The soft morning sunlight flitters through the French doors, and Raina slowly stretches, her body sensually igniting memories of last night into the early morning. A myriad of emotions rush through her, leaving her skin tingling, newly sensitized. She brushes her fingers across her stomach, causing her mind to relive the delectable feeling of Kas' touch.

Softly, she traces her lips with her finger. Her eyes close and cheeks flush as she remembers the exquisite sensation of Kas' lips on her, kissing her so gently, yet so full of hunger. She marvels at how she feels completely different, wonderfully changed, but still so much the same. Kas stirs next to her and she smiles, the love and warmth spreading through her almost brings tears to her eyes.

"Good morning, beautiful," his voice is husky from his just awakened state.

"Good morning," she whispers, lowering her lips to his bare chest.

Kas rolls towards her, sliding his hand around her lower back, pulling her towards him. The feeling of lying in bed next to her, their flesh marvelously naked, touching, is like a dream, a very long awaited dream, finally becoming reality. His eyes gaze into her jade embers. "Make love to me," he says, his voice the barest of whispers.

An hour later Kas steps into the spray of the hot shower, the steam fogging the gla.s.s doors. Raina bites her lip, her gaze lowering shyly, feeling confused by her timid reaction to the intimacy of showering with him and seeing his wet, naked body after experiencing every part of it repeatedly since last night. He turns around, pulling her against him into the warmth of the water, sweetly kissing her forehead. "What do you want to do today?" he asks, taking the soap and turning her around again to wash her back.

Delicious thoughts fill her mind of exactly what she wants to do right now, and she touches her lips again, smiling. "It's Christmas Eve and I haven't bought you anything for Christmas yet," she guiltily confesses, "I want to go shopping if that's okay with you."

"We will do whatever you want to do, darlin', but you don't have to get me anything, I have all I need right here in front of me."

She turns around, taking the soap from his hands, slathering it against his glistening, muscled torso, "I'm getting you a gift."

"Your gift is being delivered at home today, Chase is going to take it inside. So, I can buy you something to open tomorrow while we are out."

"Don't buy me anything else, I can wait until we get home."

Kas lowers his mouth to hers, "Right now, I have something that can't wait."

Raina's gaze lowers, and she laughs, her brow arching as she pulls the bulging, impatient part of him against her belly. The white heat that spreads through her is captivating, and she digs her fingers into his firm, full backside, pressing him hard against her, willing and ready to take care of what ever need her husband ever has. "Let me see what I can do about that then," she whispers, just before her back is pushed against the shower wall.

After eating at the renowned Pasticceria Taddeucci bakery, they decide to rent a car and explore. They drive to Florence, exploring the local shops before grabbing a quick lunch. Kas delights in watching Raina's eyes light up as they visit the Bargello Museum. Her awe at the Renaissance sculptures and art inspire him to pull her into his arms and kiss her pa.s.sionately right there, in the middle of the museum floor, masterpieces by Donatello, Luca della Robbia, and Michelangelo surrounding them as they become an exhibit of their own. Raina blushes as Kas finally releases her, the smiles of the couples and giggles of the children pa.s.sing by sending a scarlet flush to her cheeks.

They visit the Bargello Palace before heading back to their villa, stopping at a quaint trattoria on their way to eat dinner. They pull into the drive at the villa as snow starts to lightly fall. Raina smiles as she looks up into the night sky. The soft white snowflakes coolly kiss her face.

Kas stares at his wife, still overcome by how happy the simplest things make her. He kisses her head before walking to the back of the car and opening the trunk. Raina quickly steps up beside him, "I'll get this bag," she teases, winking at him as she pulls it out, holding it behind her back so he can't peek inside.

Kas starts a fire when they get into the villa as Raina takes the purchases upstairs. He slips the necklace he bought her out of his jacket pocket, hiding it in a drawer before she comes back downstairs. He grabs a couple of gla.s.ses, pouring sparkling cider in each one. Kas can hear Raina softly singing upstairs, and his body responds to the smooth, sultry voice of his talented wife. His already aroused state hardens even further when Raina walks down the stairs wrapped in a lavender satin gown, the sleek material hugging her every feminine curve. Her hair is loosely pulled off of her neck and soft tendrils frame her beautiful face. The light of the fire dances off of her skin, causing Kas to have to remind himself to breathe.

Raina takes the cider from his hand as she leans in and lightly brushes her lips against his before turning towards the living room. Kas takes her arm, stopping her as he steps up behind her, sliding her hair over the front of her shoulder as he kisses the back of her neck. He feels her body responding, pressing backwards into him, causing his manhood and pride to swell at her need for him. He slips his hand around hers, threading her slender fingers through his larger, powerful ones.

Raina's heart quickens at his touch, and she needs to feel his raw strength, his gentleness with her again. Absently, she wonders if she will ever be able to build a resistance to his irresistible, seducing masculinity.

He takes a long, slow sip of sparkling cider as his gaze sears into hers, leaving her body tingling with smoldering antic.i.p.ation. He lowers his mouth to hers, his lips are still cool from the cider, scorching her desire even higher. He takes the gla.s.s from her hand and leads her upstairs, lowering her onto the bed, slipping his shirt over his head on the way down. Raina runs her tongue across her dry lips, delighting in the fact that this will be another long night.

His mouth leaves her breathless, the feel of the heated, wet delectation of his lips sends her body into a fierce desire for him to be buried deep inside of her. She practically pants as his hands roam all over her, touching, teasing, provoking her to near madness. The feel of his lips is like a salacious whisper promising the fulfillment of every deep, erotic fantasy in existence.

He claims her with his mouth, and she almost propels straight off the bed, never before feeling anything so absolutely, exquisitely, mind-blowing. She unravels a little more with each talented swirl of his tongue. The tight-fisted grip on the sheets becomes impossibly tighter as his mouth delivers the purest form of ecstasy. Kas' pride swells with each pleasure-filled pant that leaves his wife's lips, and he is blown into the atmosphere when Raina cries out with her release.

Kas brushes the auburn waves off of Raina's shoulder, kissing her creamy, exposed skin. Raina moans softly, rolling over onto her back as she slowly opens her eyes. She giggles when she sees Kas hovering over her, his eyes bright and excited, "Merry Christmas, darlin'," he whispers.

"Merry Christmas."

Kas quickly slides out of bed, tugging on her hand, obviously wanting her to follow. She would rather pull him back into bed, snuggling up next to him for a while, but she willingly follows, not wanting to spoil his excitement. Raina realizes that Kas must have been up for some time already as she feels the warmth of the fire when he leads her down the stairs. Her eyes widen with surprise when she sees the ingenious Christmas tree he created out of empty, decorative wine bottles strung together, beginning at the ceiling, billowing out in the shape of a tree to the floor, with lights glowing inside the mixture of dark and light gla.s.s. She turns to him, a gleeful expression of wonder on her face.

"You have to have a Christmas tree on Christmas morning," he explains simply, a smile curving his lips, his eyes proudly shining at her astonishment.

"It's amazing," she whispers truthfully.

"You're amazing," he breathes, slipping his hand behind her neck, his mouth finding her sweet spot below her ear. "Let's take a shower, then we can eat breakfast and open gifts."

Raina relishes in his meaning of showering and eagerly agrees, sliding her hand in his as he leads her upstairs.

Raina sits in front of the warm fire, excitedly holding Kas' gift behind her back. "Open mine to you," she excitedly exclaims, holding it out to him.

Kas takes the gift wrapped in red paper with a green bow on top and holds it up to his ear, shaking it.

"Open it," Raina encourages impatiently.

A large smile spreads across his lips as he takes off the bow, opening the wrapping paper, revealing a stainless steel box. He glances at Raina, giving her a look, silently telling her that he hopes she didn't spend too much on him. Raina beams at his pleased, surprised expression as he removes the finely crafted Italian watch. "It's made to withstand very rough handling, it's double layered, anti-reflective, and water resistant."

"Raina, it's really nice, I love it, but you shouldn't have spent so much."

"Look on the back," she shyly watches through her lashes as Kas turns the tough, luxury watch over.

He studies the Italian words, Sei la mia vita, before looking at Raina questioningly for a translation.

"You are my life," she whispers.

Kas pulls her into his arms, wrapping her lovingly, protectively, in his embrace, "And you are mine." He holds her in his arms a moment, enjoying the feel of her against him, the warmth and sweet innocence of her, marveling in how much he loves this woman before finally letting her go. He goes to the hiding place he stashed her gift and returns with an impatient smile of his own. "Okay, your turn."

Raina smiles, her left eyebrow arching as she peeks at him shyly before opening the gift, revealing a delicate authentic Italian gla.s.s necklace, beautifully hued with the same vibrant colors of the vase he bought her on her birthday. "It's so beautiful, I love it," she exclaims, throwing her arms around his neck.

Kas turns her around, sliding her soft auburn curls over her shoulder as he fastens her necklace. She turns back around to face him, the expression on her lovely face being too much, so he strips her of everything but the necklace, and they spend the rest of Christmas morning getting lost in each other.

The small crack in the ceiling is exactly 2.3 centimeters in width and 37.4 centimeters long. It is accompanied by a dirty urine colored stain surrounding the flaking crack's edges. Sometimes Chris can imagine patterns in the putrid stain, providing at least a few moments as a pitiful excuse of recreation in his 8 X 6 box. He sits up on his bottom bunk, staring blankly at the blandly painted brick wall in front of him. He hears the low humming of the convicted murderer two cells down, and he closes his eyes, the off-key hum somehow soothing him in this rancid place.

A burly, arrogant guard raps his nightstick on the metal bars that Chris despises, keeping him locked in like some pathetic caged animal. "Got you a new friend, Sutton," the guard's taunting words bellow through his cell.

Chris stands slowly as the overweight guard with a gland condition opens the door, pushing a c.o.c.ky, young dark-haired man inside. The cell doors are locked again, mocking his right to freedom. He lazily looks at his new cellmate, taking his time to shake the hand extended to him.

"I'm Ryan, Ryan Eldridge, but my friends call me Ry."

Chris nods his head apathetically before sliding a well-worn photo from underneath his pillow, his jaw tightening as he lies back down on his bottom bunk.

Ryan ignores the unfriendly welcome, peeking down, letting out a low whistle at the beautiful auburn-haired woman in the photo. "Is that your girl?"

Chris never takes his eyes off of the picture, "Yes, she's mine," he states possessively, caressing the captured face with his thumb.

"You're one lucky SOB to have a girl like that waiting on you when you get out."

Chris rolls over, holding the picture tightly as he silently tells his new cellmate that his attempt at a conversation is now over.

Raina sips on her espresso as she stands out on the balcony, gazing down at the beauty in front of her. The snow left a light dusting, leaving the grape vines sparkling white in the morning sun. She takes in the stark vibrancy of the large red fruit against the snowy branches on the j.a.panese Perismmon trees. The early morning is so peaceful, and Raina closes her eyes, enjoying the tranquility.

"Feel like doing some more exploring today?" Kas asks, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I would love to see some of the cathedrals and visit more of the small towns before we leave. What do you want to do?"

Kas looks at her, a wicked gleam in his eyes, and she laughs.

"I mean, where would you like to visit in Italy?" she asks, playfully smacking his arm.

"The only places I know about in Italy are the larger tourist attractions, I would like to see some of those."

Raina kisses him before stepping back inside, shedding her jacket, walking backwards to the bed, her gaze seductively pulling him towards her, "I suppose waiting a couple of hours before leaving won't hurt anything."

Kas and Raina spend the next four days leisurely exploring Italy, the main tourist attractions as well as several of the lesser known ones. The cathedrals are amazingly ornate with beautiful masterpieces painted throughout the historic churches. Seeing Juliette's balcony is bittersweet to Raina, she has always loved the Shakespeare cla.s.sic, but it leaves her saddened every time. They take their time exploring Italy and continuing to explore each other, slowly, sweetly, hard, and full of pa.s.sion, savoring every moment together.

Their last morning in Italy is spent with them wrapped in each other's arms, making one last unforgettable memory in the charming villa they have grown very fond of. Kas falls back on the bed, plopping his head exhaustedly on his pillow, a thin sheen of sweat covering him as he takes Raina's hand, bringing it to his lips, softly kissing her fingers. "You are killing me, Raina, wearing me out."

Raina's heart is gloriously pounding as she tries to catch her breath. "I blame it on you, you are just too irresistible."

Kas laughs as his senses slowly return, "We better shower, we have to be at the airport in a couple of hours." He props himself up on his elbow, resting his head on his hand as he stares into very satisfied jade eyes, "Sweetheart, it's time to take you home."

CHAPTER NINE.

Kas unlocks the door and sweeps Raina into his arms, causing beautiful giggles to escape when he carries her over the threshold. "Stay right here, and close your eyes." He walks into the living room, making sure the painting arrived. Once again, he is grateful for Chase, seeing that he has already hung it where he had mentioned he wanted it to be, displayed where it can be seen from the living room and the kitchen. He walks back to Raina and laughs at her impatience, her eyes still closed but restlessly fidgeting to see his surprise for her. He takes her hand, leading her into the living room before telling her she can finally open her eyes.

Raina opens one eye, looking at Kas quizzically before opening the other and glancing around the room. Her eyes widen, glistening with tears as her gaze stops on the painting of her mother hung on the wall. Raina is speechless as she stares at the remarkable rendition. Tears roll down her cheeks as she throws her arms around Kas, holding on tightly to the man she loves so deeply, feeling undeservedly blessed to have a man so loving and considerate.

Raina is still speechless as he slips her out of his arms, looking at her lovingly. "When I told Henry you don't have a picture of your mother, he was heartbroken, especially since he didn't have any pictures to be able to give you due to his losing all of his own personal memorabilia in his house fire ten years ago." Kas gently wipes away a tear rolling slowly down her cheek. "He told me your mom's alma mater, and I pulled a picture from an old annual online. Erik helped me with the forensic art age progression to see what she probably looked like when you were five. I had her portrait made from the progression photo. I hope it's a close enough of a resemblance to how you remember her."

Raina wipes away another tear, holding her hand over her mouth a few seconds before she can finally speak, "She looks just like I remember her, especially her eyes. They were also so kind and loving." Raina stops, her voice cracking at the memory and Kas' overwhelming kindness, "Kas...thank you so much."

He pulls her into his arms, "Everyone needs a picture of their mother, Raina." He pushes back a sudden stab of anger at why she didn't have one.

Kas' cell rings, and he sees it's his aunt Lori calling. Raina bites her lip, feeling guilty that she and the other members of his family weren't at the wedding. She hopes Lori isn't upset with him, or with her, at missing it. Kas spends a few minutes on the phone before hanging up, finding a nervous-looking Raina staring quizzically at him. "They want us to go to Dad's this Sat.u.r.day, they have planned a wedding reception."

Raina's confusion is evident, and Kas laughs, "Sweetheart, I told you that they wouldn't be angry. You should've heard Aunt Lori bubbling over with excitement."

"That is very kind of her."

Kas can tell that Raina still isn't used to healthy family interactions. "Just be prepared for lots of hugs," he teases.

They unpack and settle back in as his cell rings again, this time it's Frank's voice on the line. "Welcome back, boss, how was Italy?" Frank asks, and Kas hears the teasing smirk of implication in his tone.

"It was great."

"Since you've gone and tied the knot and just got back, we figured you might want a change of plans for this New Year's Eve."

Kas closes his eyes, he hasn't even thought of their traditional New Year's Eve get together at his house every year. Raina looks at him quizzically, and he whispers that it's Frank asking about tomorrow night. She asks what their plans are, and Kas tells Frank to hold on while he sheepishly informs her that they usually all come over there. He tells her that they can skip that this year, but Raina shakes her head adamantly, not wanting Kas to stop his traditions because of her, "Tell them to come over, I'll cook."

He stares at her, bewilderment seizing him for a few seconds before responding, "Are you sure? We are technically still on our honeymoon, and you have no idea how much they can eat."

"I don't mind cooking, besides, it will be fun, our first get-together as husband and wife," Raina responds happily.

Kas shakes his head, pretty sure that she is going to regret the whole cooking offer, but tells Frank that the plans are still on. After a few minutes, he hangs up and wraps Raina in his arms, "You are so amazing. I can't believe you want to feed the whole team, you might be kicking everyone out after an hour."

"Right now, I'm the one who's hungry," she whispers into his ear, as she trails kisses down his neck.

"Well, I think I have something that can take care of that," Kas readily replies, sweeping her into his arms again as he carries her to their bedroom.

Raina comes home from the grocery store and is unloading the car as Kas pulls in the drive, quickly shoving the plane ticket in the glove box before slipping out of his jeep to help her carry the grocery bags inside. He pushes the unpleasant thoughts of his deceitfulness out of his mind. "Did you buy the whole store?" he teases as he fills his arms with bags again.

"We're going to have a house full, I want to be sure we have enough."

Kas watches Raina as she lays out food, deciding what she is going to cook. She starts singing softly as she takes out pots and pans, and he feels warm from his head to his toes. It amazes him that she is so happy doing something most would complain about, but it saddens him that she didn't have any experiences like this growing up, at least not after her mother died. "What can I help with?" he asks, slipping his arms around her waist, pulling her next to him.

She presses her body harder against his, "You are going to have to leave this kitchen or I'm not going to get anything done, and we will starve tonight."

"Am I distracting you?" he whispers seductively, nibbling just below her ear, relishing in the knowledge that he is driving her crazy.

She gives up, turns around and runs her fingers through his short, dark curls, "I love it when you distract me." She pushes her body against him, pressing her lips against his.

Kas puts the meat back in the fridge before taking her hand, "Good, because I have so many different ways of providing wicked distraction."

Kas helps Raina finish the last of the hors d' oeuvres as their company starts arriving. "It's open," he calls over his shoulder when he hears the knock at the door.

Chase and Sara come inside, handing Kas a bottle of wine as Sara joins Raina in the kitchen, asking if she needs any help. "You can take these to the table if you want," Raina answers, handing her a tray full of wonderful smelling finger foods.

There's another knock on the door, and Raina's eyes meet the repent filled eyes of Seth as he walks towards her, stopping in front of her to take her hand in his. "I'm so sorry, Raina, I never would have told your father where to find you if I knew what he was going to do."

"It wasn't your fault, Seth, there was no way you could've known."

He pulls her in for a hug as Kas joins them. Seth looks a little uneasy when he sees Kas, and Raina looks between the two quizzically.

"Seth, can I talk with you for a minute?" Kas asks, his expression repenting as well, furthering Raina's confusion.

Seth nods his head, but his uneasiness remains apparent as he follows Kas through the French doors, onto the deck. Raina witnesses the look between Chase and Sara, and she looks at Chase expectantly, "What's going on?"

"You're going to have to talk with Kas about that, Rain."

Sara takes her arm, leading her into the living room, trying to distract her, "You have to tell me all about Italy."

Raina knows what Sara is doing but gives in for the moment, telling her about the places they visited while glancing periodically through the gla.s.s on the French doors, wishing she could read lips.

Seth's uneasiness seems to have vanished by the time they come back inside. Kas avoids Raina's eliciting gaze as he answers the door, stepping aside as Austin and Jake arrive, a pretty blonde on Austin's arm. Raina shakes her head, wondering how she is ever going to be able to keep track of Austin's dates. The attractive blonde is introduced as Jessica, and Raina and Sara take her into the kitchen, immediately befriending her as the rest of the guests arrive.