"FALLING OFF THE EDGE"
By Slayne22
Additional disclaimers - Don't own the lyrics to "The Water Is Wide" or "Wicked Game" (Chris Isaak).
Notes- This chapter was written by Slayne22 as a birthday present for me for this fic and is edited and published with her permission. I love it and I'm sure you'll enjoy too! THANK YOU SLAYNE22!!!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Scarlett looked at the blond Master Sergeant over the top of her menu. He was frowning down at his own menu and she would have bet good money that he wasn't seeing it at all.
"Can we indulge in a cocktail or two, Top? Or do we have to stay clean tonight?"
"What?" He glanced up at her distractedly, the blue eyes meeting her own and snapping sharply into attentiveness. She frowned a bit herself at his distance. He could be brooding over the outcome of the mission...or he could be distracted and disturbed by the growing tension between them.
"Is it the mission, Duke?"
He held her gaze for a moment and then snapped his menu shut and threaded his fingers together, bracing them under his chin.
"Yeah, a little. Cobra always gets away. If we were doing our job right, they'd be in custody right now."
"We're doing our job just fine. Evil plan was thwarted and the people of the world are safe again - for a while."
He nodded absently, and Scarlett sighed softly, watching him. The mission had ended early this morning as the Baroness destroyed evidence and slipped away like mist into the dawn. They had spent the rest of the day wrapping up loose ends with the local law enforcement agencies, and then Duke had called Hawk to report. Scarlett had leaned on the balcony railing of his hotel room, trying not to listen as the big Master Sergeant had argued, growled and then, eventually, remained silent and accepted responsibility himself, letting the Colonel ream him up one side and down the other. They'd been on this mission for weeks, and had been so close to slamming the door shut on the European femme fatale of Cobra. Instead, she'd proven why she was such a high-ranking member of Cobra Command and had smelled them coming before they'd even got to the door.
When Duke had finally hung the phone up, placing it quietly down, he had sank into a chair and stared grimly ahead at nothing. Scarlett had glanced at him with concern and then walked back inside and layed a hand on his shoulder. He had glanced at her briefly as she squeezed comfortingly.
"We're not perfect, Conrad." She had used his real name, her voice low. "We win some and we lose some."
He had leaned forward and ran both hands through the blond crew cut with a deep exhalation. His forward movement slid his shoulder from her grip and sent her hand over the broad back. She had pulled back as if burned.
"I know." He sighed with frustration. They had discussed it briefly, but he hadn't been in a very talkative mood. He wanted to sulk about it, and Scarlett guessed he had earned the right to do so after all the hard work he'd put into the mission and then the subsequent dressing down by Hawk when it had all fallen apart. She understood that part of him well. She had learned a lot about the Joe's Second since they began working together. The initial attraction between them had tempered into a mild flirting and deeper friendship. She knew, at heart, that there was something else there as well, but she wasn't sure she wanted to delve deeper within it and discover what that was.
She'd left him alone for a few hours and then taken a shower, dressed and met him for dinner at the hotel restaurant. He had looked a bit more relaxed, but now seemed to be brooding again.
The waiter appeared at their table and Scarlett ordered a glass of the house red and a whiskey sour for Duke, telling the young man that they would need a few more minutes to look over the menus before ordering dinner. Duke watched her as the waiter walked away. He raised a blond eyebrow.
"I don't believe I ever granted permission for a cocktail, Red."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not sitting here all night with you like this. One drink won't kill us."
He smiled faintly, and his eyes trailed down over her face to the open neck of her shirt and the wisps of red hair that fanned out over her shoulders. She watched him take a deep breath and look away. It had been this way all through the mission. They had worked the mission with their usual professionalism and dedication...but in the evening, if there was nothing more to do, they had stared at each other over dinner, trying to talk nonchalantly while their gazes ran over each other. Without the surrounding reality of the rest of the team, it had grown more intimate, a little tenser between them. Scarlett had been disturbed by it at first, but as the days went on she was finding herself accepting it more and more. Their eyes met and held. He stood a little too close when they talked alone, and she didn't back away. And then, of course...there had been that kiss that had happened on the previous mission. She wondered if he thought about it too, but when he glanced back at her and the blue eyes fell to her lips, she had her answer.
The waiter came with their drinks, and Scarlett glanced at the menu and ordered the chicken, taking a sip of her wine and then wincing a bit. Perhaps she should have asked for the wine list. House wine could be unpredictable at best sometimes.
"Just bring me a steak," Duke told the waiter without looking at the menu again. His attention turned back to Scarlett as the man nodded and walked away. He looked at the delicate line of her jaw as she sipped her wine, her blue eyes a contrast to the mane of long red hair that swept around her neck and over her shoulders. 'Striking' was probably one of the least powerful words he could use to describe her, he thought. She had swept onto the team with her red mane flying and a temper to match. If he had been overwhelmingly attracted to her physically from the outset...he had been nearly swept completely away by her fierce personality and fighting skills. She had a sense of discipline around her from her dedication to martial arts, but it couldn't keep that small wild streak from surfacing once in a while. He had not been able to keep himself from flirting lightly with her right from the beginning. The humor and mutual attraction of their first meeting in the bar had given them a near instantaneous bond. But instead of fading away as they got to know each other better, the tension and attraction had grown stronger until the energy between them was noticeable, palpable and agonizing.
They talked softly while they ate, finally laughing a bit over the mission and the Baroness's flawless escape. Scarlett was relieved to hear him laugh. She told him so as the remains of their dinner were cleared away and two fresh drinks were set in front of them.
"Somehow, you can always drag a smile out of me, Shana." He murmured, his gaze connecting with hers. She bit her lip to keep from reacting to the heat in his gaze. He took a deep breath and then started in on his second drink.
Scarlett sipped her wine and felt the warmth of the alcohol settle nicely throughout her limbs, letting her relax a bit. Duke's boot settled against her foot under the table and she glanced at him. He leaned on his elbows on the table, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up over his thick forearms, revealing golden hair on the tanned skin and on the backs of his long, lean fingers wrapped around his glass. She could see the hint of powerful biceps through the stretched cloth of his shirt, just beneath broad shoulders and a corded neck. The piercing blue eyes stared intently at her from beneath the short, neat military cut of his blond hair. She held his gaze too long. Damn...
"Are we going to talk about this, Shana?" He asked softly.
"About what? The mission?"
"You know that's not what I'm talking about."
She sighed slowly and glanced at him. "I know, but it can't happen."
"Anything can happen."
"That doesn't mean it should. I know you believe that."
There was a pause, and then the backs of his fingers brushed hers on the table, almost as if it were accidental.
"I'm not sure what I believe anymore."
She bit her lip and looked up at him. His gaze didn't waver from hers. That tension between them stretched tautly and threatened to shatter. She couldn't take it. It was too much. She shook her head and started to stand.
"I should go - I'm --."
His hand closed over hers and gripped it tightly, pulling her up short before she could push herself to her feet.
"Stop running away, Shana."
She stared at him a moment and then slowly slid her hand from his grasp. She turned and walked towards the elevator and her room.
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Stop running away, indeed! Scarlett snorted and looked in the bathroom mirror at herself. He had done more than his fair share of running as well. She had been struck with a strange mix of relief and disappointment when he had. What would he have done if she had sat back down to discuss it with him? He hadn't been showing signs of telling her they had to cool it. In fact, she had rather felt like she was standing on the edge of a deep crevasse in imminent danger of falling into it. Was Duke already falling? Or did he still stand on that same edge with her?
She sighed and changed into a t-shirt and the pair of light cotton lounging pants that she slept in while at hotels. She turned the TV on and settled onto the bed to watch the news. Her mind wouldn't focus on the anchorwoman's words though, and flashes of deep blue eyes and short, blond hair kept filling her thoughts. She got up with a frustrated curse and snatched a small bottle of cheap brandy from the mini-bar, ripping the cap off and pouring it into one of the complimentary plastic cups. She sipped it and tried to relax. The urge to drink all of the little bottles and get good and ripped was tempting. But...this was it. If not because duty was never far away, then because she didn't want to do something stupid while besotted and alone in this hotel with Top. She walked to the nightstand beside the bed, where the remote for the TV was bolted down. She changed the channel until she found a block of TV music channels that showed blue screen and played non-stop music with no commercials. She stopped when Chris Isaak's song 'Wicked Game' came through on the hits channel.
"Oh, this is fitting." She sighed and sipped her drink again. She closed her eyes and listened to the slow, languid desperation of the song.
'What a wicked thing to do - to make me dream of you.
I don't want to fall in love - with you.'
She sipped her brandy and swayed slowly, singing along softly. She didn't hear the soft raps on the door, or the subsequent click as a key was turned in the lock and the door opened.
Duke stepped inside and stopped short. He'd been slightly worried about Scarlett after she'd left the table. They kept copies of the keys for each other's rooms for safety reasons, and he'd used his in concern. Now he stood and watched her in the dim room as she swayed, eyes closed, to the song on the TV. A rush of emotion flooded his mind and body and he hesitated in the doorway, trying to decide if he should just leave quietly. A laugh from down the hall decided things for him as it split through the quiet hallway and interrupted the song. Scarlett jumped and looked at him.
"Duke --."
He let the door close behind him. "Sorry. When you didn't answer my knock, I got a little worried."
"I didn't hear it," she exclaimed. She looked down at the plastic cup in her hand and walked to the sink to pour it out. Enough of that.
He watched as she walked back to her place by the window. She had changed clothes, and the thin cotton shirt and pants clung softly to her curves. The scent of her soap and shampoo hung in the air, and he couldn't help but breathe deeply. He listened to the song for a long minute as she turned and looked at him.
"Fitting song," he muttered, and she smiled faintly at the familiar thought. Their eyes met.
"Sorry I left so abruptly," she said.
He shrugged. "I can take a hint, Shana. If this is the way you want it..."
It 'wasn't' the way she wanted it. Not at all. She wanted to know everything about him, from his favorite color to the way his skin tasted. All of it. But...there was so much on the line. She looked at him helplessly and stayed silent. Another song started on the TV. Someone singing 'The Water is Wide', a popular song for recording as a cover. Duke moved towards her slightly, trying to smile lightly.
"You left without dragging me into one dance in the lounge like you usually do."
She let him walk slowly towards her and take her hand to pull her closer. God, the edge of that crevasse was looming ominously now. He pulled her lightly into his arms and swayed with her with a minimum of movement. She felt his warm breath on her temple and his muscled arms slid further around her waist.
'The water is wide, I cannot cross over
Neither do I have wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I'
Scarlett closed her eyes and slipped her arms further around his shoulders, her fingers brushing the nape of his neck. His scent and his warmth enveloped her, and their bodies pressed lightly together. They didn't speak and, by the third verse of the song, Scarlett was leaning heavily into him, almost unaware of her thumb massaging slow circles in the clipped, short hair on his nape.
He pulled slowly back, the swaying movement stopping, as his lips brushed over jaw and then her chin before he glanced briefly into her eyes and pressed his mouth to hers. Scarlett inhaled sharply and her arms tightened around his shoulders as his lips moved slowly and heavily over hers. His mouth tasted of whiskey and she let her hand slide up into the short thick hair on the back of his head. When he suddenly pulled her hard against him and groaned softly into her mouth, she pulled back and then broke away from him. He held her for an instant, his arms tightening around her, before he relaxed and let her step away from him. They were silent as the song switched again. He stared at the slim line of her back, the glorious red mane falling softly between her shoulder blades.
"I'm sorry if I broke some - trust between us, Shana." He finally said quietly.
She looked confused and then alarmed. "No, Conrad. You didn't. It's - God - it's not all your fault. It's just - the intimacy between us - especially here, without the rest of the team around --." She trailed off, shaking her head.
He stepped forward and turned her to face him, standing so close she could feel his breath.
"It could be that way all of the time."
She looked up and into the blue eyes. "I know."
"It could be better."
She couldn't answer him then. She felt his closeness in every nerve in her body. She inhaled his scent, and swore she could feel his heat. It was doing traitorous things to her body and she wondered if the current between them would crackle if either of them touched it.
"Shana - it's going to happen," he said softly, his voice low and throaty.
She took a long, slow breath and tried to calm her heartbeat. "What if I told you that I felt nothing during your kiss?"
He hesitated a moment and then his head lowered slightly so his mouth was only inches from her ear.
"Then I'd tell you you're a liar," he whispered, and she closed her eyes to the erotic quality of it all. His hands came to set lightly on her arms and he inched closer to her. She finally looked up at him. She frowned and her hands came up to shove at his chest. He captured them instead and forced her palms flat against his chest. She tried to ignore the hard bulge of muscle underneath them.
"Shana," he said, his face inches from her. She looked up; her expression sullen with understanding that she was finally giving in. "Kiss me," he commanded. "Or tell me to behave myself and get out of your room."
She could barely breathe as she stared at him. It was going to happen, she had realized earlier, and now she couldn't have walked away from him if the world had ended. He was giving her the chance to walk away, but he had to know she wouldn't take it.
She tilted her head up, and her lips parted just before they met his. He let out a hard breath and released her hands. His arms eased around her and pulled her against him. His mouth moved slowly over hers, his tongue easing into her mouth and swirling in the depths. She kissed him back with the same slow passion. The familiar fire flared up in her body, its heat coursing through her veins and making every nerve in her body spark. She slid her hands up and over his chest to his shoulders and then around his neck. It brought her body hard against his and he sighed.
He threaded his fingers through her hair, feeling the softness of the strands, the thickness of her mane, and felt his ache for her leap into a roaring desire. He pulled her hair back and bared her throat. His mouth moved to taste her skin there and she jumped in his arms, her breath catching. His mouth was hot, wet and electric. She concentrated on deep breaths as his mouth trailed over her throat to the side of her corded neck. He tasted her with each kiss, his mouth sucking and licking at her skin, until she could barely stand still in his embrace.
"I've wanted you for so long," he murmured against her neck, his voice low and husky. One hand traveled down her back to press her hips against him more intimately. She felt the bulging hardness between his thighs and almost groaned at the thought of him.
He lifted her against him for a deep, slow kiss, his hands gripping her waist lightly, his thumbs caressing over the bands there. She braced her hands on his shoulders and kissed him vigorously. His strength was immense, and it excited her in a way nothing else ever had in her life. And, of course, he knew this. He set her on her knees on the edge of her bed and stood in front of her, his hands slid slowly over her hips.
"Conrad," she said breathlessly, as she knelt on the bed and he looked up at her, his blue eyes glittering in the night.
He stood before her and lifted one knee to the bed beside her. He crawled forward over her, forcing her to lie back as he did. She pulled herself back into the middle of the bed and he braced himself above her, lowering his head to kiss her.
He was right, it was going to happen - and did. She was amazed and frightened at how intense it had all been, and she knew it would never be the same between them again.
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By Slayne22
Additional disclaimers - Don't own the lyrics to "The Water Is Wide" or "Wicked Game" (Chris Isaak).
Notes- This chapter was written by Slayne22 as a birthday present for me for this fic and is edited and published with her permission. I love it and I'm sure you'll enjoy too! THANK YOU SLAYNE22!!!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Scarlett looked at the blond Master Sergeant over the top of her menu. He was frowning down at his own menu and she would have bet good money that he wasn't seeing it at all.
"Can we indulge in a cocktail or two, Top? Or do we have to stay clean tonight?"
"What?" He glanced up at her distractedly, the blue eyes meeting her own and snapping sharply into attentiveness. She frowned a bit herself at his distance. He could be brooding over the outcome of the mission...or he could be distracted and disturbed by the growing tension between them.
"Is it the mission, Duke?"
He held her gaze for a moment and then snapped his menu shut and threaded his fingers together, bracing them under his chin.
"Yeah, a little. Cobra always gets away. If we were doing our job right, they'd be in custody right now."
"We're doing our job just fine. Evil plan was thwarted and the people of the world are safe again - for a while."
He nodded absently, and Scarlett sighed softly, watching him. The mission had ended early this morning as the Baroness destroyed evidence and slipped away like mist into the dawn. They had spent the rest of the day wrapping up loose ends with the local law enforcement agencies, and then Duke had called Hawk to report. Scarlett had leaned on the balcony railing of his hotel room, trying not to listen as the big Master Sergeant had argued, growled and then, eventually, remained silent and accepted responsibility himself, letting the Colonel ream him up one side and down the other. They'd been on this mission for weeks, and had been so close to slamming the door shut on the European femme fatale of Cobra. Instead, she'd proven why she was such a high-ranking member of Cobra Command and had smelled them coming before they'd even got to the door.
When Duke had finally hung the phone up, placing it quietly down, he had sank into a chair and stared grimly ahead at nothing. Scarlett had glanced at him with concern and then walked back inside and layed a hand on his shoulder. He had glanced at her briefly as she squeezed comfortingly.
"We're not perfect, Conrad." She had used his real name, her voice low. "We win some and we lose some."
He had leaned forward and ran both hands through the blond crew cut with a deep exhalation. His forward movement slid his shoulder from her grip and sent her hand over the broad back. She had pulled back as if burned.
"I know." He sighed with frustration. They had discussed it briefly, but he hadn't been in a very talkative mood. He wanted to sulk about it, and Scarlett guessed he had earned the right to do so after all the hard work he'd put into the mission and then the subsequent dressing down by Hawk when it had all fallen apart. She understood that part of him well. She had learned a lot about the Joe's Second since they began working together. The initial attraction between them had tempered into a mild flirting and deeper friendship. She knew, at heart, that there was something else there as well, but she wasn't sure she wanted to delve deeper within it and discover what that was.
She'd left him alone for a few hours and then taken a shower, dressed and met him for dinner at the hotel restaurant. He had looked a bit more relaxed, but now seemed to be brooding again.
The waiter appeared at their table and Scarlett ordered a glass of the house red and a whiskey sour for Duke, telling the young man that they would need a few more minutes to look over the menus before ordering dinner. Duke watched her as the waiter walked away. He raised a blond eyebrow.
"I don't believe I ever granted permission for a cocktail, Red."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not sitting here all night with you like this. One drink won't kill us."
He smiled faintly, and his eyes trailed down over her face to the open neck of her shirt and the wisps of red hair that fanned out over her shoulders. She watched him take a deep breath and look away. It had been this way all through the mission. They had worked the mission with their usual professionalism and dedication...but in the evening, if there was nothing more to do, they had stared at each other over dinner, trying to talk nonchalantly while their gazes ran over each other. Without the surrounding reality of the rest of the team, it had grown more intimate, a little tenser between them. Scarlett had been disturbed by it at first, but as the days went on she was finding herself accepting it more and more. Their eyes met and held. He stood a little too close when they talked alone, and she didn't back away. And then, of course...there had been that kiss that had happened on the previous mission. She wondered if he thought about it too, but when he glanced back at her and the blue eyes fell to her lips, she had her answer.
The waiter came with their drinks, and Scarlett glanced at the menu and ordered the chicken, taking a sip of her wine and then wincing a bit. Perhaps she should have asked for the wine list. House wine could be unpredictable at best sometimes.
"Just bring me a steak," Duke told the waiter without looking at the menu again. His attention turned back to Scarlett as the man nodded and walked away. He looked at the delicate line of her jaw as she sipped her wine, her blue eyes a contrast to the mane of long red hair that swept around her neck and over her shoulders. 'Striking' was probably one of the least powerful words he could use to describe her, he thought. She had swept onto the team with her red mane flying and a temper to match. If he had been overwhelmingly attracted to her physically from the outset...he had been nearly swept completely away by her fierce personality and fighting skills. She had a sense of discipline around her from her dedication to martial arts, but it couldn't keep that small wild streak from surfacing once in a while. He had not been able to keep himself from flirting lightly with her right from the beginning. The humor and mutual attraction of their first meeting in the bar had given them a near instantaneous bond. But instead of fading away as they got to know each other better, the tension and attraction had grown stronger until the energy between them was noticeable, palpable and agonizing.
They talked softly while they ate, finally laughing a bit over the mission and the Baroness's flawless escape. Scarlett was relieved to hear him laugh. She told him so as the remains of their dinner were cleared away and two fresh drinks were set in front of them.
"Somehow, you can always drag a smile out of me, Shana." He murmured, his gaze connecting with hers. She bit her lip to keep from reacting to the heat in his gaze. He took a deep breath and then started in on his second drink.
Scarlett sipped her wine and felt the warmth of the alcohol settle nicely throughout her limbs, letting her relax a bit. Duke's boot settled against her foot under the table and she glanced at him. He leaned on his elbows on the table, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up over his thick forearms, revealing golden hair on the tanned skin and on the backs of his long, lean fingers wrapped around his glass. She could see the hint of powerful biceps through the stretched cloth of his shirt, just beneath broad shoulders and a corded neck. The piercing blue eyes stared intently at her from beneath the short, neat military cut of his blond hair. She held his gaze too long. Damn...
"Are we going to talk about this, Shana?" He asked softly.
"About what? The mission?"
"You know that's not what I'm talking about."
She sighed slowly and glanced at him. "I know, but it can't happen."
"Anything can happen."
"That doesn't mean it should. I know you believe that."
There was a pause, and then the backs of his fingers brushed hers on the table, almost as if it were accidental.
"I'm not sure what I believe anymore."
She bit her lip and looked up at him. His gaze didn't waver from hers. That tension between them stretched tautly and threatened to shatter. She couldn't take it. It was too much. She shook her head and started to stand.
"I should go - I'm --."
His hand closed over hers and gripped it tightly, pulling her up short before she could push herself to her feet.
"Stop running away, Shana."
She stared at him a moment and then slowly slid her hand from his grasp. She turned and walked towards the elevator and her room.
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Stop running away, indeed! Scarlett snorted and looked in the bathroom mirror at herself. He had done more than his fair share of running as well. She had been struck with a strange mix of relief and disappointment when he had. What would he have done if she had sat back down to discuss it with him? He hadn't been showing signs of telling her they had to cool it. In fact, she had rather felt like she was standing on the edge of a deep crevasse in imminent danger of falling into it. Was Duke already falling? Or did he still stand on that same edge with her?
She sighed and changed into a t-shirt and the pair of light cotton lounging pants that she slept in while at hotels. She turned the TV on and settled onto the bed to watch the news. Her mind wouldn't focus on the anchorwoman's words though, and flashes of deep blue eyes and short, blond hair kept filling her thoughts. She got up with a frustrated curse and snatched a small bottle of cheap brandy from the mini-bar, ripping the cap off and pouring it into one of the complimentary plastic cups. She sipped it and tried to relax. The urge to drink all of the little bottles and get good and ripped was tempting. But...this was it. If not because duty was never far away, then because she didn't want to do something stupid while besotted and alone in this hotel with Top. She walked to the nightstand beside the bed, where the remote for the TV was bolted down. She changed the channel until she found a block of TV music channels that showed blue screen and played non-stop music with no commercials. She stopped when Chris Isaak's song 'Wicked Game' came through on the hits channel.
"Oh, this is fitting." She sighed and sipped her drink again. She closed her eyes and listened to the slow, languid desperation of the song.
'What a wicked thing to do - to make me dream of you.
I don't want to fall in love - with you.'
She sipped her brandy and swayed slowly, singing along softly. She didn't hear the soft raps on the door, or the subsequent click as a key was turned in the lock and the door opened.
Duke stepped inside and stopped short. He'd been slightly worried about Scarlett after she'd left the table. They kept copies of the keys for each other's rooms for safety reasons, and he'd used his in concern. Now he stood and watched her in the dim room as she swayed, eyes closed, to the song on the TV. A rush of emotion flooded his mind and body and he hesitated in the doorway, trying to decide if he should just leave quietly. A laugh from down the hall decided things for him as it split through the quiet hallway and interrupted the song. Scarlett jumped and looked at him.
"Duke --."
He let the door close behind him. "Sorry. When you didn't answer my knock, I got a little worried."
"I didn't hear it," she exclaimed. She looked down at the plastic cup in her hand and walked to the sink to pour it out. Enough of that.
He watched as she walked back to her place by the window. She had changed clothes, and the thin cotton shirt and pants clung softly to her curves. The scent of her soap and shampoo hung in the air, and he couldn't help but breathe deeply. He listened to the song for a long minute as she turned and looked at him.
"Fitting song," he muttered, and she smiled faintly at the familiar thought. Their eyes met.
"Sorry I left so abruptly," she said.
He shrugged. "I can take a hint, Shana. If this is the way you want it..."
It 'wasn't' the way she wanted it. Not at all. She wanted to know everything about him, from his favorite color to the way his skin tasted. All of it. But...there was so much on the line. She looked at him helplessly and stayed silent. Another song started on the TV. Someone singing 'The Water is Wide', a popular song for recording as a cover. Duke moved towards her slightly, trying to smile lightly.
"You left without dragging me into one dance in the lounge like you usually do."
She let him walk slowly towards her and take her hand to pull her closer. God, the edge of that crevasse was looming ominously now. He pulled her lightly into his arms and swayed with her with a minimum of movement. She felt his warm breath on her temple and his muscled arms slid further around her waist.
'The water is wide, I cannot cross over
Neither do I have wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I'
Scarlett closed her eyes and slipped her arms further around his shoulders, her fingers brushing the nape of his neck. His scent and his warmth enveloped her, and their bodies pressed lightly together. They didn't speak and, by the third verse of the song, Scarlett was leaning heavily into him, almost unaware of her thumb massaging slow circles in the clipped, short hair on his nape.
He pulled slowly back, the swaying movement stopping, as his lips brushed over jaw and then her chin before he glanced briefly into her eyes and pressed his mouth to hers. Scarlett inhaled sharply and her arms tightened around his shoulders as his lips moved slowly and heavily over hers. His mouth tasted of whiskey and she let her hand slide up into the short thick hair on the back of his head. When he suddenly pulled her hard against him and groaned softly into her mouth, she pulled back and then broke away from him. He held her for an instant, his arms tightening around her, before he relaxed and let her step away from him. They were silent as the song switched again. He stared at the slim line of her back, the glorious red mane falling softly between her shoulder blades.
"I'm sorry if I broke some - trust between us, Shana." He finally said quietly.
She looked confused and then alarmed. "No, Conrad. You didn't. It's - God - it's not all your fault. It's just - the intimacy between us - especially here, without the rest of the team around --." She trailed off, shaking her head.
He stepped forward and turned her to face him, standing so close she could feel his breath.
"It could be that way all of the time."
She looked up and into the blue eyes. "I know."
"It could be better."
She couldn't answer him then. She felt his closeness in every nerve in her body. She inhaled his scent, and swore she could feel his heat. It was doing traitorous things to her body and she wondered if the current between them would crackle if either of them touched it.
"Shana - it's going to happen," he said softly, his voice low and throaty.
She took a long, slow breath and tried to calm her heartbeat. "What if I told you that I felt nothing during your kiss?"
He hesitated a moment and then his head lowered slightly so his mouth was only inches from her ear.
"Then I'd tell you you're a liar," he whispered, and she closed her eyes to the erotic quality of it all. His hands came to set lightly on her arms and he inched closer to her. She finally looked up at him. She frowned and her hands came up to shove at his chest. He captured them instead and forced her palms flat against his chest. She tried to ignore the hard bulge of muscle underneath them.
"Shana," he said, his face inches from her. She looked up; her expression sullen with understanding that she was finally giving in. "Kiss me," he commanded. "Or tell me to behave myself and get out of your room."
She could barely breathe as she stared at him. It was going to happen, she had realized earlier, and now she couldn't have walked away from him if the world had ended. He was giving her the chance to walk away, but he had to know she wouldn't take it.
She tilted her head up, and her lips parted just before they met his. He let out a hard breath and released her hands. His arms eased around her and pulled her against him. His mouth moved slowly over hers, his tongue easing into her mouth and swirling in the depths. She kissed him back with the same slow passion. The familiar fire flared up in her body, its heat coursing through her veins and making every nerve in her body spark. She slid her hands up and over his chest to his shoulders and then around his neck. It brought her body hard against his and he sighed.
He threaded his fingers through her hair, feeling the softness of the strands, the thickness of her mane, and felt his ache for her leap into a roaring desire. He pulled her hair back and bared her throat. His mouth moved to taste her skin there and she jumped in his arms, her breath catching. His mouth was hot, wet and electric. She concentrated on deep breaths as his mouth trailed over her throat to the side of her corded neck. He tasted her with each kiss, his mouth sucking and licking at her skin, until she could barely stand still in his embrace.
"I've wanted you for so long," he murmured against her neck, his voice low and husky. One hand traveled down her back to press her hips against him more intimately. She felt the bulging hardness between his thighs and almost groaned at the thought of him.
He lifted her against him for a deep, slow kiss, his hands gripping her waist lightly, his thumbs caressing over the bands there. She braced her hands on his shoulders and kissed him vigorously. His strength was immense, and it excited her in a way nothing else ever had in her life. And, of course, he knew this. He set her on her knees on the edge of her bed and stood in front of her, his hands slid slowly over her hips.
"Conrad," she said breathlessly, as she knelt on the bed and he looked up at her, his blue eyes glittering in the night.
He stood before her and lifted one knee to the bed beside her. He crawled forward over her, forcing her to lie back as he did. She pulled herself back into the middle of the bed and he braced himself above her, lowering his head to kiss her.
He was right, it was going to happen - and did. She was amazed and frightened at how intense it had all been, and she knew it would never be the same between them again.
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