“No, that’s for Zoey. Hold on and let’s get champagne.” Amelie started to organise us, and for the next hour or so we opened presents by the fire, listened to the rain start to hit against the window and I felt like I’d finally found a place where I belonged.
Christmas Day was hectic, the day speeding by in a feast of food and people and laughter, sunset seeping in early, leaving us in that blanket of cosiness with roaring fires and full bellies after everyone had gone home, other than the Holland brothers and their families, along with Fleur, Thane, Clover, Grayson and their kids, who were happy to amuse themselves, all old enough to not swallow any small objects or fall down the toilet.
We headed home just before ten, the rain having stopped and the temperature dropping. Tomorrow, Boxing Day, would see Caleb on duty with the lifeboat crew, keeping an eye on the swimmers in the morning and then for anyone who decided to create their own tradition which ended up going horribly wrong. Such an event had happened years ago, almost costing Thane his life when he’d gone in to rescue them.
I kept myself awake long after Caleb had fallen asleep, savouring being in his arms for one of the last times before he headed off on his adventure, dreading him not being here, knowing that I’d be fine and so would he. There was a long list of things for me to do while he was away: help keep Thane and Fleur’s kids alive, which was easier said than done given the twins’ penchant for being feral; write more songs; put an offer in on the house and persuade the owner to sell it straight to us and quickly, and then look at furniture for it because I’d ended up selling a lot of the big stuff from my last place along with the house. I loved being in Mavis’, but there were other people who’d need it, and now Peter Cash wasn’t around, I felt okay with not being as close to the centre of everything.
“I can hear you thinking again.” Caleb’s voice was drowsy. “Your brain whirring woke me up.”
I turned around to face him. “Sorry. I’m making the most of you being here.”
His face was illuminated by the shard of moonlight that slipped through the curtains. “I know how that feels.”
Realisation caught up with me. “Yeah. I get that now.”
“I’ll be back early February. And we can talk online every day. It’s not like I’m going to be cut off from everything.” His hand brushed my waist, resting there.
My leg hitched over his hip, pulling me closer to him, the silky nightdress riding up again. The slow burn that had caught fire between my legs started to race.
“We won’t be able to do this though.” I pressed my palm against his hardening length, hearing his breath catch. “Better make the most of it.”
His chuckle was throaty and deep, still half full of sleep. “Will this ever stop feeling like a dream?”
“Not if we’re lucky.” My nipples hardened as he cupped between my legs, one of his fingers trailing through the dampness that was already accumulating there. “I wish you weren’t going away.”
“I wish I wasn’t either, but it’ll be all the sweeter when I come home.”
I felt a thrill, knowing that by home he meant the same place as me. “I’ll pick you up from the airport.”
He started to finger me, gently, almost teasing, brushing my clit with his thumb. “I’d rather you were waiting here for me. Or at the new house.” He gave a low moan. “God, I’m going to miss fucking you.”
My hand gripped his length, applying a slight bit of movement. “You get to do it all you want when you come home.”
“Fuck, Zo. I need to get inside you.” He moved his hand and I rolled onto my back, pulling him over me.
Caleb didn’t need any encouragement, his mouth finding my breasts, taking one nipple in his mouth and devouring it. I gasped at the sensation, stronger than usual, my back arching and my hips shifting to encourage him to hurry.
He didn’t leave me hanging, guiding his cock inside me and lifting my legs so they were over his shoulders, making me send a quick thank you to the dance lessons that had made me so flexible.
The angle let him go deeper, his cock grazing over the spot that was making me see stars, and then I came, hard and loud, thankful that there was no one close by to overhear.
Caleb followed, collapsing onto his back and pulling me onto him. “Let’s do this as much as possible before I leave.”
“Agreed. We could try and set a record.”
He laughed. “So you can write a song about it?”
“That’s not a bad idea.” We carried on talking about nonsense until we both drifted off to sleep.
Fleur stood at the doorway to her kitchen with her arms folded, regarding me in the same way she’d looked at Flora this afternoon after she’d dyed her sister’s hair red. Luckily it was a temporary colour, and luckily for me, Thane had meant to have been supervising his daughters, only they’d fended him away from the bathroom by saying it was period stuff – which it wasn’t.
“Thank you for looking after my offspring this week. I’m surprised you don’t have grey hair now.” She was still frowning. “You look exhausted.”
I finished my cup of tea and stretched a little. “They’ve been fine for me but they’re running Thane ragged. You need to give him lessons.”
“Oh, there’ll be lessons, don’t worry. And Seren hates her hair, so we have a very well-suited natural consequence there which should stop them from buggering about with home stuff.” Her grin was evil, but it quickly evaporated. “Zoey, what’s up? You’ve been tired since last weekend.”
I’d hung out a lot at Fleur’s while Caleb had been away. Partly because I was helping with her kids, and also for the company. Amelie and Roman had gone on holiday for two weeks to the Caribbean, the Puffin Inn always quiet at this time of year so Alys was fine to run it. They were back now though, flying into Manchester yesterday although they weren’t back at the pub until Monday. I’d finished my songwriting project and had decided to take a break for a few weeks while we moved into the house, which had gone through with less hassle than I was anticipating. We’d complete on the sale the week after Caleb returned, so I’d spent a lot of the past week buying furniture that would be delivered when we had the keys, enjoying the process while at the same time getting frustrated with Caleb’s lack of interest in what sort of bed we had or what the mattress was like when I talked to him about it each day. I shouldn’t be surprised – I knew exactly what the flat had been like each time I’d visited.
