House confessed his love, and now what do you think is next? :)
I hope you'll enjoy it and sorry for the long wait between chapters...

** CHAPTER 54 **

As intense as it was, House broke away from their kiss and gently brought Cuddy's face against his torso. She rested her cheek against his chest while he cupped the back of her skull with his hands, softly caressing her hair. He leaned down and put his chin atop her head, inhaling her scent deeply. The first breath sent a delicious rush of pleasure through his whole body, and he squeezed her tighter against him. He kept her there, enveloping her frail body in his arms, feeling finally soothed and peaceful. That was all he needed just then: To feel her warmth as he was holding her tight against him.

They remained perfectly still, wrapped in each other's arms, until House's desire inexorably arose, demanding and impatient. He delicately pulled her away and, with no word needed, the intensity of his gaze on her was enough to convey his yearning for her. He seized her coat and slowly took it off her. It slid down along her arms and fell on the floor with a whoosh sound. Cuddy kept her gaze locked in his spellbinding, ocean blue eyes and let him remove her cardigan next. He tossed it on the floor and started unbuttoning her shirt next, one button after the other. She was hypnotized by his methodical movements and stood in front of him, immobile and breathless, but when he began to draw her shirttails apart, she grabbed his hands and stopped him.

"House, I don't think this is the right place to—"

"You're right. As much as I'd love to do that, I don't think the whole 'banging you against the door' thing would fit my bum leg." He grinned and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "But I spot a queen-size bed over there that's big enough for two."

"No, I mean-" she stopped in the middle of her sentence and sighed.

"I know what you mean," he said, cupping her face in his hands. "But I don't care. I want you." He traced the line of her cheekbone with soft kisses. "Do you want me?"

"Yes. But… my parents-"

"I don't care about your parents." He moved apart and looked at her with a sparkle of mischief glittering in his eyes. "If you scream and you wake them up, at least they'll know they had a good reason to let me in!"

Cuddy exhaled a quiet laugh and playfully smacked him on the side of his arm.

"You, show-off!" she giggled, but she still looked a little bit uneasy.

"What? Are you afraid we could wake them up for real?" he asked, amused by her embarrassment.

"No, but I mean-"

"Then, shh! Relax. I want this. You want this. Stop talking. Stop resisting." He tugged her in his arms and bent down to kiss her. His lips trailed up from her neck to the side of her face and slowly began kissing her behind her ear.

"Nothing is going to stop me from making love to you now," he whispered with a raspy voice.

She shuddered and he enfolded her closer against him. He grabbed her shirt by the collar and made it slide off her. As he kissed her on the hollow of her collarbone, she took his jacket off and when his arms were free again, he wrapped them around her and pressed on the small of her back, pulling her close to him.

They kissed again, leisurely, tasting each other's tongues and gently nipping the pulp of each other's lips. Cuddy moved her hands up to his torso and slowly took care of his shirt's buttons. When she'd taken it off and he stood bare-chested in front of her, she saw the bandage around his wrist. She froze and her face instantly took on a worried look.

"House, what happened?" she asked, reaching out her hand to check his wrist.

He held her gesture back and stared compellingly into her eyes.

"Nothing," he dismissed.

"But-" she tried to protest, but he swiftly moved his wrist out of her reach.

"Can we please forget about my hand?" he groaned.

She pouted at first, but eventually caved and smiled fondly at him.

"Ok," she said.

Then she grabbed him by the waist and yanked him toward the bed with her. She sat on the edge of the mattress and got rid of her shoes, hastily toeing them off. She lay back and started fidgeting to take off her pants. House was standing in front of her, amazed by her sudden impatience. With his eyes never leaving her, he took off his shoes and socks then got rid of his pants and tossed them on the floor beside him while she slid underneath the sheets. She wriggled feverishly and a few seconds afterward, she tossed her panties on the floor.

"House," she called yearningly.

Beaming, he took his boxers off and joined her under the sheets.

"Wait!" she said breathlessly.

He frowned, a bit incredulous, but when he saw her prop herself up on her elbows to seize her bra's hook, an impromptu wave of emotions suddenly pervaded him.

"No," he said softly. "Let me take care of this."

She stared intensely at him and silently nodded in approval. He helped her sit up straight and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you sure?" he asked carefully.

"Yes."

He unhooked her bra and Cuddy docilely let him slide the straps along her arms. When her breasts were freed from the bra-cups, she turned around to face him.

"Now, make love to me."

She sighed voluptuously and lay down on the bed, stretching her body in a sensual curve. House sucked in a sharp breath and positioned himself on top of her. He steadied himself on one arm and with his free hand, fondled her thigh from her kneecap up to the outer curve of her hip. She arched her back and spread her legs open. She groped around for his sex and when she felt his erection under her fingers, she let out another sigh, full of lustful promises.

She stroked his hard length inside her palm, and he buried his face in her neck, groaning against her skin. He gently removed her hands from his groin and cupped her sex with his hand, brushing the light patch of hair above her mound before opening her with his fingers to tease her clit with his thumb. She was warm and so wet, and his desire to be inside her became a sweet torture. She stretched her arms above her head and arched up her back.

"Please," she pleaded, her eyes hooded with desire.

He guided his shaft between her folds, and eased himself into her, slowly. She gasped loudly at the sensation of his length stretching her and he covered her mouth with his lips to stifle her moan. When he was sheathed deep inside her warmth, he began to rock his hips back and forth, lasciviously, and his hand found her waist, and started caressing her side, almost reverently. Then the palm of his hand explored higher, cautiously, but when his fingers met the curvaceous skin of her breast, Cuddy's breath hitched and House promptly held his hand back.

"No," she said with a thready voice. "Caress me."

He cupped her breast in his hand and delicately massaged her silky skin. Her nipple hardened under his touch, and he leaned in to lay a tender kiss on her lips, then another one on her cheekbone, and her brow. He slid to the side, rubbing his nose along her temple, down to her jaw and brushed the shell of her ear before burying his face in her neck.

His thrusts were languorous, like the cradling movements of a rocking chair and Cuddy wound her arms around his waist, each of his swaying moves inside her sending a shiver down her spine and prompting her to anchor herself to his strapping body even more. She started to sigh heavily, and then her sighs inexorably became moans that turned into loud gasps.

He cupped her face inside his palms and planted his eyes into her burning gaze.

"Cuddy," he whispered.

One thrust. One sigh. And he rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you."

She squeezed him tighter and threw her head back onto the pillow, but he kept her face inside his hands, combing her raven curls with his fingers.

"I love you," he repeated, his voice a delightful complaint.

One thrust. One moan. She let go of her embrace and reached for his face, stroking his stubble with her fingertips.

"I love you," she answered.

House closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, bliss invading his body. Cuddy wrapped her legs around his waist and arched her hips higher to take him inside her core deeper.

"Say it again."

"I love you."

One sigh. One thrust. House smothered her with kisses, while he moved his right hand down and possessively grabbed her ass cheek to crash into her harder.

"I've missed you. Cuddy… I've missed you so much!"

She gasped and a strangled moan got caught in her throat. One soft thrust. One strong shove. And his hand, gripping her ass firmly, pushing her up, pinning her down. And his shaft, hard and warm, delightfully going in and out of her, sending incredible tingling sensations through her body.

"Don't go away, ever again. Don't go away from me," he rasped.

Their gazes locked and House stared intensely into her eyes. Cuddy crossed her legs tighter and trapped him inside her. Moving her hands to the back of his head, she ran her fingers in his hair and pulled his face down toward hers.

"I'm right here," she murmured reassuringly.

He bit the pulp of her lips and kissed her, thirstily, almost fiercely, sucking her tongue into his mouth and pushing his between her teeth.

One strong shove. One loud moan.

Gradually, inexorably, he began to thrust harder and faster into her, taking her breath away, and causing her body to shudder beneath him. He broke away from their kiss and lifted himself up on his forearms to look at her. She moved her hands and cupped his ass cheeks, digging her nails into his flesh and scratching him mercilessly.

"Don't stop, please don't stop!"

The wave of pleasure took hold of her, and she closed her eyes, thrashing her head left and right on the pillow. She bit her bottom lip strongly and let out a little squeal. He felt her nails dig into his flesh deeper, as she started exhaling the muffled sounds of her growing orgasm.

"No, don't hold it," he coaxed softly. "I want to hear you come."

She looked at him and, with her eyes in his, she let go, her pants finally becoming louder and more liberated. He cupped her jaw inside his hands and cradled her cheeks.

One hard thrust. One strong shove: powerful, possessive, confident. Again, and again. Her moans became loud cries, almost shouts, each one of them begging for release.

"Come for me, Cuddy. Yes, just let go."

A cry came out from the depth of her throat and when the sound started escaping her lips, he covered them with his to capture it inside his mouth and let it die inside his throat.

The growing wave of orgasm invaded his body, and his heart started pounding faster in his ribcage. The blood rushed in his veins, the muscles of his abdomen contracted and flexed and the throbbing sensation of his shaft filling her with his semen jolted the small of his back.

"Oh, fuck!" he growled, without restraint, out of the top of his lungs.

"House, shh!"

He looked down and beamed at her.

"Don't shush me!" he chuckled. "I don't care if I wake up the whole neighborhood! It feels too fucking good!"

He laughed and kissed her at the same time, pulling out of her and rolling to his side beside her.

# # # # #

They lay still under the warm smoothness of the quilt for a while. Then House stretched out his arms, inviting her into his embrace.

"Come here," he commanded.

She snuggled up against him and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, maintaining her close to his chest. He needed to experience that blissful sensation again. His whole body was aching at that very urge: Touch her, smell her, see her, taste her, and listen to her breathe. He wanted to feel her through all his senses.

He took several deep breathes, inhaling her scent and closed his eyes shut tightly, as if he were struggling against the rush of emotions that overwhelmed him. Exhaling all the oxygen in his lungs in one puff, he sighed voluptuously, and his hands started wandering round her body nonchalantly, gently stroking her curves, giving in to the perfect stillness of this time-suspended moment.

"You've lost some weight," he stated after a while, his fingertips slowly tracing the outline of her waist.

Cuddy hunched her shoulders and wiggled a little in his arms.

"No, I-" she started a little surprised.

"Yes, you have," he said composedly, still caressing her. "Not much, but you have. There. And there." His palm stopped on the outer side of her upper thigh then on her hip.

She looked down at where his hand lay on her body, silent, and he sucked in a sharp breath, rolling to his side to face her. With his forefinger under her chin, he made her lift her face to his.

"Cuddy-" He gulped and stared into her eyes, bracing himself for whatever answer she would give him. "You told Wilson you were seeing a doctor-"

She put out her hand and cradled his jaw inside her palm.

"I don't have cancer," she stated calmly, with a reassuring voice.

House stared deeper into her gaze, almost breathless.

"What kind of tests did you-"

She smiled and pressed her forefinger on his lips to silence him.

"House, don't. I did all the tests. Listen to me: This is not cancer."

He sighed in relief and finally, the awful weight that had burdened him in the past days lifted off of his chest.

"What is it then?" he asked quietly.

"We don't know yet. Probably just a cyst. We're waiting for the results."

House instantly cocked an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued as he focused on the one word that had caught his attention.

"We?"

"I mean, Bill-"

"Bill?"

His expression became one of real puzzlement. Cuddy fidgeted uncomfortably and drew away from him.

"Bill, as in the-guy-I-had-dinner-with-and-who-I-ended-up-kissing-in-front-of-my-parents'-house Bill?" House said, squinting at her. "I bet this is the guy we're talking about, right?"

"The … What?" Cuddy gasped, completely taken aback by his unexpected question.

House heaved a deep sigh and lowered his gaze, visibly struggling hard to hide his frustration.

"I guess I've probably deserved that," he conceded with a voice that wanted to sound unmoved but was still a little shaky and unsure. "But I'm warning you," he added, in a touching effort at being casual, "if that was about provoking a fist fight between Bill and me to see who'd win you over, you'll end up being disappointed because I'm not gonna challenge the guy to a duel! We both know it wouldn't be fair since I'm the one with the big, hard cane, anyway."

He then leaned down a little and studied her reaction with an exaggerated, theatrical look. She stared back at him, awestruck, and rendered speechless by his little act. The truth was she'd never seen him deflected that much desperately.

She felt like an ice cube melting under the sun, and a fond smile irrepressibly curled her lips upward. She snuggled even closer against him and rubbed her nose in the hollow of his armpit.

"Are you jealous?" she asked, thrilled by the very idea of it.

"Noooo," he drawled, his lips shaping the vowel into a conspicuous pout that touchingly accentuated his lie. "Quite the opposite! Actually, I really don't care."

"Oh, you don't?" she said teasingly. "Wow, you're so reasonable and mature! I guess there's no need for me to throw this little detail into the debate then-"

"What little detail?" House immediately asked, all the while imperceptibly stiffening.

"I never kissed Bill," Cuddy stated evenly.

This time, he straightened up for good and planted his eyes inside hers.

"I saw you!" he asserted with a sturdy voice, "he was groping you and—"

She squinted at him intrigued, wondering what he'd really seen and how he could end up phrasing it like that. She propped herself up on her elbow and stared at him assertively.

"First," she said, rolling her eyes, "Bill didn't grope me-"

"Nitpicking! He had his hands all over you and-"

"And second," she continued, perfectly ignoring his digressions, "he only tried to kiss me, but… I pushed him away, and he didn't insist."

House frowned dubiously, as if he was weighing up his options.

"Didn't insist, uh? Maybe I should punch that blind jerk all the same for not even trying harder," he said, rolling his eyes.

"In case you didn't notice, I'm a big girl, and I dealt with that already."

"You mean you punched him?"

"No, I pushed him away-"

"Yeah, you mean you were lucky. What if he'd forced you?"

"Force me? Under a streetlamp in front of my parents' house?" she said, repressing laughter.

"Absolutely!" he exclaimed with a flourish. "And then what would you've done, smartass?"

She fluttered her eyelashes at him ingenuously.

"I guess, I'd only have had one option left: Hope for you to come save me with your big hard cane!" she purred, coming closer to him to reposition herself in his arms.

House welcomed her in his embrace and squeezed her tight against his chest. He rubbed his nose through her hair and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. God, I've missed her so much! he thought as relief, bliss, quietness, and all kinds of peaceful feelings hit him almost painfully all at once.

Then he realized that it didn't matter because he was more than ready to accept the sensation as, finally, it felt as if everything was back in place, as if the storm were finally over and the sea calm as a mill pond again. Yes, it felt as if the boat had stopped tossing around, and he was no longer threatened to be thrown overboard.

The journey wasn't over.

A/N

yes, the journey is not over... and I haven't forgotten you, but I just had a crazy and rather busy week... writing my Huddy review for ep. 6.07 Known Unknowns among other things (and god knows there're lots of things to say...)

I hope you are still enjoying the journey.

thank you for your reactions after last chapter: it was amazing! I'm really happy that you liked the way House confessed his feelings…

Have a wonderful day! ~ maya

PS (To HouseBroken): you stunned me... you are surely among the first faithful readers that I had, never missing one comment on any of the chapter... but yet you've always remained so discreet... and last time... I felt I'd pushed you for a tiny bit of more and it made me incredibly happy! :)