Author's Note: You have no idea how easy this one is for me to write, and how tempting. But I need to practice my other writing skills besides the smut, now don't I? Or, do I? ;-)

Spoilers: This includes characters and characterizations from the entire series so far… including Brody's personal life developments in 1x18.

Damn.

This was why Merri had tried so fricken hard not to even have a personal life. And she'd been doing so well...

Then CGIS Agent Abigail Borin had sort of talked her into dating Sam Wilkins, compounded by encouragement from her coworkers who held a vested interest in seeing her develop ties to the area, knowing about her history of running off as it were. Which she should've considered sweet, and she had, she did. They liked her. And they wanted her to stick around. And she liked them. She even quite liked Sam.

And she especially liked Chris LaSalle.

But not at the moment. At the moment, he'd invaded her personal space, which wasn't normally a huge problem. Hell, she'd let him truly violate her personal space, well and good, quite a number of times that -mm- wonderful weekend a couple months ago now. Actually, she'd been the one who had seduced him, really. Well, that sounded duplicitous. It was a mutually arrived at decision, even though she'd been the one who showed up at his door with the suggestion when her frustrated libido simply couldn't stand anymore. It had been just the one weekend. And considering the things they now knew about one another, it surprisingly hadn't interfered with their working relationship, with what she'd like to believe was a pretty good friendship they'd begun developing.

However, there were moments when she regretted the fact that she knew the feel of his naked flesh pressed flush and hot to hers, the sound he made in the back of his throat when she took him inside of her, the sound he made when he climaxed, because of her, for her. The way desire darkened his intense blue eyes...

And this was definitely one of those moments when she regretted such intimate knowledge, as he reached around her to place a file on her desk at the same moment she absently stood and turned, not realizing he was there as she headed to refill her cup of coffee only to find herself standing so close to the man that she could feel the rhythm of his breathing, his chest expanding and pressing against her breasts, the contact making her nipples stiffen. She felt heat bloom inside of her, and knew it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't basically programmed her body to react to his in such a way. She'd taught her flesh -they'd taught their bodies- to respond to one another with such intense arousal by thoroughly rewarding such behavior. Her body instinctively recognized his, knew how he could make her feel.

Yes, it had taken her awhile to marshal such unwelcome reactions when they went back to work after their brief affair, to not get lost in memories that flushed her cheeks when she caught a whiff of his scent, or to not be distracted by a movement of his hands, or to not stare maybe a bit too much at his trim figure. But she had gotten to a very good place. It no longer affected her... not really.

But she'd never had him pressed up against her, not since they'd been naked and sweaty and thoroughly sated that last time before reluctantly parting ways. In fact, Merri thought she'd gotten over what was undeniably the best sex she'd ever had, had stopped thinking about it multiple times every day. Had stopped coveting her partner's attractive backside, and muscular arms and body that was just toned enough to be utterly delicious. And his goddamned sexy blue eyes...

Eyes that she made the enormous mistake of now looking into, that looked back at her with the sort of intent that most definitely did not belong in the workplace.

The tip of his nose was practically brushing against hers, his lips barely an inch from hers as he wet them with a subconscious swipe of his tongue. His hand, as firm and strong as it was in her lamentably -and wonderfully- vivid memories, had settled on her hip.

And then they were kissing, her empty coffee mug clattering to the floor as she was consumed by the embrace, her hands instinctively rising to wrap about his neck and pull him even closer. Briefly, she tried to figure out who had made the first move, who had broken their bargain, but honestly she had no idea. Maybe she'd leaned into him and he'd closed the distance. Maybe it had been entirely her advance. Maybe they'd been drawn together at precisely the same moment. Maybe... god, did he know how to kiss her just so, so that she couldn't even think straight.

Merri lost herself entirely in the embrace for the minute or so that felt both an eternity and no time at all, before it waned to a natural end.

"Pride won't be... back for another for-ty minutes," Chris said, his drawl broken with breathlessness.

She stepped back from him, and a sheepish look colored his face in a shade of pink. Was he really embarrassed about suggesting such a thing? When he knew every inch of her naked body?

Smiling in a coy manner she had no business sporting, she took her partner's hand and led him off to the first-floor bathroom. Not only was Pride in a meeting downtown for the next hour or so, with absolutely no hope of escape, but Patton Plame was doing consulting work for the main office. The Navy intelligence specialists had packed up shop a month ago. And they were all by their lonesome, holding down the fort... Completely alone… Just the two of them...

Nevertheless, Merri locked the door behind her, the click echoing through the tiled space, and making Chris grin a mischievous grin before he was suddenly on her, kissing her, touching her, caressing her with such an eager intensity that he'd backed her against the wall in a matter of seconds.

"I been wantin' ta touch ya for weeks," he said between nips at the sensitive skin of her throat, his hands untucking her blouse and delving beneath to run calloused fingers over her bare stomach, and over her bra to cup her breasts, making her moan and forget entirely about all the reasons she'd decided it could only be that one weekend, just the one, with Chris LaSalle.

Because no one ever had, or ever would touch her quite like he did. Even in his haste to remove her boots, pants and underwear, his attention to her never wavered, his hands caressing her bare skin in just the right places, his lips imparting stirring kisses on her thighs and hips, returning to her mouth as he rose to his feet, reached for his belt...

Do you have a condom?" she asked, barely posessing the faculties to remember safety first.

"Uh... mebbe," Chris looked at her curiously, his brow furrowed slightly. "We ain't never needed one before…"

"You know I was sleeping with James, before he ran off again. And who knows where his penis has been," she said, holding his gaze, wondering at the brief flash of jealousy in his eyes, something he'd displayed none of in the two months since they'd had their brief affair. Not when she continued to date Sam, not when James popped back up into her life. Hell, Chris had been so easy-going about it, that he'd even teased her about her multiple men problem. Little did he know, he was just as much on her mind and in her contemplations as the other two when she'd considered her options (more like, 'problems'). Not that she thought LaSalle was truly an option. Because he wasn't... he hadn't been. Only she'd never stopped thinking about him, being with him, the sex of course, but also all the fun they had, teasing, joking, busting bad guys, sharing meals and stories about family and friends. Chris was her friend, and briefly her lover. But James had been an unfinished chapter in her history. And she hated loose ends. So she'd been drawn to him by the ties that had never been truly severed.

Of course, he was a runner, just like her, just like she'd been. And he'd vanished on her again, but not before she could rightly tell him off, tell him if he left this time, he left her life for good. There would be no going back for them again. One second chance was all she was willing to give.

"Could try this 'un," Chris said, brandishing an old beat-up condom packet he'd retrieved from his wallet. "Can't guarantee it's not expired. Date's rubbed off."

Merri plucked it from his hand, studied the old prophylactic.

"I always made him wear one," she said. "So it's your call."

"I ain't been with nobody but you for a long time, Merri," Chris said, that adorable bit of timidity showing through that was rare in the normally confident man. Then he grinned that stupid charming grin of his before kissing her and tossing the old condom aside. She made a mental note to make sure it made it into the trash can later, or someone might get suspicious about what their coworkers were up to in their absence. And then once again, she forgot everything in the entire world but the man embracing her.

And why did he feel so good? Just as good as before. There'd been all sorts of doubt in her mind, that she was romanticizing being with Chris LaSalle because she could no longer have him. But oh, lord, she hadn't been. And she couldn't figure out precisely what it was that made him the most fantastic lover she'd ever had, would likely ever have. James had been good. She wasn't going to lie to herself just because he'd more or less broken her heart. Sex with him had always been satisfying and fun. But Chris... What was it about him?

James was taller, leaner. Chris shorter and more muscular. But when it came to their male anatomy, they weren't very different. She knew those portions of their flesh likely better than they themselves did. And without side-by-side comparison, Merri couldn't say one man was larger, smaller, thicker, thinner, or differently shaped than the other. So she could only conclude that it wasn't a physical difference, but one of personality and maybe soul, the way they made love to her, the way Chris made love to her...

He made the world fade away into dull hues and muffled sounds, until he was the only vivid thing in the universe, the only real thing, its center, her entire world. When they were together, he was everything. Absolutely everything.

It could've only been a couple minutes. Or it could've been hours. Merri had no way of telling. And neither did she care, as her body turned to jelly and she braced herself against the wall to prevent herself from slumping entirely to the floor, which while not filthy, was still probably not the cleanest surface to find oneself bare-assed upon.

Chris had his arms braced against the wall, hands on either side of Merri's head, panting as he regained his breath. Admittedly, he'd done all the work, holding her up against the ceramic tile when she wrapped both legs about his waist and he'd pounded her determinedly into the wall like a carpenter with a particularly stubborn nail.

They began to laugh, bubbling, giddy laughter over their naughty romp, as they once more stared into one another's eyes. His blue ones were lively, the skin crinkling at their corners as he chuckled, until finally he leaned in and kissed her gently, affectionately on the corner of her mouth and went to the sink to clean himself up. She focused on her heaving chest, on slowing her breathing, not daring to yet leave the support of the wall as the post-coital flood of endorphins tingled in her limbs and deep in her belly, her muscles feeling pleasantly weak and exhausted.

Ever the gentleman, Chris LaSalle returned to her with a wet paper towel and proceeded to tenderly clean her up as well, the tepid water raising goose bumps on her skin as it swiped over her naked thighs, before he tossed it away, recovered her clothes and helped her into her panties and trousers, put her boots on her feet, supporting her loose-limbed, sexually-sated body as he did so.

"Thanks," she said when he rose to his full height, placing him straight at eye level with her once more wearing her heeled leather boots.

"I'm the one who should probably be thankin' ya," he said. "Ya have no idea how crazy it was makin' me, not bein' able ta touch ya, kiss ya..."

"Fuck me?"

He looked briefly insulted by the vulgarity, but she smiled wryly at him and he broke out in a grin, shaking his head.

"Yeah, that, too," he said. And then he was pinning her with that unsettling, captivatingly intense version of his dark blue gaze. "I can't seem ta resist ya. Why is that?"

Merri could sympathize. She placed a hand on his cheek.

"I find myself facing the same problem, Chris…

And I have no idea why."

A/N: Well, so much for the rules of the deal they made…