Another Chance

Chapter 51

Castle holds up a plate of midnight blackout cake as Kate comes in the door of the loft. "Since you're not doing much alcohol while you're still nursing, I figured this was the best I could do. I have everything ready to go for your latte, too. How did the test go?"

Kate plops down in a chair and jams a forkful of the darkly sweet pastry in her mouth. "Honestly, Babe, I don't know. I think I knew the answers, but I'm not sure. I could have used more study time, but with our wedding and our honeymoon and then going back to work, I probably wouldn't be able to get much studying in anyway. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how my score comes out."

"I think I can distract you, at least tonight. Alexis called, and she said she wants to take Aletha for a while. She said something about testing Aletha's reactions to the various kinds of furry coverings they're considering for the newest iteration of Thera, but I think mostly she wants to play with her baby sister. She'll need a bottle of Beckett's special blend and a well-stuffed diaper bag, but we'll have an evening alone. I suspect we can find a way to amuse ourselves."

Kate swipes crumbs from her bottom lip as her eyes brighten. "I expect that we can. What time is she coming?"

"In about a half-hour."

Kate lifts her well-filled fork. "Then I guess I'd better hurry up and finish this."

Castle lights a fat vanilla scented candle, one of Kate's favorites, on top of the dresser. He'd considered putting it on the nightstand, but he's both afraid of and excited by the possibility that he and Kate might be deep enough in the throes of passion to knock it over.

For weeks after Aletha had been born. He and Kate hadn't been cleared for anything-goes sex, and they'd been too damned tired anyway. Since then they've always been too alert for any sound from the monitors to lose themselves completely in the act. This will be the first evening they've had in a long time that they can fully enjoy each other.

He trusts Alexis to take good care of her sister. She's done several spates of babysitting when both he and Kate had to be away for short periods of time, but this will be the first one away from the loft, and excited as he is to have his time alone with Kate, he's also feeling both a little nervous and guilty. Those feelings fly from his mind as Kate slinks out of the door of the master bathroom. The red satin of her gown flows over breasts enhanced by motherhood. Her waist has almost returned to its pre-pregnancy dimensions, and her hips are tantalizing.

He scoops her up in his arms, her warmth radiating through the silky fabric. As he lays her on the newly smoothed coverlet, her hair splays out around her face, inviting his touch. He brushes a warm strand from her cheek before lowering himself above her, supporting his weight on his arms as their mouths open to each other.

Tongues searching and twining, she arches her body to meet his, her nipples thrusting against their thin restraint. Castle rolls on his side and reaches to ease the straps that hold the barrier in place, down her body. She returns the favor, tugging his T-shirt over his head and pulling at the waistband of his shorts.

Castle's mouth finds the skin over her almost flat abdomen. It still bears the signs of Aletha's tenure within. Kate has been trying to banish them with creams and potions, but to Castle, they are a testament to their love, not a detraction from Kate's allure.

Blazing a downward trail of kisses, Castle's lips find their mark. Kate gasps and thrusts her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him against her rapidly growing need. She writhes beneath his attentions until finally letting out a cry of release that she would have suppressed, had the baby been sleeping nearby.

She shifts position, sampling his prominent arousal with the tip of her tongue. "Tit for tat?"

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Her mouth is warm and her control exquisite as she takes him in, sucking and laving until he is aware of nothing but Kate and the pressure building within him. She can taste the first drops before his sudden expulsion of breath as his explosion is complete.

They lie side by side hands clasped, waiting for the room to right itself, until she straddles his hips. Castle's eyes widen. "Already?"

"I've been saving it up."

He reaches up to stroke her temple. "Yeah, me too, and I think little Rick could be persuaded to regain a more erect posture by the magic of the Beckett touch."

Her fingers tease the fellow in question into action. "He wasn't difficult to persuade at all. He just needed a little encouragement."

He palms her breasts. "Perhaps these could use some too."

Eager tips harden against his hands as she guides him within. Her ride is enthusiastic but without the edge of desperation that had been building for what seemed like years. Her fingertips explore the skin of his chest and his shoulders before tracing his biceps. "Mmm, even without the gym, you haven't lost anything here."

"Walking up and down the floor carrying and calming a squalling baby isn't bad exercise, although I can't say that a weight machine has ever spit up on me." His jaw muscles tighten as sensation sweeps through him. "Oh God Kate, yes! Getting close." He reaches for her sensitive nub. "You?"

Air rushes from Kate's lungs as her inner sheath tightens around him.

The sound forced from her throat sounds a little like a yes, as she pants and posts harder and faster before collapsing on top of him. She can feel him climax inside her.

He strokes her sweat dampened mane. "I guess we were both approaching the finish line. Now we just have to manage to move again before Alexis gets here. But we should have almost an hour."

Kate smiles and snuggles into his body.

Kate and her dad are looking way too relaxed and self-satisfied when Alexis returns her sister to them. The senior Castle sister has no wish to know why, although she can guess. It's always been a little hard to think about her father having sex, with Gina, with Kate, or any of the other ladies eager to explore the high points of a best-selling author. Still, there was no star rising in the East when Aletha came into the world. Sex was definitely involved, just as it had been with Dad and her mother. Ew! It's easier to picture Dad with Kate.

As long as she's there, Alexis has some last minute questions about the wedding. As her father's best man, she's in charge of the toast. Writing it wasn't as hard as writing her valedictory speech in high school, but it came in a close second. She wants to make sure she gives it at precisely the perfect time.

She's also wondering about the dancing. It's a given that Dad and Kate will lead off the first one, but she's not sure when she and Micah are obliged to take the floor and whether she's supposed to coordinate with Lanie and Esposito, who are back together again. She's also discovered that as skilled Micah's hands are at assembling toys and electronics - among other things - his feet are another matter. She wants to make sure he's practiced enough for the first dance so that he doesn't fumble it and distract from the bride and groom. Drawing Kate close, Dad assures her that there is nothing to worry about. All eyes will be captivated by the beauty of his bride.