Best wishes to all of my readers for a wonderful holiday season and the happiest New Year.

Chapter 43.

Jess stared at me like I'd lost my head, or grown a second one. "You're joking, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Lame idea."

"No! I mean, I was just surprised that you'd..." She inhaled and exhaled. "It's your place, your private domain." Her voice was rising as she went on. "I didn't think you'd want to share it with anyone!"

"Well, not just anyone."

She shook her head and said, "This is huge! I'm going to have to think about this. It changes...House are you sure this is what you want?"

"No. But we decided to take chances, right?"

"Well, that's taking a chance all right." She studied my face. "You're serious about this?" she asked again and let out her breath slowly. "Well, if you can take that much of a chance, so can I. OK, let's give it a try."

I suddenly felt elated. I hadn't thought that having her agree would affect me that way, but it did. Maybe it was the right thing after all.

Jess smiled at me a lot as we finished our dinners. We shared a huge piece of chocolate stampede cake with vanilla ice cream, spooning some into each other's mouths. I'll admit, I was smiling too. I couldn't help it.

As we left the restaurant, she said, "I'll check out of the motel in the morning."

I suppose it was a good idea for her to sleep on what we'd agreed, see whether she'd change her mind, or I'd change mine. As if she'd read my thoughts, though, she said, "I'm not going to change my mind."

"OK. I'll take you back to your room." We were almost at the car. It was still warm but clouds obscured the moon. I hoped it wasn't going to rain.

I saw her nod. "I'll need to get a few things for tonight and the morning."

I stopped walking and turned to face her. "You're coming home with me tonight." It wasn't quite a question.

"Well, yes. Isn't that what we decided?" Her pretty face looked up at me expectantly. The dark eyes reflected the lights from the restaurant and the passing traffic.

"Um, yeah. Sure." I started walking again.

When we reached the car and got in she said, "House, if you'd rather I stayed at the motel tonight..."

"No, actually I'd rather you moved in immediately." Before I changed my mind, let my doubts take hold. All that good food I'd just eaten was churning in my stomach.

Her smile came quickly. "Good." We drove to the motel and got out, then I walked her to her room, following her inside. "I'll just pack what I'll need." She went into the bathroom and came out with some toiletries, filling the smaller of her bags with them and a few items of clothing. "I've got a trunkful in my car," she said. "I guess I can get it when I check out tomorrow."

I wondered how much she had, and where we'd put it all in my place, but it was too late to think about that now. What would be, would be. She stopped at the front desk to tell them she'd be vacating the room in the morning.

We got back in the car and drove to my place. When I let her into the apartment, I realized I had to give her a key. There was a lot more to having someone move in than just asking them and having them say yes. I watched her as she looked around the place.

"It's really very you," she said. "I don't intend to change that." If she expected me to feel relieved, I wasn't so certain I was. She took her bag to the bedroom and opened it, removing the toiletries she'd packed so she could put them in the bathroom.

Through it all I didn't say a word, just continued to watch. Now that she was here, some of my uncertainty was returning.

"Where can I put my clothes?" she asked.

I limped over to the dresser and opened a drawer that I knew wasn't very full. Transferring the contents to the other drawers, I said, "Will this do for now?"

Jess smiled. "Perfect." She quickly filled the drawer, neatly placing her very feminine clothes where mine had been jumbled together. When she was done she looked at me. "This is going to be a kind of adventure."

She had a strange way of looking at things, but I knew that if I accepted her view, it might be easier than worrying about when something would go wrong.

"We should probably decide on who uses the bathroom first in the morning and who makes the coffee," she said.

"Actually I was thinking we'd shower together, and I certainly wouldn't mind if you made the coffee." I just hoped she knew how to make a good cup of brew.

"Oh. OK."

"OK? You're not going to argue?"

"And waste time? Time we could spend on other things?" She moved closer and I knew she wanted more of what we'd done just a few hours before. I wondered whether I was up to the task.

It turned out that I was. We took our time this round, slowly removing each article of clothing and learning each other's bodies, the sensitive spots, the things that excited each of us. I found that when I gently kissed a particular spot on the back of her neck, her entire body relaxed, and when I rubbed it, she purred. Her fingers were magical, easing the constant throbbing in my leg at the same time they excited other parts of my anatomy.

This was going to be one of the perks of having her around, a source of comfort and pleasure all wrapped up in a lovely package. Would it be enough? I didn't know. Still it wasn't the only good thing we shared.

Then I reached the point where I stopped analyzing it, and let myself enjoy the moment. Once we'd matched our rhythms, the tempo of our lovemaking accelerated, both caught up in the sensations that were building. We fell onto the body just before our bodies united and moved together as one, yearning for that ultimate pleasure.

Later as we lay in each other's arms, Jess said, "Thank you."

I moved my head to search her face. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For making me feel so good. For making an effort that I know isn't easy for you. For inviting me into your life."

I stared at her. There was much more than gratitude in her eyes, and for once I was speechless.