Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Sexual situations, so please read responsibly, and enjoy.

"Georg, Max's car is gone," Maria said quietly as her husband pulled the car into the driveway. Though she was disappointed to see that the children weren't home and waiting, another part of her was secretly pleased to have some more time alone with her husband, no matter how much—their honeymoon had been lovely, but the ending of it had been quite abrupt, thanks to the political turmoil now swamping Austria. The Nazis had taken over, and she knew it was only a matter of time before Hitler attempted to commission Georg to the naval forces of his Third Reich.

"Hmm." Georg's answer was non-committal, but Maria knew he was tired. The drive from Vienna had been a long and tiring one.

Once the ignition was turned off, Maria twisted around to grab some luggage then started to get out, but on a second thought, stopped. She leaned over to Georg and gave him a tender kiss on the cheek, whispering, "Thank you for the lovely time in Paris and Vienna, darling. I loved every moment of it," then she got out of the vehicle and proceeded into the villa.

Georg sat in the car, putting his head in his hands, thinking quietly to himself. Maria was more than he'd ever deserved in his life, and she deserved the best that he could offer her. He was tormented by the fact that their honeymoon had been tainted constantly with hints of politics and war, and wished it hadn't turned out this way, but Maria hadn't complained. She'd dutifully put up with a few sullen moods and had willingly and lovingly listened to him rant and rave, offering him comfort that he hadn't had before he found her. Though he knew their time together had been lovely, had been a blessing, he wanted to try to make it up to her somehow…

After making a quick search of the house to be entirely sure his children were gone—he too had been hoping they would be home—he went to help Maria unpack, wanting something useful to do. He found however, that she was a quick worker, and that most of their things were already put away. He gestured to the gifts they'd gotten for the children while in Paris and asked, "Shall I be of service and put those on the terrace for the children?"

Maria turned to look at her husband and asked, "Can't it wait? I'd like to go down to the lake for a bit, then unpack their things and get settled."

Georg found himself looking at his wife, whose neat dress suit was unbuttoned. He realized the real intent of her words in a second, and couldn't help noting to himself that Maria was a sly player. And he so very happily succumbed, drawing closer to her in several strides, unzipping her skirt, then cupping her face in a kiss that took Maria's breath away.

She slowly turned, with Georg following her lead and still kissing her unrelentingly, then slowly sunk down onto the edge of their bed, arms wrapped around her husband's waist, head resting against his hard abdomen. She relaxed more as his hands rubbed lovingly up her back, then he bent down to kiss the top of her head. She loved the feeling of his fingers playing with her short blond locks, and muttered quietly, eyes closed, "More, darling."

Georg was more than happy to oblige with his wife, for though her hair was cropped to the neck in what he'd once thought to be a ridiculous pageboy style haircut, he could spend hours playing with it. It was quite a bit longer than it looked upon first glance, and his gently toying with it had proved to be a wonderful way to relax his wife over the first few nights of their marriage. Now she could barely refrain from begging him to do it at all. She'd explained softly, "Of the few things I remember about my mother, her playing with and brushing my hair is one of them."

But now Georg was the one that felt he needed to get something off his mind. He began, "I'm sorry for my moods over our honeymoon, Maria. I'm quite chagrined by the fact that politics ended up sticking its nose in what should have been a purely blissful experience for us."

Maria opened her eyes, then looked up at her husband's face, which was still gazing down at her. Unlocking her fingers from around his waist, she slid her hands to rest at his hips and said sternly, "Georg, I won't have any of this—that's all behind us now. Nothing—talk of politics and war included—can take away from the special time we had. I love you, and I think that's all that should matter. You're a man of military and politics, so it comes with the package, and I'm perfectly willing and able to cope. Now, stop it with this stupid talk and let's make good use of our time alone."

By the time Georg had fully digested what she'd said in rebuke to his qualms and finally nodded his head yes in agreement, Maria's quick hands had already taken care of his pants and boxers and was slipping her skirt off her body. She pulled him down onto the bed with her and resumed the kissing where they'd left off, one hand caressing his face as she worked on unbuttoning his shirt with the other. She succeeded with her task faster than Georg would have imagined—for such a supposedly inexperienced woman, anyways.

Or maybe not so inexperienced, Georg concluded, as her body, still clad in her silk slip, quickly pinned his down to the bed. Not to be outdone by his young wife, Georg quickly slipped his hands under the skirt of the cool material, which was bunched around her waist by now, ran his hands up her sides, and fondled her breasts, which garnered a deep groan of pleasure from her. In another moment, he had the offending article of clothing removed from her trim frame and lifted her above him, turning slightly to settle her down gently next to him so he could have his chance at teasing her. He realized something and asked, "No underwear?"

Maria grinned with a wicked twinkle in her eye. "You were quite busy exploring a house that was quite empty except for me, you, and our luggage. We could just say I took some advantage of it."

Taking possession of the hollow of Maria's neck, Georg murmured, "I should say so!"

After several minutes of tickling, kissing, stroking, and a love bite from Maria just below his ribcage, Georg finally had to admit to himself that she had it all in her to tire him out and keep him going all at once. She was amazing in every way, shape, and form and she was a feast for his eyes, dressed or not. And as their bodies joined into one, Georg still—even after a month of this—wasn't quite sure how he'd been deemed worthy of her. She was everything he would ever want or need.

Some time later, both exhausted after the wonderful but tiring honeymoon and present lovemaking, Georg began to trace the contours of his wife's body, getting a terribly high approval rating from Maria. She said, though, "I think a nap would do us both some good."

Georg didn't need any further suggestions of exhaustion from her, but just as he settled back down comfortably beside her, the light from the window—bearing a bright and cheerful midday sunlight—brought attention to a long but faded scar on the left side of Maria's stomach. He traced it tenderly. "I missed this."

Feeling where Georg's fingers touched her skin, Maria knew what he was referring to. She leaned up on an elbow for a moment, taking his hand away from her side and drawing it to her lips. "Lay down, Georg."

"But, Maria—"

"Give me a chance, darling. It's just the remnants of my brush with appendicitis. I was nine."

Mollified, Georg pulled her into his arms, and within a minute they were both fast asleep. The image of the two of them was one of serenity and peace, love and passion, promise and dedication.

When Georg awakened, Maria still wrapped in his arms, he realized that their room was no longer flooded with light—they had slept away the entire afternoon and a good portion of the night! But, he didn't really care, for any time that he could get with Maria in his arms was welcomed gladly by him. At that moment, she shifted slightly in his arms and he saw her eyes open—the moonlight was almost as bright as the sun had been, but somehow more magical. Georg couldn't explain it.

She smiled gently when she saw his face and asked, "Can't we please go walk down to the lake now? I truly don't see any reason not to."

Georg chucked at her repetitious request, and then replied, "Neither do I." An idea suddenly struck Georg's mind. "Maria, what about a moonlit horseback ride around the lake?"

"Darling, I'm sorry, but I truly have no idea where my knickers are and I'm not going to wear a dress or skirt just to horseback ride in the middle of the night. Frau Schmidt still hasn't given me everything back from when we were married and she set about to switching my things from my old room to yours."

In the end, Maria put her cotton slip and dressing gown on, and Georg opted for some old riding pants and a muslin shirt that he normally would not have been caught dead wearing. What Maria managed to scavenge in the dark… But the wardrobe was satisfying enough for the summer night and had the couple happily on their way within five minutes.

When the two reached the gazebo, Maria stopped in her tracks and requested, "Georg, could we dance?" She could remember reading similar things as a child and the fantasy had suddenly come alive again and grown on her within the last month. "I know we haven't any music, but…"

Placing one hand on Maria's waist and taking her hand with his other, Georg chuckled as he asked, "Did you truly drag me out of bed to just dance in the moonlight?"

A twinkle in Maria's eyes didn't escape him as she answered, "Maybe," and then rested her head on his shoulder while they danced to the music that the nighttime world created for them. Georg sighed and decided just to enjoy this.

As they swayed in each other's arms, a slight breeze picked up, some clouds moved in front of the large moon, and a drizzle began to fall. Maria looked out over the lake, and from the corner of her eye, noticed a dark shadow in the darkness—something moving quickly away. She focused her attention on it, then gasped, "Georg, the canoe! The children must not have tied it properly—it's floating away!"

Georg groaned, wondering why the canoe had to make its escape now. He reluctantly released his wife, then jogged over to the gate and undid it. He clambered carefully down the steps, reaching tentatively for the rope of the canoe that was just within grasp. Maria was watching from the wrought-iron gate. Without any warning, Georg's foot slipped on the slick stone surface of the steps leading into the lake, and fell with a splash into its warm waters.

When he'd first fallen in, Maria had covered her mouth with both hands in slight horror, but when her husband resurfaced, irritably jerking at the rope of the canoe that was now firmly in his hand, she burst out laughing. The sight was hysterical, and really quite appealing. With his wet, thin clothing sticking to every inch of his soaked body, Maria couldn't help the bolt of desire that shot through her. At that moment, a low rumble of thunder somewhere in the distance echoed in her ears, and the drizzle of rain began to pour in buckets.

Quite dismayed to be his wife's laughing stock, Georg shouted over the rain, "You find this funny, do you? You'll just have to come in with me, then, as a punishment!"

Shedding her drenched dressing gown, Maria shouted back, "I'm afraid your idea of punishment is my idea of fun," then ran carelessly down the stone steps and splashed into her husband's arms. She was quick to wrap her legs tightly around his waist, then take possession of her husband's lips, enjoying the feel of the warm lake water and the rain drumming down on them rhythmically. She stopped almost immediately, though, and gave her a husband a look. "Somebody got excited in a split second, did he not?"

Georg grinned somewhat sheepishly at her in the darkness. "The sight of your drenched and slightly chilled body was clearly enough to change my mood—I am a man, after all!"

"And I never said there was anything wrong with that, darling," Maria responded before leaning down to kiss her husband all over his face, neck, and chest. "Mmm, this water does feel wonderful."

Georg chose not to respond, for he agreed with her, but he increased the intensity of their kissing in such a way that it sent a flood of burning warmth, flaming desire, and a cacophony of butterflies though Maria's body. She also discovered that Georg's riding breeches had somehow slipped from his hips, remembering that he hadn't bothered to include a belt with the shabby outfit.

With Maria being nearly weightless half-submerged in the water, Georg easily shifted her weight, and received an intense amount of satisfaction from the gasp that had slipped from her lips in surprise of his move. Her responding pelvic thrust to his was almost involuntary and at the same time, she drove Georg into a world of blissful oblivion with a French kiss that matched no other. Yet at the same time, he reveled in how quickly they'd gotten to know each other in this intimate fashion—Georg had found almost immediately that Maria learned quickly and was not afraid to be bold and daring once she was had processed everything that had happened on their wedding night. That alone had been a night to remember.

Maria soon found herself fighting to hold off on the powerful sensations that she knew would course through her body, but with minimal encouragement from Georg, she gave in to her body's demands and was quickly spent.

Maria's eyes fluttered open when she felt someone touch her nose softly. Georg was leaning down and brushing her hair from her eyes—sunlight once again flooded their room. She could hear pounding feet downstairs and some shouting, so she knew the children were home from wherever they'd been.

Georg said with a smile, "Our walking, talking disasters have returned home—apparently Max took them to watch some rehearsals for the Salzburg Folk Festival yesterday and they got a late start home. To their fortune, the car broke down and they had to bed at an inn for the night."

Still feeling slightly groggy, Maria sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I would say their misfortune, and our fortune."

Georg chuckled. "And Max had the audacity to ask if there would be a new addition to the family."

Maria laughed aloud. "He definitely can put two and two together. What did you tell him?"

Bending down to kiss Maria on the forehead before leaving to see to his clan, Georg answered, "No."

Hopping lightly to her feet, Maria said mischievously, "I wouldn't be so sure, after last night."

Georg turned in the doorway, explaining, "Max will probably have it figured out before you or I if you're pregnant, but I told him not to count on it just yet."

Maria shook her head as she watched Georg leave their bedroom, then called after him, "By the way, yes, I only dragged you out of bed last night so we could dance in the moonlight!" She thought she heard a distinct sound of disbelief, but chose not to dwell on it.

With her outfit in hand, she went over to close the door, then leaned up against it, closing her eyes and reliving yesterday's bliss. The romp in the lake hadn't quite been the end of their fun—the steaming hot shower that followed had come with more than one would originally bargain for just as much as the empty house and Georg's slip in the lake also had.

Maria muttered happily to herself as she slipped her dress over her head and began to button the back up, "I must have done something good."

Ende