At last, Elizabeth decided they could leave. Don could have bowed down to thank her. It wasn't that bad of a party, really, but it wasn't how he ever wanted to spend his evenings all dressed up in that penguin suit.
It wasn't all bad though. He'd gotten to be with Liz. They'd never really done much together out in the world. Usually just a quickie in her office—never his, there were always too many people around at SVU—or eating takeout and going to bed together at his place or hers. Don couldn't even remember if they'd ever been out to a restaurant together.
But tonight she'd taken him to a party hosted by the Governor. The whole world had seen them together. Or at least it was Elizabeth's whole world. None of these people knew Don and he didn't know them, except by reputation. Vaguely, he wondered what they thought of him. It didn't much matter. Liz loved him, and that did matter. It mattered a lot.
She instructed the driver to take them to her place. Don assumed that meant she was going to invite him in. He took her hand in the backseat of the car and gently stroked it with his thumb. He watched the silhouette of her face in the shadows of the dark night illuminated by streetlamps. She was smiling.
When the car parked out front, Don got out and went around to open the door for Liz. She took the hand he offered to help her out of the car. "Thank you," she called to the driver, sending him on his way. And then she held his hand as they meandered up the stairs to her front door. She had to let go of him to get her keys out of her purse. Don stood by patiently.
"Can I come in?" he asked quietly as she put the key in the lock.
She looked up at him with a sultry little smirk. "I was hoping you would. I did drag you out to that stupid party, and I'd like to make it up to you."
Sometimes Don Cragen could not believe his luck. Elizabeth Donnelly was beautiful and brilliant and strong and tough and funny and yes, a complete pain in the ass. But even so, to Don, she was perfect. And this perfect woman somehow loved him.
She was doing that sexy teasing thing that he liked, and usually he'd play along, but he was feeling some kind of other way tonight. He took off his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair. Liz followed him through to the living room, her high heels clicking on the parquet floors. "Where are you going?" she asked.
Don turned on the lights in the living room and went over to the stereo. He turned on the radio and tuned it to some jazz station. "Dance with me," he offered.
Liz watched him undo his tie, leaving it loose around his collar and unbuttoning the top of his shirt. Her mind recalled a vision of Frank Sinatra after a gig, a little tired and unpolished and loose and happy. Don looked just like that. Only instead of Sinatra's handsome face and bright blue eyes, she was looking at the tired, aging face of Captain Cragen whose dark eyes shone with a love so unadulterated and unabashed that it nearly made her breath catch.
She joined him in the middle of the living room but paused before taking his hand. Liz kicked off her shoes and left them under the coffee table. That action left her almost a whole head shorter than Don. She'd been about eyelevel with him when they danced at the party.
Don wrapped his right arm around her waist, holding her flush against his body, and took her right hand in his left. Liz put her head on his shoulder, and their entwined hands rested against his chest. They swayed to the soft music.
"This is a good idea," she said softly.
He hummed in agreement. "It was your idea."
"Well I didn't mean for us to dance together in the living room tonight," she said with a chuckle.
"I like having an excuse to hold you," he replied.
Liz lifted her head to look at him. "When did you become such a sap, huh?"
"I've always been a sap. I just hide it well."
"Ah, so I've cracked the Captain Cragen façade," she teased.
"Guess so," he answered. He also slid his hand up her back as he spun them both around. And before Liz realized what he was doing, she felt a whisper of cold air on her back.
"Did you just unzip my dress!?" she asked in feigned outrage.
He smirked down at her. "Guess so." And with that, he leaned in to kiss her.
Liz let go of the pretense of dancing to put her hand on his cheek and deepen their kiss. Don finished unzipping her dress and forced her hands away from him so he could peel the dress off her body. It fell into a blue velvet pool at her feet. He went right back to kissing her and letting his hands wander her nearly-bare skin.
Her hands were busy as well, unbuttoning his shirt and fighting with his cummerbund. She made a sound of frustration and pulled away from the kiss.
"How the hell do you get this thing off?" she demanded.
Don grinned at her obvious eagerness. "How about I take this off while you strip for me?"
"Here?"
"Why not?" He waited for her to decide, not bothering with his cummerbund just yet. He let his eyes rove her body appreciatively.
"You're gonna hurt your back if you try and fuck me on the couch," Liz pointed out.
A shiver passed through him at her words. He always knew Elizabeth had a mouth on her, but knowing she was a judge and had to keep propriety all the time made her swearing all the more elicit and erotic. And, of course, he did plan on fucking her on the couch.
"Actually, I've got an idea," she amended. "Take your clothes off for me. And then go have a seat."
Don had a feeling he knew what she was thinking, and he liked it. He toed off his shoes as he unfastened the cummerbund. His eyes were fixed on her, watching the way her chest rose and fell with every breath, the way her tits strained against her black bra, the way her long legs shifted as she waited. He was half hard by the time he got his pants off.
He passed by her to go to the sofa like she instructed. But he couldn't resist reaching out and trailing his fingers over her soft belly when he got close enough to touch her. She hummed in appreciation.
After he sat down, Liz stood in front of him. Almost close enough to touch her again, but not quite.
Liz watched the way he looked at her and reveled in it. She still couldn't quite believe that a man looked at her like that. At her age. Well, Don wasn't just any man. He loved her. And she wouldn't love him if he was just any man.
The anticipation was starting to make her shiver. Though that might have been the cold air. Time to get warmed up.
She reached behind herself and unhooked her bra, letting the straps fall off her shoulders. She tossed it behind her. Don's eyes practically went black and bulged out of his head. With a small laugh, she shimmied off her underwear, putting on a little bit of a show for him.
And then she straddled his lap. She gave him no warning. One minute he was staring at her during that little striptease and the next, her knees were on either side of his hips and her tongue was in his mouth.
But Don recovered quickly. His hands traced every curve of her body as he kissed her. He could feel her wet heat against him, making his cock twitch to attention. She was so close, covering him and consuming him in every way. He was ready to drown in her.
Liz shifted herself so she rubbed against his erection, making them both moan and shudder at the sensation. And then, with a slight tilt of her hips, he slipped inside her.
"God, Liz," he groaned, pulling away from her mouth to gasp for air.
She reached between them and held his cock steady so she could reposition herself and get up on her knees. And when she started to ride him, all Don could do was wrap his arms around her and hold on for dear life.
The jazz on the radio was drowned out by the sounds of their gasps and moans and the wet slap and slide of their bodies.
Don did his best to hold back, but the way she moved was going to kill him. He gritted his teeth and gripped her hips hard enough to bruise. She whimpered and he immediately let go of her, horrified that he'd been capable of hurting her.
But Liz leaned in and dragged her teeth across his neck, taking him right up to the edge again.
"Do that again," she whispered in his ear.
"Liz, I'm…" he warned.
"Come on," she urged.
Don grabbed her hips again. Tight. He guided her movements exactly how he needed. He could feel her body flutter around him. She was close, too. His hips jerked uncontrollably against her, meeting her body with thrusts of his own. And when he finally felt the tension snap inside him to release those waves of pleasure, he felt her clamp down on his cock with her own climax.
The both of them collapsed together in a heap on the couch, each twitching with aftershocks.
They were panting and gasping for breath, but Don recovered first. "Holy shit," he breathed.
Liz lifted her head to look at him, a blissful grin on her face. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Yeah," he answered, unable to find words.
"God damn, I love you," she said, leaning in to kiss him.
Don still didn't have any words. He wrapped her up in his arms as the sweat cooled on their bodies. They'd get untangled and go up to bed soon enough. They both needed to shower and sleep somewhere comfortable.
But for now, they'd stay right here. With the sultry jazz station still softly playing on the radio from when they'd shared that dance.