A/N: I am so grateful for your support, you guys are all amazing! Thank you so much for all the story alerts and favorites and the ton of reviews, it is truly appreciated. You make me happy :)

I know this chapter is kind of on the short side, but I promise from now on it will get better.
Please enjoy!

„The stakes?" he echoed.

„Yes, the stakes. What do I get when I win?" She rolled away from his body and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"If you win" he corrected and reached for the sheets to cover himself. After the exhausting wakeup call he had just received, he was ready to go right back to sleep. She saw him cuddle back into the mattress and went around the bed to pull the sheets away from him.

"Nu-uh, you're not going back to sleep, it's already past ten. Besides, we're not done yet."

He looked up at her with pleading eyes, astonished that she managed to look intimidating even in the aftermath of a night (and morning) of hot sex, glaring down at him butt-naked and with rosy cheeks.

"How about I buy you an Island in the Caribbean if I lose?" he suggested, but she shook her head.

"It wouldn't even be a punishment, you'd be happy to do that" she accused him and he had to acknowledge that she spoke the truth.

"Does it have to be a punishment?" Rick wanted to know as she turned around and searched the drawers for something to wear. She pulled out some plain cotton underwear and turned her head to look at him.

"Of course there has to be a punishment, otherwise there's nothing holding you back and you'd be all over me by six o'clock tonight." She stepped into her panties and he craned his head to take one last longing glance at her backside. Even in cotton she looked spectacular. He blinked the thought away.

A grin spread on his face. "How about I wear a dress and shave my eyebrows?"

Although he couldn't see her face, he knew that she was rolling her eyes at him. She turned to him when she had fastened her bra.

"You already shaved your eyebrows a month ago when you lost that poker round; they only just started to grow back. And I'm sure nobody, including me, wants to see you in a dress" she concluded and sat down on the edge of the bed. He pulled himself to a sitting position and she laughed in his face when his back cracked.

"It's not funny" he muttered and absentmindedly played with the sheets that were covering his lower body. She gave one last dismissive snort.

"Rick, this is not going to work if we chose our own punishments. You are only going to chose things that you'll actually enjoy. In fact," she said and touched a hand to his stubbly eyebrows, "I'm fairly sure that you lost that poker game on purpose…"

He shyly smiled at her and she gave him her brightest grin in return. Before the urge to kiss him could grow, she pulled away and jumped up from the bed.

"Let's do it like this" she suggested and grabbed her pants from where they sat neatly folded on a chair by the bathroom door. "I can determine what your punishment will be if I win..." Kate started and pulled her zipper up. She walked towards the other end of the room. "...and you can rack your brains over what to do with me should I lose. How does that sound?" she called with her head in the closet.

He reluctantly swung his legs to the side and sat up, knowing that she wouldn't let him sleep for longer. "Oh, I know exactly what I'll do with you once this bet is over…" he muttered and stood up while she looked for a shirt. She pulled a green one over her head and when she reappeared from the fabric, he was suddenly in front of her.

"What if I'm an old man before one of us loses?" he asked and stepped even closer, ignoring the fact that she was fully clothed while he was still completely naked.

She smirked up at him. "You're already old" she teased and he grumbled something unintelligible. He'd walked right into that one. She took pity on him and leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"It's not going to happen, Rick. I'm sure by the end of the month I'll be fucking your brains out again" she said and smiled innocently. His mouth opened, but there were no words coming out. She patted his cheek sweetly and turned around, walking out on him with an extra sway to her hips, whistling a naïve tune.

She was knowing full well the extent of the torture she was putting him through.