A/N: This is just a filler chapter really, 'cos I felt they needed some romance and lovin':) Hope everyone has a good weekend and Happy Halloween!
On the way to the car, Scotty quietly asked if she felt like staying out a little longer, suggesting a dinner at an Italian restaurant he had heard her praise a few times over the years; she gave him a soft smile, squeezing his hand.
"Like a date? We haven't had one yet."
"I know." He grinned, unlocked the car; they hadn't even been to a restaurant together as a couple yet, most evenings just ordering in or picking up takeaways. A couple of times he'd managed to cook something quick too, when they hadn't been absolutely dead on their feet after returning from work; she had seemed very happy with what he had created, and Scotty had been equally happy to see her like the food. He was planning on introducing her to some traditional dishes soon, the Cuban and Puerto Rican cuisine he had grown up on and still enjoyed regularly when visiting his parents and other relatives, but making those would require a lot more time than he currently had, and in all honesty, he would probably need to consult his mother too.
"Most definitely a date, bella. If you're not too tired."
"I'm feeling good. And hungry." Lilly fastened her seatbelt. "Let's go."
The restaurant was about halfway between the precinct and her house; it was still raining but Scotty managed to find a parking spot just a block away, turned to dig out an umbrella from the back seat. A smiling waitress greeted them at the door, nodding as he asked for a more secluded table; soon they were seated at the back of the main dining room, close to a brightly burning fireplace, a folding screen offering privacy from the other customers.
"This is really nice," Lilly told him quietly once they'd ordered starters, mains and some sparkling water; he definitely agreed, fascinated by how the glow of the fire was playing on her face and illuminating her hair, the blonde waves still loose and falling softly onto her shoulders. She flushed under his gaze and he smiled, reaching over the table to grasp her hand.
"You're so gorgeous." He caressed her fingers gently with his thumb. "I love you, Lil."
"I love you too," she whispered, her eyes looking extraordinarily blue in the firelight. "Thank you. And thank you for taking me on a date."
"The pleasure is all mine." He gave her hand a squeeze. "Are you feelin' better? About what we… about everythin' that happened today?"
"I am; I just… I'm so used to always having full control, running a tight ship over my life, worried that I might break somehow if I let it go even a little bit." Lilly sniffled, shook her head with a wry grin, tracing the edge of her glass with a slender forefinger. "And then one day you decided to kiss me, out of the blue, and you turned everything upside down in my world, Scotty Valens. Everything, so unexpectedly. And now I'm wondering that perhaps… perhaps I don't always need to have that control, and perhaps it's okay and safe to just go with the flow sometimes."
She looked up, gave him a smile, her eyes glimmering like they were full of diamonds, rivaling the ring on her finger. "I might still have some moments when I shut you out, or I need to… disappear for a little bit, but I want you to know that I do trust you; it's just never been easy for me so it really is a learning process. I'm sorry for today, and hopefully I will never worry you like that again."
"It's okay," he whispered, his throat feeling slightly constricted. "God, Lil, I wish I had been brave enough to kiss you a long time ago; you have no idea how beautiful you have made my life. It was already amazin' to have you as my partner at work, but now, this past week and a half… I'm so lookin' forward to our future, whatever it might have in store."
"Me too." Lilly watched the fire for a moment, their fingers still securely entwined. "But I think you had just the correct timing; I feel like everything that has happened over the past couple of years… reconnecting with my dad, making peace with him, getting this new family into my life, they healed something inside me, so I've been able to be more open with you."
She turned her eyes back to his, a small smile drifting over her face. "If anything had happened between us earlier, I probably would have freaked out, kept you at a distance; I just wouldn't have been ready. I've come a long way recently; some of the things I've told you… I've never shared them with anyone else before, and it's been absolutely liberating to be able to do so. It's a huge, huge thing for me to talk instead of burying everything deep inside like I have done pretty much my entire life."
The waitress returned, lowered delicious-looking starter salads in front of them, and Scotty was glad to have a moment to gather himself; once they were alone again, he took a deep breath, still holding onto her securely.
"It means the world to me too, Lil; I want you to feel safe enough to talk to me, always. I've got you, an' you can take all the time you need, take time for yourself whenever you want; I'll be around, an'… when you need me, just say hey, an' I'll be there."
Lilly nodded, tearing up, obviously recognizing those words, the exact same words he had told her on that horrible day that had started with her mother's death and ended with her in the hospital fighting for her life. He squeezed her hand and she gave him one of her most gorgeous smiles before picking up her fork; the salad was amazing, sprinkled with just the right amount of olive oil and vinaigrette, and everything on the menu had sounded absolutely delicious so he could definitely understand why she liked this restaurant.
They devoured perfectly cooked pastas with mouthwatering sauces, herbs and cheeses for mains before topping off the meal with some yummy Italian gelato; Scotty shivered as she licked her spoon, her eyes closing, a moan of enjoyment escaping her. Suddenly he was feeling rather warm, and it definitely wasn't just because of the nearby fireplace; he groaned slightly and she opened her eyes, a wicked little smile flashing on her face before she took some more ice cream and proceeded to deliberately drive him even further towards insanity.
"How's your dessert, Valens?" she asked, her voice low and sexy, her eyes firmly attached to his as she swirled her tongue around the spoon; he swallowed audibly and pulled in a shaky breath, desperately trying to get himself to calm down.
"If you want me to be able to walk out of here an' drive us home, you gotta stop that," he told her quietly, not very far from begging; Jesus Christ, he definitely wasn't used to this version of Lilly Rush yet, even when the past week and a half had already offered him a lot of insight to what was underneath her usually calm, cool and collected exterior. "Temptress."
"Mmm." She smiled lazily, then sighed a little, pretending to look disappointed. "Well, if you insist. But this really is some very, very nice ice cream."
Then he felt her foot rub against his leg under the table, growled, another flash of heat engulfing him; God, this woman would truly be the absolute death of him, that was for sure.
Lilly was having her own share of difficulties focusing on her food, had been throughout the dinner; Scotty looked absolutely divine, so goddamn handsome with the glow of the fire just enhancing his features and his olive skin, the unbearably sexy stubble on his face and the black hair she just wanted to sink her fingers into. It had been a rough, difficult day with so many conflicting emotions and even more talking about things she had buried so deep inside a long time ago; she felt both a little guilty and absolutely amazed by what he had done today, driving all over the city looking for her, persisting until he'd found the right person to ask for help. She was glad Christina had immediately thought of Hope Park, clearly remembering the many, many afternoons they had spent there as kids; it had never been the safest place but for Lilly it was still some kind of a haven, and going there had been the first thought on her mind when she had rushed out of the precinct without her phone or her wallet, the familiar impulse to just run and hide taking over completely. She had found some cash in her pocket and flagged down a taxi, just hoping the money would be enough; it had gotten her there and she had drowned into a flood of memories immediately upon stepping into the park, memories of her childhood and teenage years, mixed with the terrible pain and worry over her relationship with Scotty. There had been a little devil on her shoulder, gaining more and more strength as time passed, whispering horrible things to her, telling her she wasn't good enough for this amazing man and sooner or later he would be done with her, sick of all of her issues, would look elsewhere; then she had heard his voice and his arrival had filled her with just pure astonishment. He hadn't given up, and that meant more to her than she could ever put into words; he hadn't given up on her, he never would, and that realization had been enough to topple the devil off her shoulder, its evil taunts silenced.
She felt like they had crossed some significant bridge today, together, their relationship deepening even further; things felt different now, a lot more open and if she'd still been slightly reserved to fully trust him up to this day, a little worried about completely giving him her heart, now she definitely wasn't anymore. The ice had melted from inside her, her walls were reduced to just a tiny layer of rubble, and Scotty had succeeded in what she had desperately hoped someone would do, expressing the wish quietly in her head that day in the car when they'd been looking for her sister; he had dismantled her and started to rebuild, and she had experienced her rebirth, with him by her side every step of the way, caring enough, loving enough. The process wasn't complete, far from it, but it was already further than she had ever even dared to hope it would get.
He tilted his head, studying her with eyes that looked like melting chocolate in the firelight. "Are you playin' footsie wit' me, Rush?"
"Me?" She returned to the present moment, pretending to be innocent while gently rubbing the inside of his shin with her sock-clad foot; she'd kicked off her heels earlier, just wanting to be as comfortable as possible. "I think you're imagining things, Valens."
"Really?" His full lips turned into a teasing smirk, another groan escaping him as she moved her foot higher to the inside of his thigh. "Okay, okay, stop, baby, please; I really need to be able to walk out of this place, an' if you keep that up, I won't be. An' the other customers will get a bit too much for their money."
"Hmm." Lilly lowered her leg slightly reluctantly, really wishing they'd be at home already; she wanted him so much right now that it was causing an almost unbearable physical ache, and despite the utterly delicious food at her favorite restaurant, she couldn't wait to get out of there and continue to enjoy the evening in private. From the muscle twitching on his jawline and his darkening eyes, she could tell he was having similar thoughts; she swallowed, wiping her suddenly sweaty palms against her pants and Scotty cleared his throat, signaled the waitress for the check.
He was kissing her the second the front door of her house closed behind them, exploring her in a deep, desperate, open-mouthed, lustful kiss; she whimpered against him, dropping her coat from her shoulders and pushing his off too, focusing on having her hands as full of him as possible. Then Olivia meowed in a rather demanding fashion, Tripod following the example and Lilly groaned, felt him smile against her mouth.
"Think they'd be willin' to wait for a little while?"
"Highly doubtful," she sighed, kissed him again and reluctantly stepped away. "I'll be quick."
He nodded, reached to pick up their coats and hung them up in the foyer; she performed the fastest cat feeding in the history of mankind, starting to tremble when she turned back to him, finding his dark eyes studying her intently. Scotty tugged off his tie, opened the top two buttons of his shirt, offering her access to the place where she loved to bury her face, to get her fix of his incredible scent; she didn't waste even a second before making her way over and doing just that, kissing his neck and breathing him in, feeling his pulse speeding up beneath her eager lips. She sank her fingers into his hair like she'd been dying to do at the restaurant; it was so soft, slightly damp from the drizzle that had fallen on them during the walk back to the car. He started to rub her neck, finding her mouth in another breathtaking kiss; she pressed herself as close to him as she could get, moaned from pure, unadulterated desire.
He sucked on her lower lip and she nearly fainted, exploring his face with hungry, needy kisses and fingers, feeling quite dizzy; she was so in love with him that it was bordering on crazy, and now she was finally able to fully believe he felt the exact same way about her. All she could do was to silently thank the people and the powers that had decided to give Scotty Valens a transfer to Homicide seven years ago, and had decided he should become her partner; she owed them everything, absolutely everything. There was no knowing what might have happened if he hadn't joined the team; maybe they would have met anyway, would have run into each other on a case or in some PPD fundraiser, maybe even just on the street or at a coffee shop, but there was also the possibility they never would have met at all, and that was something Lilly definitely didn't even want to think about.
He pulled back suddenly, looking worried, brushing his fingers against her cheek. "You're cryin', bella; what's wrong?"
She hadn't even noticed the hot tears flowing down her face; shaking her head, she wiped them away quickly, chuckling a little. "Nothing. Just thinking about… I don't know, destiny, I guess."
"Destiny, huh?" He smiled, kissed her forehead. "There's a big word."
"Yeah," she whispered, found his lips again, pushing the bad thoughts from her mind because keeping them there was useless; they had met, and throughout all of their beautiful and less beautiful days, all of their trials and tribulations, he had stayed with her and trust had endured, the partnership blossoming and changing, turning into love. Now calmer again, she grasped his hand and turned, pulling him to the stairs.
The bedroom was shadowy, droplets of rain running down the window glass outside, streetlights offering some illumination; a storm seemed to be on the way again, and she could already hear a distant rumble of thunder. Scotty took a seat on the edge of the bed, watching her with an unreadable expression, then gently tugging her closer until she was stood between his legs; Lilly smiled, leaned down to kiss him, feeling him open the button and zipper of her pants, the black fabric falling to her ankles.
"Mmm." He separated their lips, slowly unbuttoning her shirt and starting to press kisses onto her belly, along the waistband of her lace underwear. "God, Lil; it's a damn good thing we're not doin' interviews together right now. I don't think I'd be able to think about anythin' else than what's under all of your very nice work clothes."
"Yeah?" She licked her lips, fully aware she would have the same problem; over the years, she had on occasion found herself appreciating how incredible her partner looked in his suits, even when nothing further had come from those thoughts, but now that she had intimate knowledge of his gorgeous, toned body… Lilly had always been proud of her focus during interrogations, the way she was able to detect the tiniest shifts in people's words, tones of speech, facial expressions; having Scotty there would probably seriously mess with that ability now, not to even mention the fact her traitorous face would give everything away by flushing like a damn tomato.
He chuckled, leaned backwards against his hands, probably again fully aware of what she was thinking. "You're blushin', bella."
Yeah, just like that. A tomato.
She groaned, slammed her mouth back onto his, shrugging her open shirt off; she was now only in her bra and panties while he was still fully dressed, and she definitely needed to change that fact. She lowered her hands onto his shirt, fully prepared to tear it open but he prevented her, shaking his head.
"Not this one; I like this shirt." He sounded slightly out of breath from the kiss, his eyes dark, full lips parted. "Play nicely now, Miss Rush."
Lilly rolled her eyes, managed to just about control herself and maneuvered the tiny buttons out of their holes, freeing him from the shirt, her eyes moving across his chest and the firm, tight abdominal muscles; he looked incredible and smelled so damn delicious, always did, even after a long workday. He snapped open her bra, his gaze caressing her bare upper body in turn; then he leaned forward, latched onto one erect nipple, then the other, swirling his tongue around the little buds in a way that made a burning arrow of desire shoot right into her core, a long, broken moan leaving her lips. His fingers dipped underneath her soaked panties, fingertips briefly entering her before moving to rub the sensitive bundle of nerves higher up.
"Oh God." She closed her eyes, whimpering, feeling thoroughly weak from the incredible sensations and not sure how long she'd manage to keep standing; the black fabric was tugged down her legs and long fingers pushed inside her, arching to find that special spot that had her on the brink of an orgasm almost straight away. His thumb massaged her, his hot mouth insistent on her nipples, and she released a strangled cry that turned into a scream as she came hard, waves of pleasure moving over her, again and again.
He left her breasts, pressed kisses onto her belly and she tried to regain her senses, to catch her breath, her legs trembling violently now. "Jesus Christ. I… I can't stand."
Scotty pulled her onto his lap, finding her lips in a deep, deep kiss; she felt him rock hard through his pants, with shaky fingers managed to get them open and slipped her hand into his boxers. He groaned as she started to caress his length, very much enjoying the feel of him, like silk-covered steel.
"I love to hear you scream," he told her on a low voice, making her moan. "It's so goddamn sexy, Lil."
"All your doing," she muttered, blushing, knowing that she'd indeed been quite loud every time, more so than ever before; she'd had a good sex life with all of her previous boyfriends, had enjoyed being with them, but her protective shields had prevented her from fully letting go, some worries always swirling in her mind and keeping her from relaxing completely. With Scotty she couldn't even think of anything else when he was making love to her, the feelings and sensations so intense that they wiped her completely blank, simply forcing her to vocalize the pleasure that mercilessly tore through her.
"I just wanna make you feel good," he muttered into another deep kiss, moved her slightly to be able to remove the rest of his clothes; the intense throbbing between her legs intensified again, her body demanding relief from the burning emptiness. Lilly shifted herself more over him, his hands grasping onto her hips, securely but simultaneously so gently, guiding her down; she needed a moment to get used to him, whimpering as he deliciously stretched her walls. This was definitely another thing that would have her face blazing red if she ever allowed her mind to drift to it at work; underneath those suits, the body of Scotty Valens was very, very impressive indeed, in all respects. She wrapped her legs around him, in the process getting him a little deeper still, moaning his name as he started to move inside her, grasping onto the slightly sweaty skin of his shoulders.
Scotty stared at the goddess on his lap, the vision absolutely breathtaking; her head fell backwards, her blonde hair shining and for a moment looking almost white as the soft glow of a streetlight illuminated it. Madre de Dios, this woman was the most stunning thing he had ever seen, her wet heat enveloping him, her hips rocking against his; a wave of pleasure slammed through him but he controlled himself, didn't want this to end yet.
"Jesus, Lil," he groaned, moving one hand higher on her back, feeling the silky hair against his skin; she lifted her head, her cheeks flushed, her dark blue eyes heavy-lidded, and now he knew for sure there definitely was no damn chance he'd be able to work very closely with her again, not any time soon, since this would be the only thing permanently burned into his brain. He really wanted to devour her neck, feeling drawn to it like a vampire that was after her blood pulsing underneath the porcelain skin, but he would leave marks as he'd had no time to shave that morning before they'd rushed back to the precinct; he chose the next best thing instead, kissing her deeply and passionately, exploring her mouth unhurriedly, his tongue tangling with hers. Moving his hand from her back, he brushed his fingers against her breasts, then trailed them down to her clit and Lilly shivered strongly, her little whimpers telling him she was close. He grabbed her hips again, moving a little faster, bucking up into her, eyes tightly on her face.
"You're so beautiful, baby."
Another wave of pleasure slammed him like a truck, making him growl, just moments from release and she gasped, her eyes widening; then her lids pressed closed, the flush on her cheeks darkening to a stunning red rose hue and she screamed his name, again baring her neck as her head fell back once more. Scotty could feel every second of her orgasm, her rhythmical contractions and witnessing the pleasure on her face driving him into his; he exploded inside her, calling out her name over and over, panting hard as the bliss seemed to continue forever for them both. Lilly held onto him, sweaty and breathless, whimpering at every little aftershock and hiding her face into his neck.
"Oh my God."
"Definitely," he agreed, inhaling shakily and trying to return to this planet, gently caressing her smooth thigh; after a moment he really needed to lay down, both of them moaning as he slipped out of her and he kissed her warm, slightly damp forehead, felt her long, slender legs entwine with his. "Tired?"
"A bit," she sighed, snuggled closer to him, her nose buried into his clavicle. "But I don't really want this evening to end; it's been so perfect."
"Mmm." He smiled into her hair, very much agreeing and so happy to hear her say those words, when the afternoon had really been far from perfect; it felt like an eternity had passed since he had been desperately searching for her all over Philadelphia, terrified about her state of mind and the state of their relationship. But now everything was good again, he had the love of his life safely on his arms and they had made it through today's challenges unscathed, emerging even closer and more in love than before. It was still raining outside, the water drumming steadily against the roof and he brushed her cheek tenderly, really enjoying the lovely, romantic cocoon the weather and the almost dark room were creating for them.
"Looks like the storm didn't start after all."
As on cue, the room was filled with a flash of white light, thunder booming almost simultaneously; they both startled and Lilly chuckled a little, stretching her legs and lifting her head to be able to kiss him softly. "Maybe you should stick with the FBI and not become a weatherman."
"I think you're probably right." Scotty laughed, deepened the kiss, rubbing her back softly; her taste, scent and closeness made a brand new jolt of desire shoot into his groin and she moaned as he started to harden against her, smiling into his mouth.
"Again, huh?"
"Just can't get enough of you," he breathed out; she grinned, turned to her back and pulled him on top of her, her hands starting to caress his body and he was fully ready to go instantly, burying himself into her warm wetness with one long thrust. Her legs wrapped tightly around him and another lightning illuminated the room; he saw the pleasure on her face, her eyes full of lust as they focused onto his.
"Can't get enough of you either, gorgeous." She arched her hips, her nails pressing into his skin; a gasp emerged from her throat as he seemed to hit some special spot deep inside her, followed by a low moan. "Definitely can't… oh Jesus."
Don't give up
There's a mountain in the middle of the road
It'll take a little longer to get home
Baby, all we've got is time
You can't help when your stomach sinks, see your life happen in a flash
In your head it could be so real that you almost feel the crash
The panic is temporary, but I'll be permanent
So when it hits, don't forget, as scary as it gets
It's just turbulence
- P!nk: Turbulence -