A/N: This is another mostly smut chapter, with a little exposition thrown in. Lots of talking, lots of… not… talking… :-D Again, read at your own discretion. The next chapter will have a little more drama I think.
With a happy sigh, Kate kissed his neck and settled her body more comfortable on his. But when Rick moved his hands up to stroke her back, she jerked violently away from the cold touch of the metal cuffs still binding his wrists. Rick groaned almost painfully when her body moved on his, disturbing their connection and creating friction on overly sensitized flesh.
"Sorry," they both said at the same time and then smiled at each other.
When Kate heard the sound of straining metal, she snapped, "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying... to take..." he said, his voice straining each time he tried to pull the cuffs apart.
"Stop it!" Kate snapped in alarm. "Those are my favorite handcuffs!"
Rick froze in surprise and after a long silence, he asked in disbelief, "You have a 'favorite pair of handcuffs'?"
"Yes," she bit out angrily. "And you're currently trying to destroy mine." She began moving out of the circle of his arms to retrieve the key and Rick suddenly felt cold without her warmth.
As she turned back to unlock the cuffs, Rick asked, "What kind of person has a favorite pair of handcuffs?"
"A cop," she replied tersely, pointing out the obvious. "As a writer, you have a favorite pen, don't you? If you were a teacher you'd probably have a favorite... ruler," she added, shrugging dismissively.
"I can see the logic there, but somehow, having a favorite pair of handcuffs just seems... naughty." Chuckling, and now free of his restraints, Rick rubbed at his wrists as he asked. "So what makes these worthy of being called your favorite pair of handcuffs?"
"They go on nice and easy and they never stick," Kate said dismissively. She fiddled with the cuffs to check out the damage, testing the locking mechanism. She frowned, and then complained, "Well, they never used to stick."
Rick laughed softly at her annoyed face and then took the cuffs from her hands, dropping them off the side of the bed. They made a loud clatter when they landed on the hard wood floor. He moved to take her hands and pull her closer, but Kate resisted when she finally noticed his wrists.
"You're bleeding!" She observed in alarm.
"Not for long," he said dismissively. He pulled on her again, but she didn't move closer, just kept looking at his wrists in concern. So he gave up- for the moment- and told her, "Watch." He held his hands closer to her gaze and Kate watched in fascination as the bruises and abrasions caused by the cuffs rapidly healed before her eyes. In mere minutes, what had once been a seeping wound was barely more than a pinkish scar. Another few seconds and the scar became so pale it blended in perfectly with his skin until Kate couldn't even tell if a scar remained. And not even a drop of his blood was visible anymore.
"That is so cool," Kate breathed in awe. "Do it again."
"I'm not gonna hurt myself just so you can watch it heal!" He said in a tone that made her think he was laughing at her on the inside. "Besides, it makes me thirsty faster, when my body has to heal itself like that."
"Oh," she said simply, then moved to lay on his chest. When she was all settled again, her head tucked under his chin, she wondered aloud, "Are you thirsty now?"
"Hmm," he murmured, and Kate heard the sound rumble through his chest. His hands moved up to gently brush his fingertips up and down her back, careful not to pull on the ties still criss-crossing there. "Yes and no."
"You know you're going to have to explain that comment, Ricky. So get to it." She shivered in pleasure at the feel of his hands gently brushing over her skin.
She called me Ricky, he thought happily.
Yes she did, Kate replied silently, somehow having heard his thought. She wondered briefly what kind of freaky psychic connection they now shared, and then felt Rick's body move when he laughed quietly, almost as if he'd heard that last thought too. Now get to explaining, she added impatiently.
"I fed a few hours ago, but those young, hot bodies at the club were making me thirsty again. You know, like when you've just eaten a light lunch and suddenly get hungry again anyway when you smell your favorite food?"
Hot bodies? Kate frowned.
Kate could hear the smile in his voice when he clarified, "Temperature hot, not hot-hot. I've been drinking blood that's cold or room temperature and it's okay, but the scent of warm blood is so much more appetizing."
Sighing in mild annoyance nonetheless, Kate said nothing until she felt Rick's fingertips curl beneath the sides of her shirt. "Don't you dare rip this shirt, Castle. I like this shirt."
"Shirt?" He scoffed. "It's more like an apron. Or a red band aide. Besides, you keep ripping my shirts. It's decidedly unfair that you won't let me rip one of yours."
"Shut up, Ricky," she teased, smiling. "You like this shirt too."
Rick grunted, neither as confirmation nor argument, just a mildly annoyed sound. "I like that it shows you off, but I don't like that the rest of New York can see you too."
"The rest of New York?" She asked dubiously. When he didn't answer, just scowled at the ceiling- she assumed, since she didn't lift her own head to look- she tried to mollify him. "Well, the rest of New York may have been able to see, but none of them would have been allowed to touch. That privilege is yours alone." She turned her head to his chest to press a kiss on his collarbone and then settled again.
He sighed in resignation, but Kate knew he was pleased by her attempts to mollify him. His hands kept moving over her back and when they snagged on one of the ties, Castle sighed again, this time in annoyance. "You're wearing too many clothes," he complained petulantly.
Kate secretly smiled and complained right back, "Well, I've been waiting for you to undress me. Properly."
"Well, why didn't you say something?" He asked, continuing their 'annoyed' game. "What am I supposed to do, read your mind?" He had used the colloquialism thoughtlessly, but when they realized what he'd just said, both of them laughed.
Rick moved his hands to Kate's ribs and pushed, moving her so that she was sitting up over him. Then he took the hem of her top and pulled it over her head, tossing the glittering red scrap to the floor. And then he frowned at her chest. She appeared to be wearing a bra but it was much too thin, there were no straps visible and it appeared as though the cups were adhered to her skin. Rick reached up to touch them, by palming her breasts in both of his hands. "What are these?" He asked.
Kate laughed. "They're breasts, Ricky. And you appear to know what to do with them, so I'm surprised you don't know what they're called."
Rick shook his head, amused. "You know what I meant," he accused. "What are these?" He asked pointedly, as he attempted to pull on a corner of the sticker covering her breasts.
But Kate sucked in a breath of pain between her teeth and flinched away from his touch when he pinched a bit of skin along with the adhesive cloth. "Careful," she warned.
"I'm sorry." He put his palm flat on her again, soothing her pinched skin with his thumb. "Why would you even wear these?"
"I was going out tonight, and I wanted to look hot, but I wasn't going to have the girls moving all over the place. Plus, I was upset, but I'm not the kind of woman who would bring home a strange man because she was angry with the one she actually wanted. So I wore the inconvenient sticky bra."
"No man beside myself is allowed to touch you," Rick practically growled. "You belong to me. Forever."
Kate glared at him skeptically for a long moment, eventually causing Rick to glare back.
"You are mine," he informed her, growling. "And any man who touches you will die. Slowly." Kate laughed, preferring to take his threat as over exaggeration rather than believe he'd actually kill a man for touching her. Though, in her line of work, she should probably know better...
Rick had lightened up a bit, but Kate could still feel the intensity as he took her hips in his hands and squeezed. "Say it," he commanded her. "Admit that you're mine."
Kate cocked an eyebrow at him, not particularly happy about being told- no commanded- what to do. "I'll admit it once you admit that you're mine."
Rick looked surprised. Hadn't he already told her a hundred times that his heart, his life, belonged to her? "Of course. How could you question that?"
"You haven't said it," she accused him.
"I have-" he snapped in denial, but cut off. He thought back over their time together, and realized he'd never actually said the words. "Huh," he grunted. "I guess I haven't." Rick let go of her hips, took her hands and pulled. When she was laying flat on top of him, he rolled, hovering over her and moved his hands to frame her face. He gently brushed her hair back and caressed her skin with his fingertips. "I belong to you." He moved to kiss her jawbone, right below her ear. "My life is yours," he added quietly, brushing a second kiss across her cheekbone. "And my heart beats for only you." Rick pulled back then, troubled, as he looked down at her. "As long as you can stand sharing me with my daughter."
Kate glared up at him, making him increasingly nervous. "I won't share you with anyone… else," she added the last impishly, finally smiling up at him. She knew he wasn't as unattached as he liked to appear to the public; his life revolved around his daughter and if Kate wanted to be a part of that, her life would necessarily include Alexis as well. But Kate was definitely okay with that. After spending the last few evenings with her, Kate knew that she would grow to love the girl as much as her father did.
Rick moved to kiss her lips then and Kate continued to smile against his mouth before returning the kiss enthusiastically. They finally got around to removing the rest of their clothes as the kiss intensified. The whole possessive thing didn't seem to bother her as much when Rick at least acknowledged that it went both ways; she belonged to him just as much as he was hers.
Rick's hand was just creeping up her ribs, her breath coming faster and heavier, when his fingertips found the adhesive bra again. For a moment, he didn't let it bother him, just treated it as through it were an actual bra, groping her through it. But he finally pulled away and looked down at her hesitantly.
"I want to try something," he finally began, hesitant. "But it would require just a little bit of mind control."
"What?" She asked, hesitating also. It wasn't that she didn't trust Rick- she did, with her life- but the way he was acting set her one edge. Hell, even if he did use mind control on her while they were in bed together, she thought she'd enjoy it just as much as he did. Though, it definitely eased some of her worry that he was asking before he just invaded her mind.
"I want to help you take these off," he explained, drawing one finger around the curve of the sticker covering her breast. "And I want to see if I can do it without letting you feel any of the pain."
"Oh," Kate said, relieved. "Of course! Please try."
Rick smiled wickedly at her- a joyful expression- and he took her hands, stretching them above her head and displaying her chest for his uninterrupted perusal. His hands skimmed back down her arms, but he sent the suggestion to her mind that she was to keep her hands where he left them. And Kate couldn't have moved them then, even if she'd wanted to.
He kissed her mouth, a slow kiss that began gently but quickly intensified until Kate thought they'd start a fire. With all their clothes gone now, it was easy for Kate to wrap one long leg around his waist to hold his body close.
Meanwhile, Rick's hands traveled down her ribs to her hip, then down her thigh. She was so soft and small and warm, Rick found it difficult to believe she could possibly defend herself, let alone take down a guy twice her size. But he had seen her do it, he knew she was strong enough, and Rick loved that strength. He thought he could feel some of Kate's strength as her muscles flexed and tensed under his touch.
His hand finally moved back up her body and directly to her breast. As he gently squeezed her and brushed his thumb over the peak, he spoke directly to her mind. Feel no pain, he told her intently. Feel no pain. Feel only pleasure.
Kate broke away from his mouth to gasp, "Yes." It was strange for her, but that near constant tension in her shoulders that she'd been carrying for years how relaxed and she felt that small pain no more. Castle kept repeating his two phrases to her mind, as he continued to manually manipulate her body, bringing only the pleasure she felt to the center stage of her mind. Everything else drifted away, behind the scenes and she was soon gasping, panting and moaning in pleasure.
"I love all the little sounds you make, Katie," Rick told her as he took hold of one sticker and began to pull. Instead of the usual sting when the adhesive unwillingly relinquished its hold on her skin, Kate felt... Well, it felt like Rick's tongue, rasping over her skin, warm and gentle and arousing. So as a means of thanking Castle for taking the pain and giving only pleasure, Kate allowed her sounds of pleasure to reach a volume she rarely allowed herself. Her enthusiastic noises she usually reigned in considerably because she was afraid men wouldn't like it; her first boyfriend had complained, so forever afterward she was self conscious. But Rick seemed to love the way she voiced her satisfaction, so for him, she let go of her inhibitions.
Rick buried his face in her neck, kissing below her ear. "You have no idea how sexy it is when you lose control like that. And it's very gratifying to know I caused you to lose control."
She wanted to make a smart aleck retort, but her brain wouldn't focus. And when Rick gently began to remove the other sticker, Kate forgot she'd even intended to speak.
Instead of replacing one sensation for another, this time Rick sent her his own feelings. He showed her what it felt like for him when he cupped her breast in his palm. He let her feel his own body's reaction to her when she began gasping under his touch. And when the peak pebbled under his hand, just calling for his attention, he sent to Kate how much it turned him on to take her into his mouth.
For Kate it was a little bizarre to be able to feel what a man feels when he's touching a woman. In some ways, it was very different from what she felt as a woman, how his body hardened instead of getting wet, but it was similar too. It seemed that all the same things turned both of them on, and the sensations were very comparable. The ache that they both felt for the other was definitely the same, even though they ached for the opposite things; being filled by him, as opposed to filling her.
With their minds connected as they were, Kate knew the three things he desperately wanted at that moment. First and foremost he wanted to make Kate feel good, and it was a very gratifying observation for her. More than his own pleasure, more than taking what he wanted from Kate- who was offering willingly- Rick wanted to give to her and make her feel as good as she always made him feel.
The second thing he wanted, of course, was his own pleasure. He wanted to be buried inside Kate's body, allowing the hot, slippery friction of her center to bring his release. But he wanted Kate to be ready first, so he teased her, kissing all of her neck, face and shoulders he could reach. His hands traversed her body- the sticky bra long gone- and they never ceased as he explored every inch of her. Though she touched him too, she could feel how much he still wanted her. So she reached between their bodies and took hold of him, placing him against her and sending strong mental hints that she wanted him to take her now. At the same time she felt the pleasure of his body filling her, she felt his sensations; what it felt like for him to have her hot, tight body sliding over and squeezing him. Feeling their pleasure doubled as it was, they both nearly lost control right then. But Kate could still feel Castle's third desire, burning just below the surface of his mind where he tried to keep it hidden from Kate. Still, she knew.
The third thing Castle wanted was the taste of her blood. He wanted to penetrate her skin as he penetrated her body and take just a little bit of her into himself. He tried not to, but he recalled the taste of her from when he'd bitten her before. He tried to keep that memory away from Kate, as well as his cravings that were intensifying the longer he stayed wrapped up in her body, afraid that he'd scare her. He would do anything to keep pain from touching his Kate.
No matter that he tried to hide the craving from her, Kate still felt what he Rick was feeling, how he longed for the taste of her on his tongue, her blood filling her body. Instead of scaring her, Kate wanted to know what it was like.
Knowing that she would feel none of the pain at that moment made Kate feel bold. Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, Kate pulled him close, turned her head to expose her neck and sent Rick images of what she wanted him to do.
Rick pushed away from her though, staring down at her in surprise.
I don't want to hurt you, he thought.
You won't, she assured.
Rick shook his head, floored.
But Kate turned her head again and urged him closer. I want you to, she told him and then found his memory of the taste of her blood. She concentrated on that thought and Castle was no longer able to resist.
Rick began to move his body over hers, pressing into her and pulling back out in a slow sensuous dance, as he leaned his head down to her neck. Kate tensed for a split second but Rick only kissed her pulse point gently. When he ran his tongue along her skin, Kate shivered in pleasure. His hands moved to cover her breasts as he licked her neck again and this time, Kate moaned.
Feel no pain, Rick commanded her mind unnecessarily. He knew what he was going to do would normally cause pain, so he was overcompensating by telling her mind just a little too often not to feel pain.
Rick opened his mouth over her skin and sucked gently at her pulse point. He heart beat loud and strong under his tongue and Rick was intoxicated.
Feel no pain, he repeated one more time. And finally, slowly, he applied his teeth to her skin. The sharp canines scraped over her and Kate shivered violently in pleasure. She began moving her hips faster under his, moaning when his teeth finally broke the seal of her skin. And again, Rick sent his own sensations to Kate's mind, so that when her blood touched his tongue, Kate's gasps and moans filled the room. Rick groaned against her neck, moving over her faster until he finally had to break away from her, his breath coming too fast to be contained.
The sensations were all too much for Kate. Not only did she feel the usual- her own pleasure, though it was more intense, more emotionally charged than anything she'd ever experienced before- but she could feel Rick's reaction to the taste of her blood and that was incredible too. Added to all of that, she felt Rick's physical sensations. She felt what he felt, the mind blowing pleasure of moving inside her body and how much he loved her. There were too many sensations and they were all so intense. Kate's release, coupled with his, was so violent, she may have screamed but she wasn't too sure about that and before she could really question it, her vision was swimming. A dark wave of bliss rolled over her, turning her vision black and stealing her consciousness. The last thing she registered in her muddled brain was the weight of Rick's body collapsing on top of her, as limp as she felt.
A/N: So, I was going to just let this story die, because it seemed like I was the only one even interested in it. But I got one review that gave me the motivation I needed to keep working. So, for Minal, I'm actually posting this. Thank you for your support of this story. I know it's not at all what people expect when they look for Castle Fan Fics, but I'm glad you stuck with me on this one. It was too interesting for me not to write it and I knew I wouldn't finish it if I didn't post it.
I know I don't mention too often how much I love and appreciate reviews, but truly I do! I like knowing what readers are thinking, especially when you tell me how much you like my stories! But criticism is helpful too! Plus, reviews really do keep me motivated. :-D Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!