It was Christmas Eve, in Meredeth's opinion the most magical day of the year. Everything was a little prettier, a little softer in the world, or at least in her world. Though it was her first one without Momo - she'd opted to stay in Miami until after the holiday rush and visit in mid-January - there was no lack of people in her house to celebrate with. She sat in the living room on the soft squishy sofa, reveling in the afterglow of a successful holiday party. Ryan and Honey-Milk had been the only ones who'd stayed for any length of time, as Ryan and Esposito had the same holiday schedule. They'd eaten a meal of appetizers - spinach and crab dips, Greek salad, meatballs, wontons and other assorted goodies, so much so that Meredeth had skipped out on dessert while they'd opened presents. Her instinct for good gift-giving had been bang-on again; Honey-Milk loved her easy-meals cookbook and had already earmarked a couple of recipes she'd try after the holidays and Ryan had loved his copy of Lego Star Wars for Wii - so much he'd gotten Meredeth the exact same game as her gift while Honey-Milk had given her mittens to match the scarf she'd knitted for Meredeth's birthday.

Esposito looked at his girlfriend, his Meredeth, with firelight flickering over her face as she watched the lights on the tree. She'd been so preoccupied with being a good hostess for their friends she hadn't touched a single one of the sweets she'd whipped up earlier in the day, and thankfully she hadn't noticed he hadn't touched much of the desserts either.

He had other ideas for dessert on this particular night.

With a practiced move, he stretched out beside her. 'Always fun to see Ryan and his lady together, outside of work.'

'I hope Honey-Milk feels better. Nothing worse than being sick during the holidays.'

'Speaking of which, why didn't you any of those squares you made? You're not still worried about the photo-shoot, are you?'

'I was surprisingly not in the mood for any sugar earlier, but...' she trailed off, turned her head to lay her lips against his cheek in a kiss that lingered like good wine. She was thankful they were alone now, the way that her man kept giving her that look, the one that clearly said 'wait until I get you alone'. Her insides had went mushy when he'd grabbed her under the mistletoe in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room after dinner, and it made her wonder if they'd put to use the toy-box Lili had given them as a gift the day before. 'I could go for some dessert now.'

Esposito grinned; he'd been hoping she'd say that. 'Okay then.'

Taking her by the hand, he led her upstairs to the bedroom, pulled her close to kiss her sweetly, deeply. She made that little sound in her throat that drove him mad, a half-whimper, half-growl.

'In order for this to work,' he whispered, unfastening the button of his pants, pulling his shirt over his head, 'you need to be in as little clothing as possible. But not completely naked.'

Obliging him, she undressed slowly, tossing her clothes into the closet, unsnapping her bra and unconsciously running her hand in between her breasts; the little gesture made his mouth water.

'Stretch out on your back.'

Again she obliged him, too intrigued to do otherwise. What did he have planned? 'Are you going to, like, cover me with whipped cream or something?'

'Very close.' From the bedside table, Esposito pulled out a jar of chocolate sauce and a small, fine hair paint brush. 'And not cover so much as doodle.'

So saying, he straddled her and dipped the brush into the chocolate jar he'd unscrewed; using the sauce like watercolour paint he traced a small plus sign on her neck. He set the jar aside, and licked the chocolate off her neck; it made Meredeth laugh at first, then sigh in pleasure as she felt his lips brush against the spot where her pulse banged like a kettle drum. She felt her skin heat, arched her hips against his and realized in her distraction, he'd stripped down completely naked. The feeling of him at full attention made her purr; what was it about him that made her ache so badly? She knew she liked sex, but there was being healthy and then there was the raging beast that Esposito had awoken. Hooking a leg over his hip to pull him close, she ran her fingers down his back, whispering in his ear, 'Again.'

Esposito said nothing, just rose up on his knees and reached for the jar of chocolate. He traced the sauce like paint over the canvas of her body, between the valley of her breasts, over one nipple. Setting the jar aside he bent his head to her body, lapping up chocolate along with that sweet scent of her skin, before turning his attention to her breast. He suckled at her, the flavours of chocolate and Meredeth mingling on his tongue as she writhed beneath him in pleasure. It was one of the kinkiest moments of his life; he'd never been into stuff off the beaten sex-path but once again, something about her brought out the experimenter in him so that things he'd heard of and written off as strange now seemed not only intriguing but fun.

He could feel the wicked heat radiate from between her thighs and he forced himself to put his hands elsewhere on her body so he wouldn't rip off her panties and plunge himself inside her before he'd driven her into maddening ecstacy. When he felt her tense and tremble, he pulled away, let his hands roam down her torso to slide the silky black fabric down her legs. He reached once more for the chocolate; this time painting a single line of it on her inner thigh.

Meredeth fisted her hands in the sheets of his bed until her knuckles went white. She couldn't remember a time when she'd felt more treasured or erotic in her life. He kissed his way up her leg, moving closer and closer to the heat, his tongue smooth on her flesh until he finally reached that glorious sweet spot. She let out a gasp, felt her breath catch in her throat as frissons of delight swamped her system. His hands ran up and down the length of her thighs as she brushed her fingers over his hair, unable to stop the flow of breathy murmurs and pleas from escaping her mouth. When she felt him part the heated lips, drive his tongue inside her, she came in an avalanche of sensation, her moans louder than any she'd ever made with him.

Esposito fought to clear the fog from his brain that threatened to let him follow suit. His body vibrated with need, and before he could stop himself, he moved up her body and sank into her as he was, while she was still in the throes of the first orgasm. There was no sweet tenderness like there had been with the seduction; now there was only lust and the need to be inside her. He braced his hand behind her knee, drawing it towards her chest, each stroke met with a demand until finally, she cried out. She was so inflamed with desire, looked so damn sexy as it flooded through her body that Esposito had no choice but to let himself go inside her.

He lay there, his head on her breasts as he struggled for breath. Those long, clever fingers traced over the back of his neck, and he could hear her heart knocking away in double-time.

'Well, that certainly was good dessert,' she commented.

'I'll say.' Esposito turned his head so his chin rested against her breastbone, studied her face. She was absolutely stunning, those blue eyes heavy with smug satisfaction. 'You're not concerned we didn't-'

'No, I'm not. I trust you. Why do you think I didn't stop you?'

Her conviction was so strong in such simple words Esposito inched up her body to kiss her, realized too late she was still on his lips. He rubbed a hand over his mouth. 'Sorry. Forgot.'

'No, it's kinda hot.'

Esposito just stared at her with wonderment. 'I love you, Meredeth.'

She said nothing, just stared back at him as little tears sprang into her eyes. 'What?'

'I love you. God, I've wanted to say that for so long.' When she just continued to stare at him, Esposito swallowed thickly. It was too soon, he thought, in a panic; he'd scared her and now risked losing her. His thought died instantly when she pressed a desperate kiss to his mouth, trembling as she pressed her palms to the sides of his face.

'I love you too, Javi. I love you, so much.'

He sat up, pulled her up with him into a sitting position as he held her tightly against his body. She loved him, was all he could think, this beautiful intelligent, woman with all her quirks loved him. He ran his hands over her skin, making her shudder. Part of him wished they hadn't just finished making love so they could right now, so he could hear her say those words with him inside her. Instead, he rained kisses over her cheeks as he said again, and she said it back to him as she pulled him back down on top of her. They stayed there, still entwined, as the shadows of wind-blown snow danced through the window, over Meredeth's bed.

'I have an idea,' she murmured a little while later, 'why don't we get something to drink, and wait for Santa by the Christmas tree?'

'Not booze. Hot chocolate.'

'Hot chocolate?' she repeated, giggled when she saw the delight in his face and for a moment saw what he must have been like as a little boy during the holidays. 'Okay, hot chocolate it is. After.'

'After what?'

Meredeth only grinned, and grabbed the jar off the table. 'After I'm done with my turn.'

Esposito had to laugh; of course she'd want to return the loving, she always did. As he stretched out on his back, he watched her face, the way she kept trying to hide the outrageously happy grin. When she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, bit her lip as she winked at him, he only shook his head. Chocolatey-sex with his Meredeth - the woman he loved who loved him back - on December twenty-fourth; now that was his kind of Christmas miracle.

R&R&Enjoy!