Hidden Wounds: Chapter 8

Kate nervously rubbed her hands together as she walked into Castle's loft.

"Would you care for a glass of wine detective?" Castle asked as he headed past her into the kitchen.

"Sure. Thanks." She replied. "It smells wonderful in here." She inhaled deeply, savoring the aromas and suddenly realizing how hungry she was.

"Dinner will be ready in just a moment – make yourself at home."

Kate nodded and wandered over to the kitchen island, hoisting herself onto a stool so she could watch him work. He placed a glass of red wine in front of her with a smile and turned back to begin plating their meal.

While he worked, Kate took the rare opportunity to watch him. He had chosen a dark green button down shirt and jeans. We match, she thought with a smile. He moved confidently and smoothly, and she was jealous that his hands didn't shake. She was sure hers would at the moment.

Kate took a sip of the wine and almost gasped. It was smoky and dark, and the peppery currant flavor tingled over her taste-buds. "This is fantastic."

"I'm glad you like it." He said, turning toward her. "Dinner is served," he said with a flourish, picking up the two plates he had been preparing and heading toward the table. Kate followed him and sat down, staring at the beautiful pasta dish as Castle went back to the kitchen to grab the bread and his own glass of wine.

Taking a bite, Kate had to bite back a moan of pleasure at how good it was.

"You are a seriously good cook, Castle, this is amazing."

"You sound surprised, detective," he feigned offense at her comment.

"Well, after the tales of s'morelettes I have to admit to a certain trepidation about your palette."

"You wound me," Castle placed his hand over his heart, mock hurt playing over his features.

"All this time you've been bringing everybody all that take-out and you could have been bringing home-made masterpieces. We are clearly not using all of your talents at the precinct."

"Oh, Kate, my talents are always at your service."

Kate tried to keep the blush off of her face, but she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. She gave herself a mental eye-roll. This is Castle. King of innuendo. And you know full well you fed him that set-up. Pull it together, Kate.

At Castle's small chuckle she knew she had failed and buried her annoyance at herself in another sip of wine.

"So, where did you learn to cook?" Kate asked, taking another bite and relishing the flavor.

"I know a guy." Castle responded off-handedly.

"You know a guy? Is there a chef hidden somewhere in your apartment?" Kate looked around the loft, half-expecting Wolfgang Puck to be hiding behind the couch.

"What? No! But now that you mention it, that would make a great story. I wonder where I could stow a chef." Castle laughed. After a moment he grew more serious.

"Actually, I taught myself when I was a kid. Mother was…well, you know mother. Always auditioning or working in a production. I had a lot of time by myself. And then, later, when it was just me and Alexis, I wanted to make the food she ate, so I knew what was in it and I knew she was getting the right kind of nutrition. As she got older we started cooking together. We'd have so much fun making up new dishes and playing with ingredients. And I could still make sure she was getting the nutrition she needed. It gave me a way to take care of her, even when she felt she was too old for me to be hovering over her."

"And s'morelettes have a high nutritional value, do they?"

"Hey, what did the s'morelette ever do to deserve this kind of injustice?" Kate laughed along with Castle, enjoying the moment.

She had never really thought about his childhood before, but now that she did, she supposed it must have been difficult growing up in such a constantly shifting environment. She tended to avoid conversations about childhood, for the obvious reason that it might lead to talking about her mother's murder, but she knew that she had really had a charmed childhood. In many ways, it had been idyllic, until her entire world had been ripped apart. And now, memories of that time were always clouded with the violence of what had happened.

Another thought occurred to her about Castle's confession. He put all of his care and concern and love into feeding Alexis. But Castle had been feeding her since he walked into her life. He was always making sure she was eating, always taking care of her.

She felt her eyes water slightly and covered her emotions by diving back into the pasta.

"So what about you, Kate?"

"Hmmm?" Kate asked around a mouthful of penne. She had lost the thread of the conversation in her ruminations.

"Do you ever cook? Or is it always take-out and frozen food?"

"I can cook. I mean, it's not a grand talent of mine, but I have some specialties. I do however, bake." Kate paused, and then grinned at him. "I make some wicked dessert."

Castle's look on her intensified. "Oh, Kate, I just bet you do."

Kate held his gaze, letting some of her lust creep into her eyes as she lifted the wine glass to her mouth. She watched Castle's eyes darken as she drained the glass, letting him see her obvious enjoyment of the rich liquid, and toying with him by slowly swiping her tongue over her lips.

His lips parted as he let out a small breath, and Kate felt her own breathing quicken.

Suddenly he stood, and, breaking the moment, grabbed her plate and was off into the kitchen to clean up before another word passed between them.

Castle almost choked as Kate toyed with him, her tongue peaking out to brush her lips and her eyes full of something he wasn't used to seeing there. The intensity of her gaze seemed to make his entire body flicker with heat.

He couldn't contain a small exhalation, and with that decided he needed to alleviate some of the tension. He forced his eyes away from hers and grabbed the plate she had finally managed to polish clean, quickly striding to the kitchen. He almost laughed at himself. Once again he was using the excuse of the dishes to give himself a chance to regain some control.

He heard her throaty chuckle from behind him and knew she had a pretty good idea about why he had made such a hasty retreat. God knows he wanted her, but they still needed to talk. She had come clean, but he was still keeping secrets.

He put away the leftovers and rinsed their plates before allowing himself to turn back around. Kate had moved back to the kitchen island and was watching him intently, her empty wine glass sitting in front of her.

"Can I offer you some more wine, detective?" He asked, attempting to regain some dignity with a suave air he wasn't quite achieving.

"Certainly," she replied.

Castle picked up her glass and turned back to the counter, grabbing the bottle and pouring a healthy refill into both their glasses.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt her breath hot on his ear, her warm body right behind his.

"And what, exactly, were your plans for dessert?"

Castle could feel her, so close and radiating heat, and tried to suppress the shiver working its way up his spine from her proximity.

He didn't turn around, afraid that seeing her face would ruin the very tenuous leash he had on his control at the moment.

"mmmgrstn"

"What?" she asked, clearly amused.

"You. Um. No! I didn't mean - not you for dessert. I mean. You make yourself comfortable…" Kate seemed to shimmy closer and he realized his words could be taken more than one way, "In the living room. Go have a seat, I'll bring it to you." He choked out.

He held his breath as he felt her press into him, certain he was not going to be able to contain himself any longer. Kate, his Kate, was so close he could smell her, he could feel her slender frame so close to his. He closed his eyes as he felt her arm come around him.

Then opened them in surprise as she moved away, leaving him feeling strangely cold. The lonely glass in front of him told him she had simply reached around him for her wine. He let out a strangled breath.

Once again he heard her suppress a laugh as she moved into the living room.

As always, thank you for reading. I am humbled and flattered by your support. Best, A.D.