Sarah shivered the second she stepped out onto the balcony. Dressed in several layers of clothing, beanie, gloves and winter boots and she was still cold. I can't say as I blamed her, at this height, the air was always a little colder.

The night sky was almost free of clouds, Sarah gasped at the view above.

"It's so huge." she cooed as she looked up at the moon.

I took her hand and led her to the daybed, layering it with blankets. She nestled her back against my chest, pulling the layers of blankets around us.

"So cold."

Her teeth chattered as she spoke, it was highly amusing. She was not impressed that I was laughing at her.

"We have a week left, don't we?"

"Yes, they will expect us to be ready for phase three the day after the wedding."

"So no hangovers allowed then?"

I chuckled, imagining the grand councilors reaction if we turned up looking like a pair of zombies.

"Probably best that we do not annoy them anymore."

Because I'm already on thin ice.

"What's the worst time they've enforced?"

"Do you really wish to know that?"

She said nothing and with a heavy heart, I told her.

"A year."

"Oh my god." she said under her breath.

Then she sat up, her eyes bright in the partial light from the apartment.

"They cannot be that cruel, can they?"

"Yes Sarah, they can. The time is based on the infractions that they have managed to find fault with. We have a few so be prepared for the worst."

Tears welled in her eyes, slowly sliding over the rosy cheeks.

"Come now Sarah, don't spend our days dwelling on the negatives. It could be only a month."

But I knew that was unlikely. The council thrived to nit-pick and find anything that would lengthen the time. I pulled her into my arms again, this time with her chest against mine.

"Anton," she said quietly, her fingers toying with a button on my shirt. "Is there a reason we haven't you know... gone further?"

"Very much so I'm afraid. Apart from the fact that I didn't think that you were entirely ready to, I have learned that the council will view it in a harsh light because of the way I filled out the paperwork."

I sighed and sat up, sitting her on the seat in front of me.

"When I completed it, it was a time before we had even kissed. I stated that we had not been intimate and it was a mere technicality that we were not in trouble for what happened at the park. They will hold us to the paperwork and if we go against it then they will punish us by adding time for phase four. If you are prepared to do the time then I will gladly give you more. In fact, if it weren't for the councilors breathing down my neck I might have insisted upon it. Once tomorrow is over with then we will not be bound to the form that I completed. If you can wait then by tomorrow night you can pin me down and have your fiendish way with me."

Sarah giggled which considering the somber mood for tonight, it was a warming sound.

"However, maybe you might be more interested in something a little more romantic. Like a getaway of sorts. When we are at the keep, perhaps?"

"Mm, maybe." she offered in a cheeky tone. "Are we allowed to sleep together tonight?"

"Yes."

"What about the bath?"

"No."

She pouted and I chuckled. The little minx was a cheeky thing.

"I don't think I could control myself, could you?"

Sarah shook her head with a flirty smile, fluttering her eyes at me.

"It is difficult being in bed with you, naked in a bath might be the death of me."

"I'm cold. I want to warm up... now."

Standing from the lounge, she took most of the blankets with her. It left me with a slight chill. Grabbing the remaining blankets, I followed her into the apartment and closed the room down for the night. Sarah was moving with haste through the place, making a beeline for the master bedroom.

I had done the honorable thing, I had said that she could sleep in whatever room she wanted and offered the master suite to her. She said that she wanted to be beside me, the room was of little consequence.

The sound of water gushing filled the silent apartment, I followed the sound into the master suite, through the ladies walk in robe and into the bathroom. There was something inside of me that was in agreement with Sarah about this place. I couldn't get over how many bathrooms it had. Worse yet, the master suite had two. His and hers and it seemed pointless to me.

I wanted nothing more than to lay in the tub with her, not in some completely different room. There was no closeness to it, no bonding and togetherness that could be found in something as simple as a morning routine of grooming.

Giggles and glances as the couple clean their teeth together, he might shave and she might sit on the vanity and watch. Maybe she might even help. Maybe the gesture might lead to playfulness where he might dab cream upon her and a play fight ensues, resulting in bathroom love.

But if the man was in one room and the woman in another, how could that happen? Was this the trend of today's society? If it was then I didn't want to be a part of it.

Sarah had found the bathtub and was filling it, the water sat at a third full. I looked away quickly as she started to disrobe.

"We cannot Sarah, it would be against the rules."

"But what if we only go down to our underwear? I am wearing black, even when wet you will not see a thing and I know that you do not go without so there is no issue, is there?"

Except that the thought of it was incredibly arousing.

"You are pushing the boundaries to the very limit Sarah, they will not be pleased."

"Okay, well then you can sit outside."

The dress peeled away from her body, sliding over her arms and etching closer to her hips. Her head turned and looked at me as she shot me a coy smile.

"Well Anton, what are you going to do?"