Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket

Chapter 13: McSteamy

A/N: Thanks for the continued support for this story. I was very pleased with the response I got from the last update and am very happy I was able to clear some things up for a lot of you. Stick with me and I promise there is eventually light at the end of this tunnel. For now, read on and enjoy...

Morning came all too quickly for Castle as he heard the alarm on his cell phone sounding as it buzzed across the night stand. He wasn't sure when exactly he had finally fallen asleep but he knew it was late. He spent most of the night tossing and turning as his mind continuously replayed his fight with Beckett over and over again; further driving the nail into his already beaten and bruised heart. The last time he looked at the clock on his phone it was 4:47am and now here he was just barely two hours later being called awake to start the day.

He stretched across his large and otherwise empty bed; his muscles aching from lack of a proper night's rest he imagined. He wasn't ready for this. Wasn't ready to get out of bed, but more importantly, wasn't ready to face Beckett after the way they had ended things only hours ago when she walked out of his room and, he feared, out of his life.

He sighed heavily as he pulled the blankets back and pushed himself up to a seated position on the bed with his feet now touching the floor. His gaze wandered over to the bedroom door and remained there for a few moments while he once again recalled their fight; the words just as piercing to his heart now as they were then.

'a friend, a partner'

'I'm a hell of a lot more than a friend or a partner'

'You asked me to come here Castle'

'Yeah well I didn't ask for this!'

'Fine. Once morning comes I'll pack my things and be out of your hair'

Finally when he didn't think he could take it anymore he squeezed his eyes shut, gave his head a quick shake and stood up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to shower and get what was likely to be his very long day started.

In a matter of minutes the bathroom had filled up with a warm steam that lingered in the air and on the other side of the shower door Castle remained fixed in place with his forehead leaning against warm tiles as the pressure filled water beat down his neck, shoulders and back. It felt good, like the water was washing away all the conflict and anguish that was weighing heavily down on his shoulders and he wished that he could just stay in that shower forever, stay warm under the steady stream of water that seemed to wash all his problems away, even if only for a few moments.

Several minutes had passed and as the water started to lose its warmth Castle knew his time was up and he needed to get out and face the day.

Face her.

He let out a long breath before finally reaching for the tap and turning the water off. Opening the shower door he was immediately met with a billowing cloud of steam as he realized he'd forgotten to turn the fan on before entering the bathroom and he practically suffocated as he stepped out onto the floor mat and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Reaching for the wall Castle found the switch for the fan and flicked it on, and a gentle hum reverberating throughout the room let him know the fan had kicked on. The air surrounding him was still so thick and warm that he didn't think he could stand another second in that room so he quickly pulled the door open and a sudden rush of cool air hit him and his lungs heaved a breath of relief as he stepped onto the carpeted floor of his bedroom.

"Beckett?" Castle questioned as his gaze fell upon her standing at his dresser. He could tell he certainly caught her off guard by the way she practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of her name from his lips.

"Cas- oh…" she stopped suddenly when she turned to face him, clearly not expecting to see him standing there with only a towel wrapped around his waist. A surge of heat instantly rushed through her and she could feel it in her cheeks as her eyes involuntarily ran over his body. He stood merely a few feet from her with a large fluffy white towel carefully tucked in at his hip and securing it low on his waist. Steam rose from his upper body and she could see it in the air surrounding him, not to mention the small beads of water that slowly dripped from his messy hair, landing on his chest and lazily rolling down his stomach until being absorbed into the towel.

Damn.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry" she practically stuttered as she realized she was staring and quickly slapped her hand to her face to shield her eyes.

'Hmmm' Castle thought to himself as he watched her practically squirm right in front of his eyes. Did he finally have the upper hand for once? Could two play at this 'hot and cold' game? He was still very much hurting over how she had reacted to him last night but seeing her reaction now he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel just a little bit good to see her suffering for once instead of himself.

She had turned away from him and her eyes were now fixed firmly on the wooden surface of the dresser in front of her and he continued to watch her body language carefully. Oh, she was most definitely uncomfortable. Yes, he could work with this…

"I was just looking to borrow your phone charger, mine's dead" she mumbled softly, still avoiding his gaze.

"No problem" he shrugged as he made his way toward her; delighting in how he could see her fingers and knuckles turning white as she gripped the wooden edge of the dresser tighter and tighter with every step closer he took to her.

He knew exactly where his spare charger was; buried near the bottom of a glass dish that sat on his dresser that held loose change, spare keys, random scraps of paper that had notes or phone numbers scribbled on them; it's what he called his 'junk jar' and it was no wonder she couldn't find it, he hadn't cleared that thing out in months.

"Here" he spoke softly as he reached her and she turned around to face away from the dresser, letting out a small gasp as she came practically face to face with him; not realizing just how much of her personal space he had invaded.

Her grip was still strong on the edge of the dresser except now she was turned around to face him and her arms were bent at the elbows behind her, one on either side of her as he towered over her and her eyes were level with his lips.

He leaned slightly into her and her senses were instantly assaulted with his scent. A strong masculine soap smell mixed with aftershave and a hint of citrus, probably from his shampoo; that she doubted she'd ever be able to forget.

Shifting just slightly to his left he reached around her, reaching his arm through the gap created between her elbow and her side; his face leaning over her shoulder and so close to hers that she could feel the heat emanating from him hot against her own skin and she had to remind herself just to breathe.

Oh this was not helping.

She could hear him shuffling through what sounded like a change jar as he searched for the charger, leaning further over her until there was only millimetres between them and she had to keep her grip on the edge of that dresser simply to keep her hands occupied so she wouldn't maul him like she wanted to so badly right now.

Damnit Castle.

"Beckett?" He spoke her name moments later but this time his tone was flat and questioning, and oh God, when had she closed her eyes? She slowly opened them to see him standing back at a reasonable distance again and holding the phone charger out in front of him.

Great, now she looked like an idiot.

She cleared her throat. "Thanks" was all she could manage to get out. Was it suddenly really hot in here?

"You're welcome" he nodded. "Now, do you um… mind?" He asked, gesturing his head towards the door.

Oh God, she was still standing in front of him while he was practically naked wasn't she?

Get out of here Beckett, if you can still remember how to pick up your feet that is.

"Right, sorry" she quickly shook her head. "I'll, leave you to get ready" she mumbled before practically fleeing for the door and closing it behind her.

She let her back fall against the door the moment it shut behind her and she rolled her eyes as she let a heavy sigh escape.

Get a grip Beckett she inwardly commanded herself.

This, she was not prepared for. She was prepared for more fighting, possibly yelling, hell even the silent treatment was a likely scenario, but this? No, she was definitely not prepared for this.

She needed to get a hold of herself. Shake it off. Not think about running her hands through that perfect mess of dark wet hair.

She bit her lip. This was so not how this morning was supposed to go.

Damnit Castle.

Castle couldn't hold back his smirk if he tried. Sure it may be rather petty and childish but for whatever reason it seemed to make him feel slightly better, even if only for a few moments. Let's be honest, being a mature adult wasn't exactly his strong suit, and he'd be lying if he didn't say he could really use the ego boost after last night's crushing blow. He certainly wasn't ready to just bounce back and pretend nothing had happened, pretend she didn't rip his heart out of his chest and stomp on it, but pretending that nothing was going on? That was a craft he had easily mastered over the last four years of being at her side.

He wasn't going to forget however, and he wasn't about to let her forget either. They were going to talk about it, eventually. He won't allow her to just push him away and not talk about it. In the meantime if he had to play a little dirty to get her attention, well, let the games begin. A man's heart, as well as his ego, were delicate things; and if Kate Beckett wanted to play with fire, she was going to get burned because Rick Castle was about to turn up the heat.

A/N: So I was kind of going for a "The Limey" vibe here, with Castle acting out against Beckett for not reciprocating his feelings, but I didn't want him to start going out on dates with random girls because that would be way too insensitive of him given their current situation of someone after her and her staying at the loft and all. So I settled on this approach instead. Gotta keep the sexual tension going right? I'll update soon, next chapter is almost complete and we'll hear a little more of Beckett's POV so stay tuned. Feedback is always appreciated!