Perfect Storm

Chapter 20 - Suspicious Minds: Part 1

Early morning sunlight gently wove its way through the hotel room blinds, bathing the room in a warm, serene glow. Kate wasn't sure how long she'd been staring but the tableau of him looking so relaxed and peaceful in sleep made her reluctant to draw her eyes away. He was lying on his stomach, facing towards her with his face buried so deep into the pillow that Kate idly wondered how he was even breathing. But the reassuring rise and fall of his back confirmed that he was indeed still with her. He had one arm slung up over the top of the expensive feather down pillow and the other was tucked up underneath, clutching it to his face.

The sheets were slung low on his body, sitting just in the curve of his lower back and Kate couldn't resist running her fingertips from the base of his skull, all the way down his spine until she reached the fabric covering his well-muscled ass. Her featherlight touch wasn't enough to wake him but the gooseflesh that broke out on the skin of his back told her that he sensed her touch even in slumber.

As she traced her fingers over his skin, Kate thought back to their conversation the previous night and her subsequent dreams when she had eventually fallen asleep. She had never been the kind of woman who dreamed about meeting Prince Charming, getting married in a beautiful white gown and having a family of her own. If she was honest, she hadn't given it much thought at all until she met Jake and, given how well that turned out, she had put it to the back of her mind...until now.

They'd only been together a few months so she supposed it was a bit premature to be having that particular conversation but she couldn't help but wonder if he wanted to have any more children. He was already a grandfather and, at this point, he'd be in his seventies when any potential children they might have would be graduating college.

But she couldn't erase the image of the little girl with her nose and skin tone but with Hank's chin and beautiful brown eyes. The realness of the image shook her to the core.

Shuffling closer, she pressed a kiss to his exposed shoulder, continuing her pattern up and down his back until his eyes eventually fluttered open, chocolate orbs still hazy with sleep.

"Mmmm. Good morning."

His gruff greeting had its usual effect and Kate fought not to be too obvious in squeezing her thighs together. The last thing she needed was for him to know exactly how much power his voice wielded but, Hank being Hank, it was highly likely he already knew. Propping himself up onto his elbows, he leaned in and captured Kate's lips with his own in a long, unhurried kiss that had Kate's toes curling.

Without separating, Hank took hold of Kate's waist and rolled them so that she was settled comfortably on his chest, her thighs resting between his own, taking the opportunity to enjoy the fact that they weren't on anyone's time but their own.

Kate drew back, tracing her damp lips across his chin and down the line of his throat, running her tongue over the spot just under his Adam's Apple that always had his hips jerking up against her.

Dipping her tongue into the hollow of his throat, Kate nipped the exposed flesh where his collarbones met, enjoying the slight redness her ministrations left on his skin.

Sliding further down his body, she came to rest in the space between his parted legs, laving his stomach and hips with open-mouthed kisses, purposely avoiding the place where he wanted her touch the most. Kate pressed a soft kiss to each of his hip bones before turning her attention to the flesh of his upper thighs. Content to let her have her way with him, Hank simply watched on with one arm draped casually behind his head, eyes lidded with lust as she showered his body with attention.

When Kate finally took him in hand, she made sure their eyes were connected before licking a long, slow stripe from the underside of his shaft all the way to the head, using her tongue to swipe away the moisture that had begun gathering at the tip. Hank let out a long breath, unable to tear his eyes away from her as she went to work, pleasuring him with her hands, mouth and tongue.