A/N: Huh, I expected a little more response to the last chapter. I mean, it was the quintessential place for them to make love. But ah well. Hopefully folks are still enjoying these stories. Thank you so much to those who are leaving reviews. I adore reading them all!
This chapter was supposed to go into my other story, but it turned into one of these chapters instead. Again, I blame you guys! :-) Actually, there is a reviewer that I need to blame and I unfortunately accidentally deleted their message with a suggestion that ended up in this chapter. Once you read, please let me know who I should give credit to!
If there was an obvious lesson that I learned when we became parents, it was that there is no more normal life. And that's saying something when you live in Underland.
But once Charlotte was born, our lives were forever changed. Our time was no longer ours. And then Will was born and our time didn't exist.
It was difficult to have any time to ourselves once we had two children. Not unexpected, but disappointing when there were times that we just needed each other. One time in particular was our tenth anniversary. I could hardly believe that 10 years had gone by. It was a blur of jabberwockies, flowers, ceremonies and children.
We awoke that morning and glanced at the clock. There was just enough time to "start celebrating" (so to speak), before the children were awake.
"Guid mornin, fair bride," he whispered in that burr that drove me mad.
"Guid mornin, handsome husband," I replied. He loved it when I tried to speak in Outlandish to him. Even if it was just in bits and pieces.
He rolled toward me and put his hand upon my cheek.
"Ten years, Alice."
"Indeed. Ten wonderful years!"
He began to kiss me when all of a sudden …
"Mama!" came the call from Will.
"Maybe he'll go back to sleep," Tarrant muttered against my lips.
"Mama!"
Hatter put his forehead against mine, obviously disappointed. Surely if baby Will was up, by this time Charlotte was up too.
"To be continued," he said as he lifted himself up. "I'll get Will?"
"That'll be fine," I answered. "I'll check on Lottie."
The rest of the afternoon went very similarly to the morning. Stolen kisses here and there, but children misbehaving or not napping pretty much killed our alone time.
Tarrant decided to get some work done in his shop since we weren't having a dream anniversary. I let him, figuring something productive should get done.
Once it was time for supper, I was surprised when it was Nivens and not Tarrant who was at the door.
"Lady Hightopp, the presence of your children is requested with her majesty," he said.
"My children? Aren't I to join them?" I asked, curious as to what this was about.
"No. You are to bring them to the dining hall and that is all."
"Um, all right."
I packed up Will's things and put him in his carriage.
Once we arrived at the Great Hall, Mirana greeted me.
"Alice! Splendid! I am so glad the Hightopp children could join me and my friends for supper."
"Mirana? What is this all about?"
"Ah, yes. I am to deliver this note to you," she said as she handed me a piece of paper. "Now, Charlotte, let us join the others at the table, shall we?"
She took the carriage from me and led my daughter to the dining table.
"Curiouser and curiouser," I muttered as I left the hall. Once I was out of the room, I opened the note. I recognized the messy scrawl at once.
Alice,
Meet me back at our chambers. I have a surprise for you.
All my love,
Tarrant
Suddenly it all became clear. The going to "work," the children being at dinner but not me, it was all Tarrant's plan.
I hurried back to our chambers. Once I opened the door, I almost fell over.
Standing there in the middle of the bedroom was my husband. He stood there with his over-sized sword, in full kilted regalia.
"Tarrant, what is all this?"
"Lass, this would be th' attire o' mah clan."
"Well, yes, I recognize that. Is there a reason you're wearing it?" I asked, slowly making my way towards him.
"Ah recall somethin' yeh told meh, a few years back. Something Ah did tha' made yeh want teh … how did yeh put it? Mmm, drop yehr knickers. Ah believe it 'ad somethin' teh do wit' dropping mah hat afair fightin' th' knave."
He raised his hand to his top hat, grasped it and tossed it to the ground.
"Was tha' similar teh 'ow it 'appened?"
I was weak in the knees already.
"Yes, I believe it was. However, I'm not dressed in armor and I don't think there's a jabberwocky close."
"Distractions. We don' need 'em."
He let the sword fall and closed the distance between us.
"Happy anniversary, love," he whispered before bending to kiss me in the most delicious way.
I couldn't respond except for an appreciative moan.
He pulled back and smiled at me. "So, do yeh still think yeh don' slay?"
"After some careful consideration, I've decided that perhaps I do," I said, tugging at his ascot.
Why did this man wear so many bloody layers? I went without a corset and stockings and look at the benefits—less to remove! But Tarrant insisted on daily wearing a shirt and a waistcoat and a jacket and an ascot or some sort of tie. Did he not know that he married an impatient woman?
My irritation must have shown because he chuckled. That infernal man had the nerve to laugh at me.
"Problem, cricket?"
"Yes, I have a problem! You are overdressed, husband."
"Well, wife, let us address this problem."
He pulled his ascot from his collar, shrugged off his jacket and unbuttoned his waistcoat, removing it as well.
"Better?" he asked with mischief in his voice.
"Close," I said as I reached up and pulled his shirt open, sending the buttons flying.
Tarrant's jaw dropped as I pulled the shirt off of him. I waited for his response, but I didn't wait long. Before I knew what was happening, I was on the bed and under a very aroused husband.
"Wha' do yeh have against mah shirt, lass?" he asked before attacking my neck with kisses and gentle sucks.
"It was in my way. You wear too much, Hatter," I answered breathlessly.
"Ah dress as a proper gentleman." Kiss. "Ah feel tis only appropriate as we live in th' palace." Suck. "If yeh would like teh have meh dress like a ragamuffin…" Kiss. "Ah s'pose Ah could try." Lick. "Otherwise we'll have teh—"
"Hatter!" I interrupted with some annoyance in my voice. Leave it to my husband to even ramble during this.
"Aye, sorry mah love. Mah mouth could be put teh such better uses."
He continued to kiss me and make me want to beg for more when suddenly I felt a pull at my chest. The buttons from my dress went flying in the same manner as Hatter's shirt buttons.
"Fair's fair, love," he murmured as he kissed down my breasts, paying special attention to my nipples.
I wanted to have a snappy retort. I would have loved to have had anything witty to comeback with. But I didn't. I barely had enough brain function to breathe, let alone speak. I clutched his firey curls in my hand and tugged just enough to egg him on.
His mouth switched sides and began the exquisite torture on the other breast. My nails scratched down his back in appreciation.
"Mmmm, Alice," he whispered against my chest. Then he looked up at me. "If Ah would 'ave known tha' this was what 'appened when Ah donned a kilt and held a sword, Frabjous Day would've ended much diff'rently."
"Well, Frabjous Day ended fine, I thought," I said.
"True," he said, once again paying regard to my breasts. "Th' engagement led teh th' marriage which led to this. Everythin' in good time," he replied as tried to get me out of my dress. "Except this. Alice, help."
I tried not to laugh as he tried to get me out of my dress. He really could have just pushed up my skirt, but instead I quickly stood and let the dress drop. I stared back at him with the best seductive stare I could conjure. And then I pushed my knickers down and stood before him.
"Oh, sweetness, please come back teh meh."
I got back onto the bed and he started to remove his kilt.
"Leave it on," I commanded softly.
"Aye, lass."
He climbed on top of me and began to kiss my neck again as his hand wandered all over my body. It was completely cliché to say, but his milliner fingers were magical. He could make the most beautiful hats and he could play my body like an instrument with them.
Those fingers were dipping within me and stroking me and making me utter things that I didn't even understand. Every curl of those fingers made me moan and shudder. I gripped his arms so hard that I was probably leaving bruises.
"Yeh're so beautiful," he whispered in my ear. "Let go, mah dearheart. Ah want teh see yeh come apart."
My head tossed back and forth and his words pushed me over the edge. I screamed his name as I watched the stars explode.
"There is nothin' like mah name from yehr lips. 'specially when yeh say it like tha'. Care teh scream it again?" He moved his kilt a bit and revealed what he had on underneath… nothing.
"Why, Hatter!"
He just waggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. "If Ah wore anythin' underneath, it wouldnae be a kilt, but a skirt."
A surprise for a surprise, I thought as I quickly reached under the fabric and wrapped my hand around his length.
"Mercy, woman!" he groaned. A string of Outlandish words followed.
I ran my hand up and down him, bringing the most sinful noises from him.
Suddenly, he put his hand over mine to stop what I was doing. "Ah cannae wait a second longer. Ah need teh be in yeh, or Ah'll just go mad." And with that, he pushed into me. Stretching me, filling me, completing me.
I knew this wasn't going to take long, but that didn't matter. Just making love with my husband was enough for me. Sometimes we could go for hours. Sometimes less was more.
"Tarrant," I mumbled. "Harder."
His already darkened eyes darkened more. "Harder, eh? Ah think Ah can oblige."
Oh and oblige me he did. He thrust even harder as he pushed my knees a bit further apart. He was within me even deeper than before. It was the most amazing feeling as I tried to raise my hips to meet him.
"Let's see if we can get tha' scream back," he said with a devilish grin. He looked at me with that lopsided grin and let his fingers dance at my most sensitive place.
If anything, I yelled his name louder this time. Almost at the same time, I heard Hatter cry out my own name. A few more thrusts and he was laying atop of me.
"Hmmm, a girl could get used to this," I giggled as I ran my fingers through his hair with one hand and fiddled with his kilt with the other.
"Well, if I always wore the kilt, then it wouldn't be as special," he reasoned, using my own words from our wedding night against me.
"I suppose that's true … but I definitely look forward to the next occasion!"
"My wanton Alice."
I waggled my eyebrows at him now.
"Well, shall we relax in the tub before it's time to fetch the children?" he asked.
"Yes, a bath sounds wonderful."
He rolled off of me and pulled me to him.
"I love you, dearheart," he whispered into my hair.
"I love you too, sweet husband."
He got out of bed and hurried to start the water. There was nothing like just cuddling with Tarrant after we made love, and in the warm tub just sounded perfect. Being close to my husband was just heaven. Life was good.
