Against the Odds

“I can’t believe we only have three more days,” Alex sighed. They were cuddled up on bed-like lounger on the top deck of the boat, looking up at the stars. Harry’s arms were wrapped around his wife, more than content with her back snuggled back into his chest as she sat between his legs.

“Wanna stay longer?” he murmured in her ear, making her giggle as his breath tickled the sensitive skin there.

“Sure,” she played along, allowing herself the moment. “We’ll fly Emma out and just…stay all summer on the yacht. The paps have left us alone since our office issued that warning and…no one would miss us, right?”

“Nah,” Harry grinned as his arms tucked tighter around her. “Certainly not the billion people who watched us get married.”

“Psh,” Alex snickered. “They’ve forgotten all about us by now.”

Harry chuckled and kissed the side of her head. “Unfortunately, there are responsibilities that await us in London.”

“It’s going to be a busy summer,” Alex agreed softly. “The Chelsea flower show is right after we get back. Then we’re set to go the derby, right?”

“Yes. And then Trooping the Colour,” he replied, his mind working over their calendar. “All amid polo season.”

“Polo season!” Alex exclaimed, turning a wide smile to him. “I love polo season!”

“Ha!” His head tipped back in laughter. “You love me in white pants.”

“And sweaty,” she said with a smug smile. “And riding that horse like…a polo playing God.”

“Jesus,” he laughed again with a shake of his head. “I think your drunk, love.”

She giggled and then sighed back into him, reveling in the warmth and love he provided. The best kind of contented silence fell between them for a few long moments before she took a deep breath and spoke again.

“You know today, when I ducked into that shop to get a souvenir for Emma?”

“Yeah?”

“When the sales clerk thanked me for my purchase, she curtsied to me.” Her nose scrunched up at the memory and she could almost feel her cheeks turning as pink as they had in the store. “And addressed me as ‘Your Royal Highness.’”

“Ah,” Harry’s lips tipped up into a small smile and he turned his eyes down from the sky to look at her. “Does that embarrass you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think embarrassed is the right word. I’m proud of who I’m married to and so incredibly proud to be carrying your name and your title. And I love the family I’m now a part of.”

“But…” he encouraged her to continue.

She smiled, loving that he knew her so well. “I’m not entirely comfortable with people feeling that they should show deference to me, that they should bow or curtsy to me or feel required to address me so formally. Does it ever…I mean, do you ever get used to it?”

“Yes and no,” he said. “I mean, I was born into those traditions and from an early age I knew that it was part of it and that for the most part, people are just trying to be respectful. Most of us don’t want people to think that we expect that kind of thing, especially if we’re just going about every day business.” He took a deep breath and then sighed. “And it’s especially hard for me when people do it when I go out for charity visits. It’s hard for people to talk to us and open up about their problems if they feel that invisible barrier created by all the formality.”

“How do you get around that?” she asked, turning curious eyes up to him. “You’re always so amazing at making people feel comfortable. I certainly never felt like I had to walk a certain line the first time I met you.” She grinned up at him. “How did you do that?”

“Ha!” Harry laughed out into the night air. He shook his head and then bent to kiss her quickly. “I’m not certain that’s a fair question.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jesus Alex, I was a bumbling idiot when I laid eyes on you for the first time. You completely blindsided me.” He smiled as he remembered it and then shrugged his shoulders. “Which is how I know that I don’t really have to give you any kinds of tips on how to make people comfortable; the first time we met, you were the one to put me at ease.”

She peered up at him, her twisting up in that smile she had that told him she didn’t quite believe him. “That’s insane, Harry.”

“It is not,” he quickly rebutted. He was still smiling down at her but his eyes turned a bit more serious as he contemplated his next words. “I felt comfortable with you instantly, Alexandra. You have to understand how rare that is. Normally I’m focused on putting the other person at ease; it’s part of my job, knowing how to do that. It’s a skill I’ve acquired over time. But you,” his voice lowered as he dipped to kiss her again. “I’ve seen you in action and you make people feel comfortable with you naturally. I cannot tell you how much I adore that about you.”

“Mmmm…you know what I think, Wales?” she murmured, her lips curving up into a smile and her cheeks flushing with his compliment, however much she was sure that he was absolutely biased in his assessment. “I think it’s you that’s drunk.”

“Nice,” he grinned, his chest rumbling with laughter behind her. “You don’t have to take the compliment, but it’s true. And I get to work with you now, full time. As much as I’d love to stay right here on this boat with you all summer, I do have to admit that I’m looking forward to being out there as a team.”

“Yeah?” Alex murmured, turning back to look up at him.

“Yeah,” he whispered, his smile a bit smug but his eyes full of love and pride as he looked down on her. “And you love, are you looking forward to it?”

“I really, really am,” she nodded quickly. “I’ve missed working. I’m really looking forward to jumping into everything; picking my first patronages, delving into some different things, getting to meet new people.” Her eyes brightened as she spoke and he was filled with pride as he watched her. “Although, I do have to tell you,” she continued, looking a bit sheepish. “I’ve really enjoyed being able to devote more attention to Emma in the time I haven’t been working. Even with all of the crazy wedding planning and moving and the changes our lives have been going through, it’s been so much easier to be there for all of the things she’s involved in and to help her with homework or projects. I’ve loved being able to be with her more. I’m just…” She smiled and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m hoping we can find a balance that allows our time as a family like that to continue.”

“Of course we can,” Harry said instantly. “In no way is anyone expecting that you and I will be running around like crazy while Emma stays home with a nanny or something.”

“No, I know,” Alex said, turning in his arms and moving to sit on her knees so she could look at him while they talked. “But what are the rules? Where is the line drawn? How much control do we have over our schedules?”

“There are no ‘rules,’” Harry said. “Alexandra, of course we will make sure there is a balance to our home life and our work life. That’s always been a given. But I feel like…I don’t know, that maybe you’re thinking on more specific terms here.”

“I don’t want to leave her,” Alex said quietly, her eyes holding steady with his as she spoke. “The idea of a tour to the U.S. for later this year has been tossed about recently. There will be other tours. There will be trips out of the country. Harry, at least while she’s still so young, I cannot be okay with leaving her in England while we’re gone for weeks at a time.”

“I would never, ever expect that you would be,” Harry answered, his eyes wide and serious with his words. “I wouldn’t be okay with that either.”

“No?”

“Absolutely not,” he said firmly. He reached for her then, his hands wrapping around her arms and pulling her closer. “Here’s the thing, Alexandra…you get to dictate how this all works.”

Her head tilted to the side at his words. “What do you mean?”

“It means that our family comes first. We make sure we are there for our daughter. We make sure she isn’t without us for more than a night or two at a time. We make sure we’re there to help her with school projects and go to her school plays and her riding competitions. She’s priority number one. Everything else is negotiable. Emma is not. Our family is not. No one is going to draw a line against that. You and I are the only ones who get to draw lines to make sure our family life is first and our royal life is second.”

“That easy?” she asked softly, her lips turning up into a soft smile.

“Of course it’s that easy,” he nodded. “You know, my mother really worked hard to find that balance for me and William. She was incredibly firm that she would be our mother first and foremost and Princess of Wales second. That’s not always how it was done in my family, but she changed that for us.”

Everything about Alex softened; it always did when Harry talked about his mother. “She was a wonderful mother to you both.”

Harry smiled at her words and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her to him. “And you’re a wonderful mother to Emma,” he said. “I would have never brought you both into this if I thought for one second that this life would affect your relationship with her. I hope you know that.”

“I know that,” she nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed into him. “I guess I just needed reassurance that my role as her mother wouldn’t be viewed as less important than my role as the Duchess – not by you but by others.”

“If anyone ever tries to tell you that your duty as the Duchess comes before your daughter – whether it is someone who works for the us or the family or anyone in my family – you tell me. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”

Alex’s lips twitched. “You gonna do some ass kicking?”

“You think I wouldn’t?”

“I mean, I know you’re this big, strong, powerful Captain in the British Army…” she shrugged, her eyes dancing a bit as her hands moved to his shoulders and she pushed gently, moving him back onto the lounger. “But the truth is, Harry…” She moved in above him, her knees straddling his hips as she leaned over him. “You’re really more of a lover than a fighter.”

He grinned, wide and happy and a tad naughty as his hands moved to her hips. “You think so?”

She leaned in further, her chest pressing into his. “Oh, I know so.”

“Maybe…” His smile was smug as his hands moved into her hair and he pulled her mouth down to his, his tongue pushing between her lips to stroke at hers until she let out a soft, breath of a moan into his mouth and he pulled back. His blood surged in his veins when her eyes opened to his, filled with lust. “But you know what I know for sure?”

“That you’re a big, fat tease?” she pouted as she tried to get back to his mouth, to his hot lips.

Laughter rumbled through him and he shook his head. “I know for sure that your big, strong, powerful Army Captain of a husband is about to take you down to our room and make love to you all night long.”

“All night?” Excitement and heat flashed in her wide blue eyes. “You promise?”

“Wanna find out?”

“God yes,” Alex breathed.

Then with a clear mission in his eyes he rose and, bringing a peal of laughter from his wife, he hoisted her up and over his shoulder and moved towards the stairs, completely ready to do exactly as he told her he would; love her all night long.

************

The next morning dawn bright and sunny and, after a delicious breakfast, Alex and Harry were determined to spend a day in the sun and in the water, forgoing going the mainland in favor of a relaxing day on the boat.

They swam and played in the clear blue waters for quite a while, wearing themselves out a bit before they climbed back on the boat and headed straight up to the top deck. It had become their favorite part of the boat during their trip, with the large comfortable loungers that allowed them to relax together in the sun or at night under the starts. It seemed like they were in their own little world up there – something they both wanted to take advantage of.

They had lying out in the Sun for a little less than an hour when Alex’s attention pulled from the book she was reading on her Kindle and over to her husband. He was laying on his back next to her, soaking up the sun on his broad torso. She smiled at how tan he had become and how good it looked on him. And as she sat there for a moment and studied him, a thought moved into her brain and before she realized it, she was calling out to him, wanting to share her thoughts with him.

“Harry?”

His eyes pulled open and his lips curled up as he turned to look at her. She had lifted her sunglasses from her eyes and pushed them up onto her head and so he did the same, though he had to squint in the bright sun to see her. “Yes love?”

“How long will it take to renovate the apartment?”

He tilted his head curiously. “Probably about a year. Why?”

She shrugged and her bottom lip pulled into her teeth for a moment before she took a deep breath. “Well…I figure it's a big place for just three people and a dog and...once it's done, we should probably work on filling it up a bit more.”

And his heart thumped so loudly in his chest that it was simply reactionary for his hand to move there, to cover his heart as he took a deep breath to steady himself. A slow smile moved across his face and he rolled onto his side so he could look straight in her eyes, so he could be closer to her. “I swear to God Alexandra, if you're talking about getting a cat or something instead of…”

“I'm definitely not talking about cats, Harry,” she laughed lightly with a shake of her head. And then she grew a touch more serious, her eyes holding his for a long beat, emotion and heat and the potential of making plans for making a long talked about dream into a reality flying between them. “I'm talking about babies, Harry. And when we should start trying for one…”

“Wow,” Harry let out a breath of a laugh. He shook his head at the way his heart was beating, at the way he seemed not to be able to form an articulate sentence. He moved into a sitting position, stretching his legs out in front of him and his eyes staying trained on her as she followed suit, moving to sit on her knees between his legs. “I mean, I knew that eventually we’d start to make a plan for…”

“Eventually?” she interrupted with a snicker, humor dancing in her big blue eyes. “I’m honestly surprised I’m the one bringing it up, Harry.”

Harry grinned and then reached out to her, his hands moving to her hips and tugging her closer. “I’m not as impatient as you think I am.”

“Liar,” she laughed, a warm, happy sound that only made his heart beat faster. “You can’t tell me that if I said, ‘Harry, let’s go make a baby right now,’ you wouldn’t have me down in that bedroom so fast…”

“Don’t joke, love,” he warned her with narrowed eyes, though his lips were smiling. “Okay,” he said, taking a breath as he let his mind accept that this conversation was really happening and let a bit of seriousness come into the moment. His hands slid from her hips up to her arms and then he pulled her hands into his, their fingers tangling together. “A year,” he said slowly, letting the idea settle. “Do you think that’s long enough?”

“Long enough?” Alex asked, a little bit of surprise in her voice. “I was actually thinking that was longer than I’d like…”

“God Alex,” he groaned, her words making just ache with want – desire for her and desire to make babies with her, to add another child to their family. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart and then reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear her. “But…” he whispered, knowing there was more to what she wanted to say.

“I need to settle into my role,” she said softly, referencing their conversation the day before. “And we need to make sure Emma settles into royal life before we bring a new baby in.”

“I agree,” he said with a slow nod. “Are you sure a year is long enough? I don’t want you to feel like I’m rushing you to have children…”

“You’re not rushing me into anything,” Alex shook her head, moisture rising unexpectedly in her eyes. She pulled her hands from his and moved them to his face, her fingers smoothing softly along his cheeks as she scooted even closer. “God Harry, I want children with you. I want to give Emma little sisters and brothers. I want a gaggle of little ginger kiddos running around our home, driving us completely crazy.” She grinned when he chuckled at the vision her words created. She moved in closer then, her arms circling his neck as she moved over his lap. She blinked and a small tear escaped the corner of one of her eyes but Harry was right there, swiping it away with the soft pad of his thumb. His eyes were wide and filled with emotion as he waited for her to continue. “I’ve wanted it for so long, Henry. It’s been this…sweet ache right in the middle of my chest ever since you pressed me into the wall at my parent’s house and told me you wanted to make my belly swell with your babies. And if it would have been at all practical, I would have wanted to be pregnant already. But…” She smiled down at him as his strong arms circled around her, pulling her tighter. She could feel his heart beating fast in his chest, just as hers was. “We’ll wait a year. We’ll settle into our life together. We’ll renovate our new home. And then…”

“We make a baby?” he asked, his voice low and tight with the emotion her speech as brought.

She grinned. “Damn right we do.”

*********

It was the second to last day of the honeymoon when they woke to find it raining outside the windows of their cabin. It was coming down in sheets, the sky was dark, and after checking the weather report it was confirmed – it didn’t look like it was going to let up anytime soon.

Though Alex thought about pouting for a split second with the news, she pulled it back as quickly as it had sprung forward. With the kind of determined positivity that Harry simply loved about her, she pulled a bright smile, shrugged her shoulders and said a lazy day was just fine with her.

“We can play board games and snuggle up in our bed in our PJs and watch movies and eat snacks that are terribly bad for us and enjoy each other if we can’t enjoy the outdoors,” she told him as she stood from the breakfast table, moving over to his chair and leaning over to kiss him. “But first, I’m going to go shower.”

“Mmmm,” he smiled against her lips and then kissed her once more before she stood back up. “Okay. Sounds like a plan.”

She winked at him playfully and then turned towards the stairs that would take her down to their cabin. “Harry?” she called out just as she was about to disappear around the corner.

He turned to face her, finding her adorable as she looked at him with a hand thrown on her hip. “Hmmm?”

She threw him a smirk of a smile and lifted her eyebrows. “I honestly didn’t think I’d have to ask you to join me in the shower.” She giggled when he immediately stood from his chair and came striding in her direction, the look on his face a mixture of sheepishness and excitement was so cute that she didn’t know if she wanted to slap him or kiss him.

Or let him push her up against the wall of the shower and do some very naughty things to her.

Which is of course, exactly what she did. And it was the perfect activity to occupy an hour of their day indoors together.

***********

Their day indoors turned out to be more fun than either of them had really thought it would be.

After their shower that morning, they had gone back up to the living area where they spent two hours in a heated and a highly competitive game of Monopoly, which only ended when Harry discovered Alex’s hidden stash of stolen $500 Monopoly bills and she promptly responded to being found out by “accidentally” knocking the entire board off the table and sending it crashing to the ground.

“I can’t believe my wife cheats at bored games,” Harry shook his head as he stared at the little green houses, red hotels, and colorful paper money scattered all over the floor.

“Listen,” she said, letting an adorable giggle slip from her lips. “You know what it’s like to grow up with an older brother; you’ll do anything to beat them and wipe that smug smile off of their face.”

“Ha!” Harry’s head tipped back with his laughter and he nodded. “Does Matt know you’re such a cheat?”

She grinned as she moved to join him in picking up the pieces off of the floor. “Yeah, after about the fifth time he caught me he called a lifetime ban on Monopoly. You should ask him about it sometime; he still gets all riled up. It’s hilarious.”

After the game was cleaned up and safely back in its box, they moved on to an activity that would decidedly less likely to end as dramatically as their attempt at monopoly. After gathering up some snacks, they snuggled up in their bed and turned on the TV mounted in front of them on the wall and settled in for an afternoon of movie watching.

It was during the second movie that Harry got restless. He loved being snuggled up with her, adored being about to hold her close to him for hours at a time with no interruptions; but the simple truth of it was that he wasn’t used to sitting still for so long. He tried to focus a few times, training his eyes towards the movie that his wife was engrossed in, but it simply wasn’t working.

It was only natural that his attention turned to her. His eyes slid over her and he smiled to himself, loving how she was so engrossed in the movie that she didn’t even notice that his attentions had been diverted. He reached over and poked at her side with his index finger and his grin pulled higher when she turned playfully narrowed eyes at him and swatted him away before turning back to the movie. He chuckled softly and then reached over and poked her again, he couldn’t help himself.

“Stop!” she laughed, swatting at his hand again. “If you value the use your hands you’ll quit poking me.”

“Empty threats, Alexandra,” he laughed, ignoring her warning and moving in again, landing a harder poke in her side that made her squeal and move slightly away from him. “You value the use of my hands just as much as I do.”

“Henry Charles,” she slapped at his searching fingers, trying to fend him off as he attempted to get her again. “We’re supposed to be watching a movie.”

“I’m bored with movie watching,” he replied as he got past her defenses and his fingers found her sides, moving in to tickle her this time.

“Stop! Stop!” she squealed, unable to help the giggles that started falling from her lips and she tried to wiggle away from him. “This is not how you cure boredom, Sussex!”

“It’s working for me,” he chuckled and continued his quest, this time tickling her a bit harder, grinning wide when her eyes went wide and a squeal of laughter left her lips.

“Damn it, Harry!” She sucked in a deep breath and then instead of trying to get away from him, she reached out and, with a look of pure determination in her eyes, she wrapped her fingers around his wrists. Taking advantage of his momentary falter at how quick she had been, she quickly rolled over him and pulled his wrists above his head, effectively pinning him underneath of her. “No more tickling,” she shook her head slowly, though her lips tipped up until a smile at the look on his face – playful and teasing and not at all afraid of her.

“You can’t keep my hands like this forever,” he taunted. He was so smug she wanted to smack him.

She settled on top of him, prepared to sit there for as long as it took for him to call a truce, but her eyes flashed wide when she felt him under her, hard and ready in his shorts. Her lips twitched up and her eyebrows lifted as she looked down at him. “Really?”

He smirked. “Fuck yes. My gorgeous wife has me pinned down and at her mercy and…” He groaned as she pressed her hips down harder on his.

“And what?” she teased as she leaned in further. Her hands still held his wrists firmly above his head as she pressed her chest to his. Her eyes danced with something a bit naughty as they held his. “You like being at my mercy?”

“Why?” He asked, his eyebrows raising in somewhat of a challenge. “Did you have something particular in mind, Alexandra?”

She smiled then, slow and sexy and making his blood surge. She tilted her lips to his, pressing the softest of kisses to his lips while she began to rock her hips in an agonizingly slow rhythm over his. “Maybe…” she whispered against his lips. He lifted his head, aching to take her mouth with his, but she pulled back, making him groan with the tease, with the power she was exerting over him.

“Just maybe?” he goaded, watching as the tiniest bit of indignation flashed across her face. “If you aren’t up to…”

She sat up straight on him then, her eyes full of lust and a determination and whatever else he was going to say fell straight to the ground. She shifted her hands, one moving to hold both of his wrists as she moved the other to the tie on the soft, satin robe she wore and began to pull it loose. “Harry,” she said, her voice low and throaty as the tie came completely loose. She rose up on her knees, her chest rising and falling as she looked down at him. “Stop talking.”

He grinned wide and his eyes danced. “Make me.”

Her eyes danced and she moved right into action. Leaning forward over him, she quickly wrapped one end of the satin tie of her robe around his wrists and then tied the other securely to the headboard, effectively assuring that he was completely at her mercy.

Her entire body felt flushed with anticipation as she moved back down his long, lean body. She was almost overcome for a moment with not knowing where to start; with what part of his body she wanted to touch and kiss first. But as her eyes met his as her knees moved back down around his hips, as she saw the lust in his deep blue gaze and the way his lips were parted to allow deep breaths to pass through, her momentary indecision was forgotten.

“Harry,” she breathed, her hands smoothing up his flat stomach to his broad chest before moving his shoulders as she leaned down over him, her lips coming so close to his that she swore she could already taste his kiss. “You want me to make you shut your mouth?”

“I want to see you try,” he bantered back, loving the way she rose to his challenges.

“You’re such a shit,” she laughed softly, leaning in to press a light kiss to his lips. “But by the time I’m done with you, you’re not going to be able to form a complete sentence.”

“Jesus…Alex…” he groaned, his fingers flexing against the satin the bound his wrists together as his hips arched toward her almost involuntarily.

She grinned and then sat back up tall on him. Her bottom lip tugged between her teeth as she pulled her robe from her shoulders, revealing the satin and lace camisole and boy shorts she wore underneath. She tossed it to the side and then went right for the camisole as well, her face watching Harry’s the entire time. His face darkened and his fingers flexed and it shot her ego sky high, knowing those reactions were from seeing her undressing for him, from seeing her naked body and not being able to touch her; she loved that he wanted her like that, that she did that to him.

“You want to touch me, don’t you?” she asked, her eyes coy but her smile knowing as she did.

“Yes,” Harry nodded slowly. “Very much.”

“Well, you can’t,” she smirked she leaned over him, her hard nipples brushing against his chest and making him moan. “But…” She dropped her lips close to his again. “I am going to let you kiss me.”

Her lips dropped to his and this time it wasn’t soft and teasing. It was full and firm and when his tongue tipped out against her lips she immediately opened her mouth over his, moaning when his tongue pushed into her mouth to tangle with hers. She settled her body against his and her hands moved to him, sliding up over his sides to his chest, moving up the sides of his neck and then burying her fingers in his soft hair. She held his head as she took control of the kiss, her tongue dancing around his and then sucking into her mouth for a moment before she tore her lips from his.

“God you’re sexy,” Harry breathed. His blue eyes met hers, dark with lust and Alex threw him a sexy, knowing smile.

“I’m glad you think so,” she said. She pressed her lips to his once more and then she began to kiss down the side of his jaw, dragging her lips along the slight scruff he had grown since he’d last shaved a few days before. She moved down to his neck, moaning at the heat of his skin against her lips and making his cock ache even further in his shorts. “I like having you like this,” she whispered as she moved down to his chest. Her eyes turned up to his as her lips pressed to his skin right over his pounding heart. “I almost can’t decide what I want to do with you.”

Harry chuckled into a groan, his hips shifting under hers. “I can think of a few options.”

Alex’s lips curled into a smile against his skin and she shifted further down, kissing down his flat stomach. Her tongue tipped out, running along the lines of his tight muscles, loving the way they jumped and flexed with every flick of her tongue against him. “Well, as it so happens,” she murmured as she kissed under his belly button and then moved to right above the top of his shorts. Her fingers moved to curl into the waistband of his shorts and her bottom teeth tucked into her lip, her eyes wide and purposely innocent as they met his and began to tug on his shorts. “I can think of a few options too.”

“Jesus…” Harry let out a harsh breath as she pulled his shorts over his hips and he sprang free, completely hard and throbbing for her.

She smiled up at him as she tossed his shorts to the side and then she moved in, wrapping her hot little fingers around him. He groaned and his eyes slid closed for a moment as she ran a long, slow stroke up and down his length.

“Mmmm…” She kissed the tip of him and his hips jerked. “Are you sure you can handle this, Harry?” she asked as she tipped her tongue out around the head of him. Her eyes never left his, her ego feeding off of the way he was reacting to what she was doing.

“Alex…please…” he moaned, his tongue tipping out to swipe against his dry lips and his chest rising and falling with his deep breaths. “Please…”

“That’s a whole lot of please,” she smirked. She ran another hot stroke up and down his length and then her head finally dipped.

“Ohhh fuck!” Harry called out into the room as she took him in over and over again. His fingers gripped at the tie around his wrists and there was part of him ached to be able to touch her, to shove his fingers in the thick mane of her hair as her magic mouth moved over him again and again. But the other part of him was enjoying this too much, being at her mercy. Her sexy, sassy confidence combined with the way she was working him over was so incredibly erotic that her could barely stand it.

“Mmmm…” she moaned around him, loving the shudder it pulled from him.

“Oh God…Alex,” he moaned, his breath starting to come in pants and his cheeks flushing darker and Alex knew – he was close.

So she moved faster, deeper, harder – working to bring him right to the edge. And when she had him there, when she knew that all it would take would be a few more flicks of her tongue and a few more strokes of her hand and he would be coming apart, she pulled completely from him, her lips smacking as they left his cock and her eyes rose to meet his.

“No!” he called out, his eyes wide and desperate as he shook his head back and forth. “Baby please…”

“Tsk tsk…” She help up her index finger and moved it back and forth before moving to crawl up his body and press her lips softly to his. “You really think I’m going to let it end like that? You know better than that, Harry.”

“You’re killing me,” he panted, struggling against his desire to rip his wrists from the tie that held him, pull her under him, and fuck her senseless.

She grinned and then moved from him, leaving the bed only to slip her shorts and panties from her body and then she was back and just as naked as he was. “You love it,” she taunted as she straddled him again. She wrapped her fingers around his aching cock and adjusted over him, placing the tip of him at her warm, wet center.

“Fuck,” he groaned as he watched her. His entire body was on fire for her. All of his nerves felt like they were frayed and standing on end. And as she bit her lip and held his eyes as she began to sink down onto him, he was absolutely certain that there was no way he was going to last any time at all. “Jesus Alexandra,” he moaned as she settled in his lap, her chest flushing pink at the way it felt with him inside of her. “You’re so wet…Oh God…”

“Yes,” she nodded. She sat tall and proud above him, admiring her broad, strong, powerful husband tied up beneath her and at her mercy. Her movements were slow and deliberate over him, her hips rocking gently, creating an intense sort of friction that made Harry ache with need in every part of his body.

“Alexandra…” His voice was laced with lust and want and an undercurrent of warning that made Alex’s blood run even hotter than it was.

“Harry?” She responded as she leaned over him, her body pressing against his as she began to really move – up and down, up and down, up and down.

“Baby…I’m…” he groaned as his eyes snapped shut at the pleasure of it all; the way she felt and the rhythm she found as she moved over him.

Her smile was smug as she kissed him, her lips pressing hotly to his. “You’re what, Harry? Tell me…”

“Fuck Alex…” He fought to get closer to her lips, to get more of her. “If you keep doing that, if you don’t slow down…” His eyes flew open when all of the sudden her movements stopped, her hips going completely still as she looked down on him with an amused, smirk of a smile. “Damn it, Alex…” he moaned, his eyes pleading.

Her brows lifted and she sat up tall again. “What’s this? You told me to stop and now…”

“I didn’t…” He shook his head, his wits completely scattered.

“You don’t know what you want, Harry?” she asked, her lips forming into a playful pout.

“I…don’t…” He groaned into a chuckle, realizing that no matter how hard he tried to form the words, he simply couldn’t articulate exactly what he wanted in that moment.

“That’s okay,” she cooed softly. “Because I know what I want, baby.”

He watched with wide eyes and parted lips as she brought her hands to her own body, one moving to cup a breast and the other sliding down over her flat stomach to her center. His entire body pulsed as her fingers slid down to where they were joined before sliding back up to the swollen number at the top of her cleft.

“Alexandra…” he gasped. His hips arched up into her as her fingers began to move, stroking both at her clit and pinching at her hard nipple.

“Mmmm…yes,” she moaned as her eyes fluttered closed and her head tipped back. Her hips began to move over his, driving him mad as he watched her pleasure herself.

It was the strangest sort of situation he found himself in. He wanted it to be his hands on her. He wanted his fingers to be what made the heavy sighs and moans she was making fall from her lips. But he loved what she was doing. He loooooooooved every single second of the way she was driving him mad and how much she seemed to be enjoying it.

“God, you’re sexy,” he called up to her. His desire pulsed hot and heavy when her head tipped forward and her eyes met his, heavy and dark. “I want to touch you so badly…”

“Nuh-uh,” her lips twisted and she shook her head, never missing a beat as she began to move faster and faster over him. “I’m so…” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out again as her skin flushed even pinker. “I’m so close…and if I stop to untie you…”

“Jesus Christ,” Harry groaned, his own desire racing closer to the finish with her words. She moaned and he felt her body start to tense, he felt the first of the tremors start within her. “Yes baby,” he encouraged, his need to touch her replaced instantly by the need to feel her come apart around him. He pushed his hips up into her, his bottom lip tucking between his teeth as did all that he could to get her there before he completely lost it himself. “Come on Alex…it’s yours baby…take it...”

And she did. With a primal cry out into the room, her body clenched fiercely around his and she fell apart around him. And Harry, who wasn’t even sure how he had held on in the first place, pushed his hips up into once more her and exploded, a wild groan leaving his lips as he did.

“Oh my God…” She let out a long breath and fell forward onto his chest, her own chest moving rapidly up and down against his as they both came down from their shared orgasm.

Harry chuckled and looked down at his wife spread out across his chest and he just ached to hold her in that moment, to wrap his arms around her as they came down from their passion. “Alex?”

“Hmmm?” Her eyebrows lifted slightly but she stayed sprawled out on him.

“Can you untie me now, love? I’m dying to hold you.”

Her eyes turned up to him and she giggled, finding him unbelievable cute in that moment. “I suppose,” she sighed, winking playfully as she lifted herself from him and rose to untie him. The moment his wrists were free, his arms moved around her. He pulled her back down to him, cuddling her against his chest as he kissed the top of her head.

“I love you so much, Alexandra,” he murmured, the best kind of happy contentment settling between them.

“Because I tied you up?” she snickered as she tucked herself into his chest, loving his arms wrapped so solidly around her.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head again. “One of many, many reasons,” he said softly, bringing a soft laugh from her.

“I love you too, Harry,” she whispered against his chest.

“For letting you tie me up?”

“You know it.”

A burst of laughter left his lips and his chest rumbled beneath her as he reached for the blankets and tucked them up around both of them. “I suppose I’ll take it,” he murmured as they adjusted in the bed; he rolled to his side and took her with him, never letting up his hold on her as they settled into the luxurious pillows and blankets around them. Even though it was late afternoon, they both found their eyes growing heavy as they laid there.

And that’s exactly how they both drifted off to sleep for a little while in that bed, completely wrapped up in each other.

*************

“I thought I would be sad to leave,” Alex murmured as they watched their packed bags being pulled from the boat as they prepared to disembark themselves.

It was time to go home; back to London, back to Emma, back to the new life that awaited them as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

“You’re not?” Harry asked softly as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.

“No,” she shook her head and turned to look up at him. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved every moment of our honeymoon. But…”

“You miss Emma.” He said it with a smile, warm and full of love for her and their daughter.

“So much,” she nodded and smiled back. “I miss us as a family.”

“Me too,” Harry whispered as he leaned down to kiss her. “What do you say we go home and be a family for you know…the next sixty or seventy years?”

She grinned up at him and stood on her toes to kiss him against. “I think I can work with that.”

“Alright then,” he nodded as he straightened up and reached for her hand, taking it and moving them towards the walkway from the boat to the dock in the marina. “Let’s go home.”

And just like that, they were on their way home and on to the next adventure that awaited them in their new life together.