Chapter 13:

His hand vanished in the soft golden locks that fell on him, the end of her hair teasing his chest while other parts teased the side of his cheek. He could feel her breasts, pressed into his side as her lips remained locked with his. Her tongue swimming in his mouth, his tongue competing with hers, as he felt like he was drowning in the sudden scent that filled his nostrils. Her hand was flat on his naked chest while his settled on her back, relishing the softness of her skin. The bed dipped slightly as she seemed to get closer to him...

Eric's eyes flew open hitting the ceiling above him as his heart pounded hard in his chest. He could actually hear the sound of the beating in his ears and he realized that she was in his bed, so he turned his head to his right side expecting to find the beautiful blonde that had just left him out of breath in his dreams sleeping next to him, only to find that side empty. He frowned at the realization. She had promised him she wouldn't leave him alone, that she would be there when he woke up...

She wasn't.

He took a deep long breath and grabbed her pillow. It was the same scent in his dream. He knew that. He really didn't need the scent to confirm what he already knew. He could tell from her figure, from her hair. He could detect Calleigh from a million miles away. Besides who else would he be dreaming about if not her? She had haunted his dreams from day one. Her beautiful smile, the sound of her laugh, those amazing eyes of hers...she was contagious. She was like a drug that he was addicted to. An addiction he never wanted to go to rehab to. He preferred being hurt by her actions at times than never to see her again. Even if she will never be his, which he really hoped that was not the case, he still preferred that and seeing her than not having her in his life at all.

Thinking about her like this, especially after such a dream, Eric found the sudden urge to see her. He wanted to lay his eyes on her, take her all in. She was just too beautiful to ever have enough of seeing her.

He was going to call her, but then he thought he could do this on his own. He could get out of bed without asking for her help. Besides as from Monday she was not going to be around 24/7 thanks to Stetler, so he would need to do everything on his own. Get up, use the bathroom, prepare something to eat...and the list goes on.

He slowly got up, letting his legs drop out of bed carefully and reached for his crutches. He had no t-shirt on but just a shorts so he was quite good to present himself in front of the woman he so wanted to seduce, and it wasn't like she had never seen him shirtless before.

He smiled at the thought of seeing the blush that had filled her face yesterday as she helped him take care of the incision. She just looked so damn cute when she gets a little bit shy.

He pushed himself up and took a deep breath as he found the balance on the crutches. He slowly made his way outside towards the kitchen and the living room, only to find Calleigh cleaning.

'Heyy' she whispered smiling at him, a sudden blush filling her face as her eyes settled on his chest. She straightened up, dropping the cushions on the floor in process and Eric almost laughed.

'Hey. What are you doing?' he asked her as he approached her, a frown forming on his face.

'Cleaning' she simply replied, trying not to notice how hot the air around her seemed to be all of a sudden.

'Cleaning? No Cal. Stop' he told her.

'Oh come on Eric, why?' she asked him rolling her eyes in that cute way that always made his heart skip a beat.

'Because you are not my maid' he simply replied as if it was that obvious that she didn't need to ask him why.

'Oh come on Eric, someone has to clean the house' she told him 'You have two healing wounds, you really don't need an infection right now' Calleigh tried to explain.

'I know Cal but it is bad enough that you have to take care of me, I don't like the idea of you cleaning after me' he told her.

'I don't mind' she replied.

'But I do' Eric told her.

She rolled her eyes again at how silly he was being and went down to grab the cushions, but Eric attempted to take it away from her, causing one of the crutches to fall, making him almost loose his balance, if Calleigh hadn't been quick to slip her arm around him and hold him. It was then that she realized that she was standing way too close to him. Her arm was wrapped around his bare back, she could feel his skin press against her palm, as her breasts pressed into his ribs, just like in his dream, and as Eric looked down at her, his lips were mere inches away from her. She blinked her eyes rapidly recalling that moment from earlier when she had found the courage to kiss him without his knowledge, and then swallowed hard, realizing that she needed to put some distance between the two of them.

She could hear his heart beating hard in his chest, see his pulse point jump in his neck as his breath hovered over her face. His eyes were growing darker as his thumb stroked her back on its own accord.

Making sure he is balanced, Calleigh dropped her hand and bent down to give him back the other support that fell on the floor.

'Are you...alright?' she choked out, as she checked the dressing on his leg, making sure there was no blood seeping out.

'I'm good' he replied as his eyes watched her attentively.

'Good' she replied with a nod. She quickly grabbed the cushions from the floor and threw them on the couch. She just needed to step away from him and put some much needed distance. He was starting to bring her walls down by the minute and Calleigh needed to stop that. She couldn't let him affect her this much. She couldn't let him see what he was doing to her.

'So emm...did you sleep well?' she asked him making her way into the kitchen, needing as much space between them as possible as she turned on the kettle.

Eric smiled at that question 'I did' he replied as he hopped closer to her. She watched him remove his crutches as she glanced back at him, resting them next to the stools, and then hop to the next stool as he slowly settled on it 'I had an amazing dream actually' he continued.

'Oh really?' she asked smiling 'Care to share?' she asked curiously. She was hoping that he would tell her that he dreamt he was kissing her, but at the same time she knew Eric wouldn't be so straight forward about something like that. He cared too much about their friendship to come out and say something like that to her.

'Sure' he replied 'There was this beautiful blonde on top of me...kissing me' he told her, emphasizing the last part, and Calleigh's lips parted, her eyes staring straight into his.

She finally managed to drag her eyes away, looking at the floor momentarily and then back at him 'Mm...it's a pity you don't know who she is then...or do you?' she asked him with that playful smile on her face as she turned around, to start pouring the coffee into their mugs.

'Unfortunately I couldn't see her face' he replied, a smile still on his face, and Calleigh realized that he didn't really answer her question 'But I can still feel her lips on mine, her hair splashed all over my chest and her breasts in my ribs...' he started telling her. Maybe she wasn't looking at him, but Eric could tell that his words were affecting her. He could see the way her shoulders tensed as he described his dream.

'Pity she didn't let you see her face' Calleigh replied still not looking at him.

'Yeah...so tell me...do you ever have dreams like that Cal?' he asked her and this time she turned around to face him.

'What do you mean?' she asked him, as she let her back rest against the counter.

'Haven't you ever had a dream that felt so...real? That you can still feel the person kissing you?' he asked her.

'Of course I have Eric' she replied as she rolled her eyes at him, grabbing both mugs and started walking towards him, placing them on the breakfast table 'Everyone does' she told him.

'Care to share?' he asked, using the same words she did previously.

'Can't remember one in particular' she lied, but the truth was that she did remember, and obviously Eric was in the dream. She could see him on top of her, his head buried in the crook of her neck, her head thrown back as a silent 'O' escaped her mouth as he plunged into her.

Eric watched her blush, as her eyes stared at the floor once again, too obvious that she was in fact recalling a particular dream, and if he didn't know any better, he would think that it was about him.

'That's a shame' he said 'It would have been nice to hear the details' he whispered as he grabbed his coffee and sipped a little, snapping her out of her thoughts, his eyes still on her.

'Yeah...it's a shame' she said as she lifted her eyes to look at him 'So emm...can I assume that you are...alright?' she asked him as she grabbed her mug into her hands and Eric knew exactly what she was referring to.

'Yeah...much better. The dream sure helped' he replied with a smile and then he shrugged 'I guess I just have to deal with it...again' he said.

'I'm sorry you have to go through this again' she told him sympathetically.

'I know' he replied.

'So do you feel like going out?' she asked him 'It's a beautiful day out there. Maybe we can go and have something to eat?' she asked as she checked the time.

'Yeah we can. Should we shower now or later?' he asked.

'How about later, you know since we'll probably be somewhere near the sand if not on it?' she told him.

'Good point' he told her.

oooOOOooo

An hour and a half later, Calleigh and Eric were sitting at a table at one of the main beaches in Miami. His eyes were on her, as he was suddenly finding it hard to look away. She had walked out of his bedroom in a long white strapless maxi dress and a bronze sandles with matching bracelets and earrings, light make-up, hair pulled to one side. She was just stunning. Too beautiful for Eric to believe that she was accompanying him to the beach of all the men she could have in Miami.

He might actually be the one in her company, but all eyes were on her, and Eric couldn't help but getting pissed off. How dare they stare at her?

'What?' she asked him, catching the look on his face, as she lifted her head from the menu.

'Everyone is staring at you' he told her, and her eyebrows went up.

'Maybe they're looking at you' she replied.

'Men Cal...men are staring not women' he replied.

'So? They could still be looking at you' she teased with a wink.

'Then we would have a problem if that is the case' Eric replied and Calleigh couldn't help but laugh, really laugh, eyes shut, head thrown back kind of thing.

'What's so funny?' he asked with a chuckle. He just loved the sound of her laughter.

'I can just imagine you in a gay relationship' she teased and Eric's brow went up.

'Please tell me you're not serious?' he told her but Calleigh just laughed not saying a word 'If that is the case, then the problem is bigger than I thought' Eric told her.

'Why?' she asked him.

'Because I certainly don't want you to picture me with a man' he told her 'And I can assure you Cal...that I like women...especially blondes' he went on 'Blondes with blue greenish eyes' he finished and Calleigh's laughed subsided at that comment, feeling a sudden rush run through her body, from the tip of her toes to the top of her head, filling her cheeks as her eyes sparkled.

'Can I help you?' they heard a voice say ruining the moment as they both shook their head, snapping them out of the sudden trance they seemed to have fallen in to, as they realized that another pretty blonde was standing between them ready to take their order. She was particularly smiling at Eric and Calleigh realized that she didn't like that particular fact.

She cleared her voice to get the waitress attention and divert it from Eric 'I guess we can order some drinks for now' she told her 'One coke for me' Calleigh said 'And another one for me' she heard Eric say and immediately the waitress attention were on him again.

She watched the waitress leave then, her eyes narrowed with disdain when Eric caught her attention 'Oh my God' he laughed.

'What's so funny?' Calleigh asked him.

'She slipped me her number' Eric replied and Calleigh eyebrows shot up as her lips parted.

'Is she serious? Can't she see you're with me?' Calleigh asked him.

'Well it's not like we are together Cal' Eric replied enjoying the look on her face. She was actually getting jealous and Eric liked that.

'So? But she doesn't know that, does she? If we were she would be hitting on you in front of me' Calleigh told him angrily. She watched the bimbo approach them then with their drinks in hand, as she placed the drinks in front of them, her eyes still on the Cuban sitting round the table.

'Ready to order?' she asked giving Eric a nice view of her cleavage.

Eric chuckled as he caught sight of Calleigh's death look at the lady 'I emm...' he started saying as he cleared his throat, pretending to be giving his full attention to the waitress 'I think I'll have a Hamburger with fries' he told her with that boyish grin Calleigh adored so much.

'I think I'll have the same' Calleigh replied without thinking about it 'You know cause we like having the same stuff. We always do things together' she told her getting the waitress to look at her, giving her a death look.

'OK thank you' the waitress said getting the point as she turned around to leave and place their order.

Eric burst into a fit of giggles then as Calleigh's death look remained 'You're jealous' he whispered.

'What?' she asked him as if he was insane.

'I said...you're jealous' Eric repeated. Maybe he shouldn't have said it really, but he couldn't help it.

'No I am not' she replied 'Why would I be jealous?' she asked him.

'I don't know. Why don't you tell me Cal?' he asked her. She stared at him for a second and was about to say something when she caught sight of Stetler.

'Oh my God...I cannot believe this' she said.

'What?' Eric asked her noticing the change of look on her face, following the direction she was looking at.

'Stetler' she said as she glanced at him quickly, watching the unwanted visitor approaching as he caught sight of them.

'Well well well...what do we have here?' he said looking at the two of them.

'Seriously Rick? Do you really have nothing to do that you have to keep following us everywhere we go?' Eric asked him pissed off at this point by his continuous presence.

'Faith must be pushing us into the same direction' Stetler repeated.

'Piss off Rick. Leave us alone' Calleigh replied.

'Mmm...you would love that wouldn't you Duquesne? That is what you want, but I won't stop until I finish you' he said harshly.

'You leave her alone' Eric warned him.

'Huh' he laughed mockingly 'Who is going to make me? You?' Stetler asked giving him an incompetent look.

'No I am' she replied 'Why don't you go get a hobby Rick' she told him.

'I do' he said 'You' he whispered as he narrowed his eyes, leaning slightly forward, as he took her in, scanning every part of her, every flash that was exposed and with that he turned around and left them alone, leaving Calleigh shivering. The way he said it, the way he looked at her, she just couldn't shake it off.

'Hey are you alright?' Eric asked her, placing his hand on hers, as he tried to control his emotions. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins, as he sat there and just watched Stetler intimidate Calleigh. It wasn't everyday that Calleigh felt intimidated but the way he looked at her, made Eric want to rip his head off.

'I'm feeling dirty' she replied as she closed her eyes, trying to get some control back.

'I understand. Do you want to go home?' he asked her softly.

'We have food coming, and I don't even feel like eating now' she told him upset.

'We'll get that to go' Eric told her.

He signaled the waitress that had been serving them and asked her to get the food to go and paid the bill and started getting up from the chair. Calleigh was a million miles away, her thoughts still on the way Rick had eyed her up. He looked like a predator getting ready to get his prey and Calleigh shivered once again at the thought.

'Hey shall we go?' Eric asked her.

oooOOOooo

Calleigh was lying in bed, on her right side, facing the wall, Eric's arm wrapped around her waist as their legs tangled together. She was quiet in the silence of the night, and only the wind outside could be heard as it disturbed the trees and the ocean not too far away from them, as the trees swayed from one side to the other while the waves crashed onto the sand, leaving its mark where it stopped.

She had made her way straight into the shower as soon as they got home, food long forgotten, and after she had finished from her shower, which took around a whole hour as she kept rubbing herself trying to get cleaner in her mind as hot water continuously sprayed on her delicate skin and golden hair while her hands rubbed soap everywhere, Stetler's eyes haunted her. She had helped Eric with cleaning his incision then and made it straight to bed afterwards without even sparing another thought on the food that still remained on the kitchen counter, or bothered to inform Eric that that is where she was going.

He had let her have her space though, he knew how much Calleigh needed such a thing when something shakes her off. She was quite hard to handle sometimes, but that didn't shake Eric off. It didn't make him want her less because of it.

He had even given her time alone in bed, but when he took his meds, he had to get in then because they usually hammer him down not long after. Tonight though, it was like his body knew that she needed him, so somehow Eric was still awake. He had expected her to be asleep by then, but she wasn't and as soon as he made it to bed, she had snuggled into him without saying a word, or even look at him. She just needed to be in the comfort of his arms, to know that she was in Eric's arms...far away from Stetler. She didn't like the thought that she would need protection, but tonight she felt like she needed it, and Calleigh felt that being in Eric's arms was protection enough, that he could help keep Stetler away.

Somehow she had managed to doze off before Eric did, and Eric just stood there, holding her in his arms. He pressed his nose into her soft long hair and inhaled her scent. She smelled so sweet, so her. He kissed the back of her head and pulled her further into him, as he closed his eyes relishing this moment. She had come willingly in his arms and to Eric it didn't matter what the reason was. She could have chosen to stay away, to close herself off, and even though she hadn't really talked that much since they left the beach, the fact that she willingly settled in his embrace meant that she didn't completely shut herself out. She let him be there for her, and Eric was thankful for that. He really needed to hold her and assure himself that she was alright.

The fact that Stetler was acting like this was worrying. They always knew that he is a slimy man but to come this far and start following someone, and practically threaten her...

What worried Eric most though was the fact that if Stetler did try to hurt her, he was in no position to protect her having been shot in the leg just weeks ago. It hasn't even been two weeks since that episode, and with him slipping into a coma, it had delayed his recovery a bit. It worried him. He wanted to protect her, but he certainly couldn't do it physically himself, especially if something happens when he is not with her, so Eric decided it was time to phone Horatio and let him know about the situation.

oooOOOooo

'No Eric no' Calleigh insisted.

Eric had dared to tell her what his plan was about protecting her the next morning, but obviously Calleigh didn't agree. The last thing she wanted was to have everyone babysit her.

'Please Cal, it will ease my mind' he told her.

'No Eric I'm sorry. You know how I hate people watching my every move or try to protect me. I can handle it myself' she insisted.

'Calleigh, Rick is sleazy not to mention that he iswatching you. When you go back to work on Monday, I am not going to be with you, I can't do anything to protect you if the situation arises in these bloody crutches' he told her as he slammed the crutches on the floor angrily, making Calleigh almost jump at the unexpected reaction.

He sighed heavily then and rubbed his forehead 'I'm sorry Cal...I'm just frustrated that I can't do anything' he told her.

'I know' she replied sympathetically.

'I'm just worried' he replied.

'I know you are, but Eric I won't be alone anyway. You almost always go out in pairs when we are on a case' she told him.

'Almost' he repeated the word 'And what about when you're walking to the car or going to the bathroom?' he asked her.

'That's why I have my gun' she told him 'Since when are you doubting my abilities to use it?' she asked him as she wrapped her arms in front of her chest.

'I am not doubting you Cal' he told her as he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him, while he rested his back against the wall, his eyes looking straight into hers, hoping she could see how worried he truly was about her 'I just don't trust Stetler' he assured her 'You know there are millions ways he can kidnap you or hurt you and I don't even want to think about it' he said as he closed his eyes.

'Alright' she whispered and Eric opened his eyes at the sound of that word slipping through her mouth 'Alright...you can tell Horatio what is going on' she told him, finally giving him the go ahead, and Eric exhaled hard with relief as he pulled her in his arms and hugged her.