The Door slammed open, spilling sleet, snow and woman into the hall. Michael leapt up from where he'd been sitting with a book, pretending to relax.

"Catherine."

She was leaning back against the door, shuddering with cold, drenched to the skin. Her teeth were chattering so that she could barely speak.

"Th...the weather...t...turned...s...soon...sooner...than I...expected."

"Why didn't you come in?" He demanded, scooping her up and carrying her towards the bedroom.

"C...couldn't. Had to d...do it...tonight."

She was an icy cold bundle against his chest. Her wet clothes soaking him. Her cap had fallen off and her hair tumbled over his arm, some of it was literally frozen. He dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed and began tugging off her clothes. She tried to help but her hands were clumsy with cold.

"Michael."

"What?"

"Thanks."

"It's okay." He smiled slightly at her, "It wouldn't feel right if at least one of us didn't have a job to do."

He tugged her sweater and silk undershirt over her head, baring her to the waist. Her breasts were tight with cold, their pink nipples hard and inviting. He tried not to notice.

"Pig." He told himself, "She's freezing, tired and probably hungry and I'm thinking of jumping her."

Her black jeans were flannel lined and sodden, making them that much more difficult to peel off, torturing his libido further as her long, slim limbs were revealed with the soft patch of dark hair between them.

"Here." He grabbed the quilt off the bed and tucked it around her. "Wait here for a minute."

Catherine watched, clutching the quilt as he walked into the adjoining bath and turned on the taps, filling the tub with steaming water. Just the thought of all that warm water had her off the bed and stumbling into the bathroom, still wrapped in the quilt.

Michael looked up as she trailed into the room, "Do you ever do what you are told?"

"Not often." She let the quilt drop to the floor and slid into the tub, groaning as she sank up to her chin, "God that feels good."

"Don't fall asleep, I'll be right back."

"Hmmm." She leaned back against the tub and let the heat seep into her bones. Despite Michael's warning she could feel herself starting to drift. A corner of her mind registered the sound of him returning and moving about the room. She came awake when his hands slid into the water and began massaging her leg.

"Hmmm, that feels good." She opened her eyes. He was kneeling by the side of the tub, stripped to the waist, hair tumbling over his eyes. Hands strong enough to snap a man's neck rubbed warmth back into her legs. Catherine smiled and reached up to brush a curl off his forehead. His soap slicked hands slid up her body, cupping her breasts, rubbing her shoulders, bringing a different kind of warmth. He leaned in and kissed her briefly before standing and reaching for a huge fluffy towel. She stepped into the towel and he held her lightly while gently drying her.

"Is it finished?" Michael asked her quietly. As always, avoiding asking her directly about her job. As she did him.

"Yes, it's done. I leave Monday for Kyoto."

"Another job?"

"No, a vacation."

She yawned hugely and he smiled, "Are you hungry?" he asked her, "I have food in the other room."

"Later, I want to sleep for a bit." She dropped the towel and walked naked into the bedroom. He'd lit the fire in the fireplace but she hardly noticed it as she snuggled into the soft featherbed with a deep sigh of contentment. Michael stripped off his black jeans and crawled naked into the bed beside her, gathering her close and pulling the fluffy down comforter over them. The room was dark but for the fire in the fireplace, which cast a soft glow across the bed.

Catherine rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist, wiggling a bit to get comfortable. She drifted into sleep almost immediately and her soft steady breathing lulled him into sleep soon after.

A sharp sound woke him a short time later. A quick glance around the room showed nothing amiss and he realized that a log had snapped on the fire. The sudden tension in his body woke Catherine.

"Is something wrong?" She asked him.

"No, just a log on the fire."

She pressed a kiss to his shoulder, "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you got here. I thought that I'd be back a lot earlier,"

"It's okay, I knew you were on a job."

She leaned up on her elbow, looking down into his face, "Thanks for taking care of me."

"Are you warm now?"

She smiled and ran a hand across his chest, "I could be warmer."

Michael shifted, rolling her beneath him, "I guess I'll have to see what I can do to make you...hotter."

He smiled down at her but noticed the dark circles under her eyes. He brushed her hair back and bent to kiss her. Catherine sighed into his mouth, savouring his taste, his warmth, his weight. He was familiar to her, this tough, enigmatic man, who had been her sometime lover for several years now. She ran her hands down his back, resting them in the hollow just above his ass. Tilting her head back she sighed as he kissed his way down her neck, his long legs were tangled with her shorter ones, his sex lay hard and heavy against her thigh.

Michael cupped her face, marveling as always at her beauty, before capturing her mouth in a deep kiss, tangling his tongue with hers. Catherine ran her hands over his body. She felt exquisitely lazy and turned on, happy to let him set the pace. She let out a deep breath as his mouth found her breasts and she buried a hand in his hair, holding him to her.

Michael shifted, rubbing against her. She was warm and wet against him, her thighs were smooth and silky against his hips. Sliding a hand between them he stroked her, smiling slightly at the soft sound of pleasure that she made. He pressed a kiss to her ear and whispered huskily,

"Es tu prête?"

"Mmmm, oui, very ready."

He watched her face in the firelight as he eased slowly into her, gently invading. Her head was tilted back, her eyes half closed. Her mouth was slightly open, smiling. He knew that it was an image he would carry with him for a long time. She was glove tight around him and he forced himself to be gentle with her, though it wasn't their usual way with each other. Catherine tugged him down close to her, wanting to feel his body fully against hers and wrapped her legs around him. His strokes were deep and slow, his breath hot in her ear, his body smooth and hard under her hands.

"Michael..."

"Ummm?"

"When...oh God, that's good, like that...when I was outside, freezing...mmm...I knew you'd be here...waiting...all I could think of was this.You. Inside me...oooh..." she arched up against him, climaxing, pulling him over the edge with her.

They lay panting, bodies joined, limbs tangled, gilded by firelight. His weight crushing her into the soft bed. She felt his mouth curve against her shoulder.

"What?" she asked.

"I've been climbing the walls all week knowing I was coming out here to be with you."

Catherine smiled and ran a hand through his hair,

"Were you a bear?"

He rolled to his back, taking her with him so that she ended up sprawled on top of him, his hands resting on her bottom.

"Not a bear. Just hot for you and wanting to be with you."

She laughed and kissed him, "Good answer. I've been missing you too."

She rolled off him to her back, stretching luxuriously,

"Didn't you say something about food earlier?"

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