DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING

I got some serious writers block with this story, it just wasn't coming out the way I wanted. But I can't fight with it anymore. This is the best I can do with it, so I hope you like it. Please review and tell me what you think, good or bad - I welcome any criticisms you have.

...THE MORNING AFTER...

Bings and chimes and bells rang around the room. The vibrancy and buzz of Vegas casinos was constant – never yielding. But in the harsh light of day the incessant hum of noise and persistent flash of lights had become irksome and depressing rather than alluring and exciting as they were the night before.

Of course Emily knew the churning in her stomach and pounding in her head was what was really irritating her more than the hustle and bustle of her surroundings. She flinched as she heard a loud ringing sounding just a few feet away followed by an equally loud "whoop!" and Morgan's voice purring encouragement to the slot machine he was seated at. Her stomach squeezed at the sound of his voice but not in an unpleasant way. Her mind flashed back to last night, a hazy memory of him purring in her ear. A tingle of pleasure crept up her spine at the memory. But almost as soon as the memory popped up it was pushed out of her head again by the pain as her body protested angrily at the amount of alcohol forced on it the night before. With a hiss of pain Emily clutched her head as though she could push her headache away.

"Morgan" she pleaded. His eyes instantly shot to her. He stiffened in his seat just hearing her say his name in that pleading tone. Then it was his turn to be hit by a flash of last night - when she had said his name in a similarly pleading tone. Only then it had been need, not pain that inflected her speech in a breathlessly sexy way. Before he could shake of the effect of the memory her hand grazed across his back as she walked past behind him to take a seat at the couch where Rossi was sitting. Morgan had to struggle to hide the jolt of heat that coursed through him at her touch, trying to force his breathing and heart rate to slow.

"Can you please, can you stop. My head." She murmured as she wearily dropped to the couch in a slump. Morgan's eyes crinkled as a smirk crept across his face while he looked at her. Emily felt herself flush under his gaze and looked anywhere but back at him. She was embarrassed both by her fragile state this morning and by her shockingly drunk state last night. They hadn't had a chance to speak about last night yet but he had been teasing and enticing her with his eyes all morning.

"Oh my bad. Sorry." He let his eyes slide over her for a second longer before forcing himself to look away again and step away from the machine. He could tell she was embarrassed, not to mention extremely hungover. As much as he quite enjoyed seeing her squirm uncomfortably under his gaze he didn't want to scare her off or make her angry about last night. Yes he liked the thought that he was making her nervous but he didn't want to make her regret anything so he reluctantly tore his eyes away from her.

Morgan had decided this morning that he would have to keep his distance today, give her some space so they could both take some time to think about what happened last night. It had been a long time coming as far as he was concerned and he certainly wasn't disappointed but they were partners and they had to be professional. Maybe a little bit of distance would be just what they needed to cool off. But he was finding it more difficult than he ever would have thought to keep away. Even as she sat slumped on the couch in discomfort, frowning, pale and tired he couldn't keep from glancing over at her time and time again. The tantalizing curve of her hips in her snug jeans, the dipping v at the front of her shirt... He swallowed hard.

Oh god he was giving her that look again. No one should be allowed to look so seductive. It was as if his eyes had the power to melt her bones. It just wasn't fair. Emily blew out a shaky breath in an attempt to calm her stomach which as well as growling its complaints about alcohol was now swarming with butterflies too thanks to Derek Morgan. Emily let out a groan.

"Late night?" Rossi asked her with a raised eyebrow and the hint of a smile. She shot him a look.

"I hate Vegas." She hissed, resting her head in her hands in an attempt to block out the world. More specifically to avoid Morgan.

"Come on Prentiss, how can you hate Vegas?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at her smiling knowingly and she had to fight the urge to gasp at the sharp clench of desire in her stomach as her body automatically responded to him, tingling from head to toe. God she was in so much trouble.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Later that day, once she settled herself into one of the jets comfy seats with a cup of coffee in hand Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Relief that her hangover was finally easing, relief that she was on her way home and relief that she had at last escaped the intensity of Derek Morgan. (Morgan and Rossi had volunteered to stay behind with Reid who seemed to have some unfinished business to attend to and the older agents didn't want to leave him to deal with it alone.)

Now that she was out of Morgan's presence Emily felt herself fully relax for the first time all day. A tension had been buzzing between them all day. Not an awkward or uncomfortable tension per say but intense none the less, like an underlying excitement or tingle of anticipation. But just as soon as Emily began to enjoy this respite from the sexual tension she almost instantly began to miss it too.

The tension had been intoxicating. Much like a rush of adrenaline it had sent her blood pumping and her heart pounding in a surge of exhilaration every time she had caught him looking at her. She was repeatedly hit by memories of the night before; it was all she could do not to shiver in pleasure each time. And just like an adrenaline rush the sizzling chemistry left her feeling like she was toeing the line between fear and enjoyment, between panic and bliss. The thrill that this underlying pressure had given her now left her feeling drained and exhausted. She felt happiness and dread in equal measures. Emily certainly didn't regret last night. Hell she had wanted it for long enough. But now that they had finally given into temptation and crossed that line what the hell was going to happen next?

Could they just ignore this, act like it never happened and carry on as normal? What happened in Vegas would stay in Vegas – that's what Morgan had said. But Emily didn't know how long that mentality was going to last, especially if today was anything to go by. In fact she was so confused by the swirl of emotions and hormones surrounding the whole thing that she didn't even know if that was what she wanted.

Huffing out another sigh Emily turned to gaze dreamily out the window into the empty expanse of the sky. Slowly a small smile began to curve her lips as she thought over events of this trip to Vegas. She pushed all worries and confusion from her mind and just let herself think back to last night with satisfaction – reliving the enjoyment and remembering how much fun their night off duty had turned out to be...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

...THE NIGHT BEFORE...

"Come on!" Morgan exclaimed, "We are in Vegas and officially off duty. We have to take advantage of that." But it seemed none of his co-workers shared the same thought. The team were all sat in a gorgeous Vegas restaurant enjoying a wonderful meal. A meal which was made even more enjoyable by the added rare treat of alcohol to accompany it. The case was closed. They were officially off duty. Normally they would be on the jet heading home by now however Reid had requested they wait until morning so he could spend an evening with his mother and Hotch had been happy to oblige. So here they all were taking advantage of a rare opportunity to relax, unwind and have some fun together. Of course for a heavily pregnant JJ fun meant a big dinner in the company of her friends, maybe a bubble bath in her hotel room before having a well deserved early night. Reid hadn't even joined them for dinner, choosing to spend as much time as he could with his mother. So that meant Morgan was left trying to convince Emily, Hotch and Rossi that they should head out for the night. The two older males were having none of it and Emily was trying her best to decline too.

"I don't know." She said, as Morgan asked her yet again, but then he gave her one of his heart melting smiles and they were hard enough to resist sober never mind when she was on her third glass of wine.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Woooooh!" Emily cheered. She turned to Morgan with a dazzling smile and slung an arm around his shoulders. She had to reach up on her tip toes to do so but he was still too tall so the gesture still pulled him down slightly towards her. "That my friend was an eight." She squeezed his shoulder pointing across the table to the dice she had just rolled, "Another friggin' eight Morgan!" she squealed. "You know what that means."

"No no no." He unwrapped the arm from around his shoulder and lowered it to her side but didn't release her, holding her wrist loosely "It wasn't a hard eight."

"That wasn't the bet and you know it." She tried to ignore the distracting sensation of his thumb tracing circles across the veins on her wrist.

"Are you sure I think it was? That's what we said last time- a hard eight."

"Yeh well this time we didn't which means you lose." She teased poking her finger into his arm "Man up, accept it, and go get the drinks loser."

With an exaggerated sigh of defeat Morgan headed for the bar but he couldn't help but grin as he walked away, glancing back over his shoulder and chuckling to himself as he watched a delighted Emily as she collected her newly won chips.

But stepping away from her was like stepping back to reality. Morgan was struck by a wave of doubt and confusion now that he was out of the range of her hypnotic presence. What the hell was he doing? Sparks had been flying between them all evening. Hell sparks were always flying between them. But it seemed that at some point during the course of the evening Morgan had given in to it. Normally he would only allow himself to indulge in a bit of flirting to help satiate his thirst for her. But somehow his self control had slipped and had allowed the usual bubbling chemistry between them to continue on an on through the evening. Maybe it was the enticement of Vegas; the excitement of an alcohol fuelled night out; or the exhilaration of letting go and allowing himself to be lured in by her sexy smile and seductive eyes. 'Oh this is so bad' Morgan thought to himself as he found himself struggling to keep his eyes off her long enough to go get their drinks.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think so far...