The need to go to the bathroom woke Grace up just after two a.m. and she was surprised to find herself alone in the bed. She pulled on her new bathrobe, opened the bedroom door and heard movement coming from the kitchen. After finishing in the bathroom, she padded quietly along the rose petal covered floor towards the kitchen and stopped at the doorway.

She'd never before seen such an incredible sight. The kitchen was a mess, an unprecedented state of chaos. Spencer, clad in the bathrobe that matched the one she wore, was busy cleaning. He didn't hear her, she figured, as she surveyed the wreckage and wondered if her countertops would ever again be their original sparkling white. She stood in silence for several minutes watching as he cleared up food scraps and packaging from countertops. There was chocolate everywhere. Grace couldn't begin to imagine how he'd managed to get chocolate on every available surface. The stove, the refrigerator, the countertops, the cupboard doors all bore drips, smudges or chocolate fingerprints. She wondered if there was anywhere in the kitchen that hadn't been anointed with chocolate. As her gaze swept across the stove, she noticed her best copper bottom pan sitting on top with a spoon still perched inside. She covered her mouth hoping to stifle the gasp of dismay at the thought of her pot being ruined.

Spencer filled the sink with soapy water and started doing the dishes, using just his left hand. Grace, remembering the cut on his hand, stepped forward and slid her arms around his waist.

"Let me help you with that. You shouldn't be getting that hand wet and, well, it just looks awkward trying to do those dishes with just one hand."

"Grace!" She'd startled him and he turned around to face her, dropping the dish into the water. Sighing, he answered her, "No, I made this absolute mess of your kitchen. The least I could do is clean it up."

"Spence," she protested, "You worked really hard making such a lovely evening for us. Dinner was fantastic and after dinner was, well, the best ever!"

"It was, wasn't it?" he agreed, wiped his wet hand on his robe-covered leg and then splayed his hands across her back and drew her close. "We make a great team."

"We do," her reply was muffled as her face was burrowed into his chest and buffeted by the fluffy bathrobe. He stroked her hair and she tilted her head up to kiss him. Grace's hands slid down to his waist, undoing the belt and making his bathrobe fall to the floor. He stood still before her as she leaned towards the stove. His eyes followed the movement of her hands and his eyebrows rose in surprise as she dipped her fingers into the pot containing the rest of the melted chocolate.

It was no longer warm, but still in a thick liquid form and she brought forward a chocolate covered finger and drew a heart on his chest. He smiled indulgently down at her and then a split second later gasped as her tongue darted out from between her lips to lick the chocolate from his chest.

"Mmmmm," she murmured as she started again, slowly drawing the outline of the heart and this time, repeatedly dipping her fingers into the pan to fill in the heart with the chocolate. Once completed, she lifted her gaze to meet his and smiled evilly as she leaned forward and flicked her tongue along her artwork once more.

Spencer's knees threatened to buckle and he tightened his hold on her waist as he moaned in response to her actions. Although he kept them short, his fingernails dug into her upper arms as his arousal grew. He took a long deep breath and tried to let it out slowly but wound up gasping again as Grace's tongue lapped against his nipple.

"I'm not gonna be ab—" he started to growl and she paused mid-lick for a moment to make eye contact. His words died on his lips as she reached up to kiss him. Thoroughly provoked, he stooped to pick her up and carried her back into the bedroom.

He laid her down gently on the bed, and then deftly undid and slipped off her robe. "Clean up's gonna hafta wait until later," he told her, ""because right now," he left the rest of his thought in the air as he bent down to lavish her breast with kisses. She writhed in delight as his fingers delved lower and readied her before he lowered himself into position. For the fourth time in as many hours, Spencer and Grace made love, and then, after proclaiming their mutual love, collapsed in each other's arms.

Spencer fell asleep almost instantly. Grace lay awake next to him long enough to hear his breathing fall into the rhythm that told her he was soundly asleep and then she rolled over and propped herself up on one arm to watch him sleep. The curtains hadn't been completely drawn and the moon was now shining through the opening like a bright ribbon casting a gentle stream of light on her sleeping lover. She eyed him for a while: hair splayed out all around his head, chest rising and falling steadily, and a look of peace on his face. A smile drew across Grace's face when she noticed his skin was sparkling in places. She bent down to touch a spot on his hip and realised that sections of his skin were randomly covered in glitter.

"The Milky Bath," she realised and stifled a giggle. It occurred to her, as much as she loved the Milky Bath, the glitter could be stubborn and tended to stick around way long than was desired. Spencer could be glittering for weeks, she thought with a smile. As she affectionately stroked the spot on his hip, he stirred and moaned in his sleep and then was immediately still again.

Grace bent down and gently kissed the spot on his hip. Sliding out of the bed, she picked her robe up off the floor, and after pulling it on and tying it, made her way out to the kitchen to finish the cleanup Spencer had started. It took her just under an hour to finish the dishes, restore her favourite copper-bottomed pot to new, find the gleaming white countertops under the chocolate and finally, sweep the floor of the debris that had fallen. She returned to the bedroom, slipped the robe off and climbed back into the bed, curling up against Spencer and resting her head and one hand on his chest. Still fast asleep, he moved to accommodate her and slipped one arm down onto her shoulder. For several moments, Grace caressed a sparkly spot on his arm before exhaustion finally overtook her and she fell asleep.

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