THE BLUE BIKINI

Disclaimer: The characters in CSI: New York do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.

Summary: Danny and Lindsay Messer discover that an unexpected homecoming reaps all kinds of unforeseen benefits for the two of them….

Notes: Okay so this is something of a one-off. I've had this story part-written on my computer for a while now and finally finished it off last weekend. I hit a bit of a stumbling block with it initially when I realised it was straying into M-rated territory, which is not something I normally write. I have no objections to it in principle, and I've been known to write M-rated fics in the past, but I've not done so for a very long time now so I'm a little bit nervous about posting this.

Anyway, this story's inspiration is Danny's remark to Lindsay on the phone in 'Vacation Getaway' about packing the blue bikini. This is my take on where that comment came from. As the story just wouldn't play out properly without the – ahem - intimacy scene at the end of it, I decided to go ahead and write it - hence the story's rating. It's set in the latter part of Season 6 and is strictly adults only so please be suitably warned.

OOOOOO

Danny and Lindsay's apartment, around 1.30 PM

"Okay missy," Lindsay Messer said, kneeling down on the floor in front of the sofa, a pair of pink sneakers in her hands. "Shoes on."

Her bow-like mouth settling into a tiny pout, little Lucy Messer shook her head in disagreement. "No soos," she proclaimed.

"No shoes, no swimming," her mother immediately countered. Her daughter was only seventeen months old and already she was exhibiting alarmingly teenage tendencies. Her vocabulary was still very limited, but 'no' was definitely a word that enjoyed extensive use.

The 'terrible twos' here we come, Lindsay thought resignedly as she caught hold of one of the toddler's small feet, fully expecting an indignant temper tantrum to erupt in response. Fortunately, Lucy had clearly decided that swimming was the better option because she sat there docilely while her mother wrestled the sneakers on over her tiny toes.

Rising to her feet a few moments later, Lindsay was surprised to hear the scrape of a key in the lock. "Hey babe!" she greeted as Danny entered the apartment. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," her husband replied in his distinctive Staten Island drawl.

She shot him a censorious look and he grinned at her before explaining his unexpected homecoming. "Hawkes wanted someone to swap shifts with him," he told her. "I reckon he's got a hot date tomorrow night or somethin'. I know it's an extra night-shift, but I figured as you were off with Lucy today, we could have ourselves a little family time."

"You goin' somewhere?" he asked then, noticing the bulging diaper bag and the stroller ready and waiting to receive its little occupant.

"'Immin'" Lucy announced helpfully.

"Huh?" Danny frowned before looking towards his wife for guidance. "Translate please, Mommy extraordinaire."

Lindsay giggled. Danny hadn't quite got the hang of their daughter's slightly garbled speech patterns yet, although he pretty much had 'Dada' and 'Iss' all figured out. "I'm taking her swimming," she said. "There's a 'Mommy and Me' session down at the Gym this afternoon."

"Are Daddy's allowed to come too?" he enquired.

She nodded. "Yes, there are several Dads who take their kids along. You've gotta be ready in five minutes though or we'll be late."

"No sweat, babe, I can do it in three," he assured her as he went through into their bedroom to gather his things.

Forty-five minutes later, Danny found himself in the locker-room at the Gym, blowing up a pair of pink armbands while Lucy sat on the wooden bench nearby, babbling at him excitedly in her unique brand of conversation. Thrilled with the novelty of having her Daddy along, she'd insisted on accompanying him rather than Lindsay into the locker-room. It had taken him ages to figure out what he should do with her diaper before he eventually realised that his wife had tucked a handy plastic-covered one in with their daughter's tiny swimsuit.

"Okay munchkin," he said as he threaded the floatation aids onto Lucy's stubby little arms. "I think we're ready. You gonna walk?" he asked her.

The little girl lifted her arms in supplication. "Up," she demanded.

Danny sighed, and then bent and swung her effortlessly up into his arms. Perching her on his hip, he grabbed her hooded towel and a larger one for himself, and then made his way through into the pool area. Lindsay was nowhere to be seen, but various other parents were gathering with their babies and toddlers at the pool-side. Not used to this kind of event, he stood uncertainly to one side, hoping his wife would show her face some time soon.

"In, Dada!" Lucy said, pointing imperiously at the water. "In!"

"We've gotta wait for Mommy, sweetheart," he told her. "She'll be here in a minute." At least he hoped she would be.

"Danny, right?" A male voice said from behind him. "Lindsay's husband?" the stranger went on when Danny turned to look at him.

The man was tall and broad-shouldered with a shock of blonde hair and a handsome, square-jawed face. He was holding a little boy of around two in his arms, his son if the similar colouring and facial features were anything to go by.

He smiled easily at Danny in greeting. "Well, at least I hope you are anyway, seeing as you have little Lucy here." He reached out and lightly stroked the toddler's chubby cheek. "Hey honey!"

"Hi!" Lucy announced, beaming at the guy like he was the best thing since sliced bread.

Danny bit back the territorial growl that rumbled in his throat and forced himself to speak politely. "Yeah, I'm Danny," he confirmed. "And you are?"

"Ben… Ben Ellis and this is my son, Sam," he said, indicating the boy in his arms. "Lindsay can't make it today?"

"No, no, she's here. Don't know what's taking her so long though."

Ben grinned. "Baby talk and gossip at a rough guess. 'Mommy and Me' isn't just for the kids, you know. Jenna Smart will have her cornered because she's brought you along. She's been dying to check you out ever since Lindsay told her what you both do for a living."

"Well, I hope I'm not too much of a disappointment," Danny remarked dryly, making his companion laugh.

"Oh, don't worry," Ben told him. "You're male and breathing, you're not gonna disappoint. I swear she's like a goddamn leech sometimes. Watch the wandering hands is my advice."

"Mama!" Lucy squealed then, bouncing so hard in his arms that Danny had to tighten his grip on her lest she slip from his grasp.

Grumbling under his breath, he turned to greet his tardy wife… and almost choked on his tongue in the process. What the…? His eyes widened at the sight of her, desire burning hot in his veins and coiling low in his belly.

The ridiculous thing was the bikini wasn't even all that revealing by modern day standards - it was simply cut in such a manner that highlighted her post-pregnancy curves to perfection. The top was halter-neck, giving her a rather impressive cleavage, and the bottoms were cut high on the legs to emphasise the curve of her shapely hips and round little butt. It was royal blue in colour, a hue that looked particularly striking against the pale tan of her skin. Lindsay was self-conscious about her stretch-marks, but they were barely visible from what Danny could tell. Her religious routine of rubbing lotion into her baby bump morning, noon and night had clearly paid off.

If he was strictly honest with himself, he actually preferred his wife's body post-Lucy. Not that he'd had anything to complain about before, but the added curves were a definite bonus in his opinion. He just hadn't quite figured out how to tell her without giving the impression that she'd not come up to scratch before she'd given birth.

Lindsay shivered a little as her husband's eyes gave her a very thorough once-over. She shot him a look of mild complaint and his face split into a wide, wicked grin in response. Taking Lucy from his arms, she turned her attention to Ben, trying to ignore the warm haze of arousal stirring low in her belly. They were at a 'Mommy and Me' swimming session, for god's sake.

"Hey! You made it then."

"Yeah." Ben nodded. "I managed to juggle my working hours. Couldn't miss today, could we, buddy?"

"Sam's going for his bronze medal today," Lindsay informed her husband. "High Five," she said to the little boy who dutifully slapped his palm against hers.

"We should probably get in some practise before the big event," Ben continued. "Nice to meet you, Danny," he added as he turned for the pool.

"Bronze medal?" Danny asked when the other man had moved out of earshot.

"They have to swim across the pool," Lindsay told him.

"He can't be more than two and a half, isn't he a little young for that?"

Lindsay laughed. "With floatation aids, Danny," she explained. "And with lots of adult help too. It's not an Olympic trial. It's just something to get the kids motivated, that's all."

"So when's Luce going for her medal?" he enquired.

"Probably in about a year," his wife told him. "She's seventeen months old, and she's got the attention span of a gnat. She just splashes around in circles for the most part."

"So you meet up with this guy every week then?" Danny asked; a slight edge to his voice as it occurred to him that this was a part of her life that he knew very little about.

Lindsay shot him a withering look. "Danny, it's a 'Mommy and Me' class, not a bar. Ben lost his wife to cancer about six months ago. He brought Sam here for a break when she was really sick and he kept on coming after she died. We talk, that's it. Stop being such a jerk."

"You've never told me about any of this," he pointed out.

"I didn't think you'd be interested," she told him.

"Why not?"

"Because…" Lindsay paused. "All right, I'm sorry; I probably should have mentioned it. It's just that we don't get much time together as it is and I prefer to fill it with more adult conversation. I know you want to know about Lucy, but the fact that Jenna Smart is a man-eater of epic proportions is not what I call scintillating conversation."

"Jenna Smart? Which one is she?" Danny said, looking around at the other Moms with renewed interest. "I'm supposed to watch out for the wandering hands apparently."

"Her hands wander anywhere near you and she's a dead woman," Lindsay said sourly.

Danny laughed. "Sweetheart, dressed in that bikini, my eyes aren't gonna be anywhere but on you," he assured her. Planting a smacker of a kiss on her lips, he reached down to cheekily squeeze her butt. "You think anyone would notice if we snuck away to get it on in the showers?" he murmured in her ear.

"Danny!" She slapped his hand away, even though his words had sent fingers of fire down her spine. She shot him another look of disapproval. "Tell me something - what exactly were you planning on doing with our daughter while you were living out your X-rated fantasies?"

"Leave her here," Danny said blandly. "She's got armbands on. She'd float."

Lindsay laughed. "It's a good thing I know you're joking or I'd have to report you to child services," she said.

Danny grinned at her and then curled a hand around the nape of her neck and drew her close. Lindsay's breath caught in the back of her throat as he kissed her slowly and thoroughly, his mouth firm on hers and his tongue gently probing. The kiss was full of the promise of more – a whole lot more - and she couldn't help but respond to that. How long had it been since they'd last made love exactly?

Too long, she admitted to herself. Their busy work schedules and Lucy's disruptive sleep patterns had an annoying habit of getting in the way of such marital intimacy. Plus, if they did manage to grab some time alone, they were usually both too exhausted to do anything more than sleep. Their love life currently consisted of the odd quickie when they could muster up the necessary energy.

It was not a good thing, she decided. They needed to redress the balance, make more time for each other. They couldn't rest on their laurels. A successful relationship was something that had to be nurtured. They'd learned that the hard way and were trying not to repeat past mistakes this time around. It was time to take action.

When Danny eventually broke their kiss, she leaned her forehead against his. "I love you."

"Love you too, babe," he responded. "Shall we get in?" he asked after a beat.

"Get in?" Still a little flushed from their embrace, Lindsay looked at him confusedly. "Get in where?"

"The water." Danny grinned at his wife, glad that he still had the ability to kiss her blind and stupid. Sex had been a little thin on the ground recently, and he was starting to get a little antsy if truth be told. He understood the reasons behind the rather sporadic nature of their current love life, but that didn't mean that he had to like it. Plus, when she was dressed to thrill in that hot, blue bikini, he was quite sure he'd explode if he didn't get to peal it off of her some time very soon.

"Oh! Right, yeah!" Lindsay flustered and then frowned at her husband's low chuckle. "Stop it!" she admonished as she handed Lucy back to him.

He winked at her as she turned for the pool edge. "Good to know I've still got it," he remarked.

"Dada got it!" Lucy repeated innocently.

Danny laughed. "He sure does, honey."

"Mama got it too?" his daughter asked.

Danny threw a speculative sidelong glance at his wife. "I think that's a distinct possibility, yes."

"And 'oosee?"

"Ahh," Danny faltered at that, and Lindsay laughed. "Serves you right," she said as she climbed down the small flight of steps into the pool.

Danny playfully stuck his tongue out at her and then turned his attention back to his baby girl. "Lucy's got it in a different way," he told her.

"Spesul 'ay?"

"Yeah, a very special way," he said, kissing her lightly on the nose and watching it wrinkle in response.

"'Oosee 'im now," she decided, squirming in his arms.

"Okay – in you go," he said, handing her down to Lindsay before turning for the pool steps himself.

Lindsay's heart skipped a beat as she watched him descend into the water. The angry scar from the gunshot wound in his back was clearly visible above the waistband of his swimming shorts. Mercifully, he was mostly recovered from the incident that could have so easily claimed the permanent use of his legs - or worse still, his life. It was something she thanked god for every day.

"Lindsay?" Danny lightly touched her cheek, concerned by the dark misery in her eyes and the sudden paleness of her cheeks.

She shook her head, forcing herself to smile. "I'm sorry, I just…" She broke off and moved into the circle of his arms. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you," she murmured against the skin of his throat, her hand reaching down to draw gentle circles around the scar on his lower back. "I don't know how Ben copes without Sarah, I really don't."

He stroked his hand over her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I'm still here, babe."

"I know, and you have no idea how grateful I am for that," she said, drawing back and swiping at the tears that had escaped to roll down her cheeks.

"Well, I guess you're just gonna have to prove it to me then," he said in an attempt to lighten the suddenly sombre mood.

As he'd hoped, Lindsay smiled. "You're incorrigible," she declared.

"And irresistible," he countered.

"If you say so."

"You're doubting it?" Danny said, a cunning look entering his blue eyes. "So if I do this…" Under the water, he deliberately ran the tip of his forefinger horizontally across her lower belly just above the waistband of her bikini bottoms.

"…You're not gonna react?" he finished with a note of satisfaction, as he heard her breath hitch in her throat and felt her stomach muscles jump in response.

"That's against the rules," she complained, her voice low and throaty.

He laughed. "There are rules?"

"Yeah, but your trouble is you never play by them," she told him haughtily.

Danny shrugged. "Where's the fun in that?"

Lindsay bit her bottom lip. "I really shouldn't answer that in front of our daughter and in a public place, should I?"

"Not unless you're trying to get us both arrested, no," Danny responded dryly.

Lindsay laughed at that. "A change of subject is definitely in order here," she decided.

"Don't look at me. You started it."

"I did? How's that?"

He leaned forward to speak in her ear. "You wore that thing deliberately to torment me," he said, his voice gravelly with suppressed desire.

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "It's a bikini, Danny, and I'd've wore it whether you were here today or not."

"Don't remind me," he said with a shudder.

She grinned delightedly at him. "I do believe you're jealous, Mr Messer."

"No, I just don't like other men perving on my wife."

"But it's perfectly fine if you do?" she responded archly.

"That's my ring you're wearing," he pointed out.

Lindsay snorted. "Next you'll want me to have 'Property of Danny Messer' tattooed across my ass."

He cocked his head to one side and placed his tongue firmly in cheek. "Well, it's an idea…"

"Danny!" Lindsay protested, punching him lightly on the upper arm.

He laughed. "God, I love you. You know that right?"

"Yeah, I know - which is a damn good thing because it might just mean you'll get lucky later," she said, winking suggestively at him.

He pursed his lips speculatively. "And you'll wear the bikini?" he asked.

She giggled. "Whatever floats your boat, babe. Whatever floats your boat…"

OOOOOO

Later that night…

Picking up the small bottle from the dresser, Lindsay sprayed perfume in several strategic places on her body. Spontaneity was all well and good, she mused, but there was definitely something to be said for a deliberately planned seduction too.

She'd left Danny putting Lucy to bed while she showered, washed her hair and carefully moisturised her skin in preparation for tonight's activities. After a rinse to get rid of the chlorine from the pool followed by a quick spin in the dryer, her bikini was now as good as new. She felt a little silly wearing it in the comfort of her own home, but as she'd remarked to Danny earlier that afternoon, if it floated his boat then who was she to argue? And if she reaped the inevitable benefits of his appreciation then she'd be mad to resist.

After a moment of consideration, she bent to retrieve a thin, white peignoir from a chest of drawers and slipped it on over the bikini to add a little mystery. She briefly flirted with the idea of high heels, but discarded the idea just as quickly. Too obvious, and it set the wrong mood. Hot sex had its time and place, but tonight was about slow, lazy seduction. She wanted them to take the time to really appreciate what they had together; she wanted them to truly make love.

Having had several hours to think about the possibility, it was a real yearning in her now. If she was honest with herself, this was probably the first time she'd felt genuinely sexy since Lucy was born. She enjoyed sex with her husband, but she didn't crave it in the same way that she used to do. Tonight was different though. Tonight her role as a Mom would be set aside and she'd just be Lindsay once again.

Her stomach jumped as she heard the shower in the bathroom shut off. Danny had left her alone to prepare, heading for a shower as soon as he'd settled Lucy for the night. She looked behind her at the bed and winced at the bright light flooding the room. Hardly an intimate atmosphere - she turned on the bedside lamps and then flicked off the main switch, plunging the room into semi-darkness. There, much better.

She stood uncertainly in the centre of the floor space, unsure of what to do with herself. Lying ready and waiting on the bed was a possibility, but she quickly rejected the idea. Instead, she took a seat in front of the dresser and began to brush her hair, humming softly to herself as she did so. She'd let Danny make the first move, she decided. He liked to be in charge, and most of the time she was content to let him be so.

The bedroom door stood slightly ajar as Danny approached. He paused just outside to centre himself, trying in vain to curb the wild sense of anticipation stirring low in his belly. Christ knew why he was so nervous all of a sudden. This was his wife and they'd made love countless times.

But had they really? In truth, they hadn't, not in the way that he wanted at least anyway. Getting back together after their brief and painful split had been a fresh start for the two of them, but they'd still been feeling their way back to each other when Lindsay's unexpected pregnancy had thrown everything into a tailspin. Marriage, Lucy's birth and his brush with mortality had swiftly followed, and it was only in the last six months that they'd come out of the other side of all of that.

By then the more prosaic concerns that faced all couples with young children were upon them – the tiredness, the lack of time, the body confidence and libido issues. He realised with a jolt that tonight would probably be the first time that he'd truly made love to his wife since he'd put the wedding band on her finger twenty months ago.

He shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. He'd never had performance anxiety before in his life, but tonight he was skating pretty close to it. There was a lesson to be learned from that, he supposed. With love came expectation, a need to give and receive equally. It was about more than just physical satisfaction; it was about connecting on every level. He'd never had that before because he'd always avoided it like the plague. Of course, until Lindsay, he'd never met the right woman...

Inside the bedroom, Lindsay sensed Danny's presence outside in the hallway, but was confused by his hesitation in joining her. She debated calling out to him, but that would break the mood that she wanted to establish. She wanted him to come to her. When the door finally creaked open, she tensed a little, keeping her eyes on her reflection in the mirror as her would-be lover entered the room.

The door clicked as Danny pushed it shut behind him. There was silence for a moment and then she heard a low chuckle rumble from the back of his throat. He crossed to join her and bent to kiss the side of her exposed neck. "Something tells me you're as nervous as I am," he murmured in her ear as he nuzzled at her temple.

"I didn't think you did nervous," she remarked, arching her neck to encourage further explorations.

He obliged by placing a series of nibbling kisses down the column of her throat. "Well, you learn something new every day."

"So they say." She turned her head and her mouth met his. She sighed softly as their lips slid intimately against each other.

A few moments later, she gasped out loud when he reached down, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and lifted her bodily off the stool into his arms. She was still facing away from him when he set her back down on her feet, but not for long. Stepping away from her, he quickly spun her around to face him.

"Jesus!"

Danny swallowed. Hard. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting but it wasn't this. The robe she wore was virtually see-through. The bold blue of the bikini and the warm golden hue of her skin were still visible through the gauzy film of fabric, but the colours were oddly muted by their sheer covering.

The effect was tantalising. Sexy, but not overtly so. His wife did innocently wicked so damn well, and he loved it. It was the subtlety of it that was the key to its success. It was the outside illusion of innocence, coupled with the insider knowledge that she would be nothing but responsive to his touch that clinched it for him.

"You're beautiful," he told her, and then framed her face in his hands and captured her lips in another searing kiss.

Her hands sliding up the bare skin of his back, Lindsay opened her mouth to his probing tongue, giving herself over wholeheartedly to their embrace. As their tongues tangled, Danny raked his fingers through her hair and then skittered his finger-tips down the length of her spine. Cupping her bottom firmly in his palms, he used the leverage to bring her body flush against his.

Lindsay moaned as she felt the evidence of his arousal hard against her belly. Breaking their kiss, she let her head drop back as his mouth latched onto the column of her throat. "Oh god, Danny!" she gasped a few moments later. "Oh please… I need you to… Just touch me, baby - please!"

The breathless and slightly desperate entreaty almost undid him, but Danny just about managed to keep hold of his fraying self-control. Sliding his fingers into the neckline of her robe, he drew it off her shoulders and down the length of her arms so that it fluttered to the floor at their feet. He considered sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her over to the bed, but wasn't sure whether his back could take it, so took her by the hand and led her across the room by the finger-tips instead.

Sitting down on the edge of the mattress, he encouraged her to straddle his lap, which she duly did, her skin flush with her arousal and her eyes clouded with latent desire. They kissed again, the intimate fusing of their mouths communicating more than could ever be said with mere words. As they continued to exchange increasingly ardent kisses, Danny's hands rose to undo the halter-neck ties of her bikini before quickly reaching down to free the hook that held the rest of the garment in place. He pulled back from their kiss then, watching as the blue material dropped away from her upper body, his eyes darkening at the lush, feminine curves that were exposed to him as a result.

While his avid eyes burned into her skin, Lindsay's breath hitched in delicious anticipation of what was to come. She wanted his hands on her. No, she needed his hands on her, she thought desperately.

"Danny…" she pleaded.

He grinned. "Good things come to those who wait, babe," he teased.

"I think I've waited long enough," she told him with a pout.

"Oo feisty! I like it," he said, and then quickly stood up with her in his arms. Turning around, he deposited her back on the bed, their relative positions now reversed.

Unwilling to relinquish all of the control, Lindsay immediately shuffled back up the mattress away from him and Danny followed, crawling towards her like a wild cat hunting its intended prey. Capturing her wrists in his hands, he pinned them to the bed and lowered his mouth to hers once more. Lindsay's thighs instinctively parted as he insinuated his lower body between them and they both moaned at the intimate contact.

Lindsay wanted to touch him. She was eager to feel the smooth skin and sinewy muscle of his back and shoulders beneath her palms, but was frustratingly denied that pleasure. She remained trapped, helpless in his hold as he explored her mouth with a breathtaking thoroughness. Next, he trailed a path of nipping kisses along the column of her throat and down into the vee of her cleavage before his busy mouth finally closed over the aching tip of her left breast.

She gasped, the slow, tugging sensation sending warm waves of pleasure rippling throughout her entire body. She flexed her fingers, trying to free her hands from his grasp, but he held her captured, his greater strength easily overpowering her weak attempts to get free.

"Relax," he murmured, his mouth briefly returning to hers in an effort to calm her struggles.

"I can't!" she told him. "I need to…"

"You need to lie back and enjoy," he interrupted. His lips fluttered over her face, kissing the tip of her nose, the apples of her cheeks, her brow. "I'm gonna worship every inch of you," he promised in a low, seductive tone.

"But…" she started to object.

Danny chuckled. "Are you seriously arguing with me?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement.

Lindsay flushed. "No, I just… I want tonight to be for the two of us, Danny. It's been a long time… you and me, like this…"

"You're right, it has," he agreed, "Which is why I want to show my gorgeous wife just how much I adore her. We've been married a year and a half now and I don't think I've had the opportunity to do that yet."

Lindsay's eyes filled with salty moisture at the regret she could hear in his voice. "It doesn't matter. I mean I know that you… after the shooting…" she broke off, knowing that he'd understand what she meant. "And me, I… having a baby changes the way you feel about yourself. It's not just hormones, it's deeper than that. I don't know how to describe it, it just changes things."

Danny nodded. "But you're in the mood now, right?" he enquired, a playful smile flirting at the corners of his lips.

She smiled, the wide beautiful smile that he loved so much. "Sure as hell feels like it," she said, brazenly undulating her near naked body against his.

He grinned. "I think I should analyse the evidence just to make sure," he decided.

She giggled. "Oh, I'm a crime scene now am I?"

"Uh-huh," he said as his hands began to wander. "It's criminal just how much you're turning me on right now," he said. "Gotta be evidence of foul play somewhere."

He cupped her breast in his right hand and watched her eyes go opaque as he expertly circled the peaked nipple with his callused thumb. "Doesn't appear to be anything suspicious there," he commented lightly.

Realising resistance was futile Lindsay surrendered, giving herself over to his determined touch. Their remaining clothing was soon a thing of the past, leaving them skin-to-skin on the bed with no unnecessary barriers between them. Lindsay had never experienced pleasure like it. Danny didn't leave one square inch of her body untouched. She was steeped in him, heart, body and soul. When his mouth moved inexorably lower, she cried out as a sudden climax ripped through her, leaving her trembling from head-to-toe in its wake.

As she floated back down to earth, she felt Danny's mouth upon hers again and was suddenly no longer content to be the one in the passenger seat. Arching her body into his, she used the leverage to roll over on top of him and then began to explore at will, intent on returning the gift of pleasure he'd just bestowed on her. Where her fingers caressed, her mouth followed and she smiled in feminine satisfaction at his shuddering – and frequently vocal - response.

"I love you," she gasped when, unable to hold out against her determined ministrations any longer, he fisted his fingers in her hair and dragged her mouth back to his.

"Right back at ya," he told her in strangled tones as he rolled her underneath him and pressed her thighs apart.

He lowered his forehead to hers, cupping the sides of her neck in his hands. "You ready?" he asked, gulping air into his oxygen-starved lungs in heaving gasps.

Lindsay shifted underneath him, her hands rising to grip his biceps in a vice-like hold as they prepared to take things to the next level. They were both beaded with sweat and he could feel her pulse hammering under his fingertips, the frenzied beat matching the frantic rhythm of his own heart inside his chest.

"Now," she demanded, her eyes intent upon his.

He kept his gaze locked on hers as he slowly pushed inside her. "Jesus!" he groaned as her body opened and then closed around his like a clenching fist. Lindsay murmured something unintelligible in return, her eyes fluttering closed and her back arching in reaction to their joining.

Bracing his hands either side of her head, Danny began to move above her, dipping his head to capture her lips as their movements settled into a slow, steady rhythm. Lindsay clutched at his back, making little gasping sounds of pleasure at each forward surge of his hips.

He was completely lost within her, drowning in his spiralling desire, but he couldn't bring himself to push for that ultimate finish line, not yet. He wanted to savour every moment, prolong the experience for as long as he could. They continued to make love at that agonisingly languid pace, exchanging slow, deliberate kisses or simply staring deeply into each other's eyes as their bodies rose and fell with a natural, fluid grace.

When it all finally became too much, Danny buried his face in the side of Lindsay's neck, breathing deep of her alluring perfume. "Lindsay…" he murmured against her sweat-dampened skin.

She turned her head, her lips brushing his temple. "I know," she whispered breathlessly. "I know."

She was trembling beneath him, an almost unbearable tension tightening her limbs and clawing at her nerve endings. Danny was poised on the same knife-edge and knew it was up to him to bring them home. He shifted, changing the angle slightly so that he could reach down between their bodies to stroke her most intimate spot. Within moments, he felt her body stiffen and convulse around his as she went over the edge with a breathless cry of his name. He followed her willingly, shaken to the core by the emotional impact of their lovemaking as much as his body's long overdue need for release.

Afterwards, they lay together in stunned silence amidst the tangle of sheets, their breathing slowly returning to normal and their bodies gradually beginning to cool.

"I think I just died and went to heaven," Danny declared in a raspy tone when he eventually rediscovered the power of speech.

Rolling over onto his back so that he wasn't crushing her with his weight, he tugged her close and she immediately snuggled into his side. Stroking his fingers through the damp strands of her hair, he kissed her slow and sweetly, communicating all the emotions that he couldn't find adequate words for in that one single, heartfelt embrace.

Lindsay gently touched her fingertips to his lips when they drew apart. "That was…" she began, her tone awed.

"Mind-blowing?" he filled in for her.

She smiled. "Off the chart and then some," she agreed.

His ego suitably stroked, he kissed her fingers, pressed his mouth to the centre of her palm. "I love you, Mrs Messer."

"Right back at ya, Mr Messer," she returned. "And thank you."

His forehead creased into a puzzled frown. "For what?"

"I don't know. For being in my life, I guess, for being you…"

"Now don't go getting all mushy on me now, babe," he warned her, his tone thick.

"And why not?" she asked him archly.

"'Because I may just have to go for a repeat performance and I'm not sure I've got the necessary stamina to pull it off," he replied. "I'm not as young and virile as I once was, you know."

Lindsay laughed. "Oh, I think there's life in the old dog yet," she quipped.

"Care to test that theory?" he asked, his body stirring with renewed interest in spite of his claim that he wasn't capable.

Lindsay shifted to straddle his chest and then bent to brush her lips over his. "It'd be rude not to," she said.

"Mmm, my thoughts exactly," he replied as he ran his hands down the length of her spine and cheekily over the curve of her butt. "My thoughts exactly…"

Several hours later…

Her body humming pleasantly and her over-taxed muscles comfortably lax, Lindsay felt herself drifting on the tantalising edge of slumber. God, she hoped Lucy would sleep through till morning because she wasn't sure she had the strength to get up to her tonight.

In the preceding few hours, Danny had sapped every last ounce of her available energy, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. They had crossed some indefinable line of intimacy tonight and she'd never felt closer to him. She'd never felt closer to anyone in fact.

Her husband's arms tightened around her then as if he'd somehow been able to hear her thoughts. His mouth nuzzled intimately at her temple before his voice sounded low in her ear. "Babe?" he murmured into her hair, his warm breath ruffling the silky strands like a cool breeze through a spring wood.

"Mmm?" she replied, her voice drowsy with fatigue.

"Do me a favour, yeah?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Don't ever throw away that blue bikini, okay?"

She dissolved into giggles at that and he chuckled along with her. "I'll guard it with my life, I promise," she assured him when their laughter eventually died down.

"And I'll be forever in your debt," he told her fervently before finally, at long last, they both slept…

THE END

Hope you liked! CharmedBec x