AN: This story is dedicated to Ilovetvalot: for the Profiler's Choice awards, for Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum, for nearly six hundred stories (incredible!), and for being a great friend...Thanks for all you do, honey. Love, Kricket
Just One Bite by Kricket Williams
Tired, drawn, and exhausted, Jennifer Jareau knew when she'd been beat. This week—this month—had kicked her butt and sent her on the fast train to Crapville. Not a great place to be. Especially since lately it was population: one.
Just her.
Her former lover—ex-boyfriend sounded terribly juvenile; she was a grown woman—had her son. When they split, they'd agreed on joint custody, a fifty-fifty arrangement, which meant that Henry was at his dad's this entire week. She missed him terribly, although with all her hours at work, she hadn't been home much anyway.
To add insult to injury, Dave was teaching a seminar in Boston. She'd begun dating Rossi on the down low six months before. He was a wonderful friend, a fascinating conversationalist, and a gourmet marinara sauce maker.
He was also incredible in bed.
"I need a vacation from life," she grumbled to herself, wishing her thoughts hadn't gone that way, as she pulled into her driveway. Dave wasn't expected back for a few more days. What good did it do to get frustrated?
Stepping out of the car, she reached for her go bag, slammed the door shut, and then pulled the covered elastic band out of her ponytail. She gave her hair a good shake, and then simultaneously opened the access door to the house and pressed the button to close the garage door.
She was a mom. She was used to multitasking.
The moment she stepped into the house, she could smell it. Basil, oregano, garlic, onion, and tomatoes, wafting through the air, caressing her like a lover's touch. Carelessly, she dropped her bag and followed her nose to the scent of cooking sauce.
Standing in her kitchen, wearing a frilly apron with a tiny pocket on it, was Dave. He'd bought her that apron as a tease, part of a French maid's costume. She'd never worn it, but he was rocking the look.
She gave a sardonic little grin. "Looking good there, Agent Rossi."
He returned her grin. "Pink ruffles are just my style, aren't they? I often go for the ultra feminine look."
JJ fought a giggle. There was nothing at all feminine about Dave. He could be in a dress and heels, and he'd still be all man.
Stepping over to her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly. "I missed you," he said simply.
"I'm glad," she answered, nuzzling into the warmth of his rough silk shirt. There was a beauty about being with a man that understood the need for creature comforts.
In typical Dave style—they were not a mushy couple—he broke the embrace and said, "Come. Dinner's ready."
"I'm not that hungry," she muttered, but she knew it would do no good. Dave took food seriously. Coming from a massive Italian family, he had learned early that food was life and love, and a hungry person in an Italian household was a cardinal sin that would get you a letter of ex-communication from the Vatican.
"Yes, you are," he said, taking a plate of pasta in one hand, and her hand in his other.
"I'm more tired than I am hungry," she complained again as he dragged her along.
He put the plate on the table. "You need to eat."
Her stubborn streak kicked in, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "I'd rather sleep...among other things..."
He chuckled, sitting down in the chair. "That, too, babe, but first..." Before she could say a word, he snaked an arm around her waist, lifted her slightly, and set her on his lap. "...we feed you."
She realized then he meant that literally. She was supposed to sit on his lap while he fed her. "This is crazy. Let me up."
"Sweetheart," he said. There was a rich softness in his tone, velvety, coaxing her under his spell. "You care for everyone all the time—Henry, the team at the BAU, families that come knocking." He held her chin in his hand and her gaze with his deep, dark chocolate eyes. "Just this once, let me take care of you."
She didn't know how, or why, or what kind of fates had intervened, but for some reason, someone had sent her a dark and handsome angel tonight. In her darkest hour, he was there, with exactly what she needed.
She just needed to take him up on it.
Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, JJ put her fears, her cares, and her worries aside...and opened her mouth for that first tantalizing bite.