Like a lover's caress, the velvety waves wash over my bronzed, naked body. With the help of a steady breeze and a lazy current, I drift back to shore and stretch out on the sand to watch the sun dip below the horizon in a blaze of glory. Behind me in the thick canopy, the jungle creatures wait for the last sliver of light to fade, and then, all on cue, they begin their primeval orchestral song. The animals and the waves keep me company while I wait in the dark for my lover to come to me. My heart will hear her song when the full moon gifts it light to the world with a brilliant dance across the water. The breeze carries her scent and she appears in the moonlight; an ethereal vision in shimmering silk, flooding me with passion so strong it pulls the breath from my body. The night is new, the moon will watch over us and the sea will serenade our sweet love on the soft, cool sand.
A single tear slid down his cheek and onto the pillow. He was alone; the dream had been so vivid that he could taste the salt in the air right here in his bedroom. This dream would be a beacon in his quest to win the love of one extraordinary woman. His eyes closed and he slept once more in the reassuring certainty that their destinies were inextricably tied.
Sunlight poured into the room; Castle stared at the ceiling while the dream cycled over and over through his mind. He brushed the pillow with his hand and experienced a remarkable tingling of anticipation, a premonition of something wonderful. Get a grip man, it was only a dream, but what a sexy dream it was. Kate is the woman I have been waiting for all my life, and I need to touch her or I'll go crazy. Chuckling at his silly morning romanticism, Richard dressed quickly and strolled into the kitchen where his mother and daughter were already enjoying breakfast.
"Buenos dias, my lovely ladies." Castle poured a cup of coffee, stabbed an apple with a knife, and sat down at the table beside his daughter Alexis. He began to shave thin slices from the fragrant green apple while covertly observing the subdued demeanour of the women. His cheerful mood was not lost on Alexis, however, who rolled her eyes at her grandmother with a look. Martha returned the look and added a deliberate yawn. They needed no words.
"Good morning, dad. Why don't you just bite into the apple, like everyone else? You always cut it up like that, it's weird, you know." Alexis nibbled her toast.
"Old habit, just making sure there's nothing hidden inside, like worms, cherry bombs, you know, the usual suspects. Lots of people eat apples this way."
"Actually, he comes by it honestly, Alexis, because his father did exactly the same thing."
Castle stopped chewing and stared at his mother. "Is there something you want to tell me, mother?"
Martha smiled mischievously. "Maybe some day. Actually, Richard, you have many of your father's habits, both good and bad."
"Really." Castle dismissed his mother's lapse of sanity as a senior's moment. She must be crazy, talking like I actually have a father. He turned to Alexis."Teenagers are like vampires when it comes to day and night, why are you up, Alexis?" He chewed another piece of apple and waved the knife around, pinning her down with his eyes. "Well?"
"I'm going to the public pool with friends this morning. Paige wants to get there before it gets too crowded, but seriously, I think she's deranged, because the boys won't be there early. I'll have to remind her of that important little detail."
"Indeed, half naked boys are important. Hey, I hope you're not wearing that skimpy swimsuit your mother bought you – are you?" he looked at her sternly but a smile tipped his mouth.
"Gram lent me one of hers from 1947. Happy?"
"Ah, well, that could cause a scene of the wrong kind. I hope the skimpy one still fits, or is it even skimpier now? Never mind, don't tell me. Mother, dear, are you spending time with Phil today?" Castle suddenly slapped his forehead dramatically and exclaimed, "Wait a minute, oh wonder of wonders, the Universe works in mysterious ways. I just figured it out, Phil is my father!"
"Wrong universe, Richard dear. Today is shopping day with the girls, but before we hit 5th Avenue we're meeting at Starbucks for more coffee. Good thing my bladder is functioning; and as to why I'm up so early, well, I haven't quite figured that out yet. Give me another hour or so."
"By then it won't matter, Gram." Alexis gulped down her juice and leaned in towards her father, "now that you've been a total snoop, dad, it's my turn. You and Beckett are spending a lot of time together, could there be something romatic developing?"
"I don't kiss and tell, young lady. I can't remember if I mentioned it, but I'm doing a story reading this morning at Schwartzmann at 11:00. It's a bunch of squiggly tykes and I'm reading Anansi and the Talking Melon." He bit into the last chunk of apple and wiped his mouth. "I'm not really into spiders, but I think I can handle Anansi. Is dad arachnophobic too?"
Martha chortled loudly over the entertainment section. "If you only knew. By the way, Kate told me you were positively paralysed when that spider crawled onto your shoulder in the pet shop case last year. She also said you put on a brave face and refrained from screaming like a girl."
"Kate revealed those details to you? And there I thought it was our secret. If you must know, that spider was gigantic, and I'd like to see you with a black creepy crawly on your arm, Mother; all of your acting experience would be useless. Did Kate mention that she was the one who got rid of the icky creature? Ryan and Esposito were complete wimps, like me, but Kate just picked it up ever so gently and dropped it into another tank. Totally incredible and now I'm convinced that Beckett is Wonder Woman disguised as a cop. The woman is such an enigma." Beautiful, strong, sexy, long legs...must stop thinking about Kate. But why? Bikini, sand, sex, sex, stop! What the hell is wrong with me this morning? Actually, after that dream, everything is just fine. He smiled innocently at Alexis and sipped his coffee, but caught his mother's disproving look over the top of the newspaper.
"Richard, please be a dear and analyze your enigma somewhere else, far away. You're such a chatter-box this morning and I've really heard quite enough about spiders and Beckett and Wonder Woman. Thank you ever so much, darling."
Castle gave his mother a long, hard stare. "I'll be in my office until ten this morning should either of you need me. By the way, is father a writer? An actor? I just wondered, with all the daily drama in this family." He pecked his mother's cheek and was rewarded with a look that just hinted at a smile. He winked at Alexis. Gotcha.
"Get him out of here, please, Alexis, ll this wonderful sweetness is making me nauseous."
"Cheerio, ladies, have fun." Castle saluted the women and danced a jig into his office. Scrumptious visions of a scantily clad Beckett flashed nonstop inside his head like a smutty photo album, and he had to stop and take a deep breath just to steady his dizzy head. The laptop on his desk almost screamed at him to open it and start pounding on the keys. Sex on the brain always made for good writing, and this love scene would the best ever. Nikki and Rook are gonna hook up right now, and while they recover I'm going to feed my addiction. I wonder what my Wonder Woman is doing right now. Castle smiled, flipped up the screen and easily summoned up erotic scenarios between Richard and Kate, not Rook and Nikki. Glorious expressions of love gushed from his heart onto the page.
Kate gazed out of her apartment window at the city bathed in summer sunshine. She sighed in satisfaction at the thought of the lazy day ahead with no homicides and no chatty Castle. Just a few easy exercises, some French toast and maybe a walk in the park; not necessarily in that order. Ten minutes later, her apartment was bursting with sounds of the ocean, palm trees and seabirds. She sat on a mat in a basic yoga pose and let her imagination stir up a menu of erotic fantasies to choose from. Only one man lived in all her fantasies, and whether on the beach, in a forest or on a mountain, he was always there to keep her satisfied and coming back for more. Today we'll meet on a beach, I want to see my man in a red Speedo. Hold on lover boy, here I come. Kate closed her eyes and she was there.
The tropical sun soaked her bikini-clad body and she could hear the majestic palm trees rustle in a hot, lazy breeze. The blue ocean called out to her, and the gleaming white sand burned her feet with every deep step. She shaded her eyes and scanned the waterline, heartbeat quickening when she spotted the unmistakable form of her lover frolicking in the waves. A deep longing for his embrace drove her feet through the hot sand until at last his arms enfolded her and they kissed in the foamy waves. His face shone with confidence, his body was made of gold and it was all hers for the taking. Above them a flock of seabirds began to wheel around in noisy circles, squawking and cawing until Kate could no longer ignore them. She looked up and groaned out loud in frustration. Go away, shoo! Her handsome beach god just smiled and then he dissolved into white light when she became aware of the insistent trill of her cell phone. Why didn't I turn it off? She checked the caller ID. Wow, fate or destiny? Kate was now in a very good mood, so she put her body into an easy stretch on the mat and turned on her most seductive voice.
"Good morning, I'm just changing positions."
"I know some good ones. Shall I come over and show you?"
"Very tempting. What's on your mind this lovely Saturday morning, Castle?"
"You are. Do I hear seagulls? Have you transported yourself to a beach without inviting me? I'm pouting. I had a marvellous beach dream last night, Kate. You were with me and guess what we were doing?"
"Swimming for our lives from sharks?"
"Guess again."
Why was he dreaming about me on a beach? How interesting. She could hear the smirk in his voice and rolled her eyes. "Let me see, I was running from you, the human shark."
"I might be a predator, but you were not running, sweet lady."
"I get the idea, and l ask again, what can I do for you, Mr. Shark?"
"Hell, you'd blush down to your pretty toes if I told you what you could do for me. Damn, now I've forgotten why I called. What are you wearing?"
She giggled. "Zip. Nothing. Nada. I'm stepping to a steaming shower and YOU are holding my towel. You asked." oops, that was rather wicked, be careful, he's on the prowl.
"You are so cruel, Kate; now I need a cold shower with YOU holding the towel."
"Hot and cold, we'll both be squeaky clean today, won't we? Do you really want to chat about showers, Castle? I still have a workout to get to." why had he called, anyway?
"Ah! Now I remember why I called you! I wanted to invite you to the Schwartzmann library today. I'm doing a reading of Anansi the Spider for a bunch of kids. Do you have some spare time? You wanna hear my sexy voice?"
"How sweet, I'd love to hear your sexy voice, and I'll try not to distract you. I thought you hated spiders." Just then the music on the CD rose to a crescendo of waves and gulls, but she wasn't inclined to move to turn down the volume.
"Katie, Katie, my little beach bunny, you are such a tease. I still hear seagulls and waves, but no fair, I'm not there."
"Never call me Katie, and I'm not a bunny. I may have to punish you with a spider much bigger than Anansi. Can you handle it, kitten? Will you scream?" Exercise long forgotten, Kate stretched out on the mat and fell headlong into the playful conversation, her mischievous side in full control. This is simply delicious, dangerous and sexy as hell.
"Oh, aren't you saucy this morning, Katie, and since when do you tell my mother our little secrets?"
"Secrets? Do we have little secrets, Richard? In that case, come on over, I've got plenty to share." If only.
He coughed on the other end. "Are you kidding me? This kind of talk is dangerous, woman, because I've been thinking about you ever since I woke up in the middle of the night. In fact, you inspired me to write a steamy love scene between Rook and Nikki. Hot stuff."
Stay calm Kate, this is not real, it's just dangerous flirting that will lead to hurt feelings. Just hang up before you say something you might regret. Easier said than done. "Wow, a love scene this early in the day. Hmm, you always look so spaced out in the morning, Castle, I just don't picture you getting hot and heavy...never mind. I should tell you that your phone call interrupted my meditation, and I was just about to get very naughty on the sand with..."
"Stop right there."
"No way, you started it. On..the..sand..with..a..sexy...hot...hunk..of...man."
"I'm seriously turned on here, Kate, motor is running hot, keep it going, babe."
Babe? Shit, what have I done? Way over the line. "Rick, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. Usually we just argue about something silly, but instead we're having this crazy phone sex and it's so much fun." what did I say! I'm making it worse! "Um, not really phone sex of course, but, well, we both like beaches it seems, and um..."
This was met by a long pause and a husky reply, "I'll see you soon, my little beach bunny." The line went dead.
"Castle, please wait."
Disconnecting the phone, Kate was not really surprised to find herself flushed and trembling. She had as much as admitted to having phone sex with the man she promised to see in a couple of hours. How embarrassing. She sighed, realizing that she would need to call him back for details on the library event. She could never look him in the eye again without remembering this crazy call, and yet, somehow... Castle on the sand. He's my sand Castle. He enjoyed it as much as I did, and he was just as bad as me. He'd never come to my bed anyway, it is all just silly chatter. Still, a girl can dream. How will I ever face him at the library after this? Kate bit her lip self-consciously as she walked in a daze to turn on the shower full blast. "All I need now is Rickie the hunky shark to hold my towel." She laughed out loud and stepped into the tub just as a seagull cawed loudly and a giant wave crashed onto the rocks. This day was getting more interesting by the minute.
Kate stood naked in the bedroom, her skin glistening damp from the shower and tingling with goosebumps. Deliberate strokes from the stiff brush soon transformed her hair into a lustrous mane falling on her shoulders. Better call Castle back now so I don't miss him. As she pulled on a satin robe, Kate smiled again at the memory of their bizarre conversation and her momentary lapse of good judgement. I'll have to keep the next call decent. Searching for her cell phone, she thought she heard the door chime, but ignored it. After a moment, the chime rang again, this time accompanied by urgent knocking. Who in the world could be calling so early on a Saturday? "Hold your horses, whoever you are, I'm coming already."
She padded towards the apartment door, discovering on the way that she had forgotten to turn off the ocean CD. No wonder. Kate put an eye to the peephole and took a step backwards in shock. What the hell...am I awake? She pinched herself to be sure. Yup. Kate licked her lips and slowly opened the door. Her fascinated gaze was drawn first to the jean-clad hip leaning casually against the door frame, then to the muscled chest under a tight t-shirt, and as her gaze swept upwards, she caught the unmistakeable invitation from that devastating smile. Kate felt a rush of blood to her face. She swallowed. I'm in sweet trouble. A blood-red rose appeared in Richard's hand, and he offered it to her with a slight bow. Apprehension mixed with tingling delight swirled potently around inside and made her heart flip, and she continued to stare in silent wonder, so he finally made the choice for her and pushed his way inside. The door clicked shut with a deft kick of his heel. Finally able to move again, Kate inhaled the scent of the rose and laid the beautiful flower on the side table. He didn't speak a word as he turned to face her, and she swallowed again when she met the dangerous sparkle in his eye. This is insane, send him away before it's too late…those eyes, that mouth...that body...my God, it's already too late…
"Richard..." but the words were cut short when their gazes locked and the flimsy robe covering her body became transparent under his smouldering stare. She was hopelessly lost in the ocean of those blue eyes as they caressed her soul with special promises. I was wrong, he does want me. Her body burned white hot and she shivered at the same time when the thin robe slipped off her shoulders and fell with a swish onto the floor. Richard's sharp intake of breath and his trembling hands told her everything she needed to know; electricity sparked at his touch and flowed between their bodies to vaporize any lingering doubts. Pure, raw lust pulsed through Kate's blood, and she tugged down the zipper of his jeans and fumbled with his shirt until he smiled and pulled it over his head. A wild cry rushed past her lips as the man of her fantasies was finally revealed, and he was more exquisite than she had ever imagined. Her arms flew around his neck, and a low moan rose in her throat with the sensual contact of his hard chest against her bare breasts. She plunged into the depths of his gaze and found the message of deep trust and love transmitted from his feverish eyes. This was meant to be, Richard is the lover of my dreams. Kate lost herself to abandon when his strong arms crushed her against him and their lips snapped together like two magnets in a hungry kiss that would live on forever. Without breaking the kiss, Kate urged him confidently towards the bedroom, knowing in her heart that nothing in the universe could stop this beautiful dance of love.