Olivia felt like the air was vacuumed from her lungs. Every muscle in her body went stiff. “Who is this?” she demanded.
The man on the line laughed. “Oh, shit! Is that Detective Benson?” He spoke like they were old friends, adding to their infuriation. “Wait, no. Lieutenant Benson. That’s right, it’s been a while since we last spoke. You really climbed those ranks, didn’t you?”
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Monday, October 31st, 7:15PM
Valeria was fifteen minutes early. She thought the traffic would be worse getting back. Would showing up at his door now make her look too eager? Should she wait at her apartment and be fifteen minutes late, or would that make her seem disregarding? If she was on time, it might make it seem like she was too coordinated for this.
At the end of it, she decided she was overthinking it, as she usually did, and went into her apartment to try to mask the stress of the day before heading to Rafael’s. And if Isabella was back home, give her a piece of her mind. But she wasn’t, and that gave Valeria the chance to put on her best cool demeanor while she changed into cleaner, more casual clothes. This was her first real date in over a decade. Rationality said there would be no date if Rafael didn’t already see something in her, but realism reminded her that he didn’t see it all. He saw what Valeria showed him, what she deemed safe to be seen. And it wasn’t much…
Valeria finished off her refresh with dry shampoo, her leather jacket in place of her blazer and jeans in place of slacks. She wasn’t a fan of the “professional” attire rule Liv had in place, but she also wasn’t in a place to question it or fight it. It really wasn’t a huge deal at the end of the day. What was a huge deal, was this first date. She’d almost forgotten it was her birthday until she walked into Rafael’s apartment and smelled the fresh meal he’d prepared.
Rafael poked his head from the kitchen, his smile the brightest thing in the room when he saw Valeria setting her bag next to the door. “Well, shit. You actually came,” he teased.
“Okay, well, if you’re gonna be an ass right off the bat, I can just go and have dinner with Liv and Noah.” She picked up her bag again.
Rafael laughed, setting the food to warm as he went to greet Val at the door with a glass of wine. “Put the bag down, and leave your attitude with it.” He placed a glass in one hand and took the purse from the other. “Leonetti Merlot, 2015.”
She hummed, taking a quick sniff before a sip. “Sounds expensive.”
He raised a brow. “And if it was?”
“I’d complain. A lot.”
“So, what I’m hearing is, never let you find gift receipts,” he summarized. “Thanks for the heads up.” Rafael chuckled as she rolled her eyes and brushed past him, watching her walk toward the kitchen. She moved more gracefully when she wasn’t drunk. Straighter, stronger. It formed a familiar knot in his lower belly. One that he had to actively remind himself to ignore, to not act upon. At least for now. “Arroz con gandules y lechón,” he explained the smell, following her into the kitchen. “Pasteles are still heating up in the pot.”
Valeria’s eyes widened as she looked back at him, her chest feeling warm as the swarm of butterflies got feistier in her belly. “You actually took the time to make pasteles?” That expectation wasn’t even close to being on her mind. At least not this soon into their… whatever they were doing.
Rafael walked past her with a guilty expression, grabbing the wine to top off her already almost empty glass. “For the sake of keeping you impressed and not tarnishing my reputation as an overachiever, we’ll say yes.” Store bought, but still quality made, in his opinion. He would have made them himself if he had the time, but he truthfully hadn’t expected her to accept his invitation to dinner, let alone agree to a relationship with him. He seemed confident on the outside, but honestly? He was freaking out just as much as she was. All of this was almost brand new, and he didn’t want to ruin it.
Valeria chuckled. “Trust me, your effort at all is impressive enough,” she assured, leaning back against the counter. Her stance changed, shoulders shrugging up as if she was trying to hide. She was timid, glancing down into the glass. “You really want to give this a shot, huh?” God fuck— Why did she ask? Why couldn’t she just let it be? Was it really that unbelievable that she could have something good?
It honestly almost broke Rafael’s heart that she had such a hard time accepting that she was worth the effort, but he understood how that doubt came to be. “I do,” he confirmed. “I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, but I’m willing to figure it out as I go, if you’re willing to be patient with me.”
Her smile grew gently. “I’m raising a teenager,” she reminded jokingly. “My patience isn’t a problem, it’s my sanity.”
“I’m guessing Isa finally got back to you?” He sipped his wine before setting it down to tend to the food being prepared.
“Nope, but we traced her phone. She’s at her crush’s house.” She fully expected the concerned looked Rafael gave her, sharing the same sentiment. “I know, but I also know Isa. She’s not gonna do anything stupid. Er… Well… Not anything stupider than what she’s already done.”
“As long as you’re sure,” Rafael encouraged, pulling open a cabinet for plates.
Valeria watched as he plated and served their dinner. How the fabric of his polo moved with his muscles, fitted to his contours. His grip tightening on the plate as it started to weigh heavier when more food filled it. And when he walked to the table… Lord, save Val from these sinful thoughts. Or don’t. “Fucking wild,” she thought out loud, biting her lip.
He glanced back, setting the plates down. “What is?”
“Hm?”
He noticed her eyes cast up to his from his hip region, grinning slowly. “You said ‘fucking wild’. What’s fucking wild?”
She shook her head, sipping her wine. “How when we first met, I wanted nothing more than to beat your ass,” she indulged, grabbing his glass and bringing it to the table. “You were just… so fucking arrogant and snide, walking around like you owned shit just because you’re good in the courtroom.”
“You know, when you talk like that, I get the feeling you still hate me,” he chuckled. Although, it was a very real concern he had, but tried to bury.
“I never hated you,” she admitted. “You just frustrated me. Still do, but for different reasons.”
Curious. “And what are those reasons?”
Valeria finished her second glass, setting it empty on the table before turning toward Rafael. One hand propped against the table while the other rest on her hip. “You’re still arrogant and a pain in my ass,” she said, though voice held a… certain undertone. Her eyes wandered over the features of his face. The hints of silver in his hair and beard, the tired lines from years of fighting in court. Seasoned, but refined. She inhaled a subtly shaky breath in an attempt to settle herself, her hand lifting from the table to straighten the collar of his polo. “But now it adds to your charm. I don’t want to fight you as much as I would rather…” A pause. Valeria bit her lip with a sultry grin. “Something else that starts with an ‘f’.” A quick little tug at his collar undid the loose top button. She left him with that, grabbing her glass as she went back to the kitchen to refill it.
Jesus fucking Christ. Valeria made it harder and harder for him to keep his hands to himself. No matter how much he tried to tell himself to keep it together, his body did the opposite, following her into the kitchen. He stood directly behind her, smirking when her breath hitched at his hands on her hips. “Are you trying to seduce me, Detective?” he asked quietly, lips brushing against her ear.
Valeria tried to keep her composure, but her hair standing on end gave her away. “Depends.” She leaned back against his chest, turning her face slightly toward his. “Is it working?”
She gasped in surprise when he squeezed her hips and turned her, backing her against the counter. The involuntary moan as he pressed his hips against hers deepened a blush on her cheeks. “You tell me,” he breathed, eyes staring hungrily into hers.
Restraint broken, Rafael gave into temptation, claiming Valeria’s lips with his own. Hardly a risk when she so eagerly returned the kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck, hands pushing through his hair. It was the same intensity as the first time, but they forced themselves to take their time, savor the feeling of each other under their hands, explore each other’s bodies, taste each other. No touch was a bad one, lighting every nerve on fire.
Dinner was long forgotten. The only thing on their mind was lust as they stumbled out of the kitchen and into the living room. “You know, I have a rule about not putting out of the first date,” Rafael teased through kisses, pushing Valeria’s leather jacket off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor.
Valeria chuckled, pulling the bottom of his shirt from the waistband of his slacks. “Well , excuse me, Princess,” she teased back, kicking off her shoes. “Should I stop?” The backs of her knees hit the arm of the couch and she let out a soft yelp as she toppled onto her back. She stared up at him, warmth pooling in her lower belly and between her legs in response to how he looked at her.
“Don’t you fucking dare.” Rafael pounced, laying himself atop Valeria, his hips settled between her legs. He was desperate for friction, grinding the strain in his pants against her, drawing a vulgar moan from deep in his chest as their kisses grew pornographic. This was not in the plan for tonight, but there was no way either of them would stop.
But perhaps they spoke too soon. Valeria’s phone started to ring in her purse, eliciting an irritated groan from her. “Déjalo,” Rafael begged, his lips trailing down her neck.
“No puedo,” she panted, despite her wanting to. His hands tearing off her clothes and his mouth on her skin begged her not to stop. “¿Y si es Olivia?”
“Puedes llamarla más tarde. Puedes culparme.” As enticement, he slipped his hand down the front of her panties, coating his middle and ring finger in her wet before pushing them inside her. “Por favor.”
His fingers inside her and his breathless pleading were electric, ripping a gasping moan from her chest. She drowned out her phone ringing long before it stopped, mind stolen into the moment. “Fuck, Rafa,” she whined, hands gripping tight on his shirt and in his hair. The lower he kissed down her body, the heavier her breaths came. She couldn’t help but watch.
Rafael wasn’t lying when he said this wasn’t something he would do on the first date, but he couldn’t help himself this time around. Every snippy remark Valeria made, every glare she cast toward him, the way she carried herself. The longer it went on since May, the more he wanted her. And the more he wanted her, the more he thought had to push it down. Until that past Friday, at least. He really couldn’t stop thinking about her body on his, her tongue in his mouth. He felt guilty, perverted when he imagined how that night would’ve gone if he hadn’t told her to stop. Even more so when he pleasures himself more than once at the thought.
But he intended to make a dream come true now, his hand leaving her core despite her protesting whines and removing the fabric that covered her. He tossed them onto the floor with her jeans and her shirt, marveling at her statuesque body laid open beneath him. “You’re so beautiful,” he praised, his hands gliding gently over her silky legs. He pushed her knees closer to her chest as he leaned down, laying soft kisses to her thighs, alternating as he dipped lower and lower, closer and closer.
Valeria’s head fell back, eyes shut as she reveled in the expert way his tongue danced over her clit. Sexual partners were far and few between, and when they did happen, it was admittedly nothing memorable. She never experienced what it was like to be pleased like this. They never really cared, but even if they had, she was positive nothing would compare to Rafael. Her hips rolled, begging for more, to which Rafael happily obliged by wrapping his lips around her clit. Valeria’s back arched, her moans louder, surely heard by neighbors through the walls.
Music to his ears. She was so much sweeter than he imagined, so much better. He shifted on his knees to adjust the hardness in the front of his pants. His cock twitched and throbbed, begging to be freed from its confines, pleading for pleasure. If only he cared about his own as much as he cared about hers. Or perhaps it was his name falling from her lips with breathless moans that did it for him, that could easily get him off. He released one of her thighs, slipping his fingers into her again to work in tandem.
The knotting core in her belly burned white hot. “Just like that, baby,” Valeria panted. “Fuck, don’t stop. I’m right there. I—“ Her orgasm cut her words short. She clawed at the couch for dear life as she toppled over the edge, shouting Rafael’s name in euphoric bliss.
It took pure willpower and a half to keep himself from cumming, but holy fuck, was it difficult. Her lust flooded, dripping down his chin and hand as he kept working his fingers, helping her ride out her orgasm. Her legs relaxed, Rafael carefully laying them down as he pressed kisses to her hips. “Good girl,” her purred against her skin, grinning as she twitched from each kiss, every nerve in her body ultra sensitive. “Should’ve figured you’d be a screamer.”
Valeria chuckled between heavy breaths, eyes glazed over with lust as she looked down at him. “Get your clothes off and I’ll show you just how loud I can be,” she challenged, pressing the top of her foot against his cock, strained in his slacked.
She didn’t have to tell him twice. He groaned sharply, his hips involuntary grinding down to add more friction as he sat back on his knees, pulling his shirt off in one fluid motion. “Yes, ma’am,” he rumbled.
•••••••••••••••
8:00PM
Fin had forgotten his phone at his desk, grumbling to himself in irritation as he was now forced to get dressed again to go back to grab it. Phoebe was sure to tease the almighty shit out of him when he got back. He passed by Olivia’s office, attention grabbed when he noticed the lights on. He peeked in to find her at her desk. “Hey,” he greeted in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Olivia looked up from her computer with a grateful sigh, taking off her glasses. “Dodds needed me to double check that Joshua Fletcher case,” she explained. “Said something about it felt off.” She gave a tired laugh at Fin’s offense. “I assured him you did everything right, but he insisted, so I’m just trying to give him a piece of mind.” But it could wait for now. She had her boy at home and she didn’t want to keep Lucy any longer than she needed to. “What about you? I figured you would’ve been in for the night.”
“I was until Phoebe pointed out that I left my phone,” he retorted, a little embarrassed.
Olivia laughed, standing from her desk to follow Fin out to his. “Fin, if you need a day, all you have to do is say so,” she assured. “You’ve been working your ass off, you deserve it.”
He waved a hand as he grabbed his phone. “Nah, I’m alright. You know me, I get antsy if I’m not doing something.” The phone buzzed in his hand, dropping his jaw just slightly when he read the caller ID. “Well, well, well.” He showed Olivia, who shared the same expression when she read the name. Isabella. Fin shook his head. “She’s got another thing coming if she thinks I’m not telling Val.” He and Olivia scoffed before he answered on speaker, Fin mentally praising God that he didn’t have any teen girls to deal with. “Girl, do you have any idea how bad your sister freaked out about you? First you skip your classes, then you don’t return anyone’s calls? Val’s gonna be pissed. You got a death wish or something?”
“Funny you should say that, Detective Tutuola.” The voice that responded was too deep to be Isabella’s. Too old. Too masculine. It wasn’t entirely familiar, but something about it pierced hard, making the detective’s and lieutenant’s blood run cold.
Olivia felt like the air was vacuumed from her lungs. Every muscle in her body went stiff. “Who is this?” she demanded.
The man on the line laughed. “Oh, shit! Is that Detective Benson?” He spoke like they were old friends, adding to their infuriation. “Wait, no. Lieutenant Benson. That’s right, it’s been a while since we last spoke. You really climbed those ranks, didn’t you?”
She in no mood for games, grabbing Fin’s hand that held the phone. “Answer me,” she demanded. “Who is this?”
He sighed. “I guess I wouldn’t be very memorable to you, huh? Val doesn’t really talk about me, does she? Not that I blame her. We had a… rocky relationship. I tried calling her so we could talk it out, but no answer.”
Connor Davis. If hell was real… Every horrible thought ran through Olivia and Fin’s minds. Isabella’s behavior started to make sense. It didn’t seem like her because it wasn’t her. Davis had her, and it was sickening to think of what could’ve happened to her in the last eight hours. “Where’s Isabella, Connor? Let me talk to her,” Olivia pleaded.
“No.” Venom laced his voice. He had nothing to hide anymore. Thanks to Valeria, the world knew what monstrous things he was capable of. If it was a monster they saw, a monster they’d get. “I have a message for my ex, and you’re going to make sure she gets it.”
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
A/N: First and foremost, I want to apologize for this chapter being two days late. I have a day job as a hairstylist, and with Thanksgiving being right around the corner, work has slowly been getting busier. On top of that, my creative writing has been lacking. It took me three days since posting Chapter 6 to even start writing Chapter 7, and even when I started, the creative thoughts just weren’t there. But I managed to finish it, and while I worry it’s not up to par with the first half dozen chapters, I hope you all enjoy it anyway.
All this being said, I will be taking a holiday break from writing. I absolutely intend to continue and finish Marked, but for now, I owe it to you all and myself to give you the best writing I have, which means I need to let my mind rest a bit and rejuvenate. The estimated time of my return can be expected on either January 6th, 2023 or January 13th, 2023. Until then, I actually wanna know your thoughts on what I have so far and what you think will happen! In comments, asks, DMs, however you want to make your predictions! This break would also give me a chance to interact with you all like I have really been wanting to.
Until the new year, my friends!
♥️ Georgie