"Make love to me?" she implored.

"With pleasure," the Doctor growled.

He scooped Alba up easily from the couch and tossed her over his shoulder like he was Tarzan and she was Jane. She laughed and kicked her feet as he carried her down the hallway to the bedroom, keeping his arm hooked firmly around her waist. He deposited her by the bed, where she stood waiting.

"You're wearing entirely too many clothes right now," he drawled, moving to slide the straps of her dress off her pale shoulders. She turned so he could unzip her and then let the garment slide to the floor, where it lay in a little pooled heap. She turned to face him, wearing nothing but her tiny lace knickers. He cupped her face gently with his hand and brought her in for a slow, passionate kiss, his tongue freely exploring the inside of her mouth. His other hand drifted to her waist, where he let it rest for a moment before sliding down to cup her bum and draw her closer to him.

Alba slid one hand between them to stroke him through his trousers, his arousal evident between them. "Now who's wearing too many clothes?" she teased, running her tongue across his teeth.

"Why don't you take them off then?" he suggested.

She smiled, and began undoing the buttons of his shirt. Her fingers moved slowly and methodically, down to the last button. She slid the shirt from his shoulders, and helped him pull his arms through the sleeves. Pulling him closer by the waistband of his trousers, she moved to pull the single button through its hole before sliding his zipper down. He stepped out of the trousers, and stood before her in only his pants.

"Looking good," she purred, resting a hand on his surprisingly muscular chest.

"You too," he said thickly, running a hand through her hair.

"Well," she said, mouth quirking. "What are you waiting for?"

He grinned wolfishly at her before pulling her down onto the bed with him. They fell in a tangle of limbs, mouths pressed tightly together, hands roaming each other's body urgently. Alba straddled the Doctor, placing one knee on either side of his hips. He thrust his pelvis up at her as they continued kissing. She broke the kiss, and moved to nibble gently on his ear, to which he moaned appreciatively, letting his hands come to rest on her hips. Her hair tickled softly against his chest as she moved to kiss the curve of his jaw, then the hollows of his collarbone. Her fingers circled his nipples, pinching and pulling them until they were hard. She dropped her lips to his chest and sucked his left nipple into her mouth, rolling it around on her tongue. She nipped him gently, which elicited another soft groan from him. Moving to his other nipple, she laved it with her tongue before nibbling experimentally on it.

"You're a tease, woman," he said breathlessly as she slid off of him.

She laughed, and fingered the waistband of his pants. "Lose these."

The Doctor wasted no time shedding his pants before laying back down against the bed. He stared up at Alba expectantly. She smiled and moved between his legs, lowering her head so that she was hovering over his throbbing erection. She licked a wet stripe down his shaft before taking him into her mouth, gripping the base of his cock in one of her hands. She stroked upwards as she swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, and his breathing quickened.

"You...are criminally good at that," he panted when she came up for air.

She climbed over his legs and laid next to him on the bed before shimmying out of her knickers. "I want you inside me," she growled, guiding his hand to the apex of her thighs so he could feel how wet she was. He brushed his thumb lightly across her clit, causing her to inhale sharply. The Doctor flipped over and moved to straddle Alba, positioning himself at her entrance. He rubbed his cock teasingly against her before thrusting up inside of her. Bracing his hands on either side of her shoulders, he settled into a slow but steady rhythm. She wrapped her legs around his waist and placed her hands on his shoulders, forcing him in deeper.

"Harder," she urged him breathlessly, running her nails down his spine. The Doctor pounded into her fervently, his breath coming in shallow gasps. Beneath him, Alba shuddered in the throes of her orgasm.

"I'm going to come," he groaned against the side of her neck. She tightened around him in response, and he quickened his pace. With a strangled cry, he emptied himself into her and collapsed, panting.

Alba sighed contentedly. "That never gets old."

"Mmmm," the Doctor mumbled, rolling onto his side to lay next to her. She rested her head on his chest, and he draped his arm around her, drawing her close.

"Promise me we'll still have sex like this when we're married," Alba said

The Doctor chuckled. "Oh, I think we'll manage. Besides, I can hardly keep my hands off you., you're just so irresistable. In fact, give me a couple of minutes and we can go again."

"Insatiable much?" Alba asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, absolutely. But only when it comes to you, for some reason," the Doctor said, rubbing her shoulder.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that," she said, reaching out for his hand. She twined her fingers through his and squeezed gently. He kissed the top of her head and snuggled her closer, breathing in the scent of her hair. They lay like that for a few minutes before the Doctor let the hand that wasn't wrapped around Alba drift down below her waist, where he parted her thighs and began to lazily thumb her clit. She sucked in a breath and grew tense against him.

"I think I'm going to go down on you," he said casually.

"Oh?" she murmured.

"Yeah," he said, moving to position himself between her legs.

It wasn't long before the Doctor had Alba screaming.

Later that night, the Doctor was staring up at the canopy of the bed, Rose snoring softly next to him. For whatever reasons, sleep eluded him, and he'd been staring up at the canopy, studying the patterns in it for over an hour now. But who was he kidding? He knew the reasons he wasn't sleeping. His nerves were shot, with the wedding now only two days away. He couldn't help but feeling like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was expecting some sort of stunt by Harry and Rani, though he couldn't imagine what it might be. If they didn't try something to embarrass or undermine him, he'd honestly be surprised.

That night after they'd all had dinner, Harry had confronted him about Rose, claiming he knew she'd come from the slave exchange. He still didn't know how Harry had come by his information, but it worried him. What if Harry tried to expose him? He knew he was probably worrying for nothing-even if Harry did try to expose him, there was no proof or evidence. And the general public had no knowledge of the vortex manipulator, and without that particular element, the story was far from plausible. Still, he didn't need Harry telling stories at his wedding, stirring the pot, as it were. Although, storytelling somehow didn't seem like Harry's style. Harry was more devious, more clandestine than simply telling a tale.

It was still nagging at him though how Harry had known where Rose had come from. How was that even possible? He'd left from his house to go to New London on New Earth, so no one would know he was leaving. The only time he'd been anywhere remotely public was the slave exchange, which was hardly an out in the open affair, as it was hidden underground. With Jack and himself being the only one's with access to the vortex manipulator, he didn't see how Harry could've known where he'd been. It wasn't as if Harry could've seen him there, after all. Unless...and he suddenly had a thought that chilled him. The prototype. It was supposed to be locked in a secure lab. Key words being 'supposed to be'. The Doctor sat bolt upright, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Quickly, he found his clothing on the floor and began dressing. That done, he went to his dresser and pulled the vortex manipulator out of its hiding spot. Taking a last glance at Rose's sleeping form, he keyed in the coordinates and pressed the button that triggered dematerialization. With a rush of air, he disappeared from the bedroom.

With a sickening lurch, he found himself outside the lab where they stored the prototype. With trepidation, he retrieved his key card from his pocket and swiped it to gain access to the lab. The door glided open silently, and he stepped inside, squinting in the dim moonlight that was streaming through the windows. Reaching out blindly, he flipped the light switch, flooding the room with bright, artificial light. Nervously, he made his way across the room to the locked cabinets where they stored prototypes, already suspecting what he might find. He fumbled through his pockets, searching for his key ring. Hands shaking, he unlocked the cabinet and peered inside. The box for the vortex manipulator was sitting on a shelf above his head. He reached up and grasped the box, sliding it carefully across the shelf. Holding it against his body, he opened the box and had his suspicions confirmed.

The vortex manipulator was gone.