Chapter 1
Rick felt Kate's grip tightening on his hand as the plane touched down at Heathrow. He glanced at her face and saw more than a little fatigue there. When they left the Balmoral, he'd arranged for a private car. After their bags were loaded, the driver had taken them on their very own tour of the city before transporting them to the airport.
"So what now? Connecting flight to….?" Kate's voice trailed off, prompting him to supply the destination.
He smiled at her. "Nowhere. We're going to stay in London for a couple of days." They claimed their bags, then followed the signs leading them over the walkway, right to the Sofitel hotel. The new Mr. and Mrs. Castle were escorted to the Honeymoon Suite. Kate collapsed on the bed as Rick was tipping the bellman. He grabbed the room service menu off the side table as he crossed to her.
"I think a quiet night in would be the perfect remedy for that dazed look on your face," he teased her.
She made a feeble attempt to look affronted. "You trying to say I can't keep up with you, Mister World Traveler? I am, after all, younger."
"You are," he agreed, "but there is something to be said for…stamina." He winked at her suggestively. When she rolled her eyes at him he merely grinned. He consulted the menu in his hand. "Well, I think it's an actual requirement here to have tea, considering there's a whole restaurant devoted to it. However, we can save that for tomorrow. Trust me?" he asked, indicating the menu.
Kate wasn't about to admit it, but she was too tired to think. She nodded. "Implicitly. What says trust better than 'Here, take my back-up gun'?"
He chuckled at that. Picking up the phone, he dialed room service. "Yes, I'd like to order a meal to room 721. Burgers and chips, carafe of coffee, and chocolate ice cream. Straight away, yes. Thanks."
Kate raised herself onto her elbows to pout at him. "I wanted fries."
"And so you shall have them, my dear. Fries are called chips here."
"So what do they call chips?"
"Crisps. I know, right? Who knew you'd need an English to English dictionary?"
After they ate, Castle disappeared into the bathroom and returned with two sets of robes and slippers. "What do you say we go down to the spa and have a nice soak in the hot tub. You packed a swimsuit, right?"
"Of course I did, it's summer. Besides, I couldn't chance that you would get me a totally inappropriate one."
Ah, but 'appropriate' is a completely relative term, darling… Rick thought to himself. Aloud he said "Would I do something like that to you?"
"In a heartbeat." She raised an eyebrow, challenging him to deny it.
He chose his next words carefully. "I will not purchase an inappropriate bathing suit for you."
She looked at him skeptically, then lunged for him and spun him around.
"What are you doing? Getting ready to arrest me again?"
"No, checking to see if you have your fingers crossed behind your back." Satisfied he was speaking the truth, she crossed the room and fished her bathing suit, the modest one, out of her suitcase. She'd hold the 'heart stopper' in reserve for just the right moment.
Down in the spa, she let out a contented sigh as the heat from the water penetrated her muscles. She was so relaxed she actually dozed off for a moment, but fortunately Rick was beside her to keep her from slipping under the surface.
"Let's go up to bed." They took turns in the shower to wash the chlorine off, then bundled in the fluffy robes and returned to their room to dress for bed. Sliding between the Egyptian cotton sheets, Kate snuggled in beside Rick, using his shoulder as her pillow. She draped an arm across his chest and hooked her top leg over his thigh. He curled his arm around her shoulders, further anchoring her to him. She released a deep sigh of contentment and within moments he felt her body relax as sleep claimed her. His mind whirled for a few moments, thinking about the destinations ahead, before he followed her into blissful slumber.
Pleasant sensations filtered through the fog of Kate's sleep like warm sunbeams. She smiled and allowed herself to drift to the conscious surface. She opened her eyes and was greeted by an amused and playful smile inches from her face. Rick pressed another kiss to her temple.
"You were sleeping pretty soundly there. Almost seemed a shame to wake you."
Kate studied his face. His eyes were growing darker even as she watched. Her lips curled into a feline smile as she asked the question she pretty much knew the answer to already. "Why did you then?"
He spoke softly, tracing her cheek with the back of his hand, then letting his caress drift lower and lower. "Because I just could not wait another moment… to do… this..." He closed the minute distance between them for a kiss. His hand slid under the bottom edge of the satin pajama top, then upward to capture one delightfully warm mound. She moaned as he brushed his fingers back and forth a few times. The sound she made, combined with the way her nipple hardened responsively under his fingertips, were ample reward for his efforts.
He intensified the kiss as the passion surged through him. He was nearly overcome with need for her, with love for her. He wanted to drink her in, breathe her in, so that she would always be a part of him.
She pulled away, panting. As their bodies separated, Rick took advantage of the maneuvering room to quickly release the pearly buttons of her top from their holes. He shifted a bit lower and replaced his hand with his lips, causing her to gasp. He wasted no time putting his now un-occupied hand to good use on her other breast, where a stiff peak formed almost instantly at his touch. She was nearly breathless, head tossing back and forth on the pillow, hands bunching up the sheets. The whimper she released when he stopped made him chuckle.
"All in good time, darling." He sat up and grabbed one of his pillows . "Sit up for a second?"
She complied but gave him a confused look. He slid the pillow behind her and eased her back down with gentle pressure to her shoulder. "There...Comfortable? Good, because this next part is more fun when you watch, and I'd hate for a strained neck to ruin it for you."
He kissed her again, then resumed his position at her torso. When he spoke, his voice took on a silky seductive tone. "Now, then. Astute observer that you are, you've no doubt noticed I have a pattern to my attentions." To illustrate his point, he again brushed his hand across her breast.
"A touch…then a taste…" he whispered before taking it into his mouth, while kneading the other breast. When he shifted to give the other nipple the same loving attention, his free hand drifted down her stomach and beneath the waistband of the loose fitting satin shorts. His eyes flew up to meet hers when he encountered no panties beneath the shorts. "Naughty girl…" he said, with a look that was anything but stern.
She shouldn't have been surprised at his next move, but his intimate caress caused her a jolt of sensation and she couldn't prevent the cry that escaped her lips. His hand shied away from the sensitive area, only to approach it again, this time with a more delicate touch. The result this time was a twitch of her hips, then another. She shifted restlessly, craving more of the contact. His mouth left her nipple, and she shivered as the cool air of the room met the moist flesh. His next words made her shiver even harder in anticipation.
"Touch, then…" He drew the shorts downward, freeing her of them. She held her breath and watched him lower his head to her most sensitive place. The air imprisoned in her lungs was traded for the fresh wave drawn in on her gasp. His tongue played within her folds, and she found herself laughing uncontrollably. Leave it to him to find a way to tickle her there.
His hand joined his mouth, multiplying her pleasure not two but tenfold. Words spilled from her lips, affirmations, praise to deities she didn't know she believed in, then finally a long, drawn out "OOHhhhhhh". When the tingling began at the base of her spine, she knew this would be an especially powerful climax, and she pulled the nearest piece of fabric, the corner of the pillow, to her face to muffle the scream she was certain would otherwise shock the people in the neighboring room.
When the tension finally abated, Kate went completely limp. Rick crawled up to lay beside her, taking her in his arms. He kissed her, first gently, then a bit feverishly. He'd answered her need, but not his own, and his body was starting to assert its own control. He rolled over to cover her, his hips shifting against her. To his surprise, he felt her responding. Bracing his weight on his elbows, he sank within her, and she wrapped herself around him in welcome. Owing to her heightened sensitivity and his own arousal, their dance was short lived, and soon both were crying out with release.
Once the newlyweds had regained their strength, they dressed for their day of sightseeing, before heading down to the Tea Salon for breakfast. Finally Kate as able to coerce him into revealing SOME of the plans for the London leg of their trip, by taking the last pastry from the buffet and trading half for the details. They would catch the Underground to Trafalgar Square, where they would catch a classic red double-decker tour bus. Rick had purchased an unlimited all day pass, so they could hop on and off at their whim. He disclosed that in the afternoon they would definitely be stopping at the Tower of London, followed by a cruise up the Thames in a tour boat. The way his voice trailed off piqued Kate's curiosity.
"Then what?" she asked. She was mildly irritated by his cryptic, wholly uninformative response.
"You'll see…"
