Once at the hotel he checked his watch again and slowed his pace. Four minutes early. The three hours since she'd left him had given him plenty of time to work himself into a bundle of jangling nerves. He decided to walk the circumference of the lobby. He could spend an agonizing minute or so looking at the junk in the gift shop window. Had she really meant it? He decided to take the stairs - slowly.

As he reached the first landing he became aware that there was someone else in the stairwell. He pushed the door to the second floor open, passed through and stepped aside, pressing himself against the wall. Thankfully the man who arrived just after him was familiar. Of course - it was Security. Oscar gripped his arm and directed him back to the stairwell. "Mason. Take the night off."

Mason looked doubtful. "Are you sure, Sir?"

"I'm sure." Mason disappeared back down the stairs and Oscar walked - slowly - down the endless hallway to room 207. He panicked momentarily, convincing himself he hadn't remembered the room number correctly. He knocked. Barely a moment passed before the door opened and there she was - Jaime Sommers, the woman he had loved from afar so long - and she was beckoning him in to her room.

She was wearing a lovely silky kimono kind of thing (he wasn't up on women's clothing styles) and a shy smile. She was of course, heartbreakingly beautiful, but there was something else there too - a little catch in her breath and a vulnerability in her face that clenched at his heart. He had that power over her? All those jangling nerves were all of a sudden blotted out by a tender protectiveness.

"Hey," he said quietly, as he stepped in the room.

"Hey back." she said, her voice a little wobbly.

He took her hands in his and looked into those clear hazel eyes. "You okay?"

"I am now." She beamed at him. "But I guess I am a little nervous."

He placed his hands firmly on her waist, noting as he did that he could practically encircle her body with his hands. "You don't have to be nervous." he said gently, pulling her closer. "It's just me."

"Just you huh?" she laughed.

"We don't have to race into anything, you know…we can go as slow as we want to…"

She leaned into him. "I think we've been waiting for this for years. I'm just…overexcited."

"I know the feeling." he replied, nuzzling his cheek to hers, noting the quiver animating his entire body.

Slipping her hands under his jacket, she ran them up from his belly to his chest. She hooked her finger onto the knot of his tie, looked him in the eye and with a tentative smile she said, "I must confess I have been thinking a lot about getting you out of that suit." Rising onto her toes, she parted her lips to kiss him, and as she did, she slowly and decisively pulled his tie downward. It was a moment that carried such an erotic charge he couldn't even move. When she eased her lips eased from his, he let out one hard breath and she smiled, gratified at her effect on him.

Now she was working the top buttons of his shirt with nervous hands. He watched her as she unfastened the first and second ones. Part of him just wanted to gaze at her and drink in the wonderful improbability of this moment. He softly kissed her temple and the top of her cheekbone and the corner of her mouth. He was sure he would never have a rational moment again. Was he ready for this? Would Steve kick his ass from here to next week when he found out? Did he care about anything other than Jaime? Was he going to spend the rest of his life mesmerized in the presence of this woman? Well, there seemed to be no point worrying now. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her warm and receptive lips like there was no tomorrow. He was now only aware of the overwhelming need he felt for her - a tangle of tenderness and desire.

She ran her hands to his hips and pulled his body tighter to hers. He could feel her mouth form a smile against his and he pulled back to look at her. "What's funny?"

"Is that a..." He interrupted her with a kiss. He knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Don't say it." he replied in a mock warning tone.

Her smile grew wider and she persisted. "Is that a g..."

He stopped her again with a kiss. "Don't!" he laughed, and began to move her backwards toward the bed.

"Is that a gun in..." Another kiss. "...your pocket…" she added hurriedly, laughing, before he kissed her again. This time he lingered. He lowered her to the bed and she pulled him down to her.

"The oldest line in the book." he said quietly, shaking his head. He gently brushed a few stray hairs from her face.

"It's a legitimate question." Her voice was dark and silky. She pulled impatiently at his shirt till it was untucked and ran her hands up the skin of his back. He let out another sharp gasp.

"I am very, very happy to see you." he whispered. He slipped his hand under the kimono collar and slowly eased the fabric off her shoulder. Jaime inhaled and looked deeply into his eyes. Her face was so open and trusting he thought his heart might break. He smiled slightly and ran his thumb along the hollow under her collarbone, where it connected to her shoulder. He slowly and sensually kissed her neck, her collarbone, and her bare shoulder, while he pulled the kimono from the other shoulder.

To think that a month ago Jaime couldn't even imagine him in pyjamas, and now she was desperate to get him out of his clothes. "You are way overdressed for this occasion, Mr. Goldman." She pulled his shirt up and over his head. He rose up, yanked it from his arms, threw it aside, and lowered himself to her again. She arched her back, melding herself into his body. He groaned with pleasure.

"I've never loved anyone like this." he whispered, covering her with kisses. "I've never wanted anyone this way."

"I'm all yours." she breathed, her body and heart on fire.

Oscar woke as he always did, at six. Jaime was asleep, her arm around him and her head on his chest. He had just had the best 12 hours of his life. He wanted badly to stay in this room, possibly forever, but he was expected at a meeting at eight. He was going to look like something the cat dragged in. He had slept what - perhaps an hour? He could shave and change his shirt and tie at the office, but Callahan would guess immediately. She had seen him spend countless nights in that place, but he knew today he would have the look of someone well loved - something Callahan had never seen on him before. He supposed she might even be pleased for him. He sighed and closed his eyes and rested his cheek against Jaime's forehead. Just five more minutes...