His shot glass falls over and spins into hers, the thin round walls tinkling against each other. Kate laughs as she watches him suck on his slice of lime, his lips puckered and nose wrinkling.

"What's so funny?" He spits the rind into a napkin and pulls her closer with the hand on her waist.

"You. You're cute when you're drunk."

"Cute?" He balks, tossing his head to the side. "Puppies are cute, Beckett. I am ruggedly handsome. Have you seriously not been paying attention all these years?"

Tequila buzzing in her veins and her arousal still coiled tightly at the base of her spine, Kate leans in and takes his earlobe between her teeth, her lips brushing over the sensitive skin at the base of his jaw. His hand curls against the small of her back, the tips of his fingers digging into her muscles.

"Oh, I've definitely been paying attention." She dips her tongue into the hollow behind his ear, traces it over the thin curve of the shell. "Ruggedly handsome doesn't even come close to doing you justice."

"No?"

"No," she breathes, dragging a wide, wet stripe down the side of his neck with the flat of her tongue. She feels his adam's apple bob against her chin and grins, pressing her curled lips against the ridge of his collarbone. Almost a year and he still reacts to her like it's all brand new. The power she feels when he shivers at her touch or calls out her name is more intoxicating than the alcohol rolling in her stomach. She'd always known that they would be great together - once they got over themselves and gave in to each other - but she'd honestly never expected it to be like this. It was always going to be important but she was still surprised on the morning she woke up and realized it was everything.

Mouth still pressed to his skin, she reaches out blindly for the salt shaker, pours a stream onto the path she drew on his neck.

"Beautiful."

Kate puts the shaker down and grabs a fresh slice of lime.

"Brilliant."

She slips the lime between his teeth before he can ruin the moment with ill-timed sarcasm.

"Annoying."

She lifts a brow at his scoff and snags a fresh shot from the line Brian had poured for them.

"Loving."

She runs her mouth up the line of salt on his neck, the rough grains sharp and tangy on her tongue.

"Fuckable," she breathes into his ear and hears him swallow thickly.

Kate tosses back the shot, her eyes still on his face. She drops the glass on the counter and leans into him, her voice harsh and strained through the burn of alcohol.

"Sexy as hell."

She digs her teeth into the lime, the juice exploding bright and tart across her tongue. Castle pushes the fruit into her mouth, his tongue chasing along after, his lips hard and fierce against her own. She gives herself over to his kiss, lost in the way her mouth tastes like salt and tequila and lime and him. He groans when she pulls away just enough to tug the rind from her mouth, dropping it on the bar before threading her fingers into his hair and tugging his lips back to hers.

"Mine," she whispers into his mouth, her tongue running over the bow of his upper lip.

"Kate." It's a plea and a command. A rough sound that shoots down her spine and explodes low in her abdomen, sending a fresh wave of arousal sluicing through her body. Fuck. "Kate, I can't wait. I can't."

His eyes are heavy lidded with alcohol and cloudy with lust and she's overcome by the need to watch them slip shut in ecstasy as he presses himself inside of her. She slides her hands from his hair, dragging her palms down his arms until she can tangle her fingers with his. Stepping back, she tugs on his hands, pulls him off of the high stool he'd landed on somewhere around their third round of shots.

"Come on, Castle."

His hips bump into her ass as she leads him around the bar, tossing a nod to Brian when they slide through the open the door of the stockroom. He grins at them knowingly, his mask lifting up to press into his forehead, and Kate tries to find it in herself to be embarrassed that the bartender is very obviously aware of where they're going and what they plan to do but she just can't be bothered. Not when Castle's fingers are digging into her hips, bunching up the already short skirt of her dress, his lips dancing over the base of her neck and his erection pressing into the small of her back.

"Are we having sex in the stockroom, Beckett? Is that my birthday present?"

"We're not having sex in the stockroom and even if we were that wouldn't be your present." Her words are more air than sound, the feeling of his tongue and teeth on her neck having considerably diminished her ability to make noises that aren't moans of pleasure.

"Come on, Kate. You can take back whatever else you got me. This can be my present," he leans into her, his chest hot and wide against her back, his lips soft against her ear. "I need to be inside you. Now."

Kate whirls on the spot and seals her lips to his, her hips grinding against him. He groans and slides both hands down to cup her ass, pulling her forcefully into him, his fingers flexing into the taut muscles. Her hands drift over his chest, running down to pull the tail of his shirt out of his pants, scraping her nails over his stomach.

"We're not having sex in the stockroom, Rick, because your employees are using it as a staging area. That," she points to the left where tables are set up with trays of hors d'oeuvres and clean glasses, "is why we're having sex in the alley."

His eyes go wide for a moment before he slams his mouth back into hers, walking her backwards until they bump into the emergency exit at the back of the room. His hands are already sliding up under her dress, fingers digging into her thighs as she climbs his body.

"I love you so fucking much."

"Because I'm about to have sex with you in an alley in the middle of your birthday party?

"Among other reasons, yes."

They push through the door and she gasps, the night cooler than it had been when they arrived at the party. There's a slight breeze stirring the air around them, caressing her flushed and overheated skin. Castle releases his hold on her and stoops to place a small brick in between the door and its frame. He grins up at her, sliding the tips of his fingers up the length of her legs as he stands.

"Is this my present?"

Laughing, Kate backs him up against the wall and drapes her body over his, flattening her breasts against his chest. "You're really not going to stop asking until I tell you, are you?"

"Nope."

She leans in, her hands braced on his chest, ghosts her lips over his. "Wonder Woman."

Castle rocks his head back to catch her gaze, his eyes glinting in the amber glow of the security lights. "You got me Wonder Woman?"

"No, I got you me as Wonder Woman. Bracelets and all."

His eyes go wide and she giggles, her fingers still stroking over his shirt. She's been planning this for months, got the idea the Thursday before Halloween, all the pre-packaged costumes so shiny and bright; she'd done some research and found a company that could customize the suit to her measurements. She'd originally intended for it to be his Christmas present but the suit hadn't been ready in time so she had hidden it in the back of her closet and crossed her fingers that he wouldn't go snooping and ruin the surprise. Based on the look on his face, she's guessing he hadn't.

"You. As Wonder Woman? Holy shit, Kate." She feels him sag against the wall, his knees going weak even as his arms band more tightly around her. "We have to go home. Now."

"We can't," she reminds him, chuckling.

Eyes flashing, he spins them suddenly, pressing her back into the rough brickwork. Kate gasps when his hand wraps around her thigh and jerks it up over his hip, his erection pushing insistently against her damp center.

"The things I want to do to you," he growls, grinding his hips into her, "cannot adequately be performed in an alley, Beckett."

She moans into him as he attacks her mouth, his lips and teeth relentless in their quest to brand her. Kate slides her hands down to his waist, tugging open his belt and fly with practiced ease and slipping her hand inside the slippery silk of his boxers to cup him. He pumps his hips into her touch, his erection hot and heavy in her damp palm.

"I promise I'll let you do all those things later, Castle," she pants, his mouth working at the curve of her neck, "but right now I just need you to fuck me."

Groaning, he shoves her dress up around her waist before dipping his hand to her center and dragging three fingers through the arousal she can feel dripping down her thighs. She releases him and looks down, watches him run his hand, slick with her, over his erection before pitching his hips forward and pressing against her entrance.

"Shit, Kate." He pushes into her roughly, her exposed ass scraping across the uneven bricks, sending stars of delicious pain shooting across her nerves. His free hand goes to the thigh not wrapped around him and tugs, pulling it up to to join its mate around his waist. "You're so fucking wet. Fuck."

Her fingers curl around his ears as his mouth blazes across her chest, the wide, low neckline of her dress working to encourage his explorations. He pumps into her hard and fast, slamming her body up against the wall. She cries out his name and he presses a finger against her lip, silencing her. The blue of his eyes are dark, shimmering in the lights, and she bites down on the pad of his finger before sliding it into her mouth. She rolls her tongue over the whorls, and he groans. He tastes like her, what he does to her, and she doesn't break eye contact; not when her teeth graze over the soft flesh, not when she lets a moan slip through her lips.

Castle slowly eases out of her and her lips loosen around his finger, a groan tumbling from her lips at the loss of him. The wind abrades her thighs, leaving her too cold and too hot and too much in need of him. He's trailing his tongue down her clavicle, fingers once again dipping into her arousal. She clenches around him and he's whispering into her skin: secrets and love and a thousand answers to questions she never knew existed. He drags his palm over her clit, pressing the right amount of pressure until she's riding his hand. The night spins above her and she's drunk and desperate for him and happy and oh, his fingers feel so fucking good.

"Castle," she breathes, as he draws another tight circle around her.

Her body starts to shudder, the words she meant to say replaced with a moan, low and deep in the back of her throat. Her legs quiver around him and she's on the brink, close, but not close enough. She reaches between them, her fingers wrapping around his shaft. She slides her hand along the length of him, massaging him until his eyes slam shut and he's burying himself deep inside of her, muttering a string of curses, her name, I love you's. He thrusts once, twice, and she can feel him coming inside of her, hot and filling, his mouth branded to her neck, his hands tugging at her hair as she shatters freely around him, mouth open with nothing but silent screams.

Kate falls against him, her heartbeat pounding, and she slides down his body, heels clacking against the concrete. She rests her forehead against his; he's pulling down her dress slowly, fingers trailing lightly over her heated skin. "I love you," she murmurs.

He kisses her forehead. "Best birthday ever."

"I think you already said that."

"It deserves to be repeated. We had sex in an alley, Beckett. I mean, is that not so cool?"

She rolls her eyes, because even drunk he's ridiculous and a child and she couldn't possibly love him more. "Yeah, Castle," she responds sarcastically, "it's the coolest."

Her body cants against his and the cool breeze helps her breathe again. They need to go back inside; they've been gone too long and she's about to mention it when they hear the clearing of a throat by the door. Their bodies turn together, in sync as always.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," Ryan says, shifting from foot to foot. His cheeks are red, he won't make eye contact and oh, poor Ryan. He looks like he's just walked in on his parents having sex and Kate bites down on her lip because it's not funny but she's drunk so yeah, it's a little funny. "Castle, you, uh, some people were looking for you to say goodbye."

She can feel Castle's laughter rumble in his chest, low vibrations that hum against her when she's trying to fall asleep at night. "Thanks, Ryan. Tell them I'll be right there. We have to clean Kate up. She spilled something. On her dress. You know how tricky it is to get stains out."

"Oh, uh, okay. Yeah. I'll tell them."

Kate laughs against his collarbone when Ryan walks away, lifting her head up to his. "I should kill you for that." She presses a smile against his skin. "Did you really need to talk about getting stains out of my dress?"

"For the reaction on his face? I really, really did. He looked like a kid who just found out that Santa isn't real. A portrait of shattered innocence."

She rolls her eyes at his theatrics and pulls the flaps of his belt together, fastening the buckle. "He's not as innocent as you think. You'd be surprised at what Jenny has mentioned over a lot of cocktails."

Castle scowls, shivering dramatically. "Ew." She holds out her hand to him and he takes it. "Wait, you know about Ryan and Jenny's sex life? Does that mean Jenny knows about ours?"

Oh Castle.

She quirks a brow at him and gives him a slow smile as they move back into the warmth of the stockroom, her fingers tangled with his.

"Only the fun stuff."

He gapes at her for a moment, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly, before a low pitched whine slips from his lips.

Yeah. She'll probably pay for that later.