Katrina had been released from the constraints that prevented her from acting on the attractions that pulled her towards Keir; wanting to be in his embrace, receive those instinctual caresses he doled out and forehead kisses whenever he caught her spiraling as if his lips could ground her. They did.

She got close to throwing caution to the wind once but was quickly reminded of her entanglement. However, she had untangled her mental and lingering emotions from the previous hold like a knotted shoelace trapping her foot, preventing her from doing exactly what she wanted to do; having precisely who she wanted to have. Not out of revenge or convoluted emotions that just missed having a life partner but because she wanted it purely and fully for herself. She wanted the affection and pleasure Keir was willing to give and wanted to give it to him in return without the strings that used to tie her down.

It had been two months since she first went to Keir's cabin but she remembered he liked being told what to do which is why after she claimed the deep, breathtaking kiss she wanted he was on his knees passionately kissing her lips from the back. Her pretty pastel nails dug into the loveseat's arm as Keir's languidly slid his tongue across her clit followed by teasing licks as three fingers stroked her at a slow, steady tempo. Her moans became more breathy as the grind of her hips grew more jagged. She was nearing her climax and she thought he'd pull back.

"Co...coming." Was the only warning she could get out but he didn't stop devouring her. This was new to her. Terrence wasn't one for oral gratification. No, that wasn't correct. He wasn't fond of orally satisfying her but he loved to receive it.

"Mmm," Keir sounded standing up. "I knew you'd be delicious."

Her postcoital-lidded eyes peered ahead out the window as the dying sunlight basked the room in a dark orange glow. "Thank you." She muttered, resting back against him. His stable hands on her hips kept her upright. She didn't understand her reply, all she knew was that those were the first words that sprung to her mind and her inhibitions were down.

For a few seconds just shy of a complete minute silence filled the room. The playlist that had been playing since they started unpacked had ended as they shed their last garment of clothes and Clive was in the backyard watching the neighbor's cat balance on the top of the fence. Their inhalations and exhalations had synced as he swayed them gently. Her hands absentmindedly stroked her stomach. She was a couple of days away from being twenty weeks. She had leg cramps at night and needed multiple naps during the day. The smell of beef cooking made her gag and ice made her salivate. Her lower back ached constantly and every hour and a half she had to pee. But right now she was at peace.

Keir tipped her chin up, "What next, sweetheart?"

His dick was hard and throbbing against her back. He knew what was next but he got a thrill from her voicing the words and she was beginning to enjoy it, too.

Katrina leaned forward, placing her hands back on the loveseat's arm, "Fuck me."

He smirked holding the gaze she tossed over her shoulder. He teased her entrance with the head of his condom-sheathed erection, "How?"

She hissed from the sensation, pushing back on his thickness. "Slow."

She wanted to savor the moment, every inch. Every stroke.

******

Two rounds later, her stamina was not the same, a warm milk bath, three slices of rewarmed pepperoni pizza, and a saucerful of hot wings later she fell straight to sleep when her head hit the pillow at a quarter past nine with Clive at the foot of the bed.

At 7:15 in the morning, all was well in the Bailey household. Katrina was getting her breath minty fresh in the master bathroom while Keir was letting the warm water from the shower rain over his curls as he hummed a tune that got stuck in his hippocampus. And Clive, fresh from his bathroom break was wolfing down the special concoction of food his human made for him every three days.

It was perfect. Until the doorbell rang. The musical dings halted Katrina's gait to her closet. It was early in the morning and a weekday at that. Who'd be popping up at her house before the sun could get settled in the sky? The doorbell was on his second iteration accompanied by Clive's boisterous barks by the time Katrina slipped on the first thing in her reach, a white cotton dress that had enough stretch in it to fit around her growing belly and widening hips, by the time she made it to the stairs.

"What the hell?" Katrina thought as she reached the front door. "Clive, go to your bed." She gestured her big-bodied baby towards the living room so she could greet the unannounced guest. Everyone didn't enjoy being sniffed. Everyone didn't enjoy random visitors either but here she was.

Katrina didn't put on a smile. There was no need for her to put up falsities. She knew this visit wasn't a friendly 'I haven't heard from you in a while and I'm checking to see if you're doing fine ' kind of drop-by.

Katrina opened the door, "Mrs. Evans, what are you doing here?"

The late sixties woman was impeccable in her pink color shirt and black straight-leg pants with a sleek bob with edges that could give a paper cut. Her clear-rimmed glasses were set on a face with limited wrinkles that were a combination of melanin and Botox.

Her chocolate eyes scanned Katrina from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. A disapproving sigh exited her vocal cord before her sight returned to Katrina's face.

Katrina didn't know what the sound meant nor was she going to ask.

"I've talked to Terrence."

Katrina's eyes went side to side as she thought, "Okay. Then why are you here?"

"Aren't you going to invite me in so we can have a proper discussion?" She glanced over Katrina's shoulder.

"No." Katrina pulled the door closer to her body. "There is no discussion to be had. Terrence cheated. We're getting a divorce. He now lives in South Carolina and this is no longer his house."

Mrs. Evans tsked with a shake of her head. "Cheating is not grounds for a divorce."

"For you." Katina then cast her sight to the black Bentley in her driveway. "Your driver is waiting for you. You should head into town, visit some of the specialty boutiques, and pick up something nice so this trip wouldn't be deemed a waste of gas."

The older woman's nostrils flared with the hostility that roared in her petite body but she let the breath quell her disposition. "You don't throw away a marriage because someone cheated once."

"Twice."

"Twice." Mrs. Evans corrected. "He loves you. You two can make this work. Fix things for our family before the baby gets here. Just let me in and we can all make a plan to smooth out this little misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding." Katrina peered at the woman like she had three heads. "How are you going to smooth things over? Fix things. You're going to babysit him at work and make sure he doesn't fuck another nurse or colleague?"

"Trust can be regained." She spoke as if she had years of experience. "And all that matters is how he treats you. You have a beautiful home, money at your disposal, and a caring husband who roots for you. His work life is irrelevant."

"So...as long as he pays the mortgage he can fuck whoever he wants. Got it." Katrina nodded. "I want love, loyalty, and honesty. He was only somewhat consistent with one of those things and I'm worth all three."

"So, who's going to pay for all this?" She gestured around Katrina. "A professor's salary can't maintain your expensive tastes."

"Before Terrence met me I had my penthouse, Range Rover, and quarterly vacations to St. Croix. I'm a rich bitch, too." She whispered the last part remembering upon their first meeting the woman assumed she was a gold-digger until Katrina gave her the clarity she needed.

Mrs. Evans gasped, taken aback.

Katrina rested her hand on the bottom of her belly, "Whenever you want to visit your grandchild, call first. And that's a solid boundary that you need to heed to remain in our lives. Have a great day."

She shut the door and relished the click of the lock sliding back in place.

"You want pancakes before I head out?"

The corners of her mouth curved upwards from the cadence of his voice

"Can you make it with raspberries and chocolate?"

He smoothed the side of her face with the back of his finger, "I'll give you anything you want."

The resolve and sincerity in his eyes told her he was being honest and she wanted to be the same. "Same."

What do you think Katrina means when she replied 'same' to Keir's statement?

Do you think Mrs. Evans is going to abide by Katrina's boundaries?

Why do you think Mrs. Evans decided to pop up at Katrina's house?