Chapter 29
She's glad she'd had the foresight to bring a dress. With Castle you never knew, so she'd made sure to bring something for every occasion. She even brought her hiking boots, in case he wanted to go explore some of the scenery in the north and west of Norway.
The dress she brought was red and strapless and she already knew that the amount of skin on display would catch Castle's attention. It always did, and she thoroughly enjoyed teasing him a little. That desperate and dangerous edge it brought to the confines of their bedrooms was just what she needed sometimes.
She laid the dress out on her bed with care and inspected it closely for wrinkles. She had had to stuff it in the bottom of her suitcase to hide it from Castle's prying eyes. He had already gotten a glimpse of her underwear the night before their flight and that had led to - well, very little sleep.
When she was certain the dress didn't have any wrinkles, she grabbed the phone on her nightstand and ordered room service for Louis and Alexis. They had wished for pasta and juice and even though they weren't really hungry yet, she wanted them to be fed and ready for bed before she and Castle left.
While the children slurped their pasta at the table, Kate was in the bathroom trying to fix her hair. She wanted to do something different with it, but wasn't in the mood for a bun. She wanted something elegant yet playful.
"Louis! Alexis!" she called and they hurried into the bathroom. Their opinion was as good as any. "What do you think I should do with my hair?"
"You should put braids in it. Lots and lots of braids," came Louis' idea and Kate set her hope on Alexis.
"No, you should just clip the front strands to the side, like this." When Kate didn't understand, she bent down so Alexis could show her. "Just those strands. I think that looks really pretty."
Kate placed her fingers over Alexis' to keep the hair in place and straightened again to look at herself in the mirror.
What she saw was a cute hairstyle - but not one for her date with Castle tonight. It gave her an idea though.
"You know what? I'll do something similar to that and wear my hair half up half down."
"With braids?" Louis asked and Kate blew him a kiss. "Not tonight. Next time, baby. Remind me."
Louis didn't seem to mind much - he wasn't into hair at all, not even his own - and she started working on her hair while the children went back to their noodles.
When Castle bustled in at half past seven, she had just finished her make-up and he shooed her out of the bathroom in order to take a quick shower.
She slipped into the dress, pulled the zipper up and slid into a chair at the table to talk to Louis and Alexis again.
"Remember not to open the door, no matter how persistent the knocking is. Rick and I have a key card and nobody from the hotel would come and knock on the door. They'd call."
"But we don't pick up the phone when it rings," Louis got out around a forkful of spaghetti, looking pleased with himself.
"Exactly."
"And daddy's number one on your speed dial," Alexis remembered, swinging her legs eagerly like she did every time she was proud of herself.
"I am?" Castle asked, having just come out of the bathroom. His hair was still damp and he was just shrugging into a dress shirt, but he still managed to look a little smug when she rolled her eyes at him.
But he got serious then and joined them at the table. "Remember, if anything happens, anything at all, we're just downstairs."
"Yes, daddy, we know," Alexis said kindly yet impatient. This was not the first time they had had this talk today.
XXX
After listening to Louis flip the lock from the inside, they were finally headed downstairs.
"Hey there, by the way," Castle murmured when they got into the elevator. "You look gorgeous."
He brushed his lips over hers while his palm splayed widely over her back, his pinky dipping just beneath the fabric of her dress. Bingo.
"You look mighty fine yourself, Castle," she complimented and straightened his collar, smiling when her hand slid over his biceps to finally tangle with his.
They were led to their table and Kate didn't even have to look at the menu. She wanted fish. Norway was famous for its fish and her mouth watered at only the thought of grilled salmon.
Castle was with her on that and while she got her grilled salmon with a side of asparagus, he ordered a rainbow trout with butter-steamed potatoes.
But first, they had to deal with their appetizers. She had chosen a light cucumber salad and Castle had ordered a seafood platter.
"Oh my god, Kate, you have to try this, this is fantastic!"
He offered her a fork of shrimps and she smirked. "We gonna be one of those couples?" But she let him feed her anyway.
She pressed her lips together to keep in the moan that threatened to spill out. It really was good.
Seafood was something she loved but rarely had. Louis wasn't a fan of it and she usually didn't have the time to buy fresh fish and prepare it properly, and she refused to eat those cardboard-like fish sticks Louis was so fond of. So tonight's meal would definitely be one of the highlights of their trip.
They were laughing by the time their main course was dished and after a round of moaning, complimenting and trading bites of their fish, Castle put his fork aside. By the look on his face, Kate could tell something he was about to say something serious.
"You okay?" she asked even though it was redundant. Castle was rubbing his damp palms over his thighs and took a large gulp of the water they had ordered along with their wine. He was clearly not okay.
"I- There is something I've been meaning to give you," he started carefully, gaging her every movement like a hawk. "It can mean as much or as little as you want," he continued, placating her already, even though she hadn't said anything yet.
She found his hand on top of the table and gave it an encouraging squeeze. "Castle."
He shook her hand off and reached for his wallet. After a few moments of digging around, he produced a large silver key and held it up between them.
"Is that-?"
"Yes, it is. And as I said, this doesn't have to mean anything at all and-"
She made a noise that interrupted him and feathered her fingers along his jaw. "No, this is huge Castle. It means a lot and I love it."
A silly, happy smile spilled from his lips and she couldn't help but lean in for a taste of his happiness.
"I figured it would make things a lot easier. And that way you don't always have to pester my super to unlock my door for you," he grinned.
"We need to go keychain shopping," she grinned back and curled her fingers around the key.
But then something occurred to her and left a bitter taste in her mouth. Had Castle been nervous because this was huge for him as well, or had he actually feared her reaction? Probably the latter. And justifiably so.
"Can we talk about something more serious for a second?" she asked then because she just needed to know. "It'll probably ruin the mood, so I'd understand if you don't want to right now." Her tone left no doubt though that she wanted to do this right now.
"If it's something that bothers you, we should address it as quickly as possible, don't you think?"
"Okay," she breathed out, leaning back in her chair to gather her thoughts before resting her arms on the table and finding his hand. "Last month - I know I reacted very poorly and I realize that all this time I haven't been very fair to you."
"Kate-"
"Don't interrupt me, Richard Castle. No need to sugarcoat it, I was downright nasty and selfish. And I know that and I'm working on myself because I want to be better than that. I want to be what you deserve. But while I do that, I need you to ask things of me. I want you to be able to ask things of me. I- I notice you skirting topics that might be sore points for me but I realize it shouldn't be that way. You shouldn't be afraid to talk to me about something because you're worried about my reaction. It doesn't work like that in the long run."
They had both stopped eating by now and while it had been his hand that had been becoming damp minutes ago, it was hers now.
"I want us to be equals, Rick. Partners. It's the least you deserve."
Her pulse was thundering beneath his fingers but her eyes were determined. The long run was what they were both in for.
"Okay," he replied hoarsely, stunned and overwhelmed, his eyes glittering in the low lights of the restaurant. "Partners."
"Partners," she echoed, the corners of her lips lifting until Castle circled her wrist, brought her palm to his mouth and feathered his lips over it, his eyes never leaving hers.
He was such a stunning man. So tall and broad, with hands that dwarfed her body, but he was so gentle and patient. And he deserved everything she had to offer.
"Tell me what you want," she rasped, still under his spell.
He hesitated only a moment before lacing his fingers with hers, their food cold and forgotten. "I want a life with you. In whatever form you're willing to give."
Her pulse was drumming her ears. "No, Castle. What do you want? Details."
He took a shaky breath but his voice was strong and clear. "I want us to be a family. And I want you with us at the loft. Wearing my ring."
"I want that too," she entrusted quietly, suddenly aware that their conversation had become too intimate for a public restaurant. "But first I need to be better."
He shook his head, pressed his thumb against her lips. "No. That's not true. You're perfect for me the way you are."
This time it was Kate who shook her head. "These past few months, you've offered me everything. You've been everything I needed you to be. And now it's my turn to offer you the same. And more. But for that I need to be more than who I am."
"Okay, Kate, we'll both work on being better until the time is right," he offered.
"Until the time is right," she promised, and this time, he was the one to capture her radiant smile with his lips.
XXX
What had started out as soft little kisses in the elevator, were now sharp nips at his earlobe and jaw while he tried to get the key card into the lock.
Kate's hands were roaming; up his chest, around his ribs, over his biceps, and the teasing, feather-light touches were driving him crazy.
"Jesus, Kate," he groaned when he missed again.
"Need help sticking it in?" she purred, her tongue pushing against her teeth teasingly, and Castle dropped his forehead against the solid door with a whine.
"Kate, stop doing that, you're not helping."
Her laugh was throaty as she pushed him aside and swiped the key card with a flick of her wrist.
She stepped into their suite with one last taunting look over her shoulder and the next thing he knew was her strong body between him and the wall.
One of her heels was poking him in the calf but he didn't notice it. He was so focused on the rocking of her body against his thigh and the tiny zipper on the side of her dress that had somehow gotten stuck and-
"Hey daddy, can we order cookies from the room service?"
He jumped away from Kate as if burned and had just enough brain cells left to reach for her elbow and keep her from tumbling to the ground.
When Alexis rounded the corner of her room, he was just wiping lip gloss off his face and shielding Kate who was trying to work the zipper free and up again.
"Pumpkin, A-Alexis," he stuttered and got an elbow to the ribs. "No. No, we can't get cookies. You know the rule, no more sweets after eight."
"I thought that was just Kate's rule," she mused but then shrugged her shoulders. "I'll go watch TV then. Louis found an English channel."
"Yeah, do that," he murmured, facing Kate and helping her with the zipper when Alexis disappeared again. "Wait, aren't you guys tired?" he called out as an afterthought and got a curt "No!" back.
"The zipper is stuck," Kate hissed and let her head fall back against the wall in disappointment. They both had totally forgotten about the children. And while they loved them dearly, sometimes they were just ... in the way.
"I'll get them to bed. And then I'll get you out of that dress."
"That better be a promise." Her voice was rough with lust and need and he knew she had already been halfway there.
"Definitely a promise."
As it turned out, both children were extremely tired, just too stubborn to admit to it.
"Come on you two, tomorrow Kate is taking you to see the castle. You need to be fit for that."
"You should come too," Louis murmured, his face already smashed into his pillow and his body limp. "Castle visiting a castle."
"That's kind of funny," Alexis cackled with a note of hysteria to it, her eyelids heavy. "I'm also a Castle visiting a castle."
"Not when you fall asleep on the subway," Castle warned and the kids finally seemed to get it. After a little help getting with his PJs, Louis was off to the bathroom to brush his teeth and Alexis went to look for Kate who had managed to free her zipper.
"Was everything okay while we were gone?" she asked the redhead and Castle pretended to look over his schedule for the next day.
"Yes. We're big kids. I'm almost nine."
"I know," Kate sighed. "But I'm a mother, it's my job to worry about you."
"About me, too?"
"Technically, it's not my job to worry about you. But I do anyway. I worry about all the people I love."
"I worry about you too, sometimes," Alexis admitted with a tiny smile that was part sweet shyness, part embarrassment.
"I promised to be careful, remember? So you just focus on your school and your friends, okay?"
"Okay."
When the children were finally in bed, and Castle had swallowed the lump in his throat, he wiped an imaginary bead of sweat off his forehead. "That was close."
"So close," Kate let out and he wasn't completely certain she was referring to them almost being caught.
He took his sweet time peeling her out of her dress, worshipping her body everywhere he touched, and this time when he brought her close to the edge, he hurled her over and followed closely behind.
Twitter: kbymyside
