Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me, they most likely belong to Dick Wolf and/or NBC/Universal. I do this for free, fun entertainment and do not mean to offend anyone.
A/N: This chapter is rated M. Standard warning from earlier chapters; depiction of two women in a sexual relationship. If you don't like it then don't read it, no one's forcing you to. As always, thank you to all those reading this story and and extra special thank you to the ones who review. Enjoy!
Chapter 14 – Sacrifice
Alex had shut her door halfway through the morning, tired of the constant interruptions caused by her colleagues, many of whom she barely even knew as passing acquaintances, who kept stopping by. As touching as it was that they were all concerned, she was fine and she needed to string together at least a couple hours of solid work before Olivia came by to take her to lunch.
An unbidden smile spread across her face at just the thought of Olivia, even in the midst of reading the heinous details of one of her pending cases. She was glad that now they both had someone to turn to when their work became too hard, which it did even if both of them were often too stubborn to admit it. They both wanted to do what was best for the victims and tended to push themselves close to, and sometimes past, their limits.
Alex tried to divert her attention back to the case file open in front of her and away from the distraction of her strong, beautiful girlfriend. Thoughts of Olivia had always warmed Alex and she desperately hoped that she would never begin to associate her detective with the agonizing aspects of their respective jobs.
She wouldn't mind the pleasant distraction of her thoughts so much if she could still go home on time. Alex had always been willing to work late in the past because she didn't have anything important to get home to. Things were certainly different now since she could legitimately spend all her free time with Olivia.
The ADA was able to draw her concentration back to her case for almost another hour before there was a knock on her door. Alex looked at the clock on her desk and figured that it must be Olivia coming by to pick her up. She called for the visitor to come in and quickly finished up the paragraph she was reading and jotted down a few final notes. Alex could feel the eagerness suffuse her body with just the simple desire to look at Olivia, but if she didn't finish what she was doing first then she probably wouldn't finish at all.
She could tell as soon as the visitor entered her office that it was not her detective. There was no inexplicable sensation of warmth washing over her that always accompanied Olivia's presence. Alex looked up curiously, wondering if perhaps one of her co-workers had become bold enough to intrude on her self-imposed solitude.
In her now open doorway stood Fin, looking ill at ease as he waited for Alex to give him her attention. It was a look she had seen on the SVU detective's face too often lately and Alex was immediately struck with the dreadful feeling that something was terribly wrong. The icy fist that clenched painfully around her heart told her with no uncertainty that it had something to do with Olivia and Alex had to push back the unbidden tears that prickled at the backs of her eyes.
She tried to reprimand herself for almost giving in to the uncommon emotional response that wasn't even substantiated by Fin yet, but couldn't bring herself to feel shame for her deep connection to Olivia. Alex wasn't sure if she really wanted to know if something had happened to Olivia, but she knew it was worse not to know. "What happened?" she tried to keep her voice calm, but Alex could feel the panic gripping her.
"Olivia was hurt on the job. Elliot called from the hospital and told me to bring you over," Fin said. He didn't mention that Elliot had said it was Donovan who'd attacked Olivia and that Fin had been sent over to make sure that Alex was still safe. They would've expected to hear something if Alex had unexpectedly left the building, but they also knew that Donovan wanted both Alex and Olivia to fulfill his sick fantasies.
Alex was out of her chair and rounding the desk as quickly as she could. She focused on the word choice of hurt instead of dead and just prayed to any and every deity that Olivia would be okay. "Let's go," Alex said as she grabbed her suit jacket from the hook by the door. She just needed to get to her love as soon as possible, see for herself that Olivia was alive. Alex would deal with her tumultuous emotions after she saw Olivia.
The ride to the hospital was nerve-wracking with Alex wringing her hands together, and seemed to take forever. Why did it only seem to take so long to get some place when she really needed to be there? Alex had never been prone to nervous behaviors, all outward expression of emotion needing to be mastered when one was a trial attorney, particularly in criminal law when defendants and even witnesses could spring unbelievable statements while on the stand.
Even though he was sure Alex wanted to kill him for it, Fin parked the car and didn't drop the attorney off at the emergency room entrance. He had been given very specific instructions to not allow Alex to go anywhere unaccompanied, even if it was just to walk a couple hundred yards into the ER waiting room. Fin loved his unit but was getting a little tired of being the errand boy who always had someone pissed at him just because he couldn't flat out say no to his team like Munch had learned to do.
Alex dashed from the car just as it stopped moving and could hear Fin swear colorfully behind her as he slammed the car into park and ran to catch up to her. She was through the emergency room doors quickly and was trying to get someone's attention at the busy nurses' station. When she saw Elliot standing in the waiting room, Alex gave up on the otherwise occupied nurses and went to ask Olivia's partner what he knew about her condition.
"Is she okay?" Alex asked, a look of pain crossing her features that she couldn't hide. She could feel fear and panic saturate her system but was almost certain that Olivia was alive. If she hadn't made it then Alex knew she would've been able to feel it, feel the completely devastating lose. Their connection had become so strong in the past several weeks that they were almost preternaturally attuned to each other. Alex was grateful for that connection, especially right now when it was telling her that Olivia was alive.
Elliot looked concerned but not overly panicked, which calmed Alex's racing mind a little. "She was hit over the head with a piece of piping and lost consciousness for a few minutes. I called an ambulance and she regained consciousness about a minute before the EMS techs arrived. Liv was yelling and trying to get up to go after the bastard as EMS was checking her out before transport," Elliot said with a small smile at the memory of Olivia's ever-present fighting spirit.
That smile did a lot to calm Alex's fears as she knew that Elliot would never be so flippant if he really thought Olivia was currently in danger, but she could still see the anxiety that crept just under the surface in Elliot's eyes. "Tell me what happened," Alex said quietly, though her tone was no less commanding for the softness of her voice.
Elliot knew this would be painful for Alex to hear since she had always been afraid that Donovan would go after Olivia, but her tone brokered no argument and it would be suicide to lie to her. "We were working on my case and I had tracked down a possible suspect. When we got to the guy's work, he ran and we gave chase. I left her to take another route to try to cut him off."
Alex did not miss how Elliot put the blame squarely on himself, and while she wanted to blame someone for what had happened to Olivia, she wouldn't put it on the man who had always done his best to protect his partner. She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, the contact not feeling uncomfortable, as it would have in the past, because of their mutual love and affection for Olivia. They may not have had the same connection to the beautiful detective, but each relationship was intense in its own way. "It wasn't your fault," Alex tried to reassure, not just saying the words but believing them as well.
"It was. I left her on her own even knowing that Donovan was still out there." Elliot saw the firm set of Alex's jaw at the mention of Donovan's name and the immediate self-recrimination that jumped to life in her eyes. "I heard the shot and got to the alley maybe thirty seconds later. Scott Donovan was standing over her. He ran when he saw me."
Elliot saw the fresh flash of panic in Alex's eyes when he said there had been a shot and quickly continued with the story, his own pain at his actions showing in his words and on his face. "I could have taken off after him. Liv's shot grazed him. He was bleeding as he ran away and I know I could have caught up with him. I should have caught him, should have gotten him out of both your lives for good."
"You did what you should've done; you stayed with your injured partner when she couldn't defend herself. And I will forever be grateful that you made that choice, the right choice," Alex said. If Elliot had gone after Donovan and lost him, there was no guarantee that the murderer wouldn't have doubled back and done something even worse to Olivia while she was unconscious, or kidnapped her to play out his fantasy later when she was awake.
They were still standing close together with Alex's hand on Elliot's shoulder when a harried-looking doctor came out into the waiting room and asked for the family of Olivia Benson. Alex stepped up and immediately asked how Olivia was doing. Elliot identified Alex and himself to the doctor when she asked what their relationship was to Olivia, not wanting to get caught disclosing personal information to any unauthorized individuals.
"She's going to be fine, but we're going to be keeping her tonight for observation. She has a concussion, but wasn't unconscious for too long so I'm confident it will heal without any complications," the dark-haired doctor said. A somewhat sheepish expression crossed the pale doctor's face before she continued, "She is kind of a handful. Can either of you perhaps talk to her? She's been trying to leave since we brought her to her room and I won't sign the discharge papers until tomorrow. She's exceptionally strong-willed."
"You mean stubborn," Alex said, easily able to picture how much of a problem Olivia was probably being for the hospital staff. "Just show me the way and I'll make sure she behaves until you clear her to leave." Olivia may have been stubborn but she knew better than to argue with Alex when the attorney was dead set on something; Alex's determined spirit becoming more apparent since they'd become a couple. And right now Alex was set on making sure Olivia was going to be fine before she left this hospital.
The doctor got a nurse to show them to Olivia's room. When they walked in they both got a taste of what the doctor had been talking about since Olivia was trying to talk another nurse into letting her leave. She had her feet off the side of the bed and was trying to pull the IV out of her arm while keeping her modesty intact by making sure her hospital gown stayed closed. The nurse was trying to get the detective to stop yanking at the tubes and to lie back down.
"Olivia Benson, you get back in that bed and stop giving this nice woman a hard time," Alex's voice rang out through the room.
The words and tone immediately got Olivia to stop struggling with the medical paraphernalia attached to her as she looked up at her visitors with a bashful smile, aimed primarily at her unhappy girlfriend. Olivia was very familiar with Alex's lawyer voice, and truth be told the way the blonde used it to command attention tended to turn her on. The detective certainly knew not to fight Alex when she turned that tone on her, particularly when Olivia knew that she was the one in the wrong.
Alex was warmed to see the happiness flash quickly into Olivia's eyes at her presence, and pleasantly surprised to see a flash of desire that transformed into love. She couldn't stop the smile from spreading over her face when Olivia obeyed her command and reclined back onto the bed. The attorney wasted little time in walking over to the hospital bed to assess for herself that her love was okay.
Olivia got resituated on the uncomfortable hospital bed and had to wait impatiently through the nurse rechecking all the hookups she had messed with to the various machines before she could even get Alex close enough to be able to hold her hand. And as much as Olivia appreciated the concern of her teammates, who had all piled into her room to wish her well, she just wanted to be alone with Alex. At least the blonde hadn't let go of her hand or relinquished her spot by the right side of Olivia's bed.
It took Elliot nearly an hour and a half to get Munch and Fin to leave Olivia's hospital room, everyone wishing Olivia well and not questioning that Alex was staying with the injured detective. Once they were finally alone, Alex bent her head down to kiss Olivia and the detective welcomed the now familiar contact. "Mmm, it's good to see you, too, Counselor," Olivia murmured a breath away from Alex's lips before capturing the blonde's lips again.
"God, I love you, Liv," Alex said when they parted again. She ran her fingers through the soft hair that was tousled over Olivia's forehead and looked into the clear brown eyes of her love. Olivia certainly didn't seem to be suffering any more ill effects from Donovan's assault, but the guilt that constricted Alex's heart did not ease.
"I'm fine, Lex," Olivia said, holding onto the hand that Alex still had lying on the bed next to her. "I barely got a bump on the head and nothing else is broken or anything. I'm fine." She knew that she could say the reassuring words all she wanted but it would take some time for Alex to believe them, if the attorney ever believed them.
Alex smiled sadly and leaned down for another gentle kiss. "But you might not have been. It was just luck that Elliot was close enough to prevent Donovan from doing anything else. And it's because of me that you're even on Scott Donovan's radar. I love you so much, Liv. It would have killed me if anything had happened to you, especially since it would've been my fault."
"My job has always been somewhat hazardous, Alex. And you haven't put me in any more of a dangerous situation than I've gotten myself into in the past. I came through it fine then and this time will be no different. We'll both just have to be more careful now that we know Donovan's still around." Olivia paused for a beat, waiting for Alex to look at her and willing the attorney to get past her crippling guilt. "I love you, Alex, and I'm not going to leave you."
There was nothing more the attorney could think of to say, at least nothing that Olivia would listen to. She took a seat next to the bed and continued to hold Olivia's hand, both of them amazed at the innocent contact that connected them in such a deep and meaningful way. It may have seemingly taken them forever to get to this point, but everything had been worth it for what they now had together. And neither was willing to let the other go while they could still do something about it.
Olivia was released the next morning after having a pretty terrible night of trying to sleep but being unable to in the uncomfortable hospital bed that was more like a thin cot then a nice, soft mattress. The only thing that had kept her from trying to skip out of the hospital once again during the night was that Alex barely left her side, leaving only once to grab them both some more appetizing food then what the hospital had to offer.
Alex had put up enough of an argument that the doctor and nurses had allowed her to stay the night; that's right, no one could beat the ADA when she was arguing for something she really cared about. She had refused a sleeping cot that could have been brought into the room and instead stayed in the chair that she'd pulled close to Olivia's bed. Alex just wanted to be as close to her detective as possible without actually crawling into the narrow bed with Olivia. There was only so much inappropriate behavior that the nursing staff would put up with, and sharing a bed was a definite no.
It had been comforting to Olivia to see Alex sleeping at the side of her bed with that ethereal blonde head lying in the spot beside her. Their fingers had remained intertwined throughout the night, leading to some slight cramping in the morning, but it was well worth it. Olivia had only been able to grab a couple hours of sleep during the night, but had been content to watch Alex sleep the rest of the time while she lay awake and just bask in the attorney's presence.
When Olivia was discharged, Elliot drove both her and Alex back to the attorney's apartment. Cragen would not allow Olivia back to the precinct until she'd had at least one full day of rest to recuperate, much to Olivia's disappointment. Although the detective did suspect that Alex would've gone off on both her and Cragen if the captain had immediately let her back on active duty.
It totally sucked to not even get one full day back on the job before she was put out on medical leave. Olivia was also torn because she knew that Alex was again taking time off, this time to take care of her. She barely had a headache and didn't think she needed a babysitter, but Olivia couldn't deny that she liked the idea of Alex staying home with her. Besides the fact that she loved Alex's company, Olivia wouldn't let anything happen to the blonde while she was in her company, now that they knew for sure that Donovan hadn't moved on.
When they arrived at Alex's apartment building, Elliot escorted them upstairs and did a walkthrough of the apartment while Alex and Olivia stayed out in the hall. Elliot declared it all clear and Olivia headed straight towards Alex's bedroom and the attached master bath where she could grab a much needed shower. Olivia finally understood Alex's driving need to shower whenever she'd been released from the hospital.
There was a smile stretching across Alex's face as she watched Olivia walk towards their bedroom, grumbling about the antiseptic smell of the hospital that was clinging to her and not even waiting until the privacy of the bedroom before starting to disrobe. Alex loved that Olivia was so comfortable in her home, which she hoped Olivia would think of it as their home. However, she could have done without the quick glimpse of her lover's strong, tanned back before Olivia rounded the corner of the bedroom door.
Alex had to try to hide the desire she felt for Olivia when she turned her attention back to Elliot, who had not left after he'd swept the apartment for intruders, namely Scott Donovan. By the look that Elliot gave her, Alex seriously doubted that she was successful in hiding her passion, but it didn't particularly bother her. She wasn't ashamed to share her feelings for Olivia but she had been brought up to keep her personal life private, especially her sex life.
"Can I help you with something?" Alex asked when it became clear that Elliot wasn't leaving and he seemed to have something on his mind. She could guess what he wanted to talk to her about, but wasn't going to reassure him without his asking. The lawyer in her wouldn't let her answer any questions unless they were specifically asked of her; never give out any more information than necessary, especially if one didn't know if the person who was asking was friend or foe.
Elliot looked at where Olivia had disappeared and waited until they could both hear the water in the shower running. "I know we haven't always gotten along particularly well, but you're good for Liv. She's been happier since you two started hanging out more. And I know you're the only reason she didn't go completely insane over the past month when she wasn't working. That being said, you can't even begin to imagine the depth of pain that you will feel if you hurt her."
Ah, Elliot, always the protective older brother. Even as that protectiveness was now focused on intimidating her, Alex had to respect how much he cared for Olivia. If she hadn't been secure in her knowledge that all they felt for each other was a familial affection then Alex might have been jealous of Elliot. It also didn't hurt that she knew Olivia loved her just as much as she loved Olivia; jealousy had no foothold in their relationship.
"I understand," Alex said, her eyes never once wavering from Elliot's penetrating stare. She supposed she could have reassured him with a profession of her love for Olivia, but for the moment those words were only for her detective. He would just have to accept that she had no intention of ever hurting Olivia because it would be akin to hurting herself, and probably infinitely more painful.
Elliot turned to leave, accepting Alex's simple answer as the truth that it was. He stopped when he heard the next words spill softly from Alex's lips. "I'd like your help with something." The words were spoken in such a calm, determined way that Elliot had no choice but to stay and listen to what Alex had to say.
Olivia stepped into the living room after her shower wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, both of which she'd borrowed from Alex's dresser. She hadn't yet had time to stop by her apartment to pick up any of her own clothes, which she'd been planning on doing last night but had wound up in the hospital instead. Alex's comfortable clothes fit fairly well since they were nearly the same height, but the shirt was a little tight over her broader shoulders.
The detective was surprised to find the living room empty and wondered where Alex had gone off to. She heard the apartment door click shut and the latching of the multiple locks a half minute before Alex strode back into the room with a warm smile for her. "Elliot just leave?" Olivia asked as Alex came over to her and kissed her soundly.
"Yeah, we were just talking about security. You should sit down," Alex said as she led Olivia in front of the sofa and pushed her down to sit on it, "while I take my own shower. Then I'll get lunch together and we can do whatever you want. Within reason," Alex added when she saw the desire immediately spark to life in Olivia's eyes.
Alex snagged the remote for the television off the coffee table and handed it to the detective. "By the way, you look hot in my clothes," Alex whispered heatedly against Olivia's lips before taking her mouth in a passionate kiss.
Olivia was just getting into it when Alex pulled back, making sure her body was far enough away that the detective couldn't grab her. "You're such a tease," Olivia nearly whined when she realized that Alex was not going to let her play right now. The husky laugh that Alex released did nothing to calm Olivia's suddenly raging libido and her disappointment only deepened.
"Later, baby. After I've showered and you've gotten some rest." Alex raised her hand against the protest that was forming on Olivia's lips. "You forget, darling, I know just how uncomfortable those hospital beds are. They are not conducive to nice relaxing sleep, so you'll just have to get some here."
Olivia watched Alex go and turned on the television in the hopes of distracting herself until Alex decided to give in. It was only a matter of time, but that didn't mean Olivia wouldn't be half insane by the time Alex conceded to the wishes of both their desires.
They had a pleasant afternoon lounging on the couch, pressed close together. Alex turned on reruns of some crime drama that was only there for background noise since neither woman was paying attention to the television. Olivia was able to catch a couple more hours of intermittent sleep since Alex was the comfiest pillow that ever existed.
Only a few minutes after she'd drifted off to sleep again, Olivia awakened to find the apartment lights off, leaving her surrounded by comforting darkness. The only non-comforting aspect of the dark was that her head was no longer pillowed on Alex's lap and was instead resting on a throw pillow. Even though Alex was gone, Olivia didn't feel any fear at her absence as she could still sense Alex somewhere in the apartment.
Olivia sat up slowly on the couch, not wanting to disrupt her equilibrium even though her head felt fine. "Lex," Olivia called out, having to say it twice since her voice cracked from the disuse of sleep the first time. She leaned over and turned on the lamp that sat on a side table next to the couch, closing her eyes against the pain that came with the sudden brightness.
"You okay, baby?" Alex asked as she walked back into the living room. She'd been expecting Olivia to be passed out for at least a half an hour, but apparently the detective had other ideas. The sleepiness still gripping Olivia's body, the droopy eyelids and the way her head fell back against the couch as if her neck wasn't strong enough to hold it up, made a smile slowly curl onto Alex's lips as she thought how adorable Liv was.
Olivia raised her head and saw Alex standing in the doorway that led down the hall towards their bedroom. Alex was wearing a grey sweatshirt and a pair of back drawstring pants. It really was completely unfair that Alex looked absolutely spectacular in anything she wore and that how comfortable she seemed in casual clothes always fired Olivia's desire. At least she could touch now because it had been hell before when they weren't a couple.
A lascivious smile spread across Olivia's face as she motioned Alex over to her. "Come here, love. I need to touch you," Olivia said reverently, still awed by how the attorney affected her, as Alex moved towards her. It was unbelievable how happy it made her just to see Alex, to say nothing of how spectacular she felt when Alex looked back at her with the same reflection of love in her beautiful blue eyes.
When Alex was standing in front of her, Olivia leaned forward and placed her hands on slim hips before resting her head against Alex's warm stomach. She felt Alex's hands run through her hair and smiled at how much her girlfriend loved doing that. Olivia slipped her thumbs between the top of Alex's pants and the bottom of her sweater, just luxuriating in the feel of silken skin under her softly stroking fingertips.
Alex's response was innocent, her fingers tightening infinitesimally in Olivia's hair, but it wasn't enough for the detective. She wanted Alex hot and needy under her. To that end, Olivia finally pushed the sweatshirt up Alex's abdomen and nuzzled into the hot, quivering flesh before her. She delighted in Alex's abdominal muscles rippling in agitated pleasure under her seeking lips and wet tongue.
Olivia spread the attorney's legs wider and drew Alex down to straddle her lap. She moved her mouth up from Alex's stomach to capture those tempting lips instead. Alex eagerly consented, enjoying their intimacies just as much as Olivia did. The attorney's hands only moved from Olivia's hair for a short second to steady herself as she was brought down to sit over the detective, but went directly back once she was again balanced.
Alex let Olivia play all she wanted above her waist, but pulled back when the detective made a move to untie her pants. She wasn't too far gone to prefer making love on the couch over the comfort of their large bed. Besides, if they stayed here then Olivia was going to be the one leading the activities tonight and Alex had other plans that she wasn't willing to relinquish.
The attorney corralled Olivia's hands before she was lost to those wickedly talented fingers and backed off the detective's lap. She smiled sweetly down into the confused, passion-glazed brown eyes looking up at her and gently pulled Olivia up to stand next to her. "It's okay, baby," Alex said as she leaned in to give Liv a quick kiss. "I just want to finish this in the bedroom, not have a quickie on the couch."
An adorably crooked grin lifted the left side of Olivia's mouth, an expression that Alex had come to realize only occurred in passion-filled moments. "It wouldn't have been quick, sweetheart. I can promise you that," she said, but didn't put up any resistance as Alex led her down the hallway towards their bedroom. One place was as good as the next as long as the end result was Alex naked and sweaty within the next few minutes.
Alex stopped next to the bed and maneuvered Olivia so her back was to it. She slowly undressed her detective, taking the opportunity to lovingly caress every inch of tanned flesh she exposed until Olivia was trembling before her. Whenever Olivia would reach for her, Alex would gently deflect her hands and let Olivia see the desire in her eyes, the need to go slow this time and love her detective thoroughly, completely.
"Lex," Olivia breathed, the word halfway between a plea for more and a question about Alex's strange mood. She was not used to being the only one naked when they made love, and although she didn't mind the vulnerability, Olivia wanted to see and touch Alex as well.
Alex pulled her eyes from watching her hands skitter across Olivia's torso up to the questioning brown orbs. She leaned forward and softly kissed Olivia's lips, not deepening their kiss. "I could have lost you yesterday, Liv. Let me love you tonight," she said, her voice barely reaching the level of a whisper as she ran her hand along the side of Olivia's face and down her neck.
The pained need that she saw reflected in Alex's blue eyes, the need to reaffirm that she was alright, made Olivia's decision easy. Alex needed this, and she would willingly give every part of herself to Alex for any reason. She stepped back until her knees hit the mattress and then sat. Looking at Alex the entire time, Olivia pushed herself back into the middle of the bed, seeing Alex's eyes dart away from her own to watch the muscles in her arms and shoulders work.
Alex's breathing elevated as Olivia lay down on the bed so that the entirety of her body was reclined on the mattress. When her love was comfortable, Alex stripped off her own clothes, not rushing the actions, especially when she noticed how it caused Olivia's breathing to become more erratic. She was not going to rush a single second of this night; she would remember these moments until the day she died.
When she was as exposed as Olivia, Alex walked up to the bed and lowered her body until she was resting over the detective, pressed again her but holding the majority of her weight on her arms. Alex momentarily thought about how she now understood why Olivia liked positioning herself like this when they made love; it was a position of reverence as much as it was a position of power and dominance.
Olivia reached up through the curtain of Alex's hair to cup the blonde's face. She soaked in the love that was prevalent on Alex's face before leaning up to kiss her. The detective was surprised to find that she loved this change in their positions. She loved feeling Alex's weight pressing down upon her and wasn't at all uncomfortable with their role reversal; it was actually quite exciting. But most of all, Olivia was awestruck at the depth of the love that was shining through Alex's beautiful, clear blue eyes.
Alex took her time loving Olivia, her hands exploring the tanned, toned body that she already knew better than her own. In the wake of her hands went her mouth, intent on drawing out as much pleasure as she possibly could from Olivia's body. She may have known the body beneath hers better than any other, but she spent the time to learn anew as she slowly made her way down Olivia's lithe figure.
Olivia was trembling uncontrollably by the time Alex reached the trimmed thatch of hair below her tight stomach, but the detective didn't make any plea for Alex to hurry. The attorney rewarded the patient detective by placing a single kiss over the moist lips before using her fingers to spread Olivia's labia and expose her wet sex. Just the first lick along Olivia's slick slit caused her abs to clench with the effort to stave off her impending orgasm, not wanting to come when there could be so much more pleasure.
Alex did not quicken her pace, just slowly made love to Olivia with her mouth. She held nothing back from Olivia, not teasing her or purposely keeping her from crashing over the edge. Any direction that Olivia gave her, Alex followed. The pace naturally picked up and Alex didn't fight it, knowing from past experience what Olivia's body needed to climax.
Olivia didn't fight the undulation of her hips, trusting Alex to stop her if the motions were too much. She fisted her fingers in the sheets by her side, using words and the uncontrollable movements of her body to encourage Alex. It was only when Alex started flicking her tongue against Olivia's exposed clit that the detective couldn't keep her hands by her side anymore. Olivia held Alex to her as an all-consuming orgasm wracked her body, scorching every single cell of her being.
When Olivia's convulsions had subsided to less intense pulses of pleasure, Alex pulled back and looked up over the devastated form of her lover. Olivia's eyes were closed tightly as she worked through the final contractions, and her breathing was still raging out of control. It was amazing to be able to do such a thing to the person one loved, and Alex took it as the precious gift that it was.
Alex crawled up Olivia's body and pulled the detective into her arms, giving comfort in the wake of Olivia's completely dismantling orgasm. "I love you," she whispered into the sweat-soaked hair at Olivia's temple. At her words, Alex felt the arms draped around her waist tighten weakly, but her detective still couldn't catch enough breath to reply, not that Alex had any doubt that her feelings were returned to the same degree.
They made love for hours; fast and slow, hard and gentle, any way and every way that they could. And strangely, at least from Olivia's perspective, Alex steered the direction of their intimacies, which was something that Alex had not been completely comfortable with in the short time they'd been together. Not that the detective minded, she was very willing to let Alex explore her sexual boundaries in their relationship.
It was nearly three in the morning when Alex pulled away from a sleeping Olivia. The detective had fallen into an exhausted sleep half an hour ago and as much as Alex wished she could join her, she knew she couldn't chance falling asleep, not that she'd be able to drift off with all the thoughts racing through her brain. Now was when she had to steel her resolve and leave her love; leave the safety of their love and the comfort of their bed.
"I love you, Liv. Forever," Alex said with tears that she refused to let fall glistening in her eyes as she kissed Olivia's temple and then that beautiful exposed neck. She was careful not to wake her sleeping lover, even though Alex was pretty sure Olivia was too exhausted to be woken up.
Alex slipped carefully out of the bed, tucking the comforter around Olivia's sleeping form to keep her warm in absence of the body heat Alex had been providing. She looked longingly at her sleeping detective one last time before turning away and throwing on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved navy blue t-shirt. Lastly, Alex pulled an old black hooded-sweatshirt out of her drawer and slipped it on over her head.
Not able to resist another glance at Olivia, Alex stood in the bedroom doorway for another minute. She didn't need to consciously memorize that beautiful form; Alex remembered everything about Olivia in picture perfect detail. Her heart was torn, crying out to stay with the woman that she loved, and yet needing to protect Olivia from the ghosts of her past, the demon from her nightmares.
Alex turned and walked out of her apartment, leaving her keys and phone behind on purpose; she might never be back. Her determination kicked in as she stepped out of her building and into the cold November night, her hood pulled up to cover her distinctive blonde head. It was not part of her plan to be seen by the cops she was sure were watching her apartment since Olivia's run in with Donovan yesterday.
As she walked the cold streets of New York City well before the break of dawn, Alex wondered if anyone else had ever hoped to run into their nightmare around every corner.