A/N: I just wanted to dedicate this to SciFiGirl65 as my thank you for always encouraging me and sending me kind messages even when I've gone all hermit. Thank you.
A/N Part Two: Though it is really cool to know I wrote so much (I was quite proud of myself, actually :-D ), 22 pages of straight text is kind of difficult to just sit down and read, I realized. So I am breaking this story up into more manageable chapters and fixing typos along the way. The story itself will not be changing at all, though reviews did give me an idea for a possible chapter two… but it would now be chapter five, wouldn't it? We shall see. You don't have to read it again if you have already, but I will let you know if I ever do add a fifth, original chapter.
What the hell are you doing, Katherine, the outraged detective demanded of herself. What the hell do you think you're playing at?
Her angry expression collapsed into a pained grimace when she realized she was talking to herself. Then she wondered which one made her crazier: talking to herself and desperately hoping someone in there would answer, or standing stark naked in Richard Castle's home office.
Yep, it was definitely that second thing, an inner voice confirmed, though yes, she was still conversing avidly with her own mind... and that too was mildly troubling.
It had been nerve wracking, stripping down in Castle's office. There was the sense of eyes on her, observing her every move, waiting for the opportune moment to get a jump on her. Not even her first gun battle had made her as conscious of that feeling of being hunted as the experience of being bare in Castle's loft of all places.
But Castle had assured her that she was safe. Her modesty would be protected. No one would see her naked; not nosy neighbors looking through windows, nor nosy novelists peeking through doors. And she had a written statement promising that if she felt Rick's word was not being upheld, Kate had permission to blind whomever she determined was in breach of the contract.
Okay, that's better, she decided. Reminding herself of her promised-upon-pain-of-blindness privacy, Kate felt marginally better about her nudity. The windows were covered, and even though it was already nighttime outside, the usually bright room was considerably darker. The door was closed too, Kate noted, looking around. When her eyes alighted upon Rick's big, dark, solid wooden desk, she idly wondered how Castle would react if she were to wait for him there; perched on the ledge of his desk, completely naked. She smiled, but rolled her eyes at herself, coming to the definitive conclusion that yes, she had officially gone crazy. The naughty thrill that ran thought her for her daydream only served to prove it. She had really hoped that the wild Kate Beckett that prompted her to do imprudent things had been left behind in her early twenties, but apparently her wild-child was back with a vengeance.
Kate finally climbed up onto the new table that had been place in the room just for this purpose, stretched out face down and pulled the sheet up to cover her entire body save her head. She took a deep, bracing breath then quickly sent a five letter text to Castle: Ready.
Seconds later, the door opened and- her head raised awkwardly, eyes on the author- Kate watched as Rick entered. He did not look at her at all and Kate was impressed by the level of self-control she knew he had to be exercising in order not to peek. He just moved around the room, setting a stack of linens and bottles on a chair, turned on some new-agey music that someone had advertised was soothing, and dimmed the lights.
"I thought I was here to relax, Castle," Kate said, finally drawing his eyes to her face.
"That was the plan, Detective."
"Then cut the music. I can't stand that crap."
Rick smiled, and Kate was glad they had broken the awkward silence. Breaking his eyes- with some difficulty- away from her sheet-draped form, Castle moved back to the stereo and asked, "Sinatra or Mozart? Or no music at all? I certainly wouldn't mind being able to hear your moans of pleasure more clearly in a silent room."
"Mozart!" Kate snapped, not so certain anymore that she was glad Rick was talking. She was immediately grateful though that Castle's eyes were avoiding her again; she was sure she must be blushing scarlet, but there was no way she could deny the... contented sounds she made when Rick's hands were on her body. Damn it! I didn't mean for that so sound so... dirty, Kate cursed silently. Then she idly wondered who, inside her own mind, would even tease her for her unintentional innuendo...? Turns out, the voice that sounded a lot like Castle was actually giggling at her.
The piano music began to play and as Rick moved around, getting ready, Kate turned her head down, put her face into the horseshoe shaped pillow thing and thought back to how she had landed herself in this ill-advised predicament in the first place.
Flashback:
Kate sat at her desk late one night, her head hung low over paperwork. She moved back and forth between papers and keyboard, hand writing the initial report one section at a time and then meticulously entering each detail into the digital case file. It was tedious at the best of times, but now, add in the painful fatigue in her neck... and her shoulders... and that spot, just inside her shoulder blades that ached every time her arms stretched toward the keyboard, and tonight paperwork was literally a pain in the neck.
Just as Kate was tilting her head from side to side, stretching her aching neck and shoulders for at least the tenth time, Castle sighed and said, "I can't take this anymore."
Without looking up at him or even pausing as she typed, Kate told him, "Then go home, Castle. I don't need you here to watch me do paperwork."
She could feel his annoyed gaze when Castle narrowed his eyes on her, but she was too achy and cranky to really care if she had hurt his poor little feelings. "That's not what I meant," he snapped, sounding as short tempered as Kate felt.
"I'm a little too busy here to entertain you right now, so-"
"I meant," he snapped, cutting her off. Apparently Kate was not the only cranky one tonight. "I can't just sit here anymore and watch you cringe and wince every time you move."
With a frustrated sigh, she finally stopped typing to turn her head- wincing as she did so- and glare at Castle. "Again I say: Go home, Castle. That way, you won't have to watch me and I won't have to suffer your creepy staring anymore."
A long moment of heated glaring ensued and while Kate tried to remind herself not to enjoy the intense way he studied her, she idly noted how blue his eyes looked when he wore that cobalt button-down. Instead of distracting her from her staring contest though, the fact that she found him attractive at all simply pissed her off and helped her glare more thoroughly.
Castle finally stood, ending their battle of glares as- Kate assumed- he prepared to leave. But instead of turning and walking to the elevators, he turned behind her desk and stopped. He was technically not invading her personal space, but Kate could have sworn she felt his body heat reaching out to touch her... No wait that was actually his hands, resting on her shoulders. Kate tensed- then grimaced in pain with the motion- and Rick told her in a stern voice, "I am not coming on to you, Beckett. But I am doing this and you are not going to stop me because I can't stand to see you wincing in pain any longer. Got it?"
He did not wait for her to reply, mostly because he suspected that she would refuse- violently- if he gave her even a second to protest. Castle just dug his thumbs into her knotted trapezii and began kneading the rock hard muscles.
Kate gasped, equal parts shock, pain and... pleasure. She drew the breath she needed to yell at Castle- to tell him to get his hands the hell away from her body before she broke all ten of his fingers- but just then he ran his thumbs upward, toward her tense neck and the tirade she had been planning became a breathy moan. His fingers found all the hardest spots in her neck and shoulders and with a firm touch, he worked them until they softened.
Rick worked for long minutes with none of the teasing or flirting Kate normally would have expected from him as he performed such ... an intimate task for her. Sure, they had touched in the past... sometimes, but this degree of contact was new and Kate was grateful that he was not making a sex joke out of it, because his hands felt amazing. And if he had made an inappropriate joke, Kate would have to stop him and she really did not want to do that right now... maybe ever, she amended with a happy sigh.
Kate's head fell forward on her now limp neck muscles and she groaned out loud when Castle began kneading at the base of her skull. When he pushed her forward, Kate leaned over her desk and Rick began moving lower down her spine, somehow knowing where to find that spot and rub it all better, right inside her scapula. Oh, he was working circles over that spot now, making Kate emit more of those happy sounds she honestly was trying to hide. When she leaned forward again to give him more room, Kate's chest pressed against the edge of her desk and her rollie chair slid out from under her, pushing back and smacking into Castle's body.
Though Rick caught the chair, thereby preventing Beckett from face planting on her desk top- or worse, the floor- Kate gasped and jumped upright again. When Castle was sure she was steady, he let her go completely and moved to sit back in his own chair. Kate was acutely disappointed that her massage was over but the feeling only lasted about ten seconds before she was silently berating herself for letting Rick get close like that in the first place. And actually enjoying it... But the tense, painful muscles that had made doing paperwork such a literal pain in the neck were singing in relief right now, so she could not bring herself to feel much regret for allowing Castle to touch her. She worried though how this new development would change the dynamic of their relationship.
"Better?" Rick asked smugly, his annoying smirk lighting his face and that raised eyebrow thing he did making him look even more mischievous than usual.
"I guess," Kate replied sullenly. Apparently their dynamic would not change that much; she did not want to admit that she had enjoyed anything that Castle did for her and she definitely did not want him to get a big head about it. But not telling him and showing some appreciation was just petty and childish. So begrudgingly, she admitted, "Yes. Thank you."
"Anytime, Detective," Rick replied happily, his cocky smile plastered on his handsome face. "Any time, any place, any body part."
Kate rolled her eyes for his benefit then returned to her keyboard, grateful for the work now to distract her worried mind from overanalyzing just yet. She would do that at home in a quiet tub full of steamy, soapy water, maybe even with a glass of wine.
Just when Kate had lost herself in the report again, Rick suddenly commented, "I take it back."
Kate barely glanced at him, her sexy little almost-smile curving the corners of her lips. "So which body part do you refuse to touch?"
Rick wasn't even going to touch that one, knowing he would just get himself in trouble with his pretty Detective if he did. However, his eyes did wander all of her body that he could see in a way that told Kate he would not object to touching any of her fine parts, should she but allow him the opportunity to do so. Instead, Castle asked, "Do you remember that time I told you that your knowledge of Frank Miller's work was the sexiest thing I'd ever heard you say?"
He waited, but Kate did not really know what to say. So, frowning, she just nodded.
"I take it back. Those moans of pleasure you made while I rubbed your shoulders? That was the sexiest think I have ever heard."
Though she blushed and generally avoided his eyes, she grumbled, "You make that sound dirtier than it was."
Rick just smirked and retorted, "Well, so did you!"
After that proclamation, Rick just sat there, grinning at her as she gasped and floundered for the best response. Finding no appropriate words to say- say, shout, same difference- Kate settled instead for chucking a handful of Skittles at his head.
End of flashback
That night, Rick had laughed, collected the scattered candy from the floor and then offered to perform a more complete massage if Kate wished. She had laughed over the likelihood of that ever happening, yet here she was, only three days later, taking Rick up on his offer. However, it was only because a suspect had thrown a punch and knocked her down while simultaneously tweaking her back. And Castle had sworn until he was blue in the face that he would behave and she just did not have the desire to pay a stranger to rub her down; she was discomfited by the idea of physical contact with strangers. Plus, when she had fallen hard on her butt and spend the rest of the afternoon cringing over her keyboard again, Rick had practically forced her into this, claiming that he could no longer bear to watch her grimace in pain. It was... annoying, he had said.