Eliza was working out her frustrations on the punching bag. Her knuckles had started to hurt an hour ago, yet she was still throwing out combinations, wishing her fists would connect to someone's flesh instead of the material. Though her wish would likely be a futile one since it was well past 10 pm and, to her knowledge, she was the only one in the Rainbow training facility. Besides, she'd likely have problems finding a sparring partner anyway, Ash was infamous for taking training bouts maybe a bit too seriously and once had gotten in a major scrap with Mira about her allegedly trying to injure the Spanish operator. And now, being in the mood she was in, she would probably have to be pulled off someone.

The reason for her discontent was an operation from which team Rainbow had just returned from, about 14 hours ago in South America. It was a simple, by the book hostage rescue , going up against the local criminal enterprise. The plan was blunt but effective, gather intel via drones, shock and awe with her taking the point, blowing out doors, blinding the opposition with flashbangs and smoke grenades, putting the bad guys in body bags and getting the people home. But Thermite, in his infinite wisdom, decided to make his own point of entry, bringing along Buck (the two had become buddies, bonding over beer and sports references). The Texan blew out the entire floor above the bad guys while the Quebecois put his shotgun to work. Cooperation on forced entry apparently knows no borders. The two of them popped the tangos from above before the bastards had taken their safeties off.

Now, the plan wasn't bad. And it worked. The problem was, it wasn't hers. And he didn't bother to share his divergent path of ideas with her, before the operation. Had it been anyone else, Ash wouldn't take it to heart. But they both were FBI people, operated together before for quite a while and Ash really thought they had formed a good rapport. So either he didn't trust her or he wanted to be the go to guy when it comes to FBI's actions on team Rainbow. The former assumption disappointed her a great deal, the latter simply infuriated her. She had her ideas about Jordan: she knew he was ambitious and under that macho cowboy persona hid a deeply intelligent and cunning man. If anyone would try to undermine her position in team Rainbow, it was him. Castle was too focused on his tasks at hand and Pulse was too quiet and unassuming. Thermite, however, was obviously used to being the alpha male and Eliza wondered whether, in his view, she had stepped on his toes.

As she kept landing quick one-two punch combos on the boxing bag, she heard slow steps coming from the doorway. Eliza assumed it was one of the janitors and as she turned around to politely ask the worker to give her some space, she found herself flushing with anger as the figure revealed itself to be the very damn Texan she didn't want to see at all.

Thermite gave her a curt nod and the „'Liza" came off less like a greeting than a blunt acknowledgement. The former marine looked over the training room before nailing his gaze to her. His bright blue eyes looked tired, but still focused. The man was powerfully built with broad shoulders, however he still came off as very agile on his feet. She noted that his hair was disheveled and covered in sweat – and greying, too much too early for a man in his mid-thirties, which meant that he wasn't nearly as laid back as he wanted to make himself seem. He still hadn't shaved, perhaps he wasn't planning to, Eliza could see him taking some stupid bet with Buck and Blackbeard, involving facial hair. He was wearing a grey Dallas Cowboys shirt, which she found more obnoxious than necessary. It looked soaked with sweat, indicating that he had spent quite a time here either lifting weights or doing cardio.

„Jordan." She responded matter-of-factly, reserving her smile. „Anyone else here?" Ash wanted an excuse to leave the room.

„Nah. I've been in the weight room alone for the past 2 hours. I guess the others chose to be reasonable and take a day off." From the sound of his tone, Jordan wasn't in a great mood either. He peeked at the punching bag over her shoulder. „You've been working the poor bastard there the whole time?"

Eliza crossed her arms. „Didn't find any live targets. Gotta take what you can get."

Jordan was silent for a while, examining her face. To her dismay, she felt like he could read her, could tell she was worked up despite her trying to maintain a detached exterior.

„You bored?"

„My knuckles aren't, but at this point I can't say I'm terribly excited about hitting something that can't hit back."

Jordan ran a hand over his bearded cheek. „You know, I'm kinda sick of picking up and putting down weights. Kinda want to get loose before driving home. Help me get a few shots in?"

Eliza raised her eyebrows. „What makes you think you'll hit me?"

Jordan gave her half-a-smirk. „You may have the benefit of a warm up, but don't get cocky, Cohen." He used her surname when he wanted to wind her up. It worked.

„Get your gloves on." She responded to the challenge. As he leaned down to an equipment locker nearby, Ash took the opportunity to glance at his hands, missing the usual tape. Despite being furious at him, she didn't want him to catch her staring. In reality, Thermite didn't give a shit about people staring at his burn scars, he took pride in them as if they were a mark of a warrior, joked about that any scar that doesn't damage „his pretty face" was irrelevant. They even weren't that bad, but stood out when he was wearing anything with sleeves above the elbow. Eliza wondered for a moment how much his ability to feel through his hands was damaged.

Jordan stood up, gloves on. He let off a few punches towards thin air, shadow boxing. Ash knew approximately how he fought, he was strong and surprisingly fast, focusing on precise and powerful punches. His only flaw was occasionally leaving his body open for shots, something Ash was hopeful to exploit.

„You ready?" He barked, determined. Ash was unwavering, assuming her stance. They didn't touch gloves.

They started off with a regular pace. Thermite ate her punches easily, as she predicted, establishing his obvious size and weight advantage. She wanted to wear him off and get him with precise jabs, quick enough so he couldn't gather himself and would end up going for a takedown, relying on his size rather than skill. She would consider that a victory.

„So what's wrong with you?" Jordan muttered after blocking a few of her punches.

„I'm aiming to incapacitate you. Something new?" Ash responded by dodging his right hook.

„I can tell when someone's just blowing off steam and when someone's pissed off about something. So out with it." Jordan responded, fists in the air, watchful as ever.

Eliza stayed silent for a moment. Her anger and adrenaline led to a decision. „Yeah. I have a few things I want to talk about." Rapid body shot. Thermite blocked it with effort.

Before she could continue, he popped her near the left ear. „You disapproved on my approach last time." Jordan stated, in between rapid breaths.

Eliza didn't betray pain. „Honestly, yes. I think it was unprofessional and disruptive."

Jab, jab, left cross. He was trying to take her off guard. „Can't see nothing unprofessional about it. We brought out the hostages and schwacked all the targets. Professional as possible, in my opinion."

Eliza shot back, both verbally and with a kick to his knee. „Yours wasn't the plan we agreed on."

Jordan ate it with a slight wince. „If not for my plan, there might've have been a heap of dead civvies with you receiving a bullet, face first."

Ash paused, affected by his remark more than she wished to. „So you don't trust my approaches?"

„I don't think your approaches take in account all variables."

Eliza flushed in anger. He was lucky. Any other situation, he would've ended up with dead hostages on his hands. Any issues with the entry, the civilians would get executed. He had the situation working for him, yes, but he couldn't possibly rely on it being the same next time. Ash thought that he wasn't nearly as adaptable as her. She landed a kick on the side, right at the liver. He reacted, grimacing in pain. Rainbow operators didn't usually try to hurt each other during sparring. But Jordan was no gentleman. If a woman was capable of injuring him, he didn't hold back. So Eliza received a rapid one-two punch, one in her stomach area, the other right in her face. Not full force, but strong enough to sting, for a considerable while.

Ash tried to catch her breath. „So, that's why you ignored my orders?" They circled around one without advancing, as if preparing for a showdown.

Jordan frowned, his hands placed in a position as if he expected to catch her next punch and counter it instantly. „First of all, you don't fucking order me. Second of all, this was the ideal way to pop the tangos without endangering civilians AND teammates. I'd execute it again in a heartbeat."

Ash dodged his half-heated right cross and sighed „I'm always for prioritizing civilian lives. But you should inform me about your plans, every time. Otherwise, what's the point of a joint structure of information?"

„Okay, I'll prepare notes for a lengthy debate next time we're setting up for entry."

Eliza's anger rose. „Might not be a next time if you keep ignoring the plan of action."

„When's the funeral?"

„What funeral?"

„I mean, apparently Six died and put you in charge."

„Idiot."

The clock ticked closer to 11 pm. Now they were engaged in full on combat. Thermite ate body shots like candy, but a good kick to the torso could force him to pause. Only a quick and dirty fighter could have a shot of taking him off his game. Ash couldn't afford to trade blows so, so she used her agility and smaller size to dodge his punches. He was stronger but getting tired and Ash had the benefit of anger on her side.

Eliza was fast and, as she prided herself, one of the best female fighters on Team Rainbow, but it was difficult overcoming his obvious size and strength advantage, coupled with frightening speed she was surprised he possessed. But she never felt like he humored her; he took the sparring seriously and she appreciated that. Thermite certainly wouldn't let his pride get wounded by getting beat by anyone, so he increased the intensity of his assault on her, punctuated by a particularly nasty elbow against her ear.

Jordan grinned, looking like a feral wolf, and licked his lips after her jab landed on his chin. Girl is a goddamn firecracker. They had developed somewhat of a rivalry, not a personal one like Eliza had with Elena, but they both wanted to be the go-to person for Rainbow's FBI unit and both felt like the best candidate for the job. He thought Eliza was too self-centered while she saw him as too impulsive.

Ash, feeling as if another one of his barrages will seriously hurt her, went for a clinch. He responded, stable and strong, squeezing her torso and arm in a deadlock. They both used this moment to catch their breaths, trying to read the other's position and a potential exit. All they could smell was sweat. Eliza felt his beard scratch against her cheek. He squeezed her arm tighter.

Suddenly, she felt his hot breath on her ear. „You should get angry more often." It was a low whisper that took her off guard, and the next second she was on the floor, immobilized.

Ash was pressed right under him and Jordan felt himself twitch. He tried to throw it out of his mind. It's not like it had been a while for him, quite the opposite: from his experience if you imply to a girl that you're high tier military affiliated, she's practically dragging you to a motel room by your hair. But something about Eliza got to him. And his bottled up frustrations after a successful but risky operation begged to be released in some way. He had thought the sparring would do but it didn't seem to work.

Ash was struggling. On the ground he had a major strength advantage. He held her arms in a vice like grip and she had little to no options. In a real life or death fight, she would've bitten out his jugular, but Six would probably get upset about one of her operators bleeding out during sparring.

She paused. He was close, real close. Her thigh was pressed against his groin and she could feel his cock through his sweatpants. Wasn't the first time, grappling with men tend to involve somewhat awkward contact, but she usually concentrated on the fight. Now it seems like things were anything but detached.

Truth to be told, she wanted to get laid. All that stress, risk and frustration on the field often resulted in extremely high libidos for military operators and she was no exception. Ash engaged in casual sex somewhat often, nearly all of her sexual encounters over the past two years had been one night stands, though she had trouble finding a guy who would thoroughly satisfy her and her fiery nature that carried over to the bedroom. And Thermite, while often frustrating her with no end, was unquestionably attractive, and she had a feeling he was the type that never said no to sex. Ash always appreciated men who were intelligent and competent while retaining a certain rough masculine energy she always felt drawn to. And Jordan had that in spades.

„You've lost. Tap out." Jordan's growl brought her back to reality.

Her rational, professional side, the usually dominant one, told her she should agree and go shower and dress. But that side seemed to be losing right now. „Why? I'm perfectly comfortable. Aren't you?" She ever so slightly pressed her thigh deeper into his crotch, though subtle enough to make it seem like an innocent move, well, as innocent as you could make while stuck in a grapple. But he knew that she knew.

„Want me to choke you out?" The room was silent, but his voice was barely above a whisper. Ash hoped he didn't notice her shiver a little.

„Bet you've thought about it." She could feel Jordan's breathing still for a moment. Ash felt the aroma of sweat on the skin of his neck. His shirt was soaked. For a moment, she weighed her options. He would either get confused, tell her to fuck off and make their future in Rainbow hopelessly uncomfortable. Or he'd pick up whatever she was putting down. Either way, she felt angry and turned on enough to toss the professionalism out of the window.

„The fuck you mean?" He was feigning innocence, but the tone of his voice, breathing, not to mention his growing erection showed that his intentions were anything but innocent.

„I can feel you getting hard, Jordan." She whispered, letting her lips ever so slightly touch his ear.

Thermite raised his head to look at her. His bright blue eyes were hazed with desire. She wriggled her right hand and he released it. Eliza brought her hand between them and let it slide down his still clothed torso. She squeezed him through his pants, gently at first, then more intently. Ash swallowed loudly. Thermite certainly didn't disappoint. She wanted to feel him without his sweatpants, no barriers, no bullshit.

Meanwhile, Jordan hadn't broken her gaze. His throat was dry and he was rapidly growing harder under her touch. He wanted to pin her down, rip her clothes off and fuck her like she's never had it before, fuck her in the most primal of ways, he wanted her to scream and wipe the air of control off her face. But something told him that following her lead would be more fun. Not to mention, the two operators were still in the middle of the floor of the Team Rainbow CQC training room. She could just be trying to work him up.

The Texan zoned out while fantasizing, still feeling her hand on his crotch, and, before he could react, he realized that he had completely weakened his grip on her and in the matter of a second Ash had reversed their positions.

Thermite couldn't help but chuckle at the turn of events. „You give all your sparring partners handjobs to escape a grapple?"

She threw a stray of her red hair out of her face. „No, only the only one who can't control his dick when fighting a woman. Besides, Jordan, if I gave you a handjob, you'd know it."

Thermite's chest was deeply rising and falling again, though he wore a smirk on his face. „Go ahead, go home then. I yield," he said in a deeply mocking manner. And tapped twice against her thigh for effect, each time leaving his fingers there longer than necessary.

„What makes you think I want to leave?"

„Because you're too chickenshit to do this thing more than halfway, Cohen. You're scared someone's gonna crack that facade."

„You're not even gonna come close."

Eliza ran her hand under his shirt, touching his abdominals, threading through the hair on his chest. They enjoyed pushing and prodding each other on the field, competition brought out the best in them and they loved the challenge. This, however, was completely uncharted territory.

Their eyes met. „You want to fuck me, Jordan?"

„Yes."

She finally pulled him out of his sweatpants and took him in hand. Thermite gave off a subtle smirk, fully knowing he more than satisfied her. Ash enjoyed having something to work with and she appreciated that one of those Texas stereotypes applied to him.

She ran her fingers along his length. Eliza saw him tense up, his breathing quickened. The redhead licked her palm, squeezed him and picked up the pace, running her hand around his thick cock, observing his reactions. Jordan closed his eyes and whispered something that she didn't quite pick up on but that surely was filthy. He was throbbing and she wanted to taste him. Jordan opened his eyes, dazed with desire when seeing her slide down his body with a look that was both determined and devilish. She ran her tongue along the length of his shaft and took him in her mouth, humming in appreciation about how damn good he felt. Jordan's fingers tangled in her red hair, his self-assured detached front was rapidly crumbling.

As Eliza worked his throbbing cock, she registered that she herself was practically dripping. She released his cock from her mouth, licking off the threads of saliva from her lips. Jordan couldn't hold back his groan of frustration. „Fucking hell, why'd you…"

„I'm not doing this for your benefit." Ash assumed a commanding tone. „Now take your shirt off."

„You first." Thermite wasn't going to back off without a fight.

„You aren't in any position to make demands." Ash grabbed and squeezed his cock for emphasis, enjoying watching his breath hitch.

„You think I can't tell how fucking wet you are?" Jordan wouldn't budge. His words lit all kinds of fires inside Ash. She looked at the sweaty texan's face and briefly thought about how good it would feel to mount it and make his mouth do something useful for a change.

Jordan watched as Eliza took off her black shirt, in a rather simple manner as if she was about to change it for another one, not fuck her colleague, but to him that was the sexiest fucking thing. Seconds later she bared her breasts, taking off the sports bra that was sticking to her sweat-slicked skin. Jordan dug his one hand into her thigh and balled the other in a fist. He was throbbing, barely holding back from throwing her against the mat and fucking the sense out of her.

„Now you."

Jordan was busy admiring her breasts and had to snap himself back to situation at hand. Ash was downright fucking glorious. He always thought of her as sexy, but now he was growing insane with desire. He quickly threw off his shirt, hopeful that she'll get on with it as his cock was begging for attention.

Eliza looked him over, not trying to hide her approval. She knew he was well built, but seeing and feeling him directly under her, rapidly breathing, thick chest, gleaming with sweat, rising and falling rhythmically, was another thing entirely. Ash quickly got out of her sweatpants and black panties, soaking wet at that point. Jordan looked at her, head to toe, swallowing hard at the sight of her cunt, lightly covered by red hair. „Fuck, you're gorgeous." Jordan breathed out.

Eliza shivered, hoping he didn't notice. Hearing him address her like that was jarring and incredibly erotic. She ran her hand down his collarbone, through the dark hair on his chest, across his abdominals (slightly bruised from their earlier bout, she noted with satisfaction) and gripped his member. He didn't say anything, his groan was enough and she wasn't able to hold back either. Ash sank down on his cock, biting her lip not to cry out, but failing. Jordan's fingers dug into her thighs and ass when hearing her moan, hard enough to leave bruises. He watched her in rapt fascination. After a while, getting accustomed to his size, she began to ride him. Her red hair had loosened, strands falling in her face. Ash pressed a hand against his chest for balance, pulling on the thick hairs covering it. Jordan thought he'd rather die at that point than tear his eyes away from her. She looked like a goddamn warrior goddess.

„Fuck…fuck, that's good…" He hoarsely whispered and ran his calloused hand over her body, squeezing her breasts.

Eliza picked up the pace, riding him faster, rougher. He started taking over as well, holding her hips in a vice-like grip, dragging her closer and closer to him, again and again with the kind of desperation like they were living on a borrowed time. The sound of their groans of pleasure and toned bodies, slapping skin on skin filled the room.

„Fuck, I'm close, Jordan, don't mov-„

And with that, he flipped them over, coming on top and looming over her.

„What the fuck, Jordan, I told-„

„Shut up." He switched to an authoritative tone despite being as desperate as she was. „You're flexible, aren't you, Cohen?"

She looked at his face, flushed with need, and eyes filled with dark intent, and couldn't hold back anymore.

„Just fuck me, you…"

„Fuck me what? You're gonna beg for it?" His hand slid to her throat and squeezed a little. God, she wanted him to do the worst things to her.

„Fuck me or I swear, I'm going to kill you." Ash grabbed a handful of his dark, greying hair and pulled for emphasis.

He chuckled, a low rumble emanating from his chest. „That's my girl."

With that he slammed deeply into her, continuing in hard, relentless and quick thrusts, making her lose her mind, crying out unabashedly and scratching her trimmed nails down his wide shoulders and back. Jordan's lips touched her flesh for the first time as he made bites along her neck, flicking each with his tongue.

Jordan was close, but he'd be damned it he didn't hear Ash come before he did. He grabbed a hold of her leg and bent it against her chest, fucking her as deep and hard as possible, wanting the redhead to come apart in front of him.

Eliza was right on the brink of her climax, breathless and loud. „Right there, fuck, don't you stop, don't you, Jordan, please…"

He wouldn't dare disappoint. And like that, she was over the edge. Like a wild animal, Eliza was bucking under him, scratching and grabbing a hold of his skin, his hair, unable to control herself. Jordan was still relentless in his thrusts, but couldn't hold on for long.

„'Liza, I'm…fuck..." And he joined her, riding out his orgasm in deep thrusts. He collapsed on top of Ash, momentarily ghosting his lips over hers, but ultimately resting his face beside her head.

They laid like that for a minute, catching their breaths with sweat cooling on their bodies until Jordan registered that he is probably far more comfortable than she is and rolled off.

Ash, meanwhile, deciding which limb she could afford to move first, somewhat missed his body heat. They were stretched out side by side on the soft mat, not touching each other and internally contemplating, with good humor, how the scene would look from the viewpoint of some poor colleague walking in.

The scene indeed was growing awkward by the second. Jordan cleared his throat and tossed her his discarded T-Shirt, in the absence of towels. What a gentleman, she mused.

„If there are cameras in here, I'll kill you." She wanted to clear the air with humor.

The Texan shot her a smirk. „If there are cameras here, I'm asking for the footage."

She snorted in amusement, though the air was still uncomfortable. „Listen, Jordan, I…"

„Save it." Thermite looked at her, both authoritative and understanding. „I'll see you in training."

And like that, he walked off to the showers. Ash was silently thankful to him for taking off and sparing them the awkward small talk. She looked at the stupid Cowboys shirt in her hands. Soaked in sweat, it smelled distinctly like him.