So I must have enjoyed the 'Embarrassment of Bitches' episode more than I thought as Royal is mentioned more than once in this chapter, lol.

XXXXX

Kate thought it would be awkward sitting in the car alone next to Castle after their 'moment' earlier over pizza, but he was back to being his obnoxious, annoying self. He was fiddling with the radio knob. She slapped his hand.

"Knock it off, Castle."

"But Kaaate," he whined, "you know I don't like country." 'Before He Cheats' by Carrie Underwood was blaring throughout the Crown Vic.

"I wouldn't classify Carrie Underwood as strictly a country singer. She won American Idol, remember?"

Castle ignored her comment. "Plus," he said exasperated, "That song brings up bad memories for me." He shuddered and his face twisted into a grimace.

"Ohhh, let me guess…" Kate said excitedly. "A few years back one of your ex-girlfriends, or should I say one of your conquests? …" He let out a groan. "She keyed your black Lamborghini and slashed all four tires?…Why doesn't that surprise me, Castle?"

Kate knew she was in DEEP trouble when she glanced Rick's way and saw his haughty, smug grin…

"I see that you've been perusing the Richard Castle fan sites again," he said arrogantly. "Let's see now…I owned my black Lamborghini back in 2005, that's seven years ago… So just how long have you been a fan-of-mine, Detective?" he said while winking at her.

Kate blushed and turned her head to look out her driver's side window…

Shit. I shouldn't have let that slip.

"You know," Castle continued in that pompous tone she hated, "one of these days I will find out your pen name…Are you Castlover69, sexystormgirl, Castlewife#3 or my personal favorite…" he leaned into Kate's side and whispered suggestively into her ear…"smokinhotcop?"

Kate shivered as his breath tickled her ear. She instinctively wanted him to take that mouth of his and nip her outer lobe delicately; … then have his luscious lips descend further down to behind the slope of her ear,… trailing lingering, seductive kisses down her neck, over her pulse point, onto her collar bone and slowly but surely reaching her –

Kate elbowed Castle to get some distance between them. "Uggh. You really are insufferable at times." His grin was contagious.

There is no way in hell I'm ever going to tell him I changed my pen name to deep-fried-heat. His ego certainly doesn't need the boost.

"By the way, I do not hate the song, 'Before He Cheats' due to an ex-girlfriend…It was a CRAZED fan of mine, and she carved her name on every one of my life-size, cardboard cut-outs before each of my book signings…Ami, spelled with an I on the end. And let me tell you, it was completely inappropriate where she put her name…I was so freaked out by it that I started wearing a jock strap and cup to all my book signings."

Kate couldn't stop the laughter from erupting out of her mouth.

"Oh My God, Castle…That is soo hilarious!"

"Yeah, yeah, Beckett. Get a good laugh at my expense," he looked stricken just thinking about it.

"And did my fellow police officers ever catch the psychotic vandal?"

"No, they never did. The police thought that she must have been upset about me killing off Derek Storm, or that she … umm … had some hard-core fantasy about being my lover. -" His voice trailed off with the last word as his blue eyes bored into hers.

Don't go there Kate, she thought hurriedly. You can't even let him get a whiff of your fantasies.

"Do you have any fantasies of me you'd care to discuss, Detective?" He asked lazily. Geez, it was creepy how he could read her mind at times.

It's time to have a little fun at his expense, she thought dangerously."Well, let's see…" she fired back assuredly. "I keep having this recurring dream where I'm in a hot bath, surrounded by bubbles, candles lit throughout my small bathroom…" Castle's eyes widen and his tongue darts out to lick his lips. "I have Heat Wave open in my hands and I'm reading page -" Kate noticeably gulps before continuing, "105."

"And where am I in this dream of yours, Kate?"

She almost laughed aloud when she heard his high-pitched, squeaky voice.

"You come in the bathroom wearing only your jeans…You lean over the tub and go to whisper in my ear…" Kate rolled her eyes when his mouth dropped open.

"And then, … I grab you behind the neck and immediately pull you under the water, trying to drown you."

"Hey!" Rick swatted her.

"You're just tooo easy, Castle." She flashed him her famous, dazzling smile…the one that shows her perfect, pearly-white teeth with a hint of gums, which sends his heart into overdrive and reaffirms to him again that she is the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.

Rick mumbles something under his breath like, "Damn, abominable tease," but Kate couldn't quite be sure what he said.

She turned the corner, nearing the office complex where the body dropped.

"Oh, poor Cas - tle," She continued to test her luck with him by teasing him further. "I bet you had nightmares for weeks worrying about an unknown, scary stalker who may, or may not want to ravish you." She was thoroughly enjoying harassing him like this…

"I did have some doozie nightmares knowing Ami was out there... I still do by-the-way." He turned to her with a twinkle in his eye. "Hey partner, you could certainly help me keep those nightmares at bay…If I had a strong, fearless, beautiful Detective in my bed at night to protect me from insane fans, I'm positive I'd sleep better at night." He blinked his puppy-dog eyes at her.

Kate easily quipped back,"I think that can be arranged…" Castle raised his eyebrows hopefully. "I'll call and ask a detective in Narcotics if you can borrow one of their drug-sniffing labs…You were a natural with Royal, so I'm betting it wouldn't be a problem for you to sponsor one of their female bitches." She laughed coyly as she pulled into the parking lot.

"You're not playing fair, Beckett," he pouted. "You know exactly who I meant when I said a fearless, beautiful Detective to help me sleep soundly at night."

Before Kate could stop herself, she said scandalously, "Oh, I can't help you with that, Rrr - ick," purposefully trilling the letter R and dragging out the endearment…"If I was in your bed," she opened her door handle. "I could guarantee that you would NOT be sleeping." She hopped out of the car and headed towards the office building.

Castle about lost it. This game we play is going to be my demise.

XXX (1st week in February)

Rick was playing angry birds while waiting for Kate when suddenly his cell phone chimed.

"Excuse me, Beckett. I've got to take this call. It's important." He stood up from his chair and while walking away from her said, "Hello. Just a moment please. I'm headed to the break room."

Maybe it was the way Castle's eyes shifted suddenly away from her that put her on edge…or maybe it was because she was very familiar with all his ring tones and this was one she didn't recognize, ..but something about his demeanor seemed off…

She watched him walk away from her desk, heading into the break room. She couldn't help but admire his nice, firm ass in his new Dolce Fugo jeans.

He should definitely wear jeans more often.

Kate peeked at him while he was pacing back and forth in the break room… Her curiosity finally got the better of her.

She approached the break room, coffee cup in hand with the pretense of needing more coffee. She opened the door and heard, "Yes, the crew should finish the job Saturday, February 11th. I'd appreciate your help in keeping her away until then." He chuckled in response to something the caller said…"Don't I know it."

Rick turned around and noticed Kate walking into the room just as he said, "Thank you, Mr. Bec—" He abruptly stopped speaking. "Uh, huh. I'll see you on the 12th.

He hung up; a cocky grin plastered on his face. "Needing more coffee already, Detective?" he said smoothly. "I'm surprised you don't have an ulcer by now with the amount of caffeine you consume." He reached for her coffee cup. . . "Here, let me get it for you." Their fingers brushed as he took the mug from her.

A tingle shot up Kate's arm as he took the mug from her hand. She suddenly had an overwhelming urge to reach out and grab Castle's bicep to see if she felt another spark at the touch…

How long have I thought about wrapping my hands around his upper arms to feel how muscular they are?

She tamped down her womanly instincts and focused instead on her detective ones, and her detective instincts were on HIGH alert. Castle was up to something, and it most definitely concerned her. Now, how to approach him where she could extract the most information possible without making him suspicious?

"So, you have plans on February 12th?" she asked lightly, not wanting to raise his scruples. "With Martha and Alexis?" Castle looked over his shoulder at her while he finished pouring the coffee into her mug.

Damn it, she heard my Mr. Bec—slip and is now fishing for details. She knows I was talking with her father.

"Yes, I have plans," he retorted easily while looking straight into her eyes. "Nothing special though. You're welcome to join us if you'd like…"

He figured that would throw Kate off the trail…make her assume that what he wanted all along was for her to join him. He handed her the coffee and sat on the edge of the counter with his legs stretched straight out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. His hands flat on the counter to support him.

Kate eyed him warily while sipping her coffee. "No, no I'd hate to intrude on your family time."

"You're never an intrusion. My mother already thinks of you as family...Don't you know that by now?" He gave her that half-grin of his that said, "You know I'm right. I'm always right." She hated that she loved the look on him.

Kate looked slightly uncomfortable but shrugged it off. "Well, Martha does have a big heart, as well as having a tendency towards the over-dramatic… She probably treats the door man like family as well."

"Ahhh, you know her well then," his blue eyes twinkling. "My mother, the Drama-Queen, with a heart-of-gold."

His eyes are always so expressive. I could certainly get lost looking in them.

They both heard the door knob turn at the same time and looked to see who was entering…

Karpowski sauntered into the room, eyeing Rick appreciatively. "Hey Castle, when are you going to have this hazardous espresso machine repaired? We caffeine-junkies need a good fix now and then." She looked briefly at Kate and nodded at her. "Beckett." Kate acknowledged her back by nodding as well.

Karpowski turned her attention right back to Castle. Kate didn't like the way she was ogling him.

"Don't worry," Castle chuckled. "Repair-guy is coming in tomorrow, in fact. I can't have you amazing police officers who protect and serve this great state, go without addicting espresso any longer…It's good to know I'm of some use around here."

"Oh, if Beckett can't find a good use for you," Karpowski drawled. "Just come on over my way." She winked at him. "I'm needing a temporary partner for a few weeks since Collins took maternity leave."

What the hell was she doing? Was Karpowski actually batting her eye-lashes at him? Was she really trying to flirt with Castle right in front of her? Kate was seeing RED.

"Anything we can help you with?" Kate glared at her. "We were having a private conversation."

"Just grabbing me a cup of coffee." She replied nonchalantly. Karpowski purposefully scraped Rick's leg with her fingers as she reached for the pot. Rick didn't seem to notice.

"So Beckett, think you can lend me your brilliant partner for 6 - 8 weeks?"

That was it. Kate had had enough. She grabbed Karpowski's elbow lightly and steered her away from Rick, walking her out of the break room. "Oh, I think I'll keep Castle for my partner a little while longer as I've trained him to be loyal to me. He understands that I'm a one-writer detective."

Karpowski gave Beckett the evil-eye. "Well Castle," she threw over her shoulder, "if you're ever looking for a new muse, I'm happy to apply for the job." Kate walked back into the room, obviously flustered.

"Unbelievable! The gall of that woman." She flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Castle was gazing at Kate humorously, intrigued by what just happened... "It's nice to see that you have such a high-regard for me, Beckett." He said in a suave-tone. "So you've trained me to be loyal, huh? Am I just another golden retriever to you like Royal?"

She smirked. "Oh, you certainly have similar qualities…You sit down on command, fetch my coffee for me and even drool on occasion…" she said in a lilting-tone-of-voice. "I am certainly tempted at times to put a muzzle on that mouth of yours. " Kate smiled as her eyes immediately darted to his parted lips.

Rick's lips flickered upwards, "Moi?" he grabbed his heart. "Me, need a muzzle?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, you partner," she approached him slowly with her index finger raised. "But you're even better than Royal… because you," she poked him in the chest, "Mr. Castle" another poke, "are definitely more fun to play with."

She suddenly turned on her heel and walked confidently out of the break room.

Castle stared at her retreating, perfect derriere and thought, Yes, I'm exactly like that pampered dog…I'd love to have you pet, stroke and nuzzle me. God, one of these days and soon, you'd better use my body to play with me.

XXX

Unbeknownst to both Rick and Kate, after Karpowski was forced out of the break room, several Detectives were gathered together in the gym exchanging twenty dollar bills. Karpowski won a couple hundred dollars betting she could get Kate's green-eyed monster to rear its ugly head and have her finally show some jealousy over Castle.

"I don't freakin believe it," wailed Esposito as he forked $40.00 over to her.

Ryan was right about Mom and Dad having eye-sex the other day. . . I've got to convince Lanie to throw more money into the betting pool again . . . Mom & Dad are about to do the nasty.

Author's Note:

My life is suddenly crazy, and I can't say when the next chapter will post… I do promise though that it will be before Valentine's day as I'm hoping to be completely finished with the story then.

Please review…They're like music to my soul.