Chapter Text
Neal watched as his wife stood over the kitchen sink, hypnotized by the way her slender hips vibrated as she vigorously scrubbed the offensive pot. He’d been hungry for her for days but their schedules had made it impossible for them to connect and he’d begun that slow but unrelenting climb up the scale - from hungry to starving to ravenous. He felt himself responding at the sight of her despite his meagre efforts at having to keep himself in check – after all, they weren’t alone.
He watched in amusement as Hope and Liam moved from the kitchen to the family room, out to the living room and back again, Hope holding on to her baby brother’s tiny hands as he happily toddled around - as any baby would once he discovered he could be mobile while vertical. Neal heard them both giggle, Hope keeping her brother upright and holding his hands as she loomed over him with a toothless grin.
His gaze returned to Sara, whose hair was falling in her face and he watched as she attempted to blow it away, hands still immersed in the murky dishwater. Man, she looked hot – both literally and figuratively. He waited for the kids to start their circuit back out towards the living room and he made his move, standing behind her, legs wide apart for balance, moving in on her like a predator, his arms snaking around her waist and mouth going to the crook of her neck.
She groaned non-appreciatively. ‘Neal, it’s hot’ she complained, irritated.
‘You’re right, it is’ he murmured lewdly in her ear.
‘Stop it. I mean it’s ‘hot’ hot’ she said trying to shoo him away without the use of her hands.
‘Sara…’ he whispered huskily in his best sexy voice ‘I want you.’
She let out a half-hearted titter in response to his attempt at seducing her and gave him a playful shove with her rear end which only seemed to spur Neal on. He pressed himself up against her even more insistently.
‘I mean it Neal’ she said, frustrated by his impulsive behaviour. ‘Stop! The kids are right around the corner.’
He let out a soft moan filled with longing and desire and he continued on his quest, letting his hands move over her hips and down her belly towards parts unmentionable.
‘I’m just hugging you...’ he ventured innocently as he rubbed himself lewdly against her.
He could hear Liam’s giggles growing louder as the kids returned, Hope following the baby at a snail’s pace, holding his tiny little hands in hers. Neal resorted to a more G-rated pose, his arms still wrapped around Sara’s waist as the kids came into view, oblivious to their parents standing by the sink. Within seconds, they disappeared again and Neal’s hands returned to the X-rated parts of his wife’s anatomy as she half-heartedly tried to pry him loose.
‘Babe...’ he whispered as his hands moved up to cup her breasts. ‘Tell me you don’t want this.’
She couldn’t deny the involuntary response her husband’s groping was having on her lady parts but they were standing in their kitchen with their kids nearby and she was exhausted from her day at work, sweating profusely as her hands soaked in disgustingly dirty dishwater on one of the hottest days of the year. Her husband’s lack of self-control drove her crazy – although that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. But there was a time and a place for everything and this was neither the time nor the place for his little upsurge of desire.
She faltered for a brief second before finally delivering a decisive elbow to his ribs, reminding him that she could pretty well take care of herself in any situation, and Neal let out a howl at the sudden stab of pain.
‘I warned you’ she said with a naughty smile as he protested and finally stepped back.
‘You are so mean...’ he began with mock hurt, stopping as the kids came into view.
Hope let Liam fall gently on his bum and walked over to where her parents stood, staring each other down.
‘Daddy, can we go out for ice cream?’ she asked as she tugged on his pant leg.
‘Apparently...’ Neal said curtly as he looked irately at his wife. ‘There are no treats on weeknights.’
WCWCWC
‘You’re not still mad at me, are you?’ Sara asked, eyes fluttering as she slipped into bed next to Neal.
He was reading a case file and although he was immersed in what he was reading, it took but a second for him to refocus his attention on her, looking up at her face expectantly.
‘That depends’ he scoffed. ‘Are you ready to make it up to me?’
‘Awww, did I hurt your feelings, baby?’ she teased as she ran her hand suggestively up his leg.
He could have played the wronged card a little longer but what was the point when she was finally coming around. Besides, that gentle, lingering touch on his leg was already sending messages straight to his groin.
‘I can be the bigger person... forgive and forget’ he said magnanimously as he waited a few seconds before reacting.
It wouldn’t do to look overeager although someone had forgotten to mention that to his achingly needy body. His hands slipped seamlessly from the FBI case file to Sara’s hips as the stack of papers tumbled off the bed in a messy pile.
‘Time and place, Caffrey’ she said into his ear as her body began to respond to his ministrations.
‘Mmmmm’ he answered, already revved up and ready for action.
His hands began to move eagerly over her body, foreplay kept to a minimum as he reacted impulsively to his baser instincts.
‘Oh! Neal!’ she said, pulling away and vying for his undivided attention. ‘Did you lock the bedroom door?’
If there was one thing they’d learned, it was that Hope could come in at any time, uninvited and unannounced and over time, they’d taken the necessary precautions to ensure they had some privacy.
‘It’s fine...’ he mumbled, already tugging at her underwear. ‘She’s asleep.’
‘No. Stop!’ Sara said urgently ‘Please?... the door.’
She hated being interrupted when they were having sex but more than anything, she didn’t want to have to answer any more of Hope’s probing questions. The six-year-old already knew the basics regarding reproductive sex but there were things Sara Ellis was never going to be comfortable discussing with her daughter.
Neal let out an impatient puff of air and practically vaulted over her on his way to secure their bedroom door. He was back in an instant, pulling off his sleep pants and practically tripping over his own feet in a not so nimble attempt at rejoining her on the bed.
They resumed their pose, Neal returning his hands and mouth to where they’d previously been roaming, humming in appreciation as Sara responded in kind. His mouth moved to the crook of her neck, in easy reach of that spot behind her ear that always drove her mad and perfectly positioned to whisper dirty little things in her ear, spurring her on to greater heights. His hands, meanwhile, were making the rounds, over her breasts, around her hips, down her belly on a quest to get her so turned on, there would be no turning back.
Despite those wonderful sensations all over her body, Sara’s mind wasn’t totally focussed on the task at hand. Her yearly evaluation was coming up at work and she was feeling anxious about it - plus she had to remember to pick up that beige suit from the dry cleaners... As Neal continued on his quest, she did a mental check of everybody’s lunches for the next day – did she remember to put that apple in Hope’s lunch box? She’d have to check.
Neal was moaning and groaning next to her, his body wrapped around hers, in search of stimulating sensations from head to toe. He took her hand in his, bringing it to where he felt it would do the most good and Sara resisted, pulling away as she tried to get a glimpse into his dark eyes.
‘The stove’ she said suddenly.
‘What?’ he asked, incredulous.
This was no time for talking, except maybe for those naughty little things Sara lovingly whispered in his ear that drove him crazy – ‘the stove’, however, was not a part of her usual repertoire.
‘I think I forgot to check the stove after I made the hard boiled eggs’ she said, looking pensive.
‘You’re kidding me, right?’ Neal said, on the edge of losing his cool.
‘No, I’m sorry, honey. Could you please go and check?’ she asked, breathless.
‘I will, in a minute’ Neal said, pulling her back against him and grabbing her hand once more.
‘Please...’ she pleaded as she lay there, biting her lower lip. ‘I won’t be able to enjoy it if you don’t.’
She stared at him looking totally debauched, her hair mussed and her lips parted - a look that drove Neal absolutely crazy. He couldn’t deny her anything when she looked at him that way, eyelashes fluttering and tongue darting out in anticipation.
He let out this guttural groan and managed to tear himself away – again – leaping off the bed and grabbing for his sleep pants. Sara watched as he sprinted out of the bedroom and heard his precipitous footfalls on the steps, the speed of which she’d rarely heard. Within seconds, she heard them again, growing nearer and Neal reappeared, taking a brief second to lock the door behind him and pulling off his sleep pants before leaping back into bed alongside his wife.
‘Are we good?’ he asked breathlessly, now moving from eager to frantic.
If she did this one more time, he was going to go out of his mind.
She nodded although he could see something else in her eyes.
‘What?!? What is it?’ he said, rather louder than he’d meant to.
She looked up sheepishly at his fevered gaze.
‘Did you check the front door?’
WCWCWC
‘So, what do you think? Can you give me a hand on this one?’ Peter asked as he stared anxiously at his ex-CI.
He’d been hoping to entice Neal with this rather mundane task. Having his best friend on board always made any case they were working more stimulating and frankly, more fun - plus Peter had a hidden agenda he’d managed to keep from him thus far.
‘I just don’t get it Peter’ Neal replied with a frown. ‘I’ve already done all the leg work on this. Do you really want to invest Bureau resources to go out to all the banks and give them my feedback in person? Isn’t that overkill? They all got a copy of my report.’
Neal glanced down at the file once again. There was something he was missing and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Following a series of bank robberies in other major cities, Peter had hired Neal to review major New York banks’ protocols and practices, identifying flaws and weaknesses. Neal had spent the last two months visiting financial institutions and preparing a comprehensive report of their vulnerabilities, all in an effort to avoid the fate major banks had suffered in Chicago and Denver.
Peter stuttered as he spoke. ’Well… we didn’t have this guy’s MO when you did your research. I think you and Diana should pay them all a visit and let them know how this guy operates and make sure they’re on their guard...’
Frankly, to Neal’s ears, it all sounded rather fishy, like Peter was making stuff up as he was going along.
Despite his efforts to stay up after his little foray the night before, Neal had been blissfully exhausted and he’d fallen asleep before making it all the way through the thick stack of police reports following the thefts. He’d gotten the gist of it though, and he was intrigued by the criminal the White Collar Unit had been chasing for the past few months.
‘This guy’s got balls, I’ll give you that’ he said as he continued studying the case file. ‘But I still don’t get why you want to revisit the banks… have you gotten new intel that he’s going to strike here in New York?’
Peter glanced out nervously at the bull pen, making sure a certain someone wasn’t within earshot.
‘Okay, okay' he finally admitted in an exaggerated whisper, his eyes darting from Neal to the desks below. 'The truth is… Well, it’s Diana... she’s adamant about staying in the field and frankly, I worry about her at this late stage.’
Neal stared down his ex-handler, his eyes narrowing as things finally came into focus.
‘What? So you’re telling me you’re sending her on a make-work project... and you want me to babysit her?’ he said, finally putting two and two together.
‘No... it’s not... well, not exactly’ Peter said, his voice quiet. ‘Neal, it’s Diana... they don’t call her Badass Berrigan for nothing and... these last few weeks, she’s been particularly... badass.’
Neal took a step back as if he’d touched a hot stove. ‘Oh, no you don’t!’ he said. ‘Don’t get me involved. Look, I tried to hold the door for her on the way in and she practically bit my head off.’
Just as Peter had done moments before, Neal’s eyes moved to the bullpen, checking if the mom-to-be was nearby. How two big guys the likes of Caffrey and Burke could become completely knocked off their game by a few pregnancy hormones was beyond belief.
‘Yeah but you know about this stuff – ‘ Peter began as Neal interrupted.
‘Huh, no!’ Neal protested, a little too loudly. ‘I suffered through this stuff, it’s not the same thing.’
‘Look, Neal’ Peter pleaded, sounding rather desperate. ‘I’m calling in a favour here. I can’t put her on leave until she agrees to it and Hughes is on my case about all this health and safety stuff... I need to keep her busy without putting her in any potentially dangerous situations and this should keep her busy for at least a week.’
‘This is Diana we’re talking about’ Neal whispered, glancing nervously towards the agent’s desk as she sat talking on the phone. ‘She’s far from gullible. Doesn’t she know I’ve put all my recommendations in my report?’
Peter looked guiltily at his CI; he’d obviously kept certain things from his best agent.
‘Peter! This is like... the worst assignment you’ve ever given me.’
Neal’s voice grew louder and Peter checked to make sure Diana wasn’t within earshot. His eyes began to search the bullpen, noticing she was no longer at her desk.
‘You’re basically paying me to babysit one of your best agents for the next few days!’ Neal blurted out, pretty well summing up the situation.
‘Come on, Neal. I’ll owe you one...’ Peter began as Diana appeared out of nowhere, poking her head inside Peter’s office with a scowl.
‘Hey, what are you guys talking about?’ she asked as the two men looked up guiltily.
She came fully into view, seemingly frustrated and annoyed and looking as big as a ... well, maybe not a house but a room, a very large room.
‘We were just... talking about the bank case’ Peter lied. ‘Neal’s going to work with you... with us on it’ he corrected as Neal gave him a dirty look.
Had Peter just sold him out, leaving him without an escape route?
‘Really Caffrey?’ Diana asked, sounding innocent and almost normal - although Neal knew better.
‘Apparently so’ he stuttered, cornered.
TBC