Chapter 50-Days of Wine and Roses, Part Two

"Sour Grapes"

Francine loudly protested Billy's suggestion that Lee take Amanda along on his investigation to which Billy replied, "What has he got to lose?"

"Time...sleep..." Francine answered, then turned her attention to Lee with a glare and added, "His flawless reputation."

When Lee just gave her a raised eyebrow, she turned back to Billy who had already turned his attention back to Lee. "Take Amanda. She might spot something that you'd miss," Billy said with a Cheshire cat grin, first directed at Lee, then at Francine.

Francine huffed at this with a roll of her eyes, and then glanced at Lee who gave her his annoying smug smirk as she walked past him. "I bet you're just loving this, aren't you," she snarled after the door had closed behind them.

"Loving what?" Lee inquired with a nonchalant shrug.

"That you get to take your new little girlfriend on all your assignments with you," Francine answered hotly with a gesture toward the glass doors that Amanda through which Amanda had just entered.

"Look, Amanda is not my "little girlfriend," Lee countered, his smile long gone, detesting Francine's snide attitude toward Amanda. She was much more than that to him. Didn't she realize that by now?

"Well, don't look now, but your non-girlfriend just walked in and is looking none too happy," Francine warned before walking away.

Lee turned to see Amanda had just entered the bullpen. He flashed her his most charming smile and greeted her with, "Just the person I wanted to see."

"Oh? Well, I'm surprised seeing as how I'm not your girlfriend and all," Amanda replied coolly in a hushed tone to keep the occupants of the bullpen from staring, but making her meaning plainly known to him. "So, I supposed that you just wanted to see me because Mr. Melrose has yet another job for us." She turned on her heel and exited just the way she'd come.

"Uh...yeah, he does," Lee said as he trailed after her. He caught up to her quickly, grasped her arm and spun her around to face him just as she'd reached the elevator and jabbed at the button. "But that's not why I was happy to see you. I...I was just...you know...happy to see you."

"Hmmm," She murmured, not entirely convinced. She wriggled out of his grasp and stepped into the now opened elevator. "So, what's the job?"

He stepped into the elevator behind her and turned to face her. "Amanda, I...about what I said to Francine, I..."

Amanda jabbed a finger into his chest to make him keep his distance. "Stow it, Scarecrow," she snapped. "Now, the job?"

Lee sighed and decided it would be better to just get right down to business since it was obvious by the perturbed look on his girlfriend's face that she was not in the mood to be appeased. Even his most alluring smile and charming flattery would not get him out of the hot water he was in at the moment. On the way upstairs and out to the parking garage where his 'vette was parked, he explained the nature of the case and why Billy wanted her along, inserting little bits here and there about how he wanted her along as well, using Billy's words that she might spot something he'd miss as an ice-breaker.

By the time they reached the auction house, Amanda seemed to have cooled off a bit and upon entering, she pointed out a well-dressed, but tarty-looking blonde to him. She couldn't resist giving him a little payback for his comment to Francine, so when Jill Hulsman approached them, she introduced him as "Dr. Stetson," knowing by the way Jill was looking at him that she'd eat that up just as she would want to eat him up. She was not surprised to see Jill linking her arm with Lee's, dragging him away, leaving her inventory clipboard behind for Amanda to peruse. "Gotcha'" she muttered softly. The jealousy she would have felt in the past over a woman like Jill no longer affected her the way it once would have. Even if Lee wouldn't publicly acknowledge her as his girlfriend, she knew the truth, that the women of her ilk no longer stood a chance with Lee. She still couldn't resist watching him squirm as he dodged the other woman's advances.

Lee gave her a pleading look from across the room that clearly said, "get me out of this." Amanda gave him an innocent, quizzical look then turned her attention to the clipboard in her hands, scanning the inventory list for the wine they were looking for.

A while later, she looked up again to see a frowning Lee handing over a check to Jill, before he crossed the room to her and groused, "Got a cure for shark bite?"

She smiled sweetly and answered, "At least, it's for a good cause," then proceeded to explain what she'd found about the wine to be auctioned off.

Later that afternoon, as Amanda changed out of her work clothes in her bedroom and into a nicer outfit for her cover as Mrs. Gregory Peterson, she couldn't help reflecting on all the different times that she and Lee had played the part of a couple and pretty convincingly at that. She was glad that her mother was, at the moment, at her garden club and not home to question her change of outfits in the middle of the day. After putting the finishing touches on her outfit, she dug in her purse for the ring box provided by the fabrications team and cringed a little at how ostentatious it was. It was very different from the smaller solitaire diamond that Lee had once slipped on her finger prior to their wedding ceremony, or fake wedding ceremony, anyway. But she knew the sentiment behind it was real, at least on some level as the ring was the one that she knew held some personal meaning for him, even though he'd never said so. She slid the wedding set onto her finger, examined it, and thought how wrong it looked. Sure, it was a more valuable ring, flashier, but all the flash in the world couldn't compare to the value of the ring that had once been worn by Lee's mother.

"You look beautiful," Lee whispered huskily in her ear as he slid his hands to her waist, startling her.

She looked up to see "that look" in his eyes in the mirror as he stood behind. her, that look she knew all too well, the one that said that while he liked the way she was dressed, he'd much rather see her undressed. "We...um...we should go."

'We've got time," Lee countered as he used on hand to pull her hair aside and placed a tender kiss to the back of her neck then worked his way down to the buttons on the back of her dress.

Amanda, desperate to keep her body from responding to the searing touch of his lips on her skin, pulled away from him abruptly before he could work the first button loose and said, "Mm-mm," with a shake of her head. She then cleared her throat loudly and made a big show of examining herself in the mirror. "I'm not your girlfriend, remember?"

"That isn't what I meant, Amanda," Lee argued as he reached for her again, grasping her waist tightly and pulling her flush against him.

"No? Because it sounded like in spite of our agreement to only see each other, you still don't want people to know that we're together."

"No, Amanda, that's not it. Francine called you my "little girlfriend" meaning it as an insult, and I was trying to defend you. It...uh...it just came out wrong. Besides you got your revenge when sicced that shark on me." She giggled at this, at the memory of watching him arm-wrestle Jill. "You knew I'd never give in to a woman like her." He dropped another soft kiss to her neck, and then lowered his voice and added, "Didn't you?" He then ran his tongue down the back of her neck. "Knew I'd never let her devour me like she wanted to, not when it's you I want to devour." He then nipped at her earlobe and then gently began to suckle the tender skin just below her ear.

"Lee," Amanda sighed softly, his words, his touch, causing her to melt against him. She hooked one arm behind his neck to encourage him to continue.

At feeling her yielding to him, Lee slid his hands from her waist down her hips to her thighs, working his hands up under her skirt. "You want me too, don't you?" He murmured against her skin as he slipped one hand inside her panties.

"Mm-hmm,' she agreed. As his touch set her on fire, she found her irritation with him fading as his explanation did make sense to her. It wouldn't be the first time he'd defended her against Francine. "Lee," she whimpered as he continued to caress her softly as she felt his erection pressed against her bottom, making her crazy with need.

Without stopping what he was doing, Lee used his freed hand to free himself from his pants, push the fabric of her panties aside and guide just the tip of his shaft against her moist entrance. "It this what you want," he growled low in her ear as he stroked her harder with his other hand.

"Yes," she hissed.

"You want all of it, don't you," Lee replied in a husky voice as he pushed further into her.

"Yes, Please," she pleaded and then cried out when he plunged himself fully inside her, "Yes!"

Lee, taking in the sight of her face in the mirror at he immersed himself within her, felt himself growing harder at the look of raw hunger etched upon it. "Oh, Amanda," he whispered into her hair at the feeling her closing around him welcoming him, knowing that she understood and that he was forgiven for the unintentional hurt he'd caused her. He felt the need to bury himself deeper inside her but found he couldn't at this angle. He knew he could bend her forward slightly to change that, but he was enjoying seeing the reactions on her face in the mirror, so instead he snaked on am around her waist and backed up slowly, pulling her with him until he was sitting on the bed, her on his lap. He nudged her legs further apart with one of his own and groaned at the deeper connection that created delighting at hearing her gasp in response.

Amanda immediately took advantage of the changed position, pushing her hips against him to drive him on, craving the friction of an increased pace as she was so close to her much-needed release after the tension that had been between them all day. "Ohhh," she moaned as they moved together watching his facial expressions in the mirror and a smug smile played across her lips at the pleasure she was giving him.

Lee smiled at her smile and said, "You like it too, don't you? Watching us in the mirror." He grabbed her hips with both hands pulling her down to him as he thrust up into her harder. "Don't you?"

"Oh, yes," Amanda replied ecstatically. More than anything she loved the power that she had over him, knowing that he'd always come back to her, knowing that a man-eater like Jill Hulsman would never capture his interest again. "Oh, Lee!' she cried as her release hit her full force, leaving her trembling against him as he continued his upward thrusts until he soon followed and she felt him exploding within her.

"Manda," he whispered softly, almost reverently against her as he clamped his mouth down on her neck as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through him.

"Don't you dare give me another hickey," she teased as she leaned her head back against him, her lips seeking his. When he released her neck, she lightly brushed her lips against his; giving him a tender kiss to let him know that she accepted his explanation for what happened in the bullpen.

Once he'd caught his breath a little more, he teased back, "Don't want anyone to know what you've been up to?" While he'd said it in a jesting tone, he couldn't help wondering if she was the one really having doubts about having it know that they were together.

"It's not that. I just don't want to have to explain it to my children," Amanda answered honestly as she pulled himself from his lap and began to straighten her disheveled clothing.

Lee rose and began to work on his own clothing, saying, "Just the boys? You're not worried about what you're mother with say knowing that I've been violating her daughter again?" He gave her an impish grin.

Amanda shook her head, "No, I've gotten pretty good at dodging her questions about you."

"Ah," Lee nodded as he tucked his shirt into his pants and took a glance in the mirror to make sure that he looked presentable. "Why dodge them? She knows about us, doesn't she? Why not just tell her the truth?"

"It's...um...it's complicated," Amanda hedged.

"It doesn't have to be," he argued. "We both agreed that we didn't want to see anyone else, so what's the problem?" When Amanda was silent," he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Amanda?"

"Lee, you know very well why it's complicated. If I explain you to her, then there are going to be some questions of hers that I can't answer. She thinks that you're responsible for all the times that I've come home with ruined clothing or bruised and battered." She sighed. "She thinks that our...our thinks has been a lot wilder than it has been."

Lee laughed and replied, "Oh, I don't know. We have had some pretty wild times in the past two years." He turned her to face him. "Haven't we?" He found himself unable to stop grinning as the memories of some of those wild encounters flooded his mind.

"Oh, yes, I know," she answered with a slight flush in her cheeks. "But not as wild as she thinks, not that would lead to my clothes being in shreds and the bruises...She thinks that I let you get rough with me."

"Don't you?" He smirked at her.

"Oh, just forget it. You don't understand," Amanda said in irritation.

"What I do understand is that she's going to have to meet me someday. I mean, if we're serious about going forward together," Lee countered as he began to get irritated himself.

"We...um...we should get there," Amanda said, quickly changing the subject. "So, Lilly Peterson..."

"Yeah," Lee answered as he began to recount the cover that Plato had created for them as they made their way out of her bedroom and down the stairs. All the way to Escoffier, they talked only about the case and their cover, neither having the courage to bring up what they were feeling even though playing a married couple yet again had gotten them both thinking about their future.

"I'm a little nervous about this," Amanda said as they made their way toward the building.

"It's okay," Lee reassured her as he linked his arm with hers. "We've got a good cover." They'd already convincingly played the part of a married couple many times and had even successfully gotten through a wedding ceremony with no one aware that it wasn't real because they'd played it so well. His thoughts were in a jumble as he thought of it and the white dress Amanda was wearing, while she looked fabulous in it, was only making it worse. He wanted to tell her how much that wedding ceremony had meant to him, and had for some time. Even though it wasn't legal, wasn't real, the feelings behind the vows he'd exchanged with her were very much real to him, made even more so by the fact that the engagement ring he'd given her for that cover had been his mother's. He longed to give it back to her some day for real, but how was he ever supposed to do that if she wouldn't even acknowledge his existence to her family?

Amanda repeated their cover story, "We're Lilly and Gregory Peterson from Hillsborough, New York."

"Mm-hmm," Lee confirmed in spite of his inner turmoil he tried to keep his mind focused on the case.

"You're in computer software and I'm a wealthy art patron.

"That's it," Lee acknowledged as he patted her hand affectionately, his immense pride in how far she'd come at the agency making him smile. A year ago, she'd have been a nervous wreck at trying to remember her cover story and while she said she was nervous now, it didn't show. He couldn't help wondering if that in itself was just a cover to keep her from talking about what neither was willing to be the first to bring up.

The nervous tension between the pair only increased when Robison asked them how long they'd been collecting wine and they stumbled over their conflicting answers. They both hemmed and hawed nervously until Amanda finally ended it by saying, "It's a second marriage for both of us," while Lee cleared his throat loudly.

As much as they'd worked on their impromptu cover, the underlying uneasiness between them over their personal relationship, was threatening to blow it. It became worse when Cecilia Robison singled out Amanda, who balked at the initiation, sparking another debate between them until Lee gave her a pointed look and she reluctantly agreed. During his tour of the wine cellar, he pondered what was going on with her as she was usually so attuned to the signals he gave her during a cover assignment. Were her thoughts just as scattered as his because of their personal interactions?

A while later, his irritation with her only increased when he saw her entering the cellar and told him she'd been in the membership office. "Amanda, I told you not to-" What if she'd been caught? She could have been killed if the heroin smugglers were indeed inside Escoffier as they suspected.

She hushed his admonishment of her with a sharp, "Listen..." then began to recount what she'd found.

Their comparing notes on the case was soon cut short though by the creaking of wood. Reacting on instinct, Lee quickly grabbed Amanda and pushed her away, just in time to keep a wine cask from falling on the two of them. He held her tightly to him for a moment, and then looked her up and down to make sure she was okay, and then glance up to see where the barrel had come from, realizing instantly that it had been pushed.

As they made a rapid exit from the building, listening to Robison yammering about their lawyer and insurance company and falling all over himself to apologize, they looked at each other, then at their wine-covered clothing and in unison said incredulously, "Sorry!"

"Some accident," Lee muttered, though he inwardly smiled for a moment as their "accident" had at least for the moment gotten them on the same page again.

That afternoon, Dotty was arguing with Buck over the block party he was planning when Amanda entered the house and tried to sneak up the stairs without being seen, she called "Amanda, I want you to-" Her words were halted as she saw the state her daughter was in and said, "What in the world happened to you?"

"Nothing, just a little accident at work," Amanda answered with a shrug and to keep her mother from prying further, turned her attention to her neighbor and said, "Buck, the street looks like a prison yard after a riot," just as the phone rang. She was about to head for the stairs again, when her mother told her she had a phone call.

While Amanda carried on her phone conversation, Dotty examined her daughter's appearance, plucking at her soaked skirt, stopped by Amanda's hand pushing hers away. She gave her daughter a what-are-you-up-to look, which Amanda replied to with a nervous chuckle while she continued her phone conversation.

Once her call was completed, Amanda said nervously, "Just a friend from work, Mother. I'll probably explain later." Before her mother could say a word, she hurried up the stairs, leaving both Dotty and buck shaking their heads.

"Sure you will," Dotty replied skeptically as her daughter escaped her presence, knowing that if she even if she did explain, whatever she told her wouldn't be the truth.

Buck made a face as Amanda's words sank in. "Prison yard?" He questioned with a look at Dotty who just shrugged with an I-give-up look.

That night as her mother hurried upstairs, Amanda shook her head at the knock on the window. Much to her surprise, it was not Buck behind the WC Fields mask, but Lee. "What did you do, go to that crazy party?" she teased.

"Well, it was the only way I could get in. This place is surrounded by crazy people, huh?"

"I know," Amanda nodded.

"I've been to calmer parties during the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong," Lee joked causing Amanda to laugh, the tension between them having dissipated once again after their unplanned trip to the White House as they'd shared a laugh over the crack the president's valet had made about California wine. Amanda chuckled softly. "I borrowed this mask from a guy who was bobbing for apples in a hot tub."

"Oh, see now that would be Buck," Amanda explained.

"Buck?" He questioned.

"Uh-huh," she confirmed.

"Oh, Buck, huh." Not wanting to talk about Amanda's weirdo neighbor, Lee changed the subject by saying, "Anyway, the reason I came over here..."

Amanda shivered in anticipation as Lee inched closer to her, talking about Penny, but knowing that wasn't the real reason for his visit, by the devilish grin on his face. He had just taken her into his arms when the back door was opened. They both turned to find a shocked-looking Dotty West staring at them with a scolding, "Amanda!"

Amanda, thinking of Lee's words to her earlier about her mother having to meet him sometime, was about to introduce them when she turned back to Lee only to find he'd lowered the mask to cover his face. So much for that, she thought. If he was hiding his face from her, clearly he wasn't ready for that despite his earlier protests. She quickly shifted gears. "Oh, thank goodness you're here, Mother!' She then turned back to Lee and in a scolding tone, said, "Buck, you oughtta' be ashamed of yourself," then before another word could be said, took her mother's arm and guided her into the house, quickly making up a story about Buck having had too much to drink an making an inappropriate gesture toward her. Once her mother seemed satisfied with her explanation and had gone back to her room, she heaved a deep sigh wondering what was going on with Lee and why one minute, he was insisting that her mother meet him and the next, he was hiding from her mother again. What was it going to take for them to have a normal relationship?

Lee lifted the mask from his face as he stared at the closed back door, listening to Amanda's blatant lies to her mother until they were out of earshot. He glanced at his reflection in the glass, his facial expression far different from the one he'd seen reflected back at him in Amanda's bedroom mirror. He violently flung the mask aside and made his way out of Amanda's yard, pushing his way through the crowd of partygoers, not caring who he might piss off in the process. As he reached his car, he took one last backward glance at her house, wondering why Amanda had just been given the perfect opportunity to introduce him properly to her mother and had ignored it and just what it would take for her to acknowledge that there was something between them.