Yannick: "The following contains scenes with nudity. Reader discretion is advised."

Authors Note: Seriously though, this part is rated M-ish. ;)

They had just professed their love for another and in that moment he was happier than he had ever been in his life. Julia continued talking but he was no longer paying attention. What had begun to manifest in him the moment he laid eyes on her true form, had now developed into an overwhelming desire to touch her body, to feel her warm skin against his own; to put it bluntly, as he had joked once upon a time; have his way with her. There was no joking around this time as he grabbed her against him, as their open mouths collided with one another, over and over again, in a thunderous capacity that sent an electric shock endlessly undulating across his entire body and mind. In other words, he had never felt more alive! On top of this most invigorating sensation, there was another, which was much more unpleasant; he was burning up, positively on fire!

Though he loathed to release his hold on her for even one second, he did, and in a kneeling position began tearing off his clothes, throwing them haphazardly around the room. Julia was following suit and soon she was in nothing more than her undergarments. Though Murdoch had slid the suspenders from his shoulders, and removed his undershirt so that he was now bare chested, he was too impatient to touch her again, to bother taking his pants off completely. She ran a finger down his chest and he shivered with yearning.

Once again they were in each others arms and playing tonsil hockey. He lavished the feel of her exposed skin on his own and desired ever more. So it was that he turned her around and hastily began undoing the fastenings to her corset; all the while showering her neck and shoulders with kisses, making her breathing quicken even more, exciting him to no end. Finally the odious entrappings were flung away and her back was completely naked. She turned around to face him and as he beheld her glorious bosom in the faint moonlight streaming through a slit in the window, he felt his face grow hot and the stirrings of something else down below.

All his haste had vanished now that he was free to unabashedly stare, and she seemed vaguely amused by his change in demeanour. Then she took his hands and placed them on her breasts and he gently squeezed them, making her moan softly. At that utterance, he pulled her close and for the first time their bare chests made contact. The feeling was exquisite and served to madden him with desire, all thought and regret went out the window.

He lay on his back and knowing what he wanted, she yanked his pants off and tossed them over her shoulder. They hit the chair where her purse still resided and it fell to the ground with a dull thud, spilling its contents. Out of the corner of her eye and as he began covering her body with kisses, sending her into an ecstasy of bliss, she absentmindedly noticed this. However, when there was a momentary lull, in which he was attempting to pull off her underwear, she caught a gleam of something metallic. Her wedding rings.

Just like that her senses came rushing back to her and she laid a hand on his eager trembling ones, in an an effort to make him stop.

That didn't seem to be quite enough so she said, "William, stop." Putting more pressure on his wrists. "William." Finally he looked at her confused and hurt, mirroring herself earlier that night. She continued, clasping his hands in her own, "You don't want to go through with this. It will ruin you. It will ruin us. Search your feelings, William, you know this to be true." Bitterly he glanced away. "And after everything we've been through, after everything you've sacrificed, I can't let you throw it all away. Not just for one night of passion. Not like this. Not yet."

Tears of frustration clung to his eyeballs and his voice broke, piercing her heart to the core. "Why does everything have to be so difficult? Why can we never seem to catch a break? Why can't we just be together, as God intended?"

Squeezing his hands, "We will be together someday soon, William, in the eyes of God and man. Nothing will stop us this time, I promise."

William put his head to her chest and she stroked his hair for a few minutes, doing her best to calm him down. Eventually his breathing slowed and she gently laid him down beside her, bringing his arms around to rest on her stomach, where her own resided. Hands entwined, with his head buried in her hair, they drifted off to sleep surprisingly easily, as if they hadn't just been through a whirlwind of emotions; as if this were the most natural thing in the world, as if they had always done this.

Morning came and he was awakened by the first rays of sunlight piercing through the curtains. Half expecting the previous night to have all been a dream, he was delighted to find Julia still pressed up against him, in almost the same position. He kissed her shoulder and she stirred.

"Good morning, Julia," he said happily, overjoyed at still holding her in his arms.

"The same to you, William."

"I wish we could always be like this."

"As do I."

He kissed her neck a few times and she scolded him in a teasing manner. "William, don't start that again. You'll spoil your appetite for breakfast. And I believe they serve a most scrumptious spread here."

"I've got a scrumptious spread right here," he purred, squeezing one of her buttocks through the thin fabric of her underwear.

Gasping, "William! No!"

"All right, all right," he said releasing her. He laughed, "I was just having a little fun."

She turned around in order to give him a disapproving look but when she saw just how excited he was getting, instead got out of bed and collected her clothing from the ground. Then she began dressing.

Elbow propping his head up, he intently watched her progress saying, "What's the rush, Julia? Why don't you take your time?" Smirking, "It's not often I get to enjoy such magnificent sights."

Oh dear, she thought. Is he always going to be like this from now on?

Don't get her wrong, she loved how uninhibited he was letting himself be. And it was all well and good here in this setting but once they got back to reality, to society, he would need to be able to restrain himself again; to get back to the button upped detective everyone admired. Then again, was that really even possible anymore? By the end of the day, their infamy would almost certainly be printed in the paper, for all to see. That had been the plan. That had been why she wanted to keep him out of this. Would people be able to look past the gossip, past his personal life and still find the stoic, honourable, professional man beneath? Or would he be shunned everywhere he went, by his friends and colleagues, by his own church congregation? Would he now suffer the isolation of an outcast, just when he finally seemed to have found his place in life? Had he truly thought this thing through? Or had he rushed into this because of what he had seen in the woods?

Judging by what happened last night, she thought she knew the answer. This knowledge flattered her but also slightly disappointed her. She had thought him stronger than that. But could she really blame him? And if their roles had been reversed, would she have acted any different?

Fully clothed again and noticing that he was still in bed and eyeing her lustfully, she exclaimed, "Hurry up, William! I'm quite famished!"

He groaned in fake annoyance and did as he was told. When he stood up in nothing more than his underwear, she couldn't help but sneak glances. Now that the daylight was illuminating his body, it was hard to look away. He caught her staring and grinned. Then with white undershirt on, he came over to her and despite herself, her heart beat faster. Reaching towards her, she closed her eyes and braced for his touch but it never came. When she opened them, he stood right in front of her, eyes laughing, holding up his trousers. She gave him an annoyed look and he pretended as if he hadn't seen it.

Pants on again, snapping suspenders into place, it seemed like the danger had past. As if reading her thoughts he grabbed her and planted a passionate kiss on her soft lips. Julia weathered the storm as best she could and just when she felt like she was sinking past help, he ended it, rescuing her from drowning.

He winked at her and then collected the rest of his clothing off the carpet. While he was preoccupied with that, she hunched over for her wedding rings and hastily slipped them back on, her white gloves following soon after. By the time she had put the finishing touches to her hair, she found William all ready to go, hat in hand, waiting for her by the door.

Cocking his head in her direction, "Who's the tortoise now, doctor?"

She made a face at him and jammed her hat on her head. Seizing her purse, she walked over to him and he held out his arm. So it was that they left the room in much the same fashion that they had entered, save for William's dominoes. They were still scattered all over the floor. They would have to come back for them later, she was too hungry to bother with such a task right now.

Back on the main floor, they made their way over to the dining hall. It was quite bustling and it looked like they'd be waiting awhile for a spot, something she wasn't very happy about. Suddenly she saw someone waving at her in the distance. It was her sister. Mackenzie King was also present.

"Well, good morning you two," a smiling Ruby said as they approached. They responded in kind. She stood up and hugged each of them in turn. "I'm ever so glad for the both of you. And I'm extremely proud of you, William. It took a lot of courage to do what you did last night. But I'm sure the rewards outweighed the risk, eh, detective?" Ruby winked at him and he smiled unabashedly.

"Now really, Ruby," muttered Julia. "Is that anyway to behave, in front of your escort no less?"

Her sister smiled and waved her hand. "Oh Will doesn't mind. Isn't that right dear?"

He made a non-committal grunt and Julia seriously doubted he would ever amount to anything. Certainly he would never rise very high in the political arena even if he attempted to. He had about as much charisma as a wet sock. Who in their right mind would vote for him?

"Will?" enquired William confusedly. "I thought your name was Mackenzie?"

"My full name is William Lyon Mackenzie King. But-"

"Never mind that," interrupted Ruby. Gesturing to the two available seats, "Sit, sit. You must be starving after last nights exploits."

"Ruby," Julia scolded. About a second later her stomach growled and Ruby and William laughed. King just sat there looking bored and she wondered what her sister saw in him that she didn't. Ruby snapped her fingers and almost immediately a waiter came over to her side. They ordered some food and while they were waiting, her sister launched into a detailed description of The Paris Revue, making William blush here and there, like a little school boy.

Welcome back Detective Murdoch.

One question: Did you catch the Star Wars reference? xD

*Note: For those who don't know, Mackenzie King was Canada's Prime Minister for a total of 22 years! The longest out of all of them! At the time of this story he was 26 years old and just beginning his political career. (I moved this blurb here for obvious reasons).