Perfect Storm

Chapter 23 - Lost Without You

"Are you sure you're ready for this? You know you can take more time."

Kate rolled her eyes, securing her Glock into her holster before sitting down on the edge of the sofa to pull on her boots.

"Stop fretting. I feel fine."

Hank eyed her from his place in the kitchen, lifting a steaming mug of coffee to his lips as he watched her finish getting ready.

It had been three months since the attack on New York and three months since Kate had successfully donated a kidney to save her bother's life. Hank had been by her side every step of the way, calling Sam Miller and requesting an urgent extension to his furlough so that he could stay in town with her while she recovered. After another two weeks in New York, Kate had her stitches removed and was cleared to fly by her surgeon so the two of them returned to Chicago where Kate continued her recovery at home, still under Hank's watchful eye.

The first few weeks had been tough for the both of them, Kate constantly irritated that she wasn't able to do the simplest of tasks and Hank struggling to deal with her stubbornness without letting his own temper get the better of him. But what truly killed the both of them was not being able to be intimate given that Kate's surgeon had slapped them with a six week sex ban whilst her body recovered. By the end of the third week, they were both feeling the strain.

"Kate, we can't..."

Hank gently grasped her biceps, stalling her wandering hands as Kate let out a groan of frustration against the skin of his throat. She was sat astride him on the sofa, her hips rolling languidly against his own and he could feel his resolve slipping further and further away with each passing second. She still had a few more weeks before the doctor said she could resume 'normal sexual activity' but her greedy lips and needy hands were making it incredibly difficult for him to obey the good doctor's orders.

"Yes we can...just...take it slow."

With each word, a puff of air hit the damp skin of his neck and Hank's eyes slipped closed, head falling back against the cushion at the sensation. She was absolutely going to be the death of him, he was sure of it.

With herculean effort, he took hold of her hands, grasping them firmly with his own to prevent her from undressing him any further but it didn't stop her winding her hips from grinding against the throbbing bulge in his jeans.

"No, you're not ready."

Dropping her forehead to his shoulder, she stilled in his arms and his stomach dropped like a stone when he felt his shirt become damp with her tears.

"Hey."

He wrapped one arm around her back, running a palm soothingly over her spine whilst the other cupped the back of her head, cradling her against his body.

"I-I just need you." Her whimpered admission had his heart clenching in his chest. 

"I know baby, I know. You don't think I need you as well, hmm?" To prove his point, he rolled his hips once, letting her feel just how much he needed her. "But your health and recovery is more important. It's just a few more weeks."

Tucking her face into the space where his neck met his shoulder, Kate closed her eyes at the sound of his heart thrumming reassuringly beneath her ear, the pace a little faster than his regular rhythm and she knew that this was just as difficult for him, if not more so.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her thumb tracing an ambiguous pattern across the hollow of his throat, soothed by the gentle pulse. "Now I've started something I can't finish."