’s hand and chatted about the business while she competently led her into a quieter part of the kitchen and lay her hand on the back of a chair.

“You’ve had experience with the unsighted before…. It’s obvious in how you led me over here,” Maggie said with a smile.

“Yes…one of our regulars is blind, though Phoebe has a guide dog. Still there are times when she comes in alone… Raffles gets impatient if we sit and talk for too long.”

Maggie laughed. “My Jessie is like that too…today she’s at home with friends. Would you think me rude if I asked to use the washroom? All that vibration has created rather an urgent need.”

Mary laughed and took her hand again to guide her into the restaurant and on to the Ladies.

“I spend a fair bit of time in here….this baby seems to love to kick at my bladder, inconsiderate little blighter. Here we are…cubicle at 5 o’clock, sinks straight ahead when you come out and towels about a foot and a half up, on the left 3 feet. I’ll wait for you, Luv.”

When they returned to the Kitchen the men were sitting at the table laughing as Chris told Urs some of the antics of the children.

“The Nanny has them all off to Brighton, the older 3 in school and the little ones with her to do the shopping. So when do we get to hear some more of this so-called music you’re into now?”

Urs pulled a slim jewel case out of his pocket and handed it to Chris.

“I brought you an advance copy….it’s to be released in November and then we’ll see how the public takes to it. We’ll be starting the big push for the World Tour next week on the GMTV show…ring me after that and let me know what you think. It’s a big gamble but I think we just might have something.”

They chatted for a while but Chris could see that Urs was impatient to get going, not that he blamed him…. The lady was stunning, well spoken from the little they had conversed and clearly adored his Swiss friend.

“We need to get busy or we won’t have anything ready to be open on time…you two need to come back on a Monday…it’s our closing day so we’ll have the whole day to visit. Come along, Urs…we’ll load up the bike with the things you asked for.”

The two men left anOnce more Urs lifted her into place. She could feel that the saddle bags were fuller and something was behind the backrest. She slid tight against Urs back when he mounted and waved at the cheery ‘Goodbye’ as they eased out of the crunchy lot and onto the road.

Within minutes Urs made a left turn onto a bumpier, dusty road, going quite slowly now. She could smell the scent of the ocean quite clearly now, a fresh tangy salt smell. He slowed even more and she felt the graze of long grasses against her legs, an aroma of disturbed wild thyme and overhead she heard the raucous calling of gulls.

He stopped the bike and swung off, reaching for her waist to lift her off to snuggle against him.

“I love the solitude of this place. The property belongs to Chris and Mary, something passed on to her from her Papa. They always meant to build something here on the site where there used to be a tiny cottage but I think between the business and the kids, they keep putting it off. I wish you could see it, it’s so wild and beautiful.”

She turned in his arms and leaned back against him, clasping her hands over his arms when he encircled her chest.

“Tell me about it, Urs…let me see through your eyes.”

He nuzzled against her head, leaned his head around to kiss her ear lightly and whispered “I’ll try.”

“The first thing you notice here is the sky… it looks and feels like a huge pale blue bowl inverted over your head, wispy white clouds, very high up, forming patterns that the wind changes constantly, empty except for some far off circling gulls that are just drifting on the currents. The horizon is too far to see, it blends in so you can’t tell where the sky stops and the horizon and the North Sea begin. Closer to shore there are sailboats, small ones, mostly with white sails, moving fast with the sails bellied out like a pregnant woman.

“We’re up high, though you can’t tell from here, on a cliff with jumbled rocks below, no beach in this area, when the tide is out just boulders and small tide pools with the odd crab that got stranded. At the top of the cliff there are more boulders, piled about 20 feet high, worn smooth over the years from the storms… as far as you can see in either direction the cliff edge is made of boulders, like someone piled them there to build a wall to protect the land from the Sea. They slope toward to where we stand, then give way to marsh grasses, dry and brown now because of the season but waving a bit in the sea breeze and the odd twisted tree, gnarled and bent from all the winds, leaning away from the water, pointing inland to safety. If you looked back, toward the land it seems as if we are the only living things in the world, no houses, farms, towns, even the road isn’t really visible from here, just a cluster of trees leaning against each other.”

She sighed and turned her head to rest her cheek against his bicep.

“It’s beautiful…thank you, Urs. I’m so happy you shared this with me.”

He hugged her a bit tighter then released her and took one hand.

“I have a favorite little nook, …come on.”

He led her along what must have been a familiar route to him for he didn’t hesitate once, just warned her of obstacles, lifting her gently a few times over what he said were downed tree limbs until they stopped and he sat her down on a low rock in an area that felt like the ground was made of fine sand.

“I need to go back for the blanket and supplies…don’t move around, Baby…the edge is quite near.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and she heard him running over the land, sure now that he had been here enough times to feel comfortable with the route.

Maggie waited, content with the peace of the place, enjoying the sound of the water crashing against the rocks below the cliff, the odd cawing of the gulls and the breeze that stirred some of the tendrils that had escaped her braid. She wondered at the need he seemed to have for this type of complete peace and solitude, much like how she often felt even though she was not subjected to the visual overload that he had to endure.

Urs came back , spread thick blankets over the sand and scooped Maggie up to deposit her on one.

“Hungry yet, Liebe?”

“Not really, but thirsty…did you bring anything to drink?”

“Only the best…a large thermos of hot chocolate and another of spring water.”

He poured them each a mug of the chocolate and they sat chatting. They decided they were hungry after all and opened the packets of sandwiches and fruit, and a box filled with tiny little tarts that they fought over, Urs winning more than half of them and washing it all down with the bottled water from the hamper. Each made a quick foray behind some rocks that he called the ‘Outhouse’ and rinsed their hands with more of the bottled water.

When they finished he pulled her into his arms, sitting her between his knees, leaning back against his chest as he rested against a blanket draped rock.

“Tell me about Maggie Ryan as a young girl. I want to know everything about you.”

She laughed and said it was rather boring but started to tell him of her life when her parents had still been alive. They had been busy, hard working people, involved in a number of businesses and charitable foundations, unknown to her at the time also working for Caspar, often away from their large country home outside of Dublin, leaving Maggie, their only child, with a succession of Nannies until her teen years. She had run wild, attentive in school but it was easy for her and homework was something she usually had done before the actual class work had finished for the day. As a result while the other students toiled over seemingly endless hours of homework she was riding one of their horses, bareback, to the dismay of the tutor they had contracted to teach her how to ride ‘properly’.

She frustrated her mother terribly, not in the least interested in clothes and girlish things like learning how to cook or sew, how to walk correctly and serve tea, instead she escaped to the woods on their property and by herself built a tree house, complete with swinging rope bridges that swayed from tree to tree, often trying to spend the night there and having to be forcibly taken back to the house by her irate father, on one occasion eluding him completely by taking to the bridges and climbing down a remote tree to hide near a stream until he gave up in defeat.

They tried private school but found that she nearly beat them home after delivery to the school, hitch-hiking her way back in defiance until they sent her to a remote private school in Switzerland as a last resort.
That time she didn’t arrive back at the house…nor did she answer their letters or come to the phone when they called. The head mistress explained that ‘Margaret-Rose’ had become a woman shortly after arriving at the school and the process had been unexpected and frightening for her. There was censure in her voice as she spoke to Maggie’s mother who quickly snapped that there seemed to be plenty of time to warn the child….she was after all, only 11.

She excelled at the school, soon was acknowledged as a leader but a prankster as well, often pushing the limits of patience of the staff, never quite enough to be expelled but enough that liberties were curtailed. Vacations were spent at her godfather’s estate when her parents were away, often with Simon absent as well, though he was one adult that she admired. To make him happy, at first, she embraced music, soon found that she loved it and continued for herself. She still preferred jeans and casual clothing, bare back riding, Nature, but could when requested don more dressy attire and acquit herself quite well in formal situations.

It was during a summer vacation with her parents that she learned about evil, about the double life her parents and Simon had lead for years.

She hesitated speaking of that part of her past and Urs cuddled her closer.

“Liebe, you don’t have to talk about it if it makes you uneasy,” he murmured against the top of her silky head.

“It’s alright, Urs…I’ve come to terms with it… for a long time I felt guilty for not treating them better…they only wanted the best for me and all I did was cause them heartache… I just hope they know that I did love them.”

She was silent for a moment then continued.

“It was a bomb in the car. I had agreed at the last minute to go with them into Dublin to a big event that they felt they had to attend. Da had decided to drive himself instead of having Fin drive him. They had only been back from some ‘business’ trip a few days and I was being petty at first, whingeing about them going out instead of spending time with me, then I decided to go along and show off the pretty new dress that Mama had brought back for me from Paris. They got in the front and I was bending forward to step in the back of the car when Da turned the key…and the world exploded. I just remember the pain and a flash of light and noises, such loud noises. Everything went black and when I came to Fin was standing over me, crying and I could hear him but only see grey shadows.

“I really don’t remember much except for screaming and trying to reach my eyes to wipe the fog away but my hands were tied down….I didn’t realize that I was badly burned on one side until Simon arrived and got me to calm down so he could tell me what had happened.”

“Did you know that when you talk about Simon, your voice changes…gets softer and it’s easy to tell that you really love him, as if he were real family to you?”

She smiled and nestled closer.

“I suppose in a way Simon is the only family I have left. There are no grandparents on either side since my parents were in their late 40’s when I was born so the grands are already gone…... both came from single child families. Simon has always been there for me, especially after the bombing. He took me to his estate and arranged private tutoring for me, not just for the blindness but so I could finish school and helped me advance the music that kept me sane during the early days.”

“Adjusting must have been really traumatic for you…to be sighted and then only blackness…I don’t know how I would cope.”

“I do see a bit, Urs….shades of gray, no definition, just enough to tell if it’s bright and sunny or night time. It’s like constantly being in a dense fog.”

“And there’s nothing the Doctors can do…?”

She was silent for a moment and he wondered if he had gone too far, opened a wound that she didn’t want to talk about.

“There is some experimental surgery but because of the placement of the injury it could be dangerous. I’ve never felt the urge to have it done, more or less from the earlier days when there was no hope of change I accepted that this is as good as it will ever be. And with Jessie I manage to cope quite well most of the time. But lately…..”

He waited quietly wondering what she was going to say.

“Lately I’ve thought a lot about it…. I want to have a large family, either biologically or through adoption…and I want to watch my children grow up, to SEE them, even a little and not just with my fingers.”

He nestled his head against hers and whispered to her as if afraid that saying it too loud would tempt Fate.

“That’s good because I can’t imagine my life without you in it and I too want a large family. I love you desperately, Maggie, with every fiber of my body, every breath I take, every beat of my heart.”

“I love you too, Urs…I have since that first time I listened to you singing, long before your album was released. Simon let me listen to a few tracks in his office one day and when I heard Ti Amero, my heart stopped. But at that time it seemed you were beyond my reach, too involved with Celeste and maybe happy with her…and then the problem of Laurenz came up and Simon assigned me to form a team to watch over you. The more I learned, the stronger my love became, though it was a hopeless dream at that point, never to be fulfilled.”

“Not anymore,” he murmured as he turned her body to press her chest against his and lowered her to the blanket, his mouth trailing eager kisses across her face.

She gave herself up to his embrace, thrilling at the weight of his upper body against hers, twining her fingers in his hair, giving back his kiss with equal passion, moaning when he unzipped her jacket and trailed his hand between them, touching her breasts with a gentle hand that transmitted warmth through her tee shirt.

Maggie writhed under him but he held her firmly, ending the kiss and easing his hand under her back to hold her, murmuring against her ear.

“Easy love…. Just let me hold you, let me feel the warmth of you against me. Tonight we will be together, truly together, the first time of many for the rest of our lives.”

She sighed as he turned them to lay clasped against one another, face to face. He pulled the edges of the blanket up over them, forming a cocoon against the wind, the other blanket from the rock bunched up under their heads and they lay quietly talking, Urs turn this time, telling her about his childhood with his 3 sisters and brother, the family gatherings, his schooling when he had been considered kind of nerdy, his musical training and the epiphany when he heard the music from Carmen Burana and decided that opera was his calling. And they made plans for the future.

Maggie was positive this Il Divo venture would be a resounding success, beyond any dreams the four men had entertained up to now, Urs hopeful but not yet convinced. They both knew of the plans for touring but Maggie couldn’t see where there would be a problem…she would go with him, happily, or wait for his return, whichever made him the most comfortable.

Urs watch beeped at him just before 4 and he threw off the blanket to sit up and give her a swat on the butt when she complained.

“Get up, Lazy girl!! We have to leave soon if we want to have time to shower and change for the Ball tonight. I might even shave since this is to be a very special night.”

She laughed and rose to help him fold the blankets into small parcels, they gathered the remains of their lunch and went carefully back over the rocky terrain to the bike. Urs stowed the gear while Maggie put on her helmet and gloves, then he lifted her on and they were off.

**

The trip back was considerably faster, even with the brief stop at the restaurant to return the blankets and thermos etc. Mary and Chris were extremely busy, had time only for a quick wave and the threat of dire consequences if they didn’t come back and soon.

Once on the motorway, Urs opened the bike up, no surprise for Chris had warned Maggie that calling him an old granny would be a challenge to be met. Sure enough she recognized the increased speed, thrilled to it and actually released her hold on his waist to raise her arms to the wind and laugh aloud with the joy that flooded her.

All too soon they were back in the congestion of London and winding through the street to Chelsea, arriving outside Maggie’s building and turning off the bike while Urs took her in past security as far as the elevator.

“Thank you for coming with me today, Liebe. I’ve never wanted to share the peace of that place with anyone before you.”

She looked adorable, her cheeks rosy from the wind, tendrils of hair that had escaped her braid plastered against her neck and grimy cheeks, streaked with road dust and exhaust from the engine that matched the ones on his face, though he had a major case of helmet head which she had managed to elude.

“It was a lovely day, Urs, thank you. I’ll try to be ready on time…I know how you hate to be tardy.”

“Eight o’clock or I go without you!!” he teased and dropped a gentle kiss on her brow before letting the doors close.

He waved at the grinning security guard as he went out to the bike and couldn’t stop grinning himself as he mounted the Harley and roared off to the flat.

**

Laurenz couldn’t quite understand what was going on. A buddy in London had told him that it definitely was not Urs who had taken out the rival to his fledgling porn business, yet the job had been done and with skill. Had Urs decided to farm the messier jobs out to someone else, was he paying someone to do the work that he should be doing to protect his sister? That couldn’t be the answer. The damn fool wasn’t making enough money to throw it away like that, not at this point in his new venture.

He stomped down the hall to the nursery, standing in the doorway watching as Yvette nursed their son, clad only in her nightgown and with a sweater thrown over her shoulders. She glanced up at him with a timid smile, not sure of his mood tonight but relatively confident that he wouldn’t be rough with her while she held Hans.

He wasn’t a big man, probably no taller than 5 foot 9 but chunky, the look of a body builder gone to flab about him, his hairline receding rapidly so he kept it cut in an almost military buzz cut. There had been a time when they were first dating that she had thought he was handsome, back in the time when he was working for the airline and they had gone dancing and to movies…so long ago now it seemed with all the changes that had occurred. It had been shortly after their wedding that she had begun to see him in a different light. First to go had been his patience with her.

She was unused to the marriage bed but eager to learn…he was impatient and so their lovemaking had been swift, rough and unfulfilling. She talked to him hesitantly about it and he was offended, so much so that he threw her against their bedroom wall and abused her, his desire fueled by her brief struggle.

Shortly after that incident she realized that she was carrying his child and her new life closed in on her with no visible avenue of escape. The beatings started, always in a manner that would not damage the child growing inside her battered body.

He quit his job with the airlines and concentrated on something else, something she was careful not to question him about. And he began threatening Urs, using harm to her as a means of controlling her brother.

“I will be finished in a moment, Laurenz. He is almost done and should sleep for a while.”

“Come to the office,” he commanded brusquely and left. She shivered as she moved the sleepy baby from her breast and held him to her shoulder to help a bubble of air escape.

He was in a mood, she was never asked to the office unless he wanted her to contact Urs. She prayed that it wouldn’t be for something unpleasant as she checked the sleeping child’s diaper then put him down in the crib, covering him with a soft blanket and turning the light down before leaving the room.

Laurenz was waiting for her, sitting in the second chair in front of the computer, motioning with a sharp nod for her to seat herself in front of the keyboard.

“Send him an e.mail. I will dictate…”

She keyed into their e.mail site and clicked on New, hit ‘Urs’ on the address file typed in her brother’s name as a greeting and waited for Laurenz to tell her the message.

“Urs…Why did you not handle the Sergio problem yourself? We know it was someone else and want an explanation. Both Hans and I are well, at the moment and will be away for two days while Hans has his regular checkup in Interlaken. Please send an answer so it will be waiting when we return home……now sign it and send.”

She obeyed as she always did, without comment for she knew how it angered him to be questioned. He was incensed when a window came up that informed them that the server was down and the message would be sent at the first opportunity. She quailed at his rage, unsure what she could do to calm him but he merely kicked his chair across the room and glared at her.

“Now go back to bed… Hans appointment is at noon tomorrow so we need to leave early… have my son ready by 10.”

“Yes Laurenz,” she murmured turning her face up to him for the kiss he demanded everytime they parted. He kissed her quickly, biting her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, then shoved her so she banged her hip against the doorjamb, laughing when she cried out. She knew her error immediately as she shot a quick glance at his face.

Pain excited him, blood even more so and he filled his meaty hand with her hair, dragging her back against him and touching her sensitive chest with a rough hand. There was no avoiding what was to come so she moaned as if in pain, faking an injury to avoid the reality of what he would do if she didn’t cry out.

In seconds she was on the floor with him looming over her, violently taking what he wanted, spurred on by her feigned pleading for him to stop and her weak struggles to be free. It was over quickly and he left her lying on the hard wood to slowly get to her feet and make her way quietly down the hall to the room she shared with the baby, except when he demanded his ‘rights’. Once again she cried herself to sleep, wishing this waking nightmare would be over, thankful at least for the love that Laurenz seemed to have for his son, the one living being that he never, ever mistreated.

CHAPTER TEN….THE BALL BEGINS

Urs parked the bike in the underground lot and raced up the stairs to his flat. He wanted a really long shower to get rid of the grime from the trip. Then he had to make sure that the limo was going to be on time, an extra vehicle since he wanted one available for himself and Maggie if they decided to leave the Ball before the others…and he didn’t want to share this night with anyone but her.

He couldn’t remember ever being this excited…and nervous…about a date before. Yes, this one was special because of what he and Maggie had planned for after the Ball but it was more than just that. There would be photographers, this he knew for a fact, there always were.

He had been very careful since this venture started to never let the press photograph him with Celeste…that was his own personal life and he wanted to keep it private. For some reason he was about to turn a page in his strict rule book….if they took a picture of him with Maggie or asked if she was his girlfriend it was okay, more than okay. He wanted to show her off to the world, to let everyone who cared, know that she was his. Was it this ‘forever’ feeling he had about himself and Maggie that created this completely opposite change of attitude? He smiled as he thought about it.

From years of practice he was quick about removing his contacts, cleaning them and putting them in solution to re-hydrate while he showered, thinking again about the possibility of getting the Laser eye treatment. He was tired of struggling to keep his contacts moist and had been requested to not wear his glasses in public… image was everything, he had been told. Well, that was a decision he would have to make soon.

He let the water flow over him to rinse off the foam from the intense scrubbing he had given his entire body, gave his head one more quick rinse to remove any excess conditioner, then turned off the taps and stepped from the shower, dripping on the mat as he toweled his hair, roughly.

After he attended to his hair, he returned to the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his hips and began laying out his clothes for the night….. Black Armani tux, Alexander Lloyd Egyptian cotton white shirt, White silk tie that wouldn’t stay done up long, black socks and blindingly polished black half boots from some Italian maker that he didn’t remember at the moment. He pulled shorts out of a drawer, dug through the watches that they had all been given for doing ads until he found the one he preferred and attached an ornate silver buckle to his black leather belt.

His hair was starting to curl as it dried so he hurried to straighten the top and most of the back, leaving the bottom 4 inches to curl, as requested by Maggie. It was a good look for him…he made a mental note to himself to see if he could cajole the stylist they often scheduled for their outings to let him wear it like that during upcoming travels.

He had managed sox, shorts and pants when there was a rapid, loud banging on his door and he laughed. It was David, he knew even without the voice calling out.

“URS!! Urs…it’s David.”

He laughed as he went through the Lounge and approached the door which was actually vibrating visibly at a new assault from the American.

“What do you need?” he said with a grin when he flung the door open.

David barreled into the room, dressed except for his jacket, carrying his shoes and in bare feet.

“My laundry didn’t come back…I have no black sox, only my tube sox for wearing runners…So I have a choice, runners or flip flops…or beg, borrow or steal from someone.”

Urs laughed at the predicament but motioned him toward the bedroom.

“Second drawer in the tall dresser….help yourself.”

David pulled the drawer out and whistled.

“How can you be so neat, even in your sock drawer? It isn’t human to be this tidy, not for a guy.”

Indeed it was very well organized, each pair of socks, black on the left and white on the right, was in an individual little cubicle, folded just so and tucked into place with care. No worries about mismatches here, only two colors.

“Get what you need and get out of there before you mess it up!” Urs growled at his friend as he finished dressing, inserting small black onyx studs in the buttonholes of his shirt and draping his tie around his neck under his collar.

“So, we’re going to meet up in the reception tent and walk the carpet together, is that the plan?” David said as he sat on the edge of Urs’ long bed to put his shoes and socks on.

“Yes. Who are you going with…did you manage to get a date?”

“Sort of…one of the PR girls…her hubby is out of town so we’re going together…just for company. Seb has this hot little number from reception…and Gerry arrived early this morning, after you left for your ride…. How was it by the way?”

Urs looked up as he finished using the mirror to adjust his tie and smiled.

“Wonderful. Maggie loves riding…we talked for hours after we got to the coast. It was just the peace and quiet that we needed.”

They finished up and went back in the Lounge, both ready early, so they went in search of the other two singers, thinking they would likely have to hustle them along. Urs checked his e.mail just before leaving the flat…nothing. He closed his laptop and joined David, telling him about the tiny laptop that Maggie had, insisting that it was true when David scoffed at the idea of technology having come far enough to produce a miniature like that…at least not yet.

Of course Carlos was ready…Geraldine had seen to it. The petite blonde {at the moment} with the fiery Spanish temper looked lovely as she rushed to greet Urs, having missed him earlier in the day.

“Urs, I love your hair like that…and you look well…tell me about this new woman who has ensnared our cool Swiss…she will be with you tonight, Yes?”

“Speaking of looking well, I’ve never seen you lovelier. Turn around so we can see the back of your outfit.”

Gerry laughed but did a graceful twirl, the skirt of her ankle length gown belling out and showing a multitude of petticoats, all in paler shades of the eggplant colored gown. The bodice was cut low to expose a generous cleavage with a narrow halter that fastened behind her neck, the back dipping to just below her waist, the whole bodice covered in sequins that sparkled when she moved, the area below her waist in points that were sequin-covered to her hips, the whole effect making her look even slimmer through the waist yet full bodied above and below. She had completed her outfit with glittering drop ear-rings and silver sandals…all in all a perfect outfit for the Latin dancing she and Carlos loved.

“Yes, Maggie is home getting ready…I’m to pick her up at 8 and then we’ll meet all of you in the reception tent.”

“Carlos has told me a lot about the school and your Maggie…I almost feel I know her already. And it looks like she makes you happy so I’m prepared to like her.”

Seb came bustling into the flat through the partly open door begging Gerry to rescue him since no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get his tie done right. He grinned over her head at the others as she expertly fashioned the offending article into a neatly tied bowtie, accepting the jibes of his friends.

“Some boys should always live near their Mamans until they learn to dress themselves,” Carlos remarked.

“But Gerry does it so well….and I love to be close to your lady and breathe in that scent she wears,” Seb countered and Carlos scowled at him.

The buzzer from the entrance sounded and Carlos answered, telling the drivers they would be right down. He drew Geraldine’s warm velvet lined wrap around her shoulders and they all left to take the elevator downstairs.

One limo left with the three men and Gerry, heading out to pick up both David and Seb’s dates and the other took Urs to Maggie’s building.

He thanked the security guard who informed him he could go right on up to the suite.

“She is expecting you, Mr. Buhler…go right up,” he said as he keyed open the second elevator.

Urs flexed his shoulders as he rode up in the lift, trying to shake out the nerves that had tensed his muscles. He felt like a teen on his first big date and was smiling at the notion as the doors opened onto the foyer of Maggie’s residence.

She was waiting for him, ready to go, a vision in emerald silk that skimmed her curves from the long column of her neck to her slender ankles, hinting at the lushness beneath. The light rippled off her gown, off the emerald ear drops, her piled up curls, off the faint glitter on her bare arms and the diamond shaped cut-out in the bodice of her gown that showed clearly the swell of her chest.

He was at a loss for words until she came close enough that he could reach out to touch her arms, sure when he felt the warmth of her skin that he was not hallucinating, that she was real.

“You look amazing…. and taller,” he said as he held both of her hands out to the sides and feasted his eyes on her.

She laughed and held out one silver clad foot.

“I don’t wear Jimmy Choo’s with jeans very often…or on motorbikes.”

He stepped closer and put his arms around her carefully, not wanting to disturb the perfection she and her helper, Heidi had created. The very light scent of Jasmine and sage caressed his senses as he breathed deep and teased that she had lost the petrol scent.

“Urs, thank you for the flowers…Heidi put them all through the suite so the scent of Roses and Lilies is everywhere. You must have cleared out all of May Fergus’ stock.”

He chuckled.

“I had to leave her a note since she doesn’t open so early and I asked for masses of the flowers with the best scents. They look like they belong here.”

He kissed her brow lightly, noting that she wore a bit of makeup tonight, not much since it wasn’t needed, but her lovely eyes were enhanced by a gentle application of shadow in a silvery green that made her own bright green pupils more noticeable…and lipstick in a soft honey rose that made her lips even more tempting to kiss.

“Tell me what you have on tonight Urs,” she asked and he complied, kissing her fingers as she ran her hands over his smooth face and giggled, touching his chest to feel his shirt and the satin cording on the edges of his lapels.

She giggled again then thanked him when her hands lightly touched his hair and she found the curls he had left at the back, just as she had requested.

“You ready?” he asked and she motioned to a long matching cape that lay across one of the small hallway chairs, a small silver bag resting on top.

He picked it up, a little surprised at the weight but understanding when the folds fell open and he saw that it was lined fully with some kind of very dark fur.

He dropped the silver bag into an inside pocket and draped the cape over her shoulders, did up the fastener at the neck and they were ready.

Going down in the elevator he noticed a wide silver and emerald bracelet on her wrist when she slid her hand through one of the slits in each side of the cape and clasped his firmly.

“No pager?” he asked and she flushed as she reached with her other hand to press on one of the emeralds and show him how the bracelet opened to expose a connection to Millie.

“And my little ‘puter is in the bag…. I couldn’t get anyone to take over until midnight….but after that I’m free.”

He laughed just as the doors opened.

“A reverse twist on the Cinderella story. Life with you in it is never dull, Liebe.”

It was a short drive to the venue. They exited at the entrance to the reception tent, the driver assisting as Maggie stepped out of the open door and Urs following immediately, totally ignoring the scrum of photographers taking arrival photos.

He took Maggie’s hand and held it against his chest, just the way she preferred and they wound their way through the crowd into the warmer reception tent to look for the others.

It wasn’t hard to spot David’s tall frame over the heads of the crowd and Urs put a protective arm around Maggie as they inched forward and finally joined their friends.

The two dates were quickly introduced, Judy, a tall blonde in an elegant black dinner suit and Mandy, Seb’s date, a rather brash, obviously dyed red head, wearing an ill chosen orange red outfit that left nothing to the imagination. She fawned over Seb but flirted outrageously with the other 3 singers as well, seeming to not care much that the other women quietly seethed. Urs leaned down to whisper in Maggie’s ear.

“She won’t make it through the night… Seb will be leaving with her before we finish dessert.”

She looked up at him, trying hard not to laugh and covered her mouth so that all anyone heard was a discreet cough.

Everyone left their coats, or capes in the case of the women, with the guarded check-in area. Judy made a joke about her serviceable wool coat hanging there with all the minks and Gerry mentioned that her velvet lined wrap was from a performance, that she had loved it and bought it when the show closed.

“Mine was my mother’s,” Maggie said. “She never threw anything out and loved to collect retro outfits. I’m lucky enough to be the same size as she was.”

“I don’t suppose you care what you look like anyway,” Mandy said as she rubbed her bare arms briskly, having no coat with her and, as she teased when the men took the items to be checked, depending on the sexy Frenchie to keep her warm. “Like, being blind and all.”

Gerry shot her a chilly look while Judy rolled her eyes slightly at the rude comment.

“One thing has little to do with the other, Mandy. I would never want to embarrass my date with my choice of clothing …or my actions,” Maggie said calmly, because of the situation, keeping her temper and her tongue in check.

Both Carlos and Urs noticed the flare of temper in their ladies eyes when they returned but both got the same reaction to their concern… “Not now!” …and dropped the subject as they all prepared to walk the red carpet.

Urs took Maggie’s hand firmly and they followed the other three couples.

It was the usual noisy crowd of photographers and media types, interviewing the very famous and the rising stars, the crowds behind the barriers calling out for autographs. They stopped a few times, always in a group since they were Il Divo, a band, not a bunch of individual performers. Seb had difficulty with Mandy who insisted on very seductive poses until he took her firmly in hand and as one, they entered the ballroom to approach one of the staff about their seating.

The men signed in and received discreet cards with the table number on it and they entered the Ball room. It was huge and hummed with conversation, a band on the raised stage not completely able to drown out the conversations going on as people met friends, laughing and chatting as they wandered looking for their tables.

Theirs was located nicely, thanks to the pull of Sony BMG, fairly close to the dance floor and to the right of the stage. They jockeyed for position, for some reason none of the men eager to be seated next to Mandy…unfortunately Urs wasn’t fast enough and after he had seated Maggie found himself lowering into the neighboring chair and watched by the obnoxious red head. She purred something at him and leaned closer to whisper at him, her mostly exposed chest squashing against his bicep, only to receive a cool stare before he turned deliberately to talk to Maggie.

The waiter for their section appeared with both red and white wine, offering their choice and began pouring for everyone.

Behind him Urs heard Mandy whining to Seb…

“Posh affair like this I thought they would serve champagne…”

He tuned her out and sampled his white wine, watching as Maggie took a sip of hers, trying hard not to giggle.

She leaned toward him and he bent his head to hear her.

“She may not last through the main course, never mind dessert.”

Talk flowed around the table as they all discussed the venue, the wine, which almost everyone declared to be first rate, the upcoming holidays and the traveling which would start in earnest again in late March.

“Don’t forget you have a lot of promos coming up before the holidays and TV shows,” Judy reminded them and they all groaned.

“We know,” David said with a grimace, “but it’s the breaks in between that keep us going. Will your husband be back in time for the Mothers Day event?”

“I think so…well I hope so…we haven’t missed a Mothers Day with our Mums since we’ve been married and this will be the first one that Joe, Jr. will be old enough to understand.”

“How old is your son?” Gerry asked with a wistful look.

“Just turned 3 and he’s a handful. We live in a flat above Joe’s Mom and Dad and they spoil him terribly…but they also sit with him while I work and on the few times I go out.”

“Does you husband know you date while he’s away?” There was dead silence at the table and even Mandy realized she had said something rude.

Seb rose from his seat and took Mandy’s arm, rather firmly.

“I am so sorry, but Mandy has a head ache and needs to leave. I’ll be back after I see her into a taxi.”

“Wha…..ow, you’re hurting me!! I don’t have a head ache…let me go you ape…”

Seb, silently, literally dragged her from the ball room, cursing and carrying on in a very embarrassing manner but he refused to ease up and they vanished from sight…and sound.

CHAPTER ELEVEN….AFTER THE BALL


“Well that was…interesting,” Maggie said to break the silence and everyone at the table chuckled.

Sebastien returned, still a bit angry and flushed, about ten minutes later, having put the screeching woman in a cab and thrown money at the driver to take her home. He went straight to Judy and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

“I am sorry… we all know that you are here with us as a friend and that you would never do anything dishonorable. Do not let this spoil your night out.”

“Well now that we’ve had the floor show do you suppose they’re going to feed us?” David said softly and got the whole table laughing again.

The waiter discreetly removed the extra chair and place setting just in time for his assistant to bring a huge tray with the appetizers and the lavish meal began.

“Will you trust me to choose for you?” Urs asked Maggie as he looked at the selection of bite-sized morsels on the trays.

She smiled and nodded, waiting patiently as he described what he put on her plate and guessed at what it was.

“Something green on a biscuit at 12 o’clock, rather nice looking prawns at 3, …do you like olives, the big green ones with pimentos inside…Okay those are at 6 …..and something with cheese at 9…..let me try that one…”

She heard the crunch of a cracker and laughed when he went “MMMMM…oh, I still don’t know what it is except good.”

The food kept coming and the wine, and the conversation flowed again as they all enjoyed their meal. Urs watched Maggie every chance he got, intrigued with the way she fit in, how she seemed able to talk about everything or at least listened carefully to what the others were saying so she could join in. Tonight he was seeing a different woman, elegant, poised, comfortable to be with, making him proud to be seen with her…not that he wasn’t when they were more casual but this was a side that he hadn’t witnessed before.

They finished the meal, including dessert and he chided her gently, concerned that she had eaten only token amounts of each course.

“I just don’t seem to have a very big appetite tonight…for food…” she said with a rosy blush as she sipped her second glass of wine of the evening and he blinked at her with a knowing smile.

He rested his hand on her back, just below the nape of her neck and felt a bit of tension in the muscles.

“Liebe, are you nervous?” he asked keeping his voice low and private.

“A little….” She whispered back at him and shivered.

“Trust me…I’ll take care of you.”

He rubbed her tense muscles gently, using small motions that wouldn’t draw attention and was relieved to feel her relax against his hand.

The music had started for dancing and a few couples were on the floor, swaying to the slow, soft melody.

“Dance with me, Maggie….I need to hold you…and I promise not to step on your toes too much.”

She laughed and nodded and they rose to go hand in hand to the dance floor.

Urs spun her into his arms and sighed when he felt her against his chest.

He had tucked her hand up against his chest and her other automatically went to his shoulder to lightly lay on his jacket, while he lay his free hand on her bare back at the waist.

He was a good dancer, in spite of the warnings he had given, leading her smoothly around the floor, molded together and stepping between each other’s feet without any mishaps.

Tonight she was taller, reaching past his chin, easier to rest his head against hers, letting his silky hair brush her cheek as he bent forward slightly and placed his mouth close to her ear.

“I love the scent you wear, so fresh and light… it reminds me of the outdoors and your conservatory at the same time.”

She giggled softly and when he asked why she told him she had wondered how long it would be before the tie was undone. She flicked the trailing edges with her fingers…. He had been so absorbed in watching her talking to Gerry that he hadn’t even been aware of doing it until it was done.

The band flowed from one track into the next, another slow tune and they danced this one as well, neither wanting to give up the warmth of being held closely. Maggie slid both of her arms up to circle his neck, her fingers playing lightly in his curls as he held her around the waist, one hand with his fingers splayed and caressing her bare back, both barely moving their feet and Urs stole a quick kiss that left her trembling.

The next tune was Latin and they escaped from the dance floor before they were bowled over by the exuberant dancing of the many couples who flocked to the floor, Carlos and Gerry among them, Carlos teasing Urs by making chicken sounds as they passed the Spanish couple.

Champagne had appeared at the table now as well as a discreet silver box for the donations everyone was expected to make to the Children’s Charity that the Prince’s Ball was in aid of.

“Too bad Mandy didn’t behave…she could have had some champagne,” David remarked as he filled Urs and Maggie’s flutes.

“What ever possessed you to invite her, Frenchie?” Urs asked with a grin.

“I don’t know…I took one look at her…,” he made a cupping motion in front of his chest… “ and the next thing I knew she was saying ‘Cooee…of course I’ll go with ya.’”

Even without an explanation of the accompanying hand actions Maggie got the joke.

“Maybe you better let one of us pick out a girlfriend for you Seb. In fact I have a friend who would be perfect for you. She’s in Italy right now but should be back soon.” Maggie smiled at him, thinking how much he would like Geena.

“Is she pretty?”

“Well I don’t know from personal experience but I’m told she is.”

“English?”

“Irish, but Geena is very good with languages…speaks French, Italian and Spanish, as well as English. She’s a doctor.”

“While you’re at it, find David a girl so he doesn’t have to ask out old married ladies,” Judy said and laughed when David said he hardly considered her old and it was fun going out with her…no pressure to impress since they were already friends.

There were a few gentle reminders from the MC about the reason for the Ball in between the next set of songs and gradually around the room the silver boxes began to fill. All three men still at the table slipped a cheque into the box on their table, carefully folded so the amount didn’t show….. One-up-man-ship was not a game they were willing to play with hungry children as the stake.

“Maggie, I heard you mention that your gown and cape were your mother’s… it reminds me of something I’ve seen somewhere, a long time ago,” Judy said.

Maggie laughed a bit self-conciously.

“Mama loved the clothing from the movies…this is one Grace Kelly wore in some movie, I think designed by Balenciaga…and the cape goes with it.”

“It’s lovely…the retro look suits you so well. Oh now I’ve embarrassed you, I’m sorry.” She had noticed how Maggie’s cheeks reddened.

“It’s alright. I never could handle compliments well…and this damn blushing… I haven’t learned how to stop doing it.”

Urs hugged her and remarked that he liked it, a comment that earned him a sharp dig in the ribs.

“You men are all alike…you like to see us blush and appear vulnerable… don’t count on it, my friend.”

Urs hugged her again and planted a kiss on her cheek before laughing and remarking to the others….

“Isn’t she cute?… she likes to pretend that she’s so tough when really she’s a pushover, shy and retiring…and….ow!!! I give up!!!”

Maggie laughed and released the hand full of hair she had a death grip on.

“I’ll show you shy and retiring, Herr Buhler. That’s a waltz they’re starting and I want to dance.”

“Yes, Ma’am!!” he said and she could tell from his voice that he was grinning as he took her hand and lead her onto the floor again.

They swept over the floor, through the few other couples daring to get in their way, never missing a step, twirling out away from each other while never completely losing touch, coming back together with their lower bodies touching, Maggie leaning back and trusting him to support her as they moved with the flowing rhythm, ending together, clasped tight and ignoring the scattered applause from the onlookers.

Maggie was out of breath when they returned to the table, more from the thrill and the close contact than the exercise but wearing a big, pleased smile as Carlos, David and Seb stood and applauded.

“Maggie, who is this guy you’ve been dancing with? Our Urs doesn’t dance…at least not without a gun to his head.” David sounded serious but was grinning at his friend.

“She’s made a convert out of me. But no Latin dancing…I have to draw the line somewhere.”

It was only a few minutes before midnight when Maggie felt a pulsing in her bracelet and clicked open the hidden display. She lay her fingers on the dial and Urs watched with dread while she received a message, then smiled with relief when she closed it and removed the glittering accessory from her wrist, handing it to him.

“Seems I no longer need to wear this, Swiss. Would you put it in your pocket for me?”

“Gladly, Liebe,” he answered softly and took it. She was officially off duty.

They danced another slow set and found that the closeness and the movement of their bodies meant more to them now. Each touch, each sway and grazing of hands against bodies left a tingle of anticipation, building a longing for more.

Near the end of the second track Urs bent to touch his mouth to her neck, his lips finding tender skin just above the jewel collar of her gown, traveling the short inches to her ear to whisper the words she had been awaiting in both fear and longing.

“Let’s go home, Liebeling.”

She didn’t trust herself to speak, just nodded and they returned to the table hand in hand, quietly but firmly said good night and left the Ballroom.

It didn’t take long to collect their coats and for the limo to arrive, nor for the smooth sleek vehicle to arrive at Maggie’s building. They rode holding hands, in silence, unbroken except for a quick good night to security when they entered the building and took the lift to the top floor.

Heidi had set the stage beautifully for them, thanks to Urs’ earlier note and, unknown to him, Maggie’s phone call. The champagne was on ice in the sweetly scented lounge, classical music played softly in a loop in the background, even the lighting was subdued and romantic, He opened the bubbly after putting their coats in the hall closet. He noticed that she was shaking when he handed her the flute and reached out to caress her cheek lightly with the back of his free hand.

“A toast, my little princess… to joy and love.”

He took the flute from her when she had taken a shaky swallow and set it on the small table, wrapped his arms gently around her and nestled her against his chest.

“You’re trembling…. There isn’t anything to fear, my love. Nothing will happen unless you want it to.”

Her sweet face tilted up to him and he kissed her with tiny butterfly kisses across her cheeks, teasing her lips until she opened them and he tenderly dipped inside with a warm caressing tongue. Her mouth moved under his, increasing the pressure, stroking and pushing his tongue aside to enter his mouth and taste his sweetness, her body straining to get closer until they were fused from mouth to knees.

They broke apart a few inches, his hands gentle on her bare back, caressing, warming her skin while hers crept between them and began working on the studs of his shirt.

He shrugged out of his jacket, then reached for her again, taking her mouth more aggressively this time, reaching up to the nape of her neck to unclasp the jewel collar of her gown. She yanked on his shirt, pulling it up out of his pants and pushing it off his shoulders as the bodice of her gown became loose, draping low over her chest.

Urs left her mouth to trail kisses over her collar-bone, moving ever lower until his lips touched the swell of her breasts. He moaned against her skin as she tugged gently on the curly hair of his chest, splaying her fingers to feel his muscles.

“Your heart is racing,” she murmured and smiled when he answered.

“You do tend to have that effect on me.”

He lowered her gown a bit further ……and it slid out of his grip to puddle on the floor at her feet.

It was too fast for her, he knew it instantly when her arms came up to cover her breasts and he regretted his clumsiness.

She was trembling again when he held her close.

“Luv, why don’t you go and change?…I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

He scooped the discarded gown from the floor and pressed it into her hands, berating himself as he watched her scurry down the hall and into her bedroom. For ten minutes he thought about her fear, the timidness she had shown making it easier for him to stay in check. He cared too much about this special woman to rush her, to take her innocence regardless of her feelings. He WOULD be calm and patient, gentle…he would take as long as necessary for her to be ready.

He tapped on the door and entered when he heard her call out to come in. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, wearing a filmy night gown now, the pale cream color and mid-thigh length doing nothing to hide her body from his burning gaze. He went to her and kissed her brow gently, whispering that he would be right back, took his small case and went into the Lav to wash and change. She had taken a quick shower, the curtain was still wet and he did as well, first removing his contacts….. he pulled on his shorts after he had dried off and returned to the bedroom. She was laying on the bed now, flat on her back and he could feel her tension without even touching her.

“Maggie…did you think I was going to just jump on your body and….take you?” He said as he sat beside her and reached out to push a strand of her long hair off her face…she flinched when she felt his hand.

She frowned.

“I heard some girls talking in the Ladies…. You’re supposed to just lay flat, let him do whatever he wants and in 5 minutes the man has had his pleasure. They said it hurts but at least it’s over fast.”

He groaned, wanted to choke the partners of those unappreciated women and lifted her up to sit on his lap.

“For some men that’s all that it means…that’s just sex, Baby, not what you and I can share. I’m not interested in just having pleasure for myself. I want to make love WITH you, to take you to paradise.”

He kissed her tenderly, keeping his hands, for now, studiously away from any forbidden areas and her arms came up around his neck, fingers twining in his hair as she began to relax and let passion soothe her fears and misconceptions.

Slowly, carefully he tasted her skin, moving her gown, gently, to one side to allow his mouth access to the tender flesh at the base of her neck. Her hands fluttered across his chest, brushing lightly over the curly matt of hair, grazing his male nipples, retreating, then gently coming back to run soft fingers in circles around them, laying her palm flat against him when she felt the nipples rise. She reached for his hand and took it, carefully placing it on her breast and sighing when she felt the warmth through her nightie, the gentle pressure of his fingers.

He slipped the gown down her shoulders, exposing her breasts.

“You are so beautiful, so soft and firm at the same time.” His mouth slowly lay a trail of kisses across her chest, nearer and nearer her breasts until she felt the urge to scream with the need to be touched.

“Urs…”

“Yes, my love…I need to take your lovely breasts, to fill my mouth, to feel your nipples grow larger against my tongue….”

Just his soft words describing what he wanted to do sent a spasm of heat to her groin, increasing the aching need….she felt an unaccustomed wetness between her thighs, an ache to be touched, more but she wasn’t sure just what, only that her body ached to be closer to him and she arched her back thrusting her breasts up, wetting her lips as she longed to feel his hands, his mouth, on her skin.

She felt his warm tongue first as it circled the tip of her breast, like a brand of wet fire that teased, creating a heat that made her tingle, even her hair on fire…she curled her fingers into his curly hair pulling his head forward and again arched her back, thrusting her breasts up for him to feast on.

He moaned and sucked gently, pulling the pink nipple inside, past his teeth and his hand held her breast, kneading lightly as he sucked harder, making her moan and grip his head tighter. He drew away but she moaned again and gasped “More, oh please, more!!”

“Easy little Luv, there’s no rush…..let me build what you feel into a fire that will consume us……Let me enjoy this perfect gift you offer….”

He lay her back on the soft bed, gently caressing her face with his hand, brushing the tangles of curls from her cheeks, his other hand inching her gown up off her flat belly, his long fingers skimming her skin like a breath of air, his eyes treasuring each inch of flesh that was exposed, his eager lips feeling the texture of her skin, his tongue dipping into her innie.

He had kept his body away from her until now, worried that the rigid length of his hard penis would frighten her. Gently he pressed against her, letting her take some of his weight against her throbbing breasts. Her hands came up to circle his ribs, nails biting into the flesh of his back as her hands twitched against his muscles.

“Easy, little love…,” he whispered against her mouth as she gasped for breath. “We have all the time in the world. Clear your mind of everything except what you feel, what you want. Tell me what you like….touch me, read what my body is feeling with those clever fingers of yours…”

He dropped his mouth to her neck, biting her lightly, then caressing the sting with his warm tongue, placing his lips around the wet spot and sucking until she cried out with the pleasure that coursed through her.

“Please, Urs…I ache with need…”

“I know, Liebeling, I ache to make you mine” he murmured, softly running his hand along the outside of her thigh, smiling when she trembled. He moved his hand over her knee and slowly came back up her inner thigh, stopping just short of the mound between her closed legs.

“Spread you legs for me, Luv…I need to touch you.”

He didn’t wait for an answer, just lowered his mouth to hers and flicked his tongue across her lips, asking to enter. Her lips parted and he stroked his tongue across her inner lip, sucking lightly at the sweet taste of her, pleased when she spread her legs apart and his hand touched her gently, feeling the bush of her mound, parting the lips with his long fingers and touching the wetness that told him how ready she was.

He moved his lower body, still kissing her deeply, more insistent now, devouring her and his legs moved between hers, spreading hers further as he lay on her, taking his weight on his extended arms.

He pushed himself up off the bed onto his knees and slid her gown up, whisking it over her head to lay against her curly hair.

“Urs…will you tell me when you are going to hurt me?”

He stretched out partly on her again, his hand skimming over her once more, fondling her breasts, the dip of her waist, his palm resting on her mound and the gentle fingers spreading the lips aside once more to touch the tiny nub of pleasure thrilled to feel her response as she shuddered, her body feverish, clutching at him with trembling hands

“Have I hurt you yet? I want to give you bliss, Luv, to take you to Paradise…..give yourself to me.”

His fingers were moving, stroking her clitoris, dipping further to touch the opening where he longed to be. He curled his body over hers, kissing and licking his way over her smooth skin, spurred on by her moans and the barely audible cries of his name, until his mouth touched her mound and his tongue flicked against the wetness, teasing the opening, making her buck under his weight with a longing she could just barely control.

Somehow he got his shorts off one-handed, on the border of losing the rigid check he had kept on his body ….. he came back to her mouth to share the sweetness he had found, kissing her with an urgency that she met eagerly.

She felt the hardness of him nestling against her thigh and gasped….this was what she wanted, needed, this long, hard evidence of his desire for her… unbidden her hand reached down to touch him. Knowing instinctively where he belonged, she guided the head of his penis until it touched the lips of her vagina, rocking her hips in a rhythm she wasn’t conscious of.

“Maggie…I have protection…let me…”

He sat up, on his knees, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and followed, curling her legs around his butt and she sat on his bent legs.

“…on the Pill…Urs, PLEASE!!!”

He groaned and lowered her back to the bed, thrusting strongly into her wet tunnel, felt the resistance give way and the warm trickle of blood, the tiny gasp, then tightness as she welcomed him, her body encasing his in a silk, hot glove of tissue that rippled as they moved together, two bodies that became one. He watched her face, the glazed eyes, her mouth open, that soft pink tongue wetting her lips, her breathing rapid, ragged, as he bent his head to ravage her swollen lips. He moved his legs slightly, lifting her bottom onto his bent legs, stroking her legs with trembling hands as he lifted them onto his shoulders and felt the head of his penis caressing the front wall of her vaginal tunnel in long strokes, her muscles clenching firmly around him, so hot, so wet, incredibly tighta smooth rhthym that pulled at the uncircumcised glans, robbing him of breath… he adjusted his position for deeper penetration and so the nest of curls that housed his shaft when it rested was pressed against her mound, rubbing her clit with each movement, each thrust of his hips. He was short of breath, passion ruling his instinct for self preservation, so totally out of control that he could not have stopped now, not for anything. Nothing had prepared him for this, not the many women he had enjoyed before, the years in Amsterdam, nothing even came close to what was just out of reach…almost…almost…

She cried out his name and he felt the muscles encasing him shiver then spasm, thrust once more into her depths and burst, pouring his seed into her, her name on his lips as wave after wave of pleasure washed over him, darkening the world, holding him captive as the ripples went on and on and he willingly almost died.

Urs collapsed on top of Maggie, not capable of moving for a few moments, his face buried in the curve of her neck, both gasping for breath while the after shocks made them shudder in spasms. Gradually her arms came up around his ribs.

“OH, Urs….I didn’t know…. Thank you!”

“You alright? “ He murmured against her neck.

She shuddered with after shock, turning her head to bury her face in his hair, humming with the intensity of after glow.

“Perfect…we fit so well together, Urs…I love the feeling of your body molded against mine.”

“I can’t move yet…I think I’m dying.”

His arms had tucked her in, neatly folded along her body with his hands under her shoulders, his long body stretched out on top of her and her legs where they had fallen when she became boneless. Slowly his erection faded and he slid out of her. She sighed and ran her hands up to touch his hair.

“I don’t want you to move. I’ve waited so long for you.”

“Good, because I don’t think I can.”


They lay together for long minutes, catching their breath, bathed in the sweat of their exertions, Maggie gasping his name again and again between ragged breaths and shuddering as the after shocks swept over her.

He rolled them onto their sides, still holding her tight, her head tucked under his chin.

“Thank you,” he whispered against her head and she clutched her arms tighter around his ribs. “Did I hurt you? I tried to wait until you were ready, but Oh, Maggie…you create such a need in me…”

“Only for less than a second…I ached for you so mushc that I hardly noticed….That was so worth waiting for!! I thought I was going to die!”

He chuckled.

“Me too. Maggie…I’ve never experienced anything like what we just did….you are incredible. I can’t promise to be quite so gentle next time though.”

“Next time? Tomorrow?” She didn’t even try to disguise the eagerness in her voice.

He laughed and rolled her onto her back, raining kisses on her sweaty skin and making her moan.

“I don’t think I can wait that long…Actually, I’d say in about 20 minutes… give…or take…a minute …here or there.” She giggled as he kissed her between words and she ran her hands over his ribs and back.

“Urs….”

“Hmmm?” was his preoccupied murmur from the region of her flat stomach.

“Will you let me see you…all of you?”

He chuckled as he turned onto his back and put his hands behind his head.

“My pleasure, Princess,” and she let her fingers begin exploring, missing nothing from the slight stubble on his chiseled facial features to the tidy indentation of his innie and the strong muscles of his hairy legs and long toes, in the process making him moan with building desire.

She took her time, working with excruciating thoroughness, bending over his body and sampling the velvet texture of his mouth with hers, letting her fingers trace the lines of muscle across his shoulders and down his arms, sighing over the smooth skin in the crook of his elbow and laughing when she tasted him and he shivered. He squirmed when her exploring fingers touched the thatch of hair under his arm and he murmured “tickles!”, making him jump when she buried her face in it and breathed deep, savouring the scent of his body wash mingled with the distinctive scent that was Urs…pleasant, warm, natural.

He was hairy, not covered thickly like she knew Simon to be, just a silky dusting of curls on his chest that she knew must be dark. She sat across his legs and traced the firmness of his sculpted chest, bending to kiss and suck his male nipples and smiling when he moaned, allowing her hands to knead the hard muscles of his chest, the board like flatness of his stomach and the ribs she could nearly count. Below his belt line, his body hair thickened into a thatch that veed lower and became a nest at the juncture of his legs and torso. He was partly erect, hardening under her hands when she touched him and she laughed at the power that her touch had on this remarkable man, timidly curling her fingers around his shaft then drawing away in a panic, naively afraid he wouldn’t like to be touched.

“Don’t stop… this is such sweet torture…please, don’t stop!”

Her soft hands touched him again, so gently that he wanted more and closed his large hand around hers, grasping his penis firmly and stroking, long, smooth movements up and down the full length. He was fully erect now, unable to remain passive any longer, cupped her bottom with his hands and couldn’t stop his hips from responding to her smooth touch. Her other hand went lower, touching his testicals, cupping the velvet sacks….suddenly she lowered herself from his legs, stretching out to rest her face against his groin, going lower while he bit his lip to keep in check….the warm wetness of her lips encircled his sacs and she drew them gently into her mouth, sucking lightly.

“OH!! Maggie….Mein Gott!!”

She drew away, slowly, exploring his trembling legs, the large feet and long toes, coming back, relishing the power she had over this perfect body, this man who trembled under her hands, who moaned when her breasts brushed against his groin as she crept up the length of him

She grinned at him, had felt, and enjoyed, his reaction to her exploring hands and mouth, laughed when he claimed that she was subjecting him to ‘sweet torture’. He sat up and grabbed for her but she pushed him back down, straddling him and he laughed as he gripped her hips and adjusted his position, thrusting inside of her.

“Now you’re mine,” he said and watched her eyes glaze with intense passion, their bodies fused, quickly finding the rhythm, as old as mankind.

He raised his knees and eased her back against them, increasing the angle of their fusion, increasing the pleasure that was building, inched his agile fingers between their bodies to rub against her tiny clitoris, his mouth actually watering as he watched her, her head thrown back, consumed by lust for him, her hands clutching first at her breasts as they bounced with the movement of both bodies, then clutching for his hands as orgasm became imminent.

“Urs!!...I can’t wait!!” she gasped, twining her fingers with his with a strength that was almost painful.

“I’m with you…Now, Maggie!!” somehow the words croaked out as the surge swept over them, bodies clenched in spasm, muscles rippled, breath was lost, once more they had built the anticipation until it could no longer be contained.

This time Maggie collapsed on top of him, held lightly by arms suddenly gone weak, neither able to move until they had both calmed several minutes later. They snuggled under the tangled covers, spoon fashion and slept, totally sated until early morning.

CHAPTER TWELVE….CLOSER STILL

Urs woke first in the morning and slipped gently out of bed to use the facilities, came back to find she had rolled over and cradled his pillow against her body. He moved it and she stirred until he slipped back next to her, her hand found his chest and she calmed instantly.

She looked peaceful, sleeping, a small smile on her rosy lips, her hair tangled and fanned out over the pale green satin pillow. Her shoulder was bare and he leaned over to place a light kiss on the small mark he had left in his barely controlled lust, remembering how she had moaned and clutched at his hair when he did it.

He smiled as he remembered their night, her first time to have her body awakened. The passion that he had glimpsed just under the surface when they kissed had been even more than he expected, more than he had ever experienced from a woman before, made all that more special since she was inexperienced and what she had given him during loving was pure, untainted by memory or practice. Was it because of their love, because this was the one woman he had searched for his whole life? Just thinking about her hands on his body, the tight, wet feeling of her when she gave herself to him…his body reacted, stirring quickly, hardening even more as he nestled closer and felt her warm, soft skin against him.

He had been worried about hurting her, concerned that the actual act of entering her body for the first time ever would spoil the passion they felt but it had been an unnecessary concern. He remembered feeling the barrier, briefly, had heard the tiny gasp as she lost her innocence to him, remembered how she had thrust her hips to meet his and took him deeper, moaning, not from pain but from need.

“You’re frisky for first thing in the morning,” she murmured and peeked her eyes open a bit, letting her hand wander to the ‘frisky’ part that touched her stomach, smiling and biting her lip when she felt his reaction to her touch

“Complaints already?”

She smiled.

“Not a chance…. But I do have another rather pressing need.”

She pulled away and rolled out of his grasping hands, scurrying into the Lav. He waited a few minutes then followed, catching her just washing her hands.

“Shower time, Luv.”

“But….”

He turned the shower on, adjusted the temperature and grabbed her around the waist before she could get away.

“Bed isn’t the only place I can show you how much I love you.”

He entered the shower and shut the curtain, setting her feet on the wet floor and backing her under the spray.

“You are so incredibly beautiful,” he murmured and took her mouth in a kiss that made her melt against him. It was a while before they got around to actually washing each others’ bodies and shampooing….but the time was well spent.

Urs took the movable shower nozzle from the wall and rinsed the traces of blood and semen from her thighs, parting the soft folds that covered her sex and gently stroking his fingers over her, inching slightly inside and cupping his palm for the water to pool and flow into her, watching as the pink tinged water flowed away to the drain and gradually became clear. It was an intimate, caring gesture, erotic and tender at the same time.

He passed the nozzle to her and knelt, nudging her legs apart and holding her hips as he touched her clit with his tongue then sucked it gently into his mouth, looking up at her face as she gasped and leaned back against the tile walls.

“Seems I’m not the only ‘frisky’ one this morning,” he murmured, touching her and sliding 2 long fingers into the wet opening, thrusting gently, his thumb on her clitoris, making lazy circles.

Just in time he rescued the nozzle from her nerveless fingers and replaced it, standing to take her mouth with his. Her arms managed to come up and wrap around his neck as she stood on tip toe, raising one leg to curl around his butt.

He removed his fingers from her and gripped her around the waist, lifting her onto his body, impaling her with his shaft and sighing as she closed wetly around him, moaning, clenching her legs tight around his waist.

No more waiting…she bit his lip, tasting blood and licking it away as he pounded into her, her back against the cool tiles, eyes closed, then flying open but glazed, soft, almost purring sounds coming from her throat and her hands clasped in rhythm to his deep thrusts. He swiveled his hips, grinding against her, control gone, only desire left…and they crashed over the peak, gasping, bodies jerking in spasms that flowed over them in a crescendo that slowly ebbed into ripples as they became slowly aware of their surroundings and the still running shower.

“I don’t remember showers ever being so much fun before I met you,” she murmured against his chest when her feet had lowered to the floor and she could form sentences again. “I feel so sorry for those poor women who had bad experiences. And I’m glad I waited for you to be my lover…I never dreamed that loving could feel like this. Thank you, Urs.”

“And I’ve never had a partner as responsive as you are, not ever. I can feel your body heat when I touch you and it makes me wild. I love you, my little Maggie, and I love the gift of your innocent passion that you have given to me.”

He kissed her tenderly, holding her tight to his wet body for a few moments, then with a chuckle said that they should actually wash before their bodies pruned.

**

Urs left Maggie to get dressed and strip the stained sheets from the bed while he ran to the little bakery near the school for fresh croissants. He picked up the morning paper on the way back and was passed, with a wave, into the lift by security, arriving back in the suite to find that Maggie had started coffee, put out a couple of jars of fruit conserve and was pouring juice for both of them. He watched, fascinated, as she curled one finger over the rim into the glass, stopping pouring the instant she felt the liquid touch her finger tip.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said as he sat down and spread some conserve over a piece of croissant.

“OH-OH…that always a dangerous thing to do before coffee,” she teased.

“Right…you’ve been listening to David complain about my moody ways. Not true…I just don’t have much to say before I’ve had a caffeine fix. Seriously, I was wondering what you usually do for Easter…I’d love to have you come to Switzerland and meet my parents. They have plenty of room and I’m sure would love to meet you.”

“I don’t do much…the kids go home, it’s part of their contract, Cookie goes to visit her son and daughter in law and Joan and Brian usually go off somewhere warm. Sometimes I join Simon at the estate but he’s busy in the States this year.”

“Will you come with me then? I only have a couple of days but can’t bear the thought of being away now that I’ve found you. It’s going to be hard enough to go to the US for all the TV appearances.”

“I would have to take Jessie.”

“No problem… she’s so well behaved…I’m sure Mami won’t mind.”

“Then, Yes, I would love to go with you. I would get to practice my German, though I have to warn you it’s a little rusty.”

She heard the newspaper rustling and asked what the headlines were.

“Um, let’s see…more news about Iraq and Afghanistan…some stuff about the terrible pot holes in the downtown core….I bought it to see if there are any reviews of the Ball last night. There should be with all those reporters in attendance…..ah yes…there it is…well that should make Simon really happy…there’s some great shots of us on the red carpet…including one of Seb trying to control that terrible woman. And here’s one of you and I…you look lovely, by the way…the caption is ‘Urs Buhler of Simon Cowell’s newest discovery, Il Divo, arriving with the Ryan Industries heiress, Lady …. Margaret-Rose Ryan….”

He stopped reading and there was silence for a moment, then….

“Heiress…does that mean you’re rich?”

“Does it matter if I am?”

“No…yes…I don’t know…I mean why didn’t you tell me?”

“It just never came up…. I don’t think of it most of the time. Granda was well off and my Da was an only child so he inherited the title and the money. Da invested wisely and with a few exceptions we never lived ‘rich’. Except for this suite I don’t much care about expensive things like some wealthy people do.”

He was silent for a few moments and she grew concerned.

“Urs, is this going to be an issue between us? It doesn’t matter to me whether you have millions or nothing. It’s you as a person I love.”

“They’re going to say I’m after your money.”

“Do you care? What is more important to you, what I believe or what some small minded reporters have to say?”

He looked at her and saw that she was becoming really upset, her lovely green eyes glistening with tears. He reached over and took her hand in both of his.

“I’m sorry… it’s just I’ve been thinking all along that you are so perfect…you like the same things I do, think the same, aren’t the least pretentious and now I find that you could probably buy…. this building without blinking an eye. It’s a little hard to accept all at once…and obviously this means you have a title, like your Da?”

“Lady,” she whispered, trying desperately to hold the tears back.

He was quiet for another moment then began to laugh.

“Liebeling, don’t cry… nothing could make me stop loving you. Please, Baby, don’t cry…this just took me by surprise. I love you, the beautiful person you are… we can let other people worry about the money, it doesn’t matter. If Il Divo takes off the way Simon thinks it will we’ll be rolling in it anyway. That’s my girl… come here.”

He had lifted her onto his lap and brushed the tears from her face, happy to see a smile creep back on to her mouth as she lay her hands on his shoulders, resting her brow against his.

“I already own it.”

He leaned back and looked at her, confused.

“I already own this building, Urs….it’s part of my real estate holdings.”

He burst out laughing. “Just full of surprises,aren’t you?”

“I think that’s enough for one day.”

“Lady, eh? My Lady!” he whispered and kissed her.

**

True to his word they spent no more time talking about money or titles, both turning their mobiles off after the first few calls from friends, Simon, the guys and enterprising reporters who wanted a statement.

They spent the day blissfully ignorant of anything except the unseasonal weather that allowed them to sit out on the balcony for a while, eating when the mood struck them, indulging in their new found pleasure and napping to restore their energy. It wasn’t until late afternoon that Urs remembered he had to check his e.mail and asked if there was a way to use her computer to do so…he wasn’t ready to leave yet.

His mood took a down swing when she showed him how to access his mailbox and he read the short note from Yvette.

“He knows…somehow he knows that it wasn’t me on that last ‘job’.”

“Just tell him his friends are mistaken… there’s no way he could trace it to CASPAR and prove that it wasn’t you.”

“I know he gets the London papers, a day late but still… that article may put you in danger, Liebeling. I can’t put you at risk.”

“Urs, there’s no way he can hurt me, except by hurting you and we won’t let that happen. This building is very secure and I almost always have my contact with Millie on me. Relax…. Nothing is going to come between us.”

She was standing beside him and he rested his head on her breasts with his arms holding her tight.

“I can’t lose you, Luv. We need to be very careful that Laurenz doesn’t learn how important you are to me.”

**

It wasn’t until Urs ran out of clean clothes the next day that they finally made an appearance back in the outside world. Early in the morning he returned to his flat to change into running gear and met up with Maggie in the building lobby for their morning jog. Jessie was back with them again, having been returned by one of the older boys in the evening of the previous day, as overjoyed to see them both as a person is returning from a long holiday.

They did a five mile circuit, once around the route and returned to Urs flat to check his mail. There was no reply to the note he had sent Yvette, and nothing asking Maggie to return to duty. She laughed and said that Connie, the woman who did the scheduling, was being nice to her because she never before had asked for time off.

David dropped by while Urs was in the shower and he found them deep in a discussion about the agency when he returned to the Lounge. He seemed fascinated by the whole concept of a secret agency, perhaps because of his love of playing games on Play-Station, and kept asking questions until Urs put a stop to anymore.

David grinned and mentioned the article in the daily paper.

“So do we have to call you Lady Margaret now?”

“Only if you want me to stand on a chair and poke you a good one. Nothing is changed, Stretch…I’m the same bossy friend I was yesterday.”

“I’ve just never met anyone before who dresses in gowns worth nearly 50,000 pounds ….that’s what the article said your outfit cost last night…”

“It was my mother’s David…I didn’t buy it…I think the most expensive thing I’ve ever purchased for myself was some Italian jeans for 40 pounds…and cross trainers for about the same. Even my Jimmy Choo’s were a present from Simon.”

They were saved further comments by the arrival of Gerry and Carlos, dropping by before heading out for some shopping. If they had read the article in the paper, at least they were discreet enough not to mention it.

“We’re going on a prowl through some book stores, wondered if any of you want to tag along? There’s a couple that have old sheet music that we want to look through.”

Urs eyes lit up at the prospect but then he remembered that Maggie was due to sign on for duty at the school…and he had an appointment with Camille at 4:30.

“Urs, why don’t you go ahead, even if you have to leave early for your tutorial with Camille? I have a mountain of paperwork to catch up on and promised 3 of the boys to listen to the trio they’ve been trying to get up and running. By the way, anyone who wants can come for dinner…I think Cookie enjoys having you guys around…she keeps asking when you will all be back.”

“You sure you don’t mind?” Urs said and she could tell by his tone exactly what answer he wanted.

“Very sure…I’ll get a lot more done than I would if you kept interrupting.”

They all walked with her on the way back to the school, were almost there when running steps behind them made them turn to find Seb, slightly out of breath, trying to catch up.

“Hey, it’s the crazy Frenchie…found any more obnoxious women with bad fashion sense?” David snickered as Seb scowled at him.

“One time I pick a loser and you will not let me forget it…we are supposed to be friends, Yankee.”

“One time? What about that one who turned out to be a stripper and wanted to show us how it’s done in the Chinese restaurant? Or the one who claimed that haut couture meant hot culture and looked like she should be in a heavy metal band? Or the one who claimed to work in a library which was in reality a pornographic book store? Or…”

They were all laughing at Seb’s expense now and he scowled at them all and walked ahead while they doubled up with laughter.

He snarled something in French that translated to ‘I was merely broadening my horizons, experimenting a bit’ which set off another round of hysterics before they calmed enough to try and soothe him.

By the time they reached the School he was smiling and joking, agreeing that his choice of date the previous night had been pretty far off the mark.

Urs walked Maggie to the entrance and gave her a relatively chaste kiss and hug before promising to be back in time for the tutorial.

“Don’t be late… Camille is really looking forward to this.”

“Don’t be silly… I’m Swiss.”

She laughed and patted his cheek.

“Right…how could I be so foolish? Will you stay for dinner?”

“Yes...”, he leaned closer and whispered “ and breakfast,” then laughed and kissed her fingertips as she smiled and blushed scarlet.

**

Urs sent off a short note to Yvette, when he got back to the flat in the early afternoon, claiming as per Maggie’s suggestion, that the informant in London had been mistaken. He gently asked her to keep him informed as to her health and that of the baby, reminded her of the Easter holidays coming up and that he hoped to see them both at that time and signed off.

He was apprehensive about the current suspicions that Laurenz seemed to have. If anything happened to Yvette because of Simon’s interference….. He felt a deep anger building inside of him as he thought of it. Simon was so sure of himself. Was it merely bravado or did he enjoy toying with the lives of others, especially those he had no personal contact with? And what of the danger he implied to the three remaining Divos? Was that real or was Simon just trying to control him too, using the friendship that had developed through their enforced close contact as a means to keep Urs on edge, under control?

He grimaced as he struggled with his dark thoughts, comparing that portion of his life to the existence of a puppet. Only his time with Maggie was real to him, a time when he felt free, loved and loving, able to just be himself, to enjoy life.

He left the flat and jogged to the School, needing the short burst of physical movement to clear his head, anxious to hold Maggie for a moment and use the feelings that touching her flooded him with to ground him, to banish his dark thoughts, at least for a while.

**
During those lovely weeks of freedom they developed a routine…jogging or the gym in Maggie’s building in the morning, back to her suite to shower and tenderly enjoy each other, off to the school for paperwork or tutorials, the afternoons free until after four when Camille came home from school and spent an hour with Urs in one of the classrooms.

Urs finally quit waffling and went in for the Laser surgery, was brought back to Maggie’s a few hours after it was completed and retreated from the glare of the outside world for a few days. He found that the sunlight hurt, at first in both eyes, the second day a bit better and by the third day he was able to venture out with the aid of sunglasses. It would be several weeks before his right eye was no longer sensitive to bright lights and daily gave him a residual pain but his vision was outstanding and the freedom from contacts or glasses was worth the effort. Never one to use medication for long he stopped taking the pills to assuage the pain and coped, sometimes forgetting that he had ever had a problem before.

The band appeared at the New Players Theatre for a special Mothers Day show and began the rollercoaster ride in earnest. The office was flooded with calls, wanting appearances, music vendors inquired for the release date of the next album and the request for appearances on other shows escalated.

Maggie happily congratulated them but added smugly “I told you so!!” and Urs claimed that he would never doubt her intuition again.

One evening they went to a performance of Tristan and Isolde, using the Sony box, both dressed in elegant black, Urs in Armani and Maggie wearing another of her mother’s retro gowns, this one a gown with matching beaded velvet opera coat from a 50’s Doris Day movie.

He was amused when he saw Maggie quietly weeping during Tristan’s aria, then pleased when she leaned over to him and whispered that she would love to hear him performing as Tristan.

Two days later there was an inquiring note from Yvette, demanding to know who this Lady Ryan was and mentioning that just before Easter she would be coming to London on a shopping trip, with Laurenz of course and that they would like to meet her.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN….FIRST FIGHT

Simon was furious, Urs nearly as angry when he learned that Maggie had done her duty, as she saw it, and relayed the message to Simon.

“Urs, I’ve never hidden the fact that I work for Simon, at least not since the night of the party. You know I get a flag whenever there is a message from Laurenz…we have to keep track of his movements, and yours, have to know what he’s up to.”

“You owe me some loyalty, for god’s sake. You could have told me. Do you have any idea how it makes me feel to know that the woman I love is spying on me?”

“Not ON you, Urs, FOR you, for your protection. There’s a big difference.”

“OH really? Sorry but I don’t see it that way.”

He saw that her hands on the desktop had clenched into fists and her cheeks were red, flaming and though he was pretty sure she wasn’t blushing he failed to heed the warning signs.

“Just what is your problem? You know we have to keep track of Laurenz…were you going to tell Simon about the e.mail…NO? I didn’t think so….if you won’t co-operate then it’s left to me to protect you, whether you like it or not. Don’t try to tell me how to do my job, Urs!!! I’ve been at this a lot longer than you have.”

He glared at her even though she couldn’t see it.

“I can take care of myself! I don’t need you to do it!!! Is this why you never had a boyfriend before…do you always scare off any man who gets close to you with your fancy computer and your Agency full of heavies, all these skills you have with codes and locks…and all your damned money!!!” he yelled at her, regretting it as soon as the words left his mouth and he saw her face pale.

“That’s a terribly selfish attitude, Urs…not like you at all. There’s more than just you involved here and you haven’t done such a great job so far.” He saw her move a hand to cover her mouth as she lowered her voice and whispered “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that”, but she had said it and the damage was done.

“Forgive me, LADY MARGARET…I don’t suppose I can ever live up to your expectations.”

He attempted to storm out of the building, to walk off his anger before he said anything else he didn’t mean, but literally ran into Simon, tense and glowering, just coming in the door.

“In the office…NOW!!!”

“Go to Hell!!,” Urs snarled as he tried to push past the older man.

Simon slapped him, once, hard across the face and Urs was drawing back to launch the blow to Simon’s face that likely would have ended his career with Il Divo but saw a cluster of frightened children that had come out of one of the classrooms. He dropped his clenched fist to his side and returned to the office, just barely keeping his rage in check as he threw himself into one of the soft chairs along the wall.

“Simon…” Maggie began tentatively but he barked at her.

“Quiet…both of you just shut up and listen. I was against any personal involvement between you two, right from the start, you knew that, Maggie and yet you choose to make life more complicated by falling for this, this…..”

“Bastard, jerk, cherry picking SOB…I believe I’m quoting accurately. Did you forget treasure hunter, criminal, lowlife, peasant….”

Urs knew instantly he should have kept his mouth shut but was unable to suppress his own rage at the moment. He heard the tiny gasp and moan that escaped Maggie but wouldn’t look at her, couldn’t since he knew that he would see that his cruel words had hurt her.

Strangely, Urs’ reaction seemed to have a calming effect on Simon and he smiled grimly as he paced back and forth between them.

“Guilty as charged….my only defense is my concern for both of you, perhaps more than necessary for Maggie, since she operates quite well normally without me. This is not, however, a normal situation…I’m sure you can appreciate that fact. Alright, what’s done can not be undone. We can use this impending visit to our advantage. It is my understanding that the reason for Laurenz coming to London is two fold. He wants to meet the woman he may be able to use as a further threat to keep you in control and has arranged a meeting with one of the minor players here to arrange an alliance. We can not allow that to happen. At the moment each of them is merely an irritant in the overall scheme of things…. Together they could become a problem. We propose to take both of them out, and in Laurenz case, remove his wife and child into a secure location, let her start a new life. She will not be able to come home until the trial is over but I’m sure her life will be much pleasanter than it is now.”

Urs sat forward with his arms on his thighs, listening intently.

“Where will you send my sister?”

Simon frowned at him.

“You don’t need to know, Urs. It’s better that you don’t, that way nothing can leak out.”

Maggie had listened quietly but now spoke up, her voice still tinged with the stress of having argued with Urs.

“Do I still have to monitor Urs’ mail? He could report any contact to you himself.”

Simon stared at Urs for a moment.

“Will you give me your word that you will keep me totally informed as to the contact Laurenz has with you and what you know of his plans?”

Urs was equally as grim when he answered.

“Only if you promise that you will keep Maggie completely out of it. I don’t want her in any danger because of me… and I want the guys protected.”

“She’s more used to this type of thing than you know.”

Urs just stared at him, prepared for a battle.

“STOP IT!!! Stop talking about me like I wasn’t even here. I make my own decisions and I can take care of myself. I don’t need you two in a pissing contest trying to see who has the most male hormones. If you’re going to keep screaming and glaring at each other, take it somewhere else! I don’t want my kids upset!”

She glared at both of the men, hands on hips and her face flushed with anger.

They were both quiet for a moment then Urs began to chuckle.

“Baby, I’m more scared of you than I am of Simon. Very well Simon, I agree but we do need to talk. I’ll come to the office tomorrow, just after lunch and we’ll have our discussion in private.”

Simon went to Maggie and tried to give her a kiss on the cheek but she swung on him, landing a good solid blow to his stomach.

“Don’t ever come here and cause a scene again, Simon. I love you but I won’t have the children frightened.”

He grinned at Urs and left, hoping that his lyric tenor wouldn’t have too many bruises from Maggie’s over-wrought Mother instinct.

Urs rose from the sofa and went to stand behind Maggie. She was tense, stiff with anger as she stood leaning against the desk, her hands clenched and arms crossed over her chest. He wound his arms around her, not sure if she would accept his embrace, disappointed but not really surprised when she pushed him away and moved to sit in the mesh office chair.

“Maggie…”

“Go home, Urs,” she said, her voice soft but full of pain and when he reached out to touch her shoulder she flinched and moved away.

“Maggie, please…talk to me.”

She swung around to face him.

“You don’t want to talk to me right now, Urs. I’m hurt and angry and likely a bit irrational. I warned you once that I have a bad temper… well between you and Simon today, you’ve managed to hurt me and make me so angry I want to break something, to lash out and hurt someone. How dare you even think of me as some timid little thing that needs to be sheltered from the dangers that we both know exist? Is it because I’m blind?...If I were sighted, would you treat me with the respect I thought I’ve earned?...And to use bad language and start a fight here, in front of the students…how could you? And the things you said about yourself…criminal, treasure hunter, peasant…is that how you think of yourself or is it what you think I feel? Would it make you happier if I gave it all away, if I came to you poor and whimpering in fear everytime someone brushes against me in the street, if I ignored the talents I have and let the world stumble along trying to cope with the evil I could have helped contain? What do you want from me, Urs…did you just want to add a virgin to the notches on your belt….was everything you said to me a lie…or did you think you could make me into the same timid person you had in Celeste? Perhaps you should have stayed with her if that’s what it takes to make you happy. Go home!”

She had jumped to her feet to face him and swung at him but he was faster and caught her hand in his, drawing her tense body to his and holding her when she struggled. He tried to capture her mouth with his but she bit him, hard enough to draw blood and he cursed, swung her around so her back was against him, holding her arms tight to her body as she struggled, trying to keep his own temper under control, pushing Jessie away with one foot as the confused canine tried to get between them.

“Calm down…I’ll leave. We need to talk this out but now doesn’t appear to be a good time.”

He stepped back away from her, his mind jumbled with all the words and actions of the last few minutes, had just reached the door when he heard her sob, turned and saw her hand brush against an empty coffee mug on the desk and grasp it to pitch it in his direction. He ducked and it smashed against the door frame.

It was a dismal and too short of a walk back to the flat, not nearly far enough to work off the residual anger still boiling inside him so he went past the building and entered the park, hands in pockets, shoulders hunched, just walking at a brisk pace, letting his mind calm enough to think about what had happened.

Control, that was the issue…control or the lack of it, something he hadn’t been on top of since he signed on with Il Divo, since before Laurenz issued his ultimatum the first time. In some ways he had been using his relationship with Maggie to have control over some part of his life, treating her not as an equal as she deserved but as someone who needed him to be in control, not just of their beginning romance but in all aspects of their life together. The money itself wasn’t a real problem, merely the visible sign of his lack of control over her and thus something he resented. He had thought he hid his feelings about her wealth but apparently he was wrong.

The very things that he admired and loved, the aspects that made Maggie who she was, the woman that he would willingly give his life for, those things made her a strong person, someone who was kind and loyal, talented, dependable…. and self reliant. He had to admit that she didn’t need him to chart her life, to protect her at every turn of the road… he had to trust her, respect her …if their relationship was not already beyond salvaging.

Did he really treat her differently than he would a sighted woman? He thought of all their times together and was hurt by her accusation…half the time he forgot she couldn’t see, she coped so well. Yes, there were concessions that had to be made, but not out of pity…it was no different than if she had been …left-handed…sometimes you just had to adapt.

He replayed their argument, the hurtful things he had said to her and the cruel way she had answered him…. They both had spoken in the heat of the moment, blowing minor disagreements all out of proportion, saying things on both sides that were meant only to hurt, not to be believed. He was calmer now and hoped that she was too… he couldn’t let this be the end for them, not without doing everything possible to mend fences. If she didn’t let him in or refused to let him back in her life…he couldn’t bear to even think of the possibility.

He looked up and found that his steps had led him to her building and he entered, nodding at security and entering the lift. At least she hadn’t told security not to let him in, that was a hopeful sign. It rose ponderously tonight, almost creeping toward what might be the most important meeting of his life.

The door opened and he entered the foyer, walked quietly through to the Lounge and saw her sitting in the chocolate leather chair by the fireplace, curled in on herself, her face glistening with tracks of tears.

She rose slowly and waited as he crossed over the fluffy carpet and stood in front of her.

“I’m sorry… I tried to leave…but where-ever you are…that’s my home now.”

She reached her hands out to him and he took them, gently holding her against his tense body, felt the way her shoulders relaxed against him, the way she burrowed into his chest and slipped her arms around his waist to hold on, tight.

“I’ve always been the one in charge, the one to make the decisions. This whole mess with Laurenz feels so unnatural to me, and I thought that at least in my personal life I would be the one in control. But there are two of us and I didn’t show you the respect you deserve. We should make decisions together, and I need to respect your work, just as you constantly show me respect for what I do. I was wrong, Liebe and I’m so sorry. Don’t leave me, Maggie. Please take a chance on me.”

“I won’t ever leave you, my Swiss…I may yell and scream and argue sometimes, but I won’t leave you. I love you, nothing can change that.” She nestled against him, her breath soft and warm against his chest and he didn’t ever want to let her go.

“Urs, I was wrong…I should have told you that I was still reading your mail from Laurenz and passing the news on to Simon. I’m sorry. I promise you that I won’t keep anything like that from you again.”

He held her tight and caressed her back.

“I said some hurtful things to you, things I didn’t mean…please forgive me?”

“You weren’t the only one, Urs…my mouth is my worst enemy when I lose my temper…I tend to get verbal diarrhea, to say things I don’t mean, to inflict as much pain as possible….I’m so sorry.”

“Do you realize that we’ve just had our first fight? And you were right…you are awesome when you loose your temper.”

“Urs, there will be times when I need you to be strong for me, when I need to know that you are there to hold me, to keep me safe, just as I will be there for you should you need me. We both have to learn when those times are, when to be strong, when to be supportive, when to allow each other to lead or follow. This love we share is so new, so fragile…it will be a learning experience for both of us and if we survive the lessons it will only make our love stronger.”

He kissed her brow tenderly and whispered close to her mouth.

“You are more important to me than anything, anyone… I will take care of you my Love and if that means sometimes letting you take the lead then so be it and I will follow. When you need me I will be there.”

They curled up together on the big leather sofa and talked for an hour, wandered into the kitchen to raid the frig and open a bottle of wine, then sat on the carpet in front of the fire nibbling and sipping their chardonnay, airing all the little things that had come up in the brief but volatile shouting match in the office.

“Does Simon really think I’m after your money?” he asked.

She sighed and nestled closer.

“I don’t think Simon really believes in Love. He isn’t quite as money mad as he likes to let on but he’s never had a girl friend who just liked him for himself…not before the current one that is. And he’s very protective of me, even worse than you are. We fight about it a lot.”

“And do you always win?” he chuckled against the top of her head and made her shiver from the vibrations.

“Always… he’s even more of a softie than you are.”

She giggled as he retaliated by tickling her until she was breathless and begged for mercy.

“I really do respect the work you do, Liebe. I’m very proud of you, but I do worry. I couldn’t handle it if something happened to you.”

“You must have faith in yourself and in me, Urs. I seldom work much in the field, when I do it is usually in a support type of position or supervisory. And I like to think that if something did happen that what we have shared would make your heart open to sharing yourself with another, in time. You have so much love to give…. It would be a sin not to find someone else to share it with.”

“I can’t think of a time when you are not with me. Just those few hours today when I worried that you wouldn’t accept me back…I thought I would lose my mind.”

She pulled his head down for a kiss that evolved into more kisses, that magically made clothing disappear, that led to caresses and moans …..

Jessie raised her head once to look at the intertwined bodies in front of the flickering fire, sighed and turned away, sleeping and content that her pets were playing happily.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN….RESCUE BEGINS



Urs joined Maggie on several shopping expeditions for Easter gifts for all the kids, useful, tasty or fun things, each time returning home with the car full to over flowing. They celebrated a few days early in order to share the fun with the whole student body, presents, Easter egg hunt,
a special dinner and an impromptu performance of Beauty and the Beast, held in the Dining Hall. Carlos and Gerry helped with the ‘dishes’, roles done admirably by the younger children and vowed that it was the most fun performance they had ever been part of.

It was the day that the kids all left for their homes that Urs got word that Laurenz, Yvette and the baby would be in London the following day, accompanied by some ‘friends’. He called Simon immediately and that evening they met in the nearly empty school to finalize plans.

“There isn’t a lot of evidence against Laurenz at the moment, though we can hold him for 24 hours without much. We do need to get the woman and child away from danger though and this seems the safest way to do it. Urs, I’d like you to be present at the airport…it will calm Yvette to see you and then we can explain what is happening. Laurenz will be taken into custody, but I’m afraid his lawyer will have him out the next day unless he’s fool enough to carry anything incriminating on him. Brian will be part of the take down team…ahhh, you weren’t aware he works for the Agency ….. Brian is one of our better operatives, very versatile when it comes to assuming roles and working his way into organizations. He is at present part of Laurenz’ contingent of guards for Yvette, that’s why he’s been away for a while.”

“And what would you like me to do, Simon?” Maggie asked.

“A team will be entering the house in Switzerland and may encounter some difficulty with locks and computer firewalls, pass codes, that sort of thing. We need you available to assist them via land line if they run into trouble. Brian says that Laurenz is paranoid about security and it may prove difficult.”

Urs couldn’t hide the sigh of relief when he heard what Maggie’s job was to be. He hoped she hadn’t heard it and glanced at her just in time so see a wry smile cross her mouth as she shook her head a bit. Well he would apologize later. This business of trying not to be over- protective of her was difficult but he would learn.

“How will we know when he is arriving, through Brian?” he asked Simon.

“Yes…he will send us a coded message with the flight number and arrival time. He will also see to it that Yvette and Hans go through customs first so we can take them away quickly, before Laurenz and the other guards get through the officials. It will destroy his cover but he was nearly finished there anyway. Laurenz had planned to ‘promote’ him to one of his thugs soon and Brian draws the line at being sent out to beat on people that have annoyed his ‘employer’.”


They talked a while longer about the plans then Urs asked again where Yvette and Hans would be taken.

“You don’t need to know, Urs,” Simon began but Maggie interrupted.

“You might as well tell him, Simon, because if you don’t, I will. You should know by now that he will do nothing to endanger his sister or nephew….. and I will not keep secrets from Urs.”

Simon growled out a response.

“Fine!...Maggie owns houses in several cities that we use as safe houses whenever necessary. They are staffed and secure, well protected so we will send Yvette and the boy to one of them.”

“SIMON! The whole truth!” She glared at him and with a sigh he continued.

“We will take her to a secure room at the airport and then on a private plane to Canada…to Toronto. The place there is large and gated, staffed by an older couple with 2 daughters in their early 20’s, all trained agents. She will have company and assistance, anything she needs until this whole business is settled.”

He left shortly after, promising to inform them as soon as he heard anything.

When Maggie shut the door behind Simon she turned to go back to the office but found Urs had followed her. He took her hands and leaned his brow against hers and she waited to see what he would say.

“Thank you, Luv…. For having faith in me, for standing up to Simon…and for not getting angry with me for wanting to keep you safe…. What do you say to going home and I’ll show you what a great cook I am? I’m a whiz at tinned soup. Or we can order Indian delivered?”

“Or we can nuke one of the casseroles that Heidi leaves in the freezer for me? Tomorrow will be a busy day…I’d like some quiet time, just us two.”

He agreed and they locked down the quiet school and followed Jessie home.

They ended up having soup after all, though not tinned but some of Heidi’s homemade corn chowder from the freezer with a warmed crusty baguette, cheese and fruit, all spread on the coffee table in front of the fire.

Both kept their phones close at hand as they sipped on fruit spritzers, needing to keep their heads clear and Urs told her stories about Yvette as a child, always the timid one, the little princess, the one sister who always had neat hair and tidy ribbons at the end of her braids, the one that the others loved to tease since she cried easily and also the one that he took under his wing and fought many a battle for. She had been a difficult birth and a delicate child, at a loss among the other robust children but loved by all even though the other two sisters delighted in teasing her.

She had adopted Urs as her hero, running to him when the others had her in tears, pleading with him to help with her homework when the assigned problems were too much of a challenge, asking for him to hold her hand when she was hospitalized to have her tonsils removed.

He had come back from Amsterdam to be her partner for her first dance, a fact that impressed all the other girls in her class who stared at him with longing through the evening.

Maggie could hear the love he had for his sister in his voice, more so even than when he spoke of Magda or Pauline…it was something foreign to her, this sibling affection, since she had been an only child. It explained a lot about why he felt the need to protect her and seemed surprised when she was able to be strong and self reliant.

“It’s time for Yvette to stand on her own, Urs. She has a child now, responsibilities. This separation from the domination of Laurenz and the over protected young years when you made her life easy, it will be good for her. She can make a new life…we can help her get started and encourage her after she begins to feel safe again.”

They lay together on the leather sofa, spooned, listening to the fire and some classical CD’s, talking now and then but just enjoying the closeness and the peace, retiring to the bedroom around 10 and showering separately so one would be available should the phone ring.

Urs was brushing Maggie’s hair, a task he enjoyed, when the call came.

Flight 247, arriving at Heathrow at 14:45, the meeting of the team to be at Simon’s office at 12 noon.

There was something about the danger and tension that made them both wild and they made love as if they had been apart for months, neither able to hold back as they tore at each other, rough, bruising, sweaty and when they managed to breathe again and straighten the carpet that they had fallen out of the big bed onto, Urs picked Maggie up and cuddled her once again in the ravaged bed.

She began to laugh and so did he, both laughing until tears streaked their faces and they snuggled, chuckling now and then as their hearts stopped racing and the salty sweat that coated their skin dried.

“I did tell you I wouldn’t always be gentle,” he said with a kiss on her brow.

“You didn’t warn me about falling out of bed though,” she said with a giggle.

“Maybe we should get thicker carpets,” he replied and she giggled again, biting him lightly on an exposed arm.

“I didn’t know you could speak Italian,” he said and stroked the tangled curls off her face.

“I can’t ….. only the naughty words.”

He laughed and nestled closer.

“Well you did a fine job of them…I was impressed.”

She giggled and he felt her cheek against his chest, heat and knew that she was blushing.

Slowly they cooled and somehow unwound the duvet and pulled it up to cover them as they slept.

**

They both avoided talking about what was upcoming after their morning shower, neither very interested in breakfast as they sat at the counter in the kitchen and sipped on juice and coffee.

“What are you going to tell the guys about being busy today?” she asked him and he frowned, thinking.

“Probably the truth… it’s always easier to remember the truth than a lie and I’m tired of having to think up phony excuses to explain some of my absences. They deserve to know what’s going on.”

“It shouldn’t be too much of a shock….David already knows about the Agency and he may have told the others.”

“Not David…he never gossips…sometimes things slip out if he hasn’t been asked not to tell, but once he promises to keep quiet, that’s it. Very dependable and close-mouthed, surprisingly so for someone with such a wicked sense of humor.”

Maggie went to the school with Jessie while Urs returned to his seldom used flat to change into leathers and get his Harley, hoping to catch the other Divos before he had to leave. He was nervous but not unduly, hoped he could keep his temper and concentrate on getting Yvette and Hans to safety rather than attacking Lorenz the first glimpse he had. His stomach tightened as he thought of how frightened she would be, how confused, not knowing whether she should defend her husband out of fear of retaliation or misplaced loyalty or go with Urs as he was going to urge her to do. He thought about what Maggie had said and decided that appealing to his sister for help in removing Hans from danger might be the best way to go.

He found David and Seb enjoying coffee in David’s flat and they rang Carlos to invite him and Gerry down to Seb’s for coffee and an important talk. Leaving it that way got Carlos’ attention and he dragged a sleepy Gerry to Seb’s to satisfy his curiosity.

Urs began explaining about the threat that had been a cloud hanging over him for several years, getting as he expected, an angry reaction from them that he hadn’t appealed to them for assistance before.

“I’m sorry…it’s hard for me to be open about some personal things and there are things I’ve had to do that I’m not proud of. I don’t know if you are aware of the Agency that Simon and Maggie belong to…I know David is, and I don’t have time this morning to go into details.

“Laurenz and Yvette are arriving in London just before 3 today and he will be taken into custody, but more importantly Yvette and the baby will be put into protective custody, somewhere where he can’t hurt her again. Hopefully then it will all be over.”

“What can we do to help?” Seb asked, shaky but determined.

“Nothing, I just felt it was way past time that I should be honest with you. I have to be at the airport to try and keep Yvette from panicking….Maggie will be at the school, monitoring the search of the house in Switzerland from her office…. If anyone wants to go by and keep her company…”

“It will be better than waiting alone… Claro, ‘mijo,” Gerry said and the others agreed.

He left soon after, dropping by the school and admitted through the locked doors by Millie when she recognized his voice.

Maggie was in the office and looked up from her keyboard when he entered.

“So how did it go, Swiss?”

“Good,” he said as he crossed over to her and bent to kiss her.

“They want to come over and wait with you and I thought you would agree. It will be less nerve wracking for them to hear what’s going on….and they chewed me out royally for not telling them before.”

She grinned at him.

“You do have a very loyal bunch of friends. Yes, I’ll be glad of the company…this place seems so lifeless when the children are gone.”

He pulled over one of the other chairs and sat facing her, playing idly with her fingers, trusting Millie to announce any incoming messages.

“So tell me about this house in Toronto. I may need to sell the idea to Yvette.”

She laughed and teased him that he was just nosey.

“It’s a 200 year old big brick house in an area called Rosedale, set on a large ravine lot with high brick and stone walls all around. Granda bought it when he opened some of the businesses in Toronto back in the 1920’s, probably something to do with illegal booze, according to some of the tales I overheard Da telling Mama. There’s a large garage with an apartment over it for the Agent who acts as chauffeur now and then and a 9 bedroom house. Claude and Delphine take care of the house and live there with their daughters, Angie and Louise…all of them work for the Agency. We use it as a safe house or a base for any work in the area. It’s really a lovely place, especially in the spring and summer with gardens and tall, sheltering pines…of course now they have snow and cold weather but it’s still pretty.”

“Do you ever go there?”

“I haven’t for a couple of years…why, did you want to visit sometime?”

He smiled and reached out to brush some stray curls from her cheek.

“It might be a good starting place for a road trip…I’ve heard that camping in Canada is a wonderful holiday…but I like to rough it…campfires and a tent, no Winnebagos for me.”

“Sounds like fun…I haven’t been camping for…oh it must be about 12 years.”

He stood and leaned over her, cupping her face with his hands.

“Then that’s another thing we have to put on our ‘To Do’ list.”

He kissed her and nibbled on her mouth, then sighed and let his hands fall to her shoulders. “I never get enough of kissing you…you’re like a drug that I need all the time….but I have to go, Liebe. I’ll be back as soon as I can after Yvette and Hans are off to safety.”

“Urs…be careful…and calm. She will be confused and upset, in need of a calm, loving presence….and I want you back in one piece.”

“I promise…Later Luv.”

He saw the group of friends coming down the street as he put his helmet on and mounted the Harley. They waved and he waved back as he eased out into the late morning traffic.

It was early but he liked to be on time, never more so than today. Strangely he was calm now, cold and determined but calm, perhaps because of the rightness of what they were about to do. Today there were no butterflies, no nerves like he usually had when he had to do a job for Laurenz. Today no one had to die, though it would not have made him unhappy if Laurenz ceased to exist. From this day on, hopefully, Yvette could get on with her life and so could he…a life that he knew had to include Maggie.

It was early days yet in their relationship but he didn’t care…he knew it was right….at long last he was entertaining thoughts that had always seemed foreign to him. His attitude about marriage had, since his early years, been that it was an old fashioned institution, unnecessary in this modern world. Now he understood… there was a craving that came when you truly had found your soulmate, a craving to belong, in front of God and man, to take a solemn vow that showed this was not a mere relationship, it was a lifetime commitment, chosen freely. He smiled as he thought that sometime, soon, he would declare exactly how much he loved her, how he wanted them to be one, forever… he would wait for the right time, the right moment and ask Maggie to be his wife… and hope to God she would accept.

He finally reached the entrance to the underground parking at Simon’s office and parked the bike in a vacant slot, carried his helmet and went up the stairs to Simon’s floor. The receptionist waved him on in and he entered to find a crowd of men and women, all dressed in casual street clothing, clustered around the desk, waiting for Simon to arrive and go over the plans with them.

He nodded and found an empty seat, slid his helmet underneath and glanced around.

None of the people present would have been identified on sight as being part of a secret organization. Most of the women looked like housewives or secretaries, the men appearing to be office workers, accountants, perhaps a few as athletes part time since their bodies were toned. He smiled as he realized that he fit right in. No one would assume that he was an opera singer by his appearance either…maybe a courier or a biker with his long hair and leathers but definitely not a classical singer.

He noticed a large coffee urn on a sideboard against the far wall and rose to help himself, winding through the agents on the plush leather couches and the ones sitting in the wingback chairs in front of Simon’s large mahogany desk. He could see the Tower clock from the acres of smoked glass window behind the desk…5 of 12 Noon. He was on time even though it seemed Simon wasn’t.

Simon bustled into the room even before the thought was finished, glanced around and got right to business.

“You all are familiar I think with the business we need to take care of this afternoon. This annoying little man needs to be taken down before he becomes even more of a nuisance. The man he is coming to see is being taken out even as we speak.”

He clicked on a switch on the desk and the light in the room dimmed, the drapes slid soundlessly across the windows and a large flat screen TV appeared from behind one of the wall panels, a long lens shot of Laurenz appearing on the screen.

“This is our target…he will be delayed with his two guards at customs long enough for,” here the screen changed to a photo of Yvette, carrying Hans and Brian walking beside her, “this man, our agent, to rush her out of sight, aided by her brother, our biker friend here.” He motioned to Urs and smiled.

Instructions continued, who was to wait and where, who would assist the officials in delaying Laurenz, dressed in uniform which customs had provided, who would actually do the take down and transport, who would be responsible for surrounding Urs, Yvette and the baby and spiriting them away to a secure holding room.

“We all know that even the simplest project can screw up…be alert and flexible. We will not get another chance like this.”

The meeting broke up and everyone left except Urs and a young woman also dressed in leathers…Simon had requested that they remain behind.

“Urs, you won’t likely remember all the faces of who will be on this assignment so I would like Beryl to stay with you for the duration. Follow her lead, keep your head and we’ll all get through this.”

Beryl motioned for him to follow her and he trailed behind while they went down the stairs to the parking level and into a secured room. Several agents were in there, changing into different clothing, uniforms mostly of airlines, customs, cleaning staff. He saw a few donning weapons under their clothing and noticed that some were wearing ear-buds, he assumed attached to mikes or radios though they all looked as if they wore varied music players.

Beryl handed him an ear bud and delicate throat mike, showed him how to conceal the wires in his hair, laughing when she said that his style was perfect for it. She secured one in her own shaggy mop of poorly dyed blonde tresses, tucking the mike into a scarf around her neck and then indicated her bike, a Yamaha that had seen better days.

“Get your ride…I’ll wait here for you,” she said and he left to retrieve the Harley.

The Yamaha was purring when he pulled up beside her, the motor in much better condition than the body, like Beryl herself, probably a disguise to hide the real quality underneath.

He followed behind her, letting her set the pace to the airport, now that they were starting to really do something, feeling his nerves begin to tingle with anticipation. He did some deep breathing to calm himself, parked the bike beside hers and they entered the reception area of arrivals to begin the wait.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN….AIRPORT PANIC

For some reason the time flashed by and it seemed only minutes later that they saw on the arrivals board that the flight had landed. As planned, they moved into the customs area, partly hidden behind one of the kiosks that the agents worked out of, Beryl pointing out that several of their operatives were working the gates along with real customs agents. Urs watched nervously for a glimpse of Yvette, switched to watching for Brian since he was so much taller than Urs’ petite sister and was rewarded minutes later by a glimpse of the tall agent, almost immediately spying his sister walking in front of Brian and carrying the baby in her arms. Directly behind them, not really far enough for Urs’ peace of mind, Laurenz and two large men stood in the slowly moving line, papers in hand.

Urs turned away, not wanting Laurenz to see him until it was too late for him to do anything about it, murmuring to Beryl that he had spied them.

“Yes, I see Tiger and a woman right in front of him, holding a child. As soon as they reach the kiosk Tiger will hustle her through and we must rush over to calm your sister. The agents and airport security will move in on Judas at that time.”

At first the operation went like clockwork. Yvette reached the kiosk, Brian took her arm and at a nod from the real customs officer pulled her rapidly through the gate, Urs and Beryl raced to her side and Urs put his arm about his confused sister, urging her to move faster.

“Yvette, come with us…these people are friends, quickly,come with us,” he said in Swiss German, aware of the yells and commotion behind them but not daring to waste time watching the takedown.

“Urs…what are you doing? Let me go…He will be so angry…”

“No more, Klein Schwester, no more… Laurenz is going to prison and you are going to safety. Trust me, Schwester. Quickly, now.” He scooped Hans out of her arms and handed the baby to Beryl, motioning with a nod of his head that she should go on ahead….some strange woman taking off with her son should spur Yvette into moving quickly.

They had almost made it through the doors and into a hallway when a shot rang out and the screaming of people in the lineups began.

“Take her,” Urs yelled at Brian and whirled around to see what was happening, who had dared shoot at his sister and stopped the turn part way when he felt a burning sensation in the fleshy part of his shoulder. He looked down and saw a stain of red spreading from under his leather jacket across the pale blue tee he had chosen to wear.

Another shot rang out, accompanied by more shouting and he glanced back to see a heavy man rushing towards him, a gun in his hand and his face twisted in a snarl, several agents lining up guns on his body, a security guard laying stunned on the terrazzo flooring and behind them people huddled in shrieking clumps on the floor, in a panic.

“SHE IS MINE, BUHLER…YVETTE AND THE BOY ARE MINE…YOU’RE DEAD, YOU THIEVING BASTARD!!!” The scream came from Laurenz as he struggled feebly in the grip of two of the agents.

The thug raised the gun to shoot at Urs again, the shot going past him but too close to ignore and fury infused him, a cold dark fury that lent strength to the body that he threw towards the hated man.

They collided, the attacker looking wild and crazed, Urs cold and deadly. He gripped the man’s gun hand and forced it to point upward, wedging his finger quickly in the trigger guard, his other prying the man’s fingers loose and back, pressing until he heard a satisfying snap and the gun fell from a lifeless hand.

The gun swung from Urs’ finger and he reversed it smoothly, gripping it by the barrel while the assailant howled with the pain of his broken bones. Faster than should have been humanly possible Urs hit him in the pain wracked face, a spray of blood coating both of them from his broken nose…again he lashed out with the pistol butt but the anger was dissipating now and he was conscious of Beryl screaming at him to stop, to come with her, that Yvette needed him….the blow glanced off a cheek, ripping the skin.

He let go of Laurenz’ thug, the whimpering man falling to his knees but only momentarily, for agents grabbed him and followed the others who had his boss and partner in control, hustling them from the crowded area.

Urs turned to Beryl, still on edge, his fury not quite spent but thinking more clearly now. She wasn’t holding his nephew anymore and she must have seen the question in his eyes.

“Brian has him…he has both of them. Come with me, Urs,” she said and jogged down the hallway, expecting him to follow. He tossed the gun to an agent as he sped after Beryl, down the hall, through another busy area and into a room where he found Yvette in hysterics and Hans picking up on her distress and wailing at the top of his little lungs. He went to her and enclosed her in his arms, still high with an adrenal rush and ignoring the increasing pain spreading from his shoulder as he held her close and spoke soothing words to her in Swiss German.

She calmed slowly and concentrated on quieting Hans, sat on Urs’ lap when he pulled her over to a chair and listened quietly while he explained what had just happened.

He wiped the tears from her face, thinking about what she had been through the past few years, and thinking that he had been partly at fault. He had always babied her, fighting her battles for her, sheltering her…now he had to do what should have been done long ago…force her to stand on her own feet, to take responsibility for the choices she had made in life.

“Klein Schwester, you will have an opportunity now to do what few people ever can….you have another chance to make a life, a new, good life for you and Hans. We can help you but the ultimate choices will be yours and that is as it should be.”

“What do you mean? Urs are you sending me away?”

“No, little Love. If you choose to stay here we will try to protect you, though I will admit that it would be better for you to go. The woman I love has a home in Canada that you are welcome to use, a secure, guarded place where he can’t find you. It’s time for you to take control of your life, Yvette, and time for me to stop fighting your battles for you. You have Hans to consider now, his future as well as yours….and I need to build a life with this woman that is my soulmate. I will always be there for you, to comfort you, to give you strength, but YOU must be the one to embrace life with your son.”

“Alone? Urs, come with me…I can’t do this alone…please come with me!!”

He lifted her to her feet and stood to face her, shaking his head and removing the hand that clutched at his jacket to kiss the palm and fold the fingers over the kiss, something he had done since she was a child.

“For too long I have sheltered you from life. You must do this on your own, Schwester. It is up to you to make a life for your son and I know you have it in you to do it. I have faith in you, Yvette…it’s time you had faith in yourself. You are stronger than you think. Remember that I love you Yvette.”

He walked away, started to close the door but Beryl had followed him and they stood outside the room talking, Yvette’s soft weeping coming to them clearly through the partly closed door. Listening to her despair and not going back to lend her his strength was almost beyond him but he steeled himself and closed the door… it was traumatic but it would be a start for her. Even as he hesitated her crying stopped and he heard her beginning to speak relatively calmly to the agent still in the room.

“I know how hard that was for you…I’m sorry, Urs but it was the right thing to do. I will be accompanying your sister to Toronto and stay a few days until she is used to the new environment and new people. Would you like me to call you when I return and let you know how she is doing?”

He leaned over and kissed her on the brow, taking her shoulders briefly for a quick squeeze.

“Thank you,” was all he could manage, his throat constricted as he tried to hold back tears.

“Urs, go…see the medic about that shoulder…you’re bleeding all over the place.”

Now that she mentioned it a surge of pain stabbed at him and he nearly groaned.

He wound his way through the groups of people until he was stopped by the bulky body of Brian.

“God love you, boy…have you not had that seen to? Come along, then.”

The rest was a blur as the pain filled him now….he was pushed into another area and someone removed his jacket, cut his shirt, though he protested and they muttered something about stitches and ‘through and through’. Normally he would have fought anyone trying to sew up his skin but he sat meekly, lost in a world of sadness as he thought about Yvette, wincing now and then at the pains inflicted on him, turning his eyes away when a medic approached with a huge needle surely meant for a horse, hazily aware when Brian slipped his jacket back on and led him from the building.

He was dizzy now and vaguely remembered something about a shot to kill the pain, existed on automatic as Brian led him to the Harley and mounted it on command, behind Brian …there was a fleeting thought that he didn’t know the man could ride, quickly gone…now his foremost thought was that he needed Maggie, needed to feel her warmth and be comforted by her and he merely said her name to the burly man.

“Maggie…”

“Yes, Lad…I’m taking you to Maggie…with God’s grace before that hypo puts you out completely.”

It seemed only seconds later that the comforting noise of the Harley was stilled, he lifted his heavy helmeted head from Brian’s back and was trying to walk, assisted by David on one side and Sebastien on the other. Soon the cushioned softness of the sofa in Maggie’s office was under his back and as he felt her hands on his face he smiled and let blackness sweep him away in a velvet fog. He was home, with Maggie…she would take care of him.

**

It hadn’t been too stressful at first, waiting to see how the operation went. The guys and Gerry arrived, someone made coffee and Carlos gave Gerry a tour of the school while Seb and David kept Maggie company in the office.

She had Millie open two channels, one for the group at the airport that she would put on speaker, another keyed through her headset in contact with the group who had entered the house in Switzerland. The search group was going through the house and grounds slowly and systematically, looking for hidden data…files, safes, contraband, anything which would incriminate Laurenz. They found the computer and she gave them the codes and passwords to open the files in the hard drive, listening carefully while they relayed what they had found.

Her contact, a female agent disguised as a customs officer at the airport, announced the arrival of the team, small groups of them arriving and taking their places, assuming their roles with practiced ease. She heard when the plane arrived, waited while luggage was collected and switched to the speakers when the target was sighted.

“Tiger has been sighted,” the sound boomed into the room and she turned the volume to a more tolerable level.

“Brian,” she said to the tense audience behind her in the office.

“Urs is Biker” she added and heard David chuckle.

“Going down…NOW!” the next message made them brace for the imagined action.

“Tiger pulled the woman and child through the gate…Biker and Beryl are helping him…she’s resisting them, confused…and…OH SH*T!!.. Shots fired!!!” It was unnecessary, they could clearly hear the sound of a shot, a pause filled with screaming and yelling of many people, then another shot.

“One of the guards…knocked down security…took his weapon… Biker is hit…”

In the office there was stunned silence as they collectively groaned then held their breath, waiting for the next message. They heard Laurenz scream, heard his curse on Urs’ life, finally heard the contact describe Biker turning on his assailant and subduing him, then racing off with the other agent. The noise level dropped as the crowd at the airport thinned, calmed somewhat to a busy buzz of voices, agents took the thugs away and the others left their posts to meet up in the Security Office.

They could hear the agent walking now, heard Brian’s familiar voice in the background and Maggie keyed her mike to ask a question.

“Garnet, Ceol here…how badly is Biker hurt?”

“Looked like his shoulder…he’s in with his sister and nephew. Tiger and Beryl are waiting for him, with a medic.”

Maggie sat back in her chair and felt soothing hands on her shoulders, wanting to give comfort. She recognized the scent…Seb, gentle Seb whose tender nature would be hurt the most of the three men at the thought of Urs being wounded. She patted his hand as they listened to Brian talking to Urs now, though Urs said little she could hear the stress in his voice … heard Brian telling someone that he would see Biker got home and she took the connection off of speaker, then turned to the others in the room.

“I have to be here, maybe all night. Could someone make up the sofa for Urs to lay on, Please? I doubt we can convince him to go home and he likely shouldn’t be alone anyway….. the medic probably gave him a heavy duty shot to put him out.”

“I will do it Cherie,” Seb said and left her.

She was busy for a few minutes talking to the team in Switzerland and when she finished she could hear them quietly making plans and the sounds of Seb shaking out sheets to make up the sofa.

“That’s settled then,” David said, obviously having taken charge.

“You and Gerry go home and come back in the morning with a packed bag for Urs… don’t forget his hairbrush. Seb and I will spell Maggie off, make coffee or Urs-sit, taking turns crashing on the sofa in the classroom across the hall or in one of these big chairs…and we all meet again here for breakfast.”

Maggie began to laugh, softly, trying to hold on to her professional calm…she knew that if she let down her guard she would lose it completely…the worry over Urs was banging at the door of her self-control.

“You guys are priceless…like the 4 Musketeers. Does he realize what loving, loyal friends he has?”

She heard Carlos gentle laughter.

“Urs is family, Querida, and family stick together.”

It seemed to take forever for Brian and Urs to arrive at the school and they alternated between nervous chatter and silence as they waited. Maggie was fortunate to have something real to do, talking to the team in Switzerland, fielding calls from Simon who let his concern for Urs slip out by calling 3 times to ask if he was home yet. Carlos kept going to the door and looking out to the drive, coming back in to pace nervously until Gerry caught his hand and pulled him down into one of the wing backed chairs beside her.

“It is a long drive from the airport, Carlito. They will be here soon.”


“I hear a motorcycle…” David called out and raced from the office.

Maggie heard the front door open, faintly heard some talking then the sound of the iron drive-way gates opening and the motorcycle again as it went down the drive…the gates slid closed once more as David and Seb, supporting Urs between them and Carlos handling the doors, came back in the office and lowered his drugged body onto the sofa.

Maggie yanked her headset off and went to him, bumping into Carlos in her haste but she was steered to Urs as he leaned back on a pillow.

“You’re home, Luv…..rest now,” she said as her hands cupped his face. He sighed and relaxed, completely out now.

“Gerry…how bad does it look?” she asked, trusting that she would get an honest answer, unable for a few moments to hold back the tears she had been suppressing.

“He’s pale and the shirt is ruined….he has a large dressing on his left shoulder…yes, right there and his arm was in a sling but I think came out when they helped him inside. His chest is pretty bloody but I think it’s from the shoulder, knuckles a bit scraped…all in all, pretty good.”

“Maggie, it might be easier on him if we take off his leathers, jacket, pants and so on, down to his underwear. It could hurt like sin later when the drugs wear off.”

“Thanks David,” she replied and looked up at the beep from Millie…she was needed on the connection again. She took a deep breath and turned away from where she wanted to be, returning to her duty.

The men undressed Urs, not an easy task since he was completely pliant in their hands and couldn’t help in any way. They cut the rest of the shirt off and discarded it, Gerry took his jacket to wipe the blood off and when she came back they were just lowering his limp body back onto the sofa, taking great care to put no strain on the large dressing taped across and over his shoulder.

Suddenly they all realized that Brian had not come back in after parking the motorbike and the tension level rose again…only for a moment.

Maggie smiled as she explained.

“Brian’s code name is Tiger because he can move through an area like a stealthy, stalking tiger when he wants…He’s done his job and brought Urs home to me….now he will be on his way to Joan, HIS harbor from the cruelty of this world. I didn’t expect him to come in once he saw that you were here to help.”

It was a never-ending day and night…Carlos and Gerry left just after dark, promising to be back in the morning. David scrounged in the kitchen, coming back with toasted bacon and tomato sandwiches, a nice Italian Wedding soup that he found in the freezer and a large thermos of coffee. After they ate, both he and Seb sat with Maggie at the desk and learned how to use the equipment, hoping to be able to spell her until she was needed for actual instructions to the field team.

She fell asleep about 1am with her head on the desk and David carried her over to a mound of blankets they had spread next to the sofa, placed her on it and let her sleep as long as he could.

Urs roused briefly around 2:30, the need for a quick trip to the Lav more pressing than the dose of meds could blank out. He swung his legs shakily off the sofa, a little disoriented until he felt Seb’s hands on his waist, steering him around a blanketed mound on the floor and into the small room.

Relief accomplished and hands quickly rinsed, he stumbled back out of the room, aware that Seb had waited for him and headed back to the sofa, his shoulder throbbing with a dull ache and his bleary eyes searching the office for Maggie.

David sat at the computer console and motioned toward the floor…he recognized her now, only her ebony hair visible under a thick duvet…he pushed past Seb and lowered himself to the floor, slowly, his body not easily obeying the silent commands for some reason and lay beside her, inching under the duvet carefully and pulling it down until his head rested near hers.

“Urs,” she said with a groggy half smile as the movement woke her.

She reached out to caress his cheek, gently pulling his head down to rest against her breasts.

“My favorite pillows,” he murmured and was gone again.

David exchanged glances with Sebastien, both men touched by the need these two had to be close. They said nothing, Seb returned to the chair he had been lounging in and David went back to a letter he had been composing to his family.

Around 4 a.m. Sebastien relieved him and sat at the console working on some music scores, humming softly as he worked, listening in the head set for any queries coming in. He woke Maggie once to answer some questions about a lock, then led her back to her little nest with Urs when she was finished and continued his shift.