KellysWoman Read online

  “Nope. I did that first thing, while you were still asleep.”

  “Party pooper! Like the bathroom?”

  He could tell that she did. After all the years of basic bathing facilities ashore and, at best, restricted bathing facilities while he’d been on deployment in the navy, the bathroom had been his one concession to luxury when he’d bought the cottage and had it renovated.

  “Absolutely. One hundred percent sheer hedonism.” She clearly approved.

  “You could still join me.”

  “Nope.” She didn’t look up from her reading. “I have plans to make while you’re cleaning up.”

  Revenge. She was going to get him for that smart-arse comment. “What plans would they be?”

  “Oh just plans. I shall be working on what we can do when you’re spruced up, depending on whether it’s still snowing or not.”

  “Care to let me in on the secret?”

  “Nope.” She lifted an elegant forefinger and pointed toward the passage. “Shower. Now.”

  Sean was used to being the man in charge, the man giving the orders and making the decisions—taking the responsibility. Right now, he was in the unfamiliar territory of being on the receiving end of someone else’s decisions. Kate’s decisions. He decided it wasn’t such a bad thing.

  In fact, it wasn’t a bad thing at all.

  Without moving her head, Kate swiveled her eyes to watch him leave. No doubt about it—front and back, Sean filled a pair of jeans to perfection. Not only that—the inverted triangle of broad shoulders and narrow waist caused a feral unfurling of sheer animal need low in her belly. And that lithe stride, like a big cat on the prowl.

  The fun over breakfast had brought her a twinge of sadness, in addition to the humor. She’d never had the chance to make breakfast—or any other meal—for Sean in the months they’d been together previously. At the time, they’d lived around sixty miles apart. His quarters had been in the military barracks where he was based when not deployed and she hadn’t been living alone. That they’d even met in the first place was nothing short of a miracle.

  She’d never told him about her mother, wanting to try to keep something of her life for herself, for Sean, something not impacted by her mother’s failing mental health, so she’d never been able to ask him to stay the night with her. It had always been hotels for them, even when they’d spent the week together after his six months away.

  Jilly had insisted on coming back home for that week to take care of their mother so that Kate could have the time to be with Sean. Going into respite care would have been too detrimental for their mother at that stage or so Kate had thought—sometime later, with the benefit of hindsight and Sean no longer a distraction in her life she’d wondered if that was when she should have looked into full-time residential care.

  Kate shook off the shadows of the past. That was history now. Her mother was gone, her life had changed completely since those days and someone, somewhere, had seen fit to bring Sean back into her life.

  And she owed him for that snippy remark about her ability to cook.

  Kate took a look out of the window. Snow was still falling, so a walk and a snowball fight might not be the best idea right now. But at some point, she was going to drag Sean out in the snow to play. Then she’d get even.

  However, there was the separate matter of indoor entertainment. The hot chocolate and rum weren’t the only things she’d squirrelled away in one of her bags—there was also the package of items that she’d acquired en route to the cottage. What she had in mind would work better in the evening in the intimacy of the bedroom, with the lights low and romantic music playing in the background.

  A slow smile spread across her face. She could see it all now—a long slow soak in the huge bathtub that was big enough for both of them, then a retreat to the bedroom—she could organize what she needed there while Sean took care of running the bath—and then she could lead him into the bedroom and have her wicked way with him.

  Except that what she planned wasn’t wicked—it was an expression of her feelings for him, a way she could show him without words how she felt about him.

  The shower was still running. Kate pictured him standing under the luxurious cascade, the movement of his muscles as he soaped his body, his hair—longer than she remembered—slick with water…without thinking, she went to the bathroom door and pushed it open.

  Oh wow. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of looking at him. He was one beautiful male animal. He was in the shower enclosure, his back to her, washing his hair. Her eyes followed the sculpted muscles of his back, all the way down to his waist and then lower, to the tight curves and hollows of his backside. They skimmed over the scars he’d acquired in the service of Queen and country—they didn’t mar his body, they served as a reminder of everything that made him the man he was.

  “I’m going to sell tickets,” she declared without a trace of shame. “I’ll make a fortune.”

  He turned round, at the same time sluicing off the shampoo. “I asked you to join me, a chuisle.”

  “I know.” She looked smug. “Wait ‘til tonight.”

  “Oh yes?”

  “It’ll be worth the wait—provided, of course, you don’t give me reason to change my mind.”

  His response told her that he wasn’t averse to joining in the game. “And what do I have to do to ensure that you don’t change your mind?”

  “Be very, very…good.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  When he snapped off the perfect salute, Kate decided that she now owed him two snowballs…in unmentionable places.

  Sometime later Sean was sitting at the kitchen table, using the communications software on his laptop to host a conference call with his team leaders. He’d told her that he was supposed to be on sick leave—normally he would have left this in Jonas’ hands, as his second-in-command, but given that Jonas was occupied elsewhere with his brand-new wife, Sean was taking care of the daily calls. As he’d explained, the ultimate responsibility for these people was his after all and he valued each and every one of them.

  Kate, curled up comfortably on one of the sofas, was watching him and trying not to listen to what he was saying—it was all serious stuff and in the not-too-distant past, it had put a bullet through his shoulder. Needing a distraction, she got out her sketch pad and pencils and began to draw.

  She wasn’t a trained artist but she did have a natural talent for sketching and painting. In fact, it was one of the ways she’d been earning a living since she’d walked out on her office job. With a few strokes, she captured the essence of the man seated a few yards away from her and then began to fill in the details, the planes and the curves, the light and the shadows.

  What Kate particularly wanted to capture was the intensity and the dedication of the man she loved. It was clear that he was passionate about what he was doing and from the snippets she caught of his side of the call his absolute priority was the safety of the people who worked for him.

  Equipped with a wireless headset, he wasn’t tied to the kitchen table, and given the energy emanating from him, Kate wasn’t surprised when he stood and started pacing round the kitchen, at one point leaning on the edge of the sink with his back to her, looking out of the window. The muscles in his arms flexed with the movements he made and all of a sudden, Kate was struck anew by what a large, powerful man Sean was.

  She was above average height, but at six-three, Sean towered another eight inches over her. Although not overweight, she was no lightweight either, as her hourglass figure with its ample curves would attest—more than once she’d experienced the white-knuckle ride of being picked up and hefted over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, before being very firmly put in her place, usually slap-bang in the middle of a bed.

  Sean and bed. It didn’t take much to put the two concepts together. Satisfied with her sketch, Kate flipped the page over and began again, this time intending to spend more time and put more detail into an image she w
as drawing from her memories of their time together before.

  Sean had just made love to her. He was lying on his side facing her, head resting on his fist, leaning on his elbow. His other hand was occupied with her breast and one leg was resting on top of the sheet that covered his cock, balls and lower leg. His hair was tousled and the look in his eyes was one of complete sexual satiety—probably mirroring the look in her own. It started off as just words, talking about nothing and everything, but then he’d started making love to her again, with just his eyes.

  Kate started with his shoulder, capturing the definition of the deltoid muscle, then the subtle but powerful bulge of his biceps. Her pencil moved deftly over the paper, adding more detail, extending the image—the line of his rib cage, the trim hip, the powerful thigh, the bent knee, the muscular calf.

  The real challenge, however, lay in depicting the face of a man who embodied passion and power and tenderness. The hint of stubble on his strong jaw—God, how she’d felt that burn the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Kate smiled at the memory—they’d been in too much of a hurry that time. Well, she had. Sean had wanted to take the time to shave but she hadn’t let him.

  Sean came and flung himself onto the sofa beside her. “All done for today—what are you up to, a chuisle?”

  Kate flipped the page on the sketch pad—there was no way he was seeing that. “Not a lot,” she said dismissively. “Just doodling. Everything okay?”

  “Nothing the guys can’t handle and nothing that needs me to be anywhere but right here.” He leaned over and kissed her lips…the playfulness in his eyes changed, to something soft and loving and cherishing. “It’s still snowing. Any ideas about what we can do?” He started playing with her hair.

  He wasn’t fooling her—he had plenty of ideas. Or rather one idea with several variations. “If we do that, it’ll spoil the surprise I’m planning for later.”

  “Oh. Surprise, is it?” He grinned with the air of a man who thought he couldn’t be surprised about anything.

  “Yes it is. And it’s something we’ve never done before. We never got round to it.”

  He badgered her all day. Kate refused to give him any hints about what she had planned, although she came close when he resorted to tickling her.

  That made it three snowballs.

  At least it got dark early that far north. It had to be dark, to add to the romantic mood. Kate wanted everything to be just perfect, for what she had in mind for that gorgeous hunk of manhood.

  She’d been stretched out on one of the sofas, enjoying a slushy romance on her eBook reader. Very quietly she switched it off and put it on the coffee table, moving to lie on her side so that she could watch Sean instead. He was also reading—a battered, dog-eared copy of a spy thriller.

  The reading glasses suited him, she decided. Her very own superhero. He hadn’t used them when they’d been together before and what surprised her was how adorable and sexy he looked wearing them. She was getting wet just looking at him.

  But then again, he looked adorable and sexy wearing absolutely nothing. And all male and gorgeous and downright edible.

  Down, girl. You’re not jumping his bones tonight, remember? Tonight it’s for him.

  Her smile fading a little, she continued to watch him—he did look older and she felt a strong pang of loss for the three years they’d been apart. She wanted him so much. Her feelings for him were one thing, but this was pure, primitive desire for the male of her species. One particular male of her species—Sean and only Sean.

  A slight change to her plan was called for. She’d leave him with his book while she went to prepare for the evening ahead. With luck, he wouldn’t even notice that she’d gone.

  “And where do you think you’re going, Miss Travers?”

  He was still reading, turning the page even as she glanced back at him. “Never you mind, Kelly. I’ll come and get you when I’m ready for you.”

  “Okay.” He looked up from his book. “Just don’t take too long.”

  She leaned down to brush her lips over his cheek, tingling at the feel of a day’s growth of stubble. Another idea popped into her head to add to the evening’s menu—an idea that had her wet with anticipation.

  “It’ll be worth the wait,” she whispered. “I promise.”

  Chapter Five

  He’d humored her when she’d wanted to take a detour ten minutes into their journey to Scotland, to call at a little shop in the village.

  It presented itself to the world as a gift shop but it was more than that. At the back there was a section devoted to aromatherapy and from the shelves there, Kate had sourced a light carrier oil and a selection of specialist oils that were buried at the bottom of one of her bags, along with some exclusive bath products, one of which had a slightly more masculine scent but was still designed to help the bather relax. Not only that, she’d also caused the as-yet-unannounced world shortage of pillar candles, tea lights and holders. Sean, not wanting to crowd her, had insisted on staying in the Land Rover while she made her purchases. Just as well. Otherwise it would have ruined the surprise.

  While the bath was filling, she arranged the candles in both the bedroom and the bathroom. With the MP3 player slotted into the docking station in the bedroom and the bottle of massage oil she’d mixed earlier sitting beside it, her preparations were almost complete.

  The bath ready, it was time to light the candles. With the main lights switched off, the atmosphere of relaxation and intimacy was just what she was looking for. A quick glance around told her that everything was ready. All she needed was Sean.

  He was still reading. Kate could spend her whole life just looking at him. She wondered what he’d say if she told him he was an exquisite piece of eye candy. He’d always been completely oblivious to just how stunningly attractive he was.

  “Time to come with me, Kelly.” She took his glasses off and put them on the coffee table with his book. “Now you can have your surprise.”

  She led him by the hand to the bathroom door then told him to close his eyes. She opened the door and led him inside.

  “Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

  His gaze swept around the room, taking everything in and then returned to her, his eyes searching her face for an explanation when she looked back at him while starting the playlist of music stored on her phone. “You did all this for me?”

  She combed his hair back from his forehead with her fingers—she’d never been able to resist its silky softness. “I want to pamper you,” she told him with a smile. “Think of it as an early Christmas present—for both of us. We don’t know exactly where we’ll be at Christmas. We might still be here if the weather’s bad, or we may be back in the real world, but this is something I always wanted to do for you.

  “And,” she continued, her fingers on the top button of his shirt, “I want to open my Christmas present now, where it’s just the two of us and we can concentrate on each other without distractions. With your permission?”

  He nodded. She began to unfasten his shirt, giving him a severe look when he raised his hands to do it for her. “No Sean, this is my job and I want to enjoy it. Christmas presents don’t unwrap themselves. Just relax.”

  Kate knew she would enjoy this—she hoped her man would too.

  The first button gave way. She pulled the sides of the shirt apart and placed a cool kiss to the exposed flesh. Kate closed her eyes and inhaled the warm male scent. How could a man smell good enough to eat?

  With each button that Kate unfastened, she kissed that part of Sean’s chest, until the garment parted and she could expose him completely, pushing it off his shoulders. God, he had a beautiful body.

  Her hands trailing across his skin, she moved behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his broad back. “Did I ever tell you how perfect you are, Sean? If I didn’t, I should have.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not the perfect one in this room, Kate. You are.”

  “Not
me, sweetheart.” She completed the circle to stand in front of him again, her intention to finish the task of undressing him.

  Divested of his clothing, Sean was magnificent. And aroused. Unable to resist, she cupped his balls in her left hand, lightly scratching the sensitive skin behind his scrotum with her fingernails, her reward a shudder that went through his entire body and an instant surge of his penis. A butterfly of a thought flitted through her mind, of Sean posing for her while she painted him—he’d make the most amazing life model ever. Maybe it was time to consider some formal tuition so that she could truly do him justice.

  “Get in the bath, Sean.”

  “Aren’t you going to join me?”

  “I will but there’s something I need to do first. Now get in.”

  He relaxed back into the hot water. Kate could have sworn she heard a low, contented moan as he settled against the end of the bath. His arm rested along the top, giving her the ideal opportunity to massage his hand.

  The massage oil made his skin slick. Her fingers slid easily over the back of his hand, his fingers, allowed her to gently manipulate his wrist. Then she did the same with the other hand.

  She smiled when his fingers entwined with hers. In some ways, she felt as if they were learning about each other all over again, but without having to go through that awkward phase of being complete strangers.

  “Get in here with me, a chuisle,” he murmured, his voice rough with what she recognized as need.

  “I will.” Her hand caressed his arm, sensing the ebb and flow of muscle as his hand grasped her arm in turn. She reached for his cheek, feeling the abrasion of his beard. “Do you trust me to shave you, sweetheart?”

  Eyes closed, he was totally relaxed. “I trust you with my life, a rúnsearc.”

  “Just as well you don’t use a cutthroat razor, then.” She grinned. “Are you ever going to tell me what all this Irish Gaelic means, Sean Kelly?”

  “Look it up. You can find everything on the internet these days.”

  “Of course. And I know enough about Irish Gaelic to know that however it sounds, it’s sure as hell not spelled that way.”