Sadly, I don't own these girls, or any of the other characters in this story, I only have them out on loan for the purpose of head canon.

Thank you to Danielle and Melissa for already reading this and being stars, ok? And I apologise for any British-isms I might have missed, and any spelling/grammar mistakes. But most of all, I hope you like it!

"Come on then Nicky my boy, how'd it go last night?"

I could only just see him out of the corner of my eye but I chuckled to myself lightly at Warrick's words, and shook my head softly in slightly amusement. I was sitting comfortably in the break room, casually propped back in my chair with my ankles crossed and resting lightly on the edge of the glass table, my right hand flicking through a forensic journal on my lap with mild interest, and my left occasionally feeding myself fries from my open polystyrene carton on the table. I had my back to the door but without even looking up I knew that Nick must have just entered the room with a particularly smug grin on his face.

"Last night, my friends, I played absolutely perfectly." Nick's voice was as self-satisfied as I'd ever heard and this again caused me to chuckle to myself. The guys had been talking about this date for weeks – he was taking out a cocktail waitress from the Tangiers who was apparently drop-dead gorgeous with the longest legs in history. I believed this was a slight exaggeration – I couldn't be sure as I hadn't met her yet – but I left the boys to their fantasies regardless.

Heavy footsteps behind me wandered in the direction of the coffee pot, and I then heard Greg's sceptical voice. "You slept with her, didn't you? You slick git…"

"That is not how you treat a lady, Greggo. Of course I didn't – I got in the cab with her, bid her goodbye when we reached her place, and insisted on paying the fare." I assumed by this point he'd poured his cup of coffee, as I heard him return to the table and scrape a chair out over the carpet to sit down on it, but I still didn't look up, and continued intermittently eating my fries.

Warrick tutted loudly in disbelief and I can only assume he raised his eyebrows at his best friend. "Are you serious? You didn't take her home with you? Maaaaan, you have some serious issues, she is hot." There was the clink of a porcelain cup against the glass table as someone took a drink of coffee and set the mug back down on the surface.

"Yeah, she is hot, but I also happen to respect her. Notice how the two guys in this room who would try and get in her pants on the first date are still painfully single. Sorry dudes but, my method is tried and tested."

It was then I reminded my colleagues of my presence in the room, but only because I couldn't resist commenting on Nick's superiority. "Not expecting sex on the first date is actually a good move; I'll give you that, but please tell me you at least kissed her goodnight?" I was fighting to keep the smirk off my face and I was glad they couldn't see it, as I knew they'd be incredibly surprised by my input.

I could almost see Nick's slightly amused but intrigued expression but I still didn't turn around until after he spoke. "No, I didn't, I just asked if I'd see her again. Why, have you suddenly become the epitome of all dating knowledge now Sara?"

I closed the journal on my lap, dropped it on the table next to my carton of fries and swung my legs down from their comfortable position so I could spin my chair to face the guys. Luckily, by the time my features came in to their eye line, I'd managed to wipe most of the traces of any smirk from them. "Of course not, I just thought I'd share my opinions, as a woman. Now, although she'll be relieved you think enough of her not to expect anything after one date, a woman also likes to know that she's wanted and desired, even if you know you can't have her yet. And a goodnight kiss is the perfect way to do that." I tried to look perfectly innocent but wasn't quite sure if I managed to pull it off.

"Oh really, and you know that from personal experience now, do you?" Nick wore a highly amused grin on his face, and I knew where this conversation was headed.

I decided my best option was to play along and give as good as I got, and so returned his grin with confidence. "Of course I do – I know what would convince me to sleep with someone and I know how to convince a woman to sleep with me."

"Give me a break; you and Catherine have been together for what, going on two years now, and we still haven't even seen you kiss, so you'll have to do a bit better than that." Warrick scoffed, but he left a distinct smile playing on his lips to make sure I knew his jibes were meant with good spirit.

I quirked my eyebrow towards the ceiling, as if daring him to question my physical relationship with our boss. On several occasions in the past they'd probed about our sex life, and somehow – to this day I'm still not entirely sure how – we'd managed to maintain our dignity and privacy until then. But even in the name of pride, I wasn't about to let them insinuate we didn't have a sex life at all. "Just because we're not constantly visibly amorous or big on public displays of affection, doesn't mean you have a magical insight into what goes on in the privacy of our bedroom."

Unable to resist chipping in on his favourite topic of conversation, Greg pushed me a little further. "If you say so Sara. Look, this is how I see it – Catherine has never been shy about her sexual encounters, so for us to know absolutely nothing about you two doing the nasty, that can only mean one of three things; either you really are extremely prude, she's always in control and you'd kill her if she told us that, or you're both completely celibate. You gotta pick one." I knew he was trying to goad me, and even then as hard as I tried, I couldn't stop it from working.

"No, I do not." Casually, I took a couple of fries from the now half empty carton still on the table and lowered them in to my mouth one by one, ignoring the fact they were now quite cold. There was an internal conflict waging war in my mind and I was eating to try and buy myself time to figure it out; I was torn between the desire to prove them wrong and the desire not to do exactly what they wanted me to. The desire to be right won out – and only slightly because it gave me an excuse to kiss my girlfriend. I tried to keep my tone completely nonchalant as I spoke, almost as if enabling their games was a chore to me. "And I can prove it."

Right on cue, as if someone had been listening to the conversation, four different text tones sounded simultaneously and we each retrieved cell phones from our pockets. We had all received the same message: "When you're all quite finished, we still have a case to solve in case you'd forgotten. Layout room please."

Warrick let out a low whistle, and the guys exchanged amused but slightly sceptical looks as they rose from their seats. "I didn't know she'd be back from court so soon – here's your chance."

I shot a self-confident smirk back at them, ditched the rest of my fries and their container in the bin, washed my hands and followed them out the door. I wasn't quite sure what was going to become of this, but I was extremely sure that no one calls me a prude.

I didn't know – and still don't – if that comment had been for my benefit, or whether they were just so busy interrogating my girlfriend about our relationship that they hadn't actually noticed me pass the open break room door, but I wondered when my team's analysis of a situation had become so inaccurate. There was certainly at least one other possible reason that we kept our personal life so shrouded in mystery, other than some form of puritanism or pride: we just hadn't yet found the right moment to be publicly passionate, and in the meantime we were enjoying the secrecy. Though it struck me that maybe this could be the perfect opportunity.

Entering the layout room, I scanned the shelves for the evidence box I was looking for, and upon finding it, pushed it into the centre of the well-lit table. I then fished my cell phone out of my blazer pocket and scrolled through the options to send the same message to each one of my colleagues currently causing my ears to burn from the break room. With a box cutter from the drawer, I cut the red evidence tape with ease before retracting the blade and turned to replace it when I was accosted by a surprised exclamation.

"Woooooah, you've scrubbed up today – was court a special occasion?"

I readjusted my pencil skirt self-consciously, feeling slightly over-dressed and ridiculous, but flashed Warrick a flirtatious smile as I turned to face my colleagues filing into the room. "Of course not, it's just for your benefit." My eyes sparkled as they flitted from his to those of my lover, sending a cheeky yet innocent grin her way. Sara didn't mind – she's always told me she finds my confidence incredibly attractive – and after all, she was the one I went home with every night.

Brushing my hair out from behind my glasses and tossing it back slightly as a force of habit, I began laying out the autopsy photos of our murdered high school sophomore. Not that it was ever pleasant to see the horrors that people could inflict upon another, but this case required a particularly strong stomach. I cleared my throat authoritatively and chose to pretend I couldn't see the childish grins Greg and Nick were both sporting. "Doc. Robbins has confirmed the victim suffered three sharp force injuries, the fatal one coming second and dissecting the aorta. He suspects a double-edged blade, possibly a pen knife, due to the shallow penetrations. Brass and Sofia have interviewed every single person in the corridor in the five minutes preceding and during the attack, but if they saw anything, then they sure as hell as aren't telling us. Have you guys turned up anything else?"

"We still don't have a murder weapon – and Sara and I tore that place apart, it's not hidden anywhere in the corridor, in the toilets or the classrooms in the vicinity. Killer must have taken it with him. We took hundreds of tape lifts from the surrounding lockers, bins and window ledges but almost a thousand kids walk down that corridor every day and we have no way of knowing if the prints are connected or not." Nick leant forwards, holding himself up with two hands against the edge of the table, immediately focussed as he rubbed the back of his neck with his palm slightly.

Upon confirming her colleague's series of events, Sara resumed the recount of their evidence collection. "Mandy's running them all through AFIS now, but it's going to take a while. I collected some blue flecks from his knuckles; I've left them with Hodges in Trace, and Wendy has swabs of the blood from the floor and the nearby bench." As she spoke, her eyes didn't leave mine for even a second, and it never failed to reawaken the butterflies in my taut stomach.

Greg's boyish voice brought my attention back to the case, but even then it took me a fraction of a second longer than it should have to tear my gaze away from that of my girlfriend's. "Warrick and I spoke to the Principal and his Tutor, got the same story from both – a Jock who thought he was God's gift to women, a little arrogant and inappropriate at times, but all in all he was a good kid, pretty harmless. Nobody really seemed to have any reason to hurt him."

"We also gathered that he hasn't got a girlfriend, but having a girlfriend isn't really his style. He tended to date a couple of girls at once, nothing serious. It sounds to me like he thought he was a bit of a player." As he spoke, Warrick reached over the table and pulled one of the autopsy photos towards him, studying it with a frown on his face.

I couldn't help but let a smile tug at the corners of my lips as I quipped. "A bit like you then?" But I quickly furrowed my brow and let out a soft, low breath as I decided on a plan of action. "Alright, in that case, Warrick, Nicky, you grab Sofia and go and search the house. With hundreds of potential suspects it would help if we had some idea as to why this happened; it might narrow the field a bit. Find out as much as you possibly can about him – where he spends his time, who with, the usual. And Sara, you and Greg go and join Brass and see what you can find out about him from his parents. They may not be able be able to tell you anything useful but it's always worth a try. I've got a hell of a lot of budget reports to finish for Ecklie before shift finishes, but I trust you guys – run with it and I'll be in my office with my cell phone if you need me. That okay with everyone?"

Upon receiving a consenting nod and murmur of agreement, I smiled at each of my colleagues before readjusting my glasses and beginning to collect the various photographs and tape lifts from across the table. I noticed no one had moved, but the boys had shifted their eyes from me to the other female in the room, almost rather expectantly. However, I chose to act like I hadn't noticed, and left myself wondering what on earth they were up to now. Barely in my peripheral vision as replaced the lid on the box I saw Sara gesture urgently to the door, and to my surprise they did as they were instructed, leaving us alone. I turned to replace the box on the shelf, and even before I had time to turn back, I felt her presence close behind me before I saw it. Fighting to keep the smile off my face at the proximity and remain professional, I leant casually against the table and looked softly into the eyes of the taller woman before me. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing." Her cute, gap-toothed smile was somehow nervous, as if she wasn't sure of what she was about to do, and that made her even more adorable. But that was the only warning I got, and in the next moment I registered her hands on the curve of my hips and her lips moving softly on mine, her tongue gently trying to part them.

Caught immediately off guard, I made no attempt to stop her and by the time I realised what was happening the kiss had become so sensual it sent an involuntary shiver down my spine and any thought of stopping her was tossed out the window as I gripped tightly on to the table edge. I willingly reciprocated, granting her entrance until she reluctantly pulled away, leaving me struggling to catch my breath. It was only after I'd taken a few seconds to steady myself did I notice the three faces almost pressed up against the window; their face picturing the shock I felt. I then realised what just happened and the grin I'd fought off earlier fully graced my lips. "I don't care if that was just for their benefit; damn, you're such a good kisser. Remind me why we ever said we shouldn't do that at work again?"

She had that incredibly sexy, confident look about her as she took her hands from my waist and buried her right hand in her pocket, shrugging innocently. "Because once we start, we won't be able to stop? I just thought I'd take tonight as an exception; Warrick's right, you look great." She made being attractive look so effortless and I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"I'm glad you think so; you look pretty good tonight too. But go on, if we keep going any longer I think Greg might spontaneously combust." I gestured to our colleagues who still hadn't moved, and bit my lip slightly, shooing her out the door with a smirk. I watched as she left with a grin and within seconds she was surrounded by the guys, making no secret of fussing around her, apparently impressed by her courage. Even though I knew it had been to prove a point, after the conversation I heard on passing the break room on my way in, a kiss that good and I certainly wasn't complaining. But there was a certain plan slowly forming in my mind – I had a duty to my girlfriend, and a reputation to uphold, after all.

It was pretty obvious as soon we got started that we were all going to end up pulling doubles. The sheer volume of everything involved in this case was going to take hours to sort through. This idea less than impressed me – over the past two years I'd gradually begun to do less and less overtime, spending more and more time with Catherine, and Lindsey. Although, what with Lindsey now away at college, most of our time was spent alone, and we enjoyed one another's company. I tried to soothe my disdain by rationalizing that really, going home to have leisurely sex with my girlfriend was not a good enough reason not to pull what I'd manage to reduce to one of the ten doubles a year.

My hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail and I'd pulled the department issue coveralls over my own clothes. I didn't even bother to push myself out from underneath the car as I heard the garage door swing open, and continued shining my flash light in the direction of the fuel tank.

"How long have you been under there?" I could feel his eyes on me, even if I couldn't see him. Greg's voice was quizzical, bordering on amused, as he could never understand where I'd acquired my enthusiasm for cars. Motorbikes were more my thing, but anything with an engine kept me content.

My voice was muffled slightly by the two tonnes of metal raised above me, and I narrowed my eyes in deep concentration as I responded. "Auto detail brought it in about 10 minutes ago – it was found abandoned just off Blue Diamond Road with what they thought was an oil leak." I ran a gloved finger over the oily undercarriage in search of the offending leak, and frowned.

His words were louder this time as he crouched beside me, but I still didn't take my eyes off the job in hand. "Thought was an oil leak?"

"They said there was oil all over the dirt, but I can't find where it came from. The structure seems sound to me…" For the second time that day, I then heard the familiar text tone my cell was emitting from the bench by the door. Before putting my flash light between my teeth to search with both hands, I spoke distractedly. "Can you check that for me?"

I heard him push himself back into the standing position with a groan and resisted a joke about old age considering I was four years his senior. "Your lurrrrrrver wants to see you, in her office. I wonder what that's about." I didn't even need to see his face to visualise the shit-eating grin he was wearing as he spoke.

With a reluctant sigh and hiding my piqued curiosity, I finally pushed myself out from under the vehicle and winced as the bright halogen lights had me seeing spots. Raising my arm to shield my delicate corneas, I allowed them to readjust to reality before sitting up. His expression was every bit as self-satisfied as I envisaged, so I grabbed the oily rag from my breast pocket, balled it up and aimed for his face. Only when I was sure I'd hit the bulls eye, did I return his grin and stand up, possibly in the least graceful way I could have managed, smirking. "For a start; she is not my lover, she's my girlfriend. And she probably just wants an update, and can't be bothered to deal with immature assholes like you. I don't blame her, really."

"You're calling me immature?" He held the dirty rag between two fingertips, wrinkling his nose at it and raising an eyebrow at me. "I'm going to take the high road, and tell you to go and get changed and cleaned up – I'll finish up here while you're gone."

"You only want me to ditch the coveralls because then you can resume your fantasy that she just wants a quickie in her office. What if she likes me like this?" Trudging over to the sink to wash my hands before pulling my hair free of the rubber band holding it up, I pouted slightly, before reaching over to grab my cell phone back out of his hand.

Greg paused for a second and looked around the room fervently – I could almost see his imagination going wild as he processed this possibility. "Now that would be interesting…"

I placed a hand on his shoulder as I passed him to walk out of the double doors of the garage, and indicated that I was taking up his offer of getting changed. "Down boy. Thank you though, you're a star." Leaving him to his own graphic thoughts, I made my way to the currently empty locker room. Upon entering, I immediately pulled down the zip from my sternum to my navel and slipped my arms out of the garment. Pulling the legs over my comfortable shoes, I balled up the coveralls and tossed them into the dark corner next to the showers which had become communally accepted as the 'laundry corner'. The lack of protective clothing revealed a pair of tight-fitting straight leg jeans and a figure-hugging, stripy chocolate brown jumper that slipped off one shoulder slightly to reveal the strap of a white tank top underneath. I ran my fingers through my hair and ruffled it slightly, to disperse any signs of the ponytail, pushed my cell deep into my pocket and wandered down the corridor to Catherine's office. The door was slightly ajar but I still rapped on it gently with my knuckles before peering around it.

Catherine glanced up from her paperwork at the announcement of my presence, and a familiar warm smile spread across her face. Every time she smiled like that, her features lit up and it was as if she emitted a faint but dazzling glow. "Hey you, come in, sit down. Could you close the door behind you?"

I shook myself slightly as I almost got lost in those brilliant aquamarine pools framed with stylish black plastic, before remembering that we were still at work and she was talking to me. "Sure." Allowing my whole body to enter the room rather than just my head, I closed the door at her request, unable to stop a smile playing on my own lips. I settled down comfortably on the sofa by her desk and lift my legs, curling them up to the side of me. I echoed her earlier words to me with a mischievous grin. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you been playing with cars again?" Her amusement was much more apparent than Greg's, as she set down her pen and propped her head up gently with one palm, cocking it slightly to look at me and unable to keep a straight face.

"Highway patrol spotted an abandoned car off Blue Diamond Road, ran the RO; it came back our vic. It came in about half an hour ago so I thought I'd take a look at it." Pausing for a moment, I pondered on her question and chuckled lightly to myself at her seemingly vast female intuition. "How can you tell?"

With that, she leant over her desk until her right hand was cupping my face gently, and rubbed her thumb over my cheek bone. I was about to allow my eyes to flutter closed in response to the touch when she pulled back, returning to sitting comfortably in her chair and offered a dirty thumb for me to inspect, giggling softly. "You've got an oil smudge on your cheek."

I felt my cheeks redden and flush warmly with embarrassment as I brought my hand up to my own face and rubbed it earnestly, attempting to remove the stain. "Oh shit, sorry."

"Hey, I don't mind – actually, I think it's sexy. It shows my girlfriend's been hard at work." I could have sworn I saw her eyes sparkle with some sort of hooded desire – it was a gaze I'd delighted myself in enjoying many times before, so often that I'd recognise it anywhere. Her lips would part just a fraction and it would be like someone lit a fire in aquamarine. But within seconds it was gone and I wondered if I'd imagined it, so I decided to probe slightly.

"Oh, so that's why you called me to your office?"Allowing a confident smile to grace my lips, I arched an eyebrow questioningly.

"Possibly." She allowed her hands to fall gently to her desk, overlapping them delicately, and then crossed her legs, all without looking at me. Only then did her eyes meet mine and I knew I hadn't imagined anything – the desire was back, and more prominent than before. When she spoke, her voice was authoritative but heavy with want, and it was clear she'd had this on her mind all evening. "I just wondered if you really thought you could kiss me like that and get away with it."

Not only her gaze, but her tone too sent a familiar sensation running through me and I had to suppress an involuntary shiver. With effort, I pursed my lips and attempted a picture of purity, at which I'm pretty sure I failed miserably, my flashing eyes and mischievous grin betraying my excitement. "I thought so, yes, but apparently you disagree."

"Very much so." She made no effort to disguise her approval as she looked me up and down, and it was almost like I could feel her piercing every inch of my skin. Licking her lips ever so slightly, she adopted a look that distinctly resembled that of a predator examining her prey. "And trust me, had we been at home I would have done something about it by now."

"Oh really, and what would you have done?" The words tumbled out of my mouth before I'd even considered them, something that quite possibly had a lot to do with the warm blood rushing to my brain, and between my legs, clouding my judgement. Her expression told me I'd played right into her hands and despite the small idea I had of what I'd let myself in for, I was quietly pleased I hadn't given myself the chance to talk myself out of asking.

With that, she stood up for a moment under the premise of straightening her skirt, but I took advantage of that moment to appreciate how really incredible she looked today, exactly as she'd intended me to. She'd hooked her black blazer over the back of her chair to reveal a cerise pink tank top that hugged her body, with a perfectly infuriating cleavage – just enough to send my hormones crazy but nowhere near enough. The black pencil skirt that completed her suit was not something I saw on her very often considering she hated anything impractical, which was a shame because the way the curve of her ass flowed straight into her slender legs sent me to seventh heaven. Her strawberry blonde hair framed her face with loose curls that she swept elegantly over her shoulder before slowly sitting back and visibly relaxing into the seat.

I let out a long, slow breath I hadn't even realised I'd been holding and noticed that in less than a minute, the woman before me had lit a burning fire of desire in the pit of my stomach that I was going to find extremely hard to extinguish. Maybe the guys' immaturity hadn't gone completely without merit.

I attempted to loosen my body, in order to reach a state of relaxation from which my colourful imagination could aid me with my next sentence. Running my tongue softly over my top lip, I allowed various images playing almost like a series of home movies in my mind to provide me with inspiration, and I searched for the scenario that, from my recollections, would elicit the best reaction from her. Sara always responded to me wonderfully – the way her eyes become dark with lust, or the way her back arches subconsciously to close the gap between us ever so slightly – but I had my own reasons for wanting this particular reaction to be vocal.

One particular idea fell to the forefront of my mind, and I did my best to hide the wicked grin it gave me. Allowing my tone to sink to one that was low, sultry and almost breathless, I chose my opening carefully. "Can you remember your birthday, last year?"

At the mere mention of that particular special occasion, as I'd predicted, her breath hitched and her lips parted slightly in shock. I could almost feel her heat rising as a flush spread from her cheeks to what I could see of her chest, when memories of the evening filled her mind. "How could I forget?" Her words told me she wasn't going to succumb to my advances easily; she was going to remain as controlled as she could for as long as she could, as a matter of personal pride, an intention she demonstrated further by curling her legs tightly beneath her body and tensing her thigh muscles.

"And can you remember what I was wearing?" With a grin, I recalled slipping out of my deep purple evening gown and into a distinctly more practical and revealing black lace babydoll. Her response to my attire sent my confidence through the ceiling and I most definitely would have spent the rest of the evening on my back being well and truly fucked had I not been so determined to show her the time of her life first.

"Yes." Even in uttering only one syllable, she failed to hide the quiver in her voice caused by her exponentially rising heart rate. Her feisty determination to prove she could resist me was extremely attractive, but also presented a challenge that I couldn't ignore.

Tracing one finger lazily around my collarbone, I tried to suppress the flush that was emanating from between my thighs and threatening to creep up my own body as recollections of her later returning my passion flooded before my eyes. Forcing my voice steady, my words come out almost as a purr. "Lace rips far too easily, don't you think?"

With that she cracked ever so slightly, and I almost lost her blasphemy amidst the frustrated growl she emitted, tossing her hair back like a feral cat and keeping her eyes anywhere but mine. "Jesus Catherine…"

"We were barely in the door when I pinned you to the wall. And your screams, oh my God, I've never heard anything like it." It took all my self-control not to groan in approval at that point, the sounds of her moaning my name in ecstasy reverberating in my ears and threatening to drive me insane. Instead, I took advantage of my own arousal and flashed an extremely suggestive smile, before cursing myself for allowing my plan to backfire.

"You know I couldn't help that." Her typically husky voice dripped with desire, but as she bit her lip in order to maintain some concept of reality, her expression remarkably resembled that of her attempting to silence those screams. I could almost see her internal muscles working vainly to calm her and knew I had to stop before I got into the same state.

"And what if I told you that's what I would have done, had we been home right now?" Clear blue orbs met deep, dusty brown for the first time since she'd been avoiding my gaze and my pulse increased tenfold.

There was no hesitation, only a hitch of excitement when she thought for a second that I might be serious. "Then we'd be leaving." I'd rarely seen those eyes filled with so much fire, it was almost dangerous and I wanted nothing more than to give in to her. "Now."

The final word my mouth run dry and stopped the breath in the back of my throat. "Don't you have a case to solve?" My words were forced, as if I was under immense duress – I felt as if I was, in that moment I felt as though my body had taken my mind hostage and I was doing all I could to fight, even though I wasn't quite sure why.

She froze, blinked, and her jaw slackened subconsciously. I could see the frustration building as every muscle in her body tensed one by one. "You can't be serious."

"Perfectly." I then stood softly on stocking-covered feet, leaving my kitten heels tucked under my desk and padded over to the filing cabinet opposite the couch with a self-satisfied smirk. Pulling out a drawer, I rifled slowly for a file I had in mind, maximising her view of my ass at all times. When, upon acquiring the file, I turned back around and saw she hadn't moved even a fraction, I gave her an expectant smile, slipping past her and back into my chair. "Go on, I can't let the guys tackle it on their own, they need a woman to keep them in check."

"You…" The look of comprehension suddenly passed her face that this had been my way of settling the scores, and she shook her head slightly in disbelief. Taking a moment to regain her composure she finally pushed herself from my couch, her expression one of desperation mingled with amusement as she realised that this was a game. She paused, with a hand on the door handle, and turned back to face my desk with confidence. "You know, if that wasn't just revenge, but was also your way of torturing me until we get home so I'm ready for you the second we walk through the door, you've made one major oversight. I have an imagination just as vivid as yours and as long as I can find some privacy… I may not need you by the end of shift." With an extremely smug grin, she swept out of my office, closing the door behind her.

I knew her parting words were her own form of vengeance but I couldn't prevent them from having the desired effect. The image of her pleasing herself usually made me dizzy but now, it almost drove me crazy. I knew she'd never go through with it – we both knew the merits of delayed gratification, but I still struggled to stop thinking about it. My only consolation was in the form of a small, rectangular box on my desk, at which I glanced with a smile. I picked it up, the smooth silver plastic cool on my warm palms, and clicked a button on the side, then a second one, causing it to emit a soft whirring sound. After a few seconds, it silenced, and I clicked another button, prompting it to speak to me in a voice that distinctly resembled my own.

"Hey you, come in, sit down. Could you close the door behind you?"

"Sure". There was the sound of a door clicking shut. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you been playing with cars again?"

Sara's voice was also markedly recognisable amongst my own, and with a satisfied grin I rewound the digital voice recorder back to the beginning of the conversation. I then opened my desk drawer and pulled out a pad of blue Post-it notes, picking up a pen and scribbling only a few words onto the top sheet: "If you boys had wanted a show, all you had to do was ask. Enjoy. Catherine x" Peeling it off and sticking it to the silver recording device, I twirled the pen between my fingertips as I paused for thought. Upon making a decision, I stood up from my chair and slipped my feet into my court shoes, grabbed the present from my desk and made my way down the corridor to the office my four colleagues shared. I left the device and note in plain view on Nicky's desk, before returning to my own office feeling very pleased with myself. I was well aware that Sara would possibly kill me, but it was worth the risk.

"Wendy got a match on the vaginal secretions from the bed sheets; there were several DNA contributions from various different don-" It took me a moment to realise that no one was listening to a word I was saying, so I looked up from the results in my hand and paused at the doorway of our communal office, leaning against the door jamb. Nick was lounging back in his chair, looking distinctly like the cat who'd got the cream, and Warrick and Greg were stood in front of his desk talking animatedly, not one of them having seemingly noticed my presence. I raised one eyebrow and cleared my throat, and was met with a barrage of extremely guilty behaviour, which heightened my curiosity even further. "What are you guys up to?"

Nick scrambled to grab something I couldn't identify from his desk and push it roughly behind his back, and the conversation stopped abruptly, causing Warrick and Greg to sidle back to their respective desks whilst attempting to act completely casual. The pitch of Greg's voice had increased at least one octave, which in itself was saying something – he looked incredibly nervous when he spoke and his distraction technique was albeit quite pathetic. "Nothing, um, what have you got there, results?"

Each one of them may as well have had 'guilty' stamped across their foreheads, and the way they were anxiously glancing at each other only increased my level of suspicion. I moved further into the room and placed my hands on my hips in some attempt for intimidating authority, but couldn't keep the amusement from my face. "Not that your acting isn't second to none or anything, but please don't waste your time. Come on, tell me; what's the big secret?"

"Honestly Sara, it's nothing you'd be interested in. Catherine left us a, err, ring-side seats to a show. We just didn't want you to feel left out." Warrick leant confidently back in his chair and gave me a reassuring but earnest smile, his lips not even twitching at the corners to betray the smallest trace of a laugh. His gambling ability was obviously proving itself useful, as if it hadn't been for the outbreak of childish giggling and snickering his words prompted, I might just have believed him.

"Oh, alright." I pursed my lips and averted my eyes back to the results in my hand, deciding that I would have to play them at their own game if I wanted to win. Forcing a look of intense concentration, I furrowed my brow at the paper in front of me and slipped slowly behind Nick's desk to reach my own. However, as I passed, I took the opportunity to snake my hand through the gap in his chair and grab the object he'd hidden behind his back. "Ha, gotcha!"

I distinctly heard Nick curse under his breath as I dodged out of the path of his outstretched hand and returned to my earlier position of leaning casually against the door jamb, the small silver plastic box in my grasp. He stood up from his chair, pushing it backwards with his calves, but didn't come any closer, resting his knuckles on his desk to hold him up and shaking his head slightly. "Come on, give it back. Please?" My three colleagues exchanged nervous looks, and it only increased my curiosity.

It took me a second to identify what I was holding, and I considered his request. "No can do Nicky, sorry. If it's interesting enough for you to hide it from me, then it's definitely interesting enough to hear…" Then, with a grin, I thumbed the 'play' button and shifted my palm so it didn't muffle the sound coming from the speaker.

"Jesus Catherine…"

"We were barely in the door when I pinned you to the wall. And your screams, oh my God, I've never heard anything like it."

"You know I couldn't help that."

Out of the corner of my eye, before I had time to react, I saw Nick shift uncomfortably on his feet and share a highly uneasy look with Warrick, and Greg suddenly become highly interested in the stapler on his desk.

As I recognized my own voice – and that of my girlfriend – repeating words we'd spoken less than two hours ago, I fumbled desperately with the pause button as I felt a red hot blush creep up my neck. I fought the urge to run and hide, considering that this whole series of unfortunate events had stemmed from my determination to disprove the misconceptions about our relationship, and alas regrettably the recording in my hand managed to do just that. With a deep breath, I attempted to steady my heart rate and silently cursed Catherine for pulling off this stunt without alerting me of her intentions in the slightest. Although I didn't feel angry – highly embarrassed, yes, albeit that was something I was doing my best to suppress, and also slightly excited, but that was something I was struggling to admit to myself – I was already determined for revenge. However, as I parted my lips to speak, I was immediately cut off by a constant stream of words coming from the desk to my far left, and the spokesman stood up.

"Really Sara, it's no big deal. I mean, I'm pretty sure Catherine was just trying to do you a favour – she obviously didn't want us thinking you guys were boring any more than you did. And that tape proves that, so all's well that ends well, right? Besides, she was probably trying to teach us a lesson at the same time, because as enjoyable as that was to listen to – which, by the way, is a compliment so you should be flattered by instead of being mad at me for saying it – it's only made us even more curious and made it even harder to look you two in the eye. So next time, if we have a question, or even are just prying, we should ask one of you directly rather than trying to goad a show out of either of you. So, you really don't have to be angry at Catherine, or us, because she was only trying to help and we've been sufficiently punished already." Greg's last few words tumbled over one another in his rush to stop speaking, and he'd turned slightly pink as he returned to his chair, resuming his examination of his stapler.

I desperately bit back laughter, as even in the current situation I was highly amused by the fact that my colleagues seemed to be genuinely scared of what my reaction may be. "Whoa whoa whoa, slow down there Greggo. First off, I'm not angry, ok? So you three can relax." Finally, I allowed a smile to curl across my lips as I watched the bodies of my colleagues visibly unclench, and Nick sank bank into his chair, their relief apparent. Twirling the recorder between my fingers, I continued. "I actually happen to agree with you – you have been punished, more than enough. And there also is the small matter that none of you are actually responsible for recording me. You may have enjoyed the results, but you didn't actually commit the crime." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Warrick open his mouth to begin what I assumed was to be a well-constructed argument in Catherine's defence, but I held up a hand to silence him. "Before you say it, I'm not angry with her either. However, she also doesn't get away with feeling superior: so this means war. And if you thought that was good, I'll go and get you something better." I tossed the recorder straight into Warrick's lap and then, with a confident grin, left the room, without even glancing back once to appreciate the looks of stunned excitement that followed in my wake.

It was only as I walked down the corridor alone that I had a chance to properly process what just happened. I was surprised to find that every word I'd said to Greg was true – I actually wasn't mad, even though part of me felt that I should be, and as much as I hated to admit it, I also knew why anger had escaped me.

Not even a few weeks before, in a post-coital embrace, Catherine had probed into one of my best-kept secrets. One of the first things she ever asked me to share with her, as her girlfriend, were my desires and fantasies, so she could attempt to fulfil every one of them. Flattered, I reluctantly, among other things, admitted with a blush that I'd always been curious about the idea of getting caught, but it wasn't something I was ready to pursue just yet as our relationship was still in its infancy and my confidence was nowhere near high enough. She respected my wishes wonderfully, and it was only after our second anniversary came and past did she approach the subject again. We were basking, warm and content in one another's arms, in the afterglow when she asked if it was still something I'd consider a fantasy. It was, and my confidence in myself and in our relationship had sky-rocketed over the past two years. She gave me that knowing smile and her eyes sparkled deviously but she asked nothing more, simply stored away the information for what I can now only assume was future reference.

So, although the tape had been primarily made to seal an air-tight case in defence of our very fulfilling sex life, and partially to provoke me into playful retaliation, I knew Catherine was also testing my boundaries. Giving me a taste of how it might feel, allowing me to make my own decision as to whether this really was what I wanted. Her ability to always show me what I want, even when I don't know it yet, never ceased to amaze me, but I also never ceased to be grateful for. She cared for me, and wanted to give me the confidence and the means to do everything I could ever desire, with the person I love – so I couldn't be angry. That and the fact that, of course, she was right. She was always right. She had always known I would enjoy it, and that it would make me more than certain that I was ready and willing to go even further. However, what she hadn't predicted was that I would use my arousal to exact my revenge, and I smirked mischievously to myself as I approached her office.

"Hey sweetheart." My voice was soft as I slipped quietly around the door and closed it gently with a click, leaning against it with a fire still dancing just below my navel, which was only intensified by seeing her.

Upon hearing my voice, Catherine lifted her eyes from the page in front of her, set down her pen and cocked her head to one side slightly. Her smile was tentative and nervous, and I could tell she was immediately trying to gauge if I was yet to discover the present she'd left the boys. "Hey you, and to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Her golden hair splayed elegantly over her pale shoulders and her full and inviting lips captivated me very quickly. The warmth spreading throughout my body and pooling between my legs was making it difficult to focus on anything other than how wonderful she looked, and as she pushed her glasses off her face and into her hair I had to bite my lip hard enough to almost draw blood in order to crash my mind back to reality. I steadied my voice skilfully – I was sure nevertheless that my excitement was more than obvious to her, but that would only work to my advantage– and locked the door with a second click as I spoke. "I've been thinking about you."

"Really? And why is that?" From her immediate response, it was evident that her senses were on high alert already, and I instantly captured her attention by locking the rest of the lab out of our encounter. She leant back in her chair, still studying me intently, apparently unable to determine whether or not I was aware of her deviancies, and still remained slightly suspicious.

"Oh, I don't know, it might have something to do with your little stunt earlier." I walked slowly towards her, my voice so husky it was almost unrecognisable, and I almost saw her heart skip a beat in response to my words. I rushed on, and only stopped walking when I could perch casually on the corner of her desk right beside her, my hands gripped around the edge of the varnished wood. "You made sure I wouldn't be able to take my mind off you, and then you kicked me out of your office just as it was getting interesting… Well, I'm on a break and I decided to finish what you started."

With that, she sat up straight and I watched the internal battle of arousal vs. scepticism wage in her mind. Her tongue ran subconsciously over her lips as she readied them for a kiss, and her eyes roamed over each curve of my body as she mentally made them her own. She seemed to be emboldened by our surroundings and I could tell from the glint in her sparkling blue eyes that she believed she'd be in control of this tryst. "I'm sure I can take my break now, too. I think I deserve it."

Without a word, I span her desk chair to face me and swiftly straddled her legs without hesitation. I pressed my heat firmly against her legs, communicating without words how real this was. After placing a finger under her chin and tilting her head up ever so slightly, I placed my hands on the back of the chair either side of her head. I did, for a second, wonder if I should be nervous considering we were in her office, but I dismissed the thought almost immediately. This came perfectly naturally to us, regardless of the location, and all that was filling my mind at that moment was her and the weak notion that this performance actually had a purpose, and I couldn't get too carried away. However, the latter thought was fading very fast.

The moment she felt the warmth emanating from between my thighs I watched her harbour only a split-second of indecision. Obviously discarding any remaining doubt in light of her new discovery, her gaze settled on my lips before she closed the gap between us and kissed me fiercely, her hands finding their way easily to my hips and holding me tightly against her.

As I felt her tongue run over my bottom lip and demand entrance wordlessly, I granted my permission without a second thought but instantly our tongues duelled for control. To gain the upper hand, I ground myself against her slightly, allowing my appreciative moan to slip into her mouth, only serving to establish my dominance. The sound I emitted only prompted her to kiss me harder and I felt her touch move north from my hips to my ribcage, causing me in return to drop my hands and curve them around the outsides of her thighs.

Her muscles moved almost instinctively into my touch and the temperature in the room was steadily rising, or maybe that was just me. I took advantage of her seemingly involuntary response and slid my palms between her legs, my thumbs toying with the hem of her tight skirt. The same muscles then tensed under the feather-light touches of my fingertips dancing over them, and I felt her tear her lips from mine with great reluctance, before pressing them roughly against my ear. "Are you really going to do this here? Can you really handle it?" The words were forced out in the midst of some sort of animalistic growl of frustration and desire that caused a wave of heat to wash over me.

With her body pressed against mine, I slid my hands further up her thighs, firstly allowing my fingers to brush the sodden fabric of her thong, before shifting slightly higher and hooking them around the delicate lace. I was struggling to remember why I wasn't just taking her right here and now – an urge that I'd never been closer to satisfying at work before – but I knew I had to remain focussed. In one swift motion, I raised myself slightly from my position and with very little resistance dragged the lingerie down her slender, toned legs as far as I could reach, over her knees and let them drop to her ankles. Against every instinctive signal my body was firing at my brain, I then forced myself out of her lap and my feet hit the floor slightly unsteadily for a moment, before I regained my balance and reached down to disentangle the flimsy material from her heeled court shoes. Balling it up in my fist, I quickly retreated to the door, hoping to leave before she realised what was happening, as I was sure I would be powerless to resist her advances. Only then did I offer her an answer, as I clicked the lock open. "I think a more appropriate question is; can you handle this? You should have known this meant war." The sparkle in my eyes was definitely genuine – I loved the challenge she always presented and I loved this game of push and pull – and I pushed the lace garment in to my jean pocket.

Catherine's mouth opened slightly, having clearly been taken by surprise by the sudden turn in events. I watched as it took her a moment to regain a handle on the situation, and her knuckles whitened as she dug her nails in to her palms in an attempt to calm the lust threatening to take over her body. A look of disbelief soon became comprehension, followed by unwavering confidence, and she'd clearly decided I was calling her bluff so pushed herself seductively to her feet before making her way towards me. "You wouldn't dare. You're not going anywhere."

"Oh, wouldn't I? You just watch me." I was trembling slightly; I knew I had to get out of the room before she came any closer, and any self-control I did manage to possess was completely discarded, so I opened the door and slipped out in to the corridor before she reached me. With one last longing look, I flashed my famous Sidle-smile and proceeded down the hallway, without looking back until I reached my own office.

Upon my arrival, each of my male colleagues – sitting behind their respective desks, exactly where I left them – looked up from the files with which they had been unsuccessfully attempting to busy themselves and watched me eagerly. With a triumphant grin, I retrieved the thong from my pocket and tossed it on to Warrick's desk. "I took that off her myself."

After the initial shock of his boss' panties landing in front of him, his lips curled in to a rather impressed smirk, and both Nick and Greg leapt from their seats to satisfy their curiosity. "Oh, she's going to kill you, you know." Unable to hide the respect in his grin and slight pride in his words, Warrick leant back casually in his chair but wouldn't take his eyes off me.

Greg was much less adept in hiding his shock and excitement, but shook his head in disbelief, struggling to tear his gaze from the lace splayed out before him. "You have to be kidding, right? These are not Catherine's, there's no way she'd ever let you, or you'd ever get away with that…"

"Well, they're not mine, if that's what you're suggesting." I raised my eyebrow questioningly but was met with looks of distinct suspicion so decided to disprove that particular theory. Sighing loudly and deciding it was a bit late to worry about decency, I turned to the side slightly and lifted my jumper up over my right hip, pushing my jeans down fractionally to reveal the hem of my own black, significantly more substantial but still slightly lacy, underwear.

Folding his arms, Nick was unable to hide his surprise and amusement and looked from Greg, to Warrick and back to me. "Alright, alright fine, we believe you. They're Catherine's, and I can only imagine how you got them, so I'll be leaving her alone for the foreseeable future. But what the hell has gotten in to you two?"

I readjusted my outfit before glancing up and shrugging innocently, a smile fixed on my face. "Oh, I don't know; this is fun. Besides, don't pretend you three haven't dreamed of this for the past two years."

"You do realise that she's going to get you back for that, and this is never going to end, considering you're both as stubborn as each other?" Seemingly having regained the power of speech, Greg interjected quickly.

"Oh, I know." With that, I approached Warrick's desk, grabbed the thong and gave each one of them a suggestive grin. "I'll be taking this back, thank you." I then turned and walked straight out of the room, leaving expressions of admiration, shock and excitement in my wake. What I failed to admit was; the payback was the part I was most looking forward to.

The budget reports were long since finished but I still hadn't left my office, even though we were nearing the end of our second successive shift. Although Sara's antics had me confined to barracks – in fact, confined to that exact chair – this presented one particular advantage. I had the perfect opportunity to formulate a flawless revenge plot – right from the theory to the exact execution. In two hours, I had planned every fine detail and catered for every eventuality, as this was something I knew must happen exactly as planned, but all the while not seem as if it had been planned at all.

I knew there was no possible way I could summon her to me without any resultant appearance being fraught with suspicion. I knew I had to wait for her to come to me, and as long as I remained in my office indefinitely, she'd soon get bored of hiding from me. It was only a matter of time, because I knew she'd want to get me home as soon as possible.

I certainly wasn't mad at her, albeit pretty frustrated and exhilarated, but I was actually extremely impressed by her retaliations. They served as a persistent reminder of some of the things that really drew me to her; her strength, resilience, her ability to give just as good as she got and of course, her insatiable ability to drive me crazy with need. Besides, every time she fought back, it was a wordless agreement that I could take this one step further, something with which I was having a lot of fun with, and would soon come to its climax. Literally.

The blinds in my office were already drawn in preparation – the only movement I'd made since she left almost four hours earlier – other than one set, but the door was slightly ajar. I heard her approach before I saw it; her naturally husky voice never failed to send an involuntary shiver through me, and I quickly sent a text I'd written earlier, before slipping my cell in to my top drawer and seemingly busying myself with the stack of papers I'd left in front of me.

"Are you ever planning on coming home?" I looked up to see she'd slipped a leather jacket over her earlier outfit, and was now leaning casually against the door jamb with her arms folded before her and a confident smile lighting up her features. Her confidence was clearly rooted from her belief that she'd won, as I hadn't yet responded, but her self-assurance would only work in my favour.

With a playful yet coy smirk, I dropped the pen I'd just picked up, flicked my hair gently over my shoulder and beckoned her closer, like a predator luring its prey. "Are you ever planning on returning my thong? I can't go anywhere without that." I held out my hand expectantly and cocked my head to one side.

Clearly debating the possible merits of returning my underwear against the knowledge that I wasn't wearing any, she hesitated for a moment before moving deeper in to my office, closing the door gently behind her. She then resumed a mock serious expression as she pulled the lacy fabric from her pocket. "On one condition; they come straight back off the moment we get home."

"I'm sure I can work with that." I threw her my most seductive smile and pushed myself to my feet, approaching her on the premise of retrieving my panties. However, as soon as I got close enough, I grabbed the wrist of her extended hand and pushed her backwards against my office door. I flicked the lock before grabbing her hips and pressing them firmly against the wood with surprising strength, ensuring she couldn't wriggle out of my hold. "Or, alternatively, I could just do right now what I've been waiting to do to you all day." My voice was so heavy and thick with want it was almost unrecognizable, but even having her so close was causing my breath the hitch in my throat.

The shock she felt was evident in her expression and I loved that I'd managed to take her completely by surprise. She failed to suppress a groan of pleasure in response to my forcefulness and our pressing contact, and her eyes closed for a second in an attempt to steady herself. Upon regaining the power of speech, she snapped open her eyes and locked them with mine, both alight with desire. "We're at work." Her protest was feeble and pathetic, so I took no notice and pushed on.

"That didn't seem to bother you earlier." I allowed my hands to roam from her hips to her shoulders and push her jacket off them, letting it fall from her arms and to the floor. When she didn't stop me, I slipped my legs either side one of hers and pressed myself against her, making no attempt to silence the moan that rippled through my body as the pressure provided slight relief. My movements were restricted however by my fitted skirt and could do little more without her help, so I bit my lip and played the ace in my deck. "Sara, I don't want to wait until we get home. I want you – I need you – now."

If there was one thing I knew she could never resist, it was desperation, and she proved me right. Seconds after the words left my lips, I saw her brown orbs shimmer with recklessness and excitement, and I felt strong hands on the back of my thighs. It was the only prompt I needed to reach up and wrap my arms tightly around her neck, while she pulled my skirt up so it barely covered my ass and lifted me in her arms.

My bare thighs made contact with the cold, varnished wood of my desk and I heard the reports I'd spent all evening completing topple to the floor, but I couldn't make myself care. Her lips crashed down on to mine without warning and the dull ache that had throbbed in my abdomen ever since she kissed me in the layout room awoke with full force. Her teeth captured my bottom lip and scraped along it, before her tongue licked and soothed the flesh and resumed battle with mine. I couldn't stop my hands instinctively reaching up to run through her hair and in response she hastily made little work of the buttons on my shirt.

Her passionate kisses found their way from my bruised lips to the hollow of my throat, causing my head to fall back and expose more of my skin to her. As I shed my blouse, she found my pulse point and sucked softly, and a guttural groan rose from my stomach as my arousal roared in contentment. I wrapped my hands around the bottom of her jumper and tugged, indicating my desire to relieve her of it. The loss of contact of her lips on my skin made me whimper slightly, as she moved away and allowed me to drag the garment over her head, discarding it carelessly and leaving her in a white tank top.

When she returned to my proximity, her lips resumed their position on my neck and worked their way along my shoulder blade whilst her fingers traced infuriating patterns over the insides of my thighs, climbing ever so slowly. The frustration and pressure in my taut abdomen was reaching breaking point and the words left my lips with no shame. "God, Sara, please." I reached no avail and knew I could withstand her teasing no longer, so thrust my hips towards her fingers in search of some much needed satisfaction.

Gripping on to the edges of my desk I fought to contain any noises of pleasure I was desperate to make, still mildly aware that of our surroundings, as the sensation the forced contact caused surged through my body. For my actions I was rewarded with a stern, feisty glare which only served to add fuel to the fire burning at my centre, and Sara then grabbed my left hip and held me to the desk, her right hand snaking to where I so desperately needed it. "Don't even think about it. You're mine." I loved it when she proved to me she was in control; it always meant she was about to show me just how good she was.

My legs trembled uncontrollably as her thumb found my clit and began brushing back and forth; all the while allowing two fingers to slide inside me with ease, then a third. The state I was in, with my heightened sensitivity created by hours of foreplay, I knew I wouldn't need much to send me toppling in to oblivion. Her rhythmic movements in perfect time with her kisses falling down the valley between my breasts brought me to the edge in no time at all, but she then held me at that edge for what felt like a torturous eternity. She stilled her movements, eliciting a whimper of need from me, followed by breathless pleading. "Please, don't torment me."

She tore her lips from my chest and pressed them roughly against my ear, not without scraping my earlobe gently with her teeth first. "As you wish." Her voice, being husky at the best of times, sent me to dizzying heights and once she resumed her movements, nothing could prevent the dam from bursting and the waves of my climax taking over me.

I've never been one to stay quiet and even when it was imperative, I couldn't quite manage complete calm. "Oh yes, Sara!" I hissed, until she silenced me with a kiss and allowed me to slump in to her arms as I was finally rendered motionless.

Withdrawing her hand, she slipped each finger between her lips in turn with a wide grin and then kissed me slowly. Even in my slightly dazed state, I could tell she was becoming tentative about what just happened and that was the last thing I wanted. Besides, I wasn't finished yet and the taste of myself on her lips only increased my determination to return the favour. After all, this was her fantasy, and I wanted to make it as perfect as I could.

Although I was still weak from my own pleasure, I took hold of her waist, firstly using it to support myself as I slid down from my desk, but then to push her backwards until her calves hit the sofa and she was forced to fall on to it. Without giving her a choice in the matter, I quickly straddled her – my still hitched-up skirt giving me the capacity to do so – and popped the button of her jeans. However, I then cupped her face compassionately, and took pause to quieten her doubts, my voice soft and low. "Sweetheart, relax. You can always tell me to stop, but I'm pretty sure you won't want to." I gave her a meaningful but confident smile and pressed my lips to hers tenderly, sliding my hands beneath her tank top, but quickly began to throw everything I had in to the kiss, making it as sensual and seductive, and hopefully mind-blowing as I possibly could.

"You seem very sure of yourself." She almost purred as she spoke, and I took this along with her eager reciprocation as a sign that she was trying to shed her inhibitions, even for just this moment – something I found incredibly attractive. Her hips also began to buck against me seemingly involuntarily in response to the pressure I could almost see building up inside her, caused by our positions and the incredible kiss.

A wicked smile curved across my lips, and although part of me wanted to torture and tease her just as much as she had me, I also knew I couldn't resist a challenge. I made quick work of the zip and tugged her jeans down just enough to give me unhindered access to her centre, before sliding my fingers underneath her panties and stroking her folds. Her arousal coated me as I found my way to her pleasure points, and with each contact she let out a deep moan. I couldn't force the self-satisfied grin off my face as I continued eliciting what were rapidly becoming growls from her. "Well, I think I have a reason to be sure of myself, don't you?"

I watched as she ground her teeth in frustration, desperate not to let me win, but also not to let a war of words get in the way of her satisfaction. "Just shut up and f- Aaah, harder Catherine!" As I gently teased her clit out from hiding the rest of her sentence was lost, and it seemed as though her desire to be fucked was greater than her pride which meant my mission was accomplished.

Seeing no possible reason not to grant her wish, I applied more pressure while simultaneously allowing two fingers to slide in to her. To my delight I was met with very little resistance, which allowed me to move freely and explore her until her muscles tightened around me as a pre-cursor to her orgasm. I showered her neck and chest with soft kisses but as she reached her peak I had to sit back – I couldn't take my eyes off her. Christ, she had no idea how beautiful she was.

Her powers of restraint were distinctly better than mine but even then she couldn't keep completely silent. As the sensation crashed through her, she tossed her head back and arched her spine in to me. "Oh God!" As the feeling subsided, I lessened our contact and allowed her to relax slowly, cleaning my own hand in the very same way she did.

I remained nervously on her lap, waiting for her legs to stop shaking and her eyes to open – I suddenly felt very anxious and slightly guilty.

When her eyelids did flutter open and she regained focus, she immediately sensed the tension in my body. She pushed herself to sit up straight and her brown pools were immediately filled with concern, before a red blush crept over her exposed skin as she wondered if she was the cause of my discontentment. But even then, her voice was like gravel, just the way I liked it. "What's wrong; are you okay?"

I hung my head slightly in shame, and sincerely hoped I'd made the right decision. I'd been so sure of myself beforehand, but now? "I- I have a confession to make. You said it was something you'd thought about, and after tonight I thought this was the perfect opportunity. I'm sorry if-" Stopping myself mid-apology before I made the situation possibly any worse, I simply looked over my shoulder and gestured towards the corner window of my office, where the blinds weren't completely closed. Beyond the blinds, it was easy to make out the forms of Greg, Nick and Warrick crouched at the window, and upon my gesture, each of their eyes widened.

"It's okay." Despite my gaze being fixed on the corner of the room, I could almost hear the smile in her voice. I turned back to her only to find I was right; a genuine and slightly amused smile played on her lips, and she quirked an eyebrow at me questioningly. "You honestly think I didn't know? You have the subtlety of a brick Catherine, and besides, it's obviously been on both our minds all day. Relax, and thank you."

I couldn't help but break in to a relieved grin. "You're okay with it?" In seconds, my usual confidence and demeanour came rushing back and I flicked my hair back, whilst readjusting myself on her lap. "Well, was it every bit as good as you imagined?"

"It was even better." Without warning, she leant forward, her hands coming to rest of my shoulders, and left a soft, tender kiss on my lips, as a round of cheering and applause broke out from outside the window. We broke apart, both giggling uncontrollably and gave each other a knowing look – they really got what they deserved, and so did we.