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North Star


Katherine Beckett is the city's most influential women's self help journalist. What happens when she becomes more involved in her next story than she initially intended? A Caskett AU story based on "How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days" for the 2015 Castle Summer Ficathon


Chapter 9

Kate stood up and stalked into her kitchen. Coffee - that was why he was here in her apartment in the first place. They were here to talk over coffee, but now alcohol seemed like a more appropriate choice.

"So this whole thing has been some sort of joke to you?" she asked, calling over her shoulder before jumping back when she found him standing closer than she had thought. Leaning against the kitchen counter, he scoffed and rolled his eyes at her question.

"Wow. That's rich, Kate. Hi, Pot. Meet Kettle."

"That's why – that's why you never broke up with me this entire time?" Realization washed over her mind, it all made sense now. "Throughout it all, you stayed because of a bet," she spat, hurt and betrayal clouding her vision.

"What about you, Beckett," he sneered, backing her against the stove causing the dials to dig into her back as the heat from his presence flushed her skin. "Why the act? One minute you're every man's dream, sexy and confident, and the next you're a caricature of someone that belongs in an asylum."

"It was all for a story." The words stuttered from her lips as her heart pounded in her chest, entirely too aware of the slow press of his body crowding her further into the appliance.

"A story? Didn't I answer enough with our first interview?"

"Not that sort of story, Castle," she huffed, meeting his eye, willing confidence back into her voice. His confession may have surprised her, but she wouldn't let that stop her from holding her own. "Showing women that their behavior could be the reason they're single…How to get a guy to break up with you…"

"Only I never broke up with you." His mouth stretched into a self satisfied grin as she felt his breath tickling her cheek. A small shiver ran down her spine, the movement enough that Castle took notice, causing a rich chuckle to wash over the shell of her ear.

Smug bastard.

"Because of your bet," she shot, shoving him back - without any real force. His eyes turned dark with arousal, staring down at her and in that moment, she knew she was about to do something stupid. Castle slid back, slinking his arms around her waist as she ran her hands over his shoulders before practically clawing at his neck.

"Exactly. Just the bet," he whispered, his lips almost brushing against hers as he spoke.

"Screw your bet." Her voice was nearly a growl to close the space, slamming her mouth onto his as she combed through his hair to pull him down.

"Screw your story." The words were hot gasps searing her delicate skin, while his fingers toyed with the fabric of her shirt before traveling past her hips down the back of her toned thighs.

She allowed it to happen, her body moving faster than her mind as her hands and lips touched and teased on their own volition. All she could do was feel the scorching heat of his mouth against her skin and realize that she needed more. They had confessed their sins and yet, they were still here, wrapping themselves up in the web they'd weaved.

"Bed. Now."

"Or…"

"We'll end up on the kitchen floor and that's far less comfortable."

That was one way to solve an argument.


They had barely made it onto her mattress, but it had been worth the wait. All the anger and irritation had transformed into a round of heat and passion. Well three rounds to be exact... She smiled at the memory of his hands and lips setting her skin ablaze.

"One thing's for sure, you definitely didn't seem to be acting then," he chuckled, as she nuzzled closer against the broad span of his chest.

"Not acting at all," she giggled, her mouth stretching into a wide grin before smearing open mouth kisses along his skin.

"Didn't think so. You're not that good of an actress." Kate's head shot up and he smirked as glared up at him.

Such an ass.

"I'm good enough to fool you."

"Fool me? Hardly. I was on to you," he defended, reaching up to bring her down for a slow, lazy kiss. He was trying to distract her, but it wouldn't work.

"Didn't seem like it," she argued, her nose brushing against his as she leaned back down to claim him.

"Oh, but I was…" he mumbled with the kiss. So apparently sex was out of the question right now. It was just as well, they needed to have a real conversation about the mess that had been their faux relationship.

"When did you figure it out?" She propped herself up with her elbow, tracing her fingertips along his jaw line.

"The movie was a red flag. Your face had a cute little flush of embarrassment to it," he teased.

"It did not!" She felt heat warming her cheeks again, thinking back to that evening. At least he had been suspicious and hadn't thought she normally acted that absurd.

"You enjoyed that?"

"Well no. You're right. That was humiliating." Kate took a deep breath and leaned forward to hide her face, burrowing between the pillow and his shoulder.

"So why was this article worth all of the trouble?" Castle ran his hand through the tangled curls of her long strands. When she didn't move, he nudged her back onto the sheets so she was facing him. "After what we just did, I don't think it's because you wanted to torture me…"

"Well maybe not torture," she said, with a wink. He arched his eyebrow in question. Maybe later she could show him her set of handcuffs that she received once as a gag gift. She wouldn't mind having him cuffed to her bed for a little while…

"The article?" he asked, snapping her out of her daydream. She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. He wasn't letting this go.

"It's complicated…" Meeting his gaze, she offered him a small smile and carded her fingers through his hair that decorated his forehead.

"I can handle complicated."

She nodded, considering his words, but even if he could handle it, what if she couldn't handle him knowing the truth? "What about you? Why was the bet so important?"

"You're avoiding my question, but to answer yours—the bet wasn't important. You were."

Damn. How could he do that? How could he make her feel at ease even when her mind was a jumbled mess?

"Even when I was acting like a train wreck?"

"That's the point. You were acting like a train wreck, you weren't actually one. Those glimmers of who you really are, the pieces that you allowed me to see... You're beautiful, Kate."

Always the writer, he was such a sap. It didn't matter. His words shot straight to her heart causing her pulse to thrum and her mouth stretch wide into a grin.

"You're not so bad yourself, Castle."

Leaning forward to pull him into her for a kiss, she played with the fine hairs at the base of his neck as she swallowed back a soft moan. Castle's touch feathered down her arms, before he paused to lightly squeeze her bicep and ease her back.

"We need to—"

"Talk. Right," she huffed, rolling over and rubbing the heels of her hands onto her eyelids. This was going nowhere fast. "Castle, it's about my mom."

"What is?"

"The article. Why I was so dedicated to it…" The words spilled from her mouth, frantic and uncertain. She hadn't known him for long and she kept her personal life closely guarded around her heart, but right now, in this moment, he made her feel safe, protected. "If I went through with this article, I was cleared to write an article that could potentially expose the conspiracy related to her murder."

"Kate…I had no idea…"

"It's fine," she whispered, forcing a smile and blinking back the tears that typically would form when her mother's murder was mentioned.

"No, it's not."

"You're right." She nodded, chewing down on the inside of her cheek. "It's not, but I've learned to live with it. I just- I'm sorry, Castle. I hurt you all because of this drive inside me to uncover the truth."

"Hey, don't apologize. Not over something as important as your family. My humiliation pales in comparison."

"Your humiliation?" She choked out a laugh, moving up to sit up. "Pretty sure I was the one humiliating myself…"

"At least you're cute while you're doing it." Castle's hand slid under the covers, tickled her waist, and drew her back toward him.

"Past tense," she said as she shook her head. "I'm done. I'm not going through with the article."

"You have to." He shot up, propping himself against the headboard and bringing her into his lap to face him.

"No. I'll find another way to get justice for my mom."

"I could talk to my friends at the Twelfth Precinct. Maybe they could do something with your research?"

"I-I don't know about that…"

"I'd trust Ryan and Esposito with my life. They're good people." He pulled her into his arms further, wrapped her up in the strength of his embrace, pressed against the warmth of his chest. This was what she needed. She couldn't think about her mom anymore. She couldn't even think about what would happen to her career when she finally told Gates that she wasn't going to finish the piece. Right now, all she wanted to do was relish in the fact that the lies were exposed.

"I'll think about it. In the meantime, looks like you won your bet."

"I'm forfeiting." His breath washing over the top of her head as his hands ran down the notches of her spine. It was hypnotic.

The way he touched her, it was like he had known her for years. Knowing exactly the places to massage or tease, he was magic. "So this is real? No more games?" she asked, with a sigh, her body relaxed against his.

"No more games. It's just a shame that you went through all that work and you're not even going to write the article," he mused. Wiggling from his arms, she leaned up, bracketing his hips with her thighs, rocking forward to pull a groan from his lips.

"It's a shame that you killed our love fern, but life goes on," she teased, moving forward to run her lips along the stubble on his jaw. She was done talking.

"Where in the world did you even get the idea for that?" His question was breathless, as her tongue and teeth continued their path, moving down his body. She giggled against his skin. His eyes widened at her as he watched her disappear under the covers, moaning when she reached her destination.

"Saw it in a movie once," she husked, her breath washing between his thighs.

They were definitely done talking.


tbc

Thank you so much for reading! Words cannot express how much I love the outpouring of support I've received with this story. xoxo. I love every single message. Thank you!

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Special thanks to my beta squad. You girls are fabulous.