Regina set down her coffee on the worktable and glanced over at Graham with a quizzical lift of her eyebrow. "Is she still upstairs?"
"Yup, three days straight." Graham said shaking his head. "Still no briefing?"
"No. Just a message that she had no plans." Regina wasn't sure what to make of it, but she knew she didn't like it. ever since they had touched down at the airport, Emma had not been herself. She had sent word that she intended to work in her studio and would not require daily meetings with Regina. Regina had not protested, feeling that to do so would be a further invasion of Emma's privacy. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the command center resembled the calm before the storm. All of them expected Emma to burst out from her isolation once again and lead them on a wild goose chase. For her part, Regina almost wished she would. There was something unnerving about the sudden change in Emma's behavior.
Regina picked up her coffee and headed to her small glass enclosed office. Graham looked at her, thinking Emma Swan wasn't the only one who was not acting like herself.
As the week progressed without change, waiting became the new routine. Shifts changed, agents came and went. Those on site passed the time reading, playing cards, and generally wondering when the bomb will drop. Regina spent as little time as possible within the confines of the command center. She jogged, she worked out, she read in her apartment. She left strict orders to be called the moment Emma gave any indication that she was preparing to leave the building and tried not to think about how much she missed seeing her every day. Eight nights after their return from Colorado, the call finally came.
"Cobra is moving." Graham informed her.
"What? Alone?"
"Yes, ma'am. She just got into a cab and is headed downtown."
"God damn it." Regina cursed. "How did you let that happen?"
"There wasn't anything we could do short of physically stopping her." Graham's discomfort was apparent, even over the phone. "She just walked out of the building without warning, stepped into the street, and flagged down a taxi. We were lucky to get the car out fast enough to follow her."
Regina sighed slightly in relief. "Then you have a location on her?"
"Yes we do. Hold on a second." Regina paced the confines of her living room, the cell phone gripped tightly in her hand. Although they had no further contact from whoever had left the note outside Emma's door, she was worried that they weren't the only ones watching the president's daughter. Anytime Emma was without an escort, Regina was fearful for her safety.
"She just went into a bar on Houston." Graham informed her.
"Name and address?" Regina asked.
"Ambrosia." Graham stated. After a second, he gave her the address as well.
"Hold a team outside with the vehicle. I'm on my way."
Less than fifteen minutes later, Regina entered the bar, scanning the already crowded dance floor and surrounding tables for Emma. It was approaching midnight on a Saturday night, and the room was packed. The lighting was dim and the air thick with smoke, making it difficult for her to see across the room. She threaded her way through the clusters of people at the perimeter of the room, guessing that Emma would be in the shadows somewhere. Sure enough, she finally saw her talking to a young woman with impressive tattoos encircling both upper arms.
The woman with Emma was obviously a serious body builder. Her tight white tank top was clearly meant to display her hard earned physique, and her low cut jeans showed off her muscular thighs to full advantage. At the moment, her hand was stroking the length of Emma's bare arm, drawing closer to Emma's breast with each movement. Regina gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the seduction in progress. Watching as Emma pressed closer to the other woman, she remembered the brief moment when Emma had moved against her like that, claiming her effortlessly with a kiss. Regina's body immediately stirred to the memory, her clit hardening almost instantly.
Jesus Christ, what the hell is the matter with you?
Regina forced herself to ignore the throbbing between her thighs. Nevertheless, she found herself averting her gaze when Emma cupped the woman's face in her hand and licked slowly along the edge of her jaw, finally thrusting her tongue between the parted lips. That was the moment when Regina finally admitted to herself that she couldn't do what she had come there to do. She couldn't watch Emma touch another woman, and if she couldn't, she couldn't protect her either. Anger surged through her as she spoke harshly into her wrist microphone.
"I want the first team in here now to take over this surveillance." She instantly turned her back as the two women began to kiss ferociously, their hands roaming over each other with abandon. As soon as she saw Ruby and Suarez enter the bar, she pushed her way through the crowd and out onto the street. She crossed quickly to the second car and radioed headquarters.
"Graham, I want you to take over for me for the next twelve hours. If there's an emergency, page me. Otherwise, I'm unavailable." She didn't wait for a reply but knocked on the glass partition to get the agent's attention. "Take me to the airport."
As she waited in a terminal for her flight, she dialed a familiar number in Washington, D.C. and arranged for the only hope she had of driving Emma from her consciousness.
"Ah God...I cant." Regina gasped hoarsely. "I'm sorry...I want to. I just can't."
The blonde raised her head, gazing up the long expanse of Regina's torso. "That's not what your body is telling me."
"Tired." Regina sighed. "Too tired."
"You don't have to do anything." Angelina rested her cheek against Regina's thigh, one hand softly stroking between Regina's legs. "Besides, I'm not done yet."
"I think I am. It's not your fault." Regina gently ran her fingers into the hair at the back of her visitor's neck. She tugged lightly. "Come lay beside me."
Angelina slipped from between Regina's legs and moved up to recline against her body, resting her head on Regina's shoulder. Her hand lay on Regina's stomach, stroking lazy circles. They had very rarely been together this way, so close, for so long. There was an intimacy that was new; wonderful and frightening at the same time. The boundaries between business and affection had blurred for her some time ago, but until now, she had had it under control. Something had changed, and it appeared to be her dark haired client. Some barrier had fallen, leaving the formerly guarded woman open, more exposed. Even more desirable, if that were even possible. Angelina pressed her lips to Regina's shoulder. "Let me. You need this."
"No." Regina shifted slightly, brushing a kiss across Angelina's forehead. Softly, she said, "Let me make love to you."
"That's not what this is about." Angelina protested gently, fearing the regret that would follow, perhaps for both of them. "I don't need you to do that."
"I need to." Regina insisted. It was the first time she had ever suggested it. She wanted to touch someone, needed to see if she still could. "After all this time, I want to give you something back."
"Just hold me." Angelina responded, hearing what Regina wasn't saying. She knew that Regina wanted more than to thank her. She wanted to say goodbye, whether she knew it or not. Over the years, there had been many goodbyes. This was the one that was going to be the hardest. "Hold me. That's all I need."
"I can do that." Regina murmured, her lips against Angelina's temple. She cradled the other woman closer, closed her eyes, and tried to empty her mind. Tried not to think about her anger and confusion every time she imagined Emma making love to yet another stranger. Tried to ignore the jealousy, knowing that she had no right to it. Tried to ignore the simple fact that she wanted it to be Emma next to her in the night. She sighed, tracing her fingertips over Angelina's arm as she drifted.
Angelina listened to the steady heartbeat beneath her cheek as she ran her fingers lightly over Regina's flushed skin. Gently, she traced the outline of her ribs and hip, stroked the soft curve of the underside of her breasts, smoothed the flat of her hand over the taut muscles of her stomach. She didn't hurry. There was no end except the dawn.
Slowly, Regina relaxed under the undemanding touch. Eventually, her thoughts were covered by an awareness of her body's response to Angelina's attention. Her skin began to tingle, her leg muscles tightened, and her hips rolled gently with each stroke. Her clit once again swelled in anticipation. This time, the urgency was gone, and she allowed herself to simply accept the pleasure. Her mind collapsed into a single point of sensation, centered within the pulsating pressure between her legs.
"Ahh...that's good."
"Yes."
Groaning faintly, she lifted her pelvis higher, silently urging Angelina's hand lower. Her breath escaped on a sigh as two fingers enclosed her clit, moving slowly along its length. Wetness spread along the inside of her thighs, and when one soft stroke brushed the warm moisture over the exposed nerves, she moaned again.
"God, that makes we want to come." She murmured breathlessly.
"Don't rush." Angelina whispered softly. She slipped two fingers inside, then back out and upward, a steady rhythm that matched Regina's unconscious movements. She sensed the building pressure and felt the tender tissues beneath her fingertips thicken even more, swelling to the point of explosion.
"I want to come." Urgent now.
"Yes. Soon."
Regina gripped the sheets convulsively in her left hand, her right arm holding Angelina tightly. She turned her face against the sweet comfort of Angelina's skin and allowed her body to surrender to the inevitable. As her stomach clenched and a hoarse cry was wrenched from her depths, Emma Swan's face flickered across the inner surface of her eyelids.
Three hundred miles away, Emma stood in a studio apartment on the fourth floor of a building in Middlemist Village that had seen better days. She casually studied the clothes hanging on the rack that had been pushed into the corner, seeming to have forgotten the woman who had brought her there.
"Nice collection of ties you have here." Emma commented as she fingered the lengths of silk and cotton draped over a hanger at the end of the rack. Without looking at the other woman, she continued, "Let's see what kind of use we can put these to. Why don't you take your clothes off and lie face down on the bed."
"What?" The young butch stared at her in amazement. Clearly, Emma's blonde hair, make up, and braless breasts beneath the tight white t-shirt did not necessarily spell "femme."
"You heard me." Emma remarked as she turned with a handful of wide silk ties in her hand. "Now do it."
As much as she hated to relinquish herself assumed dominance, Emma's partner was intrigued and more than a little excited by the commanding tone in Emma's voice. Trying to maintain her façade of nonchalance, the dark-haired body builder removed her leather and denim, pulled of her briefs, and shed her boots and socks. Naked, and feeling more than a little uncertain, she lay face down on her own bed, welcoming the pillow that allowed her to hide her face.
"Better." Emma crossed to her side and slipped a loop fashioned from one of the ties around the women's right wrist. She ran the length of the fabric over the edge of the sofa bed and around the frame, then quickly followed suit with the other wrist and both ankles. Once the woman was totally immobilized, she removed the pillow.
"I want you to be able to breathe. But keep your eyes closed."
Emma stepped back, lit several candles she had noticed on the windowsill, and placed them on the small end table. In the flickering candlelight, she studied the woman's body. She was beautiful. Smooth, tight skin the color of light cocoa. Muscles rippling under the sweat slick surface. Thick hair just beginning to curl at the base of her neck. Her face in profile was sharply defined and arrogant even in peace. Altogether, she was a fine specimen of young butch sexuality.
Still, Emma had to struggle not to compare her form to the long, lean lines of Regina's body. She did not want to remember the alluring maturity etched into Regina's elegant features, or the smoldering sensuality in her dark eyes, or the aching softness of her full lips. For the last week she'd tried everything she knew to forget the plane ride and Regina's arm around her, hours upon hours of work, secluded in her loft. It hadn't worked. The only way she could hope to drive Regina from her awareness was to fill her senses with the sight, and the sound, and the feel of another woman.
"Lie still."
Still fully clothed, Emma climbed onto the bed and stretched out on top of the restrained woman. She ran her fingers over the surface of the bound arms, tasted the salt at the base of her neck, sucked an earlobe into her mouth. Dimly, she heard a groan as she captured the soft skin along the jaw between her teeth, tugging lightly, quickly erasing the pinpoints of pain with a kiss.
"No." Emma breathed when her captive struggled to turn her face, desperately seeking Emma's lips. Sitting up slightly, Emma traced the muscles of the other woman's shoulders and back and hips, ending at her well-formed buttocks. Moving down the bed, she kneaded the thick gluteal muscles, pushing and separating them, exposing the cleft between them to her view. She traced the puckered muscle, then pressed lightly.
"Oh, please." The young stranger moaned, an edge of fear in her voice.
"Quiet." Emma said softly. "I won't hurt you."
She knelt between the strong, now quivering thighs and circled the sensitive tissues with a moistened fingertip. The tight sphincter spasmed as she softly stroked the outer rim.
"Oh God." No fear now. Need.
Emma ran her tongue between the woman's splayed thighs, tasting for the first time the thick, intoxicating juices of her young lover's desire. She licked lightly over the swollen folds, traced the channel with her tongue, kissed the thickening clit, moving tantalizingly from one spot to the next.
"If you...oh, you'll make me come," gasped the young woman.
"Soon." Emma murmured.
"Want to now...so bad."
Emma lost herself in the sensations, in the intoxicating smell, the incredible softness, the welcoming heat. This was woman, any woman, every woman. As she pressed her face deeper, immersing herself, she felt her liver's impending orgasm flutter between her lips. Quickly, she stretched out full length on the bed and encircled the woman's waist, frantically caressing the engorged tissues with her lips and tongue. As the body beneath her convulsed amidst sobs and cries and choked moans, Emma squeezed her eyes tightly closed, wanting to know only this incredible moment of intense connection. But even with the woman climaxing in her mouth, Emma couldn't help but wish it were Regina Mills surrendering to her touch.
Regina rolled over and fumbled for the phone on the bedside table. The digital clock read 4:45. She was disoriented as to where she was and exactly what time it was. The bed beside her was empty, but there was a lingering warmth that suggested it had recently been occupied. As the phone rang, her eyes adjusted to the dark and she recognized her own bedroom in Washington D.C. As she lifted the receiver, her mind registered her recent flight from New York and her frantic attempts to forget Emma Swan in the embrace of another woman.
"Mills." She growled, trying to ignore the unsettling thoughts.
"It's Graham, Commander. I'm sorry to disturb you, but I thought you would want to know-"
Regina sat up abruptly in bed, her mind crystal clear, but her heart pounding. "Cobra? Is she secure?"
"Yes, ma'am." Graham hurried to assure her. "We have her under constant surveillance, and we know exactly where she is. But we just received another contact from Loverboy."
That was the name the security team had given the unidentified subject who had left the note at Emma's door.
"What is it?" Regina asked as she swung out of bed and began searching the room for her clothes. She noticed a folded sheet of notepaper on her dressing table and slipped it into the pocket of her pants.
"Photographs." Graham said grimly. "There's a very good close up of Cobra leaving the apartment building last night. Infrared, professional quality."
"Son of a bitch. That means he's been watching the building from somewhere close by. How did you get them?" Phone under her chin, Regina hastily buttoned her shirt, then threaded a narrow leather belt through the loops of her pants. A second later she had found one shoe and was peering under the bed for the other.
"Joy Carter noticed a manila envelope propped up against the counter in the lobby when she came on for the night shift. It had Cobra's name on it."
Regina stopped abruptly in the middle of the floor, a shoe in one hand, her phone in the other. She felt a brief thrill of joy. "Then we've got him! There are video cameras all over that lobby as well as the entrance. We must have an image of him. I want all of the tapes brought up to the command center for review. Also, run a check on the license plates of every car parked around the park right now. Then contact the cab companies for all fares in the last twenty-four hours to within a ten-block radius of Cobra's address."
"That's a lot of legwork, Commander." Graham said doubtfully.
"See that it's done." She barked.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"I'll catch the next commuter flight. Assemble the entire team, day and night shifts, at 0700." "Roger that."
"At Graham." Regina continued in a quieter voice. "Get Cobra back to her apartment."
There was a beat of silence over the line. Graham cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully. He wasn't sure why, but he felt uncomfortable delivering the next information. "uh, Commander, at the moment, Cobra is with an unidentifiable female, who almost certainly does not know Cobra's identity. If we provoke her, there is no way we'll be able to guarantee silence regarding her identity."
Regina flashed back to the young woman Emma had been fondling in the bar. Of course, Emma would have gone home with her. And why not? The stranger was just the kind of conquest Emma would thrill to.
"Then I want her in a car the moment she steps out onto the sidewalk. And Graham, if anyone loses her, it's their job."
"I guarantee I will have her back here ASAP." As he hung up the phone, he said a quick prayer that he could deliver on his promise.