Hello all!
This gets kinda smutty in later chapters… so beware!
I own nothing!
She had told him to wait downstairs. Any other person wouldn't have had to be told. But Raymond Reddington wasn't any other person, and so he was lounging on Elizabeth Keen's bed, watching amusedly as she tore her bedroom apart looking for her wallet. Red had insisted vigorously that her money was no good when she was with him, but Elizabeth couldn't be persuaded to leave without it.
"I'm not your charity case, Red. I make good money and it is offensive to me that you won't let me spend it," Elizabeth shouted from the bathroom where she was desperately sifting through the laundry basket, checking her pockets for the missing wallet. She knew it was useless. It was a habit of hers to empty out her pockets before tossing dirty clothes into the basket, but making the effort to check twice somehow made her feel better.
"You are not my charity case, Lizzie. You're my girlfriend. Or at least that's what I'm going to tell the people at this party. And girlfriends do not pay. Remember that we are going undercover, and we must look the part. And that means you do not get to carry your purse on your shoulder so that you can make a quick getaway when the night is over. I'm the man. I pay, I keep my hands on you at all times while we schmooze, and then I take you home."
Elizabeth stood at the bathroom doorway, hands on her hips, and glared at the smug bastard who was making himself quite comfortable in her bed. "You'll keep your hands to yourself if you want to keep your hands," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her. She was in no mood for his games or his new habit of putting his hands on her in public. It was different when it was a hand on her arm or at the small of her back. Those things she hardly noticed anymore. The hand on her hip, however, or his fingers drawing patterns on her knee when he sat next to her…those things were very noticeable. And they had to stop.
"Sometimes I think you forget who I am and what my persona is with my adoring public. Allow me to remind you." Red rose from the bed and stood before Elizabeth, seeming to loom over her despite the fact that he wasn't that much taller than she. "I am a nasty sort. The type of person you do not want to cross. I am rich, I am powerful, and I go where I please, despite the fact that every government sanctioned division of the law wants me behind bars or dead. And I am a possessive man. My things are my things and tonight, my dear Lizzie, you are one of my things. That is how these people must see you or our cover will be blown. Neither one of us can afford that, so I will touch, caress, and fondle you to my hearts content, and you will act like you enjoy it. In fact, if you would just relax and remove your panties from your rear end you might enjoy it immensely."
Elizabeth should have felt threatened, but instead, she felt empowered. She smoothed her hands down the sides of her short black cocktail dress and smiled.
"Physically impossible, seeing as I'm not wearing panties," Elizabeth purred, watching Red's jaw twitch as his eyes travelled to search for a panty line. He wouldn't find one.
"Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie… aren't you full of surprises?"
His hand reached up to caress her hip and she backed away.
"Yes, and if your hands stray anywhere inappropriate tonight you'll find out just how surprising I can be."
Red seemed to take this as a challenge. He grinned broadly and placed a hand over his heart.
"I swear… If my hands wander tonight you have my full permission to punish me… any way you see fit."
Elizabeth ignored the sexual jibe and walked around him to her closet.
"Make yourself useful," she said as she rummaged around in a big box. "Look for my wallet."
She poured all of her energy and concentration into tearing apart her closet, looking through pockets and swearing under her breath when they came up empty. Her concentration was broken, however, by a soft gasp.
"Elizabeth Scott Keen… you naughty, naughty girl."
Elizabeth turned to chide him, exasperated by Red's constant innuendo, when she realized why he was teasing her. He stood by her nightstand flipping through a stack of photographs, his eyes growing more mischievous by the moment. Elizabeth froze.
"Red…"
"Busy at the moment. Try me again later."
Elizabeth inched towards him, desperate to rip the photos from his hands.
"You know there's such a thing as respecting other people's privacy?"
Red's eyes never left the photos, and Elizabeth blushed with shame.
"I've heard of this, yes."
Elizabeth made a mad grab for the photos and Red moved sideways, holding the photos up and out of her reach.
"Lizzie," Red tisked at her as she tried again to grab them, "It's rude to snatch things out of other people's hands."
The room seemed to spin as Red held one up to the light and Elizabeth could see her nude silhouette as plain as day. She put her hands on her hips to steady herself and breathed deeply.
"Give. Them. Back."
Red held the photos behind his back and smirked.
"Make me."
Elizabeth kicked off her heels and began to pull her earrings out of her ears. The sooner she got those photos away from Red the sooner she could burn them.
"Oh Lizzie. You are nothing short of adorable," Red laughed as Elizabeth prepared herself for a fight. "Though at this point there is every possibility you could take me in a rumble. But before you start trying to kick my ass… you must tell me where these delicious photos came from. I must know."
That was the most embarrassing part of the entire situation. Of course he wanted to know what they were doing in her drawer.
"If you must know… Tom took them. He said he wanted something for those weekend conferences… not that he ever remembered to take them with him. And not that he went to any conferences. I was just an idiot and he was my husband and I thought…"
"Say no more," Red reassured her gently. "He was your husband. I get it."
"Well if you get it… please give them back. I got rid of everything else that reminded me of Tom… I should get rid of those too."
She reached for the photos but Red held them back once more.
"Oh no, Lizzie. Since you've all but promised me that I'll never see these things firsthand, I'll have to make due with print."
"What?"
Elizabeth studied Red for any sign that he was joking, but he wasn't. He was completely serious.
"You heard me. I'm keeping them."
She grasped his arm and tried one more desperate time to snatch the photos, but he was too strong for her.
"You can't do that! Why would you even want to? Tom didn't even…"
"Tom didn't deserve these. He didn't even take them when he left. What waste. I, on the other hand, can fully appreciate the elegance and the beauty of these photos. The way the light hits your face… the flare of your hips… your unbelievably long legs… the subtle hints of what lies between them…"
Red slowly, almost imperceptibly, licked his lips and Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat. How had she never noticed how sexy he was when he did that? And the fact that he did that while looking at her naked body… she really needed to sit down. Red's hand found her arm and she almost pulled it away. The last thing she needed was for him to touch her. She would fall apart.
"No one will ever see these, Lizzie, except for me. I would allow you to keep them but I will not see them burned, or ripped, or whatever you planned to do with them. I will lock them up with the few other things I treasure and only take them out when I need to be… inspired. Forget I have them. From now on they don't exist for you. Okay?"
Elizabeth wanted to protest. It was what she was supposed to do. But she simply nodded her head and watched as Red slipped the photos into his jacket pocket.
"Now. Forget your wallet. We're late and you have no need for it anyway."
She slipped her heels back onto her feet and took his waiting arm. The fact that she was so close to those embarrassing photos and not able to grab them… it was maddening. Or… she did have all night…
"What are you grinning at?" Red eyed her suspiciously as she smiled to herself.
She shrugged.
"Nothing. I'm just looking forward to tonight is all."