Undercover Chapter 11
Warning: This chapter is for mature readers only, please mind the rating.
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me and it's clear that they never will…damn it.
A/N: This story is really just starting to pick up in the plot area but I need to know there's still enough interest if I'm going to continue it. I could end it neatly in the next chapter or I could continue with the actual plot that first inspired it which would make it at least twice this long so let me hear from you. I guide the length and direction of my work by the reviews because I do like the readers to be able to take something away from each story. I won't lie though; I do love to get them. As always, thanks for reading, I do appreciate that you give your time to my story. Comments are welcomed, contemplated, coveted and adored.
Her eyes are heavy but she forces them open. She knows she had a night of good sleep, deep and dreamless. Her bladder aches and she pulls herself up to sit on the side of the bed ignoring the protest from her thighs and abdomen. It takes her a moment to reconnect with her surroundings. She's home and her body is sore because she has spent the last two days having sex with Elliot. His clean clothes are folded neatly in a laundry basket in the corner of the room. She can hear him whistling in the kitchen and the scent of pancakes or waffles comes to her tangled with something sweet and fresh coffee. Her stomach growls and she suppresses a laugh. She vaguely remembers him carrying her to bed at some point during the night. Her body had gratefully stretched out along the cool sheets before settling next to his warmth and sinking back into oblivion.
She scoops their clothes off the floor and drops them into the hamper before pulling her robe from the door. It's not until she's brushing her teeth that she actually pauses to look at herself in the mirror. She stops and just stares at her naked image. The testament of Elliot's appetite is all over her. She knows she keeps looking at the various marks but they're the evidence of her sanity. They're proof she isn't fantasizing. She's becoming almost as obsessed with them as she is with him.
As her fingers trace the slightly raised imprint of his teeth on her shoulder a chill slides down over her like a satin dress shimmering down to her knees. Her nipples feel tender as they tighten and the flicker of pain raises her arousal even more. Jesus Christ. How can she ache from having him inside her so many times and ache with the desire to have him again at the same time? She bends forward and rinses her mouth, looking at herself again as she stands as though the image may have changed. She touches another spot and tilts her head to the side in concentration. Her body is humming with the memory of every moment that left a mark.
Okay, not every moment, a few are a little hazy because he had her so distracted somewhere else. Damn he does have the most amazing coordination. Her skin tingles and she shakes her head in awe of the wetness she knows is forming between her legs. She should be embarrassed by her body's seemingly inexhaustible brazen hunger for him. She really should. He taps on the door and her shoulders jerk back. He slowly pushes it opens a few inches. She's used to living alone so she doesn't think to shut it all the way.
His mouth tells her good morning and says that breakfast is ready but his eyes drink in every inch of her. She can see him in the mirror as his eyes take in the reflection of her front and then shift in focus and move down the back of her. Her nipples draw even tighter and despite her efforts at holding herself still she feels her ass clench as his gaze passes over it. Her skin flushes so warmly the porcelain edge of the sink under her hand feels suddenly cool. The way he looks at her makes her want to respond. Her own willingness frightens her in a way but this is Elliot, her Elliot. She knows with every fiber of her being that he would never hurt her and that knowledge releases a kind of sexual freedom in her that she's never felt with anyone else. It makes her want to indulge in every fantasy she's ever had and pursue each of his until they're both spent.
By the time his eyes return to her face he can see that her surprise at his knock has been replaced with a different look. He smiles at the realization that he now knows the look of arousal in her eyes. He would like to step up behind her and rock his hard cock between the glorious clenching globes of her ass. He knows she would tug the soft cotton of his once black sweat pants down his hips. He knows if he chose to pause she would tip her hips back toward him in urging. He knows a lot about her now.
He's been staring at her ass so he looks back to her eyes again where there's now a hint of amusement too. She lifts her brow in question and looks at him. He chuckles from deep in his chest and the eyes she loves so much twinkle with the laughter.
He pushes the door open a little more and resists the urge to step inside. "Come on, breakfast is ready and the coffee is hot. We can play in the bathroom after we eat." She watches his chest muscles swell and define themselves as he takes a deep breath. Well at least she'll be sitting across from that while she eats. She pulls on her robe and turns to him, sliding her hand up his chest she kisses him. He feels a little different and she smoothes her tongue over his upper lip to find the right side swollen.
"Good morning. You have a fat lip, I know we were enthusiastic but I think I'd remember punching you in the mouth." She lifts the edge of his lip with her thumb and he pulls back.
"Hey, be careful, that's a little tender." He grins and then grimaces a little. "You didn't punch me Liv; you bucked your pus…" Her hand covering his mouth garbles the rest of his words.
"Don't say it." She wants to glare at him but he's laughing and if he can laugh about it then she can too. After all he's the one that will have to tell everyone he got hit in the mouth by a pussy. She can't hold the laughter in after that thought. She knows already he'll make up a story in case anyone asks. "It's pretty small so unless you plan on kissing one of the guys I doubt anyone will notice." There is a second of awkwardness as Dani comes to mind and she thinks about letting it go but she can't do it.
She stays right up in his face and stills her features as though she's in the interrogation room with a perp. "There isn't anyone at the precinct that would find out about that fat lip like I did, is there?"
It's a bit of a joke, a bit of jealousy and a bit of a challenge all rolled into one question. She certainly keeps him on his toes. "Well there isn't anyone at the precinct at the moment but there's this smokin' brunette that gave me this fat lip and I'd like a rematch."
She kisses him again and knows if she doesn't break it off they won't be eating breakfast until lunch time. She steps away from him. "What's that wonderful smell coming from the kitchen?" She tries to act casual but the heat swims between them.
"Since we didn't finish our desert last night I made strawberry and chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream."
"Hmmm, sounds delicious. Whipped cream goes on food? What a great idea." His grin is going to split his face and he shakes his head because he is constantly astounded by this sexual Olivia. She's already walking away from him by the time he recovers and he quickly steps after her. He wonders when it happened that he became the one always trying to keep up.
By the time she sits down at the table her mood has started to shift. She has to meet with Cragen for lunch and she needs to decide what she's going to say to him. Today is Elliot's last day off and in a mere twenty four hours their lives are going to morph once again into some other form. She tries to push the unsettling feelings aside but as always with him, her eyes betray her.
"What's the matter?" He nudges his chair up closer to the table and stacks some steaming pancakes onto both of their plates. She gathers her thoughts as they cut their food and apply syrup. She knows there has to be some kind of conversation.
He holds up the can and wiggles his brows at her. "Whipped cream?"
Not to be outdone she reaches to untie her robe but stops when she can't contain the laughter at the look on his face. She guides his hand to her plate instead. "I keep telling you, you're way to easy Stabler."
When she reaches for the tie on her robe his dick actually twitches but her laughter makes it tighten even more. He knows there is something brewing in her head but he waits until she offers it to him instead of asking her again. He watches her take the first dripping bite of the gooey pancakes and the way her tongue slips out to capture the bit of syrup on her lower lip. She notices for the first time that there is both a cup of coffee and a cup of tea in front of her and she looks up at him.
"I wasn't sure what you were going to want so I just made both." He goes back to eating and she pauses at this side of him that is so considerate. She bypasses the temptation of the coffee and sips her tea.
"I have to meet with Cragen today and I don't know what to say to him." She takes a bite as though this conversation is about coffee or tea and not about the rest of their lives.
"What would you say if you were going in and just being completely honest?" He knows she has to find her way to how this is going to define her life so he doesn't offer his opinion on what he thinks she should say.
It seems like a long time before she sets her fork down and picks up her tea. "I would tell him that we're seeing one another." She takes a sip and wraps her hands around the cup for warmth and security. "I would tell him that I know he has to separate us as partners but that I would like to stay at Manhattan if he still has an opening. I could partner with Fin or Lake and we would still have cases in common but I think we'd be okay with that. We wouldn't be the first couple to work in the same precinct." Even as she says the word couple it sounds odd to her. She has never been part of a couple. The word bounces around inside her brain. Couple, couple, couple…
"You'd be okay partnering with one of the guys?" He's trying to play devil's advocate. He thinks she'll be better at the conversation with Cragen if she's already defended herself once.
"Yeah, I think so. I'd still get to do my job." She sounds a little surer this time.
"I think you'd do well with Fin if cap let's you have any say in the matter. I would have more faith in Fin to have your back." She smiles at this because she knows what he means is that if he can't be there then he would choose Fin for her.
"You don't like Lake?" He has never really warmed up to Chester in the entire time he's been there. He never treated him with that newbie camaraderie that most people get when they start in the unit.
"It isn't a matter of liking him. He's turned out to be a good enough cop it's just that there's something about the guy that leaves me a little unsettled." She looks at him with some confusion.
"If you feel that way why would you take him on yourself?"
"I don't think he's a bad cop or even a lazy cop he actually gathers a lot of information out there. I don't know, maybe that's part of it; he goes out on his own a lot and interviews people. It's like he never really partners with anyone."
"Oh and you're such the great communicator that you think you'll do well with him? You two will never know what the other one is doing unless both of you make a real effort." For a second he's offended but he can't deny that most of his rhythm with Olivia comes from them being able to read each other not because he's been such a good talker. He knows he'd never be as good at reading Lake. The guy hardly ever changes his expression. In Lake's eyes he sees only darkness and in the darkness of Olivia's eyes he sees the world.
"This isn't about what I think anyway. Do you think you'd do well with Fin?" He takes a bite of his pancakes and wishes he had thought to scramble some eggs on the side to counter the sugary dish.
"I've worked with both of them and I'd be fine with both of them but if I'm totally honest I'd want Fin behind me."
"See that wasn't so bad. It might just turn out that we can have both worlds. You know you're right there are several couples that work at the same precinct and a few relationships that everyone knows about and just doesn't mention." She arches her brow again and sets down her tea. She doesn't miss his usage of the word couple that now lies in her head like an object left on the floor that you repeatedly notice and still manage to trip on as you go by.
"Most people made assumptions about us a long time ago. I'm not in favor of going public right now because I don't care to be judged by this and I seriously doubt anyone will believe it just happened." He doesn't want her to be right but he knows that every word of it is true. He's had plenty of cops over the years make comments to him about his partner with a nudge-nudge-wink-wink attitude. If he had punched every one like he had wanted to he would have beaten up half of the police department by now.
"You're right, for now we'll keep it out of work except for telling Cragen. Do you want me to go with you?"
"No Elliot, I can do this myself. I have to talk to him about filling the opening first so it wouldn't be appropriate for you to be there and I don't want him to have the impression you're going to be over protective." She looks at him for a moment, "because you're not, right?"
"No more than I was before Olivia." She rolls her eyes and decides she'll deal with that when she has to because they both know that down the road there will be situations he doesn't like.
"Hey, reach behind you and turn on that radio on the windowsill. I want to hear today's weather because I'm hoping it's going to be pretty cold."
He reaches back and the rhythmic voice of a news announcer floats behind them. They listen as they eat until the man begins to describe the chill in the air and a wide grin appears on her face. He's completely lost to whatever it is she's planning.
"Why do you want it to be cold? Was it warm in Oregon and you missed our fine New York weather?" He pictures her getting ready for work in the morning, walking around in her robe and listening for the weather so she can decide what to wear.
"No it was cold and damp or raining most of the time and I was constantly chilled. I just want it to be cold today because I think I'm going to need to wear a turtle neck to see Cragen." She watches the meaning form in his brain and a flush rise to his cheeks.
"I'd say I'm sorry but you already know that I'm not." He gets even redder as he speaks and turns away from her to shut off the radio as a distraction.
"You're blushing."
"It's warm in here."
"Really?" She grabs the edge of the table in surprise when he pulls her chair closer to him. He leans in and kisses the sweet syrupy strawberry flavor of her mouth and slips his hand into her robe to cup her breast. He starts softly tugging on her nipple as he kisses her until her arms slip around his neck and pulls him closer. She moans deeply as he works her tender breast then breaks the kiss and pulls back just far enough to see her eyes.
"See? I told you it was warm in here." He smiles his cocky smile so she kisses him again before releasing him. She takes another bite of her breakfast and then slowly licks her lips while he watches. She knows some of what gets to him now so when she takes his finger and dips it in the syrup before taking it into her mouth she's pretty sure she's ending breakfast. She watches his gasp and the muscles in his chest and arms become more defined. She presses the palm of her free hand on his chest just above his nipple and stokes the sculpted muscular planes. She slips out of her chair and kneels in front of him. In an instant she has his sweats pulled away from his dick and is dripping syrup on the head of it.
"I never got to have my desert last night." Her voice has dropped down to a low pitch that makes him push his feet harder against the floor. She adds a line of whipped cream and sinks her hot wet mouth over the head of him. He growls out a long rough sound as she moves over him licking and sucking the sweet flavors from his sensitive skin. She feels him rise slightly in the chair and his thigh turns solid under her hand. Her fingers are wrapped around the base of him as her lips and tongue drag up his length. She traces the veined lines of his shaft and tightens her lips over the sensitive strip on the under side of him. She flattens her tongue against him as she guides him to her throat and back out in a smooth rhythm.
He has to concentrate to keep breathing because right now the only part of him working spontaneously is his dick. He feels her tongue swirl over him and her lips and throat close around him as she moves down and then back up to where she teasingly sucks his head. When she repeats the motion he fights the urge to move and thrust into her but can't stop the small pulsing in his hips. Her hair falls in silky strands over his thigh as she increases her pace and pressure. He's groaning and panting and every sound from him increases the fire in her belly. Her hand drops down and strokes the inside of his thigh in light tantalizing patterns. She cups his balls in the heat of her palm and he feels them tighten. He knows he's going to come and from the rapid rhythm of her hands and mouth she knows it too. He wants to warn her but he only manages the start of her name before the moan rips from him because at that moment she starts humming. Fucking humming.
He tries not to thrust out of the chair when it hits but he feels himself lifting as he empties himself into the back of her throat. His legs are trembling and he presses up and out as she continues to suck every drop out of him. His back and abdomen hurt from clenching in the odd position he holds himself. His knuckles are white where he's clenching the table and he's gasping more than breathing. She licks him softly once more and tucks him back in his pants. By the time he opens his eyes and can focus she's back to eating pancakes as if he had actually been a part of her meal.
She keeps chewing and his eyes are fixed on her lips. They're red and puffy from the activities and her tongue slips out to sooth them. She gets up and puts her tea in the microwave to heat it and when she turns back to him he's still staring at her with a sated dazed expression on his face. Looking at him she can't help the smile and soon a laugh bubbles up out of her. "You were right, desert was good but I was so tired last night that I'm glad I saved mine until this morning when I could appreciate it."
His face manages a smile but his brain is still in a scramble as his thoughts are whisked around and shredded by the image of her between his legs. Olivia Benson just sucked him off so hard he came in her throat. He has only received a handful of blow jobs in his life. It was usually only used on special occasions as a warm up for sex and ended with him inside his wife. He thought real blow jobs were an urban myth seen only in porno movies and men's fantasies. Olivia had his dick in her mouth not as an act of foreplay but with the singular focused intent of making him come. She didn't fumble, didn't touch him with hesitance or reluctance. She took him with enthusiasm. She was fucking humming.
"El." She is standing right in front of him when he focuses again. "Are you okay?" For a split second she's afraid that something is physically wrong with him and her chest tightens. "Elliot, damn it say something."
"I'm fine." He offers her a lopsided smile that isn't convincing.
"Are you sure because you don't look fine. Maybe you're getting to old for this much activity." He laughs then and she feels the tightness ebb a little. She lifts her steaming mug of tea and tries to act far more casual than she feels.
"I'm not having a heart attack or anything I just…I…" She's waiting but really she's confused and the fear that she's done something wrong starts to grow in her.
"Elliot this can't be your first blow job, why are you acting…" She freezes at the look on his face because the answer is written all over him. It was his first. Her mind trips around because she knows he was married all those years but she can't believe his wife would never have done that for him. She's heard women say they don't do that but she can't imagine a woman never doing it in 16 years of marriage. Unless there was some reason that Elliot wouldn't let her. Maybe he see's too much of his job in the act. Still, he didn't stop her or pull away; of course it happened pretty fast. She tries to study his face but he's running his hand over in that nervous frustrated way.
"El, I'm sorry, I didn't think. I was just caught up in the moment and…"
"Whoa hold on a minute. Why are you apologizing?"
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Jesus I should've known better, I just didn't think." Her head drops and he tips her chin up so she's looking at him again.
"Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong. Just stop for a minute and let's catch up to each other. You don't need to apologize, that was amazing." He smiles then, a genuine smile that comes with a blush. "I didn't expect you to go that far is all; whenever Kathy did that she'd stop and take it in another direction. She said no woman really wanted to do that so I was just surprised, very pleasantly surprised." He falls silent and she honestly doesn't know what to say and she isn't really sure how to feel but it seems to be somewhere between being complimented and being called a pro.
He needs something from her that he can't verbalize. He takes her tea from her hand and sets it on the table and then gently unties her robe. He slides his hands into the warm air inside her robe and onto the smooth skin of her sides. He tugs her toward him and pulls her down until she's straddling his lap. Her body responds to his unspoken direction and she wraps herself tightly against him. Her breasts and belly press into his chest and her head tucks onto his shoulder. Her robe drapes behind her down over his knees so he feels like someone tossed a blanket over them.
He holds her like that for a long time, his hands moving slowly over her back. He likes having her skin to skin with him, against his chest just like this. His lips move to her ear and brush lightly over the edge of it and he can feel the chill run through her as her shoulder lifts into it. "That was incredible and sexy as hell. It felt so good I was over stimulated and speechless afterwards. I just needed a minute to recover. It was like a fantasy that came to life and I couldn't believe it. Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me El. It was something I wanted to do and enjoyed doing. Whatever your wife told you was strictly based on her own preferences. Personally I like your penis." As sincere as the words were, as soon as they leave her lips she begins to laugh and Elliot follows suit. The sound fills the spaces and dissolves the last residue of awkwardness clinging to them.
He spent most of his life trying to figure out what he was doing wrong and now sitting here with her in his arms he wonders what he's done right.
While they're cleaning up the kitchen he begins to get nervous about how the day is going to go. They haven't really discussed what they're doing. He sets the last dish on the counter and turns off the water, drying his hands as he takes a deep breath. "I have a couple of errands of run so I thought I'd do them while you were at your lunch. What's the plan after that?"
She snaps the lid on the container of strawberries and puts them in the fridge before turning to him. "Well, you have a key so we can just meet back here if you want unless there are things at your apartment you need to handle." She doesn't want to think about him returning to work in the morning or the life they've been leading in this bubble coming to an end.
He comes over and drops his hands to her waist. "I just want to make sure that you're still okay with me being here. I don't want to crowd your privacy." She smiles then because she's been living with a group of people for the last few months so his presence hasn't seemed at all intrusive.
"Well, let's meet back here for dinner and then maybe we'll spend tonight in our own beds and see how that goes. I don't think I'm really going to know how I feel about tomorrow until after I talk to Cragen today. He may say I have to go to another precinct. He could say a lot of things that would change our situation so let's see where we are at dinner." He has to fight hard against his impulse to try and control the situation.
"Okay, I'll meet you back here. I suppose I'm cooking again." He squeezes her waist and she wriggles in his grasp.
"Of course you are, I'm still working on that man slave image of you." He laughs deeply and she feels better, calmer. "I have to finish sorting through all that mail from when I was gone and then shower and get ready to go. I thought I'd strip and change the sheets today too."
"Why don't I run you a nice relaxing hot bath and then while you're in there I can do the bed, that way you get some down time before the meeting." She pauses to consider his offer. She would like to soak in the tub just to help her sore muscles and relieve some of her tension.
"That would probably help with my nerves so I'm going to take you up on that offer. I think I'll take the bath now and work on the mail afterwards instead so my hair has a chance to dry. I'll go and get ready." She kisses him and then heads down the hall as he goes to the bathroom.
When she arrives in the bathroom there is already a layer of steam clinging to the ceiling. Elliot is sitting on the floor in front of an open cabinet with four bottles in front of him. He looks up with a helpless expression on his face. "Which one of these do you use, they all smell a little like you." She starts laughing and picking up the bottles one at a time, dumping a splash of each into the running water and then setting it on the sink.
"That's because I use them all. I don't like one scent. I don't like to smell like an apple or a flower. I like the blend it suits my mood better." He's still holding a bottle in his hand as he gets up.
"What does a fig smell like?" She laughs harder, taking the bottle from him and adding a healthy pour into the tub.
"Sweet but not flowery, I really like that one. How could you live all those years in a house full of women and know so little about women's products?" It comes out before she's really thinking but she really doesn't mind. After all, they can't act like he didn't have a life before this weekend.
"Believe me I know more about women's products than any guy should but I always kept away from the bath stuff. It just felt like that was their private time and I wanted them each to have that and be comfortable with it. By the time they were old enough to be doing these scented long baths they were buying the stuff on their own so I have no idea what they use." He's putting the bottles back in the cupboard and she turns off the water. The mirrors are steamed over and the temperature in the room has become quite warm. The scent lingering in the air now reminds him of her on those occasions that they would be locked in the car for a stake out. He always thought she had come fresh from the shower but he now realizes she must have taken a hot bath to relax her before the hours in the car. He's glad he didn't know that back then, it would only have fed his fantasies of her and there isn't anywhere to hide a hard on in that small space. Her voice drags his thoughts back to the present.
"I don't care if you're a man or a woman, old or young; a good hot bath has the power to make you feel better." As she speaks she slips her robe off her shoulders and hangs it on a hook. She lifts one long slender leg and eases it slowly through the bubbles and into the hot water. The moment feels surreal to him. Her perfect naked form climbing into the tub in the thick steam of the room is like a vision in his head instead of the actuality in front of him. Her tan skin looks even darker against the light tiles and white bubbles surrounding her. She gasps from the heat as she lowers herself down and he watches her body quiver from the dueling sensation of the hot water and cooler air. Once seated she leans her head back and looks over at him.
"Are you that entertained just watching me taking a bath?" He realizes then that he has a ridiculous grin plastered to his face and he starts to chuckle.
"The truth is I'm highly entertained watching you do anything, especially if you're doing it naked."
She puts her hand to her face and shakes her head slightly. "Oh my god you are such an asshole sometimes."
"Olivia I have never been more serious in my life." When she looks back the humor is gone and his expression has changed to one of intense focus. It's a look she knows well and right now it's scaring her a little because she knows from that look he means exactly what he said. "I'm going to go take care of things out here. You relax and enjoy yourself." He slips quickly from the room before she has a chance to respond. In the hallway he takes a cleansing breath of the cooler air. If he was a younger man he'd be headed into the other room to masturbate through another erection right now. As it is that image of her getting into the tub made his tired dick twitch and try to get up.
When he enters the bedroom she has left a fresh set of sheets at the end of the comforter. They're a soft buttery color that looks rich and creamy to him. He sets them on a chair and begins to pull the pale green set off the bed. The sheets in his hands smell like sex and removing them feels oddly intimate to him. He pulls the pillow cases off the pillows and catches a whiff of her shampoo. His eyes pause on her gun still sitting on her bedside table. He doesn't want to think about her back at work where something could happen to her. When his mind starts to drift in that direction he turns his thoughts back to the tub.
He walks down the hall clutching the ball of fabric and hears her humming softly as he passes the bathroom door. He pauses but doesn't recognize the song. She sings a few lines and goes back to humming. He pulls the waistband of his sweats out and looks down at his plumping cock. "She's not humming for you right now so just settle down." As he resumes his steps he starts laughing at himself and wonders if too much sperm production can cause insanity. The more he thinks about it, the funnier it becomes and the harder he laughs. He manages to get the clothes in the washer but waits to start it in case she needs to use the water before she gets out of the tub.
After making the bed with what he now thinks of as the buttery sheets he settles himself on the sofa and flips on the television. He doesn't want to disturb her so he decides to get cleaned up and dressed after she gets out of the bathroom.
Olivia sighs deeply and closes her eyes, letting the water and heat absorb into her sore body. Even now while she's lying perfectly still in the water she feels as though there is too much moving within her. Once she tells Cragen about Elliot her life will change and all this will be real. She's been acting as though these last few days didn't count because no one knew about them but she was so wrong. Her life is already changing because being with him is changing her. In a way she feels like she's been waiting for it all her life. She just didn't expect it to feel like this, like her own life is so much bigger than she is that she can't wrap herself around it all.
She has started something with Elliot, something that she can't fully define and yet she has willingly relinquished herself to it. She always wanted to feel connected to someone like she was part of a family, like she belonged. She had tried to fill that need with work and to a certain degree it helped. Still she knew in her heart that she would trade that for the real thing. As much as her job had helped define her over the years she was ready for her life to be more. She was ready to share herself, to invest herself and build a life. So why does her chest ache every time she thinks about it? Why is it so frightening? She pushes the thoughts from her head and focuses on the task at hand. She needs to slow down and just take this as it comes instead of working it to death like she would a case.
She loves him and in what she sees as a stunning turn of events, he loves her so they'll be able to work it all out. She should stand and wash her hair but the heat feels so good and she's so warm and comfortable now that she decides to give herself five more minutes. She draws a deep breath of the humid scented air and thinks to herself, just five more minutes.
