Slow Burn

Chapter 16

Previously...

As soon as the bathroom door closes, Castle scrambles out of bed. He listens for the sound of running water, toilet flushing, any sign that Kate is still occupied. He opens the leather overnight bag at the bottom of the bed, pulls out a fresh pair of boxer shorts then feels around the dark interior for something else.

The door to the bathroom opens without warning. The light from inside is blinding, and Castle winces like a suspect in a spy movie who's just had a desk lamp aimed in his eyes.

"Looking for something?" Kate asks.

She's lounging alluringly against the bathroom doorjamb, one hip jutting out, arms crossed beneath spectacular breasts, stomach as smooth and flat as a mirror, model-length legs beautifully backlit, and all Castle can do is stutter and stare.

"Uh…my…just my…toothbrush!"

Castle exclaims the word toothbrush with all the conviction of the heavenly inspired.

Kate continues to watch from the bathroom doorway while he roots around inside the bag some more. "Alexis didn't pack your toiletry bag? She just threw your stuff in there?" She frowns as she tries to imagine Castle's fastidious, Type A daughter just tossing loose items into her dad's overnight bag. "Seems…odd," she says because it doesn't ring true, though it is possible the girl packed in a hurry after her dad's cry-for-help phone call outside the church.

Suddenly, Castle abandons his search. He turns to face her. His clean boxer shorts are still folded and he clutches them to his stomach. He drops his head and looks at the floor. He rubs his neck then looks up at her again.

"Rick?" Kate says, her creeping sense of unease outpacing even Castle's. "What's…what's going on?"

He sighs and lets his shoulders drop. Carefully, he places the boxer shorts back on top of the bag, and just like that, they are as naked as each other. "That was a lie just now. The toothbrush thing? I just told you a lie."

An almost imperceptible twitch in Kate's eyebrow is the only thing that gives her surprise away. "Okay. I'm sure there's a good reason. Care to share it with me?" she asks in a soft, even voice, like a mother questioning a contrite child.

Her calm reaction has Castle marveling once more at how amazing she's been the last couple of days, taking every crazy thing in her stride. It's not entirely like her, but he loves this new Kate even more.

"I was looking for this," he explains. He uncurls the fingers on his right hand and holds it out flat.

Kate flicks the wall switch off behind her and pushes off the bathroom doorframe, taking a couple of steps towards him. Now, the only light in the room comes from the two lamps illuminating opposite corners of the suite, but the muted glow is enough for her to be able to make out a small, dark cube nestled on his upturned palm.

"What's⏤" She freezes. Her eyes track up from the small box to Castle's face. She swallows. "Is that what I think it is?"

Castle smiles. He holds his free hand out to her, beckoning with wiggling fingers. "Come here. Come closer. What do you think it is?"

Slowly, she gravitates towards the hand he's offering, catching his fingers and allowing him to reel her in. When she reaches him, he lets go of her hand and slips his arm around her waist, tucking her into his side so that their hips and thighs are aligned, their bare skin pressed together. He feels warm and solid. He kisses her temple. Without thinking about it, Kate's shoulders drop and she begins to breathe more slowly, realizing that this is what being close to him does to her now: he relaxes her. It's a small revelation, but it strikes her as profound and perfect.

Up close, she can see that the item balanced on his palm is a dark brown, crackle leather ring box. She presses her left hand to her chest, covering her scar. "Oh, my God," she whispers. When she looks up at him, he's smiling as he watches her reaction. "Castle, is that…a…an…"

He moves to open the box, but she curls her hand around his wrist, stopping him.

"No!"

He startles at her sharp command and his eyes fly to her face. "What?"

She lowers her voice back to normal volume and speaks carefully, wary eyes trained on the little box. "If that's what I think it is, I want you to do this properly." She smiles nervously.

"You want me to⏤"

She looks equally horrified that he's about to say it out loud, so she covers his mouth with her hand. "Don't describe it to me. Just…do it!" she says, breaking into nervous laughter as she gestures towards the elegant, worn little box.

He can't believe how excited she looks, how adorable. Dancing on the spot with her hands over her mouth, naked as the day she was⏤ Okay, that's not something he wants to be thinking about right at this moment lest an image of her father's serious face pop into his head. He hasn't had time to ask for papa Beckett's permission and, as ridiculous as it sounds since they're talking about Detective Kate Beckett here, for Jim and little Katie he's a little sad about that.

Kate makes an impatient sound, and Castle takes the hint. He clears his throat and squares his shoulders, readying himself.

But she looks around the room, left, right then she turns in a circle.

"What? Is this not the right spot?" Castle asks uncertainly.

She laughs, a little girlish and a little skittish. "How about over there? By the window?" she suggests, taking him by the wrist and leading him to a set of French doors that give a view of a small terrace.

Castle looks at her. "Kate, we're both…naked. I mean, you're gorgeous and I'm no prude, so I'm game if you are. But an indecency charge might not be the best way to memorialize our…"

"Shhh! Don't say it," she interrupts again. "Just…" She rotates her wrist, waving her hand for him to get a move on. "Make it happen, Castle." She claps her hands together, and he's pretty sure he's never seen her so eager or excited about anything before.

With the night sky as their backdrop, Castle finally prises the little ring box open. The hinge is old and it creaks like worn leather when he pops the lid. Before Kate can get a glimpse inside, beyond a tantalizing flash as ambient light hits cut gemstone, Castle is sinking to one knee with the box held aloft.

He coughs, nods to himself then looks her in the eye. "Kate, you complete me in ways that I never knew were possible. You challenge me every day to be better, to do what's right, to be there for you. I love you without condition. I love you more deeply than I've ever loved before. You astound me in so many ways. I want to make a future with you, to spend the rest of my life with you, laughing and loving one another until the wheels fall off. Katherine Beckett, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

By the time Castle has finished his proposal speech, there are tears running down Kate's face. She has her hands clasped over her mouth attempting to hold her emotions in.

Castle rises from his knee in concern, the ring box still out-held. "Kate, are you okay?"

She nods, mutely, trying to smile while tears continue to roll down her cheeks. Then she nods some more.

Castle holds out the box. "So…is that a yes?" He holds his breath.

"Yes," she gasps with a watery hiccup. "Yes, it's a yes," she says more forcefully, joyfully throwing her arms around his neck.

Castle picks her up and spins her around, kissing her on the cheek as he does so. When they stop spinning, he places her back on the ground, immediately swamping her with a bruising, breath-stealing kiss. Despite the proposal that she accepted in the church earlier today, he feels a deep sense of relief. The ring makes it official, and he so badly wanted this particular deal bolted down.

Kate's hands are shaking while Castle eases the ring free of the velvet pad and sets the box aside. He takes her hand to hold it steady then he slides the ring onto her finger. Unbelievably, it is a perfect fit.

Kate's mouth falls open and she covers it with her free hand as she admires the engagement ring. It's antique. A beautiful Art Deco emerald and diamond cluster with a bezel-set emerald-cut emerald forming the center of a daisy, surrounded by ten sparkling old mine cut diamonds that represent the petals. The setting is silver over gold and the split band is 14k gold.

Kate turns her hand this way and that, fascinated by the glittering rainbow of light sparking off the diamond setting.

Castle watches her with a cautious smile on his face. "Do…do you like it?" he finally asks.

She wipes a tear off her cheek and sniffs as she nods. Her eyes are dark pools and her expression is slightly bashful. "Rick, I love it. I love you," she says, kissing him hard once more.

With their lips fused and her arms wound around his neck, they crowd into one another, their bodies pressed together tightly. They quickly come alive, and it doesn't take long for sexual sparks to fly.

Castle lifts her up and she squeals, wrapping her legs around his hips and holding onto him while he carries her back to bed. "No time for a nap, Mrs. Castle."

Her face betrays her not so secret thrill at hearing him call her by her future married name.

"I couldn't sleep if I wanted to. I'm too excited," she confesses.

She stretches out across the bed, beckoning Castle to join her. He places his knee on the mattress between her legs and crawls over her. When he pretends to collapse on top of her she squeals again, laughing so hard that her whole body shakes as he scoops her up and rolls them onto their sides so they're facing one another.

Kate makes a happy, contented sound as her laughter dies away and she settles on one elbow to look at him.

"You seem happier the last couple of days than I've ever known you," he risks saying.

She's still smiling and she touches the little dent in his chin. "Feel happier. Definitely. I can't believe everything that's happened since we were at the precinct last night. What about you? How're you doing? Suffering from whiplash yet?"

Castle reaches out to touch her hair. He slips his fingers through the curled strands and into her scalp to cup the back of her head then he leans in to kiss her. His mouth is soft, and she is pliant, the kiss slow and undemanding. "What do you think?" he whispers hoarsely, his voice choked with emotion as he brushes the tip of his nose back and forth over hers and then kisses her again.

"You don't seem miserable. I'd certainly testify to that." She smirks, quickly finding herself having to fight him off when he starts to tickle her for this massive understatement.

They flop onto their backs with an exhausted, happy sigh, and stare up at the ceiling. Kate holds her hand up to admire her engagement ring.

"Tell me about this?" she asks. "It's so beautiful, Rick. So perfect and unusual. There must be a story. I'm assuming you didn't just send Alexis out last minute with loose instructions and a credit card."

"No." He laughs. "But I had to give her the combination to my safe. It was my grandmother's," he says, shocking her enough that she bolts upright in bed.

She twists to stare at him. "Your what? This? This ring belonged to your grandmother?"

She holds her hand out in front of them both and they stare at the emerald and diamond cluster.

"Wow!" she says reverently.

Castle takes her hand, rubbing his thumb over the base of her ring finger, admiring how good the family heirloom looks on her. He also hears the questions she's not asking.

"Alice Olivia Rodgers was my mother's mother. I never met her. She died in a boating accident five or six years before I was born."

Kate curls her fingers around his hand. "I'm sorry you never got to meet her. I'm sure she would have loved you."

Castle kisses her bare shoulder. "For her time, she was a strong, independent woman, according to the stories Martha tells, anyway. She definitely would have loved you."

Kate gingerly touches the emerald. The center of the stone is smooth and flat, and the circle of diamonds sparkle as if they are vying for her attention. "So this is a family heirloom?"

Castle nods. "Mm-hmm. Hasn't seen the light of day since grandma died and mother inherited it." He needs her to know that much as he has a flawed past, with two ex-wives to account for, no one has meant more to him than Kate. So he tells her so. "Look, I know I've screwed up in the past, and you've been honest enough to admit that it was an issue."

"In the beginning," Kate reiterates.

"Still. You always said you were a one-and-done type of woman, and I respect that. So it pains me to have to admit my past mistakes. I wish there was nothing between us, Kate. No water under the bridge. I wish I was your one-and-done," he says seriously.

Kate smiles and leans over to kiss him. She curls her hand behind his head, holding him close to her. "But that's the beauty of it, Castle. You are my one-and-done."

"Mm," he hums. "But we can't whitewash the past. I just wanted you to know how special you are to me, how special our marriage is going to be. There is no one like you, Kate. You are a one-off and you deserve the best. Having you wear my grandmother's ring is my way of telling you that."

"What about Alexis? Won't she want her great-grandmother's ring? It is a family piece after all."

Castle shrugs. "So we leave it to her, not to be too morbid. Look, some…tech entrepreneur or vegan, bee-keeping farmer will give her a ring of her own one day…hopefully, a long time in the future."

Kate blanches at the thought. "Yeah, let's get our own wedding out of the way before that happens."

They lie down again, face-to-face. Castle strokes her arm. "I love that you're all in, Kate. I love that you're so excited, that you look so happy. If only I'd known…"

She touches his lips. "Shh. No regrets. No looking back. I've done enough of that to last a lifetime. Believe me, it just gives you a crick in your neck and prevents you from seeing the joy that's right in front of you."

Tenderly, Castle brushes the hair off her face. He's replaying what she's just said when a mischievous thought occurs. He looks down at his lap. "The joy that's right in front of you, huh? Well, I've never heard it called that before. But would you like to play with my joystick, detective?"

Their laughter can be heard all the way out in the hallway.

TBC...

A/N: Thank you for continuing to support this story. It has grown arms and legs along the way. You've all been great cheerleaders. Keep it up! I'll post a photo of the engagement ring on Twitter. Liv