HI!! Yes I've been missing fr 59475 years, but I come bearing a gift.. namely chapter 6 :D .. I hope you guys like it … I have a vague and sketchy idea for the next 2 or 3 chapters, so this story is gonna keep happening … of course, its happening very very slowly…thanks so much for the much needed and loved support and feedback.. u guys rock!! … my characters seem to be having minds of their own, and they pretty much took over and wrote this chapter…I started it three times before coming back to this version.. plz tell me what you think ..

Shutting up now :D

Chapter Six:

The room was quiet, with the chirping of birds the only interruption. She glanced around warily. This was too much.

And to think – he was complaining about her taking too long.

He was the one who had been in the shower for the last 30 minutes.

Just when she was about to go in there and drag him out by his nose hairs, the door opened and Ryder stepped out, dressed for dinner in an open collared white shirt tucked into nicely pressed black pants, his hair only mildly wet, his jaw shaven, a change from the rough stubble that he had maintained on the way into Mexico.

Alexx felt like Cinderella – minus the prince and the talking mice, with a huge dollop of 'cinders'.

For a reason she refused to ponder about, that made her very irritable, which was the only explanation she could find for all but shoving Ryder out of her way so that she could get into the bathroom.

Ryder looked at her as she hurried past, a slight frown marring her tired features. She looked like she could use some sleep – or some strong arms to hold her tight, protect her from all the pain and – what was he thinking?

Lex is just part of the job – do the job and then get out – you don't need this kinda grief, man.

And with that lovely pep talk, Ryder made himself comfortable in the overlarge wicker chair which afforded a spectacular view of the vista this 'humble' abode boasted.

25 minutes later, Ryder finished his talk with another contact in Mexico, and turned at the sound of the bathroom door opening – only to be struck dumb by the sight that greeted him.

Alexx, dressed in a pale blue dress, floating just above her knees, her glorious hair falling in soft waves over her shoulder, with a pair of kick ass shoes to complete the absolutely gorgeous picture she created.

'Enjoying the view, dear?'

Alexx asked with just slight mockery in her voice, throwing back the similar comment that Ryder had made on the way to meet Gardner.

"Uh…You... You look good"

Alexx glanced down and blushed slightly.

"Uh thanks. Why don't we get going, huh?"

Twenty minutes had Ryder mad enough to spit, and it was all thanks to his traitorous partner and their gracious host. He wanted to throw something. Or more preferably someone.

Alexx was lapping up all the unwanted and largely inappropriate attention that Javier was dishing out to her – in front of her husband no less!! Ryder took a deep breath and tried to count to ten as Javier slid his hand under the table to caress Alexx's leg – again. If he gritted his teeth any harder, he'd be out a couple of his crucial teeth decades before he should be.

Alexx gritted her teeth while smiling – which she thought was quite commendable, considering that Javier didn't seem to notice anything was wrong.

She was so pissed off, there weren't even enough words to describe the intense anger she was experiencing at that moment.

Having Javier's hand constantly befriending her thigh was getting creepier than when he did it the first time, and Ryder wasn't helping any.

Ryder was a dead man. He was supposed to be her husband, for chrissake!! Did he not care that his wife was getting fondled RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM??!! He'd be getting a piece of her mind when she got him alone. And maybe her heel up his ass. The jerk.

Javier muttered something to the hovering cook, who immediately ushered in the two waiters who seem to have been just standing in the alcove near the window waiting for instruction.

"So, Michael. I realize I have been monopolizing your lovely wife's attention for the majority of dinner, but I assure you with dessert I will be all ears to listen to the plans you two have for my organization."

Javier casually lit the cigar he took out of his pocket and swirled the two fingers worth of brandy he had requested and both Alexx and Ryder had declined in the decanter.

He looked the epitome of success. Not someone who made his money stealing and pilfering from others.

"Mr. Alvarez – "

"Please. Call me Javier. All my friends do"

With a warm and inviting smile, he glanced at Alexx, lingering on her chest, smirking just a little bit.

Ryder's blood had passed the boiling point half way through the appetizer and now it took all of his control to not reach across the table and strangle slimy Alvarez with his bare hands.

"Javier…"

They were interrupted again, this time by a slim blonde who waltzed into the dining room clad in a mid-thigh stopping stretchy dress that clung to every curve of her 5'8" body.

It looked like she'd had to go through a machine to get that thing on.

"Javier, baby. There's a phone call for you. It's Milo. He's in town and it sounds like he's in trouble again. Honestly, Javier. That kid is way too out of control –"

"That is enough. Thank you. Milla. Come say hello to our guests."

Milla strutted to the table, almost falling in her skyscraper heels, and stood beside Javier, looking with interest at Ryder and barely masking a most unattractive scowl at Alexx.

"Milla, this is Michael and Grace Mackenzie. They will be staying with us for awhile."

Reluctantly Milla turned her hungry eyes from Ryder and nodded at Alexx, who had to bite her lip to keep from screaming.

This was the most frustrating case she had ever been on. The bad guy was hitting on her, her partner whose cover was to be her husband didn't seem to be the least interested and now the moronic bad guys' Jungle Barbie bimbo was giving her the evil eye.

When she got back she was going to have to have a nice long chat with Rival.

"If the two of you will excuse me, I will leave you to get yourself acquainted with the house. If you are in need of anything, simply ring and it will be brought to you. Now I must see to business. Until tomorrow, mi amigos"

Smiling, Javier placed his hand on the small of Milla's back and the two made their way from the large dining hall leaving behind two very pissed off special agents.

Two hours later found Alexx changed out of the breezy blue dress and into a t-shirt that stopped just above her navel and a pair of old running shorts.

She was busy looking through their Intel on the secure laptop they had with them, when Ryder walked into their room.

As soon as the Javier and Milla had left, Ryder had gotten up from the table and left without a word.

Alexx didn't know what to make of his actions, and by then she was so angry, frustrated and just all out tired that she just went straight to their room.

She had taken another shower to get rid of the lingering feeling of Javier's hands all over her body and had changed into something a million times more comfortable.

Her eyes were closing as she repeatedly pored over facts and figures she could have recited in her sleep when Ryder entered their bedroom.

He stopped short and all of a sudden, all the anger and the frustration, not to mention the gnawing jealousy he was not about to admit he felt, rose up in him all over again.

He had thought that going for a walk through of the grounds would cool him off and give him a clear and precise idea of what they were dealing with.

He had been fine. He felt he had his emotions under control and no longer felt the need to create havoc and ruin their cover. And then he entered their bedroom.

She was sprawled on her stomach, as she used to do when she was younger when she and Peyton were the be all and end all of the world. Her head was propped up in her upturned hands, studying the screen of the laptop while her eyes repeatedly drifted shut. She looked so tired and spent.

And suddenly he didn't care.

"That was some show you put on this evening"

His voice startled Alexx awake, just as she was giving into the temptation of sleep.

He also sounded angry, though for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. If anyone should be angry, it should be her. The good for nothing jerk had completely left her hanging with Alvarez.

Ryder could see the heat entering her eyes, and was glad. He was itching for a fight and she seemed ready to give him one. Which he would win of course.

"Some show? You're one to talk. You've got to be the biggest jerk in the history of the world!"

She was sitting up now, her hair a tumbling mass of waves caressing her shoulders, turning a faded shade of copper in the dying light of the sun as it set.

He walked further into the room, removing his sports jacket as he went and unbuttoning the top three buttons before turning around to her, eyes ablaze, fierce scowl in place.

Too bad he didn't scare her.

"Me?! I'm not the one who let Alvarez touch you everywhere. What, did you think I was blind? I could see him practically drooling down the front of your dress! His hand looked like it was super glued to your thigh! For chrissake, Al-Grace! …"

He turned around and headed for the washroom that was joined to the main bedroom.

Alexx couldn't believe this. He was blaming her?!

"Right. I LET him do all those things. What could I say? 'Oh. I'm sorry. Maybe next time? You're my husband dammit!! Why didn't you say anything? Did you allow your girlfriends to be fondled in public by virtual strangers? Or is this part of some plan I wasn't told about? Do I have to solicit myself for the country? Is that it?"

Alexx was really getting into it now. She had to keep her feelings and her emotions hidden through dinner and then even afterwards because Ryder decided to play Mr. Coward and not come back to the room.

"It sure looked like you didn't mind earlier when his hand was up your dress"

The last was said in a muted roar, his eyes practically spitting fire, as he turned once again, to go to the bathroom.

Alexx was momentarily speechless, rooted to the ground in the middle of the spacious air conditioned bedroom.

Of all the arrogant, pigheaded, egotistical, hypocritical jerkish things to say. That was it. That was the last straw.

She marched up to him as he was closing the door, sticking her foot in between the jamb and the door to prevent it from closing.

"Oh. Well if that's what it looked like"

She gave him the most sweetest and charming of her grins. It was also the most phony.

They both came to this conclusion and Ryder braced himself for whatever Alexx was going to give out to him.

"You self centered, conceited, arrogant, mule-headed, asshole of a man! I didn't want him all over me! If you had bothered to look at me during the whole ordeal, you might have been able to get it through your THICK skull that I didn't want his attention.

The two were at a stand off, both glaring at each other, the apparent height difference of no consequence to either of them. Though Ryder towered over her by a good 6 inches, she managed to meet him stare for stare.

"You know what I don't get? I mean, during dinner, you were fine. You never once looked at me. You didn't care …"

Alexx was cut off mid-sentence through the simplest of solutions.

Ryder's mouth.

He kissed her with all the pent up anger and jealousy and frustration of not just the evening, but of all the years when he'd see her flirt with other guys, the years after she left and he didn't see her at all. He kissed her as if he couldn't get enough of her.

Alexx stiffened beneath his arms, surprised beyond words at his actions. Then she sighed and virtually melted against him.

Ryder used her compliance to his advantage, skillfully teasing her tongue with his own, coaxing her to come out and play. The two engaged in a sensual dance, alternating leaders.

As the kiss grew even heavier, Ryder edged backwards, never once leaving Alexx's mouth. When she was pressed up against the door of the bathroom, head tilted back to give him the most access to her graceful neck and the sensitive spot where her neck and collarbone joined, she felt as if she had died and gone to heaven.

His hard body pressed and molded to protect and accommodate her softer, much smaller frame, and Ryder was overcome with the sense of how right she felt, nuzzling his neck, pressing her body even closer to his.

They joined back together for another searing kiss, her hands tunneling through his hair, anchoring him to her through this storm they were creating.

He pulled her to her toes, so that they were chest to chest, thigh to thigh, feeling the contours and valleys and ridges of the her body, savouring the feel of her smooth waist as her shirt rode up, hearing the thundering of her heart so close to his it was hard to tell which pounding heart was his and which was hers.

With great reluctance, they pulled apart. Alexx still stretched to feel every glorious inch of Ryder, both leaning their foreheads to the other, their breathing hard and ragged.

Alexx had been kissed before, but it had never been even a quarter close to being as mind boggling as Ryder's kiss had been.

Ryder was experiencing the same kind of awe at the power a few kisses with Alexx held.

Slowly, and as if it pained him, he set Alexx a little away from him.

As she unglued herself from Ryder, she looked at him, wanting to see if he was as affected as she had been by their earth shattering kiss.

He was looking dazed, and she could see the desire plainly evident in his eyes as he looked back at her, taking in her swollen lips, and her green eyes dark with desire.

Stepping further away so that he wouldn't reach out for her again, he cleared his throat.

"Trust me. I cared"

Mwahahaha. Yes. I am evil. But I need to go away and regroup. To think of what I can possibly turn into a cliffhanger for the next chapter…ducks from flying bullets I'm just kidding … :D … hope you guys liked this chap… the first and second ..:D kiss didn't really go how I had planned, but hopefully its not too bad .. any mistakes you guys, plz let me know so that I can go about correcting them

Jackarooster: thx fr the support .. I'm glad yr enjoying the story.. any input or ideas?

Bubbl3gum: lol … glad to see you like the plot…it's overused, but I don't think I cld ever get over it … thx fr the support…hope u like this chap

Morganlafaye: bwahaha I've got you hooked.. so happy to hear that … Peyton's definitely coming back .. soon hums.. :D thx fr yr review …all of 'em ;)

Teresa Malfoy: sorry fr the long wait...literally :D Jensen ackles, huh? Mm hmm...I'll give that some serious thought … lmao …

Maggie: thanks fr the support, maggilicious.. I hope u're my 100th too ;) … here's yr update better late than never

perturbedpercy: lol … glad it wasn't too confusing … thx fr the review

always an angel: thx fr the review.. and finish it I will … eventually grins

Melody1: blushes I took forever and a yr to update and u finished yr story .. pauses to jump up and down …I always loved ashton :D … congrats on fin ;) thx fr the continued support

Miss Jay: I hope this chap meets yr fluff criteria .. without making you sick ..lol thx fr yr review

THANKS GUYS!! hugs everyone in sight