Slaying the Beast

Chapter 15

Kate lightly touches her lips to Castle's bruised forehead and chin, before pressing them against his mouth. His lips are soft and warm and his breath fresh in spite of the hour. He must have taken the time to brush his teeth before falling into bed. Her tongue searches for his, tips twining as they meet. She can feel the hardness beneath his shorts as he jerks her against him. His heat flows and mingles with her own, rising through her body and shooting through her veins. "Rick!"

His teeth find the tender skin of her neck, sending another shock through already sensitized nerves. She pulls open the top she slept in, exposing the bare flesh beneath. His mouth caresses the tips of her breasts, already straining for it. He takes in one and then the other while his hand cups the more desperate blaze below, hot against his palm. He needs a more fitting place, his private domain, for their joining.

Kate feels Castle's arms around her, stronger than she thought possible, lifting her against the firmness of his chest. Her arms wrap around his neck almost of their own accord. His hair is thick and soft beneath her fingers, and she can smell remnants of soap on his skin. Irish Spring. She's always loved the freshness of it, rather than the colognes or body sprays that some men seem to believe make then sexy. All she wants is clean mingling with raw maleness. In the faint glow of the city lights, she can see the outline of Rick's bed. He lays her down on sheets and blankets still warm from his body.

He's above her, holding himself up on his arms, with their fiery mouths the only point of contact. It's not enough, not nearly enough. Her hands dig into the tight muscle of his buttocks, pulling him down on top of her. His weight pushes her deeper into the bed, but the feel of his skin against hers arouses every cell in her body. She wraps her legs around his back, forcing him against her most desperate need. She grinds against him, in a silent plea, before encircling him with her hand to guide him where everything within her is urgently begging him to go.

"Kate, are you sure you want this?"

She can only answer with the press of her calves against him, propelling him deeper. Her hips thrust upward, seeking more contact, more intensity. Their mouths collide greedily, demanding everything.

The room, the city, fade into a nameless haze, leaving only the two of them in endless discovery. Every response is ignited, energy building between them until it can no longer be contained. Kate is beyond control as convulsions wrack her body and they are blown apart by the force of their climax.

Sleep overcomes them until Castle awakes to clatter in the kitchen. He grabs for his watch on the bedside table — five a.m. Begrudgingly leaving Kate, he wraps himself in a robe and goes to locate the source of the noise.

Alexis is filling an oversized bowl with cereal to be topped with a banana she's apparently just sliced. "This is an early start, even for you, Pumpkin."

"Our math team needs to get in an extra practice session before our match this afternoon. Before class is the only time we'll have. Paige's mom is picking me up in half an hour. That gives me time for breakfast and to get together what I'll need for today. The match starts at three-thirty, so I probably won't be home until five-thirty. Maybe later. Don't worry about supper. I'll grab a pizza with Paige, and Samantha and Owen."

Castle struggles to reach full comprehension. "Wait, Owen? Who's Owen?" He can see his daughter's eyes light up.

"He's the captain of the math team. He's brilliant Dad. He's the same age we are, but he skipped a grade, so he's a junior. He's already into linear equations and matrices. He won't need those for the competition, but I think he could do derivatives in his sleep. He's really helped me to visualize how limits work."

Barely remembering his own foray into calculus, Castle can just grasp what Alexis is talking about, but at least she's keeping it academic. "Owen sounds like a very accomplished young man."

"I guess you and Detective Beckett were working on some accomplishments of your own last night." Alexis points to the still open sleeper couch. "It looks like she had to grab a nap. Is she in the bathroom or something? She left her purse and her gun out here."

"Or something," Castle repeats noncommittally. He very rarely lies to his daughter, but that Kate is still in his bed is a detail he's not prepared to share with Alexis either. He doesn't know if Kate would even want him to, and Alexis' interpretation of the scene is providing some cover.

Alexis generously douses the contents of her bowl in milk. "If I don't see her before I go, tell her I said hello."

"I'll do that," Castle promises. "And if you don't mind some company in the kitchen, I'm going to start a new pot of coffee. "It's going to be a long day, and it was a short night."

Alexis moves her bowl to the breakfast counter and mounts a high stool to dig in. "Sure, Dad, I understand."

Castle can't help wondering just how much Alexis understands, and he's not sure he wants to know.

Castle spoons with a still sleeping Kate when he returns to his bed. He won't have long to hold her before they need to prepare for the tasks ahead, but he'll take what he can get.

At first, Kate isn't sure where she is, except that she knows that Castle's arms are around her. The memory of the night before descends with a shock, forcing the air from her lungs. She mentally yanks at the tangles of her thoughts. She slept with Castle! Hell! That was a lot more than sleeping - it was - she has no name for what happened. Sex doesn't even begin to cover it. Lovemaking? Even the idea of the L-word is terrifying, but it's what happened. It has to be. Nothing she's experienced before with any partner ever came close to what she felt last night.

What time is it? She left her father's watch on the chair near the couch along with her weapon, her purse, and most of her clothes. It's still dark, and the sounds of traffic are not yet penetrating the walls and windows of Castle's bedroom. Castle's arms tighten around her as she tries to move. "Rick, I need to get up while there's still time for me to get out of here before Alexis is awake."

"She already knows you're here, but before rushing off for battle preparations at school, she chose to believe you slept on the couch."

"Castle?"

"It's all right, Kate. As you well know, my daughter is wise beyond her years, and if she can deal with her grandmother's exploits, she can deal with your presence, however she cares to interpret it. But how do you feel about what happened?"

"Castle, honestly, I don't know. It changes a lot of things - maybe everything. But right now, with Bracken hanging over us, I don't have time to sort it all out. I have a job. No, we have a job, and we need to finish it before I can deal with anything else."

Castle traces the lines of her face. "I get it, Kate, and finish that job we will."