Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Kudos and BBC. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT

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Lucas' arm hurt where the bat hit him. She was a damn good hitter, that he had to admit to himself as he followed her out of the taxi and up the steps to her flat. It had taken her a few minutes to calm her nerves down after their unfortunate misunderstanding inside her office. He had found her front door ajar and, seeing the faint light beneath the door leading to her office, he had assumed that she was inside.

And though he had been right - she was inside the office - the last thing he expected was for her to be with a bat ready to bash his head in.

He'd had a tenuous day dealing with Harry and Ros as they doubted his loyalty to MI5. And though being Tasered wasn't his idea of fun either, double-crossing Arkady Kachimov into believing that he'd been exposed as the mole within FSB certainly was. It had given Lucas an adrenaline rush like nothing he had felt in a long time. He considered it his revenge for the eight years of hell Kachimov had subjected him to.

However, none of that had compared to telling, not asking, his ex-wife to work for MI5 to save herself and her family. Lucas' jaw tightened as the image of Elizabeta staring at him from across the kitchen counter returned to him.

"Were you always this cold under the skin?" She had asked him. "Was that man I knew just a lie?"

Her words had cut through his heart like a knife. He loved her still.

"Lucas," Alexa said again, her words slicing through the haze of memories. "Would you like to come in?"

Alexa opened a bottle of white wine to go with the fish and chips that Lucas had brought along with him and they sat on the floor of the living room to eat. Alexa wondered if Lucas had known that she'd been at the Grid to see Harry but didn't think it too important to ask him. He was here with her now, wasn't he?

Lucas was wearing a black shirt over dark blue jeans, colors that highlighted the classic features of his face. He sat with his back against the sofa, his legs stretched out in front of him on the rug, munching on some chips as he watched her, a smile on his lips. Alexa sat with her legs folded to one side, propping herself up on the sofa next to him.

"You gave me quite a scare," she said, taking a sip from the wine. "What made you come over?"

Lucas gazed at her, his eyes resting on her full lips before returning to her eyes. Alexa had beautiful green almond-shaped eyes framed with long lashes. Her skin was flawless and her hair hung in loose waves across her shoulders, spilling onto her back. He could see the faint pulse on her neck.

"I missed you," he said, smiling sheepishly.  

Alexa laughed, blushing. "You liar," she said. "I bet you've got loads of women running after you."

Lucas laughed. "If they are, then I've lost them somewhere along the way."

They chuckled for a few moments and continued eating. Lucas licked his fingers, wiping them with a napkin before taking another sip of the wine.

Alexa exhaled. It had taken a few moments for her to calm down back there at her office long after Lucas helped her up off the floor, holding her till she stopped trembling. And even as they had gotten into the taxi, she had still found herself shaking though this time, she shoved her hands in her coat pockets, not wanting Lucas to see them.

"I was so scared back there, Lucas. I could have sworn I saw his face -"

Lucas touched her hand gently. "I should have announced myself. It was wrong for me to sneak up on you like that."

"I still have nightmares, you know," she continued. "Sometimes I pretend that I'm this strong woman who can take over the world, who can guide other women along the path to independence, yet here I am, just -"

"You are," Lucas said. "You are a very strong woman, Alexa."

"Do you get nightmares, Lucas?" Alexa asked, searching his face as Lucas looked away. After a few moments, he turned to face her, nodding.

"Every night," he replied. He ran his hand across his hair before rubbing his face absently. "Eight years don't disappear overnight."

Lucas drew closer to her, bringing his arm across her shoulders as Alexa straightened her legs in front of her and leaned against him. "Do you ever wish you could punish someone? Anyone? Make them pay for what they'd done to you?"

"Every day," Lucas replied. His thoughts returned to Arkady Kachimov and the limitless extent of the man's treachery, teasing him all those years while he was in prison about letting him go if only he'd spy for them, only to find out that he'd turned Elizabeta anyway, using Lucas as leverage.

He looked at Alexa, her face troubled, as if she were back in that dark place again after so long. The office incident had somehow set her off, opened an artery that now seemed to be bleeding again. She looked so haunted.

"Lucas, I..."

Lucas tilted her head up towards him, his lips gentle upon hers, silencing her as he kissed her. The feel of her lips was intoxicating and as she responded, he drew her closer to him. He kissed her softly, teasing her with gentle kisses, nibbling on her lower lip as Alexa groaned, her belly tightening.

His tongue teased her lips and she drew closer, yearning for more. For a few minutes they kissed, and when Lucas captured her tongue, sucking it gently, Alexa found herself breathless. His fingers played along the skin of the back of her neck, giving her goosebumps, and Alexa found herself impatient to get him out of his clothes.

Suddenly she pulled away and Lucas looked at her, frowning.

Alexa was out of breath, her lips tingling where he'd sucked them playfully. Without saying a word, she led him upstairs, down the hallway, and into her bedroom, with its crisp white sheets and down-filled pillows. Sitting him down on the edge of the bed, she undressed in front of him, a slow precise series of movements that in the absence of the sexual tension that rose between them, would have been just someone undressing before a mirror.

Instead, Lucas found himself watching her every move. From the slow unbuttoning of her blouse, the deliberate lift of her shoulder to let the fabric fall away from her torso, to the unzipping of her skirt, he watched her, mesmerized. His breathing quickened and in the silence between them, it filled the air.

Then she stood before him with only her bra and panties, turning so that her back faced him, her hair covering the vision of Kali on her back. Lucas suppressed the groan from his throat as he slowly unhooked her lace bra, watching her move her shoulder up and then down to let the straps fall off her shoulders. The lacy undergarment whispered all the way to the floor to her feet, as if in slow motion.

Lucas hooked his fingers along the top of her panties and with a sigh that brought his warm breath upon the small of her back, he slid them down, off her hips, his fingers burning a pathway down her thighs as he let the last of her underthings fall silently onto the carpet.

He reached his hands in front of her and cupped her breasts, feeling their weight and softness in his palms. He squeezed them, almost roughly, his thumb and index finger finding her nipples and pinching them. Alexa gasped, her body leaning back against him before she brought her own hands on his and pulled them away from her breasts and down onto her sides.

She turned to face him and Lucas reached out for her.

"I want you," he whispered hoarsely.

Her lip curled seductively, playfully. Alexa pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him, her knees on either side of his torso. She began to unbutton his shirt slowly, her eyes locking with his as she bent down to kiss him again, her lips playful just as he had been when they were downstairs. She sucked on his lower lip, feeling his hands tighten around her, hearing him moan.

"Oh, god, Alex," he breathed. Lucas gripped her hips as she continued undressing him, straining to hold himself in check. The hunger in his belly was roaring, demanding to be sated but he held back, allowing himself to be controlled by the woman who towered over him, her hair spilling over his chest as she drew lower, her lips a few inches away from his.

He could feel her sex hot and moist against his lower belly, the smoothness of her nether lips driving him mad with hunger. Lucas brought his head up to meet hers, his lips hungry to devour her but Alexa moved away from him, sliding down onto the floor so she sat between his knees. She unbuckled his belt, helping him slip off his jeans. His arousal strained from within the last remnant of clothing, and she freed him from his constraints, hearing him moan as she held him.

Alexa bit her lower lip as she brought her fingers around him, stroking him gently, squeezing him, teasing him. She heard him groan, his hips rising and falling upon the bed as she delayed his release by holding back.

Finally Lucas had had enough. He was about to burst, the limits of his patience finally breached and he pulled her from the floor and deposited her onto the middle of the bed. The fire in his eyes was unmistakeable, the heat from his belly needing to be quenched. And soon.

Yet there was something else, and she saw it behind his blue-gray eyes. A violence loomed there, lingering in the shadows, yearning to be set free. The vein on the side of his temple throbbed as Lucas brought his lips upon hers roughly, the stubble on his jaw scratching the skin of her face and neck.

Alexa brought her hands to his face, feeling the day's growth of stubble beneath her fingers, her hands curling against the curve of his neck to bring him closer to her. She felt him, hot and throbbing and throbbing against the skin of her thigh and she moaned, her hand moving downwards to caress him.

Lucas grabbed hold of her wrists, pinning them against the bed above her head with one hand and with the other, he squeezed her breast hard, making her gasp from the pain. As her legs opened to take him, he slammed himself inside of her, feeling her body buck beneath him. Their lips met, this time the tenderness, the playfulness they'd shown earlier was gone, his mouth claiming her tongue as he pounded her, feeling her body arch back to meet him at every thrust of his hips.

Her body writhed beneath him, slamming against him as if she were fighting him, but Lucas held her down with his body, his mouth laying its assault on her neck and her breasts, leaving a trail that burned her skin. It was a savage coupling that sent them both reeling.

She let Lucas pin her down, restraining her as he took her roughly. Time seemed to stand still as he moved in and out of her, his eyes watching her as she felt herself crest that wave, her orgasm threatening to consume her completely.

Her body shuddered as she came, wave upon wave that made her cry out his name against his neck as he continued to restrain her arms above her head. Lucas would not give her the satisfaction of holding him. Not now. The anger that had long been lurking deep inside him had taken over his very being and it surprised him. He could not stop.

Lucas turned her over, lifting her hips up so he could take her from behind. Ready or not, he entered her, pleased to see that she was, feeling her hips meet his as she cried out his name with every thrust of his hips. He grabbed her hair, causing Alexa to arch her back as he pounded her, the sensation of the walls that enclosed him like a glove finally becoming too much to bear and Lucas came, crying out as he continued to pound against her, feeling her body shudder as she came again.

When it was over, they collapsed, drenched in perspiration that cloaked them from head to foot. Lucas kissed her again but drew back, the sensations coursing through his body overcoming him, giving his skin goosebumps where her hands now touched him. The raw electricity that danced in the space between them made him gasp for breath and they lay side by side, panting, feeling the air in the room vibrate around them till slowly it, too, died down.

He turned his body to face Alexa, her back facing him and together they lay there, his breath warming the back of her neck, one arm under her head, the other on her hip. There was no room for words as they held each other. Lucas traced the contours of leg against his, feeling the smoothness of her skin as he closed his eyes.

They fell asleep and for how long, Lucas did not know. He only knew that as he opened his eyes a few hours later, when it was still dark, Alexa had awoken as well and felt his body stir behind her. For a few minutes they lay there, listening to each others breathing in the darkness, feeling the subtle changes in their bodies as desire stirred within. Lucas kissed the slope of her shoulder, his hands soft against the curve of her belly, tracing the skin between her hip bones and moving downwards till his fingers felt the heat of her sex, building yet again, her wetness warm and ready.

Silently they moved together, her hips grinding against him, welcoming the length and girth of him inside of her, filling her. This time, their movements were slow and gentle. Alexa's head rested on the crook of his shoulder and as he moved himself rhythmically in and out of her, she nibbled the sensitive skin of his arm and Lucas gasped as the sensations shot through him. He slipped his other hand into the folds of her sex, his fingers stroking the nub that sent her body into uncontrollable shivers as she writhed and moaned and whimpered.

Lucas came as hard as he did the first time that night, his hands squeezing her breast roughly, pulling her nipple hard. She cried out in pain, her hand reaching behind her to grab his hip, her nails digging into his skin and together they came, their bodies wracked with shudders as the last of the waves conquered them, leaving them breathless and spent.

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The beeping of his phone somewhere in the room woke Lucas up and he slowly extricated his numb arm from beneath Alexa's head as she slept. They hadn't moved their position through the night and Lucas shook his arm awake, his body sore in places he'd forgotten about.

He found his phone in his jeans pocket. It was Harry. Lucas grabbed his clothes and stepped out of the bedroom before answering it, closing the door behind him.

His voice was hoarse but he did not need to say much. Harry wanted them all at the office as soon as possible.

As silently as he could, Lucas slipped back into the room to say good-bye to Alexa but she was fast asleep.  He kissed her lightly on the forehead and left ther room, shutting the door behind him. 

It was just another day at the office, Lucas thought, as he found one of the two doors at the end of the hallway that led to the bathroom where he did his best to freshen up and rid himself of the smell of sex that he knew would be clinging to his skin. To hell with that, he thought. Let them think whatever they want to think. What he did outside of the Grid was his business and no one else's, not even Harry's.

He would have wanted to spend the morning with Alexa but knew it would have been too much right now. He did not know where they stood in this strange relationship, a relationship that bore all the hallmarks of a tragedy just waiting to happen.

The attraction they felt for each other was unmistakable, unavoidable. He felt the electricity in the air each time they were together. Yet Lucas knew that they were together for all the wrong reasons.

As he shut the door behind him, pulling at it to make sure it was locked, Lucas wished he could have at least be there when Alexa awoke. She didn't deserve the treatment she was getting from him.

As Lucas bounded down the steps, looking around him warily like he always did mainly due to habit, he didn't noticed the man jogging across the street from him stop to tie his shoelaces. And as the man looked up, he stared at Lucas, a look of recognition flashing across his scarred face.

Lucas' gaze fell on him, but the man immediately bent his head down, concentrating on the shoelace that had gotten loose. Lucas frowned. His phone rang again and this time he answered the call immediately and began walking up the street towards the main thoroughfare where he could catch a taxi that would take him to Thames House.

As the jogger straightened up, he stared at the figure disappearing around the corner, the vein on his neck throbbing. Mikhael Lubienko never forgot a face, and this one, he remembered very well.

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