Safe Place to Hide || Chenford / The Rookie

Chapter 16: Steamy Version (Not Explicit)

And holy shit, the simple movement turns him on more than he'd have thought was possible, but it's nothing in comparison to the impact of the words that follow it.

"Please, Tim. I need this. I need you. "

He groans audibly, "You are going to end me, Lucy Chen."

But it's the encouragement he needs and he gives in, because there's no question about it. She is the one in charge here, and he is absolutely and completely at her will. He watches her closely, ready to abort at the first sign of any discomfort or hesitance from her, as his hands begin to explore the newly exposed parts of her body, taking a moment to appreciate how soft her smooth skin feels against his own mildly calloused hands. "You are absolutely incredible," he murmurs.

The small moan that escapes her in reaction to his touch threatens to bring him to his knees. He reaches up to guide her mouth back to his. The kiss is heated and frantic, each of them caught up in processing all that's already unfolded between them in just the last 10 minutes and the anticipation of what is still to come, fully realizing that there is no turning back from here. No world where they haven't crossed lines that can no longer be uncrossed.

They break apart to catch their breath and then she's tugging him back to her by the front of his shirt, and Tim can't stop the small smirk that curves his lips upward.

"What?" Lucy asks, still breathless but immediately aware of the change in his demeanor.

"Nothing," Tim says, shaking his head. "It's just kind of hot is all..."

Her eyes narrow, "What is?"

He cups her cheek with his hand and gazes down at her, eyes crinkling at the corners, "That you think you're the one giving the orders now, huh, Officer Chen?" But even as the words escape his lips, he knows he is fooling absolutely no one. She is most definitely calling the shots.

Her lips purse the slightest bit in a teasing pout, and she looks up at him with a hooded gaze so sexy that it leaves Tim dumbfounded as to how he'd managed to keep his hands off her for so long, how he could have been so stupidly unaware of how much power his sassy little boot could have wielded over him if she had chosen to during those long 12 hour shifts trapped together in a shop.

"Aren't I, though, sir?" she asks sweetly.

And then he's sliding his arms around her, grabbing her ass to lift her up, her legs automatically wrapping around him in response to the unexpected movement as she laughs in surprise.

He carries her to her room and deposits her on the bed, pausing to look down at her and take in absolutely everything about this moment, mind still spinning with utter disbelief that they are actually here, actually doing this.

He pulls his own shirt over his head, tossing it off to the side of the bed, and Lucy props herself up on her elbows so she can take him in, just barely resisting the urge to crawl over to him and let her hands explore the contours of his newly exposed upper body. She's enjoying his sudden assertiveness far too much to not wait and see what he has in store for her.

Eyes on hers, he places his hands just above her ankles, her skin prickling with goosebumps as he runs them slowly along her calves up to the outside of her thighs and finally up to her hips, he braces his hands on either side of her as he climbs on to the bed, placing heated kisses up the length of her abdomen, before lingering on her neck as he explores her tattoo with his mouth, her squirming the only confirmation he needs to know he's doing something absolutely right.

"Tim, please," she begs, and again, the sound of his name on her lips in this moment, pleading with him to give her more of himself, to touch her, and make her feel things, and explore her in a way that had been so completely off-limits up to this point is almost too much for him.

He gives in to her upward pull and recaptures her mouth with his own, and he's not entirely sure how exactly they've made it this long without combusting, the heat between them is so intense.

She pulls back to slide her hands over his chest and her fingertips may as well be on fire, every single one of her touches only intensifying his need to feel every bit of her pressed against every bit of him, skin to skin.

Lucy had always suspected, but known for certain since that awkward morning at Rachel's, that Tim Bradford's body was enough to make her melt on sight alone. But this — feeling the firmness of his chest under her palms, the muscles of his bicep cord under her grip as he pulls her back into him — is hotter than she could have ever imagined.

She kisses him hungrily and with such clear intention as her hands fumble for his belt buckle that he can't help but marvel over how different this version of her — uninhibited and sultry and assertive — is from the rookie that had been sweet and coy and playful, wide-eyed and innocent in a way that appealed to him and brought out his protective nature, but also somehow only served to make the line between them that much more clear.

Aware that said line has been all but obliterated, Tim still can't stop himself as his hand covers hers. Lucy pulls back to look at him in confusion, and his eyes bore into hers as he asks, "Lucy. Are you sure?"

Understanding flickers in her eyes, and she slides her hand to his cheek and, for a moment, it's not this Lucy or that Lucy, but his Lucy looking at him with such complete trust and admiration and affection that any lingering uncertainty or doubt is left without a shadow to survive in. "I'm sure, Tim. Are you?"

Tim pauses as the reconciliation of this gorgeous, sensual creature who's somehow managed to drive him completely out of his mind to the woman that he's grown to admire and trust and care for so deeply over the past year washes over him.

"Lucy," he says softly, raising his hand to tenderly brush her cheek with his thumb, before gently tucking a few strands of her now wild hair behind her ear, "I'm sure."

And this time when she kisses him, it's sweet and slow and full of unspoken emotion and it fills him up with a warmth that he had genuinely wondered if he'd ever feel again. And regardless of whatever this started as, they are both fully aware that it's turned into something completely different — something terrifying and beautiful and altogether undeniable.

***

Afterward, curled into his chest for warmth as he wraps his arms around her and presses his lips to the top of her head, Lucy thinks that it's maybe this moment — the sweetness of being cradled in his arms in a moment of complete and total vulnerability that is the most unexpected of everything that has happened between them today thus far. The physical attraction and chemistry between them, though never explicitly acknowledged or acted upon up until a few short days ago, is not really a surprise if either is willing to be honest with themselves. But this, the overwhelming warmth and comfort that Lucy feels in his arms — the feeling of being so completely safe and cared for — is all she needs to realize that no matter how she frames it in her head, what she thinks she needs in any given moment, nothing between her and Tim will ever just be purely physical . The emotional connection between them, the implicit trust and care and respect for each other, feels like it's only been magnified by this foray into uncharted territory, and Lucy now knows there's no possible way she can keep ignoring what she actually feels toward him, no possible way she can continue to minimize the intensity of the attraction between them — both emotional and physical.

She cuddles closer into him, relishing in the feeling of warmth that blooms in her chest as his arms tighten around her in response.

She tilts her head back to press a kiss onto his jawline before pulling back to look up at him, "That was ... ummm..."

Tim glances down at her, as beautiful as he's ever seen her with her wild hair, flushed cheeks, and dreamy eyes, "Yeah... it was ... not bad..." he teases gently, brushing his thumb against her cheek.

Her eyes widen, lips pulling into the beginnings of a pout that Tim traces with his thumb, before moving to cut off her objection with a sweet, but chaste, kiss. "Before you get all worked up, seriously..." he brushes his lips against hers again, "It was pretty good."