AN: I'm still traveling in Europe; finally on vacation but I'm behind on the latest Castle episodes and currently promo and spoiler-free... and blissfully angst-free in my little corner over here, so pssssst. ;)

#14 Waiting to Exhale

The air flitters with heat, the July sun burning hot onto the pavement, the humidity almost suffocating with each inhale, coating moisture onto every patch of skin. Castle swigs from the bottle of ice water in his hand, loosens the top button of his shirt that clings to him but that offers little respite.

In front of him, Beckett reaches around, groaning in relief as she lifts her thick, long hair off her neck and suddenly he forgets everything, the stifling heat and this seemingly never-ending day; any thought he may have had vacates his brain at the sight of Kate's neck, the pale stretch of skin revealed to him without her curls tumbling down her back. Her shirt seems soft, an airy sort of material that appears almost translucent as it skirts her shoulder blades, lightly dances down the length of her torso.

Her skin shimmers with a thin sheen of perspiration and it heightens her scent, cherry and almond and so unmistakably Beckett that his insides contract almost painfully, his ever-present want for her tugging sharply on his heart. His knees go weak; subconsciously he leans closer, closer to that alluring smooth plane of skin that he wants to taste, put his tongue against, paint the long line of her spine with the swirl of his touch.

Kate shakes her hair a bit, the strands creating a small draft that seems to skitter over her neck, making her sigh in relief and he can't help it, he just can't, he has no resistance left when it comes to her. He takes one more step, drawn to her as if he's pulled by invisible strings, until his body is close to hers, framing her from behind. His eyes are glued to her skin, he can't stop staring and then he leans forward and blows on her neck.

It's an extended, focused exhale that he pushes through his pursed lips, guides over her spine and the slopes of her shoulders, the air brushing along her skin. She shivers with it, inhaling a sharp, audible gasp and then she freezes, standing stock-still.

His heart thunders, leaps into his throat. He didn't think before he'd breeched the invisible line they'd drawn in the sand a long time ago, didn't consider the next step, the repercussions. The need for her is his daily companion, the subtext to his every thought, the thread that runs through every one of his days and he's aching with it, yearning for her like he's never yearned before and it's clouding his judgment.

Her body seems tight, every muscle tensed, almost thrumming with suppressed energy and yet she hasn't moved. She's still here, he realizes through the fog in his brain, standing unmoving before him, almost close enough to embrace. Not running, not scolding, just waiting, waiting.

They're paralyzed, suspended in this timeless moment, held captive by that crackle of energy humming in the air like after a strike of lightning, in that moment when you're waiting for the next thunderclap that you know will come.

He blows onto her skin once more.

Kate comes alive at the first whisper of breath that ghosts along her skin. She groans, drops her head down as he forces the air through his pursed lips, directing the cool bursts below her ears and the long line of her neck. Goosebumps erupt where his breath kisses her skin and his body flushes with heat that has nothing to do with the summer sun.

He follows the shape of her back, skittering his breath over her shoulder blades and the edge where her shirt caresses her skin, focused on cooling her down but enthralled by her every reaction to his proximity, so stunning and alive, and he longs to taste that tender curve of her neck.

Kate wavers on her feet and he grabs her around her hipbones, dropping his water in the process as he holds her steady. She sinks against him, a lithe pliable thing in his embrace. He nudges his nose against her nape, inhaling her enticing scent, her sweet softness and Kate, oh Kate.

He thinks maybe he's said that out loud because she sighs, her voice laced with such longing that it shoots straight to his midsection; her whole body melting against his, thighs and hips and shoulders and wow, she's just... there's no resistance, just softness and sweet need and the realization is staggering, that she's aching, yearning for him just as much. He sinks forward, mouth to her top vertebra, nuzzling her skin, so sweet, her flavor cut by the contrasting tang of salt as he sips a bead of sweat off her skin with the tip of his tongue.

Kate comes up against him, all long lines and supple curves as she presses into him and Castle slides his hands from her hips underneath the edges of her shirt, bracketing her slim waist with his palms; she gasps and belatedly he remembers his chilled fingers from the bottle of ice water he'd held. Her skin is so soft against his fingertips, delicious beneath his lips; he hums into the curve of her neck while he teases his fingers up along the curve of her ribcage, feels her ribs expanding with every breath she takes.

And suddenly she's moving, turning within the parenthesis of his hands until her front aligns with his, and it's almost as if she's clicking into place against him. Her eyelids flutter open, a slow, stunning motion until her eyes are focused on him, bright and an almost translucent green, stealing all the air from his lungs.

Her lips are open, glisten in the golden sunlight and he squeezes her sides, needing her closer, closer, his heart stuttering in his chest. Her fingers grip into his shirt; her gaze flicks to his lips, then back to his eyes before she leans into him and he waits, anticipation thrumming through his veins, his lips tingling with it.

But she lowers her gaze instead, blows a long breath over the hollow of his throat. The cooler air brushes his heated skin and he shivers with it, relief and want and love rising within, her name a desperate plea that falls from his lips.

"Kate..."

And then her lips are on his, soft and hot and delicious, sipping his longing words into her mouth. Her fingers clasped around his neck she rises against him, her tongue meeting his with unleashed need. Her chest brushes against his and he curves a palm over her cheek, his other hand pressed to her back, fingers tripping up and down the arch of her spine as he kisses her in the bright, hot sunshine -

- and she kisses him back.