85Maggie grinned at the two of them as Max fidgeted on the couch. She was starting to really dislike couches. In fact, when she got home she might just burn hers to the ground.
Alec was next to her, with his right knee bouncing up and down. It was really annoying her so she punched him in the arm. He glared in return.
"So, you two haven't had sex in quite a while," Maggie stated. Max crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the psychiatrist – who didn't even bat an eyelash. Alec was impressed, considering Max could be freaking terrifying when she wanted to be.
"I'd like to spend today focusing on how to re-stimulate your sex life." She pointed to the two pads of paper and the pens sitting on the coffee table in front of them. "I want you each to make a list of five things your partner could do to help improve your sex life. Things like giving massages, or wearing lingerie, or introducing sex toys, or performing more oral sex, dirty talk, anything you like that you think would help stimulate sex." Max blushed a bit when she got to 'sex toys', but Alec just grinned and snatched up his pad, happily writing down.
Max inwardly groaned. She knew he was out to embarrass her and have way too much fun all at the same time.
But two could play that game! She felt her competitive side flare up and push her to embarrass him right back.
So she picked up her pad and made an effort to come up with five things that would make Alec uncomfortable. She liked the giving massages one, but the rest sounded like things that Alec would just smirk at and not be the least bit phased by. She bit her lip.
By the time they were finished, Maggie was smiling and had her notebook perched back in front of her.
"So, Max, read me the first thing on your list."
"Massages." Max answered calmly, smirking at Alec.
Alec just winked at her, and she tried not to seethe anger.
"Any specific place?" Maggie asked. Max was starting to wonder if anything made this woman uncomfortable.
"Uh, my back I guess." Not that she'd thought about it.
"Okay, Alec, what about you?"
"I'd like Max to sleep naked."
"Excellent suggestion!" Maggie agreed. "Max, have you thought about sleeping naked? It's very common for many men to want their wives to sleep naked as a way of showing that they're open to sex that night."
"You want me to sleep naked?" Max asked Maggie.
"I think it's a great idea. Why don't you try it?"
Max had the overwhelming urge to growl at the woman, but tried to reign in her thoughts.
Alec smirked. He was enjoying this way too much – riling up Maxie and having the shrink team up with him on it? Plus hey, if he somehow magically got to see Max naked out of the deal, that'd just be awesome. Max is hot. Hot, naked women are always a good thing.
"Max, what's next on your list?"
"I want Alec to stop flirting with other women." Max smirked as Alec's grin fell.
Maggie nodded and jotted down notes. "You know, Alec, I've noticed your flirting too. And what I think you don't realize is that when you flirt with other women, you're telling Max that they have qualities you prefer and that you view them in superiority to her, and that you'd rather be with them than with her."
"But-" Alec tried to interrupt, but Maggie held up a hand.
"I know you see it as harmless, but I think you should focus your flirtations on your wife. It's a great way to remind her that you still find her appealing sexually, intellectually and other ways."
"On the other hand, Max, you shouldn't be afraid to flirt with Alec. Compliment him every once in a while – tell him when you find him attractive or sexually appealing."
Alec looked deep in thought for a minute, until Maggie prodded him for the next suggestion on his list.
"Oh, I definitely think Max needs to talk dirty."
Max swore under her breath.
"Max, what do you think of that?" Max merely glared at the woman, who nodded in response. "Alec, would you be comfortable talking dirty, during foreplay and/or intercourse?"
Alec's grin couldn't possibly get any wider. "Absolutely."
"Well, what if you initiated it and Max can join in when she feels comfortable and ready to try it?"
"I think that's a great idea, doc. Should I start now?" He winked.
"Tell you what Alec, you can try it as soon as you two have some alone time." The therapist smirked at him and Max grumbled again. "Okay, Max, what's number three on your list?"
She inhaled slowly trying to calm herself. She smiled sweetly. "I'd like it if Alec tried to romance me more often." She quirked an eyebrow. "His idea of a romantic evening is asking if he should bother waiting up for sex." She crossed her arms and pouted to add to the effect, silently thinking take that.
Maggie nodded. "Alec, what a lot of men don't realize is that for women foreplay starts everywhere. Doing the dishes or flirting before dinner, putting that extra amount of effort into trying to show a romantic side means she can make the emotional connection that leads to lusting for a physical connection."
"So I have to make pasta and buy flowers?" He groaned, every joke he'd ever made about Logan coming back to haunt him.
"No, no! Cooking doesn't have anything to do with romance. Too many couples think of romance as one taking over certain chores for the other one. But really it's just reminding each other that you care about each other. Little things. Call her during the day and tell her you're thinking about her. Let her relax when she comes home from work. It's not about the big gestures. It's the little ones that make your marriage last."
"I think you two really need to start putting some more effort back into your marriage and you're going to find that your spark isn't gone, it's just hiding."
-x-
Max walked out of her shower to see Alec sitting on the bed with a grin on his face that downright frightened her.
"Max, how was your shower?" He stood and moved closer to her. She instinctively took a step back and backed up into the wall.
"It was fine, Alec."
"Oh, good." He crowded into her space and started running a finger up and down her bare arm, and she shivered.
"Alec, I think the therapy's getting to you," she mumbled, trying to move away from him, but he blocked her by throwing his arm against the wall, trapping her. He leaned in close and nuzzled against her neck.
"Look," he whispered gruffly. "The cameras turn off from two AM to six AM," he mouthed hotly against her ear and moved a leg between hers as she squirmed, but calmed when she realized he was just covering. Mentally she kicked herself for not paying as much attention to the cameras as he did. Apparently he'd spent their nights clocking the humming sounds the damn things made while she sat rigidly still, paranoid that they might touch.
Throwing an arm over his shoulder and turning her head away to look like she was giving him access to her neck, he took it as a sign to continue.
"So I'm thinking that we kill some time, go to sleep and around three take a look at the warehouse under the administration building. Hopefully it'll be more interesting than under the cafeteria," he muttered the last bit. She chuckled a bit, remembering his reaction to finding all of the ingredients to their meals.
She nodded, and gulped a little, feeling his chest pressed up against her, rising and falling as he moved his head down her neck, making it look like he was paying attention to her erogenous zones but really just breathing on her.
Which really, really, shouldn't have affected her as much as it did.
"And how did you want to kill time, exactly?" The minute she asked, she regretted it, knowing he'd use the opportunity against her.
He pulled back to look her in the eye and his grin was absolutely devious. "Well Maxie, I was thinking we'd try that massage."
Alarm bells went off and steam nearly poured from her ears as she shoved him away from her. "Get over yourself," she spat out glaring at him. He shrugged and grabbed her wrist, tugging her towards the bed.
"No, really, Max. We have to at least look like we're trying the stuff the doc's are telling us to do, so here goes," and with that he snatched her up from around the waist and carried her over to the bed. She squirmed and pounded on his chest and tried to escape his grasp for the entirety of the two feet he had to walk, so he dropped her on the bed. She bounced up and down a little when she landed and her hair fell on her face.
"On your front, Maxie," he commanded.
She glared back. "No way," she protested.
He groaned and sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes. "Max, you suck at being under cover, you know that?"
She crossed her arms and looked away from him, refusing to budge on the subject.
"Look, Max, either you get on your front and let me rub your back or we try some of the doctor's other suggestions. So by all means, if that's what you prefer, get naked."
She tapped her toe for a minute, rolling the suggestions from their sex therapy suggestion over in her head, making a show of putting up a resistance. With a loud 'humph!' she rolled onto her front, sticking her arms under her chin with her feet towards the pillow.
Alec shook his head and climbed over her, straddling her and sitting on top of her ass. "Hey! Personal space!" she yelled.
He looked down at her and shook his head. "You gave up your right to personal space when you said 'I do'."
"I would never say I do to you in my right mind," she grumbled, twisting so she could stare up at him.
"Well you weren't in your right mind, you were in Logan's right mind. And now you've learned how scary a place that is," he retorted sharply.
"He's trying to help people!"
"Could you stop complaining for thirty seconds of my day, please? I'm not the one who said let's go play Mr and Mrs freaking Raccoon, but at least I'm trying to be convincing."
She didn't have a particularly wonderful comeback for that one, so she just pouted, which faded the instant Alec started rubbing soothing circles up and down her back. By the time he actually started kneading her back and working out the knots in her muscles, she was ready to purr.
Alec smirked as she fell silent and recognized it when she finally relaxed into his hands as he worked through her back, starting with her neck and shoulders and moving down her spine, systematically finding every knot and gently pushing it apart so her muscles could unwind.
She was half asleep when he finished, so he just tugged her up and slid her under the covers on her side. Max snuggled down into the pillow and sighed happily, dead asleep.
He rolled his eyes. "Tomorrow you are so sleeping naked," he mumbled before tugging his shirt off and climbing in bed next to her.
-x-
Max woke up and checked the clock. 2:15AM glared bright back at her in red font, half an hour before Alec set the alarm for.
She wiggled a bit and realized that Alec was in fact snuggled against her. One arm was wrapped securely around her waist holding him against her and his legs were tangled with hers.
Growling a little, Max squirmed but his grip on her waist seemed to loosen only until she stopped moving before tightening again. Sighing she laid back down and thought about what he had said earlier.
She did not suck at being undercover. She was just as good as he was.
She just...sucked at being Alec's wife.
That option didn't seem particularly appealing either. Not that she had any desire to be Alec's wife but she didn't want to suck at being a wife. She could be a wife if she wanted to. In fact, she could rile him up just as much as he thought he could get under her skin.
Alec let out a deep breath and tugged on her again, as if she could press anymore against him.
Fine. He wants a wife, he'll get a wife.
She forced herself to snuggle back against him as she waited out the rest of the half hour.
When the alarm went off, her eyes were closed. She wasn't being sneaky, she just wanted to see what Alec would do.
Alec sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, looking down to see Max pressed against him. He shook his head. She'd scream if she could see herself now. He leaned across her and slapped the alarm clock so it turned it off. Then he rolled out of bed gently, trying not to wake her.
She sat up and yawned, looking over at him. She stood and stretched, walking over to the dresser and tossed a pair of dark cargos and a black t shirt at him, pulling out her own recon outfit.
He blinked twice then full out stared when she stripped down and changed in front of him. When she finished she turned on her heel and raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"
"Who are you and who kidnapped Max?" He asked, suspicious.
"I just figure married couples don't change in separate rooms, dumb ass."
Now that's Max.
She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed up on her tiptoes so she could whisper in his ear. "You'll see just how good a wife I can be," her voice dropped low, deep and husky and he found his breath hitch a little. But by the grin on her face when she sank back down to the floor, he knew she had caught it.
Grabbing her by the arms, he turned her around so she was pressed between his chest and the wall. He slid his leg between hers, pushing up lightly so she could feel his thigh, he bent his head down to her ear.
Making a point of taking a long inhale at her neck and coming up to her, he gently nipped her ear. "Game on, Maxie."
/|x|\