We stood in what once passed as a kitchen. The sink had been taken out, and the plumbing capped. The floor was torn up, and the concrete exposed, and there wasn’t a single door on the filth-laden cabinets at our backs.
“Right, lads,” I said, raising my bottle of beer in the air. “Here’s to one last weekend, for me at least, of beer, marital relations, and unhealthy eating before I hand Danny my balls and get training. I know you could be doing anything you want this weekend, and I thank you for spending it helping me fix up our place.”
“Sláinte,” I toasted, tapping my bottles against theirs.
“Any idea where to start?” asked Tommy¸ as he kicked at a loose floor tile.
I tipped my bottle toward Liam. “You’re the expert. What do you think?”
“We’ve got two Dumpsters out front. Let’s gut and clean this place to give us our blank canvas. Then next week when you’re training, Tommy and his dad can start the plumbing and Big Joe can take a look at the electric. I’m a fair hand at plastering, so I can get cracking when they finish. By the time the fight’s done, you should be ready for carpentry and decorating so you can take over.” Liam laid it all out, but a part of me worried that this whole thing would stand still while I was training but Liam caught my eye, pulling me out of my own head.
“Listen, Con, I can see you stressing already¸ and we ain’t even started. Me and the lads, we got your back. You gotta job to do, and that job is to put Rico Temple on his arse and win us some money.”
“Huh?” I grunted stupidly. From his back pocket, Liam pulled out a betting slip. “Soon as news of the fight went live, bookies started posting odds, and we all went down.” Looking around, they all pulled out their betting slips.
“No pressure then,” I said, touched that they believed in me enough to risk what little money they had.
“No pressure at all,” said Liam with a grin. “We all bet on the other guy so we couldn’t give a shit whether you train or sit around for three months getting fat. In fact we’re actively encouraging Em with her baking.”
“Fuck off,” I told him playfully. “You guys can sit back and become fat arses. I’ve got work to do.”
“Of course we bet on you, brother,” said Kieran. “But you’re not doing this for us, or for Danny or Em. You do this for yourself.”
He was right but that didn’t change the fact that I wouldn’t be standing here on the brink of a life-changing opportunity without them.
“Of course that don’t mean we’re not gonna make the most of it when you do win. Ringside seats in Vegas with a hot girl on each arm sounds like a bloody good plan to me,” Tommy chipped in.
“Shouldn’t you be getting those STDs cleared up before you go on the hunt for more hotties?” warned Kieran.
“Fuck you and your fucking STDs,” grumbled Tommy.
“Take your frustration out on the house, my little friend,” Kier teased Tommy as he patted him condescendingly. “You can roll around with me when you’re feeling better,” he told him.
“I’d like to beat the shit out of you,” Tommy told him.
“Beat the shit out of, roll around, it’s the same difference. You wanna get hot and sweaty and jump all over me. I’m not gay but I understand your feelings. It’s just the effect I have on people. You’re not made of wood,” Kieran told him matter-of-factly.
“Whatever arse munch. I’ve got a sledgehammer and I’m going upstairs so you’d best stay out of my way,” he warned Kier.
“Trust me, little man, I have no interest in coming upstairs to see your big hammer,” Kier retorted.
“You need help,” grumbled Tommy, as he walked away and we fell about pissing ourselves laughing.
I glanced quickly at Liam to see if their gay references had made him feel uncomfortable but he looked as bemused as ever with them both. Mentally I chastised myself for thinking he’d be any different. The lads wouldn’t change who they were or how they acted because he was gay, and he wouldn’t want or expect them to. In fact, he’d probably kick their arses if they did. My only concern for him was that he was still keeping it a secret. I know he worried the news would spread when it got out, but he needed his friends around him. His parents were stanch Catholics, and as much as they loved him, when they found out there’d be fucking hell to pay.
* * *
The steam rose up from the hot bath in waves and rolled decadently up to the ceiling. The slight ache in the muscles I didn’t train regularly felt good. For the first time ever, I felt like I was building something. For a guy who hadn’t achieved a whole lot up until this point, a couple of days hard graft on our first real home gave me a hunter-gatherer feeling that was pretty heady.
“How’s it coming on?” Em asked from the doorway.
“Looks beautiful, darlin’,” I told her, watching the steam making her hair curl even tighter.
“In one weekend, you made our house a palace?” she teased.
“I wasn’t talking about the house,” I said. Beckoning her over, I waited until she was almost beside me before hauling her by the hips and pulling her over the edge of the tub into my lap.
“Woman, you’ve got curves that would tempt the angels themselves,” I told her as I ran my thumb under the elastic of her panties. She’d shrieked when I’d grabbed her but, dressed in only panties and a tank top, I didn’t think she’d be too mad about the wet clothes. She moaned slightly as I gently grazed her clit, and my cock grew even harder beneath her.
“Baby, flattery really does get you everywhere,” she replied breathlessly.
Jesus, I was a lucky man. Some men marry young and quickly regret their decision even faster. What was that saying again, “marry in haste, repent at leisure”? Most men don’t know what the fuck they’re doing but I did. I may not be a smart man, but it didn’t take a fancy degree to understand that marrying Em was the best thing I’d ever done. She was strong, smart, sexy, and funny. The most intelligent woman I’ve ever met. There hasn’t been a single moment since the day I met her where I’ve waivered in my belief that she was the woman for me. Convincing her that I was the man for her had been another matter.
“We have to get out,” she whispered, “If we get any more water on the floor, it’s going to leak through to the flat below.”
“Fuck the guy downstairs. He’s a dick who plays music far too fucking loud. With a bit of luck, the leak will fry the stereo equipment and the whole building will love us.” She giggled until I touched my lips to hers. With kissing and coaxing, she opened her mouth slightly as she brushed her tongue against mine. Darts of pleasure went straight to my dick which was practically impaling her.
Getting her into the bath was one thing, getting her underwear off was another. Soaking wet, they weren’t coming off easily and there was only one thing for it.
“Don’t even think about it, O’Connell,” she warned me, with the wagging finger and everything. Grinning playfully, I nipped the finger gently between my teeth, then sucked on the end to salve the skin.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I retorted, looking like the cat that got the cream.
“We can’t afford to rip off underwear every five minutes and replace it with expensive lingerie. Besides, I bought these panties in a six-pack with my first-ever wage packet from Daisy’s. They have sentimental value.” Maneuvering herself carefully, she somehow found a small space in the tub to place her feet and stood. Her crotch was perfectly positioned in line with my face, and the green-, purple-, and pink-striped panties suddenly became my new favorites.
Looking at me seductively, she bit her lip, hooked her thumbs inside her underwear, and peeled them down achingly, painfully slowly. Unhooking them from around her feet, I threw them into the sink just as she reached up to peel away her top. A pair of pale, perfectly formed, and glorious tits fell loose, and my willpower to resist them evaporated. Cupping both tits between my hands, I sucked and teased them until Em cried out in ecstasy. Dropping suddenly to her knees, she repositioned my cock and sank down on it, almost effortlessly.
“Jesus, baby,” I cautioned as I held on to her hips to steady her. I fucking loved that she was as ferocious as I was when it came to making love. I was possessive, bossy, and probably annoying most of the time, but in bed, she fucking owned me. Who was I kidding? She was the love of my life. She always fucking owned me.
Leaning forward, she captured my bottom lip between her teeth, drawing me in for a kiss. Moving to lean back against the tub, I looked up at her blissful expression, and I hardened even more inside her. She’d found a slow, steady rhythm that was making me crazy, and I watched a bead of perspiration roll slowly down her chest until I captured it with my thumb, massaging it into her nipple. Lifting her slightly, I pistoned my hips against hers, making her cry out.
“O’Connell, I’m so close,” she whispered. My own orgasm was clawing down on me like a hungry animal, willing me to set it free. I held it back, wanting Em to come first and take me with her. With one hand, I rubbed small circles over her clit, and with the other hand, I did the same to her nipple. The combination had her clenching and tightening around me until she screamed my name and milked my cock, hard. I came at the sight of her, back arched in ecstasy and hair cascading down behind her. This woman was mine, and I’d never felt more fucking possessive than when my cock was buried deep inside of her, staking my claim and making her a part of me. Making me feel like a fucking lion.
“I can’t believe that was the last time we get to do that for months,” Em said.
“Last time, what do you mean?”
“Isn’t this the last night before the sex ban is imposed?” she asked.
“Uh-huh, last night. Not last time.” I answered. “It’s only eight o’clock,” I reasoned. “We have until midnight before the sex bans starts and I’m about sixty seconds from going at it again.” On cue, I hardened inside her again, and I wasn’t anywhere near done by the time the Chinese takeaway arrived. Donning some jeans so that I didn’t scare the delivery guy, I shoved the money at him, left the food in the kitchenette, and joined a damp Em in bed with a running jump.
“Again?” she asked with a laugh. “Until the clock strikes twelve, baby,” I answered with a kiss.
* * *
The breeze blew in through the window, caressing us both, and it wouldn’t be long before autumn became winter. I lay with my head in Em’s lap as she ran her fingers lazily through my hair.
“I could stay like this forever,” I told her.
“I wish we could, but your favorite alarm is on his way over.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Tommy. He’s coming over to talk to me about something,” Em told me.
“That sounds interesting,” I said, trying not to sound pissed that he was about to shatter my peace. Maybe it was for the best. I had to be at the gym soon and having Em all soft and warm in my arms wasn’t exactly motivating me to get up. We moved around each other to brush our teeth, sneaking little kisses as we went. By the time Tommy arrived, I was dressed in my training gear and ready to go. I let Tommy in as I was making a quick breakfast of porridge. Without asking, I fixed him a bowl as well, knowing he’d only be poking around the kitchen looking for food otherwise.
“Thanks, Con,” he said. He looked serious, which was kind of worrying in itself. Tommy was never serious. We watched the news in silence as we ate.
“Cup of tea, Tommy?” she asked him and he nodded glumly. She set about making him a cuppa, then settled in next to me as I finished. She knew better than to offer me a hot drink. There was absolutely no caffeine for me now until the fight was over.
“What’s up, lovely?” Em asked him.
“Do you know what I’ve always wanted to be, ever since I was a little kid?” Tommy asked me.
“Taller?” I responded, laughing at my own joke. Tom gave me an evil look, and Em smacked my arm.
“A fireman,” Em told me.
“No shit really? How do you know that?” I asked her.
“Because he told me,” she explained patiently.
“Well, since you’ve taken up the boxing full-time and you and Kier stopped the partying and shit, I decided to take a chance and fill out a fire service application,” he said.
“Is that why you’re looking so glum then? Because you didn’t get through? Don’t beat yourself up over it. I hear they have thousands of applications for every place,” I consoled him.
“That’s just it,” he said, still looking a little stunned. “Out of all those applications, they’ve picked mine to go through to the next round, but look at me, they’re never gonna let someone like me be a firefighter. Somehow being one step closer to getting what I always wanted is worse than never having a chance at all. Em, I need your help!”