Chapter 6
Beckett padded barefoot into Castle's office to find him scrolling through the contacts on his phone. "What are you doing?" she asked
"Trying to see who I know that could be an angel for Mother's play."
"You're going to call at this time of the morning?"
Castle shook his head dejectedly. "There's no one to call, anyway. The ones who might be interested don't have bucks that big and the ones who have bucks that big, wouldn't be interested. I know there's a way to do this, I just can't put my finger on it."
"How about," Kate purred, taking his hand, "You put your finger on something else for a while?" Leading Rick into the bedroom, she brought his fingers to her most intimate place. As he caressed her, she pressed her mouth to his. They drank deeply of the dark musky tastes, as Kate pressed hard against Rick's hand. Kate pulled her mouth away as her breath came in gasps. "I need..." she panted.
"What?" Rick asked. What do you need?"
Kate pressed harder. "You, all of you!"
Rick sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Kate onto his lap facing him until he was sheathed. She rode as he worshiped her breasts with his lips and tongue. Her movements became wilder, hair soaked with sweat and hands grasping, until release pushed her up and away and he had to hold her to keep her from falling to the floor.
"Are you OK?" Rick asked.
Kate could only nod, but looking down said,"I didn't take you with me."
"You were in a bit of a hurry," Rick said.
"I'm not now," Kate cooed. She stroked him until he began to buck under her fingers and she replaced her hand with her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the tip as Rick closed his eyes and moaned. Kate kissed her way up and down the shaft until finally taking the length of him past her lips. As she moved over him, her own needs rose again and she rubbed against him for relief. This time they traveled together; as he finally let go, she found her second release.
Kate rested her head against his body as he combed his fingers through her damp hair. "Thank you," Rick said, smoothing the strands"
"That, Mr. Castle," Kate answered, "was my very great pleasure."
Beckett and Castle walked into the 12th to find Ryan with deep circles under his eyes. "What happened to you?" Castle asked.
"We went to the hospital last night. Jenny thought she was in labor. Turned out to just be Braxton Hicks. I may not survive until the real thing." Ryan said ruefully.
"You will," Castle reassured him. "The worst and best are yet to come."
Esposito smirked. "From the look of you two, something came."
Beckett squared her shoulders and gave Esposito her narrow eyed glare. "Where are we on Sherman Shannon?"
"He's an interesting dude," Esposito told her. "He has an art gallery, a dog kennel, his fingers are in lots of pies. His father makes a lot of noise, but Sherman is the real mover and shaker. Unfortunately, it looks like he has an alibi. At the time the SUV was seen at the lab, his Escalade was going through a toll booth. We have it on video."
"Looks like we're down to J.B. Jones," Beckett said.
"Road trip?" Castle asked.
"Road trip," Beckett confirmed.
The trip to Cherry Hill was miserable. What had been a light sprinkling of flakes became the whirl inside a recently shaken snow globe. The plows were unable to keep up and traffic slowed to a crawl as the highway was covered with six inches of snow. An increasing number of cars that had slid off the road were visible on the shoulder or even farther away where the ground dropped away from the highway. Determining where the lanes were had long since become impossible.
"Beckett," Castle said,"I know you're a really great driver, but obviously a lot of these other folks aren't. We should find a place to get off the road while we still can."
"Castle," Beckett told him, "I know a snow job when I hear one, but in this case you also happen to be right. How about asking that magical phone of yours?'
Castle was able to find a motel a mile ahead. It took them another half hour to get there, but they had a roof over their heads. Castle called Martha to let her know where he was and Beckett called the precinct, adhering to Captain Gates' regulations. Unfortunately there was no restaurant and almost no vending machines inside the motel and Castle and Beckett had to trudge across the parking lot to fine dining of McDonald's. The burgers and shakes were nowhere close to the level of Remy's but they filled the empty places.
The journey back across the now two feet of snow in the parking lot left Castle and Beckett chilled to the bone. Castle cranked up the heat in the room all the way, but it didn't seem to help. The blower made a huge amount of noise, but the air it blew was barely warm. Beckett and Castle huddled, fully dressed under the pitiful blanket and bedspread. "You know," Castle said, "I've learned from my various camping trips that once you're under covers, you actually get warmer with fewer clothes. It allows the body heat to circulate."
"You first," Beckett told him.
Castle stripped down to his t-shirt and shorts. Beckett could feel the heat from his body. "Your turn," Castle told her.
"Castle, if this doesn't work, you are going to be very very cold," Beckett warned.
"Noted." Castle agreed. Beckett ended up in her shirt and underwear. Castle held her close and she was warm through the night.
The almost frigid air in the room when morning came with the sound of scraping snowplows was an unpleasant awakening. Castle fervently hoped that the water in the shower was hot. It took ten minutes of running it, but the water began to approach warmth. Kate and Rick intended to take the fastest shower they could, but as they attempted to rub each other for added heat, their intentions were forgotten. They generated their own heat with the friction of their bodies and desperate motion and were feeling almost comfortable as they slipped back into their clothes, grubby as they were. They waited impatiently for the roads to be clear enough to go in search of a store that sold something clean to wear.