A/N: M-rating
Ruth could feel eyes on her as she washed the dishes. "Stop that," she chided. But she smiled, making sure he knew she wasn't actually bothered. How could she be? She was quite use to Harry watching her. He seemed to always be watching her. At work, at home, out in the world. Someone else in her position might be unnerved by it. Even Ruth was a bit taken aback early on, knowing she was the object of his attention. His scrutiny. She had often worried that she would be found lacking. She didn't worry about that anymore.
Harry came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek and down her jaw to her neck. "I can't help that you look so delectable."
"Delectable?" she laughed.
"Mmm," he hummed, still softly kissing her neck. "Delectable and delicious and desirable."
"That's quite good alliteration," she said. Her voice had gone breathy. Oh dear. "Harry, I need to finish washing the dishes." She was trying to scold him but…well…she didn't really want him to stop.
These last few months had been marvelous. They'd worked out their initial tensions and misgivings and whatever else, and now they seemed to finally just be on the same page. They were together and in love and engaged to be married and they were happy. God, Ruth had never been so happy in all her life. Everything she'd ever wanted was coming true. She had Harry exactly the way she'd fantasized, and people knew about it, and no one really seemed to care. Things were going well on the Grid with the new team. Ruth was damned good at her job and she loved doing it and she loved being Harry's right hand and an invaluable member of the Section D team.
If she really thought about it, she might wonder what was coming next, what horror lay around the next corner. She might wonder if things should be progressing with the wedding planning and whatever else. But for once in her life, Ruth Evershed chose not to overthink things. She had learned from her follies in the past. She would just allow things to be as they were and to get through each day and to be so utterly grateful that things were so good here and now.
"You're thinking rather loudly," Harry whispered. "You've stopped washing the dishes.
Ruth hadn't even realized that she had the sink going but her hands had been still for at least twenty seconds as she stood there in his arms contemplating her life.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked, one hand slipping up the front of her blouse.
She shivered at his touch. "I was thinking about how happy I am," she answered. And that was the truth. She was so bloody happy.
"Let me make you happy, Ruth," Harry murmured. He nipped at her earlobe, causing her to breathe in sharply.
"Y-you do make me happy, Harry," she stammered in return. Her knees were going to go weak in a second.
But Harry held her tight. One hand was skimming up her belly to grasp one of her breasts through her bra. The other hand found its way inside the waistband of her skirt. "Let me make you scream with it," he growled.
Ruth whimpered at his words. He didn't wait for a response as he delved inside her knickers with those masterful fingers of his. Her head rolled back against his shoulder as she moaned. She reached out blindly to shut off the sink faucet. She could feel the rumble of Harry's chest as he chuckled.
"Good girl," he said in that low, husky, sexy tone of voice she adored.
His hands did their magic on her. His fingertips traced her folds and spread the wetness that had come from his seduction thus far. She could feel the slickness of his movements on her. He dipped shallowly inside her, teasing her and moving away from where she needed him. His other hand had moved the cup of her bra out of the way and massaged her bare breast. The slight roughness of his palm was enough to excite her there.
Ruth's own hands were wet from the sink but she didn't care. She reached back and grabbed the back of Harry's head, turning him toward her and kissing him messily. They swallowed each other's moans, and Harry's tongue plunged inside her mouth just as one thick finger plunged inside her body.
He found the rhythm she needed quite easily. He'd had practice by now. The heel of his hand met the seeking gyration of her hips as she ground down on him. He added another finger, two of them now thrusting purposefully into her.
She pulled her mouth way from his kiss to gasp for air. Her whole body trembled, taut and right on the edge of oblivion. Harry sped up his efforts, on and on and on until at last she shattered. A high-pitched sound fell from her lips, something between a gasp and a moan. "God, Harry!" she cried out.
His movements carried her through her climax, eventually slowing and then stilling. Harry pulled his hands away from her and licked his fingers clean. Ruth watched him with erotic fascination. It did not escape her that his erection was pressing against her bum.
Ruth pulled back from him and braced herself against the edge of the sink. She could hardly fathom that they were still standing in the kitchen of his house. "To bed?" she asked thickly.
"Probably prudent, but I'm in no rush," he answered.
She didn't see how he could be so calm and so flippant. He had turned her into a puddle of arousal, and he just stood there—erection and all—with hardly an ounce of reaction. Well, Ruth was never one to appreciate an imbalance in a relationship. Particularly her own relationships. Two could play at his game.
Ruth stepped forward again and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. There was a tinge of herself on his tongue, which made her moan. But she needed to focus now.
Her kisses moved from his mouth to the soft, delicate skin of his neck. This was perhaps the part of him that betrayed his age more than any other. Ruth did not mind, though. She adored the feel of his neck under her lips. Harry's breath was coming in shorter pants now. Just as she'd hoped for.
She moved on, unbuttoning his shirt and kissing down his chest until his vest interrupted her. It was then that Ruth dropped down to her knees. She made quick work of his belt—he used to wear braced, perhaps she should ask him to start doing that again—and pulled his trousers and trunks down to his ankles. His legs were lean and muscular, covered in a light dusting of masculine hair. She traced her hands up his thighs, ignoring for now the proud cock bobbing before her. Harry groaned with desire, and Ruth grinned with pride. Alright, he'd earned his prize now. A prize she was all too pleased to bestow.
With one hand, she grasped his shaft firmly. Her thumb spread the wetness leaking out of him already, giving the needed lubrication to her movements. And then she took him in her mouth. Harry gasped and immediately his hand tangled in her hair. She allowed him to guide her movements, but he was gentle. Always gentle. Not every man was, and Ruth was grateful for the care Harry never ceased showing her no matter what they were doing. She had a feeling he was not always like this. She was lucky to have met him after so many years of mistakes and bad behavior. She was lucky that he thought she was special. She was lucky that he loved her.
Ruth carried on with her task, pleased at his varied reactions, knowing she was causing him as much unhinged pleasure as he had caused in her. He was struggling to breathe now. She knew that was a sign he was close. "Ruth," he said, his voice strangled in his throat. But she did not relent. She was prepared for when he finished a moment later.
Harry's hand left her hair, then, and he braced himself on the kitchen counter. Ruth watched him for a moment to make sure he was alright. He was, of course. She hauled herself up and got a glass of water to rinse her mouth out.
When she turned back to Harry, he was on the floor, his trousers pulled up but still undone, and his back resting against the cabinets.
"Oh my god, did you fall?" she asked, rushing to his side.
He chuckled, still trying to get his breath back. He gazed up at her with a smile and a sparkle in his honey-hazel eyes. "No, I was pulling my trousers up and decided to have a little rest," he explained.
"Are you going to be able to get up?" she inquired, bemused.
"Eventually," he assured her.
That was good enough for Ruth. She got down on the floor and sat beside him. "Funny how we've ended up on the floor, fully clothed," she noted.
He gave another wheezy laugh. "And after a rather good orgasm each, I'd say."
"I agree," she answered with a little laugh of her own.
They fell silent. Ruth rested her head on his shoulder, and Harry took her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.
This was the proof of it, Ruth thought to herself. The proof that they loved each other and were meant to be together. This comfortable silence. They could just be side by side and not saying anything and be perfectly content. Ruth had never had that with a man before. She'd always felt awkward, tried to fill the silence. Even with George, which was a perfect relationship, to her mind, with the sole exception being the fact that she was still in love with Harry Pearce and George didn't know Ruth's real name until they arrived in London. But even with the perfection that was life in Polis with George and Nico, Ruth was always bustling and busy. She could never be like this. Still. Quiet. Happy.
"I've been thinking," Harry said, breaking that beautiful silence. But Ruth didn't mind.
"Your thoughts aren't usually as dangerous as mine," she teased.
He hummed in agreement. "I don't know how you'll feel about this thought though."
"You'd better tell me what it is." Her tone was light but her heart was starting to sink in her chest.
"I was thinking that I should adopt a cat. We might go to the RSPCA and pick one out," he ventured.
"Oh!" Ruth hadn't expected that. She didn't know what to expect, but she didn't expect that. "But you've never had cats before. Wouldn't you want a dog?"
"No, a dog is a lot of work, and we aren't here all the time, and that's not fair to a dog. Cats are much easier to leave for a night or two if we're working or whatever else."
That was a good point. Sometimes they were at Ruth's flat. Beth had been extremely kind about the whole thing, but Ruth knew she felt a bit strange about having her boss in her flat too often, so Ruth tried to make sure she and Harry spent most of their time together at his house.
Harry continued, "And I have had cats. When you…went away."
He'd told her, after her horrific return to London, that when she'd left in the midst of Cotterdam, he had taken care of her cats as he promised. Only he hadn't seen to their rehousing as Ruth had anticipated. He'd kept them. He'd taken good care of them until the both of them, one by one, got sick and had to be put down. She'd forgotten that yes, technically he had lived with cats.
"Anyway, I was just thinking it would be nice to have an animal around the house again," he concluded.
"It would," Ruth agreed. "I think if you want to have a pet, a cat would be a wonderful choice. You know I love cats."
He turned and kissed her temple. "I know you do. So if we have a cat that lives here, you'll have no choice but to move in."
Ah there it was. Ruth's first instinct was to get angry, but in all honesty, she was too tired and sated to find the strength for anything more than slight annoyance right now. "You are such an arse," she grumbled.
Harry started to laugh at that. "You're the one who agreed to marry me."
"And I will. But it's not nice to try and manipulate me into moving in. You could have just asked."
"You would have said no."
"Well, you don't know that for certain if you don't ask," she fired back. He opened his mouth to answer, but she interjected, "Only don't ask me now because I'm cross with you and I will definitely say no."
"Alright," he conceded. "But I do still think we ought to get a cat."
"Next time we both have a full weekend rostered off, we can go to the shelter," she reasoned.
"Deal," he agreed. "Now, I think we ought to get off the floor and get cleaned up and go to bed."
"I've got to finish the dishes," Ruth reminded him.
"I'll do it in the morning. I'd much rather have a hot shower with you and then crawl into bed and finish what we started."
Ruth grinned, her annoyance all melted away now. "That sounds perfect."
"You get up and start the shower. It'll take some doing to get me off this bloody floor, and I'd rather not have an audience," Harry said.
She hesitated, wanting to offer to help him, but he'd just said he didn't want an audience. He really did need to do something about that knee of his. "Alright," she accepted. "Shout if you need me."
Ruth went upstairs and did as Harry asked, getting the shower stared. She undressed herself and got under the hot spray, and she was very pleased when Harry joined her before her hair was even fully wet.