They drove silently through New York's streets. Castle started scribbling on his window as the condensation set in. Kate saw her break.
"Writing your next Best Seller, Castle?"
Castle cleared the condensation away, erasing what had started to look like an angry bird on steroids. He replied with a grunt. Castle didn't mean to be rude, but he was at a loss for words.
Kate took the last left at the stop light and stopped at the corner. She instinctively turned the engine off, which left Castle surprised. He had no intention of asking her to come upstairs like he had before, several times, only to be met with an astonishing record of "No thanks" from her. Unbeknown to him, Kate had other plans.
"So... this is my stop..." Castle said, emphasizing the word 'my'. He turned to thank her. "I appreciate you-..."
Kate blankly stared onto the vacant street. In a few hours, that corner street would be filled with people heading off to cafés, or walking to work. Kate bit her lip and took a deep breath. She rapidly pressed down on her seat belt, unfastening it, and turned towards Castle. His hand was already on his own seat belt's buckle. With her right hand, Kate pushed Castle's hand away and grabbed onto the lower belt, pulling it and holding it down, fastening him in the seat. As the strap tightened around Castle's waist, Kate slightly holstered her upper body, laying it on top of his torso, leaving her face dangerously close to his.
Kate's eyes wildly scanned his expressions, in search of some hint of acceptance of her move. Instead, she found disbelief and resistance. Castle started to utter something that Kate perceived as 'not good', while his arms started to raise in order to push her away. Kate's grip around the belt strap grew tighter, and she threw her lower body onto his lap, her left hand reached for and pushed back on the diagonal belt strap. She had now pinned Castle back and under her. Having gone this far, Kate dove for Castle's mouth, pressing on his lips, hard.
Castle's mouth, against all of his instincts, closed shut. In a mixture of surprise, and determination to not let Kate deal with hurting him in this way, he leaned his head as far away from her as he could, and sought release by grabbing her clenched hands, and beginning to pry her fingers open.
Embedded in the warmth of Castle's body, Kate remained focused on his lips. She hesitated as she felt them close under her kiss, but insisted, confident that they would finally melt open. Kate took another approach, and gently rubbed her lips against his, slightly nibbling at them. As she suddenly felt his hands on hers, she slowly licked the middle of his closed lips upward.
Castle moaned as he pried Kate's hands from his seat belt. Then, he paused in his intention to push Kate away. The unforgettable expression of shock and desire was relived once again on both of their faces.
Castle leaned into her forcefully, finally kissing her back. His hands wrapped around her head as he sent her crashing against the dashboard. Kate unfastened Castle's seat belt and lavished in his tight grip. As his body rose to meet hers, his hands dragged down the back of her neck, and stopped at her lower back. Kate grabbed onto his shoulders, raised her hips to accommodate his lower body and pressed into him.
Flustered and aware he was pinning Kate uncomfortably against the dashboard, Castle lowered back into his seat, maintaining his hands locked at her now bare waist, bringing her down with him. Kate followed the motion, tugging at his shirt collar, ripping a few buttons open, and spreading her hands underneath it, caressing Castle's shoulders.
Castle's hands wandered off up Kate's back, beneath her sweater. He parted his lips from hers, reclined and pulled her sweater up. Kate smiled and raised her arms. As the sweater passed her head, and stalled on her forearms, Castle pulled it behind her back, leaving Kate's arms bound awkwardly behind her.
Castle gazed at Kate's exposed chest like a 3 year-old on Christmas Day. Although escape from the impromptu bondage was easy, Kate shivered but did not resist. Castle pulled at the sweater, leading Kate back onto the dashboard. She willingly reclined, and he skimmed his warm face against her belly. Kate's eyes closed as Castle began brushing his lips on her soft skin. As he kissed and licked his way up, Kate jolted upward and her startled eyes met his.
"Don't..." She whispered.
"It's me, Kate..." Castle replied with all his heart, hoping his words would chisel effectively through the wall brought up by his proximity to Kate's bullet wound scar.
Kate blinked slowly, trying her best not to ruin the moment with words. She bit her lip. "It's this... constant reminder how much I stand to lose." she confessed, gravely.
Castle's released his hold on the sweater, freeing Kate, and wrapped his arms tenderly around Kate's waist, as he heard Kate open up. She pealed the sweater off her arms and defensively crossed her arms in front of her. He looked into her eyes knowingly. They shared this moment until a familiar mischievous smile dawned on Castle's face. He pressed his lips, raising his eyebrows, as his eyes alternated between looking at her chest and her eyes.
"Well... from where I am sitting..." Castle said with a voice as heavy and sweet as honey, "...it looks more like a hell of a promise of what I stand to gain..."