"Do you want another beer?" Burke asked, crouched in front of the miniature refrigerator that they were housed in.
"Yeah." Cristina answered, her mouth full of noodles and broccoli. She could care less about manners right now. She was hungry and the Chinese was good, the beer was flowing and she was too busy not caring about anything. She had made several decisions on her way back to the hotel room and she was going to let go.
He laughed as he set another one down in front of her, "You act like you haven't eaten all day."
"I haven't. I tossed my lunch. Or have you conveniently forgotten that?" She asked, poking through her carton with her chopsticks.
"You should eat more," He said with a slight shake of his head.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" She retorted as she reached for her beer. The strap of her dress slid down her shoulder and she left it there as she took a long drink. She sat the beer down and continued to eat her dinner as he watched.
Burke's eyes couldn't leave the bared piece of her shoulder. Her body was breathtaking, as if God himself had taken the time to carve every curve and etch every perfection with painstaking care. He took another drink of his beer, his eyes still lingering and his mind wandering to what the dress was hiding.
"You're staring at me." Cristina wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what she was doing to him and what she was going to do to him. There wasn't a time in her life that she wasn't precise, that she didn't know exactly what the outcome of her actions would be if she had control over it.
Now was no different.
He reached out hesitantly to move the strap back into it's place, hoping that the thin black piece of material would somehow help his mind to achieve a more innocent place than where it was currently residing. His fingers brushed against her soft skin it only served to further arouse him. "You didn't change out of your dress." He pointed out as he watched her sit her half eaten carton down.
Cristina picked up a napkin and drew it to her lips with a slight smirk, "No." She discarded the napkin and reached for her beer. She was surprised when he grabbed her wrist and her eyes flew up to meet his. "Do you need something?" Her voice was shaky, and she tried to remind herself why what she was doing was the right decision.
"What are you doing?" He asked her quietly.
"Getting a drink."
"What are you doing?" He repeated. Burke wanted to believe that he knew exactly what she was doing, but he wanted to be sure. He wanted to know that she wanted it to.
She studied him for a long moment. "You know what I'm doing," She finally answered in a low voice, pulling her hand away.
Burke stood from their makeshift dinner table on the floor and reached down to pull her to her feet. As if in slow motion, he pulled her into his arms and dipped his head to kiss her.
The first kiss was tentative, just a taste. But all it took was a taste, and he was intoxicated.
The second kiss was soft, but more lingering. It was a silent apology, a humble offering of himself to her in an attempt to make up for all that he had done. A promise that he would make it better.
Cristina pulled away for a moment to look into his eyes, finding herself already breathless. She kissed him once more, this time her tongue sliding against his.
The third kiss was an indication of everything to come- passionate, heated, packed with emotions unexpressed and heated arguments held at bay.
When their lips finally parted, he stepped behind her. His hands came up to carefully unzip the dress that confined the body he worshipped so. As he drug the zipper downwards, his finger traced at the skin just above. His lips dropped to her neck, dragging hot kisses over her cool flesh.
Cristina's dress slipped from her body and pooled at her feet in a pile of black satin. Her body relaxed against his as his lips continued to blaze a trail over her shoulder. She shivered slightly as his hands danced up her bare sides and then over her breasts. She exhaled his name softly, her hips moving back against his. She had missed this too much.
Turning in his arms so she could face him once more, she began to unbutton his shirt. She ran her hands up his shoulders, relearning every curve and crevasse. The shirt joined the growing pile of clothes on the floor and their lips met again in another hungry kiss.
Every touch, every kiss broke a little more of Cristina's resolve as she fought to keep her walls in place. When he lifted her into his arms, her naked body pressed against his, she swore to herself that she wasn't going to think anymore. She was feeling now.
Thinking was for later.
Gently, he laid her on the bed and moved his body over hers. He caressed every inch of her body with his lips, his eyes always wandering upwards to marvel at her reactions. His lips continued downward and his tongue explored her center as his fingers stroked every good place inside her and when he led her to release, he sheathed himself within her.
She held fast to him, her body trembling as filled her. Cristina was never one to believe in the whole idea of making love. But she couldn't deny the things he made her feel, either. This wasn't senseless sex. This wasn't something that happened in the heat of the moment between jaded lovers. This was passionate and raw. This was something that couldn't be reigned in or controlled.
When they were together it was always making love, even the first time. Even if neither one of them wanted to admit to it then, they knew that it was different.
Burke's forehead dropped to her shoulder as he moved. He grunted softly against her sated skin as she tightened around him, her fingernails digging into the flesh of his muscular shoulders, enough so that he was sure she'd leave marks. He felt the pressure growing in his stomach and he fought to stave it off. He wanted to stay buried inside her forever. He wanted to feel her heart beating next to his for all eternity.
She traced her lips against his neck and jaw and up to his ear as he moved. His hand slid beneath them and teased her mercilessly. Her hips jerked against his and she brushed her lips against his ear. She whispered a soft and intentional 'I love you' before she continued spreading kisses.
He pulled his forehead from her shoulder and kissed her softly. He returned the words as he picked up his pace, desperately seeking to share release with her. Their foreheads came together and their eyes met as they found euphoria together, soaring amongst the crested sheets of her bed.
Cristina's body shook in his arms and she continued to place soft, short kisses to his lips. She wanted to remember this forever. She wanted to think of him and remember the exact moment where they fell from reality together, his gaze locked with hers.
That's how she wanted to remember Preston Burke.
Not as the man who left her standing in a church.
When he finally slipped from inside her and spread out on the bed next to her, she curled her body into his. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face against her curls, breathing her in. Within moments, a peaceful sleep fell over the two of them- one that had eluded them since they'd been apart.
Morning arrived too soon and Cristina awoke to light snoring in her ear. Carefully, she slid herself from his arms and began to gather her clothes. She packed quietly and left no note when she made her exit. She paid for her room, requested a late check out and then hailed a cab to the airport.
As she boarded the plane her heart ached, but not in the way it had the last time that they were separated. She had the memory of him from the previous night. When he left, she was left with so many different emotions. So many regrets.
If she had known he was going to leave her, she would have told him that she loved him instead of just assuming that he already knew.
If she had known the last time they kissed was going to be the last time, she would have kissed him more passionately.
If she had known that the last time they made love would be the last, she wouldn't have been in such a hurry to get ready for work afterwards.
And when the opportunity presented itself the previous night to make right all those regrets, she couldn't walk away from them. She had her answers, more than she wanted. More than she could handle, even. The only thing left was to make up for her regrets and try to move on with her life.
With one final act, one final time making love to him, she had done just that.
It was time for Cristina to try and move on with her life.