Shock was the first thing that entered Rachel's mind at the feel of Eddie's lips upon hers, before she slowly leaned into the kiss and gave Eddie permission to deepen the kiss with a swipe of her tongue along his bottom lip.
Eddie couldn't believe it; he was kissing the woman he had been in love with for over a year and better yet she was kissing him back with equal fever. It felt like he had died and gone to heaven as pleasure like what he was feeling could never exist purely on Earth. Becoming more involved in the kiss Rachel leant forward so they were now laying on the floor chest to chest, this action caused Eddie to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her even closer, not that it was even possible as even air couldn't pass between the little space between their bodies.
Sighing into the kiss Rachel let herself be taken away into the safety that the kiss and arms wrapped tight around her provided, shielding her from the terrors of the past few weeks. Stuart Hordly blackmailing her to win the bid to build the new Waterloo Road school building and then the whole school finding out about her past thanks to Stuart and then the fire that the fire service and police say was started by Stuart as they found his fingerprints on the thing that started the fire in the kitchens. Then going back into the burning school trying to save a man who had destroyed the life she had built at Waterloo Road and lastly her stay in the hospital had left Rachel in serious need of some TLC and it would appear that Eddie was the one to deliver the goods.
Slowly breaking the kiss, when oxygen depletion became too much, Rachel and Eddie made no move to get up and walk away if anything they leant back in ands rested their foreheads together and stared into each other's eyes for the longest time. Reaching up Eddie combed his fingers through Rachel's hair marvelling in the softness of it, almost rivalling in that department with the woman the hair belonged to.
"Hey" Eddie whispered not wanting to break the quietness that surrounded them.
"Hey." Rachel replied as she closed her eyes and relaxed into Eddie's embrace, letting him take some of the weight that she carried around every day, seep into him asking him to shoulder some of the responsibility.
Wrapping his arms more firmly around Rachel, Eddie surprised her by picking them both and placed them back on the sofa not breaking the embrace.
"Rachel are you okay with this." Eddie asked uncertain whether or not he would have to leave her and only see her professionally if her answer was not one he wanted to hear.
"More than fine Eddie, I feel amazing." Rachel said into his neck.
"Good to know. Seriously though do you want to do this, because I can understand if you don't want to start a relationship with especially after what went on and everything?" He rambled which was a sure sign that he was nervous of just what sort of answer he would be given.
"Eddie." Rachel said as cupped his face in her hands and forced him to look her in the eye. "Do you really think I would be sat on your lap after having a mind blowing kiss like that if I didn't want a relationship with you?"
"No."
"Well then stop rambling and kiss me again, we've got a lot of catching up to do with kissing among other things. As it stands I've wanted you since we first and that was nearly a year ago, so you mister have some making up to do. She finished poking him in the chest.
Chuckling, Eddie leaned in and complied with her wishes. Capturing her lips in a kiss that was the complete opposite of their first because as soon as their lips met, passion soared through the roof and desire bubbled in their veins. Tongues duelled ad hands roamed, taking them to places that were once only a figment of their imaginations. Breathing heavily they broke apart and Rachel slipped off Eddie's lap and held out a hand for him to take, which he did and she lead them upstairs and the only thing that was heard from them for the next few hours was the moans and sighs of ecstasy.
Sunlight flittered in through the curtains which had been left open as last night's activities precedence. Groaning Eddie tried to roll over only to be blocked by a soft and warm body, which brought back all the memories from the night before. Smiling, Eddie carefully turned over to watch the beautiful creature that was laid in bed with him, sleep away the exhaustion of the past few days.
Getting out of bed silently and locating his boxers, Eddie made his way downstairs to start the breakfast that, he knew they both needed as they had skipped dinner last night. Something that he couldn't complain about as dinner was substituted quite nicely.
Searching through the cupboards and fridge he managed to scrape together enough edible food for them to have scrambled eggs on toast. Setting down to the task before him Eddie didn't notice when an extra body joined him the kitchen.
Reaching out to find the other person that should have been in bed next to her, only to encounter an empty space, spreading her hand over the void, it still felt warm under her hand, meaning he hadn't been gone long. Turning over to avoid the sunlight that had woken her, Rachel closed her eyes and attempted to go back to sleep.
After 5 minutes of having no luck of once again joining the realms of sleep where she could replay last night over and over in her head. Failing miserably to sleep now that Eddie had left, Rachel started to search for something to wear. Coming across Eddie's shirt and her knickers, she slipped them and set out on her mission to find her estranged bed partner.
Hearing the clang of pots and pans being moved around and the rustling of packets and doors being opened and closed, Rachel manage to get a good idea as to where Eddie might be hiding.
Creeping down the stairs, trying not to make too much noise, Rachel eventually entered the kitchen to find the man who she worked side by side with every day, stood in front of the oven, pan in hand wearing only his boxers and an apron, which she had no idea where he could have got it from.
The scene before would have sent anyone in to fits f laughter, but to Rachel it felt almost natural to have Eddie pottering around in her kitchen wearing nothing but his boxers, looking like he had just climbed out of bed. Sighing and leaning against the doorjamb she waited until Eddie noticed the extra presence in the room that wasn't either his or the quietly playing radio in the background.
Hearing the softest of sighs Eddie twisted around until he could see her over his shoulder, smiling at the sight before him, of Rachel wearing nothing but his shirt making the scrap of clothing more inviting than ever before.
"Good morning beautiful." He greeted with a large grin on his face.
"Morning." Rachel replied as she walked further into the room and stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and relaxing into the warmth that rolled off of him in waves. Placing his hands on top of hers where they lay on his stomach, Eddie allowed his conscious to drift away into the still fresh memories in his mind of the gorgeous creature with her arms wrapped around him, played a very key part.
"What you're making?" Rachel questioned as she released her hold on him and went to sit on the opposite counter, where she still had a perfect view of his naked back and the way the muscles worked in tandem with his movements.
"I'm making you breakfast." He answered, looking up and giving her a grin which reminded her of an excited 5 year old that had been told he can have a puppy.
"Oh really, Mr Lawson." She answered back with a teasing quality to her voice.
"Why in deed I am Miss Mason, any objections." Seeing her shake her head, Eddie turned back to the stove and not burn the eggs that were cooking.
Once the eggs were finished cooking and the bread had been toasted Eddie carried the plates, holding his expertly made scrambled eggs on toast, across to the small breakfast bar and sat down, before Rachel could even follow him, and began to waffle down the food before him.
Taking a seat opposite him, Rachel tucked into her food at a much slower pace, wondering if Eddie was going to get sick with the way he was putting the food away.
Surprisingly the breakfast Eddie had prepared didn't taste half bad in fact the food was downright delicious, causing Rachel to moan at the explosion of flavours in her mouth. The moan caught Eddie's attention, leaving him to momentarily forget about his food and watch enraptured at the look of pleasure on Rachel's face at one single bite of his cooking. Knowing that he had done something to bring out that reaction in her Eddie's chest swelled with pride and lust for the woman mere feet away, in reaching distance. Shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts flitting through his mind he turned his attention back to the food in front of him and not the moaning woman, who was making it very hard to eat the food without hearing her reaction to it.
"Eddie this is amazing. Where did you learn to cook like this?" Rachel asked still reeling in the taste of the food before her.
Snapping out of his thoughts once again Eddie looked up at Rachel to answer her, only to find a smug smile on her face. Seeing that she had put on the little show to get him riled up, he couldn't help but laugh at his sheer magnitude of feelings for her.
"My Mum taught me, before I went to college; she said that I couldn't leave home until I had at least some basic cooking skills so I wouldn't starve or eat takeaways every night." He answered truthfully. "Now the only time I really cook is when I have Michael over or some friends come round for the footy. Then again its usual steak and chips that gets cooked then."
Laughing at his clear and straight to the point answer Rachel went back to her food, after seeing that Eddie had almost cleaning his plate.
"So what would you like to do today?" Eddie asked not really knowing if she would want to spend the day with him, or if she wanted to just lounge about her home and relax in quietness of the place.
"To be honest I would like to go and see the damage caused by the fire, if that's okay with you." She replied keeping her eyes on her plate, not willing to let Eddie see the fear swimming in her chocolate orbs.
Reaching over the table, Eddie hooked his finger under her chin and gently made her eyes seek his and reassured her with one look, that he would be there every step of the way.
"Rachel if that's what you want to do, then that's what we will do. Together." He said as he interlinked their hands that were resting on the counter.
The relief visibly calmed her as she relaxed back into her chair and back into a comfortable conversation about everything and nothing.
Breakfasts were demolished and plates were put into the sink as they went back up stairs and got dressed, finding it very hard to keep their hands to themselves.
Eventually an hour later Rachel and Eddie, had managed to achieve a look that didn't say that we just had sex, they set out on the normal Rachel would take to get to work. Pulling up outside the school gates that still had the Police tape across the bars, Rachel paled at the site of what was once a proud school, now it was in pieces and parts that weren't touched by the fire were covered in soot and debris.
Gasping at the site before Rachel, had to take deep and calming breaths to get rid of the memories that were now swimming in the forefront of her mind. Taking her hand Eddie silently gave her his support and his shoudler if she needed it.
A watery smile was what Eddie got for his continued vigil as he watched the play of emotions on her face. First were the flashes of fear that he could only guess came from the experience of being in the building as it continued to burn to the ground. Next came the awe, at how bad of a hit the school took with the fire. Lastly the stubbornness to not let her fears and nightmares that she knew would eventually take over her usually peaceful night's sleep and hectic days. Rachel at the sight of the school refused to believe something as innocent as a school could be turned into a place of terror for children, even though that was what the students of Waterloo Road had to see just over a week ago.
"Wow, it really did some damage." She whispered not taking her eyes off of the building in front of her.
"Yes it did and I almost lost you in that Rach. There are properly trained firemen who go into burning buildings for a living, you my Dear are a high school Headmistress, your job is to be outside in the safe zone protecting and comforting the scared students not going back in and scaring them even more. Sometimes you can't save everyone Rachel some people don't want saving." Eddie said with conviction as he alternated between looking at the school and the woman in the car with him.
"Come one let's go to the park like you wanted to yesterday. Get a bit of fresh air and decide what we do from there." Eddie said drawing Rachel's attention away from the school and back onto him.
"Yeah the park would be nice." Rachel replied still distracted by the memories running rampant through her head.
Starting the car once again Eddie pulled onto the main road and started towards the nearest park that had trees and benches, knowing that Rachel wouldn't want to be outside for long if they had to sit in the sun for an extended amount of time.
Finding a parking space took a lot more effort that it should have, but considering the weather was the nicest it has been all year, it appears that parents were taking the opportunity to take their children out and spend some time with them as they grow up far too quickly, sometimes you blink and it's gone.
Getting out of the car Eddie sprinted around the front and opened the door before Rachel could even take off her seat belt. Offering her a hand to help her out of the car, Eddie then entwined their hands and locked the car before setting off on a leisurely stroll in the warm summer air.
Leaning down without warning Eddie captured Rachel's lips in a sweet kiss, saying he was proud of her for the way she handled going to back to the school and reliving the memories it brought back and still remaining strong.
"What was that for?" She asked confused at the kiss; even though it wasn't unwelcome on the contrary it left her wanting more.
"Just because." He answered being evasive knowing that it would wind her up not knowing.
"Because what?"
"Because."
"Because what Eddie?"
"I felt like it and I didn't know how to say how proud I am of you for being able to go back to the place that put you in the hospital and not feel scared to ever enter the building again. I'm not saying that it will be easy, just that I'll be there whenever you need me all you have to do is ask." He finally answered looking her dead in the eyes.
"Thank you."