"You wanna go for a swim?" Dempsey asked suddenly

"When?"

"Now" he suggested hopefully

"We've not got any stuff" Harry pointed out

"You don't need any"

"Trust me Dempsey yes you do"

"Trust me sergeant you don't"

"This is a public beach"

"And we're the only ones here, look just slip off your clothes" he realised she never would "– leave some on if you want, after we can sit on that huge rock and let the sun dry us."

"If you want to swim I'll sit on the rock and watch you" Harry offered

"It's not quite like the white beach of the Caribbean I know" he wanted this to be together, else there was no point.

"Dempsey give me your shirt and trousers and I'll go sit on the rock."

They reached the place where their shoes were next to each other in pairs.

"It'll be more fun together, come on, just slip that skirt and blouse off, you can put them on after." He begged

Harry looked round and smiled. "We should book ourselves a proper holiday." Dempsey agreed "may be we could go to that island off Africa."

"You mean Mauritius."

"White sand, blue sea" he looked at her "hot sex?"

"Dempsey I'm not going on holiday with you so you can pick up a different girl every night."

"I wasn't thinking of picking up anyone sergeant."

She blushed, she liked the idea but because she knew the reality of Dempsey and women and being so scared he wouldn't commit she replied "that's so not going to happen."

Dempsey felt disheartened; here she was again giving out such mixed signals – what the hell was he meant to think? Harry tried to read his face ~ maybe he had meant it. Damn! She started to talk about their Caribbean holiday. Soon they were laughing at their reminiscences and they were both flirting by teasing each other.

"So how about that swim?" Dempsey ventured again

"Are you suggesting we go skinny dipping?"

"I have underwear on don't you"

Makepeace thought of her lace bra and briefs. She had packed her sexiest and most expensive. "Mine was designed to reveal rather than cover up" she admitted with a slight flush rising up over her cheeks

He looked at the sea and felt the hot sun. "There's only you and me here babe"

"I'm not ruining my clothes and I'm not going naked and someone might come!"

That she was wearing sexy underwear hadn't got passed Dempsey, he had also noticed that she blushed whenever he called her Mrs Dempsey. "Well Mrs Dempsey" he whispered "you can wear my vest". He unbuttoned his shirt pulling it out from his trousers. Harry couldn't remember agreeing to anything but before she could open her mouth he handed her his vest and started on his belt. Harry looked up and down the beach and at Dempsey stepping out of his trousers, "Well looks like I'll race you into the sea" he said

'O what the hell' she thought. The sun was already making her hot again, she took off her blouse and Dempsey agreed in his head that such a bra would do very little for maintaining dignity but it certainly did rather a lot for him. She put the vest on and removed her bra from underneath. Dempsey was amazed at how women could do such things. He waited, her skirt came off and she ran ahead of him into the sea. As if shell shocked to see Harry in his vest with some lacy briefs he stood there until the splash of her dive pulled him back to reality, he swam out to her and dived to grab her ankles.

"Oh no you don't" she also dived again and they spent the next quarter of an hour messing around in the sea.

Always the practical one, Harry suddenly realised she had no idea of the time "We'd better get back" she pointed out

"If you say so boss!" Dempsey was forced to admit time had probably run out. "Let's sit over there and dry off first" he pointed to their destination at the end of the beach

Makepeace scrutinized the large smooth rock; she sat down first, leaning back on her elbows facing Dempsey as he followed her up the beach. He looked appreciatively at the wet t shirt effect- his vest clinging to her breasts and showing all their form and shape. "Am I allowed to say that your body is perfect?" he asked as he came to sit next to her

Makepeace looked from the sky to him expecting to see a leering smile but she saw all seriousness on his face.

"No" she replied "you shouldn't be looking" she turned to lie on her front but Dempsey noticed the satisfied grin on her face: he contented himself to look at the vest just covering her behind and her perfectly shaped legs. They let the sun beat down starting to dry them. Without thinking Dempsey ran his finger lightly down her leg, from her thigh to her knee. "Am I allowed to say your legs are perfect?"

Harry wanted to say yes, she certainly couldn't bring herself to say no, so she started to talk about the case instead. Dempsey traced the trickles of water running down her leg with his finger; he didn't hear a word of what Harry was saying.

"Dempsey!"

He shook himself out of the trance he had been in "Yeh"

"I asked you…." She realised he hadn't been listening and sighed "We're meeting with O'Malley soon" she reprimanded "and you haven't hear a word of my summary about Shehan and Fitzwilliam"

Dempsey grinned, he wasn't surprised – well only that she had lain there for so long without objecting – that was a surprise. She wriggled and he lifted his finger. Her hand reached back and lifted the wet vest off her skin, as if trying to gauge how much drier it had got or to at least stop it sticking so firmly to her skin.

Dempsey waited expecting the whole event to come to an abrupt end any moment but Harry laid back down mumbling that "there was time enough yet". Dempsey watched her, he anticipated her legs crossing and instructions to find his own rock but instead his eyes open wide as she manoeuvred her body over the rock to the left slightly increasing her closeness to him and parted her legs wider. Another wiggle of her bottom and Dempsey could not believe the invitation. Her words might sometimes confuse him but here her body was shouting acceptance of him and his advances.

His full hand returned to the back of her leg, just above her knee and cruised up her leg and around her inner thigh. She jiggled slightly and once again he expected her to close his approach off but she didn't. He moved himself closer and revelled in the feel of her skin and the curve of leg.