Part III.

She can't really breath in this moment. When she told him about her unrequited feelings for him, she fully expected it to be just her. She didn't him expect to have the feelings as well.

She clears her throat and looks away from his piercing gaze, "So uh.. Now what?" Change the subject. Good.

When she looks back at him, his gaze has dipped to her lips and it's happening. She can't let this happen. They just cleared things up so they can have a good, steady partnership. Not a relationship. Or one night stand, or whatever it is he's looking for.

She shakes her head and it brings his eyes back to her, "El.. We're partners. This can't- it can't happen." She tries to sound firm, no chance for yes, but her voice is shaky and she's blinking excessively. She does that when she's nervous. And right now is the only feeling that's running through her body, is nerves.

He smiles and his eyes dart between hers and her lips. When did that become one of his focal points? "It's been happening for years, Olivia." And the use of her full name makes her body grow warm.

She shakes her head, "It needs to stop. We're partners-"

"Will you stop? You run from things when you get scared, don't run from me again." His eyes are swimming with emotion, and he scoots closer to her.

She looks at him and she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. Does she really want to risk their partnership for a relationship that they're not 100% sure is going to work? But does she really want to go through life not knowing what it's like to be with him?

Don't run from me again.

She can tell he's still hurt, but right now, he's offering way more than she would ever ask for.

He leans in, brushing his fingertips against her cheek, and she lets out a puff of breath. "What about the job, El?" She murmurs, her brown pools connecting with his blue ones. Their bodies are almost touching, he's so close. Not as close as he was when he had her pinned against the door, but close.

"We'll figure it out, Liv. We always do."

Her body is filled with emotion. Completely different from when she got to his apartment, and the change makes her dizzy. She sees his eyes dip to her lips again, and she feels the heat rise in her body. Breathing is all she can do, anything else will break her.

"This is why you ran the first time, Olivia, right?" He's speaking softly, his voice deep and soothing and she could listen to him speak all day.

She looks at her hands in her lap and nods. She left because she couldn't handle the feeling she was feeling for him. "You tried that option and it didn't work, why don't we try this option too?"

When she doesn't speak, he continues. "Don't run this time. We'll get through it together, we'll be okay. Don't run from me." He's cupping her cheek and his breath is brushing rhythmically against her lips, "Don't run from this."

She closes the distance and presses her lips softly against his, and God, she's never been this hungry for a man. All thoughts exit her mind when his arm wraps around her waist, when his other hand runs through her hair, brushes her bangs back. She breathes in from her nose because she doesn't want this to end. She doesn't want his lips to leave hers ever.

She wraps an arm around his neck, bringing him closer, and moans when his tongue parts her lips. God, yes. She accepts his tongue eagerly, tangling hers with his. This is what she craved. This is what scared her into running, and this is what's going to keep her grounded. She never wants to leave his side again.

The shrill ringing of her phone makes his arm tighten around her waist, his lips rub roughly against hers. She feels his hand move down her back, and over the waistband of her jeans, and she wants him to touch her. This was going too fast yet so excruciatingly slow, and she wants more. More.

More.

His hand cups her backside, then slides into her back pocket, pulling out the offending device.

It takes a second, then she feels it. His whole body freezes against hers, and she knows something is up. She pulls back slightly, searching for his eyes, and finds that he's looking at the screen of her phone.

God damn it.

The screen shows a missed call and a voicemail, the name on the screen cursing her. She feels hot. Hot from Elliot's mouth and hands on her body, and hot from the freight train of nerves that just hit her. She feels like she sweating. Sweating like a sinner in church.

Dean.

Elliot sits back against the couch and runs a hand down his face, arousal and frustration apparent in his demeanor. "You should uh.. You should take care of that." His voice is gruff. She bites her lip and shakes her head when he picks his half empty beer bottle and walks out of the room.

She looks at the phone screen, then hits play on the voicemail.

"Hey uh.. I don't know what happened, or if I did something wrong. If you can get back to me, that'd be great."

She doesn't want to get back to him. She wants to get back to kissing Elliot. She wants to feel his hands on her again. She wants Dean to disappear from her life so she can move on. She doesn't want any reminders of when she had to leave Elliot.

She shoots him a text instead, hoping that will extinguish any hope he has of having a chance with her.

Dean, I'm sorry, but I told you. I'm working things out with someone. I'm not interested.

She knows it's mean, but she's tired of things getting in between her and Elliot. She's done with that. She knows what she wants, she's done running, and she's not going to let anything get in the way.

She wants to turn her phone off, but they're both still on call, and Cragen would have their asses if they didn't pick up.

She takes her unopened beer, and walks into the kitchen.

Elliot is leaning against the counter, arms crossed against his chest, and she wants to smile at his obvious jealousy. He looks at her, his face revealing nothing. "What'd your boyfriend want?" His tone is harsh, and she rolls her eyes.

"Elliot, don't be like that. He wanted to thank me for helping out on a case when I was in Oregon."

She leans back against the counter across from him, and arches her eyebrow.

"So you're telling me that he didn't come on to you at all? He came all the way out here to thank you." He stands up straight and moves closer to her, and her breath hitches. When did this turn into an interrogation?

"He did, but I shut it down. I told him I'm working something out with someone. I told him that I wasn't interested." She moves closer too. She places a hand on his chest, and a brief thought flicks through her mind. They've kissed, she can do this, right? She looks into his eyes and pushes him back against the counter. "My interest is elsewhere." She speaks quietly, rubbing her palm lightly over his chest, her other hand cupping his jaw.

She can feel his jaw working under her fingertips and she wants to kiss him there.

"I'm not running from you, Elliot. I'm not running to Oregon or anywhere, and I'm not running to Dean Porter. I'm here." She says softly, and moves up to kiss him softly on the lips. "Okay?"

He palms her hips and brings her closer, "Alright." He grumbles, leaning down for another kiss. She happily returns it, nibbling his bottom lip before bringing it into her mouth. He exhales against her lips, and she wraps both arms around his neck.

Their lips mesh and tongues tangle, and it's everything she's ever dreamed of. She's not going to try and lie to herself and anyone else and say that she's never thought about kissing Elliot. About touching him, being touched by him. It's crossed her mind often. After tough cases, the easier cases, hell, in Oregon, he was all she could think about.

It's growing heated quickly, and suddenly, she's not so nervous. Not when his hands find their way back to her ass, and this time, not in search of a cell phone.

It's been too hot in his apartment since she was pinned against the door, and now's as good a time as any to at least shed her jacket. Just that. Just her jacket and she'll start to cool off.

She lets out a low, almost inaudible moan when his hands move up her back then down, his fingers digging into her waist as he tries to bring her impossibly closer.

He's kissing her like she's air and he needs to breathe, and all she can do is kiss him back. Her jacket hits the floor and immediately she thinks that maybe taking her jacket off was insinuating something, and moments later, her thoughts are confirmed when he begins to untuck her shirt from her waistband. Is she ready for this?

"Elliot, wait-"

He picks her up effortlessly and spins her around, setting her roughly on the countertop. "We've waited 8 years, Olivia." He growls, his hands sliding up her thighs.

Good point.

She spreads her legs and pulls him to her by the collar of his shirt, and wastes no time slanting her mouth over his. They spent their whole life waiting and running. It's time to finally just let it happen.

He grips her ass and pulls her closer to the edge of the counter, their hips connecting. She tilts her head back and lets out a breathy moan, and he takes the opportunity to shower her neck with bites and kisses. She can't really grasp the fact that this is Elliot. Elliot is ravishing her body like no other man has, and they haven't even shed anything. Well except for her jacket.

And on that note, she reaches over his shoulders and grasps the material of his t shirt, yanking it up. He pulls back slightly, removing his shirt in one swift motion. Even like this, they're in complete sync with each other.

She knew it would be like this.

He pulls back slightly, his hot breath scraping down her neck. She can feel his fingers play with the bottom button of her shirt and every emotion she's ever felt in his presence floods back into her brain. Her eyes slip closed as he pulls her shirt out of her waistband, and she pushes back the nagging voice telling her to stop. They're ready for this. He's ready for this, he said so, he's been waiting. She's ready for this.

He begins at the top of her shirt, unbuttoning one by one, and as each new patch of skin is revealed, he covers it with his mouth, nipping, licking. She presses her palms against his bare shoulders and the heat that radiates off of him is suffocating. Her fingertips drag down his arms, and before her brain can register what's going on, her hands grab his, yanking them away from her shirt, and effectively ripping the remaining buttons out of the holes.

He stops, staring at her with the most predatory gaze she'd ever witnessed on his face, eyes raking up her body, assessing, saving. She's breathing hard, and so is he, and it's the only noise in the small space of his galley style kitchen. Her shirt hangs loosely at her sides, one shoulder exposed.

In seconds, he's back against her, their bare abdomens pressed together, and she breathes out. He stares into her dark eyes and pushes her shirt off of her shoulders, letting it drop onto the counter behind her. She leans back on the counter, resting her weight on her hands, and lets his exploration of her body further. He's kissing the tops of her breasts, licking and nibbling in between them, and is about to unclasp her bra when they hear it. Coming from his pocket.

Her mouth drops open and she lets out a shaky breath. She watches him as he pulls the device out of his pocket, and his shoulders slump, and immediately she knows. It's a wake up call. Snapping them back to reality.

"Stabler."

"Got it. I'll call her. Bye, Cap."

He tosses the phone on the counter beside her instead of trying to fit it back into his pocket. His jeans are officially too tight, and it has everything to do with the half naked woman sitting on the counter in front of him. Legs spread, breasts heaving, cheeks flushed and hair mussed.

"We gotta be at mercy." He mumbles, his fingers brushing the underside of her bra, his eyes grazing over her body.

"Okay," She whispers.

"This doesn't change anything."

She looks at him with wide eyes, and for a second, she thinks he means that they're still just partners. That what just happened was a mistake in his eyes, and nothing would change between them. As if it already hasn't.

"I mean getting called out. It doesn't change the fact that I want you."

She breathes out a sigh of relief and nods, her eyes never leaving his. "Okay."

TBC...