Elliot tucked Olivia into bed once again, and was thankful that this time, she didn't ask him to join her. He assumed she was showing him some mercy since his desire for her was still evident. But he'd like to think that maybe it was partly because she knew she wouldn't be able to exercise any self-control either. And right now, they both knew she needed to sleep.

He closed the door behind him, her words still pinging around in his brain.

"When I'm better, you'd better be able to keep up."

Her words and the tone of her voice had done nothing to calm things down south of the border, and he knew he was going to be very uncomfortable for a while. Olivia was nothing like any woman he'd ever been with before…all curves…and that dark skin…those long legs. With just a few kisses, she had ignited a deep ache within him, and he could tell she was going to be quite the seductress. He knew that if he was a smart man, he should be worried about her expectations and experiences, and if he could satisfy a woman like her. But confidence had never been a problem for him, and their chemistry was off the charts.

The only thing that was going to be a challenge was being patient.

He had been telling her the truth. He loved her, and it certainly wasn't all about sex. But there was only so much a man could take.

He heard his cell phone ringing and was thankful for the distraction. He heard Cragen's voice on the other end and spent the next several minutes getting an update from him. When he hung up, he sprawled on the couch. It was the middle of the evening, but their schedule was so messed up. He had no idea of Olivia was going to sleep through the night, or if she was going to wake up and need something to eat. He was too tired to run out there, so she was going to have to settle for take-out. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV, making sure the volume was low. He settled on an old comedy series, and felt himself nodding off.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia woke up disoriented. She had to use the bathroom and her stomach was grumbling, but it was pitch black her room. Her door was closed, which was unusual, and she could see light coming through the crack at the bottom. She swiped at her eyes and winced in pain when her hand made contact with her left eye. Everything came rushing back to her, and she immediately wondered how Amy was doing. She reached for her phone, but then realized she had given it to Elliot in case there was an update while she was sleeping.

Elliot.

I love you. And I think you love me too.

She smiled, wincing at the stiffness in her cheek. When she had heard those words…it had been like a huge weight had been lifted. The guilt of her feelings for her partner had always been just beneath the surface; something she had to continue to push down again and again. As the years had gone on…as their experiences piled up on each other and their closeness grew…it had become harder and more time consuming.

Now, she was free from all that.

She wasn't naïve enough to think there wasn't a rough road ahead. No one said things would work between them. There was a lot at stake. But she wasn't going to worry about that first.

There were more pressing issues. Amy. Jason Logan. Tucker.

Fucking Tucker.

Olivia swung her legs out of bed and sat on the edge, waiting for the dizziness to pass. She assumed this was a side effect of her concussion. But she also knew she hadn't eaten and was probably dehydrated too. She got up and used the bathroom as quietly as she could. While she was washing her hands, she looked at her face in the mirror. The swelling had gone down a bit, but the discoloration still made her look like she had gone ten rounds. How Tucker could think that Logan did this much damage in self-defense was crazy.

Olivia walked quietly out into the living room, and saw the TV was on, and Elliot was stretched out on the couch. He had one arm thrown above his head, and the other across his abdomen. It reminded her of the times she would find him asleep in the cribs. She would watch him then, until he invariably woke up. And then she'd pretend she had just walked into the cribs, even though she knew he probably didn't believe her.

Olivia walked a little closer to the couch, letting her eyes linger over his body. She had felt guilty doing this before, but now she felt like she had some kind of right.

He loved her.

She smiled.

"Liv."

Olivia jumped when she heard him whisper her name, and she realized she'd been focused on the way his chest expanded as he breathed. Her eyes flew to his and she saw him watching her.

"You OK?" he asked.

Olivia could hear the grogginess in his voice and she felt back she woke him. She nodded and took a few steps closer, so she was standing right next to the couch. "I'm sorry I woke you."

He lifted the hand from over his head and propped himself up on his elbow at the same time he scrubbed his other hand over his face. "What time is it?"

Olivia sat down on the coffee table so she was more on his level. "2 AM."

"You got some sleep?"

Olivia nodded. "I would have slept better if you were next to me." She was flirting with Elliot, and it was such a strange feeling. She was glad the light in the room was dim because she was pretty sure she was blushing.

Elliot smiled at her words, and he could see her bite down on her bottom lip, a sure sign she was nervous. He decided not to call her out on her flirting. In fact, he hoped she did a lot more of it, because it was adorable.

Adorable.

A word he didn't normally apply to Olivia Benson.

"We both know that wouldn't have been a good idea." He said with a smile. He looked at her hands clasped in her lap and he reached over and placed his hands over hers. "Still tired?"

Olivia shrugged slightly. She was still a little tired but she felt like she was a little bit too wide awake to fall back asleep right now.

"Want to watch…" Elliot glanced over at the TV. "Friends with me?"

Olivia broke out in a smile, knowing it wasn't something either one of them ever watched. "Are you sure there's room for me on that couch?"

Elliot tugged on her hands. "I'll make room." He let go of her completely and pushed himself back on the couch and moved more on his right side to make room for her.

Olivia looked at him lying there with a shit-eating grin on his face and she felt actual butterflies in her stomach…a feeling she'd never experienced before. This was the stuff of schoolgirl crushes and yet, it was all new to her. She had never felt like this before. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, and Elliot chuckled.

"Thought you weren't afraid of me." He teased.

Olivia rolled her eyes and stood up again. "I'm not." She turned around and sat down on the edge of the couch and the next thing she knew, she was lying stretched out next to Elliot. He wrapped his left arm around her waist and pulled her body flush against his, and she felt the solid wall of muscle behind her. Two seconds later, he slid his hand down to her abdomen and was wedging her ass between his hips and she bit down on her lip to keep from making a sound.

"Have enough room?" he asked. Elliot trailed his hand up her arm and over her shoulder, and brushed her hair back from her face.

Olivia could barely concentrate on his words. All her attention was on the feel of his body behind hers, and his hand trailing back down her arm. When he reached her elbow, he bent her arm and trailed his hand down to hers, trapping them both against her stomach.

Elliot couldn't believe Olivia was lying here next to him. He had lain in bed with her the night before, but tonight…this was different. He had told her that he loved her. She had kissed him. And at some point, hopefully in the not far too distant future, he would have the opportunity to make love to her.

"I've never seen this show." Olivia said, trying not to focus on the fact that Elliot's hand had slipped lower on her stomach again, and he was sliding it back and forth. "Are these people…"

"They're friends." Elliot said, totally mesmerized by how her muscles were contracting under his hand.

Olivia elbowed, thankful for the distraction. "I know that."

Elliot feigned injury. "That hurt." He said with a small chuckle. "And you asked." He settled his hand back on her stomach and felt her settle back against him again. He tried to focus on the show and not on the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra. It would be so easy to slide his hand beneath her t-shirt and up the expanse of her stomach…cup her breasts. He wanted to feel the weight of them in his hands…slide his fingers over her nipples. He felt his dick twitch and he cursed under his breath.

Think pure thoughts. Think pure thoughts. That was his new mantra as he refocused his attention on the TV.

Olivia smiled, happy to know that this was as much of a struggle for him as it was for her. He was the one that had wanted to take it slow…

"So, are they like, related somehow?" Elliot asked, his voice husky.

"They're friends." Olivia said, snuggling against him and purposefully pressing her ass into him.

"Olivia." Elliot said, his tone a warning.

"I was just getting comfortable." She said innocently.

Elliot slid his hand down to her hip and pushed her forward just slightly. "Get some sleep."

Olivia smiled again, but found that she actually was incredibly sleepy. She closed her eyes and drifted off.

Elliot felt her breathing slow, and he was thankful she had gone to sleep. If she would have kept teasing him, he didn't know how long he would be able to resist her. She was definitely going to be the death of him. He slid his hand lightly back down to her stomach and covered her hand with his. He buried his face in her hair and closed his eyes, hoping he could fall back to sleep himself.

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia woke up and realized the only light in the room was from the TV. That damn Friends show was still on, so she had no idea if 10 minutes had passed or two hours. Elliot was snoring lightly nearly right in her ear, and she wondered if that's what had woken her. Or maybe it was his erection pressed against her ass.

She resisted the urge to press her butt back against him, but wondered how long she was going to be able to hold out. Now that the floodgates had opened…and touching was obviously not off-limits anymore…it was going to be hard to know what the boundaries were. Even right now, just lying here with her body pressed against his, she felt an ache between her legs.

Elliot shifted behind her and she held her breath, wondering if he was awake. But he settled again, taking a deep breath, and slid his hand down to the waistband of her leggings.

Olivia's breath hitched again, mentally wishing his hand would drop lower. But he settled at her waistband, but not before he slipped his fingers beneath her t-shirt. He splayed his hand against her abdomen and she drew in a sharp breath.

"Go back to sleep." Elliot said groggily.

Olivia smiled. She had been so focused on his hands and his body that she hadn't even noticed that his breathing had changed. She slid her hand beneath her shirt and placed it over his. "I'm not tired." She whispered. She moved his hand upwards with hers, taking her t-shirt with it.

"Olivia." Elliot said, but his voice was almost a moan. She guided his hand up until he bumped the underside of her breasts and then she pulled her hand away. He slid his hand up further, cupping her right breast in his hand, and now he did moan. He wrapped his fingers around her and massaged her breast and he earned a low moan from her. The sound of her voice, low and husky, went right to his groin, and he swore under his breath when she ground her ass against him. The next thing he knew, Olivia had moved her hand back on his outer thigh and she was arching her back slightly.

Olivia felt Elliot's thumb swipe over her nipple and she felt a rush of heat throughout her entire body. She arched her back again, and Elliot didn't disappoint. He slid his hand over to her other breast, and he pinched her nipple, causing another small moan to escape from her lips. He was moving his hand back and forth between her breasts, massaging them and tugging and teasing her nipples, and she could feel his erection pressed intimately against her. She could feel the wetness between her legs, and the pressure was already building in her lower belly. She wanted Elliot to tug her pants down and rip off her panties.

At that moment, Elliot's hand slid from her breasts, and she wanted to complain until she felt his hand slide down her stomach, back down towards her leggings.

"Yeeessss." She whispered.

Elliot stopped his downward motion and pressed his hand against her stomach, pushing his erection against her again. He buried his face in her hair, next to her ear, and let out a groan. "I'm not going to dry hump you here on the couch." He said, and the words were killing him.

"Take them off." Olivia said, practically begging. She reached for her own leggings, but Elliot wrapped his hand around her wrist.

"Not like this." Elliot hissed, even though every nerve in his body was screaming at him. He loved her…he had been waiting a long time to make love to her…and he a vision of how it should be. He had promised her, and himself, that they would take it slow. Ripping her pants off on the couch and fucking her was not how he wanted this to happen. Elliot swallowed hard and put his hand back on her hip, once again distancing her body slightly from his.

Olivia sighed heavily. She was aching for him…dripping wet. She wanted him between her legs and wasn't too happy about this maddening amount of willpower he was displaying.

"I had no idea that hidden behind that badass exterior was a such a seductress." He whispered in her ear, and Oliva shuddered. "Maybe I should be afraid of you." He teased.

"Elliot." Olivia said. "We're not teenagers. There is no reason to wait."

"This is as hard for me as it is for you." Elliot said with a sigh. "But I already told you. This isn't going to happen like this…and not until you're better."

Olivia pulled her body from his until she almost fell off the couch. Elliot caught her and held her until she was settled back in place. He leaned in and whispered in her ear again. "It'll be worth the wait." He said, and he couldn't suppress a smile. He could only imagine her face right now.

"I'm going to hold you to that." She said finally, and he felt her relax against him again.

"So, are some of these friends dating?"