Don't you guy love having an amazing beta? I do…just like in the previous chapters, this one has been beta proved by .stanathan. As always, thank you.

To the readers, thank you for sticking with the story! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Reviews are welcomed, but if it's OK with you guys, I'll take the author/story alerts as positives ones !

Hours 25 through 34

Getting ready for bed the second night was somewhat more difficult than the first one. I knew I was going to end up sleeping in just his boxers – he had won the bet after all – but what was I supposed to do? Get the t-shirt I was wearing off, wait for him to do so, would he get too turned on if I leave the bathroom without it? Would he think I was not paying off the bet if I didn't? Luckily, he answers the question for me…

"Kate? Can I come in? I need to brush my teeth!"

"And you can't wait until I'm done getting ready?"

"But Kate! How much do you need to do in there! You're not wearing any make-up, so nothing to do there. You're already clean, so no need for a shower. Not many things left to do! Take a leak, brush your teeth and nothing else! What are you over-thinking in there?"

How does he do that! Is it normal that we're this in sync with each other? I don't really care though… we were never normal, why should we start now? I grab his tooth brush, put some paste on it and go to the door. "Do what you need to do Castle". Without waiting for an answer, I push the tooth brush his way and get back in side. "Truth be told? I was over thinking my sleeping attire. Shut up. Let me talk." I take a deep breath… many things to talk about… "I know how I want to sleep. But I was just thinking how I should get there, you know…could you stand to see me coming out wearing only you boxers? Would you be turned on by that? Would it be too much to ask for you not to act on it? Or would you feel appalled by the bruises I'm still sporting? 'Cause, you know… they're worse than this morning… They always get worse before they get better…And coming out with the button up on would have seemed as if I was running away from paying the bet. And the whole idea of it was to avoid your mocking…"

It takes Castle a few moments, after all, he was brushing his teeth, to come back with an extremely cheesy remark. "Too turned on? Maybe. In a mocking mood? Sure. Left wanting more than just a great view? Definitely. Appalled? Absolutely not possible. Kate I told you before so I'm sticking with the summarized version of it: I love you. Every inch of you, now, when you get pregnant, when you get fat after menopause and when you get too old to walk around the loft without the help of your ruggedly handsome sidekick. "

I give him a quick kiss and with the sexiest smile I can muster, I murmur my devious come back "Your proposing skills keep getting better. Maybe next time you'll get the answer you must be looking for." I'm so close to his ear that I can actually feel my own breath. It's turning ME on. I look back and I know I need to step down a notch. Making him need a cold shower is a bit too evil. Even for me. I take his hand in mine, and after turning off the lights, lead us to the bed. I take my time opening his buttons and after sliding the t-shirt off of him, I give him a quick nod. I'm ready to be undressed. He gives as good as he gets, he takes his time, teasing me with each button. I treasure every minute of it. Once I'm shirtless, he bends down, kisses my scar and gently puts both of us to bed.

Our position is similar to last night's, but this time, I'm the one who's spooning him. I'm too sore to allow him to set the force of the hug, so I place one of my legs under his body, the other one over his and just hold him to me. Plus, the cold night air feels great on the bruises on my back.

Why did I spend so many years fighting this?

I wake up a couple of times during the night. Every single one of them seems to put Castle on alert, because he wakes up not a minute after I realize were I am and who I'm hugging from behind. And the best thing is, he never wakes up enough to turn around and see my smile. I want to enjoy this feeling of happiness without needing to explain what and how I feel. He just wakes up, asks me if I need some Tylenol, and after I decline the offer, he tugs me a bit closer to him and goes back to sleep. The truth is, I could have taken some pills for the pain, but I didn't want to lose my hold on him. I could always take something in the morning.

I eventually fall into a deep slumber and so, hugging him from behind, the second day of what should have been our 72 hours-clothes-optional-festival begins.