Disclaimer: JE owns the characters. The smut muse ran amuck! You have been warned. TART!

Twisted

Six months. He had been by my side almost everyday for the last six months. So it shouldnt be any different that he was here with me tonight. It was just sort of expected on my part.

The smile that twitched at the corners of his lips as he slid my virgin strawberry daiquiri on the bar. The swiftness that he displayed as he jumped over the high top to tackle the skip to the ground after he stuck me. The care that he showed as he lightly held an ice pack to my left cheek.

'You got her?' Rangers voice was wary.

'Yeah.' The single, tight word vibrated through his chest.

Steering me through the club in the comfortable cocoon of his arms, he brought me out a side exit and led me to his truck. Once he had the drivers side door open, he hefted me up and slide me along the bench seat to the middle. As soon as he was seated and had the truck in gear, his arm came around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

The streets were deserted at two in the morning, only three cars passing by as we made our way back to Haywood. The ride was silent and gave me time to replay the take down. No one was at fault. The skip had recognized me. Maybe it was time to hang up the high heels and slutty clothes. Being recognized was going to happen sooner or later. I was lucky that I walked away with just a bruised cheek. If the skip had been armed at the time...

The garage was empty as we pulled in. Cool air caressed my heated skin as he climbed out and offered a hand to help me down. His hand stayed in mine as he walked me over to the elevator, corralling me in as the doors opened. The air around us changed as he backed me into the wall next to the panel and pushed the button for the fourth floor. The muscles in the body that lightly lined up to mine started to soften, tension slowly leaking out of his body as the elevator rose.

He moved away as the doors dinged open, still keeping my hand as he started walking through the doors. Gently pulling me closer to him, he opened the door to my apartment and guided me in. The cool darkness enclosed us as the door closed out the light from the hallway.

Two strong arms wrapped around me as he breath breezed passed my ear. 'I just need a minute.'

My body melted into his as I excepted the warmth that he was showing. Being his partner for the last six months had opened my eyes to the man that he kept locked away. He was sweet, sentimental, soft, intelligent. Of course if I ever said that, he'd kill me. But, I liked it. A lot. More than I should without a doubt.

He finally reached over and turned the kitchen light on. We moved through the apartment silently, me going to the bathroom to change and him over to the couch to sit down. The routine was automatic, neither one of us actually thinking about it as we went about our business.

As I walked back out of the bathroom in a tank top and a pair of yoga pants, he waved me over and pulled me down onto the couch. He placed the forgotten ice pack back on my cheek as he pulled me closer. My arms went around him as I leaned my head on his chest.

The silence around us was completely comfortable, but there was a hesitation about it. Like he was waiting for the right moment to say something and wondering if that moment was ever going to come. The minutes ticked by and his muscles started softening under my hands again. He shifted around so that he was in the corner on the couch and I pulled my legs up so that they laid across his lap.

Thats when he completely relaxed and opened up. 'Tomorrow morning I'm requesting that I be reassigned to a new partner and not be on the same case as you.'

My heart plummeted and I was thankful that he couldn't see my face. The guys often changed partners to keep the trust up, but I had never had someone request to not be with me. My chest tightened under the despair. He had been a great partner, we got along so well. I truly didn't think that anything was wrong.

My voice was barely above a whisper. 'Why?'

'Because my heart can't take it,' he whispered as he brushed a kiss over my hair.

Shock had me bolting up right as my face swiveled in his direction. His body followed mine as he sat all the way up. My hand flew to his chest as his arms tightened like vises around my waist. Resistance was futile once my eyes met his. The light brown irises softened and pleaded for understanding.

'Why are you doing this?' I whispered as I stared up at him. 'I thought we were good together.'

'We're too good together,' he whispered as he leaned forward slightly. 'That's just it, Steph. That guy slapped you tonight and I lost it. It's not safe for me to love you this much and be on the job with you. I was prepared to kill that guy, I wanted to kill that guy. I'm so fucking twisted over you that I can't think right.'

Love me? Is that really what he said? Or just what I wanted him to say? Shit. And I wanted him to say it. And mean it. Damn it! When did all these feeling start popping up out of nowhere?

'I know that things have been fucked up for you in the past.' He plowed right on. 'But I'm not like the guys that you've been with. I want you to do what makes you happy. I can see the light in your eyes when you get a new file and go after the bad guy. I won't ask you to give that up. I'm just asking that you not work with me. I can't be held responsible for my actions if I see another guy hit you.'

And there's that sweet side, the underbelly of the beast that longed to be stroked.

'I want to put bandaids on your cuts and kiss your bruises,' he whispered. 'I want to be your safe harbor like you are mine.'

My finger came up to cover his lips. His eyes were bright with a single emotion. Love. There wasn't a single doubt to it. He loved me and that's all there is to it.

My voice cracked. 'Just tell me that you love me so that I can say it back.'

'I love you,' he whispered through my fingers.

'I love you.'

He slowly pulled my hand down as he moved me closer. My lips met his, just a light caress of soft skin. Desire coursed through my body as his hand skimmed up my back and tangled in my hair. I tilted my head to the side as my lips parted, my tongue sliding out and tracing the seam of his lips.

He groaned as his fingers fisted in my hair, his tongue gliding across mine as it swept into my mouth. My hands slid up his chest and along his neck, grabbing on and pulling him closer as heat coursed through my body. The need to get naked was growing like a wildfire.

My body started moving and I crawled up into his lap, wanting to be as close as I could get. He turned slightly as his left hand pulled my hips closer, his growing erection pressing right against my core. My hips rocked and his rocked up to meet mine.

'Jesus,' he swore as he tore his lips from mine. He captured my face in his hands and stared deep into my eyes. 'Are you sure that this is what you want? I can stop now. But I can't guarantee that I won't hurt myself if I have to stop later.'

I grinned. 'We are so not stopping.'

His lips crashed back down on mine in a kiss laced with hunger and need. My hand ran up the back of his neck and along the smooth skin on his head, little hairs rough against the palm of my hand. He groaned deep in my mouth as I lightly scraped my nails along his scalp, his hips raising off the couch and grinding into me.

'We need to lose some of these clothes,' he growled as my lips trailed across his chin and down his throat.

My lips broke from his skin as I yanked my tank top over my head, his hands coming up swiftly to cover my breasts. Flames licked along my skin as his fingers stimulated my nipples into tight peaks. Needing to feel his warm, bare skin against mine, I reached down and started yanking his shirt out of his pants. He leaned forward and released my breasts only long enough to get his shirt off.

'Oh, God,' he whispered against my lips. 'You feel like fucking heaven.'

My eyes fluttered closed as he nipped at my lips, his thumbs drawing lazy circles across my skin. A deep moan was drawn from my throat as his warm lips made their way down my jaw to my neck. His tongue glided over sensitive flesh along my neck and froze at the pulse point. He drew one lazy circle, then another.

My head tilted to the side, allowing him more access, as I leaned forward. I craved the taste of his skin as if it were air. Nipping and licking my way across his shoulder, my legs slid further apart. He felt warm and thick between the layers of clothing that separated us. If the clothes didn't disappear soon, I was going to go mad.

'I think that we need to move.' My voice was so deep with desire that I barely recognized it.

His hands left my breasts and I whimpered at the loss. His hands left a scorching trail along my skin as they went around to my butt, his body shifting forward as he stood up. I felt feather light in his strong arms as he walked the short distance to my bed, the cool silk bedspread ripping a grasp from my lips as he gently laid me down.

He stood back from the bed and I watched him through hooded eyes. His arms flexed as he stretched slightly before his hands moved to the buttons on the front of his cargos. In agonizingly slow movements, he flicked each button as he stared down at me, his eyes leaving a burning trail along my skin as if he were touching me.

As the last button popped free, my hands came up to my hips to remove my pants. A look passed over his face and my hands fell back to the bed, that was a job that he wanted. My heart rate increased as a smirk came to his lips. He knew he had me around his finger, the power of that flowing through his eyes and moistening my panties.

My eyes trailed over his broad shoulders and hard pecs, the feeling of his warm skin under my finger making them twitch. My hand reached up to check for drool as I admired his impressive eight pack abs and narrow hips, remembering how good they felt between my knees.

The moment of his hands caught my eye as they moved up to the hips that I had just finish ogling. His thumbs hooked into the waist band and started slowly pushing them down. An audible gulp came from somewhere when his erection sprang free.

He is so beautiful, I thought as he stood in all his glory at the edge of the bed. His muscles rippled as his erection twitched when he brought his knees up on the bed. My mouth started watering as I watched his hands come up to my hips. His fingers gently scooped into the waist band and he tugged lightly. My hips came up off the bed, his fingers burning my skin as he pulled down my pants.

A sly smile spread over my lips as he took in the black silk and lace thong I was wearing. My breath hitched in my lungs as his fingers gently ran across the top of the lace. His eyes swung up and locked with mine. I saw a need and a longing that I had never seen before. It was so palpable that I could feel him reach out for me before his body even moved.

Our hands met as we reached out for each other. His fingers laced with mine as he came down to lay on top of me, his body sinking down and lining up perfectly with mine. He linked his fingers with my other hand and brought both of my arms up above my head, our eyes locked together and unspoken words passed between us.

'Is this real?' he whispered, breaking the silence of the room.

'Yes,' I whispered back.

'Will I have to leave once it's over?'

I unlaced my fingers from his and brought both of my hands up to cup his face. If I would have known months ago that we both would have ended up here in this moment, I still would have done everything the same way. There was a naturalness to this, to being here with him. It didn't matter that he just barely said the words, the feelings had been there.

'You can leave whenever you want,' I whispered as I looked deep into his eyes. 'Or you can stay every night for as long as you live.' I grinned. 'I'd prefer the second choice.'

His body shifted as his lips came down and sealed to mine. The sound of fabric ripping didn't register until he slid into me, his hips slamming into mine. He hesitated for a moment to let my body adjust to the intrusion of his before he slowly started pulling out. A whimper erupted from my throat when he got to just his head still sheathed inside me.

A feral growl rumbled up from his gut as he eased back into me. My hands slipped down from his face along his neck and shoulders as his hips met mine again. I scraped my nails down his chest and around his ribs as he started moving back out, his tongue buried deep in my mouth. My nails continued to trail down his back as he froze, just barely inside.

His lips broke from mine as he started kissing across my jaw and down my neck. My breath hitched as my hands came down to his ass and his lips grazed over my pulse point. The skin under my nails gave way as his teeth sank into my skin and he surged forward.

Whatever control either one of us was holding onto to keep it slow was broken instantly. Our breaths became rasps of air as his long smooth strokes turned into blinding slams. Heat and need exploded through my body as my hips started meeting his, thrust for thrust. My toes started to curl as the muscles in my legs started to tighten, a sure sign that my first orgasm with him was right around the corner.

As the first wave of pleasure broke out over my body, his name tore its was out of my throat in a deep moan. His thrust faltered slightly as he cursed, taking a few beats to regain his composure and not lose it himself.

I was only slightly aware of his hands trailing along my shoulder blades as my breath rushed in and out of my lungs. My head fell back as I was raised from the bed, his thick erection still deep with in me. The cold latex paint on the wall brought me back into my body with a sharp gasp.

'Just trust me,' he whispered against my ear as he pulled my left leg tighter around his hips.

My eyes opened and locked with his immediately. The love glowing in his eyes put any thought of concern from my mind like a passing breeze. A lazy smile tilted up the corners of my lips as my legs tighten around him and my arms came up around his neck to anchor my body to his.

An answering smile graced his lips as his head dipped down to my mouth. His right hand stayed down around my ass as his left arm came up to rest on the wall next to my head.

He stood there and kissed me for the longest time, taking the time to enjoy the simplicity of the act. He was intoxicating. His lips and tongue gently making love to my mouth as his erection stayed hard and ready deep inside me. The feeling of his smooth warm skin in heavenly contrast to the hard cold wall at my back. The love and excitement that he felt for me emanating from every pore of his body. In the silence of the room, the sound of our breathing and soft skin moving across soft skin was erotic.

The feelings became overwhelming and the need for some type of release caused my hips to rock in the two inches of space that they had to move in. The temperature of his skin skyrocketed as a small tremble raced through his muscles. The chest leaning against mine froze as his breathing stopped. His lips released mine and his beautiful eyes blinked at me.

In that moment, I knew that I wouldn't be able to walk away from any of this. I took a deep breath through my nose so that I could seal the memory with the scent of his skin, the smell of the sex that we were enjoying permeating the room. As I released the breath, everything changed.

His hip reared back and then immediately slammed back into mine. A blinding speed was set and teeth and lips set to skin. Deep moans and heavy groan filled the silence of the apartment as we both reached out with everything that we had. The muscles under his skin tightened and vibrated as a fine sheen of sweat broke out everywhere.

My hands fisted in his hair as heat licked across my body. I was blindsided by another orgasm ripping through my body, robbing me of my vision and hearing. The only thing left in its wake was the singular awareness of him. The feeling of his lips sealing around my neck as he sucked my skin into his mouth, marking me as his. His right hand grasping my ass as his left hand fisted in my hair. The way that his erection expanded as he released a piece of himself into me. It was everything that it had never been with anyone else before.

The sound of his labored breathing was the first thing that came back to me as he slid us down to the floor, his legs wobbling as we went down. His lips came back to mine in a tender kiss that said thank you, I love you, mine. My arms came around his chest as he tucked my head under his chin, giving me a tender squeeze as he cuddled me closer.

'That was amazing,' he whispered, finally breaking the silence.

'Indeed,' was the best that I could muster up as I regained my breath.

We stayed on the floor for a few more minutes before he finally gathered up enough strength to pull us both up and get us back on the bed. He walked, shakily, to the bathroom and disappeared. The sound of the toilet flushing was followed by the sound of the shower starting. He returned to the bed and gently pulled me into his arms, carrying me into the bathroom and straight into the shower.

'We'll sleep better clean,' he said quietly as he sat me on my feet.

The warm water felt almost as good as his soapy hands did. We shared soft kisses and light chuckles as we took turns gently washing each other, too exhausted to do anything more. I admired his body as he dried off, my eyes falling over his name tattooed across the back of his shoulders.

My gut twitched. 'Is Callahan a family name?'

He nodded. 'I go by Cal because my fathers name is Callahan as well.'

'So if you had a son...'

He turned and looked deep into my eyes for a moment. Something flashed through his eyes. An unknown wanting? He searched my face for a moment before a light smile tilted up his lips.

'Tradition is important to my family,' he finally said. 'I'd want to pass that down if we have a son.'

I blinked. 'We?'

'That's if we decide to have kids,' he finished.

There was that 'we' again. A small smile tried to tug at my lips. I'm part of a we. I'm part of a we. He chuckled at whatever expression formed over my face.

'Fear not, Kitten,' he said as he grabbed my towel and placed it on the towel bar. His arm came around my waist as he guided me out of the bathroom and over to the bed. As we climbed under the covers and snuggled close together he added, 'We have plenty of time to figure all that out.'

As my eyes lowered and sleep started creeping in, I smiled.