Chapter Twelve

"I really enjoyed that, Princess. Thanks a lot," House said as he walked swiftly while Althea struggled to keep up.

"I am sorry my father did that and said those things. But can you blame him?"

"No. It just makes me feel even more like crap than I did before."

"Crap?"

"I feel bad, okay? And that's the only admission you're going to get from me. I have a patient so I'll see you later."

She stood and watched him leave and made an effort to visit him later in the evening. House's servant answered the door and let her in. "Your highness."

"Is Dr. House in?"

"Aye. He be in the study."

"Thank you."

She found him with his head lying on an open book, dozing off. She moved closer and then leaned over to gently touch her lips to his. He awoke with a start and nearly knocked her over.

"Huh—wha? Oh, it's you. What are you doing?"

"I came to talk."

"What's there to talk about?"

"The fact that you're leaving soon and did not bother to tell me."

"You've been talking to Emmett, I take it."

"He told me everything. And it hurts that I had to hear it from him and not you."

"I was going to tell you eventually."

"When? The night before? Or maybe you'd just leave a note attached to your front door for me to find?"

"No, I'm not that cruel."

"I told Emmett I wanted to go with you."

House chuckled. "You can't be serious."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't belong in my time anymore than I belong in this one."

"And what time is that?"

"1999."

Her breath hitched a little. "It would be an adjustment to be sure, but..."

"To say the least. And how exactly would you support yourself? You'd have no money, no place to live..."

She swallowed. "I thought... under the circumstances, I'd be staying with you."

Now it was his turn to swallow hard. "That might be difficult."

"Why?"

"I don't live alone."

"Oh," she said softly, and then it suddenly dawned on her. "You are married to another?"

"No, not married, but she's been living with me for the last few years."

The anger, hurt and disappointment all hit her at once and she lashed out, smacking him hard across the face.

"Your family just loves to do that, don't they?" he chuckled as he rubbed his cheek.

"You never told me. Why?"

"I didn't think it was important. I figured I was stuck here for awhile and might as well make the best of it."

"My father was right after all. You used me and took advantage of me. How can I forgive you for that?"

He shrugged. "What do you want me to do? You went willingly. I didn't drag you to my bed kicking and screaming. I gave you everything you wanted. You begged me to make love to you and I did."

"And now you're going to leave and go back to your lady?"

"That's the plan."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes. Look, I never made you any promises. I never told you I loved you to get you into bed, did I?"

"No, you did not. But that doesn't make it hurt any less."

House sighed and held out his hand to her, which she took, and let him pull her into his arms as he wrapped them around her, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"It wasn't my intention to hurt you. But I'm an ass at the best of times. I make no secret of that."

"You have been nothing but a gentleman to me, Greg," she sniffed, trying to be brave but it was becoming a lost cause. She glanced up at him, tears rolling down her face and he wiped them away.

"Look, I don't know when Emmett plans to leave here, so there's no point on dwelling on the inevitable. Why don't we just live it up and enjoy whatever time we have left?"

"Without any hope of a future?" she sniffed. "Why can't you just stay?"

"Althea," he sighed, "I don't belong here. It's only a matter of time before your father realizes how much of a jerk I am and has my head on the chopping block."

"He wouldn't. He respects your talents as a doctor too much. You've helped a lot of people since you came here. That has not gone unnoticed. You even treated him when he came down with that virus a couple of weeks ago."

"He just wants you to be happy. I doubt I can make you happy the way he wants me to. I'm not the marrying kinda guy."

"I think you sell yourself short, Greg. I think you're an amazing man and you are more than capable of loving someone and being loved in return."

"But I don't belong here," he repeated. "How can I make you understand that? I need to go home. There's no challenges for me here. Not like at home. All the illnesses and diseases are old news. And half the time I can't effectively treat them because I don't have the medicine to do so."

"Why not?"

"Because it hasn't been invented yet. And a part of me wonders why I was sent back here to begin with. Everything happens for a reason, but I have no clue what my reason is for being here."

She smiled. "Maybe you were meant to fall in love with a beautiful princess who can show you what it's really like to be loved."

He smirked, and at first he was going to retort, but he decided against it. He'd hurt her enough already.

"Look, it's late and I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Have one of the servants see you out. I don't know what else I can say to you at this point."

"What if I don't want to go?" she asked.

He looked her up and down like she was an item on the menu and the corner of his mouth turned up. "You're very forgiving, aren't you?"

"Forgive and forget, that's what my mother taught me."

"It's a good policy. I wish I could follow that. I can usually forgive, but I never forget."

She followed him upstairs to his bedroom and began undressing. "Are you going to stay all night this time? And be here when I wake up in the morning?"

"Yes. It's no secret anymore. My father will know where I am. He's not thrilled, but he's happy as long as I'm happy." She walked over to him and placed her hands on his chest. "You make me happy Greg. I'm the happiest I've ever been. I've never known a man who wants to be with me because he likes me, not just for who I am."

She was getting to him. He knew it, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. Suddenly Stacy was forgotten as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his bed with him, tugging at the bodice of her dress to free her breasts. When his mouth fastened on one of her nipples, she gasped and gripped his hair.

"Oh Greg!"

He untied the rest of her bodice and pulled it down all the way so she was free of it, and his hands found their way underneath her skirts. They slid up her legs to her centre and stroked her damp folds. "All ready for me, I see," he murmured between licks and nibbles to her breasts as he buried his face in the valley between them.

"I'm... always ready for you. I never knew such pleasure existed. You make me feel so good all over. And I don't know what I'll do without—"

"Shh," he whispered as he came up and kissed her. "Don't think about it that right now. Just think about how you're feeling."

"I need you, Greg," she whimpered. "And I do not care what you did before you came here, just that you are here now."

"You're becoming like an addiction," he whispered in her ear as she reached up to unbutton his pants. He kicked them off and then followed up with his shorts before he helped her remove her dress. "You're young... and beautiful. What're you doing with an old son of a bitch like me?"

"I want to be here. Age is but a number. It makes no difference to me. I love you for many reasons."

He stilled his movements and glanced down at her. "For instance?"

She smiled up at him and gently stroked his curly brown hair that was beginning to turn grey. "You make me laugh. You're the most brilliant man I've ever met. Well," she thought, "next to Emmett. He's brilliant as well, but in a different way. You have a brilliant mind when it comes to medicine, just like he does with Science. You're tall, handsome and you have the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen on a man. I could just lie here and stare at them for hours, and listen to you talk. I love the sound of your voice."

"Okay stop," he laughed, "you're stroking my ego plenty."

"I would like to stroke something else, Dr. House," she grinned and let her hand trail down his chest, over his stomach. When her small hand gripped him, he hissed and closed his eyes.

"Oh my God..."

"I love touching you, Greg. Every part of you is amazing to me," she whispered as she continued to stroke him up and down with a very tight grip.

"If you keep that up, it'll be over before it even starts," he groaned as he tried to regain some kind of control. "Oh yeah... that's good. Keep going."

He was in heaven, she had quite a grip and he was enjoying himself. But he certainly wasn't expecting what came next.

She was kissing her way down his chest, stomach and his hips until her mouth closed around him and her tongue licked him like a Popsicle.

House almost came right then. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and watched her for awhile. "I'm not... gonna ask where you learned to do this," he growled as he started to buck his hips a little.

She glanced up at him, his cock still in her mouth, and he groaned once again at the sight of her. She was perfection. There was no doubt about it.

When she began to move up and down on him, he bucked his hips harder so he was fucking her mouth hard and fast until he came down her throat and growled loud enough to wake the dead. She took it all without batting an eye and he collapsed back against the pillows, totally spent.

"Holy hell..."

She smiled as she moved up to lay next to him, stroking his chest as she played with the hairs there.

"I enjoyed giving you such pleasure. I wanted to give back what you gave me the other night."

House grinned at her and kissed her forehead. "It was certainly a very pleasant surprise. How did you..."

"A lady never tells," Althea giggled, and then laughed at his reaction.

"A lady, huh? I didn't think a lady swallowed."

"This one does," she blushed. "Besides, I wanted to know what it was like. It was alright, yes?"

He kissed her forehead. "It was amazing. You are amazing."

"Likewise."

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled the covers up over them. "You're not leaving now, are you?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No. It's late. Just stay here."

Althea yawned and stretched like a cat. "I am quite exhausted."

"I can imagine. That was quite a workout. Your jaw muscles must be sore," he chuckled when she playfully slapped his chest before yawning again and cuddling up against him.

House slept for a couple of hours but was awakened to a hand hitting him in the face. He opened his eyes to see that Althea had been the culprit, still in a deep sleep.

He tried to go back to sleep, but after several minutes it was hopeless so he rolled over, pulled the sheet down to reveal her breasts and leaned over to gently kiss each one until they became hard pebbles.

She stirred a little, and there was a hint of a smile on her lips but she didn't wake up. He buried his face in the valley between her breasts and kissed his way down her body, planning on returning the favor that she did him a few hours before.

It didn't take long to get here to the point where she was squirming and writhing against his mouth as he devoured her and teased her relentlessly, bringing her right to the edge and then backing off again.

"Oh Greg, yes!" she groaned as her fingers dug in his hair and she bucked her hips against his face.

He eagerly lapped at her core as he pumped his fingers in and out of her. Soon she was begging him for release and trying to pull him up so he could finish her off the way she wanted.

"Are you close?" he whispered as he moved his fingers faster.

"Oh, yes! Please, Greg! Please!"

"Please what?"

"Please... take me! I want you. I want to feel you inside of me! It is so good!"

He continued to lick until he felt her inner walls start to squeeze his fingers so he pulled them out and replaced them with his cock which was as hard as blue steel.

"Oh God yes!" she shouted as soon as he began to pump into her. Her foot slid up his calf and her leg hooked around his hip as he went deeper and harder. He felt like a stallion, unable to stop, and unwilling to go any slower. He was getting so close to the edge and he knew she was already over it by the way she screamed his name and went limp underneath him.

He kissed her, forcing her mouth open under his as his tongue explored, getting her excited all over again. Then he suddenly pulled out of her. "Roll over, on your stomach," he growled.

When she looked at him questionably, he did it himself, flipping her over, pulling her up so she was on all fours and then slamming into her from behind.

She grunted and then moaned once he began hitting her G-spot. "Oh my!" she breathed as he rode her hard and fast, wrapping one arm around her middle while he tugged on her hair. His mouth fastened onto her neck as he felt his climax fast approaching and when it did, he bit down and they both screamed in mutual satisfaction as they came together in one hot fury.

He collapsed on top of her and they both lay there in a sweaty heap on the bed, trying to catch their breath.

"That was... so different. What do you call that?" she asked after he rolled off of her and she rested her cheek against his chest.

"Doggie style."

She giggled. "Interesting."

"There are lots of other things I could show you, if you're interested."

"Like what?"

"I'd rather not put it into words," he smiled.

"Well, I have enjoyed being with you in every way possible so far. And I am a very apt pupil, Dr. House," she giggled.

"We'll see about that. There are many facets to sex. It's not all cut and dry."

"Will you show me?"

"Maybe. If you're into that sort of thing."

She frowned. "What sort of things are you talking about, Greg?"

"I wouldn't. But accidents happen. Of course, I'd be careful and with any luck, they wouldn't, but you never know."

"Give me an example."

"Tying you up and having my way with you."

Her face paled and it all he could do not to laugh. "Relax. It's not as bad as you think."

"Being tied up is never good."

"It is the way I do it," he said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. But she still didn't look convinced. "You like it when I pin your hands down on the bed, don't you?"

"Well, yes. But..."

"It's the same thing. You can't move, can't touch me, and I have all the control."

"I suppose it would not hurt to be tied up that way. And if I asked for you to untie me, you would, right?"

"In a second," he nodded as he began to place kisses down her neck. "I want you to enjoy yourself too. This isn't just about my pleasure. If you're not having fun, it's not fun for me."

"No, I suppose not."

"Just let me know when you're up to giving it a try."

Tired of talking, House rolled over and quickly fell asleep, completely spent and exhausted from their tryst.

XXX

"Do you know why father called us here?" Althea whispered to her sister as they stood in the throne room.

"That I do. And if you had not been so busy in Dr. House's bed these days, you would know as well as I."

Althea was shocked, but she still blushed a crimson shade of red. "You've been with him. You know what he is capable of."

"I only spent but one night with the man. One night was plenty. He is a rogue. A wastrel. And you do better staying away from him, little sister."

"I can't," Althea whispered as she stared down at her hands which were beginning to fidget. "I love him."

"Oh, come come now," Charlotte scoffed. "You're young. What do you know about it?"

"I know how I feel. How he makes me feel. I also know that he has not taken any other lovers since. That alone should tell you something."

"Yes, it tells me that he is having his fun with you now, and will move on once he loses interest."

"Well it has been over two weeks and that has not happened, so there," Althea hissed and stuck her tongue out at her sister.

Charlotte gasped in shock but when the door opened, they both curtsied as their father entered the room with a stranger in tow.

She was older. Perhaps several years older than their late mother, and she had cold grey eyes.

"May I introduce Lady Katherine of Portugal. Katherine, these are my lovely daughters, Charlotte and Althea."

Both girls curtsied again and the lady smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "They are very lovely." She walked up to the girls as if she were conducting an inspection, and she stopped in front of Althea. "How old are you, dear?"

"Eighteen, Lady Katherine."

"And why is it that you are not wed?"

Althea resisted the urge to tell the woman that it was none of her damn business. Thoughts of Greg and the things he did to her just that morning made her blush.

"Cat got your tongue, dear?"

"I wish to wait until I meet the right man. And I may have already met him."

Charlotte rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

"Well, isn't that lovely. I would like to meet him."

"I am sure that could be arranged, Lady Katherine," Althea smiled.

"I would like one, or both of you girls to show the Lady around court. Introduce her to all nobility."

"Yes, father," the girls said in unison.

"But not now. Perhaps tomorrow," Katherine said. "I should like to wander around on my own, see what I can see."

"Of course you may. And please, make yourself at home."

Althea and Charlotte made their exits and once they were out of earshot, Charlotte sighed. "Looks like we'll be expected to call her Mumsy any day. If you ask me, father is seriously considering marrying the woman."

"Well if he does, I hope she stays out of my personal life. If I have to answer to one more person as to why I'm not yet married I will surely scream."

"You'll be known as a spinster before you're twenty if you don't hurry up. What's the matter? Greg won't marry you?"

"I do not see the point if he is not planning to stay. He is leaving with Emmett in four days."

"Then convince him to stay. If you claim to love him so much, it should be easy."

"No, it is not. He loves another where he comes from. And yet, when he looks at me, the way he touches me, makes me wonder if..."

"If what?"

"If he feels more for me than he lets on."

"You will have to ask him. You have a right to know what his intentions are."

"He does not have any!" Althea shouted as they walked. "You might have been right about him being a rogue, but that doesn't make me love him any less. And I will love him now until the day I die. My last thought this side of the grave will be of him and those damn blue eyes!"