ooc: Continued from Dinner

Raina awoke at 6:30am in a darkened room. Her watch alarm had gone off and she wondered why exactly she had decided it was time to get up again? She wasn't much for being a morning person. She'd been in Paris for a bit now and besides her Sunday sleep in Raina had been getting up much earlier than she was accustomed to. Why? Well that would be the strapping young lad down the hall.

She gave a stretch and a yawn and stood up on her stiff feet. She'd gone for a swim last night thanks to Luke. He'd arranged everything so that she could excersize herself -so to speak. It had felt good to get that part of herself working again but after not using it for so long the stiffness this morning wasn't all that unexpected.

She made her way to the drapes and pulled them open. Luke made sure her room was facing west so there was some light but it wasn't attacking her eyes. She stood there bathed in it's glow for a moment. Today she was going to tell Luke she'd come to a decision.

She'd been getting up every morning now to see him off to work with enough time so they could have breakfast with each other. This morning was even earlier because Raina wanted to discuss the merger of their bedrooms. That's how she was calling it in her head anyway. She'd been up half the night wondering how this would go and how she would explain it but she half thought Luke would be expecting it.

The pressure between the two had been mounting but over the last few days Raina felt closer and closer to Luke. They'd spent so much time talking and getting to know each other better and the fact that Luke was showing so much restraint only made her want him more. In fact it was getting a little out of hand- she was dreaming about him now.

Usually her day consisted of getting up with Luke and seeing him off then exploring Paris by herself. She'd done a different event each day and in some cases she'd even repeated it in the evening because she liked it so much she wanted Luke to experieince it too. They'd have dinner and do their own touring or shopping or just enjoying each other's company for a while. It had been a pretty easy life but Raina was longing for the closeness.

There were no kittycats to spring up this time. There were no dying emergencies or birthday attacks. They were far from Victoria and Star was being well taken care of at home. And Raina had spent the entire past few days mulling over her decision. That's how she got the idea to surprise Luke with Breakfast in bed.

Of course... she wasn't able to really make anything herself but she phoned room service the night before to arrange everything. Sure enough as she doned a bath robe over her silk nighty and opened the door her cart of steaming hot food was ready. She quickly fixed things.

After a trip to the bathroom mirror to brush her hair and teeth and wash her face she headed into Luke's room with the food. She wasn't knocking. Part of her hoped she might catch him scantly clad for once. Afterall the freebies he was getting.

The smell of french toast and omlette wafted through the room as Raina put them on the tray beside Luke's bed. She didn't turn on any lights or open the drapes because her eyes were well adjusted to the dark and well Luke- Luke really didn't need any light. Without warning she jumped on the bed and on Luke. "Earthquake!!!" she yelled thromping about. She pulled the blankets and pillows this way and that and finally landed right next to Luke and beamed across at him. "Hi sexy!" she teased. "it's time to wake up. We need to have time to eat and talk about something serious." she wagged her finger to show how serious she was. "And also... you smell nice." she nuzzled into him playfuly.

Wherever Raina got her sudden burst of energy every morning was beyond even her. But something about waking up Luke in his bed always brought out the insanely playful side in her.

Leslie had been the unfourtunate one on morning spy duty when Raina decided to get up much earlier than her usual scheduled time about an hour from now. Leslie moaned from her car parked outside the hotel on the street and looked down at the little monitor to see Raina jumping about. What was with this woman? Leslie had taken to arriving for her shift an hour early so she could sleep a bit in the car until everyone started stirring. Then she'd simply follow Raina as they went out.

The group was waiting for an opprotune moment now to snatch Raina while Luke and Raina were apart but so far Raina had been in very public places and not alone in the hotel for a long enough period of time. Derek was getting frusturated and honestly so was Leslie. She was getting sick of the happy couple. She would prefer to be a happy couple with someone herself instead of watching them.

They had gained valuable information however the past few days. Greg had a general idea of Luke's sonar capability as he called it, and Raina had been witnessed by three of them transforming. Che had been right on the money about that one. No wonder he wanted her.

The expenses that were piling up from Luke just reeked of rich blood. He was going to be a great investment and she didn't think his powers would be the slightest problem. Raina would be an easy one to control as well. If they got her wet and couldn't breathe... well she was at their mercy.

All in all she wasn't expecting this to be that hard. It was all about the moment. At this time in the morning Leslie didn't know that moment would come tonight. But she'd figure it out soon enough.

The past several days had been some of the best that Luke had ever enjoyed. Though he had been working through each day at his various meetings and planning sessions, the morning and evening had been something special. Having breakfast with Raina and chatting with her in the morning followed by dinner in the evening and long walks down the Paris streets. While they had seen a few of the normal tourist sites, they had also spent a lot of time off the beaten path, just enjoying the quaint little shops and sites that were away from the normal tourist spots. Each night Luke had done his best to control his carnal urges and stick to just a kiss goodnight before going and tossing and turning for an hour or so in his bed. Last night he had been so riled up that he hadn't even bothered to get redressed but instead had just stripped down to his boxers and then climbed between the sheets before finally drifting off to sleep.

The sleep was broken with a loud noise and plenty of movement on the mattress. It was disorienting and for several moments Luke was just thrown around as he tried to get his bearings and figure out what in the world was going on.

"Hi sexy! It's time to wake up. We need to have time to eat and talk about something serious." Raina said as she wagged a finger in his face and then moved in to begin to nuzzle up against him. "And also... you smell nice."

The blind man was painfully aware of his current state of undress as Raina nuzzled up against his bare arms and chest. "Uh... OK but... um... shouldn't I get dressed first?" He protested a little weakly as his sonar swept the room trying to find some way to cover himself up... quickly. After all the sexual tension that had been building between the two of them all over again Luke just knew that there was no way a simple pair of boxers would be able to hide his... interest.

Raina murmered a bit as she hooked her arm across Luke so he had no choice to stay put. "Nooo isn't that the lame excuse guys use when they want to avoid having a talk?" she insisted pushing him back to the pillow. She propped her head up on her palm with her elbow and stared down at him with a smile. "I got breakfast delivered. So we'd have time."

She thought about their first night staying here... the old folklore her grandmother had told her. If she explained it to Luke it might help him understand this was her big attempt to cross the sword. Then again... she wasn't exactly gifted at re-telling stories. As it was she took her free hand and weaved it between his fingers after pulling the blankets up.

Now this wasnt really fair and Raina knew it. It hindseight it might have been smart to let Luke get dressed since she had a housecoat on but it was too late for that! "Luke." she began clearing her throat. "I've been doing some thinking. I came to a decision last night but I made myself wait until this morning to tell you." it was true. Raina wanted more than anything to roll around in anything with Luke last night. But she forced herself into her room like the good girl she was trying to be so she could plan things just like she had to keep reminding herself she wanted.

"I've been thinking about it a lot. Probably since I've met you." she confessed. "But I wanted to be sure I was thinking about it for the right reasons... and not just the usual ones." she turned a little red. "I was hoping..." she stammered a bit here searching for the right words and suddenly feeling the fear or rejection. Better do this quick. "I was hoping we could have dinner here tonight. A special dinner. To mark an occasion of decision making between two um.. concenting adults." she cocked her head to the side as if the slight slant might joggle her thoughts loose. "I'd like if after that special dinner that we'll have tonight..." he wasn't getting anything from her this morning! "...if we could get in the same ah.. bed together. In this room."

And there it was. She finally put it out there on the floor. She finally made a decision and was being as brave and as adult as she could be... and she was shaking all over for it.

"Nooo isn't that the lame excuse guys use when they want to avoid having a talk?" Raina teased as she pushed Luke back down to his pillow, "I got breakfast delivered. So we'd have time."

"Uh... OK." Luke replied somewhat weakly as he pushed himself up into a little more of a sitting position. He was still leaning back against the pillows but he was now in a little more of a position to eat and talk.

"And time for what exactly?" Luke wondered to himself as he tried to keep his mind from going anywhere... carnal. "This is the first time you've crossed our undeclared boundary. What is this about?"

Raina was silent for the next few moments as she pulled the blankets up over the both of them and then took his hand, linking their fingers together as she apparently tried to think of the right words.

"Luke. I've been doing some thinking. I came to a decision last night but I made myself wait until this morning to tell you."

That was never a good thing... a woman coming to a decision which she wanted to share with her significant other in rather formal tones was never a good thing. Or was it? Luke was a little weak when it came to real relationships so he didn't know how to take this. Either Raina was about to break up with him or... or... or something else.

"I've been thinking about it a lot. Probably since I've met you. But I wanted to be sure I was thinking about it for the right reasons... and not just the usual ones. I was hoping..." Raina began before running into a mental roadblock. Luke sat there with baited breath just waiting for her to actually say something. What was it she had been thinking about? What had she decided?!

"I was hoping we could have dinner here tonight. A special dinner. To mark an occasion of decision making between two um.. consenting adults. I'd like if after that special dinner that we'll have tonight... if we could get in the same ah.. bed together. In this room."

For a moment Luke was silent as he tried to get his mind around what Raina had just said. He had been half expecting her to break up with him and now she was asking if they could sleep together? Did she mean just sleep in the same bed or did she mean something more physical? Was she wanting to sleep with him like they had that night after Sara had interrupted them, or was she wanting to seduce him? Judging from her hesitation and slightly embarrassed tone Luke was willing to bet money that it was the latter, but he had to make sure.

"Maybe I should have a little fun with this." Luke thought to himself, as the corner of his lips curved up in a slight smile, "At least a little bit anyway."

This moment called for some activity so, using his own burst of morning energy, Luke kept a firm hold of Raina's one hand before quickly rolling her onto her back and grabbing her other free hand, basically pinning her down as he crouched just above her.

"I'm afraid you're confusing me." Luke murmured softly, a playful smile on his face that also barely contained a hunger that he knew she had to be able to see, "Maybe we should clear things up a little."

The statement was playful but at the same time there was a heat behind his words that immediately charged the atmosphere in the room. Dipping his head slowly Luke kept his lips at least an inch or two away from Raina's lips, even though it had to seem like he was a lot closer, "Just to be clear... tonight... after dinner... you want us to be in this bed... the same on we're laying on at this exact moment... perhaps after sharing a gift or two with each other... and then... we'll finish what we started a week or more ago? Raina... are you trying to seduce me?"

Moving his head to the side and dipping it a little lower, Luke placed his lips right next to her ear and whispered one final statement. "Because if you are... it's working."

Raina was so nervous she was shaking and before she knew what was happening she was pinned down on her back. Her defenses kicked in and she wanted to leap from the bed but she saw the smile on Luke's face and her body relaxed. The moment she let down her guard the sexual tension hit her and Riana's body seemed a lot warmer than usual and Luke wasn't exactly wearing a lot of clothes. Her heat was beating faster as he started to speak.

"Maybe we should clear things up a little."

Luke looked like he wanted to eat her for breakfast. She instantly thought of a vampire and thought Luke would make an excellent one.

"Just to be clear... tonight... after dinner... you want us to be in this bed... the same on we're laying on at this exact moment... perhaps after sharing a gift or two with each other... and then... we'll finish what we started a week or more ago? Raina... are you trying to seduce me?"

She nodded to each statement no longer feeling the need to be brave but feeling all of her movement and breathing more natrually. Hadn't she just explained all of this? She'd been wanting to pick up where they left off... since they left off.


"No I want to build a fort with blankets - I hear they do that in France." she narrowed her eyes a bit to try and seem serious. "Of course I'm trying to seduce you." and with that she arched her neck up so that her lips met his with some force. Raina was going to send this message loud and clear. She only hoped that Luke got her point about it being special. She broke apart from him on purpose to leave him wanting more. "Haven't you been trying to seduce me?" she grinned. "If you try tonight I promise it'll work." she was being silly but she calmed her voice and carefully said. "I just want it to be special."

Raina's suddenly kiss almost shredded the control that Luke was so tenuously maintaining. As she pulled away all the blind man wanted was to dip his head and continue the kiss into that 'something more' they were both talking about but somehow he managed to hold on. If it had been a physical grip he would have been hanging by his finger nails, but he was still holding it.

"You... are going... to be the death of me." He whispered huskily, his voice sounding almost like a low growl. Not in a nasty or mean sort of way but in the barely restrained, aroused sort of way.

Releasing Raina's hand Luke moved from off of her to stretch out with his back up against the pillows once more. He was breathing deeply as he tried to slow down his heart beat and get his body to calm down. There was no way that he would be able to make it through his meetings in this state and that meant he needed to stop thinking about his girlfriend and what would transpire later. He needed to temporarily forget about it, but somehow he knew that would be almost impossible.

"So... what did you order for breakfast?" Luke asked after a few moments once his voice was slightly more normal, "Anything good?"

Raina grinned and was relieved when he made the move to back off... because she just might not have been able to do that this time. Despite her wishes. "French toast." she answered. "and the usual... eggs... fruit... coffee... all the good stuff." she slid off the bed to give Luke some room and prepare to food but she may have stolen a glance over her shouder to see his bare chest.

She tiptoed to the food thinking a cold shower might be in order after he leaves. "I was going to pick up a few things today while you're out. I smell like chlorine so I think I need to pick up some rubbing alcohol. " Raina was finding it hard in Paris to have a full cleaning session. The tub in their room was actually small and though she had the pool it left her smelling like chlorine so picking up some rubbing alcohol would be the easiest route for her. "I did want to check out the local aquarium today and pick up some clothes I've been eyeing all week. Maybe a few special items for tonight..." she trailed off passing Luke his plate. "I might hit the gym downstairs as well. So I probably wont get back until about 6 tonight when you do. Maybe just a little earlier. But I'll be gone at least til 5." she was mentally making a list and a schedule so she could maximize the time she'd have with Luke tonight. She wanted to pick up a few extra surprises like a pheremone parfume. She had a lot in mind for Luke tonight.

"what about you? How's work looking? Any chance you may be able to get off earlier?" she looked at him hopefully.

As Raina slipped off of the bed and walked over to fix their plates, Luke scanned the room for some more clothing to wear. Almost immediatley he spotted a pair of sweat pants he had dropped beside the bed at some point during their stay. Seizing them the blind man pulled them on over his boxer shorts, figuring that it would help to make things a little more comfortable for the both of them as they enjoyed breakfast. He didn't see a shirt nearby so he decided that until he went to get dressed for his meetings he would just remain bare chested.

"What about you? How's work looking? Any chance you may be able to get off earlier?" Raina asked after handing him a plate of food and recounting her plans for the day.

"I don't know... that might be a little difficult." Luke replied seriously but allowing a smile to appear on his face so that Raina would know he was kidding, "Just teasing. I'm sure I can get off a little early... even if it means faking an illness I'll do my best to beat you back here. I want to be here waiting for you when you get back from your errands. And then, once we're both here, neither of us are leaving this suite for ANY reason!"

He was really beginning to get excited. He had been thinking and dreaming about this upcoming night ever since they're interupted evening a week or so prior. He knew that Raina wanted to make sure this was a special night and that they were going into this with eyes wide open so he was going to do his best to grant her wish. Without her knowing he should be able to slip away from the meeting by lunch, which would give him most of the afternoon to run his own errands just to make sure that everything was as special as he could make it.

Using his fork to life a bite of french toast to his mouth, Luke savored the flavor, doing his best to move his thoughts to a PG rating so that he could get through the next few hours.

"But you have to wonder... what would Raina look like with syrup drizzled on her?"

Raina ate her food with a silly grin on her face. There would be no kitty-cats to wander in this time- as much as she loved Sara. There would be no Victoria and here in Paris they were far far away from the drama with the mansion. She didn't have to worry about tabloids and when she and Luke got back they'd be closer and she had a puppy to come home too!

While watching all of this on the bug Leslie had finally seized her opprotunity. They were going to be apart for the day... they could get them each then. One by One. It would make sense to get Raina first... and then make Luke come willingly. That was the way Leslie liked to get things done. She picked up her phone to let Derek know. Today would be the day. It had to be.

Breakfast went by quickly and though Raina tried to give them a lot of time she still felt like she and Luke had to rush around before he left for work. She had a list of things to pick up for the day that had now grown two double what it was and what was worse she could barely concentrate! Their were butterflies in her stomach, a red tint on her cheeks, and every little draft of air sent a wiff of Luke in her direction. Her head was going crazy with thoughts for tonight not to mention how nervous she was. It was the good kind of nervous. The kind that got your adrenaline pumping.

"You're going to be late Luke Jacobs!" she called from the front room glancing at the clock and looking out the window.

(OOC: I apologize in advance for the length. This is fast forwarding just a touch but I wanted to make sure that everything was covered. Enjoy. I also appologize for anywhere I might have butchered the French language. I don't speak French and may have made a few/lot of mistakes.)

IC:
The day was already going to fast...

Breakfast with Raina had come and gone so fast that it already seemed like a distant memory. Not wanting to put either of them in any more temptation than they could really handle, Raina had slipped out of the bedroom while Luke went about getting dressed for the day. With his going to meetings it was a rather stereotypical business outfit... black dress shoes, black socks, deep gray pants with matching suit coat, white shirt, and red tie. Because of the winter Luke also wore a black overcoat to make sure that he stayed warm enough.

As he went through the motions of getting ready for the day Luke's mind was racing over the different preparations that he felt were necessary to make their night special. "Dinner... I should pick up something special at one of the local shops or maybe even order it for them to deliver." The blind man murmured to himself as he skillfully tied his neck tie, "A bottle of wine to go with dinner, maybe a bottle of champagne on ice as something extra special." Neither Luke nor Raina drinkers but now that a decision had been finally made, he didn't see an issue with their having just a little alcohol. Thankfully wine and champagne had a relatively low alcohol content so as long as they were careful, the two would still be entering into the next step of their relationship with their eyes wide open.

"You're going to be late Luke Jacobs!" Raina called out from where she was waiting out in the main living room.

Smiling to himself Luke slipped on his suit jacket and overcoat then grabbed his briefcase and headed out for where Raina was waiting. "Who cares if I'm late for the meeting?" Luke asked with a laugh and an obvious grin on his face, "As long as I'm not late for dinner this evening, I could care less about what happens at work."

Moving close Luke gave the beautiful woman a soft, lingering kiss before pulling away and smiling at her again. "I'll see you this evening." He murmured quietly before turning and striding out of the room.

How in the world was he going to keep his mind on business?

***

Why did this have to be the day that almost the whole meeting was in French? For crying out loud, Luke had known going in that he would have trouble paying attention and so now he had to listen through an interpreter the entire meeting? If there was someone watching this meeting, they had to be about ready to die from laughter. Especially if they knew what Luke's plans for later in the evening were.

"Just make it until lunch." Luke thought to himself as he plastered on a smile and nodded and something one of the other businessmen had said, "I can make excuses then and get out to get some errands run. Just gotta survive until lunch."

***

The excuses had been easier than Luke expected. He had been forced to lie... well he hadn't been forced but in order to make sure he had the next day completely free as well had had said that he wasn't feeling well and needed to return to the hotel. It seemed like the customer was more then willing to finish up the last of the deal with their European sales office manager now that Luke had done much of the detail work and so with a pleasant goodbye the blind man had headed off. Now he had even more of a surprise for Raina... he wouldn't have to be going back for any more meetings. That meant they still had a good two or three days all alone in Paris with nothing to interrupt them.

"She'll be excited... as soon as I tell her I know she'll be really excited." Luke thought with satisfaction as he walked down the Paris streets searching for just the perfect little shop to buy his supplies from. Normally he would have gone through the hotel concierge in order to set up something like this but Luke wanted this to be both special AND personal. He was going to pick out everything by himself and that was going to make it even better for both of them.

Finally locating a small but relatively fancy looking restaurant, Luke walked inside to see about making arrangements with the proprietor.

***

"Donc nous entrons ce soir." Greg responded on the phone as he sat in front of the hotel, watching and waiting for Luke and Raina to return from their various destinations, "Avec lequel suis-je fait équipe ?"

"J'envoie à Leslie pour vous rejoindre.." Derek replied quietly, "Vous deux saisissez la fille, quittez la bande et vous dirigez ensuite vers le rendez-vous. Le bon docteur nous rencontrera là."

"Leslie?" Greg griped, obviously annoyed at the idea, "Pourquoi vous ne pouviez pas venir ? Leslie ne sait pas comment s'amuser."

"Juste parce qu'elle vous a rabattus quand vous lui avez demandé ne fait pas dehors d'hommes qu'elle ne sait pas comment apprécier elle-même. En fait il la rend assez élégante. Mais en plus de cela, elle peut diriger de l'eau, qui est la faiblesse de la femme. Elle est parfaite pour cet emploi. Elle devrait révéler n'importe quel temps."

"Vraiment, vraiment, vraiment. Parfait." Greg responded in a huff before hanging up the phone and returning it to his belt clip.

***

Luke was quite satisfied with himself. He had ordered a small cracker, meat, and cheese tray, a plate of bruschetta with tomatoes, spinach, goat cheese, and olives, a plate of chicken cordon bleu with asparagus and roasted potatoes, a bottle of a beautiful burgundy wine, and for desert a large slice of raspberry cheesecake that he and Raina could share. The proprietor had been kind enough to throw in a couple of nice candles for the table, as well as plates and silverware, but only after he learned that price was no object. As long as he was getting paid for the extras, there was no reason not to sell them, was there. A delivery time had been agreed upon and Luke was hoping that it would be just a little before Raina arrived back at the hotel from her own errands.

"Just one more thing to pick up... hopefully she won't think I'm to forward." Luke muttered to himself as he continued walking down the street, scanning shop after shop, "And hopefully I don't feel to wierd doing this." Finally he spied the shop he was looking for and after steeling his nerves as best he could, Luke walked inside. To hopefully make things a little less embarassing Luke was carrying his cane with him but he still knew it had to look strange. After all, how many men walk into a women's lingerei store?

"Bonjour! Soyez bienvenus à notre magasin. Puis-je vous aider à trouver n'importe quoi ?" A woman's voice rang out just before she came in view of Luke's sonar.

"Bonjour." Luke replied, doing his best not to sound nervous, "Uh... English?"

"Oui! Are you American?" The woman responded in rather fluent English, "We get quite a few tourists here."

"Wonderful." Luke replied as he tried to smile through his nerves, "I... uh... need to pick out something for my girlfriend as a special gift. I'd probably be like most guys and look online but uh... it's kind of hard to see the computer screen."

"It's far better to come into the store anyway." The woman replied, her tone completely professional, "In the store you can feel the fabric as well as examine the quality of the garment. On the internet you can never be sure what you're getting."

"Well... um... maybe you can help me pick something out... at least the color anyway. My girlfriend is slim... fair skin... red hair cut in kind of a pixie style." Luke offered, not really knowing exactly what to say. This was deffinately something he had never done for any of the other women in his life... they had always come with something skimpy either under their clothing or carefully stowed in their bags. He had never had to pick out anything and neither had he wanted to. But for Raina, he wanted this to be extra special. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Mais évidemment... désolé. Come with me." The salewoman replied as she reached out and gently gripped Luke's arm to lead him deeper into the store, "We don't want to take anything away from her beautiful, vibrant hair so I would suggest something white. That will make both the lingerei as well as her hair stand out. Perhaps this... I'm sure she would look magnifique in this."

Reaching a hand out to touch the fabric, Luke immediately swept the garment with his sonar, inwardly gulping. That was just a little more skimpy that he really thought that Raina would be comfortable with.

"The fabric is perfect but uh... I think that might be a little to... revealing for her taste. Do you have something in the same fabric that she might be a touch more comfortable in?" Luke asked as tactfully as he could manage.

"Of course." She replied graciously, "The shyness is part of her beauty I'm sure." Moving through the racks it was only a moment before the salewoman held up yet another item for Luke to examine.

It was a beautiful white chemise with lace trim and a satin ribbon for detail. It was revealing enough that he knew Raina would take his breath away as soon as she put it on, but it was still modest enough that she should be comfortable. And along with that, the lace and ribbon made for wonderful detail that his sonar could pick up.

"Perfect." Luke replied, his embaressment dissapearing as he began to imagine Raina wearing this beautiful fabric, "Can you box it up for me?"

***

After arriving back at the hotel Luke wasted no time in getting everything ready. The food was delivered shortly after he arrived so he immdiately set the coffee table up to be their dinner location. After lighting the candles and making sure that all of the warm food was covered by trays so that it would stay warm, Luke walked over to a small table that was behind the couch and carefully set down the box, opening it and folding back the tissue paper so that the white fabric would be obvious as soon as Raina looks over at it. Turning, Luke swept the room with his sonar as he tried to think of anything that he might have forgotten.

"Stupid!" Luke suddenly spoke up, mentally cursing at himself, "I've got the wine but I forgot the champagne!"

Picking up a pen and a piece of paper, Luke wrote a brief note that Raina would find in case she returned while he was out and then left the note sitting on top of her new chemise. Luke had gotten slightly more casual, having removed his tie and suit coat as well as rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt but now he had to go back out into the cold. Quickly shrugging on his over coat Luke headed out to get the bottle of champagne.

***

A sizzle sounded, temporarily short out the electronic lock and allowing the door to be opened. "Anybody home?" Greg called out in accented English as the black and white haired man entered the room, followed closely by his black and blue haired accomplice.

"You're an idiot." Leslie replied rather dismissively as she closed the door behind them and looked around the room, "What do you think? Should we wait in the guys bedrooms or the girls?"

"Well... now this is nice." Greg said, pointedly ignoring his female partner as he looked over the lingerei box and the note that sat on top of it, "Lover boy is out for a bit. Listen to this....

'Raina,
I forgot one of the most important things for our night together and so I've gone out to get it. I'll be back soon. I hope you like this gift I've gotten for you and if it's not to forward, I hope that you might be in it when I return. I'll see you soon.

Luke'

Isn't that just so precious?" Greg sneered a little as he set the note aside and lifted the garment up out of the box, "But, damn... that woman would look HOT in this! Maybe we should let her get dressed before we grab her!"

"You're a freak and a pervert Greg." Leslie responded without the slightest hesitation as she walked over and snatched the lingerei out of Greg's hand, quickly folding it and returning it to the box as only a woman can, "We're going to go hide in his room now and if you act stupid like this again, I'm gonna short circuit you."

"Yeah, yeah... whatever." Greg replied, pretending to be bored with Leslie and everything around them as he turned and walked into the bedroom. Leslie followed right behind him and then closed the door so that it was only open a crack,a llowing them to see out without being seen.

"Here fishy, fishy, fishy." Greg muttered under his breath.

Raina grinned as Luke kissed her- she couldn't help but smile through the whole thing. "well... have a good day!" she piped up as he left. She stood there in the empty room with a silly smile on her face. There was something in her mind and thoughts. Something important. Today would be the right day to actually think about it. If she was going to go through with everything this evening (despite the butterflies in her stomach which would rather carry her off) then she decided it was important to give this particular matter some thought. Did Raina love Luke? Thus was her thinking topic for the day.

***

She had headed out in a comfortable pair of jeans and a light blue sweater. It went nicely on it's own but clashed a bit with her hair. Raina didn't care too much for what it looked like at the moment she just wanted to be warm. She'd change when she got back to the hotel. She'd hopped a cap early and with the last little bit of her savings that wasn't tucked aside for the last minute shopping she was doing today she guranteed that the cabby would stick around all day. Thinking about the next few days made Raina a little sad. Sure, she'd have tonight with Luke but he'd still have to work until the end of their trip. It had been fun going about on her own but now it was starting to get lonely. She really missed Luke.

***

Shopping seemed to go by in a heartbeat and not wanting to go back to the empty hotel and be alone Raina decided to tour a bit. Part of her knew she'd be bored just sitting at the hotel waiting for Luke... the other part was worried she'd get cold feet so keeping her mind occuipied was the best thing to do. Sadley she wasn't soaking in much of the scenary as she was weighing the pros and cons of her predicted actions tonight. She'd been doing this all week... and now that she'd already told Luke she wasn't going to back down. But she was anxious, and nervous. Like someone doing this for the first time. Technically she almost wished it were the case looking back to her past experience. But Luke wasn't Rupert. Rupert had a soft side that Raina experienced but it wasn't Rupert. Luke was soft with her all the time. Careful with every word and every touch. She was more on the level, and for a moment Rupert rang true... Raina was a mutant and so was Luke. He'd always understand her better than a human with a vendetta.

****

The afternoon drug on slowly and Raina finally gave up and decided to head back to the hotel. She was a little earlier then she anticipated but she knew there was no way she could stall for herself any longer. She was a mess of nerves and perhaps a quick lay-down before Luke came home would make a difference. Naps had a way of putting things in perspective for the foggy mind. Raina's mind was indeed a fog. She was confused, shaking, and anxious as she fiddled with the card to get the door open. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. When she turned around she was shocked at what she saw and it took a good two minutes to register.

The room was covered in roses and rose pedals. There were lit candles everywhere for ambiance and she could practically smell the food. Raina felt tears briming in her eyes as the fog she'd been feeling completley lifted. "Special..." she said out loud. Luke was making it special for her. She knew without a doubt that Luke was the person she should be with here in this moment. She was in love with Luke.

***
Leslie held greg back a moment as she heard Raina come in. "Give it a minute." she said feeling a bit sorry. "This is the only nice moment this woman is going to get for a long time. She's going to need this in her mind when Derek starts working her over. She might be more cooperative that way.

Greg gave a shrug. "I just wanna see her change." he said deviously pulling a tape recorder out of his pocket and exchanged glances with Leslie who shook her head and then nodded.
**

Raina stood trying to collect herself. She saw a box with a note attached addressed to her so she bent down after taking off her shoes to pick it up. It was a gift to her from Luke. She silently read the note and her smile widened and the tears threatened even harder to come down. She even blushed a little when she opened the box and moved the soft paper back. It was just her taste. Luke knew exactly what she'd be comfortable in and it was beautiful. She felt the fabric between her fingers and pulled the item from the box to see it in full view. Luke wasn't here yet so why not change into it now? She could primp a bit then and see how everything looked with it.

Without any hesitation Raina began pulling the sweater up and over her head right there in the living room. Soon she was completley undressed and being as careful as she could with the lingeri she pulled it on. It slipped on nicely and she stood a moment not even needing a mirror to appreciate it. She quickly tucked her old clothes in the box and picked them up. She'd put them in her room. She held the note close to her as well as she padded lightly in the direction of the bedrooms.

That's when Luke's door came open. At first her mind didn't register the woman with the blue hair and the man who looked like a skunk because she'd been expecting to see Luke. Maybe Luke had had a nap himself after running his errand? But as the man and woman advanced on Raina she realized this wasn't Luke and these people weren't even friendly. She opened her mouth with her eyebrows knit tight. She was going to make a mess of these people and that was ok because nothing was taking her away from tonight. Her sound blasted through the air.

The skunk-haired man had some kind of recorder that he hit record on and dropped at his feet. "Not Today bitch!" he screamed with a bit of a psycho laugh. He extended his hand and suddenly Raina's song was lost in her own mouth as she felt an electrical charge move through her whole body. It was like a shock you get from the carpet only much much stronger and Raina stood immobolized for a moment. The hair on the back of her neck stood strait up. A small gasp escaped her lips.

"Still not down. I'll show you how to do it growled the blue haired woman leaping forward on Raina who couldn't move anyway. She nailed Raina with a water blast right in the stomach. The pain was unbelievable as the wind was knocked out of her but she also began to shift. All she could think about was not wanting her new gift to be ruined as she fell to the floor.

"Idiot! Now we have to drag out a mermaid! Why couldn't you just hit her? I'm going to have to get on the phone with Greg and get the van here now. the skunk man was not impressed but Raina was in so much pain all she could do was mumble Luke's name.

The recording device was picking all of this up and skunk man suddenly remembered it. He picked it up and spoke directly into it while watching the blue haired woman tie up the mermaid. "Hello Luke Jacobs. We're aware that you're a rich mutant from America and we'd love some of your money. We thought simply bribing you about being a mutant would be sufficient enough but then we had some other parties get involved in regards to your girlfriend. Give us a squeal bella And with that Skunk man approached Raina and kicked her hard in the stomach to which she obliged with a large shriek. "You may want to do some digging on a Dr. Che, Mr Luke. But until then we'd like to discuss ransom and you will find us at the address on the note attached to this recorder. Do come alone. If you bring the police well.. I might just have to shock this one.

Raina wriggled back and forth. "Don't do it Luke!" she yelled out. But her words turned into another scream as Skunk boy nailed her with another electrical charge. She could taste blood in her mouth and her neckw as starting to hurt. She wasnt going to be able to breathe. Her gills were shifting. Didn't they know she couldn't breathe? As her head landed back on the carpet the last thing her eyes took in was the state of the room and the water on the carpet.

Luke was hurrying through this final errand as quickly as he could. A part of himself wanted to arrive back at the hotel Raina did, while another part wanted to show up after she had arrived and hopefully changed into her new chemise. "Or maybe I'll show up while she's changing... if that happens our dinner plans might just get thrown out the window." Luke thought to himself as he forced himself to slow down. He would rather show up a few minutes after Raina had changed then show up while she was in the process of doing so. This evening was going to be special and so it couldn't be hurried. They would just take their time and let everything flow.

***

"Merci." Luke said gratefully as he took the bottle of champagne from the vendor and walked back out into the Paris streets. Thankfully he hadn't had to go far to find a nice champagne so it would only take a few minutes walk to get back to the hotel. Striking out briskly Luke could feel his mouth beginning to get that cottony feeling. He was nervous... nervous about dinner... nervous about after dinner... and nervous about where this would take their relationship. Luke knew that he cared for Raina a great deal but he still wasn't sure if he was ready to use the word love. Did he really love her or did he just care about her? She deserved someone that would give up everything to be with her and that was the real question... was that how Luke felt?

***

Luke took a deep breath as he swiped his key card through the electronic lock. With a soft tone the door unlocked and Luke moved inside.

"Raina! I'm back!" He called out, his sonar sweeping over the room. The first thing he noticed was that the box containing his present was gone. That meant that Raina must be here and more than likely she was wearing the lingerei. "I see you found the gift." He continued to call into the room as he walked towards the couch, a slight smile on his face.

The second thing Luke noticed was a tape player with an envelope attached to it. "A note and a tape? What do you have planned Beautiful?" Luke called again, expecting to hear Raina's laughter or at least a giggle but instead he was greeted by silence. There was a burnt smell in the air but Luke figured that it must be from the lit candles he had sitting over on the coffee table. Right then, as he took an other step nearer the tape player he heard a squish.

"Wet carpet?" Luke murmured as he knelt down and pressed his hand against the damp floor, "What in the world..."

Something was wrong... why would the carpet be wet with Raina nowhere to be found? Rising back to his feet Luke reached over and grabbed the tape player even as he felt a sinking feeling forming in his stomach.

"Hello Luke Jacobs. We're aware that you're a rich mutant from America and we'd love some of your money." A sneering male voice came over the tape player. Luke could immediately tell that there was a slight French accent behind the English speaking but he also knew that he had never heard that particular voice before. "We thought simply bribing you about being a mutant would be sufficient enough but then we had some other parties get involved in regards to your girlfriend. Give us a squeal bella."

Luke actually felt his heart stop as right at the moment he heard Raina's shriek come through the tape player. They had taken Raina? THEY HAD TAKEN RAINA!

"You may want to do some digging on a Dr. Che, Mr Luke. But until then we'd like to discuss ransom and you will find us at the address on the note attached to this recorder. Do come alone. If you bring the police well.. I might just have to shock this one."

"Don't do it Luke!" Raina's voice rang out before transforming into a scream of pain that combined with what sounded like the sizzle of electricity before abruptly cutting off.

"You son of a bitch!" Luke swore, his hand tightening in a death grip until he actually cracked the casing on the tape place, "Raina's coming back... I'm going to get Raina back!"

***

Luke couldn't read the note but at the moment that wasn't a big concern. All he would have to do is show it to the concierge or a cab driver and he would be able to get to the location. What mattered right now was being ready. "Money... they want money but they didn't say how much. They want to talk. So they expect me to come to this meeting empty handed." Luke murmured to himself as he dug through his garment bag, unzipping a back compartment which allowed him to pull out the two batons that were stowed within. They appeard to just be bracing for the garment back sides when in actuality they were the weapons that Luke used while being Wraith.

"They know I'm a mutant so they'll check for weapons." Luke murmured quietly as he weight the one actual baton and one collapsible staff in his hand, "But I've got to smuggle these in somehow... where can I hide them?"

Luke was drawing a blank and he had to resist the urge to just punch the wall in frustration.

"We're gonna get you out Raina... you and me together." Luke murmured as he continued to work on what to take and what to leave behind, "I'm coming."

continued here