Unbearable Heat

by IchatrinaObsessedSleepyGirl

On the hottest night of the summer, Ichabod seeks out a way to escape the heat, leading to a series of new experiences for he and his reluctant wife.

I wrote this because Ichabod just seems like the type to throw a fit while Katrina has to coddle him.

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"I can't take this."

Rolling her eyes, she turned onto her back to stare at the ceiling with a tired whisper, "Just go to sleep."

He gave a grunt of disapproval, but made no further sounds. That is, until the bed shifted with his squirming.

"Ichabod..." she groaned, feeling her remaining nerves coming close to reaching their limit.

The bed bounced again as he kicked his legs in a mild tantrum like fashion. "It's impossible to sleep in this misery! How can you be so calm?"

With a sigh, she brought a hand up to swipe through her sweaty hair, the likes of which was sticking to her face. "I'm simply trying to put it from my mind."

"And how's that working out for you?" he grumbled, once again shifting, the sheets beneath her tugging in the process, the stickiness from her sweat causing them to cling to her back in an uncomfortable manner.

"It'd be working much better if I had silence," she replied with an edge to her voice. "And stillness."

An irritated huff left him, but otherwise, he fell quiet. While she understood why her husband was having such a fit, there was little that could be done and complaining about it wasn't going to accomplish anything. The heat of the night was at an unbearable high. Even with the blankets and all clothing discarded, and thanks to Ichabod, shoved to the floor in the midst of his kicking and twisting, she still felt as though she were suffocating beneath its pressure. Her throat was dry and her body was sticky, which was only worsening her mood. She wasn't generally one who complained with where she was sleeping or the conditions surrounding her, but the mess of her bed had her ready to scream and her husband's tantrum wasn't helping matters. Normally, they'd be tangled in each other at this point with Ichabod's limbs strewn all over her, but not this night. This night, there was no touching to be had. They'd attempted it upon first lying down, but it hadn't taken Ichabod long to set about his complaining and squirming, prompting her to shove him away, demanding he stay on his side of the bed the remainder of the night.

Suddenly, Ichabod sat up and practically jumped from the bed, drawing her gaze as she was jolted with the movement. The soft moonlight coming through their bedroom window silhouetted his naked form as he made his way to the window and leaned out of it.

"I swear it's hotter inside the house than it is outside."

Turning on her side to observe him, she shrugged. "Then, go sleep outside."

He spun back around with what she was sure would be a glare if she could properly see his face. "Your mood leaves much to be desired, dearest wife."

Eyebrows shooting up, she answered, "Perhaps I'm taking cues from you, now, loving husband."

It only took a few steps for him to be back in their bed, crawling toward her on all fours like some sort of animal approaching its meal. When he reached its center, he sat on his heels and stared down at her, his fingers reaching out to lightly run along her hip. "You could distract me."

The laugh that escaped her was half hearted as she didn't even have the energy to properly scold him. "Yes, because that would lessen the heat and stickiness of this night."

"Katrina," he whined with a bit of a bounce. "I cannot bear this any longer."

Eyes falling closed, she rolled to her belly and turned her head from him. "Whining about it isn't going to make the discomfort go away. Just go to sleep," she mumbled into her pillow.

His hand remained on her skin, however, now trailing along her spine and, despite her earlier words, was inciting a reaction in her. It was a light tickling sensation that shot straight up her back, causing her body to tense. "Stop."

"I can't."

Completely annoyed, she reached behind her and grabbed his hand before carelessly tossing it aside. "Go to sleep, Ichabod."

A moment passed before his hand once more touched her, this time, at the back of her thigh. "Oh, for the love of-" She flipped over and sat up to get into a proper position to give him a tongue lashing, but was only met with his hands grasping her face as his mouth claimed her own. "Icha-" His tongue seized the opportunity to slip between her lips as she attempted to talk, effectively cutting her words off. When she failed at detaching from his mouth, she pressed her hands firmly to his chest and shoved at him, successfully getting him to fall back against the bed. The drawback was that he didn't release his hold on her and ended up bringing her down with him. Now, sprawled on top of him, she took a moment to catch her breath before biting out, "Stop it."

His answer was to throw his head back as his arms and legs fell apart, spread toward all corners of the bed. "Fine."

As she sat on top of him, she watched her grown, well educated, gentleman of a husband huff and close his eyes in agitation that looked like something more similar to pouting than upset defeat. Rolling her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time in the past few hours, she laid a hand to his chest and sighed, "Ichabod, it's too hot. Not only would we exhaust ourselves, we'd be even more miserable and sticky than we already are."

A moment passed with his continued pouting and then he suddenly bolted straight up, nearly bumping heads with her in the process as a look of clarity planted itself all over his face. "We're sticky."

Eyes wide as she tried to figure out just what he was looking so knowledgeable about, she drawled out a hesitant, "Yes."

The next thing she knew was his hands on her hips as he lifted her off of him before he rolled from the bed and began tugging his trousers on.

"Ichabod, what are you doing?"

He jumped up and spun to toss her dress at her. "Get up and dress."

Catching the material that nearly hit her in the face, she frowned. "Your solution to this heat is to put clothing on?"

"Katrina," he said, clear determination present in his movements as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Just dress."

She opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped as he circled to her side of the bed and tugged her to her feet. When he reached for her dress, she laid a hand to his forehead, "Has the heat made you completely lose your senses?"

He ignored her as he held the dress open for her. "Quickly."

When she didn't move to do as he said, he rolled his eyes and practically begged, "Please, unless you'd like to venture outdoors in such an exposed state."

"Outdoors!?" she exclaimed, pushing the dress away. "It's the middle of the night! I'm not going outdoors!"

"Katrina," he said in frustration, bringing the dress back toward her. "Do you want to escape this heat or not?"

Glancing about the room in agitation while searching for an excuse that never presented itself, she finally relented to his impatience and stepped into her dress, which he quickly began buttoning up. When she noticed what he was doing, she said offhandedly, "Well, this is unusual."

He cast her a confused glance as his nimble fingers made quick work up the buttons of her dress. "I'm simply helping."

"No," she said in a drawled out manner while shaking her head. "It's just that you're usually tearing my dresses off of me rather than buttoning them up."

A chuckle may have escaped him. Though, she couldn't be sure as he seemed entirely too far into his thoughts to actually do so. At her last button, he grabbed her hand and quickly began pulling her from the room and down the stairs. They had reached the front door before she blurted, "Ichabod, we don't have any shoes on."

"We don't need them," he replied over his shoulder as he tugged her out and down the steps.

She was about to protest when the bright moonlight allowed her to notice her dress's state. "You missed two whole buttons."

He glanced back at her, his eyes raking over her disheveled dress, and shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I'll do better next time."

More confused than she'd been in quite some time, which was saying a great deal with the secret life she led, she allowed him to lead her down the path alongside their home and into the thick trees surrounding it. Distracted by his odd behavior and the way his sweaty palms were clinging to her fingers, it took a few minutes before she realized where he was leading her.

"No."

His pace didn't slow in the slightest. "Yes."

"Ichabod," she bit out. "I'm not doing it."

"Yes, you are."

"What if someone sees us?"

He threw her a questioning glance. "It's the middle of the night. Who's going to see us?"

"I don't know," she answered uncertainly, glancing around at the trees surrounding them as if her answer would be waiting among them. "Someone."

He stopped and turned to her with a huge grin on his face as he began tugging his shirt over his head, revealing his sweat covered skin. "Well, then," he replied, dropping his shirt at her feet. "They'll just have to enjoy the show."

With mild fascination, she watched as he pushed his trousers down his legs and stepped back with his hands held out. "Well?"

"No," she said firmly, crossing her arms to solidify her answer. "Put your clothes back on."

Shaking his head with a chuckle, he turned and began wading into the water until it was up to his waist where he ducked down, submerging his whole body in its depths. For a moment, while the water swirled in the place he'd disappeared, she thought he might have slipped, but then he reemerged, bringing his hands up to smooth back his wet hair.

"This is perfect," he said in a voice that sounded vaguely similar to the one he used when he would collapse beside her in their bed at night after spilling his seed onto her. "Take your clothes off and get in here."

"Ichabod, this is madness," she objected, despite the fact that it was so very hot and he looked so very comfortable in what she was sure was the river's cool embrace.

"You're right," he agreed, slowly making his way out of the dark waters toward her. Under his steely gaze, she felt her stance falter slightly as she shifted her weight to the opposite foot in an attempt to make herself look more imposing.

However, concentration became a very difficult task as her eyes raked over the water dripping down his naked form, clinging to every crevasse and dip along his smooth skin. The fact that her husband was such a beautiful specimen was not helping her resistance in the least. When his hands tenderly cupped her face, she sucked in a shaky breath as his lips descended to hers with a gentle brush that quickly deepened to much more. It didn't help matters when his wet hands slid to the back of her head and neck respectively to pull her harder into him, the result soaking the front of her dress completely through. As fate would have it, the river was indeed cool and the remnants he was sharing with her felt like wonderful relief against her burning skin.

"You're not going to convince me to undress out here," she whispered against his lips, clinging to her last ounce of willpower.

A chuckle escaped him as he leaned in close to her ear, his warm breath sending an altogether different kind of heat down her body. "You don't have to."

With a frown, she started to ask what he meant when he suddenly tightened his hold on her, lifting her completely off her feet, and began backing toward the water.

"Ichabod," she yelped, slapping at his back. "Don't you dare!"

The next thing she knew, she was submerged in the cool river and fighting to reach the surface once more for the air that was stolen from her by the shock of the water. When she finally broke the surface, she spluttered as she gasped for air, bringing a hand up to wipe the water from her eyes.

What brought her back into focus was his laughter, which did nothing more than spark fury within her. "Ichabod Crane!"

Her vision was still blurry, but she managed to make him out a few feet from her where he was wading closer. "Don't you feel better now?"

Finally settling her gaze on him, she glared. "You soaked my dress!"

His eyes danced with mirth as they raked down her body as far as they could before they met the water's edge. "I told you to take it off."

"And I told you, no," she bit out, pointing a finger at him to emphasize her point.

He shrugged innocently as his fingers danced along the surface of the water. "I misheard."

Jaw clenched, she slapped her hand against the water, successfully catching him unsuspectingly in the face. The shocked expression that met her was enough to invoke a chuckle from her. That is, until a playful look replaced his shock and he was moving toward her.

"Ichabod..." she warned, clumsily backing further into the water.

She turned to escape him, but he bolted forward before she could, grabbing and prompting a squeal from her as he firmly pulled her back flush against his chest. While she attempted to catch her breath, his mouth found her ear as his fingers met the buttons along the front of her dress.

"Now, Mrs. Crane," he whispered, his warm breath shooting all sorts of sensations through her. "Is that any way to treat your lover when he's trying to assist you?"

Biting back a grin, she turned her head to catch his blue eyes, which were narrowed in teasing. "Forgive me, my love."

He sucked in a breath, his eyes dancing over her as if in contemplation. "I suppose I could consider it...if you make it up to me." He fixed her with a hurt look. "You have been rather short with me this night."

"Make it up to you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "And how would you like me to do that?"

His brow lifted slightly as his eyes journeyed to the valley between her breasts. "I consider you a highly intelligent woman. I'm sure you'll think of something."

Grin finally slipping out, she laid her hands over his and started guiding him along her buttons. "I'm sure," she whispered against his lips the moment before his mouth firmly claimed hers, taking her breath with its ferociousness.

A moan escaped her as his tongue slipped between her lips to touch her own, pushing against and around it in a teasing manner. Desiring even more of him, she lifted a hand to tangle her fingers in the back of his hair in an effort to hold him close as she turned in his arms, buttons undone. It seemed he was going to take full advantage as he slipped his hands inside the front of her open dress and maneuvered them to where he was teasing them along her sides and over her breasts.

Mouth sliding off of his, she mumbled, "I thought you wanted me undressed?"

"I do," he whispered, his lips taking the opportunity to gnaw at her jaw as he rolled a nipple between his fingers.

"Then," she began, her voice breaking momentarily at his attentions. "Don't you think you should remove this?"

A groan left him as he quickly pulled back, his arms leaving the insides of her dress to begin tugging it down her body. She chuckled when his head disappeared beneath the water's surface for a moment to slip it out from around her legs. When he popped back up in front of her, making her jump as he splashed her, she barely had a moment before he was latched onto the side of her neck, lathering her with a combination of nips and kisses that had her eyes practically rolling back in her head. Hands teasing along his sides, she smiled when he grasped her hips to pull her closer and she acquired the first feel of his desire against her hip.

"I thought the whole point of this night time adventure was to cool off, not heat up even more?"

He worked his way up and along her jaw until he was brushing his lips to hers. "Do you want me to stop?"

Gaze dancing over his dark eyes, she gave a slight shake of her head and whispered, "Absolutely not."

A smirk creased his face before he dove into her, his tongue teasing her mouth open as his hands gripped her thighs, pulling them up to wrap around his hips. The moan that slipped from her was caught by his mouth when his desire pressed against her belly, hard and ready. The knowledge that her husband wanted her so desperately lit a fire in the pit of her belly, prompting her to return his kiss with renewed vigor. When his hands tightened around her waist and pushed her further up, she clung to his shoulders, letting out a moan when his lips wrapped around one of her sensitive nipples where he began lapping at her like he was seeking out the last drop of water after hours of exertion. Eyes falling shut as her thighs tightly clenched his waist, she absorbed the sensations coursing through her at his ministrations. That is, until he allowed her to slide back down his body to where her center bumped his desire, prompting a gasp to slip from her.

"Ichabod..."

"Wrap your arms around my neck," he responded, which she did, allowing him the leverage to release one of her thighs and reach between them to take hold of himself. "Are you ready, my love?"

Resting her forehead to his, she took a moment before she nodded her consent and, not a full second later, he was gently pressing into her. A grunt left her as he filled her, stretching her apart in ways that were causing her toes to clench and her heels to dig into the back of his thighs. When he had settled himself deep inside her, his now free hand began sliding along her back in a soothing manner.

It always amazed her just how full she felt when they were like this, her whole body feeling like he was consuming her from the inside out, taking her over completely. During these moments, there was no her and him, but simply them, giving and taking, their love making them one.

"Are you alright?" came his voice, his hot breath brushing along her cheek.

Her response was to tighten her legs hold around him and lift herself off of him slightly before falling back down, causing the water to splash up between their bodies and cool their heated flesh. At her movement, a moan slipped from him as his hands tightened on her to guide them into a steady rhythm.

The sensation of their bodies being submerged was different than normal. He seemed to be having an easier time of lifting and maneuvering her how he liked than when they were pressed against a random wall in their home, clutching at each other in a desperate attempt to connect. Their bodies were soaked, making her hands' journey along his back and shoulders slide easier in their exploration of his skin. When she tangled a hand in his hair to hold his mouth to the place he was currently sucking at, she turned her head to whisper in his ear. "I like this."

His laughter shook them both. "After so much protestation?"

Smiling against his skin, her eyes fell closed as his pelvis pressed against the top of her center. "You love my stubbornness."

"Mhm," he muttered into her neck as he continued moving within her, very obviously distracted by their act.

Biting her lip as the opportunity to tease him could not be passed up, she enjoyed his grunt when she clenched her inner muscles around him the moment he pushed all the way into her.

"Katrina..." he moaned into her neck before pulling back to catch her eyes, his heavy breaths hitting her face, his blue eyes fluttering as he opened his mouth. "I-" A curse interrupted him as she repeated her action, causing his fingers to dig into her hip almost painfully. A grin arose as she leaned forward to tease his mouth with her tongue, which he latched onto almost immediately, his lips wrapping around her and sucking roughly. Her response was to grip her fingers in his hair, turning her head to the side and pressing harder into his mouth in an attempt to gain her control back. At his refusal to relent to her, she shifted her chest more firmly against him with her other hand at the center of his back, pulling him flush against her. With her pressed so tightly to him, his movements became more staggered and shallow as he couldn't control his thrusts as well. It took him a moment, but when he realized what she was doing, he pulled his mouth from hers with a frustrated groan.

"Katrina-"

"I'm sorry, my love," she cut in, refusing to allow him to move the way he wanted. "Am I not making up my behavior to you?"

Another curse fell from him followed by, "You frustrating woman."

She opened her mouth to respond when he slipped a hand between their bodies, gliding down and over her slick belly, and began furiously rubbing against her center. Immediately gripping him tighter, she whispered, "You're cheating."

When it became too difficult to maintain her hold on him any longer and she finally loosened her grip, his body took control again, his thrusting coming at a more erratic pace than before. Apparently her little tease had pushed his desire right on along rather than slowing it down. There was little time to contemplate it, however, as that familiar tingling began to take root in the pit of her belly. As it built to an unavoidable high, she dropped her head to his shoulder, practically giving herself over to his will and the feelings she knew were fast approaching.

"Ichabod..." she whispered, her end building to that point where it was about to take hold of her. "Don't stop."

"I haven't the slightest intention, my love," came his reply, hot against her neck while his fingers pushed her right over the edge.

Body trembling in his arms, she clung to him desperately, her hands and legs gripping his skin as she rode out the sensations coursing through her. For a moment, she thought she might have actually stopped breathing as the continuous waves of pleasure washed over her, but she couldn't be sure as she was sucking in a gasp of air a second later. When her high began to fade to a slight, echoing throb, she closed her eyes and melted into his body. So far gone into her own pleasure, she was barely aware when his pace slowed momentarily to readjust her limp form, which had sunk down his body and was trying to slide right into the river. When he had her hiked back up his body, he resumed his movements in earnest with small grunts biting into her skin. It took her a moment to finally gain some semblance of control over her body, but when she did, she began dragging her fingers down his spine while planting teasing kisses along his neck, working her way up to his ear where she lightly bit down.

"You're trying to kill me," came his groan as his fingers dug into her thigh, holding her in place as he continued to thrust into her.

"It wouldn't benefit me to do such a thing," she whispered playfully with another nip.

His body gave a jerk in response as his breathing changed pace, signaling his end was nearing. Another few moments passed and then he'd slipped from within her, a shot of warmth swirling in the water against her skin, his body tensing around her almost painfully tight, prompting her to place tender kisses along his neck and shoulders while she began sliding her hands over his back, soothing him as he continued to shiver against her.

"Are you alright?"

Only the sounds of heavy breathing and disturbed water greeted her, but then he was lifting his head to lean against hers, his warm, panting breath washing over her face. "I was inside you."

Smiling, she brought a hand up to stroke his cheek, water from her fingertips dripping down his chin. "Not the answer I was expecting."

A lazy grin came to his face. "I'm always alright when I'm with you this way."

With a roll of her eyes to disguise the swell of pride and love she felt at that statement, she slipped out of his arms. However, her prolonged state of being wrapped around him combined with the slippery river bed caused her to fall back, once more submerging her body beneath the water's surface. The shock took a moment to overcome as her stomach gave a twist of fear, but then Ichabod's hands grasped her arms and pulled her back up where he immediately began pushing her wet hair from her face.

"Are you alright?" he managed to ask through his chuckles.

Huffing at his amusement over her clumsiness, she flicked his hands away and began wading toward the shore, but in her haste ended up tripping again, this time falling to her knees.

"Katrina," he said, wrapping his arms around her back. "Let me help you, my love."

She thought he would just lift her up, but instead, his arms slid beneath her legs and he picked her whole body up to carry her the remaining distance. When they were back on the ground, he gently set her down and she found she couldn't do anything but shake her head as he slid his hands over her making sure she was alright.

"You can't help yourself with those gestures, can you?"

A sheepish look graced his face as he stepped forward to wrap his arms around her, his nose nuzzling against her cheek. "You love me."

"More than words can describe," she whispered, turning to brush her lips along his face.

When he pulled back and reached for his trousers, he had a large grin on his face. "I know a great many words. It's quite nice to be so well thought of."

Rolling her eyes at his antics, she stepped around him to dress and suddenly felt her temper spike as she spun back to face him. "Ichabod?"

"Mhm," he mumbled in distraction as he re-laced himself.

"Where's my dress?"

The immediate tensing of his body let her assume exactly where her dress was, an assumption that was confirmed when he turned to look at her, his eyes as wide as they could possibly stretch. "Uhm..."

"Ichabod," she growled, stepping toward him in a manner than suggested she was going to murder him.

With a matching step backwards, he held up a finger. "Now, Katrina, you're the one who said-"

"You're the one who threw me into the river, fully clothed!"

"I-" he began, before tripping over himself and promptly falling on his rear.

That, however, didn't stop her as she moved to straddle him, going on a rampage of slapping his chest in the process. Bringing a hand up to block her abuse, he attempted to catch her hands, but failed as she got another good slap in before he could.

"Katrina," he whined. "Stop!"

When he finally caught her flailing arms, he held them against her sides and wrapped his completely around her, making it impossible for her to move.

"I'm going to kill you," she bit out mere inches from his face.

"Now, now," he soothed, a grin creeping up. "It's not as if that was your favorite dress anyway."

Livid, she squirmed in his arms another moment before realizing she wasn't going anywhere until he was good and ready to let her. Slumping in frustration, she asked heatedly, "How am I supposed to get home like this?"

His eyes fell to her exposed breasts as he shrugged. "You're not that noticeable."

Eyes going wide, she bit out, "Well, then, perhaps I should just run around town like this every day. I'm sure no one will take any notice at all."

With a chuckle, he whispered, "We're not that far from home and the world is asleep. You'll be fine."

Rolling her eyes, she tilted her head, her gaze fixed over his shoulder. "May I get up now?"

"Well, I'm not sure," he answered, causing her gaze to jerk back to his amused one accusingly. "Are you going to threaten me anymore bodily harm?"

Flexing her jaw in an attempt to hold her tongue, she breathed out, "No."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not so sure I believe you."

More than slightly agitated at being so restrained, she sighed, "Either let me up now and we'll end this peacefully, or hold me for as long as possible and then I'm going to make you sorely regretful the moment you no longer can."

The hard swallow he gave didn't escape her notice and it took everything within her not to burst out laughing right then and there. He was so easily intimidated when she wanted him that way.

"Well?" she prodded with narrowed eyes.

His arms loosened slowly, almost as if he was releasing some sort of wild animal and was afraid that it would attack him at any moment. Rolling her eyes at his dramatic behavior, she leaned forward and brushed her lips to his, to which he released a heavy breath, clearly relieved he didn't have to be on alert any longer.

"I'm starving," she whispered, tracing a finger along his chest.

"As am I," was his answer as his hand splayed along her back to pull her closer. "All this exertion has my appetite worked up."

"There's an apple pie on the kitchen table, isn't there?"

The fingers of his other hand began stroking her cheek. "I believe there's one piece left. I was saving it for later."

"One piece?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mhm," he mumbled against her lips as he seemingly began to lose himself in her taste, completely unaware of the direction her thoughts had just gone.

She chose that moment to push him backward and quickly crawl over him. Finally free, she hastily stood, grabbing his shirt that she'd spotted over his shoulder earlier, and broke into a run through the trees.

"Katrina!" he called as she heard him clumsily rising and most likely coming to the realization of what she was doing. "Wait!"

Ignoring his call, she practically sprinted through the trees, zigzagging here and there when she thought he might be getting close. He was much faster than her so she knew any pause to look back would have him upon her. The path through the trees opened up and she saw her house come into sight. However, her dash to it was interrupted by a voice calling out to her. "Mrs. Crane?"

Coming to an abrupt halt, her eyes went wide at the sight of her elderly neighbor standing not twenty feet away. "Mr. Hubbard-"

The rest of her response was interrupted as her husband plowed into her back, sending them both crashing toward the ground. His long limbs were sprawled over the sides of her in his attempt to catch her from hitting the ground face first, which was only partially successful as he turned them just in time to take the brunt of the hit against his shoulder.

"Oh, Mrs. Crane!" came Mr. Hubbard's concerned voice as he hurried over to grasp her arm and begin the process of pulling her to her feet, which Ichabod helped by holding her waist to steady her.

When she finally managed to get on her feet, Ichabod's hands quickly cupped her face as his eyes danced over her worriedly. "My love, did I hurt you? Are you alright?"

Nodding her affirmation, she sucked in a panted breath. "I'm fine," she whispered, before touching a small cut on his arm. "Are you?"

"It's nothing," came his shaky answer as his hands smoothed down her arms, worriedly checking for injuries. "I'm so sorry, Katrina. I didn't expect you to stop."

"It's alright," she assured, catching his searching fingers and tangling her own through them. "I promise."

He opened his mouth to respond when the clearing of a throat brought both of their gazes jerking to the side to find Mr. Hubbard rocking on his heels. "Mr. Hubbard," Ichabod began unsteadily, seemingly as if he were noticing the man for the first time. "What, uhm...what are you doing out this late at night?"

Mr. Hubbard raised an eyebrow as he curiously looked between them. "I might ask you and Mrs. Crane the same thing."

She suddenly became very aware of the fact that she was standing, soaking wet, in nothing more than one of Ichabod's thin shirts, while he himself was covered in nothing more than a pair of trousers. Pulling at his arm so he was standing partially in front of her, she said, "We were just...hot."

Ichabod released some sort of noise that seemed somewhere between embarrassment and amusement as their neighbor chuckled. "Yes, it is quite the warm night. Went down to the river I assume?"

"Yes," Ichabod answered quickly. "Katrina's dress...it was lost."

Feeling her face heat, she pinched his side, causing him to jump, and whispered, "He doesn't need to know we were naked."

"Well," Mr. Hubbard said, his enjoyment of this compromising situation clear on his wrinkled face. "I assume you two will manage to make it home without further incident, then?"

Ichabod gave a few clumsy nods before he answered, "Yes, sir. We'll be fine."

"Mhm," the elderly man muttered before turning on his heel. "Have a nice night, Mr. and Mrs. Crane."

"You as well," called Ichabod as she slowly began backing her way toward their home before he noticed her. Biting her lip, she turned quickly and once more bolted. It was a few seconds before she heard his agitated, "Katrina."

Ignoring him, she continued up the path until she was hurrying through her door, which she promptly shut in his face. He made a small noise of frustration as he unsuspectingly thudded into it, to which she gave a slight pause of regret, but continued on nonetheless. There was no room for sympathy when her prize was so near. She was at the kitchen door when she heard the front door open and shut again. Entering, she spotted the lone piece of pie that was about the size of her palm and quickly lifted it from the table.

"Don't you dare," came his breathless voice from behind her.

Spinning, she sidestepped to place the table between him and her as she lifted the piece of pie out in front of her where she looked at it curiously and broke off a piece. "Those words sound vaguely familiar," she said as though searching her memory before fixing him with narrowed eyes. "I believe I said them while you were preparing to throw me into the river."

His eyes widened slightly. "I...don't recall."

Eyebrow raising, she shrugged, "Oh, really?"

With that, she shoved the piece of pie into her mouth, its sweetness immediately overwhelming her senses. However, her enjoyment was limited as he lunged across the table, forcing her to step back in amusement while he let out a curse with his miss. When he shoved himself up and started to move around the table, she bolted out the side door and made for the stairs. Completely out of breath, she'd just made it to the door of their bedroom when he caught her from behind, his arms going around her waist and lifting her up.

"Ichabod!" she squealed, kicking out at air.

He fell sideways on the bed, still holding her tightly to him, and burrowed his way into the back of her neck. "Give it to me."

"No," she said, shaking her head as she squirmed in his arms in an attempt to escape. "It's mine."

His arms loosened around her enough to flip her to her back, which she allowed as she had little energy left to do anything but go willingly. When she caught sight of his narrowed eyes, she gave an innocent look and placed her free hand to his chest to hold him off of her.

"It's not yours," he said seriously, his eyes flickering from her mouth to her other hand, which was stretched out above her head as far away as she could get it.

"You can have a taste," she whispered playfully as she leaned up to brush her lips to his.

The resistance he gave lasted only for a moment before he gave into her completely, his tongue slipping out to trace along her lips as his hands settled on each side of her, holding him up to hover over her. Triumph washed through her when a moan fell from him, though she couldn't be sure if it was due to her kiss or the lingering taste of pie in her mouth, only to be captured by her as she deepened their kiss, pressing even further into him.

Once she was sure he was thoroughly distracted, she promptly fell back to the bed and quickly shoved the other piece of the pie into her mouth before he could realize what was happening. However, when he did, his eyes went wide, his hand shooting up to grasp her now empty one.

"Katrina," he groaned in what she knew was a building fit.

"Too late," she mumbled through her mouth full of pie, pushing the biggest smile she could muster onto her face while still chewing.

"That was mine," he groaned out frustrated, his body bouncing over hers in some sort of mild tantrum.

Shrugging off his behavior, she replied, "And that dress...was mine. Now, it's gone."

His response was to roll his eyes as he plopped to the bed beside her where he breathed out, "Are we even now? Or can I expect some other form of torture in the morning? No breakfast? No clothes left in my dresser to wear for the day?"

With a grin, she rolled onto her side to face him. "Perhaps."

His head fell to the side to meet her eyes and ever so slowly a smile crept to his face which made her more than a little nervous. "That's alright. You'll reap the choice you sowed tomorrow."

Frowning in confusion, she asked, "What do you mean?"

He turned on his side, propping his head in his hand as he stared straight at her. "Well, if you hadn't so selfishly chosen to leave me there without my shirt and sprinted toward the house for what was my last piece of pie, you might not have bumped into Mr. Hubbard, thus inciting the known rumor mill that normally begins with Mrs. Hubbard, who by now I'm sure has heard all about our late night adventure."

With every word that fell from his mouth, she felt her heart picking up pace. Bolting up in the bed, she asked panicked, "You don't think he'll tell her, do you?"

Ichabod chuckled. "I think she's already up, fixing her hair, and in the process of working out her story to share with the other ladies first thing in the morning."

A feeling of pure dread began to fill her as she brought a hand up to brush her damp, tangled hair from her face with a groan. "When my step-mother finds out...then my father..."

His hand rested at her back and began rubbing in soothing circles as he sat up beside her. "It might not be so horrible. Perhaps, he won't even tell her."

Sighing, she turned to find his face apologetic. "Oh, it's too late now," she said, resigning herself to her fate. "It'll be all over town by the time we wake, more than likely having taken on a life of its own in the realm of inconsistencies. Why I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that Mr. Hubbard stumbled upon us waist deep in the river, doing heaven knows what sorts of things to each other."

His hand slipped beneath his shirt that she was still adoring and slid up her back as he began placing kisses along her neck. "All the more reason to stay right here in this bed tomorrow."

Unable to hold off her smile, she leaned back into his embrace.

"That doesn't sound so horrible," she whispered, giving herself over to his attentions.

As he pulled the shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor, he said, "Perhaps you can demonstrate some of those things Mr. Hubbard will have witnessed us performing." He slid a hand around her side to tease her breast while his lips met her ear. "Just so I can get my story straight. I like being prepared."

Rolling her eyes, she untangled herself from him and claimed her place in their bed before whispering, "Maybe in the morning."

With a chuckle, he pressed his body into her back until they were lying side by side, his arm wrapped around her middle with a leg carelessly tossed over her own. Finally allowing herself to relax, exhaustion began to seep into her from the night's activities causing sleep to tug at her. That is, until she heard his next words.

"Katrina...it's hot."