Nice! :) I like this a lot. It's so very true with them I think. At this point I'm not sure Eric could promise more than one night, and I like that he didn't. I also liked that he couldn't pinpoint what else he was feeling, because I feel like he probably wouldn't, and neither would Calleigh. :) Also...the inevitable...my favorite line! It is so very inevitable, I think it always is with them! :) I loved this! Great job! :)

Love the continuation and all the emotion in such a short piece. I agree with C.H.E.A.R,"change the rating to M already" hehe.

After reading this I pulled out a random S4 disc and was LOLing out loud, I pulled the "everyone wants to sleep with Natalia episodes."

good luck with your classes and I look forward to more of your writing during the summer.

Ah! So good. Short but def a lot of emotion. Amazing once again!

Just change the rating to M already! lol

Oh my God, I love that you continued Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, and that story, combined with the beginning of this one explains the utter drought of EC in season 4 - that they kept their distance due to the feelings they knew they both had, but couldn't act on. To keep that temptation from consuming them, to keep from crossing that line they'd kept their distance - but the one thing that couldn't keep them apart was Mari's funeral. Of course Calleigh would be there for him, and as she would do with anybody, she told him that she'd be there if she needed him.

And I love that he was there at her place inside of 10 minutes of her getting home. Of course he would - she is the light in all the darkness, and he needed the kind of comfort that only the woman he loves could provide (even if he isn't even aware of the depth of love he has for her yet). And this, this made me shiver - just picturing it happening in my mind:

Then, turning back with a sudden, renewed sense of purpose and direction, he ambushed her. His hands found her waist, still clothed by a black dress, and his lips met hers with such desperation she was rendered motionless. (Dude - THAT should have happened at the end of that episode where we inexplicably got Wooden Calleigh).

And true to the man he is, he stops kissing her, releasing her when he hears her utter his name in a way that tells him she doesn't want this to continue - well, she wants it, but doesn't because she knows they shouldn't. And I love that she recognizes the regret that washes over her when she tells him that they can't. It shows that she wants him just as much.

But that need, that need that she sees in his eyes, is also reflected in hers, and Eric is powerless to stop himself... "he couldn't help himself sometimes – not after a few beers had crumbled his walls, and certainly not just after he'd put Mari six feet below today." And Calleigh knows it goes far deeper than "just sex", far deeper than his normal toothing or flings:

No, it wasn't a fling or a game. It was an admission – an acknowledgement of the depth and need between them. It was too much on an average day, but compared to the overwhelming grief consuming him today, it just seemed right.

"Just tonight," Eric assured, fingers toying with the little black drawstring dangling from her waist. "Nothing less, nothing more." Somehow it was assuring. No expectations, no misguided promises.

And then his hand skated over her abdomen until he was holding her waist again, his touch both searing and gentle. "So that I don't hurt you," he added, studying the way her eyes had changed to a deeper green in the dimming light. Softening, his brows knit together as he studied her, mumbled words tumbling from his lips. "I don't ever want to hurt you." (I so love that he clarifies he knows its only for tonight because he knows he's not ready for a long-lasting relationship and he loves her too much to ever hurt her)

That whole part - from the moment he turned back and ambushed her, to him telling her its only for tonight, and her giving in, them falling into each other, as they kissed, Eric wanting to make sure she really wanted this, sweeping his thumb over her lip, Calleigh untying the drawstring on her dress, letting it fall loose to let him know that yes, she was okay with this - Wow. Just wow is all I can think of because it was riveting, and it makes me read it while holding my breath, whoooshing out the long breath afterward, as they make their way upstairs.

You really have such a good grasp of the characters - what it is that makes them do the things they do, say the things they say. I mentioned above that at this point, he himself isn't aware of the depth of his feelings for Calleigh. He knows he feels far more than friendship for her, as you said she's been in his dreams for the better part of 6 years. He's not yet at that stage where he could be with her and not hurt her, not be true to her. He wasn't yet ready to be that intimate with the woman he loved. And this explains so well why he doesn't act on his feelings, why *they* don't act on their feelings:

It was a longing for her, because she'd been in his life and in his dreams for the better part of six years, and he had no idea what to do with how he felt for her. It was beyond his capacity for understanding at this point in time, when random women brought him a thrill of excitement without all the dangerous, soul-bearing intimacy.

This too:

...Something far more than attraction and desperation danced between them, yet he couldn't pinpoint it, couldn't acknowledge it anyway. Doing so would risk everything. So he kissed her and let his touch dance across her skin, slowly finding the zipper with hands that longed for more.

And may I just say, I love how you tied in the title of the previous story with this one - Slow Dancing in a *Burning* Room to Down in *Flames*. Very clever that.

This is what I need after such a disappointing season. Awesome job as always!

This story is good as usual, I can't wait until you finish your other stories. I know school is fist, but I will be waiting for the updates, good luck in school.

ok got to have more

loved it great chapter

I always get excited when I come to fanfics and see a story writen by you. Whether it's an up-date on an existing story or a new one, I can always count on it being a good one. You have a real talent. I love this one, we all know the chemistry between these two has always been there and it's nice to see it being explored before it came to a full bloom. But the state of things now (crappy writers) it's nice to be able to get my EC fix through the talent of the many writers here. I look forward to the more of your writing and the up dates to your other stories. Thank You!

Great story!I really enjoyed reading this story. You did a great job.:] Take your time updating your other stories. Everyone gets busy every now and then. Thanks for sharing your talent again with another wonderful story. I love reading them!:)

Angisty. I love it