A/N: Another little excerpt from my current WIP, Shadows and Swindlers which I will start posting shortly (I think). I'm closing in on the end of the story, and I hate to begin posting when I'm still tweaking the beginning. However, that does not preclude me from posting a teaser like the Frank/Nancy fluff below.

This little scene takes place at a bed & breakfast named the Lavender Lady in Ithaca, NY owned by a sweet elderly couple named Aruthur and Anna Haggerty. There are no spoilers for S&S in the following scene - it's pure Nancy and Frank fluff.

NOTE: This is definitely for MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY.

I hope you enjoy, and if you do, please review. Thanks!

Interlude at the Lavender Lady

Nancy put an arm around his shoulders and leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

He glanced sideways at her. "That doesn't mean I'm thrilled with the idea. But it probably is the fastest way to learn what we want to know, and you're really the only option for our insider."

"That is my ever-logical brother talking. Now where is the over-protective part of the lecture?"

"The over-protective part comes tomorrow after I've had a chance to sleep on it. Sleep being the operative word. I can't think straight right now." As if to emphasize his point, Frank was overcome by a big yawn.

Joe stood from the table, a knowing smile on his face. "Yeah, I'm sure sleep is the only thing you have in mind."

"Good night, little brother." Frank's voice rang with finality.

"C'mon, Van. Let's hit the hay. I am pretty tired," Joe said.

As Joe took Vanessa's hand and led her out of the kitchen, Nancy cleared the few dishes they had dirtied from the table and loaded them into the dishwasher.

When she stood from loading the last glass she could feel the heat from Frank's body. She turned to find him standing close behind her. Looking up into his eyes she felt her heart rate increase. His eyes tended to reflect his mind-set – golden brown usually meant a light-hearted Frank, whereas more of a chocolate brown meant he was feeling mellow. Right now, his eyes were dark umber and burned with an intensity that warmed her from head to toe.

He hadn't even touched her yet, but she knew he would, and just the thought of it made her feel a little weak in the knees. His voice was low and husky when he spoke.

"Are you ready to resume our earlier conversation?"

Her shoulders slumped. He didn't really want to get into that again, did he?

"Our argument or our discussion?" She asked, irritation overshadowing her attempt at a light tone.

He smiled and moved closer. "Earlier."

"Earlier?" Nancy felt very confused as Frank leaned down, his lips whispering along her jaw line.

"In the car," he whispered in her ear, sending gooseflesh racing down her arms.

"Oh!" Nancy managed just before Frank silenced any further discussion with a kiss.

She lost herself for several minutes, but eventually the fact that they were standing in the kitchen of a very nice elderly couple began to temper the passion that Frank was forging. She managed to gather enough of her wits about her to slip out of his embrace and put some distance between them.

She turned to find Frank watching her with a predatory intensity that she found very evocative. Still, they were in Anna and Arthur's kitchen.

"I think we should take this discussion upstairs," she said, trying for a firm tone and failing miserably.

"Probably," Frank said even as he closed the distance again.

Nancy grabbed a chair from behind her to use as a barrier between them and pointed a finger at her fiancé.

"Frank Hardy, you had better behave yourself."

She would have described his responding grin as lewd on any other man, but she just couldn't think of Frank that way. He was always so self-controlled and proper. It was difficult to reconcile the Frank she had been friends and colleagues with for so many years with the lover that he had become over the last couple of months. This side of Frank was fun and exciting and more than a little disconcerting.

He caught the finger wagging at him and engulfed her hand in one of his while he pushed the chair out of the way. His arm pinned her to him as the chair skidded away.

"I always behave myself. With you it's nice to be able to let loose."

"Yes . . ." Nancy whispered and then shook her head adamantly. "But not in Anna and Arthur's kitchen! Let's go upstairs."

"Joe says we make too much noise," Frank said teasingly.

Nancy felt her cheeks flame, "He couldn't hear us . . . could he?"

"Who cares?" Frank lowered his head, but bypassed her lips, settling instead in the curve of her neck – kissing and nipping from just below her ear to the collar of her t-shirt. She was preoccupied by the sensations until she felt her bra spring loose and realized that both of Frank's hands were under her t-shirt.

"Frank, not here."

"No, not here," he said, chuckling. "I just want to turn you on. Then I'll take you upstairs and finish the job properly."

"Mission accomplished, let's go upstairs," Nancy said breathlessly.

Frank planted his hands on the table Nancy was leaning on and looked in her face. "Did I ever tell you that you're cute when you're cornered?"

Nancy sighed. "You are an evil, evil man. Why did I never see this side of you before?"

He brought a hand up to cup her face and ran a gentle thumb over her cheek. "Sweetheart, you are the only person who has ever seen this side of me."

"The only one? You mean to tell me –" She stopped herself. Do you really want to bring Callie into this conversation? She could have kicked herself.

But Frank's responding smile was soft and affectionate and Nancy was reminded why she had fallen in love with him despite a concerted effort not to.

"The only one. I've never felt comfortable enough with anyone else to let loose like I do with you, Nan." He leaned in and kissed her – a soft, loving kiss full of promise. Then he pulled back and looked at her intently. "Not even Callie."

Nancy could read the truth in his eyes and she knew she felt the same. What she had had with Ned could never compare to the wholly encompassing bond she and Frank shared. She slipped her hands up his chest and reached up for another kiss.

As the kiss ended she whispered, "I feel the same way, Frank. I love you so much."

A moment later, Frank had scooped her up into his arms.

"It is definitely time to take this upstairs."

nhnhnhnhnhnh

They turned off light switches as they made their way through the house. Frank took advantage of each stop by nuzzling Nancy's neck, her breathy giggle enough to make him crazy. He took the stairs two at a time, more than ready to be in the privacy of their room, where he could remove the last of the barriers between them.

Once behind the closed door, they both let loose. Ready to feel skin on skin, they tore at each others clothing, lips unlocking only long enough to allow shirts to be shed. Their bodies hit the bed as the last of their underclothes hit the floor.

Nancy's legs parted and Frank didn't hesitate to accept the invitation. The warm, wet embrace of her core around his throbbing shaft tore a groan from his lips as he sank into her. Her fingers scraped down his back to his butt, biting into the firm flesh and pulling him further into her tight depths.

He pushed himself up on his arms, shifting higher as she widened her legs and thrust her hips forward. His sensitive tip met resistance, and he pulled back only slightly before thrusting forward again. The low, throaty sounds coming from Nancy encouraged him, and he set a slow but steady pace, each thrust taking him just a little closer to the edge of reason.

Within minutes, Nancy cried out, stiffening beneath him just as the tightening of her core around him erased the last of his control. He let go, buried deep inside of her, their mutual orgasms ebbing and swelling through their joined bodies.

He sank onto her as the orgasm faded to a languid contentment, their lips meeting in a gentle, familiar kiss. Leaning up on his elbows, he brushed the hair from her face so he could gaze into her heavily-lidded blue pools.

"That was quick," he said, stroking her cheek with one hand as the other slid behind her neck to cradle her head. He dropped light kisses on her eyes, nose, cheeks and finally on her lips.

"Quick, but very enjoyable," she agreed with a smile as he drew back from her lips again.

And then her arms wound around his chest and her legs wrapped around his thighs, pulling him down and removing all space between them. Despite their deeply satisfying coupling of moments before, he felt himself begin to harden again as she stroked his body with a knowing and loving touch.

nhnhnhnhnhnh

Nancy felt Frank's hands slide underneath her body, his strong arms now enveloping her rather than holding himself up. The shift in position brought the weight of his body to bear between her legs, quickly rekindling the desire of mere minutes ago. Little by little, soft kisses became insistent, as she stroked her legs along his.

His mouth left hers to wander down the sensitive skin of her neck and lower still, across her collar bone and over the swell of her breast. As his lips moved lower on her body, he slid out of her and rolled them both onto their sides, giving him more freedom to explore.

Though she missed the weight of his body on top of her, she took advantage of their new position to begin her own exploration. Using the tips of her fingers, she traced the familiar planes of his broad shoulder, roaming across his muscular back and on down to his trim waist. Her thumbs followed the ridge of his pelvic muscle down into the course hair at the base of his penis. His sharp intake of breath encouraged and emboldened her, and she pushed him gently onto his back with a breathy giggle.

She swung a leg over him to straddle his hips, and couldn't help the smug smile that curved her lips at the surprised look on his face.

"It's my turn," she murmured as she leaned down to drop kisses along his square jaw and down his neck, where she could feel his heart racing beneath her lips.

His penis bucked beneath her, and she widened her legs, allowing her sensitive crevice to slide all the way down his hardened length. Her lips also slid down, ending up at the hollow of his throat where she flicked her tongue out, savoring the salty flavor of him as she stroked back up, her tongue tracing a path up over his chin to his lips.

She licked his lips before slipping her tongue into his mouth. One of Frank's hands moved from where it rested on her waist up to tangle in her hair, pressing her mouth into his as he claimed her lips in a bruising kiss.

Leveraging her hands against his shoulders, she pushed herself up so she could again stroke the length of his erection. As she began moving rhythmically up and down, Frank's hands closed over her breasts and she gasped in pleasure as he began rolling her nipples between thumb and forefinger.

Raising his head, Frank took one breast into his mouth, teeth locking gently around the hard nipple. His now unoccupied hand moved around to cup her butt as he thrust his hips forward, allowing his hard member to enter her with her next stroke down. She groaned as the relief that always accompanied their initial coupling became an almost unbearable need.

She pressed down onto his shaft, pushing herself up to a sitting position. Her hands rested on his lower abdomen as she spread her legs wider, sinking onto him fully even as he thrust up into her. She gasped as his hands found her breasts again, nipples distended almost painfully as he began kneading them. She began a slow, rocking motion, unwilling to allow even a millimeter of his rock hard member to leave her body. If she could have figure out how to envelope more of him within herself, she would have.

Frank, for his part, matched her rocking rhythm with powerful pelvic thrusts, until she felt even his balls pressing into her well. Her breath came in rasping gasps as the tension began to build. Frank had abandoned her breasts, his hands pressing down on her hips as he continued to thrust up into her. It felt as though her entire being was focused on the intense need that Frank engendered in her soul.

Slowly, inexorably, Nancy felt her core tighten until, in a burst of pleasure, it began to pulse around him. She closed her eyes and threw her head back, bearing down on him as he gave one last powerful thrust. He let loose a long, low moan as she felt his release, the pulsing of him inside of her augmenting her pleasure with his own.

She sank onto his broad chest with a contented sigh and slowly uncoiled her legs until she lay along him. Frank's strong arms wound around her as she settled her head into the crook of his neck. His lips pressed against her forehead.

"Wow," he said quietly.

She smiled sleepily. "I'll second that."