A/N: I am so sorry I have been so unreliable for timely updates! Life has not slowed down yet for me, but I hope you all will stick with the story because I promise I will keep up with it even if it takes me a while. Here is just a short chapter that I didn't get to finish but I feel like I owe y'all.

I am addicted to reviews so please give me some feedback

Song that goes with this chapter: "So in Love"- Curtis Mayfield

"Fine. I look forward to it," he smirked realizing he actually won this one for now.

"Fine." Beckett clipped with the last heat of her frustration before suddenly becoming aware that she stood eye to eye with Castle, standing in between his spread feet, outer thighs brushing inner thighs. She watched his eyes flick downward to acknowledge their proximity, roaming her body on the way down. Kate felt the rolling waves of heat assault her body. She had to gain the upper hand, get some control over the situation since her body was throwing itself to anarchy, so she leaned in, resting her weight on one fist on the desk next his hip, the other hand angled devilishly on her hip, and cocked her head so her lips were phantoms along his jaw and up to his ear.

"I'll show you fun Castle."

Castle audibly gulped and Kate could see his Adam's apple bounce from the corner of her eye. Yeah, she had gotten the upper hand back, he was putty in her hands. Men, so predictable, she thought. Not that she could deny the visceral effect his nearly touching body was having on her. She could feel the clench of hopeful anticipation between her legs and the humid air between them making her lungs feel heavy. It was so tempting, so incredibly tempting to close the last inch of space between her and Castle, paint his strong sturdy body with hers and brush her lips across his.

But no. That's not how things could transpire here and now, she knew better. She wasn't ready.

"And how do you plan on showing me Beckett?" Castle inquired, his voice a half-octave higher than usual, betraying his reaction to Kate's dangerous game. Kate stepped back into her own personal space, immediately her body protested her minds instance of retreat as she felt a shiver run down her spine at the loss of intimacy with the man before her.

"I don't know Cas, you're the one boasting of the extravagance of a 'Castle Night,' and by the way you realize how egotistical that sounds, don't you?" And just like that the wall was erected and stood dauntingly between them.

Her proximity intoxicated Castle. Every thought in his mind was redirected to focus solely on her dewy breath against his neck, her chest brushing his as she inhaled deeply, her whispy hairs tickling his cheek, and her thighs pressing gently on his inner thighs. Breathing suddenly lost its autonomic function and he had to consciously scream at his lungs to breath as he gasped in a deep, trembling breath.

She is killing me. I will die tonight, right here of combustion and aneurisms induced by extreme sexual suppression. Say something you idiot otherwise you'll end up with a bullet in you crotch from attacking her lips!

"And how do you plan on showing me Beckett?"

She stepped back, his heart sunk. It was a torturous cycle, it really was. His elation from the steps taken forward and the boundaries crossed only equaled by the disappointment that set in when she would retreat and further cement those fucking walls, where he would be left banging his head.

"I don't know Cas, you're the one boasting of the extravagance of a 'Castle Night,' and by the way you realize how egotistical that sounds, don't you?" she teased and the status quo fell back into place lickedy-split with no real resolution or change.

Castle straightened himself up, puffing his chest out in cave-man bravado. "It's not boasting if its true. Just because you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing such a night doesn't discredit its merits," he drawled with a provocative wiggle of his eyebrows and a smug smirk turning up his lips. Humor, the ultimate broom to sweep all that heart-wrenching, unrequited love shit under the proverbial rug.

"How do you manage to transform the most unassuming sentences into and pervy, dirty joke?" she marveled in return.

"I guess it's a gift. My superpower. Oh my alter ego could be Captain Pervy! But Thor's already claimed the hammer and I don't think any other name could be appropriately attributed to my weapon."

"Oh gross Castle, that is anything but appropriate. C'mon Captain Pervy, feed me before you start sketching a lycra suit for yourself." Kate rolled her eyes as she sauntered out of the office toward his kitchen.

"Suit? Please it'd be a lycra speedo for sure."

"Horrifying to imagine, just horrifying." Kate teased as she skimmed her hands over two cabinets in his Kitchen before landing on the edge of the third and pulling out two wine glasses and reached for his wine fridge below the counter.

"So what are you making me for dinner?" she asked.

"Dinner, Beckett it is well into midnight snack territory, brings in a whole new category of acceptable food choices." He teased and she rolled her eyes at his childishness with a happy smile gracing her beautiful face. Castle was always looking for a way to poke at Kate, get a rise out of her in one way or another; could never just let things be. In truth, Kate loved that because it brought her out of her own head. His endless exuberance put her on guard with the desire to either one up him or prove that he couldn't ruffle her feathers and earn that self-satisfied, shit eating grin he loved so much. But sewn within his exaggerated excitement was childlike wonder and optimism that melted her heart a bit.

"Alright then, midnight snack. Get to it Writerboy," she joked, snapping a kitchen towel across his back as he peered into the refrigerator, letting out a girlish yelp.

"Slave driver," he murmured with arms full of whip cream, nutella, chocolate sauce, and strangely a carton of eggs.

Castle laid out his ingredients along the counter with a dramatic flare causing everything but the eggs to scatter across the marble counter. "Are you attempting to put me into a diabetic coma and take advantage of me or something?" Kate asked with a questioning and apprehensive look on her face.

"No I am a gentleman Ms. Becket, old fashioned and such. If I wanted to take advantage of you I'd liquor you up or roofie you. Geez, I was raised with manners you know," he chastised, grabbing her glass and hiding it out of sight in with theatrical obviousness, which Kate could not help but laugh at.

"Now go drink your wine," he said handing it back to her with a wide, gleaming smile on his face, "and find us some music to listen too or a show to watch. Leave dinner to me."

"Oh, I thought it was a midnight snack?"

"Ugh! Out woman!" he exclaimed in mock agitation.

"And I'm the slave driver?" she called as she made her way familiarly through the loft to the lounge.

Kate moseyed around the lounge, looking over the dozens of books that lined the shelves, making a mental list of books she needed to borrow from him or get on her kindle. He had such an eclectic taste in books and for Kate that was a huge turn on. She always found it surprising that a man that could behave like such a immature child could have the depth to debate and bounce between the themes, nuances, and symbolism found in books of every genre. She spotted his iPod sitting on the speaker dock and mindlessly tapped on the play button as she meandered down the contents of the shelves that somehow she's never noticed before, which speaks to her level of distraction earlier in the night while she waited for Castle and did the exact same thing.

She wandered along the rows of books, knick-knacks, and framed photographs. As tripped her fingers along the spines of the novels, Kate spied a picture of a younger Castle, maybe 25 years old, holding a little toddler Alexis on his hip. Kate had to suppress a loud laugh that wanted to jump out of her throat as she saw the goofy looks on both Alexis and Rick's face. Alexis's little button nose was all scrunched up, her few little teeth jutted out in attempt at fierceness but only achieved preciousness, and her tiny hand was posed like a clawed paw. She looks simply adorable with her light wash jeans and black converse adoring the scrawny legs wrapped across Rick's slim waist, a light pink t-shirt with rolled up sleeves, and wavy rings of curls cascading across her narrow shoulders.

Examining Rick only made Kate's smile widen. His blue eyes matched Alexis' with that exuberant, child-like sparkle. The young Castle shown in the photograph had a slight stubble peppering his jaw, which Kate found utterly delectable. His wrinkled white button down framed his physique and the collar was pulled to the side to reveal the solid mass of his pec. His wide, square shoulders, broad planes of his muscular chest, robust bands of brachial muscles all made Kate swoon. Kate couldn't help but question whether it was weird to be lusting after a photo of a man ten years younger than her, a photo of a man who was eight years her senior and currently making her dinner in the kitchen, a photo of her partner who she refuses to have feelings for. Yep something is definitely weird about it. But the silly expression on his face calmed her pondering. She had seen that face before, one of his many annoyingly adorable faces he would paint on when he was trying to agitate her... or make me smile, Kate tacked on as the thought ran away from her.

She was pulled away from her inspection when she heard Castle singing to Jay Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind." He was right in the middle of a very poor rendition Alicia's throaty, soulful voice, completely butchering it.

Kate turned around to see Castle crossing towards the couch with two plates of what looks like an omelet. She pinned him mid-step with a menacing glare, causing Castle to snap his mouth shut just as Alicia belted out another "Let's hear it for New York."

"You trying to break the glass there Castle?" she smirked as she grabbed her plate from him and settled in the corner of the couch.

Review please :D!