A/N: This will be a series of unrelated one-shot stories in which Calleigh reflects on the many things she loves about Eric. I have no idea how many there will be, or how long it will be in between chapters, but the idea for this one came to me today and I just figured I would take it further whenever another idea struck me. Enjoy.
...
Calleigh would need more than two hands to count the things she loved about Eric, this much she knew for sure. And as she lay basking in the afterglow of some very delicious lovemaking, one of those things she loved about him sat in the forefront of her satiated mind. She loved him because no matter how hard of a day she had, no matter how much of a bad mood she could be in because of something that had happened at work, by the time they went to sleep, he will have turned that bad mood around.
The day had started like most days, a very long shower for two followed by cups of coffee as they dressed and went about their morning routine, which more often than not included Calleigh fending off Eric's wandering hands and lips as she dropped her towel and attempted to select and then put on lingerie and then a pair of slacks and a shirt. Truth be told, Eric sometimes had to fend off her wandering hands and lips whenever his toned chest and oh so marvelous butt was bared to her adoring gaze.
As they usually did, they arrived at work together and then separated to attend to their respective cases, sometimes meeting up for lunch if crime allowed them some downtime. But today crime had not been very considerate, in fact it had been downright brutal, and they had not seen each other again until very late in the day, which had only served to make Calleigh even more grumpy.
Eric caught up with Calleigh in the ballistics lab's gun range. He'd run into Ryan in the hall outside the trace lab and was filled in on their latest case. She and Ryan had been called out to a double murder on a boat moored out in Biscayne Bay. A young woman in her early thirties had been brutally and repeatedly stabbed multiple times and was found on the steps leading down into the cabin. The murder itself had seemed routine until the young woman's three year old daughter had been found dead, also with multiple stab wounds, in the cabin's small bedroom. Their investigation led them to the woman's ex-boyfriend, and father of her daughter. The unrepentant asshole, after much interrogation from Calleigh and Ryan, had finally confessed to killing them, and all because he didn't want to pay child support. His excuse: he never wanted the child to begin with, she'd tricked him to get pregnant he said, and that kind of trickery warranted her death, and that of the little bitch too. When those very words had crossed his foul lips, it had taken Ryan and Frank to hold her back from hitting him, to hold her back from a charge of police brutality.
After an encounter with such an unrepentant baby killer, he knew where he'd find Calleigh: in the gun range blowing off steam, with visions of the killer's face on the target in front of her. He could hear the pops of gunfire as he pushed open the door, finding her in a tense shooter's stance as she fired bullet after bullet into the now shredded target. For several moments he just stood and observed her, taking in the frown on her beautiful face, the tense set of her shoulders, and the way her brows knit together. He waited to announce his presence with a soft "Hey" until she'd emptied a clip and took off the ear protective headset to set about reloading.
So engrossed was she in letting off some steam that she hadn't realized she wasn't alone and jumped slightly at his greeting, then rolled her shoulders as she set the gun down on the counter in front of her. She didn't turn around, she knew he would make his way to her - and he did. Despite her current mood, she couldn't stop the smile from lifting the corners of her lips as he stepped up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.
Knowing instinctively what was next, Calleigh turned her head and offered up her neck as he lowered his lips and brushed soft kisses against her skin, his palms finding their way to her hips. His fingers slipped under her cream colored blouse to caress soft skin as his lips continued their journey to her pulse point, where he sucked a knee weakening wet kiss against her now rapidly beating pulse.
The whimper of his name that slipped past her lips had Eric chuckling softly. "Ready to go, Baby?" he asked as he turned her gently in his arms.
Slipping her arms around his shoulders, Calleigh's eyes fell to his delectable lips, the lips that had quickly become one of her weaknesses. "Yeah," she murmured softly as she leaned against his body and pressed a kiss to those lips, moaning softly when he deepened the kiss and allowed his hands to wander down to cup her butt cheeks.
Both were breathing heavily when the kiss ended, and arms still around his shoulders, Calleigh tucked her head beneath his chin and closed her eyes, letting his strength, his scent, surround her. "God, I needed this," she breathed.
"I know," he whispered in reply, bending his head to drop a kiss to her hair as his arms banded tightly around her body.
They stayed like that for several moments until Calleigh sighed, pulled back and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "Come on, lets go home," she whispered with a smile.
...
As soon as they walked through Calleigh's front door, Eric pushed her toward the living room, imploring her to just sit and relax while he made dinner for them. To further encourage her relaxation, he quickly poured her a glass of wine, then led her to the roomy overstuffed armchair and pushed her down into it. After handing the wine glass to her, he bent down to take her shoes off, rubbing her feet as he dropped each shoe onto the carpet. Pushing the foot rest against the chair, he moved her legs to rest atop the cushy piece of furniture, then with a hand on each arm rest, he slowly lowered his head to hers and kissed her warmly, softly, deeply, loving the shiver his kiss produced.
As he intended, the kiss and his insistence on her utter relaxation brought a smile to her lips. "Stay here... sip that," he commanded softly, nodding toward the wine glass in her hand. He didn't want her to move, didn't want her to help in the kitchen, as he knew the southern woman in her would not feel right letting him cook in her kitchen without her there to help.
After a light dinner eaten while cozied up together in the armchair, Eric cleaned up the kitchen while Calleigh sat, a second glass of wine in her hands, mulling over the days events and becoming more and more agitated as she thought about the young woman and her daughter, and the man that took them out of this world in such a violent manner and for such a selfish reason. Calleigh couldn't understand how one person could be so selfish, so soulless, as to take the lives of two beautiful people. How a man could look into the eyes of a little girl so beautiful, that was half his DNA, and not fall in love with her she would never know. Folding her legs against her chest, and laying her head down on her arm stretched out over her drawn up knees, wine glass dangling from her other hand, Calleigh thought about the things the woman and her daughter would never get to do and it broke her heart, brought unbidden tears to her eyes. She blinked rapidly to keep them from falling, and took a few sips of wine to calm herself.
Eric had witnessed all of it, had seen her draw herself up, lay her head down. Had seen the look on her face and knew she was back at the crime scene, back in the interrogation room, reliving it all. And he knew, he knew, she would be struggling not to cry. Instead of making his way to her side, he quietly turned toward her bedroom and made a beeline for the drawer of clothes he kept in her dresser. Each kept clothes at the other's home since they never spent a night apart, either ending up at her place or his, more often than not, her place. After gathering up several items, he made his way back to her with a smile, intending on ending her day on a much better note.
Depositing the items on the floor next to the chair, he took the wine glass from Calleigh's hand, placed it on the coffee table, then motioned for her to scoot up some, settling himself behind her, her body comfortably ensconced between his legs. She leaned back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, drawing his fingers through her soft blonde locks in a way he knew soothed her. He smirked when her eyes fluttered closed and a soft sigh escaped her.
After several minutes of just being together, Eric moved his fingers to the waistband of her slacks, unfastening the button and drawing the zipper down.
"Eric?" Calleigh whispered, unsure what he was up to.
"Shhhh, relax Baby," he murmured in that sexy bedroom voice as he pressed a soft kiss to her neck. "Lift up," he whispered as he began to push the material down. He drew her slacks over her hips and down her legs, depositing them on the floor beside the chair, then reached for the small bottle of warming oil before straightening back up. Moving his hands to her front, he began to flip open the buttons on her shirt.
Dutifully, Calleigh relaxed as she watched his fingers slowly and skillfully flip open each button, lips quirked into a smile as she wondered what exactly he was up to, eyebrow raised when he didn't brush his fingers over her breasts, as he so often did when he removed her clothing for her. Her blouse joined her slacks on the floor just before she felt his fingers brush lightly against her skin as he drew his fingertips across her back to the clasp on her bra. She was unable to stop the shiver that enveloped her as he expertly unfastened it and drew his fingertips up her back to her shoulders and slid the straps slowly down her arms.
Gently Eric gathered her long hair in one hand and placed it over her left shoulder, dotting kisses across her back as he opened the bottle of warming oil and poured a generous amount in his hands and rubbed them together.
Calleigh shivered again when the cooler air hit her bare skin, and she wasn't sure if it was the cooler air or the feel of the kisses he drew across her back that caused her nipples to harden to peaks, but she couldn't stop the soft moan when moments later she felt an unmistakable warmth against her back as Eric lay both hands against her shoulders and drew them down her back in a circular motion, beginning a deep massage. A heavy sigh pushed past her lips as she leaned forward, forearms against his legs, and gave herself over to the sensation of his hands lovingly massaging the day's stress off of her back.
Slowly Eric moved his strong hands over Calleigh's bare back, concentrating on those areas that drew soft moans from her lips, moving his hands from her shoulders down to her lower back, only dipping once beneath the waistband of her panties before moving his touch back up to her shoulders.
By the time his hands made it back to her shoulders her tense body had loosened completely, her head lolled forward and her soft sighs and moans filled the air around them. His palms gripped her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing circles at the base of her neck as he continued the massage. "Eric... God," she moaned, her fingers flexing against his thighs, "That feels so good."
Normally she uttered those words in the heat of passion, as he moved in and out of her willing body, and while Eric couldn't deny he loved hearing those words from her as he sought to make her forget a bad day, he also had every intention of getting her to say it again, later, when he made love to her. Just the mere thought of making love to Calleigh had Eric's body humming, his blood heating with a passion he couldn't quench, would never be able to quench. Leaning forward slightly he pressed his lips to that spot just behind her ear, that spot that always elicited a shiver, feeling the goose bumps flare across her skin as he pressed a wet kiss to her skin, nipped it with his teeth, and laved the spot with his tongue.
When the warm oil was completely absorbed by her skin, when she was putty in his hands, he lay a warm palm against her back, leaned over and picked up the remaining items he'd brought with him off the floor. Taking a black t-shirt of his in his hands, he slipped it over her head and covered her body, moving her beautiful soft hair to lay once again down her back.
Calleigh was in heaven after such a massage, body feeling so loose, so content, and she had a fleeting moment of disappointment when instead of taking the massage further, into the love making that normally followed, he instead slipped his t-shirt over her head. But that disappointment was short lived when she felt her hairbrush being drawn slowly through her hair. Her lips parted in surprise, for never before had any man she'd ever been with brushed her hair. Ever. But the amazing man behind her was. The amazing man behind her that had just given her the best massage she'd ever had, and could have been inside her panties at this very moment, was instead taking the time to soothe her even further by brushing her hair. If she hadn't already fallen deeply in love with him, she would have now.
Having three older sisters, Eric was very aware that women loved having their hair played with, loved having someone else brush their hair. So he slowly drew the brush through her silky soft hair, from the roots to the tips, the strands falling through the brush bristles with ease. Purposefully he brushed his fingertips against her neck and down her back every now and then as he drew his fingers through her locks, loving the soft sighs and moans his actions elicited from her.
Slowly, over the past hour, Eric had lulled Calleigh into a state of utter peace, the days events long forgotten. He'd taken her to a place where only the two of them existed, where nothing else mattered but them and the love they felt for each other. In fact - "I love you," Calleigh whispered softly.
"Really?" Eric whispered back as he drew the brush down her hair, softly against her back so that the bristles lightly scratched her covered skin. He'd heard her say those words many times before, and like each time, his heart fluttered and soared, but he couldn't help teasing her.
"Yes," she murmured, shivering as the brush scratched lightly against her back.
"Truly?"
"Yes," she replied again with a smile, drawing random shapes on his thighs with her fingers.
"Deeply?" His smile now matched hers.
"Yes." She was giggling now, catching on.
"Madly," he asked, putting the brush down and moving his hands to her hips.
"Yes," she answered, still giggling.
"Passionately?" he murmured, drawing his hands slowly up her sides, fingertips brushing against the swell of her breasts.
"No," she answered, trying her best to school her features into a frown, the lift at the corners of her lips giving her away.
"No!" Eric exclaimed, shifting and turning her over in his arms, fingers reaching under her shirt to tickle her sides.
Suddenly the air was filled with Calleigh's laughter as Eric tickled her, and Eric's commands for her to take that "no" back. They struggled with each other in the armchair, each trying to gain the upper hand, laughing the entire time. Within minutes Calleigh was on her back in the chair, shirt bunched around her waist, Eric hovering over her, one leg between hers, hand poised above her, ready to strike.
"Do you love me passionately?" he asked her slowly, flexing the fingers he held above her, the smile on his lips belying the threat he was trying to pose.
"No," she giggled as she replied, the giggle turning into a screaming laughter as his tickling fingers dropped to the skin left bare by her bunched up shirt.
"Take it back, Baby," he told her, laughing with her.
"Okay, okay... I take it back," she gasped out.
"And?" he asked, eyebrow arched.
Calleigh stopped laughing and stared up into his chocolate brown eyes, eyes staring back at her with a passion she always saw there. "I love you... passionately, Babe," she breathed as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and drew him down for a kiss.
The kiss quickly deepened, turning to the passion she'd admitted to, and when it finally broke both were breathless.
"Good," Eric whispered, dropping a kiss to her nose then shifting them into a sitting position, her straddling his lap. "Because I love you, too." He stood with her in his arms, her legs immediately wrapping around his waist. "And right now," he murmured to her in that sexy bedroom voice that always made her shiver, as he made his way toward her bedroom, "I am going to show you... just how very much." He punctuated his words with a kiss to her lips as he kicked the bedroom door closed.