Chapter 18

Eliot slipped back out the back door of the barbershop and took Parker's hand again. "Come on," he muttered, casting wary eyes around. The back of the shop was well screened from curious passersbys, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Parker fell into step beside him easily. "So now we wait?" she said.

"Yeah," Eliot said, as they slipped back onto the sidewalk and started toward Main Street. "I laid a long fuse to give us a little time. Right now, we're just a nice couple on a stroll, checking out the shops."

"Ooo, a bakery!" Parker exclaimed, and pointed. She tugged on his hand. "I'm hungry!"

Eliot snorted. "When aren't you?" he said and let himself be towed toward the little shop. What the hell. It made for good cover. No one would think that the nice young couple eating a donut would have started the fire down the street. At least the place looked clean, after all, he had standards.

Parker dropped his hand once they got inside and practically plastered herself against the glass case. Eliot sniffed the air, appreciating the scent of yeast and spice and sugar. He stepped up behind Parker. "What'll it be, darlin'?" he asked affectionately, sliding a hand to the nape of her neck.

Parker sighed. "So many choices…." She bit her lip. "Donut," she finally said. "Everything else, you make and theirs won't be as good as yours. So a donut."

Eliot was absurdly pleased that she had such confidence in his cooking, and grinned over the counter at the young woman who was waiting to take their order. "Two," he told her. He squeezed Parker's neck gently. "You want jelly?"

A few minutes later, they were outside, sitting on a bench and Parker was licking strawberry jelly off one of those long slender fingers. Eliot watched her, ridiculously turned on by her tongue wrapping around her index finger and sucking it clean… He shifted a little, uncomfortable, and took a bite of his own donut. As he did, he caught the gleam in Parker's eyes and narrowed his own in response. Sneaky little thief, she knew exactly what she was doing.

Well then, he thought with a smirk, turn about was fair play. He reached over and caught her hand before she could lick another blob off. Slowly he pulled her hand up to his mouth and licked the jelly himself. He was slow, and thorough, and kept his eyes on hers the whole time. And by the time he was done, Parker was pink and breathing just a little unsteadily.

"You're bad," she said, pulling her now clean fingers back, but letting them drag against his hand.

Eliot smirked again. "You know it," he told her, popping the last bite of his own donut in his mouth.

"Hardison says that you guys are getting too gooey and are really gross," Nate's voice came dryly in their ears. "I say you better still be focused on the job."

"Not to worry, Nate," Eliot murmured discreetly. "We got this."

Parker's eyes shifted to over his shoulder. "Look, smoke!" She didn't bother to be quiet, other people were already looking the same direction. A couple people had cell phones out, talking and looking down a few blocks to where the abandoned barbershop was.

Eliot stood up, and held out his hand to Parker. She looked at him, a little confused, but took his hand anyway as she stood up. "Come on," he said, and they started strolling slowly toward Pitts' building.

"Wow, there really is a lot of smoke," Parker commented, glancing back over her shoulder. She leaned closer. "I thought you weren't going to burn it down?"

"I didn't," Eliot muttered back. "But something has to burn so the fire department comes and keeps everyone's attention." They crossed the street, and he tugged her to a stop in front of the building next to Pitts'. He turned and looked down the street. Huh. Maybe he had done a little too good of a job. Dammit. If the whole place went up, Parker would never let him hear the end of it, he just knew it. He'd been the one to say that they weren't going to torch the entire place, after all.

"We're clear," Parker voice murmured softly, and they slipped back around the side of the building. Pitts' place was on the second floor of a storefront, with stairs around the back. Eliot kept a sharp eye open as he motioned Parker on. They were quick up the steps, and Parker had them into the apartment almost laughably easily. An ordinary door lock? Hah. You might as well have left it wide open.

Eliot shut the door softly behind him. "Let's make this quick," he ordered softly. "I don't know how much time we have." Parker was already rifling through the kitchen. He headed for the single bedroom. At least the guy wasn't the kind of slob that Tiny Tim was. Messy, sure. Living in a trash pile, no.

Eliot quickly and systematically searched the place, not finding much. Parker had moved into the living room by the time he finished, and was turning couch cushions. Eliot started on the pile of mail and other paper crap on the coffee table.

"Here," Parker said, holding up a small book. Eliot leaned over to look. Numbers, figures, names. Dates. Eliot nodded, and Parker started snapping pictures of each page with her cell while he finished the stack of mail. Nothing jumped out there, and Eliot craned his neck to see out the window, checking the street.

"Hurry up, Parker," he growled, not liking how long they were taking.

"Don't get your panties in a wad," Parker shot back, clicking away. "I'm almost done."

Eliot snorted. "You know for a fact what kind of underwear I've got on," he couldn't resist. Parker rolled her eyes.

"Done," she said, putting the book back down between the cushions where she'd found it. "Let's go."

Together they slipped out of the apartment and down the stairs, back to the front of the building and then out onto the street. Eliot grabbed Parker's hand again as they strolled slowly back up the street toward the fire and the small crowd.

"Nate, I'm sending Hardison the pictures of the book," Parker was saying softly. Eliot was scanning the people around them discretely. His eye caught on the back of a head. His eyes narrowed.

He nudged Parker. "Take a picture of the crowd to my left," he said softly. "Guy in the brown shirt."

Parker turned her phone as if she was taking pictures of him and clicked away. "I see him," she said softly. "Who is he?"

"Looks like our Colombian friend," Eliot murmured, sliding an arm around her shoulders and keeping his face turned away. "No, don't stare!"

"I'm not," Parker hissed back. "I'm just taking his picture!" He was relieved when she pulled the phone back down and sent the info to Hardison. After all, the guy had shot them.

"Ok, guys, come on back and we'll go over what you found," Nate said. "Hardison says he thinks he's got something already." There was a heaving sigh. "And that he is the master of all he surveys and works magic." There was a mutter, "We've really got to get your own earbud back."

Eliot grinned and kept his arm around Parker's shoulders as they strolled down the street, past where the fire department was winding up hoses, and around the corner to the car. "We'll be there," he said. "Might stop off first, but we'll be there."

"Oh, we didn't need to know that," Sophie's voice came. Eliot smirked.

Parker was eyeing him curiously as they drove up the winding road. "So are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked for only the ten thousandth time. "Nate wanted to work the con."

Eliot heaved another sigh. "Hardison's still working on that book. They don't need us for a while. So leave your com off for a while and let's just… relax."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Is this a date?" she asked suspiciously.

Eliot snorted. "Not exactly." Nope. What he had in mind was a little more… basic than that. So what if he was constantly turned on by the woman next to him. Frankly, he thought it was forgivable.

She was watching him, and he slid a look over at her. A hot, hungry look. Her eyes widened a little and then she grinned back at him. A predatory grin of her own that made his jeans tighten. "Ohh…" she said, grinning. She settled back in her seat. "Ok." One of her hands slipped over to lay against his thigh and he tensed.

"Not until I'm done driving, Parker," he ordered gruffly. She just smirked and stroked his thigh with her fingers. Well, crap. She was not helping.

Eliot saw the turn he was looking for and pulled off the main road and onto the dirt road with relief. Almost there. "So where are we going, then?" Parker asked, fingers still stroking. And dammit, they were starting to wander.

Eliot had to clear his throat as those clever, clever fingers danced lightly over the bulge in his jeans. "Spot up here that's supposed to be nice," he growled.

"Hmm," she hummed. "I hope it's private."

Eliot peered through the trees, praying that he was right and they were there. Yes. Thank god. "Here," he said, and pulled the car to park on the side of the road.

Parker looked around and frowned. "Awful lot of trees out here, Eliot," she said dubiously. "Aren't there animals in the trees?"

Eliot reached over, slid his fingers behind her head and pulled her into a hard kiss. "Don't worry," he said and grinned when they broke apart. "I'll protect you."

Parker made a face at him, but also followed him as he got out of the car. "This better be some spot," she muttered as he reached into the back seat and grabbed the blanket he'd tossed in earlier.

"Come on, darlin'," he said, still smiling.

It was a short hike, not a very hard one, and Parker was way too fit, even with the sore ribs for it to be any trouble. And then they were breaking through the trees, and Eliot looked at the scene with satisfaction. Yeah. Just what he'd been hoping for.

The trees parted just enough to allow a stream to tumble down over a couple of rocky outcroppings and then over the edge of the hill cliff, disappearing into the valley below. Before them was spread the whole valley, town, highway, hills stretching off into the distance. The sun shone brightly through the green of the leaves, there were birds chirping up above and Eliot caught sight of some buzzards circling a ways off.

Parker was studying the view. "Wow," she said, some fascination in her voice. She was up at the edge of the cliff before he could blink. "This would be awesome to rappel down."

Eliot tamped down the urge to call her crazy, and instead rolled his eyes, turning to unfold the blanket with a snap. "Only you," he said instead. He dropped down to sit, sprawled out on the blanket, under the edge of the trees.

Parker turned around to say something to him, but stopped and just looked at him as he leaned back on his elbows. She smiled again, that hungry smile that got his blood pumping. "So," she said, strolling slowly toward him. She reached down and grasped the hem of her shirt. "You brought me out here to have sex, huh?"

Eliot watched her avidly as she drew the shirt up and over her head. God, he loved that she didn't wear bras. "Private, away from everyone else," he managed. His brain was rapidly filing up with how her skin glowed in the sun. "Thought we'd get out of the hotel.

Her hands were on her pants now, her shoes toed off. "That's… hot," Parker decided aloud, hands slipping down her hips, sliding the pants off. And then dammit, she was naked in the sun, with that gorgeous valley behind her and he'd kill for a picture of this. It was art, it was porn, it was pretty much the greatest thing he'd ever seen.

She stopped at the edge of the blanked and looked down at him. "Aren't you a little overdressed?" she asked, and cocked one hip, putting a hand on it.

Eliot blinked, still kind of stuck on how her hair shone in the sun, and started to strip without thinking. Hell yes. Naked would be good. She was grinning as his jeans joined hers on the ground, and then he reached up and tugged her down to land in his lap.

"Christ, you're beautiful," he growled at her before sealing their mouths together. Their tongues tangled, her taste was filling his senses again. Her hands slipped over his chest and tugged at his hair, and he broke the kiss.

Parker was giving him a confused look. "You can stop saying that, you know," she told him. "I'm already having sex with you." Eliot blinked. Really? She was serious, he realized.

He rolled her underneath him and kissed her again before lifting his head. "Parker," he said and waited. Waited until she was paying really close attention to him. "You are beautiful. So beautiful it takes my breath away. You will always be beautiful, even if I'm not having sex with you."

She stared, looking up at him, that confused look lingering in her eyes. "Are you going to stop having sex with me?" she asked. And there was a little note of vulnerability in her voice that tangled him all up inside.

"Not if I can ever help it," he muttered, and kissed her again, hands unable to keep still now. He slid them over that smooth, smooth skin, tracing and stroking and cupping and teasing. "God, so beautiful," he said, mouth moving down her neck, tasting his favorite spot at her neck, nipping at her collarbone. "So, so beautiful…" His lips closed over her nipple, and he tugged, drawing a moan from her. Her fingers clutched at his shoulders, before slipping down to tease at his own chest. He switched breasts, cupping the now lonely one in his hand while he tasted the other.

And then he was working down her belly, loving how the muscles jumped and shivered under his lips, pushing her legs apart so he could lie between them. He spread her thighs and tasted her, tongue and lips work and pulling a shudder from that lithe body.

Parker moaned his name, and Eliot set about making her fall apart. He tasted, teased and stroked. His fingers slid up her thighs and into her scalding wet heat, his fingers drenched as they pumped in and out. She was twisting in his hands now, little mewling pants escaping and dammit, she was the sexiest, most beautiful thing he'd ever seen or heard. Right until she shattered in his hands, body spasming around his fingers, and that because the most beautiful thing ever.

She was still gasping and shuddering with her orgasm as he pulled himself back up her body, flipping them and pulling her on top. Parker choked a little and caught herself on his chest as he drove his body up into hers. Eliot groaned as she clenched hot and tight around him, her nails digging into his chest, the blanket rough under his back. Parker started to move, hips rolling, face tipped up to the dappled sunlight and Eliot couldn't hold still. God, so beautiful…

They were rocking together, sounds and prayers and names ripped from each other, until finally Eliot couldn't take it anymore and gasped her name one last time before the sun exploded behind his eyes.

Parker slumped against his chest, sun-warmed and sweaty and so beautiful. Eliot wrapped his arms around her and just breathed.

Yay, smut! I was really feeling the need… Of course, we'll have to get back to plot next chapter, but a little romp outside seemed appropriate. Enjoy!