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April made her way across her kitchen, collecting some of the ingredients she needed to get started on dinner. She & Jackson had been dating (dating) for a couple of months now & it really seemed to be going well. She had kind of stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop & was finally letting herself just be with him. She might even be on her way to accepting that things might work out for them this time. They'd set up a nice routine between work & home, without rushing into anything. Anything. So she'd set up a date night for them tonight but she insisted on cooking. He'd been arranging their dates so far & she wanted to do something nice for him. Well.. some things. They were getting serious. Serious-er. That was probably inevitable given their history, they'd already started in the middle. She was still cautious but she was ready to take that next step with him & she was hoping he was too.

April was washing some of the vegetables that she was going to be cooking when she heard a voice that startled her.

"Hey."

She whipped around, her hand clutching her chest, "Oh my.. Jackson! What the fu.. You scared the crap out of me!", she exclaimed, exhaling when she registered who it was.

"Sorry! Sorry!", Jackson replied, raising his hands & jiggling the keys he was holding, "Used my keys. Didn't mean to scare you.", he chuckled, moving further into the kitchen.

Both he & April had keys to each other's place but they were still getting used to actually using them.

April calmed down a bit before replying, "What are you doing here already? I wasn't expecting you till 7!", she looked at her watch & then looked around the kitchen, alarmed, "Nothing's ready yet!", she looked down at her very not date-worthy appearance & looked back up to see him in well fitting jeans & a button down shirt that brought out his eyes. "Ugh & you're.. I'm not ready yet!"

Jackson chuckled, before looking her over. She was wearing a loose tank top & athletic shorts with her hair up in a messy bun. While it might not be a traditional "date" look, he was instantly a fan, "April, calm down. Firstly, you look… great.", he tried to keep his eyes off her exposed cleavage & shook his head to focus, "And I know I'm early. I just.. thought I'd help you out. I didn't like the idea of you cooking alone."

"You wanna help? Since when are you interested in cooking?", she raised her eyebrows as Jackson made her way towards her.

"Can't I just offer to do something nice without being interrogated?", he smirked, laughing lightly & wrapping his arms around her waist, "Hi."

"Hi.", she leaned up to give him a soft kiss & pulled back with a small smile on her face.

Jackson held her face & leaned back in, kissing her more passionately. But before things could get too heated, he stopped & kissed the tip of her nose lightly.

"So.. what can I.. help with?"

April tried to regulate her breathing & the rush of hormones that she felt flooding through her & tried to shake herself out of that kiss.

"Umm, uhh I was just cleaning the vegetables. Maybe you can take over & I can prep the chicken?"

"Roast chicken & veggies? I feel special.", he chuckled, moving to take over the cleaning duties.

"As you should. I don't just make that for anyone.", she giggled.

They worked in silence for for a while. April went around to get the chicken and start working on cleaning it while Jackson cleaned the vegetables. He was distracted and not entirely truthful in his explanation of why he came in early. While he did want to help her out and didn't want her cooking the dinner alone, he also wanted to get the dinner done and out of the way sooner so that they they could have some time alone together, and maybe cross the line they'd been approaching.

Things had started getting more heated over the last couple of weeks. There were kisses-turned-makeout sessions, wandering hands, wandering lips - all of that but it was still strictly PG13. They always stopped or were stopped, either by their own thoughts or by their daughter's looming presence. But Jackson felt they were ready. He definitely was & he felt her reluctance fade too. She had stopped pulling away & her kisses had become more.. insistent. He knew it had been longer for her than him so maybe tonight after dinner..

Jackson was pulled out of his thoughts by a sound at the fridge. He was thankful for it before his imagination ran too wild but was immediately proven wrong when he looked over & saw April bent over by the fridge, looking for something. Her shorts were already quite short but in this position, it was almost indecent & he couldn't take his eyes off her smooth legs & the soft curve of her hips. He swallowed & let out a gust of air, forcing his eyes away from her lest he go over & use her position for a very different reason.

"So.. Cara was fine coming in early?", April asked, after making her way back to the counter.

"Yeah, she was going to anyway. I had to clear her salary for last month.", he replied, casually.

"Oh right. That's good, I'll give you my half tomorrow."

"April that's.."

"Don't even attempt to finish that sentence.", she stopped him before he brought up their shared expenses. Again. And he just rolled his eyes.

"All done.", Jackson brought over the bowl with the veggies over to April while she was whipping the herbed butter.

"Thank you!", she smiled up at him & his eyes softened.

He looked down at her work & his eyes sparkled, "Ooh herb butter!", he dipped his finger & scooped up the butter.

"Hey! Eww. Why would you do that.", April gasped, smacking his chest lightly.

"It just.. looked so good.", his voice lowered & he maintained heated eye contact with her and slowly licked the butter off his finger.

April knew what he was doing. Her eyes settled on the finger in his mouth & she couldn't look away. Her breathing turned ragged & she looked back up at him as he moved his hand towards the bowl again. She snapped herself out of it & caught hold of his hand.

"Nope. Nuh-uh. Not a chance you're double dipping."

He moved closer to her, biting his lip while his hand was still in her grasp. She dropped it & quickly turned & he could see the blush flooding her face & neck, causing him to smirk.

"I uhh..", she stammered & opened up a cabinet overhead, trying to remove a pan that was stored at a height. Jackson watched her struggle & wordlessly moved to reach over her & remove it. He was standing directly behind her, with the pan in his hand & saw her shoulders moving with each deep breath she took.

He placed the pan on the counter but didn't move.

"Th- Thanks.", April whispered shakily & picked the spatula back up, trying to focus on the stirring, thinking he'd move. But he didn't. He knew he was too far gone to focus on anything else right now. He looked down at her & slowly moved a hand to her waist, clutching it, silently conveying what he wanted.

April felt his hand on her waist & bit her lip, losing all focus. Then she felt his other hand wrap around & land on her stomach, moving softly along the top of her shorts.

"Jackson..", she murmured.

"April..", he bent a little & whispered in her ear, huskily, "Put down the spatula."

"But.. the dinner.."

He tugged at her tank top lightly causing it to slip off one side, exposing her shoulder, "We'll order in.. Later.", his lips descended on her neck. She tilted to give him more access & he continued his kissed down her shoulder. It was clear to him from this vantage point that she wasn't wearing a bra & suddenly he was extremely happy that he didn't give her a heads up about coming early.

She dropped the spatula she was holding & forgot about everything except his lips on her. He whipped her body around & immediately pulled her in for a scorching kiss. She bit his lower lip resulting in a moan from him & he opened his mouth to let her in. He swept his hand across the kitchen counter to make space & lifted April up & seated her there, not breaking the kiss.

She held his face with both her hands & continued kissing him & felt the heat pool between her legs. It had been forever since she'd had sex anyway but the fact that it was Jackson, & that this wasn't some unexplained hookup but they were actually together & sure? It made her desire that much greater & she hadn't felt this much since probably before Samuel.

Jackson pulled away for air but his lips didn't leave her body, he continued kissing her cheek, neck, shoulder & April pulled his hand towards her chest because she was pretty sure she'd explode if he didn't touch her.

His hand covered her breast, his thumb moving over her already hardened nipple & she moaned softly, her own hand in her hair. He pulled her tank a little more so she was exposed to him & he bent to take her in his mouth.

Her mouth fell open at feel of his tongue over her nipple. She couldn't stop the sound that left her throat & felt his smile against her skin.

"Wait.. Wait stop.", she collected herself, remembering where they were.

"Huh? What? Do you not..", Jackson pulled himself out of his lust filled haze, ignoring the ache in his groin.

"No, I do.. Just.. Not in the kitchen.", she stated firmly, jumping off the counter & looking at him, sultrily. She held his gaze for a second, stepped back & turned around towards her bedroom. She made her way to the room while also whipping her tank top over her head & dropping it on the side. Jackson looked at her movements, mesmerised & unbelievably turned on & had to remind himself to move as he rushed in to follow her.

They had sex twice. Rushed, desperate & frantic, followed by slow & passionate that made both their toes curl. The spark that ignited many years ago in that San Francisco hotel room, not diminishing at all. After, they were lying on her bed, legs entwined, kissing each other lazily.

Jackson pulled back, keeping April flush against him & slowly tracing his finger down her exposed skin.

"God, I've missed you.", he said, throatily, a satisfied smile on his face.

"You mean you missed the sex.", she quipped, giggling.

He snorted, "Well sex with you is preetttyyyy amazing, you'll never know.", & she smacked his chest, "I meant.."

"I know.", she interrupted. She knew because she felt the same. "Although.. You were.."

"What?"

"I don't know.. More.. Insistent. Like that thing with the.. ", she gulped, "Thumb.. That was..", she shivered at the memory of the feeling.

He half-smiled, pretty proud, "I knew you'd like it. Well I had to up my game, you're a more.. Experienced woman now."

She pulled back, surprised at his confession, "Ahh.. So that stemmed from jealousy?"

"Let's call it.. Pride."

"Yeah, no. I'm gonna call it jealousy. Or possessiveness.", she giggled.

He rolled his eyes & his grip on her tightened, "Call it whatever you want but you can't deny that it worked. Multiple times."

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, "Tell me honestly..", she started, leaning in, "Was this why you came early?", she asked, punctuating every word with a kiss on his neck & chest.

He let out a gust of air & he felt himself harden again at the feel of her lips, "Well.. Not exactly. I mean I uhhh..", he was quickly losing his train of thought. Again. "I did have this on my mind but..", he fisted his hand in her hair & pulled her face back, away from his body, "I thought we'd be able to make it through dinner before.", he smirked & bent to kiss her surely on the lips.

She fake pouted, "But my chicken & veggies didn't hold a candle?"

"To you naked? Not a fucking a chance."

They both chuckled at that causing their bodies to move against each other in a way that effectively ended any conversation as their mouths got busy with other, more enjoyable activities.

"Knock, knock!"

Jackson looked up from his laptop to see April at the door of his office & beamed, "Hey!"

"Saw you had a little opening in your calendar.", she said, walking in, "How's your day looking?"

"Not too bad. Yet. A couple of calls but all in all, one of the less stressful ones.", he got up & walked around to where she was, wanting desperately to take her in his arms but keeping his distance to be professional.

"That's good!", she replied, chirpily, "Am I seeing you for lunch? I brought my own today."

He smiled at how happy & carefree she sounded, "Oh yeah? What'd you get?"

He saw something flash in her eyes when she replied, "Chicken & veggies..", she trailed off & the implication of that was very clear to him.

His smile dropped & his gaze darkened as he remembered their tryst & he had to physically stop himself from kissing her right there, "Yeah?.. Sounds.. Delicious."

"Oh.. It was.. Really good.", April's eyes dropped to his lips & she bit her own lightly. She hadn't exactly come here with this intention but looking at him made her lose all common sense & here there were. Basically dirty talking in the middle of his office.

"You know one of my favorite things about being the head of this Foundation?", Jackson's tone turned professional & she looked at him, slightly confused at the change of topic, "It's that my office has a private washroom.", he finished quietly, his tone heavy with suggestion.

She smirked, "Washroom huh? You think you're up for it?", she replied, dropping all pretence.

"Nothing we haven't done before.", his eyes sparkled & she felt her face heat up at the memory.

I unbuttoned your shirt.
Yeah & then I.. pulled up that skirt.

"But that was years ago, think you can still handle it?"

He raised his eyebrow, amused, "Why Dr Kepner, are you calling me old?"

She just smiled challengingly.

He still kept his tone professional, "You didn't seem to have these doubts the other night when I made you come with my fingers. And my mouth. And my dic-"

"On a bed though.", she interrupted him but could feel her heartbeat between her legs.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe it is.", she whispered and gave him a loaded look before going into his office's washroom but leaving the door open.

Jackson gulped & looked around inconspicuously before making his way to join her.

Horny chapter but what can I say, Japril are horny people :P