Chapter 1

Angel Hoffman finished preparing for her celebratory date with James Wilson. She'd gotten the job as Dr. Gregory House's assistant for the Department of Diagnostic Medicine at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Wilson had told her casual Italian, but she chose the champagne silk blouse anyway with slacks. She bit her lip, looking in the mirror and decided hair up, and dabbed a bit of the Caramel perfume on her pulse points. By the time she walked out to the curb, he was there, waiting.

"Hello, Ms. Assistant to Dr. House," Wilson teased as he helped her into the Volvo. "You look lovely."

"Thank you, you're quite the looker yourself," Angel replied, smiling, and gently touching his hand.

As they stepped into the restaurant, Angel liked the warm, homey feel to it. They talked a bit more about opera, her future co-workers, and the loft Wilson and House were moving into this weekend. At some point, Wilson's hand was covering hers. She blushed a bit, but thought how relaxed it made her feel.

Towards the end of the meal, she noticed a jukebox in the back of the room and a smile flitted across her face. Wilson knit his eyebrows together—that smile reminded him way too much of House when he was up to no good. "What are you smiling at?" He asked warily, though not without a smile of his own.

"Oh I just noticed the jukebox back there and wondered if they had my favorite song on it," she replied, and began to hum a song not unfamiliar, but not well-liked, to Wilson.

He closed his eyes and quietly hissed "House!" Then he looked at Angel and asked "He told you didn't he?" Her smile turned into a full-faced grin. "You wouldn't dare."

Angel reached into her purse and drew out a quarter. "You have no idea what I will or won't dare," she purred. Now it was Wilson who was blushing. Angel stood and began walking slowly towards the back of the restaurant, swaying her hips as Wilson momentarily forgot about the song. She looked over her shoulder with a sexy smile, gently batting her eyelashes.

In a flash, Wilson was beside her, then in front of her. "Oh ho, I don't think so," he said, a bit flustered but feeling a jolt of electricity from this little game of hers.

"I see it right there, E12," she said, looking over his shoulder just a bit. When he turned to see for himself, Angel slipped between Wilson and the jukebox. He caught her hand with the quarter gently, and shook his head. "And just what are you going to do to stop me?" She asked playfully with a laugh.

They looked in each others' eyes, daring one another to make the first move. That laugh….before he could stop himself, Wilson used his other hand to gently stroke her neck. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to him. He bent his head down and kissed her, lightly. Angel dropped the quarter, which clinked on the floor and rolled away. She wrapped her arm around Wilson's waist and leaned her body into his. Soon she was backed against the jukebox and inadvertently hit a button; Norah Jones' cover of Love Me Tender came on. The two barely heard it as they continued to kiss.

Their reverie was broken only when one of the wait staff cleared her throat loudly. Wilson and Angel broke apart, both pink-cheeked with embarrassment and passion. "Um, I think we better take this somewhere else," Wilson said as they walked quickly back to their table. Both tried to stifle giggles.

"How about my place?" Angel suggested while Wilson quickly paid the bill. Wilson nodded as he took her hand and they walked out. The minute they were out the door, they both broke out laughing. "Best use of a quarter, ever," Angel said, glancing over at Wilson.

The apartment was chilly when they got home. Angel looked a bit embarrassed as she turned the heat up, blaming it on forgetfulness. She offered Wilson some hot tea, which he readily accepted. Soon they were on her couch, her bare feet tucked under her, sipping the hot drink which soon stopped her shivers.

"I'm so sorry again about the apartment being so cold," Angel said with a tiny laugh. "I turned it down earlier and didn't think about it." Wilson pulled her to him, and grabbed a blanket, covering them both.

"Better?" Wilson said, his warm breath in her ear; she felt goosebumps along her arms.

"Much," Angel replied, setting her teacup down.

She turned her head and began to kiss along his jaw line. Wilson closed his eyes and sighed. His lips found hers, kissing more urgently now that they had privacy. His tongue parted their lips, finding hers, and she let out a soft moan. She pivoted her body, wrapping her arms around his neck, tenderly rubbing it with her fingertips. His mouth moved to the hollow of her neck near the collarbone; Angel arched her head back, whispering "James, mmm."

Wilson began to lay her back on the couch when they both nearly fell off. They had a fit of giggles as Angel said "I told you it was a lousy couch. Perhaps we should move to the bedroom?" Every nerve in her was tingling, her hands shaking.

He stood, held out his hand. "Lead the way, beautiful." Shyly, she did so, gently grasping his hand. She sat on the bed, turned on the small lamp by the bedside. Wilson took off his jacket, draped it over a chair in the corner. He walked over to her, gently brushing her cheeks with his thumbs, and then carefully unpinned her hair so it cascaded over her shoulders. She shivered again. This was hardly her first time but Wilson was above and beyond so very different from the men she was used to.

Sitting next to her, Wilson took her in his arms, feeling the silk of her blouse against his hands, feeling her tremble, knowing without asking that it wasn't the cold. This time she kissed him harder, lightly running her fingers through his hair, and slowly down his back. She began to kiss his neck, undoing his tie and tossing it to join the coat. They both began to unbutton each other's shirts. Wilson ran his fingertips over Angel's bare skin, nearly soft as the silk, until he got to her breasts.

Wilson cupped one silk-covered breast in his hand; Angel moaned and traced her fingers along his bare chest. She began to gently kiss his earlobe as his other hand caressed her other breast. His mouth left a trail of kisses down her cleavage; Angel thought she would forget to breathe. No one had ever touched her like this before with such gentleness and passion. He looked into her eyes. For a moment he thought he saw a trace of fear and hesitated. Angel smiled and guided his hands to her back. With a flick of his fingers, the bra fell from her body to join the rest of the quickly strewn clothing.

Where his hands had been, Wilson moved his mouth to her breasts. Angel, lying on the bed, arched her back, pulling him on top of her. His lips and tongue feathered each nipple; he groaned at their hardness in his mouth. Her hands wandered downward, unhooking his belt and pants. Wilson kicked the pants off, not wanting to take away his attention from her breasts.

He looked up at her and smiled, kissing her gently on the mouth. "You are incredible," he sighed. She blushed all the way down to her breasts; he smiled at the sight. "And, I might add, sexy as hell."

"I'm feeling a bit overdressed James," Angel murmured coyly. He helped remedy that by removing her pants, leaving only her lace bikini. Wilson's smile turned to a grin. "I take it you like the view?"

"Oh very much," Wilson replied, and began kissing her stomach, stopping just at the hem of the panties. Angel moaned and reached down with her hands to touch his shoulders. He quickly shed his boxers and she smiled, blushed, and looked away, a bit shy. Wilson climbed back into the bed, on top of her. She could tell just how much he was enjoying this. As they embraced and continued kissing, Angel couldn't help arching her hips to meet his. She could feel how hard he was against her, responding to her body's movement and heat.

"James …." Angel whispered. "I want you, please…."

Wilson ran his hand down her belly and one thigh, moving his hand back up to tease off her bikini. Angel whimpered as his fingers strayed so very close, and then shuddered as he drew his hand inside her thigh. He enjoyed how she was responding to his touch. She felt like she was on fire. If Wilson thought about trying to draw this lovemaking out any longer, feeling her and hearing her beg erased that notion.

"Angel, I want you too, I want to love you…." Wilson quickly put on a condom and pressed his body to hers. He looked at her, to make sure she was ok with this, thinking about her attack the other night. She looked at him with her large blue eyes, totally trusting and filled with wanting him. Her body melted into his, she could feel his heart pounding against her breasts. Despite the growing ache, she wished this moment could last forever.

He kissed her and slowly their hips rocked against each other. She let out a tiny gasp when he entered her, and wrapped her arms around him tighter. Between their kissing and caresses, they whispered words of love to each other. When she climaxed, she cried out his name, shuddering, and kissing him. The look on her face was pure joy and Wilson took that view in but for a moment. His climax had him moaning her name in her ear, and he lay there, after, kissing her, breathing hard. When he began to kiss her cheek, he found tears, and was alarmed.

"Are you ok? Did I…?" She smiled, and kissed him to silence any more talking. They rolled to their sides, and she buried her face into his chest, still panting, the heat radiating off their bodies.

"I….I've never felt this way before. You were amazing James," she blushed, embarrassed at her tears.

He gently cupped one cheek with his hand, using a thumb to wipe away her tears. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm just glad I could make you feel that way," Wilson said gently, kissing her forehead.

Wilson stroked her arm, gazing at the tattoo on her shoulder. "What does it mean?" Her eyes lowered for a moment, and she took a deep breath before answering.

"Strength. It's Japanese. Not a turn-off I hope?" Wilson smiled.

"Not at all. Didn't it hurt?" Wilson brushed his lips over the Japanese Kanji and flowers, finding it very exotic.

"No, not really. It was…..empowering actually." She didn't dare tell him what it really meant or why she got it. She pushed the thoughts out of her head and nestled closer to him.

The two lay, legs intertwined, while he ran his fingers through her hair. She nuzzled against his neck and kissed his chest. Angel grew so quiet, Wilson was sure she had fallen asleep. His mind started racing with thoughts…what would House say? How do I feel about Angel now? He tried to push away a growing guilt that this meant far more to Angel….. I never want to hurt her. But no one could replace Amber…and he wasn't sure he was ready for any kind of commitment beyond casual dating.

"James are you still awake?" He nearly jumped at the suddenness of her voice.

"Yes," he tried to push away his guilt by kissing the top of her head.

"Will you be here in the morning when I wake up?" He could hear a hint of sadness. He cringed.

"We're….moving into the loft tomorrow, and I need to get an early start because God knows House won't. But…I'll make sure to wake you before I leave." He tried to fool himself that this was a reasonable compromise.

"Call me this weekend?" She could hear the hesitation in his voice; her heart fell.

"Of course," Wilson replied. "Goodnight, Angel."

"Goodnight James," Angel answered sleepily. She waited a few minutes until she could hear him breathing slowly and heavy. Barely she whispered, "I love you."