A sudden, hard tug on her arm and her back crashing into the banister and Elena realised she was able to stop her fall. Her shoulder was throbbing and her back ached but she was not tumbling down. A sigh of relief escaped her. The boys were ok.

"Elena!"

Looking at the top of the stairs, where she heard the shout, she was surprised at how pale Harry was. Only dressed in sweatpants, he made his way down the stairs. From his strides, she had a feeling he was about to explode on her.

"Miss Halloway, is everything alright?"Mrs Grant asked from the bottom of the stairs.

"Uh, yeah. Everything's peachy,"she responded nervously, never taking her eyes off the bigger threat.

"What were you thinking? Why didn't you wait for me?"Harry demanded once he reached her, her hands coming up to grip her shoulders. "You know it's not safe for you and the boys-"

"Harry, I'm fine. Everything worked out in the end-"

"No, no. I'm going to have Oliver come over. He needs to check you out,"he said, not hearing what she said, and lifting her into his arms. Having not expected that, she let out a short shriek. "Don't move. We're just going to my office to wait for Oliver."

She resigned herself to his highhandedness and prayed he truly wouldn't develop a hernia. Carrying her twice a day wasn't too much, right?

--------@@@@---------

"Harry, I'm fine,"Elena said as she watched the irate man pace in front of her while barking orders at the woman , Aksa. Elena realised that she was Harry's assistant when she calmly took his orders and addressed his respectfully, with a professional air around her. Her facade didn't even crack when Harry spouted the most ridiculous orders.

"Of course, Mr Reynolds. I will get on the phone directly. May I know where I can find his number?"

Like now, when Harry was telling her to call Oliver to bring his ultrasound machine to check on her. To Elena, that was absurd. Even during that one time at her old apartment. She still couldn't believe that had happened but the joy of seeing her boys for the first time had overshadowed everything else. But it was still ridiculous.

On the other hand, Aksa acted like it was perfectly reasonable. What exactly had she had to do in her line of work that she wouldn't bat an eye?

Narrowing her eyes speculatively on her, Elena was surprised at the frown in the other woman's eyes when their eyes met before she left to make the calls. Her brows furrowing together, Mrs Grant's words came back to her.

"Just because he didn't tap your ass doesn't mean he's immune to every women."

Did she mean what Elena was thinking? Did Aksa have a feelings for her boss? For Harry?

For some reason, that made the hair on her back rise. Her mood souring considerably, she turned baleful eyes on Harry. He had finally stopped pacing and was taking a seat at the adjacent loveseat. Stubbornly waiting for him to speak, she tried to examine the feeling that was afflicting her. It was a mixture of anger and possessiveness. She wanted Aksa to fall off a cliff and die. Or at least destroy her face. Was this jealousy?

She wasn't sure since this type of emotions had never plagued her before. She had never had a boyfriend, not even in school even though she'd really wanted one. And the years after high school had been tough. Even when she had entered the workforce, she had been pressed for survival. And throughout all these years, she had never developed a crush on somebody. She wasn't sure she liked these feelings.

Suddenly, Harry grabbed a hold of her hand. Looking up, she was struck by the intensity in his eyes. Before, with Aksa in the room, his attention hadn't been directed at her. Now, together alone, she was unprepared by his scrutiny.

"Are you alright? The boys are not causing any trouble?"he asked, his eyes roving her body and making her thighs clench. The sudden rush of sexual heat made her blush. She could feel her cheeks heating up.

"I'm fine, Harry,"she said harshly, pulling her hand out of his grasp. Moving back slightly, she tried to calm herself, both body and mind but knew she failed when Harry spoke.

"Are you sure? You're looking kind of flushed." She felt her face become even hotter.

"Y-yes,"she stuttered while covering her face with her hands. Her mind tried to come up with something to stop him from continuing with his line of inquiry. "Um, before I forget,"she said as she reached into her bra, "I was here to give you this. Ah, wait a moment. It got really deep inside." Trying to grab the flash drive around her engorged breasts, she sent him a smile of achievement when her fingers touched the metal body. It was a struggle but she managed to get it without taking her top off. "Got it. Here-"

"You've gotten bigger,"Harry said huskily, his eyes blazing with a heat she hadn't seen in a long time. Her body produced the same heat and her thighs became even stickier. Her mouth drying up again, she couldn't say anything apart from nodding. His eyes drifting down to her chest, she couldn't believe how fast her nipples stiffened. "Are they more sensitive?"

"Y-yes. Most days I can't bear to wear anything on it." Her cheeks became even hotter. Why had she said that? Did she really want sex that much? Was this very body's way of saying to get it on? She wasn't sure and hoping to see the conversation back to safe waters, she said, "Anyway, I just came here to give you this. What you do with it is up to you-"

"Els, you can't just say that and expect me to not do anything about it,"Harry whispered huskily before shifting to her sofa. Since she was at the end near his loveseat, he had no choice but to crowd her against the arm. She was feeling quite squished. But as that put her in delicious contact with him, she didn't complain.

This was the closest she had been with him since that night. Her night of sleep-drunkenness didn't count. Smoothing her hand over his chest,  dropping the forgotten flash drive once again, she had to bite her lips to stifle the moan that wanted to escape her lips. A moan did escape her when his hands came up to cup her breasts. The skin around the areolas tightened.

"God, they feel heavier, fuller,"he hissed. The heat in his eyes positively scorched her.

"Harry,"she said softly, not knowing to say or do. This was going much further than she'd anticipated. Her fantasies hadn't gone to actual touching. And while her body was reveling in it, her mind was struggling to catch up.

Did she want this to continue? Was she prepared for what happened next? What was going to happen next? Will anything happen? She was so big and distorted. What man would ever be aroused when they saw how stretched out her skin is? Even when she wasn't pregnant, she hadn't been the kind of woman to inspire lust and desire in men. Maybe it was just a one-off moment-

"I can practically hear you thinking,"Harry suddenly said, his hands releasing her. Her hand on his sides reflexively tightened before she consciously let go. Feeling put on the spot, she shifted back, trying to create as much distance between them. That was an impossible task because she was literally wedged in the corner.

"W-what are you talking about?"she asked, looking anywhere but him. Now that there was no longer any contact between them, Elena felt like she had been caught in a dream. A wet dream. The wettest she had ever had. The moisture between her thighs felt like they had soaked her dress and she would unceremoniously pull out some material of the couch when she stood up.

"Nothing is going to happen,"he said gently, his fingers trailing down her face and cupping her jaw. Finally, her eyes connected with his and, even though she saw the heat in his eyes, it was clear that it was banked, allowing softness and concern to shine through. "I know you're not ready for anything more physical."

"Then-then, what was this about?"she demanded, her pride stung. Was this just an excuse? Was he no longer attracted to her? He was just letting her down easy. Her eyes began filling up. Pushing his hand away, she began to fold her arms and turn away when his hands came up to grip her shoulders. Tightly.

"No, no. Damn it. Elena, I'm trying to be sensitive here. I'm trying to take your feelings into consideration,"he said, shaking her slightly. He sounded quite harried. She was sure there was a frown on his face but couldn't be certain because she refused to look at him. "Look at me, Els. Was I wrong? Do you want more?"

"Well, not if you don't want to,"she pouted. She could see the ridiculousness of what she was doing but she couldn't stop. It was like a monster had taken over her body. An emotional wreck of a monster. A monster who loved acting contrary and difficult.

"Look at me when you're speaking to me,"Harry hissed. He was clearly at the end of his patience. Deciding to beat the monster into submission, she relented.

"Harry, to be honest, my hormones are out of whack and my body really, really, really wants to get it on. It's ready to strip you and just ride the hell out of you,"she admitted, smiling slightly when Harry's eyes glazed over.

"Witch,"he muttered goodnaturedly when he caught the smile.

"But I'm not ready for anything more. I want to actually have good relationship with you before we do anything more. I want to know what we expect from each other, what we want to build, between us, for the boys, before we get physical again,"she said, baring her heart to him. For a moment, she saw a hint of panic in his eyes and was braced for the worse. But he surprised her.

AN: hey guys. Hope you like the chapter. What do you think Harry is going to say? Huh? Huh? Make your guesses.

Also if you like this chapter, please VOTE and COMMENT.

Thanks.

P. S. I'm writing some one shots for AB. Let me know what are some scenes you'd like me to write. Or you can write your own and I'll feature them.

Next update: 18 June 2018