"Scoot over, boys," Mrs. Holmes clucked.

Katherine looked up from her cereal and smiled as the matriarch of the house shooed Leem and Fil from their seats. Molly had just entered the room, followed by Sherlock, which meant all others had to make way. Fil didn't even stop eating. He scooped another mouthful of oatmeal as he moved and plunked himself back down. Leem was a little slower going and winced as he shifted and settled.

"How are you feeling this morning, Princess?" Mrs. Holmes kissed the top of Molly's head.

Sherlock snorted. Molly twitched her brows and smirked.

"I'm wonderful, thank-you."

Mrs. Holmes snatched an unopened yoghurt from Sherlock's hand. "Those are for Molly."

Molly pressed her lips together. She tried not to smile as Sherlock rolled his eyes.

"It's alright, um, Mum. I don't mind sharing," she said cheerfully.

The older woman developed a rather silly grin on her face. She set the yoghurt down in front of her daughter-in-law and patted her face lovingly.

"Can I get you anything, my darling?" She asked.

Molly shook her head. "No, thank-you, I can manage."

Mrs. Holmes moved off with a hum as she busied herself around the kitchen.

"I've been completely displaced," Sherlock muttered.

His mother returned with a caraffe and hovered over him. "Oh, listen to this grumbling. I remember what it was like to be pregnant with each one of you Holmes. You were the worst parasite by far, my boy. So demanding! My poor Molly is probably knackered from carrying your spawn, especially if it takes after you. So forgive me if I indulge my daughter-in-law a little. I never thought I'd have any grandchildren."

"You can be rest assured, Mother, that she mostly likely takes after Molly. So, there is nothing you need to fret about . . ."

"Sherlock!"

He looked at Molly who had an exasperated look on her face. Mrs. Holmes set the caraffe down shakily. A high-pitched sound issued from her throat. Then, she slapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears.

"She?" She whispered before dropping her hand. "It's a she? Oh, I always wanted a pink one!"

Molly sighed and stood up to hug Mrs. Holmes. "It was supposed to be a surprise but yes, we're having a girl."

Mrs. Holmes cried as she hugged Molly in return. Katherine felt herself get a little teary eyed as she witnessed the emotion on their faces. Then, suddenly, she couldn't take anymore.

"Excuse me," she mumbled to no one in particular as she leapt from her chair and brushed by Mr. Holmes, the senior, who was just entering the room.

She couldn't leave the scene soon enough. She'd never had much of a family. Her dad did his best but it just been the two of them. Observation of the Holmes' postcard-like happiness reminded her of how alone she was in the world. She couldn't resent them for it, but she felt god-awfully wretched for herself which she was tired of feeling, frankly.

Katherine glanced ruefully outside at the downpour drenching the gardens. The rain was coming down so hard, it bounced back up off the cobblestone walk and the top of the stone perimeter fencing. She wrinkled her nose. Well, she wasn't going out there. Instead, she made her way to the far end of the house with its small den doubling as a library and closed the door behind her.

Despite the numerous interesting books lining the shelves, including several that would normally make her giddy to read, she flopped down on an armchair across from the room's only window. She sat there for an indeterminate time watching the rain stream down the glass until the door creaked at her back.

"Kat?"

Her breath faltered as she heard Leem's voice. She'd avoided him since they had arrived three days previous hoping that somehow, her potent reaction to him would diminish. However, that one syllable he uttered had her hair standing on end. She jumped up from her seat.

"Um, hi," she said lamely.

Dang, he got better looking every time she saw him. He'd gone back to dressing in tailored clothing as if on duty but rather than add polish, he looked like a caged beast. The buttons on his crisp, black shirt strained across his broad chest; as did the seat of his pants over his pert, round arse. His skin tone had improved drastically in the last couple days so he looked vital again. However, he still had some healing to do.

He closed the door and limped in her direction. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged.

Leem's eye twitched. "Talk to me, please."

A grimace flitted over his features then. She gestured at the red-upholstered chair with a huff.

"Sit down, Leem."

"Nah, I'm good. It's just the stitches. They pull a bit. I'm more worried about you."

She sighed. "I'm not the one who's hurt!"

He stroked a hand over his face. "There's lots of types of hurts, Kat."

She waved a hand and exhaled noisily. "Arg! Don't! Don't be all . . . you! I don't want your concern."

His eyes constricted in confusion and he shifted towards her again. She stumbled back.

"Well, too goddamned bad! You have it," he reached out and caught her elbow before she fell. "We're supposed to be friends."

She shook off his hold and stared at him a moment. She thought about running away but then stepped into his personal space until she was nose to nose with him.

"I don't want to be your friend," she hissed.

He set his plush lips in a grim line. She scanned his face. He was irritated, at a loss for words, frustrated; she might as well be gazing into a mirror.

"Moreover," she whispered as she tapped his chest. "You don't want to be my friend."

His green eyes blazed down at her.

"We settled this," he bit out.

Katherine raised herself up on her toes. "Well, here's what I think about that!"

When he didn't move away, she hooked an arm behind his head and then kissed him for all she was worth. His lips parted in surprise and a breath puffed into her mouth. She moaned a little and swallowed it before slipping her tongue along the opening of his mouth. His hands were on her body in an instant, large and very warm through her thin blouse. With a growl that rumbled his chest, he clutched her closer and opened his lips to invite her in. As soon as she touched her tongue to his though, he took over the kiss. Her stomach fluttered as Leem's quiet reserve slipped. He crushed her so tightly against him, her toes dangled off the floor. His tongue plunged inside her mouth, making her belly quiver with each stroke. He kissed her until she was heaving when he broke away.

"God, Leem," she panted into his ear.

His lips travelled along her jaw. "Grr, Kat, w-what are you doing to me?"

Her hands crept up to his head. She ran her fingers over the short, spiky hair which was actually very soft. Her head dipped back as his mouth explored her throat. Every so often, his tongue would taste her skin. The hot, wet slide of it made her insides feel all squidgy.

"Huh, oh, crap I need you right now," she whispered. "I can't . . . I can't keep passing by you in the corridors, Leem. I need to be with you."

"Lord, stop sayin' things like that," he said between breaths. "Do you know how hard it's been not to grab you? I can't sleep. When I close my eyes, I can feel how tight you were . . ."

Just the vibration in his tone made her blood heat. She believed it as he raised his head and slammed his lips down on hers again. His fingers spread out over the small of her back and stretched down over the top of her bum. His cock, ready and rigid, made itself known through their layers of clothing. She dropped her hands to his shirt and grabbed bunches of it as she yanked it from his pants. When she fiddled with the zip of his trousers, he sucked in a breath against her mouth.

"Jesus! You're so bad, Kat. You're going to get me murdered if we're caught defilin' this room."

She pulled back a moment and studied him. He was a bit pink and flushed. His lips glinted with moisture. A big fat, "DO IT" flashed through her mind like a television advertisement. In a heartbeat, she skipped away, locked the door to the room and spun to face him again.

"No!" He pointed a shaking digit at her.

She began unbuttoning her shirt with trembling fingers as he gaped at her from across the room.

"Kat!" He inhaled sharply and dropped his voice into a low warning. "Kat, I'm serious, don't. Don't . . ."

She was on a mission, though, and sensed his resolve slipping in the shakiness of his tone. She divested herself of her blouse and then unzipped her skirt. When it fell to the floor, she stood there in her underwear a second. Her face and then the rest of her body heated. She raised her eyes warily, hoping she wasn't setting herself up for humiliation, but then she saw that expression on his face. The one that gave her the shivers. His look was a bit stormy, like he was sort of mad at her for turning him on. His eyes travelled quickly down her body, igniting her flesh as he went.

"Come here" he grumbled.

She chewed her lip. "Get naked first."

He dropped his chin and shook his head in exasperation as he worked quickly on the buttons of his cuffs and shirt front. As he shuffled out of his pants and shorts, she discarded her underwear. Once naked, they stood there for a moment assessing each other. She found herself staring ruefully at the painful wound on his leg. It was healing, but still swollen with red and purple stains fanned out in a large circle around it.

"Oh," she swallowed. "Um, will you be alright?"

He glowered at her as his chest rose and fell. "Do I look like I'm having issues?"

She held her breath as she glanced up to his cock. She quivered deep in her core. Was he that big? Really? She swallowed once more as her eyes fed greedily on the straining length of it. Tentatively, she approached him. His eyes darkened with each step until she brushed up against him, her nipples tickled by his chest hair.

"We're going to do this quickly," he ground out as his gaze searched her face. "Actually, you're going ta do most of the work since you're hell bent on getting' me in trouble. Also, my leg is still fucked. Agreed?"

She nodded. So agreed!

He pulled her down to the floor as he scooted and sat leaning back up against the small sofa. He urged her onto his lap until she'd straddled him and his member jutted up between them. His fingers threaded into her hair and he impelled her forward for a hard kiss. Her hands travelled his body, trying to memorize the feel of his muscular abdomen. Despite his assertion they were going to be quick, there was nothing hurried about the way his mouth moved over hers nor the languid way in which he preluded their joining with the play of his tongue. Over and over he delved in until she was almost clawing at him.

He slid his hands to her breasts which all but disappeared into his grasp. She gasped against his mouth as she felt a gentle squeeze and tug on her nipples. Even though his flesh was a bit calloused, the abrasion made her insides flush. Everything about him was so masculine, so . . . Leem.

"Kat," he whispered, his hands cupped her bum, "God, Kat, the sounds you make for me."

His fingers dug into her hips and he rubbed her along his shaft. She felt the veiny, ridged length of him part her cleft and rub like a thick root against her sex. Her breaths came hot and heavy. She was so tense. A tingling, almost stinging sensation preceded a feeling of dampness between her thighs and, as he rubbed again, her wetness coated him.

"You're ready for me, aren't you?" He said with a growl.

"Y-Yes," she stuttered.

She reached down between them and closed her eyes as she grasped the wide width of him. She leaned forward on her knees, lifted her hips with his hands curving over her arse until she was pressed up along his chest. Her lips sought his jaw, then his lips blindly as she rubbed his head between her legs. His hips jerked involuntarily and he pushed part way inside. Then, she sank down onto him, feeling impaled as his length invaded to the depth that her belly-button twinged.

"Fuck," he groaned. "Huh, fuck."

She savored the deep-seated feel of him, the way she gripped him low on his shaft where it widened out to his body and how his balls pushed up on her bum. Just thinking about everywhere his skin made contact with hers made her insides quiver. A tremor ran through her body and she clenched his staff. He made another gruff sound and gathered her to him.

"I can't . . . hmph, Kat, y-you slay me . . ."

Despite his earlier assertion that she would be doing the work, he began to move furiously, thrusting upwards with abandon. His massive hands lifted her in tune with his rhythm. She matched him move for move as he pumped beneath her, every once in a while grinding her hips down to embed him deep within her again. The friction was unbearable. The tension in her core kept ratcheting up like a timer being twisted until it was on the verge of springing apart. Soon, all she could focus on was the slick plunder of his cock and the drive of him in and out of her body. She anchored herself on his shoulders, leaned her head against his and held on for dear life.

She could feel his movements becoming more erratic after a while. His breaths were deafening in her ear. The ache behind her clit and the frission created by the slide of his member became too much and the tenuous thread holding her together finally broke.

"Oh, my, God, Leem. Unh . . ."

Her orgasm felt so good, it almost hurt. A pulse of her sex exploded into a shuddering climax that caused ripples to spread out through her entire body. She clutched his head tightly as she cried out.

"Kat! Damn! Ssh!" His hand covered her mouth. "Christ, bite me if ya need to . . . bloody hell!"

Then, he grunted and stiffened beneath her, gripped in a spasm. His hips jerked several times as he came and his cock lurched within her body. She felt each pulse of his release as it travelled from his body up through his length. Her sex clenched again at the feel of him coming. Something about that moment was beyond satisfying. Her ego did a little dance in her mind.

Finally, she collapsed against him, rested her head on his shoulder as her high diminished, and fluttered back to earth. His hand stroked up and down her back, twined into her hair and massaged her scalp.

"Is that what you needed?" He asked gruffly.

She inhaled a deep breath and lifted her head. "What?"

He caressed the side of her face. "Do you feel better?"

She squinted at him and felt her eyelid twitch. "D-Did you just have pity sex with me, Leem?"

His brow furrowed. "Kat, I'm a bloke. We don't have types of sex. I mean, we just go with it, it doesn't have to mean anything."

A kind of panicky anger rose in her. She knew she was overreacting and wasn't quite sure what she wanted Leem to say, except anything besides what he just said.

"So, this didn't mean anything?" She wanted to slap herself a little for sounding so whiny.

"Don't put words into my mouth," he grumbled. "But I don't know what ya expect of me. You locked the door and got naked. Sorry if I can't muster up a whole lot more deep meaning for your sensitivities."

"Oh!"

She jumped off him and balled her fists at her sides.

"Oh! Fuckity fuck!"

Her face burned as she felt something wet run down the inside of her leg.

"Settle down, Kat. That didn't come out right . . ."

He lumbered to his feet. His mouth opened to speak. His eyes were a bit wide.

Then the door rattled on its hinges.

"Katherine," a baritone voice asked from the other side. "Are you in there?"

Shit! Sherlock!

"Um, sorry, be right there!" She cried.

She scooped up her clothing. Leem collected his own then grabbed a box of tissues from a side table and thrust them in her direction. Again, her face burned. She'd never been more embarrassed in her life.

"To, um, clean yourself," he muttered.

She snatched it from him, cleaned herself quickly and started to dress. Leem did the same but then limped to the window and threw it open.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

He wagged his brows at her. "Making an escape."

Her eyes bulged from their sockets. "Don't you dare leave me alone!"

He swung his leg out. "Ah, see, now that sounded like a challenge. I'm never one to back down from one of those."

He saluted her then and hopped out the window. She watched dumbfounded as he hobbled out of sight.

Damn him!