I Learned to Love You by tamyalways

Translated from Spanish by ebfiddler

Good morning to all. Here you have a new chapter, and another one of Rick's wishes. One by one, those that they can fulfill, they're going to do together.

Thank you all for reading, and thanks to my more-than-beta mainly for being there and of course for her work.

The characters are not mine ...

Idea from Lizcecilia6CECIFILLION

Content warning: One paragraph, about one-third of the way through, contains a description that is more detailed than is appropriate for a T rating. It's marked [*M*] and anyone who does not wish to read M-rated material may skip to the next paragraph without losing any important story elements.

Chapter 26

RICK'S POV

When I woke up, I found myself alone in bed, and not only that, Kate had been up for a while because I could feel the sheets were cold on her side of the bed. Her side of the bed—I never imagined saying that. Ever since our wedding, she had slept by my side—with me, her husband. The truth is that I had expected it to go much worse, that at the last minute Kate would spook or something like that, and leave me. But here she was with me, better than ever. Increasingly, we were less forced, she was initiating our moments of couple-like behavior, and we constantly were getting close to one another, and I could tell that she was becoming more relaxed around me. Last night she was dreaming, and caressed me repeatedly, talking in her sleep. At first I was doubtful, as I imagined she was dreaming of Josh, but no—she said my name, "Rick," repeated as she touched my chest, and daringly, even a little further down. That filled me with joy. It thrilled me to hear my name spoken that way. I was the subject of her dreams.

I left the bedroom and walked toward the kitchen, and found a mountain of shopping bags on the floor. Kate moved through my kitchen as naturally as a fish in water. I rubbed my eyes. I must be dreaming still.

"Hello," I spoke to her back as I stretched.

"Hey sleepyhead."

"What's all this?" I asked, pointing to the bags on the floor.

"Oh! This, it's just some things I bought. But come, breakfast is almost ready." I went over to her, attracted to her body like a magnet, and hugged her from behind. I gave her a kiss on the neck and immediately noticed her momentary tension, but she quickly relaxed and leaned back against my chest, exposing her neck to me to be kissed again.

"Good morning, beautiful," I said softly kissing her cheek.

"Good morning," she responded, turning to face me with a shy smile.

"The best," I smiled back. She looked at me, and I didn't know how to decipher that look, all I knew is that it was followed by the feeling of her lips on mine in a quick good morning kiss that left me wanting more.

"Go sit down, it's ready."

I sat, and Kate put a cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes in front of me. Then she sat down beside me.

"Pancakes? You think you can make them better than I do, do you?"

"Well, just wait 'til you try them," she said without losing that beautiful smile from her face.

I put a piece in my mouth and burned my tongue.

"Oh hell!" I cursed.

"What?" she asked, hearing my exclamation.

"It burned me!" I whined, making Kate laugh out loud. "Hey, it hurts." I stuck out my tongue.

"Wow, you really are something else." She got up and brought me a glass of ice water. "Man … I just pulled them out of the pan. You're supposed to wait."

"I just wanted to know if they were good. Now I don't think I'll be able taste them." I grimaced like a petulant boy and was again rewarded with her laughter.

"Shut up and eat."

"Are you going to tell me what you have planned for today?" I questioned, after sampling the delicious breakfast she had prepared me.

"We're going to fulfill another item on your wish list."

"Which one? Not that I mind repeating any of them," I commented, raising my eyebrows.

"Why repeat when you can do a new one?" she replied archly, buttering her toast.

"If you say so. So then, surprise me. Which one?"

When we finished breakfast, we both tidied the kitchen, and went to the bedroom. She pulled some old clothes out of the closet, we got dressed, and that is how we found ourselves out in the hot sun trying to plant a tree.

"A tree? Really? I don't know what prompted this."

"Sure you know. It's on your list," she laughed.

"But this is boring."

"I'll have you know, we are helping the environment. What's more, everyone knows that there are three things every person should do in their lifetime—write a book, plant a tree, and have a child ..." and she suddenly fell silent as she realized what she had just said.

"Yes, I know." I continued the conversation, playing it down. I was so happy that I didn't want to spoil her fun. "The only thing I like about this is seeing you dressed that way. It's very sexy."

"Rick ... this tree is no joke ... I'm completely serious," she said, unable to stifle her own amusement, and setting us both off laughing again.

We stayed on task, digging the hole and planting the damn tree, which seemed to weigh about a ton. I was becoming even more bored, so I decided to do something about it. Kate had lain down on the grass in the sun with her eyes momentarily closed. I got up stealthily and carefully arranged the hose with the nozzle open, then turned it on. It sprayed and splattered impressively, getting her completely wet.

"Castle, what the hell are you doing?" she sputtered, soaked from head to toe with cold water.

"You looked hot and dirty, and I thought—" but I couldn't finish the sentence before Kate launched herself after me. I tried to stop her by pointing the hose at her but that made her even angrier. When she caught me, I figured I was a dead man. We wrestled with the rubber hose spraying us both. Until—whether it was bad luck or not—Kate tripped over a loop of the hose, falling to the ground, and I toppled right on top of her in my attempt to prevent her falling. Both of us were dirty, wet, and laughing fit to burst as we lay on the grass.

"Rick! You have such ideas!"

"Well, I think you liked it," I said laughing again.

[*M*]
Both of us were lying on the ground, in the sun, and suddenly a palpable tension arose between us, and we solemnly stared into one another's eyes. Strong desire came over me. I had a fierce longing to attack those lips that drove me wild. Her breasts showed through the wet t-shirt, and I got carried away. I kissed her so hard it seemed like I wanted to eat her up. Abandoning her lips, I ascended to her ear and licked it with enjoyment, playing with the soft and pliable lobe as if it were her tongue. I thought I heard a sigh and then a moan ... she was moaning ... she liked it ... but that took my boldness away, and I stopped. Before I knew it, Kate was up. It was a magical moment, but I hardly knew if I dreamed it or it really happened.
[*M*]

"You clean up this disaster you've made and just finish planting the tree." She eyed me sternly as she stood there. "I'm going to take a shower."

My reaction came a little too late. "Oh right! Fine, just leave me to do it all alone ..."

I knew that would be going too far, but every time I had her in a situation like this ... my body just burst with the desire to make her mine, and every time it cost me more to stop myself, like trying to stop a fire that consumed me. Little Ricky had awakened too late for the wedding night, but now he was irrepressible. I stayed lying down for a while, trying to recover my equanimity.

When I finished collecting everything, and the tree was planted, I went straight to the shower. Everything was muddy. I finished showering, and that's when all the accumulated fatigue hit me. My bones felt heavy again, and I had a horrible headache.

"Hello," I greeted Kate as I went back into the bedroom, to lie down for a moment. She was putting some clothes in the closet.

"Hey," she said, giving me a second glance. "Are you okay?"

"Just a bit tired."

"Then you'd better take a nap."

"No, I'm fine. I just ... I was thinking ... let's stay home today, watch a movie or something."

"Sounds perfect," she smiled. "We can make something to eat, watch a movie later in the afternoon."

"Okay, but I don't feel like cooking. Tomorrow if you want, I'll make something special."

"I'm looking forward to seeing if it's true what you say."

"You're going to freak out when you see what I can cook," I boasted, and she laughed.

"Until then, you should rest a bit. It's still early."

"Yeah. Think I'm going to stretch out for a while in the hammock outside by the pool."

"Okay, I'll come out, too," she replied.

"Kate," I called, "will you forgive me for what I did earlier?"

"There's nothing to forgive ... I liked it," and she made to go outside.

"Kate," I insisted.

"Yes?" she said turning to me.

"Would you do something for me?"

"Tell me."

"Do you remember I told you I was starting to write something?"

"Certainly."

"I'd like you to read it. I want your opinion on it."

"Sure. If you pass it to me I'll get right on it."

"Good," I said, going to get the manuscript. I was nervous about having her read it, because she'd find in it some similarities to us—but I wanted a critical reader more than anything, and her opinion was very important to me.

I looked around in the office for it and collected the pages. I went out to the patio and found her lying on the chaise-longue in her bikini, with sunglasses that hid her marvelous and enigmatic eyes.

"Bring it to me," she called when she saw me. "I'm eager to get right into it."

"Okay, but don't be too harsh," I said with a little pout.

"You won't get anything from me other than the truth, so go ahead and take your rest."

I sat in the deck recliner next to her and closed my eyes, taken by the fatigue that pervaded my body. I ached all over, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

KATE'S POV

I started reading anxiously. I knew this was very significant for him. He had confided in me, and that showed me how important it was. At the same time, I was really scared.

I became so immersed in the reading that when I finally resurfaced and took a look around, it was already starting to get dark. The story was engrossing, and I knew as soon as I read it that it was based off a case with which I was familiar—not for nothing was I one of the best detectives he knew—and the characters were engaging. He had undoubtedly based the characters on us, and that made me a little bit embarrassed. I could see, by means of the protagonist, what he saw in me. I couldn't believe he put me on such a high pedestal. I just hoped I didn't disappoint him.

Neither one of us had eaten. I had been so buried in the book that I didn't notice when it began to get dark. I got up and saw he was still completely asleep and quiet. Without a doubt the effort of planting the tree had been too much for him, but in order not to appear weak he had endured it like a champion. I approached and tenderly ran my hand down his cheek. I don't know what had come over me in the past few days, but every time I touched him I felt something strong stir inside me. I attributed it to the affection that I was starting to feel for him, but that attraction wasn't what I recognized as falling in love. It was something even stronger, moments with him where I was so happy that I forgot about everything else. He was an amazing man and made me feel things ... things that I thought I'd never felt before. And though I'm sure he thought the effort was for nothing at times ... I felt admiration; I admired him for being the way he was.

Then I thought about the reasons why I was staying in that house in the first place, and could not conceive that he had to die.

"Hello," he said opening his eyes, surprising me in my staring and stroking his face, and I blushed to be caught in that situation.

"Hello. It's late already. We'd better go inside. I don't want you to catch cold, and furthermore, we haven't eaten." I covered up my thoughts with this rush of practicality.

"Aha ... but ... what did you think of the book?"

"I like it—although I don't approve of the name of the main character. Nikki Heat? Come on, Castle!" I smiled.

"I knew you would tell me that," he said as he sat up in the hammock.

"Well, that's not too hard to predict," I laughed. I stood and helped him up.

Castle called a pizzeria, and they promptly brought us our dinner. We ate between laughter and comments about the book, and we just continued discussing it very earnestly, trying to help him with a few aspects that didn't seem very credible.

"Well, let's set this aside for now, and watch a movie," he said, standing up and giving me his hand.

"Fine, my pick," I said following him to a part of the house I had not really explored yet. It was a room with three couches placed in U around a central coffee table. A big screen descended down one wall.

"Welcome to my movie theatre," he said, indicating where to find the shelf of DVDs. "No way!" he exclaimed when I hustled over to the shelf. "You're going to pick some insipid chick flick, aren't you?"

"How little you know me," I responded with a smile.

In the end we decided to watch the action movie "Speed." I don't know how, but we ended up cuddling on the central sofa. Castle was gently caressing my arm, and where his hand touched, I began to feel the sparks building between us.

"I think ... I think we should go to sleep," I said in as even a voice as I could manage, when the credits began to roll. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. My body was demanding more, but maybe it was wrong, or not appropriate. I didn't know ... There was a mass of feelings in my head that I myself didn't understand. I didn't want to put a label on that spark between us. Sexual attraction? Love? At the moment, though, I felt uneasy, strange—and I wanted to clear my head before I made a misstep. I had come here to care for him, to fulfill his dreams. I wasn't important here—only he was. But did that mean that I could not enjoy it? Did I mean to say that I was beginning to like the idea of being with him?

"Okay," Castle replied, getting up and helping me collect everything.

We lay in the bed face to face. I was nervous, my thoughts begged for explanations I couldn't give, and I felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. I rolled over and within seconds, I felt him draw me to his chest. I let myself be held. In this moment, the knowledge that he was there behind me, his warmth and his presence helped me relax, until I fell fast asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Tomorrow, a new chapter to end the week, and another dream will be fulfilled by Rick. It will be a fun chapter, full of feelings ... and with great desire on the part of both of them.

I hope you continue reading, and see you tomorrow. Have a good day XXOO

Twitter: tamyalways

translator: Next chapter on Saturday. Your feedback and comments are welcome.