amberfocus | A Sky Without Zeppelins: Chapter Ten

Rose is starting to get annoyed. Not with Jonathon, of course, never with Jonathon, but with all of the other men in the club. She had slipped off to use the loo earlier and some random young man had inserted himself into her path on her way back to him and tried a bit too aggressively to get Rose to dance with him. Rose had turned the boy down, insisting that she was here on a date, which he had accepted with relative grace.

When another man tries to cut in on them when she’s actually in the middle of a romantic slow dance with Jonathon, she is slightly less polite in her response, tells him in no uncertain terms, “I’m dancing with no man tonight but the one currently in my arms.” The man is disappointed and glares a bit at Jonathon, but backs off when Jonathon gets a hard line to his mouth and a stormy look in his eyes that causes a rather intensive shiver to go through Rose.

Jonathon pulls Rose up against him a bit possessively, but she doesn’t mind. She rises up on her tiptoes and plants a kiss against the corner of his mouth. “Don’t want to be here with anyone but you,” she murmurs after leaving a trail of kisses from his lips to his ear. His hold relaxes, but only slightly.

The beat of the music changes to something sensually seductive and Rose turns in his arms, pulling his hands around her waist and pressing her back into his chest. One hand settles over both of his and the other snakes up backwards to wrap around his neck, playing lightly with the loose tendrils of hair at his nape. Her bum and hips sway delightfully against him and she can feel him getting hard. She hopes this doesn’t qualify as teasing him beyond endurance, but she can’t seem to stop herself from pushing into him.

Fantasies of him walking her forward and holding her against the wall, cheek pressed to the dark paneling, invade her mind. She closes her eyes, her imagination filling in the gaps, seeing him as if in a movie caressing her bum and then raising the hem of her red dress, reaching beneath it, exposing her to his view and then plunging himself inside her. She gasps as his pelvis jerks and her eyes fly open, fantasy forgotten, at the intrusion of the real thing. He is so hard. How the hell is she going to get through this night without jumping him?

Several minutes of sexual dancing–petting?–pass and Rose doesn’t want to stop but she is dying of thirst. Jonathon leads her to a table and goes off to the bar to get her a Coke. She is almost tempted to get a beer, but she has promised herself to keep her head clear tonight. Jonathon’s only just out of view when some young pup, who barely looks past drinking age let alone old enough to be in a club, plops into the empty seat across from her. She’s willing to bet he used false, but very good, ID to get in.

“Hey, beautiful,” he says and Rose rolls her eyes.

“I’m with someone,” she says through gritted teeth.

“I don’t see anyone,” the boy says petulantly.

“Not at the moment, no. But you must have done since you obviously waited for him to leave before coming over. Besides you’re far too young for me,” she tells him.

“He’s far too old,” complains the youngster.

Rose grits her teeth and decides she may have to be unkind. “You’re a child, he’s a man. He’s my man. And I’m not interested in anyone else.”

“Bet I could pique your interest,” he says and he reaches out and grabs hold of her wrist, his grip like a vice. “Bet I could make you come so hard you scream.”

“The only one allowed to do that is me,” says Jonathon setting a couple of Coke’s down in front of Rose and turning on the boy. “Take your hand off my girlfriend.” His voice is dark and hard and angry and the boy debates with himself only for a moment before dropping Rose’s wrist. “Now get out of here. There’s a good lad.” Jonathon’s voice is deliberately patronizing.

The boy rises to his feet and looks like he wants to take a swing at Jonathon, but the set look on the older man’s face is enough to keep him from doing anything more rash than clenching his fists at his sides. Instead he turns to Rose. “We would have been amazing. Now you’ll never know.”

“Never wanted to know,” Rose says darkly, unable to keep her disgust from showing. “I already have my amazing. He’s more than enough.”

Jonathon advances on the boy and he takes off. He drops into the seat the youngster has vacated. “You all right?” he asks softly all trace of anger gone from his face. His finger reaches out to trace across her wrist where the other man had grabbed her as if trying to undo the touch with his own feather light one.

“Yeah,” she says. “I mean, I’m used to wankers hitting on me in pubs and clubs, but didn’t think it would happen when I was so obviously with someone. It just feels like I’m wearing a sign or something that says ‘Pull me. I’m easy.’ I just want to enjoy my date with you, not keep getting hit on by random blokes. Can’t they see how happy I am dancing with you?” He’s turned her hand over and is stroking soft patterns into her palm. She shivers.

“They probably can. For the chance to see that smile directed at them? I can’t blame them. Well, yes, I can, but I can understand them.” He sighs.

She sips at her Coke then eyes him up. “So, I’m you’re girlfriend, am I?” she asks with raised brows. He chokes on his drink. “You all right?”

He coughs a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He glances over at her sheepishly. “Thought it would hold more weight. Bit presumptuous of me, really, it being our first real date and all.”

“No,” Rose says. “It was smart. I don’t mind.”

“Don’t mind my having said it?” he asks. “Or don’t mind being my girlfriend?” The intensity of his stare makes the skin above her chest flush. She can feel the heat creeping across her under the fabric of her dress. Her face must be flaming.

“You asking me to be?” she shoots back.

“I don’t want any other man touching you,” he admits with an edge in his voice. “I don’t really want any other man looking at you.”

“Does it matter if I’m only looking at you?” she asks. “That I only want to be looking at you, touching you?”

He smiles softly. “Guess not. But I’m serious, Rose.”

“You want to be exclusive,” she says.

“I want you to be mine.” The possessiveness in his voice should raise her hackles, but it’s so damn sexy she doesn’t even care. And she feels the same way about him.

“Want you to be mine,” she whispers back. She plays with her straw before sipping at her Coke again and then finally raising her eyes to meet his gaze. “Let’s get out of here.”

Jonathon gulps down his Coke and gets up, holding his hand out to Rose. She takes it and stands, then moves into him, dropping his hand and wrapping her arm around his waist. His arm moves to wrap around her shoulders and they hurry from the club. The minute they get to the car Rose leans against it and grabs Jonathon’s shirt, pulling him to her and kissing him desperately.

Only you, only you, her heart beats out the rhythm of the words in her mind. I only want you. He pushes her into the car with his body and she can feel his erection hard and insistent against her stomach. Her hands unclench from his shirt and move to his waist and his chest presses into her breasts. She brings her fingers down his sides, stroking him up and down a few times before they drift behind him onto his bum.

His tongue is plundering her mouth, his strokes a welcome invasion. His hands move from her waist, rising up her sides and coming to rest on either side of her breasts, his thumbs just brushing against the outer curve. She moans against his tongue and all of her good judgment flees the scene. She is about to suggest they go to his place when the sky explodes.

At first Jonathon thinks the explosion of colors behind his eyelids is from the rather heady experience of nearly coming while kissing and touching Rose, her body pinned between his and the car. He really needs to keep better control of himself in public, he thinks. But as Rose breaks away from him, her hands coming up to push at his shoulders, he opens his eyes and sees that the sky is on fire.

“What is it, Jonathon?” Rose asks her eyes on the sky. The stars are no longer visible and streaks of blue and orange and red flames burn above them.

“I don’t know,” he says halfway lost between the fuzziness of mind he still has from Rose snogging him senseless. He blinks a few times and focuses as his body loses contact with hers as she slips out from between him and the unyielding surface she’d been held against. She takes a few steps forward, her eyes heavenward, before she reaches out for his hand and he moves quickly to take it.

“Could be meteors burning up in the atmosphere,” he says finally as his brain begins to engage again.

“They’re so big, though,” she says. “I watch the Perseids every summer. It’s nothing like this.” Her fingers tighten around his.

“The Perseids meteor shower is higher up in the atmosphere than this,” he agrees absently. “These are low; far lower than they should be unless they’re huge.”

Rose bites her lower lip. “What if…?” She breaks off, unwilling to finish her thought.

“What if what?” he asks curiously. Rose is about to answer him when a sonic boom rips through the night. She jumps into his arms in fright. He can feel her heart beating wildly against his chest and he soothes her by stroking her back.

He asks her if she’s all right, but he can’t even hear himself talking. She looks up at the rumble of his voice under her cheek but when she says something he can’t hear her. They frown at each other and point to their ears at the same time. Jonathon shakes his head sharply. Very slowly sounds come back to him. He hears the scream of sirens in the distance then realizes they’re not really in the distance as the emergency vehicles streak down the street in front of the night club.

He feels a heavy trembling under his feet and then the ground rocks as if with great impact. “Earthquake?” Rose mouths at him over the rumble.

He shrugs his shoulders. He rather thinks the meteors or whatever they are have crashed. His trousers start vibrating and he reaches into his pocket and removes his mobile. It’s a text message from Donna Noble saying Mr. Lumin is requesting his presence at Illuminate Corporation immediately.

He hands the phone to Rose so she can see what it says and then gestures back to the car. She nods her head at him and he unlocks the car, waits until she gets in and shuts the door. By the time he’s inside she’s put her cardigan back on. She’d left it in the car before they’d gone into the night club. It is just as well she’s covered herself up. Her shoulders and naked back were far too tempting.

“Do you want me to take you home first?” he asks her. She frowns at him and he repeats the question in a louder voice.

“No,” she responds. “I don’t want the night to be over yet. Can I go in to Illuminate with you?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Can I borrow your phone to call my Mum?” she asks him then. “I want to make sure she’s all right.”

He hands it over to her and she quickly punches in the number. He’ll have to remember to save it to his directory later that night. For some reason they haven’t exchanged phone numbers yet and that’s going to have to be quickly remedied considering they have agreed to be exclusive.

“Mum? Mum, it’s me. Are you okay?” Rose asks loudly into the phone. She has turned the volume all the way up and put it on speakerphone and he can just barely hear the tinny response of Jackie Tyler.

“I’m fine, love. Are you okay?”

“I’m safe. I’m with Jonathon.”

“The streets are on fire about a half mile down. The wind is going the other way, though, at least right now, but they’re still evacuating the estate, just giving us enough time to pack a few bags. I’ve got a bag done up for you, but I’m not sure you’ll be able to meet up with me. It’s bad, Rose. Really bad. I’m going to go to Bev’s and then we’re driving out to Grandma Tyler’s. I don’t think you’re going to be able to get through. Is there somewhere you can stay?”

“She can stay with me, Jackie,” Jonathon says turning the car towards the city center.

There is a long silence. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Jackie says slowly.

“I’ve got a guest room,” he says.

“Is there any furniture in it yet?” Jackie asks shrewdly.

“I’ve got a sleeping bag. Rose can take the bedroom.”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll be fine, Mum,” Rose says firmly. “Jonathon knows where things stand.”

“All right, sweetheart. Be careful. Remember what we talked about earlier,” she tells her daughter.

“Mum!” Rose says in exasperation.

“Humor me.”

“Fine. I love you. Be safe,” Rose says.

“I love you, too. Bye,” Jackie says.

“Good-bye.” Rose hangs up the phone and hands it back to Jonathon. He wiggles it back into his pocket awkwardly.

“So what’d you talk about earlier?” he asks. His hearing seems to have returned to normal during the course of the conversation with Jackie.

“Birth control,” Rose says bluntly. “Mum wanted me to make sure I took along condoms on our date.”

“And did you?” he asks her curiously.

“I told her we weren’t like that yet,” she says mildly.

“Oh,” he says. He knows this, knows how Rose feels, but he’s still a little disappointed that she doesn’t seem to be considering it this soon.

“And anyway,” Rose says, “I’ve had condoms in my purse since I went to visit student health.”

Jonathon nearly swerves the car, but the impulse is checked and the car remains steady. “You…went to student health?”

“Had a full physical, got birth control, got tested,” she tells him plainly. “Figured we’d be going there eventually and thought I’d be ahead of the game.” She shrugs. “Doesn’t mean I’m ready to have sex, though. What about you?”

“Oh, I’m more than ready,” he says in a half growl.

Rose laughs. “That’s not what I meant. I meant, how long’s it been since you’ve been tested for, you know, social diseases or anything?”

“Oh. Yeah, that. I had to have a full physical before starting work at Illuminate. Clean bill of health. Besides, I haven’t…I mean, not since…not since Elisabeth died.” Saying her name is not as painful as it once was.

“Not…not at all?” she asks in surprise.

He shakes his head. “Couldn’t,’ he says. “Not…it was like betraying her memory. And then, well, I’ve been a bit of a hermit the last several years and all…”

“But…you’re so highly sexed,” she says tactlessly. “I mean--.”

“It’s pretty clear what you mean, Rose. But there are other ways, you know. I’m well able to take care of myself,” he tells her.

Rose blushes furiously. “I’ll bet you are,” she manages softly.

The vast imposing glass and steel structure of Illuminate Corporation looms into view and as they pull up to the underground car park they stop at the gate. Jonathon shows his ID to the gate guard. “And who’s this?” the man asks him, pointing to Rose.

“This is my girlfriend,” Jonathon says.

“I’ll need to see some ID, Miss, and you need to sign in.” Rose digs in her purse and pulls out her student card and hands it over to the man who studies it intently before passing her a clipboard to sign. He scans the ID into a little machine and it spits out a small laminated card. He attaches a clip to it and hands it and her student card back to Jonathon, who passes it to Rose.

“You need to wear that at all times in the building, Miss Tyler. And please stay with Dr. Smith, okay?” he says.

“Yes, I will,” she says.

They drive through the gate and Jonathon finds his parking space quickly. “Come on,” he says as they exit the car and he grabs Rose’s hand as they head for the lift. They arrive a few moments later and emerge into the inner courtyard of Illuminate Corporation.

Rose gasps. “It’s huge,” she says.

“It covers 320 acres,” Jonathon says with a shrug as they make their way across the brick paving.

“That’s half a square mile,” she says.

“Yep.” He pops the P and she looks at him askance.

“How’d they get so much land for it in the city?” Rose asks. “I mean, I visited here as a child on a school tour, but it wasn’t this big then.”

“Money can buy anything, if you have enough of it,” Jonathon says.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Lumin appreciates beauty.”

“You sure it’s okay that I’m here?” she asks him.

“I don’t know what is going on, Rose, but I don’t like what happened out there tonight. Something big is occurring, and Lumin is always in the center of important happenings. If something weird or dangerous or crazy is afoot, I want you with me,” he tells her. “I want you safe. And Illuminate is one of the safest places in the world.”

She grins at him and he pulls her along towards his office building. He’s greeted at the front door by Donna. “This your Rose, then?” she asks bluntly.

Rose smiles at the woman who gives her an appraising glance before greeting her with a wide smile and a toss of her gorgeous ginger hair over her shoulder. “Yes, I’m Rose. Hello.”

“I’m Donna Noble.” She offers her hand and Rose reaches out and shakes it.

“Office manager extraordinaire,” Rose comments.

“He talks about me?” she asks sounding pleased as she ushers them into the building and locks the door carefully behind them.

“Oh, yes. Says he couldn’t find anything without you,” Rose answers.

“Well, that’s true enough, though it may be more on account of my filing system than anything else.” She grins and herds them to the lift. “It’s lovely to meet you. He’s been talking about you non-stop for the past few days.”

“Only the past two days?” Rose teases with a glance at Jonathon.

“Well, but he’s been mooning for longer. Only admitted he had a girl a few days ago at lunch. Must say, I thought you’d be a bit older.” The lift dings and the three of them enter it. She looks over at Jonathon. “You go, space man.” Jonathon blushes, but he squeezes Rose’s hand and gives her a wide smile.

“Space man?” Rose queries as the lift begins a rapid rise to the eleventh floor.

“Just a nickname,” Donna says. “He gets lost in thought a lot. Some of it over you, I suppose.” The lift comes to a stop and the doors open. “Here we are.” They approach a set of solid oak doors. Donna knocks on one of them. “Mr. Lumin? Dr. Smith is here.” Slowly the doors glide open.

Ch. 11: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/129603.html

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From:

ravenclaw-devil.livejournal.com

Lovely!! OMG Wow!!

I love the way you portray Rose's and Jonathon's date and the UST is just cruel. I also love the way Jonathon keeps scaring off all the potential suitors.

Great job, I can't wait for more!!!

From:

ravenclaw-devil.livejournal.com

First? YES!! Well worth the ahem..borrowing of the neighbor's internet - none here at the cottage - and the staying up late. Thanks again for the wonderful chapter!!

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ravenclaw-devil.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-08-31 06:45 am (UTC) - Expand

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amberfocus.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-09-01 11:39 am (UTC) - Expand

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amberfocus.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-09-01 11:38 am (UTC) - Expand

From:

theotherwillow.livejournal.com

Oh yay! This is just what I needed today! I'm so glad I checked before I went to bed - this was brilliant! You weren't kidding - the tension between Rose and Jonathon is going to kill us all! I love how you've gotten them together already and I can't wait to see more. Plus I'm so excited to see what the meteors are and how the introduction of Lumin's character goes. Lovely, gorgeous chapter!

From:

Not Rose-Colored Glasses

A Sky Without Zeppelins: Chapter Ten

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