Disclaimer: All things "Castle" belong to the powers that be at ABC.

Author's Note: This is a smutty insert to Chapter 41 of my story "Then Came Love" and should be read in conjunction with it, otherwise it probably won't make much sense. Enjoy.

Then Came Love

Interlude

Kate was already breathless, her skin hot and buzzing with arousal as she and Castle entered her bedroom. She didn't think she'd ever been so turned on in her life and they'd barely done anything yet, he'd hardly touched her aside from their few kisses out in her living room, and if she was already this turned on, she could only imagine she'd be climaxing in a ridiculously short amount of time.

It was, she realized belatedly, the first time he'd actually been in her bedroom, odd as that somehow seemed. She hadn't even thought but clearly, he had because his eyes left her to sweep all over her room, his curiosity clearly nudging itself to the forefront of his mind. "Nice–"

She cut him off–and got his attention back–by kissing him, flattening herself against him. And felt a thrill of feminine satisfaction at his instantaneous response, her room and anything else aside from her forgotten as the kiss exploded, his tongue surging inside her mouth, laying waste to her coherence, his hands eager as they roamed her body.

Not that her own hands were any less eager, finding and pulling up the hem of his shirt, as she turned and blindly pushed him back towards her bed until, more by luck than real aim, the back of his knees hit the mattress and he fell onto her bed with a little grunt, the kiss breaking off. Well, that worked too as the sudden space between them allowed her to tug his shirt the rest of the way up and over his head, leaving him bare from the waist up. And in spite of her own panting impatience, she had to pause to look because, ooh… mmm… he was well worth looking at. She hadn't had the chance to really appreciate his build That Night–stupid of her–but now, she could and she did. Her avid gaze wandered over him, the broad shoulders, the toned chest, the flat stomach–her mouth practically watering.

His lips curved into what was possibly the smuggest smirk she'd ever seen grace his face. "See something you like?"

"I'm still deciding," she riposted–but knew the words were completely belied by the huskiness of her voice, betraying her, well, more than her own eyes had already betrayed her. And not that it mattered.

Looking was all well and good but not nearly enough and she crawled onto her bed to join him, her hands finally following the path her eyes had already taken. She slid her hands over his shoulders, traced the solid muscles of his arms, and then moved on to map the expanse of his chest, smirking to herself as the muscles of his stomach tensed at her touch and his head fell back on a groan.

Her hands couldn't have all the fun and she bent forward, nuzzling kisses to his neck, the little hollow just below his Adam's apple, which bobbed as he swallowed, and then she moved on to his clavicle and further. She touched the tip of her tongue delicately to first one flat, male nipple and then the other, tasting his skin.

He jerked and abruptly shifted, capturing both her wandering hands in his, even as his change in position brought the hard bulge in his pants pressing closer against her thigh. "Wait, wait," he panted.

"Didn't you like it?" she asked teasingly, giving him a flirtatious look beneath her lashes. She could feel the evidence of just how much he'd liked it against her.

He choked on a laugh. "I think you know I enjoyed it all, a little too much, and I don't want this to be over so soon. He pushed himself to sit up, perforce making her shift off him further. "Kate, last time, it was amazing but it was also really fast and I don't want fast this time. I want to take it slow, make this last. If you'll let me."

Oh god. She swallowed, fresh heat erupting inside her at his words, his tone. The last time, That Night, might have been fast but it had also been, well, amazing, the hottest sex of her life. She already knew that Castle taking his time would be more intense than That Night had been and it might just kill her. But oh lord, would she enjoy every second of it.

"Whatever you want," she agreed breathlessly.

His lips curved, mischief and sheer male confidence entering his expression–and geez, how was that so hot too? "No, it'll be whatever you want."

A fresh shiver of lust streaked through her like lightning. "That sure of yourself, huh?" she tried, with limited success, to drawl. "Prove it."

"Challenge accepted."

And then he began.

He started with a kiss, his mouth settling over hers, his lips soft and warm, his kiss gentler, a seduction this time rather than a claiming. She sighed a little into his mouth. Oooh, he was so good at this and the fuzzy thought drifted into her mind and then out again that she really couldn't imagine kissing anyone else ever again, couldn't imagine even wanting to kiss anyone else ever again. He was ruining her with his kisses.

His hands slid under her loose pajama top and she arched into him, her own hands coming up to help him as he unbuttoned her pajama top–all the better to be naked quicker and she definitely wanted that. Then her top was off, gone, she didn't know where and cared less as he abruptly broke off the kiss to stare, rather as she had stared at him.

If she'd had any concerns about his reaction to her, um, expanding body (she hadn't), it would have been eradicated at the way he caught his breath, his eyes almost devouring her.

She wouldn't have thought it possible but she swore her already hard nipples pebbled and peaked yet further just at the heat of his gaze on her skin. She could feel his eyes on her like a touch.

"They're bigger," he breathed.

She flushed, ridiculously. Her breasts were enlarged, another side effect of pregnancy, and possibly the only one she didn't mind, not that her breasts were that ample even now. "You can tell?"

He gave her a very male look. "I'm a guy. Do you really think every centimeter of your breasts wouldn't have been imprinted on my memory from the last time? Believe me when I say your breasts have played a starring role in my dreams and fantasies for months now."

She choked on a laugh. Trust him to say such a thing and put it like that. "Did these dreams involve touching or are you just going to look?"

His lips curved and then he touched her, his hands finally coming up to cup her breasts, gently at first and then with a shade more firmness, tracing and stroking and shaping them with his hands and she moaned. Her breasts were more sensitive now but she suspected it wasn't that so much as it was just him, his touch, winding her up higher and tighter, sensation sizzling along every one of her nerve endings. Her muscles lost the ability to hold herself upright as she fell back onto her bed.

He followed, his mouth joining his hands in their ministrations, starting with a few gentle kisses to the small mounds and then finally, oh finally, his tongue lapped delicately at her taut, sensitized nipple, and she arched into him, her breathy gasp turning into a cry as he settled his mouth more firmly over the hardened peak, suckling. Oh oh god, the wet heat of his mouth on her skin set off fireworks of sensation streaking through her and she could only lie back, whimpering faintly as he kissed and suckled, cupped and stroked. A small starburst of pleasure shuddered through her and she cried out again.

But he wasn't done.

His hands moved on, sliding gently down her sides to the waistband of her pajama pants, pushing them down and she just barely had the presence to lift her hips and help him push her underwear and her pants down, past her hips, as he slid them the rest of the way down her legs, discarding them. And she was–finally–fully naked before him.

He paused again and stared for long enough that some coherence started to return and she blinked and focused to see that he was staring again, not at her breasts but at the curve of her stomach. The evidence of their baby growing inside her.

He let out a shaky breath. "God, Kate, you are so gorgeous…"

She grasped one of his hands and brought it to her stomach and he stroked his hand over the gentle curve, traced it, before he bent and pressed a kiss to it. She felt sudden, absurd tears pricking at the back of her eyes. It was the first time he'd done that, his first kiss for the baby.

If this had been some sort of storybook, she thought fuzzily, she would have felt the baby move again, in response to her daddy's kiss, but it didn't happen.

But then he moved on, sliding lower on the bed, and any thoughts about the baby flew out of her mind at the realization of what he intended to do. He traced his hands over her hips and the outside of her thighs, her legs falling apart in expectation.

An expectation that wasn't met. Because now she knew what he'd meant when he'd said he wanted to take his time and take his time, he did.

He was slow–infuriatingly, torturously slow–and patient–she hadn't known Castle could be so patient–and thorough as his hands and his mouth teased, explored every inch of her lower body or so it seemed. Her hips, her thighs, even the underside of her knees–and she hadn't even known the underside of her knees could be an erogenous spot but somehow, he did, his fingers lightly tracing them and sending fresh sparks of heat spilling through her.

"Cas–oh–sle," she panted. "Please…"

He didn't. Irritating, evil man that he was.

He kissed and licked the crease of first one thigh and then the other and then–oh god, then–he blew a puff of air against her overheated, sensitive center, just where she was soaked and ready, oh so ready, for him. She cried out–how could air do that to her?

And he still didn't touch her there.

He scattered a soft trail of kisses along the curve of her hip and then down to her thighs as her hips twisted, trying to seek him out, nudge him into finally giving her what she wanted, needed.

And then, finally, he did. Touched her wet center, first with his lips and then with his tongue and she cried out, her vision going blurry.

Oh oh oh god… her fingers scrabbled for purchase, clutching at the sheets, anything she could grasp, as his mouth and tongue worked over her, kissing, licking, sucking with deliberate thoroughness. Learning her and how to pleasure her and he did pleasure her, pleasured her until the coiling, spiraling tension inside her burst in a dizzying climax.

It took her a while to drift back to earth–minutes, possibly hours–before her head stopped spinning and she blinked her eyes open to focus on him, watching her as if he never wanted to look at anything else.

"That was incredible," he breathed.

He was telling her that? Warmth blossomed in her chest and this time, it was about emotion more than lust but what she found herself mumbling in response was, "You're still wearing your pants."

At another time, she might have kicked herself for the inane statement but her brain was too fogged with lingering pleasure to feel any such thing.

To his credit, Castle didn't laugh, the corners of his lips just tipping up. "That can be remedied."

"Do it."

"You're still bossy, even now," he observed conversationally but he obeyed, his hands making quick work of divesting himself of boxers, pants, and all.

Ooohh. Oh yes… She'd known he was big–had felt it, remembered all too well how he'd filled her That Night. But she hadn't actually looked at him. Now she did and oh, she was starting to think she deserved a medal for her self-restraint in not dragging him into bed with her That Night and, oh, every night since then. Or maybe it just made her certifiably insane to have resisted. Either way, that was over now and she planned to enjoy–oh, yes, she did.

The sight of him had her body responding, again, inspired to a surge of returning energy and she pushed herself up on one hand. "My turn."

Her other hand reached for him, slid up his bicep and around his muscled shoulder–she did love his arms and shoulders–tugging him towards her. He came willingly, shifting closer to her on her bed.

She leaned in and kissed him, tasting herself on his tongue, before she moved on, trailing her mouth down his neck, her tongue finding the spot on his neck she already knew was sensitive and sure enough, he gave a strangled groan, a shudder rippling through him.

She shifted closer, his arousal nudging her hip, tempting her, but for now, she wasn't quite done appreciating his chest. Her hands slid over and around his shoulders and then down, mapping his chest and gently pushed until he was falling onto his back, providing her greater ease of access. She paused to flick her fingertips teasingly against his male nipples and he groaned. Her hands moved lower and lower still until she reached the part of him that was prominently begging for attention, attention which she was more than willing to give. She wrapped her hand around him, her mouth going dry, stroking his length, lightly at first, and then with more firmness, but before she could do anything more, he caught her wrist.

"No, I can't take it, not now."

She gave him a small smile. "Next time, then." Because there was definitely going to be a next time and a time after that and a time after that… She could see herself not letting him out of her bed for a week, except for meals and the bathroom.

His eyes flared with heat. "Protection?" he managed, his voice a little strangled.

"I'm already pregnant."

"I know–"

"And I'm clean," she added.

"Me too," he told her. "Haven't been with anyone else since you."

She felt a ridiculous little spurt of satisfaction at that knowledge. "Me either," she admitted as she moved to straddle him, shifting into position, just the tip of him brushing against her for a fraught, breathless moment.

She met his eyes and one of his hands came up and found hers and that was when she sank down onto him, slowly. Their moans mingled in the air between them and Kate's eyes involuntarily fluttered closed, the better to savor the delicious ache as her body stretched to accommodate him.

"God, Kate, you feel so good… so perfect…"

So did he…

Her hips started to move, rocking over him, as he thrust up into her in tandem, their bodies finding a rhythm with an ease that should have been surprising but somehow wasn't. Of course their bodies fit together just as well as they worked together in the precinct.

His hands came up to cup her breasts and she groaned, arching into his hands, while her hands fell to his shoulders for balance. Her hips started to move faster with the rising urgency of want building inside her, more and more, until the tidal wave of sensation swept up and over her in a glorious explosion of bliss.

The waves of pleasure were still rippling through her when she vaguely heard his strangled cry of her name as he shuddered and hit his climax.

She collapsed forward onto his chest panting, her breasts and the curve of her stomach pressed against him.

She felt him turn his head to brush a kiss against her ear, the caress tender, now that the storm of lust was passed, and she vaguely heard a little hum of pleasure and belatedly realized it had come from her.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, with her settled on top of him, able to feel the steady beat of his heart against hers. It was surprisingly comfortable, resting atop him, his arms loosely linked around her. This kind of closeness, post-coital cuddling, had never been something she was inclined to do before but somehow, with Castle, it was… nice. And helped since she felt as if her bones were still knitting back into place.

But after a long few minutes, he huffed out a little breath and shifted and his change in position inevitably resulted in a change in hers and she slid off him but didn't go far, only settled on her side so close their bodies were still fitted together.

He turned his head to meet her eyes. "This was better than I even imagined it would be."

She felt a somewhat smug and possibly silly smile curve her lips. "Knowing your imagination, that is a compliment."

His lips curved but he didn't respond in words, only found her hand with one of his, lifting it to kiss her palm, a small caress that had a little spark of desire igniting inside her, even in her sated state. Later, she promised herself, definitely later.

The silence lingered, stretched, and she found herself drifting into a sort of somnolence, not sleepiness–surprisingly–just drifting in a sea of sated contentment.

But then she was abruptly pulled back to full awareness as she felt it again, the tell-tale little flutter in her stomach, and she gasped, her eyes flying open. "Oh, I felt her move," she managed. Oh, oh, she thought that this, now, might be the most perfect moment. With her and Castle nestled so closely together and now, feeling their baby move as if in approval of her parents finally being together in every way.

Castle startled a little, his own eyes flaring wide as he turned to stare down at her stomach, one hand coming to rest on the curve. "She moved?"

A small, breathless laugh escaped her. "She did. I guess we woke her up."

He reared upright. "Beckett, you think the baby could tell or feel what we were just doing?!"

Another laugh escaped her and she reached up to tug him back down. "It was a joke, Castle, relax. The baby's well-cushioned in there and it's not like she would know what we were doing even if she could feel anything."

He subsided with a rather (adorably) disgruntled expression. "Not funny, Beckett. I beg you, never refer to having sex and the baby in the same sentence again."

"I didn't realize I needed to explain to you where babies actually come from," she drawled.

He made a face at her. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

She laughed softly and shifted to kiss his chin, just because she could, and then his mouth. "Sorry," she tried to rearrange her expression into sobriety. "I'll stop teasing."

It was his turn to laugh briefly, sliding one arm beneath her shoulders and pulling her yet more snugly against him. "I like it when you tease me."

"I should get that in writing or maybe on tape," she quipped.

"Very funny, Beckett." But his dry tone was somewhat belied by the way he pressed a smacking kiss to her temple.

She laughed again, softly, and turned her head to kiss his shoulder, the closest spot in reach, feeling a swell of happiness inside her that she couldn't deny, a happiness, almost giddiness, she couldn't remember feeling in years, possibly ever. She supposed at least some of it was due just to the lingering physical bliss of having had very good sex, no, scratch that, the best sex of her life, but she suspected it was also just because of him, being with Castle like this. Finally, fully with Castle in every way. And for now, she was too happy to feel any worry over the future, of what might happen to their relationship over time. She just wanted to savor this moment. Right now, this moment–lying in her bed with Castle, after not only the best sex of her life but also feeling their baby move inside her–was perfect.

~The End (of the smut) but the story will continue in "Then Came Love."~

A/N 2: As always, all readers and reviewers are much appreciated.