Heat

by ROGUEFURY

You don't expect to be pulled into a heated gravitation with Agent Javier Peña, and the more you both try to navigate your lives around each other, the clearer it becomes that your feelings go beyond the torrid desires you both are able to ignite in each other. Will the heat of your passions win out against the tribulations that threaten to pull you apart?

21. Chapter 21: Trust

Warnings: Graphic descriptions of sex, including explicit depictions of oral sex (m + f receiving) and unprotected sex. Mentions of intercourse with different sexual partners, praise kink, cum play, size kink, dirty talk, masturbation, and begging for rough intercourse. Hesitant!Reader, Dom!Javi, Needy!Javi, and Frustrated!Javi.

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Chapter 21: Trust

The reveries of sunbeams colliding and refracting down from the blazing blue sky above your head make you squint your eyes, bemused by what you're doing laying out in the grass. The grass. You fan your hand through the cool, dewy blades, trying to decipher why the breeze is so docile – why the sound of the crashing waves in the distance echoes dreamily. And when you turn your head and see his thick, chocolate rizos undulating in the air before the sun burnishes it like earthy coils of toasted chestnut and cocoa, your breath is stolen from you. His smile is brilliant, soulful eyes warm as pools of brewed coffee as he gazes with raw yearning and adoration down on you.

You reach up to caress his cheek, trail your thumb teasingly over his lips before rubbing over his moustache cheekily, smiling when his bembes plush out at you before he reclines sidelong to lean down and press a doting kiss to your cheek. Looping your arm around his shoulder, you hold him from pulling back, and his eyes lower gently to the amorous gaze you give him. His head and shoulders are now framed by the refracting reveries, sky flickering gold and blushing with clouded sparks, hair looking like a crown of wavy curls you bury your hand in, just as he starts mouthing something down to you. You try to concentrate on hearing, but the sound of waves crashing grows too loud, and just when you think he's going to lean down and whisper it to you, the alarm clock blares and yanks you up out of unconsciousness.

The sublime dream was enchanting, feeling so familiar but yet so novel at the same time. Frustrated, you flop back into bed after silencing the alarm. Where was that? Why did it feel so familiar even though you didn't see anything but the grass, the sky, and Javi? El Morro…that felt like we were at El Morro, laying in the grass. So weird… You think, but smile as you think about the expansive grassy knoll at the top of the ancient Spanish fortified citadel at the top of Old San Juan. It's always been one of your favorite places ever – a majestic spot where you feel at the top of everything that makes home beautiful, serene, yet powerful. It's always given you comfort, so is it a wonder that you'd dream being there with Javi?

Bemused by the thought, it takes you a few minutes to collect your thoughts and remember you asked Javi out – after you'd been so gun-ho at not pursuing things, or at the very least keeping him at arm's length now that things at the embassy had changed so much, and so quick. But last night? Pressed so close to him, encircled in his embrace? Tasting his kisses for an entire day – after so long, laced yearning deep in you, turning you into the longing mess you are now after being undone by his lips last night. It shouldn't be possible for him to still have such an effect on you.

Moodily, you find yourself thinking about tonight, wondering how to best go about it so you don't just fall back into comfortable, albeit bad habits, and end up in bed with him. You want to, after all, but you also want to stand firm in figuring out if this is something that should be happening at all. You picture Javi stretched out on the couch in your office, looking so inviting, and with a lot of effort, you fight the desire to let your thoughts wander to what you would've done to him if you could've guaranteed not getting caught.

Pressing your thighs together, you don't fight the fantasy you've used to entertain yourself in times of sexual tension lately – a time such as this one, as you trail your hand down to rub at your throbbing clit in attempt of relieving your urge for the day. After all, Javi spent a good part of the previous day driving you into a sexual tizzy, so turned on and bothered by it that compounded by that dream? Well, you just figured the least your fantasy Javi could do was get on his knees in the middle of your office and kiss you deeply where you positively ache for him. The image of Javi's hungry eyes flicking up to gaze salaciously up at you while his mouth claimed your pussy was just what you needed to reach release, little mewls of pleasure getting stifled by your shoulder as you climax along your fingers.

Feeling a little better, you shower, get dressed for work, and realize you're completely famished from skipping dinner the night before. Deciding to make a needed breakfast pit stop, you set your dinner date look out for tonight and rush out the door.

Javi is just managing to take the edge off in the shower, hand stroking his throbbing erection while the warm water bats over him, cascading lazily down his flexing muscles as he fantasizes about you laying naked on his desk, where anyone could see. He pictures your brazen smile as you touch yourself, making for the most sinfully glorious offering he's ever seen as you mewl and spread your legs wide to show him how wet and needy you are. You whimper for him and squeeze your supple tits, arching with desire and dripping wet all over the glass table top that shields his polished mahogany desk, and when he conjures your breathy pleas of his name over the running spray of the showerhead, Javi jerks himself off into a hearty orgasm that snaps euphoria to melt into the sinew of his muscles before he groans and leans heavily into the tiled wall.

"Fuck me," he huffs, feeling a little more clearheaded, but in no way sated.

While he shaves, he gets lost in thought, wondering if you relented on meeting for dinner because you wanted to get control on your own terms, hence proposing the time and place yourself, or if it was just a compromise so he wouldn't try to flirt with you at the embassy? He wasn't sure how far ahead to look forward to things tonight, or if he should let you dictate what comes after dinner. All he knew was that his urges had always been voracious, and the prospect of coming home to jerk off in the shower again was not something he was going to be content with. Not when his desire for you has been on a slow simmer that's pretty much kept him horny in a rut the whole week so far.

By the time he's finished coming through the security gate and parking swiftly in the first available spot, he's ravenous – both for food and sex –and the prospect of both were bleak, so he was a bit grumpy as he stepped off the elevator and stalked at a brisk striding pace through his department. He could feel the sheepish glances flick away when he looked in their direction, and for the life of him, he found the whole dynamic in the office irksome. Javier wished he could just pull his tie off and hand it to some schmuck, point him to his office, and tell him to have at it, but he controlled the impulse, even when Stoddard fell into pace with him as he neared his office.

"—Boss, sorry to grab you first thing, but because of the meeting with the senators later in the week, I had to move up an operations report session—"

Javi was internally swearing in English and Spanish while the man went on, and he was already itching for his cigarette pack in his blazer's pocket. "Isn't that something you can just sit in on and give me the cliff-notes after—?"

Just as he stepped into his office, he noticed a neatly packaged to-go bag sitting on his desk, calling his name.

"W-Well, they specifically asked me to make sure you're able to join this time, sir, so—"

Javi is ignoring him as he saunters over to his desk and hazards a covert look around before asking, "Anyone notice who delivered this?"

Stopping in his verbal gymnastics, Stoddard furrows his brow before adjusting his thick-framed glasses to try and recall whether he'd noticed who came in and left the bag. "Sorry, sir. I could ask around—"

"Never mind. It's fine," Javi dismisses before he sits in his chair and stares amusedly at the to-go bag from Don Gilberto's. "The meeting's in 15 minutes, right?" he inquires as he leans back in his chair and shoots the other man a glance that tells him to do the following things in order: 'leave me alone, go relax, and let me eat.'

Interpreting the unspoken commands loud and clear, Stoddard goes off to his desk to get ready. Mercifully, the food is still warm thanks to how it was so snuggly wrapped up, so Javi makes short work of the breakfast sandwich and saves himself a pandebono for later when Stoddard comes collect him for the meeting.

While Javi is in a much better mood once he's going into the tedious session, you're pleasantly chipper as you refill your coffee and go sit with Francesca in your office, feeling quite pleased that Marisol could do you a covert delivery favor for once. The woman had been tickled pink when you'd asked her to make the drop off, chiming that it's always the best to watch the recipient arrive and see the surprise. Promising to maybe snap a polaroid for you the next time, she'd gone on her way to her shift, leaving you to fantasize about how cute Javi had looked, standing there all put out and adorable.

"So, the software is sound, but there are some encryption pieces needed to create the secure networks and data collection mechanism we talked about," Francesca is remarking to you as she sits on the couch and shows you once you've pulled up a chair. "It's totally doable, but I think only a handful of people will really be able to use each application to its full potential. Not sure how that'll net out," she grumbles and chews on her bottom lip.

"Well, for now, only you and I will be utilizing it. Once we feel good that everything is streamlined, then I can take it to Operations and get the ambassador's blessing," you explain and pat her on the shoulder. "This is excellent work! I would still be tinkering with code if not for you. You've been awesome help," you praise genuinely and smile. "Did you decide if you're going to extend your study abroad for another semester?"

"Yeah! I just need to apply for the grant—" she chimes and grimaces anxiously.

"Oh, if you need any help with that, any recommendation letters? Let me know. I'm pretty sure Ambassador Crosby might have some contacts at honor society scholarship programs. I could always ask him to put in a good word if you're interested in applying," you remark blithely before you glance at your watch, "Oh! Aren't you gonna be late for your class?"

"Yikes! Totally. I'll see you tomorrow, boss," she chuckles as she trots to her desk, stores her laptop and collects her backpack and waving while she ambles off.

You're smiling still as you go to shut your door and notice she left her lanyard with her U.S. Embassy ID on it. Acting quickly, you swipe it off the desk and sprint in your kitten heels through the workspace to get to the elevators, but the doors just closed, so you grumble, pivot, and head for the stairs. Just as Francesca is getting to the main security checkpoint, you gain on her, waving and shouting, "Don't forget this, kid!"

She gasps and bashfully scampers over to you, collecting her badge and profusely apologizing while you chuckle and wave her off.

The blood flow is pumping at a good beat after the sprint in heels, so you take a break to collect your breath and cool down before you head back to wait to catch an elevator. You were in mid-turn away from facing the security desk when you noticed Javier across the way, through the glass partitions, where he's standing in an inset landing that curves the outer side of the building from the carport. He looks so handsome that you momentarily get lost in the reminder of your dream. His dark, coffee-brewed eyes flashed chocolate under the glint of the sun that caught in the glass, so he turned away to continue smoking his cigarette unbothered, giving his back unknowingly to you. The cut of his navy suit looked so good on his broad shoulders and tall frame, making you wish you could bury your face in his white shirt.

The tall, leggy brunette that approaches him snaps you back in your gazing from afar. You recognize her as the notorious Katie, and from what you can see, she's asking Javi for a cigarette. From the cool, unruffled way he reaches into his pocket for the pack, offers her one, and even lights it for her, you can see he's keeping his guard tempered, but then you see her talking, and before you can get engrossed, you turn and force yourself to leave.

Nope. You're not going to care. Javi doesn't belong to you. He's not a field agent anymore. She's his subordinate and whether you like it or not, he can't just shun her.

Javi, for his part, had been hoping to be spared the awkward interaction for as long as he was assigned to his post, but he didn't have that kind of luck, so here he was. After the exasperating operations session, he'd snuck downstairs for a much-needed smoke break. The moment she'd walked up, he'd sensed she wanted to say something, using the ruse of asking for a cigarette to justify her approach, but then she'd surprised him by remarking, "I can assure you I was not looking to spotlight myself around here, sir, so I apologize, but I just wanted to make it clear I don't make it a habit of doing that and assure you I did not spread the gossip on the matter."

Grunting, Javi had flicked the ash of his cigarette before relaxing his stance. "No need to apologize. Frankly, I've not been the exemplary superior, and shouldn't have been so unprofessional. From what I can remember though, your girl friend at the table watched us leave together, so…" he muttered the latter and shrugged. "But trust me, this place doesn't lack for gossip. By the end of the week it'll be completely forgotten."

"No offense, sir, but I'm pretty sure the gossip is still going to center around you, even at the end of the week," she remarked glibly and amusedly gestured to her neck with her pronged fingertips before pursing her lips around the cigarette for one more pull.

Despite himself, Javi could feel his ears burn, so he made a humored shrug before putting out his bud in the trashcan's receptacle, gesturing a casual salute farewell as he loped back up the steps.

Annoyed with your pragmatic, levelheaded side overriding your need to play the voyeur and see if you have reason to doubt Javi's intentions, you stewed for the rest of the trip back up to your office. Had you known how the conversation went, you probably wouldn't have fixated on it over lunch that afternoon, or while you finished the last of your acquisition reports. But aside from wondering what the interaction was about, you can't help recollect just how mean you were to him. You have no right to feel so entitled to him, or jealous, and you certainly can't justify your behavior when you'd confronted him. Remorsefully, you find yourself replaying how scathing and harsh you'd been towards him. The reminder makes you flush with shame, unhappy with yourself and disappointed that you'd be so mean, regardless of how you'd felt. You were about to admonish yourself some more when Ellis dances into your office with a prized delivery wielded back and forth in his hands.

"Well, m'dear, here is your new, top-of-the-line, out before most'll even see it in stores, genuine cellular phone!" Ellis pretends to be a carnival barker as he bestows the box on your desk, enjoying how your eyes gleam with awe.

"The request processed super quick! I figured we wouldn't get the approvals until months from now," you chime as you unbox the unit, lay everything out, and start reading the instructions. "Oh, that reminds me, are we fulfilling phone requisitions for the other agencies? Or are their resource people holding onto that?"

"Eh, some of them are clueless, so we're commandeering from them. I'll be sure to let finance know to pay attention to the clarity codes when they're processing," he remarks, blinking in awe at noticing you've skimmed the instructions and are already tuning the phone on. "…Any plans this Friday?" he carefully inquires and squints knowingly at you.

Scoffing, you grumble, "None, and if you're gonna start hasslin'—"

"Nope! I was just going to mention that we're gonna do a movie night at our place, and, well, if you had any one you'd like to bring along…we have plenty of dinner, booze and room for company," Ellis charmingly cajoled, winking at you before clearing his throat and waltzing to the door, "Just let me know!"

Rolling your eyes, you pursed your lips, trying to twist them from smiling when you know you can't honestly bring Javi around your friends so casually – especially when you're trying to tactfully figure out what your relationship can be before you can go around bringing him over. I mean…I can't even define this. Where is this even going to go? I can't just invest more of my time and feelings into an undefined relationship…can I?

The question lingers in your mind the rest of the workday, and once you're home, the pensive weight of it has you a bit anxious. Did you make a mistake by proposing the date? What if you're just not ready?

Frowning, you chide yourself and hop to it, knowing you do not feel nearly as good as you need to, and the outfit you picked out will definitely help boost your self-esteem.

Javi was not looking forward to the rest of the week. Not with the insane, jam-packed schedule Stoddard had showed him, so he was on a mission to enjoy tonight, even if he had to burst into his apartment like a man on a mission to shower, gargle mouthwash, and pick an outfit that was neither his button-up-and-jean combo, nor the rumbled suit from the office. He remembered that the little café had been actually quite romantic, and although they'd been dressed pretty casually, it'd become a ritzy late-night eatery, with a maître d and everything, after a certain time. Luckily you'd gone for a very early supper, so they'd let you sit on the veranda. But a late dinner meant he had to dress up, somewhat.

It's fifteen minutes to 9pm when he arrives, and as he assumed, the diners were spruced up, and thankfully, his name was on the reservation list. He looks so damned debonair walking towards the square little table flush to the wall in the low-lit, glittery lantern-glow of the café, and when he glanced around, looking as if he felt out of place when he definitely was not, you can't help smile as you watch him for a little longer while sitting in the back of your cab. You can see him thrumming his fingers on the tabletop, clear indication that he's craving a cigarette, but you see him pop a mint in his mouth instead, chewing it as he glances down at the curated menu. His broad shoulders are straining the smoky-gray sports coat, the black dress shirt showing a tease of his throat from the two top buttons being undone, pressed black trousers – like his jeans – looking like they were sewn for him, and the polished dress shoes you spotted when he'd loped in making him look like he's a gallant stud. The fact that he's just so handsome completes the outfit of an already devastatingly dapper and debonair man, leaving you pining despite all your cautions and admonishments.

Smirking, you thank the driver and pay him for the fair and a little extra before stepping out of the cab on your gold strappy heels and loping across the street towards the façade of the building, breezing through the entryway where the maître d greets you and gestures to the back where Javi looks up and sees you. He smiles broadly and stands but ends up being overawed when you let the attendant help you shed your tan trench coat to reveal the elegant bejeweled pink tourmaline cocktail dress. It hugs your curves beautifully, and under the glow of the lanterns, the jewels shimmered as you moved. Smiling, you strut over, passing the other tables, of which Javi notices several of the other men turning their heads to stare as you walked by, to the chagrin and annoyance of their dates.

You seemed oblivious to it all, seeing as your eyes were mirthfully fixated on Javi as you grip your pretty clutch whilst you slink over and find yourself leaning up to peck him on the lips, gently caressing the side of his neck with the visible hickey above his shirt collar, before radiantly grinning and lilting, "What?"

Pursing his lips, he shakes his head ruefully and pulls your chair out for you, easing it back in place with you primly seated, when he croons, "You know exactly what, wearing something like that…looking so stunning." He sits and holds your gaze, admiring how your hair cascades prettily over your shoulders, accentuating the delicate slope and line of your neck, the trace of your clavicle. The dress straps help defy gravity with your sensational cleavage, making it hard for him not to stare while you shyly roll your shoulders forward and fold your hands on the table. "Hermosura, completamente devastadora," he murmurs in that canela-dipped timber, and you melt, eyes fluttering when he takes your hands in his. "You're the most beautiful woman…" his eyes hold your gaze as he boyishly smiles and rumbles, "You've got me rambling like an idiot, you're so gorgeous."

Your heart feels alight, a floating beam in the expanse of your chest as you squeeze his deft, strong hands and whisper, "This is just a killer dress, Javi. I can't take all the credit," and smile, even though your heart is beating like crazy and his warm hands have your thoughts running amuck.

"Huh, that's debatable," he chuckles warmly, eyes lowering provocatively as he rumbles, "I'll be sure to be very careful when I take it off," and traces his thumb over your pulse point on your wrist before smirking at your appalled little scoff whilst he recedes his hands from yours once the waiter appears.

After your drinks and food are served, you realize that really, nothing has changed between the two of you. Conversation is so easy, and the attraction has been heightened, if that can even be believed. But mostly, you sense something more calm in Javi, and when he tells you about how he spent the time off on the ranch with his father, you can feel him ease into a kind of tranquil contentment. It makes you really intrigued, titillated to hear and learn more.

But, you can't deny that some of the things you want to learn and know veer into precarious topics you and Javi both have always been bad at navigating, let alone discussing without acrimony or angst. However, you feel that this an inflection point for you. All the things you both either avoided addressing, or would tumultuously fight about? That all cannot still be something either of you harbor or avoid if you are to truly feel like this is going to be different – that your relationship is evolving for the better.

Javi is gazing at you over the rim of his glass, taken with the allure that's percolating in your features and twinkling in your eyes now. "Uh-oh. You've got that look," he purrs affectionately after drinking his sip, and you focus your stare at him, arching a brow demurely. "Nope. I already saw it. You're thinking things—"

"Oh, dear me, how dare I do that," you deadpan jokingly and purse you plush, rouged lips teasingly at him. "Well, since you mention it…" you begin, but then idly trace the edge of your glass, trying to collect your gumption. "I have been thinking a lot. And, well, I realized I was being resentful," you muse softly before glancing up at Javi.

His dark eyes gleam under the flickering glow of the lamps and lanterns of the café, but his features etch in a serious regard before he reaches for your hand, brushing his thumb into the cradle of your palm reassuringly as he responds, "You had every right to feel that way. I didn't give you any options—"

"No, Javi…I was so resentful and mean the other night," you press, frowning. "I'm sorry. No matter how upset I was, I was out of line. I should've never been so snide. I don't know how you could put up with that…"

"Easy. Because the alternative probably would've involved a backhand, minimum," Javi derides glibly and makes a silly mueca that earns a caustic giggle from you.

Snickering, you sigh and sober, worrying your bottom lip between blunt teeth, as you stare at him meekly. "Did you mean it when you said it'd be different this time?" you ask, expression becoming guarded as you lean back in your chair and recede your hand from his.

"Well, it already is different," he remarks, really jonesing for a cigarette, but not wanting to ruin things by lighting up right now. "We're working together, and nothing has blown up. No horrible thing has happened to jeopardize your work—"

"Javi," you cut in, brows furrowing. "You're running things now. Quit being so flippant," is your tepid remark, adding, "And anyway…I wasn't talking about work."

Understanding, he takes your hand again, this time more firmly, and caresses your fingers tenderly. "I meant it, querida. Everything's going to be different. I know I fucked up," he tells you with conviction, brown depths emphatic as he captures your guarded gaze. "You deserved to know what the hell was going on. I should've found a way to let you know what was going on, so we could figure it all out together; decide what we wanted then and there. I…I understand how fucking weird it is to just go to work and there I am, after no discussion or anything—"

You squeeze his hand, pulling him back from getting carried away in his stream of consciousness. "I was worried," you confess and shift in your chair, not knowing how stupid it'll sound when you say it out loud. "I…I was worried we'd both be in completely different places. That after all the time apart, what it'd been wouldn't fit us anymore…" Shaking your head, you scoff and bashfully cover your eyes. "That sounded so dumb—"

"No, it didn't—it doesn't," Javi insists, and when you peek at him over your hand, he smiles and jokes, "I didn't think that far, since I was just pretty sure you were going to beat the shit out of me that first day."

You laugh, that carefree, melodious chime that dissolves into the discordant little sigh he adores so much, and hadn't realized just how much he missed. "Oh my god, I really had to talk myself down from marching into your office and clobbering you," you remark, smirk impish when he snorts and you give him a wily look. "No, seriously. I really considered it."

He grimaces comically at you, so you flirtatiously skim your foot along his ankle and wink at him.

"So, is it safe to say you're gonna give me another chance?" Javi musters carefully, and when you hesitate, he adds firmly, "If you want to go slow, take our time, I am committed to that."

Your eyes soften, and the calm that ebbs your meek energy away has you leaning forward, conspiratorial as you capture his molten gaze with your scintillating stare. "What are we doing, exactly, Javier?" you murmur, tone guileless and expectant. When he stills, brows furrowing gently, you emphasize, "I mean…we snuck around, and never really talked about where anything was going. Which, at the time, was fine," you pause and brush your hair behind your ear while your other hand idly traces the wrinkle in your napkin. "But now? After what happened? I don't want to ever go through that again…not ever really knowing where I stand, and ending up grasping for conclusions on my own…"

The silence trickles a cold drop of anxiety through you, but then Javi reaches for your hand again and interlaces his fingers with yours.

"I want you. I want you, the apartment – air conditioned, of course – and even an annoying little black cat to keep you entertained while it bugs the shit out me," he tells you, baritone warm and smooth as honey, as he presses, "I want to be with you, querida. I do not want to lose you ever again."

"…What if that isn't enough?" Your whisper is tense, shoulders winding back nervously.

Javi squeezes your hand reassuringly. "Just ask of me, mi amor. That's something you always avoided, and I know why," he pauses when he sees your eyes crinkle and your features tense, continuing resolutely, "But you don't have to avoid telling me exactly what you expect and want. Just…talk to me."

Sighing, you relent, caressing your thumb over his hand as his fingers squeeze yours affectionately. "All right…I want to know what you talked to that girl about," you muse simply and glance openly at him.

"…Who?" Javi grunts, looking genuinely confused.

Brows knitting peevishly, you drawl, "Katie."

Javi's expression shutters bemusedly before he adjusts in his chair, and when he goes to ask another question, he stops himself and realizes you must've seen them talking outside. "Nothing. She asked for a cigarette, and then insisted on telling me she didn't spread the rumor and she hadn't intended to put any kind of spotlight on herself like that," he answers, and when you seem appeased, he mumbles, "Baby—"

"What about the one from back home?"

He now looks entirely flustered, but you're not mad or demanding in your demeanor, so he eyes you keenly as he answers, "Tina…my buddy's little sister," before pausing and shaking his head as he remarks, "Cariño, I swear, they didn't mean anything—"

"You said it was at a welcome home party?" you ask conversationally and finish the last sip of your drink. When he doesn't answer and just stares warily at you, the snicker is involuntary as you roll your eyes and muse, "Javi, I can't be upset. I'm not. We weren't together. I'm just asking because I want to be able to ask you things without feeling discouraged or worried that it's something we can't discuss."

"…So is this part of what you want to ask of me, but never have?" he inquires, dubious.

"Yes. Actually, yes, it's part of that," you tell him, thanking the waiter when he brings you a new drink. "For fear of making you run for the hills…I had a lot of time to think about our relationship. And I'll spare you the gorier details of what I came to conclude, but really, I realized that, how I feel about you? It's never been the way I've felt about other men. They," you pause when you notice how intensely he's staring at you, intent on your every word now. "They never…mattered to me. Sure, I liked them, or cared about them, or maybe even loved them a little, but it just isn't how I felt…how I feel now," you pause to take a fortifying sip of your drink, letting the rum steel your resolve. "All I wanted was to have fun. All I asked of them was to not waste my time, or give me a heads up about things, so if they wanted to break things off? Date a friend? Whatever. I didn't really care. But…seeing you with that girl made me so mad, and I had no reason to be."

Javi is taken aback, so he shakes his head and rumbles, "No one else matters to me but you, preciosa."

"I know – I believe you, but…why can't we talk about this stuff?" you press, sensing his wary discomfort. "Have you ever been the jealous type before? Why can't I even mention past lovers without you getting worked up—?"

"Because it feels like I get stabbed in the ribs every time I think about it," he grouses, tone guarded but hard. "The thought of you and that fucking Samson asshole, even now," he grounds out before gulping his envy down to temper his tone in order to mutter, "It makes me furious, since he only had a chance because of how fucking undeserving I was in keeping you."

That steals your breath and makes your heart ache. "Javi…"

He scoffs at himself and sits straighter, fiddling with his napkin and averting his gaze from the beseechingly doting stare you're pinning him with. "I never really cared about anyone enough to be jealous. Laredo's a big city with a small town spirit, so if you dated your buddy's sister, or his ex?" He shrugs. "I mean, kind of pointless to get jealous when everyone knows everybody. The women here…I didn't have feelings for them. So yeah, it's different. From the moment I saw him talking to you, I just…I hated it," he grouses, and finishes his drink before he gets the courage to stare over at you. When he sees your eyes twinkling at him, plush lips dampening and smiling, he grunts, "What?"

"You know, you're just so cute when you get all flustered," you tease, grinning as you lilt, "You get all pouty and ornery—"

He scoffs grumpily and reaches his hand under the table to squeeze your leg after you extend it out to nudge his calf. "Malcriada," he growls and trails his thumb down the length of your smooth shin before skimming his fingers back up to the divot of your knee, yanking you, and by extension, your chair, closer. You hiccup a breath and smile at him when he bites his bottom lip and releases you. "So? Is that it? You want to be able to talk about the stuff we both always fought about to, what? Learn not to fight about it anymore?"

Smiling, you nod. "Yeah. I really didn't like how we'd skirt around things. I don't want to walk on eggshells with you, Javi. And I don't want you to around me, either," you answer serenely, and when the waiter clears your dishes, you grab Javi's forearm and pin it to the table by cuffing your hands around his wrist. "I want to be able to be honest, completely, and always, with you. If you have expectations of me, tell me what they are, and…I'll do the same."

"All right…so if I was to say I want you to spend nights with me, at my place – sleep over and keep stuff there, that wouldn't be a no-go-zone?" he asks in a tentative tone, quirking a brow in question.

"Honestly? I only refused to spend the night at your old place because of the fucking big brown leather couch those sluts said you'd railed half of Bogotá on," you chide irreverently, snickering when he scoffs and glowers peevishly at that.

Grunting sorely, he pouts and grumbles, "I did not fuck half of Bogotá—"

"You did half of the working girls in Bogotá, so don't even try it," you counter acerbically and tug on his arm imperiously. "And? I don't want you to lie to me. No matter what," you remark with conviction in your tone and fire in your eyes. "That also includes omitting things of importance. If there's something that affects you, it affects me. Especially if we start this up…if we're gonna try again."

Javi really needs a cigarette right now. "You know there are times when I can't discuss work matters with you – with anyone outside of the agency. I can't promise—"

You grip his wrist and tip your head at him as you cut in, "I'm not talking about anything other than the kind of scenarios or decisions that you have to make that will directly impact you. Finding out you got rotated out the way I did?" You pause, eyes sharpening with repressed anger. "I was crushed. I didn't know what the hell happened, and I was so scared…" Your voice cracks, so you trail off and avert your gaze as you regain your poise by sipping your drink, trying to not think about how devastated you'd been.

He feels retroactive guilt all over again, and even now, the impotent rage flares hot in him. "There are…operations going on right now, but I'm confident none of it will require much of my involvement. No way near the kind like before, anyway," he tells you in a raspy baritone, eyes smoldering when you hold his gaze firmly. "Alright, even if it did require me to go in-field, it'd just be to provide my guys support – backup with local authorities, and coordinate with other agencies. But, if it's anything risky, I'll warn you," he remarks reassuringly, and rubs at his moustache pensively before adding, "We'll have to figure something out about talking on phones—"

"Ah, speaking of which," you chime, lighting up with excitement as you reach into your clutch and produce a slip of paper with your script handwriting on it. You ease it across the linen tablecloth over to him, and let your fingers linger when he plucks it up. When he looks curiously at the digits, you smirk and purr, "That's my private cell line. I had it encrypted, and this kind of line cannot be tapped without instantly flagging the manufacturer and the contract owner, so if certain slithering jerks try it, I'll know."

Javi's eyes widen, impressed as he muses, "Shit, can I get one?"

"Sure. I can see if DEA is on the queue for it," you chuckle and smile. "Don't tell me Crosby gave you back the same satellite phone," is your amused sneer before you take a drink from your glass, hitting ice as you drain it.

"Yep. Wouldn't be surprised if he'd just tossed it in his desk until I got back," he remarks with a shrug and finally hazards a glance at the rest of the restaurant. Grunting humorously, he eyes you and drawls, "I think we've closed the place down."

Blinking, you turn and notice that indeed, you're both the last remaining patrons seated. You glance over at the maître d and make a frown of empathy as you make the international gesture for the check. The man smiles and comes over, dutifully handing the leather fold to Javier, who purses his lips triumphantly at you while you pout.

"By the way, it was such a pet peeve when you'd fight me on paying the check," he remarks glibly after the man goes to settle the bill. You squint bossily at Javi, so he goadingly winks at you and purrs, "So glad I can remedy that now."

"Ah-hah," you hum amusedly, quirking a haughty brow as you eye him gloatingly and ask in a musing chime, "Any other tidbits you've kept to yourself that you'd like to unburden yourself of now, chavón?"

"Nothing I'm dumb enough to bring up right now," he retorts sardonically, and the goofy look he gives you is just too endearing to not grin and scoff irreverently at. So, you do, along with affectionately squeezing his hand. "But, it sounds like you won't take umbrage if and when I do mention anything in particular," he drawls amusedly and winks at you.

You shoot him an intrigued look and give a half shrug. "Perhaps."

The maître d comes back, returning the settled tab. Javi thanks him and stands before pulling your chair out for you and escorting you to collect your coat.

"Could you help assist me in hailing a cab, sir—?" you begin to petition in Spanish to the man once you've cinched your trench coat closed.

"A cab? C'mon," Javi objects, hand chivalrously at your waist as he murmurs in your ear, "It's late, hermosa. Let me drive you home."

You shoot him a defiant look, quirking your brow as you remark, "Well, I just think it'd be easier, considering you said we could take things slow…"

He brushes his fingers through his hair absently as he frowns. "And? That can still happen with me driving you home," he grouses, tone warm and rough as he adds charmingly, "I can be good and behave myself, cariño."

Pursing your plush lips knowingly at that, you still relent, thanking the gentleman and wishing him a good night. Javi takes your hand and threads it through his arm as he escorts you down the sidewalk towards his parked Ford Explorer, giving you a flirty, albeit gloating look as you stroll.

Once he's opened the passenger door for you, he helps you hop in before rounding to get in the driver's seat.

" 'I can behave myself,' he says," you singsong, smirking when he ruggedly feigns confusion at what you're getting at. "Que lindo, jugando de dulzón," you chuckle and smirk when he starts to drive and grunts at your silly teasing, so you end up affectionately squeezing his thigh before musing, "You can have a cigarette, you know."

He nips at his bottom lip as he grunts and sardonically shakes his head. "Was it that obvious?"

"No, but I know a lot of smokers. If it isn't chewing on that gum, it's regular smoke breaks. You've had neither all night," you retort and nudge him. "Go ahead."

He loves you so much, and little things like this really cement it for him. You're so considerate – free of judgment. Sometimes he found himself disarmed by it, and right now, with your warm gaze and loving smile? It made his bones ache with how immensely he loved you.

The cigarette tastes great after the fantastic supper, and the conversation as he drives is just as comforting, warming him and easing any concerns that you felt the need to keep your guard up around him any longer.

Especially when the conversation veers into naughty, albeit silly anecdotes.

"—Wait! You're telling me she just jumped your bones?!" you exclaim, scandalized and amused by the audacity. "Just what did you do to her during that closet make-out game?" is your crass little giggle as he shakes his head and grimaces comically.

"I don't know! I really only remember feeling her up a little – nothing crazy," he chuckles and shrugs when you scoff as if you don't believe him. "I swear! We just French kissed and I felt her up—"

"Did she feel you up?" you ask, grinning daringly while he nears your complex's neighborhood.

Javi wracks his recollections, flicking his finished cigarette out the window and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he ponders – and then he remembers, with stark detail. "Oh…yeah. She rubbed me through my jeans and I slipped a hand under her skirt, but over her leggings," he recalls tersely, and the gasp before you irreverently giggle has his lips curling. "But then we could hear everyone counting down, so we stopped and rushed to fix our clothes—"

"Well, there you go," you laugh and give him a winning smirk before winking. "She got to cop a feel at what she was missing."

"Fuck's sake," he grunts dryly, and snickers when you razz him some more, pinching his thigh as he pulls onto your street and heads for the vacant spot on the corner. "Richie? Her brother, found out from one of the other guys the next day, and he punched me in the nose during track practice," he tells you, shaking his head while you laugh effervescently at that as he parks the car and turns the engine off.

"Did he punch you in the nose this time?" you ask, biting your lips to stop from grinning like a wily minx.

"Nope. But who knows if he heard about it after I left, so a punch could be waiting for me next time I'm in town," he mutters huffily, and you just laugh, so he watches you rein the peels of mirth in before he grumbles in a faux sulky tone, "And here I was gonna be a gentleman and walk you up—"

Your leaning over the console and brushing your lips along his jaw causes his grumble to trail off. When he just stares heatedly at you, dark-brewed eyes heavy with promise, you murmur, "You don't have to, guapito."

Before he can think of what to retort, you grab your clutch and open the door, hopping out. Grunting at himself, he exits the SUV and catches up with you before you can strut far up the sidewalk. When he encircles your waist, you rest your hand over his and keep pace as you lead him across the courtyard towards the stairs under the overcast night sky. Your heart is aflutter, excitement already buzzing in your core the closer you get to your door.

You're so close now, Javi can smell your perfume, the fragrance of your hair, and he aches – wanting so bad to just go into your place and worship you like he's been fantasizing about. Once at your door, you retrieve your keys and unlock it, but then you turn and slink close to Javi, gazing up at him through the dark fans of your curled lashes. "I had a wonderful time," you murmur softly, hand skimming tenderly up his chest to brush your fingertips along the edge of his chin as you chime, "Thanks for dinner…and for humoring me."

The tangle of lust coils up in his gut, but Javi pulls you close and presses a kiss to your lips before brushing his nose against yours affectionately. He sighs after he squeezes your waist and steps back so you can open your door and beguilingly step in. With an incandescent look from his soulful eyes, he purrs, "Goodnight, querida," and watches you close the door.

Internally, he's bemoaning having to go home and take a cold shower, trudging sulkily to the steps, in mid-internal berate at having overestimated his chances when he pauses at the sound of your door opening. "Javi?"

Turning, he freezes at the sight of you sans the coat, standing in the light coming from your open door, dress twinkling a warm blush hue and making your eyes sparkle in the dim light. Pivoting to a mid turn, you present your back to him and glance sultrily over your shoulder as you purr, "Help me out of this dress?"

Expression etching with want, Javi saunters back over, wraps his arms around you, and nuzzles you before he herds you into the apartment. Door locked behind himself, he keeps control of his lust long enough to take you to your bedroom so he can take his time undressing you. His hands admire the delicate slope of your shoulders on the path to easing your dress' zipper down, exposing your smooth, lithe back. With care, he slips the shoulder straps down your arms and lets the bejeweled garment slacken from your hourglass shape before gliding it down your legs so you can step out nimbly from the garment.

The light in the hall is the only illumination coming into your room, so you look like a seductive sprite standing in your gold heels and your skimpy pink lace panties, breasts perked and heavy, begging to be fondled, hair brushed behind your shoulders. Your smile is enchanting, so when you take the dress and hang it up out of the way before you turn your attention to undressing Javi, he really has to keep his impulses in check and let you lead.

His masculine, spicy scent has been wreaking havoc over your senses all night, and in the car? It was taking all your willpower not to climb into his lap and bury your face in his neck. So now, you press your nose to his throat before brushing a kiss over his skin while your hands work to shed his sports coat, tossing it to the edge of the mattress, and make short effort of unbuttoning his shirt.

"You've been cleaning up well, you know," you purr affectionately as you unfasten his belt and open his trousers, worrying your bottom lip between blunt teeth when his fingers hook in your waistband and start tugging your panties down. You nimbly shrug them off your legs and kick them aside, giving him a sassy look.

He smirks and picks you up by the backs of your thighs, hoisting you up against him so he can take you to the head of the bed and lay you down while he kicks his dress shoes off and sheds his pants. "Me? Hardly. You, on the other hand have been dressing to kill," he rumbles puckishly as he works to free you from your strappy heels, holding one up as if to say, 'Case in point,' before setting it down on the floor to get the other one off next.

You giggle and slink against him once you're now unburdened by fashion, hands slipping under his waistband and shoving his underwear off. "It totally annoyed me how good you looked in your suit yesterday. And then you show up looking all GQ tonight?" you remark with faux reproach, smiling when he rolls you both so he's pinned you under him and can hover on his propped arms to stare smugly down at you. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you've been purposely trying to wear me down…"

He blows a raspberry at that and leans down to teasingly ghost his lips along yours. "You are gonna drive me insane," he husks and smirks when you clutch at his biceps and wriggle under him. "You know damn well that's what I've been doing, atrevida."

Your smile is radiant, eyes cresting with genuine delight. "Well, it's a good thing it's working, then," is your murmur before you kiss him, like you've been dying to all night.

Javi hums wantonly, sweeping his tongue into the cup of your mouth and battling for dominance while he kicks the last of his clothes off. Your hands trail down his back when he breaks the kiss and suckles possessive nips into your neck and growls, "I've wanted you so fucking bad."

The clutch of your pussy clenches around nothing and pulses warm desire, making you wet for him. "Mmm, Javi…I n-need you," is your heady sigh, and when you feel his cock skim the inseam of your thigh, you mewl and arch your pelvis up, seeking it to notch at your center.

"Hmm, be patient for me. Wanna taste this sweet, divine pussy first," he growls against your collarbone whilst he rubs your dewy folds, humming with approval when he feels more desire slicken over his fingers. "Fuck, been thinking about burying my face here all day—"

You exhale a little excited mewl at that and squirm when his thumb grinds over the hood of your clit, lighting you up with pleasure and heating your features while you writhe and cling your hands to his shoulders. The fantasy of this morning flashes across the backs of your eyes, making you blush and whimper, especially when combined by the exquisite sensation of his mouth claiming a hungry trail down to your apex before his tongue parts your dripping petals and tastes you with a long swipe. You cry out a needy sound and grip at your bedspread when Javi nuzzles into your cunt and moans as he possessively encircles your hips and pivots the cradle of your womanhood greedily up to his mouth.

"Oh my god, Ja-Javi," you exclaim, heels digging into his back as you ride his tongue with shameless abandon after going so long without it claiming your cloying center.

Javi's hips are involuntarily rutting into the mattress as he eats you out with gusto, cock straining and already weeping with need, but he is desperate to taste your climax, to hear you come undone and to feel you squeeze around him as you melt apart.

His wish is granted after he flicks his tongue deep in your cunt and grinds the pad of his thumb in firm sweeps over your clit, snapping the flurry of pleasure loose inside your aching core and flooding your sheath over with your bliss. Your nails strain into the bedspread while you flex and moan while you writhe in pleasure as your mind hazes over with carnal heat. Breathily, you whimper cries of delight as Javi prolongs your ecstasy with his lapping tongue and suckling lips.

He, for his part, is drunk on your taste, so when you go boneless in his embrace, he takes his time regaining his wits as he sits up to admire your blissed out features, licking his lips and humming at the sight of you.

Hair a-strewn over the pillows, you look ravishing, and the heated, hooded gaze you pin him with has his cock throbbing, so when you beckon him and purr, "Take me already, hermoso," Javi feels like his lust zings in his bloodstream and becomes electric fire under his skin.

He doesn't want to just fuck you with abandon – mindlessly rail into you and get lost in the carnal, base urge of it like the other night. No, instead, Javi wants to truly make love to you. He wants you to feel every slow drag of his cock as he fills you to the hilt, wants you to cling to his muscles and clutch at his limbs in exquisite rapture. And most of all, he wants you to feel how much he loves you.

You and Javi have always been passionate lovers – literally tearing at each other's clothes and rushing to revel in each other's bodies as if the desire you both felt would burn up in your souls if you didn't release it with the incandescent fervor that it fiercely demanded to be reached and expended in. That kind of explosive, core-melting sex was always consuming and fulfilling, but the moments when he could make love to you – where he could take his time and skillfully take you apart with his touch, the weight of his thrusts, the sensation he rocks into you, it was something entirely different. He never felt more worthy than when he was making sweet, tender, and passionate love to you.

So, when he hitches himself into the cradle of your pelvis and angles you to ride his thighs, the slow press of his cock stretching your aching walls and already stroking deep to hit that ruinous pleasure point inside you has you mewling and arching. "Javi—ahh, nngth-ohh!" you whimper when he suddenly rolls his hips back and snaps them at this new angle, hitting your delicate cluster of ecstasy and edging you into a fast, desperate need that has your pussy clenching and your clit thrumming for more.

But just as you feel the pressure of his cock hitting so deep and dragging along your rippling sheath becoming wreckfully overwhelming, Javi grips your waist and hungrily laves his tongue over a studded nipple when you go taut, arching up to curl into him. The lascivious suck he gives your pebbled flesh combined with the grind of his pubic bone rutting into your clit lights you up, making lust haze you over as you dig your fingers into his corded arms and hike your knees up to grapple at his ribcage for purchase just when Javi rocks into you on another bone-melting thrust.

You cry out an inarticulate sound and dissolve into mewls of rapture when he grabs you and possessively holds you in his arms while he fucks your wringing, pulsing cunt as you become awash with your orgasm. "Oh god, oh god—" you exclaim airily, head tossed back against the bed as he draws your pleasure out. "Oh pl-please, oh fuck, Javi—!"

"I've got you, baby. Mmm, let go, let me have it all," Javi croons hoarsely against your temple, coaxing you through it as he fucks your rippling heat until your silken cunt throbs from the onslaught of pleasure he keeps plucking from your gluttonous core.

Scintillatingly overcome with euphoria, you desperately cling to Javi, sobbing ragged little mewls you nuzzle into his neck – kissing the mark you left on him, as he keeps rocking his ramrod cock through your squelching, slick-drench pussy. Your thighs and calves are burning from overexertion so bad that you let your legs fall open after Javi nestles his manhood deep and just lets you clench ravenously around him. He's losing his focus from the desperate, plaintive heat of your core while your cunt pulses and warms him. So, when your mind isn't a melted ripened mess anymore, you finally realize how tense and wound up Javi's muscles are, how ragged his panting breath is against your temple.

Totally enraptured, you nuzzle merciless kisses into his jaw, neck and shoulder until you can muster the effort to roll him so you can carve your hips around his and cling to him while you contract your floor muscles.

"Oh fuck—" he husks roughly and grips the globe of your ass while the other hand clutches your back. "Querida, mmph," Javi growls, slight pitch of warning in his gravelly baritone when you lick at his throat and hum seductively at him, hands massaging possessively into the back of his hair. "—Mi amor, I'm right there—gotta stop before—" is his rambled growl when you ignore him and undulate your hips to grind his cock along your fluttering walls. "S-Shit, baby, g-gotta pull out—"

"No. I want you to fill me with your cum," you tell him ardently, nudging your head against his affectionately as you cling to him for good measure and silkily purr, "Make me yours again, Javi."

That snaps all control out of Javi's already splintering grasp. With the pivot of his hips and the sway of your body being utterly possessed by his big, greedy hands, Javi hammers you onto his cock now, the grind of his pubic bone bruising, rubbing his coarse curls into your clit with devastating precision that snatches another blazing orgasm to curl you aloft before plunging you into mindless pleasure. You're left crying, "Javi!" over and over before he bottoms out in your silken sheath and shouts a feral groan. His balls pull up and tight against him just as his cock swells before he fills you with rope after rope of cum, spreading the bloom of warmth deep inside you. He can feel his seed erupt with every shudder and snap of his hips, moaning when you shiver and smother your whimpers of pleasure while your cunt pulses from the force of his climax and the aftershocks of yours.

Sweaty and completely spent, you both collapse onto the rumpled, disheveled bed, breathing fast and feeling like your pulse and nerves are trying to collect the sinew and tissue of what was once your bodies. It's a rapturous, carnally gratifying bliss you're in until you both can scrape yourselves together to move, and when you do, the blessed sigh that pours out of you when Javi pulls out and you both roll onto your backs is just as rich as the proud sound he lets loose from his chest.

That had been the best sex you both had ever had, both in life and with each other. You're a bit punch-drunk from it, smiling when he hums and lazily lulls his head so he can plant a sloppy kiss on your shoulder. You manage to flop your hand to drag up the length of his side before hooking it at the inside of his arm so you can use it as an anchor to heft yourself onto your side, shimmying against him and grunting a content sound.

"That…that was…" Javi croaks, but can't think of a fitting end to his remark.

You stifle a snicker into his shoulder. "Yeah. It was," you sigh wistfully and melt when Javi snakes his arm under you and loops you to be nestled sidelong against him. Threading your leg between his and draping your arm over his broad torso, you susurrate, "I'm still trembling…"

His savagely proud smile crests his handsome features, revealing that boyish dimple as he drawls ruggedly, "You're fucking amazing, bravita. Feel so good…can't ever get enough of you."

Heart alight at that, you muster the effort to slink up against him so you can kiss him with tender sweetness. Javi's bravado melts at the sight of your glimmering eyes, dewy countenance and tired-yet-loving smile. He kisses you for a long while, just soft presses of his full lips to your plush morsels, hand stroking your side in soothing, languid caresses of his fingers.

In the tranquil, sensual repose you share from your post-coital affections, you and Javi end up cuddling and talking. After he got up to retrieve a damp washcloth and tended to you with tender aftercare, you'd beckoned him to curl up under the blanket next to you. He obliged, pressing flush against you and kissing you reverently. You caressed him, relishing how he looped his arms lovingly around you and just held you while you dotingly kissed and laved at the tender hickey half-healed on his neck.

It was so natural and heartening – completely organic how easy you fell back in. So much so that you question yourself for having been so neurotic and combative in the first place – having wanted to be steadfast in your resolve to hold Javi at bay. Now, warm and sated in his arms, you feel silly, albeit enamored. So, after a comfortable silence, you'd nuzzled him and murmured, "I could stay like this with you forever."

Besotted by your unselfconscious musing, Javi had hummed, "Same here, preciosa."

But, the romantic sentiments inevitably gave way to more pragmatic concerns and considerations.

"…We'd have to sneak around with even more care. Be twice as mindful about everything we do," you sigh now, tone pensive as you caress his cheek.

"…Or, we could just tell Crosby we're together. His opinion is the only one that matters," Javi carefully muses, petting your tousled hair back affectionately and smiling reassuringly at you when you pout. "Querida, it's whatever we want it to be. I just want to be with you, so…if you wanna set up rules, be covert at work, fine – I'll be your dirty little secret," he jibes flippantly.

You frown at that. "Javi, beyond the fact that we're both heads of departments, do you really think it'd be wise to go public at the embassy? I know plenty of people who will use it against you. I don't want to be the reason for any opposition against you, or be the excuse why you hit resistance on things," is your sober retort.

He stretches out and props himself up on his elbow, resting his other hand on your waist. "Stechner is my problem. All he wants is to play his games without anyone muddying up the track for him. He's got nothing—"

"Which of our phone conversations did he reference to you?" you interject and sit up, folding your knees sidelong and holding the blanket to your chest. "Because he repeated back what I'd said to you about tapping inter-agency landlines without the proper clearance." Javi's eyes narrow and he sits up to rest his back against the headboard. "I think he was bugging our phones for a while—"

"Fucker had no right," Javi grinds out angrily, rubbing impatiently at his stubbly jaw as he rehashes things over in his mind. "…He was at least listening in from when we were stationed at Carlos Holguín. The day shit with my C.I. went south, he'd made a crack about me not getting to call you after all that night, like I'd promised," he broodingly recalls, getting furious all over again. "We'll just keep vague on the phone – only talk on the line if absolutely necessary. The rest of the time, we'll talk in person," is his ruminating suggestion as he glances over at you, scowl softening when he sees how worried you are. Leaning over to pull you into his side, he nuzzles the hairline at your ear and murmurs, "Talk to me, guapita."

You sigh and bury your face in the crook of his neck. "I really think you have to watch out for him, Javi," you confide, and he huffs cavalierly. "Most people at the embassy didn't fixate on what happened, but assholes like Stechner – all they do is pit things against perceived threats. Using Los Pepes against you was his play last time…I think he's liable to do anything to keep CIA from answering to anyone," is your astute musing, and when Javi tenses, you lean back and gaze into his hesitant features, blinking in confusion.

"We, um, well, we never talked about that," he guardedly remarks, features uneasy as his insecurities twist up in his gut. "About what I did…"

"Do you remember what I told you?" you ask softly, shifting to loop your arms sidelong over his shoulders so you can give him a tug to loosen him up. "I will never judge you, Javi. And anyway…you know now that the whole Los Pepes thing was a banded alliance that has CIA all over it. That scumbag just erased his involvement and had them reach out to you so he could have a target to point people away from himself."

Javi is taken aback, astounded by your assessment and how objective you are, musing neutrally your thoughts on the matter all the while he just gapes at you. "You got that all from the article?" he queries, flummoxed as he encircles your waist with his arm and idly caresses your thigh.

"That, the little you told me, and the way that creep spoke to me," you retort simply and shrug. "I have a suspicion that he's the reason Col. Wysession and Luke got reassigned to Panama, too."

The mere mention of Samson winds his shoulders back, but he manages to defuse his sulking anger to instead kiss you on the forehead as he pulls you onto his lap. "I'll be careful," he assures, combing his fingers through your hair and kissing the apple of your cheek, clearly wanting to stow the unpleasant subject in regards to the smarmy CIA station chief into a dark proverbial hole. "So then, can we make out in that corner in your department afterhours? Or are you brazen enough to fool around in my office—?"

You gasp, scandalized by his ability to veer back to raunchiness, and swat his shoulder playfully. "No messing around at work!" you scold, grinning when he rolls his eyes as if you're nothing but a buzz kill. Draping your arms around his shoulders, you gripe, "If we're seen together a lot, we're going to bring attention to ourselves. I'd really like to avoid any static from HR. After all, you don't have Murphy around to run interference for you, and Ellis can barely keep a secret as it is—"

"So he does know about us?" Javi hums gloatingly, smirking – the curl of his lips mischievous. It's so cute and goading that you're tempted to nibble his moustache off with glee.

However, you clip sarcastically, "Uh, yes, you beyako," and pinch his trapezius, for good measure. "I had to tell him once I came back from my trip and found out you were the new DEA country attaché. Couldn't keep him in the dark about why I was suddenly needing to foist him on you rather than running the chance of strangling you during out first meeting," is your scathing snipe while you coquettishly run your fingers through his hair.

He chuckles a velvety rasp that tingles down into your womb. "Alright, fine. No sexy trysts in the building," he remarks offhandedly before adding, "But I can't make any promises about behaving during our status reports."

You scoff and roll your eyes, but your smile and the affectionate caress of your fingertips over his brow and across his forehead to ruffle his tousled rizos speak volumes as you sneer, "Such a fresco."

"You fuckin' love it," he purrs and cheekily nuzzles a kiss into your neck while you hum imperiously at that, grinning when he shifts you down into the pillows playfully. As you squirm and try wrestling him onto his back, Javi sees the time on your alarm clock and frowns. "Shit, I should head out," he grumbles, and stares down at you. You sober and seem to consider saying something, but you nod instead and slink back so he can swing his broad frame to the side of the bed and start collecting his clothes.

You watch him get dressed, your expression thoughtful while you submerge the clingy impulse coiling up in your chest. But when Javi sits at the corner of the bed to put his shoes on, you find yourself saying, "I got invited to movie night at Ellis's on Friday. Not sure if it's your thing but…it'd be something we never got to do before," you pause tentatively when he turns to look at you, surprise lighting up his soulful eyes. "I mean…the whole hanging around with other people, thing. But I understand if you'd rather—"

"It's a date," he cuts in charmingly and leans over to steal a peck from your lips before you can keep rambling or talk yourself out of asking him. Snickering impishly, he drawls, "I am not passing up the chance at annoying you with PDA in front of your deputy—"

"Oh, give me a break, suavón. As if you want to risk me teasing you mercilessly with no hope to retaliate," you scoff wryly and amble up to grab your robe and slink it on. "I'm going to carpool with him Friday, since we have a team happy hour before, so we can meet up at his place, around 8pm?" is your suggestion as you turn and smile at him when he stands and shrugs on his coat. "Anita always makes dinner, then we watch a movie over drinks."

Humming, Javi moves to waltz you closer so he can curl a hand around your waist and hold you close, nuzzling you as he paws his hands down your curves. "Sounds like a plan. Where's he live?"

Javi is kneading your derrière, making it hard to concentrate for a second. Biting your lip, you slap his hands away and loop yours in his belt, giving a naughty tug, earning an intrigued grunt from him. "You know the apartment block across from the old embassy housing commission building?" you ask, and he nods. "His place is the sunflower-yellow building, ground floor courtyard apartment across the street on the corner."

"Ah, yeah, I know where that is," he retorts warmly and taps your ass puckishly, earning a jolt from you, so you nudge him in retaliation while he tugs you along with him down the hall towards your front door. "Hmm, can I see you tomorrow?" he rumbles as he swings you into a semi-dip and starts kissing your neck, clearly reluctant to leave. "I'm slammed with meetings all day, but wouldn't mind some company after," is his flirty husk, brows quirking hopefully at you.

"Ugh, I have a dinner with the senators and Crosby tomorrow," you grumble, and his expression twists in a grimace of sympathy. Jutting your bottom lip out, you press up against him and lament seductively, "I'd much rather make you entertain me instead."

"It's bad enough I gotta be in some inter-agency intro meeting with 'em first thing, just to get a couple 'attaboys' and bullshit around for DEA funding. The thought of sitting to dinner with them is purgatory," he jokes, and you glower dramatically at him.

"Yeah, thanks for rubbing it in, stud," you sass and plant a saucy kiss on his cheek as you open your door and sorely tease, "Now go, before I just drag you back to my bed."

He chuckles and pulls you up against him to steal a longing kiss from your lips and a caress of your bare ass under your silky robe before he lets you slink down his front cheekily. "Hmm, good luck tomorrow, coqueta," Javi purrs before giving your waist one last loving squeeze as he turns and saunters out your door.

You lean against the door jam and watch him lope off, internally fawning like a love-struck tart before you shake some sense into yourself and close your door, lock it, and march yourself into the shower. The hot water soothes your muscles, helping the sore throb in your thighs and the tender feeling that aches between your legs subside enough for you to crawl into bed and fall fast asleep.

But, when you wake up early the next morning, clinging to the pillow Javi had lounged on – his cologne and the hint of his rich masculine scent laced on it, you end up huffing at yourself. Flopping onto your back and frowning up at the ceiling, you run through every moment, every feeling and thought you had the night before. How quickly you'd folded under your desire, the eagerness with which you agreed to fall back into things with Javi. And most importantly, how easily you succumbed to your amorous hopes that this time, it would all be different. That your love would be able to withstand any challenge this time around, regardless of how tenuous the situation was now that you were both in leadership positions.

"Querida, it's whatever we want it to be."

Javi's voice filters back to you, and your heart skips a beat, filling with yearning and shoving all the gloom and pessimism away. The cautious, pragmatic voice inside you warns you, though. What are you going to do if and when Javi can't keep any of these promises?

Annoyed, you shove that wary feeling away, go through the motions of your morning, and get to work with your extra-large travel tote to carry the dinner ensemble you plan to wear later tonight. The restaurant was on the lavish side, so your work outfit for the day wasn't going to cut it. Coming into your office, you toss the tote into a corner and shed your coat. You haven't finished hanging it up on the rack when Ellis rushes in and closes the door behind him.

"Hey! So I got Devon and Jackie all set with the first of the DEA tutorials for today, and a progress report set for early tomorrow, but wasn't sure if you wanted me to reach out to Stoddard to schedule that first status report with Peña for mid-next week?" he's asking in a flurry as he drops into the chair in front of your desk. "We should have plenty of that staff started by then—"

"Sure, I don't see why not," you remark easily, and sit in your chair, smile serene and affable.

"…Ok, so, I totally thought you were gonna be annoyed, hence the rushing," Ellis chortles and leans back in his chair. "You're in a good mood. Feeling better about the whole thing, then?"

Smirking, you open your laptop and type your login as you answer, "Nothing I can do about it, Ellis. And regardless, he and I have come to an understanding."

"Uh, ok," Ellis hums and crosses his arms. "That's good. I hear he's gonna sing for his supper today with the senators," is his wry remark. "Can I tell you how relieved I am to not have to go to dinner with them tonight?"

You open your mouth to bark, 'Oh not you, too!' but decide against it, grumbling instead, "We're the ones who are gonna actually be singing for a supper, so you better give me all the good vibes and not gloat about me being the one stuck going."

"Ah, you've gotten better talking to clueless, ignorant good ol' boys, so I'm sure you won't have any issue. We're supposedly the smallest budget in the building, so we can only go up from there, right?" he muses and leans forward to add, "Oh, I heard from Samson. He called me end of yesterday. He asked about you."

You purse your lips. "How is he?"

"Doing well. Filled him in on all the latest. He thought it was bold as hell for DEA to put Peña in charge of things down here, but said it ultimately made sense," he replies conversationally, gaze lingering curiously on you, as if he's dying to ask something, so you tilt your head in a, 'go ahead,' fashion. "Did he know…about Samson?" he inquires, brows arching intriguingly.

The sigh that escapes you in involuntary, but it isn't vexed. Fiddling with the hem of your pencil skirt, you answer evenly, "He did. He…does, and it's always been a," you pause, trying to find a diplomatic term, "It's always been a point of contention." Ellis looks super curious now, but you thwart any other questions by asking smoothly, "The plus one invite for Friday is still open, right?"

Eyes rounding, he exclaims, "Of course!" and is about to ask who you're bringing, when he catches your demure little smile. "Oh…Oh! Yeah, of course, kid," he remarks merrily. "Details during lunch?" he plaintively suggests, and you snicker and nod.

Giving you the finger guns, he gets up and struts out of your office, leaving you to agonize over whether you should be doing any of this – telling Ellis too much. With a sigh, you shelve your worries and turn your attention to your very busy workday ahead.

Javi, meanwhile, is dying to get the hell out of the conference room he's currently in. He can feel Crosby's stare as the man tries to pin him in place, silently communicating he expects Javi to stay and schmooze, but he has more pressing things to work on today. So, even though he's sure he'll pay for it later, as soon as the meeting concludes, Javi is booking it for the door. With the glitch that had uncovered tons of bullshit accounts funneled back to a Colombian bank headquartered in Bogotá, Javi was waiting on Stoddard to get him the transfer sheet, so as soon as it was in his hands, Javi was heading to Banco de Cundinamarca to put the fear in Uncle Sam hell on the bank manager. Once he had the number one money launderer for Cali, Franklin Jurado, named, Javi spent the rest of the day trying to run down leads on the man.

You, on the other hand, get to the end of your day and are dragging, but you know you have to start getting into the headspace for being a social, charming maven for the senators.

During lunch with Ellis, you'd told him the abbreviated version of your reconciliation with Javi. Of course, your best friend peppered you with questions, including, "So what did you mean about Luke being a point of contention?" which led you to explain that particular history. He was very surprised to hear how jealous Javi was of the field operations analyst, and wondered out loud to you if you'd ever used that as a way to demand an ultimatum from him. Wryly, you'd told him that your relationship wasn't like that – it wasn't about demanding or requiring things of each other. "Well, what about this time around? Because I don't wanna have to give him a Tallahassee Asswhoopin' for getting out of line with you again," Ellis had not-so-jokingly mused before slurping his soda noisily.

"And while I appreciate the sentiment, even though you can't hurt someone physically for hurting my feelings," you'd chortled derisively, "I don't think either of us are in a place to set requirements on each other. He's head down on all this Cali cartel stuff, I'm busy…I just think aside from deciding we only want to be exclusive with each other, there's nothing else we can caveat to each other right now."

"Yeah, well, I don't care if it's just your feelings. If he hurts you, I'm hurting him," Ellis told you aloofly before crushing his soda can in one hand and tossing it into the receptacle tucked in the corner of the gazebo you'd decided to have lunch in. You'd snorted amusedly and leaned over to plant a platonic kiss on his cheek, wrinkling your nose at him when he suddenly realized, "Wait…was he the one who beat the shit out of Danvers?!"

"Yep," you retorted simply and innocently smiled at him. "We used to rendezvous on that street and drive home together. I was walking there when Danvers accosted me," you pause when Ellis gapes and grunts in awe. "Needless to say, I didn't want him to get in trouble, so I'd forced him to go and just said a Good Samaritan had helped me."

"…Fuck, ok, so maybe I'll need to get a running tackle on him," Ellis remarks, ironically adding, "Actually, I owe him a drink. Shit."

You'd laughed so hard at the visual of Ellis linebacker tackling Javi that you were still giggling off and on the rest of the day whenever it popped into your head.

With an hour to get ready for dinner, you lock your door and close the drop blinds that cover its sidelight so you can strip out of your work outfit and change into the cobalt blue lace formfitting cocktail dress before exchanging your black spool heels for the patent leather stiletto pumps you retrieve from the tote. Folding everything else and stowing it, you then go to work on your makeup, touching yourself up and refreshing your lipstick with a mauvy-rose tone, rouging your cheeks with a warm flush, and fluffing your lashes with some mascara. Even in this quiet moment, your mind can't stop thinking about work, about how crucial this meeting will be for your department. It overwhelms you to fret over all the what ifs, to thinking of how successful you'll need to be in getting the crux of the matter across to the senators. It starts to give you a headache, but you steel yourself and get your head in the game.

You're very punctual when you arrive in the lobby. It's after normal work hours, so most of the embassy staff has gone home for the day. When the ambassador exits the elevator, he smiles broadly and marches over to you. "My, don't you look fetching!" he compliments warmly before making an, 'after you' gesture towards the carport entrance of the embassy, where his limo is waiting. "We'll be picking up the fellas at their hotel. Now, I have to forewarn you, darling, they're not the sharpest tools in the shed, so speaking sweet and plain is gonna be your best bet," Crosby remarks as you both exit and approach the car.

The waiting valet opens the door for you, and you cinch your coat closed as you slink in first. "I've been hearing that they're only interested in discussing funding for the drug war, sir," you remark as Crosby joins you. "So, is this gonna end up being one of those dinners?"

He snickers and crosses his arms, nodding for the driver to get them underway. Once you're both driven out of the embassy exit, the ambassador levels with you. "There's always gonna be money for fighting the drug war. The key is to convince them there are other ways of facilitating that without being a detriment to progress. IT+IS is a relatively small department, so funding is gonna be crucial for you to expand. These fellas are a good first step to getting your team the attention it deserves," is his musing advice, glacial eyes crinkling good-naturedly at you.

You feel a little better after that, so once you pick up the senators and arrive at the ritzy restaurant, you set out to place your best foot forward. And for the first hour? You think you're making some inroads.

"—So are you saying pretty much everything is gonna be on computers just a few years from now?" Senator Toyle inquires, as he signals the waiter for another scotch.

"Yes, sir, exactly. But for the purposes of the immediate future, the Information Technology & Innovation Solutions team's goal is to streamline it so less waste and more alignment across agencies can be achieved," you answer primly before smile and remarking, "Think of something as simple as keeping track of all your messages. I'm sure you have a small army tasked with keeping your itineraries straight. Imagine if there were ways they could all coordinate using one stream of truth."

"But how does that work on the kind of scale we're talking here? This level of funding you're looking to secure, while nowhere near the kind of money other agencies require, isn't something to dismiss," Senator Martin retorts before shoving his next piece of steak into his mouth.

"I concur, Senator, that's why I think you'd be interested in how our team is currently onboarding the DEA into our pilot program. Pretty soon, staffers will be able to manage all forms of processes across different work streams, on one secure platform," you pause when you can see you're losing them, from how they're gorging themselves and grunting musingly, so you lean back in your chair and drop, "Just imagine being able to orchestrate surveillance and log evidence seamlessly – to record financial transactions and see how they compromise other U.S. interests, rather than relying on local authorities to do the heavy lifting. Computers record data in a way that makes it challenging for anyone to manipulate, no matter how connected or corrupt they may be."

Both men pause in their gluttony to eye each other before glancing over at Crosby, who smugly tilts his head towards you as he continues to slice his veal into thing slivers. "My suggestion is to include a modest provision in the funding package currently being considered that can address some of the budgetary measures we're requesting. After all, if it'll help agencies like DEA and CIA continue their stellar work down here, I think there is tremendous value in increasing the IT+IS's potential," the ambassador offers before popping a morsel from his plate into his mouth.

Meanwhile, the exhaustion hangs over his shoulders, but Javi ignores it as he combs through the intel he was able to gather on Franklin Jurado – which, to his chagrin, was not much. The man was clearly well insulated, so while he nursed his whiskey, Javi sat back in his sofa and deliberated other intel avenues. Picking up his cigarette from the lip of the ashtray, he takes a drag as he ambles up and goes to dig into the pockets of his discarded blazers tossed haphazardly onto the ottoman in his bedroom. Finding what he's looking for in the third one in the pile, he returns to the living room and paces. The plain business card has the El Tiempo logo on it, with the intrepid reporter's name and number. Pinching the cigarette between his full lips, he studies the card, wondering if he's really willing to resort to contacting a member of the press for leads, when a rapping on his door snaps his gaze across his apartment.

Glancing at his watch, he realizes it's fairly late, so he tosses the card on the coffee table with the rest of the files and hurriedly stubs his cigarette out before approaching the front door. When he peeks through the peephole, he does a double take before unlocking and opening the door.

"You will not believe the night I had!" you snap as you barge in, taking Javi aback. "I cannot stand politicians! How the hell do they get elected? It's absolutely maddening!" you're venting as you strut in and unburden yourself of your tote and purse – dropping them into the leather chair nearest you before hastily tugging your coat off and shirking it too. Then, you're whirling back around and sauntering over to Javi to hold out the to-go bag with your dinner from the restaurant. "I completely lost my appetite, so, I figured I'd bring this over because I know you haven't eaten dinner. Am I right?"

Shoving the door amusedly closed, Javi takes the bag and plops it onto the kitchen counter before he turns back to appraisingly ogle you. "Before I answer, can I fix you a drink?" he husks and smiles when you nod and strut to take a seat on his couch and deflate huffily. "Let me guess: they were morons who didn't see the value of giving you more funding?" Javi queries glibly as he goes into the kitchen to pour your signature drink.

You snarl and fold your arms grumpily over your chest, crossing your legs as you watch him lope over to join you on the couch. He hands you the drink, looking content, albeit impish as he smiles at you – dress shirt sleeves rolled up, black paisley tie loose around his unbuttoned collar, and cologne softened by the smoky whiffs of having burned through several cigarettes for the day. Taking a long sip, you primly set the glass down before turning in your seat to mutter, "They actually told me it's not in their purview to factor in IT needs into the embassy budget, but that maybe they could add a measure for a quarter of what we're asking for in the larger budget! All because DEA's drug war is so much more important so any money they do sign off on needs to go to your stupid department first."

You expect Javi to snort at you, or roll his eyes dismissively, but instead he puts his chin in his hand and leans sidelong into the sofa. "You're so damned sexy when you're on a tear," he purrs, infatuatedly smirking at you.

It's the right thing to say. It totally defuses your outrage and sedates your consternation instantly. You crack a smile, but you shove him playfully. "I didn't even tell you the most annoying part," you grumble and purse your lips at him when he grunts and just loops his arm around your waist to pull you closer. "They kept asking Crosby when they can see 'some action' and tag along on a drug raid," is your huff, adding with a sigh, "And whether you'd be their tour guide—"

"Fucking hell," Javi sneers before wringing his hand down his annoyed features. "I don't have time to fuck around with field trips…"

Glancing at his coffee table, you hum. "I can imagine," is your lilt before unceremoniously sitting up on your knees so you can haughtily shove him down to lay across his couch as you hike up your lace cocktail dress and plant your knees on either side of his hips. "So, how was your day?" you sultrily ask and gloatingly smirk when he stares lustfully up at you before pawing his hands up to your waist.

"Not worth mentioning," he grouses as he caresses the curve of your side before pulling you down so he can finally steal a kiss.

You hum, lips molding covetously to his before he deepens the kiss with the sweep of his hungry tongue. He twirls it rapaciously to tangle with yours as you straddle him fully now and drape over his broad chest. You can feel the ridge of his arousal start to press up into you while your own excitement starts to dampen your core. Before the make out session can turn too torrid, though, you pull back and tug on his shirt while you ask, "So? Have you had dinner, guapito?"

"No, you wicked tease. You know damn well I haven't," he growls and sits up to chase you, but you scamper off his lap and nimbly slink off the couch and into the comfortable chair adjacent it. "Oh, c'mon, hermosa—"

"Nope," you chide before bounding up and around the opposite side of the coffee table, out of Javi's reach, so you can grab the to-go bag and saunter into his kitchen. "I'm heating this up for you and you're gonna eat," you declare, grinning covertly when you hear him scoff and flop impatiently back onto the sofa.

"Such a bossy pain," he mutters, but you can hear the smile in his voice. What you don't know is that he's watching you, fixating on how nice your ass looks in the dress, how shapely your calves look thanks to the stiletto pumps, and how tempting it'd be to sneak up and yank your zipper down and expose your lovely curves. "…You didn't get to eat anything?" he asks distractedly and sits up to sip his whiskey.

"Ah, I had plenty of canapés, and a nice salad before I ended up letting my plate get cold from jawing on like a dummy," you deprecatingly sigh and plate the creamy chicken francaise and seasonal veggies before bringing it over.

Javi hums and lets you place it on the coffee table before he tugs you to sit on his lap. "You're not a dummy. They are," he husks and kisses your jaw line while his hands caress down the length of your hourglass shape to hike your legs up so you can kick your heels off and curl into him when he captures your lips chastely. "I'm sure it'll work out. No one can say no to you for long," he teases against your lips.

With a fawning sigh, you lean back and caress his jaw, giving him a sassy smile. Then, you glance appraisingly at the state of his apartment. No clutter, all the boxes were gone, and the little circular vase with the short-stemmed roses was still sitting on his credenza, exactly where you'd last seen them. "I never told you how lovely those were," you lilt softly and smile when he glances at the roses and hums before nudging a kiss into your jaw. "Have you watered them?"

"Pfft, no," he replies and smirks. "They've got water in the vase—"

"Babe," you scoff, smiling despite yourself as you drawl, "Like anything else, you have to take care of 'em. Tender love and care, or in this case, some fresh water so they keep luscious and red for longer."

He grunts and noses the hairline at your ear as he purrs, "I'll keep that in mind."

You can hear the humor just at the edge of his purring tone, so you hum wryly and kiss him. Smiling against his lips, you comb your nails in his hair and draw circles in the spot behind his ear, earning a lazy grunt from him. "Sorry for barging in," you murmur and rest your head on his shoulder. "I'll get out of your hair—" is your musing as you try and shimmy off his lap.

Javi keeps you put and encircles his arms so he can lean back into the couch with you. "Stay, querida," he purrs against your temple before nuzzling you.

You melt at that and hide your beaming smile behind a scoff as you playfully nudge him enough to reach over and grab the plate of food. "Fine, pero come, chavón," you order silkily and spike a creamy piece of chicken with the fork before holding it expectantly to his lips.

Rolling his eyes, he lets you feed him the morsel, and pretty soon, he's eating with gusto before snatching the fork from you and feeding you a piece. "This is really good," he mumbles, and you hum in agreement as you chew. He eyes you like you're a delicious treat before suggesting, "Can I have you for dessert?"

You hiccup a sound and swat his shoulder as you lick your lips and finish swallowing. "Javier—!"

He slides the mostly empty dish onto the coffee table and pulls you close. "You can't show up to my place looking so fucking hot, and not expect me to want you," he tells you matter-of-factly while a hand slides up the back of your thigh and beyond the skirt's hem while the other finds the hidden zipper and starts easing it down. "Let me make you feel good, bravita," is his whisper against your ear while you bite your lip and grip his shoulders enticingly.

"You already did by letting me vent," is your sweet sigh before you kiss him with simmering passion.

You taste the savory remnants of dinner on each other's lips, the smoothness of the rum in your drink, and the smoky fire of his whiskey as you kiss voraciously, all the while Javi is taking his time peeling the lace from your shoulders, down your arms, and nudging it off your torso. Your black lace bra feels nice against his cheek when he rubs his face in your cleavage as he shimmies the rest of the dress down your midriff, hips, and off your legs to get tossed unseeingly onto the leather chair.

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders when he suddenly picks you up and stands, you nuzzle kisses into the spot under his ear and sigh, "We gonna have a post-dinner cuddle?"

He chuckles, "I have other things in mind," and carries you to bed, laying you out on his soft but cozy comforter before he toes his shoes off so he can slink over you. His lips reverently trace the edge of your jaw before he brushes them up to press hungrily to yours while his hands grope your warm curves possessively. Not to be overwhelmed so easily, you wrap your legs around his trim waist and pivot to roll him onto his back so you can work to undress him. "Mmm, preciosa," he hums, getting turned on when you press his wrists onto the bed and tenderly kiss the mostly-healed hickey on his neck while you grind your apex down over his crotch.

Letting him sit up only so you can yank his shirt and tie off to be tossed to the aside, you smile into his throat as you nudge him back and start to work his belt undone and pants open. "So you know, the only thing that got me through the rest of that dinner was thinking of how I was going to have my way with you after," you confess sultrily and feel Javi's breath catch in his chest before he shudders at the feel of your hands going down his pants and touching his warm, hard length. "Of how good it was going to be to put this in my mouth again," is your raspy purr as you emphasize your raunchy promise by freeing his throbbing erection from his clothes. You feel his cock twitch in your touch as Javi writhes and groans in anticipation, and can't help wanting to tease him some more. So, you lick a sinful path down his body and yank the last of his clothes off while you nuzzle soft kisses into his cock as it strains against his belly.

"Mi-Mierda, wait-fuck-wait, baby," Javi bites out in a tremulous baritone when you lave an obscene lick along his balls. Leaning up to frown chidingly at him, you see how flushed his cheeks are, skin across his chest looking warm from the blood rising to the surface thanks to how quickly his arousal flared through him. "Get naked and come sit on my face," he begs in a reedy growl, but keeps his hands at his sides, since you'd pressed them down into the bed just minutes before. When your features quirk with a seductive look, he clenches his jaw before admitting, "Got me so worked up already, n-not sure I'm gonna last—"

"That's the idea, hermoso," you quip sensually and take your bra off, tossing it, then work your panties off as you muse, "I want you to come in my mouth, Javi—"

His cock twitches and he groans in frustration. "C'mon, I want you fucking bad, querida—"

"And I want you to fill my mouth with cum," you tell him unabashedly, and now completely naked, you sinuously prowl over him and tease his panting lips by ghosting yours over them before you susurrate, "I want to taste how fucking bad you want me, and then, I want you to fuck me until I can't think straight. I'm tired of thinking, and I just want you to make me yours, mi amor."

Javi's stomach muscles clench at that, thrill tingling in him and making his breath catch as you sit up to drag your nails lightly down his abs in order to wrap your tapered digits around his pulsing cock. He groans, but dares not argue when you give him the hungriest look.

"Be a good boy and let me have what I want, dulcecito," you lilt provocatively and lean down to lick the head of his hard member before pursing your lips around it for a wanton suck.

"Oh f-fuck, baby—" he begins to harshly groan when you take him completely into your mouth and lave his throbbing shaft with languid sweeps of your tongue before you hollow out your cheeks around him. Javi stammers a needy exhale and digs his hands in the bedding while he writhes against the impulse to fuck up into your velvet heat.

You hum and concentrate on relaxing your jaw before you bury his cock deep, and once your nose is nuzzling the coarse curls at his base and you're sure you're not going to gag, you moan and feel your own arousal flood your core and make you achy between your thighs. The excited tremor in the back of your throat winds ravenous urge to spike into your pussy when you feel Javi start to strain in your mouth. And when his hand fists in the back of your hair and he whines a gruff moan, you're instantly soaked with your want for him. But the filth that falls from his mouth at your greedy ministrations is what gets your clit throbbing with selfish desire.

"Dios mío—driving me crazy! Fuck, querida—c-can't stop, fuck, gonna—I'm gonna—" Javi is moaning as he starts frantically rutting up into your delectable mouth, losing control of his impulses. "Wanna c-come all over you—inside you," he hitches gruffly and arches at the sound of your enthralled groan and how your touch gets more possessive, your sucking more needy. Javi's hands flop to the bed to yank at the covers instead of you or your hair, the coil of pleasure winding tight in his core until it suddenly snaps under a rapacious suck of your sinfully divine mouth. Then, you grip him in the tight circle of your fists as Javi exclaims a strangled sound just when his cock swells in your mouth and twitches with the strain before pumping his climax thickly. "Oh fuck-fuck!" Javi shouts and goes taut as his hips jerk with the effort of thrusting desperately in attempt to prolong his ecstasy as his mind crackles with white-hot pleasure.

You moan triumphantly around his jerking manhood as it spills spurts of hot cum in the cup of your mouth while you stroke him and swirl your tongue greedily around it, savoring his seed and the taste of his need as you blink the tears from your eyes and stare up at Javi. His wrecked, flushed expression has you rubbing your thighs together to ease the tingling urge while you suck him off until you've relished every bead of his spend.

He shivers when your mouth frees him with a wet, slick pop, followed by a breathy moan as you dizzily lean sidelong between his legs and drape to rest your head on a folded arm over his midriff. You can feel his heartbeat thundering under your palm, his pulse racing in the same cadence as your own while you regain your bearings before pressing your face into his chest and planting a kiss over his warm sternum.

"Missed how good you taste," you sigh fondly – tone hoarse and briny from your previous ministrations. When he mumbles something airy, you smile and adjust to kiss up his chest until you could affectionately cuddle him while you press your nose against the spot under his jaw. "Hmm?" you hum inquiringly and kiss the mark on his neck softly.

"…Divina…eres divina…" he rambles huskily and exhales in awe, earning a silly smile from you before you nuzzle him sweetly. "No te merezco…" he sighs dazedly and drapes a forearm clumsily over his eyes while his shallow breathing begins to calm.

You grunt disapprovingly and sit up to gaze down at him. With a playful kiss you nudge into the hinge of his jaw, you murmur, "Nada de eso."

He feels like his love is brimming in his chest, making his ribs expand and his sternum ache. His heated skin flushes with his flustered emotion, panting lips dampening from the sweeps of his tongue as he tries to regain his composure. You sense his abashed tension, and figure it's because of his stubbornness in getting off from oral. He did have the damnedest disfavor for letting you go down on him to completion, even though he had no problem – and actually insisted – on eating you out until you climaxed before actual intercourse. But really, you love giving him head, so when you want it, you cajole him into just letting you claim him completely. After all, aside from riding him, it's the most powerful feeling, and the delicious control of stoking his pleasure only to tangle him up with it before you coax his searing release is something that you're addicted to. It turns you on and gets you high, so in your gloating buzz, you figure Javi's just ornery at having to wait to dominate you now.

In reality, he's floored, and yearning to curl up in your arms and bury his face in your warm skin, longing for you to hold him. But, he restrains himself and just buzzes with the urge as he forces himself to recover.

"…You're so good. Can't even…fuck, it's crazy how you blow my fucking mind…" he confesses with genuine wonder and flops his forearm down from hiding his wrecked features when you snicker an alluring little sound that has arousal already skittering down his belly. His brown eyes are blown out – pupils turning them into dark pools as he focuses his drunken gaze on you and professes, "It's embarrassing—so exasperating how fuck-dumb you make me just…just from…"

"A blowjob?" you chime silkily and smile when he huffs and self-reproachfully buries his face into your collarbone. He grumbles and nods, so you affectionately kiss his crown and purr, "Mi guapetón tan hermoso. Don't you know getting you off like that gets me so damn hot?"

Javi rumbles a tantalized growl. "Fuck…it does?"

The low, gravel pitch of his question makes you clench, pussy already tingling and dripping with desire. "Yes, you sexy chulito," you murmur and nuzzle a kiss into his temple before slinking to the side of the bed. "I'm gonna get us something to drink, so quédate ahí and just relax for me," is your flirty command as you amble off the bed.

Javi lustfully watches you strut in your nude glory from his side out the bedroom door, eyes locked on the sway of your hips and the plump suppleness of your glorious ass. The lovely sight has arousal throbbing beseechingly in his loins and surging want to pump straight to his dick, which, makes it hard for him to recover from being 'fuck-dumb', so he stays put on the bed and just smirks to himself.

Once you've filled two glasses with cold water, you remember you didn't get to finish your drink, so you strut over to the coffee table and quickly pick up the neglected beverage and drain it. With a satisfied little sigh, you go to grab his semi-filled whiskey glass, leaning over the table to snag it, when you notice the papers strewn next to the plate of food. Your brow furrows at the logo on the business card you see tucked askew in the documents, but you chide yourself and turn away, drop off your empty drink, retrieve the waters, and go to the room.

You can't help grin when you walk in and find Javi in a sexy, albeit silly lounge on his bed – propped in a semi-lean back into the pillows. Snickering, you saunter over and place the waters down on the nightstand before extending his whiskey to him as you lilt, "Feeling better, Mr. Centerfold?"

He snorts and takes the drink, downs it in one gulp, and slides the empty glass aside on the nightstand before gesturing, 'C'mere' with the crook of his finger, so you slink like a minx onto the bed and giggle when he pulls you to him. Javi encircles his arms around you and pins you to him as he suckles rough kisses into your neck and fondles you possessively. He rolls you under his torso and grunts when his hard-on skims your warm center. You hum and pull him close, wrapping your legs around him and gasping when his cock hooks into the slick seam of your sex.

"Still want me to fuck you senseless, preciosa?" he husks in a canela-roughened baritone, which has your clit throbbing and your cunt contracting eagerly. "Want me to fill your pussy until you can't think?"

You mewl approvingly and nod, panting excitedly as he nudges you with his head and nips at your sloping muscle. "Y-Yes, please, Javi," you hitch when he forces your arms up and pins your wrists to the bed. He grunts and uses his cock to glide up and down to spread your drenched folds before he nudges a demanding kiss into your neck. The unspoken command is clear to your aroused mind. "Pl-Please, fuck me, Javi. Make me yours. Need to be yours so bad," is your breathy whimper as you arch and flex in his grip, emphasizing what you need from him. It always ignites something feral in Javi, a primal urge he tries to keep shackled up in him so he doesn't lose himself in selfish pleasure. But when you beg, "Just use me—wreck me, Javi—" that animalistic urge surges up and hazes his mind, snapping something savage to rear up in him.

And when he spears his cock into your tight, pulsing sheath, you rile up, arms jerking as his hands bracelet your wrists and keep them pinned to either side of your head as you mewl a pitched sound. You're tingling and straining from the stretch and pounding force of Javi's thrusts, at his mercy as you're relegated to hiking your knees up and arching at the onslaught of his domination. Then, he grinds into you and moans when you clutch around him and flood with more slick, making the slapping squelching sound of him railing into you even more filthy now.

"So fucking tight—" he rumbles into your ear as he shifts his knees so he can fuck into you deeper, hitting something ruinously sensational inside you that has you crying out and writhing in pleasure. "Mmm, listen to your pussy, baby. It's so fucking wet and warm—fuck, taking me so good," Javi growls, getting worked up by the obsceneness, turned on beyond belief by how your sheath clamps hard on his cock when he goes balls deep in you.

"Oh my god, oh—!" you gasp out when he pivots his cock to stroke up while he grinds into you, compressing your clit deliciously with friction that has your toes curling. "Nngth! Ja-Javi, j-just like that—"

He answers by rocking his hips back before slamming full force into you several times until he groans and grinds into you again. You can't even think – all sensation has been overridden by your mind into sheer, base need – breathing, feeling of wanting only Javi eclipsing your mind. In needing him to destroy everything else and just keep you suspended in this savage ecstasy. It's so incandescent, rapturously engulfing you with carnal fire that you can only focus on the plunge of his cock in and out of your quivering heat, how his hands hold onto your wrists, grounding you in the pleasure while his mouth claims your taut neck. You're so lost in the throes of being utterly claimed by him that it isn't until you feel pressure swirl over your clit that you realize Javi let go of your wrists and is now taking you apart with his brutal thrusts and the grind of his fingers over your pearled bundle of desire.

You light up, pleasure sparking in your core and rippling into the sinew of your body as you come undone with a wailed, "Oh fuck, Javi—Javi!" sobbing as you rock mindlessly into his bruising thrusts and grip at the bedding above your head to anchor yourself from falling into the abyss of your pleasure.

The sight of you climaxing so fiercely is just as gratifying as your silken sheath strangling around his cock and flooding over with your bliss as he prolongs your orgasm. But seeing your slick coat his throbbing cock gets him lightheaded, so he relishes pulling out and letting you drip, watching your fluttering cunt weep with your gleaming climax.

"Ja-Javi," you mewl and squirm, eyes heavy-lidded and throat parched from the ravishing you just got, sweat clinging to you in a thin sheen while you feel drenched and warm between your thighs. The sight of him looming over you with his muscles taut and flexing, hungrily staring down at you, makes your heart wring and your stomach flip. You realized very dimly that his cock is slick with you, but still thick and hard, so you begin to stutter, "What-why-what's—?"

But before you can finish blinking, Javi upends you with seamlessly brute force, spinning you until you're on your hands and knees, facing the foot of the bed before he hauls you back by your hips and manhandles you to rut down on his lap. His throbbing cock eases back into your still molten sheath from behind, plucking a needy moan and jolt from you before he forces you to ride him reverse cowgirl. "Fuck yourself on me," Javi orders in a hoarse murmur before he bucks up into you for emphasis and taps your ass. "Wanna watch you fuck your pussy raw on my cock."

You gasp and blush at the sensation of your pulsing cunt flooding with arousal all over again before dripping down his throbbing shaft as you grip his thighs and undulate hard, bucking him deep and tearing a strangled whimper from yourself. Javi groans in approval and clutches a hand on the globe of your buttock while the other gropes up your back to latch covetously at your trapezius muscle. His fingers dimple your flesh as he helps guide you along in your fervent grinding and bouncing on his dick.

"Mmm, oh god—" you stammer out after a particularly rough buck of your hips that slammed his cock straight into your g-spot. "—So fucking big," you gasp when the next thrust up from him feels like he's punching up into your womb and causing colors to explode in the backs of your eyes while Javi groans low in his chest at the praise. Biting your lip hard, you go wild and bounce up and down him to drive him deep and rough while you whimper pinched sounds of delight.

Javi is floored, pulse pounding in his veins and throbbing in his cock the wilder you get. He's getting wound up, and the sight of your ass quaking from your slamming pace along with the salacious plunge of his cock into your drenched pussy from behind unleashes something ravenous in him. So, before you can really get lost in the desperate press of your hips down on him, Javi is lifting you by your lower back. Gasping while he bends his knees under you and seats himself on the edge of the bed with you still on his cock, you grip his forearms plaintively at his next series of thrusts.

The way he fucks you now? It has you coiled tight and desperate, feet planted on the floor, ankles and knees pressed together, and hands grappling to hang on while Javi uses your tight, wound up body to buck backwards onto his pounding thrusts as he buries his cock deep and hard over and over in your fluttering heat.

In this position, Javi has all the advantages. He can fuck you and use your own momentum in his favor, has access to shower hungry kisses along your neck and shoulder, and can caress his hands greedily over your body and tease you in the most wicked ways while buried to the hilt inside you. When he nips your pulse point and fondles your tits with his palms while his fingers pinch and toy with your nipples, he grunts in approval at how your cunt clenches around him and you exhale a broken, enthralled gasp.

"Ah-nngth! Oh god—!" you wail mindlessly. Javi's lips latch to your sloping muscle while he guides you up and down his shaft as he simultaneously fucks up into you, hands skimming possessively down to your waist. His grip is demanding as he yanks you onto him and grinds up into you in such a devastating way that you loop your arms backwards to anchor at his nape just as your orgasm hits. Your whimpers dissolve into broken mewls as you writhe in his lap and bury your flushed features into his neck and sob, "Please-please-please—!"

The catch in your pleading is caused by Javi teasing your clit now as you fall apart in his arms, gushing warm slick over his cock and lap. The savage accomplishment fills him with charged thrill, zinging across his nerve endings, so he hugs you tight with one arm and forces you to bury him deep into your contracting silken vice.

"That's it, keep begging. T-Tell me what you need, bravita," Javi purrs in your ear, and your lower half locks up with pleasure, leaving you wanton with your ravenous need to keep coming on him. "Dímelo, hermosa," he growls and pries his hand away from teasing your clit to touch your puffy petals while he stretches you open still with his cock.

You feel your pussy clench just from how stuffed his cock is inside you in this position, with your legs pressed together like this. And with your aftershocks still rocking through you from your core, you find yourself shamelessly reveling in his thick throbbing dick and hissing, "Ay, Javi," in frustration. He answers you by nuzzling the back of your neck roughly and growling before prying your legs apart and forcing you to balance on his thighs so his hand can slip down to tease your swollen clit. "Oh my god, Javi—please, take me and fill me with your cum," you beg, "I wanna feel you in me—need you inside me. Want you to empty into me—feel you in me for days—!"

The quivering petition is so insatiable and beseeching that it lights feral demand in him to do exactly as you begged. You're so alight and already fuck-drunk that you barely jolt when Javi's picked up you up and shifted you to be back on your hands and knees again, but this time, he mounts you, driving you onto your elbows before you just lie flat down with your hips angled up and your legs together. When he thrusts into you, Javi moans, "Gonna give it to you, but d-don't want to be rough—"

"Need it rough, please-please, need that big dick to fuck me hard, Javi!" you exclaim airily and fold your arms in front of yourself before rocking back onto him. "Need you so bad. Please—"

That's all it takes.

Javi is on you, torso flush to your back as he pounds his cock into you with such bruising force that you arch forward and scramble to grab at the nearest pillow to have something to sink your fingers into and muffle your moans against. He nuzzles your neck and groans, hands planted deep in the mattress on either side of your waist as he uses his weight and broad frame to pin you in place and keep your pelvis angled up for him while he plows into you with abandon.

"Gonna make you mine—never stop loving you—want you forever—make you full and sore, keep you feeling good always—" Javi is promising in a ardent growl as he chases his orgasm, already feeling his loins burn and the ache in his balls winding up towards a fierce climax. Your insides are fluttering, pleasure cloying like syrup down into the chalice of your center and making you moan for more. "C'mon, mmm, c'mon—c'mon baby. Got me so fucking close—gonna make you fucking mine. Tell me you're mine," he growls and slams into you before rutting his cock along your rippling walls.

"Ah! 'M yours, Javi—all yours, j-just yours—!" is your throaty cry, hands twisting the pillow beneath you and toes curling from the spring of pleasure coiling in your womb.

Your answer stokes something baleful and primal in Javi, and when he suddenly cups his hand along your soaked womanhood and tells you, "This pussy belongs to me!" he yanks another blissful release from you. Startled by the searing pleasure, you jolt and writhe, the force of this over-sensed bliss wringing punishingly around Javi's cock, milking a hedonistic shout out of him just as he reaches completion inside you – filling you with pulse after pulse of his thick spend before he folds over you and comes completely undone.

You gasp and whine a delighted sound at the blooming warmth in your core that tingles into your womb, the flutter of your sheath as his spill seeps out of you to drip messily along your thighs making you dizzy. Truly overcome now, you lay crumpled beneath Javi while he reins himself in, breathing rough and shallow against your neck as he recovers and basks in the ferocious afterglow he's in. Dimly, you realize you're being unfolded and shifted onto your side, and when Javi spoons up behind you and exhaustedly kisses the slope of your neck before nuzzling his full lips into that tender spot beneath your ear, you revel in being his.

Every inch of you is pulled taut and aching – muscles dully throbbing and limbs feeling heavy from exertion. Your core burns from your sinew out, and your pussy throbs from the marathon sex.

Yep, Javier has ruined all men for you. There's no way you could be with anyone else after he's fucked you so incredibly – two nights in a row. Let alone all the other hundreds of times he had you melted down into sated bliss before tonight. You lost track how many times he plucked exhilarating climax after climax from you, but the way your thighs are warm and slick with your combined afterflow, and the heat that flutters in your exhausted core tells you it was a lot.

He brushes a kiss along the edge of your hairline, plucking you down from the floating delight your syrupy mind is in post-bliss. "Tiernita," is Javi's purr as he cuddles you devotedly.

You hum and reach your arm to guide him to meet your tired, enchanted kiss before you lazily nose down his cheek to his jaw. "Only you leave me tender," is your fawning sigh, and when you stretch out and lie lusciously against him, using his bicep as your pillow, you exhale, "That was amazing, Javi…"

You can feel his smile against your ear after he nuzzles you there, so you caress the backs of your fingers along his cheek. His eyes soften when you nestle your face into the tender spot under his jaw, so properly fucked out that you're not fidgeting like you normally would from the messy drip of his cum weeping out of you.

The throes of passion this time had you both saying wild filth to each other, but Javi is content to add your praise over his prowess and size to the greatest hits of his smutty repertoire. The glory of stirring that out of you has him feeling cocky, which is apropos, considering. He's almost tempted to purr 'Like my big dick plowing into you hard, baby?' but he decides against it. Instead, his hand glides from your waist to your tummy and draws soothing circles around your navel while he exhales noisily.

You snicker softly and mumble, "What were you gonna say?"

He pauses his stroking caress to stare bemusedly down at you when your heavy-lidded gaze and musing smile peek up at him. "…I was going to ask if you liked my big dick plowing into you hard, but decided not to," he admits, and instead of the elbow or haughty scoff he expected, you laugh a charmed, albeit silly chuckle.

The male fixation on size praise is universal, but you normally never bother to play upon it. However, Javi is big, and knows exactly how to work it. Not to mention you are quite taken with his dick, so the fact you mindlessly partook in obscene begging and praising just spoke to his zeal and talent in rocking your world. "Hmph, you know I loved it, atrevido," you vivaciously purr and interlace your fingers with the hand he has resting over your tummy. Sultrily, you susurrate, "I told you, you're my big strapping stud I love riding long and hard."

He burns with pride, wide smile getting pressed into your hair while he hugs you to him before he kisses a trail from the back of your neck to your cheekbone. "Alright, vaquerita…quick shower?" he murmurs, and the silly pet name along with the trace of his lips grazing your cheek earns a soft giggle, thanks to his moustache tickling your still hypersensitive skin.

"I might be made of jelly now, thanks to you," you playfully mumble and wriggle to roll onto your opposite side so you can wrap your arms around his midriff. Pressing your nose to his throat, you inhale his spiced, heady scent. You kiss your way up to his cheek, leaning back and adoringly caress your fingertips over his forehead before tracing them across his relaxed brow. His eyes close and he exhales a peaceful breath while you soothe him with your gentle touch across his chiseled features. With a pensive sigh, you murmur, "I can't stay."

He frowns, opening his eyes as he leans up on his elbow. "It's late…you can spend the night, if you want," he rumbles and pets your tousled hair from your face, combing his fingers to brush some rogue strands behind your ear as he adds, "I saw that tote, so you have clothes—"

"My clothes from the office today are in there, and I can't wear the dress to work tomorrow," you muse and manage to sit up without wincing or having your body protest too sharply. When he just scowls dissatisfiedly, you snicker and shower cheeky kisses all over his grumpy features. "Aww, no me mires así, bebito," you tease, and when he huffs indignantly at the 'little baby' pet name, you give him a dazzling, genuine smile. "I'll plan better next time and bring a few changes of clothes," you promise serenely and kiss his lips.

Appeased, Javi kisses you back, completely love-struck with you and crackling with pride at being worthy to have you again.

Once you've both showered together, you swap your lace cocktail dress for the blouse and skirt you wore to the office. While you sit on the sofa to slip on your other non-stiletto heels, Javi busies himself with clearing the empty water and drink glasses to be placed in the sink. After he picks up his plate and muses, "Next time you come over? I'm making you dinner," you go to glance over at his toned back fawningly, but instead catch sight of that business card left on the table in front of you.

The damn thing is taunting you, so you reach over and finally let your curiosity get the best of you as you study the card between your fingers.

"Carolina Álvarez," you read out loud, eyes sharpening on the typographic logo of the national newspaper. Glancing at Javier, you watch him tensely keep his back to you. "What do you have this reportera's card for?" you inquire, and when he doesn't immediately answer, you scan your gaze across the rest of the documents left on the coffee table. One of them jumps out at you when you see 'Gilberto Rodriguez O.' in bold under a grainy image of a man wearing sunglasses.

Javier is silently cursing himself as he turns around and tries for aloof while he lopes back and sits unworriedly next to you. He even puts his feet up on the coffee table, crossing his ankles and stretching out his sweatpant-clad legs as he drapes his arms along the back of the couch. "Just a source for a lead. Not sure it'll pan out, but was thinking of reaching out to her," he tells you, then flippantly tries to change the subject to, "And no, that's a different Don Gilberto than you're used to, but reminds me: is that coffee stash you have in your office from his café—?"

You shift to eye him keenly, delicate eyebrows knitting together suspiciously. "You're willing to talk to a reporter for a lead?"

His expression sobers, brewed eyes narrowing cautiously as he drawls, "I'm willing to entertain any possible source of intel, yes. But, that's not something you should worry about—"

You tilt your head in that haughty way that tells him you're about to suggest the contrary. "The last time you had anything to do with a newspaper, I was reading The Miami Herald. That was the explicit reason you got bounced out of here the last time. How can you say that's not something for me to worry about?" is your curt inquiry, and Javi deflates, dropping the relaxed posturing and sitting up to gruffly prop his face in his hands and huff. "Javier—"

"Querida, I'm telling you, there's nothing going on. I'm tracking down a lead, and I think that reporter might be able to help—" he cuts in as he turns back to you, but get's left with his mouth open on the end of the next sentence when you snippily toss the card down and turn to pin him with your expectant gaze.

"And what information are you willing to leak to her in exchange for this possible lead?"

He's stumped, because the answer is not great, and really, admitting to you that he's willing to resort to that is something he knows will upset you. So, he takes your hands in his and holds your gaze with his earnest, coffee stare. "I know I still have a lot to prove to you before I can earn it all back, but you can trust me, cariño. I'm not doing anything that's going to take me away again. I'm in control," he tells you assuredly and squeezes your hands. "And if any of that changes, I will tell you."

You hesitate, wanting to counter back, but you decide against it and just slip your hands from his so you can cup his face and tenderly run your fingers through his mussed hair. "I don't want you to get lost in this whole thing again, Javier. Being the fall guy, or taking it all on yourself, regardless of the consequences," you explain, eyes closing when he leans his forehead to yours and exhales. "I know how badly you want to wipe these bastards out. I can put up with the worry of stakeouts and raids, but not in you crossing over into dangerous shit where you're gonna be stuck holding the grenade again. I…I," you waver when you open your eyes and get lost in his soulful, deep brown depths. "I love you, but I don't think I could go through all that again."

He nods and pulls you into his arms, kissing your temple before promising, "Things are different, and we'll have to be way smarter, but there's no Los Pepes or any other guerrilla shit I'm going to get involved in. I'm not going to sell my soul for this. You have my word, corazón."

With that, he tips your chin up in order to tenderly kiss you, pressing his lips covetously to yours and holding you close.

By the time you're shrugging into your coat and collecting your things, you believe Javi, and lean into him when you hug goodbye with a dreamy sigh.

"Hey, I just realized," he begins, tone curious as he leans back and quirks his brow at you. "You got into the building without buzzing in."

You give him an impish grin. "Ah, well I came in through the garage ramp. Just walked down. All it has is the up and down arm gate, so I just parked on the street and walked around the gate to the garage stairwell. That first time, I went to the lobby and looked up your name on the buzzard board," is your explanation of your crafty maneuvers, and you purse your lips at him when he grunts amusedly.

"Yeah, well, I'm getting you a set of keys, because you're not doing that anymore," he tells you matter-of-factly as he grabs your derrière and steals a kiss.

"Mmm, alright enough, beyako," you chuckle and swat his hands away as you back up to the door with all your things flung in-arm. "Still on for tomorrow night?"

Smirking, he holds the door open for you and drawls, "Yep. Be prepared to cuddle up on the couch, in the dark, while I let my hands wander."

Rolling your eyes sardonically at that, you peck him on the lips and strut out the door. "Goodnight, chulito."

He grunts wryly at the pet name and watches you saunter down to the elevator, and once you're in, he winks at you while you wave coquettishly at him as the doors slide shut.

Once you're home, you toss everything onto the couch and go directly to your bed, shedding your clothes and dropping them in the hamper before crawling under the blanket. The smile never left you, but once you start to doze off, the nagging little voice is back with yet another needling warning.

Javier is liable to take just as many risks now that he's running things here. Even bigger ones than he could've gotten away with before. Do you really think he would be honest about that? Don't be naïve…

Irked, you curl up, letting your muscles protest while you let uncertainty creep into your unconsciousness.

Little do you know it's only the beginning of your worries finding ways to manifest into things that'll completely be out of your control – leaving you lost and adrift once again.

---

Spanish-English Glossary:

Rizos = Curls (hair)

Bembes = Puerto Rican slang for lips

Pandebono = Colombian cheese bread roll

Hermosura, completamente devastadora = Beauty, [you're] completely devastating

Canela = Cinnamon

Mueca = Making a face; silly grimace

Querida = Affectionate term for a female, akin to expressing one's want and desire

Mi amor = My love

Cariño = Darling/sweetheart

Preciosa = Gorgeous; precious

Malcriada = Bratty woman; spoiled woman; naughty woman

Chavón = a man that's pestering you

Que lindo, jugando de dulzón = How cute, [you] playing the sweetheart

Guapito = Handsome (said in an affectionate diminutive)

Atrevido/Atrevida = Daring man/Daring woman

Bravita = Tough girl; feisty girl

Guapita = Sassy/foxy/daring/testy lady

Beyako = Puerto Rican slang for horny/naughty guy; akin to "horn dog"

Fresco = a guy who's being 'fresh', or naughty/pervy

Suavón = Smooth talker; Smooth guy

Coqueta = Tease (female)

Hermosa/hermoso = beautiful (female); beautiful (male)

Pero come, chavón = But eat, you pain

Dulcecito = Sweet boy

Dios mío = My God

Divina…eres divina = Divine…you're divine

No to merezco = I don't deserve you

Nada de eso = None of that

Mi guapetón tan hermoso = My gorgeous, handsome stud

Chulo/Chulito = cute guy; little cutie

Quédate ahí = Stay there

Dímelo, hermosa = Tell me, beautiful

Vaquerita = Little cowgirl

No me mires así, bebito = Don't look at me like that, little baby

Corazón = Heart; pet name to signify how deeply you love someone

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