The flight wasn't too terribly long, and they were flying in first class, so, really, it was pretty nice. Both Rick and Kate loved flying, so they fought for the window seat, Rick finally giving in. He suspected he would be giving in a lot more from now on.

When they landed in Mexico, Rick and Kate walked through the airport hand-in-hand until they had their luggage. The sun was beginning to set by the time they had gotten checked in and eaten dinner, so Rick made a suggestion. "Let's go down to the beach and watch the sunset."

Kate nodded her head, excitement in her eyes. "Sounds good. But then, I think I might wanna go to bed. We've had a busy few days and we'll want to get up at a reasonable time tomorrow. Plus jet lag."

He laughed at the last line because she started out being serious, but by the last line, she was clearly being sarcastic. "Listen, Kate, if you wanna get me in bed that badly, all you have to do is ask."

Just like that, Kate went from the bubbly sweetheart to a sensual woman who had pulled out all the stops. She looked at him seductively through her lashes, pulled the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth and leaned into him, whispering, "After the sunset."

She gave him enough time to regain the ability to breathe before she was once again the bubbly sweetheart. Grabbing their tropical drinks from the bar they had visited after dinner, Rick followed Kate as she walked down the beach.

They talked and laughed and flirted, Kate frequently blushing, Rick frequently finding any excuse to touch Kate. Finally, about thirty minutes later, the two paused and watched as the sun sank below the water.

"I never feel smaller than when I'm at the beach," Kate said quietly.

Rick placed his hand on her back, then slid it around her waist when he didn't feel her pull away. "Really?" It was somewhere between a statement and a question.

Kate's eyes never left the ocean. "Just look at it. Look at how big the ocean is. It goes on forever. No matter how far out I try to look, all I see is water and I know that the next big hunk of land is a different world completely." Rick was looking at her now, watching her watch the horizon. He was mesmerized by her, lost in her words. "And here I stand, one single person in front of this great big ocean, and I just feel. . .small."

Rick's thumb was smoothing a half-circle across Kate's ribcage. His eyes were closed and he could only hum his agreement. Kate followed suit, closing her eyes, relishing the leftover warmth from the sun which had been swallowed up by water. "It's beautiful," Kate whispered.

Kate didn't see that Rick had opened his eyes and was now looking at her instead of the water. "Yeah, it is," he agreed. He kissed her temple and she leaned into him.

It was dark by the time they made it back to the hotel. While Kate took a shower, Rick called Alexis and let her know how their afternoon had gone. As Kate emerged from the bathroom clad only in a towel, Rick almost choked on his, "I love you, too, Alexis." When he clicked off the line, he stared at her—his wife.

She was standing at the bed, looking at him with a shy smile. "You are astounding," he whispered. She fished out her pajamas as she felt a blush creep across her face. Walking to the other side of the bed, she noticed him checking out her sinfully long, toned, tan legs, only stopping when she leaned over him and kissed his cheek.

"You are astounding," she whispered back. She went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed and Rick decided to tease her back just a little. He decided that tonight, he would be sleeping only in shorts. Let her be flustered by his body for a change.

Sure enough, she nearly tripped over nothing when she emerged and saw him lying on the bed in nothing more than his usual basketball shorts. By no means was he ripped, but he was solid, and Kate found that more attractive than just about anything else she could imagine. She was so taken aback by his appearance that she didn't even see him smirk.

"Nice shower, dear?" he asked sarcastically.

"Mmm," she replied, picking up on his game. She had come out of the bathroom wearing a tank top and shorts—normal—and a sports bra underneath—not normal—just because she had just met Rick. Realizing his game, though, Kate decided she was more of a 'get even' type when it came to games like this. She slipped out of her shorts before crawling onto the bed beside him.

It had the desired effect. Rick tensed and physically could not tear his eyes off Kate's legs. This time, he didn't see her smirk. They spent the next few minutes just looking over each others' bodies, occasionally making eyes contact and smiling.

"I thought you said you wanted to go to sleep," Rick said after several minutes.

"I'm studying," Kate replied with a shy smile.

Rick's brow crinkled in confusion. "Studying?"

Turning her face a little more into the pillow in a vain attempt to hide, she said, "I'm studying you. Your body. It's quite beautiful, you know."

Beaming at her, Rick scooted closer, tossing his arm over her waist and pulling her to him. "Then can I just say dear GOD you are so smoking hot?" Kate's laugh floated throughout the room. "Like, seriously?" Rick continued. "Are you even human? Because I'm pretty sure no one in the history of ever has been as hot as you. I mean, those legs!"

Kate was still laughing when she kissed him, just a peck at first, but it soon turned into something much more deep and passionate. Pulling away just a fraction, Kate said in a husky voice, "So you like my legs, huh?"

Rick responded by kissing her neck. She draped one of her long legs over his and his eyes shot open wide. "Kate," he barely said.

She smiled at him as she withdrew her leg from his, gave him one more chaste kiss, and rolled over to slide back into the mold of him that she was convinced was made just for her. She chuckled and felt a shot of adrenaline run through her at the evidence of their make-out session pressed against her back. "Relax, Ricky," she said, full of promise and tease, "we're still too new for any of that."

But hopefully not by the end of the vacation, she thought to herself as she felt Rick pull her in tight and draw the blanket over them. She pressed herself as closely as she could, elated at his physical attraction to her and wanting to feel it hard against her. I can't wait to take that for a spin.