Disclaimer: Downton Abbey and its characters belong to Julian Fellowes.

John could hardly wait to get home that night...to their home. He took a deep breath reveling in the wonderful realization that they finally had a place of their own. A place that would be their nest, their haven, knowing that no matter what, they could always look forward to being their true selves in the comfort of the cottage.

They were forced to wait a month after he was out of jail, and every day that passed seemed more difficult than the previous. John had a need to be close to his wife and to love her in the most carnal way. To sleep all night in each other's arms and wake up in the morning knowing that she would be by his side with sleepy eyes and a lazy voice, wishing him a good morning, sure that she would be doing that for the rest of their lives.

It had been a long month. He had spent far too many hours laying in bed and reading books, as his lordship had suggested. Of course he saw her every day. He kissed her whenever he wanted, hiding in the dark corners of the big house, on their way to the village or in their old meeting place, the courtyard. But now the month had passed and he was on his way home.

Anna was already there, and although he had asked her to wait for him, she couldn't help herself. She wanted to get things ready for his arrival. But what things? he wondered.

They didn't have a mattress yet. Anna had been picky and said she couldn't possibly sleep in a bed that belonged to someone else, and indeed the old mattress looked anything but clean. Many years of its old owner sleeping on it were enough to make Anna and John's stomachs turn. They wanted a new one. A pristine place for them to love each other. So, when she told him that they were going to sleep in the cottage from that night on, he was surprised.

XXXXXX

'Are you that eager to sleep with me that you can't even wait for a new mattress?'

'Aren't you?' she teased.

'I could sleep the rest of my life on the floor if that meant you would lay your head on my shoulder.'

'Well then, it's decided. I don't want to wait a day longer.'

'So, we sleep on the floor?'

'We sleep on the floor,' she nodded, smiling.

XXXXXX

'Love?' he called as soon as he opened the door. 'I'm home.' Oh, what a sweet thing to say. He hung his coat and walked towards the small living room where the light and her voice guided him.

'You're early!' she said, rising from the floor and meeting him midway.

'Am I?' They kissed on the lips and he held her close to him for a minute more. 'I feel like I'm always late when the one I am meeting is you.'

Anna rolled her eyes quite pleased with his words. 'You are a charmer, Mr Bates.'

'John!' he pleaded, holding her wrist when she tried to walk away, pulling her to him again, wrapping his hands around her waist. 'Call me John,' he whispered in her ear, slow and low, his warm breath making her cheeks flush and causing her body to shiver.

'Mr Bates!' she giggled, as she managed to get away from his grip. Her dancing eyes and mischievous expression told him that the last thing she wanted was to stay away, even if she tried to pretend. 'Won't you take a look at the most comfortable bed on earth?' She smiled, proud of herself and motioned towards the floor. 'Even if you hate it you'll have to sleep on it.'

John couldn't help but smile, so very moved by what he saw. Between the fire and their broken settee, there was a pile of pillows and quilts, and somehow, Anna had managed to make it look like the most comfortable spot ever.

'My sister and I used to love to sleep by the fire and father would build us this massive fort of pillows and blankets. I thought I could build us one too. I borrowed some quilts from the Abbey, but don't worry, I'll give them back once we have a mattress,' she giggled.

'You are a naughty girl, indeed.'

'I suppose I am. Now, do you want some tea?'

'I think I pass on the tea...' he whispered again, this time against the warm air of the room. 'I would like a different kind of treat.'

'You have to be more precise...Mr Bates.'

'Well...' he walked towards her as she backed away, smiling excitedly at him until she felt the wall touching her back. 'I would like some...Anna Bates...'

'Plain...or with sugar?' she teased.

'You're as sweet as sugar, but I'll take you with nothing...nothing at all.'

Trapped between the wall and the broad body of her husband, Anna found herself breathing erratically with her racing heart running wild in her chest. His words were leaving their mark on her hot skin and her trembling legs and she knew what she had been longing for for the past nineteen months was about to happen. How she had survived so long without his touch she did not know, but now wasn't the right time to ponder, now it was time to listen to all of her instincts and urges and follow them as if her life depended on it. Suddenly his mouth was on hers, possessively claiming her taste and and her sweet body he had so longed for.

'Oh John,' she sighed happily as his mouth moved from her lips to her neck, kissing every bit of skin he could find on his way.

His hands travelled her body as hers played with his hair, and before too long, he was trying to unbutton her dress, the need of seeing her bare before him too hard to control, and she helped him with his task.

'Such tiny buttons,' he said, kissing her between words and breaths.

'You will have to get used to them,' she bit her lower lip.

'I can't wait for that!'

John was more than happy when her dressed slid down her slender body, revealing her white and thin undergarments, and her hands were quick to help him out of his jacket and vest.

'Shall we?' he motioned towards their unconventional bed, resting his hands on her shoulders noticing how shy she suddenly seemed to be.

Anna nodded silently, the excitement still playing in her eyes as they kneeled on the quilts, and she laughed nervously. 'I am so silly.'

'You could never be,' he caressed her cheek.

'Can you believe...I am almost as nervous as I was in our first night,' she shrugged her shoulders.

'Well...how lucky are we?' Anna looked at him confused. 'That we were granted two wedding nights,' he winked.

The sound of his sweet voice and the kindness in his eyes were everything that Anna needed to feel more secure and without wasting more time with foolish thoughts she kissed him, passionately and hard, showing him how much she wanted him now.

Her message was clear to him, and he kissed her back with the same intensity, holding her as close to him as possible as his desire began to make him sweat and pulse against the fabric of his trousers.

Slowly, they laid back on the pile of quilts, their mouths unwilling to leave one another and their hands bold and frenzied all over their bodies. Anna slid his braces down his arms and rid him of his shirt and undershirt, and when her delicate hands came in contact with his chest, she moaned in pleasure, breaking the kiss to smile at him.

'I almost forgot how hairy your chest is,' she whispered, feeling his hot skin under her fingertips. 'How good it feels!'

'Those memories of our wedding night must be spent by now,' he said playfully. 'But we will have new memories to relive from now on.'

'Yes.'

He kissed her again, their tongues finding their way to each other's as easily as breathing and their bodies overflowing with passion and love and longing. A longing that would never leave them, that would always be there for the sake of those times they were apart.

Soon, Anna's undergarments lay in a pile on the floor, forgotten with his shirt, and trousers, followed not long after by his shorts and her underwear. John hovered over her, his eyes dark and burning into her naked body.

'You are so beautiful, Anna.' He trailed one hand down her neck and breast, stopping at her waist. 'I've missed you so much.'

His words made her teary, moved by the intensity of his dedication to her and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her, kissing every bit of his skin she could get to, feeling his burning desire against her thighs and listening to him crying out her name as their souls united.

The fire flickered and their moans and gasps filled the room as they moved as one, and as the night pressed on they left the world outside their closed doors, for in their home nothing else matter but them.

Hours later, in the aftermath of their ultimate reunion, John found himself smiling widely at the ceiling while Anna rested on the warmth of his chest.

'Why are you smiling?' she asked.

'This sleeping on the floor thing...it's really bad,' he laughed aloud as she brought herself up to twist her nose at him.

'I should be the one complaining!'

'And why's that?' he looked at her. His eyes sparkling at the sight of his beautiful wife by his side. Finally, where she belonged.

She smiled blushingly before looking back at him, and whispered 'I'm the one who's been pinned down.'

'Oh God!' John laughed again, this time joined by Anna. 'I guess I'll have to be more gentle...next time.' He kissed her shoulder and raised his brow at her.

'I guess,' she flirted, dragging a finger down his chest until it reached the hem of the quilt just under his belly button.

'Come here.' He hugged her, pulling her down to him and kissing her lips languidly. 'I will make it up to you.'

Their bed was not comfortable and sleep was difficult on the hard floor, but then, neither of them had any intention of sleeping that night anyway. So when morning came they were still awake, in each other's arm, making the most of their second wedding night.

Thank you for reading :)