"Time to unwrap my gift?" She smirked against his mouth, as her hands brazenly tugged at the front of his shirt. He chuckled, pressing a soft kiss against her jaw and then pulling back, keeping his hands wrapped around her waist.

"Not quite." She pouted at him. "I wanna show you something."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, I've seen it..." She trailed off as he tugged her hand, pulling her around the side of the house, and then spinning himself to stand behind her.

"What are you-" She started, as he suddenly clamped one hand over her eyes, the other grabbing her hand, as he urged her to walk on. She stumbled hesitantly over the uneven ground, round to the back of the house, where she rarely went, clutching hard at his hand as her heels slipped over the overgrown grass there.

"I don't wanna have sex behind the house." She blurted out in irritation as she stumbled over a rough clump of earth, growing annoyed at the situation. He barked out a short laugh in her ear.

"Jesus, Norma. What kind of husband do you think I am?"

She sucked in an annoyed breath to answer, a smartass reply on the tip of her tongue before he stopped her.

"Hold that thought." He whispered, suddenly close behind her, his breath tickling her hair before he moved her hand up to her eyes.

"Cover your eyes. No peeking!" He sounded giddy almost, like a proud child, and she filled with nervous anticipation at what he might be about to reveal to her. He couldn't have secretly built her a pool in a day, could he? She sniffed deeply. No chlorine scent, only the musty aroma of freshly tilled earth filled her nostrils, and she frowned, as she obeyed, raising both hands to cover her eyes, resisting the urge to peek as she heard him walk away from her.

There was a clicking sound from somewhere in front of her and then some soft muttering and a growl of annoyance.

"For fuck's sake." He muttered, and there was more clicking and then the sounds of him stomping around for a few moments.

"Everything ok?" She called out nervously.

"Yeah.. Yes... Don't peek." He reminded her, as there was another shuffling sound and then a triumphant "Aha!".

There was one last click and then Norma became aware of light flooding in from behind her fingers.

"Can I look now?"

"Yep."

She let her hands drop from her eyes, letting her eyes flicker open, blinking against the suddenly bright lights that flooded her senses.

Alex was standing with his arms out, beaming at her, standing next to a little row of weak-looking, hip-height plants that looked a bit like weeds. Twinkling fairy lights were strung between the plants, which looked like they were slightly struggling under the weight of the pretty lights.

"Ta da!" He yelled proudly, and she fixed a polite smile on her face, taking a step forward.

"Oh. Wow." She breathed out, nodding encouragingly at him, trying to keep the confused frown off her face. How could a man who had chosen such beautiful flowers for the centrepiece choose such ugly little plants now? And so sporadically planted, at the back of her house, where she spent so little time?

"You planted flowers for me?" She tried to focus on how sweet it was, noticing the little pink flowers adorning some of the plants, watching as the twinkly little lights moved gently in the breeze.

"I planted trees for you." He clarified, and she gasped, looking from his slightly unsure face back to the plants with a new sense of awe.

"Trees?" She whispered out, taking another step towards what she had thought were weeds.

"Yeah. I know you wanted to make jam? So I planted fruit trees for you." He said, suddenly sounding sheepish, like he thought it was a stupid idea all of a sudden.

Her hand reached out to tentatively touch the waxy leaves of the nearest sapling, reverently, like she was touching a fragile newborn baby, feeling her eyes fill with tears all over again.

"They won't produce fruit for a while though." He added apologetically, stepping around her to gesture broadly at the plants. "The cherry trees might be ready next spring? At the very least they'll blossom." He gestured at the cluster of baby trees in the middle. "The apricots won't be ready till next summer at the earliest."

He'd been so distracted by reeling off the information given to him by the very helpful man at the nursery where he'd picked up the trees that he didn't notice her stalking over to him, her mouth dropped open, her eyes shining in the golden glow from the fairy lights.

"And we wont be eating apples till we're old and grey-" He was cut off as she appeared at his side, reaching up to grasp his face, kissing him deeply.

He pulled back for a moment.

"I also planted you a sunflower in the pot by the door." He added, smiling smugly, clearly very pleased with himself now, watching as she smiled tearfully at him.

"I love sunflowers!" She breathed out, before kissing him again, pulling him against her, pouring out her gratitude.

His hands automatically went around her back, calloused finger tips brushing over the bare back exposed by her dress. His lips drifted to her jaw, pressing soft wet kisses there, and then down her neck as her hands slid into his hair.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look in this dress?" He muttered in her ear, his hands trailing gently up and down her back.

"Ya know, I don't think you did." She mumbled back accusingly, as his finger tips slid just into the waistband at the back of her dress, where the fabric dipped low into the small of her back.

He pulled back a little, gazing at her seriously.

"Well then... You look beautiful in this dress." She giggled as he kissed her neck again, nuzzling against her, and she breathed out a soft little moan, his hands sliding down over her ass, pulling her against him.

"Thank you." She breathed out, as her hands slid under his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders to pool on the ground behind him.

He pulled back suddenly to stare at her in confusion, and she bit her lip coyly at him.

"Thought you didn't wanna have sex behind the house?"

"I changed my mind. It's my birthday. I can do that." She explained, giggling as her hands slid under his shirt, trailing gently around his sides and up his back, before grabbing a fistful of fabric and dragging him down to the floor with her. She lay herself back down and he followed her, allowing her to pull him down on top of her, holding most of his weight up.

He kissed her again, feeling her legs open for him, her thighs dropping open to let him nestle himself comfortably against her. The dried, overgrown grass was scratching into her back, but she didn't care, her breathing quickening as he thrust gently against her while he kissed her, his tongue lapping at her bottom lip. The tongues brushed against each other's lazily, as she reached between them, scrabbling to pull the voluminous floral fabric up around her waist, wrapping one leg around the back of his thigh, pulling him against her.

They rolled suddenly, and she was on top of him, her hair flopping into his face, and she ground herself against him without thinking, feeling his need through his jeans, letting out a soft sigh into his mouth. His hands flew to her ass, sliding inside her underwear to cup the soft flesh there, urging her on a little as she continued to grind her hips in little circles. Her hands slid down his chest, tugging frantically at his belt, managing to undo both his belt and his fly with her eager, shaking hands, as his own hands slid her panties as far down her thighs as he could. Her little hand was sliding into his boxers, closing around him, when he flipped them suddenly again, one hand pinning her hand against the ground, the other reaching down to slide her panties off one leg completely, before trailing his nails back up her thigh, making her shiver.

He gazed down at her, noting the little barely noticeable mascara smudges under her eyes from her earlier tears, the way her lips were pink and swollen from his kisses, the way her eyes were dark and wide and expectant, glinting in the soft light. She was breathing hard, her fingers flexing slightly where they were pinned, her legs dropping open wantonly as his fingers found their target. He teasingly circled her clit for a second, watching as her eyes fluttered shut, her head dropping back.

"Ohhh..." She breathed out, her free hand shooting out to grab hard at his shoulder, as his fingers slid smoothly inside her, pumping in and out slowly a few times, enjoying the way her breath hitched in her throat, her back arching up off the ground a little. He gave up on the teasing pace, increasing the speed, curling his fingers inside her with a fast fluttering motion, making her eyes shoot open as she rolled her hips in time with his movements.

"Alex, Alex." She chanted out, as her fingers dug into his upper arm, her other hand wriggling free from his grip to grasp at the side of his face, pulling him down to kiss her breathlessly.

"I want you-" She panted out into his mouth and he needed no further invitation, immediately withdrawing his fingers and sliding into her with one quick movement.

Her head dropped back again, her hand grabbing a fistful of his hair, and he gave her a moment, leaning down to kiss her neck with wet, open mouthed kisses, before he started moving his hips. He moved gently for a handful of thrusts, before his hand slunk down around her hip, down along her thigh, hitching it up over his shoulder, pushing even deeper into her. His hips quickened their pace to match the pace his fingers had been moving at before, each thrust eliciting a shrill squeak he'd never heard her make before.

Her hands shot out to lay flat either side of her, steadying herself now she was slightly unbalanced, her head dropping to the side, biting her lip as he ploughed into her.

"Oh god. Oh god..." She breathed out, her fingers pressing into the dirt either side of her.

It was hard and fast and dirty and exactly what she wanted, as she felt the familiar tightening in her belly quickly, panting out a series of half formed words and profanities before her breathing quickened to the point where it sounded like she was hyperventilating. His fingers dug in hard to her thigh, where he was holding it up around his shoulder, and she quieted to almost silence for a second, before she was tightening around him, her hands grabbing handfuls of the earth and grass around her, her mouth letting out a ragged, feral cry that made him glad they had no guests down at the motel at the moment.

He clutched at her leg desperately for a moment, pressing a sloppy kiss against the inside of her knee as he thrust into her unsteadily a few more times, before he spilled out into her with a couple of trembling grunts, his whole body shaking as he managed to hold his weight off her.

Unhooking her shivering thigh, he lowered it gently to the ground, before slipping out of her gently and rolling off her, both of them flopping back onto the ground. Their breathing returned to normal, and eventually, they opened their eyes, flicking their heads to look each each other, laughing breathlessly. Her hand found his, intertwining their fingers as they lay in companionable silence, listening to their own heartrates slowing back down again, gazing up at the stars above them.

"That's Orion's belt." He said suddenly, lifting his hand weakly to gesture broadly towards the heavens.

"Really?"

"No. I'm just making it up. I just wanna impress you." He joked.

She giggled, puffing out a satisfied breath, rubbing her free hand over her face, forgetting she'd just grabbed handfuls of earth, smearing dirt across her forehead.

He turned to look at her, laughing suddenly and she frowned sleepily at him.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just... we probably need a shower." She glanced down at herself, noting the faint smudges of dirt and grass stains that seemed to cover her body.

"Can't we just sleep here? Let's just stay out here." She mumbled sweetly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So you don't want any cake then?"

Her head jerked up suddenly, and her whole face lit up.

"Omg cake!" She breathed out happily, jumping to her feet and pulling him up to join her. He smiled at her childlike enthusiasm, his smile faltering as she took a step and winced. He reached for her, his face immediately crumpling a little.

"You ok?" He asked, fearing he'd hurt her. And on this, her birthday! He sighed at himself, shaking her head, cut off as she giggled brightly all of a sudden.

"My leg's gone to sleep." She clarified, gesturing to the leg that had been thrown over his shoulder, giving it a little jiggle to get the blood flowing through it again, before grabbing his hand and skipping back to the house.

Minutes later, and they were in the shower, him gently rubbing small circles of soap into her back, cleaning the diamond shaped area of dirt where her dress was cut out, her hands rigorously scrubbing at her face. His hands drifted lower, smoothing soap over her ass cheeks.

"Alex..." She whined out, her voice a warning as his hands spread soap over the swell of her hips, sliding up her stomach, his naked body pressing against her back.

"What?" He muttered against her ear, as his hands brushed against the undersides of her breasts, his thumbs lightly skimming over her nipples.

"Quit." She said unconvincingly, as her head dropped back a little.

"Quit what?" He asked innocently, his hands drifting lower, skimming over her abdomen before she slapped his hands away suddenly, stepping forwards out of his reach and turning to fix him with an unimpressed look.

"You know what." She said accusingly, as she daintily stepped out of the tub, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself.

"I want cake." She said petulantly, before turning on her heel and leaving him alone in the bathroom.

It was a few minutes before Alex joined Norma in the bedroom, having to take a few minutes to compose himself, before realising that he'd spent their entire shower washing Norma, leaving his own body still covered in faint marks of dirt, and smears of her lipstick down his neck.

By the time he rejoined her, she was sitting crosslegged on the bed, the comforter spread out across her lap, one of his favourite shirts wrapped firmly around her, elegantly spooning tiny forkfuls of cake into her mouth.

"You couldn't wait for me?" He breathed out, flopping next to her on the bed, wearing just a pair of sweatpants, settling himself down opposite her, watching as she smirked at him.

"I was hungry." She shrugged, holding out a bite for him, watching as he lunged forward to eat it. She watched him hungrily, a wicked little smile spreading across her face as she watched him chewing.

"What?" He asked innocently as she shuffled across the bed to him, her eyes dark and playful.

She reached him, swiping her finger through the baby pink icing and sucking it from her finger, her eyes closing as she did so. He gulped as he watched her, smiling breathlessly at her as she repeated the action, this time holding the little blob of frosting out to him. He lunged forward for it, just as she moved her hand, wiping the sugary pink substance on his neck instead.

"Norma!" He barked out angrily, his anger soothed as she swung forwards to lick the frosting from his skin tantalisingly slowly.

"Mmm..." She breathed out in his ear, her finger reaching for another helping of icing. She moved to spread it on his skin, gasping as his hand shot out to stop her, his hand roughly grabbing her wrist, drawing her attention to his face.

"Stop it." He growled. He hated being sticky so this was his nightmare, sickly pink glaze clinging to his freshly washed skin.

He rarely exerted any kind of physical strength over her, but he did now, using his superior strength to turn her struggling hand back to herself, making her brush the pink glob against her own face.

"Alex!" She whined, pouting adorably as he pinned her hands, not letting her wipe at her face. "It's my birthday!" She reminded him, as he leaned in, licking the cake from her cheek with little open mouthed lick/kiss combos that made her eyes flutter shut and made her forget she was annoyed at him. He didn't notice her hand drifting subtly to the cake sat on the bed next to them, gathering another fingerful of icing and smearing it on his collarbone before he could stop her. She giggled wildly as he pulled back, fixing her with an irritated expression, rolling his eyes as he resigned himself to it.

She darted forwards, this time sucking the sugar from his skin, bruising the flesh underneath deliberately, laughing darkly as she pulled back to gaze at him innocently. He glared at her, and for a second, she was worried he was really annoyed at her.

"It's my birthday." She whispered out in a childlike voice, and Alex had to fight very hard to keep the annoyed scowl on his face as she spoke. He was just happy she was finally getting the real birthday she deserved, but it was fun to play along like he was still irritated by her.

He glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

"Only for another 22 minutes." He reminded her sternly, as she grabbed a few crumbs of cake, chewing them innocently at him, while her eyes darted to the clock, her free hand trailing down the edge of the buttons of the shirt she was wearing.

"Only 22 minutes?" She said sadly, clearly upset that her day was nearly over. His scowl smoothed out into a dirty little grin.

"Lucky for you, I'm GREAT at working to a deadline." He said saucily, as his hands hooked behind her knees, pulling her off balance and sending her sprawling onto her back. She gasped.

"I dunno?" She singsonged from her new haphazard position on the bed, folding her hands neatly across her stomach. "22 minutes doesn't seem like alot of time."

He leaned in across her, swiping his finger into the birthday cake that was still balanced next to them, dipping his finger into her mouth.

"I'm going for twice." He whispered, as she sucked hard on his finger, releasing it with a pop and flashing her eyes incredulously at him.

"But first..." He murmured, still leaning across her, as her thighs opened, letting him lean in close. "Take my shirt off." He said simply. "I'm not getting frosting on my favourite shirt."

She tutted and rolled her eyes at him, as she undid the single button holding his shirt together, sitting up a little and shrugging it off her shoulders, flinging it onto the floor behind the bed. He watched her hungrily from where he was sitting back on his knees, as she laid her naked body back down on the sheets, gazing up at him expectantly.

He reached behind him swiping all four of his fingers through the remaining frosting on the sad ruins of the cake on the plate, before smearing the pink goo down her whole torso, starting at her left nipple and running out of frosting as it trailed over her abdomen. She watched him, panting hard, biting her lip, pretending she wasn't as turned on as she was.

"21 minutes. You're wasting time." She chastised, cut off as he leaned forwards on his knees, suddenly lowering his face to her chest, kissing the valley between her breasts gently.

He lips moved to her nipple, sucking the stiff peak into his mouth, savouring the sweet icing there, before his slid his mouth lower, kissing and licking and sucking a path down the underside of her breast, down the hard line of muscle under her ribs, and down the softness of her stomach, dipping his tongue into her bellybutton, making her flinch a little at the tickling sensation.

She expected him to keep up the gentle teasing movements when he reached her core, so she was surprised when his gentle exploration of her body ended, and her legs where suddenly tossed over his shoulders roughly, as he set upon devouring her, his tongue pressing hard against her.

"Ohhh god." She muttered, and she felt him smile against her, as one single digit slid inside her, fluttering up against some delicious spot inside of her, as his mouth clamped around her clit, sucking hard, making her writhe against him.

Her hands flew to his head, tugging his hair, pressing him harder against her, wanting more, as she let out soft, needy moans into their bedroom.

His tongue started flicking back and forth wildly over her clit, setting up an unrelenting pace, making her squirm and writhe under him, his hands digging into her hips to hold her in place as he continued his relentless assault.

"There, there, there." She panted out, like he didn't already know, as his finger and tongue worked in perfect harmony, bringing her quickly and skillfully to her climax.

"Oh.. Oh!" She breathed out a surprised sounding gasp as she came quietly, biting into her own hand, her other tugging painfully at his hair, undulating her hips weakly a few more times, before collapsing bonelessly onto the bed.

Her thighs slid from his shoulders, flopping down against the sheets as she panted, her eyes still closed, one hand resting on her chest while she struggled to regain her breathing.

She had barely caught her breath, her heart still pounding wildly in her ears, before he was scooping her up, his arm sliding under her back, his other digging into the underside of her thigh, pulling her up like a rag doll. He swung them round, sitting himself up against the headboard, settling his floppy, breathless wife across his lap. Her hands rested naturally on his shoulders as he lifted himself up for a moment, clumsily shifting his sweatpants down his legs just a little, his erection springing free between them. She glanced down, before flicking her gaze back to him and smiling dreamily at him, still breathing hard, as she raised herself up on her knees, reaching between them and guiding them to her entrance.

She sank down slowly, her eyes dropping closed as he felt her still fluttering muscles relax around him, her mouth sucking in a long gasp.

He glanced casually at the bedside clock beside them. He still had time.

She started to bounce slowly, setting up a teasing rhythm, bracing herself against his shoulders, as his hands slid down the front of her body, ghosting over her nipples, and then sliding over her hips to her ass. He squeezed the soft flesh there and she gasped, sensing his intention, quickening her pace as he urged her on.

"Jesus." He whispered, as she sped up her movements, every soft moan filling his ears in the most perfect way. It was always a risky game, going down on her first. Hearing the perfect, sensual noises she made, and watching her face as she came were the best turn ons he could imagine, and he always felt like he was already halfway there by the time he buried himself inside her. Today was no different, his face contorting with concentration as she writhed against him, his muscles shaking from the effort of holding back. He glanced at the time, sighing deeply, his hands suddenly shooting up to roughly grab her wrists. Her eyes flew open as he unhooked her hands from his shoulders, instead forcing them behind her back, resting her hands on his thighs. She settled her weight differently, arching her back, pressing her breasts against his chest, and he took the opportunity to settle his hands back on her hips.

As she moved to start bouncing again, his hands held her down, instead guiding her to slide back and forth, his hands ushering her to roll her hips against him this time. He regained a little control from the shallow thrusting, letting his eyes flicker open to see her leaning back on her hands, her breasts bouncing as she quickly sped up, her head thrown back, her mouth open in a silent O shape.

He glanced to his right.

11:57

Fuck.

His thumb swiped across his tongue and found her clit, flicking back and forth roughly, his other hand digging in hard to her hip, trying to keep up with the brisk snapping of her hips.

"Ohhhh... Oh Alex." She breathed out to the ceiling, her curls bouncing around her face, her nails digging in painfully to his thighs.

"I'm gonna..." She murmured out, her words trailing off as she suddenly flopped forwards, clutching onto him tightly, coming with a long, shuddering, shaky sobbing sound. She tightened exquisitely as she bucked against him weakly, and he followed suit, his hips rutting up against her pliable body a few times before releasing his own shuddery groan against her shoulder.

They stayed like that for what felt like a long time, but was in fact, only a few moments, as they panted against each other's skin, his hands smoothing gently down her spine.

"Midnight." She observed casually, as she finally pulled back to glance at the clock.

"I told you, I work well to deadlines." He laughed out, and she smiled down at him, her face a little sad, as her thumbs grazed over his cheekbones.

"What is it?"

"It's silly." She shrugged, casting her gaze down for a second, while he stared at her imploringly. "I'm just... sad my birthday is over."

He smiled at her, his smile fading a little as he realised this was probably the only real birthday she'd ever had.

"There'll be plenty more." He assured her, wrapping his hands tightly around her. He lifted her suddenly, holding her against him as he shuffled down the headboard, laying himself down, sliding out of her and snuggling her up against his side.

"Thank you... for everything today." She said genuinely against his chest, as her hand splayed out, brushing back and forth through his chest hair.

"I wanted to make it special." He said sweetly, stumbling over his words a little. He turned her head up to him, pressing a kiss against his jaw. His hand slid down to cover hers, turning her wrist suddenly and laughing lightly.

He pulled her wrist up to his mouth, sucking the errant smudge of raspberry frosting from the side of her arm. She unconsciously shifted up his body a little as he did so, gasping at the unexpected movement.

"And just think," He whispered, tugging her up a little, his fingers still intertwined with hers, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

"It could be homemade cherry jam I'm licking off you next year..."