I wasn't sure how to break this fic up – it was a debate between a three parter and the same clear three segments but broken up into multiple chapters with the scenes fleshed out more. I opted for the three parter just so it doesn't feel like this will go on forever.
This has nothing to do with my other post series fics. This one stands alone. It's extremely smut heavy, but there's plot, too. But don't be 'that person' that reads this and then reviews saying smut isn't your thing. The fic is rated M and and you've been told it's smut heavy. You know what you're getting into.
Although they'd won the job her team had awkwardly been competing with her ex's for, Paige still felt weird going back to the garage to get her things. Especially since Walter was there. They made some small talk as she packed the few things Walter hadn't already boxed up, but she oddly didn't feel like gloating over securing the project over Scorpion. Their boss was a hard ass. He didn't like anything they were doing, and even Paige, stubborn as she was, was realizing that in more than one area of the assignment, they weren't as qualified as they would have been with the entire original team together.
So she didn't want to talk about it, even as an excuse to brag about their success when Walter asked so how are thing? Paige might have the highest EQ of all of the original Scorpion team, but that apparently wasn't even enough to prevent her from avoiding talking about work with the only subject that was more awkward.
"I went on a date," she blurted. "He wasn't much to write home about."
"I'm sorry."
"He just wanted to…well, you know."
Walter grunted.
"Not that I'd be opposed to that kind of relationship, per se," she said, continuing to put things in her bag, "but not with someone I'd just met. There has to be a level of trust before I'll go to bed with someone. I mean, he could be a serial killer."
"Wouldn't want that." Walter cleared his throat. "You uh, you know I'm awake a lot at night. If you ever find yourself in trouble…"
"What, call you?"
"If I'm the only one you'd be able to get ahold of, I'd like to think you'd call me before you'd let yourself stay in a situation." He took a step toward her. "I'll always be there, Paige, when it comes to your safety. I don't want you to think that's changed."
"I can handle myself."
"I know. But sometimes we all need someone else."
She made eye contact with him. It was a mistake. Her hand, fingers curled around her keys, froze in place. She recovered quickly, blinking and dropping her gaze to her purse. "Well. I'll keep that in mind."
He cocked his head. "Paige."
"What?"
"What is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just now. What was that?" He closed the gap between them.
"I uh…" she gulped, shrugging. "It's nothing."
"The way you looked at me right there was not nothing."
Dammit. He could have just ignored it, let her shrug it off, been kind enough to pretend he hadn't picked up on her thoughts. But of course he couldn't. He was Walter O'Brien and he could never let anything go. Paige lifted her shoulders again. "I'm sorry."
"When you look at me like that, it makes me think…" He looked away. "Never mind."
"It's hard to just turn it off," she said. "Habits. You know. For a long time…"
"Yeah." He sounded somewhat exasperated. "I know what you mean."
"Didn't mean to…lead you on, I guess."
"Lead me on."
She suddenly understood why he couldn't ignore the way she was looking at him, because God, the way he was looking at her now. Paige took a step toward him – a tiny one, because they were already standing incredibly close – and lifted her eyebrows. "As in…"
He didn't answer, at least not verbally. But the look in his eyes…
Paige lifted her chin, ever so slightly. "No strings attached."
"No strings. Real or hypothetical."
She cocked her head. "Hy…hypothetical strings?"
"Well, there is String Theory, and…" he cleared his throat. "Never mind."
"Good man." Paige grinned, leaning forward and catching his lips with her own. Walter kissed her back fiercely, her shirt bunching in his hands as they curled around her waist. She slid her hands up his chest to rest around his neck, moaning louder than she'd have liked as his hands moved over her. It was all so good and so familiar and she hadn't realized how comparatively dormant her body had been until it came alive under his hands.
She'd thought she'd turned down her date because she didn't know him well enough, or because she simply hadn't been in the mood. Now, with Walter drawing sounds out of her that might be alarming out of context, simply by kissing and touching her over her clothes, she realized that none of those things had been the case. She hadn't slept with Ted because she wanted something – someone – very specific.
And hey. No strings attached.
She pulled his shirt open, knowing that she'd lost a button only when she heard the slight clatter of it hitting the desk, and she lifted onto her toes, shifting backward so she was sitting on the wooden surface. Walter pushed his hips between her knees, pressing against her, and she groaned and lifted her legs to wrap around his hips, grinding against him as their mouths locked again.
God, she could probably finish just from this; rocking her hips against him was providing friction against her clit and she could already feel it building. She tightened her ankles around him, rocking harder, and he groaned, his eyes falling closed and his hands tugging at the bottom of her shirt. She shuddered when she felt his hands underneath her clothing, running over her belly, gripping her tighter the more she moved her hips against him. "God, you feel amazing," she gasped, her hand around the back of his neck. "Even…" she kissed him. "Even through clothes." She kissed him again, a moan catching in her throat. "I'm so close," she managed, gasping again. "Oh shit I'm close."
"You're driving me crazy," Walter said, moving a hand up to one of her breasts and squeezing it. Paige pushed her chest against his hand, emitting as sharp sound as the tension between her hips broke and pleasure flooded her body. It was her first orgasm in a month, after a night of wine, her vibrator, and a good amount of determination shortly after the breakup. She'd decided that night that intimacy, even with herself, was simply too much effort.
Perhaps it had just been her mindset. Because this had been almost embarrassingly easy. They both still had their pants on.
"Did you – " Walter asked, looking surprised.
"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I did."
"Damn."
She knew that look. That was his turned on look. He found her current easiness hot.
He was running a hand up and down her leg, almost absentmindedly, but there was no denying how wound he was. Paige's hands went to the waistband of her leggings. Walter reached out and motioned for her to stop. "Couch."
"Good idea."
She hopped off the desk, slightly wobbly, and followed him to the living area. He undid his belt, his pants dropping to his ankles before he sat down. Eager, Paige straddled him, her fingers going to his nipples, and he groaned into her mouth as she kissed him again, deeply. She realized moments later that he was trying to say something, and she stopped kissing him. "Is this okay?"
"Of course it's okay," he said, his tone almost sounding like he was snapping at her. Walter squirmed, trying to maneuver out of his boxers without moving her, and Paige lifted up, giving him more freedom. He grunted quietly as they finally slid down his hips to his knees. Paige reached down, easing them both into position, and then lowered herself, slowly at first; she was obviously turned on enough, but was still feeling, at least a little bit, like they were making a huge mistake. They shouldn't be doing this. They should be staying away from each other, and staying cool and professional when their paths crossed.
But mind over matter was difficult when her body wanted his so damn much, and there was nothing more attractive – or flattering – than the sound he made as she surrounded him.
Matter won out.
Paige pressed her knees into his hips and rocked hers, tipping her head back and gasping. She felt like every atom in her body was its own nerve and every movement of him beneath her exactly right. Her nails dug into his skin, leaving marks down his chest, and when her hands reached his nipples again she massaged them between her thumb and index finger and watched his eyes roll back in his head.
"More," Walter gasped. "Please more."
She increased her pace, dropping farther down, and she could tell by the feeling of fingernails digging into her hips that she was doing exactly what he wanted. But of course she was. She knew him well. She knew exactly how to get him exactly like this, an oh accompanying his every breath, the sweat breaking out on his brow, and the tight grip his hands had on her.
"Paige, stop a second," he said after a few minutes, and she did, stilling immediately even though her body was desperate to keep moving. "What's wrong?"
"Are you still on the pill?"
Shit. "No," she said, biting her lip. "Do you have anything?"
"I don't. Do you?"
"No." She frowned. "Ugh, I don't want to stop."
"Just…just give me a minute." Walter stared up at the ceiling, taking long deep breaths, his cheeks puffing out slightly as he exhaled. Paige stayed still. She wanted to reach out and run her hand through his hair. She wanted to soothe him, encourage him to just breathe and relax. She couldn't do either of those things. She was his hook up, not his girlfriend.
"Okay," Walter said, reaching up and tucking some hair behind her ear. "I'm good."
"Don't do that," she said. "Too much intimacy."
It could be argued that that was a rather ironic statement, she supposed, considering he was inside her, but while Walter's preferred euphemism was being intimate, sex didn't have to have any extra intimacy. And given their history, it was best they keep it that way.
She started moving again, partly for relief, partly because she didn't want him to argue with her. Paige set a new pace, slower this time but not slow by any means. She would regret this tomorrow. She hadn't used her body like this in months. Not since the last time they were together. Not since the night after they'd said they were the loves of each other's lives.
But she'd get herself in trouble if she let herself go there, just as she'd get herself in trouble if she let herself think about the woman who was probably sleeping next door right now. Walter hadn't slept with the chemist. He would have disclosed that to her. He had a lot of flaws, but the first night they were together, as unsexy as some might have considered it, he'd told her about the two other women – a sex worker when he was twenty – four, and then his ex, Janice. He'd promised her he was clean. That honesty had been very important to him. If there had been someone since they were last together, he would have said so before he'd allowed this to happen.
At least, she was pretty sure.
Paige whined in frustration. She'd been getting close again, but thinking about Janice and Florence – especially Florence – had killed some of that. She moved her hips faster, wanting to build it back up. Walter was agreeable, matching her with his own thrusts, pulling her down to kiss him again. It occurred to Paige that this counted as intimacy. But she'd never had that much self – control when it came to kissing him.
So she allowed it.
And she allowed herself to consider it that – an allowance, and not what she desperately wanted to do anyway.
"Are you close, L…"
She knew what three letters he'd stopped from coming out of his mouth. She nodded. "Almost." He nodded back, closing his eyes, and she felt him tense. "Do we need to – "
He shook his head rapidly. "No, I can hold it."
Well, that's a relief, Paige thought, because she wasn't sure she could stop her body from moving now if she tried. She was right back on the edge, and she pressed her lips together, whimpering, needing just a little more stimulation. As if he was reading her mind, Walter moved his lips to her neck, sucking on just the right spot.
Her climax was so intense Paige swore she blacked out for a moment, brought back only by the urgency in Walter's voice. Still feeling the aftershocks, she lifted up and swung her leg over, kneeling on the seat cushion next to him. Walter gave a loud grunt, then let out several deep breaths, his hands flat on the couch. Paige cocked her head, confused.
He turned his head toward her. "Come back over here."
"Do you want me to – " She trailed off, unsure if she should offer her hand or mouth and hoping he would finish the sentence for her.
"I want you to get back on me."
"We don't have a condom."
"Paige." His voice sounded strained. "Please. I don't care if I can't come. I just want to feel you around me."
"Are you sure you can hold out? When was the last time?"
"Yes. If anything, you can do what you just did. Please come back over here."
Paige stared at him, then slowly moved closer, putting her leg back over him and lowering herself. She stopped almost immediately, only the tip of him inside her, and Walter gave her an agonized look. "That's basically torture."
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yes. God, yes."
"Okay." She sunk down slowly, watching his face, God, why did he have to act like she was some kind of paradise when all she wanted to do was keep telling herself all the reasons why they were no good for each other? She bit her lip, realizing when she felt pain that she'd been biting it a lot since she walked into the garage.
"You have to go slow," Walter said, his eyes only half open.
"Are you going to make it?"
He nodded.
"You can't finish in me."
"I know. I won't."
"Okay." She started to move again, the thought of how sore she was going to be in the morning still floating through her brain. She thought of how sore they used to willingly make themselves, and how worth it it always felt to watch the other in ecstasy.
"God, Paige," Walter whispered, his fingers still dancing on her skin.
"Good?" She asked. Her second orgasm had been recently enough that she could still feel her muscles twitching around him, ever so slightly.
"Nothing," he began, closing his eyes and groaning quietly before continuing, "feels as good as you feel."
She smiled, telling herself that she only did so because it was polite.
Walter was good at self – control. Paige couldn't even begin to guess how long they remained like that, her moving slowly, his fingers flexing on her skin. Paige's body was starting to find a second wind, and she had to will herself not to pick up the pace. Walter might be good at self – control, but that might go out the window if she did anything he wasn't expecting. That was always a fun angle to play at when they were together, with multiple forms of birth control, but it was a dangerous game at present.
"Oh God, oh God," Walter kept whispering, so quiet she could barely hear him. She smiled despite herself, absentmindedly lifting a hand to one of his nipples.
"Oh shit." Walter gasped, his stomach muscles tightening. It occurred to Paige that she was playing with fire, but she found something incredibly thrilling about seeing how far she could push him. She increased her temp just slightly, slowing periodically to allow him to penetrate her deeper. She could tell by his face, the way he moved under her, and his moans that she was driving him as crazy as she could possibly risk.
"Don't come," she reminded him.
"I won't. I won't."
But she might. Every move they made was like throwing gasoline on an existing inferno. Even the guilt Paige felt at their current 2-0 record was no longer doing much to stop it, and she didn't have the kind of willpower that he had. "Walter…" She started.
"Stop," Walter said suddenly, and she groaned in frustration as she did so. She opened her mouth to speak at the same time he spoke again, his voice urgent. "Oh no. Get off. Get off."
She listened, springing up and away from him. He grunted, reaching down to wrap around himself and squeeze. "Walter, just let it…"
"I'm okay," he said, sucking in another deep breath.
"Walter, just let me – " She still hadn't decided what she was going to offer, but at the very moment she cut herself off, they both jumped at the sound of her cell phone going off.
It was Ralph. The school was considering shutting down for the rest of the day due to a threatening note sent by a student.
It was probably an intended prank with no planned follow through. But they couldn't be too careful. Walter urged her to go pick up her son.
So she left, unsure if she should text him a proper goodbye, or an awkward thank you for getting me off text, or if she should say anything at all.
She did text him, eight days later. But it was an entirely different kind of message than she'd ever dreamed she'd be sending.
Paige's hands pressed into the mattress, a loud grunt accompanying her closing her eyes and dropping her head. Walter was behind her, a hand on her back, his hips moving rhythmically back and forth. He could reach that spot inside her from this angle, and it was all Paige could do not to come apart already, only a minute or so after he'd first pushed into her. There wasn't much she could do for him on her hands and knees, but she rocked back and forth in time with him, glad they'd made it up to the bedroom this time because this would have been much less comfortable on the floor.
Walter's other hand was on her hip, helping to guide the motion. Normally, she considered herself the more dominant one, but she never complained when he took control. Especially now. Now she just wanted to get what she'd come for, regardless of how it happened.
And she was close to it, too, and she knew Walter was well aware. Her moans were rising in pitch, and he increased the pace in response, drawing her exponentially closer. "Don't stop," she said, her vision blurring. "Please don't stop."
"Come for me," he said, and while she briefly wondered if he'd nearly said the other word again, her body seemingly obeyed his command and she couldn't have put a coherent thought together if she tried. When she was aware of herself again, her arms had dropped, her cheek was resting on the mattress, and she was drooling ever so slightly. Walter was still moving inside her. And it all felt incredible.
"More," she said. "Fast. More." Sometimes in this position, aggressive action could bring her over again almost immediately. Walter obeyed, pumping his hips rapidly, his own groans growing louder. Paige was brought right to the edge again, everything so good but so sensitive tears sprang to her eyes. "Oh," she moaned, realizing the sound seemed pained when Walter stopped. "No," she said, feeling suddenly frustrated as the good feeling subsided. "Walter, don't stop," she begged, even though he already had. She pushed back up on her arms, looking over her shoulder at him. "Walter?"
He was breathing hard, staring at her. "I'm sorry," he said. "But if I felt you do that again it was going to be over."
She'd forgotten a condom again. This was nearing the tenth time they'd done this, and the third time this week after a previous pattern of once every ten days or so, and she always forgotten to bring protection. The one time Walter had initiated a tryst, he'd snuck one from Toby, but it had broken when he'd tried to put it on. "You should have taken an extra," she'd chided him thirty minutes after she'd arrived, as he was breathing hard, trying to dial himself back so they could keep it up. This time was completely, inarguably Paige's fault, and that made the loss of her orgasm all the more frustrating. If she'd stopped at the damn store on her way over she'd be seeing colors that didn't exist right about now. "Walter," she said, patting the mattress next to her.
He looked surprised. "On…my stomach?"
"No, not that, just lay down."
"Oh. Okay." He did as she asked, looking up at her as she crawled over him. She settled on top of him, sliding down toward his hips until he was between her legs, his shaft running parallel to her slit. She flexed her hips, creating slight movement, as she dropped her head to his neck, her tongue flicking against the spot where he was most sensitive.
"Oh," Walter gasped, his hips jerking involuntarily. Paige moved a hand to his chest, finding one of his nipples, her finger moving in a similar fashion to her tongue as she continued moving her hips enough to rub against him.
"My God," he breathed, sliding a hand up into her hair, cradling the back of her head. Paige flinched internally, realizing how intimate this was and immediately regretting her decision. But she strongly suspected that he wasn't finishing himself off after she left, and they'd decided at their second meeting that oral action was off limits. It was too much. Too intimate.
She kept kissing his neck, sucking on the skin at his sensitive spots and feeling him writhe beneath her. She was driving him absolutely mad, and she loved it, especially knowing that this time he would finally get payoff. She pushed up, contorting herself enough to get her head down to his chest, and she ran her tongue over his nipple, hearing him gasp and feeling his body go rigid for just a moment. She recognized what he was doing. "Walter, just let it happen."
"Sorry. Habit." His eyes closed again and he groaned. "Oh god," he said, drawing each word out as she continued moving her tongue. "Can I go back inside you?"
"How close are you?"
"Not too close."
She raised an eyebrow at him, smiling wryly as she shifted her position just slightly, allowing him to enter her. She sat up, taking him fully within her, moving her hips from side to side first, her hands on his stomach.
She was half tempted to keep going until he couldn't hold out any longer, then get up at the last moment and use her hand if she needed to.
The earthquake threw a wrench in those plans. Both Scorpion and Centipede were needed to help.
Paige found herself back at the garage just hours later. The two situations their teams had been called to had only gone moderately well. There were several people in the hospital; they'd been hurt severely in car crashes caused by the earthquake and there was nothing Scorpion or Centipede could have done differently, but she still felt guilty that they were suffering. When she was upset, she usually got sleepy or horny, lead ups to one of the two coping mechanisms that worked best for her.
Today, sleep wasn't the coping mechanism her body wanted.
Walter looked up from his desk, surprised to see her. "Did you text me? Wait," he said, frowning as she opened her mouth to answer. "You were here six hours ago."
"I know. But I just…today…it was difficult."
"Agreed. We have several people in the hospital from our site."
"Same here. Everyone should make it, though.
"Same for us."
"Good." She fidgeted, playing with the zipper on her coat that was slung over her arm. She dropped it on the ground, hopping up on Walter's desk and leaning forward, putting her lips on his so fast and in one motion so smooth that she could tell he hadn't seen it coming. "Walter, I need you so much."
"You…were just…here," he said between kisses.
"You mind?" She asked, reaching down with one of her hands to touch his belt buckle.
"God, no."
Paige gave him what she hoped was a mischievous look as she – slightly clumsily – undid his belt. Walter ran a hand through her hair as she undid the button and zipper, and then he lifted his hips shoved the pants and boxers down and stepped out of them while she crawled the rest of the way over the desk and pulled her skirt and underwear down in one motion. Putting a hand on his chest, Paige straddled him, her legs slipping as she took him in, each leg wedged between the arm and the back of the chair. She gripped the curls on the back of his head.
"God," Walter groaned, his head tipping back at the same time she felt greater pressure from his fingertips against her hips.
"Make me forget my case," she panted against his ear, "and I'll make you forget yours."
"Deal," he groaned, his breath hot against her neck. He slid a hand between them, rubbing her breasts through their clothes, and Paige wished she'd taken off her shirt and bra. She pumped her hips, kissing him as much as possible while getting in enough air, loving the way his lips buzzed against hers when he moaned. Her body was as eager as it had been earlier, and she decided she liked this, this no – strings – attached sex. They may have been bad for each other, but they were good at this, and now they were doing this without any of that.
Walter had removed his lips from hers seconds earlier, and only when he barked her name did she realize he'd been talking to her.
"What?" She murmured, delirious from the sensations their bodies were creating, unsure of what it was he'd said.
Walter stiffened. "Oh no. Oh no."
She heard the panic in his voice and suddenly realized the word stop was what had rushed through his lips a half dozen times in a couple of seconds. Throwing herself back, she tried to jump up, but her legs were wedged into the chair, preventing her from getting up, and her jaw dropped in horror when Walter groaned, his hips spasming under her. Walter's eyes were rolled back in their sockets, and although he was currently incapable of responding to her, she still snapped his name at him, continuing to struggle and get off of him even though it was too late. He slowly came back to himself, and their wide eyes met. "I'm sorry," Walter said quickly, the words rushing from his mouth. "I'm sorry, I tried, I'm sorry."
"Oh God." Paige struggled again against the arms, and Walter reached down, popping them out of place. Finally free, Paige jumped up, scrambling to grab the tissue box from the desk. "What the hell, Walter," she snapped, suddenly angry as she shoved the tissue between her legs. If he hadn't kept stopping himself before maybe he'd have lasted this time. "What are we, fifteen?"
His embarrassed apologies ceased, his eyes flashing in anger. "Is that your default insult now?"
She realized the night that she had broken up with him she'd likened him to a boy. "I'm just saying," she said, not entirely sure what exactly she was just saying. She cleared her throat. "You're the one who doesn't have condoms, so you're supposed to pull out."
"Okay," he snapped, getting to his feet and pulling his boxers and pants back up. "First of all, when we were together, we both got the condoms. And you were on the pill. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping a bunch of the things stocked but I'm not usually a casual intimacy kind of guy."
"You weren't supposed to come inside me."
"You were supposed to stop when I said so."
"Forgive me for getting caught up in the moment. I can't get pregnant off what I'm feeling. That's on you. Don't fuck me if you can't control yourself."
He wagged his finger at her. "We've done this how many times now? And we've always gotten it right. But you're gonna call me a child when this happens once. Doesn't even matter how many times we get it right, huh? As soon as we mess up, I'm that fifteen year old boy again, who is never going to be good enough."
"It doesn't matter how many times we get it right. It only takes once," Paige said shortly. "What if I get pregnant? What are you going to do then?"
"I would do whatever it is you asked of me and you know it."
"Good. But I hope we get lucky because the last thing I need right now is major surgery or another kid with no father."
"Don't you dare compare me to Drew." Walter glared at her. "I'll give you the money for an emergency contraceptive, but don't you act like if we had a child together I would run off and not care. It's not my fault we're not in a relationship anymore."
"Yes it is," Paige said. "Just because I was the one to end things doesn't mean it wasn't your fault."
"It was partly my fault. And this was partly your fault," Walter said. "And I think you know that, even if you won't admit it."
Paige sighed, moving to shove her hands into her pockets before realizing she didn't have any pockets. She reached for her skirt and underwear. "I guess I got carried away."
"We've both been getting carried away," he pointed out, biting the side of his lower lip.
Paige was glad he didn't ask if she meant today, that night, or both. She nodded. "You're right. We've been way too reckless about this." She was quiet a moment, then cocked her head. "It's possible this is the worst timing to say this, but I don't want to stop doing it."
"Me either."
"So…"
"We do it differently going forward. No riskiness."
"Whoever solicits the other brings protection?" Walter asked.
"Agreed," Paige said.
"And we don't do it if we forget, or if it breaks."
"I can get back on the pill," she said. "And when we meet…not here."
Walter looked confused. "Your place?"
"No. We find a hotel. We alternate paying for it."
"Okay. Speaking…speaking of paying…" Walter grabbed his pants and fished around in the pocket. He pulled out his wallet and handed her some bills. "Go get Emergen C or whatever brand they have."
Paige laughed in spite of herself. "Plan B, Walter. Emergen C is a vitamin supplement."
"Oh. Right. Well, you should probably get that, too. Vitamins are important."
"I'll be sure to consider it." She grabbed her coat. "I need to go get…that stuff."
"Do you want me to accompany you?"
"No. I think it's best if you didn't."
"Okay." Walter took a step toward her. "Paige?"
She sighed. "What, Walter."
"I am sorry."
She gave him a slow nod. "I know you are." She reached out, putting a hand on his arm. "And you probably couldn't even fully enjoy it, huh. Knowing we'd messed up."
"That is correct." He bit his lip again. "And I feel guilty for enjoying it even a little."
"Well. Next time." She leaned forward and pecked his cheek. "Next time I'll make it up to you."
He gave a small smile. "Right back at you, Dineen."
"I'll text you, okay?"
"Yeah. I'll text you."
