Page 3 of Black and White, Twice the Might

The town of Cadenbury doesn’t have a hotel but has several B&Bs, and we are staying in one at the edge of town.

We go out after breakfast and don’t come back until after we’ve eaten dinner somewhere. I miss being able to just stay inside and relax for a day. But hopefully that will be changing. We’ve been around a few estate agents and have looked at several houses within a five-mile radius of the town. We love this town, but it doesn’t have an estate agent, and none of the ones we visited show any homes for sale in Cadenbury.

“I like the last house,” Sly says, dropping a bag on the chair and walking over to me, pulling me into his arms.

I wrap my arms around him and rest my head on his shoulder. “Yeah, I liked that one as well. The annexe would be good for my chocolate business.”

“Are you sure you don’t want a physical shop?”

“No, I like my online business. Plus, the annexe is big enough if people want to come and collect anything.”

“I like the study. It reminded me of something old-fashioned.”

I smile. “I can so see you behind your large brown desk working, plus there was a proper fireplace that you could light in the winter.”

Sly laughs. “Yeah, I can totally see that. The bedrooms are big and the boys can have one each, and the garden is large enough for them to play in. We could even get them a dog.”

“How about we see about buying it first,” I say. If I let him, Sly would buy a dog right now.

“Okay. I’ll wait until we’re settled and then look for one. But now, my darling, I’m going to take you to bed and love on you all night long.”

I pull back and look into his gorgeous grey eyes. “But what if I want to make love to you?”

Sly grins. “Well, the night is long. Let’s see what happens,” he says, pulling me into a kiss that melts my brain and curls my toes.

Morning comes around much too soon.Neither of us got much sleep, not that I’m complaining and judging by the blissed-out look on Sly’s sleeping face, he won’t be complaining either.

I manage to extract myself from Sly the octopus. Seriously, how he manages to tangle his four limbs around me is a sight to be seen. I swear he grows extra limbs in the night. I quietly snort to myself and drag myself out of bed, making my way to the bathroom. I do my business and shower, then walk into the bedroom to get dressed. Thankfully, all the rooms in this B&B have en-suites. That was my one request. I mean, can you imagine sharing a bathroom with people you don’t know? I shudder at the thought.

As I’m dressing, I walk to the coffee machine and put in a pod of Sly’s favourite coffee. The coffee scent should wake him up. If not, I’ll waft the coffee mug under his nose.

I finish dressing and grab the coffee before putting a pod in for me and a mug under, ready to catch it. I walk to the bed and sit on the side, holding the mug near Sly's nose.

“I love you. You know that?” he says, without opening his eyes.

I laugh. “You only love me for the coffee I bring.”

He cracks an eye open. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m sure I love you for more than that,” he pauses. “Pretty sure I love you for more than that.”

I laugh and bend down to kiss him. “Sit up and drink your coffee, and I’ll make sure the boys are awake and up.”

“Good luck with that,” Sly says, sitting up and taking the mug from me, before taking a large sniff.

I shake my head. “I’ll leave you and your coffee alone.”

“Please do.”

I laugh again and stand up. “Won’t be long.”

“Take your time. Me and my coffee are going to have a moment.”

I shake my head and, on my way out the door, pick up my key card so I can get back in.

Thankfully, the boys are in the room next door. I knock. “Xander, Enoch, you guys up?” Truthfully, I’m not expecting them to reply to my first knock. It usually takes about three loud knocks before one of them drags themselves out of bed and answers the door. So, imagine my surprise when the door opens and Xander is standing there, looking awake, washed and dressed. “Alright, who are you and what have you done to my brother?”

Xander laughs. “I woke up hungry, so got up. Enoch’s up as well.”

“I am,” he calls. “Just putting my shoes on.”