After she had showered and dressed into the only other outfit she'd brought with her, Grace made her way downstairs to the hotel restaurant.
Oliver smiled when he saw her approaching the table and stood once she got there. "That was fast."
"Didn't want to keep you waiting. And I'm hungry."
He chuckled as they both sat down. "Well, let's not keep your empty stomach waiting either, then." He hailed a waiter to their table and ordered an entrée and mains for each of them, along with a bottle of wine for the table.
"I hope you don't mind me ordering for both of us", he said to Grace once the waiter had left.
"Not at all. You've dined here for the past four nights, I'm sure you know what's good."
"The venison is exquisite. You'll love it."
His thoughtfulness made Grace smile. "I'm sure I will."
"So, how've things been back home?"
"Oh, completely falling apart without you, of course", Grace said in mock seriousness.
"Naturally", Oliver played along. "And you?" He enquired on a more personal level.
"Much the same, as you well know", she answered softly and shyly.
Oliver's shoulders dropped, he looked at her almost mournfully.
"But really, everything's been fine at the house", Grace interjected, skirting around the increasingly personal conversation. "We're managing to get a lot of work done, in fact. Funny how productivity seems to increase when you're not there demanding everyone's attention."
He could have taken offense to her statement but instead he grinned playfully. "Are you saying I'm too much of a distraction? I must say, none of my other staff have ever been so bold as to tell me that."
Grace was quite sure he was openly flirting with her now.
"Well, considering I haven't been able to stop thinking about you this entire week, it seems I might be the one who's most distracted by you", she said back, being equally brazen.
His eyes lit up at her comment.
"The Château Margaux", the waiter arrived at the table with their wine, interrupting their banter.
They both turned their eyes to him as he poured the wine into their glasses, then each thanked him before he left the table.
Oliver raised his glass and said smoothly, "Here's to welcome distractions."
Grace smiled coquettishly at him, echoing his toast and clinking her glass against his.
…
Oliver opened the door to his penthouse suite to allow Grace to walk in ahead of him.
She thanked him softly as she stepped inside and he followed after her and closed the door.
Despite being in the room earlier, it was the first time Grace had properly looked at the bed. It was rather large, quite a bit more so than hers at home, probably not more so than Mr. Warbucks' - not that she'd ever seen it.
"You must be tired", she heard him murmur behind her where he was pouring himself a brandy from his hipflask.
"A little. I'm alright."
"You've had a long day. Why don't you use the bed and I'll pull out the Castro convertible."
Glancing back and forth between him and the bed, Grace said, "It's quite a large bed. I don't know about you but I was actually thinking that we've been in some rather close situations recently and would it really be such a big thing if we shared it?"
Oliver swallowed his drink hard before he responded. "Ah, well, no, I suppose not. As long as you're comfortable with that."
"I'm fine with it. I'd hate for you to put your back out on the sofa bed because of my intrusion."
"Well, I appreciate your concern for my health."
"Of course. Who do you think would have to deal with your complaints of back pain?" She teased him.
"You mean you wouldn't even offer a massage to help me out of my agony?" He asked with a glassy-eyed expression.
Grace laughed a little airily. His statement was teetering between flirtatious and downright suggestive. She supposed they had both consumed a few glasses of wine that evening, and a brandy on top for him, so talk like that could be at least partly blamed on the drink.
"I do believe that's above my pay grade", she countered teasingly.
Despite being a little less than sober, even Oliver could sense the conversation was possibly taking a slightly dangerous turn. He gave Grace a tight smile. "Would you like to use the bathroom to get ready for bed?"
"Sure, thanks." She was grateful for the chance to excuse herself from the room.
His words didn't make her feel uncomfortable per se, but they gave her the sense that the lines between them were becoming more and more blurred. Of course, she knew they could never be as clear cut as they had been before they started trying to make a baby together, but they also couldn't risk there being any kind of tension between them, whether that be sexual or otherwise.
She was very fond of Mr. Warbucks, she liked him very much and cared about him a great deal but she couldn't allow herself to think of him in that way, even after being intimate with him.
She was beginning to see what Mrs. Pugh had been saying about feelings developing when two people were going through an experience like this together. As much as they both might have wanted to keep their relationship professional, it just wasn't that easy.
To add to the awkwardness, Grace had just realized that in her haste to leave home that morning, she'd forgotten to pack any nightwear so she would have to sleep beside Mr. Warbucks in only her satin slip.
Feeling quite self-conscious, Grace crept back out into the bedroom suite. She froze when she saw her boss in an equal state of undress, wearing just a singlet and a pair of elastic waist trunks. He too, stopped and stared at her looking rather fixated.
"I'm sorry, I left so quickly this morning, I forgot to pack something suitable to wear to bed."
"No matter. I apologize for my own state of dress but it's much too hot for anything else."
"Of course. It's fine", she muttered quietly, but then looked at the floor, feeling embarrassed to look at him.
"Are you sure you're comfortable with this? I can sleep on the couch."
Despite her feelings of uneasiness, she shook her head and glanced at him coyly. "I think we're past that, don't you?"
"Alright. Thank you."
"You're thanking me? I'm the one who's imposing."
"But I'm glad for your company so thank you for that."
Grace twisted her lips and took a glance over at the sofa bed. "I hate the thought of the maids gossiping about us. Do you think we should at least pull the couch out and make it look as if it's been slept in?"
Oliver laughed a little at her suggestion but nodded his head. "If it'll make you feel better, sure."
They both moved towards the couch and began the rather complicated task of working out how to pull out the bed part of it.
When they finally managed to extend it, they grinned triumphantly at each other. Grace went to fetch some linen from the wardrobe and they both set about making the bed together.
It wasn't something either of them was used to doing as they had maids to take care of the task at home but together, they worked it out.
As they tucked the sheets into the mattress, Oliver queried Grace, "You said you left home this morning? How did you manage to get to Buffalo to catch a flight to Detroit and make it here by three-thirty?"
Grace cursed internally. She'd known she would have to spill the beans about the deal she'd made with Roosevelt eventually but it still wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to having with him.
"Actually, I didn't go to Buffalo. It wasn't a commercial flight I took. In fact I…I called in a favor from…President Roosevelt." She muttered the President's name intentionally but Oliver's ears were sharp.
"What?!" He barked.
"I had no other choice. I had to see you today and as far as I could figure, borrowing his plane was the quickest way to get here."
His shoulders sank. "I understand that, Grace, but Roosevelt of all people?" He looked pretty unimpressed and it grieved Grace to have to tell him the rest of the story.
Off her grimace, he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, "What?"
"There's more, I'm afraid. Roosevelt only agreed to let me borrow his plane in return for me getting you to agree to a meeting with him at the White House within the month."
Oliver's eyes widened, his mouth opening in shock. "Grace!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do! You would've had to have met with him eventually, Sir" She put her hands up in defense as he rounded the pull out and neared her, looking rather threatening.
"It's your job to help me avoid the things I hate. Instead, you've set me up!" He cried in disbelief.
"Oh please forgive me, I was desperate!", she whimpered as he came right up to her.
She never thought he would physically harm her, but boy, did he look outraged and my, was he close to her.
"Ohhh no, there's no way I'm going to let this go that easily, you are in for a severe reprimanding", he growled, his eyes wide, pupils dilated maddeningly.
Grace screamed as he grabbed her, but her shrieks soon turned to uncontrollable laughter as he began to tickle the life out of her, both of them falling to the sofa in the midst of it.
"Mr. Warbucks, stop, stop, please!" She cackled and eventually he desisted, leaving them both breathless and lying together very closely.
Oliver let out a long sigh. "This trip had better be worth it."
Grace tilted her head to the side. "I hope it will be, too."
He turned his eyes to her with a look of consideration. "This afternoon was uh, quite rushed. I just hope the…" he cleared his throat, "Transaction was successful."
Grace raised her eyebrows at him. "Why? Do you think it may not have been?"
Oliver twisted his lips nervously. "I'm not completely sure. I was under quite a bit of pressure having to perform in such a short amount of time."
"Well, it could've waited until after your speech, you know."
"You were going to leave! I couldn't let you go feeling the way you were."
Grace's eyes softened, lingering on him while he stared back at her.
It was then that they could both feel the heavy blanket of tension that had fallen around them once again.
Oliver lowered his gaze nervously. "You know, seeing as you're staying here tonight, we could make it even more worth the while by…doubling our chances."
Part of Grace was screaming at her to politely decline his offer and retreat to her separate side of the other bed and try to sleep. Part of her though, knew he had a point.
And then there was that smallest little part of her that was being drawn in by him, becoming dizzy with his nearness…
"What did you have in mind?" She asked in a whisper.
"Something lasting longer than five minutes would be good for a start."
Her eyes raked up and back down over him. "Would you be able to…do it again?"
Oliver let out a laugh. "I suppose I can't say I've ever tried twice in one day before, but I think I could be…inspired."
She looked at him timidly. "Is there some way I could make it easier for you?"
He smiled coyly. "I assure you, you don't make it hard…figuratively speaking, not literally", he blanched in embarrassment, as did Grace in reaction to his words.
Sensing his comment may not have been altogether appropriate, he quickly added, "Actually, I've been having some thoughts about our…approach, and I think it might help if you were more relaxed."
Grace blinked, having expected him to ask her with her help in turning him on, not the other way around. "Me? I've been…relaxed enough."
"I don't mean just feeling calm or safe."
Her brows furrowed in genuine confusion.
"It might help if you were also able to…release", he struggled to find the right word.
Grace blushed further. "Oh. As far as I know, it's not necessary for a woman to, only the man."
"It does help me as well, to know that you're also being satisfied", He confessed, his voice low and somewhat apprehensive.
Grace's eyes widened, feeling quite stunned by his admission. "It does?"
"Yes."
After a very long pause, Grace nodded her head. "W-what should I do?" She stammered nervously, feeling rather out of her comfort zone and lacking in experience.
He stared into her eyes and gently asked her, "Do you trust me?"
"Yes, of course", her answer was instantaneous and certain.
"Then you just try to relax and let me do everything."
Her eyes remained fixed to his, her whole body shaking like a leaf out of nerves and adrenaline as he slid his hand beneath her satin slip, caressing across her decolletage until he found her breast.
Grace's chest rose and fell rapidly as her breathing became erratic. She closed her eyes and turned her head away, too shy to look at him while he touched her. Her breath was shuddery as his fingers lightly brushed her nipple. She bit her lip, not having expected the sensations that could come from such a gentle touch.
She swallowed thickly, trying to keep her heart rate steady as his hand moved over and encompassed her other breast, paying it the same amount of careful attention as he'd paid the first one.
With her eyes closed, she didn't see him nearing her, and her mouth fell open in surprise when she felt his cool lips on her neck. She couldn't help the moans that escaped her, and for as much as she knew that what he was doing was probably much too intimate for the arrangement they had, she was powerless to protest. Instead, she reached up blindly with her hands and squeezed his arms encouragingly.
With his hands on her breasts and his mouth on her neck, Grace was shocked by how quickly she became aroused, never having expected to become that way while only being touched north of her abdomen - never having expected to become that way with him at all, as a matter of fact.
Suddenly, she felt herself being pushed back onto the sofa bed, the springs creaking beneath her.
She opened her eyes briefly to stare at him questioningly, but his commanding yet reassuring expression told her to just comply - after all, she had just said that she trusted him.
She already felt quite on display with her slip lifted right up but she was left entirely exposed when he used his other hand to lower her underwear.
Her eyes went wide when she realized what he was doing, she almost stopped him, unsure if she really wanted him to go that far with her but what he did next had all protests dying instantaneously on her lips, and in her brain.
Reaching up to take each one of her breasts in each one of his hands, Oliver slid down the sofa until his face was aligned with her pelvis. With a couple of experimental nips to her thighs which made her gasp, he brought his mouth to her center.
His warm, wet tongue found her sweet spot and Grace was done for. The idea that what they were doing was meant to be devoid of personal pleasure was shot to hell as he made her feel kinds of ecstasy she'd never even known could exist before.
Her fingers gripped the sheets they had just laid down, her hips pitching up off the mattress uncontrollably. Grace didn't know if she wanted to get away or get more from him, likely both in equal measure. He elicited such a strong reaction out of her that Grace was in shock.
Internally she knew that what he was doing wasn't necessary and she was sure that he knew it too. He didn't have to do this in order to get a rise out of her, but he seemed to have no qualms about it and "Oh", Grace thought, as her eyes rolled back in her head - he was certainly accomplished at it.
Her fingers turned white as she fisted the sheets, her breath coming out in gasps as the ascension took over her and everything went blank.
A sound she'd never made before came out of her mouth, a desperate, whining keen which became a scream and ended on a singular breathless word.
"Now."
Oliver eyes lifted to her contorting face and he replaced his mouth with his fingers, using his other hand to unbuckle his trousers and push himself firmly into her.
An uncontrollable screech fell from Grace's lips, her eyes watering with tears of agonizing bliss as Oliver thrust into her several times, only needing several times to become undone.
They duetted a harmonious chorus of moans and sighs as he hovered over her and she, boneless and still shuddering, placed her hands on his chest, right over his racing heart.
He pressed his forehead to hers and for a moment they were sharing the same air, Grace's hands running soothing lines against the planes of his back, trying to calm his unsteady breathing.
Carefully, he rolled off her, his arm remaining curled behind her back.
He closed his eyes for a moment while his racing heart began to slow.
"Was that…OK?" He asked her, feeling legitimately anxious about her answer. What if, in spite of the climax he'd coaxed her to, she now felt that he had violated her?
When she didn't respond, Oliver opened his eyes but saw that hers were closed. She was already sleeping, clearly exhausted and evidently satiated.
Oliver gently pulled the sheet up to cover her bare shoulders.
"Sleep now, darling", he whispered, knowing she couldn't hear him.
Feeling more relaxed and at peace than he had in what felt like a lifetime, Oliver lay his head down beside hers and with a final look at her restful face, drifted off to sleep himself.