One hour and a half later, Chloe stared at the stoic man in front of her with her heart in her throat.

Carter stood with his jaw set, clear eyes lost above her shoulder. They'd found nothing but saw dust and rumbles inside.

"I'm sorry, Carter."

His expression softened as his gaze returned to the reality of the luxury suite and landed on her. "It's not your fault, Nedjem. It was an interesting avenue to explore, one I never considered before. I must go now before anyone notice I am not where I am supposed to be. Lantern?"

"Ready when you are, Hawkman."

"Take care of her, Archer."

Chloe gripped the hand Oliver had on her shoulder while the two men disappeared in a wet blur. She sniveled. "I broke his heart."

"Don't say that…"

The pinch in her chest trickled hurt and ice in her blood.

"I was so sure… I should have taken more time, cross-referenced everything one more time."

"I decided to tell him, Chloe, and he decided to check it right away."

Oliver caressed her back. She wanted to give in the comfort but she couldn't erase the forlorn glint in Carter's face from her mind. Oliver cupped her face with both hands, gently whipping stray tears.

"We're going home tomorrow and I am counting on you to devote part of your time to that, okay?"

Home. Away from Europe and time spent alone. Home, where they would have to fight for stolen moments like this one.

Chloe wrapped her arms around his waist to bury her head against his chest. Oliver's embrace slowly untangled the shameful knots inside her he rocked her on his lap. The comfort made her sleepy. She hid a yawn in his shoulder. 'Sorry…"

"Time for bed, Princess."

Oliver stood, picking her up bridal style. Chloe nestled sleepily in his arms. "I imagined you saying that in quite different circumstances…"

He laughed when she stifled another yawn. The sound rolled under her cheek.

"I bet I can have you very much awake in five moves or less."

She bet he could. "I don't have anything to gamble on sucker bets."

The mattress under her back felt like a dream.

"Really?" The man smiling down at her haunted her dreams too. "Nothing?"

Chloe shook her head, her own grin too bright for the fragile moment. Oliver hovered, a knee on the bed between her parted legs, one hand planted next to her head, the other toying with the hem of her top. His dark eyes caressed her face to envelop her in warmth. "Not even your heart?"

"It's already yours…"

His to have, and to hold, like his eyes held her captive, like he had her arch under him for a kiss that promised so much more than words could.

His weight on her was another wonder. Firm hands on her hips, on the band belt of her pants, guiding it down and away so she lay on the bed in her tee-shirt and nothing else. Gentle hands placing hers on his chest, telling her he needed her to touch him as much as she needed him to touch her. Callous fingers that teased and aroused while his mouth worshipped her neck. Chloe bowed under him when he found that spot where her heart pulsed again and sucked hard. Harder as she battled with his shirt. The earth moved, then at last the garment was gone and she found skin. His abs clenched under her palms, rocked hard like the still-clad erection pressed on her bare skin. So hard, when everything inside her was silken and liquid.

"Please…"

Her whimper brought his hands up her back, fingertips firing little tremors along her spine, stroking a flame he refused to cool. Her bra loosened then cool air touched the skin of her stomach, the undersides of her breasts. Oliver forced her fumbling hands away from his belt and above her head and suddenly she was topless, offered to his gaze, proud of the devouring heat in his eyes, scared she could not satisfy so much hunger. "So beautiful…"

He leaned down again, kissing one breast, the other, licking the hollow of her throat, the sensitive skin under her jaw, then his lips touching hers at last, his hands too far away from her body until they came back to caress her knee, to help her legs to part further for him.

Chloe cried out when he thrusted inside her. It was too much, too soon. She wasn't ready for so much light. Her eyes squeezed shut as she fought against the invasion. She was blind, stripped of any form of control. Oliver was everything, around her, inside her, pulling away and plunging in to fill the void he'd created with each retreat. Everything was so bright, so hot, so empty when he moved back… "Don't leave, please don't leave me…"

Another kiss, urgent, brilliant, the feeling of being full, of being complete. Words of despair and need, a race toward an abyss of light, closer, closer, until she felt him exploded and her soul followed suite.

Oliver rolled on his back and Chloe nestled on his chest with a tiny mewl of pleasure as his shaft continued to pulse inside her. Oliver adjusted her leg at a different angle and her sigh became a moan. Unable to stop herself, she stretched on the top of him, seeking his mouth while her hips rolled to bring him back to that perfect depth he'd just found, that place deep inside her that belonged only to him. From that angle, the fullness was different, the friction heightened. She rocked a little experimentally.

"God, Chloe… Don't stop…" It was his turn to beg, his turn to demand more from her mouth, to urge her on while she rode him. "Don't stop."

She could feel his desire inflate and pound, his blood race. His craving became hers, his desire to mark her, inside, out, to press in deeper. She opened herself fully and felt the urgency, the satisfaction, the irrepressible need to be one with her, forever.

"More. Now." She crested again in the maelstrom he unleashed into her. Oliver urged her still. She shattered again, unsure if the ecstasy was hers or his.

"More. Again… God…"

She tried to fight against the feeling, lest the pleasure broke her into a million pieces. Oliver forbad her retreat, keeping her in place, pushing, pushing, until she screamed. He demanded more still. "Come for me again… Come with me…" And she gave in.

The night air on her skin made her shiver. The goosebumps were a torture after the sensual overload. Chloe curled into a ball, too spent to even slip under the damped sheets. Oliver leaned closer to kiss her shoulder. His body poured heat, so Chloe welcomed him with opened arms when he pushed her gently on her back. His tongue on the top of her breast gave her a jolt. Oliver tightened his grip on her hip when she jerked. "O-Oliver…"

"Mine." His growl froze her in place. "So sweet…"

More licks, as if her body was the ambrosia he needed to live. His thumb found her clit, rubbed the hypersensitive nub until she started to pant. "I… I can't…"

"Yes."

Her orgasm hit like a tsunami, impossible to resist. Oliver ridded it with her then when she stopped trembling, he suddenly slid inside her as deep as he could and emptied himself for the third time.

She shuddered when Oliver brushed strands of hair aside to kiss her.

"I don't think I can go another round, Ollie…"

He chuckled, drawing her into his arms. She came willingly, content to be held. "Me either… But don't tell anyone."

"Oh, you lived up to your reputation, Mister Queen. Hands down…"

Oliver gave her bottom a squeeze, laughing when she yelped in surprise. He massaged the flesh he'd abused while he resettled on the pillow, one hand skating back and forth on her thigh, his other arm secured around her waist. Silence enveloped them. Chloe listened to his heart slow down. The sound lulled her to sleep too fast. She wanted to savor this moment with Oliver. She'd never been a cuddler. Sex with Jimmy was unpleasant, sometimes hurtful and she couldn't go away from him fast enough. But not Oliver… Oliver had cherished her and showed her what making love really meant.

"I didn't hurt you, did I? I was rough…"

"Oliver, I'm fine… I am wonderful…"

She was glad he couldn't see her face, certain that the sudden warmth on his shoulder betrayed her anyway. How long had they been lost into each other? Days? Hours? Minutes? She didn't care.

Oliver shifted under her, maybe to look at the clock on the nightstand. She felt him tense and her eyes snapped opened.

"Chloe?"

"Yes?"

"We… hum… I mean I… I didn't… I forgot…" The stammer was so unlike him her heart picked up for good. Oliver apparently gave up formulating a complete sentence and uttered a single word. "Protection."

Her breathing paused, then she uttered a single, "Oh."

Oliver waited, probably not entirely sure what to say next. Everything was new and complicated. Or maybe it was very simple.

"It's okay. I'm on the pill. It… huh…. helps." Visibly she was as comfortable talking about intimacy as he was. "With the cramps."

"Oh. Oh, right. That's… handy, I guess. So it's okay if we don't…" He'd use a condom if she asked, she knew. They should. They so totally should. Oral contraceptive had a 4 to 10% failure rate. Now was too soon to think about the future, but maybe in two or three years, before he reached thirty, once their lives would be more balanced… She wanted to enjoy being dined and wined and seduced again… She wanted to feel him inside her the way he'd been last night, with nothing separating them. A little girl with her green eyes and his smile beamed at her in her mind. A boy with his father's looks and her smarts would charm his way out of trouble so easily…

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

He meant it, too. Chloe hesitated. "Is it always…" Her fingers flexed on his collarbone then relaxed. "So… Intense? I could… I felt… I think I felt what you felt."

Oliver locked his arm more tightly around her. "I think I did too."

Phantom heat curled in her belly, a bit foreign at the moment.

"I don't know if it will be this spectacular all the time. Normally I need more time to…" Oliver cleared his throat. "Normally I need more time to recover."

Oliver kissed her shoulder, putting away the dozen little fires his fingers on her hip created. "We'll test that theory later… Sleep, love…"

Chloe closed her eyes and let herself slide under.