Alice stirred immediately when a very warm, very male body slipped in behind her on the bed. He was back. "Hello, sweetheart." His low, velvety timbre never failed to make her toes curl. She flipped around to face him though she could barely make out his features in the dark. Her hand glided down his rock-hard sculpted abs as she whispered back, "Hello." He leaned in to kiss her hungrily and Alice let her hand travel down his thigh… his hiss of pain shattered their sexy interlude. All naughty and romantic thoughts fled as Alice hit the switch beside her bed. Her bedroom instantly flooded with light. Alice glanced at the clock on her night table – it was 4.13am.

Shoving Uncas off her, she sat up and glared at him, "What is it this time?" Uncas let out a long-suffering sigh. Alice stared at her boyfriend of three years, wondering for the millionth time what possessed her, a normal English girl from London, to date an American Navy SEAL. Well, a drop-dead gorgeous part German, part Native American SEAL at that.

She was a corporate lawyer who clocked long hours but at least she did not disappear for weeks, and sometimes, months, in the name of work. Uncas knew where to find her when he needed to; she never knew where to find him if he was not with her. She had not seen him in nearly two weeks. The last time they were together, they had been having dinner in her London apartment. He had gotten a call in the middle of it and before she could even serve her home-baked apple pie, he was on the next plane back to D.C.

"A stray bullet nicked my thigh. It's nothing." He grounded out tightly. Alice let her gaze drop to his heavily bandaged thigh and scoffed, "Do you honestly expect me to believe that?" In her clipped English accent, the sentence came out more caustic than usual. "Believe what you want." Uncas replied icily as he pushed off the bed, wincing as he landed too heavily on his injured side.

Alice seethed silently as he swiped his faded jeans from the floor and pulled them on before padding out of her bedroom. She noticed his duffel bag flung carelessly at the foot of the bed. He had come straight from the airport or air base or whatever airfield military planes landed on. Alice felt some of her anger melt away. He would be exhausted. He always was upon return of an assignment.

Alice shuttled between London and Washington D.C. for work, flying back to her home city at least once a month. She rented a small, modern apartment in downtown D.C, while Uncas had his own swanky bachelor pad about a ten-minute drive away, thanks to a modest, but substantial inheritance from his maternal German grandfather. His parents, both university professors, lived in Boston.

Biting her lip, she scrambled off her bed and headed out of the bedroom. A short, narrow corridor led to the living room, with an open kitchen on the right. Uncas was brooding by the refrigerator, a can of beer in one hand. Without a word, Alice took the can from him and popped the tab. She returned the can to him and opened the refrigerator, "Would you like a sandwich?" Not waiting for an answer, she started yanking out ingredients from the different shelves.

Uncas watched warily as Alice moved around the kitchen, her face averted to avoid his eyes. Her honey blond hair was piled in a messy knot on top of her head and there were shadows under her eyes. She had not been sleeping well. Guilt pricked him as he knew he was largely the reason though she often pulled late nights at the office.

She rarely complained but he sensed she was becoming increasingly restless and frustrated, especially over his last two assignments. He remembered how frantic she was when he had a four-month deployment to the Middle East in their first year together. He had left in the middle of the night and only made a handful of calls to her during those months. Plus she had been rudely greeted by a nasty gunshot wound on his shoulder upon their reunion.

"It was supposed to take a couple of days but something else cropped up." He muttered apologetically as she made quick work of his sandwich. She nodded dutifully, her attention completely on the roast beef, cheese and romaine lettuce she was stuffing into a wholemeal baguette. He reached out to still her hand, "Alice." She shook him off and issued coolly, "I understand." She held out the finished sandwich to him. The strange thing was that Uncas knew she did understand him – just that she was not reconciled to what she understood.

He was too fatigued to fight with her so he obediently took the sandwich and wolfed it down. "I'll drive you to work later so you can sleep in a little longer." He offered. Alice poured herself a glass of water, "You don't have to – I'm taking the morning off. " Uncas cocked his head curiously, "Why?" "Just some errands to run." She responded vaguely. "Dinner?" he suggested, as he took a swig of beer. She inclined her head, "Okay." With that, she brushed past him and returned to the bedroom.

Uncas disposed the can and followed her. He ducked into the en-suite bathroom to brush his teeth before heading over to the bed. Alice was sprawled on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. He climbed in next to her and drew her close. "Missed you." He murmured gruffly, running his fingers through her hair and undoing her bun in the process. He thought she was not going to answer again when her hands snaked around his waist, and she admitted grudgingly, "Missed you, too." Uncas smiled briefly at that, hugged her tighter and within seconds, he was fast asleep. Home.

Three years earlier

Christmas was a few weeks away but everyone was already in a jolly mood. One of Alice's colleagues at the firm, Dan Manning had invited their department to his place for an early celebration. She had been living in D.C for almost six months and Shana, Dan's wife, had been one of her first friends. Alice hated parties but Shana had insisted she attended… so here she was. The Mannings had also invited family and friends, so the house was literally filled to the rafters.

Alice was trying to make herself comfortable on the living room couch when someone inquired politely, "May I sit here?" "Of course." Alice responded cordially as she lifted her head - and blinked. Standing in front of her was one of the most beautiful men she had ever seen in her twenty-eight years. Straight midnight hair left long at the sides and cut shorter and swept back in the front framed an impossibly chiselled jaw and cheekbones, a strong aquiline nose and full lips. A stray lock of hair fell dashingly over his left brow, while dark brows slashed over long, almond-shaped eyes the colour of rich coffee, which were framed by thick sable lashes. His exotic dark features complimented his deep, bronzed complexion and he looked about 6'2". Alice was certain some Native American blood ran through his veins.

Alice had to physically restrain herself from sighing in feminine appreciation at how his dark jeans and crisp white shirt moulded his lean, ruggedly muscular physique to utter perfection. Sleeves rolled to the elbows revealed sturdy, sinewy arms.

The man sunk down on the couch and angled around to face her. Extending his hand, he introduced himself, "I'm Uncas." He was even more devastating up-close and his silky baritone was… as sexy as hell. His entire being was as sexy as hell. Alice cleared her throat nervously as she shook his hand, "I'm Alice. How do you do." His hand was callused and warm, his grip, powerful. His lips twitched in amusement at her formal manner and Alice noticed dazedly that he kept her hand encased in his for a little longer than necessary before lazily releasing her fingers.

"Are you a friend of Shana's?" he queried mildly as he took a sip of wine from the glass in his hand. Alice shrugged, "You could say that. I got to know her through Dan. Dan and I work together." She eyed him curiously, "How do you know them?" "Dan and I were college roommates. And I was his best man at his wedding." He supplied easily, as he absently rubbed a long, thin white scar on his left arm. Dan had gone to Yale, and it was there he met Shana. Alice was privy to the details of their love story since Shana had spent an entire afternoon telling her about it over tea.

"Have you always been a lawyer?" Uncas asked, his gaze intelligent… and interested. He was genuinely interested in her. Alice was surprised since the men who liked her usually were of the strait-laced, bookish sort. Not that Alice was visually unappealing – she knew she was attractive in a "willowy way" as her sister Cora oft said, but she tended to fade into the background because of her introverted nature. "Yes. And what do you do?" she responded primly. He smiled sombrely, "I'm in the military." Before she could question him further, Shana bounced over, "Uncas!" Uncas got to his feet and the two embraced. "Shana. It has been awhile." He greeted amicably. "Dan didn't think you were going to make it tonight. I'm glad you are here." Shana said, squeezing his arm. She winked at Alice, "I see you two have met."

Alice blushed while Uncas flashed a quick grin at Shana, "I'll go find Dan." He paused to gaze down at Alice, "Will you be staying here?" "Of course she will be. We'll grab a drink at the bar and come back here." Shana intercepted before Alice could reply. When Uncas left, Shana dragged Alice to a corner, "I was going to introduce you to Uncas but he found you first." "I beg your pardon?" Alice gasped, regarding Shana with suspicion. "Dan and I thought you two would hit it off since both of you are the quietest people we know. But we couldn't introduce you guys earlier because Uncas was away on deployment." Shana chirped.

"Deployment? Where?" Alice blurted out. Shana hesitated, "Probably Afghanistan but we're just guessing. Uncas never says." "He mentioned he was in the military…" Alice trailed off, utterly confused. What kind of military personnel was Uncas? "Er… he is not your normal soldier…" Shana added sheepishly. When she saw Alice's flabbergasted expression, she resumed, "Special forces. Uncas is a Navy SEAL." Alice gaped at her friend, stupefied. Of course she had heard of this elite group of troops but she never thought she would ever see one, let alone meet one.

"He, Dan and I went to college together. Uncas went to business school. He worked for a few years but decided to enlist into the military full-time. He has been with the military for about eight years, with the SEALs for the past six years." Shana related as she propelled Alice to the bar. "So he's the same age as Dan?" Alice inquired as she picked up a glass of juice. Shana nodded in confirmation as she poured herself a glass of champagne. That made Uncas five years older than her at thirty-three.

The women returned to the couch. "I think he likes you." Shana announced abruptly, patting Alice's thigh with authority. "He has known me for five seconds." Alice retorted in disbelief. "True. But this is the first time I have seen him approach a woman. It's normally the other way around – women are always throwing themselves at him." Shana chuckled as she tossed back her auburn hair. "Wonderful." Alice muttered dryly. Shana slung her arm over Alice's shoulder, "He's a great guy and one of the most loyal friends anyone can have. But he's very reserved though and hard to get to know. Give him a chance and give him some time. I promise he's worth it."

Shana left Alice to entertain her other guests as Alice mulled over what she had just learnt of Uncas. She confessed she was attracted to him on a visceral level, but there was something about him that made her pause. Even in those five seconds, she felt an unexplainable pull to him despite her awkwardness.

"Hungry?" Alice jumped as Uncas dropped down next to her, bearing a plate loaded with pizza. He offered her a slice and she took one gratefully. "Famished." Alice replied as she took a bite. "Where's home?" he probed, his eyes locked on hers. "London. But this is home for the next few years." She related, then regarded him cautiously, "I heard you are a member of the Navy SEALs." "Yeah." He answered shortly but did not further elaborate. "Is that all?" she quipped playfully. Something flickered in his eyes and his lips quirked sardonically, "That's all you need to know for now."

Present

In the end, they spent the entire night chatting on that couch. Uncas offered to send her home after and she let him. He asked for her number and she gave it to him. He asked her out for dinner three days later and she accepted. They started dating three weeks later… and they were still dating three years on. "That's all you need to know for now." Alice realised bleakly that was all she still knew… even now, three years later. When he was not deployed or on missions, he trained and attended multiple courses. He never once told her what happened on his missions and Alice never asked, assuming everything was classified.

Alice glanced at her watch – it was nearly eight. Uncas had texted earlier, informing her that he had booked a table for eight-fifteen at their favourite Japanese restaurant, which was just around the corner from her office building. He had been still asleep when she left to run her errands but when she returned at noon, he had lunch all cooked and ready. She insisted on catching the Metro to work and she did. Shuffling her papers, she figured she could continue with work after dinner.

Uncas waited patiently at the table, which faced the entrance of the restaurant. He usually picked restaurants close to Alice's office on weekdays if they intended to have dinner out. He tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully. Alice had seemed fine when she left after lunch but he had a nagging feeling not all was right between them. She was accustomed to him going off on missions, disappearing for days to weeks, but she once confessed she hated it when he got deployed for months overseas. But recently, she seemed unsettled even when he went on considerably "brief" missions.

He straightened when he saw Alice step into the restaurant. She handed her coat to the maitre d and made her way towards him. She was wearing a fitted wool burgundy sheath, with her hair in a sleek ponytail at her nape. Her outfit reminded him of the first time he had set eyes on her at Dan's Christmas party three years ago, all alone on the huge couch. He had covertly observed her for a good five minutes before approaching her. Strange. He had been inexplicably drawn to her reticent manner, austere features and serious, grey eyes like a magnet.

It may not been love at first sight; but it had definitely been something at first sight. He discovered over the last three years that she was as quiet as he was, and while they did have lengthy conversations, they were perfectly happy and satisfied sitting side by side in companionable silence. There was what he loved about her, about their relationship. They did not have to say much for either of them to understand each other.

Alice sat down opposite him, "Have you ordered?" "Our usual. You okay with that?" he posed as he stretched across the space to kiss her cheek. She nodded and signalled the waiter for the sake list. "So what did you have to do this morning?" he asked conversationally. She chewed her lower lip, "I met with the realtor to renew the lease for the apartment."

Uncas' eyes narrowed fractionally. There were not many issues they majorly disagreed on but their current living arrangements was one: Alice had repeatedly refused to move in with him. His place was more than spacious enough to accommodate two people and was nearer to her office. It was a practical solution since they presently split their time between the two apartments on weekdays, while they were mostly at his place on weekends.

"Why?" He finally said curtly. Alice held his gaze placidly, "Because I want to. I like having my own space like what I have in London. Your place is too big and you're always away." He did not respond but simply stared at her, his eyes hooded. Alice knew he was not convinced by her reasoning. It was true to a certain extent, but not the whole truth. Alice was relieved when he decided to drop the issue for the moment and proceeded to order more sake.

Alice wasn't sure about him, about them. He could see it in her eyes throughout dinner. They were back at his apartment. It was midnight. Alice was busy tapping away on her laptop in the living room, while he was doing up his report for his most recent mission in his study. Was there someone else? He dismissed the thought immediately. He was so attuned to her every nuance that he would know instinctively if that were the case.

"Done?" Alice glanced up at Uncas' voice. He was wearing grey sweatpants and nothing else. Scars of different shapes and sizes marred his smooth, bronzed skin, and Alice belatedly noticed a huge bruise forming near his right hip. It's normal, she psyched herself and mentally clamped down on the worry that was bubbling in her gut.

"Not yet. Why don't you go to bed first?" she replied flippantly, returning her attention to her laptop screen. He hunkered down next to her, caught hold of her shoulders and firmly angled her towards him, "What's wrong?" "Nothing. I just need to finish this tonight." she muttered distractedly, studying a document intently. Uncas knew she was not going to change her mind so he resignedly sank down on the leather couch that ran along the wall behind her, "Wake me up when you are ready for bed."

One hour later, Alice snapped the cover of her laptop shut with a yawn. She tilted her back tiredly and felt warm, moist breath tickle her neck. Uncas. She forgot he was behind her on the couch. She turned around to face him. He was asleep, his brow slightly furrowed, his satiny hair strewn partially across his face. She ran her hand down his shoulder to the ferocious bruise she saw earlier. It must hurt terribly, though not as terribly as his thigh. She knew it was part-and-parcel of his job and he was trained and conditioned to handle all these knocks and injuries... but she just actively detested the thought of him hurt in any form.

Heat engulfed Alice's hand. He was awake. Uncas' hand covered hers, his fingers feathering her palm. Alice got to her feet, hoisting him up with her. They strolled wordlessly to his bedroom and settled into the huge bed. Alice did not protest when he tucked her under him, and framed her face with his hands. "Move in with me." Alice appreciated the fact that it sounded like a request and not an order. But then again, as alpha male as Uncas was, he was never disrespectful or condescending towards her.

When Alice did not answer, he stroked her hair languidly, "Is the idea of living with me 24/7 that repulsive?" No, it would be heaven if you are actually around 24/7... preferably free of bullet wounds. But she did not vocalise her thoughts. There was no point since she knew he loved his job and it was his life. She did not desire to take that away from him.

Uncas tenderly kissed the side of her mouth, his lips lingering there. "I have a better idea." Alice tensed, dread trickling through her veins. Please don't go there..."Why don't we get married?" he finished quietly. He was serious, of course he was. Uncas never said or did things he did not mean and could not account for. She, on the other hand...

"No."

Author's Note

My first attempt at a modern story. It is a challenge to teleport the characters of Alice and Uncas into current times without losing the old-fashioned poignancy and sweetness displayed in the movie - but I hope I will do a decent job so that all of you can still relate to them. It's a little strange penning about the couple in the contemporary world since the emotional, social and psychological nuances are so different from the colonial period. That being said, it is fun and thrilling to exercise my imagination. Hope you will enjoy this story, too. XXOOO