CHAPTER 1

 

“Angel, where the fuck are you taking me?”

  Kian walked through the front door of the farmhouse he shared in the Cheshire countryside with his wife, Cate and their 3-year-old daughter, Lola.  The meeting with his agent that afternoon had taken longer than expected; it was already starting to go dark outside. 

  He dropped his keys in the bowl on the table by the front door, cursing a little.  He was leaving tomorrow to join up with the England World Cup squad and he’d wanted to spend today with his wife and daughter.  If England got through to the latter stages of the tournament, it would be weeks before he got to see them again.

  The house was unusually quiet.  He waited for Lola to come charging towards him, talking a mile a minute.

  When he looked up, he found Cate quietly watching him.  She was leaning her hip against the kitchen counter.  He let his eyes roam slowly up and down her body, knowing how much his intense gaze affected her.  She was wearing a knee-length red cotton dress and black sandals.  The sandals had thick, leather cuffs, which fitted snugly around her ankles, reminding him of the fun they’d had on honeymoon in Las Vegas.  She’d also braided her inky-black hair to one side just how he liked it.

  “What’s going on?” Kian asked suspiciously.  “Where’s Lo?”

  His wife smiled, not giving anything away.  “She’s staying at your Mum’s tonight.”

  “Huh?” Kian raised an eyebrow.  Although they had regular date nights, it was rare for them to have the house to themselves for a whole night.  He reached for his wife but she quickly ducked out of his way.  “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  Kian had to adjust himself; his cock was straining painfully against the front of his jeans.  “I like surprises.”

  Cate chuckled, “I know.  Put this on.”  She handed him a black, satin blindfold.

  Kian stroked the blindfold through his fingers.  “I think it would suit you better.”

  “Nope,” Cate shook her head.  “Not tonight.”

  Kian reluctantly allowed Cate to tie the blindfold tight across his eyes.  “Promise you can’t see anything.”

  “I promise,” Kian insisted.  “What’s going on?”

  Cate slid her delicate hand inside his, locking their fingers together and tugged him forward.  He heard the back door open.  “Step down,” she guided.  He felt the cool, night air against his skin.  The back door was closed and locked and then she tugged him forward again.  She led him across the grass.  There were acres of land at the back of the house, most of which they left to nature.  Kian rarely ventured back there but he knew Cate liked to take Lola for walks by the stream which flowed through the overgrown fields.

  They carried on walking for a few minutes.  Eventually, Cate came to a stop.  “You can take the blindfold off now.”

  Kian reached up and tugged it off.  The sky was pitch-black; it took his eyes a moment to adjust.  They were in a clearing by the side of the stream; cocooned on three sides by tall reeds of grass.  There was a blanket spread out on the ground and topped with a wicker picnic hamper, several cushions from the back porch and the patchwork quilt they’d been given by his Aunt Sadie as a belated wedding present.  In the tree branches above their heads, small, flickering candles were suspended in mason jars.  “It’s…”

  “Do you like it?” Cate asked, anxiously biting her bottom lip.  She’d wanted tonight to be special.

  Kian tugged her towards him.  “I love it,” he grinned, kissing the top of her head.   

  After they’d eaten, Kian pulled Cate’s feet up on to his lap.  “I love these sandals,” he said, stroking the thick, leather cuffs around her slender ankles.

  “I know,” Cate grinned, wiggling her toes.  She’d painted St George’s flags on her toenails in honour of him going to the World Cup with England. 

  “You know…” Kian said, dragging Cate towards him until her legs were draped across his lap.  “I don’t think we’ve ever made love outside before.”

  She blushed, “I think you might be right.”

  Kian stroked her knees.  “That’s a grave injustice; I think we need to rectify that immediately.”

  “I agree,” Cate nodded.  She watched on as he stroked his hands slowly up her thighs, inching up her skirt.

  “Fuck,” Kian groaned when he saw her panties.  They were similar to the pair she’d worn on their wedding night; white lace and tied at the sides with black satin ribbons.  His cock strained even harder against the front of his jeans. 

  She was so wet, the lace was almost see-through; he salivated at that strip of black hair between her legs.

  Kian lifted Cate up and laid her down on her back.  She looked up at the candles flickering in the trees above their heads.  He kissed her trembling thighs as he parted them.  She fisted her hands in the blanket; her toes curled in her sandals.  “Kian,” she whimpered.

  He put his hands on her inner thighs to hold her still.  “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Cate gasped, her back arching up off the blanket as Kian pressed his face between her legs.  She felt the drag of his teeth over the sodden lace of her panties.  “Please,” she begged.

  Kian closed his eyes, breathing in the musk of her arousal; his favourite scent in the whole fucking world.

  He quickly undid the ribbons and tossed her panties to one side.  “Fuck, you’re so beautiful,” he groaned.

  He teased her, French-kissing the lips of her pussy until her hips began to thrust against his mouth.  “Slowly,” Kian chuckled, his breath torturing her already sensitive skin.  He wrapped his hands around her hips and held her firmly down on the blanket.  Then he buried his face again between her legs, opening her up.  She was dripping wet; he flattened his tongue and licked her in long, torturous slow strokes.  “Kian,” Cate begged, her head thrashing from side to side.

  Kian responded by plunging his tongue deep in her wet canal.  “Ah,” Cate bucked, kicking her legs out around him.  She clenched furiously around his tongue.  He could feel she was on the brink and he wanted to keep her there.

  “No,” Cate protested as he crawled up her body.  Just one touch from him would push her over the edge.  He set to work undoing the front of her dress, kissing every inch of her newly exposed skin.  “I want you.”

  “You’ll have me,” Kian grinned, kissing the tip of her nose, “when I’m ready.”

  He slid an arm under the arch of her back, lifting her up off the blanket so he could pull off her dress.  When he laid her down again, she was bare, apart from her flimsy lace bra and those sandals.  He looked down at his wife’s breasts; the shadow of her dusky-pink areolas through the delicate white lace.  Her nipples were so hard they were like bullets.  He reached for the front clasp and slowly peeled back the cups, exposing her breasts.

  “Angel,” he could practically taste how desperately aroused she was.  He leaned forward and suckled on one of her tight nipples.  Her heart thudded against his cheek.

  His cock was protesting inside his jeans so he knelt back on his heels and stripped off his t-shirt.  He reached down and unzipped his jeans, freeing his painfully-erect cock.  He could tell Cate was watching him so after he’d kicked off his jeans and boxer shorts; he slowly ran his hand up and down his hard length, teasing her some more.  A bead of pre-cum dripped from the tip of his cock onto her soft belly.

  “Please,” she begged, her big, black eyes burning into him.  He couldn’t deny himself any longer.

  “I love you,” Kian said softly, settling between her parted thighs.  He loved the feel of his wife underneath him, her puckered nipples grazing his chest.  He cradled the back of her head and kissed her.  She opened her mouth and their tongues tangled together.  “Oh,” Kian swallowed her moans as he eased the tip of his cock inside her tight, little entrance.  “That feels so fucking good, angel.”

  He pressed inside her slowly, letting her feel every inch of him.  “Ah,” Cate threw her head back as he prised apart her tender flesh.  She dragged her fingernails up his back.  When he was buried balls-deep inside her, he reached down and wrapped her thighs around his waist.  He could feel the thick, leather cuffs still wrapped around her ankles.

  He held still, letting her get used to the feel of him buried deeply inside her body.  “I love you.”

  Cate looked up at him, her black eyes glossy, “I love you.”

  Kian began to move, grinding his pubic bone against her tender clit.  “Does that feel good?”

  “Yes,” she cried.  With each thrust, she lifted her hips up to meet him, matching his rhythm.  He could feel her getting closer; her pussy was clamped tightly around his cock.

  He reached up a hand and played with her aching nipples, pinching and twisting them.

  “Kian,” Cate cried, sinking her teeth into the tendon between his neck and shoulder.  As he felt her break apart around him, it pushed him over the edge, his balls tightened and then he burst inside of his wife. 

  “Fuck,” he shuddered afterwards, clinging tightly to Cate.  “Fuck the World Cup.”

  Cate started laughing.  She reached up and clamped a hand over her mouth, “I’m sorry.”

  Kian made to pull out.  “No,” Cate protested, “don’t go.  It’s just… I think that’s the strangest thing you’ve ever said to me after we’ve… you know.”

  It was Kian’s turn to laugh.  He lifted up his torso a little, “look, I’m still balls-deep inside you.  I can’t believe you can’t say sex”.

  Cate briefly looked down.  “Mm,” she gulped, seeing her pussy lips stretched around the thick root of his cock.  She shook her head, forcing her eyes back up to Kian’s face.

  “Does that turn you on, angel?” Kian teased.  “Seeing my cock buried deep between your legs.”  He reached for her hand and slowly slid it between them, making her touch where their bodies fused together.

  Cate covered her face with her free hand, “stop it.”

  “Mm, I can feel your pussy clenching around my cock, angel,” Kian chuckled.  He brought her hand up from between her legs and slid her fingers into his mouth, sucking them clean of her juices.

  Kian pulled out, immediately regretting it as the cool air hit his damp cock.  He cleaned himself up and then gently saw to Cate. 

  “Will you promise me something?” Cate asked, as she covered them both with the patchwork quilt.

  “Anything,” Kian smiled.

  Cate whacked him on the chest, “you don’t know what I’m going to ask you yet?”

  “Angel, we’ve just had sex, you can ask me anything you want and I’m going to say yes.”

  “Promise that you won’t suddenly turn into World Cup winners at this tournament,” Cate smiled.  “I like the England that gets knocked out in the group stages.”

  “So if it goes to penalties, I should try really hard not to score?”

  “Yep, that’s perfect,” Cate laughed.

  “You do realise that in the interviews after the match, I’ll have to admit that my wife forced me to miss my penalty so I could come home early and have lots of sex with her.”

  “Ha,” Cate scoffed.  “You’d have to admit to having a wife first.”

  Kian rolled over on to his side so he was facing Cate.  “Hey,” he stroked her hair away from her face.  “I thought it didn’t bother you?”

  “It doesn’t,” Cate lied.  Kian had never publicly acknowledged that he had a wife and daughter.  “I don’t want to be a WAG.”

  Kian wrapped his arms around Cate and rolled her over on to her back.  He let his eyes roam up and down her naked body.  He made to put his hands on her breasts but instead slipped them underneath her arms.  “What are you..?” she shrieked as he tickled her armpits. 

  “Stop,” Cate wriggled underneath him, trying to get free of his hold, her dark hair tangling up around her face.  His hands moved down to her ribs and the spot where he knew she was the most ticklish.  “Kian,” she yelled, her voice echoing across the night air.

  “Mm, angel, just like that.”

  Cate stopped, “what are you doing?”

  “You just yelled my name, angel.  If people think we’re having sex out here, I want them to know it’s good.”

  Cate frowned, “oh no, do you think people could hear us?”  She reached for her dress, which was crumpled up at the side of the blanket.

  “You’re adorable.” Kian prised the dress from her fingers and tossed it back on the ground.  He pulled Cate so she was lying on top of him.  “Do you really think I’d let anybody else hear those sexy, little noises you make when you come?”

  Cate felt his erection twitch against her thigh.  She quickly looked around but apart from their little clearing, all she could see was blackness.  “Are you sure?”

  “Very,” Kian grinned, “now give me some more of those noises.”

  After they’d made love again until they were both exhausted, Cate rested her head on Kian’s chest.  She could feel his heartbeat slowly returning to normal against her cheek.  He stroked his fingers through her inky-black hair.  “Angel?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I want to have another child with you.”

  Cate felt as though ice had suddenly been forced into her veins.  “What?”  She forced herself to sit up.

  Kian pressed the palm of his hand against her stomach, “I want us to have another baby.”

  Cate quickly stood up, wrapping the quilt around her body.  She felt sick.  “But I’m still at university?”

  “I wasn’t talking about right now,” Kian got up.  “We can wait until after you’ve graduated.”

  Cate sat down on one of the roots of the tree.  “I… I don’t know if I want another child.”

  Kian knelt down in front of her and reached for her hands.  “That’s why I want to do it again.”

  Cate shook her head, “I don’t understand.”

  “I love Lo but the night she was conceived… fuck, I’d just buried my Dad.”

  “I know,” Cate said quietly.  She couldn’t stop shivering.  “That’s why I don’t want another child.  I don’t want Lola to think that she’s somehow second best because of the circumstances surrounding her conception.”

  “Fuck Cate, that’s not what I’m saying,” Kian dragged his fingers through his hair.  “I just want us to have a family.”

  “If we’re not a family now, having another child isn’t going to change that.”  Cate bent down, picked up her clothes and stuffed them in the picnic basket.

  “Where are you going?” Kian asked as he watched his wife walk barefoot into the dark fields.  “I’m going home,” Cate called over her shoulder, “this was a really bad idea.”

  “Stop running away from me,” Kian chased after her, not caring that he was naked.  “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it?  You don’t want to have another child because then you’ll have to admit that you want this, this life, our marriage.  If we just have Lola, you can use the excuse that she was a mistake.  You can’t do that if we actually choose to have another child together.”

  Cate stopped in her tracks, her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest.  She tightened her grip on the picnic basket.  “Don’t ever call our daughter a mistake.”

  “Cate…”

  She spun around to face him.  “If I thought that you genuinely wanted another child, I’d think about it but you don’t, you just want to mark me as yours as if this ring and the child we’ve already got aren’t enough.”

  She picked up the picnic basket and ran towards the house.  When she got to the back door, her hands were shaking so badly, she almost couldn’t get the key in the lock.  As an unwanted child herself – she’d never met her biological father – it devastated her to think that her beautiful, little girl would ever feel the same way, that she’d ever think that she was just a mistake. 

  She dumped the picnic basket on the kitchen counter and went straight upstairs to her daughter’s bedroom.  Ugh, she missed her so much.

  “Cate…” When she looked up, Kian was leaning on the doorframe; he’d changed into shorts and a t-shirt.

  Cate shook her head, “I can’t even look at you right now.”  She grabbed a pair of pyjamas from the airing cupboard and went into one of the guest bedrooms to get changed.

  “We need to talk, I’m leaving tomorrow.”

  Cate felt a huge lump form in the back of her throat.  “That just makes it worse.  I wanted tonight to be special.”

  “It was special.”  Kian gently put his hands on her shoulders.  “Come to bed.”

  “No,” Cate shook her head, “I’m going to sleep in here tonight.”

  Kian picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.  “Put me down,” Cate struggled, pounding her fists against his back.

  He pulled back the covers of their bed and dropped Cate down on the mattress.  “You sleep here.”

  “Where are you going to sleep?” Cate folded her arms across her chest.

  Kian walked across to his side of the bed, “right here.”

  “No,” Cate sat up.  “I’m not sleeping here with you.”

  “Yes, you are,” Kian frowned.

  “No, I’m not,” Cate got up and walked to the end of the bed.  Before she could get any further, Kian picked her up and dumped her back down on the mattress.  “I hate you.”

  She tried again but each time Kian caught her before she could get to the bedroom door and threw her back on the mattress.  “I’m not sleeping with you.”

  “Fine,” Kian scowled.  With her still thrown over his shoulder, he stormed across to the wardrobe and pulled out Bobby, the stack of cushions that shared their bed when Kian had a match the following day.  “I’ll put these down the centre but you are sleeping in our bed tonight.”

  “Fine,” Cate huffed, turning her back as he arranged the thick row of cushions down the centre of the mattress.

  “Don’t even try getting up in the middle of the night,” Kian warned.  “I’ll just bring you back again.”

 

When Cate woke up the next morning, Bobby had disappeared and Kian was wrapped around her as if the argument they’d had last night had never happened.  “Hey,” she whacked him in the chest.

  “Huh?” Kian opened one eye.  He was still half-asleep.

  “What happened to Bobby?”

  Kian waved his hand in the direction of the floor, “told you I don’t share.”

  As he slid her back across the bed so she was pressed up against his front, she felt his erection nudge against her bottom.  “You’ve got to be kidding me?” Cate yelped, thrusting her hips forward so she couldn’t feel him.

  “Go back to sleep.”

  “Not happening.” Cate folded her arms across her chest.  “Let me go.”

  “Not happening,” Kian chuckled, kissing the back of her neck.

  “Ugh,” Cate complained, lurching forward so she was almost bent double.  “Stop kissing me.”

  “Why are you in such a grump this morning?”

  Cate wriggled around inside his tight hold until she was facing him.  “I’m just doing what I do best, which is running away apparently.”

  “Fuck,” Kian grunted, “That really happened?”

  Cate went into the bathroom and ran the shower.  She’d taken off her pyjamas and was stood in just her panties when Kian followed her into the bathroom.  “Get out,” she yelped, covering her bare breasts with her hands.

  “Kian, I’m serious.” 

  He stalked across the bathroom to where she was stood and pulled her to him, crushing her against his hard chest.  “I’m meeting up with the squad in a couple of hours.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t want to leave with us in a fight.”

  Cate slipped out of his arms, “we can’t fix this in a couple of hours.  It’ll have to wait until you get back.”

  She quickly peeled off her panties and climbed into the shower.  She hated fighting with Kian. 

  She heard the shower door slide open and then close again.  Kian put his hands gently on her shoulders.  “We’re not good at fighting, are we?”

  “If you really meant the things you said last night, maybe we should have had this fight a long time ago?”

  Kian reached up and held her chin, turning her face towards him.  He kissed her tenderly.  He wasn’t always good at expressing how he felt with words, preferring to use his lips, his body instead.  Cate couldn’t stop herself from melting into his kisses; he knew just how to touch her.  His tongue slid inside her mouth, making her forget everything else.  He stroked her damp breasts, teasing her nipples until they were stiff peaks.

  “We can’t fix this with sex,” Cate protested, feeling warmth between her legs.

  Kian wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her back against his front.  “I can try, angel.”  He slid his free hand between her legs.  “Mm,” Cate whimpered, her head falling back against his shoulder.

  “So fucking wet,” Kian grunted, dragging his fingers through her damp curls.  He parted her pussy lips, her arousal coating his fingers.  He brought his fingers up and painted her mouth with her wetness. 

  He kissed her slowly, licking every drop of her juices from her lips.  “You taste so good, angel.”

  His hand dropped back between her legs and he tucked a finger deep inside her pulsing wet canal.  “Ah,” Cate cried, her hips thrusting forward.  He pulled out, quickly replacing it with two fingers this time.  Her legs trembled around his hand.  “Do you want to come, angel?”

  “Yes,” Cate said shakily.  “Please.”

  “So polite,” Kian chuckled as he continued stroking his wife, touching the sweet spots between her legs that only he knew about.  She was teetering on the brink; he had the choice of whether to bring her to orgasm.  He pressed his thumb down on her swollen, throbbing clit.  “Kian,” Cate cried, writhing desperately.

  He felt her break apart in his arms, against his fingers.  “I love you so much.”

  Cate turned to face him, “I love you too.”  Her black eyes filled with tears.  “I don’t want to run away from you.”

  “I know, angel, I know,” Kian held her close.  “I just really wish I didn’t have to leave in a couple of hours.”

  Cate looked up at him, “you’re playing in a World Cup, that’s a big deal.  You’ve waited a long time for this.  I don’t want what happened last night to ruin it for you.  I want you to be excited.  I am.  I can’t wait to watch you play.  Lola and I, we’re both so proud of you.  The things we talked about last night don’t need to be fixed right now; we can talk about them when you get back.”

  After they’d showered and dressed, they drove to Kian’s Mum, Jean’s house to pick up Lola.  “Daddy,” Lola came running down the stairs.  She was wearing her new England shirt with “Daddy” and Kian’s number 8 on the back.

  “When did she get this?” Kian grinned.

  “A couple of weeks ago, we wanted it to be a surprise,” Cate smiled.  “She’s so proud of you.”

  “Why don’t I take a photo of the three of you?” Jean asked. 

  Kian handed over his phone.  “Just don’t scroll back,” he warned his Mum, making Cate blush.

  “Daddy, can we play football when we get home?” Lola asked.  She had her Mum’s big, black eyes.

  Kian winced.  “I’d love to, Lo but I’ve got to go to the airport after this.”

  “No,” Lola pouted, “I don’t want you to go.”

  Cate stepped in, “Daddy’s going to play for England in the World Cup, isn’t that exciting?”

  Lola looked down at her new England shirt, “I guess?”

  “Maybe Mummy will play football with you?” Kian suggested.  “Of course, she won’t be as good as me.”

  “She’s better than you, Daddy,” Lola said.  “She can do lots of keepy-uppys.”

  Kian chuckled.  “She can, can she?  We’ll see about that.”

  Cate grinned.  “I’d challenge you to a contest right now but I don’t want to destroy your confidence before the World Cup even starts.”

  Kian kissed the tip of Cate’s nose.  “When I get back from Portugal, you are so on.”