A/N: This one gets a little steamy towards the end. I just finished reading a Nora Roberts novel. Blame it on her! ;-)

Chapter 5

Harper added cream to yet another cup of coffee. She chided herself. She was drinking too much of the stuff lately. Still, she had a couple briefs to write before she could call it a day and she need the pick me up. The office, however, was winding down. A few people here and there, making last minute phone calls, waiting around holding out hope for a returned verdict before the end of day.

Harper dropped her coffee off at her desk and headed to the ladies' room before devoting the next couple of hours to work.

"Who do you think it is?"

"I'm telling you, it's Rubirosa."

Harper, tucked quietly away within the stall, perked up when she heard her friend's name. She recognized the voices and peeked through the slit in the stall doors. A couple of secretaries stood at the mirror checking their make-up primping, no doubt, for after hours drinks. She couldn't recall their names. Gossips, though.

"You think?" The redhead asked unconvinced.

"Rubirosa. No doubt." The confident one replied.

Harper sat silently and motionlessly, as not to call attention to her presence. What could they possibly be talking about?

"I don't see it. Plus, she was his assistant."

"Exactly. That's McCoy's M.O."

Now they really had Harper's attention.

"I don't know." She was still unconvinced.

"Striking brunette? More than a couple of decades his junior? Rubirosa. Period. She's had a thing for him since they were assigned together. I heard she even has a 'No dumping on Jack' rule with Cutter."

The other woman laughed. "Mike Cutter," she sighed. "Now there's a man I wouldn't kick out of bed." They chuckled and exchanged glances. "Rubirosa…. Well, who really knows, right?"

"The Ledger, evidentially."

By the time they left the restroom Harper's curiosity was more than peaked. On her way back she stopped at Bradley Weber's desk. Weber, a stout family man in his fifties, was well known throughout the office for always having a variety of newspapers on hand. Rumor had it he read ten newspapers a day.

"Hey Brad," Harper smiled innocently at the middle aged attorney. "You wouldn't happen to have today's Ledger, would you?"

"Uh…" He riffled through one of several stacks of papers on his desk before pulling out the desired periodical. "Yeah, right here." He handed it over and went back to his case file. Harper began to scan the first couple of pages. "It's been a popular one around here today. Stein's in rare form," Weber said without taking his nose out of his work.

"Oh? How's so?" Harper tried to keep an innocuous tone.

"Trying to push Jack's buttons is all." He looked up at her flushed, expressionless face. "You can keep that. I've read it already."

"OK, thanks."

"Yep."

Harper took a couple of steps before turning back. "Hey, Weber," he looked up at her quizzically, "do you really read all those papers everyday?"

"I like to be informed." Harper nodded silently as a slow grin crossed his face. "Maybe not all of them."

Harper smiled as she leaned closer in his direction. "You're secret's safe with me," she said in a whisper.

Once she was safely back at her desk she thumbed through the paper until she found Adam Stein's Page Six gossip column. She scanned quickly before finding mention of Jack midway down the page.

Incumbent candidate for Manhattan District Attorney, Jack McCoy was spotted taking in a Knicks game at the Garden Saturday night. The DA, who's running within the margin of error against Lt. Attorney General Joe Chappell, was in the company of a striking brunette. The young lady, I say young because she must have been more than a couple of decades his junior, watched the game intently, but only had eyes for the DA. The cozy pair took their leave on his motorcycle a full fifteen minutes before the end of the game. For those of you who care about such things… Knicks 96, Cavs 112 Who can blame them for leaving early?

A wave of nausea hit Harper as she sunk into her chair. This wasn't good.

"Look at you. Reading the gossip columns." Tracy Kibre startled her.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Guilty pleasure."

Tracy leaned in and inspected the paper in front of Harper. "It seems Rubirosa is the odds on favorite for Jack's mystery woman." She sat down in the chair next to Harper's desk watching her assistant intently. "But that's not exactly accurate, is it?"

Harper studied Tracy, trying to detect her point of view on the topic. She gave up. She heaved a heavy sigh and shook her head.

Not long after she had started assisting her Tracy began to suspect there was something between her boss and Harper. She dismissed the idea at first. Jack had a history of romancing his assistants, but to the best of her knowledge that had all ended with Claire Kincaid's death though she'd had her suspicions about Abbie Carmichael. There was something about their manner together that finally brought Tracy to the realization. It was relaxed and without pretense. It was as if one was constantly aware of the other like a satellite and the planet it orbits. She still hadn't decided who was the satellite and who was the planet.

"It's not that we mind people knowing. We just prefer to keep it out of the office."

Tracy held her hands up in defense. "Don't worry. You'll get no judgment from me."

Harper leaned back in her chair. She suddenly felt the burden of the long day all over. "I'm not naive. I know what people will say."

"What's that?"

"That I'm using him." She smiled bitterly. "That he's taking advantage of me.

"Are you? Using him?" Kibre asked in her no nonsense manner.

Harper sat up in her seat. Her face wrought with disbelief. "Of course not. How could you think-"

Tracy put her hand up to silence her assistant. "Is he taking advantage of you?"

At this Harper had to chuckle. She also realized her superior was trying to make a point. "The notion's ridiculous."

"Then don't worry about the rest." She picked at the newspaper flippantly. "Adam Stein's an instigator. He knows how Jack is about his personal life. A couple of years ago he printed a piece about his estranged relationship with his daughter. Jack was not happy."

Harper sighed. "That's precisely my worry…" She pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed. For the first time in their relationship she dreaded going home. The blurb wasn't her fault, even if she had been the one to suggest the game. She knew Jack wouldn't blame her. But she dreaded the possibility of see that look on his face. The one that said, 'What the hell am I doing?' or 'I should just quit while I'm ahead.' It seemed to Harper, no matter how good things were going, she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Jack! Just hear me out."

"I will not Martin," Jack McCoy was more than a little agitated with his campaign manager. "It's a non sequitur. Move on."

"Jack," the smartly dressed politico kept his tone calm, "it's just four weeks until the election. All I'm saying is the two of you should lay low for a couple of weeks, let the interest die down."

"We're two consenting adults, Martin."

"Yes, Jack, I get that. But we're talking about the voters of New York County. This could make you look exploitative and, possibly even an abuser of your power over a young and naïve underling." Jack shot him a lethal glare. "I'm not saying that's what it is. I'm saying that's how it could look."

Jack rubbed the back of his stiff neck. He was tired of this argument. They'd been having it off and on all day. Adam Stein was bound and determined to be come a persistent pain in his ass. "I thought all publicity was good publicity?" he asked dismissively.

Martin McAlester was not amused. "Damn it Jack! I'm trying to help you win this election. Don't be so noble. After the election you can take her to Kentucky-fucking-Derby if you want! Just keep her away from the cameras' lenses for four lousy weeks!"

"I will not shoo her in the closet like she's some kind of embarrassment. She's done nothing wrong. We've done nothing wrong. Move on."

The DA gave Martin a steely gaze that told him that the conversation was over. He understood where Jack was coming from. Personally, he really liked Harper. The voters, however, might not take too kindly to a candidate dating a woman, his subordinate no less, that's 29 years younger than him. They were running such a tight race. He hated to think of the whole thing being derailed by a minor scandal such as this.

Harper stood silently in Hogan Place's descending elevator. She'd debated back and forth before deciding to call Jack and tell him she wasn't coming over tonight. Then she chickened out. It was quite the conundrum actually. On one hand she dreaded every step that took her closer to him, to his possible disappointment in the recent development. On the other she, as always, couldn't wait to get home to him after the long day, to the sanctuary his arms presented. It was that sanctuary that kept her from making the call.

The townhouse was dimly lit when she entered. She heard the distant sound of a basketball playing on the television. Before she could ascertain who was playing she heard Jack grumbling about something. He was on the phone. Not wanting to disturb him and if she was honest with herself, putting off their conversation, she slid out of her black pumps and slipped into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine. Harper quickly downed one glass before she headed into the living room with the second.

In the darkness just outside of the front room Jack's grumbles became distinguishable.

"For the last time just tell them 'No comment', Martin." His voice was beyond irritated. "I don't comment on my personal life. And neither do you."

And so it began, she thought. She took a deep breath and a sip of wine before she entered. Jack stopped pacing the room and smiled hello. Harper settled into the soft leather chair that was easily her favorite in the entire house with her bare feet tucked underneath her.

She watched Jack as he continued to pace the room. His tie along with his shoes had long been abandoned and his sleeves were rolled up in work mode. When he finally finished his call he exhaled out loud. She could see the exhaustion written all over him. She smiled and without saying a word moved to the sofa and sat on the arm with her feet on the cushion. She held her hand out to Jack.

He stalked towards her not quite knowing what to say. He wondered if she'd heard any of his conversation. Or if she'd even heard about Stein's article? He took her offered hand and kissed her palm before he sank into the cushion in front of her. She wrapped her legs around him locking her ankles and resting them in his lap. His warm hands softly rubbed her smooth calves as hers began to rub the tension from shoulders and neck.

"Long day?"

His eyes were closed as her ministrations worked the tired muscles. "Mm-hm," was all he could seem to manage. Her hands were like magic. He caught a whiff of her perfume and found himself wondering how she could still smell so good after working 12 hours.

They sat in silence while she continued the message.

"I've caused problems for you," she said matter-of-factly. Her hand slid down his spine with pressure eliciting a low groan from Jack.

His hands began to lightly rub to soles of her feet. "You've done no such thing. Adam Stein and I have a history. It's got nothing to do with you."

She rested her hands on his shoulders and took a deep breath. "If you want take a… take a break or something. Until the election or whatever, I'd understand." It was the last thing in the world she wanted, but if it was going to be said, she wanted to be the one to say it.

Jack righted himself on the sofa, one of her legs still draped across him. "Where did that come from?"

Harper shrugged. "I… I know this could complicate things and… I…." She couldn't seem to find the words. By this time the idea of being without Jack had taken root. She was already beginning to feel rudderless.

Jack took her hand in his. "First of all, you don't need to worry about my campaign. That's what I have a campaign manager for." Harper started to interject, but Jack continued. "Secondly, you could never be a problem for me."

"But, Jack.."

"Harper, do you want out of this? Because if you do, then you're going to have to say that. Say that and go. Otherwise, your stuck with me." He grabbed her hips and pulled her onto his lap. His hands moved up and cupped her face. "I'm not going anywhere."

Her heart danced. Unfortunately, a part of her head continued to doubt. It wasn't that she doubted his devotion so much as she doubted the longevity of his devotion. She wanted to give into the jubilation of her heart, but bad memories seemed to keep them at bay.

Jack watched Harper and sensed her reluctance. He took her hands in his. "When are you going to trust me?"

The question shocked her. "I do trust you, Jack." She held his gaze hoping it conveyed the sincerity she felt.

"When are you going to trust that I'm not going to walk out on you?"

The question broke her heart. Unable to answer, she diverted her gaze. She chose instead to focus on their entwined hands. It was hard to tell which were his and which were hers.

"Damn him," he sighed. "Damn him for hurting you."

She looked into his loving eyes. How she could ever doubt him was beyond her. She wrapped his arms around her waist and lightly caressed his face. "I'm sorry. I'm working on it, ya know?" He nodded and she leaned in to kiss him. She wondered if she'd ever get used to the heady sensation of kissing Jack. He kissed her like no other man had ever kissed her. They were the most wonderful mixture of confidence and tenderness.

Their kiss deepened as Jack's strong hands began to roam over Harper's bottom. He pulled her closer to him. She moved against him delighted in his growing hardness. His mouth moved to her neck as his hands unzipped her suit dress and roamed over her bare back. While their tongues danced around each other Jack pulled her dress top down to her waist and removed the lacy, beige bra she wore underneath. His fingertips lightly traced their way up her sides. She stiffened and her breath caught in response. Jack smiled, not trying to hide his pleasure in her goosebumps. He held her gaze as his hands glided up to her breasts and took one into his mouth. Harper closed her eyes in bliss. Without warning he slid his hand between them and stroked her. He expertly brought her to a climax within minutes.

She rested her head on his shoulder as she recovered. Her fingers played with the hair at his neckline absently as a small, throaty laugh escaped her .

Jack looked at her sideways with raised eyebrows. "Something funny?" One hand had already found its way back to her breast which he fondled gently while the other lightly stroke up and down her back.

She pulled away from him and smiled with heavy eyes. "I was just thinking. This is not how I thought I'd be spending my evening." She pressed down on him teasingly.

His eyes smiled up at her. "A surprise…"

She moved her hands atop of his as they caressed her bosom. "Albeit a very pleasant one." They kissed long and deep. Harper's hands stopped his movement on her as her face grew serious. "I do trust you, Jack. You've become such an integral part of me in such a short time. It scares me."

Jack wrapped his arms around her tightly and squeezed. She continually astonished him. She was able to be so candid about her emotions. He envied that. As he held her his lips brushed her shoulder. He decided this must be how it felt, to love someone so completely that you knew you would never be without a them again. He tightened his embrace. Yes, this is how that feels.