Chapter 51

He lowered his hands, and Alex slowly slid down him, putting her feet back on the ground. They removed their clothes amid intense stares and stolen kisses. Stark naked, they stood before each other. She scanned his body carefully, noting the spots where the bruising hadn't completely disappeared.

"You sure you're up for this?" she asked him as he took her into his arms.

"Mmm-hmmm," was his reply. His tongue was already melding with hers, and she could feel him stiffen against her bare skin. "Bed," he whispered in her ear. At least in bed, they could hide under the covers if Jeremy walked in.

She turned the covers back and his hands were on her ass as he followed her. She tumbled onto her stomach, with a quiet giggle.

"Shhh," he warned, with a smile. Bobby lifted her hair and kissed her on the back of her neck. One hand smoothed across her ribs, her hip, and down her thigh. He kissed her spine and his hand crossed over, running up in the split between her legs.

Alex pushed up to her hands and knees and Bobby moved to fold himself against her. His hands tucked under her torso, and were soon full with the flesh of her breasts.

Bobby's shaft was against one cheek and he tucked his hard thigh in between her legs, pulling her back to grind against him as he kissed in every place his lips would reach. Her nipples rolled between his gentle fingers and her juices painted his leg. He let go of her left breast, turning his hand and slipping it down to search for her hard little nub.

Alex raised up, preferring the probing of his fingers to the hard wall of his thigh. She held still for him, letting him find things for himself.

Bobby heard her gasp for breath and smiled. Her body's reactions were turning him on. He moved his hand around and explored her from behind, finding everything about her inviting.

She knew what was next when she felt him drop away from her for just a moment. Then his right hand was tucked in the bend of her hip, and the tip of him was slipping along her folds. She heard Bobby's heavy breath and then his hard rod was pressing into her. Alex closed her eyes and her head arched back.

He moved very slowly, careful not to hurt her before she could accommodate him. A gentle moan escaped him and he froze in place, giving her body a chance to mold itself around him.

"Shhh," Alex warned him this time. She felt his lips against her backbone again, and then he started to move. He steadied her with hands on her hips and they rocked together, straining to keep quiet, even though their bodies were screaming with pleasure.

She moved with him until she lost control of her body. Alex ended up with her elbows on the pillow, her face cradled between her forearms, and his hands the only thing keeping her body in the game. She heard his snipped gasps and he was rigid against her as a minor explosion shook inside her core.

There was a rush of bliss that radiated from her center all the way to the tips of her fingers. Alex was perfectly still, enjoying the sensation and listening to his arrhythmic breaths.

When he finally settled, he withdrew and pulled her on top of him. He hugged her fiercely and then groped for the covers, which he tossed over them both with one hand.

"Oh, Alex," Bobby breathed.

She answered him with ripe, satisfied kisses.


Summer had come and gone, and with fall came the day they had been waiting for. Bobby moved back to day shift.

Jeremy was really making progress. The longer he was with them, the more he realized that he could count on them. Amarie had been the perfect choice, too. When her car had broken down, she'd made it via city bus and bicycle. When she was sick, she called and spoke to the boy on the phone simply to reassure him.

And while he still didn't like for them to leave him, he rarely threw tantrums anymore. He still didn't like to be in large groups very much, and they spent many hours wondering why. It was a mystery unlikely to ever be solved. For Jeremy, four or five people around was the limit. Any more than that and he was bound to be found hiding under a bed somewhere.

With Bobby's move to dayshift came more time together, something both he and Alex had been longing for. After years as partners, the limits on their time together had felt like a harsh punishment. Penance was what Bobby called it, his idea of a joke.

Now that togetherness came when neither had to sleep, they were like newlyweds again. Every day, he greeted her with passion. Every day, they pinched and grabbed whenever their little boy wasn't looking their way. And every day, their conversation walked a wire between G rated and Mature Audiences Only. They made love often.

He'd managed to keep his job, but Bobby's several months of second shift work had come at a price. He no longer boasted the highest solve rate in Major Case. His partner had stuck by him, and was just as excited as Goren that they would be back on a more typical work schedule again. When Alex asked about the rankings, Bobby simply shrugged.

"It gives me a goal, hey?" he said with a grin.

Alex grinned, too. She had no doubt her husband would be back at the top of his game in no time.