As promised the second part of the party's here! Brace yourself guys, LOTS of fluff and UST in there!
As always thank you so much for the reviews! I love them! And I love you guys!
Raymond found Liz on the balcony facing the city. She was looking out at the lights shining away, her arms closed around her body. He looked at her silently a few seconds, memorizing her silhouette. She was so beautiful. He knew he was puzzling her with his behavior, he knew it wasn't fair to act like that, but he had his reasons and wasn't ready to share them. She had to learn the truth by herself or she wouldn't believe it. Sighing he walked to her side.
"Here you are," he said, leaning against the stone guardrail.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes still on the city.
"I was looking for you, Lizzie."
"I had that at the 'here you are', Red. The question is: why?" she said finally looking at him.
He was looking at the city, his face half in shadow; his white short vest standing out in the night. She felt her breath hitch in her throat at the sight. She had always loved him in his uniform, but this one was her favorite. The tight cut of the vest emphasizing his board shoulders, the hem stopping short at his hips showing the golden of his cummerbund followed by black pants and shiny black dress shoes. He had put back his white gloves and hat on, she noted. She felt a shiver run up her spine and closed her arms tighter around her. That's when he chose to turn to her.
"You're freezing," he said seeing the goosebump spread on her exposed skin. "I would have loved to be a gentleman and give you my vest but those are hell to wear so… come here sweetheart," he said opening his arms for her.
She hesitated a few second before giving in. Even if she didn't understand what he was playing at, even if she would feel guilty in the morning, she needed him. She loved Tom, but was craving Red's attentions and presence and it was innerving her. She walked to him, curling her arms around his waist, her head buried in his neck; she breathed his scent deeply when he closed his arms around her. It felt good, even right.
"How are you?" he breathed against her hair, his gloved hands caressing her back.
"I miss him," she replied knowing what he was really asking. "Things had never been the same between us after that day, but we had mended our relation the best we could. I just would have hoped it hadn't been so fragile," she murmured, her fingers playing with the medals at his breast.
"I'm sorry sweetheart," he breathed kissing the top of her head.
"It's not your fault, Red. We were two in this affair and I don't regret anything about what we lived, only the fallout. If I hadn't pushed you that first night…" She stopped there, feeling her eyes fill with tears.
"They would have found out eventually, Lizzie," he said pulling her closer.
She nodded, her nose brushing the thin skin of his neck. She had played every possible scenario in her head over the years, every 'what if' and every time, it ended the same. They had been doomed from the beginning and she had realized over the time that they had been lucky to be able to hide the truth for that long.
"What are you playing at, Red?" she asked rising her head from his shoulder to look at his face.
"What do you mean?" he evaded her question.
"The touches, the looks, you here with me on this balcony, when you spent ten years avoiding me?"
She could feel the hurt rise in her chest. She had spent ten years hoping for him to come to her, every time they had been in the same room, she had hoped he would come to talk, but he never did. She would see him in the news, a new girl at his arm every time, or with Jen at some official party she was attending too and Jennifer would at least nod to her, but he never acknowledged her presence. And now that she had found a loving man and was happy with him, he decided to mess with her feelings. She couldn't begin to understand his motivations.
"I'm not playing, sweetheart," he finally murmured, looking her in the eyes.
"I should go," she murmured, evading his arms when he started to bend his head.
"Lizzie, wait!" he called and she froze, her back to him.
He walked to her and put his gloved hands on her shoulders, playing with the strap of her dress. They stayed immobile a few minutes, his heat burning her back. She startled when she felt his breath then his lips on her bare shoulder.
"We never had the chance to dance. Please dance with me," he pleaded his lips grazing her skin, sending fire pool in her belly.
She hated the power this man had over her. She had thought to be happy with Tom, but she realized he had never been able to make her feel like Red could. With him, she felt loved and beautiful; something Tom had not been able to make her feel in a long time.
She nodded silently and he let his hands slid from her shoulders and closed his fingers around hers. Silently he led her back in the dinning room. They realized they had been out longer than they thought when they saw the diner was over and the musicians were back on the stage, playing softly. A few couples were dancing and he led her in that direction. She frowned when she saw him nod to Jennifer, still sitting at their table, but forgot everything the moment he put his hand on her back, and pulled her against his chest. If it was the last time she could be that close to him, she would enjoy that time, guilt could wait until morning.
He was holding her close, their bodies brushing every time they moved with the music, his hand on her back, his thumb tracing small circles on her spine. She sighed and he closed the distance between them, pulling her flush against his chest. Not for the first time since he had joined her on the balcony, Red wished he wasn't wearing his gloves.
She closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder, her fingers playing lightly with the short hair at the nape of his head. It felt good, oh so good to be in his arms, to be held by him, even loved. She knew she had no right to feel that good with a man that wasn't her fiancé, but at that time, she didn't care, all she wanted was to enjoy herself. Absent-mindedly she brushed her lips against his neck and she felt his hand move lower on her back than appropriate in such an event. She smiled against his skin; his neck had always been his soft spot.
"Red," she breathed her nails scratching at his scalp and she felt his hand tightening around her.
He was losing control. If she didn't stop right now, his next move would be to find an empty room and fuck her hard against the wall. He could feel his trousers tightening with his growing arousal and if she kept going like that, it was a matter of second before she felt it. Thankfully the song ended and they had to part before anything drastic happened. They stopped moving and she raised her head from his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.
"I should go," she whispered.
"You should," he nodded in a husky voice.
But they didn't move, eyes locked, they were standing in the middle of the dance floor, in a room full of high ranking officers, politicians and businessmen and they didn't care. He ran his hands slowly up her body, running a finger tenderly against her throat. Her head cradled in his hands, his thumb brushing against her cheek, he bent his head and kissed her tenderly on the forehead.
"I love you," he breathed against her skin.
The eyes she didn't realized he had closed shot open at that and she felt guilt flood in her. What was she doing? She was engaged to a sweet man who loved her and she was flirting with another man in the middle of a crowded room. She had to leave before doing something stupid. She took a step back and, evading Red's eyes, turned around to leave.
"Be careful with your fiancé, Lizzie," he said, seeing her stop a few feet away before watching her exit the room.
"Wow! That was… weird," Jen exclaimed when he went back to their table. "But good weird, I mean… Dad? Are you ok?" she asked when he didn't say anything.
"I don't down, darling," he sighed, emptying the glass of Scotch he had left there when he went to find Lizzie on the balcony. "I don't know what to do with her. And I don't know what to do with this," he said taking out from his vest the envelope Fitch had given him earlier.
"Oh, that's what you were doing with Fitch then, I was wondering. May I see it?" she asked.
He didn't say anything but gave her the envelope and waited.
"Son of a bitch," she breathed when she saw what was inside. "I knew I was right when I overheard that phone call," she added angrily. "What do we gonna do?"
"I don't know, Jenny. I want to tell her, but she won't believe me. She will think it a scheme to win her back. She has to find out by herself. And we have to be here for her when everything starts to fall apart," he said shaking his head tiredly.
He hated playing with people life, even more when he was so close to them, but he had no other choice than wait. He knew he had planted a seed when he had told her to be careful with Tom, he only hoped it would be enough to make her see the truth. He glanced one last time at the pictures in Jenny's hand before reaching for the envelope and putting it back in his vest. Wait and see, said the adage.
"We should go home," he said finally and saw Jennifer nod.
When she left the building, Liz asked a valet to call a taxi and waited for the car to arrive. Her thoughts were upside down, she didn't know how to react at Red's declaration. He had said he loved her and she couldn't understand how those three simple words could unsettle her life that much. Her life was perfect two weeks ago. Sam was alive and she had happiness with Tom, but now her life was a mess because of Raymond Reddington, his pretty words and soft touches.
And what did he mean when he told her to be careful with Tom? They had met for the first and only time at Sam's funeral and didn't exchange more than ten words. She didn't know what was going on and she didn't like to feel that powerless. She had always been in control of her life, the master of her fate, and now, with three little words and an obscure warning, Red had taken that control from her. She hated him for that but couldn't help the heat she felt spreading in her belly at the thought of his declaration. She was screwed and she knew it.
"Your taxi's here, ma'am," the valet said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Thank you," she said, slipping a bill in his hand before walking to the car. She needed to sleep, and hoped everything would be clearer in the morning.
The couple was lounging in the bed on this Sunday morning, their limbs entwined after their morning lovemaking. The woman moved to grab the remote on the nightstand and turned on the TV.
"Turn it off, Lucy," the man pleaded, kissing her lightly on the shoulder.
She ignored him and start going through the channels, looking for something interesting. She stopped on a talk show relating an official party held the night before in D.C. and her eyes went wide in shock.
"Tom!"
"Hmm" he mumbled kissing her neck.
"Tom! Look at the screen! Isn't that your fiancée?" she asked finally catching his attention.
"What the fuck," he said grabbing the remote to turn up the volume.
"We still don't know who that woman is, but our sources inside the Benjamin Franklin Dining Room reported that she had been very close to the Admiral Reddington during the whole event, if you know what I mean," the host said, winking at the camera. "We saw her arriving in a limo with Jennifer Reddington, the Admiral's daughter, earlier that night," she added showing some pictures of the two women walking down the red carpet, "but as you know, journalist weren't allowed inside the building so we don't have any footages of the party itself. But…" she took a melodramatic pause there, "we had been able to find some official pictures showing the two of them dancing later that night. Brace yourself ladies, they're hot!" she exclaimed, smiling broadly.
The screen split in two at that and a picture of Raymond and Liz showed on the TV. He had one hand on the small of her back, the other securing hers on her chest. His cheek was resting on the top of her head and he was smiling tenderly, his eyes closed. And she wasn't in a less compromising position. She was plastered against his body, her hand on the back of his head, her face buried in his neck, the picture showed clearly her lips brushing his skin.
"So what do you think, ladies? Is the most coveted bachelor in town not available anymore? Who is that girl who had been able to get her hands on Raymond Reddington? If you know her, please call…"
Tom turned off the TV angrily and threw the remote across the room.
"I knew it! I knew something was off with that son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill him and make her watch!" he burst out, leaving the bed and putting on jeans.
"Calm down Tom. What do you care? You don't love her anyway," Lucy said sitting against the headboard.
"Of course I love her, you silly! And no one cheat on me!" he yelled looking for his shirt.
"But you said…" she began in a small voice.
"What? Did you think I would leave my fiancée for you just because we fucked a few times? You're more stupid than I thought then," he spat, starting to throw his clothes in the open suitcase on the floor.
Lucy felt the sting of tears burn behind her eyes and watched Tom close angrily his luggage. Without a word, he grabbed his wallet, took his suitcase and left the room. She curled into the mattress, tears running freely on her cheeks and cried out when a sob wrecked her body.
Please, as always, let me know what you think about it!