Throughout his drive to Olivia's place Elliot second guessed himself. He nearly turned around at one point, figuring he'd already blown it and he should give her space before trying to talk to her again. She had come to his apartment. She initiated this. Those thoughts kept him going. He couldn't let her assume he was pushing her away.

Once he parked, he turned the car off, but sat in the driver's seat, thinking, hoping, he was doing the right thing by being here. He knew what they both wanted this to be, but she said she needed time. He worried that showing up in the middle of the night to talk would be too much for her.

Seven missed calls. Stopping by the apartment. She wanted to see him. Right? He groaned and roughly laid his head back into the headrest.

After a moment he decided he'd rather come on strong, and be straightforward instead of approaching this detached and tepid. He let out a long breath, acknowledging he had no idea how this was going to go. He finally opened the door and headed into her building.

-000

Olivia sat on her couch, book in one hand, and a glass of wine in the other. A light rap on the door startled her. She peeked at her watch, noting the time, feeling a little wary. The last surprise visitor that came over this late was a drugged Elliot, and she wasn't interested in reliving that.

She dropped her book and glasses on the coffee table and placed her wine glass on the counter on her way to the door.

She checked her door cam out of habit and her heart pounded furiously when she saw Elliot standing outside her door. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

She surprised herself when her arms flew around his neck before he even stepped in the door. His arms wrapped around her waist just as quickly.

For a minute they stood there, on the threshold, holding each other. Finally, Elliot let out a quiet chuckle, "let's get ourselves out of the hallway." She nodded against his chest, but lacked the motivation or desire to remove her arms from their perch around his neck.

He walked her back a couple steps so he could shut the door behind him. Once the door was closed, his arms returned to their previous position. "Are you okay?" He kept his voice low and soothing.

She kept her cheek pressed against his chest, savoring the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat. "You scared the hell out of me." Her voice shook as she tempered back her rising emotion. Even she was started by her strong emotional response. Today was hard, but she didn't realize the emotional toll it took.

She knew they needed to talk. They had shit to work out, but for the moment she just wanted this. Him. He didn't seem to be in any sort of rush so she continued to savor the feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around her.

Before she had time to talk herself out of it her lips landed on his. She felt him nearly withdraw in surprise, but just as quickly he returned the kiss.

Thinking about kissing Elliot was nothing compared to it actually happening. She didn't anticipate the heart pounding exhilaration of it all.

He seemed hesitant, and she couldn't blame him. How often had she jerked him around, backed off, told him she wasn't ready. Hell, she just told him their partnership probably shouldn't have happened, so she understood his hesitancy. But right now, she wanted him to know exactly where she stood, and what she wanted for them.

The kiss started slow and sweet. Just the two of them, savoring the new sensation of their lips on each other. He pulled her in more tightly, leaving one arm looped around her waist and the other pressed into her back between her shoulder blades. He seemed to be following her lead, waiting to see where she wanted this to go.

She pulled back slightly, and they both stood breathless, foreheads pressed together.

"Maybe I should get blown up more often."

"Almost blown up," she corrected with a grin.

She could hear his eye roll, "Fine," he conceded, "almost blown up."

She pulled back slightly so she could see his face better. She relocated her hand to his cheek. "I swear to God Elliot. You can't do that to me again."

He nodded solemnly, "I know I know."

Her lips brushed against his lightly while her eyes were still closed. "We need to talk."

He leaned into her and she could feel his breath on her skin, "Yeah," he agreed.

She kissed him again, this time with more intensity, sliding her tongue across his bottom lip. She withdrew a little and whispered, "But right now," she kissed his lips softly, "I want to do this more."

"I might be okay with that," he breathed.

"Might?" she said with mock offense.

"Okay okay," he let out a breathy laugh. "I'm more than okay with that."

His lips covered hers and she staggered back two steps, stabilizing herself by returning her arms to their place behind his neck. His arms encircled her, hands pressing her deeply into him.

His tongue swiped at her bottom lip and she happily allowed his tongue to tangle with hers. Every part of her felt charged with an electric buzz. Her hands could no longer lay idle as they drifted from his shoulders to his chest, carefully mapping every muscle along the way. She fisted the fabric of his shirt, pulling him impossibly closer. She staggered backward some more, letting his hands keep her upright.

She felt the couch behind her and she released his lips only to have them move to her neck, pulling a light gasp from her. The force of his weight became too much and they toppled to the couch, his hands caught his weight and he shifted more comfortably on top of her. His lips continued to roam and she welcomed their exploration. Her breathing quickened as his lips worked lower onto her chest. She pulled at the bottom of his shirt, pulling at the fabric while her hands pressed into the bare skin of his chest and abs.

He followed suit, allowing his fingers to tease just under her shirt's hem. She let out an audible, involuntary, hum at the contact. Taking that as obvious encouragement his hand dipped fully beneath her shirt and his palm pressed into the soft skin of her abdomen. The sensation was fire.

She knew she needed to slow this down, but it was hard to think straight when his hands were all over her. She didn't want to stop, but she worried if they got lost in this they would bury some issues that needed to get worked out. And as much as she wanted to lose herself in this ecstasy, in all of him, she wanted this to be more . She wanted more than one night to release the pent up pressure of two decades, she wanted forever.

She slowly withdrew her hands from their journey across his abdominal muscles, and consciously slowed her breathing. She was surprised by his response.

Even in this he was attuned to her. It was like he could instantly feel the change in her body language and immediately responded by slowing things down. He dropped a breathy kiss to her collarbone before dropping his head next to hers, his chin fitted above her shoulder and cheek pressed against hers.

God she loved him. His respect for her desires, her boundaries nearly made her want to throw caution to the wind and finish what she started, but as much as she wanted this, there were things that needed to be sorted out first.

They laid quietly for a moment, trying to get their breathing back to normal. He finally lifted his head and she felt the deeper meaning behind the intensity of his gaze.

He kissed her cheek high on her cheekbone, close to her her ear. "You okay?" His whisper provoked another assault of chills all over her body.

She cupped his face with hand. She couldn't hide her content smile. "Yeah." She sighed when his head dropped to its previous position over her shoulder. His face turned so his lips were incredibly close to her neck, sending chills through her body with his every breath.

She steadied her breathing again before saying, "we need to talk, and if we continue this," her eyes closed and her stomach erupted into butterflies as she thought of his hands all over her, not even a minute ago. She opened her eyes again, and pressed against his body so he was no longer on top of her. They both laid on their sides, pressed into each other so they still fit snugly on her couch. She finally continued her thought. "I don't want to get so lost in you that we ignore the things we need to work out."

He didn't look disappointed. He looked understanding. She couldn't help but plant another lingering kiss to his lips. Her voice dropped in tone, and she couldn't hide the obvious desire dripping from her words. "I want you, more than you can imagine, but I also want this, whatever it is, to last longer than tonight."

He brushed some hair away from her face, and she swore she saw the complete adoration shining through his eyes. She knew it had always been there, but this was the first time she allowed herself to acknowledge it.

His hand brushed her cheek affectionately, "Olivia," his use of her full name sent more chills through her body. "For me, this was never going to be a one night stand." He kissed her gently, only pulling away slightly, "I'm in this." His eyes held hers, "I'm all in."

She bit her lip, forcing back tears when she admitted. "Me too."

-000-