Want You to Stay || Chenford / The Rookie

Part 8

Kneeling on the bed in front of him, she arches back with a guttural moan, hand reaching behind her to grasp the back of his neck, fingers scraping through his short hair as he traces the ink on her neck with the heat of his mouth.

She spreads her knees wider for him as his fingers come around to slip between her legs, his forearm pinning her hip back into him as she begins to writhe in pleasure. He secures her upper body with his other arm, hand cupping her bare breast as she arches impossibly further back. The muscles in his arms cord as he continues to keep her upright and held firmly back against his chest as he works.

She reaches her other hand back, needing to have more of him under her fingers as she approaches her climax, fingers digging into the flesh of his thigh as she gets that much closer. He groans her name in response to the movement, his teeth sinking into her shoulder in warning as she teeters on the very edge, head thrown back and eyes squeezed shut as something between a scream and a whimper escapes her parted lips, "Tim."

And then suddenly she is lying flat on her back and he is magically no longer behind her but instead hovering over her, his arms, oof those delicious arms, braced on either side of her and a look of pure devilishness on his face. He meets her eyes and then begins to press hot, open-mouthed kisses down her neck, chest, and stomach, his stubble tickling her sensitive skin in a way that makes her toes curl with anticipation.

She lifts herself on her elbows so she can follow his journey and, oh, no. That can't be right. There is no way she is wearing the most ridiculously unsexy pair of panties she owns. Tim pauses, looking up to arch an eyebrow at her before returning his attention to the tiny giraffes adorning the thin cotton fabric separating him from where she wants him to be the absolute most, a slow self-satisfied smirk curving his lips as he meets her eyes again.

"Cute," is all he says, and the deep rumble of his voice alone is enough to get her squirming, desperate to feel those arrogant lips of his right on her —

Lucy sits up with a gasp; the blare of her alarm clock so loud that she knows it's been ringing for quite a while. Her heart is racing and her body is covered in a sheen of sweat. The throbbing heat between her legs is the only evidence she needs to know that as much as she thinks she is ready to get back to normal and put what happened with Tim squarely in the past, some part of her most certainly is not.

***

Back to normal is not truly normal, if Lucy is honest with herself. The new normal means that when Tim is reviewing a case file later that morning before they head out on patrol, Lucy does not crowd over his shoulder so she can take a look, instead waiting patiently so she can read it on her own when he's done. It means he sets her body camera down on the counter in front of her rather than handing it directly to her as they gear up for the day. It means that Lucy waits an extra beat when Tim opens the door leading out to the garage for her, allowing him to fully clear the entrance before she begins to walk through.

But things are good, Lucy reassures herself. They haven't fought or even bickered since that day in the escape room. She feels a strange tug as she realizes they haven't said much of anything to each other beyond shop talk and polite, but mostly surface-level, conversation about their lives outside of work.

Tim doesn't bring it up, and Lucy can't bring herself to ask, but she's seen Ashley more than a few times since then, sometimes dropping Tim off in front of the station in the morning and sometimes waiting for him in the bullpen after shift.

The first time is just a few days after the escape room. And when she feels momentarily like she has been punched in the gut at the sight of them together, Lucy reassures herself that it is completely reasonable for her to feel this way. Of course seeing him with someone else after being so emotionally and physically vulnerable with him — so soon after finally pouring her heart out to him about how much she is still struggling — of course that hurts like hell.

And even though she had basically pushed him back into Ashley's arms, maybe some tiny part of her didn't expect him to go so readily. Maybe that same tiny part of her is still struggling with the possibility... could there be something more?

But that doesn't mean this isn't still the best decision for both of them. It just means that processing all of this will take some time.

It will get easier, she reassures herself. And it does. Each encounter after the first stinging a little less until finally Lucy just feels completely numb to it — feels nothing when she sees the way his face lights up when he spots Ashley waiting for him after shift. Feels nothing when the same fingers that had brushed tears from her own cheeks intertwine with Ashley's. Feels nothing when he wraps Ashley up in his arms like it is exactly where she belongs.

And when his eyes crinkle up in the corners and soften in that way that is just so distinctly Tim as he gazes down into Ashley's blue eyes, well, Lucy definitely does not think about those unexpected moments when that very same softness was directed at her. Lucy doesn't think at all about how his walls coming down, even just the tiniest bit, leave her breathless with that feeling of wanting so much more.

She thinks back to her desperation after their night together — her need to stop things from changing and ensure that in the aftermath of what they had done she wouldn't lose him, wouldn't lose what they had. She feels something cold and clammy and nauseating turn her stomach as she wonders if she has actually managed to hang on to anything real at all.

She mentally shakes herself; she can't go down this path. She won't. No. Things are fine. They are still working together as seamlessly as ever. And she is getting all sorts of opportunities and experience that she would never have gotten as a normal P2. It's only been three weeks. It's normal that things aren't quite back to normal yet between them. It'll just take some time, but they will get there. She is sure of it. They have to.

Things are good.

***

Author's Note: We always look forward to your votes & comments  ❤️❤️❤️