Promises of Loyalty

Chapter 4 - A Not-so-modest Proposal

"You're asking me for a date in exchange for my freedom? Now that's professional of you," she muttered sarcastically.

Zack smirked back at her; "I never said anything about being professional, now did I?" Every rational thought in her mind told her to decline the offer, prison couldn't be that bad, and Barret was surely working on a plan to break her out of there any minute. But the truth struck her suddenly, her team had abandoned her, the weak link was captured. They had no use for her; she was apparently only a burden to them. She looked Zack over once more as she weighed her options. He was a bit taller than her with a body fitting of a top rank SOLDIER, mako green eyes shone out beneath the black strands of hair that hung before them. All in all, he at least looked decent on the outside, but it was what kind of thoughts he had hidden beneath that exterior that worried Tifa. Finally, after the debate had ended in her head, she stood up from the cot and stretched her arms over her head.

"I accept...but you better not try anything funny, I won't let myself get caught off guard again."

Zack stood up before her, "What am I gonna do? Move you to a more decorative cell?" he chuckled a bit and pulled the handcuffs from his back pocket, grabbing her outstretched arms and securing them together above her head.

She brought her arms down and tugged at the restraints, "Handcuffs...now that's a great touch for a first date..." she mumbled under her breath. He ignored the comment and opened the door, dragging her past the unconscious guard he had knocked out earlier. As they went to access the elevators to the other levels, the main clearance guard stopped them.

"Where are you taking this prisoner?" he demanded, one hand on his radio.

Zack brushed the guard off with a wave of his hand, "The President wanted to see her, don't worry about it."

As they wove through the dim, twisted corridors past numerous doors leading to rooms containing god-knows-what, Tifa struggled to keep up as she questioned about their destination. "Hey, you're getting a tour that only SOLDIER members are normally privileged to go on...you're a lucky girl" he retorted, swiping his card key at another door to grant them access into the hallway beyond. The corridor contained countless rows of doors, each identical to the next save the number engraved on the front. Zack stepped up to one and swiped his card, allowing the panel to slide open and reveal a room slightly larger than her prison cell and about as adequately furnished as well. With a gentle nudge he motioned her into the room as the door slid shut behind them, an affirmative beep sounding that it was locked.

She stood in the middle of the room as he walked past her, stopping for a second to release the handcuffs and toss them upon the bed as he leaned against the wall. She rubbed her wrists where the metal had dug in and glanced up at him to find his eyes making an appreciative study of her figure, a slightly feral grin upon his face. "So what do you want from me? Just quit the games and let me know where this little charade is leading. The sooner you're satisfied, the sooner I can leave, right?" He chuckled a bit, straightening up and walking around behind her to slip his arms around her shoulders in an attempt to relax her. She shuddered at his touch and backed away, "I should have guessed..."

Tifa's expression turned distressed, almost as if she was in pain. Zack picked up on this and backed off a little, giving her a genuine smile. "Hey, I'm not that bad of a guy...if it'll make you feel better, I'll sneak you out for dinner and a movie first?" Her arms crossed over her chest as her palms gripped her shoulders, eyes shut in concentration. In her mind, Tifa was silently closing herself off from what was going to happen. She wanted to block it all from her mind; it was a temporary inconvenience to allow her to escape back to AVALANCHE.

It was then that the doubts set in. Would they accept her back after that failure, and would she want to be accepted back into a group that had left her to rot in a ShinRa prison? Finally, she answered him with closed eyes and a blank face, "Just...get it over with...if it'll get me out of here." His expression went from concerned to predatory as he moved in closer, bringing his hand up to her chin and tilting her mouth towards hers in a light kiss. Her lips pursed at the touch as she forced her body to ignore the feelings and remain cold. His free arm wrapped around her waist as he drew her in closer, moaning slightly as he nuzzled against her neck. The hand snaked its way to her stomach, fingers trailing lightly around her navel before dipping into the waistband of her skirt. As his lips played at the nape of her neck, his free hand slipped its way up her inner thigh and past her panties. As his fingers entered between her legs, she inhaled sharply and took her lower lip between her teeth in an attempt to keep from making any sound that would acknowledge the feelings that had stirred up in the pit of her stomach.

He knelt down on the floor, palms tracing along her sides as they slid under her skirt to remove her panties. With one hand resting on her abdomen to keep her still, the other traced a line up her inner thigh as his lips followed suit. Placing light kisses up the inside of her legs, he reached his goal and slipped his tongue inside, forcing a gasp to escape from Tifa's mouth. She bit down harder on her lip, drawing blood as she fought to remain in control. Her body began to react on instinct and soon her arms lost the battle, allowing her upper body to fall back against the table as her fingers slid down through his spiky black hair.

Suddenly, Zack pulled back and stood, sweeping Tifa up from the table and depositing her on the bed in one fluid movement. Before she could react, his mouth was on hers once more as he returned to his teasing ministrations beneath her skirt. At this point, she had forgotten how she had gotten there or why she was in that position. Raw emotion had taken over what little rational thought was left in her mind and she was soon groping at his shirt, pulling off the thin cloth to reveal the toned body of a true member of SOLDIER. As she traced her hands along his muscular form, he acknowledged her newfound excitement in their agreement by teasing her further. Tifa's shirt and bra soon found a place on the floor as he stripped her down, not wasting time for admiration of the fine body he had beneath him. His clothing also found a place on the floor as he flipped her onto her stomach and coaxed her up onto her knees. With a hand on each of her hips, he thrust into her quickly, forcing a gasp from her parted lips.

He was rough; almost as if he were impatient to finish with her, yet suddenly his pace would change, sending shivers down her spine. Hands slid up Tifa's sides to cup her breasts as she felt the slight brush of his lips on her collarbone. She was no longer a prisoner forced to submit to her captor, she was a slave to his body as it drove deeper passions from within her emotionally closed heart. After being left by Cloud, Tifa had vowed to never so much as glance at another man, let alone give herself to one, but Zack had her then, mind, body and all. Before the name Cloud could re-register in her mind, Zack had pulled out from her and sat back on the bed, slipping one arm around her stomach to spin her back toward him. With a light tug Tifa was straddled on his lap as his lips laid claim to hers once again.

He left them like that for a moment, kissing slightly, one arm around her waist, the other resting on her thigh as his eyes opened to meet her face. The expression was soft and questioning as he pulled back as if to ask for permission. She couldn't make sense of his actions; one moment he was ruthlessly taking her body for his own pleasure, the next he was holding back, almost as if he were afraid. Rationality could do naught for the situation, however, as the lust he had stirred within her body took over, causing Tifa's right hand to pull his face in closer as her left guided their bodies to join together once more and finish what he had started. The gesture erased all apprehension on Zack's part and he was soon pacing his thrusts into her just as quickly as she shifted on his lap. She hit her breaking point first, nails digging into his shoulders as she gave a strangled gasp, her body clenching around him. The added stimulation of her orgasm snapped Zack’s last shred of control and brought him to finish soon after her, riding out the final seconds of pleasure before pulling out from her body.

With their carnal desires sated, Tifa slipped away and crouched against the wall at the foot of the bed. Zack sensed the change in her emotions and turned to face her, propping himself up on one elbow. Her eyes caught his, showing the mixture of embarrassment and despair hidden within their depths. He chuckled a bit, "So, looks like you ended up with a win/win situation after all, eh?"

She cringed slightly and turned her back to him, "Don't mock me," she sneered.

He laughed slightly before turning his back to her side with a grin, "I'll help you out in the morning...I'm sure you need some sleep now though. Goodnight Tifa." She turned back toward him to give another flippant remark, but suddenly something registered in her mind. Tifa. Her name...she had never given him her name, so how did he know it? Jesse had given them all fake ID cards, complete with false names, so there was no way that he could've run a check on her. Her mind ran itself to exhaustion as she pondered over just how much he knew about her. As sleep claimed her as well, the last thing she saw was a pale scar running along his side. SOLDIERs apparently had some battles they just couldn't forget about after all.
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To be continued in Chapter 5 - Hey Bartender