Summary: Castle and Kate play strip poker. Castle says that poker is his second nature and Kate - she knows a trick or two as well.
A/N: This is my take on how Kate and Castle's game of strip poker could go. One funny shot that takes place during the fifth season. I tried to stay in character and I hope I succeeded. I really hope you like it. Please write reviews - I would really appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Caste or its characters
Strip poker
It was late afternoon and Katherine Beckett had finished work early. She and Castle were in his apartment, getting ready to play poker. Castle prepared the cards and the chips for the game and set them on the table. Then they both sat down at the table opposite to each other. They were ready to begin to play poker, both sitting comfortable at their seats, staring at each other quietly for a moment.
Kate was the first to break the silence. "So... you wanna make it a strip poker, Castle?" She suggested with a teasing voice and raised her eyebrow questioningly.
"Why Kate, I thought you'd never ask." Caste answered with a broad smile, looking very pleased that she was the one suggesting to play strip poker.
He thought that if he was the one to suggest a game of strip poker, she would have refused. It's not like he had never tried, but every time when he suggested playing a strip poker, Kate would refuse with a biting remark like 'Sorry, but I prefer mystery to horror,' or some other snarky comment. Even when they got together she always refused playing strip poker with him, saying teasingly that they would play but only in his dreams. And now he was more than happy and thrilled that finally, he was going to fulfill one of his own fantasies - to play a strip poker with Kate Beckett.
"Prepare to get your ass kicked." She warned him as she leaned on the table, getting closer to Castle's face and gave him a daring look.
She looked so confident of herself with a happy smile on her face, boasting about how she would get his ass kicked. Castle definitely enjoyed seeing that side of her - when she was getting competitive.
"I have to warn you, poker is my second nature." He answered, getting closer to her as well. It was his turn to boast and get competitive.
"We'll see about that," she answered, sounding skeptical.
The skepticism in Kate's voice offended Castle a bit but he just ignored it. "Before we start, let's set the rules first," he suggested and leaned back comfortable on his chair.
"What rules? Whoever lose have to strip something off him. It's as simple as that." Kate said and took the deck of cards from the table.
"And if someone folds, this means he lose and has to strip something off too." Castle explained to Beckett.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I don't give up easily." She reassured him and gave him the cards. "Now, shuffle!" She ordered him and Castle started shuffling the deck of cards thoroughly.
After that, he dealt out the cards and they started the game. They both made their bets and none of them folded. Kate raised the bet and Castle paid her. She looked at him, studying his expression carefully, wondering whether he had higher cards than her own or he was just bluffing. She didn't fold and they continued betting until it was time to reveal their cards and see who was winning. Both looking very confident at themselves, they put their cards on the table at the same time and Kate smiled broadly. She had three of a kind and Castle was obviously bluffing the whole time.
Kate took the chips that she won eagerly and smirked. "So, what were you saying again?" She asked, stroking her chin, pretending she was finding it hard to recall his exact words. "Poker is your second nature?" She repeated his words in a mocking demeanor. "Ha! More like your last!" She exclaimed.
Kate's mocking tone infuriated Castle a little bit but he tried to stay calm and simply answered, "Beginner's luck."
That was his only explanation for the fact that Kate won the first hand. He just ignored her last snarky comment and got up from his chair in silence. He lost the first hand and unfortunately for him, had to strip something off. So he looked at Kate's eyes, making sure she was watching him, and started unbuttoning his blue shirt. First he unbuttoned the sleeves and then continued unbuttoning the shirt. He took one step closer to Kate with each button that he undid. He couldn't help but notice the fact that she was staring at him intently, obviously enjoying the sight of him stripping. When he reached her chair, he got really close to her and took his shirt off very slowly, never breaking the eye contact with her.
Kate looked up into his blue eyes and reached out to touch him but he stopped her. "No touching," he said and caught her hand, preventing her from reaching his naked chest. "You can just watch and enjoy," he said, deliberately showing his muscular arm, trying to tease her. She couldn't suppress her smile. She knew very well how much Castle loved showing off.
After that, when the show of Castle stripping and showing off was over, he returned to his seat and they continued with the game. Castle dealt the cards out and their second hand began. They both were in and the betting had just started. This time Castle was the one who raised the bet and Kate paid him because she was sure that he was bluffing again. After the betting, Kate put her cards on the table, showing that she had just one high card and looked at Castle expectantly. She hoped that he didn't have anything.
"Ha!" Castle banged his fist on the table and revealed his cards to Kate with a triumphant smile on his face. "I win!" He exclaimed loudly and suddenly got up from his chair and waved his fist in the air triumphantly.
Kate got a bit startled from his sudden outburst. She looked down at the table and saw that Castle had a full house.
"In your face!" He bent down on the table, getting closer to her face. "Looser!" He mocked her and then did the loser gesture. He was standing there with his forefinger and his thumb in the shape of an 'L' on his forehead, smiling smugly at her.
Castle went too far demeaning her and Kate just couldn't stand it anymore - she had to do something immediately. She had to think of something to erase his smug smile off his face. It was her turn to strip so she thought of something really quickly. "Ha ha!" She got up from her seat as well and started laughing. "Oh my God, Castle, you are so easy!" She exclaimed and shook her head disapprovingly at him. "I simply let you win," she explained to him and Castle looked at her, surprised.
"And why would you do that?" Castle asked her, not buying a word she was saying.
"Umm, let's see," she said in a lowered tone. Then she deliberately looked down and began to unbutton her shirt starting from the last button, slowly going up. "I um... let you win because," she said in a husky voice and bit her lower lip, continuing to unbutton her shirt very slowly. She was very pleased to see that she caught Castle's attention immediately. He was standing in front of her, running his finger through his mouth and biting his lower lip, staring at her intently. "Because it was getting hotter and hotter," she used her low sexy voice just to tease him. Now she had his full attention and she indented to take advantage of it. "And I just couldn't stand the heat." She was talking in a low sexy tone, unbuttoning her shirt very slowly and biting her lower lip deliberately. He was waiting in anticipation to see her taking her shirt off and judging by the look on his face, he was obviously getting a bit impatient. So she took her shirt off very slowly and then let it drop on the floor. "Distraction." She said finally in her normal voice as she sat down at her chair, looking very pleased with herself.
Castle was paying more attention to the sexy body in front of him and Kate's words escaped him. "What?" He asked, continuing staring at her half-naked body. He saw that she was wearing a sexy black lace bra and was looking smoking hot in it.
"I let you win because now I can distract you." She explained while he sat down on his seat, not breaking the eye contact with her body.
"Oh, you don't play fair." He complained because she had obviously succeeded in her mission to distract him.
"What's the matter, Ricky? You got scared that I will beat the pants off you?" She asked and made a pouting face at him.
He couldn't help but smile because she was looking very cute when she pouted. "Me - scared?" He pointed at himself and leaned at the table, getting closer to her. "Never!"
Then he started dealing out the deck of cards and the game began again. They both went in, as usual. Castle was watching Kate during the betting and was still enjoying the view of her half-naked body. He found Kate a bit distracting like that - only with her lace bra on - but tried to concentrate on the game.
"I raise," he said, trying to avoid looking at Kate's sexy body, which was right in front of him.
"I pay and raise," Kate said, ready to put her raising on the table when suddenly Castle raised his hand and stopped her.
He looked at her and asked, "Are you sure you want to raise? I mean, you already lost the previous game. I don't want you to humiliate yourself by losing another game."
"Third time's the charm," she simply said and smiled, then put her chips down on the table.
"Need I remind you, I am the master of poker?" Castle said it in a matter-of-fact tone.
When she heard what he was saying, she couldn't help but make a 'pfft' sound and roll her eyes at his statement. "I raise, master!" She answered, emphasizing the word "master" in a mocking tone.
"I pay," he answered cockily and then rubbed his hands together like he was sure he was going to win. "Let's see what you got."
They turned their cards at the same time just to see that Castle had a lower hand than Kate - she had a full house.
"Ha ha! Who's the master now?" Kate exclaimed and clapped her hands excitedly. "You lose! Again!" She mocked him and crossed her arms, looking very pleased that she won the hand so now she could rub Castle's nose in it.
"You lost the previous time," he reminded her but she ignored his comment.
"Don't talk - strip!" She ordered him with a cocky grin.
He looked a bit surprised by her words. "Getting impatient already?" He teased and looked at her intently, savoring her eagerness to see him naked.
She was tapping her finger on the table, waiting in anticipation. "Come on! Take your pants off!" She urged him and gave him a sultry look.
"In your dreams!" Castle exclaimed, very pleased with himself when he saw Kate's surprised face from his words. "I think I will go with a sock," he explained, pointing at his foot under the table with a content smile on his face. Kate on the other hand, didn't look happy at all. When she crossed her arms and gave him a dirty look, he immediately bent under the table and took his sock off.
"Just one sock! Seriously, Castle?"
"So impatient to see me naked, are you Kate?" He teased her.
She didn't answer - just looked at him and rolled her eyes, looking very unpleased. "Okay. I will take the other one too," he said and did so when he saw that she was still giving him dirty looks. "Just to please you," he winked at her as he dropped his other sock on the floor.
Then again, they continued playing their poker game. They both went in and started betting. Kate looked at her cards and wasn't very pleased but she tried not to give away anything to Castle. She put her poker face on and continued playing.
"I raise," Castle said and put some chips on the table. Then he looked at Kate, daring her.
"I fold," Kate stated and put her cards on the table. She gave up easily because didn't have cards even for a bluff.
"I thought you never give up."
"Maybe I lost on purpose," she said and smiled mischievously at him.
"You say that every time you lose," Castle told her.
"No, I don't!" She snapped at him, looking a bit annoyed.
"The good news is that I won so it's your turn to strip," he said with a pleased tone, getting ready for the show.
"Soo, what should I strip?" She asked teasingly and looked at Castle. "My pants" she suggested and saw that Castle couldn't help but smile at her suggestion. "Or perhaps my bra," she teased and bit her lip to suppress a smirk when she saw that Castle was grinning boyishly and nodding approvingly at her. She liked teasing him very much and even more - she liked the effect she had on him while she teased him. He looked so cute and always so eager to see her naked. "I think I will go with socks." She finally said with a determination and when Castle heard that, he stopped grinning immediately. He looked a bit frustrated from her answer.
"You are such a tease!" He exclaimed.
Kate saw that he was obviously disappointed from her choice. But she was more than pleased that she had tortured him a bit because she thought to herself that he totally deserved it.
When she took her socks off, Castle shuffled the cards and they began playing a new hand. Unfortunately for Kate, she lost again.
"Watch this and cry," Castle bragged, pointing at his cards on the table.
"And why would I cry?" Kate asked, intrigued and looked at him questioningly.
"Because you lost. Again!" He emphasized his last word in order to make her feel bad for losing another hand. "You know, you should change your name to a loser." Castle mocked her and she rolled her eyes at his statement.
"Don't gloat. It doesn't suit you," she warned him.
"Says the loser," he commented. "Don't tell me you lost on purpose again." He kept nagging about the fact that she lost. He just couldn't let it go.
"Oh, shut up!" Kate snapped back at him, annoyed, and crossed her arms defensively. She definitely didn't like losing.
Castle gazed at her, thinking how cute she looked when she was annoyed.
Kate saw that he was in a deep thought. "So, Castle," she tried to gain his attention, "what should I strip now - my pants or my bra?" She asked and first she showed her leg then she pointed to her lace bra. "What would you like to see first?" She questioned him teasingly as she got up from her chair. "My beautiful long legs," she pointed at her legs with her hand, "or my," she didn't finish her sentence but looked down at her chest suggestively and then smirked.
"Why are you even asking? We both know that you are a coward so you will take your pants off first."
If he was trying to provoke her with his words then he definitely succeeded. Kate thought about it for a second and decided that if she took her bra off, she could tease and distract Castle in order to make him lose the next hand. So she got closer to his chair with a certain determination and said in a sultry voice, "Castle, would you unhook my bra?" She turned around with her back at him and looked at him seductively through her shoulder. "I can't reach it." She said and showed that she couldn't reach it - or more likely, she just pretended that she couldn't.
Castle was more than happy to fulfill her request. He got up real quick and unhooked her bra. Then Kate turned to face him and continued teasing him. "Would you take it off, please?" She lowered her voice to a sultry tease.
He did what she asked him to do but of course, he couldn't help but touch her while he was taking her bra off. When it came to Kate, Castle was always ready to take advantage of the situation, especially when it involved touching her. And now he was more than just taking advantage of her - he was slowly running his fingers through her soft skin, gently teasing her. Then he took her bra off and let it fall on the floor but saw that Kate kept standing there, not moving at all. He looked at her soft eyes and started running his fingers at her collarbone and slowly went down until he reached her nipple.
Kate completely forgot that she was the one who was supposed to tease him. She was momentarily distracted when he ran his thumb through her sensitive nipple. "Castle!" She gasped his name and tried to bring herself into her senses. But he was still running his thumb through her sensitive skin and she just couldn't think straight. "Castle!" She repeated his name in order to make him stop.
It took him several minutes, but Castle finally realized what Kate was doing and that she was doing it on purpose. She was deliberately teasing him with her sexy body in order to distract him. He felt a bit stupid that he totally fell for it so he stopped touching her abruptly. "There you go," he said, petting her shoulder and suddenly moved away from her like she was contagious. He wanted to keep distance from her, even though he had lost control just for a few seconds. He thought that it was for the best to keep himself away from the temptation - as far away as he could get from Kate Beckett.
Kate had a satisfied grin on her face because even though she got a bit distracted herself, she was pleased to see that she succeeded in her mission tease Castle. After they took their seats back, Kate saw that Caste was acting a bit weird - he was constantly looking up at her, checking her body out and then suddenly looking down at the table, sighing with frustration. She just loved the effect she had on him even just by sitting opposite to him, shirtless.
"Would you stop staring and shuffle the cards?" Kate asked and passed him the deck of cards. It was time to continue with the game.
Castle nodded silently, shuffled the cards and dealt them out. They both went in and the betting started again.
"I raise," Kate said and gave Castle a self-confident smile. But she established that he was too concentrated on his cards and decided to tease him just a bit more just to distract him. She didn't want to let him win again. So she looked at him, making sure she got his attention, and started running her finger trough her neck, slowly going down to her chest. She bit her lower lip seductively, still caressing her neck, enjoying Castle's reactions to her teasing.
"I-I uh, I pay." Castle stuttered, obviously distracted by Kate's behavior. It was bad enough that he was constantly distracted from seeing Kate naked in front of him but now that she was running her fingers through her soft skin, biting her lip - that was just torturous. All he could think about was how much he wanted to reach out and be the one to touch her soft skin.
Kate smiled mischievously, pleased with herself and said, "Let's see what you got."
Castle put his cards down obediently, still drooling over Kate. When she stopped touching herself Castle finally came to his senses. "You know, I see what you are doing but it's not going to work." He warned her.
"Really? Cause it seems to be working just great." She answered him and put her own cards on the table.
"And why would you say that?" He asked, trying hard to avoid looking at her.
"Because I win, if you haven't noticed." She said and pointed at their cards on the table.
"W-w-what?" He stuttered then looked down at the table and saw that Kate had four of a kind. For a few seconds, he had even forgotten that they were still playing.
"I win! And you lose - your pants!" Kate exclaimed excitedly and pointed at his pants with her forefinger. Then she leaned on her chair comfortably, crossed her arms and smiled broadly. "I won! Fair and square!" She beamed.
"Fair and square?" He repeated her own words, insinuating them. "You call that fair and square? Because I call it cheating! You cheated!" He accused her in her face.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. If that's what you need to boost your ego, then fine." She stated confidently.
"You were distracting me. Don't try to deny it," he answered, looking a bit offended that she wouldn't even admit it.
"Distracted or not, it seems that you have to take your pants off. And I'd rather you did it slowly." She said and giggled quietly. She was more than pleased to wait and watch him strip.
He got up from his chair and exclaimed, "Oh, you like to watch, don't you?" He teased her and she couldn't help but smile at his statement because it was totally true. She loved watching Castle strip - it was so sexy and yet somehow adorable and cute.
"Take it off already," she begged because she was growing impatient.
"Would you unzip my pants? I can't reach the zipper." He imitated her tone, pretending that he can't reach his own pants. She understood what he was doing. He was imitating her, obviously mocking at her for the previous time when she asked him to unhook her bra because she "couldn't reach it".
Kate suppressed her smile and looked at him. "Okay. Come on," she said and beckoned Castle with a hand gesture to come closer to her chair. He obeyed and moved closer to her, standing there and staring at her soft hazel eyes. She looked at him with a suggestive smirk on her face and then licked her lip demonstratively. She saw that Castle swallowed hard but didn't move away. She unbuckled his pants, giving him a gentle touch or two while doing it.
Now that she was touching him, he was finding it very hard to resist her and was fighting against all of his instincts. He was the one meant to be teasing her, not the other way around.
"I-I got it. I got it." He muttered, moving away from her, escaping from her teasing touches. He realized that it wasn't such as good idea as he thought it would be. So he sat back on his seat and took his pants off all by himself.
"This is going to be our last game," Kate said, collecting the cards from the table.
"Why?" Castle asked, surprised. She still had her pants on and her panties as well.
"Because all you have left to bet is your boxers. And I am going to take them in this game." She said, making it sound like a threat.
"Not if I take your pants off first," he answered her threat teasingly.
"Is that a threat?"
"Just a warning," he winked at her and took the cards from her hand. Then he dealt them out and the betting started.
"I raise," Castle said and moved some of his chips to the middle of the table. He looked at Kate and saw that she was staring at her cards, still thinking. He was finding it very hard to concentrate on the game when she was half-naked right in front of him. How could he concentrate when she hadn't stopped teasing him during the whole game? But he thought that he could play this game of teasing too. After his failed attempt to tease her while letting her take his pants off, he thought of a better way to distract her.
"I pay," Kate finally decided and put her chips on the table.
Castle grabbed her hand, touched her gently and called her name, "Kate." Then he leaned closer to her face.
"Yeah." She answered and looked at him without moving her hand from his touch.
"You know what I want right now?" He asked and started running his fingers through her soft hand, caressing her gently.
"What?" She asked and leaned even closer to him, intrigued.
"I want to touch you right now. I want to reach out and touch you... to touch your breasts... to rub my fingers through your nipple and play with it just the way you like it." He was whispering to her ear with a husky tone, gently caressing her hand with his fingers. "I want you right here and right now," he stated huskily and looked at her eyes. When he saw that she was biting hard her lower lip and had goose bumps all over her skin, he knew his aim was accomplished so he let go of her hand. She let out a small noise, something between a whine and a sigh and withdrew her hand from the table. He was very pleased with himself because he knew how much she liked it when he talked dirty to her.
"I raise," Castle said and looked at Kate - her face was a bit flushed and she shifted awkwardly in her chair, composing herself.
"I pay," Kate said, her voice uneven, still trying to concentrate on the game. "And raise."
"Oh, you are so gonna lose," Castle said with a content smile on his face.
"Well, at least I still have my pants on," Kate stated, matter-of-factly. "And my dignity!" She added, insinuating that Castle had lost his when he tried to distract her with his dirty talk.
"I am all in," Castle said and moved all of his chips in the middle of the table. Then he looked at Kate and noticed that she still looked a bit hot and bothered so he just couldn't stop smiling, pleased with himself.
"I-I" Kate stuttered, Castle's words still echoing in her head. "I fold," she said after a moment of consideration.
"That was easy!" Castle exclaimed as Kate started to take her pants off under the table. "What if I told you that I was just bluffing?" He asked as he leaned closer to Kate, studying her. She just dropped her pants on the floor demonstratively and then started collecting the cards silently. "Won't you get up and show off these beautiful legs of yours?" He teased and looked at her questioningly.
"Let's play!" Kate answered with a certain determination in her voice and gave him the deck of cards.
At this state of the game, Castle and Kate were both sitting opposite each other on the table only in their underpants, staring at each other silently. They were both a bit aroused, wondering about each other's thoughts. Castle wondered if Kate was aroused as he was and Kate was thinking the exact same thing. They both were growing impatient with every passed second but they didn't want to give up just yet. So they stayed calmly at their seats, covering up their true feelings and lusty desires, pretending that everything was fine and continuing playing the game, neither of them ready to admit defeat.
So they played along, betting and then the raising had just started. It was their last game, so they were both in it to win it.
While they were still playing, Kate decided she had to distract Castle in order to make him lose. It was her last shot. She was ready to tease him one more time so she could win the game. She stretched out her foot until she found Castle's naked leg under the table. Then she started running her toes through his leg very slowly and gently.
"What... what are you doing?" Castle barely stuttered as he looked at Kate. Then he looked down at her foot and swallowed hard. "Your foot is a bit cold and it's kind of distrac -" He was going to complain that it was very distracting but he trailed off when he suddenly realized she was doing it on purpose. That was in fact what she was trying to do - distract him.
When he dared to look at her again she was biting her lower lip, looking down at her cards innocently, like she wasn't doing anything wrong. She was a bit flushed though and Castle didn't know whether it was from the fact that she liked the sensation from their touching legs or something else. He wondered if she was aroused as him but he couldn't even see her eyes because she was looking down.
"I raise," Kate said and moved a few of her chips in the middle of the table. Then looked at Castle's deep blue eyes. She was still running her foot, touching his leg under the table and couldn't help but wonder who liked it better - her or Castle.
"The things you do just to win a game!" He said in accusing tone, looking at her, shaking his head disapprovingly. Then he reached out and caught her leg with his hands. "Katherine Beckett, you should be ashamed of yourself!" He scolded her and then started massaging her foot under the table.
Kate acted a pouty face and then she looked down like she was ashamed of herself. "I'd be happy to let you spank me," she said in sultry tone and winked at him seductively. "Isn't that what you said to me when we first met?"
"And you remember?" He exclaimed, smirking .
"Oh, yeah," she confirmed and bit her lower lip, enjoying the foot massage he was giving her.
"So, are you serious about the spanking? " he asked excitedly and put her leg away.
"Let's see what you got." She said, shifting in her seat uncomfortably, leaving his question unanswered. She was a bit disappointed that he stopped massaging her foot so abruptly.
"Okay. I pay your raising," he moved some chips on the table. "And let's see who's wining ."
Castle and Kate put their cards on the table at the same time and Kate smiled broadly when she saw that she had higher cards than Castle.
"Ha ha! I win!" Kate cheered while Castle started removing his boxers under the table. She looked at him and bit her lip, savoring the moment when she beat Castle in poker.
"One more hand," he offered her after he dropped his boxers on the floor.
"But you are already naked!" She stated the obvious, pointing at him.
"And you are not."
"I got my panties on, but what can you offer me since you are nude?" Kate asked, intrigued by whatever Castle was ready to offer.
"If I win, you take the rest of your clothes off."
"My panties .Yeah, I got that," she answered. "And what will I gain if I win?" She repeated her question, getting a bit impenitent.
"You get to decide what we'll do next," he said. "Whatever is in your mind," he answered, giving her a reassuring smile.
"But Castle, only sex is in my mind right now." She stated quietly and it sounded like she was complaining.
"Whatever you please." He couldn't help but smirk because he was thinking the exact same thing.
"Let me get this straight. So if I win the next hand, we'll do whatever I want. However I want it," Kate said and couldn't help but smirk at that thought. "And if you win, I should strip my panties off and let you decide what we'll do next."
"Yeah, pretty much," he answered and couldn't help but smirk when she saw her bright smile.
"All that trouble just to get my panties?" She teased him and leaned on the table, looking at him questioningly.
"Only if you lose."
Kate seemed like she was mulling it over for a few seconds and then looked at Castle, biting her lower lip, a slight smirk on her face. "Okay, I am game," she said decisively.
Castle looked at her and said, "I know what you are thinking." He leaned closer on the table and nodded in agreement at her unsaid thoughts. "It's a win-win situation," he confirmed and gave her a big bright smile.
"I like winning," she said as she leaned even closer to his face.
"Me too," he said and she gave him a quick peck on the lips.
She moved closer to his ear and softly whispered, "Just so you know, my panties are dripping wet." Then she smiled mischievously and looked at Castle - there wasn't any trace of a smile on his face, only lust.
End