Luschek groaned a noncommittal greeting in response to Bennett wishing him good morning. The thermos he clutched in one meaty fist contained a reverse Irish coffee (2 parts coffee to 4 parts whiskey) and he really didn't feel like wasting time that could be spent drinking it conversing with his coworkers. Especially Bubbly Bennett who was always walking around like he had some poorly kept secret he couldn't wait to blather on about. Joel couldn't even begin to imagine what the CO had to be so happy about in a place like Litchfield, but he knew he wanted no part of it. Alcohol, not socializing, would surely get him through the morning as it had with the last several mornings that would have been too numerous to recall if Joel hadn't been keeping count.

Four weeks.

It had been exactly four weeks since he'd been balls deep in Nichols.

He felt like shit.

As he stomped through the halls towards his office he coughed into his free hand before rubbing it roughly down the back of his neck. His hair was disheveled as per usual and it was likely his uniform wouldn't even pass the sniff test if he tried it. Susan had made an offhanded inquiry a few days back about the state of his washing machine, but when all he could think about was burying himself into that feisty pain in the ass, it got hard to focus on shit like laundry. He didn't know why he wanted Nicky so bad, but he did. Despite how adamant he had been about her keeping her distance, every day that she did just that seemed to step on his nerves a bit more.

After their little tryst in the laundry room he had avoided the wild haired inmate like the plague, probably making a complete ass of himself every time he entered a room only to backpedal out if he saw her propping up a wall in there. For her part, Nicky had surprisingly taken his demands to heart and never made any attempts to lure him some place quiet and lonely, or even make conversation with him. She still made a spectacle of herself during work detail, more boisterous than ever after her little pal, Chapman, finally returned, but she no longer played her character off of his own. She regarded him with the same lukewarm indifference Joel had watched her dish out to every CO but him for years. And even though that was exactly what he had asked her to do, it had started to grind his gears.

For the first two weeks after his little indiscretion he had tried to remind himself of all the reasons getting involved with an inmate was a bad idea. There were several; the risk to his job, the risk to his health, the risk to his relationship, the risk to his sanity. However, after catching Nichols falling out of a supply closet with another inmate, eyes dancing and lips slick with moisture, all his reasons started to sound like bullshit even to him. He rationalized internally that he didn't want to get involved with Nicky. He just wanted to fuck her.

Again.

And again.

After two weeks he'd started dreaming about grabbing her by that ridiculous hair. Of pulling her into an empty room, or closet, or corner and taking her hard and fast, pounding into her, watching her face flush and her shark-like eyes roll back, hammering, until he felt her walls clenching around him and…

He felt like shit.

He felt somehow inexplicably cheated by his own traitorous body as, after the dreams started, he began sporting halfies every time Nichols entered electrical. He couldn't escape her there, during work, but some days she wouldn't even need to be in the same room. Mornings after a particularly vivid dream he could just hear her grating laugh from around a corner and suddenly be ready to go. The number of times he'd taken his cock into his own hand over the 4 weeks would have been staggering enough, but the number of times it happened at work was the true shocker. Joel didn't want to think about what the underside of his desk must look like.

Fischer didn't help.

Since the beginning of their so called relationship Susan had been pretty shy about taking it into the bedroom. Luschek had only seen her naked a handful of times and had actually gotten to do anything about that nakedness on even fewer occasions. The sex they had was halting and awkward and usually ended with him insisting it was fine that she wanted to stop, he didn't need to finish, and could she excuse him while he went to the bathroom real quick? The decorative hand towel in her bathroom was nearly as bad as his desk.

Joel had to accept some responsibility for the dwindling, or perhaps complete lack, of a flame in his sex life with the pretty rookie though. There had been a time not even that long ago where just the sight of her, all soft skin and softer hair, would have made him eager for even the shy kisses she deemed acceptable to end their nights. Susan was attractive in all the ways Joel had been conditioned to appreciate. She was slender and tall with eyes almost too big for her face and when she smiled at you, through perfect cupid's bow lips, it really did make you feel like you were the most important person in the room to her at that moment.

But she wasn't sexy.

Or feisty.

She didn't make lewd jokes or wear an ostentatious amount of black eyeliner and she didn't have a mane of wild hair that he could use as leverage to yank her back into him as he drilled her again and again and…

He felt like shit.

Four weeks after his little indiscretion he could see his relationship with Fischer falling apart and at no point had it been more obvious than the previous night. Susan had gone over to his humble abode, game as usual to start the night however he saw fit. There had been TV dinners and crap TV to go with it and then Joel had let his arm fall across her slender shoulders. She'd allowed it and he'd leaned in for more. If he were being honest it had been even longer than four weeks since he had made a legitimate move on Susan since she never seemed to be in the mood. However, the previous night he felt he had to try because during an on-the-clock nap he'd had such a raunchy dream about Nichols that he'd nearly finished in his sleep. He'd carried that load around with him all day and just wanted to spend on something besides a towel for once.

Susan, oddly enough, had seemed game for that as well and the two had relocated to the bedroom. He'd known he was rushing a bit, so eager to actually have sex with a chance of finishing, and tried to communicate with Fischer to get her on his level. She'd returned the kisses, given no protest to the quick way he undressed them both, and even stayed quiet as he rolled her as gently as he was able onto her stomach. Of course he saw that she wasn't really responding, but she hadn't pushed him away either and so he continued, stroking her back and muttering absolutely filthy things into her ear as he slid her panties down.

It wasn't until he positioned himself, hard and ready and condom donned, at her entrance and pushed in that he stopped. Her whole body had jerked at the intrusion and she'd given muffled grunt of what could only be pain. And he could see why. She had been completely dry, not even an ounce of moisture to ease him in. She hadn't been enjoying herself at all.

He'd sighed low down in his chest, erection already fleeing the scene as he slipped out of her and moved away, allowing her space to roll over. Her face had been open and honest as usual and he could see a sort of pitying apology there. She'd suggested some foreplay or lube to get the party going, but he'd just waved her off. They'd redressed awkwardly and returned to the living room where the television was still showing an old episode of Judy King at Home. They'd watched it silently for a bit and then Susan had gone home, dropping a dry kiss to Joel's cheek as she left.

That experience and four weeks of torture were why that morning Joel Luschek finally decided he'd had enough. Nicky may be an inmate and a junky and general pain in his ass, but at least she seemed to want him. At least her body singed with pleasure whenever he did fuck up and end up with her legs around his waist. At least she laughed and goaded him on between bouts of moaning into his ear so loud the sound was still echoing with him weeks later. At least with Nicky he could get off.

He went through his morning routine at the prison robotically, snapping at inmates on an apparent schedule and trading mild banter with the likes of O'Neill and others. He kept his eyes wide open and trained on the door to catch a glimpse of every woman that came in and out even though he knew exactly when Nichols was scheduled to arrive. And arrive she did, happy and animated as ever, boasting about something inappropriate at a completely too loud volume as she made her way to her usual spot. It sounded like she was recounting some sort of sexcapade and Joel's dick gave an interested little jerk at her descriptions.

He blundered the orders for the day and released them all, eyes making a valiant effort to not remain trained on Nicky throughout. She stared at him straight in the face the whole, hip cocked and hair tumbling over her shoulder like she always did. When he was done she went to her usual spot and he followed, growling at newts that dared to scamper into his path as he made his way over. Her back was to him and she was chipping away at the wall much like she'd been chipping away at his sanity and when he cleared his throat to draw her attention she didn't even glance over her shoulder.

"What can I do ya for, Luschek?"

"I-"

"Sorry I'm late."

Luschek jumped at the voice that had appeared right by his shoulder. He and Nicky both turned to see none other than Chapman standing there looking even more like she was on her period than usual. He figured her new neon orange uniform might be washing her out a bit as Nichols beamed, full cheeks stretching wide as she welcomed Piper back to work and asked why she looked so glum. Joel cursed internally, backing away as the blonde began to bitch about some old blanket, and returned to his desk. He watched the two women from afar but Chapman never strayed from her friend's side, sallow face looking distressed as she continued to lament the loss of her things, and Luschek cursed her too. By the time their stint with him was up, he still hadn't spoken to Nichols and he had a hard on that could cut a diamond. He cursed Chapman all through his second lunch break.

The day dragged on painfully slow after that. He rubbed one out in a CO bathroom after a very detailed fantasy of bending Nicky over a workbench as she cooed she'd do anything to not get a shot. He had an encore performance after going to hunt her down only to overhear a conversation between her and some big dike about orgasms. By near the end of the day he was pretty spent and he still hadn't spoken to Nicky. He was getting ready to clock out when he decided to go out on a slightly precarious limb in a last ditch effort to bend the wildcat's ear.

"Hey, Morello, you seen Nichols?"

The little Italian looked up at him with eyes nearly as big as Fischer's. Her somehow perfectly styled brunette curls swayed around her pretty face as she tilted her head in thought. Joel had never really talked to Nichols' shadow before, but she didn't seem to find his question odd or suspicious which was why he had picked her to go to. She always knew where to find Nicky, but never seemed to really think anything through.

"Ummm," she mused, voice grating as she fanned her hands out, "I think she went to the chapel, Mr. Luschek. Had something she wanted to get off her mind."

If Joel had any sudden worries that Nicky was secretly a Jesus freak, Morello's sly smirk quickly put them to rest. Whatever Nichols had gone to the chapel for, it wasn't for anything religious. He thanked the inmate and let her continue on her way, having nearly body checked her into a wall in order to speak covertly with her. She smiled benignly and pranced away, conversation probably already far from her mind. Luschek shook his head and made a beeline for the chapel.

When he pushed the heavy doors open and walked in he was met with a small shock. While he hadn't really expected Nicky to be sat in a pew waiting to hear the word of God, he hadn't expected her to be up at the altar like she was about to deliver it either. Sunlight coming in from the window behind her caught the individual strands of her hair and made her look like a lion from hell as she looked up and caught his eye. The comparison was fitting since the smile she sent his way was nothing short of predatory as he cleared his throat and stepped closer.

"What can I do ya for, Luschek?" she breathed, her voice sounding damp and strained like she'd just run a marathon. She looked as if she had as well, clad only in her undershirt from the waist up. Her bottom half was hidden from him, but she had a light sheen of sweat across her brow.

"Well, I think...we should talk," he offered lowly, brow furrowed as he watched her body shiver and jerk at odd intervals while she watched him, mouth slightly parted. "Got a minute?"

"For you?" she teased, arm that she wasn't using to prop herself up flexing somewhere beneath the altar, "All night."

"Right...well," he cleared his throat to buy time. Her eyes were fluttering at him almost prettily and as she licked her lips, a strange noise falling from her mouth, he wondered what the hell was going on behind that altar. "Nichols what-...are you...are you mastur-?!"

His question was cut off when suddenly Nicky slammed the wood she leaned against with her free hand, head falling back as she moaned. Joel jumped in surprise from the noise and from the fact his dick had just come to painfully full attention right against his zipper. Nicky continued her little show, gripping the podium as she moaned and cursed and rocked her hips against something, driving Luschek absolutely insane as she managed to pick her head up and look him directly in his eyes.

"Fuck!"

That did it.

That word, barked out in a way almost identical to their first night together, let Luschek know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the inmate was experiencing an orgasm right then and there in front of him and God and the empty pews. His throat felt like he hadn't had a sip of water in years. His stomach was all in knots. Speechless, he reached down thoughtlessly and gripped himself through his trousers ready to stroke himself to a weak third climax of the day when suddenly Nichols stepped back from the altar on shaky legs.

And a tiny Asian woman fell out from behind it.

Luschek nearly had a fucking heart attack as the girl scrambled for her clothes, thin arms folded over her breasts self consciously as she spewed a veritable explosion of apologies, young face apple red from embarrassment. The CO at least had the clarity of mind to release his throbbing erection, but besides that he could only watch in shock as the naked woman ran by him, calling back more apologies and a promise to Nicky to talk later. The chapel door slamming behind him felt like a bucket of icewater being poured down his pants.

"What...THE FUCK?!"

Nichols, who had merely watched her latest conquest flee the scene impassively while trying to catch her breath, raised a brow at her boss, still naked from the waist down.

"What?" she said innocently, "She's worth alotta points."

"WHAT?!" Joel felt like he may be losing his mind. It was a serious possibility. Nicky merely huffed, snatching her discarded pants off the floor as she approached the CO casual as can be.

"Oh, calm down," she grouched, tripping into the scrubs, "Nothin' you shouldn't have expected."

He wanted to argue with her. Wanted to throw her reputation back in her face and call her a gross slut and a junky too boot, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Because if she was a slut and a junky then he was the guy chasing a slut and a junky. And he didn't want to be that guy. He just wanted to be the guy that occasionally got to fuck this wildcat into a wall and then go home and get back some of the sleep he'd been missing out on for four weeks. Looking at her then, Luschek realized for the first time that for this to work he was going to have to start being nice to Nichols. Because it was obvious she could get her proverbial rocks off anywhere at anytime and with anyone one, but Joel couldn't even get his fucking girlfriend wet anymore. He needed Nichols and the realization was such a punch in the gut that he actually had to sit down.

"Hey? You still with us, Major Tom?"

Luschek let out a hysterical kind of chuckle because if Nicky was his ground control he was in big fucking trouble. His head was starting to ache and he rubbed it roughly as he heard Nicky lower herself into the pew beside him. He sighed heavily.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Shoot." If Nicky felt any shame about being caught in the middle of a sexual encounter by a previous partner who also had the power to deliver her a harsh punishment she played it off well. She slouched beside Luschek, elbows leaned over the back of their seats and legs spread wide taking up as much space as possible.

"Right...well...a few weeks ago...we…"

"Fucked?" She was looking him straight in the face again. Or at least the side of the face as he avoided her eye.

"That, yeah." He cleared his throat. "I was thinking...maybe...wedoitagainsometime."

The last bit came out in a breathy rush and Nicky's hair bounced as she perked up a bit clearly having caught the gist despite his best efforts. If her pose had been confident before, now it was straight up cocky as she leaned even further back and eyed her CO up and down hungrily. Joel put his head in his hand, migraine in full swing now but dick also back to full sail. Nicky took notice.

"You got an itch you need scratched, Joel?" she all but hissed, sharp teeth gleaming in the light.

"Stop fucking around, Nicky," he snapped at her, about done with the games. She blinked at him. "We both enjoyed it and could go again."

"So?"

"So stop making me pull teeth to get it!"

"It's not like you asked for it!"

"I'm asking now!"

"And I'm saying yes, you fucktard!" He finally turned to face her and saw she had gone from playfully teasing to hungrily stalking. There was a tick in her jaw as she blinked rapid fire at him and she leaned in close then, the smell of her still thick from what he had walked in on. "You wanna fuck me, then fuck me, but I'm not gonna play your little panic attack game after every stroll through the goddamn park so make up your fuckin' mind, Joel."

It was a reasonable enough demand, but it still gave him pause. She wasn't wrong, he did have a history of freaking out immediately after they finished their business, but he figured it was because at those times he was still in some serious denial about what he wanted. Not that he even wanted Nichols because that implied something a little deeper than what he felt they had going for them. He didn't want Nichols, per say, but he wanted certain things about her. Her aggressiveness, her rudeness, her tightness.

He was so fucking hard.

"I'm in," he sighed, throwing every last shred of dignity to the wind as he moved in on her. Fuck the job, fuck Susan, fuck diseases, he needed this. And he was so close to having it when she suddenly put her hand up. "Oh come on!"

His exclamation was only half biting as he saw the way her pupils were blown to kingdom come as she stared him down. She wanted this too.

"Rules," she rasped. "We need some fucking rules."

"Ugh, fine!" Luschek sat back, dick pointed to the ceiling as he thought. "You can't tell anyone."

"Obviously," she spat, cinnamon eyes glaring at him heatedly. "You can't give me any shots."

"If you do something fucked up, I gotta give you a shot," he argued, eyes rolling dramatically. "If I don't it'll be suspicious!"

"Fine," she grumbled, hand slipping down into her pants. Luschek thumped his head on the pew. "But stop threatening to send to to max! We both know you can't anyway."

"Fine." He watched the motion of her hand beneath her pants.

"And no keeping me from doing my own thing away from you." The end of her statement was punctuated by a little gasp as she apparently tickled over something interesting and Joel barely caught what she'd said.

"Huh? What?"

"Like no cock blockin' me with other inmates," she clarified, "I've got a competition going with Boo and if you walk in and interrupt every play date I bring into places like this you're gonna be fucking me in more ways than one."

"Don't get in the way of your sexathon, got it." He inched his own hand towards her experimentally and when she didn't protest let it slide in beside her own. He could've cried at how warm and wet she felt.

"Good," she panted, head falling back as he took over, "Cause it's not like I'm gonna get in the way of you and Fischer."

Another hysterical little chuckle.

"I haven't wanted Fischer since…"

He'd said too much.

Nichols head picked up and she eyed him critically, but he ignored it. Instead he focused his free hand on beginning the task of removing his belt.

"Any more rules?"

"No getting jealous."

"Should be easy enough."

"I know you got jealous of Lorna."

He ignored her. Because she was right; he had gotten jealous of Lorna. But getting jealous of what Lorna had with Nicky was so different than if he would have gotten jealous of that Asian girl, or any other inmate that would become a notch on Nicky's belt. She fucked around, he'd just seen that and it didn't bother him. But with Lorna she had something else. She had inside jokes and soft smiles and gentle touches and someone that always knew where to find you. He couldn't be jealous of that. He shouldn't be jealous of that. He didn't want Nichols.

"Anything else?"

"Don't go fallin' in love with me."

"Get the fuck over yourself, Nichols," he grouched, kicking his pants off and away as she did the same, her sharp teeth gleaming in the light.

"How about you get over me instead," she suggested, huffing out a rasping laugh as he grabbed onto her hair roughly and turned her over. Kneeling behind her on the pew, her wild locks partially tamed within his fist, he rammed into her enthusiastically, reveling in the hot and heavy noises she made in response. It was even better than his fantasies.