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chapter 10

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On the next morning Barbara woke to the sound of something falling down the staircase outside her flat. A loud Italian curse followed and then there was silence. She had startled and lifted her head but since she was completely knackered she decided to let them handle it on their own this time. She helped them more than enough. A quick look at the alarm clock on her night stand told her she had slept long into the day. Sighing she laid her head back onto the pillow and leaned into the warm chest in her back. An arm around her waist tightened and slightly tickling finger pressed onto her belly.

"Oh god!" she breathed.

Her mind raced. In a shock she realised that the exhaustion that reigned her body was originated by a very long and lustful night. Vaguely she remembered her kitchen clock saying something around half past one in the morning. And that had not yet been the time they had gone to bed, back to bed that is, least of all it had been the time they had fallen asleep. A blurry memory of chuckling, laughing, eating cookies and having sex filled her mind.

Having sex. With the Earl of Asherton! Tommy Lynley, DI Lynley. Her boss. And it was wonderful. Unexpected but wonderful. And so light-hearted, easy, funny, strange. But also intense and sensual. Consensual. Light-headed and unashamed and so very, very fulfilling in the end.

What had they done? Why had it come this far? How on earth could they have spent such a night?

Oh, heavens! she thought. Peter's cookies!

Barbara blushed and stifled an embarrassed chuckle about them, as police officers, having relished space cakes. She felt the blush creeping all over her body when a decidedly male pelvis pressed against her buttocks. Her chuckle died when his nose appeared in the hair above her ear and his lips kissed her auricle. His grip tensed a bit more.

He was awake!

"Good morning, Cookie Monster!" Tommy breathed into her ear.

"You're still here." she simply stated ignoring his allusion to their joy with the small dough things. There was no accusation in her voice that he had not left her flat yet. In fact Tommy heard a slight confusion. A slight but very pleased confusion.

"Of course I am, why should I have left?"

Yes, why should he? Barbara had no answer to that. Of course she was glad that he had not left without a word after that strange experience. But he was her boss and there would be some things to explain at work. Not to mention his noble family. And after all they had had too many of those cookies, so...

Carefully and without pushing his arm away Barbara turned to face him. Immediately she gained a small kiss. Tommy smiled affectionate and tender. She could leave it at that and should enjoy the bits that might follow until it ended. But even if it would be longer than she could hope they really should talk about their little nightly joyride.

"Because what happened last night was not entirely... well, by our own free will." she explained.

"Of course it was." He objected.

"Haven't you felt it?" He really could not have overseen that they had indulged some reefer madness.

Tommy pushed a lock of tousled hair from her face and softly stroked her cheek with his index finger. "I've felt a lot last night, Barbara. What do you mean exactly?"

"That we've had... cookies, you know... brownies... those little treats, they were ...pimped with dope." His smile made her nervous. Had he really not felt it or had he too much of it and he still was intoxicated?

"Yes, of course I've felt that. But that doesn't make our... little experience less important and absolutely not without our own free will. You know, cannabis usually only deepens the mood you're actually in. That's why you shouldn't have some when you're feeling down. Also that's why I think tonight we only acted on our hidden feelings for each other. At least on my behalf I can say that there were some of those for quite a while before tonight. Although I have to admit I had not wanted our first time being so..."

Tommy searched for words. Barbara searched for an answer why on earth this man had feelings for her. Such certain feelings. Not that she would object but still...

"I don't know." he lopsidedly grinned. "It was so..."

She tried to help him. "...strange? ...ridiculous? There are cookie crumbles in your hair, Tommy."

Her face suddenly had softened and lost its frowning furrows. His sleepy morning appearance was utterly adorable.

"And you have a lovely little chocolate stain on your cheek, Barbara."

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