-1Mick leisurely slid his hands beneath Beth's sweater, tracing circles on her stomach with the pads of his thumbs, allowing his strong hands to migrate to her back and just low enough to grab two handfuls of cashmere.

Beth gasped audibly, unable to contain her surprise and delight. She giggled as he tossed the garment aside and continued to kiss her feverishly. Beth broke the kiss, biting her lower lip and tucking renegade wisps of hair behind her ears as Mick continued to rub her back as she readjusted herself to straddle him.

"You're sure?" he asked, hoping to God she was.

Looking into his eyes without hesitation, Beth reached up to unclasp her black lace bra and tossed it behind the chair.

This was a luxury that Mick had not allowed himself in years, to touch, to be touched, to look at a woman with longing and know that that longing would be fulfilled. His eyes roamed her body as his hands had only moments earlier, drinking her in as though he were a teenage boy who had never seen a naked woman before.

He wanted this. He loved her. But he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. It wasn't just that he was a vampire. Josh was a genuinely good guy and Mick hated that he might be hurt by this.

"What about Josh?" he asked simply.

Beth met his gaze then, bringing his free hand up to cover her heart in a silent gesture that spoke words she wasn't sure Mick was ready to hear.

"Josh who?" Beth said. "The only name I know is Mick St. John."

"It's not fair to him Beth."

She brought his palm to her mouth, softly placing a kiss at its center and bringing it up to cradle her face.

Closing her eyes, she leaned into its warmth.

"You are the only man I know who could have a half naked woman sitting on top of you, begging you to take her and still be concerned about the boyfriend."

"There it is," Mick said. "He's your boyfriend. I am not. You're not broken up. This is wrong on so many levels Beth."

Beth opened her eyes and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Mick's moistened lips.

"Josh and I were over the second I met you Mick," she admitted. "I haven't slept with him since. All that is left is to say the words. I've known it was over for a while now and if Josh is honest with himself, so has he."

Mick averted his gaze, unsure how to proceed. Beth was right. The heat between them was tangible. Even if she hadn't officially broken things off with Josh, she planned to. And if the D.A. had somehow managed to convince himself that Beth's affinity for him hadn't dwindled, he wasn't just blind, he was delusional.

Mick owed him nothing…not loyalty, not pity, and sure as hell not this moment. This moment belonged to him and Beth alone.

For the first time in a long time, Mick was allowing himself to act on his wants and needs and he had to admit, it felt incredible.

"I want you Mick, "Beth said caressing his bare chest. "Make love to me. "

He kissed her fiercely, allowing his hands to freely roam her body, spurred on by her soft moans and the feel of her hands as she clamored to unbutton his slacks.

He wanted no barriers between them and matched her eagerness, earnestly fumbling with the button fly of her distressed Levi's.

"You are so beautiful Beth," he mumbled between kisses, dipping one hand into the front of her jeans and growling low in his throat when he encountered the matching lace panties.

Beth buried her hands in his dark hair as he leaned forward to gently take one breast into his mouth and reveled in the feeling of her small fingers massaging his scalp.

He paused to look up at her and smile.

"Like that do you?"

Her breathing had become harsh and ragged, coming in short gasps and she nodded ferverently.

"I think we should take this upstairs. What about you?" he asked playfully.

"In the freezer," she asked in a concerned tone.

Mick laughed heartily.

"There's a bed up there too Beth."

"I didn't realize you had a bed Mick," Beth said, surprise evident in her voice. "But good thing you have one for just such an occasion eh?"

"I think you will find there's still quite a bit you don't know about me," Mick admitted with a smile as he lifted her by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. "And there haven't been any occasions like this."

Beth laughed and Mick thought it was the sweetest sound he'd heard in years.

"Mick St. John, virginal vamp detective."

"Got that right," Mick said as he toted her up the stairs, planting a playful slap on her behind along the way.

He sat her down kneeling at the edge of the bed as she crawled toward the headboard. Beth turned around to beckon him to join her and he grasped the legs of her jeans to tug them free of her body.

"I'm nearly naked and your not," Beth said. "That's not fair at all."

Mick crawled onto the bed, slowly climbing her body, joyfully reveling in the feel of her naked skin against his.

"Patience sweetheart," he chided. "This first time is going to be nice and slow and I'm going to do things to you that I've fantasized about since we met. And when I'm satisfied that you can't take anymore, the real fun will begin."

Beth grinned.

"You were right; this is going to be a long night."

"God willing," he said silencing her with a gentle kiss.

All he wanted was to feel Beth warm, and panting beneath him. And even if his better sense was screaming for him to stop, that was definitely the plan.

Mick continued to kiss her, sliding his tongue against hers in a soft, caressing and rhythmic motion, enjoying the soft vibration of the moans that resonated inside his mouth as she begged him for more. He wanted to give her everything. He reached between them to remove the final scrap of lace, gently massaging her inner thigh as he tucked his fingers in the waist band of the panties, pulling them off without breaking the kiss.

It was then that he heard the front door open.

Mick tore himself away from Beth's eager mouth, listening intently, his eyes racing around the room.

Someone was in his apartment. Not good, not good.

He looked down into the face of his golden angel. Beth's lips were wet and swollen from his kisses and he could feel the erratic beating of her heart against his chest.

Apparently, she was so dazed and consumed by the moment that she had not heard the intruder.

"MICK!" he heard an extremely familiar male voice shout from down stairs. "Are you here? We need to talk so get your ass down here."

Mick breathed a sigh of relief and hung his head in resignation. JOSEF. Beth shot him a puzzled look.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," he said in a low voice.

"Chop chop," Josef shouted from the bottom of the stairs. "Don't make me come up there."

Beth looked at him with wide eyes and disappointment.

"No, you have got to be kidding ME," she said as he rolled away from her and adjusted his slacks. Mick walked over to the chest of drawers at the foot of the bed and grabbed his favorite tan, long sleeved cotton tee from the top drawer.

He pulled the garment on in one swift, irritated motion and looked at Beth lying naked on the bed.

"How did he get in?" she asked. "Never mind. I don't care. Just get rid of him."

Mick sighed and nodded, walking to the side of the bed to lean down and kiss her.

"Give me three minutes," he said. "Maybe less."

Unbelievable timing, Mick thought. I finally let my guard down and fucking Josef ruins everything. Why did I give him a key?

"There you are," Josef said with a cocky smile as Mick descended the stairs. "We need to…"

Josef stopped mid sentence to sniff the air, shooting Mick a strange look.

Mick squinted his eyes and tilted his head in a questioning manner.

"What?"

"You're not alone are you?"

"As a matter of fact I'm not so if we could do this later…that would be great."

"Yeah, well, we can't" Josef smiled. "Who is the girl?"

"What do you want Josef?"

"Ok…Ok…you don't want to talk about it," he said. "I get it."

"Clearly you don't because you're still here."

"I need your help with a certain matter that requires some prompt attention."

"Jesus," Mick said emphatically. "Can't this wait Josef, I…"

"Mick?" he heard Beth say from the bottom of the stairs. He turned to see her standing there, sapphire eyes dilated from passion, clad only in his favorite plain black button down dress shirt. "Is everything ok?"

She smiled softly, tilting her head to wave at Josef.

Mick turned back to see his friend's smile widen into an all out cat-that-ate-the-canary grin.

"Well, well," Josef said. "I guess we really do need to talk."