Long-ass AN : Thank you for your patience. This chapter is a little late because my schedule is busier than Santa Claus's on Christmas Eve. I also look cuter in red :-)
I can't believe I got so many lovely reviews and words of encouragement from you guys. This was the biggest response I ever got for a fic, that's for sure. Some of you wrote concrete ideas, but since most of this fic was already written (at least in drafts) before I started posting, I had already most things mapped out. I loved the speculation, though!
Some of you wrote in your reviews how I was so talented. It's actually been very hard work to get this fic to how it is now. You are free to go back to read my first published works and see for yourselves that talent has nothing to do with it ;-). What I'm trying to say is that everyone can write, because revisions are a thing. So anyone who is currently only a reader and not a writer of fanfic: Put yourself out there. Get a beta, ask for opinions, re-write. That's how it works for all writers, even professional ones.
There are no other multi-chaps in the works at the moment. I have to get my masters first, which is very time-consuming.
The biggest Dankeschön/bedankt goes to my betas Bella and Yvonne respectively. You were so generous with your time and helpful with your feedback. This story would have been so different and not in a good way without your help.
Now, enjoy the final chapter.
Chapter 12: The Last Night
Donna took in her surroundings as her lashes fluttered open. Harvey lay next to her, still in a deep slumber, his face relaxed and his breathing deep and even. He was on his side, facing her and hugging a pillow to his chest.
Donna couldn't help but think back to the last time he'd spent the night at her place. It seemed like a million years ago, like they were different people now.
She wasn't sure when exactly she had fallen in love with him. It had gradually happened over the years and she couldn't pinpoint a precise moment. Attraction had always been there, but it turned into love sometime when the pretty boy had become the handsome man he was today.
Now that handsome man was sleeping in her bed, and unlike the last time, he made no move to leave her anytime soon.
She quietly got up to do her morning yoga in the living room. When he still wasn't awake afterwards, she made them some coffee, certain that the scent would coax him from his dreams.
Not five minutes later, a sleepy Harvey entered her kitchen.
"Morning," he mumbled, while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Good morning," Donna replied cheerily as she handed him a mug with the steaming brew.
"You seem happy."
"Surprised that a woman is happy in the morning despite not having slept with you?" she asked before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.
He just grinned and took a sip of his coffee.
"What do you say we go out tonight?" Harvey asked as he ran his hand down her arm before it settled on her waist.
"Wanna show me off already?" Donna teased, unsure whether her feet were still touching the ground. The last twelve hours had changed her life fundamentally, and she was feeling tingly and exhilarated.
"I already wanted to a couple weeks ago."
"True. And now I will let you," she assured him before kissing him.
"Where do you wanna go?"
"Surprise me."
"Good. What's on your agenda for the day?"
"Just boring stuff. I need to do some laundry, go to the market, Saturday stuff. I guess I should come over to your apartment and pick up my things at some point, but that can wait till tomorrow."
Panic spread in Harvey's chest. He hadn't thought of all her belongings in his apartment – fluffy blanket on the couch aside. And now she wanted to pick them up?
Not wanting to start the day off with an argument, he decided not to mention the feeling of unease rising in his chest and finished his coffee before he went to his apartment with the promise to pick her up at seven.
Back at his place, his thoughts went back to her, her belongings a reminder of a potential conflict. He knew that rationally, it was not fair to ask a woman after one day of dating to leave her things at his place. But it wasn't just any woman, it was the love of his life, and Harvey didn't particularly care about wasting more time with her.
He couldn't picture himself without her in the future. At the same time, he didn't want to rush her into moving in together. Would it even be moving in together? To him, the last month seemed an awful lot like living together – and he had loved their time together. They would have to talk about it.
Harvey wanted to convince her that he was no longer the selfish, emotionally unavailable asshole that kept him from having committed relationships in the past. He wanted this. God, he wanted to be with her more than he wanted anything in his life before. Not his name on the door, not managing partner, not even making up with his mother.
Donna knocked on his door at six. A confused looking Harvey was standing before her, a frown adorning his face.
"Donna. Have I missed something? I thought I was supposed to pick you up."
"I changed my mind. I thought it best to at least have our last official night of the bet at your place."
"Oh. Right. We still have one night. Come in," he said and moved to the side to let her in.
Donna walked into his kitchen and put her purse on the counter.
"I guess I should call the restaurant and cancel our reservation."
"Already done."
"How? You don't know where I was gonna take you."
"You're not Harvey Specter – International Man of Mystery. I got it right on the first try. It's not a secret that you prefer Italian and Carbone's your favorite place."
"You Donna'ed me. So, what do you wanna do for our final night of the bet?"
She closed the gap between them and put her hands on his chest.
"Hm, I was thinking we could finally make use of that pool of yours."
Donna was about to press her lips to his when he took her hands and ever so slightly stepped back a little, leaving her confused.
"We need to talk about something first."
"What is it?"
"This morning, when we were in your kitchen, you said that you wanted to pick up your things. And it didn't sit wrong with me."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you to pack your things like you're leaving me. I'm not saying we have to move in together, but wouldn't it be practical to have some of your stuff here? You probably won't be staying here every night, and I'm more than willing to stay at your place, too, but overall I think it would be smart to leave at least some of your stuff here."
Donna took in his pleading look, his almost scared expression at the mere thought that she might pick up her belongings, and what it would imply. Yet his reasoning seemed very pragmatic to her. The truth was, Donna didn't need that much convincing to leave her things at his place. She just wanted to get out of his hair because their bet was over as of the next day. Never having left much of her belongings at a boyfriend's apartment so soon in any relationship she'd ever had, Donna knew that with Harvey it was completely different. Despite the newness of their romantic relationship, their overall relationship was well-seasoned, and both of them felt very comfortable with each other. She had to tell him his fears were unfounded.
"Harvey, you don't have to be scared that I'll leave you. I just wanted to give your space back to you."
"I don't want my space back. Before I came over last night, I was lying in bed, feeling so damn alone in that huge bed. I don't give a shit about this place unless you're here with me."
Donna felt tingly as he uttered the words. Pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt, she pressed her lips to his, moaning at the contact as she opened her mouth to invite his tongue to dance with hers.
"All right, I'll leave my stuff here. Seems like you can't get enough of me," she said softly.
Smiling goofily, he pulled her back in. His hands were immediately on her hips before their lips met.
The kiss got intense fast.
"Wait, wait," he said.
"What?" she asked, her lips swollen and bright red.
"Will you ever let me take you out?"
"You wanna go out tonight instead?" she asked cockily.
"No, I mean, no. I was just wondering if there's a reason why you wanna stay in."
"Relax, Harvey. We will be going out a lot. You asked me to come to Seattle and I agreed, didn't I? I just wanted to wrap up the thirty nights, and then we can finally be together for real. Plus, you look pretty hot, and I, apparently, can't help myself."
He smirked at her and gave her a tender kiss.
"Now, change into your swimming trunks and we'll meet out on the balcony," she ordered before vanishing into the guestroom to also change. Donna had brought over a new bikini some days ago after she had come up with the idea of making use of his pool.
Harvey rummaged through his drawer before he found what he was looking for. He then reached for the hook on his bathroom door to grab his bathrobe and went outside to wait for Donna to come out.
Donna took in the things on the side of the balcony that she had never seriously paid any attention to. There was a pool or giant hot tub with Harvey standing in front of it. He was wearing a robe like her and he looked like the cat that ate the canary. It was still early and the sun hit his face just so and gave it the most perfect golden tint. He looked like he had his own personal lighting technician. Next to the pool there was a small table with a chilled bottle of champagne.
"Wow, I didn't know you drank champagne outside of boring work soirées," Donna remarked.
"What better to drink when we're celebrating?"
"Right. What are we toasting? Making it through the month in one piece or finally getting our shit together?" she teased as she took off her bathrobe.
She revealed a dark blue bikini that left very little to the imagination, the sight of which made Harvey's jaw drop.
"Let me," he said once he got his bearings, taking her robe in one hand while helping her into the hot tub with the other. He then took his own robe off and laid it next to hers on a chair.
Donna craned her neck to see him below the waist. But only when he climbed the steps up the pool did she see the tight black trunks he was wearing.
"Hm," she moaned involuntarily. "You look nice."
"So do you."
Before he sat down, he handed her a glass of champagne. They toasted.
"To us," Harvey offered.
"To finally being together," she corrected him.
Donna scooted closer to Harvey after a while of relative silence. She looked him in the eyes and took another sip of her bubbly beverage.
Harvey saw that she looked at him and he closed the gap between them. He took her glass and put it on the edge of the pool next to his. He then nuzzled into her neck, pressing kisses to the spot he knew made her crazy. He gently circled her boob with his right hand, leaving featherlight touches on her, grazing her nipple through the fabric of her bathing suit with his knuckle.
"Harvey..." she almost hissed as she clutched his upper arms in reaction. Donna couldn't wait to have sex with him after their mutual declaration from the previous night.
He whispered below her ear. "I wanna take it slow tonight."
Her skin broke out in goosebumps as soon as his words left his mouth. He seemed so intense to her as he spoke. It sounded like a sexy promise and at the same time like the most tender thing she's ever heard him say. So, she closed her eyes in anticipation and let him take the reins tonight.
Harvey buried his free hand in her hair and sucked the skin under her ear into his mouth, slowly, gently, careful not to bruise her. Her scent was intoxicating, and being pressed up to her like that sure gave him the boner of a lifetime.
Donna felt his erection against her body. She slipped her hand under the waistband of his trunks.
"So glad you didn't wear a bulky pair," she purred.
"Are you now? I wonder why that is."
She leaned in even further, their bodies now touching from hips to shoulders. "Because I can do that more easily."
And with that, she stroked his length without problem, stretching the soaked fabric.
Harvey fumbled with the tied strands behind Donna's back, trying to pull them apart and reveal her breasts to him. He finally pulled on the right end and ever so slowly pulled the fabric away from her. He hummed satisfied in response to his new view.
She smiled at his reaction and kissed him softly, pressing her breasts against his body.
They were hugging tightly, her legs wrapped around his ass. For minutes, they were just kissing, touching each other's skin, enjoying their night together.
After a while, Donna felt his hands tightening around her back before she felt being hoisted up on the edge of the pool. She looked at him in confusion.
Harvey stayed calm, unimpressed with her look. He instead focused on the task at hand. He slowly and deliberately untied the strings at each of her hips, opening the bikini bottoms to reveal her neatly waxed landing strip.
Next he kissed her breasts, slowly circled her nipples, nipped on the tender underside of her boobs, and made his way down her body, dipping his tongue in her bellybutton and caressing her hip bones.
When he finally reached her mound he licked around her sex. He wasn't going for immediate gratification tonight, neither for her nor for himself. So he kissed everywhere, just not there. He kissed her inner thighs, let his tongue wander back up to her bellybutton, then back down to let it glide over her waxed skin.
Donna tried staying quiet at first, watching him and tolerating his snail's pace. But after a while she grew impatient. He was teasing her.
"Harvey, please," she begged after he circled her bellybutton for the third time.
"I'm savoring, Donna," he mumbled.
"But I need you."
"You have me," he said and briefly looked up to find her staring down at him. He was hoping she understood the double meaning.
But then she pulled back her hips and he lost contact.
"I mean need you need you," she insisted, bringing her hand to her pussy and slowly circling her dripping folds.
He grabbed her wrist and brought her fingers to his mouth, greedily and lasciviously licking her fingers clean before diving his tongue into her pussy. But he also tried to go for more controlled movements and light touches. He traced her outer folds with his tongue several times before he opened her with his thumbs to reveal her pink flesh.
Her clit was poking out from her inner folds, waiting for him like the price he would collect after a thorough tour of her sex. He licked her from her perineum to just under her clit, again making her crazy with his restraint. His tongue penetrated her entrance, while his thumbs still held her open for him. She was glistening with arousal, her anticipation killing her.
"Please," she begged again.
"Not yet," he insisted.
She felt so helpless. She rolled her hips to get the tiniest bit of friction, but he got wise to her trick, leaning back so there was no contact at all.
"Harvey!"
"Yes, say my name," he demanded, clearly enjoying this.
"Asshole," she said, but grinned.
She scooted closer to him again and felt his mouth on her pussy soon after. He oh-so gently circled her clit, with almost no pressure at all. Just featherlight touches on her sensitized skin.
"Yes," she moaned.
Harvey didn't let up, he continued with his ministrations, alternating between her clit and licking down and up her slit.
"So fucking good," she practically purred.
"I love the way you taste," he mumbled.
Then Harvey intensified the pressure on her clit, sucking on it from time to time.
Donna was getting wetter and wetter, and they were still in his pool, probably not completely obscured by the surrounding plants. The sun hadn't set completely either. But Donna just didn't care. Being eaten out by Harvey was worth it. His skilled tongue made her forget it all. She was just focused on his muscle on her sex. She held him in place with both hands now.
But then he stopped again.
"Oh God, what now?" she barked at him.
He just smiled at her impatience. He looked at her drenched pussy, satisfied with his handiwork. But there was one more thing he needed to do. He gently moved the hood of her clit up to reveal the bundle of nerves in its purest form.
She hissed at the contact. And before she could comprehend what just happened, he went to town on her.
Harvey kept pushing the hood up with his tongue, sucking her clit into his mouth over and over again.
Donna's hips moved of their own accord in jerky patterns.
"Oh my fucking God," she hissed.
He grabbed her ass to steady her movements somewhat, but he couldn't control her completely. She pressed her pussy further into his mouth, and he lapped at her juices, circling her bundle of nerves and suckling on it to finally push her over the edge. Donna came with an almost primal sound on her tongue, feeling her inner walls flutter like crazy and contracting so much that Harvey could feel the convulsions on her clit.
Donna panted as she came down from her high, watching Harvey as he rested his head on his hands that were propped up on her knees.
"You wanna get out of the water?" she asked him.
He nodded in response.
She swung her legs over the edge of the pool to grab her robe and to hand him his. Harvey left the water with a considerable hard-on, to which her eyes were naturally glued. She then led him to his bedroom.
There, she took off the robe again and sat on his bed, Harvey standing in front of her holding her hand. Pushing his robe aside to take off his soaked trunks, Donna stared at his very erect cock. She stroked him a couple of times, took the tip into her mouth and rolled his balls in her hand.
He shrugged out of his robe and pushed his hips forward so she would take more of him into her waiting mouth. To her surprise, he didn't let her suck him for too long before he pulled back.
"Lie down," he ordered.
He quickly rounded the bed to retrieve a condom from his nightstand. He put it on and came back to her. He kissed her on the mouth and pushed his tongue between her lips. They gave each other open-mouthed kisses for minutes before he sought out her heat with his fingers. She was – unsurprisingly – still dripping, so he aligned his groin with hers and eased his length into her tight core.
They both moaned at the contact.
Harvey, again, took it slow. Donna had no idea how he hadn't exploded yet. She admired his stamina – they had built it up for a whole month after all.
Harvey halted his movements to pull her hips closer to him. He wanted as little space between them as possible. When he positioned her the way he wanted, he leaned down to her and kissed her senseless.
Donna hugged him, crushing his chest against hers. She didn't want to let go of him either.
He took his time leisurely thrusting into her, holding back his urge, savoring her, savoring them. But even as the most generous lover, he felt his orgasm nearing, so he stroked along her thigh with his hand, releasing her legs from the entanglement behind his back, and moved her legs up his shoulders. He pushed down against her, spreading her legs and allowing himself to sink into her a tad deeper.
Donna gasped when she felt the tip of his cock poke her cervix.
"Good?" he asked, unsure how to read her reaction.
"Fuck yes," she nodded, rocking her hips in time with his thrusts, meeting him halfway.
"Are you close?"
"So close," she moaned.
Harvey finally picked up the pace a little, with the immediate reward of Donna's moans getting louder. He grabbed a breast in his hand, rolling the nipple, pulling on it and watching the peak pucker when he let it go. Sucking the rosy tip into his mouth, he gently bit it. Donna's moan turned into a whimper, spurring him on further.
To Donna it felt like his cock had never been inside her deeper, his pubic bone giving her clit enough stimulation for the wave to crash and have her contracting wildly around his manhood, taking him over the edge with her.
They stayed in bed for a long while after that, silent, just facing each other and enjoying the other up close.
Donna was the first to speak.
"If there is anyone in the world who could put that out of their minds, they're a better person than I am," she admitted, gently patting his cheek before letting her fingertips caress the beauty marks above his eyebrow.
"Yeah, that premise was faulty from the get-go. I could never put sex with you out of my mind," he confessed while pulling her closer to his chest.
"Neither could I," Donna said.
"Maybe we didn't manage to do it because it never was just a one-night thing."
"Or a thirty-night thing." She gave him a one-sided smile, feeling stupid for ever even thinking she could get him out of her head when he was rooted so deeply in her heart.
The next morning, they had breakfast at his dining table.
"I would really like to give you the key to my apartment, but you've had it for years now," Harvey stated before drinking from his coffee mug.
"I appreciate the thought, though. Which is why I think it's high time I give you mine," Donna replied.
"Thank you, Donna," he mumbled before pulling her close to kiss her thoroughly.
"I think instead of using my Sunday to pack up my things here, what do you say we pack some of your stuff and take it to my place?"
"I'd love that."
"Pack something nice, we're going out tonight."
He grinned and slowly walked to his bedroom, waiting for her to follow suit. "Finally."
"And tomorrow, we go to HR and make our relationship official," Donna suggested, following him.
"And we're booking our flights to Seattle."
"And a hotel. No need to scar the young'uns with noisy sex."
"Oh, I've been meaning to tell you: Three neighbors made noise complaints after our night when you showed up here in lingerie under your coat."
"Three?" Donna asked incredulously.
"What did you expect? Your panties were crotchless."
"Totally not the reason why we were so loud."
"No?"
"No. The reason why we were so loud that night was totally your fault, not mine. That was a very dirty play on your part in retaliation for the crotchless panties."
"What? The thought of you in a cab in crotchless panties made my head explode. Plus, I had always wanted to do that," he shrugged boyishly.
Donna pondered for a moment. "We really did try out a lot over the last month, huh?"
"I'm not anywhere near done with trying out everything with you," he said cockily and brushed his fingers through her red tresses.
"I bet there's still plenty to discover," Donna stated, holding his gaze as they stood in front of his closet.
"Everyone duck, Donna just suggested another bet," Harvey joked with a goofy smile. "See, that's funny because it all started with a friendly wager."
Donna rolled her eyes. "Yes, Harvey, everyone knows the best jokes are the ones that have to be explained."
"You don't have to pretend to hate my jokes anymore. You know you love them."
She stepped closer to hug him. "Yeah, I really do."
And with that, she kissed him deeply, pushing up on her tiptoes to reach his height.
It might have been stupid on her part to think she could ever put their thirty nights out of her mind, but neither Donna nor Harvey could deny that it erased all the rules they had previously agreed on.
Harvey had always been a gambler, but this time it was Donna who had gone all in with her wager. There was no reason why they would want their thirty nights out of their heads. And they didn't have to pretend to succeed at it this time.
The thirty nights had only been the beginning.
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