She's almost uncomfortably warm when she swims slowly back to consciousness. Castle's hand covers her stomach, fingers spread wide as he holds her, his chest a solid, hot wall pressed against her back. His knees bump the backs of her calves and she shifts on her hip, tilting her body back into his. He accepts her weight with a gentle sigh, breath washing over her naked shoulder.
A sigh of her own sticks in Kate's chest, pressing hard against her ribs. It's surreal, being here with him. Waking up in the middle of the night with his body wrapped around hers, the silk of his sheets slinking over her skin. She's wanted this - wanted him - for so long yet her brain can't process it, can't accept it as reality. As more than just another dream she'll wake up from at any moment, an ache between her legs and his name crumbling in her mouth.
She needs to see him, touch him. Needs to prove to herself that it is real, that it happened. That after years of denying him, denying herself, they're finally here. Together.
Castle grunts when she tries to pull away, his arm tightening around her waist. She can't stop the smile when he murmurs what sounds like a no and buries his face in the tangled nest of her hair. Gently, she pushes against his arm, lifting it just enough to roll over. His hand settles low on her back and Kate closes her eyes for a moment, focusing on the heat of his touch seeping into her aching muscles.
She's going to have to tell him about what happened, about the fight, about being two fingers away from death. About quitting. She's going to have to tell him but not right now. Right now, all she wants is to lay in his bed and watch him sleep, his face more relaxed than she's seen it in a year.
Leaning back, her hair rustling over the pillowcase, she looks at him. Just looks. Lets her eyes roam over his face, his bare chest, the swell of his bicep. She drinks him in greedily, every part of him she can see. She never gets to do this, to look at him, to really see him.
Reaching up, Kate runs her fingers lightly over his face, brushes the thick spill of hair back with a smile. She always knew his hair would be soft. Her index finger traces the scar that runs along his forehead, smile turning to a frown as she realizes she has no idea how he got it.
A dull ache sets up in her chest the more she thinks about it, about how he knows so much of her - almost all - and her knowledge of him is so very limited. The urge to wake him up and ask, to interrogate him about his life, to burrow her way through his past until she knows everything from the name of this second grade teacher to the reasons why he writes, wells up inside of her chest. She swallows is back, forces herself to let it go for now.
They have time.
The thought makes her shiver. They have time now. Time to get to know each other, to learn, to grow. To make this thing that's been building between them for the past four years real. She wants that so badly. There were so many times when she was certain this would never happen, that they'd be nothing more than a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and missed chances. Doomed to fail before they even had a chance to start.
Kate rubs her hand against his cheek, electricity zipping up her arm when she brushes over his stubble. She does it again, letting her nails scrape against his skin, the short hairs abrading the pads of her fingers. A flame bursts to life low in her abdomen when she imagines feeling that burn on other parts of her body. Her neck, her breasts, her stomach. The inside of her thighs.
Her hips tilt toward him when she presses her legs together and Castle snuffles, his eyes fluttering open. He stares at her for a long moment and she watches it all flash across his face. Disbelief, hope, recognition. His fingers curl into her spine and he smiles, sleepy and lopsided.
Hi.
Her heart tumbles at the sound of his voice, low and full of gravel. His eyes droop sleepily and she smiles back at him, her hand still on his face, thumb tracing over his cheekbone and fingers brushing the thin skin behind his ear.
How she loves this man.
The words thrash inside her, knocking hard against her ribs, bruising her heart. She calms them with a deep breath, the cool promise of liberation. Sliding her hand over his chest until she can feel the steady beat of his heart against her palm, she opens her mouth, sets them free.
I'm in love with you.
His eyes slam shut, a stuttering breath rattling his ribs. Fingers dig into her back and she leans into him, moving closer until her breasts push against his chest. Castle breathes out her name and she stretches up, repeating the declaration as she brushes her lips over his chin, his cheek, the corner of his eye.
Kate moans softly when his fingers fist in her hair, pulling her back until he can reach her mouth. He kisses her almost savagely, sucking on her tongue and biting at her lips The mattress silently gives when he rolls them over, trapping her body under his. The kiss gentles, his lips soft and tender as his hand slips from her hair and slides down over her sternum, coming to rest in the valley of her breasts.
Breaking the kiss, Castle stares down at her, his face open and full of awe. He leans in and presses his forehead to hers, breathing the words back into her mouth on a deep sigh. Wrapping her leg high around his waist, Kate pulls him down into the cradle of her hips. They both moan softly at the contact, still so new and overwhelming.
Her fingers thread through his hair as he kisses a wet trail down her neck and over her chest, eyes falling shut when she feels the rasp of his stubble against her breasts, her body breaking out in goosebumps. She's fantasized about this since she first walked into that interrogation room with him four years ago, the scrape of his cheek over her skin, the soothing warmth of his tongue trailing behind.
He works down her body at a torturous pace, the pant of his breath and the smack of his lips the only sounds she can hear. Her hips lift when his tongue dips into her navel and she feels him chuckle against her stomach as he does it again, pulling a rough groan from her chest. Kate's hands fist, one in the sheet and one in his hair, as he drifts lower, biting and licking at her skin.
Her legs fall open when his chin skims over her hip. Castle lets out a growling moan, a dark, rich sound that makes her stomach roll, and buries his nose in the apex of her thigh, sucking forcefully at the thin skin he finds there.
She comes off the bed when he puts his mouth on her for the first time. He works slowly; wide, flat tongue dragging across her, dipping in to flick lightly at her clit. The pressure builds until she's pumping her hips up into his face, whimpering his name. Castle slips one finger into her and slides his other hand across the bed, pulling the sheets from her grip and lacing their fingers. He moves their joined hands to rest low on her abdomen and Kate tightens her fingers around his, begs him for more.
Stars explode behind her eyes when he pushes another finger into her and sucks on her clit, nose pressed hard into her pubic bone. Kate plants her feet on the bed, lifting her hips and almost screaming his name. Castle follows her, never letting go, never stopping. Not until she collapses into a boneless puddle in the middle of the bed.
The first thing she sees when she opens her eyes is his face, hovering over hers, a smug grin tilting at his lips. Wrapping a hand around the back of his neck, Kate yanks him down into a sloppy kiss. She tastes herself on his lips, his tongue, and moans, pressing up into him until he rolls over, dragging her onto his chest. Castle looks up at her with glassy eyes as she straddles his hips and rises over him, her chest heaving.
She watches his mouth fall open and eyes flutter shut as she lowers herself onto him, sliding down until the space between them is nonexistent. Kate pulls his hands off her thighs and slips her fingers between his. Leaning over him, she presses the backs of his hands into the mattress on either side of his head and rocks her hips.
Open your eyes.
He does, his gaze locking with hers, never breaking as she rolls and rocks. Rides. Love and arousal swirl in her chest, mixing together and reacting until it all pours out of her mouth, a waterfall of rushed words crashing down over him. How much she wants him, needs him, loves him. Castle pumps his hips, thrusting up into her as hard as he can, making his own confessions, sharing his own secrets.
She comes on a breathy groan, collapsing onto his chest and Castle slams into her a half a dozen more times before he breaks, her name a hot gust of wind on his lips. Gently, he untangles their hands and wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly to his chest as he rolls them over onto their sides. His fingers skim her back, shoulder blades to tailbone and back up again, his heart pounding against her chest as he catches his breath.
She almost misses his whisper, her body once again answering the siren call of sleep.
You love me.
Yeah.
She does.
Okay, this is officially finished now.
Thanks for reading. Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated.