Wednesday December 25th

 

“Come on, it’s Christmas pyjama time,” Cate said after they’d ushered the last of their guests out the front door.

As if they sensed that Cate, Kian and the children wanted some family time, Irene, Jean and Bernard had already retreated upstairs.

“Yay,” Sierra did a little jig knowing that when Cate said that it was “Christmas pyjama time” what she really meant was that it was time to open the Christmas presents which had been sat under the big Christmas tree in the lounge all day, teasing and tempting her with their lovely, shiny wrapping paper and big, glittery bows.

This year, they all had green, fleece onesies which made them look as if they’d been tangled up in fairy lights. Lola rolled her eyes when Cate handed her hers, she was far too cool for this Christmas tradition but she knew that there was no point protesting because her mum would make her wear it anyway.

Cate reached into the bottom of the brown paper bag and handed Kian his.

“No way,” Kian shook his head. Cate might have been tempted to let him skip this particular tradition but since she was still annoyed that he’d spent all of Christmas Eve at the office while Ben had taken his son to the movies, she was determined that he was going to wear the ridiculous onesie even if she had to rugby-tackle him right there in the entrance hall.

Kian could tell that she was determined to make him wear it from the set of her jaw. “Can’t I just wear the bottoms?”

Cate rolled her eyes, “oh my goodness, it’s a onesie. Of course, you can’t just wear the bottoms.”

Lola, Mats and Sierra came downstairs all dressed up in their identical green onesies. “Come on Daddy,” Sierra tugged on his arm, “it’s present time.”

“Fine,” Kian huffed, grabbing the onesie from Cate. He stomped along the corridor to the ground-floor bathroom.

“I’m going to nip upstairs and get changed,” Cate said to Lola. “You’re in charge until I get back.”

When she came back downstairs, dressed in her fleece onesie, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from giggling. Her big, strong husband, the ex-professional athlete, looked completely ridiculous but yet adorable in his onesie. He had Sierra on his lap and she couldn’t decide if he was trying to keep her entertained until they could finally open their presents or if he was stopping her making a break for it.

“Is it present time yet?” Sierra asked hopefully.

“Almost,” Cate smiled. “I just want to take a couple of photos first.”

“Cate,” Kian growled.

Lola and Mats piled on top of Kian and Sierra on the sofa and they looked so freaking cute in their matching onesies.

“Are you about done?” Kian grunted.

“Hm,” Cate tapped her chin with her finger, “I’m just trying to decide which photo I want to upload to my Instagram account.”

“You haven’t got an Instagram account.”

“Not yet but these photos of you in your lovely, fluffy onesie might be worth me setting one up. I wonder how many likes I’d get?”

“Don’t you…” Kian realised that the children were in earshot, “freaking dare.”

“We’ll see,” Cate chuckled.

Kian wasn’t the only one teetering on the brink of losing his patience. Sierra was practically salivating, her dark eyes glued to the stack of big, shiny presents under the tree. She’d had to listen to her cousins talking about what they’d got for Christmas all day. Cate was actually amazed that she’d lasted this long.

 

“That’s awesome, thanks Mum,” Lola gave Cate a hug after she’d opened up her final present, which was the new Manchester Rovers home shirt. Although she liked Seattle F.C., which was where Kian had finished his professional career, her heart like Kian’s would always belong to Rovers.

“Why are you thanking Mommy?” Sierra asked, looking up from her new doll. “It was Father Christmas that brought you your presents.”

Lola gave her a look as if to say, my sister is so gullible.

“Mum and Dad might not have bought the presents,” Lola explained. Cate really hoped that Sierra didn’t pick up on the sarcasm which was practically dripping from her big sister’s voice. “But who do you think told him that we’d been good enough this year to deserve presents and who let him in the house last night after we’d gone to sleep so that he could deliver them?”

“Oh,” Sierra frowned. She hadn’t thought of that. “Thanks Mommy, thanks Daddy.”

“You’re very welcome, sweetheart,” Cate ruffled Sierra’s hair.

They’d opened up all of the presents under the tree but Cate could see that Sierra still looked a little glum. At the very top of the list that she’d written for Father Christmas had been her wish for a doll’s house.

Cate shared a look with Kian and he and Mateo got up and quietly walked out of the lounge.

“I think there might be one more present,” Cate grinned as they came back into the room carrying a big box. “I wonder who it might be for?”

Sierra’s eyes were filled with so much hope.

“Let’s see,” Kian opened the card attached to the top. “It says it’s for you, Sierra.”

Unlike when they’d first started opening their presents, Sierra approached this one cautiously as if she didn’t want to be disappointed if it wasn’t the doll’s house she wanted so very badly.

She prised open the top corner of the wrapping paper. Her eyes lit up when she recognised the famous logo. She tore through the rest of the wrapping paper like a whirling dervish and then dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around the big box, “oh thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“I think she likes it,” Cate quipped to Kian.

“I think you should look inside,” Lola teased, “it might just be an empty box.”

Lola and Mats helped her open up the big box and the pieces tumbled onto the carpet.

“Daddy,” Sierra tugged on his sleeve, “why doesn’t it look like the picture?”

“It will do, sweetheart,” Kian grimaced, “it just needs assembling.”

“Can we do it now?”

“Are you sure you’re not too tired?”

“No,” Sierra shook her head. “Are you sleepy, Daddy?”

Cate jumped in before Kian could say anything, “of course he’s not sleepy. Your daddy’s well used to late nights. He’d love to help you set up your doll’s house.”

She tried to tell herself that one sarcastic comment didn’t technically violate her rule about not fighting with Kian on Christmas Day.

“Yay!” Sierra hugged Kian tightly, “I love you Daddy.”

“I love you too,” Kian reached wearily for the instruction booklet.

“I’ll get some refreshments,” Cate smiled.

When she came back with glasses of sparkling apple juice (another family tradition), Kian and Mateo were sat huddled together on the floor, looking at the instructions for the three-floor doll’s house, which came with a working lift.

 

Later that night, after the children had finally gone to sleep, Cate walked into the guest bathroom and began to remove her make-up. She’d just finished one side when Kian joined her.

“Hi,” he said softly, brushing her hair to one side so he could kiss her neck.

His hand slid around her front, his thumb stroking circles over the fleece covering her tummy.

She felt his cock come to life against her bottom.

“Nope,” Cate shook her head, “not happening.”

“What’s not happening?”

His other hand tugged at the zip at the front of her onesie, slowly revealing her soft skin.

Cate reached up and stilled his fingers. “I know it will be a real struggle, considering I look so freaking hot right now.” She rolled her eyes. She did look hot but only in the temperature sense; tiny beads of sweat were trickling down her neck and gathering in the dip of her collarbone. She couldn’t have looked any more ridiculous if she’d tried – she didn’t mind because that was what Christmas was all about – with her fleece onesie and one-half of her make-up still on. “You’re not getting with this, not tonight.”

Kian chuckled. “I bet I can change your mind.”

Cate looked at her watch, which was at the side of the sink. It was two minutes past midnight. It wasn’t Christmas Day anymore and knowing that was like having a big bucket of cold water dumped over her. She had a strict rule about not fighting with Kian on Christmas Day; it wasn’t fair on the children so even though she was still annoyed with him for spending the whole of Christmas Eve at the office, she’d bitten her tongue so hard she’d left tiny marks. However, it wasn’t Christmas Day anymore. She could be as pissed off with him as she liked.

She wriggled out of his grasp, “I one hundred percent guarantee that you can’t.”

She unzipped her onesie and wriggled it down over her hips, “oh, that feels so good.” She savoured the cool night air against her heated skin.

Kian gulped, “I thought you were supposed to sleep in your Christmas pyjamas.”

Cate shook her head, “no way. I’ll keep it next to the mattress so I can put it on again before I go downstairs for breakfast.”

She grabbed the t-shirt she’d hung on the hook on the back of the bathroom door and tugged it over her head and then quickly unfastened her bra.

She almost wanted to giggle again when she saw Kian’s expression as she pulled her shorts up her legs. He had his hand clamped over his groin.

“What’s wrong?”

“This feels so fucking wrong, getting a hard-on while I’m wearing a onesie.”

Cate giggled, “why don’t you think of it as penance?”

“Penance?”

“Mm,” Cate watched as he stripped off the onesie and tossed it on the floor. He was really suffering with his erection; the tip was already peeking over the top of the waistband of his boxer shorts.

She moved closer, her luscious breasts brushing up against the hard planes of his bare chest. She slid her hand down his tightly-clenched abdomen and palmed his hard, thick cock.

“Cate?” Kian hissed. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Cate grinned. She slid her hand inside his shorts and gripped his hot, male flesh, rubbing her thumb over the sensitive tip, which was already dripping for her. “That feels good, doesn’t it?” If he hadn’t been hard as a fucking rock, Kian would have been suspicious as his wife didn’t usually talk dirty.

They’d been married for so long that she was completely attuned to his body. She worked him perilously close to the brink, watching as his handsome face twisted up in agony. Then just as he was about to release, she let go of his cock and pulled her hand out of his boxers.

“Goodnight,” she said cheekily. She washed her hands in the sink. “Sleep tight.”

“What the fuck?” Kian roared. “After all that, you’re just going to go to bed?”

“Yep,” Cate giggled, “it’s not nice to be left hanging, is it?”