Your Hands in Mine P5
Sarah returned to the cottage with a spring in her step and very pretty finger and toe nails.
"Chuck!" she called as she let herself into the cottage.
No sign of him in the living room, so she poked her head out on the patio which was empty as well.
"Chuck!" she called again looking for a note.
She had asked him to stay close to the cottage with his panic button handy. There had been no indication of trouble at the resort, but for the 90 minutes she was gone she wanted him to lay low. Now she couldn't seem to find him and her heart rate sped up a bit.
She entered the bedroom thinking maybe he had decided to take a nap and she heard some music coming from the bathroom.
"Hello there," she smiled as she met his eyes over the top of a pile of bubbles.
Her tall, gorgeous nerd of a husband was taking his second bubble bath in 24 hours.
"Hello. It is official, we are getting a giant bathtub," he lifted a foot and wiggled the bubbles off of it.
"You look adorable," she smirked.
"I am adorable," he nodded in agreement.
"I was worried when I couldn't find you, I will remember to start any future searches with the bathtub," she grinned.
"I read for a while and then I actually used our private gym and after a run I thought I deserved a bath and a glass of wine," he explained.
"That is how I always wind down after a workout."
"How was the spa?"
"Magical. I scheduled massages for us later this week, they have this couple's suite, very private and lovely," she sat on the edge of the tub.
"Whatever you want, babe."
"Are you always so agreeable?"
"Most of the time, but I stood up to you once."
"Oh?"
"When we first got engaged, you wanted to elope."
"I can believe that," Sarah nodded knowing her own issues with public expressions of feelings and large family events.
"We had just gotten my mom home and Ellie had just had Clara and even though I always want to give you everything you want that was just too much for me."
"I know we didn't elope, so how did we resolve it?"
"Well, first you wore the belly dancer outfit and tried to seduce me into agreeing and then you finally told me why you were concerned and we talked through it."
"Is that when you found the CAT Squad?"
"Yes, I had read about them and thought they would make you feel more comfortable. It was both a great idea and a terrible idea," Chuck admitted.
"I read the file, I can't believe Amy was the mole, she always was too perky."
"Well, you and Zondra were getting close again, you should reach out to her when we get home."
"I will," Sarah said as she reached out to trace a pattern in the bubbles on Chuck's chest.
"There is room in here for two," Chuck waggled his eye brows.
"Oh, I remember, but I already showered and blew out my hair earlier, I am not doing that again."
***555***
"Sarah, Sam's here to drive us over to dinner," Chuck called through the closed bathroom door.
"Be right there," she called and he could hear the click of her heels on the tile floor.
Chuck realized he forgot his watch and reached for it on the dresser as Sarah emerged from the bathroom. He looked up and dropped the watch at his feet.
"Uh…wow," Chuck breathed the words more than spoke them.
"You like this dress?" Sarah asked coyly as she turned around to give him the full view of the knee-length black and white silk dress.
The dress had the tiniest straps that seemed to defy gravity and it had that silky shimmer that made you want to touch it. Sarah's hair, which she had blown out earlier had curled slightly in the ocean air and she had snipped a pink flower from the arrangement on the dining room table and pinned it behind one ear. Her make-up was perfect and her strappy black sandals made her almost as tall as Chuck.
"Did you say something?" Chuck asked as he blinked slowly.
"Do you like the dress?" Sarah said slowly as she walked up to him, crouched down delicately and picked up his watch.
"Yes, yes I do," he nodded.
"Good," she smiled as she took his hand, turned it so she could feel his pulse, a little faster than normal.
She slipped the watch over his hand, clasped it.
"I've done this before," she looked at the watch, "after Shaw."
"Our second run in with Shaw, yes," Chuck frowned and turned his hand in hers, squeezed it.
"Not tonight," she shook off the sad memory.
"Let's go," he leaned in and kissed her cheek.
Sam was waiting by the car.
"Sarah, you look lovely," he opened the door for her.
"Thank you, Sam."
"You clean up pretty well too," Sam winked at Chuck who grinned back.
"You do," Sarah agreed as Chuck slid into the back seat of the car.
"Thanks," Chuck grinned, his charcoal gray suit and crisp white shirt fit him beautifully, the blue of his tie not dissimilar from the ocean earlier in the day.
Chuck lifted an arm and Sarah slid against his side for the short ride over to the main resort restaurant, as the car slowed to a halt Chuck kissed her forehead, hopped out and beat Sam to the door to help Sarah out.
"Just let someone know when you are ready to head back," Sam smiled.
The restaurant was not busy, but Chuck and Sarah were not the only ones there either, a few folks who appeared to be from the conference Sam mentioned and some large parties that might have been Bermudians celebrating special occasions dotted the circular room.
"Mr. & Mrs. Carmichael, right this way," the hostess smiled as Chuck and Sarah approached.
Leslie had mentioned on arrival that everyone would know them and Sarah had to admit that as a spy it was kind of off-putting, but as a wife it felt great.
If one could have a secluded table in the middle of a large room, Chuck and Sarah did. It was on the far side by a window that looked out over the beach, some torches illuminating the sand and sparkling against the water. No one was seated anywhere near them, and the small table was set so they sat nearly side-by-side facing the window.
Again Sarah instinctually hated having her back to the room, but when she felt Chuck shift in his chair so his knee touched hers she forgot all about that. They ordered cocktails and before they even touched their menus Chuck took Sarah's hand, kissed her knuckles and held it.
"It's strange, getting my memories back kind of out of order," Sarah began quietly, leaning close to Chuck, "I keep remembering you at different times over the past five years and you've changed so much."
"All I really did was cut my hair," Chuck grinned.
"Not true, your body is different, you were so gangly in the beginning."
"Yes, I guess I was a bit of a wet noodle, but then you made me start exercising."
"Oh, I get credit for this? Excellent," she smirked knowing it was his transition from asset to agent.
"I don't feel like I changed all that much."
"That's my point, if I remembered it truly chronologically over a five year period I am sure your transition was more subtle. Like the memory I just had when I put your watch on, your hair was longer than now, but shorter than when we found Ellie's engagement ring in the dumpster," Sarah explained.
Chuck nodded.
"Don't get me wrong, you were as sexy then as you are now and you are as adorable now as you were then, it was all always you Chuck, it's like watching a slide show out of order," she lifted a shoulder in a shrug and he leaned over and placed a soft kiss to the bare skin there.
"Your cocktails," the waitress arrived and paced the beautiful drinks on the table, she looked at the untouched menus and the couples joined hands, "I'll give you some more time with the menus."
"Oh, right, food," Chuck smiled at Sarah.
They finally did order, sharing bites of local favorites and fresh vegetables grown at the resort's greenhouse. They drank an entire bottle of wine, after their cocktails and they both felt so relaxed. Sarah had her ocean swim and mani/pedi, Chuck a run and a bubble bath, they had started with cocktails at lunch and by the end of dinner Sarah was giggling at a story Chuck was telling about Morgan using amateur spy craft to bug Ellie's 16th birthday party.
"She knew?"
"Oh yeah, she knew," Chuck laughed, "she scripted every word she and her friends said to make Morgan think she was going to ask him to her prom. It was both mean and brilliant."
"Poor Morgan," Sarah smiled, her silly smile that wrinkled her nose.
"He got over it, and he eventually found himself a real girl."
"Oh, who?" Sarah asked.
"Alex," Chuck said with a confused look, afraid Sarah had forgotten again.
"Chuck, it's 17 years later, I hope he was over Ellie a long time ago," Sarah's jaw dropped as she remembered a couple of awkward meals in her early days of being Chuck's cover girlfriend.
Chuck knew she remembered, "Yeah, not that long ago."
"It's sweet," she argued.
"It is cute when your 9 year old friend likes your 13 year old sister, it is creepy when your 26 year old friend still likes your 30 year old sister."
Chuck could see the waitress approaching.
"I know surprises aren't your thing, but I have a little something up my Hugo Boss sleeve, trust me?" Chuck grinned.
"Sure," Sarah nodded hoping it wasn't a singing telegram or anything else embarrassing.
"Can I get you anything else this evening? " the waitress looked at Chuck. Sarah could see them communicating silently, the waitress wasn't flirting she was plotting with her husband.
"No, thank you, we're all set," Chuck smiled.
"Enjoy the rest of your evening," the waitress grinned broadly and patted Sarah on the shoulder.
"I can't wait to get under that very well-tailored sleeve and find out what is going on," Sarah leaned close to him, his body warm against hers.
Chuck stood, slipped a hundred dollar bill under his wine glass for the waitress and offered Sarah a hand, she steadied herself against him more out of desire than necessity and he slipped a long arm around her waist to guide her out of the dining room that was now practically empty. The few remaining diners couldn't help but watch Chuck and Sarah though.
Sam was waiting right where he had left them, the waitress having radioed him and he had them back to the cottage in no time. Chuck unlocked the door and let Sarah in ahead of him, before he could reveal his surprise though she had him pinned back against the now closed door, her hands under his jacket smoothing over the white shirt that was now soft and smelled like Chuck.
She kissed him so deeply, his own hands sliding deliciously along the silk of her dress. When they finally had to break for air, Chuck smiled widely.
"You haven't even seen the surprise yet?"
"I don't need big romantic gestures Chuck, I just need you," she assured him.
"I know, but I really like the big romantic gestures," he shrugged and stepped out of her embrace reluctantly, taking her hand and leading her through the dining room.
On the patio the fireplace and torches were lit and accented with a bunch of delicate white twinkle lights. There was more wine, chilled, and a tray of the most delicious looking tiny desserts in delicate yellows and pinks with real flowers scattered between them. Sarah then noticed the chaise lounges were gone and the result was a nice clear patch of floor perfect for…
"Care to dance?" Chuck asked as he hit a button and soft music filtered through unseen speakers.
She moved into his arms, much too close for dancing, and kissed him again before settling into a more comfortable dance position.
"I like this kind of surprise," she admitted.
"Good," he kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer.
One achingly sweet song led into another and they danced for a long time, not talking, just feeling their hearts beat close to each other. They had spent a lot of time since the day at the beach that Sarah trusted Chuck enough to kiss him, close to each other physically, but this felt different, it felt content. There was no need for words or physical expressions of love, just being close was all they needed. Well, that and dessert.
"Those desserts look really good," Sarah mentioned as Chuck turned them so they were in her line of sight.
"A variety of lemon and raspberry cakes and mousse," he described.
"Yum," she all but purred.
He let go of her body, but followed her close behind as she moved to the table and contemplated which one she was going to have first.
"Tiny desserts are kind of my favorite," Chuck admitted.
"Of course, because then you can have a whole bunch of different things instead of one giant piece of something," Sarah explained.
"Exactly. I want this one first," he picked up a tiny shortbread crust with perfectly piped lemon mousse inside it, a sliver of candied lemon rind on top.
Sarah watched him pop the one bite treat into his mouth and his eyelids fluttered the same way they did when she kissed him in just the right spot.
"Good?' she giggled.
"So good," he moaned.
He picked up another one of the same and held it out to her, feeding her so she could experience the same delight he had. Sarah had to smile at how generous he was, in every possible way. She also had to agree with how good the dessert was as the delicate shortbread melted under her tongue, buttery and sweet against the tart lemon.
Between each round of dessert she insisted on kissing him, tasting the dessert again on his tongue. By the time they got to the last of the tiny pastries it was well past midnight and the wine, dancing and dessert make-out session had all settled into a warm ball of desire in Sarah's stomach. She reached for Chuck's tie, pulled him close as she backed up to the table. She didn't have to give him any more hints as he reached down and trailed his fingers under the hem of her short silk dress.
He carefully pulled the dress up and off her body leaving her in the most perfect contrast of porcelain skin and black lace underthings.
The air was cool against her newly uncovered skin, but the fireplace, the wine and Chuck's warm hands countered that fine. Sarah perched on the table and invited Chuck in between her legs so she could remove his tie and jacket before slowly unbuttoning each button on his shirt.
"This was a good date," he stuttered as her hands moved to his belt.
"A really good date," Sarah confirmed as her fingers moved over the zipper.
"I feel like it might end up getting even better," he grinned.
Sarah just nodded, a brilliant smile on her face as she wrapped her legs around Chuck's waist.
TBC…