Erin fingered her new pendant absently as she walked up the path to JJ's house. The woman had invited her over to dinner with her and Aaron and the boys, and she was questioning why she had agreed to come. After all, it was bound to awkward. None of them had spoken following the incident at Aaron's, even though it had made her feel totally welcome and adored. It had been a long time since she had had those feelings.
"I didn't know you were coming tonight, Erin." A familiar voice behind her caused her to stop and turn, looking into the whiskey brown eyes of one Derek Morgan. A deep blush spread across her face as she nodded.
"JJ invited me. She thought I needed the time with family."
"She's right." He took her elbow and walked with her the rest of the way to the door, knocking forcefully. A delighted shriek came from behind the door and she grinned as it swung open, revealing Henry and Jack.
"Miss Erin! You're here! Come on inside. Hi, Uncle Morgan." Jack tugged her inside and she looked back at the man, who was shaking his head with bemusement.
"Some welcome," he muttered through a low laugh and she just shrugged. He closed the door behind them and followed along behind as she was led into the living room where a huge tree dominated the far corner. "My god, JJ, did you go out and steal the White House's Christmas tree?"
"No, Derek, I didn't. This is the tree that Henry fell in love with, and Will was kind enough to bring it over and set it up, seeing as how it wouldn't fit in his apartment. Here, let me take your coats."
She handed over the light jacket to the woman and then took a seat on the loveseat. Jack and Henry snuggled up close to her, and she wrapped her arms around them. It was nice to have little ones around her, since she was unlikely to get grandchildren anytime soon. "So, when did you all become so cozy?" Derek asked as he sat down on the ottoman in front of her.
"I went Christmas shopping with them the other night." He nodded and leaned back against the loveseat, smiling up at her. She couldn't help but smile back, feeling butterflies flutter in her stomach. Once more, she wondered why she had let spill to JJ and Aaron the fact that she had a crush on the man.
"You braved the malls this close to Christmas? No wonder office scuttlebutt says that you have an iron backbone. I had Baby Girl do all my shopping online this year. She knows all the tricks to get discounts and free shipping." He was relaxed and open to her, and she nodded.
"I'm thinking about doing a lot of that next year, too. Not that I have too many to buy for these days. Just my children and a few close friends." His brow furrowed. "We broke up. Seems he wanted both the vintage and the latest model at the same time."
Derek reached up for her hand, and she clasped his tightly, welcoming the touch. "He's a fool, then. The vintage model is always better, it's worth more." To her mortification, she felt her eyes well up, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.
"Miss Erin, why are you crying?"
"It's nothing, Jack." The boy shook his head and hugged her tightly. "What?"
"Daddy says it's never nothing when you cry. Are you sad?"
"Maybe a little, precious," she whispered, looking away from Derek's all too seeing eyes.
Almost seeming to come to her rescue, JJ joined them and smiled. "Dinner's ready if you are." Erin nodded as the boys got up and ran to the dining room. Derek helped her to her feet, pulling her close. She tried not to shiver or cuddle in as they followed JJ. The table was arranged so that they had to sit next to each other, and Erin shook her head. As Derek pulled out her chair, JJ lightly hummed a tune from Fiddler on the Roof, and Erin glared a little at her. The woman just laughed lightly as she took her seat at the foot of the table.
Throughout the meal, JJ and Aaron both looked at them, trying to assess the situation. Truth be told, she relished each and every touch that they shared, and she tried not to focus on that. After all, she wanted to stay on a professional level with at least one of her subordinates. That was fast looking like it would be an impossible thing, as Derek's touches became more and more deliberate as the evening passed.
Once the meal was over, the boys cleaned up the table with Aaron while JJ led them back to the living room. Erin glanced out the window, frowning a little at the sound of freezing rain against the window. "I should probably get going. That doesn't sound too good."
JJ went over to the window, whistling lowly as she let the curtain drop back over it. "Derek, you need to run her home. There's no way I would trust her Prius on these road rights now. Would you mind?"
He shook his head. "That'll be fine, Jayje. Ready to head out?"
She shrugged a little. "I guess." This felt like some cosmic setup and she hoped that whatever transpired that evening, no one would come out of it hurting. JJ went and got their coats, and Derek helped her into hers before tugging his on. "Well, let's go home."
She was more nervous than she sounded, but he seemed to pick up on that, easily taking her hand and bringing it to the crook of his elbow. Carefully, they picked their way over to his truck, and he helped her up, his hands lingering on her hips a beat too long.
Erin tried to regain control of her raging hormones as she buckled her belt, feeling like her heart would burst from her chest at any moment. She hardly noticed him start the vehicle, and then they were underway. "So, where do you live?"
"Not far from here, actually. You just have to…" She gave him the easiest directions to her home and then sat back, watching out the window so that she wouldn't focus on him and the feelings he was bringing up in her body.
"I think they're trying to set us up, Erin. Don't you?"
She turned her head to look at him, sucking in a deep breath. "No," she squeaked out, hoping he wouldn't hear the lie in her word.
"Yes, you do. Do you…"
"Yes," she interrupted, needing to get the word out before she entirely dismissed the idea. He nodded and they fell silent. Her stomach now churned with both desire and nerves, and though she tried to stop them, tears started to fall down her cheeks. For one short moment, he took his hand off the wheel and caressed her arm. The tender, intimate, gesture calmed her more than anything and she sighed, wiping the tears away.
When he pulled into her drive, she took out her keys and opened her door, slipping out onto the sidewalk. Her feet skidded a little, unable to find purchase, and then he was at her side, steadying her. "Careful there, Erin. We don't want you in the hospital right before the holiday."
She nodded and leaned against him, using him for balance as they made their way to her door. She unlocked it and let them in, locking it behind her as she slipped her coat off her shoulders, taking his as well to hang on the hooks nearby. "Would you care for anything? We left before dessert was served."
"I think my sweet tooth will be fed in a much healthier way, Erin." He embraced her gently, pulling her close to his body as he bent to kiss her. His lips were soft against hers, something she'd not expected given how hard he was, how sculpted the planes of his face were. She opened her lips to draw in a breath and he took the opening, letting his tongue slip inside her mouth to caress hers.
Erin wrapped her arms around his neck, molding her body as close to his as she possibly could. His hands slid down her back to grope her ass and she squirmed a little at the feeling. Neither Alan nor Dave had been big on her ass, so she had little experience with this attention. She let out a low moan of pleasure as he kissed his way down her neck, paying special attention to her pulse point.
"Derek, the bedroom?"
"Lead the way, pretty lady." After letting go of her waist, he clasped her hand, letting her lead him up the stairs to her room. He flipped on the lights and she turned to look at him, her brow wrinkling. "I like watching and knowing what I'm doing is making my partner feel good. Darkness hides too much from us."
She nodded and let him begin to undo the buttons on her blouse, slipping it from her shoulders. Then he slowly unzipped her skirt, letting it pool around her feet. "Derek," she murmured, trying not to cover her stomach with her arms. She knew that she wasn't the perfect, lithe, beauty that he was normally used to, and that knowledge stung a little.
"You are beautiful," he said lowly, taking hold of her hands and drawing them down to her side. "So lovely." He quickly pulled his shirt over his head and fumbled with his belt and zipper, pushing the jeans down to the floor. "Come here."
Erin closed the distance between them, jumping a little at the amount of heat that radiated from his body. "You're warm."
"So are you. But we're going to be warmer than warm by the end of the night, I promise you that." His teasing tone brought a smile to her lips as she nodded, and he kissed her once more as he fumbled with the clasp on her bra. "Let me love on you tonight, goddess," he whispered in her ear before dragging his lips down to her chest.
Whimpering, Erin wrapped her hands around his shoulders, missing having hair to hold onto as he began to suckle her breast. "Oh, Derek, that feels amazing," she breathlessly said as he ran his teeth over the tight bud of her nipple. "More, harder, oh, please."
Derek maneuvered them back to the bed, bringing her down on top of him. His hands slipped beneath her panties to once more squeeze and caress her ass and she moaned loudly. Kissing his way over to her other breast, he began to tug her panties down her legs. It was only then that she noticed he had removed his boxers at some point and she sucked in a deep breath. "What is it, Erin?" he asked as she tensed up in his arms.
"You're quite…hard already. I'm ready anytime for you." He chuckled a little and she swatted him on the arm. "What?"
"You are adorable when you try to cover up your nervousness. Everything will be fine." He flipped her onto her back and she gazed into his eyes. Smiling, she nodded and he placed a soft kiss between her breasts before beginning to kiss down her stomach, quickly reaching her mound. She tensed a little once more, but then he was doing the most amazing things with his tongue, making her see stars.
It didn't take long for her to come, and she dug her fingers into the sheets of her bed, her back bowing up high. "Derek!" she wailed, thrashing her head back and forth as waves of pleasure continued to wash over her. Vaguely, she felt him enter her and she clenched her muscles around him, drawing him in deeper.
Derek hissed a little as he thrust into her, and Erin reached up to clasp her hands behind his neck, pulling him down on top of her, needing to feel his weight on her, holding her down, grounding her. Otherwise, it would all seem like a dream, a lovely one, but ephemeral and fleeting. She mashed her lips against his, needing more contact, and he pressed back just as hard. Their shared orgasm had him collapsing on top of her and she loved feeling his heavy breathing on her neck, his weight pressing her down in the mattress.
"Thank you," she murmured, bringing her arms down to rest around his waist, holding him close. "I needed a night like tonight."
"Just one night?" he teased, and she looked into his eyes, seeing no malice or rejection there. She shrugged, now knowing that JJ or Aaron must have clued him in on her silly crush. "Hey, I like finding a woman who can keep up with me. And I know you know how to handle a gun, you have to pass the same qualifications as us." He adjusted how they were laying, getting them onto their sides so that he could cuddle her close.
"And why would you want to be with someone like me?" she said lowly, hating how her voice betrayed her emotions.
"I could give you the trite answer and say that it's flattering to be wanted by my boss. Or I could go with the truth. I admire you and the strength you've shown us. You fought your way back to your job after facing a terribly strong demon. Do you know why I went to Hotch about your drinking?"
She shook her head, feeling her eyes fill with tears. "No."
"Because we pussyfooted around Reid and his problem. I was still looking too much to Gideon for his guidance then, and we could have lost Reid at any moment to his problem. Or he could have gotten one of us killed, had he slipped into a Dilaudid hallucination. And I didn't want that to happen again, to anyone." His voice was raw, as if it pained him to admit something so vulnerable about himself.
Leaning forward, she softly kissed him before resting her head on his chest. "And now, you want to pursue a relationship with me."
"Yes, I guess. Garcia went back to Kevin, Emily went to London. All the women I've ever cared about have left me, in some small way. I know part of that is my fault, I have major trust issues…"
"So do I," she interrupted, pressing her lips against his chest. He began to run his fingers through her hair and she sighed. "Perhaps we could work on that together."
"Yes, we could." She felt him kiss the top of her head as she snuggled in closer, wanting to removed even the barest millimeter between them. "If that's what you want. I'm growing a little tired of the whole new honey every night routine. Though I will warn you, my mom expects grandchildren, and if she knows I've settled down finally, she'll hound us."
Erin laughed. "We haven't even declared ourselves official and you're talking about children? That is going to be a long conversation for another day. Things work different when you get to my age, you know."
He nodded and began to run his hands up and down her back, relaxing her. Without meaning to, she yawned widely, rubbing her nose against his chest. "Go to sleep, I'll be here in the morning." She nodded and let her eyes close slowly, not quite ready to let go of this bright, shining, happy, moment.