A/N: To new readers: Please note that this is a NC-rated Chapter of my AU fic 'Home is where the Heart is'

Chapter 26

"Hey..." Castle peered his head through the split open door to the adjoined bathroom. He had been waiting for quite a while now in bed but after ten minutes Beckett was still out of sight, and the fact that no sound was coming from the room next door, got him worried.

She flashed him a brief smile, diverting her eyes back to an invisible spot on the sink.

"Something wrong?" he thus enquired.

This time she shook her head in the negative, "No, yes... uhm... maybe... I don't know..." Castle's smile grew an inch wider. She was even more adorable when nervous. "Don't make fun of me, all right! You know I haven't... I..." Castle wasn't making fun of her at all. He just thought their situation to be somewhat cute. Her uneasiness though seemed to be getting out of hand here. "I'm not you, Rick."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know..." At his quizzical expression she continued, "You've had like hundreds of girlfriends. I can't compete with that."

Castle chuckled, "Hundreds? Please, you make it sound so bad. And FYI, I've never had hundreds of girlfriends!" he air quoted, "Why are we having this conversation anyway?" But silence was the only explanation he received. "You want my number? Okay, fine... fourteen."

Her eyes shot up at him in surprise. She knew him, but probably not as well as she thought she would. Fourteen? She must have heard wrong. As a bachelor he constantly used to have beautiful women hanging around him. There clearly must have been a mistake. But what had she really expected? More? Less?

"Not that I've really counted, but you wanted to know. I've been married to two of them as you know." Kate Beckett didn't flinch, didn't move, didn't say a word. She was speechless. It was true. He had been married. Twice.

Castle entered the bathroom, stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. Wrapped up like that they briefly locked eyes in their reflection. The crimson colour on either side of her cheek made her look extremely stunning.

"So, what about you?" Beckett shrugged swallowing her own silence. "Kate?" Castle playfully tickled her sides in the hope to get her to reveal him her secret number.

"Two, okay?" she threw at him, trying to get his prying fingers off her ticklish sides.

Castle remained flabbergasted, probably just as much as she had been earlier. He was quite surprised to say the least. She was a very beautiful woman and two seemed... flattering. Pieces of the puzzle fitting together in his head started to make more sense to him now. He felt stupid for pushing her buttons like that and regretted his previous actions.

"Kate" he breathed her name, his voice soft, like a whisper caressing over her face. When silent tears of sadness rolled down her rosy cheeks he couldn't help but lean in and lay the faintest of kisses onto her lips.

"I'm sorry..." Beckett nervously sniffled. "I just... I'm sorry... I guess I'm a little bit antsy."

"Hey, I told you we have all the time in the world. I love you Kate and I'm not saying that just to get you to sleep with me. I think I've never loved a woman as much as I love you, Kate, and that scares me a little." Beckett flashed him one of her looks that needed more convincing, "I want to get this right. I want us to work and I am worried about pushing you too much or not enough, just because I want this to work. I'm so in love with you Kate, and nothing, nothing will make me feel indifferent to you. If you've slept with two men only, so be it. I feel very honoured. Not because I'll be the third, but because I know how important that step is in your eyes. You really think it through all the time, right?" He added in a more playful tone which brought the faintest of smiles to the corner of her lips.

She gulped a couple of times before nodding her head, "It is... important to me. I'm not just sleeping around... that doesn't mean that I think you are... I just..."

Beckett stumbled again over her words. Castle smiled lovingly, "You're more reserved, I know and I respect your choice. I've nothing but reverence for that decision. It's important and it's personal no matter what. I want you to know that there's been a couple of one night stands but they were all consensual. Spurt of the moment kind of thing, you know... But I always respected these women, Kate. Don't judge me on what you've once read in the papers."

"I'm not, Rick."

A very long moment of silence grew between them. Beckett's mind was busy digesting all the information she had just received, trying to trust him because she was in love with him, and she wanted them to cross that final step in their relationship. Even though it might come off different, Beckett was ready, else way she would have never brought it up.

"So? Are we good?"

Beckett nibbled on her lower lip for a while before nodding her head timidly, "Yeah, we're good."

She was leaning with her bottoms up against the sink. Castle stepped closer, tilted her chin up so he could kiss her again. He only parted when he needed air again.

"Good... 'cause I want to make love to you now."

The silky gown Beckett had thrown over earlier was very enticing. It barely covered her bottoms revealing him those endless long legs that went all the way up to her hipbones. They were doing things to him. If he were to let go of his imagination, he would take her right here, right now and very roughly. He knew better though. First they needed to get acquainted and all he really wanted to do was for that moment to last forever.

He started kissing her lips fiercely and after a short moment he had already made her breathless and panting for air. She moaned and pushed her body up against his. His hands that once rested on either side of her hips were now making their way up her ribcage, bringing the silky material along. Draping his strong hands to the naked small of her back, he purposefully pulled her softly up against his body where he knew she could feel the emotions she was waking within him.

"Rick" her voice was a soft moan trying to get his attention.

"Yes Kate" he hushed in between nibbles of kisses on her hot throat.

"Actually, there's only been one..."

Castle moved a few inches away from her, just so he could have a better look at her face, his eyes searching, demanding for clarification. His arms though remained in place.

"What?"

"Only Scott... we... I... I'm a one and done type of girl, Rick." Castle felt that there was more to come, "I was so in awe of him, Rick, when I first met him. I just hung on his every word. And then later I realized he was just making up stories to mess with me" Beckett softly smiled until her serious façade came back to surface, "Still after all these months I can't believe that I'm never going to see him again."

Castle knew her words to be true, and even though it hurt him to hear her say those words out loud, he also knew that there were still feelings for that man she once had loved. They had three children together; three beautiful and amazing boys at that. It was part of Beckett's past and he fully respected that part of her life.

"You know what I thought when I first met you?" He asked her cautiously. She hummed wanting him to proceed, "That you were a mystery that I was never gonna solve. Even now, after spending all this time with you I'm … I'm still amazed at the depth of your strength, your heart … and your hotness."

Beckett couldn't help from smiling, "You're not so bad yourself, Rick."

They shared a short moment, but neither wanted to make a move, until Beckett realized that she needed to take matters into her own hands.

"I just wanted you to know, and... wow look at my hands" Both stared at her trembling fingers for a second or two. Castle caught them, brought them up to his lips and kissed them tenderly. For some odd reason he was just as nervous as she was. A feeling he hadn't felt in quite a while, especially not when it came to having sex with a woman. But here and now, he wasn't just going to have sex, he was about to make love to the woman he loved.

He flashed her his reassuring smile, his ocean blue eyes sparkling down at her, "I'll be the perfect gentleman, Kate. I promise..." he whispered, leaned in closer, "I love you so much." kissed her and then pulled her into the bedroom.

Beckett barely managed to turn off the lights, sending the entire room into darkness; or almost darkness since Charlie's night light was still filtering through the room. Their eyes took half a minute to adjust to the black of night. Beckett's attention was diverted onto her coughing son for the split of a second. The little one though rolled onto his other side never waking.

Ten minutes into their heavy make out session, both stopped in their overzealous state. Two pair of eyes went to the child who had just let out a sneeze. Unconsciously Beckett brought her finger to Castle's lips to keep him from talking. Castle knew though that her focus was now directed onto her son and not him.

In the darkness they heard the ruffling sounds of Charlie turning around in his sleep, followed by a couple of squeaking sounds of complaints. Luckily for the adults he fell into slumber again right away. His breathing remained shallow though and the mother instincts inside Beckett told her, he was going to be on a cold soon, which would lead into some sleepless nights.

"Thank you, Charlie" Castle groaned softly into Beckett's neck, as he resumed on his ministrations.

Kissing a wet long trail of kisses from her throat, down to the valley of her breast. He brought his head further down, skimming the silky gown up her torso, so he could be skin to skin with her belly button. His tongue dug into the hole playfully, teasing and tasting it.

Beckett had both of her hands resting on his head to keep him in place and to feel close to him. A soft moan escaped his lips when the tip of her fingers brushed against the nape, sending a wave of cold chills all the way down his spine and to his groin. He couldn't believe that barely touching her procured him with such intense feelings he had a hard time controlling. His mouth was doing wonders to her body. His warm breath against her skin felt so good, to a point she realized that it had been too long for her to even feel this amazing sensation in the pit of her stomach. Her skin tasted deliciously good and her scent was even more intoxicating.

His tongue licked along the waist band of her panties, right above her pubic hair. Unconsciously her legs spread open to give him access to the place she longed him to be. She couldn't stop now… it was going to kill her if they would.

"Kate?" Castle softly called out to her in the dark of night. Thanks to Charlie's night light, he could still have a glimpse at her every once in a while. She could too. She could feel his fingers caressing lovingly over the tender flesh around her abdominal area. Of course Castle understood where it was coming from, but Beckett felt herself stiffen up, which didn't go unnoticed. "Hey… I love everything single bit on you."

It sounded foolish even to his own ears, but what else was he to say?

"You look stunning, Kate… " he thus added. He could have said more, but refrained himself from doing so.

"Mattie, Jamie and Charlie…" Was all she said, as if Castle needed an explanation, but he didn't. His heart warmed at the smile displaying on her face just like every time she spoke of her children.

Castle stole a quick kiss from her lips, before loosing himself in her long stare, "I love you…"

Beckett's soft shy smile went to a full toothy one. The one that was making him go weak in the knees. He was teasing her, she knew it. The bad part was that she couldn't resist him. How could she ever? She was head over heels in love with that man, she could barely breathe or think straight. Her right hand that was cupping his cheek travelled between their bodies. Her given name was hushed once more the second her fingers wrapped around his manhood. He was hard and big in her hands, and while she tenderly stroked his erection, their eyes were locked. His eyes sometimes would go all over her face, taking in her beauty, studying every single feature of it. Her adorable nose, those red slightly parted swollen lips he wanted kiss more than anything. But for now his eyes rested on hers. His arousal grew with every stroke she did on him working him carefully, yet steadily to the brim of his sanity. He caught her hand before it was too late. His forehead had come to rest against hers, momentarily caught in the moment, he fought for air and control. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it again. Her skin felt so delicate to his touch.

"I want you so bad" he whispered against her pulse, tasting her salty skin on her neck.

"I know", she replied with a loving smile on her face and then added a timid, "Me too", her cheeks turning over a slightly more reddish colour. Touching Richard Castle had been enough to bring her along with him. "It's been two years for me, Rick." she admitted shyly, something that surprised him.

Considering what she had gone through, Castle was able to do the quick math in his head. Two years sure was a long time, but he would never judge her upon that. He was merely surprised about the fact that she gave away such detail without other notice.

"Hey… it's you and me tonight, and it will be amazing." He murmured against her ear lobe, before gliding his hand to her ribcage. Without much further ado, he lifted the silk fabric up and over her head with her help discarding the garment hazard-less on the floor. He had already had the advantage of seeing her breasts before, but now she was no longer nursing Charlie. Right now they were his to play with, so to speak.

"You're beautiful", the words had left his mouth before he could even think them. He dove right in, lavishing the right one and then the left one, making sure both had earned equal amount of attention. He loved the soft skin around her nipples. Something he always found very arousing on female breasts. Beckett seemed to like it just as much as he did. Castle especially liked how her hands didn't remain idle as her longer slender fingers kept combing lovingly through his hair. With every touch, every kiss, every lick and every soft bite, she let him know through her tender touches whether she appreciated his moves or not. So far, he was doing well. He had her all squirmy beneath him and even felt her lower part buck up into him, needing more than he was giving her right then.

"Rick, I…" she moaned. Castle silenced her instantly with an everlasting kiss. They both melted against one another as their tongues and mouths did a dance they seemed to have done for eternity. Each knew what to do and how to respond. They were so in sync. Her body writhed beneath and up against his, his erection pressing hard against the soft confinement of his silky boxer short. He wanted her… bad. But he was afraid he was going to be too fast… He didn't want it to be over quite yet. Beckett could take a couple of rounds, he couldn't, so he decided to take this to the next level and kissed his way back down to her navel. He could smell the heat emanating from her arousal. He liked it, he was hungry for it. He made quick work of her panties, ready to dive in again when he felt her fingers yet again glide through his brown tresses.

He was sure that time stood still there for a minute or two as they lost each other in their eyes.

"Try to relax" he reassured her when he noted the trembling hands in his hair. He waited for her head to hit the pillow again, fighting to feel as comfortable as possible in this position. He darted his tongue out to take a long lick at her luscious swollen lips. Beckett let out a long pleasing moan that shot to his groin. He felt her back arch at the feelings he was rising within her. The effect he was having on her turning him on even further, if that was even possible. She tasted good and he would be lying to himself if he didn't feel surprised by her wetness. She was so very wet. He couldn't fight the urge to probe one finger at her entrance, running it up and down against her rosy flesh, touching and teasing her in the most excruciating way.

"Oh God, Rick!" she exclaimed in an as hushed voice as possible, pulling him hard by his hair. Castle knew she was on the verge of her orgasm. He wanted to feel her come for him. He wanted to see all of it because he was aware that he was the one giving this incredible feeling to her, so he needed to comply. He met her lips in a heavy lip connection as she was breathing very harshly. Now that his mouth was gone, he needed to add extra pleasure to her nerve of bundles and slid his middle finger right into her making her gasp. She grabbed his hand forcefully, keeping it in place deep within her, holding onto it for dear life as his mouth sucked in every single moan slipping from her throat as the most powerful orgasm he had ever witnessed on a woman washed over her. He literally felt her inner muscles constrict hard against his finger. The first five to ten seconds were breathtaking. He was amazed at how her body had responded to each of his touches, and now that her grip softened around his wrist, he lovingly rocked out the rest of her orgasm with slow thrusts and soft kisses to her lips, cheeks, nose and eye brows.

"Wow…" Castle simply was in awe and gave her an additional few seconds to come back to her senses before removing his finger out of her resting his hand up against her middle. "That was amazing, Kate. I love you so much."

While kissing her, he carefully rolled on top of her. Her legs spread open, inviting him.

"Rick, I…."

"Shh…." he hushed, "It's going to be fine."

Even though she had given birth to three boys, Castle had felt her tightness around his finger earlier. She was tight, very tight. He wasn't stupid and was able to decipher her look when she had pleased him. He was big for her; not that he really was. He was a casual size, maybe slightly bigger and longer than average but still within the norm. He was going to fit in her, her body would just need the appropriate amount of time to adjust to it. So he did the best he could to take the uneasiness away from her by kissing her and tentatively brushing the tip of his erection against her entrance. When he felt her resist, he kissed his way down to her breasts again, aware how erogenous that part of her body was. When the tension steadily eased he was able to inch himself into her.

"Oh Kate" he groaned, fighting not to lose control and not to push right into her all the way. It was pure torture but he had to resist the temptation for her… He didn't want to hurt her and right now he was afraid he would by forcing himself deeper into her. So he had to take a couple of deep breaths to control his inner desire to be one with her.

"I'm so sorry…" he heard her gasp.

"Kate..." Her name was hushed against her cheekbones, his nose rubbing lovingly against them. "Never..." His own voice hitched as he felt himself glide another inch inside of her. He pulled out again, hoping his slow thrusts would help ease the tension, "feel sorry... never... " so he pushed as deep as he was before, keeping that rhythm going for a couple times more until he was nestled all the way within her. It awoke thousands of feelings at once and he couldn't quite describe them if he had to. They all came down to utter love and happiness. "Hey...?"

Her eyes slowly fluttered open. She was rewarded with affectionate eyes boring their way into her soul. What did she see in those eyes beside their blue? Love... a feeling long lost but finally found back. She didn't believe in magic, fairy tales and soul mates, but the love she had found in this man buried deep within made her ponder all those folktales.

"I love you"

"Good, 'cause I happened to love you too" Castle said with a smile, and added "You good?" in a more serious tone.

Beckett nodded her head before pulling his down so she could melt her lips against his. From there on she no longer felt self-conscious about her body as she felt Castle covering hers completely. He procured her with a sense of protection with his broad shoulders surrounding her upper body. She could feel his back muscles flex with every rhythmic thrust into her warmth. His mouth, his lips, his kisses as well as his firm hands and fingers were bare caresses against her skin. She was floating a million of miles away from here, together with him, where only the two of them existed as they became one, for now and forever.

Castle could feel her hands caressing all across his back, sometimes soft, sometimes harder depending on the physical need rising within her as they both explored each other. He felt her body surrender to his, give in, let him control of everything. He was going to make sure to take good care of her. Her warm breath was all over his face as he kept pushing in and out of her. It was beautiful loving her, he could stare at her forever. Face-to-face they breathed the same air, with each inward trust they were little by little getting closer to their destination.

When Castle opened his eyes to steal a glance at her, her angelic face was staring back up at him. Both gasped and moaned in sync, aware that the culminating point was in reach. Their loving used to be soft and tender, but now things were getting more serious. Within seconds Castle had her hands in one tight hold above her head. He felt her buckle up against his erection, tipping her pelvis for deeper penetration. He responded when her legs grew wider apart and around his thighs. He figured this would give her the stimulation she needed and it didn't take him more than a couple of well placed thrust to pull her over the edge.

"Oh God, Kate" he breathed heavily in need for air as he felt her body heavily convulse around his erection. She pulled his lips down into a smouldering kiss to stifle her long moans. Her body sweaty and sticking to his, she fought for oxygen.

A minute later as her orgasm started to vanish Castle pushed harder into her and deeper. Beckett had the pleasure to analyze every single feature of his face while he was riding himself to utter bliss. And when he was ready to let go, she was there to catch him, enveloping her arms around his shoulders as he collapsed on top of her while his seed poured into her warmth.

Both of their breathings were shallow, hearts beating fast, bodies glued to one another and yet their lip connection was as passionate as it could ever be. Just the two of them taking in as much as they could get, cherishing that very first time to the full extend. It was beautiful, amazing, wonderful... magical. Neither wanted to trade that moment for anything.

"I love you, Kate"

"I love you, Rick"

They both whispered into each other ears, their bodies in a limp but very comfortable, slipping into a peaceful dream together minutes later.

tbc