Chapter 8:

Frustrations

Castle spent most of his afternoon sitting in front of his laptop, trying to write another chapter of his latest novel. Gina had called him several times over the last hour or so, leaving irritated messages begging him to call her back. He was in no mood to deal with her right now. His mind was definitely somewhere else. He couldn't seem to get the images from this morning out of his head, or stop himself from rewinding the events and changing what he had said or done to make himself more satisfied than he was. He knew that she had an effect on him, but he hadn't expected this. The way she looked in her room, nearly naked and damned kissable was enough to drive him mad.

He blinked and brought a hand to his eyes, trying to focus on the work he had to do in front of him. The blinking of his cursor was maddening. Every time he tried to write anything, he wrote Jameson Rook ripping Nikki's clothes off and having his way with her using the raunchiest details he could muster. This was not the most proper way to write his novel, much less deal with his current sexual frustrations.

He used to be happy when he could use his work to work out some of the issues that he was having. However, he quickly realized that he had more of a problem trying it this time because the object of all of his fantasies was most assuredly downstairs somewhere, wearing god knows what.

After fifteen more minutes of trying to get through his writer's block and focus, he gave up and went in search of her. She wasn't in the bedroom or kitchen, so the next place he looked was the indoor pool area and the attached workout space. No Beckett could be found at either place, so he ventured outside to the porch and stopped dead in his tracks. Kate was in the Jacuzzi tub with headphones in, reading a book with her back turned toward him. Quietly, he returned inside to his bedroom to change into a pair of black swim trunks that hung low on his hips.

He padded back outside, stopping to stand a few feet away and just watch her, fascinated at how oblivious she was to the fact that he was watching her. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he made the rest of his way to the tub. Beckett left a few inches between her and the wall of the tub, undoubtedly so she didn't get her book or her iPod wet. Castle took that as an invitation and slid in behind her, wrapping his arms around her stomach and pulling her against him.

Beckett had no idea she had an audience until she felt hands gently pulling her from behind into a rock hard body. She screamed, which whipped her head around and dislodged her iPod from its place on the ledge and sent it plunging into the tub for an undoubtedly watery death. Her book also fell victim to the scare, for it too went flying.

Beckett glared at Castle. "Really? You couldn't have simply just told me you were going to be joining me, and instead thought it was a better idea to scare me to death? How am I supposed to relax if you're constantly bothering me?"

"Hey, I had no idea that you were going to have such a violent reaction. I would have never attempted it if I had," he replied, reaching into the water and digging out the now dead iPod. "I think you're going to need a new one. I'll happily take you to get another tomorrow," he replied apologetically.

She contemplated him for a moment, trying to decide how those two statements made her feel. She decided to go with "Why do you always have to say the right things to me? Why can't you just let me be mad at you for a little while?"

"I don't like people being mad at me as a rule. Although, pissing Gina and Paula off is something I do regularly for sport, but they make it so easy. I definitely don't like the thought of you, Alexis, or my mother mad at me. The three of you would make my life a living hell," he said, kissing the side of her cheek gently.

"Fine, you're forgiven. However, don't think you can just buy me presents in order to get back in my good graces. Sometimes I will just have to stay mad at you."

"Duly noted. Were you at least enjoying yourself for a while? Is there something you've always wanted to do that I could do for you?"

"Again, you don't really have to do anything for me to make me happy. You've already forced me on a vacation, remember? Don't think I've completely forgiven you for this, because although this place is gorgeous, I'm still a little peeved."

"Again, I apologize. Hey, get up. There's this really nice restaurant that I'd love to take you to. We have reservations. Oh, and the attire is formal. There's a few choices for you in my closet as far as something to wear. I figured that you wouldn't have brought anything other than regular clothes and the occasional clubbing outfit. I want to spoil you a little. You've given so much of yourself to others without expecting anything back. It's the least I can do for someone as extraordinary as you."

Kate glanced down at herself, noticing for the first time that he was holding her where his hands me the bare skin of her stomach. An unfamiliar warm sensation pulsed from where he touched her, and it seemed to spread all over her body. She wondered what it would be like if he took her out on a real date, and whether or not the places that he was wanting to show her were the same ones he might have been with Gina or any of his other women. Mentally, she shook herself. They were just friends. There was no reason for her to be reading any more into his intentions than she was.

Castle watched her as a flurry of emotions played across her face. He was becoming slightly worried by her lack of a response. Usually, she was the one who was never without a comeback.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her, tilting her chin up and trying to get her to look at him.

Those eyes. She could just spend all day getting lost in his eyes. She barely even registered that he was even speaking to her, but she managed to focus long enough when he repeated himself to attempt to formulate a response. Beckett was about to answer when she heard the familiar ringtone sound from the forgotten cell phone next to them.

She didn't honestly know what to tell him. She wanted so badly to believe that he felt the same as she did, but she was afraid to make that intuitive leap.

Flustered, she turned away from him and picked up the phone.

A/N: Loved all of the reviews, story/favorite author/and favorite story alerts I've been getting! You guys are making me feel great about what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to get the next chapter up and running within the next few days or so. The framework for it is done, so it shouldn't be too long. Also, I'm forming ideas for my next story. Anyway, as always, REVIEW!