Scully curled up on one end of the couch with her laptop on her knees. The bluish glow of the screen reflected in her glasses, making the blue of her eyes even starker. At casual glance, it appeared she stared at the computer screen, but it was not so.

Over the top of the screen, she observed her partner, seated at the opposite end of the couch. Mulder had his nose buried in a file, holding one page up with his right hand to read the page beneath it. Fortunately for her, the page did not obscure his face, the object of her continued scrutiny.

"I can't find anything," Mulder said, dropping the page and shutting the folder. He looked up at her and she dropped her eyes to the computer screen.

"What did you expect to find?" she asked, flicking her eyes to his face and back, perhaps too casually.

"I don't know," he said. "But something more than I found."

Scully could feel his eyes on her now, and she was acutely aware of the way he studied her. Despite her outward calm, her heart pounded in her chest. She stared at the blank window on her screen, the blinking cursor mocking her. It took all her concentration to suppress her feelings; no other thought could penetrate her head.

Mulder always got to her when he was working. Sometimes it was the banal stuff, the research, that got her going. Invariably he seemed sexy to her in the field, but there was more to distract her from these thoughts there than here, at 9:30 PM, in some medium-rate hotel room with a crappy cable signal.

He set the folder aside. "I'm bored," he said. "It's about now that I'd call you, were you not here."

Scully laughed. "And you would mischievously ask me what I was wearing when I tried to give you a new point of view because you didn't want me to be right."

"What are you wearing?" he teased.

She blushed, even though she knew he was teasing. It was so inappropriate to think of him this way. He was her coworker, her colleague. It was unprofessional to wish he was more even if her heart quickened every time she looked into his eyes.

She set her laptop on the table, stretching her legs. Accidentally, her foot brushed his thigh, and she retracted her leg as if she had stuck her foot into a fire instead. It was an innocuous touch, but her heart stopped. Once it started again, she thought it would beat out of her chest. It wasn't as if they had never touched, but somehow, in the hazy darkness of the hotel room, it was different, something more.

Mulder felt it too, she realized, as his eyes watched her foot spring backwards. She saw thoughts whirring in his mind, saw him trying to sort through his emotions as he looked at her leg.

Mulder reached out to touch her foot, tentatively, as if he expected her to withdraw or speak and break the spell. Instead, the tension kept growing. She leaned towards him, like he had a gravitational pull.

Her heart jumped into her throat as she realized he was leaning too. Their faces were inches apart, and Scully hesitated there, relishing his nearness. In this suspended moment, she didn't know what would happen, whether they would meet for a long-anticipated kiss, or if he would pull away and make an excuse for the magic of the moment as it dissipated forever.

Time resumed abruptly, and his mouth met hers. It was so inappropriate, but so wonderful that even her scientific mind could raise no argument sufficient to make her stop. Scully pushed into his kisses, wondering when he would panic and pull away, wondering when she would come to her senses and try to pretend this kiss never happened.

But the moment never came. Even as they broke to take a breath, they did not speak, and she observed no reluctance to resuming on his part. Some invisible wall between them had shattered, and she wondered if they would ever be able to erect it again, or if instead it would always be a teetering stack of pieces, waiting for but the slightest vibration to crash down again.

Mulder's fingers ran through her hair and coherent thought melted away. Why would she spend this precious moment questioning what would happen when it had gone away? Instead, Scully threw herself into the sensation of his mouth on hers, of his fingers in his hair, of the fine stubble that coated his cheeks. If she could, she would make this moment last forever because this is what her heart had yearned for for the past six years.

Undoubtedly, it would slip away from her much too soon, and she would be left wishing for it again.

With that revelation, her passion doubled, and she was determined to live the moment to thefullest, so that when she relived it in its half-sweetness, it would be enough to keep her from despair.

It was a vivid fantasy, and she quickly became aroused. Scully shut her eyes and lay back on the bed, relishing in the intensity of the feeling. Mulder was in the next room over, and his proximity made the forbidden thoughts even sweeter. She put her glasses on the bedside table and let her legs splay, almost as if making a space for a man between them. It had been so long since she had allowed herself a carnal thought she felt hyper-aware of every change in her body, and she loved it.

Scully let fantasy-Mulder move from kissing her to peeling off her clothes. Her smile grew. Fantasy-Mulder did everything correctly with just the right mix of slowness, of gentleness, of rough and needy hands. Her arousal became a pleasant buzz, not yet uncomfortable. She knew it would become uncomfortable, though, if she continued her current line of thought.

There was a light, familiar knock at the door, and Scully barely had time to jump up from her… compromised position before the door opened.

"Sleeping already, Scully?" Mulder teased. "Sorry I disturbed you."

"Not sleeping, just... thinking," she answered, conscious of the tone of her voice. Scully hoped she did an adequate job of hiding the huskiness in her voice, though her autonomic responses she had less control over.

"Thinking about what?" he asked, striding towards the bed.

Without her permission, the images she had last in her mind sprang forward as if to answer his question. Mulder's presence and the images combined to start a throbbing and pressure between her legs. Now it was uncomfortable, but the discomfort was bittersweet, and more sweet than bitter.

"Nothing in particular," she lied. Scully barely contained the blush that yearned to rise in her cheeks as the full implications of the situation hit her. Mulder had walked in on her fantasizing about him. If he had been but two minutes later, she may have been doing more than fantasizing.

When Mulder walked into her room, he regretted it. The way Scully jumped up when he had opened the door made him wonder what she had been doing. Certainly not working, or she wouldn't have been so quick to hide it from him. He suspected something else. Mulder felt guilty for interrupting whatever story she created in her mind, because the way she fought to hold back a blush that colored her cheeks anyway made him suspect it was a great one, something she didn't allow herself often enough.

He wondered if he had walked in at a later moment if Scully would have been... But even just the image of that made him at once embarrassed and aroused. It was a dangerous train of thought to catch, so he let it pass. He made plans to catch it next time around, when he was back in his hotel room alone.

"I was just wondering if you had seen this," he said, forcing himself to return to reality. He sat on the bed next to her, pointing out a sentence from the case's file.

Scully shifted as he leaned towards her, but her face remained deadpan.

Mulder was so close to her, and Scully was desperate for him to fuck her senseless. She could smell him, could feel the warmth from his body. He was right next to her on the bed, so close, and yet so far. She wondered if he would notice the signs of her arousal: her dilated pupils, her quickened breathing, the slight flush she knew was apparent on her cheeks. Human beings were hard-wired to notice those things, whether consciously or not. Mulder would, consciously or unconsciously, register her arousal if he paid attention, and the thought of that happening made her mouth go dry.

Scully realized she was examining him for signs of arousal, her brain looking for receptiveness in her prospective mate. She might have imagined it, but his eyes seemed blacker, as if his eyes were dilated. Goosebumps prickled down her arms, and she had to remind herself to breathe.

His face was so close to hers that it wouldn't even be a stretch of her neck to kiss him. Scully wanted to so badly, especially after the fantasy she had concocted. It took all her self-control not to do so, and she couldn't help but stare at his lips for a second before dropping her eyes to the file.

"What, Mulder?" she asked, and this time her voice sounded strange, even to her.

"Are you okay, Scully?" Mulder asked, a roguish twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah," she said, shaking her head as she shot him a scolding glare. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" he teased, closing the file.

Scully sighed. "Mulder, I'm warning you…"

He looked into her eyes, smirking at her in the most infuriatingly attractive manner. "What're you going to do, Scully?" Mulder studied her, taking in every centimeter of her face. Whatever hope she had of hiding her current mental and physical state was lost. His smirk morphed into a grin. "Scully, you look...different."

Scully scowled at him, her face flushing.

"What were you thinking about before I came in, Scully?" he said, standing and turning to look at her, still grinning like a cat with a mouse. "Something tells me it was something a good Catholic girl shouldn't have been thinking about…"

She glared at him, daring him to say anything more. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mulder."

Mulder raised an eyebrow. "Oh but I think you do. I think it's been a long time, Scully, if you're finding me attractive." He tucked the file under his arm and took a step backwards.

"Oh, I wouldn't say I was finding you attractive, Mulder," Scully said, crossing her arms. "For all you know, I was reading a racy novel." Her eyes twinkled. He always made things easier by being sarcastic.

"Hmmm. Well when you're done you should lend it to me." Mulder started towards the door.

"Don't they have a channel for that here, Mulder?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know. Maybe I should go check. Besides, I should leave you to your 'racy novel'." He reached for the doorknob.

"I'm perfectly willing to work, Mulder." Scully's voice was normal again, even if she couldn't quite ignore the burning between her legs.

Mulder smirked at her, pausing with the door open. "Willing. But I think your mind is somewhere else."

She gave him a look, and he just smiled as he closed the door behind him.

Scully wasn't sure what she felt, but it was some combination of disappointment that he had left and relief that he hadn't pressed her. Her fantasy morphed now, though; Mulder's decision to join her on the bed had unforeseen consequences. Now it was not their accidental touch on the couch that started things, it was his proximity on her bed. In her mind, Scully moved her head just enough to kiss him, and, instead of him teasing her about her arousal, he would discover it in a much different way.

Mulder's comment about pornography didn't make her as uncomfortable as it usually did. Arousal had a strange effect on the human mind and what it considered acceptable behavior. Besides, why should she judge Mulder for masturbating when she had been seconds away from doing the same? She shouldn't think less of him because he was human; she certainly was as well, and the throbbing between her legs surged to remind her so as the unbidden image of Mulder masturbating to porn jumped into her mind.

Oh, that was real and raw, unlike her fantasies. In her fantasies, Scully focused on what it would feel like, emotionally more than physically, to finally have Mulder. But the image of him naked and hard was more animal than usual and she was as embarrassed to imagine it as she was aroused. But in the end, the arousal was winning out, despite the dread of looking him in the eye tomorrow after imagining the look on his face when he ejaculated.

Before Scully realized what she was doing, her hand crept down into her pants. She was more than ready to accept a man, she found, and the feeling of her warm wetness was what made her realize her hand strayed. The more she tried to banish the image of Mulder pleasuring himself, the stronger it became. Scully's breathing became shallow as fantasy-Mulder's hand sped up in time with her own. A breathy moan caught in her throat as her hips began to move against her hand. She felt a little bit ashamed; it had been a long time since she succumbed to her sexual urges like this. Usually, she buried them in work and autopsies and various other things that quickly squashed any sexual desires before they developed. But not tonight.

She reached behind her head with her free hand and clutched her pillow until her knuckles were white. A quiet moan escaped her throat and set her heart pounding even faster as she wondered if Mulder could hear. Strangely, that did nothing to quell her arousal and she even wondered if he was masturbating imagining her doing the same. At the thought, she realized she was going to cum, and hard, with the frenetic force of a body too long denied its pleasure.

Her orgasm rocked her, and her toes curled tightly. Scully's back arched and every muscle in her body tightened as the pleasure washed over her in wave after relaxing wave. She held her breath to keep herself from making a sound, and as the initial tension faded, she let it out in a heavy rush.

Scully lay still for a moment, listening to her heart pound in her ears and waiting for her breath to even out. She hadn't realized how long she had gone without orgasm. That was the quickest she had reached orgasm in recent memory, and the satisfaction was both overwhelming and fleeting.

Scully closed her eyes and dragged herself off the bed to wash her hands. Her heartbeat slowed, but the release of hormones left her sluggish, lethargic, and content. Scully had forgotten what it was like to feel sexually satisfied, too long had she been frustrated by the thought of sex she couldn't have.

There was a rap at the door and she jumped, splashing water on the vanity.

"Scully?" Mulder called, and her hands trembled as she turned the knob on the sink.

She walked over and opened the door. Her heart sped up again with the adrenaline of being caught washing away the evidence. Scully tried to look unimpressed. "What is it, Mulder?"

"Is it hot in your room, Scully? You look flushed," he teased.

Scully crossed her arms, eyeing him with what she hoped was convincing irritation. "Did you need something, Mulder?" He was trying to annoy her, probably with the idea to see if she was reading a racy novel or doing something less innocuous.

Mulder stepped in uninvited, closing the door behind him. He stared into her eyes, and the intensity of the expression both scared and excited her. Mulder kissed her hard on the mouth. He clutched her shoulders in his hands, pulling her to him, and at first she was so surprised she froze. But, the warmth of his mouth warmed her to her very extremities, and, in seconds, she deepened the kiss hungrily.

He stepped back, dazed. Mulder's lips were swollen from their kiss. He looked at her and then at the floor, and then at her again. "I'm sorry, Scully," he breathed, and she could tell he was trying to sort out his emotions. "I'm sorry."

Scully panted, feeling her pulse in her fingers, her toes. He was a better kisser than she could have ever imagined. "Don't be, Mulder."

And then, they were kissing again, with ravenous fury. Scully's arms were pressed between them, her palms on his chest. Mulder's arms wrapped around her possessively, and then one crept up her back to twist in her hair. She was acutely aware of every point of contact between them, that her hips pressed against a part of him she had just imagined in great detail.

As they separated again for a breath, Scully looked at him. She felt pleasantly light-headed. "Don't think I'm protesting, but why, Mulder?"

"Scully, I've been in love since I first laid eyes on you. However, tonight was the first time I had seen you aroused. I would be lying if I said it didn't affect me."

She looked at him disbelievingly. "You can't be serious. Conflating lust with love is one of the most primitive mistakes we make as human beings." Scully's eyes softened as she examined him, realizing that true or not, Mulder believed what he was saying. She bit her lip, offering him a slight smile. "Although, I admit that what I feel for you is far beyond casual lust…"

They looked at each other for a moment, processing each other's words. Scully wondered if she had crushed him, or if her honest admission had been enough to buoy him. Mulder stepped closer to her and kissed her again, this time tenderly, taking her breath away. His stubble scraped at her cheeks and his nose pressed against her face. He cupped her face in his hand and she pulled herself up on her tiptoes with his neck for leverage.

Mulder pulled them apart even as she tried to keep kissing him. He took her right hand in his, his gaze boring into her. Slowly, he lifted it to his nose, his lips pressing against her fingertips as they passed. Scully's lips parted to protest, but her voice stuck in her throat, thinking of what she had been doing moments before he had come into her room. He closed his eyes and inhaled, apparently sharing her thoughts.

"Mmm, Scully. There are some scents even soap cannot erase."

Scully flushed, but when his eyes opened again, his pupils were dilated. She tugged her hand away from him, and he let her take it. She could feel the effect she had on him against her abdomen, and the burning between her legs returned with a vengeance. Slyly, she glanced downwards, wondering what she might have to look forward to, if they continued in this vein.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Mulder said, catching her wandering gaze.

Her heart skipped a beat as she realized just how far they might go. Mulder stepped back a little as if offering her a less obstructed view. Leisurely, her eyes travelled down his chest, imagining what he might look like beneath his clothes. Scully caught hints of a defined chest, strong shoulders, and a taut ass. The shadow of his erection was visible beneath his pants, and she wondered if she would soak through her panties.

Scully realized he was also examining her boldly. He caught her eyes again. "Like what you see?"

As an answer, Scully reached around his neck and pulled him close, kissing him so roughly their teeth clashed. Her hands roamed him desperately, and she untucked his t-shirt. She felt his chest underneath it, relishing in the feel of his skin, his chest hair, his defined muscles. Mulder kissed her neck, and she tilted her head to give him more access, her breaths shallowing.

"Tell me," he murmured into her clavicle as he tugged on the collar of her shirt. "What was it you were fantasizing about earlier?"

Scully knew she was blushing again, but it helped that Mulder couldn't see her face. "This," she confessed, and his mouth met hers again. Her hands fell on the buttons of her blouse and she fumbled them open with trembling fingers.

Mulder pulled back, his eyes on her chest. "I hope you're sure, Scully, because if you get your shirt off I'm not promising I'll be able to stop myself."

Scully smirked. "Don't worry, Mulder, I want this as bad as you do."

Mulder didn't look convinced, but he couldn't feel her throbbing clit. His eyes were glued to her, watching the triangle of exposed skin grow and the swells of her breasts come into view. She watched him, as aroused by his rapturous attention as by his kisses. When she undid the final button, she slipped the blouse off her shoulders and tossed it onto the ground.

He stepped closer, staring at her breasts, but Scully held up a finger to stop him. "Not so fast," she said. "You too."

Mulder looked down at his shirt and laughed. He tore it over his head and his hands settled on her waist, planting feather-light kisses on her neck and upper chest. The lightness of his touch drove her crazy, and all she wanted was more. Scully reached behind her to tug at the hooks on her bra and felt them come undone: one, two, three. Her breasts fell forward, and without delay his face was between them. She let the straps slip off forward over her hands and he kissed the inside of her breasts desperately.

"Mulder," Scully complained when he hesitated there too long, impatient for him to move to more erogenous areas. She could feel her nipples tighten in anticipation, demanding the feel of his warm mouth on them.

Mulder grinned at her chest and kissed around her nipples, but did not touch them. She groaned in annoyance and ran her hands roughly over her breasts, enjoying the prickle of need in her gut as her nipples hardened. He pulled back from her and the warmth of his exhale sent goosebumps down her arms.

"Mmm," she moaned. Mulder's warm tongue drew lazy circles and swirls over the pale swells of her breasts, but he did not tough the rose-pink flesh that burned for him.

"Fuck, Mulder, are you trying to drive me insane?"

Mulder laughed. "Maybe." But her desperation, while it amused him, spurred him into action. His mouth lowered and sucked a nipple into his mouth, gently pulling with his teeth. Scully sighed with satisfaction and let her shoulders relax. One of his hands cupped her other breast while the other crept just below her waistband. Mulder drew in a breath around her nipple, and the air chilled her wet skin.

"Pants off now," Scully said.

Mulder obeyed, pushing himself to his feet. She tugged at his belt and he stepped back. While he tore off his pants, she pulled off her own, and they kicked them out of the way. Scully did not attempt to hide the way her eyes fell to his erection, standing at stiff attention between them. She bit her lip, imaging how it would feel inside her.

He stepped toward her again, this time with only hunger in his eyes. Mulder's hand slipped between her legs and pushed between her labia. Scully shuddered.

"Scully, you're soaking," he whispered, massaging her clit with his index finger.

Her legs trembled. "Thanks for the update." Scully gripped his cock firmly with one hand and pulled him closer. She moved his hand from between her legs before rubbing the head of his cock against her clit. They both groaned. She let go to grip his shoulders as her legs threatened to give out. Mulder smiled at her and forced her to sit down on the bed.

He knelt down and pressed her legs apart. Realizing his intentions, Scully lay back, holding her breath in anticipation. Mulder first kissed the inside of each thigh before his tongue found her clitoris. She moaned as he started to pleasure her, entwining her fingers in his hair. Scully fought the urge to squeeze her thighs together, instead pressing her heels into his back. Two of his fingers slipped into her, and she slid down the bed to get closer to him.

"Fuck, Mulder," she said, and her fingers tightened in his hair, gripping for dear life. Her orgasm bore down on her and Scully tensed her pelvic muscles in anticipation. Suddenly, her vagina rippled along his finger as her pleasure took her, and she thrust at his face. She let out her breath slowly as her legs twitched. "You're pretty good at that," she said as he kissed her belly.

Mulder smiled. "Glad you think so."

He lifted her slightly to push her further onto the bed. Mulder crawled up until he was between her legs, looking down at her. He leaned down to kiss her again, and Scully could taste herself on his lips. He pulled away to catch his breath, staring down at her body wonderingly.

"What do you need, Mulder? A written invitation?"

His eyes roamed her one more time. "I don't want to rush anything," he said. "I want to remember tonight."

Scully rolled her eyes, tracing her chest with her fingers. "Don't be ridiculous, Mulder."

Smiling, Mulder grabbed his cock with one hand and guided it into her. He slid in, closing his eyes in abject pleasure. Scully wrapped her legs around him as he fucked her. She gripped his back, meeting his thrusts with her own.

"Harder, Mulder," Scully moaned, grinding hard against his pelvic bone.

Mulder kissed her on the neck and thrust harder, slowly at first. Her breath was catching in her throat as her hips bucked against him, twitching faster than the rhythm he was setting. Scully tried to get him to move faster, but the control he demonstrated was impressive even as it tortured her. She thought she could stand it no longer.

"Faster, Mulder, please."

"Needy, aren't you?" Mulder managed, with a smile.

Despite his teasing, he obeyed almost immediately, and Scully suspected it relieved him not to have to practice restraint. Mulder groaned in his throat in time with his thrusts, and the sound threatened to drive her mad. Her clit demanded attention again, and she let go of him with one hand to pleasure herself.

"Don't stop," Scully begged, but it was obvious he had no intention of stopping. "Mulder." To her own surprise, she was fast approaching a third orgasm. "Mulder, you feel so good inside me."

Mulder's thrusts slowed, and she realized he was pacing himself to let her cum again. Scully craned up to kiss him again, but had to break off again as her pussy tightened around him. "Mm," she said, "I'm cumming." She fluttered around him. "Yes, Mulder. Yes, Fox!"

Her legs tightened around him, keeping him inside her as her orgasm passed. Scully's legs became warm and wobbly as she relaxed beneath him. Mulder's thrusts, however, became more erratic, and she knew he could no longer delay his orgasm.

"Dana," Mulder groaned, and he spilt into her. After a few moments, he collapsed onto her, spent. They lay, entwined and sticky, trying to catch their breath. After a few moments, he spoke again: "You called me by my first name."

"So I did."

Mulder rolled to the side of her, and she sighed as she got out of bed towards the lavatory.

"I think if you continue to use it that way, it may grow on me," he said, the picture of contentment on the bed.

Scully stepped back into the room a moment later and smiled at him. "I plan on it, Mulder. I plan on it."