Here's a tease for you lovelies! Leave me some comments and if you're lucky you'll get the rest of the chapter before I go to bed...

****I do not own any of the BBC's Sherlock characters****

For the next few weeks 221B Baker Street was filled with a palpable tension. Sherlock pointedly ignored Ri. Any conversation between the two was terse and rarely ventured outside of the necessary speech required for daily living.

Ri understood that Sherlock was uncomfortable with what had passed between them and gave him a wide berth. She didn't take offense at his aloof and almost cruel behavior toward her. She knew any form of emotion was entirely alien to him and the fact that he needed someone that night was abhorrent to him.

For his part, Sherlock was conceitedly assured that he had proven his point. He had no need for Ri or anyone else. And he had convinced himself that pleasure and longing he felt for her that night were a one-time occurrence, an anomaly in his otherwise cold and logical world.

Sherlock returned to the flat one afternoon from meeting some of his homeless network. He hated having to enter the sewers to locate some of the more reticent spies he employed. Returning to London's surface, Sherlock always felt so dirty.

Catching his reflection in the sitting room mirror, he decided he needed a bath and a shave. Then he would check on some of his experiments in the kitchen. He glanced around and didn't see any sign of his flatmate. He walked down the hall to disrobe in his bedroom when he noticed the bathroom door was closed. He paused in front of the door, listening to the sound of the running water in the shower. How inconvenient, he thought. Maybe I can make her uncomfortable enough to leave if I join her.

Sherlock kicked his filthy shoes off and quickly removed the jacket of his suit, flinging it on the chair in his bedroom. His white button down shirt and trousers quickly followed.

He opened the bathroom door silently, slipping into the room. He hoped to startle her when he entered the shower. He was flabbergasted at the emotions that flooded through him upon beholding her naked body for the first time.

Ri stood under water, eyes closed. Sherlock took in the sight of the rivulets coursing down her breasts, dripping off her nipples and continuing across the taut skin of her stomach. As his eyes continued down her body, he noticed a small mole to the right of her belly button, the projection of her pelvis bone under her skin and the small tuft of neatly groomed red hair between her legs. From what he had seen of pornography on John's laptop, he believed the latest fashion for women to be the removal of all pubic hair. Sherlock could not understand the pleasure he felt at the realization that she had left herself partially natural.

Without opening her eyes, Ri spoke.

"Can I help you?"

"I needed a bath and you were taking too long," Sherlock replied, making sure to keep his voice cold and clinical.

Ri opened her eyes and smiled.

"For future reference, Mr. Holmes," she purred. "When I share a shower with a man, I'm usually getting more out of the relationship than free room and board."

She picked up the shampoo, poured some into her hand, twisted to the side and allowed Sherlock to move past her, under the water.

Sherlock washed himself quickly, planning on making a quick exit from the shower when the two of them switched places again. He turned around to see Ri waiting patiently at the other end of the tub for him to finish. Her eyes were closed again and the soap bubbles drifting lazily down the contours of her body. He moved to the side to let her back under the water, and stood at the back of the tub, watching her rinse the shampoo from her hair and finish bathing herself.

"You know, it's ok to look," Ri whispered shyly, eyes still closed. "Having feelings doesn't make you a bad person. You could even touch if you'd like."

Sherlock couldn't contain his surprise.

"How did you know?"

Ri opened her eyes, allowing herself to look at him directly for the first time.

"You finished bathing five minutes ago and you're still here."

Cautiously, Sherlock reached out his hand and gently traced her mouth with his fingertip. The only response Ri allowed herself was the slight parting of her lips. The urge to take that long, slender finger into her mouth and suck on it was nearly overwhelming, but she fought it, holding body completely still. She knew that Sherlock needed to be in control, to set the pace. She wouldn't force him to do anything.

His hand slipped down her throat, lightly stroking the skin, drawing across her collarbone and down to the fullness of her breasts. He grazed the dark pink area around her nipple, observing how the skin tightened under his touch and how the nipple immediately hardened, forming a stiff peak to the supple curve. Goosebumps erupted across her skin, but Sherlock couldn't tell if it was from his touch or the fact that the water pouring from the shower head had begun to cool. He calculated they only had 3 more minutes until the shower was ice cold.

Sherlock reached behind Ri and turned off the water. He opened the curtain and stepped out, handing her a towel and grabbing one for himself. Ri looked at him questioningly.

"If we are to continue this," Sherlock paused, searching for the right word. "Experiment, we might as well relocate somewhere more comfortable."

He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked to his bedroom. He didn't need to check that she was following him, he knew she was. She thought she hid her attraction to him, but he saw it.

He flipped on the overhead light and sat on the foot of the bed. Ri stood in front of him, close enough for him to touch her, but not inside of his personal space. She removed the towel wrapped around her and tossed it lightly to the floor. Water still dripped from her hair, leaving moist trails down her back and shoulders. Sherlock traced the path of one of the trails as it made its way down her breast, pausing briefly at her erect nipple before continuing down her abdomen. He raked his fingernails gingerly over the protrusion of her hipbone.

He stood up, pulling her to him. He clumsily crushed his mouth against hers.

Sherlock was confused when he felt her body stiffen against him. She didn't pull away, but he was suddenly very aware of her dislike of the action. He moved away from her again.

"I, uh, don't really, um," Sherlock stammered, a light pink blush spreading across his cheeks.

He took a deep breath and continued more calmly.

"Outside of a morgue, I don't have much experience with the female form," he stated flatly, looking away from her.

A small smile crept across Ri's face at his embarrassment. Sherlock looked up to see pity briefly flash in her eyes.

"I'm not a virgin," he said defensively. "But my experience is possibly less thorough than you are used to."

"May I," Ri queried, indicating the bed.

Sherlock curtly nodded his assent.

Ri settled herself on the bed, laying on her back.

"Come here," she said, pointing to the space next to her.

He did as he was told, awkwardly laying beside her. She rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow. Ri began to softly trace his jawline. He turned to face her. The feeling of her fingers on his skin was electric.

"If you tell me to stop, I will," she said. "Anything you find uncomfortable, tell me and I'll stop."

Sherlock nodded his understanding.

"I'm going to kiss you now," she said.

Ri sensed that telling him exactly what she was about to do would make him more comfortable. She leaned in and gently placed her lips against his. She began to lightly suck on his bottom lip. He responded to her touch, placing his hand in her hair.

Sherlock let out a guttural moan as her hands intertwined themselves in his curls. He parted his lips and tentatively probed her mouth with his tongue. She greedily accepted him, delicately alternating between sucking on his tongue and using her own to explore his mouth. He rolled toward her, placing his hand on her hip and pulling her closer to him.

Ri pulled her body away from him and sat up. He opened his eyes and moaned again at the loss of contact.

"Sit up, I want to show you how and where I want you to touch me. You can use your mouth or your hands or both. Ok?"

He sat up, waiting for her instruction.

She took his hand in hers and ran his fingers from her jaw, down her throat and to her collarbone.

"In situations like this," she patiently explained. "My neck becomes very sensitive. Would you like me to demonstrate?"

Sherlock stammered out his acquiescence, craving her lips on him again.

Ri began to move her lips across his jaw and down his throat, alternating between light kisses, gentle sucking and quick flicks of her tongue. She felt his body strain against her. She moved down his muscular pecks. As she came to his nipples, she increased the pressure, sucking harder and gently running her teeth across them while her hands grazed across his stomach. Sherlock's eyes closed in satisfaction and his mind went blank, the sensations of her mouth on his body were the only thing that registered.

Suddenly her mouth and hands were gone. His eyes snapped open, hungry, silently begging her to continue, but he understood. It was his turn.

He pushed her back against the bed, mirroring the movements she showed him on her body with his hands, following them with his lips. He was gentler than she had been, not sure how much pressure he could exert before he hurt her.

She growled frustratedly.

"Sherlock, I promise I will tell you if you hurt me. I'm not going to break."

He suckled her nipple with more force, raking his tongue across it, nipping lightly.

"Harder," she moaned.

Sherlock happily obliged, biting down almost hard enough to break the skin. Ri writhed in appreciation under him. Her gyrations under his touch caused the blood flow to increase to his groin, hardening his shaft. With some difficulty Ri pushed him away.