A/N: This contains spoilers for the episode "And How Does That Make You Kill?" (Season 7, Episode 3). Read with caution. Also, this is the most
T (PG-13) of all DuDe ships that I've written so far... consider yourself warned
Nothing to Lose by Josh Gracin (excerpt)
...Now I'm in the fast lane going 98
By now I know she can
Smooth operate me
I know she's no goody two shoes
But hey I got myself nothin' to lose
Chorus:
Oh yeah, by the way she moves
She's got me rolling in dirt in a white t-shirt
Breaker Breaker 1-9 she's a big ol' flirt
By now she's got me pretty tied up
Tied down, any way I chose
I got nothin' to lose **
My god, how does she do that?Eric had been lying in his bed for hours, contemplating the ceiling. In reality, the ceiling was not the center of his focus; in his mind, the silhouette of Calleigh Duquense as she turned from him smiling, her confident steps carrying her away from the lab that consumed him.
She had read his therapy file. The idea should have disturbed him... he should have been certain that his file was in his own stack to examine. Truly, there was no reason at all for anyone to read his file - he obviously was not the murderer. Ignoring that logic, though, he had let her read the notes... whether he had intended it or not was irrelevant now - it was done.
Ironically, the moment he had granted her such intimate access to his thoughts did not withhold sleep from him. It was their brief encounter that afternoon that kept him awake, every night, weeks later. She had him tied up, tied down - he didn't know which.
What does "We make a good team - I'll see you tomorrow"
mean? She knows how I feel about her - doesn't she? How does she feel about me?**
My god, how does he do that?
Calleigh could not stop her racing mind. Her thoughts felt like they had been in the fast lane for weeks. Night after night, a strenuous workout, a trip to the gun range, working extra hours on a case, everything she tried failed to slow her enough to yield a good night's sleep. So far no one had noticed, but he would... eventually.
She had read his therapy file. One look at his name and she should have dropped it, never cracked the cover. Truly, there was no reason for anyone to read his file - she knew as well as anyone that Eric Delko was not the murderer they sought. But she could not tear her eyes away, could not help but turn the page.
There was only one word to describe her encounter with him later that afternoon - uncomfortable. Not that her exterior wasn't a picture of typical Southern charm, but her insides were jelly... his smile turned her into jelly. She had danced around her attraction to him for years and now images of his muscled body invaded her dreams when she could actually fall asleep.
How did he invade me so deeply? What did he really mean that "It would be nice if it was Calleigh"
? Does he really feel that way about me? Why hasn't he told me himself?**
Eric rolled over in his bed, white tee riding up his side as it tangled with his sheets.
Enough is enough... this ends tonight. Reaching to the foot of his bed, he grabbed the gray sweats he had placed there when he crawled into bed hours ago. He grabbed his cell phone and keys off the night stand, laughing to himself as he replaced his badge and gun in the drawer - those would not be necessary for this errand.
**
Calleigh sat on the couch in the darkness, tank top and boxers hugging her frame as she nestled into the cushions.
I'm not sure how much longer I can let this go on. She didn't know what she wanted or how she would react when she saw him outside of the lab, but the waiting, the uncertainty was killing her.
**
Pulling his truck into the driveway, he took a deep breathe. All the lights were off in her house, but he was beyond worrying about waking his best friend up in the dead of night. This was more important than a few minutes of sleep.
He was surprised to see the hall light switch on and hear the lock turn after only a few seconds. He found himself wishing for more time to think as her curved silhouette appeared in the door.
'E-Eric? What's wrong? Did something happen at the lab?' Her questions tripped over one another as they spilled from what he now realized were perfect lips.
His eyes slowly made the journey from her slightly tousled hair, her wide green eyes and the curve of her mouth as she worried her bottom lip to the tight fit of her clothes as they grazed her sides, her hips, her legs. Hearing her questions at the back of his mind, he dragged his eyes back up her body.
'Calleigh... I...' He stopped.
No... no... I'm tired of talking.'W-what, Eric?'
He blinked - once, twice, three times - then he stepped with more confidence than he felt over the threshold and into her space.
**
For some reason she was not surprised to see him there, knew that he was the only one who would show up at this hour. Still, as she opened the door, his motives were a mystery and the almost tactile slide of his gaze down her body sent chills through her.
She forgot her manners and didn't invite him inside. He invited himself. He stepped into her space.
Calleigh felt her breathe leaving her as she was surrounded by his scent - cologne, sleep, rest and, well, just Eric. She looked up into his rapidly darkening eyes. Without conscious thought, she reached out her right hand to steady herself - grasping the front of his shirt in her small creamy-skinned fingers.
**
His breathe caught. She touched him. Calleigh Duquense had touched him.
Screw self-control.Mirroring her motion, he trailed his left hand lightly from her shoulder until it rested gently on her hip. She tightened her grip and he moved his right hand to cradle her other hip, pulling her closer to his body.
**
She could feel the heat of his body as he moved closer to her. She still couldn't breathe, but suddenly air didn't matter - there was only him.
His voice came to her as if from a distance, 'Calleigh?' She responded by raising her second hand to lie flat against his heart; the beating soothing her until her pulse matched his.
'I meant it, Calleigh... I was serious when I told my therapist about wanting my life to be with you. It was always you, Calleigh - only you.' His hands slowly crept up her sides until one rested below her breast and the other tangled in the hair cascading down her back.
She shivered lightly and finally took a deep breathe, raising her gaze to meet his eyes again. Slowly, confidently, she nodded and held him tighter against her body.
**
Well, here it goes. I've got nothing left to lose - she already has my heart. Breathing deeply himself, he edged even closer to her. Eric began to lower his head, slowly and steadily, until he was barely an inch from her sweet lips. He gave her the chance to back up, to push him away, but she didn't.
**
She raised to her tiptoes closing the final inches herself. She was just as tired of waiting as he was.
**
Once he tasted her, he couldn't hold back.
Consuming. There was only one phrase for what was between them -
too much clothing!