THREE

For Richard Castle, there was nothing out of the ordinary about how his evening began. In fact, for the first time in months it felt like he was finally getting back to normal. He'd spent the day at the precinct—the day with Beckett—and had been pivotal in solving yet another one of her cases. True, the Twelfth didn't have quite the same feel without Montgomery, but the gang was back together, and to him that's what really mattered.

Sitting on the couch with his iPad, Castle focused his favorite game of the moment as ESPN played in the TV across from him. He should have been writing, or at least jotting down notes from that day's case, but inspiration just wasn't coming to him. He still had a few weeks before his next set of chapters were due to the publisher, which meant he had plenty of time—plenty of time to beat his high score, that was.

A knock at the door distracted him enough that his character ran off the edge of a wooden bridge and died. Grumbling under his breath, he set the iPad aside and walked to the door, curious who was there. He was pleasantly surprised to find his partner-slash-muse when he opened it.

"Beckett! Come in, please." He stepped aside and ushered her in.

She stepped through the door and gave him a half smile. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"Of course not," he said, laughing. When did he ever do anything that would classify as "important?"

"I, uh, I just…I wanted to talk, if you had a minute," she said as she tucked a chunk of hair behind her ears.

Castle nodded and ushered her towards the couch. He turned off the TV and sat down beside her. He could tell she seemed uncertain, nervous, but he wasn't sure what about. He'd barely been seated a few seconds when she blurted out, "I broke up with Josh."

"O-oh," he responded, taken aback by her unexpected confession. His mind began to spin. Did that mean—no, he wouldn't let himself think it. Not prematurely. "D-did you just? Tonight, I mean? Or…?"

She shook her head. "No, a few weeks ago, actually," she confessed with a small smile. From her expression, he knew there was still more to the story. Feeling a bit more hopeful, he rested his forearms on his knees and waited for her to continue.

"After Montgomery's funeral I just…I needed some time. Time away from you—at least, that's what I thought I needed. I was upset and confused and I thought I needed a break," she explained, gazing off into the distance. Looking back to him, she continued. "While you were gone, I realized I needed time away from everyone; I needed to be alone. That's when I broke up with Josh. He was a great guy but…" she let her voice drift off.

"I tried to convince myself that I was fine by myself. That I didn't need you—or anyone—as a partner, because I was fine without a partner before you showed up three years ago. But…but then you came back and I knew I'd been lying. To everyone, but mostly to myself."

She smiled gently and skimmed her palms over her thighs, wiping off the perspiration. "Gates…Gates doesn't like you; she wants you gone. I-I made a deal with her to give you a six week trial."

"Six week trial? Please," he said with a flippant hand gesture. "I'll win her over no sweat." He joked to lighten the mood, seeing the stress on her face, but mostly he joked to relieve the tension building in his own gut, wondering if the conversation was truly going where it seemed to be headed.

She smiled briefly, but then shook her head. "The thing is… I thought about you, and Josh and, really, all the men that I had been with over the years. I thought about what would happen if I woke up tomorrow and everything changed. If I woke up and everything I knew was just gone…and when it came right down to it there has only ever been one person in my life that I couldn't live without seeing again." Looking him directly in the eye, she added. "Without seeing every day."

His heart humming at near maximum speed, he sighed out her name as he placed one hand on her knee. She smiled and mirrored his action, reaching her right hand out to rest on the inside of his left knee before leaning into him and pressing their lips together briefly.

Unsatisfied with just one kiss—not after so much time—Castle brought his hands up to cradle her jaw and brought her lips back to his the moment they lost contact. In one second, he'd left the world of endless uncertainty and dove headlong into one of his dreams. He was kissing Kate Beckett, really, truly kissing her, and it was, without any doubt, the greatest moment of his life to date.

"Rick, wait," Kate said, pulling back after several moments.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, his brows knitting together across forehead.

She shook her head and almost laughed. For the first time in a very long time absolutely nothing was wrong. "No, it's just…I want to take this slow. I don't want to rush things. As much as we might want to, I don't want us diving into bed and then trying to sort out the pieces later on; I want to figure that stuff out first."

It would be one of the hardest things she ever did, she knew that. The fire, the burning desire she felt in her gut just kissing him was enough to destroy her. She wanted him—all of him—so much it was almost physically painful, but her head knew better than to give in to three years' worth of sexual tension in the blink of an eye.

She learned from experience that the tear-each-others-clothes-off types of romances tended to burn bright, but not for very long. They needed to see if they could work as a couple—a real romantic couple—first, because she knew once she gave herself to him—when she truly gave herself to him—and things didn't work out, her heart would be shattered beyond repair.

"Kate," he began, closing his hands around hers. "I don't want to rush you into anything, but it has been three years."

She smiled softly. "Yeah, three years, but three years of us bickering and arguing and you completely annoying me."

He looked at her, baffled. "That all sounds like foreplay to me."

Cocking her head to the side, she gave him one of her infamous Kate-Beckett-is-annoyed expressions. "But that's not the kind of relationship that's real—that's sustainable. I want us to go on dates and have dinner. C'mon Castle," she nudged him with her elbow. "I want you to woo me. Isn't this the thing you're supposed to be good at?"

"Oh, I am good at this," he assured her. "Very good. In fact, if there was a degree in wooing, I would have a PhD. I will woo you, Kate Beckett. I will woo the pants off you—literally," he added with a naughty eyebrow wiggle.

She rolled her eyes and gave him a slight shove. "Fantastic start, Castle."

"Alright, alright—you've had a long day at work so shoulder or foot massage? You choose," he said with a smile.

Her initial response was going to be to ask why there had to be an "or" but rolling her head from side to side she felt the tension in her shoulders built up from typing her arrest report and other case documents. If she had to choose one, the decision was obvious. "Shoulders."

"Great! I'll set up the table!" he said, standing from the couch immediately.

"What…table?"

"The massage table," he said in an isn't-it-obvious tone before walking towards his office.

Flummoxed, Kate stood and followed him. "You…have a massage table!? Who has a massage table? Other than an actual masseuse?"

"Of course I have my own massage table," he chuckled as thought it was the most average possession in the world. "Yeah, the massage therapists can bring a table, but it's so much easier to have your own, especially with the therapists I use."

Kate folded her arms over her chest as she watched him drag the table out of the closet in his office. "And what therapists would these be? Ones that also provide a happy ending?"

"Funny," he commented with notable sarcasm. He dragged the table into his bedroom through the door joining it with the office. After setting the table upright and retrieving a sheet from the linen closet in his bedroom, Castle made a sweeping gesture towards the table. "You can undress and get under the sheet. Promise I won't look," he added with a wink.

"Wow," she said blankly. "Five minutes—five minutes since we kissed and you're already trying to get me to strip. That must be some sort of record." Why, she wondered to herself. Why did she think being in a relationship with him was going to be any different than being in a work partnership with him? Why did she think the romantic relationship would add any level of maturity to him at all?

"I cannot give you a proper shoulder massage with your shirt on. I'm sorry, that's just not possible—I don't make the rules of massage," he explained, holding his hands up, palms out as he walked towards her. Ignoring her irritated expression, he pressed a kiss onto her cheek and whispered in her ear. "Whatsamatter Kate, don't you trust me?"

Sighing to herself, she stepped forward, crossed into the bedroom, and shut the office door behind her. Of course he had to throw that in her face. She trusted him implicitly in any and all life threatening situations; however, she was not sure how many liberties he would take with her naked upper torso, especially if he was trying to be amusing.

After taking off her boots, top and bra, she gathered her hair up into a messy bun at the crown of her head and lay face down on the massage table. She begrudgingly gave in to its comfort as she pulled the sheet up around the middle of her back. "You can come in now," she informed him.

The door opened almost instantly. "Excellent. Now tell me—do you see why I have my own massage table?"

She lifted her head from the headrest and turned it enough to gaze at him with one of her eyes. "I suppose," she admitted.

He beamed proudly before vanishing to the bathroom to retrieve his eucalyptus scented massage lotion. When he returned, he stood by the edge of the massage table and took a deep breath, allowing himself just one moment to fully bathe in the realization that Kate Beckett was topless in his bedroom. Though it wasn't nearly as salacious as it sounded, he could still see the creamy skin of her back, the muscle tone in her shoulders, and the hint of the curve of the side of her breasts. Down boy, he told himself. Tonight is not about you or Castle Junior; it's about her.

"So, Kate," he began as he rubbed a dollop of lotion on his fingertips and another on her upper back. "What's your theory on massages? Are you more a soft and gentle type of girl or do you prefer deep tissue?"

"Unless you're almost causing me pain, it's not worth my time," she responded.

He grinned. "Perfect."

It only took about thirty seconds of Castle kneading his fingertips into her trapezius muscles for Kate to melt into the table with a moan. So she had been skeptical of his massage skills at first, but he was proving her wrong with every stroke of his hand down that tense region between her spine and shoulder blade. Within minutes she had forgotten everything about that day's stresses and simply gave in to the relaxation.

As Castle finished the half hour massage, he pressed a kiss on to the top of her head and pulled the sheet up so that it rested at the base of her neck. "Are you awake?" he asked softly. She had been so quiet he wasn't sure if she was asleep or not.

She moaned indicating that she was, in fact, conscious, but made no attempt to move any part of her body. After a few more moments, she sighed. "Do I have to get up now?"

"Not right this second, but you will have to get up eventually."

With a heavy sigh, Kate reached her hands back, flipped them, and grabbed the edge of the sheet between her fingertips. She lifted her head to see that he was sitting on the edge of his bed, so she rotated her torso away from him and sat slowly, pulling the sheet around her as she did so. Once fully wrapped in the sheet, she sat on the edge of the table and twisted her body to face him.

Castle couldn't help but chuckle. "You look drugged."

"I feel drugged," she replied. "You're pretty damn good at that."

"You're welcome," he replied simply.

"Seriously. I'm going to have to schedule a regular appointment for that. Do you take cash or check?"

"Oh," he said, sliding off the bed and leaning on the other side of the table. He brought his face close to her and added, "I think we can work out a payment plan." With that, he kissed her sweetly.

When Castle ducked out of the room, Kate re-dressed and joined him in the office, where he was leaning back against his desk, staring at her in his ruggedly handsome way. "Listen, Castle," she began, "about us. I think…I think we should keep this to ourselves for now."

"Really?" He couldn't say he was absolutely stunned, but he was slightly disappointed, considering that he wanted to shout their coupledom from the rooftops.

She nodded. "Yes, for several reasons, first of which that the NYPD has a strict no dating policy and considering you're already on a six week trial with Gates…"

"Right, good point," he conceded. "But what about Ryan and Esposito? They'll figure it out, won't they?"

"Not if we don't act any differently. C'mon Castle," she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He instinctively placed his hands at her hips. "Won't it be fun to just keep this to ourselves for a little while? Until we, you know, figure some things out."

Castle pressed his lips together and thought for a moment. "So…what you're saying is we cannot make out at your desk."

"NO!"

"Fine," he grumbled, but then he smiled quickly and kissed her. "Our relationship secret is safe with me."


Thanks to Travis for the cover art!