The last Frozen Heat party of the press tour is underway, Castle winding his way around the trendy downtown loft space that Black Pawn had chosen for the event. He plays the man of the hour role well, making small talk and accepting congratulations all while watching the steady stream of guests arrive out of the corner of his eye, clamping down the urge to do a double take at every flash of light brown hair.
He had tried everything in his power to convince Beckett to arrive with him, arguing that Nikki showing up as Rook's "date" would practically be expected as a publicity move, but her adamance about keeping their relationship from being discovered by the media for as long as possible won out and all he was able to do was send a car to pick her up at her apartment.
He finally catches sight of her at the very same moment the wife of a publisher launches into a long story about her dog and all he can do is stare wide-eyed across the room as he watches her come through the door, dark purple dress hanging on her frame before zooming down to cling to her hips and skim over her thighs, miles of leg flexing as she raises up on tiptoe to peer around the space.
Her eyes finally land on his and he watches a slow smile spread across her face as she raises one hand in the briefest of waves before disguising it as a signal to one of the waiters, plucking a glass of champagne from a tray and disappearing from his view.
When he finally escapes from the tale of Buster the dog, she's lost in the crowd and he only has a moment before he's swept into a group of people requesting stories about his work with the NYPD; and so it goes, only catching glimpses of her through the throng of people for the next couple of hours. He spies her laughing in the midst of a joke to his poker buddies, chatting with Ryan and Jenny, nervously pushing a lock of her curled hair behind an ear as one reporter realizes who she is.
He watches her excuse herself and head towards the back hallway where the restrooms are located and he escapes from his own conversation, throws out grateful smiles without stopping as he pushes his way through the eager crowd. The clatter of metal grows loud when he turns the corner and he finds himself between the kitchen and the bathrooms, leans against the wall to wait, listening to the cacophony of noise from the caterers and the swish of the door echoing every few moments as waiters carry trays in and out.
She steps out of the ladies room after a few minutes and he pushes off the wall with one foot, steps towards her silently over the carpeted floor and catches a hand as she's smoothing down the front of her skirt. She jumps slightly, hand flexing on instinct for a gun that's not there before her eyes focus on his face.
"You look beautiful," he murmurs, lightly hooking his pinky around hers and tugging her down in the hall in the opposite direction from the party. He feels her stumble for a step or two before squeezing her slim finger around his own, following him into the dimly lit area beyond the kitchen. He looks back at her, need tightening in his chest at the play of a small smile on her lips combined with the dim light accenting her cheekbones, the dark make-up rimming her eyes. He engulfs her entire hand with his own as he pulls aside a heavy curtain with the other, casting a quick glance around before tugging her through a glass door onto a balcony.
Her lips part in an awed smile as she releases his hand to wrap her arms around herself, cool night air settling into them, raising gooseflesh on her skin as she walks to the railing and leans over the edge. She looks down at the dark industrial buildings below, the light from the neighborhoods beyond making her a silhouette against the city and he gulps unhelpful air into his suddenly dry throat at the Nikki Heat of it all.
He wordlessly comes up behind her, inserting himself between her body and the railing to rub his palms up and down her biceps, attempting to create warmth with the friction as he backs her against the wall to the side of the door.
"You're blocking the view," she half-heartedly protests, but her arms tunnel under the warmth of his coat to wrap around his middle as she shivers into him.
"Hmm," he hums, mouth against her ear. "I think I've got the view right here."
"Castle," she groans. "This is literally a party celebrating your craft as a wordsmith. Is that the best you've got?"
He grins against her jaw, hands journeying down to curve over her hips, pressing the lower halves of their bodies together.
"I can probably do you one better."
A shiver and a laugh catch together in her throat as she pulls him closer, angling her head and the touch of her lips is like fire, the press of her chest against his sends a thrum of arousal through his veins. She moans softly into his mouth when it opens against hers, fingers stroking his lower back in time with her tongue.
His hands start to tug up the hem of her skirt and she jerks back dazedly, pupils wide and heavy breaths visible in the air between them. Her palms press flat and hot through the back of his shirt, anchoring their hips together even as she pulls away.
"Castle," she stumbles on the word, tongue tripping over the syllables as he pulls away far enough to hike her dress around her waist. "We can't do this here."
"Are you sure?" He muses, watches his palm blaze a path up her leg before bringing his gaze back up to her face. She's biting her lip and he dips his head down to kiss her again, soothing the marks of her teeth with his tongue.
"There are people," she sighs weakly when they separate and by the pink flush creeping up her chest coupled with the way she's pressing her thighs together he wants to ask in which direction that fact is swaying her but he files away the information for future use instead, prying her legs apart and letting her sink down into his touch.
He takes the shift of her hips into his palm as acquiescence and pulls her underwear aside to drag two fingers through the wetness he finds, hears her groan as he brings his hand up between their faces. His other hand fists in the fabric of her dress around her waist, anchoring her as he brings the evidence of how much she wants this towards his mouth.
"So, you wanna go back inside then?" He raises an eyebrow at her before sucking the digits into his mouth, tongue swirling as his eyes stay locked on hers. The bite of her teeth is turning her lip white from the strain of holding herself back and she shoots a hand out to grab his wrist, drags his hand back down between her legs, not relinquishing her grip even as he crooks a finger up into her.
Her eyes flutter closed and he shifts his focus down to her fingers clutching his wrist, can't help envisioning them closing around other parts of his anatomy and he slides another finger into her, watches as she arches her back and tries to climb the wall behind her.
She releases her vise grip when he circles his thumb against her, whimpering as her hips pick up speed. Her hand snakes between them to drag his zipper down, reaching into his boxers to cup him, leaning forward to capture his responding groan with her mouth and he can tell when she tastes herself on his tongue as her moan reverberates around the back of his throat.
His name tumbles from her lips when she pulls back, a plea that comes out raspy, laced with want and he removes his hand to let her shimmy her underwear down before hiking a leg around his waist and sliding into her. His movements are slow as he coasts a palm up her stomach and under the bunch of her dress to feel the play of muscles there but it's not long before his thrusts get harder, faster and she brings her other leg up, squeezing with her thighs as he feels her heels dig into the backs of his legs. The soft jerk makes him lose his balance momentarily, body canting further into hers and he watches her close her eyes as she claws uselessly at the wall for purchase. The rough brick starts to abrade his knuckles and his grip on her tightens, gritting his teeth through the sparks of pain mixing with the hum of pleasure vibrating through him.
A breathy noise escapes her and his gaze shifts up to see her eyes wide open now, face a raw mix of everything that he thinks his bestselling author's brain should be able to find words for but he's unable, not when she's clenching around him because she's everything, everywhere and suddenly he's gone, a rush of heat slamming through him as he pushes her into the wall one last time. Her hips jerk wildly against his solid form and he presses his lips into her neck, feels her curl into him and come with a shudder, cheek against his shoulder.
She untangles her legs from around his waist and he lowers her slowly to the ground, dress falling back into place as he tucks himself back into his pants. He watches her run a hand through wild hair, involuntary wincing at how completely wrecked by him she looks and she catches it, drops her arms to her sides with a huff.
"You might want to go back to the bathroom and just…" He reaches a hand out to try to smooth out some of the wrinkles in her skirt and she bats him away, tugging it down herself.
"Try to make it look like I didn't have sex on a balcony with the guest of honor that everyone has probably been in search of for the past twenty minutes?"
He can't help it; he grins. "Yeah, that."
She rolls her eyes but seemingly can't help the smile on her face either, goes to retrieve her underwear from the ground before stalking slowly towards him.
"You better get back in there though." She's dangerously close to his face, eyes flicking down to this mouth as she speaks. "I'll use this as my time to say congratulations, Mr. Castle."
He gulps like he wasn't the one responsible for the orgasm she had mere minutes ago. "Was that my present?"
She laughs, tucking her underwear into the pocket of his suit jacket and patting it closed, turns to head back inside.
"Just wait 'til we get home."