"So, I do have the house all to myself now, and I find it very lonely at times."

Serena felt her eyes widen at the blatant pass, and felt her smile falter a little. This had moved into something that she no longer felt comfortable dealing with, and she prayed fervently that some benevolent god would smile down upon her and teleport her Bernie to the room, so that she could step in and rescue Serena from his slimy clutches. "It does take time to adjust to being alone, I will admit. But there will come days when it begins to feel comfortable."

"I see," he replied as his hand swept lower and lower, cupping her bum in an altogether too familiar way. Even Bernie hadn't been allowed that freedom with her yet, and she considered them a set pair. Growling a little, she wrenched his hand away from her body and placed it on the dip of her side. "It seems that my hands can't help but touch you. I'm sorry, but it's something that happens with beautiful things. They're made to be touched."

"Be that as it may, Mister Dunn, I will thank you to keep your hands off my arse. It is thoroughly inappropriate of you to ignore my express wishes, and if you aren't careful, you might just lose that hand in a few moments."

Marcus gave her a wounded look, and Serena tried to keep from rolling her eyes at him. Really, she had no idea how Bernie had managed to put up with him for a quarter of a century, and it made sense now, how she had kept running away from things. She vowed to do better than him, to make her want to stay, once she returned from Kiev, and was back where she belonged. "I didn't think you could be so vicious," he said as he cocked his head to one side, twirling them around in time to the music. "It must be the alcohol talking."

"Actually, it's been said that I am a phenomenally hilarious drunk, Marcus. Though I do have the tendency to be blunter than I normally am, too." She gave him a tired smile before gasping and pushing his hand away from the swell of her breast. "And those are entirely off limits as well! Really, if you continue this, I will have no choice but to stamp on your foot with my heel, and damn the consequences. I am more than an easy lay, do you understand me?"

Serena was surprised to find herself close to tears, and she pursed her lips together in an effort to keep them from falling. There was no way that he was going to see her as weak, and usually, that was all tears indicated to a man. Glancing over, she found Ric and Margaret watching her intently as they danced close to her, and she shook her head, trying to find some way out of this situation on her own.

Marcus narrowed his eyes, as if he was thinking hard, and then spoke again. "I understand, and I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Well, that seems to be all you do."

He shrugged a little as he spun her around, and she groaned a little as the room continued to spin after they were finished. Maybe she was more than a little drunk, which meant that she had to be a little more circumspect in her behavior. If she gave him an inch, she knew that Marcus would take a mile and then she would end up in a world of trouble. Once more, his hand crept down to cup her bum, and she counted to ten.

Before she could reach four, however, a familiar hand curled around her shoulder as a wave of welcome perfume washed over her senses. "I'll thank you to keep your roving hands off my girlfriend. Just because you've monopolized her time this evening does not mean that she is going to go home with you tonight. In fact, I happen to know that she will be going home with me."

"Trust you to turn up like a bad penny! And how dare you try to claim her as your own! She was having a perfectly fine evening until you showed up."

"I highly doubt that Marcus."

Serena turned to look at her beloved, tears sparkling in her eyes as she looked her up and down. "Where did you get that dress?" she breathed out as she inched closer and closer to her.

"From Debenhams a few seasons ago. I take it that you like?"

"Like? I love it. Though we do clash something fierce."

"Who cares? We're both ravishing in red." It seemed as if the whole world had melted away as she wrapped her arms around Bernie's neck, gazing up into her eyes as she finally let her tears slip down her cheeks. "I'm home, Fraulein. I was going to come over tomorrow, to give a proper apology and try to make things up to you before we ended up on shift Monday. I should never have left."

"No, you shouldn't have. But you're home now. Somehow, I think that's all that matters. We'll work out the details tomorrow, okay?" And then, heedless of who was watching, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips firmly against Bernie's.

In the background, she could hear Marcus huff and puff before he stomped away, and Serena smiled against Bernie's lips as she plastered herself to her body. The fabric of their dresses was quite thin, and so she was able to feel the heat of her lover bleed into her. It was so comforting, after months of being separated from her, and she suddenly wished that they could find a coat room or something, because there were very naughty things she wanted to do to her in that moment.

"You're going to devour me alive here, if you're not careful, Serena," Bernie murmured as they came up for a few deep breaths. Serena laughed as she shrugged, knowing that the other woman didn't really mind the embrace. "Though I would love to devour you, too."

Desire pooled in her stomach as she nodded, blinking a little before pulling Bernie in for another kiss. This one was a little less fevered, more exploratory, and she welcomed the feel of Bernie's hand sliding down her back to rest on the swell of her bum. Her touch was so different from Marcus's, and she smiled a little deeper as they giggled and kissed. She felt years younger in that moment, like the world was fresh and new, and that everything was finally right. "I love you," she whispered as they shifted positions.

"I adore you, as well. I found that out in Kiev." Slowly, they started to sway to the music that was playing, and Serena sighed before going in for a third kiss. It was weird to be the one doing the kissing, since Bernie had claimed their first two. But it felt right to her, to be the one who was staking her claim on the most gorgeous woman in the room, and letting everyone know that they belonged together, for as long as fate allowed them.