16
This is Serena's bonus birthday chapter. Basically it's the end of 15 I was going to leave to your imaginations. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
"I can't believe you don't know how to take off a corset!"
"Hey, I've only ever worn one once and I was very drunk at the time – do you really expect me to remember?"
Kate laughed.
"Hey. Stop moving. You're making it harder. Can I use a knife?"
Kate put her hands on her hips. "No. But would you please hurry up? This is the worst kind of teasing, letting me think I'm going to be able to breathe but then not letting me out after all..."
"You think this is bad. Just you wait."
"I am waiting."
"Stop it. You're only slowing me down."
"Sorry."
"You don't sound it."
"Castle!"
Richard went back to fiddling with the complicated knot. "Did you tie this?"
"Yes! You just pull the string like I told you-"
"I did that! It just got tighter."
"What, you pulled the shorter end?"
"Wait, I was supposed to pull the shorter end?"
Kate let out an exasperated whoosh of air. "Yes! That was the end you were supposed to pull. Find it now."
"It's gone. There's just the longer end left, the one I pulled before."
Kate turned around, her eyes fiery. "You are an idiot." She took her knife off the cabinet and handed it to him.
"Cut the knot off. But just the knot! Don't ruin the whole thing, these are expensive!"
"So why do you have one? You look wonderful without?"
"I don't know. Conformity. Did you cut it?"
Richard cut off the knot. "Done."
"Right. Now loosen the strings..."
He began to pull at them, almost certainly creating an irreversible tangle.
"Now what?" he asked, coming around to face her.
"You undo it at the front. By pulling on the shorter end."
Richard grinned as he slid his hands over her chest. He pulled the right end this time and the knot fell undone.
"Hey. It worked," he said with a huge smile.
"Yes. Like it would have done the first time if you'd just listened to me!"
"Tshh. If you say so. And now I loosen these ones?"
"Yes..." Kate trailed off, a mixture of annoyed and worried – the corset left a lot of marks on her skin that lasted for hours. Richard caught her eye.
"What's up?"
"I..." Kate sighed. It was stupid. She just liked him seeing her with clear skin.
"You can wear my shirt the first time round if you want."
Kate laughed. "How did you know what it was?"
"You're a woman. You're an exceptional, brilliant woman. But you're still a woman. Something round you so tight is going to leave a mark. That's science. And you're going to care. That's pretty much science too."
"I don't really care."
"Yes you do. But I genuinely don't. Now what, arms up?"
The corset was loosened enough for him to pull it off over her head. She breathed a sigh of relief as her lungs could finally expand. He kissed her chest.
"Absurd," he muttered as he pulled off his shirt and slipped it onto her.
"Hey, I thought you were joking. It's okay, really."
Richard smiled. "I know it's okay. But this is okay too."
Kate couldn't help it, she threw her arms around his neck and jumped into a hug. He laughed as he cradled her, this fantastic woman who sometimes seemed to him to be just a frightened little girl. He held her tight and sat down on the bed; her legs moved to straddle him and her mouth dropped to his. She pushed up and he helped her out of the crazy long underwear she'd had to wear with the dress; she worked his pants open and traced patterns on his back with her fingers.
They moved painfully slowly. Richard kept his hands on top of the shirt, never sliding them under it. It was part teasing, part respect. Kate grinned at him; she didn't know how he did it but he turned something which had always seemed to be done out of necessity and desire into something which could just be a laugh.
"Stop smiling in my mouth," he said into hers. "I like to see your smiles."
"Stop speaking into mine. You're the one who should eat your words, not me."
Kate loved the closeness, their movement together but the way he was holding her, the way he always made sure she was first, his total awareness of her even when he was totally preoccupied. He might present an arrogant and self centred exterior to most of the world, but here he was the opposite. Her eyes burned into his as she tried to pour out to him everything she felt but could not say.
As she looked at him he thought he could see all her secrets, all her pain, rise to the surface and burn away for a while. He wished he could keep her there, this smouldering person who had forgotten how it felt to be truly loved.
She was silent, this time. She barely made a sound as she came on top of him, breaking into pieces around him as he watched her with fascination. He had been slow for her and she was slow too, smiling a little as she helped him to the end.
He lay back and she collapsed on top of him; she tried to move but he held her in place. He felt her stiffen and stroked her back.
"Don't think now. Just go to sleep," he whispered. He wished he could keep her safe, protect her from the world, take her away from all the pain that seemed to surround her. But there was so much he didn't know. She was unbelievably strong; in a way her troubles made it all the more remarkable that she did what she did. He watched her eyelids flutter and her breathing relax as she drifted away. She was magical.
A/N: Thanks for reading. 2 updates in an hour, that has to be some kind of record... I hope you have an awesome night, girl!
