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Rick Castle thought he was dreaming. He awoke to find his naked body curled up to Kate Beckett's backside, his arm draped over her slender hip. His face was just an inch away from her soft, brown hair and when he breathed in, she still smelled slightly like fresh fruit, and the memories from the evening before came crashing back to him.

They had decided to cancel the restaurant reservation in favor of ordering room service instead, as they both wanted privacy. Kate had completely enjoyed the cozy, romantic setting in the living area with the blazing fireplace and the amazing smell of 6 dozen white roses permeating the room. Rick had thoroughly enjoyed them feeding one another delicious seafood, while downing an expensive Le Montrachet wine, with fruit for dessert.

He remembered Kate taking a chocolate covered strawberry, licking it first and then wiping the chocolate on her lips… She then bit down tantalizingly on the berry and moaned with delight at the taste. She leaned into Rick and whispered, "You've got to try this strawberry, Rick, … it's sinfully delicious." And she popped the last bite of berry into her mouth before her lips molded onto his… She opened her mouth and with her tongue slid the strawberry over to his waiting taste buds.

Rick grew hard just thinking about that moment. He did not want to wake her up this morning as they both had had a very long, exciting night where he explored her body in intimate, slow detail.

He now knew where her elusive tattoo resided; … the initials JB in small calligraphy lettering, right beneath her left breast, keeping her mother close to her heart. He was actually surprised when he first saw the tattoo as he assumed it would be a symbol, but he had quickly recovered and had bent over to place his lips reverently on the initials.

He knew that one of the most erotic spots on her body was on the nape of her neck, just below the hairline, in the divot there. She squirmed and shimmied when his lips, teeth and tongue worked their magic on that sensitive spot.

He had worshipped the bullet scar lovingly, taking extra care to linger over the puckered skin, telling her that the scar made her even more beautiful in his eyes as it told the story of how she craved justice for the innocent. It was a symbol of her never-ending strength, her courageous bravery, and devotion to the victim's families.

His favorite spot to torture though, on Kate Beckett's lovely body, was certainly a new one for him… No other woman had made Rick want to stake claim to this part of her body… Just thinking about it made him uncomfortably hard as he was nestled so snugly against her firm derriere… His favorite spot to torment her was behind her knees as it seemed to be the only place she was ticklish, and it thrilled him to no end to be able to make her laugh a deep, incredibly sexy, feminine sound, that he'd never heard escape from her lips before.

Just thinking about that sensuous area behind her knee cap made his hand travel along her hip, down her thigh, and his fingers found their destination, stroking firmly in the crevice behind her knee.

She stirred slightly next to him, stretching languidly, his warm hand caressing her hip, thigh and beneath her knee, slowly and surely waking her up…

She was feeling deliciously sore between her legs as they had made love 3 times before falling exhausted into Kate's bed around 1:30 am. The first time was certainly fast and furious on the bed in her room; … the second, Kate laughed inside as they couldn't keep their hands off each other during dinner and finally during dessert, he ravished her on the lamb rug in front of the hearth; the glow and heat from the firelight intensifying their pleasure; … and the third time happened in the large, jacuzzi tub, with the amazing jet spray creating infinite bubbles, definitely made for a couple to do dirty things to one another.

Kate couldn't ever remember a time feeling so completely satisfied and happy in her entire life. Rick Castle made her feel things that no man had ever made her feel before… He made her feel like she was the most desired woman on earth, and he was by far the most unselfish lover she'd ever had in her bed. Her body hummed at the memories.

"Good morning," she said huskily. "Why do I get the distinct impression, Rick-ster, that you're going to be insatiable?" She could easily feel his engorged erection as it pushed into her buttocks.

"Mmmm," he sighed contentedly. "Maybe because…as I mentioned earlier, Kate," he kissed her delicate ear lobe, "you are addicting, and I'll never," he licked the outer lobe of her ear, "ever," he nipped at that ear, "Get enough of you." He blew hot air into her inner ear canal, making her shiver in anticipation.

"I think I could get used to that," she smiled flirtatiously. "And all the gossip and rumors about you, Mr. Castle," she turned to face him, running her fingernails over his bare chest, "are undoubtedly, one-hundred percent true."

His eyebrow raised and a smug grin split over his face.

"Well, well, now…" He chuckled deeply. "There's something I thought I would never hear come out of your mouth… What, pray tell, rumors are you specifically talking about?" He took his index finger and started running it along the outer curve of her body, starting at her shoulder, down her ribs, along her hip, then lightly skimming her ass.

Kate couldn't believe how fast her body was responding to just his simple touch. Her nerve-endings were tingling; her abdomen was quivering in anticipation. Her breathing quickened.

By God, he's good. He knows exactly what he's doing to me.

"Could it possibly be the rumor of my extraordinary prowess?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say it was extraordinary…" she teased with twinkling eyes.

More like exceptional, she thought indecently.

He grabbed her hand that was slowly driving him crazy with her killer nails and brought her knuckles up to his lips.

"Or are you talking about the rumor of my unsurpassed agility in the bedroom?"

Kate rolled her eyes at that guess and said emphatically, "No."

"Oh, I've got it! You're talking about the rumor of my ummm, robust stamina?" His smug grin widened.

"Oh, you know, Castle," Kate said seductively, "you are officially middle-aged now, so we definitely have to start working on building up your stamina."

He growled low in his throat and replied, "Middle-aged huh? I'll show you my age…"

She was left gasping for air when his teeth landed on her neck at her jumping pulse point. Her fingers delved into his thick, wavy strands while her body instinctively jerked towards him as his mouth wreaked havoc on her neck.

His muscled thigh inserted between her legs, hitting her in just the right, sensitive spot to create agonizing friction, just where she needed it… She began rocking into his thigh.

Castle could feel how wet she was already and it made his groin jump and ache for release.

"God Kate, what you do to me," he rasped out just before his mouth ravished hers.

XXXXX

Back at the precinct, Captain Gates was the first one to see Detective Beckett's email stating that she was taking a personal day off. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about it, but she certainly didn't have a say in the matter as Beckett still hadn't used 5 personal days from last year, and those days had carried over into 2012. She grimaced when she realized how the news would send the precinct into upheaval.

Dammit, that news is going to make the gossip fodders around here swarm like piranha.

On the upside though, the betting pool would finally be nixed, and she wouldn't come across officers ducking in corners, exchanging money. The hushed whispers about her team and secretive glances thrown towards Beckett and Castle should stop as well. She smiled to herself.

Maybe, she thought positively, this bit of news will finally cause the homicide department to go back to normal. . . And even more promising, Gates thought arrogantly, is that I now have Rick Castle right where I want him, … right under my thumb. This is going to be a good day after all.

XXXXX

No one was more ecstatic than Lanie to receive a general text from Kate early in the morning on February 15th. The text had been sent to her, Javier and Ryan. I'm not coming in today. Absolutely no questions.

She had squealed with delight upon waking up this morning and noticing the text had been sent at 1:25 am. There was no denying it at this point… Castle and Beckett had finally succumbed to their electric chemistry for one another and done the deed.

Hell, it's about time! Castle, you're the man.

She texted Javi at 6:15 am asking if he was awake… He was, so she called him, and they dived right into discussing this new development between Mom and Dad.

XXXXX

But no one was more thrilled for Beckett and Castle than Newlywed Mrs. Jenny Ryan. . . Her hubby didn't know it yet, but she had secretly put down $500.00 on the pair going all-the-way on Valentine's day. She was planning her own little surprise for Kevin as she was about to make all his dreams come true… He was going to be a father, and the $2500.00 she'd just won on Kate and Rick consummating their relationship was going to pay for renovating the office into the baby's room.

XXXXX

Kate didn't like this feeling, the feeling of having to trust a person for direction; … being blind-folded made her feel weak and powerless.

After they had checked out of the Ritz Carlton Suite, Rick had told her he had a gift for her, … a Birthday, Christmas, Valentine's gift all rolled into one. He had told her though that he'd have to blindfold her as it needed to be a true surprise.

She, of course, had complained and whined about it telling him she was not a child and didn't need a blindfold, that she could emphatically keep her eyes closed until told otherwise, but Rick had looked at her with his lost puppy dog expression and told her he couldn't take a chance that she'd peek before they arrived at the destination. She had even tried bribing him with that silk blindfold she was now wearing…

Kate had twirled the black scarf around and around in a circle. "Rick, I can think of so many other uses for this silk scarf," her bedroom-voice sang, "and most of them are naughty."

His eyes darkened dangerously as they immediately dropped to the scarf.

Oh, I just bet you could…

"This scarf would be infinitely gentler than using my handcuffs, but with the same desired effect."

Rick bit down on his lower lip while invisioning Kate tying the scarf on one of his wrists, her breasts in perfect view as she leaned over him to tie the knot just right.

"Or," she continued suggestively, "I can use the scarf to blindfold you and let your writer hands do all the sight-seeing, … by taking a tour of my body in the dark."

His tongue darted out over his lips at the suggestion, knowing it was going to happen soon. He would make sure of it.

"I can definitely agree to that," he said lazily, "if you agree to do the same."

She smiled coyly. "Of course, we're both participating in this lovers hide-and-seek-game," she purred.

God, how does she make the word 'lovers' sound so dirty?

"And my favorite suggestion for this silk scarf is buying 3 others to match … and you allowing me to tie you securely to my queen size, cherry-oak frame, and - -"

Rick gulped, "And?" How many times have I wondered what her bedroom décor looks like, and where she lays that gorgeous body of hers at night, and more especially, … what she does in that bed?

"allowing me to crawl up every inch of your body, … tasting and groping as I go along, exploring every inch of you."

"Yes, yes," his eyes blazed with desire, "I wholeheartedly agree to that."

"Well then Rick-ster, let's just put this scarf away for now and save it for a better time, … later," she said the word airily.

Her persuasion technique didn't work. He folded his arms over his strong chest and glared at her playfully.

"Nice try, Detective, but you're not getting out of this one…Don't worry, where we're going, there will only be a handful of other people, and they won't be paying attention to you. I promise." Rick crossed his heart.

Kate sighed audibly as she accepted defeat. "Well then," she said in her authoritative, Detective voice, "I'll only agree to this on one condition."

Shit, here it comes, he thought worriedly.

"You have to wear this scarf over your mouth when I choose to gag you, … AND you can NOT remove it until I say." Her eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Jeez Kate, you drive a hard bargain." He took the scarf from her hand and jabbed it down into his back pocket.

"I agree. Let's go."

XXXXX

Now Kate was walking on grass, holding onto Ricks elbow tightly, while he guided her. Her heels were sinking into the grass slightly as it had rained briefly last night.

Her Detective instincts were on high alert due to being blindfolded. She could smell several different types of flowers as well as hear what she thought were helium balloons blowing in the breeze. She could hear trees also swaying in the distance, but knew they weren't nearby. She didn't hear any children, bike riders or roller bladers either, so she assumed she wasn't in a park. It was actually very quiet.

Rick did say there would hardly be any people where we were going…

She did hear what she thought might be someone close by crying.

"We're almost there, Kate." He whispered into her ear. "I hope I didn't overstep my boundaries with this gift." He said with a hint of nervousness.

He stopped walking and moved her to the front of his body. He gently undid the knot from behind her eyes and then stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her middle.

It took a moment for Kate's eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. She recognized the statue of the Holy Mother of Mary situated about 100 yards away, saw rows and rows of multi-colored flowers lying on the grass, as well as miniature American Flags flying in the wind. She knew where she was, … the New York City cemetery where her mother was buried.

She looked down at Johanna's headstone. Its natural, granite stone had been refinished. It was now a beautiful, glossy, mauve color that seemed to shimmer in the direct sunlight. Kate read what she knew was etched in the stone: 'Beloved wife and mother; Johanna Beckett; Born April 26, 1951; Died January 9, 1998'.

There were new words etched into the bottom of her headstone now. It read:

'Survived by husband James and daughter Katherine'

'Believer and Champion of Justice'

Kate felt tears spring to her eyes.

Castle was worried that she was being so quiet… He squeezed her gently from behind. "I submitted Johanna's name into the state lawyer's guild for the Champion of Justice award… They give out only 5 of those awards a year to someone whose shown compassionate commitment to the victims and who has also performed extraordinary work to preserve justice. . . Johanna won, and I had the award sent to your father. I also got his approval to refinish her headstone and have it engraved." His voice petered out.

"God, Rick," her tone was husky with tears. "I'm overwhelmed. This is just so … beautiful."

Kate was truly overwhelmed at the magnitude of this gift, … at the magnitude of his love for her. The man knew her inside and out. He knew what made her tick, what would make her happy, how to make her feel like she was the center of his world.

She slowly turned in his arms and looked straight into his sky-blue eyes, trying to speak to him without words how much this meant to her…

"I hope the words 'Believer and Champion of Justice' give her some of the credit she deserves…" he said tentatively. "I know that they apply to you as well, Kate, so it seemed appropriate."

She reached up on her toes and kissed him tenderly. "No one has ever given me such a thoughtful, meaningful gift before." She smiled as a single tear escaped her lashes. "God help me, Rick Castle, because I love you with all my heart."

XXXXX

An elderly couple who was strolling along the walk-way at the cemetery noticed the striking couple embracing.

"I'd bet, Esther my-dear," said the gentleman to his sweet wife of 50 years, "that that couple is going to be us 30-years-down-the-road."

She glanced at Rick and Kate curiously, heartily agreeing with her husband. "Yes, I agree, Tom. That couple looks more in love than we did at their age. Sometimes you can just tell when two people are meant to be, and that's definitely one of them."

So my romantic, sappy side won out in the end to conclude this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!