Chapter 12

Eliot laughed and leaned down to kiss her. "I… Don't ever change, Parker," he said again, catching himself. What the hell had just about come out of his mouth? Holy crap. He shook it off. Parker kissed him back, lips firm and tasting as good as every other time he'd kissed them.

"Hmm," she hummed with pleasure. She pulled back and looked up at him. "So, can we have sex now?"

Eliot looked down at those blue eyes and felt that warmth spreading through his chest again. This woman, she was something. Something truly unique, truly special. "Nah," he said, a little hoarsely before he rolled them. Lying on top of her, pinning her to bed with his weight, Eliot bracketed Parker's head with his forearms. Gently, he brushed strands of blonde hair out of her face. "This time, lets try something a little different," he murmured and bent his head.

The kiss was long and slow and deep. A savoring, cherishing kiss, rather than the heat and passion and fire they'd had each time before. Eliot eased back and brushed his lips across Parker's again, catching the little sigh that fell from them.

"Why different?" Parker asked, her voice was quiet. Eliot ran his lips over her cheek, pressed soft kisses to her eyelids. "How's it different?" Her voice was heavy now. Languid.

"I'll show you," Eliot whispered and kissed her again. Slowly. Thoroughly. When their lips parted, Parker wasn't the only one breathing heavily and Eliot pressed his lips to just under her jaw to keep her from noticing.

He brought his hands slowly up her sides, a slow drag over the driving suit, up to her shoulders. He traced her collarbone with first his fingers then his lips, tasting the faintest sheen of sweat on her skin. Parker shifted beneath him, another sigh slipping out.

Slowly, Eliot pulled the zipper on the suit, inching it down bit by bit and revealing the pale skin beneath. He pressed his mouth to every bit that he could find. Soft, gentle. Cherishing. Parker sighed again.

Underneath the suit, Eliot found nothing but Parker. No bra, no tank, just soft curves and softer skin. He bit back a groan. Knowing what she was wearing, or rather, not wearing was going to make races harder. Literally. He slipped his hands inside the open zipper of the suit, now parted to her waist, and pressed the sides apart. Parker lifted her arms, helping him as he slipped the sleeves off and bared her to the waist. Those pale, strong arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him down for another long, drugging kiss.

Parker sighed again as their lips parted. "I like that," she said quietly, eyes closed and lashes lying against her cheek.

Eliot brushed her face with kisses again, unable to keep from touching her. "Good," he murmured.

"Eliot," she sighed, shifting and finally opening her eyes. Warm pools of blue, fixed on him. "How's this different?"

Eliot skimmed back down her body, fingertips tracing paths that were followed by his lips. He worked on slipping the suit off all the way, baring those fabulous legs and leaving Parker lying on the bed wearing nothing but skin.

He leaned back and surveyed her slowly, from toes to crown of her head. "Tell me when you figure it out," he finally said, and leaned back down to kiss her.

After another long, thorough kiss, Eliot reached and unzipped his own suit, shedding it along with his shorts as quickly as possible. He kept tracing paths across Parker's skin as she laid in front of him. She was being surprisingly passive, surprisingly pliant. He had a feeling that wouldn't last forever, but for the moment, she was letting him just worship her body. Eliot reached back and pulled his t-shirt off with one hand, hauling it over his head.

As he did, he felt slim, cool fingers sliding up his belly, tracing the muscle ridges and then the soft touch of lips. Eliot couldn't restrain the shudder as he dropped the shirt to the side of the bed, and sat back on his heels, letting Parker explore. Her hands, her mouth, they traveled at an agonizing pace slowly up his body, tasting and touching literally every inch of his chest. Then his shoulders, his neck, until finally Parker was kneeling in front of him, her hands cradling his face.

She studied him a long, slow minute, eyes on eyes, faces inches apart. Eliot held very still. She was looking for something, and he wasn't sure what. But those blue eyes were deep and dark and lit with something that made his heart beat a little faster than it should. He kept his eyes on hers and slowly skimmed his hands up her sides and back down again to rest on her hips.

Then Parker smiled at him, not that quicksilver flash that he knew so well, but a slow, ah-hah sort of smile. "I get it," she said, and then shifted forward. Eliot helped her guide her hips as she lifted up, straddling him as he knelt in front of her. She sank down onto his erection, her body hot and warm and snug and made for his. Eliot groaned at the feeling. His fingers dug into her hips just a little bit as he wrestled with his control. He had a plan for how he wanted this to go.

Then Parker leaned forward, inadvertently pressing him deeper, and her bare breasts brushed his chest as she pressed her lips to his. Eliot kissed her, a hot, deep and hungry kiss. Gripping her body in his hands, he slowly flexed his hips. Long. Slow. Deep. Savoring. This was quiet, this was intense, this was… he couldn't quite make his mind go to the word he wanted. Not yet. Not yet.

But Parker was warm and soft and pliant and all those unspoken things back to him as they rocked together on the bed. And when he finally tumbled her back down to lie on her back and they came together those final few times, it was for a slow, intense slide into oblivion like he'd never felt before.

The pounding on the door was Eliot's first clue that his evening was NOT going be everything he'd hoped. Sophie's irate voice was the second.

"Eliot, you get up and open this door, or I'm coming in, whether you're dressed or not!" sounded slightly muffled through the hotel door. "And don't think I don't know that Parker's in there, too! I want to talk to both of you."

Eliot could feel his shoulders hunch, just a little. For a minute, he almost thought it was his mother on the other side of the door. Accents were wrong, of course, but still… Eliot groaned.

Parker lifted her head off the bed and frowned at the door. "What's the matter with Sophie?" she asked.

Eliot rolled to his feet and reached for a pair of jeans. "Remember how you asked me if this was something we had to talk about because we were having sex?" he said dryly. "You had your earbud in."

Parker lay and stretched her arms above her head. Eliot stopped, one leg in his jeans and the other not, and watched as that slim, pale body contorted and writhed on the bed. Damn. Then he shook himself and pulled the jeans on all the way.

"Hurry up, Eliot," Sophie called.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Parker grumbled, catching the t-shirt he tossed at her. It was one of his, considering she'd been wearing nothing but a driving suit. Literally. Nothing. But. A. Driving. Suit. Digging through his suitcase, he pulled out a pair of boxer and tossed them at her as well.

"Put those on," he ordered her, pointing threateningly as Parker pouted at the clothes in her hands. She grumbled a bit, but did so, and Eliot grabbed himself a shirt as well. Sophie was still banging on the door, and Eliot checked to make sure Parker was actually wearing the clothes before opening the door.

Sophie stood with her hand in mid-air, about to knock on his face, and Eliot caught it easily. "Well, hello, Sophie," he said dryly. "What a pleasure. Won't you come in?"

Sophie glared at him and gave him a little shove before sailing into the room. "You're just lucky it's me and not Nate," she announced. She planted her hands on her hips and surveyed Parker, now sitting in her favorite perch on the windowsill, thankfully clothed, and the rumpled bed. Eliot shut the door, making a small wager with himself about where she was going to start. Him? Parker? The team? There were so many possibilities…

Parker beat him to it. "Hi, Sophie," she said cheerfully, arms loosely wrapped around her knee and other leg swinging freely. Her toenails were unpainted, Eliot noticed. "What's up?"

Sophie blew out a breath. "Oh, heavens," she muttered. She looked around, and grabbed the desk chair that sat in the corner of the room. "I am NOT sitting on that bed," she said, dropping down into it. She turned her eyes on Eliot as he crossed the room to where Parker was. He had an urge to stand in front of her.

Eliot leaned against the window frame, right up against Parker. "Well?" demanded Sophie, eyes fixing on him.

Eliot crossed his arms and kept his poker face. Or at least an attempt at one. After all, she was making him nervous, what with her channeling-his-mother stuff. "What?" he said, neutrally.

"Yeah, what?" Parker asked, propping her chin on Eliot's shoulder.

Sophie stared at the two of them. Her eyes narrowed. There was a long silence, and then she got a Cheshire cat grin. One of those really dangerous ones that usually meant someone was about to loose a large sum of money. Only it was turned on him and Parker, and Eliot couldn't stop himself from shifting, just a hair, farther in front of Parker. Her grin widened.

"Well, I think that answers my question," Sophie announced. She brushed her hands together and stood up. She beamed at Parker and then him. "Don't forget, you're supposed to make an appearance at the bar tonight, see if we can draw out the sabatour." She sailed toward the door and shot another smile over shoulder. "See you later at Nate's!"

And the door clicked shut behind her. Eliot blinked. Ooo-kay… Parker's arms slid around his waist, and her chin was on his shoulder again. "I don't get it," she said, sounding perplexed.

Eliot shook his head. "You got me, darlin'," he said. Women. He would never understand them.

He felt teeth nip at his ear, and grinned. Then again… "I do got you, don't I?" a voice said in his ear. "I like that."

Eliot chuckled, and turned in Parker's arms to press her back against the window. "Me, too," he murmured before ducking his head.

Happy Monday! A little smut to start your work week? We're starting to get somewhere... maybe halfway through our plot? Enjoy!