Heat of the moment (3/19)

Author- Midnight Faith

Spoilers- none

Distribution- FF.net, AOH, buffysearch.net and Neurotica… anyone else just ask :)

Pairing- Lilah/Lindsey

Rating-NC-17

Summary- Lindsey and Lilah are falling fast…

Disclaimer- they belong to the almighty Joss… I am but a child in his candy store

Dedication- To Bobbi who is one in a million

"You gonna finish that?" Lindsey asked Lilah the next morning at breakfast, gesturing to a half-eaten croissant on her plate.

"No…" she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Excellent." he leaned over to snatch the croissant away.

"God, Lindsey, you are such a pig."

"It's better than being anorexic."

She turned away from him, not allowing him to see he'd genuinely hurt her. Scolding herself inwardly, she realised forty eight hours of Lindsey had broken down her defence mechanism completely allowing her to feel emotions she'd previously blocked.

Robert and Patricia McDonald, Lindsey's mother and step father, both looked at each other warily across their kitchen table and then at their son and his guest.

"Right, I'm off to work." Robert said from his end of the table, uncomfortable at the tension in the room.

"It's just after eight," Lindsey pointed out.

"Yeah, and you know building sites… They don't hang around for anyone." he said quickly, kissing his wife goodbye before saying to Lilah, "Will you still be here when I get back?"

"I don't know," she said truthfully, glaring at Lindsey, annoyed he'd managed to keep a neutral expression and was completely non-reactive.

"Well if you're not have a safe journey home!" he told her, already half way out of the door, glad to be rid of the undeniable tension flooding the house.

"And I'm getting in the bathroom," Lindsey said, cutting an acidic look in Lilah's direction, as he began to walk up the stairs, "That's if there's any hot water left after your half- hour shower."

"Strained?" Patricia guessed with a smile, instantly warming to Lilah.

"You could say that." Lilah replied, forcing a smile in return, "I guess I should head back home today, in a cab."

"But it'll cost you a fortune! I insist you stay until Lindsey fixes your car. He's just very… stubborn."

Lindsey came back down the stairs and scowled at Lilah, saying,

"You actually planning to get dressed today?" he snapped, suddenly distrustful at leaving her alone with his mother. Actually, distrustful period, still unclear of Lilah's true motives for being there.

Choosing not to respond she slunk past him and up the stairs.

"That was a little out of line…" his mother gently chided, "You went all the way upstairs only to come back down and yell at her…"

"She makes me crazy." Lindsey said tiredly and defensive.

"You like her…" Lilah heard Patricia state as she reached the top stair.

On instinct, she made the split second decision to sit down and continue listening to their conversation.

"I don't like her…" Lindsey said, "She's pushy, she's manipulative, shallow, conceited, self centred… you want me to go on?" He heard the words fall from his mouth, though he felt like he was lying to himself.

"She's also courteous, interesting, well adjusted, entertaining, beautiful… for every bad point she has a good. She's so normal… she's like none of your other girlfriends." Patricia said, a little purposefully.

"She's not my girlfriend and normal? You're kidding…" he snorted, "If any she's sub-normal, she irritates me just by breathing!" he said, crossing his arms, frustrated.

"Well, you'll have to take her to work with you." Patricia pointed out, believing firmly they needed a little time to work things out.

"No way." He said, realising they'd probably kill or at least seriously maim each other if forced into an enclosed space for hours on end.

"Well, then you can leave her here."

"No!" He said quickly, reminded of his distrust.

"You don't trust her?"

He sighed, contemplating the idea for a moment.

"Fine, I'll take her to work with me."

"The dog too."

"I'll go tell her…"

Lilah froze as she heard him approach the stairs, self-conscious at the fact he'd know she'd been listening and therefore giving the impression she actually cared.

He paused on reaching the stairwell, surprised to see her sitting there, though no annoyance nor anger was evident in his face. He looked at her for a moment before saying,

"You're coming to work with me OK?"

His voice was soft, as he advanced towards her offering his hand, which she accepted without thinking. He pulled her to her feet, holding her hand a beat longer than necessary…

*****

"I'm bored," Lilah sighed from the old, hessian clad sofa in the garage.

Lindsey sighed with exasperation and looked at her in contempt from underneath the hood of her car.

"Well listening to you whine for the whole five minutes we've been here's not exactly my idea of a good time either. Take the dog for a walk." He said, desperate to get her away for a few minutes, so he could collect his own thoughts.

"He's asleep."

"Make me a coffee then." Lindsey said nonchalantly, knowing it would get a rise out of her. At least it would be something new to pass the time.

"I don't think so. I'm not your secretary." Lilah bit back annoyed.

"You’re really unpleasant, you know that?"

"I've had enough," she said, standing and snapping, "I'm completely at the end of my tether!"

"That makes two of us." He whispered.

She breezed past him, heading for the double doors.

"Where are you going?" he yelled, following her.

"I don’t know…" she said, still walking.

He grabbed her arm, being careful to avoid her bruised wrist, pulling her towards him, to kiss her.

She took a few seconds to return his kisses, threading her hands in his hair, but melting nevertheless under his touch.

Eventually, she pulled her mouth away from his to catch her breath, resting her face, against his neck and breathing in the distinctive scent of his cologne, bringing back fond memories. She allowed the past year to dissolve away and time to wind backwards to when they'd been together, really together before any of the trappings of everyday life had forced a wedge between them.

Neither of them spoke, their bodies still comfortably locked as he gently began to kiss her neck, his hands running tenderly up and down her back.

"Get more comfortable?" he asked her eventually, a little breathless.

She nodded as he led her over to the sofa, sitting down beside her, as she wove her arms around his neck, bringing her lips to his passionately.

"Wait…" he said, pulling away from her, still allowing her to plant light kisses on his neck, "What are we doing?"

"Again…" she said, between kisses, "You started it… this is your thing… I'm just here for the ride…"

She pulled him back against the sofa and then from underneath him whispered in his ear,

"Come on Lindsey… I know you're dying to…"

"Fuck you," he said, as she traced her tongue around the shell of his ear.

"That an invitation?"

"After dinner at a restaurant?"

"Are you on something?" she asked, moving her mouth back to his neck, "I'm not wearing a chastity belt… I don't need dinner and a movie and 'I really like you…' I'm down with screwing here…"

"I'm not… this isn't right," he said moving off her, "I can't treat you like this."

"You used to… I thought we were slipping back into old ways here… I kinda liked it…" She said, giving him a lascivious smile.

"I didn't… Yeah I wanna fuck, everyone in Oklahoma's a little inbred and no-one's got legs like yours… but dinner… and a movie…"

"Nothing romantic."

"Austin Powers is playing in town as part of their mid nineties film festival…"

"I hate Austin Powers." She pouted.

"See, just like old times. We're disagreeing," he said, leaning forward to kiss her once on the lips…

*****

He watched her swirl the double amoretto in the glass before downing it in one quick swallow.

As Lilah set the glass back down on the table, her nails glimmered frosted pink in the candlelight and Lindsey couldn't help but smile at her, seeing her looking so sensitive in the candlelight.

"What? She asked him; barely allowing her own smile to cross perfectly glossed lips.

"Nothing," he told her, taking a sip of his orange juice.

"No… what?" She asked, self consciously annoyed.

"I'm just… watching you…"

"That must be fascinating." she cut dryly, switching back to her fifth glass of wine, hiding the fact she was flattered by his fascination.

"You drink like a fish, Li," he stated, with a hint of affection.

"Firstly, I drink bourbon by the bottle nowadays and secondly, Li?"

"Yeah, I thought now we're kissing buddies we might be into shortening territory…"

"Right, *Linds,* " she said, rolling her eyes, "Someone domesticated the hell out of you."

"Maybe," he said, reaching out unexpectedly over the table to hold her hand, "Does this mean I get a dance?" He asked softly, in an attempt to melt her.

She contemplated the idea for a second, seeing all the other couples on the dance floor were too absorbed in each other for her to feel really self-conscious.

Gently and purposefully, she circled around the table, offering both her hands, which he accepted feeling suddenly cautious. They were both nervous at their new-found affection for each other, free of distractions and allowed to focus completely on each other.

He held her hand all the way down to the dancefloor as they stood and a little uncomfortably wove their arms around each other.

Neither spoke for a full minute as they swayed in quiet time to the Counting Crows, 'Colorblind.'

"Isn't this the song in Cruel Intentions the first time they screw?" he asked lightly in her ear, shaking with anticipation at where they were heading next.

"Second time," she corrected, "The first time is just a dramatic score. It's a good movie."

"Thought it would be a little too close to home for you… with you being Kathryn and all…"

"And you're Sebastian…"

"So which are we? Sebastian and Kathryn or Sebastian and Annette?"

"Well I'm not sweet, I'm not a virgin, I don’t care about you… but on the other hand I'm not looking to use a feather as a sex toy."

He pushed his mouth against her neck and groaned softly.

"I want you…" he admitted in an unprecedented burst of honesty.

She trembled against him, he couldn’t tell if it was from fear or excitement.

She couldn't tell either. It felt good to have him crave her but also it scared her like nothing ever had before. She feels his desire. Not just physically, radiating off him in powerful waves. Part of her wanted to melt in the heat. Part of her wanted to run like hell out of there.

He loosened his grip on her, feeling sudden guilt.

"But we don't have to, we could just talk…" he reassured her skittishly, wanting to be chivalric.

"No," she told him, the thought of talking terrifying her even more, especially when it hit her he might genuinely care about her, "I want to…"

He smiled and kissed her with an amazing amount of reassuring power. She absorbed the power deeply and felt a little bit healed by it but also threatened at the hold he had on her.

"But first one more dance," he said as the song shifted.

She relaxed slightly against him, though he barely felt it. She knew they were straying from the routine… and Lilah who lived for routine thought it felt OK. She leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes as he held her tighter and allowed his warmth to radiate over her. They were falling fast… neither of them resisted.