Two hours later, they were seated in the still-dark chamber, the phone face up between them and its screen showing very little remaining battery. Alec had used the phone to case the parts of the rooms they could see, looking for a way out or for more information. They'd found a camera trained on the entrance of the chamber and noted they'd have to tell Logan to scrub it. No evidence they were even there.

Alec hadn't said much in those 120 minutes, and Max had said even less.

Jealous? You can tell me, you know.

No.

She's gonna shower before they – do something together.

So?

So, aren't you curious what that is?

Yes, she was. It's none of my business.

I'd agree with you, except we're stuck in this cell while they're having a date. Does that seem like he has his priorities in order?

No.

Asha's getting naked, wet and soapy, and Logan's disappeared, and you're not jealous. Right.

Shut up.

Eventually, it was Alec who brought up the elephant in the room. "What was that? Back at Logan's?"

Max looked down to his phone as the battery power diminished another percent. "Probably ought to conserve the power," she said, climbing to her feet.

Alec also stood. "Answer the question."

Max folded her arms. She took out her ear piece and put it in the mask of the suit. She looked to Alec to do the same, and he complied and then zipped the suit closed. Logan hadn't returned to the comms in two hours, but if they were going to talk about the bathroom or the gym or the sewers, she didn't want him listening in.

Alec waited for her answer. She remained quiet. "Well? What was that?" He tried to sound concerned and not offensive, but some tonal defensiveness seeped through.

Max sighed, frustrated. "I meant exactly what I said. You don't finish what you start."

"I don't finish what I start?" he asked sarcastically, grinding his teeth.

"That's what I said."

"I seem to recall that you were the one who told Logan we were together in the first place. You initiated this."

"Why are you so upset I told him that? He saw us together and I improvised. Besides, you're the one who held me up against the wall of the sewer tunnel and said all those… things to me." She thought she was arguing, but when she said it out loud, it sounded as if she had liked what he had said.

If she could see his eyes clearer, she'd see the twinkle of recognition in them. "You want to blame someone so badly, Maxie, then you should blame yourself for holding back."

"What are you talking about?"

"In the bathroom," he said, and she could hear him stepping closer, feel the heat of his body waft into her space.

"You were the one holding back," she countered.

She felt air pulled out of her lungs as Alec pushed his body against hers, pressing her back to the wall of the decontamination chamber. Her heart was pounding in her chest all of the sudden as she felt his hands hold her hips in place against his.

Opening her mouth to protest, Max was quickly silenced by a searing kiss. Alec leaned into her, tilting his head to push his tongue into her mouth. She welcomed it with a slight whimper, her hands rising to his shoulders, to his neck, and eventually to the back of his head, where she pulled him harder against her, despite the complaint of her ribs.

Feeling the warmth pool deep in her body, Max moaned again and Alec backed his hips away to bring his hands between them and unbutton her jeans. He slid her zipper down and halted their kiss.

Max looked left into the second chamber and right into the office as if the transparent walls would reveal a few assistants or researchers who had all gathered there to watch them.

Alec realized she was embarrassed, but he didn't care. He splayed his hand against her abdomen and stared into her eyes, his own creating a fire under her skin while his hand warmed her from the mere touch.

Max took one nervous breath, followed by another, and then another as the temperature rose in the small chamber.

He knew she was nervous as hell and turned on, if the scent of her arousal was any proof. Despite his body's reactions, his mind was a big ball of hesitation. Did she really want this? She wasn't pushing him away, and it certainly seemed like she wanted this, and was this hesitancy what she meant about not finishing what he started? As he mentally steeled himself to take the plunge, Max put her hand over his, turned it the other direction, and guided his hand between her panties and skin.

Alec's breathing hitched as he realized what she'd done. He felt his throat tighten and a wave of lightheadedness washed over him. Rocking back on his heels a moment, he took a breath before Max pulled him back down and pressed her open mouth to his. With her other hand, she gripped his wrist and pushed his hand further down.

As Alec hooked his middle finger under her, he salivated at feeling her center already wet with desire, and felt himself growing harder at the thought of tasting her with slick swipes of his skillful tongue. He groaned as his finger slipped up into her, and she whined while he began a maddeningly fast, deep rhythm, pumping just one digit deep into her, rubbing along her inner walls, exciting her opening with his knuckle.

She broke their kiss to unzip his jacket, but there was no way in hell he would remove his hand from inside her to take the garment off. As if in answer, he swept his other hand from her back to her front and pulled the zipper of her jacket down until the sides hung loose.

Max took the hint and let her jacket fall from her shoulders. Reposting her hands at his neck and head, she pulled Alec until his lips danced down her neck.

Their groans of pulsing pleasure and pants of breathlessness rang out in the chamber in untamed staccato. Somehow, Alec's free hand had found its way to the hem of her shirt, and he pulled up until the black fabric of it rested above her breasts and below her chin. It gave him vision to the curves of her breasts through the small window of skin.

Pulling the right cup of her bra down a scant few inches, then repeating the action on her left cup, Alec bared her round nipples, his pupils dilating at their hardness. He bent to flick his tongue over one of them as his mouth mirrored the unpredictable tempo of his fingers.

Max arched her head back and whined. "Another one," she gasped, pushing his hand against her harder and hanging onto him by the back of his head.

He complied, switching nipples as he added his ring finger to her warm, wet center.

"Harder," she commanded, and he followed the order, rubbing her from the inside out, pressing his fingertips along the ridges inside her, moving his hand in a circular motion to stimulate her opening.

Like a cresting wave, he could feel her building climax. Her eyes shut tight in pleasure and her head tilted back. The look on her face was intoxicating.

Without warning, he grabbed her by the hip and spun her around with his fingers still inside of her. He would have said 'better angle,' but with her back pressed against him, her ass rubbing against his erection, he could feel his fingers moving deeper, both arms wrapped around her – one driving her crazy in the depths of her sex, the other twisting and sweeping at her very erect nipple – and suddenly all language disappeared.

Max's whimpering grew faster and louder. She reached back to stroke his erection. Alec growled in pleasure, gritting his teeth as he pressed and rubbed his thumb against her clitoris, and felt her grasp him tighter, both with her hand and her vaginal muscles. She shuddered as a powerful orgasm rolled through her body. She moaned loudly, throwing her head back into his chest, allowing him vision to her nipples, which peeked out from between her shirt and bra.

She bucked against his hand until the rippling tremors subsided, and took a deep breath, continuing to stroke him from outside his jeans.

Alec was about to start the ministrations again when the power suddenly came back on, lighting the office, chambers, and lab with brightness. Luckily, his back was to the exterior camera and his height masked Max's disheveled state.

He slowly slipped his fingers out of her, much to his dismay (because it meant they'd need to get out of there soon), and heard Max make a small sound of disappointment. It was over. For now, he added mentally. He was careful not to wipe the evidence of what they'd just done on her or her clothes.

As he slid his other hand from her breast, using his fingertips to massage her nipple on the way down, he watched as she collected herself, adjusted her pants to fasten the zipper and button, picked up her jacket, and started to turn to face him. He held her shoulder with one hand. "The camera," he said.

She tilted her head to see his face. He looked like a guy who won the lottery but was in shocked disbelief. He smiled, his chin tucked in with a devilish gleam in his eyes.

Max, on the other hand, looked sated. With a deep blush on her face, she adjusted her bra and shirt, minding her bandages, and then looked back up to him. She was about to offer the inside of her pant leg for the juices on his fingers, but didn't get the words out before he licked his fingers. He couldn't help it; she smelled so delicious. Max colored more, embarrassed to be so turned on by the image.

"Can't leave any traces we were ever here," he said explanatorily.

Max bent to get the comms devices out of the hazmat hood, then stood and held one to her ear. "Silent." She looked to Alec's still-raging erection, about to offer to do something about it, when the doors between the chamber and office slid open.