Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 41

I follow the others to the round table and take my usual seat between Elle and Morgan. I scoot closer to the table and feel her leg brush against mine, her boot climbing my calf. Gently, I push her away, trying to hide my smile.

JJ and Hotch start to review the case. Small town, northern Virginia, murder with links to satanic rituals and a missing teenaged girl.

"The signature is a satanic symbol with the initials LOD carved above it. The police have linked it to a local group."

"A cult?" Elle asks.

"Not a cult, they've built on an obsession with the devil but have never been violent," Hotch replies.

I glance up from the pictures. "Teenagers?"

Hotch nods. We continue to go over what we know before Hotch ends the meeting and tells us to be at the air strip in half an hour.

I stand from my seat, gathering the file. I follow Elle out the door and reach for her elbow. "Hey, you free Thursday night?" I whisper into her ear.

"Already miss me?" she smirks.

I roll my eyes but can't help the smile touching my lips. "Yes or no?"

"I will be, if we're home by then," she adds as we walk down the stairs together.

"Then make sure there's plenty of clothes in your go-bag." I step around her towards my desk. She smiles and shakes her head as we both get ready to go.

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That night I rest on the bed of my hotel room, wishing Elle was beside me. For one night I had her, one night I fell asleep listening to her breathe and the next morning I woke up to her head on my chest. How can I miss something I've hardly had as much as I miss her?

What is she doing to me?

I read the neon numbers of the clock on the bedside table. 2:47. I'm exhausted. And she's probably asleep. But so is the rest of the team. I shouldn't. Not here, not when we're working a case.

I get out of bed in another two minutes. Throwing on a sweater, I drag the covers off me and shudder as my bare feet touch the cold floor. I only take a few steps when I hear a knock at the door. Immediately suspicious, I make sure my gun sits nearby. I peer through the peephole and can't help the smile rising on my lips, the butterflies awakening in my gut.

I open the door to see her standing in flannel pants and a tank top. Her hair falls across her shoulders, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. And as beautiful as ever. She gives me a small smile.

"Hey," she says softly. "I missed you."

"I saw you five hours ago," I tease, pretending I wasn't just about to come find her.

"Shut up," she mumbles as she wraps her arms around me.

I close the door and return her embrace, feeling her weight around my shoulders. I step away and reach for her legs. I scoop her up and carry her to the bed. She wraps her hands around my neck, her face pressed into my shoulder.

"I'm tired," she mutters into my sweater.

"I know," I whisper with a soft smile.

I lay her down on the mattress and climb over her to my side of the bed. I pull my sweater over my head and drop it to the floor. She rolls my body so my back is to her and wraps an arm around my waist, the other sliding under the pillow and taking my hand. My free arm rests on hers, my fingers brushing the back of her hand as she traces the outline of my abs.

"Goodnight, C," she mumbles into my neck.

The sensation of her lips brushing against my skin sends chills through my body. "Goodnight Elle," I whisper in the dark.

Her fingers slow and soon enough I sense the shift in her breathing as she falls asleep.

I know the night won't last forever. But all I want to do is freeze time, stay here with her, not worry about cases or the FBI or having to hide.

I just want her.

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The morning comes too soon, the alarm waking us with its relentless ring. She leans back to shut it off, pulling away from me. I shiver as the cold morning air passes over my skin. Elle comes back to my body, her chest pressed against my back. She softly kisses my neck and whispers good morning.

I smile and turn into her so we're facing each other. "Getting up in the mornings was hard enough before I started waking up next to you," I mumble, not wanting to shatter the peaceful atmosphere.

She smiles and draws me in for a long kiss.

She sighs when we break away for air. "We can't do this every night, you know. We shouldn't have done this," she whispers, equally as quiet. She moves to pull away from me but my hands hold her back.

"I know, Elle. But I won't let some stupid protocols stand in the way of this. Not anymore." I take a deep breath as we consider the consequences of what we're doing. "But you're right. We can't spend the night together when the team is literally a room over. Or when we're working."

She kisses the corner of my mouth in agreement. "We have to meet the team in an hour," she reminds me as she pulls away. I let her, getting up from my side of the bed.

I take a few steps before hearing a knock at the door. I look at Elle and gesture towards the bathroom. She wordlessly leaves the room as I throw my sweater back on.

I peek through the peephole to see Spencer standing there, already dressed in khakis and a sweater vest over a polo and tie. I open the door, tossing my hair over my part. "Hey, Spencer, what is it? I thought we were meeting in an hour." I yawn and stretch my right arm up the door.

"Do you know where Elle is?" He asks, peering behind me. "I went to give her the updated ME report but no one answered when I knocked."

I nod, playing it off casually. "Yeah, she's with me, we wanted to go over the case again."

"Oh, okay." He moves to step forward but I block his way with my body.

"She's in the bathroom. I'll give it to her, don't worry." I hold my hand out for the file.

"Okay, thanks C." He hands it to me without hesitation. "I'll see you downstairs."

"Yep. And Reid, thanks," I add.

He gives me a tight-lipped smile before walking away.

I close the door and sigh, tossing the report onto the table near the door. I sense Elle coming up behind me and she wraps her hands around my waist, kissing my neck.

"I should go," she sighs as she hugs me.

I take her hands in mine but nod in agreement. "You should. I don't want you to though."

She smiles against my skin as she gives my neck another kiss. "I'll see you downstairs." She takes the report and checks the peephole to make sure there's no one outside. She looks back at me with a smile before leaving the room, the door clicking shut behind her.