A/N: This chapter is also rated M for sexual content. Beware of break lines if you want to avoid this type of scene.

Thank you so very much to supermandy77 for all the help with this chapter. And for Tree23 ( FictionalAnna) for all the continuous support, even as she enjoys her vacation in LA and rubs in our faces that she's visiting all Castle sets ;)

Reviews are much appreciated!

PREVIOUSLY:

"For what time should I set the alarm?" He asked her, already moving to set his alarm clock.

"I have it for six, thank you."

"Six?!"

Kate thought his comment sounded dangerously close to a whine.

"Yeah…!" She dragged the word out, clearly mocking the tone he'd used right before. "I still have to go home before I get to the precinct at eight, Castle. Can't show up in yesterday's clothes."

"But what about breakfast?!"

There was definitely no mistaking it this time. He was whining.

"I'll eat something at the station," She told him patiently.

"But you owe me a plate of eggs and bacon!"

Whiner!

"I'll pay you next time," She assured him with a smirk.

"Hmmm… next time," He murmured with a smile on his face and a suggestive wiggle of his brows.

Kate rolled her eyes at him, but he was quick to drop a kiss to her lips.

"G'night, Kate," He told her, opening his arms in invitation.

She smiled and turned off the lamp before settling back into him. "Good night, Rick."

The sharp sound coming from her phone instantly brought Beckett out of slumber. It felt like she had just managed to drift off to sleep – well, it had in fact been just a couple of hours since she'd closed her eyes – and now it was time to wake up already.

She would have felt worse about it if it weren't for the sweet, gentle nuzzling in the back of her neck as she stretched to turn off the alarm.

"Don't get up yet. Stay in bed," Castle's muffled, sleepy voice asked of her.

Smiling contently, the brunette rolled over to place soft kisses on each of the writer's closed eyelids. "I have to go to work, Rick."

"No, you don't," he told her, eyes till shut. "You can go in late, you can call in sick… you can even resign, I don't care. Just don't go yet."

Amused, she smirked. "Really, Castle, you want me to quit my job?"

"Uh-hum," he muttered, sounding as if still deep in sleep. "I have money, I can keep you."

Narrowing her eyes, she impishly twisted his left ear to get him to open his eyes.

"Aaahhhhh!" His eyelids flew open.

"Do I look like a kept woman to you?" She sulked.

"Wha– no!" He rubbed his abused ear. "You do not look like a kept woman. I was merely presenting you with a few options… God, did you really have to pull off my ear just for that?"

"You can always use your money for reconstructive surgery," she deadpanned, getting out of bed.

"Ha-ha," he murmured unamused as Kate pulled on his dress shirt, which was lying around on the floor, in an attempt to cover her body modestly.

As she did up the buttons on the shirt, she asked, "Do you mind if I use your bathroom?"

"Of course you can. Duh," He said, setting up against the headboard to get a better look at her. "You want to take a shower before you go?"

"I, uh… actually, I thought I'd just take a shower once I got home."

"Nonsense," he said dismissively as he got out of bed. He didn't miss her appraisal of his naked body while he made his way to her. "You can just shower here. Come on," he planted a chaste, good morning kiss to her lips and then took her hand, leading her towards his en-suite bathroom, "let's set things up for you."

Castle left Kate in his bathroom and, after quickly putting on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, quietly made his way up to the guest room. Figuring she'd prefer to walk around in a more feminine scent than that of his soap and shampoo (though he had to admit that it was undeniably alluring to think of her scent mixed with his), he picked up a brand new bar of some fancy Greek soap, the extra bottles of Bed Head products they had in store for visiting guests and a few other toiletries and immediately returned to his room. With a soft knock at the bathroom door – more to indicate that he was coming in than to ask for permission –, he found the brunette about to step in the oversized shower stall.

"There you go." He handed the bath products over to her, his eyes roaming over her naked body.

She thanked with a smile and then slipped under the shower head, water suddenly streaming down her skin.

The sight of Kate's wet, nude form through the frameless glass shower door left the writer completely mesmerized. He tried his best not to stare – he even attempted to keep his gaze on her clothes and purse lying on top of one of the bathroom's larger counters –, but his eyes returned to her glorious body of their own volition.

Beckett noticed him watching her entranced and smiled to herself. She was becoming familiar with that look. That was his "I-can't-believe-you're-so-gorgeous-I-want-you" look.

She might risk running a little late, but alas…

"Are you going to join me?" She asked as she unwrapped the soap bar, the aroma of jasmine and mint tea taking over the hot, humid air in the room.

It took him a second to absorb her words, but as soon as he did, he nodded profusely and hurriedly stripped off his clothes to join her.

The brunette greeted Castle with a wet, splashy kiss, her arms going around his shoulders to bring him under water with her. "This shower is gigantic," she commented as she turned away from him to reach for his shampoo bottle.

"I like to have room to move around."

"You can fit at least ten people in here, Rick," she told him with a raised eyebrow, squeezing a small amount of shampoo out of the bottle and onto her hand.

"Why, Detective Beckett, are you planning on having other people joining in on this party?" He told him with a mischievous smirk, his hands going to her waist and his lips finding her shoulder blade.

Kate couldn't help the small whimper that left her lips.

"Move back," she instructed then, hands stopping in mid-air.

He halted his ministrations and looked at her funny.

"Your head," she explained. "Lay it back a little."

Even if a little weary, Castle complied with her request, tilting his head back and away from the water spray. She ran her hands through his hair, foam gathering up in his scalp as she washed his short mane.

Closing his eyes, he let out a soft hum of satisfaction. "Are you going to bathe me?" He asked, his voice tinged with arousal as his hands idly caressed her sides.

"I just felt like washing your hair," she told him with a shrug, trying to resist the urge to kiss the exposed skin over his throat. In a fit of unexpected honesty, she added, "You have very soft hair. I like it."

Rick's eyelids fluttered open at that, his eyes searching hers even while Kate held his head back in place so that she could finish washing his hair. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed his lust and, unable to resist this time, the brunette traced the column of his neck with her lips.

The grunt he let out reverberated onto her lips, causing a surge of heat to travel down her body.

The moment her hands moved away from his hair, Rick brought his head back under the warm water spray and claimed her lips with his. Beads of foam continually washed away down the back of his head and shoulders while their wet, passionate kissing grew even more feverish.

Breaking away when the need for air became unbearable, Castle kept one of his hands on Kate's back and, with the other, he reached for the shampoo bottle behind her.

"Are you going to do my hair too?" She asked, turning herself around in his arm and grinding her hips into his groin.

His reaction to the feel of her body undulating against him was instant. He dropped the shampoo bottle and got both of his arms around her torso, one hand snaking up to fondle each of her breasts alternately as the other moved lower on her body to tease her sex with his fingertips, both hands pressing her into his body as he rubbed himself against her from behind.

Kate let out a soft, guttural moan.

There was nothing she could do but let her hands fall against the marble shower wall to support her weight, her entire body shaky and weak and trembling with need. Everything became a blur to her then, and she couldn't help the twitch of her hips, massaging him, bringing him closer, and harder, and impossibly closer, until all he could do was to enter her in a single, firm stroke that left her mewling.

He had to cover her lips with one of his hands in order to avoid drawing attention to them.

Soon after he was moving into her, and it was all messy, and hard, and fast, and too much for them. They didn't last as much as they hoped for, and not even ten minutes later they were both crying out in ecstasy, her sounds still muffled by his hand and his groans hidden into her neck. Their burning bodies remained plastered together as they desperately tried to regain their breaths, water cascading over them, and it took them all the strength in the world to move from this position.

Kate was the one to step out of the shower first. Grabbing the fluffy tower he had set aside for her as soon as the cool air hit her body, she dried herself off and then put on her underwear, deciding to optimize her alone time outside the stall. As her eyes wandered around the expansive bathroom, she brushed her teeth with his electric toothbrush (using the extra soft head he had also thoughtfully set aside for her) and then applied her makeup.

By the time Castle was out of the shower, she was already pulling on her pants.

"What time is it?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist, towel secured on his hips and body mostly dried.

"A little before seven," she told him with a smile as she picked up her bag and pulled out a long silver necklace.

Once she slipped the chain over her head, Rick swiftly noticed the reflection of the silver ring with a blue sapphire dangling from the necklace in the mirror. "Was it your mother's?" he asked softly, placing a gentle kiss to her shoulder. "The ring?"

"Yeah," she replied, fondness lacing her voice. "It's a family heirloom. I wear it as a symbol of the life that I lost."

His arms squeezed her a little tighter in support. "What was her name?"

She smiled warmly. "Johanna."

"Johanna…" Castle tested the word on his lips. "That's a beautiful name. Strong."

"It fit her."

"I imagine so, considering she's your mother."

Kate's smile grew wider at the author's tender words, and she reached out to place a kiss on his neck without turning around to face him. "Thank you," she told Rick, staring into his eyes through their reflection in the mirror.

He wanted to pull her into his chest, but refrained. "Thank you for telling me this."

As a warm grin took up residence in on both of their faces, Kate reached for her bag again – this time pulling out a men's watch. "This belonged to my father – Jim," she told Castle, voice laced with pride. "This one I wear for the life that I saved."

Unable to resist his instincts this time, Castle turned her around to face him and took her face in his hands. "You amaze me, Kate," he told her before placing a reverent kiss on her lips and then touching his forehead to hers. "The more I learn about you, the more in awe of you I become."

She could see in his eyes that each word out of his mouth was the absolute truth. But what surprised Beckett the most was that, though his eyes, she could see his emotions ran even deeper than his voice had shown.

It hit her that, most likely, he had truly meant what he said to her when he asked her out. He wanted something real.

Rick was getting serious about her.

"Dad?"

They both heard Alexis's faint voice flowing through the door and looked at each other with surprised faces for a moment.

"Oh my God," Kate whispered, panicked, all thoughts of Castle's feelings for her suddenly vanished.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Castle whispered back confidently.

Somehow his self-assuredness did nothing to calm Beckett's nerves.

Raising his voice to address his daughter, Rick let out, "Yeah, Pumpkin?"

The pair could hear the sound of the bedroom door opening and, after a moment, Alexis's footsteps towards the bathroom door. Then her voice, a little clearer, came through again. "I didn't know you were in here, sorry. I just wanted to ask you what you wanted for breakfast. I was thinking about making either pancakes or waffles."

"Uh…" he looked at Beckett questioningly.

Widening her eyes in exasperation, she murmured desperately, "I'm not staying, Castle, I don't care!"

Oh. Right.

"Dad?" came Alexis's voice again.

"Oh my God," Kate gritted out. "Just answer the girl before I kill you!"

Startled, Rick immediately shouted, "Pancakes sound great, Sweetie!"

"Okay," the teen acknowledged from outside, oblivious to the tension in the bathroom. After a small beat, she added, "Were you in the shower or something?"

"I was, yeah! I just felt like a needed a little pick me up this morning. You know, all the drinking last night got me a little sluggish and…" While he was rambling, Kate frantically motioned for him to stop talking. Not knowing what to do, he finished, "I'll be right out, Pumpkin."

"Okay…" Alexis said again, sounding a little confused. "I'll get a start on breakfast."

As soon as they heard the bedroom door close, Kate let out a relieved sigh and then angrily poked her index finger at Castle's bare chest.

"Ouch! That's the second time this morning you've assault me!" he complained, rubbing his chest.

"What the hell, Rick?!" she hissed.

"What?!"

"'What'? We almost got caught by your teenage daughter, that's 'what'!"

"Okay, one – it wasn't my fault. And, two – what's the big deal?"

"The big deal?" She looked at him, incredulous. "Rick, I'm not ready to step out of your bathroom by your side to face your daughter in the world's most awkward walk of shame ever!"

"You think this would be the world's most awkward walk of shame ever?" he snickered. "Are you kidding? This one time, I had –"

She glared at him and cut him off, "Are you seriously going to bring up your past sexual experiences right now?"

Realizing his mistake, he closed his mouth and then, scolded, only muttered, "Right."

Huffing, she rolled her eyes as she turned away from him and pulled on her dress shirt.

"Listen," he started tentatively as she finished getting dressed, "Let's just go out there and talk to her. Things will be fine."

She turned to face him immediately. "Go out there? I'm not going out there now!"

Castle watched her silently for a few seconds before saying quietly, "What's going on, Kate? Last night, you came back and it seemed to me you were willing to do this." He hoped he didn't sound too critical, but he still wanted her to see that he needed some explanation from her.

"Well, last night I thought I'd have a chance to prepare myself for this before your family woke up!" She told him, yet she could see he was still having a hard time coming to terms with her reaction. "I'm sorry, Rick. I can't do this now. I'm not ready to face your family in this Twilight Zone version of a morning after. Especially if it means Alexis will realize that the reason there's a woman stepping out of your previously unoccupied bedroom is that the two of us were locked together in the bathroom having shower sex!" she finished, embarrassed, and then picked up her purse and returned to the bedroom.

Walking out of the bathroom still clad only in a towel, Rick tried to reason with her, "Technically, she didn't interrupt our shower sex."

Fishing her boots from under his bed, she hissed again, "Technically, I don't care!"

"Richard?"

At the sound of the voice coming from outside, Beckett widened her eyes and whispered anxiously, "Oh my God, Martha's up too?" She put her head in her hands. "This just gets worse and worse…"

"I'll be out in a minute, Mother!" Castle called out, a little frantically.

"That's fine, Dear." came his mother's voice again. "Alexis and I will be waiting for you in the kitchen. We want to hear all about your night."

"My night?!" This time, Rick was really panicked.

"Yes, Richard. Your gaming night with your detective friends after I retired to my room…"

"Right," he breathed relieved. "Sure, I'll just finish getting dressed and I'll be right out."

The two people inside the bedroom heard Martha's footsteps towards the kitchen and tried to calm themselves down.

Turning back to face the brunette, he pulled her into his arms. "Calm down, Kate. I'll go out there and fix this."

"Fix this?"

"Yeah. I'll distract them or something until you can get out of the room without attracting attention to yourself."

She pushed herself away from his torso and looked up into his eyes. "How long will that take, Castle? I have to be at the precinct by eight."

Raising his eyebrows at her, he retorted sarcastically, "Well, I'm sorry. Am I not being helpful enough? Because you're more than welcome to come out there with me right now."

She realized how crazy she must have sounded and sighed. "I'm sorry." She took a deep, calming breath. "I'm really sorry. I'm just not…"

"Ready," he finished, a little dejectedly. "Yeah, I get it."

"Look." She took his hand and pulled him closer to her. "This really just took me by surprise. It's not about hiding this from them, okay? It's just about not wanting this scenario to be how they find out that..." she trailed off.

"That…?" he pushed.

"That we're involved."

His smile was so filled with happiness that it brought the same reaction out of her.

He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her caringly, lovingly, gently stroking her hair as she ran her hands over his lower back, the entire embrace familiar and yet oddly unlike their past displays of affection.

Once their lips parted, it was obvious that Castle's smile went from happy to smug. "So, you're admitting we're in a relationship, huh?"

Teasing him, she retorted, "Well, we are in some sort of a relationship. I never said we were exclusive, though." At his puppy dog look, she rolled her eyes. "I don't know how you go from ladies' man to Mr. Darcy in a blink of an eye," she joked.

There was nothing humorous about the way he stared into her eyes and answered, "Truthfully."

TBC

(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.)