I'm not sure if it's possible for a fic to be both an epilogue and a
prologue....but this one may well be both.

WARNING - THIS FIC IS RATED 'R' FOR CONSENUAL HETEROSEXUAL ACTIVITY.

Enjoy

A Clean Break - epilogue

Warning - this was written purely for my own enjoyment.
It's rated 'R' for smut <g> and for being borderline PWP.
Many many thanks to Kelley for her editing assistance.

-----------------

Previously on ER -
Cleo dumped Peter but he wouldn't take the hint.  She and Jing-Mei had a
girl's night in.  Slightly tipsy, they decided to hire a 'nearly nude'
cleaner to entertain them.  To their surprise, the 'cleaner' turned out to
be Dave Malucci, doing a little moonlighting to supplement his income.
Jing-Mei was initially reluctant to stay once she found out the identity of
the cleaner, but Cleo persuaded her.  Midway through the evening, Peter
turned up, punched out Dave because he thought he was 'taking advantage' of
Cleo, and as a punishment was forced to finish Dave's cleaning job.
(Although he *was* allowed to keep his pants on)

-----------------------

Cleo looked sideways at Dave and mentally compared him to Peter.  Lets see,
bodies...well, both were pretty good...but Dave did seem to be that bit more
muscular.  Brains...no real contest there...both were qualified doctors, so
they had to have *some* intelligence.  Personality...Dave would win that one
hands down, that was for sure.  Peter only ever seemed to think about his
work and his son.  Cleo sighed heavily.

Dave looked up from gloating at the sight of 'Dr. Pete' and glanced at Cleo.
"You okay there?" he asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah...I'll be fine," said Cleo.  Chalk up one more point for Malucci, she
thought to herself.  Definitely there was no contest, she thought as she
turned her smile on Dave and leaned in a bit closer.  And who knew...with a
bit of luck, she might be able to find out how he 'measured up' to Peter in,
ahem, 'other areas'...but that would be another story.

---------------------------

A few hours later, Dave was the only 'guest' remaining.  Peter had been
paged back to the hospital, and Jing-Mei had accepted his offer of a lift
home.  Dave had insisted on staying to finish cleaning up the mess, much to
Peter's disgust.

"Hey, you paid for the whole evening," he had said with a smile.  "I *can't*
leave."

So Cleo had sat there and watched as he completed the task at hand.  It was
somehow less erotic than when she had been watching him earlier...maybe
because she had sobered up...maybe because Dave seemed a little more relaxed
than he had been.  It wasn't dull though.  Dave had a large fund of jokes,
both clean and otherwise, with which he regaled her while he worked.

But all too soon the apartment was clean and the evening was over.  With a
sigh of regret, Cleo watched as Dave retreated into the bathroom to pull his
clothes on.  It seemed a bit absurd for him to wish to dress in
private...especially considering that he had spent most of the evening
wearing just a bow tie and a pair of faded denim shorts with a few
strategically placed rips in the seat...but then as Cleo realized, that was
when he was 'on the clock'...now that his time was his own, it was clear
that she wasn't getting any 'freebies'.

"So," said Cleo as Dave emerged from the bathroom fully clothed.  "Did you
clean up in there as well?"

Dave grinned.  "The place was clean as a whistle.  Hell, you could probably
eat off the floor in there."

"I wouldn't go quite that far...but my cleaner...my *usual* cleaner, that
is...she does a pretty good job."

"Bet she's not as hot as I am?" said Dave, laughing.

"Hell no," said Cleo, grinning.  "No contest there."  She found it hard to
drag her eyes away from the way his jeans clung to his body.  Man, he must
have shrunk them to fit or sprayed them on, or something like that.

"Yo, earth calling Cleo."  She heard Dave's voice and forced her attentions
higher up his body...her gaze stopping briefly at his pecs...his muscles
emphasized rather than hidden by the tightly fitting t-shirt.  Finally she
stared into his eyes, wondering why she had never noticed before just how
intense they were.

"Oh...yeah...sorry, I was a million miles away," she said, feeling a tinge
of embarrassment at being caught ogling.

"Not from what I saw," grinned Dave, his gaze sweeping over her body.

Cleo could feel the heat rise in her face as she watched him.  She had the
unnerving feeling that he was mentally undressing her...and from the bulge
in his pants, she had a feeling that he liked what he was 'seeing'.

"Anyway," he said, "Guess it's time I was out of here."

"You don't have to go," blurted out Cleo.  "I mean...you must be
thirsty...after...after all your hard work.  I could get you a beer...or a
glass of wine..."

Dave raised an eyebrow.  "I really should be going..."

 "If you're worried about the agency...I...I can always call them...book you
in for another hour or so."  Cleo knew the minute she'd said the words, that
they were a mistake.

Dave's smile disappeared, and his voice was cold as he said, "Not everything
in the world can be bought."  Pulling on his jacket, he headed for the door.

"Dave, I'm sorry," said Cleo, "I...I didn't mean to offend you...I'm
sorry..."

"Yeah...you're sorry.  Well so am I."  Turning to look her squarely in the
eye.  "I know I'm stuck for cash most of the time.  Hell, if I wasn't, I
wouldn't be doing *this*...but there's some things that I just *won't* take
money for."

Looking at his watch, he said, "Looks like your time is up...from now on I'm
my own man."  Without a backwards glance, he left, pulling the door closed
behind him.

Cleo slumped into a chair and cursed her tactlessness.  Why had she
mentioned money...why hadn't she just told him she was attracted to him and
asked him to stay?

The sound of a banging on the door a few minutes later dragged her out of
her despondency.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she muttered as she headed over to the door.
Without thinking to check who it was, she flung it open saying, "What the
hell..."  Her voice trailed off as she saw Dave standing there.

"Like I said...from here on in, I'm my own man...so if you still want me to
stay..."

The words were barely out of his mouth before Cleo grabbed him by his jacket
and dragged him back into the apartment.  The door was quickly shut behind
them as she wrapped her arms around his waist and started kissing him.

Dave's hands were running up and down Cleo's back and his tongue was
searching out the inner recesses of her mouth.  Finally they paused for
breath and he pulled away slightly.

Cleo traced a line down his face with a perfectly manicured nail.  "Is that
a mop in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?" she asked in mock
innocence.

"I'm *very* pleased to see you," said Dave, bending his head and nuzzling at
her neck.

Cleo felt her knees buckle as he planted a row of delicate kisses.  "Oh
God," she said, clutching at him for support.

Looking him in the eye she said, "Upstairs...*now*."

Dave nodded, and then without a pause, he swept her into his arms and headed
for the stairs.  "You sure you wouldn't rather do it here?" he teased.

Cleo made a face.  "Once was enough...I had bruises from the edge of the
steps and Peter...well, lets just say that the stairs weren't as 'smooth' as
they should have been."  She giggled at the memory of how embarrassed Peter
had been when she had to dig splinters out of his ass...not to mention how
*nervous* he had been as well.
"Besides," she added.  "I keep my condoms upstairs."

"Then lets go up," said Dave, as he shifted Cleo's weight in his arms before
moving on up the stairs.

-------------------------------

Dave carefully placed Cleo on her bed and then stood back for a better look.

Cleo stretched out and asked seductively, "Do you like what you see?"

Dave nodded and said, "Oh yeah...but I'd like it a lot better if I could see
*more* of it..."

Cleo smiled, showing her perfect teeth.  "That can be arranged," she said,
as she started to unbutton her blouse.

"Here...let me," said Dave, climbing onto the bed astride her.  Bending his
head, he kissed her full on the lips...not as roughly as his earlier kisses
had been...but slower, and more seductive.  His hands moved gently over
Cleo's chest, gently caressing her breasts, before finally undoing her
buttons.  Pulling the silky material to the side, he bent his head and laid
a trail of kisses down her chest until he was stopped by the lace of her
bra.  With the ease of experience, he slid a hand underneath her and
unfastened it, removing it with a flamboyant gesture.

"You've done this before," teased Cleo, before gasping as she felt his
tongue flick gently around her nipples.

Dave lifted his head to grin at her before returning to the task at hand.
"You have *no* idea," he mumbled.

Cleo groaned in delight as she felt his hands at her waist...fumbling at her
belt buckle.  Eagerly she lifted her hips and allowed her trousers to be
pulled off.  They and her panties soon joined the growing pile of clothes
beside her bed.  Suddenly impatient, she pulled at Dave's t-shirt, dragging
it off over his head.

"Easy tiger," laughed Dave, as Cleo started pulling at his jeans.   "Have a
little patience."

"Patience my ass," muttered Cleo as she finally got his buckle undone.   "I'm
horny."

"And I'm Dave...pleased to meet you."  Pulling off the rest of his clothes,
he poised himself just above Cleo's waiting body.

She frowned as she saw the faint line of a scar on his shoulder.  Reaching
up, she traced it delicately down his arm.  "Is this one of your 'piranha'
scars?" she teased him.

Dave pulled her hand away and kissed it, "I'll tell you later," he
whispered.

Cleo moaned in delight as she felt his hands caress her body...moving slowly
downward.  Then she groaned as they stopped moving.

"You said something about condoms?" asked Dave, pulling slightly away from
Cleo, but leaving one hand just teasing gently at her crotch.  Dave's
fingers were doing what she wanted the rest of him to be doing.  She could
already feel herself going over the edge.  God! He was good!

Cleo was barely able to concentrate through the gentle strokes of Dave's
hand.  "In...in the nightstand," she gasped.  "Top...top drawer."  Closing
her eyes, she heard the sound of the drawer being opened followed by the
familiar sound of a condom being opened.  She felt Dave's weight on top of
her and eagerly wrapped herself around him as he guided his by now fully
erect cock to her entrance.

"You sure about this?" he teased her gently.

"Damn right I am," she gasped as she felt him push against her.  She moaned
with pleasure as she felt him enter her, his body thrusting against hers.
Then he did something she hadn't expected, he stopped moving.  She opened
her eyes and was shocked to find him watching her.  "What?" she asked
breathlessly.

"You're beautiful," he groaned.

"You're not so bad yourself, Malucci," she said.  He smiled down at her and
slowly began moving inside of her.  Each time he moved he touched another
spot---each spot more erotic than the last.  She reached up and pulled him
closer as he began thrusting faster and faster, harder and harder until she
came, screaming in delight.

Once she regained her composure she opened her eyes again.  Dave's were now
closed...his mouth slightly open, his breath ragged and rough.  She reached
down and ran her hands over his body, her touch causing him to drop his head
and groan.  Dave stopped moving for a minute in what she knew was a futile
attempt to delay the inevitable.  He began pumping again...and with her
remaining strength, she clenched her muscles around him.  Dave threw his
head back and she heard him cry out in ecstasy, and then he was coming
inside of her, his body tensing briefly before finally going limp on top of
her.

-----------------------------

Afterwards, Cleo lay contentedly in Dave's arms...it had been so long since
she had felt so close to anyone like this.

"Penny for your thoughts," she heard Dave say.

"I...I never thought anyone would hold me like this again," said Cleo.

Dave kissed her softly on the back of her neck.  "Because you were exposed
to HIV?  You know that the odds of you getting it are tiny?"

Cleo nodded.  "Some people think that even tiny odds are too big a chance to
take."  By 'some people', she was of course referring to Peter, who had
managed to make all sorts of excuses for avoiding sex with her.  She could
have lived with that...after all, he was a surgeon...he couldn't take the
risk of being infected.  But it was the way he had avoided touching her at
all...that had been the final straw.  A brief kiss on the top of her
head...that was as close as they had come to physical contact in the weeks
after her exposure.
"I'm beginning to realize that, but Pe..."

"Cleo, would you mind if we not talk about Benton right now?" he interrupted
her gently.

"Sure," she said softly, not wanting to talk about him anyway.  Cleo closed
her eyes as she snuggled up against his warm body.  Maybe she was only
another notch on Malucci's bedpost...maybe this night was a
'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity...she didn't dare let herself hope that
this was more than that.  For now she wasn't alone...and that was what
counted.

-------------------------

The End.....or is it?

ceindreadh