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Mature Content

~Chapter 10~

"Greg…" she said slowly, her vocal cords rasp and hoarse, "…I don't think I can stand on my feet."

He laughed flamboyantly and she felt his body vibrate against hers in pure happiness. Then he placed her head between his palms and dwelled deep into her beautiful cerulean eyes before claiming her lips in a juicy, rich kiss. "Then it's a good thing I am not planning to have you stand on your feet for the rest of the night."

Cuddy smiled weakly but contently and placed her head back onto his shoulder. Meanwhile, Gregory House contemplated his next steps. The most beautiful woman on earth was in his arms, putty and purring like a kitten but somehow that didn't seem enough. He hadn't given it all to her; body and soul.

His mind was racing at an unbelievable speed, surely more than a thousand miles per second and coherent thoughts were getting together, one after the other. He quickly fished into the pocket of his honey-stained pants, silently opening the medicine bottle and popping two Vicodin effortlessly; he needed a lot of pain-free strength for what he was about to do.

In one single move he lifted her up in his arms, wrapped her bare legs around his torso and slowly carried her into the bathroom. She lightly protested at his strenuous action but all whines and protests went silent as he sat her on the bathroom counter and sealed his lips with hers. She studied him through lust-filled orbs, slightly embarrassed over her total nakedness, as he meticulously worked his magic to fill the tub with hot, steamy water. Then he turned back to her, inviting her over with his eyes, allowing her to read his soul for the first time in decades.

He was there again…every single time her world came crashing down around her, for better or for worse, he was there to pick up the pieces and help her glue the world together. With his actions or with his lips; well, she preferred the latter one. Seconds later, House closed the distance between them, in two unforced limps, studying her, waving a bottle of something that looked more like Lysol than a bottle of bath cream. As he towered above her lean body Cuddy naively expected another wave of passionate kisses and instinctively closed her eyes.

"Come on, boss," House said in a semi-serious tone and Cuddy felt him lift her limp body into his strong arms again. She quickly opened her eyes and met his provocative blue gaze. "Let's get you clean and scrubbed and ready to go!"

"Go where?" she automatically asked but deep down, in the pit of her stomach, she knew what he was up to. "Put me down!" Cuddy demanded with an outburst of laughter as he carried her to the tub and held her over the foaming bath.

"Gently or with a splash?" House cockily asked, raising one eyebrow. His lips were twitching in sheer amusement.

"Don't you dare, House! Gently, please!" Cuddy added with a fake annoyance, and then almost nervously explained, "Otherwise the tidal wave, a result of the Archimedes principle of displacement, will engulf the entire bathroom and possibly leak to your poor next-door neighbor," Cuddy concluded, examining the level of the foamy water conspicuously.

"Well my dear Archimedes, you must know then that the volume of water pushed out equals the mass of the object submerged and that is, of course, largely due to your oversized ass, no matter what you say…" House provoked flirtatiously but Cuddy interrupted once again.

"House!"

"You're no fun!" He announced with a pout and lowered her slowly into the bath.

"I know," she said. "That's why you love me." Cuddy wishfully said and quickly closed her eyes, disappearing beneath the foamy water.

"Wrong!" House yelled in a mockingly annoyed voice through all the foam and water, trying to reach her ears.

"Wrong?" Cuddy questioned curiously as she emerged, blowing foam from her nose.

"W-r-o-n-g!" House confirmed, spelling each letter slowly. It sometimes infuriated him how well she knew him. He wanted to tell her, to scream it on top of his lungs but simply couldn't. Words, in his world, meant so little. Instead he hesitated, annoyance and some sort of primal fear warring on his features. Then, with a resolved expression he knelt down beside the bathtub and kissed her. Deep, yearning, passionate kiss…full of hope and full of promise. Holding all the answers she needed yet failed to recognize.

Cuddy acquiesced him for the space in a heart beat and then tried to push him back a little, with a fake sulk over the unanswered question; or precisely unconfirmed assumption that he loved her. Instinctively and ever so childishly Cuddy hit the water's surface as hard as she could. Liquid and yellowish, pine scented foam splashed upwards into their faces and House jerked back in surprise.

Cuddy stared at him almost guiltily, his hair and cheeks dripping wet, a crest of foam floating on his eyelashes. Her lips twitched. His sharp aquamarines glowered at her.

Seconds later the cool and calculated hospital administrator burst out laughing, his scathing comment about her apparent lack of maturity lost in the hilarity of his appearance. She splashed him again, adequately wetting his shirt and his visibly tightening jeans.

He tried to ward off the small fountain of water, overbalanced, and fell on his ass with a loud thump. By the time he had risen to his feet again, Lisa Cuddy was in stitches, her contagious laughter echoing off of the bathroom tiles like the bells of Notre Dame.

For a moment House tried to keep his expression stern and disapproving, but before long he heaved a tragic sigh and resigned himself to her silliness. To Cuddy's surprise he kicked off his tennis shoes before joining her in the bathtub, his t-shirt and jeans eagerly soaking up the warm water.

Amidst her astonished sputtering he reached for the soap and shampoo and settled down in between her thighs, his back almost leaning against her.

"Khm...you do realize that you are still fully dressed, right?" she ventured in between amused chuckles.

"These clothes needed to be washed anyway." His comment was rendered in a sarcastic deadpan tone of voice as he opened the tabs again and bent forward to run some more hot water.

"So washing your clothes while bathing is you idea of multitasking?" she teased and arched backwards, pulling him against her.

"I can add a thing or two," he flirtatiously said turning around and making his way between her breasts towards her mouth. "I am that good."

House laughed as she grabbed his hair and pulled him down to her lips, their impatient hands roving over each other. "Sooooo full of yourself," she half-moaned and half-muttered as one of his hands clasped her breast and she writhed under him. He continued to touch her body until she gasped and shuddered beneath him, rolling her eyes back in pleasure.

"I am…" House admitted with a mischievous grin then presumptuously asked "…but the question is why aren't you?"

"What?" Cuddy looked down at his eyes, confused. He was resting his chin on her breastbone and boyishly smirking at her with flickering amazement in his eyes. His restless fingers were playing with her nipples, as impatiently as he was awaiting her answer.

"Full of myself." House answered plainly, absorbing the shock on her face.

"Full of…" Cuddy instantaneously choked on her words.

"Me, Cuddy. Boys and girls. Birds and bees. Remember?" Her flushing face tugging the corners of his lips into a naughty smile. "It's all a game to you, isn't it?"

"No." Cuddy protested. Those important matters of heart were never a game to her because she never knew how to play them and when it came to Gregory House, she always lost them.

"Then ask me." House insisted.

"House, I…" She was blushing and felt intoxicated with the sound of her own stuttering voice that was to render capitulation one more time that evening.

"Ask me."

Cuddy looked away and focused on the bathroom tiles as if she was counting them; as if they were going to give her the much needed strength to ask the man she adored with all her being to make love to her. Turning slowly and taking a deep, labored breath she leaned over and saucily whispered into his ear.

"Greg, make love to me."

A/N *Hello back. Thank you for your patience.