Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews I've received so far for this story but also for "Pride" and "Strength of a Partnership". When I read your reviews, it certainly does help me carry on writing. So keep them coming
When Harry woke up the next morning, her face lit up when she saw her partner's arms wrapped around her waist. Her partner…. Well…..not just her partner anymore judging by yesterday's events. After a romantic evening by the fire, they had disappeared in the bedroom, spending the night in each other's arms, catching up on 3 years of hidden feelings. With Dempsey still fast asleep, Harry could peacefully enjoy the view stretching in front of her. Through the window she could see the grounds of their house, but she still couldn't get her head around it. Her partner had bought this cottage for them, to prove to her that he was serious about not only staying in the UK but also about them. It was their house… wow. It felt like a dream. She decided to let James sleep longer and got out of bed, hastily put his shirt over her body and walked downstairs to make herself a cup of tea. Nothing better than the first cup in the morning. She moved to the garden and sat on the bench by the stream enjoying the peace and quiet of this lovely Sunday morning sipping at her warm tea. It was pure bliss. She breathed in deeply the exquisite perfume of the flowers surrounding her, listening to the birds singing, closing her eyes. A paradise on Earth and it was hers to enjoy.
"Hey, the bed was empty when I woke up. Too cold without you there.", came a soft male voice from behind.
Harry turned around and smiled at her partner from the bench inviting him to sit down next to her.
"Hey princess, enjoying yourself here?" Dempsey asked, smiling at her, immediately wrapping his arms around her body.
"I love this place, James. I absolutely love it. Thank you.", as she kissed him softly, and nestled herself in his arms, feeling safe, loved and extremely happy.
"No regrets, then?", asked James seriously," when I saw the bed empty I thought you might have had double thoughts and left."
"Not a single regret. My only regret would be not to have told you sooner how I felt. But it wasn't our time yet, was it? That's just perfect. Absolutely perfect. If I could, I would just stay here and not go back to London" she sighed heavily when she realised that this was wishful thinking.
Dempsey was looking at her in awe, he still couldn't quite believe that his dream had come true, that his partner was here by his side and that they were contemplating their future together after finally giving in to their feelings for each other. It was all a bit mind-blowing, to be honest.
As he stroked her arms lovingly as she nestled by his side, he told her why he decided to buy this cottage:
"You know why I bought this house?", looking straight into Harry's eyes, "Well, whenever I closed my eyes, I could see you surrounded by flowers and smiling, and there was this cute cottage by a stream…. I've had this image for a few months now and after Simone blurted the image of us together with a bunch of kids in a little house out of town, I thought it was a sign. Actually, we owe Simone in a way because before she left I asked her to put the flat up for sale with a local realtor. I think she knew before I had even set my eyes on this house. I have been scouring the sales ads for the past couple of months to find this house I'd been dreaming of. It never came close to what I had in mind. When I got a call from an estate agent here in Abinger, the way he described the house, the village and the fact that the house would need some updating, I knew I was on to something. Remember those 2 days off I took last month?",
Harry nodded "Oh if I remember…I thought you were angry with me and I even thought that you had had enough of me and decided to go away for a romantic weekend with some broad you had picked up from some bar somewhere."
"Harry… you should have said something! I thought you knew how I felt about you and that you could trust me not to go chasing skirts as you said once. I was here, you see. I wanted to be 100% sure of my decision. I checked out everything: the house deeds, the flood risk (yeah I know, you're laughing, but with kids you know, I want you lot to be safe!), the schools, the doctors, hospital, etc…
"What? You checked all that? Seriously? You? The least pragmatic person I know?" Harry was completely blown away.
"Well… you would have checked all those things, wouldn't you have? So, I did it for you since you didn't know yet. I was terrified yesterday. I was worried you would scream and shout at me and tell me to piss off. I took a serious risk. Listen, I realise we're far away from London and that we will need to rethink our careers. But personally, I'd give it all up for you, without thinking twice. Since Coltrane died, it's like having a weight off my shoulders. I can think of the future and I want that future to be with you, Harry. I don't enjoy my job as much. What I enjoy is doing that job with you, it's seeing you every day. I look forward to every single day because I'll spend it with you. Our banter, your smile and, god, even when we fight…..I look forward to all those things. But when you left after crazy Joe, I realised that the job had no appeal without you there, that you were the driving force behind my happiness. We don't need to make any decisions right now or to change anything if you don't want to. But have a think and see how we go, OK?"
Harry agreed and added, "It's going to take several months for us to renovate this house if we do it when we have the time off. We won't be able to commit to every weekend with our jobs. But I'm very much looking forward to getting started, I can't wait actually. The sooner we start, the sooner we can plan our future. We'll need to think of what else we could do. I never considered for a minute that you'd have a life outside of the police. I can't wait to see Spikings' face when we tell him about us, the house and give our resignation. He's going to have a heart attack right in front of us."
Dempsey was laughing at the image. "Oh, he'll probably say something along the lines of 'you god awful yank have spoiled England's best, our very own Lady Harriet'. I'm not sure I'll be on his Christmas card list." Gazing at her lovingly, stroking her face with his hand, he added "But I have a feeling he knows it was going to happen. He's expecting it. He's the one who told me that if you had resigned it's because you cared about me so yeah he probably thinks that soon things will change."
"He said what? He knows? Oh my god! I'll never be able to look at him ever again!" said Harry, shocked.
With a grin on his face, Dempsey answered in his mocking voice "Well, personally, I'd rather you don't look at him but at me….."
"Dempsey", admonished Makepeace with a slight slap of her and on his arm, "you're impossible!"
"Yup but you wouldn't have me any other way."
"Hum, you might be right. Spikings really doesn't do it for me" she said giggling.
"Well, I'm mighty glad to hear that. You see I have things in mind I'd like to do with my partner and it really, really doesn't involve Spikings."
"Ah, and what could those things be, may I ask?", asked Harry turning into her lover's arms, looking into his soft brown eyes.
"I'd like to hold her in my arms, kiss each and every freckle on her nose, all the way down to her neck…..and into her cleavage". Dempsey's dark eyes were going from her eyes down to her lips, and then down to her breast, his hands stroking the soft skin of her thighs. His lips followed his words and rediscovered Harry's body, showing her how much he cared, treating her like a fragile China doll. He carried her into her arms to a hidden patch of grass among tall trees and bushes, laid her down and slowly unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing to reveal her skin. His hand caressed her curves and all the while he looked at her, looked at her face with a kind of reverence drawn from love and respect. He felt so much love for her that words were not enough to express the reverence he felt for her, he wanted to worship her every day for the rest of their life together. She had her eyes closed, her lips half-opened, enjoying the sensual caresses, feeling the light breeze and the sunshine on her skin. Every so often she whispered James' name. He kissed her jawline, left a trail of kisses right beneath her ear, down her neck, entranced by the softness of her skin. He could see the goosebumps on her skin, each time he touched her, how her body arched under his caresses. He absolutely adored and was hell-bent on proving it to her.
"Harry, you're so beautiful. You take my breath away. I want to hold you and love you every day of my life.", and with that, he kissed her with an urgency and a passion that blew Harry's mind. She slid his shirt off his body, she wanted to feel his skin, stroke his chest, kiss him down his neck right where she knew he'd go wild. And he didn't disappoint. Within seconds they were naked and he slid into her moaning her name, filling and stretching her, never getting enough of her skin, his hands on her bottom, his mouth sucking on her hardened nipples. Their lovemaking was so intense and passionate that Harry was screaming his name and couldn't refrain herself from letting the world know that she was his, all his and only his from this day forth.
"Mine, you're mine. YES! YES! Oh my god, Harry, I love you so much. Harryyyyyyyyyyyy….." screaming her name as he exploded in her. Breathlessly, he whispered in her ear "Jeez you're incredible. Oh my god, Harry, only you can do that to me. Only you, my love". Both lovers, recovering from this out of body experience, laid on the grass in each other's embrace, whispering words of love to each other, each still thinking they were dreaming, finding it hard to believe that they were finally a couple.