A/N: Holy crap, I'm back! It took long enough, eh? Anyway, um... smut warning.
9. The Downward Spiral
Quistis Trepe-Almasy needed a drink. Badly.
She knew she was making a mistake. Her marriage was already suffering as it was, and these late nights in the office weren't exactly making things any better.
It wasn't that she didn't love Seifer, in fact, that was quite the opposite. Once she got something in her head, though, it wasn't going to leave until she'd broken it down to its very core or it simply lost its luster.
She trudged her laptop along and she skirted through the poorly lit parking lot, though she knew she wouldn't need it. Force of habit at this point.
She had problems. She knew it, but she couldn't make herself say it. That meant opening floodgates that she didn't think she had the capacity to handle. It meant no more late nights of work, and late afternoons in a therapist's office instead. The nights at the office were much more comforting.
She was kidding herself. Anyone who looked at her saw a strong, smart, iron-willed woman. Wouldn't they be shocked to know that she had weaknesses that nearly buckled her knees on a daily basis? She had poor defense mechanisms like most, vices and addictions if one wanted to be cruel about it.
Releasing a sigh, she adjusted her glasses with her free hand as she shuffled through the mostly empty parking lot, and unlocked the door to the building she'd been given weeks before when she started this account. The account that was consuming her life.
The elevator ride was too slow, the blonde pursing her lips as she tried to will it along faster, eager for distraction from these thoughts that plagued her. Away from thoughts of her husband.
The doors finally opened and she stepped onto the dark floor, only moonlight from the windows illuminating the long rows of cubicles, eyes immediately focusing on a familiar head of dark hair.
Ice blue orbs flashed open at feeling heat upon his body, momentarily assuming it was the sun that peeked in through the blinds, warming the skin of his bare chest. Until he felt it to the side of him, too.
Squall knew what he'd done before he even turned his head. Oh, fuck.
He bit his lip, afraid to turn and see that she was really there, confirming the deed that he'd wanted to do since he'd met her, and the very last thing he should have done.
Slyly, his eyes slid to the side. There she was, rumpled and beautiful, leaving no doubt of what she'd spent her night doing. Her lips were lightly swollen; abused from his kisses. Her dark hair was mussed and sprawled over his pillow, the side of her breast peeking out from the thin sheet that barely concealed her curves. His gaze lowered. The smooth flesh of her hip was exposed, too.
Oh, fuck, he repeated internally, putting a hand to his forehead. Now he had to figure out what he was going to do.
Had she been anyone else, he knew that he would have just made some lame excuse to leave, hoping she'd have vacated the apartment by the time he got back. She'd see right through it, though, and it startled him that he cared so much about her feelings.
There'd never been a doubt that he liked her. That much had been obvious from the beginning. She was just as he was, though, and surely would be able to identify with his dilemma. Feelings caused trouble, and they both knew it.
It was even worse that he'd made love to his friend's girlfriend, even in spite of the fact that Jax had obviously been a jerk to her. That thought made him tilt his head and lower his hand, eyes transfixed on the ceiling. What had Jax done to her? What was he doing in those long nights at the office, or would it be wiser to ask who was he doing?
He turned to focus on her again, absorbing the way she looked in his bedroom, under his sheets, the streaks of early sunlight making her dark hair gleam.
…and he just couldn't make himself conjure regret no matter how hard he tried.
What was making him panic was the fact that he knew he wanted this to happen again, he wanted to wake up to her looking like this, in beautiful disarray from a long night of lovemaking, and he wanted to do it without having to worry about anyone finding out.
She'd stated clearly once, though, that she had her own reasons for staying with Jax, and Squall doubted that she'd be quick to give it up now. Was he okay with that?
Clenching his teeth at not being able to answer his own question, he swung his legs out from under the sheet and over the side of his bed. He stood quietly, swiftly pulling on a pair of loose cotton pants and grabbing a grey t-shirt on the way out the bedroom door.
He was getting a slight headache, and he wasn't sure if it was the alcohol from the night before, or it was from thinking too hard. Either way, he needed coffee, and once he'd adorned his shirt, he began to make it, unaware that Rinoa had awoken the moment he left the bed.
Squall nearly jumped a mile when he felt her light fingertips graze his back, and he spun around to observe the brunette sliding up onto the counter, wearing one of his t-shirts, her expression blank, but her chocolate eyes intently on his. She wasn't wearing her glasses and her hair was still in slight disorder.
Oh, fuck. Did she have to look so sexy in his clothes?
"Did I wake you?" he managed to say, finding his mouth was struggling to work properly.
The gentle motion of her throat was the only response he got for several moments.
"Whatever you do," she finally began, carefully, "don't apologize to me. Alright?"
He almost visibly gave a start at her words, but his brow merely furrowed, and he licked his lips. "I wouldn't."
Rinoa scrutinized him, reading his expression the best she was able. A smile found her lips as she did, and her hand reached out to cup the side of his face. He really wasn't sorry.
"I'm not going to, either," she said plainly, her eyes boring into his. "I knew what I was doing, and I wanted it."
A soft chuckle rumbled from deep in Squall's throat and he stepped closer to her, his hips between her knees as she sat upon the counter. "I could tell."
His mouth curled into a cocky smirk, his hand finding its way up her silky arm and behind her neck where he pulled her into him, lips meeting her smiling pout.
The flavors of both of them came rushing back in a flurry of heated memories from the night before and the kiss instantly intensified. Rinoa whimpered against his lips, Squall's fingertips trailing down her spine through the t-shirt she wore and pressing his palm to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.
God, he knew he shouldn't be doing this for so many reasons, but logic was refusing to step in and correct him, and this woman, whose heat was radiating against him from where he stood between her parted thighs, wasn't putting up any sort of argument, her fingers sprawling through his hair in encouragement.
Logic be damned, then, if it chose to have no part in this.
His hand left her back to slither around to her hip and inch over her abdomen, feeling the soft flesh as he found his way under the hem of the shirt. His lips broke from hers then, seeing as she sucked in a breath, her skin flushed and her eyelids lowering slightly.
He licked his lips again, this time in pure pleasure as he watched her expression. He wanted nothing more than to hear those sounds from her luscious lips again, the sounds he'd caused her to make the night before, the almost inaudible whispers of his name she'd given as her muscles tightened.
The only thing obstructing his fingers, he found, was the flimsy fabric of her panties, and it did nothing to prevent his long digits from slipping inside the edge, feeling her moist heat immediately, a groan emerging from him, the sound mingled with her own gasp and subsequent moan.
His forefinger found the tiny bead of nerves in seconds and he stroked it tenderly, his eyes fixed on her face as she opened her mouth and drew in a shaking breath. A tiny smile played on his lips as he did it again, the low moan she offered making his own body temperature increase.
He found a rhythm in seconds, every expression on her face telling him what she liked and how she liked it, her hips tilting up from the counter against his hand in eagerness.
Rinoa was becoming delirious, her hands falling back to support her weight on the counter as she leaned back. His fingers were skilled, a long moan pouring from her as he switched his index finger for his thumb, the subtle increase in pressure making heat wash through her in waves.
Squall leaned forward to capture her bottom lip between his own lips, releasing it with tediousness, his eyes focused on her the entire time. Only then did he let a finger dip lower as his thumb continued to stroke her, and the slender finger slid into her. He almost grinned at the way her voice became louder and her brows knitted together. He bit his lip, remembering this velvet tightness from the night before wrapped around him as he pulled back his finger, only to slide it in again, over and over again in time with the strokes of his thumb.
"Oh… God…" she panted, her hips bucking as his fingers worked at her with precision and care. Her whole body was stiffening, and she was already close. It only made her more excited knowing that he was watching her intently, his gaze enthralled as he brought her to the edge. She whimpered his name.
"That's right," he muttered, his lips close to hers as he let his eyes trace over her entire face, his fingers never once faltering in their ministrations. "Come for me."
Her fingernails clawed into the table as she obeyed his whim, not that she had much choice in the matter. Her walls clamped hard around the invading finger and a primal groan tore from her, not really seeing the smile that danced over Squall's handsome face as he felt her contract and pulsate around his slowing fingers.
"God damn," he mumbled at the force of her climax, his motions coming to a stop before he slid his finger out of her.
She barely heard his soft curse of admiration, her mind wrapped in oblivion as she slowly came down from her high, her heart thundering rapidly in her chest. She'd come out here expecting… well, she didn't know exactly what she was expecting, but it didn't really occur to her that they'd end up getting naughty on his kitchen counter.
Not that she'd complain. She'd awoken to him leaving his bed and instantly worried that he'd accuse her, or himself, of making a terrible mistake.
This served as a nice tension reliever and she caught herself smiling. She was fairly confident at this point that he wasn't going to throw out what they'd shared because of his friendship with Jax.
Jax.
"Fuck!" she swore, sliding off of the counter and darting around Squall to run to the bedroom.
Squall blinked at the sudden outburst, shaking his head to try and gather his wits once more. Crazy woman. "Uh… Rin?"
He followed after her, finding the slight brunette scurrying in a desperate tumble to get her clothes on her body and she flashed a sheepish grin.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she started, buttoning her jeans, "I just, ah… wanted to be back before…"
Did she even want to say his name? She suddenly felt as if even uttering it was going to shatter this spell they'd formed around themselves, and Squall would snap back to reality. The last thing she wanted to see was regret on his face directed toward her.
He merely chuckled and gave a slight nod of his head. It wasn't regret, but there was certainly some hesitation in there, but from what exactly, she wasn't sure. She pursed her lips and adjusted her clothes onto her form, skirting past him to head to the bathroom for some last minute grooming, only to be stopped by his fingers around her wrist.
She looked at his face, seeing nothing but sincerity.
"Hey," he said softly, "I'm not sorry, Rin."
Rinoa smiled, the expression mingled with relief, and the sound of the nickname for her. He'd said it before, but the way it danced on his lips sounded more like an endearment than her own name. She replied with leaning up to press her lips against his, pulling back only to mumble against his pale pout. "Neither am I."
It had definitely surprised her, she realized. She would have thought this would have felt a lot worse, as it usually did when something like this happened. She truly wasn't sorry, though, but she was still to leery to dwell on why it had felt so right.
Squall smiled against her lips, giving her hip a light rub and a subsequent pat. "Go on, babe."
She grinned, and continued her trek to the bathroom, giving her locks a quick comb through before heading back out to the door and grabbing her belongings. She had half a mind to stop and ask when she'd see him again as he watched her leave, leaning against the wall in the hallway, but she knew by the delicate smile on his face that she didn't need to.
She left the apartment without a word, her mind racing as she tried to think of excuses for her absense if Jax was back at the hotel, and she only had one street crossing to do it.
Stepping into the early sunlight, she drew in a breath and began her journey.
A/N: I'm so sorry, guys! I hope you're still with me. I apologize if this seems a little... out of character, even for my obviously OOC characters. Did that make any sense? It's been a long time and I need to get back into the groove of things. This story ain't over yet! Hope the smut wasn't too rough for ya. You know you secretly loved it!