In The Hamptons
Disclaimer: Still the rightful property of the brilliant A.W. Marlowe.
Chapter 10
The drive into East Hampton gave them just enough time for their stomachs to stop feeling quite so stuffed from dinner. Kate couldn't help but notice that the Ferrari was far less out of place here, among BMWs, Miatas, and more than a few Italian imports. And suddenly she wasn't quite so sure about this, especially when she caught sight of a group of people with cameras who were obviously not tourists.
"Castle, there are paparazzi here," she half-whispered, half-squeaked.
"It's the start of the season, Kate. There are probably dozens of major celebrities in town — but don't worry," he added reassuringly, "I'm definitely not one of them. These guys have their eyes out for people with last names like Hilton and Trump. Castle isn't even on their radar."
"But you've been in the paper before, several times as I recall."
"Yeah, thanks to my publicist's best efforts to sell books. Besides," he said, leaning in and whispering in her ear, "there's a big difference between the attention you draw when you show up on a red carpet with models trained to attract eyes and when you're out on a romantic date with the woman you love."
His words sent a shiver through her body, but as he predicted, not a flash went off as they walked toward the entrance to the club, despite the stunning sight they made. Out here, they just blended in.
"You sure you're okay with the 'club scene'?"
"It's not my usual night out, especially given the locale, but I'm in an adventurous mood."
"Oh yeah?" he practically growled, as his hand slipped under the loose edge of the open back of her dress to curl around her waist, drawing her closer when he felt her sharp intake of breath.
"As long as we're not the oldest people in here," she said on a rush of arousal and a glance his way.
"Not likely," he said with a laugh. "A few blocks over, we might be competing with Alexis' crowd, but this place is known for slightly more 'sophisticated' clientele."
"Then how do you manage to get in?" she shot back with a devilish grin that turned almost molten when she felt his hand slide up, deliciously close to the side of her breast.
"Very funny."
"I thought so," she managed to choke out in a calm voice that belied her actual state.
As they approached the crowded entrance, his hand retreated to a more respectable place on her back, much to her mixed relief and disappointment. Inside, the music was loud, the lights glaring, and the press of bodies unavoidable. It was a microcosm of pure energy, and Kate felt it begin to seep into her system like a drug. Her body became loose and relaxed, her worries and inhibitions punched their timecards and went home for the evening, and every nerve ending took the opportunity to stand at attention and absorb as much sensation as possible.
This time, when she slithered up against Castle, it wasn't a ruse to tell him to scope out a suspect, and when she turned her back to him, he didn't have to content himself with simply staring at the tight curves of her hips and behind. Instead, he reached his hands out and drew her against him, clueing her in to the affect she has having on his body. She turned back around to face him, again pressing her body flush against his, and swayed to the low beat of the music while his hands skimmed her bare back.
Castle, ever the voyeur, could do little more than watch the transformation before him. He knew she possessed the potential to lose herself in her environment —he'd just so rarely had the opportunity to see it actually happen. At work, sure, he'd seen her slip into a zone at a crime scene or become almost trancelike in front of a murder board, but to see her relax in a dance club without a suspect to fool was unprecedented. In the last few weeks, he found himself time and again marveling at the prolonged exposure he now had to a Kate Beckett who was not perpetually stressed, sarcastic, and hiding behind a wall of fears and insecurity.
It was a side of her he was determined to see far more of — especially when he got to see it scantily encased in black silk.
His hand rode low on her hip, feeling the warm skin flush with energy and excitement. "How about a drink?"
She nodded and swayed against him as they wove their way through the throng of people. Pressed possessively to his side, she gave herself over completely to the anonymity and the freedom of feeling the pulse of the music thrum through her veins. She was unencumbered by anything except the love of a man she could legally torture for the next few hours as she rubbed against him under the thin guise of dancing. Her entire existence was reduced to one room and one man whose every look made her heart leap and blood run fast and hot – and she didn't have to pretend otherwise. She could give into it, embrace it, and openly return the favor. Nothing else in her life mattered except the feeling of a hundred mounting sensations coursing through her. It was escapism at its very best, and Kate was committed to prolonging every delicious second of it.