John proved not only capable of making a delicious meal but also of keeping any fire to the sauté process. Anna watched him, sipping on the wine, and setting the table in between snatches of conversation they managed. With the lights lowered, the used dishes soaking in the sink or thumping away in the dishwasher, and the fireplace crackling unnecessarily they sat together on her sofa.

Anna dragged her finger around the edge of her glass, frowning into the flames. A hand on her shoulder startled her and she jumped slightly. But the expression soon turned to a smile when she noticed John holding his hand away.

She took it, kissing over his knuckles, and sighed back against the sofa. "Sorry, I was miles away."

"Is it somewhere I'd like to visit?"

"I don't know." Anna set her glass to the side table and folded her legs under her on the sofa. "Mary and Matthew are probably moving to Pittsburgh. Matthew's got himself a job there and Mary's interviewing at three different private schools."

"I'm sorry you won't be working with her anymore."

"So am I." Anna hugged her knees close to her, "Mary's always been there for me. She was next to me on the bus when we went from the Colorado Springs airport to the Academy. She was there when we were sent off and stood by me when I suggested we take our degrees and gets Masters in Education so we could teach here. And I thought she'd be with me when I finished my doctorate but…"

"It's hard to realize that eventually people move out of our lives." John rubbed over her hand, "But I didn't know you were almost done with your doctorate."

Anna nodded, "The committee meets next week and when they approve it I'll be Doctor Anna Smith."

"And then what?" She frowned but he only smiled. "I get the distinct impression that you wouldn't be dithering over Mary leaving if you were happy here."

"I am happy here."

"You're comfortable here Anna." John set his glass to the side and took her hands. "When we discussed our biggest regrets, on this very sofa, you said you regretted not taking a chance with Mr. Napier all those years ago when you were in Leeds. And the day we met you told me you told me there were things you wanted to do you hadn't yet."

"You also said you had meetings on a Saturday and a plane to catch."

"I did."

"But you spent Saturday and Sunday with me." Anna narrowed her eyes, "Did you change your flights?"

"I fly private so that's not too hard and I moved all the meetings to Monday as a way to see more of the town." John grinned at her, "And more of you but that's not the point."

"Then what is the point, John?"

"That you don't want to be here for the rest of your life." John motioned to the house, "You love this place because it was your family home. You came back here to care for your mother and you stayed because you found a way to care for your town but this isn't for you anymore."

"It isn't?"

"No," John shook his head, "You're meant for more, Anna. More than teaching Freshmen and Seniors English and Mathematics."

"Would you rather I taught overpriced rich kids or college students?"

"I'd rather you find something you want to do and do it." John ran his thumb over her knuckles. "I want you happy and based on the expression that keeps passing over your face you're not. Not enough to keep you from having those thoughts in the dead of night that say you could be doing more."

"I could be doing you."

John held up a finger, "Don't distract me."

"Why not?" Anna's fingers ran up the buttons of his shirt, popping them loose one by one, "It's an intriguing prospect."

"Because we're here to address what'll make you happy."

Anna stopped, her hands going to cup John's face. "You. You make me happy. Happier than I've been in a long time and happier than any person's got any right to be."

"I think you've every right to be happy, Anna Smith." His hands went to her neck, holding her in place as their lips met again. "I want to make you happy."

"Then…" Anna nipped at his bottom lip, "Would you mind if we moved to the floor. This sofa's a bit old for what I want to do to you."

John hurried to the floor, taking Anna in his arms as she straddled him there. She worked to pop the last two buttons on the front of his shirt, managing the cuffs only with his help, and then tossing the fabric away. Her fingers immediately bunched in the undershirt there and she pulled away with a groan.

"What is this?"

"It's hot and I don't want to be sweating obnoxious stains in my dress shirts." He grinned, kissing over her face as she yanked at the fabric to get it out of his trousers. "Should I not wear it?"

"I think you should warn me about it next time. Or I should warn you I plan on seducing you." Anna gave a little victory cry when she got it over his head and leaned back to drop it ceremoniously on the ground. "That way I know how to better budget my seduction."

"Arduous process is it?" His fingers crept under the edge of her shirt, massaging at the skin just above the line of her jeans.

"It's a focus thing, Mr. Bates." Anna chided, gliding her lips over the skin of his jaw before using her elbows on his chest to push him down toward the floor. "I don't want to get distracted."

Her kisses wrapped the column of his throat and he sighed into her advances, his own hands relaxing their hold. They slipped down to land on her ass and held there. When Anna's fingers and tongue decided to map his chest his hands dug into her ass and Anna used the momentum to grind forward on the growing tent of his trousers.

John groaned and Anna slid down his legs, flipping the catch on his belt buckle as she went. It snapped loose and John jumped a little but Anna could only grin in response. And when she worked the trousers off his legs to form a line of clothing next to them she ran her tongue over her bottom lip at the sight of him trying to escape the confines of his boxers.

She tripped her fingers up his legs, brushing the fabric over his skin, and lifting the elastic edge to draw the boxers down his legs. Once she dropped them to join the rest of his clothes Anna set her knees on either side of his hips and took over John's mouth again. His hands worked to pull her closer with fingers tangling in her hair and others massaging the base of her spine before slipping under the open gap at the back of her jeans.

Anna gave over to his attentions, shifting and rubbing over him with her jeans while John could only hiss and moan into her mouth. One of her hands splayed on the floor by his head while the other worked lower to tickle her fingers at his arousal. He bucked in her grip, breaking their kiss to let out a grunt, and Anna applied more pressure.

His fingers tangled in the hem of her shirt and Anna released him to stand. Ensuring his eyes stayed locked on her, Anna lifted her shirt over her head before shucking off her jeans. She dropped them with a flourish before reaching around behind her to remove her bra. John's mouth dropped slightly and in the glow of the fire Anna wondered if perhaps it watered a bit. He answered her question when he forcefully swallowed at the loss of her knickers.

Ignoring the hands he reached out to hold her, Anna turned to give him a view of her back and settled on his chest. His hands only glided over her skin, almost tentative as he tried to anticipate her intentions, but when she dotted kisses around the base of his erection Anna cried out at the bruising grip. She responded by licking over him, using her fingers to knead and massage at his hips.

John's chest rose and fell, giving her a tempo for the kisses and licks she laved over him while her hands stroked over his legs. Anna paused a moment when she encountered the scar that roped over the knee and thigh of his right leg. She felt it the first time they had sex but had no time to appreciate it. Adjusting her body to lean over with her knees she took the time now.

If possible, he sucked air faster and deeper into his lungs when her kisses caressed and adored the scars. And when she turned the attentions of her free hand back to his arousal John moaned. The sounds, with the large A-frame of the two-story sitting room and high ceiling echoed back to drive Anna onward.

But John was not a passive participant and Anna squealed when his hands at her hips drew her backward. Her lips left a sloppy set of kisses up his hip that only turned feral as John's mouth descended on her folds. One of his hands continued to hold her steady at her hips while the other wrapped over her hip to tease and tantalize the nerves there.

Anna ground down, closing her eyes a moment to allow the sensations to zip through her and explode the colors behind her eyes. His hum against her, the tongue darting inside, and the fingers that sought the spot inside her that could send her other the edge had Anna crying out. But her hands would not stay idle and soon they guided him to her mouth.

It was almost a race that Anna did not mind losing. John's insistence sent her over the edge and though she took a moment to gather her breath, she moved her shaking arms under her and lifted out of his reach. He made a noise in his throat but Anna risked the rug burn over her knees to position herself just where she wanted him. She looked back over her shoulder at him and then sunk down.

A distinctive thump told her John's head hit the floor and the flutter of his legs before her indicated his body seeking comprehension and control. Anna rose up and sunk down again, joining their groans in glorious harmony before she set to rocking back and forth. Adjusting slightly, Anna gave over to gyrating and grinding before bobbing up and down.

John's arms wrapped over her waist and she could feel him at her back. His feet positioned on the floor, bending his legs toward her while his hands kneaded at her breasts. Anna rested her head back on his shoulder and succumbed to the kisses he lathered over her neck.

When he turned her head slightly their lips met again. Her hand guided his and both interlocked their fingers before delving down to address her bundle of nerves. It only took a few flicks of his wrist and slippery fingers to send Anna over the edge again. She cried out his name and John fell after her a moment later.

They lay on the floor, John still behind Anna, and stroked his fingers over her arm. He laid a kiss behind her ear and Anna put her hand over his. Turning her head slightly she kissed under his chin, bringing a finger to trace the line there, and sighed.

"This is one of those moments when I'm excessively glad I live in the middle of relative nowhere and alone."

"But you don't want to stay here forever do you?" John lifted his arm to support his head and they adjusted to lay facing one another. "As much as you love this house you don't still want it."

"I did tell you I'd been selling off parts of the property." Anna mimicked his motions, supporting her own head. "And the reality is, as much as Mr. Carson would want me to stay on forever, the district won't have the money to pay for the increase my doctorate would demand."

"So you'll leave?"

"I think I'll put in another year since I haven't told them I'd even contemplated leaving." Anna sighed, putting her other hand up like a claw to pull her hair back from her face. "I could justify lasting until Christmas holiday but then the age-old question comes in."

"Which is?"

"What would I do?" Anna laughed, "I can't go back to the Air Force and I don't want to go teach somewhere else."

"What do you want?"

Anna shrugged, "That's the harder question. I know more what I don't want instead of what I do."

"What do you want?"

She stared at him, losing herself in his eyes a moment. "You, John. I want you. For as mad as it sounds to want a man I barely know, I want you."

"Would it make you feel better to realize that I want you too?" John scooted forward, bringing his lips close enough to kiss her again if she wanted. "That I dreamed about you every night I was gone? That when I brought those plans to the city council last month I could only remember what you'd said to me? That when I designed the plans back in London I kept everything you said in mind? That I love you?"

"You love me?" Anna blinked, "How can you be sure you love me?"

"Because you make me feel the way no one else has. Because you bring me joy I've never felt before. Because," John ran the back of a finger down her cheek, "I can't stop thinking about you."

"And that's enough for you?" Anna caught his fingers, "That's enough to say you could love me forever?"

"Ms. Smith," John's lips teased just over hers, "I think I could love you far longer than forever."

Anna kissed him then. Her leg slipped over his hip and in the next moment she could not honestly say who pulled whom closer because all that mattered to her was that his erection grew hotter and harder against her. She rubbed herself against him, feeling the slick slide of the residue from minutes before, and gloried in his mouth with her arm around his shoulders.

John adjusted them, rolling her under while his knees took position between her legs. One of her legs remained on his hip and he held there, kneading the flesh of her thigh while his fingers plunged inside her. The welcoming damp there had John groaning into their kiss and using his other hand at the back of her head to better control the assault.

With one swift drive forward John impaled Anna and she broke the kiss to cry out. There was no teasing, no taunting, and no steady rise for pleasure this time. It was a frantic race where all they could hear over the harsh panting of their own breath was the determined strike of skin against skin. John's hips rutted toward hers, keeping up a frenetic pace his hands and mouth tried to match but failed in the most glorious ways to do so.

Anna dragged her lips and teeth over any part of his she could reach while fingers raked over his side or alternated to dig into his ass. He moaned at her ministrations and worked his own mouth down to her breasts to suckle there when his fingers found her nerves again. Their speed left no grace to their movements but when they broke a moment later it hardly mattered.

His head went to her shoulder, hauling in gulps of air as Anna managed a weak laugh. He turned his head, frowning at her but she only stroked his hair in response. When the frown persisted Anna gave him a quick kiss before speaking.

"If that's how you intend to love me forever, Mr. Bates." She kissed his cheek, "Then I'm all for it."

"Good." John leaned back, slipping free to gaze down at her, "Because I do."