Chapter 26
Castle felt himself being drawn toward consciousness. He rebelled against the irresistible pull wanting to remain in that warm blanket of sleep and that dream. The sweet aroma of cherries caressed his olfactory senses, drawing him further away from the dream he had been enjoying. Such a wonderful dream. An amazing dream. It was the best dream he ever had. The gears in his sluggish, sleep addled mind turned slowly trying to pinpoint that sweet perfume that enveloped him. He knew that perfume, he was sure. Right now he could not quite place it. God he wanted to return to the dream.
He felt something tickling his nose. Something soft. His first instinct was to scrunch his nose. The tickling continued. He tried to swat away whatever it was that was tickling his nose but found his arms were not responding to his brain's command. His legs seemed to be tangled as well.
In his semi conscious state he slowly became aware that his arms seemed to be wrapped around something soft and very warm. His lips slowly curved into a smile as he let his brain try to process that information. His ears picked up the sound of soft and steady breathing.
Slowly he cracked open one eye. In the cold grey light of morning he found that he was in an unfamiliar room. Lowering his gaze he saw that he was curled around someone. He lifted his head off the pillow and opened the other eye. The fog of sleep was blown away completely the very next moment when he saw that he and Kate were spooning. The smile on his face deepened as it all came back to him, why they were in an unfamiliar room and what had happened the night before.
So, it had not been a wonderful dream that he had experienced at all. It had been a fantastic reality. Wow. In his excitement he opened his mouth to let out a cheer. Immediately he clamped his mouth shut stifling the cheer that wanted to be released. He did not want to wake her.
He leaned a little forward and caught sight of Kate's sleeping face. She looked so serene as she slept, the worry lines smoothed out. Her lips were curved into a soft and contented smile. He could not help but marvel at how beautiful she looked as she slept. He felt a little proud of himself knowing that he was the reason for that smile on her face.
Lifting his head a little higher Castle cast a look in the direction of the window. The worst of the blizzard had passed but he could see a few snow flakes dancing past the window. He had no idea what the time was and to be honest he really did not care what it was. The electricity was still out he noted, the lights were still out and the TV remained dark.
Resting his head back on the pillow he buried his head in Kate's hair unable to wipe the smile from his face as he remembered the night before. They might not have had the TV on but they had found something much, much better to keep them entertained.
A motel room in upstate New York in the middle of a blizzard had not been what he had been planning as the venue where they would take the next step in their relationship. He had been thinking about it on and off for a little while. And he certainly he had given it a bit of thought after their last dinner date. He wanted the place to be special, something romantic, something memorable, something spectacular that befitted the name of Castle.
A motel room had never been in his thoughts. He had considered the thought of inviting her up to his house in the Hamptons for a weekend. That place was special, that would have been something romantic, something memorable. Something spectacular that befitted the name of Castle.
Not that he was complaining right now. Well, to paraphrase that old Crosby Stills and Nash song that his mother liked to play years ago when he was a teenager, if you can't be in the place you love, love the place you're in. Castle almost chuckled at the thought. He certainly loved this place now. It may not have been have been as opulent as his house in the Hamptons and it may not have been as romantic as he would have liked but this little motel room in upstate New York would always hold a special place in his memory because of who he had spent the night with and what had happened during the night. And he certainly loved the one he was with.
Castle could not remember the last time he had felt this blissfully happy. The thought surprised him.
Once more he took another deep breath savouring the perfume of her cherry scented hair. He nuzzled his nose against the column of her neck, caressing it gently. He started to trail a row of soft kisses along her bare shoulder. He did not want to wake her but he could not stop himself. His hand moved slowly upwards from her stomach where it had been resting to caress her breasts. He felt Kate stiffen in his arms.
He paused almost as if he was waiting for her to tell him to stop. A heart beat or two passed and nothing from Kate. He resumed kissing her shoulder. He felt her nipple harden at his touch and heard the soft release of breath.
"Castle, leave the girls alone." Kate muttered sleepily.
"Aww, can't they come out to play?" Castle murmured.
"They were up all night, thanks to you."
Castle chuckled. Okay, he would let them rest. He had been up all night and most of the morning playing with girls and all the rest. His hand returned to her stomach but it could not remain still. Slowly he started to stroke her stomach. Kate turned her head to look at him. Castle moved his head and started kissing her jaw.
"Good... morning..." He whispered in between kisses, "...beautiful."
"Morning." Kate whispered, a small smile on her face.
Castle felt her body relax into his as his lips returned to her neck and moved slowly upwards. She turned her head away from him to give him better access to her neck.
"Is it still snowing?" Kate asked in a sleep filled voice.
"A little, yeah." Castle replied.
Castle's lips found that particular spot behind her ear that he discovered the night before and found that she really liked. He could feel her pulse throbbing under his lips and she responded to his kisses.
"Nice." Kate purred.
Castle was not sure if Kate was responding to his answer about the snow or to his lips behind her ear. He suspected it was what he was doing to her neck but either way right now he did not really care.
"Kate."
"Mmm?"
"You were right, I had no idea."
Kate laughed at that remark.
A loud rapping on the front door startled Castle and Kate out of their lazy slumbers. They quickly separated like a pair of amorous teenagers that had been caught by an adult.
"You go answer the door." Castle said hurriedly.
"Me?" Kate hissed in a low voice. "Why me?"
"Well, I'm not wearing anything."
"Do you see me dressed?" Kate retorted.
There was another knock on the door.
"Coming." Kate called out, looking in the direction of the door. She then turned and gave Castle a shove.
"Okay, okay."
Castle grumbled as he slowly got out of the bed leaving its warmth. Instantly he started shivering and quickly looked about. Finding his coat laying on the the floor he bent down and grabbed it and pulled it on, buttoning it up. He was about to start for the door when a burst of giggling had him shooting a look in the direction of the bed. Kate covered her mouth with one hand to suppress the giggles and pointed with her other hand the reason for her amusement.
Castle looked down at himself and realised he was naked from the waist down. He had been about to answer the door half naked. He shook his head as turned about and scrambled to locate his boxers. He found them half draped over the TV. How in the world did they end up on the TV he would never know, he did not think he had thrown them that far last night. He was also surprised to see draped over the TV a pair of purple lace panties.
He quickly pushed aside the thoughts that started to intrude in his head. He grabbed his boxers and jumped into them. He cast a glance in the direction of the bed and found Kate gazing at him, still trying to stop her giggling. Her amused eyes roving slowly up and down the length of his body.
Castle couldn't contain the smile that leaped to his face. She had been ogling him as well as giggling at him. Much to his delight he found that he rather liked that. He walked over to the door. He was about to open it but paused and looked over to the bed.
"Are you decent?" He said, a sly smile appearing on his lips. "No, of course not, not after last night."
Kate shot him a glare before sinking further down in the bed and covering herself with the blanket. Castle chuckled as he turned and pulled open the door.
"Morning Rick." A smiling Jack announced.
The motel owner was dressed in a heavy duty Arctic parker with a thick woollen hat pulled down low. He smiled as his eyes took in the dishevelled look of his guest.
"Ah, morning, Jack." Castle replied.
"I'm just checking in on the guests, making sure everything is alright."
"Well, everything is fine here."
"Okay." Jack nodded with a knowing smile on his face. "Thought you might like some hot coffee."
Jack held up a large themos flask and a cup. Castle gave the motel owner a genuine smile.
"Jack, you're a life saver, man." Castle said as he took the offered gifts.
Castle in the time he had known Kate had seen that she did not function properly without a cup of coffee in the morning. He had seen her crabby disposition on those mornings when she had not had her shot of caffeine and it was not a pleasant sight. He had been on the receiving end of that crabby disposition one or two times and that was something he did not want repeated.
"The power is still out, and we don't know when it will be restored. Power lines must have come down during the storm." Jack informed him. "The worst of the storm has passed though, which is a good thing."
"Yeah. That is good news." Castle said.
Standing in an open doorway with little clothing to ward off the freezing cold that was coming from the outside was making Castle shiver. He tried hard not to show it.
"But the roads are still blocked and could be for at least another day. It all depends on how quickly the snow ploughs can clear the roads."
"I see." Castle nodded.
The prospect of being snowed in for at least another day was looking like a real prospect. Castle was not too perturbed if that was the case. He could think of a lot worse places he could be waiting for the blizzard to pass. And he could think of a lot of worse people that he could be spending the time with. Things were not all that bad, he thought to himself.
"I'm trying to restore the heat and hopefully we'll get it up and running soon."
"We seem to be managing at the moment, Jack." Castle remarked as he glance in the direction of the bed and saw only a pair of intense hazel eyes poking out of the blanket watching him.
"If you need some food, just come over to the office." Jack said, then smiled. "Or you can call, the phones are still working."
"Thank you, Jack, we will."
Castle almost let out a sigh of relief as Jack head off, he started shivering as he closed the door. He turned around and looked in the direction of the bed. Kate quickly rose up in the bed letting the blanket fall from her. She held out her hands for the coffee Castle was holding. His eyes widened as he started at her nakedness, his shivering forgotten. Her dishevelled appearance only added to her beauty. Last night in the darkness, he had used his imagination and the senses other than his eyes to map out her body as he had explored it. In this moment he realised that his imagination could not do her justice. He was mesmerised by the sight of her.
"Castle."
"Huh?"
"Coffee. Now!"
Castle snapped out of his reveries and quickly moved over to the bed. He sat down on Kate's side of the bed. He passed over the cup and quickly unscrewed the top of the thermos and poured the black liquid into Kate's cup.
Despite the cold of the room, Kate ignored it as she brought the cup to her lips and took a big sip of the coffee.
"Ahhh."
Castle could not help but smile on the seeing the look of bliss settle on Kate's face as she savoured the coffee. He poured some coffee into the thermos cup for himself. He set the cup and the thermos on the night stand and then rose from the bed. He looked about the room and then spotted his t-shirt on the floor near the TV. He moved over and gathered up the t-shirt and also his blue button down shirt which also had found its way across the room.
Returning to the bed Castle held out his dress shirt to Kate. She looked up at it and then at Castle with a puzzled expression on her face.
"I don't want you to catch your death." Castle explained. "In case you haven't noticed, it's freezing in here."
Kate had noticed. Her naked body had been shivering but she had ignored it as she concentrated on drinking her coffee. She was a little surprised that he was offering his shirt to her. She had not expected that. She found it a rather sweet gesture. Carefully she placed her coffee on the night stand and reached for his shirt. Quickly she threw it on doing up a couple of the buttons and watched as Castle dumped the coat and pulled on his t-shirt and scurried over to the bed and jumped in.
Kate shot him a glare as he jostled her just as she was reaching for her coffee. He gave her an apologetic look as he tried to get comfortable, shifting closer to her, seeking out her warmth. She did not complain when he wrapped his arms around her and drew her to him. His body soon chased the chill on the outside and the hot coffee warmed her up on the inside.
For a few minutes they stayed silent as they drank their coffee.
"I hope they clear the highway soon." Kate announced, breaking the silence in the room.
"Don't get your hopes up too high. We might have to stay another night." Castle replied.
Kate frowned a little. She did not like hearing that it might be another day before the roads were ploughed. There was a part of her, the cop part that wanted to get back to the city and haul in her suspect and get a confession out him and charge him with murder. The cop in her did not like being stuck out in the backwoods unable to do anything.
The other part of her however, the non cop, was rather enjoying this, sitting in bed in companionable silence nestled in between Castle's legs with his arms wrapped around her as they drank coffee. She had come to terms with what had occurred last night. Every time she thought about it she could not help but smile. I had been better than she thought it would have been. The word that leaped to mind was 'mindblowing'. The fan girl that dwelled inside her was still doing carthwheels.
"So what are we going to do?" Kate asked, trying not to sound too worried.
Castle finished his coffee quickly and set the now empty cup on the night stand. He then reached around and took Kate's empty cup and set it beside his cup.
"Well, I'm sure we can come up with something." He replied.
His hands slowly moved seeking out the buttons of the shirt she wore
"We?"
"Yeah, we." Castle nodded his head.
Kate cocked her head to look at him as she went through the motions of thinking.
"Such as?" she asked.
His fingers had found the first button and swiftly undid it.
"Well, there's no book here, so we can't read." He murmured.
The second button was undone and his hands found her flesh, slowly they moved upwards to gently cupped her breasts.
"And there's no power for the TV."
"No." Castle said. "So we can't watch anything."
"So what can we do?" Kate smiled slyly.
"I wonder?" Castle murmured as his mouth sought out her enticing neck.
The smile on Kate's lips deepened when his lips began to nuzzle on her neck.
"Perhaps we could continue from where we left off?" Kate sighed.
"I like your thinking, Detective." Castle whispered.
Kate liked that idea as well. She liked it a lot. She broke from his embrace and quickly shifted until she was straddling him. Castle could not hide the look of surprise that appeared on his face. He could not believe that Kate could move so fast. The surprised expression was rapidly wiped from his face when she bent down and started kissing him. Resuming where they had left off from the night before.
XXX
Castle felt a weight on his chest and that was what drew him out of his slumbers. He did not know how long he had been asleep, maybe not too long he figured. Opening his eyes he was not surprised to find a pair of hazel eyes gazing at him steadily. Kate had propped her chin on her arms as they rested on his chest.
"Hi." He said softly.
"Hey." Kate smiled. "I did not mean to wake you."
"It's okay."
During their lovemaking the blanket had fallen from her though she had kept on the shirt. He could not help but wonder how her shirt had remained on but then he remembered with a smile that she had been in control during round two. Was it round two? In all honesty he had lost count. This last round he had been more than happy to let take control. Still, a thin cotton shirt did not provide much warmth to ward off the cold. The heating was still out and their room was doing a pretty good impression of a cold storage freezer.
As Castle looked at Kate he wondered how long she had been like that, staring at him. Knowing her, probably too long, he figured. He reached around her and grabbed hold of the blanket and drew it up to her shoulders. He received a small smile of thanks for that little gesture. His arms buried themselves under the blanket and wrapped themselves around her back holding her to him.
Kate regarded him silently, her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip. He could see that she was thinking about something.
"What are you thinking?" he asked her.
"Nothing." Kate said shaking her head.
"Kate."
Kate lifted her head a little but continued to hold his gaze.
"Castle, I'm sorry about snapping at you yesterday." Kate said in a low voice.
"Oh, well, don't worry about it." Castle replied. "I'm sure the marks on my throat will disappear eventually. It just means I can't wear an open shirt, I'll have to wear turtle necks for a little while."
Kate slapped him on the chest. Her eyes looked at his throat to see if she had left any marks on his neck but she could not see anything. Castle laughed.
"I was trying to apologise."
"Too late."
"What do you mean, 'too late'?" A small frown appeared on Kate's forehead.
"I already forgave you for that." He explained.
The frown smoothed out as she smiled gently.
"I really wanted to get back to the city."
"Yeah, I kind of noticed that." Castle said quietly.
Kate looked away and lapsed into silence. Castle waited her out knowing that she would resume speaking soon enough. He was happy to give her all the time she needed.
"It was my Mom's birthday yesterday." Kate confessed finally.
"Oh...and you had promised to be there?"
Kate nodded her head. "We were going out to dinner at Paolo's, Mom, Dad and I."
"I'm sure your mom understands."
"She does but it doesn't make me feel any better about not being there."
"The weather turning bad was one of those things that couldn't be helped."
"Yeah." Kate sighed.
"But I'm sure knowing who you were with last night and still with, would be enough to ease her disappointment of you missing her birthday dinner." Castle suggested.
Kate grinned briefly and then the thoughtful look returned.
"So what did your mother tell you last night that had you shocked and turning the colour of a tomato?"
Castle had been curious last night and that curiosity had returned now. He really wanted to know what her mother had said to her. The writer in him could not help himself. Now was the perfect time to find out. It was not as if they were going anywhere any time soon.
"No, I'm not going to tell you."
Kate dropped her head and allowed her hair to cover face screening from him the blush that was blossoming across her cheeks.
"Kate." Castle whined. "Please tell me."
Slowly Kate raised her head, gnawing her bottom lip. She let out a small sigh.
"If you must know..."
"Oh, I must, I must." Castle said eagerly.
Kate lowered her eyes unable to look at him. She remained silent for a moment.
"She said that I should jump your bones now that I had the opportunity." She whispered, breaking the silence.
"Really?" Castle gasped.
Kate closed her eyes and nodded her head.
Castle could not keep the surprise from his face. He had imagined a few things that Kate's mother might have said to her daughter on the phone that had her blushing. This was not one of those things. It was amusing, very amusing. All of a sudden he could not help the bubble of laughter that rose within him. He started laughing.
"It's not funny, Castle." Kate grumbled.
"No, you're right." He chuckled. "It's very funny."
"Castle."
Kate looked at him and tried to glare but that only made him laugh even more. He hugged her tightly. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.
"Smart woman, your mother." He told her. "I like her."
"Well, she's your biggest cheerleader."
"Yeah." Castle agreed. "Who'd have thought you would be such a dutiful daughter, that you didn't hesitate to obey her?"
Castle let out another burst of laughter. Kate glared back at him but there was no heat in the look. Despite herself a smile rose to her lips as the rumbling of his laughter she felt through his chest had her laughing as well.
"And you are not going to tell her, either." Kate warned.
"You're no fun." Castle said with a mock pout on his face.
It was some minutes before the laughter stopped and silence returned to the room. Once more Castle returned to looking at her. He saw the thoughtful expression had returned to her face.
"What else is bothering you, Kate?"
Kate looked up and then shook her head slowly.
"Come, on Kate, something else is on your mind." He pressed.
"This...us...what happened last night...this morning." Kate told him.
Castle nodded his head in understanding.
"Do you regret what happened?" He ventured cautiously.
Castle found himself holding his breath as he looked at Kate, waiting for her response. Suddenly he was afraid at what she might say. He did not know what he would do if she was regretting what had happened between them. He studied her face intently, hoping to gauge what she was feeling and thinking but all he saw was an unreadable mask. Then he saw the smile slowly blossom across her face, her eyes seemed to light up as well. She gave him an emphatic shake her head. It made his heart swell.
Silently he released the breath he had been holding. Relieved beyond words to see that she had not regretted what they had done. He could not be happier.
"Me neither."
The smile on Kate's lips faltered a little.
"Talk to me, Kate." Castle urged.
"What happens next?" Kate asked.
A slow warm smile spread across his face as he looked at her.
"Oh, I have one or two ideas about what happens next, my dear detective." Castle said in a low voice.
"No, Castle, I don't mean..."
"I know exactly what you mean Kate" Castle said, his smile deepening as his hands tightened their hold around her. "We'll take it one day at a time."
Kate thought over what Castle had just said and slowly nodded her head.
"I'm not ready to publicise this to the rest of the world yet." She whispered.
"So, I can't shout it from the rooftops?" He asked.
"No."
"How about a change of status on my Facebook?"
"Nope."
"A Tweet..?"
"Don't even think of it." Kate narrowed her eyes.
"What about a very carefully worded press release?"
"Castle!"
"Okay, okay." Castle chuckled.
"Good."
"Maybe, our family and close friends, first?"
Kate thought over that suggestion and slowly nodded her head.
"I suppose." She conceded.
"Like I said, we'll take it one day at a time."
Kate nodded her agreement before she gave him a smile and then rested her head on his chest.
Given the choice Castle would have shouted it from the rooftops he was feeling so happy. He was just as happy to keep this change of relationship status quiet as well. Whatever made Kate happy made him happy.
XXX
Castle lay there on the bed his head propped up on a pillow against the headboard with Kate sprawled across his chest. His hand was drawing lazy circles up and down Kate's back.
"Why did you become a cop?"
It had been a question he had wanted to ask her almost from the moment she had taken him back to the precinct from the book launch party but had never gotten around to asking. He saw that now was the perfect opportunity.
Kate lifted her head from Castle's chest and looked at him. There was a soft smile on his lips and in his eyes but she also saw curiosity.
"Why do you want to know?" She said.
"Because I'm interested."
"Stuck for a back story for Nikki Heat?" She countered.
"I'm interested."
And he was interested. He wanted to know everything about her. From the important moments in her life to the embarrassing anecdotes. He had never met a woman like her, someone who exasperated him and challenged him. A woman who did not simper and faun over him because he was a famous author and rich. A woman who smiled or laughed at his jokes and had a comeback to volley back at him. A woman who entertained his more outlandish theories with indulgent amusement before she squashed them with a gentle smile. A woman who knew when to let him go and when to pull him up. A woman who was simply amazing in bed. He definitely wanted to know everything about this fascinating woman.
Kate slowly shifted herself off his chest rolling onto her side. She nestled beside him, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. She remained silent as she thought about what she would tell him.
"I would bet good money that becoming a cop was never on top of your list of things you wanted to become when you left school." Castle added in a low voice when her silence was drawn out.
"It was not even on my list." Kate informed him.
"I thought so."
"Remember that night when I was interviewing you in the interrogation room?" Kate said.
"Me flirting with you? How could I forget?"
Kate could feel the rumble of his laugh through his chest.
"You were being an ass." Kate retorted.
"You wound me, Detective."
"Do you want to hear my answer or not, Castle?"
"Right, go ahead." Castle said contritely.
Kate regarded him carefully half expecting that he would say something else. When he remained silent she nodded her head.
"You were pretty close to the mark when you read me."
"I was?" Castle was surprised.
"Yeah."
For the next few minutes Castle listened in attentive silence as Kate told her story. As she spoke he saw the pain rise in her eyes and he hugged her a little tighter in silent support and encouragement. He listened as she told him about her boyfriend, Blake Jackson. How he had been her high school sweetheart but then moved to the West Coast and they lost track of each other for a few years. They met up again back in New York when Kate had been visiting home on her Spring break of her freshman year at Stanford.
He listened as Kate said that she fell in love with Blake in that short time they had been together and could even picture them growing old together. But then Spring break was over and she had to go back to college.
Kate then told him how Blake was murdered in alley in Washington Heights one Saturday night not long after she had returned to college. He had been stabbed multiple times and the police never found the killer. They consigned the case to the 'In the wrong place at the wrong time' file. Blake became just another statistic, a victim of random gang violence.
She said when she learned of his death, her world was turned upside down. She became a little messed up, quitting college and coming home to New York. For a little while she ran with the wrong crowd, partying until all hours, drinking until she passed out drunk, sometimes jumping into bed with any guy that took her fancy.
"What turned you around?" Castle asked in a gentle voice.
Kate had been looking up at the ceiling as she had told him her story, slowly she turned her gaze to him.
"A book."
"A book?"
"Yeah, well, mom and dad helped but I did not really start to climb out of this darkness I found myself in until I found this book sitting on mom's night stand. I had started reading it when I was on spring break at home. I found the book again and started to read it again. This time I understood what the writer was trying to say. I found justice in that book. It gave me purpose.
"The author seemed to understand what I was feeling. It felt as if he had written this book just for me. After I finished that book I read other books of his, pretty soon I realised what I had to do."
"To become a cop?"
"Yeah." Kate nodded. "I told myself I would solve Blake's murder, so I joined the police academy and then graduated. And for a long time, I would spend almost every spare moment I had looking into the file, trying to find some clue, something that the original investigator may have missed."
"Did you?" Castle asked.
"No. There were a few anomalies, and lots of questions, but I found no new clue. Yet I did not stop looking, going over it again and again until I had gone down the rabbit hole once more. I managed to crawl out of that rabbit hole with some help and decided that if I couldn't bring justice to Blake and his family, I would become a homicide detective, and be the best homicide detective I could be so that I could bring justice to other victim's families and loved ones."
Castle now understood completely why she had acted the way she had been during the Melanie Cavanaugh case. He remember how furious she had been at that sheriff because when the man had been investigating the case he had written it off as a missing persons case because he could not be bothered to put in the time to investigate further, preferring to accept the word of Melanie's husband and his best friend. Kate had said that the sheriff would not think outside the square and a murderer at the time had been allowed to go free.
Castle could now also understand why Kate was so dedicated to her job, why she spent so much time at work, usually being the first to arrive and the last to leave and sometimes why she did not go home at all.
"So who is this writer who set you on the road to truth, justice, and becoming a cop?" Castle inquired. "Perhaps I might now him? I might even be able to get an autograph for you, perhaps get you to meet him?"
Kate slowly turned her head and looked at Castle. She did not speak just gazed at him intently. A small smile started playing on her lips. Castle held her gaze still wondering who this author was. Suddenly his eyebrows shot upwards in surprise as he realised who she had been talking about. It was him.
Her silent admission left him momentarily breathless. He was stunned to learn that his words had in their way had been able to help long ago.
In the dead of night when he was busily typing away to finish a chapter in order to meet a dead line and spare himself further trouble from his publisher he did not think about how the book would be received. All he was worried about was getting the book finished.
Yet like most writers he wondered what people truly thought of the books he wrote. One did not spend so much time and effort and not wonder what the people who bought his books thought of them.
In his most insecure moments he could not help but wonder if what he put out in the public was any good. Sure, the astronomical book sales and the long lines at book signings were a good sign that he was pretty good at what he did. He still wondered. He read countless letters and emails from fans telling him how great his books were, how entertaining they were. It was rare to read a letter from a fan telling him what an impact his books had made on their lives, and even rarer still to meet someone whose life had been changed because of what he had written.
As he looked at Kate, he could not help but feel humbled. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Thank you for telling me, Kate." He whispered.
"So, Nikki Heat now has a back story." Kate replied.
"Oh, I don't know. I kind of liked the hooker by day, cop by night thing I was working on." Castle quipped.
Kate jabbed him in the ribs.
"Oww..." Castle exclaimed. "You know, you can get violent when you want to?"
"Don't you forget it, mister." Kate said smiling.
Castle couldn't help but laugh.
There was no way he would be forgetting that any time soon. And he certainly would not forget what Kate had revealed to him.
XXX
"So, Castle, I've shown you mine..."
"And may I say, Detective..."
"Don't even go there, Castle if want to see mine ever again." Kate interjected in a warning tone of voice.
"Right, duly noted." Castle nodded.
"Why did you become a writer?" Kate asked him.
Castle became thoughtful as he wondered what he would tell her. He had a couple of ready made stories that he could tell about how he became a writer, they were outlandish but entertaining and funny. He would usually trot them out when people asked him that question. When he finally decided what he was going to say he opened his mouth to speak.
A loud growling erupted from his stomach that pierced the quiet off the room.
"Oh, some one sounds hungry." Kate giggled.
"Is it any wonder? You've exhausted me, woman."
"Are complaining?"
"No, never." Castle said shaking his head.
Kate nodded. Slowly she broke away from Castle's embrace and rose from the bed.
"Where are you going?" Castle asked.
Kate stood by the foot of the bed.
"Going to take a shower and then we can go and get something to eat."
"Oh, okay."
Kate reached the bathroom door and slowly slipped off his shirt. She looked over her shoulder casting a smouldering look in Castle's direction.
"Care to join me, Mr Castle?"
"Would I be allowed to scrub your back, Detective Beckett?"
"I think that can be allowed." Kate replied, a smile rising to her lips. "Amongst other things."
Castle's response was to leap out of bed and chase her into the bathroom.
XXX
Kate could not keep the smile from her face as Castle hugged her close to him as they headed for the reception area of the motel. The air was freezing cold but they were rugged up against the cold, even if it had taken them a long time trying to find all of their clothes. Castle had insisted on wearing that luridly coloured beanie again. She couldn't stop the laughter when she saw him putting on that hideous beanie again.
Reaching the front door Castle released his hold on Kate and opened the door, and allowed her to enter first. He place a hand in the small of her back and gently ushered her in. She gave him a bright smile of thanks as she entered. Jack standing behind the front counter broke into a welcoming smile.
"Hello folks." Jack said.
"Jack, we'd like to take you up on your offer on some food." Castle announced.
"Sure thing, worked up a bit of an appetite, eh?" Jack chuckled.
Kate ducked her head trying to hide the blush that had appeared on her cheeks.
"Umm...uh, yeah." Castle stammered.
"Come right through, folks, Joanne would love to have some company." Jack said quickly. He moved over to the swinging doors to the side of the front desk and opened them.
Suddenly an idea occurred to Castle.
"Jack is your computer up?" He asked.
"Yeah, it is." The motel owner replied.
"And do you have a scanner?"
"Sure do."
Kate turned to look at Castle a questioning expression on her face.
"We can email Mrs Springfield's statement to the boys and get them to pick up our guy and hold him until we can get back to the city." Castle explained.
Kate's eyebrows returned to their usual position but she continued to look at Castle. For a couple of moments she did not say anything. A worried look appeared on Castle's face as he tried to understand her look, wondering if he had done something wrong.
Suddenly Kate's mouth curved into a bright tight lipped smile. Her eyes shone brightly. It was the smile that could reduce Castle's legs to jelly.
"Look at you, Castle." Kate said in a measured tone. "Thinking like a cop."
Castle returned the smile, feeling relieved.
"You must be rubbing off on me." He said. He realised what he said the moment he saw her smile falter. "Ooh, that sounded a lot dirtier than I thought it would."
Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. The smile returned to her face as she dug into the pocket of her coat and pulled out the keys to her car. She held them out to Castle.
"Just for that you can go get my portfolio while I call the boys." She said.
Castle grinned as he took the offered keys and dashed out of the reception area.
Kate continued to smile as she watched him head out to her car. The man could be childish and irritating one minute, exasperating and egotistical the next, and then considerate and loving the following minute.
And she did not need to think about what he was like in bed. If she dwelled on those thoughts she would be reduced to a puddle. She found herself seriously hoping that who ever was in charge of clearing the highway of snow would take their sweet time of it. She would not mind spending another night here.
"Ah, Detective, you can come through to the office." Jack said.
Kate was startled out of her reveries. She turned to look at the motel owner, trying not to look embarrassed. She offered him a smile and a nod of thanks as she started to follow him.
XXXX
There you go folks, another chapter. Let me know what you thought of it by dropping me a line. I'd love to hear from you.
Con