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Major remembered Natalie's house, but he had forgotten how much stuff she had. Most of it was going into storage—and what she would have done about moving it without him, he had no idea. It took them all day, and he was worn out by the time they were finished. Natalie looked around at the empty house. All that was left was a couple of bags of trash and a pizza box from their hasty dinner. "You know … I didn't leave myself anywhere to sleep." She glanced at him sideways. "Any chance I can crash on your couch?"

His heartrate sped up, but he tried to stay calm. "I think that can be arranged." He almost made a joke about Fort Lust, but decided against it for myriad reasons.

Natalie followed him in her car, parking behind him on the street.

After sitting in the car for a while, Major's muscles had rested enough to not want to start moving again, and he groaned a bit, playfully, as they climbed the steps and he unlocked the door. "How can one person have that much stuff?" he asked her. "Ah, now I see why you tracked me down." He dropped his jacket and keys on a chair and got to his knees, stretching out across the carpet. "Free manual labor."

"Curses, he's on to my plan," she said. Getting to her knees next to him, she added, "You poor fragile thing. Tell me where it hurts."

"Everywhere!"

She made a little sound in the back of her throat that made Major wonder if this was going where he hoped it was going—and glad that he had flopped down on his stomach, so he wouldn't be tempted to start something before she made it clear what she wanted. "Here, definitely," he said, pointing at a spot on the small of his back that did actually hurt.

He felt her hands, gentle and delicate, on his sides, her thumbs digging into the spot. It felt good. It felt incredible, really.

"Here." He pointed at a spot higher up on his back, and her hands moved higher, making little circles on his back. Light circles, a touch that felt like it was going somewhere other than working the knots out of his back after a day of moving. He couldn't take it any longer, and he rolled over. Natalie didn't move, and her hands followed him, resting lightly on his chest. He put one of his hands over hers, briefly, and she didn't flinch, or pull away, or speak, so he pointed at a spot on his shoulder. She leaned over him, a faint smile on her face, and he no longer had any doubt about what she wanted. He pointed at his lips. "Here."

"Okay. Hey." Her smile widened. "You stole this whole bit from Raiders of the Lost Ark."

"Yeah. Saw it on the couch. Good movie." The last two words were lost in the first touch of her lips, the kiss slow and soft—and a long time coming. His hand slid up the back of her neck, cradling it gently as he rolled them over. He looked down at her, wanting to be perfectly sure they both knew what was happening. "You don't have to do this. You know that, right?"

"I know it. You don't have to, either."

Major shook his head. "I need to do this. I need you. I have, ever since I met you."

Natalie smiled. "Then kiss me again."

He did, slowly at first and then eagerly. But here, on the living room carpet—it didn't feel right. Memories of Fort Lust were too strong here. Breaking the kiss, he stood up, reaching down a hand for her. "Come upstairs?"

"My pleasure."

In his room, he stripped off his shirt and sent it sailing across the room and turned to her, grasping the hem of her shirt and tugging it off over her head. Bare skin to bare skin, he held her, kissing her again, moving his mouth to her ear and the side of her jaw as he deftly unsnapped her bra and slipped the straps off her shoulders. Between them, his hands found her breasts, cupping them gently, his thumbs stroking the nipples to hardness.

Natalie's hands clutched at him, the nails digging into his skin, as he let his mouth follow the path of his hands, walking her back bit by bit until her knees hit the side of the bed. Her fingers slid down his back and across his stomach to the snap of her jeans. Hastily they removed the last of each other's clothes and got into the bed, kissing again and again as their hands explored and their bodies moved together. She cried out when they were joined, her head back, her legs wrapped around his waist, and Major lost himself in the sight of her pleasure.

When the storm had passed, he rolled over and lay on his back, panting.

Next to him, Natalie was panting as well. "Wow," she said at last. "I didn't fake that one." She laughed a little. "That's the first time in years."

If anyone had asked him before tonight, Major would have imagined he'd be nervous making love to a former prostitute, someone who had been with enough men to know what was good and what wasn't, and that his ego would be flattered if she didn't have to fake her climax … but he hadn't felt like that. He had been making love to Natalie, someone he had admired and dreamed of, someone he liked and respected, and he was just happy he could make her happy. Next time he might be nervous, next time when there was time to think instead of feel, but he wasn't going to worry about that now.

He turned his head, grinning at her. "Well, I'm glad I could be a part of it."

Natalie smiled back at him. "Whew!" And then, unexpectedly, she said, "Why don't you come with me?"

It took him a moment to be sure what she was saying.

She turned on her side, propping her head up on her hand, and spelled it out for him. "Come away to Positano."

"Right."

"Why not? You were just telling me about your life here and how people treat you. What's keeping you here?"

His first thought was amazement, that she was serious. His second thought, inevitably, was Liv. She was what was keeping him here. But she had her own life, and they could never be together again, not the way they were before, not even with a cure, and Natalie … Natalie was special. Vibrant. Captivating. He turned on his side to face her, making the decision in a moment. "When's our flight?"

She laughed and smacked him lightly in the chest. "I'm being serious."

"Yeah, so am I." The more he thought of it, the more excited he was by the idea. "You're right. I just need to pack. My old squad's throwing me a send-off, I gotta go to that, but then … why not?"

Her face lit with happiness, and he leaned in to kiss her, to seal the deal. A new life, a new love, a chance to decide anew who Major Lilywhite was and wanted to be … He couldn't wait.