He is stalking her from across the room. Her lips quirk as soon as she feels him there, but she puts on her poker face, continuing to read her book. Usually she blocks the world out when she reads, no doubt he is trying to use that to his advantage. But she's on to him, up for one of his games on a rainy Sunday afternoon. She loves his games, always has.
He moves and then stops, gaging her attention, using furniture and the bookshelves as camouflage.
She turns the pages of her book absently, planning her counterstrategy.
Silence.
Controlled breathing, that is the secret to convincing him of this charade.
Stealth, that is the key to his strike.
She breaths.
He creeps.
And then she's up, using her knee to rock herself forward, racing away from him without declaration.
"Hey!" He yells, realizing too late that she's on to him.
The sudden punctuation of his shock sends a girlish giggle through her as she races out of his grasp and into the kitchen, where he collides with her backside, knocking her into the counter. He wraps his arms around her to soften the blow, hold her still. Adore her.
"Ah hah!" she teases, "You forget I'm a cop? I saw you coming a mile away."
He squeezes at her trapped arms, lifts her off her feet. "Stop your dirty talk."
She turns in his arms, kisses him softly and traces her hands down his arms until he releases her and she's holding his hands. She can't help but smile at the dopey love-drunk look he has on his face.
"I love that we can do this anytime now Kate," he says, pulling her hands behind him so their chests collide, forcing her to lean against him. Stealing a kiss.
"Anytime?" she raises an eyebrow at him.
"Anytime," he says decisively.
She quirks her lips, "seems a little too easy to me, Mr. Castle. Can I tell you the truth?"
He's hooked, "yeah?" he says softly.
She untangles her hands, grabs his shirt collar, looks him straight in his startled eyes, "I miss the chase."
And then she's off, running up the stairs. Her actions begging him for a little fun foreplay.
She flings herself through the guest room door and into the small walk-in closet.
"Ka-ate," he calls after her, "what are you doing? All the fun is down here."
He's stalking her.
She leans against the back wall of the closet, breathing hard.
"Kate?" she can hear him calling at the top of the stairs.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are . . ., " he calls out in his DeNiro voice.
"Katie?" He teases, it's a forbidden name, sounds like he's in Alexis' room.
She hears the linen closet door at the end of the hall open, his "aha!" exclamation, and the sound of the door slamming.
"Oh Kate, when I find you, you are going to be sorry, you might as well give yourself up."
She looks around for better cover, it's a matter of time before he finds her. A comforter covered in purple butterflies is on the shelf above her head, she reaches for it and tucks herself into the corner of the tiny room, anticipating.
"Where are you?" he sing-songs, "I have a big surprise for you Kate!"
"Aha!" she hears him yell again, no doubt expecting to find her in another spot.
"Okay, now I'm getting frustrated Kate, and you know what I like to do when I'm frustrated?" he calls out into the hall, "Actually, I don't really have an established answer for this Kate," she can hear him musing in the room, "we haven't been together all that long, but I have ideas Kate. I have big ideas. Come out and see my big ideas Kate."
She can't help but smile at that one, stifles herself with her hand, while pushing the comforter over her head.
She hears him push back the shower curtain in the on-suite.
"Oh my God woman, where are you? Why do you insist on driving me crazy?"
He opens the closet door where she is hiding. Apparently, he looks right past her spot under the comforter, closes the door. She hears the muffled sounds of his voice, still in the room. Was he looking under the bed?
"Seriously?" she hears him mutter down the hall in Martha's room, risks slipping out from under the comforter and peeking from the closet. She waits until she hears him double back to Alexis' room before moving from her spot and slipping down the stairs as quickly as possible.
"Okay, I give up! You win Detective! Congratulations, come out and claim your prize!" he calls loudly, followed by the stage whisper, "and I'll claim mine."
She hears him opening and closing doors, clomping from room to room.
"Good thing I don't write stories about missing people," she hears him murmur.
"Okay I'm giving up, when you're bored come down and all is forgiven." He's at the top of the stairs.
He runs down them, his steps as graceful as a cow.
She hears the refrigerator door open and close and a drink being poured. She's pretty sure he's waiting her out. He has no idea it's the other way around.
xxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxxoxoxox
He is so messing with her white board when they catch the next murder. How the hell is she still upstairs?
He's poured himself a glass of Perrier and is reviewing his search strategy in his mind. He knows. Knows that he looked everywhere. She really is the most frustrating person he knows. He loves that she doesn't try to change that for him. It keeps him interested, keeps him pursuing her.
Was this game easier because Alexis was younger or because he was?
He taps his fingers on the counter, quirks his lips. Thinking.
Where would Nikki hide?
Uh. That so is not going to work. Kate's smarter than Nikki.
Maybe he can annoy her out of her hiding place.
"Oh, Ka-ate," he calls up the stairs, "I'm going to change the wallpaper on your phone, okay?"
He smiles.
She'll hate that. Just last week she took her phone to Alexis to get her to help erase his best fish-face as her wallpaper. A suspect saw it . . . in the middle of an interrogation. The guy laughed at her.
She was not amused.
By way of apology he'd made his mother take a picture of him holding flowers, texted it to her at the same moment he showed up at her door. It helped that he spoke directly to her neck as he plead for forgiveness.
"I'm going to make this one a little dirty, hope you don't mind."
No response.
Jeez, she'd make a really good fugitive. Or spy. Ooo, or ninja.
"Ordering the special from Gino's for dinner, extra onions."
She hates Gino's pizza, too greasy, she complains, and even though the boys love it on poker night, he has mercy and orders from the other place she likes better. She also keeps reminding him that she won't be his girlfriend for long if he keeps eating onions and garlic at every opportunity.
Oh, he's got another idea.
He just remembered she left her book somewhere down here. He's totally going to read the last chapter out loud to her, spoil it for her, he knows she hates that as much as he does. Her fault for reading Connelly's latest.
Only . . .
He can't find it. Not on the coffee table, not on the couch. He's even on hands and knees looking under the furniture. Nope, it's nowhere to be found.
Unless . . .
She's downstairs!
Xoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
He stands in the doorway to his bedroom.
She's laying on the bed, legs stretched out and crossed, calmly reading her damn book.
He quirks his lips and says with respect, "You're good."
"Hmm?" she doesn't look up from her reading.
He launches himself off the doorframe, "Na ah, you don't get to say that, where were you hiding?"
"I just wanted to finish this chapter."
He starts a slow swank to the bed, eyes latched on his target.
She finally looks up.
"I looked everywhere."
With a disturbing casualness, as though she has no idea of the danger she's in, she places a bookmark in her spot and sets the paperback on the bed.
"Obviously not," she says matter-of-factly.
He's contemplating his attack strategy, reaching the edge of the bed.
She simply rolls off the mattress on the opposite side of the room.
"Hey, I can't help it if you aren't attentive enough," she teases," or fast enough."
"How about if you come over here and let me show you how attentive and fast I can be?" He's blocking her exit from the room.
"No thanks, I'd like to finish my book."
He steps closer to her.
"Tease." He takes another step.
"Thought you were going to order from Gino's?"
She's backing up.
"I was also going to take a dirty picture for your phone. You want to help me do that first?"
He's stalked her into the corner of the room, her back against the wall.
"No thanks," she says, still in control as he reaches her, putting a palm on the wall on each side of her body. She's breathing a little faster than normal. Her eyes flicker to his lips. He knows that look.
She's aroused.
But he doesn't touch her.
"Where . . . were . . . you hiding?" Emphasis on each word, he's going to see how this plays out, he loves playing games with her.
Her eyes are a little wild, anticipating his next move, pressing herself back into the wall so she has some control. She glances to her sides, his arms, his stance holding his lower body away from her.
Licks her lips again.
It's a game of wills, and it is on.
She presses her lips together, half in anticipation, half in tease, says decisively, "closet in the guest room."
"I checked there." He slowly moves his hand, a thumb from his left hand leaves the wall and finds her hip. It's barely contact.
"Twice." He whispers.
She leans in to kiss him and he dodges her by moving his head at the last moment, her open mouth falls awkwardly to his cheek.
"I win," he says simply.
Her face falls.
She's annoyed, narrows her eyes at him. Says her next words in with an all too familiar edge of irritation.
"You win what?"
He pushes his body into hers a little forcefully, holding her up against the wall, as her hands come to his chest. He kisses her then, hard and possessive, claiming her mouth and reaching for her hands at the same time.
"You," he says breathily as he holds a wrist on either side of her head and forces a knee between her legs.
"Yeah?" she says catching her breath, "and now that you caught me, what are you going to do with me?" She smiles knowingly.
He kisses her again, his tongue giving her a sample of the devotional nature of his love for her, before answering, "I'm gonna let you chase me."
And then she's laughing, being propped up by the wall as she watches him run from the room. She gives chase even though she already knows where to look.