De La Costa enters Olivia's office with Max in tow. Elliot has scrambled beneath her desk to hide.
"Good news Rachel," he begins. "My chemists assure me that you will have your product on schedule," he informs her. "And it will be every bit as good as what you and my driver sampled last night."
Olivia pushes her chair away from the desk so she's able to cross her legs and seem more relaxed than she is. But, she has the strongest impulse to look down at Elliot where he's sitting.
"That's excellent Christian," she responds. "It should make my 'invitation only' clubs very popular," she tells him.
She uncrosses her legs and scoots closer to the desk so she won't be tempted to look down at him.
"Yes," the older man agrees. "And maybe so lucrative that you'll want to do more business with me in the near future."
Olivia swallows harshly trying to ignore the fact that Elliot is now rubbing the inside of one of her ankles. He knows it's a particularly sensitive spot for her and she can't respond. So, she does the next best thing and gets up from the desk.
"If all goes well," she begins, showing De La Costa and his brute to the door. "You can count on it."
"Until Thursday," he says kissing her hand again.
"See you then," she tells him before closing and turning the lock behind them.
Olivia takes a moment to lean against the door, listening for her new associates' retreating footsteps. When she's certain that they've left she storms back towards her desk in a huff, shoving aside the leather chair.
"Get the hell out here Elliot," she seethes, putting her hands on her hips.
He crawls from beneath the desk standing up to his full height directly in front of her trying to hide a grin with his hands in his pockets. Elliot feels like he's in Catholic school again and got busted trying to look up Maria Antonetti's skirt.
"Are you trying to get us both killed," she asks nearly yelling. "What if I reacted to what you were doing?"
"I knew you wouldn't," he says with a smirk. "Your level of restraint has always been better than mine."
"Well my first inclination is to slap the hell out of you," she warns him. "So I guess you're right."
"I could say I was sorry," he begins. "But that would be a lie."
"How is it that you're not driving De La Costa tonight," she asks annoyed, attempting to step around him to retake her seat in the leather chair.
"He gave me the night off," he answers, beating her to the chair. "So I wanted to make sure everything went okay."
"Since when do you check up on me," she asks shaking her head at his juvenility and taking a seat on the desk next to him, resting her hands on either side of her hips and crossing her legs.
He gets up to stand in front of her. Elliot places his hands next to hers, leaning in to her personal space.
"I've always checked up on you," he whispers into her ear. "You just didn't know it."
She studies him then, looking into his eyes.
"Are you still high," she asks solemnly. That excuses both of their behaviors last night. But she expected him to be back to his normal buttoned up self. And she definitely didn't expect him to continue to flirt with her. It's a bit unnerving.
Elliot pulls away and joins her on the desk. He thinks about his answer for a few seconds before responding.
"You know," he begins. "Every time someone asked why we weren't sleeping together as partners, my response was always, "I'm married," he reveals.
"Yeah mine too," she tells him. "What's your point?"
"I didn't say, "Because I love my wife too much" or "because the NYPD has rules about it", he continues. "I wouldn't have betrayed Kathy, or my vows or made the mistake of trying to turn you into that person," he says. "But…"
"But what El," she asks turning towards him.
He focuses on the aquarium in front of them when he explains. "But there were times when I…really wanted to."
Elliot stares down at his hands, placed in his lap during the conversation. He hopes being truthful hasn't cost him whatever he has left with her.
Olivia knows he's looked at her in other than partnerly ways over the years but she never expected to hear that. They've both heard the rumors about their nonexistent sexual relationship. But she didn't think he'd given actual thought to trying to make them come true. Olivia had from time to time but, for some reason she put him into a little box marked, "partner, married, friend" and filed it away in the back of her mind. Apparently his file on her, was a lot closer to the forefront of his thoughts than she felt was possible.
"How long," she asks, staring at the side of his face.
"How long what," he rasps still focusing on his hands.
She takes an impatient breath before continuing. "How long have you wanted to?"
"Long enough to know it's not a rebound thing because of my divorce from Kathy," he acknowledges. "And…I know I wasn't the only one who was feeling something," he states finally looking at her.
It's Olivia's turn to stare at the fish tank. She thought she was better at hiding her feelings. If they both weren't so stubborn, so resolute in knowing that giving in to their natural chemistry would turn them into people they didn't want to be, last night would've happened years ago.
"How do you know," she asks, nearly whispering.
"I've felt you looking more than once while we were partners," he tells her. "Then there was the way you responded to me last night," he reveals. "And that third time…," he continues without needing to finish.
Olivia knows she's blushing as she shakes her head remembering the previous night.
"It was so…much," he tells her.
"Too much," she agrees. "And," she says as he holds her gaze, simply waiting. "I felt very guilty this morning before you told me about the divorce," she admits. "I don't know how easy it'll be for me to reconcile what happened between us last night with the married family man I knew."
"Know," he says, correcting her. "You know me Liv. I'm the same person you worked with all those years. I still have my family. I'm just not married anymore."
"How are the kids," she asks moving on to a safer topic of discussion.
He takes a breath and grins. Talking about his children always brings a smile to his face.
"Dick and Liz are at NYU now, Kathleen is starting grad school at Columbia, Eli is in kindergarten and Maureen's getting married in the fall. Everyone's good."
She nods and contemplates her next question before asking.
"How's Kathy taking this entire thing El," she asks earnestly.
"Wow," he says. "You are a saint," he adds, smiling and causing her to do the same. "But Kathy's absolutely fine. We embraced, we wished each other happiness and we walked away amicably."
"Now it's my turn to say wow," she tells him getting up and beginning to move away. Elliot surprises her by reaching for her hand and stopping her. Save for last night and undercover jobs, he's never done that. It's always been a comforting pat on her shoulder or her arm.
"Our time is over Liv, we sincerely tried," he says, standing up to face her. "No one cheated, we have five great kids together and we don't hate one another. You're guilt is misplaced," he advises her.
"Thanks El," she begins. "I think I needed to hear that."
They both look down and realize they're still holding hands.
"I'm not married anymore," he rasps stepping closer.
"You're not married anymore," she repeats, taking a step towards him.
Olivia has butterflies in her stomach like it's her first date. She realizes she really wants him to kiss her again. They stand there just looking at each other for what seems like an eternity before Elliot reaches up and lays a hand against her neck, caressing the side with his thumb.
He leans in slowly, giving her time to pull away or to say no. When she makes no moves either way he presses his lips lightly against hers until he feels her kissing him back. It's not rushed but tentative. They're just testing one another to see if they were magnetically drawn because of simple drug induced horniness. Once he nibbles a bit on her lower lip before taking it fully into his mouth, the fire is sparked. His tongue sweeps the roof hers before he's sucking on her upper lip. Olivia loves the way he savors her mouth as if she's his favorite dessert.
Before she realizes what she's doing, Olivia becomes the one doing the kissing instead of the one being kissed. She's sliding her lips against his, invading his mouth and tasting him. She puts an arm around his neck and pulls him closer still and that fire becomes a full on blaze.
They hadn't planned on letting things get out of hand but they're quickly escalating. He backs her into the wall next to the fish tank continuing to kiss her, threading his hands through her hair and pushing his body up against hers. Olivia puts her other arm around his neck, Elliot's hands move to her waist pulling her in, leaving no light between them and roaming the curves of her back until they both need to breathe.
After the short pause Olivia pushes him back on top of the desk. She's standing between his legs leaning over him kissing his neck, then his lips again. When Elliot feels her reaching for the top button of his shirt he strips off his sport coat. It's her undressing him again as they constantly switch roles from prey to predator.
Once his shirt is off Olivia can't stop herself from feeling the hard planes of his chest and running her hands over his defined stomach. Her fingers can't get enough of what her mind has been fantasizing about since the first time she'd seen him shirtless. Elliot doesn't hesitate in cupping her ass after years of only looking but not touching. She's licking and sucking on his neck as he pulls her in close enough to feel his burgeoning erection.
"We should stop," she says, halfheartedly.
"Uh huh," he responds in kind before finding the zipper to her dress.
He gets it down far enough to be rewarded with Olivia's tanned breasts wrapped in his favorite color of royal blue. Elliot dips his tongue in between her cleavage causing an unintended small moan to escape her lips. As Olivia feels his smile against her skin, she's just remembered any sounds she makes only spurs him on.
It takes all of thirty seconds for him to divest her of the dress completely, pick her up and carry her to the sofa. He's kissing his way down her stomach when the phone on her desk begins to ring.
"I have to get that," she says, sitting up on both elbows.
"Leave it," he rasps, while licking circles around her belly button.
"El come on," she attempts again, this time successfully stopping him. He lets her up just in time to get the call before the phone stops ringing.
Olivia bends over the desk to grab it instead of going around, giving Elliot a full view of her ass in the matching royal blue satin and lace boy shorts. That sight alone contributes to the uncomfortable tightness in his slacks. He doesn't hesitate in deciding to join her at the desk.
"Hello," Olivia says, attempting to calm herself from very recent activities.
Elliot comes up from behind, sandwiching her between the desk and the full length of his body, unapologetic and bold about letting her feel just exactly how much he wants her. He's slowly placing warm, moist kisses on her shoulder trying to distract her from the phone call.
"Ms. Martin it's Julie," says the manager. "There's a guy down here that's run up a two thousand dollar tab and is refusing to pay," she informs her.
"And you can't handle this because," Olivia responds with a surprisingly steady voice. Elliot has one hand inside her bra and the other is toying with the little white bow at the top of her panties. She bats his hand away but he's unrelenting and she has to hold the phone with the other hand.
"He says if he's going to spend that much, that the owner should at least thank him for his business before he says goodnight," Julie tells her.
"Um," Olivia begins, trying to control her breathing. "Tell him I'm," she says, feeling Elliot's hand slip lower, simultaneously kneading her breast. "Busy," she manages to get out.
"He's really adamant Ms. Martin," Julie advises. "I know it's not much compared to our normal customers but I don't want to get the police involved."
Elliot has found his way beneath her La Perla, teasing and stroking annoyingly slow before parting her and slipping a finger inside.
"Son of a bitch," she inadvertently says into the phone, squeezing her eyes shut at the slip.
Elliot enters her with another picking up the pace, rubbing against the most sensitive parts of her. She's barely able to hold onto the receiver any more.
"He's not that bad of a guy," Julie comments, completely ignorant of what's going on.
"Give me five," Olivia begins, before Elliot tweaks her hardened nipple. "Fifteen minutes Julie," she concludes.
"I'll let him know," Julie says, before hanging up.
"Fuck," she says covering the hand he has over her breast, while the other is planted on the desk in front of her. He feels the moisture pooling around his fingers knowing she's ready.
"Not yet," Elliot responds, removing his hands from her body. He moves both her hands to plant them on the desk in front of her. "Don't move," he whispers from behind, smoothing her panties down her thighs.
Olivia hears him unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. Her legs nearly begin to shake. It's one of her many fantasies come true. Only the desk was in an interrogation room.
Elliot steps between her legs, spreading them further apart. Olivia feels his hand on her right shoulder, bending her over further. He smoothes his hands down her arms and intertwines his fingers with hers.
"You ready," he asks, whispering into her ear. Her mind is spinning.
"Yes," she says, moments later she feels him. Deep and unrelenting. "Shit."
The moment he's inside her time stops and so does he. Elliot doesn't want to move because though it's the second time, it feels better than the first because they aren't high.
"El please," she says, shaking him from his reverie. "You have to move."
He knows they don't have much time so he tries to make the most of it. The new angle is tighter, the friction created, better. It's not long before he hears what he's come to love. The moaning of his name on her lips.
"El," she says, breathily as he starts off slow and easy. "You gotta," she continues, trying to tell him he needs to hurry.
"I know," he says, beginning to move faster. "No time," he continues, hinging his hips in an impossible rhythm. One hand intertwines with one of hers while the other is splayed on her stomach.
He increases the pace for her but hates having to rush. She moves the hand he has on her stomach up and over one of her breasts. He pulls it from her bra to continue kneading it, tweaking her hardened nipple, giving her what she wants.
It won't take long for Olivia to reach her climax. She's already sensitive from his earlier attention.
"Elliot," she moans. "Baby I'm gonna," she warns, but it's too late. Her muscles are clenching around him as she braces herself on the desk in front of her.
Having satisfied her, he slows down and after a few more strokes he finds his own release. He wishes they had more time together.
He rests his head on her back for a few minutes just holding her steady. Her legs are probably wobbly and he doesn't want her to fall.
"You okay," he asks sincerely, rubbing her sides and withdrawing himself.
"I'm fine," she says, pulling up her underwear and adjusting her bra.
After pulling his pants up, he goes to pick up her dress for her. When he turns he finds her handing him his shirt.
"I think that'd look better on you," he says, before taking it from her.
"Maybe later," she tells him, giving him a mischievous smile before accepting her dress.
They get themselves dressed before taking turns cleaning up in her private bathroom. When he comes out, Olivia can't help herself. She's grinning from ear to ear.
Elliot approaches her and wraps his arms around her in a hug. The few times he's embraced her, it's always been difficult to let her go. This time is no different.
"I thought this would be weird," she says into his ear, with her arms around his neck.
"I thought hearing you moan my name would be weird," he quips, garnering a slap on the back of the head.
"You know what I mean El," she tells him. "We don't have the excuse of being under the influence this time."
"I know Liv," he says pulling back to look into her eyes. "But it's you," he begins. "And I've never felt weird about wanting you, guilty yes, but not weird," he admits, garnering another smile from her.
"Sweet talker," she responds, placing a short kiss on his lips. "Can I make a confession without you becoming impossibly more smug than you already are?"
"Sure," he says, tilting his head. "Spill it Benson."
"Since last night," she begins. "Every time I see you, I have these flashbacks," she continues. "And I want you all over again."
He just smiles and mimics the short kiss she gave him earlier.
"I feel the same. And since we're confessing," he begins. "I'm thinking of baseball stats right now so I don't carry you over to that couch and strip you naked," he says, eying her lips.
Olivia just shakes her head and smiles. She can't say she would object to him doing just that.
"I should really get down there," she says subconsciously looking at his crotch before looking into his eyes again, "I mean downstairs," she adds, quickly with a grin.
"You're right," he says, but kisses her cheek, then his favorite spot behind her ear and her neck.
"You're not making this easy," she responds, tilting her head to give him better access.
"Sorry," he tells her unconvincingly before capturing her lips again. Olivia puts both hands on his beard, cupping his face before stopping to breathe.
"If you don't stop kissing me," she rasps, an inch away from his lips. "We'll never leave this room."
He takes a step away from her and stuffs his hands into his pockets before the temptation to find the zipper to her dress again overwhelms him.
Olivia looks at the gesture and smiles knowingly. She has the same overwhelming urge to keep touching him.
"You're right. I'm gonna go," he tells her heading for the door.
"It's about time," she responds jokingly, unlocking it and walking him out.
"Olivia," he begins. "When this case is over…" He wants to tell her he doesn't want to go back to not seeing her, hearing her voice or just simply being around her. But expressing his emotions verbally aren't one of his strengths.
"Yeah El," she responds with raised eyebrows.
"Can I…take you out on a date," he asks, suddenly shy.
"You don't think that's backwards," she asks tilting her head, standing with one hand on the door knob. Olivia knows the kind of man her former partner is or at least she likes to think she still does. Old fashioned. And she's both amused and flattered that he wants to take her out on a date after they've already been intimate. Repeatedly.
"Definitely not," he says right away. "I wanna' do this right," he continues. Then, almost inaudibly he adds, "You deserve better."
"Okay then," she answers. "I think I'd like that."
He kisses her one last time on the cheek, lingering for a moment. It's still new but she likes the beard and the way it feels against her skin. Olivia closes her eyes momentarily for the scent of him. It's one of the many things she's missed and still loves.
"Be careful," she tells him. "I don't want anyone to see you leaving."
"I should be okay," he responds. "Fin's waiting for me."
"How'd you get Fin to help you," she asks with a raised eyebrow. "The last time you saw each other he punched you in the face."
"We talked," he says simply. "We're fine."
"I'm glad," she says opening the door. "See you later."
"Oh and Liv," he says, pausing with a cocky grin.
"Yeah," she responds, knowing he's about to say something crazy.
"Last night was not just…intense," he begins. "It was also very very good."
"Yes," she says, blushing again. Olivia doesn't remember ever flushing red so often around a man, let alone one she's known for such a long period of time. "It was," she tells him, confirming something she knows he already knew. Cocky bastard. "And the last fifteen minutes weren't the worst I've ever spent either."
He nods, gives her a devilish grin and leaves her before he can't keep his hands to himself any longer. He spots Fin on the bottom of the steps and he sneaks him out of the same entrance he let him into. Elliot had called his former coworker, apologized for hurting Olivia and asked for his help. To his great relief Fin agreed.
On days when De La Costa demands that Elliot be available at the crack of dawn, Elliot spends the night at the mansion. He remembered later that the room he and Olivia spent the night in is his on those occasions.
After he leaves Envious he makes the hour drive out to the mansion. It's late when he enters and all seems to be quiet. He knows his orders are not to do anything to make the man suspicious, but where his former partner's safety is concerned, everything seems to go out the proverbial window.
The cook and maids have retired for the evening. And, as he passes De La Costa's master bedroom on the second floor he hears the man "entertaining" a woman he must've met at the club. Elliot takes the opportunity to break into Christian's private office to see what he can find.
He's going through drawers, opening cabinets and going through paperwork when he inadvertently steps on a button hidden beneath the carpet under the desk. The wall slides open revealing an electronic safe accessible only with a six digit key code. To each side of the safe are shelves full of DVDs. Each one is entitled what he guesses is "Salty to Sweet" in Spanish, labeled with various dates.
Elliot momentarily forgets he's there to collect dirt on De La Costa and immediately looks for the DVD from last night. He finds it, tucks it into his inside jacket pocket and forgoes the safe. There's no way he's getting into it without the code. Elliot steps on the button again successfully closing the hidden wall.
As he turns to leave he comes face to face with a very pissed off looking Christian De La Costa and an equally unhappy looking Max.
"What the hell are you doing in here O'Leary," Max asks pointing his gun at Elliot.
"Max," begins De La Costa. "Fire Elliot for me please."
Before Elliot can respond, Max puts two bullets in his chest. Crimson spreads across his shirt like a water color painting. He drops to his knees before falling forward onto his stomach unmoving.
"Clean up this mess will you," orders the drug dealer. "I don't want his blood staining my carpet."
Max simply nods as De La Costa exits.