London, England – Caustically Beautiful

The stool slipped and John moved quickly. His hand at her hip slid down to Anna's ass to hold her more securely so she did not fall with the stool. And, with a pivot he avoided the toppling stool to put Anna on her desk. Her sketches shifted and rasped before tearing pages almost had John pulling away.

But Anna's fingers curled into his lapel, tugging him firmly back to her, and John recommitted to their kiss. A scratch of her nails across his scalp had John slanting his mouth over Anna's until she groaned into his mouth. It gave him a moment to take advantage of their progress and sweep his tongue between her teeth.

One of her legs, hooked around his hip but slipped down his leg as they shifted on her drafting table. For a moment John twitched away when the heel of her shoe knocked against his prosthetic. Their kiss broke, their breathing almost deafening as they did not shift away from one another, and John swallowed as he looked into Anna's eyes.

He broke the gaze for a second, examining the room in a hurry, and tightened his hold on Anna's ass to twist them from her drafting table. Her body wrapped around his, her leg lifting to secure around his hips, and John carefully set her on the edge of her desk. It took a second to gauge the height and dimensions of their new situation but once they recognized it, their minds finally catching up to what their bodies already intrinsically knew, they hurried back to one another.

The dig of Anna's knees into the bottom of John's ribcage had him trading a wince into their kiss. But Anna, if she even noticed it at all, paid his reaction no mind in her attempts to drag him closer. Only the corresponding thud and thunk of John's mismatched legs hitting the desk offered her any pause at all. But John seized on the pause to pull from their kiss.

He did it more slowly than before. This was not a pause for surprise or confirmation or even for necessary dimensional shifts. This time John broke the kiss so his hands could follow Anna's curves to her hair.

With delicate fingers, he drew the crossed pencils free from their position and watched her hair fall to her shoulders. There was no grandeur to the simple action of gravity acting on a falling object but John still threaded his fingers through it with great care. Each pass urged Anna to relax a little more until she sighed into his touch and bent her head to allow him more access to her hair.

Following her guide, John eased his fingers through her tresses until he slowly maneuvered the bulk of her hair over one shoulder to leave one side of her neck exposed to him. The side he bent his head to explore with delicate kisses. She sighed into him, her head lolling back to allow John to coat her neck in kisses until he reached the collar of her shirt.

John paused. His lips moved back from her skin and he pulled back enough to see Anna's face. Her eyes fluttered open and the pull of her brows had John moving his hands to her face to run his thumbs over her cheekbones.

"Is this what you want?"

"I kissed you." Anna's hands loosened on John's neck and lapel to tug at his belt so John's thighs knocked against the desk.

"But do you-" John bit at his tongue when Anna palmed him. "Ms. Smith…"

"Oh no," Anna shook her head, the angle on her wrist changing to better rub the crotch of John's trousers against his arousal. "You can't call me 'Ms. Smith' and not expect some kind of repercussion."

"That's not…" John clenched his jaw and moved his fingers away from Anna's cheeks as he flexed them before carefully stroking his fingertips against her skin. "That's not what I… That's not what I intended to do."

"Then you don't want the consequence of your actions?" Anna's hand paused, the sound of John's zipper tempting him to take advantage of the position of his hands to kiss her again.

"I want…" John leaned forward, his lips moving over Anna's without kissing her until she shivered. "I want you to tell me if this is what you want."

His fingers stroked slowly over her skin, his hips flexing slightly into Anna's paused hand. She breathed across his skin, her fingers trembling slightly against his now open trousers, and shivered again. The more the silence stretched between them the tighter John's muscles tensed. And at the point John was ready to pull back and walk away, his breath catching in his chest, Anna's hand firmed to grab at his erection and she closed the distance between their lips.

A gasp punctuated the air between them when Anna drew back from the forceful kiss that was more teeth and desperate passion than the earlier kisses. Her eyes met his and John bucked into her grip when she stroked him solidly through his boxers. The firmness in her voice released the tightness in John's chest and body.

"I want this." Her other hand, the one not occupied gripping and releasing his thickening arousal, ran over John's face to trace his lips in the sliver of distance between them. "I want you, John."

That was all the confirmation John needed. His palm firmed along Anna's jaw, to keep her in place, and took her lips in a kiss only made the more desperate when Anna's hand increased in speed against his erection. And despite the risk of increasing the number of bruises on his thighs, John knocked against the desk to try and get closer to Anna.

Her legs curled around his hips, drawing herself closer to him, and continued following the lead in John's kiss while setting the pace with her hand. They only broke their kisses to breathe or shift until John managed to get a hand from Anna's face to her ass. She squirmed in his grip before moaning as John practically knocked their hips together when he changed the angle on their tangle. An angle that trapped Anna's hand between the two of them to rub simultaneously at John's arousal and now at her own.

They huffed and groaned as they struggled to breathe between kisses until they gave up on that entirely as they adjusted and moved against one another. John's hips twisted and bucked toward Anna's hand as she managed to tug at his boxers and yank them lower down his legs. And while she snuck her hand into his boxers, John's trembling fingers managed to get a hold on Anna's hip. It took all his focus and attention to slip his fingers under the waistband of her athletic leggings and seek for the Anna's core.

There was no finesse to their actions. All they had was determination and more than a little desperation. But as their kisses grew sloppier, their clothing bunched and rumpled between them, and they grunted in frustration more than they moaned in pleasure, it forced them apart. Then, with a degree of frenzy to their actions, they separated for only as long as it took to move the offending articles out of the way. John's suit jacket flung to the side, his tie flipped around to the back, his trousers and boxers bunched at his knees while catching on his prosthetic. All the while Anna barely missed kicking into John's chest when she shoved her leggings and knickers off at least one leg to leave her open to him.

They came back together, tangling through the folds of their half-dispatched clothes, and John ran his fingers between Anna's legs to slide them inside her. Her head hung back, her hair bouncing off her shoulders as it tumbled from the position where John left it, and John took advantage of her exposed neck to kiss where he could while her knees tightened on his hips with each stroke of his fingers inside her. And when Anna quivered and shuddered around him, crying out her finish, John dragged his fingers free.

Anna's fingers scrabbled at John's skin, dragging his lips to hers again, and she shifted closer to him. They adjusted, fumbling to try and fit before they managed to sink together. The half-second John paused, adjusting to sink a bit deeper, allowed Anna to gain a better hold at the back of John's neck.

She tugged him toward her but instead of kissing him, Anna pressed her forehead against John's. Her nails dug crescents into his neck when she used her hold for leverage to move against John. And, with the pain tipping at the back of his neck and at his hips, John shifted his hands to Anna's hips to hold her in place so he could follow her punishing pace while thumping his thighs mercilessly against the desk.

They wrapped tighter to one another. Despite the catches of their clothing, or the awkwardness of their position, or even the threat of permanent injury to John's legs, they continued. Continued until Anna's legs tightened even further around John's hips. Tightened in time with the wave of her second orgasm and John followed soon after.

His forehead hit her shoulder as her fingers peeled from his neck and his hips slowed their thrusts until they petered out completely. John's arm hit the desk and he stumbled sideways as his legs caught in his uneven trousers. Barely catching himself, John gasped for breath and shifted away from Anna as she slid to the side.

Their breathing slowed and John pushed himself to stand. His eyes met Anna's and she smiled at him. "You are rather magnificent, Mr. Bates."

John snorted, "So I can't call you 'Ms. Smith' but you can call me 'Mr. Bates'?"

"Would you prefer I not?"

"It's just different." John took a deep breath and stood, searching for some tissues before changing the state of his trousers. "But if it's what you prefer, Ms. Smith, then-"

"Then?" Anna drew her tongue over the bottom of her teeth before grinning at John. "Then what, Mr. Bates?"

"Then, Ms. Smith," John leaned toward her, "I will have to adapt to your new preferences. To make sure I'm meeting your requirements."

"My requirements?" Anna drummed her fingers on the desk before sliding off it, her leggings hitting the floor before she tugged herself completely out of them. "Now you're just teasing me."

"Am I?" John reset his tie before yanking at it to tug the material loose and leave it on his haphazardly tossed jacket. "That doesn't sound like me."

"No?" Anna asked over her shoulder as she turned to face the desk.

"No." John closed the distance between them. His chest met her back and his hands held loosely to her arms as his fingers started to trace up and down them. "It sounds an awful lot more like you."

"It does a little." Anna shifted against John, drawing out a muffled groan when she purposefully pressed her ass into the cradle of his hips. "Like now?"

"Exactly like now."

"Ah," She exaggerated a pout over her shoulder at him. "Is it testing your delicate patience, Mr. Bates?"

"Yes." John gritted his teeth as his hands firmed in their hold of her elbows before dropping to her hips for a better grip.

"Does that trouble you?" Anna ground against him and John paused. He stepped back, his hands leaving their position at her hips, and he swallowed when Anna twisted to look at him. "Have we moved beyond flirtation?"

"I…" John swallowed, "I don't want to put you in an awkward position."

Anna frowned and then rolled her eyes. "If you're of the belief that I'm somehow too delicate for any of this or that I'll crumble in such a position then I'll let you know I'm stronger than that."

"I don't doubt that you're-"

"I'm not a victim, John, and I don't intend for you to treat me that way." Anna rolled back her shoulders. "So that leaves the ball in your court."

"I was never much good with sports that involved courts."

"Then let me say this in a way you won't miss," Anna dragged out the syllables of her next words. "I would like you to shag me against this desk if you can manage it."

John's jaw almost dropped to gape at her but instead he coughed and instinctively stepped forward. And despite their actions already, and Anna's lack of any clothing below her waist, his hands moved in front of the evidence of his rising erection. She only snorted and shook her head at his actions.

"Modesty? Now?"

"It's habit." John practically mumbled, his movements awkward as he tried to regain the ground he lost in his earlier attempt at care. "I don't- I don't want to seem overeager."

"Mr. Bates," Anna set her palms on the desk and leaned into them to force her exposed ass toward him. "One of the benefits of our age difference is that you're biologically overeager. That's nothing to be ashamed of. At least… Not in our present circumstances."

John's tentative fingers glided gently over Anna's exposed thighs, trying to establish a rhythm to get his mind and body on the same track. "It's not professional."

"Neither is my current position." Anna looked at him over her shoulder, licking her lips for a second. But, unlike before, the movement was not designed to entice and tempt him. It was almost as if her wanted to calculate an answer from her study of his face. "But I think that's part of your problem."

"Excuse me?"

"Your problem, John" Anna pivoted, pushing John back slightly so they stood face-to-face. "Is that you're almost too kind for your own good."

"Am I?"

"Yes." Anna closed the distance between them and John jerked when one of her hands closed over his erection. Her other hand shoved his clothing out of the way for the second time but her eyes stayed on him. "You're concerned for me, and that's rather kind of you. But it's not always the reaction a girl wants."

"No?"

"Not in this case, no." Anna nodded her head toward the room around them as her fingers stroked over him. "We're not exactly in a position for gentleness."

"We can always try to be gentle."

"Sure, but that's not what we want here." Anna stepped even closer, changing her angle and leading to John almost biting off the tip of his tongue. "We want passion, barely restrained energy, and a fanaticism you find in bathroom trysts."

"You're not that."

Anna's hand paused a second, her eyes flickering for a moment, and then changed the speed and intensity of her strokes on him. John's hips bucked into her grip and he barely caught the edge of the desk to keep from tumbling forward into her. Once he regained his breath he met her eyes again.

"You're not just a tryst, Anna."

"No?"

"No."

"Not even if you've been imagining this since you wanked to pictures of me as a teenager?" Anna's voice almost made the question ring like an accusation but John noted the lingering question she did not voice.

"I could never have imagined this."

"No?"

"No." John repeated and carefully put his hand over hers to remove it from his erection. "Because that image was fake and you're far from."

"I do pride myself on being flesh and blood."

"It's more than that. It's…" John swallowed, trying to focus his thoughts but failing to find the right words. "You're more than that. Especially now."

"Especially now that you've had me?"

"Especially now that I know you. As a person and… And in whatever way, shape, and form you've allowed me to slowly learn who you are." John's hand, the one not holding hers, moved to caress Anna's face. "You're more than you think you are Ms. Smith."

Anna blinked at him. "Be that as it may… I…" She shook her head and pulled back from him to turn and face the desk. "I'd rather it were this way."

"But I-"

"It's not about you, Mr. Bates." Anna bit out, twisting at the hips to look at him. "So you've a choice. You can either participate or I'll put on my trousers and find someone who'll finish what we've started."

"I…" John blinked at her. "You'd just-"

"I'd rather it be you." Anna's eyes burned into his as if the internal battle she fought over the emotions that crossed her face in flashes of expression would spill over. "But it's your choice."

John took a moment and then went to his knees. Despite the discomfort of the floor, or the odd positioning that promised to leave a crick in his neck, John set to work putting his mouth between Anna's legs. She gyrated and ground against him, forcing him to adjust and mimic her positions at a detriment to his neck and back. But he complied and satisfied Anna until she climaxed above him.

Licking her through the aftermath, John stroked himself to stop himself wasting the effort on the floor. His legs, one asleep while the other clicked into position, threatened to dump him on his ass but John managed to stand. Then, taking advantage of their positions, he thrust forward with his hands on Anna's hips to keep her in place as he sank deep enough to leave Anna's ass cradled between his hips.

Part of him wondered if he made a mistake. If taking Anna up on an offer that threatened not only the professionalism of their relationship to this point but also whatever fragile emotions they strung between them with each slap of their skin. Perhaps the mistake was allowing the emotions running so high in Anna to bleed over and sway his own warring instincts. Because while their bodies responded to one another John was sure their emotions could not be farther apart.

But when her fingers dug hard enough through the material of his trousers to leave indentions on his leg and added more at the back of his neck, John responded. Her breathy requests for changes in angle, speed, and depth left him incapable of doing anything but obeying her. And even when he realized the force of his thrusts knocked her thighs against the desk or that he left a line of red marks over her neck with his kisses, John only stopped when Anna came again. Then all he could do was follow her.

They stood together, catching their breath, for a moment before John pulled back. He set about cleaning himself as best he could before moving to assist Anna. But she ignored his efforts and took care of herself. She said nothing to him as they tried to make themselves presentable and only spoke when the room looked less like the center of a sexually explosive exploration.

"I appreciate your… I understand that this changes your position." Anna crossed her arms over her chest and refused to meet John's eyes. "I've jeopardized you and I apologize."

"It's not as if I wasn't a willing participant."

"True enough." Anna finally looked at him. "But, all the same, I'd rather… If this happens again, I don't want you to feel obligated to accept my suggestion."

"You think I did this out of obligation?"

"Honestly, I've no idea." Anna shrugged. "I know I wanted to shag you and part of you wanted to shag me but-"

"There's no 'but' about it." John tried to put a hand on Anna's but she moved out of his reach. He curled his fingers into his palm. "I wanted this too."

"But not in this way. This," Anna waved her hand around the space. "This isn't how you would've had it, is it?"

John set his jaw and shook his head. "No."

"Then it's only fair to warn you," Anna swallowed, "If this happens again, it'll be like this. Or something close to it."

"I don't understand."

"I'm not one for soft, cuddly things, John." Anna's arms only tightened around her. "Whatever this might become, should we continue in a sexual vein, I don't intend for it to be romantic in any way."

John blinked, "Then what-"

"It'd be just sex." Anna held his gaze. "If you're alright with that then we could continue but if you're not then we should be clear about our intentions now."

John studied her for a moment. "I couldn't do it like that."

"I thought as much." Anna rolled her shoulders back to stand a little taller. "At least I had you for as briefly as I did."

"Ms. Smi- Anna…" John caught himself as Anna raised an eyebrow at him. "It doesn't have to be like that."

"It does for me, John." Anna shifted her weight. "I can't… I won't risk anything. With anyone, not just you."

"Is that supposed to be flattering?"

"It's honest, John." Anna went back to her table and gathered a few things. "What you want, for the kind of person you are, I can't give you. All I can offer to you is the kind of thing we just had so if that's not enough for you, in the long term, then…"

She shrugged again, turning back to face him. "Then we should leave any hopes here and now so we're not disappointed later."

John nodded, "I understand."

"Then…" Anna nodded toward him, "What's your decision?"

"I think, Ms. Smith," John stood as tall as he could. "We should try to keep our interactions professional from now on."

For a second he thought he caught the disappointment in her expression before she forced her face to appear unbothered. "Thank you for letting me know."

London, England - Reality

Her slight snort, almost a giggle, forced John to pause in his reading and swallow. "Anything you need, Ms. Smith?"

"The use of my eyes, for even a second, to see how red your face must be."

"I'm lucky you can't see me then." John shifted in his seat. "This is…"

"Raunchy? Salacious? Lurid?"

"I'm sure all of those apply." John swallowed again and checked his watch. "It'd probably be best if we stopped for the night?"

"So your trousers don't get any tighter?"

John gave his own little laugh, "As worried about that as I am, it's more about the other two women who demand my attention and their extensive medications."

"Ah," Anna sighed, "I guess responsibility demands your attention."

"Unfortunately." John sighed, "It's too bad."

"About responsibility?"

"No, about the book." John marked the spot and tucked the book away. "I figure I know how it'll end, since it's a romance book, but it's still a little sad."

"All good stories have to be a little sad or we won't know when the good times come around for them." Anna held out her hand for John to hold and lead her from the sitting room toward the circling stair in the entrance hall. "They can't all be roses all the time."

"Fair point." John paused to allow Bernie to precede them up the stairs before continuing with Anna. "Doesn't make it less sad."

"No, it doesn't." Anna shrugged, her fingers firming over John's when her foot met the edge of the carpeted stair before she eased as they reached the landing. "Although I can't say I'll be too miffed when we get back to Yorkshire."

"Not a fan of London?"

"Not a fan of new spaces." Anna's other hand waved out and, a second later, had Bernie's head under it. "And Bernie hates all the noise. He's got to work so much harder and he gets anxious about possibly missing something."

"You can tell that?"

"Of course. We've spent hours together so I know him about as well as I know good friends." Anna's fingers scratched into Bernie's fur. "He just doesn't speak."

"I can't say I understand him."

"Because he doesn't need you to." Anna kept her hand on John's, her hand on Bernie's head petting him more than using him as her guide. "Dogs are some of the only animals that can understand human motion in terms of non-verbal action. They can understand and act on human intention. And they're wicked smart."

"Almost makes it scarier."

"The scary part is when they decide that it's not their day." John pulled them to a stop outside Anna's door. "Contrary to popular belief, they're not always ready for service and they've got their off-days the same as anyone. When Bernie's not feeling it he can be quite the little terror."

"I wouldn't call him 'little'." John smiled and tried to even his breathing as Anna squeezed his hand before releasing to turn the knob on her door. Bernie entered the room and John watched him walk the space, snuffling around as Anna walked a few steps inside while keeping her hand on the door. She turned to shut it when John put a hand on the door and hurried to speak so quickly he almost tripped over his words. "Iwaswonderingif-"

Anna gave a little laugh, "What?"

John coughed, trying to clear his throat, and swallowed. Letting out a slow breath to try and calm his thundering heart, he tried again. "I was wondering if, when we're back in Yorkshire, you'd like to go on a date with me."

"A date?" Anna made a humming sound that had John shifting his weight from foot to foot while his grip on the book he read aloud earlier threatened to slip if his fingers sweated. "You're officially asking me on a date?"

"Is that inappropriate?" John shuffled, I know we only implied it before but…"

"But what?"

"But I'd like to do this the right way." John cringed, "Is that wrong?"

"Not at all." Anna's fingers stroked along the door and she opened her mouth to answer but it turned into a laugh when Bernie nudged into her legs to stand between she and John. "I think he wants to sleep so he's off duty."

"It's like you've got a protective guard here."

"Or a petulant child." Anna sighed and scrubbed hard at Bernie's head before ordering him in Italian to go back into the room. Bernie pouted but followed her order, leaving Anna and John alone again. "But as to the date, Mr. Bates…"

Anna bit her lip and then nodded. "I do believe I'd like that."

"Do you have a preference for a restaurant?"

"Any place where we can have a table to the side where you can carefully position my tableware." Anna said it so nonchalantly that John almost missed the twitch of her lip toward a downturn. "But yes, I'd enjoy going on a date with you."

"Then I'll let you know the day." John shuffled his weight again before trying to clear his throat. "Could… Could I kiss you goodnight?"

"How scandalous."

"Not as scandalous as the last kiss goodnight we had." John smiled at the faint blush in Anna's cheeks. "I do promise to be a bit more… tame, this time."

"I don't know if I like that promise."

"I'd rather not put on a show for the whole hall, if it's all the same to you." John lowered his voice. "But I do promise that the… evidence, is the same as it was the other night… If you were worried."

"Now you're really getting scandalous." Anna put a hand to her mouth, lowering her voice theatrically. "What if my chaperone sees?"

"Then hopefully he understands human intention to know to keep out of it." John leaned forward, "If you don't want me to kiss you goodnight then…"

"Oh no," Anna shook her head. "You've still got a kiss left."

"I wanted to save that one."

Anna frowned. "Then how…?"

"I was going to kiss you on the cheek."

"How very old fashioned." Anna grinned, "I like it."

John waited for Anna to turn her head to the side. Leaning in, his lips barely touched her cheek before Anna twisted her head to catch his lips with hers. And before John could even pause in surprise, Anna's free hand moved to his jaw. It hesitated a moment, gauging the differing definitions of his face, before settling along the bone to firm her grip there. That was when she snuck her tongue along John's lower lip.

It took him by surprise. The way she controlled their kiss, the sneak of her tongue between his lips to take advantage of his mouth, and the absolutely softness of her motions. Completely lacking in desperation while offering unreserved determination, it left John no choice but to submit to her lead.

And, when she finally pulled back from the kiss, John almost struggled to breathe. Her tongue traced along her lips before she smiled at him. "That didn't count, by the way."

"What?" John spluttered out as Anna stepped fully back into her room.

"As your fourth. Remember, they don't count when I take them for myself." The way she gave a little laugh had John convinced she could see the absolutely wrecked expression on his face. "Goodnight John."

He could not even form the words to respond before she closed the door.

"Good… night." He sighed, his fingers tracing his lips as if he could evoke the muscle memory of the moment.

A moment broken by a snort from down the corridor. He turned his head and immediately reddened at the sight of Gwen, leaning on her doorframe, laughing to herself. "I… It…"

"No need to explain to me." Gwen gave another laugh. "Honestly, good for you. Good for both of you."

"I…" John sighed, "Thank you."

"Just try to keep it out of business hours Cassanova."

And, once again, before John could respond the door closed.