A/N: For CB. I blame you. Special thanks to Berkie for the quick and dirty beta.
Castle belongs to Andrew Marlowe and ABC
She was still smiling as she entered their bedroom too many hours later.
She and Esposito had been more than happy to stay behind and cover Ryan's share of the paperwork, allowing him to spend more time with his precious wee princess. When she had arrived home, she had hung up her green coat- her newest favorite thing- and glanced over to the kitchen where her fiance was moving around the kitchen preparing dinner, his mother leaning against the counter next to him, sipping a glass of wine.
Dinner was quiet, the three of them chatting over details of the day and lingering at the table long after their plates were finished, basking in the presence of each other and enjoying the new bonds forged by the day they had just experienced. Eventually, though, Martha had bid them good night, leaving the couple enjoying the simple domesticity of cleaning up together.
Kate couldn't help running her eyes over him greedily as she stacked the dishwasher. His beautiful, solid physique, displayed to perfection in that blue dress shirt, collar open roguishly as usual, and sleeves rolled up to his elbows, unintentionally drawing attention to the play of muscles up and down his arms. When he turned away to grab a pan, her eyes dropped to his derriere and lingered, her mind filling in for her the taut feel of it in her hands.
He caught her looking, of course. He didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow, his expression smug.
She rolled her eyes and lobbed a dishcloth at his face.
Hitting the button on the dishwasher, she turned on her heel and sauntered towards their room, throwing a flirtatious look over her shoulder at him that had him stumbling through the remaining clean up at double speed and racing across the room to catch up with her.
Entering their bedroom, she stopped short on the threshold, the smile dropping from her face. A moment later, he came crashing into her, wrapping himself around her to keep balanced, but he could tell right away her mood had changed completely. She waited for him to follow her gaze to the bed, sheets still showing red stains from her almost-father-in-law's brief visit.
"Someone's been sleeping in my bed," she said wryly, crinkling her nose distastefully. She felt him stiffen behind her, and sigh.
"Kate..." his tone was weary. She turned in his arms, touched his face with her hand.
"You've had a hell of a day, Castle, and I don't want to ruin our evening, but you did some things today that were unacceptable." Her tone was gentle and quiet but firm.
He sighed deeply, dropping his eyes. "I know."
"Hey, look at me," she waited for him to comply. It took a moment. "I know you know. I know you're sorry. And we're fine, and I forgive you, but one day it's not going to work out that way, and I need you to come home to me at the end of the day just as much as you need me to come home to you."
He nodded, and she leaned in to press her mouth to his once, twice, but broke it off before either of them could get distracted and deepen it, looking up into his eyes. This time her expression leaned more towards playful and exasperated.
"Did you really need to put him on my side of the bed, Castle?" she demanded.
"I wasn't thinking," he replied, looking a little too adorable for his own good- or her sanity. "I was kind of distracted. He'd been shot!"
She was thankful she'd had years of practice at not smiling at him. Having said that, she was pretty sure she had only gotten progressively worse at hiding the fact that she wasn't smiling with him. Nope. No smile on her face at all.
She tried to keep her voice stern, but she wasn't sure she managed it. "Castle, if you want me sleeping in that bed with you, I suggest you change the sheets. I'm going to take a shower, and I want to go to bed after that."
His face lit up. "Do you want company in the shower?" he asked gleefully.
She slipped out of his arms and sauntered to the bathroom. "Only if you get the sheets changed. Better be quick," she called back to him, firmly shutting the bathroom door with a knowing smirk.
She turned on the shower and took her time going about her routine, taking off her make up and brushing her teeth. Stripping, she put her dirty clothes in the hamper, all save her bra, which she draped artistically over Boba Fett's head just to drive Castle a little crazy. By this time, steam was billowing around invitingly, so she stepped into the shower.
Castle's shower was pure heaven. Everything was adjustable, and by now she was plenty familiar with the controls to have it pounding her back muscles at just the right pressure and temperature. She only allowed herself a few seconds to enjoy it, though. She shaved her legs and washed herself and her hair, wanting to get the business of getting clean out of the way before Castle came in to distract her.
After all, they needed to celebrate. They were getting married in eight months.
She knew it hadn't really hit her, that there was a million things to do, and sooner or later she'd be panicking trying to organize the thing, but tonight- tonight, she and her partner had had a hell of a day, and even though things could have gone very wrong, he had made up for everything with an enormous romantic gesture that spoke love into all of her insecurities. He loved her. He wanted to marry her. He loved her more than his job, more than his plans. He already considered her to be a part of his family.
In spite of everything that had happened today, she could honestly say that she had never been happier in her life.
Then the shower door opened, and her naked fiance slipped in behind her, sliding his hands around her waist and running his palms over the planes of her stomach, his mouth seeking the skin of her neck and shoulder. She leaned back into him instinctively, enjoying the simple, delicious pleasure of him surrounding her with no barriers in the way.
"You're so beautiful, Kate," he mumbled into her ear, the deep timbre of his voice shooting lightning through her whole being. One of his hands traveled up her torso to cup her breast, sliding against the sensitive underside, testing the weight of it. His thumb flicked her nipple, and she arched back into him, biting her lip to suppress a moan. His other hand was holding her to him, low on her stomach- but not low enough.
"I love the way you come alive under my hands," his mouth was moving slowly around her neck to the top of her spine. She could feel him hardening behind her, his length pressing against her buttocks, demanding attention. She circled her hips teasingly, and was rewarded with a groan and a nip of his teeth, quickly soothed by his tongue.
His hands had not been still, gliding easily back and forth over her wet skin, and finally he allowed one of his hands to drift south, seeking out her curls. She opened her legs for him as well as she could in encouragement, and he slid one muscular thigh between her legs to hold some of her weight. He coasted one thick finger between her folds, spreading her slickness, teasing her.
"Castle," she hissed, head falling back onto his shoulder, turning her mouth towards his stubble and gasping as he sucked on her tendon.
He slid two fingers inside of her, abruptly switching breasts with his other hand and rolling her nipple. She jerked, a keening sound emanating from her throat. He started a quick rhythm, adding a third finger and rolling his thumb around her clit. She gasped again.
"Castle, I want... Oh, God! I want..." he seemed to understand, withdrawing his fingers abruptly and spinning her around, guiding her back against the shower wall. He traced one hand down her thigh, and she took the hint, lifting her leg to find purchase around his waist, bringing their centers into contact. She looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes, broad torso shielding them both from the shower, small rivulets cascading down his chest, eyes burning with love and lust and just a little awe, even now, after all this time. He really was a beautiful specimen- and he was hers. She was going to marry him. In September.
Something of this must have shown on her face, because he stilled, bending a little so he could lean his forehead on hers, staring into her eyes so close she couldn't focus properly.
"I love you," he whispered fervently, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss even as he aligned himself so he could slowly thrust into her. She opened her mouth for him as she rolled her hips to meet his, sighing into the kiss. He withdrew almost completely, then slid back in, deeper. She couldn't help but clench her inner muscles around him, taking him into her as far as he could go.
He started a slow rhythm, gliding leisurely in and out of her, both feeding her arousal and leaving her desperate for more. She loved the way he filled her, thick and full, her entire body humming with his love for her, pleasure coiling tighter and tighter as he moved within her.
"Kate," he croaked, and she leaned her head back against the shower wall so she could see his face. His eyes were screwed tight shut, his mouth set in a firm line. She reached up a hand to cup his cheek, and when he opened his eyes, all she could see was raw hunger in his dark gaze.
She nudged his elbow with the knee that was around his waist. "Help me lift it, Castle," she ordered. He grasped her calf firmly and guided it higher, higher, until her ankle rested neatly on his shoulder.
"This ok?" he rasped. She nodded, gasping as he plunged in even deeper than before, this new angle bringing a heightened level of pleasure. "You really are flexible," he mumbled, running a hand up and down the leg that was trapped between them.
"Just don't tell Esposito that next time, k?" she panted, before letting out a sound that was somewhere between a moan and a growl. "Castle, I'm gonna... Fuck!" She pressed her mouth to his in a dirty kiss, before drawing back to look into his eyes. "Fuck me, Castle!" she instructed in a low, breathy, growl.
Any trace of blue in his eyes seemed to vanish as his pupils dilated at her words, and he crashed his mouth into hers, his hips thrusting into her at a punishing speed. Water sluiced over them as he pistoned in and out, in and out, his handling rough as he pushed her leg even higher to capture a deeper angle. In no time at all, her body was clenching around him, even as he spilled into her, her inner muscles milking him of his orgasm as she shattered around him.
He gently lowered her leg to the floor, crowding into her to hold them both upright against the tiled wall of the shower. Her muscles ached, and she knew she was going to feel it tomorrow, but cradled against him after yet another earth shattering orgasm, she couldn't bring herself to care.
"I take it the sheets are changed?" she asked.
"Of course. I turned down the covers and everything," he replied, pressing a kiss to her temple. She looked up at him, marveling again at the depths to which he cared for her.
"Take me to bed, Castle."
Thoughts?