Killian was awake but reluctant to open his eyes. He knew the air outside the nest of his sheets would be cold and if the forecast was right, the sky outside would be blanketing the bay in a thick, grey cloud cover. Plus, there was the unexpected gift in the form of the women curled into his side, her head resting against his chest and strands of her hair tickling his nose. He smiled when her fingers twitched against his stomach, and let himself a moment to skate his hand along her waist to the flare of her hip.

If it weren't for the fact that he had no idea when she arrived combined with knowing his alarm was about to go off, he'd be tempted to stay where he was for as long as he could. With her in his bed, he was keen to while away the better part of his Saturday right here. He was loathe to wake her though. She'd been complaining of a heavier than normal workload the past few weeks, long hours doing research for her cases followed by late nights cooped up in her Bug as she tailed after them.

So he stretched his legs and gently pulled his arm from beneath her, kissing her forehead as she grumbled and resettled against his pillow. Wishing he could use incoming threat of snow to cancel the meeting he and Belle had set with a client, Killian shuffled over to the windows and tugged the shades down to block the morning light from filtering through.

When he returned home that afternoon, he found Emma still asleep but in his living room. She was sitting upright on the chaise with her legs tucked beneath her and a book laying abandoned in her lap. Killian thought about trying to move her, not wanting her to wake with a kink in her neck if he didn't, but much like that morning he remained loathe to disturb her. Instead he dropped the groceries he'd picked up on his way home on the kitchen island, and went to pull the blanket from the back of the couch, shaking it out as he made his way to her. He bent to slip the book from under her hand and laid the blanket over her. She stirred but didn't seem to wake, so he ghosted his lips across her temple before he went back to the kitchen.

Outside the snow fell around them, coating the tree branches and limbs in a thick cover. The utter stillness it created beyond the windows felt like a cocoon enveloping them, and he wondered selfishly if it might cause Emma to prolong her unexpected visit. Shaking his head, he busied himself with unpacking his purchases before returning to the living room to settle some wood in the fireplace. As he finished lighting the kindling, he heard her shuffle in the chair beside him.

"Hey," she mumbled, stretching her arms above her head. He stayed crouched in the front of the fireplace, but turned to admire the way her hair began to unthread from the haphazard bun she'd knotted at the top of her head. A few tendrils escaped to frame her face and curl on her bare shoulder. "Where'd you go?"

"Meeting with a client to review plans before work starts next week." Killian reached out and twisted one of the loose strands around a finger before moving to stroke underneath the strap of her camisole. "Didn't know you were coming or I would have pushed to wrap that up last night."

Emma shook her head as she righted herself, dislodging her blanket, causing it to pool around her lap. "Didn't give you warning. Shouldn't have assumed you'd be free."

He stood and reached for her hands to pull her towards the couch. "You don't need an invitation, love." As the back of his calves hit the couch, he fell back into it, bringing her with him to straddle his lap.

"Still," she protested.

He gripped his hands on her hips and she leaned back and crossed her arms in front of herself to pull off her camisole. Trailing his tongue along his lower lip, he tightened his hold as the swell of the underside of her breasts was exposed. "Swan, have I ever given you the impression that waking up with a beautiful woman in my bed was a burden?"

She laughed and he teased his hands against her ribcage as she continued to peel the fabric away. Once removed, she leaned back into him and dropped her shirt to the floor. "Was supposed drive up to catch a movie and drinks with Mary Margaret tonight. Thought it be fun to see you first. Didn't think to account for the forecast when I left last night."

He hummed and bent his head to capture one of her nipples in his mouth. He sucked on the soft, pink skin before pulling at the hardening bud with his teeth.

Emma gasped as he bit down. "She'd never let me come up in this weather, and I don't exactly want to tell her I'm already…." She trailed off as he brought his hand to her other breast, palming and squeezing her before circling his thumb around the tip.

"True," he drawled before turning his head to follow his hand, running his nose up the side of her breast and across her nipple. He then swiped his tongue along it with a few swift flicks and she ground against him in response. Closing his eyes, he drew back against the back of the couch as his hands moved down her back and settled on her ass. "Wouldn't want to let on that you're consorting with scoundrels in your spare time, would you?" He slipped his hands beneath her boxers and pressed down on the smooth skin as he thrust against her, the buzzing beneath his skin already building at the feel of her heat through his trousers.

"That what we're calling it?" she teased. Her hands tugged at his shirt, pulling it loose and then working her way up, slowly unbuttoning it as she went.

"What? Do you prefer fucking you into oblivion?" After few of the lower buttons were undone, she slipped her hands underneath and threaded her fingers through his chest hair. Killian sighed and continued, "Though if you keep touching me like that, we can call it whatever you like, whenever you like." When she scratched her fingernails along his nipples, Killian pushed his own hands down further, reaching to graze the tips of his fingers at the edge of her folds. Her hands tensed as he did and Killian bit back a grin.

Wanting to take his time, he moved his hands to her back, pressing along the ridges of her spine as he did. Then threading one hand through her hair, he angled her head and pulled her down into a kiss. She sighed against him and not waiting for her invitation, he urged his tongue past her lips to drag along her own. She pressed back in a warm, slow slide and he stroked and curled back along hers, getting lost in a game of call and response.

Struggling for breath, Killian pulled back and shifted his hips to turn and press her back into the couch. Emma reached up and twisted her fingers into his shirt, working open the last few buttons as he braced his arms against the arm of the couch on either side of her head. He gave a few experimental thrusts of his hips, trying to line himself along her clit. When she whimpered, her hands faltering and then falling to his waist as she wrapped a leg around his hip, he circled his hips again, enjoying the breathy moans he elicited.

Feeling the dull throb at the base of his cock tighten, Killian pulled back again. Emma glanced up at him and started to protest, but stopped when he shrugged his shirt from his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He grinned and looped his fingers around his belt buckle, rocking back on his heels and giving a tilt of his chin towards her shorts. The corner of her mouth quirked and she lifted her hips, pushing her boxers down her hips and to the floor. Sitting up, she splayed her legs and ran her hands down her thighs. Killian groaned as he fumbled with his belt and pulled at his fly, opening it just enough to relieve the press of the fabric against his cock. He watched Emma's hands trail back up her inner thighs, the fingers of one settling along either side of her folds, drawing them back to open herself to him.

Killian growled and pulled his cock from his briefs, squeezing his hand around the base before giving a few languid strokes. "That's it, Swan. Love when you're on display for me. All pretty and pink and wet. You've no idea of all the things it makes me want to do."

She groaned and brought her free hand to her mouth, wrapping her tongue around two of her fingers and sucking them in. He circled his thumb and index finger around the head of his cock as he continued to watch, rolling them over the ridge and pulling back his foreskin before twisting and repeating the motion. He continued until she slipped her fingers from her mouth and pressed them to her exposed entrance, slipping them in and giving a few short, shallow strokes.

Pushing his trousers and underwear the rest of the way down, he stepped out of them and crossed back to her. When he reached her, he knelt between her legs and gripped the back her knees. "Go on, love. Fuck yourself properly on those fingers. Show me what it is you do on those nights in Portland when I'm not there to give you what you need." She closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the couch as she followed his instructions, pushing deep and pulling back before repeating the motions over again.

He kissed up her inner thigh, resting his cheek against her when he reached the space just below her hands, watching as her fingers slid all the way to the hilt. He breathed in, enjoying the scent of her as she started to rock in time with her fingers. "So beautiful," he murmured. "Crook your fingers," he asked with a brush of his nose against the back of the hand inside her. "Find that spot you like." She changed the angle of her strokes, and he could feel the muscles of her thigh contract as she did.

When her other hand drifted to her clit, he reached up and laced his fingers through hers, pulling her hand aside. "Uh uh, Swan, that's mine." He emphasized his claim with a quick sweep of his tongue over the swollen skin, causing her to jerk against him.

"Killian," she whined.

He grinned before leaning towards her, breathing out across the sensitive skin. She squeezed the hand holding hers.

"Please," she tried again.

"Please what?" he teased, moving his tongue down the crease of her thigh, brushing just to the side of her folds. When she growled, he made his way back to her clit, letting go of her hand in order to use his fingers to open her to him. He flattened his tongue and massaged against her before dipping down to slide along her fingers as she fucked herself on them. When he moved back to her clit and pulled it between his teeth, she clenched him between her thighs and came with a hoarse shout. He continued with a few soft, drawn out sweeps of his tongue until she jerked, the sensations too much in the aftermath.

"That what you wanted, love?" he asked as he pulled back, sliding her fingers from where they had stilled inside her and guiding them to his mouth. She shook her head as he worked his tongue around her fingers, cleaning her arousal from them. When he finished he leaned up a bit, grabbing hold of her thighs.

"You wanted something more?" She nodded and he bit back groan. "Then be a good lass and turn around," he said with a nudge of his hands towards her waist. "Put your elbows up on the back of the couch." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow but did as he asked. He moved up behind her, resting his knees on either side of hers and sliding his cock through her wet folds with a groan. Turning his attention to run his fingers along her sides, he ghosted his fingers along the sides of her breasts, enjoying how she arched as he did. He moved to cup her more fully, bending to nose along the shell of her ear, pulling the lobe between his teeth. "Don't worry, Emma," he whispered when he released her. She sighed and rocked against him. "It's not often I get a snow day with my very beautiful, very wanton and willing to please friend, and I intend to take full advantage."


They spent the remainder of the afternoon wrapped together in much the same manner. When Emma called Mary Margaret in order to reschedule their plans for the following weekend, Killian did his best to behave as they spoke. But when he found her still naked and stretched out on his bed, sliding a foot along her calf and laughing at something Mary Margaret was nattering on about, it was all too much. He climbed in with her, grabbing a hold of her ankle and kissing and nipping his way up her leg. When he reached the inside of her thigh, he bit down, intent on sucking a mark into the pale skin. The sharp intake of breath she gave while trying to answer some question posed to her emboldened him further and he inched up towards her center.

When she didn't protest, he wondered how far he could push before she either hung up or kicked him off the bed. So he pressed in, delving a finger between her folds before following the same path with his tongue, lapping at the arousal that had begun gather. Emma wrapped a leg around him, digging her heel between his shoulders to pull him closer. He tried and failed not to groan as he followed her silent instruction. When he glanced up and found her glaring at down him, he held her gaze as he gave a slow, pointed lick up to her slit. She arched back into the pillows and closed her eyes as she turned her head away from him, offering Mary Margaret an abrupt and weak excuse to end the call then tossing her phone to the far corner of the bed.

By that evening Killian was sore and sated, feeling content beyond any reasonable measure. He puttered around the kitchen in his favorite blue and grey plaid sleep pants. He gathered ingredients for hot chocolate, suddenly intensely grateful for the discs of Mexican chocolate he'd picked up on a whim earlier in the week.

Waiting for the milk to heat, he looked back out into the living room. He loved this house and the view out beyond it, but at no point more so than at times like this. The wide, window-paned walls opened out onto the silent, snow and ice covered bay. The only light outside at this hour coming from the dim lanterns that lit along the path down to the water, revealing a still steady stream of snow falling around them. Not a soul was in sight except Emma, who was lounging naked on his furniture, lost in a book propped up against her bent knee. A man could get used to this, he thought as she thumbed at a page.

Killian shuffled back over to the stove to stir in the chocolate, unwilling to poke further at that thought.

When the mugs were ready, he made his way over to where Emma sat, placing them on the table next to her. He ran his hand over her bare shoulder. "Budge up."

Emma scooted to make room and he slipped behind her, snaking his arm around her waist to pull her back against his chest. He drew the blanket from the back of the couch over them before handing her a mug.

"Hmmm. You got the good stuff," she said, her nose hovering over the lip of the mug.

Killian beamed into his own before taking a sip. "You can thank Belle. She walked me through her recipe."

Emma hummed and took a sip. "That chili pepper?"

"Aye. Amongst other things. Too much?" he asked, caressing his thumb along her belly.

She shook her head. "It's good," she sighed before taking another sip. Killian settled his own mug back down and picked up the TV remote. "Still willing to dive into Outlander with me?"

Emma laughed and snuggled back further into his chest. "You're on."


His phone was buzzing against his bedside table and Killian wished he could silence it with a glare. He reached out with a groan to silence it, assuming it was an errant alarm. Instead he found his brother's face smiling at him. He groaned again as he slid his thumb along the screen to answer, prying his other arm from beneath Emma's pillow. "Liam?" he mumbled as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and fished around for his sleep pants.

"Did I bollocks up the time difference again?" Liam asked, tilting his head to look at something off screen.

Killian ran his hand through his hair, doing his best to flatten the disarray that was staring back at him in the corner of the screen. "Pardon?" he whispered, closing the bedroom door behind him.

"You're not one for sleeping in, little brother."

Killian narrowed his eyes, but didn't take the obvious bait. Instead he grabbed the blanket from where they'd abandoned it on the couch last night and wrapped it over his shoulders before plopping himself down in its place.

"Assumed I miscalculated the hour," Liam continued, seeming oblivious to Killian's irritation at being woken. "But that's not it. So what has you lounging about in bed well past sunrise?"

"Just a late night. Is there a point to this wake up call?"

"Can't a bloke ring his only brother to see how he's doing? Especially seeing as he hasn't heard from him all week?"

Killian pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping the brief stab of pain would wake him. "He could, but I don't see how that merits pulling me from bed."

"Hold up." Liam frowned. "Why did you leave the bedroom? Do you have someone over?"

Killian sighed internally, realizing he had made a grave error in his caffeine-deprived state. "Astute observation there, Li, seeing as I normally creep about my own house while whispering into the phone at my idiot brother."

"No need to get shirty," he replied with a grin and Killian narrowed his eyes again. "I didn't think you were seeing anyone. When did this happen? Who is she? Will I get to meet her next month?"

Killian held up his hand, hoping that blocking the screen would silence him. "It's no one."

Liam raised an eyebrow as Killian lowered his hand back down. He sighed and amended his answer. "It's not like that."

"No, no, no, no." He wagged his finger at the screen. "You forget I know you, little brother. If she were no one, you wouldn't have her at that house of yours."

Killian frowned and ran his fingers back through his hair. "Just leave it be."

Liam paused and peered at him through the screen. "Fine," he said after a moment, "but don't think we are done with this conversation."

Killian glared.

"Get some coffee in you and then ring me back. Want to discuss some details of my trip."

"Fine," Killian muttered back. "I'll call you in a few hours."

Liam smiled. "Hey, Killian?

Killian's finger, hovering over the disconnect button, paused. "Aye?"

"Whoever she is, I hope she makes you smile."

A memory from the night before – Emma's pathetic attempt to imitate Jamie Fraser's accent – flashed in his mind before he could help it. Knowing he shouldn't, he answered, "She does, Li."

'Good' was his only reply before he ended the call.


The snow continued unabated through Sunday with no signs of letting up, so he and Belle agreed to keep the office closed on Monday. Emma stayed put at his place, not wanting to attempt the drive back to Portland, so they continued their Outlander marathon.

He peeled himself away from her for a few hours on Monday afternoon, moving to his office downstairs to focus on some floor plans he needed to finalize for a client by the end of the week. When he eventually came back up, he found Emma hunched over her laptop and camera at his dining room table, a few notebooks and two half-empty coffee mugs spread around her.

He rested his hands on the back of her chair, peering over her shoulder as he placed a kiss to the top of her head. "What are you working on?"

She craned her head back to look up at him. "Needed to pull together some photos for a case for Graham. You get your plans done?"

"Mostly," he replied, moving one hand to thread in her hair and scratch along her scalp. "Sent them to Belle for a final look over.

She stretched her head forward, tucking her chin to her chest. After a few minutes, she sighed and mumbled, "As good as this feels, I need another half hour or so to wrap this up."

Killian grinned and shifted his free hand to caress her neck, tracing along the cords and skimming the hollow of her throat.

"Killian," she breathed.

"Yes, love?" he asked, still scratching at her scalp while creeping his other hand down her sternum.

"Thirty minutes. I swear."

He dipped beneath the open collar of her shirt, fingering the edge of her bra and slipping a finger just below the fabric to ease along the swell of her breast. "You sure?" he whispered.

She reached up and circled both of his wrists with her hands, raising his arms above her head and shooting him a mock glare. "Can't think when you're touching me," she whined.

"Really?" He extricated himself from her grip with a roll of his wrists. "I'll need to keep that in mind."

Emma turned back to her laptop without further response and he stepped back from the table and into the kitchen, intent on pulling out ingredients for pizza dough.

He watched her as he kneaded out the dough, smiling when she wound her hair on top of her head and stuck one of her pens through the knot she created. Once he was done and wiped down the bowl to put the dough in to rise, he leaned back against the counter and continued to watch her work. Her thumb was tapping against table as she continued to sort photos, and he itched to wrap his fingers around hers to soothe the gesture. He wondered if she was like this all the time when she worked, or if it was the pots of coffee he kept her in. He wondered if he'd ever be given the opportunity to find out.

Killian dragged his hand down his chin, not taking his eyes off her as she fidgeted, and wondered when exactly it was that he had become well and truly fucked in regards to this woman.