Knots

Hey, look, after all this time I finally added more material! No, I haven't abandoned this story. Yes, I'm still working on it. Life just gets in the way sometimes. Bear with me, check back once in a while, I AM planning to finish this puppy. So if you like where its going, keep watching for more.

Chapter 5: Naked

They stared at each other for the space of a few deep breaths. Finally, Gabriel gave a tight, decisive nod (Sara never knew whether it was to some inner conversation with himself or an outward signal to her) and drew her deliberately to him. One of his hands threaded into the tangled damp hair at the nape of her neck, the other hand stretched across the small of her back, as if trying to get all the way to the other side of her hips. Thank god, she thought idly, finally a guy who doesn't immediately grab my ass or try to grind into me. She saw one side of his plump lips quirk and knew that he had shared that thought. Well, I suppose this at least will teach us each others likes and dislikes a lot faster than normal. In an unspoken agreement, both of them kept their eyes open, watching each other as their lips touched. Sara slipped her arms low around his hips and pulled him more tightly to her for a second taste.

It was strange, they both acknowledged their hunger to touch, but were willing to ignore the urgency in favor of being able to savor the moment. There would be plenty of time later for quick, hungry, passions. Now, while things were quiet and still, they would take the precious time to discover the things they had never expected to be able to learn about each other.

“Now do I get to take your pants off?” Sara quipped, her breathing a bit ragged when they finally separated.

There was a drowning intensity to Gabriel’s eyes as he stared back at her for a few moments, chest heaving as he tried to get his breathing under control.

“Yeah,” he responded, his voice deep and hard.

Sara didn’t need the witchblade to tell her he was struggling to maintain his composure.

Gabriel watched her silently as she worked the buttons loose on his jeans. Sara found it difficult to let him watch her so intently, but she stubbornly avoided doing anything that might change his behavior. Much as she was tempted to lighten the mood by teasing him, she resisted. He was so serious, it was a side of him that she hadn’t seen much of and needed to consider. She also knew that she had a habit of shying away from the intensity of her partner’s feelings in a relationship. Not this time, she promised herself.

Once the buttons were undone, she hitched her fingers in the belt loops and drew the jeans down over his slender hips, letting her hands deliberately skim over the simple cotton of his boxer-briefs and down the lean flesh of his thighs. Tossing the jeans into the corner with his shirt, she tried to stand motionless before his scrutiny.

When he finally spoke, the tension in Gabriel’s voice let her know that she was glad she’d resisted teasing. “Why don’t you hop in and get warm?”

She nodded and carefully avoided touching the tiles on the walls as she slipped under the spray of the shower. God, we have so much to learn. Sara tilted her head back under the water and let the spray pound into her scalp. She felt Gabriel’s long slender fingers slide through her hair and trace down the length of her back. Hm, I didn’t even hear him get in, she noted. Her breath caught when she realized that his hands weren’t stopping their descent. They traced past the small of her back, over her tailbone, around the curve of her ass, and down the first few inches of her thighs before slipping away from her skin.

She glanced at him over her shoulder and the view made her vibrate pleasantly. Hmm, nicely developed arms, long slender fingers, straight shoulders, not too muscular, smooth chest. She grabbed his hands and wrapped them around her body to cup her breasts. He tried to move away, but her own hands were still covering his and kept them firmly in place.

" Mystical bullshit aside, I'm going to do this the old fashioned way; this is exactly where I want your hands RIGHT NOW. And if I hadn't agreed otherwise, I'd be fucking you against the wall."

Gabriel felt Sara's body shake with silent laughter as his undeniable reaction to her words pressed against the small of her back.

"Well, now that we know this is a completely mutual attraction, care to help me get showered?"

Wordlessly, Gabriel grabbed the bottle of shampoo, squirted some into his palm and began to work it into her hair.

He shook his head, "are you always this demanding?'

"I've never been accused of being a timid lover."

Blood sang hotly in Gabriel’s veins, "why do I suddenly worry that I'm in way over my head here?"

Sara’s hips moved against his in a manner that was both suggestive and enticing.

"You sure you still want to keep that promise?" she teased.

"No," he growled.

“Turn ‘round,” she ordered.

Gabriel threw her a smoldering look as he turned and deliberately put his palms against the wall, spreading himself like one of her perp collars waiting to be patted down. Sara was stunned by how strongly she responded to the correspondence. She knew cops who got turned on by checking out a perp before cuffing them. Oh this is definitely going in directions that none of my other relationships have gone before.

Shit.

Sara had to work hard to keep her touch efficient and business-like as she worked over Gabriel’s body with the soap. I'm guessing I’m not the first woman who’s overlooked him because of the baggy clothes. I wonder how many chances have passed him by? On the other hand, if this goes the way I hope, other women noticing him won’t matter any more. Sara had far too much distraction in the warm skin under her fingers to wonder at the serious tone of her own thoughts.
She looked him over critically, “anyplace I missed?” she teased invitingly.

“Tsk, tsk, Chief. Innuendo isn’t going to get you anywhere tonight.”

She laughed enjoying the verbal sparing that had always been part of their easy friendship.

“Let’s get that shampoo out of your hair,” Gabriel directed her under the shower’s spray so he could help her rinse.

I could drink the water off her body, he thought fervently as he watched the rivulets converge and flow between her breasts. Down Bowman, remember you want this one to last. There'll be plenty of time. He reached over to enjoy sifting strands of Sara's smooth hair through his fingers. She leaned back into his hands and let him do all the work. She certainly seems to be enjoying this at least as much as you are. He tugged Sara out of the spray, grabbed the bottle of conditioner, spread a portion of it out across his palms, and worked it in from the ends of her hair to her scalp.

"Are you always this meticulous? No wonder your hair always looks so good. You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Absolutely," he agreed happily, "how could I not be enjoying life when I'm sharing a naked shower with one of the most drop-dead gorgeous women I've ever met?"

Sara's skin flushed and she bit her tongue to hold back a defensive comment. With Gabriel, she found herself wanting to let him see her without trying to shape his view. She was eager to see a different person reflected back through the rich chocolate of his eyes. For the first time in her life, Detective Sara Pezzini was considering who she might be when not defined by her badge and the relic on her wrist.

Gabriel stretched fluidly letting his long body fill the space. He's taller than I'd thought. Seeing him stand straight with no awareness of her scrutiny, she realized that most of the time he stooped with his shoulders tight and his neck forward. I wonder if it’s the time in front of a computer or if he's subconsciously trying to be less noticeable in the world. I've seen victims at the precinct that looked like that; the ones who've been beaten one too many times. I really don't know a thing about his childhood, do I? All this time that we've been friends and I've never even asked whether or not he has a happy family somewhere out there. For all I know, he could have grown up with worse than what I got. Still, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to ignore that body again. God he's graceful. I doubt he knows how attractive he can be when he isn't trying to hide out. Guess we both try not to be noticed in our own ways.

A light touch on her cheek broke Sara from her contemplation.

"Serious thoughts?" he asked, a moment's hesitation in his voice.

We're both still feeling our way here. Is she having doubts about getting involved with me? He hated himself for letting it get the better of him, but Gabriel couldn't help the insecure voice that seemed to ride shotgun in the back of his mind when it came to Sara right now. No matter how many tiles the silent movies played in his head, he had never thought she would return his interest. Sure, the fantasies had been pleasant fodder on cold nights, but being faced with the reality left him feeling like the ground had shifted out from under his feet. Moment to moment right now, Bowman. Just let it be what it is and try not to get too lost. No sense losing your heart over her when things might still fall apart.

"I was just noticing how tall you are when you stand up straight. Did you realize that you usually don't?"

Her reply wasn't what he expected, but it only served to highlight how much they could still mis-read each other without the benefit of the witchblade sharing their thoughts and emotions.

"Huh," he replied thoughtfully, "you're right. My aikido instructor used to pound on me for it all the time so at least I stand straight when I'm in the dojo."

"Any particular reason," she fished. Intrigue made her wanted to learn the parts of him that she'd never considered before today.

"I hit this really fast growth spurt somewhere around my sophomore year of high school. It made me kind of clumsy for a couple years, which was why I started taking aikido. For a while though, I was all arms and legs. I don't think I really filled in all the way till I was close to twenty-three. By then, I'd learned to be comfortable in my own skin again thanks to 8 years in the dojo every week, but I guess I never quite stopped standing a little funny when I wasn't in front of a sensei."

She ran a hand lightly across the span of his chest from shoulder to shoulder.

"You should do it more often. Your body dynamics change pretty drastically when you're standing straight. And for the record, it shows off some of your, um, appealing attributes." She couldn't help but flush a little as she enjoyed the feeling of the wet warmth of his skin beneath her fingers.

He swallowed hard. That shower's gonna turn cold pretty soon and if she keeps this up, I'm gonna need it!