Chapter 6:

,

,

,

The first day after resolving the sniper case was filled with more comfort food, just a little paperwork, a lot of pretending to do paperwork while they joked and talked, coffee and the simple pleasures of hand holding and knowing that they were both on the same page for the first time since their partnership began. But as they were winding their way back to the precinct after running out for a late lunch of macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes, Beckett found herself walking close enough to Castle to slip her arm under his coat and around his waist. When he smiled down at her, she tucked her face into the safety of his chest. She let her fingers play with the crisp material at his side and just above his belt. Then she pinched him.

"Hey!" he laughed, sidestepping and wiggling away from her wandering hand. Just as quickly he dragged her back into his side as their path wandered across the sidewalk, earning them glares from passing, aggravated New Yorkers. She giggled at his reaction, and hummed when his hand gripped her firmly around her waist and his own fingers pressed suggestively into her skin. Even through the material of her top and her light jacket, the pressure was unearthing the latent desire between them.

"Hmm. Feels nice," she mumbled.

As they stepped up to the building they dropped their arms away from each other in mutual understanding, but she missed the warmth of his touch right away. With a glint in her eye she reached up on tiptoe and whispered, "Stairs?"

Castle grinned and nodded, following willingly as she bypassed the elevators to duck into the stairwell. She could feel his eyes on her ass as she started to ascend the stairs in front of him (there was a reason these were her favorite jeans) and smirked when his hands wrapped around her at the first landing. He tugged her to a stop and then back into him, his hands holding tightly to her hips.

"What are you doing?" she asked innocently even as he brushed her hair aside and kissed her neck lightly.

"Using the stairs."

"Not what I meant," she said without bite, gasping when his mouth opened wetly below her ear. His response was lost when he didn't bother to stop kissing her to make it, just a grunt that vibrated into her skin. Despite her words, Beckett turned in his arms, head tilted so he could keep doing what he was doing, and slid the fingers of one hand into his hair. "Mmm, Castle."

Castle backed her into the wall, pressing their bodies together, and brought one hand up to cup the weight of her breast in his palm. He pulled his mouth away from her and she couldn't help a soft groan of disappointment from escaping her even as she arched her back so she could crowd closer to him. He felt delicious and it seemed very important that she continue to feel this way.

"This isn't what you had in mind?" He asked, playfully squeezing her through the fabric of her top.

"Nope," she gasped at the new contact. "Just wanted to walk off the carbs."

"You weren't even thinking about this?" He asked as he shifted to press his thigh lightly between hers.

"Castle, I... No. Definitely not that."

He kissed her again, his tongue sliding briefly into her mouth. Then he pulled away and smirked playfully, holding her gaze with his bright blue eyes. "My mistake," he said, shrugging nonchalantly. When he started up the stairs it was Beckett's turn to ogle. And she did, with her tongue caught between her teeth and her head tilted for a better view. She spent three flights like that, watching the muscles moving beneath his jeans, wondering why she hadn't taken the opportunity to touch him a few minutes ago, and wondering how soon she could get another chance.

When he turned and caught her at it, she blushed but met his eye despite the heat in her cheeks. Castle didn't say anything, just leaned too close and trailed his hand over her back and over the flare of her hip when he held the door for her to enter the 12th.

Back at her desk, Castle swung his chair around so he was sitting next to Beckett instead of across from her.

"Castle," she hissed reflexively, eyes darting out over the bullpen.

"What?" he asked, grinning and leaning a little closer. He flipped open a file on her desk and mimed reading it, nodding sagely, and curled his fingers around her knee. Beckett tensed, both nervous and excited, and licked her lips.

"Castle," she murmured again, unable to think of what else to say. Stop would be the appropriate thing, but she didn't want to stop him. When she didn't remove his hand, he slid further up her leg, teasing against the seam of her jeans. Beckett covered his hand with hers, still staring at whatever paperwork Castle was pointing vaguely at with his free hand. When he slid even further she gasped, breathing shallowly through her nose, and dug her fingernails into his palm. "I thought you had to go help Alexis with her-" her mind fuzzed out a little when his knuckles brushed at the juncture of her thighs, "her, um. The thing."

Castle laughed softly, increased the pressure long enough to feel her hips lift involuntarily, and then released his hold and slid his chair back to its usual spot. Beckett closed her eyes and breathed deeply, struggling for control. When she opened them Castle was watching her with humor in his eyes.

"I do, indeed, have to go help my favorite daughter with her project at the Met."

Beckett nodded. "Right. The arts in focus campaign. That's what I meant."

"Oh sure. Listen, Kate," he said, suddenly more serious. "This thing we're doing," he gestured between them with a grin, "it's awesome. Best thing ever, actually."

Beckett nodded, confusion wrinkling her brow. "Agreed," she said with a small smile.

"But how about tomorrow night, we put the teasing on hold and really, um..." he trailed off, eyes squinting as he fumbled for the right words.

"...really do this?" Beckett finished, teeth flashing at her own double entendre.

Castle grinned. "Well I would eventually have found another way to put it, but, well... Yes."

Beckett laughed and smiled at him, a little flush with anticipation. She lowered her voice and looked at him through her lashes. "Yeah. So, tomorrow? No more teasing?"

"Yeah." When Beckett bit her lip, Castle shook his head. "Stop that! No more, I can't take it. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, and we'll finalize something."

Beckett grinned, and shamelessly watched while he walked away. After he left she sat back in her chair and spun in a circle, smiling and twirling her hair.

.

...

.

Castle's call the next morning was a welcome interruption from her boring day.

"Tell me you need me," Castle said.

Beckett made a face at her phone, shaking her head. "I thought you said no more teasing today, Castle."

"Unfortunately, I was just hoping for some kind of escape. I'm at the bank with Mother."

"Oh, well, in that case of course I need you. You should come rescue me from my mountain of paperwork. Or come help me with it. Do your share for once."

"Hmm. I'd prefer to rescue you. Throw you over my shoulder, carry you away from the villain."

Beckett pursed her lips and imagined it. "Wouldn't work. Paper would find us and suffocate us in our sleep."

Castle didn't respond until she prompted again. "Castle? You there?"

"Beckett, I think this bank is about to be robbed."

Beckett rolled her eyes until she heard the sound of shouting in the background, and her heart dropped.

.

...

.

"Castle! Castle!" Beckett was yelling over the sound of the bomb squad and swat team, unprofessional but uncaring. While other officers were clearing sections of the bank in a methodical manner, Beckett charged straight forward into the dusty, dim area, her voice rising to a level approaching a strangled scream. "Castle!"

Please, Castle. Where are you? Please, Castle, answer me.

"Beckett!"

At the sound of his voice hope fluttered in her chest. Her vision tunneled when she saw him. She could see only him, thankfully unhurt, even if he was a little dusty. The way he smiled turned the flutter into a full drum beat, her heart slamming against her ribs and adrenaline making her dizzy with the taste of copper in her mouth. Despite the uncomfortable buzzing in her limbs, she managed to drag open the door to the vault and dropped without pretense to her knees in front of him. She cut his hands free quickly. Before he could say anything she settled her hands on his chest and kissed him. It was desperate and sweet at the same time, and altogether too brief.

"I love you Castle. I love you. I love you."

Castle's face transformed into amazement and he reached up to brush away tears she hadn't been aware she was crying. With a shuddering breath she sat back, and said the thing she really needed to say. "I love you, too, Castle. I love you, too."

It was two admissions in one, and she felt a twinge of fear that he might be angry, that it might change everything, but he only smiled more widely. He opened his mouth to speak and-

"He's not the only one here, you know," Martha interrupted.

Beckett's eyes widened and she moved quickly over to Castle's mother, cutting the ties that bound her and grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, Martha."

"Quite alright, Darling, it was nice to see the show. Now my son can't keep telling me that he has no feelings for you!"

Castle glared at his mother but she just shrugged and waggled her fingers at him before allowing Beckett to help her up.

.

...

.

It was approaching midnight when Martha and Alexis headed upstairs to bed. Castle and Beckett were snuggled tightly together on the sofa with her legs draped over his lap and her head on his shoulder. She would have had another sip of wine, somewhere along the way he'd bought a bottle of that new Pinot she loved, but it would have meant moving away from him to reach for her glass on the coffee table. At the moment that wasn't a price she was willing to pay.

"Are you sleepy?" he asked, the words murmured into her hair. He stroked a warm hand over her shoulder and tugged her a little closer to him.

"No."

It was so easy to tilt her head back and brush her lips across his. Beckett trailed her fingertips across his jaw to feel the way the muscles worked as he kissed her back.

Castle moved back just far enough to murmur, "Good." His breath puffed across her lips before he angled his head to kiss her more thoroughly. It was warm and slow, his lips and tongue caressing her mouth leisurely, a hand stroking across her cheekbone and down her throat.

He kept at it until Beckett had to twist her mouth away to breath, chest heaving. "Castle," she whispered roughly, eyes shining, "I thought you were gone today."

He kissed her again, harder, before sighing, "All I could think about was you."

She shifted into his lap and slid both hands through his hair and down his face, cradling his cheeks in her palms. Leaning in, she used her mouth to thank him, pressing the emotion she was feeling into his skin. Castle's hands shifted to her hair, gripping tightly. When he tugged, she moaned. When he dropped one hand to squeeze her ass she gasped and rocked into him. Castle chuckled and grinned at her.

"Nobody likes cocky, Castle," she murmured, bending over further to suck lightly at his throat.

"Just you wait," he said, still laughing. She nipped at him in retaliation for his smugness. He let his head fall back against the couch and pulled her with him so they were touching from hip to chest. When she bit at his throat again his hips twitched, and Beckett got a preview of just how cocky he really was. She gasped and rocked her hips again with more purpose, reveling in the freedom to finally do this. Reveling in the feeling of having him hard and willing between her legs.

Then Castle grasped her hips firmly, stopping her movement.

"Castle, don't," Beckett complained before dipping her mouth to his again. But Castle kept the kiss light, nipping at her lips and tracing the shape of her mouth with his tongue without allowing her entrance to his. "Ca-astle," Beckett was practically whining now. "You said no teasing."

"It's just so fun, Kate," he growled.

Despite his half-hearted attempts to avoid her, Beckett managed to kiss him deeply then, her tongue tracing the ridges of his mouth before she sucked his tongue roughly into hers, caressing and stroking in rhythm with the unconscious movement of her hips.

"Castle," she gasped when she moved away to breath, "this might be more fun than the chase. You should try it."

This time when she ground their hips together he grunted, wrapped his arms tightly against her, and stood. Beckett squeaked in surprised and clutched at his shoulders, her legs like a vise around his waist. He kissed her as he walked them toward the bedroom, stumbling against the coffee table. Beckett giggled.

"Your control is slipping, arrogant man."

Castle huffed in disapproval and smirked at her, striding across the loft and through the office before kicking the door shut and dropping her unceremoniously onto his bed. She bounced once before coming to rest. "Sorry," he said, "you slipped right when my control did."

Beckett gave him a dirty look and then used her feet to tug him closer to the bed. From this angle she could see just how aroused he really was. When he was close enough, she pressed her knees into his waist and crossed her feet behind his back. When she wiggled her feet her heels pressed teasingly into his backside. Castle's back straightened in response, and he grinned. Then he dragged his short fingernails over the fabric covering her thighs, starting at the knee and working toward her hips.

"Come here," she whispered, still splayed out over his comforter, nibbling seductively on a thumbnail and looking at him sideways. She tugged at him with her feet to encourage him to join her.

Castle made a rumbling noise, head tilted, letting his gaze wander over her while his hands dug more firmly into the muscles of her thighs. Instead of climbing in with her, he drew his fingertips over the skin at her waist were her shirt had ridden up. When her back arched in response he leaned down to kiss the spot, trailing his mouth from hip to hip, using his tongue to draw wet circles into her skin. Beckett couldn't help the moan that escaped her then, twisting beneath his tongue as the muscles of her stomach tensed. She pulled him away with her fingers grasping at his hair and sat up to kiss his mouth again.

He used the opportunity to lift her shirt over her head in one smooth movement, immediately leaning in to kiss her again and run his hands over the newly exposed skin. Beckett moaned again, then slid further up the bed so he had to rest his weight on his arms to kiss her, fists planted to either side of her head.

"Kate," he murmured between kisses, his arms flexing tantalizingly beneath her fingers when he dipped down to her collar bone. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Castle. Please."

Then he grinned, chuckling against her exposed shoulder and nudging her bra strap with his nose.

"Castle!" Beckett reprimanded sharply, squirming beneath him. "You're still teasing!"

He drew one knee up to help balance over her and wrapped her leg over his. "Yeah."

"Stop."

He pressed his hips down into hers fleetingly, then paused, lips pulled to the side in a smirk. "You want me to stop?"

"Castle!" She growled in frustration. Instead of continuing this line of questioning, Beckett knocked one of his arms out from under him and twisted them in the bed until he was sprawled on his back and she was straddling his thighs. She turned her dark, triumphant eyes to his. She kissed him quickly, smiling a little at his stunned expression, and started unbuttoning his shirt. With every button she took the time to drag her nails across his skin or tease the light tufts of hair she uncovered. Halfway done, she couldn't resist leaning in to kiss him again more fully, letting their tongues touch before she slid her mouth over his jaw to his ear.

"Castle," she sighed, barely audible, her lips brushing tantalizingly over his skin. "I need you. I want you to stop teasing me. I want you to just do me, ok?"

Castle nodded mutely, staring up at Beckett. Then he grinned darkly, victoriously, and flipped her onto her back so he could get to the very serious business of undressing her.

.

..(end)...

A/N: annnnnd that's it! I hope you liked it. I found doing a multi-chapter thing much more difficult than I thought it would be... and this wasn't that long. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the reviews/follows/favs. Castle fandom is nice. :)

I DO plan on writing an epilogue but that's not done at all, so I make no promises as to when that'll show up.