He heard her talking about the fabric that the nightgown was made of but he didn't process most of the words, instead paying more attention to the high hemline and the fact that when Shelagh climbed into the bed that he could feel the soft skin of her thigh as the material rose against her legs.

"Absolutely," he answered when she made a comment about the climate, not really knowing what he was agreeing to but glad of the opportunity to see his wife in a garment she would have considered to be almost scandalous a few years before. Shelagh reached for the book she had abandoned on the floor, the frilly edge of her nightdress riding up even further and prompting Patrick to reach over, his hand disappearing under the blankets until he could cup his fingers over her thigh, stroking the flesh he found there.

"Patrick!" Shelagh scolded, blushing slightly. He grinned at her, leaning forward and catching her in a quick kiss all while his hand continued to move up and down her thigh.

"I'm sorry my love, you're just much too tempting to me like this," he said, smiling against her lips as he felt her tiny fingers come up to cup the back of his head, threading through his hair and scratching slightly at his nape. He distantly heard the book flop onto the floor but he paid it no heed, nuzzling against his wife's neck and sighing into her skin. "Thank you," he whispered, "for convincing me to come out here. I know it's a difficult place to be, but I think you were right, we do need this." He felt her place a kiss on his temple in response, her body relaxing into the mattress beneath them as his fingers continued to trace lazy patterns on the skin of her thigh.

When he pulled back a moment later, his fingers having started to move higher up Shelagh's leg, he found her with wide eyes, her pupils noticeably dilated and burning in the dim light, her lip caught between her teeth. Without hesitation he slid his hand up further, encountering no fabric barrier as his fingers slipped into the apex of her thighs. Shelagh let out a little huff, matching the groan that escaped from the back of Patrick's throat.

"Shelagh," he murmured, "you're trying to kill me with your fashion choices my love." He took her lack of knickers in stride, pressing his fingers forward until they were flush against the heated skin of her, dragging up and down slowly and spreading the wetness that was collecting there.

"Patrick," she breathed out, and he couldn't hold back. Not anymore. But his wife, so bold in her nightgown, beat him to it

Shelagh brought her hands to Patrick's cheeks, framing his face as she pulled him into a heated kiss, the hand that he wasn't using to pleasure her propped on the bed as he attempted to keep his weight off of her. He could feel her hips hitching against his hand slightly, trying to press closer to the digits that were close to where she wanted them but not enough. Without warning Shelagh tilted her hips and gasped against his mouth, his fingers finally sliding into her. She moaned, head tipping backwards as he slid his hand forward and back, one finger quickly becoming two inside her as his thumb came to rest against her clit, rubbing circles against the sensitive nerves.

"Ohhh," she hissed, one delicate hand blindly reaching towards Patrick's pyjama trousers, fumbling until she could get it under the fabric, closing her fingers around his hot length and squeezing gently, drawing a growl from her husband. She smiled, biting her lip again at a particularly forceful thrust of his hand, the pad of his finger rubbing across the spot inside her that sent fire through her blood. Without preamble she felt herself shatter against his fingers, the muscles insider her clamping down as she shook through her orgasm, the fabric of her nightgown rubbing against her nipples as she came. She bit into Patrick's shoulder to muffle the sounds she wanted to make, her hand stopping its movement where she clutched his erection.

Shelagh's hips jerked against his palm, wild, desperate little motions while she clung to him. He eased his fingers out of her slowly, and then grinned down at her, entirely too proud of himself.

"Oh hush," Shelagh muttered when her pulse stopped pounding in her ears, giggling slightly as she stroked his cock again, revelling in the cut off whimper it caused. It took her a moment but she managed to push his trousers down just enough to free him, hooking a leg around his hip and pulling him into the embrace of her thighs. He didn't waste a moment, aligning himself with her entrance and pushing inside with one smooth stroke, her body still wet and pliant around him as her ankles came to lock at the small of his back. He stilled when he was completely sheathed within her, hips pressed tight to her as he gazed down at her, one slightly trembling hand coming up to brush her hair out of her face, cupping her neck and he leaned down for a quick kiss before he started moving.

His thrusts started out slow and deep, drawing himself nearly completely out of her before he would slide back, but he quickly started to lose his patience, slow becoming fast and deep becoming more shallow, no longer focused on drawing his hips back all the way, but rather just enough so that movement could be achieved in short, pointed bursts. Shelagh pulled him down into a kiss, sliding her tongue past and around his as her nails dug into his back, pulling the fabric of his nightshirt up slightly so that she could touch skin. For his part Patrick gripped the headboard with one hand, the other pressing tight to Shelagh's hip, thumb rubbing the fabric of her nightgown while his fingers roved over the skin of her backside.

Their quick rhythm dissipated within moments, becoming a hard, messy meeting of bodies as they slammed into one another, his length sliding against her in just the right way and her muscles gripping him tightly. Shelagh's second orgasm came with little more warning than the first, heat spreading through her belly before she lurched into a dizzying spiral of pleasure. Patrick grunted, thrusting frantically and with little finesse, trying to prolong her release while desperately seeking his own. It came only a few heartbeats later, his body jerking as he hitched himself against her.

"Fuck." The word was broken and hissed into the skin of Shelagh's collarbone as Patrick spilled inside her, trying to get as close as possible as he pressed her pelvis into the mattress, grinding against her and sending aftershocks through her body with each spurt of his release.

He pulled out of her a moment later, still panting, as he pressed a sloppy kiss to her lips before collapsing next to her, yelping as the beds nearly came apart. Frantic, he grabbed onto the other mattress, rolling away from his wife quickly before he ended up on the floor. Shelagh couldn't help it, bursting into laughter at his shocked and terrified expression, her legs still jelly against the blankets and the hem of her nightdress rucked up about her waist.

"Oh Patrick!" She gasped, giggling hysterically as she watched him stand on his own shaking legs to retreat into the bathroom, coming back a moment later with a damp cloth and a bashful expression. He allowed her to clean up while he returned the bed to the correct position, nudging it until it was flush against the other, pulling his sweat-damp shirt off and dropping it to the ground before climbing back in next to his wife. She chuckled softly as he curled up against her, stroking a hand up and down her arm while he pressed himself against her back, making sure they were both on only one mattress.

"I do quite enjoy this climate if it means you wear things like that more often. Although I will admit I miss our regular bed," he whispered into her hair, leaning over her for a heartbeat only to blow out the candle before returning to his prone position.

"Mm, I miss our bed too. But I'm sure this will do just fine for a little while longer. And if not, we could always sneak out into the bush to have a few moments together," she answered, loving the way his silent laughter rocked their bodies together as they started drifting towards sleep.

"I love you," he breathed, voice quiet.

"I love you too."