The fog was thick. It was not even 7 AM yet and Dempsey could barely see to the end of the docks. He was leading a team of SI-10 officers ready to spring into action and put an end to the human trafficking affair that had been ongoing for the past 6 weeks. The longest 6 weeks of his life. His partner, Lady Harriet Winfield otherwise known to him as Makepeace or Harry, had been acting as an undercover agent for most of it and today was the day he would get her back by his side. The day when, if everything goes according to plan, this nightmare would end. Their opponents were dangerous and heavily armed. He was well aware of the danger Harry was in. The minute they find out she's a cop, her life will be worthless to them. Just the thought of anything happening to her, made him break out in a cold sweat.

While waiting for his team to launch their attack onto the warehouse where the gang of criminals kept the girls, Dempsey was reminiscing of how it all started.

The weeks before Harry left, there had been a shift in their relationship. Some slow gradual change, imperceptible at first and then bit by bit, day after day, the boundaries of their friendship were redefined. The night before Harry left for her mission, they had been out in a bar and had talked and laughed for ages unaware of what was to come the next day. Friends on the verge of more. They had ended at Harry's place which had slowly become Dempsey's second home over the years they worked together. They sat on her sofa with a bottle of wine, lights down, fire on and he asked her what, if money was no objection, her dream holiday would be

"Come on Makepeace, where would you go? Imagine you're planning the trip of a lifetime, like your honeymoon or a once-in-a-lifetime kinda trip. Would you be trekking the Himalayas? Go on a safari in Kenya? Go whale fishing?"

" Dear God, whale fishing? And why not, shark hunting while you're at it! You are completely bonkers!", she was crying with laughter, "But all that sounds like far too much work, Dempsey! If it's a holiday then it has to be a long sandy beach. With the job we do, my downtime has to be just that. Pure relaxation. And frankly, I have enough cold and damp here to last me a lifetime, as you well know it. So no, it would be some tropical island where I'd wear nothing but a bikini all day long." She said dreamily, knowing full well that her partner would immediately imagine her in that bikini. "Yes, somewhere like the Maldives or some Caribbean paradise. Imagine that for a minute: doing nothing for 2 long weeks, no baddies to chase through the streets of London, no coats nor jumpers but light dresses, cocktails, massages on the beach, aaaah….heaven!" She could see herself on that beach, looking at the waves while having a nice back massage…..except that in her dream it was her partner giving her a massage and smiling lovingly at her. Dempsey was observing her, with a slight smirk on his face, "You in a tiny bikini on a sandy beach. Now, that's something I'd quite enjoy myself, I must say". She burst out laughing and threw him a cushion

"Take your mind out of the gutter, Lieutenant!"

"Oy, that's not fair, Sergeant!" and he threw himself on her tickling her with a vengeance, both laughing, Harry wriggling under him like possessed by a demon unable to stop laughing at his antics.

"Now give in, Harry! Just admit that I'm stronger than you and I'll stop", proposed Dempsey with a massive grin on his face.

"NEVER!", she chuckled running away from the sofa, laughing away so much she was unable to stand on her own two legs. Within seconds Dempsey grabbed her around her waist and they both collapsed with laughter on the floor like two kids.

Once the waves of laughter calmed down, Dempsey realised he was holding his partner in her arms, his face inches away from hers. Their laughter died, replaced by a shy smile and although Harry was blushing slightly, she couldn't take her eyes away from her partner's intense gaze. The silence felt heavy as Dempsey's eyes dropped to his partner's lips while his right hand had found its way in her hair, gently caressing the side of her head. She was so beautiful, such an incredible woman. He could feel her hesitant fingers brushing his face, her eyes sparkling, her lips half-opened, looking at him with such awe. Ever so slowly, he lowered himself to her lips, slightly brushing them, stroking her soft skin with his thumb. This mere caress sent shivers up his spine and he briefly looked into her eyes to watch for any reaction that might indicate he crossed a line. But the only thing he saw was desire and pure affection and a look giving him the go-ahead. The feeling of her ever-so-soft mouth beneath him was like nectar, a drug he will never be able to give up on. His heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour, kissing at long last his gorgeous partner was like all his Christmases and birthdays all at once. His body pressed against hers, their tender embrace turned into pure passion with a sense of urgency as though one of them might try to run away. Her hands crawled under his jumper reaching for his skin, her nails digging into him as moans escaped from her mouth each time she rubbed her hips against him, his desire for her now very obvious.

"Harry….I want you so much, I want to feel your skin against mine, I want to kiss every inch of your body.", he knew he was losing control but at the same time, it felt so right, together they were pure fire, a volcano waiting to erupt.

"James, undress me now, take my dress off, please", she begged in one short breath, shivering with anticipation.

He didn't need to be asked twice. She was a goddess, so sexy and yet so fragile in his arms. He'd devote his entire life to cherishing her body if she'd let him. Tonight he will be hell-bent on bringing her pleasure. It will be all about her, about making sure she knows she's loved and wanted. There was so much love and tenderness in their caresses, each kiss, each stroke of their fingers brought them closer in their discovery journey. Their lovemaking was magical, they took their time figuring out each other's soft spots, each other's bodies. It was not about sex, it was about two souls finally meeting and colliding into an erotic explosion. They reached their climax together, looking into each other's eyes, knowing that there was no coming back from this out of body experience.

Dempsey gathered Harry in his arms ever so gently, taking the time to pull a throw over their naked bodies. Both looked at the flames of the fire, composing themselves, holding onto each other while adjusting to this new reality. Dempsey was kissing the top of her hair, enquiring "You OK, princess?". She smiled and sighed happily "I've never been more OK, James". "Good", he smiled happily while dropping soft kisses on her neck just beneath her ear. Her sighs confirmed that she particularly enjoys being kissed just there. The cold was starting to get to them so they put their clothes back on and just melted into each other's embrace under the blanket watching the fire dying.

It didn't take long for Harry to feel drained by the sheer level of emotion and the magnitude of what happened this very evening. As she nestled into her partner's arms, her eyelids started to close and her breathing slowed down as she fell asleep. Dempsey was in heaven holding her in his arms like that but he knew that a night on her sofa was not going to be very comfortable for either of them and that tomorrow would come quickly enough. He woke her up just enough to carry her upstairs to her bedroom, kissing her softly on her nose, she held onto him as he lowered her on her bed, "Come lie next to me, James. I want to hold you all night and wake in your arms in the morning". They both got rid of their clothes and snuggled under the covers in a comfortable embrace where they forgot about the world outside and held onto each other, afraid that their bubble might burst. Thye kissed the night away and reignited their passion as the sun rose, not wanting to put an end to their first night as a couple.