Ah yes, the Room 147 Protocol – it had come about because of a chance hookup, a passive attitude on her part, and Rick's love of research. One day shortly after taking up residence at the crater, she decided to visit the loft to retrieve more of her clothing, and of course, foolishly didn't clear her arrival with Edwardo to insure no unpleasantness with the rest of the Castles.
When her keys hit the foyer table platter, she immediately heard sounds from his office and knew the short visit she had planned was not going to happen. She was expecting a rehash of the argument they had been having since she left, and this is indeed how it all started. As each made their claims and counter claims, they became quite animated, and soon, fingers, hands and arms were all touching randomly. That ignited their uncanny sexual chemistry, and like many chemical reactions, once started, it could not be contained. In seconds Castle was pulling her in, and she wasn't resisting. The initial kiss was deep and long overdue. It only ended with the need for air, and he immediately led her to that wonderful bed she missed so much. Soon, belts, buttons, zippers, and clasps were expeditiously undone as all manner of cotton, poly, wool, and silk became an impediment to their mutual desire.
With nothing between them, he carefully laid her down on the bed and his tongue began at her collarbone and worked languidly south. Kate was too caught up in the lust of the moment to remember how good he was at slow foreplay. When the initial and inevitable first plunge came, she was both wet and fully accommodating. After that her hormones took over, and she was lost in lustful bliss. Still wrapped in coital bliss, Castle said, "We need to do this more often. Couldn't it be like a time out from whatever it is we are doing? No LOKSAT, no precinct – just us enjoying us?"
Beckett's stern reply was immediate, "If we are this obvious, you know who might see you back in the mix. If something happened to you, I could never live with myself."
Castle contemplated her rejection and offered a new scenario. "What if it was a secret rendezvous only you could initiate? It could be the only fun thing we do all week. How about I do some research?" Whether it was the sex, the companionship, or just plain weariness, Kate offered no rebuttal, and Castle was off to the races.
After checking with his author friends, he quickly found himself in the lounge of a boutique hotel with the owner/manager listening rather intently. After Castle inquired about how confidential assignations might be arranged, the proprietor nonchalantly offered both a day and evening plan. Within seconds Castle knew this wasn't some hypothetical exercise, but rather drawn from much experience.
The day plan was scheduled roughly around the lunch hour and much preferred by the owner since the room could be rented twice. The night plan was like a regular rental, and one could stay until the usual AM checkout time. Most left sometime around the closing of the restaurant and were safely wherever with whomever for the remainder of the night. Scheduling, access, and payment were all setup through a direct line to the concierge.
Castle loved both the intrigue of the plan and immediately called Kate to arrange a meet. She chose to have him come to the precinct where the meeting would be supposedly about how to deal with their continuing separation. Castle arrived just as Vikram was leaving from his weekly meeting and outlined the whole process in just a few minutes. Kate was surprised by the mundane audacity of the whole plan. Free enterprise was certainly creative when faced with filling an illicit need. Castle even christened the whole thing after one of their past cases involving a murder in a hotel room with a host of unlikely suspects.
Her one concern was LOKSAT tails that might notice the pattern, and Castle had already thought of that. They were both already well aware of their surroundings for obvious reasons, and he suggested some roundabout subway rides to flush out any prying eyes. With that settled, all that was needed was some sign of her willingness via an agreed code. They agreed that a shade at the crater would be her code, and all Castle had to do was walk within sight of her building on the day in question, and all would be arranged for the following evening.
For the first couple of weeks, Kate was torn about using the code. However, the unending barrage of paperwork from 1PP and her continuing failure on the LOKSAT front finally weakened her resolve. The shade was moved, the date was set, and everything went much better than she hoped. What could be better than two rounds with him in a fancy comfortable bed with great snacks and her favorite wine? At the outset, Kate thought this would be a one-time thing, but that was not to be.