A/N: Muse is back to the dreary side. Enjoy!
Xxx XXX xxX
Nick Stokes came back to the room 20 minutes and 12 dollars later. He was appalled at the prices of the vending machines in the lobby. Eight dollars for a measly, stale sandwich! Four dollars for a can of soda! No wonder relatives took turns looking after their loved ones… between the medical bills and the food a family could very well file for bankruptcy after a week in here.
He went into the room and did a double take to check if he had it right. The room in front of him was empty. "What the..?" he thought, and was about to go back to the nurse station to demand an explanation when out of the corner of his eye he saw movement behind a curtain. Cop training kicked in, and he removed his gun from his holster and approached the source of the movement quietly. Keeping his gun trained on whoever might be lurking behind it, he used his left hand to yank the curtain open.
The "Police!" statement that should have followed the yanking died before it even reached his lips. Standing right in front of him was Sofia Curtis… naked. He stared at her open-mouthed and she stared right back at him without flinching. It took him half a minute to realize that he was doing it before he dropped his sight to the floor and his arm to the side.
He noticed then that the hospital robe was pooled around her ankles. He also noticed the graceful curve of her calves. And although he hadn't meant to, he also noticed that she was a natural blond. He told himself that it was only natural that he took on such details; after all, he was trained to be observant and notice even the smallest of details. What he couldn't explain, although he was absolutely sure it was also perfectly natural, was the way his embarrassment got quickly replaced by a wave of lust. He felt his cheeks burning and he hoped Sofia would think it was due to embarrassment rather than excitement.
He shifted his gaze and settled it on the I.V. line that was still attached to her arm. Swirling rivulets of blood made their way up to the saline solution bag and Nick was a bit surprised to see that there was a fair amount of blood there as well.
"Perhaps it would be best if you lie down and put that arm up" he said, moving his arms vaguely in the direction of the I.V. Sofia, who had managed to wrap a towel around her, looked at the source of his worries and decided to get rid of the problem by pulling the needle out of her arm.
"Okay. Hold it right there, Curtis. What exactly do you think you are doing?" he asked, more forcefully once he'd realized she was now partially covered up.
"Getting dressed and getting out of this place" was her simple answer. "You'd better consider turning around, the towel is coming off."
Nick was shocked. He would have expected Sofia to be more modest about her body, given the circumstances and he didn't know how to react to her brazen attitude. Seeing that he hadn't moved, Sofia shrugged her shoulders, dropped the towel... and started to get dressed.
Nick decided that two could play the game. In the back of his mind, memories of Kristy flashed by. The whole checking on the nipple discoloration to compare it with the victim had been a ruse. He had just been looking for an excuse to get a good look at her. Ever since he had seen her inside the patrol car he had wanted her. When she had called him again to get help her with the security guard, he had given it a second try. A very lame attempt, that let's-talk-about-my-work and grab-a-coffee, but a part of him, a very small part of him, kept screaming inside his head that falling for a hooker was, indeed, a very bad idea. The third time they've met had proven to be the charm, and he had given her a ride home knowing full well where the whole thing was headed. Murder, however, had not been in his plans, but that's how the affair had ended.
So he wasn't that lucky when it came to picking up the right gal. He still cringed at the memory of Det. Joyce Secula, and the ill-fated dinner they had shared some years back. It wasn't that Joyce wasn't a nice person. She was. And she wasn't hard on the eyes, either. But she was a couple of years older than Nick and her biological clock had already started ticking, and she had hinted too hard at wanting a serious relationship and settling down for good and Nick just wasn't ready for that. Back then, he was still spending his money on new video games and using his job as an excuse to check females out. Granted he had taken the coward way out by not calling her, and after she had pointed it out, he had begged Brass not to pair them together again. Luck had it Jim Brass had made the same "mistake" a few months back and he hadn't given Nick much hell over the whole issue. The experience, however, had made Nick weary of office flings and he had managed to keep away from temptation.
Until now.
His walk down memory lane had not affected his visual capacity, and he had taken in every inch of Sofia's naked body whilst she dressed herself. The scars were unsettling, yes, but once you got past them you realized that Sofia was one very good looking woman. Desirable. He had watched as she had put on her bra, and decided that her breasts were just the perfect size to fit in his hands. The sheer material showed her hardened nipples and Nick's mouth went dry as he realized just how badly he wanted to suck on them. Sofia slid her jeans up her hips, and Nick's mind pictured his own hands holding unto them whilst he slid in and out of her…
"Seen enough?"
Her voice brought him out of the fantasy word he had slipped into. He realized his erection was perfectly noticeable through his jeans, but he wasn't ashamed of it in the least. Let Sofia Curtis know just how much he wanted her. Hell, she'd consider herself lucky if she walked out of that room just kissed!
"Not as much as I'd like to see…"
It wasn't so much what he had said, but rather HOW he had said it what troubled Sofia. The husked voice, the innuendo dripping from every syllable, the feral look on his face, not to mention the bulge on his jeans… if Sofia didn't know better, she'd have thought Nick has having a very strong sexual response towards her. Which was impossible, as she well knew. Men didn't look at her that way, not anymore, not after what had happened.
She had mourned Erick for three years, which was time also spent healing and recovering and getting back to "normal"… whatever normal meant for burn victims like herself. After that time, friends and family began gently, but firmly, pushing her towards "moving on with her life" and, for some reason that escaped her own logic, such moving on required the presence of a man in her life.
The first attempt had been a blind date set up by her Aunt Louise with a young doctor. The good old woman had assumed that given his line of work he wouldn't find her scars too "disturbing" and would be able to see beyond them. Sofia had to give the man points for trying, but whenever they got slightly intimate she could see the look of pity in his eyes, and the whole thing went down in flames after the 5th date.
The lawyer her cousin Emma had hooked her up with had taken one look at her scarred cleavage, asked if there was a chance reconstructive surgery would give her a "normal" appearance, and left before dessert had arrived. Sofia didn't hold it against him; at least, the man had been honest. He had his sights set on a political career and he needed a trophy wife by his side, one that he could show off in low-cut evening dresses and wouldn't have a perpetually haunted look in her eyes.
The third and last time, she had managed to get the date on her own. Phillip was a fire fighter who also volunteered at the burned ward in the hospital and she had been straightforward with him since day one. He had seemed fine with it, more than fine, actually, and they had ended date two making out on her living room like a couple of kids. After Phillip left that night, Sofia had cried herself to sleep, tears of joy for feeling whole and normal again after so many years of considering herself damaged goods. It didn't last long, though. He was ready to settle down and start a family and hadn't taken too well the news that her chances of carrying out a pregnancy to term were slim to none. Shortly after that conversation they had started drifting apart and before the month was over their relationship was done, as well.
Sofia accepted then and there that she had used up all the chances this lifetime was going to give her, and she had made her peace with it. Sure, she felt lonely, especially late at nights when she craved the feeling of a man's arms wrapped around her body, but nothing that crying herself to sleep while hugging a pillow didn't cure by next morning.
So what in the hell, she asked herself, was Nick Stokes doing looking at her like that? Her mind was furious at his condescending attitude, and her heart had missed a beat or two out of exhilaration, and in the end her temper won out. She decided to teach the cocky CSI a lesson, give him a taste of her sharp tongue and walk out of the room without looking back.
Unfortunately, her body saw fit to betray her right then and there.
"Get out of my way Stokes" she commanded, and took two steps forward.
She immediately felt dizzy and swayed against her will. Nick had been watchful of her every move, and as soon as he saw her falter, he was quick to close the distance between them. He slid one arm around her waist and the other one around her shoulders, pulling her close to him for support. The resulting heat wave from their touching bodies was immediate, and Nick felt a flare of lust begin to burn white hot inside of him, fueling his erection as well as his actions. Sofia, on the other hand, cursed her weakness. She wasn't used to playing damsel in distress and damned if she was going to give Nick the chance to play knight in shining armor. But a longing born out of years of unfulfilled desire was slowly taking over her, and she knew she was going to be powerless against it if she didn't get away right then and there.
"Let me go" was her weak protest.
"I can't" he replied in all honesty, drawing her even closer to him.
"Please" her voice trembled, uncertain as to what she was begging for.
For all response, Nick leaned in and captured her mouth with his own.
Xxx XXX xxX
A/N: Well, it wasn't as dreary as I thought it'd be. I'm a non-American resident, so I based the prices mentioned in the first paragraph on what I'd consider a rip-off. Please don't hesitate to point out if I'm too cheap.