Undercover at the Gull
Disclaimer: I have no connection to Haven and I'm not receiving any profits from this story.
Follows loosely on from my previous fanfiction Undercover in Haven. The time frame is a little AU as the first story was written at the end of Season 1 and this is set a couple of weeks later. Chris isn't mentioned, so this could be post Episode 9 in Season 2 or just AU.
Spoilers for Season 1 and Season 2 Episode 8 Friend or Faux (a quick reference to Nathan's dancing)
Rating: T
Undercover at the Gull
Nathan Wuornos was more reserved around Audrey after their undercover work at Haven's one and only 'Nudist Beach' the previous week. Haven's Finest had been pretending to 'kiss and cuddle' under a blanket on the beach, in order to observe a person of interest involved in possible illegal activity at a nearby cove. Nathan had recognized the boat owner as he approached the shore and hadn't wanted to be identified before they could see what he was up to. Audrey suggested she join the damp and semi-naked Nathan under his blanket. Nathan started kissing her for real while they were doing their undercover stint and things hadn't quite been the same since then.
Audrey just hoped he would get back to normal; well, what their relationship had been before, anyway. Who was 'normal' in Haven, after all? She knew that his 'feeling her touch' had made things a little awkward but they had been touching each other more than usual since he confessed that he could actually feel her and she just wanted her friend back with the special relationship they had slowly developed.
Although, when she thought back on it, that friend was a damned good kisser and had shocked her at the beach when he 'upped the acting ante' and started kissing her. They were pretending to 'get down with business' so that Jim didn't see Nathan before they could observe just what he was up to. She had shocked herself by how easily she just returned his kiss, until she remembered what they were supposed to be doing. Nathan squirming around beside her hadn't helped either. He had tripped over a log and ended up soaking wet, so he'd stripped down to a pair of boxer briefs and wrapped himself in a blanket. While under the blanket with Nathan, his briefs were damp and cold against her although the rest of his firm, lean body was quite toasty warm. She supposed he was conscious of trying not to get her clothes wet. She thought he should have taken the briefs off too; it would have made more sense to dry them out in the sun as well.
What was she thinking? Visions of a completely nude Nathan under the blanket flashed enticingly through her mind. When he'd unexpectedly started kissing her, she presumed he was just acting. However, a week later, he was still finding it hard to make eye-contact with her. She missed those long, intense stares they would share: their silent communication. Wuornos may not be much of a talker, but his body language, facial expressions and those rather gorgeous blue eyes usually said it all.
Just as they were about to leave the station, Audrey suggested a return to their special beach to have a picnic and enjoy the beautiful scenery the next day. Nathan nodded, briefly glanced at Audrey and then looked at the floor. They arranged what to take, including swimmers. The weather had been quite warm that week, so a dip might be nice. Nathan had his truck back, so he would pick her up this time and he'd make sure he had an extra set of clothes in it. He tried hard not to think of Audrey in a small white bikini but wasn't entirely successful. He had that strange sinking feeling low in his abdomen and when he glanced down at the floor as he couldn't meet her eyes just then, he noticed his pants were under a bit of strain below the belt. He quickly went and sat at his desk to shut down his laptop. He hoped Audrey hadn't noticed anything.
Nathan and Audrey popped down to the Gull for a meal and then stayed on for a few drinks. Duke came over and had a drink and a chat for a while but a couple of Aussie tourists took his eye so he went over to join to them.
A slow song came on, so Audrey got up and dragged Nathan to his feet on the small dance floor. She put her arms around his neck and leaned in towards him. He'd got a shock when she pulled him up but was feeling quite relaxed and mellow after a few drinks, so he put his arms loosely around her waist and was quietly overwhelmed by the sensations of her touch and body heat. She closed her eyes and put her cheek against his chest. He had a very rapid heartbeat. She just smiled to herself.
When she heard a familiar laugh, Audrey opened her eyes to see Duke and one of the Australian girls dancing beside them. She looked up to see Nathan scowling at Duke.
"Audrey, why are you dancing with Pinocchio? You must remember he hasn't got any moves on the dance floor!" said Duke, looking cheekily at Nathan.
"I wouldn't say that, Duke; Nathan actually has very good rhythm."
Duke raised his eyebrows at that statement and spotted a small half-smile on Nathan's face.
"Thanks Parker," said Nathan with a 'cat ate the canary' grin.
"Last time we saw you dance, it was a nightmare, Wuornos. Remember the pictures I showed you!"
"He was a bit inebriated at the time, Duke," said a cheery Audrey.
Nathan looked towards the heavens and sighed loudly when suddenly one of the locals waved Duke over to him urgently and so the other couple moved off the dance floor quickly.
"I wasn't joking about the rhythm, Nathan," said Audrey, nestling against his firm, warm chest again. "Perhaps you're better at slow dances."
Nathan couldn't help himself and rested his cheek on the top of Audrey's head. After a few minutes of this bliss, Audrey slowly tilted her head up towards Nathan. She had felt so tempted to reach up and kiss him but would have to stand on her toes unless he had the same idea and bent his head down to her level. They had in fact just made eye contact and time had literally frozen when Duke burst back in to inform everyone a huge storm was coming and they'd better get home and tie everything down.
The magic spell was quickly broken and Audrey suggested that Nathan stay with her at her apartment above the Grey Gull so he didn't get caught travelling in the wild storm. He readily agreed. She took him up to the flat and they settled down to watch the approaching storm from the large picture windows with their drinks in hand. Audrey got a bit cold and put the blanket over both of them.
"This reminds me of the other blanket we shared at the Nudist Beach last week, Nathan," said Audrey with a smile. "Although, you were wearing a lot less that time."
Luckily it was candlelight because Nathan was sure the blood rushed to his cheeks at the memory of sharing a blanket at the cove on that occasion. Nathan had been keen to pick up where they were when Duke had interrupted with the storm warning but he didn't know how he could just instigate it and now he didn't know how he could get back there after that embarrassing reminder from Audrey.
Audrey, not always known for her subtlety, then remembered what had been on her mind for a while and asked Nathan whether he had really been acting on the beach the day he kissed her or did he get carried away and it was for real.
Nathan hesitated to reply but said, "I'd wanted to . . . well, I thought it'd fit in well with our little charade."
"Oh!" was Audrey's slightly disappointed reply.
Then she just couldn't help herself and said, "This makes it the second time I've been under a blanket with you Nathan Wuornos but actually the third time I've seen you under a blanket; no not a blanket, it was a sheet. Now, if my powers of observation were working as well as I thought that day, I'd make a bet that you were wearing even less than you were on the beach last week."
"Huh?" blinked a suddenly wide-eyed Nathan. "What? I couldn't have been wearing much less than I was that embarrassing time at the Nudist Beach as you call it."
"Oh, this other time was nearly a couple of weeks back!" she said.
Nathan's blue-grey eyes were scrunched up and a small frown appeared, followed closely by a smirk.
"Have you been a . . . 'Peeping Tom, Parker'?" he managed to ask.
"No! No! Oh, well, I suppose it might seem like that, but I did have good intentions," she said, an apologetic look on her face.
"I may have to handcuff you and take a statement," said the Acting-Chief with a mock-serious face. "Spying on unsuspecting individuals in the privacy of their own home is an offence, as I'm sure you are aware!"
Nathan fumbled in the pocket of his pants and produced the handcuffs.
"Now, Ms Parker, when did this 'incident' take place?" asked Nathan in a deep, serious voice.
"Oh, Chief! Pleased don't cuff me; I was concerned about you."
"Well, tell me what happened then!"
"It was the morning after the Chief died," she said, "I was very worried about you and couldn't reach you. I found you passed out in bed with very little on and no blanket covering you."
"You broke into my house and spied on me in the 'nick'?" asked a slightly shocked but obviously excited Nathan.
"I was worried when I couldn't contact you and the previous day had been one hell of a one."
"You never told me you came to visit, Audrey," whispered Nathan breathing rather deeply.
"It was a bit embarrassing. To be honest, I hoped you were still too hung over to remember I was there."
"Were you embarrassed because I had nothing on?"
"No, I could only see your back and later a rather buff chest you keep well hidden," but then she slyly added, "Although, I could tell you seemed to be sans PJs."
"How did you know? Did you look under the sheet?" he asked with a sly glimmer in his eyes.
"No, I did not; the sheet was barely covering everything and it was early morning, after all.
Nathan rolled his eyes at that implication but couldn't believe what Audrey was saying. He was usually such a light sleeper. It must have been all that Jack he'd polished off the night before!
"Was I conscious for your visit?" he asked, very intrigued to know.
"Sort of. You woke up while I was trying to pull up the blanket."
Nathan looked at her disbelievingly. "Is that true, Parker; is that really what you were doing?"
"Yes, very true. When you saw me sitting on your bed trying to cover you, you asked me if I'd had a 'sleep over' and if anything had happened."
"Oh, Audrey, I wish I'd been more conscious," thought Nathan.
"I was really worried after what you'd been through," said Audrey.
Nathan leaned down towards her and briefly kissed her lips.
He drew back and said, "Thank you for being such a concerned friend."
Then they leaned towards each other and then kissed again. This time there was no 'acting' involved. The kiss deepened, gradually became more heated and hands began to roam. Before long they began to remove clothing and were down to Nathan's underwear so that Audrey could touch him all over. He had removed Audrey's shirt and the warmth and softness of Audrey's skin felt sublime to Nathan. He felt like he had gone to heaven. Apart from the embarrassing beach incident, it had been a couple of years since he had felt a woman's touch and now Audrey was trying to touch as much of his skin as she could.
He had just started to lift Audrey's tank top off when suddenly, Duke hammered on Audrey's door, calling out to be let in. Before either of them could really respond, he burst in telling them that it was too rough and unsafe on his boat and pleaded to stay. Then he noticed Nathan was shirtless and very protective of the blanket and Audrey was looking a bit 'ruffled'.
Nathan glared at Duke but Audrey shrugged at him – what could they do? There wasn't anywhere to sleep down in the Grey Gull and they couldn't let Duke back out in the storm in a wave tossed boat (or could they, thought Nathan).
"You're not in the buff again, Wuornos?" asked Duke. "This is becoming a very bad habit around Audrey.
Nathan opened his mouth, but before he had a chance at a sarcastic reply, Duke went on with, "You haven't been such an exhibitionist for years. People are talking and her virtue is being questioned."
Nathan just grunted at him but couldn't exactly see where his pants had gone. He felt around for them under the blanket without much luck. They must be behind the chair.
"Just great!" he thought.
Audrey slipped her shirt back over her tank top, smoothed down her hair and was almost back to her normal self.
Audrey told Duke he could have the lounge and she and Nathan would share her bed.
Audrey finally noticed Nathan's predicament and picked up his clothes from behind the lounge. Duke just laughed at Nathan's discomfort and the subsequent glare he got in return. Nathan slipped his jeans back on and moved over to Audrey's bed, any thought of romance at this point snuffed out by the unwelcome presence of Duke. Audrey laughed at them and shook her head as she went around blowing out the candles. She hopped into bed beside Nathan as Duke stripped off his wet gear and settled under the blanket on the couch, exhausted after securing everything on his boat while dealing with the rough seas.
Nathan snuggled up beside Audrey and smiled at her in the near darkness. He leaned in to kiss her again. A soft moan escaped him when Audrey ran her warm hands over his bare chest and whispered for him to take off his jeans again and get comfortable. Audrey stripped down to her tank top and undies under the covers, while he slid the jeans off again. They just snuggled up close together, her head on his chest. He loved the feel of her silky hair and soft skin against him. He just wanted to wrap himself around her.
Duke was very quiet and then started to breathe deeply. Audrey decided to risk it a little and stretched up to kiss Nathan. They were very slow and quiet at first, savoring the feel of each other's lips and the amazing sensations when their tongues became involved, but it didn't take long before they get very passionate with their kissing and hands started to roam under the bed clothes. Nathan wasn't game to remove Audrey's top with Duke in the room too but nevertheless, his hands roamed both over and under her clothing. Audrey ran her fingers down his sides to the waist band of his briefs and he took a deep 'expectant' breath. Audrey's hand drifted further down to just cup him and he couldn't stop a loud moan escaping from his lips.
Audrey put a finger to his lips to shush him and they started to giggle until Nathan silenced her with another deep, mind blowing kiss.
Duke, only pretending to be asleep, suddenly realized something strange was going on here; it wasn't only Audrey making small moaning sounds. Sly Nathan was obviously enjoying what Audrey was doing to him too and it certainly wasn't simply by sight as there wasn't really much light in their corner of the room. He must have been able to feel Audrey (not Jess as Duke had presumed) and probably had for some time. He remembered the conversation that he and Nathan had shared at Vanessa's when Nathan asked him if it was fate that he could feel one other person. Duke grinned to himself in the darkness.
"Reminds me of when we took the Carter sisters back to my place after one of the high school dances, Nate!" said Duke out of the darkness. "Except you were much louder that time!"
"Shut up, Crocker!" said Nathan and threw his pillow over in Duke's direction.
Any thought of some quiet romance was now out the window, Nathan groaned and the three started to laugh.
The next morning, the sun was starting to rise and filter softly through Audrey's windows. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day after the treacherous storm of the previous night. Audrey looked over to see Nathan asleep on his stomach and that amazing golden back on display once again. This time the black briefs could be seen above the sheet. She suddenly remembered that Duke had been there the night before, but when she looked over, the lounge was empty. He must have left early to check on his boat (and maybe give them a bit of peace).
Audrey couldn't resist and ran her hands down Nathan's back until she arrived at the briefs. She cupped her hands on his firm butt and this certainly caused him to open his eyes. He rolled over onto his side facing her; blue eyes heavy lidded with sleep and his dark brown hair in all directions. His eyes closed for a moment and Audrey took the opportunity to lift the sheet and spy on the gorgeous body underneath it.
He opened his eyes a crack to see Audrey with the covers up and inspecting him.
"Are you looking for treasure?" Nathan asked sleepily.
"I found it!" was the snippy reply.
Audrey ran her hands over Nathan's firm, muscled chest and then down his exposed side.
She pulled the black briefs down very slowly with a little bit of assistance from him and said, "These should have come off on the Nudist Beach that day, Nathan. Do you know how uncomfortable I was with you squirming around against me in damp undies?"
"Audrey, how could I have taken them off? I was too worried that you'd whip off that blanket!"
With Nathan Wuornos now completely nude at last, Audrey had her wonderfully wicked way with him.
Afterwards, they pulled the sheet over themselves and snuggled up close together. Nathan gave off a lot of body heat, so kept Audrey toasty warm. He had drifted off to sleep again quickly and looked so relaxed and peaceful, she had kissed his cheek softly. He stirred and mumbled, reaching to pull her even closer, his lips turned up in a tiny smile.