Dempsey awoke to a warm weight on his chest. Before he even opened his eyes, he smiled to himself; he knew what had happened during the night. He had suspected and hoped it would. He could feel her hair fanned out against his skin, her head below his chin, her arm along his side and her hand claiming his shoulder. He just lay lazily for a few moments, enjoying the knowledge that she was there and the inevitable way that his body slowly started to register her nearness. As it did so, it began with an acute awareness of the gentle rise and fall of her chest against his, with only the barrier of her nightdress between them. Then his mind kicked into gear and his eyes wanted to see; he opened them.

There she was, Harry, sleeping so peacefully in his arms in that rather stimulating lingerie. Of course, without it would be much better, but he couldn't really complain. He let his eyes wander over the exposed, tanned skin of her shoulders and back until instincts overtook and he raised one hand to lightly touch her skin. He wanted to feel it… and he probably also wanted her to wake up now… now it was morning time, his body was telling him it was time to frolic. He ran his fingers from her shoulder blade to her shoulder, and then began the journey down her arm, not really concentrating on exactly where they would go next or end up; he was just enjoying the way they slid, smoothly over Harry's skin.

She began to stir, burying her sleepy head into his chest to shut out the world. Now she was in the state between consciousness and sleep, but content to lie there like that until her eyes decided they wanted to open. The tingles on her skin prompted her into a more wakeful state though, until finally, she lifted her head towards Dempsey and her eyes slowly opened. He could tell that her mind still wasn't entirely alert from the drowsiness of her eyes, and then, on instinct, a soft, warm smile lit up her face. It filled him with a feeling he hadn't expected and couldn't explain, but then just as quickly, she abruptly flew into full consciousness, throwing back the duvet cover and exclaiming, "What time is it?"

"Hey!" he answered, grabbing the duvet back and covering them again. "Calm down. It aint that late, and it's damn cold!"

She groaned and relented, lying back down next to Dempsey for warmth. He was right, it was freezing cold.

"I forgot, no electrics means no heating, no hot bath, no…"

"I'll take a look in a while, but it's still early yet. If we need an electrician, we aint gonna get one at this hour," he replied, rearranging the duvet cover around them. "Now, where was I?" he went on, "here," he said, returning his fingertips to her shoulder. She turned her head and watched them suspiciously. "And maybe here," he continued, this time taking advantage of the skin of her back that was open to his touch above her nightdress. She couldn't strain her head that far to watch what he was doing now, but she was alert and ready to halt him if needs be.

His touch remained soft and unobtrusive however, and she was actually quite enjoying the rhythmic movement of his fingers. If he kept doing that, she'd be asleep again. Then he found it. She hadn't even thought of stopping him from caressing her in that place because his fingers had moved over the top of her nightdress and so seemed even safer there. But the spot at the base of her back was a different story, a weakness he had found during their dance. He must have remembered, the sneaky horror! He took great advantage of his find, feathering his fingers over it again and again. He knew he'd found her sensitive spot when she immediately arched her back, pressing herself more firmly against him. Hmm, that was nice.

She knew she was in trouble when the gentle tingles began to develop into a slowly simmering heat. She lay completely still, waiting for it to pass. It only got worse when his other hand joined in, causing shivers of pleasure to spread all over her.

He smiled to himself.

"You wanna know where my sensitive spots are?" he asked.

Hmm, she could imagine. "No thank you, Dempsey."

He chuckled. "Chicken," he taunted, his hand leaving her back and heading suddenly downwards to find the hem of her nightdress. His fingertips made contact with the skin of the back of her leg, just below the material. She panicked and immediately went to move away.

"Hey, what ya doin'? I told ya I wouldn't do nothing last night, didn't I? Just relax," he urged her.

Fine, if he says he won't do anything, then he won't…or if he does, she'll make sure he knows it. But deep down, she knew that it made no difference if he went no further than what he was doing right then because that was enough to take away most of her control. All she could do was will herself not to move or speak as his fingers traced circles around and around on her thigh. She was aching unbearably and found herself gritting her teeth in an effort hold herself in check. When his touch reached the soft skin of her inner thigh though, she was lost and a small groan of frustration escaped her lips. The sound was so erotic to him that it was as frustrating as his fingers were to her. Suddenly he knew he had to stop or else his hands would venture past the hem of her nightdress before he could control them. At the exact moment when his desire got too much for him, he forced his fingers away from her skin and simply wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to his throbbing body.

She lifted her head to look at him. She had no idea why; surely that was tempting fate? Both of them were too aroused to speak, they simply watched each other for a while in a silent acknowledgement of the feelings between them. He could clearly see the emotions running through her head: the shock of not knowing what to do about the physical desire she was forced to realize. He could see her struggling with the dilemma. He simply kept his eyes on her, waiting for…he wasn't sure what, but waiting and wanting all the same.

Finally, all she could do was rest her had back on his chest and wait for her senses to return to some sort of normality.

After a while, their breathing calmed and she found her thoughts returning, not for the first time since he had come back into her life, to his future there in the UK.

"Dempsey," she began.

"Hmm?" he responded lazily.

"When this whole mess is cleared up, what will you do? I mean, for a job?" she asked.

"I have some money put aside," he replied vaguely.

"Yes, but that won't last forever," she pointed out.

"I'll figure somethin' out," he assured her.

"Do you have a visa?" she asked.

"Don't need one," he came back.

"You do if you plan on staying," she answered.

"Harry, do you ever relax for longer than a few minutes?" he replied.

"Never mind," she finished defensively.

There was a short silence then before he started the next conversation.

"Harry," he said.

"What?"

"You gonna marry this Richie guy?"

She went silent for a second. "I'm not ready for marriage."

"Yeah, but if you're still with him, you must be thinkin' 'bout it," he said. She didn't know how to answer that but luckily he went on. "I don't think you should if you aint sure."

"No?"

"Nah, you gotta care a lot about someone if you're gonna spend the rest of ya life with them," he said.

"I do care about him Dempsey," she replied.

"Yeah, but I mean, you gotta really care, a lot, about them," he explained.

She laughed and rolled away from him onto her side to face him. "Do you mean that I have to 'love' him?" she asked. "You can use the word you know Dempsey." She watched him thoughtfully for a reaction.

His eyes flitted from hers. "Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean," he said, moving onto his side also, leaning his elbow into the pillow and resting his head on his hand.

"You've loved people before, surely?" she went on. "Your father and mother, and Danny, the person who you regarded as your brother…the person you've risked your life for over the last seven years," she stressed.

He stilled, his eyes searching hers, wondering where she was going with this. "Yeah," he replied.

"So say it then," she pushed.

He frowned with confusion. "Say what?"

"Say that you love him, your brother, Danny."

"Why?" he asked.

"Why not?" she countered. "That's clearly how you feel…unless you're incapable of using the word," she added.

"I aint incapable. You wanna hear me say the word, eh?" he observed.

Now it was she who avoided his disturbing gaze. "Well yes, just because you have a problem with uttering it. It can't be good for you."

She returned her eyes to his, waiting for him to speak.

He laughed.

"Go on then, say it," she urged.

"Alright, alright, I… loved Danny. There, I said it."

She smiled in triumph.

"Now it's your turn," he continued with a grin.

She frowned. "My turn for what?"

"To say somethin' that makes you feel uncomfortable," he said.

She laughed. "No, no…"

"Yes, I think it is."

Dare she ask. "What then?"

"I want you to say," he paused, enjoying the moment, "this exactly, 'I enjoy sex.'"

She laughed again, shaking her head. "That's not the same."

"Yeah it is," he replied adamantly. "Now were bein' honest. Everyone likes sex, right, so you gotta say it."

She smiled before rolling away from him. "I'm getting up now."

"No, no you're not," he replied. Moving over her to stop her path. He placed both of his hands either side of her, barring her way.

She stared up at him, her eyes widening as she glanced down at their compromising position.

"Just say it," he urged, "an' then I'll go check the electrics."

"Come on Dempsey," she appealed.

"You come on Harry, you got a problem utterin' the words? It can't be good for you," he said, reflecting what she had said earlier.

"Oh, very funny," she replied.

"Who's laughin? Come on Harry, say it."

Damn it, he was serious.

She groaned, glancing away from him. "I enjoy…"

"Nah, you gotta look at me," he interrupted.

"What? Why do I have to do that?" she asked.

"Why d'ya not want to?" he came back with a grin.

"Touché," she replied. She was caught, well and truly, in a trap of her own making.

"So?" he went on.

She growled, making a point of staring into his eyes, despite her glowing cheeks.

"I … I enjoy sex. There, I said it."

A smile grew across his face and he waited for a moment, just enjoying the victory and the sparks that were flying between them.

"What?" she said, when he refused to take his excited gaze away from hers.

"Nothin'," he replied, "…apart from the fact that I wanna do unspeakably erotic things to you right now."

And with that, he rolled off her, got out of the bed and left the room.

She watched him go, laughing.

"Unspeakably erotic, eh? The mind boggles!" she said to herself.