The time read 2.27am as Richard walked through the door "I'm home. Sorry I'm so late." He called waiting to see if there was a response,"...again." he whispered morbidly. Work had become so crazy lately, he had barely been home, and when he did manage to come home, more than not it was well after midnight.
Walking into the hall he slid his coat off and hung it on the stand next to the door. 'Still no response. Kori must be asleep.'
He walked into the living room and there he located her. On the sofa, sleeping so peacefully. He looked over at her sleeping form. Her face was perfect. So beautiful, yet that alone was enough to drive any man crazy. As he looked further he couldn't help but gulp a little.
There she was. Asleep on the sofa, in nothing but her underwear. 'Mm. Black and red lace...why do I leave this woman to work.' She looked like a supermodel. Her red hair sprawled everywhere, her legs resting upon one another. Her arm lay next to her face. He stood there for a minute, just watching her breathing, her chest falling up and down.
He swept a piece of her fire hair out of her face and bent down to plant a small kiss on her forehead. Standing back up straight he noticed a book was on the floor in front of her. She had obviously tried to stay awake for him, and fell asleep whilst reading. Feeling guilty for what seemed like the billionth time that month, he picked the book up and placed it on the coffee table.
He walked into the bedroom and took his tie off, hanging it up in the closet. He opened the covers in bed and walked back into the living room.
Sliding his hands underneath his sleeping girlfriend, he picked her up in his arms and walked into the bedroom, gently laying her in the bed and covering her so she doesn't get cold. He leaves another kiss on her forehead before entering the bathroom.
As soon as Richard entered the bathroom he began undressing. His large hands began unbuttoning his white shirt from his fatigued body.
Finally, after what felt like years of unbuttoning, he slid his shirt off and just let it drop to the floor. He next began unbuckling his belt, he slid that off and threw it with his shirt.
Shirtless he went over to the sink and leaned there for a while. Looking at himself in the mirror. He looked tired. Stressed. Even his body looked tired. His normal vanilla smooth skin took more of a greyish colour. His usual hair, was a little longer than he remembered it being, he created a mental note to cut it as soon as he could.
His stunning azure eyes, a tad darker than usual. He touched his shoulder gently massaging it, groaning a little as he felt the tension being released. His eyes caught a red patch on his chest. He smoothly traced his finger over it, closing his eyes remembering.
Knock Knock. The sound rang through the large apartment. Richard heard Kori turn the shower off and called to her "I'll get it." He heard a 'thanks!' being called from the bathroom and walked into the hall to answer the door.
He opened the door, and as fast as the door opened a huge BANG fired. The figure disappeared as fast as possible and Richard hit the floor.
"Richard? What was that?!" Kori shouted as she quickly threw on a dress and ran into the hallway.
"RICHARD?! RICHARD!" Kori's screams ran through the air as she found her boyfriend laid on the floor. Blood pouring out of his chest. She ran over to him, tears pouring from her eyes, pressing on his chest. Holding his hand.
"Baby? Baby! Stay with me. Please. Please Richard..." He squeezed her hand lightly with all the strength he could muster. His hazy gaze meeting Kori's misty one before Kori ran as fast as she could to call the ambulance, not once removing her eyes from her fallen boyfriend.
He opened his eyes. He knew he needed to take care of himself more. He knew he needed to take better care of the girl in the other room. After what happened he knew he needed to take it easier.
Kori probably stayed up every night because she was worried. Worried he wouldn't return. He knew she had nightmares, nightmares of the man coming back to finish the job. He battled it himself for a while. Whether he should stay, whether she would be in danger. Is she safe with him? Sure, he was one of the best detectives to walk the planet, he was strong as hell, mastered in many various fighting styles, he could protect her. But could he? After what happened he found himself doubting a lot of things. It was selfish but he needed her. He didn't want to be without her.
Luckily, they caught the man who shot him. He was dead, but Richard knew he was working for a bigger criminal only known as Wilson. He wouldn't tell Kori that though. She would worry more. She only just started sleeping fully through the night without waking up.
He was working day and night to catch Wilson and he wouldn't stop till he did. But he knew he needed to take it easy. He needed to slow down. Stop his obsession. For himself. For her. He shook the thought out of his mind. He walked over and turned the shower on before fully undressing and stepping in.
He let out a soft sigh as the hot water hit his hard body, he could feel the tension leaving him already. He leant his head back, allowing the water to cover his face, carrying the load of the day away. He washed himself and let the hot water splash off his muscled abs as he closed his eyes and let himself think about the girl in the other room.
They had been together since she was 17, known each other since they were teenagers. Kori had grown up around Richard as they attended the same school. She had been transferred from a foreign country due to her parents' work. A smile was brought to his mouth, remembering Kori's English skills, she was so innocent back then.
Throughout the years her language skills got better, due to Richard and her friends teaching her the ways of the western world. When her parents decided to go back to the Island of Tamaran, she had opted to stay, having formed a pretty good life for herself. Richard had been so relieved, and told her how he felt the day she decided to stay. Though they fell in love long before they became a couple, and their relationship had been great, up until the shooting.
After that it became a little rocky, he knew that was normal. After all, who wouldn't be tense after what happened? When he comes home at 2am most days.
He knew she missed him, he missed her. He would make it up to her, he had to.
He thought of her, laying on the sofa, waiting for him. All of Kori's underwear was pretty sexy he thought, but he wondered if she purposely was wearing it in order to entice him. Hoping if she waited up long enough for him, he would give her what she needed. What she wanted.
He could feel his thoughts becoming more perverted by the second, after all how long had it been since they had last been intimate? He knew it was his fault, he was never home. He knew Kori would never stray, but he wondered if she did, could he blame her? He sighed. Once again bad thoughts taking over his mind.
He applied shampoo to his palm and smothered it over his jet-black hair. Closing his eyes taking in the smell. He decided to use his girlfriend's shampoo. He missed her smell. He missed everything about her. How crazy it is to miss someone you live with he thought. He needed to be home more. He would make sure of it. He couldn't wait to get into bed next to her and hold her tightly.
Just to feel close to her, have her wake up in his arms, the way it should be. He wondered whether to call in work tomorrow and tell them he needed a personal day. They wouldn't refuse, they had been trying to get him to take more time off anyway. A pang of guilt hit him as he realised he didn't really have an excuse for not taking those days.
All of a sudden, snapping him out of his thoughts, he felt two hands wrap around him.
"Baby, you're home." Kori pressed her head up against his back.
