A/N: Sorry, I was a little late putting this up today. Mainly due to the fact that I had an assignment due and an exam to write aujourd'hui. No worries though, I kicked ass. ;)
Chapter 6
(They are cheating on Josh and Gina. But it doesn't feel that way.)
.
It keeps happening.
In Kate's brain, she has labelled her dysfunctional relationship with Castle as "friends with benefits". She compartmentalizes and tells herself that emotionally, she is with Josh and therefore, she is not cheating. She tries not to examine this premise too closely because the sex with Castle feels so good.
Still, Kate can't – and won't – give herself fully to him. 'He is a hyperactive puppy with the attention span of a 5-year-old,' she constantly reminds herself. 'As soon as the newest shiny object crosses his path, he'll disappear so fast.' And it's for this exact reason that Kate isn't willing to sacrifice a relationship with the perfect guy (Hot? Check. Doctor? Check. Taller than her? Check.) just to get burned once again by Castle leaving her for a model or an actress or an ex-wife.
The thing is, though, the person she goes to after a stressful and trying day isn't her boyfriend.
.
Castle, on the other hand, is having trouble juggling. He consistently finds himself ignoring Gina's calls and cancelling dates with her at the last minute when Kate texts him. He figures Kate doesn't have this problem because Josh is a fancy doctor who works long hours and is constantly on-call (he's not bitter about that at all).
.
She calls him more than he calls her. This, Castle realises rather quickly. For every one time he needs her because he wants to throw his computer against a wall and must redirect his energy elsewhere, she's needed to see him two or three times. It is the nature of her job versus the relative stress-free life that he tends to lead.
He doesn't mind this though. And that confuses him.
Because he soon comes to the conclusion that more than wanting to give her a release and help her feel better, he also wishes he could protect her from the sources of pain in the first place. He now fears for her life on a minute-to-minute basis, he wants to make her happy and worries when she's not, and he genuinely cares for her well-being. Castle can count the number of people on one hand that he could apply that criteria to.
.
They usually meet in hotels.
They decide early on that meeting at Castle's would not be a good idea since Martha and Alexis also live there and even if they had happened to be out, they could conceivably show up at any moment. As for Kate's place, she claims that she hates her new sublet, wanting to spend as little time there as possible but, if Kate is honest with herself, she would acknowledge that the real reason has more to do with the fact that her and Josh often sleep together there and it just feels wrong to have Castle there as well.
They come up with a code because Castle continues to be obsessed with secret agents. Kate thinks it's ridiculous but Castle thinks it's the best idea ever so obviously, he ends up making her do it.
Inevitably, it starts off with one of them texting it's not a murder to the other. Castle says that if anyone were to pick up their phones by accident, it wouldn't raise any suspicions. As a detective, Kate doesn't agree with him but she doesn't necessarily want to call him up when she's at her must vulnerable and ask him, Hey, you wanna have sex tonight? so she doesn't say anything to the contrary.
They cycle through four hotels because Castle is a child and can't decide which one he likes the best. If he chooses The Plaza, he texts her Eloise; if it's the Four Seasons, he texts her Vivaldi; the St. Regis is Annie; and the Waldorf is Blair (the latter of which Kate doesn't understand but Castle says it's in reference to a television show that he and Alexis like to make fun of).
Kate thinks that they are doing a really good job at hiding their relations (not relationship, just relations) but she almost slips up one day when she's talking to Lanie.
"What's different about you?" she asks.
"What're you talking about?" Kate responds. She's sitting on top of an exam table and watching Lanie work.
"You seem happier."
"Really?"
"Must be all that sex you're having." Only Lanie could sound sassy and suggestive while hovering over a dead body.
"What? I'm not having a lot of sex!" Kate denies immediately.
"Did you and Doctor Adorable break up and you didn't tell me?" Lanie sounds indignant.
"Oh!" Kate curses herself for having Castle on her mind. "No, no. Josh and I are still together."
Lanie gives her a strange look. "Who did you think I meant?"
"Nobody. I mean, Josh. I know you meant Josh."
"Girl, if you're hiding something from me…"
Kate repeats what she's been telling herself for two months. "It's nothing, Lanie. Really nothing."
.
She's already in the room when he gets there. She had been on her way home from the precinct when he had texted her with a place and a room number. She had known that he had been spending the past two days working on his latest Nikki Heat book. Just last week, he had groaned to Ryan and Esposito that he had been weeks behind the deadline his publishers had set for him. Kate hadn't missed him, per se, but it had just been a little quiet.
Castle enters the room to see Kate flopped down on her stomach across the king-sized bed, clearly exhausted from her day. He's almost content to leave her there and let her sleep.
"Castle?" her voice is low and muffled against the sheets.
He walks over to the bed quietly, stripping down to his boxers. Kate has already removed most of her stuffy work clothes upon entering the room, happy to be able to relax.
"You awake?" he whispers.
Kate makes a noise in assent though her eyes remain firmly shut.
He crawls onto the bed and strokes her bare legs gently. It's a comforting and peaceful moment after his hectic day of meetings and interviews; he hadn't been able to get any writing done even though that had been the plan.
His movements elicit a soft murmur and he smiles, moving his hand to brush his fingers against the exposed skin between her tank top and her panties, which causes Kate to reach up behind her and cover his hand in hers. Finally getting a reaction, Castle starts kissing up her back until he reaches her bare shoulder.
Kate can't help but smile as she feels him breathe into her hair, glad that she had used the cherry conditioner he seems to like so much. She lets him turn her over gently and as Castle pushes up the bottom of her top and starts kissing her stomach and up her side, Kate finds herself pushing any thoughts of tiredness or otherwise out of her head.
She wriggles under his touch, her eyes flickering open as her breathing becomes heavier. He slides off his boxers and helps her slide out of her panties before bringing her arms up around her head and entwining his fingers with hers. Kate lifts her body up to press against his as he continues planting kisses between her breasts and sucking lightly at her neck.
He brushes back her hair with one hand while the other snakes down between her legs, sliding along the whole slick length of her. Kate gasps as Castle simultaneously presses his thumb against her clit and slides two fingers inside her. Moving in and out, he slowly increases pressure, dipping into her a little deeper each time. Her entire body is so sensitive that when his mouth starts sucking at her hardened nipple, she can't help the moan that escapes her lips.
Castle's hands are all over her body as he waits for her to catch her breath. He whispers her name against her ear as he enters her slowly, spiralling his fingers around her breasts. Her green eyes look up into his blue ones just as she wraps her legs around him to pull him further inside her.
Castle thrusts into her over and over, his lips and hands still trying to seek out every part of her. Her breaths are coming fast and uneven, her mouth falling open as she starts to pant. She moves and rocks below Castle, her hands alternatively clenching his body and gripping the sheets.
Castle lets his fingertips reach down and press gently against Kate's swollen nub, sending her into a crashing orgasm. Her muscles tighten around him repeatedly and sets off his own release, both moaning in ecstasy until the wave washes them into breathless pleasure.
She usually doesn't stay long enough to do any sort of post-coital cuddling but she's too worn out tonight to move. So, she doesn't complain when Castle pulls her up to rest her head on his chest and she only tucks into him more when he wraps his arm around her body. If he's surprised, he doesn't show it.
It's so quiet that Castle thinks Kate must have fallen asleep. He tries to discreetly pull the covers up from the end of the bed where they had been kicked but Kate senses his movements and her eyes open sleepily.
"Are you cold?" she asks.
"Are you?"
She answers by sitting up and pulling the sheets over them, falling back onto her own side of the bed. He already misses her.
Her eyes close as her head hits the pillow. "Why did you call tonight?" her voice is a low murmur.
"Soulless bloodsuckers wouldn't leave me alone all day," he answers, angling his body so that he can still face her.
Her lips pull up into a small smile. "I didn't know vampires came out during the day."
"Didn't you hear? There's a new breed running around."
She chuckles and silence descends upon them once again. Usually, neither one of them stays in the room afterwards, although sometimes, Castle figures he's paid for it so he spends the night just to see how far he can go with the 24-hour butler service. Now, for the first time, Castle wonders if Kate is considering staying.
He doesn't have to wonder for long.
"Castle?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you wake me up in an hour? I'm just going to take a little nap before I call a cab home."
He's instantly disappointed, he doesn't want her to have to wake up just to get home. "Kate, why don't you stay?" he says finally and then, because he knows she'll refuse, he continues, "The room is ours for the night and anyway, I was planning on going home." (He hadn't been but if it's the only way he could get her to sleep peacefully through the night, then he doesn't mind lying.)
"Are you sure?"
The fact that she doesn't even protest is a testament to how exhausted she is. "Of course," he answers.
She searches for his hand under the covers and squeezes it. "Thanks," she says.
Before he leaves, he passes the front desk to request a wake-up call for 7 a.m. so that she's not late for work.
A/N: Less angsty chapters coming up (but unfortunately, angst returns before resolution...)! And just FYI: this story takes place over the course of ~4 months. As of this chapter, it's only been about two even though the timeframe might seem extended due to how I've paced the chapters.
As per usual, please leave remarks! :)