A/N: I am indulging here. I wrote this in response to a challenge, and decided to post it. It fits at the end of Chapter 13 of my current WIP, Press & Predators. You may recognize some of it if you've read that (though from a different POV). I hope you enjoy, and if you do, please don't forget to review!

Again, this is definitely for mature audiences only, rated for heterosexual content, somewhat detailed but tasteful.

Oh, and I do not own Frank or Nancy. Wish I did, but I don't ;)

Press & Predators Chapter 13 M-excerpt: Rising to the Challenge

Nancy slid under the blankets, lay back against the pillow, and closed her eyes. She was tired, but far too keyed up to sleep.

"You look worn out, Nan."

She opened her eyes. In boxers and t-shirt, Frank stood next to the hide-away bed in Joe's suite looking down at her. The dim light cast his handsome, angular face in shadow but it didn't matter because she knew it by heart. His well-defined chest was discernable under the thin cotton t-shirt and a shock of dark hair curled out of the neckline. The pleasant ache that started in her core was becoming very familiar, and it was a relief not to have to deny it anymore. She needed Frank - it was a need that started in her heart, and in her soul, and manifested itself in a very real and very compelling physical way.

"Actually, I'm not at all tired."

Then she yawned. Frank laughed and dropped onto the bed. The small shaded light on the side table bathed his face in light, and she lost herself in his warm, brown eyes.

"You're not very convincing, Nan."

She pushed herself to a semi-upright position, head and shoulders resting against the couch back. "I'm sorry. Three weeks on a funky swing shift schedule, then our little all-night adventure . . . and I was barely back into a normal routine when Bess and George came over and we stayed up half the night only to have you show up on my door step in the wee hours. Is it any wonder my sleep schedule is so screwed up?"

"No wonder at all."

He pushed his feet under the covers, and Nancy felt his legs slide along hers. Even that touch sent a thrill through her. He propped himself on an elbow so he faced her.

"You really do look like you could use some sleep, Nan. It's been a long day."

His expression was studiously bland, but she could see the hint of desire in his heated gaze. She pouted at him. "Do you want to go to sleep?"

Frank smiled and shook his head. "Sweetheart, when I'm around you, particularly barely clothed, sleep is about the furthest thing from my mind."

"The feeling is mutual." The statement had an entirely different connotation then when she had said it to Joe earlier.

Now she could see her desire reflected plainly in his face. She wondered at the intensity of her need. It was likely, at least partially, the time of month – it wasn't unusual for her to feel particularly amorous about two weeks after her period. Ned had even remarked on it after they had become sexually active. He hadn't elaborated beyond the observation, and she had often wondered if he was as frustrated by the time of month as she was.

For her, this phase of her cycle was incredibly maddening because not only was she more likely to be ready for sex, but less likely to be satisfied by the act. It was almost a case of over-stimulation, and she was concerned, because Frank could already over-stimulate her, without hormonal help.

Being with Frank was too important to her to risk frustration for either of them. She licked her lips nervously, and he sat up, looking at her curiously.

"What's wrong, Nan?"

"I think I should warn you . . ." She hesitated, uncomfortable talking about the sexual act for some reason, though she had no such reluctance about actually performing it, particularly with Frank.

"Warn me about what?"

Frank's hand was stroking her upper leg distractingly, and impulse caused Nancy to push herself forward to meet his lips. His hand stopped moving, gripping low on her butt, his long fingers sliding between her legs as he pulled her toward him.

She gasped as his probing fingers found her wet core. He dipped a finger into her, and pulled back slightly, voice husky and wondering. "You're dripping wet, Nan."

She took a deep breath to steady herself and sat up. "That's what I wanted to warn you about. It's my ovulation time, and I get really . . . wet. And . . ."

When she hesitated again, Frank prodded her with a gentle, "And?"

"I tend to have a lot of trouble . . . attaining orgasm. It only lasts two or three days. I just want you to know it's not unusual, and I hope . . . well, I don't want to disappoint you."

He propped himself up on a straight arm and leaned toward her. "It would be impossible for you to disappoint me. I'm glad you told me, though. I think . . ." He brushed his lips across her neck and shoulder in a whisper-light touch that made her shiver. "I may just take that as a challenge. I don't want to disappoint you, either."

She pulled back, slightly surprised and incredibly aroused by his reaction.

"You always have liked a difficult puzzle to solve," she teased.

Her entire body reacted to the low timbre of his voice and the heat in his gaze. "Oh, I think you will be a particularly enjoyable little enigma to untangle. Do you trust me?"

Unable to form coherent thought, she just nodded.

"Hm, good. Then lie down and let me look for some clues."

She found her voice, though it came out breathless. "Clues to what?"

Frank grinned at her. "You."

Nancy lay back against the pillow, and watched as Frank pulled the covers down. Joe's t-shirt lay over her body like another blanket. He ran an exploratory hand down her side and tugged on the shirt.

"As much as I'd love to do this with you in Joe's shirt, if only for the teasing collateral, I'm thinking it's really going to get in the way."

Nancy pulled her arms inside the shirt, and Frank helped her pull it off over her head, his hands leaving a blazing trail where they grazed her skin. He dropped the shirt carelessly over the back of the couch, and bent to kiss her. She stopped him with her hands on his shoulders and shook her head. She knew once they got going she was going to be impatient enough without any other obstacles.

"I think we should take yours off, too. And maybe our underwear? It's all just going to get in the way."

Frank stripped his shirt off over his head and tossed it with hers, and then they helped each other discard their underwear.

"Is that better?" He gave her a teasing smile.

Nancy tried for an innocent look, but was sure she failed. "It's a good start."

"I'll show you a good start."

Frank pressed his lips against hers, pushing her back onto the pillow. She snaked her arms around him, but he slipped away as he ventured down her neck and began exploring her breasts, one with his hand, one with his mouth. Nancy enjoyed the attention, but what she really wanted was for him to touch her intimately. She just wasn't sure how to tell him without hurting his pride.

She was surprised when he pulled back, apparently recognizing it for himself.

"Not doing much for you, is it?"

*

When Nancy didn't respond, Frank raised his head to look at her. She smiled shyly. He could tell she was uncomfortable talking about what she liked, or didn't like. He pushed himself to a sitting position next to her, and saw the flash of disappointment in her face. His own throbbing need for her intensified with the recognition that she was more than willing, but he forced himself to focus on her satisfaction.

"If we're going to do this, I'm going to need a little help, Nan." He looked into her liquid blue eyes – he could drown in those eyes. Several deep breaths and he felt more certain he could keep himself in check. He was careful not to touch her – and he desperately wanted to touch her. What he really needed to know first was how she wanted to be touched.

"What do you want? What feels good?"

She bit her lip, and Frank took another deep breath. She had some incredibly endearing little habits that really turned him on. When she spoke, her voice was uncertain. "I . . . I'm not sure."

Her eyes closed, he guessed in frustration. He slid closer to her and rested a hand on her stomach. Her breath hitched, and he smiled. "You like it when I touch you there?"

"Mmhm, but . . . I want you to touch me . . . lower."

Frank swallowed. He was going to need every ounce of self-control if he was going to hold it together. Just looking at Nancy lying there - eyes closed, chest rising and falling gently, but rapidly - her obvious arousal was enough to make him feel like he was going to burst at the seams.

He didn't take his eyes off of her face, as he slid his hand lower, until his fingers teased into her coarse hair. Her lips parted, and a low moan escaped them as he probed into her with his long middle finger. The slippery wetness he found there set his mind on overdrive as he thought about how easy it would be to slide inside of her. He pushed past her engorged opening, and pressed into her soft, warm depths. Her breathing became shallow as she moaned again, and he could feel her vagina tighten around his finger.

Pulling his finger out caused her to gasp, "Please don't stop."

Her eyes fluttered open, and he found himself drowning in their languid pools. He plunged his finger deep into her again, and caught her lips in a hungry kiss just as she groaned again. She pressed her body against him, and his erection bucked between them. He wanted her, his need so all-encompassing that it was becoming harder and harder to deny.

Moving his finger in and out in a slow, messaging motion, he abandoned her lips and used his to explore, giving him something to focus on other than her wet well which he continued to probe with his finger. He kissed his way across her jaw-line to her ear lobe, then down the curve of her neck. He continued to savor the smooth feel and sweet-salty taste of her skin as he moved along her collar bone, down between her breasts, and across her stomach – stopping to tease her belly button with his tongue. Her breathy giggle made him smile, and he raised his head to look at her.

She tangled her hands in his hair, urging him to come back up, but he had decided that he wanted to taste all of her, and continued kissing her stomach, tracing lazy patterns across her smooth skin as he slowly moved lower and lower.

He pulled his finger out of her, amazed, again at just how wet she was. Pressing both hands against her inner thighs, he pushed her legs apart, and lowered his head between them. Nancy stiffened, her hands gripping the sheets almost convulsively.

He moved his hands down to her knees, and began kissing her inner thighs, starting near his hands, and moving toward her core. She squirmed, and the low almost-animal-like noises escaping her were driving him nuts.

He finally gave in to the desire to taste her. Using his fingers, he teased the lips of her vagina apart, and lowered his mouth of the opening, dipping into the well with his tongue and savoring the wonderful, slightly salty flavor of her juices. Alternately licking and sucking on her clit, he wondered if he could bring her to orgasm just by doing this. But those thoughts were abandoned when her small hand closed around his throbbing member, and his name escaped her in a breathless entreaty.

"Frank, please. I need you. Now."

He wiped his mouth on the sheets tangled around her lower legs, and then shifted his position so his body lie alongside hers. She opened her legs, wide and inviting, and he moved between them as she pulled his head down to her, devouring his mouth in a kiss that left him breathless. He wondered if she could taste the lingering flavor of her, as she probed his mouth with her tongue. She was like a wild thing, her hands moving over his back, fingernails raking roughly along his skin, kisses bruising in their insistence.

He resisted the desire to slide into her, suspecting that it would be his undoing. Instead, he pressed himself against her slit and began stroking up and down, on the outside. Her legs wound around his, as she matched his rhythm. Even being outside of her, he wondered how much longer he could hold on. Every fiber of his being was becoming more and more focused on the unity that he craved with Nancy.

She didn't have to verbalize when she was ready. Her hands stilled him forcefully, and she repositioned his hips and then urged him forward. With his next thrust, he slid into her, the slick juices providing no resistance to his entry. He heard her groan as an echo of his own. Rather than pulling out, he shifted and slid deeper into her tight, hot core, until his sensitive tip met soft resistance deep inside of her. He began rocking against her as her arms and legs clamped around him. The feel of her vaginal fist tightening inexorably was the last straw. It was useless to try and hold back any longer.

He buried his face in her neck to stifle the primal sound she tore from him as he exploded deep within her. The pulsing of him inside of her seemed to be just what she needed to get her there. She bit his shoulder to quiet the cry as her muscles began tightening rhythmically around him, taking him on another orgasmic high.

She clung to him as her entire body quivered with her released. It wasn't until the orgasm waned that she relaxed underneath him, and he allowed himself to sink into her. He could feel his spent penis starting to slide out of her, well-lubricated by the slickness of their joined fluids. He was disappointed.

He pushed himself up, so he could look into her face. The lazy, languid smile that graced her lips and her heavily-lidded brilliant blue eyes did just what he hoped, as he felt himself begin to harden again, growing inside of her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He smiled at her. "I think I should be thanking you. That was the most incredible experience I've ever had in my life. If this is how your ovulations always are I'm definitely going to make sure I'm around at least for those two or three days every month."

Nancy stroked his cheek with her cool hand, her emotions easily readable in her expression. He wondered how either of them had held such intense feelings in check for so long.

Her tender smile and accompanying words made his heart soar. "I'm kind of hoping we can work it out so we're together a lot more than that."

"Definitely."

He leaned down and kissed her gently and thoroughly to seal the promise.