Castle had to admire Beckett's self-control when they arrived home after their date. They arrived home to find Kelsey in the living room knitting a baby blanket while she watched Beetlejuice on Blu-Ray, the baby monitor propped up beside a take-out container of Thai food. According to her RJ had been a model charge - they'd played and had tummy-time. She'd even given him a bath which had been confusing at first but the fun scented baby soap she'd used had made him smile, and he'd been asleep since eight-thirty. Beckett made happy-mommy noises, and only those who really new the detective would hear it - she was friendly and polite but there was the undercurrent of 'get out please' in her motherly concerns over Kelsey getting her proper rest before work the next day.

'I'll never hear the end of it from Ryan if I don't send you home in a timely fashion.'

'Sure. Oh, no, it's okay, you can repay me in baby gifts,' Kelsey told them when Castle went to reach for his wallet. 'Mac and I could use a nice table-top lamp for the nursery.'

'Done.'

Kelsey smiled. 'Have a good night you guys.'

When she'd left, Castle locked the door behind her and grinned at Beckett. 'Smooth, Detective.'

'Is that sarcasm or a compliment?'

'A bit of both.' He crossed to her, wrapped his arms around her waist. 'You don't think she knows that after a night out we might want to come back here and have a little romance?'

'Probably, I mean she's having a baby herself, but unlike her brother she's discreet enough to not say anything.'

Beckett went upstairs to check on her little man and he was indeed out for the count. He was already so big, over four months old and had his blanket clutched tight in his fist, just like his daddy; she'd never had a lover who was a covers-hog in bed like Richard Castle. Since he was getting into a routine, Beckett figured they had about an hour to themselves before RJ would be awake and demanding a midnight snack.

She kissed his forehead, then crept out, went into the bedroom where she saw Castle there, lighting the candles she always kept in the room in case of power outage; they gave the room a soft old-fashioned glow that for some reason reminded her of the first night they'd been together. They hadn't had candles that night but somehow, the memory of that night came back to her full force.

'Hey,' she said softly. 'I love you.'

'Hey. I love you too.'

Beckett crossed to him, wrapped her arms around him and just held onto him. Here was warmth, love, the solid foundation of home, all those things she'd never thought she'd have were here in the man. Her man. She ran her hands up and down his back, letting the feel of him overwhelm her senses as she untucked his shirt and found his skin beneath the expensive cotton. Her nimble fingers moved around to the front and began to flip open the buttons from the bottom up, each one revealing a little bit more skin until she could see his chest, broad and smooth, and laid her lips against his skin.

Castle sighed deeply in satisfaction as she kissed him and could have wept from her tenderness. Such a contradictory woman, she was; this was the same woman who'd survived her apartment being blown to kingdom come and nine hours of labour in the name of giving him a son giving him such sweet kisses. He tipped her chin up with his finger to look in her eyes and lowered his mouth to hers, combed his fingers through her hair before they landed on her shoulders, then her hips where he found the

'Ah, Rich, this one has a zipper,' she murmured with a little laugh in her voice, let go of him so she could tug down the zipper hidden in the side-seam of her shirt. 'There.'

He smiled against her lips as he drew the silk upwards, tossed it over his shoulder then turned her so she spooned against him. This had been his favourite memory of their first night together, when he'd held her against him and he'd felt her heart thunder under his hands. He slid down her bra straps one at a time, flipped open the hooks to let the silky dark-violet slide to the floor. He gently moved his hand up to cup one beautiful breast and kept his touch butterfly-light.

'It's okay, Rich, they feel fine right now.'

'Good.'

Castle slid his hands up to massage and squeeze more firmly now and Beckett groaned in deep satisfaction. Her skin began to heat and she shivered delicately when one hand when to the snap of her pants, drew down her zipper as she subtly thrust her hips backwards against his; she could feel him grow hot and hard against her back. His touch was delicate but sure as he drew them down over her hips, then turned her so she was facing him once more and she could kiss him again.

'Your turn,' he murmured, groaning when she slipped her fingers beneath his waistband to grab his ass, then slid them around the front to cup him. Her touch had him hissing out a breath between his teeth, which paired with her musical little laugh. 'Naughty girl.'

She unzipped him, shoved his pants and boxers to the floor so he was also naked with her and she shifted her legs apart, ground her hips against his. His audible gulp made her shudder a little and keeping her arms around his waist, bent her knees so they tumbled onto the bed. Beckett moved so that she opened for him and gave him a soft smile as he studied her face.

'My beautiful Kate, where would you like to go tonight?'

'Anywhere you want.'

Castle smiled; he could feel her wet warmth against him already, so he kissed his way down her body, pausing to tease her nipples with his tongue which had her crying out in delight before he moved down to where he longed to taste her. He kissed his way up her thighs until he reached her-

'Oh, god!' Beckett's cry was bright and sharp and she felt her husband's tongue lave at her; her senses for him tonight were in overdrive and she could feel every bump of his tongue, every ridge of his lips as he pleasured her. The sweetness of it had her arching off the bed, her hips threatening to buck even as he held them steady. 'Rich, just like that, oh god, just like that.'

His wife's cries were music to his ears, Castle thought briefly, Her body began to convulse and she came in a tidal wave of sensation beneath him; when she was adrift in the after-shock, Castle dug into his bedside table for a condom, then turned back to her. Running his hands up her thighs, he kissed her as he sank into her, watched her eyes go dark and wide with pleasure.

They moved together, creating their own beautiful rhythm so sweet and patient it bordered on torturous in its pace. Beckett closed her eyes, wrapped arms and legs around him to keep him close as her hips arched against his in that delicious grind.

'Rich, I'm...I'm coming,' she moaned in his ear. 'Come with me, my love.'

'Not yet,' he moaned back. 'I want to watch you first.'

Castle changed his rhythm so that was passionate and lustful, almost frantic, watched the first flickers of the orgasm gallop over her face until her eyes slammed shut and she was reduced to vowels to express herself. When she went limp beneath him, he kept going to bring it out of her again. Her body went ridged, then began to tremble and as he felt the shift inside him, Castle murmured in her ear, 'Now you come with me.'

His mouth found hers and then, they were lost in each other.

R&R&Enjoy.