For Dia, because she asked and Nic, because she flailed.
His expression is predatory as their eyes meet from across the dance floor. He's stalking toward her, eyes burning black as coal in anticipation of what he's about to do, and she can hardly breathe under his scrutiny.
He's been looking at her like this all day. Like she's utterly delectable and he can't wait to have a taste, and she knows it's coming, can see in his movements what he's planning to do here in front of all their friends and family. He's going to walk the line between appropriate and inappropriate, going to push the limit because he knows exactly how to get away with it, and she's already planning his punishment.
Gripping the seat of the wicker chair she's sitting on, the metal band that encircles her fourth finger pushes against her skin; the ring she's been wearing for a year is nestled comfortably, perfectly, beside the one he slid on just hours ago, and her heart skips a beat as the realization washes over her.
She's a married woman. Someone's wife.
His wife.
Nothing has ever sounded more wonderful, more freeing, and a smile lifts the edges of her lips as he kneels in front of her, eyes still locked with hers.
He's reaching for the hem of her dress, lifting the white fabric up, and she jumps when his fingers deliberately brush against the bare instep of her right foot. Vaguely she can hear the laughter of their audience but she's focused on him, his fingertips tracing the line of her calf, tripping over the sensitive skin of her knee until he pauses where the delicate blue garter wraps around her thigh.
Still watching her face, he drags his blunt nails just under the line of elastic and lace, slipping down to knead her inner thigh, and it takes every ounce of her willpower to keep a moan from escaping. She can feel her cheeks heat up, the flush blooming across her chest, and then her eyes narrow in a glare when that cocky grin appears on his face. He can see exactly what he's doing to her and he knows he'll pay for it later.
He snaps the garter against her skin and then winks before he disappears under her skirt, wafting the fabric into the air so it flies out over his back, completely hiding him - and his dangerously wicked fingers - from their friends and family.
Closing her eyes, she attempts to keep her breathing even and her body still but he's making it almost impossible as he travels a path up her leg, alternating between licking and nipping her skin.
Everyone is cheering, laughing at the predicament she's found herself in, because they know Castle, can imagine how he's teasing her, and she is torn between pulling his head out from under her dress and pushing him closer to where she really wants him.
As he latches his teeth onto her garter, his hair tickles her upper thigh and she throws her head back with a gasp, covering it quickly with a laugh. The room erupts in applause and catcalls and she can feel his smug grin against her quivering muscles. Bastard.
But then he grips her thigh, squeezing gently as he begins to tug the garment down using only his teeth. She feels the fabric slip over her knee and along her calf, the heat from fingertips trailing behind, burning her skin, until he lets her go completely, his disheveled head peeking out from under her dress with the perfect circle of blue lace hanging from his Cheshire-like grin.
He winks again before twirling the garter above his head, standing to spin in a circle, playing it up as their friends and family cheer even louder. Reaching a hand out for her, he gives her a moment to catch her breath, and then he's tugging her up into his embrace, wrapping his arm low and tight around her waist, peppering kisses across her jaw and swiping his tongue over the sensitive place behind her ear.
"God, you are so sexy in that dress, Kate Castle."
She shivers as his whispered words cut through the haze of arousal and excitement, presses herself closer to feel the heat of his body, the strength housed within his broad frame.
They made it. They finally made it here, married, and she's overwhelmed with it all.
Forcing herself to let him go, she stands off to the side while the single men gather round, tense with anticipation over who will catch the garter, but she only has eyes for him. She nibbles on her thumb nail, feels her grin stretch across her face as she watches him, watches the play of muscle as he prepares for the toss, his easygoing smile when it lands in Espo's hands.
The two men high five, sharing their joy at this day, and then Castle turns to her, draws her into his embrace as he places a kiss on her cheek.
She spends the next two hours fighting off her desire to drag him into the nearest hallway and have her way with him. They deserve more than that. The rest of their lives begins tonight, and she wants to savor it, remember every moment, cement it into her heart and soul because this is the first and only time she will have the opportunity.
Because she's only getting married once.
But he's making it impossible for her to wait. Every time he touches her it's more daring, he dips lower on her back, bumps his hips harder against hers, drags his teeth along the skin of her neck, and he's driving her crazy with want and need.
By the time they escape their friends and family, spilling into the sprawling bedroom of their Hampton's home, she's drowning in her desperate need to touch him, to be touched by him, so when they finally crash their way through the door, she has him turned around and slammed up against it before he can react.
She's devouring him, sipping from his mouth, swallowing his moans and groans as she pushes him against the door, unable to get close enough. His hands are tangled in her hair, pulling the pins out so the curls cascade freely down her back, tickling the skin of her shoulders.
The fabric of his tux is crushed in her fists as she pulls the tails from his pants, deftly undoing the buttons, pushing his jacket and shirt off his shoulders so they pillow on the floor behind him. Ripping her lips away, his undershirt sails over his head, and as she kicks her heels to the side, dropping four inches, the height difference makes her heart pick up, a smile stretching across her face.
She's so strong at work, has to be to do her job effectively, but here with him she can drop her walls, can revel in the feeling of his strength wrapped around her, keeping her safe.
As she dives back in for another kiss, he reaches for her, cradles her cheeks in his hands while he rests his forehead against hers. "Slow down, Kate. We have the rest of our lives."
Shivering at the feeling of his breath over her skin, she closes her eyes, the inferno burning in her veins slowly receding at his words. He's right. They have all night to love each other, the rest of their lives to nurture the flames of their passion.
She opens her eyes, immediately meeting his gaze. A deep breath rushes into her chest when she sees the utter devotion written into the lines of his face and she can't fight the irresistible tug that exists between them, has to lean in and taste the love on his tongue.
"Get me out of this dress, Castle. I need to feel your skin on mine."
"Kate." Her name escapes his lips on a deep, rumbling groan.
Gripping her shoulders, he turns her around, pulling her back flush to his chest, as he dips his mouth to the side of her neck, touching his tongue to her flushed skin. The contact is just enough of a tease to fan the flames of desire coursing through her, his warm breath coasting over her collarbone and her heart stutters.
"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?"
She laughs softly, her arms rising up so her fingers can find purchase on his neck, holding him close.
"Once or twice. You're not so bad yourself, Castle. I've always had a weakness for a man in a tux."
"You don't say?" His hands slide down her arms, nails softly scratching her skin, before he pushes his palms into her waist, his fingertips tripping along the lace of her dress just below her navel. He drops lower down her abdomen until he skates over her hips, the feather light pressure causing a shiver to race through her body and butterflies to erupt in her stomach.
Taking a deep breath, she tries to calm her racing heart enough to speak. "Mmm. Something about the cut, the way the shirt hugs your chest, giving me just a hint of the strength housed there. And how your pants curve over your ass…I've been dying to cop a feel all day." She leans into him, rolling her hips just so she can feel the thickness of him against her backside, and his grip on her tightens in response.
"Is that so?" He nips at the spot behind her ear, whispering his words into her skin, as his hands retreat, moving to unfasten the tiny buttons that trail down her spine. "You should know you have free reign to feel any part of me any time you want."
"I'll have to keep that in mind for next time."
The heat of him at her back is making her impatient for his touch on her bare skin. She whimpers when his grunt of frustration reaches her ears and he pulls away from her, still working at the buttons.
"Did you really have to pick the dress with a million of the smallest buttons ever made? Don't dresses come with zippers these days?"
"There's a zipper, too. Underneath them."
"What? Kate! I'll never get this thing off you."
His hands drop away from her completely with his outburst, and she groans at the loss.
"Castle, please. I need you touching me."
"Not helpful, Kate. Not helpful at all." He's pouting, she's sure of it, but he's back, deftly undoing them one by one and then, dropping her zipper, the dress falls away from her body.
She steps out of the circle of white fabric, turning to find him slack-jawed, eyes traveling up and down her body as he takes in the lingerie she'd chosen especially for tonight.
"Wow. I'm the luckiest man in the world." His words are so sincere, so much pure, undisguised awe in his voice that she feels the heat of a blush climbing up her cheeks.
"Yeah?" She asks, feeling ridiculous over her sudden bout of insecurity.
He picks up her dress, laying it gently over a nearby chair, and then he comes for her, wrapping her up in a tight embrace, growling, "Yeah," in her ear before placing a fiery, demanding kiss on her lips. Opening for him immediately, she surges up to match him action for action, her hands dropping to remove the barrier of his belt and pants.
When she feels them fall to the floor, landing in a heap, she climbs his body, coiling her legs around his waist, her arms tightly looping around his neck, fingers raking through his hair. They are both on the attack; the restraint they'd had to have all day spilling over and she can feel the tension in his muscles, the trembling as he keeps from thrusting against her.
Grinding down against him, she whimpers as she rolls her hips, able to feel how thick and ready he is. "God, Castle." She gasps as he grips the swell of her ass to hold her steady, his lips leaving a path of fire along the line of her neck, as he kicks his shoes off and steps away from the pile of fabric.
He gently lays her on the bed, and she feels her blood boil as he stands there silently taking her in, his tongue poking out of his mouth, wetting his lips, and she can't be still, can't lie there and wait while he decides just how he wants to take her apart. It's been too long of a day, too much time spent repressing her desire, so she sits up, reaching behind her to release the clasp of her bra, freeing her breasts from their lace and satin cage.
Keeping her gaze locked with his, she lies back down, pressing her thighs together tightly, as she runs her hands up her sides, stopping to knead both breasts, before she continues over her collarbones, up her neck and into her hair. She finally closes her eyes, knowing she has his full attention, as she tilts her head into the pillow and arches her back.
"Castle."
"Jesus, Kate." Hearing him suck in a deep breath, she smiles. This should be enough to get him really going.
The bed dips, his body a welcome weight beside her, and her skin tingles where he grips her thighs, tracing lazy circles up until he reaches the final barrier between them. He dips his fingers beneath the edge of her panties, scratching a nail across the oversensitive flesh and she can't stop writhing as her body weeps for him.
"Castle, please."
At the sound of her whispered plea, he finally tugs the miniscule piece of lace down her legs, tossing it to the side, leaving her completely bare before him. She's skating on the razor edge of release, beyond desperate for the burning heat of his skin against hers, and when he finally settles above her, he teases his tip through her folds as his mouth devours hers in a heated, toe-curling kiss.
She uses his distraction to tuck her foot behind his knee, flipping them so he lands on his back and she's straddling him. The startled look on his face is totally worth it, and she leans down, her breasts pressing against his chest, dragging her teeth through his scruff before she nibbles on the sensitive skin of his ear.
"Even though we're married now, I'm still going to have to drive from time to time."
And then without hesitation, she rises above him, positioning herself perfectly before she takes him inside, her body stretching to accommodate him.
A deep sense of satisfaction and peace settles over her as his head flies back against the pillow, eyes shut tight, and his knuckles blanch white with the intensity of his grip on their sheets.
"Okay. I'm so totally okay with that."
He groans as she lowers completely, stopping only once her hips are flush with his, and then she stills, just breathing deeply, as her inner muscles contract around him.
She closes her eyes, relishing the feeling of being joined with him and, tilting her head back, she tangles her hands in her hair, pulling it up off her neck as she rolls her hips in a steady rhythm, moaning as he hits just the right spot inside of her.
"Jesus, Kate. You look like a goddess." He whispers the words, as though he didn't mean to say them aloud, and she feels a smile stretch across her face.
This is exactly what a wedding night should be. Her amazing, sexy husband – and that little fact almost does it for her right there – completely done in by the sight of her and she's equally enamored with him. Her love for him is so strong, ingrained so deeply in every fiber of her being that, over time, she has lost sight of where she ends and he begins.
Grazing his hands up her thighs, kneading her quivering muscles, he begins to match her, every roll of her hips synced with a thrust of his.
It isn't long before she can feel the pressure at the base of her spine building, the tension in her growing, and then his thumb swipes over her throbbing bundle of nerves. Once, twice before he pinches the sensitive nub between his fingers and she cries out, screaming his name as she loses control over her movements.
The orgasm hits her with such force, such perfect intensity, that white light explodes behind her eyelids and she loses all sense of where she is and what's happening around her. It's just him - his touch, his scent, the sounds of his groans, moans, and chanting of her name - invading her senses, crawling into her body, mind, and soul, until she thinks her heart might burst right out of her.
Collapsing on top of him, she sucks in some desperately needed air, body tingling as aftershocks pulsate through her. His chest rises and falls in rapid succession beneath her ear, and she turns her head to press a gentle kiss against his overheated skin.
"Wow, Castle."
"Yeah. Mmhmm. That."
She laughs softly at his apparent inability to form words, her own brain sluggish with the effects of their situation, and as her heart slows, her breathing becoming more regular, she feels his fingers slip into her hair, combing through the unruly curls.
"You can definitely drive whenever you want, Kate."
She hums, still giddy with the emotion of this day, this night, their future, and she needs to taste him, share her excitement with him. Pressing her smile against his, her tongue traces the line of his bottom lip, begging for entrance when she feels the mattress slam against her back, her eyes snapping open to meet his smug grin.
"But it's my turn now." He thrusts deeply, establishes a punishing tempo as he wipes her mind clear once again.
Regardless of who is driving, she knows for a fact that their lives will never be boring. They will challenge each other, butt heads and drive each other crazy day in and day out, but she will never stop fighting for him, to be what he needs, because this, their love, is the greatest thing to ever happen to her.
Kylie, my love, thank you for the beta, flails, and friendship.