Hidden Wounds: Chapter 9

Kate was a bit confused.

Castle was obviously doing everything in his power to control himself, something she had not been expecting. She had allowed her flirtation to become more overt, more sexual than she normally would, simply to see what she could get away with. She had been shocked by his control, and briefly wondered about the benefits of that control in certain…intimate…settings.

She shook off the vivid images that line of thinking raised. It wasn't that she wanted to take things too fast really, but she felt something was off…something was still not quite right.

From her place on the couch she watched as Castle moved around the kitchen. His movements were stiffer than normal, nervous and concerned. The nervousness she could understand – she herself was still practically shaking from the adrenaline – but the little furrowed crease at his brow had her worried. He seemed…upset about something.

Castle turned toward her, holding a plate in one hand and his glass of wine in the other, giving her a brilliant smile that seemed to freeze as he took in her intense gaze. She forced her features to relax into a smile, watching as his did the same. She noticed, however, that his eyes still looked wary.

Castle headed toward her and set the plate on the coffee table in front of her, sitting next to her on the couch. She tried not to be too disappointed when he left some distance between them, wondering how often in the past he had had the same thought when she moved away.

"So, what have we here?" She asked, looking at the plate.

"Truffles. Dark chocolate truffles. I thought you'd like them."

Kate reached for one and popped it into her mouth. The rich chocolate seemed to melt over her tongue, deep and creamy and just slightly bitter. She felt her eyes flutter closed.

"Castle. These are divine. Where did you get them?" She took a sip of wine, relishing the way the spicy currant perfectly complimented the lush chocolate. When she realized Castle still had not answered she looked up at him.

His eyes were so intently focused on her she let out a little gasp. At her exhalation, Castle shook his head slightly as if to clear his thoughts and smiled at her, a smile that didn't quite reach the predatory look in his eyes.

"Actually, I made them."

"You are just full of surprises this evening."

Castle chuckled nervously and looked away. Almost as if he were…guilty.

Hmmm… Kate thought. There it is. He's keeping something from me.

Kate sat back in the couch as she let this information sink in. She watched as Castle grabbed a chocolate to hide his discomfort, and decided to switch tactics.

"How's the latest best-seller coming?" she asked. Castle took a moment to ponder, sipping his wine.

"Good."

Kate stared. That was it?

"Good." She deadpanned. "Really?"

He shifted on the couch, obviously uncomfortable.

"Um, I might be…a little behind on my deadline."

"A little behind?"

"A lot behind?" He looked at her with guilty puppy-dog eyes and she felt herself soften.

"How much is a lot behind?"

"Well, I was supposed to have a draft in a while ago, and I haven't really finished it yet."

His obvious embarrassment made her want to soothe him. "You'll get there. How much do you have left to write?"

There was a long pause as Castle looked away.

"Castle?"

He sighed, but still didn't look at her.

"You haven't written any of it, have you?"

When he still didn't look at her she knew she was correct.

"But I know you've been working. I've even see you typing away on the laptop."

Castle continued to stubbornly stare at anything but her. Kate considered him a moment, wondering how she had not noticed the ache that was now evident in every line of his body. He looked lost.

Kate set down the wine and scooted over closer to him. Castle stiffened as she came into contact with his side, but then relaxed and allowed her to lean into him. She took his hand, twining her fingers into his and letting her other hand come up to stroke the back of his knuckles.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Castle-"

"No." He said, his voice strong.

After a moment, he spoke again, more softly. "I'm sorry. I just-" He cut off, flexing his fingers to squeeze hers in a gesture of comfort. Kate thought it ironic that he was trying to comfort her, when all she wanted to do was comfort him.

He shifted, and Kate suddenly felt he was about to get up.

"If you go hide in the dishes one more time I swear I'm going to show you all the ways I can get your undivided attention with soap and water."

Castle's eyes shot to hers, shocked.

Kate felt just as shocked as he was. She couldn't believe that had actually come out of her mouth.

Castle was nervous. The whole conversation had taken a turn into topics he didn't want to confront, and he hadn't been able to joke his way out of them. She had not let him get away with his half-answers. When she had leaned into him he swore he could feel her warmth as though it was burned into his side. He was overwhelmed by her. He could feel her, smell her, sense the subtle shifts in her body that matched the subtle shifts in her mood. And she wasn't running. She wasn't shying away from the intimate moments as she always had before.

He hadn't realized how much he counted on the fact that Kate did not like to confront this kind of intimacy.

He felt bad for snapping at her, for refusing to talk about his writing. He needed a moment. Again. It was his turn to run, apparently. He shifted to get up, thinking to clean up the chocolates even though he had intended to leave them out, when Kate snapped.

"If you go hide in the dishes one more time I swear I'm going to show you all the ways I can get your undivided attention with soap and water."

Castle was shocked. His body flared in interest, immediately captivated by imagining all the things Kate might do to him with soap and water, while his brain shouted in fear that she had noticed every retreat, and that she wasn't going to allow him an escape.

"I had no idea you were so eager for my undivided attention, detective." He managed to choke out, proud that he had succeeded in keeping his tone relatively light and teasing.

He took some comfort in the fact that she looked just as shocked as he was.

"Castle." She breathed, not taking the bait of his half-baked joking comment.

He looked at her serious expression for a moment, then leaned back into the couch, giving up on escape.

"Can we just…" he paused to swallow. "Can we just talk about something else?"

Kate leaned back into him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He could almost feel her thinking, and held his breath.

"So, how's Alexis? Has she made any decisions on schools yet?"

Castle was sure his relief was palpable, but he barreled on anyway, babbling about Alexis and the trials and tribulations of college applications.

The conversation remained light after that, and they laughed together over old family stories and precinct gossip. When they polished off the first bottle of wine, Castle opened another.

He knew he was getting silly, the wine fogging his ability to think clearly, but he was enjoying the evening so immensely he couldn't bring himself to care. Kate was getting silly, too, he noticed with a grin. He watched her as she finished telling him about catching Lanie and Esposito making out in the morgue, laughing as she described how hard it was to keep a straight face at their mortified expressions.

"For a second I thought Esposito was going to try to hide behind Lanie's back, as though I wouldn't be able to see him there." She giggled, her face flushed and happy.

"For the rest of the day, he kept sidling up to me any time he had to tell me anything like a puppy that knows it's in trouble."

"And was he?" Castle asked, fascinated by the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Was he what?"

"In trouble?"

"For kissing in the morgue? The morgue is Lanie's territory. If she doesn't mind, I certainly don't. Although I have to say that it doesn't seem like the most romantic location. I'm just glad it was me that walked in. Someone else may have been less…quiet…about it."

Castle snorted. "Please tell me you haven't been quiet about it. Those two deserve to squirm a bit."

"I said quiet, I didn't say silent." Kate gave him a wicked grin.

"So since Lanie gets to decide if it's ok to kiss in the morgue, does that mean you get to decide if it's ok to kiss in the bull pen?"

"Absolutely no kissing in the bull pen. Don't even think about it, writer boy." She laughed, swatting his arm.

"Oh, Kate, I think about it all the time." Suddenly serious, he found himself glancing at her mouth before forcing his eyes back to hers. A moment passed as they stared at each other. Castle could practically feel the air charge with heat.

"We're not in the bull pen now." She practically purred…purred!...at him.

Before his brain could get through the fog of the wine his body had already moved forward, his lips crashing into hers as he pulled her to him.

Thank you for reading! Best, A.D.