Saturday January 18th

 

When Cate woke up the next morning, it was snowing again outside but she was lovely and toasty-warm with Kian’s naked body wrapped around her like a question mark.

“Morning, angel.” Kian pressed his lips against her bare shoulder.

Cate looked at the clock on the nightstand. “I can’t believe it’s nearly nine am. I literally can’t remember the last time I slept this late.” She turned around so that she was facing Kian. “Thank you so much for arranging all of this.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Kian smiled.

“What made you think of it?” Cate asked.

“It was a couple of months ago,” Kian explained. “It was late when I got home from work and you were already in bed. When I walked into the bedroom, you were totally engrossed in your Kindle, I think you just about said hello to me.”

Cate smiled, “I might have been punishing you just a little bit.”

“We hadn’t been awake and at home at the same time for a couple of nights but you said that you only had a couple of chapters left in your book and you wanted to know what happened.”

Cate laughed, “yep, I was definitely punishing you.”

“I went to take a cold shower and when I came back, you were practically jumping up and down with excitement. You were wearing that t-shirt, you know the one that’s been washed so many times, it’s almost see-through and just like that, one glimpse of your breasts and I was hard again. You didn’t even notice. You spent the next fifteen minutes telling me all about the book you’d just finished reading. At first I was pissed-off because we could have been making love during that time but you were so excited that I ended up listening to you.”

“Aw, you say the most romantic things,” Cate teased.

Kian smiled. “It was about a couple who were having problems because the husband was working too much and the wife felt neglected.”

He gently stroked her cheek, “sound familiar, angel?”

Cate pretended to nuzzle his chest, trying to hide the tears that were pricking at the corners of her eyes.

The book had really resonated with her, so much so that although she’d already read it on her Kindle, she’d ended up buying the paperback the next time she was in Target.

There were definite parallels between her and Kian and the couple in the book.

She’d lost count of the number of times she’d eaten lukewarm dinners at the kitchen counter with just her Kindle for company because Kian had got waylaid at the office again and then she’d gone upstairs and climbed into their big, empty bed.

When the couple in the book had got stranded in a rustic cabin in the woods during a vicious snowstorm, giving them the perfect opportunity to talk through their problems and reconnect with each other, without the distractions of work and family, she’d felt really jealous of them.

Kian could be a Neanderthal sometimes, particularly in the bedroom, but the fact that he’d listened when she’d talked to him about the book and then he’d arranged for them to have their own log cabin in the woods was just…

“I know it’s been tough on you these last few months,” Kian cradled her cheeks in his hands. “I’ve been working really long hours.”

“It’s OK,” Cate said softly. “I might not like it but I understand. You want the company to be successful.”

Kian shook his head. “No, it’s not OK. I don’t ever want to make you unhappy, angel.”

“I’m not unhappy, I just really miss you, that’s all.”

“I miss you too.” Kian gently brushed his lips against hers. “Do you remember our first Christmas Eve anniversary?

“Yeah,” Cate shuddered. She traced her fingertips over the dips and bumps of his abdomen. “I was pregnant with Lo and even though we were married, that awful woman said that in her day, there were homes for girls like me.”

“When I gave you that bottle of water from the Pacific Ocean, I promised that I would never crush your dreams, angel.”

Cate stroked the early-morning stubble which marked his jawline. “You haven’t. You’ve given me so much, Kian. I might grumble about you working late sometimes but this life that we’ve built together far exceeds anything I could have dreamt about when I was a little girl.”

She frowned, “ugh, you’re so good at getting me gifts, I feel like the worst wife ever.”

“You get me good gifts too,” Kian nibbled her earlobe, “remember when we first moved into the new offices and you surprised me by showing up in those sexy-ass heels.”

Cate blushed, “I thought you liked them but since you didn’t pack them in my suitcase for this weekend, I might just have to donate them to Goodwill when we get home.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Kian grunted. “Seeing you bent over that desk wearing nothing but those fucking heels was one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen.”

“Come here,” Kian grunted. He lifted her up and laid her down on his front, with her legs pinned between his strong thighs.

“I’ll squash you,” Cate protested, trying to push up from his chest.

“Rubbish.” Kian stroked his fingers through her glossy, black hair. He tilted her head forward to meet his. “I love you, angel,” he murmured.

“I love you too,” Cate sighed as he gently nibbled at her bottom lip.

“I used to think kissing was massively over-rated.”

“Yeah?” Cate raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to assume for your sake that was before you and I started kissing.”

“Of course,” Kian smirked. He kissed the corner of her mouth. “After I lost my virginity, it was all about sex. Why waste time kissing when you could be fucking?”

Cate rolled her eyes. “Such a gentleman I married.”

“When we got together, you were so young and inexperienced…”

“Wow, you make me sound like such a catch.”

Kian rolled his eyes. “I knew I wasn’t going to be having sex with anything other than my hand for a while and it made me realise just how wrong I’d been about kissing. There’s nothing sweeter than the taste of your lips on mine.”

Cate blushed. “I love,” Kian punctuated his words with soft kisses along her upper lip. “I love kissing you just before I go to sleep at night so the last thing I taste is your mouth. I love it when I go to kiss you first thing in the morning and you get all fidgety because you’re worried about morning breath.” He laughed as Cate’s eyes suddenly widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth. “I should really go and brush my teeth.”

“Nope,” Kian shook his head. “You’re not going anywhere.” He rolled them over so Cate was lying underneath him.

“Kian,” Cate protested, her voice muffled by her hand.

Kian brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Like this, with no make-up on and her hair all tangled up from sleep, she looked so fucking beautiful, it stole the breath from his lungs.

He leaned forward and she closed her eyes, her eyelashes fanning out across her skin.

Kian gently kissed her closed eyelids before moving down to rub his nose against hers. His stubble rasped against her soft skin and he felt her shift restlessly beneath him. She liked it when he hadn’t shaved.

He tugged away her hand and imprinted his lips on hers, feeling every familiar bump and dip of that luscious, pink mouth.

She snaked her arms around his neck, tugging him closer. Kian smiled against her lips as she softened beneath him, forgetting her concerns about morning breath.

As the tip of her tongue darted out to wet her lips, Kian captured it with his.

“You were right,” Cate gasped afterwards, as she fought to catch her breath.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Kian smirked. “I think I’m going to need you to repeat that at least half a dozen times.”

“Ha ha,” Cate swatted his chest. “I’d forgotten how amazing just kissing can be.” Her lips felt deliciously bruised. “I feel like a giddy teenager, like all I care about is when I can kiss you again.”

“Angel,” Kian kissed her forehead, “you can kiss me wherever, whenever you want.” Her breath came out in tiny o’s and Kian realised that the fire needed rekindling. “But first, I need to go and get some more logs for the fire.”

As he climbed out of bed, he winced, “fuck, that’s cold.”

“While you’re doing that,” Cate wrapped the thick quilt around her shoulders. “I’ll make us some breakfast.”

After Kian had finished rekindling the fires in both the bedroom and lounge, he wandered into the kitchen. “It’s almost ready,” Cate called over her shoulder.

The cabin was much warmer now so she’d tossed the quilt on the sofa and was dressed in just a t-shirt and panties. Kian winced when he saw the bruised flesh of her buttocks poking out of the sides of her panties. “Angel,” he wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands sliding up the front of her t-shirt so he could gently scratch his nails against the sensitive skin around her belly button.

“Mm,” Cate closed her eyes. She loved it when he did that.

He drew his hands around to her back and lifted up her t-shirt. “You’re still bruised.”

Cate turned around and saw the worried look on his face.

“It’s fine, really. It’ll go down in a couple of days.”

Kian wrapped his fingers around the waistband of her panties and gently tugged them down to just underneath her bottom.

“What are you doing?” Cate yelped.

Kian lightly stroked his fingers over her buttocks.

“The food’s almost ready.”

He reached for something from the front pocket of his jeans. Cate jumped as she felt something cold and damp trickle down between her buttocks. “That had better not be lube.”

Kian chuckled. “I’m not a total savage, angel.” He looked regretfully at her poor buttocks. “Well, not all the time, anyway.”

While Cate gripped the countertop, Kian smoothed the anti-inflammatory cream over her bottom.

“Fuck,” Kian grunted as he carefully pulled her panties back up her legs. “I need you to tell me something really not-sexy.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m this fucking close to just bending you over the countertop and taking you again and I’ve got other plans for us today.”

Cate felt the hard bulge of his erection rub against the small of her back. “And that would be bad… why?”

“Cate,” he sounded like he was actually in pain.

“OK,” Cate wriggled out from between him and the countertop and plated up the stack of hot, fluffy pancakes. “Jean seems really happy with Bernard. Do you think she’d ever want to get married again?”

Yep, that’ll do it. Thinking about his mum’s love life was more than enough to make his cock droop pathetically between his legs.

“You had to go with that,” Kian winced. “You couldn’t have gone with something more neutral, like the state of American politics or something?” There was going to be a Presidential election this year and none of the candidates put up by either party were particularly inspiring.

“Sorry,” Cate giggled, “I just went with the first thing that popped into my head.”

As they walked into the lounge, Cate asked, “what did you think of Bernard?”

Kian frowned. “He’s too touchy-feely. Why does he have to give everybody two kisses?”

“He’s French,” Cate rolled her eyes. “Is that why you tried to insist he stay at a hotel?”

“With your mum already staying with us, we only had one spare bedroom,” Kian grumbled.

“I can’t believe you seriously wanted them to sleep in separate rooms?”

“They’re not married.”

Cate laughed. “I don’t think you need to protect your mum’s innocence. You and Sinead are conclusive evidence that she’s had sex at least twice already.”

Kian paled, “why would you even say something like that?”

Cate shook her head, “do I also need to remind you that there isn’t nine months between us getting married and Lola being born and she wasn’t that much premature.”

“That’s different,” Kian grunted. “This is my mum we’re talking about. Do you really want to think about your mum dating and having sex.”

“I don’t really have a choice. Ever since she sold the house and her majority shareholding in the company, it’s like she’s been on a mission to recapture her lost youth.”

“Ugh,” Cate shuddered, “a couple of months ago, she e-mailed me, Liv and Remy to ask what the best type of lube was because apparently you can get a bit dry down there at her age.”

“OK, I think I’m actually going to vomit.”

Cate rolled her eyes, “do you want to know where she is right now? Buenos Aires. She met a widower who was over here in Seattle visiting his daughter for the holidays, while she was in the queue at Starbucks.”

“I can’t believe it doesn’t bother you?”

Cate shrugged her shoulders, “I would definitely prefer not to discuss the pros and cons of different types of lube with my mum and sisters. Apart from that though, I guess I’m just glad that after everything she went through when the Sperm Donor took all her money and left her pregnant and with three young children to take care of, that she’s finally getting the chance to just relax and enjoy herself.”

After they’d finished eating, Cate picked up the plates and carried them into the kitchen. “What plans have we got?”

“It’s a secret.”

 “You know,” she teased. “I could totally foil your top-secret plans for today.”

“Oh yeah?” Kian raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Cate walked upstairs to the bedroom, knowing that Kian would follow her. She tugged her t-shirt up over her head and tossed it on the dresser. She was stood in just her panties.

Kian shook his head, trying to clear the lust-filled haze. “I’ve seen you naked before, angel.”

Cate slowly licked her finger and thumb and then trailed her hand down over her sternum to the swell of her breast. “I think I might have spilled some pancake batter right here.” She began to gently roll her dusky-pink nipple between her thumb and forefinger. “But I just can’t seem to get it.” Cate bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing as Kian stared open-mouthed at her fingers moving over her bare breast. “Maybe you should try.”

“Temptress,” Kian growled, shaking his head. He grabbed his clothes from his suitcase. “I’m going to finish getting dressed in the lounge.”

“When I come back in five minutes, I expect you to be dressed. If you’re not, you’re going to have to do what I’ve got planned for us today in whatever you’re wearing and I’m warning you now, you’re not going to like it.”

“So bossy,” Cate sighed. She reached for her bra. “I can’t believe you’re turning down sex.”

Kian looked at her darkly, “I’m not turning down anything, angel. I’m postponing.”

Her tummy flipped and she threw one of the cushions at him but he’d already gone downstairs to the lounge.

When Kian came back, Cate was dressed in her favourite dark-blue jeans, the same sturdy black boots she’d worn the previous day and a black polo neck sweater. She couldn’t resist one more little tease so she’d braided her inky-black hair to the side, just how Kian liked it.

“Let’s go,” Kian said gruffly. He averted his gaze as if he was expecting her to still be in her underwear.

“Yes, sir,” Cate mock-saluted.

Kian led her outside and around to the back of the cabin, where there was another small building. He unlocked the doors and pushed them open. “You up for an adventure?”

“You know me,” Cate teased, “adventure is my middle name.”

“Yeah, right,” Kian laughed.

He manoeuvred the snowmobile out of the small garage. “Hop on.”

Cate looked sceptical. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

Kian reached for her gloved hands and tugged her towards him. “I’d never put you in any danger. The guy who looks after the cabin for Julian gave me a lesson on how to use it when I came up here yesterday. Trust me.”

“OK,” Cate swung her leg over the back of the snowmobile.

“You’re not going to go too fast, are you?” Cate worried her bottom lip. There wasn’t anything she could hold on to. Kian grabbed her wrists and slid her forward until she was almost plastered against his back, with her arms wrapped firmly around his waist.

Cate was momentarily distracted by the feel of his deliciously hard body between her thighs and didn’t notice that he’d started the engine. As they traversed the pure, untouched snow at the back of the cabin, she burrowed her face into his back.

“Open your eyes,” Kian yelled as they began to gain speed.

The snowmobile soared over the drifts of thick snow. Cate reluctantly lifted her head up although she was still clinging on to Kian for dear life. She squinted one eye open. The cold air rushed past her cheeks. Her heart began to jackhammer inside her chest but in a good way. She opened her eyes fully, watching as the picture-postcard landscape whizzed past them. It was like riding the most exciting rollercoaster.

She was almost disappointed when Kian brought the snowmobile to a stop. “Angel,” Kian chuckled, patting her hands, “you’re going to have to let go of me now.”

While Kian climbed off the snowmobile, Cate sat back on the seat. “Oh my goodness,” she murmured, licking her dried out lips. “That was freaking incredible.”

Kian looked so happy that she was glad that she hadn’t wimped out and asked if she could stay back at the cabin.

It was like they were in their own little world. There was nothing but trees and snow as far as the eye could see.

“I love it out here,” Cate flung herself backwards into a big pile of snow. She spread out her arms and legs.

“What are you doing?” Kian laughed.

Cate pushed herself up on to her elbows, “I’m making a snow angel. Don’t you remember when we went back home for Christmas, after Sierra was born, we all made them – Liv, Lola, Mats and Oliver. It was the day after Monty…”

Kian frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Cate asked, sitting up.

“You said home.” Kian knelt down beside her in the snow. “I thought you were settled here in Seattle.”

“I am,” Cate insisted, “It was just a slip of the tongue, that’s all.”

“If you’re not happy here,” Kian dragged his gloved hands through the soft snow. “I need you to tell me, angel.” It was difficult sometimes to remember that the prenatal depression she’d suffered from when she was pregnant with Sierra had been hell for Kian too. It was the greatest challenge they’d faced in their marriage.

“I know you worry,” Cate said softly, “but I promise I’m really happy here in Seattle. Manchester will always hold a special place in my heart because it’s where I grew up and two of our children were born there but it doesn’t mean that I want to go back. The Manchester I’m thinking about doesn’t exist anymore apart from in my memories.”

Kian still looked too serious; Cate wanted to lighten the mood. “Have you ever had sex in a snowdrift?”

Kian laughed, “angel, I love your boobs too much to watch them drop off due to frostbite.”

“We wouldn’t have to get completely naked,” Cate stood up and shrugged off the snow which clung to the back of her wool coat. “We could just take out the necessary bits and pieces.”

“Mm,” Kian scooped her up and carried her back to the snowmobile. “I love it when you talk dirty.”

“I bet the snow would really help to reduce the swelling on my bottom.”

“We could always give it a try?” Kian laughed at the scandalised look on Cate’s face. She definitely hadn’t expected him to say yes. He put her down on her feet and reached down for a large handful of snow. Before Cate realised what he was doing, he had his arm clamped around her waist and was lifting up the back of her coat. “Kian Warner, if you put that snow anywhere near my bottom… Ow!” She yelped, kicking her legs as Kian pushed the clump of snow down the back of her jeans.

Kian was bent double, laughing so hard as he watched her wriggle about, trying to dislodge the melting snow from inside her jeans. “It’s not funny,” Cate huffed. “It’s really freaking cold.”

“Ugh,” she grimaced as the melting snow made her panties all wet and sticky.

“I’m so going to get you back for that.” Ignoring her discomfort, she grabbed a handful of snow and chased after Kian. “See how you like it.”

Kian let her chase him, keeping just far enough ahead that she thought she was close but she wouldn’t be able to catch him.

Cate knew what he was doing, she was never going to be able to catch him in a fair race – he used to be a professional athlete so the only option she had was to play dirty. She threw herself forward and rugby-tackled him, wrapping her arms around the backs of his legs, sending him tumbling face first into the snow.

“Ha,” Cate scooted up his legs until she was straddling his groin.

Kian spat out a mouthful of snow. He tried to fend her off, “you really want to render the poor guy out of action for the rest of the weekend.”

“I’ll cope,” Cate shifted, feeling a trail of cold water trickle down her thigh. She tugged at the zipper at the front of his jeans. The thick bulge of his boxer-clad cock poked through the vee in his jeans. Without a hint of remorse, Cate smushed the snowball against him.

“Fucking hell,” Kian yelled. His voice echoed through the quiet woods.

Cate felt very smug until she stood up and water dripped down her calves and into her boots. “If you’re lucky,” she watched as he struggled to stuff his cock back in his jeans and tug up the zipper. “When we get back to the cabin, I might just warm you up.” She watched him grimace. The harder he was, the worse it was going to feel.

“If you’re lucky,” Kian grumbled as he stood up, “I might not leave you here in the middle of fucking nowhere.”

“Don’t be such a grump,” Cate nudged him. “Fair’s fair.”

She didn’t realise they’d been out so long but the sky was already starting to get dark. As they rode back down on the snowmobile, Cate wanted to savour every last second of the ride. When she’d been suffering from prenatal depression, Nate had taken her on a ferry boat ride to downtown Seattle. It had been a really windy day and they’d gone up to the top deck. She’d been buffeted around by the strong winds and hadn’t been able to hear herself think but she’d never felt so alive.

When they got back to the cabin, Kian put the snowmobile back in the garage and Cate went inside. She felt a little bit guilty about rubbing a handful of snow against Kian’s cock. She stripped off her own damp clothes and left them to dry near the fireplace.

When Kian came inside, his teeth were chattering. “So fucking cold.”

“I’m sorry,” Cate bit her lip. She gently tugged down the zipper of his jeans. There were big clumps of snow still stubbornly clinging to his boxer shorts.

She stripped him of his wet clothes and led him into the small bathroom. The shower was already running and the air was thick with steam. They were both so cold that the hot water at first felt like tiny needles pricking their skin.

“I’m genuinely sorry,” Cate wrapped her hand around the base of his cock.

“I’m sure you said something about warming me up.”

Cate looked up at him innocently, “is the water not hot enough for you? I can always…”

“Temptress,” Kian growled and tugged her back against him. His hands were still a little cold, making her jump as he explored her soft curves.

“Hey,” she yelped as he tugged at her taut nipple.

“You want me to stop, angel?” Kian chuckled as he slid his large hand between her legs.

“No, don’t stop,” Cate parted her legs to give him better access. He eased a finger knuckle-deep inside her hot, wet channel. “That feels perfect.”

He continued rubbing between her legs until she was practically begging him to make love to her. “Put your hands on the wall,” he instructed.

Cate did as she was told. She almost stumbled as he nudged her legs further apart but he caught her, wrapping an arm securely around her waist. He wrapped a hand around his slowly-thawing cock and gently rubbed it against her hard, swollen nub, anointing himself in her abundant juices. The chill of his cock against her overheated flesh made her even more desperate to feel him inside her. Kian wrapped his large hands around her slender hips, tilting her to just the right angle.

“Mm,” Cate whimpered as she felt his thick, slightly cool cock nudge against her entrance.

“That feels good, doesn’t it, angel?”

Cate could only nod as he worked the blunt head of his cock between her legs. “I think,” Kian suckled on the curve between her neck and shoulder, “I might let you shove handfuls of snow down the front of my jeans more often if this is my reward. Fuck, you’re so tight.”

He wanted to be a gentleman but he was too impatient to feel all of that delicious, hot, wet, snugness around his cock so he bent his legs and thrust roughly upwards, forcing Cate up on to her tiptoes. “Oh,” she cried out, squeezing him so tightly it was almost painful.

After she’d climaxed twice, she felt Kian jerk between her legs and then the warmth of his release coated her insides. “Fuck,” Kian rasped. He buried his face in her neck, his short, choppy breaths imprinting on her damp skin. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

Cate pressed her flushed cheek against the tiles. “I think we’ve got a problem.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not sure I can walk after that.”

Kian swelled with masculine pride. “That good, huh? Give me a minute or ten and I’ll carry you.”

When he trusted his legs not to buckle beneath him, Kian pulled out and reached for a couple of washcloths so he could clean them both up. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist before reaching for Cate. She always felt so beautifully fragile after they’d made love. He grabbed another towel and wrapped her up in it.

He carried her into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. “I keep thinking that one day it’s going to be rubbish,” Cate remarked.

Kian climbed underneath the blankets with her, “what?”

Cate giggled at his horrified expression, “In the magazines, they talk about how it’s only natural when couples have been together for such a long time for them to have a slump.”

She suddenly frowned, “do you think there’s something wrong with us? I mean, we’ve been married for thirteen years and yet we’re still…”

“At it like rabbits?” Kian volunteered.

Cate rolled her eyes, “I was going to say very attracted to each other but yes.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with us, angel. I just think that we’re fucking lucky.”

 

When Cate woke up a couple of hours later, Kian was next to her on the bed. He was reading through a couple more reports Anna had given him before he’d left for the cabin.

“You love it, don’t you?” Cate turned over to look at him.

“Huh?”

“I thought you liked playing for Rovers and Seattle but you were never this excited about football.”

Kian put the reports down on the bedside table and snuggled Cate against him. “I guess it’s because I never really felt like I chose football, I always felt like it chose me.”

“Does it bother you that Mats isn’t interested in football?”

Kian shook his head, “I love my dad but I don’t want to be like him. When I was little and he realised that I could play a bit, he got so excited about the idea of me becoming a professional footballer that it just overtook everything else. When I came home from school every night, I couldn’t just raid the fridge and watch TV, I had to be outside until it got dark, practicing headers and working on what he thought was my weaker left foot. I couldn’t go and play football at the green with the other lads because Dad was worried that I’d get injured.”

He looked up at the wooden beams of the ceiling. “All I want, not just for Mats, but for Lo and Sierra too, is for them to find something that makes them happy.”

Cate rested her cheek on his stomach. “But despite your reservations, I think Lola’s really determined that she wants to be a footballer.”

“I know,” Kian frowned, “and the trouble is that she’s really good.”

“We should have known,” Cate continued, “I remember when I was pregnant and she used to have shooting practice against my ribs.”

Kian tugged down the covers and stroked his fingers over the faded scar which marked Cate’s abdomen. “I can still remember the first time I felt her kick inside you. It changed my life.”

At the worst possible moment, Cate’s tummy rumbled loudly.

“Are you hungry, angel?”

“A little,” Cate nodded. She reluctantly prised herself away from Kian and flung back the covers. “I’ll make us something.”

Kian followed her into the kitchen. They had the ingredients to make penne arrabiatta so while Cate prepared the spicy sauce with garlic, tomatoes and red chili peppers, Kian cooked the pasta.

“Mm, so good,” Cate sighed after the first mouthful. She was sat cross-legged on top of the mess of blankets on the bed. Kian was sat with his back against the wooden headboard and his long legs stretched out in front of him.

“We make a good team,” Kian reached over and wiped away a bead of tomato sauce at the side of her mouth.

“We do,” Cate said. She felt a little sad as she realised that the weekend would soon be over and they would go back to living almost separate lives again.

“I can’t guarantee that I’ll be home at five pm every night,” Kian said as if he could read her thoughts. “But I promise I’ll try and get home before you go to sleep at least every other night.”

“It’s a start, I guess,” Cate put her empty plate down on the bedside table. “It’s just…”

“What is it?”

Cate explained that she’d tried to surprise him at the office earlier that week but she’d found out when she got there that he’d had to go to Tacoma to check up on one of their investments so she’d ended up going for pizza with Ben and Anna instead. “I guess I just don’t understand why it’s always you that has to work late or go on all these trips to check up on your investments. Erin said that Ben is home almost every night before Oliver goes to bed. Why can’t he pick up some of the slack?”

“Ben doesn’t have anything to prove,” Kian frowned.

Cate placed her hand over his, “and you feel like you do?”

She hated seeing such an agonised expression on his handsome face. “Ben’s got a business degree and years of experience. I’m just an ex-professional footballer who left school at sixteen.”

“No,” Cate shook her head angrily. “You’re so much more than that. When you started the company, you and Ben, whose money was it that you were investing? It wasn’t my brother’s, it was yours. Do you know how many professional footballers retire from the game with absolutely nothing in their bank accounts? You see them every week on TV as pundits, they can’t play anymore but they can’t move on from football because it’s all they’ve got. You’re not like them. You were smart with your money; not only did you make sure that we would always be comfortable but you still had money left over which meant that you and Ben could start this company together.”

Kian shrugged.

Cate held his face in her hands. “You’re one of the smartest men I know. You don’t have to prove anything to Ben or anybody else. If you want to study for a degree, I’ll support you one hundred percent. I remember Mum saying once that one of the most important things you need in order to be successful in business is good instincts. You can’t teach that in a classroom. When you were a footballer, how many times were you approached by supposedly legit businessmen offering you quick and easy ways to make money?”

Kian shook his head, “more times than I could count.”

“You didn’t fall for any of them because you’ve got good instincts, Kian.”

Kian shrugged, “in a room full of footballers, it doesn’t take much to be the smartest, you know?”

“Stop it,” Cate felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes and quickly blinked them away. Kian was usually so confident; she really hated seeing him doubt himself. “If you’ve really got nothing to offer but an open wallet, why did Anna – who’s got an MBA from Stanford – apply to be your assistant? Surely, she must have had other offers after she’d graduated?”

Kian looked baffled and Cate realised that he’d never asked himself that question before.

“She took the job because she knew that she could learn from you.”

“Ha,” Kian scoffed.

“I’ve got a Psychology degree. I thought I knew everything there was to know about depression until I experienced it for myself and then all the studies that I’d read about in thick textbooks and all the statistics I’d memorised became meaningless because there is a monumental difference between being taught about something and actually doing or experiencing it. Being able to recite the DSM criteria for major depressive disorders word for word doesn’t really matter when you’re sat on a wooden dock, looking out at Puget Sound, and thinking about losing yourself in that seductive, black nothingness.”

“Abby doesn’t have a degree but yet I’ve learned so much more from her than I ever did at university. It’s the same with Anna. She took the job as your assistant because you can teach her about business in the real world. It’s not like the safety net of the classroom, where if you’re not sure about the correct answer, you can look it up in the back of the textbook.”

“My mum hasn’t got a degree either - she had to drop out of university when she found out that she was pregnant with Remy – and yet for the last twenty years her consulting company has been listed on the FTSE.”

Kian lifted her up on to his lap. “Thank you,” he murmured, his lips brushing against her forehead. “What would I do without you, my very own cheerleader?”

Cate smiled, “you’re welcome. If you need me to put the outfit on again, just let me know? I think it’s in one of the boxes up in the attic although I think I might have lost one of the pom-poms.”

Kian closed his eyes. She giggled as she felt the throb of his masculine reaction against the curve of her bottom.

“You’re picturing me in it, aren’t you?”

“Fuck, yes,” Kian grunted, tightening his grip on her waist.

Cate nipped his earlobe, “just think how much fun we could have if you actually got home before sunset every once in a while.”

“I can’t promise that things will change overnight, angel.”

“I know,” Cate looked at him seriously. “But I meant what I said before. You don’t have to prove anything to anybody, OK? I believe in you.”

“I was thinking,” Kian said. “We could have lunch together once a week. You could come to the office and we could get take-out or we could go out to eat. I don’t want us to get so disconnected again, angel.” Kian gently stroked her cheek. “For that hour, I promise, it would just be the two of us.”

“I’d like that,” Cate smiled. It would almost be like they were dating again, except for the fact that they’d never had lunch dates. Because Cate’s brother was Kian’s best friend and Kian’s sister was Cate’s best friend, they’d had to hide their relationship and so the only place they’d been able to go was Mill Lake, a local nature reserve.

It would be kind of romantic to get all dressed up once a week and go into the city to meet her sexy-ass husband for lunch.

“I know,” Cate jumped down off the bed and ran downstairs to the lounge. When she came back, she was carrying one of the board games. “The winner gets to choose where we have lunch on our first date.”

Kian smoothed down the covers so they’d have a flat surface. “Didn’t we used to play this with Lola and Mats?”

“Yes but then it got banished to the attic, along with all the other games, when Sierra came along. She got so upset when Mateo sent her counter back to the start that she picked up the board and ripped it right down the centre.”

Kian winced, “I’d forgotten about that. She’s such a bad loser.”

“She’s spirited,” Cate said diplomatically.

Kian raised an eyebrow, “you indulge her.”

Cate shrugged her shoulders, “I know but I can’t help it.” When she was pregnant with Sierra, she’d suffered so badly with prenatal depression that she’d seriously thought about drowning herself in Puget Sound. She didn’t think that she’d ever get over the guilt of what she’d almost done to her youngest daughter.

“Seriously?” Kian grumbled as Cate sent another one of his counters back to the beginning. “I think they should change the name of this to “I’m not sorry in the slightest.”

Cate giggled, “and we wonder where Sierra gets it from?”

“Hey,” Kian frowned, “I’m not that bad. The board is still in one piece.”

“For now,” Cate said. She picked up the next card. “Sorry,” she couldn’t stop laughing as she sent Kian’s one remaining counter back to the beginning.

“You will be,” Kian grunted, lifting Cate up and laying her down on her back.

“We haven’t finished the game,” Cate protested as Kian nudged her t-shirt up so he could plant soft kisses on the sensitive skin around her belly button.

“I concede, angel.” Kian eased her panties down over her bottom. “You win.”

Cate swatted his chest. “We can’t have sex on here. It’s sacrilege or something.”

“Don’t care,” Kian kissed the top of her mound. He loved her scent. He tugged her panties down her legs and tossed them carelessly on the floor. They landed on top of the log fire, quickly dissolving into cinders.

“I can’t believe you just burnt my knickers.”

“I’m just that hot,” Kian laughed.

He nuzzled his face against her soft, damp skin, prising apart her quivering thighs. “Mm,” Cate whimpered. He was just too darn good at that.

As she wriggled underneath him, she felt something dig into her bottom.

She quickly pushed herself up on her elbows, “ouch, that really hurt.”

Kian looked up, his lips glossy from her arousal. “What’s wrong?”

Cate blushed, “did you just try and touch my…”

When she looked down, his hands were still gripping her thighs but she was confused because she could feel something firm and what she thought was finger shaped nudging against her bottom.

She made to get up off the bed. “Hey,” Kian said softly, “what’s the matter?”

Cate shifted uncomfortably, she could still feel whatever it was. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

Kian helped her stand up and as she turned to walk towards the bathroom, he said, “um, angel?”

“Yeah?” Cate turned around.

Kian got up off the bed and walked towards her, “you’ve got a counter stuck to your ass.”

“Ugh, is that what it was?” She looked down at the offending blue counter. “I’m going to have to go and disinfect that now.”

As she took the counter from Kian, she could still feel it against her bottom. The rough edges must have scratched her. “It feels like it’s still there.”

Kian knelt down and smoothed his hands over her cheeks. She heard him laugh again and then three more counters dropped on to the floor between her legs.

“You’re definitely an equal opportunities counter-hoarder,” Kian handed her the three counters. With the blue already in her hand, she had the full set now of yellow, red, blue and green.

“See, that’s why you don’t have sex on here,” Cate muttered. “I told you it was sacrilege.”

She filled the kitchen sink with boiling hot water and dropped the four counters in there.

While she was brooding about the humiliation of having four counters stuck to her bottom, Kian gripped her hips and turned her around.

He dropped to his knees in front of her and planted gentle kisses on her thighs. “What are you doing?” Cate asked, tugging his head back.

“I’m giving my girl,” Kian nudged her thighs apart. Cate gripped the edge of the kitchen counter for support. “Her orgasms.”

“You’re too…” Cate panted afterwards, riding out the waves of her third orgasm. “Too good at that.”

Kian scooped her up and carried her back to bed, “I’m not sorry in the slightest about that, angel.”

Cate snuggled down under the blankets. Her body felt a little bruised, a little sore but very well-loved.