Lani stepped onto the mat, approaching Eli with slow determination. Giving him a wide berth, she circled him twice. He was bigger and stronger than her. But a bigger body also posed a few problems.

"Any day now," Eli said with a grin as he pivoted to keep track of her movements. "Or are you getting cold feet?"

"I'm catching my breath," Lani replied as she continued to size him up. Should she go high, aim for his midsection or knock him off balance? "So," she said with a saucy smile, "what did Gabi say when you left my room so late last night and jumped into bed with her?"

"Maybe Gabi isn't as suspicious as you are. Maybe we have this thing between us called trust."

Lani tried not to be offended and continued to focus on Eli's physical form as he executed a few harmless kicks and jabs hitting nothing but air, just warming up. "Yeah, maybe, but I doubt that's true. Remember that night. When was it? December I think, around the holidays. In 2017."

Eli stopped moving. "Why the hell would you bring that up?"

For a split second Eli let down his guard and Lani took full advantage, pivoting on one foot, she turned her body away from him, while still looking over her shoulder, she delivered a back kick, extending her incredibly long leg and snapping her foot as it came within a hair's breadth of connecting with Eli's gorgeous face. He leaned back just in time to avoid the powerful blow.

"So I see you're fighting dirty," Eli said as he tightened up this defensive fighting posture once again.

"How is that dirty? Don't blame me because you let your guard down just now and on that night a few years ago." She came at him again, this time with an intricate combination of strikes and kicks, all of which Eli blocked, except for one roundhouse kick to his midsection.

"You're really trying to hurt a brother?" Eli said, rubbing his stomach."You're going to pay for that."

Lani backed up several paces, laughed and said in a mocking singsong voice "wasn't that you in my bedroom last night, holding me in your arms telling me you'd never let anything hurt me."

"I never said I was going to hurt you, Lani," Eli said looking up at her while his hands rested on his knees. "I said I was going to make you pay."

Eli rose to his full height and began to walk toward her. Lani quickly regained her defensive fighting posture and did not back away though she wanted too. The dangerous gleam in Eli's eyes both excited and terrified her. As he drew near, she extended her right leg in a lightning fast series of kicks aimed at his head and midsection. He ducked or dodged them all without much effort. He kept advancing until Lani found herself practically back up against a wall on the far side of the studio. She spun away from him and somersaulted several times until she was in the center of the room again. She jumped to her feet.

And Eli was right there practically in her face. While she had grown stronger since the last time they sparred, he had grown much faster. But due to her dance background she would always be more agile. She looked to his left and to his right, to make him believe she was going to attempt to run by him. Instead she executed a back flip, complete with a double kick to Eli's chest that left him sprawled on the ground.

"Ha!" Lani declared when she was back on her feet again. "That'll teach you to underestimate Lani Price." She thrust two fists in the air and danced like Mohammd Ali. "I float like a butterfly. Sting like a bee….Eli...Eli…" Why was he just lying there not moving? She didn't kick him hard enough to do any serious damage, did she? Maybe she didn't know her own strength anymore.

A year ago, a kick like that would have knocked the wind out of him a bit, but that's it. Now he looked straight unconscious. She was on her knees next to him patting his cheek. "Oh my God, Eli, are you hurt? Can you hear me?" The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back and Eli was on top of her grinning in her face like the cat who had just cornered the canary and was about to devour her for dinner.

"Eli, get off of me. You're crushing me," Lani panted and tried to push Eli's shoulders. The man did not budge an inch.

"Hmmm...wasn't it you who told me just last that because I know you. Intimately," he whispered close to her ear, "I should know if I'm hurting you...or not. I don't think I'm hurting you."

"I can't breathe with you on top of me."

"Oh, so how did you manage to breath all of those other times I was on top of you? And there were alot of other times. Remember?

Lani closed her eyes trying to block out the memories of their love making-hours and hours of being in a very similar position as they were in right now. "That was different," She bit her lip and squirmed with all of her might trying to throw him off of her or to slide out from under him. But she was trapped. Pinned under Eli's six feet two inch frame. And he was enjoying her vulnerability.

She pounded on his shoulders with closed fists to no avail. "Since when did you become such an insufferable brute?"

"Probably the same time you did," Eli quipped..

Lani tried again to move her body from beneath him. When she wriggled her breasts against his solid chest, her ultra sensitive nipples hardened into turgid peaks. A shock of pleasure ran through her. She gasped.

Eli noticed. He pulled back to look deep into her eyes, their faces just a few inches apart, their bodies still melded together, almost as one. Common sense told her to lie still until Eli bored of this game and let her go, but instead she kept trying to move. The more she moved, the more friction she created between them and her emotions began to betray her. Eli's weight alone kept her pinned helplessly underneath him. He was not holding her in any other manner-except he still possessed her heart.

"And what is the point of this?" Lani turned her face away from him. She could not bear to see the longing in his eyes. And that was because she felt it too. But for different reasons. Eli did not want her as she was now, he wanted the old "good" Lani. Despite his rejection, she wanted him as desperately as ever. Eli was right. Part of her had not changed. Still she would never give him the satisfaction of knowing it. He made his choice.

Lani turned her head back to face him, her emotions in check. "Eli," she said in the coolest voice she could muster. "if you want to creep around on your pathetic little girlfriend, I told you last night I was open to nostalgia sex-under certain conditions. One of them being that you leave me the hell alone."

"First I'm not going to stand by while you self-destruct. And second, there is no way I would make love to you in that den of iniquity otherwise known as the DiMera mansion," Eli said. "I'd rather make love to you right here."

Panic immediately filled her heart. "Have you lost your damn mind?" She began to struggle against him again. In a desperate attempt to buck him off of her, she spread her legs to gain leverage against the floor. That was a huge mistake.

As soon as her thighs opened, Eli moved smoothly in between them and unfortunately muscle memory caused her to wrap her legs around him until she realized what she was doing and slammed her feet back on the floor. "Now, this is much more comfortable wouldn't you agree?" Eli asked. "Too many clothes but comfortable." He rested on forearms looking down at her.

Lani couldn't lie, even to herself, Eli on top of her in the classic missionary position with his weight more evenly distributed felt so right! She had to fight the strong impulse to grab his face and start kissing him. She missed him so much. All Eli wanted to do was reform her. Now this fight turned bizarre wrestling match was his latest attempt. Oh and his blackmail scheme in relationship to the drive, which probably didn't have a damn thing on it.

"I can't say it's unpleasant," Lani adjusted her shoulders. "But I'm sure your girlfriend wouldn't exactly appreciate you behaving like this with me, Eli."

"For a second there it sounded like you cared."

Lani didn't respond. She just stared up at him trying hard not to get lost in his warm brown eyes framed in spikey black lashes.

"You know," Eli drawled as he leaned away from her a little more. "We talked about what you get if you won the fight, but," his eyes lowered from her face to her breasts then back up again. "We didn't talk about what I get if I won."

"Eli, would you really have sex right here in the middle of the studio?"

Eli shrugged a shoulder. "Depends on if I had a willing partner."

"Do you know how many laws you'd be breaking if you got caught since this is a public place and anyone could walk in at any time just as you did? Let's see public nudity, public lewdness, indecent behavior, disturbing the peace. Then add to that you're a cop and it might even make the papers…"Lani's voice trailed off as a strange look crossed Eli's face. And all of a sudden she realized what he must be thinking. She sounded like the old Lani rattling off a list of broken laws to a perp in the interrogation room.

"Lani?" Eli said, his voice quavered with emotion. His eyes bore into her as if trying to peer into her very soul. And Lani could not deny the feelings he conjured up in her by saying her name as he did just then. He stroked the side of her face. For a split second she thought of taking advantage of his vulnerable state to get from under him, ending this silly game, but when Eli's mouth sought hers, she found herself kissing him instead. Deeply and passionately.

Despite the fact that Lani teasingly brought up the idea of nostalgia sex just the night before, the kiss today was a complete surprise. Hot nostalgia sex was an oxymoron anyway. Nostalgia was sweet, whimsical and comforting. Eli's hand slipping inside the top of her white karategi had the opposite effect. She was not calmed, rather his touch lit a match that was about to set her entire body on fire. Their lips remained joined together for what felt like an eternity and yet no time at all. His tongue stroked languidly all around inside of her mouth and she welcomed him, her own tongue caressing his with fervor as her fingers dug into his shoulders possessively. This was her man still. No one and nothing else could change that. Ever.

Eli rolled them over so that she was on top of him and Lani understood why. He was giving her a chance to escape if she wanted to. But she didn't want to. She sat up still straddling him, then grabbed the lapels of his black karategi and pulled him up until they faced each other. Eli buried his face in the crook of her neck kissing her and murmuring her name all while deftly untying the black belt she earned through years of work in the martial arts. One of the reasons Krsten DiMera hired her was because she knew of Lani's facility for hand to hand combat. Kristen set up jobs in many countries that did not allow firearms, so this was an essential skill. To date Lani had put quite a few grown men out of commission who tried to do harm to her boss. And she accomplished this with her bare hands. It was her job.

Lani was a fighter-the best-yet Eli just defeated her in more ways than one. With one smooth motion he pushed the jacket of her karategi from her shoulders revealing a black lace bra. At the same time the top knot securing her hair came undone and her reddish auburn mane tumbled down over her naked shoulders. Eli stared at her as if transfixed, "You are so beautiful," he said before locking his lips onto hers, cupping her face in the palm of his hands.

Eli traced circles with his fingers down her throat and over her shoulders while they kissed. Lani's hands were also busy as she untied the belt of his black karategi and opened the jacket. Eli shrugged it off so that he was now naked from the waist up. Lani's forearms remained inside of her jacket until Eli pulled it away from her.

Lani broke the kiss. "This could get you into a lot of trouble Detective Grant." She was not only thinking of his job, and reputation, but also about his relationship with Gabi. He was risking so much to be with her right now, but why?

"Do I look like I care?"

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Lani asked. She had nothing to lose if caught in a tryst with Eli while in Salem's martial art's studio. A misdemeanor charge and a fine she could easily pay. So what? But he would jeopardize a job and a relationship he coveted. For a second her mind flashed to Eli and Gabi expressing their affection for one another so publicly. How dare he allow anyone else touch what was hers? She dug her nails into the flesh of shoulders without breaking any skin and hoped they would be discovered. "Not that I mind, it's just…"

Lani's words were cut off when Eli returned them to their original position with him on top. "Are you really concerned about me Lani?" He reached down to untie the draw string holding up her karategi pants.

"I'm with you half naked in a public place where anybody could walk in. That's a silly question, don't you think?" Lani smirked running her hands over Eli's pectoral muscles, feeling his nipples harden when she pinched them. If she was going to feel emotionally overwrought, she might as well get some pleasure out of it. She lifted her hips when Eli started to tug her pants off.

When Lani's pants reached her calves she kicked them off so she was left with nothing save for her black lace bra and matching panties. Eli leaned in and placed a soft lingering kiss on her abdomen. Then trailed more kisses up her body, between her breasts, over her throat, until his lips found hers again. His tongue snaked out into her mouth. She allowed him entrance moaning at the intrusion. Relentlessly their tongues dueled and tangled together.

Just how far was he going to take this? Lani wondered as her arousal heightened. Even before her association with Kristen DiMera, Lani was the risk taker. She was down to jump out of airplanes and to make out at the station with cameras watching. Eli, on the other hand was conservative by comparison. He worried about propriety and how things looked to others. He wanted to follow all of the rules to the letter. The man she knew would never do something like this.

Unless it served some purpose.

Lani grabbed both sides of Eli's face and shoved him away from her. "Why are you doing this?" She demanded barely able to speak as her breathing was now basically feverish panting.

Eli stared into her eyes, "For the same reason you are." His mouth dropped back onto hers and they were kissing again.

The kiss was so passionate it bordered on desperation and Lani's mind and body were going in two separate directions. In the deep recesses of her brain she knew she would regret this impromptu shag, but when Eli's hand slid down her side, over her hips along her thighs and then back up and inside of her panties, she felt like a slave to her body. Regrets be damned.

His talented fingers teased and tormented her most tender and sensitive parts. And unfortunately, he remembered exactly how to touch her, as if they had been together just last night.

"Mmmm sticky and sweet as always," Eli said his voice growing huskier indicating his own arousal. Lani untied his pants and reached inside of his boxers to take hold of his growing erection. He felt so familiar like steel encased in silk. Eli groaned into her mouth, but never stopped kissing her, his lower body jerking almost uncontrollably as she moved her hand along his shaft. Lani relished her power over him. No other woman could evoke such a reaction from him. But he had been with another woman for months. And that was an undeniable fact.

At the exact time Gabi entered her mind Lani's phone, which was in her bag on the other side of the room,, began to ring. The ringtone indicated Kristen was calling. Lani broke their scorching kiss, removed her hand form Eli's pants and sat up. Eli sat up as well and wrapped her in a bear hug. "Let it ring," he said into her ear.

"I can't." She shrugged out of his hold, stood and ran on wobbly legs to answer her phone wearing nothing but her underwear.

By the time Lani reached her phone it stopped ringing. Kristen was obviously wondering where she was. Lani looked at the digital readout on her phone. The final planning meeting before the Paris job was scheduled to begin 25 minutes ago. Eli distracted her that much.

Kristen was not going to be pleased, but it would be the first time Lani was late for anything since she started to work for her. And now was the absolute worst time to mess up. The Paris job would net two million, of which Lani would rake in $350,000. The rest would go to Kristen, Xander and others they had to pay off. This was not enough to live on for life, but along with the money she already saved, she'd be able start over somewhere-away from Salem.

"I have to go," Lani said to Eli, not meeting his eyes. She did not have to look at him to know he was glowering at her from across the room. Then he was right by her side holding her elbow.

"You don't have to do Kristen DiMera's bidding"

Lani gently but firmly pulled her arm from his grasp. Eli, this is goodbye, she thought. Outloud she said, "I won't be in the mansion after tomorrow as I promised. Can you be satisfied with that? Now I do have to go."

"After what just happened between us just now, I'm nowhere near satisfied. I know you still want to do the right thing."

Lani touched Eli's face, then she noticed something behind him. Down a short hallway leading to the room, there was a door that usually stayed open, but today it was closed-and if she was not mistaken latched. She walked past Eli down the hall to confirm. Sure enough, the door was locked from the inside. Lani pulled the latch and turned to Eli.

"And here I thought we were taking this giant romantic risk by being together just now, but you had the door locked the entire time." Lani shook her head. How could she have been so idiotic to think Eli would risk anything for her?

"And now that it's unlocked, you need to put your clothes back on."

"See, that's the thing I don't give a damn who sees or knows and for a second I was stupid enough to think you felt the same way."

"I wanted to talk to you without being interrupted but I didn't plan for the situation to go in that direction," Eli explained. "But under no circumstances would I expose you to all of Salem or anybody who happened to walk through that door."

"When will you get it through your thick head," Lani was practically shouting. "I don't need shielding. I don't need to be protected. I can take care of myself if you would just leave me the hell alone!"

"Hey is everything okay in here?" John Black opened the door and stepped inside the room wearing his white karategi and black belt. "Whoa," he exclaimed after getting an eyeful of Lani in her underwear and a shirtless Ei standing practically nose to nose arguing. 'I've been away for a minute, they must have changed the rules of engagement while I was gone," John said, then turned on his heel and left.