So I thought I continue all my stories, aaand this would be the next one! Hope you'd like it an please don't hesitate to tell me your opinion! *hugs*

I owe with a huge THANK YOU to Meaghan for beta-ing this chapter! :)

8. Soft and hard then soft again

Previously:

Ten minutes later Red returned, ready to continue their session but it seemed the conversation with Dembe took too long because Lizzie was soundly sleeping on the middle of the bed.

It disappointed him, but this feeling was replaced by adoration as he stepped closer. He felt the alcohol working in him well, making him groggy, so he just lied down next to her.

Lizzie must have sensed his presence so she turned around and buried her face into the crook of his neck as she threw her arm and leg around him possessively.

Red didn't know what to do with that, he hadn't been in this position for god knows how long but it just felt so good.

He had to change his clothes, he had to have a shower and work a little. Red knew he had to but ending the warm feeling in his heart, it was nearly impossible.

"Just one more minute," he thought but his eyes were already closed.

###

It was wrong in oh so many ways.

He had just made a huge mistake, staying in bed with his greatest enemy's little girl…who was anything but a little girl…who was now spooning against him as he tried to distance himself.

He knew it was wrong – but why did it feel so, so good?

She was so adorable in her sleep, so soft and young, and everything a hot blooded male could want. Not that he adored her any less when she was fighting with him or tricking poor Mr. Vargas, just to let herself feel that she could control something.

In the dim light of morning Red gave up on distancing himself and turned around to welcome her warmth into his arms.

The great Concierge of Crime was getting sentimental as he aged, he thought as he let out a silent chuckle.

It was the only explanation for the delicious quivering he felt low in his belly which was a product of his feelings, not only of his physical wants.

Of course, if he could, Red would fuck her senseless right there and then, but there was one tiny problem with that: it wouldn't be only fucking anymore.

He liked her a lot. She was funny, sassy, and incredibly smart, not to mention how brave she could be when confronting him, yet he simply adored the look in her big, doe-like eyes whenever he switched his mood from calm and collected to true alpha male. It was as if she were a helpless little kitten, who needed to be saved, not the proud panther who lived in her, and it just made his protective male-instincts even stronger. He wanted to tame her in the most brutal, yet most pleasurable, of ways. He also wanted to possess her, and to make her his so that she would not be able to look or even fantasize about other men…, just him.

However, he wasn't sure that any physical action would be good for his confused heart. It wasn't love, he was too old to believe in love at first sight – but he was also old enough to know how possessive he could be with her, and his broken heart wouldn't let her go.

She, however, didn't feel the same. She was attracted to him, yes, but she was interested in being in his company only as long as they were hunting their common enemy. After that – and maybe after a mind-blowing night together – she would continue her life where she had left it… without him.

He didn't blame her, really. He was older than her, and she had yet to experience so many things in life even though he would happily show her the world, Red was sure it wasn't something Lizzie would want, however.

When she stirred and turned around, he slipped out of the bed and headed for a cold shower to tame his morning thoughts.

He let the water run along his back as he rested his forehead against the wall.

Why, oh why couldn't he get rid of her scent? He still felt her on his body;, it surrounded him like a warm blanket that made him feel so alive., He hadn't felt like this in ages. He still remembered how those sensitive lips of hers enveloped his in a feverish kiss where teeth, tongues, and lips danced in a wild tango, fighting for dominance and bathing in pleasure.

He shook his head yet again as he took a deep breath. His thoughts were not helping him settle.

Last night he was drunk and couldn't think straight, but now he realized that as much as he'd want to consume her, he had to let the idea go and end this whole thing between them.

The sooner, the better.

After he shaved, he exited the bathroom with a towel around his waist to find the most beautiful sight awaiting him on the bed. Lizzie, his sweet Lizzie, was reading the newspapers with a mug in hand, sprawled out on her stomach, still wearing nothing but his shirt and her incredibly sexy black lace panties. Ah, yes, and on top of that, she was wearing black- rimmed reading glasses.

Red had a really hard time keeping his desire at bay.

She looked up at him and suddenly her expression changed; her lips parted and a slight smile appeared on her face, her eyes narrowing a bit while lust slowly pooled in them. Her gorgeous legs that had been tangling together in the air above her, now stilled as she turned her attention to the man in front of her. Liz tilted her jaw as if she were calculating how she could catch her prey as soon as possible.

Truth be told, she had always been the kind of woman who couldn't really imagine that a man in his fifties could still be hot underneath his clothes. In the criminal world, there were men with huge amounts of power who tempted young girls, but Liz had never understood them. She had never understood their willingness to touch an old man, just to have access to a lot of money.

Until now.

No, she didn't want Reddington's money, or his empire. She wanted the man himself, the man who was still incredibly desirable. He had strong shoulders, a muscular chest, a bit softer and rounder of a belly than was considered conventionally handsome (she had always had a thing for robust men)…, not to mention his perfect butt and incredibly strong legs. She was sure that she could spend hours feasting her eyes and lips on him.

###

Dear God, this woman would be the death of him, Red thought, as his cock twitched from the heat of her penetrating gaze over his body.

"Good morning," he said hoarsely, and quickly turned around to search for some underwear since the towel did little to hide his revived lust.

"It is," she said knowingly as she walked toward him and hugged him from behind, trailing her fingers along his chest and down to his waist where the towel was knotted, and then playing with the soft hairs against his warm skin.

She'd barely touched him but as the scent of his aftershave hit her, Liz could feel herself getting excited with each passing second.

She wanted him now!

It was true, that last night both of them were drunk, but the pull she felt towards him was still there, and she had to pay attention so as not to get too emotionally involved with this man.

She felt something stronger than simple physical attraction towards Reddington; she couldn't describe it, but it was there, deep in her heart. This feeling frightened her because there wasn't anyone before who had ever made her feel like this. He was a smug bastard sometimes, but he was also exceedingly intelligent with a unique sense of humor. Liz was sure that this man could spend hours just talking about anything. He always paid close attention to all details and, maybe he showed his ruthless criminal side to the world…but now she was realizing how tender he could be with the ones he cared about.

Liz also knew that the cheerful side of him was only a mask for the outside world and that deep down he was a lonely and melancholy man.

Raymond Reddington was a real puzzle and she felt a huge urge to solve him.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth knew very well that in the world of criminals, feelings like love and affection could be a ticket to hell.

She shook her head slightly and came back to the present, only to start sensuously kissing his shoulder blades. She felt Red's breath hitch and, it made her smile wickedly.

Meanwhile, Red closed his eyes to attempt to regain his control.

"Elizabeth…" he breathed out warningly, and then sighed when he felt her tongue drawing lazy circles over the curve of his shoulder. Of course she had to find his weak spot…

"Mmm, I think we have some… unfinished business…" Her hands were slowly trying to unhook the towel, but Red grabbed her wrists before she could. She froze. What the hell had changed with him? He had been so affected by her last night, but now… "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong…but we… -you…" He desperately searched for the proper words, but once again, in the company of this unique woman, words failed him. He took a deep breath to organize his thoughts. "Lizzie, we can't do that."

"Can't do what?" she asked slowly, her body still tense.

"We can't get physically involved… you're my associate. Besides, I could be your fa…" The mere thought disgusted him and he couldn't complete the sentence, but it looked like it had worked because those soft hands left his body as their owner huffed.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" she spat as she grabbed her mug and newspaper, and headed toward the door. "And please, spare me from clichés…" She looked as if his words had twisted a knife into her gut.

He gently grabbed her wrist yet again, to stop her from ending their conversation too abruptly. He needed her to understand that this wasn't a classical rejection.

"Elizabeth…" he started, but she interrupted him as she pulled her wrist from out of his grip.

"Stop calling me that!" she snapped. "You don't want to get involved with me, I got it! But don't even think that you can hide your desire from me," she hissed angrily, like an annoyed panther. She put down the items she held in her hand, onto the nightstand, and approached Red one more time. He tried to avoid her approach but his back hit the wardrobe. They were only inches away, now.

"I know you want me; don't try to deny it, Raymond," she whispered. Their lips were almost touching and Red couldn't help but close his eyes. When he thought that she was about to kiss him, she instead leaned back and looked deep into his now wide-open eyes. "But I won't mtake the first move, and I won't run after you. Why? Because in a matter of time, you'll come to me willingly.," She winked, and with swaying hips she grabbed her items and left the room without looking back.

Outside, she had to lean against the wall as she let out a ragged breath. She didn't know where her confidence had come from, but combined with anger, sadness, and frustration, it had made her dizzy and light-headed. Sure, she'd told him that she wouldn't beg him to allow her the privilege of becoming his lover, but right now she wanted nothing more than to run back into the room and kiss him until he forgot his whole 'we-can't-be-together-because-I'm-too-old-for-you-and-you're-my-associate'thing.

But she wouldn't. No, she was too stubborn to do that.

Instead, she walked out to the garden with an aching heart.

Meanwhile, Red hadn't moved from the spot where he'd just been pinned by this incredible woman. How had she phrased it? He would come to her willingly? He chuckled dryly, and hissed as he fisted his hard-on and pumped himself a few times to get rid of his unreleased frustration. He closed his eyes and let himself drown in the memory of her confidence and sexiness. Ah, those saucy eyes, those luscious lips…

Maybe it wasn't a good idea for him to disappear into the bathroom, fantasizing about Lizzie, but he knew that if he didn't get rid of this sexual tension, the next thing he would do would be to shove that little minx against the wall and make her his in the most brutal way.

His Lizzie might be a stubborn creature but his stubbornness would beat hers.

It was going to be a long, long time on the run together.

To be continued…

So? Are you interested in the next chapter? :)