Disclaimers: Things I own: hundreds of CD's, six seasons of 'Lost,' three seasons of '24,' among many other classic TV shows. Things I don't own: 'Castle.'
Title: Mind Games
Summary: Kate is kidnapped by someone from her past that isn't what he'd always seemed to be. Set Post-Season 6, after the events in 'Heartbreak and Hope.' Rated M for safety.
A/N: I have a group that helps me with story ideas. This came up as we were watching TV the other night. These conversations always seem to start with the words 'What if . . . '
My plan is to get a huge multi-chapter story out of this, but we'll see what happens. If I can get as many chapters as I'm planning, it will be the longest story I've ever written.
A/N #2: The first couple of chapters will be fluffy, but after that . . . well, let's just say light and fluffy isn't my specialty. I like angst. I like it when my female characters have to be comforted. If angst isn't your forte, I'm sorry. My life is dark, so my writing has a tendency to lean in that direction.
A/N #3: I think that Rick and Kate would have a lot of songs. I think that one of them would be 'Amazed' by Lonestar. Like she told him, when you're in love all of the songs make sense. This is very true.
Chapter 1: Honeymoon in Paradise
It was a wonderful way to wake up. To Kate Beckett, feather-like kisses down her spine was better than an alarm clock any day. Especially when those kisses came courtesy of her husband. It had been an idyllic week in Hawaii. They had three days left before they had to return to New York and real life. She wasn't looking forward to real life. Paradise had been wonderful.
Paradise took on a whole new meaning when you were married to a millionaire. She hadn't wanted for anything since the moment they'd arrived on the big island of Hawaii. When Rick Castle went out, he went all out. She'd never felt so spoiled in her life. She found the five-star lifestyle a little hard to get used to, but there were some aspects of it that she liked very much. The highlight of their trip had been getting a once in a lifetime chance to swim with the dolphins in the lagoon of their hotel. But, there had been luaus, romantic dinners, long walks on the beach, a helicopter ride over the islands, massages in the spa, and long nights spent in Castle's arms as they made love for hours.
Which brought her back to the here and now. She tried to feign sleep, but she sensed that her new husband was on to her tricks. He planted a soft kiss on her hip as he pulled her against him. "Castle, I'm trying to sleep," she protested as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.
"You've been awake for a long time," he kissed her shoulder.
"No, I haven't. You kept me up too long last night."
"Uh, I didn't exactly hear you protesting, detective. As a matter of fact, if I recall correctly, you were singing an entirely different tune. A tune that sounded suspiciously like my name being screamed out repeatedly. I'm surprised no one called security."
"They probably would have if we were staying in a one-star facility. If I didn't know better, I'd think that you were trying to get me pregnant before our honeymoon ends."
Castle didn't say anything as he rested his chin on her shoulder. She'd suffered a miscarriage just seven months before, and trying again had been something that neither of them had broached just yet. Losing the baby had been devastating to both of them, but especially for Kate, who felt that the loss had been her fault. "We'll try again when we're both ready," he stroked her hair from her shoulders as she rolled over toward him.
"I just need a little more time, Castle," she smiled as she kissed him.
He lightly traced her lower lip with his tongue as she opened her mouth for him. She couldn't contain the low moan that escaped her throat as he explored her mouth with his tongue as she followed suit. As they kissed, he let his hand roam down her bare skin, happy that she hadn't put her usual sleep attire back on after they'd finished making love the night before. There was just something so sexy, yet decadent about finding her already naked to his appreciative eyes and hands.
He rolled her over onto her back as he scooted down her body to her breasts. He lightly traced her scar the same way that he did every time he made love to her before focusing his attention on her breasts. Her breath hissed out as he flicked her nipple with his tongue before taking it into his mouth as he caressed her other breast, feeling the other nipple harden under his fingers. His eyes fell on her as he continued laving her nipple with his lips and tongue. Her eyes were closed, her breath coming out in short puffs while she let out an occasional groan.
Sensing that she was being watched, she forced her eyes opened as they met his, the wanton look in his dark blue eyes making her blush hotly. Her breath sped up as she reached her hands into his hair and pulled him tighter into her chest. The ache between her legs was building to an inferno. She moved her hand down to take his, attempting to guide it down to where she needed it the most. "What do you need, Kate?" He teased when he felt her take his hand and tug it down toward her pelvis.
"Touch me, Rick," she begged when she felt his hand resisting her directions. "Please!"
He moved up and captured her lips with his own, feeling her returning his kisses with a hunger that he could never get enough of. He moved down to kiss her neck, sucking on her pulse point as she groaned again, her nails lightly scoring his back as he once again began moving his way back down her body. Along the way, he stopped to trail kisses along the other scar before moving down still lower. He kissed the inside of each thigh, before lightly biting each one, feeling her quiver and wriggle beneath him.
Kate always involuntarily held her breath every time. The anticipation made it hard to breathe. They'd been sleeping together for two years and it never got old. Castle considered himself a wordsmith, but she'd discovered that wasn't the only talent that Castle could do with his mouth. From the very first time they'd slept together, he'd been able to read her like a book. He knew exactly what kind of touch she liked down there. He was never too rough or too soft. She could never remember telling him. He just seemed to know.
She raised her hips up to meet his mouth when she felt him clamp his lips over her, his tongue gently lapping at her clitoris. She whimpered when she felt him enter her, first with one finger and then a second one, all the while his tongue kept up a steady pressure on the swollen bundle of nerves.
Listening to her cries and paying attention to her body language, he could tell that she was close. He wanted to feel her come completely undone around him. He loved watching her when she came. It was one of the few times when she wasn't in control. He loved knowing that he was the one who could do that to her. She'd told him once that sex with him was better than John Coltrane, which was quite the compliment as far as he was concerned, especially considering her love for the blues musician.
He angled his fingers up as he felt her g-spot. "Fuck, Castle!" She growled, lifting her hips up even further as he fought to keep her still. "Close, so damn close."
He kept up the inside pressure with his fingers at the same time he applied more pressure to her clitoris. "Come on, Kate. Let go," he urged her. "Come for me."
With a loud, keening cry, she completely shattered around his quickly pumping fingers, while his tongue's rapid flicking diminished as he allowed her to ride out the aftershocks of her orgasm. She let out a loud whimper of disappointment when he removed his fingers and made his way back up her body. She kissed him deeply, while she let her fingers reach down to touch him, wrapping her fingers around his engorged arousal. He felt so good. So hot and hard. And all hers.
She longed to have him in her mouth, to drive him out of his mind like he'd just done to her. But, as much as she longed to feel him in her mouth, she longed to feel him inside of her even more. To have him hard and thrusting inside of her. She pushed him over onto his back as she straddled his thighs. She loved the look in his eyes when he looked up at her. The look that told her that in his eyes she was the most desirable woman on the planet. He reached up to fondle her breasts while she rubbed her wet folds against his hardness, smiling at the sounds that came out of his throat when she ground herself against him. After several minutes of teasing him mercilessly, she reached down and placed him at her entrance as she sank down onto him.
She moved with deliberate slowness, tossing her head back to enjoy the sensations of him deep inside of her. She'd raise herself almost all of the way off of him before gliding back down to take him inside of her. On the down stroke, she'd grind her swollen nub against his pelvic bone, gasping at the different sensations that she could produce. It didn't take long before she began to feel that familiar tension coiling deep in her belly.
Castle continued playing with her breasts, tweaking her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, all the while watching her taking her pleasure from him. But he knew that he wasn't going to last much longer. Watching her and feeling her around him was quickly taking its toll. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rolled them so that he was now on top. Bending down to take a swollen nipple into his mouth, he began to move faster and harder, feeling Kate wrap her ankles around him, urging her on with her cries and her matching thrusts.
He covered her mouth with his own, feeling her flutter around him. Feeling her muscles spasm around him was all that he needed to lose control. She screamed out his name when she felt him release deep inside of her.
He collapsed onto her shoulder, being careful not to crush her with his weight while she tenderly caressed his back, shoulders and ass. After several minutes, he rose up and kissed her tenderly. "I'll never get enough of you, Mrs. Castle," he whispered as he smiled down at her. "Not even when I'm a hundred."
"Me, either," she brought her hands to either side of his sweat-soaked face and kissed him once again.
She groaned when he slowly slipped out of her and moved to lay down beside her, pulling her into his embrace. "So, what do you want to do today?"
"I don't care, as long as you're with me," she smiled up at him.
"That was adorably cheesy. You must be married to a writer."
"I must be," she grinned. He planted a kiss on her nose. "We could rent a couple of Sea-Doo's," she suggested.
"Why do we have to rent two? One is much more romantic."
"Because you don't like the way that I drive. If we rent one, I won't get a turn," she complained.
"Okay," he agreed.
"Okay? Just like that? No argument? No disagreeing about what I said about you complaining about my driving? Richard Castle, I don't know whether to be shocked or impressed."
"Maybe married life is rubbing off on me."
"Yeah, right. Come on, let's take a shower and then we'll grab some breakfast. I seem to have worked up an appetite this morning," she threw back the sheet and strolled naked toward the bathroom.
***CCC***
After a long day spent on the beach, they returned to the hotel room at around four that afternoon. "That was so much fun," Kate exclaimed as she walked over and collapsed on the bed. "You should get a couple of Sea-Doo's for the Hamptons. I'll even let you beat me the next time."
"I used to have a couple," he fell on the bed beside her. "Alexis and I enjoyed them when she was small, but then she got older and started making friends. It wasn't any fun taking them out by myself, so I sold them. And you didn't beat me. I let you win."
"In your dreams, Castle," she rose up so that she was looking down at him. "You're just saying that because it's too humiliating to admit that you got your ass kicked by a girl."
Castle looked up into the brilliant green eyes of his gorgeous wife. Every time he thought of her in that context, his heart skipped several beats. She was dressed in a purple bikini that made the green in her eyes that much more vivid. A bikini that left very little to the imagination. He reached behind her and slowly untied the bottom tie of the top before reaching up for the top string. He tossed it toward the end of the bed when it fell into his hands. He then reached down and untied each side of the bottoms before pulling away the small scrap of material.
After that, Kate didn't think about anything except for the feel of Castle's hands and lips on her body.
It was almost an hour before they both fell onto their backs, their breaths slowly returning to normal. "Room service?" She glanced over at him.
"Actually, I have plans. We have to get ready."
"Ready for what?" She asked as she sat up.
"That's a surprise," he grinned.
She smiled at him. He'd already surprised her with so many things on this trip. She couldn't see how he could possibly surprise her more. "If you keep spoiling me, I'm going to be unbearable when we get back to New York."
"I spoil you because I love you," he knelt in front of her, his love for her evident in his eyes. "Get in the shower because the car is picking us up at seven."
***CCC***
Kate was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when Rick emerged from the bathroom at 6:30. "Can you fasten these for me?" He held out his wrists so that she could fasten the gold and sapphire cufflinks that he was wearing. They'd been a wedding gift from her and she loved that he was wearing them. "You look . . . exquisite."
She was wearing a floor-length lavender gown that exposed one golden brown shoulder. She had diamond tear-drop earrings in her ears and was getting ready to put the matching necklace around her neck when he stopped her. "What? I thought that you liked this necklace."
"I do," he said as he came up behind her. "But, I think that you might like this one a little bit more."
She looked in the mirror, watching while he put another necklace around her neck. This one was a locket on a platinum chain. "Rick, this is gorgeous," she could barely breathe when he clasped it around her neck. The locket landed just above her breasts.
"Look inside," he kissed her neck. "And then look at the back."
Tears filled her eyes when she opened the locket and saw one of her favorite pictures taken on their wedding day. The two of them had still been standing under the altar where they'd been married, their eyes only on each other with their hands clasped together. It was if they were the only two people who existed on earth. She slowly closed the locket before turning it to read the back. The engraving on the back read 'RC + KB. Always.' "Wow, Rick," she turned into his embrace.
"When we have a baby, we'll add the baby's first picture to the other side."
"I love it and I love you," she kissed him longingly.
"We'd better go," he glanced at his watch, watching while she went to gather a wrap for her dress.
When Castle had said that he had hired a car, he neglected to tell her that it was a limousine. He whispered something to the driver, who simply nodded as he assisted them into the car.
"Do I even get a hint as to where you're taking me?" She asked when he settled down beside her and took her hand in his.
"There'll be food and dancing," he grinned.
"I like dancing with you."
"I know. I like dancing with you, too."
When they entered the restaurant a short time later, he told the hostess that he had reservations and they were led immediately to a table in an intimate corner of the restaurant. Kate couldn't help looking around in fascination as Castle talked to the sommelier. While she'd grown up in an upper middle class home, she'd never in her wildest dreams imagined anything like she was experiencing with Castle. There were times when she felt like she didn't deserve this life with him.
"Let me order for you," he smiled at her, once again taking her hand.
"Okay," she smiled back.
"So, what're you thinking about?"
"Do you remember the first time that I ever visited your loft?"
"You said that you felt like Alfred entering the Bat Cave for the first time. Kate, I never want you to feel like you don't deserve this," he caressed her fingers. "You were meant for a life like this. I'm more than happy to give it to you."
She never had been able to understand how he always read her mind so perfectly. They'd been in such perfect synch, almost from the very first case they'd worked together. She usually didn't have to tell him what she was thinking because he already knew. "I've traveled and I grew up with some money, but this . . . " she once again looked at her surroundings. "This is just so . . . surreal. I'm afraid that I'm going to wake up and find that it's all been a dream."
The sommelier came over with the bottle of wine that Castle had requested. He poured a small amount into his glass as he tasted it, nodding that it was fine. He then poured some into both of their glasses before leaving the bottle on the table. "You're going to love this wine," he told her.
"Oh, wow," she smiled after she'd taken a sip.
They laughed and chatted all through dinner, all the while exchanging loving looks and kisses. At nine o'clock, the band stepped up to the bandstand and began tuning up their instruments. "I'll be right back," he kissed her before excusing himself from the table. She watched him walk over to the singer who was adjusting his microphone. The two men chatted for several minutes as Rick kept glancing over toward the table where Kate was watching them with increasing curiosity. Finally, after about five minutes, he made his way back over to the table.
"What was that all about?"
"I was just checking to see if they know a song that I liked."
"Most bands have a pretty extensive repertoire, Castle," she reminded him.
"You were taking a bath the other day and you had your iPod in the docking station. You had a song on there that I didn't recognize, so I Googled it."
"What song?" She asked.
"You'll see in a few minutes," he looked toward the bandstand as the singer gave a slight nod of his head. "Dance with me."
He took her hand and led her out to the small dance floor where a few other couple had begun to congregate as well. The lead singer stepped up to the microphone. "Good evening. For our first number tonight, we'd like to dedicate this to Rick and his lovely bride Kate who are here on their honeymoon from New York City."
"You're such a romantic, Castle," she whispered with a huge smile as he placed his hands on her back and drew her closer to him.
Every time our eyes meet
This feeling inside me
Is almost more than I can take
Baby, when you touch me
I can feel how much you love me
And it just blows me away
I've never been this close to anyone
Or anything
I can hear your thoughts
I can see your dreams
I don't know how you do what you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I want to spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby, I'm amazed by you
She pulled back to share a tender kiss with him as she noticed the tears on his face. "I love you," she whispered as he pulled her back into his arms.
"I love you, too."
The smell of your skin
The taste of your kiss
The way you whisper in the dark
Your hair all around me
Baby, you surround me
You touch every place in my heart
Oh, it feels like the first time
Every time
I want to spend my whole life
In your eyes
I don't know how you do what you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I want to spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby, I'm amazed by you
Every little thing that you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I want to spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Every little thing that you do
Baby, I'm amazed by you
"You were right," he brushed his lips against hers.
"About what?"
"About how all of the songs make sense when you're in love. Now, I don't know about you, but I want to take you back to our hotel, slowly remove your clothes and make love to you the rest of the night."
"I like that idea very much," she pulled him closer as he deepened the kiss.
***CCC***
The man found himself staring at the almost two-week old picture in the Sunday New York Times for what had to have been the thousandth time. "I can't believe that you actually did it, Kate," he said to the picture. "After everything that he did, you went and married him anyway. Well, we'll see who gets the last laugh."
He got up and opened the door before walking downstairs. He turned on the light as he surveyed the room. Everything was in place and had been for weeks. He knew that he could make Kate see things his way. She just needed a little convincing. Satisfied with what he saw, he turned off the light and made his way back upstairs. It was only a matter of time now before he could put his plan into action. He'd been patient for more than three years, a few more days wasn't going to make much of a difference.
A/N #4: It shouldn't be too hard to figure out who my protagonist is going to be. This all came out of a seed that was planted. A simple 'what if' questioned that hopefully will blossom into something much bigger. Please read and review. My ego needs the boosting.