A\N – Dear readers, thank you to everyone who's reading the story and special thanks to those who leave reviews! Please, take notice that this chapter contains some sexual content. I decided not to move the whole story to M-rated but just be warned there would be some heave sexual prelude later in the chapter. Also, this chapter is a bit bigger as I wanted you to have a good idea of what's been going on as there has been a little time gap.

Enjoy,

Yours, Roadway Fox.

ONE MONTH LATER

In a month that has passed since the night Kelly first met me after my evening classes in the Dance Studio a lot of things have happened: my hand almost healed, well there were marks from the burn but I didn't wear bandages anymore; my sleeping pattern got much better, it's not that I stopped waking up in the middle of the night – I still did that but at least I was getting some sleep; our relationships with the Squad 3 Lieutenant were gaining pace real fast…

Acknowledging the fact that neither of us have had a serious relationships or at least a stable one…well, never, we decided to take it slowly. Meaning we saw each other almost every day, had dinners together, I stepped by the station for lunch a couple times, even went to the movies ones as a normal couple would do but we weren't exactly thrilled so mutually decided to withdraw this activity out of our schedule. We spent a lot of time at my place for Kelly's was occupied by two "very loud lesbians who make sure you sleep with your head under the pillow" he once said and I smirked trying to picture him buried in pillows and blankets while Leslie and Annie were hitting it off in the next room. But however picturesquely annoyed Kelly tried to imposter himself to be, I could see that he could never be truly angry with Leslie, she was his roommate, his friend and justly his female counterpart.

We kissed and did some other things that make me blush deeper than I thought imaginable even thinking about them but as we decided to take the thing between us slowly Kelly has never stayed the night at my place. I have to admit it started to get really hard not to notice all the tension that was raising even more every time I would catch him during the lunch break at the station right after the shower shirtless with damp hair…I could swear he caught me staring that time. Every time he kissed me goodnight I could feel the slow burn inside of me grow, by the smolder in his eyes and his attempts to escape quickly until he gives in, I could detect that it was as hard for him as it was for me…maybe even harder.

-\-

December 14th was a very cold day and even colder evening. And it was Matthew Casey's birthday. He and Hallie's apartment was crowded. There weren't too many people invited but the two-room apartment still didn't seem enough.

When we stopped in front of the door Kelly used his massive fist to knock and I, with my eyebrows knitted in a mocking manner, raised my small (especially in comparison to his) hand and rang the doorbell.

"Show-off." He hit me slightly on the butt making me jump a little and laugh.

The door opened to reveal goofily grinning Matt:

"Well, well…the Elite Squad is fashionably late."

"No!" I almost cried, still laughing. "It was my fault. I'm a girl with no watch in her house!"

"Fine!" He was quick to agree. "You I can't stay mad at. Come on in!"

I felt Kelly push me in a little with his hand on the small of my back. I stepped inside the apartment and enclosed Matt in a big hug right away, whispering "Happy Birthday!". He hugged me back and let me go further into their home. I heard Kelly congratulate him as well and hand Casey our present. That was actually pretty big – not the present! – the fact that he and I chose and bought our first present as a couple. I've never understood why girls always remembered the anniversaries, firsts and all. I did start to understand it then. It was truly something very intimate and delightful.

Saying 'hi' to our friends in the living room, I turned to show Kelly silently that I'd be right back and went straight to what I presumed was kitchen.

The food smelled delicious, at least the half that was still on the kitchen counter (the rest was already placed on the table in the living area). My eyes scanned the room to find Hallie and Heather, Andy's wife, making the last preparations, both very pretty in their light-colored dresses.

"Hey!" I said loudly as I adjusted my own knee-length grey dress. "Smells amazing! You've done such a great job, Hallie!"

The hostess turned and smiling came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek:

"Hi, Harper. So good you came!"

"Hi!" I heard Heather greet me but she stayed at the counter, slicing something.

"I'm ashamed to admit…" Hallie spilled a little downcast. "But I can't cook at all!"

My face became a mask of confusion.

"I ordered almost everything! I' m really very bad at cooking! I mean, once I burned a chicken…and when I say burn, I mean that one more minute and Matt could use his fire putting out skills on it… So I decided to be on a safe way."

She was rambling and it was very cute.

"Hey, I'm sure no one will notice and Matt will greatly appreciate all the afford."

"Harper's absolutely right!" We heard Heather from the counter.

During the past month I came to know Hallie a little better and she appeared to be a pretty good person. I still was rooting for the Team Gabriela but I couldn't deny that Halliy was more than nice. And the way she worried herself about her and Matt's relationships was very sweet.

"What can I help with?"

"Nothing really." Hallie answered going back to her spot near Heather. "Rest, go watch over the boys!"

She smiled and I nodded, exiting back into the living room. The room itself was pretty big with two leather chairs and a matching couch overlooking a TV, a what looked like two tables moved together so everyone would have a seat, in the middle surrounded by chairs. The food was already on the table and I could see the eyes of hungry men as they were impatiently gazing at the goods but weren't brave enough to break the taboo the hostess of the evening had put to wait for everyone to sit and only then start eating.

Kelly, Matt and Andy were in the opposite corner eagerly discussing something, Cruz and Otis were near the window engulfed in their own conversation. I spotted Herrmann on the couch and made my way directly to him. The man had a soft spot for me, everyone remarked it.

"Here's my second favorite firefighter!" I smiled a big one at him, taking a sit next to him.

"Hey! Who's the first one?" He smiled toothily at me. "Oh, wait, I know! Cruz."

"How did you guess?" I played his game.

"Isn't it obvious? You look at each other when no-one see you!"

"Busted."

Chris laughed along with me and gave me a half-hug as a manner of greeting.

"Lose the hand, old man!" They heard Kelly's voice, trying to sound intimidating but cracking at the end of the sentence.

"That old man is gonna show you when we're back at the station!"

The friendly banter went on all through the evening.

-\-

It wasn't my first time in Kelly's house but it seemed that way. Maybe because I was slightly tipsy, maybe because there was no Leslie for the night, maybe because I was strangely excited.

It was an extremely long way to my apartment, the one I wasn't ecstatic to undergo at that moment so both Kelly and I decided that it would be better for us to crash at his place which was at least half-way.

"I think, this should fit."

I turned from the large living room window to face Kelly who was holding up a big t-shirt, his size of course.

"Fit? As a tent?" I mused.

"You can sleep naked if you want. I wouldn't mind." He smirked and knew he won that round.

"I'll change in your room." I chuckled softly and took a fabric from him, touching his hands lightly as I did so.

But it was easier said than done. The zipper of the dress on my back went all the way down my spine and lower till it almost reached my knees. But then I felt a piece of my hair getting caught in that zipper as I tried to pull it down.

"Ouch…"

"You ok in there?" I heard Kelly from the bathroom.

"Well…the zipper seems to be against some of my actions…and hints that if I don't stop I'm risking baldness!" I tried not to move for fear of my words coming true.

"Need my help?"

"Sure, if you don't fancy dating soldier Jane."

I heard him enter the room as I stood my back to him, waiting.

"Jane wasn't that bad." He said in that sexy whisper near my ear and I felt those two glasses of champagne I've had at Matt's party started playing with my thoughts.

As Kelly's hands started their work on my neck I shivered involuntarily and felt the muscles on my back do a double take.

His hands were gentle, pushing my hair away slightly and battling with the closer, in a matter of mare seconds I was released from the chain that was my zipper as he dragged it to the middle of my back, exposing the pale skin underneath the gray material of the dress:

"There you go."

"And most of hair is still intact! You can still officially be my hero."

I laughed slightly but as I turned my head to look at his eyes, there was no humor there but that intense look that always made my stomach flip flop.

Kelly's hands were still on my arms, running up and down, making my emotions high-lighten from the feeling of severe closeness. I opened my mouth to say something but realized that it was dry. He was looking at me with his foggy grey eyes and I could see the green in them sparkle up as they drifted to my lips.

Oh-oh…apparently when Kelly came to help me with the zipper problem he was changing himself hence the shirtless-ness.

I slowly turned in his arms, my hands firmly but gently coming to rest on his toned stomach. I stood up on my tip toes and using one of my hands pulled at his neck to lower his head to my level. He obliged immediately and as our lips touched I felt our mutual hunger, that has been building up with a rapid speed for the previous couple weeks, pour out in the kiss.

I sucked on his bottom lip as I felt his hands on my back pull me even closer so that our bodies collided. Our tongues endured in a battle for dominance though I was just massing around, knowing that I would cave in and he would lead. After all that's what he was always – in the firehouse, in the company of friends, in our relationships – he was a true leader…fearless, daring, brave.

As we broke apart for air and he still didn't lose his iron grip on my waist I clanged to him even more if that was even possible.

Kelly looked at me with his eyes blurred with hunger and passion.

"We have to stop now if…we want to stop." His voice was a series of tense undertones.

If. But that moment I felt all my thoughts flow out of the window that just left me and Kelly in the room. Me, Kelly and our unfulfilled desires…yet unfulfilled.

His hands slowly but with a certain amount of pressure circled my back and I felt myself becoming liquid. I was on edge and relaxed at the same time as my hands started creeping up his naked chest and to his broad shaulders. My lips reached the left side of his lower jaw and I softly kissed it. Not stopping I started the chain of small burning kisses on his neck, reaching his collarbone and biting it teasingly.

Receiving a low growl I felt myself suddenly being lifted up and as I inhaled sharply from surprise and my legs encircled Kelly's torso, he carried me to the bed as if I didn't weigh a thing, kissing and sucking on my neck all the way.

As he put me on the king-sized bed with light-colored covers, my eyes found his and that was all the confirmation he needed.

His hands reached behind my back and agonizingly slow pulled the zipper down…