I've been meaning to get this chapter up for the best part of three days! Oh well, I got there in the end... Oh, and this chapter is M rated. ;)

It was very late when Ruth opened her front door, not surprised in the slightest to see Harry there. His hazel eyes were panicked and he looked at her as if he'd never seen her before. "I needed to see if you were all right."

"I'm fine," she said. "Tired and a bit bruised, but fine." She moved aside to let him in, and once the door was closed he gripped her wrist so she couldn't move away from him. He ran his eyes slowly over her, making sure she was in one piece. From her face, down her body, to her feet and back up. She stayed still, letting him do it without saying a word. When his eyes reached her face again, his thumb caressed the thin red line on her neck where the threatening knife had drawn blood. It wasn't much deeper than a paper cut, but it throbbed.

"Careful," she said gently, her fingers on his wrist. He dropped his hand and looked at her before kissing her deeply. Her arms wrapped around him of their own volition, holding him close. She felt unable to let him go. She'd spent about an hour thinking she'd never see him again and that had an interesting way of realigning her priorities.

"I was so worried," he murmured against her lips. "And frightened. If you'd…"

"I'm fine," she said, caressing his face. "I promise. All in one piece." He kissed her, hard and passionately, her fingers tangled in his hair as he pressed against her body, pushing her against the wall.

"If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do," he said before kissing her again, deeply. "I couldn't cope if you…"

"Just kiss me," she said, interrupting. "I need you. I need…" He kissed her and she moaned against him, her body arching against his. He could feel her breasts pressing against him and he felt a surge of lust for her. He wanted her badly. She pressed her thigh between his legs and he groaned.

"We should slow down," he said, trying to get some air.

"I don't want to," she said. Her eyes were a beautiful bright blue, filled with desire and utterly gorgeous. He couldn't believe she looked at him like that. "I need you to touch me, Harry," she said. She kissed his jaw, slowly and sensually as her lips moved over his neck.

"Don't go," she whispered when her mouth was free. "Stay tonight."

Harry should have said no. He should have said she was still suffering from the shock and adrenaline of the operation, so him staying with her tonight was probably a bad idea. But he wasn't a good enough man to say any of that. He didn't have infinite self restraint, and the woman he adored and who he'd dreamed about for months asking him to stay… he didn't have the strength to turn that down.

"Upstairs," he said. "Not in your hallway." She smiled and kissed him very gently, taking his hand and going up the stairs to her bedroom.

By the time they got there, she could see that Harry was having second thoughts about the wisdom of this. She kissed him deeply, making sure to press her body against him. "I need you, Harry," she murmured against his lips. "And I want you."

"Oh, Ruth, what are you doing to me?" He slipped his hands under her jumper, stroking her naked back. Impatiently she pulled his shirt out of the way and slid her hands up his chest. She found his nipple and he moaned at the touch.

"I need to touch you," she said. "All of you." They undressed each other clumsily and hastily, almost falling onto the bed together. When Harry's shirt came off, she gasped.

"I know it's not pretty," he said, clearly self conscious. His shoulder, where Tom Quinn had shot him just eighteen months ago was horribly scarred. It felt like it had happened longer ago, but it hadn't. It was pink and puckered scar tissue that looked painful.

"Does it still hurt?"

"No," he said.

"Lie down," she whispered. Her own self consciousness had vanished somewhat when she realised how nervous he was, letting her see him like this. He followed her instruction and she kissed the worst of the scar, his hands stroking her back, her hair. Any part of her he could reach. Harry had other scars, some of which had probably been worse when they were first inflicted, but Tom's bullet was the most recent. She traced some of them, and he let her in the silence.

"You've seen me, let me see you," he asked. She was naked but he'd not had the chance to really look at her. She sat up on the bed, bracing herself for Harry's scrutiny. Whenever he looked at her, even at work she felt like he saw straight through her. So to be naked, and feel vulnerable in front of him felt more nerve-racking than it should have done.

He'd been silent for what felt like minutes, his eyes sliding over every inch of her body. "Say something, Harry," she said eventually.

"You're exquisite." His voice was husky, emotional. "I want to touch you." His eyes flicked back to her face. "Can I?"

She nodded and his touch immediately went to the small scar on her abdomen, stroking gently. "Appendicitis," she said to his silent question. He nodded and began to caress her breasts, softly, his thumbs brushing against her hard nipples, making her gasp.

"Lie down," he murmured. She did, his hands on her skin, her waist, her stomach as he kissed her deeply. She arched her body up to him, her palms running down his back. Feeling the length of his body against her, the weight of him pressing down on her felt so good, so right that she couldn't help the moan that escaped her throat.

They fumbled together, Ruth rolling on top of him, smiling as she straddled him. His hands cupped her backside and squeezed. "Oh…" She could feel his genitals beneath her, and she needed to touch him. Reaching between them, she stroked him. He gasped, closing his eyes and opening his mouth, as if struggling to breathe.

"Come here," he whispered. She leaned over him and kissed him gently, before he rolled her onto her back again.

"I need to feel you inside me," she whispered. "Please."

"Have you got…"

"I'm fine, we're fine," she said. "I went on the pill ages ago. Just in case." He smiled as his fingers started exploring her, stroking her folds intimately. He found her clitoris and she jerked in his arms, before sighing against him. When he pushed two fingers inside her, he looked into her eyes, watching her reaction until he found her G spot. "Oh God…" she groaned. He kept touching her, bringing her closer to climax as she writhed against him. He thrust his fingers into her fast, watching her face as she moaned and whimpered against him. "Harry, please. Oh, Harry…" He kept going until she cried out with her orgasm. He smirked at her, pleased to bring her to such pleasure, as she came back down to earth. He pulled his fingers out of her and kissed her.

"Harry," she said. "Please."

They tangled together as Harry pushed her into the mattress, kissing her deeply. "Ah!" she cried out, and it wasn't a happy sound. He stopped, looking at her in concern, as her face winced in pain. "My leg doesn't twist that way, Harry" she said, a small smile on her face.

"Sorry," he said, lips twitching as she disentangled her leg from his.

"That's better," she said when her leg was free. She stroked the back of his knee with her toes and he shivered, groaning.

"That tickles." She laughed, then wrapped her legs around his waist as he thrust inside her in one quick movement.

"Oh!" she moaned. "God, you're large." He raised an eyebrow and she smiled, then moaned loudly as he moved within her. He moved quickly, deeply inside her and she kept moaning as his flesh sparked against her. He wasn't gentle or slow, and she could tell he was perilously close to losing control, something she'd never seen before.

"Let go," she whispered, her hand cradling his face gently, the other clutching his shoulder and digging in as he thrust inside her. She was enjoying this but knew Harry was much closer than she was. He groaned as he came, collapsing half on top of her, their sweaty bodies sticking together.

"Sorry," he murmured in her ear, well aware she hadn't climaxed. She moaned quietly as he pulled out of her. "I was selfish and lost control."

"It's all right," she said, stroking his hair.

"No," he said. He shuffled down the bed and opened her thighs. She smiled slightly, letting him and then moaned as his tongue started flicking against her clitoris.

"Oh Harry…" she sighed. He chuckled which in her present situation made her squirm as his fingers tightened on her hips. He revelled in the taste of her, the taste of their joining on his tongue. "Oh!" she cried, tightening her thighs around him. It didn't take much for her climax to overtake her, sighing his name.

"Thank you," she whispered, when he lay next to her again, her body still throbbing from her release.

"Sleep," he said gently. She drifted off almost immediately, as did he.

Ruth woke up but as soon as she did, she wanted to go back to sleep. She felt so relaxed and contented that she didn't want the realities of the day to spoil it. With her eyes tightly closed, she relived every moment of the night before. Harry's lips and tongue on every inch of her skin, the way he'd made her shiver and cry out underneath him as he'd touched her. How he'd moaned as she touched him. The bruisingly tight grip on her hips as he'd thrust inside her. Her fingernails clutching at his body. She knew he'd have left marks and bruises on her skin but she couldn't care less right now.

"I know you're awake. I'm sorry." Harry spoke darkly and she couldn't think why.

"No." She sighed. "If you do anything to ruin my happy little bubble right now, I'm going to be so upset."

"We shouldn't have…"

"Harry, we absolutely should," she said, finally opening her eyes.

"It was the exhilaration from the operation," he said.

"Right, I need you to shut up for a minute or two," she said. He closed his mouth and she continued. "I didn't sleep with you because of the after effects of whatever operation we were working on. It might have influenced the timing, but I've wanted to sleep with you for a very long time." He smiled softly at that and she felt an echoing smile on her own face. "So stop trying to apologise, okay? You didn't drag me into bed, did you?"

"Okay," he said. He kissed her softly and she closed her eyes, fully intending to go back to sleep.

"You weren't…"

"Weren't what?" she asked.

He sighed heavily. "Disappointed?"

"No." She looked at him again and saw that he looked almost nervous. "It's been a long time for you, hasn't it?" she said gently.

"Yes." He stroked her hair. "I wouldn't want you to be…" he didn't finish his sentence. She kissed his chest lightly.

"Did it seem like I wasn't enjoying myself?"

"No," he said, allowing his lips to curve upwards slightly.

"In fact, I'd rather enjoy round two," she said quietly, almost shyly, her cheeks red.

"Would you?" he asked, voice deep and seductive. He stroked her hair and, as one they both looked at the clock. They had at the most half an hour before they had to get up, get dressed and shower.

"It'd have to be quick," Harry said, with a raised eyebrow. She smiled and then laughed as his hands wandered under the sheets, curving around her backside and pulling her close, their bodies touching from chest to knees. He kissed her deeply, before whispering lowly, "Turn over."

More soon! Thanks for all the reviews so far.