As you're all such wonderful reviewers I've posted the next chapter tonight rather than tomorrow. Hope you enjoy as much as the first


She had been in the bath ten minutes when she could hear noises from her bedroom. "Harry?" she asked tentatively. She heard him walk up to the bathroom door quickly.

"Are you okay?"

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said swiftly.

"Liar," she said without heat. "Can you get me a glass of wine?" she asked changing the subject.

"Okay," he said clearly surprised. "Red or white?"

"I only ever buy red," she replied through the closed door. She heard him laugh and then descend the stairs to the kitchen. She waited, feeling butterflies in her stomach as he came back upstairs. She made sure the bubbles were covering her modesty just before there was a quiet knock on the bathroom door. "You can come in," she replied, trying to hide her nervousness. It took a long few seconds before the door swung open. Ruth was pleased to see that his jacket, shoes and tie had all been abandoned, leaving him looking gorgeously rumpled and at home. He walked in slowly and handed her a glass which she was dismayed to see was only a third full.

"Generally you pour more wine than your usual whisky serving," she said as her hand snaked out of the water to take the glass.

"Mm, and I know what painkillers you're currently on," Harry said, controlling his voice with difficulty. "I'm not having you mix them with alcohol. So that's all you're getting." She thought about how best to construct her argument when her eyes became hypnotised by Harry's. He was leaning over the bathtub and inching closer to her. She knew it and he knew it too. His lips grazed hers so softly. It was barely even a touch, but the sparks that flew between them were enough. Ruth reached out for him with her one free hand, pulling him closer, her fingertips running through his short hair, ignoring the dampness that seeped onto his shirt. He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth for a second and she drew away with surprise. However his cheeky smile on his face made her lean forward to kiss him again.

It was a few minutes before she realised his attention wasn't on her face anymore. Then she knew what she'd done. She had been holding him so tightly that she'd sat up in the bath and risen a few inches. Her breasts were above the water level and she knew he was getting a good long look. And judging from his face, he was liking what he saw. She slipped back down in the tub and heard his breath come out in a sigh. "Enjoying yourself?" she asked, taking a sip of wine to try and hide her flushed face.

"You're the one who didn't lock the bathroom door while you were naked in the bath," Harry countered. "And then invited me in. What am I supposed to think?"

"That temptation might have got the better of me?" she suggested with a sparkle in her blue eyes. She finished off her small serving of wine and leant over to place it on the floor, her hair brushing against his shirt as she did so.

"I'm going to leave you to it because otherwise I'm not sure if I'll be able to control myself," he said in a heavy voice. She laughed lightly as he closed the door behind him. Looking around she found her favourite orange and vanilla body wash and lathered it all over her, having a feeling that it might have a small benefit tonight.


Wrapped in her fluffy dressing gown she opened the bathroom door and gasped. There were hundreds of tiny candles lit all around her bedroom, bathing it in a beautiful golden glow. It looked completely fairytale-ish. "Oh Harry," she murmured as his hands crept around her waist, lips kissing the bare skin behind her ear. "Where did you get all these candles?" she asked.

"Always so practical," he murmured into her ear, making her shiver. "Does it matter?" She shook her head as his hands rose carefully. He kissed her neck and then turned her around, looking serious. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea," he said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't need anything to happen tonight, I promise you that. I just want to be with you, that's all."

Ruth looked at the floor and for a moment Harry thought he'd broken the moment spectacularly. "Harry," she said shaking her head slightly and raising her head to look at him, showing all the honesty she had in her. "I've been waiting for this… for us, for nine years. I've pretended to be dead for three years, I've actually nearly died, you were shot and most recently you almost got extradited to the US. Bombs, gunshots, funerals, terrorists… we've survived them all. And you're telling me nothings going to happen? I don't think I've ever been so disappointed in my entire life."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing and he could do nothing but smile. Both of his hands cradled her face before he kissed her firmly. Her fingertips dipped under his collar and then moved lower to try and undo the buttons. She desperately wanted to feel his chest under her hands. Suddenly she felt the ground vanish from her feet as Harry picked her up in his arms. She buried her head into his neck before he put her on the bed gently.

"Be thankful the bed wasn't too far away," Harry murmured and she laughed. "Couldn't keep carrying you for long at my age." He kissed her lips lightly and then she shuffled away from him.

"I think that brings our number of kisses into double digits now," she whispered.

"I'm not going to argue with you," he said as his hand rose up her thigh gently touching her soft skin. She sighed as he moved so, so slowly. His hand rested on her hip as his lips kissed her neck. She felt a moment of wariness as he was getting very close to her stab wound. "I won't hurt you," he murmured feeling her tense. "I promise I'll never hurt you."

"I know," she replied as his fingers pulled her dressing gown apart. She felt her face flush as he stared at her, skin still slightly damp.

"I love you," he whispered when his eyes caught hers. "I've always loved you."

"I know that too," she repeated. "Now take your shirt off." He happily complied being careful as he threw it to the floor so it wouldn't catch fire on the candles he'd spent ages arranging.

In the soft, gentle candlelight he carefully and torturously slowly made love to her for the first time, always being careful of her stab wound. Taking his time, making every second last an eternity, making sure she was enjoying it as much as he was, making one hundred percent sure that she wasn't in any pain. And it had been perfect. It had been wonderful. He turned to her and noticed that her breathing was still heavy.

"Are you okay?" he asked, worried after having a collapsed lung. Worried that he might have pushed her quicker than what she was physically capable of. She turned and faced him, kissing his lips briefly.

"Yes," she said firmly. "I am very, very okay. I just can't seem to catch my breath. Give me a minute." He did, all the time stroking her hair as her breathing came back to normal. Her skin was still glistening in the candlelight and he placed a kiss over her heart. "That's better," she said to herself, pulling the duvet cover over both of them. She sighed in satisfaction as he pulled her back to his chest. This felt so good. So right.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked in a low voice.

"Shut up," she said firmly, resting her head on the pillows and closing her eyes. He laughed and waited until her breathing settled into the rhythm of sleep. A rhythm he hoped would become familiar to him. He kissed the back of her neck and waited until the candles burnt out, not wanting to unwrap himself from her arms. He'd purposefully bought cheap candles, to make sure they didn't last too long. Not that he'd planned this exactly but he had been slightly optimistic. With a grin he slept next to her, comforted by her weight against his chest in the darkness.


I hope I've kept this at a T rating rather than straying to an M. More soon. Reviews make me want to post quicker so leave one!