One Night Only

But on that day, things were not going smoothly. After several wrong turns during the trip, Josh had managed to get them hopelessly lost. He claimed that it was Donna's fault—for all that she was a great assistant, he reckoned she was a terrible navigator. She merely pointed out that he had insisted on going his own way and ignored her directions. Not that it mattered. The net result was that they were lost, and darkness was closing fast.

Just as Josh was about to suggest turning around and tracing their way back to a main road, Donna pointed out a house ahead to their right, only just visible in the fading light. She suggested that they stop there for the night.

Josh just gave her an exasperated look. "Donna, we'd be much better off finding the main road and getting to a hotel."

"Josh, we're lost in the middle of nowhere, do you really want to risk running out of gas at night before we find our way?"

"Donna, what's that got to do with..."

"Isn't it more logical if we stop for the night and looking for a way back tomorrow morning when it's light? Besides, we can get directions there," she pointed to the house ahead.

"Yeah, if there's anyone home. Look at the place, Donna, there's not a light on. What do you propose we do if the house is deserted?"

"Break in?"

"Donna..."

"I'm not kidding Josh. We're down to less than half a tank of gas, it's going to be a cold night, and we really don't want to get more lost and then run out of gas."

"Turn my phone on and try Sam again. The GPS..."

"There's no reception here, and we need to save the battery. That's why I turned it off."

"If the phone's turned off, how do you know there's no reception?"

"That's why I turned it off in the first place," there was a note of exasperation on Donna's voice.

The car slid to a stop in front of the house, which was still only barely visible owing to the lack of lights that Josh had noted. Thunder rumbled ominously as the engine switched off. "There's obviously no one here, Donna. I still think we'd be better off turning around and finding our way back to the main road."

"And if we run out of gas before we find it? Remember, it takes gas to keep the car warm."

"Donna, there's no one here. Do you know the penalty for breaking and entering?"

"Josh, we need to stop for the nignt anyway. I can't read the map in the dark."

"So you're advocating breaking and entering? We're government employees, Donna, we work at the White House. Do you know how that would look, especially in an election year?"

"It's not like we're hardened criminals, Josh. We have mitigating circumstances, it's not like we're looking to rip anyone off. We just need shelter for the night. Or a phone."

"I think you used a double negative in there somewhere."

"Shut up, Josh." Ending the conversation, Donna got out of the car and went to the front door of the darkened house. Just as Josh predicted there was no answer to her knock, but the door opened easily when she turned the handle. "Hey Josh."

Now Josh couldn't hear her while inside the car, but he could see that she had opened the door, so he got out to call her back. "Donna..."

"Bring your flashlight," she called back, ignoring him and heading inside.

Sighing in exasperation he nevertheless grabbed the flashlight and followed her in. "You need to get out of here, Donna."

"The door was unlocked, Josh."

"But it was closed. You opened a closed door on a stranger's property where you had no right to be. That's still technically breaking and entering."

"Look at this place. No one's been here in ages. I think it's abandoned."

"It's still criminal tresspass if we stay here."

"A moment ago you said it was breaking and entering."

"It's both. It was breaking and entering when you opened the door and walked in, and it will be criminal tresspass if we stay here."

"Pedant. Besides, isn't there a legal loophole in the criminal tresspass law to cover emergency circumstances like this?"

"Yeah, if it was owned by Sam or CJ or any of our friends and they wouldn't mind if we crashed here. But I don't know anyone who may own this place. Do you?"

"Well, no, but..."

"See? Case closed."

"Josh, we're already in, we need a place to stay for the night, and I really don't think anyone would care if we stayed here or not. So why don't you go find some wood so we can get a fire going. It's going to be a cold night."

"And what are you going to do in the dark while I take the flashlight looking for wood?"

"I have matches in my purse. I can light some of the candles that were left here."

"Why do you have matches in your purse?"

"Just in case. You never know what might happen."

Josh smiled to himself. It was just so typically Donna to do something like that. But it was also like her to stick to her guns on a point and not give in; so it looked as though they were staying here the night despite his objections or the legal ramifications. Which meant that he had to go looking for firewood. Luckily, he found a pile of already cut logs by what he assumed was the back door. Holding the flashlight in his mouth he picked up as many logs as he could carry and re-entered the house through the back door (which was also unlocked).

Walking through a very dirty kitchen (in which he would never attempt to cook) he startled Donna by appearing in the opposite direction she was expecting. "Josh!" she shrieked. "You shouldn't scare me in a place like this."

He dumped the pile of logs by the fireplace and took the flashlight out of his mouth. "I found the firewood," he stared unneccessarily.

"Yes, and you were carrying too much for a man in your condition."

"I'm fine, Donna!"

"You can't be too careful of your heart, Josh. And don't roll your eyes at me."

Josh decided to change the subject. "Have you figured out where we're going to sleep tonight?"

"I think right here in front of the fireplace," she replied. "There's a bedroom through there, but I don't think you want to try the bed. It looks disgusting. Besides, it'll be warmer here."

"And here I was thinking we could tell CJ we didn't need the sleeping bags and pillows she and Sam stuck in the back of the car."

Donna giggled. After the big joke of them missing the motorcade, CJ and Sam (and propbably Toby) insited they take sleeping bags and pillows on this road trip, even though they fully intended on staying in hotels. Josh had argued that they were a waste of space and tried taking them out two or three times, but they always found their way back. It seemed they would never live missing the motorcade down.

Aware that Josh was watching her closely, she turned her attention to the task at hand. "Why don't you get the stuff from the car while I start the fire?"

"What am I, the gofer? Besides, I should light the fire, not you."

"Yes Josh, we all know about your experience in lighting fires."

"Well don't forget to check that the chimney's clear," Josh said as he headed out the front door.

"I'm not you, Josh!" she called after him.

"Thank heavens for that," he muttered under his breath.

"I need the newspaper," she replied tersely, not bothering to argue.

There was a beat as Josh assimilated what she said. "Hey, you're not going to burn my paper, are you?" But as he turned around to look at her, he saw that she had already gone back inside. He turned his attention to sorting out what they needed for the night. He quickly realised that it would take at least two trips even without taking any of their work in. Briefly he thought about telling Donna to fetch her own gear, but perished the thought. If they were spending the night together in remote isolation he would rather not antagonise or alienate her. And he doubted that reminding her who worked for whom would do any good. They were not exactly in the workplace now.

By the time he had gotten everything he figured they needed for the night inside, Donna had quite the fire going. "Nice," he commented approvingly.

"I grew up in Wisconsin, Josh. I know how to light a proper fire."

"I know where you're from, Donna, and I wasn't trying to imply that you couldn't light a fire. I was just trying to be a man and do the 'man thing', you know?"

"I know. I may not agree with your logic, but I know. We don't have much food left, do we? I'm hungry."

"I brought what was left of the snacks in, but it isn't much. That's another reason why we should've turned around."

And the argument was on again.

The two had a fairly quiet evening. By the light of the fire and the candles Donna had found, they managed to get some work done (though not a lot) amid Donna's interjections that reading and working by candlelight was not good for the eyes. Josh merely pointed out that the constant use of computers was not good for the eyes either, but they did not really stop anyone in this technological age. Of course, in Josh's mind, Donna totally invalidated her own argument by pulling out a book to read when she declared she was packing work in for the night. Making her point worse (in his mind) was her choice of reading matter—a trashy romance novel with a picture of a heaving-breasted woman on the cover. She rather witheringly pointed out that it was merely escapism, and it was something she had precious little time for. When he commented it was surprising it didn't have Fabio on the cover, she said that Fabio was overrated. He didn't know which was worse—that she had read Fabio or that she admitted to it.

In all, they decided to turn in early. Though he had no intention of admitting it to Donna, Josh did find working by candlelight tiring on the eyes after a while; and the truth was, it was the first chance that either of them had had for a reasonably early night in what seemed like forever (though he knew that Donna kept more reasonable hours than he did). Then the problem of sleeping arrangements arose.

By that point the temperature had dropped quite noticably, and it promised to drop even further when the storm that had been threatening for hours finally broke. Donna's suggesting og sleeping in front of the fire made sense, given the state of the bedroom of that house and the temperature; but the logistics of it was quite another thing. Given that they only had one sleeping bag each and no extra blankets, sharing body heat was the most logical way of making it through the night. But Josh felt awkward even suggesting it, because under different circumstances the setting would be quite romantic. Cold night, warm fire, the need to share body heat; it was like a seductor's dream (not that he'd ever been good at that sort of thing). In his underused imagination he could clearly see where things would be headed under different circumstances, and it was a direction he just would not take with his assistant, no matter how much he secretly may want to. It would irrevocably alter their relationship, and he had way too much respect for her to make her another Washington statistic.

Donna, however, could be quite pragmatic, and it was she who suggested they join the sleeping bags and sleep together (platonically) to share body heat. Josh blinked at the suggestion, made a half-hearted attempt to argue the point, and gave in like they both knew he would. Taking turns to go into the other room to change into sleeping gear, they bedded down in the joined sleeping bags; Donna closest to the fire with Josh virtually spooned behind her, feeling incredibly awkward in the confined space. It was also rather warm, a lot warmer than he expected. So much so that he suggested they separate the sleeping bags after all. Donna vetoed that idea by pointing out that it would get much colder during the night, especially when the fire died down.

Donna's breathing evened out as she fell asleep fairly quickly, but Josh found that he could not sleep. Not only was it way earlier than when he normally crashed (often literally) for the night; but he found Donna's mere presence both intoxicating and distracting, with the scent of her hair and the feeling of his arm lightly resting on her waist (for lack of anywhere else to comfortably put it). When the usual techniques of attempting to fall asleep failed he decided to just concentrate on Donna's even breathing, hoping that it would lull him to sleep. It must have worked, for that was the last thing he remembered before dropping off.

He was wakened several hours later by a breathy moaning sound. Disoriented, he rubbed his eyes and realised what had awakened him when the sound came again. It was Donna. Somehow she had managed to wriggle her way out of the double sleeping bag without waking him, for she was not three-quarters of the way free, still asleep but stirring in a very sensual manner.

Sensual. That was the word that popped into his head as he focused on her, watching her as she dreamed. She was in the throes of quite an erotic dream, judging from her sinuous movements and moans. Despite himself and his best intentions, Josh felt himself respond to the sight. Groaning softly, he closed his eyes against the sound, desperately trying to think of anything else to avoid an embarrassing moment. He knew that she should wake her, but couldn't face the thought; not wanting to face her embarrassment when she realised that it was obvious what she had been dreaming. Waking her was probably the most logical course though, but he needed a moment to collect himself first. No sense in embarrassing her further by letting her see how she affected him.

That possibility fled, however, with the next sound from Donna's throat. It was his name. Involuntarily his eyes flew open, and he focused on her again, certain that he misheard. It came out as a breathy moan after all. But as he watched she said it again, clearer this time; and as she said it her hand slipped under the tee-shirt she was wearing and moved up to her breast. His fledgling arousal immediately trebled as he was suddenly confronted with thoughts and feelings that he had denied the light of day. He was unable to take his eyes off her, her writing form, her heaving breasts with their hard, round nipples. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.

But when her other hand began to venture downwards to her sleep pants, he knew he had to put a stop to it. Shifting slightly to hide, or at least mask, the evidence of his arousal, he swallowed again and reached up to gently shake his assistant. "Donna, you need to wake up."

His voice seemed unnaturally loud in the stillness of the room, but Donna did not wake. He shook her hearder. "Donna!"

She started awake. "What?" she practically shrieked, thinking that something was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong," he clarified, shifting into a sitting position. "You were dreaming, that's all. It looked like a doozy."

Donna scrubbed at her face with her hands. "It wasn't a bad one," she said almost inaudibly.

"I know," Josh admitted. "You were talking in your sleep." As soon as he said it he wished he hadn't, for she buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. To escape the awkward moment he excused himself, ostensibly to answer a call of nature.

Donna kept her face in her hands until he was gone. She didn't know which was more embarrassing: that Josh could tell what she had been dreaming or that she had been talking in her sleep. Normally the latter would have been embarrassing in and of itself, but coupled with the graphic nature of the dream... Oh why did she have to have that dream with her boss right there? Sure, she quite often had erotic dreams about Josh, but she never intended to let him know that. It wasn't something that she seriously spent time fantasising about; she knew that nothing would ever come of it. She knew that he wasn't attracted to her, she wasn't his type. She could only hope that whatever she said aloud didn't betray just who she'd been dreaming about.

She quickly looked away when he heard him coming back into the room, not wanting to read what was in his eyes. She was saved from speaking first whe he commented, "It's cold out there."

"I'll bet," she replied. "Look, I'm sorry I woke you up..."

"Don't worry about it, Donna. We all have dreams like that from time to time. Of course, reading trashy romances before you go to sleep probably doesn't help."

She shot him a look but couldn't help smiling when she saw him grinning at her, dimples in full force. Buoyed by his teasing, she brought up the one thing she had been dreading. "Josh, when I... talked... in my sleep, I didn't say anything too... I don't know... graphic or embarrassing, did I?"

"No, nothing like that. You didn't actually say that much at all, really. It was just a lot of moaning... and my name."

The last part was said so quietly that Donna was sure that she misheard, that she didn't hear what she thought she did. But knowing that she had, in fact, been dreaming about him, it was not beyond the realm of possibility that she had uttered his name. The face that he couldn't quite meet her eyes also told her that she did hear correctly. Mortified, she buried her face in her hands again. Somehow that was more embarrassing than the thought of saying graphic dirty talk aloud.

"It's okay, Donna, don't worry about it," Josh cajoled.

"That's easy for you to say," she mumbled from behind her hands. "It's not like you have erotic dreams about me."

"I wouldn't bet on that."

Again, the muttered words were almost too quiet for her to hear, but she did hear them and her head snapped up. "What?"

"I think you heard me," he muttered. Then he looked directly at her, reaching out to cup her chin and turn her face to meet her eyes. "Would it help if I admitted that I have those types of dreams about you? That I dream about you almost every night?"

She felt like she could melt in his brown eyes, but she held herself together. Part of her was waiting in anticipation for what he would say nect, the other part was afraid that he was only saying it to make her feel better. So she forced herself to ask the question. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"Well, yeah, I am trying to make you feel better, but..." he kept a firm hold of her chin, preventing her from looking away. "It doesn't mean it's not the truth."

"Why didn't you say something?"

That forced a dry, humourless chuckle out of him. "What was I supposed to say, Donna? 'Could you type these notes for me please, and by the way, I've been having erotic dreams about you'?"

She wrenched herself from his grasp, needing to look away. "Forget I asked."

"No, Donna. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. But do you understand why I couldn't say anything? Jeez, not even Sam knows that little tidbit."

"I get it, Josh. It wouldn't have been appropriate. I just never thought you'd dreamt about me, that's all. I'm not exactly the type."

"What makes you say that? Donna, you're exactly the type to give a guy wet dreams..." he broke off as she giggled. "What?"

"It's nothing," Donna felt heat crawl up her face again, and she wondered just how much more she could blush. "It's just hearing you say that reminded me of stuff I talked about with my friends when we were teenagers."

"Yeah, this conversation is heading in that direction. But believe me, Donna, you are definitely the type."

"Maybe," she smiled shyly. "But I didn't think I was your type. I mean, I know you couldn't say anything, but you've never given any indication..."

To her surprise, Josh sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was a look of such tenderness and longing that it almost took her breath away. There was also a touch of pain in them that she couldn't read. "I can't believe we're going to actually have this conversation," he muttered.

Thinking he was reluctant to go any further, Donna decided to break in before he continued. "Josh, you don't have to..."

"It's all right, Donna." he cut her off. "I want to. I think it's probably time to clear the air between us. It's true, I've never given you any indication that I'm attracted to you; in fact, I've done everything I could not to show it, or even acknowledge it. But it's not what you're thinking, at least, not entirely."

She watched him closely as he fell silent. She could tell that he was trying to think out what he was going to say, rather than just plunging ahead and putting his foot into it. Without quite knowing why, she reached over to give his arm a gentle squeeze, not moving her hand when he placed his hand over hers.

"It's true that as your boss it wouldn't be appropriate to tell you, or show you how I feel," he continued finally. "But that's not why I held back, not the whole reason. I mean, that hasn't stopped others from having affairs with their assistants. But I respect you too much to do that to you. I care about you too much to do it."

Donna frowned, somewhat confused. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Donna. You're a beautiful, leggy, blond, college drop-out who literally walked in off the street and hired yourself, talking me into giving you a chance and not tossing you out. That fact alone has half the people in Washington thinking you've been sleeping with me to get where you are."

Josh moved closer and framed her face with his large hands. "But you and I, and our friends in the White House know better. You've worked damned hard to get to where you are, and you've proven yourself a thousand times over. There's no way I'm going to do anything to ruin the reputation you've earned. And having an affair with you... even hinting that I think about you in a decidedly non-boss-like fashion would do that. So I can't give into these feelings, no matter how much I may want to."

While talking, he had moved his face closer to hers, probably without even realising it. Now he was so close that their breaths mingled, and Donna closed her eyes. If they moved just a fraction closer, they would be kissing.

But before anything could happen, Josh came to his senses and abruptly drew back. "It's getting colder. We should get back into the sleeping bag. You go ahead, I'll just put another log on the fire."

Donna made a decision. It was now or never, and they might never get another chance again—at least while they worked for the Bartlett Administration. Inspired by the fact that she had woken up quite warm and flushed despite having worked her way out of the sleeping bags, she chose another method for them to keep warm. With a braveness she didn't quite feel, she moved closer to Josh and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Josh turned in surprise. "I thought you were getting back into the sleeping bag... bags."

"I have another idea." Sliding her other arm around his neck, she brought her head close to his, whispering against his lips, "It's much more efficient for keeping warm," before kissing him.

To her surprise, he initially responded to the kiss before pulling back. "Donna, we can't do this." There was a certain reluctance in his voice that belied his words.

She linked her hands behind his neck, preventhing him from pulling back further. He could have broken away if he truly wanted to, but he seemed content to stay where he was. "Actually, we can, Josh," she said. "There's no one else here, and nothing stopping us."

This time her kiss was a little more forceful, and he kissed her back for longer before breaking it off again. "Didn't you get what I just said, Donna? I won't destroy the reputation you earned by going... there..."

His breathing hitched and his words trailed off as she touched her lips to his neck. "I heard what you said," she spoke between kisses. "And I think it's sweet of you to be concerned like that. But like you said, our friends know the truth, we know the truth. And it's none of anyone else's business what we do." Feeling the warmth of his skin under her lips, she continud. "And you can't deny that it would keep us warm."

"Damn it, Donna," Josh took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. "Do you think I'd sleep with you, make love to you, just for that?"

"No I don't," she replied honestly. "Not just for that reason. But you can't look me in the eye and tell me that you don't want to, can you?" She trailed one hand down his chest to lightly cup his shaft, feeling him twitch beneath her hand. "Can you?"

There was a long moment before he spoke. "No I can't. But I don't want to hurt you either, Donna, and that's what would happen if we continued."

She gently squeezed him, eliciting a groan from him and feeling him harden under her hand. "I'm a big girl, Josh. I've heard the rumours, which would continue regardless of what we do by the way; but like I said, we know the truth. I care about you too, Josh, and I want this? Don't you?"

Hid reply was to bring her face to his for a long, searing kiss, wrapping his arms around her and trapping her hand between them. Again and again he would break their kiss only to capture her lips with his again, unable to part for more than a second. "We shouldn't be doing this," he said between his searing kisses, "but I can't stop. What are you doing to me, Donna?"

With a wicked grin Donna shifted to straddle his lap, pressing herself against his ever hardening erection. "What do you want me to do to you, Josh?"

Groaning, he tangled his hands in her blond hair. "Let's play it by ear," he suggested, capturing her lips again.

The only sound in the room was the crackling fire, smacking lips, and ragged breathing. When oxygen became an issue, Josh moved his lips to plant kisses down the slender column of her neck, pausing to gently suck at places that made her especially shiver, like her pulse point. He was careful not to leave a mark, though; he knew that such a mark would cause a lot of talk. But as he continued his path along her neck, now tracing the neckline of her tee-shirt, he felt a pang of regret that he couldn't leave his mark on her. Just the thought of doing that was enough to send blood rushing to his loins.

Donna chose that moment to pull back from him slightly. When he gave her a questioning look, she just placed her finger to his lips to forestall his query. Then, slowly, she pulled her trr-shirt up over her head, and tossed it somewhere behind him. "You can give me a hickey where it's not going to show. Then only we'll know about it."

Temporarily mesmerised by the sight of her, he initially missed what she said. When her words sank in he looked at her in amazement. "How did you know that's what I was thinking?"

She smiled enigmatically. "I always know what you're thinking... well, almost always. And I could feel that you were holding back," Running her hand through his thick hair, she continued. "Don't worry, I want you to leave your mark on me."

Groaning her name, he leaned up to kiss her again, spanning his hands across her back, before making his way downwards again. He spent awhile exploring her pale skin, wanting to relish and not waste the opportunity he had been given as much as he wanted to pleasure her. Her breasts were soft and tender and warm under his mouth, but instinct told him they were not the right places, not for this. So he left them behind with the mental promise of returning to them and continued his way down her torso, supporting her back as she leaned backwards to accomodare him. Then he found the perfect spot.

"Ooh," Donna gasped as he paused to nip at a spot just above her navel. "Josh..."

"Like that spot, do we?" Without waiting for a reply he lowered his head and went to work, alternately kissing and sucking at her tender skin. This close to her core the scent of her arousal was strong and heady and spurned him on, making him harder than he thought possible. She was wet for him, so wet that he could feel it though their layers of clothing as she pressed against him.

Which gave him another idea. Leaving the decent-sized love-bite behind with a final kiss, he worked his way back up her body with the same tenderness as when he made his descent. "How are we doing?" he asked when he reached her neck.

"Why... why'd you stop?" she asked breathlessly.

"You'll see." Even as he said that he slid one hand down her back to the waist of her sleep pants. Without hesitating he slipped his fingers in, slowly caressing her bottom before moving his hand between their bodies, noting with surprise that she was not wearing panties underneath. "Do you always go commando when you go to bed?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she lifted her hips slightly to give him acess to what he was seeking. "It's not a problem, is it?"

"Just the opposite," Capturing her lips with another searing kiss, his fingers stroked her wet curls, first one, and then two sliding into her with ease. His thumb gently rubbed her clit as his fingers thrust in and out in time with the rocking of her hips. She broke their kiss to throw her head back with a ragged moan, her breathing as heavy as his. Her inner walls tightened around his fingers as he inserted a third one, moving just that bit faster, his thumb rubbing just that little bit harder. She was so close, he could feel it.

"Josh..." Donna moaned, her hand snaking down to clutch at his.

"That's it, baby, come for me," he murmured back, latching his lips to the hollow of her throat, careful not to suck too hard.

"No Josh, wait!" her hand clamped down on his.

"What, Donna?" Josh drew his head back up to look at her, confusion slipping through this passion-fogged mind. "What's wrong? I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"No, nothing like that." She took a moment to collect her breathing, feeling suddenly bereft now that his fingers had slipped out of her. "I just want you inside me the first time. I want to feel you inside me."

It was her turn to kiss him this time, as her hands moved to pull his boxers down. Reluctantly, though, he had to stop her; as suddenly something rather important occurred to him. "Hang on, Donna, I just realised. I never planned for this. I never expected this. I have no protection with me."

Smiling, she rested her forehead against his. "That's okay, Josh. I'm on the Pill, so you don't have to worry about that. And I'm clean, so unless there's something I need to know about on your end..."

He cut her off with a swift kiss. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Hurry up before I change my mind."

"You're such a romantic," he murmured into her neck. "Stand up for me please. Slowly."

Her initial confusion vanished when she felt him press his lips to the hollow of her throat and trail down her body as she did as he commanded. He stopped when he reached the waistband of her sleep pants, raising himself on his knees to keep in line with that point as she rose to her full height. With his hands on her waist she slowly drew her pants down, exposing the rest of her to his gaze. His brown eyes raked all the way up from her form to meet her soft blue ones. "You're so beautiful, Donna," he breathed, pressing his lips to her damp curls.

Donna shuddered under his torch and the cool air on her skin contrasting with the heat they created between them. Craving the warmth of his closeness and wanting to make him experience the same feelings he was producing in her, she pulled back slightly to bend down so that her face was level with his. Not only did this enable her to kiss him, but it also allowed her to reach his boxers and pull them down. Falling to her knees without breaking the kiss, she let one hand steal between them to enclose his engorged shaft, pumping slowly.

Josh was content to enjoy this at first, but soon he closed his fingers around her wrist to stop her. "If you keep that up, it will be over before I get inside you," he murmured.

"Well we can't have that, can we?" Pushing him back on his heels, she moved to straddle his lap again, this time sliding down on his shaft in a single movement. She stilled her hips when he was fully in to the hilt, needing to adjust to his girth.

Josh had his own reasons for needing her to be still. His hands lightly gripped her hips, holding her to him. "You're so tight. So tight." After a moment, he gently guided her hips into movement, pumping up into her.

Soon they settled inot a rhythmm thrust and counterthrust, and it felt as natural as if they had been doing it forever. Linking her legs behind him and tilting her hips, Donna gripped his shoulders and leaned back, allowing him to pump into her at a new angle. Marvelling at her flexibility, he made sure he kept one hand splayed across her back for support, all the while pumping into her. All his objections melted away in the wake of this new reality, and they both wondered how they resisted it for so long.

He used his hand on her back to push her up closer to him so he could kiss her. "Why haven't we done this before?" he voiced the question they were both thinking.

"Because I didn't know how you felt and you felt you were protecting me," she replied. "Take off your shirt."

"What?" the demand seemed to come from left field, and he was busy concentrating on her neck and the thrusting of their hips.

"Take off your tee-shirt," she repeated. "I want to feel you against me. All of you."

He pulled back long enough to pull the offending item of clothing off, and then wrapped his arms around her again, latching his lips back onto her neck. No words were uttered between them, none were needed. It was enough that they were joined, hips meeting rhythmically, mouths meeting for hot kisses until the need for breathing intruded and lips traversed bare skin. Movememts gradually quickened as passions rose, ready to culminate in the ultimate climax. Moans and ragged breaths broke the silence of the night.

Josh could feel her inner walls clenching around his shaft and the tension within her as she pressed against him. Again, he could tell that she was close to her release, so close. Increasing the speed of his thrusts, he moved one hand to where they were joined, finding and rubbing her clitoris. The effect was immediate. Donna's moans rose in pitch, her walls clenched tightly around him and she threw back her head as she came, pressing her hips hard against his.

Panting, she pressed her forehead against his. "That was so much better than my dreams."

Those words were enough to push him over the limit. With one final thrust he came, biting her tender shoulder to stop the shout that threatened to emerge. Spent, he let his head rest against that spot until he had the strength to lift it and inspect the damage inflicted. "Sorry about the biting," he apologised.

"That's okay," she replied. "I didn't mind. Next time you could try shouting, though. And you can kiss it better."

"With pleasure," he lowered his head to plant several warm kisses over the visible teeth marks he left, and he looked back up at her curiously. "You really think there'll be a next time?"

"Shh," she pressed her fingers to his lips. "Don't spoil the moment."

"Right." Stretching up he pressed his lips to hers again, not in a searing, passionate kiss like before, but a tender, loving kiss, one that he might have wished their first kiss had been like. It was a kiss of love, a kiss between lovers, a kiss that continued. When the need for air surfaced, they simply parted for a couple of breaths, and were drawn back together as though magnetised. Their kisses stayed slow and tender, they were kissing for the joy of it, not in passionate expectation.

Gradually, as the sweat dried on their cooling skin, Josh realised that they were in danger of losing the warmth they had created. He drew back slightly so that he could look at her face. "I think we'd better take this to the sleeping bags before we get too cold."

"Right." Without futher ado, Donna moved to get off his lap, letting his now soft member slip out of her. But before she could get too far, she was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Josh moved his hand from her shoulder to her cheek. "That doesn't mean we have to stop what we were doing." he continued with a swift but tender kiss to her lips. Rewarded with a smile, he let her get up so that he could stand also. Much to his chagrin, he found that his knees had stiffened and almost completely locked, reminding him that he wasn't as young as he used to be. Groaning, he managed to get to his feet, almost overbalancing.

"Are you okay, Josh?" Donna asked, steadying him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "My knees are kind of stiff is all. That's not the best position for me to be making love in anymore."

He bent down to pull his boxers up, which had slipped to the floor unheeded, but was stopped by Donna taking his hand. "Leave them," she said. "Come to bed without them."

He hesitated. It wasn't like they were at home and sleeping in an ordinary bed, where the bed clothes could provide some modesty. They would be in the conjoined sleeping bags with nothing between them. But looking at Donna standing in front of him, naked and not shy about it, he found the decision easy to make and resolutely stepped out of his boxers. Sqeezing her hand, he slowly crouched down beside the sleeping bags and pulled one zipper down almost all the way. Climbing in, he held the 'cover' open invitingly. With only a little hesitation on her part, she climbed in beside him, lying on her back.

"So where were we?" she asked when he had settled the sleeping bad around them.

Supporting himself on one arm, he placed his other hand on her neck and lowered his head to hers. slowly as to allow her to stop him if she wished. "Right here, I believe," he whispered before capturing her lips. As her mouth opened under his to grant access to his tongue, her hand came up to tangle in his curls and her other one trailed down his side resting on his waist. Again, their kisses were tender and loving, deep and slow; but now when they broke for air, Josh would trail kisses across her face and neck before returning to her lips. Her hand moved across his skin, his trailed down from her neck to gently cup a breast. Things naturally progressed from just kissing, and both were unconscious of the transition.

As content as she was to just lie there and respond to his kisses, Donna wanted more. She knew that when his mouth left hers to move across her face and neck he was tasting her skin, and that thought left her wet again between her legs. But what she wanted was to taste his skin, to kiss down his neck and across the planes of his chest. After all, why should Josh have all the fun?

Waiting until he moved down to her neck, she rolled to her side, somewhat out of his reach, which confused him. "What's wrong?" he wanted to know.

"Nothing," she assured him, gently pushing him so that he was lying on his back. Placing her hand on his chest, she shifted so that she was half lying over him, sliding one leg over his. "I just wanted to return the favour," she whispered against his lips before claiming them.

"Return what favour?" he asked when she broke the kiss, wrapping his arms around her so that she could not go anywhere.

She placed a finger to his lips. "Shh, you'll see. Relax."

Lowering her head to his again, she placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth, evading his attempts to deepen it, before making her way across to his ear. She ran her tongue along the rim, noting that he shuddered slightly when she did so. When she sucked the lobe between her lips she elicited a low groan from him, so she sucked on it a little harder, and gently bit it, her breath warm on his ear. Josh groaned again, and she felt his manhood twitch against her leg. Letting go of the lobe, she lightly blew on his, smiling when she felt another twitch.

Moving away from his ear, she licked and kissed along his jaw until she got to his mouth. "Easy," she murmured. "I haven't really started yet."

With a final, feather-light kiss to his lips, she lowered her head again, this time to the junction of his neck and shoulder. She began her exploration there, alternating between kisses and little nips as she slowly made her way across the hard planes of his chest, marvelling at his shape. Rather than shy away from the scars from the shooting and subsequent surgery, she gently traced the length of the longer one with her tongue, kissing either end. Initially he tried to guide her away, but she was insitant. She would leave no part of his chest untouched, even the physical reminder of when she almost lost him.

Moving from the scar she turned her attention to his nipples, kissing one, then licking around it, and finishing by gently taking it between her teeth. The other one got the same treatment before she moved lower, seeking places that elicited the most reaction from him, as he had done with her. These places she paid extra attention to, encouraged by hjs low groans and the twitching of his rapidly hardening shaft against her leg. His hands were not idle either; they were tracing patterns on her back while she explored, subtly encouraging her further.

Another groan issued from Josh, this one tinged with frustration as she moved out of his reach as she progressed lower. She dipped her tongue in and around his belly button, following with little kisses surrounding it, leading to the start of the trail of fair hair that led south.

Here she paused, and she took a moment to look up at him. He had been lying with his head back and eyes closed; but when she had ceased in her movements, he opened his eyes and raised his head to look at her. Meeting his eyes for a moment, she gave him what she hoped was a wicked grin, and then lowered her head again to the start of the line of hair.

Josh's eyes closed again and another groan escaped him when he felt her lips touch him. They snapped open again as she went even lower. That was something that he never considered would happen, even if it was a feature of his dreams. Curious to see whether she would go that final step, he raised his head again to watch her. Intent on her progress, she did not even notice. Then she reached her destination.

She began by placing gentle kisses along and around his hard length. Then she laved her tongue over the entire area, providing some lubrication for her hand. Smiling up at him, she began to pump him slowly. "You like that?"

Eyes rolling to the back of his head, all he could manage was, "Oh yeah."

"Good." Pumping a little more, she lowered her head again and took him into her mouth. Slowly, carefully, inching down until he was engulfed fully. Then she really went to work. His hips bucked at the sensation, and he had to struggle not to start insistantly thrusting into her mouth. She was working magic on him, and his groans grew louder as he was swept away by the feeling until he could no longer stand it.

"Donna," he groaned, trying to reach down and stop her. But she eluded him, continuing her magic. He was almost ready to just lie back and let nature take its course; he was so close to his release, he could feel a tightening in his balls. But as much as the idea of coming in her mouth appealed to him, he had a much sweeter haven in mind.

With the last vestages of strength and control left within him, he managed to get a hold of Donna's shoulders and push her back. "Donna, wait."

Confused, and a little hurt, she sat back, releasing him. "What's wrong, Josh?"

Smiling reassuringly (and unconsciously noting the parallel to when she had stopped kissing him to explore earlier) he sat up and cupped her cheek. "Nothing's wrong. I just needed you to stop or I would've come in your mouth."

A wicked grin broke out on her face. "That's what I was intending."

He had to take a deep breath before continuing. "Yeah, and there's nothing I would like more. But I have something else in mind." His smoldering eyes bore into hers she he leaned in to tenderly kiss her. And while he had her distracted by the kiss, he gently turned her and lay her down on the sleeping bags. Breaking the kiss, he pulled back and brushed her fine blond hair back. "My turn," he said simply.

Not waiting for a reply he bent his head to press kisses all over her face and neck, some quick and light butterfly kisses, others slow, warm, and heavy. He worked his way downwards, alternating between kisses and little nips as she did, sucking gently at the hollow of her throat. Deliberately he kept his pace slow, needing the time to contain himself, and wanting her to reach the same heights he knew he would. He really wanted to make love to her, to show her that she was special and loved.

Working his way lower, he saluted both her breasts, laving each on all over, gently biting her nipples, and taking them fully into his mouth, giving them the attention he hadn't gotten around to the first time. He made a mental note not to let her disparage herself about her size again—he thought they were perfect.

Leaving one hand to fondle a breast, he went even lower, moving his mouth all over her bare skin, leaving warm, open-mouthed kisses in his wake. Her moans didn't rise in volume, but they were consistant, hitching only when he reached a place of extra sensitivity. Reaching the love bite he had left earlier, he slipped between her lips to continue lower, using his other hand to hold her waist as he went. He ran his tongue around her navel, copying her earlier actions, and inched backwards. He needed a little room for what he intended next.

Awareness flooded into Donna when she felt his mouth on the curls at the junction of her legs. It sent a jolt of desire through her, sure, and sent wetness gushing to her already wet centre; but she knew that she was already covered with the remnants of their earlier activities. "Josh?" she said weakly.

Paying no heed to her saying his name, thinking it was an extension of her passion-filled moaning, that gentleman just continued with his task, edging lower. It was only when she repeated his name, with more urgency and a hint of panic, that he raised his head. "Donna?"

There was no reply but her ragged breathing. Concerned, he pulled back and moved up her body to look at her face. Supporting himself on one arm, he gently cupped her cheek. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong, as such," she replied when she got her voice back. "It's just that, you know, I thought guys preferred doing... that... when we haven't been doing anything else first."

Relief flooded through Josh at that, relief that he hadn't offended or hurt her. With a chuckle he bent his head closr to hers. "Well, who was it who wanted me inside her the first time she came?"

She giggled into his mouth. "Well, I was impatient. I desperately wanted you in me."

"Impatient, huh?" Sliding to the side, he trailed one hand down her body. "Maybe I should teach you the value of patience."

"You're one to talk about pat...oh!" her statement abruptly cut off as she felt two fingers slide into her.

"What was that?" he teased as he slowly stroked her slick passage. "Do you have anything to say, Donna?"

"Not anymore," she gasped as his thumb found her clit. Unable to keep still, she rocked her hips in time with the sliding of his fingers. The feelings he was evoking in her had been intense enough before; now they were increasing tenfold. He was slowly bringing her to the brink, and the sweetest tension was coiling in her.

"Josh..." she pleaded. "Please."

"Shh," he stretched to press his lips to her forehead, and then pulled back to look at her intently. "Don't fight it. Let go. Just come for me."

A combination of the intense look in his brown eyes and his warm breath on her face coupled with the overwhelming sensations she was already experiencing pushed her over the edge. With a muffled shriek she came, her inner muscles clenching at his fingers. Rather than stopping what he had been doing, Josh merely slowed it down, keeping his strokes gentle and languid, and stilling his thumb.

As Donna struggled to regain her breath, Josh pressed soft kisses all over her face. "Did you like that?"

"Uh huh," it was all she could say.

He brought his face to hers. "Do you think you've learned the value of patience yet?" he asked mischevously against her lips.

She wrapped one arm around his neck and tangled her hand in his thick hair to hold him to her as she kissed him. "I think I might need some more lessons," she said cheekily when they parted for air.

"Oh really?" Josh pulled back, slowly withdrawing his fingers from her and disentangling himself from her arms. Bringing his fingers to his lips, he sucked them into his mouth, thoroughly licking her juices off, watching her reaction. "Now what can I do to make the lesson sink in?" he asked as he slid between her legs.

"I can think of a few ways," she spread her legs a little wider, linking her feet behind him.

"Yeah, I bet you can." Firmly planting his hands on either side of her head, he slowly slid into her warm, tight depths, pausing a moment when he was in to the hilt, and then withdrawing almost all the way out to repeat the process.

Donna let out a long sigh, wrapping her arms around him again. He was deliberately keeping his pace slow, with long, deep, measured strokes; and it was driving her crazy. Her body was still humming from her orgasm, and his slow pace seemed to further stimulate her already sensitised nerves. She met him thrust for thrust, and tried to quicken the pace a little.

However, instead of accomodating her, Josh stilled his hips and bent his head to hers. "I thought I was supposed to be teaching you the value of patience?" he gritted out. He was finding it a tad difficult holding still, but he managed. His objective was to make love to her, slowly and tenderly; and he was tightly reigning in his instinct to pound his hips into her in order to do so.

"You're one to talk about patience," she muttered, trying in vain to move her hips. But he was firmly holding her into place, and she found that she couldn't be annoyed with him when she saw the obvious effort that remaining still was costing him. "You can't tell me that this isn't hard for you."

Her double entendre was not lost on him. "No, I can't," he agreed, finally moving again, albeit more slowly than before. "But that doesn't mean that I want to speed things up, either."

He cut off any further arguement with a deep kiss, his tongue imitating what his body was doing. When breathing became an issue he pulled back and adjusted his angle of penetration slightly, bringing one of her legs over his shoulder and increasing his pace.

Donna's eyes fluttered closed. This new angle had him thrusting deeper than before, and the feeling was so amazing and unbelievable that the tension was coiling within her body again. "Josh," she breathed, running her hand down his chest. "Please..."

"Please... what...?" he gasped, thrusting a little faster. "You're so tight, Donna, so wonderfully tight."

Her breathing hitched, she was being carried away by the husky, desire-deepened quality of his voice and what he was saying. "Harder, Josh," she begged.

"Donna..." he couldn't hold back anymore. Lowering her leg, he leaned forward and moved harder, faster, wanting to bring her to completion along with him. Welcoming the new pace, she tightened her legs and her muscles around him. Knowing that she was close, he bent his head to hers and whispered, "Come for me, baby," before kissing a spot behind her ear.

It was enough. Everything within Donna was like a tightly coiled spring, and Josh's words and the feeling of his lips abruptly released it. She shuddered, her muscles clenching around him. "Josh... oh Josh.., yes. Yes!"

Josh wasn't far behind her. With a final thrust he stilled his hips and came, capturing her lips in a searing kiss to muffle the shout he knew would emerge. Spent, he braced himself on his elbows to avoid completely slumping on top of her.

Feeling the cool air on his back, he reluctantly moved off her. She tightened her arms and legs around him. "Wait, don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised, withdrawing completely and lying beside her. "Come here."

Smiling, she let him spoon her against him. Unlike before, when they were only loosely spooned together, now she was flush against his chest and his arm was tightly around her. "This is nice," she murmured.

"Yes, it is," he replied. "And although I know women don't appreciate this, I think we'd better get some sleep. Especially if we want to find our way out of here tomorrow. Although, it might be nice to hide out here for a while."

She giggled. "Weren't you the one going on about breaking and entering and criminal tresspass earier? Besides, as nice as it'd be to stay here, you'd soon be bored out of your mind and we'd get hungry pretty quickly. We have no food, remember?"

"My ever practical Donna. So sleep then? Unless you want to talk?"

She stifled a yawn. "No, I think sleep is a good idea. You've worn me out."

Yawning was contagious. "I take it that's a good thing?"

"Mmm, very good."

With a tender smile that she could not see, Josh held her closer and listened to her breathing even out. Unable to keep it in, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "I love you, Donnatella Moss," he said softly, believing that he had fallen asleep and couldn't hear him.

Unbeknownst to him, Donna was actually still awake, just really relaxed. She made no sign of this, though. Her eyes opened when she heard those words that she never expected to ever hear. Knowing that he only said it because he thought she was asleep, she made no reply and just just snuggled back into him, closing her eyes again.

Josh was awakened the next morning by sunlight in his eyes. Opening one eye he saw that the light was streaming through an open door. He was momentarily disoriented, but soon the events of the previous night came flooding back to him. Being lost, the little house in the middle of nowhere. sleeping with Donna, in both senses...

Thinking of Donna made him instinctively reach for the space beside him, but it was empty. Just for an instant he thought he had dreamed the whole thing; but he was stark naked, and he did not ordinarily sleep in the altogether, especially when it was coming up on winter. None of that answered the question of where Donna currently was. Sitting up, he stretched... and recalled why he had never liked camping. Sleeping on the ground (or the floor in this case) was not kind to his back. Slowly moving around to try and work the twinge out only made the pain worse, making him groan. Loudly.

"You okay, Josh?"

He turned his head at the sound of her voice. She was standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the morning light; but it wasn't until she had moved further inside that he saw that she was wearing his shirt. It was such an erotic sight to him that it took him a moment to find his voice to answer her question. "Um yeah, I'm all right. I'm just a little stiff is all." In more ways than one, he added silently, feeling himself harden at the sight of her.

Donna smiled sympathetically. "I know what you mean. But that groan sounded worse than just being stiff."

"I'm all right," he repeated. "And you look totally hot, by the way. Nice shirt."

"I'm not hot first thing in the morning," she protested. "And it's your fault I'm wearing this. You didn't pack your things away last night, and this was the first thing that came to hand this morning."

Josh rather doubted that. While it was true that he had not packed his things away properly the night before, he knew that he had discarded his shirt on top of his bag, and thus it had been no where near where they were sleeping. He chose to focus on the first part of her statement, however. "You are hot," he said. "Hot, gorgeous, beautiful..."

"Yes, we all know about your 760 verbal," she cut him off. "And you're changing the subject. That groan sounded as though you're more than just stiff."

"I'm all right," he repeated again, a tad unconvincingly.

She just smirked at him. "Yes, Josh."

The next thing he knew she was kneeling behind him with her hands on his shoulders. Already a little self-conscious of being stark naked around her in the cold light of day, he flinched when he felt her cool touch, and was unable to prevent a hiss from escaping him.

"I was just going to give you a massage," she said in a small voice. "You know, get the kinks out."

Instantly he felt contrite at the shade of hurt he heard in her voice. Half turning so that he could face her, he took her hands in his before she could move away. "No, I'm sorry, Donna," he said, bringing her hands to his mouth. "I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that your hands were cold."

She relaxed slightly. "And I suppose you know how to warm them up?" she asked sardonically.

"Maybe." Gently kissing one then the other, he brought them together in a prayer-like position and slowly rubbed them between his. He did his on instinct, slowly forgetting his self-consciousness and concentrating on her; knowing that as soon as they got back into the car to find their way bacl to civilisation, all this would be over. He wanted to relish what they had while they still had it.

"That better?" he asked finally, bringing her now-warm hands to his lips again.

"Much." Smiling, Donna leaned forward to tenderly kiss him. "Thank you. Now turn around."

"Yes, ma'am." This time, when she placed her hands on his shoulders, he did not flinch. Far from cold, her touch spread warmth through him as she gently massaged his neck and shoulders, working the knots out. He let his head fall forward, relaing under her ministrations. and a low groan escaped him. Amazingly, she was waking other feelings in him not conducive to relaxing, and he could feel himself hardening even further.

"You like that?" she asked in a soft, sultry voice.

"Oh yeah."

"Good." Her hands moved lower, working out the kinks and knots in his back. Now his groans of pleasure were intermixed with some groans of pain as she found a particularly hard knot. After a particularly loud hiss from him, she commented, "Wow, you've got some hard knots there, Josh."

"That's not the only thing that's hard," he muttered back before he thought.

"Uh huh." Not responding to his not-so-subtle hint, she just continued to massage. Even she flinched when she came across a large knot that seemed particularly painful judging from his yelp.

"Ow!"

"Easy," she murmured, soothing the tender spot with light touches. "You know, I think this will be a lot easier if you lie down."

He smirked. "Do you want me to lie down on my back or my stomach?"

"On your stomach for now, so I can access your back better." She leaned forward to kiss behind his ear, and whispered. "We'll get to your front later."

Gulping, Josh did as she asked, making sure he retained some modesty by keeping the edge of the sleeping bag around his waist. He need not have bothered—the first thing Donna did when he was in position was pull the sleeping bag back and settle on the back of his legs, straddling them. The first thing he noticed when she did so was that he could just feel her, no material between them.

"Are you wearing anything under my shirt?"

Donna laughed a bubbly laugh. "Wouldn't you like to know?" With that question in the air, she set to work again, massaging and rubbing his back. Now she had much better access to the broad expanse of his back, and a much better leverage to working the knots and kinks out. And it proved to be less painful for Josh. In fact, what discomfort there was soon faded in comparison to the other sensations building within him.

Josh groaned. It was becoming a little painful for him to be lying on his stomach, but his groans were less of pain than of pleasure. And as great as the massage felt, he was feeling the urge for something else. "Donna?"

"Hmm?" Stopping the massage, Donna sat back, her weight loosely resting on his legs.

This allowed him to roll over so that he was now lying on his back. Of course, even loosely sitting on his legs, this manoeuver shifted her balance and Josh reached out to steady her. "Sorry about that," he said. "I needed to roll over."

"I can see that," she grinned, glancing down at his hardening shaft.

Following her glance with a grin of his own, he sat up (with a little difficulty) and wrapped his arms around her, bringing his face close to hers. "Well, you did say you'd get to my front later," he murmured against her lips.

"So I did." Linking her arms around his neck, she met his mouth with relish. Passionate kiss after passionate kiss followed, almost frantic in their intensity. Both knew that it was probably the last (or only) chance they would have to be together like this away from the politics and rumours of Washington.

Needing air, Josh broke away from Donna's lips to focus on the slender column of her neck. Kissing his way down to her shoulder, his hands moved to the buttons of his shirt. "Just want to see if you're weaking anything under my shirt."

Gently pulling back, Donna placed her hands over his, and finished unbuttoning the shirt herself. Letting it fall open, she leaned back a little and murmured, "Like what you see?"

"Uh huh." It was all he could say as he lowered his head to her breast.

Throwing her head back, Donna tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him to her. She wanted to lose herself in the feelings that he was arousing in her, knowing it could be her last chance. But the feeling of Josh's lips latched onto her skin gave her an idea. "Joshua," she said, a tad sharply, but only to get his attention through the haze of passion.

With a final kiss he drew back. "Didn't you enjoy that?"

"I did." she replied. "I just thought that it was my turn to leave my mark on you." Without waiting for him to comment, she pushed him backwards so that he was lying down again. Moving forward, she sat astride his hips, his hard shaft resting against her backside.

"Aggressive," Josh said, hissing a little as she settled against him. "I like it."

"You would." Running her hands down his chest, Donna contemplated the planes before her. She wanted to find just the right spot to leave her mark, like he had the night before. Tracing her fingers down the length of his surgical scar, she was reminded again of how close she had come to losing him. Inspired by the thought, she bent and touched her lips to his chest, above his heart.

He looked down at the rather sizable hickey she left in her wake when she lifted her head. A lot of crude things flew through his mind at the sight, but (wisely) he chose not to utter any of them. Instead, he simply said, "Thank you."

She smiled, sitting back. "For what?"

He shrugged. "Just thank you." He pulled her down for a long, deep kiss. With one hand tangled in her hair to hold her to him, his other one trailed down her body to reach her core. He was ready, more than ready, for things to progress further, and he wanted Donna to be there as well. To his delight, she was already damp.

Donna arched her back as he slipped two fingers into her. "Josh..." she gasped out as he stroked her, hips moving, inner muscles clenching. With his fingers continually stroking, and his thumb finding her clit, she was rapidly reaching her peak. But much to her disappointment, he stopped before she came, and pulled his fingers free.

With a smile, Josh stilled her protest by placing a damp finger to her lips. "Shh." Moving his hands to her hips, he lifted her up and positioned her above him, guiding her to his shaft and setting her down on him. So close to her release, the sensation of him filling her set her over the edge. She came violently with a loud cry.

Holding her hips firmly to his, he waited for her shudders to stop. "You okay?" he asked, rubbing her hips gently.

"Mmm hmm," she replied breathlessly. She started to slide his shirt off her arms, but he stopped her, and she looked at him, confused.

"Keep it on," he said, sliding his hands up her sides under the open shirt. When he reached her shoulders, he pulled the shirt back up, leaving it hanging open. "You look sexy in it."

"Sexy, huh?"

"Very sexy." Moving his hands back to her hips, he gently guided her movements as he began to thrust upwards. The pace started out slow, but as Donna grew accustomed to his rhythm she took control and set the pace. Taking his hands in hers, she shifted, adjusting the angle of her movements, leaning on his hands for support.

Josh let out a groan, tightening his grip on her hands encouragingly to let her know he wasn't protesting her new position. Far from it; he enjoyed both the feeling and the sight of her riding him. By using his hands to support her movements she had taken complete control of their lovemaking; and he found that all he had to do was support her and keep up with her movements. And the amazing thing was that she instinctively know what he needed, she knew just what to do to really set his blood flowing.

Of course, this meant that he was reaching his limit far quicker than he wanted. He had never felt that sex (or making love) was all about his own pleasure, especially when it was with someone he really cared about. He liked to give as much as he got, and more.

A low groan escaped him. "Donna..."

Instinctively she knew that he wanted. Sitting back but still using his hands for leverage, she began to ride him faster and harder. Her breaths came shallow and quick, accompanied by the occasional keeing moan or gasp. From the subtle tightening of her around him, he could tell that she was close to the edge again. So was he. Bracing one arm to continue her leverage, his other hand let go of hers to move to her centre. His seeking fingers found what they were looking for, stimulating her clit, causing her movements to falter as she started to shudder.

"Josh!" she gasped.

"I've got you," he gritted out, so close but wanting, needing, to bring her to completion first. He let go of her hand to support her hip, holding her to him as he continued to stroke her. She shuddered harder and came, crying his name, her inner muscles clenching around him, milking him.

He couldn't hold back. With the feeling of her coming tightly around him he erupted, shouting her name as his hips jerked upward into her. Spent, he lay back, catching her as she slumped onto his chest.

"Sorry," she murmured into his neck.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"I don't have the energy to move."

"Neither do I. Don't worry about it, I like you where you are."

They were silent for a few moments, too sated to speak. Donna laid her head over Josh's racing heart, relaxing under the feel of his hands stroking her back. As one hand moved up to her shoulder she lifted her head to look at him.

"You know, I just thought of something."

"What?" Josh asked a little warily. He was quite content at that moment, and he didn't want anything spoiling it.

"It's a good thing you bit my shoulder last night. You probably would have deafened me if you hadn't."

That made him snort a little as he brushed blond strands of hair back off her shoulder. "Why do you think I did it?" he asked, placing a kiss over the faint remaining teeth marks there.

It was Donna's turn to snort, and then giggle as Josh moved from her shoulder to kiss his way up her neck. "Is that something you've learned from Amy or Mandy?"

Josh pulled back to look at her. "Do you really want an answer to that?"

"Suppose not."

"Good, because I can think of better things to do." Capturing her lips in a tender kiss, he rolled them over so that she was lying under him. They continued to kiss, lovingly and tenderly, the perfecting endind to their unexpected night of love.

But as much as they might have wanted it, they both knew that it could not last. It was Donna who pulled back first. "We'll have to get going soon," she said reluctantly. "We were supposed to check in with Sam and Toby last night. They'll be wondering what happened."

And just like that the spell was broken. "Right," Josh said tersely, rolling off her. He said nothing more as she got up and, holding his shirt closed, took her bag into the bedroom to get dressed. Staring after her for a long moment, he regretted the turn that things had taken but had no idea how to rectify it, or even if he could. The events of the night before would infinitely complicate things, he knew that when he gave into the tension that had been rising between them. But what seemed inevitable then now seemed an incredivbly stupid risk in the cold light of day. How could they go back to their working relationship after this?

Shaking his head, he quickly moved to get dressed himself, not wanting Donna to come back out to find him still naked. Not that he was overly self-conscious, after all she had seen everything he had; but given the way things had ended, he didn't want her to feel awkward.

He had just finished dressing and was stuffing his things back into his bag (he had never been what one would call a neat packer) when Donna emerged. He looked up and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She responded with a hesitant one as she walked over to him, his shirt neatly folded in her hand.

She held it out to him. "Here's your shirt," she stated unnecessarily.

He wanted to tell her to keep it; he knew he would never be able to look at it again without thinking of her in it. But the look in her eyes made him think better of it, so he accepted it from her with a quiet "Thanks."

She didn't respond, she just put her bag down and turned her attention to the still-joined sleeping bags. "I can do that," he said weakly as he placed the shirt (carefully) in his bag.

"It's okay, I've got it." Her reply may have seemed a bit dismissive, but the smile on her face as she spoke offset the tone.

"Right." Closing his bag, he stood—picking up her back and stuffing the pillows under his arm. "I'll take these out to the car."

"You haven't packed the keys in your bag again, have you?" she asked with a grin.

Smirking, he put his bag down to pull the keys from his pocket. "No Donna." He had only ever done that once, but she never let him forget it. Taking the bags and pillows out to the car, he took a moment to compose himself. That last exchange between them was just like their usual banter, giving him hope that they would make it.

Coming back into the house Josh found Donna rolling up the second sleeping bag. The first one was packed and ready to go, as was the work gear that had brought in the night before. Picking them up, he was struck by the clear scent of sex emination from the sleeping bag. Looking over at Donna, he saw that she was stuffing the second sleeping bag into its cover.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Ready," she replied. But when he was about to take the things he had out, she placed her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"What?"

"Do you regret it?"

There was a trace of fear in her eyes. "No," he replied honestly. "I don't regret it." He regretted what it may to do them down the line, but he knew he would never regret the night they shared.

"Good." Leaning over, she placed a soft kiss on his lips. "It's going to be all right, Josh."