'Thought we should talk,' Dempsey growled as Harry eyed him sleepily from her bed. 'I mean Daish, you resigning and everything. Thought it might be time.'

Harry looked at her bedside clock and sighed. 'You're obviously an insomniac,' she got out of bed and pulled on her robe and walked out of her bedroom and downstairs into the kitchen. She put on the coffee percolator and then sighed and got out a bottle of wine. 'Its late in a bar somewhere,' she said dryly as she filled two glasses and gave him one. 'Cheers,' she clinked her glass against his.

'Saluti,' he growled, 'or slainte, depending on which part of my heritage's taking front row,' a smile tugged at his mouth. 'You look sexy like that, all drowsy and waiting to be awakened, it's tempting.'

'Is it?' Her blue gaze searched his. 'What is this about, James?' She sipped her wine and her gaze ran over him. He was dressed casually but the white linen shirt and blue jeans were crisp and stylish rather than utilitarian. Italian loafers on his feet, he looked sexy and he knew it.

'This is about you and me,' he growled. 'This is about me trying to understand why you high tailed it and then left me high and dry. I thought we were more than that.'

'Hmmm… Well perhaps I needed time to think, perhaps I got gun shy and as you said the statues were kind of creepy, I obviously lost my nerve.' She sipped her wine and looked over the top of the glass at him her blue gaze languorous.

'That's bullshit, I know it and you know it. What's the matter you got cold feet now? You got your dramatic exit and now you're falling back on some psycho, babble crap. I know you better than that Harry, I know you better,' he gazed into the wine.

'You should never ask a question you don't know or want the answer to,' she answered her gaze taking in his uncomfortable body language. 'I'm returning to work and that's what you wanted, perhaps all you wanted so that's all right.'

'You don't think I care about you, you've got to be blind if you don't see it.' He got up and ran his hand through his hair. 'You get to me, you know that. I might not like it that you do, but you do.' He turned and looked at her his expression stormy. 'Ever since I came here I've been on borrowed time, Coltrane was after me and I knew that so the grand romance wasn't on the cards. In fact, caring about anything made it worse.'

'I know,' she admitted that she did in fact understand that. 'Why are you here James?' Her cool blue gaze ran over him and then it softened at his evident distress.

'Where else would I be,' he growled as he came over and pulled her up from the couch and into his arms. 'I ain't got the words Harry, maybe I could show you…

'Hardly original,' she quipped as his mouth descended on hers and burnt her protest away.

'Shut up, Harry,' he bit her bottom lip gently, 'go with me on this.' He wanted to show her his passion, his need but he could see she wasn't buying that.

'James,' she said patiently as she pushed away slightly. 'I have never been in doubt about that,' her gaze flicked down to his crotch, 'I know you want me but that isn't enough.'

'It is when you add it up to everything else we got going on,' he moved closer and kissed her neck and then his tongue tasted her skin. 'I love your taste,' his voice tone was low and expressed his hunger.

'I'd like to hear more about the everything else bit,' she gently pushed him away. 'Is this what you think my resignation was about. Did you think it was because I wanted to go to bed with you?' She gave a dry laugh. 'Dempsey if I'd wanted that all I would have had to do was show you the slightest sign that I might consider it.'

He gave her a glowering look. 'No, I don't think that. What I do think is that we're more than friends and I just didn't get it that you might want more than that. You know, with me.'

'Ah,' she said as if she understood. 'What is it that you want then James, can you tell me that?' She sat down with her wine in the corner of the sofa and curled her legs underneath her.

Typical, he knew it would be like this with her. He sat down on the couch next to her and gave her an impatient glance. 'You're more to me than the job, Harry. And when I said I needed you it wasn't just about work.'

'It wasn't,' Harry looked quite taken aback and was pleasantly surprised.

'No, I hated not seeing you every day so if you jack in the job, which you shouldn't cos you're a great cop, then I would be okay with that as long as I saw you every day.' Now if she didn't get how he felt from that then she had to be the stupidest broad he'd ever had the misfortune to meet.'

'I see,' a small smile played around her lips. 'So, if we had coffee every day you'd be happy,' she was teasing him now and she could see he was exasperated with her.

'Seriously,' he turned his head and gave her that look that said he wasn't amused.

'Yes, that was a bit annoying of me,' she agreed with him. 'I see so this is your way of saying you want me in your life as what, friend, girlfriend, live in lover, wife?' Harry's blue gaze was sensual as it met his.

'We've already done the friend thing the rest of it's a progression,' he sat up and held the wine glass between his knees. 'I have strong feelings for you Harry, so it might be nice if you said something.'

Harry sighed and took a sip of wine. 'I have strong feelings for you too, James. You can be so reckless I sometimes wish I didn't. I hate having to worry about you,' she added in a wry tone and she could see his mouth curling into a smile even though he wasn't looking directly at her.

'Can we kiss now Sergeant,' he turned to look at her the dark fire in his gaze showing how much he wanted that.

Harry smiled and then laughed. 'Yes, I think that would be the right thing to do,' she put her wine down and got closer to him, her fingertips running over his jaw. 'Don't let me down James,' she said softly.

'I won't,' he moved closer and his mouth brushed hers feeling the softness of her lips as he coaxed her into relaxing her jaw and letting him explore her mouth. It was heaven, just being able to touch her at last. He'd played around before with the flirting, but since Coltrane was in the slammer he felt like he had a chance to think about the future. And a future without Harry was unthinkable. He broke the kiss and his fingertips traced over her face as his gaze moved from her eyes to her mouth and back again. 'Bye the way, those options you mentioned, I want all of that.'

'You do?' Harry searched his gaze, 'even the wife option.'

'Even that,' he kissed her jaw his body aching for completion but he was holding it back. He wanted everything to be right for her.

'But you always said,' she remembered all the times he'd told her his negative views on marriage.

'Yeah, I know what I said but in that universe I never for one-minute thought you would go for a guy like me,' he kissed her then and the kiss had her clinging to him like a vine.

'James,' her breathing was erratic, 'James you're an idiot,' her fingers ran into his hair and she pulled his mouth back down to hers.

'Apparently,' he murmured as he sank back into the couch with her. Who knew the idiot got the girl, that wasn't the way it was supposed to go.