Same Disclaimer as before
Chapter 12
That's All I Ask of You
It was still early in the evening when Harry and Ruth arrived at the restaurant. They were the first customers. They chose one of the tables in a corner right next to the door leading to the outdoor seating area. They sat side by side rather than facing each other. The restaurant had no problems accommodating Scarlett, who was content to sit in a corner next to her master's table.
The restaurant turned out to be one of those marvelous little diners run by a young French couple who served home style French cooking. It should come as no surprise that Harry selected a bottle of white burgundy. He was limited to only two small glasses but he did not mind. He gazed adoringly at the woman sitting next to him. That alone gave him a high that no alcohol ever could.
The two of them could not take their eyes off each other. The waitress felt bad about interrupting them but she had to take their orders.
"Darling, you know that after you left, they gave me a knighthood."
"Yes, Malcolm did mention something like that. You must be pleased."
"Not as pleased as I am now, when I have something else to go with the title."
"What do you mean?"
"You do realize that after we are married, you'll be Lady Pearce?"
Ruth was hoping that she might be able to get away with a long engagement without actually taking the final step. But Harry was not the sort of man known for taking half steps, and if he was now talking about her future title, she would not be surprised if he went and applied for a licence the minute the nearest registry office opened in the morning. Ruth told herself that as long as she still loved Harry and wanted to be with him, it really did not matter whether or not it involved a marriage licence. If that was what Harry wanted, the least she could do was to indulge him and sign the register at the end of the requisite notice period.
Ruth pondered that for a minute. How did she go from being a 'dead' person and a fugitive to being reunited with her beloved and becoming the wife of a titled man, all in the space of six months, whilst taking a crash course in nursing along the way? If someone had asked her, just before she clicked open that email from Malcolm, how do you see yourself in six months' time, she would never, in her wildest dreams, have predicted all this. You never know what fate has installed for you, do you? Just when you are resigned to the fact that what you have been hoping and praying for would be denied you forever, you are suddenly rewarded in a totally unexpected manner. Its like some sort of random harvest.
"Hey, remember when I was still in a coma, you had to wipe me down every day. After I was able to get out of bed, remember how you used to have to stand outside the shower to make sure that I could wash myself?" Harry was being cheeky.
"Yes, of course I do. A dry wipe down of comatose patients is standard operating procedure. We had to keep you clean, make sure that you didn't develop bed sores and other complications. Keep the blood circulation going and all that." Ruth wondered where this conversation was going.
"That's not fair then. You have already seen me naked," he said with mock indignation.
"You were hurt and needed help. Nurses are used to dealing with their patients in their birthday suits. They think nothing of it." What is he going on about?
"No, no, that's not what I mean. Did you like what you saw?" said Harry, with a twinkle in his eye.
The penny dropped.
"I am not going to tell you …" Harry started to tickle her. Ruth tried to dodge the tickles; she was a little concerned how the other diners felt about what was going on at their table; the restaurant was starting to fill up. Now that she thought about it, yes, she did like what she saw.
"Oh you are incorrigible! What is it with men and sex? You've only just recovered from major trauma and this is the first thing on your mind? You know, I don't care that you have a doctor's note, we are not jumping into bed until I am absolutely certain that you are up for this sort of activity."
"I see that you are already exercising your prerogative as a wife to withhold sex from your spouse!" Harry thought, okay I can wait, I have waited this long. You are not getting away from me this time.
"We still have to work out arrangements relating to our day jobs." Ruth tried to steer the conversation towards a more serious subject.
"We'll work something out. I want you back by my side at work."
"Well, I don't know about that. I have been talking to Malcolm about an alternative."
"Why hasn't Malcolm mentioned this to me?" Harry started to become a little suspicious.
"Nothing's settled yet. Its just a possibility. There's nothing more I like than to pick up where we left off as far as the job is concerned, but we both know that that's not going to work. I've said it before, I will not do anything which will make it possible for others to undermine your position at work. Working alongside each other once we are a couple will give others plenty of opportunities to gossip. People have a great propensity to imagine nepotism when nothing of the sort exists."
"I have no doubt that I will not treat you in any preferential way just because you are sleeping with me." Harry tried to say this with a straight face.
"Harry, be serious! Malcolm tells me that they are talking about setting up a new Section, as part of the Service, which will work on computer and technology related projects exclusively." Ruth paused to take a sip of her wine.
"I mean, its embarrassing the way government agencies keep losing computer disks filled with people's personal information. We should not be making that sort of mistake. There should be a set of standard operating guidelines for simple procedures like that. As you know, computer related terrorism is on the rise, and the Service really ought to be better organised so that we are in a position to face new challenges. At the moment, each Section has its own team of computer experts and bits of know-how are scattered all over the place. This new Section will co-ordinate, monitor and supervise all IT activities between the various branches of the Service and eventually, between all Government departments. We will make sure that the right know-how is developed and centralized."
"That's wonderful. Now that you mention it, I do seem to recall seeing a paper about this. I didn't think that GCHQ and some of the other existing Sections will like this new arrangement since some of their functions will overlap, and I was concerned that this new Section might not get the right people to join, but if you are going to be on board …" Harry was beaming at his fiancé.
"As you know, I am good with computers and I am capable of analyzing and solving problems. Malcolm will arrange for interviews. We'll know more in a week's time. The offices will be at Thames House, so we can go to work together. Its more of a 9 to 5, desk bound job than working in Section D. As long as I have a secured line to the internet, I can work from home in case of emergencies." So that was the contingency plan which Ruth had been making for herself.
"You should be more than qualified for that job. Do you want me to put in a word with the …" Harry was trying to be helpful and positive.
"Harry! What did we just say about nepotism? No, please don't say anything. I want to get this job on my own. I don't know whether this new position will be as demanding as my days were in Section D. No relationship can accommodate two demanding jobs. One of us will have to stay home, pining for the other one to return," Ruth teased.
"As long as I know that I can look forward to going home to you every night, I guess I'll live. I like that thought : you sitting by the sofa, looking out the window, pining for my return. I hope I will not make you pine too often or for too long though. The DG has asked to have a word as soon as I return to work full time. Maybe they want me to take early retirement after these recent injuries."
This was the other matter which had been bothering Harry. He had been shot so many time now, he wondered whether the Service had concerns as to whether he was still capable of doing his job.
"Malcolm said that word on the vine is that you might be asked to replace the DG, you know, do more admin work and juggle politicians rather than direct ops. The DG himself is due for retirement soon." Ruth was a little surprised that this piece of intelligence had not been communicated to Harry.
"How is it that I get to hear all this gossip from you and not from Malcolm? I'm his boss! I thought that I was the one who was better at prying information out of people. "
"Didn't you tell me once that I was a born spook?"
"Yes, my beautiful little spook." Harry planted another kiss on Ruth.
He did not think much of this piece of gossip. Given his recent bout of memory loss, he thought it unlikely that he would be entrusted with such an important job. The only good thing about the memory loss was that the Service was probably happy that it would not have to worry that Harry might pull a Clive McTaggart and do a tell-all autobiography.
"I'm not sure that I want the DG's job, or that I would be any good at it. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. As long as you are happy in that new job, then I'm happy. Setting up any new Section will be hard work and you can expect a lot of politics from within the Service. If the new job does not work out, you can always come back to Section D. You never know, with your skills and your level of devotion to your job, I wouldn't be surprised if you end up heading that new Section once it is up and running."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Sir Harry!" Ruth was capable of flirting too.
"No, I mean it. If there is a chance of you getting ahead in the Service, I will not stand in your way, you know that. You shouldn't think so little of yourself. I am determined to make this, us, work. I'd be more than happy for you to wear the pants, go to work each morning whilst I stay home to look after the kids. The idea of being a kept man is becoming more appealing by the minute."
"You, a house husband on nanny duties? After spending the whole afternoon telling me how old and decrepit you were getting? Do you really think you can handle it, or that I would trust you with our kids?" There was no way Ruth was going to pass up on this dig.
Harry laughed and played with her fingers again. He knew he had that one coming. "Hey, I didn't say I was 'decrepit', just getting old!" He liked the reference to 'our kids' very much.
"You know, you might be surrounded by mathematicians again once you join this new Section." Harry's memory bank was obviously back to normal, otherwise he would not have remembered such a flippant remark made by Ruth a long time ago.
"That's OK. I think I have now resolved my aversion to mathematicians." In fact, Ruth was very sure of that, looking at her engagement ring.
The food was delicious but after the first course, the two of them were too busy talking, gazing into each other's eyes and making out to pay any attention to the main course. The chef noticed this when he went round the tables to chat to his customers. He was most concerned that there was something wrong with his cooking.
"Monsieur, is everything alright? You have hardly touched your main course."
"No, no, everything is fine. Its just that we …" He threw an enquiring look at Ruth. Ruth immediately knew what he wanted to say and gave an imperceptible little nod. "We just got engaged today, and we are so happy discussing our future that we have somehow neglected these wonderful dishes." Harry started to shuffle some food into his mouth to placate the chef.
"Ah, l' amore. Many congratulations! You must let me offer you complimentary desserts."
Since Ruth was still watching Harry's calorie intake like a hawk, they decided to share one dessert between them. Harry much enjoyed spooning the chef's sweet concoction into Ruth's mouth. It was quite a change from being spoon fed by Ruth when he first came out of his coma.
On their way out of the restaurant, Harry wondered if they might have their little celebratory dinner at this restaurant, if Ruth insisted on not having a traditional wedding. It was off the beaten track and they could book the entire restaurant for the night. The place was just big enough to accommodate their close friends and colleagues. It would give everyone a chance to really let their hair down and have a good time.
Must check with m'lady at the next available opportunity what she thinks about this venue. I shouldn't be making these decisions on my own, otherwise I will get told off for being bossy and presumptuous again.
Ah yes, m'lady. My wife.
Harry was so happy with that thought that he stopped Ruth when they were out on the pavement and gave her another passionate kiss.
Ruth gave him a quizzical look, as in "what was that for"? Harry simply grinned from ear to ear and started to walk home, with his arm wound tightly around Ruth's shoulders.
Over the years, Ruth had seen a variety of Harry expressions. The one which was on display most often was his scary face, when he growled at someone with immense displeasure because he was not getting his way. There was the Harry-in-concentration face, which he used when sitting in meetings and briefings. There was the caring face, when he felt genuine concern, pain or grief over the loss of yet another member of his team. Then there was his loving face, with tenderness and desire oozing from his eyes. Ruth most recently saw that face for the whole of this afternoon and this evening. But this one, the smug smiley face, was a new one. Ruth could not remember ever seeing Harry so happy and pleased with himself. When Ruth realized that she was probably the reason for that happy face, she broke into a grin that was a mirror image of Harry's grin.
Scarlett was just glad that they were finally going home.
If you are happy with how the story has been going and do not want to know any more, please stop reading now. I did not think that I could drag you on this long journey and leave you outside the bedroom.
From here on, there will be scenes of a sexual nature so if you do not like that sort of thing, please stop reading. Its not smut though. I would not dream of pretending to write smut in the presence of all the masters of the genre on this website. This is the best I can do.
When they reached the bedroom, Ruth turned to Harry and started kissing him, slowly and deliberately, in the way that one would normally start foreplay in the love making process. But Harry stopped her.
"Hey, slow down. I thought you said that you wanted to wait."
Ruth had more to drink than Harry during dinner and she was feeling flirtatious. Now seemed as good a time as any to consummate this relationship.
"Darling, you have been through quite an emotional rollercoaster ride today, you must be exhausted. What do you say we simply fall asleep in each other's arms for now?" Much as Harry hated himself for saying this, he did feel that it was the right way to go.
"But Harry, didn't you mention something about 'exchanging bodily fluids'?" Ruth was a little disappointed. She wondered whether this was how Harry felt when all those years ago, she kept running from him every time he made a positive gesture in their relationship.
"Yes, … you have no idea how badly I want you. But I want our first time together to be something special and spectacular. I want you to remember my every touch, and every whimper and moan that you experience. I want you to climax with such intensity that you will fall in love with me all over again and vow never to leave my side, ever. I don't want you to do this when you're tired." To emphasize what he just said, Harry kissed Ruth long and hard.
Ruth noticed that Harry also looked a little tired after the day's events. She did not put up too much of a fight. She took a shower and climbed into bed as Harry went into the bathroom.
Initially, Ruth felt a little nervous. This would be the first time that she was going to share Harry's bed, by invitation. However, the shower she took had a very soothing effect and the sheets were wonderfully smooth and warm. She had so much to drink and eat during dinner that her brain had no trouble winding down. She had no idea when did she close her eyes but as soon as she did, she fell asleep right away.
When Harry came out of the bathroom after he finished his nightly routines, he smiled at the sight of sleeping beauty in his bed. Poor love, she has gone through so much on my account. Right there and then, Harry made a promise : today will be the last time that I will make you cry, or give you any reason to cry. He then climbed into bed as quietly as possible so as not to wake Ruth. He then held her in a tender embrace. He too, fell asleep quickly, with his nose half buried in her hair.
Ruth awoke at 5 am the next morning, as usual. She felt rested. She could not remember the last time she had such a good night's sleep. There was enough light that time of the morning for Ruth to make out the layout of the room. For a split second, she could not remember where she was. Then the events of yesterday came rushing in. Yes, after years of wondering, worrying and longing, she finally got an answer to all her questions yesterday. Was it all a dream? No, it had to be real because of the gentle snoring that she now noticed, coming from behind her, and the heat that she was enveloped in, the heat of another body in bed with her.
Then she also remembered with a start, she fell asleep before Harry even came to bed! Well done, woman, the first night you spend in bed with the love of your life and what do you do, you fall sound asleep. How embarrassing! She turned slowly to look at Harry. Good, it looked as if he was still sleeping. And yes, there it was, the most adorable pout in the world. She could not resist planting a small kiss on his lips but when she tried to pull away, his lips were like a pair of magnet and drew her back, into a deeper, more passionate kiss. He was awake after all.
"Good morning," Harry said sleepily.
"Hi." Ruth whispered back.
And then it happened, just the way Harry had predicted and dictated, slowly but surely. Their first time together. A very special first time.
At first, Ruth was a little apprehensive, oh-no, isn't this the part where the guy finds out that I am crap in bed and then never calls again? I wonder if a man is allowed to retract a marriage proposal if he is not happy with the sexual aspects of the union? Ruth was alright with the kissing part since she had lots of recent practice. Then Harry's hands started to wander all over her body. Ruth had never been touched by Harry before, not like this. Ruth debated, for a split second, whether to squirm or simply give in to the pleasure; she decided to give in.
As Harry lifted her night dress over her head and shoulders, she tensed up. What if Harry did not like her body? Ruth had never been proud of her body before. She always dressed in the frumpiest clothes she could find. Harry noticed what was going on and started to caress her some more and licked her ear. He kept whispering to her, its alright my love, relax, there, there, just relax. When Harry guided her hand to his groin area to show her the effect that she was having on him, Ruth blushed furiously and tried to bury her face in the pillow. Ruth need not have worried about Harry's reaction to her naked body. Even if Harry was not in this state of heightened euphoria, he would have concluded that this was the most perfect female body he had ever had the pleasure to hold and enjoy.
There was no question that Harry was a skilled and experienced lover. He knew exactly where to kiss her, the body parts to caress or massage, and how much pressure to exert. When he got a little too enthusiastic, Ruth let slip a little moan and Harry immediately dialed back a notch. When he kissed or sucked a part that felt particularly wonderful to Ruth, she let him know by running her fingers through his hair and holding him close.
Ruth felt as though her body was some kind of instrument that was being worked over by an expert. But it went beyond mere proficiency in the technicalities of the love making process. There was also a lot of love and tenderness. Ruth could not remember the last time someone made her the centre of the universe, or made her needs and desires the only priority. She felt sensations and emotions that she did not know she was capable of experiencing. When she climaxed, she felt as though she was blown into a million little pieces, and then put back together lovingly by Harry. The new Ruth who emerged from this was a more confident Ruth, secure in the knowledge that she was now basking in the adoration of her beloved. Henceforth, there would not be any need for self doubt, suspicions or lack of confidence. There would be no more uncertainty or insecurity about anything in life.
It was everything Ruth had ever dreamed about making love to Harry, even better. But then Ruth no longer had to dream or imagine anything where Harry was concerned. From now on, she would only have to deal with reality and reality never looked so wonderful. Harry was wrong about one thing, though. Ruth could not remember every moan or whimper. There were so many delicious moments. I guess Harry will just have to keep reminding me.
When Harry was ready to enter Ruth, he found her very wet, warm and tight. It felt as if he was being massaged by a velvet glove. He did not want it to stop, and he used every trick in the book to delay the inevitable. When Ruth softly cried out his name in the throes of ecstasy, Harry saw a sweet vulnerability in her eyes that melted his heart. This was a side of Ruth that Harry had never seen before. His strong, resourceful Ruth was showing a soft, delicate side and this made her so much more beautiful. Harry fell deeper in love with Ruth than he thought was possible.
Harry was a little surprised by what he had just experienced. Whilst he always imagined that making love to Ruth would be a pleasant experience, thrilling even, he never thought that it would be such a deeply satisfying experience. Even though Harry had not been sexually active for some time, he was quite certain that no woman had ever made him feel this way before.
This beautiful and amazing woman with the razor sharp mind was now his and his to keep. He lost her once but by some twist of fate, she was returned to him. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish. Harry felt tremendously privileged. In an instance, he understood the whole reason for his being. The fact that he existed on this earth, and everything that had gone on before in his life. All of those things were to prepare him for this woman. From now on, he would do anything to make her happy, make her smile and see those blue/grey eyes light up. It looked as if the bear with the sore head had found a permanent cure for his headache.
Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If you asked him, he would not have characterized his life up to this point as a lonely existence – he was always surrounded by people, and there were always demands on his time and his mental skills; he valued what little time he had to be by himself. But for some time now, he knew that he did not want to go through life without Ruth beside him. What he had just experienced simply confirmed what he already knew. Ruth completed him.
It then occurred to Harry that he had forgotten to tell her what he wanted to say to her that day by the dockside just before she left, and what he should have told her yesterday afternoon. He drew Ruth into a tight embrace and whispered in her ear,
"I love you".
The End
One last time, all reviews will be gratefully received.
