Chapter Eleven

It didn't make any sense.

Olivia stood staring a picture of Fitz standing with two older people she assumed were his parents. The man looked so much like Fitz. The picture was framed and prominently displayed in the Den. The den, in what she had assumed was his friend's house…

The dread she had provided an excuse for in the morning flooded her stomach again. Shit. This is his house.

So, either he was rich or …he was a dirty cop. Shit.

She jumped as a pair of hands wrapped around her middle from behind.

"Hi"

"Hi"

She turned around to face him and he loosened his grip to facilitate the move. She looked up at him, bewildered

"Fitz…whose house is this?" she asked calmly

He kissed her on the lips and shook his head as if confused by her question.

"What do you mean whose house is it? It's mine" he laughed, kissed her again on the lips and headed off into the kitchen. She followed her unease growing.

"But…but how can…I mean this is…"

She couldn't form complete sentences. She had woken up an hour ago and decided to explore. It had taken her the entire time to cover just the interior of the two story home. She had gone from room to room, her jaw dropping further and further. The view from each room...was astounding. This wasn't a house. Her parents had a house. This was…she didn't even know what this was. The word mansion seemed too… gauche to describe this kind of regal elegance.

"What Livvie?" He stood at the Island in the enormous kitchen, pulled out a cutting board from underneath and then he walked over to the fridge and pulled out food from the large refrigerator to make them lunch she assumed. The clock in the hallway had said it was two pm. She wasn't surprised. After they had gotten down and dirty in the morning, they had both fallen asleep. She had woken up first and decided to explore.

Her first clue to the mega bucks involved was when she opened the curtains in the hallway to see a large wooden deck nestled on what she was pretty sure was the Potomac River. The surrounding stately looking houses confirmed it…Dorothy, forget Kansas...we're in an alternate universe!

"Fitz this house is…" she trailed off. She was still stuck on the word mansion and it still didn't feel right to describe…. this. The shock had not yet worn off. She doubted it ever would.

"I know it's too big, but it was my parents home for so many years. I can't bring myself to sell and move into something less ostentatious. Plus, I have a loft in the city" he responded casually. His parents?... Wait two homes?

"Fitz…are you rich?" she finally managed to ask

He stopped mid-slice on some exotic looking artisan bread. He looked over at her and finally caught on to her shock at the opulent surroundings. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms.

"Olivia Carolyn Pope, my full name is Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III. My father was a two time governor for the great state of California and was the former CEO of Grant Industries. When he died my sisters and I inherited his full net worth. So, yes I am rich" he kissed her on the lips and walked back to kitchen to continue chopping...carrots

"But why…I don't understand…why" she tried to make sense of it all ""Why work at USCP, when you have all this…?"

"I work at USCP because after I got out of the NAVY, I needed to find work that allowed me to help people and allowed me to use my military experience. Police work seemed the perfect fit. I was a fighter pilot in the navy so I could have gone into aviation, but I think I got addicted to high pressure/risk work situations and flying commercial airlines didn't feel like a good fit" he walked back to the fridge and pulled out additional trappings.

"But why even… work?" that was the question that stopped him short

"Why would I not work?" he asked confused. He went on to explain

"Liv my dad did not raise lazy rich kids. He spent everyday of his life making sure that nothing about us was entitled. My sisters and I each had to work when we turned sixteen. We didn't go to private schools we went to public schools, granted they were good public schools because of the zip code. I had to go into the navy as soon as I turned eighteen and I did not get access to a nickel of his money until I turned 30 years old. Neither did my sisters. Even then what we got was limited. It was important to him we not be spoiled" Olivia listened and was fascinated.

"My father wanted every kid of his to be hardworking, independent and most importantly self-reliant. If the money suddenly went away, he wanted to know we could still take care of ourselves" Fitz elaborated

Every rich kid she had ever met walked around being the epitome of entitlement. How could they not be? When life handed you almost everything you could ever want without having to lift a finger.

Jerry Grant had apparently figured out how to not do that with his kids. Kudos to him. She found herself wishing she could have met the man.

"What do your sisters do?" she asked curiously. A smile instantly crossed his face as soon as she mentioned his sisters. He obviously had deep affection for them.

"I have two sisters Elizabeth and Grace. Elizabeth is the older of the two even though they are both my baby sisters. Elizabeth is a CEO for a baby food company in San Diego and Gracie is a stay at home mom married to a career Navy guy. One of my old Navy buddies actually. I beat him to a pulp when I found out he was dating my sister, so like l told your father and brothers in Wright's office, I know where they are coming from" he smiled at her.

He had finished making the sandwiches and a quick salad so he called her forward to seat on the bar stool at the kitchen counter on the beautiful marble island.

"However, as soon as I found out that Gerald really loved her…I backed off and wished her the best. That's the difference" he said biting into his sandwich

"Harold and Bryan did that for me, I think they respect me…Pop and E.J obviously don't" she took a bite of her own sandwich and her eyes rolled back. Damn that was good. Especially the bread. Between the shower and the bread, she was starting to rethink her career choices. Being rich was fabulous!

"I don't know how E.J found out about the apartment. I don't like it. I need to find out exactly how he tracked us down. I do appreciate that he didn't come in police uniform, that would have been a disaster. The Pizza guy deal was good play on his part" Fitz said reluctantly giving credit where it was due.

Liv frowned. She hadn't even thought of that. How did E.J track them down?

"Who else knew where we were?" she asked Fitz

"Gary, you met him. Chief Wright and my captain" that's the sum total.

Well that explained it if Chief Wright knew then he probably told her father who imparted the information to E.J for an informal check up on her. Interfering bastards

"I bet my father got it out of Chief Wright" she said voicing her suspicions. Fitz nodded

"That's would be my suspicion. Which makes me furious. He was supposed to keep it under wraps. I going to have Gary go have a tête-à-tête with the chief. I want him to find out if he's flapping his gums everywhere or was doing your father a favor by telling him where we were" Fitz was frowning.

Of course, it was Chief Wright Olivia thought

"Why are you so sure it's Chief Wright?" Olivia turned to Fitz surprised. She hadn't realized she had said it out loud

"I don't know…I just have a feeling about him. He doesn't sit well in my gut. He makes me feel…uncomfortable" it was the closest word she could produce to explain how her boss made her feel, but it still didn't feel quite right. It was out there with mansion trying to find a fit

"How so?" Fitz said softly. He had suddenly gone very still. Even the room felt quieter "Has he done anything to you?" he asked.

Liv turned. The look of Fitz's face was scary, so she quickly reassured him

"Fitz no! he hasn't done anything …he just seems…off to me, is all" she said reassuring him quickly. He looked over her face probably trying to ascertain if she was hiding anything. She wasn't and he seemed to pick up on that

"Okay…I used to be really close to him but he went off. He got married, had a kid…we just kind of drifted apart. Different lifestyles, I guess…" It happened in a lot of friendships. When one person had a kid and a spouse they needed to be there for, they didn't have as much time for friends and former associates. Effort had to be made to maintain that kind of relationship and a lot of people were not vested enough to do it.

"I am going to need to talk to your brother, I'll find out from the horse's mouth" Fitz told Olivia suddenly. She startled, she did not want that to happen!

"Fitz, I don't think I want you talking to him…especially after everything that has happened…"

"Liv, I have to. I would do this even if we weren't sleeping together…I am going to keep treating you like a partner in the case, but you have to do the same for me. I have to follow my gut even if it leads me to working directly with your family, fair?"

She sighed, he was right. She quickly nodded to indicate that she understood.

"Enough about work, now that we've had some food, we need to talk about us…about this morning; are you sore?" he asked bluntly

Olivia gasped "Fitz, what kind of question is that to ask a person?!"

Fitz looked confused "A very legitimate one Livvie. We made love this morning and you were a virgin…I need to know that I didn't hurt you" he said nonchalantly

"I already told you that you…you didn't…not much…" she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

"Good. Second thing we need to discuss is protection. I didn't use anything with you Liv. Are you on the pill?"

The intimacy of the conversation was making her squirm on her seat.

"I am, I have been for about a year. I have…issues that require me to be on it" she said shyly

He nodded and walked over and grabbed a tablet, she watched him swipe and punch on the surface and then he walked back and handed it to her. She saw the logo of a local health group on the top of the web page. Below was his name and a detailed listing of his last medical checkup. Blood work, the entire gamut of a physical check-up. She handed it back

He walked around the island and pulled her face up.

"Baby, I lost control last night…I should have used something and I didn't even think about it…you have to be more careful in the future, with everybody" he whispered. Olivia thought about what he said and suddenly got angry. With someone else? So now that he had taken her virginity, he was what…done?!

"Well, I will be sure that the next person I fuck will be wearing a condom, okay?" she pushed the stool back and was about to walk off angrily when he pulled her pack and pinned her to the counter

"I want you to listen to me really, really careful so there is no misunderstanding between us" Fitz said. She was pinned to the counter and he was putting a controlled amount of his weight on her so she couldn't move away from him. She could also feel that he was aroused

"The only reason I told you that is because someday you might try to walk away from me. If that happens, I will do everything and I do mean everything short of trying you in my basement to make sure that you don't leave me…but if you do..." he gulped, hating to even think about it

"I want you to be careful. Trust me Livvie, I have nothing but long-range plans for you…some of them would scare you shitless if I said them out loud this early in the game" he reached down and kissed her angrily, aggressively.

When he pulled back her mouth felt bruised.

She looked into his eyes…there was no hiding. He was telling the truth. The desire she always felt from his came to the forefront.

She reached behind his head and pulled him back down for another hungry kiss. She pushed her tongue into his mouth, for the first time taking charge. He growled and quickly got into the kiss. He leaned back trying to ease some of the weight he had put on her, but she wouldn't let him. She grabbed the belt on his jeans and pulled him back to her and went further reaching for his belt.

"Wait Livvie…wait, we can't" he pulled back from her. It wasn't easy she wouldn't release him. He grabbed a hold of her hands and held them to his chest, that stopped her dogged attempts at unbuckling him

"Liv we can't…It would hurt you" he kissed her deep "Its too soon, baby, too soon"

That upset Liv, who the hell was he to decide for her?

"How do you know…its my body! I want you!" she challenged. He kissed her again.

"Because I asked you earlier if I hurt you and you said I did. Not much still means yes! I know you're sore Livvie, so it's not happening" he bent down to kiss her, but she moved away. She was pissed.

"Don't kiss me if you're not going to have sex with me" she said stubbornly. He was a tease, she didn't have time for that!

"Honey, I said we weren't going to have sex, but I never said I wasn't going to make you come…" He kissed her and with a sexy growl he picked her up and carried her off.

An hour later she lay on the bed panting, limbs trembling and trying to catch her breath. A huge smile on her face. He pulled up from below and kissed her on her happy lips.

"Lots of way to skin a cat Livvie…lots of ways"

She grinned ear to ear. Yes, there was…

It was only Wednesday, so they had time before they needed to set off for Colorado, but there was a lot of things to get ready. Gary introduced them to their backup on Friday. They needed to know the agents so if things went bad, and back up came charging in, they needed to know who the good guys were.

Her gut liked the two men and the woman who would be providing cover for them. The woman kind of pissed her off by throwing an extra furtive glance at Fitz, but she decided to let it go. Couldn't blame a girl for having eyes, could she?

A private plane was taking off from a private airfield, so Eze and his crew including Conner Maxwell would be able to carry concealed. Fitz still wanted his own firearm.

Sarmango called on Thursday to provide them with some additional details. They were going to Durango. It was a fine meeting point. The town was about Pop. Nineteen thousand. That was just enough people to be able to come into town and not cause a stir. Small police force, for a small population.

On Thursday Fitz told her he needed to go out for a couple of hours. She knew where he was going; he was going to have his little talk with E.J. He took her back to the apartment and dropped her off and then took off.

She hadn't minded the place that much before, but now it felt different…cold. It made her feel discombobulated. She sat on the couch watching T.V. and then she realized that it wasn't the place. It was the fact that Fitz wasn't here with her.

She thought about that for a moment. I guess this must be what being in love was about. Wanting to be with someone as much as possible because you felt incomplete without them.

She wanted to talk to her mother. She wanted to ask her about love. She wanted to tell her that she was in love. The tears fell unchecked after that.

Xxxxx

Fitz had a boy who worked in the APD who told him where to find E.J.

He was happy to hear it was the asshole's day off. Good, he wanted their little talk to be private. He made his way to the address provided and parked at the end of the street looking at the non-descript house. There was a car parked in the drive. Guess he's home.

The door opened before he could knock. E.J must have been expecting him. E.J stood aside and pointed to down the hallway "The den is on the right"

Fitz heard the door lock behind him, he wasn't concerned. He had a hunch about Eli Pope Jr.

"You want something to drink…or are you working?" E.J asked walking toward a small minibar set up in his den.

"Scotch if you have it" E. J nodded

"I do indeed" Fitz watched him make the drinks and then turned to take in his surroundings.

Fitz looked around. Liv brother was around his age. By the décor he could tell that he was living life ala confirmed bachelor…much like Fitz had been before Liv came into his life. He took the glass E.J offered.

The two men sat taking measure while sipping their drinks.

"You need to pull Liv off your case with Eze, Grant" E.J said quietly, he stared down into his glass. Fitz looked at him and took a sip of his own.

"Who is it, E.J?" Fitz said as he stood up and took off his leather jacket. He was going to be there a while, might as well be comfortable. He placed it on the chair beside him and settled back in with his drink.

"You…dad… or the both of you. Who's the one on Eze's payroll? I haven't quite figured that part out yet" Fitz said calmly