My First Half (Cate & Kian Book 1)

by Louise Hall

  “Bless your hearts; you didn’t have to do that. Were your lunches OK?”

  “Lovely, thank you,” Cate said.

  “Is this your first time at the Black Horse?”

  Cate nodded.

  “I thought so,” The landlady said. “I’m Thelma. If you’re a Rovers fan, remember we show all their matches live. We’ve got three big screen TVs. It’s a nice crowd here, not too rowdy.”

  When Kian got home that night, he found Cate curled up on the sofa, reading. “Hey,” he said, bending down to kiss her. “How was work?”

  “OK,” Cate lied. “How was the match?”

  “We won 2-0.”

  “That’s great,” Cate smiled. She switched off her Kindle and sat up. “Are you hungry?”

  As she stood up, her denim shirtdress slipped off her shoulder, exposing a delicate white lace strap. Cate quickly covered it up but not before Kian had noticed. “What’s that?” he asked.

  “It’s nothing,” Cate teased. “Do you want me to make you something?”

  “I’m definitely hungry,” Kian laughed. He scooped Cate up in his arms and carried her upstairs. “Hey, put me down,” Cate protested.

  Kian walked them in to the bedroom and kicked the door shut. He put Cate down on the floor at the end of their bed.

  “Stay right there,” Kian ordered, his eyes were now jet-black.

  As his eyes roamed over her body, Cate shivered. She felt her nipples tighten uncomfortably against her bra. She wanted to move, to squeeze her thighs together to relieve some of the ache.

  Kian prowled towards her. Cate tried to swallow but her mouth was bone-dry.

  He pressed his finger against the pulse point in her neck. Cate let her head fall back, closing her eyes. “Watch me.”

  He slowly trailed the finger down her neck and then further down to the top button of her dress. Cate was so wet; her panties were sticking to her skin.

  He dragged his finger down the front of her dress, parting the fabric, scattering the buttons across the carpet. “Fuck,” Kian groaned, when he saw what she was wearing underneath.

  He dropped to his knees in front of her. The white bra was edged with black ribbon, reminding him of what she’d worn on their wedding night. Attached underneath the bra was a white lace curtain, which fell to just below her bottom. She was getting a proper bump now and he parted the curtains putting his hands on her soft, warm skin. “Beautiful,” he murmured, pressing his lips against her stomach.

  He kissed her navel before moving downwards. “Do you like it?” Cate asked softly, tugging on his hair so she could see his face.

  “I fucking love it,” Kian smiled back at her.

  He tugged her leggings down and helped her step out of them. His eyes widened as they drifted back up her legs.

  There was a tiny scrap of white lace covering her sex, tied at the sides with black silk ribbons.

  “You’re killing me,” Kian groaned, his cock straining against the front of his trousers.

  He untied the ribbons, allowing the lace to fall to the floor. “Kian,” Cate begged, her thighs trembling.

  “Hold on to the bed,” Kian said huskily, pushing her backwards a little.

  Cate gripped on to the solid wooden footboard. Kian stroked his hands over her bottom and slowly down her thigh, lifting it up and placing it over his shoulder. Her hips started thrusting forward, desperate for him. “You’re so beautiful,” Kian murmured, stilling her. He kissed the inside of her thigh. Her arousal was trickling down her thighs and he lapped at her sweet juices. He hadn’t shaved that morning and his stubble bristled against her sensitive skin.

  “Kian,” Cate moaned, as he French kissed her lips. “Please.”

  He licked her in long, torturous strokes, taking her to the very brink. Kian could feel her heartbeat thundering through her body, while he was cocooned within that lace curtain.

  “Come for me, angel,” Kian said softly, as he sucked on the slippery tissues of her clit. The rumble of his voice so intimately between her legs pushed her over the edge.

  “Fuck,” Kian groaned. There was nothing sexier than seeing, feeling his wife orgasm. As she convulsed against him, he continued licking, tasting her. He wanted to swallow every drop of her juices.

  Afterwards she slumped against him, completely spent. “Was that good, angel?” Kian grinned, pushing her hair off her face.

  “Mm,” Cate murmured, her eyes were still cloudy and unfocused.

  Kian picked her up and laid her down on the bed. “When did you get this?” he asked, undoing the front clasp of her bra.

  “While you were on tour,” Cate said quietly, her voice was still hoarse. “I was going to wear it the night you came home.”

  She turned on her side to watch as Kian got undressed. He’d taken off his shirt and tie and was just undoing the belt on his trousers when Cate gasped. “What’s that?”

  She quickly got up. Kian had a huge dark-purple bruise on the left side of his ribs. “Are you OK?”

  Kian didn’t like to see her so concerned. “It’s fine, honestly. That fucker Rasmussen left his foot in. It’s just bruised; the doctor checked it out after the match.”

  Cate couldn’t take her eyes away from the bruise.

  “Hey,” Kian said softly, lifting up her chin so she had to look at his face instead of his ribs. “I’m OK.”

  He looked down at his wife; naked, still flushed from the orgasm he’d given her. “If I’d damaged my ribs at all, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” He picked Cate up and dropped her on the mattress.

  “Hey,” Cate protested, trying to sit up.

  Kian kicked off his trousers and quickly straddled her hips. “Nope, I want you right here.”

  As he leaned down to lick the rosy peak of her nipple, Cate captured his face in her hands. “Are you sure?” she asked seriously, forcing him to look at her.

  Kian smiled; she looked so cute when she was being serious. “I’m incredibly sure.” He could still see the concern in her black eyes. She was biting her bottom lip. Kian reached up and removed her hands from the sides of his face. He laced their fingers together and pressed them down into the mattress at the side of her head. He brushed his lips over hers; they were still wet from being between her legs. Kian smiled as he felt her surrender, her body sinking down into the mattress beneath them. Kian parted her lips, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

  Later that night, after they’d made love until they were both on the brink of exhaustion; Cate whispered “I love you.” Before she could worry about whether Kian would say it back, she’d fallen into the depths of sleep. Kian closed his eyes, letting those three little words hang heavily in the late summer air. Cate’s warm body fitted into his like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. He could feel her heartbeat just as easily as his own. He took a deep breath, allowing the scent of her blackberry shampoo to fill his nostrils. Those three words scared the shit out of him.

  Kian looked beyond Cate to the book she always kept on her bedside table, Jane Eyre. He’d finished reading it a few days ago and he couldn’t stop thinking about what Rochester had said about feeling as though he had a string somewhere under his left rib, which was tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in Jane’s tiny frame. Kian felt the same about Cate.

  Lying in their bed; their limbs tangled together, their skin coated with each other’s sweat, saliva and arousal. Kian stroked his hand over Cate’s bump, inside which a baby was growing that was parts of Cate and parts of Kian. He felt tied to Cate but he didn’t feel tied down. The cord that tied them together was like a major artery, it was a life-force.

  He recalled what Rochester had said; if the cord of communion between him and Jane were to snap that he would take to bleeding inwardly and a shiver ran down Kian’s spine. He fitted Cate’s sleeping body more tightly into his. His Dad’s words sounded loudly inside his head. “You’ll hurt her.”

  Still feeling troubled, eventually he fell asleep. When he woke up again, Cate
’s side of the bed was empty. He looked across at the bathroom but the door was open, it was dark. He pulled on a pair of black sweatpants and went in search of his wife.

  Cate was stood at the kitchen window, looking up at the sky. She was wearing a pair of his boxer shorts and t-shirt. He loved how cute her arse looked in his shorts. “Come back to bed,” he said softly.

  “Sorry,” Cate turned around. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I was hungry.”

  “You didn’t,” Kian smiled, kissing the nape of her neck. “Let me make you something. What do you fancy?”

  Kian made her a grilled cheese sandwich and they went and sat in the lounge to watch Match of the Day.

  While they watched the highlights, Cate dug her feet under the sofa cushions. “What are you doing?” Kian laughed.

  Cate shrugged, “my feet are cold.”

  “Come here,” Kian said, pulling her feet on to his lap. Her toenails were painted navy blue, the same colour as the Rovers home kit. “Are these for me?”

  “Maybe,” Cate smiled. Kian lifted up her foot and kissed her big toe, grazing the pad with his teeth.

  “Mm” Cate rubbed her belly. “You could write sonnets about that grilled cheese.”

  After Match of the Day had finished, Cate pulled her feet back from Kian’s lap. Kian could tell she wanted to talk to him about something serious, because she started chewing her bottom lip.

  “What’s up?” he asked, turning to give her his full attention.

  “I, uh…” Cate wasn’t sure how to start this conversation. She wiped her clammy palms on the sides of her thighs. “This is all new to me, I haven’t… I mean, I’ve never… I need you to tell me what I’m supposed to do, as your wife.”

  When he looked blank, she tried to explain. “I know you don’t have… you know, the day before a game.”

  “You can say sex, you know?” Kian grinned.

  Cate blushed. “Are there any other rules? Please tell me. I want to be good at this.”

  “Come here,” Kian said, pulling her on to his lap. “It isn’t a test you can study for.”

  “I know,” Cate said glumly, thinking it would be so much easier if there was a how-to guide.

  She got up off the sofa and when she came back into the lounge, she was clutching a folded up sheet of paper.

  “I know there’s no…”

  “Sex,” Kian prompted.

  “No sex the night before a game. What else?”

  Kian couldn’t believe she’d written down a list of questions. “Can I see it?”

  Cate reluctantly handed it over. “Don’t laugh at me,” she warned, loosening her grip on the paper.

  “Number 1,” Kian started. “I don’t care if I’ve got a match the next day or not, you sleep in our bed.”

  “But…”

  “No buts,” Kian warned. “You sleep in our bed.”

  “OK,” Cate nodded. “What else? The night before a game, do you want me to keep out of your way?”

  “Never,” Kian put the sheet of paper down on the floor.

  “You haven’t answered my questions,” Cate protested, making to reach for the list.

  Kian lifted her up and laid her down on her back on the sofa, straddling her hips so she couldn’t get up. He inched her t-shirt up, slowly exposing her swollen stomach. Cate wriggled underneath him. “Kian, please.”

  “I don’t need to,” Kian stared down at her. “I don’t want you walking on fucking eggshells around me, Cate. Football is my job, it’s not my life.” He trailed kisses down her bump. “This right here – you, me and our baby, this is my life.”

  CHAPTER 31

  Cate parked up in the college car park, switched off the engine and wiped her sweaty palms on her leggings. The car park was almost full and there were lots of students milling around. It was A-Level results day.

  Originally, Cate had decided not to pick up her results in person, she’d figured that she might as well wait for them to be sent by post since she wasn’t going to use them for anything.

  But then the day before, she’d just been putting her jacket on, when Nick had called her into his tiny, little office. Cate hadn’t been back there since she’d interviewed for the job. She’d hoped she hadn’t done anything wrong.

  “Sit down,” Nick said and cleared a stack of books off one of the chairs. He perched on the edge of his desk, his ankles crossed. “I’ve moved the rotas around so you can have tomorrow off.”

  “Oh,” Cate was confused, she hadn’t asked him to do that.

  “A-Level results are out tomorrow, aren’t they?”

  Cate thought for a second. “Uh, yeah I guess so but I don’t need the day off.” Whatever they were, she doubted anybody would want to celebrate or more likely commiserate with her.

  Nick carried on talking as if he hadn’t heard her. “You’ll come in Friday instead? I’ve asked Molly to switch.”

  “Okay,” Cate said. “Thanks.”

  Nick’s mobile phone beeped and Cate was glad of the excuse to get up. “I’ll see you on Friday then.”

  Nick didn’t answer; he was looking down at the screen on his phone. “Huh? Oh yeah, I’ll see you Friday.”

  Cate had just got to the door when he spoke again. “Cate?”

  “Yeah?”

  Nick looked up from his phone and smiled at her. “Good luck, I’m, sure you’ll do great.”

  “Thanks,” Cate smiled.

  Kian was waiting for her when she got outside. She was fifteen minutes late. “Everything okay?” He asked as she got in the car.

  “Yeah,” Cate said, leaning across to give him a kiss. “I just had to talk to Nick about something.”

  “Oh yeah?” Kian drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for a gap in the traffic. “What about?”

  “He, uh… He was just asking if I could switch shifts with Molly this week.”

  Before she got out of the car, Cate checked her phone one last time. Nick was the only person who’d wished her good luck. She’d waited for Kian to say it last night and first thing this morning but he hadn’t. Her phone buzzed and she looked down; she had a text. Cate grinned; he hadn’t forgotten… She clicked on the little envelope but it was from Molly. “Good luck sweets.” Cate typed out a quick thanks before switching her phone off.

  She got out of the car and followed the trail of students inside the main building. The results were being handed out in the Refectory. There was already a huge queue in front of her but Cate didn’t mind, she didn’t have anywhere else to be and she’d brought a book with her. Every so often, groups of students would come out and they’d either be smiling or trying really hard not to cry and the queue would move forward a little bit.

  Eventually Cate got near the front of the queue; there were just a couple of people ahead of her.

  The door swung open and Sinead came out smiling. She was on the phone. Cate immediately felt defensive, covering her stomach with her bag. She didn’t trust her once-best friend.

  “Hey bro,” Sinead smirked when she clocked Cate standing there. “You want to take me out to celebrate tonight? That’s so sweet.”

  One of the college employees tapped Cate on the shoulder as she watched Sinead disappear down the corridor. “Hon, it’s your turn.”

  “Sorry,” Cate said and quickly shoved her book back in her bag. She took a deep breath and pulled open the doors. It doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t matter, why are you here? She could still feel her heart pounding inside of her chest.

  Ruth Hayes, Cate’s tutor beckoned her across to her table. “Don’t look so worried,” Ruth said, as she flicked through her sheets of paper for Cate’s results. “Here we are,” she handed Cate an A4 sheet of paper.

  As she reached for it, her bag dropped down from covering her stomach. “Oh,” Ruth said sharply, taking in Cate’s growing bump. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect… Is it congratulations?”

  Cate blushed, quickly turning around to see if anybody was listening. “Y
eah, thanks.”

  She folded the paper in half and Ruth, having regained her composure, raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to know how you did?”

  “I’ll open it outside,” Cate said quickly. “I want to be on my own, you know, in case I start crying.”

  Ruth laughed. “Cate, don’t doubt yourself so much.”

  Cate walked out of the Refectory and nearly tripped over Zeke who was sat on the steps. “Oops, I’m sorry.”

  “You should be,” Zeke snarled at her. Whoa, where did that come from? Zeke looked awful, his face was white.

  “Are you okay?” Cate put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Don’t patronise me,” he snapped.

  “Okay,” Cate figured he wanted to be alone; she could definitely understand that.

  As she went to walk away, he called after her. “Why are you even here?”

  Cate turned around, she didn’t understand his question.

  “You heard me,” Zeke said. “Sinead told me. You’ve got everything you’ve ever wanted. He’s yours now, isn’t he? Did you do it on purpose?”

  Cate couldn’t work out why he was being so horrible to her.

  “How did you do?” Zeke snatched the sheet of paper out of her hands. Cate tried to get it back. He opened it up and read her results.

  “Bitch,” he said bitterly. He crumpled up the sheet of paper and threw it on the floor. Cate picked it up and shoved it in her bag.

  “You don’t even need them,” Zeke said. “You’re just a dumb housewife.”

  Cate stumbled towards her car, trying not to cry. Once she’d got inside and had locked the door, she pressed her face against the steering wheel and allowed the tears to spill down her cheeks and drip on to her leggings. It hit her all at once; the smirk on Sinead’s face as she’d made plans to celebrate her results with Cate’s husband; the disappointment in Ruth’s eyes when she’d seen Cate’s bump and the sheer force of Zeke’s anger. Cate didn’t want to spend a single second longer in this car park. She wanted to go somewhere she could be alone.

  Before she knew what she was doing, Cate found herself parking up at Mill Lake.