I'm reaching farther than I ever have before
(Tired of wasting time)
Leaving all who broke your heart upon the shore
(Tired of wasting time)
I may be some sort of crazy
We may be some sort of crazy
But I swear on everything I have and more
Sound of Pulling Heaven Down
-Blue October
He woke a few hours later to whispers by the door and Kate's warm body filling his arms. Her hair a tangled mess that tickled his nose, her arms wrapped around his where they rested across her stomach. Everything in him wanted to wake her with a few well placed kisses, but as the whispers turned to giggles he knew that wouldn't be on the morning agenda.
Carefully pulling his arms free, he sat up and caught their little spies at the door. Clem giggled harder as he put a finger to his lips to warn her and Aaron took off down the hall. He winked at his daughter and tilted his head in the direction that Aaron had run off to and she nodded then raced down the hall after him.
"They're probably hungry." Kate grumbled as she flipped onto her back and rubbed at her eyes sleepily.
"I thought you were still asleep." He murmured, watching her stretch and yawn.
"I wish. I'm exhausted." She sighed as she closed her eyes again.
Grinning, he leaned over and captured her lips with his. She responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, she opened to him. Her kiss soft, wet, and warm, written in his blood like second nature yet tempting and taunting him like a siren luring him to a deep, dark, death in her arms.
He slid back down next to her, his hands running down her body and landing on her thighs, gently parting them as he settled between them and pulled her to him.
She laughed and pushed away, very aware of his desire and the effect their kiss had on him.
"The kids are just outside the very open door." She smiled.
"What if we closed the door?" He asked.
"Put some pants on and go see what they're doing." She laughed, shoving him playfully on the shoulder.
"I see how it is. Get me all worked up then push me away. You're a tease." He joked as he sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed.
"Seems to me like you were the one who started it." She taunted as she rolled to her side to face him and cuddled into her blankets.
He smiled, watching her as she closed her eyes and blankets pulled up under her chin.
"Trust me, you were asking for it. All sleepy and sexy." He leaned over and whispered next to her ear.
Something in her lower stomach responded immediately to his deep southern drawl, but she somehow managed to resist the urge to jump him and instead responded with a perfectly even tone.
"I'll remember that morning breath and bedhead turn you on."
She didn't even bother to open her eyes, though she knew that had she opened her eyes he would have known in an instant just how responsive her body was to his voice.
He smirked and slid his hand over her blanket covered hip, his fingers curling around behind her and giving her flesh a quick squeeze.
"It was more the half naked, warm, and in bed with me thing." He countered.
He was making returning to sleep next to impossible. So she felt more than justified in trying to turn the tables and put him off his game. She knew that if he continued down the road he was on, they would end up naked in no time. And though she very much wanted to spend some time skin to skin, she knew the timing was all wrong.
"You do realize that could apply to your dog too." She said, opening her eyes and staring back at him with a serious expression.
He sat back, his hand dropping from her hip to the bed next to him.
"Charming, Freckles. Really." He grumbled, the mood clearly ruined.
She tried not to laugh as he stood up and picked up his jeans from the floor.
"It's not my fault you have such low standards." She continued, enjoying the show as he stepped into his jeans and pulled them up.
He caught her reflection in the mirror above her dresser and smirked as she bit her bottom lip, her eyes glued to his ass. Turning around to face her, he noticed her eyes seemed locked on the same general area of his body as he zipped his jeans and fastened the button. It wasn't until he started walking toward the bed again that she tore her eyes away, and caught him watching her.
"Just ask yourself what that says about you." He teased as her cheeks flushed. "I mean you pulled me into your bed, after all." He smirked, climbing on the bed next to her. "Is this a better view?" He asked as he knelt in front of her.
"Get dressed." She pushed against his hip then rolled on her back away from him.
"It's ok, Freckles." He teased, his face hovering over hers. "I still want you, even if you painted yourself right into a corner with that one."
He pulled back with a grin she could only categorize as irritating. She watched as he swaggered over to his shirt with that smirk slipping into his step as well.
"Oh, we aren't done." She muttered as she slid from under the sheets and padded over to him.
"Remember behind the garden, against that tree." She purred as she slipped up behind him. "Or that night in the ocean, after everyone went to sleep." She placed her hand on his back and let it glide over his skin as she sauntered around him.
Standing in front of him she paused for a minute, her hands moving up his body and resting on his chest. Her eyes following her hands. He swallowed the desire rising in his throat as she tore her eyes from his skin and locked them with his eyes instead. Her impossibly, transparently, sexy bedroom eyes that made him feel more like her prey.
"Or maybe..." She whispered as she leaned in, lifting herself on her toes and bringing herself as close to his ear as she could get. "...that time when I did that thing with my mouth on yo-"
He grabbed her arms and held her away from his body, cutting her off before she could finish her thought. It wasn't fast enough to stop his brain from finishing it for her however, or to keep the blood from rushing south at breakneck speed.
"And what exactly are you trying to prove?" He hissed.
"Nothing really. I guess I'm just not worried about any competition. I seem to recall plenty of times when I've left you speechless." She shrugged. "In fact, if I really wanted to, I could just..." Her hand slid south and he slammed his eyes shut as she cupped him. Groaned when she closed her hand around him. "...and you would shut up pretty fast."
His fingers tightened around her arms for a minute before he let go of her completely. He thrust against her hand and she let go and stepped back.
"There's cereal in the pantry, go feed the kids. I'm going to take a shower."
She tried not to smile at the distressed look that replaced his blissed out grin.
He wanted to object to her cruel game, but decided instead to hit her when she least expected it. She'd be begging him before the day was out. Regardless, it took him a moment to recover and he watched her as she snagged his shirt from the floor. She tossed it at him on her way over to the bathroom door. Catching it, he then swung it over his shoulder like a towel .
"Need someone to clean your back?" He called after her, when his senses started to return to him.
"Cleanliness is the last thing on your mind right now." She answered back, pausing at the bathroom door.
"True, my thoughts are very dirty." He admitted, closing the distance between them and resting one hand on the door frame above her head. "But if you're going to shower anyway, seems like now is the perfect time for being dirty." She couldn't fault him for his logic. Or the way his free hand danced across her stomach and around her waist.
"As soon as we are alone..." She swallowed as he undressed her with his eyes.
"You won't be able to walk straight..." He growled and tugged her roughly to him.
"Promises." She murmured, her voice almost lost in a breathy sigh.
"Guarantees." He vowed.
"Daddy, we're hungry." Clem interrupted the moment as she walked in and plopped down on the edge of the bed with Aaron in tow.
Kate laughed and pushed free from his grasp.
"So's your father." She teased, then closed the bathroom door in his face before he could react.
"Hilarious." He called after her. Her laughter, muted by the closed door, was the only response she gave. He tried not to picture her state of undress when he heard the shower kick on. Wishing for a cold shower of his own, he turned to face the kids.
"Who wants breakfast?"
She stood in front of her dresser in a pair of jeans and a navy lace trimmed bra twenty minutes later. Pawing through the top drawer for her favorite camisole, she dismissed the butterflies in her stomach as her fingers brushed over more delicate items that she had not needed in a long time. She paused over a sexy black bra and second guessed her simple navy choice.
She had forgotten this part. It wasn't like she'd even had to think about it on the island, there hadn't been that many options. Now she had a whole drawer of barely touched lingerie. Would he prefer her in something sheer or simple. As long as it matched? Would she even need to worry about it today?
She pushed aside more fabric in search for something to match the black bra she held in one hand and just as she pulled a small sheer number free,(from the dark recesses of the back of her drawer)the door handle turned and he slipped into the room. Locking the door behind him, he turned to see her standing half dressed in front of her dresser with intimate apparel hanging from her hands.
"You do know I'm just going to take it off, right?" He smirked as he closed the distance between them, watching her flush a lovely shade of pink.
"Shut up." She shoved the items back into the drawer, embarrassed as she slammed the drawer closed.
He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Her warm skin pressing against his naked chest. He hadn't put his shirt on after all, not that she objected.
"This look is good for you." He murmured in her ear as he nipped and sucked his way down her neck. His teeth grazing the skin on her shoulder, applying the lightest bit of pressure as his right hand slid up her arm. His finger hooking in the strap of her bra as he slowly dragged it down to give his mouth better access to her skin, then wrapped his fingers around her shoulder to hold her in place.
She groaned and closed her eyes as she pressed back into his embrace. His left hand played with the skin above her jeans, slipping under the waistband then retreating back up her stomach to just under her breasts.
"Let me get dressed." She moaned, as she backed into his hips, happy to find him just as 'distracted.'
"You should have thought of that earlier." He groaned against her salty skin, then danced his tongue behind her ear before sealing his lips against her skin to suck at her pulse point.
"I was trying." She gasped as his left hand grabbed her breast, cupping and fondling. Tweaking her nipple through her bra. Her hands found his wrists, holding on to him as his fingers kneaded her flesh.
"Obviously, not hard enough." He murmured as he thrust against her full backside. Her head fell against his chest as her mouth fell open, her breath in sharp quick little gasps. Her body rocking back into him, he watched her in the mirror as his fingers plucked at her.
"We match." He muttered, as he released her shoulder, his fingers toying with her scar.
Her eyes flew open as she let go of his wrist and moved her hand to cover the mark.
He turned her in his arms and plucked her hand from her shoulder, placed it on his, right over the bullet wound she helped him heal from. Then he placed his hand over her scar.
"Don't." He murmured. "Not from me."
"Sorry, it's habit." She whispered as she leaned closer and he rested his chin on her head, her fingers tracing his scar and remembering.
"Bad habit."
"Necessary." She sighed. "It's hard to explain."
"You got shot, so what?" He questioned like it was nothing. To them maybe it meant little. But the world didn't work that way. There was usually a reason. Though it was true that there were accidents, wrong place at the wrong time scenarios, people wouldn't mistake that of her. Not with her past. Most would probably think she deserved it. And though it shouldn't bother her, it was still hard to explain how she obtained a bullet wound while supposedly safe at home with her child.
It was a lot easier to just cover the damn thing up.
"Right." She laughed. "So what. Normal people don't just get shot."
He pushed back to meet her eyes.
"Who needs to be normal, then? I happen to think my scar gives me character." He boasted and she smirked her finger tracing his scar.
"Yes, well on a man it's mysterious." She practically purred, his fingers flexed on her waist. "On a woman... not so much."
Most men were turned off by imperfections, and though it wasn't hideous it wasn't exactly pretty either. She'd only received the most basic of medical treatment for it. She couldn't exactly go to a doctor to have it taken care of without posing all kinds of questions that she couldn't answer without ending up in jail. As a result it had healed slowly, the skin meshing back together in a jagged welt with more scar tissue than necessary.
"I happen to like that we're a matched set. Screw everyone else. I think it's sexy." He growled, dipping his head to kiss around the edges of it.
She squirmed against him at the sensation of his tongue running over and around it.
"You're just trying to make me feel better about it. You don't need to. I'm fine with it." She objected, grabbing his face and pulling it away from her skin.
"Liar. If you were, you wouldn't hide it." He called her out then brought his mouth to her neck, his hands sliding down to cup her ass as his mouth worked back up her body to her lips.
"There are some things the world doesn't need to see." She groaned, her fingers tangling in his hair as his gave her a quick squeeze.
"True. And if they never see it, I am fine with that. Just means it's our little secret." He whispered before capturing her mouth, sliding his tongue effortlessly into her mouth.
Pushing her back against the dresser his hands moved up her back to unclasp her bra. Freeing her from the garment he traced his finger tips up and down her sides lightly. Just enough to drive her mad.
Flipping her around he crushed her hips between him and the hard surface as he locked his fingers in hers. Her head fell back into him and he smiled.
"Open your eyes." He murmured against her temple, bringing their hands up to her shoulder to trace her scar. Guiding her finger with their interlocked hand.
Her eyes popped open and he met them in the mirror with a smirk before turning his attention to her neck.
"Watch." He murmured against her skin as he brought their other hands to her breast, coaxing her fingers to pluck and twist. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, her hips jumping against him as she fought the urge to moan.
"See." He sucked at her neck as he moved their hands from her shoulder to his. "Sexy as hell."
She nodded, letting out a small sound of encouragement as he brought their hands from his shoulder to her other breast.
It was when he started guiding their hands to her jeans that the doorbell rang.
"Son of a bitch." He groaned. "Can't a guy get a fucking break."
"It's probably Claire." Kate sighed, slipping her hands free. "Put on your shirt and answer the door."
"That might be a problem." He thrust against her to prove his point.
"Then let me go, so I can get dressed." She smiled turning in his arms again, her hands coming to rest against his chest.
"Don't wanna." He objected.
"Too bad." She shoved against him and he stepped back.
"You know this is unusually cruel, right?" He questioned watching her breasts as she leaned over to pick up her discarded bra. Watching them disappear as she covered them with said bra, then watching as she pulled a cami free from her drawer and covered the rest of her skin.
"I'm not the one who came in here and tried to undress you." She said, picking up a button up shirt from the bed and tossing it over her cami.
"Maybe you should. I'll wait here and you can come back and take all my clothes off and then I'll take yours off and we can continue this." He raised an eyebrow and she smiled.
"Get dressed..." She unlocked the door as the bell rang again. "...then come downstairs."
He sighed as she opened the door and slipped out.
It was going to be a long day.
When she got downstairs Clem and Aaron had already opened the door and Claire was catching up on the latest in Clem's elementary drama.
"Why don't you go get your stuff, Aaron? You can help him, Clem." Kate smiled as she placed a hand on Aaron's shoulder. Then turning to Claire she asked: "How's Jane doing?"
"She'll be fine. It was a clean break and should heal quickly. Guess she won't be jumping off furniture anytime in the future. She's just a little cranky, and who can blame her really?" Claire sighed. "Thank you for taking him on such short notice."
"It was no big deal." Kate objected.
"I take it you and Sawyer patched things up again?" Claire gestured to the stairs. Sawyer had finally put his shirt back on and was wrestling with Aaron at the top of the stairs. They watched as he picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder. Clem giggled and held up Aaron's bag for her father, who grabbed it with his free hand.
"Yeah." Kate beamed unaware of the look of utter adoration that shined from her face, or Claire's very observant eyes.
"Hey Mamacita, I think I found something of yours." Sawyer called out as he hauled a giggling, Aaron down the stairs. Clem bounded down behind them.
"You can put him in the car. I'm sure I've got some place for him at home." Claire teased back watching Kate's eyes follow Sawyer out the door, not missing the way he brushed by her intentionally knocking her back instead of walking around her.
"So... You wanna tell me something?" Claire fished and Kate snapped out of it.
"What?" She questioned, clearly confused.
"Nothing." Claire chuckled. "In all seriousness though, Ian and I were wondering if you and Sawyer could stop by for dinner tomorrow night."
"Oh, I don't know. I don't know how long Clem is staying." Kate answered honestly as the two of them walked out to the car.
"Buckle up." Sawyer ordered as he stepped back from the car and closed the door then turned to face the two women behind him. Clem hung off the side of the car door taunting Aaron with her freedom.
"Ian and I were wondering if you and Kate would be free for dinner tomorrow night." Claire said as Sawyer stepped up to Kate and pulled her to his side.
"Yeah, far as I know. I'm bringing Clem back tomorrow morning but I should be back late afternoon or early evening." Sawyer answered. "You okay with that?" He asked turning to look down at Kate who smiled back up to him.
"Yeah."
Claire tried to contain her excitement at their obvious affection as Sawyer reached down and brushed a stray strand of Kate's hair behind her ear.
"Great. Say around eight? Ian's parents are taking the kids for the night. We were going to do it later in the week but they volunteered to take the kids tomorrow and so we figured why not take advantage of it."
"Sounds good." Kate nodded as Claire opened her car door and got in.
"Clem step away from the car." Sawyer called out and Clem bounded back to where her father stood.
The three of them waved as Claire backed out and disappeared down the street.
"Hey Mom?" Aaron asked from the backseat a few minutes later.
"Yeah, Sweetie?"
"Is Aunt Kate going to be Clem's mom?"
"I don't know. Why are you asking?" Claire looked up to meet Aaron's eyes in the mirror.
"Cause she was acting like you do around Ian and Ian is going to be my dad so I thought maybe..."
She couldn't help but smile.
"You didn't tell Aunt Kate or Uncle Sawyer about that did you?" She asked.
"No, I didn't even tell Clem." He answered solemnly.
"Good. As for if they are going to get married like Ian and I are, I don't know for sure. But I think it's probably pretty likely."
"Good. I think he makes Aunt Kate happy and I like him. He's fun to play with."
"I'm sure your Aunt Kate would agree."
Though she was also pretty sure 'Aunt Kate' liked playing entirely different games with him.
She couldn't wait to get home and share the news with Ian, they had a bet going and she was pretty sure last night sealed her win.
