“Ok here’s the deal.”

“Oh man…” There was a chuckle laced through the two words, and Jim’s voice was unmistakably mocking. Pam cocked her head at him and bit back a smile.

“What?” she wondered, and he shook his head.

“No, nothing I just, uh…” he muttered, shaking his head and raising his eyebrows in amusement. She heaved a practiced sigh and put down her forkful of pancakes and maple syrup.

“Come on, Jim,” she prodded, leaning forward toward him as if that would pull the answer out of his mouth. He felt heat spike in his veins because he couldn’t help but associate that phrase with a very different, very naked sort of Pam who whispered it against his skin when he was so far inside of her… He cleared his throat.

“Nothing, Pam, nothing. I guess I just figured once like a month had gone by we could forego the talk before work…” She laughed in concession and tucked an errant curl behind her ear. Her cheeks burned because she was all too aware of the journey his mind had just taken.

“You’re right,” she agreed, “I’m sorry.” He pursed his lips and nodded at her, taking in the look in her eye and the pink tinge in her cheeks. He blew out a slow hiss of air and squinted.

“The apology sounds so much less convincing when you have that look on your face,” he told her quietly. She turned her gaze to her breakfast and blushed even more, her eyes twinkling down at the plate in front of her. He was finding he couldn’t resist her when she was so happy…so warm…so…ok so he could never resist her, but still...this glowing thing she had going was definitely an improvement. “Ok, sergeant, go ahead. Tell me how to behave.” His mock serious tone made her laugh again and she placed an elbow on the table, propping her chin on her hand and grinning at him through half-lidded eyes. They held the stare for only a few seconds before she finally gave into her own need to voice the thing she’d been voicing every morning since they’d started…whatever this was. Awesomely dating?

“Just…no shenanigans,” she instructed, pointing at him before returning to her still warm pancakes. He smiled broadly and nodded his agreement.

“No shenanigans.”

******************************************************************************************

He was banking on her inner clock and how it usually dictated a snack around 10:30. She did not disappoint and he was waiting in the kitchen when she pushed through the door with a subtle grin on her face.

“Hello,” she greeted daintily. He gave a little nod in response and tried not to smile because she was trying not to. It was pretty much a losing battle. He stepped up and leaned a shoulder against the refrigerator door just as she was pulling it open, making it slam shut with an audible rattle. She raised an eyebrow at him and bit her lower lip as he leaned down toward her conspiratorially.

“So, listen,” he began, glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, “there is like a…” his mouth twisted in bewilderment, “secretarial emergency in the women’s bathroom right now.”

“Really?” she wondered quietly, feigning concern. He nodded and sighed.

“Yeah, just…paper clips and…slow typing everywhere.” She hummed. “I heard there’s one guy who only types like 65 words per minute,” he admitted.

“Wow,” she grimaced at the number and shook her head.

“I know, ridiculous. Someone needs to salvage the situation.” His gaze drifted away from her as if pondering who could solve this dilemma and she finally let her smile push through. “Stat,” he finished. She shrugged and nodded, glancing toward the door of the bathroom and then glancing back at him, feeling the hum of his body heat through the inches separating them. She sighed.

“Ok well I’m really sorry, but I have to cut our conversation short,” she told him, a tinge of amusement in her voice. He nodded understandingly. “The paper clips need me.” And with that she pushed away from the fridge and backed into the ladies’ room, her eyes never straying from his and the smile never fading from her face. He glanced out into the office to make sure nobody was watching, his face draped in the expression he labeled innocent in his head (which in reality was anything but). Finally, deciding the coast was clear, he quickly shouldered his way into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Her voice floated toward his back and he smiled down at the doorknob beneath his hand. “Excuse me, sir?” He turned, wiped the smile off his face, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah,” he replied, his eyes wide. She was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine and frowning very convincingly in his direction.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” she told him sternly, setting the magazine aside as he meandered in her direction, taking in his surroundings. He sucked in a breath and nodded.

“You’re right.” And with that he swept down and pressed his mouth to hers. She hummed in approval and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a tug in her direction and continuing to pull until he was seated beside her. His hands drifted expertly under the hem of her shirt and he gripped the skin of her sides with strong fingers. She sighed into his mouth. “I knew there was a reason for this sofa,” he breathed against her neck, his mouth trailing from just below her ear to just above her shoulder, leaving a trail of blushing skin behind. She shifted so that she was perched on top of him and pressed herself against him until he moaned.

“Shut up, Jim,” she told him softly, and the harshness of the order was directly contrasted by the tone in which it was uttered. He smiled because it was a familiar request.

“Yeah but I just have this one question,” he whispered, his fingers deftly inching her sweater up until he finally just pulled it off over her head. He leaned back against the sofa and took in the view. He loved it when she wore black underwear. She raised her eyebrows at him and her mouth twisted into a grin, and he realized she’d worn this bra on purpose because she knew how he felt about it… Here he was thinking he was being spontaneous, when she’d known he was going to jump her at work before she’d even gotten dressed. He couldn’t help the ping of disappointment. “How…is this not shenanigans?” he wondered, his index finger reaching out to trace the top edge of her bra. Her eyes closed at the feel of it and she bent over him to place a kiss against his ear.

“Jim?” she asked. He hummed a response as his hands busied themselves with removing said piece of underwear. “Can you just be quiet?” she wondered, and inwardly she laughed (careful not to do it outwardly and have him incorrectly thinking something about this sexual escapade was funny to her) because somewhere between their first time together and now they had developed this certain dialogue…this foreplay that involved him making inane comments and her trying to maintain composure. She was always telling him to be quiet and he was always doing exactly the opposite. God, she loved so much about the person he chose to be.

“I can be quiet, but I’m just feeling like maybe you forgot,” he continued, tossing her bra aside and sliding his hands up the flatness of her stomach to feel the weight of her in his palms. She arched in front of him, her head lolling back on her shoulders and her curls hanging down her naked back. “You mentioned no shenanigans and this just feels…” he breathed, bending down to tease her with his tongue, “like shenanigans.” She slid her fingers through his hair and pulled his mouth away from her.

“Take off your pants, Jim,” she instructed, her voice breathy and low. He raised his eyebrows at her in interest and she climbed off of him to strip out of her skirt. He took a moment to watch her wiggle out of it before finally unbuttoning his slacks and pushing them and his boxers down and out of the way. Her eyes swept over him and a flush crept up his neck and into his cheeks. He would never get used to her perusal because it was just crazy to see that dark, hungry look in her eyes when she was staring at him. She stalked toward him like a lioness, all curls and pale skin, and he swallowed because this was always the best part.

She straddled his hips and gently guided him to her entrance, meeting his stare with her own as she pushed herself down onto him. He felt the air leave his lungs and his eyes slid closed for the journey. Finally, gloriously, he was completely inside of her and he pried his eyes open when she didn’t start to move. He focused and realized that she was smiling down at him.

“Hi,” she whispered. He grinned.

“Hi,” he replied, and she laughed quietly when his voice cracked. Determined to silence her he lifted his hips and pushed himself a little deeper into her. She gasped and her laughter died on her lips. He did it again.

“Yes,” she breathed, bending down over him to rest her chin against his shoulder. He wrapped his long arms around her and held her close as they pushed against each other, steadily gaining momentum until they were both completely and fantastically satisfied. He pressed an open mouthed kiss against her neck, and other than that they were completely still, simply breathing in tandem until they recovered. She finally sat back and ran her hand across his brow and down his face, and he reached up to grip her wrist and pull her palm to his lips, kissing her there gently. She smiled.

“Shenanigans…” he whispered against her skin and she laughed loudly, smacking him on the shoulder and gingerly standing to clean herself up and get dressed. He followed suit and as he was straightening his tie in the mirror he met her gaze in the reflection. “You did that thing again today,” he told her. She looked back at him with wide eyes.

“What thing?” she wondered. He finished fixing himself up and leaned back against the wall as she tried to smooth the wrinkles from her sweater.

“That thing where you basically swallow me with your eyes,” he told her, “once I’m naked,” he added, laughing because of his own discomfort. She grinned and wagged her eyebrows at him in the mirror.

“Yeah well, I can’t help myself. I’m full of lust,” she confessed. “Besides,” she added, turning to wrap her arms around his neck again, his hands falling naturally to the slope of her hips, “today it was scientific.” He huffed.

“Oh really?” he questioned skeptically. She nodded.

“Yes. I’ve seen Michael’s area now, so I was doing a mental comparison,” she told him calmly, irrationally pleased with the wide eyed shock on his face.

“Oh…” he croaked, “my god…” his head wagged in disbelief. “You did not just say that,” he muttered. She silenced him by kissing him quickly and then pulling away.

“Come on, lover boy, back to work.” And with that she flipped the lock on the door and pushed it open.

“I’m done, I’m never gonna be able to be naked again,” he muttered, holding his hands out in disgust. She laughed and left the bathroom with a saucy look over her shoulder and he sighed, grinning despite himself because he just loved her too much not to. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shouldered his way out of the bathroom. Kevin looked up from pouring a cup of coffee and froze.

“Hey Kev,” Jim greeted, before exiting the kitchen at a leisurely stroll. Once he finally had the power to speak, Kevin’s voice was low and victorious.

“Yesssss.”