Read my Lips

Chapter 26

"Keep walking," Prentiss hissed. Her tone was filled with every ounce of false authority she could muster up. Both of her hands were braced against Aleksander Kaminski's chest. She managed to force him back a few steps. But that was only because Prentiss caught him by surprise when she pushed between him and the object of his current rage. He was half a foot taller than her and he outweighed her by at least fifty pounds of muscle. If he really wanted to go a round with Reid, she wasn't even sure if Derek would be able to stop him.

"My daughter just got released from the hospital," he argued. Prentiss continued pushing against his chest. But she might as well be shoving a brick wall. Aleksander wasn't going to move unless he wanted to move. And right now, he didn't want to. But to her relief, he wasn't trying to shove past her either. He was angry. But not angry enough to risk hurting her or his daughter.

"You think you're helping your daughter?," Prentiss asked. "...acting like this? She's been through enough." The conversation was giving Prentiss deja-vu. And she wondered how many more times she was going to have to convince Eliana's father that attacking the only man that was making his daughter feel safe was a bad idea.

Emily didn't have any children of her own. But that didn't mean she was unable to feel empathy for him. Aleksander was furious. His daughter was kidnapped and raped. Anyone in their right mind would be beyond pissed and upset. Emily knew all he wanted to do was protect her. He was just going about it the wrong way.

"Let's go down to the hotel bar," Prentiss coaxed. "I'll buy you a drink." Barking orders clearly wasn't getting her anywhere. So she switched to a softer approach, hoping that might diffuse the situation.

Aleksander still didn't move. But he did glance down, momentarily focusing on Emily instead of his daughter. Their bodies were as close as they could be without actually pressing together. She could smell his aftershave and the spicy bite of his cologne. Prentiss peered up at him through her lashes, meeting his blue eyes with her much darker ones. The change in his features was minute. She might not have noticed the way the hard lines in his expression softened as he gazed down at her if she wasn't professionally trained to observe body language and nonverbal communication. But as it was, when Aleksander's eyes met hers, Emily felt like all the air was being sucked out of the room. Suddenly, she became much more aware of how hard his chest felt under the palms of her hands.

Aleksander took a step back. Prentiss wasn't sure if it was because he was complying with her request to back off or if, like her, he needed to put a little space between their bodies. Either way, she was going to take it as a win. He sighed as he watched his daughter climb off the luggage cart she rode up from the lobby. She wrapped her arms around Spencer's waist and buried her face in his chest. When Aleksander spoke, it was a low grumble in his chest that only Prentiss heard.

"If he lays one fucking finger on my daughter, I'll snap him like the twig he is," he threatened.

Aleksander's threat was so unnecessary it was almost comical. Emily had worked closely with Spencer Reid for over a decade. But it didn't take her longer than a week to know that he'd never lay a finger on a woman without her express consent. To be perfectly honest, she was still in mild disbelief that Spencer had sex at all. And she knew that he would have never gotten physical with a woman unless he had strong feelings for her. Emily was worried about him when she found out he was seeing someone. Despite all his knowledge, Spencer was still naive to the ways of love and relationships. But seeing him and Eliana together, it was immediately obvious that whatever feelings Spencer had for her were clearly being reciprocated. Eliana constantly adjusted her body, turning it towards him no matter where he was in the room. And every time their eyes met, her whole face lit up. She reached for him whenever he was close enough to touch. But even if Prentiss wasn't trained to notice all that, no one could have missed Eliana standing up to her father on his behalf.

"Okay," Prentiss agreed. "I'll make you a deal. If Reid does anything to your daughter, I'll help you kick his ass."

This time, when she applied more pressure against Aleksander's chest, he allowed her to move him back. He narrowed his eyes at Reid one more time. And then he turned around, pulling Prentiss with him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they headed off down the hall. She leaned into him, telling herself that she was just staying close in case he decided to charge back the other way again. But really, she was enjoying the closeness of their bodies a little more than she should given the circumstances. She'd given up trying to find any sort of meaningful relationship years ago. Casual trysts were more practical. But they always left her feeling empty and often more lonely than before. It had been longer than she cared to admit since she'd been this close to a man that she wasn't arresting. And when the elevator doors pinged shut, it was with reluctance that she moved away and put some professional distance between herself and Aleksander.

When they arrived at the hotel bar, they found a corner table towards the back and ordered drinks. The one drink she offered him turned into two. And talk of the team's progress on the case, or lack thereof, turned into a conversation of a different sort. Emily was almost as reluctant to admit it as she was to release her hold on him in the elevator, but she and Aleksander were close enough in age to have been in high school at the same time. They shared a love of satirical fiction and nineties alternative rock. Both of them spoke several languages. And surface talk of their respective career paths and favorite bands slowly morphed into a more personal discussion of their failed relationship histories.

"I graduated from West Point and my first big assignment was at a military base in Israel. I met Eliana's mother about a week after I got there." Aleksander stopped to take a sip from his drink and laugh a little at the memory of his younger self. "I saw a gorgeous woman that I couldn't stop thinking about. And she saw a free pass to America so she could pursue her modeling career."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Emily said, her hand sliding across the table to rest on top of his. His skin was softer than she expected. And so was the soft down of dark arm hair that trickled down past his wrists.

"I'm not," he countered, flipping his hand so he could twine his fingers up with hers. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have Annie. She's a pain in my ass sometimes. But she's my greatest joy."

Emily felt a tug in the center of her chest as she returned his smile. The mention of Aleksander's ex wife brought on thoughts about Emily's many failed attempts to find happiness with another person. She sat quietly for a moment, considering if there was one that really stood out in her mind. Most of her boyfriends were easily forgettable. The only man she slept with that really stuck out in her mind was Ian Doyle. But that wasn't a relationship, that was an assignment. Or at least that's what she was still telling herself. The rest of the BAU knew about her history with Doyle. But they didn't know she fell in love with him. No one knew that.

"I went undercover when I worked for Interpol. The man we were after was the head of a huge network of organized crime. I got the assignment… because they knew I was his type."

The liquor loosened her tongue. But still, Prentiss couldn't believe she was admitting to anyone, let alone a man she barely knew, such personal information about herself. She wasn't sure why she felt compelled enough to speak about her history with Doyle now. Maybe it was because Aleksander was being vulnerable with her. Or maybe it was just his general aura. When he wasn't trying to murder her coworkers, she felt safe enough to be her authentic self with him.

"You developed feelings for him?," Aleksander confirmed. Emily nodded. She released her hold on his hand and reached for her drink, draining the rest of the burning liquid inside before she continued.

"Pretending to be someone else…," she admitted. "It was freeing in a way I've never experienced before." Until now, she thought. But she didn't say that. She wasn't ready to be quite that vulnerable.

Before the conversation could go any further, the bartender stopped by their darkened corner and offered them another round. Aleksander declined, smiling softly at her when he suggested they ought to stop while they were ahead. Prentiss agreed. With all the new information they gained from Eliana's abduction, there was a possibility that Garcia or Kevin would discover some new break in the case. And she didn't want to be fall down drunk if or when that happened.

The door to Emily's hotel room was only a few feet down from his. But still, Aleksander walked her to it and waited until she used her tiny plastic key card to get it open. As she stepped through the doorway, Emily realized she was hoping he'd follow her inside. She briefly considered inviting him in. But after their soul baring conversation in the hotel bar, she was left feeling exposed and too nervous to make the first move.

Less than a minute after Emily closed the door to her hotel room, there was a soft knock on the door that adjoined her room to Aleksander's. She flew towards it, fumbling with the lock as she attempted to get the door open as fast as she could. Emily was fully expecting him to sweep her up into his well muscled arms. But instead, she found he was standing in the doorway with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"We were supposed to switch rooms once we got inside," he said. "Remember?"

Emily groaned and rolled her eyes, eliciting a soft chuckle from him. She hurried away from the door before he could see how red her face was getting. Grabbing her suitcase, she extended the handle and stood up to pull her pillow off the top shelf of the closet. It was a little trick she used to help herself fall asleep wherever her work took her. She always brought her own pillow from home. Emily considered her choices for a moment. And then she walked back towards the adjoining room door without her pillow. If she left it there, it would give her an excuse to knock on his door again.

Emily tossed her packed suitcase on the bed and flipped the top open. When hotel security changed their rooms she had to clear out of her previous one in a hurry, leaving her things in disarray. Poking through the mess, Emily realized that no amount of organization was going to make something other than her work attire appear. Even the undergarments she brought to wear were practical cotton and meant for support in case she had to run or strap on her protective gear. A lace bra under a bulletproof vest was a recipe for the worst kind of chafing. The only thing she had that wasn't a pantsuit or jeans were her pajamas. And plaid men's pajama bottoms with an old band t-shirt didn't exactly scream sexy. She tossed them back into her jumbled suitcase and headed for the bathroom, deciding that she would just knock on the door in what she was already wearing after she took off her shoes and jacket.

Emily leaned over the sink as she attempted to use a hotel washcloth to freshen up. She turned on the water, cursing when it hit the sink and sprayed all over the front of her pants. Now, not only did she not look her cutest, she looked like she had literally pissed in her pants. Emily let out a string of profanity. And then she threw the washcloth into the sink and stripped her clothes off. She showered quickly, the hot water doing nothing to decrease the tension in her body.

Emily exited the bathroom naked, rubbing her damp hair with a towel. It wasn't until she was pulling the covers back on her hotel bed that she remembered she left her pillow in Aleksander's room. She gave up her plan of seduction when she sprayed the crotch of her pants with water. But she was still going to have to knock on his door. She would be up all night if she didn't have her pillow.

Heading towards the adjoining door with a heavy sigh, Emily knocked on it with more force than she meant to. Then she cursed at herself again, for pounding on his door. As she waited for the door to open, she could already feel the color rising in her cheeks.

Aleksander jerked the door open. It was clear that when he heard her pounding on it, he assumed something was wrong. Because he ran towards the door with urgency, wearing nothing but a tiny white hotel towel draped around his body. Beaded droplets of water sparkled in his short hair. And the carpet was damp under his feet.

"I uh…," she stammered. There was a soft smattering of hair on his defined chest. A few droplets of water had collected there. Her eyes moved down, focusing on the trail of darker hair that started at his belly button and led down underneath his hotel towel. Emily swallowed hard, choking down the spit that was filling her mouth. Her nipples were hard against the thin fabric of her old Pantera t-shirt. "I forgot my pillow," she said when she finally remembered how to talk.

"The one with the purple pillowcase that you stared at before you left it on the closet shelf on purpose?," he asked. His tone was light and full of tickled amusement. All Emily could do was smile back as her neck and chest flushed as red as her cheeks.

"That's the one," she admitted.

Aleksander laughed, clearly enjoying both her embarrassment at being called out and at her bluntly honest response. All Emily could do was shake her head and laugh along with him. When their combined laughter tapered off, she felt a distinct shift in the energy between them. His icy blue eyes went dark as he raked them down over her body. Not much of her was visible in her baggy pajamas. But he didn't seem to mind. When his eyes flitted back up to meet hers, he closed the distance between them.

"If you want to stay in my room, you can," he offered. His voice was a low rumbling whisper in his chest. And when he spoke, his warm breath ghosted across her lips. They weren't even touching yet and her body was already tingling. In the back of Emily's mind, a little voice was warning her that she might be about to make an already complicated situation even more messy. But she didn't listen. She didn't care. She didn't just want to kiss him, she needed to feel his lips on hers like she needed air to breathe.

"Would you like to come in?," he asked. There was still a hint of amusement in his voice. But most of it had dissolved into desire for her.

"Yes," she admitted with a slight nod of her head. She tilted her chin back as she stared up into his eyes. But instead of leaning down to kiss her, he leaned back. And then he dropped his hold on the corner of the thin hotel towel that was wrapped around his hips. The damp fabric hit the carpet with a dull thud, revealing his manhood in all its swollen glory. The heat bloomed in her core as she stared at the way his dick curved upwards from his balls. The sexiest part on a man, at least in her opinion, was the way their stomach muscles cut in to form a v on the insides of their hips. She reached for that first, grazing the tips of her fingers over his hip before he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

There was no gentle warm up. The moment his lips hit hers, it was all tongues and teeth and roaming hands. Aleksander caught the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head as they moved towards his hotel bed. Emily pushed her pants down next, kicking them off in her desire to be as naked as he was. The back of his legs hit the bed first. He sat down, pulling her into his lap and then onto the bed with him. She ran her hands up his arms, feeling the hard definition in his muscles. They were still kissing when he entered her. She felt his fingers first, as he slipped them inside to ready her for the rest of him.

Being with a slightly older man had its advantages, the main one being experience in bed. Even with it being their first time together, the sex lasted long enough to satisfy her more than once. And the advantage for him was not having to worry about getting her pregnant even though they were in too much of a hurry to get at each other to worry about protection.

Emily always liked the blissful feelings that filled her after sex almost as much as the act itself. All her muscles were deliciously relaxed as she rested her head on her pillow, which Aleksander put on his bed before she even entered the room. He was lying on his back, one hand still tracing up and down over the curve of her hip. And she was lying on her side, facing him. With him staring up at the ceiling, she was able to feast her eyes on him without feeling self conscious. He really was a gorgeous hunk of a man. Everything about him was rough and masculine, except for the way he touched her. Emily was already warning herself not to start catching actual feelings. With the demands of both their jobs, making any sort of relationship work would be near impossible. Emily sighed, reminding herself that it was okay to just enjoy the moment. She would worry about tomorrow when it came.

"Happy?," he asked, smiling as he turned to meet her eyes with his. She smiled back and nodded her head, humming affirmatively. "Good," he replied, leaning across the small space and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "You ready to turn the lights off and sleep?," he asked. "Or do you want to watch tv? I could order you something to eat if you're hungry?"

Emily smiled, biting back a laugh. She wouldn't have guessed it, but she supposed she now knew where Aleksander's daughter got her desire to care for everyone around her. "I'm fine," she promised. "Lights off and some sleep sounds good to me."

Aleksander kissed her one more time before he climbed out of bed and started searching for the correct light switches to darken the room. Emily slipped under the covers as he moved around the room. Her eyelids were just starting to get heavy when someone started pounding on the hotel room door. In the next room, she could hear her phone going off.

"Fuck it all," she cursed. Tossing the covers back off, she grabbed her discarded t-shirt from the floor and yanked it over her head. Aleksander pulled a pair of boxers on and headed for the door. He looked out through the peephole, announcing who their visitor was before he opened the door.

"It's Annie's friend. The computer nerd."

"Open it," Prentiss encouraged. "Penelope is blowing up my phone. I bet they got a break in the case."

Aleksander didn't hesitate to swing the door open and wave Kevin Lynch inside. He had a messenger bag over his shoulder. And his laptop in his hands. But instead of showing them what was displayed on it, he glanced back and forth between the two of them. They were both barely dressed. Emily was sure her damp hair was rumpled. And the room probably smelled like sex.

"Did I interrupt something?," Kevin asked. The question was clearly rhetorical, because he didn't wait for an answer before he spoke again. "You know, if you guys get together. And Reid marries Eliana…" He gestured towards Prentiss with an unnecessarily large smile on his face. "Wouldn't that make you like his mom or something?"

Prentiss coughed, nearly choking on her own spit. Aleksander didn't seem to be any more amused with Kevin's commentary than she was. He favored him with an irritated scowl, barking out an order rather than responding to the comments about his daughter's love life.

"Just tell us what you found out."