Safe Place to Hide || Chenford / The Rookie

Chapter 16: Smutty Version (Explicit)

Author's Note: Things in this chapter heat up (read: get a little smutty). If smut isn't your thing, feel free to jump to the next chapter — I've posted an alternate version that is still pretty steamy, but not actually explicit.

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And suddenly she's not registering anything other than just how good he looks right now. How much she wants to feel his hands all over her. How much she wants to turn off her brain and her feelings and just relish in the almost comically extreme amount of attraction that somehow always seems to materialize in the air around them. Fuck it, she thinks and closes the distance between them with the stealth of a panther, just barely noticing his eyes widening as her mouth finds his.

"Lucy," he groans against her lips, trying fruitlessly to find his willpower, to pull away from her, to remember the many, many reasons this is not a good idea. But he is weak in this moment, his resolve ground to dust by the ferocity, the single-mindedness of her advance toward him. She wants this, she wants him, and he simply does not have it in him to deny her anything.

He cups her cheek, his other hand finding her lower back, angling his head so he can take control of their kiss, bringing things down from a full boil to a gentle simmer as he savors memorizing the contours of her mouth, the feel of her lips against his.

He's changing the game on her, she realizes once he begins to kiss her back, turning her passion and hormone-fueled advance into something different, something slower and more sensual. It ignites something in her, terror rising up inside of her to blend with the sheer physical craving that had propelled her to him in the first place. She wants him. There's no question about it. But is she ready for this?

She pulls back from him, willing him to understand what she is looking for, what she needs, in this moment — that she is not looking for a conversation about feelings, or consequences, or some nebulous concept of what future Tim and Lucy might look like, but that she is instead desperate for a physical connection and comfort, and yes, even a distraction from what her world has become.

Because as much as she is elated about her victory tonight, there is still a lot of work to be done to bring Tamara's shooter to justice and still so many unanswered questions around those mysterious notes. She deserves this — a moment to celebrate and escape and enjoy herself without the weight of the world resting on her shoulders.

And even though everything about crossing this line with Tim is the absolute furthest thing from uncomplicated, she is tired of overthinking and analyzing and wondering. She is tired of being logical and practical and scared of making a decision she'll regret. She has been aching to be closer to him for days, weeks, maybe even months if she's truly honest with herself, and she is absolutely over denying herself.

Eyes locked on his, she reaches back to pull the strings of her top loose, seeing both surprise and something more primitive flicker across his face as the fabric falls to the floor.

He gently rubs his thumb against the skin on her hip, and she follows his gaze as he takes her in, eyes darkening with his desire. His eyes meet hers as he swallows, "Are we really doing this?"

There is nothing shy or uncertain about the version of Lucy Chen standing in front of him, and he's not sure that he's ever found anything sexier in his entire life. She is brazen and confident and so completely sure about what she wants from him that he knows resisting her is going to be completely pointless.

She is watching him, waiting to see how he'll respond to her invitation, if the escalation of intimacy and clarity around her intentions is enough to get him out of his head, but, unsurprisingly, she can sense that he's still uncertain. Despite the fact that she is standing half-naked in front of him, he is still hesitant to cross a line that had defined the entirety of their relationship up until a few short months ago.