Page 51 of Habibi: Always and Forever

THE TIME THAT IS GIVEN US

JOHAN

“N o, absolutely not.” Cole paces the kitchen before standing in front of me.

“You know I can’t take a month off work.

” His face is dark and stormy. It’s a good thing I find him insanely attractive like this, which is not the reason I’m doing it—well, not the only one anyway.

I lean back against the counter, prepared for his resistance.

“Baby, when did you last take a holiday?” He frowns for a minute, and I see the look in his eye and pre-empt him.

“Do not say those few days we had in Stockholm after our wedding. That doesn’t count.

When did you last have a proper holiday?

” We’ve never been on holiday together, and in the eight months since our hasty wedding in Sweden we haven’t had a real break.

Cole is a successful vet, and that’s partly due to the fact he works so hard, but still, he deserves a proper break.

“I don’t remember,” he mumbles, running his hand through his hair, then he looks at me, his beautiful eyes flashing, “But you know I can’t leave the practice for that long.”

“You’ve said yourself that January is the quietest month,” I reason.

The polo season—the biggest sport played around here—doesn’t start until spring, so the horses are all roughed off and resting.

Lambing and foaling doesn’t start until March, so January is about as quiet as it gets for a vet, which is why I’ve planned this carefully.

“What if there’s an emergency?” Cole levels at me.

“Then the other veterinary practices can handle it, just like you do when they go on holiday.” Cole shares out-of-hours duties with two other vets in the area; they take it in turns.

Cole usually picks up more on-call days than the others do, but I’ve learnt that he needs to feel useful and can’t cope with letting anyone down.

Still, I do make sure he doesn’t work himself too hard and that we get some time together.

I’d really like to take my husband away from it all for a while.

“I don’t have time to organise it with the others,” he huffs.

“It’s early December. You have time to arrange cover and let your customers know.” I hold back a remark that there’s been many times the other vets have dropped cover on him with barely a day's notice, but he’s not like the others. Not by a long way.

“The animals... we can’t leave the animals.” He starts off again.

“Your parents would love to have Roffe and Vin, and the horses will be fine. Sam will look after them.” His frown deepens as he realises that I’ve covered all the bases.

I haven’t sorted things out behind his back, especially not with the other vets—though I have made sure they’re available—as I know he wouldn’t appreciate that.

Having control of all aspects of his life is important to him, and I would never undermine that, I’m just opening up the options for him.

Though if he doesn’t agree, it’s a good thing there’s a cancellation policy for my plans, but I don’t think I’ll be needing it.

He worries his bottom lip between his teeth, and whilst it’s extremely cute, it indicates he’s thinking. I don’t want to give him time to come up with any more excuses.

“Cole, apart from our short time in Stockholm, we’ve barely had two days off together when one or the other of us hasn’t been working. It’s been a busy year for us, and then with Josh staying here and the stress of his father showing up... We deserve a break.”

He starts pacing again, and I know he’s gearing up to say no, not because he doesn’t want to, but because he’s not used to having down time.

It makes him feel uncomfortable, like he doesn’t know what to do with himself—it’s out of his routine.

Which is why I’ve planned this carefully.

I could try wooing him more with nice words, saying how much I’d like to have time alone, just the two of us.

.. lay it on really thick. But I know my husband well enough to know what will work better.

“Tom said you’d never want to leave the shire,” I drop casually.

He stops and spins round so fast he almost gives himself whiplash.

I know it’s not from me mentioning his brother—he doesn’t care what Tom thinks—but he heard the reference from The Lord of the Rings and wants to know if I understood what I’d said.

‘What did you say?” He looks at me cautiously.

“It’s a dangerous business, Cole, going out your door.”

“What did you do?” His face still looks wary, but I can see a glint in his eye that he’s interested. I decide to string him along a little longer.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

His eyes widen and his jaw drops. I’ve rendered my husband speechless, which is a miracle in itself.

I pull some papers out of my back pocket and hand them to him.

He takes them and starts reading, his eyes flicking from me and back to the sheet, as if he can’t believe what he’s reading and is expecting me to tell him it’s a joke.

There’s no way I could get Cole to relax on a beach somewhere for more than about two minutes, so I wouldn’t even try.

The itinerary details a fourteen day tour of the filming locations of The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, with some time in Australia for sightseeing.

“Thank you so much,” he breathes excitedly.

“Oh, so you’ll join me, then?” I smirk at him and he grins back at me.

“You know you could have led with this.”

I could have, but he still would’ve had to go through all the excuses, and I wanted to get them out of the way first so I could see his reaction. So I just shrug and say, “Where’s the fun in that?”

“Johan Andersson you are the sneakiest, most conniving, devious—” He saunters over and stands in front of me. I place my hands on his waist, holding him just away from me, and raise an eyebrow at him.

“Wonderful, thoughtful, gorgeous man, and I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.” I pull him close. He melts against me and I lean down and kiss him. His soft expression is a rare thing, and I’m going to make the most of it. I plant gentle kisses down his neck, loving how he stretches it out for me, exposing more skin.

“Do you like my plans, then?” I whisper into the hollow of his neck.

“Do you want me to show you how much?” He leans further into me and I run my hands down his back, cupping his perfect arse.

“Absolutely, but we’re due at the Arms soon.” Much as I hate to, I have to remind him of our plans to meet with the others in the pub later for our regular Friday night gathering.

“We can be late.” His voice is low and husky but I hear him well enough.

I pull back slightly and look him directly in the eye.

Cole hates being late, for anything; it’s almost pathological.

For him to even suggest it is a surprise, but one that heats up my core and has me half hard within a second.

His slow, sexy smile finishes the job, and I seriously hope he’s not joking.

“Are you sure?” A hoarse whisper is all I can manage, but I need to make certain so he doesn’t flip on me.

“Yes, I am.” That’s all the confirmation I need. I don’t give him a chance to say anything more as I cover his mouth with mine.

* * *

A s it is, we’re nearly thirty minutes late to the pub.

It would’ve been later, but I can never last long with Cole’s mouth round my cock.

His expert tongue lavished attention on me with an enthusiasm that showed me exactly what he thought of my holiday plans.

Yes, that definitely ensured I came in double quick time.

My cock twitches at the memory and I smile to myself as we walk towards the pub.

I hope there might be a repeat of that when we get home later.

Both of us come to a halt at the same time. When I’d driven through the village with Tom delivering winter hay this week, I saw Darla, with Keith’s help, putting up Christmas lights, but I hadn’t seen them lit up.

The front of the whitewashed building was festooned with golden lights, which gave it a soft and ethereal look. A huge Christmas tree had been erected on the edge of the village green, and brightly coloured lights twinkled in the dark crisp night. The whole effect was magical.

“That’s beautiful,” Cole breathes with a happy sigh, and I take his hand, lifting his knuckles to press a kiss to his cold skin.

“So are you,” I murmur, watching his face flush slightly with pleasure, giving him a rosy glow from the golden Christmas lights. “Are you ready?” I ask, and he nods and smiles.

True to form, the others cheer us when we eventually walk through the door.

I know Cole doesn’t cope well with being the centre of attention, especially if it’s being made fun of, so I clasp his hand tightly, giving it a little squeeze.

Thankfully, I’ve won husband of the year as far as he’s concerned, so he takes the cheering good-naturedly, even managing a sly smile instead of the usual scowl that he’d usually be directing at people.

This isn’t lost on our friends, who are all halfway through their pints by now.

Instead, it’s me who shoots them all a look, making it clear that if they say anything, they’ll have me to answer to.

Thankfully they all see sense and keep quiet, but I do see Tom exchange a look with Keith.

Keith grins and digging into his pocket pulls out a ten pound note, handing it over to Tom. They surely haven’t . . .

Releasing Cole’s hand so he can go to the bar and order our drinks, I insert myself between them on the semi-circular bench, fully prepared to give them a piece of my mind about betting on us.

My brothers-in-law are my closest family in Larchdown, after my husband and my own brother, who I notice has risen and joined Cole at the bar, refusing to take part in this exchange.

Of course they both knew of my plans for taking Cole on holiday as I’d already talked it through with them.

They also knew that I was going to tell him tonight, just before we came out.

Curiosity wins over annoyance as I know they’re just having fun.

“I don’t think much of your faith in my abilities,” I say to Keith, my tone mock cold. “As my oldest friend I think you should know me better than that.”

“It wasn’t your charms I was betting against, my friend. It was Cole’s inflexibility I was certain of. It’s him I’ve misjudged. I’ve known him ten years and I’ve never known him to be late or look, well, truly happy. That’s all down to you. I’m really glad he has you.”

I was gearing up to tell him off again, about betting on us being late, but his words take all the wind out of my sails and I can’t be mad at him.

I feel warm and fuzzy at his assessment, and I can’t help but break into a smile.

Making my husband happy is my number one aim in life.

I wrap an arm around Keith and give him a side hug—which is no mean feat as he’s huge—but then, I can match him in height even if not in bulk. I release him, murmuring my gratitude.

“Thanks, old friend.”

I turn to Tom. I’ve only known him since I moved to Larchdown in Autumn last year, but I’m proud to call him brother-in-law and friend, as well as boss.

We had a few run-ins over Cole in the early days, when I thought Tom treated him like a child instead of the amazing man he is.

It took a while for Tom to shake off his skewed view of his younger brother, but once he did, he became his biggest supporter.

“Were you betting on my charms, or against Cole’s resistance?” I ask.

“Does it matter? I won.” He gives me a shit-eating grin and I know he’s never going to tell me.

Cole returns with our drinks and slips in beside me, causing Keith to move further over. I take a long drink of my pint.

“You okay, baby?” I ask quietly, resting my leg against his under the table and placing my hand on his knee. I love being in physical contact with him and I’m glad he’s as tactile as I am.

He gives me a quick but brilliant smile. “Yeah, I’m good.” He reaches for my hand, interlacing our fingers.

Talk turns to how everyone’s week has been and I’m content to just sit, occasionally joining in but mostly letting the conversation flow round me. I idly brush my thumb along Cole’s thumb, not realising I’m doing it until he squeezes my hand and gives me a glance.

He leans closer so our foreheads are nearly touching.

“Do you want to go home?” he whispers.

“Do you?” I ask back in an equally low voice

“Yes please,” he says, with a slight whine, which I know is his tell, giving away that he’s horny.

I wasn’t in a hurry to move, but I’m not going to waste an opportunity, and now there’s nothing more I want than to get him back to our place.

“Can I show you how much I appreciate you being on board with coming on holiday with me?” I ask, barely able to contain my enthusiasm.

“You can do anything you like.” His voice is warm and soft like velvet, which makes my cock thicken.

Fuuuck! I can’t wait to get him home, into bed, and show him how much I appreciate every inch of his body.

I stand abruptly, pulling Cole with me.

“We have to go, I... err... left the oven on.” It’s the lamest excuse in the world, and the faces of our friends let me know they’re not buying any of it. But I’ve stunned them into silence and I don’t give them a chance to respond. I guide Cole in front of me and to the door.

“We’ll see you, um, soon,” I say, giving them a grin, which I see mirrored on Keith’s and Tom’s faces.

I feel a sense of smug satisfaction that this was something they definitely didn’t bet on.

I know I’m going to get teased about it for the next few weeks, but I don’t care.

All I want is Cole laid out beneath my body, taking every inch of me while I entice every ounce of pleasure out of him.

When we emerge into the cold night air, I pull him close under the magical fairy lights and kiss him softly.

“Come on, baby, let’s go home.”

* * *

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