Cautiously they opened the door and entered the room, Mac behind Harm and barely peeking over his shoulder. The sight that greeted them was another shock in a whole list of them tonight.
Before them sat a very elegantly decorated table for two, complete with delicate china and glowing light from two tall taper candles in the center. Crystal wine goblets and gleaming polished silver accented the place settings. Behind the table a fire roared in the hand carved marble fire place.
"Well, I’ll be damned," Harm muttered.
Mac walked out from behind him to stand next to the table. She fingered one of the crystal cups before looking up at him. "Obviously someone was here a little while ago if the table is set and the candles are burning. I wonder what happened to make them leave in such a rush."
Harm looked skeptical, but decided to let it go for the time being. He moved to the dinner cart sitting next to the table and removed one the silver cover from the platter. "I don’t know what happened. But I definitely don’t think we should let this go to waste." He lifted the cover higher allowing her to see the creamy plate of pasta underneath.
The scent of Alfredo, garlic and grilled chicken filled their senses, and Mac’s mouth began to water. "Oh God, that smells wonderful."
The euphoric look on Mac’s face did funny things to his body. He could imagine that look in a hundred different scenarios, and all of them included him, her, and a big bed.
"Are you okay, Harm? That’s the third time tonight I’ve ‘lost’ you," she asked, genuinely concerned.
Snapping back into the present, Harm looked at her with new determination. With a boldness he didn’t even know he possessed, he leaned the umbrella against the cart before walking behind her and, without asking permission, wrapped his arms around her and began unbuttoning her overcoat. Then, starting at her shoulders, he pulled it off and let his hands drag down her arms as it slipped to the floor. Even through the fabric of her dress, it felt like there was electricity in his fingertips. She shivered.
But she about went through the roof when he leaned down and kissed the exposed skin at the nape of her neck. "Everything is just fine, Mac," he whispered next to her ear.
Unable to stop her self, Mac leaned back into his embrace. "Harm...what’s happening here?"
"Honestly, I don’t know, but it feels like...magic, doesn’t it?" he replied, nuzzling the skin below her earlobe.
Just then, her stomach growled and they both burst out laughing. "Okay, I guess it’s time to feed you," he teased. Releasing her, Harm pulled away and immediately she missed him. But it was only far enough to move to the table to hold out her chair for her. Apparently chivalry wasn’t dead.
Gracefully she sat down and watched as Harm served her and then himself. The setting was intimate, cozy, and their legs touched under the table as they set in to eat. Harm poured water into their goblets from a pitcher neither noticed wasn’t there originally. They were too wrapped up in each other to notice much of anything.
They made idle small talk, sometimes they said nothing at all, but for the first time in a long time they were completely comfortable in each other’s presence.
"This is nice," she said, swirling more fettuccini onto her fork.
He had to agree. "It is, isn’t it? Beats the hell out of some hokey Halloween party."
"Bud and Harriet are going to be worried sick, you know." She took another bite, savoring the flavor of the rich sauce on her tongue.
Enthralled, Harm watched her. "Yeah, but there’s not a whole lot we can do about it. The storm hasn’t let up any, and I haven’t seen any phones around this place. And even if I had my cell with me I’m not sure I could get a signal out here." While true, they all sounded like excuses to him. Truth was, he was exactly where he wanted to be, and wasn’t about to give up the opportunity to spend some time alone with her. After all that had been the plan for tonight all along.
She tilted her head and studied him. "You’re looking so smug. What are you thinking about?"
Instead of answering he leaned across the table placing his thumb to the corner of her mouth, giving it a swipe. Her breath hitched just with that small contact. She watched with wide eyes as he licked that thumb before offering, "You had sauce on your mouth. Hope you don’t mind."
Tired of pretense and sick of waiting anymore, Mac stood and walked over to his side of the table without a word, not even pausing before lowering her head to his and kissing him. Shock reeled through him at the delicious assault of her mouth on his. It took him a moment, but as soon as he’d recovered he returned the kiss, his hands sliding to her hips.
In the next instant she was seated on his lap, their lips never breaking contact. Her arms snaked around his neck, his around her waist, as they continued to feast off of each other. The need for air finally drove them apart, and panting Harm asked, "What...what was that for?"
Air was just as equally hard to come by for her. "I got tired of waiting for you to make a move."
He cocked an eyebrow. "I thought that’s what I was doing."
She smiled a sassy smile. "You were moving way too slow, Harmon. Plus that hat of yours is making me crazy."
He licked his lips, moved closer. "Well, let’s see what we can do about speeding things up, shall we?"
"Let’s," she agreed, inching toward him.
Their lips had only just met, when the sound of music drifted into the room. Soft sultry sounds swirled around them, calling them, beckoning them to join in the dance.
She looked at the doorway. "Where do you think it’s coming from?"
"I don’t know. Maybe we should go see what’s behind door number two. " Placing a fingertip on her chin to turn her face to his, he looked deeply into her eyes and asked, "What do you say, Mac?"
There was only one answer to give him. "Yes."
In the background two ghostly figures embraced with glee.