Recap…..

"How about if we celebrate together tomorrow? I'll take you anywhere you want to go. We'll make a day of it."

"You don't need to do that."

"I know I don't, but I want to. I have tomorrow off anyway, so let's spend it together."

She looked over and offered him a grateful smile. "That would be nice. Thank you."

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Steve realized he was staring at her. He couldn't seem to help himself. She may've been wearing a pair of Mary's running shorts and a worn out t-shirt, but she still looked absolutely beautiful. Steve wasn't one to give in to emotion, but in this moment, he was captivated by how beautiful she was and couldn't tear his gaze away. What was it about her that made him feel like a schoolboy with his first crush? It was ridiculous how she had gotten under his skin. He wanted to be her friend….but he also wanted to be her protector and her lover. For the first time in a very long time, Steve wanted to risk his heart to see where things could go with a woman.

It was getting harder every day to fight what he was feeling towards Sophia Manetti.

Get a grip, McGarrett, he scolded himself.

Okay….Not working.

The truth was he felt a chemistry with Sophia unlike anything he had experienced before. It was strong….and it was pulling him under like a riptide.

Sophia wasn't fairing any better. Yes, she'd always had a crush on Steve McGarrett, but what she felt now was so much stronger than a "crush". Since he had come back into her life several weeks ago, something had shifted. She felt connected to him, drawn to him, and she was finding it harder to fight it with every day that passed.

When Sophia first met Steve twenty years earlier, she had been fourteen years old and he and Giovanni had just started the Naval Academy. Then, they went through BUD's training together and ended up on the same SEAL team. Once active, their missions were often times "classified", so any news from Gio during those years had been sporadic at best. Sophia always cherished the conversations with her brother because it meant he and Steve were both alive.

Even though Steve was part of their extended family, Sophia had never lost the butterflies in her stomach every time she'd seen him over the years. Like a fine Italian wine, he had only gotten better with age. Sophia could barely contain the attraction she felt for him every time he was near. Steve McGarrett may've been gorgeous at seventeen, but that was nowhere comparable to the man he had become.

Sophia held his gaze and Steve saw her eyes darken with a longing that mirrored his own. She licked her bottom lip unconsciously and he found that he simply couldn't hold back anymore. She was already in his arms.

He let out a sigh, "Damn, Sophie."

"What is it?" She asked

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he answered.

The only response she gave him was a seductive little smile before moving to straddle him as they sat on the couch. Not that Steve was complaining, and he'd be damned if he would stop her. She wiggled against his lap playfully and was pleased to find out Steve was just as turned on as she. It was a push over the edge for Steve and he found it impossible to fight anymore. He gave in to the temptation he'd been fighting for weeks and leaned down to taste her.

Finally.

Steve was more than a little pleased when he heard her intake of breath as their lips met. When she let out a moan of pleasure, he ran his tongue along her bottom lip as if asking for permission to come in. To his pleasure, she opened her mouth so they could deepen their kiss. Sophia tasted even sweeter than Steve had imagined. Like honey…Except she was the sweetest kind of honey he had ever tasted. His lips moved from her mouth, to her cheek, and made their way to the soft spot on her neck right below her ear. He heard her sigh and felt the goosebumps on her arm when he lingered there a moment.

Hmmmm, she likes that spot. Smiling to himself, he filed that little bit of knowledge away for later.

Sophia moaned again in response as Steve continued to linger over the erogenous zone on her neck that drove her crazy. Her nipples peaked in response as she felt the stubble on his chin moving softly across her neck. Sophia's hands moved to cup his face and lead his mouth back to hers. She needed to taste him again. His tongue entered her mouth and mimicked the in and out movement he wanted to do elsewhere and Sophia felt her body shiver as sensation and pleasure pulsed through her body. Steve moved his hands down her back softly before moving further downward to grab her perfect backside in his hands. She rocked her hips back and forth letting out a desperate moan. He could feel how much she wanted him and it was driving him crazy. It was all he could do to reign in his own desire in order to take things slowly. Steve knew he needed to slow things down. Hard and fast was great at times, but he wanted the first time with Sophia to be special.

"Slow down, sweetheart," he whispered, "I promise we'll get there."

Steve's calm demeanor masked the greed he was really feeling in wanting to have his mouth and hands everywhere at once. He'd been aching to touch her gorgeous curves for weeks. Touching her, tasting her, and making her beg for him had haunted his dreams. More than once, he had fanaticized about what it would be like to have her underneath him. Just like kissing her, the reality of touching her didn't compare to what he had imagined which was surprising considering how much he had imagined in the last few weeks.

Steve and Sophia finally broke free to take a breath. His hands moved back up her body to her hips, her back, her shoulders, before finally caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. God, it was taking everything in him to restrain himself. He moved a strand of hair from her face and looked at her almost reverently, "You are so beautiful."

A blush creeped up her cheeks and she looked down, feeling shy at the intensity of his gaze. He put a finger under her chin to make her look at him again. "So beautiful." he repeated without breaking eye contact.

Sophia offered him a shy smile. There was no denying the desire she saw in Steve's eyes. The electricity sparking between them was palpable. Sophia leaned forward to kiss him softly again before breaking away to look at him. She suddenly felt fearless.

"Do you want me?" she teased softly.

Steve swallowed. He could hardly believe the words had come out of her sweet mouth. He moved his hands to stroke up and down her back as he realized she wasn't wearing a bra. She was straddling his lap, so surely she could feel the answer to that question without even asking him. Did he want her? As much as he wanted his next breath! But, rather than answering her question, he offered one of his own. "What do you want?" he asked.

She held his gaze as she reached down to pull up the borrowed t-shirt and lift it over her head exposing herself to him. "I want you," she answered.

Steve gazed at her almost reverently as he moved his hands to cup her breasts in his hands. She fit him perfectly. Sophia felt the warmth of his touch all the way to her center. Her eyes closed and her head went back at the exquisite feeling of his hands on her.

"Stop me now." He said breathlessly, almost as if warning her.

"Or what?" she answered.

"Or I'm going to carry you up to my bed to do all the things I've been dreaming about for weeks."

Steve heard her soft chuckle before she leaned up a little putting her perfect chest right in front of his face, "You first, Commander," she whispered teasingly, "Then it's my turn."

Steve smiled at her before standing up with her legs wrapped tightly around him and moving upstairs.

He walked upstairs with Sophia in his arms before laying her down on the bed. Then, he made quick work of removing the shorts she was wearing before staring at her lying there with only black lace panties covering her.

Sophia had had lovers before, but none of them had ever looked at her the way Steve was looking at her now. It empowered her and made her feel as if the most beautiful woman on the planet. After a few moments of him staring at her, she broke the silence, "I'm at a disadvantage, you know?"

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"You have too many clothes on." Sophia answered seductively. Then she got up on her knees in front of him and started removing his clothes as well. With each inch of his body that was revealed, Sophia marveled at the sculpted muscles that made his body a work of art. His body had been honed to perfection as a veritable killing machine, but he still managed to touch her with a tenderness that took her breath away.

Once his clothes were off too, he settled a knee between her thighs to open her more to him. Then, he looked into her big brown eyes and realized he could very well be a 'goner'. He was under her spell and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

"Make love to me, Steve," she whispered.

Steve lowered his mouth to hers again and worked on doing just that.

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Sophia woke early the next morning feeling satiated and more relaxed than she'd been in a long time. She stretched her body out languidly before realizing Steve's arm was draped protectively across her belly. She took hold of his arm before turning in his direction to find him still sleeping.

She admired his long eyelashes, albeit somewhat grumpily. Why do guys always have eyelashes we women would kill for? She thought to herself. His face was soft and peaceful and he looked happy. Sophia felt a sense of pride knowing she had helped place the small smile that was still on his lips as he slept. They had had a wonderful night. What had started out as one of the most heartbreaking birthdays of her life had turned around when Steve had found her in the bar. He had single-handedly turned things around and made it one of the best birthday memories she'd ever had.

Sophia reached her fingers up to gently stroke his cheek. His arm tightened around her as he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said.

"Good morning." Sophia answered.

Steve turned in her direction so they were facing each other without ever letting go of her. He pulled her closer for a kiss. After a few moments of snuggling and reveling in the feel of her in his arms, he asked, "So what do you want to do today?"

Sophia hesitated for a moment, "Don't feel like you have to spend the day with me. I know you don't get much time off, so if you have things to do, it's okay. You turned yesterday into one of the best birthdays of my life, so I'm in a much better place today. I can just go home."

Steve shook his head, "Uh-uh. I promised you some fun today, so that's what we're going to do. Besides, I can't think of any better way to spend my day off than with you." His smile was soft, but the twinkle in his eyes told her what activities he may be thinking of indulging in.

Sophia felt a blush creep up her cheeks thinking about the night before. She still wanted to pinch herself to convince her that she hadn't dreamt it all.

She smiled back at him, "How about this? Why don't I make you breakfast…..and we'll go from there?"

Steve looked at her appreciatively, "Okay, sounds good. But why don't we take a shower first….and then we'll make breakfast together."

For the first time in a long time, Steve was looking forward to having no plans and just seeing how the day unfolded before him.