A/N: There is no excuse for my tardiness, except that I am an expert procrastinator. Really, I'm pretty damn good at it. Furthermore, the muse and I have also not been communicating so well these last few weeks (months?). But, I hope that the dry spell is over.

This chapter continues for the previous one and it's definitely rated T for sexual content and for a bad word - first time ever. So, uh, yeah - whatever. No Lizzy or flashbacks in this one. Just Castle and Beckett being their sexy selves (I hope).

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Would I torture myself with a hiatus of like 4 months? I think not.

Chapter 51 - In My Veins

He was checking his watch every few minutes, impatient and a little irritated. With her. For being late. She was supposed to home at six and instead she got there forty-five minutes later, rushing past him with a slew of apologies rolling off her tongue. He wasn't amused. And for once, the roles were reversed.

He checked his watch again and was growing more and more frustrated as the seconds ticked by.

"Kate!"

Seriously, they had a reservation at eight and still had to-

"I'm ready."

He spun around.

"Finally. It's about-" Rick trailed off, mouth falling open and jaw growing slack.

Dear god.

Screw the reservations, he wanted to say. Because, damn, being late was soooo worth it when Kate Castle decided to bring out the big guns.

She was wearing a sexy, sheath purple taffeta dress that made love to every beautiful, delightful curve of her body. That body he knew so very well, so very intimately. He swallowed dryly, Adam's apple bobbing. He had a faint recollection of that Nikki Heat book launch so many years ago when he couldn't – like now – keep his eyes off of her. Her hair was loose and curly with an edge of wild, a little femme fatale.

A little Nikki Heat.

He was such a lucky bastard.

She seemed to be oblivious to his staring, busy searching for items to put in her black clutch bag, again apologising for being late. When she passed him, Rick snagged her arm and pulled her wordlessly towards him. Kate started to protest, but was cut off when her husband kissed her, hard and a little rough, his tongue sweeping smoothly into her mouth. There wasn't much of a height difference due to the pair of four-inch black sex-on-legs stilettos she was wearing.

When they broke apart, she stared at him, her eyes almost black with the dark, smoky eye make-up and desire burning against her irises.

"We're gonna be late," she murmured, her voice low and throaty.

He only shrugged in response and dipped his head to feather kisses along her jaw, down the slope of her neck. She exhaled shakily, her breath dancing past his cheek.

"You promised to take me dancing, Castle," she purred into his ear.

He pulled back and smiled, his large hands curling at her hips. He couldn't deny her, not ever.

"Indeed I did, Mrs. Castle." He gave her another quick kiss before holding out his arm to her. "Shall we?"

She smiled, eyes turning affectionate, everything in her softening for him.

"Let's go."

He was watching her. Again, as usual. Her eye were riveted on the jazz band currently perfoming on stage. They were sitting closely together, his arm slung over the back of her chair, her hand absent-mindedly resting on his thigh as they listened to the peformaners and nursing their drinks.

He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against her cheek, caressing down to the corner of her mouth.

Just because he could.

"You enjoying this?" He murmured, lips ghosting over her skin.

She turned towards him, eyes sparkling with delight and brushed her mouth over his, fingers cradling his jaw.

"I love it. Thank you." She pressed another kiss against his lips. "I love you."

"I know," he said with a grin. "I mean, how could you not?"

Kate laughed in response, more like a breathless huff and pushed on his chest. "Yeah, Castle, okay. I admit it. I'm crazy about you and hot for you and I want you-"

He met her in a bruising kiss, his tongue spilling into her mouth, hands cradling her face.

"You're mean," he muttered breathlessly against her lips.

She hummed in amusement, eyes flicking down to his mouth. "What? Can't handle it, kitten?"

Rick narrowed his eyes, his face inches from hers. "You're gonna pay for that, Beckett."

Her mouth curved into a sly, clever smirk. "Promise?"

He only grinned and pulled her in for another kiss, soft and delicate; slowing the seduction down.

They had the whole night.

"May I have this dance, Mrs. Castle?"

Her mouth slid open into a luminous, pleased smile.

Mysterious and sexy - a vixen.

"Thought you'd never ask, Mr. Castle," she replied, eyes sparkling in the dim light.

They swayed, bodies molded together in perfect unison while the rhythmic beats of the music dragged them along like an ocean's tide. Lost in a world of their own making, a little island amid a sea of people and sounds and movement.

They've been on the dance floor for close to an hour - doing the salsa and the tango and now, just slowly moving to the music; completely immersed in one another.

Rick pulled his wife closer, cradling her against his chest. "I love you, Kate," he murmured against her temple.

She turned her head towards him, her lips finding a spot against his pulse. "I know. I love you too, Rick. So much."

His mouth curved into a soft smile, his hand brushing a strand of hair off her cheek.

"To infinity and beyond."

She breathed out a laugh. "Yes. To infinity and beyond."

He dipped his and kissed her; a slow, languid and thorough feasting on her mouth. They broke apart panting slightly as an evening of teasing looks and hot hands now coming to a lustful head.

"Take me home, Castle," Kate husked, her eyes dark and her jaw set in determination. She leaned closer, her teeth scraping against his earlobe. "I want you." She touched her tongue to his skin. He let out grunt. "Now."

Rick sucked in a breath, his knees suddenly feeling wobbly.

"God, you're hot," he blurted out without thinking.

She laughed, a throaty, sexy sound that sent the blood singing in his veins.

"Come on, Mr. Castle, I promised you a show tonight."

She was going to kill him.

She'd been at it since they got in the cab; frisky hands making him squirm like a schoolboy and a sinful mouth undoing him with hot, wet kisses.

"Kate." His voice shook, breaking under the heavy pressure of arousal.

"Mm," she hummed, her breath fanning hotly over the skin of his neck. She feathered her lips up to his jaw, nibbling at his skin; teeth and tongue working him over in unison.

Rick let out a whimper and gripped her hips, trying very hard not to pull the emergency stop. He was this close to slamming her up against the wall and screwing her brains out in an elevator.

But, no, he wanted to do this right, proper. It was their anniversary. He wanted to lay her down and thoroughly, slowly worship every delectable inch-

He sucked in a breath when her hand traveled lower. "Kate," he squeaked, fumbling for her wrist.

She lifted her head, her eyes dark and clever. "What?" She purred, stepping even closer, pressing every curve of her lithe body against his.

He swallowed. "Uh-"

Before he could answer, the elevator doors opened.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, that's too bad, Castle."

He frowned, his brain too muddled to connect the dots.

"What is?"

"The elevator doors opening."

What. Why? "Why is that disappointing?"

She bit her lip and shrugged, taking a step backwards. He followed her.

"Because, Rick, I really, really wanted you to fuck me against the wall-"

He all but growled and crashed his mouth onto hers, aggressive and demanding; his self-control completely shattering as he pushed her backwards.

"God, Kate." He mumbled in between pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses along her neck. "God, you're so hot. So sexy."

She arched against him, seeking more contact; her mouth open and wet against his. Finally, her back hit the front door and she immediately hooked a leg around his leg, pressing her hips against his.

He groaned, his head buried in her neck, breath coming in harsh, short pants.

She sucked on his earlobe before murmuring: "Key."

He fumbled it out of his pocked and got the door open as fast as possible. The moment they were inside, Kate was wrapped around him, her legs circling his waist, her mouth at his jaw. At first he slammed her up against the door, mouths fused together. After a while, Rick started to walk them towards the study, but she grunted and shook her head.

"No, no. I want you in the kitchen." She squeezed her legs around him, her hips pushing against him. "On the counter."

Yep, she was going to kill him.

"Wow. I love this kitchen. Have I mentioned that? I really, really love it." They were a heap of half-naked, tangled, sated limbs on the kitchen floor.

Kate laughed and shifted to rest her head on his chest. "Mm, me too." She shivered and moved even closer.

"Cold?"

She nodded. "A little bit."

"You wanna get up?" He hoped she said no because it was gonna take him a few minutes to find his legs again.

She huffed in amusement. "Don't think I can walk just yet, Castle." Kate lifted her head to look at him, grinning impishly. "You really wore me out. . . stud."

Judging by her loud and vigorous encouragement and exclamations, he'd bet there was a lot of truth to that statement. His ego was not saying 'no thank you' to that.

Rick kissed her and grabbed his nearby discarded jacket and draped it over his wife, who was only in her underwear.

Well, what was left of it.

They laid in silence for a few minutes, heart rates returning to normal. Kate was half asleep when her husband spoke again.

"You were a little drunk tonight, weren't you?"

She jerked up, staring down at him. "What? No, I wasn't."

He grinned at that. "Oh, no. Are you sure?"

"Castle, I was not drunk."

He lifted his hands in acquiescence, the grin still fastened to his mouth.

"Hey, I don't mind. Believe me. Tipsy Beckett is quite sexy."

She huffed and sat up, his large jacket sliding off and exposing her shoulder.

He also sat up, his chest to her back. "I mean, you were all over me tonight." He pressed a kiss against the skin of her exposed shoulder. "At dinner, they way you kept undressing me with your eyes."

"You did that too," she muttered.

"Of course I did. I was fantasizing about getting you out of that sexy dress."

She smiled and turned her body into his.

He pressed another kiss to her skin. "And in the cab, you kept sliding your hand up my thigh and then some."

"And that proves that I was a little drunk?"

He let out a soft laugh. "Well, you rarely behave indecently in public, Beckett." He touched his lips to that spot just beneath her ear.

"Should I remind you of the elevator earlier this evening. You practically had your hand down my pants and you wanted me to, uh, take you against the wall of that elevator. Which I'm taking a rain check on by the way."

She chuckled at that and stood up. "Okay, sure, Rick. You can cash in for the next time I'm a little drunk."

He lit up, following her. "Ha! So you admit that you were a little drunk?"

She rolled her eyes, opening the refrigerator and pulling his jacket tighter around her.

"Okay, maybe I was a little tipsy," she conceded with a lift of her shoulders. "Why does it matter so much?"

He wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Because I like it when you get a little wild, Beckett," he whispered in her ear, pulling her back against him.

She grinned and turned in his arms.

"Oh, Castle, I don't need to get a little drunk to get a little wild and. . . kinky. You should know that by now."

She stepped out of his hold and sauntered off.

"Where are you going?" He asked dumbly, staring at her naked, mile long legs.

"To bed." Before he could rush after her, Kate turned around; something mischievous in her expression. "There are strawberries in the refrigerator. Bring them." Her mouth curved into a sly, cunning smile.

His stomach flipped.

"Oh and don't forget the whipped cream. . . stud."

Best. Anniversary. Ever.

[][][]

I must admit, I can't explain

Any of these thoughts racing through my brain

It's true baby, I'm howlin' for you

A/N: Eeh, it's been a while and I've had my fair share of arguments with the muse. I hope this was... satisfactory.

Thank for all the reviews and support for this story - you are all wonderful, even though I am lousy at updates.

Title - well, we all know this one don't we? Lyrics at the end - 'Howlin' for you', the Black Keys.