"A true man does not need to romance a different girl every night; a true man romances the same girl for the rest of her life"

Ana Alas

"I think I ate enough for three people," Lisa laughed, as they drove through Williamsburg along Route 60. "That place was amazing."

"I stumbled across it one night during a snow storm," he explained, "Best Bolognese sauce, after my own of course."

"Of course," she allowed, placing her hand over his on the shifter.

Pulling his eyes from the road for a moment, he looked over to find her smiling at him. He returned the smile.

"And of course, they sat us at the romantic table in the back."

"Of course," he nodded, then, "I asked them to."

She traced a lazy pattern on the back of his hand with her fingernails. "And the strolling violinist?"

"He came on his own," Rossi admitted, "But it was a nice touch, don't you think?"

"What are we doing, Dave?" she asked him, her voice soft, almost seductive.

"What do you want to do?" he asked. Stopping at a light, he turned to look at her.

"What I want to do may not be the wisest thing," she continued, leaning close to him.

"What might that be?"

She leaned in and kissed him softly.

Catching the green light out of the corner of his eye, he turned his attention back to the road. "Damn short red lights."

"We'll be at your place soon enough," she promised.

With a raised brow, he spoke, "Ms. O'Reilly, are you trying to seduce me?"

"Do I need to seduce you?"

Taking her hand in his, he brought it to his lips and kissed it softly. "You don't need to, but I'd sure like you to try."

"Drive faster," she winked.

XXXXX

Rossi pulled the car up in front of the garage door and killed the engine. He turned to look at her, finding that the previous look of desire in her eyes had been tempered by a bit of fear. "We're home."

"We are," she smiled, leaning close to him. "Kiss me."

With a smile, he leaned forward and kissed her softly.

"You can do better than that," she challenged.

Sinking his hands into her dark red hair, he kissed her deeply. She responded passionately, and then slowly pulled back. "Let's go inside."

XXXXX

"Should I start a fire?" he asked, following her into the living room.

"Upstairs," she said, reaching out and taking his hand.

He smiled at her, squeezing her hand, "Lisa, are you sure…"

"I'm not sure of anything right now, Dave," she quietly said.

"We don't have to…"

"We do," she firmly said. "We need to get past the sexual attraction."

"I doubt I'll ever do that, Little Girl," he softly said, drawing a smile from her.

"Maybe I need to get past it," she countered, "See, I keep looking at you and these images of the two of us pop into my head," she said, her eyes locking with his, "Let's just say, it's distracting. Maybe, if we just give into those feelings, we can relax and work on the rest of it."

"If that's what you think we need to do," he decisively said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply. "Then that's what we'll do."

She laughed, "I knew you'd see it my way. Let's go upstairs."

They separated and taking her hand, he led her upstairs. Lisa followed him, forcing down the thoughts that were fighting in her head.

XXXXX

When she awoke in his arms that morning, conflicting emotions raged inside of her. On one hand, it felt comfortable, relaxing, and she felt as if that was where she belonged. She could very easily stay right there, by his side, happily, except for that part of her that was still raw from the end of their relationship.

Yes, it had been many years, and most days, she really thought she should have put it all behind her. In many ways, she had, but this small part of her, the part that was responsible for the steel shell she'd constructed around her heart, refused to let it go. What worried her, however, was just how silent that part had remained for most of the day.

They'd both been relaxed and comfortable around each other all day. They'd taken a long walk through the woods, talking, laughing, and just enjoying each others' company. Once or twice, she was surprised to find her hand in his. It happened, casually, without thinking, she believed, on either of their behalf.

When they returned to the house, he suggested taking her to dinner prior to driving her back to Quantico to pick up her car. After telling her about his favorite Italian place in Williamsburg, near the William and Mary campus, they decided to shower, get changed and go for dinner. As promised, the food was wonderful, the wine amazing, and his company was every bit as charming and sexy as she remembered.

And the charm was working magic on her libido. By the time dinner was over, she'd decided that instead of having him take her back to Quantico, she'd spend one more night at Little Creek.

Excusing herself for a run to the Ladies' Room, she placed a quick call to Dina, to check on her car and ask her if she could keep an eye on it for one more night. Dina was more than happy to do it, for the promise of details of her weekend when she got home on Sunday. With a promise to call the red headed bartender on Sunday night, Lisa hung up and returned to the table.

As she walked into the dining room, she felt his eyes on her, watching her as she walked across the room. His expression was a mixture of desire and pride and it sent a delicious chill through her, just like it had years ago. She knew that for them to truly focus on what they wanted from their relationship, if they even wanted one at all, they would have to eliminate the sexual tension. And that was exactly what she aimed to do.

Now, as they walked up the stairs, she found herself back at war again. Her body was fully prepared to complete tonight's agenda, but the little part of her brain that had remained silent for most of the day had finally started to speak up. She knew her body would win. It always did, especially when David Rossi was involved.

"The wounds of love can only be healed by the one who made them."

Publilius Syrus

As they walked into the room, he pulled her into his arms, kissing her softly, then pulling back to study her face. The fear was gone, replaced by determination. He smiled at her, "You've got that determined look in your eye."

"I do," she agreed, returning his smile. "I've already stated my intention and my reasoning. Do we need to revisit that discussion?"

"We do not," he returned, "I think I'll be able to follow the program."

"Good," she nodded, "Now…you said you were going to light a fire…"

"You want a fire?" he asked, brow raised. She was not going to make this easy and in a way, he was grateful.

"I told you I did," she returned.

"If it's a fire you want," he said, releasing her, "A fire you'll get…"

As he set about preparing a fire in the stone fire place along the bedroom wall, she slipped out of her sensible black pumps.

He turned to watch as she caught her reflection in the mirror above the dresser and frowned. Although he saw nothing to frown at, he knew she was always hyper critical of her self. She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a white blouse, one of the outfits from her ready bag. He knew they way she packed, the bag contained professional clothing, jeans, sensible shoes, and sneakers. She'd already apologized for not having something better to wear to dinner, but he thought she looked great just as she was. Sure, he liked her in heels and skirts, but there was something sexy about the work look as well.

"You're frowning," he observed, still kneeling at the fireplace. "Changing your mind?"

"No," she returned, "If you must know, I was contemplating my poor choice in undergarments."

He raised a brow again, "Should I be frightened?"

"No," she laughed, "Had I planned this whole seduction in advance, I'd have managed to pack some very expensive, but barely there lace undergarments…"

Closing the screen on the strong blaze he'd created, he stood and walked to her. "I'm not concerned about your undergarments," he said with a laugh. Pulling her into his arms, he dropped his voice to a low growl, "If I have my way, they'll end up on the floor anyway."

Lisa shook her head, "Who's seducing who, here?"

"Sorry, I've overstepped my boundaries," he returned, a trace of mischief in his voice.

"You don't always have to be the alpha male, you know," she said, slipping her arms around his neck. She leaned in close and kissed him. "If memory serves, you used to be able to relinquish control from time to time."

"I always do where you're concerned," he returned, sincerely, drawing a smile from her.

She kissed him again, her fingers quickly unbuttoning her shirt, "Just remember this," she said, pulling the shirt open to reveal a modest, yet still sexy white lace bra, "This, is a one time only event." She slid the shirt from her shoulders and dropped it on the floor. "After this…" she continued, reaching behind her back and unhooking the bra. "It's your turn."

He watched as she shrugged out of the bra and dropped it on top of the shirt. "My turn?"

She nodded, "Your turn to take charge," she said, unbuckling her slim leather belt, "To pursue me," she undid the button of her pants and slowly slid the zipper down. "To prove to me that I can trust you and that you're really ready to commit this time around…" With that, she allowed the black wool pants to fall to the ground and stepped out of them.

What little blood was left in his brain was rushing quickly south and he knew his usually smooth communication skills were seriously spiraling into caveman quality, so he'd better act quickly if he had any hope of saying anything intelligent. Pulling her into his arms, he spoke in an urgent growl, "Be careful what you ask for, Little Girl," he said, descending on her neck, drawing a visible shiver. "I can be very insistent when I want something."

"Prove it to me," she said, gasping as he nibbled her neck.

He pulled back, studying her face. In her eyes, he found a mixture of desire and challenge. She had changed, matured, grown stronger and more confident. All of these things, he'd been happy to see, but looking into her eyes, he wondered if he really could win her back. Sure, the old Lisa, he could have conquered before he drove her home tomorrow. But now, he wasn't so sure that he'd win in his lifetime.

"Changing your mind?" she asked, and he swore he saw the briefest flicker of doubt in her eyes.

"Not for a minute," he returned, kissing her passionately. "Know this one thing, Lisa; I'll win you back, no matter how hard you fight it."

And at the moment, he could see in her eyes that she ceased fighting, if only for a moment, and allowed him to crack the steel shell around her heart.