Please note: the rating is increased for this chapter.
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all across the hours 9/24
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April 1st 2029, 8.01am
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One final press of his lips against the still quivering skin of her inner thigh and Rick crawls up the mattress. He drops a kiss against the column of her throat and feels the skip of her heart, the flutter of her breath – it amazes him, the way she still reacts to him, still responds to his touch.
He aligns the length of his body with hers and Kate arches into him, her chest flush against his, hips and legs and arms, wrapped up in him, in every way possible. She pulls him down for a fierce, breathless kiss.
He's still mostly clothed, but he can feel the heat of her through his thin cotton shorts.
Kate moans softly into his mouth as his hips rock into the cradle of hers.
Nails scratch lightly along his back as she guides his shirt up and he has to break their kiss to help her pull it over his head.
"I love you," he tells her, because he does and it's his birthday and he feels, maybe, like being a little bit tender.
Kate raises her head – for a kiss, he thinks – but she uses the fingers tangled in his hair to turn his face away.
With her lips so close they brush the shell of his ear, she says, "Don't get soft on me now, old man."
Rick's head snaps up. He catches the impish grin on her face and he can't help the chuckle that escapes, swept away with joy and desire and a flood of stupid, giddy love.
"What are you trying to say, Detective?"
Her eyes are alight. He loves it.
"Are you happy to see me or is that just a notepad in your pocket, Castle?"
"I resent the very insinuation," he says, punctuating his sentence with a devilish swirl of his hips against hers. She does kiss him then, rough and hungry and smiling and that's okay, his heart wasn't terribly set on tender anyway.
Kate arches against him, liquid and fire, all long limbs and soft curves in a delicious slide of skin on skin. Rick's all but lost to the sensation of her against him. He still feels the slide of her calf as she wraps her leg around his. He knows what's coming before the room spins when she flips them. He doesn't bother to fight it – if he's going to be perfectly honest, he likes her on top anyway.
A groan escapes his lips when her weight settles over him. Hot and perfect and – fuck – she's just where he wants her, except not, not exactly, but he's enjoying the slow roll of her hips too much to rush her.
She kisses him, long and slow and intoxicating. Her hands burn against his skin as they slide along his ribs. Clever fingers slip into his boxers and then she's following the path with her lips, breasts lightly brushing his skin as she goes.
"Up," she commands, teeth scraping over his hip, and he arches his back to help her tug off his shorts.
And then – God.
Her hand finds him.
Her mouth.
A curse escapes his lips at the slow drag of her tongue.
His blood spreads desire through his veins with every pound of his heart until his fingers are itching to touch her.
He's reaching for her when he hears it – the clatter of cutlery against hardwood floors.
An unsure, "Dad?"
A shocked, "Mom?"
And then Kate is scrambling, searching for their sheets before he can even register the sight of his youngest daughter standing in their bedroom doorway, her older brother directly behind her. Twin expressions of shock paint their faces.
Oh God.
Kate throws a blanket at his chest.
Still in shock, Rick drapes it over his waist.
"What are you guys doing home?" his wife asks, her voice strained in an attempt to sound natural.
"B-breakfast," Sarah stutters.
Sam looks like he's going to throw up as he nods and adds, "In bed."
Rick looks down. Sure enough, there's a tray of food at his daughter's feet.
They keep talking – rambling, really – but all he can think is that his mother is supposed to have the kids which means –
Ah, shit.
– Never one to miss her cue, Martha bursts into the room and runs straight into his teenage son's back.
"Why are you two stan– Oh." Martha slaps her hands over the children's eyes. "Oh my."
"We'll just-" His mother backs out of the room, pulling the children with her. "You two can- uh, dress."
He's going to die, any minute now, the ground will open up and swallow him whole – the universe owes him as much after that.
But he doesn't.
Rick's still staring when he feels Kate's hand on his shoulder. "Did that just happen?"
"I think it did."
"Oh, God." She looks mortified.
He feels it.
"I have to say, as far as birthday surprises go, not my favourite."
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a/n: I apologise for the delay in getting this up, things have been crazy this past week. I also want to say thanks again to everyone - especially the guests - who have shared their thoughts, I've loved hearing them. I've even loved being yelled at. :)
