DISCLAIMER: – see previous chapter –

TIMELINE: – see previous chapter –

SUMMARY: – see previous chapter –

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Nostalgia struck while I'm writing this chapter, so Felicity's playlist consisted of boy band songs. It might not be her actual music choice genre, but I'm writing this so I took over her playlist and made her current playlist selection her "guilty pleasure" choices.

CHAPTER NOTES: Before you proceed, please be warned that for this particular chapter, the rating's been bumped to NC-17, mainly because two of our characters got a bit too frisky with each other...

IX. Sunday Delight

NKOTBSB'S DON'T TURN OUT THE LIGHTS WAS playing on the surround sound system installed inside the Arrow lair. Felicity was surprised to discover such thing existed, but then she figured Oliver and company needed some good tunes to listen to while they worked out or maybe just when they work, and since Oliver Queen can afford it he had it installed.

It was very early on a Sunday morning and Felicity found herself driving towards the club after waking up from a dream that wasn't that disturbing, but it made her restless regardless. She spent a good hour pacing her apartment, making herself a pot of coffee and probably drank two pots of it (maybe she only finished one whole pot, but it felt like she had more than that), but it wasn't enough to calm her nerves. She thought of driving around the city might help clear her mind, but soon she found herself driving towards the direction of the club, entering the lair via the back alley entrance. She wasn't sure why she was drawn to this place; she could've gone to the park or to one of those 24-hour coffee places, but no, her inner instinct took her here where, oddly enough, she felt more safe and at home.

On her way to the club she decided to call Barry and hoped he'd be able to be the voice of reason that would calm her insides and make her forget about her dream. He had been her tower of strength ever since she woke up at the hospital after being shot and not remembering a huge part of her life involving two very rich and very good looking men. Barry was kind enough to fill in the blanks for her, but clearly the part about Oliver being the Arrow and Ray putting together a super suit skipped his mind. But she quickly forgive him for not sharing that part since he too had a secret identity that needed to be protected.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me what you dreamt about?" Barry asked for the umpteenth time. He paced the West's kitchen while waiting for his pot of coffee to finish brewing. "And what is that music you're listening to?"

Felicity made a face at the computer screen in front of her since she couldn't really make a face at the person she was talking to. She was on her Bluetooth earpiece while doing some extra research work while at the lair; she figured she might as well do something to help Oliver and company track down this mysterious League of Assassin people. She doesn't know how she'd find them, but working on computers helps relax her usually.

"It's personal and nothing for you to be concerned about," she answered then added, "And that in the background is the sound of my guilty pleasure."

Barry barked out a laugh after hearing her admit she actually listens to teeny-bopper boy band music.

"Boy bands?" he questioned.

Felicity looked indignant. "They have their moments," was all she could think of to defend her choice. Honestly, she had no idea why she uploaded such playlist to listen to; she caught one old Backstreet Boys song being played on the radio on her way to the lair and it put her in a quasi at ease mood, so she stuck with it and downloaded a few of their songs, plus a few more of other popular boy bands with decent songs.

Barry continued to chuckle and tease her. He stopped asking her about her dream and picked a different topic to discuss. Felicity mentally thanked him for not prodding anymore about what caused her to have a restless and sleepless night; she didn't want to think too much about those vivid visions of rock-hard abs and muscled limbs intertwined with hers in a sweaty and heady lovemaking marathon...

Felicity felt her cheeks burning just re-thinking about what woke her up from her somewhat good slumber. There was no way she'd tell Barry something as intimate as what she just dreamt about! She and Barry might have grown closer over the course of the past year or so, but there are certain things even really good close friends can't share with each other.

"We should karaoke," Barry suggested after humming along to the song playing in the background.

"I suck at karaoke," Felicity confessed.

"So? Karaoke is not about who can sing like Mariah. It's just a way for people to live-out their inner Whitney or Sinatra and belt out a tune whether it was off key or not," Barry reasoned out.

"No," Felicity was adamant, and she made sure she sounded firm.

"C'mon, Felicity, live a little," he cajoled.

"I am living a little," she insisted. "Hell, I think I am even living a lot before I was shot," she added, but her tone wavered and her forehead creased to a frown.

Heavy silence fell between the lines as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Felicity mentally cursed herself for not thinking her choice of words carefully. She hates awkward silences, and this right here, right now was definitely one of those. And she never had one of those with Barry – ever.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, not really certain why she was apologizing, but she felt the need to say something and that was the first thing that entered her mind. "I didn't mean to be a downer."

"Hey, no sweat," Barry brushed the awkwardness off with a chuckle. He picked-up where their conversation left off and tried to convince Felicity to come back to Central City so he could take her to some karaoke bars. It took a lot of cajoling and plenty of compromising, but before they ended their phone conversation Barry managed to wrangle a promise from Felicity that they will go do karaoke next time he's in Starling or when she visits Central City again.

"Hell would freeze over before I get caught singing in public," Felicity muttered to herself as she looked up places in both Starling City and Central City that offered karaoke night. Barry's enthusiasm irked her curiosity and soon she abandoned her research on the League and instead looked for karaoke bars.

"Are you planning on unleashing your inner Celine Dion?"

Felicity jumped when she heard Oliver's voice spoke over her head. She was busy reading about each karaoke bar she found that she didn't realize someone's entered the lair and walked up to join her at her usual spot in front of the computer.

Oliver took a step back when he saw her jump in her seat. He couldn't help himself from chuckling at her obvious surprise.

"Are you okay?"

"Jesus, Oliver, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Felicity glared at him, her hands clutching her chest where her heart was beating rather faster than normal.

"Sorry," he apologized and walked away to grab her a bottled water from the mini fridge they had installed in the lair. "Here," he handed the bottle to her as a peace offer.

"Thanks," Felicity took the bottle begrudgingly from him and twisted the cap open. She took a healthy gulp or two before recapping the bottle and setting it aside.

"Feeling better now?"

"Getting there," she answered.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Oliver apologized and walked closer to her. "I walked in and greeted you, but you didn't even acknowledge me so I figured I'd check on what's gotten your full attention," he explained, his eyes never leaving her face as he approached her. "What are you doing here anyway?" He was surprised to find her here early on a Sunday.

"I couldn't sleep," Felicity admitted before her face flushed a deep beet red colour.

Oliver cocked an eyebrow at her odd reaction. She looked almost guilty, but guilty of what? It was unusual to see her flush like this especially since she didn't say a double entendre, which she was prone to doing but it wasn't done on purpose.

"Is everything okay?" he prodded.

"Yes," she squeaked, turning her chair so its back was facing him.

Oliver didn't believe her, but seeing how red her face was getting he didn't prod further. He dropped the subject and let her be. He went about doing what he came to the lair to do, which was to workout, clear his head and focus on stopping Ra's. He wasn't counting on Felicity being here, but he can work his way around that, except...

"What the hell is that racket?" He stopped by the salmon ladder, midway from removing his shirt to discard somewhere. He just realized that there was music playing; he was used to hearing music play while he worked out, but this particular music was unlike his usual choice of playlist.

"What?" Felicity looked confused by his question.

"What are you listening to?"

"Boy band music?" Felicity answered, uncertain on how Oliver will react to her fiddling with his usual playlist.

"Are you serious?" He made a face when one of the singers hit a high falsetto note.

"It's my guilty pleasure," was her sheepish reply. "Besides, I didn't think anyone would be here this early," she added.

It was at the tip of Oliver's tongue to say he was always at the lair regardless of what time or day, but he just let the subject drop and went on his business.

Felicity mentally applauded herself for keeping her head together. Oliver started his workout right in front of her. He didn't seem fazed that someone was watching him; nothing broke his concentration. Felicity tried to ignore him like what he was doing to her, but the sight of him topless and glistening with sweat reminded her so much of her dream, it was a damn battle trying to get back to her groove before Oliver showed up and started distracting her. She wanted to turn the music's volume up in the hopes of drowning out the sound of steel clanking against steel as he worked on the ladder, but a voice at the back of her head told her Oliver wouldn't appreciate pumping iron, per se, to various popular boy band songs.

# # # # #

TWO HOURS LATER Oliver called it quits on his workout. He mentally congratulated himself for lasting as long as he did without breaking his neck. He was used to Felicity being around when he worked out before, but catching a glimpse of her looking at him with unabashed lust...it was a wonder he didn't fall off the ladder. In the three years since Felicity joined him and Diggle in his crusade to right the wrong his father did to the city, not once has he caught the blonde IT watch him with such open lust like she did today. Whether she was aware of it or not, Oliver wasn't sure, but knowing Felicity as well as he did, her emotions were written on her face.

Oliver was used to women objectifying him. He lived for those moments to be gushed on and clamored by members of the opposite sex. It fed his over inflated ego, made him feel more superior and above reproach.

God, he was such a conceited ass.

His time on the island sure was an eye-opener; he has atoned for many of his sins, but with his crusade he couldn't be the type of man Lian Yu turned him to be without outing himself as the vigilante, Arrow.

He was towelling himself dry when he noticed a dark ceramic cup being handed to him. He followed where the cup led to and had to stifle an amused grin when he saw a smiling Felicity at the end of it. He distinctly recall a very adamant Felicity Smoak telling him she will not bring him a cup of coffee under any circumstances after he appointed her as his Personal Assistant when he took over running Queen Consolidated.

"It's not coffee," Felicity hastily assured him. "I couldn't find a clean glass so I grabbed the first clean container I could grab and filled it with water. And we are out of bottled water in the fridge, so you're drinking tap water. But since we installed that Brita filter you're drinking filtered water and not straight out of the tap water. Drinking caffeine is the last thing you need after a rigorous workout like that. Not that I'd know what a rigorous workout is 'coz I barely even use my Kinect to work out or hit the gym for that matter. And we all know that water is the best source to rehydrate after...after...well, after a good workout." She seemed out of breath after finishing her babble.

"Thanks," Oliver didn't hide his amusement as he accepted the cup she offered him. He finished its contents in two big gulps, and then placed the empty cup on a nearby table.

Felicity felt a bit out of place standing in front of a half-naked Oliver Queen still glistening with sweat. But she had to give him props for still smelling good even though he was drenched with his own perspiration. Not a lot of men (not that she was acquainted with a lot of them) would end up still smelling like they were drenched in their own cologne after working out for two hours.

"So, are you done for the day?" Felicity felt the urge to continue the conversation going. Somehow awkward silences wasn't her thing, and when she was around Oliver – and after that dream of hers last night – she needed to think of something else other than his near-nakedness.

Oliver finished towelling himself dry and tossed his used towel on the table where he placed his empty cup.

"I got my workout done, and I'm sure you were doing some research on the League's whereabouts. How did that go?"

Felicity walked back to her desk. "Too many road blocks," she admitted.

"They are good at hiding their tracks," Oliver muttered more to himself. "But let's not waste a perfectly good Sunday by tracking dead ends," he announced, crossing the room to where he usually kept his spare clothing to change in to after working out or after doing nightly vigilante work.

"What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know. I haven't had breakfast yet, and I'm sure you haven't eaten anything yet either."

"So you're suggesting breakfast?"

Oliver peered at her from the side of cabinet he had installed in the lair and gave her one of his countless knee-wobbling boyish smiles that made his eyes sparkle with mischief.

"For starters," was his cryptic reply.

Felicity's brow slowly rose when she heard his reply. "What do you mean?"

Oliver finished donning on a fresh pair of a round-collared sports gray t-shirt and walked back to her clear line of vision. "It's Sunday. A lot of people are enjoying this day away from work," he pointed out.

"Yeah, so?"

It was Oliver's turn to cock an eyebrow.

"It also applies to the likes of you and me," he pointed out, walking slowly until he was standing right beside her.

Felicity was forced to turn her chair sideways so she was facing him. She doesn't trust her knees not to wobble if she stood so she remained seated as she looked up and met his gaze.

"I am enjoying my day away from work," she told him.

"Really?" he challenged. He leaned down and braced his hands on her chair's armrests, bringing his face a good inch or two away from hers.

Felicity suddenly had a hard time swallowing; the pulse at the base of her throat – not to mention the pulse on her wrist too – started beating erratically the moment he moved in closer to her; him leaning in like this and completely invading her personal space wasn't helping either.

Oliver knew he was playing with fire right now, but the playful, flirtatious side of him couldn't help from not wanting to tease Felicity. Also, he wanted to be certain if it was indeed lust he glimpsed on her face earlier during his workout. Right now she was doing her best not to squirm in her seat, but he noticed the sudden hitch in her breathing when he leaned in. He was definitely having the same effect on her as she was having on him.

"I work at Palmer Technologies," she reminded him, braving to meet his gaze although right now she was feeling every bit as self-conscious as any acne-riddled teenager.

"Yes, I am very much aware of where you work at," he agreed, but he refused to move from where he was.

Felicity forced her saliva down her suddenly tight throat. "And I am not at the office, so that means I am away from work," she reasoned out.

Her reasoning made sense, but Oliver wouldn't let her get away that easily.

"True, but you were doing research on the League, which is technically still work-related," he argued.

"But I don't get paid here. Pro bono work doesn't count as work-work." That really didn't make sense at all, but she'd be damned if she let Oliver bully her to succumbing to doing whatever the hell he wanted.

"But it's work still," he pointed out, his gaze dropping on her enticing lips devoid of her usual red lipstick. It glistened still when light hits it, and it was tempting him.

A teeny, tiny voice at the back of Felicity's head was screaming at her to move. But move how or where? Oliver was currently blocking her only means of escape.

"Do you ever take no for an answer?" she asked, wrinkling her nose in wonderment. She needed to distract him so she could get away, and asking him that ridiculous question was the first thing that popped in her mind.

"Nope," Oliver answered without skipping a beat. He didn't budge either, to Felicity's dismay.

"Would you take exceptions though?"

Oliver pretended to ponder on it, but it didn't take him long to answer "Nope," again.

Felicity was starting to feel dejected. Having Oliver invade her personal space was starting to give her crazy ideas, starting with those luscious pink lips of his that was poised to be kissed – repeated and passionately – like she did in her dream (and there were a few other things those lips of his did to her person in her dream that was starting to come back up to the surface after she tried desperately to push said memories at the very far end of her mind).

"What would it take to make you reconsider?"

Oliver's face lit up like a Christmas tree as soon as the question was out of her mouth. Felicity soon regretted asking it the moment she saw the mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Guess," he taunted, his eyes dropping to her lips once again.

"I-I-I don't think so," she stammered, her eyes trained on Oliver's face, watching every sinew, every line, every tick and hint of emotion. And right now what his expression was telling her mirrors the same expression he had in her dream...

She squeezed her eyes shut really tight and willed those images away. She didn't need them right now.

"Why not?"

Was it just her imagination or did his voice just got huskier?

"Because...you don't want to know what I'm thinking about," she admitted. And she honestly didn't want him to know that since before he showed up here this morning she has been thinking about kissing him and doing more than just kissing him.

"Maybe I do want to know," he teased, moving his face closer to hers until the tips of their noses touched, and then he did something that sent shockwaves up and down Felicity's spine when he nuzzled his nose against hers in the most erotic way possible if such thing exists. But right now with what he was doing Felicity's mind was slowly turning to slush.

"Oh to hell with it," she mumbled and cupped Oliver's cheek in her hands, bringing his face all the way in until their lips touched. She felt him grin against her lips when she finally succumbed to temptation, but she was far too horny and crazy for him at the moment to snap at him. Besides, her whole body's been screaming for him ever since that night Barry rescued her and Caitlin after the attack at Verdant.

Oliver let Felicity setup the pace first, but he didn't wait long before he took over the tempo of their making out. He cupped the side of her face in his hand and deepened his kiss, his tongue caressing her lips to part and once they did, he thrust his tongue in to mate with hers. He inhaled her sweet flowery scent before hauling her off her favourite chair, moulding her body against his. Without breaking contact he hoisted her up, loving the feel of her jeans-clad legs wrapped around his torso, her thighs squeezing him tight as he walked over to the nearest uncluttered table he could find. If he still slept at the lair he would've taken her to his makeshift cot, but since he moved in with Thea he retired his cot and put it in storage.

Felicity gasped when she felt the cool stainless steel table against her bottom. Even though Oliver hasn't undressed her, the table was very cold given that they were in the basement plus the air conditioning was cranked on nearly high. She let out a disappointed moan when Oliver broke their kiss, but he didn't stay away long; he resumed kissing the side of her lips, trailing kissing down to her neck to her chest, stopping when he reached the top of her blouse. Felicity watched him look at the buttoned blouse for a fraction of a second before he ripped the fabric apart, sending the now useless buttons flying all over the room, and resumed administering kisses until he reached the valley between her breasts that was still anchored by her bra. With expert hands Oliver managed to unclasp her bra from behind, loosening the undergarment and pulling it down to expose her breasts.

Felicity threw her head back and gasped when Oliver covered one exposed breast with his mouth and the other with his hand. She braced her hands backwards on the table for support as Oliver alternately played with each breast. Once satisfied playing with them, he retraced the trail he took to get to them back up and captured her mouth once more.

Sounds of zippers echoed loudly in Felicity's ears as Oliver helped them both out of the remainder of their clothing. He paused mid-kiss as he reached between them to touch her core, feeling her heat and wetness against the fabric of her underwear.

Felicity whimpered at his continued torment, making her buck her hips each time he moved his fingers. He chuckled when she dug her fingers against his shoulder and arm, her legs squeezing his hips hard since he was still wedged between them while she sat on the table and he was playing with her.

"Let go, Felicity," he cooed, his fingers changing tempos to match her hitched breathing.

Felicity didn't trust herself to speak. She met his gaze and gave a firm shake of her head. Not yet. If she was going to reach her peak she wanted him there with her.

"Let go..." he repeated.

"No," she glared at him, fighting off what her body's ready to do.

Oliver chuckled and nipped at her bottom lip. "Do it," he chided.

"N-not without y-you," she felt bold enough to admit what she wanted.

"Don't worry, I'll be joining you," he promised.

"Now?" she said looking hopeful and almost pleading with him to end both their torment and join her to climax together.

"N—" Oliver was cut off from saying whatever protest he was about to say when Felicity reached for him. Her hand found what she was looking for and decided payback was so worth it. He glared at her underhanded – no pun intended – way of manipulating the situation, but deep down he was proud of her acting on her own instinct.

"Together," she said firmly, caressing his erection with gusto as they held each other's gaze.

Oliver wanted to fight it, but each gentle squeeze she gave him only drove him to the edge.

"Minx," he muttered then poised himself to join her.

Felicity's saucy smile turned to heated sounds of pleasure as Oliver drove himself inside her, filling her up to the hilt before slowly setting the tempo for their ride. She reached for him and covered his mouth with his, their kiss somewhat quieting their moans and groans.

Oliver picked up speed, thrusting deeper and harder. He could feel her peaking, and so was he. A few more thrusts and Felicity broke their kiss as they both screamed out their release...