Welcome to my new House & OC story! This is a little different from some of my other stories. Also, the soundtrack for this story is Billy Joel. The title comes from one of Billy's songs and each chapter's title will be a line from one of his songs. See if you can guess the song if you want - I'll reveal it in the following chapter. Or if you're not into Billy, jsut read and enjoy the story.

Also, remember that authors really love to know that you're reading so don't be afraid to hit that little button and say, "Hi, I'm reading!" Thanks in advance.

PROLOGUE

This night we are together…

Another boring dinner. God, how he hated these things! Nothing interesting ever happened. He'd tried his damnedest to get out of it, but Cuddy had been adamant.

"The Marsden Foundation has added our hospital to their list of beneficiaries. And the new chairman of the Foundation has just joined our board. Attendance is required of all department heads."

He argued, he pleaded, he bargained and he threatened. It was useless.

"If you aren't there, you'll be doing all the clinic hours for every doctor who does attend."

"What if I have a patient?"

"Your team can handle your non-existent patient for a few hours."

"But…"

"No more, House. You'll be there." With that, she walked away from him before he could call her any of the choice names he wanted to call her.

Now he looked around the room. He had to admit the setting was excellent. The Marsden Foundation apparently had very deep pockets.

This was their annual dinner and they were presenting the new Foundation Director. Representatives from their contributors and beneficiaries were all in attendance.

The venue was a restaurant on the top – the twentieth floor – of a hotel. The view was breathtaking, with the university and the river all visible. It had started at dusk, so that the guests could appreciate the view before the sun went down. That had just happened and now there was a full moon, which almost seemed to be right outside the windows, with the lights of Princeton glowing beneath it.

He wasn't much of a moon gazer, but even he had to admit it was pretty awesome.

As he looked around the room, he saw something else that was pretty awesome.

She had dark brown hair, pulled into a neat, but casual chignon. Aristocratic features on her face with high cheekbones and full red lips. Very kissable lips.

The body was very doable as well. She wore a long red gown, in a soft fabric, studded with sequins and slit up to ass. As she walked, it revealed her long shapely legs. The dress also had a draped neckline that plunged in front and back. The neckline barely concealed her full, round breasts.

What a knockout, he thought.

Dinner was over. The food hadn't been too bad either. Thin slices of prime rib, scallops in wine sauce, and a salad of baby greens. The alcohol was top shelf as well. Still, he was ready to leave, except that he had to stay until the speech by the new chairman. Cuddy promised he could leave after that.

Since he had to be here, spending some time watching her would not be a hardship. There was at least forty-five minutes of schmoozing going on before the speech, so he may as well enjoy the view. His eyes kept roaming over her, watching the movement of her dress and every now and then catching a glimpse of the side of her ass as she walked.

He wasn't sure when he realized she was looking at him as well, since his gaze rarely made it to her face, but when it did, he saw her staring at him.

She gave him a once over as well, taking in the lean, tall frame, encased in the black tuxedo and crisp white shirt. All that formality offset by the roguish beard and the blue eyes full of mischief. She smiled slightly and walked up to him.

He stood perfectly still and waited to see what she was up to.

When she was next to him, he saw that her eyes were a beautiful turquoise as she looked him up and down. Then she said in a low, melodic voice, "Are you bored?"

"Why?"

"You've just spent the last fifteen minutes watching me."

"You're definitely the most interesting thing to watch in the room." He said, then glanced down at her cleavage. "Make that interesting things."

He waited to see if she would take offense, but instead she just smiled.

"Would you like to get some air?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

"Follow me." She led him to a door that opened onto a balcony. She was aware of the cane, so she took her time, allowing him to keep pace with her. She continued through the balcony to a small, private alcove with a carved wooden bench.

"Sit down." She ordered.

"Why?" He asked her.

"Why not?"

He gave her a wary look.

"You won't be sorry." She whispered.

Deciding to see what she had in mind, he sat. She immediately straddled his lap and leaned in for a long, slow kiss. His hands immediately went around her back and slid down to her ass. It was just as firm as he'd thought. She wiggled and moved closer, sending shivers of joy and anticipation to his cock.

She lifted her lips from his. "Is this okay?" she asked breathlessly.

"Oh, yes." He mumbled, finding it hard to talk. She smiled again, the light of the full moon illuminating her lovely face. She pulled back from him just far enough to reach down, unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. He helped her move his boxers aside and release his semi-erect organ.

A few ministrations from her hand and he was at full salute. She reached into her dress and, from her bra, pulled out a foil packet.

"Wow." He ground out. "I love a woman who's prepared."

"Always." She said as she opened it and covered him. Then she stood quickly, reached under the dress and slid a red silk thong down her smooth legs. She moved back onto his lap and impaled herself on him. He groaned in ecstasy as she moved up and down on top of him.

The moon gave an unearthly glow to her lovely face as she writhed and moaned on top of him. Just when he knew he couldn't hold it much longer, he could see that she was close as well. He thrust up into her and, with a small cry, she went over the edge. Just in time for him as he followed her.

She rested against him for a moment, catching her breath, then she stood up, retrieved her underwear and slid it on.

He was thinking about righting his own clothes, when she said, "That was great. Thanks."

He wondered about her casual tone as she turned and headed back to the restaurant.

It took him a few minutes to pull himself together before he returned. When he entered the room, his eyes scanned it for her, but he didn't see her.

So he headed to the bar. Recent activities had made him very thirsty. But he was waylaid by Cuddy.

"Where have you been?" she hissed.

"Aw, did you miss me? Or did the twins?" He asked, glancing down at the cleavage above her midnight blue dress.

"When I couldn't find you, I thought you'd left."

"I promised to stay until the speech. I'm a man of my word."

"Since when?"

"Since you threatened me."

She glared at him. "The presentation will begin any moment, so come on."

She pulled on his arm, leading him to the table where Wilson and some of the other department heads sat. He took his place next to his best friend.

"Where've you been?" Wilson asked him. "Cuddy was having a fit."

"Jimmy boy, you have no idea." House said with an evil grin.

"What…?" Wilson began, just as a man stepped up to the podium.

"May I have everyone's attention please?" The man said. People took their seats and settled in.

"Thank you all for coming this evening. I am Benjamin Anderson, a Vice-President of Marsden Industries, who, as you know is the parent company of the Marsden Foundation. We are very happy to welcome our contributors and beneficiaries. We are also very pleased to begin a new chapter in the Foundation's history tonight.

"The Marsden Foundation was established over fifty years ago by Stewart Marsden, an industrialist and investor. He believed, as a community leader, he had a responsibility to provide for those less fortunate. So before he died, he set up the Marsden Foundation, with his brother-in law as the Foundation's first director."

"Trying to get salvation before he died." House whispered to Wilson. "Nobel made dynamite and killed thousands before setting up the Nobel Peace Prize."

"Shhh." Cuddy said, giving him a pointed stare.

"Hmph." House said, folding his arms.

The man at the podium continued. "William Reynolds ran the Foundation for over twenty years, until his death, when the chairmanship was taken over by his son, William, Jr., who successfully guided it for the last thirty years and made it once of the most successful charitable organizations in the country. When he announced last year that he would be retiring, the search began for his successor.

"Since Stewart believed that the Foundation should be administered by the Marsden family, the search started with his immediate descendants. We didn't have to look far. The person we've chosen has worked with the foundation since graduating from Penn and Wharton and has been instrumental in bringing us into the twenty-first century. So it is with great pleasure that I present Stewart Marsden's great granddaughter, our new Director, Victoria Marsden."

House watched in amazement as a flash of red moved onto the stage. The sequined gown shimmered and revealed her legs as she approached the podium and shook the Vice-President's hand.

He couldn't believe he'd just screwed the new director.

Victoria looked out among the people gathered and took a breath. She could do this. She was nervous earlier, as she usually was before addressing an audience. But that little sexual interlude had relaxed her enough to be able to speak without her voice shaking.

"Thank you, Ben. It's a pleasure to be here and to greet all of you. I've met some of you in my prior position at the Foundation, but I hope to meet all of you either tonight or in the next few weeks. My great grandfather had a wonderful vision when he started this organization…"

House tuned out her words, concentrating on her body language instead. She didn't seem at all fazed by the fact that she'd had sex less than an hour before her major speech. Her hair wasn't even out of place and her make-up was perfect. Of course, she had probably reapplied it after their tryst. Still, no one would guess.

And what would Cuddy say if she knew? He let out a little laugh and the person in question glared at him and shushed him once again. Wilson looked at him strangely, a question in his eyes. House just shook his head and mouthed, "Later."

The speech ended and everyone applauded. Victoria smiled and glanced around the room. Her eyes briefly met House's before moving on. She finally left the podium and started making her way around the room. She didn't come directly to his table, but he had a feeling she would make it there and he wasn't disappointed.

Cuddy immediately approached her and started gushing. "Ms Marsden, I'm Doctor Cuddy, the administrator of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. It's a pleasure to meet you. And I'd like to express my gratitude that your Foundation has selected us to be one of your beneficiaries."

"No need to thank me. I've followed your hospital's work and it's impressive. Exactly the type of organization we like to work with." As she spoke to Cuddy, her eyes drifted to House. "Are these some of your doctors?"

Realizing that Cuddy was going to try to bypass him, House stepped forward. "Hi, Gregory House, head of Diagnostics. Nice to meet you, Victoria."

Cuddy glared at him, but Victoria just smiled. "Doctor House. It's my pleasure. I'm so happy you were able to come."

"Oh, so am I." He answered with a glint in his eye.

She smiled at him, then exchanged a few more words with Cuddy, before moving on to greet the next group.

Cuddy started taking him to task. "How dare you be so familiar with her? She's the new Director of the Foundation that is going to give us a lot of money. She's also now a member of our board, which means she can vote to fire your ass."

"Relax, she's cool with me. Couldn't you see?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes. She'd never know how the man did it, but he someone managed to turn everything to his advantage.

He left her and moved on to the bar for that drink he'd wanted earlier, Wilson trailing behind him.

"What's going on? Did you meet Victoria Marsden before?"

"Didn't exactly meet her. I mean we never exchanged names. Though we did exchange other things."

"What other things?" Wilson was clearly confused, until understanding dawned. "You don't mean that you and she…"

House just smiled.

"You are…unbelievable. I don't know how you manage it."

"Natural charm."

"Yeah, that is charm you find in nature. Grizzly bears, coyotes, wild boars."

House ignored his friend as his eyes followed his sex goddess around the room. She hadn't glanced his way since they'd spoken, but he had a feeling she was aware of him nonetheless.

He stayed at the bar for the next twenty minutes and eventually Victoria wandered over, ordering a glass of Evian water.

She looked at him and slipped a card to him, saying. "This is my private cell phone number. I have recently moved to the Princeton area. Would you be interested in a repeat of our earlier activity?"

"I could get into that."

She smiled. "Fine. I'll call you."

"You don't have my number."

She just gave him a look. "Of course I do, Doctor House. I'm on your board. I most definitely have your number."

He nodded. Of course she did.

"Oh, and don't be thinking you're going to get any advantages either financial or in your career from this liaison. This is just sex."

"I can live with that."

She nodded, took a large swallow of the water, put the glass down and walked away.