Devotion

Chapter Thirteen

His name was a whisper on her lips as his hands glided over her skin. His thumbs caressed her most sensitive of spots causing her to moan loudly. Her back arched off the couch, her toes curling at the pleasure he was invoking. "That feels so good," she moaned, her lower lip finding its way between her teeth.

He didn't say anything. He just continued his ministrations. Massaging and soothing until he felt her body completely relax and melt into the couch cushions.

She sighed contently as she rested her hands upon her belly and pulled her left foot from his grasp only to replace it with the right one. When he didn't automatically continue, she wiggled her toes in his lap until he finally gave in and treated that one with the same amount of attention as the other foot.

Relaxing back into the cushions, she watched her husband. He seemed calm, despite the fact that he'd been quiet most of the day. Usually when that was the case, he was close to bursting. But he just worked away on her tired feet and said nothing.

It was the kind of silence she didn't like.

"So?" she asked, finally breaking the awkwardness between them.

He looked up, startled by her willingness to talk. "So, what?" he asked.

"So… I thought you wanted to talk."

He nodded, "I did… I mean, I do. But not about what we were talking about before."

Arching an eyebrow in bewilderment, she got the urge to feel his forehead for a fever. "So, then you forgive me for not telling you about Kara Lynn?"

Stopping the tender caresses he was delivering to the sole of her foot, he wrapped his arm around her legs and turned in his seat to look at her. "There's nothing to forgive. I might have gone a bit over the deep end with this one."

She snorted sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. "You think?"

He just ignored that comment and continued. "And, while I might not have agreed at first with you going undercover, today completely changed my mind."

Bobby always managed to surprise her and this time was no exception. "Really?"

He nodded. "Sometimes I forget who I'm married to." He smiled at the look she was giving him. It was one of those "and-who-am-I" kind of looks. "You're the best at what you do. If you weren't, the FBI wouldn't have recruited you."

Danni's smile widened at every word he spoke. "Keep it up. I kind of like where this is going." She chuckled at the roll of his eyes, but stopped when he immediately sobered.

"I know that I have to keep remembering it, too, but every time I try, I think of your condition and what could happen if something goes wrong."

She held her hands out to him, beckoning him to pull her into a sitting position. He did as she silently asked and waited patiently for what she had to say. "You can't keep thinking that. I'm pregnant, Luv. I'm not going to break at the first sign of trouble."

His hand found its way to the swell of her stomach and rested itself there. "Yeah, but you're not the only one that'll get hurt if there is."

The pain clouding his eyes was almost too much for her to bear. She could see how much their baby meant to him. Placing her hand over his, she scooted closer to him and rested her head upon his shoulder. "I know you're worried about us, but you also have to remember that Kara isn't a threat. I'm perfectly safe when I'm around her."

He wanted to believe that. He really did because it would only mean long, sleepless nights upon even longer days.

As if sensing his disbelief, she placed a tender kiss to his jaw and wrapped her arms tightly around him for as far as her belly would allow. "If it'll make you feel any better, I can suggest to Jack that backup might be a necessity." Her eyes flickered up to see his reaction. From her point of view, he seemed to be considering it.

"It's an idea," he told her with a smirk.

Her eyes lit up at that little glimpse of a smile on his features. "Not that that's all taken care of," she began with a teasing twinkle in her eye, "What do you say you go dig out the chocolate sauce and the whipped cream?" She waggled her eyebrows in emphasis.

His eyes instantly lit up with mischief and desire; a complete switch from the sullen Bobby that had recently come out to play. "I say it sounds like a pretty good idea," he purred in response, lowering his lips to hers, tasting her distinct flavor.

"Good," she breathed when the parted. "Because, this little one and me would really enjoy an ice cream sundae."

Picking up her laptop, Tara shoved it into her computer bag with a heavy sigh. She'd decided to stay late and finish up a few last details before heading home for the night. Slipping one arm into the sleeve of her jacket, she switched off her computer before putting it the rest of the way on. She then slung her computer bag onto her shoulder and reached for her phone.

As she was about to grab it, it vibrated against the desktop and then the "Whinnie-the-Pooh" theme began to play. It was the ringtone she'd selected to play when he called her.

She groaned and just stared at the small device until it completely went silent. It wasn't that she was avoiding Matt… of course, if she wasn't doing that, she wasn't sure just what she was doing.

Sighing heavily, she fell back into her chair and tapped the fingernails of her right hand upon the desktop in a staccato rhythm while she gnawed on the thumbnail of her left.

This wasn't the first time he'd called either. He'd been trying to call her all day, in fact, and had also left two messages. And she wanted to answer. But, she also wanted to question him about the woman he was having lunch with this afternoon. She didn't have the right, though.

They weren't an exclusive couple. And though they hadn't officially voice it, it didn't they weren't allowed to see other people. So, he was free to do whatever he wanted. No matter how much it ended up hurting her in the long run.

Her reverie was disrupted by at knock at the door. She turned to see who it was only to regret it. The man she wasn't avoiding was standing right in front of her.

"Hey," he greeted with that amazing smile of his.

She returned the smile, feeling the sharp pain of the lump that has suddenly formed in her throat. "Hi." The word escaped her in a low squeak. She cleared her throat and stood up from her chair.

"I tried calling you today," he told her, just in case she hadn't received any of his calls or messages.

Swallowing, she took in a gulp of air to call her rattled nerves. Why they were that way, she wasn't sure. This was just Matt and they were just having a normal conversation. At least, that's what she'd tried to convince herself of. "Yeah, sorry," she apologized. "We were just so busy today. We had an undercover after lunch and then we had to prepare for another tomorrow." She was proud of herself. She hadn't told a single lie. Of course, she hadn't told the entire truth, either.

She figured he wouldn't have been able to tell that, but he was as good of an agent as she was.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, reaching out to gently squeeze her upper arm. He was surprised when she recoiled away from him.

She nodded, but couldn't look him in the eye. "Fine."

If there was one thing he didn't like, it was mind games. And that's what Tara was doing to him right now, even if she wasn't intending to. "So, then why won't you look at me? And why have you been avoiding me all day?"

She was appalled by the accusation, no matter how true it was. "I haven't been avoiding you," she tried to reassure him, but she had a better chance of making Myles believe that Randy Pitts wanted to be his new best friend. And it would take a lot more to convince herself of her honesty.

He wasn't sure whether to be angry or concerned. She just didn't seem like the Tara that he knew. "What's wrong?" His tone was sympathetic as he perched himself upon the corner of her desk.

She shook her head, trying to appear like nothing was amiss and she even opened her mouth, ready to spout out some nonsense to him. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't do it to him. She needed to be honest. She owed him that much.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she spilled her guts.

"Okay, well, I know I have no claim on what you do or shouldn't even be concerned about it, but I saw you having lunch with another woman today. I was across the street with my friends and I couldn't help but notice how… well, friendly you were being… with her, that is." Surprisingly, that felt good to get off of her chest. Although, that feeling didn't last very long once he started laughing. "What's so funny?"

It took him a minute to quiet his chuckles. And even then, his shoulders still shook with laughter. "Has anyone ever told you that you're very cute when you're jealous?"

She didn't know whether to be flattered or offended. Flattered because he'd called her cute; offended because he'd been laughing at her.

Wiping at the tears in his eyes, he shook his head at her as he reached out to grab her hand. She tried to pull away, but he held tight. "So, that's why you've been giving me the cold shoulder? Because I had lunch with an old friend?"

"Friend?"

He nodded. "Uh-huh. And before you ask, she's happily married."

Her cheeks blazed at that fact. It had been the one thing she hadn't considered. "So, I just looked like an idiot." Yeah, there was no better feeling than the heat of embarrassment.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah. But a very cute idiot."

She licked her parched lips and entwined her fingers behind her back. "So, do you think we could just forget this ever happened?"

He shook his head, a note of teasing visible in his eyes. "Not a chance."

"I was afraid of that." And then all of a sudden, she found herself laughing. "I feel really stupid right now."

"Don't," he reassured her. "I should have told you."

She shook her head. "Why would you have to? It's not like you and I are officially an item or anything. I don't even know why I let it bother me so much." She shrugged and tried to just shrug it all off.

"I probably would have felt the same way if I'd been in your place."

She blinked owlishly up at him. It thrilled her more than surprised her and it took all of her effort to choke out her next words. "You would?" He nodded. "Why?"

"Because I like you, Tara. A lot." She just continued to stare up at him like this was some big revelation for her. He tried to hide his humor, but it escaped him in silent laughter.

"I feel like I've suddenly gone back to junior high," she mused allowed and was mortified when she actually realized that. But, Matt didn't seem fazed by her words, so she just continued with her train of thought. "You're not going to ask me to go steady, are you?" 'Cause that would just end up making things even weirder.

He thought about that for a second. "Maybe," was his response. "But how about we talk about this a little bit more over dinner?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Her cheeks blossomed with color. How could she turn down an offer like that? "Okay," she agreed. "But make sure you get me home before curfew."

He chuckled as he stood up from the desk, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they left the bullpen, turning off the lights on the way out.