Chapter 9
(Please don't be in love with someone else.)
.
Kate is nervous. Then, she gets nervous about why she's nervous.
She rings the doorbell to stop herself from thinking about it. Even though she has a key, it feels odd to use it now that Castle is home.
Castle opens the door and they aren't even able to properly greet each other before Alexis bounds over to her and gives her a hug. She seems a lot younger than sixteen when she's cheerful and bouncy like this. (Although, Kate shouldn't be surprised since Castle is basically a man-child).
"We're making dinner," Alexis says. "Dad thought you'd be late so we just started."
"What're you guys making?" Kate sniffs the air, "And what's that burning?"
"Oh shoot," Alexis runs back towards the kitchen. "Dad! We're gonna have to make a third batch of garlic bread!"
"You're too easily distractible." Kate laughs, not even having to ask about the fate of the first batch.
"I never said I wasn't." He moves behind her to take her coat and it seems as though he can't help but brush his fingers unnecessarily against her neck. He leans close to whisper in her ear, "By the way, I love the decorations."
That night, they don't bother to avoid each other but their touches aren't so much scintillating as affectionate. Their laughing at the dinner table and Alexis' rosy cheeks after both Castle and Kate tease her about Ashley is a perfect visual representation of what Kate imagines when she thinks of belonging. The thought is fleeting and Kate pretends she doesn't catch it.
She takes a shower later to clear her mind of the thoughts and emotions that had flooded her that evening. She's been trying to maintain the cement fortress around her emotions, particularly the ones associated with Castle and Alexis.
She's so lost in her world that she doesn't even hear Castle entering the bathroom until he's pulling the glass door open and stepping intothe shower with her.
She hisses, "Castle!"
"Ssh," his eyes are sparkling, "My daughter is sleeping."
She rolls her eyes, "Yeah, down the hall with three closed doors between us."
He murmurs against the back of her neck, "You don't know how loud you can get."
Her blush only adds to the rising heat of her surroundings. His fingers ghost across her nipples before turning her around, inching them backwards until her back is pressed against the cool tiles.
He begins to trace her collarbone with his tongue. "I missed you," he says against her neck, biting her until he hears her gasp before licking the same area to elicit another kind of moan. His right hand slides down her slick body, finally resting on her thighs to move inwards towards her heat. She parts her legs a little but he only teases her by lightly brushing the pads of his fingers against her folds.
She lifts her head, intending to glare at him but he's already staring at her intently, obviously having been his plan to get her attention. She pushes herself against his body to create more friction and lets out a frustrated sound when he doesn't let her. He chuckles but when his hand returns, he's sliding two fingers into her and her eyes slam shut of their own accord.
His fingers start to penetrate her deeper and deeper and she's barely lucid. Before he loses her completely, he puts his mouth next to her ear and whispers, "Did you miss me?"
"What?" Her voice is shaky.
"Did you miss me as much as I missed you?" he repeats, enunciating each syllable.
She knows what he's trying to do, what he wants her to admit out loud to herself and to him. She knows he won't continue until she answers and she's so close but still, she clearly shakes her head, no.
Castle abruptly stops his movements. Her breath hitches and she's forced to open her eyes.
Her pupils are so dilated that he can barely see the green in them but still, he can tell. "You're lying," he says.
She doesn't answer him. After a beat, he adds another finger and resumes his movements and though her eyes widen, she refuses to let them close.
"I'm going to ask you again," His fingers push into her harder. "Did you miss me?"
She's steadfast and stubborn, moving her lips until they're a quarter of an inch away from his. "I already told you. No."
He removes his hand entirely this time and she tries not to react. "I know when you're lying, Kate."
"No, Castle. I don't think you –" she gasps, cutting herself off when he pushes his erection deep into her without warning. She wraps one of her legs around his waist instinctively, draping her hands on his shoulders to brace herself; her nails digging into his skin every time he thrusts.
He stops again before he can't control himself and this time, Kate whimpers, "Castle, please…"
"Just admit that you missed me," he says, sliding in and out of her agonizingly slowly.
Her willpower is strong. "No," she says on an inhale. She clenches her inner muscles violently and he's far enough in her that it's his turn to groan. She's triumphant now but he only grins at her challenge.
He teases one of her nipples with his tongue, distracting her enough so that when he pushes his thumb over her sensitive nub, she jerks in surprise. He starts to rub her clit vigorously and he gets so hard hearing her let out little whimpers of pleasure that he can't stop himself from rocking back into her.
"Why can't you say it, Kate?" His lips are against her ear again and he knows that if she doesn't admit it now, she'll never break.
He increases the pace and she cries out a little, letting her head fall back against the tiles. "Oh, god," she moans.
His breaths are coming fast but every time he pumps into her, he manages to repeat, "I missed you. I missed you. I missed you."
He thinks this is it, that she'll never say it back, and he's so far past gone that he's ready to give up when…
"I mis…" she starts but the rest of the sentence drops off her lips when he hits her in just the right spot.
"Say it, Kate," he prompts her, this time he's begging. She's wrapping her other leg around his body, angling herself to take him deeper and he knows that he won't be able to understand her in a few more seconds.
"I missed you, Castle," she gasps finally, "I missed you."
He lets himself go then and with one last push into her, a wave of pleasure roars through them both. He kisses her hard to muffle her moans and she bites his bottom lip as her whole body contracts and releases.
She doesn't let go when the orgasm passes. She keeps her legs wrapped around him so that she can continue to feel him inside her. Their lips had separated when breathing had gotten laboured but now, he's back to kissing her. Their mouths part open and the tip of his tongue brushes against the tip of hers for a millisecond before pulling back. When he does it a second time, she meets him in anticipation and he takes it as permission to explore and deepen the kiss. She's drunk with sensation and is no longer able to remember why they hadn't done this sooner. All of the passion that she's been repressing fuels the desperate need she has to kiss him back.
A/N: I take it back. Who needs beds when you've got hot shower sex? (Review?)