Warning: Remember, this fic has strong language, some violence, and sexual situations. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

One Month Later

It had been weeks since she'd seen or talked to Danny. He hadn't called and she hadn't called him. Part of her was thankful because she knew he'd have too many questions if he saw her with bruises on her face. But the other part of her missed him terribly.

The man had left her alone for a couple of weeks so she could heal, but eventually, called her to set up another "game". This time, he wanted her to attend another party.

She entered the beautiful mansion and gave the invitation to the doorman. He then directed her to a large, open room with a bar. The party was in full swing with people dancing and talking. Lauren didn't know anyone and didn't see the man anywhere. Sighing lightly, she headed for the bar to order a drink. As she approached the bar, she felt the leering stares of several men and disapproving looks of several women. The party was a formal affair, and yet, the man had instructed her to wear a short black backless dress. She looked very out of place. Once again, he seemed to get off on making her uncomfortable.

Taking a sip from her vodka tonic, Lauren looked around the room. She still didn't see him, but she knew that didn't mean she could leave. A few minutes later, she caught the attention of the one of the waiters who was circulating hor'deurves. She could almost feel him staring at her. When he walked over to her, she prepared herself to shoot him down quickly.

"Lauren?" he asked quietly.

Shocked that he knew her name, she answered. "Yes. Do…do…I know you?" Lauren took a few moments to really look at the waiter. He was tall, lanky, and clearly Latino.

"You don't know me, but someone paid me a pretty penny to get to know you fairly quickly," he said, excitement evident in his tone.

Lauren closed her eyes for a moment, realizing that the game had started. She hated herself for almost feeling thankful to the man for not having someone pay for her this time. "Do you know what you are in for?"

The waiter nodded. "The dude actually gave me typed instructions."

"You know he'll be watching, right?"

The waiter nodded again. "Pretty freaky, but it's much more enjoyable now that I've seen what you look like."

"So where are we going to do this?" Lauren asked, just wanting to get it over with.

"In twenty minutes, go to the foyer and go up the stairs. If someone stops you, just tell them you're lost. Guests aren't supposed to go up there, so be discreet. I'll meet you up there in the third room on the left and we'll go from there," the waiter said.

Lauren just nodded in response.

Twenty minutes and three vodka tonics later, Lauren made it up the stairs without being seen. When she entered the room, the waiter was taking off his jacket and bow-tie.

"Hey," he said.

Lauren smiled uncomfortably. This guy was an amateur, but at least he was decent-looking. He reminded her a little of Danny.

"Should we get started?" he asked as she stopped in front of him.

"Yeah. At some point, he'll just walk in so don't be alarmed. He won't say anything or do anything. You just need to pretend he's not here."

"Right. Okay," he responded a bit nervously.

Usually, Lauren didn't kiss, but the waiter didn't seem to know any other way to start the encounter so she let him kiss her as she finished removing his clothes. When he was naked, he leaned back against the wall. Suddenly, she heard a door open behind her. The waiter started to look, but she distracted him by falling to her knees.

She heard the man put his scotch glass down on a table and then take a seat in the chair behind them. She knew the waiter hadn't noticed a thing since he was now groaning and putting his hands in her hair.

"Oh fuck!" he exclaimed. "Fuck," he groaned as he started to tug her hair.

When she felt him thrusting his hips, she knew it was time to stop. She pulled back and looked up at him with wide eyes hoping he'd take control just as the man would want.

"Get up," he commanded as if on queue.

Lauren rose to her feet.

First, he took her by the arms, turned her and pushed her roughly against the wall. He worked her short dress up her thighs. The man had told her to not wear anything under her dress, so the waiter grunted when his found bare flesh.

"Fuck, you're hot," he said as she felt his hips grind into hers.

As the waiter continued to touch her in a futile effort to arouse her, she supposed, she locked eyes with the man sitting in the chair. She could never read him. She didn't understand what this did for him. He didn't look excited. He wasn't getting himself off. He just sat there and watched.

The waiter started to push inside of her, when Lauren stopped him. "Condom."

"Shit, right," he said as he leaned down, picked up his pants and pulled the condom from his pocket.

Lauren took it from him, opened it, and then rolled it on him. The waiter was almost out of his mind with desire. Lauren knew he wouldn't last long. "Bend me over that table," Lauren whispered in his ear, knowing the man would prefer that.

The waiter nodded slightly before taking her and pulling her over the table. He pushed her down, and then pulled up her dress. Lauren turned her head, so she could watch the man watching them. The waiter pushed inside of her and then starting thrusting, short, hard thrusts that brought tears to Lauren's eyes.

Quickly, she tried to wipe her eyes before the man saw the tears. Soon, the waiter thrust one last time before letting out a guttural groan as he climaxed. As soon as he collapsed against her back, the man got up from his chair and walked out of the room.

Breathing heavily, the waiter didn't move right away.

"Get off of me, please," Lauren pleaded as she tried to shrug him off of her.

Finally coming around, the waiter pulled out of her. He removed the condom and threw it in a waste basket, and then gathered his clothes to get dressed.

Lauren straightened her dress and then did her best to fix her hair. She took some gloss out of her small purse and applied it to her lips. Then she wiped the corners of her eyes.

After the waiter finished dressing, he came behind her and put his arms around her waist. "You're amazing."

Shrugging away from him, Lauren started toward the door.

"Hey, wait a sec, baby," the waiter said as he took her the arm. "I was thinking we could hook up later."

Laughing dryly, Lauren shook her head. "You must be an idiot. This wasn't a date. A man just paid you so he could watch you fuck me. So no thanks. I'm not really thinking we should hook up later," she said as she pulled her arm away and walked out the door.

Wanting to leave as quickly as possible, she walked down the stairs without caution. When an attendant caught sight of her, he stopped her. "No one is allowed up there, miss."

Thinking quickly, Lauren responded, "Oh yeah? Um, I was looking for a ladies' room and –"

"There's one right off the main room, miss. There's no reason to go upstairs."

As the attendant talked to her, Lauren's attention was focused on the front door. The man was greeting a young man who had just walked in. She'd seen the young man at other events, but didn't know who he was. She just knew that the man always greeted him with a handshake and a warm look in his eyes. The struck Lauren because the man almost looked human when she saw him like this.

"Miss…miss…can you hear me?" the attendant asked in a loud voice.

Refocusing her attention, Lauren nodded apologetically. She noticed now that the people in the main foyer were now looking at her. "I'm so sorry. I, um, I'm not feeling well. I'll just be leaving now."

She moved as fast as she could toward the front door, passing the man as she left.

Three Days Later

Taking a long drag on her cigarette, Lauren looked out onto the city from the small loft balcony. It was Sunday morning, and she was taking her time waking up with her morning coffee. Times like these she could almost trick herself into thinking her life was normal.

The quiet morning was disrupted by the ring of her cell phone. Quickly stubbing out her cigarette, she walked inside and flipped open her phone.

"Hello," she answered.

For a moment, she didn't hear anything. So she said again, "Hello?"

"Hey," a soft voice responded.

Recognizing the soft, sleep-hoarse voice, her heart leapt a little. "Danny?"

"Yeah. How are you?"

"I'm, um, I'm okay. I'm just, surprised, to hear from you."

"I'm kind of surprised I'm calling you, actually."

Lauren smiled. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just…we just wrapped up kind of a tough case. And I couldn't get you out of my head."

"Me?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Why?"

"Our MP was a young woman, 25. She had so much potential. She was smart and ambitious…"

"Was?"

"Her ex-boyfriend shot her in the head. I had to watch her parents ID her body in the morgue."

"That's awful, but how—"

"It's what happens when you get involved in dangerous situations."

"Christ, Danny. You don't know that I'm in a dangerous situation," Lauren responded, not quite believing how much Danny had deduced in their short time together.

"Affairs are dangerous, Lauren. I just want you to be careful."

Closing her eyes, Lauren took a deep breath. She had tried to sound annoyed, but truthfully, she was incredibly thankful to know he cared.

"I'm okay, Danny. I promise."

"Let me see for myself," he said in an almost whisper.

"Not a good idea."

"Meet me for coffee at the place by my apartment."

"No."

"Come on. I promise I'll be on my best behavior. We'll just talk, like we used to."

Lauren didn't respond.

"I'll be there at noon. Hopefully, I'll see you there," he said before hanging up the phone.

It was 12:15, and Danny started to feel like a needy chic as he kept his eyes peeled looking out the window. He wasn't really sure what he was doing. There was something about Lauren that compelled him to care for her. He wasn't sure it was love. Sure, he liked spending time with her and when their relationship had become physical, he'd enjoyed that as well, but he wasn't sure it was love.

Logically, he knew he should walk away and never look back. She had way too many issues. A few years ago, he most definitely would have. But dealing with his brother and helping Martin with his addiction had helped him realize that reaching out to people didn't always mean he'd end up getting hurt in the end. Besides that, something about her made him worry for her. There always seemed to be this fear in her eyes. So asking her for coffee hadn't been about getting her back in bed. It was genuinely because he'd just wanted to make sure she was okay.

Continuing to look out the window, he smiled slightly when he saw her approaching. They locked eyes for a moment and she shook her head in defeat.

She walked in and made her way over to the table.

"I knew you couldn't resist me," he said, his tone sounding superior.

Rolling her eyes, Lauren laughed. "You're insufferable. The only reason I came was because the thought of you sitting here waiting for me was so pathetic. I had to come save you."

"I'm glad you did," he replied softly as he reached out to touch her hand. "It's good to see you."

"You, too," she responded as she let her fingers intertwine with his.

They talked non-stop for over an hour. They mostly kept things light, even though Danny had wanted to ask her about the status of her situation. He was about to broach the subject when his cell phone rang.

Cursing silently, he looked at Lauren and said, "Excuse me."

Lauren just smiled and stood up as she motioned that she was going to the ladies' room.

"Taylor," Danny answered

"Hey, it's Martin."

Danny groaned inwardly at starting another case today. "Hey, what's up?"

"Well, actually, I'm in your neighborhood. I was wondering if you, uh…"

"Are you all right, man?" Danny asked, voice concerned.

"Yeah, I just…I'm having a tough day and my sponsor is out of town. I had an argument with my Dad. I was trying to talk to him…to you know…be honest about what I was going through. And he just…" Martin stopped, clearly finding this hard to verbalize.

"Hey, you deserve a lot of credit for being honest with him. It's a big step, Martin. Coming clean, making amends, those are tough get through." Danny almost added, especially with your father, but didn't. "Listen, I'm across the street from my building at the coffee house. Why don't you swing by?"

"Oh Christ, are you in the middle of something? I don't want to interrupt—"

"Don't worry, Martin. It's okay. I'm just having coffee with a friend, but we were wrapping up anyway. Just meet me here. I'll put her in a cab and we'll head to a meeting."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure. I promise."

"All right. See you in about five minutes," Martin replied before hanging up the phone.

As Danny closed his phone, he looked up to find Lauren approaching. "Catch a case?" she asked as she slid back into her seat.

"No, but it was one of co-workers. He, um, he's going to be here in a few minutes. He's dealing some tough things and I told him to stop by."

Lauren smiled. "Are you trying to save everyone, Danny?"

Danny shook his head as he looked in her eyes. "Nope. Just the people I care about."

Minutes later, Danny looked up when the door opened to see Martin walk inside. Martin nodded and waved slightly as he walked over.

When Martin approached the table, Danny said, "Lauren, this is Martin Fitzgerald. Martin, this is Lauren Palmer."

"Have we met before?" Martin asked curiously as he carefully regarded Lauren.

Taking Martin's extended hand, Lauren stammered, "Um, I, uh, I don't, I don't think so."

"Lauren Palmer?" Martin asked. "Your name doesn't ring a bell, but you look awfully familiar."

Lauren shrugged as her discomfort level seemed to rise, and then Danny remembered. "The service awards dinner. That must be it. That's where I met Lauren. You probably just saw her there."

Lauren nodded. "That must be it."

"Yeah, must be," Martin replied, but didn't sound convinced. Turning to Danny, he said, "I hate to interrupt. We could just meet later—"

"Nonsense," Lauren said as she rose from the table. "Danny and I were just catching up, and now I have like a million errands to run."

"I appreciate it," Martin replied. "I have to catch the shuttle in a couple of hours. My father had to go away on an emergency business trip for the next week, so I am now responsible for going to the opera with my mother tonight."

"Lucky you," Danny replied sarcastically.

Lauren playfully hit his arm. "The opera is beautiful experience. You'll enjoy it," she said quietly before continuing. "Well, hey, I'll take off now."

"I'll walk you out," Danny said. "Be right back."

When they got outside, he hailed a cab and opened the door. "Thanks for meeting me. I hope you're really as okay as you say you are."

Lauren smiled as she raised up to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm much better now. Listen, would you mind if I called you later?" she asked, her voice suddenly sounding seductive.

Frowning, Danny nodded. "You can call my anytime. You know that."

"Great. Thanks for the coffee," she said before sliding into the cab.

Still frowning as he watched her cab pull away, he slowly made his way back into the coffee house to talk to Martin.

Lauren knew this was dangerous, but she didn't care. She'd called Danny and gave him directions to her loft.

"Taylor," Danny answered.

"Remember earlier when I asked if I could call you later?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you meant later the same day."

"Are you busy?"

"No, I was just watching a game."

"Well, if you could tear yourself away from your game, I think I have a better way to occupy your Sunday evening."

Danny was at her door within a half hour. Lauren opened the door wearing a short black silk robe.

Danny couldn't help but just take her in as walked in. Then he took a moment to look around the living room.

"This is nice," he started. "You must—"

Lauren interrupted by putting her finger against his lips. "No talking," she whispered and then rose up in her bare feet to kiss him. Danny immediately responded by putting his arms around her and kissing her deeply.

While he continued to kiss her, Lauren did her best to navigate them towards the bedroom while removing Danny's jacket and long-sleeve t-shirt. Once they got to the room, she pulled away from him as they stopped at the edge of the bed. Lauren smiled while biting her lip.

Danny couldn't take his eyes off of her. Slowly, he let his fingers trace over the black silk fabric. Finally, his fingers found the sash holding the robe closed. Still staring into her eyes and now smiling slightly, he untied the sash, slid the robe from her shoulders and let it fall to the ground to reveal a black bra and panties.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Lauren reached out, took hold of the top of his jeans, and pulled him closer to her. She unbuttoned and unzipped them while he gracefully toed off his shoes and socks. Running her hands over his flat, muscled stomach, she kissed the area just below his belly button. She let her tongue explore as she felt his hands tangle in her hair. As her tongue traced the long, rigid scar on his stomach, her fingers tugged at his black boxer briefs. She heard his breath hitch as he slowly tilted her chin up to look at him.

"Not yet," he whispered. "Lay back on the bed."

She pushed herself back on the bed as he crawled onto the bed and hovered above her. He looked down in her eyes for what seemed like an eternity. She arched up once and then again to try to initiate contact with him. She was literally craving his next kiss. Finally, he lowered himself flush against her body and connected his lips to hers. There was nothing hesitant about this kiss. This kiss was a hungry, bruising clash of lips, tongues and teeth. She felt his body writhe against hers and she ached for him to go further, but she also just wanted to enjoy this part. She wanted to enjoy the simple thrill of being kissed and touched by someone, especially this man who seemed to kiss better than anyone else.

After several minutes of a make out session, he broke the kiss and let his lips travel down to her neck again. She felt him marking her as he unhooked her bra in one swift motion. Feeling her breasts make contact with his bare chest made her gasp and grasp his shoulders all at the same time. Her finger involuntarily dug into his back as she felt his warm, wet mouth on one of her nipples. She felt herself arching into him and whimpering in an almost needy, desperate way. His lips continued to explore her breasts as she felt his stubble rub roughly against her skin. Finally, he travel further down her body, kissing her stomach and he worked her panties down her legs. Nothing could have prepared her for what he did next. She stifled a scream into a whimper as she felt his fingers first and then tongue dart inside of her. Her hands reach down to tangle in his hair. As he continued his exploration, she couldn't stop herself from moaning until she finally cried out as she reached one of the most intense climaxes of her life.

Danny worked his way back up her body and smiled as he looked at her dazed expression. "You okay?" he asked softly.

Lauren could barely speak, but she managed to nod. The only thing that kept her from passing out was the need to feel him inside of her. This feeling was heightened because she could feel him straining through his boxers, throbbing against her thigh. "I want you to fuck me," she finally was able to say as she evened out her breathing.

Danny's smile turned into a smirk as he softly kissed her lips. "Whatever you say," he said as he eased back towards the end of the bed. She watched as he reached for his trousers and pulled out his wallet. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as he pulled out the small, foil packet.

He ripped open the packet as he lay on the pillow next to her. "Tell me what you want," he said as he glanced over at her.

Lauren didn't respond. Instead, she snatched the packet from his hand and then rolled over to straddle his stomach. His smile turned to an intense gaze as he watched her above him. This time, she leaned down to kiss him in a bruising, passionate manner. She took her turn as she sucked and nipped at his neck and chest.

Finally, she kissed her way down far enough to remove his boxer briefs. She rolled the condom down his length, and then slowly started to ease him inside of her. She felt his hands grasp her hips to help guide him inside of her. Wincing at the first feel of him, she felt tears form in her eyes.

He loosened his grip on her hips and gently caressed her as he asked her again, "You okay, baby?"

She nodded as she started to move above him. The look of concern on his face made her feel very safe in that moment. His grip tightened again as helped her find a rhythm. Keeping one hand on her hip, he let his other hand slide between them to continue to keep her aroused. Feeling his fingers, Lauren moved even faster against him, and very quickly she found herself on the cusp of another orgasm. This time, she bit down on her lip to try to contain her scream. After she worked through her second orgasm, she looked down at him and he was smiling again. She couldn't believe that he was still inside of her. Her rhythm slowed as she braced her hands against his chest. "You're fucking incredible," she said looking into his eyes. The look on his face told her that she hadn't seen anything yet.

In one swift, graceful movement, he rolled her back, her head falling on the pillow and his mouth came down on hers as he thrust deep inside of her. As he kissed her, he continued to thrust in and out in a mind-blowing rhythm that made Lauren moan and grunt with every jerk of the headboard above them. He worked the thrusts until she reached her third orgasm. She closed her eyes to savor the feeling knowing that this time it would truly end since she was certain he had to come this time. Her moans mixed with his short, gasping breath as he thrusted one final time. His body stiffened above her as he came. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw him watching her as he tried to catch his breathe. He leaned down and kissed her softly before letting his body relax on top of hers. He shifted his weight, but she kept hold him wanting to feel him on top of her for as long as possible.

They both must have fallen asleep for few minutes because the next thing Lauren knew, he wasn't there anymore. Her eyes fluttered open as she immediately felt cold with the absences of his warmth on top of her. She looked down to see that he had pulled up the sheet and blanket to cover her. Sighing quietly, she rolled over and was surprised to see his naked form entering the bathroom. She must have woken up the minute he left the bed. She watched as removed the condom and then moved over to the sink to wash his hands. He rubbed his eyes in obvious fatigue and then he ran a hand through his unruly hair, trying to tame it, but finally gave up. Lauren couldn't help but smile because in this moment she was so happy and content that she could almost forget the hell that was her reality.