Fic: The Naughty Forty, Part II
Title: The Naughty Forty, Part II
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, Elizabeth Burke, Kate Moreau, Matthew Keller (Peter/El, Kate/Keller, Neal/Peter)
Context: early series
Warnings: language, explicit sexual content
Words: ~3,700
Summary: From the day of Neal's arrest to when he asks Peter for the anklet deal
11. The One With The Sucker, Part 2
It was done.
After years of cat and mouse, of Peter closing the gap and Neal widening it again, finally, he had won. Caffrey had been arrested; they had him for the bonds. Peter knew of at least a dozen other pies Neal had had his fingers in, but he also knew they’d never make any of it stick - the bonds were the only nail they had to take to trial, but would likely be enough to hold the coffin shut for a couple of years at least.
As his team led Caffrey out of the warehouse, he turned and watched the young man go. He didn’t resist; seemingly having accepted that the game was over. He hadn’t fought back, or tried to run - the dozens of guns pointed at him, which Peter had personally felt were slightly unnecessary - had made sure of that.
Reaching into his pocket, Peter felt the edge of the plastic packet there. He hesitated slightly - he had been waiting for this moment for some time, but a certain dream (or series of dreams, if he was honest) had made him think twice about ever actually eating the sucker Caffrey had given him the day they’d first met.
Pushing the thoughts and the mental images aside, he pulled the lolly out, removed the plastic, and popped it into his mouth. It didn’t taste as good as he was sure Neal did, but it would have to do.
For now, at least.
12. The One With The Cuffs, Part 5
Considering they had just arrested Neal Caffrey, one of the most sought after white-collar criminals on the Bureau’s radar, Peter was oddly angry. He couldn’t quite understand it himself at first, as he ran over paperwork and tied up loose ends in the case. Neal was behind bars, their three year cat-and-mouse battle over at last, and he had come out on top.
And it was then that he figured it out. He’d been cheated. Not by Caffrey, but by a member of his own team. After all that time imagining what it would be like to close those cuffs around Neal’s wrists (in his head, a little looser than they should have been, because Caffrey was not a man of violence; but in reality, a little tighter than normal, because he had a hell of a talent for picking locks), his moment of glory, the definitive action that would show the conman who had won, had been taken away. As Neal extended his hand, and the team surrounding him had cocked their guns, Peter had seen nothing but respect in his eyes - Caffrey was accepting defeat graciously. And then, as he thanked Peter, there had been that tell-tale click-ratchet sound - and suddenly he was cuffed, and Peter didn’t even get to do it.
Fucking Jones.
13. The One With The Cuffs, Part 6
Neal sat in his cell, staring unseeingly at the grey wall across from his face. The trial date was set; the reality of what was happening slowly sinking in. He had thought he was prepared, when he had walked into that warehouse, knowing he was walking into a trap. He had told himself it was okay, it was right, that he would take what was coming to him in court, fight what was coming to him in prison, and soon enough, he’d be out again. The Feds could only prove the bonds - he was fairly sure, anyway. He thought back over how the day of his arrest had unfolded.
*
There hadn’t been a chase, he hadn’t fought them off. They had stormed the building and he had conceded; prepared to admit after three years of running that Burke had caught him fair and square. He had offered a hand for Burke to shake, and felt the slightest of shivers run down his spine when the other man had gripped his hand firmly, and met his eyes, with a slightly sad smile that seemed to say it was fun while it lasted.
And then he felt the cool metal on his wrist as one of Peter’s agents closed the first cuff. It wasn’t like that day he’d watched Peter manhandle someone, throwing them up against his car and pinning them. It certainly wasn’t like how he’d dreamed it, or how Keller had played it… The cuffs were just like Peter’s; just like he’d known they’d be. They were boring, and they were realistic, and the whole thing was so fucking far from perfect it made Neal sick.
14. The One With The Cuffs, Part 7
Neal’s face was expressionless, his eyes unreadable, as his sentence was announced. Four years wasn’t a long time, they’d say; he’d still be young when he got out. He looked down at his hands, eyes firmly focused on the loops of chain between his cuffed wrists. He was trying hard to maintain his unaffected façade, and he’d be damned if he let the people in that courtroom see his face as the mask began to crack around the edges. If he let Burke see.
*
Peter watched Caffrey closely, waiting for a reaction from the other man as his fate was announced. He didn’t know what he expected to see - relief? Sadness? Shock? Anger? Fear? But as Neal’s features remained firmly schooled in a calm and decidedly nonchalant expression, Peter realised he had never been going to see a reaction. It wouldn’t have mattered how hard he’d looked - Neal had made his living out of only letting people see what he wanted them to, and he certainly wouldn’t let that skill go to waste here, in front of a room full of people who had come to see him fall.
Neal looked down towards his cuffed wrists, and Peter wondered if he was regretting now any of what he’d done. He briefly pondered what the next four years would hold for someone like Caffrey, and then pushed the thought aside as quickly as it had come to him. He didn’t want to think about what those years could be like.
He watched as the guards stood Neal up and released one of the cuffs, moving his arms behind his back and securing them once more. It was only as they started to lead him away that Neal finally looked to Peter, who was still watching him closely. His gaze was now open, and Peter saw for the first time the maelstrom of emotions there. He could see all of the things he had wondered about earlier and more in the steel blue gaze. As Neal was led past him, Peter turned to watch them go.
What a waste, Peter couldn’t help but think.
15. The One Without Neal
Every inch of her unclothed skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat as she rode him, moaning with pleasure and murmuring under her breath, “Neal…”
*
The tight heat around his cock had him close, but he held on, eyes closed tight but a vision of sparkling blue irises on the inside of his lids.
*
The angle was perfect, his cock moving just right inside of her, and she could feel the tingle low in her belly as climax neared. Straining her thighs for just a few more rocks back and forth of her hips, her back arched and she gasped for breath.
*
She threw her head back and moaned as her orgasm rolled over her, and as she clenched around him, he came, hands gripping her waist, the slender curve of it familiar and yet different.
*
Kate flopped down next to Keller, sated and spent. Neal wasn’t there, but it didn’t stop either of them wishing he was.
16. The One With The Birthday Card
El thought she recognised the handwriting on the cheap white envelope in the pile of mail she picked up off the doormat, but she couldn’t quite place it. The postmark was from upstate, but other than that, it had no distinguishing features. She set it on the counter with three other things addressed to Peter, and thought nothing more of it.
*
When Peter got home from work that night, he cracked a beer and sat down at the table with his mail. He opened the first two envelopes to find bills, as was far too often the case. The third one held an invite to an old family friend’s 50th birthday party. He picked up the fourth and was stunned when he instantly recognised the handwriting on the white envelope. It was from Neal Caffrey.
He turned the envelope over, half-expecting to see a return address, though he knew full well exactly where Neal was - the same place he’d already been for months, and where he’d be for a few years yet. Opening it, he pulled out a card, which when he turned it over, had a sketch on the front of a bright green sucker.
He smiled, shaking his head slightly as he opened it to read the short message inside.
Dear Peter,
I hope you have a wonderful birthday, spent with your family and friends, and not on a stake-out!
(I still owe Mrs Burke an apology for that one year, I think.)
N.C.
El came up behind the chair, leaning over to hug him, reading the card over his shoulder.
“A birthday card from Neal Caffrey?” she said, surprised.
“Yep,” Peter replied, setting it down on the table.
“Well, he might think he owes me an apology, but I think I owe him a thank you,” she said in a teasing voice, as she kissed Peter’s neck. Sex on the stairs that night hadn’t been comfortable enough for them to give it another go, but it had certainly been memorable...
“Sure was a hell of a night,” Peter nodded, smirking, as he reached up to stroke El’s hair. She may never know entirely how unforgettable that night had been.
17. The One With The Birthday Card, Part 2
When the guards called five minutes till lights out, Neal got up from where he was lying on his bed, and took up the marker, as had become his routine. Carefully, he added another line to the slowly growing tally on the wall of his cell. It already looked like a lot of lines, but it was nothing compared to how many more there were still waiting to be drawn.
Dropping the marker back down, he flopped onto his thin mattress as Bobby, a guard he had struck up a tentative friendship with, walked past, checking on them all. Bobby nodded at him as he passed, Neal returning the gesture with a slight smile.
Shortly after, when the lights shut off, Neal found himself in the familiar position of staring blankly upwards, mind wandering through all sorts of things as he sought sleep. Today was Peter Burke’s birthday, and he wondered if Peter had received his card. He smiled as he thought of the message it had contained, further wondering if Peter had ever told Elizabeth about the gift of sorts he had received from Neal that year.
His hand moved slowly towards his cock, and he began stroking himself through his underwear, as he pictured Peter sitting in his car that night, probably bored out of his mind, until Neal and Keller had arrived home and put on their little show on the balcony. He wondered if Peter had liked what he’d seen, and let himself imagine that he’d gotten hard watching them; that after they had gone inside Peter had gone home and made love to his gorgeous wife.
As Neal’s hand began to move faster, the fantasy played out again, darker this time. This time his version of Peter was intensely aroused by watching him be fucked like that; he was jerking himself off in his work car. And then he raced home, and thrust into his wife, pretending for just a split second that it was Neal. The sudden thought of having Burke’s thick cock in his ass was enough to tip Neal over the edge, his mouth opening in a silent moan as he came, leaving him gasping quietly for breath.
He’d have been shocked to learn how close to the truth his dirty little fantasy really was.
18. The One With The Next Birthday Card
Peter might have thought he had hidden the effect Neal Caffrey had on him well, and from his colleagues, who knew of Caffrey only as a criminal, and who had probably given the conman no further thought since the day he was sent to prison, he had. However, Peter’s attempts to conceal his fascination with Neal were ineffective against the person who knew him best in the world - his wife.
This year, when Peter’s birthday rolled around, El recognised the handwriting on the plain white envelope with the upstate postmark. Once again, she set it down with his other mail, and headed upstairs with a mischievous sparkle in her eye.
*
Dear Peter,
Happy Birthday! Enjoy every moment.
(Make sure Mrs Burke does too.)
N.C.
*
Peter set down the card, and took a deep breath. Heading upstairs, he pulled a box out from under the bed, sat down, and removed the lid. His eyes flicked briefly over the business card, the cufflinks, and the envelopes. All the envelopes - he had quite a collection now. He felt a weight on the bed behind him and started slightly; he hadn’t heard El come out of the bathroom. He made to place the lid back on the box, but her hand on his arm, and soft kiss on his neck, stayed his hand.
“It’s okay, Peter,” she murmured, kissing her way up from his loosened collar to just below his ear, her small fingers pulling at his buttons.
“I know about Caffrey… and I know you know I know about him. About what he does to you,” she whispered. He shivered slightly; whether due to the pressure of her lips just behind his jaw, or her words, he wasn’t sure.
She reached an arm around him to take the box, and drop it to the floor. As she leaned forward, he could feel her warmth against his back, and as a long, pale, unclothed arm snaked around him, Peter turned to see his wife clad only in a midnight blue lace bra and panties. Turning more fully towards her, and pushing himself further into the middle of the bed, he let out an appreciative moan as she straddled his lap, one hand squeezing the rapidly forming bulge in the front of his trousers.
“Do you think of him? Do you look in your little box, and think of him thinking of you..? Do you want him, Peter?” She was massaging his hard cock through his pants, and he was lost for words.
“Do you imagine that he wants you back? That he gets hard when he thinks of you, making you those cards? That he gets off thinking of you?” His fly was open now, and she was stroking him just right, teasing him with her hand and her words.
“Is this for him, Peter?” she said, squeezing hard. He gasped, shuddering under her as she let her fingernails drag over the sensitive tissue. “Is this for him, or is this for me, talking about him?”
Peter was utterly speechless, hardly able to comprehend what was happening. His wife. Asking him about Neal. Knowing the truth about Neal.
Slipping her hand from his pants, she pushed him down until he was on his back, his hands gripping her hips as she leaned over to kiss him deeply. Breaking away, she whispered against his lips,
“I know you think of him... I know you want him. Fuck me, Peter… like you want to fuck him.”
She was laying over him now, and her words spurred Peter into action. It took only one quick motion to turn the two of them over. Coming up on to his knees, Peter shoved his pants down further, pulled the lace of her panties aside, and pushed into her. She gripped the bedspread as he went deeper, before pulling out and thrusting back in.
“Harder, Peter. You know he could take it,” she taunted, and Peter sped up his thrusts, pounding into her, lost in his fantasy of a different blue-eyed brunette.
“Say it, Peter. Say his name,” she gasped, as she shook beneath him, and the fact that Peter breathed ‘Neal’ as he shot his load deep inside her didn’t make her orgasm even the slightest bit less satisfying.
19. The One With The Jailbreak
Every detail had been meticulously planned; and six weeks of preparation all came down to this moment. Neal had considered his options for breaking out of prison many times over the course of the last few years, mostly in the first few months, but until he had something to kick him into action, the way Kate announcing she was leaving him had, he hadn’t bothered acting on any of his plans. But today was the day, and as he roughly shaved the beard he had been growing since the day Kate had made her last visit, and donned a guard’s uniform, the reality of what he was doing hit home. He was about to break out of a federal prison. If they caught him after this, he’d be back in for at least his original sentence again, possibly longer.
Pushing aside the doubts, he smiled slightly as he buttoned the shirt, and imagined what Burke would say. Because, of course, Burke would hear about this. He’d be the warden’s first call. Neal almost regretted, for a moment, not using the credit card details he had gotten for Mrs Burke to buy the CO’s uniform - that would have gotten a priceless reaction from Peter. But in the end, he had thought it best not to, because surely Peter, the thorough agent and caring and protective husband that he was, would have traces on all of his wife’s credit card activity.
Patting his face dry, hiding his jumpsuit, and putting on his game face, Neal braced himself. It was time for the moment of truth.
*
If there was one thing Neal really hadn’t counted on in the whole process (aside from Kate not being at the apartment after his escape had otherwise gone off without a hitch, of course), it was that Burke still knew him well enough, after all this time, to catch him before he’d even had the chance to start running.
20. The One With The Van
Hughes told Peter he didn’t have to go on the stake-out the night after he went to visit Caffrey, back in prison once again after his escape. There were plenty of other agents who could handle it - now that he was dealing with Caffrey again; Peter had several cases on the go at once, which wasn’t ideal. But, ever committed to closing his cases, and not wanting someone else to have to take his place at late notice, he insisted it was fine, and went along on the surveillance mission with Diana and two other agents who were trialling with the White Collar Unit.
As Peter sat, gazing at the monitor but not really seeing, his mind began to wander. Safe in the knowledge that the younger agents were eager to please and wouldn’t dare miss the slightest detail, he allowed himself to ponder Caffrey’s proposition. It wasn’t as if it was unheard of, a convict getting a reduced sentence or early parole in return for providing information, but Caffrey actually wanted out of the orange altogether, which was a different situation.
In his head he could see the way those sparkling eyes had pleaded with him to listen to the offer, to take him away from that hellhole and give him a chance to prove himself. Sad thing was, Caffrey had already proven himself - and not in a good way. Peter considered the possibility of offering him a reduction in his sentence to feed them information, but he knew almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind that it wouldn’t work. Caffrey was smart, smart enough to get away with it, but somewhere along the line, there always seemed to be someone with too big a mouth for their own (and everyone else’s) good, and he hated to think what could happen if Neal was discovered as an informant while still on the inside.
“Boss?” Diana’s voice interrupted his darkening thoughts, and he sat up, alert once more. He had been miles away, lost entirely in his own contemplations.
“I was just saying, don’t you think Harris and Fauber should head out? There’s nothing to see here tonight.” The two looked up, something that might have been hope creeping into their expressions.
“Sure,” Peter nodded after a few moments, his experienced eyes seeing the tiredness and boredom that the younger agents were failing to completely hide. He smiled slightly; not everyone was cut out for the van. “Thanks for your help tonight guys,” he said, as the two men collected their belongings and exited the van just a little too quickly.
“You should go too, Diana,” he said, turning back to her. “Like you said, nothing to see here. I’ll see out the hour and call it a night; you may as well go now.”
Diana was better at hiding it, but Peter could see she was glad to be done for the evening. Surveillance is incredibly boring when you have nothing to survey.
“You sure?” she asked, already putting on her jacket.
“Yeah, go,” Peter said with a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
When the door closed behind Diana, Peter relaxed back in his chair and removed the set of headphones he had had resting in his lap. They had done a pretty commendable job of hiding the hard-on he had gotten when he was picturing himself, in the shoes of another prisoner, putting Neal up against the wall of the shower and ripping the orange jumpsuit off the FBI’s new pet.
He was going to have to give this a hell of a lot of thought before he dared let Caffrey come and work for him. Seeing that face (those eyes, that ass) every day had the potential to be very disruptive to Peter’s productivity.
Go to Part Three...
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, Elizabeth Burke, Kate Moreau, Matthew Keller (Peter/El, Kate/Keller, Neal/Peter)
Context: early series
Warnings: language, explicit sexual content
Words: ~3,700
Summary: From the day of Neal's arrest to when he asks Peter for the anklet deal
11. The One With The Sucker, Part 2
It was done.
After years of cat and mouse, of Peter closing the gap and Neal widening it again, finally, he had won. Caffrey had been arrested; they had him for the bonds. Peter knew of at least a dozen other pies Neal had had his fingers in, but he also knew they’d never make any of it stick - the bonds were the only nail they had to take to trial, but would likely be enough to hold the coffin shut for a couple of years at least.
As his team led Caffrey out of the warehouse, he turned and watched the young man go. He didn’t resist; seemingly having accepted that the game was over. He hadn’t fought back, or tried to run - the dozens of guns pointed at him, which Peter had personally felt were slightly unnecessary - had made sure of that.
Reaching into his pocket, Peter felt the edge of the plastic packet there. He hesitated slightly - he had been waiting for this moment for some time, but a certain dream (or series of dreams, if he was honest) had made him think twice about ever actually eating the sucker Caffrey had given him the day they’d first met.
Pushing the thoughts and the mental images aside, he pulled the lolly out, removed the plastic, and popped it into his mouth. It didn’t taste as good as he was sure Neal did, but it would have to do.
For now, at least.
12. The One With The Cuffs, Part 5
Considering they had just arrested Neal Caffrey, one of the most sought after white-collar criminals on the Bureau’s radar, Peter was oddly angry. He couldn’t quite understand it himself at first, as he ran over paperwork and tied up loose ends in the case. Neal was behind bars, their three year cat-and-mouse battle over at last, and he had come out on top.
And it was then that he figured it out. He’d been cheated. Not by Caffrey, but by a member of his own team. After all that time imagining what it would be like to close those cuffs around Neal’s wrists (in his head, a little looser than they should have been, because Caffrey was not a man of violence; but in reality, a little tighter than normal, because he had a hell of a talent for picking locks), his moment of glory, the definitive action that would show the conman who had won, had been taken away. As Neal extended his hand, and the team surrounding him had cocked their guns, Peter had seen nothing but respect in his eyes - Caffrey was accepting defeat graciously. And then, as he thanked Peter, there had been that tell-tale click-ratchet sound - and suddenly he was cuffed, and Peter didn’t even get to do it.
Fucking Jones.
13. The One With The Cuffs, Part 6
Neal sat in his cell, staring unseeingly at the grey wall across from his face. The trial date was set; the reality of what was happening slowly sinking in. He had thought he was prepared, when he had walked into that warehouse, knowing he was walking into a trap. He had told himself it was okay, it was right, that he would take what was coming to him in court, fight what was coming to him in prison, and soon enough, he’d be out again. The Feds could only prove the bonds - he was fairly sure, anyway. He thought back over how the day of his arrest had unfolded.
*
There hadn’t been a chase, he hadn’t fought them off. They had stormed the building and he had conceded; prepared to admit after three years of running that Burke had caught him fair and square. He had offered a hand for Burke to shake, and felt the slightest of shivers run down his spine when the other man had gripped his hand firmly, and met his eyes, with a slightly sad smile that seemed to say it was fun while it lasted.
And then he felt the cool metal on his wrist as one of Peter’s agents closed the first cuff. It wasn’t like that day he’d watched Peter manhandle someone, throwing them up against his car and pinning them. It certainly wasn’t like how he’d dreamed it, or how Keller had played it… The cuffs were just like Peter’s; just like he’d known they’d be. They were boring, and they were realistic, and the whole thing was so fucking far from perfect it made Neal sick.
14. The One With The Cuffs, Part 7
Neal’s face was expressionless, his eyes unreadable, as his sentence was announced. Four years wasn’t a long time, they’d say; he’d still be young when he got out. He looked down at his hands, eyes firmly focused on the loops of chain between his cuffed wrists. He was trying hard to maintain his unaffected façade, and he’d be damned if he let the people in that courtroom see his face as the mask began to crack around the edges. If he let Burke see.
*
Peter watched Caffrey closely, waiting for a reaction from the other man as his fate was announced. He didn’t know what he expected to see - relief? Sadness? Shock? Anger? Fear? But as Neal’s features remained firmly schooled in a calm and decidedly nonchalant expression, Peter realised he had never been going to see a reaction. It wouldn’t have mattered how hard he’d looked - Neal had made his living out of only letting people see what he wanted them to, and he certainly wouldn’t let that skill go to waste here, in front of a room full of people who had come to see him fall.
Neal looked down towards his cuffed wrists, and Peter wondered if he was regretting now any of what he’d done. He briefly pondered what the next four years would hold for someone like Caffrey, and then pushed the thought aside as quickly as it had come to him. He didn’t want to think about what those years could be like.
He watched as the guards stood Neal up and released one of the cuffs, moving his arms behind his back and securing them once more. It was only as they started to lead him away that Neal finally looked to Peter, who was still watching him closely. His gaze was now open, and Peter saw for the first time the maelstrom of emotions there. He could see all of the things he had wondered about earlier and more in the steel blue gaze. As Neal was led past him, Peter turned to watch them go.
What a waste, Peter couldn’t help but think.
15. The One Without Neal
Every inch of her unclothed skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat as she rode him, moaning with pleasure and murmuring under her breath, “Neal…”
*
The tight heat around his cock had him close, but he held on, eyes closed tight but a vision of sparkling blue irises on the inside of his lids.
*
The angle was perfect, his cock moving just right inside of her, and she could feel the tingle low in her belly as climax neared. Straining her thighs for just a few more rocks back and forth of her hips, her back arched and she gasped for breath.
*
She threw her head back and moaned as her orgasm rolled over her, and as she clenched around him, he came, hands gripping her waist, the slender curve of it familiar and yet different.
*
Kate flopped down next to Keller, sated and spent. Neal wasn’t there, but it didn’t stop either of them wishing he was.
16. The One With The Birthday Card
El thought she recognised the handwriting on the cheap white envelope in the pile of mail she picked up off the doormat, but she couldn’t quite place it. The postmark was from upstate, but other than that, it had no distinguishing features. She set it on the counter with three other things addressed to Peter, and thought nothing more of it.
*
When Peter got home from work that night, he cracked a beer and sat down at the table with his mail. He opened the first two envelopes to find bills, as was far too often the case. The third one held an invite to an old family friend’s 50th birthday party. He picked up the fourth and was stunned when he instantly recognised the handwriting on the white envelope. It was from Neal Caffrey.
He turned the envelope over, half-expecting to see a return address, though he knew full well exactly where Neal was - the same place he’d already been for months, and where he’d be for a few years yet. Opening it, he pulled out a card, which when he turned it over, had a sketch on the front of a bright green sucker.
He smiled, shaking his head slightly as he opened it to read the short message inside.
Dear Peter,
I hope you have a wonderful birthday, spent with your family and friends, and not on a stake-out!
(I still owe Mrs Burke an apology for that one year, I think.)
N.C.
El came up behind the chair, leaning over to hug him, reading the card over his shoulder.
“A birthday card from Neal Caffrey?” she said, surprised.
“Yep,” Peter replied, setting it down on the table.
“Well, he might think he owes me an apology, but I think I owe him a thank you,” she said in a teasing voice, as she kissed Peter’s neck. Sex on the stairs that night hadn’t been comfortable enough for them to give it another go, but it had certainly been memorable...
“Sure was a hell of a night,” Peter nodded, smirking, as he reached up to stroke El’s hair. She may never know entirely how unforgettable that night had been.
17. The One With The Birthday Card, Part 2
When the guards called five minutes till lights out, Neal got up from where he was lying on his bed, and took up the marker, as had become his routine. Carefully, he added another line to the slowly growing tally on the wall of his cell. It already looked like a lot of lines, but it was nothing compared to how many more there were still waiting to be drawn.
Dropping the marker back down, he flopped onto his thin mattress as Bobby, a guard he had struck up a tentative friendship with, walked past, checking on them all. Bobby nodded at him as he passed, Neal returning the gesture with a slight smile.
Shortly after, when the lights shut off, Neal found himself in the familiar position of staring blankly upwards, mind wandering through all sorts of things as he sought sleep. Today was Peter Burke’s birthday, and he wondered if Peter had received his card. He smiled as he thought of the message it had contained, further wondering if Peter had ever told Elizabeth about the gift of sorts he had received from Neal that year.
His hand moved slowly towards his cock, and he began stroking himself through his underwear, as he pictured Peter sitting in his car that night, probably bored out of his mind, until Neal and Keller had arrived home and put on their little show on the balcony. He wondered if Peter had liked what he’d seen, and let himself imagine that he’d gotten hard watching them; that after they had gone inside Peter had gone home and made love to his gorgeous wife.
As Neal’s hand began to move faster, the fantasy played out again, darker this time. This time his version of Peter was intensely aroused by watching him be fucked like that; he was jerking himself off in his work car. And then he raced home, and thrust into his wife, pretending for just a split second that it was Neal. The sudden thought of having Burke’s thick cock in his ass was enough to tip Neal over the edge, his mouth opening in a silent moan as he came, leaving him gasping quietly for breath.
He’d have been shocked to learn how close to the truth his dirty little fantasy really was.
18. The One With The Next Birthday Card
Peter might have thought he had hidden the effect Neal Caffrey had on him well, and from his colleagues, who knew of Caffrey only as a criminal, and who had probably given the conman no further thought since the day he was sent to prison, he had. However, Peter’s attempts to conceal his fascination with Neal were ineffective against the person who knew him best in the world - his wife.
This year, when Peter’s birthday rolled around, El recognised the handwriting on the plain white envelope with the upstate postmark. Once again, she set it down with his other mail, and headed upstairs with a mischievous sparkle in her eye.
*
Dear Peter,
Happy Birthday! Enjoy every moment.
(Make sure Mrs Burke does too.)
N.C.
*
Peter set down the card, and took a deep breath. Heading upstairs, he pulled a box out from under the bed, sat down, and removed the lid. His eyes flicked briefly over the business card, the cufflinks, and the envelopes. All the envelopes - he had quite a collection now. He felt a weight on the bed behind him and started slightly; he hadn’t heard El come out of the bathroom. He made to place the lid back on the box, but her hand on his arm, and soft kiss on his neck, stayed his hand.
“It’s okay, Peter,” she murmured, kissing her way up from his loosened collar to just below his ear, her small fingers pulling at his buttons.
“I know about Caffrey… and I know you know I know about him. About what he does to you,” she whispered. He shivered slightly; whether due to the pressure of her lips just behind his jaw, or her words, he wasn’t sure.
She reached an arm around him to take the box, and drop it to the floor. As she leaned forward, he could feel her warmth against his back, and as a long, pale, unclothed arm snaked around him, Peter turned to see his wife clad only in a midnight blue lace bra and panties. Turning more fully towards her, and pushing himself further into the middle of the bed, he let out an appreciative moan as she straddled his lap, one hand squeezing the rapidly forming bulge in the front of his trousers.
“Do you think of him? Do you look in your little box, and think of him thinking of you..? Do you want him, Peter?” She was massaging his hard cock through his pants, and he was lost for words.
“Do you imagine that he wants you back? That he gets hard when he thinks of you, making you those cards? That he gets off thinking of you?” His fly was open now, and she was stroking him just right, teasing him with her hand and her words.
“Is this for him, Peter?” she said, squeezing hard. He gasped, shuddering under her as she let her fingernails drag over the sensitive tissue. “Is this for him, or is this for me, talking about him?”
Peter was utterly speechless, hardly able to comprehend what was happening. His wife. Asking him about Neal. Knowing the truth about Neal.
Slipping her hand from his pants, she pushed him down until he was on his back, his hands gripping her hips as she leaned over to kiss him deeply. Breaking away, she whispered against his lips,
“I know you think of him... I know you want him. Fuck me, Peter… like you want to fuck him.”
She was laying over him now, and her words spurred Peter into action. It took only one quick motion to turn the two of them over. Coming up on to his knees, Peter shoved his pants down further, pulled the lace of her panties aside, and pushed into her. She gripped the bedspread as he went deeper, before pulling out and thrusting back in.
“Harder, Peter. You know he could take it,” she taunted, and Peter sped up his thrusts, pounding into her, lost in his fantasy of a different blue-eyed brunette.
“Say it, Peter. Say his name,” she gasped, as she shook beneath him, and the fact that Peter breathed ‘Neal’ as he shot his load deep inside her didn’t make her orgasm even the slightest bit less satisfying.
19. The One With The Jailbreak
Every detail had been meticulously planned; and six weeks of preparation all came down to this moment. Neal had considered his options for breaking out of prison many times over the course of the last few years, mostly in the first few months, but until he had something to kick him into action, the way Kate announcing she was leaving him had, he hadn’t bothered acting on any of his plans. But today was the day, and as he roughly shaved the beard he had been growing since the day Kate had made her last visit, and donned a guard’s uniform, the reality of what he was doing hit home. He was about to break out of a federal prison. If they caught him after this, he’d be back in for at least his original sentence again, possibly longer.
Pushing aside the doubts, he smiled slightly as he buttoned the shirt, and imagined what Burke would say. Because, of course, Burke would hear about this. He’d be the warden’s first call. Neal almost regretted, for a moment, not using the credit card details he had gotten for Mrs Burke to buy the CO’s uniform - that would have gotten a priceless reaction from Peter. But in the end, he had thought it best not to, because surely Peter, the thorough agent and caring and protective husband that he was, would have traces on all of his wife’s credit card activity.
Patting his face dry, hiding his jumpsuit, and putting on his game face, Neal braced himself. It was time for the moment of truth.
*
If there was one thing Neal really hadn’t counted on in the whole process (aside from Kate not being at the apartment after his escape had otherwise gone off without a hitch, of course), it was that Burke still knew him well enough, after all this time, to catch him before he’d even had the chance to start running.
20. The One With The Van
Hughes told Peter he didn’t have to go on the stake-out the night after he went to visit Caffrey, back in prison once again after his escape. There were plenty of other agents who could handle it - now that he was dealing with Caffrey again; Peter had several cases on the go at once, which wasn’t ideal. But, ever committed to closing his cases, and not wanting someone else to have to take his place at late notice, he insisted it was fine, and went along on the surveillance mission with Diana and two other agents who were trialling with the White Collar Unit.
As Peter sat, gazing at the monitor but not really seeing, his mind began to wander. Safe in the knowledge that the younger agents were eager to please and wouldn’t dare miss the slightest detail, he allowed himself to ponder Caffrey’s proposition. It wasn’t as if it was unheard of, a convict getting a reduced sentence or early parole in return for providing information, but Caffrey actually wanted out of the orange altogether, which was a different situation.
In his head he could see the way those sparkling eyes had pleaded with him to listen to the offer, to take him away from that hellhole and give him a chance to prove himself. Sad thing was, Caffrey had already proven himself - and not in a good way. Peter considered the possibility of offering him a reduction in his sentence to feed them information, but he knew almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind that it wouldn’t work. Caffrey was smart, smart enough to get away with it, but somewhere along the line, there always seemed to be someone with too big a mouth for their own (and everyone else’s) good, and he hated to think what could happen if Neal was discovered as an informant while still on the inside.
“Boss?” Diana’s voice interrupted his darkening thoughts, and he sat up, alert once more. He had been miles away, lost entirely in his own contemplations.
“I was just saying, don’t you think Harris and Fauber should head out? There’s nothing to see here tonight.” The two looked up, something that might have been hope creeping into their expressions.
“Sure,” Peter nodded after a few moments, his experienced eyes seeing the tiredness and boredom that the younger agents were failing to completely hide. He smiled slightly; not everyone was cut out for the van. “Thanks for your help tonight guys,” he said, as the two men collected their belongings and exited the van just a little too quickly.
“You should go too, Diana,” he said, turning back to her. “Like you said, nothing to see here. I’ll see out the hour and call it a night; you may as well go now.”
Diana was better at hiding it, but Peter could see she was glad to be done for the evening. Surveillance is incredibly boring when you have nothing to survey.
“You sure?” she asked, already putting on her jacket.
“Yeah, go,” Peter said with a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
When the door closed behind Diana, Peter relaxed back in his chair and removed the set of headphones he had had resting in his lap. They had done a pretty commendable job of hiding the hard-on he had gotten when he was picturing himself, in the shoes of another prisoner, putting Neal up against the wall of the shower and ripping the orange jumpsuit off the FBI’s new pet.
He was going to have to give this a hell of a lot of thought before he dared let Caffrey come and work for him. Seeing that face (those eyes, that ass) every day had the potential to be very disruptive to Peter’s productivity.
Go to Part Three...