A/N: As you all probably expected, this chapter is M-rated for sexual content – REALLY M-rated in a particular section. You've been warned. If someone has a problem with that, well, then you really should have thought of reviewing earlier to let me know… ;)
In any case, I'd like to point out that even the dirty bits matter to the story as a whole (seriously!). So if you don't wish to read the, well, dirtier bits, let me know – via review, PM, twitter, what have you – and I'll try to let you know why the sex part mattered.
I hope you all like this, anyway. And I'm extremely sorry for taking this long to update.
"Are you serious?!" Rick whined as he saw the brunette in front of him laying her cards down on the center of the mattress – their makeshift poker table.
"What can I say, Rick?" Kate bragged unabashedly. "I guess it's just my lucky night," She added, mocking him and flirtatiously glancing at his naked torso.
The novelist gave her an annoyed, pointed look.
When the two of them had started playing strip poker, Castle had thought it sounded like a great idea, a special opportunity to have fun and enjoy some nude time with a beautiful lady – not just any lady; with Kate Beckett, the woman who should hold the Guinness record as the woman who had most quickly won over a man's – his – heart.
Their strip poker showdown had even had a promising start in Castle's opinion, with his flush beating her single pair of 9's in the first round and leading to her striping off her black dress pants.
Whistling lewdly, he had told her, "I think this is my lucky night."
Their second round had Beckett's hand beating his – and, okay, he had enjoyed that too, deciding to make the best of the fact that he had a chance to be naked with her in his bedroom and, therefore, foregoing his belt in favor of losing his shirt first.
"I'm hoping this way you'll get lost in the broad expanse of my strong, muscular torso and while you're staring at said well-built chest I'll just take all of your clothes," He had daringly teased then.
But then, Kate had beat him in the following round, prompting the bestselling author to remove his belt, and then again in the round after that – their current round. Meaning he would have to strip off his trousers and be left in the uncomfortable position of having to sit there, only in his Thomas Nash navy silk boxers, while she still had (most of) her clothes on. Not to mention he would have to live with the fact that she was in fact beating his pants off at strip poker.
Clearly, his stripping-to-distract tactic hadn't worked exactly as he had planned.
"C'mon, Castle," Kate's voice brought him back to the present times. "Just take it off and let's get this over with."
Rick gave the woman sitting across from him yet another pointed look and then said, "You know, normally I would like where all of this stripping thing was headed. Right now? Not so much."
The brunette tried to hide her smirk behind the curtain of her brown, wavy hair, but as the brawny man in front of her stood up – resignedly – to take off his pants, she realized that her locks would obstruct the spectacular view in front of her. Lifting her head and leaning back on the headboard, the detective grinned appreciatively, "I don't know, Rick, I kinda like where this is going."
"You mean my stripping or your winning?" He immediately asked, eyes gleaming in anticipation.
Giving him a smile that could only be described as wicked, Kate rose up onto her hands and knees and sinfully slinked her way down the mattress until she reached him, her palms then going to his torso to support her weight as she inched her way up his body. Her lips found his right ear, teeth gently sinking on his earlobe as she whispered seductively, "My winning, of course."
The novelist could not voice out any specific words, only the sound of his aroused growl leaving his mouth while his hands went around to cup his girlfriend's – is it safe to call her my girlfriend now? – derrière. When the feel of… lace – oh, God – was detected by his hands, Rick pulled Kate's body closer to his, their hips connecting and his lips kissing her neck, her jaw, her cheek and, finally, her lips, their tongues searching, heat and desire taking over their bodies momentarily.
"Suddenly, I don't feel like playing anymore," He muttered in between kisses.
It should have sounded amused, but the throaty laugh that the attractive detective let out was a testament to her own arousal. "Of course you don't want to play anymore; you're losing," She said, hoping for teasing but only managing to sound even more alluring as her nails coursed over the sensitive skin on his back.
"Trust me, this has nothing to do with me losing," Rick retorted, biting on her pulse point and pressing his erection against her center. "And for the record, I haven't actually lost."
"You're down to your boxers, writer boy," Kate pointed out laughing, the sound erotic as her head fell back in pleasure.
Writer boy? Huh… he liked it.
He gathered most of her brown locks in his hand and gave them a gentle tug, exposing the column of her neck to his lips. "In my book, that's winning actually."
"That's winning in life, Rick, not at poker," She bounced back, her words blending with the moan she let out at the feel of his tongue running over her skin. "At least I got to prove to you that I would've won earlier even if you hadn't thrown your hand."
His ministrations stopped and he pushed her body a few inches away from his, still holding her upper arms in his hands. "No, you haven't! You wouldn't have won earlier and you didn't win now either."
Beckett glared at him. "Really, Castle? Want to put your money where your mouth is?"
"Oh, you're on!" He chuckled arrogantly. "Double or nothing. If you get the next round, I'm the big loser of the night – and by loser, I still mean winner," He told her, throwing her a wink at that last part. "But if I win next round," He added, "you have to strip off two pieces of clothing."
The brunette raised one of her eyebrows and held out her right hand. "Deal."
Rick smirked as he shook her hand and then settled back onto the bed for their next round of strip poker, his silk boxers still tented due to his sizeable erection. Kate noticed that fact and, smiling, threw a pillow on his lap.
"Have some modesty, Castle," She told him, playfully.
He smiled self confidently. "You're just afraid I'll get you all hot and bothered and you'll be distracted from the game."
"When it comes to being all hot and bothered, Rick," The detective spoke in a low voice, opening the top two buttons of her dark blue dress shirt nonchalantly and partially revealing her bra through the cleavage, "I can assure you that you'd be much more distracted from the game if I were the one basically naked in here right now."
The writer gaped at her, eyes glued to the exposed skin in her chest even when his right hand went to his lap under the pillow as he attempted to adjust the blatant evidence of his arousal. "I – uh…" He tried to speak, but he was unable to form a coherent sentence.
Now it was Kate's turn to smirk. "Just deal the cards, Castle."
His eyes briefly focused on hers, his mind managing to move past his desire to absorb her words. He followed her instructions, dealing them each a hand of two cards and, since the bets had already been made, immediately dealing the flop.
Castle's eyes travelled from his cards – a ten and a queen of spades – to the community cards – a jack of spades, a three of diamonds and a king of spades. He mused on his chances of winning the game and then took a look at Kate's face. The detective's face seemed impassive, but he thought her eyes glowed a little more than usual. Maybe she has a good hand…?
"Do you want to add to our bet?" Castle asked, moving to take a sip of his wine.
"What, sexual favors?" She deadpanned.
Rick actually choked on his drink. "Oh my, don't you have a dirty mind…" He said once he managed to recover, eyes shining in a mix of complete mirth and admiration. "I was thinking more along the lines of food – for breakfast."
"Oh. That could work too," The brunette replied, pretending to look innocent while at the same time pursing her lips seductively.
Castle smiled at her, in awe. "Wow. You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
"So many layers to the Beckett onion, you don't know the half of it..." She joked.
Her tone was teasing, but Castle didn't doubt her words for a second. "I'll look forward to peeling them all off, then. Especially if it means I'll find out just how kinky you are," He told her, lewdly.
Beckett bit her lower lip, smiling flirtatiously. "Deal the turn, Rick. Let's see about raising the bets then."
The novelist didn't miss the double meaning of her words.
Obediently, Rick placed the fourth community card, a king of diamonds, on the mattress.
Kate glowed and said, "I'll raise you a plate of eggs and bacon, Castle."
Castle became nervous. "That good a hand, huh?"
"Wanna take a peek?" She teased. "You have to do something about the bet first, though."
He sighed. He could fold now and let her win or take her bet and probably lose anyway – he didn't have anything except for the pair of kings the community cards afforded him and, unless Kate was bluffing, her reaction to the turn probably meant she either had a full house or a four of a kind.
"I'll call," Rick announced, deciding the least he could do was go down fighting, and then he placed his cards face up on the mattress.
Kate's smile widened as she laid her cards down for him to see – kings of hearts and clubs.
A four of kind, Castle realized. She did have a good hand.
"Ready to admit defeat, Rick?" The brunette teased him.
"There's still the river. I could still beat you," He retorted, unconvinced.
"A straight flush?" Beckett pointed out, incredulous. "Do you know the odds of you managing that?"
Resignedly, Castle dealt the river – and was stunned to see the card revealed was a nine of spades. Beaming arrogantly, he replied to her rhetorical question, "Apparently, astronomical."
Kate could not believe it; the man got his straight flush.
"Are you ready to admit defeat, Detective?" Rick threw her own words back at her, using a rasping voice.
Beckett watched the man gloating in front of her for a moment and then something flickered in her eyes. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do but remove my two pieces of clothing, right?"
At first, Rick nodded conceitedly, still enjoying the high caused by his turning the tables on her. But as soon as he saw her hands go to her back and move under her shirt, the crisp cotton fabric rising up and making the entirety of her thighs and even a small part of her waist visible to him, he gulped.
The sight of white panties trimmed with black lace snugging her hips did nothing to lower his heart rate either.
In a move that left Castle completely bewitched, Kate skillfully unhooked the clasp of her bra and moved to pull its straps off her shoulders and down her arms, all without taking her shirt off. His mind fleetingly went back to his teenage years, when a 14 year-old Rick watched entranced as Jennifer Beals removed her bra in a similar manner in Flashdance.
That memory held nothing on the real, salacious scene playing out right before his eyes.
As Kate pulled the piece of lingerie from under her shirt, she held the garment up in the air with a sensual smile in her face.
Castle's last intelligible thought for the T-rated portion of the night was "Oh God, it matches her panties."
Beckett got off the bed and sauntered closer to Rick's body until she was standing within touching distance of him. Then, she placed the white push-up bra covered with black lace in his hands without saying a word, just pursing her lips lustfully.
"You want me to hold that for you while you take your shirt off?" The words left Rick's mouth even though his mind most likely wasn't even aware it had formulated a question.
With an almost imperceptible head shake, Kate's hands once again moved under her shirt, this time going to her hips, her thumbs hooking in her lace panties.
Castle's breath hitched and the last pint of blood available in his brain immediately rushed south once he realized what she was doing.
The blue dress shirt Kate was wearing only covered about three inches of her thighs in this standing position, so he was granted a clear view of most of the panties' journey down the brunette's long, toned legs. In a move that was almost indecent, she bent over to pick up her cheekies – nearly killing Castle in the process – and then handed the item to him, her lips curving into a suggestive smile before she whispered in his ear, "We've each got a single item of clothing left. Guess that means there's only one more round left until the big finish, huh?"
Upon hearing her words, Rick didn't even try to hold himself back – he instinctively pulled Kate's face to his until their lips connected in a searing, bruising kiss, her body toppling on top his and giving him an opportunity to flip them over and pin her under his weight in bed.
"No more playing," His voice rumbled while he nibbled on her neck, his hands pushing her arms high above her head until he managed to actually hold both of her wrists in place with just one of his hands. His other hand then swiftly undid the buttons on her chemise, and when he managed to get the dress shirt open he brought his lips away from her skin so that he could properly enjoy the sight of her full naked body exposed to him.
"Rick…" She purred, making his name sound lascivious.
The high-pitched noise she let out once he slipped two fingers inside her was downright obscene.
Castle could not contain the groan that left his lips at the feel of her, so wet, and swollen, and ready for him. For a long, agonizing moment he kept his digits still, the sensation of her around his fingers almost too much for him to bear, but then Kate was arching her body, trying desperately to wriggle her arms out of his grasp and get his fingers to move, and he couldn't deny them this pleasure any longer.
He slowly brought his fingers out of her only to drive them into her again, fast, repeating the movements a few times until he was rhythmically thrusting into her and she was clenching her inner muscles around him, trying to get him even deeper, to get him to plunge into her even harder and faster. He complied – he suddenly realized he probably wouldn't be able to deny her anything she asked for in life – and glided a third finger inside her, pumping urgently, the full force of his body and of his pent-up desire behind his actions.
She raised a leg so that her foot reached his erection, her sole gently massaging his rigid length, the friction sending sudden enough jolts of pleasure through him to get a whimper out of him. Beckett then hooked her toes in the elastic band of his boxers, pulling them down in one swift move and exposing his thick shaft to her, the look in her eyes enough to get his fingers to mess up their pace temporarily. When her tongue darted out to moist her lips, he curled his digits within her and pressed the heel of his palm against her clit, rubbing it relentlessly, and she thought she was going to explode. But then he released her wrists and quickly moved down on her body, bringing his mouth to her clitoris, sucking and licking and lapping on it, all the while still slamming his fingers inside her, and she almost actually passed out.
When Kate came, the sounds of her wails were almost loud enough for Rick to worry about his family hearing them, but not so strident that he thought they should stop what they were doing. While her entire body quivered with the force of her still ongoing orgasm, his fingers and mouth were replaced in her body with his rubber-covered cock – when did he manage to put on a condom? – as he entered her in one swift stroke, her body still clamping around him.
Breathing hard, Rick managed to keep his body motionless for a moment, his eyelids shut as he concentrated on the still new feeling of being inside her. When he opened his eyes, he watched mesmerized as Kate's fingers tightened around the sheets on his bed, her senses clearly in overdrive due to the sensations he was causing in her body. He brushed a lock of hair out of her face as she came to her senses, a dazzling smile taking up residence on her face – and taking his breath away.
"You are beautiful, you know that?" He told her before placing a gentle kiss behind her ear. "I've probably said this a dozen times already, but I wanted to say it again right now."
In the aftermath of her orgasm, Beckett didn't have time to erect her walls again – at this moment, she couldn't even decide if she wanted to – and her vulnerability afforded Rick with the opportunity to see tenderness and affection, among a series of other emotions, shining in her eyes.
Her brain didn't get the chance to filter her words either. "A girl never gets tired of hearing it, Castle," She said, and her smile turned leisured, her torso rising off the bed so that she could place a loving, unhurried kiss on his mouth.
When their lips parted, he rested his forehead against hers and slowly moved inside her. "Good, because I don't think I'd be able to stop saying it."
Kate sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, letting the pleasure she was feeling run over her body.
It was more than just pleasure, though. He made her feel happy. Mischievous even.
"Too bad I can't return the sentiment," She told him impishly, deliberately squeezing her walls around him.
"Oh, wow. You wound me, Kate," Rick replied in mock hurt, hips jerking into her as he leaned down to blow a raspberry on her collarbone.
His actions elicited a laugh out of her. "I can see you're heartbroken," She said in between giggles.
She was giggling while having sex, she realized.
He really was good for her.
"I hope you find me at least cute," Castle was telling her. "And keep in mind men actually hate when women say they're cute."
She found his mouth, biting his lower lip warmly and then giving him a proper, passionate kiss. "You're very handsome," She told him before clawing gently into his butt.
His hips jerked into hers as a result. "What are you trying to do to me?" He questioned, trying to muffle his groan in her neck.
She moved her head to grant him better access to her pulse point, her nails raking up his back and her legs winding around his waist. "I'm trying to get you to fuck me, Rick," She replied raunchily, digging her heels into his ass. "Think you could do that?"
He growled, amazed at the change in her behavior, and shoved into her forcefully. "You're too bossy for your own good, Beckett," He told her, his pounding picking up speed.
"Shut up," She directed through her mewing, and the only reason he didn't completely follow her command was that he didn't manage to keep his grunts of satisfaction at their lovemaking to himself.
As their night of passion became more frenzied, Rick felt the oxygen rapidly leaving his lungs, his breathing coming out in short pants and mixing with the soft moans that escaped Kate's lips. Their fingers laced, mimicking the way their limbs intertwined, and the couple managed to remain that way even as Kate's hips rose off the bed to meet Castle's desperate thrusts, their bodies no longer maintaining a distinct rhythm, following only the cadence of their desire and need for release.
One of her legs went up to his shoulder and this new angle combined with the vigor of his thrusts pushed her over the edge, her body shuddering violently as she clenched around him. Rick, on the other hand, didn't immediately follow her, managing to hold back until the tremors in her body finally subsided so he could resume his strokes in a more measured speed.
She thought he would cause her to spontaneously combust.
It didn't take him long to let go, though. As soon as she moaned "I can't wait until I can actually feel you cum inside me" directly in his ear, all discernible thoughts left his mind and he trembled with the force of his orgasm.
His frantic pounding into her and her oversensitive nerve-endings actually got her to climax again.
When they both came down from their high, Rick pulled Kate's body into his arms, the brunette surprising herself as she slumped against him willingly, nudging her face into the crook of his neck and placing a soft kiss onto his damp skin.
"We should go clean up," She announced lazily after a few minutes. She felt languid, and blissful, and sated.
He kissed the top of her head. "Hmm, in a minute."
"We've already been here for a few minutes, Rick."
"I just want to bask a little longer in this post-coitus ecstasy," The novelist deadpanned.
"You're so sentimental," Beckett teased, even as she snuggled closer to his body.
He tilted her face towards his own so he could kiss her lips. "Don't tell anyone," He whispered conspiratorially as he got out of bed and went into his en-suite bathroom to throw out the used condom and clean up.
She laughed freely, pleased with her decision to come back to his loft and to him. She suddenly recognized she had been doing a lot of that lately – laughing when in his company.
He really did make her happy, despite all of her preconceptions of him.
Castle walked back into the room and took notice of the look of contentment that adorned Kate's face. "What?" He asked with a confused smile.
"Nothing," She shook her head dismissively. "I'm just really happy with you."
"Who's sentimental now?" He smirked, climbing into bed again. Despite trying to act indifferent, her admission filled his heart with more joy he thought existed.
She swatted him on the chest. "I'm serious here," The detective told him, before taking a deep breath. An introductory breath. "When I'm with you I actually believe that maybe the world isn't just a place where bad things happen."
Castle sobered. He had a feeling where this conversation was headed. "Bad things?"
Kate nodded mutely at first. Then, she clarified, "Things like my mother's murder."
TBC
PS: AC, shower sex had to be postponed again. You know, in favor of plot… but it will come soon! – hihi! See what I did there? ;)
(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.)