A/N: I wrote this a long time ago, back when season three was airing, and I just rediscovered it. This is set sometime between "Knockdown" and "Knockout". Now, this chapter was actually chapter six of the original story, but I don't like the other chapters, so I've adapted two of them to be a stand-alone story. I couldn't let this smut waste away in some corner of my computer collecting dust. It needs to be read!
Disclaimer: Castle belongs to Andrew Marlowe and ABC Studios, not me.
Castle looked up from his barstool perch just in time to see Beckett come in from the outside. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw what she was wearing. She sparkled as the light glinted off of her short metallic grey dress. The bottom of her dress ended on her upper thigh, showing off her beautiful long legs as she sauntered closer to the bar, swaying her hips with the hypnotizing elegance of a ballerina. Castle paused for a minute to admire the provocative v-neck which didn't leave much to the imagination. As his eyes continued to travel over her exquisite body, he took in every detail – the way her wavy hair glimmered as she tossed it back, the long sleeves which only served to draw attention to her well-manicured hands, the oversized ring on her right index finger, her silver clutch… But what Castle gazed at the most was Beckett's face. Green eye shadow accentuated her gorgeous eyes and peony lip gloss made her lips look so inviting that Castle had to fight the urge to walk over and plant a possessive kiss on them. Her 4-inch silver heels clicked on the marble floor as she walked into the bar, her stunning eyes meeting Castle's for a brief moment. She threw a sly smile his way before turning around and sliding into a seat opposite the chief of surgery.
Finally exhaling the breath he didn't know he was holding, Castle did a flawless John Stamos impression, quietly exclaiming "Have mercy!" to the bartender. Then he downed the rest of his single malt scotch and tapped into his vivid imagination, dreaming about the day when he would see what was under the dress.
"I think he likes you," the chief said to Beckett as she sat down across from him.
"What?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"The guy at the bar who can't stop staring! Not that I blame him, you are quite a beauty! I think I made the right choice in recruiting you."
Under Castle's intense scrutiny, Beckett began to blush. Then, shaking her head to clear her mind, she said "Don't forget, you haven't recruited me yet."
"What do you want to know?"
Beckett bombarded him with questions, all of which he answered with ease and charm. He's really good at this… If I wasn't a cop, I'd almost consider moonlighting, she thought. The chief continued to prattle on about the benefits of being a high-class escort until Beckett stopped him.
"Okay, I'm sold. What do I have to do?"
"Well, I can't just let you into the agency; you're going to have to prove yourself."
Beckett was glad she had the foresight to have Castle sitting in the bar. It would have been awkward to flirt with someone else.
"And how, might I ask, do I prove myself?"
"Normally the agency would pick your clients for you, but we need to know that you have what it takes. Think of this as an 'audition'. Pick up a man in this bar. Enchant him; make him want to pay for you." The chief discreetly handed her the key to a hotel room. "Take him up to room 308 and give him the time of his life. Then take his money and meet me back at the hospital tomorrow."
"And how much does a night with me go for these days?"
"$3,000. If you can't get a man to pay that much for you, then we don't want you in the agency."
"I'll bet I have that man in bed before sundown," she challenged, gesturing to Castle.
"You're on. Now show me what you've got."
Castle inhaled sharply as Beckett stood up from the booth and started walking towards him.
"Hey," she said seductively. "Buy me a drink?"
"But, I don't even know your name," he teased.
"I'm Katherine," she said, drawing out each syllable. Upon hearing her husky voice, Castle's breathing quickened. He hadn't realized exactly how much power she had over him until this very moment.
"I'm Rick," he replied.
"Okay, now that we're acquainted, how 'bout that drink?" Beckett asked, moving onto the barstool next to Castle. She took her index finger and began to run it over his chest in playful circles and smiled when she felt Castle's heartbeat grow faster.
He ordered drinks for them both and then sat back to look at Beckett. "So, Katherine, what brings you here this evening?"
"Actually, I think I found what I was looking for," she said, loud enough for the chief to hear. Then she leaned in close to Castle, putting her mouth by his ear. He stiffened as her warm breath grazed his cheekbone. The chief presumed she was discussing her fee, what she really said was, "Ryan, Esposito, have you got a trace on his phone?" she whispered.
Castle had forgotten about the microphone in his shirt collar, so her words surprised him. Then, drawn out of his undercover fantasy, he began to play along. Turning the tables on Beckett, he put his hand on her bare knee.
"Yeah, we're linked into his phone. We see everything he does. If the chief contacts his boss, we'll know about it," Ryan's voice said into their ears.
Beckett found it hard to concentrate on the case with Castle's hand caressing her knee. Shivers ran up her spine as his nimble fingers went higher and higher up her leg.
"Good, let us know if he does anything suspicious," she managed to whisper. Then, returning to the task at hand, she pulled away from Castle.
"You know, why don't we forget the drinks and take this party upstairs?" Beckett asked him, dangling the room key in front of his face.
Much to her dismay, Castle removed his hand from her knee. Standing up, he held his arm out to her and said, "Shall we?"
She took his arm and they walked out of the bar towards the elevator. Once they were safely inside the metal box, they separated. Neither one of them wanted to admit that they missed the other's touch, so they stood there in silence and listened to the elevator music.
Beckett wished that this was real. She wished that they were going upstairs to do more than sit in the hotel room and talk. Castle was wishing the same thing, but he knew it would never happen. Beckett had made it perfectly clear that she just wanted to be friends and what she said next just confirmed it.
"Remember, we are just going to sit in the hotel room. If you try anything, you will be going to a very special level of Hell. A level reserved for child molesters and people who talk at the theater. And you know I can make it happen." She hadn't wanted to say that, but with Ryan and Esposito listening to their every word, she had to keep up appearances.
"Don't worry, I'll be the perfect gentleman," Castle said resignedly, exiting the elevator on the third floor.
Ryan and Esposito were sitting in the van watching computer monitors when one of them started to flash.
"What's going on?" Ryan asked Esposito.
"There's some activity on the chief's phone. It looks like he's connecting to something."
"What?" Ryan asked impatiently.
"A video feed of a hotel room," Esposito responded, a little confused.
"Why would he connect to a video feed?"
"I don't know. Wait…" They watched in shock as Castle and Beckett appeared on the streaming video.
"Oh god," they said in unison.
"There's a camera in the room! The chief's watching you!" Ryan yelled into the microphone.
There was no time to think, so Beckett improvised. She launched herself at Castle, attacking his lips with her own. He was slightly stunned, but recovered quickly, passionately kissing her back. His tongue left a searing trail of fire along her bottom lip, teasing her mouth open. She writhed under his body and splayed her hand across his back, holding onto him for dear life, as if at any moment she would wake up and discover that it was all a mirage. A low moan escaped Beckett's lips as three years of sexual tension was released.
Breaking away for air, Castle stared at the ravishing woman beneath him, not daring to believe she was real. He moved closer to her until they were millimeters apart and recognized the lust that was clouding her eyes. This was more than another undercover kiss. She wanted him. So, he ran his hand over her defined jawbone and lowered his mouth to fleetingly kiss her lips.
"I'm gonna go to the special hell," he muttered breathlessly.
A/N: The follow-up chapter will be posted in a day or two. I just want to fix a few things.