"Got a surprise for you today."
She glanced up at her husband as he spoke, the way his bright blue eyes sparkled belying his obvious excitement as he leaned over to drop a kiss against her cheek. This could spell trouble. Or fun. Or both, knowing Castle.
"Should be I worried?"
"Absolutely not. What you should do is get dressed and ready to go out for the day. Comfortable street clothes, jeans that kind of thing."
"Castle…"
"It's your day off, Beckett. C'mon, it'll be fun. I promise."
Hopes of spending a lazy Saturday in the loft with her were dashed, leaving her mildly disappointed, but the way he was literally hopping on his feet was infectious, leaving her very curious as to what was going to happen as she left the table to go get dressed, bestowing a smile on him along the way.
The elevator down to the parking garage of their building dinged open and out of habit she walked towards the Buick, the everyday car they used. Instead, he wrapped his thick digits around her hand, tugging her the other way towards the Ferrari.
"Really, Castle? The Ferrari?"
"C'mon, it'll be fun. We're going about 90 minutes outside Manhattan. Lots of highway."
He dangled the keys in front of her, grinning like a loon.
"You can drive."
She snatched them out of his hand before he could change his mind. Not that she lacked any opportunities to drive the Ferrari whenever she wanted now that they were married, but taking it out on the highway was a lot more fun and lot less common than just being stuck in traffic around the city. Where Castle had been right, the Ferrari was no different to any other car.
She didn't hide the shiver of delight that ran through her in anticipation, the feline grin that came over her features.
"God you're sexy when you look like that."
"Get in the car, babe."
The drive was absolutely beautiful.
The car purred along under her fingers, thrumming and sensitive to her every touch, scenery gliding past them with ease as she adhered just to very upper echelon of the speed limit. The sun had come out to play on a beautiful day, and the wind ruffled through their hair. When she glanced over at Castle, he was sitting back relaxed, one attractive and muscular bicep leaning against the door of the Ferrari. Sunglasses on and wind streaking through his brown locks. Her own were tied down tightly.
He looked eminently ravishable.
"Eyes on the road, Beckett."
She poked her tongue out at him, but heeded his message, letting the whole experience flow through her, her blood singing with the speed, the ease of the drive. The way the thoroughbred leapt forward at the slightest touch of the accelerator, the way it felt like it was still leashed.
She wished she could unleash it altogether.
"Are you still not going to tell me where we're going?"
"Just keep driving. The exit should come up in another 20 miles or so."
She splayed her fingers against the wheel, elegance and speed at her control, losing herself to the electricity arcing up her spine and adrenalin coursing through her body.
"Callaway Motor Club?"
They'd just pulled into the discretely sign-posted driveway, well away from prying eyes, hedges and hedges hiding what lay beyond. He did nothing but nod in agreement, just pointed forward and told her to keep driving.
"I'm a lifetime member but I just never get the time to come out here as often as I should. And since you are now the official car enthusiast in the family, I figured you should know about this place."
They drove down towards the main building at the end of the driveway in a stately manner, her eyes and ears taking in all the clues. She could hear the thrum and rumble of massive engines, the smell of oil and smoke. A Viper with blue-and-white racing stripes drove down the other way, making for the exit, mud spattered along its side.
"What is this place?"
"Racetrack. Driving lessons from qualified racing pros. Maintenance and management of high-performance cars. All sorts of cool stuff."
She'd stopped listening at racetrack, and he knew. His hand rested on her knee, slid back up her thigh, squeezing gently till she turned to look at him.
"Whaddya say Beckett, wanna race? See who…comes first?"
That might have been the hottest thing he'd ever said.
"Let's go, writer boy. Loser owes the winner five orgasms."
A couple of hours of safety orientation and testing, and three laps of the racetrack each later, she was owed five orgasms.
Not that she'd have trouble getting them anyway, but it had been incredibly fun slipping the leash off the Ferrari, watching it get to do what it was designed to do under her control, the way it had slid so easily through the gears, the way it had sliced down the straight like a fighter jet. The way it had moved and danced and the sounds had gone from humming and purring to full-blown rumbling and growling. It had never stopped being so smooth though.
She pulled into the parking bay on the side-straight where he was waiting, leaning back against the wall with a smirk that definitely did not seem to fit the face of a sore loser (which he was, though she quite liked his competitive streak), and got out of the car.
"Got your ass beat, Castle."
He looked up at the times on the whiteboard, and when he replied his voice was dry.
"1.3 seconds isn't exactly a huge margin."
"Still."
She leaned up to kiss him, tugging him down by the collar of his shirt, her tongue sweeping into his mouth, claiming him. Claiming her prize for later too, her hands wandering down his back, squeezing the firm globes of his ass as her teeth tugged at his lower lip, not gently.
"This isn't your surprise."
She leaned back at the words he whispered in her ear once she let go of his mouth, eyebrows raised as he caught her off-guard again.
"What?"
"Come with me."
He intertwined his fingers through hers again, leading her to the next garage over, where a car stood, covered in a dark green leather cover. He nodded towards it.
"What's this?"
"It's yours."
Her heart skips a beat at the warmth and love in his words, and when she hesitates, glancing up at him, he leads them forward gently and puts their hands on the cover together, withdrawing his so she's touching it alone.
"Castle, you shouldn't have."
"I wanted to. Now, take a look in case I screwed it up."
She hiccups a laugh and tugs at the heavy cloth cover, holding her breath for what lies underneath it. When she does take it off and step back to take a look…
"It's beautiful."
It is a jet black, original, 1968 Shelby GT 500 KR Mustang, the king of American muscle cars. It's sleek and shiny and powerful, gleaming in the afternoon sun. Reverently, she runs her hands over the curve of the bonnet, the slightly-raised air-intakes, the name picked out in individual silver letters on the front.
It's not till she gets to the other side, crouching down by the front wheel to get a better view of it that she realises she's still holding her breath, and exhales, her breath condensating on the black paint till she hurriedly wipes it off with the sleeve of her top. He comes up behind her, hands resting on her shoulders, fingers gently massaging.
"So you like it?"
"I love it."
She stands up and whirls, stepping into his embrace, squeezing him tight to her.
"But how…why…I mean-"
He slides his fingers along her cheek, and allows him to tilt her face up for a simple kiss, gentle and loving.
"I knew you wanted one. Or at least, I knew you really liked muscle cars, and driving. When one of the other members here put this one up for sale, I knew I had to buy it for you."
"But the money…"
"Call it an anniversary present. Besides, I know you'll make a lot more use of this than I do of the Ferrari."
She glanced back up at him, his gaze warm and wide and encouraging, and she couldn't help the pure happiness that poured out of her, that he would go to these lengths for her.
"Our anniversary isn't for another three months, you know."
"Then I guess I'll have to buy you a real anniversary present then. Now stop talking to me, and go do what you want to do."
He pressed an old, heavy key into her palm, folded up her fingers around it.
"Go drive your heart out. I'll be here, waiting. Come pick me up for a ride when you're ready."
She leaned up to press another kiss against his cheek, before turning excitedly towards her new machine.
She was going to owe him a lot more than five orgasms later.
A/N: From a prompt about what C/B get up to on their days off, set after their wedding. As always, I'm forever grateful for feedback.