It's so much like their first time, Kate thinks she might cry. Scratch that — she is crying — as Castle lays her down on their bed and tentatively hovers over her, still uncertain and asking for permission after everything they've been through. So she does the only thing she can think of, and begins to make amends with the press of her lips to his.
He's groaning into the kiss as soon as she opens her mouth, granting his tongue access to the warm cavern that he's missed so much, even though it's only been a few days.
Her hands are in his hair, scratching at his scalp the way she knows he likes, before drifting to the buttons on his shirt.
Castle lets her work the black garment off of him, along with his undershirt, but stops her when she gets to the belt of his pants. "No," he grunts, moving away to sit on the back of his heels, eyeing her predatorily, lovingly, but with something else… something that looks like—
"—I know you're angry." He leans forward again and pulls Kate's top over her head, before roughly tugging her bra town and tweaking both nipples, watching as her pupils blow out and she gasps. "Fuck, Rick. I know you're angry. And you should be… but please, don't hold it all inside." She gasps again as he takes the time to actually unclasp her bra, throwing it onto her "bedside chair" and leaning down to take one of her stiff peaks into his mouth.
"You're right," he says. "I am angry, but right now I need… I just need you, Kate."
Castle is pulling off her pants seconds later, and wastes no time with her underwear, leaving her bare before him, while he's still half clothed. "Punish me, babe… please."
He's watching her, the way she rubs her thighs together, trying to quench some of the thirst that's been building for so long, too long. And then he's slipping out of his shoes and stocks, before tugging his belt off and tossing it to the floor. "I will. But first, I need to make love to my wife."
She lets out a strangled cry, reaching for him even as he steps out of his pants and boxers, only to be pushed back down to the mattress by his strong, soothing frame.
Castle presses open mouthed kisses to her chest, her neck, her flushed cheeks, before finally meeting her mouth, revelling in the familiar sparks that burst between them.
Kate slides her hand down Castle's chest and grasps his thick length in her hand, pulling soft moans from her husband's mouth with every gentle stroke, before circling his tip with her thumb.
He pulls her hands away, though, to pin them above her head, and slides home.
They share a moan, brushing lips and noses together at the familiar yet far too missed sensation of being joined, and it's all he can do to twine their hands together and press deeper inside.
"I was serious before… I would die if I lost you." The confession is a whisper in his ear as their cheeks brush together, in time with each of his slow thrusts.
Castle grinds down at that, brushing Kate right where she needs him, before pulling back to look into her eyes, watching as hazel softens at his piercing blues. "You think I don't know that, Kate?" She hates how his voice breaks, and twines her legs even tighter around his waist, trying to convey all of the things she's always struggled to put into words. "Do you think that I'd ever be ok… that I could ever survive if something were to happen to you?"
He brushes kisses to her sweaty forehead, migrates down the slash of her cheekbone, before burying his face in her dark hair. "You'd be okay, babe. I know you would. You'd make it."
"God dammit, no I wouldn't!"
He unclasps their hands and hauls her up, losing balance so that she ends up in his lap, both moaning at the change in angle.
And then he's crying, and she's crying, and he's still thrusting, and so is she, and then they're crying out together and falling over the edge into the white hot waves of release.
She blinks up at him with heavy eyelids, well aware of the mascara that has to be staining her cheeks, and even giggles at the black smudges she's left on him. "God, we're both a mess."
Castle presses his forehead to hers, simply allowing them to share breath, before nodding his agreement. "So, it's settled?" Kate cocks her head to the side, but remains silent and waits him out, waits for his words. "We're two old saps who can't live without each other?"
Kate giggles for the first time in two days, before dropping a few gentle kisses to Castle's sternum, and slumps against him. The feeling in her hands is slowly returning so that she can wrap her arms around him and hold him tight, hold him close. "Agreed."
Neither knows how long they sit like that, just enjoying each other's presence, but Kate shifts as the sweat on her skin begins to cool, immediately wriggling closer to the endless heat of Castle.
It's his shallow, involuntary hip thrust that has her clenching her inner muscles around him, both already warming back up for round two of what she knows would be many. "So, Mr. Castle… about that punishment."
He grins and pats the top of their bed with the hand that's not holding her close to him, before winking. "Last time I checked, our special box is still under the bed… and it's been a little while."
Kate blushes and gently runs her hands through her own hair, trying and failing miserably to hide her utter excitement. "Is that so?"
He scrapes his teeth along her neck before biting down on her shoulder in a spot that will require turtlenecks or creative scarves for the next week. "Mhmm."
Castle watches as Kate tips her head back on a laugh, bearing herself to him, and — for the first time that night — he knows they'll be okay.