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Best Laid Plans “If it makes you feel better, I have a plan,” Peter advised Neal. They had been sitting in the car, parked just outside the Burke residence for the past five minutes. Long enough for the living room blinds to move and for Elizabeth to know they were there. Until now, neither had said a word and neither had made any move to exit the car. Risking a sideways glance at Neal, Peter read his body language. His normally confident CI was obviously feeling anything but confident. White-knuckling the steering wheel, Neal stared straight ahead, his breathing increasingly more and more shallow. Peter had to admit that if he wasn’t so nervous himself, he would be amused by Neal’s condition.“You have a plan!” Neal finally said sounding skeptical. “Twenty minutes ago, you were frozen in fear, unable to even speak with your wife!” Peter shrugged and stated simply, “Twenty minutes ago I had visions of that same wife killing me and dispersing my cut up body parts throughout Brooklyn.” “Huh,” Neal said. Knowing Elizabeth like he did, he thought Peter’s initial fear wasn’t necessarily invalid. Falling silent, Neal felt Peter’s eyes continue to watch him. While he wanted to present an image of calm, Neal realized he couldn’t quite pull it off; not with Peter. He was nervous and it showed and it was a far cry from how he had been feeling just a short time ago when he was so excited he could barely contain himself. But now that they were steps away from a moment he had waited so very long for, Neal found himself unable to move. Still, he knew they couldn’t stay in the car forever. “Do you remember the first time I came here?” Neal asked softly, breaking the silence.Peter rolled his eyes as he smiled in fondness of the memory, “I remember you on my couch with my wife petting my dog.”Neal’s expression remained serious. “When you came down the stairs and looked at Elizabeth, I was so jealous.”Peter chuckled, “Can’t blame you. She’s one of kind.”Neal shook his head as if Peter was missing the point and apparently he was. “I was jealous of her! Just once in my life, I wanted someone to look at me the way you looked at Elizabeth.” “Kate,” Peter said hesitantly.Neal shook his head. “Never looked at me like that!” He forced himself to take a deep breath. He looked in Peter’s direction but didn’t quite meet his eyes. “But I want you to know, I never would have crossed any lines with you. I would never have hurt Elizabeth like that.” Peter paused a half beat trying to get Neal to look at him recognizing for the first time just how vulnerable his friend was feeling. “I know that. Elizabeth knows that,” Peter assured him. “But you talked so you know she’s okay with—with whatever it is we’re doing.” Peter reminded him. Neal nodded and seemed to settle down a little. Then a thought occurred to him and he couldn’t help but grin suspecting what he was about to say would completely surprise Peter. “You know Elizabeth was the one to bring it up.” Laughing at the stunned expression on Peter’s face, Neal felt the release of some of the tension he was feeling. “She--?!”“It was the day I jumped out of the judge’s chambers. Elizabeth and I had some time to kill while waiting for you to come home.”Peter rolled his eyes and threw up a hand. “Of course! What better time to discuss a threesome with her husband than while she was harboring a fugitive!” Neal almost looked guilty which was a very unusual look for him. “It wasn’t like that. I-I-,” Neal stopped talking, took a breath, and tried again. “When she and I were talking, it was only about you. She wasn’t part of the picture for me—not then but later that night when I had time to reflect…” Peter dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Naturally you would consider aiding and abetting foreplay!” Neal’s answer was a shrug followed by flashing Peter a genuine smile. Watching the blinds move again, Neal sighed. “You said something about a plan?”Peter nodded, “The three of us are going to sit down and talk.”“Talk?” Neal said, again sounding skeptical.“Yes, talk,” Peter answered sarcasm dripping from his voice. “It’s something adults in relationships do.” The blinds rustled a third time signifying Elizabeth was clearly becoming impatient. They had to quit stalling. “So we’re just going to…talk?”Peter raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “God Neal, what do you think is going to happen? Do you really think the moment you enter the house, Elizabeth is going to attack you?”“Maybe,” Neal shrugged. Honestly, he didn’t have a clue what would happen and that’s what scared him. Peter laughed, “Really, Neal? I think I know my wife!”Moments later… Neal had no more than crossed the threshold of the door before he was manhandled by Elizabeth and bullied backwards unto the couch. Straddling his lap, Elizabeth seemed determined to devour Neal whole. Although stunned at his wife’s aggressive behavior, Peter could do nothing more than take a comfortable position leaning against the door to watch the show enfold before him. Peter chuckled as he observed Neal struggling to gain some control over the situation even as Elizabeth unbuttoned his shirt and kissed her way down his chest. Peter knew it was futile. He knew firsthand how Elizabeth could be when she wanted something…and clearly he had underestimated his wife’s desire to bring Neal into their marriage. Not that Peter was complaining. Chewing on his lower lip, Peter took in the sight of a debauched Neal Caffrey and decided it was a very good look on him. His lips were red and swollen, blue eyes bright and shining, and a sweet look of dazed confusion was written all over Neal’s face. It was more than enough to get Peter’s blood flowing. Tearing his eyes off of Neal and unto his wife, Peter let out a small groan. Witnessing the intense look of satisfaction in the amused upward curve of her lips, Peter couldn’t help but feel stirrings from within his pants. It forced Peter to move a hand down to rub against himself in an attempt to alleviate some of the sudden pressure he was experiencing.At that same moment, Elizabeth turned her attention to Peter and witnessed the obvious sign of his arousal. She promptly removed herself from Neal’s lap and quietly stalked her husband, a dangerous look in her eye that Peter recognized. Another groan escaped him before it was swallowed by his wife’s mouth. After a moment of intense kissing and groping hands, Elizabeth shifted back to look over her husband. She was obviously pleased to see that Peter was left breathless and now looking equally debauched. Glancing over at Neal, Peter found his friend staring wide-eyed, pupils blown, and clearly still in no condition to speak. Taking a deep breath, Peter willed his heart to stop racing. Seeing Neal on the couch like that was enough to make Peter want to jump him. Instead he turned his attention back to his wife. Clearing his throat, he asked her, his voice slightly raw and rough, “So about that second opinion?”Elizabeth grinned, “Further study is needed.”“Agreed,” Peter said and decided right then and there to give in to what he wanted. With a heated look on his face, Peter pulled a clearly frazzled Neal up off the couch and pinned him against the wall. Inhaling his scent, Peter waited for Neal to meet his gaze before he cupped the back of his head and brought his lips down. The kiss started slowly, but became more intense as Neal finally snapped out of the spell Elizabeth had cast upon him. Now neither man seemed willing to concede control to the other. It was Elizabeth who tipped the tide in Peter’s favor by grasping Neal’s ass from behind, startling him into opening his mouth. With a chuckle, Peter moved in quickly, his tongue finding Neal’s. “Peter!” Neal sputtered pulling away to catch his breath. “What happened to the plan?!”Peter looked at Neal and shrugged, a wry smile planted on his lips. “Sometimes you have to improvise.”