Iss Me Cate

I'd like to start off by saying thank you for your patience. After reading a few of your reviews, both posted on the site and those emailed to me, I had stopped work on this chapter and finished up a few other stories I had been working on. The story was starting to meander without a point and someone called me out, and they were right. I trimmed pages off the draft and hopefully I've gotten back on track and will be able to focus a little better with the break I took.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

I've had a long standing love of Irish lasses. Their eyes, complexion, smiles have always warmed my heart, and a few have broken it.

Constructive criticism as always is welcome in the comments, others will be dealt with in the usual manner.

*****

I stood looking out the bedroom window at the white landscape. The snow was falling quickly. Steam rolled out of my cup and misted the window. I looked over my shoulder, Cate's hair spread out on the pillow like spilled coffee. I smiled and took a sip of mine. She came to bed very late, and tried not to wake me but I wasn't able to sleep well without her there. I'd seen her stretching her neck from long hours over her books and laptop before climbing into bed. Once she'd slid under the covers I rolled over and began rubbing her shoulders. She sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Her accent was stronger when she was tired. I kissed her forehead.

"Lay flat and I'll give you a back rub." I said softly. She complied by pushing her pillow away and laying on her stomach. I started at her neck which was stiff under my fingers, my thumbs digging in to loosen up the tension. She let out a soft moan or two as I worked down her shoulders then down her back.

"If I weren't already promised to a roguishly handsome young man, I'd marry you for this." She mumbled into the comforter I'd pushed aside.

"Well he's a lucky guy." I said with a big smile on my face.

"That he is. I won't let him forget it either." She said laughing.

"I don't think he will any time soon." I kneaded the muscles between her shoulder blades with my thumbs, varying the pressure drawing big circles in the muscles. She was so quiet I thought she'd slipped off to sleep while I was working my way further down her back.

"Sometimes I think I've bitten off more than I can chew, between taking this professorship and working on my dissertation."

"You're doing fine. Stress is making you worry, just keep at it and you'll be done before you know it. I've told you I can help you with the class workload if you need it."

"I know, but you've got your own studies to work on."

I chuckled at that. She knew I was taking a semester of mostly electives to get them completed and out of the way. It also kept me clear of the computer science department, except to see her on occasion, which fit the agreement I'd made with the provost of the school.

"I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say 'I love you'." I quoted and gave her a kiss between the shoulder blades.

"Shakespeare was the sweet talker wasn't he." She laughed and pointed her thumb up at her shoulders and I worked my way back up. "Romeo and Juliette would be too obvious."

"Henry V, he was trying to woo a girl named Catherine of Valois, she was a princess, daughter to the king of France."

"I'll take your word for it, I don't think I've ever read it, and you don't have any wooing left to do. I'm putty in your hands."

"Right now I'd say that's a very literal statement." I said working my way down her back again.

"Mmm hmm." She responded with another deep sigh. I finally just stroked her back a few times and pulled down the top she had on and drew the covers back over her. She rolled to face me and tucked her pillow under her head. "Thank you." She kissed me and closed her eyes.

"You're welcome, now go to sleep Princess Cate. Sweet dreams." A wry little smile flashed across her face.

She hadn't moved much since then. I took another sip of my coffee as I looked down at her angelic face. Due to the sizable storm forecast, classes had been canceled for the day. Cate had made sure that her students had plenty to do on their own, and she'd told them she should be available via email, barring power outages, if they needed her during the day. Though it was getting on to eight in the morning I was loathe to disturb her. I straightened the covers over her and crept quietly out of the room and closed the door gently behind me. I kicked back with my much annotated copy of Henry V and read for a while.

Eventually there were the sounds of life coming from the bedroom. I heard the bathroom door close. I hopped up from the couch and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, leading off with a large cup of coffee. She came out to the living room and called my name.

"In here, gorgeous."

"You may want to double check before throwing that adjective around." She said coming around the corner. She was running her hands through her hair pushing it over her shoulders.

I turned around, closed an eye and held up a thumb like an artist perusing his subject. "Nope, I'm sticking with gorgeous." I leaned forward and kissed her forehead and placed the coffee cup in her hand. When I leaned back there was little grin on her face.

"Flatterer."

"I am that."

She took a long swallow of her coffee and made a nearly orgasmic moan. "Oh that hits the spot. What would you like for breakfast, or brunch." She added with a scrunched nose when she saw the time.

"It's already covered. You only need to decide which flavor, blueberry or chocolate chip." I pulled a bowl of pancake batter out of the fridge and set it on the counter.

"A little of both sounds good to me seeing as we're having a completely decadent Thursday off."

"I doubt either of us will be completely 'off' since I've got some heavy reading to do and you won't stay away from your email long." I said with a kiss. "Though a thoroughly decadent morning would be nice."

Her eyebrow went up as a grin crept across her face. "Well then, maybe you should put that back in the fridge." My expression must have mirrored hers because the grin grew wider as I set the bowl back on the shelf and closed the door. She took my hand and took a few steps backward before turning and pulling me back towards the bedroom. "I'm sorry I worked so late last night." I stopped her with a kiss.

"No apologies, just kiss me you fool."

She giggled and did just that as we found ourselves back under the covers in moments. I kissed my way down her neck, and her chest, slowly baring her breasts in the soft white light from the window. Her nipples stood firm in the cool air of the room. I didn't hesitate to take one my mouth eliciting a sharp intake of breath. My hand made it's way further down her torso eventually meeting up with a soft patch of fine hair. "Sorry, I..." I moved back up quickly and silenced her again with my mouth.

"No apologies, remember?"

She had a little smile on her face. "I know, I just thought, well I thought you liked it shaved."

"I love you." I rubbed the small patch with my finger tips. "You keep this how you like it. It's not going to change a thing." I slid my fingers down further, kneading deeper causing her to gasp and her legs to spread further apart. I returned to what I was doing to her nipples as my fingers slipped up and down, spreading the wetness that was forming there. She ran her fingers through my hair as I moved across her chest and back. I felt the slightest of pressure which brought a smile to my lips as I worked my way down her torso, kissing here and there. Her stomach tightened as I hit a ticklish spot. I climbed over her outstretched leg and settled between them. I kissed my way up the inside of one thigh, then the other, gently taking a bit of flesh between my teeth.

"Don't you dare." She said grinning down at me. I released my bite and smiled. I placed my tongue against her clit and pressed, and dragged it up the full length as slowly as I could stand. "Aah!" Her head fell back as she arched her hips upward to keep in contact with the tip of my tongue. "Oh God Dylan do that again!" She gasped. I didn't hesitate to oblige her, matching the pressure and pace as I did the first time. Her fingers were suddenly laced in my hair, her hips rising to keep me in contact with her once more. I kept up the pressure and pace until her hips started to buck harder against my tongue and I went faster as I slipped a finger into her. She let out another long moan and I pulled out gently and slid two fingers into her and lifted gently drawing them back out. She began panting loudly, the moans getting more desperate as I kept at her. I switched to circling her clit before taking it gently between my lips, flicking my tongue against it. Apparently that was the right thing to do as she arched her back and let out a long low moan while doing her best to keep my head right where it was, both fists full of my hair. A litany of quick exclamations came ahead of her orgasm which made her spasm.

She panted quickly. "Are you hard?"

"Are you kidding me? I replied with a laugh.

She drew her leg out from under me, rolled over and rose up on her knees. She swayed her hips gently. I rose up and moved behind her and sank into her in a single push. I wasn't sure which one of us the moan came from but it was long and deep. She was incredibly wet, and I just held there a moment enjoying the liquid heat of her body. She leaned gently forward and pushed back against me in an effort to remind me what I was up to and I laughed.

"You insatiable minx." I gasped as I began stroking deeply into her. She moaned into the pillow she'd tucked under her head. We began a steady rhythm of back and forth my control slipping quickly. I felt her fingers fondling beneath us with every push forward. She began to shake again, gripping down on me hard with every thrust. I couldn't take any more and drove forward one last time. I felt her fingers reach further back and began massaging my balls and they tightened as I finished. I felt my heart hammering in my chest as I held firmly onto her hips. "Sorry, I couldn't hold back any longer." I finally gasped.

A soft laugh rose from the depths of the pillow. "That was my intention." She leaned forward separating us in a surprisingly sticky mess. "These sheets are going to need to go into the wash immediately." She added with another laugh as she rolled around, turned over and looked up at me. She was absolutely stunning, her hair in a wild tangle on the pillow, her smooth, pale skin glowed in the white light.

I fell sideways to lay next to her. "What brought that on?" I asked laughing.

"What ever do you mean?" She said innocently as she rolled onto her elbow and kissed me. Since our return from Ireland and subsequent rejoining of normal campus society we'd both been very busy and exhaustion had been the norm for these past few weeks. Our lovemaking had been quick and sparse because of it. "I guess I didn't want you to think I was only an insatiable minx when we were on holiday."

"It's amazing what a good nights sleep and a day off will do." I said still catching my breath.

"Mmm hmm." She leaned down and kissed me deeply. "I remember there was a promise of pancakes?"

"As soon as my legs work again. We'll need the energy since it's still early."

"I'll have both then, chocolate and blueberry." She reminded me.

"As you wish." I lifted my head and kissed her in return before letting my head fall back to the mattress.

"Up!" She poked me in the side with her finger. "If I don't get the sheets off quickly we're going to be sleeping on the floor while the bed dries tonight." She climbed out of bed and padded a little stiffly to the bathroom. I rolled out of the bed and began stripping it. I piled the sheets on the floor and went to the linen closet and brought out the other set I had and began remaking the bed as Cate walked back into the room. "I was going to do that while you made breakfast." She said sadly. "You don't have to wait on me hand and foot you know."

"I know, but I don't mind. I was thinking you might like a hot bath after breakfast."

Her grin was electric in the bright light. "We'd best get this lot in the wash, they might be needed again before the days over." She bent to the bundled sheets and hauled them into the hallway where the washer was. "Do put on something before you go into the kitchen. We don't want your naughty bits getting singed."

She padded into the kitchen a few minutes later in sweat pants, the store logo plastered up one leg, the football jersey I'd lost to her and fuzzy slippers. "Anything I can do to help?"

"I cut up some fruit, it's in the fridge. Would you pull it out and put it in those bowls please?"

She walked up behind me and put her hand on my hip, and peeked over my shoulder. She placed a quick kiss on the back of my neck before going to the fridge.

"Mmm," she licked melted chocolate off her fork.

I laughed. "Having withdrawals?"

"Not really since you are so kind to add a few bits to my lunch bag every day." She said smiling. One thing we had done when we'd made the agreement to eat better was to get ourselves lunch bags so we wouldn't be tempted to hang out at the vending machines at school, looking for munchies. That said I didn't hold out on her either when I made lunches for us. 'It's better to moderate it than to try and quit it. It's not essentially bad for you if you get the good stuff, but moderation is the key.' I'd touted my knowledge from a first year class on nutrition. Once or twice during the evening while grading papers or working on her dissertation she'd threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't release the location of my chocolate stash.

"What are your plans for today?" She said yanking me out of my head.

"You mean besides..." I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

"Yes, besides that." She said laughing.

I recounted a tale of mushing sled dogs out to the car and cleaning it off in great detail at which point I'd move it to a plowed out space. "I need to get some reading done. That women's studies course wasn't what I thought it was going to be about." I added with a smile.

"I can't believe you took that course." She said popping a grape into her mouth.

"Well I'm looking for answers, like why women go to the restroom in groups. I honestly think it has to do with herd mentality, it's biological. What is their obsession with throw pillows?" I pointed towards the couch where there were several examples thanks to my mother from when she decorated the apartment when I moved in. "What is the thing with smells? I mean in any given women's abode you'll likely find a heady mix of scented candles, potpourri and things like that."

"Have you ever noticed the smell of the hamper when your socks have been in it for a day or two?" She said archly.

"Sorry. I'll get some air fresheners."

Cate laughed. "That's not the point, but it is a good idea." There was a long pause as we sipped our coffee. "Dylan?"

"Hmm?"

"Am I the reason you took that course? Is there something that's confounding you about me?"

I laughed at that and stood to gather the plates. I leaned down and kissed her. "No, you I like to explore all on my own." She blushed and the little smile replaced the look of concern. "I will admit that the things I thought I knew are far from true. A confusing lot you ladies."

"Women." She corrected me.

Cate was staring out the windows across the living room at the snowfall. She shrugged her shoulders and shivered. I saw and rubbed her shoulders. "Don't worry I'll keep you warm." I leaned down and wrapped my arms around her. She tilted her face up to mine and kissed I her again.

"Care to do so in a hot bath? I don't think I've had one since we got back."

"You were blaming the smell on my socks?"

She reached behind the chair and gave my leg a hard rap with her knuckles. We both laughed as I took her hand to lead her away to the bath.

We laid back in the tub, Cate's head lay back on my shoulder as I played with a wisp of her hair. "We need to get a heated tub so the water doesn't cool off."

"Then I'd never get out." Cate said softly, her eyes closed as her body relaxed. I scooped warm water up and let it dribble down her chest. The back and forth of warmth and chill caused her nipples to harden into ripe little buds, small bumps around them rising as well.

"You know, I think that men never quite get weaned. No matter how old we are, breasts fascinate us." I drew my finger down the side and up around the curve of the underside.

Cate giggled. "No matter how longs it's been since you've had one in your mouth, you're trying to go right back to it."

"Look at them, they're beautiful, the curve, and swell, the feel of them." I stroked my thumb up and rubbed the nipple. Cate shifted ever so slightly into my touch. She tilted her head lifted her lips to mine and I took them.

"If you help me dry off, I'll gladly let you explore further. There's nothing quite like a hands on lesson when you're trying to understand the fairer sex."

My laugh was soft and deep as she stood. "It's not just breasts either, the view from here is stunning."

"Well if it's round things you're looking for, my arse is definitely up there." She replied with a grin. There was no urgency, the world could wait until we were done exploring.

Cate's head turned from looking out the window back to me. "What time is it?"

"Who cares? We're not going anywhere for a while." I rolled up onto my elbow, my other hand exploring under the blanket.

"Keep that up and I won't get any work done today."

"Well you do know what they say about all work and no play."

She crossed her legs, trapping my hand between them, and looked at me as fiercely as she could muster without laughing. "I have to work on my dissertation."

"Just play doctor for a bit longer before becoming one." I said leaning down to kiss her. I stretched my fingers slipping one up inside her. Her legs relaxed and her hips rose slightly.

I heard a faint beeping noise and opened my eyes. The light coming in the window was much dimmer than before. It was still snowing. It was going to be deep and messy out there. A faint thunk and dragging noise began. The snow plow was here, hopefully clearing some space to dig the car out from. I reached across the sheets where Cate would have been and they were cool, the comforter was pulled up tight around my shoulders as if I'd been tucked in. The thought made me smile. The faint beeping noise of the plow backing up floated up to me again.

I flipped back the comforter and got a blast of cool room air and pulled on some sweatpants and a shirt. Cate looked up from where she sat on the couch cross legged, her laptop beside her and a book on her lap. "Sleeping beauty awakens."

"I waited and waited for my beautiful princess to give me a kiss but she abandoned me for academia."

She gave me a smile and noted that I'd had several kisses, and a lot more as well. I spotted a mug on the coffee table and peeked into it to find it was nearly empty.

"Refill?" Cate nodded with a little smile. I took the mug and went to the kitchen and heated up more water for tea. I dug into the stash of chocolates and pulled a few out as well. I poured a splash of milk into her tea shaking my head. "Heathen." I thought to myself with a smile as I gave mine a squeeze of honey from the bottle.

"Thanks." She said as I replaced the mug and set the chocolates next to her cup. She patted the now cleared space next to her for me to sit down. I kissed her and went off to the other bedroom that we used as a makeshift office and grabbed my books before I joined her.

"If you need any help with those women's studies, let me know." She said without looking up from her book.