The Blue Dress
Chapter Twenty One: Cherries and Vanilla

Jason leaned back in his chair andstared at the ceiling, crunching numbers in his head as he listened to the voice drone on and on from the speaker of his phone. Yes, he understood the importance of this case, and yes he understood the amount of money they were working with… he knew. He was well aware how important all of this nine-to-five nonsense was. It was just… right now he didn't really care all that much. He spun a pen between his fingers, occasionally making notes on a legal pad to research later, but his mind was not in the call.

No, he was thinking about Raven. He was thinking about howeasily she had gotten along with Babs, but more than that, he was thinking about how easily she seemed to fit in his life. How the sight of her keys and purse on the kitchen counter had lookednormal, and just that one little thing had made his home seem less like a room with furniture that he happened to sit on.

He was thinking about the sight of her at his dining room table, drinking scotch and laughing. He had never really seen her laugh before, it was beautiful. She tried to hide her chuckles behind the back of her hand, chewed on her lower lip if she smiled too brightly, and she kept giving him the tiniest, heated stares over the rim of her glass. He remembered locking eyes with her at the end of the meal and feeling like his entire body had somehow melted - and how easily he had melted when she kissed him. It wasn't a feverish exploration of each others bodies, or a desperate grappling for dominance. It was something else, something softer and passionate and-

"…that's all I have for now, Jason."

"Yes, Mr. Wilson." He leaned forward and rested his hands on his desk. "I'll take care of those few things for you, and I'll see you in a few weeks when you come back."

"Mm, see that you do."

With that, the call was cut and Jason hung up. He tapped his fingers on his desk and paged through the files, trying not to think about her. He'd been thinking about her all day, about their kiss and that stupid, damnable phone call interrupting them. He slid his eyes closed and rubbed at his forehead, trying to ignore the echo of her words.

Did it ever occur to you that maybe you're the pawn?

But she didn't kiss him like a pawn. And queens rarely had dinner with pawns. And-

"Mr. Todd?"

He looked up into the green eyes of his employee and groaned. Right, today he was supposed to receive his update from Garfield regarding the other case. Jason fought against the urge to roll his eyes and instead motioned for him to come in.

"Anything to report, Mr. Logan?"

"I… er…" He fidgeted and looked away, looking a bit like a kicked puppy. Well, this did not bode well for either of them.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Did you not finish your work?"

"N-no…" Garfield hung his head and shuffled a little, trying not to look him in the eyes as he rubbed the back of his head.

Jason groaned and ran his hand over his face. This was her king? A kid who couldn't even finish a few measly assignments? Jeez. What did she see in him? "Garfield… look, I can't have you slacking off on this case. It's a big deal and a big project, andyou're in charge of it. I want to put my faith in you, and I understand that people mess up sometimes, but you don't want to mess this up. Do you understand?"

He nodded, shuffling his feet again. "I know, Mr. Todd… it's just…"

Jason sighed and held his head in his hands. He was going to regret asking him this, but he was his boss and he did have to at least pretend to care. "It's just what, Garfield?"

"It's just… do you ever have girl problems?"

Jason snorted. If only Garfield knew. "Yes. I have had girl problems before. Your point?"

"Well, Raven cancelled our date this weekend… and all possible future dates have been 'put on a temporary hiatus'… which I think means that she dumped me. But I don't know." He ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm kinda unloading this on you, but I've bugged Vic enough this weekend, and it's just kinda tearing me up, ya know? I had a hard time working this morning…. and not that it's an excuse or anything, just kind of an explanation for-"

"You didn't go out with Raven this weekend?" Jason's voice was low and he gripped the pen in his hand tight enough to break it. His lips twitched, but he managed to hold onto his sanity for just a little bit longer. "Is that what this is all about?"

"I didn't break off the date with her. She broke it off with me."

"Oh."

Jason stared at him, eyes wide, breathing heavily through his nose as he attempted to keep himself under control. They didn't go out. She left that night at his apartment and went home? Why did that little action give him some semblance of hope? Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't as bad as he thought. Clearing his throat, he picked up the legal pad with his notes on it and pretended to read. "Well, Garfield. I hope both of you make everything work out in the end."

Lies. He didn't hope that at all.

"But until then, you need to get caught up on all the work that's been missed, am I clear?"

"Absolutely! I'll have the reports on your desk first thing tomorrow morning." Garfield smiled, pausing at the door to offer him a cheerful wave. "Thanks, Boss."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He lifted up his stare and when he was certain that Garfield had returned to his shared office, Jason launched himself from his arm chair and rushed to the door. He called out to his secretary to hold all calls, because he didn't know when he would be back. Without waiting for her response, he ran to the stairs and took two at a time as he raced through the stairwell, counting seconds.

One. Two. Three.

She didn't go on a third date.

Four. Five. Six.

She had canceled. Right after dinner with him.

Seven. Eight. Nine.

Right after he had seen how nice she looked in his life.

Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

Even after her king had called her-

Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen.

No, not king…

He reached her office door and threw it open, looking across the space to see her sitting at her desk, eyes glued down at reports. Her little, pink lips were wrapped around a red pen. Raven looked up from her reports and blinked, the pen falling from her mouth in surprise.

"Mr. Todd? Can I help you?"

"We need to talk." He turned around and closed the door, locking it with a very definitive 'click'. When he turned back around, the pen was back in her mouth and she was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Precisely what do we need to talk about?"

He felt the sentence fall out of his mouth without any tact at all, practically branding him as anything but suave, seductive Jason Todd. "You canceled your date with Garfield."

Raven blushed and jerked back a little, pushing a rogue piece of hair out of her eyes. "Well, that was… sudden. But yes. Yes, I canceled my date with Garfield." She put the pen back on her desk and continued to stare at him, her expression unrelenting and a little bit curious. "Although, I don't see how it's any of your busi-"

"Why?" His words were desperate and he sounded foolish to his own ears, but he couldn't care. He needed to know the answer. "Why cancel a date with your king?"

She finally looked away, the pen back in her mouth. "I wanted to work on the reports-"

"Bullshit."

Her eyes flashed and she stood up, crossing her hands over her chest, the pen had now fallen to the floor, forgotten. "Unless this has something imperative to do with the case we are working on, I don't think it's any of your business, Mr. Todd."

"Jason," he snarled, closing the space between them. Their electricity crackled and sparked in the air, practically showering them in fireworks and setting them both ablaze. Jason took another step into her space. "My name is Jason, Raven. Use it."

"Fine, Jason." She walked out from behind her desk to approach him, her eyes dark as they moved together, almost in tandem. "I don't want to talk about why I did it, because that's my reason alone, and it isn't any of your business. So, let it go."

His heart was pounding in his ears, and he looked down at her, that little red wiggle dress hugging her curves in ways he only dreamed about. She was gasping for breath and her breasts practically threatened to break the little, black buttons and spill out into the open. Taking a slow breath through his nose, he pushed closer to her, backing her up against her desk.

"Why, Raven? Why cancel your date?"

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it."

He pushed even closer to her, his hands snaking around her waist and pulling her tightly against him. He could feel her heart, smell her perfume, see the way she rolled her tongue in her mouth - a little tick she did when she was nervous. He bent his head to hers, his lips brushing gently over her mouth.

"So, don't talk, Raven…"

With a soft moan, her eyes fluttered closed and she lifted her head almost expectantly.

That was all he needed. Cursing he picked up one of his hands and buried it into her hair as he captured her lips with his own, feverish in his need to taste her. Jason closed his eyes against the sensation of little licks of pleasure starting to burn between them into a conflagration.

Hellfire indeed.

Raven moaned and she pushed closer to him, her hands burying in his hair as he nudged her mouth open. He could taste the endless, indescribable desire clinging to her lips, mingling with cherries and vanilla chai tea. It was sweet and delicious and a little exotic, and it only made him crave more. Cursing silently, he nudged her mouth open and dipped his tongue past her lips, tasting her moans and pants the same way he tasted fine scotch.

His hands tightened on her hips, and he picked her up to set her on the edge of her desk, never once breaking their desperate of his hands snaked around the tight curve of her waist, while the other one slid further under her skirt, not even sure if he should (or could) bother with romance at this exact moment.

He pulled away just enough to look into her eyes, his breath harsh to his own ears. "I'm gonna make you come, Raven." He pushed her panties to the side and looked down into her eyes, his fingers brushing against her already wet core. God, he wanted to take her now… but not yet. No, he hadn't earned the right to have her, and a king always earned his queen.

"And when you come by my hands, you're going to say my name." He pushed his fingers inside her and watched her eyes widen and her head fall back against her shoulders. She looked gorgeous. Smiling, his other hand left her waist to unfasten a few of the buttons of her dress, her breasts finally spilling into view.

He began a slow, steady pace inside her, each movement making her twitch and shiver as soft pants escaped her lips. Smiling, he kissed down her neck and hummed against her pulse, breathing the sweet, heady scent of her into his body. "I don't care if you whisper it, if you scream it, if you curse it… but damnit, Raven. I want to hear your passion in your voice when you come. I want my name to be a mantra for you - a prayer." He kissed down her sternum and nipped at her breast. "And later, when you pleasure yourself in your own apartment, and your back is arching off the bed that we will make love in - and I promise that will happen - I want you to say my name again."

Thrust.

"And again."

Raven cried out, her gasps desperate as she rode his hand, the groans coming out of her throat becoming louder and more insistent.

"And again."

He nipped at her breasts, kissing back up her chest until he reached her neck, his teeth scraping along her pulse.

"Until the only names you know are mine and yours, and they areperfect for each other."

Raven's back arched and he could feel her tightening around him. Her body was shaking as she tried to control herself, to hold onto what little sanity she had left, but it was already too late. The end was so close and she was so desperate for release, she didn'tcare what he said to her. She nodded, tears streaming over her cheeks as she murmured foreign sounding words between desperate breaths.

"I will."

He bit into her neck. "Promise me."

"I promise." She reached up and buried her hands in his hair. "I promise…" Her body tensed, fingernails biting into his scalp. "Jason…"

His name came out like a prayer, and he buried his face into the crook of her neck listening to her pants and moans, and feeling her body tense and shiver as her orgasm rocked through her body with force. He continued to pleasure her, pulling back just far enough to watch her eyes close and her mouth make that perfect little "oh" shape, which slowly transformed into a satisfied, almost exhausted smile.

Sighing, she lifted her eyelids and looked up into Jason's face. He just smiled and nudged her nose with his, a chuckle escaping.

"Feel better, Miss Roth?"

She blushed and stood up, obviously intending on fixing herself up and giving him a piece of her mind, but her knees seemed to forget how to hold her weight. She toppled forward, her fingers wrapping into the lapels on his jacket as she steadied herself against him. Embarrassment darkened her cheeks and she buried her face into his chest, trying to hide from his deep, knowing chuckles.

"I can't believe…"

He trailed his fingertips down her back. "That good huh?"

Her hands tightened in his lapels. "Shut up."