The following Saturday morning Malinowski awoke to find herself alone. After calling his name a few times, Malinowski realized McCoy was nowhere to be found. After glancing at the bedside clock, she reluctantly got out of bed and moved towards the kitchen. To her surprise, she found a freshly brewed pot of coffee, a cheese Danish from the bakery she favored around the corner from the loft, and a note waiting for her on the kitchen counter.
After pouring her coffee, she began eating, while she thoughtfully reread the note. She mulled over its instructions for her on, not only where and when to meet her fiancée, but the notes details asto the attire required for the day McCoy spent the balance of the week planning.
"Rubbed soled shoes, shorts, oversized tee shirt? Sounds like he's planning an outfit for the gym instead of…well, maybe not," she said to herself, as she noted that the last item on the list was a strapless bra.
Moving from the counter to the computer desk, she debated giving into her curiosity and checking McCoy's search history on the machine. Even though he had become more versed in the nuances of cruising the information highway since becoming DA, Malinowski knew her fiancée was far from a master on the computer. She was more than certain that McCoy didn't have any idea how to delete the history that had been produced as he searched the machine for hours on end during the remainder of the week, only to close whatever window he was looking at, the moment he heard his lover's footsteps behind him.
Her finger hovering over the mouse, as she remembered McCoy's words and abruptly went to the sign in screen for her own email.
Trust me, you won't regret it.
Had it been any other man, even the former husband she'd been devoted to for years, Malinowski would have countered with a smug 'trust but verify' and satisfied her need to know. But seeing the pleasure McCoy had gotten from not only planning their weekend tryst, but guarding its details like a spy with a government secret, she couldn't bring herself to ruin his surprise.
"All right, Jack. This time, we'll do it your way," she said, with a sigh before opening her most recent email from Nadia Brezin.
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
By the time Jack McCoy had completed the finishing touches on the preparations for his afternoon with Malinowski, she had just exited Loch's Tunnel. He smiled and stood; pleased to see she was dressed in the attire he had requested. He watched as she stood in front of the grey brick structure, scanning the area until he caught her eye.
While she made her way passed the rocky terrain towards the willow trees that were just being to awaken from their long winters sleep, he took one final glance at the blanket a few feet from where he stood, and scanned the items on it to be sure he hadn't forgotten anything for their picnic lunch in Central Park's North Woods.
"Did you have any trouble finding the place," he asked, as he offered her his hand to help her up the steep grade to where he stood.
"Not at all. I just had the cabby drop me at the 110th street entrance and then I followed the signs," she replied as she absentmindedly kissed his cheek, before surveying the woody area. "Rustic Jack. Very rustic."
"I thought a city girl like you could use a change of scenery," he said, keeping his hand in hers, as he led her downwards to the patches of green along a creek that was still and clear.
The water was like glass, reflecting the trees that were beginning to hint at new growth and the bright green patches of grass that surrounded the large grey boulders around the bank.
"Oh don't get me wrong, it's beautiful here, Jack," she was quickly."I had no idea parts of the park were so remote. It's like being in the mountains. The perfect place to listen to the quiet or maybe bring a rod and reel for further up stream."
McCoy smiled at her obvious confusion, as they sat on the blanket.
"I don't need a reel for what I'd like to catch today," he replied, while leaning in to give her the gentlest of kisses.
Malinowski put a hand to the back of his neck and responded in kind. McCoy could feel the slight trembling of her fingers as they ran through his hair. Although his hands were steady, inwardly he couldn't remember the last time he'd been so nervous… so uncertain about the possible outcome of the afternoon.
"So do I get to know what you have in mind for the afternoon," she asked as McCoy reached back to pull the bottle of wine from the bag of ice beside him.
"Since we both cleared the afternoon, I thought we'd start with a leisurely lunch and then maybe a walk along the banks, if you're interested."
McCoy busied himself with removing the contents of the basket across from him, in order to hide his amusement. Malinowski's eyes darted up and down the bank, then back to the lover, as she tried to figure out why McCoy had brought her to this of all locations.
He knew she probably expected a trip to a Vermont cabin or a stay at a bed and breakfast or maybe …once she learned they were to meet in the park… maybe lunch in the park followed by a carriage or gondola ride before checking into a nearby hotel. All fine ideas for an afternoon meant from rekindling romance as well as passion, but all locations that McCoy feared were not only too cliché, but too dangerous given the events of the last month.
During his quest for a place that would feel safe enough for his lover to relax and truly enjoy her first sexual encounter since her rape, McCoy had enlisted the help of his longtime colleague and friend Liz Olivett. Given that Olivett had been seeing Malinowski as a patient since her attack, the doctor was careful to keep her responses to McCoy's queries general. However, when he told her of the unique features the North Woods section of Central Park had to offer, Olivett was so pleased with his choice that she let her professional guard down for the briefest of moments.
"Don't expect one afternoon to make everything right again," the doctor had warned."But what you have planned… the setting and what it will symbolize for Brooke…there's more than a good chance that it will at least get you both back on the path to reestablishing the intimacy that's been missing since Brooke returned."
As they finished the items McCoy had picked up from their favorite deli, he poured the last of the wine into Malinowski's glass. He knew there was a good chance she had taken one of her anti-anxiety pills before meeting him so, as a precaution, he had only brought a single bottle of wine.
"You know Jack, it's actually getting a little warm," she said as she removed her windbreaker."With the way the weather's been, an outdoor extrusion was really tempting fate."
McCoy knew she was right. All week he had made a point of checking the weather channel, saying a rare prayer that Manhattan would stay dry and calm through the weekend.
After removing her jacket, Malinowski leaned back against the tree and smiled lazily as McCoy gave her a wicked smile. The sheer tee shirt made it obvious there was one item from the list Malinowski had neglected to wear. McCoy leaned over her and ran a curious hand over her breasts.
"Not that I'm complaining, but you didn't follow directions. I hope you don't regret it later."
"I decided to live dangerously," she replied suggestively as she slowly ran a hand underneath McCoy's bare calf."I think this is the first time I've seen you in shorts, Jack. You look like an overgrown boy scout…and you know what they say about boy scouts, right?"
McCoy chuckled as he lifted her hand to his lips.
"You don't have to be a boy scout to be prepared, love," he whispered as he ran his tongue over the tips of her fingers.
"The prosecution demands an offer of prove," she said as she slipped her hand from his.
One hand continued downward, as she used the other to pull him to her. McCoy let her tongue part his lips and begin its exploration of his mouth, before following suit. He could feel her caresses over the shorts on his concealed shaft. Willing himself to set aside his reservations, he concentrated on the feel of her hands and the warmth that was beginning to ignite him.
A groan of pleasure escaped his lips as he slipped a hand under Malinowski's shirt. Her nipples were already like pebbles. He heard her gasp, as his fingers probed and fondled her.
"Maybe rustic has its upside after all," she whispered as McCoy's lips lovingly moved from her lips, down her neck.
"Remember, good things come to those who wait," he responded as he cradled her in his arms."Indulge me. It wouldn't be much longer."
After several more minutes of leisurely petting, McCoy began packing the remains of their lunch back into the basket.
"Not even a clue," Malinowski said with a mock pout."You know this is incredibly unfair considering I've been very, very good."
"You've always been very, very good," he said with a wink.
"I meant, I didn't even search out evidence of what you have in mind, Jack. Trust me," she responded with a confident smirk,"if I wanted to, I could have found out just by hitting..."
"Connie showed me how to delete my search history," he shot back without missing a beat."Although, it's a tribute to you that you didn't find that out this morning."
"I'm going to have to have a talk with that girl," Malinowski grumbled, as she let McCoy pull her to her feet."You know I love you, but I must admit I'm starting to think you're a bit of a tease, Mr. McCoy."
McCoy laughed softly as he took her hand and rested it on top of the bugle at his center, while simultaneously slipping his other hand inside the front of her shorts as he leaned into kiss her once more.
Although he could feel the slightest tensing of her body as his fingers slide ever so swiftly over her mound, McCoy was pleasantly surprised to find her warm and invitingly slick.
"Damn you Jack," she whispered, as he just as quickly returned his hand to hers and led her towards the dirt path along the bank.
As they bypassed what looked to be more scenic paths in favor the bumpy, increasingly bolder filled path McCoy favored, Malinowski found it increasingly hard to control both her annoyance. Her pride was fighting an increasingly difficult battle with her libido to resist spinning her lover around and pushing him back onto one of the many large rocks, so that she could at last have her way with him.
She was sure there was a point to this journey, but try as she might to figure it out, McCoy's logic had escaped her completely.
"Gee Jack, if I'd know we were gonna climb rocks, I'd have brought jeans and –"
As McCoy wordlessly helped her over the last of the series of boulders she stopped and stared at the water below them. She had been so preoccupied with McCoy's seeming procrastination, that she hadn't noticed the increasingly loud sound of water flowing over the rocks.
The pair stood just above one of the four manmade waterfalls that had a home in Central Park. The one in the North Woods section of the park was secluded; it's location well off of the main path and surrounded by forestry that made what McCoy had in mind not only intriguing, but surprisingly private.
Malinowski turned to McCoy, who had set their supplies aside and was watching her expectantly.
"When I brought you back to the house. That first night, you mentioned wanting to wash away the memories of what happened to you," he said as he took her hands in his."I don't know if that's possible Brooke. But, I do know it's possible to create new memories. I'm willing to try, if you're sure you're ready."
Instead of replying, Malinowski began lift her arms to remove her shirt, but her lover's suddenly concerned expression made her pause.
"You might want to reconsider. That's why I was so specific about your clothes. It's unlikely, there is always a slim chance someone might show up out of the blue..."
Malinowski could feel a gush of moisture between her legs as her mind flirted with the possibility of discovery. She reached for McCoy's hand and thrust it into her wetness as she did to his mouth what she urgently needed to do to his nether parts.
Several moments passed before Malinowski took a step back and discarded her shirt. She smiled as McCoy's eyes lit up with pleasure.
"I'm not the one that needs to be concerned with the voters seeing him with his pants down," she said with a grin.
"The voters be damned," McCoy replied and responded to her challenge by removing his own tee shirt and dropping it beside the basket.
"God, I've missed you…missed us," she said softly, as she ran her hands lovingly over his chest.
McCoy nodded in agreement, his eyes softening, before he took her in his arms. The tenderness of his kiss was eventually replaced by passion, as his hands began to roam over her bare breasts.
As his lips moved lower, he studied her breasts with his eyes as well as his hands; noting how the only traces of the abuse she had endured were the faded burns from the scalding she had given herself immediately after her assault.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are," he whispered before his mouth covered a nipple.
"No more waiting," she said a few minutes later, as she took his hand and moved towards the water.
It took them several minutes before they found themselves underneath the clear, cool cascade. During their journey downward the pair found themselves alternating laughing and squeaking as their bodies reacted to the feel of the chilly water on their skin. What was left of their clothing clung to them, soaked as they ventured into the falling water.
McCoy guided his companion to the spot behind the falling water and ran his hands over her body.
"Maybe it would have been better to try this in the fall...,"he began.
Malinowski pressed herself against him, desiring not only his body, but the warmth of his body.
"It could be worse, at least the snow melted weeks ago," she said as ran her hands through his dripping hair and then continued down his back."Besides, I have no doubt you'll find a way to keep us both warm."
McCoy laughed softly as he ran his hand down the small of her back and abruptly pulled her to him. Leaning her carefully against the rocks behind them his lips began a slow, but urgent, journey down her torso.
Before descending from the rocks, the pair had opted to leave the remainder of their clothing on. Remembering that inspite of the appearance of their immediate surroundings, they were still in the heart of New York City. The couple decided it would be prudent to keep valuables, like the key to McCoy's bike, close at hand.
McCoy heard Malinowski's deep sigh as his hands lowered her shorts, leaving her clad only in the black lace thong McCoy had requested on his list. After assuring himself that the shorts were secure resting on the edge of the boulder, McCoy turned his attention back to his lover. A hand explored the moist crevasse between his partner's legs, as his lips explored her eager mouth.
Thoughts of the past month seemed to be washing away from the conscious minds of them both. Malinowski could the feel the pounding of both of their hearts as she pressed McCoy's head closer while their tongues ravished each other's mouth, she used her other hand to reach into his shorts and knead McCoy's backside.
Longing to free him of the last of his attire, Malinowski opened her eyes and critically assessed the wall of water in front of them. Satisfied the heavy sheet of water would serve as a shield from any probing telephoto lens that may have been on the interim DA, her hands moved to unfasten and unzip the barrier between them.
McCoy stepped back, allowing the garments to be removed more easily. He watched as this clothing the pile on the boulder and then turned his eyes back to his lover. As she reached down to remove the last of her garments, McCoy shook his head, as he reached for her hand.
His eyes ran over her body, before meeting her inquiring gaze. McCoy savored the vision in front of him, his pleasure evidenced by the increasing stiffness of his shaft. There was something especially erotic about seeing his lover in nothing but the skimpy thong, particularly in the setting they were in.
"This is a picture I want to remember, "he said as he pressed himself against her."More than sexy…mesmerizing…"
"Too bad we didn't think to bring a camera," she murmured as she reached for him."Think about the fun we could have had with that…"
McCoy groaned with pleasure as he felt her hand begin to rub his cock greedily. Closing his eyes his mind flipped through a mental photo album of the night they spent in front of the fireplace in the cottage in Canada…as well as to the afternoon they spent making passionate love on the beach several months earlier…
"Oh God…humm…oh yes…,"he breathed as his lover's lips found his hardness.
McCoy felt a pang of guilt as Malinowski set about pleasuring him. As gratifying as what his lover was doing to him was, his plan had been to focus solely on her needs, her desires, that afternoon…
As if reading his mind, Malinowski paused and smiled up at her lover with a look of lustful bliss. Raising herself back up, she led him backwards pressing herself between him and the boulder behind her. Wordlessly, she reached for him again.
As she guided him between her legs,evidence of her own desire was obvious.
"And you thought it was all about you, didn't you Jack," she said playfully, as she continued to slide his cock against her."Tasting you, smelling you… the feel of you…I never could get enough of you."
The feel of her warm, wet softness was almost more than he could stand. McCoy responded by running a hand over her buttocks, slipping the thong down, as he slid a set of fingers easily inside her. McCoy pressed her against him, feeling her hips fall into a steady rhythm against him, as her buttocks tightened. He could hear her whimper faintly, as her arms went around his neck and her mouth ravaged his.
McCoy took delight in the shutters and moans that came from his lover as her passion peaked and a shower of pleasure enveloped her. As much as his own body's demand for release tugged at him, the gratification and well as simple relief he felt in seeing Malinowski clear such a high emotional hurdle, made the wait more than bearable.
After the spasms of pleasure subsided, McCoy held her tenderly while she showered him with gentle kisses. As they whispered endearments, McCoy gave her a roguish smile as he felt a hand slowly creep towards his hardness.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you have a one track mind, counselor?"
"Is that a complaint," she countered playfully.
"I'd call it more of an observation."
"That's why I'm Michael Jackowicz's top gun. Tenacity is what makes me exceptional at what I do."
"Agreed. You are exceptional at what you do," McCoy said suggestively as he leered back at her, "and I don't just mean in the courtroom."
"I want you...I want this," she said with sudden seriousness."…need this every bit as much as you do, my love. Please don't deny me, Jack."
"Never. Never again," he whispered softly, as he let her take him in hand and slip him inside her."I've wanted you for so long…"
McCoy's voice faltered, as they became one. Deliberately setting a slow, methodical pace, McCoy savored the feel of what he had for so long feared he'd never have again. Paying heed to his lovers moans and cries, he began to quicken the pace of his love making.
"Ha… harder. Oh God…harder...I want to feel you," she panted."I want …you harder…"
McCoy obliged, opening his eyes to meet his lover's pleading gaze.
"You're sure… I don't want to …"
"Oh Jack…it's….it's never been just about making love…,"Malinowski breathed, trying to find words when her body demanded she focus on the feel of him."I love you…But, I need you,Jack ...I need to fill me … to wash away…wash them away…"
McCoy nodded in understanding, as he closed his eyes and began to thrust hard and deep into his lover. Finally grasping her meaning; the sex act became a cleansing, as well as erotic act for them both. He kissed his lover with tender passion as he reclaimed her, all the while whispering assurances and endearments. When he came, he came hard and with a vengeance, determined to do what his lover so desperately required.
Their hearts still racing, their bodies warm and damp from their love making, McCoy moved to complete his lover's fantasy as to well as to make a final gesture towards the new beginning their encounter symbolized. Their bodies still entwined, he silently guided his lover forward, not stopping until the pair were engulfed by the water falling above them.