CH49
It is just a couple of days later: (June 13, 2001)
There is a small amount of material at the end of this chapter that might qualify for an "M" rating, for this reason reader discretion is advised.
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Kate was sitting at a table in their hotel room with all of her research spread out all over it and was presently on the hotel phone calling a local number.
Rick was sitting across from her since it allowed him an opportunity to pick up various pieces that were part of Kate's plan. In this case he had a printed brochure on the yacht that would be their honeymoon.
It looked like a hell of a ship, shallow enough draft for them to get into places that other ships their size or larger would never dream of trying. Part of what made Rick smile was that the ship was prepared for scuba diving. That meant if they brought their own gear, they wouldn't have to stop to fill up their tanks, they could just switch them out for the ones on the ship.
It really was meant for groups larger than just the two of them, still it looked like it had more than enough things onboard to keep them busy when they weren't in a port somewhere.
Rick was just setting the brochure down as Kate hung up. "We have a date. It works with the hotel and the yacht is free the week following." Kate was smiling, she was very pleased with herself. It was almost the last thing to be worked out. "I have to go down to pick my native dress for the wedding still, but I can do that tomorrow."
Rick gave Kate his best "And the date is?" look.
"Our guests will fly in on September 2 with the wedding on the 3rd. Then our guests fly out on the 9th while we are boarding the ship for our honeymoon that will last from the 9th to the 16th," Kate shared with Rick.
"Hurricane season?" Rick questioned.
Kate scrambled for a paper that she had that showed the months and projections for the number of storms for that year. "June to November with the number of storms, simple tropical storms to severe hurricanes, is anticipated to be in the range of 15 to 19 total. Relatively active year based on previous years after the number and strength of storms started to be cataloged." Jack answered the question for Kate.
"Guess we take our chances." Rick didn't see an alternative.
"It'll be great Castle, you'll see. Married on a Monday on the beach with the rest of the week spent showing off St. Lucia to our friends, followed by a week all alone on a ship sailing from island to island. Just us. No phones, no jobs to worry about, just us." Kate was happy and couldn't wait now that Gina was out of the way.
It was going to be a real marriage, not some stupid drunken thing at an outhouse in Vegas.
"Sounds like I need to go ring shopping again," Rick murmured.
Kate scrunched her face at Castle. "But I have a ring." Kate held up her left hand to prove it.
"You have an engagement ring yes, but I'm talking about a wedding ring," Rick countered.
"OH!" Kate didn't think she needed another ring, though it did mean she was going to have to go looking for Castle's wedding ring. Hopefully it would be enough to keep most of the women away from him and not cause her any more trouble.
"Ready to look at one last house?" Rick asked, standing and holding out his hand. Kate eagerly took it and let him take her outside to their Jeep and back to the real estate agent.
"I've listened to what you said on the previous houses and think I've found just what you are looking for," their agent told them. He pressed a button and a wood gate slid to one side. He drove up into the driveway with a two car garage off to one side showing a huge wood double door for an entrance door.
"Ok, this is a 4 bedroom suite, each with their own en-suite bathroom. The house itself is broken into three different buildings or pods if you prefer. You have 2 suites in one pod, dining room and kitchen in another pod and the final 2 suites and your living room in the third pod."
"You have a 65 foot infinity pool looking out onto the ocean, it really will look like you can just swim out into the ocean, no white walls or kitchen cabinets. It has a fitness center and a surprise out on the patio of what I think is the main master suite, though any of the suites could be considered the master."
"It is offered at $7.5 million US dollars. In this case it can be rented out using a service company that will provide cleaning and other amenities typical of a hotel. You could even rent out one, some, or none of the suites while you are here." The real estate agent let them look around before finding them later.
Just inside there was a wide set of stairs that went down slowly with a hand-carved door on their left. Entering it they found that this pod had a king sized four poster bed complete with mosquito netting. This was also where the fitness room was located. It had stairs, running machine, weights, and a floor mat. Upstairs there was a small living room with a mini-kitchenette. It also had a small fireplace. "The fireplace is an authentic Kiva fireplace, normally found in an ancient Pueblo-Village in New Mexico," Jack pointed out.
Back outside they went down the stairs and came out in a large covered gazebo area that had outdoor dining. There were wrought iron chairs with cushions and a table that could seat 10 people. Next to it on the left was an outdoor cooking area, complete with outdoor sink and refrigerator and even a pizza oven. It also had a three tier running fountain similar to those seen in Italy. There was even a pass through that led into the kitchen that was presently closed using glass shutters. The floor was that orange terracotta-looking tile again, however it was only in this area.
To the right of the gazebo was the outdoor patio with 8 chaise lounges that faced the 65 foot infinity pool. "OH MY GOD CASTLE!" Kate loved the pool and the view out onto the ocean. It wasn't the jungle they had in their hotel room, but it was still private.
They found a set of stairs to the left of the pool and could hear water falling as they rounded the corner with the pool above them. The infinity edge had a water fall that fell into what looked like a wading pool. There were two small tables with 2 chairs each along with 5 more chaise lounges. "Castle, what's that?" Kate pointed to a large wood tub on the far end.
"That, Katherine, is an authentic wooden Japanese hot water soaking tub," Jack explained.
"Oh my god." Kate lifted the cover to look inside. "We need one of these at home, Castle."
Back upstairs they walked along the edge of the pool and found the second of the four suites. It opened up right out onto the pool with an ocean view.
This suite had a simple four poster king sized bed with a living room sofa, 2 club chairs and a large en-suite bathroom.
From there they went into the second pod that was next to the outdoor cooking area.
It turned out to be the kitchen. The kitchen had a large window that looked out on the mountains. The walls had an orange and white checker board that reminded Kate of the University of Tennessee. There was a large horseshoe-shaped island that had the kitchen sink as well as a breakfast bar area that could seat 4. All of the cabinets had glass fronts with the plates being exposed and set in a vertical position.
The range and oven were almost an exact copy of what they had at home. The refrigerator wasn't as big, but it was nice. There were also 4 skylights, 2 on each side giving the kitchen lots of light.
Next came the indoor dining room that had large wood doors. It had a giant table that would seat 10 easily.
The next pod contained the living room and the final two bedroom suites. The living room had one whole wall that opened up out onto the patio area. The ceiling was pitched up high with exposed wood beams and ceiling. It also had four ceiling fans, a sofa and loveseat, three chairs, and a glass and wrought iron coffee table. It was the only location that had a TV except for the small living room on the second floor of the first suite. It also had the only wood burning fireplace they had seen. The back wall was nothing but one big book case; it even had a rolling library ladder.
There were large, double hand-carved wood doors on each side that allowed access to the bedroom suites. The one closer to the pool had a queen sized bed that was hand-carved to look like a mermaid. It had a small sitting area and an outdoor patio that looked out onto the ocean. It was the smallest suite they had seen so far.
On the other side was the last bedroom suite. This room had a large king sized four poster bed along with a four poster daybed. It had a sitting area and its own personal patio that faced out onto the Pitons. Edging the patio were bougainvillea plants that presented the view with a touch of color.
"What did you think?" Their agent found them standing next to the huge round water feature that was located between the patio chase lounges and the smallest of the bedroom suites.
"It's gorgeous!" Kate was in love. "The view is amazing. The pod style is certainly different. We're going to get wet getting from pod to pod. Our house at home has four bedrooms, however they are nowhere near this size. This might be more house than we need." Kate said ruefully.
"That first suite is likely the main master because of its size, but it doesn't have the view the others do, especially the one at the pool. If Kate loves the kitchen then I'm happy, and we can grow into the house," Rick replied.
Kate sucked in her breath. Did Castle just say what she thought he did?
"Would you two like a moment to talk? I think we can get the price down a little. Don't forget you can rent it out entirely or partially when you are not here." Their agent stepped over to the pool to look out onto the ocean, it really was a nice view.
"It's $7.5 million Castle. That's a lot more than we planned on spending." Kate complained about the price.
"We have the money though it will stretch us a bit and delay building any Papa Murphy's in Atlanta for the foreseeable future, at least until the others start making us money. Plus remember the judge canceled all of our contracts with Black Pawn, meaning we have to start over either with them or another company," Rick reminded her.
"You really plan on staying with Black Pawn, Castle? After all they've done ...helping Gina do what she tried to do." Kate couldn't believe him, she was ready to shoot the lot of them.
"Well, when you put it that way, no. It just means we need more time to find another publisher for the Derek Storm books. That will delay the money that will be coming in from new books. We will have to live off of our FBI pay and the money the stores make us while adding any income from the existing Derek Storm books to our nest egg for emergencies," Rick pointed out.
"I love it Castle, it's the best home we've seen so far. We can do everything here that we are doing at the hotel. It's private enough. I would like to move that Japanese soaking tub somewhere more useable. Out there below the pool so far away is not where I would want it," Kate told Castle.
"So what do we offer? $7 million or less?" Rick asked.
"Can we tell our agent $6.8 million and see if he can sell it at that price?" Kate wondered.
Rick and Kate were walking into their hotel room which was just a few minutes away from this house, they could almost walk it. "Did we just buy a house Castle?" Kate couldn't believe it. They had a house on her favorite island right next to her favorite resort. It didn't have a beach, but then neither did their hotel room. They had to go way down the mountain to get to the resort's beach.
"We'll find out soon," he replied. Their agent had suggested that $6.9 was a better place to start.
"Richard, I have a woman approaching the front door. Facial recognition sees her as being one Gina Cowell," Jack informed Rick.
"GINA!?" Rick was shocked. What the hell did she want? Rick's outburst had attracted Kate's attention as she floated around in the pool, naked.
"What about Gina?" Kate stood up and came to the edge of the pool to look at Castle.
"Jack says she is at the front door. It's a pity the camera by the door didn't come with a microphone and speaker." Rick tried to decide what to do about her. He could teleport home and answer the door, but he didn't really want to be anywhere near her.
"Jack, the second she knocks or presses the doorbell make the security alarm go off and call 911 to have the police show up," Rick decided before Gina could do anything.
It took a moment or two. "Gina has pressed the doorbell and the alarm is sounding. Gina now looks worried and is looking around. I have called 911 to complain about an intruder," Jack advised them. Kate got out of the pool and grabbed a towel with which to dry herself off. Then she tied the towel around her body just above her breasts.
"Gina is leaving, I am giving the 911 operator a description of her. …Gina has gotten beyond my ability to track her," Jack apprised them. Kate sat at the table where Rick was located and waited.
"I have a police officer approaching the front door," Jack notified them.
Now Rick was in a pickle and didn't know what to do. "Should we teleport back? He's going to have questions and it may be Jack that made the call, but from their perspective we did, and if we don't answer the door..." Rick trailed off, however all he got from Kate was a moan.
"Call your dad and tell him what is happening, and I'll call Henry. We'll teleport home to talk with the police," Rick decided. "OK." Kate didn't like this at all. She got up and went in search of her phone while pulling out clothes to put on. She dropped her towel and got dressed quickly.
"Henry says not to talk to Gina for any reason without him or Jim present," Rick said to Kate as she slipped on a dress and slid into her flip flops. "Dad said something similar, don't talk to her or respond to her in any way," Kate added.
The police officer was leaning on the doorbell for the third time when Rick opened the front door. "Officer." Rick tried to put his acting skills learned from his mother to use to try and sound relieved.
"Are you two alright, we got a call of a possible break in," the officer advised them.
"Our security system is a little tight. If you try to use the door handle to open the door it occasionally takes that as an attempt to enter, especially if you give the door a shove, breaking the contacts," Rick supplied. It's a bit of a white lie, since even without Jack it is rather sensitive.
"We have taken a woman into custody, her ID places her as being… one Gina Cowell." The officer looked at his notes to get the name right.
"She filed a lawsuit recently and had it dismissed. Likely she was here to get revenge. I'm surprised she didn't have spray paint cans on her," Rick replied, not hearing the officer say anything about what Gina had brought with her.
"As long as you two are alright, we're going to take her to our precinct and ask her a few questions. She won't be bothering you for at least a while." The officer makes sure he has Rick's and Kate's names and phone numbers before leaving.
Rick closed the door and locked it and then found Kate's arms wrapped around him. "Take us back to the hotel Castle." Kate smiled widely, loving this instant travel stuff.
Kate stripped and was in the pool in a heartbeat, followed closely by Rick.
Rick had no sooner jumped into the pool and was swimming under water headed for Kate when one of their cell phones started to ring. Rick grabbed Kate's legs and pulled her under and then kissed her.
The kiss didn't last long since they both needed air. "Katherine's phone is ringing. Caller ID says it is her father," Jack interrupted them.
Rick simply sighed and placed his head on Kate's shoulder, convinced they weren't going to catch a break today. "Hello Dad," Kate assumed Jack would open a line.
"Are you okay Katie? What did Gina want?" Jim asked worriedly since he never heard back from them.
"We don't know, the police took her away for questioning. I suppose we'll find out later, hopefully much, much later." Kate hoped for never actually. Suddenly Kate took in a sharp breath.
Rick had placed his hand on her core and ran a finger over her lips. "Are you sure you're alright Katie?" Jim was positive Katie's voice had changed.
"I'm… " Kate's voice sounded like a squeak, causing Kate to stop and try to drop an octave or two. "I'm fine Dad, just fine." Kate tried to lower the sound of her voice. Rick ran another finger over her lips which caused Kate to bite into Rick's shoulder.
"Just make sure neither of you talk to her without me or Rick's attorney present," Jim advised.
Kate lifted her head. "Got it…Dad." Rick took that moment to insert a finger into Kate.
"If you're sure you are ok, I'll talk with you in a few days. Bye Katie." And Jim ended the call.
Kate attacked Castle's lips with her own. After breaking from the kiss. "So not funny Castle." Kate moved into to kiss Castle again, but instead bit his lower lip and drew it out before letting go.
"Get out of the pool Kate and get dry, while I find the handcuffs and my whip," Rick demanded, on fire from Kate's bite. She stopped breathing momentarily as her mind raced ahead about what was to come. She opened her eyes wide and stared into Castle's eyes.
Was he serious? The look he gave her made Kate think that he was. She gave him a quick kiss, and got out of the pool, and picked up a towel to dry off with.
Rick cuffed Kate's left hand to the post of the bed. "Ready for this?" Rick was giving Kate a chance to stop him.
Kate was already spread eagled and naked on the bed waiting for Rick to cuff her arms and legs to the bed. "Yes," she barely whispered.
Sliding down the bed, he stroked a finger along her wet and hot core. "So it would appear," he said, as he lifted his hand to show how wet his fingers were before placing them in his mouth to taste her. She spread her legs even wider and whimpered that he was taking too long.
Rick had her secured to the bed and retrieved his whip that had multiple strands on one end. "Ready?" Rick asked as he dragged the strands up the side of Kate's body and then dragged them around her breasts.
She shivered as every strand slid around her body and nodded her head since she didn't trust that she could speak at all. "Who do you belong to?" he asked her as he dragged the strands down her stomach, watching the muscles spasm. Then he ran the strands softly down her core.
"You," Kate managed to whisper. Her answer earned her a whip to her thighs. "Who?" Rick asked again.
"You," she answered with more confidence while smiling knowing what he was going to do next. And she was right. Rick whipped her other thigh, only harder this time, causing Kate to inhale and squirm in the bed as she tested the handcuffs.