Title: The Ace of Hearts Job
Author: Trapper Creek Kaniac
Fandom: Leverage
Category: Romance
Pairing: Eliot/OC
Rating: M
Warning(s): Explicit sex, some strong language.
Summary: Eliot spends his downtime from the team with an old friend, to whom there is more than meets the eye. Sequel to More Than Whiskey In Mind. Smutty... Eliot/OC.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and places belong to the show's awesome creators John Rogers and Chris Downey, I am only having some fun with them. I do not own Leverage and am not affiliated with the show other than being an obsessed, ahem, devoted fan. That concludes our regularly scheduled disclaimer, so make yourself comfortable and join the fun!
Author's Note: This is a continuation/sequel to More Than Whiskey In Mind, which was originally written for a challenge and intended to stand on its own. Then a plot bunny came along and wouldn't let go, demanding that I write more – so here I am. I strongly suggest reading the first installment, otherwise most of this won't make a lot of sense.
Tabitha lay in wrapped in Eliot's arms as the sun's rays flooded Boston and the bustling city went about its daily routine. He lay facing her, his face peaceful and relaxed in sleep. The sheets were a tangled and complete mess from the previous night's activities. Tabitha smiled at the memory.
She brushed her fingers through his hair and lightly pressed her lips against his. He woke almost instantly, his eyes flying open and his gaze locking on hers.
Eliot lazily let his eyes drift closed for a few seconds before drawing in a deep breath and opening them again, and stretching. Her hair was spilled across the pillow, soft and inviting. Eliot breathed in her familiar scent that was pure woman, sex, and citrus shampoo mixed with something that was uniquely Tabitha. Wordlessly he moved his hand to her jaw and kissed her softly.
Nate had given the team a week off. Seven days of peace and quiet, no team bugging him, and a beautiful woman in his arms. Yeah, life was good.
"Mmm," Tabitha moaned into his mouth and leaned into the kiss. She twined her leg through his and ran her hands over his shoulders as the kiss became more intense.
Eliot broke away from her lips and began laying kisses along her collar bone.
"If you keep that up, we won't be leaving the bedroom today."
Eliot nuzzled her shoulder and then smirked. "I can live with that."
Tabitha laughed and slapped his ass through the sheet. "I'm starving and I need a shower. So, scoot!"
L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E
L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E
The scent of sizzling bacon was strong throughout the apartment as Tabitha padded into the kitchen area. Eliot turned and smiled when he saw that she had managed to find his favorite t-shirt. The blue-gray soft cotton shirt was too large for her but she had knotted the hem at the hip, making it look incredibly sexy. Her damp hair was swept up in messy bun and secured with two decoratively twisted metal sticks that could double as weapons if need be.
She caught him staring. "See something you like?"
"I think you make that shirt look better than I do."
"Well, you know where it would look even better."
Eliot chuckled and turned back to the bacon, which was ready to eat, and began plating it up.
"Are you still with Nathan Ford's team?" Tabitha brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and carried her plate to the table. "Or did you decide to keep this place for sentimental reasons?" People in like Eliot didn't stay in one place too long unless they had a good reason; it was simply too dangerous.
Eliot followed her. "We're still together. There's a never ending supply of people who need our help thanks to all the bad guys in the world."
"People like we used to make our living from."
Eliot nodded. The irony of he and the team working to take down the rich and powerful, the same type of people who had hired him for retrievals and other odd jobs was not lost on him.
"So how's the music business working out? Do you still freelance?"
Tabitha finished her last piece of bacon before answering. "I still do some work on the side. Haven't decided if I want to retire and become a full time starving artist. Remember Rome?"
"How could I forget, you stole my sunglasses... Eva."
They had met several years ago in Rome when Eliot had been on a retrieval job. His client had hired him to retrieve a painting. Eliot would need something to replace the painting with, and he was put in contact with one of the best forgers, who happened to be working in Rome at the time.
Eva Huntington.
They were supposed to meet at the Fontana delle Naiadi to discuss the specifics of the deal. He was told she would be wearing a bright red coat. Eliot still remembered seeing a flash of red among the tourists like it was yesterday. Her back was to him, the light breeze catching some of her loose, dark waves as she admired the stone in front of her. He had threaded his way through the crowd and stopped at her shoulder.
"Beautiful, isn't it?
She had turned then, her blue eyes appraising him. Damn, she was hot. Eliot found himself swallowing, glad for the pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes.
They had talked business and when Eva turned to go, she stole the dark aviators right off of his nose, laughing as she put them on and strolled away.
Eliot stood staring after her for a long moment before his brain kicked into gear and he started moving before she completely melted into the crowd. He caught up with her just before she ducked into narrow alley. She reappeared some thirty seconds later in a brown coat, still wearing his glasses, her hair now twisted into a messy bun. He trailed her for some time until she climbed the stairs of a luxury apartment building, pulled out a key and let herself in. He made a mental note of the address and went on his way, a smirk tugging at his lips.
She forged a respectable replica of the Van Gogh, and he stole a little more than a valuable painting during his time in Rome. That had been a very fun couple weeks...
Eliot was one of the very few people who knew both of her lives, and only person to know that Tabitha Wyler wasn't another alias. If someone from that life did find her they would just assume the name was a very well established persona.
"You know, I had a significant score a couple years back so I'm semi retired and only pick the jobs I want to do. Or, at least, that's the word on the street." Tabitha winked.
"Now that sounds like the life."
L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E
L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E
They were doing the dishes together later – Eliot washing and Tabitha drying – when Tabitha set down the plate she was drying and hurried over to where her guitar case was still lying on the couch.
Eliot watched with a bemused smile as she opened the case, pulled out a pen and piece of paper, and started writing furiously. He was used to her rushing off to find the nearest piece of paper to write down lyric ideas.
She wrote a little more, then reached for her guitar. She ran her hands lovingly over the mother-of-pearl inlaid ebony fretboard, admiring the sunburst pattern on the curly maple body as she pulled it out of its case.
Eliot finished the last of the dishes and then went to grab his own guitar from its stand in his bedroom. He pulled up one of the bar stools and sat down, testing the strings and making some minor adjustments to the tuning.
Tabitha began finger picking a twangy, almost haunting melody on her resonator, softly singing along.
Little more than a battered old sign with missing letters
Standing amidst a sea of detours
Is all that keeps you from passing through
Out on the edge of town
The lonely whistle of the midnight train
From days gone by
Echos down the empty tracks
Eliot listened for a few seconds and then began to strum along with the notes. Tabitha continued singing then stopped.
"Wait, that right there, that's perfect. Do that again."
He played the chords over again while she played the melody and sang.
"That's just what I needed, thank you." She reached over the guitar to scribble the chords on the page with the lyrics.
Eliot kept playing.
He looked up several minutes later to find her watching him intently, her head cocked slightly to the side.
"What?"
"Nothing." Tabitha smiled and went back to playing with the melody.
L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E
L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E
Later, Tabitha was still playing when Eliot announced that he was going to a shower. She nodded and kissed him. When he emerged forty-five minutes later looking for his black-green plaid shirt, the apartment was empty.
He noticed a piece of paper lying on the counter and padded over to it. A short note was written on it in her familiar and slightly messy mix of print and cursive.
The music business calls, see you soon.
Tabby
P.S. The lion is loose.
Eliot smirked when he read the last line of the note. The "loose lion" was a code she'd come up with for spontaneous sex to keep him on his toes. Yes, he was definitely looking forward to when she returned.
Author's Note: A huge thank you to everyone who favorited and reviewed More Than Whiskey In Mind, I hope this sequel lived up to the expectations set by the first story (I like some plot with my porn, thank you very much). Hope to get chapter two written and posted soon...
In other news, the Leverage crew starts filming season five next week!