I really had intended for this to be a one-shot. However, after much prompting, I thought I'd make it a series of one-shots instead. This is the opposite POV of the first chapter, just because I wanted to see what was going through Castle's head while this scene was taking place. Hope you enjoy. And as always, thanks to SD for being a willing guinea pig when I throw these crazy ideas at her.

I smiled at Alexis when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it."

"Only because you want to make sure that if it's Detective Beckett, you're the first one she sees," Alexis replied with a grin.

I didn't bother trying to deny it. I'm not sure where she gets it from, but my daughter is definitely the smart one in the family. I made my way to the door and opened it with a smile already in place. When I saw it was, indeed, Detective Beckett, my stomach flipped in excitement. "Detective Beckett, I'm so glad you could join us."

I stepped back to allow her entrance and then closed the door behind her. "I love what you've done with the place, Castle," she commented as I stepped behind her to help her out of her coat.

"Thank you," I replied as I inhaled the fragrance of her perfume. "Although Alexis is the one responsible for the ideas behind the decorations. I merely supplied the grunt work."

After hanging her coat, I turned back and offered her my arm, only slightly surprised when she accepted it without comment. "You look absolutely stunning this evening," I told her as I led her into the apartment. It was true. The deep blue of her dress set off her dark eyes, and the cut of it was just enough to be alluring without being provocative. Not that I didn't appreciate it when she dressed provocatively, but there was just something so incredibly sexy about her when she wasn't even trying.

"Thank you," she replied and I noticed a slight blush rise to her cheeks. Surely I hadn't embarrassed her. She had to know how incredibly beautiful she truly was.

My mother and Alexis joined us then, both of them smiling and offering hugs which Beckett accepted without fuss. I was glad that they had accepted her as being an important part of my life, even if she hadn't come to the same conclusion yet.

"The apartment looks lovely, Alexis," she told my daughter.

"Thank you, Detective Beckett," Alexis replied.

The doorbell rang then, and I turned to my mother with a smile. "Mother, would you mind manning the door for a few minutes? I'd like to introduce Detective Beckett to a few people."

"By all means, dear," she replied before sweeping past us towards the door.

"You didn't have to do that," she told me, her eyes meeting mine.

"I wanted to," I replied. "There are actually a couple of people here that I want to make sure to introduce you." Leaning closer, I whispered, "Besides, it will keep mother away from the liquor for a few more minutes."

She laughed then and accepted my arm again when I held it out to her. I'm not sure she would've appreciated the fact that I wanted every man in the place to see her arrive on my arm and know that she was off-limits so I kept that detail to myself. Hopefully, there would come a time when she was ready to hear that, but tonight was not the night.

XOXOXOXOXO

The party was in full swing and all of the guests were mingling as we waited for dinner to be served. I had lost track of Beckett somewhere in the room when I'd been cornered by one of the young ladies who always seemed to get invited to my parties and yet never by me. I really needed to find out which of my colleagues kept bringing the die-hard fans to these gatherings and ask that they stop.

Truth be told, these days I only had eyes for one woman and the constant parade of women wanting their shot with me seemed to lessen my chances with her as opposed to helping the cause. While I'm sure that Clarissa was a nice young lady, nothing about her fit the description of what I was looking for in a woman: brunette, gorgeous eyes, killer legs, gun-toting cop.

I smiled politely at Clarissa as she continued to tell me about her plans for making it on Broadway and excused myself from the conversation. Stepping away from her, I allowed my eyes to search the room until I met Beckett's. I smiled at her and was rewarded with a smile in return so I made my way over to join her and Alexis.

"And what are my two favorite ladies conspiring about?" I asked as I reached the couch.

"Just talking holiday plans," Alexis replied as she held her hand out and let me help her to her feet. "I'm going to go check on Gram." Turning to Beckett, she smiled and added, "It was lovely talking with you Kate."

"You, too, Alexis," she replied with a smile.

I settled on the arm of the couch and smiled as I watched my daughter walk away.

Seeing the smile on my face, Beckett shook her head. "What, Castle?"

"I don't recall you giving me permission to call you Kate," I replied with a slight pout.

"I don't recall giving you permission to follow me around doing research for a character you based on me, but that didn't stop you from doing that," she replied. "I figured if you wanted to call me Kate, you wouldn't ask permission to do so, you would just do it."

"Touché'," I replied with a smile. The truth was that I was afraid if I started called her Kate, I might forget that our relationship was a working one and instead start working on trying to win her heart. Nodding to her near empty wineglass, I asked, "Would you like another glass of wine?"

"No thank you," she replied. "I drove myself here tonight and if I have another, I'll be in no condition to leave."

"Then by all means let me get you another," I teased as I got to my feet.

Her hand reached for mine and stopped me from going in search of more wine. "Sit, Castle. I am not going to let you get me drunk so you can take advantage of me."

I allowed her to pull me back to the couch and then I leaned closer and replied, "I wasn't looking to take advantage of you, Detective."

"You weren't?" she asked, and I almost sensed disappointment in her words.

"No, I wasn't," I replied honestly. I would never want to take advantage of her. If we ever made it to that point, I wanted it to be as two consenting adults who had carefully thought about the repercussions and decided it was worth the risk. I couldn't help but tease her though, so I added, "I was looking to get you drunk so I could let you take advantage of me."

There was a flash of something I couldn't read in her eyes, but before I could decipher it, she turned her attention to Clarissa and nodded in her direction. "I'm sure you have plenty of willing participants to take advantage of you, Castle."

"But none as stunning as the extraordinary Kate Beckett," I replied as I brought a finger to her chin and turned her face to meet my gaze. I needed her to see the sincerity in my eyes. As far as I was concerned, there wasn't a woman in the room who could compare to her.

My fingers longed to trace the smooth skin of her face, to slide down the side of her neck and feel the place where her pulse beat in her throat. I was just about to give in to the temptation when my mother's voice called from the kitchen, "The buffet is open."

Hearing the words seemed to break the spell and she tore her gaze away from mine. "I believe your mother just rang the dinner bell," she commented.

"Indeed," I replied as I got to my feet. I needed to have a chat with my mother about her timing. I offered my hand to help Beckett to her feet. "May I?"

She placed her hand in mine and didn't resist as I tucked it under my arm and led us to the kitchen. Perhaps we were closer to being on the same page than I thought we were. God knows I only tease her with my flirting to hide how intense my feelings for her truly are.

XOXOXOXOXO

I escorted the mayor and his wife to the door, very much aware that my mother and Beckett were talking about me again. It was dangerous…letting my mother near her. I could only hope that she wouldn't inadvertently clue Beckett in to my true feelings for her.

I saw Beckett get to her feet and knew she was preparing to leave. I helped my agent with her coat as I watched Alexis bid Beckett farewell and then smiled when I saw her approach. "Did you come to join me in my duties?" I teased.

"Actually, I thought I'd just come over here and watch you work for a while," she teased back. "Turnabout is fair play after all."

"I do at least make an attempt to be helpful in your endeavors though," I retaliated with a grin.

"Then let me get my own coat," she shot back quickly. "And we can call it even for the night."

"Are you crazy?" I asked as I looked past her to where my mother and Alexis were. "And have to listen to my mother and daughter for weeks to come about how I wasn't a gentleman? No thanks, Beckett."

With that, I turned and reached into the closet for her coat. I walked towards her, holding it open so she could slip her arms into it. "Thank you," she said as she buttoned it.

"You're welcome," I replied as I moved to stand directly in front of her.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to," she said as she met my gaze. "And keep in mind that I do carry a gun."

I wasn't sure what she was referring to for a moment and then I remembered the mistletoe that Alexis and I had hung earlier that day. I laughed then, not in the least bit surprised she had noticed the lone sprig hanging from the ceiling. The sprig which she was currently standing directly beneath. "Ah, I see you've detected my evil scheme to catch you under the mistletoe, Detective."

"You're going to have to do better than that," she replied as she glanced up at it.

"As I told you earlier, Kate," I said as I stepped closer to her, loving the feel of her name on my lips. "I have no intentions of taking advantage of you. I'm merely giving you every opportunity to take advantage of me."

I watched as her gaze dropped to my lips and I couldn't help but wondering if she was thinking about kissing me as much as I was thinking about kissing her. I held my breath in anticipation when she inched closer. But instead of meeting my lips, she bypassed them to whisper in my ear. "You should be careful who you let take advantage of you, Richard. One of these days, it might backfire in your face."

Her nearness had my heart pounding so loudly within my chest that I almost missed my given name rolling off of her tongue. But then she leaned back just enough that she could reach my lips and brushed a barely there tease of a kiss against them. I forced myself to stand still, knowing that one wrong move could easily send her bolting out the door. She pulled away for the briefest of moments before leaning back in for another taste and I knew in that instant that I was addicted to the taste that was this intoxicating woman in front of me.

She stroked her tongue against my lower lip and then sucked it into her mouth. I allowed her to tease me for as long as I could stand before I slid my tongue out to trace against her lips. At that simple contact, she broke off the kiss and stepped away from me.

My clenched my hands into fists to keep from reaching for her and pulling her back into my embrace. I no longer simply wanted her, I needed her.

"Merry Christmas, Castle," she whispered as she looked into my eyes.

I wondered if I looked as dazed by that kiss as she did. I hoped so. Finding my voice, I replied, "Merry Christmas, Kate."

Then I reached past her to open the door and allowed her to retreat into the hallway. I waited until I closed the door behind her before I lifted my fingers to my lips. I could still feel the tingle from where her lips had been pressed against mine. For some reason, I felt as if she had just called my bluff and upped the ante. Had I been bluffing? I didn't think so, but even if I had been, I definitely wasn't now. I was ready to go all in. Was she?

Please drop me a line and let me know what you think. And for those of you who asked for more, I hope this didn't disappoint.