Disclaimer: Helmets are the Law! Wear them! Plus, they protect your gray stuff. :-) (if you're confused, just get to readin' and you'll understand... maybe).
They lay together, tired and sated, but not quite ready for sleep just yet. Kate just kept thinking about how glad she was that Castle had come back. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she hadn't been looking forward to sleeping alone tonight, not after spending the past couple nights tucked close to Rick's big, comfortable body as they slept. It still surprised her how... clingy- for lack of a better work- she was with him. But he gave her permission- welcomed her- to hold him close and simply be next to him. Few other people in her life had given her permission to be affectionate and... she loved it.
When she sighed contentedly, sweeping her hand over Rick's bare chest, he squeezed his arms tighter around her shoulders and pressed a kiss into her hair.
Breathing deeply of her luscious fragrance, Rick said, "My body feels tired enough for sleep, but my mind is wide awake. I could easily spend a few hours in front of my computer, but I can't seem to bring myself to move away from your hot body." In a teasing voice, he clarified, "By that I mean temperature-hot, not hot-hot."
Kate hid her smile from him, and lifted her hand to pinch at his ribs as a reply.
"Ow!" he cried, slapping his hand over hers, pressing it to his chest. "See, it's like I keep telling you; You'd make a great dominatrix." His voice turned dreamy as he added, "All you'd need is some skin tight, black leather."
Kate lifted her head to smirk at him, but his eyes were glazed in a dreamy manner and he didn't catch her look. If only he knew... Kate shook her head. And then she thought, Wait. There's no reason to keep it from him anymore, she realized with a sharp intake of air. She sat up, propping her upper body on a straight arm as she leaned over him. Her face lit up in excitement.
"Come with me," she blurted.
He grinned his boyish charm smile at her when he said, "I just did, but if you insist, I think I can manage to do it again." He began trying to pull her down on top of him, but she braced her free hand on his chest and pushed.
"That's not what I meant," she snapped, teasingly exasperated. "Go for a drive with me."
"Where?" he asked, confused. Few places were still open this late at night, even in 'the city that never sleeps.'
"Nowhere. Anywhere," she said, excitement raising the pitch of her voice. "Let's just drive for a while."
Kate was so excited, her green eyes actually sparkled. There was no way he could look at that face and deny her anything she wanted. "All right. Let's drive," he finally agreed.
Smiling excitedly, Rick thought she looked at least ten years younger when she brightened like that. The happy expression made his heart feel too big for his chest. Odd.
She began to bounce off of the couch and Rick was distracted. By bouncing parts... He sat still and simply watched her practically skip over to her room. When she was hidden from view, within her bedroom, Castle gasped in the breath he hadn't realized he'd forgotten to take.
"Do you have a black shirt?" she called from the other room.
"I think so... Yeah, a button down." He called back, sitting up on the couch. "Why?"
"Go put it on. And some dark jeans if you have them."
When would she learn? he wondered. I probably own more clothes than she does.
"Yes, ma'am," he joked. He got off the couch and went to his bag by the front door. On impulse he decided to go commando; he didn't want to get clean shorts dirty if he was only going to wear them for an hour or so and he disliked the idea of putting on yesterday's pair. He was just buttoning his pants when Kate spoke from behind him, her non-muffled voice telling him she'd emerged from her room, most likely already dressed.
"You're still not dressed yet?" She teased him. "I managed to squeeze myself into this getup in the time it took you to button your pants?"
"If you recall, you had a head start," he pointed out as he pulled on the black shirt. He began buttoning up and added, "Plus, I was distracted by your body as you skipped-" He finally turned around and his words flew from him like little leather-clad butterflies. "To..." His fingers were frozen on the third button from the bottom as he ogled.
Kate wore a form fitting black leather jacket, but he was used to those; she wore leather jackets to work all the time. But underneath, she wore even more leather. What might have been a halter top, or a vest- or both- was paired with the jacket. The plunging neckline exposed a lot of cleavage down the center of her chest and the hem left about three inches of bare skin around her midriff. Her tight black leather pants sat so low on her hips, he could see the ink tips of her butterfly tattoo. Tan laces along the outer length of the pants held the garment together and exposed a strip of her long legs at the same time. Her lace up, knee high boots were high heeled and- of course- black leather.
"Please tell me you don't wear that outfit in public," he finally gasped.
"I know, it doesn't fit right anymore. I had to loosen the ties on the sides just to get into the pants." Kate twisted her upper body a little and stuck her butt out, arching her back as she examined how the tight leather squeezed her larger backside. Well, it was bigger than it had been when she was 20. "But I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of it." She straightened, shrugged and turned to look at Castle.
He groaned as if in pain and groused, "Then you did wear it in public. And you're about to do it again. Maybe we should just stay in; I don't feel like going out anymore."
Kate rolled her eyes but she was secretly pleased that Rick appeared... well, jealous. Or maybe just overprotective. So she teased, "You can stay home if you like, but I'm going out. I didn't get all dressed up for nothing."
"There is no way you are leaving the house dressed like that," he informed her, at which point she began glaring at him.
"Oh?" she asked archly.
"Not without me you're not."
Mollified somewhat, she smiled and said, "Well, let's go then."
Sighing, Rick ceded, "Fine." He finally moved to finish buttoning his shirt, but Kate stopped him.
"Don't," She said in a low voice and then added, "Leave it." She approached and raised her hand to touch him. Starting with her palm pressed to his collarbone, her hand skimmed down his exposed chest until she could go no further, impeded by the four closed buttons of the shirt. "I like it this way."
Smiling boyishly, Rick pulled her into his embrace, and Kate pressed a kiss to his exposed chest. She let him hold her close for a long, peaceful, contented moment before she took hold of one of his hands and began leading him out the front door.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"No." Rick repeated emphatically for probably the fifth time. "I am not driving that death machine. And neither are you," he added for emphasis.
Kate glared at him defiantly for a minute before moving determinedly and throwing one long leg over the little black and silver motorcycle. "I'm going, Castle. You can come or not."
Rick was beginning to notice that she mostly only called him 'Castle' now when she was annoyed with him- or when they were out in public. Otherwise, she'd taken to calling him 'Rick'- or 'Ricky' if she was teasing him.
He didn't like the idea of her on a bike, but the image she made- the powerful machine how purring loudly between her thighs- was sexy as hell. 'A modern day Amazon Princess, mounting her steel horse...' Castle mused idly. And then grimaced when he realized he was quoting Bon Jovi.
Then sighing, he climbed onto the 'bitch seat' and put his hands on Kate's slim waist. Smirking a little, she took his hands from her hips and pulled; she wrapped them tight around her, placing his arms where she wanted them across her abdomen and pressed her body back into Castle's chest.
"That's better," she concluded before she moved to grasp the handle bars and the bike roared beneath them. Kate took off at a breathtaking pace and for an hour, they wandered the sleepy city, her hair blowing freely back. Half the time her hair blew right into his face, but Rick loved it; the fresh clean air, mixed with her delicious cherry scent. It was intoxicating.
There was something about the speed with which they traversed the city, something exciting, that had both of their hearts beating faster and Kate pushing the limits of what her bike could do with two people on it in the busy city. Kate shivered in pleasure and excitement when Rick's hand slipped beneath her jacket and his fingertips began caressing the exposed skin of her midriff. His fingers were just creeping up, under her top along her ribs when she laughed out loud. "Distracting me right now would be a very bad thing for both of us, Mr. Castle," she called out to him.
"But you're so very distracting. I want to touch you!" he called back.
"Time to head home then, I supposed."
With his chest pressed to her back, she felt him groan then, but just barely heard it over the wind. "I don't know which I want more right now: you or to keep driving."
Laughing again, she reassured, "Well, we have a bit of a drive back, so you'll get both."
His grip around her tightened and he reluctantly agreed, "Okay."
Suddenly, the bike lurched forward and they were hurtling through nearly deserted streets, and the speed was so exhilarating, Rick's body shuddered in pleasure and excitement. His arms tightened around her, both for safety and just because he wanted to.
Kate laughed loudly, shaking her head and letting 'the wind gather her hair.'
For a moment, Kate didn't even recognize herself. She hadn't felt this happy or lighthearted in years, and it was because of Castle that she was feeling it now. She'd have to thank him for that somehow, she mused, loving the new side of her self Castle had given her permission- encouraged her- to discover.
When she finally pulled the bike into her garage and killed the engine, Kate wasn't ready to let the bike go. So she swung her leg over the front of the bike, turned to face Castle and threw her other leg over him. Both of them sitting, Kate now had Rick as well as the motorcycle between her legs.
Surprised but pleased, Rick put his hands on her backside, squeezing her and pulling her against him to grind her center against the ridge in his jeans.
"How are you always ready for me?" she wondered aloud, her voice low and breathy, her heart and lungs working almost as quickly as they usually did after chasing a suspect for ten blocks.
Rick smirked and said, "We've got two years to make up for, baby." Normally, he wouldn't have called her 'baby,' but he was being pompous at the moment. He decided he'd eventually have to find a better pet name for her, though.
"Yes," she gasped before she kissed him. She shifted her position on the bike, moving closer to him while grinding her center against him again and wrapping her legs around his waist. She twisted her arms around his shoulders, buried her fingers in his hair and clutched him close as she devoured his mouth.
When Castle attempted to drag his hand through her hair, to hold the back of her head, his fingers got stuck in her wind-tangled locks and she gasped, "Ow!"
"Sorry," he murmured, removing his hand from the tangles. Instead, he gently took a handful of her dark brown tresses in his fist and tipped her head back, applying his lips to her neck.
And Kate gasped, excited by a combination of the drive and the generous man who was always ready to give her what she needed.
Suddenly, Rick pulled away from her, blinked a few times and asked, "Are there security cameras in here too?"
Kate quickly scanned the large room with her eyes, even though she knew she wouldn't see them if cameras were in fact present. The scan had more to do with giving her befuddled brain the time to recall whether or not there were security cameras in the garage. She blinked when she realized how stupid that was; this building was covered in cameras; that was half the reason she'd leased the apartment here; and George had only added more when Kate voiced concerns over her safety.
"Yes," she finally gasped.
"Good to know," Rick nodded, and proceeded to crush his mouth to hers in a bruising kiss.
Kate tried to laugh, giddy from the bike ride and the expert kissing, but Castle's insistent tongue stole the breath- and the laugh- from her. Fisting her hand in his hair, she gripped the back of his head as she pulled him even harder into their kiss. Her other hand swept down his still-bare-chest between the lapels of his shirt and down, around his side and across his back where she began frantically kneading the muscle there in her excitement.
"We should go," Castle finally gasped between kisses.
"Upstairs," Kate finished for him, her way of agreeing with his assessment.
"Soon," he added, even as he was distracted by the low neckline of her top. His hand smoothed down the center of her chest- as much as it was able- until it slipped to one side, under the cup of the halter. "Right now," he amended, quickly becoming desperate to bury himself inside her again. But instead of releasing her, his hand began kneading, eliciting heartfelt moans of pleasure from the leather-clad beauty currently trying to grind on him through the double layer of their clothes.
Suddenly, Castle grabbed on tightly to Kate's backside and stood up, lifting her off the bike even as the motion caused her center to grind against him. He had just enough cogitative power at the moment to realize he should step away from the bike if he wanted to ensure that it would stay upright. Standing beside the bike now, Kate in his arms, Castle kissed her once more before pulling away and informing her, "I could carry you- and enjoy it immensely- but if you don't want to give George another little show in the elevator, I'm gonna need you to- Oh, gees, I can't believe I'm about to say this- unwrap your legs from around my waist and walk yourself up to your apartment."
"There are camera's in here too, Castle," she reminded him, perfectly content to remain where she was at the moment.
"But they're bound to yield lower quality footage than the elevator camera. Plus, what if we pass one of your neighbors?"
Kate squeezed her thighs around his waist in order to shift herself higher into his embrace, making Castle groan. "None of my neighbors would be up this late on a work night," she argued.
"Kate," he complained. "Put your feet down and walk your gorgeous ass over to that elevator, unless you want me to take you on the floor of a parking garage. And you can trust me; I'll do it. I once borrowed a police horse while I was totally naked. Exhibitionism doesn't scare me." Rick sincerely hoped she fell for the bluff; he had not consumed enough alcohol tonight to render the threat plausible. But he wanted her again and this conversation was straining what little control he had to begin with.
"You kind of have to let me go first, Ricky," She informed him teasingly with a raised eyebrow, referring to the fact that even though he was telling her to get down, he was the one holding onto her ass like he never meant to let go and preventing her from doing what he said he wanted her to do.
"Oh, right." Castle promptly let go of her backside, let her slip gently to her feet and then just as promptly grabbed her to him again. "How far is the house?" He murmured as he leaned slowly forward for a kiss.
"Too far," she murmured back.
"Floor it is," he concluded, and in response, Kate laughed.
"Come with me," she told him, stepping away from him to take his hand and lead him to the elevator.
"If you insist," he retorted cheekily, watching the sway of her hips more than the direction of her feet as she dragged him along.
Author's Note: Okay, we have options for the next chapter; I could continue this little scene and describe what happens upstairs. Or, I could skip the 'boring' part and move right on to what scant plot I had cooked up next (PS, the 'boring' comment was in fact sarcasm). I'll put it to a vote. Plus, has anyone else noticed that all of my chapters now seem to be ending in smut? I don't know what it is! I pretend there's plot; they have sex. They get all cuddly; they have sex. Rick says something cute; they have sex. Kate says 'Hi,' they have sex. Let me know if you're over it, and I'll try to come up with actual plot, though personally, I'm fine with the fluff. It's why I live here, on FanFiction Planet :-D (Haha, that was my not-so-subtle way of hopefully garnering myself extra reviews! They're like Crack! I think I'm addicted.)
Sorry about calling it the 'bitch seat' but in my defense, I've never heard it called anything else! And I thought it was funny for Castle to be sitting on something called 'the bitch seat.' I do have some ideas for future chapters, so I'm not seeing an end to this story anywhere in sight, but finals are coming up, so don't expect hasty updates- for which I apologize in advance. (Because I've been so prompt with updates in the past *she said, rolling her eyes at herself* ... yes, that too was sarcasm. It's so funny to me, so many people say I'm sooo sweet, but if you get to know me well enough, you find I'm usually sooo sarcastic. I'll stop now. Write to you later!)