A/N: This is my first ever fanfic. It picks up after their undercover kiss in Knockdown when they are back at the precinct. :) Enjoy!
He was staring again. He either didn't know it or didn't care, either way he couldn't control it.
"Castle, go home." Detective Kate Beckett said sternly without even looking up from her paperwork.
He startled. "Huh?" He tried to tear his eyes away but he knew she caught him staring at those lips of hers when she lifted her gaze to look at him, so what was the point?
She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and looked back down at her paperwork. She could barely concentrate on the paperwork as it is, she didn't need him hovering. It was hard enough trying to forget…
Castle leaned forward in his chair, checking to make sure the boys weren't around. "Are we going to talk about this?" He whispered.
She shot up nervously and dropped her pen. She quickly glanced around the bullpen. It was practically empty. Her partners were still out, leaving only a few detectives left and out of earshot. "Talk about what?" She hissed as she looked around. She knew exactly what he was talking about. The kiss. But if she didn't say anything out loud then maybe she could pretend it didn't happen. But was that what she wanted?
His rough voice brought her out of her thoughts quickly. "The kiss…" He tried not to smirk as she jumped. He liked the effect he was having on her. He had noticed she was different, and yea, it was a tough case, but that's not why she had been like this. She blushed every time he looked at her; her voice was shaky when she spoke to him…the kiss had meant something to her too. There was no other explanation.
Beckett nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Castle, it's been a really long night…you should be at home with Alexis…"
He sat back in his chair, putting space in between them again, but casually moving his knee over so it touched hers. There was electricity at the soft touch, and he knew she felt it too. "Yea, it has been a long night, but I'm not the one who insisted on filling out paperwork. I wasn't about to leave you by yourself." Not that he doubted she was capable of being alone tonight, but he was afraid if he gave her even just a little bit of space she would repair the walls he was chipping away at and his Kate would be replaced by the Detective once again.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Paperwork has to be done eventually and I'm too wound up to sleep, might as well get it out of the way now." She picked up her pen and continued trying to concentrate on her work.
Castle leaned forward again. "Kate," he whispered. She lifted her eyes and her breath hitched. When did he get so close? "We need to talk about this…" she could feel the heat of his breath and smell his cologne; it was completely intoxicating.
She closed her eyes as she imagined how it felt earlier: his lips on hers. How he quickly turned her and put his hand on her face, his eyes asking for permission knowing all the while he was going to take it anyway. She had known it was coming, but before she could react his mouth was on hers. They had pulled away. In that brief moment they both knew everything had changed. It didn't matter if the kiss was undercover or not. Something that should have meant nothing meant everything. And then she had lost herself. She closed the distance between them and his hands were in her hair, running down her back, pulling her hips into his. And as quickly as she had lost herself, she was brought back down and realized what was at stake.
"Kate…" Castle said again. She opened her eyes quickly; embarrassed she had let herself go again. She leaned back in her chair, desperate to put distance between them once more. They stared at each other. Kate stood up. "You know what, I think I need more coffee," she quickly made her way to the break room, the closest escape she could find.
Castle stood and followed her, quietly closing the door behind him. She was standing by the espresso machine he had bought for the precinct a few years back. Her hair was flowing down her back. God, she's beautiful he thought to himself. He took a step forward, but stopping dead in his tracks as he heard her sigh heavily.
"I can't talk about it, Castle." She dropped her head, staring into her coffee.
He exhaled, frustrated. "I can't not talk about it, Kate." He took another step towards her and she whipped around.
"God, you don't get it!"
"Get what? What am I supposed to get? You won't talk about it!"
She threw her hands up into the air. "Castle, if we talk about this…if we decide this means something…everything will change!"
He looked at her for a moment, weighing his options. "Beckett, it already has." With those words he closed the distance between them and his mouth was claiming hers once again.