The rays of sunlight streaming into the bedroom served only as a reminder that morning had once more interrupted the perfect evening. Casey and Olivia had spent most of the night in bed. It was everything Casey had experienced before, but so different. She had never imagined that she would fall into bed with another woman, and especially not a coworker. To say Olivia was as talented in bed as she was in the squadroom was an understatement. She seemed to know every inch of Casey's body, inside and out. She knew every one of the redhead's special spots, even ones that men Casey had been with for months hadn't ever figured out.
By the time they fell asleep, it was well past four AM. Luckily, neither of them had to be at work until the afternoon. But as the sunlight streamed onto the bed, Casey whimpered softly, pulling the covers over her naked body, covering her eyes, and letting out a sleepy yawn. After several moments of trying desperately to fall back to sleep, to cling to whatever incredible dream she was in, she was forced to realize that she was up for the day, whether she liked it or not.
Casey opened one emerald eye sleepily, then the other. Immediately, she realized something was amiss. She never opened the curtains, and especially not when she was going to bed. And when she realized her bed was, predictably, empty, Casey sighed softly. "Of course," she murmured to herself, her pleasant memories fading almost instantly. In their stead was a devastating blend of humiliation, anger with herself and Olivia, and sadness. She could practically feel her hopes shattering within her.
Crawling out of bed, the attorney checked her phone for new messages, then opened a blank message to Olivia. She started to type, wanting desperately to scream "You got me. I do hope you're satisfied." But the words didn't look right on the screen. They seemed...too juvenile. This wasn't high school. She wasn't going to play the jealous girlfriend. She would simply pretend this ridiculous mistake had never happened. The easiest way to do that, she decided, was to enjoy a long, cold shower, followed by a breakfast of chocolate biscotti and mint tea from the cafe down the street from her apartment.
An hour later, fully dressed for the day, Casey checked the time with a quiet sigh. Of course it was only nine thirty. It felt like five PM already. The attorney stormed into her kitchen, muttering to herself as she prepared a pot of coffee. Of course Olivia had left. She had even checked around the apartment on the off chance that the older woman was sprawled out on the couch, watching TV or studying some case file intensely. But that was a foolish search, and now Casey felt fully justified in her humiliation.
Just as she pressed the start button on the coffee maker, Casey was startled a mile into the air by a sudden knock at her door. Relieved that she was fully dressed, she walked through the living room, peering through the peep hole. With a little growl of frustration, she ripped the door open, folding her arms impatiently across her chest. "What the hell are you doing here? Did you forget something? Your heart, perhaps?"
"Casey, you're up," Olivia answered, breezing past her into the apartment. Casey was too annoyed to let out more than an indignant squeak. "And you're dressed. So much for the breakfast in bed idea."
It was then that Casey noticed the older woman's armful of bags from Casey's favorite breakfast locale. "Breakfast in bed?" she repeated, processing the words only as she said them out loud. "I don't understand. You left," she pointed out.
Olivia placed everything on the counter, washing her hands in the sink. "I did leave," she agreed. Turning around, she shook her head. "Let me venture on a limb and say that you woke up, found the bed empty, and assumed I used you? I'm sure you searched around the apartment first, to assure yourself that you weren't being paranoid."
"No!" Casey answered, a little too quickly. She kicked herself mentally. She didn't remember attaching a sign to her forehead that flashed her thoughts like some high tech billboard. "Okay," she admitted slowly. "Maybe. But...you were gone," she insisted.
"To get breakfast," Olivia replied calmly, a smile upon her face. As she gestured to the bags, her jacket moved a little, and Casey could see that she was already wearing her gun and shield. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not going to up and abandon you after sleeping with you before you realize that I'm telling the truth?"
"Sorry," Casey answered, meaning it. She walked over to the older woman's side, smiling as she peeked into the bags. Unfortunately, all she could see were half a dozen styrofoam to-go boxes. Before they could eat, the attorney sighed, turning to face Olivia. "I'm not used to people being here in the morning," she confessed. "The idea of promising that one will be there when the sun rises is a novel one. It's romantic and loving, but seldom comes true. You would be surprised how many men have come and gone from this apartment...in more ways than one."
Olivia gently brushed a lock of Casey's still wet hair out of the younger woman's eyes. "I'm not one of those men," she replied. "Differing equipment aside," she added, laughing. The response elicited a laugh from Casey, too. "I don't make promises I can't keep, Casey. I'm not going to leave. It took us a long time to get this far...and, quite frankly, after what I witnessed last night, anyone would have to be crazy to give that up."
It suddenly felt as if they had been engulfed in a lava storm. Casey knew her cheeks had reddened to the same shade as her hair. She would normally be appalled at her behavior, but around Olivia, she felt uninhibited, freer than she had ever been with any man. And she also knew Olivia well enough to know that the brunette didn't say anything she didn't mean. "I was only following your instructions," the attorney replied, ignoring the butterflies roiling in her stomach.
"Are you positive that's all it was?" Olivia asked, grinning. She wrapped her arms around the younger woman, gazing into her eyes. Something about the brunette's deep chocolate brown eyes made Casey fall for her all over again. "Tell me, Counselor. Have you never experienced a fantasy of a certain commanding officer? A fantasy you, perhaps, tried to quell, tried so desperately to ignore, but refused to go away? A fantasy that you may have thought of, say, last night?"
Casey blushed all over again. If they weren't in this position, she would find Olivia's ability to read her so easily to be a particular nuisance. But, somehow, she managed the perfect reply, one she was quite pleased with. "That's for me to know and you to find out. I don't kiss and tell." Fueled by something resembling defiance, the redhead extricated herself from the older woman's passionate embrace and began removing containers from the various bags. "We wouldn't want breakfast to cool, now would we?"
By the time they were nearly finished eating, Casey and Olivia had discussed everything from the weather to current cases of interest to their schedules for the week. It was time to discuss the elephant in the room. "About last night," Casey murmured, taking a small sip of her orange juice. "I wanted to tell you how sorry I am."
Olivia's gaze snapped up from her bacon. "Sorry?" she repeated incredulously. "For what?"
"Please don't make me say it," Casey begged. But the look on Olivia's face told her that was exactly what the older woman intended. "Fine." The redhead took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I clawed the hell out of you in bed, okay?" Her cheeks flushing scarlet all over again, she dropped her gaze to her breakfast, studying her croissant as if it were the test of her life. To her surprise, Olivia burst into laughter. Casey looked up, shocked. "You're laughing at me?" she cried. "Who does that?"
"I'm not laughing at you," Olivia answered once she had calmed down enough to speak. "At least, not at you, personally. I'm laughing at the idea that you're so embarrassed about a few claw marks made in the heat of the moment. Frankly, Counselor, I'll take them as a compliment. It means I was doing my job properly." The brunette shrugged and bit into her bacon. "And, for that matter, you'd be shocked to learn how tame that is."
"You're not...mad?" Casey asked. She had been racked with guilt for hours, having never done that to anyone before. But then, no one had ever done such things to her that drove her over the edge like that.
"Of course not," Olivia assured her. "As I said, it's a testament to my, admittedly, many talents."
Casey didn't know how much more she could blush before turning a permanent shade of red. Her porcelain skin could only bounce back so many times. "Okay, but what about the noise?" she asked.
"Oh, you mean the fact that I need a hearing aid about a decade early?" Casey's embarrassment must have been written on her face, because Olivia simply started laughing again. "Casey, relax. Again, it's a compliment. If the people in Antarctica don't mind, I sure as hell don't." Olivia stood up, walking over to where Casey sat. She stood beside the younger woman, leaning down to her level. "In fact," she whispered, her voice a husky growl. "I wouldn't mind entertaining them again. It must get so boring down there."
"But what about breakfast?" Casey questioned. It wasn't that she wanted an excuse to get out of a repeat of the previous night, per se. "You spent all of that money, and you know it's my favorite restaurant. We cannot let this excellent food go to waste."
"That's what a microwave is for," Olivia purred, blowing hot breath into the attorney's ear. Her fingers traveled down the younger woman's body, toying with the buttons of Casey's blazer. Her right hand slipped into Casey's blouse, then into her bra, finally squeezing her breast gently, but firmly. "Those claw marks are a little lonely." She removed her hand, standing up to her full height. "Well?"
Casey wanted desperately to pretend that she cared more about breakfast than a romantic morning in bed with the woman she had subconsciously pined over for years. But one glance at the open bedroom door squashed those hopes, forcing her to realize how much she wanted this. The aching throb between her legs and her painfully hardened nipples didn't help her argument much. Gently taking Olivia's hand, Casey intertwined their fingers, standing up and gazing into the older woman's eyes. "That's what a microwave is for," she repeated softly.
Olivia smiled, wrapping her arms around Casey's neck, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. Gently, she pulled the attorney into the bedroom, closing the door, even though they were alone. She undressed each of them without breaking the kiss, pushed Casey onto the bed, and straddled her. "I've been thinking about this all morning," she murmured, tracing her fingers across Casey's smooth, naked skin. "I thought about it on my walk to the restaurant, while I ordered, and on my way back. In the elevator on the way up, all I could think about was another moment with you, Casey." She looked at the clock, a sly smirk crossing her face. "How lucky that we have until this afternoon. How lucky that you don't have arraignment until three. That is...if you can even walk by then."
Author's note: Thank you, everyone, for the awesome reviews. I am quite pleased with how this chapter came out. I can't wait to hear what you all think.