Author's Note: M-rating for this chapter

Chapter Ten

Ruth sat in Harry's car as he drove her home. She noticed that he drove slightly slower than he had when they'd been leaving to go to the restaurant. She hoped that was because he did not want the evening to end, just as she felt, and not because he'd had too much wine with dinner.

But far too soon, he parked the car in front of her house. "Home sweet home," he said softly. It did not escape her notice that he did not hurry to get out and open the car door for her.

She put her hand on top of his where it rested on the gearshift. "Harry, I had a really wonderful time tonight. Thank you for taking me out again."

He turned his hand over so he could hold hers and gently stroke her palm with his thumb. She shivered at his touch. "The pleasure was very much mine, Ruth. I'm really glad we tried this again and made up for the other night. I'm glad you weren't nervous."

From the dim light coming from the streetlamp, she could see a sparkle in his eyes. Ruth swallowed hard. "Not nervous," she lied. Well, it was true that she wasn't nervous when they went out to dinner. But now she was. Because now felt very important. And she wanted so very, very much not to screw it up.

Harry caught on right away. "You weren't nervous before but you seem a bit nervous now," he noted. He turned slightly where he sat and used his free hand to gently cup her cheek as he'd done the other evening as they'd said goodnight. "What's bothering you, Ruth?" he asked softly.

Ruth glanced from his eyes to his very plump lips and back up. "Absolutely nothing," she replied. Her heart was racing and her head felt a little light from the smell of his cologne and the nearness of him.

"Good," he whispered.

He leaned in slowly, but she absolutely no intention of pulling away or stopping him at all. His lips brushed softly against hers and her whole body melted. She pressed herself closer to him, kissing him a little harder. His mouth moved on hers with such passion and such skill, she thought she was about to pass out. Her whole brain, always so full and busy, just emptied out. All that existed was Harry and the way he kissed her. After a moment, she felt his tongue dart out against the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth to him and deepened the kiss. They swallowed each other's moans. His hand let go of hers to wrap around her waist, traveling up to her bare back exposed in the strapless dress. His other hand was tangled in her hair, keeping her anchored against him. Ruth had thrown her arms around him to pull him closer, as close as they could manage. She wanted to feel him in every possible way. She wanted to…

HONK

The pair of them sprang apart at the abrupt, loud sound of a car horn. Ruth turned to look out the back window to see Tom's stern face staring at her. "Oh I will kill him," she muttered.

"I think perhaps that's my cue to leave," Harry chuckled. His voice was a little hoarse and breathless.

"Would you like to come in for a nightcap?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't have to leave just yet.

Harry looked back to where Tom was still waiting in the car behind them. "I don't know if I should…"

"Ignore him. He stays out of the way. If you'd like to come in and have a drink with me, you should. But if you don't want to, regardless of Tom, then I'll go inside by myself," she told him.

"I'd like to come inside with you," he answered quickly. "Just as long as it's alright."

She laughed lightly. "I wouldn't have invited you if it wasn't alright, Harry."

He nodded and smiled and got out of the car so he could open the door for her. Tom appeared a fraction of a second later to open the front door of the house and do his normal check. Ruth waited with Harry on the porch where she boldly held his hand. Tom came back out after a moment. "All clear," he told her.

"Thank you, Tom. Goodnight," she said firmly.

He nodded, knowing what that meant. "Goodnight, Miss Ruth." Tom went around to the side entrance to the house where the security rooms were. He'd do his monitoring and go to bed in his room and leave Ruth in peace.

She led him inside the foyer. "I suppose that comes with the territory, dating a princess," Harry said resignedly, helping her take off her coat.

"Unfortunately, yes. I hope it's not too much bother. Tom usually isn't much of a disruption," Ruth answered as she hung up both of their coats by the door.

"He's never stopped you having a snog in a car before?"

She blushed, glad she was walking in front of him to lead him through to the parlor. "I've not had a snog in a car in a long time. And Tom wasn't my bodyguard back when I was in school. And actually, I've never had a snog in a car quite like that."

"Oh? How do you mean?"

Her blush deepened, if that were even possible. She tried to find the words as she poured them each a bit of brandy. "Well, I…erm…I don't know about you, but I thought that was rather…rather nice." She turned back to hand him his drink and get settled on the sofa.

A joyful smile broke out on his face. "I agree, it was rather nice." He clinked her glass with his in a small toast to that fact.

"I'm sorry we were interrupted. Thought it was probably best, since we were in the car."

"Not very princess-like behavior, snogging in a car."

"It's not very princess-like behavior to be an intelligence analyst either," she pointed out. "But it doesn't really matter since I'll never be queen."

"And I must say I'm quite glad of that," Harry said.

"Are you?"

"Yes, I imagine I wouldn't be allowed to snog you in a car if you were going to be queen one day. Your grandfather may have knighted me, but I'm still just a filthy commoner."

Ruth frowned. "I actually never thought of it like that before, but you're probably right. It matters much more who the future monarch spends their time with. You know, my grandfather told me when we were in Gambon that the family was starting to worry about me that I haven't dated. Which I told him that I have, and he said he was glad I haven't lived like a nun. I ask you, what sort of grandfather and what sort of king says a thing like that?!"

Harry laughed. It was a wonderful sound, slightly wheezy and full of joy. "Well, from everything I've seen, he's a wonderful king. And it sounds like he's a grandfather who cares about his granddaughter's happiness."

"Yes, he does," she said with a fond smile. "And I'm his only grandchild so far, so I do have the benefit of being doted on."

"See? That's very princess-like behavior, begin doted on."

"Well, at least you don't dote on me. You're my boss and you're not allowed to."

"How about when we're not working? When we're out to dinner or snogging in my car or sharing a drink on your sofa? Am I allowed to dote on you then?"

"Oh you don't have to do that."

Harry leaned in with a teasing grin. "Of course I do, princess."

A small giggle escaped her lips. Good lord, when was the last time she giggled. "Oh stop it."

He immediately pulled away and schooled his expression. "Yes, Your Highness."

The entire effect was so sudden that she could not help but laugh out loud. Harry smiled at that.

"You have a wonderful laugh," he noted.

"Thank you. I don't get to laugh as much as I'd like to."

"Neither do I, particularly with the work we do."

"Well, I'm glad we can make each other laugh when we aren't working," she said, placing her hand on his chest. She'd already kicked off her shoes and curled her legs underneath her on the sofa.

Harry finished his drink and put the glass down on the table. Ruth quickly finished hers and handed him the glass to put next to his.

"I've had the best time with you tonight, Harry. I still can't quite believe it," she murmured softly, scooting closer to him and tracing small circles on his chest with her fingers.

"Can't believe you had a good time?" he asked, his tone just as quiet as hers.

Ruth looked up from her hand to his face. "Can't believe I got to spend this whole evening alone with you. You're wonderful, and I…"

Her words were cut off when his mouth met hers again. He kissed her passionately, hungrily. His hands were on her bare arms, and he leaned forward, maneuvering them so Ruth ended up lying on her back with Harry above her on the sofa. She could feel her dress riding up but she did not care one bit. She only held him close to her so he could keep kissing her and never, ever stop. One of his hands traced down her body, skating lightly over her breast and down to her waist. She bent her knee slightly so he could continue the journey. She could hardly breathe but her lips and her tongue were so tangled with Harry's, she couldn't bring herself to pull away.

Harry was the one to lift his head eventually. He was breathing heavily and looked at her with wild eyes. "I…erm…I should go." He made no attempt to move off of her.

"Why?" she asked.

"If I don't go now, I don't know if I'll be able to."

She smiled, her heart pounding and her stomach filled with butterflies. "So don't."

"Ruth, I don't want you to feel like you have to make anything up to me," he said. He shifted slightly so he could gently stroke her cheek again. She was growing to love that he did that.

"I don't," she assured him, nuzzling against his hand. She turned to kiss his palm and reached up to gently hold his face as he held hers. "Don't go, Harry. Don't stop. Please."

He smiled and his eyes darkened with desire. He leaned in and began kissing her again, and Ruth's whole being erupted in fireworks. Harry's lips soon left hers, however, to travel down her jaw and neck.

"Oh god, Harry," Ruth moaned. She ran her hands through his hair, upsetting whatever it was that held it in place. The thick curls were soft between her fingers. When she felt his teeth graze the tendons of her neck, she gasped and dug her fingernails into his scalp. He growled against her skin and sucked hard, surely leaving a mark.

His kisses continued down over her chest and to the tops of her breasts just barely visible over the neckline of the dress. Meanwhile, his hand had moved back down her waist to her thigh. He hitched her leg over his hip and traced the tops of her stockings. Ruth felt as though she were about to burst into flames. She felt electric sparks wherever Harry touched her. And she could feel him growing hard against the inside of her leg.

She wanted him so much she could barely breathe. But she couldn't have him on the sofa like this. "Harry," she breathed, unable to find her voice. Somehow she found a way to give his shoulder a slight push.

He tore himself off her and practically fell off the sofa in his haste. "What? What's wrong?" he asked.

It almost made her laugh to look at him. His blonde curls were all over the place. His lips were swollen and some of her lipstick was smeared on them. His face was red and his chest was heaving. Good lord, he hadn't even taken off the jacket of his suit! Must fix that.

"Ruth, are you alright?" he asked again after her strange silence.

She hadn't realized she'd just been staring at him mutely. "No, I'm fine," she promised. "Better than fine." Ruth realized she must look as ravished as he did. More so. She'd have to see if she could find a way to leave a mark on him as he had on her. "I just…" She hauled herself up, trying to smooth her skirt back down before turning back to him with a smile. "I think maybe we should go upstairs."

"Upstairs?" he asked stupidly.

"That's where the bedroom is," she explained.

"I…yes," he answered.

Ruth stood up and took Harry by the hand. She led him up the stairs and into her bedroom and closed the door behind them.

They renewed their passionate kisses and quickly undressed each other. Ruth pushed Harry's jacket off his shoulders and undid his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. He unzipped her dress and pushed if off her and then pulled away.

She wasn't wearing a bra as one wasn't needed with that dress. She was left in only her stockings and knickers. He looked at her with such blatant desire, Ruth did not quite know what to do.

He seemed to sense her unease at being stared at. His eyes moved back up to her face. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

That probably wasn't true, but it was nice of him to say. She smiled and blushed. Again. She really needed to stop doing that.

Thankfully, Harry did not wait for a response. He took his shirt and vest off, baring his chest to her—a vision that made her weak in the knees—and took her by the hand to pull her towards him. "On the bed," he whispered.

She sat on the edge of her bed as he instructed. He unclipped the stocking of her left leg and rolled it down slowly, caressing her bare leg as her skin was revealed. He repeated the action with the other leg. He then placed his hands on either side of her hips and kissed her again, quickly, before hooking his thumbs in the waistband of her knickers. Ruth shifted to allow him to take them off her. And then she was entirely naked and sitting on her bed.

Harry kissed her again. "Lie back," he told her, his voice muffled as his kisses went back down her neck and swirled over her breasts and across her belly. He got down on his knees in front of her and spread her legs apart. Before she even fully knew what was going on, she felt his mouth on her. His lips and tongue caressing her folds, lapping up the dripping wetness of her arousal, sucking hard on her. Ruth was making some sort of sounds over which she had absolutely no control. Her hands flailed out, reaching onto whatever she could. One hand buried in Harry's hair once again, guiding his mouth where she needed him. The other hand fisted in the comforter of the bed. She came apart against his mouth, shuddering and gasping and moaning for him.

He allowed her some reprieve when he kissed back up her body to her lips. She could taste herself on his tongue, something she found more erotic than she cared to emit. Ruth held him in her arms as tight as she could, wanting nothing more than to feel close to him.

"In bed, I think," he whispered.

She nodded. She could not seem to form words for the moment.

Harry helped her stand, and Ruth's shaking hands undid his belt buckle and unzipped his trousers. He kicked off his shoes just as she pushed his trousers and trunks down. His erection was, in a word, impressive. Ruth was not normally so bold, but with Harry she felt safe to do what she felt. And what she felt she wanted was to take him in her hand, feel him hard and hot and heavy, and stroke the velvet soft skin of his cock.

It was Harry's turn to whimper uncontrollably now. But he had more control over himself than she did over herself, it seemed, because he pulled away from her and reiterated, "In bed."

Ruth pulled back the covers and got into bed. Harry removed his remaining clothes and followed her. He did not hesitate to climb on top of her and rest in the cradle of her open thighs. She liked the feel of him like this, the heat of his skin, the weight of his muscled body. "Harry," she begged, arching herself up to him.

He did not leave her waiting. He took himself in hand and slowly pushed inside her. She had to readjust her hips more than once to accommodate him, but she wanted very much to take him all in, to feel him stretch and fill her as much as possible. By the time he was buried to the hilt inside of her, she could already feel her body fluttering around him, so close to the edge. Harry kissed her and began to move.

His pace was slow and steady, ensuring she felt every inch of him and he could reach as deep inside of her as possible. She had to pull away from his kiss so she could breathe. His pace began to quicken, and she rocked her body against him, meeting him thrust for thrust. His face was buried in her hair, and she could feel him moaning her name against her neck. When her orgasm crashed over her, her body twitched and pulsed with pleasure. Harry moved faster and chased her completion with his own with a bone-deep groan of satisfaction.

When he finished, he made a move to roll off her, but Ruth stopped him. "Don't go," she murmured. "Not yet."

Harry settled into her embrace for a little bit longer.