Fandom: Houston Knights
Series: Other Pairings
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Joe/Annie
Archive: No
Title: Forbidden Fruit 2
Author: Starwinder
e-mail address: starwinder2of7@gmail.com

Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters who may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

Forbidden Fruit 2
By Starwinder

Detective Sergeant Levon Lundy knocked on his partner's door.

"It's open!" Detective Sergeant Joe LaFiamma called from inside the apartment.

Lundy pushed the door open and entered.

His partner was in the kitchen, rooting around in the fridge for something.

Lundy perched on one of the stools at the breakfast bar and watched him. Joe appeared to be doing an inventory of the refrigerator's contents. He had a notepad in one hand and a pencil in the other, shoving stuff around on the refrigerator shelves and making notes on the pad, muttering to himself all the while.

Lundy watched with an amused expression on his face. LaFiamma had the fullest refrigerator of any single man the cowboy cop knew. Compared to Lundy's fridge, LaFiamma's was absolutely bulging. Levon thought he might still have a couple of beers at home. Joe's looked like he was expecting half of the city to drop by for supper. Of course back in Chicago, where Joe came from, that might have been a realistic expectation. Lundy had never quite understood the mechanics of Joe's huge extended family. Sometimes it seemed like Joe was related to half the state of Illinois, by blood, by marriage or by some strange form of adoption. Apparently if you ever had a relationship with a member of the LaFiamma family you were a member of the LaFiamma family ... for life. He wasn't certain but he thought that, if he'd understood Joe right when he'd said it, he, Levon Lundy was listed on the LaFiamma family tree. Seems that as Joe's partner he was now 'family'.

After a couple more minutes of rooting and muttering LaFiamma surfaced and after closing the refrigerator door came and leaned on the counter, writing on the notepad. "Are you gonna bring me home tonight or do I gotta check out a plain wrap again?" he demanded, without looking up from his list.

"Reckon I can drop you off. Why?" Lundy drawled.

"I need to stop at the grocery store." LaFiamma announced, tearing off the top sheet of the notepad, folding it and sticking it in his shirt pocket.

Lundy gawked at him. "You ain't got enough to eat around here? That thing," he gestured to the refrigerator, "is stuffed. Cabinets are full. What could you possibly need?"

"I promised Annie that I'd make my great-grandmother Bellarosa's Strawberries Alberto for our dessert tonight. Gotta get fresh strawberries and the wine." He said it casually, as if Annie had dinner at his place every day ... but he looked away from Lundy as he spoke.

For just a minute Lundy froze. He knew that Joe and Sergeant Annie Hartung, Reisner's resident forensics expert, had been having dinner at Chicken's, shooting pool, listening to the jukebox and talking until all hours of the night for more than two months now. He also knew that Annie was married. He'd been hoping that they would keep the relationship on that level. As long as they were not alone together, he could go on trying to pretend that he didn't have a clue what was happening between them ... even if he did.

He looked down at the counter, not wanting to meet Joe's eyes any more that Joe wanted to meet his ... and saw more evidence that his fears of where Joe and Annie were headed was correct. Lying on the counter was another one of the booklets that had become Joe's favorite reading. This one was titled; Talking to Your Paralyzed Partner About His/Her Sexual Needs. Right next to it was one called; Making Love: Tips and Techniques for Paralyzed Persons and Their Partners.

Silence fell between them, after an uncomfortable minute, Lundy looked up at his partner. "You really think that this is a good idea, Joe?" He tried to keep his voice calm, not wanting to start a fight.

LaFiamma looked at him and swallowed hard, guilt plain on his face, "I know she's married. I do." It was barely more than a whisper. "I don't ... I mean I didn't set out to ... break up a marriage ... but it's not really a marriage, is it Lundy?" His eyes were pleading for understanding, "He's not a husband to her. He's not there for her. Not physically. Not emotionally. Not ...sexually." His gaze dropped from Lundy's, "I ... I lov- ... I mean ... I care about her. I care a lot. I won't hurt her, Lundy. That's the last thing I want to do."

Lundy was staring at his partner with a stunned look on his face. [He started to say that he loved her.] Suddenly a lot of things fell into place for Lundy. [He's in love with Annie!] He remembered how almost from the first time that Joe had seen Annie he'd been like a different person with her than he was with anyone else. He'd argue and fight with every one around him, be pushy, bossy, hard-assed with everybody ... everybody but Annie. From day one he'd treated Annie like she was a queen and he was her devoted servant. He fetched and carried, held doors and wheeled her chair. Waited on her hand and foot whenever he was around her ... and he didn't like it, not one bit, when anybody else tried to wait on her. He could get downright belligerent if someone else tried to push Annie's wheelchair when he was there. Lundy had been on the receiving end of that belligerence enough to know.

After another long moment of silence, Lundy realized that Joe was waiting for him to say something. Not knowing what else to say he finally settled on, "I'll take you by the store." Then he picked up his hat and led the way out of the apartment.

They rode to Reisner in silence.

It was a relatively quiet day at the station and shortly before quitting time, Lundy found himself down at the forensics section. Looking into Annie's office he saw that she was there, alone.

He stepped inside, and said, "Hi, Annie. Got a minute?"

She looked up and smiled, "Sure, Levon. I've always got a minute for you."

He sat down in the visitor's chair and took off his hat.

Annie regarded him curiously. "Well ... ." she prodded.

He took a deep breath, not sure how to start, "Annie, we've been friends a long time ..." he hesitated, "you know that I care a lot about you."

"I know, Levon." She flashed him a smile, "So quit beating around the bush and spit it out."

He chuckled, nervously, "It ain't none of my business. I know that, Annie ... but ... you're my friend, and he's my partner. I hear you're having dinner at Joe's tonight, just the two of you ... alone, together. You know how it's gonna look, Annie. People are bound to talk. You're a married woman---"

"Married!" She spat the word out like a curse. "I'm a wife, yes. But do I have a husband? No! Harlon hasn't been a husband to me since I was shot! You know how long that's been!"

He nodded. He did know. [Seven years.]

She didn't even pause. "He hasn't slept in the same bed with me since I came home from the hospital. He crawled inside that bottle like he was the one that was shot! One time, he tried to make love to me. One time in seven years! And he was drunk." Tears were welling in her eyes. "Drunk and rough and crude! I ... I felt like I was being raped!"

She wiped at her eyes and glared at Levon, defiantly. "Joey makes me feel like a woman! He treats me like a lady and an equal! He looks at me and he doesn't see a wheelchair, a piece of furniture. He sees me! Me! Annie Hartung! A woman! A fellow cop! Smart, tough and beautiful! And he makes me feel like that. Like I'm young and beautiful."

Her voice softened and she gave Levon a sad look. "I'm not a fool, Levon. I know he's younger than me. I know he's a gorgeous young man. I know that I can't hope to hold him. I know that if Harlon finds out he'll divorce me ... and I don't care! Let him. One night with Joey would be worth that to me." She paused then fixed him with that defiant look. "Like you said, Levon, it's none of your business!"

"I'm sorry, Annie. I didn't have any right to say anything." Lundy stood up and picked his hat up, turning, he reached for the doorknob then stopped. Turning back he looked into Annie's defiant eyes. He considered for a moment then decided he owed it to Joe to say something, "Annie, just do me one favor, remember that LaFiamma's got feelings too ... . Boy's in love with you."

He jammed his hat on his head and got the hell out of there before he crammed anymore of his foot in his mouth.

Annie sat staring at the door as it closed behind him. [Boy's in love with you.] The words echoed in her mind. She hadn't really considered it to be possible. She'd told herself that he could be, that anything was possible but she hadn't believed it and hadn't wanted to examine his motives for coming on to her, preferring to just accept it once she had decided to go for it.

Now ... now there was the possibility that she could hurt him. While she was willing to risk getting hurt herself, she wasn't certain that she was willing to risk hurting Joey ... because deep down in her heart, she knew that she loved him.

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

He was sitting on the steps to his apartment building when she drove up. A smile spread across his face as he jumped to his feet and hurried to greet her. He took the handles of her wheelchair as soon as she was out of the van and rolled her toward the building, explaining as he went. "This building, it ain't what you'd call accessible. I'll have to pull you up the outside steps. But there's an elevator inside to go up to the apartment." He maneuvered the chair around so that the back was to the steps and pulled her up the two short steps to the terrace leading into the building.

He was still apologizing for the building not being accessible when they got upstairs and Annie realized that he was at least as nervous as she was, if not more so.

"It's all right, Joey. I'm used to having to work around barriers ... and having you here to help makes it more than bearable." She smiled at him as he rolled her into the apartment.

The table was already set, candles ready to be lit, the lights turned low.

"I waited to start cooking till you got here. It'll only take about fifteen minutes. Everything is ready to start."

She watched as he moved around the small kitchen, it was obvious that he both knew how to cook and enjoyed preparing the food. He talked as he worked explaining what they were having and how he was preparing it.

True to his word, fifteen minutes later he was rolling Annie's chair to the table.

The meal was delicious and they lingered over the food, making small talk about events at Reisner, cases that they were working on, various other things.

Finally Joe said shyly, "Would you like to move to the living room? Sit on the couch with me?"

"I'd love that, Joey." She said softly.

He rolled her chair over to the couch and helped her get arranged before sitting down beside her.

Taking her hand he said softly, "You look so beautiful tonight, Annie."

She smiled and murmured, "Thanks, Joey."

He reached up to touch her hair, gently wrapping a strand around his finger. "I can't tell you how long ... how badly, I've wanted to be alone with you." He paused and gave her a serious look. "But I want you to know that I won't do anything you don't want me to. All you ever have to do is say 'stop' ... and I'll stop. No matter what. You understand. I want you to know that you are absolutely safe with me. I ... I want ..." he hesitated, then his hand slid around behind her head, cradling it, turning her face toward him, "May I kiss you, Annie?"

His voice was as soft and as filled with longing as the eyes that gazed into hers, "Oh, Joey! Yes. Please do." She breathed.

He leaned in, his lips just barely touching hers, then slowly, gently he deepened the kiss, his tongue flicked out to touch her lips and she let them part, invited him in. He moaned into her mouth. The hand behind her head slid down, the arm circling her shoulders, his other arm went down, wrapped around her legs, lifting her. He turned them so that she lay across his lap, in his arms.

The kiss seemed to go on forever. She felt dizzy, light headed. It had been so long since anyone had held her, so long since anyone had kissed her, so long since she'd felt such passion burning in another ... passion for her. She moaned when he finally broke the kiss. Moaned and sobbed his name, "Joey! Oh, Joey!"

"Annie! Annie!" he kissed his way down her throat to the hollow at the base, the arm around her shoulders slid down to arch her up for his kisses. The other hand came to rest at her waist.

Moaning with pleasure at his touch, she reached down and drew that hand up to cup her breast.

He rubbed her breast through her blouse then straightening slightly, looking down at her with eyes filled with passion and desire he asked, "Are you sure, Annie?"

In reply she reached up and began to unbutton the blouse.

He moaned softly as he watched her open her blouse for him, seeing in her eyes passion and desire to match his own.

He brushed his fingertips across the bare mound of her breast, just above the lacy cup of her bra, "Such beautiful skin. So smooth, so white." He murmured as his fingers slipped under the top edge of her bra.

She gasped with pleasure as his finger brushed across the nipple. He reached for the bra's clasp, a single hook in the center between her breasts. A second later, he was cupping her bare breast in his hand and Annie was moaning with pleasure, her body quivering and shaking in his arms.

Alarmed he asked, "Annie! Annie are you all right?"

"Yes, oh yes! I ... I think I just had the first climax I've had since I was shot! I didn't know my breasts were so sensitive."

At that he smiled, beaming proudly. "Do you think you could stand to have another?" He whispered as the shudders began to subside.

His fingers brushed her nipple again and she trembled.

"Oh, God! Joey. That's so good!" She cried out as he lowered his head and began to suckle on the hard nub of her nipple.

He sucked that breast for a few minutes then turned to the other one. By the time he lifted his head after licking, sucking and nibbling at the other breast, while rolling the nipple of the first breast between his thumb and fore finger she was almost sobbing, having climaxed twice more.

He held her to him gently as the tremors faded, then asked, "Would you like to stay the night?"

"Oh, Joey. I'd love to ... but there are things that have to be done to get me ready for bed. I don't know ..."

"I got some books about it, Annie. I know you've got a catheter. Maybe something for your bowels, too. I don't mind helping you. I just want you with me. We don't have to do anything except sleep if you prefer."

She looked up at him, "You are so sweet, Joey. So wonderful. I ... I just don't know if I'm ready to have you see that part of me yet."

"Okay." He stroked her hair. "Will you stay a while longer, though? Let me hold you? Please?"

"Of course." She pulled him back down into another long lingering kiss, trembling as his hand cupped her bare breast again.

It was well after midnight when he helped her straighten her clothes and wheeled her down to her van, helped her in and waited till she was on the road before returning to his apartment.

Neither of them noticed the red Jimmy parked half a block down on the other side of the road.

The End