Wicked Game
Parts 7-12

Part Seven

Krycek lit the candles and stepped back, admiring the table. Perfect, he decided. Not too much, but just enough to show Scully that he knew it was a special night.

She probably wasn't aware that he knew it was her birthday. And if this date had fallen before her trip, he probably wouldn't have done anything about it. But in the eight days since she'd come back, things had changed.

Though they didn't have sex every night, it was more frequent now. She was more open about the whole thing, and while she still couldn't or wouldn't give voice to what, specifically, she wanted, it seemed that she was no longer in denial about wanting and liking the sex.

He had made a few concessions, too. He tried to give her a little more private time, and had laid off the mindfucks. That put a temporary crimp in his overall plan, but he figured it was worth it. Better to lull her into complacency now; it would make later mindfucks easier and less noticeable.

This dinner was technically not a mindfuck. After all, it was her birthday, and she was entitled to a celebration, something nobody else in her life was likely to give her. His options were rather limited, but he did the best he could. He'd taken more trouble than usual with the food (surfing cooking websites until he found a gourmet recipe he thought she'd like), and was prepared to let Scully do what she wanted afterwards, no questions asked. If she wanted him to go away, he would. If she wanted to have sex, he'd let her dictate how it went, no matter what she wanted. He would make sure that everything that happened was focused on her pleasure.

Maybe it was a mindfuck after all...

"What's all this?"

Krycek, momentarily startled, turned to find Scully standing behind him. "Happy birthday," he said, planting a friendly kiss on her cheek.

"Ohh..."

While he was no expert on birthday etiquette, Krycek knew that was not the customary response to that phrase. "Thank you very much, Alex. I'm so glad you remembered," he prompted her.

"What? Oh..."

There was that sound again. "Something wrong, Dana? Got the date wrong, didn't I?"

"What? Oh, no... how'd you know?"

"Nefarious research, of course," he said, neglecting to mention that he'd sneaked a peek at her driver's license. "Now come on, sit down. Your celebratory dinner awaits."

"Um... Alex? I hope you didn't go to too much trouble..."

"I know it's not much, but it probably wouldn't be smart if we went out --"

"It's not that," Scully said, stepping back a little. "I'm not staying for dinner."

"You're not staying." She shook her head. "Work?"

"No, I'm going out to dinner. Mulder and some other people kind of arranged a little party..."

"Party." He had no clue why that idea should piss him off so much, but a sudden, surprising anger welled up inside him. "Party? And you didn't even think to call?"

"For what? You honestly think you'd be invited?" she shot back.

"You might've thought that I might make some arrangements myself --"

"I didn't even know you knew it was my birthday!"

"Well, I do, and for your information I did go to a lot of trouble. I had plans for tonight, and you didn't even think to call and tell me you wouldn't be here!"

Some little part of him realized he sounded completely irrational, but he didn't care. So much for all the efforts he'd made since her trip. None of it mattered. The thoughtless bitch was just using him. "What the hell made you think I wouldn't want to do something today, huh?"

"We don't have that kind of relationship," she said quietly.

"Relationship, hell! That's just common courtesy!"

"So now I'm supposed to check in with you every hour on the hour?"

"Who said anything about checking in? All I ask for is a simple goddam phone call when you know you're not going to be here. Is that so much? Especially when there's the outside chance when I might've had something nice planned?"

"Fine," Scully said flatly. "I'll have to remember to take my crystal ball to work so I can tell when you've got something planned." She turned and began to move away, but Krycek grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"You're going to blow me off twice in one night?" he hissed, even as something inside him screamed at him to just let it go. He might have, but he'd obviously been letting too much go lately. Control had to be reasserted.

"Get your hands off me!" She pulled her arm away from him but he didn't let go. "Or are you going to hurt me and call it another lesson?"

He immediately let go, but she didn't turn away. She remained there in front of him, breathing hard, glaring at him, eyes blazing, face flushed with anger, and Krycek was stunned to feel a rush of heat in his groin. He had a sudden, almost uncontrollable urge to kiss her, touch her, fuck her right here on the floor and make her forget about her dinner plans; to take care of his own needs for once without having to think about hers. It took every ounce of self-control he had to not do that; to take a step back and rein in his temper. Giving in to it had already gotten him in trouble once; he knew if he let it happen again it would spell the end of the deal.

Head down, he took a few deep breaths, until he felt he could trust himself to look at her without touching her. He looked up again to find her in the same position, seemingly waiting for him to make a move. He forced himself not to. Instead, he spoke.

"Look, you may not like this situation, but it is what it is and it's not gonna change any time soon," he said. "I've tried to make this deal tolerable for you. I've made concessions I didn't have to make. I've done a lot of stuff I didn't have to do. And I've done it all, in case you didn't notice, for you."

"Don't do me any favors!" she spat.

"You could at least acknowledge the effort!"

"Why? I never asked you to be here. I never asked you to do anything for me. I never asked anything of you, so don't expect me to be grateful!"

"You couldn't be anyway, could you?" Krycek seethed. "Makes it harder to lie to yourself that this is just about sex."

"It *is* just about sex!" Scully shot back. "Stop trying to make it into something it's not and can't ever be!"

She spun around and stalked off toward the bedroom. Krycek followed, but stopped when she slammed the door in his face. He waited, debating what to do next, until the bedroom door opened again. Scully, in different clothes now, stepped out and thrust a familiar package in his face. "What's this?"

Krycek bit back the nasty comment that came immediately to mind. "A birthday gift," he said.

"Birthday gift," she repeated. "And what makes you think I'll accept any kind of gift from you?"

"You already did --"

"That was different," she said quietly. "I presume this isn't deal- related?"

"Oh, come on, it's just a damn birthday present! Can't you just shut up for once and open it?"

"Hmph." Scully eyed the small package. "I suppose I'll have to so I know where to return it, right?" She tore the paper off, opened the box, and held up the velvet box inside. He watched as a strange look came over her face and he thought she might throw it at him right there, but she slowly opened it.

She didn't say anything; just stared at the box.

Her reaction was unsettling. Anger he could handle. In fact, the way this evening was going, he expected it. Silence, he couldn't handle right now. "Well?" he asked tentatively.

Scully looked up at him, that odd expression still on her face. "I can't... I can't accept this..."

"Why not?"

"I just... it's not right..."

Krycek sighed. "They're just earrings, Dana. Birthstone earrings. I don't know what kind of meaning you're reading into that, but there's no hidden message here. Just earrings."

She snapped the case closed and handed it to him. "I can't take them."

"Why the hell not? Didn't we go through this already?"

"It's too much, Alex," she said wearily. "Don't you get it?"

"Why don't you explain it to me?"

She checked her watch. "I'm late already. Just return those, please? You shouldn't have bought them."

He couldn't let her leave like this. "Dana --"

"I'm leaving, Alex." She moved past him into the living room and scooped up her bag and coat. "Think about it and maybe you can answer a question for me when I come back. How am I supposed to call and tell you I won't be home when we agreed weeks ago that you wouldn't answer my phone?" With that, she was gone.

The sheer logic of her question sapped all the anger out of him. She was right; he was being irrational. What was it about her that made him behave that way? It seemed to happen every time she did something counter to his carefully constructed plan. But Scully was an intelligent, independent woman. He couldn't really expect her to cater to his every whim, could he?

Krycek moved slowly into the bedroom and dropped the earring box on her dresser. "Sure," he muttered to himself. "Happy fucking birthday."

Scully slipped into the apartment at just past 12:30 and found it dark. She'd been expecting Krycek to wait up for her, but was relieved that he had gone to bed. She didn't want to talk about his gift or their fight, and if she could put it off for a while, so much the better.

She moved quietly into the bedroom, noted Krycek's still form in the bed, and then moved on to the bathroom. Trying not to wake him, she managed her preparations for bed without too much trouble, although she did drop the toothpaste tube noisily into the sink, and slight dizziness made her stumble into the towel rack on the wall. <It's always the last drink that gets you,> she chided herself as she left the bathroom.

She realized she must have made more noise than she thought when Krycek yawned, stretched, and opened his eyes. "Hi," he said. "Have a good time?"

Apparently he'd gotten over their argument. She felt a little guilty over that, but if he was willing to ignore it for now, so would she. "Yes, very good," she sighed as she slipped into bed beside him. "I spend so much time down in the basement working on those cases nobody else will touch that I sometimes forget I have friends elsewhere in that building. It was nice to see them tonight."

"That's good."

"You should find this amusing... it seems that Mulder's recent speculations about my private life have spread. I lost count of how many people asked me tonight where my boyfriend was."

She heard a soft laugh. "What did you tell them?"

"That he was home, sick in bed."

Another chuckle. "That's it, feed their fantasies. Should keep 'em busy for days." Krycek settled deeper under the covers and she thought he was going back to sleep, but after a few minutes she heard his soft voice again. "Dana, why won't you accept my gift?"

<Oh, shit.> She glanced over at him and found that he hadn't moved. He was still lying on his side, his back to her. That was probably a good thing; at least she didn't have to deal with those hypnotic green eyes this time. "It isn't... proper," she stammered, trying to gather her thoughts. Her head felt much too swimmy to have this discussion. "This is a business deal. We have a business relationship."

"Does Mulder give you birthday gifts?"

Scully glanced at the earring box on the dresser, thinking of the Apollo 11 keyring that Mulder had given her. "No, he never has." Feeling a small measure of satisfaction that she'd ruined his point, she wasn't prepared for the next question.

"You already accepted a much more intimate gift. Why do you have such a problem with this one?"

Blindsided by the obvious question. "I accepted that under duress, remember."

"I didn't make you take it. You chose to. And you chose to wear it."

What could she say? She had. And it was quickly becoming her favorite lingerie.

"Did accepting that gift have a satisfactory outcome?"

She closed her eyes and let her mind drift back, seeing herself dressed only in the bra and panties he'd given her, straddling him on the sofa, rubbing herself against the growing bulge in his jeans... She shook the thought out of her head, but the flood of warmth the memory had brought to her lower body stayed. "Yes."

"So what's wrong with this one?"

"In some ways the earrings are a much more intimate gift than the lingerie..."

"How so? Please, educate me."

"Well..." She glanced over at Krycek again and found herself studying the soft, downy hair on the back of his neck. "In a normal relationship, that's the kind of thing a man gives his girlfriend or wife for her birthday. There's some... feeling behind it..."

A soft laugh. "Dana, are you asking me how I feel about you?"

"Well, no, but... I..." Her voice trailed off as she realized that that was exactly what she was asking. Was this strictly a business deal for him? Or was he just messing with her head again?

"Did it ever occur to you that you might be reading too much into this?" he asked.

Was she? "It just seems like the kind of gift a man gives to someone he has an emotional attachment to..." <That was so lame. I'm probably playing right into his little head game...>

"And I'm not allowed to take even the smallest liberties in this relationship even though we're having sex?"

Sex. The magic word. The perfect way to make him forget this discussion... "No, you're not. We have a business relationship." Some business relationship...

Krycek sighed. "I'm sorry if I offended you, but sometimes a pair of earrings is just a pair of earrings."

Sex wasn't only the way to make him shut up. It was also, she realized, exactly what she wanted. What she'd wanted all evening. What she needed now that the memory of the lingerie encounter had aroused her. Scully turned on her side and pulled herself close to him. "And I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I don't want to think about that anymore," she purred in his ear. "There's something else I'd much rather think about." She slipped her hand inside his boxers and gently stroked his penis.

He gasped at her touch and arched into it. "I like the way you think," he sighed.

She kissed that soft hair at the back of his neck before moving on to suck on his earlobe. "Know what?"

He moaned softly as she circled his organ with her hand and started long, slow strokes up and down its increasing length. "What?"

"I've had sex on my birthday exactly once in my life," she murmured, nipping at his neck. "With Jack Willis. And that was probably only because we shared the same birthday and he wanted it."

"So I take it this is only round one?"

"Oh, yeah. It's *my* birthday. You're not going to be the only one who comes."

He thrust into her hand, so she moved it and started to gently play with his balls instead. He drew in a ragged breath and let it out slowly, then rolled over onto his back. "You won't actually be having sex *on* your birthday," he reminded her, placing his hand over hers and moving it where he wanted it.

"Okay, *for* my birthday." She reclaimed her hand from him and slid off first his boxers, then his t-shirt, before returning her attention to his penis. She gently circled the tip, making him buck again, then gathered the secretions on her finger and drew a line with that finger up his body to his chest, where she started toying with one nipple. "You're not going to make me beg on my birthday, are you?"

He suddenly rolled her over so that she was on her back and he was on top of her. "Now, would I do that to you?" he teased.

"Yes."

"Think you know me, don't you?" He leaned down and kissed her deeply before slipping her pajamas off and moving to kneel between her legs. "Okay, I promise, no begging tonight. Let's see how ready you are..."

Suddenly she felt two fingers stroke briefly between her legs before they slipped inside her. She moaned and arched up to meet his hand, dangerously close to coming just from that. "Ready," she gasped, "but you can do that for a while if you want..."

His fingers withdrew, but nothing else happened. Scully opened her eyes to see Krycek looking at her, a wicked gleam in those green eyes. "What?" she asked with some trepidation.

"You up for something a little different tonight?"

<Uh-oh.> "Different?"

"Nothing scary, birthday girl. Just... a slight variation on an old theme. I think you might enjoy it. In fact, let's call this another birthday present."

"Um... okay, I guess..."

"Good girl. Trust me, you'll like this," he said, lifting her right leg and draping her foot over his left shoulder. He positioned her left leg similarly over his right shoulder, raising her pelvis off the bed and tilting her into a rather uncomfortable position.

"Alex? What are you doing?"

"Expanding your horizons a little. I know it's uncomfortable, but I bet after a while you won't care..." She felt the tip of his cock resting against her entrance as he laced his fingers through hers and pushed her hands into the pillow on either side of her head. It briefly occurred to her that this was just about the first time that he'd touched her with his left hand, and she wondered why that was. His left hand felt virtually the same as his right... except that the left hand didn't sweat.

Needing to feel him inside, she tried to arch upward, but found that she had no leverage. Ordinarily she knew he'd let her twist in the wind like that for a few minutes, but this time, true to his word, he responded to her cue and eased himself slowly inside her.

She gasped softly, reveling in the feeling of him stretching her, filling her... and then she felt something else. She cried out at the jolt that started deep inside and emanated throughout her whole body; not quite an orgasm, but something slightly different... "Alex?" she asked when she could breathe.

He smiled down at her. "Looks like we found one of your secret hot spots. Can't find those without going really deep. Feels different, doesn't it?"

"Different," she breathed, squeezing him and noting that he was deeper inside her than usual. Quite a lot deeper, she thought. "Good. Wonderful. More?"

"Your wish is my command," he said, and began moving in a slow, deliberate rhythm.

She squeezed his hands and let herself drift, relishing the friction inside and the slightly different sensations that his deeper penetration provided... when he stopped moving.

"Forgot to observe the most important propriety, didn't I?" he said in response to her unspoken question. He took a deep breath and, in a slightly husky tenor, started to sing. "Happy *birth*day to *you*..." He started to move again, his rhythm matching the pace of the song, the words slightly more pronounced with each inward thrust. "Happy *birth*day to *you*... Happy *birth*day, dear *Da*na... Happy *birth*day to *you.*"

And on the last note, with the deepest thrust, she saw stars and felt her insides explode with a deep, volcanic orgasm. Clutching his hands hard enough to hurt him, she cried his name as the spasms tore through her, the sensation spreading out to every nerve ending in her body.

An eternity later, as the last spasms of the orgasm rippled through her, she was surprised to find her voice. "You sing very well."

"Thank you. Veteran shower-singer, y'know."

"I've never heard you sing in the shower."

"Of course not. You're not usually around when I'm in the shower."

"True." She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling, idly wishing she had a mirror there. She wanted to see this position, see the look on her own face as he kept up that slow, deliberate thrusting. Wanted to see him move, that nice firm ass...

<Where the hell did that come from? Oh, hell, admit it to yourself already, Dana. Does it really take alcohol to make you acknowledge that this man fucking you is amazingly attractive?>

It took a moment for her to realize that he was speaking to her. "I truly am sorry about the earrings, Dana," he said. "I never meant to make you uncomfortable. They really are just a birthday gift. No strings attached. I mean it. It never occurred to me that you'd take it any other way."

Uncomfortable as this position was, there was definitely something to be said for it. With the deeper penetration he was hitting spots he didn't normally hit. Seriously responsive spots... "Hey, what were you doing while I was gone, watching our video? You don't usually last this long unless you already came at least once."

He laughed softly. "Maybe I just have more self-control than you think."

She laced her fingers more firmly through his and squeezed tightly as she felt the exquisite pressure building inexorably inside her again. "What would it take to make you lose that control?" she wondered aloud.

He thrust a little harder, a little deeper, and fireworks exploded behind her eyes as she came again, almost as explosively as the first time, the waves of pleasure shooting from her groin right up her spine to her brain. He leaned in close, bending her into a very uncomfortable position with her knees practically in her ears, and kissed her, gently exploring her mouth with his tongue. Her wordless cries of pleasure were lost in his kisses.

"Truth be told," he whispered, "I could've come in my pants watching you masturbate."

He leaned back, unbending her and letting her catch her breath as he continued that deliberate stroking. "Pig," she said, when she could speak again.

"Don't you know that's every guy's secret wet dream? Well, one of 'em, at least."

"That's why you tortured me so much that night?"

"No... I teased you because it's fun."

"I hate you, Alex."

He gave a few more harder, deeper strokes. "Want me to stop, Dana?"

"No," she sighed. "Oh, God, no."

"Wasn't it worth it?"

"Yes, yes, every minute. Do that aga--" Her words lapsed into soft moans as a small orgasm gently rippled through her lower body.

"I do so much for you Dana," he purred, "and all you can say is you hate me. Very sad state of affairs, wouldn't you say?"

"Alex?"

"Hmm?"

"Why does watching... er... that... turn men on so much?"

"Never really thought about it. Just a guy thing, I suppose. But it does serve another purpose, at least for some of us. Research."

"Research?"

"Gives us some idea what you like."

She thought back, at least as much as her pleasure-fogged brain would let her. "But you didn't use anything you might've seen me do..."

"That doesn't mean I didn't file it away for future reference. Besides, it's kind of fun showing you new things that you might like even better..."

<He's not even close yet. How the hell can he do this? People talk about having sex for hours, but I never really believed them...> "So what's the other secret fantasy?"

"You don't need to know that. Besides, you wouldn't do it anyway."

"Why? Just how perverted is it?"

"Look through Mulder's video collection sometime. See if you can figure it out."

"How do you know it's in there?"

"Saw the collection. It's represented in there. Heavily."

He suddenly changed his rhythm, thrusting harder and faster now, giving her what she'd wanted all evening. She tried to move with him but her position wouldn't allow it; she could only change the angle slightly, letting him drive even deeper inside, almost impossibly deep. She was moaning loudly now, waves of ecstasy overwhelming her body and her brain until she thought she'd explode, knowing she would if he didn't finish soon. She'd come enough times already she was sure she couldn't anymore, but she did; one more explosive, shattering orgasm accompanying his last deep, savage thrust. Half a second later she heard him groan and finally felt him come; felt his warmth spurting deep into the very heart of her.

He recovered first, slowly sliding his softening organ out of her while slipping her legs off his shoulders and back onto the bed. She was glad he did that; her limbs felt like they weighed a ton and she wasn't sure she could move them. He settled next to her, head propped on hand, watching her.

Gradually her breathing slowed down and she was able to speak again. "I like that position," she murmured, suddenly very sleepy. "I came a lot."

He laughed softly. "You certainly did. So tell me, was that worth waiting 33 years for?"

"Mm-hmm. Definitely."

"Y'know, you should go out drinking more often. Alcohol has a most interesting effect on you..."

She opened her eyes and glanced over at him. "It does?"

"Don't worry, it's a good effect." He cupped her face and kissed her gently. "Happy birthday, plamennaya malyishka."

Scully found herself humming as she dressed for work the next morning. For once in her life, she'd had a really good birthday, that little fight with Krycek notwithstanding. There was a party (a rare occurrence for her) and birthday sex (an even rarer occurrence). There was even the standard deal-related disk, with a gift bow stuck to it. She had to smile at that. Maybe it was only her good mood, but it seemed a very sweet gesture.

She picked up the disk from the dresser and found the earring box underneath it. She stared at the unopened box for a while, then opened it and stared at the earrings themselves. She had to admit that Krycek had good taste. First $300 silk lingerie, now tasteful birthstone earrings. Very pretty earrings too, with deep, dark amethysts and small, unobtrusive diamonds. Again, the type of thing she'd buy for herself if she were going to splurge.

After a while, she lifted her eyes from the earrings to her reflection in the mirror. Was it coincidence that she had chosen a plum-colored suit? She shifted her gaze from her own reflection to that of the man still sleeping peacefully in her bed. Maybe he was playing it straight for once. Maybe a pair of earrings really was just a pair of earrings.

She studied her own reflection again, then removed the earrings she had on and put on the amethyst ones. A very thoughtful gift, she had to admit.

Scully looked at her birthday present for another moment, then picked up the disk and left the bedroom, once again humming.

Krycek immediately noticed the earrings when she went home that night. Almost as soon as she sat down at the table, he went to her, tucked her hair behind her ears, and smiled warmly at the sight of his gift. He didn't say anything, didn't ask her what made her change her mind, and for that she was grateful. He just seemed happy that she was wearing them. <Maybe it really was just a birthday gift,> Scully told herself.

His low-key acceptance of the gift issue gave her the confidence to ask the question that had really plagued her mind all day. She debated with herself over it for hours, knowing she didn't really want to hear the answer, but she eventually came to the conclusion that she needed to hear it. Every time she looked at Mulder that day, the question came to mind. She couldn't let it rest unless she asked Krycek. So, after dinner, when they were settled on the sofa watching TV, she did.

"Alex," she ventured, "remember what we were talking about last night?"

He glanced briefly at her, then turned back to the TV. "We talked about a lot of things last night."

"I meant... the fantasy thing. Remember?"

"Mmm-hmm. You wanted to know what the other universal male fantasy is."

"And you told me to look through Mulder's video collection to find out."

"Right. Did you?"

"No..." Scully shifted position on the sofa, drawing away from him a little. "Alex, I have to know. It's been bugging me all day..."

Krycek turned to her again, this time paying more attention. "I'm not going to tell you. This one you have to figure out on your own."

"No, that's not what I meant --"

"You don't want to know?"

"Well, yes, but... there's something else I need to know, too." He said nothing, so she took a deep breath and continued. "I need to know how you managed to see Mulder's video collection. Enough of them to know."

A gleam came into his eyes as a slow grin appeared. "Which would you rather know?"

"What?"

"I'll tell you one, but not both. Which do you need to know more?"

Scully just looked at him for a long moment. He was going to make a game out of this. Fine, then she'd just withdraw the question. She was about to say just that when the realization struck that if she didn't find out, it would drive her crazy. That gleam in his eyes had to mean that the answer was far more complex than the obvious -- that he'd broken into Mulder's apartment and watched the tapes. Which meant... no, not possible. Or was it?

"I could barely look at Mulder all day without thinking about it," she said quietly. "Tell me about the videos. How you know."

Krycek lowered the volume on the TV. "You sure?"

Not an encouraging sign... "Yes, tell me."

"Okay, you asked for it." He took a sidelong glance at her, then turned back to the TV. "Mulder and I used to have porn parties when we were partners."

Scully closed her eyes and silently cursed herself for asking. But now that she had, she had to hear the rest of it. "Porn parties?"

"Yeah, we used to invite the whole Violent Crimes Section over for pizza, beer and circle jerks." Pause. "Every Friday."

A thoroughly disgusting image sprang into her mind, but she immediately squelched it. It couldn't have been like that, could it? Mulder wouldn't...

Then again, maybe he would.

She opened her eyes again to see Krycek grinning at her, barely controlling laughter. She thwapped his arm. "Pig!"

"Sorry, you got the wrong swine this time. The videos were Mulder's idea." She gave him her skeptical look. "Really, they were."

"No parties?"

"No parties. Still want to know how it really happened?"

If she wanted to be able to look Mulder in the eye ever again without that image coming to mind, she had to know. "Tell me."

Krycek shut the TV off. "It all started innocently enough," he began. "It was a week or so after we became partners. I dropped by Mulder's place after work that Friday with some files he wanted, and he asked if I wanted to hang out, have a beer, and watch the baseball game. My assignment at the time was to keep an eye on him, so --"

"Your assignment?" Scully interrupted. "For the smoker?"

"Yup. He wanted me to stick close to Mulder, so I figured this could be valuable training -- see what he does in his off hours. So I stayed. The game's over by 10, so he suggests a video. I'm thinking he's talking about a regular movie, but instead he pops in... I don't even remember the title, but it was porn."

Scully shook her head. That didn't sound like Mulder at all. "He just started one of those tapes without even telling you what it was, without even asking... no. That's not Mulder. He wouldn't do that. He watches those alone."

Krycek shrugged. "Not everybody does. It's a guy thing. Women shop, guys watch porn. No big deal."

"I thought men watched sports," she countered.

"Yeah, and porn. Group porn watching has a whole different dynamic than solo. The group aspect actually makes it less arousing... at least I found it that way. You're more likely to sit there and give running commentary along the lines of 'check out the rack on that one' instead of whipping it out and --"

"Stop!" This was definitely more than she wanted to know, about both of her partners. "Too much information, okay?"

"Hey, you asked."

"What were you doing watching with him, anyway? I thought you said you didn't like the professionally produced videos."

Krycek leaned back against the back of the sofa. "He was my assignment. I couldn't exactly say no, could I? Whether I wanted to or not, I had to stay. That's probably why most of the running commentary came from me. I'm a doer. Mulder's a watcher, so these things hit him harder than they hit me. I'd sit there on the floor and critique whatever we were watching, and he'd be on the sofa doing... what he does... Most of the time he was considerate enough to get up and go to the bathroom when --"

"I really don't need to know that," Scully interrupted. "How am I supposed to work with him after hearing this?"

"Like I said, you asked," he said with a shrug.

She was sorry she did, but she had to remind herself that Krycek could've made the whole thing up. Probably had. Mulder just wouldn't do that. "Didn't Mulder ever find it odd that the videos didn't affect you?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact, he did. After about three or four of them, he asked me if I really wanted to continue watching, since I didn't seem to get anything out of it. Though how he knew that when he was always in the bathroom, I'll never know..."

<Didn't happen didn't happen didn't happen,> Scully chanted mentally. "So you stopped?"

"No, I told him we could go out, cruise the bars and find some real action, but I'd feel bad when I scored and he didn't. So in the

interest of partner harmony, I'd stay and watch the videos with him. Besides, even if I didn't find them especially arousing, they were certainly entertaining. You think old sci-fi movies are bad? You gotta see some of these..."

Scully just looked at him. "You are so full of it it's not even funny. Why do I bother asking you anything?"

"If this isn't true," he said, "how could I know so much about his collection?"

"I'm not convinced you know anything about it. Even if you do, you could've broken into his apartment and watched."

"Right," Krycek nodded. "The Morley Man paid me to take porn breaks in my mark's apartment. Makes perfect sense."

So much for that idea. She sighed. "Fine. So you and Mulder had private porn parties every week that didn't affect you at all. *That* makes perfect sense."

"Oh, those videos affected me," Krycek admitted, "but not as much as they could have. Not as much as... oh, say, our video... does. In fact there was one... I don't know why this one struck me the way it did, but it just sucked me right in... I didn't know he was in the room... he didn't know I was in the room... or if he did know I was there, I don't want to know about it..."

"Enough!" Scully cried. "I have to face him tomorrow morning!"

"Good. Ask him about that video. Find that one, and you find the answer to the other question."

"There's only one that answers the question?"

"Not really," he said. "That's just the most blatant example of it. Besides, I think I steered you wrong a little. There's really two variations on that other fantasy. Version A is pretty common in basic porn. I guess you'd say I'm a Version A guy, only I'd rather do it than watch it. Mulder's probably a Version B guy, so he has a lot of those. Not a majority, but probably a higher proportion than you'd find in the average guy's porn library. Just keep track of the ones in the office - - he rotates them regularly with the ones at home -- and you shouldn't have any trouble figuring it out."

<Great. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Your Partner's Fantasy Life But Were Afraid to Ask,> Scully thought. Krycek might be making all this up, but it was probably true that if she did examine the tapes, she'd learn more than she ever wanted to know about Mulder's private life. Was she ready for that? "The one that got you," she mused. "That was a Version A tape?"

Krycek shook his head. "Nope, B. Surprised the hell out of me." He cast a sidelong glance at her. "But I guess you know about that, don't you?"

The mere memory of Krycek's homemade video was enough to do to her what the video itself had done the first time she saw it. Arousal was almost immediate; the problem of how to face her partner suddenly seemed far less important.

Krycek seemed to pick up on this. "Let's put one of ours on," he said casually. "I'll show you why amateur tapes are better..."

"I thought you'd rather do than watch."

"Always."

"Then why watch?" She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Let's go do."

Scully sat at her desk, idly scrolling through the documents on the latest disks Krycek had given her. She had realized that she couldn't give Mulder the birthday disk on the day after, so she'd waited and copied the next night's file onto the same disk. Conscious of Mulder's suspicions about her informant and what she was doing, she'd done that a few times before, cutting down on the apparent frequency of contact and giving Mulder a lot to chew on at one time. He was doing that now, carefully reading the files and taking notes, while Scully contemplated how to ask him if Krycek's story was true.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear Mulder until he'd called her twice. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I was just wondering how you and that new guy of yours are doing," Mulder said casually, not looking up from his notes. "You've been seeing him for, what, about a month now?"

"Five weeks, and we're doing just fine," she said, wondering what he was getting at.

He looked up at her briefly, but then returned his attention to his computer. "Those earrings... very nice. Birthday gift?"

"Yes..."

"From him?"

"Yes, Mulder, from him. Is there a point to this interrogation?"

Now he looked at her. "Interrogation, Scully? I just want to know that you're happy, that's all."

<Happy? Only at very specific times, about every other night...> "Yes, Mulder, I'm happy," she said. "I appreciate your concern, but really, I'm fine."

"If you say so." Mulder bent back to his notepad.

Another few silent minutes ticked off the clock until Scully, still needing to hear a denial of Krycek's story, finally spoke. "Mulder, you consider us to be friends, right?"

Now he gave her an odd look. "Of course, Scully," he answered immediately. "Don't you?"

"Of course I do; you know that. I was just wondering how close you've gotten to your other partners."

Mulder thought about that for a moment. "I never had a real partner before you," he finally said.

"Not even Jerry LaManna?"

"Yeah, I guess Jerry was a partner. Sort of," Mulder admitted.

"Was he a friend?"

"Not the way you're thinking, Scully; not like you are."

<Right, some friend I am,> she thought. "That's not what I mean. Did you ever... do anything together, outside of work?"

Again Mulder thought about his answer. "We caught a few ballgames together before he stole my work," he said at length.

This seemed to be the right approach to take... "What about Krycek?" Scully asked casually.

"Krycek was never a friend or a partner," Mulder said flatly.

"Mulder, I was there during your first case with him. I know how he worked. He was watching you. Didn't he try to insinuate himself into your life?"

"Yeah," Mulder said slowly. "Yeah, I guess he did. That must've been why --"

"Why what?" she asked with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"He dropped by my place one night, right after that first case. He said he was dropping off files, but in hindsight, I know there had to be an ulterior motive. My mistake was inviting him to stay and watch the game. Somehow it turned into a regular thing -- he turned up at my door just about every Friday after that..."

The moment of truth... "For what?"

"Whatever. Games, movies..."

"Movies?"

"Yeah, movies. I think he fell asleep during 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', but he seemed very interested in 'Rosemary's Baby'." He was looking at her funny again. "Are you going somewhere with this, Scully?"

<Uh-oh...> "No, I was just wondering --"

"-- how close I've been to past partners. Y'know, that makes me wonder just what you mean by close."

"Mulder --"

"Because I'd like to know how you can say you're close to someone and not even tell them the name of the person you're dating."

Scully just stared at him for a long moment. She knew he was curious, but she never thought he'd come right out and ask. "Mulder, my private life is private," she said at length.

"So it is. But you've been awfully secretive lately, Scully, about that informant of yours and this guy. Why do you feel the need to keep all this to yourself? Don't friends share this kind of information?"

<The best defense is a good offense...> "I don't remember you ever telling me the sordid details of every date you've had since we've been partners," she said quietly.

"That's beside the point. This is obviously something more serious. Is there something about him you think you have to hide? Do I know him?"

"No," she lied smoothly.

"Then why can't you at least tell me his name?"

"So you can check up on him to make sure he's good enough for me? You're not my father, Mulder."

Now Mulder gave her what she mentally called his wounded puppy eyes. "I'd never invade your privacy that way," he said quietly. "Don't you know that?"

"Then why are you so desperate to know his name?"

"Why are you so desperate not to tell anybody?"

Scully could tell that he wasn't going to give up. She still didn't understand why he was so desperate to know, but he'd be relentless now. "Alan," she said, thinking quickly. "Alan Keller. Happy now?"

"What does he do?"

"Freelance security consulting. Want his shoe size too?"

The wounded puppy eyes again. "I just want to make sure you're okay, Scully --"

"I'm fine, Mulder," she huffed. "Don't you trust my judgment? Can't you, just once?"

"I wonder if you should trust your own judgment after Philadelphia."

She had to stifle a gasp. It was completely unlike Mulder to hit below the belt like that. "Philadelphia was an aberration," she said softly, making sure not to let him see that he'd gotten to her. "Completely unrelated to Alan."

"What about your informant?"

"What about him? He's an informant; has nothing to do with Alan or Philadelphia."

"Really?" Mulder gestured toward his computer. "You've passed along a lot of information lately. You must be seeing him pretty often, leaving poor Alan home all alone..."

"Completely unrelated," she repeated, more firmly. "And 'poor Alan' is just fine with it, thank you."

She was saved from further interrogation by a knock at the door. It opened, allowing A.D. Skinner to step into the office.

"Good morning, sir," Scully said brightly. "What can we do for you?"

Skinner glanced from Mulder to her and then back, knowing he'd interrupted something. Once Mulder's attention turned to him, he spoke. "There's been another Krycek sighting."

"Where?" Mulder asked, at the same time Scully asked, "Confirmed?"

"Near Ford's Theater," Skinner replied. "It's not confirmed, but the agent who filed this report is a veteran, and I think he knew Krycek. We need to pay attention to this one."

"Who was it?" Mulder asked.

"Jack Dellacorte."

Mulder nodded. "Good man. May I?" He held out his hand and Skinner relinquished the file folder he'd been holding.

"So is this investigation now official?" Scully asked, desperately wishing away the butterflies in her stomach.

Skinner sighed. "I think this warrants looking into. I'll assemble a small task force and we'll try to lay out some kind of strategy; maybe some stakeouts. I'll keep you advised."

Mulder looked up from the file. "This task force... it'll be people who know what they're doing, right? I don't want him to get away because of some rookie mistake."

"Veterans, Mulder. Good people who can be discreet."

Mulder nodded again. "If Krycek has any idea we're looking for him, he'll be out of here like a bat out of hell and we'll just be chasing our own tails."

Scully started to feel the noose tightening around her own neck. "Are we really sure it's Krycek?" she asked. "And if it is, what in the world is he doing? What's he doing at Ford's Theater? Pretending to be a tourist?"

Mulder and Skinner both turned to her, giving her funny looks. "We don't know yet what he's doing," Skinner finally said. "Or that it's him. That's why we have to watch for a while, doing nothing. We have to get a feel for where he's going and what he's up to."

"But we're watching officially now, right?" she asked. At Skinner's nod, she continued, "What if it's not him? Are we really justified in wasting the taxpayers' money if we're not sure?"

Funny looks from both of them again, and Scully mentally cursed Krycek. For all the worry he was putting her through, she deserved a big reward. If nothing else, he ought to let her tie him up. Sure, he *thought* she wouldn't know what to do with him...

"Scully?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Meeting tomorrow morning in my office, first thing," Skinner said. "I'd like to try to get this wrapped up fast."

"Of course," Mulder said, rising to usher their boss out. "Thank you, sir."

Scully drummed her fingers on her desk, avoiding Mulder's gaze. <If you don't have a good explanation for this, Alex,> she thought, <you are a dead man.>

Part Eight

"You've been in D.C. off and on for a while, haven't you, Alex?"

Krycek lowered the newspaper he'd been reading. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

"Have you ever done the whole tourist thing? You know, museums, sights, that sort of thing?"

Scully watched as a look she couldn't identify crossed his eyes. "No, not really. Never had time."

"You've never been to the Smithsonian? The Capitol? Ford's Theater?"

Now she could identify the look in those green eyes. He had something to hide. "No... Why?"

<Dammit, why do you keep doing this to me?> "You were seen last night near Ford's Theater," she said quietly.

"Dana, I was here last night," Krycek said smoothly. "With you. Remember, we --"

"I went to sleep afterwards," she interrupted. "And I know you're a night owl. I have no knowledge of what you do after I'm asleep."

"You think I leave here and go carousing every night?" His tone had just the right degree of indignation.

"You were seen by a veteran agent, one who knew you when you were with the Bureau. Was he mistaken too?"

"Probably. I don't know about you, but I'd like to know who this is who keeps masquerading --"

"Don't." Her quiet word stopped him. "Don't lie to me again, Alex."

His gaze challenged hers for a long moment, but then he sighed and gave in. "I had a meeting, okay? I *thought* nobody saw anything..."

"You might as well have had that meeting in the lobby of the Hoover building!" Scully cried. "Didn't you think you'd be seen?"

"At that hour? Besides, I didn't pick the venue," Krycek muttered.

"Never mind," she sighed. "Thanks to your meeting, Skinner's making the hunt for you official. He's organizing a task force. You have *got* to stop putting yourself in danger like that! It's important now."

"Frankly, I think I'm doing a remarkable job of *not* being seen," Krycek said. "Two sightings over five weeks is a pretty low percentage..."

"Not low enough. Can't you conduct your business outside the city?"

"Does it really matter? You're covering for me, aren't you?"

Scully sighed again. Would he ever get it? "Not if you don't take better precautions. I can only do so much. If you get caught, it's your own fault, and don't you dare try to lay it on me."

"Don't you have a vested interest in keeping me out of custody?"

"Yes, but I need your help. Why do you have to make everything so much harder than it has to be?"

Now he sighed. "Look, I'm trying to get a lead on somebody. When I do, I won't have to have all these late night meetings. Can't you hold Skinhead off until then?"

So that was what his mysterious business was all about. "Who are you trying to locate? Maybe I can help."

Krycek started to say something, then thought better of it. "Never mind," he murmured. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

He shook his head. "Can't. Not yet."

Did that mean he would confide in her someday? "Are you even close to locating this person?"

He thought that over for a second. "I think so," he said slowly. "I got some new information last night. With any luck it might lead somewhere."

That thought stirred up a vague unease in her. "What if you find... him? Does that mean the end of the deal?" Oddly enough, she didn't feel the relief she thought she'd feel at that idea. She wasn't sure exactly what it was she felt.

"Not necessarily. That depends on you."

She let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "But it does mean an end to the nocturnal activities?"

"One kind, at least," Krycek said with a leer.

Scully had never found such an expression arousing before, but now, after the tension of the day, she found it very much so. Besides, there was no point in arguing anymore. They knew each other's viewpoints already; further discussion would only annoy both of them. Nothing would change anyway, no matter how much they argued. And since she knew he could follow through on what that leer promised...

He seemed to pick up on this. "You seem a little tense, Dana," he said casually. "Anything I can do to take your mind off your troubles?"

A sudden idea sprang into her mind. What a way to take her mind off things... "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is." She stood up. "Remember what I said about the videos?"

"Ours?" At her nod, he continued, "You wanted to make more."

She turned and moved toward the bedroom. "Now?" she heard from behind her.

"Now, Comrade Director."

This time he didn't make her wait.

"So tell me," Krycek said, nuzzling at her ear, "why tape tonight?"

Scully allowed her head to fall back, exposing her throat to his lips. "Why not? Maybe I need some new material for when you're out on your late-night scavenger hunts."

He chuckled softly. "Tell me next time you do that. You'll score big deal points if you let me watch."

She raised her arms, allowing him to take her shirt off, then lay back against the pillow. "Make it good and I might."

He took a moment to remove some of his own clothing, and when he sat down next to her, he was down to t-shirt and boxers. "So," he said, stroking her cheek with a fingertip, "tell me what you like."

<Just get to it, that's what I'd like...> "What?"

He gently slid her pants off, leaving her in just her underwear. "It occurred to me that all this time, I've just assumed I knew what would make you feel good," he said, now running his fingertips around her ear and down her throat. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there's something you really like that I haven't done yet. Is there?"

She gasped softly as he left a trail of soft kisses over the ground his fingers had covered. "You're asking... asking what I like?"

"Mm-hmm." His fingers danced lightly across her collarbone. "C'mon, share."

"Mmm... That. I like that," she sighed softly as kisses again followed touch.

"Good choice. We sort of let foreplay fall by the wayside, didn't we?" Fingertips drew a feather-light trail between her breasts. "What else do you like?"

"I like..." She arched her back, allowing him the access to unhook her bra and lift it off her. "Like... I like most of what you've done... Mmmm, like that," she sighed as his fingertips lightly traced circles around one nipple. "Both, do both..."

"All in due time, Dana," he chuckled, then lapped gently at the same nipple. She moaned softly, arching upwards, wordlessly asking him to do more. He sucked briefly on that nipple and lightly bit it, drawing a gasp from her and sending a spark right to her groin. She was sure she'd come if he just kept doing that, but he moved on, his fingers now gently tracing the left side of her body,

from armpit to hip and back again.

"Like that, huh?" he murmured softly, touch giving way to feather- light kisses again.

"Mm-hmm. Do the other side too?"

"Mm... no, that's a little awkward." His fingers -- fingers of his right hand only -- now skimmed down her torso. "Let's just stay in the middle now, okay? All the fun stuff's there anyway." He covered her abdomen with kisses, licked lightly at her navel. "If you can't tell me what you like, can you tell me how you like it?"

Krycek was tracing little circles on her inner thigh now, and she felt herself growing wetter with each circle. "How I like it?"

"Mm-hmm. You like it slow and gentle?" He licked lightly at the thigh he'd already set on fire, his tongue inching ever so close to where she wanted it...

"Mmmyeah, slow's good. Anything's good..."

She could feel his breath now between her legs, through the cloth of her panties. She felt rather than heard him speak.

"You like it rough, don't you?" His tongue darted out and found her clitoris even through her panties. She cried out softly, so close to orgasm, but not over the edge yet. Not unless he did that again...

"You do like it rough, don't you?" he repeated, now licking around the edge of her panties. "You like to be fucked fast and hard, don't you, Dana? I know you do."

"Ohhhh, yeah, like it," she sighed. "Like it rough. Just like it."

"Thought so." His tongue touched on her clit again, but moved away too quickly. "So tell me how you want it tonight. Tell me what you want to do for the camera."

Camera. Camera? Her head snapped up and she looked toward the closet, but she didn't see anything. Where had he said the lens was? Was it on yet? "Camera on?"

He kissed his way up her body, dipped his tongue into her ear as he reached toward the bedside table. "Is now," he breathed. "C'mon, tell me what you want."

"I, um..." Suddenly it didn't matter that he was sucking on her nipple, or licking at her thigh. All she could think of was the camera, recording for posterity her every move, every action, every little thing he did to her, every little thing she did in response. Every little thing, like allowing the man her partner hated most in the world to remove her panties and... and...

"Dana?" Krycek was looking at her expectantly. "What do you want me to do?"

"Oh, um... do whatever you want," she said, letting her head fall back on the pillow again. "Just get on with it, okay?" <Get on with it and don't make me think about what I'm doing...>

He shrugged. "If you insist," he said, and then his head was between her legs.

It was good, it was always good, she always came when he did that, came quickly... but it didn't feel right this time. Every time she tried to relax and feel what he was doing, the image of the small camera sprang into her head, its little red light blinking in the darkness of the closet. She could see what the camera saw; could see herself allowing Alex Krycek, liar, traitor, and murderer, to take her clit into his mouth. She could see it, but she could no longer feel it.

She shook the image from her head and tried to concentrate on what he was doing, what he was supposed to be making her feel. It worked at first, as she felt the pressure inside building, building... but the camera came to mind again. She was about to have an orgasm on camera, thanks to the ministrations of a wanted felon. On tape, where anyone could see it, see her behaving like the whore she'd become.

With a small cry she jerked away from Krycek and sat up. He looked up at her, confused. "Dana? What --"

"Nothing, Alex, it's nothing," she said quickly, stretching out again. "It's just... I'm not in the mood for that, okay?"

"Not in the mood for... since when?"

"Just not tonight, please?"

"Want me to stop?"

Scully looked up at him, seeing the animal lust in his eyes. Would he stop if she told him to? Not likely, not if he really felt what his eyes showed. And she knew he did; that erection didn't lie. How could she make him stop?

Maybe she didn't have to. Maybe she could make it through if it was over quickly. She had to; this was all for her partner, for the case. She had to do it. What made this time so different from the who knew how many other times she'd allowed him inside her body?

<Don't think about the camera,> she told herself. <Don't think, just do it.> "No, don't stop," she said softly. "Just... just not that, all right?"

His eyes locked on hers for another long moment before he shrugged and took off his t-shirt. "Whatever you want," he said, slipping out of his boxers.

It occurred to her now that the brain was without question the most important sex organ. Her preoccupation had all but destroyed her arousal, and she felt dry as a bone. Her gaze moved over his large, very hard penis. She knew it could hurt even when she was very wet and desperately wanted him. There was no way in hell this was going to work.

Krycek noted her hesitation. "You sure?" he asked.

<For the case. For Mulder. You can do it.> "Yes, but... I don't think... Do you have..." Her voice trailed off. What in the world made her think he'd have anything?

He looked at her a moment longer, then leaned across the bed and rummaged in the drawer of what he obviously thought of as his table. He came up with a small bottle, and was about to pour some of the contents into his hand when he looked up at Scully again. "Are you really sure?" he asked again. "If you're not, I need to know *right* *now.*"

<Stop asking me and get on with it!> "Yes, I'm sure." She held out her hand. "May I?"

He relinquished the bottle, and she squeezed a little of the lube into her hand, warming it. With long, light strokes, she coated his organ with it, inducing shivers in her partner and reducing him to soft moans. The sounds and the effects her hands had on him struck a chord in her too, and she found her arousal coming back. It was just sex, wasn't it? Not something she'd never done before. Getting through it would be easy.

And it was easy, at least at first. He slid effortlessly inside her and started moving with a quick but smooth rhythm. Her body responded, opening to him, moving with him, moving swiftly toward an inevitable climax...

On camera.

Scully shook her head, unable to get the image of the blinking red light out of her mind. She could even hear it; the soft whirring of the machine as it recorded their every move. Her body stiffened again and she pushed at Krycek, but he took no notice. He shifted position, riding high now, giving her the clitoral stimulation she needed to come, but again, she barely felt it. All she felt was the glare of the lens, focused on her.

It wouldn't work. She wasn't going to come. She couldn't, not knowing that the tape was running. All she wanted now was to get this over with, get the tape out of the machine and destroy it.

Krycek was holding back, waiting for her. <Now, how do I know that?> she asked herself. <Oh, God, what's wrong with me? How could I know something like that about somebody like him? How could I let this happen?>

She wrapped her arms around him and drew him down closer to her. "Not gonna come," she whispered. "Finish."

His pace picked up, and she just lay back and closed her eyes as he slammed furiously into her. <This is how the professionals do it,> she thought. <They don't feel. Just take what's dished out and accept payment later. No feeling at all.>

But she did feel something. His frantic strokes were starting to hurt now, and she knew she'd be very sore in the morning. <Finish,> she silently begged. <Just finish, end it, get this over with, get out of me, get away from me...> As if on cue, he gave one final, savage thrust and with a low moan, emptied himself inside her.

Still breathing hard, he barely had time to pull out before she shoved him away from her and curled up on her side near her edge of the bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

"Dana?" She could hear confusion in his voice, but she only gathered the blanket more tightly around herself.

"Dana, what the hell happened?"

His hand fell on her shoulder, and she jerked away from him as if burned. "Don't touch me!"

"C'mon, Dana, what's going on here?"

He touched her again, and again she recoiled from him. "I said, don't touch me!" she hissed.

To his credit, he didn't. But that didn't make it any easier not to cry.

She was much too quiet.

Krycek stole a glance to the side, at Scully's motionless form on the other side of the bed. Still recoiling from him post-sex. He knew now that that practice wouldn't change any time soon.

She was often quiet after sex, if for no other reason than to get some sleep before work. But there was a different quality to this quiet. Waves of something else -- frustration? anger? humiliation? -- were coming off her, and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it.

Surely part of it had to be sexual frustration. For the first time in their shared history, she hadn't come. Even on that first night, when she turned around and called it rape, she came. She had to be harboring some pretty deep-seated inhibitions to be so self- conscious just because she knew she was being videotaped. What other reason could there be for her not coming? It couldn't have been any failure on his part; she was tense, practically shaking, from the moment he turned the recorder on, and he couldn't seem to get through to her no matter what he did. And she wouldn't let him touch her afterwards, after he turned off the tape and offered to finish her off if she wanted.

So this time it hadn't been good for her. Only because of the tape? If so, there was a simple solution. They could agree that it was better if he chose which sessions would be taped, and do so without her knowledge, the same way the first two tapes were made.

Of course, that would require that they talk. Didn't look like there'd be any of that in the near future. Still, it didn't hurt to try.

"Dana?" Krycek said softly. No reply, but he continued anyway. "I'm sorry it didn't work out."

She didn't move.

"We can try again if you want..."

"No."

The word was soft and sort of muffled, but at least it was a start. "I don't mean the taping, I meant --"

"I know what you meant. No."

He gently touched her shoulder, but she wrenched away from him. Okay, bad idea. Words seemed to be all right, so he tried again. "Really, if I'd known it was going to freak you out like that, I wouldn't --"

"Shut up," she said, her voice still muffled. "Just shut up, will you?"

Okay, maybe it wasn't sexual frustration. But something was definitely up. "Dana, what's wrong?"

Her body was shaking gently now, and he knew she was crying. It wasn't *that* bad, was it? "Dana --"

"Everything!" she burst out. "Everything's wrong, okay? This whole deal..."

Back to that subject again. "Dana, we've been over this," he said patiently. "You led me to believe you were okay with the deal. If you feel differently about it now, I don't know --"

"Okay with it?" she broke in. "How am I supposed to be okay with something that makes me feel like --"

Her words abruptly stopped, and it didn't look like she was going to finish the thought. "Like what?" he asked.

No answer.

Krycek thought he knew what she was going to say, but needed to hear it. "Dana? Like what?"

The reply finally came, in a tiny voice. "Like a whore."

Bingo. Not a surprising sentiment, but a little unexpected that she still felt that way. Hadn't her attitude been very different since her trip? Shouldn't she be over this by now?

Maybe it was the tape. That really seemed to screw with her head. But she was the one who wanted it... "I'm sorry," he said.

"I just bet you are!" she snapped.

"I am sorry. If there was any other way to structure this deal, I would've done it. Don't you know that?"

"No. It didn't have to be this way." Her voice was muffled again.

"It did. I'm not about to give away information for nothing, and there's nothing else you can offer me." That was actually not far from the truth.

"How about immunity? Isn't that how deals like this usually go?"

Krycek sighed. "That's not in your power to give. I doubt if you could even arrange it."

"Why me? Why not go to Mulder? You usually do."

"Not for the big picture. I don't want him. I want you."

"So you ask me to prostitute myself." Her voice was soft and shaky.

A little spike of guilt stabbed at him. "You knew what you were getting into," he said. "You knew how it would be. You agreed to it. You said you could handle it."

No answer, but he could see her trembling lightly.

"And that was a bad analogy."

That got Scully's attention. She turned halfway toward him. "What?"

"The whore thing. What you're doing is different."

She turned a little more. "Excuse me?"

"I'm serious. Let's look at this, shall we? Hookers get only one thing out of what they do -- money. You --"

"I get one thing, too. Information."

"Oh, come on, Dana. You know you get more out of it than that. Information wasn't the only reason you agreed to the deal."

"Oh?" He could almost see the upraised eyebrow that went with that tone.

"Yes, oh. Think about it. Do you think hookers enjoy what they do? Do you think any of them ever has an orgasm when they do it for money? Well, you enjoy it. You come all the time... well, most of the time. They do it because they think they have to. You do it because you want to. You're in this as much for the sex as for the information."

She turned over and curled up again. "I'm in this because you wouldn't let me out of it." Her voice trembled a little again.

Krycek sighed, trying to beat back that sliver of guilt. "I'm trying, Dana. I'm trying to make this good for you. I want you to enjoy it." He laid his hand on her shoulder and she shook it off, but not as violently as before. "I really am sorry," he said softly.

"That doesn't make it any easier. This is just so... it's still very difficult."

He didn't know what else to say, so he said it again. "I'm sorry."

Neither of them moved or spoke for what felt like a long time. Finally Scully sighed heavily. "I had a really bad day," she said, very quietly.

Krycek turned toward her, but didn't speak.

"And the tape... I can't, Alex. All I could think about was the recorder. I can't do it if I know you're taping."

That sounded encouraging. "What if you didn't know? You didn't know about the others and you were okay."

Another long silence, followed by another long sigh. "It might be better if I don't know when it's happening."

Very encouraging indeed. "Okay, we can do that. So... what happened today?"

"Mulder was asking questions. He asked about you."

"Me?"

"Well, my boyfriend. My informant. I had to make up some things."

"We'll have to go through that some other time." He touched her shoulder again, and this time she didn't draw away. He ran his hand gently up and down her arm. "I really, really am sorry about this, Dana," he said. "Are you going to be okay?"

Another sigh. "I suppose so."

"Can you handle this deal? Really handle it?"

Krycek held his breath while she considered his question. Finally she repeated, "I suppose so."

"If you'd just admit to yourself that you like it, you'd feel a lot better about all this."

Now she pushed his hand away. "Don't push it, Alex."

For a change, he took her advice.

Mulder accepted the disk Scully gave him several days later, but didn't dive right into exploring it, as he usually did. This time, she felt his gaze follow her to her desk, and when she looked up, his eyes were firmly fixed on her. "What?" she asked.

"Scully," he said at length, "something about this whole setup stinks. In fact, everything about it does."

A feeling of unease settled over her, but she made an effort to sound normal. "The information isn't any good? You haven't even looked at it yet."

He shook his head. "Not the information, the setup. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Mulder," she said patiently. "Everything's fine."

"Has it occurred to you that this informant of yours could be dangerous? Think about it. He's obviously in with them, the smoker and his group, or he wouldn't have this stuff. How do you know they -- or he -- won't take you again?"

"Why would they do that? What else could they possibly do to me that they haven't already done?"

"They could kill you this time."

"They already have!"

The words came out sharper than she'd intended, but they had the desired effect on Mulder. They had an effect on her too; the fear that she usually managed to keep at bay suddenly started gnawing away at her insides. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the fear only receded part way.

"Why come to you and not me?" Mulder asked after a moment.

"Maybe he knows your track record with informants, bothering them at all hours of the night and demanding information. Maybe he knows you wouldn't be patient and abide by a deal --"

"Maybe the guy knows I wouldn't sleep with him."

That again. "Mulder, I've told you time and time again that my boyfriend is not my informant. Why is that concept so difficult for you to grasp?"

"Maybe because the timing's just a little too perfect," Mulder said. "You meet this guy. Suddenly a week later, you have this informant and a mysterious deal. What are you doing for him, Scully?"

"Maybe I'm giving him tango lessons," she said smoothly.

He arched an eyebrow. "Horizontal tango?"

She sighed heavily. "Do you honestly think I'd go that far just to get information? Do you really think that little of me?" <You don't have to, Mulder, I think little enough of myself already.>

"I think you'd go that far if your informant said he could cure your cancer. That hypothetical scenario wasn't so hypothetical, was it?"

<*Can* he cure me?> "Come on, Mulder, there isn't any cure! You and I both know that!"

"No." Mulder shook his head. "There is a cure. I know it, and somebody in that group knows it -- and knows what it is."

"Tell me something, Mulder. Tell me why somebody in that group would give me information *and* cure my cancer? Doesn't that sound a little one-sided to you?"

"Maybe it's not so one-sided if you're sleeping with him."

"I'm not sleeping with him," she said flatly.

"Okay, let's move on... for now." Mulder moved around his desk and sat on the edge of it. "What about Krycek?"

<Uh-oh...> "What about Krycek?"

"You tell me, Scully. You don't seem particularly motivated to catch him."

That feeling of unease grew stronger. "What do you mean? I want him in custody as much as you do."

"Do you, Scully? That's not how it sounds to me," Mulder said. "All I hear from you is let's wait, we have to be careful, take it slow, make sure we don't waste the taxpayers' money. If I didn't know you like I do, I'd almost say you were stalling, maybe covering for him."

"Mulder, I --"

"And there's only one reason I can think of for you to do that."

She fixed a steady gaze on him, hoping that the extreme discomfort she felt didn't show. "Mulder, what are you suggesting?"

"What does it sound like I'm suggesting? Sure looks like you've had some contact with him. What is it, Scully? Is he your informant?"

"Why would he come to me? He goes to you. He likes to mess with your head."

"Maybe he wants to mess with your head this time. Answer the question, please?"

She should've known avoidance techniques wouldn't work with Mulder. "No, Krycek is not my informant," she said, realizing as she spoke that she had unconsciously crossed her fingers behind her back.

"Why wasn't your boyfriend at your birthday party?"

Mulder had obviously been thinking about all this for a while. His mind was moving quickly, skipping around between subjects, and Scully felt like she was swimming against the current trying to keep up. "I told you, he was home in bed with the flu."

"Yet you came to work the next day wearing that very lovely gift from him."

"I went to see him after the party." At least that much was the truth. "I wanted to make sure he was all right. He gave me the earrings then."

"Just handed you the box? Just like that?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against her own desk. "He wanted me to have them, even though we couldn't celebrate until he felt better."

"Mm-hmm." Now Mulder paced slowly around the office. "Or maybe there's something about the guy you don't want other people to know. Maybe that he's a wanted felon?"

"How dare you?" she cried, letting just the right note of indignation into her voice. "How dare you even suggest that! He tried to kill me! What on earth makes you think I'd even touch that man, let alone sleep with him?"

"You think I liked coming to that conclusion? You think I like the thought of you having any contact, of whatever type, with him?"

"Then don't think about it," she said, calming down. "It's not true, Mulder. My boyfriend and my informant are two different people, and neither one of them is Krycek. I haven't seen him since right before you dragged him off to Russia and lost him."

Mulder shook his head slowly. "The pieces fit together just a little too neatly, Scully."

"Haven't you ever heard of coincidence?"

"There's no such thing as coincidence."

"How about trust, then? You say you trust me, Mulder. Don't you trust me to tell you the truth about something so important?"

He didn't answer for a moment; just looked at her. Finally he said, "Who's your informant?"

"I don't know his name, or anything else about him. He's just a contact. No information."

He nodded. "And if I called Mr. Alan Keller about a new security system for my apartment, would anybody know what I was talking about?"

Scully smiled faintly. Thanks to Krycek's computer skills, Alan Keller, security consultant, now existed -- at least on paper. She had no doubt that Krycek could make him exist in the flesh too, if it became important for him to surface. "Of course, Mulder. Please do," she said, betting that he wouldn't. "I'll get you his card if you like."

The soft snort told her he wasn't going to call her bluff... yet. "And you really haven't seen Krycek?"

"No, Mulder. Not since November."

"You'd tell me if you did?"

"Of course, Mulder. I just don't want him to slip away like he's done the last few times."

Mulder came to rest at the edge of his desk again, fixing anxious eyes on hers. "Can you look me in the eye and swear to me that you haven't had contact with him?"

She gazed serenely back at him. "I haven't had any contact with Alex Krycek. Satisfied?" Her fingers were crossed behind her back again.

He looked at her a moment longer, then rubbed at his eyes. "Okay, if you say so, Scully. It's all just coincidence."

"Yes." She moved closer and gently touched his arm. "You're paranoid, Mulder. You see conspiracies in everything. Sometimes they're just not there."

He chuckled softly. "I'd have a hard time imagining Krycek giving gifts, anyway."

Scully smiled. "See, Mulder? There's also a lot of things about your speculations that don't fit, that don't make sense. There's nothing to it. Nothing at all."

Mulder smiled too. "I guess you're right. Thanks for clearing that up."

They both sat down to work, but the gentle chill that crept up Scully's spine suggested to her that Mulder wasn't completely convinced.

Krycek slipped smoothly inside the back door of the bar and eased into the last booth in the back. He didn't realize until he was safely hidden in the corner of the booth how wary he had been coming here. All the old instincts were coming back; his senses seemed sharper, more acute than they had at any time since he'd taken up residence at Scully's, and he felt the presence of that heightened sixth sense that had allowed him to survive in the past when he shouldn't have. That sense had been dulled, practically non- existent, lately, but on this night it came readily back and fit him like an old, familiar glove.

He took a moment to scan his surroundings. Casey's was never the most popular hangout, but it was still the choice of discerning Fibbies, which was probably why Skinner had chosen it for his team. The work was underway now, stakeouts were scheduled, and the hunt was on. There they all were, off duty now, gathered up front around the bar and the first few booths. There were a lot of them, but there were also enough casually-clothed patrons around that his jeans and leather jacket wouldn't stand out among all the suits and topcoats up front.

As he surveyed the area, Krycek asked himself for about the fifteenth time that night what the hell he was doing. This was crazy; there was just no other word for it. He used to take chances like this because he had to, just to stay alive. Now he was taking them because he wanted to get laid. <Alex, my friend,> he told himself, <your priorities have really gone to hell.>

But that assessment wasn't quite right. If all he wanted was to get off, he reasoned, he could've gotten out those videos he'd recently made and jerked off all night. No, what he really wanted, needed, was the excitement; the thrill of the chase. He'd lived on the edge for a long time; long enough that it would take more than just a few weeks with the little redhead to domesticate him. He wasn't sure he even could be domesticated. He was safe and comfortable at Scully's, but he still felt the need to venture into dangerous territory on occasion, testing those old skills, seeing if he still had it. Seeing if he'd still be able to survive in the hard, unforgiving world if the deal somehow went wrong. And reminding himself just how nice "safe and comfortable" could be.

So here he was, in the lion's den. Not the most dangerous situation he could put himself into, but pretty close. Dangerous enough to make the sex really hot...

Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he tuned back in to his surroundings in time to flirt with the waitress while giving her his order for a double vodka. One more point in favor of these occasional excursions to the danger zone: ego stroking and confirmation that he could still bag somebody other than the Ice Queen if he so chose.

Krycek sat back, sipping his drink and keeping an eye on the two young women at a nearby table who were checking him out, making a bet with himself about which one would approach him first. *Would* he ever choose to bang somebody other than Frosty the Fibbie? The deal didn't provide for that, but didn't prohibit it either, and sometimes he just thought he could use a break. After all, the deal was strictly a sexual thing. When they weren't having sex, Scully treated him at best as a roommate she didn't particularly like, and at worst... well, that didn't bear thinking about. Granted, things were more often at the better end of the spectrum, but he sometimes wondered what it would be like now with someone else. Someone who didn't make him feel guilty. How would it feel to lose a few hours with someone who didn't hate his guts; didn't care who he was or what he'd done? How different would it be to be with someone who'd happily do things solely for his pleasure?

Different, without a doubt. Maybe even pretty good. But worth the trouble? There were risks to getting involved with anyone else, including the fact that he could unwittingly run into a Consortium assassin or some psycho. There were other drawbacks too -- Scully would laugh if she knew he found the necessary condom use to be one of them. But two major things held him back from encouraging those two young women or doing anything more than flirting with the waitress. The first was that there was no woman on earth he wanted more than Dana Scully, thus rendering any outside-the-deal excursions both meaningless and unsatisfying on so many levels. The other was the knowledge that he could never have the kind of control over another woman that he had over Scully.

That wasn't to say that the deal didn't have its advantages. Krycek watched Scully, perched on a bar stool just at the edge of a group of agents, a group that included Mulder and Skinner, who were engaged in conversation. She listened absently, making an occasional comment, but she was mostly lost in her own thoughts. He allowed his gaze to sweep over her, taking in the brilliant blue eyes, near-perfect figure, shapely legs. She was easily the most beautiful woman in the room, that don't-mess-with-me vibe only adding to her allure. Hell, he was getting hard just watching her. Just watching her sit there. Dana Scully, Ice Queen, could make breathing sexy.

What he hadn't known, what nobody in the place could've known, was that she was pure fire in bed. Despite, or maybe because of, her relative inexperience, she was outrageously responsive, much more so than any partner he'd ever had. Practically everything he did got her off; something he'd never been able to do before. He knew he was good, but she had to be really starved for that to happen. That being the case, was it really him she wanted, or just his dick? Would anybody else's dick do just as well?

Evidence suggested otherwise. Starved or not, she turned all suitors away. That was probably a good thing at this point. Krycek was pretty sure he'd have to beat the shit out of any guy who dared to approach her. She was his territory now; his to play with however he chose. He was the one in her bed every night, the one who belonged there. He was the one who broke down all her walls; who gave her what she needed; who made her scream with pleasure every night.

The only problem was that breaking down her walls and unleashing her inner hedonist had been... too easy. And he was probably enjoying it far too much.

Or maybe he was just bored. Maybe that explained the waitress and the two girls. Maybe that was what was behind those uncharacteristic thoughts about sex that was more give-and-take, instead of him giving and his partner taking. Sure, there were things that he didn't, couldn't get from Scully, but was it worth it to look for them in somebody else's bed? In the long run, no. He could give and not take with Scully because it was all part of the mindfuck. He wasn't sure he could do it in another situation; one that he didn't have full control over. Besides, he suspected he wasn't wired to provide the required emotional component. He was too busy looking out for himself; when did he have time to care about anybody else? Better to forget other women and get what he could from Scully.

She didn't give a whole lot, but she had indeed surprised him more than once since the deal started. The biggest surprise? That she couldn't get enough. Going into this, he hadn't expected that her sex drive would be anywhere close to as strong as his, but it seemed to match and maybe even surpass it. Picky as she was, she had somehow managed to put aside her personal issues regarding him and what she thought he'd done in order to get the deal moving. She could've said no, but she'd made those personal compromises in order to sleep with him. With *him.* She couldn't get enough of *him.* What would she do if he ever said no to her? *Could* he ever say no to her?

Krycek pushed that thought out of his mind. Scully might be getting in deeper than she'd intended, but he wasn't... was he? He was as much in control as he'd always been. That was why he was even in the bar in the first place. The inevitable sex would be only a highly enjoyable by- product of his real mission. His true objective was to engage in some mindfucking. He'd managed to melt the Ice Queen in private -- and oh, how gloriously and thoroughly she had melted -- so now it was time to up the ante a little. Could he melt her in public as easily as he'd done in private?

The taller, blonder of the two women nearby had just risen and started to approach him (thus allowing him to win his mental bet) when Scully's gaze fell on him. He raised his glass and winked at her, noting with some satisfaction that her facade cracked and her jaw dropped for at least ten seconds before she recovered. She leaned forward and whispered a few words to Mulder, then stalked to the back of the bar and slid into the booth, across from him. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded.

Krycek smiled to himself. The little redhead was good and pissed already. If he played his cards right, this could be one *hot* encounter... "Having a drink. What does it look like?"

Scully glanced over her shoulder, making sure nobody had followed her. "You had to leave the house just to drink?"

"Drinking all alone at home, all by myself? You want to turn me into an alcoholic or something?"

She wasn't amused. "Alex, get out of here," she hissed. "Now."

"Afraid one of your colleagues will see you with me?" he purred. "It'd be very, very easy to get out of that, y'know. All you have to do is arrest me." <You could blow this deal straight to hell any time you want to, Little Red,> he thought. <Why don't you? Or don't you know that you can?>

He watched her mentally process his words for about thirty seconds before rejecting the idea. "And let you tell them all about our deal? Not on your life!"

Did she have any idea what she looked like when she was riled up? He had to close his eyes and think of something, anything, other than her for a moment, or else he'd get too hard, too fast. He took a deep breath and focused on her again. "Go back to your friends and let me finish my drink in peace, okay?"

"No. Home. *Now.*"

Home? His home, too? Krycek laughed softly. This was going too well. Time to push another button... "If I'm going home, I'm not going alone."

"I'm not ready to leave yet," Scully said firmly.

"Who said anything about you?" He let his gaze drift to the two young women at the table, knowing that Scully would look too. He nodded toward the taller one. "How 'bout if I take her home with me? She's kinda cute..."

He heard her sharp intake of breath and expected her to lash out at him, but she didn't. She took another deep breath and said quietly, "You can't. We have a deal."

He shrugged. "So? The deal doesn't prohibit --"

"And just where do you think you're going to take her?" Scully seethed quietly, cutting him off. "My bed?"

Her bed. Their home, but not their bed, her bed. Well, at least now he knew that the little redhead was susceptible to the green-eyed monster, too... "Okay, so we'd go to a motel. I bet she wouldn't mind at all." He stole a glance at Scully, noting the flush across her cheeks and her increased respiration rate. "She'd probably suck me too, if I wanted," he continued, knowing that was one thing Scully'd never do for him. The request was on the table; she could do with it what she wanted. Time to start moving in for the kill. "I bet she'd even fuck me right here if I asked her to."

He heard her small sigh and smiled to himself. Arousing her was just too damn easy. Making her want what he wanted, even if she found it abhorrent, was only slightly more challenging. Now he just had to get her to say the words... "Want me to tell you what I'd do to her?"

No answer, but he could hear her breathing faster and saw out of the corner of his eye that she couldn't look at him anymore. Wouldn't be long now. "I think I'd start with the jeans," Krycek said, still facing the girl but watching Scully. "I'd leave the shirt alone for a while. Sure, I'd start off with a little nipple attention, especially since she's not wearing a bra, but that's just preliminary. The actual start would be the jeans. They'd come off real fast."

A small sound came from the redhead, and he turned a little more toward her. She was probably playing the scenario out in her mind. He wouldn't have to push her much further at all before she caved. "See, sometimes it's incredibly sexy to give a woman oral sex while she's still half- clothed. Makes you feel like you're doing something you're not supposed to; kinda like her husband or boyfriend is going to walk in on you or something. So I'd do that. I'd start slow, teasing her. You know all about that teasing, don't you, Dana? Think she'd like it? I bet she would. Bet she wouldn't come as fast as you, though. But that's okay; it lets me experiment. Nothing too fancy for starters, just a lot of licking. Lots of tiny, light little licks, eventually concentrating on her clit. That'd make her come. I wonder if she's a screamer. Do you think she screams when she comes, Dana? I wonder if she comes as easily as you. Think she'd like it as much as you do if I --"

"Alex."

The single soft word stopped him, and he looked fully at her. Her eyes met his now, the feral glare practically burning through him, her chest heaving with every breath. She sat perfectly still, but her entire bearing suggested a panther about to pounce. The Ice Queen was gone, replaced by his fire goddess. Aroused as he already was by the images his story created in his own mind, that look was almost enough to send him over the edge, but he managed to get himself under control and return her gaze calmly. "Yes, Dana?"

"Me."

"Excuse me?"

"Not her. Me. Do that to me. Take me home now and do that to me."

He took a deep breath to calm himself, willing his erection, already uncomfortable, not to move on to painful. "I was going to have another drink," he said nonchalantly.

Paydirt. Scully leaned across the table, grabbed him and kissed him hard, savagely... possessively. He returned her kisses just as hungrily, only stopping when neither of them could breathe anymore. Between kisses he managed to gasp, "You want it right here?"

More kisses. Damn, the way the woman sucked on his tongue it was a damn shame she didn't do blow jobs...

"Car..." she breathed.

"Hallway." More kisses. "In the back."

"Alley?"

More kisses. "Bathroom."

"Stall..."

His hand, which had been tangled in the hair at the back of her neck, slipped forward and found her breast. "Sink."

She moaned softly and arched into his caress. "Sink. *Now.*"

Somehow they were able to slip away toward the bathrooms without anyone noticing, and without running into anyone. Without being aware of running into anyone, at least. Two minutes after their negotiations were concluded, Krycek had Scully perched on the edge of a sink in the ladies' room, skirt hiked up around her waist, her legs wrapped around his waist, greedily kissing him.

They tore at each other's clothing, succeeding in banishing her suit jacket and his leather jacket to the floor. He barely felt her scrabbling with his zipper as he tore at her pantyhose, unable to find any way to get rid of them. She wasn't helping either, grinding herself against his hand. "Now, Alex," she moaned into his mouth. "Now, I need you in me now..."

God, he needed to be in her, but the damn hosiery... "Fuck!" he growled, tearing at the things. She gasped and opened her legs a little more, and finally he felt a hole in the nylon. He took hold of the edge of the hole and yanked fiercely at it, finally creating a space big enough to get his hand through. He ripped further, stopping only when he heard Scully yelp.

Her kisses assured him that he hadn't hurt her... or, if he had, that she didn't care. Her trembling fingers finally managed to free his cock, and without further ado he shoved her panties aside and drove frantically into her.

He set a fast, furious pace, slamming roughly into her, half expecting her to tell him to stop, but he couldn't. He couldn't stop now if his life depended on it.

It didn't look like she could stop either. She opened herself further to him, hooked her legs around his body and pulled him deeper inside her. He felt her hands roaming over his chest, his back, as he kissed her, driving his tongue into her mouth and eagerly accepting her tongue in his.

This was too intense; sensory overload. He knew he wouldn't last long, he was close already and knew she was too by the sounds she was making. <Come for me, Little Red. Right here, right now, with all your friends just a few feet away...>

Suddenly she gasped slightly and her body stiffened. It wasn't an orgasm, he could feel that. Pulling back a bit, he looked at her face, and saw that she was staring at a point behind him. He shifted his gaze up into the mirror, seeing the reflection of the door... and the two girls he'd been flirting with frozen in front of it.

<An audience? Must be time to put on a show.> "Ignore 'em," he whispered to Scully as he licked her ear. With one hand he ripped at her blouse and pulled her bra back, then bent his head to suck on her nipple. He quickened the pace of his thrusts at the same time, drawing a breathy moan from Scully and laughter from somewhere behind him.

The laughter abruptly stopped, and all he heard was Scully's sounds of pleasure. They were alone again, she was into it again, and suddenly she was coming, the strong spasms inside her caressing, squeezing his cock. He was close already; could feel a mother of an orgasm coiling up from deep in his balls, and Scully's climax was all it took to send him over the edge, too. He pulled her closer, burying his own cry of pleasure in her kisses as he felt himself explode deep inside her.

He cradled her limp body close to his, unable to tell which of them was trembling. It had been good before, but this... <Fuck all that stuff she doesn't give,> he thought, covering the top of her head with small kisses. <Just fuck it. Don't need it. Just let it always be like this, always feel like this...>

Her head still buried against his shoulder, Scully's muffled voice reached his ears. "I really, really, really hate you, Alex."

<That's my Little Red.> "Hate me all you want," he whispered, "just keep fucking me like that."

Now her head came up. "What?"

<Shit. Too much information...> "The old men," Krycek said quickly. "The faster they go down, the better."

Scully pulled back a little and studied him. "I should just kill you and get it over with," she finally said.

<With my cock still inside you? You little deviant, you. You're learning...> "You don't want to do that." He bent his head and captured a nipple between his teeth, through the fabric of her blouse, and was rewarded with a gasp as she arched up toward him.

"Oh, *God*, I hate you," she moaned, her hands slipping around his neck.

"That's good. Hate's a good thing..."

"You're only in this for the sex..."

He nudged her clothing out of the way and took her bare nipple into his mouth. "This surprises you?"

"This is all your choice. You goad me into it when *you* want it."

"Like you need goading..."

"It's true! Like this..."

"I wasn't the one begging for it out there in the booth."

"I wasn't begging..."

He turned his attention to her other breast, eliciting a long moan from her. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Her breath caught for a moment, then she nudged his face up to hers and kissed him. "Nothing," she whispered.

"Nothing?"

"Nope. But you're going to do something about it."

"And that is...?"

"Take me home and do to me what you said you wanted to do to that girl."

True paydirt now. "Home?"

"Home."

"Uh-huh. And where at home are we going to do this?"

"In bed, where else?"

<Say it, Red...> "Where?"

"Bed. What's the matter with you?"

He gave a sharp thrust of his hips, making her throw back her head and cry out with a surprise climax. "Where?"

"Bed. *Our* bed," she breathed. "Our bed."

"Since you put it like that, let's go." He slipped out of her and got dressed, but paused when he saw that she hadn't moved. "Dana, come on. Unless you want it again here. Maybe we can do it right on the bar this time."

"Alex..." She pulled at her clothing, trying to rearrange it. "Look what you did! I can't go out there like this!"

He took a good look at her, and had to admit that she was right. Her skirt was a wrinkled mess, her silk blouse was savagely torn in the front, rendering her unable to sufficiently cover herself, and there was a big run in one leg of her pantyhose.

He picked up her discarded jacket and handed it to her. "If you put this on and button it up, would it hide most of the damage?"

She tucked in what was left of her blouse and put on the jacket. "I guess so... as long as nobody looks too closely."

"You're not going to see anybody anyway. We're leaving, remember?"

"But I have to see Mulder. I left my things with him."

"So... keep the jacket closed, grab your stuff, and tell him you had a nosebleed. He leaves you alone when you have those, doesn't he?"

"Usually, but..." She pulled at her pantyhose, succeeding only in lengthening the run. "I think you scratched me."

"Sorry."

"How am I supposed to explain this run? It didn't come from a nosebleed..."

"Don't linger. Just get your stuff, tell him you have to go home, and leave. How hard is that?"

He watched from the back hall, outside the bathrooms, as Scully picked up her coat and bag and spoke with Mulder. Mulder stood, like he'd offered to drive her home, but Scully put him off. Krycek waited until she was moving toward the bar's front door before turning toward the back door.

He suddenly came face to face with the two girls he'd been flirting with. He flashed them a smile and a wink as he moved past them.

The shorter one started giggling. The taller one flipped him the bird.

Krycek left the bar through the back door, whistling.

Scully's hands were shaking as she tried to fit her keys into the lock. She didn't know if it was because she thought too much, because she'd been having so much out-of-this-world sex lately, or maybe because of PMS, but she was almost desperate. Sex had been on her mind all day, all week since the bar incident, and she wanted it, needed it right now.

She finally managed to unlock the door and was ready to pounce on Krycek... until she noticed that he wasn't paying attention to her. He was sitting on the sofa, having a beer.

With her mother.

Scully just stood there in the doorway, gaping at the tableau before her, until Krycek rose and approached her. "There you are. Missed you..." he said, as he swept her into his arms and greeted her with a kiss that threw her even more off-balance than she already was. She was still trying to catch her breath from that when he released her and breathed into her ear, "Play along."

Wondering what the hell he meant by that, she hugged her mother. Maggie Scully returned her pleasantries with, "Dana, honey, why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone?"

Scully plopped onto the sofa, where Krycek immediately snuggled up to her and started a very distracting nuzzling of her neck. "Seeing someone?" she asked dumbly.

Krycek chose that moment to start raining feather-light kisses on that little spot behind her ear that drove her crazy. Especially since she was already primed and ready, the sensation turned her insides to jelly. She pushed him away gently. "Stop that," she hissed.

Maggie smiled indulgently. "Yes, Alex has been telling me all about it. He's quite the charmer, isn't he? I'm so happy for you, Dana."

"Um...thanks..." Scully grabbed Krycek's hand, stopping him in mid- grope. She squeezed it just a little too hard, finally getting his attention. "A word please, Alex?" she asked, leveling a stern gaze at him. "In private."

"Anything you say, G-Woman." He matched her gaze with a steady one of his own. Then, to Maggie, "Excuse us, please."

Scully led him to the bedroom and closed the door behind them. She was about to light into him when he pinned her against the door and claimed her mouth in another one of those heart-stopping kisses. "Which word would you like, Dana?" he purred between kisses. "I kinda prefer 'foreplay' myself. A highly underrated word..."

It would've been the easiest thing in the world to give in to those demanding kisses, to that not-so-gently exploring hand. This was what she'd been thinking about all day, and she was about a nanosecond from pushing him down on the bed and ripping his clothes off... until she heard her mother moving around in the other room. She pushed Krycek roughly away from her, and held him at arm's length when he resisted. "Knock it off!" she commanded. "What is the matter with you? What the *hell* are you doing?"

Krycek shrugged, still leering playfully at her. "I was just having a nice conversation with your mother. What's wrong with that?"

She held him off as he moved into her personal space again, and he finally gave up and started to pay attention to her. "What in God's name did you say to her? She thinks we're dating!"

"Is that really such a bad thing?" He was the picture of innocence.

"How could you do that to me?" she wailed.

"What do you want from me, huh?" His playfulness had instantly changed to annoyance. "She came in here, using her key... I was here... What the hell was I supposed to do, tell her I'm the plumber?"

"You were *not* supposed to tell her that we're together!"

"Then tell her that," he said. "Go ahead and break your mother's heart. All she wants is to see that you're happy, Dana. She wants to know that you have someone with you in your time of need. She wants grandchildren... did I tell you she asked me if we've considered marriage?"

Scully gaped at him in horror. "What did you tell her?"

He backed off a bit, giving her his best wounded-puppy look. "What, don't you trust me?"

"Like you've given me reason to?"

Krycek sighed. "I told her it's too soon to think about it, okay?"

She relaxed a bit. "Still, you didn't have to say you're my boyfriend," she admonished.

"You would've liked it better if I said I was your live-in lover?"

"Lover?" she cried. "We're not together! Get that through your head! This is *not* a normal relationship!"

"It might as well be!" he shot back. "We live together, we sleep together... you came home and begged me to fuck your brains out *before* dinner every night last week... and we're *not* together?"

"It's not the same thing," she hissed.

He just looked at her.

"It wasn't every night," she mumbled.

"Okay, four out of five."

"Three."

"Oh, right, we managed to make it through dinner the fourth night."

"That was the *third* night!"

He shrugged. "Whatever."

Scully took a deep breath. "It's just sex," she said in a low voice. "Just sex. Completely meaningless. Only sex. Nothing more --"

He caught and held her eyes with his intense green ones. "Tell me you don't want it to be."

She gulped. "Of course not. Do you?"

He held her eyes a moment longer, then chuckled softly. "What do you think?"

"I, uh... think..." She took another deep breath. "I think we'd better get out there before my mother gets the wrong idea."

Now Krycek smiled and traced the line of her jaw with his fingertip. "Wrong idea? We're thinking about marriage, remember?"

Scully brought his exploring finger to her mouth and gently sucked on it. "Please be a good boy and don't say anything to embarrass me in front of my mother, okay?" she asked, figuring that he'd only behave if she gave him incentive. "Then... as soon as she leaves..." She reached down and gave the bulge in his jeans a firm squeeze. He gasped in surprise as she slipped out the door with an angelic smile.

"Honey, is everything okay?" Maggie asked, as Scully joined her in the living room.

"Fine, Mom, everything's fine," she assured her. "I'm afraid you caught us at a bad time, though. I'm so sorry, but Alex and I..."

At that moment Krycek appeared at her elbow. "Crotch-grabbing, Dana?" he murmured into her ear. "Two can play at that game... and never forget that I'm better at it than you are."

He straightened up and favored Scully's mother with one of his megawatt smiles. "Maggie, please say you'll join us for dinner."

Part Nine

Krycek watched Scully turn slowly and shoot a loaded look at him. "Alex, I was under the impression that we had plans?"

"Honey, if it's a bad time, we can always reschedule," Maggie said.

"It's not a bad time at all," Krycek assured her, smiling to himself at Scully's almost sub-audible growl. "Our plans weren't set in stone, were they, Dana? Surely we can put them off and spare a few hours for your mother."

"Alex..." If he wasn't mistaken, her tone sounded suspiciously like a whine. "Are you sure those plans can wait that long?"

<They'll wait as long as it takes to drive you to the point where you need to get fucked or you'll die, Little Red...> "Oh, sure, they can wait," he said lightly. "I can wait, Dana. Can you?"

"Really, I can come back another time," Maggie put in.

"No need," Krycek said, taking Maggie's arm. "In fact, coming tonight was a wonderful idea. Wasn't it, Dana?"

"It *would* be a wonderful thing..." he heard her mutter.

"What's that? Can't quite hear you, kitten."

She raised her eyes to his. Was that a challenge he saw there? Or a warning of his impending death? "I said, I can wait if you can, Alex," she said through clenched teeth. "Mom, why don't you come and sit down?"

Scully escorted her mother to the table while Krycek busied himself with the food. "Do I have a minute to change?" he heard from behind him.

He looked up to find her edging toward the hall, but he caught up to her and kissed her cheek. "Of course, kitten, but only a minute." Then, lower, so Maggie couldn't hear, "No fair soloing in there."

Her blue eyes blazed at him. "Make this quick or you will die," she growled. "And don't call me kitten."

"I'll call you whatever I want and you'll like it, unless you want me to propose to you on bended knee in front of your mother..."

"Bastard!" she snarled before stalking off down the hall.

"I love you too, hon," he called after her, feeling deep satisfaction at the loud slam of the bedroom door.

"Can I help with anything?" Maggie asked, coming up behind him.

"What? Uh, no, just sit down." Krycek led her back to the table. "Everything's covered. Want anything? Something else to drink? Another beer?" He could play the perfect host if he had to, but he was suddenly very nervous being alone with Maggie. The poor woman had no idea she was about to become the pawn in a twisted little game...

"Just mineral water if you have it," Maggie said with a smile.

As he handed it to her, she leaned forward and said, "Alex, you've spent a lot of time with Dana recently, haven't you?"

"Yeah..." What was she getting at?

"I was just wondering... how is she? Is she all right?"

It took a moment for him to realize what she was asking. "Yeah, she's fine. Doesn't she look fine?"

Maggie fixed a direct gaze on him. "You do know what I mean, don't you?"

"Of course." Great, just what he needed; discussion of the one issue that would put a damper on the game. He had to get off this topic fast. "She, um... she doesn't like to talk about it."

"She doesn't talk to you about it either?" Maggie shook her head sadly. "I'm so afraid she's still in denial."

The last thing he wanted was for the evening to turn into some sort of intervention. If Maggie was looking for an ally, she wasn't going to get one. Not now. "She's not in denial, she's fine, and I don't think she wants to talk about it tonight."

"Alex, I'm just concerned for my daughter --"

"I know you are. She appreciates it, I appreciate it, but everything's fine. Okay?"

She looked at him for another long moment, then gave in. "All right. Consider the subject closed."

Krycek felt Maggie's eyes on him as he moved around the kitchen, and waited for the expected question. If she couldn't talk about the cancer, what other subject was there? When the question came, it wasn't what he thought it would be.

"Do you often cook for Dana?"

Years of working with the smoking man and his group had taught Krycek that there's no such thing as an innocent question, no matter who's asking it. Maggie might still be heading where he thought she'd go, but she was taking a roundabout route to get there. "Just about every night."

"Sometimes he's lazy and all we have to eat is leftovers."

Krycek looked up to see Scully emerging from the hall. Had she...? No, probably not. She didn't look relaxed, but she did look... determined. There was a definite challenge in her eyes now... and he could easily see why.

It wasn't that the shirt was that low-cut, really. It was one of his favorites; a black v-neck that was softly clingy in all the right places. But it was clinging in a way he'd never seen before. Her breasts now seemed bigger, fuller. The shirt's neckline was just low enough to reveal the barest hint of the swell of her breasts, tantalizing him and making him ache to touch her.

Dana Scully in a Wonderbra? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing away his body's reaction to the sight. <They're just breasts,> he told himself. <Not like you haven't seen them a thousand times before. Control. You're in control. You're not going to cave first. She is...>

He looked a smiling Scully right in the eyes. "We wouldn't have to have the leftovers for dinner if you'd let me make lunch for you in the morning."

"Not that you're ever awake when I leave --" Scully immediately realized her mistake and sat down without a word, unable to meet her mother's questioning gaze.

To Maggie's credit, she waited until the food was on the table and everyone was digging in before asking. "So, are you two living together?"

Krycek pounced on that one while Scully was sipping her drink. "Yes, we are." He tried hard not to smirk when Scully choked on her water.

She recovered quickly. "Temporarily, Mom. Alex's apartment was damaged in a fire and it just didn't make sense for him to spend money on a hotel while it's being fixed."

"Fire?" Maggie laid a hand on his arm. "You weren't hurt, were you?"

A tiny pang of guilt stabbed at him. Was it really fair to mess with Maggie's mind like this? She seemed to be such a nice person, and the primary object of the mindfuck was the daughter, not the mother. Oh, well, every operation had its innocent victims, and what Maggie didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Right? "No, I wasn't hurt. It was my neighbor's fault, smoking in bed, y'know? Nothing major, just the usual water damage and there's that awful charred smell everywhere." He leaned closer to Scully's mother and lowered his voice, but not so low that Scully couldn't hear him. "To tell you the truth, I'm enjoying it here so much I might not go back when it's ready."

The look on the Ice Queen's face was worth the numbness in his leg where she kicked him. "Alex, didn't we talk about that?"

"Actually, Dana..." Maggie began.

Scully turned toward her mother. "Mom, I know how you feel about that. You know I wouldn't --"

"Normally, it would make me very uncomfortable," Maggie broke in. "And I still don't feel right about it, but this time... maybe it's for the best."

Scully choked on her food. "But, Mom --"

"I mean it, Dana," Maggie said. "In this case I'd just feel better knowing that you're not alone. You might need someone with you in case anything happens."

If Maggie only knew who it was that she'd just deemed suitable to protect her daughter...

Quickly bending his head over his plate, Krycek surreptitiously watched Scully. If he'd been the one to make a comment like that, she would've bitten his head off. The cancer was the one topic even he wouldn't pick at; if they ever talked about it, Scully had to bring it up. And she had done so only twice. The subject both saddened and angered her, and he was sure that her mother's implication that she was anything but a tower of strength would anger her even more. No matter what she felt, she couldn't let herself be seen as vulnerable. He almost expected an explosion of some type from her, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. She put her fork down and folded her hands in her lap. "Mother, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she said calmly.

"I know you are, sweetheart," Maggie said. "But it never hurts to be prepared, does it?"

"Not now, Mom." Scully spoke in that same calm tone, but Krycek knew she had to be inwardly seething. She glared at him for no apparent reason, but he just shrugged a little. After all, he wasn't the one who brought the subject up.

The atmosphere was getting a little too tense, and somebody had to do something about it. "Anybody want any more food?" he asked brightly. "There's plenty." He hadn't had much time to cook, thanks to Maggie's visit, but his spaghetti and meatballs usually went over well.

Both ladies declined, but the tension was broken as Maggie posed another question. "Tell me, how did you meet?"

"Worked together," Krycek said quickly, before Scully could invent something. Better to act as natural as possible here; the closer he stuck to the truth, the fewer details he'd have to remember later.

"Briefly," Scully added. "One case, a few years ago."

Maggie turned to Krycek. "So you were in the FBI?"

He acknowledged Scully's warning glare with a wink. "For a while, until I realized that the pay's better in the private sector."

"Which private sector?" Scully murmured.

Maggie didn't appear to have heard her. "Then you must know Dana's partner, Fox Mulder."

"Oh, yes," Scully said quietly. "Alex and Mulder know each other very well."

Krycek managed to shoot a glare in Scully's direction before Maggie turned a questioning glance toward him. If the cancer was Scully's taboo topic, the Mulder situation was his. The object of this game was to get Scully to get rid of her mother so they could have sex. Why the hell was she bringing this up? "Mulder and I, um... don't really get along," he mumbled.

"Oh? Why's that?"

When he hesitated, Scully prompted him. "Go ahead, Alex. Tell her exactly why you and Mulder don't get along."

He tried to kick her, but she deftly moved her leg out of the way. Why was she pushing this? He thought she wouldn't want to talk about Mulder at all. This had to be her revenge for him asking her mom to stay. Was making him squirm really more important to her than getting rid of Maggie and her questions?

He cleared his throat and took a swig of his beer under the watchful eyes of the Scully women. How close to the truth could he get? "Let's just say that I burned some bridges when I left the FBI. Ticked a few people off, Mulder probably most of all. It's just better if we stay out of each other's way."

"He was upset that you left?"

"It was more the way Alex left," Scully supplied. "Mulder thinks he left some issues unresolved."

"What do you think, Dana?"

"Well, I --"

"I felt I could better resolve those issues from outside the Bureau," Krycek said quickly. "And so far I think it's working pretty well. Wouldn't you say so, D?"

Scully smiled sweetly. "How would I know?" She moved slightly, highlighting her cleavage, then delicately sucked in a strand of spaghetti. Krycek had to look away.

"In any case," he murmured, "the effort has been... quite fulfilling. I'm satisfied so far. And I think you're pretty satisfied too..."

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and this time she was the one who had to look away.

Maggie, obviously a little uncomfortable, broke the tension again. "You lost touch after Alex left the FBI, right? What was it that brought you together after so long?"

Krycek looked her right in the eye and said, "Sex."

Maggie laughed heartily while Krycek watched her daughter out of the corner of his eye. He knew he'd pushed Scully too far and expected some sort of outburst from her, but she didn't move. Obviously too nervous to see the humor in that statement, she sat still, her head bowed over her plate. She was chewing her lip, an action he found curiously sexy.

Funny how the oddest things could sometimes be so arousing...

Aware of her mother's curious gaze on her, Scully managed a small smile. "Cute, Alex," she said quietly. "Real cute."

He gave her a tight smile. "Just another one of my hidden talents."

Maggie cleared her throat. "Really, what did bring you together?"

"What brings any two people together?" Scully said, a bit uncomfortable with the question. "Our paths crossed and I guess we just sort of... clicked."

"I made her an offer she couldn't refuse," Krycek added, with a wink at Scully.

"I see." Maggie took note of the looks passing between them and gulped her drink.

The rest of the meal was accompanied by more mundane conversation, with both Scully and Krycek deftly avoiding any further questions Maggie had about the nature of their relationship. It wasn't until the table was cleared and they had moved into the living room for coffee that the real reason for Maggie's visit came up.

"Dana, I just wanted to drop off Kathleen's wedding registry list. I thought that we might go shopping tonight, but of course, you have plans."

"Registry list?" Scully asked. "The wedding's in August! Why on earth would we shop now?"

"Because the girls are planning the shower for next month."

"Next month," Scully said. Maggie nodded. "Four months before the wedding?"

"Element of surprise," Krycek supplied, thoroughly amused by the conversation. "She'll never see it coming."

"Exactly," Maggie said. "And you know how curious Kathleen can be."

Krycek elbowed Scully. "Who's Kathleen?"

Scully sighed, and in that moment he knew she'd wanted to keep this wedding a secret from him. "My cousin," she said quietly.

How intriguing. "A family wedding? Great. I'd love to meet more of your relatives."

The look Scully gave him was the very picture of the Evil Eye.

"Anyway," Maggie was saying, "if you wanted to, we could still go shopping tonight. The store's still open and I'm so sorry, but I feel like I've wrecked your plans for this evening..."

"Maggie, you didn't wreck anything," Krycek said quickly. "We wanted you to stay."

"I don't think I'm up to those plans anyway," Scully sighed. "I'm a little tired tonight. I'd really rather just stretch out right here on the sofa and watch a video..."

An image of Scully lying there moaning and stroking herself sprang into Krycek's brain, and it felt like every drop of blood in his body headed straight to his groin. <Calm down,> he told himself. <Control. You're stronger than she is...> He took a deep breath and said, "Aw, c'mon. There's still plenty of time."

"Oh, you go ahead, Alex," came the reply. "You know I like to watch videos alone."

Oh, but the look on her face when she'd finally begged him to fuck her... "And you know you like it when I join you."

There it was. That look. She remembered too...

Scully sprang up from her seat on the sofa and paced around the coffee table. "On second thought, we were both looking forward to those plans, weren't we?"

"Mm-hmm. Can only be put off for so long..." he murmured.

"I should go," Maggie said, standing up. "I'm so sorry, I should've called first."

"Mom, don't worry about it." Scully handed her mother her coat. "It's fine. You didn't ruin anything."

"Alex, it was lovely meeting you." Maggie planted a soft kiss on his cheek. Uncomfortable with that gesture, he ducked his head and mumbled similar words.

"Mom, we'll go shopping this weekend, I promise," Scully said, ushering her mother to the door. "I'll call you."

Farewells were said, and finally Scully closed the door and they were alone. She remained against the door, her feral glare practically searing a hole right through him. "Now, how about those plans?" she breathed, her voice low and sultry.

Now he had her where he wanted her. "Plans?" he said, getting up. "I do believe we have a date..." He moved toward the kitchen, and Scully followed.

"Date?"

"Yeah." Krycek stepped back and showed her the dirty dishes and pots clustered on the counter. "With some dishes."

"Dishes?" Scully suddenly snatched up a dishtowel and swatted him with it. "I didn't just throw my mother out the door to do dishes! And how could you say those things in front of my mother?"

Krycek grabbed a towel of his own and snapped it at her. "Whaddya mean, how could I say those things? I didn't say anything to embarrass you!"

"She's not stupid. She knew something was going on! And how come you didn't introduce yourself as Alan?"

Oops. "She caught me off guard. I forgot, okay?" Seeing her all worked up drove his simmering arousal up another notch. If she didn't stop swatting him and get down to business, he'd have to do something himself, very soon...

"You've never been caught off guard in your life! What if she mentions this to Mulder?"

Scully's towel-snapping had chased him into a corner, but he battled back out of it. "What, does she have brunch with Mulder every Sunday or something? Why the hell would she even see him unless you were there too?"

"Mulder has ways of finding things out, Alex! He's not above pumping my mother for information."

"He is if you don't let him." Krycek grabbed the end of Scully's towel and pulled her close to him, trapping her against the table. "You really wanna have a towel fight?"

Her eyes, hungry once again, locked onto his as he pressed himself against her. A small sigh escaped her lips when she felt his erection, a reminder of the promise she'd made before dinner. "No, I don't want to have a towel fight," she breathed, tugging his zipper down. "We had plans, remember?"

It wasn't until clothes were all over the kitchen that Scully seemed to realize where they were. She froze for a second, distracting his attention from the breast he was sucking. "Bed?" she asked.

The tease had gone on long enough, and Krycek wasn't moving another inch until she fulfilled her promise. "Right here." He turned her around so that she was facing the table, the very same table they'd just had dinner on. "Bend over," he breathed.

She resisted a little, but he bent with her until her torso was on the table and he was on top of her. "Alex?" she asked.

"Don't move," he told her, then straightened up and pushed deep inside her.

She gasped at his sudden entry, her hands scrabbling on the table surface for something to grab onto. She knocked something to the floor, but he didn't really hear it. He slammed into her fast and hard; couldn't stop no matter what. He barely heard her cry out, but he felt the rhythmic spasms of her orgasm. He slipped his hand down between the edge of the table and her body, found her clit and rubbed at it; maybe too hard, but she soon came again anyway.

Nothing registered anymore, no outside stimuli at all. All he knew was the warm wetness of her body, the intensely pleasurable sensations centered in a few inches of his own body. Was there anything else that felt that good? No, couldn't be. Nothing else could ever feel like that...

It was over too fast, much too soon. He came hard, and afterwards leaned, panting, on top of Scully. Two hours of teasing and anticipation spent in just a few minutes. It would be such a waste if it didn't feel so damn good.

He slipped out of her, but she didn't move. She lay there across the table, breathing hard herself, and that was when he saw it.

Why hadn't he seen it before? He searched his memory, realizing that he'd never seen her back before. Another secret held by the enigmatic little redhead. "Dana?"

"Mmm?"

He lightly traced the colored circle on her lower back. "Tell me about this."

Scully gasped and whirled around to face him. "What?"

So she didn't want to talk about it. Even more intriguing. "Your tattoo. Tell me about it."

Something that looked almost like panic crossed her eyes, but only for a second, followed by an odd gleam. "Do you want to hear about the tattoo?" she asked. "Or would you rather have a blow job?"

She wasn't offering... was she? "Excuse me?"

"I could tell you about the tattoo if you want, but I think I'd rather give you oral sex. Your choice."

Krycek couldn't believe his ears. "You want to *what?*"

"You heard me." She grasped his hand and tugged him toward the bedroom. "Come get it if you want it."

"Let me get this straight," he said for about the tenth time. "You *want* to do this?"