An Unexpected Visitor

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

Maxi breathed a sigh of relief when Brett went upstairs. She knew how mad he was, and how frustrated. After she was done pacifying August, she would go talk to him. Alone. August didn't need to be privy to that conversation, just like Brett didn't need to be privy to her conversation with August. It made her feel so much better that the brawl was over, at least for now.

"Obedient mongrel, isn't he." Maxi gave August a fiery look, letting him know to cut it out. Not that he would pay attention, but she wouldn't listen to it. It was like what she had to deal with during the week, and she didn't want to treat her lover and one of her best friends as students. Luckily with one look at her, August turned to the door to walk onto her well-lit porch. She followed him out silently, closing the door behind her.

"Dogs truly are disgusting creatures." "Stop it, August," she snapped quietly. It wasn't a tone she normally took with him, but she'd had it with his snarky comments about Brett for the time being. If he protested, she'd give it right back to him; she wasn't in the mood for putting up with August's domineering attitude.

But his hand came to her chin, and she found herself weakening, her anger subsiding. "You're gorgeous when you're fired up like this. Did you know that?" The fire was slipping out of her eyes, but she wasn't satisfied yet. Why did he have to be so charming? When had Maxi given him such power over her? "Thank you," she said softly. She saw the way he fought Brett though, heard the words he had said before Brett came down the stairs, and she could feel her purpose coming back. She held his blue-gray gaze with her own sapphire eyes, determination there. "But you didn't need to beat him up to prove that I'm yours. I've proved it to you, told you God knows how many times, and yet the minute you saw Brett, you doubted that. I don't see any other men but you, August. You have to know that. You don't have to get so angry when there's another man around me, even if it's obvious to you that they want me. I don't want anyone else, August. I just want you." A small smile came to her lips as her large eyes looked up at him. It was true. She might flirt with Brett, but she didn't want him. No one fulfilled her needs the way August did. And it was the challenge of pleasing him that made her want to be around him. Brett might not be able to understand that. August was so hard to please, though, so when she did please him, it made her happy. She didn't want to lose that. But she didn't want to lost Brett either. From now on, she would just have to make sure they didn't cross paths.

[AUGUST WITT]

He could easily see in the way she was looking at him, despite her lecture, that nothing had changed. She still belonged to him and her words only confirmed what he'd already known. Did she truly think her words would put his jealous mind at ease? August wasn't an idiot, he saw how much Brett liked her. He was willing to fight August for her, to break into her home because he didn't trust him with her. It didn't matter how much she said she wanted only him, Brett was still in the picture and he obviously wanted Maxine.

"I don't doubt your allegiance." His voice was soft, but firm as he spoke letting her know he was being gravely serious. The hand on her face slid back and tangled itself into her fiery hair. He certainly loved that hair of her. "But I do distrust his intentions. He made himself far too comfortable in your home. He not only helped himself, but offered me a drink as if he belonged there more than I did. He exposed himself to you and was unwelcoming when I arrived, growling and barking at me." He curled his fingers into a fist in her hair pulling ever so gently at the tendrils. "I do not take kindly to being felt unwelcome around you." He practically whispered.

August uncurled his fingers, sliding his hand down to her shoulder, bringing his other hand up protectively to her hip. "I don't like knowing you're alone with him when it's clear what his intentions are with you. He wants you to himself, and despite what you say about wanting only me, he is vying for your attention and I should never have to fight for that." Surely she would see his side. August was single minded. If he felt strongly about something, he couldn't be persuaded. which was part of the reason he was good at his career path.

Couldn't she see that he did care about her in his own fucked up way? He returned almost every night, allowing her time away from him only so she could concentrate on her own career. Keeping her up late every evening was unacceptable. he wanted her to succeed. But he also wanted her all to himself and the look in his eyes was enough to tell her that he wanted only her.

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

August's fingers tangled in her hair gently, making Maxi's heart melt a little more. Despite what he said earlier, how he reacted to her thinking he cared about her, she knew now that he cared. She could hear it in his words, see it in his eyes as he spoke to her. Still he was making assumptions about Brett, and she needed to set that straight. But he was being sweet now, though. Possessive, but sweet. His hand came to her shoulder and her hip, and she moved closer to him instinctively. "He wants you to himself, and despite what you say about wanting only me, he is vying for your attention and I should never have to fight for that." A sigh left her. "You don't have to fight for my attention, August. I would have politely asked Brett to leave so we could go to dinner. I really do love the dress and shoes," she added with a sweet smile. "But Brett is one of my best friends. You saw how protective he is of me. He'd never try and force himself on me or anything like that. Really, you don't have to worry about anything, August. But, if it makes you more comfortable, we'll just meet in public. I don't mind that." She took his hands in hers and stood on tiptoe to kiss him, soothing over all of the arguing and negativity before she did something else he wouldn't like. Pulling away, she came back down to her usual height.

"Now, I'm going inside to talk to Brett. Can you wait here while I do? I know you don't want me to, but I need to show him the same courtesy I showed you and have a private conversation with him. I promise, I'll let you back in," she said with a smile. She kissed him again before he could object and then slipped away from him. "I'll only be a few minutes." With that she glided inside, closing the door behind her. She grabbed the vacuum from the coat closet, knowing she would need it, and she made her way up the stairs.

Looking down the hallway, she saw Brett in her room cleaning up broken glass. She sighed, dragging the vacuum behind her. Maxi stopped in the doorway and leaned against the door frame. "You broke the window?" she said in an exasperated voice. A small smile crept to her face, hoping he wouldn't be mad at her. She moved into the room, rolling the vacuum behind her and took a seat on the bed. Resting her hands in her lap, she sighed, looking at him with her big eyes. "I know you don't like him," she started. "But you didn't have to provoke him." She waited for him to react, to get everything off his chest. People always listened better when they got their own frustrations out in the open. It would also make it easier for Maxi to calm him down knowing exactly what was irking him. Quietly, she sat watching him, feeling much calmer now that things were settled reasonably with August.

[brettdawson]

Being alone actually helped calm him down. The constant pick up, throw away, pick up, throw away, of his cleaning put him into a numb lull. His brain was shifting from attack to calm. At least until he heard that bastard attempt to explain Brett's reason for being friends with Maxi. His hand clenched angrily, knuckles turning white. His teeth ground together painfully. It took all his power to not scream out the window, or worse, swing from the roof. It wasn't until he opened his hand that he noticed his hand was about gushing blood. He had gripped a shard of glass in his effort to stay calm. He sighed and dropped the bloody glass into the waste.

He found his way to the bathroom and just pulled a bunch of toilet paper out to at least stop the bleeding. He would do better mending later. He was in a rush so he could make sure nothing was happening below him. When he returned he heard her farewells to the freak and the closing of the door. She must be coming upstairs. He finished picking up the bigger shards before she entered. He managed to say, in a small voice, "Yeah, I... had no other way in." It was barely a mumble. He was still a little flustered, but with her safely inside he was beginning to relax and unwind. He glanced up at her and offered his own smile, continuing to pick up the glass.

"But you didn't have to provoke him." He raised a brow at her but shrugged afterwards. He secretly tightened his fists again, a little flare of anger rising. Bad idea. The pain also flared, making him wince a little. "He is a bad man." Brett just said it simply, without arrogance, his usual cockiness, or a snide smile. This was a complete and utter fact of his. Nothing would change it or alter his opinion. Unless August himself gave reason to some inner change, Brett would be forever wary. He sighed once more, this time his arrogance returning. Slowly he was becoming Brett again. "But did you see that last punch I got in? Pretty solid, even if the guy's a Gargoyle."

He knew they didn't tell him what the guy was, but it was obvious to Brett. Plus he thought by letting her know he knew, that it would give him support on the bad man scale. Of course not all Gargoyles were like this. But most, and August, were. His cocky little smirk returned as well as he saw she brought the vacuum. Brett the Maid. Almost made him laugh. Almost.

"And he would have been pissed if I didn't provoke him. He's a sociopath." He nodded like he knew the world's knowledge. He even shook a finger in that scholarly way. Brett knew a thing or two about the brain, since he minored in Psychology. It helped out mostly with his job, but came in handy in daily things as well. Like tonight. "You can find so much better, Maxi." His tone was suddenly serious. He looked at her, almost pleading her to agree with him. So many guys would be better. "I could hook you up with Kit or Gavin if you want." A hint of a smirk played at his lips. He tried to lighten the mood then, for her. She's already gone through enough.

There was no changing her mind anyways. He was positive of that. Sadly.

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

Maxi frowned when Brett said August was a bad man. Could she argue? Yes. August was different with her. He was far from a good man, but she couldn't say he was a bad man. He did care about her, that much she knew, even if he wouldn't say it. She fell into a thoughtful silence, pondering this. How had she ended up attached to a man like August? Why did she like his harsh ways? Normally she would view August as too harsh and cold. She realized she must care about him more than she knew if she was willing to do everything she did for him. It was strange to think she didn't know how deeply she felt for someone. She wondered how much sleep she would lose tonight pondering this question.

"But did you see that last punch I got in? Pretty solid, even if the guy's a Gargoyle." So he had figured it out. With his keen sense of smell, she figured there must have been a particular scent about different breeds in Scriptor Bay. But she couldn't help but smile at Brett's punch comment, rolling her eyes. He sounded like such a little boy at times. "You're lucky you didn't hit me with that punch," she commented, remembering how close she was to standing between them at that point. If he had hit her, she wouldn't have been terribly upset, but she knew he would be.

Maxi knew he was right about August being pissed anyway, though she wouldn't have qualified him as a sociopath. She took psychology too, but she wouldn't label August that way. A narcissist, yes, but not a sociopath. Maxi was struck by what he said next though: "You can find so much better, Maxi." Could she? In her mind, for her personality, was there a better fit than August? Perhaps there was someone who would treat her better, be more affectionate, and not beat the crap out of her friends, but not with August's swagger. But she was touched that Brett would say she could do better. It almost made her feel like something special. She rarely felt like something special, but Brett had a strange way of making her feel that way. As did August, but Brett's way felt more obvious, less subtle. He didn't hide anything from her.

"I could hook you up with Kit or Gavin if you want." Maxi rolled her eyes with a smile, blushing a little at the thought. They were both handsome men, as was Brett, but all of them were known to have issues with the ladies. She was starting to realize there was a trend in the men she was attracted to...Before she lost the opportunity to be affectionate, though, she got to her feet and stepped to him, careful of the glass on the floor. She put her arms around his middle and hugged tight, resting her head against his chest. "Thank you for being such a good friend, Brett. I really appreciate how protective you are of me," she said softly into his red t-shirt. For a moment she wondered why it wouldn't work out with Brett, had she decided to go down that path. As quick as she thought it, though, she dismissed it. She knew why. Brett was different from August in a big way: August only had eyes for her while they were together. Brett wasn't the same way, that much she knew. The only reason he had stuck around this long was because she refused to sleep with him, which forced him to settle for being friends. Had she slept with him, she wouldn't be friends with him now. It was better just as it was now.

When she pulled back, she smiled up at him warmly. "You know I'm not going to stop seeing you, right? We're just going to have to see each other during the day, that's all," she smiled. Looking down at the glass left on the floor, she suddenly realized his hand was hurt. She gasped, grabbing it lightly in both of hers. "When did that happen?" she asked, fretting now. Without waiting for his answer, she was pulling him to the bathroom to clean and dress the wound. "You're replacing that window, by the way," she scolded softly, digging under her sink for her first aid kit. Once she produced it, she grabbed an alcohol wipe to clean the wound before placing gauze on it and wrapping it with medical tape. "I'll get the rest of the glass, don't worry about it," she muttered as she wrapped his hand distractedly. She gave a smile when she was done. "But I'll get an estimate on a replacement and send you the bill." Her grin was wide as she teased him, knowing he wouldn't object to replacing the window. She wasn't mad. She knew he had done it as his way of protecting her. Besides, it was warm outside, so she wouldn't be too hot or cold. "Is the wrapping too tight?" she asked, hoping she hadn't just caused Brett more pain by wrapping it.

[brettdawson]

He was actually surprised when her arms wrapped around him. It took him a half a second to hug her back, this was unusual for Brett. Not just for them, for any girl. He normally didn't hug a girl whom he didn't fuck before. Or was planning on fucking. It was weird hugging in a friendly way, but he liked it. It made him forget she was addicted to some monster for a little bit. Like he didn't have to worry. "Thank you for being such a good friend, Brett. I really appreciate how protective you are of me." Her words were oddly soothing, it finally brought a genuine smile to his face. He was reminded of his mother, or what he used to think was his mother. Saying exactly what he wanted to hear. But Maxi wasn't faking it, he knew she really was thankful for him. That was not something he got often. Nobody was thankful for a man-whore except when he took them to bed. He replied softly, "I gotta be good at something. Sorry that I'm not sorry about pissing August off." He held back the nicknames, forcing himself to say the thing's name. The second part he half smirked at her, it was a halfhearted attempt to bring the mood up a notch.

When she stepped back and talked about their "limits" he squeezed his hands into fists. Wincing from his cut, he heard her gasp. He rolled his eyes as she fretted. He'd be fine... He didn't object though as she about dragged him to the bathroom. He let her clean it and wrap it without flinching, he didn't mind the burn. It was actually feeling better. "Of course I will. But no, I'm cleaning it up..." He was already regretting his next words. "I'll vacuum the rest and... just leave out the back door. To leave you two alone." Worry was saturating his veins. But he let none of it show. He was emotionless of course. His voice was dead with regret but, allowed them to slip by anyways.

"Thanks, it's fine." He said, lifting his hand. He turned away from her after offering a small smile. He didn't want to talk anymore. Knowing that further discussion of the freak would only get him angry. His back was too her as he plugged the machine in and started it up. The noise was too loud to continue talking, clearly a sign that she should return to her master. He started cleaning up the bits of shattered glass. Brett just brushed the bits that had fallen onto furniture on to the floor to be sucked up. He made sure her bed was clean of any glass, shaking the pillows, blankets and sheets. Also returning them neatly to the bed. After he was done he did a final inspection, the room was spotless. He wrapped up the vacuum cord and placed the machine by the door before leaving. It didn't take him long, between fifteen minutes and a half hour.

He took the stairs two at a time going down and was already in a jog when he dashed out the back door. He started sprinting when he hit the grass, clearing shrubs and fences as he began his run home.

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

"I'll vacuum the rest and...just leave out the back door. To leave you two alone."

Maxi frowned a little, hearing the disappointment in Brett's voice. She knew he wasn't happy with this new arrangement, knew he didn't like limits or August. It made her feel so torn between the two of them, and she didn't like that. Not that she wanted them to be friends, but if they were indifferent to each other, she could live with that. Part of her wanted to hug Brett again, but he was already walking away. "Thanks, it's fine." He had a smile on his face, but she knew how upset he was. Maxi felt awful. Brett was so upbeat and cheerful, but not now. It was still a mystery how she had become one of the only people who could depress Brett. She knew not many people could. How could she? If only she could hit rewind and fix everything from the start of the evening.

When he walked away, she followed him, wanting to cheer him up somehow, but with the loud whine of the vacuum, she knew he didn't want to talk anymore. For a long moment, she hovered in the doorway, frowning, feeling almost like she had lost Brett. If not all of him, she had lost part of him. A big part of her felt she had lost a lot of his respect. That hurt. One of the reasons she hadn't slept with the man was because she wanted to keep his respect. Now she had lost a huge chunk of it. It made her sigh, and she turned away, shuffling down the stairs. There was nothing she could fix tonight. It would just have to wait until tomorrow when their heads were clear.

Reaching the front door, she took a breath before walking out onto the porch. She gave August a smile, genuinely glad he was still there. "Better now," she said softly. Walking over to him, she put her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest for a moment, taking in his expensive smell. It wasn't perfect, and the weight of her guilt was still on her shoulders, but just being in August's arms again made her feel so much better. With a smile she looked up at him, still keeping her arms around him. "So, did you still want to go to dinner, or do you want some of the pizza I have inside?" She didn't care what they ended up doing. Maxi just hoped turning Brett away was worth it. She hoped the whole night hadn't been wasted on stupid fighting and tears. She hoped August would stay for a while and make her forget the evening's fighting.

[AUGUST WITT]

August silently seethed when she claimed she would have asked the dog to leave, completely putting down everything he'd said as if the mongrel were Innocent. He wasn't innocent, she was naive! It frustrated him, but he sat there, tensely, allowing her to think what she would. In the end she belonged to him and the dog would never get in the way of that. She belonged to him, and she was happy about it. He made her weak in the knees with lust. It was obscene how much she needed him, and he would never openly admit she had the same reaction on him.

She was pressing her lips to his and he obliged, opening his mouth and tasting her sweet breath on his. "Now, I'm going inside to talk to Brett. Can you wait here while I do? I know you don't want me to, but I need to show him the same courtesy I showed you and have a private conversation with him. I promise, I'll let you back in,"

the look on his face clearly said he was not okay with this, but if he wanted to be with her that night he would oblige her idiot request. His hands became tight angry fists, his jaw clenched. Since when did he allow her to have so much say? Why was he allowing her to run the show? To go in after him?

Because he didn't want to lose her. Not yet.. not when things were so intense. It took a lot of patience for him to bite his tongue and to stay put, not able to relax.

The minutes ticked by, and with each passing second August felt his anger grow. He wanted to force her back into submission. Put her over the couch and make her scream as he had his way with her, holding her down and reminding her who was in charge. He was, or so he liked to pretend. She had almost all the control, in reality. She did from day one.

"Better now,"

It had seemed like an eternity since she left and he looked up, obviously annoyed with the situation. He looked mad, but when she curled her way against him he felt himself softening, his brow knitting. Why was he calming down? He was furious only seconds ago! He wrapped his arms loosely around her, resting his chin on the top of her head and sighing his defeat.

"So, did you still want to go to dinner, or do you want some of the pizza I have inside?" He felt the anger crease back into his facial features. "I don't want that dogs pizza." He growled softly, nuzzling his nose into her hair and holding her tighter, protectively. She was his. His toy.. his plaything.. he didn't like to think she was more than that, but she was. He did care for her in his own strange way. "It's too late to go out now. Tomorrow. You will be ready for me at 7:30." He told her, figuring if there was any problem she would tell him then. His nose nuzzled down to her ear and he nipped at it, puling at the lobe with his teeth. "I think tonight you need to be reminded of a few things.." He rasped seductively into her ear, squeezing her ass. "Now, if the mongrel has gone, I'd like to get you back inside so we can begin our evening."

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

"I don't want that dog's pizza." Maxi had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. He sounded so much like a petulant child, but she did smile when his nose nuzzled into her hair. It was endearing. She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling. She knew he cared for her, even though she was frustrated that he wouldn't say it and tried to downplay it. "It's too late to go out now. Tomorrow. You will be ready for me at 7:30." Maxi smiled wider, liking the idea of actually going on a date with August. It made them more than just regular sex partners. Not that she minded the sex. Oh, no; she enjoyed that. Her heart jumped when he moved his nuzzling to her ear, and whimpered a little to feel his teeth there. Once more, her face was flushing, ready to take him inside and let him do as he pleased. "I think tonight you need to be reminded of a few things..." It was a promise and a threat, and it made her throat clench in excitement. She couldn't help but giggle when he squeezed her ass, though. It was a soft breathy sound, showing her excitement. Yeah, their evening was finally going to begin, and it made her heart race.