A/N: I'm sorry it took me a while longer than it should to update. It turns out every time I tried to write a Caskett scene, I ended up having Castle proposing to Kate… imagine why!
Oh, I was cajoled by Tree23 and Polly Lynn to turn this into M. So, even though I'm not as descriptive as they would probably desire, it still has some mature language in it. Anyway, hope you like it. Please review.
The early morning sun was shining lazily through the translucent drapes in the bedroom, which woke Beckett up before her alarm even had the chance to do its proper job.
Damn, it was morning already.
Looking through the curtain of her dark brown hair, Kate spied the numbers in the digital clock sitting on her nightstand and calculated how much sleep she managed – a little under three hours.
It'd been barely three hours since their night of incredible, mind-blowing sex came to an end. Three hours since all the excitement and the exercise had finally tired them out. Three hours since they succumbed to slumber in each other's arms.
Them. Kate and Rick. Beckett and Castle. Detective Katherine Beckett and mystery writer Richard Castle.
How had that happened?
Behind her, Castle's relaxed, rhythmic breathing caught the brunette's attention. She also became aware of the feel of his right arm over her waist and his broad chest against her back, all proof that he had settled himself behind her, melding his body to hers as though they had been fused together. Any other day – any other man – and she might have moved away. With Rick, for some reason it brought a smile to her lips and she snuggled in closer.
Kate rolled over – mindful not to dislodge his hold from her body – and stared at her companion's sleeping face. The boyish, peaceful look on Rick's features, the way his hair flopped shaggily over his brow, got her thinking once again about the events of last night… actually, just a few hours ago.
Castle had managed to lure Beckett back to a time when she wasn't so wounded, when she could enjoy herself without feeling guilty about it. He had made her feel appreciated, but he hadn't been too intense about it. Not that their late night activities hadn't been intense; it's just that there had been a lightheartedness to it. He had been tender, yes, and he had also been really passionate and wild when the time had been right for it. But what really surprised the detective was that, throughout it all, Rick had been playful.
He hadn't tried to impress her. And he definitely hadn't made Kate feel like she had to try her best to impress him. They had spent their entire time together just enjoying each other, having fun.
Well, sexy fun, her mind pointed out.
Kate smiled to herself, still lost in her thoughts and watching the man lying next to her sleep. The man who had given her such a great time not so long before. The man who, without even trying, had gotten her to relax and be carefree.
For a few hours, Kate had truly and finally let go of everything that had been weighing her down for so long.
And now it was morning already.
"I'm pretty sure you once told me that staring is creepy," Rick spoke in a hoarse voice, still with his eyes closed.
Kate's smile widened and she let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, well, it's creepy when you're the one doing it. I'm just –"
"Admiring the ruggedly handsome man in your bed?" He cut in, with his eyes now open and letting a smirk show on his lips.
She snorted. "Ruggedly handsome, Rick?"
"I'm pretty sure of what I bring to the party, Detective."
"Well, as long as you're sure of yourself, Castle…" Kate languidly grinned at Castle's words.
The writer couldn't help but lean in to graze her lips with his. "Good morning," He greeted her once their mouths parted. "What time is it?"
"Around seven," She told him without turning to check the time. "Definitely not 7:15, 'cause my alarm didn't go off yet."
"Why would you set your alarm for 7:15 on a Sunday?" The novelist was appalled.
"I'm an early riser," She replied with a shrug, getting herself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and stretching, her bare back facing the novelist.
"Do you have to get up now?"
Kate thought she detected a hint of affection in his tone, but she couldn't be sure without watching his face. Turning her head around to take a peek at him, she explained, "I think I'm going to make some coffee." Letting an easy smile appear on her lips before finally moving to get out of bed, she asked, "Would you like something to eat?"
The moment she got to her feet, she groaned. The kinks in her muscles told her that she was going to pay later today for not getting a proper night of rest.
Castle was so absorbed watching the naked woman moving around the room before his eyes that he hadn't answered her question about coffee and food. When he heard her voice again – a tentative "Rick…?" as she pulled a robe off her hanging rack and put it on – it finally occurred to him that she was expecting him to have breakfast with her.
Oh. Damn.
"I, uh…" Rick faltered, pushing himself to a sitting position. "Actually…"
Kate turned to look at the stuttering man on her bed and suddenly she understood.
He wasn't staying.
Of course he wasn't staying.
"You have to leave," She stated, trying her best to not let her voice show how cheapened she felt. She wasn't actually looking for commitment, but to learn that their night together was only a one-time thing did hurt. "Don't worry, I get it."
The hell she did.
Rick had noticed the way all the lightness had left Kate's eyes and realized what she was probably thinking at this point. Acting fast – she was already turning to leave the bedroom – he scrambled to the edge of the bed to take her hand and pulled her closer, in a move that had her standing between his thighs, which were awkwardly covered by a tangle of sheets.
"I'm not leaving," He told her before she could question what he was doing. "Well, I have to leave, but I'm not leaving leaving," He tried to explain. "I mean, I'm not leaving for good," He amended.
The messy explanation was giving Beckett a headache. "Castle, what are you talking about?"
"Sundays, I have breakfast out with Alexis." He clarified. "It's kind of our thing, and given that I didn't know I'd be staying over, she's probably expecting us to go out today."
Even though it was the truth, Rick was ready to kick himself for this explanation. What is the matter with you? He asked himself silently.
Trying to make up for it, he started musing, "Of course, I could call now and cancel…"
Kate, ashamed, tried to interrupt. "Rick…"
Castle wasn't paying attention and carried on, "She's probably going to wake up soon, even though we usually only go out to eat after nine and…"
"Rick." Kate said a bit more firmly, an octave higher, and managed to break through to him.
His eyes focused on hers, his mouth open but no sound coming out at first. "Yeah?" He managed to ask after a beat.
"You don't have to cancel with your daughter, it's fine," She told him, lowering her eyes quickly to his covered thighs in an attempt to break eye contact.
She had been thinking he was a jerk using her for sex and the guy was actually telling her he had to leave to be with his teenage kid.
Jeez!
The novelist in him, always observant, picked up on her embarrassment. "You thought I wanted this to be a one-night stand, didn't you?" He questioned, looping his ankles behind her calves and resting his hands on her hips.
Her eyes quickly darted up to look at him, surprise crossing her features, but she didn't say a word.
That was all the answer he needed, though. "Kate," He started, standing up and bringing the sheets with him, covering his body modestly as best as he could while he put his arms around her waist. "I'm not the kind of guy to lie to get what he wants. If I wanted a one-night stand, I would've told you that. And even then, I wouldn't just leave you the morning after."
Beckett tried for levity to hide her shame. "You trying to make yourself look like the only respectful man on the planet, Mr. Castle?"
"I'm trying to make you realize that I am not a complete jackass," He told her seriously. "Look, I may have had my share of meaningless flings," He paused for a nanosecond to watch how she reacted to this statement – she seemed more annoyed at the prospect of him gloating than at his playboy manners, so he was good to continue, "but I never strung them on. We always had a great time, and I made sure that they didn't feel used or anything, but I was also clear that we were only living the moment, that it wouldn't go anywhere." He gripped her waist to make sure she would pay attention to what he was going to say. "Now, did I tell you that I wanted something meaningless with you or did I say that you were worth more than that?"
Kate felt uncomfortable under the proverbial spotlight. "Castle…"
Once again, Rick was reminded that Kate didn't do well with being pushed. But this was important to him. "Okay, you don't have to answer. Just know that I want to spend more time with you. And have dinner with you again. And go out together." He told her sweetly, before smirking in arrogance. "And hopefully also do more of what we did last night." For good measure, he added in a suggestive tone, "A lot more."
Kate was thankful for Rick's attempts to keep things light between them. As stubborn and steel-eyed as she could appear to be, at least Kate was able to recognize how much the writer probably liked her if he was willing to get to know her and not push her. She could tell Castle had been trying his best to understand her and it seemed that he had already learned not to confront her.
She was glad. Beckett knew that she wasn't ready for personal confrontations; but banter… banter she could deal with.
Dirty banter then… that was her forte.
Which is why she wound her arms around his neck and leaned into his naked torso. "So, you liked it, huh?"
"Liked it?" He told her, pulling her even closer to his body. "I loved it. And I gotta say, you were right," He remarked. At the expectant look in her face, he elaborated. "I had no idea."
She gave him a fantastic smile and bit her lip alluringly before murmuring in his ear, "You think you can handle more of what we did last night?"
And just like that, the tables had turned.
Rick's hands lowered to the swell of her backside and he spoke, a little less boldly than before, as he brought her hips closer to his, "Why wouldn't I? I'm not sure you can handle it, though. I seem to recall you begging me not to stop just a few hours ago."
Kate ran her tongue over his ear as she purred in his ear, "Yeah, but you're the one who had trouble controlling his reactions once I had you pinned under my body in bed." She heard the faint sound of swallowing coming from his throat and smiled in victory as she lightly bit his earlobe and pressed her hips into his groin.
Yeah, she was definitely winning this.
"Judging by your reaction now, I'd say memories from last night are still fresh in your mind, huh?" She added, conceitedly, in between dropping kisses on his neck.
Frustrated with her antics, Castle momentarily untangled himself from her body to drop the sheets and then returned to her full force, his left hand gripping her butt while his right hand moved daringly in between their bodies, slipping under her robe.
Instinctively, Beckett raised her left leg to his waist, locking her calf on his naked thigh.
Once his hand reached its destination, Castle smirked. Biting the right side of her neck, he whispered in her ear, "From the feel of it, your memories are as good as mine."
Unable to stay immune to the sensation of the novelist's hands on her, Kate sucked hard on the nape of Rick's neck and moaned, all the while moving her right hand south on his body.
The sound of a ringtone coming from Beckett's cellphone startled them momentarily.
"7:15," She announced with a sigh, giving the novelist a slow kiss before turning around to stop the annoying sound coming from her mobile. "You want to take a shower before you leave?" She asked, her back still to him.
Rick wrapped his arms around her from behind and nudged her neck with his nose before answering, "Sure. But I think we still have time for a second round before I have to do that," He added as he untied her robe and slipped his left hand to cover her right breast.
Once again, Kate moaned in a low voice. She was determined not to let him gain control of the situation, though, so she remained as unmoving as she could when she retorted, "Technically, it would be round five."
The writer smirked quietly as he used his talented left hand to gently massage her nipple and his super-gifted right hand to leisurely draw unspecific paths over the front of her body. While his fingers ran lightly over her stomach, he let the sensual rumble of his deep voice fill her ears. "Fifth round, then. I'm thinking, this time, we should try something different."
"Different?" She asked, letting her head fall back on his shoulder once his right hand travelled lower on her body and his left hand moved to torture her left breast.
"Yeah," He answered, moving to kiss her throat. "Not that I didn't enjoy it last night when, after you brought me into the bedroom, you kissed me while you removed my jeans." He ran his lips over the left side of her jaw as he continued, "Or how you let me hold you like this while I removed your bra and leggings, before I kneeled in front of you to admire your body in its full glory."
She tried to force out a sarcastic laugh, but it came out as an aroused whimper. "'Full glory'? You're so cheesy, Castle."
"You didn't think I was cheesy last night when I had you on your back on top of the mattress, a fistful of sheets in your hand and your teeth digging into your bottom lip while I was worshiping your body with my mouth." He felt her tremble when he slipped two fingers inside her and leered. "How's that for cheesy?"
Panting, Beckett reached blindly behind her until she found him in his full glory, the feel of him burning in her hand. "I don't know. I still think you were cheesy when you chose to be on top, covering my body with yours protectively, for our first time."
"Hey, you and I both know for a fact that you were very appreciative of my actions that first time," He argued, trying his best to control his breathing and keep up with his ministrations while she was fondling him with her left hand. "And, for the record, you were just as grateful when I was covering you protectively on top of the bathroom countertop the third time around."
She tried to shift in his hold so that she could murmur erotically on his right ear, "But not as thankful as you were when I was on top of you for our second time." Gently squeezing him in her right hand, she added, "You even told me you felt indebted to me, remember?"
She grinned smugly when she felt Castle lose some power over his body.
She didn't feel as superior when he managed enough control to slip out of her grasp and rub himself against her ass.
"Yesss," She hissed, powerless to hide her desire any longer.
"You like it when I press against your heinie, Detective?"
"Castle, focus!"
"I am focused," He replied, stroking his fingers inside her rhythmically and merging her hips with his naked body. "See?"
Kate groaned loudly. Without turning around, she flung her left arm around his neck and pulled his face closer to hers, all the while wiggling her derrière against the evidence of his arousal. "I doubt we'll be able to top round four," she commented, hoping it sounded like a dare.
"As amazing as you were in those positions," Rick grumbled, recalling the way her body felt against his when he was holding her up against the bedroom wall and then when she was sitting on his lap in her bedroom chair, "I'm sure we're capable of topping that one too. In fact," He paused his ministrations long enough to place her face down on the mattress, before letting his hands roam her body once again and whispering in her ear, "I can already think of something that I'm sure will be incredible."
He captured her lips with his own, but, before he knew it, she had managed to flip themselves on the bed, landing on top on his naked body and pressing the whole length of her body against his. "I can think of a couple of things, too," Beckett told him, leaning down to kiss him again and roguishly biting his lower lip.
Castle stared at her, dumbfounded by her prowess. "You are truly amazing, you know that?"
The admiration in his eyes overwhelmed her for a moment, but Kate realized that, in this moment, in this bedroom, with this man, she enjoyed the feeling. It was the truth: he made her feel amazing again.
So she smiled at him unreservedly.
Rick could tell there was a mischievous gleam to her eyes and it warmed his heart somehow. It didn't stop him from feeling a bit dazed, anyway. "What?"
Taking notice of the look of complete admiration and confusion in his face, Kate shook her head dismissively, feeling proud at herself for being able to be open and playful right then. Smiling wickedly at him, she said, "I guess it's time we made some new memories, right?"
Castle was momentarily perplexed, but the feeling quickly dissipated once he spied the gorgeous brunette sliding down the bed to lower herself on her knees before him.
She was going to be the death of him.
TBC
PS: Special thanks to BlueOrchid96 and Liv Wilder for helping me come up with 3,000 different synonyms for "buttocks". And to Tree23: I hope you're happy with Castle's use of the word "heinie".
(All characters and even some of the quotes in this fanfic don't belong to me. This is made available for entertainment only and not for profit. No copyright infringement is intended.)