An odd little foray for me, especially in light of everything. But it was fun to pick it up after all this time. I hope one or two of you our there will enjoy it. Usual apologies for faux pas, in whatever guise...
The Chinese restaurant had been picked by the visiting FBI agent. He'd apparently been there a couple of times before with his team.
"It's a bit off the usual track." He recounted easily over dinner.
"One of those wonderful little places you had to know was there."
Liv vaguely recalled seeing it before, but had never actually eaten there, discovering both the food and the service were excellent, she would definitely come back again. The dimly lit restaurant had a lovely ambience and despite being busy they could still chat comfortably to each other, without having to shout, a perfectly placed table aided with that too.
The veteran SVU detective could hold her own in the drinking stakes, she'd had enough practice over the years, but as she washed her hands in the ladies' room she had to admit to feeling just a little light headed, looking in the mirror and running her hands through her long dark hair, she wasn't entirely sure that was just down to the alcohol.
The wine Aaron Hotchner had ordered to accompany dinner was lovely, and as it turned out rather free flowing. As she had left the two men at the table, the second bottle was already empty and amidst their lively and animated conversation they were trying to attract the attention of the waiter to order a third.
Returning from the ladies' room she saw the two men still closely embroiled in conversation, just as they had all been all evening, she smiled, it had actually been a very enjoyable evening. It however appeared they were much more closely embroiled than when she had left. Nearing the table, Olivia noticed Barba's hand resting on Aaron Hotchner's thigh. She watched surreptitiously for a few moments, that fierce ball of heat from earlier, once again pooling low in her belly, arousing her curiosity and much more besides.
Two extremely attractive, impeccably dressed, utterly professional men, and that was exactly how they had been all evening. There hadn't been the merest hint of anything else, save their obvious friendship and deep respect for each other, but now Olivia could almost feel the heat they radiated from where she stood.
She let out a small involuntary gasp as Aaron Hotchner's hand came to briefly cover Barba's, a gesture that would go unseen or unnoticed by most, but her trained eyes didn't miss it, nor did they miss the visual exchange that passed between them, chocolate brown meeting limpid green as they looked directly at each other, some private understanding flowing between the two. The animated conversation had stopped, Barba was smiling warmly and Aaron Hotchner was nodding, presumably in agreement to something they were discussing.
Her brain, amongst other parts of her body, was already envisaging them in a much more intimate scenario, a scene which started with the discarding of ties. This was definitely her cue to leave.
An array of things had arrived at the table in her absence, all it would appear at once. That elusive third bottle of wine had been partially decanted into three glasses. Orange slices sat invitingly on a brightly decorated oval plate, alongside three coffees and small bowl of fortune cookies. The two men smiled and rose briefly as she sat back down, just as the waiter arrived with steaming hot hand towels. Olivia took a hefty mouthful of the newly poured wine, once more fighting with her own equilibrium as she viewed the two men over the rim of her glass. Someone had obviously asked for fresh glasses, she noted. Aaron Hotchner no doubt, she'd drunk often enough with Barba to know, fastidious as he could be about some things, he wasn't prone to requesting a clean glass for his drink.
She would just have this last glass, as it had been poured for her, before making her excuses and leaving. Barba's cunning little plan to do whatever, unsettle her, shock her maybe, surely, he knew her better than that, had clearly misfired. Discarding the delicious hot, lemon scented towel Olivia reached for a fortune cookie, when in Rome, she mused silently. Snapping the sweet biscuit in half she pulled out the shred of paper inside. Two sets of eyes now watched her keenly.
"The object of your desire comes ever closer." She read aloud, looking sceptically from the Assistant District Attorney to the FBI agent. Her big brown eyes sparkling at them both in turn.
"Hmm, that would be the coffee then" She suggested without missing a beat.
Aaron Hotchner laughed as he broke his own cookie in two. There were those rather sexy, boyish dimples again.
"You will have a pleasant surprise." He too read the vague prophecy out loud, his line of sight falling on the younger man, but turning towards Olivia as he spoke.
"Aha Rafael is going to get the check." He followed Olivia's lead with a quip about the so called words of wisdom offered by the crunchy confectionery.
"Do not hold your breath my friend." Barba retorted, pretending to be unamused as he reached for his own cookie.
"Let your fantasies unwind." He read slowly from the strip of white paper he pulled from the crispy hollow biscuit.
He too not missing a beat and following up with a quick remark: "I think this might have been yours Liv." His green eyes shone mischievously, his questioning gaze fixed firmly on her.
Perhaps she had spoken too soon, or at least thought, too soon. Olivia felt the warmth rise from the tips of her toes, slowly up through her body to the very top of her head. She knew exactly what Barba was alluding to and got the distinct impression that the profiler did too. But just what did Barba have in mind? She was given a few moments to think, to breathe and too cool down once more, as the two men fought over the recently presented check.
They'd all had a fair bit to drink, Barba was of course, just teasing her, baiting her with his words, wasn't he?
"Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams. Hear it feel it. Open up your mind let your fantasies unwind."
Barba sang the hushed oddly familiar lyrics in her ear, his warm breath fanning her cheek as he helped her on with her coat, wrapping it around her in an unexpected embrace.
An involuntary shiver ran through her, anticipation, excitement, apprehension Olivia really wasn't sure which. This was certainly turning out to be a day full of surprises. Turning to face him she wasn't sure if she was more stunned by the words or their musical delivery. Her sultry brown eyes collided with his intense green, there was absolutely no room for misinterpretation, she didn't need to be a profiler to read Rafael Barba, he was deadly serious. Aaron Hotchner stood discreetly at a distance, out of earshot, pulling on a scarlet lined Crombie coat.
Not for one second did her eyes leave the ADA's; in the briefest of movements she nodded her head in acquiescence. Neither said a word, Barba took a step back, a devilish smile curling his sensual mouth, his green eyes positively glittering, as he opened the door to the restaurant, once on the sidewalk, he hailed a cab.
The journey to the elegant hotel Aaron Hotchner was staying at located on Crosby Street. Courtesy of the New York DA's office no doubt; took only a few minutes and was made in virtual silence. The suite on the 11th floor was very beautifully and tastefully decorated in black, white and varying shades of grey, rather appropriate thought Olivia.
Not knowing what happened next, and feeling uncharacteristically out of her depth, she stood by the warehouse style floor to ceiling window in the lounge. It offered a spectacular view of Lower Manhattan and she took in every glittering light.
She felt someone gently touch her arm. From the unfamiliar cologne and imposing height, she knew instinctively it was Aaron Hotchner. His dimples flashed once more as he smiled briefly, handing her a drink, presumably from the mini bar. Not that she was drunk, her light headedness had vanished very quickly, but Olivia wasn't sure she wanted or needed any more alcohol, the heavy tumbler however, gave her something to do with her rather nervous hands.
"Perhaps," she spoke quietly, glancing around the spacious room trying to focus on something other than him.
The spectacular wooden fireplace, the large circular mirror above it, or the centrally placed Ottoman with its abstract splashes of red, that provided the only bright colour in the room.
Her eyes were inextricably drawn to the handsome FBI profiler's penetrating and unreadable dark brown gaze. It was so different from the open translucency of the ADA's beautiful green.
His finger tip came to rest softly against her slightly parted lips, she barely felt its touch. He was close, but he did not encroach on her personal space. His presence overwhelming but not threatening in any way. It was an utterly surreal situation, one in which Olivia Benson had never found herself before. A bubble of excitement burst in her stomach, making her heart beat faster, and she felt that now all too familiar heat pooling lower and much hotter. That same subtle, but unfamiliar cologne, filled her nostrils.
"Relax. Enjoy." His voice was low and reassuring, his tone warm and incredibly sexy.
She found it as hypnotic as his gaze and as calming as his scent.
It stood to reason, he knew what she was thinking, what she about to say. He was a profiler, one of the best there was at that. Her body language and tone of voice gave her away, as did the fact that despite her own arousal, her excitement, and her curiosity, she probably looked like she was about to take flight.
For the second time today, she all but lustfully watched him walk away, that elegant, fluid and ridiculously erotic movement. She wasn't attracted to him, not in the usual sense, but there was something about Aaron Hotchner, perhaps it was simply his relationship with Barba.
She knew these two men had chemistry, she had picked up on it immediately, she'd seen it sizzling mercilessly throughout the day. Elegantly and professionally standing side by side at the courthouse, they had generated electricity. Their brief yet incredibly intimate touches in the crowded restaurant had generated heat. But watching the two men kiss generated more heat and more electricity than a volcanic eruption, the invisible sparks searing her skin, the spectacle drawing her in, transfixing her.
Olivia's fingers tightened around the glass Aaron Hotchner had handed to her, its contents remaining untouched. His scent still tickled her nostrils, she could still feel that faintest of touches against her lips, and she could still hear his low reassuring tone. Olivia shifted awkwardly, her own body hot and alive with sensation, a cube of ice chinked against another in the tumbler, as they too began to cave under the intense heat that filled the room. Olivia found herself holding her breath as the kiss deepened, releasing it a little raggedly as it became more intense, more demanding and hands began to wander.