Fan Fiction ❯ Passion ❯ The Outdoors Type ( Chapter 11 )

A/N: I do not own Batman Beyond, its characters or settings. Anything new is mine.

Warning: This story contains sexual content, adult situations, romantic angst, adultery, and I'm working on a few more naughty things to include just for the fun of it. Please be 18 or older if you are reading this!

Allen chose a small, secluded Chinese restaurant for lunch. The building was designed to look like a palace, and it was beautiful, but the interior was what made it remarkable. The tables were all set low to the ground, and there were cushions instead of chairs. Lovely music echoed in the shadows, and elegantly designed paper stands gave each table a sense of privacy. It was very romantic, but that had been the point.

Allen had hoped to lure Lora into some deep, meaningful conversation, but he quickly found that wasn't going to be possible. Lora had no time to talk when there was food to be eaten. He'd gone out to eat with her once before, but she apparently felt more comfortable around him now, because she ate so much-and so quickly-Allen had barely finished half his plate before her meal was gone.

He decided to take her for a walk through the park after that. The park he chose was more like a nature reserve then a true park, open to private guests only. Wayne Reserve happened to be owned by Bruce, so Allen had full access to it. He led Lora through the secured entrance and down a well shaded path to a lovely garden that's center of attraction was a gorgeous waterfall. Birds darted around the water, trying to catch the schools of bright fish that swam beneath the clear surface, creating a whirl of colorful activity. Lora gasped in delight when she saw it and immediately cast off her shoes and ran into the water.

Allen stared after her in surprise before laughing and rushing in after her. They were quickly engaged in a fierce splashing contest, and within minutes they were both soaked. But it was a warm, sunny day and both of them were in too good of spirits to be bothered by such a minor thing.

Lora was the first to return to land, where she dropped onto the grass and stared at the blue sky overhead. Allen watched her from the water for a moment, taking in the beautiful contours of her face and the desirable curves of her body. His ever present erection was protesting the confinement of his wet clothes, but he ignored it as he made his way out of the water and dropped down beside her, glad she was laying down and so unable to see the very evident proof of his arousal.

"It's beautiful here," she whispered, turning content eyes upon him, a slight smile gracing the corner of her mouth.

"Is it?" he murmured, reaching out to touch her cheek. "I hadn't noticed."

Lora laughed and swatted at his hand, a mischievous look on her face. "Really? And here I thought you had brought me here because you knew how romantic a setting it was."

Allen gave her a wide eyed look of innocence. "I would never do such a thing."

Lora snorted at him, still smiling. "I just bet you wouldn't….But thank you for bringing me here. I didn't realize Gotham had places like this. I love the outdoors, and it's been years since anyone's taken me to such a place. Jason was never the outdoors type, and even though Maximus would…"

Lora suddenly stopped speaking, a look of absolute horror on her face.

Allen knew why she looked so appalled, of course, but it didn't erase the feeling of nausea that had started to sweep through him. She had never talked about Jason before, but it was obvious the man was special to her. And Allen knew very well who Maximus was. Lora had been talking to him about the men in her life without meaning to, and while Allen desperately wanted to know all he could about her past, he still didn't like the fact that there were others before him.

"Who is Jason?" he asked softly, even though he knew it was none of his business, he couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth.

Lora looked away from him, staring up at the clouds. Silence hung between them for what seemed like an eternity before she said, "Just a man I knew."

Allen knew she was lying and was tempted to press her, but what right did he have? They weren't actually dating, and even though she was having sex with him as Batman, er, Terry, they had never shared anything other then their bodies. He gritted his teeth and said, "I see. And the other one, Maximus, he is your husband, of course."

Lora glanced over at him, a look of loathing in her eyes. "Yes."

It was very evident that she hated her husband. But why? Why? How could he get her to tell him?

"Maximus used to bring you to places like this?"

Lora closed her eyes and gave a short nod. "Yes."

"Was he the outdoors type?"

Lora sighed and then looked to the sky again. "Not really."

"Then why would he bring you to wild life parks?" Allen persisted, when he knew he should just leave it alone.

Lora's voice was laced with irritation when she snapped, "Because he knew I loved it, and Maximus adored making me happy."

That silenced Allen for a moment. He had no idea what to make of her words. He suspected her husband loved her since he refused to grant her a divorce, but hearing her admit that her husband doted on her was…disturbing. And just who the hell was this Jason?

He glanced over at Lora, taking in the tense expression on her face, and decided to let it go for the moment, even though his guts felt like they were being twisted on a knife. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that…I enjoy being with you, more then I have ever-"

Lora placed her fingers over his mouth, silencing him, her eyes serious and troubled. "Don't," she begged. "Don't say another word. Today has been…wonderful. I may have been to places like this in the past, but being here with you today is better then anything like it that has happened before. Let's just leave it at that, alright?"

Allen nodded, touched by the look in her eyes, aroused by the feeling of her fingers on his mouth. When she removed her hand, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to lean up and kiss her.

Lora was caught off guard by the kiss. She had expected it to happen sooner or later. They were two young, healthy, attractive people who enjoyed each other's company, and it was only natural. But it still surprised her. It was nothing like she'd expected.

Allen's lips were gentle and searching, there was none of her lover's urgency or her husband's demands, just a light, sweet request that she was helpless to resist. His lips touched hers with delicate grace, teasing her seam but never pressing for entrance, just touching her. The kiss was sensitive and hesitant, much like a first kiss would be for a teenager, something she'd never gotten to experience, even with Jason. Allen ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her down until she was nestled on his chest, placing soft kisses across her face and down her neck, before burying his face in the nape of her neck and sighing softly.

It felt so very intimate to be lying there in his embrace, the sunlight playing across their bodies, his arms holding her with gentle strength. It was so nice, and yet so frightening. She hadn't felt this close to anyone in years, and she hated it as much as she loved it. Such closeness was a weakness that she knew Maximus would never hesitate to use against her.

She tried to push free of Allen's embrace, but he refused to let her go. She squirmed in his arms and he gave a low growl before roughly whispering, "Keep doing that, and you'll get more then just a kiss."

Lora went still and stared down at him. Allen's eyes were closed, but his face was taut with strain, and she suddenly became aware of the burning heat of his erection pressed against her hip. Lora blushed, but said, "Please let me up."

"Why?" Allen asked, his voice soft. "This feels so good."

Lora couldn't dispute that statement without lying, but she wasn't about to give in to the desire she felt to just stay in his arms all day if he'd let her. "Because I want to get up."

Allen heard the note of panic in her voice, and wondered what had caused it. He opened his eyes to stare up at her, and saw the fear on her face. She was always running away from intimacy. When she had sex with Terry, she'd practically throw him out afterwards, and now she was rejecting any overtures of closeness from Allen as well. It infuriated him, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had no real rights where she was concerned, but he'd be damned if he'd just sit back and let her control the outcome of their relationship.

"Your husband must have hurt you terribly," he quietly commented, his eyes full of compassion.

Lora, terrified by the prospect of such personal conversation, placed a haughty look on her face and said, "Maximus? Don't be absurd. He loves me far too much to hurt me."

Allen winced before he could stop himself, but in her desire to escape, Lora didn't notice. Inexplicably hurting from her thoughtless words, he tightened his arms around her and forced her face down to his, then snapped, "And do you love him?"

Lora stared at him in disbelief.

"You have no right to ask such a thing," she hissed, her voice tinged with fury.

"If we're half as good a friends as I think we are, then I have every right to ask," he hotly countered, his own tone growing savage.

Lora laughed, and this time the sound wasn't pretty at all. "Oh, so you're asking out of a friendly concern, hmm?"

Allen frowned at her sneering words, but he admitted, "Yes and no. I don't know…Just answer the question, damn it."

Lora's expression became almost glacial as she stared down at him, though it took every ounce of her willpower to conjure up such a frigid look when she really wanted to just lose herself in his wonderful embrace. "Fine, if you really want to know, the answer is yes. I do love Maximus," she calmly answered him, her voice ringing with conviction. Just as much as I hate him, she silently added to herself.

Allen flinched as if she'd struck him and then abruptly released her. Lora immediately rolled off of him, stood, and began walking back down the path. Allen stared after her in stunned silence, her words echoing in his head like a death knell. She loved him…her husband…the fucking perfect Maximus. So then why was she trying to divorce him?

Allen wanted to ask, but watching the set of her shoulders as she marched away from him, he knew better then to ask. Plus, his pride was stung by her words, he wasn't about to grovel at her feet. He jumped up and followed her to the car. The ride back to Donovan Hall passed in tense silence. Lora refused to so much as look at him, and even when she got out of his car she didn't say a word.

Allen watched her storm up to her front door, and even though he knew he didn't want the day to end like this, he also knew he'd be seeing her later that night. And this time, he would be the one in control. He'd had enough of sitting back and letting her dictate how things went. She might think her decisions were the only ones that mattered, but it took more then one person to have an affair, and he was done obeying her every whim.

So he let her go for the moment. But he drove to Wayne Manor with recklessness, his mind on his troublesome woman and her complicated past.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lora leaned back against the front door and listened as Allen's car sped away. Her body crumpled to the floor and tears came to her eyes as sadness rushed through her. Please, don't let him walk away, she silently cried, though she knew she'd deserve it if he did.

Dane came strolling in to the entry way, a smug look on his face. "So, how did your date with Mr. Wonderful-"

Dane's words stopped in mid sentence and he rushed to her side, dropping to his knees and pulling her into his arms, his hands frantically stroking over her body. "What happened? Did he hurt you? I'll kill him…Actually, if Maximus is having this place watched, he'll probably be dead before I can get to him, but I'll piss on his-"

Lora put a finger to her lips to request silence, and Dane immediately complied, staring at her in concern.

"It's nothing like that, Dane," she assured him. "Allen just asked some questions about the past that I'd rather not have answered, but he wouldn't leave it alone, and so I had to answer him. They were painful for me, that's all."

Dane stared at her for a moment before slowly nodding. "I'm tempted to go punch the jerk anyway, except for one thing."

"And what's that?"

"Well, I think the damned idiot's falling for you," Dane softly replied. "So how can I bring myself to hurt him?"