Cheap Strip Mall Collar

by gorecuffs

Summary:

Special Agent Strahm shows up to work one day with a sleek, black collar locked around his neck. Perez can take a guess as to who is responsible for the bold addition to his work attire.

Chapter 1

‘What is…that?’ Perez blinked in astonishment.

She was mesmerized by the tight, black leather strap hugging Agent Strahm’s neck. A tiny metal padlock dangled from the clasp keeping it fixed firmly in place.

‘It’s nothing…’ Strahm was avoiding looking at her, shame and nervousness pulsed off of him in waves. His discomfort over the question was apparent in his mannerisms - the darting of his eyes and the vehement clicking of his favorite pen.

Perez wasn’t willing to concede so easily. She had never seen him wearing anything like this before. Strahm’s clothing was professional at work and plain and casual at home. He had never accessorized before, and certainly not with such a provocative statement piece.

‘It looks like a lot more than just nothing.’ Perez circled Strahm until she was blocking his line of sight again, stooping down so that she was eye-level with him where he sat. ‘And it doesn’t really match your outfit.’

Perez didn’t intend on teasing him over it, but she couldn’t subdue the coy smile dancing on her lips.

Strahm shot her an angry glare and opened his mouth to growl a retort. The words died in his throat as he watched in horror as Perez reached out to investigate the collar. She slipped two fingers underneath it and tugged lightly.

‘Man, it’s really on there, huh?’ The strap wouldn’t budge. Strahm had tensed his muscles against the contact at first, but he quickly relaxed into her embrace.

Strahm was too easy to melt. To say he was touch-starved would be an understatement and Perez was always more than happy to use that to her advantage.

She stroked the bottom of his chin with her thumb.

At least it’s not strangling him.

‘How do you take it off?’ Perez asked, releasing Strahm from her grasp.

‘I don’t.’ Strahm grumbled. ‘I can’t, I mean.’

‘You can’t…?’ Perez tilted his face upwards, a puzzled and concerned look on her face.

Strahm strained against Perez’s hold of his cheeks and she let him avert his eyes. He was fiddling with the small padlock now, as if he were trying to dislodge a bit of food stuff in his teeth. It made a soft jingling sound as he did so.

Perez sighed and sat down on the edge of his desk, her knees bumping against his. She could tell he wasn’t upset, only embarrassed, but she didn’t want him fretting about it all day.

He was refusing to elaborate on his inability to take the collar off. She decided to approach him from a different angle.

‘It looks…cute.’ Perez nudged Strahm’s ankle with the toe of her boot, her voice low and personable.

Strahm gave her an incredulous snort.

‘No, really. It suits you.’ Perez whispered, delighting in the color starting to warm his cheeks. She glanced over her shoulder, checking that the door to the office was shut before hooking her feet under his desk chair and rolling him closer until there were only inches between them.

‘We just need to get you a leather jacket and some nice ripped jeans.’ She tilted her head as if she were picturing him in the outfit and traced a circle into Strahm’s chest with her middle finger.

‘Oh, piss off.’ Strahm grumbled, but he was already leaning into Perez’s warmth. He wrapped his hands around her waist and rested his forehead on her stomach.

‘I had a long night.’ He admitted.

There he is.

Perez draped her arms over Strahm’s shoulders, self-satisfied with her breakthrough.

‘I bet. Tell me what happened.’ Her nose brushed his cheek.

‘I…’ Strahm started, but he was squirming as though he was having trouble forcing the words out.

Perez waited patiently for him to regain his composure after her lighthearted jeering. She chuckled quietly, silently hoping that the collar situation wasn’t anything too serious. It was a treat to see Strahm so flustered, especially at work. She tentatively clasped the lock between her fingers, examining it. It was surprisingly sturdy for its size. Perez could see microscopic scratches on the metal where Strahm must have struggled to wrench it off all night.

‘It was just…’ Strahm rasped, trailing away as he searched for the words he wanted to use.

The two of them jolted as the doorknob to the office rattled noisily. Strahm usually left it locked to keep out pests - especially one big, obnoxious pest in particular. Perez could tell that it was him from the broad shadow he cast through the frosted window.

‘You can’t lock me out of my own office.’ Detective Hoffman’s voice sounded muffled from the other side of the door.

Perez saw a fire light under Strahm at once. Hoffman usually put the other man on edge, but it was irate frustration and indignation that coursed through him now. His attention had snapped in the direction of the intruding complaint, his jaw clamped shut, the edge of if taut and squared.

‘You can find another one!’

Strahm’s voice burst out of him a few octaves louder than he meant for it to. The sharpness of it and Perez’s proximity to the tattered growl pierced her eardrums. She winced, physically pushing Strahm back down into his chair as he started to stand.

‘Peter, your throat!’ Perez scolded.

Strahm shrunk apologetically as he realized he had just shouted into Perez’s face. His brow was furrowed with pain. Perez knew that he must have hurt himself in the heat of his outburst.

She could hear a distinct clinking sound from the hall as Hoffman searched for his keys. Her back straightened and she leaned back on the desk more casually, but she didn’t pull away from Strahm. Perez didn’t care if Hoffman saw the two of them enjoying each other’s company.

‘Sorry…’ Strahm tucked his tail, his voice now a strangled, hoarse whimper. Perez could tell that he was apologizing for straining the recovering wound hidden under his collar, as well as assaulting her ears.

She wouldn’t hold his difficulty in controlling his own volume against him, but she was annoyed that he always seemed to aggravate his tracheotomy scar just as it was starting to fully heal over.

‘Having a party in here without me?’ Hoffman prodded, the lock finally admitting defeat. He cracked the door open, slinking in furtively.

Perez had noticed that Hoffman never entered a room confidently. He always ducked in as if he wasn’t supposed to be there and he always closed the door behind him, even in cases such as this where the room was his own.

‘We were sort of in the middle of something.’ Perez’s tone was even, but she didn’t hide her dismay at the inconvenient timing of his arrival.

‘I can see that.’ Hoffman turned his perpetual sneer on her.

Strahm swiveled his chair to face his back towards Hoffman. He hunched his shoulders with a huff, the collar of his shirt obscuring the faux leather beneath.

Perez narrowed her eyes as she saw Hoffman’s eyes start to drift past her and lock onto Strahm. His expression lit up when he noticed the shining black material around Strahm’s neck.

‘What do you want?’ Strahm spat, his nails digging into the arms of the chair. He must have been able to feel the detective’s prying stare burning into the back of his head.

‘You kept it on?’ Hoffman’s lips were parted slightly in awe.

Perez raised an eyebrow at him. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was behind this debacle somehow, but she couldn’t work out how he had managed to get the damn thing around Strahm’s neck without losing a finger.

‘Like I had a choice!’ Strahm abbreviated his hiss by giving the lock a poignant tug.

‘I offered to cut it off for you.’ Hoffman hummed wickedly, making a scissoring gesture with his fingers.

‘As if-…!’ The special agent’s hand shot to his throat, his eyes welling up with sharp pain. Lindsey gave him a stern nudge.

Hoffman’s interest in her partner was no secret. Perez had to point out his tactless advances to Strahm a few weeks into the embarrassing display.

Initially, Strahm was under the impression that Hoffman had been trying to undermine his authority and humiliate him - until Perez had explained that the other man was obviously sizing him up. Sexually. Maybe even romantically.

Strahm had been even more furious and mortified after he realized Hoffman’s true intentions.

Precinct security had come sprinting to the lobby when Strahm finally confronted him over it. All the shouting and spitting had drawn a crowd, but Hoffman had said nothing that day - he had only waited until Strahm tired himself out and then brushed past him to the parking lot.

The detective hadn’t become bitter afterwards, but Perez had observed quietly as he spoke to the two of them less and less until it was only greetings and heckling remarks that were traded between them.

She had felt a little sorry for him at first, but the more time she spent on the Jigsaw case, the stronger the gnawing instinct that Hoffman was somehow involved in all of this mess solidified. His behavior around evidence and on the scene of the crimes was off-putting, to say the least. She had heard him intentionally obfuscate the truth on more than one occasion and the way he stared longingly at the victims - both living and dead - unsettled her deeply.

‘What did you do?’ Perez couldn’t think of a different way to ask him. She hadn’t even realized that Strahm and Hoffman interacted outside of work.

‘What? The little present I gave him?’ Hoffman puffed out his chest as if to ask,

Jealous?

Perez rolled her eyes.

‘What, did you break in and slip it on him while he was sleeping or something?’’

Hoffman’s smile faded in exasperation. ‘No, I-…’

Strahm cut in. ‘He said it was a fake lock.’

‘You still were the one who put it on.’ Hoffman muttered.

Perez didn’t stop Strahm from standing up this time. The force of him scrambling upright caused the chair to roll away as he stood. His hands pummeled the desk.

‘Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to check in this morning?’ The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling.

Hoffman held his palms up disarmingly. ‘There’s nothing inappropriate about it.’ Hoffman had been gradually meandering closer to the two FBI agents, as if Strahm wouldn’t notice.

Perez crossed her arm as she watched Strahm verbally unload into the detective. She gathered that he needed to lock horns with Hoffman for a while to blow off steam and she wasn’t mentally prepared to get in between the two men’s squabbling today.

She wished Strahm could see how much Hoffman enjoyed the threats and insults that were hurled at him. Hoffman was posturing on the other side of the desk now, delighting in the attention.

‘Alright, Hoffman, you’ve had your fun. Give Strahm the damn key.’ Perez had tired of the racket - and Strahm was going to rip his stitches if he kept carrying on like a rabid dog.

‘Can’t.’ Hoffman said simply, turning his nose up.

Perez tipped her head to one side. ‘Why…not?’

Strahm pointed at Hofman accusingly, venom dripping from his teeth. ‘He fucking swallowed it.’

Perez turned on the detective, her mouth yawning in disbelief. It would be incredibly stupid to swallow something made out of metal. Especially something as sharp as a key. Did Hoffman want to have to take a trip to the hospital?

Perez scanned him incredulously, at a loss for words.

Hoffman had shown time and time again that he lacked any meaningful traces of foresight. Would he really do something like that in the heat of the moment?

Maybe…

Hoffman wasn’t denying Strahm’s claim.

‘You can’t be serious.’ Perez wasn’t sure why she was even trying to give Hoffman the benefit of the doubt.

Hoffman looked unsuitably proud of himself for someone who should be concerned about bleeding internally.

‘As serious as a funeral.’ He leaned over the desk, almost within Strahm’s striking distance, but not quite. ‘I wanted to make sure you got a chance to see him like this, Linds.’

Hoffman knew she hated it when he called her that.

The nickname her partner had given her was reserved for Strahm, and Strahm alone.

Perez fought back the urge to vault over the desk and wring Hoffman’s neck. ‘What the hell were you two even doing together last night?’

Strahm looked away guiltily.

‘Strahm…’ Perez started with some reservation, pressing into his shoulder. She hadn’t expected him to react with shame. Perez knew that could mean only one thing.

‘I only had a few drinks.’ Strahm scuffed his shoes against each other.

‘He was shit-faced.’ It only took a couple of seconds for Hoffman to sell the other man out.

Perez sighed, weariness creeping into her bones. Strahm knew he wasn’t supposed to drink alcohol until his doctor had cleared him to. It wasn’t just the physical damage to his tissue that could be worsened by liquor, it also didn’t mix well with some of the medications he was taking.

Strahm opened his mouth to protest.

‘I don’t need Hoffman to tell me you were shit-faced. I know you would have had to of been, to get up to weird BDSM shit like this with him.’

Hoffman spat coffee onto his sleeve, unforeseen laughter wracking his ribs and squeezing the hot liquid out of him.

Strahm stiffened, apparently offended. ‘I didn’t…we didn’t! It wasn’t weird BDSM shit, we were just messing around!’

‘In my bedroom.’ Hoffman added, feigning innocence.

Strahm made a lunge for the detective, only stopping short of grappling the other man to the floor because Perez had restrained him by snagging the back of his shirt and holding him in place.

‘Down, boy.’ Perez admonished, only half-joking. The irritation at his failed sobriety was still clearly outlined on her face. She wanted to make sure he knew that he wasn’t off the hook yet.

‘Don’t ask me to come over to your shitty apartment ever again.’ Strahm rounded on Hoffman. His voice was starting to lose its edge - not because he was any less infuriated, but because the words were starting to fizzle out in his throat before he could form them.

Perez laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘Strahm, seriously. You can tell me all about it later. Why don’t you let me do the talking for now. Until your voice comes back.’

Strahm reluctantly snapped his jaws shut and gave Perez a tiny nod.

‘Explain, please.’ It was going to be difficult to get a straight answer out of Hoffman. The slippery bastard seemed intent on making sure that Strahm squirmed as much as possible.

Hoffman shrugged. ‘I just asked him if he wanted to try it on.’

‘You asked him?’ Perez left Strahm’s side, flagrantly encroaching on Hoffman’s personal space. She wasn’t above using interrogation techniques on her coworkers and, conveniently, Hoffman wasn’t that much taller than her. She didn’t have to look up at him, her sharp glare was perfectly eye-level.

To her delight, Hoffman shifted uncomfortably. His eyes darted to Strahm as he were asking the special agent to bail him out, but the other man was obediently ignoring him. Perez was proud of him and, with a warm buzz in her chest, she realized that Strahm had enough faith in her enough to stand up to Hoffman for him - even though she was pissed off at him for jeopardizing his health.

‘Hey, I asked you a question.’ She pressed.

‘I…mean…’ Hoffman had such obvious tells. Whenever he was caught in a lie, he would always swallow so hard that his chin tipped downward.

Perez made sure that he knew that she had noticed.

‘I told him it would look good on him.’ Hoffman continued.

Perez detected a half-truth. ‘Oh, because Strahm cares so much about your opinion.’

Hurt flashed briefly in Hoffman’s expression before it was swallowed back up by the cold, inky blackness of his unusually broad pupils. All of the playfulness fled from him, replaced by annoyance. He took a step back from Perez.

‘I told him that you might like to see him like that.’ Hoffman muttered, sounding defeated. He set his coffee down on the desk haplessly, his fun apparently spoiled.

Unfortunately for Perez, those extra wide, wet pupils also made it very easy for Hoffman to come across as miserable and pathetic when he was upset. Authentic pity stirred in her gut.

Besides, he was right. Seeing Strahm with that cute, little collar on had made Perez’s day. She wondered if he really was being thoughtful last night, or if he had just been willing to use any means necessary to get the leather restraint around Strahm’s neck.

To Perez, it seemed as though no one was having a good time this morning, when - given the circumstances - they really should be.

I don’t know what Hoffman expected to happen, though.

He might as well have cornered a feral dog.

But…

Strahm hadn’t tried to cut the collar off. Surely he had something at home that would have made quick work of the thin leather - though Perez's stomach twisted to envision Strahm struggling to pry the strap off, a sharp implement flailing uncomfortably close to his throat.

Maybe Strahm had really wanted her to see him with it on.

She turned back to face the crestfallen detective, an idea flitting through her mind.

‘I don’t believe that you swallowed that key. You’re not that much of an idiot.’

Hoffman looked as though he had been taken by surprise at the thinly-veiled compliment.

Strahm piped up, his voice barely a whisper. ‘I saw him swallow it.’

‘You were drunk.’ Perez asserted. Hoffman easily could have misdirected Strahm in such an inebriated state.

‘I…well…’ Hoffman stammered. If he kept pretending he had actually ingested the key, he would have to admit that he was an idiot.

‘Well, what?’

‘Ok… ok.’

Hoffman untucked a chain that he was wearing around his neck on the inside of his shirt and unclasped it at the back. The key dangled at the bottom of it.

Strahm went rigid with embarrassment, obviously not thrilled to have been outwitted.

Hoffman held the tiny scrap of metal out to Perez briskly and callously, as if he were suddenly in a rush to leave. She guessed that he wasn’t planning on sticking around after having his little game ruined.

When Hoffman had shown up this morning he had looked as though he were glowing. It was a seedy, downtown nightlife kind of glow, but he had looked happy. Now he looked dull and listless, as he had most days since Strahm had rejected him.

Perez frowned.

‘No. You unlock it.’ She closed his hand around the chain and pushed it back towards him.

Hoffman froze, slowly processing what she had said. He looked at her with shock and curiosity.

Perez caught her partner’s eye. He had remained mostly silent, as Perez had requested for him to.

‘Strahm, play nice.’

Strahm’s cheeks flushed pink, then his neck and the small expanse of his chest visible above where his shirt buttoned.

Perez knew that he probably wanted nothing to do with Hoffman right now, but he did love it when she told him what to do.

Strahm would only have to tolerate Hoffman for a few moments and Perez thought it sounded like a good compromise and a nice, neat resolution to their conflict. Strahm would get the collar off without risking stabbing himself, Hoffman would be allowed to get into Strahm’s personal bubble a little and Perez would get to watch.

An inkling of guilt wormed under her skin as she realized that she did sort of want to watch.

Strahm was getting far too good at reading her. She saw realization kindling in his eyes and then a glint of amused subservience.

He didn’t argue against her decree, instead opting to bare his teeth at Hoffman defiantly.

‘Just keep your hands to yourself.’ He growled.

‘Fine.’ Hoffman purred.

Strahm’s adamant boundary hadn’t dampened his cheerful mood.

That’s a good sign. Perez thought. It meant he likely wasn’t interested in trying anything too inappropriate for the workplace, at least.

‘Come here, Strahm.’ She beckoned him over. Perez wasn’t going to make Strahm face Hoffman alone. She would keep them both close, to make sure Strahm was safe and just in case the encounter came to blows and she needed to jump in to break it up.

Strahm heeled at her shoulder, not willing to get any closer to Hoffman on his own.

‘I’m not going to bite you.’ The detective commented.

‘As if I believe that.’

Hoffman drew closer to the two special agents. Perez was startled to realize that Hoffman’s obsessive attention was fixed on her now, too. His stature seemed a lot more oppressive as he bore down on her. She would hate to meet him alone in a dark alleyway.

But, the two of them could take him together, couldn’t they?

Perez’s thoughts got tangled up in the double entendre.

Hoffman held the key up to the side of Strahm’s face as though he were a nurse holding a syringe. ‘I was hoping I could get you to keep this on for at least a full day.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I know I won’t be able to get you to fall for that again.’

The detective let the key drift down to the lock. He held it gingerly between his finger and his thumb and lined up the key with the miniscule niche at its base.

Perez could see Strahm’s pulse quickening as it thrummed against the skin beneath his ear.

‘W-wait…’ He pulled away.

‘What is it?’ The sudden outburst ruffled Hoffman enough that his hand jerked back as if he had accidentally hurt Strahm.

The special agent stumbled backwards a step, his eyes squeezed shut.

‘I…I don’t want to take it off.’ He confessed.

‘Huh…?’ Hoffman and Perez murmured at once, almost in perfect unison. They shared a disbelieving glance at one another.

‘You seem like you do really like it…Perez.’ Strahm’s train of thought was lethargic and disorganized. ‘ And…It’s kind of nice. It feels safe.’ The last word was particularly difficult for him to utter.

Strahm stole furtive glimpses at Hoffman in between his fragmented ramblings.

‘I don’t…mind it.’ Strahm settled on the sentiment.

‘That’s not what you were saying earlier.’ Hoffman didn’t sound accusatory or teasing, only curious.

‘I thought it was stuck on me!’ Strahm snapped, thrusting his finger at the key in Hoffman’s hand. ‘And I thought you had swallowed that, you fucking creep!’

Was he worried about him?

Perez noticed that the bitter edge had faded from Strahm’s tone. The two men were carrying on bickering again, but the jabs swapped between them were now spirited and harmless.

Strahm wasn’t shrinking away in humiliation anymore. In fact, his confidence appeared to be rushing back in spades.

Good.

The collar did suit him. She had to admit that Hoffman had good taste.

Perez was pleased that her decision to let things play out hadn’t backfired. She would have to talk to the detective about his misguided methods of flirting with people later. In public. During the day. And maybe with a couple of other friends around.

Chapter 2

It had been three days and Strahm still hadn’t taken the collar off.

Hoffman offered the key to him at least twice a day, but the special agent had refused it obstinately every time - saying something along the lines of ‘you asked for this’ or ‘isn’t this what you wanted?’

Hoffman was quickly growing distressed. Apparently word had gotten around and a handful of officers at the station had correctly assumed that he was somehow behind Strahm’s sudden change in wardrobe.

‘Human Resources is breathing down my neck.’ He had fretted one afternoon, but Strahm had just waved his hand.

‘Well, I’ve gotten used to it now.’ He huffed, revelling in how Hoffman shifted uncomfortably in his seat - looking over his shoulder as if someone would barge in and demand his badge at any moment.

Perez’s partner had gotten into the habit of rubbing the lock between his fingers when he was agitated and, though Hoffman was too busy regretting his life decisions to notice, Strahm actually seemed to be growing fond of the flimsy collar.

It was almost as if the collar represented Hoffman. Strahm fiddled with it absentmindedly when he was alone and tugged at it viciously when the detective was getting on his nerves.

It was rare, Perez reflected, that Strahm ever got sentimental over a gift - if it could even be called that.

There was a strange sense of pride that he seemed to have in the object. It wasn’t the looks it earned him that he delighted in - he loved puffing out his chest, daring anyone to say anything to him. It was like a free pass to start arguments.

It helped that he and Perez had started to indulge in the other connotation of the collar in private.

‘Good boy.’ Had become a part of her everyday vocabulary.

It started off as a joke, but the way Strahm’s eyes glittered at the praise and the way he rolled over when she chastised him had Perez hoping that he never took the thing off.

Perez kept teasing that she was going to get Strahm a nametag to hang next to the lock, but despite all her pesky prodding, she could never get him to outright object.

‘You should thank Hoffman.’ She purred one morning, stashed away in the breakroom with Strahm’s head in her lap. Her fingers were threaded under the collar and he was looking up at her with half-lidded, lazy eyes.

Strahm was reclined on his back, stretched out across two rolling chairs - three, counting the one Perez was sitting in.

‘Why?’ He grumbled, a yawn forming in his chest.

‘He bought this for you, didn’t he?’ She gave the collar a tug.

‘Dunno…he probably just had it lying around.’ Strahm arced a crumpled ball of paper into the waste bin.

Perez doubted that, somehow, but it wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility.

She felt sort of bad that she had hijacked Hoffman’s plan to fluster Strahm. And now Strahm wasn’t even giving Hoffman the reaction he had hoped for anymore.

Hoffman hadn’t gone back to skulking around the two FBI agents, but Perez had caught him white-knuckling his coffee cup while watching the two of them from down the hall in several instances.

He had to be jealous. Anyone would be and Perez could tell that Hoffman in particular harbored a prickly, vindictive spirit.

‘What is he to you, anyways?’ Perez tilted her head inquisitively.

Strahm stiffened. If he had a tail, it likely would have drooped. Perez could feel his pulse quickening where her fingers rested against his neck.

‘He’s a pain in my ass.’ Strahm muttered, turning his head away and staring stubbornly at the floor on the other side of the room.

‘You keep stringing him along. I don’t get it. It’s not like you’re lacking in the attention department.’ She stroked his hair, ruffling the neatly tamed strands.

Strahm sat up, rolling the chair he ended up in closer to Perez. ‘I’m not stringing him along. I already told him how I feel about him. He’s the one who keeps following me around like a lost puppy.’

Perez raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at Strahm’s collar.

‘You know what I mean.’ Strahm puffed. He glanced at the clock, checking to make sure they weren’t overextending their breaks.

‘Besides.’ Strahm leaned closer to Perez, his voice taking on a hushed tone. ‘You know how likely it is that he’s…compromised.’

Despite growing used to Hoffman’s presence, Perez still couldn’t ignore the facts of the case. All of which pointed to their resident detective, at the very least, knowing more than he was letting on.

Worse still, Hoffman had been growing cagier every day. The bags under his eyes were darkening and he seemed paler than he had before, as if he wasn’t getting any sleep.

‘All the more reason to get to know him better.’ Perez chipped in simply.

Strahm obviously didn’t feel all that unsafe around the other man if he was getting drunk with him after work.

‘I’m just saying you seem…excited…around him.’

‘Do not say it like that.’ Strahm growled. ‘I want him put away. Put. Away. Got it?’

Perez frowned. She opened her mouth to protest, but froze mid breath as she heard the soft clunk of the breakroom door closing shut. Both of them stared at the door silently for a long, still moment.

No one stood in the doorway. Someone had left.

-

-

-

‘I didn’t overhear anything.’ Hoffman muttered the next morning. He had avoided eye contact with Perez as he clocked in, guilt fizzling off of him like smoke.

The two agents stood over him now, where he sat at his desk.

It hadn’t taken Strahm more than a few seconds to determine that he had in fact been the one eavesdropping on them the previous day, but after seeing the state of the detective, even he had been hesitant to approach Hoffman by himself.

He looked unwell.

His lip was split and he had a nasty blue bruise below his left eye.

‘What happened to you?’ Perez’s brow was furrowed with genuine concern.

‘I fell.’ Hoffman still wouldn’t look at them. He spoke softly, but bitterness threatened to overwhelm him.

‘Bullshit.’ Strahm bit back, but he was watching Hoffman carefully, his jaw tense and his eyes wide with something akin to confusion.

Hoffman didn’t respond. He slumped down into his chair, shrouded in the two FBI agents’ shadows.

Strahm shuffled his feet awkwardly, looking as though he didn’t know what to say. After a long pause and a desperate, vain glance at Perez, he turned away, clenched his fists at his sides and stormed off towards the kitchen.

Perez leaned against Hoffman’s desk with her back to him. ‘Are you ok?’ She pried gently, looking over her shoulder.

‘Fine.’

She was pleased to hear that Hoffman was at least willing to speak to her.

‘It looks like you got into a fight.’ She continued, feeling daring.

Hoffman glanced in the direction that Strahm had left and then back to Perez.

‘I did.’ He admitted. ‘Sort of.’

She leaned closer, indulging in Hoffman’s petty desire to omit Strahm from their conversation.

‘With who?’ She asked in a whisper.

‘Just some idiot.’

Hoffman must have known that showing up to work covered in bruises after another apparent kidnapping had been reported made him look horribly suspicious. Shame darkened his eyes and his thumbnail dug into the crook of his forefinger.

He had been avoiding his other coworkers all morning, but he couldn’t escape Perez and Strahm when they shared a room together.

‘I don’t think you're some kind of evil bastard.’ She asserted, even though she wasn’t entirely sure of her conviction.

‘That isn’t what you were saying yesterday.’ Hoffman grumbled.

‘I didn’t say anything.’ Perez corrected him indignantly.

‘Do you think I have to share every one of Strahm’s opinions just because he’s my partner?’

‘No.’ Hoffman conceded, looking as though he were trying to swallow a large rock.

Perez’s expression softened. Why was it that she always ended up working with difficult, broody assholes?

She wished it wasn’t difficult, broody assholes that made her heart race.

Hoffman was a whole different animal compared to Strahm, though.

She wasn’t sure what exactly she was expecting to happen if she got involved with him.

It wasn’t as if getting Hoffman to warm up to her would erase any crimes he may have committed.

But…

She reasoned.

Innocent until proven guilty.

And how could she turn down an opportunity to investigate her prime suspect?

That would just be plain irresponsible.

‘He didn’t mean it, you know. No one wants you to be involved.’

Hoffman looked unconvinced, but his down-turned eyes met hers, round and pitiful like a stray mutt peering out from the back corner of a pound.

‘I don’t want you to be involved.’ She elaborated, her voice steady.

Hoffman seemed to relax in his chair somewhat.

Leather shoes scuffed the floor and they turned to face the direction the sound had come from. Strahm was tramping back over to Hoffman’s desk awkwardly.

He tossed a clear sandwich baggie onto the wooden surface and it clattered as it slid across, bumping into the detective’s hand.

Hoffman picked it up and inspected it, then he glanced over at Strahm.

‘Ice.’ Strahm grunted the single word.

A smile crept across Hoffman’s lips, but he said nothing.

Perez forced her face to remain neutral. She didn’t want Strahm to backpedal or rescind the thoughtful gesture. There was no need for him to sour the mood with a snide remark, and she knew that he would if he felt like he was being scrutinized or teased for helping Hoffman.

Hoffman raised the bag to his lip. It was obvious that he was trying to hide how much his injuries were hurting him, but he couldn’t contain the way his breath stuttered with relief as the ice pressed against the cut there.

Perez finally caught Strahm’s eye. His neck was tinged a nearly-indiscernible, subtle red. Hoffman didn’t seem to notice. He seemed more than satisfied with the bare minimum from Agent Strahm.

Surely this exhausting back and forth must make Hoffman dizzy, and yet he glowed with a happiness that Perez hadn’t seen on him since the first day that Strahm had worn the leather collar to work.

Perez had the ammunition to sweeten the moment for him. It was too late now for Strahm to snatch the ice away, or pretend he had been anything besides concerned about Hoffman’s condition.

‘Good boy, Peter.’ She said, not breaking eye contact.

Strahm’s spine stiffened into a straight line, his head whipping over his shoulder to check if they had any additional company.

Hoffman’s ears pricked with intrigue, his mouth gaping slightly in awe. Perez was surprised to find his attention trained on her instead of her partner. He leaned forward in his seat, his chin inclined up at her attentively.

‘Perez!’ Strahm whispered crossly.

‘What?’ She folded her arms. If Strahm wasn’t prepared to break the weird sexual tension he had going on with Hoffman, then she was happy to do it for him.

Besides, there would need to be a witness around whenever they finally decided to go at it.

Just to make sure no one gets hurt.

And not for any other selfish, more voyeuristic reasons.

Strahm’s voice had been harsh, but she could tell he wasn’t actually angry yet. Perez had always been a boundary-pusher, and her partner knew how to let her know when she had gone too far.

In reality, Strahm looked almost relieved. His shoulders sagged, but not in defeat. It was as though he were thankful to Perez for giving him permission to tow the line around Hoffman more than he already did.

It wasn’t Perez’s permission to give, but she was glad regardless that he looked as though a weight had been lifted off of him.

Strahm certainly had no reason to be embarrassed.

Hoffman’s attitude had eaten away at her defenses too, afterall. There was something about him that reminded her of shoddy, bargain-bin dark-romance novels.

Hoffman was acting of course, and poorly at that, but it was a decent effort and sort of endearing in an odd way.

The detective’s snark was deliberate and measured - more of a defense mechanism than it was him actually being hateful.

And it was sweet to watch his walls crumble down every now and then.

‘It’s fine, Strahm.’ Hoffman mused. ‘You act as though the whole precinct is deaf. It’s not like I’ve never heard you two playing pretend before.’

That bullet lodged itself in Perez, too - struck down as an innocent bystander. Her cheeks felt suddenly hot.

They hadn’t been that loud.

Had they?

Strahm pressed his palms flat against Hoffman’s desk. Maybe Perez was imagining it, but she thought she could hear a growl roiling in her partner’s chest. ‘Maybe if you focused more on the case instead of your coworkers’ personal lives you’d have a more successful track record.’

Strahm’s fingernails curled into the wood as if he was envisioning sinking them into the detective’s back.

‘Perez, you ought to keep your dog on a leash.’ Hoffman looked overjoyed to be participating in their game.

Strahm’s eyes flashed to the door. It was closed securely and locked, as Hoffman usually kept it.

‘His throat’s hurt. You know I can’t pull on his collar.’ Perez shook her head in reproach.

That roughly, at least.

‘Hm…you’ve been spoiling him? No wonder he’s so out of control.’ Hoffman’s eyes glittered. ‘Maybe you should let me take care of him for a day? I could teach him to behave.’

Strahm practically leapt over the desk, kneeing Hoffman’s rolling chair into the wall with so much force the plastic structure shuddered and loosened at the top. Perez had been too startled and too taken aback to stop him. She wasn’t sure she would have had the strength to restrain his feverish lunge even if she had tried.

‘Strahm!’ Her voice was harsh, but barely louder than the busted AC unit hanging from the ceiling. She didn’t want the other operatives to think there was a fight going on.

Even if there was.

Surely, Strahm must know that he was giving Hoffman exactly what he wanted.

The detective’s shirt-collar was twisted up in Strahm’s fists, the special agent’s breath hot like steam against Hoffman’s face. He was hunched over, practically straddling the other man as he held him in place.

Hoffman’s eyes were wild with anticipation and his grin was wide enough to show off his teeth.

‘Don’t make me add another bruise to that ugly mug of yours.’ Strahm barked, giving him a firm shake.

‘I wouldn’t ever want it to heal.’ Hoffman’s hand wrapped around his wrist, the bottom of his shoe pressed against Strahm’s ankle.

‘Hey, hey! Relax! You two don’t have a safeword yet.’ Perez piped up, looping around the desk to stand at Strahm’s side.

‘Fun police...’ Hoffman snorted as Strahm released his shirt with a grunt. Both men were panting.

‘Get a grip, Strahm.’ Perez tucked some of his tousled hair back behind his ear. ‘Do you want to get taken off this case or something?’

‘We were only roughhousing.’ Hoffman crooned.

Strahm looked thoughtful for a moment, but his posture told Perez that he was fighting off embarrassment.

‘Y-yeah…’ Strahm finally murmured, as if it was an admission of guilt.

Perez and Hoffman shared a stunned glance.

Hoffman stared at him for a long while. ‘We…were?’ He asked tentatively, like a cat trying not to frighten away a bird.

‘Of course we were!’ Strahm snapped. ‘Do you really think I have that little self-restraint?’

Hoffman tugged at his necktie nervously. Perez avoided his gaze, whistling to herself conspicuously.

Strahm sighed, sounding exasperated. ‘I’ve been having a good time…with all of this.’ He mumbled, gesturing vaguely at the two investigators in the room with him.

‘I was under the impression that you didn’t want anything to do with me.’ Hoffman repeated Strahm’s own words from the day the FBI agent had publicly rejected him.

‘I don’t!’ Strahm bristled. ‘Well…I didn’t.’

Hoffman’s expression gleamed with interest. He blinked expectantly, but Strahm had apparently said his piece.

‘Well, I do.’ Perez asserted. She extended her hand, giving Hoffman a friendly jab in the shoulder. A hollow ache nagged in her chest as she felt him tense and cringe away at first, his muscles turning to stone under his skin.

She told herself that he probably just didn’t like being touched by strangers, but she knew that it wasn’t entirely true.

‘You do…?’ Strahm blinked at her incredulously.

‘Yeah, look at him. He’s cute.’ She quipped.

Scary as shit, but cute.

Perez didn’t think she had ever seen Hoffman blush before.

She barely glimpsed it before he managed to cover his mouth with his forearm.

It suited him.

-

-

-

-

The next morning breezed by at a breakneck speed. Hoffman had settled in closer to the two FBI agents than he usually did.

He had even contributed to their brainstorming over the Jigsaw case.

‘Maybe we should look more into previous persons of interest.’ He had mumbled absentmindedly, like it were an afterthought. ‘Fresh eyes might do us some good.’

Perez knew that he was most likely just trying to shift the blame away from himself, but it wouldn’t hurt to look into prior suspects. Besides, something about the way he said it had made the hairs on the back of Perez’s neck stand on end.

There was comfortable silence in the office until lunchtime, when Hoffman inevitably decided that there wasn’t enough excitement to make the day go by at a reasonable pace.

‘So…you do like me then?’ He asked Strahm in between hurried bites of his takeout.

Perez awaited the fervent denial, but it never came.

‘I don’t dislike you.’ He said simply. Strahm didn’t like to have meals in front of other people. He had choked down a granola bar on the drive to the precinct that morning. Despite Perez’s best efforts, she could never convince him to make a habit of eating proper food

‘You just think I’m a mass murderer.’ Hoffman tapped his fork on the side of the cardboard carton.

‘I think you could be a mass murderer.’ Strahm corrected him.

‘Oh, my bad.’ Hoffman didn’t look upset, but tension was starting to crackle in the air between them like static.

‘I’m getting tired of diffusing you two.’ Perez huffed.

‘Then don’t.’

There was a challenge in Hoffman’s voice.

Perez narrowed her eyes at him, thoroughly vexed. ‘I’d like my partner to keep his job.’ She crossed her arms. ‘Plus, antagonizing the FBI doesn’t make you look any better.’

‘Well…what do you think, then?’ Hoffman aimed the question at her in retaliation. ‘Am I Jigsaw, Perez?’

You’re too comfortable talking about it, if you are.

She wanted to say.

‘I told you, I don’t want you to be involved.’ She repeated the sentiment instead.

‘But, do you think I am?’ He pressed.

‘No.’ Perez nearly cut him off. She hoped she hadn’t hesitated too long.

She didn’t want Hoffman to go back to avoiding them, his company had been easygoing and more pleasant than she expected, but she couldn’t help feeling like denying Hoffman’s obvious involvement made her sound gullible and naive.

Whatever.

His feelings were worth more than her pride. Even if he was a prick.

She must have sounded confident in her response, because Hoffman’s sneer softened. She tried to ignore the shame tugging his eyebrows down into a furrow.

‘Can we not talk about this on our lunch break? We’re not supposed to be working right now.’ Perez swept on. She wanted to change the subject.

And Perez had brought the perfect surprise to do so with.

Her line of sight settled on Hoffman.

‘I have something for you, you know.’ She said, feeling the detective shrink under her gaze.

Good.

He could sense her intent, sharp and mischievous.

‘Something for me?’ Hoffman echoed warily. He tossed the remains of his lunch into the trashcan at the end of the fold-up table they were crowded around.

Strahm shifted in his chair knowingly. Perez had, of course, discussed her scheme with him the night before, but evidently her partner was having second thoughts. Always the overthinker.

‘Mhm.’ She hummed, holding out a small wrapped box to Hoffman.

Perez had done her best to pretty it up with nice pink wrapping paper and a gold tulle ribbon.

Hoffman angled his head curiously. He mouthed the word what, but no sound came out.

‘Open it.’ She pressed the box into his hands and closed his fingers around it.

‘It’s…for me?’ He asked, even though he was already holding the present.

‘Yes, idiot, it’s for you.’ Strahm bundled closer to Perez in order to get a closer look at the box, sandwiching her in between him and Hoffman.

‘I wanted to apologize for making you think that you were unwelcome. In your own office, I mean.’ Perez hadn’t withdrawn her hand from the detective’s yet and he hadn’t pulled away either.

‘You…didn’t make me think that.’ Hoffman was watching her warmly out of the corner of his eye.

Perez tried not to let the purr in his voice fluster her.

Strahm snorted at the implication that he had made Hoffman feel unwelcome, but the three of them were so close together now that they were sharing each other’s body heat.

‘Just open it.’ Perez chuckled.

Hoffman pulled the ribbon neatly until it unraveled and fluttered down onto the table.

He lifted off the lid and Perez felt him stiffen beside her. Satisfaction prickled up her spine.

‘Oh…it’s...’ He swallowed, his face flushing a deep red. Perez was holding him gently by the arm now, in case he tried to run away.

She took the sturdy, spiked leather collar out of the box for him and dangled it in front of his face. The lock on the one she and Strahm had found was plated gold and shaped like a heart.

‘Do you like it?’ Perez asked, feigning her most convincing innocence.

‘Y-yeah…’ Hoffman was staring at the collar in a mix of amazement and horror.

Strahm’s own lock jingled against its metal loop behind her and Perez wondered if the two locks would be clinking together any time soon.

She wondered if Hoffman was thinking the same thing.

It would be an irresistible sound.

‘Want me to put it on you?’ She asked the detective sweetly.

‘O-ok.’

Perez scooted her seat back and took her place behind Hoffman. Her partner shuffled over, eagerly replacing her in the chair she had been sitting in.

Hoffman was evidently surprised that Strahm was making himself comfortable in his personal space, their elbows were inches from touching.

Hoffman’s head looked as though it must be spinning. His eyes darted from Strahm where he was huddled next to him to over his shoulder at Perez.

She could see his heartbeat thrumming in his throat as she draped the collar around it.

‘You’re sure about this?’ Perez whispered softly into his ear. She knew this wasn’t a grace that he had offered to Strahm.

Hoffman seemed to melt into her touch. She didn’t give him a moment to change his mind.

The lock clipped shut and Perez fastened the leather strap into place.

She traced her fingers around the circumference until they met in the middle under Hoffman’s chin.

‘Too tight?’ She gave it a firm tug.

His breath caught in his chest. ‘No.’

‘Looks good.’ Strahm grunted, his nose at Hoffman’s cheek. He was inspecting the collar closely, his more canine mannerism shining through now that Hoffman had been initiated.

The detective yielded to him, against his better judgement, craning his neck so that Strahm could get a better look. Perez wasn’t sure even she would let Strahm get that close to her carotid.

But Hoffman looked as though he were in heaven. His skin was hot to the touch and he was absolutely preening under all of the attention.

‘Where’s yours?’ Hoffman directed the question behind him.

Perez’s hands left the collar and drifted up to tangle delicately in Hoffman’s hair. ‘That’s not how this works’ She murmured snidely.

‘Oh, I didn’t realize you were the one in charge.’ His head was tilted back now, resting on her stomach. He felt so pliable. So content to have someone to tell him what to do.

Now that Perez was holding him like this, it was difficult to imagine that she had ever been afraid of him.

A wry smile tugged at her lips. ‘You really should have.’

-

-

-

Hoffman wore the collar diligently for the rest of the day and when he showed up to work the next morning, Perez was pleased to see that he had kept it on overnight.

He had arrived to work on time for once, even beating the ever-punctual Strahm into the office.

‘You’re here early.’ Perez chimed.

Something about the collar had muzzled Hoffman. Normally, the detective loved the sound of his own voice, but ever since Perez had secured the leather strap around his neck he had only spoken when spoken to.

It was as though he were transfixed - a fox seeing a shining snare for the first time as it was wrapping around his leg.

‘Am I?’ He stood next to Perez’s desk as she tucked some files into a manilla envelope.

‘Well, you’re usually late.’ She swiveled her chair to face him.

‘I…wanted to talk to you.’ He stepped closer, as though he were testing how close she would let him get.

Uh oh.

Maybe the collar had been a little too forward.

‘If you want the key for your lock…’ She began.

‘No, I…I like it a lot.’ Hoffman grasped for the right words. He held the lock between his fingers.

‘You didn’t have to get me this.’ He went on.

Perez was relieved that Hoffman hadn’t been offended by her gift. ‘I wanted to.’ She patted her desk, offering him a seat.

He leaned against the table where she had directed him to obediently.

‘You…seem like you’re trying to tell me something. Are you trying to keep me guessing, too?’

Like Strahm. She added for him silently.

‘No.’ Perez stood, placing her hands against the wood on either side of his thighs. ‘We can play this game whenever you want.’ She drew closer.

It was too early in the day for this sort of thing, but something about coming on to Hoffman felt like establishing dominance.

Hoffman must have hardened his resolve on the drive home, because today he seemed more prepared to resist her.

Perez guessed that once the shock of her present had worn off, Hoffman had seen the collar for what it was - a challenge.

She wanted him to show her his true colors. She already had a loyal guard dog in Strahm, now she wanted someone who wouldn’t go down without a fight, too.

She knew Hoffman would be more than happy to play that role - if she could only get him to loosen up around her.

Hoffman bared his canines and Perez’s pulse started to race.

‘What kind of game?’ He swallowed the bait willingly.

‘Well, it looks like you already know sit. How about roll over?’ She straightened the lock hanging from his neck, admiring it as she did so.

Hoffman leaned over her, his bulk blocking the harsh glow of the fluorescent bulbs overhead.

‘How about a treat first?’ His teeth were at Perez’s ear, now. The husky rumble sent a thrill deep into her gut.

Less than a week ago she had promised herself that she would never accidentally end up in a room alone with Hoffman, now, here she was in between his legs at eight o’clock in the AM - not a single witness in sight.

Perez didn’t get a chance to find out what she would have let him do to her in that office that morning.

Strahm burst through the office door and slammed it shut behind him. Papers scattered from his briefcase as he tossed it onto the closest desk and made a mad dash for the timeclock.

The unexpected clamor had made both Hoffman and Perez stand at attention as if their careers depended on it.

Perez must have lost track of time. She noticed that the clock on the wall read five past eight.

Late?

Strahm was never late.

‘Did something happen?’ She asked him, worry edging her voice.

Strahm usually drove to work with Perez, but this morning he had said he would catch up with her later.

‘Nothing happened.’ He rubbed his temples, squeezing his eyes shut. ‘Am I not allowed to run behind every once and a while?’

And now he was fibbing?

Did he learn something new about the case?

Strahm usually shared everything with her, though she supposed Hoffman being here might be enough to make him cagey.

His eyes fell on Perez and Hoffman. ‘What are you two up to?’

‘You’re welcome to join us.’ Hoffman hummed, much to Perez’s exasperation.

‘Hoffman…’ Perez nudged his knee with her elbow. If Strahm was having a bad morning, the last thing he needed was the detective’s harassment.

Hoffman’s eyes widened and he seemed to stare straight through her.

‘Oh come on, I didn’t hit you that hard.’ She muttered, realizing too late that Hoffman had been looking behind her.

She felt Strahm’s arms wrap around her waist, his face falling to rest on her shoulder.

‘Strahm?’ His touch had startled her, but his warmth was quickly seeping into her bones. The familiar comfort of his frame against hers was already making Perez sleepy.

Strahm leaning on Perez was pressing her deeper into Hoffman’s lap.

To his credit, Hoffman was keeping any inappropriate advances that he could have been making to himself - even if his eyes looked ready to swallow her up.

‘Strahm.’ She lifted up his slumped body with a grunt. She didn’t mind being so close to the two men, but their combined freshly-applied colognes were suffocating this early in the day.

‘Mnn…’ Strahm roused, peeling himself off of his partner.

‘Feeling better?’ She chuckled, giving him a scratch behind the ear.

‘I guess so.’

‘I’ll give you lovebirds some privacy.’ Hoffman teased. Perez had to shift out of the way to let him up.

‘Oh, no you don’t.’ Strahm snagged Hoffman’s sleeve as he tried to make a break for the door. ‘You’re coming with me down to Interrogation.’

Hoffman went rigid. His eye caught Perez’s - confused, questioning and helpless.

Don’t look at me…

As far as Perez knew, Strahm’s suspicion of Hoffman had started to ebb.

‘Interrogation?’ Hoffman fought to keep his demeanor flat, but sweat seemed to bead on his forehead in an instant. ‘Why?’

‘We have a suspect in custody.’ Strahm looked tired.

Embarrassment rushed in to replace Hoffman’s unease.

Perez felt herself breathe a sigh of relief for him.

‘Who?’ The crack in the detective’s voice seemed to amuse Strahm more than anything.

‘Lawrence Gordon.’ He said his name as though it were bitter on his tongue.

Perez could see the muscles in his face tighten as Hoffman clenched his jaw. ‘Detectives Tapp and Sing already interviewed Gordon.’

‘Yeah, well, we’ve got new evidence. Besides, reviewing old POIs was your idea, wasn’t it?’

Perez was thankful that Strahm had elected not to outwardly criticize the previous work of Hoffman’s deceased team-members.

After a long hesitation, Hoffman nodded slowly. ‘Yeah, you’re right. I’ll grab my jacket.’

‘You too.’ Strahm nudged the back of Perez’s head with his nose.

‘I hope you two know what you’re going up against.’ Hoffman slung his suit jacket over his shoulders and stowed his cellphone away into his back pocket.

-

-

 

The interrogations dragged on for what felt like forever.

Lawrence Gordon had been a menace to interview.

‘The bastard must make a hobby out of reading law textbooks.’ Strahm had snarled during an intermission, only half-kidding.

Gordon seemed to know exactly what words to say and when to say them in order to counter their questioning.

Perez wondered if the doctor knew that coming across as this well-prepared for an interrogation would only implicate him further - off the books, at the very least.

She had, of course, given her boys permission to take their collars off around their suspect.

Hoffman’s especially wouldn’t do his intimidation factor any favors.

Not that the detective was very useful during his turns speaking with the doctor, anyways.

He did his job, he asked the questions he was supposed to, but something about Gordon’s presence was making him sheepish.

Perez couldn’t really blame him.

There was a bleak frigidity in Lawrence’s demeanor that reminded Perez that people had died pursuing this case.

She had caught their suspect glaring daggers at Hoffman in-particular on multiple separate occasions during the process.

Fear for the detective’s well-being had spurred Perez on - something told her that if they didn’t manage to keep Lawrence detained tonight, something terrible might happen to him.

The additional pressure she applied artificially to herself paid off. She managed to trip Lawrence up on his own ego about three hours into the interrogation.

He had known information about one of the cases that he shouldn't have.

Perez had to guess that, based on the accusatory spark in Lawrence’s eye, Hoffman was the one who had told him it.

It’s nothing I didn’t know already. Perez told herself.

She only hoped that, for his sake, Hoffman knew which side of this mess he was on.

Chapter 3

‘What a nightmare.’ Perez collapsed into the cushioned chair behind Hoffman’s desk. Hardly anyone ever used it. It was too plush to get any work done in.

The detective had taken a detour to the bathroom to regain his composure after they had cuffed Gordon.

Strahm had asked him to be the one to do it, despite Perez’s silent protest.

Her partner had, no-doubt, wanted to see what Hoffman would do and how Lawrence would react.

‘Satisfied with yourself?’ She asked Strahm, kicking her feet up on the desk.

‘With what?’ Strahm pretended he didn’t know what she was talking about.

‘I have a feeling Hoffman doesn’t need to be dealing with any more tests. Especially from you.’ There was a gentle warning in her voice. There had been no real reason for him to drag the other man along.

Strahm’s lips parted slightly in surprise. ‘You do know then? That Hoffman’s involved?’

Perez checked for any signs of commotion in the hall and then lowered her voice. ‘Of course I know he’s involved. Do you really think I’m that stupid?’

Strahm slumped, dejected. ‘Of course not, I just thought…maybe your judgement was a little clouded.’

‘My judgement…?’ Perez eyebrow shot up into a stern, crooked arch, irritation creeping into her voice

‘I didn’t mean-…’

‘What did you mean, then?’ She tapped her foot.

Strahm didn’t respond, his face was flushed pink with mortification.

‘I think it’s about time you put that collar back on. Interrogation’s over.’ She patted her left thigh haughtily.

Strahm lowered his head and swallowed apologetically. His feet moved without his permission as he took his place at Perez’s side.

‘Peter. Down.’ She snapped her fingers at the ground beside her.

Strahm knelt where she had commanded him to, glancing at the firmly-closed door to make sure it was still keeping their correspondence private. There was a glimmer of weary relief in his eyes as he sank onto the carpet at her feet.

Perez’s heartbeat ticked as though it were counting down. She knew he needed this as much as she did. She hated to reward him for insulting her professionalism, but the transgression was mild and his misbehavior had been the perfect way to pivot into their favorite brand of stress-relief.

Dealing with Lawrence had frayed her nerves. She had managed to keep it together in front of him, but it was nice to have someone listening to her without question now.

‘You know I’m not mad at you.’ She rubbed under his chin with her thumb. ‘It’s just been a long day.’

Strahm surrendered himself to her immediately. He had done too much talking today - enough to overexert himself. Perez’s partner had difficulty speaking for long periods of time even before his throat injury. He typically kept his responses curt and brief for a reason - talking to strangers exhausted him more than just about anything.

Perez knew he wouldn’t be able to carry a conversation for a few days at least.

Poor thing…

‘You don’t need to say anything.’ She hushed him as he opened his mouth to speak. ‘Actually, I’d prefer it if you didn’t.’

Strahm didn’t utter a single complaint.

His jaws clamped shut and he leaned his face against Perez’s leg, looking up at her attentively.

‘That was a tough one…’ Her head fell back against the chair’s headrest, a single hand stroking Strahm’s hair gingerly.

She was proud that she had been able to tear down Gordon’s defenses, but she felt entirely sapped of all her energy. It had taken so much focus to follow the doctor’s misdirection and dance around his legal loopholes that Perez had found herself holding her breath more than once.

Perez didn’t want to have to interrogate him again, but she knew that she probably would. Especially since Hoffman and Strahm’s fire seemed to be of no use against Lawrence’s bitter cold.

Strahm must have been able to sense the migraine forming behind Perez’s temple. He stretched his neck out for her, pawing at her shin hopefully.

‘Oh, so he wants it now?’ She retrieved his collar from her pocket where it was nestled alongside Hoffman’s.

She wrapped it around his throat, careful not to agitate his scar, and snapped the lock shut.

‘You’re so pretty.’ She sighed, skimming the edge of the collar, Strahm’s stubble grazing her skin.

He radiated love, unconditional and devout.

A thought seemed to cross his mind. He nosed Perez’s knees apart delicately and rested his chin on the chair in between her thighs, his eyes expectant and pleading.

‘Strahm, you know better.’ They could fool around when they got home. The last thing they needed today was to have to talk their way out of getting caught having sex at work.

He lifted both hands up onto the cushion, as if to beg.

‘What’s gotten into you?’ Perez was astounded by his brazenness. Their affectionate displays at work had been escalating, but she wouldn’t have thought that Strahm would ever be open to sealing the deal in public.

She felt herself longing to give in.

What’s gotten into me?

The temptation ate away at her. The drive back to Strahm’s apartment was agonizingly long.

The door was locked and almost everyone had gone home. Them blowing off a little steam after a long day wouldn’t hurt anyone.

‘Alright…just make it quick.’ She conceded.

Strahm settled in under the desk eagerly, cramming himself into the space beneath it. The way he looked up at her from the darkness made Perez feel like some sleazy corporate boss with one of her employees.

Pulse thumping, she unbuckled her belt and slid her pants down to the center of her thighs. It would be foolish, she thought to herself, to take them off all the way. Like this, she might at least manage to slip back into them in the event of an interruption.

Strahm traced circles into the sides of her stomach as she undressed. She could see his tension dissolving, the hard lines in his forehead easing.

After she had made herself comfortable, Strahm didn’t hesitate to push her legs up with his shoulders, his lips pressed softly against her slit. Perez’s slacks hooked behind his head like a sling.

Her partner was holding her just like he would in the bedroom and it was quickly making her forget where she was.

‘Strahm, hold on!’ She panted. At this rate she was going to start moaning aloud before she could stop herself.

Strahm pulled away ever so slightly, Perez’s slick already connecting them with a thin line. She hadn’t realized until now how wet she had become.

Perez wasn’t even sure when she had begun to get this worked up.

Her urgency had been building ever since that morning, when Hoffman had whispered in her ear and Strahm had grabbed her from behind and damnit everything today had just been so frustrating.

‘Fuck…’ She hissed. The cool air was harsh as frostbite in Strahm’s absence. Perez could just barely see Strahm’s smug grin peering up from the shadows.

‘Ok, ok.’ She covered her eyes with her arm, her face taking on a subtle, self-conscious glow. ‘Come on.’

You’re not being a very good dog. She wanted to say, but Strahm’s assiduous mouth was already getting back to work and it stole the breath from her lungs.

Perez’s fingers tangled in his hair and she shoved him down hard. She wished she could push further into his warmth - it was soothing away her anxiety like milk and honey.

‘Peter…’ She murmured, her chest tight with anticipation. Every single one of her nerves was expecting someone to walk in on them at any moment, but the thrill was intoxicating.

‘More…’ Perez coaxed him closer, her head tilting back in delight as Strahm pushed his tongue further into her. Her teeth pricked into her lip where she bit it.

More…more…

Her thoughts grew sluggish and fuzzy, a heady fog enveloping her like smoke. Perez’s impulses were overtaking her, she wanted to straddle his face and scream his name. She wanted the back of his head thumping against the desk as she ground against his lips.

Damnit…Strahm…

Now her judgement really was getting clouded.

And worse, a gaping hollowness in her core was spreading rapidly, carrying with it a desperate need to have something inside.

She knew she wouldn’t want Strahm to stop at just using his fingers.

The rattle of the door handle turning slowly tore her from her thoughts and dragged her back into reality.

A broad shoulder shoved the door open, only enough for the man it belonged to to squeeze his way in. Hoffman locked it behind him, as he always did.

‘Hoffman!’ Perez dug her nails into the desk and pulled her chair forward and further under it. Strahm rolled with her, not breaking his rhythm for a split second.

Strahm had managed to make her forget completely about their office-mate.

‘Perez?’ Hoffman looked confused at her raucous announcement of his arrival. He glanced around the room, more concerned than anything.

‘Did something happen?’ His forehead creased as though he were dreading the thought of more work-related developments.

He apparently hadn’t noticed yet.

Or he’s just pretending he hasn’t.

Perez prayed that it was the former.

Strahm must have been entirely obscured by the desk, but why hadn’t he stopped moving his tongue like that? Did he want to give them away? How would Hoffman even react?

She didn’t know.

The heat of the wetness between Perez’s thighs was utterly disorienting. She fought to concentrate on her words, but they threatened to tumble out as a jumbled, incoherent mess.

Perez realized with a jolt, that since both her and her partner were involved with Hoffman now, Strahm had no reason to disrupt their encounter just because the detective had waltzed into the room.

And he didn’t seem to intend to.

She tapped him on the side of his head with her open palm frantically, but the low rumble of a chuckle she felt through his teeth told her that he was only and entirely amused by the situation.

‘N-no, nothing’s happened.’ Perez managed to squeak out.

Hoffman wasn’t stupid. And he was catching on fast. A flicker of recognition flashed across his face. Perez knew she wasn’t keeping it together well enough to fool him.

He sauntered closer. Perez’s heart sank to the bottom of her ribcage.

‘It’s late. Y-you should head home.’ Her voice stuttered as Strahm lathed his tongue from the base of her to her clit.

Strahm sucked the tip of it into his mouth and Perez’s knees locked him in place involuntarily, her feet crossing behind his neck in an X.

‘Well, actually…’ Hoffman must have spotted the sweat dampening Perez’s hair. The scent of sex hung heavy in the air now that he was this close to the couple.

‘I was thinking about your offer earlier.’ He went on.

Perez felt Strahm stall for a moment, his cheek resting on her thigh while he listened to what Hoffman had to say. Huffs of his breath sent shivers up her back.

‘Now’s not…a good time.’ Her voice was ragged. She didn’t like being toyed with, but Hoffman’s sneer was already widening.

‘Huh, I thought you said we can play whenever I want.’ He crooned, directly across from the desk from her now.

Strahm’s snort of contempt wasn’t quiet enough. Perez knocked him in the ear with her leg.

She watched in horror as Hoffman picked up Strahm’s coffee mug from the corner of the desk and swirled the still-warm coffee around the bottom of it.

‘Where is Strahm, anyways?’

‘H-how am I supposed to know?’ Perez grit her teeth. It was one of the weaker lies she had ever told.

‘Well, that’s probably for the best. Wouldn’t want him getting in our way, would we?’

Strahm’s skull thudded against the wood of the desk as he tried to scramble to his feet. His thrashing threatened to yank Perez slacks away with him and she yelped indignantly.

‘Hmh…found him.’ Hoffman looked down at Perez, his voice dripping with aloofness.

Strahm made another mad attempt to untangle himself from his partner. He had apparently caught a glimpse of Hoffman during his struggle and it only spurred him on more fervently.

Maybe Perez would have to get Strahm a leash.

‘Strahm! Stay down.’ He hadn’t obeyed Perez properly and she wasn’t in the mood to be lenient. Strahm froze at her side. He gave Hoffman one final glare, irritation still pulsing off of him in waves, before tucking his legs into a kneel beside Perez’s chair, his head hanging guiltily.

Her slick still glistened on his cheeks and nose. The emptiness she felt in his absence was soul crushing.

Perez tugged her pants back up hotly, not bothering to refasten her belt.

‘Perez didn’t have any trouble getting that collar back on you, did she Strahm?’ Hoffman was drinking in the sight of the disheveled FBI agents like fine wine.

‘Strahm’s not talking right now.’ She informed Hoffman curtly. ‘Why don’t you follow his lead?’

Hoffman circled the desk, towering over the two of them. Perez’s partner crowded closer to her, his face was excruciatingly close to the detective’s waist-level.

‘Why don’t you make me?’ Hoffman was ignoring Strahm now, as though Perez had thoroughly provoked him.

Lust was regrettably still racing through her blood. Hoffman looked far too enticing for his own good. The three of them together would surely cause a racket.

Terrible idea, after terrible idea threatened to overtake her.

‘I’m not in the mood, Hoff.’ Perez growled back.

‘Huh? What, is this mutt giving you trouble?’ Hoffman reached for Strahm’s collar and the other man snapped his teeth at him like an animal.

Actually…

She glanced down at Strahm. He had been giving her trouble. And it was almost as if he were doing it on purpose.

Do you want something, Peter…? She asked him silently.

Even if she did allow him to speak, he wouldn’t be able to tell her with Hoffman here.

But she could guess what he was thinking.

Strahm hadn’t started to truly misbehave until Hoffman had shown up.

The detective had to be involved in his fantasy somehow.

And Perez liked the picture of Strahm’s desires that she was piecing together in her mind. It involved him being bent over and turned into a sniveling wreck.

That would make her day. That would more than make up for all the hassle she had been put through.

Hoffman was fixating on her uncertainty. A forced mildness was plastered across his face, but Perez could tell from the way his chest heaved that his anticipation was building.

‘Strahm’s just having an off day.’ Perez allowed her voice to waver.

‘That’s only the start. Before you know it you’ll have a mad dog on your hands.’ Hoffman took Perez’s hand in his tenderly. Strahm dug his nails into the carpet.

‘What do you suggest I do, then?’ She humored him.

‘You’ve got to put him in his place, obviously.’ Hoffman ignored the growl his statement elicited from the man at his hip.

‘Hm…’ Perez stroked Strahm’s hair thoughtfully.

‘What do you think, Peter?’ She tilted his chin towards her.

Strahm’s eyes were pleading, but not for forgiveness or salvation. It was brainless, hedonistic longing that was staring back at her.

He let out a low whimper.

Perez inspected Hoffman’s hand where it held her’s. The strength she could feel in it, just beneath the skin, daunted her.

She wasn’t sure she would have the muscle to pull him off of Strahm if he got too rough.

But surely Hoffman wouldn’t harm one of his coworkers in his own precinct. There likely wasn’t anyone else in the building with them anymore, but it was a bureau.

Perez hadn’t been nearly as concerned about Hoffman’s stability when it was her own safety on the line.

But Strahm meant more to her than that, and he was entrusting Perez with his well-being

The question was, did she trust that Hoffman would play nice?

He had never been cruel to Perez, but she knew he had the capacity for it. Hoffman had never harmed Perez in any way, but he could if he really wanted to.

This line of reasoning wasn’t fair to the detective. Anyone was capable of anything. Acting suspicious and having a habit of being generally disagreeable wasn’t a crime.

It wasn’t the law or violence that was keeping Hoffman in check. Hoffman wouldn’t harm Strahm because he was head-over-heels for him. Perez hadn’t been concerned about her own safety around him because he made her feel safe.

He hadn’t really been all that much besides friendly towards her and he had obviously been interested in her advances.

It was only her instincts that made her wary of Hoffman.

She genuinely liked him and if she came to regret it, she would face the consequences when they arose.

‘Alright…’ She looped a finger under Strahm’s collar. ‘Show me how. To put him in his place, I mean.’

Hoffman beamed, triumph emboldening him.

‘You made me wait.’ Hoffman rumbled, mostly to Strahm, but Perez could tell that she wasn’t entirely absolved of the transgression.

‘Hold him for me.’ Hoffman corralled Strahm until he was in between Perez’s knees again, his back to her now.

Perez was getting tired of being told what to do, but she supposed she could get back at Hoffman later.

‘C’mere, Strahm.’ She dragged him into place, using the clasp of his lock like a very short makeshift lead.

Hoffman loomed over the two FBI agents. Strahm’s hands were pressed into the ground in between the detective’s feet, a snarl directed at his belt buckle.

Curiosity prickled at Perez’s fingertips. She wasn’t usually the type to speculate over the size of what someone was packing in their pants, but something about Hoffman had always intrigued her.

He was the sort of man that she could easily picture as either pitifully small or ridiculously massive.

Perez noted the hesitation as Hoffman reached for Strahm’s hair. He grazed Strahm with the back of his hand first, testing the waters, and when all he received in return from the FBI agent was a defiant grunt, he stooped over to pet him properly.

Strahm was fighting the urge to relax into Hoffman’s touch, but Perez knew he was a sucker for physical affection when he was like this - though under normal circumstances it was quite the polar opposite.

‘That’s good, Strahm.’ Hoffman praised the other man with an approving lilt.

His hand strayed too close to Strahm’s mouth. Perez wasn’t sure she had ever seen Strahm move as quickly as he did in that moment.

He wrenched free of her grip and sank his teeth into Hoffman’s wrist so hard and fast that the detective couldn’t even make a sound of pain - only uttering a sharp intake of air. All he could do was stare slack-jawed at Strahm and rip his arm away.

‘Strahm!’ Perez had expected crudeness between the two men, but she hadn’t expected Strahm to break skin.

Before Hoffman could even process what had happened, Strahm had reared back like a cornered hound and was spitting his blood onto the floor.

Hoffman stood in stunned silence several heartbeats until the hurt must have molded itself into rage.

He held the bite up to his mouth and sucked begrudgingly at the ring of indents Strahm had left behind. It wasn’t bleeding badly, but crimson stained his sleeve. His voice was low and dark when he finally spoke. ‘If that’s how you want it.’

Judging by the bulge in Hoffman’s slacks, the savagery had apparently done something for him.

‘I was kidding before, but I think we actually might need a safeword.’ Perez muttered.

She had always considered herself open-minded in the bedroom, but she didn’t want to have to make any late-night trips to the ER.

‘I don’t want this to get to the point where any of us have to use it.’ She warned, her tone deadly serious.

Hearing her words, Strahm seemed to realize that he had gone too far in his excitement - how aggressively he had escalated their game - and he nudged Hoffman’s leg with his nose apologetically.

The menace fled from Hoffman’s posture as if he had snapped out of a daze. Only a second before, he had looked like a completely different person.

‘Yeah, sure.’ He half-promised. Perez was relieved that she still seemed to have some sway over the larger man.

Perez was suddenly alarmed that he and Strahm had been spending time together alone.

She knew that Strahm had a fixation with Hoffman, but it seemed more like the two men wanted to tear each other apart than it did a harmless workplace crush.

‘How about shotgun?’ Hoffman put in as a suggestion.

‘Of course you would pick something like that.’ Perez bit back, experimenting with matching their intensity.

Crossing verbal swords with Hoffman was fun.

Perez wondered if she could ever feel such a potent, dangerous passion.

She wondered if that would be a good or a bad thing.

They were just pretending, right?

Hoffman, at least, looked pleased that she was joining the fray.

He shifted his attention to the man at his feet.

‘You want me in your mouth that bad?’ Hoffman tucked the crook of his finger underneath Strahm’s chin and made him look him in the eyes.

Strahm’s lips and teeth were still stained red.

Perez could see the wild smile on his face now. Her own pulse hammered beneath her ribs. He already looked like a mess, as if tasting Hoffman’s blood had gotten him drunk.

A flutter of jealousy reminded Perez that his mouth had been hers only a few minutes ago.

‘Don’t forget who he belongs to.’ She taunted the detective.

‘I’ll behave.’ Hoffman assured Perez. ‘You trust me, right?’

‘Yeah, of course.’ Perez shook away the fact that the gaps in her trust of him were making her more aroused.

The detective let out a wry laugh, as if he could somehow hear her thoughts.

He unhooked his belt buckle and unzipped his slacks.

Perez could practically hear Strahm’s nonexistent tail scuffling the carpet as it wagged.

Hoffman tugged his briefs down in the front, his cock bobbing slightly as it sprung free.

Perez made a conscious effort not to gawk.

He was big. On the shorter side, but thick and heavy.

Strahm must have seen it before, because he didn’t seem phased at all by Hoffman’s size. Perez wasn’t going to read into it too much.

Strahm had been adamant that he and Hoffman hadn’t ever had sex - not that she would have minded - but she supposed that didn’t stop them from measuring-up or whatever men did with their dicks when they were alone together.

‘You’re going to keep him in line by…rewarding his bad behavior?’ Perez asked, her skepticism deliberate and apparent.

‘It won’t be a reward.’ Hoffman insisted, but his confidence flickered like candlelight.

Her comment had made him insecure, blurring the line between antagonizing Strahm and simply enjoying his body.

Perez chuckled to herself. This would all be so much more straightforward if they would just admit what kinds of feelings they had for each other.

But she supposed that was the fun of it for them.

At least it was entertaining.

And exhilarating.

It was fascinating to watch, like some sort of tumultuous mating ritual.

‘Aren’t you worried he’ll bite again?’ She rubbed Strahm’s chest from behind with both hands affectionately.

‘He’d better not, if he knows what’s good for him.’ Hoffman growled, pressing the side of his length against Strahm’s cheek.

Strahm seemed reluctant to put an end to him and Hoffman’s game of hard-to-get, but his mouth lulled open hungrily.

Perez bowed down until her lips were at Strahm’s ear. ‘What are you waiting for?’ She mused, two of her fingers forcing their way between Strahm’s teeth and gently prying his jaws apart.

Drool spilled past them, dripping down his chin and onto the floor.

Hoffman’s ego bolstered at the idea of making Strahm so desperate.

He held himself in his hand and pressed his tip against Strahm’s tongue. Perez could tell that his sense of dignity was already threatening to unravel. She realized he was only showing restraint in order to impress her.

The thought amused her. Did Hoffman see her as more reverent than Strahm? Too reputable to debase herself by being involved in their depravity?

A quiet whimper from the larger man’s throat surprised her, his eyes pleading.

No.

He was asking for her permission.

Even without his collar, Hoffman still knew who held his leash.

Perez couldn’t help, but smile. She wrapped her fingers around the base of his shaft and guided him into Strahm’s mouth.

Strahm hummed his delight, saccharine and wretched all at once.

Hoffman’s breath rattled in his chest. He took only what she gave him.

‘What happened, tough guy? Thought you were gonna show Strahm who was boss.’ Perez mocked.

‘Or…is that me?’ She gave him a tug and he bucked deeper into Strahm’s maw with a brief groan.

‘Mnf!’ Strahm braced his palms against Hoffman’s legs, his face already red with effort.

Hoffman didn’t reply, only chewing his lip as Strahm’s teeth grazed his cock balefully.

‘Mark...’ Perez gave him a hard pump. Strahm closed his jaw tighter.

‘Yes, yes it’s you.’ Hoffman admitted hastily.

‘Hm…?’ She snagged his tie with her other hand and pulled his face closer to her’s.

‘You’re the…boss, Perez.’ His eyes lidded with unchaste compliance. Strahm rewarded him with an experimental bob of his head.

‘Fuck…’ Hoffman clutched a handful of Strahm’s hair. ‘Why does it feel so good…when you tell me what to do?’

‘Because you’re a dog.’ Perez’s voice was even and matter of fact.

Hoffman’s nails dug into the arm of her chair. He lurched, stabilizing himself precariously as it rolled under him.

‘Hah…’ Hoffman’s jaws parted in a sigh of indulgence, rapt by her authoritative tone.

‘Yeah…I am, aren’t I?’ He gave Strahm a good thrust, the other man gagging as he brushed against the back of his throat.

‘I bet you’re disappointing Strahm.’ Perez jeered, her eyes level with Hoffman’s now. ‘Why don’t you show him what you can really do? Or do you only know how to run your mouth?’

He let out an obstinate snort. ‘If you say so.’

As if he didn’t want to.

As if he didn’t need to.

Hoffman took up a steady pace, driving his hips down into Strahm at a gradually increasing rhythm.

He could only fit half of his length into the other man’s mouth, the muscles in Strahm’s face straining to keep up.

Strahm dragged his tongue along Hoffman’s underside. The detective’s arm trembled where he held himself up.

‘That’s better.’ Perez dragged Hoffman closer, twisting his tie around to shorten it. Her lips brushed his nose, their closeness making him falter for a heartbeat.

Hoffman had displayed an ineptitude for intimacy. Perez wanted to see if she could train it out of him.

For Strahm’s sake, of course.

‘Mnh…Perez?’

‘Have you ever been this close to someone before?’ She asked him, dry wit goading him on.

‘Of…course I have.’

Strahm’s diligent work was evidently making it difficult for Hoffman to speak.

And difficult for him to resist her.

‘Yeah?’ She cocked her head. ‘Ever kissed anyone before?’

‘I…’ Sweat was dampening Hoffman’s neck. ‘Huh…?’ He instinctively reeled back, but Perez held him in place.

‘Do you…want to?’ Her mouth ghosted against his.

Hoffman didn’t even nod, he closed the distance between them and pushed deeper into Strahm’s throat in one smooth motion. Tears were pricking the corners of his eyes, the pleasure overwhelming him.

The force of it caught Perez off guard. She had expected him to hesitate, but he kissed her hard and forlorn, like he wanted to eat her alive.

Without thinking, she pressed her tongue against his teeth and then past them when he allowed her inside.

He moaned around it unabashedly.

Urgency stirred within Perez once again. Her vision swam. White-hot heat burned below her navel.

The contact was driving Hoffman into a frenzy, his thrusts becoming feverish and unpredictable.

Strahm sounded absolutely obscene. He had wrapped his hands around the breadth of Hoffman that he couldn’t manage to choke down.

Drool and precome coated his white button-up so thoroughly that it had become translucent.

Hoffman practically tore Perez’s suit jacket off of her, the chair starting to pitch beneath him.

Perez’s foot scrambled to kick the brake.

‘Hoffman…’ She panted. He was going to make all of them crash into a heap on the ground.

The detective didn’t seem to hear. He had the back of Strahm’s head pinned against the cushion beneath Perez’s lap, humping and slobbering like a mongrel.

His tempo had become ruthless and irregular, jolting a smothered grunt out of Strahm each time he bucked his hips.

Perez shuddered, at this angle it could just as easily be her that Hoffman was pounding into.

Her partner had entirely given in to his submissive role. The man she had seen put up a fight over holding a door open for someone was cock-drunk and begging for more like his life depended on it.

Hoffman’s cock twitched, his breath snagging, and Strahm pulled off of him expectantly, giving his length brisk, urgent strokes.

‘Fuck…come on. Please.’ Strahm’s voice was tattered and destroyed. He could tell that Hoffman was already close.

‘Strahm!’ Perez snapped sternly. ‘No talking.’

‘I…w-woof.’ Strahm mumbled, humiliation hardening the tent in his pants. He whined pitifully, his tongue lolling out eagerly for Hoffman’s spend. The detective’s legs trembled, betraying how close he was to finishing.

‘Hah…oh, no you don’t, Peter.’ Hoffman steeled himself, stilling Strahm’s wrist. His tone was gravely with exertion. ‘That’s for Perez.’

Strahm’s eyes widened, positively dumbfounded.

It felt as though a smoldering iron settled at the bottom of Perez’s stomach.

She gaped, awestruck at Hoffman as he stared down at her, disheveled and single-minded.

Everything else blurred into nothingness around him as carnality flooded her senses.

Perez hadn’t even been out on a date with him yet, but something about what he had said made her feel like she had needed him since the day they had first met.

He fucked Strahm’s hand for a few more seconds, gradually slowing to a halt.

Strahm clawed at Hoffman’s belt loops as if he was being strangled to death, his begging and whimpering falling on deaf ears.

‘If you want it that bad, you can lap it out of her when I’m done.’ Hoffman sneered.

Strahm wailed softly in disbelief.

‘Oh…fuck…’ A moan formed low in Perez’s chest. Her eyes were half-lidded, heavy with intent.

She had been wrong about Hoffman. He wasn’t a dog. He was a wolf.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be domesticated.

Her renewed arousal hit her like a freight train. It was as though not a single second had passed since Strahm’s tongue was inside her, edging her towards release.

She had to grip her own reins tightly to regain some semblance of rational thinking. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted Hoffman right now, but she knew he would take and take until she had nothing left unless she kept him in check somehow.

‘Pass me your belt, Perez.’ Hoffman was looking at Strahm now, licking hip lips.

Perez hesitated. If Hoffman was planning on keeping Strahm bound for the rest of their encounter, the two FBI agents wouldn’t have the advantage of outnumbering Hoffman anymore.

‘Is there a problem with that?’ The detective drank in her wariness greedily, reveling in the silent threat he was imposing upon her.

Hoffman getting off on intimidating others was no surprise to Perez.

An unanticipated thrill of conviction stirred within her.

She maintained that, despite Hoffman trying his damndest to retain dominance over their dynamic, at his core he was a follower.

He would fall apart under pressure if she applied it, of that she had no remaining doubts.

She outmatched him and, even if he didn’t see it yet, she was inclined to make him understand his position.

‘No problems here.’ Perez unthreaded her belt and passed it to Hoffman.

Strahm pawed at her leg, doubt flashing in his expression.

‘What, don’t want to be tied up? Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.’ She scratched under his chin, ignoring the mess it made of her fingertips.

She knew that wasn’t what he was worried about.

‘Linds…’ Strahm broke his vow of silence in order to object.

‘It’s fine, Peter.’ She willed him to understand that she wanted to do this. Needed to.

Her heart and mind were racing in the same way they did when she was close to a break in a case or when she was chasing down a criminal on foot.

Maybe it was because Hoffman was a criminal. Maybe that’s what Strahm had become addicted to as well.

‘Be good for us, yeah?’ Hoffman held the belt up to the side of Strahm’s head as if he were measuring it.

Perez had thought that maybe Hoffman would secure the belt around Strahm’s wrists, but to her dismay, he wove the leather strap under Strahm’s collar - fastening it around the support bar to the arm of the chair and pulling it tight until the FBI agent could barely move his head.

Strahm struggled against Hoffman’s grasp, but he wasn’t biting anymore.

‘Too tight?’ Hoffman gave his collar an unnecessary tug.

‘Fuck you.’ Strahm retorted.

Perez wasn’t going to scold him for that one.

She was glad that Hoffman had been generous - or as generous as he could manage to be.

The collar wasn’t cutting off Strahm’s airflow, though she worried about his scar - but her brain was too sedated to fuss over it.

She hoped her partner would use their safe word if it was seriously hurting him.

At least Strahm’s hands were free. Not that he would be allowed to use them.

Hoffman locked the second brake into place to keep the chair from rolling. It was heavy enough to slow Strahm down, but not enough to completely immobilize him. Perez guessed that Hoffman was more interested in making Strahm stay put with his words than he was preventing him from moving altogether.

Despite the excitement of locking horns with Hoffman one on one, she couldn’t help but feel a spark of relief that she wouldn’t be completely alone with the brute.

With Strahm tied up properly, Hoffman angled his head back to Perez. ‘How do you want it?’ His first verbal blow was a weak one.

‘However you want me.’ She countered.

Hoffman grinned complacently. He grabbed her by the hips with both hands and hoisted her up out of the chair as if she didn’t weigh anything.

Perez stifled a yelp of panic.

Hoffman swung her around effortlessly and set her down on top of the desk, pinning her in place by her waist.

His nose was nestled into the crook of her neck before she could regain her bearings, his lips moving against her pulse.

She hooked her legs around the backs of his, his warmth engulfing her. All of him engulfing her.

Perez could barely see Strahm over his broad shoulders.

He sat rigid, his fingers tucked under his collar, trying to make room for himself to breathe.

Without her background in behavioral analysis, Perez wouldn’t have been able to identify the fleck of envy in Strahm’s eyes.

Her cheeks warmed with amusement. She surmised that Strahm would have preferred Hoffman to fuck a lot more than just his mouth.

Sorry, Peter. You’ll get your turn with him.

She nipped Hoffman’s ear. ‘Slow down.’ She laughed breezily.

He pulled back, panting heavily, his expression dull with infatuation.

‘Can’t wait anymore.’ Hoffman popped open the top buttons of her shirt and littered her bare chest with kisses.

His fervor for her offered a welcome boost to her self-esteem.

Hoffman was already hard against her leg, precome drooled from the tip and streaked against the black fabric of her pants.

His hips were still twitching as if Strahm’s lips were still lathing around him.

Hah…how am I gonna get home like this?

Perez wished the precinct here had work showers like her bureau back in D.C.

Hoffman nudged the head of his cock up against where her hole would be if her slacks weren’t in the way.

Apparently frustrated with the pesky article of clothing, Hoffman ripped at the legs of them, hauling them down a few inches to expose her underwear.

‘Need…’ He chanted gruffly, pushing Perez’s thighs up so that her knees were level with her face.

She was positively soaked through her lingerie.

Hoffman slotted himself in the curve between Perez’s clit and her thigh. He angled himself, trying to stretch the linen aside and bully his way into her.

Perez’s mouth watered at the feeling of him, her inhibitions completely abandoned.

The shape of him looked perfect - exactly like a toy she would go out of her way to pick.

Reality sank in hard and fast as he smeared a line of slick against her skin, reminding Perez of what his cock was full of.

‘Mark!’ She caught herself just in time. ‘Use some protection at least!’

Hoffman gave her a dejected look. ‘And what if I don’t have any?’

Pig.

Perez shoved her hand into Hoffman’s shirt pocket and dug out his wallet. She rifled through the bill pouch, revealing a string of sealed condoms.

She had a feeling he would have at least one. He just seemed like the type.

Perez thrust them against Hoffman’s chest with an admonishing huff.

Strahm growled up from the floor behind the pair.

He didn’t seem all that fearsome tied up as he was, but Hoffman took the hint.

‘Fine, fine.’ Hoffman gave an exaggerated sigh and tore the plastic packaging with his teeth.

He slipped the rubber on reluctantly.

Satisfied, Perez rolled her underwear off. They bunched at her knees along with her slacks.

‘I don’t usually wear these.’ Hoffman pressed his sheathed length against her slit, rubbing his underside against hers.

He’s bragging about it?

‘I figured as much.’ Perez muttered, drawing him closer with her heels.

He seemed to think that going at it raw made him look more impressive somehow, but Perez wasn’t finished.

‘I’m guessing you never really get this far, huh?’

Hoffman’s face reddened, and she could feel the heat pooling in his dick, too.

Strahm choked on his laughter, his teeth showing in a heckling smirk.

Hoffman’s head whipped around. ‘Shut up!’ He barked, his bravado shattering.

‘You’re too easy.’ She lowered her voice so that only he could hear her. ‘I’m not sure why Strahm had so much trouble getting you under control.’

Hoffman’s hackles lifted, his cock straining against Perez’s entrance.

It looked like she was starting to get under his skin.

It was comfortable under there - even as he looked down at her, malice gathering behind his eyes.

She swallowed her nervousness, telling herself it was just part of their back and forth.

‘It’s all just an act, right?’ She ran her thumb over his cheek. ‘You’re not so scary.’

Perez’s plan was working. The confliction disorienting Hoffman was plain across his face.

You want to be good for me so bad, don’t you?

All he had to do was give in to her.

‘I know what you’re doing.’ Hoffman growled in her ear.

Perez fluttered her eyelashes at him. ‘Who, me?’

She ran her fingers through his hair, admiring the softness of it.

‘Come on, what are you so afraid of?’ She eased herself against him, just barely caressing his tip. It would be so easy for him to slip in.

‘I’m not afraid of anything.’ Hoffman bore down on Perez, his weight crushing her into the desk.

Perez knew she had him on the ropes. With Strahm watching, his tolerance for ignominy was going to wear thin quickly.

‘Then what’s taking you so long?’ She rolled her hips and it was enough for her to surround him.

‘Ah…’ Hoffman’s nails dug into her sides. He opened his jaws as if to say something, but shut them without saying a word.

Without warning, he shoved in half-way to his hilt, knocking a ragged gasp out of her.

‘Oh! Fuck!’ Perez clawed at his back, fighting back the tears threatening to fall at the corners of her eyes.

It was too much all at once.

‘Hoffman!’ Strahm hissed, the chair scraped closer to the desk, the collar biting into his throat where he dragged at it.

Hoffman didn’t bother to look at him.

Perez hadn’t meant it, but it sank in that it was possible Hoffman really hadn’t slept with a lot of people. Not women, at least.

He certainly wasn’t the kind of man you let take you back to his place.

She could easily believe that he was woefully inexperienced.

That or he wasn’t above using his dick as a means of retaliation.

The latter didn’t bode well for the integrity of his character.

The former didn’t bode well for Perez’s pussy.

Neither of the two scenarios did, actually.

Her head swam and she struggled to catch her breath.

‘Hoff…’ Perez dug her heels into the backs of his thighs, scrambling to adjust to the immense pressure.

Hoffman stiffened, feeling her tense around him.

‘Too much?’ He asked her, his voice hushed as if he didn’t want Strahm to hear. The legitimate care in his tone eased some of her trepidation.

Luckily his little stunt hadn’t made her sore.

‘Yeah.’ Perez breathed. She matched his volume. ‘You don’t go easy on anyone, do you?’

Hoffman looked thoughtful for a moment.

‘I do.’ He said finally.

He dragged his lips up the side of her legs, freeing them from her bedraggled slacks and discarding them haphazardly on the desk beside her. He settled in deeper between her thighs, his new angle much more accommodating.

‘As needed.’ Hoffman took a moment to enjoy her while she grew accustomed to him. His hands strayed up under her shirt, skin burning to the touch.

She supposed it was a compliment. Hoffman saw her as formidable enough to warrant giving her his all.

‘Oh, think that highly of me, do you?’

‘Would I be wrong to?’ He tilted his head.

‘No…but, if you don’t know what you’re doing…’ Perez allowed some danger to bleed into her tone. The sharpness of her nails bit through Hoffman’s suit jacket.

This was the language he understood best.

‘Ask next time.’

Hoffman swallowed nervously. ‘Right.’

She smiled, pulling him down to kiss along the bottom of his chin.

Strahm’s attention was still fixed on the two of them intently. His knees were surely starting to ache and Perez could tell from the bulge taut against his trousers that his cock was begging for release. Precome leaked through the fabric leaving a dark splotch at the base of the tent in his pants.

She winked at him and he snapped his head to the side as if she had accused him of being a pervert.

‘No touching, Strahm.’ She knew she didn’t need to say it aloud. He knew better.

Her partner nodded tersely.

He deserved a nice show after what Hoffman had put his poor mouth through, she thought to herself.

His lips were cherry red and his hair was matted with come.

Perez held Hoffman firmly with both hands by his waist, easing him out of her even further until he was just barely inside. She rocked down steadily, in short, shallow movements.

‘Hff…Perez…’ Hoffman’s jaw quivered as he let out a shuddering breath.

It was plain in his expression that the delicate sensation was too much for him after Strahm had brought him so close to completion.

‘You can do it like this for me, can’t you? Just for a little bit?’ Perez wrapped her arms around his neck. She arched her back so that his tip slipped out, rubbing her clit against the crown of it.

‘I…yeah.’ He didn’t seem so sure.

Hoffman sounded disoriented, as though his brain were short-circuiting.

Drool dripped against Perez’s chest.

‘Oh…Mark…’ She chided. ‘You falling apart already?’

Hoffman tried to muster a reprisal, but he was spending too much focus on trying to not finish prematurely.

‘Perez…’ He whined at last, his willpower whittling away. ‘Please…’

It was like music to her ears.

‘I figured you were in the habit of just taking what you wanted?’ Perez had been given that impression of him when they had first met. She was still waiting to see if he would prove her wrong.

‘What gave you that idea?’ Hoffman’s teeth shown.

Always ready with a snide remark.

‘Not everything has to be a contest, you know.’ She called him on it.

‘I know.’ Hoffman bit his lip. ‘I just like playing with you.’

It sounded oddly innocent. It made him appear so familiar - like they had been friends for a long time.

Butterflies and moths were fluttering in her stomach.

‘Ask me again.’ Perez insisted.

She felt his cock shiver with anticipation.

‘Please, Perez.’ He yielded to her - desire making him more sincere than she had ever heard him.

‘Slow at first.’

It was as good as a yes to Hoffman.

He nodded his promise to her.

Content with his vow, she lined him back up with her hole and rocked her hips down onto him.

He slid in much easier this time.

Perez’s toes curled and her eyes rolled back.

With her in control, Hoffman couldn’t do anything rash. She could use him properly.

Hoffman slumped over Perez, his body flush against hers and his hands on either side of her chest, pressed into the surface of the desk.

She coaxed him on, enticing him to pick up the pace.

Hoffman pressed his palm against her sternum, holding her in place.

The lewd slap of his skin against hers was far too loud. Any stragglers at the precinct would hear them, even if they were at the other end of the hall. Perez just hoped they were lucky enough to be alone in the building. Her body wouldn’t permit her brain to ask the detective to slow down.

The constant sound was driving her closer to the edge.

Now that Hoffman had found his stride, Perez didn’t want him to ever stop.

The way he stretched her out was perfect. Her expectations had been beyond surpassed.

Something about the curve of him managed to make him feel deeper than he actually was.

Each buck of his hips jostled an immodest moan out of her.

‘You got a good view, Strahm?’ Hoffman called back to the other man, his voice wavering in between thrusts.

The agent had been rutting against his own thigh, desperate for any kind of friction.

Perez wondered what he would say if he could talk. He did have a good angle of the action, Hoffman had made sure of that.

Though, he of course had to pretend like he wasn’t enjoying himself - a mess of defensive growls and snarls. Her big, vicious attack dog.

‘Fuck…ah…it’s fine, Strahm. He’s not that big.’

She had no idea what was possessing her to rile Hoffman up again.

With a pang of guilt, she realized that she liked the way he handled her when he was pissed off.

And Perez especially liked the way his flame guttered out when she turned the tables on him.

It was better than sex, better than a good deal of the love she had ever felt.

Maybe, she conceded, she wasn’t as different from the two men as she thought she was.

She was getting off on Hoffman’s anger just as much as Strahm was.

But it wasn’t anger that Hoffman turned on her now.

He tore free of his blazer, tossing it aside indiscriminately.

His irises were glassy and distant, as if he were about to cry. His tongue lolled out as he picked up the pace.

He must be feeling really good.

She had expected Strahm to be the one to take on the brunt of Hoffman’s pent-up frustration, but feeling his muscles slowly soften as he ground into her was mind-numbingly satisfying.

Hoffman was losing himself in her again, a lovestruck haze assuaging his more violent tendencies.

He buried his nose in the crook of Perez’s shoulder while he fucked into her, shutting his eyes contentedly.

Encouraged by her whimpers of pleasure and frantic, clambering pawing - Hoffman drove harder, the desk beginning to creak under them.

He swung his knee up on the wooden edge so that his bulk wouldn’t obstruct Strahm’s line of sight any longer. The new position stuffed his cock further and Perez’s back arched off the solid surface.

She groaned, bouncing against him harder and harder until the impact was too jarring to keep up with. He was fully coated in her slick now. There was no resistance left to hinder his enthusiasm.

Pins and needles prickled up the side of Perez’s face, her lips parted in a silent sob. ‘Hoff…that’s…so good.’ She gasped.

There was the low rumble of a hum in Hoffman’s chest. Perez felt it through her whole body.

‘You’re so sweet for me.’ She kissed the side of his head firmly.

‘Mmn…’ Hoffman nestled down against the heat of Perez’s body, drinking in the scent of her hungrily.

Hoffman was squeezing her tightly in his arms, as if he was worried she’d disappear into thin air at any moment.

His concentration sharpened, sweat beading on his forehead - dampening his hair.

Perez managed to snatch a fragment of lucidity in between sparks of indulgence.

That’s it.

She drew Hoffman closer, her fingertips reaching furtively for her crumpled up slacks.

He was so far gone that he was hardly breathing, one hell-bent pursuit hoarding all of his cognitive functioning.

‘Linds…’ He moaned, bleary and pleading. Perez supposed that was fine.

Strahm could share the nickname with one person, at least.

Hoffman had earned it.

And she had earned him.

Perez looped the collar she had withdrawn from her pants pocket around his neck in one swift motion.

She fastened the metal buckle one hole too-tight and clipped the pretty golden lock shut, the leather digging into the fat around Hoffman’s neck.

‘Huh…?’

The pressure snapped him out of his blind lust, but not quickly enough.

She hadn’t pulled it tight enough to choke him, but it was snug and restrictive.

‘What…?’ Hoffman’s rhythm slowed as he fought to piece together what had happened - where the collar had appeared from. Perez didn’t give him time to think.

The detective didn’t have a hole in his throat. She could yank on his collar as hard as she wanted to.

Perez slipped her fingers under the leather and jerked Hoffman towards her. She had hauled him up precariously onto his toes, one foot hanging in midair where his knee straddled the desk and the other just barely touching the ground.

‘Hnf…!’ He grunted, gritting his teeth.

‘Getting harder to breathe, detective?’ Perez sneered.

Hoffman’s eyes darted from her smug grin to her wrist where she held him in place.

Indignation faded to acceptance.

‘Strahm might like it when you fight back, but I like you more like this.’ It wasn’t entirely true, his profane defiance was intoxicating, but the obedient deepening of his strokes made her proclamation worth the white lie.

She felt Hoffman twitch and thrum inside her. His low groan of approval told her that he was finally ready to admit defeat. She had gained the upper hand over him fairly.

She wasn’t going to asphyxiate him - at least not to death - but she could. And that’s what mattered here. That’s what mattered to him.

‘What are you?’ She slipped her knuckles under the collar. Hoffman’s face started to turn red from lack of oxygen.

‘A dog.’ He panted. Perez smothered his windpipe with the thin strap.

‘Your dog.’ Hoffman corrected himself frantically.

She eased her grip, but didn’t let go of her prize. ‘You gonna come for me?’

The lock jingled as he fucked her harder. ‘Y-yeah…yes.’

Perez wasn’t sure he even knew where he was anymore. Hoffman was a vacant, slobbering wreck.

‘Fuck…yes…Perez!’ The desk slid an inch under them. Hoffman drove on along with it.

Perez wrapped her legs around his back, hanging off his collar with one hand and pressing their foreheads together. Hoffman was starting to shake with effort. To her delight, he rallied one final burst of stamina.

With a particularly precise thrust, he managed to strike the sweet spot that made her lose every last ounce of self control.

‘Mark! Right-…right there!’ Revelry spilled down her cheek.

Spasms wracked her, his cock was thick enough to graze her clit with each pump and it was rapidly dragging her over the edge.

Perez locked lips with him just in time for his hips to stutter and buckle. He bottomed out in her and finished hard, wailing her name into her mouth.

She shoved her tongue down his throat, deepening the kiss insistently, riding out her own orgasm before collapsing onto her back in a messy, spent heap.

Hoffman shivered, completely splayed out on top of her, his chin resting in between her breasts.

Perez could feel the condom swelling full.

That’s a…lot.

She was suddenly very thankful for the thin latex.

Perez knew damn well that he wouldn’t have been able to pull out of her in time like this. She wasn’t sure she would have let him.

‘Ugh…’ The heat of the moment slowly ebbed and weariness set in.

Hoffman withdrew from her with an immoral pop.

The condom sloshed as it slumped at the apex of Perez’s thighs.

Hoffman reached down blearily to tie it off and discarded it in the tiny aluminum waste bin at the foot of the desk.

That definitely wouldn’t be raising any questions tomorrow.

‘Mff…’ He nestled deeper into her chest, his moan muffled by her skin.

Hoffman looked as though he could fall asleep right then and there under the harsh fluorescent lights of his office.

He was heavy, but the burden was a welcome one. Pride swelled in Perez’s chest at the thought of wearing him out so thoroughly.

And she had barely broken a sweat - she lied to herself.

Hoffman hadn’t winded her so badly that she couldn’t hide the mess he had made of her guts, at least.

‘Linds…’ The worn plea came from behind the detective.

‘Oh…Peter.’ Perez’s heart skipped a beat. She rolled out from under Hoffman and he let her up, supporting her from behind when she stumbled.

‘Easy there, firecracker.’ The detective held her steady to keep her from wobbling. He was obviously reluctant to peel himself off of the desk, but he followed Perez diligently, his chin on her shoulder. Gratification was gleaming in his expression, too.

Perez crouched next to her partner, running her thumb over his cheek.

She unfastened her belt from the chair where it suspended him, releasing him from his tether. Strahm collapsed onto his heels, sucking in a starved breath.

Perez helped him get comfortable, rubbing his stiff joints to soothe them.

Hoffman settled in on the other side of Strahm, sitting on the floor to his left and leaning against the other man lethargically.

‘You’re not hurt are you?’ Perez asked him, moving his collar aside to check on his scar.

‘I’m not. No thanks to him, though.’ Strahm knocked his head against Hoffman’s, fondness and exhaustion preventing him from exerting concussion-inflicting levels of force.

‘Good.’ She pressed her lips against his cheek lovingly.

Strahm had said that he wasn’t in pain, but the way his cock was straining against his slacks looked painful in a different sort of way.

‘Did you learn your lesson?’ Hoffman invaded his personal space further, his chest against Strahm’s arm. The corner of his lip was twisted up wryly.

‘You’re serious?’ Strahm sighed in disbelief.

‘You fucking bit me.’ Hoffman reminded him.

‘I was just pretending.’

The bruises peeking out from under Hoffman’s sleeve didn’t look like they were just pretend.

But it didn’t seem like Hoffman minded. Perez knew that this was probably the first time Strahm had allowed him to be this close without some sort of bloodthirsty excuse.

The detective was breathing in Strahm’s scent, his lips parted slightly as if he could taste it.

Perez rested her hand on Strahm’s knee and Hoffman dared to do the same.

‘Strahm…’ Perez purred. ‘You’ve been so patient.’

He feasted on her praise, his hands folded up at his chest like beseeching paws.

‘And you were so well-behaved for detective Hoffman. Why don’t you return the favor, Mark?’ Perez caught Hoffman off-guard with the question.

‘What? Me?’

‘Come on, Peter took such good care of you earlier.’ She tapped the tip of Strahm’s nose with her finger tip.

‘Strahm doesn’t want me sucking his dick.’ Hoffman muttered, sticking his tongue out as if to mimic the disgust he was accusing Strahm of.

Perez gestured with her head at Strahm’s face.

‘What?’ Hoffman followed where she was directing him to.

Strahm’s expression was blood red and he turned his neck to the side to avoid eye contact, his shoulders rising defensively.

‘Strahm…? Do you want me to…?’ Hoffman blinked at him in amazement.

Perez couldn’t understand why he was surprised. Hoffman’s lips were his most striking feature, after all.

Well, maybe second-most. Perez contemplated.

‘If you…want.’ Strahm ground out painstakingly.

‘I…uh…’ Hoffman hesitated, unsure of what to do with himself.

He needed a little push. Perez speculated that he wasn’t used to taking on these more subservient types of roles.

He would have to get used to them.

Perez hooked his collar and tugged his head down into Strahm’s lap.

Hoffman didn’t put up a fight. He closed the rest of the distance between his mouth and Strahm’s clothed bulge on his own.

He mouthed at it tentatively,

‘Hoffman…’ Strahm bleated, grabbing fistfuls of the detective’s shirt.

Heartened by the agent’s keenness, Hoffman mashed his face against the tent pitched in-between Strahm’s thighs. He nudged against the other man’s fly eagerly.

Perez undid Strahm’s belt and popped the button holding his pants together open.

She only had to get his zipper started for him. His slacks had become so tight in the front that tension finished the job for her.

Perez dragged his briefs down and wrapped her hand around his shaft, delicately freeing him from the fabric’s confinement. He was still as hard as a rock.

She always forgot how beautiful he was. He had a decorous air to him. There was nothing inherently vulgar about what Strahm held between his legs.

He wouldn’t seem out-of-place in the slightest if he were to be portrayed in a Renaissance painting - fit to be gawked at by adoring museum-goers.

His length had a softness to it that demanded admiration.

She was glad Strahm hadn’t lost his load just from watching, as cute as it would have been. She wanted to be able to feel him let go.

Perez held him against Hoffman's waiting lips, finding solace in knowing that he would appreciate Strahm as much as she did.

The special agent bucked involuntarily at the contact, slipping past Hoffman’s mouth and smearing precome across his cheek.

The detective scoffed amiably, squeezing one eye shut to avoid getting jabbed in it.

He kissed along Strahm’s shaft before taking him into his mouth with a pleased murmur, swirling his tongue around the tip leisurely.

Strahm clenched and unclenched his fists, his breath staggered and unsteady.

‘You can touch now, you know.’ Perez reassured him.

He whimpered his gratitude, entwining his fingers with Hoffman’s feathery hair.

Hoffman moaned softly around his cock to voice his approval.

Strahm was being far more gentle with the other man than Perez had expected.

He held Hoffman now as if he were fragile enough to shatter.

Maybe Strahm’s obedience training had been a success - Perez kept the joke to herself.

The atmosphere in the room had grown tender. Everyone was too tired for any more playful bickering.

Just as Strahm hadn’t been able to for him, Hoffman couldn’t fit all of Strahm in his mouth - despite the special agent’s more modest size. Apparently, it wasn’t just missionary that he was inexperienced with.

But that wasn’t stopping Strahm from enjoying himself. Perez guessed that anything would feel amazing after waiting that long for some kind of relief.

Hoffman drew his teeth lightly up the sides of him, his plush lips brushing against Strahm’s skin.

His head fell back against the chair’s cushion. ‘Hoffman…m’not gonna last long like that.’

Fast learner. Perez thought.

Still, the base of Strahm’s cock looked so lonely.

She crept forward, leaning down over Strahm’s lap from the side opposite Hoffman.

The drool dripping down Hoffman’s chin was translucent with the anticipation leaking from Strahm’s cock.

Her cheek pressed up against his pelvis as she huddled up under his arm, her palms perched on his leg.

‘Prez…?’ Strahm missed a syllable like he did when the two of them were dozy, snuggled up in bed together - far past midnight.

She licked a stripe up his length - as far as she could without getting in Hoffman’s way.

‘Hnf…’ One of Strahm’s hands left Hoffman’s hair to rest on top of her head.

Perez sucked lightly at his underside, humming quietly as she did so. She knew Strahm loved feeling the vibrations that it made, especially when he was so close to overstimulation.

Her hand wrapped around the side of him that she couldn’t reach with her lips, jerking him off up into Hoffman’s mouth.

The detective bobbed his head, following Perez’s lead.

Strahm couldn’t resist claiming his mouth any longer.

He snapped his hips up. Perez heard Hoffman gag.

She chuckled, caressing Strahm’s balls and urging him deeper.

Hoffman can take it.

There wasn’t any room for her to suck him off anymore - she shifted her focus to the sensitive skin on the insides of his thighs.

‘Fuck!’ Strahm was starting to buck irrationally. His cock was as red as sin - seething after a long night of being denied and tormented.

Hoffman’s eyes were wide with excitement.

Perez was glad she had moved out of the way. He was making an absolute mess of Strahm’s groin and she did not want to have to clean that much come out of her hair tonight.

Strahm’s entire body shivered. Perez pressed closer to him, drinking in the way his body shook against her skin - the way his muscles tensed beneath his flesh.

She felt his release in every fiber, every molecule.

Strahm forced Hoffman’s head down further as his orgasm intensified.

The detective flinched as hot, sticky slick coated the back of his throat. His nails dug into Strahm’s knee.

Hoffman looked as though he didn’t know what to do with his suddenly-full mouth. It was almost as though he were surprised by what his actions had resulted in.

‘C’mon…swallow.’ Perez pawed lazily at his chin.

Her words drew him back into the moment. He deferred, savoring Strahm’s flavor for a moment longer before swallowing obediently.

‘Ugh…’ Hoffman panted, after Strahm’s come had finished sliding down his throat. He slumped forward into his lap. ‘I dunno how you do that everyday.’

Perez guessed he was directing the question at her. ‘I don’t do that every day.’ She piled on top of Hoffman, crushing an uff of dismay out of Strahm.

‘Can’t I enjoy my afterglow in peace?’ He grumbled. The waves of euphoria had only just left him.

‘Not a chance.’ Hoffman crooned, giving his leg a little nip.

Strahm took the bite as an excuse to unfold his legs, causing the dog pile to teeter and topple over onto the carpet in front of him.

His joints cracked loudly as he stretched out his limbs for the first time in what felt like hours.

Perez tumbled against Hoffman’s chest and he wrapped his arms around her without hesitation, spooning her possessively.

‘Hey! The floor’s dirty!’ She protested, laughter hijacking her guise of sternness.

Hoffman yawned and settled down as he was going to sleep right there on the ground. He dragged Perez down with him and she squirmed indignantly, hurtling objections his way.

‘Let’s get home.’ Strahm murmured, ruffling Hoffman’s hair to let him know that he was included, too.

Perez wriggled free of the detective’s embrace and he reached after her dramatically.

Their bed would be warmer tonight than it ever had been.