CHAPTER 5

House was lounging in his chair, feet propped up on the ottoman, watching General Hospital when Cuddy walked into his office. "Hey," he said casually, "Look at this," he said, gesturing at the tiny television turned around on his desk. "I think Robin and Lisa are about to get in a locker room fight. This could get very good." Cuddy smiled and walked over to him. House didn't take his eyes off the screen, but patted his lap. Cuddy sat down and lounged on top of him, watching the soap opera. House put a hand on her thigh.

"That was incredibly sweet," she murmured.

"No big deal," he said, still entranced with the show.

"It was a big deal. That took a lot of orchestration," she said. "You got up early!"

"I'm just lucky you're so well-liked," he replied, "People don't usually agree to do me favors."

"Why did you do all that?" she asked.

"I don't want people to think I don't treat you well," he answered. They sat and watched for a moment.

"I thought Sam's comments didn't bother you," she pressed.

"They didn't at first. And they still don't in the way you were worried about. I don't care what Sam thinks of me, or anyone else for that matter. And they're all right anyway. But I don't want people to think that you would settle for someone who didn't treat you right. I can be mean, but I'm not mean to you. You're too kick-ass to put up with that," he said.

Cuddy smiled broadly and kissed his cheek. "Look!" he cried, pointing at the screen when Robin slapped Lisa across the face. "Oh, boy! Bitch had it comin'…" It went to commercial and House switched it off with the remote. "Anyway," he continued, "I have all these cute nurses smiling at me today… I never knew niceness was such an aphrodisiac." Cuddy narrowed her eyes at him. "I didn't even smile back! I growled, in fact. Keeps 'em guessing."

"I wanted to thank you…" she said suggestively, nuzzling his ear.

"Cuddy," he said quietly, slowly turning to face her, "Are you suggesting we baptize my office?" He was incredulous. She just smiled a little.

"If…" she said, "You can make it discreet-ish."

"Hmmm…" he thought aloud. "Discreet-ish…" He took his feet off the ottoman. "Up, up, up, woman! This is urgent! I need to strike while the Cuddy's hot!" Cuddy laughed and got off of his lap. House started twisting all the blinds shut and locked his office door. He opened the door to the team's room and looked at Taub, Chase and Foreman, who were writing up paperwork from the last case. "Hey! Foreman has a mysterious disease. Go break into his apartment and go through his stuff. See if you can figure out what it is." They just stared back at him, confused. "Scram!" he yelled. They started gathering stuff up to leave. He closed the door and locked it. Cuddy was just sitting in his lounge chair, laughing at his maniacal pace. "Discreet-ish enough?" he asked.

"Okay," she said.

"I can't believe it!" he sang. "You've said no to this, like, a thousand times. Why didn't I do something like this ages ago?"

"Shut up," she said, laughing. "You're wrecking it."

"Okay, okay," he said, taking a deep breath to temper his excitement. "I realize this is a very delicate situation… Oh, and can you hand me my cane a sec?" It was leaning next on the chair and Cuddy handed it to him. House suddenly banged on the glass adjoining the team's room, shaking it all with an awful clang. They heard Taub cry out. "I said beat it!" House yelled. They heard the team's door swing open and shut again. He dropped his cane on the floor and walked over to Cuddy, perched elegantly on the chair. He sat on the ottoman, facing her.

"No one has ever done anything like that for me, Gregory House," Cuddy said, leaning forward, almost kissing him.

House smiled that awesome happy smile he rarely revealed, then turned it into a smirk. "I checked with Sam. She thinks you should call me 'Greg House.' So, since she's calling the shots in this relationship -"

Cuddy kissed him, just to shut off the snark. He kissed her back. They sat there for a few moments, knee to knee, just kissing. Then Cuddy stood up in front of him and House ran his hands along her thighs and hips. He reached her hem and started working her skirt up her legs. When it was around her hips, House reached under and grasped the edges of her panties and began sliding them down her legs. Cuddy stepped out of them and House turned and shot them over onto his desk. "Souvenir," he said, grinning at her.

Cuddy straddled him on the ottoman. House unbuttoned her shirt and began kissing the tops of her breasts, where they peeked out over her bra. "That's it," she warned, "I'm not getting totally undressed in here."

"No problem!" he assured her. "I think you only got totally undressed in about ten percent of the fantasies I had about this." She smiled, knowing he wasn't really joking. His hands slid up her thighs and grabbed her ass to pull her closer. He moved them to her back and pulled her breasts to him, gently biting her nipples through her bra. Cuddy held him to her and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. Then she reached down between them and undid his fly. He shifted a little and she was able to shift his pants down a bit and pull him out. House was barely breathing.

Cuddy rubbed against him and ran her hands down his body, longing to pull off his shirt but restraining herself. She saw him sitting there with his eyes closed, trying to capture every sensation. He opened them and looked up at her, down her body, then back up to her face again. "You're gorgeous," he told her.

"That's so mean and childish," she replied. He was happy she felt better. Cuddy pushed up and guided herself down on him. Her whole core was dying for him and she had to resist the urge to rush this. House smelled her neck, her breasts. He knew he'd smell like her for the rest of the afternoon. His hands came to rest on her hips and he looked up at her lovely face. They kissed like someone was going to pass a law against it. Passionate, luxurious kisses, their tongues almost talking to each other. Cuddy began moving herself along him. She felt him filling her body like he had her heart, and his breath grew heavy and hot against her mouth.

"Cuddy, you don't understand," he moaned. "Every single time you strut into this office…" he trailed off.

"I understand it," she said. "You rarely take all your clothes off in mine either." She smiled at him as her breathing got heavier. House reached between her shirt behind her back and unclipped her bra, causing it to fall loosely in front of her still hooked on her arms. He began kissing her breasts, cupping them with his hands and licking her nipples. It was making her crazy. Shadows would move by in the hall, shifting the thin slivers of light that came through the blinds. She started riding him with more speed now, practically dropping down on him which each thrust. House just pressed his forehead to her chest, his face between her breasts, and groaned her name. Knowing she was making him so happy and feeling his arms gripping her tightly, his body moving inside of her, she approached the edge of her orgasm. She slowed a little, but then he grabbed her hips and began moving her small frame for himself, thrusting up into her. In moments they were both coming, trying their hardest to muffle and hold in their moans and sighs, to be discreet-ish.

He held her there, staying inside of her, for a long time. She swore his legs must be falling asleep, but he held her tight against him, moving his hands firmly up and down her back and over her ass while they sat catching their breaths. He finally relaxed his hold and Cuddy stood up and began replacing her clothing. House just watched her. He was speechless, in awe of her. She then bent down and adjusted him back to normal too. She kissed him tenderly and left his office without a word.

As Cuddy walked back down to her office, still blissfully smiling, she ran into another doctor in the elevator. "Hello, Dr. Cuddy."

"Hi," she replied, still sort of in the clouds.

"That was quite a spectacle House planned this morning," he continued. "The nurses are all swooning about it."

"Yeah," Cuddy said, smiling. "It was something."

"Funny," he continued, "But I'd always heard House what kind of a bastard."

"He is," she agreed. "Just not to me."