A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed, nagged, and generally kicked my butt into gear to finish this. :) And to Traci, for beta'ing so quickly and so excellently for me. ;)
Five hours later they were ensconced in their hotel room, getting ready to turn in for the night.
Because they'd all been instructed to leave their luggage with the seminar organisers when they'd arrived, they had no idea that the 'team building' strategies included sharing a room with your partner, a room that contained only one bed, a chest of drawers, and an armchair. They'd surmised that they were supposed to work out a compromise on who got the bed and who got the chair, but so far that was all they'd surmised.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked as she watched Bobby flop ungainly into the chair.
"Just trying it out for size. It's actually not that bad," he lied, repositioning himself every few seconds.
Alex raised her brow. "It looks like it's about three sizes too small."
"It's . . . cosy," he admitted, and grimaced as something sharp poked him in the back.
"So you're calling the chair then?"
He grunted and squirmed uncomfortably.
"Okay, that's sorted. Will you be wanting a pillow with your chair?"
"Uh . . . do you mind?"
"Well, I've only got four. Are you sure you really need one?"
"I guess I can do without," he said woefully, finally catching on that Alex was messing with him.
"You probably won't be wanting blankets then either, seeing as though the chair is so cosy."
"No, you keep them. I'll just throw my jacket over my knees if I get chilly."
She couldn't keep a straight face any longer and burst out laughing at the hangdog expression he had adopted. "Are you done with playing Prince Valiant now?"
He had the grace to look a little sheepish. "It's a tight fit, but I've spent worse nights."
"I can think of a solution to your problem."
"Alex, I'm not sleeping in the bed while you're stuck on this scrap heap of wood and springs."
"I thought it was comfortable," she retorted.
"I lied."
She shot him a look that said, 'well duh,' and said, "That wasn't my solution, anyway. Look, why don't we share the bed?"
"Share the bed?"
"It's big enough."
He stopped squirming and focused his gaze on her. "Share the bed?" he said again.
"Bobby, it's a queen size bed. Why should one of us be uncomfortable when we can both fit quite easily in the bed?"
He looked at her as if she was lacking a few brain cells. "Because they'll no doubt ask us tomorrow how we solved the conflict, and I don't think you want it bandied around . . . well, anywhere . . . that we 'slept' together."
She shrugged. "So we lie. No big deal."
But it was a big deal, and no matter how much she tried to make light of the subject, they both knew it.
"Do you . . . are you sure?" He felt his resolve crumbling and eyed the bed appreciatively, trying desperately to keep Alex out of range of vision.
She noticed him looking everywhere but at her, and somehow forced herself not to blush. "I think I can deal with it. Besides, when you start snoring I can just roll over and swat you instead of having to get up and walk across the room."
He grinned. "I don't snore."
"Try telling that to someone who hasn't been stuck in a car with you on surveillance for 12 hours straight."
~x~
Alex emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of scented steam, dressed in pale blue pyjamas and towelling her hair dry.
"It's all yours."
Bobby had stretched himself out on the bed, and found a nature show on the television. He got up lazily and ambled across the room, trying to look as nonchalant as he possibly could without giving away the fact that his nerves were stretched taut.
"I hope you left me some hot water."
Overcome with a sudden impulse, Alex swatted him playfully with her towel as he walked past.
"Hey!" he objected, and turned back to face her in mock indignation.
"Yes?" she asked innocently.
"Oh, you're asking for it," he warned.
Alex batted her eyes and poked her tongue out at him.
"Right!" Bobby grabbed for the towel. But she was to quick for him, and dodged him easily.
"I see I'll have to teach you some respect," he grinned, his eyes watchful as he looked for an opening to attack.
Alex had almost doubled over from laughing at his clumsy attempt to capture the towel when he lunged unexpectedly and tackled her to the bed. She somehow managed to wriggle onto her back but was still firmly held to the mattress by Bobby's strength.
"Get off me, you big lug!" she protested.
Bobby caught her hands above her head and straddled her waist. "Not until I get an apology," he teased.
"Never!" Alex panted.
"Never?" Bobby questioned. "Not even if I did this?" And he proceeded to tickle her mercilessly.
"Bobby, stop it! I'm serious. . .!"
"An apology, Alex," he demanded.
"Okay already," she breathed between gulps of laughter. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Bobby!"
"I can keep this up all night," he taunted.
"I'm sorry I didn't flick you harder!" Alex spat out defiantly, and was punished by Bobby tickling even harder. "Please. . . enough . . ." she gasped. "I . . .can't . . .breathe!"
"You know what I want to hear, Alex."
"Sorry! I'm sorry," she cried out.
Bobby stopped. "That's all I wanted to hear," he declared smugly.
She was no longer struggling for air but his close proximity was still affecting her breathing. Trying to reclaim a little poise, she decided to keep the mood light and retorted, "I have to say, Bobby, smugness is not your most attractive personality trait."
Bobby returned the gesture that she had given him earlier, and poked his tongue out. Alex reached up playfully to shove it back in his mouth, feeling a jolt in the pit of her stomach as her fingers collided with the smooth wetness of his tongue. Suddenly the sparkle that was in his eyes changed to something more dark and guarded, something that again made her stomach flutter with unfamiliar sensations. Sensing his change of mood and wondering if this time they would finally take that step, Alex allowed her hand to drop back to her side. Bobby stared at her for a moment longer, then climbed off her and let her up.
"I hope that teaches you a lesson, Alex." The light note in his voice was belied by the seriousness in his eyes and the rigidity of his body.
She felt a sudden rush of confusion and disappointment at his withdrawal, but was determined that he not notice. "Oh, absolutely," she agreed fervently as she sat up. "Next time I *will* use up all the hot water!"
Bobby's gaze held hers for a long moment, then he shook his head in amusement and grabbed his travel bag before heading for the bathroom. He closed the door softly behind him, leaving Alex alone on the bed contemplating what had almost happened.
They had shared one of those moments, the ones that if acted upon have the power to change everything. It had been happening more frequently of late, and it was getting harder and harder for one of them to pull back in time before it developed into something more substantial. Alex knew that it would have to be confronted sooner or later – it was happening far too often for them to ignore. But with work, and the added complication of their partnership, it wasn't going to be easy thing to address. Especially since she didn't want to pull back anymore. She wanted to go wherever the moment led them. She wanted that very much.
~x~
Bobby gasped in shock as the cold water hit his back. He needed this time to regain control of his emotions, which had again almost betrayed him as he had sat astride Alex. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was his partner; she had proven herself to him over and over again, he respected and admired her intelligence and courage, and above all he appreciated the fact that she accepted and put up with all his quirks and annoying qualities. He was not supposed to spend hours undressing her in his mind. He was not supposed to construct detailed fantasies about a future together that he knew they could never have. He was not supposed to want her so desperately. But he did. And he knew that the next time Alex touched him, the next time she smiled at him, he knew would be hard pressed to stop himself from acting upon those fantasies.
TBC
Five hours later they were ensconced in their hotel room, getting ready to turn in for the night.
Because they'd all been instructed to leave their luggage with the seminar organisers when they'd arrived, they had no idea that the 'team building' strategies included sharing a room with your partner, a room that contained only one bed, a chest of drawers, and an armchair. They'd surmised that they were supposed to work out a compromise on who got the bed and who got the chair, but so far that was all they'd surmised.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked as she watched Bobby flop ungainly into the chair.
"Just trying it out for size. It's actually not that bad," he lied, repositioning himself every few seconds.
Alex raised her brow. "It looks like it's about three sizes too small."
"It's . . . cosy," he admitted, and grimaced as something sharp poked him in the back.
"So you're calling the chair then?"
He grunted and squirmed uncomfortably.
"Okay, that's sorted. Will you be wanting a pillow with your chair?"
"Uh . . . do you mind?"
"Well, I've only got four. Are you sure you really need one?"
"I guess I can do without," he said woefully, finally catching on that Alex was messing with him.
"You probably won't be wanting blankets then either, seeing as though the chair is so cosy."
"No, you keep them. I'll just throw my jacket over my knees if I get chilly."
She couldn't keep a straight face any longer and burst out laughing at the hangdog expression he had adopted. "Are you done with playing Prince Valiant now?"
He had the grace to look a little sheepish. "It's a tight fit, but I've spent worse nights."
"I can think of a solution to your problem."
"Alex, I'm not sleeping in the bed while you're stuck on this scrap heap of wood and springs."
"I thought it was comfortable," she retorted.
"I lied."
She shot him a look that said, 'well duh,' and said, "That wasn't my solution, anyway. Look, why don't we share the bed?"
"Share the bed?"
"It's big enough."
He stopped squirming and focused his gaze on her. "Share the bed?" he said again.
"Bobby, it's a queen size bed. Why should one of us be uncomfortable when we can both fit quite easily in the bed?"
He looked at her as if she was lacking a few brain cells. "Because they'll no doubt ask us tomorrow how we solved the conflict, and I don't think you want it bandied around . . . well, anywhere . . . that we 'slept' together."
She shrugged. "So we lie. No big deal."
But it was a big deal, and no matter how much she tried to make light of the subject, they both knew it.
"Do you . . . are you sure?" He felt his resolve crumbling and eyed the bed appreciatively, trying desperately to keep Alex out of range of vision.
She noticed him looking everywhere but at her, and somehow forced herself not to blush. "I think I can deal with it. Besides, when you start snoring I can just roll over and swat you instead of having to get up and walk across the room."
He grinned. "I don't snore."
"Try telling that to someone who hasn't been stuck in a car with you on surveillance for 12 hours straight."
~x~
Alex emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of scented steam, dressed in pale blue pyjamas and towelling her hair dry.
"It's all yours."
Bobby had stretched himself out on the bed, and found a nature show on the television. He got up lazily and ambled across the room, trying to look as nonchalant as he possibly could without giving away the fact that his nerves were stretched taut.
"I hope you left me some hot water."
Overcome with a sudden impulse, Alex swatted him playfully with her towel as he walked past.
"Hey!" he objected, and turned back to face her in mock indignation.
"Yes?" she asked innocently.
"Oh, you're asking for it," he warned.
Alex batted her eyes and poked her tongue out at him.
"Right!" Bobby grabbed for the towel. But she was to quick for him, and dodged him easily.
"I see I'll have to teach you some respect," he grinned, his eyes watchful as he looked for an opening to attack.
Alex had almost doubled over from laughing at his clumsy attempt to capture the towel when he lunged unexpectedly and tackled her to the bed. She somehow managed to wriggle onto her back but was still firmly held to the mattress by Bobby's strength.
"Get off me, you big lug!" she protested.
Bobby caught her hands above her head and straddled her waist. "Not until I get an apology," he teased.
"Never!" Alex panted.
"Never?" Bobby questioned. "Not even if I did this?" And he proceeded to tickle her mercilessly.
"Bobby, stop it! I'm serious. . .!"
"An apology, Alex," he demanded.
"Okay already," she breathed between gulps of laughter. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Bobby!"
"I can keep this up all night," he taunted.
"I'm sorry I didn't flick you harder!" Alex spat out defiantly, and was punished by Bobby tickling even harder. "Please. . . enough . . ." she gasped. "I . . .can't . . .breathe!"
"You know what I want to hear, Alex."
"Sorry! I'm sorry," she cried out.
Bobby stopped. "That's all I wanted to hear," he declared smugly.
She was no longer struggling for air but his close proximity was still affecting her breathing. Trying to reclaim a little poise, she decided to keep the mood light and retorted, "I have to say, Bobby, smugness is not your most attractive personality trait."
Bobby returned the gesture that she had given him earlier, and poked his tongue out. Alex reached up playfully to shove it back in his mouth, feeling a jolt in the pit of her stomach as her fingers collided with the smooth wetness of his tongue. Suddenly the sparkle that was in his eyes changed to something more dark and guarded, something that again made her stomach flutter with unfamiliar sensations. Sensing his change of mood and wondering if this time they would finally take that step, Alex allowed her hand to drop back to her side. Bobby stared at her for a moment longer, then climbed off her and let her up.
"I hope that teaches you a lesson, Alex." The light note in his voice was belied by the seriousness in his eyes and the rigidity of his body.
She felt a sudden rush of confusion and disappointment at his withdrawal, but was determined that he not notice. "Oh, absolutely," she agreed fervently as she sat up. "Next time I *will* use up all the hot water!"
Bobby's gaze held hers for a long moment, then he shook his head in amusement and grabbed his travel bag before heading for the bathroom. He closed the door softly behind him, leaving Alex alone on the bed contemplating what had almost happened.
They had shared one of those moments, the ones that if acted upon have the power to change everything. It had been happening more frequently of late, and it was getting harder and harder for one of them to pull back in time before it developed into something more substantial. Alex knew that it would have to be confronted sooner or later – it was happening far too often for them to ignore. But with work, and the added complication of their partnership, it wasn't going to be easy thing to address. Especially since she didn't want to pull back anymore. She wanted to go wherever the moment led them. She wanted that very much.
~x~
Bobby gasped in shock as the cold water hit his back. He needed this time to regain control of his emotions, which had again almost betrayed him as he had sat astride Alex. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was his partner; she had proven herself to him over and over again, he respected and admired her intelligence and courage, and above all he appreciated the fact that she accepted and put up with all his quirks and annoying qualities. He was not supposed to spend hours undressing her in his mind. He was not supposed to construct detailed fantasies about a future together that he knew they could never have. He was not supposed to want her so desperately. But he did. And he knew that the next time Alex touched him, the next time she smiled at him, he knew would be hard pressed to stop himself from acting upon those fantasies.
TBC