Same disclaimers apply!

A/N: Firstly, thanks so much for all the reviews I'm glad everyone is enjoying the slow burn and I'm sure you'll all be equally glad that the slow burn has finally ignited!

Rated M from now on, Mature readers only please.

Sorry it's taken a while between this and the last post, I had written this one backwards (in Liv's mind) but I dunno, the more I read it the more I felt like it just didn't work so I've re-jigged the next two chapters, hopefully you'll like it!

R&R please.

Apartment of Alexandra Cabot.

Same night …

I think I blacked out for a second, because all of a sudden she's straddling my lap, her slim fingers pushing against my chest beneath my collar bone, as she forces me back against the couch.

It took maybe thirty seconds, a few minutes, or possibly several hours for us to get here? I don't recall.

I simply can't remember. The feel of her lips against mine, her teeth raking over my bottom lip as her body starts to roll against me, it's too much, more than a few brain cells just exploded.

There it is, Alex Cabot – bad for your health.

"Alex … Alex …"

If I don't stop her now, I won't. We'll be naked and spent on her couch and the question of 'why' we're suddenly doing this, is it because it's what we both want or because she's scared and alone? With me being a safe form of comfort, will never be answered. I could pretend not to care, and believe me a very big part of me couldn't care less, if she wants me tonight and never again I think I'd still agree and go along with it. Trouble is, I couldn't bear to lose her because of the awkwardness of a one-night stand, as it is the thought of having to release her from my embrace in order to have this conversation makes me tremble with breathless fear.

"Alex?"

She stops, and lets go of my bottom lip from between her teeth, halting, hot breath against my cheek as she struggles over what to say next.

"What Liv?"

I bring my right hand up to her chin, urging her to turn her head and look at me. At first she's reluctant, looking anywhere but my face, her gaze silently hovering at my lips as she sighs deeply, before biting the bullet and looking me straight in the eyes.

"Not like this." I whisper, hoping to convey enough care and love for her through those simple words to keep her from running away from me. "I want you Alex, believe me, so bad, but not like this."

She sighs, and backs away from me slightly, her hands still against my chest. She traces each index finger along the length of my collarbones, from the middle towards my shoulders, following the steady motion with her eyes.

The action opens my shirt a little further, giving her access to a greater expanse of skin.

With the exact same purpose she takes with her into the courtroom, she undoes the two buttons at the neck of my shirt, pushing the material aside to reveal the barest hint of cleavage. I know that's what she's going for but I can't look, I can't take my eyes off her incredulous expression.

I'll always wonder – why now? What was it about this case, this moment, this evening with the two of us each silently remembering every evening we've spent together before now, that made a close friendship turn into something more? I want to ask her, fighting the urge to over think things and stop her advances yet again.

Instead all I do is gasp, as her head sinks and she places a soft kiss over the swell of my right breast.

"I don't wanna talk Liv." She whispers, words interspersed with further kisses. "I'm done talking." Her nose rests in the valley between my breasts and I feel her inhale, deeply, her hot breath as it comes back out sends shivers down my spine all the way to my legs – which tingle and feel like jelly.

My arms relax of their own accord, reaching around to grab her tight ass through the material of her jeans. She groans, and continues her exploration of my chest.

"Besides …"

I try and remember what she was saying before the kisses started.

"If you have to ask me what I'm doing Liv … then I'm clearly not doing it right."

With that she pulls back up to face me, her ass grinding in circles against my lap and in my hands, so perfect I can't fight the urge to pull her closer against me. Hoping to relieve some of the incredible tension building up between my inner thighs. She lifts her arms and wraps them loosely around the back of my neck, seeming to consider whether it's safe to try kissing me again.

"I just …"

I start, but I can't remember. I had wanted to say that I just need her to be sure, because I'm scared that she already has my heart and if this is just going to be a one-time thing then I honestly don't think I could recover.

I want to say everything, and nothing. I need her to know about all the times I longed to kiss her when we fought, longed to hold her when she let me see her be fragile, and longed to make her mine with a ferocity I was sure neither of us could ever handle when she gave me that look that made my insides melt and my eyes glaze over, betraying a myriad of dirty thoughts.

Instead I find I have no words, no argument, and no closing statement.

"Hmnph …"

My mouth releases this sound when she kisses me, every fibre of my being twists and writhes and melts beneath that simple, heated touch. She pulls away again, looking deep behind my eyes for some indication that I'm going to chastise her, or worse. Finding nothing but lust and fire she grins, exalted in her ability to turn me into a quivering mess with one simple kiss on the lips.

She catches my gaze as my eyes disappear behind hooded lids. "Again?"

I nod.

Her lips envelope me, her tongue like velvet, softly exploring every inch and every crevice, until I realise she's completely cast her spell on me and I try to fight back, pushing forwards to gain more access to her mouth.

She laughs and pulls away again. "I was wondering when you were going to try and take control."

I think it terrifies me how well she knows me. Every sexual encounter I've ever had, male or female, has lacked that connection of the other person knowing how to read me and knowing what makes me tick. It's an intense, vulnerable feeling.

Her breathing's heavy, her cheeks flushed and her throat and chest a ruby pink. I can feel her trembling with need and the idea of lifting her possessively – her thighs wrapped around my waist as I carry her to her bedroom and throw her down on the bed – patters interestingly across my thoughts.

She has other ideas though, she wants it achingly slow and painfully drawn out and once more, I'm shaken by how accurately she knows what I need.

I let go of her ass, and move my fingers to the bottom of her shirt, acutely aware of how she's got nothing on underneath, the skin tight material of her tank taut across her nipples. She backs away from me, arms raised silently above her head by way of consent. I shuffle uncomfortably beneath her, willing the ache between my legs to dissipate long enough to concentrate on her naked breasts, bobbing right there in front of me.

She sighs, her eyes closed and her hips rolling again, gentler now. She picks up my hands and puts them against her chest, encouraging me to knead softly, my thumbs brushing her sensitive nipples into sore, swollen peaks.

"Oh … yes …"

I think I've died, this being neither heaven nor hell just the place I know I deserved to end up, I've wanted it for long enough.

"More …" She pleads, silently.

I bring my mouth to her left breast, kissing and biting softly along the underside. She lets go of my hands and slides her fingers into my hair, pushing me harder against her. I take her nipple into my mouth and let my tongue slide against it, over the tip and around in languished circles as her hips buck wilder and her fingers start to tug at the base of my skull, caught between wanting more – and needing less.

When I'm sure she's taken as much as she can, I replace my mouth with my hand and move across to the right, showing it the same degree of affections. She trembles when I rake my teeth over her worried nipple, and out of instinct I slide my palm against the small of her back, preventing her from pulling away from me.

She tugs me upwards, urgently, and I feel more than hear it as she moans into my mouth, her skin prickled with a heightened state of arousal.

If there was ever a time to consider stopping, it's long gone now.

Her eyes are hungry and her lips restless as she divests me of my shirt and bra, holding breasts far larger than her own, somewhat reverently within her palms.

"God Liv."

Her voice is husky and laced with seduction, and my mind wanders as I wonder how many others she's let see her this way.

"Stop that!" She growls, nipping along my jaw line with intent to leave marks. "Stop thinking up reasons why we shouldn't or excuses to tell me this isn't a good idea."

My pulse races as I ask. "Is this a good idea?"

She gives me a wry smile, before sitting back to unbutton her jeans. My mouth falls open and I know I'm biting the inside of my bottom lip as she slides the zipper down slowly.

"I don't know Liv …" She grabs my right hand in hers and shoves both roughly inside her jeans. "What do you think?"

I can feel her panties are soaked through as she moves herself against my hand.

"Fuck, Alex …"

"Yeah …"

A rising tension works its way up my spine, from my lower back to my shoulders, until suddenly there's nothing in my mind but the purpose of making her come and watching as she falls apart in my arms.

She lifts forward, onto her knees, each positioned either side of mine on the sofa, and lets one hand tangle in my hair, the other supporting her against the back of the couch. I continue to rub against the damp material of her panties, capturing one errant nipple in my mouth as she gasps and bucks her hips against my hand.

"Please Liv …" She dips her head to whisper against my ear. "I need you."

I can feel it, I can feel how her breath hitches against my cheek and her tongue darts out haphazardly, betraying that she's lost her focus in teasing me and moved further towards the search for her own release.

"Alex …" I whisper, as my fingers slide the slick material of her panties to one side. It's tight, and my wrist's already aching but I know her clit must be aching more, and I doubt it'll take much to get her off. "Alex …" My voice turns into a rasp as my fingers slide into warm, wet heat. "You've got to know …" I croak. "I always knew."

Her eyes lock onto mine, then roll back in her head as I slide two fingers into her and she readily accepts.

"Yessssss!" She hisses, teeth nipping my bottom lip.

I can see she's going to come as soon as I touch that sensitive bundle of nerves. She wraps her lips around my tongue and pulls it into her mouth, warm and enveloping, sucking with the same strength and rhythm as her insides pull my fingers deep within her.

My thumb rubs across her clit and she jerks and shakes, the cries of her first, quick orgasm swallowed by my mouth. Moisture floods my hand as she rests against me, still rolling her hips back and forth, gently seeking more contact.

"I knew too …" She whispers, breathless and nonsensically. "More Liv … please … I'm still …"

I hold her tight, should her knees threaten to buckle beneath her. She latches against my neck and sucks hard, leaving bruised purple circles I know I'll never manage to hide from the guys tomorrow. I don't care, a part of me wants to shout from the rooftops I just made Alex Cabot scream and I'm about to do it again.

I feel her walls clench down around my hand, she's teetering on the edge but holding on, caught between wanting this moment to last forever and needing to let herself fall. I tell her I've got her, softly against her hair, one hand inside her and the other around her ass, matching every movement. She bites down hard and the resulting pain I feel quickens the motion of my thumb flicking over her clit and seconds later I feel her cries as she silently screams my name into the air. It's beautiful.

After long minutes, where neither of us speaks, I ease my hand out from her pants and watch as the tiny after shocks rouse her to a semi conscious level.

She laughs, looking up at me and grinning stupidly, a smile on her face that could light and entire city for a month. I'm reminded of her words to me just a few hours before.

"You're laughing Alex, is that a good thing?"

Her smile turns to a frown first and then to a look of unadulterated, predatory desire.

I gulp.

Suddenly my stomach knots like it used to when we'd fight, and the image of Alex's face in the throes of orgasm mixes with my recurring daydream of tossing her black framed glasses aside, ripping her courtroom clothes off her body and pounding her roughly on her office desk.

"Liv …" She bites my lip softly, soothing it then with her tongue. "Shut up …"

TBC

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