A/N: Okay, I'm not going to officially change the rating of the overall story, but this chapter is rated M. If you like that kind of thing, please, read on. But if you don't, the next chapters will be rated T, so you can just skip this one. I hate to give anything away, but I'm so good at it! Therefore, I'll just say that no, they do not have sex. Kate will remain a virgin until her wedding night in this fic. But they do other things that are rated M. I just had to say: good job to Catatran33 who totally guessed where this was going! You're one smart cookie. ;-D Anyway, here's the new chapter:

Kate kept a tight hold on his hand, knowing he was still reluctant to push his own self-control by accompanying her inside her apartment. She had a feeling he'd run if given the chance; she knew he loved her too much to push their physical relationship to a point Kate would be uncomfortable with. She'd just have to show him everything she was comfortable with.

Kate practically dragged him inside her apartment, she was so eager to get him alone. They both left their shoes inside the front door and Kate continued pulling him to the couch. Rick gasped when she pushed him down and then sat in his lap.

Before she could kiss him though, and steal his breath along with his resolve, Rick said, "I love you, Kate. So much." He took a bracing breath and concluded, "Which is why I think I should go now."

Kate's heart began to race, her cheeks turned bright pink and even though she was kind of uncomfortable saying this out loud, told him, "I want to taste you." She wasn't exactly a prude- regardless of the fact that she'd never actually had sex before, she did have some experience with men… plus, she did read- but Rick was unique among the men of her past; no other man had ever made her tell him what she wanted to do to him, they just dove right in, so to speak, and waited for Kate to call foul.

Realization dawning, Rick's eyes went wide and, drawn out on a long exhalation, he said, "Oooohhhh..." He studied her face. "It's okay with you if we do that?"

"Yes!" she said eagerly and eagerly kissed him.

But Rick only allowed the kiss for a moment before he stood up, practically dumping Kate out of his lap, and dragged her toward her bedroom. He didn't stop until they were both standing at the foot of her bed. Once there, he removed his coat and then pushed her down, guiding her up to recline against the pillows.

When she was settled, Rick's body tucked close to hers, all the urgency stopped.

Rick leaned over her slowly to kiss her, paying slightly more attention to the hand he trailed up her arm. He noted the soft skin briefly before Kate shivered under the touch of his fingertips and chill bumps broke out over her skin. Rick's slow kiss had just progressed to the point that his tongue touched Kate's lower lip, seeking entrance to her mouth, when his flat hand moved up over her shoulder, his thumb brushing the curve of her clavicle. Kate's mouth fell open on a gasp when Rick's hand finally moved down to touch her breast, something she'd wanted from him- but had never been given- every time they kissed.

In the two months they'd officially been dating, Rick had only kissed her; he'd barely even touched her. His hands never went where she really wanted them; he only touched her arms, her shoulder or her upper back. He hadn't even touched her lower back for fear the delicious curve of her spine might tempt his grasping hands farther down to other, even more delicious curves. Only during his more intense kisses, on those rare occasions he let go some of his rigid control, he'd hold onto her hips, usually to press her body back into whatever wall he held her against.

Now, his hand finally covered her breasts at the same time his tongue took possession of her mouth and Kate found herself whimpering in need. Kate was almost embarrassed by that unguarded sound but as his talented fingers began playing her body like an expert musician on his favorite guitar, her groan of satisfaction drowned out all other emotions.

Rick's hands stayed on her breasts for much too short a time, Kate thought, before they were sliding down her body, slowly studying the curves and planes of her torso before sliding over her hip and down her leg. Quite helpfully, Kate bent her leg up so Castle's grasp could explore more of her bare skin. Her short, button down dress only covered her to mid-thigh when standing and now, with her leg bent up and all, the lacy hem of her panties was just visible.

Castle's hand studied the skin on the inside of her knee before slowly guiding it down, away from him, to rest on the bed, bent as it was. His fingertips teased a burning trail up the inside of her thigh, but made a detour to push the hem of her dress up higher, out of his way.

Rick finally broke their kiss, not especially wanting to, but he had to look at her now. He had to watch her face as he touched her. And she was gasping. He glanced down at her body, noted the white lace covering the most intimate part of her, but looked back up at her face when he finally touched that lace. Her mouth fell open, releasing some very sexy sounds of pleasure, and her eyes closed when he began stroking her.

Touching her, Rick knew that she was ready for... She was physically ready for something she wasn't actually going to give him and that sobering recollection had him removing his hand from her hot center. But Kate made a sound to tell him of her unsatisfied need and he couldn't stop himself; his touch skated back up her body, under the dress this time. The hem only allowed him to move his hand up so far though, so he began unbuttoning the dress, beginning at the top and working his way down.

This new project gave Rick the opportunity to resume his attempts to dominate Kate's mouth under his own. But his Katie was a fighter, and when his tongue invaded, she fought back with a fiery passion that damn near distracted him from the buttons still impeding his view of her lovely body. The task was eventually accomplished- delayed no doubt by this hand's tendency to wander her skin as it was exposed- and Kate's ever helpful self quickly threw back the dress and slipped out of it, managing to never once leave the warm press of Rick's body beside hers. Arching up, Kate's own hand dove behind her back to unhook her bra and then she removed it completely, throwing the garment across the room in her excitement. Her hands eagerly went to unbutton his shirt, making only one small detour to remove Rick's hand from her hip and impatiently replacing it upon her breast. When Kate had all the buttons undone, Rick stopped touching her long enough to shrug out of shirt and throw it to the floor.

Rick had to break away from her kiss, had to gasp in some air to clear the dizzying haze of lust fogging his mind. But the man had the sense to keep his hands on her body as he tried to breathe and he watched Kate's pleasure filled face as he touched her; first she bit her lip, then her mouth fell open to emit more of those sexy sounds.

"You are so beautiful, Kate," Rick observed as he watched her expressive face respond to his touches. Then he glanced down and the sight of her mostly bare body stole his breath even more effectively than any of her kisses had. Rick bent his head to kiss her collarbone, slowly making his way down, leaving a trail of hot, wet kisses as he went.

Rick thought he'd never heard a sound as beautiful as that moan of pleasure Kate made when his lips closed over her breast. Feeling he had this particular piece of flesh well covered by his mouth, Rick's hand began its journey back down her body, only this time he was more direct. Hooking his thumbs under the waistband of her panties, Rick pulled, removing them completely when Kate helpfully raised her hips for him. But instead of moving directly to his intended target now, Rick instead put his hand on her leg, pushing it back out so he could slip his body over hers, nestling himself in the cradle of her thighs. With his head over her breasts, Rick's body was low enough that he only encountered mattress when he pressed his hips down, but that was fine. That was what he'd intended; it was safer that way. But he didn't want to equivocate anymore so his kisses began to travel again, down her ribs, over her abdomen, pausing to dip his tongue into her bellybutton and moving right alone.

It took her brain a long, muddled moment, but Kate finally understood Rick's intended goal. Her knees closed on his ribs, halting him and when Castle looked up at her in confusion, Kate told him breathlessly, "No."

Rick's look immediately turned to one of concern and in an instant his entire demeanor changed. "I'm sorry," he told her, and Kate suspected he had every intention of stopping what he was doing, standing up and walking away after having- in his mind- pushed her too far.

Knowing he was only seconds away from leaving her, Kate wrapped her legs around his torso and didn't let him move. "Kiss me," she insisted, pulling on his shoulders and trying to indicate that she wanted him to climb back up her body and kiss her mouth.

With one eyebrow cocked in a sexy way, Rick said, "Okay." Then he quickly leaned down in an attempt to kiss her center.

"No!" she repeated, more frantic now.

Utterly confused, Rick asked, "Are you ready for us to stop?"

"No!" She almost wanted to cry at the very notion of stopping. "But don't... Don't do that. I wanted to touch you, I didn't mean for you-"

"I don't mind," Rick said, cutting her off because he could see how uncomfortable she was becoming. Then he gave a sexy sort of smile and told her, "Believe me, I probably want this more than you do."

"You don't have to," she tried to assure him, but she was still uncomfortable. When he looked like he was going to argue, she added, "I don't want you to."

"You don't..." Rick began in shocked confusion. But then understanding dawned on him and he was downright horrified. "Has no one ever done this for you?" He asked in outrage.

"Yes," she admitted. "A couple of times, but I don't like it."

"You don't like it?" he repeated, completely dumbfounded.

Kate shrugged self-consciously. "It was always really awkward. And not very good. And I'm used to being the one in control. I wanted to do this for you; I didn't mean for you to... you know."

Rick nodded, which made Kate think he was finally going to drop it and do as she asked- climb back up her body and kiss her- but Rick wasn't going to give up that easily. He murmured, "My poor Katie." And without further words or hesitation, he fell on her, kissing her center as ardently as he'd kissed her mouth only moments ago.

Kate nearly flew off the bed in surprise, her back arched so far. The touch of his skillful mouth- his talented tongue- on her body was so much more intense than anything else she'd ever experienced that her vision swam dizzily and her mind swirled in a haze of pleasure.

Rick wanted to add to the pleasurable assault on her body but he still wasn't quite sure what he was allowed to do with a virgin- one that he didn't have immediate plans to despoil anyway- so he figured it would be safer to stick to what he knew Kate would allow. Instead of adding this touch to her center like he might have if she weren't a virgin, he slid his hand back up her body to caress her breasts again.

The overwhelming sensations of his hands on her breasts and his mouth on her core had her back arching, her knees falling open onto the bed to release Rick's body and give him better access, and her hands fisting in the sheets, giving a rather pathetic attempt to keep her body tethered down. When that didn't work, her hands moved to clutch Rick's head, her fingers in his soft hair, urging him on where only moments ago she'd been reluctant and embarrassed. But if Rick's lips and tongue were capable of producing more of these blissful sensations, Kate considered making good on her earlier threat to handcuff him to her bed so he could never leave.

When her body finally broke under his mouth, the noises Kate made filled the room. Even though Rick knew she'd just climaxed, he couldn't bring himself to stop just yet. To feel her body shuddering under his kiss was so arousing in and of itself that Rick was almost afraid his own release would follow hers by only seconds. So, in an effort to distract himself, he continued to touch, continued to taste and counter-intuitively, that did help. Too soon, Kate was trying to move her body away from his mouth, from his hand that never stilled, but Rick wasn't paying attention.

Eventually, Kate fisted her hands in his hair and pulled, and Rick finally got the hint. He moved back up her torso- not like he had much choice with Kate pulling on his hair the way she was- but he slipped his body off of hers as he went. Lying on his side on the bed again, Rick pressed his long form to her side and kissed her deeply, Kate moaning into his mouth all the pleasure she found in his arms.

Though she was now feeling warm and sleepy, the press of Rick's hips against her thigh let Kate know that his urgency was quickly growing desperate. Despite his obvious need, he made no move whatsoever to seek his own release.

Breaking away from the intense kiss- however difficult that proved to be- Kate commanded him in a low, breathy voice, "Take your pants off."

Rick shook his head, 'no,' and kissed her again.

But she pulled away again and asked, "You're going to make me work around them?"

When Rick nodded his head, 'yes,' Kate rolled her eyes, though she was smiling too.

"Fine. Take off your pants but leave your shorts on," she offered as a compromise.

And Rick finally said, "Okay."

Rick rolled to his back and Kate went with him, pressing her body to his side even as he quickly unzipped his pants, pushed them down as far as he could reach and then kicked the rest of the way out of them. Kate wanted to laugh at the silly spectacle of his frantic kicking, but Rick was left in dark blue, silky looking shorts and the silliness left her when it was no longer possible for him to hide how ready for her he was.

Kate put her hand out to touch the material over his leg and observed, "Soft." Then she ran her hand up his thigh, over his hip to the waistband of his shorts. She intuitively guessed that he insisted upon keeping them on because they gave him one last line of defense between his naked body and hers. Kate also suspected they were an added reminder for Rick that he couldn't actually have what he wanted with her- not yet, anyway.

Kate was touched that Rick was working so hard to honor her wishes regarding their physical relationship. None of her previous boyfriends had worked half this hard to respect her boundaries and Kate suspected that the difference was because none of them had really loved her.

When Kate turned her head to look into Rick's vivid blue eyes, she found him looking down his body. Following his gaze, Kate watched the flash of her ring in the low light as she finally moved her hand to cover the hard length of him.

Idly Kate wondered if he was watching her hand as she stroked him or if he was watching her ring sparkle like she was.

Only seconds later, Rick answered her unspoken question when he informed her- between gasps of pleasure- "We're not officially engaged yet, you know."

To punish him- or maybe just to shut him up- Kate squeezed her hand just a little tighter around him as she stroked him though his shorts.

But Kate should have known better; other than another gasp, Rick's ability to chatter incessantly wasn't affected at all. "No one has asked anyone any questions yet," he reminded her needlessly.

Kate wanted to laugh but at the same time she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she wasn't offended by his insistence they weren't engaged. "You're still not getting my ring back," she informed him, her lips close to his ear.

"You mean my ring. I haven't actually given it to you yet."

Instead of arguing the obvious, Kate put her mouth to the outer curve of his ear and purred, "But look at how pretty my ring is, wrapped so tight around my little finger." Kate squeezed him each time she emphasized one of her words.

"Hey," he retorted, though there was little force behind the reprimand now. "No using the word 'little' when you're doing that."

Kate's hand was still moving on him, wrapped around him as best she could with his shorts still covering him. "What words would you prefer I use?" she asked suggestively.

But Rick only looked at her, asking without speaking, 'Are you really asking me that inane question?'

With his eyes now on her face, Kate gave him a pouty look and she asked, "You're not really going to take my ring away from me, are you?"

Rick sighed, playing along though he could see the joy in Kate's eyes. "No, I guess not. It looks pretty perfect right where it is."

Kate smiled and leaned over to kiss him, invading his mouth at the same time her hand finally pushed beneath his clothes to touch him. It was her way of thanking him- rewarding him- for letting her have her way.

There were too many different things going on for Rick to fight for dominance of this kiss, so he just lay back and let Kate control him, following her lead with her kisses and her touches. He was already so close to release that when Kate finally broke their kiss and moved down his body to take his erection into her mouth, Rick had to make a conscious effort not to break then and there. With her body between his legs, Kate touched him with both hands as she worked him with her mouth.

Too soon, Rick was warning her, "I'm close, Katie."

As her reply, Kate drew him deep into her mouth to draw from him his release, moaning along with Rick as he broke.

A/N: Sorry I took so long to get this posted. I'm okay! (someone asked… but yes, I'm well). I just got a bad review (one bad review) on another story and it totally rattled my already minimal self-confidence in my writing so I have been decidedly uninspired to post this summer. I hate that I let it get to me, but on the flip side, the good reviews just make my day that much better. I'm not trying to discourage reviews of any kinds, I'm just saying that I'm sorry that all of my writing was affected by one needlessly upsetting comment. I'm sorry and I'll try to get better! If you can believe it, I've already improved some since I started posting on FanFiction. I've been writing my whole life, but until I started posting here just over a year ago, I never let anyone read anything I've written. Hopefully, I'll continue to gain some confidence.

The next chapter has been started for this so hopefully it won't take me so long to post. I'm just not sure if I want to bring Alexis into the story or not, you know, talking about her dad getting married again and what-not. If y'all would like to see some Alexis moments, please let me know? If not, I can just finish this story up with the after-the-wedding scene… :-D