Author's Note: First, my apologies for not updating in so long. I went through a different time with writing, where I grew frustrated with the world of fan fic, and my own abilities. I had to take a hiatus for my own sanity! Slowly, I'm getting back into the swing of things. The light material of this chapter has helped, since it is mostly humor. I feel like I am still trying to find my niche again.

Anyway, enjoy! There are three parts left after this one – and the wait will not be nearly as long for the following chapters.

Part IV

Challenge

Tension was heavy in the air. He crouched and licked his lips, like a lion stalking its next meal on the Serengeti. The unknowing victim, light and agile on her feet, was nearly within reach of his claws. Stealth, silence, and strategy consumed the seconds as they ticked by. The predator nearly had his prey.

Danny glanced around the dim hallway, glad there was no one else around. Lindsay was making her way towards the women's locker room, as he lurked behind the janitor cart, waiting. The second she was close enough, he dashed out and grabber her, his strong arms nearly lifting her off her feet. She squeaked in surprise as he pushed her against the wall and began kissing the breath out of her, his hands journeying up under her shirt.

"Mmmph… grrmmmph….. Danny!" Writhing and muttering, she pushed away from him.

He pulled back, wondering why she was protesting. "What's wrong?" he asked, allowing his lower lip to protrude in the slightest of pouts.

"We can't do this anymore," she panted, holding him at bay with one hand, tucking her shirt back in with the other.

Uh-oh, this can't be good, Danny thought. Just play dumb. "We can't do what?"

"This," she said. "Maul each other like…", she paused, smoothing her hair with her palm, "mating jungle animals." She blushed, and smiled slightly. "Well, not at work, anyway."

The majority of the time, during arguments, Danny would give in to Lindsay. It was always easier to just let her have her way, and most of the time he was happy to do so. He had learned to chose his battles. This time, though, he wasn't going to surrender without a fight - he had needs, after all. He decided to try a little diplomatic reasoning. "We're careful, we're discrete, no one knows if we sneak in a little 'visit' during the day," he prodded. "Give me one good reason why we should stop."

"Because we're professionals… we should be professional… this is not." Lindsay's eyes were twinkling--she knew Danny would be reluctant, and she knew how to play him. He was putty in her hands. She knew that the way to get him was to make a challenge. "Let's make a bet. We'll see who can take the temptation, who will break first."

His competitive side emerging like a lion from the grass, he sneered. "Oh, I can handle it. The question is, can you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Here's the terms: the first person to make unprofessional physical contact, while we are working, loses."

"You're on. And what does the winner get?"

"The loser will do the laundry for a week. All of it."

Danny grinned. Now that sounded great. It would be hard to keep his hands off Lindsay in the work place, but having her do his laundry for a week was worth the effort involved. "Deal. Should be shake on it?" Lindsay made a face, so he added, "Shaking is professional contact."

She grabbed his hand and shook briefly. "Deal," she called sweetly over her shoulder, sashaying off to the locker room, her hips moving purposefully in a teasing rhythm.

Danny looked heavenward and moaned. "Give me strength."

---

Back in the trace lab, Danny felt more confident - even a bit smug. It would be easy enough to avoid temptation - he and Lindsay had been on separate cases lately, anyway. All he had to do was get through his day and focus on work exclusively. The other part of his brilliant strategy was to get her to break, then the rewards would be all his. Since it was almost a given he would win, he wished he had made some more demands about what the reward should entail. He could think of lots of things which would guarantee him the best week of his life.

He unwrapped a purple velvet riding jacket, which had belonged to the victim in his most recent case: a young equestrian star stabbed to death with a manure-encrusted pitchfork. Grateful that the pitchfork had been left to someone else to process, he picked over the jacket centimeter by centimeter, finding nothing curious except for a white, granular substance in the left pocket.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see Mac entering the lab, frowning. "Mornin', Boss," Danny chirped. After five years, he knew not to take Mac's grim expressions seriously.

"Anything from the jacket?" Mac asked, ignoring Danny's greeting.

Danny showed him the white trace, a sample of which was bagged and ready for testing. "Looks like sugar," he replied. "How it got into her pocket, I don't know, but maybe it can help us trace her steps last night."

Mac tossed a file down on the counter top. "I just spoke with her landlord. Turns out our vic's boyfriend is a member of the NYPD Mounted Unit."

"So horses were something they had in common, then. Did you get a name?"

"Officer Randy Mains. He isn't out on patrol yet, but should be at the stables. I want you to head over there and talk to him. If he wasn't involved in his girlfriend's death, then he probably doesn't know what happened to her yet." As Danny began to shrug off his lab coat, Mac added, "Take Lindsay with you."

Danny froze. No. Not good. Not Lindsay. Usually, he would jump at the opportunity to work with Lindsay. This week, though, he needed to stay far away from her, until shift was up. "She, uh, she's got her hands full. I can take this myself," he offered, attempting to be nonchalant but knowing he had failed as soon as the words left his mouth.

Mac shook his head. "She and Stella just wrapped up their case, and we could use some extra hands in trying to solve this one."

Danny, desperate now, tried stalling. He pointed to the riding boots on the table. "What about the rest of the clothing? Shouldn't I check those out first?"

"I'll have Adam take over these things." Mac paused, his eyes boring into Danny's. "Are you two having some kind of lovers' quarrel? Because I can't have your relationship affecting—".

"No, no, everything's fine," Danny assured him. It wasn't worth getting either one of them in trouble, especially after they put so much effort into keeping their personal lives separate from work. Mac was overly perceptive sometimes. "I'll get going."

Mac nodded curtly. "I already flagged Lindsay down in the hallway, she said to meet her at the truck."

"Great," he muttered, hoping the sarcasm wasn't evident to his boss. He slipped off his rubber gloves, tossed them in the trash, and headed for the elevator. Downstairs, she was waiting for him, leaning against one of the black SUVs.

"You drive," she called, tossing him the keys, smiling as innocently as a child. Once they were both seated inside, her voice took on a distinctive, seductive tone. "You know, the garage is so dark, so empty… no one is around…". She leaned forward slightly, smiling invitingly, lips begging for just one kiss.

Danny licked his own twitching lips, but caught himself and resisted the urge. "I don't think so. This car is department property. We're still on the clock." He sneered at her as he turned the key in the ignition and began backing out. "Nice try, Montana." Victory, he knew, would soon be his.

Morning traffic seemed lighter than usual, and their conversation during the ride was mundane and unremarkable. Arriving at the Mounted Unit's stable, there was no one around. The night shift horses were resting in the cool darkness, the smell of sweet hay permeating the air.

"I guess it goes with the territory, but it smells like a barnyard in here," Danny cracked.

"I love the way horses smell." Lindsay stood on her toes to peer in the first stall. A handsome black gelding stuck his head over the door and began nuzzling her. "Hi, big guy," she murmured, stroking his velvety nose.

"Hey, no flirting," Danny warned.

"You jealous?"

"Maybe," he huffed, shoving his hands into his pockets as his girlfriend loved freely on the big creature. "At least horses don't have laundry to do."

Lindsay's laughter rang out down the hallway, and they heard a door slam around the corner, then footsteps approaching. Danny noticed a large glass jar on a nearby tack box – it was full of sugar cubes. "Whoa, wait a minute. I found trace in the victim's coat pocket, it looked like sugar. Who carries cubes of sugar around in their pocket? Was she a big tea drinker?"

Lindsay opened the jar, pulling out one cube and offering it on her outstretched palm to the gelding. "It's a treat for the horses. They like sugar cubes." The horse crunched appreciatively, blowing on Lindsay's face in hopes of another snack.

"You'd better look out for that one," a man's voice said. "Phantom's a big flirt, but has an even bigger sweet tooth. He's just using you." A jolly looking man with red hair and a beard rounded the corner, smiling. His belly protruded dangerously over his belt, threatening to pop open his green plaid shirt. He introduced himself as the stable manager, and pointed to the badge on Lindsay's hip. "What's the occasion, officers?"

Danny stepped forward. "Detectives. Messer and Monroe. We're looking for Randy Mains. We have some questions for him, is he around?"

"He called in sick today." The man shook his head, frowning. "Unusual for Randy, he seems to be healthy as a… well, horse." He grinned apologetically at his own pun.

"Interesting," Danny muttered, raising an eyebrow at Lindsay. Convenient for the guy to be MIA right now.

"I guess we'll have to visit him at home," Lindsay said. "Can you give us an address?"

When the man returned with a contact card for Mains, Danny thanked him for his time, and Lindsay gave the horse one more pat before exiting the stable. As they walked out the door, Lindsay took a misstep and stumbled slightly. Danny, instinctively moving to steady her, saw an opportunity. He placed one hand on her back, and the other dangerously close to her chest.

"You okay?" he asked, eyes twinkling. Though she had regained her balance, he did not remove his hand from her chest.

"I'm fine, thank you." She blushed, then stepped away, sauntering back to the truck.

Disappointed, his hand dropped, but he smiled nonetheless. Life with Lindsay was never boring, it was always an adventure, always a competition, always fun. He knew that would keep their love growing even after the lust faded; though lately he wondered if the lust would ever fade.

On the drive to Randy Mains' home, she had a faraway look in her eyes, a naughty smile on her face. He grew more curious by the minute. "Lindsay?" he prompted. No response. "Montana, you with me here?" Her smile only grew wider, as did Danny's frustration. "What are you doing?" he finally hissed.

"Thinking of all the things I'll be doing to you the next time you're naked."

Her reply had come out matter-of-factly, as though she had just shared results of a DNA test with him. He nearly swallowed his tongue, and almost veered the vehicle off the road in the process. "Hot damn," he whispered, struggling to regain his composure and imagining the piles of laundry he would be forced to do if he lost. "You play to win, don't you?"

---

At the end of the day, Danny had another plan to make sure he won this challenge. He and Lindsay had agreed to meet outside the locker rooms after shift, so they could ride home together. Standing in the doorway of the men's room, he peeled off his shirt and waited. He knew she was wild for his bare chest, and she would be coming this way any minute. Sure enough, she soon came scuttling down the hall.

"Sorry I'm late," she explained breathlessly. "I just had to—". She froze when she realized he was not wearing a shirt.

Danny beamed, puffing out his chest slightly. He was positive she would not be able to resist touching him now.

"Uh, yeah," she stuttered, paling. "Sure, yeah, I'll uh… get my things." Swerving towards the ladies' room, she dropped her purse, more obviously than accidentally. "Oops!" she giggled. "Clumsy me." Bending over to retrieve it, her low-cut shirt provided him with an ample view that made his temperature rise ten degrees. She's good at this, he thought, focusing on the tile pattern of the floor instead of her body. He would not give in!

As Lindsay started to straighten back up, she slipped on the smooth floor, reaching out to grab Danny's leg for stability. She grabbed a bit too hard, however, causing him to lose his balance as well. Suddenly, they both slipped, tumbling to the floor in a heap.

After a few grunts and mumbles, they both broke into laughter over the situation they had gotten themselves into.

"This is crazy," she chastised. "We're just making it worse for each other."

"You're right. I think it's time for a compromise," he murmured, moving his lips to within centimeters of hers.

"So we'll just keep doing our own laundry, like always?"

He nodded. Logically, Danny realized, this was the best choice. If she did his laundry, all his stuff would probably smell like her water-lily fabric softener, and she would iron all of his shirts. He liked his shirts to look worn-in, not starched and stiff. He nodded, standing up and holding his hand out to her. "Shall we seal the agreement with a kiss?" he asked, pulling her upright and against his still-bare chest. Now, after such a frustrating day, he could have his cake and eat it too.

She put her hands on his shoulders, and stood on her toes to give him a peck. "Messer, I think we have a deal."