There weren't a lot of people in Rachel Mason's life that she trusted. Her mother, certainly, her old best friend. Another girl she thought was her friend, and hadn't that been the biggest mistake of her life? But there had been none since, not completely- she was always too wary, too cautious and she had never once considered telling anyone about her past, not under any circumstances. She'd never been close enough to anyone to want to tell them.

And now here she was, putting her trust in a man she'd known only a couple of months. Eddie was a good person, she knew, and while she still couldn't quite work out how he'd gone from hating her when he'd found out about her past to working with her, she was very, very grateful for it.

She was even more grateful to know that while Stuart Hordley was hovering over her, threatening her, Eddie was just outside, listening carefully and waiting for him to implicate himself.

It was nice not to be alone.

Eddie looked so smug, glee barely hidden as he faced Hordley, laid down the gauntlet that would not only keep the man away from her, but protect her secret as well. And wasn't that something, that Eddie somehow, accepted it? Accepted her?

"You think it's a good idea, having her run this place, do you?"

Eddie met her gaze. "Yeah. I do, actually."

She couldn't stop the tiny smile she gave him- she still felt sick to her stomach, her heart was still threatening to beat right out of her chest but his words caused warmth to blossom within her, a tiny spark of light amongst all of this.

"I bet you love working for a two-bit hooker, don't you?" Hordley shot and she flinched, saw Eddie fight not to roll his eyes. "I bet she gives it to you for free."

Humiliation and shame rolled through her, nausea welling up. She wasn't sure what she expected Eddie to do- ignore it, yell maybe, perhaps swear if he was really angry. Instead, his expression darkened, and he shot her a look that she couldn't quite decipher. Part apology, part resolution, maybe? She didn't have time to work it out before he turned and rammed his fist into Hordley's face.

Rachel gasped, rising to her feet automatically. She was torn somewhere between shock and happiness, mind racing at the implications as Stuart lowered his hand to reveal a split lip. "If you wouldn't mind pissing off, Hordley, you're starting to irritate us now." Eddie's tone was far milder than she'd been expecting, but somehow, his words worked.

She had to fight not to allow a wildly inappropriate smile to spread across her lips. No one, her whole life had ever defended her, especially not against accusations like that and as Eddie turned to face her, she wasn't entirely sure what emotions her expression was showing. "Sorry," he offered insincerely, and she pressed her lips together.

"Not necessary."

"You alright?"

Yes, no, I don't know, why did you do that. She nodded slightly, not sure what she'd say if she allowed herself to speak. A slam from somewhere in the school had them both looking up. "Better make sure he actually leaves," Eddie said gruffly and she could only nod in agreement, coming around her desk and not missing the way he opened the door for her to go first.

As they stormed the school side by side, Rachel couldn't help sneaking glances at Eddie as they prepared to face Hordley again. She didn't know where he'd gone, was expecting to see him whenever she turned a corner, but stood taller and felt stronger as she walked with Eddie by her side. They only caught the back of his car as he sped away, and Rachel turned to him with worry in her eyes. "Do you think that's it? Do you think he's gone for good?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly as she hoped it to be true more than anything. But the determined look on Eddie's face settled her, and she couldn't help but be attracted to this possessive side of him that she'd seen.

Eddie also watched the car drive off, grateful that Stuart hadn't stuck around for round two. He'd of given it to him, gladly. But didn't want Rachel to have to hear any more of his awful words. "Absolutely." He hoped he was convincing, wanting her to feel as safe as possible. He would do anything for her, didn't she know that by now? He watched her bend to pick something up from the ground, and saw a sad look cross her face as she ran her fingers across what looked to be a necklace. "What's that?"

"Sameen's." The sadness seeped through her as the days emotions finally caught up to Rachel, and she turned to follow Eddie to find him waiting for her as he opened the door for her. The soft smile he gave her had her stomach flipping, which was something new. She'd been growing more attracted to Eddie as the days passed by, but had been putting her feelings to the side for the sake of her job and the fear of rejection. Only his actions earlier had lit a flame that she just wasn't able to put out, and she wasn't sure she wanted to anymore. So with a determined look on her face after a quick scan to check the car park was empty, Rachel set off towards Eddie and stopped dead in front of him. When she didn't pass through the door like he expected her too, he looked up in confusion only to have his arms full of her and her lips firmly on his.

Rachel bit the bullet, his expression only making her more determined as she pushed against him and pressed her lips to his. Luckily for her, he responded immediately and soon switched their positions so she was the one pressed against the door, his mouth covering hers as his hands rested on her waist. But it wasn't enough, especially not for her. Now she'd had a taste of what it was like to kiss him, Rachel felt it was something she'd never be able to get enough off. When air became a requirement, she pulled back and looked at him, grateful to find him looking as disheveled as she felt. "Do you always go around rescuing damsel's in distress?" She asked, her voice completely breathless and her pupils blown wide as she offered him a smirk.

"Only when I fancy the damsel." He answered cheekily, quickly swooping back down to find her lips once more.

The world around them spun and faded away as her entire focus centred on him, the feel of him against her, the warmth of his hands through her blouse. Her arms wrapped around his neck, one hand threading through his hair and he responded by pressing closer until there wasn't an inch of space between them, pinning her completely against the door.

She very much didn't mind.

It would be so, so easy to pull her back inside, Eddie thought, back to her office with its sofa and give in to what they both clearly wanted. But common sense prevailed- she would never forgive herself, and possibly not him either, not to mention that fact that this deserved more than a tumble in her office. She deserved more.

So instead, he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers as they both caught their breaths in silence. Sure enough, within a few beats her cheeks started to pinken, lip caught between her teeth as she lowered her gaze so he couldn't catch her eye. He reached out, brushed her hair back from her face to draw her back to him.

She gave him a hesitant smile, before her gaze lingered on his knuckles and he found her fingers touching his gently. "Is your hand okay?"

"It's fine," he assured her quietly. "I know how to throw a punch."

They both kept their voices soft, afraid of breaking the spell that surrounded them. He wasn't sure how something as simple as her thumb brushing the back of his hand could feel so good, but it did and he was painstakingly careful not to move, lest she pull away. "You should ice it anyway," she murmured. "It'll bruise."

"Okay," he agreed simply. She pushed herself upright, forcing him to move back.

"Come on then."

He followed her without question, obediently trailing after her to the kitchens. He hadn't been in here often, he admitted, but somehow she knew exactly which freezer held a bag of ice, and where to find the tea-towel she wrapped the cubes in. He leant against the side, allowed her to place the makeshift pack across his knuckles.

It was surprisingly intimate, standing close as she held his hand in hers. She glanced up at him, and her breath caught when she found his eyes fixed on her.

At any other time, she would have talked herself out of this. He was her deputy, they'd only known each other a few months, she simply didn't do relationships. But it was a little late for that, now, her impulsive actions earlier had seen to that and if she were honest, she didn't want to talk herself out of this.

"What are you looking at?" her voice was soft, gaze meeting his as she tried to battle the flush that arose under his gaze.

"Are you okay?"

She wasn't sure. But again, she found herself nodding at him, his hand still cocooned in hers. "I'm fine. If that's really the last we've seen of Hordley, I'm even better."

Eddie knew she was deflecting slightly, but wasn't going to let the mention of Stuart Hordley ruin their moment. He had finally gotten as close to Rachel as he'd wanted for a while now, and he was terrified with each second that passed that she was going to run. "It will be, and if it isn't?" Her eyes finally looked at him again, hopeful and hanging onto his next words as she listened to what he was about to say. "Then we will deal with that together as well. You're not alone, not anymore."

Rachel felt like she was flying, like somebody had given Eddie a list of things she always wanted someone to say to her as his words just felt too perfect. He eased any worries she had by his words, and his close presence helped a lot with that too. It was enough to draw her right back under his spell, and she moved closer to him once more with her eyes focusing solely on his lips. Only she heard someone moving towards the kitchen, and sprang away from him as if she'd been burned. She turned to find it was one of the cleaners, and ran her hand through her hair with an attempt to look causal as she gave the woman a greeting. Ignoring Eddie entirely, she let out a loud breath before starting the walk back to her office, not even needing to check that he was following her as she knew he would be.

"Rach, wait!" He called out to her, terrified that she was using this as an excuse to run. He didn't want to pretend like it hadn't happened, didn't want to go back to yearning for her from afar now that he'd gotten a taste for how good it felt to have her in his arms.

They finally reached her office, and Rachel finally turned to face him again, not shocked to find a hurt expression written across his features. "Eddie, we can't. This is a recipe for disaster." She knew her words were true, yet still hated herself for saying them and it didn't get easier when she was the way his face fell.

Eddie knew he was losing her, to her own fears and worries as she took to overthinking the situation in order to avoid getting hurt. But he wasn't one to give up on what he wanted, and proceeded to move closer to her so their bodies were pressed together once more. She reacted to him immediately, and he delighted in the shiver she gave as his hands moved to her hips. "Rachel, we can. We can deal with the consequences later. I want this, I want you." His lips were inches away from hers, dangerously close but not touching as he wanted the final decision to be hers.

"Your place?" She muttered the words so quietly that Eddie only just managed to hear her, but he followed her tongue as it traced her lips and had to bite back a groan at the sight.

He shook his head in response. "Yours is closer." He knew they needed to leave, but couldn't resist pulling her against him for one more kiss before they made the move outside, bodies stumbling together and knocking into different pieces of furniture around the office as they fumbled with buttons and jackets. It was only when he dropped his lips to her bare shoulder than he pulled away, taking her hand in his and searching the room for her bag and coat. "We need to go, now."

His hand was tight around hers as he led her out of the school, stealing kisses the entire way. They both paused in the car park, exchanging a look. "I'll drive," she volunteered, knowing that his car would attract less attention if left in the car park- it would hardly be the first time, anyone who saw it would just assume he'd gone to the pub.

Twenty seconds later and she found herself pushed up against said car, Eddie's lips on hers as he played with the hem of her top, driving her insane as the tips of his fingers occasionally brushed tantalisingly against her skin. She shivered, arching her back and felt him smirk against her.

"Get in, you," she mumbled, and he looked disappointed as he pulled away, sending another shiver down her spine.

If he'd had a knife, he could have cut the tension in the car with it, Eddie thought. He wasn't foolish enough to touch her while she was driving, but almost every part of him wanted to. They exchanged heated glances, Rachel's knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel, and unbeknownst to her Eddie was carefully keeping his hands pressed into his thighs, half afraid of what he'd do if he didn't.

He watched her too, for any sign that she'd changed her mind. Her cheeks were pink, her breathing a little faster than usual but he didn't see any hesitation, any uncomfortableness in the looks that she gave him.

He was sure the drive to her house was hours longer than usual.

She didn't even bother to grab their bags from the boot, simply headed straight to the front door, fingers trembling as she inserted the key into the lock. She was acutely aware of him behind her, thought she could practically feel the heat radiating off of him, however impossible she knew that was.

He closed the door behind him, noting the way she'd paused in the hallway, before she turned to look at him with something close to apprehension on her face. He stepped forwards, caught her hands in his and raised them to his lips. "Whatever you want," he assured her. She smiled then, stepping forward to brush her lips teasingly lightly against his.

"And if that's you?"

He grinned. "Whatever you want," he repeated, and their mouths crashed together once again.