Chapter 15:

Of Bracelets, Dinners and Bedmates

Castle went home hours later, mind reeling with the day's events. He could hardly believe that he had managed to pull off a successful audition without psyching himself out. However, he knew that his troubles were only just beginning. He was going to have to keep up this façade on a daily basis until Ryan and Esposito could catch a break on this case.

Hours earlier, Ryan told him that while Castle was busy at his audition, Captain Montgomery phoned to tell him that he managed to set up a temporary housing situation for Castle's personal use so that his cover wouldn't be blown….and so his family wouldn't be disturbed either. He still couldn't believe all of this. The only reason why he was even returning to his loft was to gather supplies to remind himself of his real life. He needed to be able to keep himself sane.

He thought back to his discussion with Little Sal. Sure, he knew he'd have to dance for money, but he never thought that he'd also have to be subjected to private parties as well. He shuddered at the thought of having to sleep with someone other than Kate.

Kate.

She was definitely becoming more of an enigma to him lately. There were so many things that he wanted to tell her. He knew he definitely loved her, but did she feel the same? She had barely tried to talk to him for more than a few minutes at a time since she'd been thrown off the case. Even though he had spoken to her right before the audition, he couldn't help but feel like she was hiding something from him, or holding back. The fact that there was so much on the line right now didn't help matters either.

Castle went to his bedroom and began cleaning up. He knew it was irrational, but he didn't feel right leaving his room a mess and having his mother and daughter to deal with it eventually. He didn't know why, but something caught his eye.

On his nightstand was a picture of Kate, placed loosely in a frame. Castle pulled the picture out, gently running his fingers over the surface. It had been taken with his phone while she had been doing paperwork. He remembered it just like it had been yesterday….

October 15, 2010

It had been another long day. Kate and Castle had managed to close yet another grueling case. He had been constantly annoying her all morning by cracking jokes and throwing tiny paper balls at her. Needless to say, she was very annoyed.

"Okay, seriously?" she sighed, picking yet another paper ball up off the floor. "This is getting ridiculous. I have a ton of work to do! If you're not going to help, at least find something to do so I can get some work done. Captain Montgomery wants these on his desk at the end of today."

Castle scoffed, pretending to be offended. "Well, Katherine….if you haven't noticed, I have found something to do."

Kate pulled a face. "Like what? Annoy me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Come on, Castle! Stop lying! What the hell is your problem?"

Castle smiled at her knowingly. "Maybe I know something you don't. Maybe I have plans for you," he continued, pulling out a long, velvet box.

"Castle, no…" she began to protest, but he shushed her.

"It's nothing, really. Just a little token of my appreciation. I know I'm not exactly the person you want following you around, and you're constantly having to fix my screw ups, so I just wanted to get you a little something to thank you for everything. Now please, Kate…just open it."

Castle took out his phone and prepared his camera as she cautiously opened the box. Inside was a simple silver bracelet, with her name engraved on it. She looked at him and smiled, her eyes bright and shining at him like they never had before. He snapped the picture then, and had it printed out at one of the local camera shops.

Present Day

Shaking himself, Castle made a decision then. Tucking the picture into his wallet for safekeeping, he took out his phone and hastily dialed Kate.

He waited impatiently, holding his breath and praying she would answer. On the third ring, she did.

"Beckett," she answered professionally, her voice husky.

"Beckett, I know you know it's me. You can drop the act."

She sighed heavily, exasperated. "What do you want, Castle? We already talked this morning. There couldn't have been too many developments happening since then. Besides, you know I'm not on this case anyway."

"Kate, stop! Just stop it, okay? Can't I call you for anything outside of work without you biting my head off?"

"What do you expect? We usually don't talk on the phone unless it's work related anyway."

"I'm trying to change that. Can you come over? I could use the company. Mother and Alexis have abandoned me for the evening, and I'm lonely," Castle pleaded, trying his best to sound pathetic.

Kate refused to give in. "Castle, you're a grown man. You should be perfectly capable of taking care of yourself."

Castle snorted then. "Actually, no. You see, the last time they left me to my own devices, I somehow managed to try to set my bed on fire. I was in it, I might add."

Kate closed her eyes, pressing her thumb and index finger on the pressure point between the eyes. She could feel a migraine forming.

He just won't give up, will he? She thought to herself, shaking her head.

"Fine, I'll come over. But you had better make it worth my while," she relented.

"Great! I'll order some pizza and we can hang out for a while. I just….needed to see you."

"Whatever, Castle. See you in 20."

After hanging up with Kate, Castle couldn't help but feel nervous. He didn't want to screw anything up with her now that they seemed to be growing closer.

Kate barely got through the door to his loft before she found herself backed against it, blocked from entry by Castle. His arms banded around her, pulling her close.

"You came," he murmured against her hair, "I didn't think you would."

"Why wouldn't I? You asked me to," she replied honestly, unsure of what was going on with him.

"I know, but it feels like you've been avoiding me lately. I mean, I practically had to resort to desperate measures in order to get you to talk to me this morning."

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to fight with you."

"I don't want to fight either. I'm tired of fighting with you," he replied, leaning forward and giving Kate a light kiss on the lips which made her insides flutter and her heart yearn for more.

Taking her hand, Castle led her to the table. He had done his best to make this quick dinner seem like the most romantic thing in the world. He had taken the pizza out of the box and placed it on a saucer in the middle of the table, setting two places and lighting candles. He had also dimmed the lights so that the candles illuminated much of the room.

Kate stopped, grabbing Castle by the arm so that he turned around to look at her.

"You didn't have to do all this," she began, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"I know, but I wanted to do something nice for you."

Castle pulled out a chair for her, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze after she sat down. Watching her closely, he leaned down so that his lips brushed her ear.

"Relax, Kate. I'm not going to bite you….unless you ask me to."

His words sent a bolt of electricity down her spine. Her breathing hitched and she swallowed, pausing to take a sip of the water in front of her.

Triumphant that he had managed to fluster her, Castle took his own seat. The two of them ate in silence, with the both of them occasionally stealing glances at the other while the other was busy eating. When they were both finished, Kate rose and began clearing the table. He sat there for a moment, simply watching her and enjoying how domestic the whole situation was.

Finally deciding to take action, he rose and walked to stand behind her, mesmerized by her presence. Before he could stop himself, he gently took the hair at the nape of her neck and brushed it aside, baring her skin for his mouth.

The instant his lips made contact with her skin, Kate's knees almost gave away beneath her. The plate she'd been washing shook dangerously in her hands, and she had to put it hastily on the counter before she dropped it.

Biting back a moan, her eyes slammed shut, and she whirled around to cover her mouth with his. Castle hesitated at first, taken totally off guard by her response to his attentions. He recovered quickly, returning her kiss with equal fervor.

It was Castle who finally broke their moment, panting harshly and running shaky hands through his hair. This was the second time he almost had sex with Katherine Beckett, only this time there wasn't a third party that stopped them.

"Kate, we have to slow down. I don't want to do this here. You deserve so much more than a quick hard fuck against my kitchen counter. You deserve a soft bed, and soft candlelight. You deserve to be worshipped like the treasure you are. I can't do that here, at least not in my kitchen. I wasn't calling you over for a booty call, either. I wanted to see you, spend time with you. I know I won't be able to see you after this case really gets going tomorrow, and I just needed you close."

Kate extended her hand to him then. Puzzled, he just stared at her, not moving or blinking.

"Then let me be here for you Rick," she replied gently, soft tears glistening in her eyes. "Let's go to bed. We don't have to have sex, but I think that it might help the both of us get some sleep if we're sleeping close to one another."

Looking at her then, so trusting and vulnerable, Castle took her hand and allowed her to lead him to his bedroom. He pulled out one of his t shirts and some old pajama pants and gave them to her.

"These might not fit you, but it's unfortunately all I have to give you right now."

Kate cupped his right cheek, rising up on her toes and kissing him softly.

"I'm sure they'll do just fine. Thanks, Rick," she replied, blushing softly before heading to the bathroom to dress. Once the door closed, he took off his shirt and pants, hurriedly putting on his pajama pants. He debated on putting on a shirt, but decided against it. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, a waft of mint followed, signaling she had managed to brush her teeth.

"Sorry," she said guiltily. "I don't have my toothbrush here…"

"It's fine, Kate. I'll be out in a minute. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable."

Shutting the door, he leaned his head against it. He willed himself to calm down.

Kate Beckett is in his bed.

Katherine Fucking Beckett.

She's wearing HIS clothes in HIS bed, and used HIS toothbrush.

He began to brush his teeth then, savoring the moment. When he walked out to join her, he discovered that she was standing next to his bed, looking confused.

"I didn't know what side you wanted. I don't want to cause a problem. I know that you have to get sleep for tomorrow."

"It's really not a problem. I tend to move all over. Just pick a side and I'll take the other. However, I apologize in advance if I end up on top of you."

Oh crap, he mentally slapped himself. Now she probably thinks that I'm going to molest her in her sleep when I promised the opposite.

She was quick to reassure him. "It's okay. If you do, I'll brush it off."

"Okay," he replied, getting into bed an situating himself so that he was far away from her. She too, got into bed and watched him.

"Hey Rick,"she began hesitantly, feeling with her hand through the darkness and coming into contact with his shirtless chest. She yanked her hand away then, her fingertips burning from the pleasurable memory of his skin on hers.

"Yeah?" he answered, puzzled at her reaction.

"You're not wearing a shirt."

"I know, I usually don't when I go to bed. Is that a problem?"

"No," she responded after a moment. "You just surprised me is all."

"What were you wanting to ask me before you were distracted?"

"Oh…" she paused, trying to wrack her brain. "I was going to ask if you would hold me…..at least for a while. You don't have to if you don't want to. I would understand," she rushed, embarrassed.

Jesus, why am I becoming such a puddle of goo in front of this man? You would think that I was some helpless damsel and he was my knight in shining armor…that's it! I have officially been reading too many romance novels, she chastised herself.

"Get over here," he murmured, moving as if to make room to hold her.

"What?" she replied, confused. Did he just ask what I thought he….

"If you want me to hold you, you need to get over here. It's your decision, and I'm perfectly okay with whatever you want. I'm just complying with your wishes because they sound pretty damn good to me. I'd sleep better with you in my arms anyway."

Biting her lip, she slowly moved toward him on the bed, pausing so that they were nose to nose with one another. She leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips, turning to face on her side away from him. She felt him move behind her, slowly encasing her in his arms and pulling her so that she fell back against his chest. As her butt came into contact with his groin, he hissed, causing her to jerk.

"What the…" she began to question, but then she flushed. "Are you going to be okay? Is this going to bother you?"

"I'll be fine, Kate. Just don't move too much, or else I might end up doing something that would be mindblowing in nature for both of us now, but we might regret in the morning. "

She sighed. "All right then. Good night, Rick."

"Good night, Kate. Sweet dreams," he responded sleepily, yawning widely.

With that, they both fell into a heavy slumber, unaware of what the rest of the night would bring.

A/N: Oh. My. God. I'm so sorry! I hit writer's block again, and got so busy. However, the reviews and notifications I've been receiving lately have been seriously helping to push me out of my slump into the writer's world again. Yay! Hope you all loved this chapter...I decided to make it super long to show how much I love you guys for your unfailing support! REVIEW!