December 17th, 2022
Hey Evangeline. I hate to write this but it's completely necessary. You know that I have Christmas break and now Marie and Kath are there (Fleur, Ivy and Iris too) it's going to be harder to write. Especially once Paul and Nancy come with their family. So I'm going to wait to write again after the new year, but I promise to do a list once I write in you again. Now I'm going back to the game room with everyone, forgot to say Mari's here too tonight so I'm out of here. Merry early Christmas Evangeline and Happy New Year! See you in 2023!
After she had finished writing, Julia raced to get everything put away before she was heading out of her room and doing her best not to race into the game room. "Hi," she said with a smile when she saw everyone was looking at her.
"Did you finish?" Mari asked, going over to her.
"Yeah," Julia said. "It was quick."
"You're really not going to write?" Mari then said as they headed to the pool table they'd agreed to play on with the other kids still up.
"No, I'd be doing really short entries," Julia replied. "I'll remember enough really."
"Do we have enough time for this?" Clive asked.
"Yeah, if we start now," Marie said. She wasn't surprised when they turned to the game immediately and started to play, laughing and talking and not realizing the parents were watching them.
"I almost hate to stop them," Isaac said when they were nearly finishing.
Glancing at her husband Genevieve said, "They need to go to sleep."
"Great, you can tell them," Isaac told her before they were laughing.
"We better start," Beckett said, moving to get off of the bar stool she was sitting on. After she had squeezed her husband's hand she was going to the pool table, not surprised when the kids were protesting though it wasn't for long. She and her husband were taking Julia to her room with the other girls and they said goodnight to her quickly before the four were settling on their beds. She and her husband went down to the first floor with Skye and Mary, the former stopping them to speak in slight confusion.
"What about Genevieve and Isaac?" the investigator asked.
"They'll join us," Castle answered. "In the pool room."
"It's your house," Mary said. "Coffee?"
"Coffee," Castle said. "But I need to wait for the Lennoxes so I can see what they want."
"What we want?" Isaac asked, coming up the stairs then.
"Coffee," Castle said. "I was going to make some but I need your orders."
Once everyone had told her husband what they wanted, Beckett said to him, "Do you want us to stay with you?"
"If at least one person stays…" Castle said jokingly. He looked at her from the machine in surprise when she was rubbing his upper arm and was about to speak before Skye was.
"Maybe we better leave," the investigator said.
"Stay," Beckett told them. "I was joking. He's not going to be able to carry everything."
"How have you been enjoying living here?" Mary asked the Lennoxes as she and Genevieve were sitting at the island.
"It's been nice," she said first. "We're grateful."
"You've told us," Beckett assured the architect.
"But we'd like to move out of here at the same time," Isaac added. "Though it isn't much longer."
"What about the Davises?" Skye asked the others.
"What about them?" Castle said, a little distracted since he was finishing the second mug. "Oh, them moving," he said swiftly. "I was surprised to be honest."
"You heard they were motivated," Beckett told her husband with a smile.
"Extremely," Castle said, since Brad had called after they'd taken the younger kids to bed that the house would be cleaned on Monday and the Davises would be able to move in. "And Brad and Lily are ready to move in."
"Are we helping them?" Skye asked.
"We are," Beckett said, looking at her husband pointedly. "We have tomorrow and then we'll help pack."
"How much?" Mary asked.
"As much as we can," Beckett replied. She then smiled and said, "But we didn't have many plans until Christmas and after."
"I'm fine with helping," Mary said. "The kids are helping their kids?"
"I don't think the youngest can," Beckett said. "But it does depend on what Brad and Lily are okay with."
"They'll want that help," Castle said, turning to the others after finishing with the fourth cup. "But I worry about their tree."
"We'll help with that too?" Isaac asked before they were laughing.
"I'm surprised," Genevieve said once they'd calmed down. "That they wouldn't want to wait. Are they okay with everything there is?"
Castle was about to respond to that when he was jumping at his phone starting to ring. "It's Brad, he's got a wire on my phone," he said to the others jokingly, smiling at the way his wife rolled her eyes. "Everything okay?" he asked in greeting.
"Fine, I wanted to let you guys know we're going to hold off on moving," the chief said. He was startled when he heard voices saying they weren't surprised before he said, "You were talking about us?"
"We were," Beckett said with a smile. "And Genevieve just brought up a good point, you're okay with everything?"
"We were going to move in and paint at the very least," Lily said after her husband handed her his phone. "But we were looking at pictures of the house and I'm not liking the basement at all."
"It was the owner's man cave," Brad explained. "And he had a lot of… things."
"He left them?" Castle asked in surprise.
"No those… wall picture things," the chief corrected. Brad sighed and said, "All over though there are four bedrooms too."
"With bathrooms," Lily said. "Partially why we took it," she added with a smile. "So we'll have plenty of room for guests. But we want to fix that and the kitchen."
"The backsplash?" Beckett and Mary said at the same time.
Laughing, and hearing the others doing the same on the other end, Lily said when she'd calmed down, "Right, but we want a new counter too. The new one is not up to my standards."
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said with a smile. She then said, "So when will you start on that?"
"If I have a chance tomorrow I'll call the company you and Rick have used and see when we can get to work," Brad said.
"What about your house?" Isaac asked.
"You're there too," Brad commented with a smile. "How're you and Genevieve doing?"
"Good," the architect replied. "And really, when are you going to sell your own house?"
"After Christmas," Lily answered after she'd said hello to the Lennoxes. "We spoke with a realtor… I did earlier, and she advised we should wait until next month. I also explained the house is nearly ready and she said we should just hold on as long as possible."
"We were just discussing helping you pack," Skye said.
"Oh, that's nice of you to do," Lily said, she and her husband sharing a smile. "But we'll be able to do that."
"You want us to help you move in right?" Castle asked.
"Just the boxes," Brad replied. He wasn't surprised when his friend was laughing before he and his wife were thanking them and promising to see them Monday morning when they would drop their kids off for the day. Once he'd hung up he said to his wife, "Well."
"One more Christmas," Lily said.
"Are you sad?" Brad asked.
"To a degree," Lily answered. She smiled when her husband rolled his eyes and they wrapped their arms around each other before kissing deeply. When they'd parted she said, "I know I'm not a fan of this style of house but it's special for it being our first."
"But you're looking forward to the other more," Brad told her.
"Of course, a pool, a fully finished basement we'll fix to our liking," Lily said firmly. They leaned into each other and brushed their lips together before she told him firmly, "Everything the way we want."
"It's why we talked to the kids about it," Brad commented.
"It is," Lily said. She let him go and began unbuttoning his shirt before she said, "But they're asleep and you need to relax."
"Oh I am," Brad replied, smiling at her before he leaned into her and captured her lips with his own while he pulled at her sweater.
"You know there's something we've never asked you about," Castle said.
"Oh?" Mary asked since that had been directed towards her and her wife.
"Your first Christmas," Castle said.
"You've asked," Skye said after she had finished her coffee.
"You told us the bare minimum," Beckett told her teasingly.
"And we haven't heard about it at all," Genevieve commented.
"Do you want to?" Skye asked.
"If you're going to go into the not safe for work category then no," Isaac said.
"I wouldn't," Mary said before she glanced at her wife who was responding in a feigned insulted tone of voice.
"I wouldn't either, telling the hetero couples?" Skye said before she broke down into laughter after her wife was doing so. When they had stopped she said, "No, I wouldn't tell anyone but my wife the intimate details and she was there."
"Good thing," Mary told her with a laugh.
Rolling her eyes, Skye then said to the other four, "We'd been dating for a little over seven months so we were comfortable with each other but Christmas was a big deal to us both."
"This one especially," Mary said, sharing a glance with her wife. "I'd lost my parents the year before and had spent that one alone. So… I was ready to celebrate and I did want to make it a good one for her too since she needed the reassurance about being my girlfriend."
"She's right," Skye commented. "But we did spend it with my dad, we had dinner later that night."
"And that morning?" Genevieve asked, glancing at Castle and Beckett since she guessed they'd heard that already.
"We got up and opened gifts," Skye said. She smiled and then added, "We got up at a reasonable time which was nice."
"Then you want to go back to not having the kids?" Mary teased her wife.
Giving the doctor a look, Skye then said, "We spent time together exchanging the gifts and just enjoying the Christmas tree," smiling at her wife when she took her hand since they were sitting on a daybed. They spoke together about their gifts, unable to forget that day while they were relating it to their friends.
"Skye?" Mary said, watching her girlfriend.
"Hmm? It's early," the investigator grumbled.
"It's Christmas remember," Mary told her.
Opening her eyes Skye sighed and asked, "I can't go back to sleep?"
"No," Mary replied simply.
Pretending to grumble, Skye turned over and sat up before she said, "Merry Christmas grá."
"Merry Christmas," Mary told her, leaning into her for a kiss. When her girlfriend was pulling away first she smiled and said teasingly, "So you do want to open gifts?"
"Are you crazy? That's the best part of the day," Skye said exaggeratedly. After they kissed they parted and she told her, "But I want to give you what I bought for you."
"Alright," Mary said before they were kissing again, hurriedly, and then moving to get up.
After they had their robes and slippers, Skye took her girlfriend's hand and they moved downstairs to the living room where they'd placed their gifts the night before. "Good haul," she said with a smile while they settled in front of the tree, leaning against the couch there.
"I know, youngest first?" Mary asked her. She laughed softly at the expression on the investigator's face before she was getting a gift on her knees. She cried out when her girlfriend was lightly slapping her ass and she glared at her saying, "Later."
"I wasn't asking for that," Skye commented with a smile. "I was taking an opportunity," she added before Mary was sitting back next to her, startling her as she began to speak.
"Hopefully you'll do that later," the doctor said. When her girlfriend merely smiled at her Mary said, "Open."
Squeezing her hand, Skye turned her attention to the gift in her hands and she started to tear off the wrapping paper. She soon realized Mary was pressing against her and she smiled before opening the box the paper was covering.
"Are you tired?" Skye asked, watching her girlfriend opening the fridge. It was later that night and they had just said goodbye to her dad though she'd asked him to stay. She wasn't surprised he'd refused very firmly, and she let him go before they'd moved back to the kitchen. "Champagne?" she asked jokingly, focusing on her girlfriend.
"No," Mary said, stepping back and closing the door.
"Those?" Skye said, her voice a little hoarse since her girlfriend had in her hands a plate with the chocolates she had bought for them.
"You wouldn't want to have one before we go to bed?" Mary asked.
Breathing out hard, Skye said, "I thought you were going to say we should take them with us."
"Too messy," Mary told her. She smiled when the investigator gave her a brief look before she said, "Take one."
Nodding, Skye looked at what was left in the box and picked out one before biting into it. She hummed before she pulled it away and after she'd swallowed her bite said, "Marshmallow."
"Lucky," Mary said before taking a bite of hers. She looked at her girlfriend in slight surprise when she was gently brushing her hair behind her ear before she swallowed and said, "Eggnog."
"Nice," Skye said before they were eating the rest of their chocolates in silence. They'd been pressing against each other while they'd been doing so and she couldn't help herself, taking Mary's hand and pulling her over to the stairs.
"Skye?" the doctor asked. When her girlfriend stopped at the second floor and was looking at her questioningly she said, "It is later."
"Good thing," Skye replied. She wasn't surprised when her girlfriend was beaming at her and they leaned into each other, kissing lightly. "Let's go to bed," she told her seriously. When Mary nodded, they entwined their fingers and continued down the hall, walking straight to their room.
"Sounds like you had a nice holiday," Genevieve commented when the two women finished talking about their dinner with the investigator's dad.
"It was," Skye said, trying not to look at her wife since she had recalled further and their lovemaking.
"I'm surprised you didn't have any big gifts," Castle commented.
"I said specifically she didn't need to get me anything," Mary replied. "Since I had a feeling it would be too much our first Christmas."
"Are you remembering yours?" Skye asked, seeing the way Castle was shifting on the daybed he shared with Beckett.
"He is," she said before her husband could answer. "But I told you that was my fault." She then turned her attention to Genevieve and Isaac and explained to them, "We got together during the summer and Christmas of that year I told him for our first I didn't want us to have to get anything for each other."
Startled when Isaac exhaled loudly, Castle said, "You guessed?"
"Yeah, you didn't get her anything," Isaac stated instead of asking. At the writer's nod he said, "How… did that go?"
"When he told me I wasn't happy," Beckett said when her husband glanced at her. "But I realized I'd made a mistake in repeating to him not to get anything." She looked at him for a moment before she turned back to the others and said with a smile, "He made it up to me the next year."
"He proposed?" Genevieve guessed. When the writer nodded she smiled and told her, "That would do it."
"But I did give you a gift that year," Castle corrected her. "The day after Christmas we actually exchanged gifts after lunch."
Smiling at the memory Beckett said, "We ended up giving each other the same book."
"That's romantic still," Skye said. "At least I would guess it was."
"It was," Beckett said. "And we spent that day and the next together since I had time off. But the next Christmas was a lot better." Her husband's hand holding hers, she glanced down in time to see he was rubbing at the middle diamond on her engagement ring.
"I think I'm ready to head to bed," Skye then said, standing up.
After they were agreeing the three couples left the second story of the pool room before they were heading back into the house. Once they were at the two staircases they said goodnight before separating to go to their rooms. In their bedroom, Castle closed the door and was about to ask his wife about the lock when she was answering him first.
"You might want to lock that," Beckett told him.
Poised to comment, Castle merely nodded and locked the door before he nearly jumped at her hand on his shoulder. "What?" he asked, turning back to her.
"Are you okay?" Beckett said in response.
"I wanted to joke about your command to lock the door," Castle explained.
Smiling, Beckett tugged at his shirt a little and was pleased when he was kissing her lightly before she said, "I'm glad you didn't. But I want to make sure we're on the same page."
"Oh, we are," Castle said seriously before they were kissing again. That time he lingered after making it sensuous and once they were apart he leaned his forehead to hers. "I love you Kate," he told her.
Smiling, Beckett brushed her lips to his and told him, "I love you too." After she'd gently nuzzled her nose against her husband's she told him, "I should have told you our first Christmas together."
Pulling away a little to look into her eyes Castle said, "You weren't ready."
"I nearly was," Beckett corrected him. She smiled briefly when his eyes widened and she said, "When we exchanged gifts." She paused for a moment and bit her lower lip before she told him, "It felt… right."
"Like it was something we'd done before," Castle said. At his wife's nod he brushed a kiss to her lips before he told her, "We were remembering."
"I think so," Beckett said before she took his kiss. She was pleased when he was doing so deeply and tangled her tongue around his until they were slowly parting. "Hmm, take me to bed love," she told him while they were gazing into each other's eyes.
"Like I did that day?" Castle asked. He smiled when his wife was laughing and he picked her up, carrying her over to their bed still thinking of their first Christmas and their intimacy while they were beginning to make love.
"Where are Martha and Alexis?" Beckett asked, walking out to her boyfriend who was finishing their lunch.
"Shopping," Castle replied, making sure the sandwiches were okay in his new panini press.
"New toy?" Beckett said with a smile as she watched him.
"Yep," Castle answered, looking at it. He turned to her and asked, "Did you sleep alright?"
"I did," Beckett answered, laughing when he took her hand and pulled her around the counter. Taking his kiss once they were close enough she stopped him from lingering for too long and she said, "You're going to burn the food."
"Well… wait here with me?" Castle asked her.
"Alright," Beckett said with a brief laugh since he hadn't let her waist go. She shared a short kiss with him and told him, "What did you have in mind for today?"
"Not much," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when she was giving him a look and he told her, "I'm serious. I wasn't really thinking about what we should do." He glanced at her and said, "You should have told me you were off."
Kissing him lightly Beckett said, "To be honest I wasn't sure if I was going to go through with it."
"Are you okay here-" Castle started to say.
Gently pressing her index finger to his lips Beckett said, "I am, it wasn't all that bad yesterday."
"You caught the tail end of it, so that helps," Castle told her, kissing her temple. "But… next year I will give you a present so I hope you'll be here."
"I will," Beckett said. When her boyfriend looked at her in obvious surprise she smiled at him and said, "I have to remember to take the day off." She laughed when he was about to speak before he made a face as the timer for the press went off. She looked on while he was getting the sandwiches out and onto plates before telling him, "They look great."
"I know, I was concerned," Castle said. "My first time," he told her.
"I figured," Beckett said in amusement. She reached for the plate he was giving her before he stopped her.
"I've got tomato soup," Castle explained. "Give me a second." When she nodded he was racing to get a bowl and ladled some of the liquid from its pot on the stove. He let her take it before he had his food and they moved to sit at the table by the windows. "Bon Appetit," he told her once they were settled with glasses of juice.
"Thank you, you too," Beckett answered, smiling at him. She squeezed his hand before they ate, looking outside at the flakes that were floating around on the air. After a while she turned to him and said, "These are great."
"Both?" Castle asked. At her nod he said, "I have to agree with you."
Smiling Beckett told him teasingly, "You have to?"
With her eyebrow raised and her lips smirking at him, Castle couldn't help himself and he leaned into her, kissing her deeply. He took her gasp into his mouth and caressed at her tongue before they were parting at the same time, panting heavily. "You're beautiful," he told her.
Beckett reached up to him and cupped his cheek with her hand before she said, "This is where I tell you you're handsome?"
"You're not enjoying the adjective?" Castle replied, aware of where her hesitation was stemming from.
"Not that one," Beckett said with a smile. "How does attractive work?"
"It does," Castle commented before they were kissing tenderly. When they were parting he said, "You can call me whatever you want as long as you're not angry."
"Do I have to promise that?" Beckett said in amusement. "Though I wouldn't say angry."
"Annoyed?" Castle suggested. When his girlfriend nodded he couldn't help laughing with her and once they stopped he said, "I don't mind."
"I won't be calling you that when I'm annoyed," Beckett said, squeezing at his hand. She then told him, "But we're finished."
"Right," Castle said. Glancing at his girlfriend he wasn't surprised when she was looking at him and said, "Sorry there's something I've been wanting to tell you. I do have a gift for you but when you told me not to get something for you I decided to wait." When she was about to speak he held his hand out to her and said swiftly, "It's nothing special, but I thought you might like it." He thought she would respond, but she merely dabbed her napkin to her lips before she was speaking.
"I have something for you," Beckett said. "I just… wasn't ready yet."
"Okay," Castle said, trying not to feel too disappointed. He shook himself and got off his chair saying, "Well we could watch-"
"Wait," Beckett told him as she grabbed his arm after he turned to the kitchen. "I'd like to exchange those gifts, mine isn't wrapped though."
Studying her for a moment to see if she was serious, Castle eventually said, "I'll get mine."
Beckett nodded, watching him taking her plate and bowl as well before she headed to the bedroom. Taking the item out she said as he walked inside, "I do have it covered."
"With what?" Castle asked in a rush, exaggerating his voice.
Laughing, Beckett shook her head and told him, "It's just my shirt for tonight."
"Maybe," Castle said. He expected her to become annoyed, but when she merely handed it to him he was quick to give her what he'd had. "I thought we weren't going to have them wrapped?" he asked her.
"It seemed unfair after what I put you through," Beckett said with a smile.
"At the same time?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he was quickly looking down at her shirt and opening it before he stifled a guffaw. "Kate-" he started to say, looking up at her.
"I know," Beckett replied, smiling at him as she was holding the same book. "I guess you've proved your point."
"That we're soulmates?" Castle asked her.
Giving him a brief look, Beckett said, "That we should celebrate next year."
About to speak, Castle stopped himself before he said, "I'm glad you agree." He watched his girlfriend smile at him before she was walking to her bag and he breathed out a little hard before he followed.
Putting her copy of the true crime tome away, Beckett paused when her boyfriend was gently wrapping his arms around her and she said, "You've mentioned not having any plans."
"You don't want anything?" Castle asked before he was loosening his hold on her while she turned to face him.
"Just one," Beckett said simply before he was leaning into her and kissing her hard while they clutched tightly at one another.
Breathing roughly, Beckett watched her husband while he withdrew from her before he moved to lay his head on her stomach. She smiled and reached down, gently running her fingers through his hair and telling him, "Thank you."
"I'd say the same but you'd tell me not to repeat myself," Castle said, smiling himself. He wrapped his arms around her the best he could and told her, "I wasn't exact was I?"
"No, you didn't need to be," Beckett said before she urged him up to her. "It was nice but I prefer how it is now."
"Me too," Castle said, kissing her the second that he'd stopped speaking. When they'd parted he said, "Are you ready?"
"There's still a while," Beckett commented. She smiled and said, "You're nervous."
"Not…" Castle started to say before he trailed off since his voice was a little loud. "Not nervous, it's more I'm hoping you'll like what I got you."
"Whatever it is I know I will. I always have," Beckett assured him. She watched him raise himself above her and she was gently running her fingers through his hair. "I love you," she told him.
"I love you," Castle said seriously, leaning down into her. Their kiss was brief and he told her, "I think that night, after we'd had dinner and were watching that movie I toyed with the idea of asking you to move in."
"Not proposing?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded she smiled and said, "I guess it would make sense, you would have thought I wasn't interested in getting married."
"Not for a while," Castle replied. When she looked at him questioningly he said, "After New Year's Day I started thinking about our relationship but I was careful."
"And then Queens happened," Beckett told him when he didn't continue though she could tell he wanted to. When he nodded she reached down and squeezed firmly at his hand telling him, "Maybe we should focus on now."
"Good idea," Castle said, leaning down to her and kissing at her neck hungrily. He felt a thrill go through him at her laughter and he did that a little longer before he was moving to gaze into her eyes. "Goddess," he breathed to her before closing the gap between them.
"Sheik," Beckett replied, closing her eyes at his lips against her jaw. When he trailed down to her neck she was gently running her fingers through his hair before she stopped him.
"That's it?" Castle asked in disappointment.
"I think so," Beckett replied. "We're going to be busy."
Making a brief face Castle said, "Does this mean we're going to be celibate?"
"No," Beckett said firmly. She couldn't help laughing briefly when his eyes widened and she told him, "I don't want to really, though we're not going to be able to do anything on Christmas Eve."
"I was expecting that," Castle replied. He leaned down and kissed at her shoulder before he said, "Would you want something special that night?" When he saw the way she was looking at him he said in a rush, "I'm trying not to move."
Glancing down his body, Beckett wasn't surprised he was still erect but she said, "I'd rather just let us see how things go." When he nodded she told him, "Lay down love." She couldn't help laughing softly when he merely nodded again and she watched him laying down before she pressed to his side. "Rick?" she asked after they'd been quiet for a while.
"Yeah?" Castle asked her, gently running his hand up and down her upper arm.
"Do you regret that Christmas?" Beckett said.
"Should I be asking that?" Castle asked, teasingly.
"You already asked me about regret," Beckett replied firmly.
"Now it's your turn?" Castle said. When she laughed and leaned against him a little more he held her tightly before he said, "I don't. It calmed me down and I find myself enjoying it a lot more." He looked down at her and said, "Yes it's sappy, but I stand by what I just said," before she was laughing and speaking to him teasingly.
"I'm glad you do," Beckett replied. She then calmed down and said, "We're set right?"
"We are," Castle said. "Since I answered your question."
"Thank you for doing that," Beckett said with a smile. She kissed his shoulder before she told him, "We should get some sleep." She laughed briefly when he made a face and told him, "I mentioned us being busy remember."
"I heard," Castle replied. "I just don't want to go to sleep yet."
Beckett smirked at him before she got up and headed over to the light switch by the door and she told him, "We could do this again tomorrow night."
"Is that a promise?" Castle asked, having moved to the side of the bed to sit and watch her from there.
"If we're up to it," Beckett said, walking over to him once the only lights left were their nightstand lamps.
Not surprised when she was deliberately looking at his erection, Castle reached out to her before she could close the light and said, "I will be."
"Is that a challenge?" Beckett asked him with a smile.
"It is," Castle replied. "And I think I'd like to do that right now."
Beckett couldn't help laughing and she told him, "You're a pervert."
"Of course I am," Castle said. "You've seen yourself right?" He was pleased when his wife merely smiled at him and sat on his lap before they were kissing deeply. After they had parted he said, "Could we?"
"We'll need to be quick," Beckett replied, biting at her lower lip for a moment after she had spoken.
"We will," Castle said, standing and picking her up at the same time before he laid her in the middle of the bed. He followed her before he realized nearly all the lights were off and asked, "Is it enough?"
Looking around the room, as the thought had come to her at the same time, Beckett said, "Could you turn on the main one?"
Nodding rapidly, Castle got off of her and the bed before he went to the light switch and said, "Better?"
"Much, but I want you to do something for me," Beckett told him.
Smirking at her, Castle said, "I already know."
Beckett was surprised but her focus was then on her husband running up to her and she bit at her lower lip until he was with her. "Thank you," she said as he got on the bed with her.
"You're welcome," Castle said seriously before he brushed his lips to hers. "Though I should ask if you're ready at all."
Sliding her hands up his back, Beckett wrapped her arms around him and said, "You could check you know."
Staring into her eyes for a moment, Castle moved his hand and slid it between them before he was at her folds. He fingered her for a moment before he said, "How can I tell… You wanted me to do that?" When she smiled at him he groaned under his breath for a moment and withdrew his hand, reaching up to his mouth to suck lightly at it. When he had stopped he said, "Would you like to check me?"
Beckett reached down in between them, not surprised when her husband was moving to allow her to do that, and gently fingered at the tip of his length. She stuck her fingers in her mouth and sucked at them before she told him, "Hurry."
Castle merely nodded before they were moving together to begin with her reaching down and curling her fingers around his member. Once he was inside of her he didn't pause, pushing forward until their hips were pressed tightly together. "Goddess," he told her roughly.
Pulling him to her they were kissing deeply, though it didn't end up lasting for very long when Beckett felt her husband beginning to thrust. She cried out in joy, tilting her head back and she told him, "Sheik, take me please!"
Not needing anymore encouragement, Castle sped up and didn't stop until they were both climaxing, nearly at the same time. When he felt himself slowing down after she had he told her, "I hope… that was good."
Smiling, Beckett told him, "Are you trying to get more out of me?"
"I would love to but…" Castle said.
"It's alright," Beckett said since she could feel he wasn't as erect. She sighed when he carefully pulled away and told him, "Again, if you're up tomorrow."
"Oh… I will be," Castle said. "I'll take care of the lights."
Beckett watched him moving to get up and slid to the side of the bed, watching him as he'd done with her. She wasn't surprised when he finished at her nightstand and told him, "Can I?"
"Sure," Castle said before he was startled when she pulled him down to the bed. He remained still when she was taking off his glasses and watched her setting them aside before he pulled her onto the mattress.
Laughing, Beckett told him, "You could have told me."
"Not a lot of fun doing that," Castle said. He grabbed the covers, startled when she took them, before he laid down and she was following. As soon as she was pressed against his side he told her, "Goodnight my love."
"Night Rick," Beckett said before they were silent.
"Can I say I'm excited for Christmas?" Castle asked her.
"You've mentioned it," Beckett replied in amusement. "And yes I am."
"Great," Castle asked. He wasn't surprised when she was pinching at him and he said with a laugh. "Just wanted to check."
"Now you know we should get some sleep," Beckett said firmly. She wasn't surprised when he sighed and she moved to share a kiss with him.
After they had settled back down under the covers, Castle and Beckett were falling asleep in each other's arms. They couldn't forget Christmas, but as they nodded off their minds were on their intimacy and it would influence their dreams that night to their joy.