CH22

As they stepped thru the front door of the hotel Castle had chosen Kate had to slow way down as she tried to take it all in.

"It's gorgeous Castle!" Kate can't believe it. She is going to stay here? Best Western, Motel 6 is what she was used to. Anything to spend less money to make the vacation last longer.

Their room was equally nice. It even had a view!

"How about we hit the pool before dinner?" Rick offers. Not getting any no's he grabs his swimsuit and goes into the bathroom to change and give the girls the rest of the room to change in.

Kate and Alexis promptly strip off their clothes and throw them on the bed and change into their swimsuits. Kate grabs a towel and wraps it around herself and pulls out her flip flops from her overnight bag and does the same for Alexis.

"You can come out now Castle." Kate calls out.

Castle comes out wearing his long leg swimsuit and is wearing a t-shirt Kate didn't remember taking with him.

"Let's hit the pool ladies." Rick tells them and heads for the door.

Once at the pool Kate removes her towel and kicks off her flip flops and slowly descends into the pool. And promptly drops below the water for a moment before coming back up.

Then watches as Alexis runs a couple of steps and jumps into the pool not far from her.

Kate laughs at her and turns and watches Castle take off his t-shirt. Kate doesn't notice but she is unabashedly watching Castle's every move.

His stomach is not rippled like some of those body builder types but it was flat. She couldn't make out his legs much since his suit came down to his knees but it looked good on him. But it was his shoulders and his arms that got her attention. 'He's got guns!' Kate is thinking.

While Kate is staring at him Castle suddenly runs at her and launches himself "CANNON BALL" Castle yells out. And promptly swamps Kate with a splash of water.

When Castle comes up Kate is sputtering water out of her mouth. "CASTLE!" Kate yells at him. And she promptly goes over and puts her hands on his shoulders and shoves him under the water as hard as she can.

Letting go of him Castle comes up sputtering and spitting out water and starts splashing water at her. Kate answers back by splashing water at him too.

Eventually Castle gets in close so she can splash him anymore, and soon Castle has his arms around Kate and kisses her. Kate immediately starts kissing him back. They only stop when they break for air.

"Castle?" Kate questions. Castle however puts his finger on her lips silencing her. Then gives her a quick kiss and backs off from her.

"I'll race ya pumpkin?" Castle turns to Alexis. Getting a grin from her. They both back up to the pool wall. "Ready? … Go." Rick tells her. Alexis takes off while Rick gives her a head start.

Soon Rick takes off but isn't trying very hard. By the time they both reach the other end it looked like a tie to Kate.

Kate makes her way over to the two of them. "You want to try Kate? Loser has to buy dinner." Rick challenges.

"Loser also has to give the winner a massage." Kate raises the stakes.

Rick grins thinking what Kate's hands all over him would do to him. "DEAL!" Rick accepts.

"Beat the pants off him Kate." Alexis tells her innocently.

Kate however swallows hard. She was just thinking what Castle looked like without his swim pants just moments ago while he was taking off his t-shirt.

Kate backs up against the pool wall and plants her feet for a strong push off. She wanted that massage!

Alexis gets out of the pool and stands on the side. "Ready, …. GO!" Alexis yells out.

Alexis follows them down the side of the pool. Rick with his shoulders and arms was a strong swimmer however Kate was swimming a little faster strokes and was more smooth. Causing less turbulence in the water as she swam.

Alexis was calling out all the way down. "Go Kate go. Go Kate go."

They both hit the wall at the far end and look up at Alexis. "You lost dad." Alexis tells him.

"YES!" Kate yells out and jumps up and slaps the water.

"You turned my own daughter against me." Rick moans at Kate.

"We girls have to stick together Castle." Kate answers smiling.

"Yea dad, girls." Alexis adds her 2 cents.

Castle responds by moaning. Kate moves over and wraps her arms around his neck. "I'll let you chose the restaurant Castle if it makes you feel better." And gives him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"I was looking forward to getting a massage." Rick pouts.

"So am I." Kate tells him. 'Damn where did that come from?' And from the look Castle is now giving her she had just opened her big mouth and inserted foot.

"Might as well go to our room and get freshened up for dinner." Rick offers and gets out of the pool with ease using his shoulders and arm muscles.

Leaving Kate in the water with her mouth hanging open. Two can play that game she decides. Kate swims over to the steps and slowly comes up out of the pool making sure to swing her hips a little more than usual.

Castle was standing off to the side using the towel to dry himself when he sees Kate get out of the pool in her new bikini.

Kate is watching Castle out of the corner of her eye and starts to grin when he hurriedly wraps the towel around him to cover up. Proud that she can get that kind of reaction out of him. This little trip might be fun!

After changing in their room the go downstairs and decide to eat at the hotel instead of going someplace else. They could do that tomorrow before they leave.

Aqua

A lavish buffet or a delectable dish à la carte—the main dining room has everything needed for a delightful meal and refreshing cocktails. Breakfast and lunch offer a variety of healthy choices, and freshly caught seafood is the evening specialty.

They had each decided on the 'Catch of the Day' off the menu.

After dinner came a walk on the beach. It was still a little warm but with the wind blowing it wasn't so bad.

They hadn't noticed how far they had gone when they stopped and turned around and went back the way they came.

Alexis kept running out into the water and squealing then running back up to them. By the time they got back to the hotel Alexis was a mess.

They sent Alexis into the bathroom to take a shower and get cleaned up while Rick plopped down on the bed and re-arranged pillows so he could sit up against the headboard a little more comfortably, then turned on the TV.

Kate and sneaked back into the bathroom so she could take a shower too. Not caring that she was sharing with Alexis again.

Both were dry when they came back out. Kate pulled open the hide-a-bed for Alexis and kissed her good night. She really did want to crawl in with her but she worried that it would make the bed too uncomfortable if both of them slept there. Plus she had not talked with Castle about what she was doing. And where did Castle expect her to sleep?

Stepping inside the bedroom Kate found Castle asleep leaning up against the headboard with the remote still in his hand. Smiling she took the remote from him and turned off the TV. Then started taking pillows away, then started pushing him around on the bed so he could lay down.

He was already down to what looked like a pair of sleeping boxers. They had really long legs to them. Kate got to admire his chest and arms while she pushed him around. Finally getting him flat she sat on the edge of the bed and softly trailed her fingertips along his upper muscles.

Castle wasn't body builder hard but she could feel the muscles underneath without any trouble.

Kate needed to stop or she wasn't going to get to sleep. It was a nice big king size bed and she had Castle on one end so she slipped on the other side wearing her bed clothes.

There was a nice wide gap between her and Castle and she had her back to him. But she could feel him not far away and it took her a while to calm down and go to sleep.

Come morning Kate woke first. Probably a work habit she told herself. As she woke up she found that she was all over Castle. Her legs were intertwined with his. One arm was bent in close so that her hand was on his chest just above his heart. The other arm was trapped underneath his neck.

Her face was buried in his shoulder area and when she breathed she could smell part him and part chlorine from the pool earlier.

Kate could tell that all his muscles were relaxed and he felt soft and cuddly. And while she was enjoying it she decided she needed to extract herself before Castle woke up and got any ideas.

However just as she moved Castle's arm came around her and squeezed her in closer. That was when she noticed something else. Castle had an erection. Kate couldn't help it, she started to move a little to get a better idea of his size.

She came to the conclusion that he was big. Well not huge like some packing porn star, but he was big. Not really long but, well, big. Kate started thinking of what that would feel like. Probably stretch her wide and hurt, at least at first anyway.

Kate literally moaned. 'Stop Kate, stop. You are only making it worse.'

"Good morning." Kate heard Castle tell her.

Kate tilted her head up to look at him. Sure enough he was awake and his blue eyes that she started swimming in were looking down at her.

"Hi." Is all she could mumble out. Then she started extracting her arms and her legs from him. However Castle stopped her.

"Oh no you don't. I like cuddly Kate. Cuddly Kate feels good in the morning." Castle tells her. And he moves his leg so hers is between his again. And the muscles in his arms now squeeze her in closer.

Kate giggles a little and relents by relaxing and trying to melt into him. She can also feel his erection softening. 'Damn I wanted to play with that. What the hell am I thinking?'

"Castle what are we going to do today?" Kate asks him when she really meant 'what are we doing?'

"We are going to stay just like this for little while still. Then we are going to shower, get packed and load up the car. Since we need to check out this morning. Then we are going to explore. We need to be back to the airport no later than 7:00 to fly back home.

And we are going to enjoy ourselves and get to know all of us better. You are not escaping that easily Detective Kate Beckett. The best homicide detective in all of New York." Castle tells her. "And I still owe you that helicopter date." Castle adds.

Kate doesn't know what to say. First Alexis and now Castle. She even liked Martha a lot. So Kate decided to loosen some more muscles and snuggle in closer. Maybe if she moved her leg a little she could get little Castle to come out and play.

Just when she thought she was making progress Castle suggested they all get up and showered. By the time they were done with breakfast it was going to be after 9:00 am.

Kate groaned a little but Castle was right. Castle showered first then Kate and Alexis shared a shower. "To speed up the process." Kate had told him. He had given her a funny look but said nothing. Kate knew now that she was going to have to talk to him if she stayed with them much longer. She was very afraid of what he would say.

Breakfast was at the same restaurant as last night. Then they packed the car and went out looking like the other tourists.

The Retreat Gardens

The Retreat Gardens is an 11-acre property that houses one of the largest private collections of rare and exotic palms in the world—about 170 species. It is one of four national parks in New Providence and headquarters of The Bahamas National Trust (BNT).

Shopping Nassau & Paradise Island

Bahamians continue the tradition of the early Lucayan and Taino Indians by producing distinctive arts and crafts that reflect the skill and artistry of our heritage. From international boutiques to our famous Straw Market, all offer a one-of-a-kind shopping experience.

Kate found a sun dress at one of the shops that just caught her eye. She had left the other two behind and walked right to it. Kate pulled it down and held it up against herself. Then she checked the size. It was even her size. Then she looked for the price and her jaw dropped. It was almost $3,000. Kate couldn't help but moan. The sales lady came up and told her she would look lovely in it.

Kate however pointed out it cost far more than she could afford. "Each of these dresses is a one-of-a-kind. There isn't another one like it anywhere." Kate had thanked her and put it back.

"Pumpkin, go take Kate across the street to the jewelry store for me. I'll be right there, just keep her over there for a little while for me." Rick told her.

"You're going to buy her that dress she was looking at aren't you?" Alexis was a quick study and she knew her dad.

"Just keep her busy for me pumpkin." Rick pleads.

"Sure dad." And Alexis goes and drags Kate across the street to look at Jewelry.

Rick steps up to the sales lady. "I'd like to buy that dress that woman was just looking at." He tells her.

She gets a large knowing grin on her face and retrieves the dress.

"Can you box it and ship it to this address?" Rick asks.

"There will be an extra charge, but yes sir. Would you like it wrapped as well?"

"Yes please." And Rick hands over his AMX card.

After she is done, "Your wife is a very lucky woman." Rick only smiles in return and hurries over to the shop Kate and Alexis are hopefully still in.

Kate saw other things she liked but decided not to buy anything. However nothing had caught her eye like that dress had. She even looked longingly at that shop on their way back to the car. Kate knew she had the money but couldn't really afford to buy it. She had to be careful.

Kate had wanted lunch someplace that spoke to her of being in the Bahamas. They asked a few of the store people and were directed to one place each time.

Potters Cay Dock

Just underneath the bridge from Nassau to Paradise Island, this is the heart of Nassau's conch industry. And it's all about the freshest conch here. There are a host of conch-centric shacks on the dock, although we particularly like Daphney's At the Dock. Try the cracked conch.

Guided Tours

Escorted tours with experienced guides are available by bicycle, bus, golf cart, jeep, scooter, Segway, taxi, boat, horse-drawn surrey and on foot. Our guides are very courteous and knowledgeable and look forward to teaching you about our lifestyle.

It was the final thing they did before dropping off the car and walking for their jet for the trip home.

Once back in New York. (their pilot tells them) "I hope you and your family had a good time Mr. Rogers. You can call me anytime." And he meant it. Castle had gotten him a suite to stay in and had pre-arranged that as long as he ate his meals at the hotel they would already be added to Rick's bill at check-out.

It was late by the time they made it home. Kate had gotten in the car dead tired. "Take me home Castle." And was never really awake again until the next morning.

Kate woke the next morning with a huge smile on her face and like the last few nights it was nightmare free. And she had Castle wrapped up in her arms tightly.

"I don't want to let go of this." Kate moans out softly. She was hooked and she knew it.