They figure out she's a thief – even could be their murderer – and suddenly all his hopes crash, his fantasies disappear.
(A master thief? That's kinda hot. A murderer? Not so much.)
But then Kate, always his unexpected, surprising Kate, suggests he should ask her out on a date anyway – to distract her while they search her hotel room – and when she walks towards him all long legs and red dress and sexy, sexy lips…he forgets all about her possibly being a criminal.
Kate even gave him instructions on how to charm her, so he can't really be blamed for flirting, when that was his official task, right?
He's just "showing her a good time", like he's supposed to. If Kate really believed that Serena was a ruthless killer, she wouldn't allow him to take her out and flirt with her about being the female Indiana Jones, would she?
(And really, if she were the thief-slash-killer, would she admit to being an "art retriever" up until her rather recent career change? Rick can't imagine it.)
"Only without the hat and whip" he jokes about his own Indy comment. She smirks and takes an extra-large bite of her food, letting her lips curl seductively around it.
"Well. Without the hat."
Red string tangas. Black lace corsets. Luscious silk bras that look downright reckless, completely naughty and hot, so hot. Kate wants to reach out for them, touch the smooth fabric, caress them, feel them on her skin, maybe bring them up to her nose and smell them, figure out whether she likes the musky scent, whether it will make her wet, like thinking about it does.
"You really wanna nail this chick, don't you?" Esposito asks and she has to concentrate all her will power on breathing normally, without choking on her own tongue.
Nail the chick. Esposito means nail as in convict the woman, not…he's not referring to…
She probably just looks really angry and determined, because she was so looking forward to turning their fantasies into reality and now Serena could be a murderer and it's never going to happen. She's frustrated. Just…frustrated. And to Esposito she must look like she's really determined to convict her, to put her to jail, to – just – yeah. Preferably with cuffs involved, and pleading confessions falling from those luscious lips and begging and moaning and – oh god. No. She shouldn't be thinking about…yeah. No.
"Yeah, well…It's what we do, isn't it?" she manages, "Catch bad guys?"
She saves herself just barely, hoping that she doesn't sound as breathless and desperate as she feels, especially because she just saw the woman's lingerie drawer and the incredibly soft-looking, wonderfully large bed in her suite, and-
"Yeah, but this seems like it might be about more than that" Esposito speculates and she glares at him, utterly flustered and irritated and tense.
"Just keep looking, okay?" she orders (well, tries to – it sounds too much like a question to be taken seriously as a legitimate order) but he just grins; the little brother rebelling against his big sister, grown tall enough to stand up to her.
She could growl in frustration.
(She really wants to nail this chick.)
"So…you and Beckett, huh?"
Rick just nods, smiles that little confused smile he does so well, because he doesn't know what exactly she is asking.
"How long have you been together?"
Now Rick's smile turns proud, genuinely happy.
"Eleven months and 14 days", he answers.
Serena smiles along, all teeth and red lips, swirling her drink around in her martini glass.
"Paying close attention, aren't you?"
"Grateful for every single day" he says, love coloring his voice, painting his words. She sips on her drink.
"Cute."
His eyes turn defensive, but his smile stays. He doesn't want his feelings to be made fun of.
"I love her."
"Oh, I can see that" she confirms. "However" she puts down her glass, pauses. "I'm not interested in love."
Oh?
"What are you interested in, then?" he asks and leans closer.
(The conversation is finally moving in the right direction.)
Serena bites her lip; pearly teeth sinking into full flesh, a throaty hum spilling from her, vibrating in her chest as her eyes darken, drawing him in. She leans into him, glances down to his lips in a move that is usually so typical of Kate.
(It feels a little weird, he has to admit, but its effect on him is undeniable.)
"Fun" she says at last, and they both grin because, oh, fun he can do.
Fun they can definitely do.
There is a short pause as they leer at each other and she finishes up her plate.
Then-
"Your girlfriend" Serena hums softly, her voice like a caress even as her forehead crinkles in thought, as if she has one last question, one last objection. "She doesn't seem like a 'fun' kind of person."
Rick grins slyly, his eyes glimmering because he knows things she has no idea of.
"Oh, you just don't know her yet" he assures her. "She tends to separate work from play, and so far you've only seen her work."
Serena purses her lips.
"Oh, I'm sure you wouldn't be with her, Ricky, if she weren't an excellent player."
"I think I found something" Kate exclaims as she scrolls her way through Serena's recent email list. She stands up to find Esposito and spots him in the dressing room, rummaging through the alleged ex-thief's baggage. "Guess who's trying to sell D-flawless diamonds?"
He doesn't answer, his brows knit in concentration as he finds a secret layer at the bottom of one suitcase.
"I think I found something, too" he mutters and she leans closer.
"Tools of the Trade" Esposito more than accurately describes what they both see spread out in front of them. He grabs one of the technical devices, raises an eyebrow up at her.
"As well as an ISI" he adds, and Kate doesn't know whether to laugh or groan in frustration once more, because while it does mean that they're one step closer to finding the killer, it also means she can't have her adventurous sexcapade unless she wants to perform it in a holding cell.
When Serena suggest they go up to her room, he's torn between screaming yes and the duty to stall her. Not that he isn't delighted that she's so eager to get them into the privacy of her hotel room; she even asked for Kate's number so she could call her to join them, a bold move that rendered all his elaborate plans to seduce her into a threesome kind of useless.
"I hear the…ah…strawberry shortcake here is delicious" he tries to stop her one last time, but it doesn't work as planned.
"Great" she smiles. "We can order them from room service-"
A beat as she stands, sways her hips.
"-with extra whipped cream."
He gulps and can't help but follow; out of ideas and out of time. He shoots a quick text to Kate and her reply comes back bold and clear – Stall her!
Only Rick is completely out of stalling techniques, out of maneuvers to distract Serena any longer, except-
Except.
He swivels her around, fast, presses her against the wall, and barely has the time to see a surprised but satisfied smirk blossom on her face before his lips descend over hers. She moans and wraps her arms around him, pulls him close, something inside him snapping, tugging, urging him forward until-
"Hey!"
Kate.
And Esposito.
Oh god, Kate.
She's staring at them from her spot in the doorway and after the initial shock wears off, there's just arousal left in her eyes, just pure unadulterated lust and he wishes nothing more than to be able to pull her over to them and let her join in but Esposito's standing right beside her and he doesn't… no, really, he doesn't want to scar the poor guy by letting him bear witness to what would certainly unfold between the three of them.
"Castle!" she snaps back and he can see that the clouds of want and need have retreated, disappearing out of sight to make room for Beckett, the cop.
Oh.
So they found something? Damnit.
Right when he has everyone (almost) where he wants them. He was so sure that Serena couldn't have done anything wrong…
(A matter of morals? He wants to laugh.)
Rick swipes his hand over his mouth, swipes the lipstick and the taste of sin away.
What a shame.
A/N: Sorry for the lack of smut in this chapter. At least, the update was kinda quick! :) *sings Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life*
Hopefully, there will be more this weekend. Have a great night/day/whatever!
Lina