Chapter 7:

Day One, Part One

The rest of the night for Castle was pure hell in silence. After putting Beckett to bed, he wandered the house in order to clear his head of the thoughts that she had unintentionally planted into his head. Just the thought of her sleeping in the next room in her underwear and wondering what her legs would feel like when they were wrapped around him in the heat of passion kept him awake with a permanent hard on. He had never been as interested in a woman as he was with her. So after hours of tossing and turning, he finally got up to make her some breakfast, intending for her to have it in bed. He was just about finished with his feast when he heard the most gut wrenching scream emanate from Beckett's room.

Shit, he thought. He was hoping to have a little more time before she woke up and processed her state of undress. Obviously, That was not to be, he chuckled to himself as he hurriedly put some of the food he made on a plate and poured Beckett a fresh cup of coffee.

Beckett had awoken well rested, in a bed she didn't recognize. That wouldn't have bothered her in the least, except for the fact that something had felt a little off. Deciding to finally get out of bed and start her day, she flipped the covers off to find that she hadn't slept in her clothes from the night before. She had slept in her underwear, and the clothes she had worn were folded neatly on a chair in the corner. This worried her considerably. She didn't even remember doing anything even remotely considered inappropriate to explain her lack of clothing, so that had to mean only one thing.

"CASTLE!" she yelled angrily.

He rushed in to her room seconds later, bearing food and coffee with hurried apologies. She hadn't exactly planned for him to come in so quickly, much less at all. Reaching up, she grabbed him by the nose and pinched hard, causing him to cry out.

"Apples! Apples!" he moaned, wincing in pain.

Kate refused to be deterred from her tirade. "What in the hell happened last night? Did we-"it was here that Castle cut her off.

"Look, you were asleep when we got here, so I carried you inside instead of waking you up. I figured you hadn't slept in a while and needed to stay that way. Besides, I really didn't want to risk you becoming cranky with me. Then, when I put you to bed, I thought you'd be less comfortable sleeping in your clothes. I was honestly going from my perspective here. If I were you and were the one sleeping in bed, I wouldn't ever sleep in jeans. So I took things off for you and tucked you in. That's all that happened. I swear. I didn't look or see anything. "

Beckett regarded him for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he was telling the , Kate released her hold on Castle's nose, but not before giving it one last squeeze.

It was then that Castle froze, realizing Beckett's state of undress. Looking down at herself, she realized she was still in her underwear and Beckett hurried to cover herself.

"Stop staring and get out so I can get dressed, then we can talk about plans for the day. What are we doing, exactly?"

Castle, who had started to turn away, replied quickly, "You, my dear Beckett, may do whatever you wish. I told you, I have a book to write, remember? Why don't you enjoy yourself on the back porch. There's a Jacuzzi tub there you can use to relax. I'll write for a little while and then come find you. I have many surprises in store for you today," Castle replied with a wink.

"By the way," he continued, pointedly looking her up and down before licking his lips, "you're gorgeous. I think it should be a mandatory rule while we are on this vacation that you either wear only your underwear, or nothing at all," he quipped while stepping towards her, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "I personally prefer to have you naked. The view is much better." At that, he quickly straightened up, turned and quickly walked away, but not before adding, "There are some bathing suits in one of my suitcases. I figured you'd forget one."

After Castle left the room, Beckett allowed herself to let out the breath she had been holding. She never expected to feel the rush of emotions to arise after his simple comment. She thought he was probably joking, but something refused to let her believe that entirely. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she decided to go see what Castle's bathing suit choices for her would be. However, that would have had to wait, for Beckett realized that Castle had made a very generous breakfast for her. Eggs, pancakes with strawberries and various fruits, and crepes greeted her, as well as a fresh cup of coffee. Castle always knew the best way to take care of her, she mused. Sighing contentedly, she shuffled to Castle's bedroom and opened one of the suitcases she had found there.

She found several different bikinis, all in different colors and styles. Unfortunately for her, they were all borderline indecent. She rolled her eyes. Of course Castle would never actually invest in something appropriate for her to wear. She settled on a two toned bronze and gold colored one, thinking that it was the most decent of them all. She put on one of his t-shirts over it so that she could freely walk around the house without attracting attention from Castle. However, she knew that if he did happen to see her in such a garment, the attention he would most surely give her she couldn't refuse. She softly padded to the porch and uncovered the Jacuzzi, turning on the jets to start it up. Satisfied, she went back inside to grab one of the books she brought with her and her iPod.

She took off her shirt once she was back outside and climbed into the water. It was cool from lack of use, but she figured she needed a little cooling off. This week with Castle was constantly heating her up. She settled herself in the tub, cracked open her book, and turned on her iPod. It didn't take long before she had fallen fast asleep.

A/N: I've been really lazy the last few days. I've been either working like a dog, or just busy getting into shenanigans with friends. If I had written all of this chapter instead of splitting it up, it would have been freakishly long. Thank you for all of the reviews! They're really motivating me to keep writing, so keep them coming! It lets me know that I'm doing something right. Part two should be up soon.