Return To Maine Chapter 20
There was something to be said about small hotel bathrooms and she could categorize it with just one word. AMAZING!
It took some work and some bumped knees, elbows and lots of giggles, to try and implement Kate's plan, but they were none worse for the wear. In fact, they were just the opposite.
The bath tub had not worked out because as they filled the tub with her bubble bath and then contorted both of their bodies into pretzels so they could both fit, water and bubbles were cascading over the edge of the tub and created a big mess in the floor. It was a good thing they had found an abandoned housekeeping cart down the hall and had swiped extra towels as they went by when they had come in from Acadia.
She did yoga and was very flexible, but there was no room to be flexible with both of them in such a tight space. Hence the bumps, and bruises and more giggles.
Rick had quickly pulled the drain on the tub, muttering something about having set a mattress on fire and some jam on the curtains once at a five star hotel in Atlantic City. What the hell was that all about?
She'd started to ask him about it but ultimately decided that she really did not want to know about the mattress on fire part, and she could think of some more interesting places for the jam instead of curtains.
Once all the water was drained from the tub taking the bubbles with it, they had turned the water to hot and climbed into the shower, abandoning wash cloths for hands, letting their hands and Kate's body wash slick erotically over each other's bodies until they both were about ready to explode and Rick pinned her against the back shower wall, and in short order they both came together simultaneously in one very intense, satisfying explosive climax.
Later she was standing at the bathroom counter pulling her hair up into a bun when Rick came in with one of the hotel's small towels slung low on his hips.
He sauntered up behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist and hugging her tightly from behind.
Her gaze briefly met his in the reflection of the mirror and he leaned down to press a chaste but sweet kiss to the top of her shoulder.
"I love you so much, you know?" he said, pressing another kiss to the side of her neck.
She angled her head to the side to give him better access. "I know. I love you, too." she replied, softly.
His gaze fell to the black velvet jeweler's box that held the diamond interlocking hearts he had bought for her while she dress shopped on Main Street laying on the counter.
He reached for the box and removed the necklace, unlatching the clasp and draping it around her neck before securely fastening it.
Their gazes met in the reflection of the mirror above the sink again before his eyes dropped to watch the necklace fall between her breasts.
"Beautiful." he breathed as his hand fell to her shoulder, toying with the strap of her bra. "Every night that I am away, I am going to remember how it looks nestled between your breasts and this image is what will get me through night after lonely night until I get back to you."
"Oh god, babe! I wish you didn't have to go. I'm going to miss you so much." she whimpered, reveling in his ministrations.
"I wish I didn't have to go either, but I have to."
"I know, but letting you go again is not going to be easy. I'm going to miss you so much. God, I love you so much!" she breathed as he left a trail of kisses up the side of her neck, sometimes nipping gently with his teeth and then laving his tongue over his love bites, setting Kate on fire again, leaving her breathless.
Before she was even aware of it, she found herself being divested of her underwear and perched on the bathroom counter with Rick perfectly positioned in front of her sans his low slung towel which hadn't covered much anyway. Oh god, he was deft with his hands. She wasn't complaining when he was doing such delicious things with his hands and lips.
He held her while they rode through the waves of ecstasy and the afterglow.
"Tell me something." she said, her head resting on his shoulder, her breathing still heavy and labored. She knew it was an insane question to ask and really didn't know why it should matter and it really had no bearing at all. She just wondered about it at times.
"Anything." he replied, still running his hand up and down her back, his cheek resting at the crown of her head.
"I love you and I love all the ways that you love me, but have you always been so deft with your hands?"
He barked out a laugh. "After what we just did, you're not talking about my writing so are you asking what I think you are?"
It was her turn to laugh. "Probably. You're a writer and I have to spell this out for you? Geez! What I mean is that you are so good and very capable of removing my clothing before I am even aware of it and I'm just wondering if you have always been that way."
"You're not complaining, are you?"
"God, no! I love your hands and the way you use them on me. It's just idle curiosity, that's all."
"Well, I can't speak for all the teen aged girls I've been with, but I'm sure that I had more than my share of clumsy moments. Does that answer your question?"
"Mmm. Yeah, it does. Thanks."
"Kate, if I ever move too fast or not fast enough…"
She pulled back to look up at him. "God, no babe! Please, don't think that! That was just idle curiosity as I said. Nothing more. You know my every need without me having to tell you. I don't have to tell you when I want it or how I want it. You just know. No one has ever known me like that and I love that about you. You're doing everything perfectly, just please don't stop or change anything."
"Okay. I won't." he promised, leaning down to claim her lips in a fiery kiss that left Kate moaning into it as his hands caressed her body.
"You know, we could always cancel our dinner plans and stay in." he suggested as the kiss ended.
"No. As tempting as that would be, we only have a few more hours here and I want to experience as much of this magical place as we can before we have to return to our normal lives."
"So, that would be a no. Okay. Guess we had better get ready then."
"Yeah, for now. But after dinner, all restrictions are off." she replied, winking up at him.
"Okay." he said as he helped her off the counter.
Kate turned back to the counter, her toothbrush in her hand and stopped.
Eww! After what they had just done on that counter? No! That would just be gross. While she hadn't minded it at the time it occurred, even enjoyed it immensely, second hand, she had a problem with.
"Uh, babe. I have a problem." she yelled over the buzz coming from Rick's electric razor in the other room.
The electric razor shut off and she could hear him moving toward her.
"What's the problem?" he asked, standing in the door frame.
"Seriously? After what we just did on this counter? I still need to brush my teeth and do my makeup and I just can't bring myself to do that without the counter being scrubbed down."
"Oh. I hadn't thought about that. Well, they have already cleaned the room and I doubt we'll be lucky enough to find another abandoned housekeeping cart to swipe cleaning products from in the hallway twice in a row."
"No kidding. You've already turned me into a thief once today. I really don't want to push my luck again."
"Okay. I get it. Well, you can use my shaving mirror in the other room for your makeup. Brushing your teeth? Not an ideal solution, but there is a pitcher of ice water and two plastic cups on the nightstand."
He thought for a moment before continuing. "Other than squirting toothpaste on your finger and spitting mouthwash into one of the cups on the nightstand or eating a whole tin of Altoids, which I have by the way, I got nothing."
"Really? That's the best you got? See if you get sex with me perched on a hotel bathroom counter anymore."
"Do you have a better plan?" he asked, his eyebrow quirked.
"Sadly, no. The toothpaste finger it is."
She had just finished putting the finishing touches to her makeup when Rick called the front desk and requested housekeeping to come to the room again telling the front desk that Kate had fallen ill and had thrown up in the room and bathroom and he had cleaned it as best he could, but the room still wasn't sanitary because he lacked the products to clean it properly.
She had balked at being his excuse for the extra housekeeping in his blatant lie, but they did need the room cleaned again. Not that it made it okay, but...
After slipping into her dress and heels, they were ready to leave before housekeeping arrived and saved Kate the embarrassment of being at the brunt of Rick's hoax.
She watched as he fished a one hundred dollar bill from his pocket, put it in an envelope supplied by the hotel, scribbled housekeeping on it and taped it to the bathroom mirror.
They had no sooner left the room and started down the hall when they heard the ding of the elevator and the clatter of the housekeeping cart as it crossed the threshold of the elevator, sparing Kate the humiliation.
The Reading Room Restaurant was located in the Bar Harbor Inn, an iconic and historic 4-star resort overlooking Frenchman Bay in the heart of Bar Harbor.
As they waited to be seated, Kate saw a stack of pamphlets giving a brief history of the luxury Inn and picked one up.
Bar Harbor Inn was originally built by David Rodick in 1866 as a small guesthouse on his property and he hosted and welcomed summer visitors that often traveled to the area after the artworks of two aspiring, local painters made it to some of the northeast finer establishments and museums.
Soon, the demand for better lodging facilities increased as more wealthy and elite travelers made it to the area.
Eden , as it was known back then had no hotels or inns at the time and visitors often stayed in crude housing with local farmers and fishermen.
And David Rodick began his expansion with the small guest house on his property.
A large addition was built in 1875 and with the final expansion in 1881, it became known as the largest hotel in Maine. It included 400 guest rooms, dining facilities for 1000 guests and a renowned watering hole known as Fish Pond.
In the 1800's Eden had become a haven for America's rich and famous. Visitor's included the Rockefellers, Carnegies, Vanderbilts, Astors and Fords.
Lavish parties, yachting adventures, tennis matches, and golf were the pleasures of the day.
Toward the end of the 1800's, the hotel era began to fizzle out as wealthy visitors began to build their own elegant mansions and summer homes.
In 1947, a great fire changed the face of Mount Desert Isle, destroying most of the remaining spectacular hotels and grand summer cottages. It took five days to bring the fire under control. The wildfire of 1947 became known as the year Maine burned as it wiped out 9 towns. During that time, The American Red Cross used the building to give assistance to many who were burned out. After the fire, Bar Harbor was left without a single hotel to attract visitors back to the area.
But the land rebounded quickly and out of the devastation of the area, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a group of townspeople joined together to develop the Hotel Bar Harbor including the Mount Desert Reading Room with the addition of an additional 40 room wing.
The historic Mount Desert Reading Room is now The Reading Room Restaurant and there is The Oasis Club Lounge outdoors. Several decor renovations have taken place over the years however, the original structure of The Mount Desert Reading Room has been preserved.
The Reading Room was a huge room with tables filling most of the available floor space and lining huge windows overlooking Frenchman Bay, the room historic in it's own way and their table was in front of one of the windows that looked out over the bay. A spectacular, panoramic view lay before them and they were seated to soft piano music being played in the center of the room at a baby grand piano.
A server approached their table and for starters, they ordered appetizers of pan seared diver scallops with lemon butter garlic sauce served with tobiko caviar, with a glass of house Cabernet.
A glass of wine was included in every course served at The Reading Room that complimented each course. Both ordered New England Smoked Seafood Chowder with smoked baby shrimp, native haddock, clams, potatoes and cream.
For his entree, Rick chose Braveheart Farms Filet Mignon of Black Angus Beef served with demi-glace, duchess potato, sauteed asparagus and a glass of Cabernet.
Kate ordered Gulf of Maine Cedar Plank Salmon with Brown Sugar Tamari Glaze, served with shiitake mushrooms, sweet corn, ginger and leeks served with parmesan risotto, and wilted Bloomsdale baby spinach and a glass of Pinot Noir.
After dinner and dessert, they strolled out onto a patio where an outdoor club was set up to have a few drinks after dinner, but as they left the Reading Room, Kate's romantic imagination took fanciful flight of a by gone era of women dressed in colorful, elegant ball gowns, handsome men dressed to the nines in their coats and tails, nights of fancy ballrooms and cotillions and wondered how many Fords or Rockefellers had received proposals perhaps in this very spot.
Kate shook her head wondering why her thoughts had gone there? Fanciful imagination and thoughts were Rick's wheelhouse, not hers. She was more pragmatic than he was. Still, she could not rid herself of these thoughts.
An overwhelming desire to skip the drinks and just return to their room, causing her footsteps beside Rick to slow and had her tugging on his arm.
Puzzled, he turned to her. "You okay?" he asked.
She stepped into his arms, lacing her arms around his neck.
"I'm fine. Let's skip the drinks and go back to our room." she suggested provocatively in his ear. "I want to spend what little time we have left in this amazing place, doing more... lucrative things."
He tightened his arms around her as he thought about removing the pins from her hair and letting it cascade over her shoulder and unzipping the dress she was wearing and letting it pool at her feet as images of earlier floated through his head.
"Okay. Let's go." he whispered back, his lips grazing her ear, his breath warm and fanning against her cheek, sending shivers of anticipation down her spine.
With their hands linked, they turned to leave the iconic Restaurant and Hotel for their own private celebration.
A/N: Going to leave this chapter here and there will be a small time jump as they get back to their normal lives. This may take some time as I get them back into their daily routines with Kate and the boys solving at least one case as I have never written about one and not only am I nervous about, but have no clue what I am doing. Any suggestions? I think I may need some help on this one.
Anyway, I want to thank you all for all your support and the reviews to In My Daughter's Eyes blew me away. I am also thinking about writing a Thanksgiving one shot while I am trying to figure out how the next chapter should go.
Hope you all have a safe, blessed week.