I told some of you the wait wouldn't be terribly long...


He cocked his head to the side. "You know it would be for my eyes alone…"

Her lips were set in a firm line, until she spoke. "And you know you'd be storing it in a device that can reach out to the world. Very dangerous." When his hand didn't move, she opened her mouth and began to say the word that would end it all. "Snow…"

"OK, you win. Just…don't, please?" He pocketed the phone and moved up to the head of the bed. He kissed her lips, then kissed and licked away most of the paint. She writhed under his mouth, moaning at the sensation.

He found a package of pre-moistened cleansing wipes in the paint basket, and shook one free to wipe her down. The tender action made her heart sing. The look she sent him was an invitation, one which he accepted immediately. He lay down beside her and kissed her again. As he did so his hands found and released the knots holding her wrists, so she was free to embrace him. He broke away and unfastened her ankles, kissing each one in turn. When he came back to her, she helped him out of his clothes.

Naked, he stood and led her to the chair. He sat down and pulled her into his lap facing him. She now saw the rationale behind the dimensions of the piece of furniture. She was able to rest her feet on the floor and comfortably straddle him, allowing for proper leverage. His hands glided up and down her back and the top of her buttocks, making her skin tingle. He bent his head to feather kisses on her breasts. When he took one nipple into his mouth, Kate hissed out a breath and ground her hips into him. Desperately she shifted and maneuvered, seeking that most delicious stimulation. He pulled away and looked up at her with mock innocence.

"What's the matter, Kate?"

"I need…I…Please…" She was asking permission, having fully invested in the notion that for tonight, he was in control.

"Go ahead, I'm not stopping you."

She lifted herself up the few inches needed, positioned him at her entrance, then plunged onto him. Emitting desperate whimpers she rose up and then fell heavily, seeking to take him as deeply as possible. She repeated the move again and again, faster and faster, a sheen of sweat breaking out all over. When Rick could feel her legs trembling he braced his hands around her waist to help her lift herself. Suddenly she squeezed her eyes shut and her whole body stiffened, as the climax roared through her. The sight of her in its throes was the final straw for him, and he hugged her to him as he surrendered to his own orgasm.

He was grateful for the support the back of the chair provided, and he slumped against it, gasping. Kate lay against him like a rag doll. He curled a finger under her chin so that she would look at him. "You ok?" When she nodded, breathless, he claimed her lips in a tender kiss.

Kate recovered first, easing off his lap and padding to the closet door. She cautiously opened it, then quickly swung the door shut. Looking over her shoulder, she saw his amused grin. "Did you know those were in there?" she questioned, referring to the array of costumes hanging from the bar.

"Yes. Decided not to push my luck."

With a saucy wink she opened the door again and moved the hangers around. She spotted a teal satin kimono that would serve nicely as a robe, and slipped it over her shoulders. Stepping into the bathroom, she opted to take a shower. When she emerged, wrapped in a huge fluffy towel, with the robe draped over her arm, he pinned her with a stern look. "You showered. Without me. Did I say you could do that?"

Needing a break from the whole domination game, she merely folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow.

"Too much?" he asked, meeker now.

She nodded curtly and jerked her thumb toward the bathroom. "Your turn."

"And what if I don't want to shower without you?"

"First, I am already clean. Second, I'm going to see what I can scare up for food. We need sustenance if we're going to continue, right?"

Deciding that he liked her way of thinking, he headed into the bathroom. She finished drying off and slipped back into the kimono.

In the small kitchenette Kate found a cube fridge with some pre-made cocktails. She selected two, plus some fruit, cheese and pâté. In a cabinet she found chocolate dip to go with the fruit, and crackers for the pâté and the cheese. She found a tray to assemble the snack on, and carried the fare to the bedside table, nudging the baskets aside.

Stomach grumbling, she ate one of the crackers with some pâté, then another with some cheese. Her mouth was dry, so she cracked open one of the cocktails. Tasty she thought, and took several long swallows, draining the bottle. She retrieved another from the fridge then made her way back to the bed. A smile played on her lips as an idea occurred to her.

When Castle exited the bathroom, still toweling himself off, Kate clambered off the bed and hurried to stand before him, executing a deep bow. "Allow me, Sir," she said, her head still lowered.

He peered back into the bathroom, then at the doorway itself, wondering if he had accidentally stepped into an alternate universe. She was, literally, genuflecting to him. With a smirk he decided to see how far she'd be willing to take this game.

"You may." He injected grandeur into his tone, giving her permission to do…whatever she had in mind.

She rose and took the towel from his hands, studiously rubbing him dry, but still not making eye contact. When she was satisfied, she fetched a fresh towel to tie around his waist. She gestured to the bed. "Please, Sir."

He sat down warily. She selected a piece of fruit from the tray, ran it through the dip, then held it before his lips. He accepted the offering. When he had finished it, she put some of the spread on a cracker and repeated her actions. This time he held her wrist and bit the cracker in her hand.

His brain was busily processing this new development. She'd willingly played the submissive but had turned back into regular Kate. Somehow while he was showering she'd transitioned to subservient? It was damned unnerving, but erotic at the same time.

Suspecting he would be feeling a little parched, she opened one of the drinks and offered it to him. He accepted it with a slightly suspicious look. "If I hadn't seen you break the seal, I'd think you were trying to slip me something."

Kate smiled innocently. She dunked a wedge of apple in the chocolate dip, then sank to her knees and used her free hand to open the towel she'd tied around his waist. She looked up at him while she daintily licked a bit of the chocolate off the apple. When she glanced back down, her smile widened. In just those few seconds, he had grown in anticipation. She cradled his member in one hand while daubing the chocolate on it with the other. She transferred most of it, then swept the apple slice with her tongue to get the rest. He groaned at the gesture.

She scooted in closer between his knees, then sat back on her heels. She began to lick the chocolate off him, wringing a strangled sound from him that was somewhere between gasp and whimper. Alarmed, she paused and looked up. His eyes were clenched shut. "Did I hurt you, Sir?"

He found he was without words to reply at first, so he simply shook his head vehemently. "No," he finally managed to get out. "It's good. Very...good."

She smiled and went back to what she was doing. "Oh," she finally moaned, having sucked away the last traces of the sweet brown confection, "it's all gone."

He felt her shift and peeked at her in time to see she was reaching for the chocolate again. "NO."

She looked up in surprise. He hastened to explain. "I can't take much more. There's something else I'd rather…" He trailed off.

She waited, and saw his expression shift as he remembered they were still playing roles here. More firmly he asserted, "We're going to do something different." He gestured to the swing.

"As you wish," she murmured. She got to her feet and used one of the wipes to clean him up as he had for her. He stood and gathered her to him for a deep kiss, then began to nibble at her neck. His hands found the belt of her robe and released it, sending the garment to the floor with a quick brush of his hands. He began to devour the bare skin before him. When she swayed against him, he scooped her up and set her in the swing, sliding her hands and feet through the straps so that she couldn't fall out.

He felt no resistance as he positioned her, and the…wrongness… of that finally got to him. He heaved a sigh. This had been fun for a little while, but he needed his vibrant Kate back, the one with the spark of challenge in her eyes and the ability to kick his ass. "Ok, enough of this, the game is over," he said. He saw no reaction, other than her brow furrowing. "How do I get you to come back to me, Kate? What will it take? Your safe word? Mine?" A tinge of desperation entered his voice. He was half tempted to shake her to get her to snap out of it.

Her response was so quiet he barely heard it. "How about the magic word?"

He understood and latched onto it like a life preserver. "Please, darling, let's end this?" Now he was the humble one.

Her head came up then, and there it was, that light that he'd been drawn to since the moment he'd met her.

"Very good. Next time, Castle, be careful what you wish for."

He nodded ruefully. "So this was some bizarre game of 'chicken', and I blinked first?"

"Precisely. Now, are we going to make use of this contraption or what?" she asked, wiggling in the seat so that she swayed gently in mid-air.

He looked up, a surprised chuckle escaping him. He felt a tightening south of the border, a resurgence of enthusiasm that had dwindled when he registered his distaste for her meek persona. Clearly now that she was back, so was his 'friend'. He pulled her in for a kiss. Since the swing supported her weight, he was free to use his hands to caress her. His hands slid along her back to squeeze her buttocks. He found that seeing her like this, seeing so much of her, fueled his passion even further, and before long he was pulling her to him and sliding into her. The swing afforded them the opportunity to experiment with angles, until they found one that gave them both the most pleasure. And pleasure one another they did, until their cries were resounding off the walls. When their trembling bodies were capable of movement, Rick extracted her from the swing and led her to the bed. He kissed her sweetly and tucked her under the covers beside him. "Thank you, for indulging me." Exhausted, they slept.


Thank you to everyone who reviewed and alerted. Now review one more time, please? I worked a long time on these two chapters, and I'd love to know your thoughts!