Author's note: I always knew I wanted to write a Mike/Rachel Christmas story, so the lovely DarkAngelRilla - who loves this pair almost as much as I do - gave me a prompt, the plot bunnies started working overtime, and this was the result.
If you've read my stories The Last Step / The Next Step, this is set broadly in the same timeline. If you haven't, all you need to know is that Rachel didn't get shot (obviously).
Hope you enjoy, happy holidays, and did you know a review makes an excellent Christmas present for a writer?
Step into Christmas
The first time he'd laid eyes on her, Mike Slattery had thought Rachel Scott was a beautiful woman, and time had definitely not changed that opinion. He watched her now, as she talked with Tom Chandler, her midnight blue dress providing a perfect contrast to his dress whites, her hands moving in tandem with her animated face as she explained something to the Captain.
The Christmas Ball was part of a programme of events for the holiday season, all designed to highlight the way the city of St Louis - and the country - was getting back on its feet. Privately, Mike would have preferred the money to be invested in something a little more worthwhile, but judging by the volume of chatter and the amount of drinks being consumed by the several hundred smartly dressed guests filling the ballroom of the old mansion, he was in the minority. Still, he could console himself with the fact that it provided an opportunity for Rachel to wear that dress, and for him to appreciate the sight, even if it was from a distance.
It wasn't her beauty that had really got a hold of him though. Her passion, that was what had won him over, her courage too. He hadn't trusted her, not even an inch, after her true purpose on the Nathan James had been revealed, hadn't much liked her either. But her uncompromising dedication, her faith and her strength, they were all too compelling to ignore. No question, Rachel was the whole package, beautiful, bright and brilliant. And way too good for the likes of you, he reminded himself.
As if she could somehow hear his thoughts, she turned her head and looked over at him, laying her hand on Tom's arm as she excused herself and walked over to join the former XO.
"Captain Slattery." She smiled, "How's the party treating you?"
"Got to love a party." He ran a finger inside his collar, wincing slightly. "The whites, maybe not so much."
"It's been a while since the last time."
He nodded, gesturing to her almost empty champagne glass, "You want another?"
She gave him a considering look, tilting her head to the side slightly. "Yes, okay."
"Care to accompany me to the bar?" He asked, and held out his arm, smirking with the old fashioned gesture, not betraying how much he wanted to feel her touch.
She laughed slightly, "Very gentlemanly of you."
He didn't feel like a gentleman as she tucked her hand through the crook of his arm, her body suddenly close to his, the silk of her dress whispering against his uniform. He could smell the subtle scent of her hair, and that made a host of very ungentlemanly thoughts run through his mind.
"You look beautiful tonight." He said impulsively, and she inhaled a quick breath as she turned her head to look up at him, a slow smile spreading over her face.
"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself. That dress uniform certainly does something for a man."
He swallowed, and smiled back at her.
"Uh oh!" The loud cry came from their left, and Mike instinctively moved to place himself between the source of the sound and Rachel's slender form, before realising it was only Tex Nolan.
"XO," The contractor continued, "You two need to look up!"
Mike tipped his head back and did so, and Rachel did the same. Above their heads was a large bunch of mistletoe.
He lowered his gaze to meet Rachel's. Her lips were slightly parted, and her cheeks had turned a little pink. He laughed awkwardly.
"I think they're demanding a public display of affection." He said as lightly as he could.
"Well, who are we to deny tradition?" She asked.
He moved his hands to the curve of her waist, simultaneously cursing and thanking the tradition setters of Christmas past, and leaned in a little, his eyes on hers. She placed her hands on his shoulders and stretched up to meet him, their lips touching briefly, just long enough for him to appreciate softness and a waft of that unique scent from her hair, and then Tex whooped loudly, others joining in, and Mike pulled back immediately, the moment over.
Rachel was still staring up at him though, and as their eyes met, she murmured softly, "Want to get out of here?"
He thought for a moment he'd misheard. "Doctor S-"
But she took his hand in hers and pulled him gently but insistently towards a side door. Thankfully Tex's attention had returned to the bar, where he was surrounded by a rowdy group, so they were able to slip out unnoticed.
"Where can we go?" She asked.
Still reeling from the unexpected turn of events, he thought for a second. Since this building was military HQ, he knew it well, but it took him a moment to decide.
"My office."
She followed him willingly as he led her up a staircase and along a narrow corridor to the office he shared with Tom Chandler. Opening the door, he waited for her to pass through it before following her in and closing the door behind them.
As soon as he turned to face her, she pre-empted any questions by stepping in close, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his head down to meet hers. Despite his surprise, he couldn't resist kissing her, didn't want to, and it would have been rude not to wrap his arms tightly around her, feeling the curves of her body pressed against his as she opened her mouth and invited his tongue to stroke against hers.
He growled low in his throat, kissing her deeply, rapidly losing track of his concerns about this course of action, as she moaned into his mouth and pressed even closer. Scarcely able to believe this was happening, he lifted her, sitting her on the edge of his desk as he continued to kiss her, and before he knew it she was wrapping her legs around his hips, her dress bunching awkwardly in between them.
"You're wearing too many clothes," He murmured against her ear, nipping her earlobe and enjoying her gasp. He had surrendered completely to the moment, to the feel of her in his arms, the taste of her mouth - champagne and chocolate cake - and the inevitability of what was about to happen. He found the concealed zipper of her dress, and she arched into his touch as he slowly started to ease it down, desperate to see what was beneath.
As it turned out, there was absolutely nothing underneath at all, and his brain completely stopped working for moment.
"Rachel-" He croaked, as she sat naked on his desk, her eyes full of wicked desire, "What-"
But before he could say anything more, she grabbed him, wrapping her legs around him again as she pulled his mouth back to hers, her fingers raking over his cropped hair.
"Now!" She demanded, and her hands dropped to unfasten his pants.
He wanted to protest that it was too quick, but the thought of being buried deep inside her drove all other thoughts from his mind.
His pants and boxers dropped to his ankles, and he palmed her ass, pulling her to the very edge of the desk, looking right into her eyes as his hardness brushed against her slick centre. She gasped, and he hesitated for a second, but her eyes were so full of warmth and desire that he knew he had no reason to.
"Rachel..." He murmured, and slowly pushed inside her, groaning at the feeling of it. She tipped her head back and let out a throaty cry of satisfaction, and he thrust again, harder this time, feeling her open around him.
Reaching behind her, he made a sweeping gesture to clear the desk, just enough to gently push her back to lay on it, bending over her so he could kiss her breasts while he continued to thrust slowly into her soaking wet heat. She was so warm, soft and beautiful, and he knew the image of her laying naked across his desk would come into his mind every time he walked into this office from now on.
"More... Please..." She panted, looking up at him with those expressive eyes that he'd never been able to resist.
He rested his palms on the desk, bracing his arms, and then thrust deep and hard, rewarded immediately when she gasped,
"Yes!"
He groaned and let any remaining restraint fall away, driving hard and fast until nothing else existed, just the feeling of being buried deep inside the woman who'd fuelled his fantasies since the day he'd met her.
Rachel's body arched, her moans and gasps growing in volume, and he could feel her muscles fluttering around him. Shifting his weight to just one hand, he slid the other between her thighs, finding that hidden spot, brushing it with his fingers once, twice, and then she half screamed his name as she exploded around him, and with a yell that was part pleasure, part relief, he surrendered completely and followed her over the edge.
He kissed her neck, tasting the salt of her sweat and a hint of the taste that was just her skin, then as she raised her head slightly, he found her mouth, and they shared a slow kiss, full of satisfaction and affection. He smiled at her as he pushed himself upright, and took her hands to pull her back to a sitting position. He was about to lift her off the desk when he heard the door knob turn, and it was only his quick reflexes that allowed him to block Rachel's naked body with his clothed one before Danny and Kara Green fell into the room, laughing, their smiles dying when they took in the sight in front of them.
"Captain-" Danny gasped, and Kara just gaped. Mike might have been shielding Rachel, but her long bare leg could still be seen, as could her now very red face.
Mike gave them the sternest look he could manage under the circumstances. "Lieutenant, Commander. Can we help you?"
Danny was just mouthing silently, so Kara tried to speak.
"We were just, ah, we, ah-" She trailed off.
"Well if not," Mike replied, fighting hard to keep his face impassive, "My wife and I were having a private conversation. So perhaps you could leave us to it?"
"Yes, sir, yes." Danny had recovered his voice as he ushered Kara out of the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
Mike turned back to Rachel, his lip twitching, and she let out a burst of laughter, burying her face in the front of his jacket.
"Oh god!" She was helplessly giggling, and he started to chuckle.
"Should have locked the door. Rookie mistake."
She raised her head, wiping her eyes, "All that time sneaking around on the James, and we didn't get caught once! Now one sexy Christmas present and everyone we know is going to find out about it!"
"Sweetheart, we're married and we have a kid. I hate to break it to you, but people know we do this."
"People know we do it, they didn't know we do this!" She gestured around them.
He kissed her slowly, wrapping his arms around her, savouring one more taste of this. "Well, it's been a while since I took you on a desk."
"Too long." She shot him a naughty smile. "And now you can think about it every time you walk in here."
He shook his head slightly, smiling, "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" She just raised her eyebrows a little in response, and then he remembered, "What about the mistletoe?"
"Happy coincidence." She said, and reached up to kiss him again.