Authors Note: This story came to me one evening at work while trying to frantically write down plot points and parts of the conversation in between waiting on costumers. I decided to finish it and give it to my friend Steffi for Christmas. She thinks I should share it. So here it is. This is my first Castle fic, so I hope I do them justice. I'm thinking the time frame is at least after S4.

To Steffi (aka applesandcherries) thank you for introducing me to Castle and for your friendship, always

To Helene (aka CharmedWorld) for beta reading and for telling me 50 million times that it's good and that Steffi will like it. Lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or the characters of Rick Castle and Kate Beckett. If I did I would not be working as a bank teller with a shitty salary and living off frozen dinners and canned food.

I'D LOVE TO BE YOUR LAST

Kate and Rick lay curled up together on the couch. The loft is dimly lit with no sounds but their quiet breathing. The last year and a half has been a whirlwind for the detective and writer. They made it through her shooting, they made it through the discoveries and hurt of their lies to each other and most importantly they made it through catching her mother's killer. All the tears, pain, fights, comfort phone calls in the middle of the night, late night Chinese take-out and wine, and slow work at breaking down her walls all lead to first kisses, passionate nights, I love you's, exchange of keys, his and her towels, and this moment. She's lying curled into his side enjoying the feather light touches as he runs his fingers up and down her arm and the soft sound of his breathing. Rick turns his head slightly to place a kiss on her hair and asks softy, "Dance with me?"

Kate turns to look up at him as he's moving off the couch to take her hands and simply replies "There's no music"

Rick giving her one of his signature smiles as he pulls her from the couch and whispers, "We don't need any."

Rick gently takes her hand in his and placed his other hand at the small of her back and lightly digs his fingertips into her skin as he pulls her close. They sway to the quiet for several minutes till he nuzzles her hair and takes a small breath in, breathing in her cherry shampoo.

"I love the way you smell, the way your skin feels like silk." Rick pauses knowing she can't help but smile. He continues to whisper in her ear; "I love the sound of your laugh, your giggle, and your moans." Kate lets out a soft sigh, letting go of his hand, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. Rick's hold on her tightens as he continues; "I love watching you tear a new one into a murder suspect and two minutes later console the victim's family. I love how your compassion is contagious. I love being your partner; at work, at home, in the bedroom." Kate can't help but laugh and as she tilts her head back Rick takes the opportunity to kiss that one spot right behind her ear that he knows will reward him with one of his favorite sounds, her moan. And he isn't wrong; he's rewarded with the sound. He pulls her closer as they continue their slow dance into the silence. He continues to whisper in her ear; "I love being your best friend, the only one who knows your deepest inner secrets. I love being your go-to man. Everything that you are Katherine has made me want to be a better man, not just for myself but for you."

Kate's heart beats a mile a minute and she's sure he had to feel it pounding since they were holding each other so close. She's not sure what to say. Rick has always been pretty open when it came to his feelings for her but this was different. Butterflies had formed in her stomach and she couldn't get rid of the dazzling smile on her face if she wanted too.

"Rick."

He quickly cuts her off, "Shh, I'm not done yet" He whispers in her ear. "You intrigued me the moment we first met, the first time you interrogated me, arrested me; I needed to figure you out but God, you're still a mystery I haven't solved. And I don't think I want to".

Kate pulls back slightly to look at him and was about to speak when Rick placed his index finger on her lips to silence her. He flashes another signature grin and shakes his head; "Let me finish before you reply." Kate kisses his finger and let him pull her close again. She certainly doesn't mind being held this tightly by him as they sway and move in unison to no sounds but his voice. And she certainly doesn't mind being pampered by his words.

"I'm not exactly sure when I fell in love with you but I think it was right around the time we finished our first case and I asked you to dinner and you turned me down. No woman had ever turned me down before and you telling me that I had no idea what I would be missing and walking off the way you did." He didn't finish as his smile reached his eyes. A shiver ran up his spine and Kate let out a small laugh as they remembered the moment.

"No one person can ever come close to being you, to being half the woman you are. And for the life of me I have no idea why you picked me. But I certainly won't question your judgment on that."

Kate laughs again and pulls back to look at him. His eyes are blazing blue. She sees the love he has for her but something else. She can't place it but its there - a bit of nervousness maybe? Rick takes his hand and caresses her cheek and when his lips meet hers he starts a slow, light and sensual kiss. She lets out moan as she tries to deepen the kiss by running her tongue along his lips. He pulls away then and rests his forehead to hers. Then takes her hands in his and kisses her fingers. He looks into her eyes and slowly pulls away keeping their hands locked as he bends down on one knee. He smiles up at her and when she realizes what is about to happen, her eyes get bigger than he's ever seen.

"Kate, I could not love you anymore than I do right now. I will spend every day telling you how extraordinary you are to me. Let me be your one and done because I'm all in." And with that he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a beautiful two carat Harry Winston diamond ring. Kate gasps partly from his words, the moment and the ring; because dear God it was beautiful. Her eyes went from him to the ring as she processed what was happening. After a moment her eyes settle deeply on his with a dazzling smile and watery laugh she can only muster a vibrant "YES!" which has him leaping to his feet enveloping his body to hers. He picks her up and spins her around in his happiness and relief. She lets out a throaty laugh at his excitement. When he finally lets her feet rest on the floor he grabs her face in his hands and kisses her with a frenzied fierceness that has her melting into him. Kate wasn't a words-smith like Rick. She couldn't seem to find the words to express her emotions. She could only show him with her actions, her kisses, her touches. She slows the kiss down to a tantalizing slow burn as she hears Rick let out a low moan. She takes that as her defeat and begins a path of wet kisses from his jaw to his ear were she pulls his ear lobe into her mouth and slowly sucks on it before lightly biting it and moving to suck on his pulse point. Kate works her fingers at the buttons on his shirt as she feels Rick's hands inching her light sweater up to feel her soft skin. Her lips never move from his neck, as she moves her hands up his exposed chest and pushes his button-down off his shoulders. Rick starts to pull her sweater up and Kate finally pulls away to allow him to completely remove it. Once the sweater is lost on the floor Kate reclaims his lips. Rick can feel the urgency in her kiss, her touch. He knows she wants to take control of this. And tonight he will let her. He will let her love him without words. He knows she has yet to be able to show her feelings and thoughts in words but he continues to hope that one day she'll express it more than a quick "I love you too". But for now he's completely content with her wordless expressions of her love for him, especially when his jeans fall to his ankles and her small warm hand teases him through his boxers. His response is immediate and makes no questions of how easily she arouses him. He grabs her and kisses her hard, pulling her flush to his body. She moans and grinds her hips into his in response. "Wanna take this to the bedroom Mrs. Castle?" Rick breathes heavily in her ear. "No, that's too far. I want you right here, right now."

Rick doesn't question her, she has a valid point. The bedroom is too far away. He pulls her to the floor and Kate immediately starts to work her way down his body leaving hot, wet kisses from his jaw, his collar bone, his chest were she takes her turn biting and sucking each nipple till he moans softly. His hands are tangled softly in her hair, letting her go at her own pace. He wants her now but in this moment he's willing to let her torture him. She continues to move down his body, raking her nails not so lightly over his defined stomach. She dips her tongue in his belly button and lets out a soft giggle. She sits up straddling his thighs and reaches behind her and removes her bra, throwing it somewhere across the room. Rick is dying to touch her, her nipples already hard and begging for him to touch, pinch and suck. He reaches for her and she takes his arms and pins them above his head. She grins wickedly at him and he knows he's in for it. And in for it he was. He knew they'd had slow, passionate sex and rough, needy, barely make it past the front door sex. But tonight is different. He can't find the right words to describe it, it was that exhilarating. As they lie together on the cold hardwood floor of the loft's living room, tangled in legs, arms and a throw he grabbed from the back of the couch and haphazardly thrown over them; all he could hear was her regaining her breath, taking everything in with each breath in her nose and out her mouth.

"Rick"

"Hmmm" is all he can muster. He's still trying to catch his breath and they've been lying there spent on the floor for at least 10 minutes. She idly runs her left hand over his bare chest, making patterns over his flushed skin. She can't take her eyes off the stunning ring on her left finger as with every movement the diamond sparkles in the low light.

"I love you but I'm not as good as you are with words"

"It's in your eyes; I can see everything in your eyes. You don't need to say a thing"

"It that enough for you?" She stills her hand and looks up at him while she rests her chin on his chest.

"You, Katherine Louisa Beckett are everything to me; I simply can not get enough of you. I don't need anything more than what we have right now."

Kate can't help the smile that lights up her eyes; she caresses his cheek and simply replies; "You are so extraordinary"

"You, Mrs. Castle never ever ceases to amaze me" They share a soft laugh before Rick captures her lips once more and rolls her over so his full weight was outstretched along her body. They could never get enough of the other. They could never get close enough. And all Kate can think of with his soft lips caressing hers and feeling the warmth of his body covering hers is a sweet memory of her mother when she was sixteen. She asked her mom if she thought she'd ever find true love. Johanna simply laughed and told her she was destined too. Kate didn't believe her till now. Kate sighs into Rick's mouth as she could hear her mother saying "I told you so".

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