Chapter 9:

Oh Crap, I'm in Trouble

As predicted, Kate didn't show at Castle's apartment.

Figures, Castle thought to himself. She's always going to run away from me. I guess I'll just have to chase her.

Before he even knew what was happening, Castle was in his car driving toward Kate's apartment. All rational thought flew out the window. He managed to stop for a moment to buy a small bouquet of flowers, thinking that this small gesture would be perceived as a peace offering. He wasn't completely sure why he needed it, but she seemed so skittish around him since the incident that he didn't want to scare her.

Finally arriving, he swung the car into an empty parking space and jumped out, locking the door and bolting for the entrance to the complex. The chill in the air was enough to make his already frazzled nerves even worse.

It took him around thirty seconds to bound up the stairs before he found himself standing at her door. He cautiously knocked on the door and waited, praying she was home so that he wouldn't lose his nerve.

When she finally opened the door, she seemed surprised to find him standing there. She gave him a puzzled look, but moved aside and let him in to her apartment, taking the flowers and placing them in an empty vase on the table by the door.

The scent of cherries greeted him as he passed her, and he stopped for a moment to inhale and enjoy it. He would always love that scent, filing it away in his memory in case his visit suddenly became an unwelcome one. He noticed she was dressed for bed, her red silk pajamas caressing her skin as a lover would, as he would. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her tight derriere as she turned to shut the door.

When she closed the door and finally faced him, she found herself all but crowded against it. Electricity crackled between them as he pressed impossibly closer, reaching an arm behind her to pull her to him and using a leg to slide between hers.

"What the hell, Rick?" she began, cursing herself for how shaky her voice sounded. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't show up like I asked you to, Kate. I told you I'd chase you if you avoided me, so here I am."

"Maybe I didn't want to see you. Ever think about that?"

"Liar. You're chicken."

"Oh really?" she snorted, rolling her eyes and giving him a shove to try to dislodge him. His closeness was unnerving, but she knew she had to stand her ground. There was no way in hell Rick Castle was going to pull a fast one on her.

Her shove surprised him, but he held his ground. He wasn't willing to give up any more than she was willing to give in. He switched to a different tactic then, choosing to rattle the foundations of her resolve a bit. He drew impossibly closer to her, his breath feathering gently against her lips. Kate closed her eyes in response, trying to collect herself.

"The one thing I don't get," he growled, his tone making her eyes snap open to meet his, "is how you can stand there and look at me, and tell me that kissing you was a mistake. Because it wasn't. I felt you respond to me, and it was heaven. I would very much like to do it again. I can also tell that you want that too. In fact, you wouldn't mind if we did it right now."

"In your dreams," Kate replied as she shoved him again, giving her enough space to slide underneath his arm and begin to walk away. Before she could get too far away from him, he spoke again.

"In my dreams, things are different. However, I prefer the reality much better. You can't hold a dream, and you can manipulate the ending."

She whirled around then, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. "Keep dreaming, then. Because it sounds like your dream Kate is better than the reality."

"You see, that's not true at all. Maybe I like a little resistance. Sure, taking what you want without a fight is always a good thing too, but where's the fun if you don't exactly have to work for what you want?"

"When we kiss again, are you actually going to leave me alone? Or are you going to be a giant pain in my ass? Because if that's all you want," she said as she walked toward him, "then I'll satisfy your morbid curiosity."

"Go ahead. Try and see if you can rock my world. I personally don't think you can."

Kate rolled her eyes, her annoyance with Castle sending tiny shockwaves throughout her body. She advanced on him until she stood nose to nose with him, her gaze never leaving his. For a second, he regretted goading her. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

However, the instant her lips touched his, all rational thought flew out the window. It was different than the kiss that they had previously shared. The former had heat and passion, whereas this one was something else entirely. She seemed to be taking her time, exploring his lips while still igniting sparks of heat throughout his body.

His hands, which had stayed completely idle at the beginning of this exchange, began to wind themselves in her hair. He gently pulled, separating their mouths so that he could attack the exposed skin on her neck with gentle nips and suckling kisses.

The instant that his teeth scraped her skin, Kate let out her breath in a hiss. Castle had never heard the noises coming from her from anyone else. She was constantly letting out deep moans as his kisses blazed a trail along her skin from lips to neck, and up to the skin behind her ear. He knew for certain that the more that she continued to make those sounds, the more he wanted to hear another come after it. He never wanted it to stop.

He moved her hair to the side, and she responded by tilting her head to give him better access. Her whole body felt like she was flying through a storm, swift and climbing towards something she couldn't quite name.

Suddenly, he felt himself stopping, letting go of her and thrusting her away from him abruptly. He couldn't believe it. Castle waited patiently for her to look at him while trying to control his hormones and breathing at once. He wasn't going to mess things up between them, and he knew that if things were to progress as they were, she would most seemingly regret it. Hell, she might even shut him out. He chastised himself mentally again for having goaded her in to doing this. He wanted her to kiss him on her own terms because she wanted to, not because he commanded her to.

"What the hell, Castle?" Kate inquired, an eyebrow jutting upward in question. Honestly, she was highly confused. Had he not ordered her to kiss him? It was what he wanted, so why stop her?

"Kate, I can't let you do this. You didn't really want to in the first place, and I'm sorry for forcing you. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it."

"I can't deny that, but I shouldn't be forcing you into situations where you're not exactly comfortable. So, from here on out, I'm letting you make all the shots. If you never want to kiss me again, it's fine. It's what you want. I just don't want to feel like I'm manipulating you into doing what I want."

"Are you kidding me right now? I was so damn close to having an orgasm from your damn mouth on my neck! I'm pissed that you stopped, but now I'm even more pissed that you'd even think that I don't have complete control of myself around you. If I didn't want to in the first place, what makes you think I would have even let you so much as touch me? You know I could kick your ass in about two seconds flat."

"So what exactly is going on between us, then? Because lately it seems that I can't even get you out of my head."

Kate scoffed slightly. "That sounds like something out of a bad romance novel or movie."

His eyes narrowed, suddenly irritated. "You know how I feel about you. I'm going to give you some time to think about it."

Kate's brow furrowed in confusion. "About what?"

"About whether you want to be in a relationship with me or not. Basically, can we cut the crap, please? I don't think I can stand another night with blue balls."

Kate rolled her eyes again, letting out a breath. "Fine. If it will get you to go away and give me my space, I'll think about it. However, I'm not going to be telling you my final decision until after the case is over. We still have work to do, remember? The killer is still out there, so we have work to do. Now, your audition is tomorrow. You should probably go home and get some rest."

"Fine." Feeling bold, he walked right up to her, intending on making it look like he was leaving without a fight. However, the instant he got close enough, he grabbed her. Before she could protest, he gave her the briefest of kisses, so brief that she barely even noticed that it had happened except for the fact that her lips tingled afterwards. He quietly exited her apartment and headed home to his own.

Kate stood there for a few moments, slightly dumbfounded.

Oh shit, she thought to herself, I'm in deep trouble with this one.

A/N: So incredibly sorry that this has taken so long to post! Thanks to all who have been supporting me throughout the hiatus….the reviews I got from the last chapter brought me to tears. I love you all so much! I finally got this out while I'm on bed rest from mono….I've been misdiagnosed several times with something else, so by the time anyone figured out it was mono I was extremely sick (it took 2.5 months to find the right diagnosis). I apologize if this chapter doesn't exactly make sense. I am kind of catching up on rest.