Alex POV

"You want coffee?"

"That depends," I answered as I looked up from the file I was reading and found Bobby staring at me with that look…the one I've seen half a dozen times since Saturday night.

The one that says give me five minutes and I'll have you screaming my name.

I love that look.

Except at the moment, we're sitting in the squad room at 1PP, so unfortunately, there's not going to be any screaming any time soon.

"On?" he questioned.

"Are there strings attached?"

"To coffee?" he asked innocently as he got up from his chair. I raised an eyebrow at him and he bit back a smile, ducking his head in an effort to hide it.

Because last night when he offered to get me a bottle of water, there were strings.

Arousing, pleasurable, satisfying strings.

"Eames," he said with feigned rebuke. "Do you want the coffee or not?"

"Yeah, sure," I said with a shrug.

Why not?

I think I like being indebted to him.

I know I like how things are going with us.

And I know…it hasn't even been forty-eight hours.

But we worked for a while yesterday, handling the wrap-up of the Dean Holiday case. And now we've been at work for nearly half an hour today.

And so far, it's been…much, much better than I hoped.

I subtly watched him walk away and then I heard Ross.

"Logan! A word?"

Apparently there is going to be screaming in 1PP today, I thought with a smirk.

Shaking my head, I looked over at Logan as he got up from his desk. I saw his eyes shift over towards Ross' office and then he made his way towards my desk.

"I'm starting to think I can set my watch by you," I teased. "Mondays and Fridays at eight…Logan gets called on the carpet."

"It's not always at eight," he replied with a grin. "Once it was in the afternoon."

"Still…you know, if you want the boss to notice you, sometimes it's smart to do something good."

"I'm just having a bad run. You on the other hand…"

He trailed off and looked at me expectantly and I felt a rush of anxiety over what he might know.

Did Bobby say something to him?

Maybe…but when? We've barely been out of each other's sight since Saturday night.

So maybe it's just because of what Bobby said…that Logan thinks we're sleeping together.

Of course now we are…

"Me, what?"

He pointed at my neck and then lowered his voice and said, "You must be on a really good run. I mean, judging by that thing on your neck."

It's a damn good thing I've got willpower because with every fiber of my being I wanted to look.

Because Bobby most definitely spent some quality time with his lips on my throat. Saturday night…Sunday…earlier this morning…

Don't think about that right now, I chastised myself.

"Yeah, sure," I replied with forced casualness. "I look and then you think you know how I spent my weekend. I'm not that easy to dupe."

"Hey, I'm just trying to be a friend here," he responded easily. "I figured you might want to button up a little more, try to hide that hickey before the captain sees it. You don't really want him to start thinking about you like that do you?"

Ross.

My biggest concern with this new relationship.

I have a good feeling that he'll go ballistic if he finds out. Not that I plan on him finding out.

Of course, if I go into his office sporting a hickey...

But still, he can't stand Bobby and he likes me so he'd never guess that my new lover is Bobby. And I hate that Ross thinks so little of Bobby that he'd dismiss him that easily, but he would and it works to our benefit.

I managed to smile at Logan, brushing off his tease as I went back to work, but I watched him with my peripheral vision and as soon as he turned around, I attempted to look at my neck.

"Gotcha," I heard him say, and I looked up to find him grinning at me smugly.

I threw my pen at him, but as he walked away, I had to chuckle. I should've known he was only messing with me.

"What are you laughing about?" Bobby asked in a hushed tone as he came up behind me.

"Logan. Don't ask," I said as I pulled the collar of my blouse closer together. I'm going to have to make a trip to the ladies' room in a minute so that I can quit worrying about what may or may not be on my neck.

"Oh, I'm asking. But you can tell me later," he said confidently as I turned around in my chair. I reached for the coffee he was holding out, but he pulled it back slightly and said, "Uh uh. Where's my payment?"

"For free coffee?"

"For the delivery," he declared with a boyish grin.

I absolutely love him like this. And I know it won't be like this all the time but seeing him happy, knowing it's because of me...that's a damn good feeling.

"I'll buy your lunch," I offered.

He looked thoughtful for a minute and then reached past my outstretched hand to set the cup on my desk. His movement allowed his mouth to come close to my ear, and when it did, he whispered, "I was hoping I'd be having you for lunch."

The words barely registered before he was back around to his side of the desks, sitting down in his chair with a nonchalant expression on his face.

As for me, I'm hot and bothered just from his proximity and suggestive remark.

I don't know why I thought it would be easy to work with him.

Although really, I didn't think it would be all that easy. I actually thought he'd be over-the-top cool and disinterested in an effort to disguise our relationship, and that would've been tough.

But he's the complete opposite and it's so wonderfully torturous.

It's like we have this shared secret that's bonding us even closer together.

And I guess we do. I just never guessed that Bobby could be so light-hearted and…well, fun.

I mean, the sex is…incredible. Better than that, even. I'm not sure there's a word good enough to describe it.

I've never been with a man with so much stamina and passion. We didn't use all four of those condoms before leaving Atlantic City, but they're definitely long gone by now. And we're halfway through another box.

Bobby's adventurous, too. And spontaneous. And licentious in the most arousing ways.

This morning, I was in his kitchen making coffee. I just finished pouring in the water, and then I pushed the button and stepped back to wait for it to brew when I heard Bobby come into the room.

I turned around as he approached, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. His hair was still damp from the shower and he smelled strongly of soap and wet skin and I was immediately hit with the urge to wrap my arms around him and bury my nose against his chest.

But I guess he was hit with a different kind of urge.

Without saying a word, he picked me up and set me on the counter and then pushed my legs apart so that he could stand between them. I'd been dressed only in one of his t-shirts, but he quickly pulled that off of me and then looked me over hungrily before taking my face in his hands and kissing me thoroughly.

I tightened my thighs against his hips and then tried to tug off his towel using my feet, but he pulled back and shook his head, flashing me a predatory smile and then he slowly kissed his way down my throat.

He kept moving downward, stopping briefly to lavish attention on my breasts, and then he continued the southerly track until he was just right there and I could barely catch my breath as he put the full focus of his concentration on me.

His hands were on my backside, holding me to him, and his beard brushed enticingly along my inner thighs as he skillfully worked his mouth over me, and I could feel the release building with delicious intensity, and I guess he could feel it, too, because he redoubled his efforts as my breathing quickened and my skin flushed and then the nearly overwhelming ecstasy rolled through me as every part of my body was tingling with pleasure.

It took me a minute to realize that I had a fairly tight hold on his hair, and it took me another minute to actually let go.

"I'm sorry," he said softly as he kissed his way back up my body.

"You're sorry? Are you kidding me?" I asked, and I had to laugh.

He grinned at me as he pushed my hair back from my face and then he said, "I mean for just attacking you like that. But I was in the shower and I was thinking about doing that to you, and…"

"Lucky for me I was in the vicinity," I answered with a smile. Then I glanced down at him and said, "But you know, you can't go to work like that."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Which is how we ended up making love in the kitchen. This morning. Right before work.

Even before we were married, Joe and I did ninety-five percent of our love-making at night, in the bedroom, with the door closed and the lights off.

And again, I know – Bobby and I have only been together together for thirty-six hours, so who knows? Maybe the passion will taper off.

I looked at him across the desk, where he was studying a file while sitting back in his chair, with one foot resting on the opposite thigh and a pencil twirling thoughtfully between his fingers…

Yeah, I don't see the desire going away any time soon.

At least not on my part.

He must have felt my eyes on him because he suddenly glanced up and his lips quirked into a knowing smile and then he looked down at the file again, but just that brief connection has me buzzing all over.

It's a good thing Logan's still in Ross' office, because I have no doubt that if he looked at me right now, he'd just know.

But as I was saying, as amazing as the sex is, it's so much more than that. We've actually been having conversations. About important stuff…personal stuff. And I think I've laughed more in the past two days than I have in the last two years.

"So what do you think it was this time?" Bobby said quietly to me as Logan came out of the captain's office.

"Logan?"

"Yeah. I mean, nobody gets in that much trouble, not even me."

I watched as Logan went back to his desk where Wheeler was waiting for him.

"Good point," I agreed. "But at least it looks like he's sharing with his partner now."

"Well, I did give him that bit of advice," he replied with a hesitant smile.

"So he taught you the birds and the bees and you taught him to make nice with his partner? I'm not sure that's a fair trade," I teased.

"We didn't talk about sex," he insisted in a whisper. "You know, I have done it once or twice before."

"I'm sure I don't want to know about that," I said with a roll of my eyes. And I didn't mean to get into the topic of past experience. Not so much because I care about his, but I don't want to get into mine. That kind of discussion rarely ever ends well.

And…yeah, okay, I do care about his. I don't like even thinking about him being with anyone else.

"Before but never again. I mean, with anyone else," he said meaningfully, holding my gaze from across our desks.

And there's that feeling again.

I love that I get it just as often from the things he says as I do from the things he does.

Never again, I repeated in my head as a smile crossed my face.

Meaning…he has long-term plans for us.

We haven't really talked about that aspect and yet it doesn't surprise me. I certainly wouldn't be an easy or convenient choice for him to have anything less than long-term.

He cares too much about our working relationship to risk ruining it with a fling.

Wheeler's voice broke through my thoughts as she shouted, "What?"

I shushed her as Bobby glanced over his shoulder and then cleared his throat after seeing Ross move towards the doorway.

Logan and Wheeler lowered the decibel on their conversation, and then left a few minutes later, so Bobby and I got back to work.

Well, sort of.

"Are we good?" he asked under his breath.

"You mean am I now thinking about other women you may or may not have slept with?" I asked wryly. And yes, I'm only teasing him. We've come so far in the short time since that undercover fiasco…there's no way I'm going to get angry at him for something like this.

The man has a past. So do I. End of story.

Besides, he spent too much time not talking to me before, so I'm never going to bust his balls for speaking up. That's not to say I won't get angry with him at some point, but when I do, then we'll talk.

As he waited for my response, he put his forearms on his desk, leaning across so that we were slightly closer to each other, but then another detective passed by, so I picked up the case file again, and as I stared blindly at it, I had the crazy thought that maybe we should start passing notes, like we're in middle school or something.

And then I figured that times have changed, right?

So I pulled out my cell phone.

We are so much better than good. Your apartment is about twenty minutes, round trip, right?

Without looking at Bobby, I put my phone down on my desk and concentrated on my paperwork, and as I heard his phone buzz, I wanted to look up at him, to see his face, but I didn't.

Although I could see it in my mind.

His brow furrowed as he clicks on the text message…his tongue sliding over his bottom lip as he reads my words…a quick flicker of his eyes over to me as the meaning of what I'm suggesting sinks in…a slight, mischievous smile as he types out a reply…

My phone buzzed right on cue.

I picked it up with forced indifference and glanced at the message.

Hmm…I wonder how many times I can make you scream in forty minutes.

My skin flushed as I thought about how easily he can make me come, and how much he loves that I'm so vocal about it.

How many times in forty minutes, I asked myself as I typed my reply:

I have no idea, but I can't wait to find out.

I set my phone down and tried to get back to business, but after a few seconds, it buzzed again.

I'm guessing four, but maybe five if I start on you while we're in the car.

I honestly had no idea that Bobby would be like this.

I love it.

Before I could respond, my phone signaled another text.

What color today? You got dressed before I got to see.

I'm never going to get any work done.

Of course, it's just paperwork. We wrapped up our case with the arrest Saturday night, and Ross hasn't given us anything new, so…

Red. Satin. Front hook.

I heard him exhale heavily as he read my words, and then my phone buzzed immediately.

And the panties?

I bit back a smirk as I typed:

You think I wouldn't make a point to match, now that there's a chance of you undressing me?

His chair creaked as he sat back and it's killing me not to look at him, but we're already being wildly inappropriate. But still…I'll just blame it on the newness of our relationship.

Besides, it's been too damn long since we've had this much fun at work and considering how many hours we spend actually working, who's it really going to hurt if we play around a little during slack time?

I shuffled some papers around and then picked up my phone to read his latest.

I'm just checking to see if you're wearing any today. And for the record, there isn't just a chance of it…it WILL happen.

If I'm wearing any?

Ah…the hotel Saturday night. That really threw him, when he slipped his hands inside my shorts and encountered nothing at all. What can I say? When I get comfortable for the night, I like going without. It's not like I expected him to discover my little secret.

Although I guess the possibility was in the back of my mind, since I did take the time that night for the fastest leg-shaving in history. Thank God I did, too, since his hands roamed over every inch of me.

I sighed and closed my eyes as the titillating memory washed over me.

He has the nicest hands…so big and gentle and talented.

And you're at work, I reminded myself sharply.

I need to quit acting like a lovesick teenager.

I typed a reply, so as not to leave Bobby hanging.

Yes, I am, and yes, they match. Now get back to work.

In five seconds, my phone buzzed.

How am I supposed to concentrate now?

I chanced a look at him and rolled my eyes and then replied.

Fake it. We've got three hours until lunch.

He responded:

I never fake anything. Do you?

A laugh escaped before I could stop it, and I shook my head as I looked at him with contrived reproach, pointing my finger at the file on his desk and putting an end to our texting.

At least for the time being.

Over the next several days, we did a lot of the same thing. Teasing and joking and seducing via text while we did our best to complete mindless paperwork.

And every day, our lunch breaks were spent at his place.

Every night was spent at his place.

And we bought another box of condoms. A bigger one, one that we thought might last us a while longer and yet by Friday, we'd nearly gone through that one, too.

Apparently, we both have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to carnal activities.

The entire week was like a dream. In fact, things were going so unbelievably well that I started to worry.

And I know. That sounds more like a Bobby thing to do, but I can't help it.

Life can't be this good, can it?

On Friday, Bobby and I helped out another pair of detectives, since we're still without a case.

"Can you believe Ross does this for the hell of it?" Hayward said as he handed me yet another stack of LUDs.

"Does what?" I questioned.

"Looks at LUDs," he answered. "You know, the department-issued cells."

"He monitors our phones?" I asked sharply.

"Yeah, Eames, so don't send your boyfriend any nudie shots," Hayward said on a laugh. "You'll give Ross a fucking heart attack, right?"

Bobby glared at Hayward and then glanced over at me and I can see the worry on his face, and I know mine probably looks the same.

Does he only look at the numbers, or does he get the log of texts, too? And why would he do that? What's he looking for?

I thought back over every x-rated thing I texted to Bobby this week and I suddenly started to feel sick.

"I'll be right back," Bobby mumbled as he got up from his chair, and I glanced over to see that Logan was back from lunch, and Bobby was heading in his direction.

Maybe he thinks Logan knows something about it, I don't know.

"Can you talk?" I heard him say to Logan.

But before Logan could respond, Ross shouted from across the room.

"Goren! Eames!"

Logan looked at me and chuckled as he asked, "What were you saying about Mondays and Fridays, Eames?"

"I'm sure we just pulled a case," I replied easily, but on the inside, the fear rolled through me at an alarming rate.

Is this it?

Are we really going to be busted by something as simple as Ross spying on his detectives' LUDs?

"Uh huh. I don't know…he's standing in the doorway," Logan said playfully. I'm sure he has no idea how scared I am right now, and I can't even begin to tease back.

Instead, I glanced worriedly at Bobby and I can tell he's about to go into vapor lock, which means I need to do the talking when we go into Ross' office.

What am I going to say?

Will he believe me if I say it's all one big joke? That we knew he was going to see them, so we decided to mess with him?

"I've got four words for you, Eames," Logan said under his breath as I neared his desk.

I noticed his gaze went briefly to Bobby and then back to me, and now I can tell that he sees my panic and he suspects we might be in trouble for something.

He probably even suspects what we might be in trouble for and I honestly don't care at all if he knows as long as Ross doesn't know.

"Yeah?" I asked, waiting to hear his words of wisdom because Lord knows he's been in enough trouble lately and yet he still has a job, so...

He nodded at me encouragingly, in a way that somehow eased my anxiety just a little, and then he said, "Lie your ass off."

TBC...