"Lizzy?" there was no easy way to say this, so the man just said it as was his way. "I got a call that Carver was in Chicago. I'm taking the team and we'll be flying out within the hour."
"Red, it's getting late..." She looked at the clock to confirm, "and do I have to remind you that you were just shot... yesterday."
The cat, having obviously picked up on her irritation, hissed at Red when he crouched next to Liz.
"Oh hush," he reached over, closing the cats mouth mid-hiss, "you pissy thing."
He released the cat's head and the animal smacked its chomps before licking it's paw and straightening the fur Red had mussed. Liz smiled affectionately at them both, then stroked Keres' head, helping her flatten the fluffy hair.
He placed his hand on her knee, steadying himself. "I don't have to do much. Just hit up a few contacts and direct your team."
"Then why do you have to go now? You should get some rest."
"Since your team and Moore is coming with me, it's better to arrive at night. Less eyes."
"You really don't like Moore, do you?"
"Not particularly, no." he admitted freely. "How did you know, just out of curiosity?"
"You call him by his last name all the time."
"Would you rather I call him, Dick?" he cocked his head at her, pleased with himself. "Please, say yes, because I all ready do." he took on an innocent air. "What? It's better than calling him asshole."
"Is he really that bad?" Liz half chuckled.
"I expect any day now, either Dembe or Samar will slip past me and break the man's nose." the thought warmed the man's heart. "At least it keeps me awake while I'm there. They're wily."
"Not you?" Liz was surprised. "You don't want to break his nose?"
"No, I'm much like you, Lizzy." He patted her knee, standing. "I go for the throat."
He headed for his bag, which Dembe had already packed. Red glanced around absently finally finding the object in question.
He grabbed the book satchel then looked at the woman, finding Elizabeth fiddling with the cat, otherwise occupied.
Red quickly scanned the stacked books on her shelf, zeroing on a bright yellow jacket. His fingers curved to it then shoved it in his bag, heading for the door.
"I'll check on you later sweetheart." he threw back to the woman.
"Be safe!" she responded, wishing he did not have to go.
Red called later that night as promised. A ton of background noise making it difficult to hear him.
"Sweetheart, how are you?" his tone sounded normal enough, almost jovial.
She pressed the phone to her ear, speaking over the loud din. "I'm okay, but what's going on there?"
"Oh, just having a few drinks with an old associate of mine, catching up." He dropped his voice, "Can you hear me?"
"Just barely." she admitted.
"Nothing happening on this end, just weeding out info. Donald and Samar are rabbit hunting. Just a minute." Red muffled the phone, speaking with someone. "Baby, I have to go. I'll call back shortly."
"Uh, okay?" She said before hearing the dial tone.
Baby?
He had called her a lot of things; sweetheart, honey, even darling jokingly, after he had been shot. But never... that.
She would never tell anyone, let alone Red, but it was one of her favorite endearments. Well, that and sweetheart.
At first it had grated on her when he had called her that, but now, she found comfort in it. The odd thing was that she didn't think she would like it coming from anyone else but Red Reddington. He made it fit her. Like it was a part of her, an extension of who she was.
But really, whatever endearment passed his lips, it seemed natural. Like she actually was those things to him. As much as her name was Elizabeth, she was as much Lizzy, sweetheart and now, baby.
The thought brought a warm feeling into her entire system, she found she enjoyed the feeling immensely.
An hour later the phone rang which brought a smile to Elizabeth's lips. The caller ID indicated it was Red.
"Hello?" her tone was soft.
"Lizzy, sorry for ending our call so abruptly, I had to get back to Louis. He can be quite the pouting brat when he thinks the attention isn't on him." he offered an explanation for his rudeness. "I truly thought I had enough time to just check in with you but he ended his call before I anticipated."
"No worries. I'm fine... baby." She smiled into the phone when she heard his deep laughter.
"I thought I'd get yelled at for that one." He relaxed in his chair, grinning.
"I'm not yelling." She replied instantly. Regretting her quick response a moment later when it sounded like she was almost flirting with the man. "I-I mean, I understand." she tried for sophistication. "I didn't mind." She squeezed her eyes shut. Could she, just once, shut up while she was ahead.
Red's deep chuckle filtered through the phone, tickling her ear. "I'll remember that." he promised. "I think I may have a lead on Carver. I sent it over to Ressler and Samar, they're checking it out now."
"Moore didn't go with you guys?"
"He's here." the man's tone said it all.
"You mean, physically, right now, with you?"
"No, in general." he replied. "He may be a complete idiot, but he knows better than to push, right now anyway."
"What happened?"
"Let's just say it was mentioned in passing, that the temptation to throw open the door at fifteen thousand feet and unload a passenger was a growing passion of mine."
"It was that bad?" she crinkled her nose.
"Would you presume to tell someone where to sit on their own jet? That they couldn't drink?" The absurdity boggled the man's mind. "The tipping point came when he tried to take the phone out of my hand when I was going to call and check on you."
"He didn't..." Liz breathed in a stunned breath.
"Oh, yes he did."
"And that's what you said? That you'd throw him out of the plane."
"Well, first I said that I was going to shove the phone up his ass." Red picked an imaginary piece of lint off his impeccable trousers. "Then he said he didn't appreciate me doing business with federal agents on board, at which point I said that could be rectified ... and it went on from there."
"You didn't tell him you were calling me?"
"Should it matter, it's my damn plane."
"So what stopped you?" she held back her smile.
"Ressler said that perhaps he should stop harassing me, seeing as I was so kind to give them a ride... on my plane." Red stressed.
Liz chuckled, "Are you going to fly them back... on your plane?"
"Samar, definitely. Donald, he's always up in the air, no pun intended." he rubbed his temple absently. "Moore, I could give a flying fuck... again, no pun intended."
Liz smiled, "When do you think you'll be home?"
"As soon as they finish, I suppose." a thought occurred to him. "Why, do you miss me?" His husky voice lowered intimately.
"I was just wondering who was going to make my waffle in the morning?" she teased.
He pulled his tie, loosening the knot. "I knew it, you only appreciate me for my cooking." He pulled the silk fabric from his neck, setting it aside.
"Today, I did. The vegan nurse from hell, Mindy, was here again trying to shove eggplant down my throat."
"You hate egg plant."
"Uhh, exactly."
"Did you tell her that?"
"Yes, the first day she was here. Keeps blathering on about how good it is for me."
"Then fire her."
"I'm sure she's just trying to be helpful, Red."
"By preparing something you've told her you hate." Red slowly replied.
He'd have to teach her how to handle these things, to stand up for herself. If only to save her from being force fed a vegetable she once described as having the consistency of a rubber sole.
"How goes the house search. Find anything interesting?"
"Oh, I did find one." she replied ecstatically. "I can't wait to show you!"
"Tell me about it." Popping the button on his neck, he loosened the next two then closed his eyes, listening to her voice, relaxing after a few moments into a stress free state.
"It's three bedrooms, two and a half baths, hardwood throughout. It's got the cutest little outdoor space for entertaining. Not that I really do much of that, but I thought when you guys came over, we'd have a place to grill and stuff."
His mouth lifted at the corner, trying to remember the last time he actually grilled anything.
"The kitchen is beautiful, just redone. Though, I didn't think to check if the plumbing and everything was okay?" she fretted.
"We'll get it checked out." He assured, then kicked his feet up on the ottoman, while his arm fell lazily over the arm rest, his tumbler dangling from his fingertips. "What else."
"I'll have to redo one of the bathrooms. It's blue." she shivered at the remembrance, totally repulsed. "Red? Who does an entire bathroom in blue? And not just any blue, aqua blue."
She sounded so disgusted, he had to laugh. "Well, then. What color would you prefer?"
"Oh, I don't know? Maybe a soft white or tan, have the accent pieces be the color. That way I can change it any time I want." she had really thought this through. "What do you think?"
"I think that sounds like a very good idea."
"Are you even listening to me?" she chided.
"Of course I am. Change the hideous blue bathroom to soft white or tan, with your accent pieces being the splash of color. Redone kitchen, cute deck where we can grill. Three bedrooms, two and a half baths. Shall I continue?"
"You're really interested?" she was mildly shocked.
"I am. Were there anymore homes that interested you?"
"Yes, but I can wait until you get home to show you."
"If you want to talk about..." A subtle beeping in his ear made him look at the screen, "Damn it. Sweetheart, it's Ressler. I'll get back to you when I can."
"All right, all of you be careful."
Red ended his call with Ressler. He was never so glad to get off the phone and even though they would be leaving in an hour, it gave him a few minutes of private time.
He picked up the paperback, tapping it lightly against his lips, lost in thought.
He thumbed the pages rapidly. Lizzy often earmarked the corners of pages. He opened the book to one such page scanning it slowly.
It was mostly dialogue, but in that dialogue was one specific component.
In the course of his investigation, Red discovered that how the man spoke to or touched the woman, was important. Not that he did not know that himself, but to see it in print organized his thoughts better.
Certain endearments seemed to melt the heroine's heart. He glanced up, his mind wandering.
Red had called Lizzy, baby, earlier to get a reading on her. This guy in the book had used the same term of affection.
Red had been surprised, keeping in mind nothing surprised him these days... that Lizzy had accepted the term so readily and indeed did not seem to mind if he used that endearment again.
In this day and age, most females did not like to be objectified. Reddington never thought of it like that. He admired and respected most women, truth told. Those with which he used such terms of affection, he highly esteemed.
He was so pleased that Elizabeth was woman enough to sense such a thing about him.
He turned the page reading automatically for a few sentences. A dark scowl appeared on his forehead. Within the book, two males had actually come to blows in a brutal scene that, in Red's opinion was nothing more than gratuitous violence.
It was almost as if Lizzy's dream played out in black and white print. Had she truly pictured him and Tom in these roles?
From the moment Tom had taken her until Red himself, had arrived on scene... everything was almost verbatim.
Reading more, he could see glimpses of that son of a bitch Tom in the secondary player and could truly understand Elizabeth's frustration and fear.
Red had instantly put the book aside, checking on Liz's welfare, getting lost in her talking about her house search, finding her content where she was, before returning to his pastime.
It took only a few moments for the man to fall back into the world the author had so meticulously created.
He kicked back, propping his legs on a pillow in the bed, absently sipping from the fine wine he had ordered roughly an hour before.
The story continued...
And then he came on the scene...
As Red continued the narrative, he could actually see the similarity between the guy in the story and himself.
It was him for all intents and purposes.
Worried for the girls welfare, intent on hurting the man who harmed her and acting on it with cold and merciless deliverance.
The hero had released the girl from her restraints, then carried his precious cargo from the room. What he cherished most in this world, safe in his arms.
He took her to his home, dressed her wounds and kissed the bruising on her wrist...
Red turned the page quickly, reading through the following passages and more than understood the cause of Lizzy's wet dream and even more interestingly, her reaction to him this afternoon.
He had done so much, said so much, of what this man in the novel had, and wasn't even aware of having done so.
He turned the page, settling more into his comfort zone, reading the first few lines of what was to come and had never loved a romance novel so much.
It was no wonder Liz couldn't look him in the eye.
The man in the novel talked with his partner, communicated with her. He clearly worshiped the woman. He fed off her pleasure, hers became his own.
If this was her idea of a fantasy man, she really need look no further than across the dining room table, or better yet, roll over in bed and look at the man sharing it with her.
Red's eyes lifted, a thought suddenly solidifying in his mind.
Lizzy had placed him in the role of hero.
Not Tom.
Him...
Raymond 'Red' Reddington.
Red pushed off the bed making a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door closed, locking it behind him.
He pulled his zipper open, reaching in for his cock, pulling the thickening length free, stroking himself slowly, methodically. Rereading the last part, he fell into the role, thumbing his slit when the man pressed against dark curls, his face getting wet against her folds.
With as good as Lizzy smelled, he knew she had to taste good, she had to have a sweet pussy, he just knew it.
And she'd cream hard and fill his mouth, no matter what he had to do to make it happen. Damn, he would love if she came hard like that. To feel his mouth fill with her arousal, to taste her... he'd give that tiny clit of hers all the attention it needed.
But that wasn't all she needed, apparently. Red could literally feel the small hand grasping his erection.
He tightened his own grasp around his shaft, stroking himself harder.
When his stiffness brushed not only her pussy lips, but her thighs, Red growled low in his throat.
Lizzy was a tiny little thing in comparison to him. He could envision his shaft brushing her milky white thighs without issue before breaching that pretty little slit.
Damn right she'd be wet, her pussy would be soaked with not only her arousal but the saliva from his mouth, and of course, the copious amount of pre-cum leaking from his cock head as it teased that quivering little hole.
Shit...
To spread her open with his thick width, he would tear her little body apart, and she'd fucking love it. He'd make sure to drag that clit just right, making her body accept him.
She'd take the whole damn thing, she'd want all of him to open her up, to fuck her just right. He'd nudge her cervix with his cock head when his heavy ball sack nestled nice and tight against her ass, making her pussy quiver around him in want of more.
He'd love nothing more than to take her bottom in his hands and pump her little hole, maybe even tease her ass. He bet she would love that, she'd clench hard around him, fluttering that tight tunnel around his shaft. And if he should tongue it before hand, soften her up a bit, maybe he could fuck her tiny pussy and finger her ass, giving his baby every bit of his attention.
He'd give Lizzy the fucking she so richly deserved.
To give her what only he could.
He would hold her hands, not only because it was intimate, just as much as kissing. But it was another connection between them. A connection that required trust. She would have to trust him to give up the freedom of movement.
And he would ride her bare. Not only would she feel fucking amazing. But no one since his wife had the privilege of being taken by him that way.
He didn't love them. He didn't want that intimacy with them. He didn't wanted to mark them as his territory.
But he did Elizabeth.
Men could sniff at her heels all they wanted, but all they would find was his scent. He'd drench her pussy in his cum daily to ward off bastards thinking they could take his place.
They could try, but they'd fucking fail. Not only would he make love to her so damned often, she wouldn't have the strength or want to look elsewhere.
No one would ever take care of her, spoil her, dote on her... love Lizzy, like he did.
No one...
Red tightened his hand around his hard cock and cupped his balls as she neared release, just waiting for that pussy to come, until that beautiful body arched up off the bed and bathed his thighs and balls in her arousal.
"Shit..." Red panted, pumping his shaft harder. Teasing his thick crown, he urged her to let go once more, to come around his cock again, and she fulfilled his need for her, coming hard.
"Fuck... Red drawled, shooting stream after stream of his own load. "Lizzy..." he gasped.
He fell into the cabinet, shaking with the powerful release. His hand trembled, shaking thick white drops of cum to the marble floor and his shoes, the sight bringing him down quickly.
He hadn't just warmed her with his affection, and she sure as fuck wasn't here.
But the idea...
The want to have her by his side in every way available to him, grew impossibly strong.
Stronger than it had ever been before.
Stronger than it was just a couple day ago.
He felt a flicker of hope, that hadn't been there before.
Now, he just wondered if he could make it happen.
What could he do to make her see, he could give her everything and anything she could ever want or need?
He wasn't sure...
But he sure as fuck was going to find out.