Tess and Cat entered the precinct just as Joe was exiting his office. Joe saw her come in and Tess felt his gaze trail over the length of her body. He had no idea what that look did to her, did he? Her heart beat quickened and everything in her melted. She wanted him-against the wall, on the floor, anything. Sometimes her reaction to him annoyed her. She wasn't some teenage girl anymore. She was a woman now and she should be able to have more self-control in public places.
Cat glanced from Tess to Joe, seeing the same desire reflected in both their eyes. Cat cleared her throat to remind them of where they were. Joe snapped out of his trance and proceeded to talk with several officers who were discussing a new lead on a murder case. Tess looked at Cat with wide eyes and said, "What?"
Cat couldn't suppress her smile. "Oh, don't you 'what' me. You two were practically undressing each other with your eyes." That caused both women to begin laughing. Cat sobered up first and asked, "How long has it been?" She saw the switch in Tess's expression. That look could only be described as one of yearning. Tess sighed and answered,
"Too long." Cat had been right when she asked that question in the car on the way to the precinct. Outside of work, Tess had been avoiding Joe. It wasn't that she didn't want to see him-of course she did. But the more time she spent with Joe-the more of him she wanted. She couldn't seem to get enough. And the only way she knew how to deal with that was to distance herself from him…even though that had proven to be utterly painful. Joe had told her that he loved her. She believed him but it didn't make the world some perfect airy-fairy place. Hearing those words from him made her realize that she wanted more from him. Something she wasn't certain he could give her. After all, he was still married. A fresh wave of guilt gnawed at her at the thought of that. She had been raised to have respect for boundaries and she knew her affair with him was wrong. There was no excuse for it and nothing she could say that would make it right.
Joe had told her that his marriage had been over a long time ago, although not in a legal sense. As much as Tess wanted to be with him, she had not asked him to leave his wife. She could never do that. It was probably stupid and selfish of her but…she wanted him to want her enough to choose her, completely. Only her. Her entire life, she'd had to compete with her older brothers to prove to her father that she was equally as good as they were. Tess wasn't complaining about the life she'd had but just this one time, she wanted something that was hers alone. And when she was with Joe, she didn't have to hide who she was. She could let down all her defenses. She didn't always have to strong when she was with him. He was her strength.
"Tess? Are you okay?" Cat asked. Tess shook her head to get rid of all her thoughts and replied,
"Yea…just in need of some coffee." When she looked at Cat, she realized that Cat's arm was extended toward her with nothing other than heaven-sent coffee. Tess hadn't even seen her leave. "Have I ever told you that you are the best partner ever?"
Cat laughed and winked, "So are you." Before Tess could sit to enjoy her coffee, she heard the one voice that gave her goose-bumps.
"Vargas," Joe called. Tess glanced over at him and he nodded towards his office before he entered. Cat looked at her knowingly and Tess tilted her head to the side in annoyance and said, "Don't."
Cat giggled and took a seat at her desk, "I'm not saying a word." Then under her breath she added, "Manslayer." Tess laughed and headed for Joe's office.
When she entered and closed the door, Tess tried to hide her gaze of appreciation at seeing him in that black suit. She loved the way he looked in suits-the word handsome didn't even begin to cover it. "Boss," she greeted him, trying to keep things as professional as possible. He didn't answer her. Instead, he closed the blinds and resumed gazing at her. She was wearing that green leather jacket again. He remembered telling her how stunning that colour was on her.
Tess waited but he still didn't say anything. Okay then, she could play the silence game. After some time passed, he finally said,
"You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met." Tess knew it wasn't meant as an insult. "I prefer the term 'iron-willed' instead," she said. That got a smile out of Joe. How could he not love this woman? She was incredible.
"Is there something you wanted me to do for you?" she asked and her mind flashed to a million things that she wanted to do for him-none of which involved work.
Joe loosened his tie and continued to gaze at her. "I'm sure you know that I called you in here to talk about us, Tess. You haven't been answering my calls or replying to my messages unless it's work-related."
She couldn't help the sarcasm that made its way into her response, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize the job description required me to do otherwise."
Joe sighed. "Please…tell me what's going on." All he had to do was use that tone- so soft and concerned- and Tess could lose herself in him. She prided herself on being independent. She didn't want to need anyone. Wanting Joe was okay but to need him-it would hurt too much when she lost him. Affairs didn't end well, she knew that.
"I have work to do." Just as she turned to leave and was about to turn the door knob, he was behind her in a flash. One of his hands covered hers and prevented her from opening the door. He used his free hand to trace up and down the length of her other arm.
"Tess," he whispered against her ear, his warm breath tickling her. He was standing too close to her. When she inhaled, his raw masculine scent mixed with his cologne assaulted her senses. He smelled too good-almost edible.
"Joe, I can't-" he cut her off saying,
"Look at me."
Tess shook her head. She couldn't speak-her throat felt clogged. Damn her reaction to this man.
Joe kissed the back of her head. "Please look at me." She turned then and looked up at him and just like she knew she would be…she was lost in those beautiful eyes.
"I love you," he said. "I'm not sure what's bothering you but whatever it is, don't push me away. I'm here, whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here." He pulled her into his arms and held her. And that meant the world to her. In that moment, she wanted to tell him everything-about his brother Darius, about Vincent and Gabe and even about the douche bag TJ kissing her earlier. Okay, maybe not that part. She'd leave that piece out for now because she still didn't understand what that had been about.
There was a knock on the door and Tess eased out of his arms. She moved a safe distance away from him before he opened the door. It was detective Wolanski. His eyes darted to Joe then Tess and the closed blinds but he didn't voice his suspicions. He spoke to Joe, "we just got a call from a junkie. Says he found some tapes of a murder that took place outside the club where your brother was killed." Joe's eyebrows rose. "I figured you'd want to know about it even if it turned out to be nothing."
"Thanks, let's go."
Tess had the feeling that her world was about to reel out of control yet again.
