They were finally moved in. It had been sad to leave the Zen Building, to hand back her keys and say goodbye to the apartment she had been living in for two years or more, but Mataya had more than herself to think of now. Not only Max, but Juno, and now a large wolfdog named Beetle by the aforementioned ten year old ....the four of them were very cramped in that loft. But the house that Max had found was perfect. Even better had been the fact that he had agreed to take Juno out for the whole day of the move itself, leaving 'Taya to call in any number of favors and get their friends to come and help her set the house to rights.

By the time the three other members of the little household returned, everything was in its rightful place, and dinner was served. Now the four of them were lounging in their living room, relaxing in the luxury of space and each other's company.

Max lounged in a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt. His bare feet propped up by the end of the recliner he was sitting it. It'd been a long day, chasing after Juno and Beetle, but fun, too. He had a full belly and was teetering on napping when Beetle nudged his foot with that cold, wet nose. He snorted out of the doze and looked around him. He was a little disoriented at first, and then he realized: this was their house. A smile lit up his face as he pushed his feet down, sitting upright in the recliner.

"You did an amazing job," he turned to look at Mataya. "This place already feels like it's ours."

'Taya grinned over at him from where she was sitting on the sofa with Juno cuddled into her side. The little girl had fallen asleep almost in the same moment as Max had, leaving 'Taya to get on with reading through a couple of scripts while occasionally scratching at Beetle's big head. "Wasn't just me," she murmured, careful to stay quiet rather than wake the little girl. "I owe a lot of the guys at the theater a free night out."

Max stood up and looked down at the sleeping Juno and then back to 'Taya. He grinned and reached a hand out to her, the other put a finger to his lips. "After what you've done for them, they've owed you for a long time." He was whispering, hoping that Juno stayed asleep. "And I owe you something, too," he grinned and waggled his brows.

She snorted with laughter, swallowing the sound as she looked up at him. "Not while the child is in the room, Maximillian," she laughed, rolling her eyes at her fiance. "You do what you gotta do, I'll put her to bed." Blowing him a kiss, she began to untangle herself, rising to her feet. Juno complained incoherently in a protesting mumble, falling into the warm indent left behind by Mataya's body as she did so.

"She's not going to be in the room. Locking doors, remember?" He reached for Mataya again, wanting to whisk her up into their bedroom for some quality time. "It's been months, please?"

"I'm not leaving her down here to wake up when she gets uncomfortable in her day clothes, Max," 'Taya pointed out as she bent to gather the little girl into her arms with a low groan of effort. She smiled, reaching out to stroke his cheek. "I won't be long. Go take a shower, or something."

"And then we can play?" He was like a kid, eager for Christmas morning. Leaning his hand into her palm, he then kissed said palm before taking off like a shot towards their bedroom and in in-suite bathroom. Never before had he showered so quickly, or shaved. He received a nick or two in his otherwise flawless jawline. But Max didn't care. He was going to get to spend some quality, private time with Mataya for the first time in months! Once done in the bathroom, he flew into the bedroom and landed on the bed with a soft thwap.

He was gone before 'Taya could answer, laughing quietly as she made her own way up the stairs, turning off the lights with Beetle padding along ahead of her. It only took about ten minutes to undress the still sleeping Juno and put her in her jammies, settling the little girl under the covers of her own bed in her own bedroom. Beetle waited until 'Taya was done before herding her out, taking up station to guard Juno's doorway all night.

Pleased with this, 'Taya made her way across the landing to open the door to the room where Max was waiting for her, closing it quietly as she grinned over at him. "Been busy, cupcake?"

"Not busy enough," he grinned and shot up out of the bed towards here. "Gimmegimmegimme," he growled, grabbing and groping his fiancee as he feasted upon her neck. "Mmm, more, more, more!" Max was leading her towards the bed, and making quick work of it.

She laughed as he pulled her along with him, the sound lowering to a familiarly husky purr as hands and lips did their work on her much neglected form. Passion had always risen easily between them, and after months of chastity, tonight was no exception. Too much time had gone by and the pressure was building up rather quickly. Zero to sixty in point five seconds could best describe Max at this point, and 'Taya wasn't far behind.

But even in the grip of what they'd both been denying for months, she remembered the little girl asleep just down the hall, covering Max's mouth with one hand even as she moaned loud with him, forcing herself to be quieter than he was used to but no less passionate. Her legs hooked around his waist tightly, the undulation of spine and squeeze of her thighs setting their pace as she replaced her hand with her mouth, swallowing the sounds of his pleasure even as her own painted his lips.

Max pressed forward, taking steps towards the wall to press her against it. He held her there with his body, taking control from her. His hands roamed freely over her hills and valleys, leaving no nerve ending untouched. He kissed her again, and again, and again. Her exclamation was caught in a strangled whisper as she convulsed between him and the wall, sent into the wild amazement of explosive pleasure by the sensation of his release sparking deep inside her. Fingers curled into his shirt, barely hearing as the thin silk tore under her hands, shuddering wildly as she threw her arms around his neck, close and warm and nowhere near satisfied.

"Gods, Max," she whispered against his lips, kissing slowly, tenderly, as the fizzing incredulity of her first orgasm in months spun through her. "Missed you."

Max held her tenderly as her own orgasm squeezed and milked his for a few precious moments longer. He was panting, sweating and winded. But, much like Mataya, nowhere near satisfied. He placed his hands under her ass and left the wall. They were still connected, and if Max had his way, that was the way they'd stay all night. "I've missed you," he whispered back as he nuzzled her ear. It wasn't far to walk to the bed, and when he got there, he knelt carefully down on its edge to lay her on her back. "We're going to be so sore tomorrow."

She moaned once again as he hauled her away from the wall, swallowing her own moan as her lips played against his with a loving smile. "We'd better earn that sore then, hadn't we?" she purred laughingly as he laid her back, her body flushed and trembling. "Anything for you, baby."

She purred into his mouth, oh-so-ready for more. And something thumped downstairs. 'Taya froze suddenly, eyes opening wide as her head turned toward the door. "Did you hear that?"

Max had heard it and he groaned when he realized Mataya had, as well. "It's Beetle, he's knocked something over." It was a simple enough explanation and one that wasn't urgently needing their attention. "Later, more important things, now." His inability to put together a coherent sentence was proof that Max was thinking with the smaller head, once again.

"But -" Whatever she'd been about to say in objection was lost in a low moan, drawn from her by the insistence of him, distracting her more completely than anyone else ever could. Another thud from below penetrated her wild arousal to set her glancing for the door once again, but the pleasure of Max between her thighs was a little too much to ignore for the sounds of a house.

The second thud had Max scowling. The sound was ruining his groove! Loosening his arms from around Mataya, he looked up at her, exasperated. "Maybe we should go check it out." He hated it, didn't want to break free. But a man protects his castle. And Max was a man, after all.

It was her turn this time to shake her head. "Later," she moaned, pressing her lips to his once more as her fingers ran down his spine. "Later ..."

How could he possibly argue with that' The thud was instantly forgotten as her fingers ran down his spine. It sent a shiver through him that resulted in some very vigorous hip grinding. "Much, much later," he agreed loudly.

Another thump broke into her consciousness, and she cried out again, but this time it was in startled fright. It had sounded very close, almost outside their door, and 'Taya had her back to said door. Her desire abruptly shocked from her system, she clutched at her fiance, twisting even as she gasped his name. "Max!"

Now Max was simply p*ssed off. Carefully prying Mataya from himself, he set her on the bed. Nobody interrupted them and got away with it. Throwing a sheet from the bed around his waist, he stomped towards the door. On the way, he picked up a shoe stretcher. When the bedroom door flung open, he lurched towards the opening with the shoe stretcher held above his head like a weapon. "The f*ck do you want?"

There was nothing there. No sign to say there had ever been anything there. The hallway was silent, no sound of movement from the rooms below. Wrapped up in Max's robe, 'Taya crept to his shoulder, peering out into the dimness. "We should check on Juno," she said softly. "We might have upset her with all the noise."

Max lowered the shoe stretcher and eventually tossed it aside as Mataya came up from behind him. Adrenaline was still pumped into his veins and he was visibly shaking. With a curt nod, he stepped into the empty and quiet hallway towards Juno's room. "I swear, if it's the dog, I'm putting him out back for the night."

"Why would the dog make only three thuds?" 'Taya asked quietly as she followed him out into the hallway. She wasn't scared, exactly, but the sounds had unnerved her. "Anyway, dogs can't close doors behind themselves." She pointed to Juno's closed door. "I guess it was the house settling after the heating turned off."

Max reached to scratch his head, perplexed. "I don't know," he muttered as he reached for the doorknob that led into Juno's bedroom. "I just know that whatever that was, it p*ssed me off." He was tense, his shoulders tight and square. Turning his attention back to the door, he turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Beetle looked up as light from the hall spilled into the bedroom. The wolfdog was laid out on his side, apparently unmoved by the noises from beyond the door itself, but taking his duty of protecting Juno seriously enough not to leave the room even when the door was opened for him. The little girl in question was fast asleep, curled up underneath her covers and breathing slowly in the deep sleep of the blissfully ignorant.

Max sighed, not realizing he'd been holding his breath. Not sure of what he'd been expecting, he was relieved to find Juno and Beetle in such a peaceful state. He stepped back to allow Mataya a good look into the room. "If it's not him, then what?" he whispered as he turned to look down into the hall and the stairs leading below.