Moving Forward

Chapter 12

It was bound to happen.

It was inevitable.

They were two best friends who shared everything but their hearts.

Sean had always prided himself on having a logical mind, but right now he was operating completely on raw emotions. Sean and Michelle had always had an inescapable liking for one another, but now it had developed into an emotional and physical attraction as well. Or perhaps it had always been there from the beginning but they chose to ignore it.

Until they couldn't resist any longer.

Michelle felt she had been fighting against her feelings for so long that her body intuitively began to back away from him. Then uncomfortably she turned and escaped into the houseboat as Sean followed her inside. Judging from the blush that rose to her cheeks, it was unusual to see Michelle looking so hesitant and non assertive. And Sean decided he liked this vulnerable side of her. It made her even more enticing.

"Sean..." she began, as she watched him step closer to her.

"Don't say it, Michelle," he told her, his gaze subtly seductive, "and don't stop this."

She lifted her head, "I was just going to warn you not to step on my foot!"

His slow smile at her teasing made her heart beat faster. Hesitantly she began to back away again. To stop her backward movement, Sean deftly reached out and grabbed onto reinforced placket of her jacket. His strong fingers held onto the edge as he pulled her closer to him, his eyes never leaving hers. But instead of going along meekly, she managed to regain some of her spunk. She stood her ground, her gaze bright with challenge. Then she clamped her hand over his hands that held tightly onto her jacket.

"Just to let you know, Sean, I could shove you so hard away that you'll collide into a wall and leave a mark," she gave him a warning look, but her voice was a bit shaky.

"It'll be worth it," his eyes were caressing hers.

There was a flutter of panic when she realized she wanted him, too. He was standing so close now that she found herself staring at his close-shaven stubble, a shadow that enhanced his masculine appeal. Her gaze then traveled to his mouth as her heart thundered in excitement at the prospect of what was to come.

"So then," she lifted her eyes to meet his, "what happens now?"

He looked at her as if he could read her every thought and emotion.

That's easy," he stated, as his hand came up to caress her cheek, "We take the next step..."

Michelle couldn't move or breathe as he lowered his head to hers. Her mind was telling her but this is Sean, but her body was screaming for her to shut up and enjoy the pleasure of his kiss.

At first contact, Sean's mouth was warm yet sensual as the kiss began slow. Yet she found his kiss wickedly erotic with his complete lack of urgency. Then as the kiss deepened, the soft caress became scorching and it drew fire to the surface of her skin. She found herself winding her arms around his neck as her body strained towards him with a deep need, pressing forward into his body. Their bodies melded together as tightly as the layers of their clothing would allow.

The rhythm of their breaths turned desperate as their bodies tightened with delicious desires. Sean lifted his head and began to nuzzle the side of her cheek while his hand smoothed over her back. She closed her eyes as a moan escaped her. And when their lips connected again, their breaths mingled in puffs of heat.

Riiing! ...Riiiing!

And then from halfway across the room, the phone on Edgar's desk rang.

"Noooo," Sean groaned, his passion still rising.

"Don't. Answer. It..." Michelle murmured breathlessly, as a flood of sensation threatened to overwhelmed her. Sean continued kissing her over and over again, intoxicated by the softness of her lips.

Finally at the fourth ring, the ring went to speaker phone.

"This is Rigby," greeted the familiar voice, " And I gather neither one of you are at the office as of this moment. Big surprise there. I've always assumed that neither one of you have anything else going on in your lives."

Both Sean and Michelle stopped and looked over at the phone. Michelle gave a frustrated sigh. Sean did not look happy with the interruption.

"Well," Sean said ruefully to Michelle as he took a deep breath in, "leave it to Rigby to kill a private moment.".

Michelle sent him an empathetic smile as Rigby continued, his voice loud and clear through the speaker.

"I thought I'd leave you a message, updating you as to the status of Randall Hurley," he was saying, " We now have a sworn deposition from Hurley saying that one of the other agents, a Samuel Jones, wanted to kill your ex-pal Rick Thunder and burn his files rather than pay him off. Between the deposition and the circumstantial evidence, the DA and the FBI are satisfied. And even though there is no body, we are going to assume that Hurley's underling, Jones, shot Thunder and then set his office on fire before accidentally being burned himself. So that's it. The homicide investigation has been declared officially o-"

BEEP! The tape had ended, cutting off the rest of Rigby's phone message.

"The advantage of having a cheap phone recorder," Michelle smiled, referring to Rigby being cut off.

"If only we could do that to Rigby in real life," joked Sean.

The room became silent again. It took a few minutes for both of them to regain their composure. Sean straightened his jacket while Michelle fixed her hair. He then rubbed the back of his neck in a gesture of, well, this is awkward.

"I think what we started was pretty...sensational." he stated, and then hesitantly added, "do you...um, want to talk about it?"

Michelle averted his eyes. What was she to say? It had all been so unexpected. It was as if she had unleashed all her pent up feelings in that one kiss. Who knew kissing Sean would feel like that? Even now, she wished his fingertips would touch the side of her neck and brush against its sensitive nerves. And she hated that she thought that.

"I think...I'm not sure...It's just..." she paused, as she considered the appropriate words, "we're colleagues, Sean. And when it comes to investigating cases, we seem to do quite well as partners..."

"We do," he agreed.

And he was staring at her with an intensity that sent hot and cold shivers through her body.

"...and," she was finding it hard to concentrate, "...and... I wonder, do we want to mess with that, you know what I mean, Sean?" her eyes pleaded with him to understand.

"Yeah, I do," he stated a bit harsher than he had intended, "and you're right, Michelle. We have a case to work, and it wouldn't do if we were, uh, distracted. We'll deal with it once we've discovered what happened with Rick."

He hadn't meant to sound so clinical, so cold. But he was frustrated. He remembered the remarkable heat of her body as he held her in his arms and he liked how sweet her mouth had tasted. So of course it bothered him that this may be the first and last time he would ever feel her so close, so intimate. However, she was right. They had a good working relationship, and that's what they needed to concentrate on now.

"I better go," Michelle suddenly seemed in a rush to leave as she headed for the door.

He forced a cheery smile, "Oh...sure, " he glanced over at her and tried to sound casual, "We'll talk later?"

When he looked at her, he almost seemed like his old self, but Michelle knew better. He was feeling as tormented as her.

Maybe tomorrow it wouldn't be so awkward, Michelle thought sardonically. Tomorrow they would continue with the investigation, go back to being professionals in the office.

But things had changed between them, although they pretended it hadn't.

She gave a wry smile, "Riiight, after the case and then we'll talk. Good night, Sean."

He sighed, "Night, Michelle."

.

Sean was in the office bright and early the next morning. He had a sleepless night and instead of spending the early morning hours tossing and turning, he decided he might as well get up,sit in the office, and do some work.

Despite the 'distraction' from yesterday, he and Michelle had come a long way with their investigations. A prisoner had been wrongly convicted. Case number two regarding the stolen goods at a warehouse had been solved. They now knew who the burnt body was.

But the main question still remained unanswered.

What happened to Rick Thunder?

It must somehow be connected to case number one, the one regarding Barry Mason, the man convicted of killing his embezzling partner. But how? Was it more than coincidental that neither Rick nor Romeo Reed's bodies have been discovered? Even with that intriguing conundrum, Sean was finding it hard to keep his mind on business.

He found himself trying to recapture last night when he had held Michelle in his arms. His heart contracted with a feeling he had never known before...a feeling that was too dangerous to examine. And yet...the sensation of her sweet, sensual mouth glided over him in relentless waves...

"Good morning, Sean." Michelle tried to act normal as she greeted Sean, but she could barely breathe. She was dressed in her 'uniform' of a light blue and gray suit, meaning she did not row her scull this morning.

Sean's heart lurched at the sound of her voice.

"You're here pretty early," he had to work to keep his voice steady, "did you sleep well?"

She shrugged, "Probably as well as you."

She then left to go in the kitchen to get herself some coffee. It was obvious they were not going to talk about what occurred between them though they were keenly aware of the other's presence.

When she returned with her mug, she sat on the occupied chair next to his desk. Sean was thinking that if it were another time and place, Michelle could have been a supermodel, with her lovely figure and lush blonde hair. But it was her eyes that were the most beautiful. They were extraordinary. Penetrating blue...the same blue of a perfect day sky..intelligent, expressive eyes.

"So why are you here so early?" she asked.

"I was trying to figure out Rick's activities before his murder," Sean explained, "that might help us locate him."

Michelle took a sip of her morning brew, looking at him from the rim of her mug. This morning when she had entered, he had a dreamy, far-away look, which made him seem even more attractive, if that was possible.

"So what conclusion did you draw about PI Rick's disappearance, Sean?" she asked casually.

"Well, one thing puzzles me about Rick's phone records," Sean stated, his distant expression now gone, "is that he had made several calls to the casino, presumably to talk with the owner."

"That's understandable," Michelle stated, "after all, that was how he figured out that the missing Romeo Reed was a gambler."

"True; but why would Rick make SEVERAL calls to the casino?" Sean asked, "He would've needed only one call to validate that Romeo was a frequent gambler."

Michelle sat back, unable to answer that, "Why, indeed," she wondered.

Sean had been leaning back in his chair the entire time, but now he sat up, staring forward.

"My god," he murmured under his breath at the revelation, "I know why Rick made several calls to the casino!"

Michelle watched him, "Go on."

He slowly turned towards her, "Rick was originally hired by Barry Mason to find the killerof Romeo Reed, right?"

"That's right," she affirmed, " And when P.I. Rick disappeared, Mason then hired us to find the killer of Romeo Reed."

"But, " Sean theorized, "what if... Rick wasn't looking for Romeo Reed's killer?" his eyes were lit with excitement., "What if he were looking for someone else?"

"Looking for someone else?" Michelle repeated, totally confused, "Sean, I don't get it."

"Rick made several calls to the casino that Romeo frequented, right?" Sean theorized, "So what if instead of looking for Romeo Reed's killer," he paused for effect," Rick Thunder was ACTUALLY looking for Romeo Reed?"

.

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(A/N: I've been disheartened by the cancellation of the show. I wasn't sure I wanted to continue with the story, but I was soooo touched by all the reviews and PM's that IpromiseI will see this story to the end! Even if only one person is reading this! I'm so glad others enjoyed this show as much as me. Did you see all the post on King and Maxwell Facebook? EVERYONE is protesting the cancellation! Anyway, thanks so much for the encouragement...look for a posting weekly from me! and please keep reading and reviewing!