They'd talked about it right? She had given him permission. Now that he was in her room, it was true, he wasn't quite thinking straight, the click of her door's lock sealing something for him, even if he couldn't name what it was. He didn't turn on the light, not wanting to disturb her, his eyes searching for her as he entered the bedroom. Slowly he made out her figure under the blankets, the details in her face etching out in the soft light that came through the window. Her expression looked so peaceful, he wanted to…

He took off his shoes and set his phone on the nightstand and climbed on the bed, lying down beside her on his back, mindfully leaving space between them. Even with that a spark lit up at her close proximity. It needed to stop. He needed it to stop and his eyes settled on her face. So of course he'd jump at a chance to not just walk in her cabin but get in bed with her. Knock it to curiosity. He'd move to the couch in just a second. Her foot was nearly falling off the pillow set at the foot of the bed. She probably put it up to keep it elevated. He stopped himself from sitting up and fixing it. He'd do it in a minute.

Reluctantly Rio tore his eyes from her and closed his eyes briefly, business thoughts still buzzing in his head. Once adrenaline was rushing it wasn't easy to shut it off. This weekend brought people together he'd not usually meet and the back and forth of keeping all the conversations straight was making his head spin. No wonder his thoughts were a little jumbled. A part of him was still in those rooms, calculating how today went and his next steps. How conversations and negotiations he's had over the past two days would help him cement his position, which was never completely secure, how he could use it lead him one step higher. How it was all worth it to provide for himself and his family. He always needed to stay at least five steps ahead and keep his eyes open. He'd still made mistakes no matter how prepared or thorough he was. But what mattered is how he'd work it so each one pitched him forward.

It wasn't clear how the woman beside him could fit with the business. Her mistakes were unpredictable. Newbie mistakes of someone who thought she deserved the world just for being who she was. She did work hard and she took some risks, the kind that could help him. She had also betrayed him. Defied him. He'd defied superiors before, he had to, to prove his worth, but betrayal – even the fact she was here was a risk.

A risk he still ended up right beside with at the end of one long day and somewhere the fates were laughing. If she'd sneaked in his thoughts a few times, even managing to find a way in that wasn't entirely business, so what? She was everywhere. It's not like he never before imagined what it'd be like to touch her. Cause that's, it was just something a guy would feel curious about with a woman who looked like her. Those silk pjs of hers, the shine of them illuminating in the darkness. He didn't usually see women in – well in silk yes, but not that kind of style.

He got a kick out of it, when he got under her skin. She'd try to get out of his grasp practically each time he touched her but he felt it when she'd give in and relax her body and mold into his, when she begged him to kiss her without saying it. He felt victorious each time. Comforted. Like he was a step closer, as if there was any kind of plan here when the only smart choice was to back the hell off. That was only fair to her and to himself. He didn't need the headache.

Cause hell, it wasn't going to do any good to deny it. Something was there between him and the woman sleeping beside him. Something that started so early he didn't remember when he hadn't been aware of it. He enjoyed the permission he had to touch her over the last couple of days. He hadn't expected to kiss her but he couldn't resist when she turned her head to him. It took every shred of strength not to shut everyone out and pull her against him and finish what he started. So no, he had been curious. It was a business move to bring her but he'd still also been curious.

What he felt when he found her unconscious that afternoon – he had tried not to think too much about it then but it was something that he could admit now he didn't like feeling. It rattled him in a way he didn't expect and didn't appreciate. He'd never tell Antonio about that. Never tell anyone. He hadn't had control over it, something deep in his stomach sinking, before Karin assured him she was breathing. He told her to split, not taking his eyes off Beth, and even when his boys told him he had to go, reminded him he had to attend to business, he ignored them. Like he never had to reprioritize when a situation came up and in this business when did it not happen. He needed to tell her to go to hell himself. He needed to make sure that she was OK for him to do that. The man who did it to her was going to pay. He'd do it for any employee.

He shifted his weight on the bed, trying to ease out of an uncomfortable position instead of taking the only reasonable step which was tailing it out of there. Smoothly, Beth responded to the shift in the bed's weight and drew closer, throwing an arm around his waist, her hand tugging at him, the side of her face resting on his chest. Her breathing didn't change. She was fast asleep. Rio groaned to himself, thinking ain't that something. Now he'd have to take his shirt off.

Man, he didn't need this. He'd already rebuffed someone tonight and if the situation was different he would've went for it. He would've had a good time. If he didn't have to focus on business and keep his mind clear he'd be with Amy right now. Not been blatant about it since he and Beth had a fake situation going on and he didn't need the gossip. Beth was – something he didn't need to mess with. So, neither one was a good idea to pursue, if not for completely the same reasons, which is why he said no to Amy. Gave her an excuse that his girl was waiting for him.

It had been practical to bring Beth, an outsider with him that – in theory, as he glanced upwards at the thought – no one would recognize. He saw how some businessmen took him seriously with her on his side. But that wasn't the only reason. He swore under his breath. That was the problem. Like slicing vegetables with blinds on, why would he do it? Someone tell him cause he sure as hell didn't know.

She'd made him go through hell on the one hand but when you knew someone like that, someone who had shown he could be an asset, well, you either cut him out and kept an eye on him for competition or kept him on for that very reason. Used the asset as a strength. It made sense to have a few wild cards in his deck, as counter-intuitive as it sounded. Was she more trouble than she was worth, he wasn't sure. As an employee anyway. As a woman she definitely was more trouble. He just couldn't stop.

He never messed with his workers. He had genuinely thought he'd still be too pissed off for it to cross over to any personal lines, even if her body… Did things to him. That wasn't the worst of it at all. The worst part was that every time he tried to knock down that this thing with her it came down to him simply wanting her she'd do something that made him think maybe they had more in common than he thought. That they could relate to each other. He had no respect for her husband and could see there were problems there but he wasn't particularly moved to deal with the added mess of a married woman. Not that it mattered. Her being married was her business. Not that this thing could be anything and not that stepping anywhere near it was was any kinds of smart.

But this was torture, he thought as he glanced downwards at Beth slumbering below him, how could he stop himself from touching her? Then there was what irked him the most, his first reaction when she hugged him. It wasn't the thought of this is a bad idea or even a hopeful desire that she'd wake up. His first thought was that he'd need to take his shirt off cause he'd get too hot. The fact his thought was so domestic was alarming because it meant he – he – was comfortable with her. That he wanted to accommodate himself for her.

Fortunately, the thought of wanting to take his shirt off was quickly followed by all the ways he wanted to take her, ways so vivid that he could see them happening right before his eyes, making it all that much harder to keep his hands to himself.

Her arm slipped against his chest and she stirred. Her eyes opened slowly before they widened as they focused on him.

"What are you doing here?" Beth asked, pulling her arm back as if stung. How did it end up wrapped around him? Her hand went to her top as she glanced down, making sure she didn't need to adjust anything. Her face scrunched a little at the unwelcome throbbing of her foot. Sleep had taken her away from the pain and allowed her the reprieve to rest her thoughts. She lifted her leg to set it back in the middle of the pillow. It took her a second but she remembered – she'd told him he could come over.

"I- It's a long story." Rio put his left arm behind his head and the palm of his right hand on his stomach. "Needed to get out of something."

"Did something happen?" She rubbed her eyes. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." If she wasn't so drowsy she could've sworn that in the glance he gave her was something akin to affection. "Let's just say that our cover story helped me get someone off my back."

Oh. In that case she could put her arm around him and – no, no she shouldn't. What's wrong with her? It wasn't even that she invited him to climb into bed with her. But she didn't ask him to leave. She dragged her fingers on the bed sheet and put her hand on her stomach instead.

"You got a bad habit of leaving your doors unlocked, darling. Don't worry, I locked it."

"Thanks. So are we- Can we sleep now?" She asked.

"Got something else in mind?" His eyes challenged her.

Yes, he was definitely fine. Again, disappointingly, it was warmth that filled her chest, tipping the balance over her annoyance at his glib answer. She was even too distracted to be upset that he had climbed into her bed without asking for permission.

"N- no," she stammered before recovering quickly. "I meant are we good? Did you get what you needed done?"

"Yeah. Yeah you can sleep."

Except how on earth was she going to do that with him just lying like that beside her, she wasn't sure. Earlier as she was falling asleep she turned a little Karin's job proposition. She couldn't take it seriously, not after everything that had happened. But she had researched the company Karin had mentioned and couldn't help but feel impressed with what she found. But it involved so much – relocating alone was a huge decision and one she couldn't make without Dean.

Did he expect to share her bed? She'd offered him to stay in her room but she didn't think he'd do it or expect to – share it that much. Digging deep, it wasn't even that she regretted offering it exactly. But this wasn't enough, was it? Already the reasons for not touching him were dimming much too quickly. She blamed the bed. Only so many things you could do in it, as if the setting was the issue. But she didn't get up and still she didn't suggest he'd move to the small couch.

"I'm not gonna try nothing." Rio's words dripped with honey.

"Yes, well, I'm not going to try anything either." She joked but held her breath when she saw flames in his eyes. Try, he seemed to dare her. See what happens.

He'd ended up here. He thought it was safe. She was safe. It had pinched a little. But if he did, why was he looking at her like that? Was it so amusing for him to mess with her head?

"Who was she?" She asked, remembering the comment he'd said a few minutes ago.

"Huh?"

"The something you needed to get out of. Sounded like a woman."

Rio moved to lie on his back as he stared at the ceiling and smiled. So she was right.

"Was she the one who was talking with you earlier?" She asked, wondering if she sounded like a jealous girlfriend and not caring as much as she should. Her question didn't mean anything. She was just curious.

"No."

"She was cute." Ugh, why did it hurt a little to say that? You know why, she told herself. Just another sign of how a bit of their game had temporarily transferred to life. Like how she'd fleetingly felt possessive over him the night before. Had that been who she was? She wanted to push the unwelcome bitterness off her tongue. "I could see her being your type." She continued. Better to keep conversation focused elsewhere. Safer.

"You know what my type is now?" Rio's rubbed his cheek and turned his head to her, a smile curling his lips.

"She's bold." While Beth wasn't able to hear them, she could sense it in how the woman had carried herself. The image easily came up as she thought about it as she was chatting with Nathan. "You like that don't you?"

"Yeah. I do."

She broke eye contact, unable to hold the intensity reflecting back at her. Laughter and chatter sounded in the hallway, behind the locked door, growing louder before fading. Partying guests making their way to another gathering or back to their cabins. The boisterous laughter echoed through the quieter ambiance in her room. But it was a deceiving calm, something undulating just under the surface. Always.

"I like it when someone goes for what he wants. She wants." Rio said. "When they ask questions."

Beth laughed and bit the inside of her mouth as she carelessly moved her injured foot. "You sure that's not the opposite of what you want?"

She stretched her good leg, careful to avoid moving the other, and Rio's eyes followed the movement.

"Only when they ask too much." He put his hands on his chest.

"To keep up with you they wouldn't ask any questions at all," she teased. "It's what business partners do." She added in a more serious tone.

"That's a stretch, sweetheart. You work for me, not with me."

"So I'm back in?" Her eyes widened.

"Jury's still out." He looked back up and closed his eyes.

"I can't be your only – probation employee who asks questions." She chose her words carefully, choosing to follow the rules of his game.

"No. But you gotta trust an employee. And you gotta trust a partner with your life."

Back to that loyalty point. She wasn't sure, after tonight, what else she'd need to do to earn more trust from him. Even if she went against his wishes. She had to think of her own first. But –

"I got you those papers."

"Yeah, after you went on a job all by yourself," He indicated Beth's foot. "Wanna talk more about that?"

There was nothing she wanted to do less. She didn't bother answering him. He'd motioned to her foot like he'd been concerned about her getting hurt but that wasn't what he was talking about. Even after their conversation earlier today she had known he wouldn't just let it go.

He had given her another chance, she reminded herself. With the opportunity tomorrow morning, with the app he'd shared with her, the window opened just an inch. Navigating her own challenges in life taught her patience. But it also taught her to jump at an opportunity and take it. And if these months showed her anything is that she wanted something more for herself.

"Who'd you think I was?" Rio asked, his question interrupted her thoughts.

"Hm?"

He opened his mouth slightly, rolling his tongue in his mouth. "When you were spooning me."

"I was not spooning-" She nearly sat up indignantly at the insinuation.

"Did you think I was your husband?"

"No." She said quietly, hearing the curiosity in his question and suppressing any thought about of it.

Rio didn't reply and she continued, wanting to fill in the silence. "It was habit. I was sleeping."

At that he broke eye contact and looked up.

"I told you that I've been sleeping alone lately." She wasn't sure why she'd said it, why she'd said it like that, but there it was.

"But you're still married, yeah?"

Like she could get a divorce like another person could get a fast food meal. She paused before answering, though, weighing what his question meant and more than that what her answer meant.

"He hasn't been staying with me, but yes, we're still married."

"So what that mean?"

A by now familiar warmth bit into her chest, threatening to make itself comfortable there but it was mixed with confusion and bitterness. It had been Dean she'd been devoted to for over 20 years. And whatever she saw with the man lying next to her was better left alone. She knew that. She was sure Rio was making conversation and she wondered if the curiosity she heard in his voice was similar to her just wanting to know more about a man who shared so little of himself. Still, he knew so much more about her than she did about him.

"It means…" she stopped to think. "That I haven't completely thrown that relationship out of my life. Though sometimes I don't—" she looked down at her hands. "I don't think there's something left to save. That I think I don't want to save it. Then I think about my kids and I don't know whether it's better or worse to forgive and move on. With him."

When he didn't respond she gazed up at the ceiling, following his earlier example.

"That's what I tried to say earlier today. About my kids." she said, bracing herself. "That night at the warehouse I thought that you were going to kill me. The three of us. You just walked away that night making me think it was just a matter of time before you'd kill us." Never could she ever imagine having a conversation like this. But her getting him arrested led to his showing up at her house giving her an ultimatum. Led to her being here. To her trying to understand and rebuild trust, to figure out what it means between them.

He'd looked away from her halfway through her speech and stared ahead.

"You talk like you're the only one with a family." His eyes were harsh as his voice weaved through the darkness. "Like no one else got one. In my line of work, I am a good man. I'm the provider, I got family by blood and by choice counting on me. Just like you," He hadn't responded directly to her words but what he shared made her head spin. That had maybe been the most he'd said, shared, at one time. She hadn't, had she, hadn't really considered him as a person outside his role as a crime boss. But still, that night after he'd closed the door and she lied on the couch, Ruby and Annie at a distance, she'd thought her life was on the line. She was scared out of her mind.

"I told you to go home. If I was going to kill you I ain't gonna leave you guessing."

She blinked. "Duly noted." She stared at the ceiling, turning over the words he'd just said. "Are you- do you have kids you take care of?"

A hint of a smile. "Yeah. Nieces and nephews too. A few of them might as well be mine." He rubbed his chin as his voice trailed off. Already he'd told her more than she thought he'd ever say but she craved more. Wanted to see him with his nephews and nieces. She hadn't thought of him like that, not until this afternoon when she'd seen him affectionately holding one boy and warmly chatting with another. What did it mean to have that in common with him?

"What are they like?" She asked.

Rio breathed out. "One of them just finished second grade. Loves soccer, could stay for hours on the monkey bars and the swings. He's into the treasure island lego kit, he won't play anything else at home." The darkness couldn't mask the pride and softness in his eyes.

Obsessed with Lego. Just like Emma.

"Congratulations. Are you able to see him a lot?"

"Not enough."

She wanted to hold onto this moment. She knew she shouldn't press her luck and ask for more as she saw Rio retreat back into himself. She wasn't going to ask for more as for different reasons she wasn't going to say earlier that in fact it hadn't been a habit for her to hug Dean as she slept, not for some time. Her last memory in fact of waking up hugging Dean was fuzzy, around the time Emma lost her front tooth. In fact she'd stopped doing it for months before she found out about his betrayal. But what could she say, part of her subconscious thought it was Rio and responded to that desire? Of course not, she couldn't have known it was him.

"If we're back to that night. Don't throw anything at me again." he said. "I coulda- that's not something I can let people get away with." He said plainly.

"I thought I was going to lose everything," she didn't reply directly though she had heard him. "You played it off."

"Told you. I can't hold your hand through the hard parts. Can't do that with everyone."

"I understand." She said. The air thickened a little at a heavy silence. "I'm not everyone though, am I?" She asked and where had that come from?

Rio's expression grew more severe before he looked away. She looked up at the ceiling, alarmed by her own words. What was she doing, what was the point of getting an answer, even one that she ludicrously wanted to hear if just to have it acknowledged?

"I mean, not everyone's enough to merit being charity case, right?" Wishing she could take it back, Beth tried to make light of her question. He just looked at her harshly and she regretted now saying anything at all.

"Don't blow this," He finally said, and for an honest second she wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or to her. "Just cause you've gotten a break. Cause you're right, when you said there was a reason I brought you here. For business. Don't blow it."

Beth nodded. "I won't," she said, relieved more than anything that he'd let her comment go.

"Good. Cause I don't want to regret this trip."

"Did I do anything you wouldn't have?" She asked, unable to resist it.

"You and me got different rules."

Whatever that meant. More unresolved than resolved, Beth looked down at the edge of the bed. He was tiring but she was still not completely sure she wanted him gone. Or moved to the other couch. Not because she didn't want to have him gone, but stubbornly she realized it was because she wanted the final word. She didn't mean that he saw her as something more as a woman, never meant that, but if he'd brought her here, if he'd upped her cash those months ago, he'd believed in her. She'd need to prove herself but knowing that the opportunity was right there – she didn't want it to slip away.

Without thought she stretched her arm out to her left and hit something warm. It was his wrist or his arm, she wasn't sure since she wasn't looking. When she'd realized it she started pulling her hand back. She got a few inches in when he grabbed it. She turned her head towards him but he didn't look at her, loosening his grip just a little laying it back on the bed and fitting her hand into his.

They held hands like that, in a dark cabin, in a strange town. It felt just little harder to breathe. Each of them was looking for comfort. She got that, all too well. They were both hurting in different ways weren't they? If he cared for a family, by blood and choice as he said – and she knew all about that – if he had to fight, he knew what it was like.

"He cheated on me," She blurted out. From her periphery she saw him turn his face a little towards her.

"Huh?"

"My husband. He lied to me. About money."

"How much?"

"A lot. Our house was – we were going to lose our house."

"He wasn't playing." He paused for a moment. "Looks like I did you a favor when I beat him up."

"No, that was just terrifying."

"Part of the business, darling. Who's gonna enforce rules? Best case you're the boss and police."

Her hand lay on the sheets palm up and his hard hand started caressing hers. It sent shivers up and down her spine, starting from the middle of her open palm and traveling outwards towards the tips of her fingers. She closed her eyes wanting to focus on the feeling.

"It's a harsh practice."

Rio laughed softly. "It's justice. More brutal on some."

Beth's thoughts went to Sarah and Ruby's concern tone as she thought over her conversation with Ruby.

"What?" Rio asked.

"Nothing, I just remembered something." She shook her head, barely able to take away her entire focus from how soothing his fingers felt. "Anyway, I don't know why I told you that. Just that the month you came into my life, a lot was happening."

"You walked into my life. You stole my money."

"I made you some money too," she countered, slipping her hand beneath his and wordlessly avoided being pulled back, instead turning his hand over and pulled her fingers gently over his palm.

"Yeah, real standout employee of the month." His shoulder relaxed a little.

Beth couldn't stop from huffing. Couldn't they move on from this? But she heard a little teasing in his voice and she let the moment go. She looked down at their clasped hands. Moving on had been her mantra this weekend. Where were they moving on to?

"Want me to move to the couch?" He asked, maybe guessing her thoughts.

She didn't. She wanted to hug him, to caress her fingers down his face. Her throat tightened and she forced her hand still, not having the strength to pull it away. "I'll be kind and offer to share."

His hand closed over hers. "I guess I kinda made it hard for you to say no."

"You can stay." She said with renewed conviction. Her eyes went to his lips, her unspoken words lingering in the air. You dared me, I'll take you. Neither of them shifted. Your move or mine. She couldn't continue to work for him, she'd already accepted, not if she didn't come in as a package with both Annie and Ruby. Not permanently. Maybe this could be a goodbye. One time goodbye.

Beth's eyes followed the source of a short beep as Rio's phone went off. He didn't turn to it and when she looked back at him his eyes hadn't moved and stubbornly she stared back. A short pause later the phone beeped again. Rio tore his eyes away from hers and let go of her hand before picking up his phone. The screen lit up his face and his eyes narrowed at the bright blue hue.

"Gotta take care of something," he said but but only moved to lower his eyes to her lips. Whatever he had read, it didn't change the tone of the moment. It was as charged as before, as precariously on the precipice. It must've been the exhaustion, the possibility that this wouldn't work and they couldn't stay in business together, that even if she wouldn't take Karin's offer she'd find something else. It must've been all of this that gave her the permission she needed and she let herself see it for just a moment. Feel herself tasting him, feel herself accepting his tongue in her mouth. Pushing her chest against him, pushing into him, him pushing into her.

Rio's phone rang, swallowing the room's silence. He answered it and held it to his ear. "Yeah?"

She breathed out as he stepped off the bed, as he walked out without giving her another glance.

This was for the best, this was for the best. She heard his voice grow softer as he walked away. She got up and turned on the light on the bedside table, her chest a little heavier despite the relief, heat coming off her cheeks. Watchful of her injured foot she looked around her see if she'd dropped her key there or on the carpet before remembering she didn't need it to lock her door.

She found him at the door still, speaking in clipped tones and as she approached he stopped and muttered, "Hold on. Hold on a minute." His lips parted as he covered the screen and he took a breathe before speaking. "That husband of yours? He ain't no man. A man wouldn't do that. No one deserves that."

In his voice she heard it. The "not even you" teasingly but honestly being drawn on his lips. They were comforting words all the same.

"Especially not you."

Her eyebrows raised just a little, not expecting to hear that, her eyes searching for the familiar taunting expression but not finding it. He didn't let her reflect on his expression too long, uncovering his hand from the phone.

"Yeah," he said into his phone and tilted his head towards her door lock. She nodded and he slipped out, the lock clicking loudly behind him. Opting not to look at the time, knowing that it wouldn't be too long before the sun warmed her room, Beth settled into bed. With her eyes closed she could still feel him beside her but it was no surprise with the smell of him left behind. That was the only reason. She'd never entertain thoughts like this, whatever thoughts they were – and they'd been shelved aside already – if it wasn't for her being away from home and navigating high stakes situations like this. He'd left. It was for the best. He'd said it was business and it was – of course it was right. Only one more day and she'd put this all behind her. She fell asleep with the feeling of his hand in hers.

A/N

I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to publish this chapter. Most of it was written before season 2 aired just to give you an idea of how long it's been. But because there was that one chapter I needed to work on it took me time to get here. I did edit this chapter a little in terms of their dynamics based on season 2 but wanted to keep most of the tone of what I'd written the same.

For the readers who've stuck by this fic over the past (more than) year thank you and thank you and welcome to new readers.