Packing Heat; the newest addition to Richard Castle's series based on the ever sultry and unstoppable Nikki Heat was finally ready to hit shelves worldwide starting with its premier night right here in New York City. This newly published novel was a long awaited by many as the previous book was published a couple years ago after the author decided it was time for a break.

As he was getting dressed in front of his bedroom mirror, Castle could not contain his excitement at not only the premier of another great addition to the collection, especially after all this time, but more so at being able to attend the event with the love of his life, none other than his beautiful muse, the extraordinary Katherine Beckett and their precious daughter, Emilie Johanna Castle. Emilie or baby bear as Castle so affectionately nicknamed her was almost three years old and even though she was still quite young, Kate had agreed that they would both come along to his latest event, which surprised him quite a lot as Kate was known to shy away from the public eye. As he reminisced on his discussion with his wife several days prior, he really thought that he would have had to do a lot more to convince her or get her to even consider the idea, but Kate turned out to be incredibly understanding about it all.

"So Kate, I was thinking; and just hear me out on this, you know it's the first book I've completed in a while and the premier is coming up and I know we both agreed on being private and keeping our lives out of the spotlight and that we both want Em to not have to deal with the critical public and…", murmured Castle hesitantly.

Kate stopped folding the laundry laid out on the couch and smirked at her husband sitting on the opposite end and said, "Just spit it out Castle. You are quite the wordsmith after all."

"Funny. You know, as I recall you weren't so sarcastic about my words when it came to our session of pillow talk last night," he teased.

"Castle!" she scolded; "Just get to the point please."

"Okay. Okay," he continued; "Well I know that you'll be there at the premier with me, but I was wondering if you'd mind if we brought baby bear along. I mean I know it's such a public event and there'll be all the paparazzi and it'll be late, but I figured it'd be her first and I would just love if she could be there and..."

"Okay."

"Can you at least think about it? Wait, did you say okay?"

"Yes Rick. I said okay."

"Wow," he stuttered, "I mean I had this entire speech mentally prepared and if that didn't work I planned on buying you new earrings, but you said okay. That's amazing!"

"Well you're still getting me new earrings because we have to get outfits for the big night but I said okay and I mean it." She beamed at him.

She continued, "Part of marrying you was accepting your minor fame and we do keep her out of the spotlight most of the times and well she's her daddy's biggest fan, right after her mommy of course."

"Hey, it's not so much minor fame okay!" he said defensively, feigning offense.

"I'm serious Castle. You worked hard and you created something spectacular, and I don't just mean our kid." "But you deserve to share your special, hard-earned moments with the people who are important to you; and it's better than we have a sense of control over the publicity of this event where the paparazzi won't be sneaking around stalking us." She continued, "Besides, we get to go shopping and look pretty for our favourite guy. That's always a plus."

"You are extraordinary Katherine Beckett-Castle; thoughtful and absolutely extraordinary," Castle said as he leaned toward her with the biggest grin on his face.

"Well, I try…" she joked as she leaned toward him too.

As he adjusted the top buttons of his strikingly white shirt, he couldn't help but wonder how amazing his girls would be looking this evening. Kate refused to let him accompany them on her shopping spree and opted to make it a girl's day out inviting Alexis and Lanie to join her. Castle fixed his favorite pair of cuff links and then looked at the bowties laid out on his bed. He had a black satin option to give him the classic, James Bond look with his tuxedo or he had a silk option that was an absolutely magnificent scarlet shade.

It was at this moment that Kate exited their bathroom in her navy blue silk robe that stopped mid-thigh and revealed the most toned and shapely legs. Castle felt his jaw drop. This beauty of this woman never ceased to amaze him. Her hair was pulled back and held up while some shorter, hazel wisps danced lightly at the front of her face, gently caressing and framing her face, highlighting her exquisite angled facial structure. Her make-up was done perfectly, with neutral shades decorating her eyes topped with a precise and rich black wing across each one. Her striking red lips captivated Castle's attention and he found that he could not stop himself from staring at the illustrious masterpiece of a woman walking toward him.

As she stood in front of him, she lifted her hand to his chin and closed his gaping mouth with a smile plastered on her face. She could not deny that it felt incredibly sexy and self-assuring to know that after all these years and even after having a child, that she was still the only woman that could so easily elicit that pure reaction from the man she loved. Castle turned toward her, hands reaching out to lightly grip the sides of her waist and slowly lifted his gaze from her lips to her eyes. They stood there staring at each other in silence but saying all that they needed to with hungry eyes brimming with underlying love and utmost affection. Kate smiled and simply stared into Castle's eyes which continued to darken with desire. His serious demeanour spoke volumes about his appreciation of this moment and with his eyes wide open watching her face relax, he brought his lips to hers, softly. He pulled back.

They both knew that in this moment, nothing else seemed to matter. In the room stood a man and a woman, simply in love with each other. This time it was Kate who took his chin in her hand once more and pulled him in closer, her lips wanting nothing more than the touch of his. This time, Rick did not hold back. His hand found the small of her back and pulled her closer and he pressed into her, increasing the intensity of their kiss as her tongue found his.

Suddenly, he felt her pull back and he gave a grunt of disapproval.

"Babe, no. We'll be late and Em and I still have to get ready," she stated.

"But Kate!" groaned Castle.

"No buts Castle. Plus, if you mess up my hair, I'll be tempted to shoot you," she joked.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," he seriously stated.

"I'm sure it is babe but don't worry. I'm all yours and I promise we'll pick up where we left off tonight," Kate murmured as she gave him a quick peck and added; "Now I've got to go find our girls. Lex gave Em a bath so I could do my make-up."

"Fine," he conceded with an obvious pout on his face.

Kate turned with a smile on her face and strutted to the door to go find her girls but she was sure to put an extra sway in her hips as she knew that her husband would not be able to tear his eyes away from her exit but she stopped at the doorframe and turned to face him with a sexy smirk and added in that sultry tone she knew he loved, "Oh and Castle, I'd go with the red bowtie. I mean with that shade, it's a perfect match for the outfit under my robe."

Castle turned back to the mirror with a sigh after she left the room. There was a good chance that he needed a really cold shower or to wash his face and wipe the lipstick off his mouth at least. This extraordinary woman would definitely be the death of him.