A/N: Tenth chapter and it's the longest in this story so far!

It also happens to contain quite a bit of adult stuff which kind of makes up for the last 2 chapters being void of that.

In saying that, there are also some pretty sweet and rather signifcant moments in this chapter which help move the story forward, so if you're not so much into reading about the physial expressions of intimacy, I hope there will still be parts you'll enjoy!

Peace and love,

Renee

...

Over the course of that fortnight, Grace had worked especially hard to try and smooth over the unfortunate incident outside the doctor's office. She had forced Oliver to attend more social events than usual, which he generally detested but knew he had to do in order to regain his standing.

It had been a stressful time and Grace had concerns that being too highly strung could have affected her chances of getting pregnant, but with things slowly starting to come right, her fears were lessened and she again began to feel the nervous and excited anticipation of another night with him.

Two and a half weeks after the damning newspaper article came out, they decided the time was finally right.

They had been able to finish their work early enough to leave some space that evening for them to be together.

This time it was Grace who was the one knocking anxiously on his door to his rooms.

When he opened the door to her, she found him wearing his crisp white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, showing his strong forearms. Grace tried not to stare at them. Her eyes lowered to his feet - seeing them also bare was a rare and disarming sight for her.

"I hope you don't mind us meeting in my rooms, it's just that it's the farthest away from the others and I thought it would allow us just that little bit more privacy", he shut the door behind her as she stepped inside his bedroom.

"Certainly", Grace nodded nervously. "Though I still can't help feeling self-conscious knowing that we're just down the hall from them."

Oliver didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. In fact, he knew now that her comfort and capacity to relax were quite crucial in helping her to become pregnant.

After thinking for a moment, he set his eyes on her anxiously. "I have an idea. Do you trust me?"

Her worried features softened. "You know that I do."

He took a calming breath for his own confidence to say what needed to be said and to help her to not feel too alarmed when she heard it.

"Take your clothes off", he cleared his throat. "All of your clothes…and meet me through there." He tilted his head in the direction of his bathroom.

Grace's eyes went wide in response. Despite what they'd already done, how intimately acquainted they'd become, his request still shocked her.

But she trusted him, and she did what he said, though her hands shook slightly as she removed each article of clothing.

Once naked, she entered the bathroom slowly and shyly.

The shower was running, and he was standing inside of it, already stripped down himself, the steam slightly obscuring his body from her view.

She tried not to stare anywhere below his chest, but even that was enough to make her head spin.

He extended an arm out to her and with a shaky hand, she grabbed onto his and let him pull her into the shower with him.

The water cascaded over her and for a moment Grace wondered how on Earth she was supposed to breathe in the confined space, but then she looked into his eyes and found she couldn't breathe anyway, just for looking at him.

He wore an expression that was gentle yet determined all at once.

Their visit to the doctor, coupled with the encounter with the boy on the street had given him a renewed drive. It had lit a fire in him the same as he'd once felt when deciding to pull himself out of a life of poverty.

He would succeed. He had to.

There was more to this moment than that, of course. The woman of his dreams was standing nude in front of him. He could no longer deny how much he wanted her - at least to himself.

As Grace blinked water out of her eyes, tilting her head back to catch her breath, her hair soaked and flattened and her makeup washed away, Oliver thought to himself, she had never looked more beautiful.

He knew he couldn't just stand and stare at her all night but she was such a vision to behold that he just couldn't help but let his eyes linger for a while.

He almost leapt back in shock when he felt her soft palm against his chest. She was staring back at him, just as fascinated as he was with her.

As her senses slowly returned to her, she panted, "How are we supposed to breathe in here?"

Her question took him by surprise. He laughed hoarsely. "I don't know. I didn't think about that."

She chuckled, spluttering a little under the constant spray of water.

"I just thought the sound of the running water might help to conceal…other sounds", he said coyly.

Her heart began to pound. Did that mean he was planning on doing something similar to what he did to her in Michigan, and expecting to elicit the same response?

The thought and anticipation made her legs go wobbly. She fell back against the tiled shower wall. It was cold against her bare back and she sucked in a sharp breath of air in surprise.

He twisted away from her for a moment and picked up a bar of soap. He lathered his hands with it before setting it down on the soap dish again.

Her chest was heaving with labored breaths. Her breasts on full display and so tantalizingly close. She shivered with anticipation at having his hands on them again.

"Turn around", he instructed her quietly, not really wanting to command her but at the same time feeling quite powerful in doing so.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, not having expected him to ask that. Still, she complied, turning to face the shower wall, finding relief in having her face turned away from the water.

She tensed and then instantly melted into relaxation as his hands came to her shoulders and began massaging them. She let out a long exhale, placing her hands upon the shower wall to hold herself up. His hands slid right down her back and back up again to her neck, his touch feeling like heaven on her skin. He stroked back down again, stopping this time at her midriff and splaying his hands out around her waist, inching slowly up her front until his slick, soapy hands found her breasts.

She groaned and arched back into him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder, his warm breath skirting over her face, making her shiver even more.

Unable to stop herself, she whimpered and moaned as he continued to massage her breasts with his right hand, his left hand lowering down over her taut stomach to find his way to what had fast become his favorite place.

Grace bit her lip, her whimpers turning into sobs. She brought her arm up and gripped onto his strong one that was now holding her tightly around her abdomen. Her fingernails dug into his wrist as he delicately and expertly stroked her.

Her stomach muscles began to contract, fluttering wildly, causing her legs to buckle as the force of her release began to climb. It was far too intense a feeling for Grace to bear. She reached down and detached his eager hand from her, spinning herself around to meet him.

She was wide-eyed and flushed and so incredibly sexy. That was what he thought of her then.

What she did next had him re-evaluating the definition altogether.

Keeping her eyes fixed to his, she ran her feather-lite fingers down his torso, boldly taking him in hand, leaving him open-mouthed and groaning as she stroked him.

As wonderful as it felt to be touched by her like this, in his mind, Oliver knew that he would not last long and would therefore defeat the purpose of the entire exercise.

He took her by the waist, reveling in his own strength as he hoisted her up by the middle and crushed her lithe body between his and the shower wall.

Grace gasped in surprise at the swift action and at how very powerful he was.

She wrapped her own arms around his neck to hold herself up as he positioned himself to enter her, both of them sighing languidly as he did so.

The sound of the shower spray was able to somewhat cover up the moaning and gasping that fell from both of their lips as Oliver rocked inside of her.

With his hot body pressed against hers and the cool sharpness of the tiled wall on her back, it was the most erotic sensation Grace had ever experienced.

Her head rolled back in ecstasy, both of them escalating higher and higher towards their peaks. He struck her in a particularly delicious way and she let out a sound that was half way between a moan and a cry.

It was loud and reverberated off the shower walls, the sharp slapping of their wet bodies echoing around the room as well. As he struck her again and again in that same way, Grace could not contain her cries and just when she reached her climax, she released an almighty scream.

Not having hands free to cover her mouth but knowing that the sound was likely to be heard from other parts of the mansion, Oliver stretched up and covered her mouth with his own to stifle it.

He could feel her muffled groaning against his lips, her hands digging deep into his muscles as her whole body shook. The vibration of her naked figure against his sent Oliver over the edge, his mouth still latched firmly onto hers as he bucked into her uncontrollably.

She finally drew back from him, their lips separating with a loud smack. She instantly gasped for air but remained with her arms locked firmly around him, curling her legs up around his waist to hold him against her until she knew he was finished.

He carefully let her down, slumping to the side in exhaustion, she too toppled over with him, her limbs feeling like jelly.

They stood, holding each other, both trying to catch their breath underneath the warm, replenishing water.

Grace felt so comfortable and heavy just standing there in his arms. Despite the overt intimacy of it, she felt so utterly relaxed, caressing his biceps soothingly with her delicate hands.

Oliver meanwhile, could have happily stayed like that forever. He rubbed her bare back comfortingly, pressing his lips unthinkingly yet lingeringly to the top of her head.

Grace drew back from him a little way, enough to catch his gaze. Even though it may not have technically been a kiss, feeling his mouth on hers just before had sent a shockwave of desire through her body and a shockwave of affection through her heart.

He brought both hands up to the side of her face and tenderly pushed her hair back out of her eyes and all she wanted to do was kiss him again.

He gently circled the sides of her temple with his thumbs a few times before letting her go to twist around and turn the shower off. Grace let out a little wine at the loss of contact but smiled when he returned his attention to her with a luxuriously fluffy towel in his hands, diligently drying her hair with it and then the rest of her body as well.

It was such a sweet and caring gesture and it made Grace feel quite emotional.

When had he become so softhearted?

She thought to herself, with a sentimental tug of her heart, what a great Father he would make if he would only give himself the chance.

If she could only make it come true for him.

He crouched down to dry her legs and Grace laughed a little as she balanced herself by holding on to his shoulder. It was such an intimate action.

Although it may not have been acknowledged in so many words, she knew their relationship was changing quite rapidly.

Forgetting the sex, their familiarity even outside of the bedroom had become so much more evident.

They had always cared about each other of course but over the last 6 months, they had become very close companions - close in more ways than one.

He straightened back up and carefully reached behind her to wrap the towel around her waist.

"I'm going to stay in here and have a proper wash. I'll see you in the morning ", he smiled gently.

She nodded in understanding, realizing he was very politely dismissing her.

"Bright and early", she reminded him with a pointed finger. "We have that groundbreaking in Harlem to attend, remember?"

He scrunched his face up. "Damn. I was hoping I'd distracted you enough that you might've forgotten about that."

She laughed. "Oh, that was your plan, was it?"

He shrugged with a boyish grin. "Something like that."

Smiling seductively at him as she stepped out of the shower, she purred, "You'll just have to try harder next time, won't you?"

Off his wide-eyed response to her unexpectedly flirtatious challenge, she giggled and chirruped, "Sweet dreams."

He watched her walk out of the bathroom before turning the shower back on. Needing to wash the very unhelpful and indecent ideas her words had conjured up, out of his mind.

One thing he knew by now - any dreams he might have could not compare to a reality with her.

…

The groundbreaking the following morning was an opportunity which once again put Oliver in the public eye and put him in good favor with the community. Once it was finished and Oliver had schmoozed with enough people, he and Grace drove home in his Bentley.

As he drove, Grace read out the details of his upcoming schedule for the week to him.

"Thursday afternoon you have a meeting with Mr. Carnegie, and of course reconciliations need to be completed by that evening. Friday morning at ten is the board meeting and after that you're attending a ribbon cutting for the opening of a new gallery at the Whitney Museum."

"Did we donate money for that?"

Grace smiled at the use of the word "we", though she knew he was referring to the company as a whole and not just him and her.

"Yes, Sir."

"I do hope the art is good in that case."

Grace chuckled.

"And this already rather full schedule is, of course, without any unexpecteds."

"Which are always in fact expected", Oliver sighed.

"Yes", Grace looked over at him shyly. "Do you think there will still be another opportunity this week for us?"

He glanced quickly at her, needing to keep his eyes on the road, but wanting to reassure her. "I'll make sure of it."

Grace pursed her lips. "Do you think we could forgo the shower next time though? Although it certainly got the job done, my back is actually a little sore this morning."

Oliver blinked, blushing a little. "Oh dear, well we certainly don't want that. Imagine having to explain that one to the state labor department."

Grace raised her eyebrows at him before the two of them burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

…

It turned out his pledge that they would be intimate together again that week was easier said than done. The following few days became hectic as anything, with many 'unexpecteds' occurring, including the devastating closure of one of Oliver's lowest performing factories.

The closure was through no fault of the staff who worked there, it was simply the state of the economic climate and being that the factory was in a more rural part of the country, there just wasn't the income being generated to allow it to keep running.

It wasn't the first factory he'd had to close since the start of the great depression, of course, but each closure felt like a personal blow to Oliver. He felt as if he had failed his people.

Not only did the closure make his and Grace's workload so much heavier that week, but it also didn't do any favors to their stress levels, or their drive.

It wasn't until day 6 of Grace's optimum 7 day window that she even remembered herself that they hadn't been together more than once.

Oliver had been entirely too distracted and she completely understood why.

As she watched him across the desk that evening, deeply focused on his reading of copious documents, his brow creased from worry, she did start to feel concerned that they wouldn't have another chance that month.

Of course, she was, as always, hopeful that their time in his shower might have garnered a result, but the doctor's advice had been clear and very sound and she knew they were lowering their chances by not giving themselves the opportunity to try again.

She felt bad for drawing his attention away from what was so important to him, but she did put his needs and his interests first at least ninety five per cent of the time and so she reasoned to herself that perhaps she could spare five per cent for herself.

"Mr. Warbucks?"

He raised his distressed face to hers and she saw it somehow immediately softening at the sound of her voice.

"Yes?"

"I know you're incredibly busy and this week has been very demanding for you. For us. But I'm…worried about the fact that we haven't had another opportunity to…try", she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Honestly I feel terrible for bringing it up and actually quite selfish. All these poor people who've lost their jobs this week. I know my focus should be on them and the families they're struggling to support, but…"

"They at least have families", he said, leaving her stunned with his level of understanding.

Her eyes began to well up at the realization she hadn't even come to in her own mind.

She nodded quietly, feeling almost ashamed of her thoughts, knowing how privileged she was to not have to struggle, yet still feeling hard done by, still wishing for what she didn't have.

He set his pen down on the document he'd been signing and looked at her softly. "I have to at least finish reading this. Go upstairs and wait in my rooms. I'll be there in ten minutes."

She blinked away her tears in astonishment at his instant response to her request.

She realized, with overwhelming gratitude, that what she'd told President Roosevelt had actually been correct.

He really would do anything for her.

Trying to convey her thanks in her emotional expression, she stood quietly from the desk and made her way upstairs, her legs shaking slightly due to adrenaline.

Minutes later, Oliver finally set his pen down on his desk and switched off his lamp. It was ten-thirty at night already and if Grace had not asked him to be with her, he would have continued on working into the night. As much as he was doing a favor to her, he had to also thank her for saving him from his insistent self.

He climbed the stairs tiredly yet quickly, not wanting to leave her waiting any longer than he had to.

When he opened the door to his room, his eyes popped open as he took her in. She stood at the foot of his bed, completely undressed, waiting expectantly for him.

As soon as he closed the door, she walked forwards and took him by the hand, leading him to the middle of the room. He swallowed thickly as she began to unbuckle his belt.

"Grace?" He questioned her.

"I figured it could take some time for your mind to shift from the stresses of work", she looked at him tentatively in his eyes. "Let me help you?"

After a moment, he slowly nodded his consent.

She pulled his belt deftly through its loop before moving to unfasten the button of his dress pants.

Oliver tried to calm his breath but found it almost impossible to, especially when she dropped to her knees in front of him.

He closed his eyes, already growing hard at the thought of what she was about to do to him.

He sprung out to meet her as she lowered his trunks and she took several deep breaths herself in anticipation.

Wrapping her hand gently around his shaft, she brought him into her mouth, just the tip of him at first, experimentally seeing how he would react. His groans and his hand that came up to stroke her hair told her the reaction was favorable and encouraged her to continue.

She drew him further in and they both let out simultaneous moans.

Grace had never done anything like this with a man before and she was surprised to find the sensation so pleasurable herself, not to mention how much it stirred her on to hear his response to her actions.

As she sensually sucked him, he grit his teeth together, the pressure of his release building so fast he wasn't sure he could even make it to the bed with her, but the feeling, too good to stop.

Realizing he had an obligation to fulfill, he grabbed both sides of her head and gently pulled her off him. Grace wined - she'd actually been enjoying herself. But she stood and took him by his hips, guiding him to the bed and silently encouraging him to lie down upon it.

He raised his eyebrows in question and received a reassuring and seductive smile in return.

He lay back in compliance, taking her lead, neither one of them missing the significance of his submission to her.

His breath caught in his throat as she pushed his dress shirt slightly up his torso and swung her leg over his lap, coming up to straddle him.

He stared at her in awe as she positioned herself and sunk down over him, her face scrunching slightly as he filled her to her limit.

She released a sob at the intense feeling and he wasn't sure if it was one of pain or pleasure. He reached out his hand to her and she thread her fingers through his, balancing herself as she moved steadily over him

Grace bit her bottom lip as he struck her over and over at what felt like an impossible depth. Her legs and loins were both burning with the fire of the exertion of relentlessly riding him and from the feeling him being inside of her was igniting.

As their moments of climax reached them, almost simultaneously, Oliver reached behind Grace's back and pulled her even closer against him, making Grace scream with the intensity of her orgasm.

With her body hunched forward and her face so close to his, Oliver barely had to lift his head to be able to silence her with his mouth once again.

This time it wasn't strictly necessary but he didn't want to let her go from his embrace and forgo the power and control he felt at being able to make her react so strongly as he pumped into her.

The feeling of his mouth on hers intensified Grace's release and her lips trembled as she whimpered against his.

Even as they came down from their shared highs, they didn't break apart, their kiss lingering longer than it initially should have. Yet once they separated to catch their breath, Oliver brought his hand to the back of her head and pulled her back in for another.

Grace was surprised but made no sign of protest.

Instead, she allowed her body to relax, laying herself down against his and simply melted into his arms and into his kiss.

He rolled them over, their mouths still moving together, neither one of them willing to stop, neither one of them wanting to consider the nonnecessity of it.

Grace eventually gradually pulled back, though she pressed her forehead to his, not ready to fully disconnect from him just yet.

Tenderly, she brought her hands up to his face. "Thank you", she whispered, her lips still hovering directly above his, so close that he could feel her breath upon his face.

"Grace…that was…"

She pressed her lips ever so lightly to his once more. "Yes, I agree."

His eyes fluttered open and held hers hypnotically for a moment before she carefully withdrew herself from his arms, the unspoken words in his gaze too confronting for her to address.

She sat up on the side of the bed then quickly stood and crossed the room, picking up her slip and sliding it on over her head. She went to pick up her skirt but was stopped in her tracks by his voice.

"Why don't you stay with me tonight?"

She froze, then turned around tentatively to look at him. "I really shouldn't", she said, betraying even her own desire to.

"What if I ordered you to, as your boss?" He asked, not really demanding it of her in seriousness, just hoping to convince her.

She tilted her head with an expression of part amusement and part affection and slightly tinged with the smallest amount of hesitance.

Ignoring the sense her brain was telling her she ought to be heeding, she shuffled back over to the bed and daintily lay down beside him, her arm all too naturally reaching across to rest on his chest.

He covered it with his own arm and sighed contentedly.

Grace's muscles relaxed as she sank back against him once again.

Although tentative and shy and with a million questions to ask one another about where this apparent new trajectory was taking them, Grace and Oliver found safety in silence and comfort in simply holding each other.

They both slept well that night.