Tommy smiled as he looked at her with that same expression that she was beginning to recognise as love. He kissed her again and this time it was not gentle and tentative but fierce and exciting. No one had ever kissed her like that and Barbara was lost in the sensuality of it. The feel of him pressed close sent shivers through her. His scent cocooned her in a secret world where her fantasies came to play. She could hear the birds in the trees singing and the hum of the traffic but above it all she could hear her heartbeat thumping in her ears. It was racing; getting faster and faster until she wondered if she could survive. He seemed to be massaging her top lip between his own and waves of pleasure created a tension deep inside that awakened parts of her that had laid dormant for years. Every fibre of her wanted him, ached for him. She dug her nails into his scalp and he groaned in a way that inflamed her more. She had had enough of the preliminaries. She opened her mouth and Tommy instantly responded. His hand was now behind her neck pulling her closer and removing any pathway to escape. Barbara did not care if he thought she was wanton. She wanted to taste him and to kiss him as deeply as she could. His tongue was startled to find an intruder and they wrestled for exploration rights until they could no longer breathe.

Panting Tommy nuzzled back into her shoulder and began to place a trail of kisses up her neck to her ear. He was mewling softly with delight and Barbara was briefly puzzled how he could groan with such obvious longing and mewl simultaneously. As he nibbled on her ear and the groaning changed to words she realised she had been the one groaning. "Oh God Tommy!"

Tommy lay his forehead on hers. "We had better stop. I don't want to but I can't imagine how we would be able to explain to Hillier that two of his officers were arrested for breaching public decency laws on Christmas Day!"

"I'm sorry. I, er, lost myself in the moment. Yes Hillier would have a fit to think we were standing here snogging."

"Don't use that term Barbara; I hate it. It demeans something quite beautiful. And don't ever be sorry for that kiss. It won't be our last and it may not be our best but it will always be our first and as first kisses go that was mind blowing."

Barbara blushed deeply. As any form of kiss it had been mind blowing for her. After years of longing and daydreaming about it he had finally kissed her. It had been nothing yet everything like she imagined. She had not foreseen that he would be able to possess her so thoroughly with just one kiss. "Should we head back?" she asked hopefully. She wanted to take him somewhere and finish what they had started.

"No," he said quietly, "let's finish our walk."

They walked for just over an hour; down the river to Tower Bridge and back towards the hotel. They spoke little but never broke physical contact. At first they walked arm in arm but in parts where the pathways narrowed under Blackfriars Bridge they started to hold hands. Tommy's grip was strong and yet soft. Barbara felt protected but also desired. It was as if Tommy was never going to let her go and she relished that feeling. In her mind it was inevitable that the night would end in one or other of their bedrooms. That prospect was both daunting and exhilarating. For years she had kept her desire and her love for Tommy tightly contained and secreted away from him or anyone. Now that he had kissed her it was slowly unfurling and expanding at exponential rates. She wanted to tell everyone that she passed. She wanted to shout it from the dome of St Paul's or stand in Trafalgar Square and hand out leaflets. She wanted Big Ben to peal just for them. She wanted to run and skip up the Embankment pathway like a six year old. She was happy, perhaps for the first time in years.

Tommy squeezed her hand reassuringly as if he sensed how she felt. She looked at him and saw the same contentment reflected in his eyes. She wondered if he had the same crazy thoughts. She smiled at him and was rewarded by his smile; the one that had always softened her heart but now made her heart race and her body prepare to devour him. They stopped at the steps leading to the hotel. Tommy kissed her again, deeply but very lovingly. His place was closer. She would insist he took her there.

Barbara expected him to ask the valet to retrieve his car. Instead he guided her to the old-fashioned lift discretely tucked into a recess of the foyer and keyed in a code. With surprising efficiency the lift whizzed them up to a floor with very few doors. Tommy walked confidently over to one of them and entered his code. "Come on," he said as he led her through the door.

The room was huge and had a large dining room table in a corner by large French doors that opened onto a terrace that overlooked the river. The rest of the room was dominated by a large brocaded lounge suite in the subtle greens and golds that highlighted up the subtle summery tones of the room. A huge display of flowers in Christmassy colours dominated a side table between two doors that led to other rooms.

"You obviously come here a lot," she said flatly wondering if this was some sort of secret lovenest. He fears and jealousies from earlier re-emerged. She was not sure whether to be horrified or flattered.

"I own it," he said watching her carefully, noticing her sudden coolness and trying to pick her reaction.

"What the suite?"

"No, the hotel."

"You're being sarcastic."

"No, actually. I do own the hotel. Oh, I see," he said smiling, "it's not what you think. This is the owner's suite. We usually rent it out but I rang this morning and it was vacant. I thought it might be perfect for tonight. And no, I've never brought anyone else here before, even Helen."

Barbara was ashamed of her assumption. He had made the effort to select somewhere neutral and luxurious and she had not trusted him. She hung her head. "I'm sorry."

Tommy came over and embraced her. He ran his hand up and down her back to comfort her. "Don't be but believe me this is not some sort of expensive seduction scene. I would never sell you that short Barbara. It was simply somewhere not tied down with memories of case files or underwear in cutlery drawers. Somewhere where we could relax and move from being Lynley and Havers the inseparable crime fighting duo into us, Tommy and Barbara and whatever that might become." Tommy kissed her with such tenderness that any doubts she had vanished. "I've been thinking about this all day,"

"Just this?" she quipped.

"Hmm, if I had thought of anything else I might have driven off the road." He smiled at her softly.

Barbara was not sure what he expected. It was obviously not to race her straight to bed. She looked around and wondered where the bed was in fact. She saw the amusement on his face. "There is a bedroom behind each door." When he noticed her frown he added, "I have no presumptions Barbara."

She considered that maybe she was appearing too easy. Maybe he was used to a harder chase but it was very hard to refuse him anything after that kiss by the river. He had awoken a sleeping beast and the kinder and more gentlemanly he was the more she struggled not to wrestle him to the ground and tear off his clothes. She looked at him and her face flushed a deep crimson. To distract herself she wandered over to smell the flowers. As he trailed behind her she noticed they were still holding hands. She was the first one to notice the two envelopes, one addressed to each of them. "They're from your mother!"

Tommy was now clearly embarrassed and tried to take the envelopes from her. "We can read them later."

Barbara raised her eyebrow and proceeded to open her card and read the message aloud. "It says, 'Congratulations! Welcome to the family. I am so happy for you both. My son needs to be loved to the exclusion of others by someone as strong as you but he will reward you with a love that is eternal and pure.' Wow!"

Tommy groaned awkwardly under her gaze. Barbara opened the other envelope. "This one says 'At last you have seen it! Trust Barbara and trust yourself. I know this is right and that with her you will finally find peace and true love.' What on earth did you say in your note to her this morning?"

Tommy squirmed under her gaze. "I outlined my intentions. Trust her to get involved and spoil everything." He stormed into one of the rooms. Barbara followed him. A tuxedo hung over the valet stand and Tommy searched a pocket until he found what he wanted. He turned and faced her then guided her back to the main room.

"Tommy?"

"In a way this was a seduction scene," he said, "I've ordered a special dinner for seven thirty and I was going to dress up in my suit and ask you to marry me. I had my speech prepared that covered all your likely objections. I wanted everything to be perfect so that you would say yes."

Barbara was stunned by his confession but saw the pain on his face. This had been important to him. She thought about his mother's note and understood what she meant about loving him to the exclusion of others. She smiled broadly. "Yes."

"But I haven't asked you yet."

"Yes you did and I accepted. When you lifted me onto the wall and first kissed me. You were asking me to commit to you forever. If we stopped then we could stay friends but we knew then what we were agreeing to by continuing and what the implications might be. I'm not afraid of it any more Tommy. I want to wake up beside you every day for the rest of my life and although that comes at a price it is one I will happily pay. Now stop staring at me and kiss me before I change my mind."

Tommy obliged. It was the most perfect moment she could imagine until she imagined one more. Tommy's thoughts must have synchronized with hers and they spun around as they kissed furiously, unconsciously heading for the bedroom.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked.

"I was from the moment you appeared as my Christmas present in the pub."

"I was holding back," he panted between kisses, "until you had agreed to be my wife. I didn't want you to think it was just lust."

"Lust is good," she said tugging at his shirt.

Tommy stopped again. "Wait."

Barbara was beginning to think they might spend the rest of their lives waiting. Tommy sank to his knee and held up the box he had retrieved from his suit. "Barbara, this was the eternity ring the Sixth Earl, my grandfather, had made for my grandmother. I know it is not a traditional engagement ring but they loved each other very much and I thought the idea of eternal love was perfect for us. Something that existed before we knew it and will last long after us. I know it's taken me too long to tell you but I love you so much Barbara."

Barbara was unable to speak and simply nodded as he slipped it on her finger. Tommy stood and kissed the tears from her eyes. "I love you too Tommy Lynley; you are the most sentimentally romantic man on the planet. Promise me it will always be that way."

"It will," he said with a glint in his eye as he kicked the bedroom door shut with his foot. "Now let me show you just how romantic I can be."

"And make all my Christmases come at once?" she asked wickedly.

Tommy laughed. "All our Christmases," he corrected before he kissed her as they tumbled onto the bed.