Unquenchable Fire

AN: I was sorting out my writing file and came across this- about a week or so go I was chatting with the brilliant minds at POI Forum we were talking about short fics, I'm usually not someone who is very good at one shots but I've been trying my hand at them lately and this particular theme has been talked about and discussed, so I figured why not finish it into an isolated fluffy smut :D but then I decided to split it into two parts (lol.) Please enjoy and leave reviews. Thank you!

"When the skies are grey and all the doors are closing
and the rising pressure makes it hard to breathe
well, all I need is a hand to stop the tears from falling
I will find him, will find him next to me"

"Next to Me" - by Emeli Sande

Part 1

She looked at herself in the mirror once more with two pairs of shoes in her hand, a black in her right and a beige in her left as she decided which one to wear. Jocelyn Carter was all woman, while she was tough as they came she also enjoyed being feminine when there was a chance. Working in a male dominated environment she usually opted to neutralize her sex and let her work speak for itself. She was confident in herself, in her skills as a detective and even her instincts as a mother. While she did take care of herself, her looks didn't play a big part in what she had in life, she earned it fair and square.

But lately she found herself spending few extra minutes to make sure her makeup was applied just right, and her hair was done. She told her herself it was nothing, but she knew that something was changing within her. It was a while ago she felt this feeling that was creeping up on her. Joss shook her head and brushed the front of her dress before she choose the black suede pumps. She smiled at her reflection and picked up her clutch to head to the door.

She was meeting her friend Gabriella and her husband Michael for dinner, after receiving a voice mail from her old law school friend, she realized just how long it's been since she went out to dinner with a friend. Wondering if she had any friends left she dialed the number, two and half hours later they had set a date for dinner and for Joss to finally meet Michael the man who made a believer out of the strong, independent Gabby.

These days her time was split between work, Taylor, and her vigilante work on the side. She thought about dating, actually she'd thought about dating before John came crashing into her life, but never felt all that compelled to go for it. But again lately she found herself thinking of the tall mysterious man with the soulful blue eyes. A mental slap usually took care of further thoughts of the man who turned her life into fifty one shades of gray. As if he knew she was thinking of him again her phone buzzed with a text.

"Drinks at Savannah." It simply read. She sighed, she should say no, but if she didn't hear him out she'd wonder about it all through dinner and her night would be ruined, besides 'savannah' happen to be just a few blocks from where she was having dinner with Gabby anyway. So she replied a quick "See you in twenty." And put the phone into her coat pocket as she hailed a cab to head downtown. She couldn't help but smile at the idea of John seeing her out of her usual work clothes, pulling out the small compact in her clutch she checked her makeup, as her mind gave her the side eye for acting like a love sick girl.

II

He walked into the dimly lit bar spotting her instantly on the other side of the bar watching the game on TV with mild interest. He moved slowly around towards her garnering the attention of a group of twenty something girls, but his eyes were set on the unsuspecting detective. He watched as a young man tried his luck with Carter, she smiled sweetly at him but John could already read the sassy coming out of her full lips. He couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face, Joss had a way of doing that to him. The boy looked deflated as he walked away to join his friends who jeered him with good humor. It didn't surprise John that a boy who was only a few years older than Taylor was trying to hit on Carter, she was a stunning woman hidden behind her asexual clothes, but every once in a while the light caught her just right and she'd be an exotic goddess with curves that could kill a man.

He took a seat next to her and instantly she turned and gave him that haughty smile. "John."

"Joss." He said knowing that whenever he called her by her first name it threw her off a little, but also to cover his amusement at her turning down the suitor of the night and being able to spot him so fast. He looked to the bartender and pointed to a draft. He let his nostrils fill with her scent which usually was subdued but tonight it was very potent. A mix of gardenias, bergamot, and jasmine perhaps? All he knew was that, it was fresh, beautiful and what Joss smelled like.

"So what am I doing here? What laws am I going to break now?" she asked finally turning to him fully, he took note of her clothes first, she wasn't in her usual work clothes. No, actually she was in a long sleeved dark purple crew neck dress that clung to her full breast down her tiny waist to her sensuous hips, it reached just above her thigh with a dangerous split up the mid right side exposing a tantalization patch of glowing golden skin. Her hair was down around her face, and she even wore a different shade of lipstick, and if he wasn't mistaken those heels weren't the work friendly ones either as it accentuated her toned calves.

"Going somewhere Carter?" He asked taking a sip of his beer, he watched her tense for a moment and smiled.

"Just dinner with a friend," she shrugged, "what am I doing here John?"

"I didn't know you had plans, I just asked you out for a drink." He said casually. He's known Carter for a while now, and it always amazed him how the woman didn't have men throwing themselves at her feet every minuet of everyday. Sure she had occasional admirers who worked up the courage to ask her out like the boy who tried earlier but she never bit. She was a social person, but she hardly spent any time with friends opting to spend any free time with Taylor and her mother. So to say he was surprised that she had plans with a friend both surprised and worried him. Why it worried him he didn't let his mind delve into at present.

"You didn't say it was play, it sounded like work." She sighed and picked up her glass, which he knew she was partial to gin and tonic, but tonight she drank red wine.

Truth be told he didn't really know why he asked her to drinks, no, he knew but didn't really want to admit why it was important to even clarify the matter. Couple of weeks ago when Zoe had introduced herself as his wife to Carter he was frozen in place for a second, he could hear Zoe's agitation in being sidelined as he spoke to Carter. In all honestly he didn't even remember for a moment that Zoe was standing there. But what bothered him even more was the almost blasé look on Carter's face when she heard the information and even more when he explained "long story" and her faced said "whatever."

He'd walked around for the past two weeks wondering if he should finally clarify the long story, but a bigger wonder was why he felt he had to in the first place. He knew something was changing between them, he had known for a while, but acknowledging it was another thing. He wanted to know if she truly wasn't bothered by the idea of Zoe. His mind both reasoned and played devils advocate as to why she was and wasn't affected. In the end he decided that he needed to talk to her about if only to gauge her reaction.

"Well John?" She asked looking at him with those big brown eyes which were lined with black liner for the occasion. Fuck she looked gorgeous tonight, he's never seen her like this-she looked all woman, soft and inviting, but that fierceness was still there, the fire behind those eyes burned even brighter tonight.

"I was undercover, Zoe and I were posing as a married couple." He started, he still didn't know why he felt like he needed to explain this to her. But he just assumed that women cared about these things, and he wanted her to know so she didn't get the wrong impression is what he told himself over and over. "That's why she said she was my wife."

"So not a long story then." She said taking another sip of her wine. She had to admit that seeing a leggy woman who introduce herself as John's wife made her feel funny. While she felt funny about a lot of things involving John, this particular one was a very odd kind of funny, the kind of funny that made her mind spend way too much wondering what it all meant. The kind of funny that made her wonder if he saw her as a woman or just a big block of letters that spelled detective.

She fought a smile though as she looked at the light bouncing off the various liquor bottles. She felt relieved and glad that he found the need to explain, to actually take the time to tell her and set her right.

"I guess not." He frowned.

"You don't owe me an explanation John, hell most of the time you don't care about what I suggest," she looked at him then, "so why are you meeting for a drink to discuss your martial status with me?"

John smiled, "so you wouldn't care if I was married?"

Carter laughed, "I'd be worried for the poor woman sitting at home wondering where you are, though Mrs. John Reese doesn't seem like the type to wait at home."

"What kind of woman does Mrs. Reese seem like?" he asked before talking a long gulp of his beer.

Carter watched his Adam's apple bop as he swallowed the liquid, her eyes then traveling up his throat to his jaw which was clean shaven, to his lips that was curved into a crooked half smile, to finally his eyes which issued a challenge to her to keep going. "She's the kind of woman who'd put you in your place when you're being an unreasonable jerk. She'd surprise you, keep you on your toes. She'd probably pick up a gun and join the the cause that you and Finch have going on-a silent revolution to save humanity one person at a time. She'd be understanding when you needed the time and space, she'd be a wall of strength. And she'd be an excellent mark." Her voice softened with each trait that she listed for possible future Mrs. Reese.

"Sounds like she's a keeper." Said John, his mind thought all those traits for a woman was sitting right in front of him this very moment. "You're gonna have to find me this woman."

"Thought you already found her, Zoe seemed like she can be all of that. Don't know about her shooting skills but you can certainly teach her that." She pushed some hair from her eyes, she didn't know why it bothered her to talk about the leggy woman in a short skirt, the humor left her voice and she said sincerely, "I'm glad you found someone who understands what you do."

"Do you understand what I do?" he suddenly asked, she looked at him his blue eyes imploring her to answer, yet his face remind stoic. She often wondered if he had any idea how expressive his damn eyes were.

She gave a nervous smile then it disappeared as his name came out in a breathy whisper "John."

He felt it too, he saw it in her eyes. He couldn't believe it but he saw it, she wanted him too. All this time he's been walking around thinking that Jocelyn Carter could never want a guy like him, she floored him again and he couldn't be happier about it.

"Look you don't need to explain stuff like that to me, I get it, there are things that you and Finch do to get faster results." She shrugged quickly, she stood then, taller than she usually was but he still matched her sitting down. "I have to go, I have people waiting for me."

He said nothing as she pulled on her coat that was resting on the back of her bar stool, just taking her in, his breath catching when she turned to expose her toned bare back the curve of her spine disappearing into soft fabric of the dress as it dipped in to her perfectly shaped ass that even in her work clothes she couldn't hide. A flash of black and it was gone, but the increase moisture in his mouth hadn't, neither did the slight tightening of his pants.

When she turned to look at him, it hit her like a ton of bricks, the energy that surrounded the two of them, the way his pupils were dilated, the way his eyes took her in a slow sweep, she actually felt her nipple get hard from just his gaze. Fuck. John Reese wanted her the way she had been fantasizing about him for weeks now. She cleared her throat, "thank you for clarifying things, it wasn't necessary but I do appreciate it."

John said nothing, because there was nothing to say. He'd come to gauge her reaction, but he hadn't thought about what he'd do with the reaction that he would get. He hadn't actually expected her to return his feelings. She wasn't supposed me dressed like the most luscious thing he'd ever seen shredding rational thought. He tired to think of something to say to keep her with him, something to keep her from meeting who ever this friend was. "I'll walk you." He said throwing down a 50 on bar to cover her drink and his, he was always a generous tipper, but tonight it was just cause he couldn't let her get away. He felt like a predator who locked onto it's prey and he was prepared to stalk her for days before he pounced, while the metaphor worked literally, he hoped it didn't take days before he could taste the glowing skin of her thighs.

She was startled by his offer to walk her, did he know where she was going? Had he been listening in again? While these questions presented themselves in her head all she could think of was how little she cared at the moment about his boundary issues. She watched him watch her, the magnetic attraction between them so intense that she couldn't help but more just a few inches closer as they walked out of the bar his arm behind her, just grazing her lower back. He hadn't even touched her but her skin was tingling. Yet she continued to say nothing as they stepped into the cool night air.

"John..." Just then her phone rang, it was Gabby. She softly excused herself as she pulled her phone out and answered turning her back to him, but felt him staring a whole into her back. This night was charged with surprises for her, she was glad that she dressed for it, she thought with mental smile.

TBC

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