The Guardian

"Now I am intrigued."

He ran his hand slowly over her leg, bending her backward, his arm behind her back and his face almost touching the soft skin of her exposed breasts, then he drew back, his grip changing and he was standing alone after having twirled her away. He looked at her, it was clear that this moment was one that had fired more than just her primal instincts and he had to admit that he felt just as much about her. The usual steps back to the partner was slow and paced, placing attention on her, he took these steps, but it seemed more like a stalking leopard than a strutting peacock.

He grabbed her arm and drew her back to him, their bodies flush against each other as the moved together, his hands sliding over her body, not the light touch that the trainer taught them, he was playing the same game that she was, his touches was not light, but intimate, drawing her to him, exploring her body like a lover would, his gaze held her own, it was clear that they had only eyes for each other, of course this was what the dance asked for, but the dance was not the real reason behind it all.

She grinned. "Good."

Her body's movements were like an offering, her hips a seductive beckon for his hands to explore. The questions in her earbud went unbidden. She would hear reprimands in the morning for losing sight of her focus, indeed, it seemed that one of the intended targets had been captured by Keller, but she was no longer paying attention to her job. She was too focused on him. For all intents and purposes their job for the evening was done. She dimly heard Danny say to allow her to enjoy herself, and that they were signing off, and would see her in the morning.

She was grateful to her partner, or would be when she came up for air. Santiago was more intoxicating than the wine she had to drink. His touch was electric on her skin, warming up her body in places long-thought cold and forgotten. Her gaze was not the demure conquest, but rather the bold woman 2ho knew what she wanted as she met him on the floor. She was challenging him to take what he had so king admired from afar.

The song ended and the two of them ended up close together, he could feel her breath on his neck and cheek,

"Now that is what I call a dance."

There was some sort of response from the audience, but he wasn't really focused on them just then. His eyes was focused on Cali and a smile slowly spread over his lips,

"Cali Rinna, you do know how to dance."

With that he took her hand, aiming to lead her back to the bar only to find his way barred by Kivan. The latter had a mocking little smile on his face,

"So you think that you can come here with your fancy pants and just take the ladies from the real men? I think it is time you leave pretty boy."

John sized up his opponent, found him not worth the effort and gave Kivan a mocking smile,

"You think that I'm pretty? I really take you for the type to like men Kivan."

This drew soft laughter from the audience,

"Tell you what Kivan, since you want me to leave, why don't we both go outside and see who gets to leave this party first?"

Kivan was by now bristling from the insults, the fun of having an opponent with a short fuse,

"Fine!"

Kivan shoved people aside as he headed for the exit, John whispered in Cali's ear,

"I hope on of your group is still out there, he will be confessing to a few things shortly."

He gave her hand a squeeze,

"I'll be right back."

Her chest heaved with the exertion in soft pants against his skin, her own skin luminous with the sheen of sweat. She resisted growling against his neck and laughed instead. "Thank you. So do you."

She chuckled as he led her to the bar, though when Kivan decided to step in and make his sore loser declarations, she raised an eyebrow. She discreetly turned on her microphone as she followed the group out. "Hold your place," she said softly.

"There's about to be an altercation, and I think one of the men will need a cool down in a county cell."

She heard the acknowledgement on the other end, and Trace slipped among the servers, seemingly as curious as everyone.

"Is this your doing, Rinna?" she heard in her ear. She couldn't help but laugh. "Mameri got his panties in a twist because Mr. Schreiner, that is the man I was propositioning for Dorian and dancing with, was decidedly much more desirable to Sabine, than his clumsy attempts at seduction. It turns out Schreiner bats for both teams and was attempting to get the assistant and the boss to play."

She chuckled. "If I do end up having to take the evening further, I'll let you know."

John followed Kivan outside, some of the patrons came outside as well, most of them curious as to what would happen between the two, underhanded bets was made, all in favor of Kivan as Kivan did seem the tougher of the two. Kivan turned and smirked at John,

"Now your smart mouth will not help you, I am going to prove to these people who the real man of power is here."

With that he lunged for John, John waited for him and suddenly twisted away, landing a playful slap on Kivan's posterior,

"Oh my, such a flabby backside you have Kivan. You sure you want to do this?"

He had raised his voice slightly, clearly mocking Kivan, laughter met his little theatrical, Kivan on the other hand had turned and started to circle him. John followed his movements and when Kivan came at him again he feinted a dodge, Kivan was expecting a dodge and he went in the direction John had feinted in. He rushed passed John once more and John just looked at Kivan's back with a quizzical look,

"He must be seeing double, that is strike two Kivan, come on darling keep up this performance and I will start to believe you have to compensate for something with all that talk."

He wiggled his little finger, the universal sign for a small penis, this time Kivan threw caution to the wind and as he stormed John, his hand whipped out a flick knife, the blade sprung out and flashed in a low thrust. John stepped to one side, his hand gripping the knife hand's wrist, his other hand slamming into the straight elbow, forcing it to fold and the knife met the shoulder of it's wielder, John took a step back and Kivan stared at the knife now lodged in his own shoulder. He turned to stare at John, John brushed at his jacket and gave a small smile,

"Never judge a man on stereotypes Mr Memeri, it never pays. Now usually first blood should end this little discord, do you wish to continue?"

Kivan yanked the blade from his shoulder,

"I'm going to kill you."

Kivan slowly approached, flicking the knife from one hand to the other, John fixed his eyes on Kivan's belt buckle, then when the belt buckle came at him, he blocked the knife, then in rapid succession landed two punches, one to Kivan's sternum and the other to the wounded shoulder. Kivan sank to his knees, gasping for air, John kicked the knife from Kivan's hand and stepped away. One of the "waiters" rushed close and yanked Kivan to his feet,

"That's enough of that, get out of here."

Kivan got marched away and an excited murmur went up from the crowd, John turned to them and dusted his jacket again,

"Well seems like I'll be staying at the party."

She watched the whole thing with an air of amusement. Kivan was never in any danger, and for the most part, neither was Santiago. She watched Trace bring Kivan to his feet and escort him off the premises. Watching her knight in shining armor return to her as she stood by the steps, made her smile. "Nice job, lady and gentlemen. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my game on." her voice was a murmur in the direction of her hair pin, and she reached over to unclip it, and pulled out her earbud, tucking both in the padded pocket of her clutch purse and moved in Santiago's direction.

"It seems I'm free for the rest of the night. Shall we continue?"

He gave her a smile as she approached him, her hair loose now and no outside interference as he had seen her slip off her surveillance equipment, he offer her his arm,

"I do hope they twist his arm a bit, he knows a few things worth knowing. Now I do believe there was some dancing and drinking promised at this party? I do think that I can feel some itching in my feet still..."

He paused to look at her,

"Or do you have another dance in mind?"

Her smile widened slowly as she gazed into his eyes. "You lead I follow for a change." She winked at him. To be honest watching him had been kind of a turn-on, and she felt her skin prickle with awareness of him and much more. "What would you like to do, Mr. Schriener?" She grinned at her use of his alias. "I can't say I'm not looking for some more intimate dancing. My requirements for this party are completed."

She brushed a hand across his lapel lightly. "And I believe that after all this a nightcap might be in order."

He was supposed to guard her, to watch over her, to be in the shadows...well...there was no better way to look out for her was there? He smiled down at her,

"Well then, if I can retire with the belle of the ball, it was worth slapping a big bully around."

He brushed over a loose strand of her hair, for the record he could plead partial insanity, blame all that naked skin and the flame of her eyes...those soft lips and the unspoken challenge, the challenge of him stepping up and being a man. He could not hide in the shadows now, he had played this hand and it was either go big or go home...

"That begs the age-old question...your place or mine?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Good point. If I say your place I get to figure out where you live." She grinned. "I'm a terrible detective, but I think I like a little bit of the mystery. How about we go back to my place? I"m sure you know where it is." She grinned. "That way you can retain some of that mysterious allure, and I can honestly say I don't know where you live if anyone ever asks me."

She took his hand and kissed it lightly, brushing her lips over the tips of his fingers. "You're supposed to be guarding me, or something right? How about an up close and personal look at what you're guarding? I can't guarantee I'll be in full form, tonight, given a few bruised ribs from yesterday's tussle in front of Fisher's, but I'm sure I can make it worth your while."

He brushed his fingers over her cheek,

"You are not a terrible detective, you have earned your position, of course my help just brought it to you sooner."

His hand slid down the curve of her neck and down her back,

"Your place it is and I never said that I am guarding you."

He grinned,

"But I will definitely accept that offer, you have a few answers to give me since you so liked to get me intrigued."

He could feel the heat of her body as she stood close to him, loved the velvety feel of her skin under his touch. The promise of more was an allure he was practically powerless to resist,

"Let me give you a ride at least..."

He chuckled at the double meaning of his words,

"You know what I mean."

She laughed. "I like guarding. It makes you sound less like a stalker." She grinned up at him. His touch was heat as he moved against her skin. "Hmmn you can give me a ride anytime. " she winked, showing that she understood his slip and wanted to tease him.
"So what would you like to know?" She asked as they moved toward the valey so she could send her car home, and she could climb into his.

He held his arm for her, apart from the heated moment, the obvious passion that existed between them still did not let him drop the more basic of gentlemanly behavior. His driver had already brought the car around, he waited for her to settle her arrangements and then opened the door for her, closing the door and getting in on his own side, giving the driver the address and leaned back into the seat, the partition raised between them and the driver,

"What I want to know..."

He looked at her with a smile,

"You did say that you've been wanting this for a while now, care to elaborate on that?"

She indicated for the driver of the town car to return qith her thanks to Dorian, then took a seat in the Rolls Royce, smiling at the interior. Her legs crossed, her hem riding higher along her thigh as she looked over at him.

She couldn't help but blush at his question. " Have you ever had a dream so elusive, that it creates a sort of wanting? I have known someone was watching over me for a long time. I remember now that I see your face, that you have been present in some way in so many of my life events. You were there when I graduated from the academy, and when my grandmother died, and when I was shot and was in the hospital for weeks. Your voice has provided tips on the tip line, and your whole presence has created an elusive dream... sort of lover figure person, a personal knight of sorts. You haunt my dreams at night, and echo in my waking thoughts, especially when I see your card. So... I romanticized you, I'm embarrassed to say."

Her face was deeply flushed, a flush that extended down to her chest as she admitted her hero crush on the man who had been looking out for her for years.

He nodded and smiled,

"I thought I had kept myself well-hidden, seems like you knew I have been around all this time."

He took her hand, slowly running his thumb over her knuckles, his other hand reaching out to stroke over her cheek,

"It is not always a good thing to place a person on a pedestal Cali. I am just human after all, I will never hurt or harm you, but the life I live might disappoint you at some stage and that is something I do not wish to do."

He drew her closer,

"There is another thing I wanted to know though, been wondering about it for a very long time now..."

He leaned down, his lips brushed lightly against her own,

"Think now is a good time to ask that question."

His lips pressed lightly against her own

She nodded. "I did, because I didn't know you. I didn't know who you were. To me you were more like a superhero than a man. Logically I knew you were a man, but the imagination, when left to its own devices, will make its own ideas. That ypu are just a man makes me admire you more, and yet keeps me grounded. That you may disappoint me I have no doubt. It is human nature. I am not asking to join your life, not because I may not want to, but because I know you don't want me to, and I have my life to lead. Let's just... let's just take it a moment at a time. We have tonight. Tomorrow we will deal with tomorrow. "

As his lips approached hers she smiled. "And what would that question be?" She met his lips with her own, pressing them gently, parring slightly to frame his lower lip.

His lips parted slightly, their kiss deepening as his hand slowly slid up her arm, the other slowly traveling down her back, drawing her even closer to him. He could feel the soft, warm press of her body against his own and he could not deny that he loved it. The fact that he had wanted this exact moment for so long did not bother him, he was used to just watching, to care from a distance. The truth was that he had done what his family had always avoided at all costs. He had grown to love his charge.

For so long he had thought that it would be an unrequited relationship, the he would have to watch her with other men and in the end would have had to find solace in the arms of another...things did not look as bleak anymore. He held the rather chaste kiss for some time and then boldly took the first step, he slid his tongue forward, teasingly stroked her lips, before entering her mouth.

She let out a soft sound in her throat as their kiss deepened. Her hand moved up his arm to his shoulder, then cradled his head, pressing herself against him. She kissed with her whole being her tongue moving gently against his, tentatively exploring and meeting his tongue with her own. She sought to tease, to entice, her breath soft. She had waited her whole life to feel the way she did at this moment, a sense of rightness, of coming home to something safe and yet exciting all at once. Scott Vernon could never give her this. Only /he/ could.

Their tongues slowly pressed against each other, tasting, testing, teasing, exploring like new found lovers. His hand slowly slid up her back, dislodging her dress from her shoulder, the material revealing more of her breast, his hand slowly sliding over her shoulder, pushing the material even further away, exposing even more. Ever so slowly his hand travelled down her body, his palm following the curve of her breast, his palm slowly caressing her nipple to cup the soft breast, his thumb seeking her nipple and slowly drawing circles over it as he held her breast in his hand and his tongue explored her mouth, his other hand resting behind her neck, the heated passion of the moment starting to show in clear evidence in his own body. There was no hesitation, for this evening she was his and he found that he loved that idea.

She moaned softly with his touch, her body arching, reacting. Each stroke of his skin against hers sent waves of heat all over her body.she wanted him like she had wanted no other man in her life. Her hand rested on his arm, while the other rested against his face and neck. The state of her dress was long forgotten as he pushed it down. Should anyone see her, there would be some bruising along her ribs. She didn't notice any pain, for he seemed to be the one who managed to soothe it all away.

His hand kept on stroking and teasing the hard nub of her nipple, their mouths exploring deeply, tongues entwining and rubbing together. His hand slowly slid from her breast, exploring her body further, tenderly touching her bruised ribs, slowly touching the plains of her stomach, coming to rest on her hip, the touch of material under his fingertips. Slowly his hand crept up her body again...as the car slowed down and turned into the parking area. He slowly disengaged from her, smiling at her as he tugged her dress back on to her shoulder, he captured her lips with another, more gentle kiss,

"To be continued."

He smiled and leaned back as her door opened, he gave her a wink and slid out on his side, he rounded the car,

"Don't wait James, I will be back in the morning."

The driver nodded and closed the door, John held his arm,

"Shall we?"

She sighed softly against his lips as his hands moved over her body, the heat of her skin igniting in the wake of each stroke. She almost let out a whimper of disappointment when the car stopped, but she gave him a a grateful smile as he helped her compose herself.

Smiling as he helped her out of the car, she took her keys from her purse and moved to the door, unlocking the way to her third floor walk-up. She looked over her shoulder at him, and deliberately moved her hips with each step, enticing him.

Pressing herself to the door as she unlocked it, she grinned up at him, before opening the door, and making her way to the kitchen, letting him lock the door when he entered. She glanced behind her as she bent to access the lower shelves of the refrigerator. "Would you like something to drink?"

He followed her and watched as she delibirately teased him, not that he needed much more teasing. He smiled at her and moved closer, his hands finding the exposed skin of her legs, gently stroking over her soft skin,

"I think that I'll have what you'll have, I'm quite assured that you have great taste."

His fingers was still busy exploring her silky smooth skin, he had of course felt it during their last dance, but a man could never get too much of a good thing.

She hummed softly as he touched her and grabbed two bottles of beer. "Not the most ladylike of drinks, but frankly, I can only take so much of those stuffed shirts."

She leaned back against him. "Hungry? We can always order in, or I'm pretty sure I have a pizza in the freezer." She was mildly peckish, but not overly so, and was more than willing to forgo eating for the sake of having him instead. She wasn't going to deny the basics of hospitality, however. Her grandmother would be most displeased even from beyond the grave.

He smiled at her choice,

"Beer will be perfect. To be honest I don't get to eat much, so I am not very hungry right now."

He looked around, took his beer from her and opened it as he undid his tie and undid the first two buttons. To be honest he knew the whole apartment, but he have never seen it this close and personal. He looked back at her,

"How about you? You haven't eaten since breakfast, perhaps we could share a meal?"

He frowned,

"OK that sounded stalkerish."

He took a swig from his beer and walked into her living room, looking around, taking in the ambience of the place. It had a homey feel to it, even though she wasn't home that much.