"I can't do it," Bella groaned, falling face first into the sofa, muffling all her exaggerated murmurings. "Please, daddy."

At his wits end, he lost all regard for biting back his frustration, "Bella, if you don't sit up and be still, I swear-"

"I can't, daddy," she cried, her voice growing to a scream as she twisted and turned until she collapsed to the floor in a fit. "It hurts."

"No, it doesn't," he argued, shuffling his feet over so she didn't kick him amidst all of her flailing. "You're being ridiculous."

"No, I'm not," she yelled, throwing her head back, her face red and streaked with tears. "You're being mean!"

"What's going on?" Katrina's voice came from behind him. "What's wrong with her?"

Gaze seeking her out in the hopes she could do something with their unruly child, he took in her wet hair and half buttoned shirt. She must have heard Bella having a fit and thought something was wrong.

"She needs her nails clipped and is having a meltdown over it."

He threw an accusing look at Bella, who had stilled, distracted from her dramatics. However, the moment she caught his eyes fixed on her, she tossed her head back and returned to her twisting around as though she was being tortured. The little devil was putting on quite the show, he'd give her that.

"Oh, Bella," Katrina soothed as she knelt beside their little monster, who was now eating up her mother's affection. "It's alright."

It didn't take but a minute for Bella to wind up in Katrina's arms, crawling all over her as she moaned and groaned about her misfortune. For her part, Katrina scooped her up and began muttering comforting words to her, never once asking if perhaps Bella was in the wrong. It set his blood boiling that Bella was attempting to manipulate this situation.

"Don't coddle her," he butt in, not having any of this. "She's rotten enough without condoning this type of behavior."

"Mommy, please, tell him to stop," Bella cried into Katrina's neck, twisting Katrina's shirt between her fingers as she clung all the tighter to her. "He's being mean to me."

Katrina's eyes sought him out with a helpless look, the sort that told him she was about to further defend their big baby.

"No," he growled, his hard tone leaving no room for argument, as he held up a finger. "This isn't up for debate."

"Ichabod," she softly whispered, her hands rubbing soothing circles over Bella's back. "Perhaps-"

"Bella, get up," he ordered, finished with this business. Reaching out and grasping his daughter's arm, he went on, "I've had it."

"No!" she squealed at the top of her lungs, clinging all the tighter to Katrina, who was trying to keep her shirt together as Bella ripped at it as a means to avoid him. "I want mommy!"

"Bella, let her go." He dropped to his knees in an attempt to get a better handle on the squirming girl. "Bella-"

"Bella, sweetheart, just do as your father says, alright?" Katrina attempted to persuade. "He's only trying to help you."

"No!"

It was taking everything in him to pry her fingers from the death grip she had on Katrina's shirt. Somehow, she'd gotten her fingers twisted all around the material, obviously in preparation for his pulling her away. He'd never accuse Bella of being unintelligent. She was on a well laid out path to being just as skillfully manipulative as her mother.

"Bella, I swear to God, if you don't let go, you're not going to your play tomorrow."

It was like a light switching off, the way her body loosened from Katrina's so she could spin and look at him, daggers in her green eyes. "You can't do that. I have to go. It's for school."

"Test me some more and you'll see just how serious I am." He flung a stiff finger at the sofa. "Now, sit down."

The defiant cross of her arms accompanied her twisting lips. "I want mommy to do it."

Grinding down on his teeth, he pointed to the sofa again. "Sit down."

"I want mommy to do it," Bella growled lowly with a hard stomp of her foot. "I don't want you."

That was it.

He'd had it with her attitude.

Taking a brisk step forward, he jerked her up around the waist and set her on the sofa, making sure to keep a hand on her so she didn't jump up.

"Stop!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, flailing about like a mad woman.

"Bella Leighanne, you will cease this behavior immediately."

It wasn't that he actually expected her to stop. Years of fighting over little things like this had taught him that she never did. She'd curse and swipe at him to the bitter end, never tiring or giving an inch.

Normally, he'd have given up by now, which of course was probably why he had so much trouble with her now. However, his day had consistently been on the decline from the onset starting with his spilling an entire cup of coffee down his suit and moving onto being chewed out by his employer. Then, he'd endured yet another round of Abbie ignoring phone calls from him. That, more than anything, set his nerves at their very ends. Twenty-four hours had barely passed since Abbie's and his fight and he was already desperate to get in touch with her; to beg her to simply talk to him. It wasn't that he couldn't appreciate where she was coming from so much as he just wanted to hash their argument over Katrina out in a less hostile manner, especially when it wasn't so fresh and emotions weren't running quite so high.

Be that as it may, it was Bella's very unlucky timing to have chosen this night to test him. Now, he was at the end of his rope and he finished with her constant refusal to obey him. Abbie had always said he'd have a breaking point. He supposed he was getting close to it.

"Now, you listen to me," he stated, his voice laced with warning as he got right in Bella's red face. "You will not carry on like this another moment."

"But-"

"No!" he harshly objected, his finger finding a spot between their panted breathing. "You will not speak another word of protest or nastiness this night, do you understand?"

She wrinkled her face and crossed her arms in a pout as she fell back against the sofa, her gaze avoidant.

"I expect an answer," he added in warning, not daring to let her have the last word with her attitude. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," she mumbled, her eyes trained as far from him as she could get them.

"Yes, what?" he demanded, tilting his head into her field of vision.

A loud huff slipped through her lips, causing her whole body to jerk with it as she cast him a downright loathsome look before she growled, "Yes, sir."

He pushed a defeated sigh though his nose as he shook his head and pushed himself up, not feeling as though he'd handled that well at all. Turning to Katrina, who was staring at him in a surprised manner, he held out the fingernail clippers to her.

"She's all yours."

The moment, she took them, he spun and left the two of them alone.

Seeking solace in his room, he shut the door and began shrugging his dress shirt from his shoulders.

He'd yet to even have time to change clothes this evening. Since he'd walked through the door, he'd been bombarded with spelling words, which Bella was expected to know for her test the next morning, a fact she'd misplaced until the last minute.

Katrina had already spent over an hour attempting to help her, but Bella had been in a decidedly foul mood, leaving her unwilling to learn anything. So, he'd taken over and sat at the dinner table with her for yet another hour before heading to his office in the hopes of finishing up some paperwork he'd been slammed with the moment he'd entered his office at the museum.

Dinner had been takeout and then Katrina had gone to take a bath while he set about getting Bella ready for bed. She'd been resistant every step of the way before becoming volatile when he'd noticed her nails were too long. The moment the words had left his mouth, she'd started her fit right then and there, running all over the house, screaming that she couldn't do it.

As he slipped his shoes and socks off, he noticed a hole had formed in the toe of his left sock.

"For God's sake," he groaned in agitation, his whole body becoming riddled with anger as he ripped the material from his foot and chunked it to the floor. "Cannot one thing go right, today?"

Falling back against the bed in a manner much like Bella had done, he brought his hands to his face, wishing he could just time jump to the next morning and be finished with this day. There was nothing he wished to carry forward from the day he'd just endured.

Tomorrow had to be better. If it wasn't, he might find himself joining Bella in her next tantrum.

Then, he remembered Bella's Thanksgiving play and realized he'd be forced to spend an evening with both Katrina and Betsy.

"Why do you hate me?" he whispered to the silent room, wishing to heaven he could just catch a break.

"I happen to love you," came Katrina's voice, slight mirth in her tone.

Startled by her presence, he lifted his head and found her closing their door with a grin. "Where's the monster?"

"In bed," she answered, as she practically bounced toward him. "She and Bob are discussing how rude you are."

"That little-" He moved to sit up, but Katrina's hand to his chest prevented him from getting far. "She needs to learn."

Katrina chuckled, far too happily in his opinion, as she pushed him back and crawled over him on all fours. "She will."

Eyes on the way her shirt hung loose, giving him ample view of her chest, he whispered distractedly, "You're too lenient with her."

Thinking better of himself, he tore his gaze from the view she was giving him and frowned at her. "You're turning me into the mean parent."

With a smile to knowing to ignore, she pressed a kiss to his nose. "She's only testing you to see how far she can push you."

"Well, I'm tired and not in the mood for games." He settled his hands on her thighs. "I've never had to be hard on her. Abbie always..."

His eyes fell closed as he considered to who he was speaking and what he was speaking of. As if his day hadn't been hard enough, now he had to dance around Katrina about Abbie's role in Bella's life.

"I'm grateful she helped you," Katrina offered softly, her shallow breaths washing over his cheeks. "I'm not so prideful that I can't see all she's done for you and Bella, my love."

Half a nod was all he could give her as he fought to regain himself. His emotions were too disjointed for him to even appreciate what she'd just said.

"I'm glad you're here, now." He finally opened his eyes, hoping she could see how serious he was. "I know I may not seem it today, but I'm so happy, Katrina."

Her smile returned, one brilliant and full of grace. "As am I."

He lifted a hand to push her hair back before settling his fingers along the back of her neck, enjoying all the while how she leaned into his touch. "You make me so happy."

Her eyes fluttered as she leaned forward to press her mouth to his; her kiss hardly unexpected and wholly appreciated. It would be easy enough for her to fix his day with this. He should have sought her out sooner; taking the time to bask in her affection and love.

As she kissed him, he eagerly smoothed his other hand along her thigh and over the back of her pants; wanting to feel more of her; all of her. Never pausing to wonder if he should, he slipped his hand inside her sweats and explored the smooth contours of her ass and lower back, all the while loving the way she flexed her muscles with his every touch.

The way Katrina felt wasn't something to be undersold. The smooth skin was only the beginning of the ways she drew him deep into her well of never ending facets.

God, she was hot to the touch, her flesh like a sea of molten lava under his fingertips, burning him to the bone in a way that made him long for more hands with which to touch her.

Then, there was her mouth, wet and warm, sliding along his neck as though it was her own canvas upon which she meant to create wonders. Her lips, plump and ripe for the picking, were his source of concentration. As they moved along his skin as they pleased, he wondered if she realized just how deeply devoted to her, he was.

Without an ounce of nervousness, he took his free hand and slipped it under her shirt, the smooth swell of her abdomen contracting at his touch as he moved his fingers along the planes of her body, pressing and pulling at her as he wished.

By the time he'd reached the warm swell of her breast, he was desperate for a breath.

Tearing his mouth from hers, he claimed her neck, his teeth scraping along the strong column, desperate to make her his; to mark her in some way.

"Ichabod," she whispered, her hips dragging tantalizingly slow over his. "Tell me something."

At the first nip of his teeth to her skin, he whispered, "I need you."

His need was undeniable, something he knew she was keenly aware of as she pressed her hips down into his for another go round.

"Is that what that's for?" she giggled in his ear, twisting her center over his pants and earning a deep, guttural groan from him. "I'd have never guessed it."

His wife could tease him into a sobbing mess if she wanted, but he prayed she'd hold off on such torture until another day. They'd yet to make love since her release and while today wasn't ideal and his mood was about as sour as Bella's, he still wanted her; needed her; prayed she wanted the same.

"Katrina, I-"

Flames of raw, unadulterated pleasure coursed down his spine.

Somehow, someway, she'd managed to slip her fingers around his cock without his knowing she was even in pursuit of it.

"How did you-?" He wantonly rolled his head to the side as she expertly handled him and moaned a low, "Fuck me."

A grin was his first clue she was amused with him as she lifted her head and caught his eyes. "I dare say you're enjoying yourself."

"Do you?" he asked through a staggered breath, tilting his head to the side to watch her hand shift in his pants. "What gave you that impression?"

"The 'fuck me' was a pretty good clue." She mused, her joy at his complete surrender to her obvious. "You've never been one for vulgar language in bed, Ichabod."

"Mhm," he breathed, resting his head back in the blankets as he basked in her attention, or, in truth, attempted to hear anything over the roar of his blood pounding.

"You've always aired more on the side of endearing romance."

A lazy grin spread his lips, all the while knowing she'd eaten his curse up. "Well, it has been a very long time since you've handled me with such thorough and wonderful skill as you are, now."

Her thumb swiped over his tip, causing every muscle in his body to coil as she uttered a seductive whisper, "Just wait."

The feel of her lips on his skin as she pressed them along his chest added to the flickers of pleasure building in his cock. It knew as well as he that relief would soon come and it bent to her will, glad to relish in her possession.

"I mentioned how much I missed you, didn't I?" he asked, his fingers weaving through her soft, soon to be tangled, hair as he fixed his eyes on the way she lathered him with her affections. "Because if it needs repeating, I'd- God's wounds, Katrina!"

Her tongue dipped into his belly button, sending an unexpected thrill through him as he arched his hips from the bed, his fingers curling around her locks.

When her hand eased from his pants and began fumbling with shoving them down his thighs, his breathing spiked; the sudden anticipation lodging in his throat. Years weren't how long it had been. It was centuries.

The last time Katrina's mouth had been anywhere near his cock had been their last night together before he'd faced the Horseman and perished. Unlike the night of Bella's conception which had been a tense and wholly uncomfortable evening filled with the two of them fumbling around and only partaking of the mechanics of sex, that night had been one he'd have remembered until the day he died, eidetic memory or not. In truth, he supposed the night Bella had been conceived had been a last ditch effort to prove there was anything still functional about their marriage.

Now, though, he was keenly aware of just how functional they were together and his desire to have her continue on her present course was anything but unwelcome. However, he was a gentleman and it had been a long time...

"You don't have to," he spoke through a strained whisper, picking his head up to look at her as he desperately fought his lust with his love. "We can just-"

Those eyes he so loved flickered to him as she thoughtfully tilted her head at him, her smile gentle. "I know I don't have to, my love."

As her fingers wound around him once more, his body gave an involuntary lurch as the muscles in his chest and thighs tensed in an aching wait for what was to come. "This isn't going to last long."

A sly grin touched her lips as she pressed a kiss to his tip, taking the head into her mouth ever so slightly before whispering, "Then, I suggest you lie back and enjoy it for the little time you have left."

Then, without further ado, she began working him like the lover she'd been to him forever ago; her hands and mouth moving in perfect synchronicity.

Head tilting back, he gripped at the sheets and prayed he could keep himself in check long enough to actually enjoy this for a while. The feel of her hot breath along his skin was all he could concentrate on. At least, until her lips, wet and slick, had his cock crying out for more as the tension at its base built even further.

Thoughts of all the ways he wanted to repay her, however, slipped across the forefront of his mind, leaving him to fight off a wave of aching pleasure.

To taste her again, to give her the feelings he was now experiencing...

"Oh God," he hissed, his body setting over the precipice of release as she mouthed his shaft, invading his every sense and forcing him to abandon all composure to the side. "Katrina... I'm-"

Everything he'd ever felt paled in comparison to the force of his release in this moment. White, hot fire rippled through him, leaving him grasping for any sort of reality where he could remain caught in this feeling. His cock was still caught between her lips, leaving him lost for where he even was. The blood in his veins felt like it was boiling, surely burning through his skin; threads of insurmountable pain and pleasure combining to leave him at a loss for care over anything other than what was happening to his body.

"Fuck," he exhaled noisily, finally taking that first breath as the tension in his spine slowly ebbed away, leaving him to blink at the ceiling, the damp sheets beneath him sticking to his back as he unwound his fingers from them.

Her mouth roaming the juncture between his cock and thigh brought his gaze south to find her attention still fully concentrated on him, the curls from her hair tickling his thighs and belly.

"You," he breathed, strained and hoarse, drawing her glinting gaze up his chest. "Come here."

Crooking a finger at her, he waited as she left her kneeling position to slither up his body, her eyes never leaving his.

"Did you need something else?" she asked, a sly upturn to her mouth; a playful attempt to draw him into a reaction.

She was the devil... or an angel. There was a certain contradiction to be argued for whether option was true if one took into fact where her mouth had just been.

Possessively sliding his hands up her thighs as she hovered over him, he twisted the hem of her shirt between his fingers and slid it over her hips, leaving the small of her back exposed to the room and free to roam with his hands.

"I'm having an internal debate over whether you're an angel or the devil." He stretched up to tease her lips as he kneaded the flesh just over the waistband of her sweats, skimming the edge of the material, biding his time before he moved further. "Any thoughts on which it might be?"

Teeth nipping on his bottom lip, she shrugged her shoulders before moving to whisper against his ear, her warm breath making his eyes roll back. "I want to do bad things to you."

And just like that, he found himself aroused and wishing for his body to recover faster. Fingers delving beneath her sweats, he teased her flesh as he sought out that treasure between her thighs.

"I wouldn't mind seeing a little devil in you," she added, dragging her teeth along the column of his neck, scraping against his skin, surely leaving marks in her path.

"Oh?" he inquired, her slick, warmth which was coating his fingers holding the greater majority of his attention.

The shudder of her form was all the assurance he needed of her want, her forehead resting to his as she eyed the path between their bodies where his hand had disappeared.

"That feels better than I remember," she spoke, her eyes fluttering closed every few seconds as she canted her body toward his fingers, urging him deeper.

Eagerly nudging her face up with his nose and cheek, he caught her mouth in another plundering kiss, wanting to feel it the moment she began falling apart around him.

As her breathing began to falter, her tiny gasps coaxing him further into her spell, he lifted his other hand to the back of her head to hold her close, not daring to permit a moment to pass without her near.

Her sighs of gratefulness became shorter, raspier, and the slight canter she'd been matching with his fingers began to grow less strategic and more erratic.

Just as he was sure the tension in her body couldn't grow any greater, the violent quake he was seeking to bring forth from deep within her made itself known as she began trembling over him, seconds ticking by as she rode out her end.

The slick clinging to his fingers as he dragged them lazily around her center brought a cheesy grin to his face, one he was sure he'd be wearing for a solid week to come. "And to think, all of this and you're still fully clothed."

The muscles in her abdomen rocked over his arm as she chuckled, her nose digging into his cheek as she inhaled each breath. "That's probably something you should endeavor to rectify."

Too happy to search for a comeback, he crooked his fingers along the waistband of her sweats and began pushing them along with her panties down her legs, eagerness to continue consuming him.

At the point he could no longer reach, he grunted, "Any help would do."

As if to protest, she sagged even further against him, her arms sliding under his back and hands wrapping over his shoulders to hold him securely against her with the side of her face to his chest.

"I just want to lie her with you for a minute." The soft press of her lips to his chest stilled him, alerting him to the change in her mood. "I like listening to your heart beat in time with mine."

Any other time, he would have been impatient to begin the dance that would lead to their grand finale. However, this time, he found he wasn't rushed. Dragging his hands up her back, he tangled one set of fingers in her hair as his free hand remained along her spine where he set about stroking her back.

"I like holding you." He could feel her smile against his skin, drawing his own out. "And I like knowing you're here."

Another kiss caressed his chest. "I'll never leave you."