Ruth awoke loose limbed and very, very happy. Harry still slept next to her and she smiled at him, getting up to have a hot shower. At around three in the morning Harry had woken her up to gentle kisses on her breasts, touching her slowly, sensitively and giving her the most exquisite love making of her entire life. He hadn't said a single word to her, he hadn't needed to. He'd spoken with his touch and his kisses, and the skill of his tongue, as well as the movements of their bodies. No more was needed. When he had let her go, she'd actually been shaking and trembling with delight. He'd slept with his head on her stomach and a hand grasping her thigh. It had been the closest to heaven she thought she would ever experience.

Smiling at the very fresh memory, Ruth rubbed her shower gel all over her body, her skin still tingling slightly. She'd just washed the last of the suds away when a shadow hit the steamed up shower door. She knew it was Harry. She switched the water off and opened the door a crack to look at him. "Morning," she said with a smile.

"Hi," he said softly. "You look good wet."

"God, and you can still make me blush," Ruth said.

"You're not… regretting last night are you?" he asked quietly.

"No," she said. "Or not the parts that involved you at any rate. Last night was… amazing Harry."

"I shouldn't have done that last night," he said. "Not after what… almost happened to you."

"No," she agreed. "We probably shouldn't have. But I am not going to waste time regretting it when it felt so good. And right." She knew perfectly well that if Mace hadn't touched her last night the way he had that she wouldn't have initiated things with Harry. She couldn't bear the touch of that horrible man on her skin, especially when she had longed for Harry's touch so badly and for so long. So… maybe in the beginning she'd used him. To forget the touch of that weasel. But then it had felt so damn good and she hadn't been able to stop. She hadn't wanted to. All she had wanted was for Harry to never let her go and to never stop kissing her. And this morning, she couldn't bring herself to regret any part of it.

"Come and join me," she said casually. "The showers big enough for two." He grinned easily at her.

"I thought you'd finished," he said.

"Well, I wasn't thinking of using the shower for the purpose it was built," she said with a smile. Harry raised his eyes slowly over her body, wet, glistening and desirable. Then he moved into the shower and closed the door, reaching over her to turn the water back on. By the time they left the shower there was no hot water left.

"At some point I'm going to have to go home and get some clean clothes," Harry said on Sunday night, in bed with Ruth. They'd spent most of the weekend in bed together and it had been so enjoyable.

"I need to talk to you," Ruth said.

"Oh, that sounds bad," Harry said.

"Not bad," she said. "But there's two things I want to discuss with you. Without the temptation of your wandering hands."

"Go on then," he said, keeping the said appendages to himself for the time being.

"Mace," she said. "I don't want you to do anything stupid." Harry sighed heavily. "I mean it. I'm sure with time we can both dig up enough dirt on him to bury him. Professionally. Let him vanish without a trace. Don't kill him for my sake."

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "But if the opportunity presents itself for him to receive another punch from me, I'm not going to walk away from it."

"Fair enough," she said with a slight smile. "I hated his hands all over me. He deserves what he gets."

"What was the second thing?" he asked.

"At work," she said. "Whatever happens in our private life, has to stay private. I don't want it impinging on work, and I would hate to get special treatment because you're sleeping with me."

"I'll agree to that easily," he said. "But, it works the other way too. We leave work at work. When we're at home we talk of normal things. Nothing using the words JIC, spy, interrogation, the grid or operation."

She smiled at him. "That's probably a good rule of thumb." She stroked his face gently, the stubble causing friction against her hand and fingers. "So, this… between us, is more than a forty eight hour thing?"

"I should have thought that was obvious," he said. "It could never be just a quick fling between us." He was slightly hurt by the assumption.

"Well I hoped so," she said. "But things were rather rushed. We didn't discuss anything."

"We did," he said. "Just not with words from our lips. Our bodies had a lot of private and intense conversation." She laughed at that. "You should laugh more often," he said. "It's such a nice sound."

"Well now I have something to smile about," she said. "You may have heard this before but you're terribly good in bed." He chuckled lightly into her ear.

"I'm glad you enjoy it. But as much as you like it, I can't do it again. I'm an old man."

"Oh yeah," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "This entire weekend you've been more eager than me."

"Yes," he said. "Well, you're intoxicating."

She laughed happily, her fingers trailing over the fine hairs on his chest. "Harry, I love you." She turned so she could look directly in his eyes. She hadn't planned to say it, but it didn't make it untrue. Harry stroked her hair gently, before lacing his fingers with hers, moving her hand so it rested over his heart. She could feel the slow reassuring beat of his life's blood under her fingertips.

"I'm not one for romantic declarations," he said quietly. "But that's yours." She smiled at him.

"Call me sentimental, but I'd quite like to hear you say it," she said. Then she squealed as Harry moved faster than lightning, rolling on top of her and pinning her to the bed. She smiled at the look on his face, her heart overflowing.

"I love you," he said. "Will that do?"

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes," he said, the humour dropping out of his eyes. "Very much so." She tilted her body up to meet his and he kissed her passionately.

"I thought you didn't have another round in you?" she asked with a sly smile as she felt his hardness between her legs.

"That part of my anatomy doesn't listen to my brain," he said.

"Ah well," she said, eyes sparkling. "What shall we do about that?" He chucked and they spent the rest of the night wrapped tightly in each others arms.

Fin.

Thank you for all the reviews, and one more would be wonderful.