Chapter 9
AN: Thanks so much to everyone who read this story! Thanks for letting me play with a different couple here, too...Does this story need an epilogue? Let me know...
Penelope waited with baited breath. She'd wanted him to kiss her for years, since that first Baby Girl over seven years ago. She watched, anticipation thrumming through her, as Derek took that crucial step forward until there was no room between them. His heart was in his eyes, reflecting exactly what she felt in her soul, and she knew that for once—finally!—their time had come.
It was the busiest time of day, throngs of people were milling about the faire, but for Penelope, no one else existed. Nothing at all was going to stop them from being together. With gentle hands, Derek cupped her face and lowered his mouth to touch hers, and on that busy fall day, in the midst of a bustling crowd, Derek kissed her...and it was everything she had dreamed it would be.
Soft, sweet brushes of his lips against hers, infinitely tender as he discovered her mouth. He tested the waters to see what she liked, and yet there was a subtle demand, a temptation that made her wordlessly promise to give him more.
He lowered an arm behind her, drawing her closer, up and near his body, causing the heavy hooped skirt on her dress to bell behind her slightly. The starched silk of his colorful shirt tickled against the sensitive skin of her overflowing breasts, while at the same time, his tongue parted her lips, tickling her tongue and sending shivers of delight down her spine. She felt like a maiden in a Renaissance love story, and he...oh, he was the knight in shining armor, Prince Charming in disguise.
She clutched at his shoulders, gripping to stay balanced as he deepened the pressure not forcefully, but seductively. Her head dipped backward, and she was having trouble drawing air—trouble that had nothing at all to do with her corset.
With his other hand, he angled her face upward, so he could plunder more deeply in her mouth with his tongue. She didn't resist the invasion in the slightest; instead, she actively participated while he laid claim to her. She was his—she had been for years—as he was hers.
Derek began to kiss along the side of her neck, while he gripped her tighter with his hands, trying to feel his way through layers of clothing that she'd normally never wear. She was cursing this damned lovely dress now, wishing she'd worn something like Rossi's girlfriend, instead.
As she moaned when he returned his mouth to hers, something seemed off. Somewhere in her mind, she could hear clapping and cheering. It seemed the whole world approved of their romance, and she couldn't have been happier. Then the cheering increased, along with a few odd cries of "Huzzah!"
She opened her foggy eyes, blinking a few times, as she moved her lips away from his. It was then she noted that they were still in the middle of the dirt-lined street at the Renaissance faire, and more than a few revelers had stopped to stare at them. The cheering, however, was coming from the chess arena.
Reid. They'd promised to cheer on Reid.
"Derek..." she said to her dear, sweet lover, who was still kissing the side of her neck.
"Oh, baby," he growled against her throat, his soft beard gently abrading her skin. The low, passionate timbre of his voice sent chills down her spine. "Damn, girl, I want you..."
She groaned to herself. That was almost her undoing; for a split second, she thought about running to the nearest hay bale with him and turning it into a makeshift bed! Instead, she maintained some decorum.
The other could be for later...
She held her hands up between them, pressing softly. "D, there's a crowd."
That caused him to pause and raise his head. A second later, he stood and tucked her into his embrace, shielding her from the eyes of anyone else. "Sweetness...I'm sorry. I got carried away there."
She chuckled into his shirt. "I did, too. If I hadn't heard the chess crowd..."
He kissed the top of her head. "What chess crowd?" he asked, and then used his fingertips to tip her chin so that she had to look at him. "I only see you."
She knew he was teasing by the glint in his eyes, but it was still a very sweet thing to say.
"That's nice, Hot Stuff, but we need to go cheer on our Boy Wonder." She paused for a second and giggled. "Hmm...Boy Wonder...Robin...Robin Hood. Think he did that on purpose?"
"No, sweetheart," Derek answered. "I think that's just in your devilish mind."
Another cheer erupted from the crowd. "Ooh! Let's hurry!" she said, curiosity killing the Penelope. They ran, hand in hand, to where the rest of the team was standing.
"Well, look at you two!" Prentiss said with a smile as she watched Morgan and Garcia joining their party again.
"Looks like we have a set of new lovebirds," JJ teased, bouncing Henry on her hip.
"Judging from the whisker burn on Garcia's neck, pretty happy lovebirds," Rossi quipped, causing Prentiss to laugh and Garcia to blush.
JJ levered a stare at Prentiss. "Em, I wouldn't laugh too loudly...you had similar markings earlier."
Em laughed. It took a lot more to embarrass her. "It was worth it."
Penelope leaned closer to Derek, positively glowing with happiness. "For me, too."
"Enough kissy talk," Rossi remarked. "We need to watch this match."
"I bet it's like watching paint dry," Morgan added sarcastically.
"No, it's interesting," Hotch replied, and then gave a sardonic grin. "It's not full contact sports, but it's got its high points."
"Who's winning?" Penelope asked, trying to see the board.
Emily's stomach sank as she said, "The Sheriff of Nottingham."
She'd tried so hard to loosen Reid up, to make it so he didn't panic, didn't seize up and make ridiculous mistakes out of nerves. Now, she wondered if maybe she should've let him practice his moves.
She quickly discarded that thinking.
"He's psyching himself out," Rossi said, peering at Reid. "Look at how he's clenching his hands, thinking about that next move."
Rossi was right; when things were flowing right for Spencer, he spoke with his hands, excited and animatedly. This wasn't good.
"He just needs some cheering," Penelope said softly.
"What are we gonna do, Baby Girl?" Derek asked teasingly. "The wave?"
"No," Emily said, gathering resolve. Garcia was right; he did need cheering, but not the kind that she was thinking of. "This is a job for me."
Pushing her way to the front of the line of serious, hard core chess spectators, she called out, "Robin Hood!"
Looking up from his perch at the edge of his side of the board, Reid glanced over at her.
"Yarr!" she called out in her best Salty Sally voice. "Ye be winnin' this for us tonight, matey...and I'll share me booty with ye."
Sure enough, Reid's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and then he grinned, a deliciously beautiful, boyish grin filled with joy. Nodding his acquiescence, he looked back at the board.
Gameplay continued for another half an hour. The round had been evenly matched, and then Reid called out, "King to C1."
Robert took his move next, and Reid called out, "Rook to B1."
Again, Robert moved.
Reid's grin nearly split his face. "Knight to C3."
"What in the hell is that?" Robert called out, for the first time using no trace of British accent and no old English terms.
As Prentiss noticed what Reid had done, she smiled and whispered to herself, "It's brilliance."
Reid stood. "That, my dear Robert," he said, rolling his R like Robert always did, "is checkmate."
The crowd cheered again, and Robert threw his plumed hat in the middle of the ring and stomped off, with Marian quickly following.
Emily ran over and threw herself into Reid's waiting arms. "Congratulations!"
The rest of the team came over and congratulated Reid on his victory. He kept Emily by his side, his arm possessively draped across her shoulder.
As everyone spoke, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Still sharing the spoils with me, Sally?"
She looked up at him with obvious, gleeful agreement written on her face. "That's Salty Sally to ye!"
"Time to go, kids," Rossi called out. "Faire's closing."
Side by side, the team left the faire, happy and joyful after a day filled with happiness, excitement, and newly found love.
