It was almost five pm, and what better way to finish up a long day of door-to-door with Ryan and Esposito than with a trip to the morgue, Castle thought with a gallows-humour chuckle. Of course, the plus side was they were going to get a file from Shane; the two-headed monster, naturally, was excited to see him and tease him a little.

They walked into Shane's workroom, and weren't surprised to find him on the phone with Alexis. The pathologist was smiling as he picked a scalpel to make an incision into a fresh customer.

'Sorry Lex, gotta run. I have a customer to finish up with and a few live ones just walked in. No that's not a zombie joke, it's Ryan, Espo and your pops. Yeah, I'll remind them. Love you. Bye.'

He tapped his bluetooth, switched to Audiovox-mode. 'Afternoon, gentlemen.'

'You have the final autopsy report on Brandy Mattis, lover boy?' Ryan said with a teasing tone.

'On my desk, purple folder with the yellow post-it note, and to remind you that she still wants in on the baby pool for Meredeth.'

The men went to take off, but Castle stopped when Shane called out his name as he began to make his incisions and start the autopsy right in front of him. 'What's up, Shane?'

'I don't have any plans for tonight, if you want a night free with Beckett, I'd be happy to look after RJ for the night.'

'Are you serious?' Castle blinked as he watched Shane removed the stomach of a body on his table, setting it aside for its contents to be tested.

'Sure, why not? I love RJ, I think he's an awesome little guy. What?' he asked, a little confused when the writer was studying his face like he searching for the one blue dot in a sea of green dots.

'Nothing, just wondering how long it's gone unmentioned by everyone else that your pupils have turned from circles into little hearts,' Castle teased him.

'Don't make me slap you, bro.' Shane held up his hands, wiggled his gloved fingers that were covered in bodily fluids. 'It would be unpleasant on several levels. Anyways, I'm off in...an hour,' he added, glancing at the clock. 'How are you going to swing this with the lady?'

'Oh ye of little faith. I'll have Kate drop RJ off at your place around seven-thirty.'

'Sounds great.'

The unexpected generosity of Alexis' boyfriend had Castle planning an entirely different night. After clocking out from working with the guys, he headed straight for the market to pick up flowers for his bride. He'd already decided this would be a night just for them, even dinner would be taken care of by someone else, someone he knew Beckett couldn't resist.

When she walked in the door, he smiled at her, pressed the button on the stereo remote so the low aching blues of Bill Withers floated out of the speakers to set the mood. 'Welcome home, Katherine.'

'Richard. Why exactly did I leave my son with my daughter's boyfriend for the night?'

'Because Shane's a good guy and wants to give us a night to ourselves?'

'You didn't ask him?' Beckett took a step towards her husband, slipping off her shoes as she did so.

'No, it was all him, which means that you and I...' He pulled her in for a sizzling kiss. 'Mommy and Daddy get to play like grown-ups...all...night...long.'

'Hahuhuh.' Beckett stammered out the laugh, then found her ears filled with a buzzing sound as he kissed her again, this time really putting some heat into it. His tongue dipped against her lips, parted them to find hers. She sighed as her muscles went loose, relaxed after a busy day; he was so good at this, at putting her at ease. There was nothing like his touch.

Her lips never leaving his, her hands roamed up his shirt front and started with his top button, slowing working her way down to pop each one out of the hole, then ran her palms up his stomach, under the linen to his solid shoulders. Comfort and strength, she thought, all wrapped him in such a beautiful, compassionate soul. She tugged his shirt out from his pants, let it flutter to the floor as his mouth moved down the slim column of her throat, kissing the curve of her neck as she nipped at his shoulder. His hands went searching, found the edge of her top and he leaned back only slightly, keeping his darkened eyes on hers the entire time as he peeled it upwards and tossed it over with his own discarded shirt.

Castle watched her, the layers of the day coming off as she surrendered to her senses. He cupped her cheek in his palm, running his thumb over her lips. 'Kate,' he murmured, 'we have all the time we want tonight.'

So saying, he lowered his mouth to hers again, nibbling the lower lip while his hands reached behind her back to flick open the hooks of her bra; the silk slid to the floor in a glossy pink puddle between their feet. His touch moved from her back down to her hip and up her torso to squeeze her breasts, and her breath caught in her throat when his fingertips brushed her already-hardened nipples. The noise of it had Castle's body responding to her, as her own hands fumbled at his belt buckle, making it join the other abandoned articles of clothing. When he felt his wife's hands at his zipper, he inhaled sharply; Beckett knew her audience and drew the action out, making him groan in frustrated pleasure as she freed him.

'I've wanted you like this all day,' she murmured. 'Half-naked and hungry for it.'

'For you,' he corrected in a whisper. 'Only you, Kate.'

'Only you, Rich.'

Beckett closed her eyes as those clever hands helped her out of her shorts and panties, a little while later, his boxers joined them on the floor, and they were both naked and so hot for each other it was as though the outside world had vanished. She put her hands on his hips, slid them down to pull him tight against her and her eyes went wide when she felt the proof of his arousal against her.

'Hel-lo,' she purred.

'Just you wait.'

Castle walked her backwards toward the couch but rather than tumbling onto it, he used the top of it like a ledge. As Beckett's head lolled to the side, exposing where her pulse banged like a kettledrum. He started there, then worked his way down to the sweet heated peak of her breast, catching it lightly in his teeth and making her cry out loudly. He kept going further south, over her hip, down her thigh until he hit the honeypot and stayed there, tasting and teasing her into euphoria. Her hips arched up and he held her steady as she moaned for him.

'Rich...oh, god, I...I...'

It was all Beckett could get out as she felt her body go into orbit as the orgasm moved through her at warp-speed. Her fingers tightened their grip in reflex in his hair as his mouth moved on her trigger, making her shudder in release. When she thought all her bones had dissolved inside her body Castle rose, laying his hand between her breasts to feel her thunderclap of a heartbeat before it slipped down to her hip; he took her other hand to help guide him in, then felt it fall away as he eased inside her.

'Hold onto me,' he murmured, 'keep your eyes on me, baby.'

As her legs wrapped around his body, he turned so that she was on top of him, hips grinding into his, raising his blood pressure through the roof as her teeth nipped his earlobe. He watched the orgasm build inside her once more and sweep through her and this time, he was swept along with her.

R&R&Enjoy