Hi all,

In case you hadn't noticed, the rating has changed on this story, this chapter ended up being a bit more racy. Later chapters may change the rating again.

Thank you for the great reviews!

Enjoy,

Failte

"I still think it should go to Schmidt."

"Of course you think he should get it, Potter, he reminds you of the stories you've heard about your father and his friends."

"No, I think he should get it because he has the grades and the…the…"

"Gumption."

"Yeah, that's the word, thanks Hagrid. He has gumption."

Tonks sat back in her chair, watching Harry and Minerva argue. It was the final meeting of the Potter/Black Memorial Scholarship board and they were trying to decide on that year's winning student. It was narrowed down to Heath Schmidt, a student planning on pursuing a career as an auror, and Charlotte Gane, a young witch who wanted to study abroad in hopes of returning to Hogwarts one day to teach. They both had top marks and were worthy of the scholarship, so it came down to the difficult discussions of who would get it.

Remus caught her eye across the table and he winked. She rolled her eyes upward. They could be at this for hours.

"All right," Remus spoke up. "We've been here for over an hour and a half and we have a babysitter to relieve."

Harry snorted. "Don't worry, Ginny loves watching Sirius, you're not putting her out."

"That was just Remus' polite way of saying we want to go home." Tonks said.

"I second that," George Weasley called out.

Fred nodded. "I third it."

Earlier in the year, the Weasley twins and their business became sponsors of the scholarship and they were awarded spots on the board.

"Where do you two stand on this?" Minerva asked.

"Well, Heath was a good customer of ours over the past couple years," Fred commented.

"We're not going to give the scholarship to someone just because they shopped at your store," Tonks muttered.

"Okay, we can all agree they both have the grades," Remus said, picking up the parchment in front of him. "Schmidt played Quidditch and was a prefect. Gane was a prefect, Head Girl, and she helped tutor students in Herbology and Charms. They're both worthy, but I think Charlotte's work with other students puts her ahead, just a bit."

"I agree," Hagrid said. "She's a good girl and smart too."

"I think Charlotte's a good choice," Minerva agreed.

Tonks nodded. "I'll make that four and that's a simple majority."

Harry sighed. "All right, she is a good choice, but this was a hard decision."

"We'll give Schmidt a gift certificate," Fred said.

"That's real nice of you," Hagrid said as he pushed back from the table.

Minerva gathered the parchments on the table and rolled them up. "I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

"This has definitely been the hardest decision so far," Tonks said as she stood and stretched her arms above her head.

"It's only the second scholarship we've given away and the first was to Ginny Weasley," Hagrid pointed out.

"That was an easy choice," Harry said.

Remus smirked. "And you're not the least bit biased, are you Harry?"

"She deserved it."

"And she's doing us all proud," Tonks said.

Harry smiled softly. "Yeah, she is."

"When are you going to stop messing around and make an honest woman out of our little sister?" Fred asked.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Harry cleared his throat and lifted his scarred visage to the twins. "I would do it today, but she's the one who wants to wait until she's done with her studies."

"That's a very mature outlook," Minerva said.

"It's still early," George said, glancing at his watch. "Anyone want to go get some lunch?"

"I'm sure the house elves would be more than happy to accommodate us," Minerva said as she slipped the parchments into her satchel.

"I could use some food." Hagrid lifted his massive bulk from his chair.

Remus looked at Tonks, raising his eyebrows in question and he watched as she contemplated her response. He could see her thoughts as clearly as her own. "Thank you for the offer, but I think we're going to go get Sirius and head home."

"Of course, of course." Minerva nodded, taking out her wand and shrinking the table down to an end table, sending it back to its place by the fireplace. "We'll see you next month at the presentation ceremony."

Remus took Tonks' hand in his as they followed the others out of the Headmistress' office. He knew she was tired. The full moon had been just three days earlier and it seemed as though it took as big a toll on her as it did on him. He knew she stayed up all night, worrying about him and watching their son for any possible changes. She had been working hard, compiling the files for the two finalists for the scholarship, looking after Sirius, helping Harry with his classes, and setting up their new home, they had moved in just three months earlier. But she never complained, everything she did, she did with a smile on her face and an enthusiasm that made him smile.

Lately the two of them had spent very little time together. While she had been busy with her responsibilities, Remus had been away from home, touring with his book and going to book signings. At first he had been a bit nervous, some of the signings were successful with people who had enjoyed his book and had heard his name mentioned by Harry Potter as an honorable man not to be feared because of his condition. But then there had been some anti-werewolf protestors at a couple stores and more than one store had been nearly empty, people too afraid to come near him. He had also been invited to speak at a couple of meetings set up by the Lycanthropy Support Society, taking him to venues all over the country.

It seemed as though they only saw each other around the full moon when he came home for the transformation.

He had found that since they had married, his transformations seemed more bearable. Remus knew that when it was over, she would be waiting for him. When they had lived in her flat, he still went to Grimmuald Place or the Shrieking Shack each month at the full moon, but she escorted him there and came to retrieve him in the morning. Now that they had found their cottage with the shed, he went there to transform and he knew that she preferred having him nearby.

Before Sirius had been born, each morning after his transformation, Tonks helped him to their bed so he could rest and regain his strength. The two of them would sleep until noon when she would make them sandwiches and they would eat in bed. The rest of the day depended on how he felt. Sometimes they would lay in bed and talk or she would leave him to rest more while she attended to other things or, when he was up to it, they would make love. But it was during the third trimester of her pregnancy with Sirius that he had enjoyed the most. He would wake up with her beside him and he would wrap his arms around her, gently stroking her firm stomach. Or he would just lay his hand on her swollen belly and feel their son move inside her.

After so many years of being alone, of having to wake up after each full moon alone and beaten, Remus had quickly grown to appreciate those days spent in bed.

Now that she had Sirius to look after, Remus would stay in bed alone, sleeping away the morning until Tonks and their son would wake him around lunchtime. Now he had a new reason to enjoy the days after his transformation. He loved waking to find his toddler son sitting on the bed beside him.

"What's on your mind?"

His wife's voice interrupted his thoughts as the two of them crossed the grounds of Hogwarts. "Hm?"

"I said, what's on your mind?" Tonks repeated, smiling.

Remus brought their joined hands up to press a kiss to the back of her hand. "Oh, I was just letting my mind wander."

"Did you wander any place interesting?"

"I was just thinking about you and me and our bed."

"Feeling frisky today?"

"Don't I always when I'm around you?"

"I've always had that effect on you, haven't I?"

"Yes you have."

"So, years ago, when you were living at 12 Grimmuald Place and I would come over for dinner or to play chess with Sirius, you were having dirty thoughts of me?"

He chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Of course."

"You dirty, dirty old man."

"Manipulative little minx."

Grinning, she leaned against him. "Oh, you know how hot I think it is when you use big words."

He lowered his voice. "You're naught but a vexing, beguiling, captivating enchantress."

"Oh, Remus." She swooned against him.

"Alluring coquette."

"I'll take that as a compliment, I think."

"Impudent Imp."

"Oh, now you're throwing in alliteration. Take me! Take me here and now!" She teased.

Laughing, he kissed her. "You sassy strumpet."

"Hey! I don't think that was a compliment."

He kissed her again. "It was definitely a compliment."

They stopped outside the castle gates and Tonks grinned up at him. "Race ya!"

Before he could respond, Tonks disapparated with a soft pop. Seconds later, he appeared at her side outside the three story walk up that housed Ginny's flat.

"Well, the building is still standing, that's a good sign," Tonks said as they entered the front door.

Ginny greeted them with a smile. "How did the meeting go?"

"Very well, it only took about two hours to come to a decision," Tonks told her. "How did everything go here?"

"Great. He went down right after we went for a walk and he's still sleeping back in the bedroom."

Remus hung back as Tonks went to retrieve Sirius. "Ginny?"

"What?"

"I know you're busy, we really appreciate your help."

"It's my pleasure, Remus, he's a great little boy."

He smiled, feeling a surge of pride. "Thank you. Um, I know we're asking a lot of you, but I was wondering if you were free to watch him again some other time soon."

"When?"

"Whenever is good for you, I'll work around your schedule."

Ginny looked confused. "Is everything all right?"

"Of course." He glanced over at the bedroom door and lowered his voice. "I want to do something special for Dora, I want to take an evening with her. We've both been so busy lately, hardly seeing each other over the past few months."

Remus blushed slightly when he noticed the way Ginny was staring at him with that Why can't my boyfriend be like you? look.

"Well, Harry is busy this weekend, so I won't be doing much more than hanging around here and studying," she told him, wistfully. "So, feel free to drop him off any time."

He looked up as Tonks slowly walked into the living room, cradling the sleeping little boy to her shoulder. He whispered quickly to Ginny. "Thanks a lot, I'll be in touch."

"Can you take him, honey?" Tonks whispered. "I'll go get the bag."

Remus took the limp, heavy form of his sleeping son and laid him against his shoulder. Sirius sighed, his warm breath caressed Remus' neck, making him smile as he pressed a kiss to the soft brown hair on top of the little boy's head. "No problems?" He quietly asked Ginny.

Her red ponytail swung side to side as she shook her head. "Not a one. He was very good, he ate lunch and then we went for a walk. He was a bit fussy before he went down for his nap, but he was fine, really."

"Thank you, Gin, we'll be in touch."

"All right, I think I have everything," Tonks said as she entered the room, digging through the diaper bag. "Ginny, thank you so much."

"No problem, Tonks, glad I could help."

"Are you okay to apparate with him?"

Remus smiled and nodded. The first time Tonks had apparated carrying Sirius, she nearly dropped him and it had upset her so much. "No problem. We'll meet back at the house where we can finish unpacking the moving boxes."

Tonks rolled her eyes at Ginny. "Nag, nag, nag."

"I heard that," Remus said, wrapping his arms securely around Sirius. "See you back at the house."

The next few days Remus spent every free moment planning. He told his agent he wanted to take time off from the promotional duties that came with a best selling book. They had argued over it. Nigel, his agent, was not happy with the fact that Remus wanted to stop traveling now, when the book had finally peaked on the Top Ten Best Selling list in the Daily Prophet.

But the fact was that the in the past two months, Remus apparated home after Tonks and Sirius were asleep and he often had to leave early in the morning to meet interviewers. It seemed as though the only time they were all together was after his transformations, when he was too tired to play with his son. That just wasn't enough for him.

So after meeting with his agent and adjusting his schedule, Remus apparated to Ginny's flat.

"Remus, how are you?" As always, the pretty redhead greeted him with a smile.

"I'm fine, Ginny, I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."

"Not at all. I just got in from classes and I don't meet Harry for another hour. Come in, come in."

He followed her in to the tiny, neat flat, clutching his hands together nervously. "I won't take up much of your time, I was hoping to take you up on this offer to watch Sirius."

"Oh, of course. When? Saturday? Sunday?"

"I was hoping for the night Saturday. I know that's asking a lot and if you can't do it, I completely understand, I'm sure you have plans and…"

"Remus," she interrupted. "I would love to. Sunday is Phlem, urm, sorry, Fleur's birthday, we're all going to the Burrow for brunch, I can take Sirius, he can play with Adele and little Billy. He'll have fun."

"Oh, no, I don't want to intrude on a family party, I'll pick him up Saturday night."

"Remus, it is no intrusion. And you know my mother loves having him. Just go, take Tonks someplace utterly romantic and know that Sirius is being very well taken care of."

He hesitated a moment. "If you're sure."

"I am absolutely sure. It'll be fun. I'll even test Harry on his childrearing abilities."

Remus smiled. "Thank you, Gin, I really appreciate this."

"No problem. Just have fun."

When he arrived home, Remus found Tonks and Sirius out in the backyard, sitting on the soft grass under the warm sun. The little boy clapped and giggled as Tonks scrunched up her nose and made her hair change. Short, bright red spikes to a long straight curtain of black to chin length waves of blue and finally to Sirius' favorite, a head full of springy rainbow curls.

"Mo, Mama, mo!" He shrieked, delighted.

"More?" Tonks asked, tickling his belly. "You want more?"

He laughed and shrieked, trying to wiggle away from his mother's fingers. "Daddy!" As soon as he saw Remus, Sirius escaped and hurried as fast as his little legs would carry him to his father.

"There's my little guy." Remus scooped him up and swung him onto his hip.

"What are you doing home?" Tonks asked, rising to her feet.

"Embarrassed to have been caught with a younger man?" He teased.

"Well, he is cute." Tonks kissed him.

Remus looked at his son. "So I have to fight you for my woman?"

"Yup!" The little boy replied enthusiastically.

Tonks slid her arm around Remus' waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "I'd let you win."

"Thanks."

"What are you doing home? I thought you were meeting with Nigel."

"We met and we talked." Remus leaned down and set Sirius on the ground, watching as the little boy ran over to his toys. "I'm done touring."

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He turned and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sick and tired of not being home, not being with you guys. I think I've done enough and I'm tired of being gawked at. Most of the people who come to the book signings don't come because of the book, they come to see a real life werewolf. And every minute I sit there making small talk with strangers and signing my name over and over, I can only think of you and Sirius. I'm tired of coming home after you're asleep and leaving early."

"Will this cause any problems? I mean, what about your contract?"

"I have done more than enough to fulfill my contract."

"Well, I will admit that I have missed you."

He kissed the top of her head. "I've missed you too."

"And Sirius has asked me more than once when you were going to read to him again."

Remus smiled sadly. It had become their nightly ritual for him to lie in bed with Sirius and read him a story. It had been one of the things he missed the most coming home after the little boy was in bed. "I've missed that too."

She grinned at him. "Tonight. You. Me. Our bed. Be there."

He laughed. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. And this weekend, you. Me. A surprise."

"What do you mean?"

"You and me, love, we're going away for the night. Don't ask me where, it's a surprise."

"What about Sirius?"

"I have that all taken care of. Ginny is going to take care of him."

"Oh. Okay. What should I pack?"

"I'll pack."

"Are you sure you know what I'll need."

He winked. "You won't need much."

She kissed him hard before whirling around. "Sirius! How would you like to spend all night with Ginny?"

"Gigi?" He asked excitedly. "Yea! Gigi!"

"No, not yet." Tonks sat down beside him and picking up one of his trucks. "Tonight, Daddy'll read you a story."

"Daddy read me?"

Remus lowered himself down beside them. "Yup, Daddy'll read to you."

"I love you," Tonks said, kissing Sirius' cheek. "I love you very, very much."

"He knows," Remus whispered as their son tried to squirm out of her arms.

"He doesn't care that we're leaving."

"He does, he's just excited about being with Ginny."

"He'll be fine, Tonks, I promise. Go, have fun." Ginny told her.

"I know and we will."

Remus winked at Ginny. "She's afraid Sirius will forget us while we're gone."

"Gigi." Sirius held his arms out to Ginny.

"Now he doesn't even want me to hold him," Tonks whined.

"Because you're squeezing him to hard." Remus took his son from his wife and set him on the floor, watching the toddler give chase after Ginny's cat, Emsworth.

Ginny grinned at them. "Go, have fun, enjoy yourself. We'll be fine."

Remus took Tonks' hand and tugged on it. "We'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Bye bye Siri, Mummy and Daddy are leaving!" Tonks called.

Sirius ignored her, crawling under the sofa after the cat.

Tonks' shoulders slumped as they left Ginny's flat.

"Oh, stop pouting," Remus teased gently.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Do you realize that in the two years of his life, Sirius and I have only been apart three nights?"

"Yes I do realize that. And I know that you and I are going to have an amazing evening and Sirius is going to have fun with Ginny and you'll see him in the morning."

"True." She grinned up at him. "It's just you and me, for the night. Just like old times."

"Hm. Maybe I should have rented a tiny flat for the night and we could pretend we were 'living in sin' again."

"Okay, first of all I thought you liked our old flat and second of all, my grandmother forgave you for all that 'living in sin' stuff when we got married."

"I loved our little flat and your grandmother has never forgiven me for anything."

"Well, you are a dirty old man who took her little Nymphy away from her."

"Nymphy?"

"Gran is the only one allowed to call me that."

Remus turned down an empty alley and turned to face her. "Are you ready?"

Tonks nodded, the pout had left her lips and she watched him expectantly, feeling giddy and wildly in love. "Still not going to tell me where we're going?"

He shook his head and pulled her closer. "Trust me. I am going to sweep you off your feet and leave you breathless."

"You always do," she murmured, sliding her arms around his neck.

Kissing her gently, he pulled her tight against him. Lifting his head, he winked at her. "Close your eyes." When she did, he brought to his mind the place they were going and disapparated.

Tonks kept her eyes closed and pressed her face to his shoulder as the disapparated. Her heart pounded loudly and she all but squealed with excitement when their feet his solid ground again.

"Can I open my eyes?"

"Yup."

Tonks lifted her head and blinked. It took her a moment to realize where they were and she clapped her hands over her mouth.

"You told me once that when you were little your father read muggle fairy tales to you and you dreamed of being a princess in a castle. I thought you'd like to pretend, just for one night." Remus said quietly.

"We're staying in a castle?" She gasped, staring up at the old stone building that rose above them.

It sat on a slight hill of rolling green grass. A tall tower stood at each corner and regal banners in gold and burgundy were draped over the walls. The ocean could be heard slapping against the rocks to the west and the cry of birds washed over them.

"It's a muggle castle," he explained, taking her hand and leading her up the hill. "They rent it out and I thought that we could, for tonight, pretend."

Tonks shifted her gaze from right to left, up and down, trying to see everything. As they drew closer she saw shrubs and gardens blooming in brilliant shades of red, yellow, blue, and purple. A horse whinnied and they both turned to see a small horse drawn wagon by the front entrance.

"Mr. Lupin?"

"Yes." Remus crossed the front walk and shook hands with the middle aged man waiting there. "Mr. Jeffries?"

"Yes, yes, welcome to Castle Miller On The Moors."

Tonks snickered at the name, but hid it behind a quiet cough.

"And this lovely lady is your wife?"

Remus squeezed her hand gently. "Yes, Dora, this is Mr. Jeffries, owner of the castle. Mr. Jeffries, my wife, Dora."

"A pleasure." He took her hand and pressed a wet kiss to the back of it.

"Enchante," she replied, adding a bit of a French lilt to her voice.

"Here are the keys. There is a telephone in the front hall and my number posted on the wall above it. You should have everything you need, but feel free to call if you need anything else."

"Thank you," Remus took the keys.

Tonks dropped Remus' hand and wandered around the building. It wasn't nearly as big as it had appeared from a distance. In fact, it was just a stone house that had the towers added on, however, closer inspection revealed that that it wasn't even real stone, but a synthetic material made to look like stone. The banners were actually handmade, poorly, of felt and the flowers that lined the walkway were plastic.

"Okay, so it's not a real castle," Remus whispered, coming up behind her. "But it's close enough."

"You mean Castle Miller On The Moors isn't a real castle," she teased.

"It's a good fake and we have the whole place to ourselves."

She chewed on her lower lip and looked up at the building. "Can…can we afford this?"

"I don't want you to worry about that," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

"I can't help it."

He dipped his head to press a kiss to her throat. "It's off season, it's a tourist trap, and it's called Castle Miller On The Moors."

Tonks giggled. "How did you find this place?"

"I have my ways."

"Come on, I want to check out our castle."

"Our castle? We're the king and queen?"

"I was thinking more like I was the innocent lady-in-waiting and you're the suave, older knight who is going to take advantage of me."

Remus threw his head back and laughed as he opened the front door.

Inside it was crowded with cheap replicas of medieval paraphernalia. Four foot tall suits of armor, big, ornate chairs, tapestries hanging on the wall and wildly gaudy rugs on the floor.

"After you, wench," Remus teased, gesturing to the doorway with a sweep of his arm.

"Why thank you, sir knight." She slipped past him. "Oh, wow."

"Okay, so I didn't know it was going to be this tacky," he muttered, following her. "The brochure made it look a lot nicer."

"Don't be silly, it's very nice. I mean, this place puts Hogwarts to shame."

"There's no need for sarcasm."

Giggling, she all but skipped down the hall, inspecting the rooms as she went. There was a large living room with two, big, ornately carved chairs that looked horrendously uncomfortable. A big, plush couch, a game table, another four foot tall suit of armor, and a huge fireplace with a massive stone mantel filled the cluttered room. The kitchen stretched along the back of the house. A gigantic wooden table sat in the middle of the room, a fireplace took up the far wall, free standing cupboards and a sink with a pump took up another wall.

"Hm, rustic." She whirled around to face him. "You said this place was muggle?"

"Yup."

Smiling wickedly, Tonks leaned against the table. "This table looks sturdy."

"Oh? Did you want to cook something?" He asked, stepping closer to her.

She hopped up on the edge of the table. "Yeah, but I'm not exactly talking about food."

Leaning forward, he placed his hands on either side of her and leaned in for a kiss.

The table groaned and shifted.

Tonks giggled and pushed him off her. "I guess this isn't real either."

"I think we should go upstairs and see if the bed is real."

"Oh, yes, lets!" Jumping off the table, Tonks ran down the hall.

The steps creaked as she bounded up them. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. The first bedroom had two small beds covered with thick duvets and several pillows. The next door led to the bathroom and Tonks took a moment to explore. The bathtub was huge and had holes in the side, it took her a moment to realize it was a jacuzzi. There was a skylight over the tub that showed the bright blue sky above them and a separate shower stall and two sinks.

"Whoa, Dora, you have to check out the bedroom!" Remus called from the other room.

"I don't know, this bathroom is pretty nice," she called back, slowly leaving it. "I'm having ideas of what we could do with that bathtub, I mean its big enough for…oh…oh my."

Remus smiled at the shocked expression she wore. While she was exploring, he had been busy. With a wave of his wand, he had lit several candles around the room, lit a fire in the massive fireplace, and laid a single red rose on the pillow.

"Well, they certainly got one thing right," Tonks whispered, looking around the master bedroom.

The bed took up most of the room with tall, carved posts and heavy, maroon drapes. The comforter was deep maroon and looked thick and plush. A mountain of pillows were piled in front of a huge carved headboard. Beside the fireplace was a comfortable looking chaise lounge, an armoire was on the wall opposite the bed and the wall across from the fireplace was lined with floor to ceiling windows. In the center of the wall of windows were two glass doors that opened onto a balcony with a wrought iron railing and a small table for two over looking a meadow and the ocean in the distance.

"Well, it is the most important room," Remus said as he took their suitcase out of his pocket and used his wand to enlarge it to normal size.

"We are not leaving this room for the next eighteen hours."

"I thought you said you had some ideas about the bathtub."

"We'll use that in the morning."

"I thought you'd like to take a walk while it was still light out and see…" Remus trailed off when Tonks pulled her shirt up over her head. "Or not."

"Yeah, I had something else in mind," she said, unsnapping her jeans.

"Um, I was thinking about taking it more slowly, romancing you." He felt his mouth go dry as she stood in front of him, her hands on her hips, wearing nothing but a dark green bra and panties set.

"Do I look like I need romancing?" She asked, her voice a bit husky.

"Maybe I do." He murmured, taking a step closer.

With a small smile curving her lips, Tonks moved slowly toward him. "Do you?"

"Maybe."

She leaned closer and touched her lips to his in a gentle, coaxing kiss. "Since when do you need to be romanced? Normally, all I have to do is smile at you and you're ready to jump my bones."

He raised a brow in question. "Jump your bones? I like to think I have more finesse than that."

"Was it that finesse that had you picking this place?"

"That's a low blow."

Catching her tongue between her teeth Tonks grinned mischievously at him. "I'm sorry, can your forgive me?"

Remus crossed his hands over his chest. "I doubt it."

Reaching behind her, Tonks unclipped her bra and let it fall to the ground.

"All right, you're forgiven." He grabbed her by the waist and threw her, laughing, onto the bed.

"You're so easy," she laughed.

He nuzzled her throat as he ran his hands down her sides. "You're so beautiful."

She noticed his tone and her laughter died away as she brought her arms up around him. "I love you, Remus, so much."

He lifted his head and smiled down at her. "I love you, too."

"You really need to lose those clothes, darling."

"Give me a moment," he murmured, lowering his hand to cup her breast. "I want to get my fill of you first."

"All right then, if you must."

With a gleam in his eye, Remus reached past her and picked up the rose he had laid on the pillow. He brushed the velvety soft petals against her cheek and watched as her eyes darkened with desire as he dragged the bud down the side of her neck and across her shoulder. With infinite care, he slowly circled her breast with the flower, brushing it over the hardening peak of her nipple.

She gasped quietly and arched her back toward him.

Lowering his head, he followed the trail of the rose with his lips. When he came to her breast and gently nipped her sensitive skin, she groaned and wove her hands into his hair, holding him to her.

He lifted his head again, smiling down at her. "When are the king and queen set to return?"

"They've gone away for a fortnight, we have the entire castle to ourselves, sir."

"What shall we do? Would you like to take a horseback ride or I could teach you how to fence or…"

She slid her hands down his back. "Maybe you could just take your sword out now and we'll figure out what to do with it."

Remus chuckled. "You are no innocent lady-in-waiting, you're quite naughty, aren't you?"

"I've been corrupted by a sexy knight."

He rolled off her and stretched out on his side. Picking up where he left off, he trailed the soft petals around her breasts and meandered slowly down her stomach, circling her bellybutton. She trembled and he smiled. Tiny goosebumps rose all over her exposed skin. He set the rose aside and retraced the trail of the rose with his fingertip.

Tonks felt like a live wire. Her entire body was shaking and she was afraid she would explode if he continued this slow seduction.

"Remus?"

"Yes, love?" He kissed her bellybutton.

"If you don't take me right now, I am going to explode."

"You're not going to explode."

She groaned and grabbed a handful of his hair, yanking his head back. "Remus!"

He slid up her body and met her mouth with his own in a heated kiss. Slipping her hands between their bodies, she started popping his buttons open. She shoved the shirt off his shoulders and threw it across the room. Tonks wrapped her arms tightly around him, pressing her hot flesh to his own, grinding her hips against him.

Remus sat up and quickly undid his pants, standing just long enough to remove them before returning to his wife.

When they joined, it was fast, intense, and passionate.

Remus collapsed on top of her, spent and breathless.

Tonks kept her arms wrapped tightly around him, not ready to let go. "I love you, Remus. Dear God, I love you so much. You do the most incredible things to me."

He smiled against her damp skin. "I am so lucky to have you," he murmured against her skin. "I love you, too, Dora."

Current Day

"And then there was the chaise lounge and the bathtub and the balcony," Tonks said, ticking off her fingers.

Remus hugged her close, running his foot up and down her leg. "I can't believe you thought that was one of the most romantic nights of our lives together."

"Are you kidding? We had a castle, we had amazing sex, you fed me strawberries and whipped cream on the balcony of a castle under a star strewn sky."

"The castle was the tackiest, cheapest imitation I had ever seen, it was almost embarrassing, we have amazing sex all the time, and I have fed you many things before."

"But you took it upon yourself to remember some silly little fantasy from my childhood and made it real, even if it was tacky and cheap, you planned and carried out the surprise, and you ended your touring to so you could read bedtime stories to our son. It was very romantic."

"And about a month later you found out you were pregnant with Andi."

"Our little souvenir."

"I think Sirius would have liked a t-shirt instead."

"I would have liked one of those jacuzzi tubs."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Remus threw back the covers and grabbed his wand from the bedside table. "Come with me."

"What?"

"Come on?"

Tonks stood, wrapped a blanket around herself and followed him to their bathroom.

With the flick of his wand, Remus enlarged their bathtub to twice its size before turning the water on. Moments later, it was filled with fragrant warm water bubbling like a jacuzzi. He slid into the tub, leaning back against the gentle curve, and held his hand out to her. "Care to join me, Dora?"

Letting the blanket fall to the floor, she took his hand and stepped over the side. Her foot slipped and she fell into the tub, water splashing over the sides and flooding the floor.

Remus laughed and pushed his wet hair from his face. "Should have seen that coming."