The Way She Is

"Why, Carter? You know what Finch and I do. Why do you question me, every damn time I have to make the tough decisions just so that you don't have to compromise your strict moral standards?" She had followed John to his apartment after they'd had one of their 'spats' at a local bar where they'd met earlier that night.

He knew why she did it, why she questioned him all the time. It wasn't just that she was a good cop...she was a woman, in a heavily male populated job. There were dirty cops running rampant through the precincts answering to Elias, and the last thing she wanted was to have someone question her or her morals.

He was just tired of her questioning him at every turn. Hadn't she figured it out yet... that he wasn't doing all of this because he had some misguided obsession with vigilantism? He wanted her to open her mind...just a little. He also wanted her to see him as a good person who does what has to be done - to protect people.

She seemed hypocritical at times but he always tried to remember where she was coming from because if he didn't, he would have probably stopped contacting her or asking for her help long ago. Oh, who was he trying to fool? He couldn't stop. He would be dead and cold in his grave before he left her alone.

"I...I don't know John." She paused and then blinked, a look of uncertainty marred her normally confident facade.

"Well, stop."

Her eyes flashed up at him. It was like someone had flipped a switch. He watched as her innate indignation, or stubbornness, whichever it was, took over.

"Don't you dare." Her mouth opened and then closed. "How dare you tell ME to stop! You, who doesn't even know the meaning of the word." She pointed her finger at his chest even though she only barely came up to his shoulders. He knew she wasn't afraid of, or intimidated by, him. Her reaction just served to prove how much she really trusted him. He knew she was aware that he could have her subdued, tied up and gagged within seconds if he wanted to...which might actually be fun...maybe later, he thought...but nonetheless, she obviously trusted him.

She had pushed her finger into his chest and her voice had risen even further, all while his thoughts of her had distracted him for a second. He focused on her again, her eyes on fire, her dark skin flushed, and the words that he was no longer paying attention to were just tumbling out of those gorgeous lips of hers. He had to calm her down or he wasn't going to be able to control himself.

"Carter." He said quietly, even though he knew she wouldn't respond to him.

"Carter!" He said just a little louder, his eyes turned down from her face just staring at her finger on his chest.

God, he wanted this woman! He wanted to be with her, to work with her, to protect her, to wake up next to her... He slowed his racing heart once again; using techniques he had been taught, and had ultimately perfected, years ago when he was with the CIA.

She wasn't normally this explosive, he knew it had to be him that was causing this reaction in her. He never saw her act this way with anyone else...except for Taylor... His lips twitched and God help him, he wasn't able to curb the smirk in time. 'Shit.' He thought. She'd seen it and he knew she was really going to lay into him now.

"You think this is funny John?" She yelled.

He blinked slowly and turned his head to the side for just a second.

"No."

"Have you even been listening to a word I've said?" Her mouth hung open just the slightest bit and he could see her tongue playing at the back of her teeth; one of her indicators that she was impatiently waiting to jump on whatever he had to say. He was disinclined to provide that opening for her, instead, he turned his eyes to meet hers and simply didn't answer.

She raised both brows at him, probably hoping that it would initiatea response from him, but he still didn't take the bait.

"John!"

His eyes flickered down as he noticed the movement below him. Her agitated state caused her breathing rate to increase and in turn her chest rose and fell quickly. She was so close to him that she was almost brushing against his chest, where her finger was still firmly planted. He watched in an almost transfixed state while trying to decide whether he should close the tiny distance between them or not. She would then be touching him with more than just that tiny finger of hers. Then his eyes travelled upwards to where the line of her shirt stopped and her skin began. He slowly followed the line of her exposed skin up to the little hollow at the base of her neck where he watched her pulse jump and throb with the strong flow of blood pumping through her veins. His eyes continued their path further up to her strong jaw line and on to those deliciously full lips that were just begging to be sucked on like a piece of ripe, juicy fruit. His lips fell open as his breath was momentarily lost on the vision in front of him. The sudden realization of his feelings for this woman, months in the making, gave him the sensation of being hit in the chest with the full force of a Mack truck.

"What the fu..." Were the only words she was able to get out before his mouth was covering hers and swallowing up the rest of whatever she had started to say. He didn't care what she had to say, honestly. She could have been telling him that she was wrong and sorry for ever doubting him, and he still wouldn't care. The only things that mattered to him right now was the feel of her lips pressed against his, her body being moved backwards towards the lone table that was sitting out in the middle of his apartment and the fact that she wasn't fighting him on either. On the contrary, her hands had almost immediately reached for his chest and had begun pulling at his shirt with an intensity that surprised the shit out of him. Not that he really had the time or the inclination to be distracted by the surprise because her hands were now attempting to unbutton his shirt. He groaned as her fingers brushed against his skin when she'd unbuttoned the bottom two buttons.

He pulled his mouth from hers as his own fingers found her waist and he grasped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up. Her hands left his shirt long enough for her to raise her arms above her head and then they promptly returned to their prior occupation after her shirt had been removed. When she couldn't get them undone fast enough, he felt her hands slide between the buttons and pull his shirt roughly apart. He heard the remaining white buttons pop from his shirt and clack across the hardwood floor; bouncing to God knows where...again, not that he cared.

He chuckled, a dark sound to his own ears as she reached up and pushed the torn shirt off the back of his shoulders. He continued to slowly walk her backwards towards the table. The table; only because it was closer than his bed. His arms reached around to her back and quickly unclasped her bra and slid it down her arms. He didn't even have the time to take in the two lovely gifts that he had just unwrapped. Her arms reached up and snaked around his neck, pulling him back down towards her and this time it was her mouth attacking his.

He felt the familiar electric pull deep in his gut that he felt every time he thought of her, which had become increasingly frequent in the past month. When their momentum was stopped, he knew they'd reached the table. He reached down and wrapped his hands around her hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh there. He pulled her roughly against him and when she moaned against his mouth he lifted her up onto the table.

He grasped her around the outside and around under each knee and lifted them so that he could step closer between her legs and pull them up to his waist. She hooked her ankles around behind him and pulled him closer. His erection pushed against her heat and she let out an open mouthed moan that had him straining against her so hard that he was pushing both her and the table backwards. His mouth moved down to her neck and kissed her then he scraped his teeth against the skin there. He moved down and repeated his action all the way down to where her neck met her shoulder. He nipped her lightly. When she cried out, he let go and kissed the spot softly, allowing his tongue to slide out and glide over the puckered skin, soothing it gently.

When he had given the other side of her neck the same treatment he reached down and started unbuttoning her pants. He had them almost undone when he felt her fingers slide between his pants and brush against his skin. She had much better luck getting his pants undone than she'd had with his shirt...at least the button was still intact. He stepped back and pulled her pants and panties down over her hips and she shifted so that he could pull them down her thighs. He slipped her shoes off as he slid her pants the rest of the way down her legs. He tossed them aside and quickly finished removing his own pants and boxer briefs. He kicked them aside and then stepped back towards her. Her legs wrapped around him again and her arms slid up his chest to meet at the back of his neck. He looked down at her, her eyes meeting his through dark lashes. He paused for a moment. He wasn't sure if he was looking for acceptance or permission, but he ended up getting both, along with a big dose of 'what the fuck are you waiting for'. She smiled, pulled him closer with her legs, and then cocked a brow up at him. That was all he needed.

His fingers dug into her hips and pulled her roughly to the very edge of the table and then swiftly plunged into her. She cried out loudly but she almost wasn't heard over him as he called out her name. He slid his arms up to splay across her back and hold her tightly against him. He pulled his hips back, almost withdrawing from her completely, before plunging back into her. The feeling of her hot, wet body sheathing him tightly nearly drove him to the brink in seconds, but there was no way that he was going to leave her wanting. He allowed his mind to relax and his body to calm slightly so that he now had his pending orgasm fully in check as he pulled out of her again. He tilted his hips so that when he thrust back into her, his pelvis pushed up against her center, eliciting another moan from deep in her throat.

He pulled one of his arms from around her and reached down between them and began stroking her clit. He bowed his back so that he could bend towards her but still continue the movement of his hips pulling out and then pushing back into her, increasing his pace as her breath came faster and faster. Her heels dug into him as he impaled her over and over. He felt her arms tighten around his neck as her inner walls clamped down around his cock, the intensity of her orgasm taking both of them by surprise. His name erupted from her lips in a throaty cry that had him following her over the edge into oblivion.

He continued moving gently inside her as he captured her lips with his. His hands slid up to cradle her face as he pulled back and looked down at her. "Joss." He whispered.

Her fingers were drawing light trails around the base of his neck as she answered. "Hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "Sorry?...For what we just did?" She asked with a look of incredulity. "You're kidding, right?"

"No...I'm not sorry for that...never for that." He smiled warmly at her and nipped her bottom lip.

"What then?" She asked as her eyes slipped closed and her head tilted back.

"For whatever I did to piss you off earlier tonight."

She chuckled and shook her head.

"What are you laughing at?"

"John..."

"Yeah, Joss?"

She pulled him down to kiss him again and then smiled when she leaned back. "Shut up and take me to bed."

He laughed, a full bodied, beautiful sound and gave her the best response she could ever hear. "Yes ma'am."