A/N So this is my entry for the Castle Ficathon! I'm not sure if I'll make it to 50.000words but we'll see... :)

This will be a series of one-shots involving different body parts and/or features of Castle and Beckett. The point of view will differ from chapter to chapter. I want to keep this story at a T because most one-shots will have a T-rating, but there will be at least one more M chapter. I'll give a warning beforehand so people who don't like this kind of stuff (or aren't old enough... ;)) can decide to skip it.

A huge thank you to my beta kimmiesjoy, who is just AWESOME! :D She came up with the title for this first chapter! I LOVE it! Very clever!

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine! :)

* So this particular chapter is M, peeps! (Though it's not THAT detailed) :D *

Let's not be rash!

It all started with an impromptu five-day camping trip.

Leading up to that had been a long week holed up in the precinct – at first one of those boring paperwork days after a successfully closed case and then prepping for a trial of another one. Unfortunately it was one of the more exhausting cases they'd worked this year and everyone was trying to bring their A-game. The boys and Kate going over every single report, every miniscule detail to make sure they had everything covered. It didn't help that the weather outside was gorgeous – warm and sunny, the air smelling of summer while they were stuck inside.

Castle was dividing his time between writing at home and keeping them in food and good spirit at the precinct. He had even helped with paperwork on the first day and later with the more tedious things like going down to the archives, sorting the reports and files according to dates, establishing a timeline and looking at the overall picture when they were in danger of losing themselves in the details. She was so grateful for his quiet background support and the occasional goofing around with the boys to lighten their mood.

After finishing late on most nights they'd come home and fall into bed, completely exhausted and too tired for more than snuggling up and falling asleep in each other's arms.

So now as the trial finally came to a close and Gates gave them the weekend off to recover she asked for an additional three days, went home, packed a bag and some necessary supplies, took her Harley Softail and went to Castle's place. She wanted to surprise him, and since she knew neither Martha nor Alexis were at home over the weekend she thought why not take a couple of days and get out of the city.

When she showed up at his door all dressed in tight leather he completely lost all coherent thought, his mouth gaping open, eyes raking up and down her body, turning a darker shade of blue with every inch he took in.

She had to admit his open admiration and blatantly displayed lust left her breathless and more than a little turned on but she wanted to get going, wanted nothing more than to leave the smothering confines of the city behind and plunge herself into the wide and open planes of nature, to breathe a bit of fresh air and take a break from everyday life.

She brushed past him, but not without making sure her fingers grazed his stomach lightly in passing, her hair brushing his face – evil, she knew it but it was just so much fun to tease him a little.

She was sure he'd get her back for it eventually but that was exactly the point – it was the give and take, the mutual teasing that made it all so interesting and worthwhile. It didn't matter who was on top (literally), in the end they both didn't so much enjoy their 'victory' as the game and path leading up to it.

They were partners – at work, at home and in the bedroom. Mmhmm…yeah, especially in the bedroom. And she was definitely planning on taking advantage of their partnership in that particular department over the upcoming weekend.

When he crowded her from behind, pressing himself up against her she laughed, turned out of his grasp and told him to go pack a bag – they'd go on a little camping trip up north. His eyes lit up in surprise and awe – and no small amount of glee at the prospect of sitting behind her on the Harley for hours, pressed up against her back, and he made no secret out of that fact. On the contrary – he husked all the delicious things in her ear he planned on doing to her, and her knees buckled a little at the prospect.

Needless to say he was ready in record time, dressed in casual jeans, a black T and a leather jacket himself, a duffle back casually slung over his shoulder – and her mouth went dry. She swallowed hard at the sight, and his barely concealed smirk told her he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

And of course he made good on his whispered promises during their drive up north, so much so that Kate had trouble concentrating on the road ahead. They arrived at Watkins Glen State Park a good hour later than she'd planned.

The next day she found herself waking up in a tent they had rented upon arrival from the park rangers, all snuggled up in her sleeping bag. She stretched and listened to the calm outside. Apart from the chirping of birds, the rustle of leaves and the brawl of one of the small waterfalls nearby, she couldn't hear a thing.

And she reveled in it.

Instead of the constant buzz of the city and the traffic noises there was nothing but peaceful quiet and the sounds of nature. Content she turned around, expecting Castle to lie next to her but…she was alone.

Hmm.

Crawling out of the tent she went searching for him because…well, she had been looking forward to waking up with him all cuddled up in a tent, surrounded by nature - the romantic stuff really.

Did she actually just think that? Ugh…no, not romantic, just…

Well…ok, romantic.

The giddy smile that split her face in two at this train of thought was proof enough how thoroughly Castle had ruined her…and she loved it.

She loved to do all sorts of couply things with him – a walk in the park on Sundays, dancing in the flickering candle light of a night spent at home, holding hands on the tabletop while eating out in some fancy restaurant.

It was romantic.

And she loved it.

Not that she planned on telling him that. Nope. That would be just silly, right?

Hmm…he probably knew already anyway if the dopey and happy grin breaking out on his face every time when she sported her very own lovesick smile was any indication.

Coming up to the river and small waterfall she stopped dead in her tracks. The sight before her left her breathless. Castle was standing at the river bank, rinsing his face, neck and chest. As if that wasn't enough to send her hormones into overdrive he apparently hadn't shaved yet, and the dark five o'clock shadow covering his face sent an electric jolt of pulsing heat through her loins.

This side of him had become very rare; in the last couple of years he'd made sure to always be clean shaven, and even during these last months of them being together she couldn't really remember him looking that rugged.

And god she had missed it. She hadn't realized how much until she saw him standing there looking all kinds of deliciously manly and very dashing in his tight jeans, barefoot and bare-chested, sporting some very sexy stubble. Well, it was still more of a very heavy five o'clock shadow but that didn't take away from the sexy.

Not at all.

And maybe it was the fact that they were far from civilization and in the midst of nature that made his rough look actually more pronounced than it really was but she didn't care. She was instantly bombarded with images of him from his first year shadowing her. And god, those images did not help her calm down. Not in the slightest.

She swallowed.

Hard.

This bad boy look on him made her shiver. He was standing at the river with the small waterfall in the background looking like he just stepped out of one of those back-to-nature adventure movies and she knew it was such a cliché but she just couldn't help drawing this comparison. She instantly decided there was a definite lack of Castle-stubble in her life, and now that she's being made aware of that fact again, this just wouldn't slide! She'd make sure those stubble days would make an occurrence more often from now on.

Yep, that was a brilliant plan, she congratulated herself.

She'd think of something to ensure more future stubbly days. But for now she just wanted to enjoy it as long as it would last.

So she came up to him, molding herself to his back, letting her hands glide around his waist and up his chest. Turning around in her arms he pressed against her. She let her cheek graze his stubbly, rough and unshaven face, humming happily in the back of her throat.

"Hey."

"Hey," her mouth brushed against his lips, once, twice before she pulled him in for one long toe-curling kiss. When they broke apart he looked a little dazed and breathless.

"What was that for?"

"Just…you know…good morning," she smiled up at him, all happy and no small amount of turned on. Cupping his jaw she let her thumb trail along his unshaven cheek. Mmm.

"Sorry, "he blurted out.

At her confused look he continued a little sheepish "I might have forgotten my razor at home? In my defense I was a little preoccupied yesterday…at the sight of you all dressed up in tight, black leather…," he trailed off, his eyes taking on a dreamy look, and Kate had to bite her lip, amused and suddenly very excited (in more than one way, actually).

So he forgot his razor, huh?

What a shame…it was not.

On the inside she jumped a little up and down at the prospect of five whole days of Castle sporting serious stubble.

"But you know, "he continued on, "I could drive into the town, I'm sure they sell some shaving stuff there…"

"Uh…No! I…I mean, ya know, that's really not necessary. It would just take up too much time, and I really wanted to go for a hike today and maybe a swim in one of those waterholes and…really Castle, it's fine, I'll deal."

Inwardly cursing a little at her dilettante rambling she tried to make it sound like a drive to town was some inconvenience they really didn't need.

No reason to tell him she was perfectly happy with his sexy rough look, right?

It would only go to his head.

So she pulled him back with her to the tent, her hands roaming his chest, her tongue in his mouth, battling fiercely with his.

"Uh, Kate? Not that I'm complaining but…mmphh…what about…about the…uh…hike?" Their breaths coming in short pants already, they stumbled along the path up to their tent.

"Later Castle, later," and with that she pulled him eagerly inside and jumped him.

The next couple of days were heavenly.

Between hikes, swimming and fooling around, stargazing, heavy make out sessions in the water (and everywhere else) and just plain laziness there were those really hot and enthusiastic rounds of sex.

Crazy, rough and all consuming sex.

She just couldn't help herself let alone explain it but there was just something about Castle and stubble that turned her on to no end.

It went so far that one second they were walking next to each other, talking and laughing and he would turn to her, all twinkling blue eyes, smiling and stubbly(!) - his ruggedly handsomeness (Did she really just go there?) making him look so freakin' sexy and hot - she just couldn't contain herself.

She had to have him.

Jump him.

Wanting him.

In every damn way possible.

It was ridiculous.

And she wasn't the only one more or less confused by her behavior. Castle, although by no means complaining (of course not), started throwing her little looks…at first they were adorably confused and delighted but it wasn't long before they'd started to become more curious and calculated.

She tried to not make a big deal out of it and pretended not to notice but she had to admit the rather enthusiastic way she regularly jumped him seemingly out of the blue was quite telling.

He was on to her, she was pretty sure of it.

On their last morning she woke up sprawled out on their mats only to find Castle trailing his hands and stubbly chin and cheek all over her completely naked body.

Her instantly released moan and the quickly pooling wetness between her legs gave way to rapidly spreading goosebumps all over her skin.

She cursed him secretly when she saw the knowing glint in his eyes and glared at him.

Hard.

Or well, more half-heartedly than hard.

And he knew it. His smug grin was proof of that.

"Do you like how this feels, Beckett?"

Bastard.

But oh god, it felt so good. The rough and chafing feeling of the first days when he rubbed against her skin had given way to a softer and more tingly feeling.

And it was heaven.

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, biting down hard on her lip, but couldn't help but let out a shuddering breath. Feeling the flush start to creep up her neck and face she dug her nails in her pillow and refused to give in so easily.

Nope. That just wasn't her, was it?

So she tried her best to appear unaffected, which was of course hopeless. Her heaving chest was proof enough of that.

"How exactly does it feel, Kate? Does it turn you on when I do this?"

He let his chin brush against the small of her back, and she couldn't suppress the shiver running through her body. She tried to play it off but really, what was there to play off? She didn't know anymore why she even tried to hide how turned on she was by his rough, masculine look.

He'd figured her out – like he always did.

She simply couldn't contain the whimper and low keening noises that seemed to spill from her lips without her permission.

When he brushed his stubble against her legs, moving down and then back up the inside of her thighs, she was already helplessly writhing under him.

"You like that?"

"I…uh…I…oh god, Castle."

And to her absolute horror (and probably his delight) she was almost instantly gone when he finally brushed against her hot center. It was embarrassing how worked up she already was and how little it took to break her apart but there was nothing she could do against the incoherent sounds spilling out of her mouth.

It was just too good.

When she came down, he was lying half on top of her, his elbows holding him up while he studied her face in awe and with no small amount of cocky satisfaction and curiosity.

"So you really like it when I'm sporting some…facial hair?"

She scrunched up her nose in distaste, her brows furrowing.

He quirked an eyebrow, "What?"

And really, what was wrong with him? He called himself a writer and couldn't come up with the simplest and most obvious word choice? He was trying to rile her up and it was actually working.

Cocky bastard.

"This is not facial hair."

"No?"

"No."

"Well, it's not chest hair, that's for sure."

At her slap against his chest and an eye-roll he continued, "What do you call it then…a beard?"

She growled, fucking growled, and pressed against him harder.

"No, wordsmith! It's not a beard. Beards are…for old men…I call it stubble! It's sexy stubble."

She was poking him in the chest by now.

Hard.

To emphasize her point.

"So…sexy, huh? And…stubble?" He grinned at her. All smug and cocky, and apparently very pleased he got her to admit that she really was turned on by it.

Ugh! He was so annoying.

No, he deserved a little lesson. Yep, it was decided. If she wasn't able to hide her not so secret secret anymore, it was time to go all in.

She hooked her legs around his calves and in a long practiced move she flipped him on his back.

"Apparently you have a little problem with the English language? Maybe I need to spell it out for you, writer boy?...You want to know what stubble means? What it feels like?"

She let her whole body slide against his, grabbed his wrists in a vice-like grip holding them up over his head.

"Let's see…stubble…hmm, it's an S for scrubby because that's how it was on the first days…," she cupped his jaw, let her nails scrape along his cheek and chin, reveling in the feel of his raggedness while her hips moved in tight little circles against him. His eyes rolled back, and he let out a strangled sound in the back of his throat.

"It's softer now and so very, very sensuous and sexy when it trails along my skin…," she leaned forward, let her hot breath ghost his ear, murmuring, "…and my thighs," drawing out the s.

He groaned helplessly, his hips bucking up and she bit back a moan. She didn't know how she was supposed to survive this herself because this was turning her on at least as much as it was him.

"T stands for tingly when it grazes against my neck…my breasts…my stomach…," she emphasized her words by rubbing her breasts against his chest, slithering snake-like against him and biting his pulse point only to soothe it afterwards with her tongue.

"It's tantalizing and torturous what it does to me, and I've decided you deserve a little payback, don't you think? It's only fair."

"Fair…?" he choked out as she shimmied higher up his body and let her breasts glide against his stubbly chin, moaning at the contact; her already hard nipples dancing before his very eyes. When he tried to catch them with his mouth she laughed a little breathlessly and quickly pulled out of reach.

"Nu-uh…not yet," his frustrated groan – which was really more a whimper by now – spurring her on that much more, helping her to tamp down on her own raging arousal and the urge to just give in.

After all, the game was so much fun.

"There's an U for unkempt because that's how you look – unkempt and untamed - a little wild," she reached behind her, letting her fingers lightly graze over the bulge in his boxers, drawing back immediately when his hips bucked up uncontrollably, eagerly following her touch while his eyes rolled back again, his breath coming in short pants by now.

"See…wild and untamed…like you," she purred.

"B…Beckett…," he sounded more and more desperate.

"Hmm?"

"Please…"

"Shh…we're not quite there yet…because now there is a double B like how you look all butch…and bandit-like…burning my skin…leaving me breathless and chafed… like some uncivilized barbarian." She punctuated each of her words with a rock of her hips and a nip of her teeth on his skin, marking him on her way down his body.

The only constant she actually never wavered from was her touching some part of his stubble with either her one free hand or her cheek or breasts. She never let go, couldn't really, it was like a magnet somehow, always pulling her back in should she stray too far.

By now Castle had worked one of his hands free and gripped her hips, letting it slide down, cupping her ass and pulling her hard against him. She let loose a surprised squeak when his groin came in direct contact where she needed him most. She couldn't hold back the moan bubbling up in her throat, losing control of her body when she felt him rock against her, letting herself fall forward into him.

Immediately she felt his lips close around one of her nipples, alternating between suckling and scraping over it with his teeth, but soothing it with his tongue right away. The string of curse words she let loose at that should embarrass her really…but she was too far gone to care at this point.

Trying to catch her breath and get back some semblance of control she let her hands glide behind his head, gripped his hair and pulled him back. He let go of her nipple with an audible pop and she swallowed his protest with her mouth, stroking her tongue along the top of his throat, biting down on his lip.

Pulling back she went straight for his ear, nibbling the lobe with her teeth, rolling it with her tongue. Panting hotly against him and sending tremors through his whole body she continued with their little 'spelling game'.

"L stands for how luscious it feels when you let your chin ghost along the small of my back, up my spine and along my neck, sending my whole body into overdrive. It's absolutely lethal how good it feels…and looks."

"Oh god…Kate, Kate, Kate…," Castle panted heavily against her neck, his one free hand gliding along her back, up and down, burying in her hair.

She let go of his other hand then, drew back a little and regarded him for a moment – his blue eyes burning into hers, full of lust and love and awe. She got a little choked up, let her fingers scrape lightly through his hair, along his scalp, her eyes turning tender while she peppered small kisses along his jaw and cheek. "It's also L for lovely, Castle. You are lovely."

She kissed him then, loving and tender and so very, very sensual that it left them both breathless and completely in awe.

She buried her face in his neck, just breathing him in for a moment before she continued her mission, letting her fingers trail down his chest, his sides and lower, lower…ever lower.

And just like that the game was back on, the tension rising back up again like a raging fire licking its way through dry wood - all consuming.

Castle's hips bucked up violently, his hands gripping her hips hard, pressing her down against him. She jerked forward, surprised and gasping, grinding down on him immediately. She needed to wrap this up, there was no way she would be able to hold herself back any longer.

"And finally we have an E for electric…," he shuddered against her, groaning and pleading.

"Beckett, please…I don't think…god, I don't think I can take much more."

She brought her face close to his, her lips grazing his mouth and whispered "Why, Castle? I seem to recall it was you who wanted to know exactly how I feel about your rough and stubbly look…is it too much for you now?" She lifted up a little, reaching behind her and pulling his boxers down all the while talking to him, egging him on. "Too much excitement for you?"

Sinking down again, sliding her hot center over him and letting her nipples graze against his chest she purred directly into his ear, "Too exotic, electrifying, enfolding, erotic, ecstatic…"

"Oh god…oh god, Kate. Fuck!"

"Yeah, let's." And with that she took him in.

It felt like sweet salvation.

Beautiful release.

She knew they were both so worked up by now that it wouldn't take them long. So she rode him with a fierceness and determination that spoke volumes of her state of mind and arousal.

Suddenly he pushed his upper body up, changing the angle and burying his face between her breasts. She let out a strangled cry and pressed his stubbly cheek to her body, rubbing herself against it, her head falling back in pure ecstasy and –

God, it was heavenly.

She felt the tight coil low in her belly, felt the blood pumping through her veins, her vision getting blurry, her whole body tensing up.

She broke apart on a keening cry, followed shortly by Castle with a low and relieved groan. They fell back on the mattress, completely spent and in a state of absolute bliss.

She knew there would be some serious red rash burning her skin after that camping trip but it was worth it.

So worth it.

With her head resting on his chest she felt the rumble of his words before she heard them.

"I think stubble is my new favorite word."

And that was that.

Needless to say after that camping trip the Castle-stubble came out more often, and the razor never made an appearance again on any of their following trips or vacations.