Elizabeth walked in their bedroom and flopped face down onto their bed.

"That bad, huh?" Henry asked, walking out of the bathroom. He sat down next to her and trailed his fingers gently up and down her spine. After a few minutes she rolled onto her side, propping her head up on her arm and looked at him.

"Let's run away," she said. "We'll throw a few things into a bag, take a cab to the airport and get on the next flight to the most remote island we can find."

He laughed.

"You think I'm joking, but I'm not. Grab your swimsuit and your toothbrush! Let's go!"

"What about the kids?"

"Bring your iPad. They're all intelligent, responsible and self-sufficient. We'll Skype them from time to time to, you know, just to check in."

"Jobs? Money?" he questioned.

"We're smart. We'll figure all that out later. Just think about it. You and me on the beach sipping drinks out of coconuts, not a care in the world—"

"You'd be bored in two days."

"No. No I wouldn't. I'll bring a stack of magazines, I'll put a bunch of books on my Kindle, catch up on all those podcasts that I've downloaded but never had time to listen to—"

"I can see you've put a lot of thought into this," he smiled, squeezing her hand.

"I have. Let's go."

"How about if we just plan a vacation to the beach?"

She sighed. "It's not the same." She went into her closet and changed. Wrapped a robe around her and went downstairs.'

A few minutes later she walked back in their bedroom with a pitcher of margaritas.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to put on my swimsuit, fill the bathtub with salt water, put on some ocean sounds and drink a margarita...or five."

"O-kay," he muttered, wondering what the hell had happened today.

"Want to join me?" she called from the bathroom.

With a soft hiss, Elizabeth sank into the scorching hot water. The heat began to unfurl the tightness in her muscles and she allowed herself to relax. She just wanted to sip her margarita, sit in the tub and soak away her stress and misery.

A few minutes later he wandered into the bathroom. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the bath water and the alcohol. He sat on the edge of the tub, his fingertips grazing her smooth, warm skin. The steam was rising up around her. She leaned into his touch, a gentle sigh escaping her lips.

He undressed and stepped carefully into the tub behind her, sinking down into the hot water until he was sitting behind her with her nestled between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and eased her back until she was flush with his chest.

"What happened today, babe?" he whispered, his lips brushing her ear, strands of her damp hair clinging to his cheek. "Talk to me."

She released a long sigh before relaxing against him, sinking into his warmth; she allowed it all to be pulled from her, the whole damn day, and dissipate with the steam around them.

"I don't want to rehash it right now. The day caught up with me, but I'm fine," she said.

With practiced fingers he brushed the wet strands of hair away from her face and dropped a kiss onto her damp skin. His lips trailed down her neck and she tilted her head back, to the side, to allow him better access. He chased rivulets of water, catching them with his lips and tongue as they slid down her smooth skin.

She handed him her glass and he took a healthy swig before handing it back. He hissed. He was pretty sure that margarita was about 88 percent tequila.

She laughed. "Too strong?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm not the one that had a rough day."

He ran his hands over her back, and she obediently leaned forward so he could massage her sore muscles. When he pressed his thumbs against the back of her neck and dragged them down between her shoulder blades, she let out a soft moan of relief, and when his hands slipped around her ribs to cup her breasts, that moan was a little louder.

He took the glass from her hand, placing in on the edge of the tub, and then pulled her back against his chest, rolling her nipples between his fingers, and it felt amazingly good. Dropping her head back to rest on his shoulder, she squeezed her thighs together, torn between pressing herself back against the solid heat of his body and arching up into his intensely clever hands.

Letting out a low rumble of pleasure, he slid a hand up to her chin, tipping her face toward his and giving her a kiss that made her toes curl, stroking his tongue against hers, all the while teasing her nipples and squeezing her breasts.

"God, you're beautiful," he said.

She whimpered when he slid his left hand down her stomach and between her legs. He rubbed his fingers against her clit, teasing until it was swollen and she was whimpering.

"Babe..." she gasped, grasping his forearms when his fingers sped up to a pace that would quickly make her lose her mind. "Henry..."

"Baby," he groaned against her ear. "I love you, Lizzie. I want you to come for me."

He thrust two fingers inside of her, grinding the heel of his hand against her clit, and she came with a loud cry, her fingers digging into his arms and her face pressed against his jaw.

He knew exactly how to wring every last shiver of pleasure out of her body. There were so many reasons why she loved him, but she had to admit that was definitely in the top five. When he finally slipped his fingers out of her body, she was completely boneless against him.

"Mmm," he hummed, stroking her thighs. "Feel better?"

"God, I love you," she mumbled, nuzzling his neck, and he chuckled.

She started to turn over to take care of him, but he wrapped his arms around her, holding her still. "Don't worry about that, babe," he said. "You just relax."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. Don't worry. We can continue this in the morning," he said.

"After you make me French toast?" she said, and he squeezed her.

"Whatever you want, babe," he said with a chuckle.

Turning a little, she cuddled up against him, slipping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder, and he held her close, stroking her back.

She'd been quiet for several minutes, but Henry knew she hadn't fallen asleep.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fantastic," she murmured. "Thanks to you."

"Are you sure? Because half an hour ago you were ready to skip town."

"Oh, I still want to go, but I'm not going without you. You and your magic fingers. I can see it will take some time and effort to convince you."

"You are very persuasive."

"I am," she paused. "I just—I miss you."

"What are you talking about? I'm right here!"

"It's not the same. We're always surrounded by security. The phone could ring with a international crisis at any minute—"

"This job is just for now. We are for always." He whispered against her ear.

"Promise me that someday when all this is over you'll run away with me?"

"Forever?"

"No. Not forever. Just for awhile."

"Okay. I promise. I guess I'd better brush up on my fishing and hunting and gathering skills—"

She laughed. "And building shelters out of palm fronds."

"And what are you going to be doing while I'm doing all of the work?"

"Working on my tan. Supervising. Just watching you. You know how sexy you look when you're fixing things."

He laughed and kissed her. "Just tell me when and where and I'll pack my bag."

The water is cooling rapidly. Soon they'll have to abandon their makeshift tropical getaway. She settles against him, desperate to enjoy ever last second, wishing they could stay here forever.

He puts his lips against her ear and sings softly, "If paradise is half as nice as heaven that you take me to. Who needs paradise, I'd rather have you. Oh yes, I'd rather have you..."

She opens her eyes and meets his warm gaze and tilts her head up to give him a soft kiss.

She smiles. She doesn't need to go anywhere. Paradise is right here.

Fin.