I felt I had to write a bit more to round this story off. Also, I am open to the idea of writing a third little chapter to go after this- which would literally be smut for smut's sake- if it is wanted.

When she woke up she felt his arms around her. Her arms rested on top of his, holding on to them soundly. His chin rested snugly above the top of her head. For a long while, she lay there, facing away from him but knowing from the sound and the slow movements of his breathing that he was still asleep. A feeling not so much of consolation as pure safety seemed to engulf her with every gentle repeated undulation of his sleeping form. She felt absolutely no inclination to move, even- especially- when she felt his growing arousal pressing firmly against her behind. Feeling him stir slightly, she bit her lip against the slightly wicked smile she could feel forming on her face.

Her smile abated slightly as she felt the rest of his body stiffen; obviously he had woken up and realised where he was. She felt her heart almost sink as she felt the adjustment in his weight on the mattress as he shifted away from her and got up.

"Don't be ridiculous, Richard," she told him, rolling onto her back into the heat his body had left on the mattress to see him standing at the side of their bed, "Do you really think there's any need for you to leave me, in the wake of what happened last night?"

He sat down gently on the edge of the bed beside her, pulling the bedsheet up a little so it covered his lap. His had gently brushed against her head, his fingers caressing her hair, his thumb lightly tracing the line of her forehead.

"Perhaps I thought that I had to leave you because of what happened last night," he replied quietly, "I don't want you to feel like you're under any sort of pressure."

"I know I'm not," she assured him gently, "You don't have to leave the bed to remind me of it."

Reaching up, she took hold of his hand, his left hand, which rested on her hair; brought it down to her lips and kissed it, kissing his wedding ring too.

"Come back to bed, my darling," she whispered.

She sighed happily as she felt the mattress sag once again under his weight. Rolling onto her other side, she now lay facing him. The look in his eyes, she knew, matched hers exactly; she could feel her own eyes almost heavy with brightness. Her hand traced down over the outside of his, and she could think of nothing else she'd rather do in that moment than lean forwards ever so slightly so that their lips were touching, and kiss him soundly.

"I love you," she whispered in the fleeting moment when their lips broke apart.

Then, he pressed a small kiss back into her lips before leaning away a little to look at her again, and murmuring back, "I love you too. I always have."

"Oh, Richard," her lips parted a little, touched by the empathic touch in his voice as he made this quiet declaration. Her hand cupped his face, her thumb tracing the line of his cheek. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her fast, "We should have done this years ago. We would have had years together."

"We still have years," he reminded her.

"Why didn't we, though?" she pressed on softly, "Why did it take this?"

He was quiet for long moments.

"I need to know that you needed me," he told her finally, "Like this. Or I'd have never believed that you wanted me."

"Don't be silly, Richard," she admonished softly, though not smiling.

"Why should you want me?" he asked, "Beautiful you. Why should you even look twice at me?"

"I've seen you making love," she reminded him, "Don't tell me you're not beautiful. Don't blush, Richard," she told him quite seriously, though enjoying the pleasant flush of heat she felt beneath her fingers, "Do you know what you did for me last night? Do you?"

"I made love to you," he replied, almost shyly.

"You gave me back my life. You made me want to live again. You showed me that I can still feel love, really feel it."

He was quiet for a moment, awed.

"My life isn't worth anything without you," he told her quietly, "I've lived on my love for you for years, for far longer, even, than I'd care to admit."

She smiled at him, pressing another kiss to his cheek, then to his lips.

"Well, that's very much your own folly," she told him, her smile still dancing across her lips, "But I can't tell you I'm sorry for it. I know I wouldn't have survived these last weeks without you. I'd have gone mad."

His thumb traced caresses back and forward on her back, straying towards and then away from her spine. He did not say anything, only watched her throat carefully, as if tracing the lines with his eyes, seeming to listen to the sound of her voice intently. It was good; it helped her to keep talking, saying things, she felt she owed him this honesty after all the care he had given her.

"I'm so glad I married you," she confessed, "No matter what was going through my mind at the time. I'm so in love with you now."

His face seemed to break out in the most emphatic smile she had ever seen him wear, and it surprised her, made her smile too.

"And no one," she told him in a much lower voice, "Has ever made love to me like you did last night. Richard, I've never-..." she stopped short, not sure how to tell him with out sounding as if she was exaggerating or being insincere, "It's never been like that for me before."

"Nor for me," he admitted, "But that doesn't surprise me," he concluded a moment's thought, "I've never felt like this before. Never been married before."

She swallowed, knowing that even if it remained unspoken, it would not assuage either of their consciousness that she had been. So, softly, she told him, truthfully;

"I've never needed anyone like I needed you last night before."

She knew he believed her by the look of acceptance on his face.

"Do you need me now?" he asked.

"You need me," she observed, running her hand slowly down his side, to gently smooth his length between her fingers, "And I want you."

"Isobel," he murmured in a low gruff voice, his breathing becoming more laboured all of a sudden as her hand tightened around his.

"I love you, Richard," she whispered, her lips returning to his.

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