Chapter 11
Castle rolled his eyes dramatically and pulled the phone away from his ear, waited for Martha on the other end to take a breath as Kate sat quietly on the sofa next to him, her stifled laugh longing to burst free. "Yes, Mother," he said, a response to a question he wasn't even sure had been asked, given he'd already stopped paying much attention to anything she was actually saying. "I know. I know." But he didn't know, didn't want to know- he really just wanted to hang up.
He pulled the phone back to his ear, his eyes on Kate, his mind on Kate and the fact that they'd be leaving for home tomorrow and that he had no idea what might happen once they got there. "Mother," he interrupted, "I will be home in the morning. We can talk about this then. Give Alexis a kiss for me. No, you're right, I probably don't deserve it. Yes, Mother, I will. See you in the morning."
"What did she say?"
His head slumped over from the exhaustion of the last five minutes. "I don't think she likes it very much when I behave like an ass for weeks, leave town without telling her where I'm going, and then ignore her calls for two days. Call it a hunch."
"Well, if she grounds you, maybe I can just sneak in through your window or something."
Castle stared off into the distance, lost in the deliciousness of the thought.
"You okay?"
"I'm imagining what kind of super-suit you might be wearing when you climb through my window, so, yes, I'm more than okay."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Losing my mystery already, am I?"
Kate inched sideways along the sofa until she was near enough to lift her leg over his and straddle his lap. She plucked the phone from his fingers and tossed it aside, leaning her body in close, her hands propped on either side of the cushion behind his shoulders. "That's okay, Castle. I don't want you for your mystery, anyway. I want you for your body." She bit lightly at his earlobe with a smile and his hands dove beneath the outside of her thighs, drawing her firmly against him.
"I feel so used," he huffed melodramatically. "But let's not forget that you only have access to my magnificent body because of my mysteries." He was most pleased with himself for the clever play on words.
"Now you're getting carried away. I said nothing about magnificent." She rocked her hips forward as she trailed her tongue along the sensitive spot on his neck that she'd discovered the night before. He released a sigh of pleasure and felt her smile widen along his skin.
"Oh, I'm very good at reading between the lines- among other things."
She pulled back slowly, her fingers laced together against the soft hair at his neck. "You're very good at feeding your own ego."
He scowled at her, though his hands continued to glide seductively up and down her denimed thighs with titillating pressure.
"Sorry, I thought we were making a list," she teased.
"I'll make your list," he grumbled, the comeback utterly nonsensical.
"I can think of better things you could be doing with that mouth other than pouting, and you're very good at those, I've quickly learned."
His whole face perked up. "Well, I'm glad you've enjoyed them, since I plan on doing all of them tonight. You might want to think about doing some stretching to prepare. I'm going to go into the kitchen and get myself a bottle of water while you ponder that. Have to stay hydrated." He grabbed her at the hips and shifted her off of his lap.
"Would you mind grabbing me one too,? Sounds like I'll probably need it," she said, as he stepped away.
He opened the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles. "So, speaking of being prepared, maybe we should talk about tomorrow." He wandered back over to the sofa where she sat cross-legged and, from her expression, obviously confused about what he was referring to. "I noticed earlier that you introduced me to Bennett as your friend, Rick, and I- I wasn't- that didn't bother me, of course, I'm just wondering what it is you might want to tell people when we get home."
She swallowed a sip of his water and set her bottle down on the table. "Castle, I didn't even realize. It wasn't intentional- habit, I guess."
"I know it wasn't. I know. This is all just so new and we haven't really talked about it. Neither of us told anyone we were coming here or with whom, so I figured I should, at least, mention it before we head home. I mean, your dad thinks you're with Lanie, so I want to make sure our story's straight. I want you to be comfortable."
"I don't know, Castle. One the one hand, I want to share this with everyone, and on the other hand, there's a big reason not to, at least not right away. You told Gates you were done with your book research and done with the 12th. I don't know if you've had second thoughts about that since all of this happened or if that's something you still want. Honestly, I don't even know if you could come back if you wanted to. But if you did, the regs are very clear about coworkers dating. And, yes, you aren't on the NYPD's payroll, but you know how Gates is. I'm not sure what she'd do if she found out. I don't want to be responsible for breaking us up, Castle. It's all just…complicated."
"Kate."
"Yeah?" She looked up at him, her expression heavy with competing emotions.
"Breathe, first of all, okay? Second of all, the rules existed long before you became a cop. You didn't write them and you wouldn't be responsible. I wouldn't want your career jeopardized for one second, Kate, and certainly not because of me. I'm the guy who forced himself into your work-life to begin with, as I'm sure you remember, and I consider it a gift to still be there with you every day. Look, I loved being your partner at the 12th, Kate, but I love you more, so I can let it go if it'll make things easier for you. That's all I want."
She tugged gently at his arm and met his lips in a soft kiss. "I love you too, but I want the work thing to be your decision, not mine. Think about it for a few days. I have to see the doctor tomorrow and if he clears me for work, which he damn well better, I'll be going back later this week. Until then, at least, we won't tell anyone, and depending on what you decide you want to do, we can about talk what's next."
"Actually," he said, his tone villainous, "now that I'm really thinking about it, keeping it all a secret sounds like it could be kind of fun and sexy, you know? Sneaking around, stolen glances, finding hidden places to make out. Not to mention, going back to the precinct would totally piss off Gates and that's definitely appealing."
"Wow, Castle, it's so unbelievably romantic that you want to hide our love from the world just so you can stick it to my boss."
"Hey, wait, let me be clear here. It wasn't just for that. And I'd get on the phone to my publicist right now and have her draw up a press release for every media outlet on earth declaring my love for you, if that's what you wanted. I've lived alone with this long enough."
"I know you have." She rested her forehead against his. "So have I. So, we'll go home tomorrow and we'll see what happens."
"We'll see what happens."
XXX
"If he says he knows me, he's full of shit. I don't know any Abruzzo," Jimmy snapped.
Ryan pulled a copy of Abruzzo's mug shot from the file beneath his arm and slid it across the table without a word.
Jimmy paused, noticeably so, glanced down at the photo and pushed it right back at him. "Who's this, now? Another guy says he knows me?"
"That's Dominic Abruzzo. You sure you don't recognize him? Here, wait-" Ryan pulled out a second photo, this one a shot from the motel's surveillance system on the night of Talia Thorne's murder. Rather than slide it, he held it up in front of Jimmy's face before finally setting it down with firm hand in front of him. "How about now? You recognize him now? Standing next to Gionta."
Espo watched Jimmy's face, watched his upper lip twitch, watched his Adam's apple slide ungracefully up and down his throat as he swallowed, watched his eyes blink in rapid succession. Jimmy was deep into all of it, despite everything he was saying to the contrary, and Espo was certain of it.
"You can show me 100 photos of him and my answer will still be the same."
"Fair enough," Ryan said, leaving the photo right where it was, under Jimmy's nose. "Moving on, then. Do you know where you were last Monday night?"
"Club opens at 11, so I'm sure I was probably there doing prep, as always."
"Which is it?" Espo jumped in. "You were probably there or you were there, like always?"
"I was there."
"And, someone can corroborate that?"
"Yes, someone can."
Ryan jotted down the name Jimmy gave them- one of his security guys. Espo assumed it was probably the same bouncer he and Beckett had encountered at their first meeting. And he assumed he'd probably say anything Jimmy needed him to. No doubt he'd be of little help.
"Just one more thing before we let you go, Mr. Vincent. With Micky gone- oh, again, sorry for your loss, by the way- I assume his share of the club transfers over to you?"
"Thanks," Jimmy replied patronizingly, without an ounce of sincerity. "I suppose you'd be correct."
"About how much was Micky's share?" Espo prodded.
"Off the top of my head? I have no idea."
Espo knew that was bullshit. Jimmy knew exactly what would happen to Micky's stake in the club and how much he'd stand to gain from his brother being out of the picture. "Guess."
"Two million?" Jimmy dropped it like it was nothing, but Espo could feel the sick thrill radiating off of him.
Ryan and Espo turned to each other. They both knew.
"That's all we need right now. We'll be in touch if anything else comes up."
"Sure."
Ryan sent in a uni to escort Jimmy out.
"We need someone on this asshole," Espo told him.
XXX
Morning sun peeked through the blinds of the oversized window, the bed tickled in soft light, the dust motes dancing around them. Castle crawled unhurriedly along Kate's body, his head emerging from the edge of the sheet draped loosely across her breasts. Her fingers clutched at the muss of his hair until his glistening lips were on hers, his warm mouth swallowing her ragged breaths of satisfaction.
"Fuck," she whispered, as she broke from him, "best alarm clock ever."
He kissed the scar at her breast. "You wanna hit the snooze button? Eight minutes is plenty of time for you to rest up, no?"
"I think my body might break in two if you do that again in eight minutes." She lifted her head from the pillow and kissed him once more. "That felt so good, Castle."
"You taste so good. I may never eat real food again." He shifted onto his side, his leg and his arm a perfect weight across her body. "I don't want to leave here," he said, his lips touching her bare skin, his hand bracketing her hip.
"This place has that power."
"You have that power. I didn't stand a chance against the two of you."
Kate fell quiet, her index finger drawing lazy curlicues along his shoulder blades. "Are you scared?" She'd barely said the words, as if granting them an actual voice might somehow make them come true.
"Scared of what?"
"I don't know. Scared of screwing this up, scared of everything changing, of this not being what you'd hoped or imagined? Just- scared."
He rolled his body into the space between her legs, his chin propped up on his fist in the flat above her hips. "Most things in life worth doing are scary, Kate. Honestly, I was more scared at the thought of living the rest of my life without you in it. I mean, let's be honest. You know me. I know me. I'm definitely going to screw up on occasion- shush, don't say it- and things are definitely going to change, but it's a lot easier to embrace change than it is to try and fight it, especially now that we can find our way through it together."
"Together," she echoed.
"And, hey, listen very carefully to what I'm about to say. This, you, it's already so much more than anything I'd ever imagined. To be with you as long as you'll have me is all I hope for. Just promise me you'll tell me when you feel scared. I don't want you to go through that alone." He slid his hand from her belly and left a kiss in its place. "No more alone, please."
"I promise. Now get up here and kiss me and let's go home."
XXX
The drive home from the mountains at that time of the morning was quick and painless. Kate slept for a good part of the trip, Castle's eyes on her whenever it was safe enough to steal a glance. He could see the physical change in her, the way the time at the cabin had altered her whole energy, and he recognized it in himself too, the weight lifted from his shoulders.
She woke to the sounds of the city- the buses and car horns buzzing all around her again. "Oh, I'm sorry, Castle. Why didn't you wake me up?" She pushed herself up in her seat, her body having slumped in the comfort of the leather. "All those miles without talking? How ever did you manage?" She pressed her warm hand against the back of his neck, rubbed at the skin and muscle.
"Well, you'll be very proud to hear how many X-rated Rook and Heat scenes I wrote in my head during quiet hour. Our time together has been most inspirational. They both thank you with all of their body parts." He pulled over and parked around the corner from her building. "Here we are, my lady, home again."
"Is it too late to get lost?"
"I'm afraid so. Maybe if you hadn't been snoring, you could've suggested it sooner." He wanted to laugh, but she had such a wistful look on her face. "Hey, everything's going to be fine, I promise. You trust me?"
"I trust you," she answered in a deep breath.
"Let's bring your stuff upstairs so you can get to the doctor."
XXX
Kate unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside, Castle behind her, bags in hand. She missed it instantly, the view from the cabin's front door straight out to the tall trees looking down protectively from the back wood. And the smell in the air was different, the scent of charred wood and memories strikingly absent.
"You okay?" He shut the door and set her things down at his feet.
"Back to real life."
Castle closed the small gap between them, his hands on her shoulders, his lips at her ear. "I've never looked so forward to real life."
She leaned back into him with a contented sigh of understanding. "Me too."
"Ooo!" he exclaimed abruptly, stepping around to face her. "I just realized I can cross off number one on my bucket list! Damn, I'm good."
"You have a bucket list, Castle? Wait, of course you do. This doesn't really surprise me. Sorry, head injury, not sure what I was thinking there for a minute."
"Don't you? Doesn't everyone?" He seemed incredulous she'd think otherwise.
She stepped back and turned for the kitchen. "I think everyone would be a wild overstatement, Castle. And, no, I don't have one. I don't want to live my life by a list on a piece of lined notebook paper."
"But, Kate," he followed closely behind as she walked away, "when you get to cross items off, it can be incredibly satisfying. I always think about how whatever it was happened and what I was feeling and I get lost in it all over again. Man, I can't wait to cross off number one. I might do it twice…three times, maybe."
"And what exactly was number one, Castle?" It was clear to her that he wanted her to ask. He was about as subtle as a hurricane making landfall.
He grinned ear to ear, beyond pleased with himself. "Be with Kate."
He just said it, without clumsiness or bashfulness or timidity, like she'd asked him his name or what he'd eaten for breakfast.
"Wait, what? Be with- that was number one on your list? When did that happen?"
"Oh, I wrote it a while ago, but I bumped the monkey thing down the list for you, maybe, a couple of years ago."
She crinkled her eyes in puzzlement. "I'm not even going to ask, but, wow, I'm-"
"Pleased? Horrified? Turned on?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Let's just call it two out of three, but I won't tell you which two."
"That's fine. I'll go ahead and choose the two I like best."
She chuckled. "I figured you would."
He glanced at his watch and noticed the time. "Hey, we need to get you over to the doctor."
"Yeah, but I can go by myself, Castle. You should go home and stand in front of your mom for a while, make sure she absorbs the fact that you're alive and in one piece."
"But, Kate, I can-"
"Really, it's just a quick follow up. It won't take me any time at all. I feel fine. Besides, it'll give me a chance to make some calls without the risk if you giving us away with that mouth of yours."
"Excuse me? Are you implying that I'm the loud one in this relationship? If only I had a recording of this morning's wake-up," he trailed off in prickly tone.
She tugged at the front of his shirt until her body made contact with his. "Maybe someday, Castle, if you ask me really, really nicely." She inched up onto her tiptoes and kissed him hard and fast, pulled back before he could reciprocate.
He stood before her slack-jawed.
"I'm going to go to my appointment, you're going to go home, and we'll talk later, okay? Say, okay Kate." He didn't move and inch, so she snapped her fingers in his face. "Can you speak?"
"Bar-barely. If I ask nicely?"
"Later, city boy." She pushed him toward the door.
"Will I see you later?"
"Do you want to see me later?" She was already thinking about it, longing for it.
His fingertips stroked her cheek, glided across the bruise at her lip. "Very much."
"Then, I'll call you later," she said softly, missing him already.
He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. "Love you."
It sounded better every time.
"Love you too."
XXX
Castle headed home to the loft when he left Kate's place, a smile on his face and on his heart, one that might never again disappear. All was quiet when he came through the door, Alexis already at school and Martha nowhere to be seen. He dropped his absurdly overstuffed and ill-shapen bags in the entryway and looked around, imagined where in each room he'd be pressing his mouth to Kate's if she were there with him. A loft all to themselves- so many delicious possibilities.
"You're back," called the voice from above, his mother perched on the stairway landing. "I can see it from here, Richard. You look like the cat that ate the canary. I suppose I should simply be grateful you still have a face." She descended the remaining stairs and approached him for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you for that morbid welcome home, Mother. I missed you too."
She stared him down, his face unchanged, his grin now bordering on dopey. "So?"
"So…what?"
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Richard, where have you been?" Her attention fell to his bags on the floor. "And why did you pack everything you own? You were only gone for a few days."
He rolled his eyes. It was the second time he'd been mocked for his slightly overzealous packing job. "Has a better pot and kettle illustration ever existed in the world? A friend invited me away for the weekend and I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, Mother. I just threw a bunch of stuff together."
"Touché, darling, touché. It seems you have some very needy friends these days. Thank goodness they have you." Her words dripped with sarcasm and disapproval. She recalled well what friend meant a few days ago. She turned for the kitchen, her purse and keys sitting out on the counter.
"You look nice, Mother." It was true, of course, but trying to earn back some points couldn't hurt either. "What're your plans for today?"
"Flattery will get you everywhere, my boy. Thank you. I'm having lunch with the girls and we're going shopping, and then I have class later on. I probably won't be home until late, you know, in case you're worried about where I am."
"Ah, no one does passive-aggressive with less passive than you, Mother."
"It's a gift." She picked up her belongings and kissed him again on the cheek. "I'll see you later, kiddo."
"Enjoy your day, Mother."
As she reached the door, she stopped and spun around with a flourish. "Oh, yes, and Alexis is doing some sort of study group for finals after school today- physics and pizza or some such thing, so don't expect her for dinner either. Maybe you should call a friend so you won't be lonely."
He tossed her a condescending smile. "I might just do that, thank you. Hey, maybe we can all meet in the kitchen for coffee in the morning."
"Honestly, Richard…"
The instant she was out the door, he pulled out his phone to call Kate. It'd barely been an hour since he'd left her, so he then thought better of it and dropped it back in his pocket. Secrets and sneaking around- they could do this, and it could be fun as hell.
XXX
"I'll be glad to see you back at it, Detective. I'm sure your team will as well. Yes, we'll see you in the morning." Gates hung up the phone and stepped into the doorway of her office, summoned Ryan with a crook of her head as he caught sight of her in his peripheral vision.
She sat back down behind her desk, Ryan standing before her, minus his partner.
"Where's Esposito?"
"We got a hit on the APB on Tony Gionta's car. A Jersey trooper found it early this morning at an inactive rest stop along the Turnpike. Guess it's in line for an overhaul. Espo's talking to them now."
"Okay, keep me posted on that, please. I just spoke with Detective Beckett. Sounds like she'll be back with us tomorrow morning. I trust you and Esposito will have her up to speed quickly. Things seem to be coming together."
Ryan nodded. "Yes, sir, it seems so. We'll be sure Beckett's caught up as quickly as possible."
"That's all, Ryan, thank you. Just make sure no one touches Gionta's vehicle until we can get our hands on it."
"Yes, sir."
He returned to his desk and pulled out his phone, composed a text message to Beckett: Missed your face around here, slacker. You and Javi are twins now- long story. Glad we'll be seeing you. Get here on time! (Kidding).
"Yo!" Espo called from across the bullpen as he marched hurriedly toward Ryan's desk. "Let's go. Gionta's car awaits. I just talked to CSU."
Ryan huffed in a way a man of his age shouldn't. "Why does this shit always happen on a Monday? And Jersey? I'd like to kick Little T in his little balls."
Espo bit at his lip, his nostrils flaring in disbelief. "Seriously, bro? This could be the whole case and you're complaining about being home late for dinner? So you and Jenny have to braid each other's hair a few hours later tonight, big deal. Get your shit and let's go."
"Your face looks ridiculous today." Ryan pounced with a comeback that missed its mark by a mile.
"Good one, bro. I'm gonna go tell the teacher on you." He pretended to wipe tears from his eyes and then walked away with a phony pout.
"And Gates said Beckett's back tomorrow!" Ryan yelled after him.
"Thank God," Espo shot back. "Thank God."
XXX
Castle's phone sat in front of him on the desk in his office, his fingers feverishly pounding away at the keys of his laptop. He hadn't been joking earlier when he'd told Kate of the wicked scenes involving their fictional counterparts that'd danced through his head. Two pages of typed notes had been saved to his computer's memory thus far, and there were plenty more where those came from. Much hands-on research, he hoped, would be in his future.
Kate's image popped up on his phone's screen and he plucked it from its resting place with such energy that he nearly threw out his shoulder. "Hey, beautiful girl," he answered, in an unusually husky voice.
"My guess is that was supposed to sound sexy, but all it made me want to do is offer you a lozenge," she teased. "What're you doin'?"
"I was going to ask if you missed me yet, but then I remembered how much you hate stupid questions."
"Don't you know, Castle, the only stupid question is the one not asked?"
"In that case, miss me yet? I'll even give you some multiple choice answers to make it easier: A) more than anything B) of course, is this a trick question? Or C) get over here, my body is naked and ready."
"See," she replied naughtily with a deliberate pause, knowing he'd fall for it, "I was thinking it was D) I accidentally hit the wrong number on my speed dial."
"You wound me, Detective. A few hours apart and I'm already out?"
"Oh, no," she chuckled. "You're very much in- or I'd like you to be."
He nearly choked on his own saliva. "Want to come over?" he asked, with the bubbling enthusiasm of a child inviting his friend for a sleepover.
"What about the ladies of the house?"
"The place is all mine until late tonight. I'm hoping this kind of power turns you on madly."
The line went silent.
"Kate?"
"I need to dry off and put some clothes on. Give me an hour."
He dropped the phone and made a beeline for the other room, his eyes already glued to the front door.
XXX
By the time Espo and Ryan arrived at the lot in Jersey, Espo was ready to yank out his own hair. Ryan had blabbed the entire ride about the ride: the cruiser's gas mileage, how the smell of the interior got to him but he could never figure out what it reminded him of, a laundry list of mundane facts about highway infrastructure in the Northeast. Espo would've dumped him on the side of the Turnpike if he didn't have Gates to answer to.
CSU hadn't arrived yet, so Espo and Ryan did a preliminary once-over of Gionta's vehicle. The trooper had found it, seemingly abandoned, in the pre-dawn hours of that morning, parked next to one of two cinder block buildings at the closed rest stop. They'd been doing routine checks of the area since it'd become inactive as it was still relatively easy for drivers, who were so inclined, to get around the makeshift barricades that'd been erected to keep them out. Aside from the vehicle's obvious age and expected wear and tear, it appeared otherwise undamaged, as though Gionta- or someone else- had simply walked away and left it.
The passenger window was open slightly, just enough to afford Ryan the ability to access the lock and get the door open. It was filthy inside, the floors and seats covered in trash, discarded clothing, small plastic bags and remnants of cigarettes whose resulting smoke had formed a visible layer of film on each window.
"It reeks of pot in here. I think I might already have a contact high from the old smoke in these seats. Jenny's not going to want to touch me after this."
"Please, bro, you're married. Does she really want to touch you that much anyway?"
"Very funny." Ryan crinkled his face, unamused. "And, for the record, yes she does." He just couldn't let the slight pass.
Ryan opened the glove compartment and fished out some old parking tickets, a copy of the vehicle registration confirming what they already knew- it was Gionta's car- and a small plastic bag of marijuana that appeared to have been there for some time since it was buried under the car's owner's manual. "Guess we know what the rest of these bags were for." He looked around the floor and spotted, roughly, ten more of them in his immediate line of sight alone.
"Busy boy, Little T."
Espo was kneeling on the ground on the other side of the car, digging under the driver's seat with his gloved hand. Though not able to reach back very far with the seat as low as it was, he did manage to retrieve a collapsible metal baton, a crinkled up five-dollar bill, an old E-ZPass for tolls, and one final item that immediately drew his full attention. "Yo, Ryan, check this." Ryan came around the car and took the broken gold object from Espo's hand.
"It's a Rolex. A broken Rolex." He poked at the dangling clasp. "How the hell would a guy like Gionta have a watch like this?"
"Flip it over," Espo told him. "What does that say?"
"Well," Ryan replied smugly, "I do believe that's Jimmy Vincent's name engraved right there. It seems Papa Vincent must've bought his boys matching watches." He remembered the very same gold watch they'd found on a dead Micky.
"And for some reason, Jimmy's watch ended up in Gionta's car."
"Bag it. That's coming with us."
"Gionta was one of Micky's boys, not Jimmy's."
"Abruzzo said Gionta worked for cash at the club sometimes."
"For cash, not for Rolexes," Espo pointed out snappishly.
"Hey, pop the trunk," Ryan hollered stepping to the back of the car. The latch popped and the trunk shifted, and he pulled it open the rest of the way. "Shit. Espo!"
"What's up?"
"Guess Little T isn't in the wind anymore."
"Damn," Espo said, as he stood next to Ryan, looking over the dead body of Tony Gionta. "We should get this to Lanie, see if she can pull anything. Never know." The bag with the watch in it was still in his hand. "Make sure someone's on Vincent and make sure they have eyes on him all night- at the club and at his apartment. If Lanie can work a miracle and get us something, Beckett's first day back might be a good one."
XXX
"I love the smell of you," Kate purred, her bare skin pressed against his, her nose buried in the tiny cave where his neck met his pillow. Both of her hands held tight to tufts of his hair, and her body inched back and forth along his torso, physically unable to stop its motion once he'd stopped his.
"I smell good because I smell like you. You should've known that shower you took before you came over would be pointless." His hands glided down her back and over her hips.
"Yeah? Why is that?"
"The whole wet hair thing," he replied, very matter-of-factly. "It's a weakness. A big weakness."
She pushed her body up and leaned against her folded arms across his chest. "Really? You're a curious man, Richard Castle, but I'm making a mental note in case I ever want anything from you." She smiled and pecked at his lips.
"Yes, really. Trust me, if you had seen you climb out of that pool in Los Angeles, you'd never look at wet hair the same either."
"Liked the show, did you?"
"Certainly more than was appropriate for public consumption and most certainly more than I could tell you at the time."
She pressed her open mouth to his chest. "Well, to be honest, I liked it too. I knew you were watching. I could tell." A soft giggle escaped her lips. "That one night on the couch in our hotel room? I almost kissed you, you know. I really wanted to."
"No." He squeezed at her hips. "I almost kissed you."
She sighed and slid down his body, her ear falling flat against his belly. "So many almosts to make up for."
"That's the fun pa-"
The sound of the loft door closing stopped him mid-sentence. "Shit!" he whispered. "Who the hell is that? No one's supposed to be home for hours."
"Castle!" she scolded, rolling off him and burying herself beneath the covers.
He stepped out of bed and ran to the closet, threw on the first set of clothes he saw, and peeked out into the entryway through the crack in the door. He took a step back, entirely beside himself. When he turned back to the bed, Kate's head was fully exposed again.
"Castle! Our clothes are all over the floor out there!" She offered no attempt at all to try and remain calm.
"Yeah, I know," he agreed, "with Alexis."
Kate stared wide-eyed at him, her mouth falling open in profound embarrassment. "You said-" she hissed, unable to find the rest of the words, as she slithered out of bed and ducked into the bathroom.
"This could be awkward," he announced to the empty room.