Wrong time, wrong place
Summary: After a traumatic experience, Isobel is going through a rough patch and Jubal comes to try to help. With emotions running high, will they be able to keep the situation from getting out of hand?
Author's note: A scene from the "Wicked City" miniseries inspired me to write this short piece. Credit for the setting then goes to the screenwriter of episode 4, Sarah Byrd. Thank you to Gogo_25 and RuthSand07 for their help and ideas, and to Skater1263 for proof-reading and their kind support.
In one gulp. It's how Isobel drank the whisky in her glass. She put it on the coffee table and poured herself another half glass, not even bothering to put the cap on the bottle. Someone rang the doorbell and Isobel knew it was him. After a day like today, no one but Jubal would have come to her door so late at night. Isobel ignored him, though, drank and poured again. He insisted, knocking on the door.
Staggering, she walked to the entrance with the glass in her hand, shuffling barefoot across the wooden floor and ignoring the cold on her bare arms and legs. But when she reached the door, she simply couldn't open it.
Jubal knocked again.
"Isobel. Isobel, open up." He waited a bit, to no avail. "Isobel, I see the light on, I see your shadow moving under the door. I know you're there. Please open up..." he sounded really worried.
"Go away, Jubal."
"What? No, I won't."
Isobel rested her head against the door, dragged by her desolation. She didn't even have the strength to curse.
"Texting you was a mistake..."
"Open the door, Isobel. I need to see you," he pleaded. "I need to know you're okay..."
See me. Isobel swore silently, chastising herself for the moment of weakness she had at hitting the send button of the text. She didn't want him to see her. She was a mess. She didn't want him there. Not at all. But he came, even though midnight was hours ago and she surely got him out of bed.
A while passed. Enough for Jubal to think Isobel left him standing there, wondering whether he should get the Halligan bar in the trunk of his car and break down the door. Then, the lock clicked and it opened, just a crack. Jubal hesitated for a moment before daring to push carefully and peek in.
Isobel was walking away with her back to him. Jubal stepped inside and closed the door. He tried to ignore the shock of seeing Isobel only wearing a tank top and her underwear, of his SAC seemingly not minding he saw her like this for the first time.
He noticed her hair, damp, dripping a little. Blood splattered on her that evening. Jubal wondered apprehensively how long Isobel spent in the shower.
"Well, you saw me," she said over her shoulder slurring her words. "Can you leave now?"
"You're drinking," he observed, steadfastly forcing his eyes to stay fixed on Isobel's face and not wander over her legs or the rest of her body, even if he couldn't control his pulse.
"Very sharp, Special Agent Valentine," Isobel replied with uncharacteristic acidity. "Yes, for a while now. And, yes, I'm drunk," she stated defiantly.
Jubal's frustrated expression made Isobel suddenly feel very embarrassed; she looked at the glass and its contents with disgust. Without thinking about what she was doing, she put it in Jubal's hands and walked away.
"Please go."
Jubal stared at the glass for a second. The temptation to down it in one gulp was almost irresistible at that very moment. Almost. He focused his gaze on Isobel, fumbling the glass and leaving it on a nearby piece of furniture. He followed her into her living room.
"No, Isobel." The energy in his tone managed to stop her and make her look at him. "I'll leave when we talk about it," he said, coming closer, softer now.
Isobel shook her head, eyes squeezed shut. Her wet hair released a few droplets of water.
"It was all my fault," she groaned, her chest tight. "I shouldn't have gone to the conference. You warned me of the risk and I wouldn't listen."
Dismayed, Jubal brought his hands forward, as if wanting to hold her but without touching. "You didn't let yourself be intimidated by the threats of those bastards. You actually were very brave."
"No, the ADIC is right. I'm just an arrogant fool."
"Isobel, no... You couldn't know they'd shoot indiscriminately."
"You don't understand, Jubal. You weren't there. People were mowed down around me!" Isobel exclaimed, her eyes wild. Her shoulders slumped. She ran her hands through her hair clutching it. "Just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time..." Her head spun and her lungs refused to admit air she realized, if Jubal were there beside her, he would have surely been shot.
Dismayed, Jubal struggled to find some grip to offer for her to hold on to. "No one has died, Isobel..."
"Yet," she whispered, deathly grim.
There were four people in critical condition in the hospital.
Yes, it was horrible. The supremacists simply burst into the room firing shotguns. Jubal still remembered the dread with which he received the news. And I wasn't there to protect her... He wanted to have accompanied her, but he had work at the JOC and honestly, no one thought the threat level was so high.
He hopped into his car and drove to the venue not stepping on the brakes in the entire way. However, when he arrived Isobel was no longer there. His agents told him she was fine, but she went home and specifically asked not to be disturbed. Jubal was still embarrassed at how relieved he still felt because she was unharmed.
He called her, several times, and always ended up diverted to the mailbox. The only thing he had the courage to do was to send a patrol car to protect her house.
The text he received from Isobel a few hours later found him lying on his bed, eyes wide, mustering the resolve to go see her anyways.
Now, Isobel lost her patience. "OK. It's all said and done. Come on, go now," she asked him, indicating the door with an awkward gesture.
He didn't move. "Isobel..."
"Please. Go now," she insisted without hiding her irritation in any way.
"Isobel, listen," said Jubal. He approached her, hands raised, seeking her elusive gaze.
It was the distress in Jubal's eyes what unhinged her. She felt herself about to burst into tears, to fall apart in front of him. She didn't want him there when it happened. She couldn't stand it.
"Go away," Placing both palms on his chest, Isobel gave him a push. Booze robbed her of her stability. Jubal barely moved; she was thrown backward.
The movement infuriated her, as if he was the one who pushed her. "Go now!" she exclaimed, and charged at Jubal with her fists raised. He managed to grab first one wrist, then the other, narrowly preventing her from hitting him. "I said go away!" shouted Isobel struggling, trying to get loose.
"Isobel, stop. Please." One of the struggles hit him in the cheekbone, near the temple, and Jubal saw stars. "Please, stop. Stop!"
Desperate, he ignored the pain and took a step towards her, wrapping his arms around her, trying to immobilize her. Isobel still resisted.
"Stop," Jubal said softly in her ear, "I'm not going anywhere..."
He pulled her against him, holding her head gently with one hand. His voice, warmth, and familiar scent, surrendered her. Isobel stopped struggling, allowing him to embrace her, resting her forehead on his shoulder. Tears blurring everything around.
"It's okay... Everything is going to be okay," Jubal comforted her, stroking her hair.
He tried to ease Isobel's pain as much as the heartbreaking sensation of seeing her like this, feeling her tremble like a leaf in his arms. He kissed her on the head.
You shouldn't have done that, Jubal immediately scolded himself. He got carried away. He pulled away a little, searching her face, praying he didn't offend her. Wet, black, Isobel's eyes were two wells of infinite desolation in which Jubal almost drowned. His hands could not stay still; he ran them over the sides of her face, brushing away strands of hair with gentle caresses. "Everything will be okay..."
Isobel could not resist, could not fight the sucking whirlpool of darkness swallowing her. She desperately needed to hold on to something. And Jubal was right there. The whisky clouded her judgment. She lowered her eyes and raised her chin sharply, seeking Jubal's lips with her own, pressing her body to his.
"Wha-?"
The movement caught Jubal by surprise, tasting the alcohol in Isobel's mouth, feeling the burning heat of her body, before he could react. His heart raced, her lips on his making him drunk almost instantly. But he stopped her, and held her so she wouldn't do it again.
"Isobel, no..."
She riddled him with an angry glare and tried again. This time Jubal halted her firmly, but not move away from her.
"I don't-" his voice cracked and he had to swallow. "You don't really want to do this. I think you're just confused..." he said, trying to bring her to her senses.
Embarrassment plagued Isobel mercilessly. She could no longer look him in the face, but she still needed the solidity of Jubal's contact to anchor her, to not be adrift on the tide of her guilt, so she didn't manage to pull away.
"Sometimes," Isobel said without looking at him, in a desolate murmur. Jubal stroked her shoulders and arms, still trying to comfort her, "I hate the way I feel about you." The air caught in Jubal's throat. He stopped. "Not because what I feel," she raised her face with foolish boldness. Isobel was a person who always prided herself on keeping her emotions firmly in check, but tonight she didn't care in the slightest. "But because I do".
Jubal couldn't breathe. He did not dare to interpret her words, but the stark emotion in Isobel's eyes rendered him utterly helpless. His own were unwillingly filled with the deep care he always took pains to hide, because he had no right to it.
This time when she lunged for his mouth, Jubal was unable to reject her. He dared to gently cup her cheek with his hand, surrendering to showing her what he felt. Isobel absorbed the tenderness from his lips, desperate to feel his affection. She needed it to subsist more than she needed air. She needed it for so long... More than she was willing to admit. And simply allowed herself to be overcome by the emotion they shared.
Until it swept her away.
Taking Jubal's face in her hands, her mouth became unintentionally demanding. Intoxicated and desperately thirsty for her, he couldn't help but respond, nor pull her to him. The firm proximity of his body made Isobel forget they had to see each other at the office the next day. She threw her arms around his neck and their embrace became fiery. Jubal noticed her removing his jacket, unbuttoning his shirt. He thought apprehensively they were going to regret this.
"Is-" he had to stop it, but by the time he tried to react, it was too late.
With an unexpected and, this time, effective push, she threw him down on the couch.
Jubal gawked at her from below as Isobel started to pull her top over her head.
"Wait-", the rational side of him made an attempt to regain control. She discarded the garment without even looking at where it fell. Waist up, there was nothing underneath. Jubal's mind skidded at this glorious vision. Before he could recover, Isobel straddled him, again possessively claiming his mouth -and his will- with her kisses.
They tasted of whisky and guilt. Jubal's heart writhed, but they were irrepressible. Isobel's breasts against the skin of his torso ignited him with desire. As she finished removing his shirt, Jubal grabbed her hips, bringing them closer for greater contact. Fire blinded them both. Isobel stoked it by rubbing eagerly against his stiffness, causing them to moan into the avid kisses they gave each other. Meanwhile, his greedy hands were everywhere, leaving smoldering trails on her flesh, leaving her desperate for Jubal.
This wasn't enough.
Not really thinking what she was doing, Isobel fumbled opening his belt and pants with impatient fingers, pushing aside both his garments and her own.
Jubal kept thinking they shouldn't be doing this, but Isobel looked him in the face as she tempted him with the wetness between her legs, and he couldn't manage to say anything besides sighing her name.
This teasing only lasted a few seconds, for desire consumed her and she needed him inside even more than he did. Isobel bit her lip as she guided him in, drawing a shuddering gasp from Jubal. He was unable to stop her. Clinging to his shoulders and the back of his neck, she rode him at once, desperate for the sensations would chase away her demons.
More and more tension built up.
All the while, the irresistible way in which Isobel was sinking him into her scorching body was making him lose his mind. Holding her tight against him, and as he sought her mouth again, Jubal began to raise his hips in unison. Not only did the friction increase inside her but, where their bodies joined, Isobel began to receive a shuddering touch on her most sensitive flesh.
Everything intensified in a matter of seconds. With an exclamation, her climax caught Isobel by surprise. She threw her head back, letting Jubal, his face buried in her bosom, continue to lift her to the peak of her pleasure.
Before she even descended from that height, Jubal caught her weight and made them change positions. Without ever undoing their union, he laid her down the length of the couch, lying on top of her. He resumed his movements, albeit somehow slowly, trying to keep control with great effort. Between soft kisses and low grunts, he looked into her face waiting for some indication as to whether he should continue. Isobel blinked, feeling his desire pouring over her, blazing her.
She grabbed him by the nape of his neck and blew his brains out with a deep, searing kiss. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she encouraged him to continue with her heels. Jubal couldn't have played hard to get even if he'd wanted to. As his hips moved ever more intensely, Isobel clung to him, multiplying what he was feeling exponentially.
Jubal fought to not get carried away. Isobel's narrowed eyes told him he could still make her come one more time. He surprised her giving his thrusts an impetuous edge. Lost in the sensations he was pulling out of her, Isobel heard her own gasps turn into moans. They finally wrestled control from Jubal. He hungrily devoured her neck, and this stimulation was the final push Isobel needed. Jubal succeeded in making her moan disconsolately before shuddering violently from his own ecstasy.
The intensity of it all took a while to dissipate, leaving them panting and groggy. Neither of them could help but fall asleep soon after... while exchanging somewhat sloppy kisses.
Later, a half-asleep Isobel felt herself being picked up in his arms and carried to her bed. The care and tenderness with which he did it reached inside her chest. Jubal laid her down and went to cover her with the duvet, with the intention of leaving then, but Isobel hugged him, pulling to her almost without strength.
"Don't go," she pleaded with a murmur in his ear
Until this moment, Jubal wasn't aware of how much he wanted to hear her say this, even if she said it half in her sleep. His doubts held him back for long seconds. If he stayed, the next morning neither could pretend nothing happened between them...
Then, Isobel started to leave tender kisses on Jubal's neck, next to his earlobe, giving him goosebumps and making his heart shiver. He finally got under the covers with her, who immediately snuggled against his chest, and Jubal drifted off to sleep despite his deep unease about what would happen tomorrow. It felt too good in Isobel's arms.
~.~.~.~
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