A/N: Again, thank you so much for all the lovely reviews and messages you have been leaving me in relation to this story. You're making it a hard one to walk away from.

I should probably have pointed this out sooner, but the facts of Castle's secret - his investigation, the murder board and Mr. Smith - these are beyond the scope of this story. So I won't be getting into that. He mentions asking if Dr. Burke ever advised her to walk away from her mom's case purely because the thought of losing her now terrifies him (both of them actually). But he was projecting his feelings, not actively thinking about his own 'lie' because he doesn't consider it to be a lie as such. In his mind, he is only protecting her, so the secret he has yet to share has a positive spin by his way of thinking.

This story is about 47 Seconds, the exposing of Kate's lie and their reactions to that. I covered off Castle's private investigation and Kate's discovery of it in the story 'Missed Opportunities', if you're interested to see a take on how that went down.

Anyway, on we go with this tale...

Warning: This is another 'M' chapter, in case you're at work or on the bus. :)

Chapter 14 – Moving Forward Together

It's only their second night together, late Saturday fading out towards what Kate hopes will be an equally lazy and romantic Sunday.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" she asks Castle, as together they fold up the blankets they used on the roof.

"Take you out for breakfast and show you off," declares Castle without a second's hesitation, a proud-as-punch expression on his face.

Kate laughs, amused by his enthusiasm and surprised by his answer, but she doesn't contradict him since his plan sounds pretty perfect to her.

"And maybe after we can go for a walk?" she suggests, pausing to take the folded blanket from him.

She hugs the blanket to her chest, and he waits to hear what's coming next, because there's a reason for her suggestion. This is Kate Beckett and she does little without good reason.

"There's this tree in Central Park…"

She meets his eyes briefly, just a hint of shyness in them, before turning away to collect the second blanket from the top of the dresser. "Just give me a second to put these away. I'll be right back," she tells him, pausing at the bedroom door to give him a slow, easy smile over her shoulder.

"A tree? You have me intrigued, Detective," calls out Castle when she disappears.

He sits down on the end of the bed to await her return from the linen closet in the hall. "Go on, the tree?" he tells her as soon as she reappears, eager as a child to hear her story.

"Yeah, so there's this tree up near the reservoir. It's behind the fence on the southern edge of the cinder track. A big old oak with a gnarly trunk that looks like gargoyle faces. My mom and I used to walk there sometimes. We carved our names into that old tree when I was ten. I haven't been there in years. I'd like to take you there so we can visit it."

Castle sits up straighter, and then he rubs his palms on his thighs, a slow smile growing on his face. "Wait, so, let me get this straight. Law-abiding, perfect, little Katie Beckett was a vandal? Aged ten?" he squawks, clapping his hands with glee.

"Relax, Castle. We carved our initials into a tree. We didn't tag the walls of Macy's," drawls Kate, leaning against the dresser, always so cool no matter how crazy he gets.

Castle shakes his head in wonder and smiles that lopsided at her, grateful to be able to share in more of her life's stories, excited that she wants to take him to see her tree – hers and her mom's. "You are full of surprises."

Kate smiles back, arms crossed over her chest. "I hope you're still saying that a few years from now."

Castle holds out his hand to her and Kate takes it, letting him draw her closer, reeling her all the way in until she's standing between his legs. He runs both hands up the outside of her thighs, and then he spreads his fingers wide to encircle her hips and drops his head forward to rest his cheek against her stomach.

"You have never stopped surprising me in all the years I've known you. I doubt that's ever going to change."

Kate cradles the back of his head against her stomach and lets her other hand skim down over his back. "Sometimes I'm still thrown when you turn up at the precinct," she confesses, as she runs her fingers through his hair and then gently strokes his ear.

Castle looks up at her, intrigued, his hair mussed by the cotton fabric of her t-shirt.

Kate briefly catches his eye and then looks off into the distance. "I look up from reading a case file or…or looking at my computer screen some mornings, and there you are - this handsome man who looks so familiar, smiling at me with the perfect cup of coffee in his hand," she grins, a dreamy quality to her smile. "I felt like I knew you before I ever met you, you know that?"

"The books?" he asks quietly.

Kate nods. "Yes. But I was wrong about you. Because you're so much more than just an inventive storyteller who keeps readers gripped with his words and clever plots."

Castle guides her to sit down on his knee and she goes reluctantly at first, feeling awkward for a moment or two, since she hasn't sat on a man's knee since she was a child. But he slings his arm around her waist and rests his head against her chest and suddenly it's okay again. She wraps her arms around him and resumes toying with his ear.

"We're lucky, Castle. So very lucky."

Castle is listening to her heart beating, and he couldn't agree more. He's pretty much always felt like a lucky guy, given the gifts life has bestowed on him – his looks, his easy charm and likeability, his daughter and the ability to write, to do what he loves for a living. But being with Kate rises above and beyond every other advantage he has, except for the blessing of his child.

Castle moves at length, trying to juggle Kate - who is perched on his right thigh - and get blood flow back into his foot, which has gone to sleep. That's when Kate makes the decision for him. She stands and offers him both of her hands to haul him upright.

"Come on, I said let's get an early night and it's already after eight."

Kate runs her hands down Castle's arms, stopping at his elbows to stretch up and kiss him; a quickly, light peck on the lips as she hold onto him.

Then, unexpectedly, she begins to undress him. He's still wearing her NYPD t-shirt beneath his own dress shirt, which is hanging open all the way down the front. Gently, she takes hold of each wrist in turn and unbuttons his cuffs, before sliding the shirt off his shoulders and dropping it onto the bed.

"Do I get a turn?" he asks her, tugging on the pull-tab of her hoodie's zipper, which currently rests at cleavage height.

He wiggles the tab from side-to-side, a playful look on his face. The smooth, hairless, inner skin of his arm brushes back and forth over the side of her breast as he does so.

"That boob graze was not accidental," she smirks at him. "When we're at work, you know you're going to have to your keep your distance."

Castle drops his hands onto her waist and tugs her in closer, so that their stomachs and thighs connect. "It's been a while since I fully kept my distance, Detective," he warns her, palming her ass with one large hand and squeezing.

Kate places a hand on his chest between them. "You know what I mean. Working together could become a problem if this gets out. We can't give Gates a reason to stop you from being my partner."

Castle frowns, as if he's considering that prospect for the first time ever. "That…that can't happen. Can it?"

Kate sighs. "Castle, you know she's been gunning for you since she arrived. And yes, it can happen. The department frowns on interpersonal relationships between co-workers."

"But I'm not even on the payroll. That should make a difference, surely?"

"You'd think. And maybe by the letter of the law… But this is Captain Gates we're talking about. One false move and she will nail you to the wall. So, you'd better keep your hands to yourself when we're at work, is all I'm saying," repeats Kate, sliding both of her own hands up and over his chest, suggestively, a move that is entirely contrary to the advice she's currently giving him.

"In that case, I guess I'd better make the most of being able to touch you in private."

"Finally he catches on," laughs Kate, stepping back a little to allow him room to unzip her hoodie.

The rest of their clothes are swift to follow, a mangled pile of garments strewn on the floor at the foot of her bed.

But their lovemaking is nothing but slow this time, and there's a beauty to it Kate hadn't expected to find so quickly; an exquisite blend of sensuality, passion, care and longing. And since this is Castle, the magic ingredient – levity - sprinkles fairy dust on the proceedings to rock her world in a way no man ever has.

Castle leads her back to bed, but then he lets Kate take over. Naked, they lie down together on top of the covers, the room lit by several candles and the meager ambient light shining in from the street outside.

"Let's go slow," Kate whispers, golden candlelight flickering over her face and hair, gilding it beautifully and making it shine.

Shadows leap and shrink whenever a flame gutters, sending monstrous, black shapes dancing across her bedroom ceiling. But they are inside together and this cocoon they've made feels safe and warm.

"Slow? Okay. Tell me what you want, what you like, Kate," replies Castle, watching her as she rises above him onto her hands and knees, her body a magnificent work of art he will never tire of studying.

"I like how you touch me. You touch me as if you just…you know me so well already," she confesses, her eyes roaming his torso before slipping up to engage with his face again. Her cheeks are flushed and her irises glitter in the dark.

Castle watches in awe as she raises one leg and slowly throws it over his so that she is straddling him half way down his thighs. He slides his palms up over her smooth skin until he can reach no further without sitting up.

"I told you, I've been studying you for years," he explains, trying to keep his voice steady as he absorbs every extra inch of her body that she's now happy to put on display for him. "I know all your little tells. When your back aches and your shoulders are tense, the way you massage your scalp when you have a headache. Sometimes you look at my lips and I can tell you want to kiss me…" he adds, smiling and then falling silent.

He flicks his gaze up to lock with hers, checking to see if he just gave away too much; how loving her has changed him, whittled his focus, distilled his scattered concentration down to one specific area of expertise – Kate Beckett, his chosen specialist subject.

Kate smiles, drops her eyes to look down at his naked body again and then she looks up at him through her long lashes. "And this?"

Castle is excited already, there's no denying that fact. The second she got close and began undressing him, his heart rate picked up. His skin became extra sensitive to every brush of hers, the scent of her shampoo and just her intoxicates him, and then to find himself naked with her again…

His state of arousal is definitely evident.

"Kate, you asked for slow," he reminds her with a grunt that betrays the self-restraint he's having to find, when she leans forward to smooth her palms up along his thighs and the view turns X rated.

Her breasts drop softly forward as she reaches further out towards him, bypassing his groin and sliding on up to skate over the twitching muscles of his stomach and sides.

Castle watches her face, but then his eyes keep being drawn back down to her magnificent breasts, swaying slightly, her nipples peaked hard, hinting at her own advanced state of excitement. The smooth, tan skin of her abdomen glides away from him, down towards the heavenly gap between her legs.

"You're exquisite," he tells her, reaching out for her hand.

"And you're chatty," she smirks, eyes twinkling. She squeezes his fingers and then lets go again immediately, other things on her mind. "Shhh," she grins, flicking out her tongue to wet her lips before she presses her index finger against their glossy surface.

"Oh, God, you're gonna kill me," Castle exclaims, squeezing his eyes tightly closed for a second, reopening them just as Kate's body ripples and undulates back down, so that she's sitting astride his lap, the cheeks of her ass spread wide so he can see between her thighs.

"Not the plan," Kate tells him, holding his gaze and shaking her head slowly, curls dancing around her face, her breasts swaying slightly from side to side, mesmerizing Castle.

When she bends forward and wraps the fingers of her right hand around his shaft, he fears he might blank out. The sudden rush of blood to his groin is dizzying and he's glad he's lying down for this.

"Oh, jeez, yes!" he hisses, when she tightens her grip, smearing her thumb over the soft, glassy tip to spread his own lubrication before she gradually begins working him.

"Slow, remember?" she whispers, making eye contact again so that he understands her, before she wets her lips, leans over to blow on the head of his shaft and then slowly wraps her lips around him.

Castle abruptly lurches up onto his elbows to get a better view, transfixed by the sight of Kate Beckett taking him into her mouth. His fascination with this wondrous sight keeps him from losing it for about thirty seconds. But she's too good at this, employing just the right amount of suction, her breathing slow and steady through her nose as she takes him deeper and deeper into her throat, her hand working in tandem with her mouth to pump and twist and stroke him into a frenzy. Castle grips the covers with his fists and tries to think of something else, anything to get some control back over his body before he loses it.

Tension builds at the base of his spine, he jerks his hips and curses when Kate caresses his testicles with her fingertips, teasing him even more with the light scratch of her nails over this soft, sensitive area. When she slips one finger behind his shaft and begins to massage the smooth stretched skin of his perineum, he has to blow air in and out through his mouth to hold himself back.

When she stops this intimate massage, his eyes widen as he watches her slip her hand between her own legs to touch herself, while still working him with her mouth. He sees her slide three fingers between her folds, circling them to smear her juices around. When she moans aloud in pleasure, the hum of vibration shoots through his own body, driving his hips to move. The aching, needful, dirty sound is more than Castle can take, and he hits a moment of absolute panic.

"Not slow. Now slow," he chants, watching her head bob up and down, her cheeks drawing in so tightly that her amazing bone structure becomes even more exaggerated. "God, Kate. Break. Need a break," he pants, reach for her head and signaling for her to stop.

She releases him from between her glistening lips with a loud, wet pop and his erection shoots out of her mouth and sways in front of her face.

"You okay?" she asks breezily, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, giving him a clever, teasing smile that tells him she knows exactly how far she's just pushed him.

"If by okay you mean this close to coming?" he croaks, holding up his thumb and forefinger to indicate how close he is, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "Then yeah, I'm great," he nods breathlessly, reaching for her so that they can share a kiss.

Kate has to crawl up over his body to get to him, and she does so eagerly. She lets her thighs slide wider to accommodate Castle's hips and then she slips one hand under his neck to hold him to her while she lowers herself down to hotly meet his mouth.

Castle's aroused state brings her in contact with his body in other ways too, while they indulge in what starts out as a slow make-out session. Things quickly heat up when Kate begins to coast her lower body back and forth over Castle's erection, letting his hard length slide between her folds until she breaks the dizzying kiss to speak to him.

"To hell with slow," she gasps unsteadily. "I want you inside me. Are you good with that?" she asks, her eyebrows raised, eyes wide, hoping for a speedy reply.

"What do you think," smirks Castle, cupping one of her breasts and gently squeezing.

"Good. Because it's time. God, I need you," she tells him, urgently swooping in for another, more bruising kiss, as she reaches down between them to grasp his shaft at the same time.

Castle's hips jerk when her hand closes around him again and Kate grins wickedly. "Easy, lover boy," she tells him, rubbing him against her glossy, swollen lips.

"Stop teasing," growls Castle, shaking his head at her admonishingly.

"Oh, come on. You love it," Kate argues back, circling her hips in a slow, obscene fashion.

"Don't make me come up there and deal with you," throws out Castle bravely, repositioning his pelvis in an attempt to enter her.

Kate rises up away from him, her palm and fingers still wrapped around his length, a look of delicious glee on her face. "Finally maybe I can shut you up," she chuckles, when Castle's mouth drops open in surprise and disappointment at her deception.

"Let's see how long you can hold out, Detective. The way your hips are…gyrating and from the way you've been kissing me, you want this as badly as I do."

"Shhh," whispers Kate, closing her eyes and sinking lower to tease her entrance with the head of Castle's arousal. "I might be horny, but I'm still in control."

"Mmm, always, babe," murmurs Castle, dropping his head back onto the pillow to stare up at the ceiling, while Kate keeps him on edge with her teasing little lap dance.

Kate laughs, stilling her movement to stare at him in amusement. "Did…did you just call me babe?"

"Might have," he flinches. "Please don't maim me. Not until we do this again please?" he pleads, reaching for her thigh and urging her to move again.

"You mean this?" she asks, locking eyes with his as she grips him firmly in her hand and then slowly lowers herself down on top of him.

"Ohhhh, God, that feels amazing," exclaims Castle, gripping her hips and holding her down so that he can drive himself up into her with a tight curl of his abdominals.

Kate shudders, murmured nonsense dying on her lips. She links Castle's hands with her own, and she helps him join them more completely together, spreading her knees wide on the bed until he's buried deep inside her.

She sits upright astride him, proud, their hands joined, and they watch one another. Nothing has ever felt more right or more intensely intimate than this. Not with anyone she's ever been with before.

The heated look they share makes her heart pound, desire for him shooting right through her. It's as if Castle can see right inside her head, can read her mind as well as he is able to read her body. They dwell in this moment of collective wonder until the ache and excitement coursing through their bodies gets to be too much and they're forced to give into their need to move.

Kate rises up slowly, her fingers laced with Castle's as he supports her, and then she sinks down onto him again with a smooth, steady ease. This is the first time they have made love with nothing between them, skin on skin, and the silky moisture of their combined excitement only heightens their sensitivity.

Kate rises and falls again, fluidly, torturing her own body as much as Castle's with her lazy, undulating pace.

"You're so beautiful to watch. The way your body moves, your skin, my God, your curves," he tells her, sliding his fingers around from her hip into the small of her back. "But I want you near me. I want to feel your tongue inside my mouth when you come for me, Kate. I want to hear you moan when I spill inside you and your body tightens around mine."

Kate shudders at his words and the press of his fingers so low down on her ass. He smooths his large hands up and down over the plump curve of her rear, feeding his body into hers again and again. Her skin is hot and feverish; both of them beginning to perspire from the controlled exertion and the effort they are making to hold themselves back.

Shadows dance in time with their movements and the hiss and crack of a sparking wick cuts through the near silence. Gold flecks dance in the irises of Kate's eyes and Castle stares at her in wonder.

"Mmm, faster," she murmurs listlessly, tossing her head back. Her hair tumbles off her shoulders and down her back and her breasts rise high.

Castle lets go one of her hands to skim her puckered nipple with his palm. When he pinches it between thumb and forefinger Kate hisses and arches harder against him, driving him even deeper.

"You are so fucking good at this," he declares, his eyes widening in amazement when he feels her muscles grip him even tighter.

"No, we are good at this," insists Kate, a crazy, lustful light in her smiling eyes.

She joins hands with him again and falls forward, altering their position and the depth of penetration at a stroke.

They fall silent, except for a regular chant of guttural grunts and moans and heavy breathing, picking up speed, foreheads frowning in concentration.

Kate can feel the ache in her core getting more and more insistent as she chases the bliss of another climax with Castle. The pulse between her legs is demanding - a delicious, painful, throbbing tension she never wants to be free of.

Eventually, Castle lets go his hold on her hips and reaches up to cup her face instead, eyes searching out hers.

"Look at me?" he asks, parting his lips lustfully, his gaze wild and ecstatic as he grazes the side of her mouth with the tip of his tongue.

Castle can feel Kate's body teetering on the edge from the desperate way she's grinding against him, using his body to heighten her own pleasure, and he loves it. She's riding him, so close to the edge that he can feel her beginning to lose her careful mastery over their rhythm; her movements tired and messy, slightly chaotic.

His blood sings with it – with the reality of making love to her – and his body pounds and throbs deep inside her, pressure building up with every stroke.

"Come for me, Kate," he whispers, kissing her lightly until she parts her lips for him and groans as she rolls her hips extra forcefully against him. "That's it, let go."

"Together," pants Kate, fighting for breath, her cheeks pink with exertion, a bead of sweat rolling down between her breasts. "You close?"

Castle kisses her deeply once again. "Say the word."

Kate nods. "Let go."

They speed up again, staring at one another, their eyes locked - vulnerable, exposed and in love - both consumed by the fire raging through them, by the desire transporting them out of their bodies to a shared nirvana they crave, no matter how fleeting the trip.

Kate's mouth is fused with Castle's just like he wanted, their tongues stroking dirtily, tasting the fervor of their lust, lips sucking wetly, when the dam finally breaks and Kate loses control. She jerks against him, whining quietly, her hips quiver, muscles fluttering. Warm wetness floods between them as Castle quickly comes too, the second he feels her let go. He spills inside her, pumping over and over, emitting a cry he muffles against her damp neck; a cry that that sounds like pain, and his fingertips hold her above him as he drives into her soft, swollen flesh with a few final, jerky, desperate thrusts.

Their eyes are tightly closed as they ride the razor fine line between pleasure and pain, chasing after the dying sparks of their orgasm, knowing that sated peace and a fleeting sadness will be quick to follow.

Kate collapses in a sweaty heap onto Castle's chest, and he holds her there, his head thrown to one side on the pillow as he fights to draw more air into his lungs. Kate's curls lie in a tangled sweep across his neck and cheek, and he inhales the magnificence of her, promising himself that he will never forget a second of tonight, not one single detail.

Castle's heart pounds beneath her ear and her own blood thunders in her veins, answering the demanding call of his that they live, that she lives, or maybe that they go on living for one another. Because that's what this feels like now, suddenly, terribly, there is no life for her without him in it. And it's a powerful, wonderful and terrifying realization all at once.

Castle's arms tighten around her just as she has this thought, and it's almost as if they share one mind again. The ferocity with which he holds her matches her own horror that she could so easily have missed out on this. One inch to the left - not having the courage to draw Martha out yesterday, not taking the time to figure out his mood, not pushing herself to finally confront her own lie, her own fear and weakness, could have meant missing out on all of this.

"Stop thinking so loud."

Castle's words are like a glass of cold water thrown in her face, and she gasps in shock, straining against the strong arms that cradle her.

"Relax. Hey! Hey," he whispers, soothing her down with a gentle kiss to her temple, "I didn't mean to startle you."

Her breathing slows, her heart rate follows, and she settles her body against his.

"You okay?" asks Castle, stroking a light path up and down her spine that makes her shiver, as he nuzzles his nose into her hair.

"Good…I'm good," she tells him, kissing his cheek, rubbing her face against his.

"I love you."

Her words in the dark, candlelit bedroom startle Castle this time.

He buries his face in her hair again, pressing a deep, meaning-filled kiss to her scalp. "You have no idea how good it is to hear you say those words."

Leaning back so that she is able to touch his face, skimming the bridge of his nose with her fingertips, caressing the seam of his mouth, memorizing each feature anew now that she can really look at him openly and let him see how she loves him back.

"Actually, I do," she nods, smoothing a mess of damp hair off his forehead. "I've lived with your love for longer. In here," she tells him, grasping his hand and pressing it flat over her heart. "But it never means any less, never gets any less, Castle."

"Are you scared?" he asks her, serious eyes roaming her face for a reaction to this unexpected question, one that throws him too.

Kate strokes his ear. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm terrified," he admits, with a short, self-deprecating laugh.

"I think that's just the price people pay for this, Castle. To love is to risk, isn't it?" she shrugs. "Not that we're going to hurt each other. The risk is—"

"Losing," interjects Castle, clearly.

Kate nods wordlessly.

They fall silent again, and eventually Kate eases onto her side and then her back, so that they are lying next to one another looking up at the dancing demons on the ceiling.

She feels for Castle's hand on top of the covers, slides hers into his grasp and feels him squeeze.

"Seems like the universe is cutting us a little slack this weekend," she points out with a smile.

"Wonder what the payback will be?" chuckles Castle.

"Mmm," hums Kate noncommittally, feeling languorous and limp, a pleasant ache still humming through her body.

"Quick shower before bed?" he suggests, turning his head to look at her.

"You're already thinking about the phone ringing again," chides Kate, nudging his arm.

"I figure the universal hourglass has to run out of sand sometime."

"Get the water running nice and hot, then give me a shout and I'll come join you," says Kate, giving him another nudge, this time to get him out of bed.

"So bossy, Detective," grins Castle, rolling towards her to plant a final, lingering kiss on her lips before getting up.

"And you love it," Kate calls after him, taking time to enjoy the view when Castle walks off towards the bathroom.

TBC...

Love to hear your thoughts - please don't be shy. Have a lovely weekend. Liv