Warnings: Mention of Infidelity, Mention of Prostitution, Mild Dominant/submissive Overtones, Sexual Foreplay

Robin

It's not very busy when we arrive at the restaurant. Jason requests a table in the back with one booth seat so that we can sit next to each other. Now I'm tucked into his side, enjoying his warmth and happily eating Bolognese over handmade tagliatelle. Jason is smiling down at me, largely ignoring his own spicy seafood pasta.

"You're not eating," I observe. He blushes and smiles, twirling more noodles around his fork.

"Is it odd that I like watching you eat?" he asks shyly. "You're just so… pleased."

It's my turn to blush. "This is the nicest meal I've had in a while. Thank you."

Jason reaches out and smooths an errant strand of hair over my ear. "You're very welcome." He pauses for a moment, biting his lip. "Would you tell me about yourself? Or should I not disturb you until you're finished?"

I swallow and grin at him. "What would you like to know?"

"How did you end up here in Chicago?" He shovels another portion of food into his mouth as I take a sip of my sparkling water.

"Well, I grew up a few hours away in Michigan, and I came here for college. I was going to be a high school teacher, but then I realized that I hated high school the first time around and didn't want to go back perpetually. I dropped the education part of my degree and just got the English part instead, but then I wasn't sure what to do with it. I had a few weeks left on my apartment lease, so I started poking around looking for jobs. I saw the advertisement for an assistant at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner and decided to give it a shot. Alicia and Cary hired me. I suppose it would be cliché to say the rest is history." I eat a little more as Jason processes my answer.

"Cary? Agos? As in Lockhart/Agos & Lee?" I nod.

"Right. I keep forgetting that not everyone is as intimately familiar with all of the drama as I am." Jason chuckles and I shrug. "Alicia and Cary were both competing for the same associate spot, so they shared me as an assistant until the decision was made. Alicia got the job, and I stayed with her. I've been following her around ever since."

"You never thought about leaving? Especially with the election scandal?" Normally a question like that would raise my suspicions, but Jason is genuinely curious, so I don't mind.

"Nope, never. We'd been through worse before, to be honest. And I kind of have a loyalty thing. Or maybe it's just Alicia. We were friends right away. She knows I'll be honest with her, and I know she'll be honest with me." As I say it, I realize how true it is. I'd do pretty much anything for Alicia.

"How did that happen?" Jason inquires.

I lean back against the booth as I remember that night in Alicia's office. She'd been working late, as usual, and I had stayed to help, also as usual. Keeping up with two associates had been pretty intense, but I'd managed it. I'd wanted to make a good impression. "She was working late," I start. "I came in to give her some files she asked for and she was watching the news. It was another story about Peter and Amber Madison, the prostitute he slept with. I didn't say anything. Everyone had been pitying her, you know? Telling her how sorry they were. I could see that she hated it. I asked her if she needed anything, and she said she wanted to ask me something, but that she wanted the truth, not some sugar-coated bullshit. I promised, and she asked me what I would have done if my husband had cheated on me."

"Pretty heavy question for a boss to ask," Jason points out.

I giggle. "Tell me about it! But I did what she asked. I told her that, in theory, I would have kicked him to the curb. Gotten a divorce. But I also told her that, practically, situations like that aren't as simple as they seem. When people answer theoretical questions, they never actually think that thing will happen to them, you know? I told her I could understand why she was standing by him. She has kids, and they were still pretty young at that point. She had just started working again, and money was an issue. All of her friends abandoned her when she needed them the most. And even if she didn't love him anymore, there was history there." My voice gets a little wistful. "It can be hard to let go, even if you know it's the right thing to do."

"I bet she liked that answer," Jason guesses.

"She did. After that, we just trusted each other naturally. She's… well, she's my best friend. More than just a boss." I sit up straight again and resume eating. "Your turn, Jason. How did you end up in Chicago? You haven't been here long."

Jason raises his eyebrows. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"Your listed local address is a long-term living motel. I stayed there a few times between moves myself." I wink at him.

"Ah, I see," he drawls, bending down and nuzzling my cheek. For a moment, I can't breathe. His beard is soft, and he smells amazing. "Looking up info on me, huh?"

"For my job, Jason," I manage to tease, turning my head and letting my nose brush over his cheekbone. "Don't get cocky."

"Cocky? Me? Never." My skin prickles when he inhales deeply against my skin. "You smell nice," he compliments me. My cheeks flush again.

"So do you," I murmur, looking up at him through my eyelashes. He's beaming at me, and I reach a finger up to stroke the temple of his glasses. "You look criminally good in these, you know."

Jason licks his lips. "Do I? I had no idea at all."

"Liar."

"Maybe." He pulls back just a little so we can finish our meal. "I prefer to be… transient," he reveals. "I don't like to stay in one place too long. So I move around, spending a year here, a year there, going wherever I want to go. This time, I ended up in Chicago."

"Well, that explains it," I say lightly.

"Explains what?" Jason wonders, taking a drink of his own water as he finishes his food.

"Well, since you asked me out, I'm assuming that you're single, which is honestly surprising. You have a great personality, and you're massively attractive." Jason puts his arm around me and kisses my temple as I finish my own food. A shiver runs up my spine as his lips touch me, and I slip my own arm around his waist.

"You are intensely flattering," Jason muses. "Yeah, the whole moving around whenever I want thing doesn't sit well with most women. All the ones I've dated have wanted to be the one who made me settle down, not that I'm trying to brag. Honestly, I don't know if that will ever happen. Maybe if I meet the right person. Maybe I'll just want them with me when I pick up and leave, but that's a hard life."

I tilt my head up and put my other hand on his chest. "You sound lonely, Jason." My voice is serious, and he looks back down at me sadly.

"I suppose I am, Robin." The waitress comes back, obviously annoyed that Jason and I are having such a good time; she's been making eyes at him since we arrived. She asks if we want anything else. Jason looks at me questioningly and I shake my head, so he requests the check.

Once we're alone again, he takes a deep breath. "I know this might be a bit forward for a first date, Robin, but… I would very much like to take you to bed." His voice is deep and raw, and suddenly I'm quite sure that Jason Crouse knows how to handle himself in the bedroom department.

My fingers curl into his shirt and I rest my forehead against his chest. "I've been hoping and worrying that you'd ask me that, Jason," I admit.

"Worrying?" His arm tightens around me. "Does this have something to do with an ex? You sounded strange earlier when you were talking about Alicia and Peter."

I sigh. "Yes and no. We've been broken up for a while, but he's still around. We work in the same circles, so we still see each other fairly often. He wants me back, but I don't want him back. That's not what it is. I'm just feeling a little guilty, I suppose. I never told him one of the reasons that we broke up. I told him we weren't compatible, and that's true. We're really not, even though he's a perfectly nice guy. But there was more to it. I didn't say anything because I know him. He'd take it the wrong way, and it would just hurt. I didn't see the point."

"But it's important if we sleep together?" Jason clarifies. I nod.

I feel my cheeks blazing. "I've never told anybody this before, Jason, but I don't want to start anything between us, whatever anything means, without being clear."

"I appreciate that, Robin." He reaches up with his other hand and strokes my hair. "Tell me."

I inhale slowly, debating with myself. I really do want Jason, so I shouldn't back off now. Finally, I confess, "Jason, I have… particular needs that I want met when it comes to sex. Needs that some people wouldn't be comfortable with."

"Like?" His voice is soothing; there's no judgment in it at all.

My own voice drops to a whisper as I reply. "I… don't like to be in control in the bedroom."

"You're submissive?" I blink in surprise. I didn't expect him to jump there right away; I thought I'd have to explain myself more. "I don't know much about it, but I'm familiar with the concept," he supplies.

I don't know whether to be more at ease or more nervous, but I keep going. "Sort of? I mean, I don't want you to Fifty Shades of Grey me or anything like that." He laughs; I'm sure that I look completely embarrassed. "I just… I like being told what to do. I like… surrendering. I don't want to be humiliated or degraded or hurt or anything like that. I just want to… give in." I bite my lip anxiously. "I hope that makes sense."

The waitress drops off the check, so Jason stays quiet for a moment, cupping my cheek in his hand and running his thumb over my lips. He reluctantly pulls his hand away and takes out his wallet, laying down enough cash for our meal and a generous tip. I notice that the waitress has written her name and number on the receipt and I shake my head in exasperation.

"Are you keeping that?" I ask sarcastically, glaring at her back as she walks away. Jason shakes his head, standing and holding out his hands; I take them and he pulls me close, leading me outside and back to his truck. He presses my back against the passenger side door, leaning over me. I feel a little lightheaded being surrounded by him, not to mention aroused.

"I don't need anyone else's number, Robin. Not when I'm with you." His finger traces my collarbone and my heart speeds up. "Tell me why you like to surrender."

I slip my arms around his waist underneath his jacket, running my fingers up and down his back slowly. "I always have to be in control, Jason. In my job. In my life. I take care of a lot of things for a lot of people, and I have to take care of myself too. I just want there to be a place where I don't have to be the one in control. Where someone else makes the decisions. Where I can feel cherished and taken care of. But I feel like that's not what men want. They want someone who is independent and strong. Someone like Alicia, or Lucca. Not someone like me."

Jason strokes my neck with his hands, his fingers fluttering gently but firmly over my skin. "You are independent and strong, Robin. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be that way all the time. You deserve to be taken care of. And I'll tell you something about me." He puts his lips to my ear and his hips dig into mine.

Oh. He's hard.

"Jason…" I can't help moaning softly as I twine my arms around his neck. He smiles as he feels my body react to his, his big hands sliding down to cup my ass as my tightening nipples brush against his chest, clearly visible through my shirt and bra. Treacherous things.

Jason chuckles. "I like control, Robin. I need it. I used to be a very different person, a person I didn't like, and the way I keep myself from going back there is control. When I control a situation, I know how things are going to turn out, for the most part, and I like that. So I am telling you the truth when I say that I would love to control you if that's what you want. And I can respect the fact that it's only in the bedroom; outside of it, you're the same dynamic, intelligent, beautiful woman, just with different needs."

I always thought that when people said words made them melt, they were being metaphorical, but I think I'm actually melting.

Jason tilts my chin up, his lips hovering over mine. "Now be a good girl and kiss me, Robin."

A strangled whimper escapes my throat as his mouth covers mine. I immediately realize that he is an absolutely amazing kisser. Slow, sensual. Completely intoxicating.

I dimly realize that to anyone walking by, we practically look like we're having sex against his car. I brush the thought aside as Jason keeps kissing me, nipping at my upper lip, then my lower lip, teasing me. I thread my fingers into his hair and kiss him back just like he commanded, moving my lips just as slowly, savoring the feel of him against my mouth.

Finally, he pulls back, his cheeks flushed with excitement, his body trembling slightly. "Can we go back to your apartment, Robin?" he gasps. "I feel cheap taking you back to a motel."

I smile and laugh. "I appreciate that, though it wouldn't bother me. You're welcome to come back to my place, Jason." I slide my hands up to his face, cupping his cheeks, stroking his beard gently. He lifts me away from the door, opening it and helping me up into the passenger seat.

Once he's in the driver's seat, he leans over and kisses me again. I gasp loudly when his hand cups one of my breasts, his thumb rubbing my excited nipple mischievously. He slides his hand over to circle the other and I arch my back, pushing into his touch. "That's it," Jason purrs. "I want to make you feel good, Robin."

"You're doing just fine so far," I assure him weakly as he pulls away and starts the truck.

"Well." He smirks. "Shall we see if I can do a bit better than fine?"