ETR: Chapter 98.5
"Yeah, just a little experiment that got out of hand. Sorry you guys had to come around," Mac explained to the fire chief as the other occupants of the building milled around waiting for the all-clear.
Stella watched him lie through his teeth and half-smiled in admiration. Most of the time, Mac was honest to a fault, but he could still make people believe any line he fed them. She was glad he didn't do it to her… at least, not that she'd noticed. She frowned and put her hands on her hips, rethinking his comment in the closet upstairs. She never could get a definitive statement from him about their relationship.
Mac came up behind her and put his hand on the small of her back. "Let's get out of here," he suggested in a low voice. "Not even paperwork is enough to get me to climb up fifteen flights of stairs to my office." He smiled at her.
She smiled back, eyes slightly narrowed as she tried to read his face. "Sure," she replied in a light tone. "Where to?" He couldn't very well suggest dinner as they'd just eaten a gourmet meal, albeit it while sitting on the floor of a supply closet that they'd been tricked into entering and then locked inside by their conspiring coworkers.
Mac shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, walking down the sidewalk as she joined him in step. "Someplace quiet?" he suggested, looking down at his feet.
"Quiet?" Stella asked, looking down at hers and not daring to hope.
He cleared his throat and nodded. "Quiet."
"Well, my apartment isn't that far from here. I can make us a cup of coffee and we can… talk." She looked up at the clear blue sky above them rather than at her companion. This was the part of the conversation where he usually suggested a café or something instead. Someplace public.
"That …" he risked a quick glance at her, enjoying the way her curls shone in the sunlight and wishing she were looking at him instead of the sky. He cleared his throat again. "That sounds good." He quickly looked down again as her eyes widened in surprise. He was changing their usual pattern and that was scary enough without seeing her reaction to it.
Stella's mouth moved up and down twice as she blinked repeatedly. She stared at Mac's profile while he stared determinedly at the sidewalk in front of them, and she watched his Adam's apple bob up and down. He was nervous. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Mac nervous. The only time she could think of was when he'd told her he was proposing to Claire and felt unsure of her answer. She swallowed her own butterflies. "Alright. Follow my lead." She smiled at him, hoping he knew that she was okay with whatever he was comfortable doing.
He smiled back, finally looking into her eyes again. "I always do."
…
Stella took a deep breath as she opened the door to her apartment. Mac had been here dozens of times before, but this visit felt different. They felt different. He'd been downright flirty on the way over here, and now she couldn't help but have her hopes up. "Home sweet home," she grinned back at him.
He returned the smile. "It certainly is." Mac looked around the apartment in appreciation. He always felt right at home as soon as he entered the door, unlike when he entered his own apartment which was sparsely decorated and mostly just a place for him to eat and sleep. "It always smells so good in here," he remarked, mostly to himself. Taking off his jacket, he hung it up on one of the hooks by the door.
Stella laughed as she kicked off her shoes and walked towards the kitchen. "It's probably the flowers in the window," she nodded towards the arrangement in the vase.
Mac grinned tightly as he looked over at it. It was full of life and bold colour, just like the woman in front of him. He wondered if they were from the same guy she'd taken to that art show a few weeks before. What was his name again? "They're beautiful."
"Can you believe I got them at a dollar store?" Stella asked over her shoulder, reaching into a cupboard for a couple of mugs.
"No kidding?" His eyebrows raised up and he started considering again.
"Yeah, they have the best fresh flowers I've ever seen," she continued, reaching into the freezer for the coffee. "And they're only three dollars for a bouquet!" She was reaching for the carafe when a hand landed gently on her wrist.
"You know," Mac said in a low voice, "I think it might be a bit late for coffee."
"Really?" She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She should have known better than to get her hopes up, but it really had felt different this time. Of course, she couldn't blame him for still wanting to be faithful to his late wife, but she was starting to think she should just move on. Call Frankie back and give him a chance. Their only date had been unfairly interrupted, after all. Most guys didn't have to compete against a murder.
"Do you have any wine, instead?"
Once again, Stella was totally stunned. Was this the Mac Taylor she'd known for so long? First he's making romantic declarations in a supply closet, then he's flirting with her on the streets of New York, and now he's in her apartment and suggesting they drink wine? She looked at him with an important question on her face, but she asked a different one. "Red or white?"
He looked back with the answer she'd almost given up on getting. "Whatever you want."
She stepped forward, reaching up to open the cupboard for the wine glasses, but still looking into that face that was etched into her memories. He reached up, too, covering her hand with his and then raising his other hand up to cup her cheek. Both of their eyes widened, his with desire and hers with surprise, as he slowly leaned down.
"Are you sure?" she whispered, looking down and then back up quickly.
"Completely," he whispered back before leaning in and brushing his lips against hers. His hand slid from her cheek into her hair. He loved her hair. It was so thick and wild, but she somehow managed to tame it. His other hand slid down her arm as it came to land on his shoulder, and he moved it down to the small of her back.
Stella sighed against his lips, loving the feel of his hands on her like that. Her own hands itched to touch him more intimately, but instead she left one just resting on his shoulder and the other loosely touching his hip. Her eyes stared into his, waiting to see the panic or guilt that always seemed to appear when they were getting close. Instead, all she saw was the expression of a man who wanted to do nothing so much as kiss the woman in his arms. With that, her eyes fluttered closed and her hand moved from his shoulder to the back of his neck so that she could pull him deeper into their kiss.
Mac closed his eyes, waiting to see if his mind's eye threw up a picture of Claire. It always had in the past, and it's what had stopped him every time he and Stella had gotten close. It happened any time he got close with any woman. This time, though, he saw the woman in front of him, beautiful and patient, wise and strong. He saw her, and he knew that he was ready.
Pulling away slightly, he left his hand on her waist and moved the other one forward once more onto her cheek. He rubbed his thumb lightly across her lips, looking at them and smiling to himself that he'd finally managed to kiss them properly.
Stella opened her eyes and couldn't help but smile at the look on Mac's face as he caressed her lips. "You keep looking at me like that, Taylor," she joked, "and I'm going to expect more of this."
Mac's face settled into its usual serious expression, eyebrows drawing together to give him a slightly stern look. "Good," he said, quietly but firmly. "Because more of this is exactly what I intend to do." He smiled again, then leaned in for another kiss.
Stella smiled back. She loved that they could still joke with each other, even during a moment as … momentous as this was. Leaning back playfully, she pursed her lips and attempted a stern expression of her own. "And what makes you think that it's what I want?" she asked, her hand trailing from his shoulder down his chest.
Mac looked down at the hand that was making its way down towards his stomach. He raised his eyebrows and looked up at the hand's owner who was now grinning wickedly. Catching the hand, he used it to pull her solidly against his chest. He grinned back with just as much wickedness and leaned down to just barely touch her lips with his. "Call it a hunch," he whispered.
"Good hunch," she whispered back before pressing her lips against his and then opening her lips for his waiting tongue. The last kiss had been soft and romantic. It had been them figuring out what was happening and exploring new territory. This kiss… this kiss was stronger, full of emotion. It wasn't the unsure, tentative experiment that the last one had been. This one was sure, and it was sure that it was going places.
Mac felt his heart rate increase with each passing second of their embrace. He'd kissed her before, but never like this. He was tasting her and feeling her against him, and all he wanted was to taste and feel more. He was momentarily surprised when he felt her tongue slide against his and then into his mouth. It had been a while since he'd been quite this involved with someone. He tensed up for a split second, but relaxed almost immediately, moaning at the sensation that he'd been so long without.
Stella broke the kiss this time, breathing hard and looking at him appraisingly. He was panting too, but she didn't see any signs of regret on his face. "Do you think we should take this out of the kitchen, maybe?" she asked, almost holding her breath.
He was captivated by the breathiness of her voice. "I said I'd follow your lead," he smiled reassuringly. "Lead on."
She took him by the hand and moved towards the living room but found herself caught short when he stopped walking. "What?" she asked, looking at him in confusion.
Mac cleared his throat slightly and seemed to blush a bit. He looked almost bashful. "I just thought…" he looked down her hallway and moved his head in that direction.
"Really?" she had to admit she was a bit surprised. But then, when Mac made a decision, he tended to follow through with it pretty quickly.
"If that's okay?" He felt like he was 17 again and had no idea what he was doing. This was why he hated dating.
Stella nodded her head up and down a few times, coming to grips with the idea that Mac Taylor wanted to take her to the bedroom. "Sure," she replied, squeezing his hand and then leading him down the hallway. She was glad that she'd made her bed that morning, even though she'd been running late.
Mac looked around the room with a certain amount of curiosity. Sure he'd been in there before. He'd helped her paint it when she'd just moved in. It was where people put their coats when Stella had parties. He remembered once bringing her soup when she was off work sick. Still, this was a first. He'd never entered her room before for the purpose he was entering it now. It felt different, somehow. Personal, in a way that it never had before.
Stella sat down on the side of the bed, still lightly holding onto his hand. She looked up at him and smiled as he sat down next to her. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, really sure?" She looked at him seriously. "You know how I feel about you, and you know I want this, but I don't want to do anything at all if you're not ready for it." She stroked his forehead and cheek. "I can wait," she whispered.
He covered her hand with his and then turned his face to kiss her palm. "I don't want to wait anymore," he whispered before leaning in to kiss her again. It was like that second kiss in the kitchen, hot and deep and full of emotion. He wanted her to be sure of him, to know that he was sure of them being together. He allowed one hand to rest on her knee and then move slowly up her thigh.
She opened her eyes one more time to look into his and then nodded and leaned back onto the mattress and swung her legs up before pulling him down with her. He wasn't quite on top of her, but he wasn't quite not either. Keeping himself supported on his knees and his hands, he looked down at Stella. Her hair fanned out on the pillow, and she looked so perfect. Leaning down to kiss her once more, he lowered himself down.
His body rested on the mattress beside her, and he turned her towards him with a hand on her hip. She opened his mouth with her tongue again and started slowly unbuttoning his shirt. His hand moved from her hip to her ribcage and then over to cup her breast. Her breath caught in her throat and he groaned into her mouth as his hand massaged her through her blouse and bra. Emboldened, she finished her work on his buttons and then rolled once more onto her back, pulling him on top of her. His other hand came up to massage her other breast, and he grunted out a protest when he had to remove his hands from their new favourite location in order for her to take off his dress shirt.
"Would you rather play with my breasts or take your clothes off?" Stella joked, kissing his throat.
"I'd rather play with your breasts and take your clothes off," he chuckled back. He enjoyed the feeling of her lips on his neck and took the opportunity to start on the buttons of her blouse. It was hard to concentrate when she was sucking on that sensitive spot just below his jaw, but he still managed to open her shirt to reveal her camisole. He sighed in appreciation of the site and then decided that her neck needed kissing, as well.
Stella moaned as Mac's lips moved to the hollow of her throat. It was still so amazing that this was happening at all after all of this time. She enjoyed the feeling of Mac's muscles moving below his undershirt and moved her hands down to grab his ass. That's when she broke out in giggles.
"What?" Mac asked, surprised and a bit affronted. "I'm not that bad, am I?"
That set Stella off on even louder peals of laughter. Her abdomen spasmed and she had to push him off of her so that she could attempt to gain control.
Mac shook his head as he looked down at his friend, colleague, and almost-lover. He'd seen her like this before, and the only thing to do was to wait until it was over. He had to admit, though, it was quite a show to watch when her torso was covered in lace instead of a blouse. He trailed a hand along her ribs and up to her breasts, squeezing when he reached them and then moving back down again. The next time he did it, he pinched her nipple before retreating. The third time he did it, her laughter had quieted down and she placed her own hand over his to keep it there.
"Now, what was so funny?" he asked, idly rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Her chest was still moving quite erratically, but from her heavy breathing rather than from laughter. "And try not to crack up again when you tell me," he smiled.
"I was just thinking about," she snorted slightly and then regained control. "About grabbing," another snort and another abdominal spasm. She took a deep breath. "I was thinking about the fact that I was grabbing your ass." She looked at him and he didn't seem to get the joke. "I was grabbing your ass," she repeated. Now, he just looked confused. "Trust me," she muttered, "it's funny."
"Trust me," he whispered back, moving back on top of her again, "it's really not." With that same wicked grin he'd had on his face earlier in the kitchen, he took her hand and placed it firmly on his behind. She squeezed reflexively, and he pushed his hips against her. That's when she felt it. He had an erection. Her eyebrows came up in surprise and pleasure.
"I guess not," she whispered back. Then, she started giggling again.
Mac sighed and sat up. "What is it this time?"
"You've got a hardon!" she laughed.
He dragged a hand across his face and laughed ruefully. Really, the fact that they'd made it this far was fairly surprising. He'd take what he could get for now.
Author's Note: Damnit, I really intended for them to get to third base here. I mean, they weren't going to go all the way because the next chapter of ETR has Stella wondering if they'll go any further. But still! Apparently, I just can't force these two to move faster than they want to go. Let's call this one a Not-So-Naughty Bit.
