A/N: Hi all! I've missed you and I have missed writing Caskett fanfic! I'm sorry I've been MIA for a while, a lot has been going on in my personal life, but I'm hoping to get back into writing. Here is a little piece I worked on and want to share with all of you. Special thanks to Clari for the prompt (so sorry it took so long to fill!) and Nellie for being the best beta ever! I hope you enjoy! Rated M for a reason.


"So baby let's just turn down the lights
And close the door
Ooh I love that dress
But you won't need it anymore
No you won't need it no more"

- Bruno Mars, Versace on the Floor


Kate looks over at the time stamp on the bottom right corner of her computer for what feels like the tenth time in the last five minutes. How is it already half past four?

She takes in a deep breath and resigns herself to accepting that she won't be called in for a murder tonight. Normally, she'd be ecstatic, more than glad to head home – to the loft – she quickly corrects, on a Friday afternoon after the end of her shift.

Only this Friday, she'd begrudgingly promised Castle she'd accompany him to some fancy gala event if work permitted. And it appears murder isn't on her side tonight.

Dread begins to pool in the pit of her stomach, tight knots pulling at her insides, but she wills herself to calm down. It's just an event, for god's sake.

She faces killers and dead bodies on a daily basis and she's somehow put off by a bunch of upper-class snobs making small talk all evening?

Yep.

It just isn't her scene, and definitely not the way she'd prefer to spend her Friday night.

But she made Castle a promise, and no matter how much she hates the idea of dressing up and having to duck the paparazzi all evening, she knows how much it means to him. The look in his eyes when she'd agreed to go?

Yeah, that had been worth it. He'd smiled so brightly – the real one that reaches his eyes – after the initial shock had subsided.

"Really?" he'd asked, almost unbelieving that she'd agreed two weeks prior.

"Only if I don't catch a case," she'd reminded him. He'd nodded so eagerly, his eyes twinkling like a little boy who'd been promised all the candy in the world after supper, she couldn't help but smile back at him, his enthusiasm infectious.

She'd made him so happy, she can't bring herself to back out now.

Looking over at the time again, she realizes it's time for her to leave.

God, what is she even going to wear?


Shit, she really should have thought of this sooner. Standing in front of her closet, Kate could slap herself for not scheduling a shopping date with Lanie. She doesn't have much in her closet for an event like this. Of course, she could wear the dress Castle had bought her five years ago, the floor length red one he'd sent over for their undercover work.

She'd been furious with him, she thinks back, smiling now. They'd only met for a few weeks and he'd just been so damn annoying back then.

She startles at the knock on her front door, cursing as she looks down at herself, her body only wrapped in a towel from her shower. She considers pretending she isn't home but then her phone rings with a text from Castle.

It's me.

She rolls her eyes, but her lips curve upwards in a grin despite herself. Looking through the peephole just to make sure, she opens the door to let him in quickly but narrows her eyes at him when she sees him carrying a large box.

"What's that?" She asks suspiciously.

"Good evening to you too, detective," he swoops in, laying a sweet kiss on her cheek, but she turns her head quickly, catching his lips with hers before he can pull away. Her arms wrap around his neck instinctively, holding him to her as she kisses him deeply, her lips lingering a tad too long for her welcome to pass as innocent.

Oh, she missed him today. It's rare that he doesn't come into the precinct anymore, but they didn't have a case and he'd needed to get some writing done. She'd never admit it out loud but it's just not the same without him there.

"Hi," she greets him properly this time and he smiles, only just noticing the well-fitted tux he's wearing. She can't help but appreciate how broad his shoulders look and her hands absentmindedly follow her line of sight, her fingers trailing down his chest.

"Hi," he answers, something sparking in his eyes and he drops the box he somehow managed to hold onto. "Maybe we should just stay here this evening." His hands bunch in the material of the thin towel covering her body and her breath hitches.

"You won't hear any objections from me," she encourages as an all too familiar need begins to coil in her abdomen.

"There's only the minor detail that Gina and Paula would murder me for not showing up, and that'd be an awful lot of paperwork for you."

She smiles, her arms looping around his neck and fingers playing with the soft hairs at his nape.

"Hm, I don't know if paperwork is the first thing I'd be worried about in that scenario."

"Why, Detective Beckett, are you saying you'd miss me if I were gone?"

She rolls her eyes at his dramatics, but she has to consciously fight back a grin.

"You know, on second thought, you're right, the paperwork would be incredibly irritating," she teases.

Castle holds a hand up to his chest. "You wound me."

She laughs softly and leans in to brush her lips to his, just because she can, before grabbing the box he let drop to the floor.

"But really, what is this?"

He shrugs nonchalantly but she recognizes the look of guilt in his eyes. "Just in case you didn't have anything to wear for tonight… But I can see now you've already found the perfect outfit," he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, giving her another once over, appreciating her body barely covered by the towel.

He moves away quickly when she goes to slap his arm. "Just look at it," he tries, lifting his hands up in surrender. "I was out shopping with Alexis and I thought of you when I saw it. We can bring it back if you don't like it."

Kate continues to look at him wearily but her insides warm at his words. "What did Alexis think?"

His face brightens at the mention of his daughter, the fact Kate values her opinion.

"She loved it. She was actually the one who pushed me to buy it. Said she thought it would look great on you."

"Fine," she relents, but begins walking straight to her bedroom, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing the look on her face when she opens the box. Castle starts to protest, insisting he wants to see but Kate closes the door behind her, laughing when he huffs at her from the kitchen.

She isn't too worried, but she'll admit she's curious. Castle has proven to have remarkable fashion sense in the past.

She lays the box atop her bed and lifts the lid to the white box, pulling the dress out. The fabric feels soft against her fingers, almost like silk and her jaw drops when she holds it up in front of her. It's floor length, form fitting from the waist up but looser as it extends towards the floor, a warm grey colour with a sweetheart neckline and a strip of lighter fabric coming up diagonally at her shoulder.

Her heart skips in excitement as she pulls on the dress, and of course, he somehow knows her dress size because it fits her like a glove.

It looks like her shopping trip with Lanie would have been wasted after all. She turns in front of the floor length mirror to see her back and notices the price tag hanging out. Her eyes grow wide as she gets closer to the mirror and sees there are way too many digits.

Kate pulls the door to her room open, all too ready to slap him upside the head for buying something so damn expensive. "Castle, what the hell," she snaps, stalking towards him, and his back goes straight as he notices her striding out of the room. "This is way too much, you can't go around spending that kind of money on me. You have to bring it back, I can't…" she trails off when she sees the look on his face. "What?" she asks, her arms wrapping around her waist self-consciously because she'd sort of forgotten she was already wearing the dress when she came out to chastise him.

"Wow," he whispers, and she notices his adam's apple bob up and down as he swallows hard, his eyes roaming her figure as if drinking her in. "I'm not bringing the dress back, Kate. It was practically made for you."

She feels a light blush creep up her cheeks at his words, her arms uncrossing as she allows her fingers to brush against the incredibly soft fabric that hugs her curves in all the right places.

"Do you not like it?" He asks when she says nothing.

Kate hesitates, biting down on her bottom lip, considers lying because she knows if she told him she didn't he'd never ask her to wear it, but…

"No, I love it, Castle but I just…" she sighs, knowing this issue is one that comes up often for them. "I can't pay you back for this and I hate that."

"Kate, you don't have to pay me back. I want to buy things for you." She glares at him for that because she's told him countless times, she doesn't need him to buy her anything. "Look," he starts, trying a different track. "The other women I've been with they… well they took advantage of the money I have. They expected gifts, expected me to get them nice and expensive things."

"I don't-"

"I know you're not like that, Kate. And that's part of what makes you different… from all of them." Her heart stumbles in her chest and her mouth goes dry. He married two of those other women. "You never ask for anything and never once have I thought you were with me because I have enough money in the bank to buy obscenely expensive designer dresses."

Kate moves towards him, eradicating the distance between them before she lets herself panic and reaches for his hand.

"I want to buy things for you, Kate. Not because you want them or ask for them but because when I go places, there's a million little things that remind me of you, things I want to share with you. Most of the time I stop myself because I know you'd make me take it all back. But this dress…" he breathes, his eyes meeting hers and the hand that's not linked with hers comes up to brush her cheek. "It's perfect for you and if you love it, I'd really like you to keep it."

It takes a few seconds for air to enter her lungs again and she does her best to ignore the sting behind her eyes because she is not going to cry, but then she pulls him down to her, her lips seeking, demanding. He opens his mouth for her, and her tongue seeks his immediately, tangling in an elegant dance as she tries to tell him, to show him everything she isn't yet quite able to say. Kate feels the flames engulfing her lower abdomen, a deep carnal want for him spiking her blood and she moans when his hands tighten around her hips, pulls her lower body in closer to his.

God, she wants him. They've been together for months now and she still wants him with an urgency that scares the crap out of her most of the time. But everything about them feels so right.

Castle groans when her hips rock against his, creating sweet, tantalizing friction between them.

"Kate," her name falls from his lips on a sigh and she knows he means for them to slow down, that they need to leave, but the sound only makes her want him more. She forces herself to gentle their kiss, her lips moving languidly against his until they eventually separate to come up for air.

Castle moves down to kiss her cheek, her neck, and she knows it's meant to be soothing but it only fuels the fire burning in the depths of her stomach.

"If you start that, we aren't leaving this apartment tonight," she warns, and his breath puffs out against her collarbone as he laughs.

"Sorry," he mumbles, and she can feel his smile against her skin.

"I'll keep the dress," she says, and his head snaps up so he can meet her gaze, a look of wonder crossing his face.

He leans in to capture her lips once more, quick and fiery this time. "Good," he grins when he pulls away.

Kate shakes her head at him but she's smiling too. "Let me just go fix my hair and then we can go."

She takes fifteen minutes to curl her hair and apply a light touch of makeup and casts one last look in the mirror before joining him in the kitchen again.

If anyone one at the precinct saw her wearing this, she'd be getting slack for weeks. But she doesn't care. She loves the dress – Versace as she'd seen on the tag when she'd cut it off – and so does Castle. It's all that matters for tonight.


The evening doesn't turn out to be as horrible as she'd expected. She'd feared she'd be stuck having to make small talk with strangers to occupy the time, but Castle doesn't leave her side all evening and she's incredibly grateful.

Not to mention, he finds every excuse in the book to touch her any time he can. The heat of his palm at the base of her spine when he introduces her to someone new, the brush of his fingers over hers as he hands her a drink, the weight of his large hands at her waist when he holds her while they dance. It drives her close to crazy, keeps her blood simmering in her veins throughout the entire evening until she's considering the possibility of dragging him into some dark closet and taking the edge off.

God, she wants him. She really should have done something about that before they left her apartment because now, she's losing her mind and they have to stay for at least another half hour and she honestly doesn't know if she can keep her hands off him for that long.

It's got to be the dress. She always wants him, but she's usually much better at hiding it and controlling her arousal. It's his fault. If he could just keep his hands off her, stop shooting her looks like all he can think about is getting her out of this dress then she'd-

Castle grabs her hand, cutting her off mid thought and leans in close. "Ready to go?" he whispers close to her ear and she nearly shivers.

"Don't you have to stay?" She regrets the question the moment it leaves her lips because yes, of course she's ready to go. The faster she can get him out of here and back to her place the better.

He shakes his head. "I've done my part for the night. Spoken to everyone I need to."

Kate tugs on his hand and pulls him towards the large doors, ignoring the way he laughs at her transparent urgency.

She doesn't even care, she just needs to get both of them the hell out of here.

They manage to make their escape without anyone stopping them to ask why they're leaving so early but it's the evening traffic that slows them down.

Sitting in the slow-moving cab is torture, her nerves screaming for release, for friction but there's no way she's giving their driver a show.

Damn it, they should have taken the town car. Her rules are a lot looser when there's a wall between them and whoever happens to be driving. He could have slid his hand under her dress, up the length of her leg until he'd reached the apex of her thighs-

"Almost there." Castle must know exactly where her mind was because the look he's giving her is nothing short of feral and she nearly moans at the sound of his voice.

His hand reaches over to lay on her thigh, and she grabs it right away, shooting him a warning look. He is not getting her off in the back of a cab.

He gets the message because he links his fingers through hers and part of her wishes he'd been stubborn enough to ignore her and let his hand move higher up her thigh.

Kate practically shoves him out of the cab before it completely comes to a stop in front of her building ten minutes later. He holds her back long enough to throw the driver enough bills to cover the fare and then he's ushering her inside, pushing her against the wall of the elevator.

"I need you, Kate," he groans as his mouth finally comes crashing down on hers. She moans when their bodies align, her hips coming into contact with his in just the right way and a burst of pleasure shoots through her midsection.

He kisses her hard and deep and she can feel the longing, the roaring need he apparently tampered down all evening as he takes and takes as much as she's willing to give.

And she holds nothing back. Her head is spinning when she comes up for air, enough oxygen filling her lungs for her to notice the doors to the elevator haven't opened yet.

It takes her longer than she'd like to admit to realize that neither of them pressed the button to her floor and they're most probably still at ground level. Kate reaches over to press the button for her floor, laughs when Castle groans as she pulls away slightly.

But then her hands are back on him, her palm at his cheek, pulling him in for another needy, breathless kiss.

They practically tumble out of the elevator when they finally get to her floor and she'd be embarrassed about the fact that they could easily get caught making out by one of her neighbours if she had a single working brain cell left.

She doesn't. The entirety of her thoughts revolve around getting them through the door to her apartment and erasing all space between them.

He crowds her back, sucks at her neck as she tries to unlock her front door but it's the large hand stretching across her stomach and down towards her abdomen that has her most distracted. If the fabric of her dress wasn't in the way, his fingers would just slip down, lower and lower until he'd reach the incredibly sensitive nerves currently screaming for his attention-

"Open the door, Kate," he all but growls when she gets lost in his touch and stops even trying to get the key in the lock.

Pulling her focus, she manages to push the door open and he's on her as soon as she turns towards him.

"God, this dress on you," he whispers, nipping her ear, his tongue swiping at her neck, kissing his way down. "Do you know how many men I caught ogling you tonight?"

She laughs because he has no idea, does he? Kate pulls his head up until they are at eye level again. "I wasn't paying attention to all the other men," she says plainly. "Guess I got distracted by your hands," she reaches for his fingers, brings them up high enough for her to lay a kiss to his palm, never once breaking eye contact. "How you kept touching me every chance you got." Kate can practically see the fire burning in his eyes, his usual bright blue now dark with passion, pupils fully dilated like he's ready to pounce on her at any moment.

Castle reaches out so his hands cover her cheeks and he pulls her into a deep kiss, washing away every single thought from her head until all she's able to do is moan his name.

"I couldn't help it," he admits when he pulls away slightly. "You look delectable in this dress."

A shiver runs down her spine at the words and she turns around, her back facing him to reveal the zipper holding the dress to her body. Kate throws him a suggestive look over her shoulder, leaving no question as to what she wants him to do. Castle doesn't miss a beat before reaching for the zipper between her shoulder blades.

"As stunning as this dress is on you, I think a more suitable place for it right now would be the floor."

Kate laughs, but the sound quickly turns breathless when he lays a soft kiss to the back of her neck, his fingers still tugging on the zipper until he reaches the base of her spine. She shrugs her shoulders, letting the soft fabric slip off and slide down the length of her body until it pools at her feet. Castle's hands grow soft, as though his impatience has evaporated and he's now savouring the moment, his arms wrapping around her from behind, his large hands spanning her stomach.

"God," she hears him whisper, his breath tickling her ear. "Sometimes I just can't believe you're mine."

Her heart gives a hard jolt at his words, and she feels the spark of electricity travel through her body. She hasn't said the words to him yet, hasn't been able to pluck up the courage to tell him she loves him.

But it's getting harder and harder to hold onto the words when he says things like that, when he makes her feel like she's everything he'll ever need.

Kate turns around in his embrace, her arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him to her, capturing his lips in a fiery kiss that leaves them both breathless. "I'm yours, Castle," she breathes the words against his mouth. "I just want you."

She echoes the words she told him on the night she'd braved a storm and come begging for his forgiveness, for him. She needs him to know it's still true.

He picks her up off her feet, his hands gripping her thighs until her legs are secured around his waist and he takes her to her bedroom. Laying her down on the bed, he wastes no time going straight for her underwear.

"Not fair at all here Castle," she remarks, seeing as she's completely bare before him and he's still wearing his full suit. He grins at her and shoves the jacket from his shoulders, but he groans when Kate goes straight for his pants. He makes quick work of his shirt, struggles with the small discs while she pulls down his pants and boxers all in one go.

And then he's on her again, ravaging her mouth like a parched man reaching for water.

They both groan when the evidence of his arousal brushes against her centre.

Fuck.

This is what she wants, all she needs. Just him.

There's no need for foreplay and they both know it. She's been craving him since even before they left for the gala and there's no mistaking the wetness that pools between her thighs. She wants him.

"Now, Castle please," she begs, her hand reaching down until her fingers wrap around his length, guiding him to her entrance. She hears Castle gasp at her touch, but he recovers quickly, angling himself and thrusting into her in a move that has all the air evaporating from her lungs, her muscles contracting in pleasure, welcoming him home.

Kate lets out a throaty moan when he pulls out only to plunge back in again, his pelvis coming into contact with her own, creating delicious friction as his skin runs against her clit.

It's been months, but somehow, it's always like this. She'd half expected this feeling between them to be gone by now, for the deep and carnal need to have abated, but it never does. She doesn't think it ever will. The way he makes her feel, every single time their bodies come together is like nothing she's ever felt, like her heart is about to burst, like her soul is rupturing from her body in an attempt to meet his.

Kate's legs move up, opening herself up to him as she crosses her ankles at the base of his spine, her fingers finding purchase in the short strands of his hair. She can feel the tight coil of need building in her abdomen, her body going stiff and when his mouth closes over one of her breasts she gasps, her fingers clenching in his hair, feels the first wave of her orgasm threatening to overtake her.

"Castle," she breathes, her voice throaty and laced with sex. "Oh god, yes, yes," she finds herself encouraging him as he doubles his efforts, pushes into her, his hips circling, making her nerves sing.

"Come for me, Kate." His words, the sound of his voice, push her over the edge, has her vision going white, her muscles clenching around him and her back arching off the bed and into his arms.

Castle doesn't let up, chasing his own release and extending her pleasure, building on the rhythm he's started. Kate can feel the muscles in his body grow taut, his breath growing heavy against the smooth skin of her neck and just when she thinks she's about to come down from her high, his hand snakes down between them and brushes against her highly sensitive nerves, shooting her up into ecstasy once more, this time more intense than the last, though she didn't think it was possible. Her whole body spasms from the consecutive orgasms and she hears Castle groan as he comes inside her, his arms holding onto her, clutching as if he's desperate not to let her go.

Her mind stays blank for a solid thirty seconds, but she's still panting by the time Castle lifts his head up from where he'd been nuzzling her neck. His smile is so bright she can't help but return it.

"That was amazing," he says, still catching his breath. "That one is definitely going on the list."

"The list?" She asks, her brain still working too slowly to keep up.

"Our top ten," he says, wiggling his eyebrows and she can't help but laugh at how ridiculous he is. Kate runs her hands through his hair softly in an absent-minded motion and he shifts to take most of his weight off her. He doesn't go far though, laying down beside her, his lips still trailing over her skin reverently.

"I definitely need to buy you fancy designer dresses more often if that's what it leads to."

Kate turns to glare at him, but his words remind her that they were pretty careless with said dress.

"Shit, I need to go pick it up," she says, trying to move out of bed but Castle's arms tighten around her.

"Nuh-uh," he whines. "You're not leaving," he insists, holding onto her.

She grins because his neediness is kind of endearing – not that she'd ever admit that – but still. "Castle I'm not leaving a thousand-dollar dress to crumple on the floor."

"I'll buy you another one."

"Stop it." She knows he's joking and saying it just to get a rise out of her but god knows she doesn't need him to start making a habit out of this.

"We'll send it to the dry-cleaners, it'll be fine," he says nonchalantly, his arms still secure around her and she rolls her eyes at him. Of course, he'd pick the laziest way out of this if it meant keeping her in bed.

"Fine," she relents half-heartedly, but only because his arms are really comfortable, and she doesn't particularly feel like getting up right this instant.

"Can I get a private showing when we get it back?" He asks, his voice hopeful.

She laughs, feeling a little high on endorphins and she spins in his arms, hooking her leg at his hips suggestively. "Only if it ends up on the floor again.


Thoughts? Thank for reading! - Zoe xx