A/N: You must admit, this update was way faster than my last one! ;)

Slight warning: M-rated, but not graphic at all, borderline T.

Author: SussiRay

Genre: Romance

The front door sounded unusually loud as it thudded closed behind Emily. In fact every single sound around her, including her own breathing, sounded like drums banging in her ears. She had thought that her days of being nervous and filled with that giddy and somewhat uncomfortable energy because of a man were behind her. But as she watched Hotch's back as he made his way through her hallway and felt her palms start to sweat she realized that was obviously not the case.

Six weeks had gone by since their second 'first date', but since then they had only had time for another handful of official dates. Cases followed directly by mounds of paperwork and follow-up as well as Hotch's weekends with Jack had been giving them very little time to actually spend together while not on the clock. And neither felt comfortable being anything but co-workers when they were with the rest of the team. They had been taking things slowly so far. They had been taking everything slowly.

The time that they had spent together, however, had been next to perfect. She hadn't dared believe that they would so easily slip back into their old pattern of friendly and flirty banter. But they had. Sure, there were still moments of awkward silence that neither of them knew how to fill because they were still adapting to being both co-workers as well as two people who were something more than friends. But when they were alone on their dates –and she knew how much it made her sound like a cliché – she felt as though she were twenty-two again.

She shook her head a little at the complete cheesiness of that thought and continued down the hallway, following Hotch into the living room.

"Would you like some wine?" she asked, already moving towards the wine rack on top of the kitchen island.

"Um, sure, maybe just half a glass though," he said and she could tell from the slight tremor to his voice that whatever anticipation she was feeling, he was feeling as well.

She put all of her concentration into first opening the bottle and then carefully pouring the wine into their two glasses. The air around them was crackling with nervous energy and it was making her hands shake. She closed her eyes. She had been in this situation before, many more times than she really felt like thinking about. She wasn't a teenager and neither was Hotch. They had been here once before. And if she really let herself think about it, she knew that was why she was so nervous.

They had been here once before and they had messed it up.

"Are you stomping the grapes yourself?" Hotch's amused voice danced through the air on unsteady feet, reminding Emily of his presence. Although, how could she forget?

"Sorry," she said, giving him a small smile as she set both glasses on the table. She took a seat on the sofa next to Hotch, making sure to leave a little over a foot of distance between them. "I guess I got a little lost in thought there." She chuckled nervously and took a sip of her wine, trying to earn another few moments to compose herself.

Hotch smiled at her, his lips in a thin line, as she set the glass down. "Do you want to share those thoughts?" he asked. "You don't have to, of course," he added, "but you know you can tell me anything, right?"

She nodded. She did know that. Anything she told Hotch, he would understand. That hadn't really been the case their first time around, but they weren't the same people anymore. Taking a deep breath, she rubbed her hands over her thighs and braced herself against her knees. "I'm nervous," she said, the words leaving her in one quick breath.

"Of what?"

"I think you know and I think you're just as nervous as I am. You're just a little better than me at hiding it."

Hotch glanced briefly at his clasped hands before letting his eyes return to Emily. "Not good enough, obviously," he said.

"Stand up," Emily said, kind of abruptly, taking Hotch's hands in hers and pulling him onto his feet. "Take a deep breath," she instructed, "we're putting way too much pressure on ourselves." Breathing deeply she kept her hands locked around Hotch's and looked into his eyes. "Let's not let what happened in the past get in our way." She took a step closer, standing so close that she could feel the heat radiating off his body. "I want this. I want you."

"I – I want it – you – too," Hotch said, stumbling over the words. "You must know that I do."

"But, it's a little scary, I know," Emily said. "Trust me I know. I think my palms have been constantly sweaty for the last two hours." She paused. "Sorry, that was gross."

Hotch barked a loud laugh. "I think that was the perfect way to break the ice," he said, grinning, his cheeks creased with dimples. "We needed something to lighten the mood."

Emily laughed. "At your service, Unit Chief Hotchner," she said, giving a little mock salute. "I'm glad my awkwardness is of help."

Hotch was still chuckling softly as he reached out and put his hands on Emily's shoulders. They were big and warm and made Emily think of other places she wanted to feel them. She shivered a little at those thoughts. She tilted her head back, looking up at Hotch through long lashes as he inched closer.

Their lips met finally. Even though this was a barrier that they had crossed several weeks earlier and was something that again felt natural and easy, it still made Emily's body vibrate like a plucked string. No matter how much they talked about it and how ready she knew that they both were it didn't change the fact that she was still nervous.

Hotch's mouth moved lightly over hers, his lips ghosting across hers with the slightest hint of a touch, and then he pulled back. He looked down at her and his eyes were shades darker than they had been only a couple of minutes before and his breathing was shallow.

"This is okay, right? We're not moving too fast?"

"It's fine. You really don't have to ask, Aaron," she promised. "If this wasn't okay, then I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be doing this." She cupped the back of his head, running her fingers through the short strands of hair. "Or this," she whispered against his mouth, gently pushing his head further down and pressing her mouth against his. "Or this." Her hands skimmed his back. She grabbed two handfuls of the starchy material of his light blue dress shirt and pulled until she could slide her hands past the hem and over the smooth plane of his back.

Hotch's skin was hot to the touch and he shivered under Emily's cool fingers. "Sorry," she chuckled, pulling her hands back.

"No, no. Don't be," Hotch said, taking her hands in his, rubbing her fingers between his palms, and then sliding them back around his waist.

Emily smiled, pulling him closer and leaning up to press her lips against his in another steadier, more certain kiss. She slid her tongue along his bottom lip, prompting him to part them and let her in. The slide of their tongues together was warm and inviting, sending shudders down her spine and goose bumps over her skin. She hummed in content. Hotch's hands were planted firmly on her waist; hers were rubbing his chest.

She pulled back again, though only so that she could gather enough of her whirling mind to slowly pop each button on Hotch's shirt until it was pulled off all the way and lying in a heap at their feet on the plush carpet.

Her legs felt like jelly and she feared they would both topple over if she didn't guide them down. She didn't let go of Hotch; she clutched his shoulders tighter and pressed her mouth harder against his as they plopped down onto the sofa. Legs twisted together and hands clutching at each other; she was practically in his lap, refusing to let any air in between them.

"Is this going where I think it is going?" Emily asked in between heaving breaths, trying to fill her lungs with oxygen, after their mouths had parted with an obscene smack.

Hotch's hands never stilled; running over her thighs and up her sides. "I can't lie and say that it's not what I want," he said, "But if you're not ready yet, we can wait. This time round, we have all the time in the world. There's no need to rush it."

"Do you think it would be rushing it?" she asked, feeling a twinge of hesitation.

"No, I really don't," he said. "Last time we did it for all the wrong reasons. This time it wouldn't be some sort of skewed way of saying goodbye or even trying to hold on to what we had together. I'm committed to this – us – one-hundred percent and I want this, us making love, to be about that."

She threaded her fingers between his, smiling, feeling any hesitation that might have been lingering vaporize and drift off. "Do you want to take this upstairs then?" She cringed a little at how silly and suggestive it sounded, but any awkwardness she thought it may have brought disappeared when Hotch's eyes turned black and he nodded slowly. She gave his hand a tug, not looking at him, as she led the way up the narrow staircase.

The next couple of minutes passed in almost a daze. All of Emily's nerves and excitement and lust blended together; swirling around her and blinding her in the best way possible. Hotch's hands were everywhere; his breath close to her skin as he whispered disjointed sentences in her ear. "Beautiful. You're so beautiful," he said, his mouth sliding down her neck.

His hands tugged at the hem of her sweater, deftly pulling it over her head. Her hands were pulling at his belt, somehow managing to yank it from its loops. Their mouths met in kisses that grew headier and more and more salacious with each slide of their tongues.

Her shoes were left on the floor and her skirt and bra flung somewhere over Hotch's shoulder, and as her naked back met the soft sheets on her bed she was grounded again. She could collect her thoughts again and focus. She closed her eyes. Her body shivered as Hotch's fingers danced across it; from her neck down to her hipbone. He took all the time in the world until she was writhing with need under his touch. She gasped as he skimmed along the edge of her underwear.

"Ready?" he asked in a husky whisper. His voice was deep and filled with want.

She nodded, smiling at him, rubbing her finger along the laugh lines creasing his cheek.

She gasped when his fingers dipped below the waistband, stroking the silky soft skin there, and then pulled her underwear down slowly – reverently – exposing her to his waiting eyes. She could feel her heart beating hard against her ribcage as she watched him quickly strip off his boxers and fiddle, a little clumsily, with a condom. Her heart was racing, but she wasn't nervous anymore. How could she be nervous when it felt so right?

"Are you nervous still?" she asked.

She laughed quietly at Hotch taking his time to actually think about his answer despite his position – naked, erect and on his knees beside her. "No," he said after a few seconds. "Not anymore. Because I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be right now than here with you – like this – and I think that's reassuring, not intimidating."

"You do know you're amazing, right?" she smiled, pulling him down and pressing her lips against his. Her hands gripped his back, feeling every twitch of the taut muscles there, as he moved to settle between her thighs. She could feel his fingers teasing and exploring and relearning until she was sure that she couldn't take it anymore. Every touch was like a little jolt of lightning speeding through her body. "Please," she moaned into his mouth, "Please, Hotch."

He kissed her one more time, all of his passion poured into it, and pulled back. Then he was above her and all around her and finally filling her sweetly and steadily and so tantalizingly slowly. Her breath caught in her throat as he started to move. Despite her jittering nerves earlier, she hadn't doubted that this would eventually happen, she wanted it to. But in that moment – as Hotch started moving lovingly inside her – she knew how much she'd wanted it to happen just like this. The moment was perfect and nothing like their first time.

She moaned his name louder and more desperate with each thrust. With every movement she could feel the little ball filled with fire and lust and love that she felt inside her every time she looked at Hotch growing stronger and glowing brighter. As if Hotch could read her thoughts he caught her hands in his, tangling their fingers together and gave them a gentle squeeze.

He mouthed at her neck to each snap of his hips and she wrapped her legs around his waist, working her hips in time with his. They moved together perfectly, pushing each other closer and closer to the edge.

"So close," she rasped against his ear. Hotch grunted, thrusting harder once, twice and three times and in an explosion of light she could feel herself falling. Hotch's hands squeezed her hips and a second later she could feel his release inside her. She felt as if every bone in her body was melting, slowly turning her into a content pool of bliss.

Still breathing hard, she pulled and tugged until Hotch was nestled against her. "This was… this is perfect," she said softly, already feeling herself starting to drift off, "I don't know why I was nervous. I never have to be nervous when I'm with you."

Hotch didn't say anything; only his deep breaths filled the room. He just hugged her close and held onto her as she drifted easily off to sleep.

A/N: Thank you for reading! It's been a while since I wrote something like this so please let me know what you thought! :)