Always A Pleasure || H.S. [COMPLETE]

Thirty-Nine

Harry woke up all alone in the bed he shared with Katherine, the sun shining and the birds singing outside. He very rarely slept past sunrise, but there was something about being on holiday that brought him a peace and comfort that he had never known before. He was sure Katherine had a lot to do with it, which made him wonder where his angel was.

He sat up in the bed, running his fingers through his tousled hair as he looked around the empty room. When he noticed the sliding door slightly cracked open, his stomach swirled with anticipation, wondering if that was where he would find his girl.

He quickly slipped out of bed and padded toward the door before slowly pulling it back, finding Katherine standing on the deck by the railing with a sheet draped around her body as she looked out at the ocean.

"Mm, mon ange," Harry cooed, his eyes taking her all in.

When she turned to look at him, there was a light in her eyes and an instant smile on her face and it made him feel warm.

"Good morning," she greeted, watching as he sauntered toward her.

"What is this?" He teased as he tugged gently on the sheet she was wearing.

Katherine breathed out a laugh and shrugged her shoulders, "It still feels a bit weird walking outside naked."

"Nothing weird about it here, angel. We're all alone," he reminded her as he slipped his hands in the front of the sheet, immediately finding her warm skin.

"Mm. Suddenly you're here with me and it's not weird at all," Katherine said as she opened her arms to bring him inside the sheet with her, his body sliding against hers.

Harry pressed his lips to hers, kissing her passionately before pulling back to look into her thoughtful eyes once again.

"Was odd waking up without you," he commented.

"I've been up for a while," she told him as she looked over his shoulder out at the ocean.

"Have you?" He asked, wondering why that was, "What have you been doing?"

"Mostly watching you sleep," she replied as a smirk turned up her lips before her vision met with his again.

"Watching me sleep?" He asked, breathing out a laugh.

Although he spent many nights and mornings doing the same thing with her, it seemed bizarre to him that anyone would want to watch him sleep.

"Mm-hmm. It's not something that usually happens at home. You're always up so early in the morning. I like seeing you like this— so peaceful," she elaborated and it made his heart swell in his chest.

"You are what brings me peace, mon ange," he told her honestly before leaning in to kiss her again.

Before Katherine, Harry was sure he had never known peace. No amount of time in his life felt anything like it did now with her in it. He didn't know happiness or true pleasure until Katherine either. His life made a drastic shift the moment she stepped into his office the day they first met, and only continued to get better— even through all his self-sabotage and foolishness in the beginning.

He had every instinct not to hire her when they first met— that she would be too much of a temptation, too much of a distraction. But now he couldn't even fathom his life without her.

He never thought he'd be where he was. He never could have predicted any of it. He didn't understand how fulfilling finding someone like Katherine would be, how she would change everything for the better for him. She was so special.

"I have never felt more at peace than I have with you on this vacation, Harry," Katherine explained as she gently kissed each of his cheeks before leaving a light kiss on the tip of his nose.

Harry's lips parted as an uncontrollable smile made its way across his face.

"Oh, ma belle fille, you have no idea how true that is for me as well," Harry told her honestly before pressing his lips firmly to hers.

"I love you, Harry," she breathed, causing excitement to bloom inside of him. He was sure that she would never truly understand the effect she had on him.

"You make me feel a lot, Katherine," Harry told her sincerely.

"Mm," she hummed as her fingers threaded through his hair, the sheet finally falling away from her body as she disregarded it.

Harry's arms tightened around her as he kissed her again.

"Your hair has gotten so long. Never seen it like this," she commented as she pulled back, gently tugging at the end of his loose curls.

His hair wasn't long by any means, but she was right, he had never let it get that long in years. It was shaggy near his ears and was downright unruly, the curls falling in his face at times. But he had been too preoccupied to get a haircut in the last few months. He never would have guessed how consumed he would become in another human being.

"Never seen your facial hair this long either," Katherine giggled as she skated her fingers across the thin sheathing of stubble that covered the lower half of his face.

He hadn't needed to shave in weeks due to being out of the office for the holidays, so he chose not to. He didn't even bring a razor with him on holiday.

"Do you hate it?" He asked, looking into her wide hazel eyes.

"No," she giggled, smiling brightly at him.

"No?" He questioned through a smirk seconds before he sunk his face into the nape of her neck, gently scratching her with said stubble.

"Harry!" Katherine shrieked as she squirmed in his arms, trying to get him to stop.

Her giggles flitted through the air in a pleasing cadence and it truly made him happy. He chuckled to himself as he pulled back to look at her.

"Brat!" She huffed, playfully swatting his chest.

"You love me," he pointed out and watched a smile turn up her lips.

"I do," she admitted, causing him to breathe out a laugh before he leaned in to kiss her again.