They both knew when they applied for the job, that it wasn't going to be easy; long and unfriendly hours, mountains of paperwork and dealing with death on a daily basis, but that hadn't stopped them. They hadn't had any problems with work before, but this one case had been especially trying for everyone involved. As Stella stood in the squad room, she looked around her; Danny held Lindsey close to him, the relief that it was finally over washing over them, Sheldon and Don exchanged reassuring looks off each other and raised the glasses they both held, smiling as they chinked together, and Mac looked much more relaxed. But it was she who could not convey her emotions in the same way. Before she knew it, large salty tears rippled down her cheeks. The others must have noticed, as a hush fell over the room, one that Mac chose to see to. "Thanks, everyone, you all worked so hard. I'll see you in the morning..." Mac ushered them out one by one, until it was just him and Stella left.
No sooner had everyone left; Mac stepped towards her and caught her as she collapsed into his arms. "It's ok Stella, I've got you." He said softly, hoping it would be enough to stop the heartbreaking sobs she was emitting. Holding her close for what felt like forever, she said nothing but Mac knew she'd talk when she was ready. Until then, all he could do was be the supporting best friend, which he had been for so long now. He felt her chest relax slightly and her sobs subsided, but she kept her face buried in his shoulder. "Talk to me, Stell?" He wasn't sure what he was expecting from her, but he certainly wasn't expecting her to say what she did next. "Not here, Mac. Let's go back to yours, please?" He nodded silently before taking her hand in his and heading for the door. They rode to his in silence, she hadn't wanted to talk, that much had been clear and Mac didn't want to push her.
Once they arrived at his, he led her into the living room and headed into the kitchen. When he returned, he held out a glass of red wine. She took it gratefully, taking a sip she smiled softly at him, trying to hide the tears that had started to spill once again. "My favourite, thank you Mac..." He'd been there with her from the start, there wasn't much he didn't know about Stella, so making sure he had her favourite wine in just on the off chance she stopped by had been a must. Mac set his glass down before he stepped into her for the second time that day. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulders and secretly inhaled his scent. It was one she had come to love over the years; it was so unique but suited him to a tee. "You know you can trust me Stell, talk to me?" She bit her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating telling him just how badly it had affected her, but she couldn't bring herself to show him just how weak she really was.
What little wine she had consumed started to wash over her, and when she considered how close Mac was to her, ready and willing to help she, she couldn't help but want more than this. Cursing herself silently, she knew she couldn't, and probably shouldn't let herself think like this. The temptation was all too easy to betray. "Stella?" She realised she had been silent for a fair amount of time and Mac looked worried. "It's nothing Mac, honestly. I'm just getting over emotional about the case ending. I'll be fine in the morning..." Her body betrayed her as silent tears slid down her slender cheeks. Mac simply raised the heel of his hand to her face and dried her tears without saying a word. He had wondered, if it would be considered rude to simply lean over and kiss her gently, in order to stop her crying. But being the gentleman he was, he couldn't possibly do that. What if she misread the signals and slapped him? What if she wanted this as much as he did, and had done since he first laid eyes on her? That was a ridiculous assumption, he scolded miserably. But everything would have been so...perfect. Perfect, maybe, but it wasn't worth risking his friendship over.
It was as if she had read his mind, as she put the wine glass down and ran a hand up to his face. Mercifully, she had won the battle to control the tears as she stroked his cheek gently and stared into his dark eyes. Behind them, he hid a world of emotions, a conglomeration of memories, good and bad but Stella couldn't read them at that moment. Her other hand snaked down from his shoulders to his waist, but he remained still. It would have been very tempting for him to move into the action she instigated, but he fought back the urge. Almost instantly, her lips connected with his, and for a very brief second he lost himself in the moment. The snap of electricity that danced through Stella's body told her that they had been building up to this for a very long time. Mac had to admit, her gentle lips against his was pleasing beyond belief, but this couldn't be happening, not now. Waiting until she pulled back slightly for breath, he stepped back slightly and mumbled "This isn't right Stell. You're upset, I can't... It'd be like I was taking advantage of you..." Stepping towards him again, she shook her head. Mesmerised, he watched her curls sway from side to side and he thought then how much he longed to run his hands through her hair. This time, his body betrayed him in the most direct manner possible. Sighing lightly, he hoped she hadn't noticed the bulge that had started to form between his legs.
"You wouldn't be, we both want this Mac...It would make me feel better." His pulse quicken as she rested a hand on his chest, but she smiled as she felt the change. "For so long now, we have skirted past each other, ignoring the facts of how we feel about each other Mac. I can't deny myself this anymore." He swallowed down the lump which had lodged itself in his throat, but he still couldn't find the right words. Feeling her slender fingers caress his cheek, he felt his heart skip a beat. He remembered his youth; the days when talking to girls had been no mean feat and just one glance at a pretty girl had been enough to increase his pulse tenfold. He thought he was well past the stage of embarrassment with girls, but as Stella stood before him, he realised just how wrong he had been. The next thing to register with Mac was Stella's lips trailing light kisses along his jaw and down his neck. Involuntarily, his back arched slightly and Stella couldn't keep the smile from her lips. "Give in to the moment, Mac. There's no point fighting it now." She told his neck softly.
Silently accepting what was about to happen, he took Stella by the hand and led her into his room. If this was going to happen, there was no reason why it should be on the floor of the living room when there was a perfectly good bed free in the other room. The double bed seemed to take up hardly any room Stella thought, before Mac pressed his lips to hers. It took her a few attempts of flicking and poking her tongue at his lips before he finally opened his mouth in order for her tongue to invade his mouth. It didn't take long for him to return the favour, she could think nothing else apart from how wonderful his tongue tasted, and she wanted more. Moments later, her tongue tasted the side of his neck, seconds after that her teeth nipped gently at his flesh. He couldn't help the moan he emitted into her hair, but as he took stock of the situation he decided she was wearing too many clothes. Shaking fingers moved towards the buttons on her blouse, which only made matters worse. Stella smiled softly as her nimble fingers undid the buttons on his shirt, before letting it fall effortlessly to the floor. Leaving a white tee shirt in its wake, she pushed him back against the fine linen sheets. It never occurred to her that the last woman Mac had let into the privacy of his bedroom had been Peyton, and she broke his heart.
Helping Mac with the remaining buttons on her blouse, he watched in awe as it tumbled to the floor to reveal a black lace bra containing two beautifully formed, tanned breasts. She sat on his thighs and pulled his shirt up to reveal his toned body. He had never really lost his figure after all the years spent in the Marines, she thought to herself. As she began to explore his stomach with both tongue and teeth alike, he obliged in removing the shirt fully. Leaving tiny red marks in her wake, she moved up his body so she was level with his mouth again. Nipping playfully on his lower lip, she smiled as he seemed to enjoy the strange mixture of pleasure and pain. Mac then seemed to spring to life, as he reached around her and unclipped her bra. Pushing her onto her back and climbing on top of her, he cupped her breasts gently and lowered his mouth uncertainly. As he tried what Peyton had hated, he was relieved when Stella moaned softly and dug one hand into the soft flesh of the small of his back. Mac moved his mouth up to her collarbone and tried a few things out. He had always liked well defined, prominent collarbones, and he was not disappointed with Stella's. Running his tongue over one, he felt his erection straining against the material of his pants.
Stella seemed to notice, as she unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down to his ankles. She wasn't surprised at the plain black boxers he wore; in fact she had imagined him in them many times before. Not wanting to be upstaged, he obliged in removing her jeans, and a suppressed moan escaped his lips upon seeing her in a pair of matching lace knickers. Stella smiled, and motioned for them to get under the covers. Faltering for only a moment, his mind had returned to his time with Peyton; he remembered how they have cavorted under the sheets, how much fun they had had and he thought about how much he needed this with Stella. She was about to ask him what the matter was when he pulled the sheets back and slid on top of her. Kissing her full on the lips, his hands roamed lightly over her body before they rested on her knickers waistband. The second he removed her knickers, he seemed to be thrown back to his teenage years, something he proved as he slithered down her body and rested his hands on her hips. As he reached the most intimate and sacred area, he used his tongue to deliver the praise he thought she deserved and he was not dissatisfied with the throaty groan she emitted on impact. As well as an audible confirmation that what he was doing was hitting the spot so to speak, she gripped his shoulder blades roughly, occasionally letting her nails bite a little too deeply into his flesh.
Through half lidded eyes, she realized that she would be close to climax through oral stimulation alone if she let Mac continue, and she had wanted to make love to him for so long now she wasn't going to pass up on such an occasion. Stella pulled him back up to her height and pushed him against the linens. "This works both ways." She said breathlessly, grinning as she did so. When she removed his boxers, he couldn't help letting a soft moan of relief escape his lips. Pressing her body against his, she lowered one hand to his groin and started to stroke him gently. It had been more for effect, as he was already hard as a rock she noted silently. She had been on the verge of sliding down the bed herself, when Mac stopped her. "Are you sure you want this, I mean really want this Stell?" He surprised himself at just how coherently the sentence had come out.
"I do Mac, I have done for so long..." She cut herself off with a long, passionate kiss, Mac nodded slowly and reached over to the nightstand. In the top drawer, he found what he was looking for without having to look very far. Ripping the packet open with his teeth, she laughed warmly at his display of manliness, before she took the package off him. She took the opportunity to slip down the bed and stroke him purposefully as she smoothed the latex tightly around his width. Sensing apprehension in his eyes, she placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back against the bed. Stella positioned herself over his arousal, before checking his eyes one last time. Getting the silent nod from him, she carried on.
As she did so, his eyes rolled back into his head momentarily, and she smiled heartily at his reaction. Mac had no desire to stay pressed to the sheets, so he rose to an upright position, one which enabled him to kiss her. While his hands caressed her curls, her hands roamed up and down his back, her nails raking half moons into his flesh, but he didn't mind, not one bit. Her lips trailed down to his neck, and before she knew it she had left him with a perfectly formed hickey. From somewhere deep in Mac's stomach, he found the courage to flip Stella onto her back as he drew close to climaxing. Beads of sweat dripped from his chest, his hair glistened and his face shone ever so, but she was no better off. Her back clung to the sheets, her hair was plastered to her face in places and her chest was awash with the same twinkling beads. It didn't matter to either of them, they were sharing something so personal, so intimate with each other and that was all the mattered. She felt him lose a little bit more control of his body with each thrust, but she simply embraced that fact. She almost encouraged him as she tightened and relaxed around his arousal. With a flutter of eyelids, one final groan from Mac and one final clash of their hips, Stella gripped his clammy waist as they both reached sheer ecstasy.
Mac rested his head on her shoulder as they both took a moment to get their breath back. Once he had regained enough composure, he pulled out of her, removed and binned the evidence before reaching for a flannel to dry themselves with. "Tha..."
"Don't say anything, Stell. Let's sleep now." He replied softly, smiling as she snuggled up next to him. For the next 5 hours, Mac slept soundly. In fact, it had been his first good night's sleep in months, but when he did awake, he couldn't help the pang of guilt that hit him. No matter what Stella told him, or he told himself for that matter, he couldn't shake the notion that he had taken advantage of her when she was weak, vulnerable and needed his shoulder to cry on more than ever. But Stella didn't feel the same way, as she turned over and pulled him closer. Wrapping her arms around his waist, he had to admit he was where he longed to be all those years ago and had never once stopped wanting that. As he closed his eyes, a smile illuminated his face as he realized he would now get to start, and end every day like this; and he couldn't have been happier.