A/N okay I liked it too much to end it there. There will be more. Will write this when I am stuck on the stories I owe! . :) just be patient with me. And please review and let me know if you actually WANT more. Thanks!
Detective Kate Beckett sat on one side of her desk; her hands clutching the edge as she stared intently at a starkly blank murder board.
There had been no calls; no bodies dropping... Nothing to pull her mind away from the night before; from that morning when she had woken in his arms and he had kissed her sweetly, reminding her that they had to be at the airport soon.
She had hoped...
Kate blushed.
She had hoped for an encore, honestly. But after 4 rounds the night before with a man who had pent up his feelings for years?
She had overslept.
Montgomery had told them to take the day off, but she had come here straight from the airport; hopping out of the cab and sending Castle home to check on Alexis and Martha.
She had done it to get a little space; to gain a little perspective about... Whatever this was.
Now it had been three hours since she had seen him and it was driving her crazy.
Kate laughed.
Three years.
Her eyes closed as she remembered the large, strong hands that had alternated between adoring her gently and possessing her body with ferocious abandon for most of the previous night.
He had waited..
Three years!
Most of the men she had known wouldn't have waited three days.
And here she was annoyed by him being gone for a few hours?
She was a mess and she knew it. A knot of trouble and doubt wrapped up in a veil of her own issues.
Issues? She snorted. Issues didn't cover it.
She had multiple subscriptions.
She saw Lanie enter the bullpen; waving as her best friend stopped to speak to Esposito first.
How the hell was she ever going to hide this? When she could feel her cheeks warming from just the thought of him?
Kate covered her face with shaking hands, unable to stop the smile that lit her up like a string of christmas lights when she felt the familiar presence at her side. She looked up at Richard Castle's bright eyes, at the barely subdued look of happiness on his face and bit her bottom lip as her cheeks flamed even brighter.
"Wow." He stared openly. "I didn't even know you could do that."
"What?"
"Blush."
Kate smirked. "Then you obviously were not paying attention last night."
"Trust me," Castle whispered. "You have had 100% of my attention for longer than I can remember."
"Ahhh." She swallowed again. Desperate to change the subject, she looked up at the two coffee cups in his hands. "One of those for me?"
"Huh?" He blinked. "Oh right.". He handed one to her. "Just like you like it. Two pumps of sugar-free vanilla and... Lot's of cream." He winked roguishly.
Kate actually barked with laughter. Looking around, she lowered her voice when she saw Lanie still talking with Espo and Ryan a few desks away. "Cream? Really? What are you, twelve?"
Castle smiled. "I'm a murder mystery writer. What do you want from me?"
Her smile faded as she tilted her head to the side and whispered, "What I really want from you... I can't have right now."
Castle blinked, and then swallowed. "Actually... all we need is a closet..."
Across the squad room, the coroner heard her friend laugh and glanced up, her eyes narrowing immediately. "Hmmm... Now what is going on over there?"
"What do you mean?" Ryan turned to look. "Those two? I dunno what happened but it seems they're finally back on track. It's good to see."
"Back on track? Sugar, that's about to go off the rails right there."
"What?" Espo shook his head. "I don't see anything."
"You don't see that woman flirting like crazy? Or that man about to climb out of his skin?"
"Beckett? Flirting?" Esposito shook his head. "I think you've been huffing too much formaldehyde."
"Really?" Lanie gave him a sarcastic look. "That explains a lot about why we don't date anymore." She waved him off when he went to retort. "Do you see the way that woman has her head tilted to the side? All her hair brushed over to hide most of her eyes, even though I'm sure Castle can see what's important. Can you see the little smile? The one that gets broader each time her finger circles the top of her coffee cup?" She smiled when she saw the two men's eyes widen.
"It's about to get interesting up in here..."
A/N #2: I had someone comment about my timeline being wrong. I thought it was obvious that this went A/U after the couch but maybe I took for granted that that would be apparent. So anyway, here is the note to say this is a different timeline just in case it is needed. Be well... ;)
