A/N: Rating for this chapter is NC-17

When Jed woke, pale sunlight was sending shafts of light through the gap in the curtains. Momentarily disorientated, he picked up his watch and squinted at it. Six thirty – dammit, why had no-one woken him? And why couldn't he remember a single one of the meetings scheduled for – Then his eyes slowly took in the room around him and he relaxed back against the pillow. Okay, they were in Ireland, he should have changed his watch – so it was what? – six plus five was – his sleep-befuddled mind struggled with the calculation – right, must be eleven thirty.

Easing his shoulders up from the bed, he looked down at Abbey. Asleep, she looked angelic, her face at peace, her tousled dark hair framing her face and spread out on the pillow. The duvet had slipped to one side, revealing her silky smooth shoulders and the soft mounds of her breasts.

Even after nearly forty years of marriage, the sight of his wife's naked body could still arouse him and as he watched her, desire coursed through him. Gently he reached out to stroke one of her breasts. Abbey stirred from her sleep. "Mmm, nice," she murmured.

Jed smiled. "Hey, I thought you said you were gonna be seducing me!" he said softly

Abbey's eyes flickered open. "I did, didn't I?" she said, her voice still slurred with sleep. After a few moments, her eyes opened wide. "Jed, did we really fall asleep?"

"Fraid so, honey. We must be getting old."

The comical look she shot him stirred everything inside him. He bent forward to kiss her lips very softly, the tip of his tongue teasing her mouth. At the same time he cupped her breast in his hand and kneaded the nipple. Sensing her instant response and hearing the quick gasp of pleasure that escaped from her only served to heighten his own arousal.

Abbey felt him harden against her and smiled. "I was supposed to be switching your brain off – remember?"

"I remember."

"So how's your brain?"

"Switched off. Which is more than I can say for – oh God!" he groaned as Abbey's hand slid downwards from his chest to his stomach and then reached his already hard shaft.

"Just the two of us now, huh?" she said huskily.

"Just the two of–" Jed groaned again as Abbey's fingers stroked him.

"Just hack it, Mister former President, "Abbey said with a seductive smile and then gasped as Jed brought his mouth down on hers and invaded her with his tongue.

But her hand was still stroking him, and he backed off for a moment. "Hey, ease off, sweetheart," he murmured, "I wanna make this last – but if you carry on like that–"

Abbey's hand stilled, and after drawing in his breath, Jed started kissing her gently again – her mouth, then her cheek, her jawbone, her earlobe and then the place where her neck met her shoulder that he knew was guaranteed to drive her crazy. He loved it when she sighed happily and squirmed helplessly like this – and as he moved lower to kiss her breast, he knew he was in danger of losing it too.

Forcing himself to keep control, his hand moved down her, slowly trailing lazy circles with the tips of his fingers round her stomach and then her hips and thighs, loving the small moans of pleasure that she was giving. And then his fingers reached the very heart of her.

"Jed!" she gasped as her hips involuntarily rose.

He had to fight the desperate urge to enter her there and then, wanting instead to take her right to the edge first. So he continued to stroke her and felt her whole body quivering. Her breathing quickened and she tossed her head from side to side, gasping, "Oh yes – yes – yes–"

"You ready?" he whispered when he knew that she was almost there.

"God, yes – just get in there, Jed – I need you so much."

He lifted himself above her and as he went into her, he drew in a deep breath and then said desperately, "Abbey, I can't – I can't hold this back!"

"Let go, babe, just let go–"

And then both of them were lost in their need for each other, moving fiercely and urgently together, until Jed's final hoarse gasp of "Abbey!" sent her over the edge too.

"Oh wow," Abbey breathed when eventually she came back to earth again. "Maybe we aren't so old after all."

Jed was slumped across her, his breath still coming in ragged gasps after the climax that had drained and exhilarated him at the same time. He groaned slightly. "Speak for yourself," he muttered.

Abbey's hand stroked his damp hair, as she smiled contentedly in the afterglow of their lovemaking, in the memory of the glorious moment when his hard thrusts had sent her right over into the beautiful throbbing release. "I love you so much, Jed."

After a few moments, Jed lifted his head and his blue eyes, still soft and lazy with satisfaction, gazed into hers. "And I love you too – so very, very much," he said and then dropped his head against her shoulder again.

For a while, they simply lay there, just content to be together. Eventually Jed lifted himself off her and then lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "You know, I can hardly believe this is real," he said. He turned his head to look at her. "When I woke up, all I could think at first was – what meetings do I have today?"

Abbey raised herself on to her elbow to look down at him. "And when you realised you didn't have any, what then?"

"I don't know," Jed admitted. "Oh, relieved, certainly – glad in one way that someone else is now having to deal with all the problems and crises, read all those endless documents – but at the same time – I don't know – I felt – empty somehow."

"Jed, you know you're gonna find something, don't you?"

Jed glanced round at her. "Yeah, I guess so. It's just the not knowing that's getting to me." Then he eased himself up. "Sorry, honey, this is for when we get home, not for now."

Abbey's eyes rested on him compassionately. She knew that it was going to take time for him to readjust, but she was equally sure that he would find just the right niche – something into which he could pour all his energies, just as he had done as President, and as Governor and Congressman before that. And then she would have to make the decision about her own future too.

"Okay, so let's concentrate on the now," she said briskly. "Time for breakfast!"

As she threw back the tangled duvet and slid her legs off the bed, Jed caught her hand. "And are we intending to have breakfast in the nude then?"

Abbey glanced across at the chair where she had flung her clothes the previous night – or was it the morning? "Uh-oh, we haven't unpacked, have we?"

"Nope." Jed lifted his legs off the other side of the bed and looked ruefully at the pile of his crumpled clothing on the floor. "And I certainly can't wear any of that lot again!"

"So okay, let's find some clothes!"

As she stood up, Jed eyed her appreciatively. "You know, I could really go with this being a nudist vacation."

"In January? – Idiot!" Abbey flung a pillow at him which he caught expertly and flung back at her.

An hour later, they were showered and dressed, both of them in jeans and Jed in a blue polo-shirt and navy blue sweatshirt while Abbey had found a tan-coloured turtleneck sweater. She was relieved to see that there were sensible casual clothes in her bags and Jed admitted that he had been teasing her when he'd let her think that he had packed them himself.

"But I did add a few things from your 'special garments' drawer to the pile of stuff that your staff were getting ready to pack," he added with a grin as he followed her into the sitting room.

"Now why am I not surprised about that?" Abbey said dryly. She flung open the curtains and then gasped. "Oh!"

"What?"

"Take a look at this!"

The large window at the back of the sitting room overlooked the sea, or rather a bay, as there was a long strip of undulating low hills in the distance, with some rugged grey peaks beyond them. The cottage stood on higher ground, which dropped gradually away to a part-sand, part-stony beach where the waves lapped the shore. Although it was a grey day, with only a pale January sun filtering through the clouds, it had a soft beauty that made Abbey catch her breath.

Jed came to stand beside her and put his arm round her shoulders. "It's Galway Bay," he said. Then softly, in his light baritone voice, he sang:

"If you ever go across the sea to Ireland,
Then maybe at the closing of your day
You will sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh,
And see the sun go down on Galway Bay."

Then he grinned at her. "My mom used to sing that to me when I was small."

"You look like your Mom – you've got a real Irish face, like she had."

"And you've got Irish eyes."

"Three generations removed – it was my great-grandmother who was Irish."

Jed took a step back, held out his arms and started singing again: "When Irish eyes are smi - ling – sure, they ste-eal your heart – away." Then he planted a kiss on her cheek. "Aye, and you surely know somet'in' about heart stealin', me darlin' girl," he said, slipping into an Irish accent.

Abbey laughed. "Okay, Danny Boy, so now let's find some breakfast."

TBC