A Dancer's Dilemma

Chapter One - Tidings

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Part One – Ocean\'s Tidings

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The ocean water crashed against the mostly deserted beach. Its waves lapped at the white sands and eroded more and more of the shore. Seagulls flew overhead, occasionally landing and pecking at the leftover crumbs or other tasty morsels that the waters had left after it had taken away the top layer of sand. The moon\'s bright light cast an eerie glow across the beach. Even though the sun had gone to bed an hour ago, the temperature was still hot and stagnant.

Inside the water\'s clutches, two human forms clung tightly to one another. The water\'s temperature was cooler than the air, except for the water in the immediate vicinity of the two lovers. Leann Cambria and Paul McConnell were in the midst of a passionate interlude and heartfelt kiss. Their tongues meshed with each other as Paul\'s hands gently kneaded Leann\'s firm breasts. Her legs were locked around his waist, and she willingly rocked her body with Paul\'s powerful thrusts.

Breaking the kiss for air, Leann arched her back into Paul, moaning as she felt his hands caress her. She ran her hands across his shoulder blades. The moonlight caught her half-closed amber eyes. The light they reflected reminded Paul of the glowing eyes of a cat in the darkness. He bent down and began to suckle her breasts, keeping the two of them afloat and pounding into her feverishly.

\"I\'m coming, Lee. I can\'t hold back much more,\" Paul\'s voice whispered raucously into her ear.

Leann moaned and wrapped her legs tighter around his waist. She could feel his fingers slide down her back before his hands grabbed her rear. \"I don\'t want you to wait,\" she sultrily replied, gasping for a breath and leaning into him as she prepared for his climax. She knew that she would not be able to achieve an orgasm without additional stimulation, not that she minded the extra attention.

Their romp in the ocean had started innocently enough. The sun had begun to set, and she had wanted to be in the water when it would kiss the ocean goodnight. They had swam out into the ocean and watched with awe as the orange ball seemed to sizzle and slowly fade from sight. Paul childishly splashed a handful of water at Leann as she watched the beautiful sunset with her mouth partially agape. The mouthful of saltwater brought her back to reality, and she chased him back towards the shore. When they realized that the last of the patrons were packing up their belongings, a mischievous and devious grin befell her lips. \"Oh Paul,\" she had sweetly sang. \"I think I lost my top.\" Her nimble fingers unclasped the hook and held her bikini below water. As if to punctuate her statement, she showed her naked chest to him.

Immediately, the muscularly built man swam to her \'rescue\', but instead of trying to find the elusive bikini top, he dove under water and took one breast into his mouth, sucking it hard. The action surprised her, and she let go of her top and wrapped her arms around his neck. Once he broke the surface and kissed her lips, her hands worked at his swim trunks until she had his erection in her hands. Paul quickly slid his fingers along her bikini bottoms, pulling the fabric out of his way and caressing her affectionately. Leann had squirmed closer and guided his penis to where his fingers were. Penetration had been fast and fierce, but neither had minded.

With a final grunt and an animalistic growl, Paul came inside his lover. His body shook, and he squeezed Leann tightly to him, listening to the sound of her heart hammering inside her chest. \"Oh God, Lee!\" he cried out, kissing her neck and then finding her luscious lips. \"I love you so much, Baby.\"

\"I love you, Mac,\" she answered, feeling Paul pull his expended penis from her. She loosened her legs from him slightly.

\"Don\'t worry, Love. I\'ll get you off,\" Paul promised, moving one of his hands down the small of her back. His fingers quickly found the place his cock had been, and they immediately went to work rubbing and stroking.

Leann\'s eyes glazed over and began to close. Moans of pleasure escaped her lips, and she rolled her hips slowly, spreading her legs and feeling his fingers kindly molest her. Their invasions promptly began to have an effect on her. \"Oh yes. More!\" she begged, her voice climbing. His lips covered hers, and she forcefully returned the kiss.

Paul\'s fingers quickened as they circled her clit. The quick and surprised scream from his lover\'s lips caused him to grin before he kissed her again. His fingers brushed across her a few more times, causing her to shudder against him.

Leann rode out her orgasm. Each touch from Paul prolonged the feeling of ecstasy crashing inside her. She leaned her head heavily against Paul\'s chest, her breathing ragged and raspy. She lay limply against his body but could feel his arms supporting her. Opening her eyes, she gazed into his green eyes. The moonlight was reflecting off them this time. They shimmered in the light, and she smiled. \"I love you, Paul. Thank you.\"

\"Oh no, thank you,\" Paul countered, kissing her lips again. He held her tightly against him, feeling something swim against his leg and realizing that they had drifted away from the beach. \"We need to get back to shore. I think we need to revisit what just happened,\" he said lustfully, readjusting his swim trunks and her bikini bottoms.

Leann grinned knowingly. \"I think that is a temptingly good idea.\"

As the two lovers began to swim back to the beach, a pager, lying forlornly on one of the two lounge chairs, began to beep insistently.

At the edge of the beach, Leann\'s blue bikini rested on the sand where the waves had carried it. Paul caught sight of it and retrieved it. \"Do you want this back, Love?\" he asked as he waved the piece of clothing in the air and ran towards the spot where their chairs and blankets laid, carrying her top with him.

\"Paul!\" she shrieked, laughing at the sight of the tan, six-foot-two man running away from her. \"If I get caught for indecent exposure, you will be mighty embarrassed,\" she called out. She walked onto shore, shaking her long hair and allowing it to fall in wet clumps across her shoulders.

Paul looked back and watched the topless beauty stride towards him. The light from the moon was just enough to silhouette her beauty against the sandy beach. He smiled and beckoned her. \"Hurry up before I get cold.\"

Leann laughed and ran up to him, tackling him on the beach blanket. They rolled over a couple of times before she pinned him beneath her. Straddling him, she replied, \"We can\'t have you getting all cold, now can we?\" One of her hands brushed across his swim trunks. \"I think he needs some warmth so he can grow,\" she purred seductively.

Paul groaned and grabbed her hand. He protested gently, \"He does need that but not here. Let\'s go inside.\"

\"Party pooper,\" she teased, grabbing her top and slipping it on. Before she was able to say anything else, a reminder beep echoed in the night air.

\"Oh no,\" they both groaned loudly.

Paul\'s hand slapped the plastic chair as he tried to find the annoying electronic device. Pulling it down, they both looked at the display screen. It read: Return to HQ immediately.

An annoying huff escaped Leann\'s lips. \"Dammit! Stan has the worst timing,\" she complained.

\"Agreed. He must have thought that three days of uninterrupted bliss was enough for us,\" Paul sneered, his frustration aimed at their boss.

\"Can\'t we ignore it? We could say that it floated away just like my top did,\" she suggested, a devilish glint in her eyes.

\"I\'d love to, but you know Stan is persistent.\" As if on cue, the pager beeped again and a new message scrolled across it: Report now or face the consequences.

Leann laughed and buried her head against Paul\'s chest. Her fingers threaded through his drying chest hairs as her mind recalled the last time they had tried to ignore an urgent message. They were keeping warm – very warm – in an Eskimo igloo. Stanley had sent one of the other agents on the team over to get their attention. She had turned redder than the hue of her chestnut hair when the agent barged in.

Lying on the beach blanket, Paul chuckled and embraced her. He also remembered the flurry of swear words gushing from his mouth when he had verbally chastised the other agent and then Stanley. \"Okay, let\'s get back to our room and see what\'s so important.\"

The two gathered their blankets, duffle bag, and cooler. Paul dragged the chairs back to the storage shed, and they went to their hotel room.

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Part Two – Bad Tidings

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The next morning, Leann and Paul sat in Major Stanley Freckerson\'s office, listening to their boss inform them of their next assignment. Leann had her long chestnut-colored hair pulled into a professional bun. She wore her navy blue, pinstripe pantsuit, and a pair of reading glasses shrouded her amber eyes. She read carefully over the sheets of paper that Stanley had handed them. She could feel her chest tighten as she read each sentence, absorbing each word and their meaning. She could hear a low rumble in Paul\'s throat and jumped in her seat when Paul suddenly broke the silence by yelling, \"No! There is no fucking way she\'s doing this!\"

Paul vehemently shook his head, crumpled his papers into a ball, and threw it at Stanley. His hands repeatedly clenched themselves into fists. His face creased, and one hand paused long enough to tug on his tie, effectively loosening it. \"She will not be subjected to this way of life!\" he spat, glaring at Stanley.

Stanley\'s head jolted back against his high-back chair at the sound of Paul\'s angered voice. He looked at his top secret agent. Paul\'s appearance was the exact opposite of the calm, collected man, who had entered his office no more than ten minutes ago. The black tailored suit and crisp white dress shirt now looked menacing. \"Mac…\" Stanley started to explain before Leann interrupted him.

\"Paul! Do not ever tell me what I can and cannot do.\" She gripped her papers in her hands, trying to keep them from shaking. She didn\'t know if they were shaking out of anger or out of fear because of this next assignment.

\"Leann, you can\'t do this job! Do you realize what you will have to do?\"

Nodding her head, she answered, \"I infiltrate the palace as a harem girl. I get you the lowdown on his next shipment. You then coming galloping up on your white steed to save me and this world from another drug lord hell bent on taking over the world.\"

\"Lee!\" Paul said in aghast. \"Do you know what a harem girl does? Jesus Christ, you will have to be the Sultan\'s whore until you get me the information. I can\'t…\"

\"You, Buster,\" she angrily spat, standing up and point a finger at him, \"have no right to rule my life. Yes, I know what a harem girl does. Yes, I know I\'ll have to pleasure him and the eunuchs if they so desire, but Paul, it is just sex. Sex is different than making love.\"

\"Okay, okay. Sit down, Leann,\" Stanley told the irritated agent. He saw something that he hadn\'t seen before on her face. Was it just anger at Paul\'s outburst or was it fear and disgust at something else? \"I\'m not intentionally asking you to become his sex slave, but I know that you will have no choice. I\'m deeply sorry, Lee.\" He looked at Paul. \"I can put Walden and Cleo on this if you want, but I\'d rather have you and Lee. You two are the best undercover agents we have ever had. You guys get in, get the job done, and get out, leaving the rest of us to take them down. Unfortunately, the majority of this task lies with Lee.\"

Paul inhaled sharply and watched Leann sit back down in her chair. She was gorgeous and had the brains to pull off this ruse. He just did not like the idea of her using her body to get what they needed. Slowly emptying his lungs of air, he said, \"Fine. If this is what you both want. What\'s our…\"

\"It is not what I want,\" Leann corrected. \"It is my job. Our job. I don\'t want to be with anyone but you. But you know as well as I do that sometimes you have to swap sex for information. I have to get close to the Sultan to find out his next shipment. I guarantee you that the only way that will happen is if I become his plaything. I\'m sorry, Mac. I don\'t like it, but that is the way it has to be.\" She looked at Stanley. \"Thank you, Stan. I just hope you know what you are doing,\" she threatened sadly.

Stanley nodded and watched Paul reach over and clasp Leann\'s hand in his. \"If there was any other way, I\'d do it. This man is slick. We have to get inside his little kingdom to bring him down.\" He ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair, a sign of frustration and remorse.

The room grew unnaturally quiet. Paul looked over and locked eyes with Leann. They were full of sadness but also determination. They both had personal vendettas again drug dealers and drug lords. \"Give us the file,\" he told Stanley, hoping he was not making the biggest mistake of his life.

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Part Three – Heartfelt Tidings

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The day Leann left to try to become a harem girl in the Sultan\'s palace, she shouldered her duffle bag and walked with Paul to the airstrip. Among other things, the bag had a pair of ratty shoes, old jeans, and a torn top. She would hopefully gain access as a girl scorned by the nearby city. With luck, she would start as a servant girl but quickly become the object of the Sultan\'s desire. \"I love you, Mac. Never forget that. I may be killed if I\'m caught, but that is a risk in our jobs.\"

Paul hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go. \"Just be careful. As soon as you can get the location of the drop, let us know. I\'ll be there to get you out of that hellhole.\"

She nodded and pulled back; a few tears slid down her cheek. She never cried, but this was a different job. She would be betraying Paul in every way imaginable. The things she read about the Sultan and the things that the girls were forced to do almost caused her to back out of the assignment. If not for the love of her job and personal promise to avenge all those that died innocently at the hands of drugs, she would have. \"I will,\" she finally said in a barely audible voice.

\"I love you, Lee. Stan will pay dearly if anything goes wrong,\" he vowed, wiping her cheeks and then kissing her. He watched helplessly as she walked towards the plane that would take her away. He had wanted to go with her and live in the city that she was to be ousted from so that he would be close, but Stanley had denied his request.

\"This is a dangerous assignment for her. She could be killed at the drop of a hat. You must let her do this and have faith in her,\" Stanley had told him.

Paul McConnell, undercover agent extraordinaire, watched his partner and lover disappear on the private jet, headed for the Middle East and the unknown. He went back to the townhouse that they cohabited, stopping at the liquor store for a bottle of bourbon.

*TBC