Gwen tugged at her blanket, yet the moment her fingers loosened, the blanket started its slow, inexorable slide down her body. Shoving the tray of lasagna into the oven, she slammed it shut with her hip, clutching again at the blanket.

Next to her, she heard Arthur chuckle. "I wouldn't mind if you walked around naked."

Gwen rolled her eyes, kept one hand on her blanket and shoved Arthur with the other. Before she could react, Arthur hauled her to him and smothered her shriek with his lips. Her grip on her blanket loosened and it pooled at her feet. Just the touch of his hands on her hips and his lips on hers and Gwen could feel herself melting into him.

Only, she was naked, in the kitchen.

Once that thought entered her mind, Gwen started to giggle and she couldn't stop. Gwen pulled away from Arthur, then at the pout that formed on his face, she relented slightly and kissed his cheek. "Behave yourself. Watch the oven. I'm going to put something on."

Gwen knew that she had a foolish smile on her face as she made her way to Arthur's bedroom, a reflection of the bubbling happiness in her. Pulling on her clothes, Gwen noticed her phone blinking. Her mind still on Arthur and what else the night would bring for them after the lasagna, she reached for it.

Guinevere. Thank you for arranging today's date with Arthur. Arthur seems agreeable to seeing where our relationship will take us so I would appreciate it if you could arrange a second date for us. ~ Mithian.

Suddenly, Gwen was no longer hungry.

Gwen was not a coward so despite the fact that what she really wanted to do was to hide in her bedroom and lock the door, she made her way back to the kitchen. WIth every step she took, the mess of feelings churning in her stomach slowly sharpened into anger. They had agreed to keep things professional. How dare he change things, seducing her with those soft eyes that looked as if they saw nothing but her? And how dare he do that while keeping his options with Mithian open?

Arthur must have heard her footsteps, because just as she stepped into the kitchen, he turned from the oven with a wide, bright grin.

The anger seeped out of her like a deflating balloon.

She, at the very least, had to take half the blame for the mess she was in. She hadn't even put up any resistance, caving the moment he kissed her, forgetting all that she had wanted to achieve with this job. Her mind went to Catherine and Viv. If she didn't complete this contract, it would only be proof that she couldn't be trusted to handle the prestigious accounts - something they could use to continue to favour Viv. Worse, reading that email from Mithian had sent waves of jealousy through her and jealousy had no place in her relationship with Arthur. He had to go on those dates, he had to find someone to marry and what kind of matchmaker would she be if she sat on the sidelines and fumed with envy?

No, sleeping with Arthur was a mistake and she had to get back to professional terms with him.

Arthur moved towards her, but she deftly avoided him and sat at the breakfast bar, wanting the counter between them. Her emotions must have been written all over her face, because Arthur's smile faded.

He opened his mouth, but she spoke first. "Mithian emailed me."

"And?" There was no change in Arthur's expression but Gwen noticed the slight tension around his mouth and that his hands were gripping the dish towel he held tightly.

"Apparently she felt that the date went well and would like me to arrange another date. Perhaps she would like to attend the May Day Fete next weekend. We could even arrange for her -"

"Gwen."

She stopped talking and lifted her chin. "We should forget what happened."

This time, Arthur's expression hardened, his eyes became flinty and he dropped the dish towel onto the breakfast bar. "I will call Mithian and tell her that unfortunately there is no chance between us."

"And the other women?"

He leaned over the counter and his eyes bore into hers. "We'll cancel the dates. Tell them I've already found someone."

Even as her heart expanded at his words, Gwen shook her head. "And what would your father say? There is a contract in place and -"

"If I am the one to back out of the contract, it won't reflect badly on you," said Arthur.

"No, but successfully getting you married was supposed to be my launching pad. A demonstration that I can handle high-profile projects, and -" Gwen let out a groan and buried her face in her hands. "How did this become so compli - Arthur!"

At her shout, Arthur jerked away from the bar and spun around where wisps of smoke snaked out of the oven. Swearing, he pulled the oven door open before Gwen could say anything. Thick smoke seemed to enveloped Arthur and Gwen scrambled off the chair, calling his name.

Water. She needed to get water. Or maybe she should get her phone and call emergency services.

Gwen couldn't see any flames, so that was a good thing. RIght? She could hear him coughing and then, he emerged from the plume of smoke, holding his right hand gingerly. It was ridiculous. There was no real fire, just lots of smoke so Arthur was barely in any danger, yet seeing him standing there, with that sheepish look in his eyes and relief washed over her.

It was all good. All the kitchen needed was a little, well maybe more than a little, ventilation.

Taking a step towards him, Gwen reached for his right hand. "Are you alright?"

"I might have burned my hand," Arthur said with a slight shrug. "I probably shouldn't have tried to rescue the lasagna."

With a quick flick, Gwen turned on the tap and gestured for Arthur to put his hand under the running water. As the cool water splashed over his hand, he let out a sigh.

"I guess there's no supper?"

Arthur gave her a wry smile. "It's amazing how quickly the night went from spectacular to a complete disaster."

As Arthur held his hand under the water, Gwen opened up the various cabinets. "There's bread and eggs. I could make us some French Toast."

"Sounds good." Arthur turned off the tap and looked worriedly at his hand.

"Surely there is a first aid kit somewhere?"

"Yeah. In the bathroom I think."

"Go get it and I'll dress your wound."

Arthur nodded then took a few steps before stopping and turning around. "Gwen -"

She waved him off. "Go. We can talk later."

His hand throbbed but the burn itself didn't look too bad. What hurt more was the whole mess that happened before their lasagna had burned itself into a lump of inedible gunk. Sleeping with Gwen had been impulsive. He'd seen her there, working on the stained glass, and he had known there that if he missed this chance to be with Gwen, to see if a relationship between them would work, he would regret it immensely.

All he had wanted was to kiss her, to show her how grateful he was that she cared enough to clean his stained glass windows. To assure her that despite spending half a day with Mithian, she was the one he had been thinking of.

Then, he'd touched her and all his good intentions had fled his mind and all he could think of was having more of her. And not just in the physical sense.

Even now, when he could see in her eyes that she was retreating from him, Arthur could not bring himself to regret what happened.

Opening the vanity, Arthur easily spotted the small first aid box. With his uninjured left hand, he grabbed the box, then made his way back to the kitchen. Although Gwen had opened the windows, smoke still lingered and in the sink, he saw the remnants of their lasagna. Eggs and bread sat on the counter while Gwen was pulling out pots from the cupboard. She hadn't yet noticed his return and he took the chance to look at her.

Her dark hair was loose and mussed and Arthur shivered as he remembered how it felt against his bare skin. Her lower lip was caught between her teeth and as she stood on tiptoes to get a pan, she wobbled. Instinctively, Arthur stepped forward and placed his left hand on her hip. Beneath his palm, he felt her start, then still.

"You're back." Gently, she set the pan she was holding down and wriggled away from him, leaving him feeling bereft, but not for long because she was holding his injured hand and tutting at it. "You fool. But it doesn't look too bad."

Briefly, Arthur wondered how much he could wring out from this injury as Gwen started to wrap his hand with gauze that she'd extracted from the first aid kit. Her touch was gentle and confident and Arthur stared at her, his mind racing with possibilities, with words he needed to get her to stay, with assurances that her career wouldn't be hurt by their actions.

"There. Now, I should have the toast done soon."

"Gwen. About Mithian and the contract -"

Gwen beat the eggs, refusing to make eye contact with him. "I would prefer that we keep to the terms of the contract."

"And earlier? Did that mean nothing to you?"

With more force than necessary, Gwen dunked the bread into the egg mixture, then turned to look at him, the pain in her eyes hurting him more than his hand. "As I said, we should pretend it never happened. We're adults. We make mistakes -"

Arthur touched her chin. "My mistake was thinking that I felt less for you than I do."

She swallowed, then turned and switched on the stove, placing the pan on the flames. "If you call off the contract, and then we start to see each other, people will talk."

"The media is easily manipulated," said Arthur. "No one can resist a grand love story."

"Love story?" Gwen turned back to the stove and placed a piece of egg soaked bread in the pan. "We barely know each other."

"I know how I feel about you."

Gwen stopped moving but still didn't look at Arthur. When she spoke, her voice was oddly flat. "Are you saying you are in love with me?"

"I'm saying I could be," said Arthur.

Gwen said nothing and Arthur's heart sank. He'd pushed too hard, fallen too quickly. The thought that he might have ruined any chance of a relationship between them made him feel a little sick.

"Guinevere."

Finally she turned around. "This contract is important to me. It's important that I see it through."

"And lie to all those women? Pretend that I might want a relationship with them when the only person I want is you?"

Once again, Gwen fell silent. Arthur moved closer, slipping his hand into her hair and cupping the back of her neck. Slowly, he brought his head down until his lips grazed the side of her temple. In his hold, she was tense but a moment later, she relaxed slightly.

"What a mess," she whispered.

It was the thread of unhappiness Arthur could hear in those three words that made up his mind. Restoring Ealdor House was important to him and Gwen had put in effort to help him achieve it. How could he give her any less? "I won't lie to the other dates, but I'll see through the contract. But I'm only doing it for you because the contract is important to you."

She slumped as if in relief, her face pressed against his bare chest. He moved his arm down so he could anchor her to him. She fit perfectly against him and he bent his head to kiss the top of hers.

"But I want to make some changes."

Gwen lifted her head and looked at him.

He smiled. "I want you to compile a folder on yourself."

"What -"

"My father shortlisted all the other women I have to date. Well, since it's my future, I should have a say in it and I want to shortlist you."

Finally, her lips twitched, as if itching to break into a smile. "You want to add me to the list of women?"

"Yes. I'm sure that someone with as excellent organisational skills as you would be able to add in an extra date."

She licked her lips and the smile that had been hiding made its appearance. "That's not a problem at all."

"Good," Arthur said as he leaned down and kissed her.

Then he smelled smoke.

AN: Apologies for taking so long to update. Thank you for the comments! :D