Law and Order: SVU is the intellectual property of Dick Wolf. The use of the characters, settings, and plotlines is not malicious. This is a work of fiction.

"When we get out of this mess, you can stay with me," Elliot whispered to her, his hand drawing small circles on her back. As soon as Tucker left, he pulled her onto the couch and into his arms. "You know you can."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Kathy's lawyer would just love that," she said, and then she pushed herself away from him. "Jesus, Elliot, what the hell is happening here?" She rose to her feet and began pacing back and forth, forming a long ditch in the plush beige carpet beneath her bare feet. "You're single for, what, five seconds, and I'm already leaping into bed with you."

"I did the leaping," he countered, smirking. "And we didn't..."

"Yeah, but if Tucker didn't call..." she paused. "Technically, you're still married, Kathy and the kids are probably worried out of their minds! Do you really think she's just carrying on with her life, following through with all this legal shit, knowing your life is at risk? What if this whole fucking thing just makes her more determined not to?"

He licked his lips and bent forward, his elbows resting on his knees, as he peered up at her and asked, "You just found out your apartment has been trashed, is now an active crime scene, and all that concerns you is whether or not my ex..."

"Shit, yes!" she snapped, cutting him off. "Don't you listen when I talk? I told you last night, you are my priority. You and those kids of yours."

"I listen to every word you say," his voice had a soft dominance, his eyes were narrow. "And you know damn well...what's happening here isn't new. It's been brewing for years, we both admitted that last..."

"Last night, after we dealt with almost being killed for the third time in less than twenty-four hours," she said, her eyes closing. "I just...need to be sure that you're not doing this just because you're afraid..."

"Hell, yes I am," he hissed, shooting off of the couch and stepping over to her. His hands flew to her face, he held her head still and he drew closer to her. His nose brushed against hers as he spoke. "I was fucking terrified, scared out of my mind, of living the rest of my life without knowing what it means to really love you. Feel you. All of you. Kiss you, touch you, hear you tell me how much you love me...I was going to take this chance with you, no matter what." He kissed her lips, sighing, and he said, "I'm not doing this to have one last thrill before this mother-fucker blows me to bits, I'm doing this because I realized I couldn't live another moment without you."

She felt her nose prickle with a burn she didn't have the strength to fight, and her vision blurred with hot tears. She blinked, letting them spill out and roll down her cheeks. She shook her head and pressed her lips together, feeling his thumbs wipe away the fallen droplets. "I couldn't either," she barely whispered. "But I can't do this with you if it's just going to fall apart when we get out of this mess." She let out a short breath. "If."

He smiled at her. "You know it's gonna take a lot more than one psychotic asshole to bring us down," he told her, kissing her sweetly. "In a way...this Haven guy did us a favor. He gave us the time we needed to sort this out, he got us alone, far away from anyone who could try to top this, or talk us out of it. Including each other." He kissed her again, making last a bit longer. "If we didn't get thrown into solitary confinement, here, you would have fought this like hell, tried to tell me to go home to my wife." He pulled her closer, kissed her once more, the slight scruff of his chin grazing her smooth skin as he pulled back. "She hasn't been my home in years."

She sniffled, stopping her tears, her breathing now slow and calm. She let him pull her back toward the couch and she fell when he did, almost into his lap, and she curled her body against his.

"The son-of-a-bitch was right," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "Welcome home, baby. He didn't know it, but...doing what he did...he sent us both home." He looked into her eyes, part of him shattering as he saw raw, redness in them. "To each other. Where...where we belong."

She blinked, and the grimace that had been on her face for the last ten minutes faded into a soft, submissive smile. She'd given in, she let him win, but she knew that she didn't exactly lose. "Where did Tucker say Haven was?"

"Looking in all the wrong places," he told her, settling down further on the sofa. He rested his head on the arm of the couch, and he pulled her on top of him, fitting her curves into all of the most perfect spots. He moaned when she shifted, rubbing against him. "You were wrong, before," he whispered to her, playing with her hair as it fanned out over the right side of his chest.

"About what?" she asked, her fingertips tracing the outlines of his muscles under his tee-shirt. Her eyes were fixed on them, mesmerized by the way they twitched under her touch. It made her wonder what other parts of his body would do the same thing.

With another moan, his eyes drifted closed. She was playing with fire, and he knew that she was well aware of it. "Even if Tucker didn't ruin the moment this morning...I wouldn't have...I mean, I want to, fucking badly, but I know...we owe it to ourselves to do this right. I know what I want, I know what...you want. I know what we both need, and I promise you, I'm giving..." He was silenced by her lips on his, a stunned gasp passed from his open mouth to hers, and his other hand met the one already winding in her hair.

This kiss was different, filled with love and lust and a power that far exceeded anything either had ever felt. It held a promise, a vow, sacred and unbreakable, one they felt their souls actually create and weave.

Her knee moved up his body, her pelvis rocked against his, she moaned softly, feeling his hardness press against her. She bucked into him again, whimpering, and her kiss grew hungry, desperate. She nipped at his lips, hearing and feeling his soft grunts and growls mixing with her light moans and cries of his name. She settled against him, moaning as his hands traveled down her body and gripped her ass.

He pressed her against him as he thrust his hips upward, deliberately and with incredible intent. God, he wanted to feel more of her, and for a brief moment, he very seriously contemplated ripping her clothes off, but his words from only a minute ago echoed in the back of his mind, and he wasn't the kind of man to go back on his word, especially when it came to Olivia. "Baby," he breathed, "Fuck, honey, you're driving me crazy."

She chuckled and pulled her head back, gave him a wanton expression, and bent her head again, resuming their kiss. This time, though, it was slow, languid, an even temperament filtering through it and into them. Calming, they relaxed their hold on each other and grunts became light breaths. It lasted a few more blissful moments, but she pulled away, breathless.

He blinked, his world coming back into focus, and he smiled as he saw her face. His eyes landed on her lips, swollen and red, chapped with the marks from his teeth, his kiss. He brought his left hand up to her face and swiped the pad of his thumb over those beautifully perfect lips. He was amazed, astounded not only by her beauty, but by the fact that he was here, with her, experiencing her kiss. He was the one who caused the light in her eyes, the one who made her pulse race. He could feel through their thin layers of clothes just how strongly he affected her, how hot and wet she was, because of him. He took one, single, long, deep breath, and his smile grew. "I love you."

She froze. It didn't scare her, as it would have if it had come from someone else's lips It simply shocked her, there was a part of her that couldn't believe he was saying it to her, that he'd just kissed her to within an inch of her life, that she could feel how much he wanted her,both physically and through the intensely palpable emotions radiating from him. She knew he meant every word. With a shallow, shaky breath, she smiled. "I love you," she spoke. It came out in the slightest whisper, as if her voice was terrified to actually make those words audible.

He raked his fingers through her hair, laughing softly as he pulled her down and kissed her. "You have no idea...what that means to me."a frustrated and impatient grumble rumbling in his throat.

She bit her lip and nodded, saying, "I think I do." She kissed him, quick and soft, and then rested her head against his. "This is crazy," she laughed.

He chuckled, nuzzling her. "It's the most sane thing we've ever done," he countered. He kissed her once again, keeping it slow, soft. They were so lost in each other that neither of them heard the knock on the door.

When the doorbell rang, though, they broke apart fast and their heads snapped toward the front of the room. "Did your phone ring?" she whispered fast, her eyes wide.

He shook his head. "Yours?" he spat back quietly. When he watched her return his negative answer, he pushed her up, sat back on the couch, and slowly reached over to the end table for his gun.

Whoever was on the other side of the door, they were certainly not coming through it.

Peace and Love

Jo

MarchCommaJo on Twitter