A/N: I was slightly horrified to realise that it's been approximately 5 and half years since I've updated this story. I'm so sorry for the long wait! If you have clicked straight to this chapter and can't remember what has happened beforehand, I'd recommend going back to read from the beginning. I'm now determined to finish this story so lots more to come, and updates will be much more regular, I promise. Reviews would be lovely!

The Lonely Goatherd – Chapter 11

Georg led Maria outside The Lonely Goatherd to the back alleyway where a staircase led up to the rooms above. Loitering nearby was a group of sailors with bottles of whiskey in their hands. Maria recognised the blond young man Margaretta had been talking to earlier with them.

Seeing their Captain hand-in-hand with a young nurse about to head upstairs, the sailors began to whoop and cheer until a snarl from Georg stopped them in their tracks. Hurriedly the bottles of grog were discarded before they saluted their superior officer then swiftly scattered off in all directions until the alleyway behind the tavern was completely deserted.

Maria swallowed hard. She'd hoped that they could've slipped upstairs without anyone knowing, yet now there was a group of sailors who had seen them – one of them who even knew her friend, Margaretta. What if he went back into the tavern and told her what he'd seen? Then what if Margaretta reported back to Sister Berthe about Maria's antics?

Maria knew that Sister Berthe's expected all her nurses to be good girls and never get themselves into trouble. But the fact was, Maria was never very good at being a good girl and always seemed to be in trouble. However, the kind of things that got Maria into trouble before were nothing in comparison to what she was about to do – lose her virtue to a sailor. And when she put it like that, Maria began to wonder whether going up to the room with Georg was such a good idea, regardless to how eager she had felt downstairs in the tavern.

But before she had a chance to change her mind, Georg turned to her and gave her such a reassuring and alluring smile that any doubts or feelings of guilt instantly vanished. He quickly kissed her hand then slid one arm around her waist, drawing her close to him before they embarked up the stairs.

As Georg led Maria through the maze of passageways, Maria wondered how on earth he knew where Elsa's best room was and then her mind instantly questioned how many other women had Georg brought upstairs to the very room they were going to. Immediately she scolded herself for having such ridiculous thoughts: there could be a completely legitimate reason why Georg knew where he is going. Didn't Max tell her that Georg helped Elsa set up The Lonely Goatherd? Obviously, he would know everything about the building then. And just because Georg had a reputation as a womaniser, it didn't mean that he had brought other women upstairs, did it? And besides, Maria reasoned to herself, Georg was with her now, he wanted to marry her and nothing about his past mattered to her.

However, she did begin to worry about his expectations of her – she had no experience and he had lots. Would he be disappointed with her? No, of course not, Maria told herself. Every kiss and every touch that they'd shared so far had come from gut instinct and Georg certainly hadn't seemed disappointed with her. On the contrary, he seemed very pleased each time they were together. But despite the amount of self-reassurance Maria gave herself as she dutifully walked with Georg, she was getting a niggling feeling in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps it was nerves, or just the anticipation of what was to come? She didn't know. But the longer it was taking to get to the room, the greater the uneasy feeling in her stomach grew.

Then as they moved along the corridor, Maria heard sounds of gasping, moaning and rasping cries coming from behind closed doors. Of course Maria had worked out a long time ago what kind of hotel that Elsa ran but it was a little confronting hearing the sounds of people having sex as they past each room, especially knowing that soon she and Georg would be doing the same thing. Maria swallowed hard again as they arrived at the last room and she chewed on her thumbnail anxiously as she waited for Georg to unlock the door. He stood back so that she could enter first.

The room was large and in the very centre was a ginormous bed. Decorated beautifully and covered with a vast number of throw cushions, however, the fact that the bed was the only thing in the room, apart from the small beside tables, emphasised even further what the sole purpose of the room was for. Sensing the uneasy feeling in her stomach escalating with a vengeance, Maria willed herself to look away from the gigantic bed, but she could not. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest as she heard Georg lock the door before she saw him out of the corner of her eye placing the key on the bedside table.

The room was lit by a small, dim lamp sitting on that table and Georg made a move to turn it off, thinking that Maria might prefer to be in the dark, but seeing him about to turn the light off, Maria panicked. She knew that she'd rather see what was going to happen to her than being plunged into darkness.

"No, leave it on…" she croaked in a voice that sounded so very different from her own. Then trying to disguise her rising nerves, she tried to crack a small smile at him.

Hearing the strain in Maria's voice, Georg was concerned but then when he saw her smile, he felt reassured that she was all right. Wordlessly, he walked towards her but instead of standing in front of her, he stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. He heard her sigh and relax back into him as he lightly ran his fingertips down her arms before resting his hands on her waist.

Feeling like he couldn't fight his urge to be with her any longer, he started to kiss her neck. Softly at first, then hungrily as his hands moved around to her front and began to undo the buttons of her blouse. Moving quickly, he spread the garment wide open, his fingertips grazing lightly over the soft, supple skin of her belly as his arms snaked around her waist. Almost a little roughly, he raised one hand upwards to slip it under the thin material of her bra and caress her breast underneath.

Maria involuntarily shuddered in Georg's arms as she let out a small whimper. At once her whole body began to tremble as she felt as though her legs were about to give way under her.

Georg felt her shaking in his arms. "Maria," he uttered into her ear. "You're trembling."

"Am I?" she squeaked, squeezing her eyes shut and trying desperately hard to overcome the nerves that she was now consumed by. Perhaps, Maria wondered to herself, if she just shut her eyes and stayed very still, then it'd all be over soon…

At once Georg sensed something was wrong. He quickly moved around in front of her so he could look at her. Her eyes were tightly shut, her chest heaved up and down madly and her whole body was shaking like a leaf.

"Maria," he spoke softly. She opened her eyes and met his gaze. But when he looked deep into her eyes, he saw worry, apprehension and even a touch of fear in them. Georg knew without even asking her that she wasn't ready for what was about to happen between them. He took a deep breath in order to try and calm down his own raging arousal before he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's all right," he told her as he tenderly stroked her face with one hand.

Immediately she broke down in his arms. "I'm sorry. I thought I could… I mean I wanted to, I do want to, but then seeing those sailors and they know about us… then hearing all those people doing that in the other rooms, and then this room, this huge bed! I don't know what's wrong with me… My mind's saying yes, but my body's saying no…"

Hearing all the thoughts that were going through her mind, Georg understood why she'd gotten herself so worked up. "Shh…" he soothed, running his hand lightly over her short, golden hair and holding her tight.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed.

Georg smiled against her head. "It's fine."

"No, it's not," Maria stepped backwards and looked up at him, her eyes slightly red and puffy. "I dragged you all the way up here and now I've disappointed you."

Georg quickly pulled her back into his embrace. "You hardly dragged me up here. I was very much a willing victim," he chuckled cheekily, causing Maria to giggle a little too. "And please don't think you've disappointed me," he reassured her.

But although he told her he was not disappointed, it was only a half-truth. Obviously he would never force her if she was not ready, but he was a man after all and Maria was the thing of erotic fantasies. He'd been dreaming about being with her for so long that he couldn't help but feel a little let down that their night of passion had struck a hitch. But perhaps if she could relax, their night together could get back on track. He rubbed the tops of her arms and her shoulders up and down gently. "All you need to do is relax, trust me."

"Relax?"

"Yes, we have all the time in the world. There's no need to rush." Maria looked at him dubiously until he explained. "We have this nice room. It's private and quiet…" He winced as some loud banging and a guttural cry came through the paper-thin walls of the room next door. "… er, sort of."

Maria looked alarmed hearing the exuberant cries of the couple in the next room. "Doesn't that bother you?" she asked.

Georg shrugged. "No, not really. I suppose I've learnt through all my military training just to block out all surrounding noise and focus on the task at hand."

"The task at hand?" Maria squeaked, somewhat horrified that he would refer to their potential lovemaking like that.

"Uh, so to speak," he grimaced, realising that his choice of words wasn't helping matters. "Sorry, that came out all wrong. But you know what I mean." He gave an apologetic smile. "Look, don't worry about what's going on anywhere apart from in here. Let them do, um, their thing, and we'll do ours." Maria didn't look convinced so Georg tried again. "Perhaps we should do something different. I know. We can talk."

"I thought you said that talking would be the last thing we'd do up here," Maria remarked rather skeptically.

"True, however we don't have to make love just yet if you aren't feeling ready." He gave her a quick, reassuring kiss. "But, if I do recall correctly, I had promised you that the next time we'd spend the night together, it would be in a big, warm, comfortable bed. Well…" He motioned towards the bed. "We can just lie down together and uh, snuggle."

"Snuggle?" Maria repeated, barely believing her ears. She would hardly have picked Georg to be a man who would just snuggle.

Georg knew she needed some more convincing. "Look, I'll show you."

Maria watched with curious interest as Georg proceeded to remove the many, many throw cushions from the bed, muttering under his breath how ridiculous it was to put so many cushions on a bed and what was Elsa thinking when she designed the room. Then he turned down the bed, stripping the sheets back and fluffing up the pillows before he removed his jacket and undid the top few buttons of his shirt. He unlaced and removed his boots then his socks before he flopped down and stretched out on the bed, crossing his bare feet at the ankles. He lightly patted the empty spot on the bed next to him.

Maria looked at him open-mouthed for a second, trying to process the sight in front of her. But then his offer of snuggling together was just too tempting to ignore so she slipped off her shoes and joined him on the bed, barely even thinking about the fact that her blouse was still hanging completely open on her body.

Maria cuddled up to Georg. "See? This is nice," he murmured as he kissed her temple.

"Yes, it is," replied Maria, resting her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beating and his chest rose up and down rhythmically with his steady breathing. Georg lifted her chin so to tilt her face towards his and he kissed her gently. Maria felt warm and safe in his arms and she began to relax as he started to talk.

Originally Georg thought that he would tell Maria how much he loved her and what a difference she had made in his life and how much he'd changed since he'd met her. But then he realised how soppy, sentimental and cliché that sounded so instead, he decided to recount some of his most crazy escapades with Max.

And as he told his stories, he moved his hands continually over her body: lightly stroking her arm up and down with one hand, while the other moved in lazy circles across her back. Maria found his touch soothing and voice slightly hypnotic, especially the way she could feel the vibrations from his voice against her ear as her head rested on his chest. And she loved feeling his body shake with laughter as he got to the really funny parts of his tales.

"And that's how I ended up handcuffed to a pole wearing women's clothes," Georg finished up with a merry laugh.

"No," Maria gasped in amazement. "I don't believe it."

"All Max's fault," Georg claimed. Maria shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know who's the worst influence – you or him."

"Oh, most definitely him," insisted Georg, trying to look completely innocent. "I'm a perfect saint when he's not around."

Maria gave Georg a playful slap on the chest. "That I absolutely don't believe. I'm sure you can be a right devil when you want to be."

"Hmm, probably," conceded Georg slyly, giving Maria one of those looks that burned with such intensity that it made Maria's insides turn to goo. All the time they'd been lying on the bed together talking, Maria had put the idea of making love out of her mind and she had relaxed so much that all of her worries, anxieties and nerves from earlier that evening had disappeared. But seeing Georg look at her like that, like he was only just a microsecond away from pouncing on her and ravishing her brought everything flooding back.

Only this time, she didn't feel scared or nervous for the longer they had been in bed, the more Maria was aware of how close they were lying and how their legs had somehow become intertwined. She could feel the heat from his body against her own and the sight of the small splattering of dark hair on his chest showing through the opening of his shirt collar was very enticing. Even the way his fingertips occasionally skimmed lightly over her body and underneath her open blouse to caress her bare skin was enough to make her whole body tingle with excitement.

Soon all the reasons why she'd suggested they should come upstairs in the first place returned and she began to feel the all-too familiar sensation of longing and desire for him. Her heart began to race, not from nerves this time but from want. This time, she knew she was ready to be with him. Subconsciously, her hands began to wander over his body, gently stroking his chest up and down.

Georg could sense the change in Maria, but he didn't think that she'd be bold enough to tell him what she wanted. He wondered whether she just might need a little push in the right direction with another story.

"Anyway," Georg continued, not taking his eyes off Maria, his voice sounding slightly strained. "I'm not sure that was the worst prank Max ever played on me."

"No?" Maria asked, her voice sounding raspy as she tried to control her growing emotions. Georg was looking as though he was about to gobble her up for dessert.

"I think," Georg spoke slowly, his fingertips slowly and seductively running along the contours of her side feeling her bare skin goosebump and tingle under his touch. "I think the worst prank was having all my clothes stolen and waking up on the top of the roof in a hotel in Trieste naked."

Maria gulped. "Naked?" she repeated, her voice barely a whisper.

"Completely," he confirmed with a sly wink. Reaching for her, Georg tilted her face towards his, about to kiss her. But at that moment, Maria found his raunchy story completely ridiculous and began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Georg frowned, feeling a little irritated.

"Oh, that story," replied Maria through her giggles and giving his shoulder a playful shove. "If I didn't know better, Captain, I would think you were trying to seduce me."

He gave her a wicked smirk. "Quite possibly. Is it working?"

"Quite possibly," she echoed his reply with a bashful smile.

"Good," he laughed, giving Maria a quick kiss on the lips, "because otherwise I might have had to resort to using corny pickup lines."

"Oh no, please don't do that! The way you first tried to pick me up at The Lonely Goatherd all those months ago was bad enough!"

He raised his eyebrows. "That bad, huh?"

"No, not really," she confirmed smiling sweetly. Maria paused for a second and licked her lips, like she was trying to decide what words to say. "Why did you?" she finally asked him.

"Hmm? Why did I what?" Georg asked.

"Come and speak to me that night at The Lonely Goatherd," Maria clarified. "You didn't even know me… and there were plenty of other women who would have quite happily thrown themselves at your knees to have you speak to them or buy them a drink."

"Oh, I'm not quite sure about that," Georg replied with a chuckle. Then he twisted himself around on the bed slightly so he was looking directly at her. "You intrigued me," he explained simply, "and I hadn't been intrigued by anything since the Agathe sank."

Maria didn't reply immediately. She felt moved by his open and honest comment. It was not often that he spoke about the tragedy of the Agathe and she felt thankful that he trusted her enough to open up to him.

"And you still intrigue me," he admitted. "You're brave, open, honest and you have no qualms about putting me in my rightful place when I'm being an ass. You're absolutely fearless… and not to mention beautiful as well… How could I not be intrigued by you?"

"Oh Georg, I love you," she breathed.

"And I love you too," he replied as he drew her towards himself once again and kissed her lightly. But Maria didn't pull away at the end of the kiss. Instead, she moved herself upwards slightly along his body so to deepen the kiss, taking his face in her hands. Georg didn't have to even ask her what she was doing as the look in her eye when they parted already told him what she wanted.

However, she gave him a shy smile and said. "Suddenly I don't want to just snuggle…"

For a moment, Georg contemplated maintaining his resolve to not rush her and take things slowly but as soon as she kissed him again, he lost all rational thought as he pushed her back on the bed, kissing her back hungrily. The soft, slow kisses from earlier had vanished, now replaced by wild and passionate ones.

Primal instinct taking over, clothing was pushed aside and removed in a frenzy – firstly Maria's blouse which was already undone, shortly followed by Georg's shirt. Hands roaming wildly across bare skin as their legs entwined in their passionate embrace, hips instinctively moving against each other. After fumbling hopelessly with the buttons for several seconds while he was too busy kissing her, Georg finally managed to undo and remove Maria's skirt and petticoat so that she lay beside him just in her underwear. Intuitively, Maria's hands gravitated towards the top of Georg's trousers; her nimble fingers quickly undid the belt buckle, his top buttons and fly before Georg wriggled out of his pants so that he was only clothed in his undershorts. He quickly disposed of those too, then re-joined Maria on the bed.

He took her in his arms, the sensation of their near naked skin-on-skin intoxicating. His mouth travelled down her neck while his fingers lightly caressed the curve of her side. Pushing the bra strap down her shoulders, he mouthed hot, wet kisses from the nook of her neck, across her clavicle down to the top of her breast before slowly removing the remainder of her clothing.

Maria had always suspected that the first time she was naked with a man that she would feel shy and self-conscious of her body, yet she felt none of those things with Georg. Despite her initial hesitation when they'd first arrived in the room, now being with him felt like the most natural thing in the world. He made her feel beautiful and desired by the way he murmured sweet words of love and devotion to her into her ear and how he groaned with pleasure as he showered her body with kisses. She closed her eyes, relishing all the new sensations she was experiencing: from his hands moving over her body, learning every contour and curve, to the feeling of his mouth on her breast and his hand between her legs, stroking and teasing until tremendous waves of pleasure flooded over her, leaving her feeling incredibly dizzy.

Although he was thoroughly enjoying every moment of their extended foreplay, in a way it was pure torture. Georg wanted and needed more and he could barely wait a moment longer. He started to move on top of her, about to claim her completely as his own when…

BOOM!

The sound was deafening and at once the entire room was illuminated in a bright blaze of light. They both jumped in fright then immediately froze exactly where they were: Georg on top of Maria, their limbs entwined. But as the second boom came, Georg came to his senses, and quickly disentangled himself from Maria.

"Stay right there," he commanded as he swiftly got out of bed and strode towards the window, completely oblivious to the fact he was stark naked. Pushing the curtain aside just as a third explosion occurred, Georg saw a large fireball rose into the air off in the distance towards the docks. A moment later, there were the sounds of shouting and people rushing from the tavern below out into the streets to see what had happened.

"What is it?" Maria asked sitting up, madly scrambling to find a bed sheet to cover her naked body with.

"Some sort of explosion," he replied, still gazing out the window, seemingly mesmerised by the sight of yet another fireball rising into the air. "Over at the docks…"

Maria slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh no…"

A second later, Georg snapped out of his trance and went into Captain mode. He swiftly turned away from the window but instead of returning to the bed with Maria, he began to search for his discarded clothes.

"Maria, I have to go," he stated abruptly as he started to dress quickly, moving around the room so frantically that he barely even glanced her way as he spoke. "I don't know what happened but I have to go to the docks immediately and help. And you should go back to the hospital quickly too. If any men were caught in the explosion, then they'll require medical assistance. You'll be needed there."

Maria struggled to squeak out a reply. She was reeling in shock from one moment being in bed with Georg having him do the most wonderful things to her, and then the next he was suddenly leaving with barely a word goodbye. Not to mention trying to comprehend the terrible explosion and the consequences surrounding that. Her mind was struggling to catch up.

But when she hadn't answered straight away, Georg looked over at her. She was sitting upright in the middle of the bed, the sheet clutched to her chest and her head in her hands. His winced. He'd been so preoccupied with trying to leave quickly to get back to the docks that he hadn't realised that he'd dismissed her completely. Although he didn't have any time to waste, he stopped buttoning up his trousers and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Maria. He cupped her face with his hand and lifted it slightly so that she was looking into his eyes.

"Maria, I am so sorry about this," he told her genuinely. "You know this isn't the way I wanted this night to end, right?" Maria nodded faintly. "There is nothing that I want more than to spend the rest of the night in this bed making love to you, but…"

"You have to go. I understand, I do," she replied with a deep sigh. "I-I just wasn't expecting this to happen."

"I know, and neither was I." He kissed her quickly several times on the lips. "Now, please get back to the hospital as quickly as you can. You'll be safe there," he told her as he grabbed his boots and shoved them on his feet, not even bothering to tie the laces up properly. "Stay there and I'll come and find you as soon as I can. I promise."

Georg thrust his arms through his shirtsleeves and hastily tucked the unbuttoned shirt into his trousers. He grabbed his jacket and bent over one final time to kiss her and then he was gone.