Her breath fell hot on his ear as she whispered. "Castle…"

He stirred slightly, feeling her naked thighs undulating against the bare skin of his ass. "Castle, wake up..."

His words articulated much better in his head than they did coming out of his mouth. "Kate, sleep – wore me out – I…"

Her hair tickled at his neck as her hand slid down his side, tracing gentle circles on his hip. "Please?" He could hear the want in her voice.

Rolling over, he reached out for her, but felt nothing but cold sheets.

Richard Castle sat straight up in his bed, his left hand still resting on the empty side of his bed. Dammit, he internalized in his head as he squinted his eyes to the early morning sun. It was all a dream – a fucking dream turned nightmare. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. It had all been too good to be true: showing up at his door soaking wet and kissing him of her own volition. His pushing her up against the door, kissing all the parts of her he'd only imagined before. Disrobing her slowly as he backed her through his living room and through his office. Haphazardly throwing that deliciously sexy black bra over the chaise in his…

Glancing over, he saw the tiny black undergarment in the same position he'd dreamed it, along with the pile of still wet denim at the entrance to his bedroom door.

"Hey."

Her voice was strong yet soft, and oh-so-sexy. Kate Beckett stood at the entrance to his bathroom, the only thing covering her lithe body one of his white button-downs. Her long, toned legs flowed out from the hem, and he couldn't help but notice the two strategically fastened buttons.

"So it wasn't a dream," he said as he smirked.

"Nope," she said, approaching the bed, taking a seat at the edge where Castle still sat. "It was all real." She bowed her head down somewhat, and Castle couldn't help but notice it.

"Having second thoughts?" he said, silently praying in the back of his head that she wasn't. Everything had happened so suddenly and in the heat of the moment. Now that she'd had time to really think about what she'd done…

"Hell no." Her face bore a smile, her eyes crinkling at the sides, their hazel color accentuated by the early morning sunlight spilling in through the window. "I'm just – well…"

Her head bowed down again. Castle took this as his cue and scooted closer to her, his hand reaching out to stroke the bare skin on her knee.

"Kate, talk to me."

She glanced up to stare into his eyes as she pushed back an errant strand of hair from her face. "So, you liked it?"

His answer was immediate. "Yeah."

"Me too," she said, smiling. Her hand met the one teasing her knee, and she intertwined their fingers. "A lot." With that she leaned in and placed a chaste kiss to his lips before laying her head over on his bare, broad shoulder.

They sat in silence for a moment until his deep timbre interrupted. "Why would you ask that?"

Kate looked up at him – his question was genuine. "I just – well, it had been – a while, and I wasn't sure that…you know – I'm a little out of practice and…"

He pulled her down and in instantly she found herself on her back with his body hovering over hers. "Dear heavens, woman. Do you not know what you do to me? What you've done to me for the last three years?" Resting on his elbows, he pressed his body down to hers, his arousal evident. "What happened last night – three times I might add – was far more than I'd ever fantasized."

She swatted playfully at his chest. "Me, too."

He leaned down now, kissing the exposed flesh beneath the collar of his shirt. "You fantasized about me, Detective Beckett?"

As his kisses became open mouthed and moved further down her chest, she arched up to meet him. "Yes, Mr. Castle, I did."

He raised his head and met her gaze. "Mr. Castle? No, Kate, that won't…"

She leaned up on her elbows and licked her lips. "Then, no Detective Beckett – Kate works nicely. Or lover, or…"

She lost her train of thought as his mouth landed on her breast through his shirt, his tongue swirling small circles over her now taut nipple.

"Like that, huh?" he growled against her skin.

She couldn't find the words, so she just writhed and moaned as he continued his ministrations. "More…shirt…gone…"

She was instantly cold as he pulled up and away from her, his hands grasping both sides of the shirt and ripping it open, exposing her naked body to him for the first time in the light of day. "You're – God, Kate, you're…"

"Shut up and fuck me, writer boy."

His eyes widened in shock at first before pure lust took over. "Yes ma'am," he complied, pulling her toward him by the tails of the now ruined shirt. Situating her in his lap, he watched as she arched her graceful back and took him inside easily before pulling herself back into his body.

They sat still for one moment, Kate staring into his eyes as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I've – "

He silenced her with a kiss as he pushed up into her, his hands supporting her lower back as his tongue traced the gentle curves of her breasts. "So good, Kate…so…"

It was her turn to surprise him as she pushed him down, his head at the foot of the bed as she sat straight up over him and began to rock against him, taking him deep inside her. "Fuck Kate," he groaned as she swiveled her hips against his. "So good."

She pushed her hair away from her face as she looked down at him, his eyes heavy lidded with lust. "What do you want, Castle?"

"You," he started, but she pressed her finger to his lips.

"No, Castle, I'll ask again…what do YOU want?"

As she said it, her hands wandered down her own body, caressing her breasts before gliding down her stomach to rest between where their bodies met. As her fingers teased just above her most sensitive spot, she felt him twitch inside her. "Like that, do you?"

It was his turn to be speechless as he just nodded.

"Do you want me to touch myself for you?" Her fingers gently grazed over his stomach down to where he was pushed inside of her.

"No," he gasped out. "I mean, yes...but, fuck I don't know what I'm saying. Yes, but not now."

"Why is that?"

Before she could say anything else, his thumb was pressing against her most sensitive spot, and she began to writhe above him, the fluttering in her stomach now turning into a burning fire. A thin sheen of sweat covered their bodies now, and as Kate eyed him lustily, she bit her lip, matching the rhythm of his thumb with her hips.

"God yes, right there – right…"

She never finished her sentence as her orgasm overtook her, the words morphing into unintelligible moans and sighs. He continued his movements, more gently now, until her pleasure subsided.

"Show off," she said, her mussed hair now framing her face. "You think just because you can…"

Before Kate knew it, she was on her back, her ankles on his shoulders, and his hands on either side of her waist. "What?" he said cheekily. "You told me to shut up and fuck you a minute ago…so…" He stilled his movements as he spoke. "Unless, you know, you've changed your mind…I TiVo'ed Toddlers and Tiaras last night, so…"

"Fuck me now."

That was all the guidance he needed as he penetrated her once more, deeply and wholly. The sight beneath him had been beautiful last night, but this morning, in the golden sunlight, he could see all of her. Her hair was splayed against his pillows like a mane, framing her angelic features. Her eyes were closed and her brow furrowed in pleasure. Her bottom lip had all but disappeared now as she was biting down on it and had been for some time now. She was still wearing his shirt, albeit ruined, but it had slipped down from her shoulders, offering no coverage for her torso. She was beautiful, and she was his.

"I love you," she gritted out between her teeth as she released her lip from the vice that had been her mouth. The words took him by surprise, but drove him to push faster, deeper, harder into her. Opening her eyes, she stared deeply into his and smiled a devilish smile as her lower body began to shudder once again. He kept the same pace through her orgasm, expecting her to put a hand to his chest when she was ready to slow down.

Instead, she came again.

This time she didn't make a sound, only closed her eyes tightly, bit her bottom lip and grunted, undulating her hips beneath his.

"Now you really are a show-off," she breathed, dropping her feet back down to the bed.

"I think I'm the one that got the show there," he quipped, his voice deep with lust as he slowed down to a more sensual pace, taking longer strokes inside of her as he leaned down, pressing his mouth to hers.

Kate's hands slid up his back and stopped when she reached the nape of his neck. "Just think. We could have been doing this years ago."

He gently caressed up her side, teasing the swell of her breasts. "Not for lack of trying on my part," he said into her neck as his tongue gently caressed the dip between her shoulder and neck.

"You never told me you were this good," she deadpanned back. "Now…for you."

In one quick movement she had him on his back again, her legs wrapped around him. "Let's see if I can give you as good a time as you gave me."

With that, Kate lowered herself back onto him, swaying her hips up and down in varying rhythms as her hands caressed up and down his chest, then hers. He was mesmerized by the gentle bounce of her breasts as she rode him, her eyes closing in a haze of lust. He was proud of himself, too – to have held out this long with the woman he'd wanted for so long taking the reins and…

Her back arched, allowing her hand access to reach around and cup his balls in her hand, gently rolling them. "Come for me," she pleaded, her voice in a contented growl. "I want to feel you come inside me."

As she said those last words, her fingers touched just the right spot and sent him over the edge, his head rolling back as he grunted and thrust up and into her, losing all coherent thought as his release ripped through him. She continued the swivel of her hips above him until she could no longer feel the throbbing inside of her, then brought herself down to rest on his chest.

"Good morning," he said once his breathing had steadied and he had positioned her onto her side propped up on his arm.

"Damn right," she said, kissing him gently. "A damn good morning."