Hello faithful readers, one and all! This is the Valentine's chapter and it is one of the raciest NSFW type chapters I've written for these two, but in the context of hearts-day it works. I also realize it's very to the 'coppus interruptus' chapter but then again, Cake Crumbs' x-rated chapters were back-to-back so I figure we're in the clear here. As always review and spread the word!

Valentine's Day, in Esposito's mind, was the most absurd of all holidays and not because of its commercialism. True, Hallowe'en and Christmas were commercial, hell even July Fourth was more about people getting loaded and setting off fireworks than remembering the struggle for political self-governance. But February the fourteenth was its own special brand of hell - it made singletons feel like worthless unattractive losers and stressed out the coupled-up over what kind of gift would send the right message to their other halves, all in the name of love. It wasn't even that he'd been a bitter single man who now saw the world through rose-tinted new-love glasses; he just thought it was really stupid that there was this day set aside that was supposed to mean more than others.

On the other hand, it was a day he could use to spoil his girlfriend rotten. Meredeth had become his constant, her unwavering love getting him through the long hours of a stakeout or the unending hell of paperwork. On the occasions when he'd gone in to take down suspects, his fierce determination to do his job was now coupled with the motivation of making sure he got home safely to his girl, and for that, he would buy her the world. Even better, he knew it was the one holiday where Meredeth wouldn't forgo his chocolate in favour of other gifts. Hell, if he played his cards right they could have a repeat of Christmas Eve; he might even get to turn her into his own person graham cracker and lick chocolate off her-

'Yo, Esposito, big plans tonight bro?'

He looked up to see Ryan strolling through the bullpen with Beckett hot on his heels. 'What's it to you?'

'Just wondering what you've got in store for your lady. Beckett here's got a limo waiting downstairs for her, courtesy of one Richard Castle.'

'Why are you so damned chipper, Ryan?' Beckett rolled her eyes as she slumped into her chair, forced the giddy blush to stay out of her face. A limo for Jesus' sakes. Castle had sent a limo to pick her up. 'It's not like you can get your wife liquored up and take advantage of her.'

Ryan glanced over his shoulder at Beckett, then pulled his chair around the desk so he was sitting beside his partner. 'Between you and me, bro, I'll be lucky if I can still walk tomorrow,' he murmured. 'Jenny's got that whole second trimester hormones thing happening right now. Best I've ever had.'

'Don't make me hit you, man. I don't need to think about you and your lady getting all freaky.'

'Oh, relax, bro.' Ryan slapped Esposito twice on the shoulder. 'It's not like my Honey-Milk got pregnant by magic. And at risk of repeating myself, any big plans tonight?'

'Wouldn't you like to know? Better yet,' he added, picking his coat off the back of his chair, 'why don't you call and I'll tell you how my night's going, since that worked so well for you the last time.'

Ryan only swallowed as he remembered the embarrassing realization his innocuous phone invite for beer and west-coast basketball had literally interrupted his partner's sexy time with his smoking hot girlfriend. 'See ya in the morning.'

When he got to Meredeth's townhouse, the first thing Esposito noticed was Arturo didn't run to greet him at the door. Weird, he thought, but paid little mind as he stripped off his coat and hung his keys on the hook by the light switch. Glancing around he saw the entire first floor was dark, except for a little bit of light in the kitchen. With careful steps he made it there unharmed, and felt his blood drain completely out of his head and into his loins.

Meredeth was in the kitchen alright, standing at the table in needle thin high heels and a black satin apron that left very little to the imagination. She had a silver martini shaker in her hands and the rapid movement of her arms made her breasts jiggle like fresh Jell-O, making his mouth water.

'Welcome home, dear,' she purred, pouring the drink and strutting over to hand it to him.

'What's all this?'

'Since it is Valentine's Day and all, I figured we could use it as an excuse to have very...hot...dirty...sex,' she told him, punctuating each word with a sticky kiss. She held up the martini glass, sipped delicately. 'Thirsty?'

'It can wait.' How she managed to do that, get him stirred up with just a few kisses, was still a mystery to him, one he intended on taking his time to solve. He put his hands on her waist, ran them over her ass and was surprised when he hit soft skin instead of anticipated lace or silk. 'Are you naked under this thing?'

'Why don't you find out?'

Grinning, he ran his hands up her back as she slid loose the knot of his tie and looped it behind his neck to pull him in for a kiss. His tongue tangled with hers while she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Then, without warning, she stopped.

'As much as repeating our first time together would be fun, I have something even better planned.'

'I don't know Mere, first time on your kitchen floor was pretty smokin'.'

'Just come with me.' Kicking off her heels, she took his hand and padded into the living room where she used the remote to turn on the fireplace. As the dancing orange flames flickered shadows over the walls, he could see it now - she'd put the tulips he'd sent to her in a crystal vase in the center of the table, where there was a wrapped package on the table along with a few condoms. A bottle of wine was chilling in an ice-bucket, beside which were two glasses. On the floor in front of the fire-place was an honest-to-goodness bearskin rug, minus the grotesquely creepy head. 'I booked us a weekend at a getaway cabin outside the city but when you caught that case earlier in the week, I canceled it and brought the cabin here.'

'Oh, Mere.' Humbled, Esposito finished stripping off his shirt and tossed it on the couch. 'You did that for us?'

'Yeah. I thought we work hard, we should play hard.'

'If you'd told me I'd have booked a half-vacation day, so we could have gone.'

'No, I want you to save your vacation days for places like San Francisco and Miami. Valentine's Day is just a day, albeit one when you know you're going to get sex and chocolate.'

He took her in his arms, touched at her sweetness and her humour. 'You really are the best girlfriend in the world.'

'And what if I got you porn for Valentine's?'

'Then you'd be the best girlfriend of life.' He waited a beat. 'Did you?'

'In a manner of speaking.' With that, Meredeth ran her hands down his stomach to his belt, slithered it out of the loops and tossed it over his shoulder before reaching for a small remote off the coffee table. 'Take a look.'

Esposito craned his neck and saw, to his darkly delighted surprise, she'd set up a video camera on the fireplace mantle, set to record from a bird's-eye view. That she'd had the idea to tape them making love was brutally arousing; pulling her close he untied the strings at the back of her neck, let the top of her sexy kitchen-wear fall to her waist and give him an eyeful of her gorgeous breasts. He wanted nothing more than to just rock a motorboat on them, but that could wait for later. Instead he traced the tip of his index finger down her spine, making her shiver, her nipples going hard as diamonds against his body until he hit her waist and untied the next set of satin strings as she fumbled at his zipper. The black satin fell to the floor between them; as the ability to stand was eluding him more and more, Esposito held onto Meredeth's waist and sank to his knees, bringing her with him onto the rug, his mouth greedy and intense on hers.

Meredeth let her head fall back as he trailed lingering kisses down her throat, flicking the tip of his tongue over the pulse point just below her jaw, making her gasp in delight. Impatient, she shoved at his pants and boxers, the seconds it took him to strip the rest of the way naked interminable. He came back to her, pressing his hips tightly against hers as he kissed her again. The gold cross he'd taken to wearing - a gift from his sister at Christmas - glinted in the firelight and Meredeth twisted the chain around her fingers.

'Javi,' she murmured, 'don't hold back.'

'What?'

'Don't hold back,' she repeated. 'This first round isn't about making love.'

Esposito gave a low chuckle; he knew exactly what she was in the mood for. With one greedy move, he pulled at the satin g-string she wore, the delicate fabric tearing in his hands before he plunged his fingers inside her; she was already wet for him. Shock, decadent and instant, galloped over her face as her eyes closed and she let out a low, throaty moan; her back arched off the floor and he took one breast in his mouth as his fingers continued to stroke her furiously.

Meredeth thought she might lose her mind as he all but devoured her. Every nerve ending was white hot with want, awakened and greedy for him. She bent her knee up towards her chest so as to give him better access as the orgasm rolled through her like a summer storm. He was so good at this, at knowing just what she wanted, what she needed.

'Come on, big guy,' she purred at him, licking her lips in anticipation, heart thundering wildly in her chest as she braced her body for what she knew was coming, . Then, without warning, he sat up and pulled her with him so they were kneeling face to face on the rug. 'What-'

'Turn around,' he managed; when she complied and he'd outfitted himself with one of the condoms, he held her tight against him with one hand low on her belly and the other between her breasts. With his mouth near her ear, he kissed her neck and whispered, 'I want to hear you say it.'

'What?'

'You know what.' He shifted her thighs apart so the hard length of him rested against her. 'I want to hear the words from your lips.'

When he slid the hand on her belly down to that sweet, sensitive trigger and rubbed it with the pad of his thumb, she cried out. 'Fuck me. Please, Javi, fuck me.'

He would take her at her word. He bent her foward ever so slightly, and pushed himself inside her, blood rushing in his veins like fire as he heard her sob out his name again and again with each thrust. So passionate was their motion that she had to braced one hand against the coffee table, the other clutching at the hand he kept on her stomach. He held her close as he felt the shudders begin to rack her body and taking a fistful of her hair, pulled her head back so he could ravage her mouth as she came. As she went limp in his arms, he kept his pace consistent and drove her into near madness a second time until finally, his body gave way to glorious release, her mouth swallowing his moan.

Spent, they dropped to the carpet, sprawled face down as they fought for breath. Somehow Esposito shifted to his side, rolled Meredeth with him so he was spooned up against her. He gave her shoulder a kiss as he ran his hand over the curve of her hip as she gave a low chuckle.

'I have two words for that,' she wheezed out, 'mission accomplished.'

'Amen.'

'I didn't think we'd get to that until after you opened your present.'

'Is it the really big Hershey bar?' When he saw her blush and crinkle he nose, he propped himself on his elbow to study her face. 'No way, you got it?'

'Not the monster sized one, but yes, you got your really big Hershey bar because I love you, you choco-holic. The other gift is one of the photos we took together last week framed, so you could put it in your apartment.'

'Well then.' With a newfound reserve of energy, he got to his feet leaving Meredeth to wonder where he'd gone. He returned a few minutes later with the kimono he'd given her for Christmas and a sparkly pink bag. 'I think you'll get a kick out of this.'

Meredeth pulled white tissue paper out of the bag, unwrapped the squishy parcel first and burst out laughing. It was a pair of neon green panties with blue crescent moons all over them and across the ass were the words 'This booty belongs to NYPD badge 41023.'

'Where did you get these?'

'Where else? . Keep going.'

Meredeth unwrapped the tell-tale jewelery box containing a necklace. She lifted the lid and furrowed her brow in confusion. 'It's an elephant, inside a heart.'

'Yeah. So you never forget how much I love you.'

She felt her own flutter in her chest and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a sweet kiss before reaching for the wine bottle and uncorking it to pour two glasses. 'I never do. What do you think, this is one for the history books?'

'Are you kidding? Chocolate, dirty home movies and no Ryan interrupting. Best Valentine's ever.'

R&R&Enjoy.