As they stood in the entryway of Rose's house, kissing for a good while with their arms around each other, Alec was getting more worried that she was leading him on but wasn't going to argue with her. She finally let go of him and made to undo his shirt buttons more at the top but he grabbed her hands.
"I think you, Miss Tyler should really think about this before you bite off more than you can chew," as he held her at bay from his shirt.
Rose tried to continue her quest but Alec stopped her. "It's not that I don't want your advances Rose, I would normally welcome them, geez, I've been trying to look down your dress for the last three dates so I can talk but Rose, I can't let you do this, not unless you tell me about Jake first."
Rose stepped away, a disappointed look on her face. Was she ready to tell him or just getting carried away by the moment? She reluctantly backed away. "I suppose you're right."
Now Alec was looking disappointed. "Please don't take it the wrong way, Rose, kissing you is amazing and it's something I'd like to continue and not like we've just done but that's all, I can't go for anything else until you're ready to tell me about him. When you are, I'm ready to take it to the next level. I think it might be best if I leave now before we both do something we'll hate each other for."
Rose was getting way too ahead of things and she knew it. They kissed goodbye and Alec promised to phone or text her and call in the shop during the week, duty permitting.
Alec's plan to visit Rose during the week never got off the ground, they were tied up with some stupid festival going on all week so were short staffed so he sent her a few texts because he was working late and didn't want to disturb her. He thought back over their last three dates and her teasing him by letting him kiss her. He'd wanted more than that but was happy they had got to that stage but it was still in the back of his mind about Jake. Was she cheating on him? He put it out of his mind, no, she wouldn't cheat on someone just for a date with him, would she?
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Rose was disappointed that Alec has not been round to the shop, he must have been busy and since she got home earlier than him didn't see him even then. He'd sent her a few texts saying work was really busy, he was working late and was looking forward to Friday to resume where they had left off hopefully. Should she go see him? He knew she was only next door but maybe he was waiting for her, not wanting to take advantage, what was wrong with the man? Wow, men like him were extremely hard to find. Did he really want to wait until Friday? Didn't he want to resume that amazing kissing? Rose thought it would give her more time anyway. Was she ready to have a relationship at all? Especially when he looked like he did. Was she still seeing the Doctor when she looked at him? Strangely enough he was looking less like him every time she saw him.
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Friday night at 7.30, Alec knocked on Rose's door and was nearly blown away. She looked even more beautiful than she had last week wearing a blue floral low necked dress coming down just below her knees and a white jacket. He handed her a single pink carnation. Alec offered to drive Rose's car again to which she agreed, assuming he had enough of being driven around when he was working. They went to a different restaurant this time and Alec spent most of the evening still trying to get a glimpse down Rose's all too low necked dress which somehow never quite managed to go down far enough when she moved or leaned over. Not that he was trying to make her but he was now certain she was just doing it on purpose. Alec drove them home, having only one glass of wine with their meal. He insisted on opening her car door for her, holding out his hand which she held on to and didn't appear to want to let go. Alec handed her car keys to her.
"So do I get invited in again tonight Miss Tyler?" he asked. Rose didn't answer him, she just opened the door, stepped inside and left the door open for him to follow her which he did because there was no way anyone in their right mind would refuse an invitation like that. He followed her in and closed the door. She immediately turned round and took off her jacket and kicked off her shoes. Alec took off his jacket. She reached up on her toes and grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him down towards her and kissed him, again and again. When they finally let go, they both smiled.
"Well, that was one kiss goodnight Miss Tyler," he managed to say, being out of breath.
"Well, Inspector, if you let me make dinner for you here tomorrow night, I promise you more than just kisses," she said as she grabbed him again, this time her hands going around the back of his opened shirt, ruffling the back of his hair and planted another kiss on him. Alec removed her hands and put his own around her waist as she did the same to him.
"Rose, let's not spoil tonight. I've waited all this time to kiss your properly, not like we've been doing which is more than just nice and I don't want to ruin it by doing something we might both regret. You make me dinner tomorrow night and tell me all about Jake and we'll see about taking this further. Deal?"
She nodded her agreement but pulled him closer to kiss him again. "Then, Inspector, if you survive my cooking we just might have something to take further." She let him go reluctantly. "7.30 on the dot." They kissed goodnight again and Alec left albeit begrudgingly but with a smile on his face still cursing himself for not getting a proper look down her dress. Rose was just hoping he'd survive her cooking because she had plenty in store for Alec Hardy.
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Rose didn't really feel like getting up and opening the shop. She'd had a wonderful time with Alec last night and regretted not making it even more wonderful but she had to be certain that she wanted it to go further. Alec was very interested in her, he'd made that quite clear and she was fast becoming more interested in him but she had built this wall between them and it was called Jake. She wanted to tell him, Jake wasn't going to be happy if he found out she was using him like that but he would surely understand that she needed her safety buffer until she figured out what she wanted from Alec. What did she want from Alec? A friend or more?
She went to work and was daydreaming when the bell rang and a teenage girl walked in. Rose had put a sign on the door for a Saturday person aged 16 plus so she could relax a bit more after the Saturday before, the shop had got busy. The girl introduced herself as Carly and asked about the job. Rose asked her a few questions and agreed to give her a trial if she wanted to stay a few hours and would pay her for half a day. The shop started to get busy so Rose just asked her to keep an eye on things and that she would serve and show her things inbetween customers and she soon picked it up. By the end of the day, Rose was pleased with her and asked her if she wanted the job and they agreed she would come back next week. Rose then went to get some groceries on her way back to cook something special for Alec but before she did that, she stopped by a little shop down the road to buy some new things to wear.
She had told Alec to come round at 7.30 but wished she'd made it earlier so they could talk. She so wanted to tell him but was still reluctant just yet, maybe after dinner she would finally break. The moment the doorbell rang her heart started racing and she felt like a schoolgirl on her first date. She let Alec in and this time he had a bottle of wine. He'd learned not to take three gifts with him when he was invited for dinner. The table was set, Rose had drawn the curtains for privacy and there were candles on the table which she asked Alec to light, handing him a gas lighter. She brought out their meals and they sat down to eat. She thought she wasn't much of a cook but the food had been simple to prepare. Jake had done most of it when he was staying with her and she didn't need to back home, her mother saw to that.
She had thought just how ruggedly handsome he looked, standing there with a bottle of wine in his hand, a casual pale blue shirt that was undone at the top two buttons, jacket and trousers. The beard was still there although Rose was beginning to find it hard to imagine him without it which he surely had been at some point. She had invited him in and accepted the bottle of wine he was carrying. The orchid he had given her last night was on a small bookshelf in the corner and the room all tidied.
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When Rose opened the door, Alec thought just how beautiful she looked. A dusty low necked pink short sleeved buttoned top and floral flowing skirt just coming down below her knees, flat black shoes again and he could smell different perfume. He particularly noticed the buttons on her low necked pink top. If he didn't get her to tell him about Jake soon, he was going to have to take matters in his own hands and tell her how he felt anyway and blow to the consequences. She would either accept him or reject him and if it was the latter, then this Jake would have a fight on his hands and he would have to work at winning her over.
They chatted about everything and nothing over dinner. Rose asked if he'd had any interesting cases but he declined to answer. She was only fishing, Broadchurch had gone back to being a sleepy seaside town after the past excitement. She had read everything that had happened, in particular about Alec as she had read about his heart problem, his nearly dying after he collapsed twice while on the case and about his subsequent operation. Rose wouldn't have let him pursue her if he'd still had a heart problem. She'd lost one man she cared for, she couldn't let another one get to her just to lose him again.
Alec was completely in the dark about Rose except for the few bits he'd learned from her. Should he ask her? If so, how?
Rose said she'd leave the dishes but Alec insisted on helping her with them. Afterwards, he poured some more wine and they sat, Rose with her legs on the sofa and Alec in the chair to the side. They talked some more and Alec was again giving in to the smell of her perfume, afraid he would get too far ahead of himself and spoil things. He needn't have worried because Rose was about to melt and give in but not before one final tease from her which was going to be dropped into Alec's lap leaving him wondering if he really should have asked in the first place.
"Why don't you come and sit on the sofa or are you scared of me? I don't bite, honestly," she asked him.
"I daren't," was the reply, "because I'm afraid I will get ahead of myself."
Rose giggled "Oh, are you sure of that Detective Inspector Hardy? What makes you think I'd let you get ahead of yourself. You weren't shy the last few dates when we were kissing, were you?"
Alec knew she was playing with him again and it was driving him spare. "Well Miss Tyler, I hardly think you'd be in a position to stop me because once I get ahead of myself, there's very little to be done to stop me." And with that said, he put down his glass, got up and moved to the sofa. He moved Rose's feet to one side and sat of the edge of the sofa, then nudged up, putting his hand on her legs and his other hand reaching for her shoulder to lift her to sit up. Then at last, at that angle, he could finally see what exactly was under her pink low necked top and he almost lost it. "Rose, why do you torment me?"
"I'm not, I'm teasing you Alec, teasing you because I know you enjoy it, playing these games is something we both enjoy. Don't we?"
"Yes Rose but I can only stand so much you know, you are driving me mad."
"Good, I'm having the desired effect then" and she leant forward as he pulled her shoulder towards him and she looked at him as he was about to go to kiss her but she put her finger on his lips and he kissed that instead, took his hand off her legs and put it around her waist, drawing her even nearer. Neither of them could bear the tension for much longer, something had to give and very soon after nearly losing it last night.
They couldn't keep on going like this, he had so wanted to kiss her properly the last few dates but was she holding back because of Jake? He had to know and now.
"Rose, please tell me, about Jake, I so badly want to kiss you properly right now, not like we have been doing but I don't want you to hate me for doing so. If you don't want to kiss me the way I want to kiss you, I'll understand, if you're with Jake but you can't tease me like this without knowing what you're doing to me Rose, please?"
As he looked at her, she moved the arm that had been at her side and touched the side of his face and with the other hand that she had moved from his lips she put it on his shoulder and moved nearer.
"Detective Inspector Hardy, you're not much of a Detective are you?"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I thought you were doing some investigating about new arrivals in the town? If you had, then you would have investigated Jake and me, wouldn't you?"
Alec couldn't tell her that he couldn't get access to any information about her and since he didn't know Jake's surname either, he was rather stuck.
"Rose, I wouldn't dream of investigating you, doing something for my own personal gain by using police resources," he said innocently but with a smile on his face.
Did she know he'd been blocked from finding out about her? Was she part of this Torchwood, whatever it was? Did she know that he'd been interested enough to try to find out about her? If she was part of this Torchwood, did she know everything about him, he hoped not. Did he still want to pursue her if she was part of this organization or whatever it was? The answer was very simple, he didn't care if she knew everything and was part of it, he wanted Rose Tyler, not Torchwood and if the two came together then so be it. He would have to accept it because if Rose was free and wanted him which she obviously did since she was sat in front of him, then he so wanted her no matter what she brought with her.
Rose looked at him, her hand now round his neck, then she freed her other hand and undid two more buttons of his shirt, still teasing him as she pulled her legs up so she could lean forward to whisper in his ear "Jake is a friend and he's not interested in girls."
The look of relief on Alec's poor face as she pulled away to look at him was a picture. Weeks of playing games with her were almost all but over as Alec leant even closer to kiss her as their lips met, they finally gave in and Alec gently pushed her back onto the cushion, straightened her legs over his knees and leaning over, moving his hand onto them as he kissed her deeper and she kissed him back. Their lips parted, he whispered her name as she pulled him nearer and started to undo the rest of his shirt buttons and pulled his shirt partly over his shoulders, pulling him back to her as he lifted her top. She could feel him kissing her neck as he whispered her name again as he worked his way down her neck, pulling back her top from her shoulder, undoing the buttons as he moved his head, his other hand moving up her legs pulling up her skirt.
Rose was thinking she was glad she had made that extra stop before she went grocery shopping, it was about to pay off and Alec was thinking that Rose had to be the most beautiful woman he had met in a long time and she was far too young for him but as he gently kissed Rose along her shoulder and she held onto his shoulders, kissing his neck, he really didn't care as he moved her to lay just on top of her.
Rose tried to say something but Alec just wanted her even more and he didn't want to wait for any talking saying just "Rose" as he looked at her, this beautiful young woman who had made him have feelings he'd not had in years, made him question himself as to what she had done to him, to make him feel this way. Moving to one side, he continued moving one hand under her skirt, daring to move further in and the other around her back to undo her bra with Rose responding by arching herself up to let him put his fingers in her as he pulled them down at the front. He looked at her, her pink top off her left shoulder, he could see the top of her bra and it was driving him insane.
He couldn't stop himself as Rose freed a hand and began to undo his trousers as he used his other hand to pull up her top and her now undone bra as far as they would go, him moving himself up slightly and over to let her pull open his trousers and put her hand in just over his shorts whilst he was leaning over her and she freed her other hand to put it down the back of his trousers, pulling them down and him towards her, their hands on each other and his shorts the only things stopping them.
He reached further to kiss her breasts, taking each one in turn and going backwards and forwards between them, reaching his unoccupied hand down the back of her knickers as she started to get even more aroused and beginning to beg for him to do it for real, to just take off his trousers but they made themselves stop just short of that somehow.
As they kissed on the sofa after coming so close to having sex, Alec's arms were around Rose with both of them thinking how much they were enjoying it and how they had actually managed not to go the whole way.