A/N: *puts hands over face in embarrassment* I hate writing these scenes ...
"Alone at last."
Kate turned at the sound of Rick's voice, tearing her attention away from the gorgeous view outside his window to drink in the gorgeous view approaching her. He slid his arms around her waist and pivoted her body until she was looking outside once more. She settled into the embrace and placed a hand over his clasped ones at her abdomen. Lights from the city below twinkled impishly back at the duo, and Kate let out a small gasp of joy at the sight of tiny white flakes floating by the window.
"Hey, look at that! It's snowing," Rick murmured softly into her hair. Kate sighed happily and gazed at the picture the two of them made, aware of every line and chisel of his frame enveloped around her curves.
"This is weird," she finally blurted, causing Rick's mirror image to frown in concern.
"What's weird?" he asked. "You and me – like this?"
"No." She shook her head and met his eyes in the reflection. "That's what's weird – it's not weird."
Rick was silent for a moment before chuckling lightly. "I'm not even going to pretend to understand that." He kissed her behind the ear and added, "But if this is your way of saying that 'we' feel 'right', then I agree."
She hummed a response, the feeling of him rustling behind her preceded the smooth sound of holiday jazz that filled the apartment. Shifting in his arms she cocked a curious eyebrow and met his eyes that were crinkled in a tender smile. "Dance with me?" he requested, a flash of uncertainty shadowing his face until she graced him with a brilliant smile of acquiescence. He led her into an easy sway that belied the pounding of his heart, and he felt his body tense with need as Kate grazed the underside of his jaw with her lips. When her teasing kisses migrated to the column of his throat he growled a low grunt of warning, and the last vestige of his control fizzled to a slow burn when she sucked lightly at the pulse point that attested to his skittering heart rate.
Scooping her into his arms, he carried her to the couch and practically fell to a seat while keeping her cradled on his lap. He found her lips at once and reveled in the discovery that she tasted like a mixture of chocolate and marshmallows – probably something to do with the hot cocoa they'd had before Alexis and Martha had retired to bed. Grunting his appreciation of the talent she had with her mouth, he slid his hands to her hips and anchored her lightly in place. She plundered – he plundered – and the world tipped itself into a dizzying equilibrium where everything made sense and nothing made sense all at once. Kate's throat gurgled a whimpery purr, and she wriggled on his lap in an attempt to gain better access to his mouth. His hands at her hips flexed in reaction, and he twisted her body until she was lying on her back against the cushions, his body following hers to hover over her without breaking their kiss. He settled against her warmth with a slow, ragged sigh, muffled by Kate's lips and echoed in her chest.
"Wow," she breathed when he broke for air, her hips arching toward him as if they had a mind of their own.
Rick let his eyes drift over her flushed face, committing to memory her dilated pupils, her shallow breathing, her parted lips, her - His gaze going wide, he braced his weight on one hand and used the other to grab her wrist mid-twirl. "You're doing that hair twirl-flip thing!"
"That hair twirl-flip thing?" Kate repeated in a dry monotone, her smile twitching in confused amusement.
"Yeah!" He pushed himself up on his knees and used his grip on her wrist to tug her vertical as well. Releasing her, he let his fingers replace hers and continued the motion she had started, winding her hair loosely around his touch.
"Castle, I'm having a little trouble following you. I was twirling my hair – so what?"
Pointing at her knowingly, he was practically bursting with glee. "You twirled your hair before you went on that date – the one with the… the self-absorbed firefighter guy."
"Oh." She lowered her eyes and - he knew she wasn't aware of her actions – began twirling her locks once more. "Yeah. Well." Shrugging, she met his gaze and grinned self-consciously. "I know something else about that night – something that you don't know."
"Oh really?" His face took on the boyish expression that she loved so much, and she felt herself melt even further than she already had been. She – Kate Beckett – melted.First the floating, now the melting. It was true – wonders never cease.
"Yes really. You know when you took my dress bag and offered me your arm?"
"When we were heading out to Remys for burgers?"
"Yep." She nodded, saw what she was doing with her hair and let her hand fall awkwardly into her lap. "Well, we were walking to the elevators, and … I realized I was … twirling."
"You were twirling?" He sat up a little straighter, and the creases around his eyes crinkled a little deeper. "Over me?"
"So it would seem." Kate raised her hand and ran her fingers along the very sexy stubble that covered his jaw. "I realized what it meant and it scared me to death, Castle." Her eyes shuttered with regret. "So I ran – emotionally. I tried to overcome my fears after you asked me to go to the Hamptons with you, and then Gina…"
"And then I took your courage and flung it back in your face. No wonder you ran." He stroked her face and smiled sadly. "I'm so sorry, Kate."
"You didn't know," she assured him. "I hid it very well from you – from nobody else, apparently… but at least from you."
He processed her words, reviewing in his mind what she'd said, and tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "You said you realized what it meant – that you twirled over me. What did it mean, Kate?"
Swallowing nervously, she stood and began to pace in front of him. It felt like an eternity to him, but she eventually slowed to a stop and turned to face him. "It meant…" Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and took the plunge. "Castle, it meant I was falling in love with you."
Awestruck, he rose to his feet, never taking his attention off her face, his eyes bright and luminous in the sparkle of the Christmas lights. He cupped the back of her neck with both hands and inhaled poignantly. On the exhale, he breathed her name and touched her lips with a reverent kiss. "And now? What did it mean just now?"
His eyes were hopeful and at the same time vulnerable, and Kate felt her heart break just a little as she gazed back at him with her own vulnerability. "It means… It means I love you too, Rick."
Silence.
And then his lips crushed hers, her body yanked tightly against his, his touch trembling with desperation. He laved and licked and soothed and ignited until she was capable of nothing but holding on and riding out the onslaught of sensation spiking through her nervous system. The next thing she knew, they were moving – frantically heading for his bedroom, dodging (most of) the living room and office furniture only by the mercy of a higher power.
Her shirt was discarded somewhere in the vicinity of his desk; his shirt draped itself over the TV in the office after Kate flung it haphazardly over his shoulder. One of her boots thunked against the wall, Rick yanking its partner from her other foot and tossing it to fall where it may – which happened to result in a broken lamp near the dresser. His belt had been pulled free and now dangled from the ceiling fan. Her jeans became the next target when they reached the bed, and their removal did not go as suavely as Rick had hoped, detoured by a tangle of legs and feet and hands and uncooperative denim. Flicking the pants free of his wrist with an impatient growl, he was startled back to reality by the sound of Kate's soft laughter.
"A little impatient?" she murmured, humor lacing her words, her tongue stuck wryly in her cheek.
"Hell, yes," he agreed. "Four years worth of impatient. And… I'm afraid you're going to change your mind."
"About wanting you or loving you?"
"Either. Both."
Kate shook her head and dragged her touch across his bare chest, resting her fingers at the button of his jeans, smirking with satisfaction at the hoarse intake of breath that clenched his abdominal muscles beneath her hand. "Not a chance, Rick. I want you. I love you. I'm not changing my mind."
He sat back on his knees and held out his arm. "Do me a favor? Pinch me. I need to know this is real and not another dream. Sometimes, they're very …" He coughed. "Vivid."
Propping her weight on her elbows, she walked her fingers along his waistband and smiled up at him with a grin that quite literally dazzled him. "I'll do you one better," she quipped in her best bedroom voice and had to suppress a giggle at the stunned someone-just-hit-me-over-the-head-with-a-baseball-bat expression on Rick's face. With expert fingers that suddenly felt leaden and clumsy, she flicked his button free of its loop (after several tries) and slowly slid the zipper down its toothed path. He groaned hungrily and reached for her again; she met his lips and kissed him back with a fervor that matched his own.
He dragged kisses along her jaw, down her throat, pausing to explore her collar bone and finally worshipping her cleavage with an ardor that made Kate gasp for air. "Oh Kate," he whispered, sitting back again to absorb her beauty – a beauty that made all of his fantasies and however-vivid dreams seem like childish cartoons. "Wow, Kate. You're – you're stunning."
Zeroing in on the front clasps to her bra, he traced the lacy pattern with a touch that made Kate shiver with anticipation. He fumbled to undo it, clenching his teeth in frustration when it proved more of an obstacle than he had anticipated. "Where did you get this bra?" he muttered as he fiddled with the fasteners. "NASA? Fort Knox?"
"Victoria's Secret," she retorted tolerantly, swatting his fingers away to help.
He rejoined her efforts and swore under his breath. "Does Victoria have something against me? Is that her secret?"
"No, Castle. I don't know why it's being so stubborn." She sat up and tucked her chin to get a better view of the trouble-maker, her hands brushed aside by Rick's decisive movements.
"How attached are you to this bra?" he asked, his voice strained.
"Apparently very attached," she joked but quickly sobered at the withering glare he shot her. "Sorry. Not the time for humor. Got it."
He ripped the undergarment in two, evoking a startled and rather aroused moan from the woman he loved. Moving to cast it aside, he yelped when one of the wires stabbed him in the thumb, drawing blood. "This is ridiculous!" he complained around the wound, sucking it into his mouth in reaction. "Maybe it's a sign."
"Uh. Yeah. A sign that sexual encounters rarely turn out as passionately perfect as they do in the movies," Kate countered, pushing him gently to his back and straddling him over his knees. "Relax, Castle. The fates are not against us."
She tugged on his jeans to begin the removal process, gliding them over his hips without hindrance. "See?" she teased him smugly, her eyes sparkling with laughter even as he squirmed under her touch. The material responded to her direction, and his jeans were soon pooling around his ankles. "Nothing to worry about – OOF!"
With a muffled squeal, Kate fell backwards off the bed and landed on the floor with Rick's jeans still clutched in her hands. "Ow," she moaned with a rueful giggle, opening her eyes to see his concerned face peering at her from the bed. His lip quivered, then his eyes crinkled. His cheeks dimpled, and finally his chest shook with laughter. Kate stared at him incredulously before giving in to her own mirth. Flinging her arm over her eyes, she laughed until tears spilled over her lashes and rolled down her cheeks.
When they had both recovered to the point that their amusement had dwindled to occasional hiccups of humor, Rick leaned over and offered her a hand to help her back to the bed. Instead, she tugged until he toppled over the side and joined her on the floor. Mirth still tinting her demeanor, she rolled him on top of her and returned the smile he flashed her. She brushed her fingers along his collar bone and raked them through his already-tousled hair, arching close enough to initiate a kiss that re-ignited the temporarily-banked flames of desire. The rest of their clothing was discarded – mostly without incident – and soon the only sounds that could be heard (should anyone be listening) were moans and sighs and shouts of ecstasy.
As they let their breathing calm into a somewhat normal pattern, Kate reached over and rested her hand against his sweaty, heaving chest. "How's that for a sign?" she asked between gulps of air.
He laughed desperately – the sound high and giddy – and he gathered her closer, enjoying the feel of her skin against his. "I love you, Kate."
Pressing a kiss just above his breastbone, Kate snuggled into his arms and smiled. "I love you, too."
"Who needs signs?"
"Not me," she assured him.
"You're twirling your hair again," he pointed out.
Kate grinned. "You gave me a lot to twirl about, Big Rick."
If he were standing and mobile, he would have strutted. No matter what was under his tree, no Christmas gift could compare to the memory of Kate shattering beneath him with a keening cry of his first name that he knew he would never forget. "Do you think it's safe to get back in bed?" he asked with an exhausted chuckle.
"Why, Mr. Castle, does that mean you have plans to make me twirl my hair again?"
"Detective Beckett," he crooned huskily as he rose up to gaze down at her contented face. "You have no idea."