Author's notes: Ah, well, real life obligations...

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Dinner with Delay

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After the final outburst they kept holding each other for a while.

"Oh, Tommy..." Barbara breathed into his ear.

"Mmmh... yes..." he answered onto her neck, contented like she sounded, and placed a wet kiss there.

Eventually when the last waves of their climax had ebbed and their breaths had steadied Tommy could not get rid of the impression that Barbara still hugged him just to avoid looking at him. He felt satisfied and wonderful and hoped that Barbara felt the same.

"Barbara?" he whispered after their connection gently ended.

"Yes?" she answered equally whispering. Her body relaxed against his and her legs finally let go of their firm grip of his legs. God, that was...wonderful! Slowly she caressed his shoulders. She pressed little kisses in the crook of his neck where she buried her face. His arms still totally encircled her waist and his fingertips ghostly traced across her waist.

"You okay?"

"Mmmh. Yes." He felt her nodding against his collarbone.

"Good." A few more moments passed in silence.

"Please, let me down." Barbara suddenly said.

"Of course." Tommy stepped back to give her space to climb down from the backrest. When she had solid ground under her feet she felt that her legs were slightly wobbly. Helping her finding a steady stance Tommy mirrored her nervous chuckle. He bent down and gave her a soft lingering kiss to reassure her that everything was wonderful, that everything was good, that everything was right and exactly how it should be.

"We should get dressed decently." Barbara mumbled watching him stepping out of his jeans and boxers. With a strange contortion she fumbled her shirt free from where it stuck under her bra and pulled both down and to how they usually were worn. A warm flood of satisfaction still lingered in her body though it was a bit cold now. She nervously smiled and massaged her thigh in order to make it warm.

"You want to refresh a bit?" he attentively asked her. Simply nodding Barbara quickly vanished in the bathroom so Tommy had some time to rummage through their bags and to retrieve some sweat pants and her pyjama bottoms and knickers. After he cleaned up a bit - himself and the suspicious traces on the furniture - he positioned her garment there on the spot furthest from their recent lovemaking and went to the kitchen to re-heat their dinner in the microwave. Barbara should have the privacy she deserved when she dressed herself again. She had appeared a bit shaky despite every intimacy that had happened minutes ago. He smiled at the thought. It was not exactly what he had planned but it was... gorgeous. We just had surrendered to the hurricane of our desire. Wonderful.

Dreamy eyed he looked out of the window and watched the plants bow down before the storm. Then he rushed upstairs.

Barbara had hurried to the bathroom and had cleaned herself up a bit, thinking about the wonderful explosion of emotions they had let burn them down a few moments ago. She was not ashamed of what they had done, or where, or how. She was not even ashamed of her own boldness, a boldness she never had shown before in all her love-life. She just was a bit shocked she was capable of it. When she stood at the sink, still clad in bra and T-shirt and - she had to remember last night with a mental grin - her woollen socks but nothing more, she washed her face and watched it in the mirror.

"Next time a bit more self-control, Miss Havers." she mumbled at her reflection. Then she softly smiled. The sensations of the physical exchange still lingered between her legs and Barbara wondered if it ever will disappear.

You've just had a quickie at the backrest of the sofa! With your boss, Barbara! She chuckled into the mirror. With the Earl of Asherton whom you're going to marry. Good gracious, just say it! Now she broadly grinned.

"Yes!" she whispered to herself and then rolled her eyes. Now pull yourself together, old girl, and try to get through dinner without your smutty desires.

She knew that this was going to be a night with much less sleep than the nights before, only this time it would be without any drama, any grief and with a lot more joy. She blushed a bit and nodded at her reflection.

She would just have to put on some pants before they would have dinner.

They met at the high kitchen table.

Barbara was beet red when she sat down. She shot him a glance and a smile but apart from that she could not really look at Tommy. It had been wonderful but still... She would love to canoodle him against the wall but still there was a bit embarrassment. It was not their encounter itself it was simply her licentiousness that she was nervous of. Tommy's mind raced. He knew he had to reassure her. He knew he had to show her that everything was fine, everything was brilliant in fact and he still felt the pleasurable sting of the scratches Barbara had left on his back. But he could feel it too that the atmosphere now was slightly awkward so they silently started to eat.

A few bites were already in his stomach before he bent a bit closer to her. "I'm sorry, Barbara." he mumbled.

"For what?" The piece of meat in her mouth suddenly was too big to be swallowed down easily.

"For that... ravish..." Tommy laid his fork onto the table and took Barbara's left hand in his own.

"Ah, well..." Barbara slightly shook her head, more to signalise that she actually had some difficulties to talk about it although she smiled at the thought of their wild meeting in the living area of the cottage.

It did not escape his eyes. Tommy took a deep breath and squeezed her hand. "I had planned to make love with you on a bed, Barbara. Much more romantic, with silent music and with candles... I normally don't... I've never made... I ususally wouldn't..." He had to clear his throat while he searched for the right words.

Barbara shook her head again. "I... umm... Well, actually I've been..." She took another fork full of that casserole into her mouth so he could not quite understand what she mumbled but it sounded like 'screwed against a sofa once'.

"But it never had been... so... " She harrumphed and put her fork down. "I've had two..." Her voice trailed off again when she raised her eyes to his and blushed. But she broadly grinned. A weight fell off his mind when he saw it. Tommy cocked his head.

"Oh, yes, you've had!" He lifted her hand to his lips. "But I have to admit that I'm quite surprised you already know how it is... well... against the back of a sofa..." Sheepishly teasing her he grinned.

"Well, you may not believe it but it actually..." Barbara shook her head and glared at him. Fortunately she understood that he was just teasing her though she had to set that straight. "Well, actually it wasn't my usual... playground!"

"Of course not." Tommy now fully grinned. The thought of having made love to her already tempted him so he kissed her behind her ear. With soft pressure he gently gnawed at her nape. "I'm eager to learn what else I could do when we're not... rushing... You know, hours of foreplay and hours of snuggling afterwards. And inbetween. More time, more tenderness, more caresses... more intimacies..."

Barbara's neck flushed when she whispered. "Tommy..." His teeth made her back shiver with goosepimples.

"I love you for saying my name so tenderly, Barbara." he breathed onto the little red mark his teeth had left on her skin.

"I love you for making urgently needed love to me so tenderly."

"Hadn't it been tender the other times before?"

"Not really, not like that!"

Tommy stopped the gentle ministrations on her neck. Shocked and very serious he could not form his next question. His stomach cramped and he feared her answer. "Did they...? Have you been...?"

"No." She turned her head to look him in the eyes to emphasise the truth. "No. Never."

"Good. But...?"

"Oh, it always had been consensually, you don't have to go and arrest someone. But..." Barbara paused and smiled. "But it never had been so... wonderful. Wild and raw..." Unusual for her she actually giggled now. "So... needy and still... satisfying and gentle. It was exactly what I..." She cupped his cheek and inhaled. "...exactly what we had needed."

They did not kiss, they did not move, they did not say a word, they just drowned in each other's eyes. After a short while of silence she started to chuckle. His eyes assumed an irritated expression.

"What is it?"

Though she blushed Barbara gave him a small kiss. "I've never talked so much about... that..."

"...never talked about that? That as in making love?" Tommy voiced it. Barbara diverted her eyes to the table and nodded.

"M-hm." She paused. "Except the usual sophomoric blokes asking how it was."

"Oh." He paused. "And?"

"Hm?"

"How was it?"

Barbara gave him a playful slap on his upper arm. That is, she tried to but he could parry it. Cheekily grinning Tommy tried to grab her but Barbara managed to escape his hands for a while. They gently wrestled until it turned into an even gentler hugging. Having her finally letting him overpower her he dipped her down so she was lying in his arms and he could kiss her without further objections.

"Wonderful... and exceptional!" she sighed when they stopped kissing just to breathe air.

"Hm?"

"It was exceptional..."

Another long and exceptional kiss followed.

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