Chapter 10 Eskimo Kisses

Playful. That's how he made her feel. Kate wasn't usually this giggly, flirtatious person around anyone unless she was really comfortable with them. Being with Rick felt natural. She was free to be anyone she wanted to be, especially herself. He allowed her to lower the wall that had shielded her heart for so long to reveal the true Kate Beckett. Someone very few people had seen before. When was the last time she had this much fun?

Maybe that's why Kate agreed to this "friends with benefits" relationship. Under normal circumstances, she would never have allowed herself to be a part of such a sleazy liaison. But Rick was fun and that's exactly what she desperately needed. Plus, it would have been too awkward to just forget that they slept together twice. How could they possibly maintain a professional relationship after knowing such intimate details about each other?

She always knew that she was attracted to him, but Kate never wanted to show it. Of course she had a thing for bad boys and Kate had adored Richard Castle because of his books for the longest time. She never expected him to come crashing into her mundane world, once upon a freaky case. Not to mention him sticking around and writing her into his next series of novels as the main character nonetheless. The dedication he wrote to her was the most meaningful thing someone had ever done for her.

However, because of his notorious reputation as a playboy bachelor, Kate declared her feelings for him strictly professional. She kept him at a safe distance and pretended not to care when he kissed Kyra or went out with her friend Maddie, much to her chagrin. Inside, her green-eyed monster was fuming with jealousy but on the outside, she kept up the unfazed disposition that years of being a detective had taught her.

The poker face she developed from playing Texas Hold 'Em sure comes in handy.

So for the time being, she'd just enjoy this… whatever this is. Love the one you're with. And right now she was with Rick Castle, in his bed with their naked bodies intertwined between his Egyptian cotton sheets.

Kate turned to face Rick and watched him sleep. She reached up to touch his face tenderly nuzzling her nose gently along his jawline. Rick's eyes fluttered open, a lazy smile forming on his mouth. Seeing Kate first thing in the morning was quickly becoming one of his favorite parts of the day.

"Hey," he breathed.

"Morning," she smiled back at him.

"Best wakeup call ever," he whispered.

Kate replied by kissing him lightly on the lips. They were slow, sensual kisses meant to be savored. She ended the kiss with their mouths only a breath apart and looked up into his eyes.

"Why do you wake up so early?" Rick asked.

"Hmm…" she pondered. "I guess it's just natural at this point. I got used to waking up early because of police academy. We had to do PT and drills every morning," Kate explained.

"Ah. So it's a Kate Beckett thing."

"Yep. So you'll have to put up with it while I'm here."

Rick didn't mind. It was a small price to pay to be with her.

"Worth it," he said decisively.

A few moments ticked by as they lay together in comfortable silence.

"You know, this is only the second day of us sleeping together. And both times you were slightly intoxicated," Rick frowned, slightly concerned.

He wondered whether her agreement to the "friends with benefits" arrangement was influenced by alcohol.

"This is the third time we've slept together. Yesterday morning I wasn't tipsy," Kate corrected.

"Well, were you too drunk to know what you agreed to last night?" Rick questioned.

Kate tilted her head defiantly. "Of course not. I can hold my alcohol."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, it just loosens me up a little."

"I can tell."

"I could probably drink you under the table," she provoked.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Definitely."

"We'll have to have a competition one day. Poison of choice?"

"Tequila."

Rick raised an interested eyebrow at this newly discovered fact.

"You're a tequila girl?" That would surely be going into the Nikki Heat novels.

"Maybe I am. I like the burning sensation."

"Hmm… tequila makes a girl's clothes fall off. I didn't need any tequila to get your clothes off last night," Rick growled suggestively.

"Haha, very funny," she replied.

"Oh how I enjoy our pillow talks," he mused wistfully.

"Pillow talks?"

"Yeah. You know, we just talk about whatever when we wake up. I kind of like it."

"Pillow talks," she repeated.

"Pillow talks and cuddling."

"I do not cuddle," Kate asserted.

"And what do you call what we're doing right now?" he questioned, referring to their close physical proximity.

He was holding her bare waist with her arm slung over his shoulder, her hand caressing the hair at the nape of his neck.

Kate struggled to come up with an alternate name. "Playful... physical interactions."

"Normal people would call it cuddling," Rick asserted with a knowing smirk.

"No cuddling. Cuddling is for couples. We are not a couple."

"Fine then," Rick pulled her close and pressed his nose to hers. "No cuddling."

She looked into his eyes as they just lay there together, holding each other close with their noses touching.

"You do that a lot," Kate pointed out.

"Do what?"

"Press your nose to mine."

"It's an… Eskimo kiss."

"Eskimo kiss?" she parroted. Being a well-read individual, Rick always had the most random yet relevant facts on hand.

"When you rub your nose against someone else's, it's called an Eskimo kiss. I think Eskimos started doing it because if they kiss with their mouths, they would freeze together because it's so cold where they live. So they settled for Eskimo kisses."

"Eskimo kiss huh? Like this?" She rubbed her nose to his and laughed. God she was cute.

"Learn something new every day," Rick mumbled as he reached over to cup her face and bring his lips to hers again.

"Mmm…" she moaned against his lips as he kissed her. "If you keep kissing me like that, we're never going to get out of bed."

"And what's wrong with that?" he mumbled against her lips.

"Some of us actually have jobs to attend to," Kate sighed, breaking the kiss. "I can't be late to work again today."

"You can and you will," Rick declared firmly.

"Ryan and Esposito are already suspicious of my tardiness."

"If they need you, they'll call. You're not the only homicide detective in New York."

"What am I supposed to tell them later?"

Rick deliberated briefly. "Hmm… you could always tell them the truth."

"I don't want them to know that we're… sleeping together," Kate confessed.

"Why Detective Beckett, are you ashamed of me?" Rick gasped, feigning being affronted.

"Yes," she smirked as she trailed her fingers across his broad chest.

"You are my dirty little secret." She punctuated the words with little taps of alternating fingers walking up the valley of his sternum.

"I say you call in sick and play hooky today. Let the murderers and bad guys of New York run amuck for just one day."

He ran his hands up and down her back, feeling her silky skin under his touch and the ridges of her spine. The soothing motion was making her body melt further into his.

Kate considered his offer. It sounded incredibly tempting, especially coming from the gorgeous guy she was currently not cuddled up to.

"I've never spent all day in bed with someone before…"

"Then after today you can say that you have. Try something new today."

"So we're going to stay in bed all day?"

"If that's what you want."

Kate hummed with contentment. "Let's just lie here for a while longer."

"Anything you want, snookums."

"Snookums?" Kate scrunched her face. "New rule: no pet names."

"What happened to your one rule about no rules?"

"Fine, but you're not calling me snookums," she conceded.

"Buttercup?"

"No."

"Honey bun."

"No."

"Tinkerbelle."

"No!"

"Kitten."

"That's your nickname, isn't it?"

"Kitty-cat. Cat is kind of short for Kate," Rick tried.

"That's even worse."

"Sweetie, angel, baby cakes, muffin, cutie patootie?"

"Now you're just making up ridiculous names."

"Only because you're rejecting them all. How about I just call you Katie?"

She went quiet and thought for a moment. "You know, my dad's the only one who calls me Katie now," she said softly. "My mom used to but after she died, I didn't like other people using that name for me."

"So come up with a better name."

Contemplating his offers, she decided, "I'm fine with you calling me Katie, but I get to call you… Ricky."

"Of course."

Kate leaned into Rick's body and let her eyes close, breathing him in and listening to his heart beat.

"Katie and Ricky," he said dreamily. "Hey, our names rhyme."

"Only if you add the '-ie' sound at the end."

"True."

"We sound like idiots," she muttered into his chest.

"Fools even."

"Even better, we can be fools together."

"See? You can rhyme too."

Kate giggled and snuggled herself further into his arms. This she could definitely get used to. They had been waking up together in the morning for the past week and Kate was getting thoroughly comfortable sleeping in his arms every night.

Their 'pillow talks' and non-cuddling were becoming a daily routine, not that she minded. With him, she was free to be. Free to laugh uncontrollably and talk about stupid things. Free to bend the rules and write their story as they went along. Free to just let go and have some fun.

All that I'm after is a life full of laughter

As long as I'm laughing with you

A/N: Sorry for disappearing on you for two weeks, but I bear bad news. My story is going on hiatus for a bit (no definite dates yet, but at least a month) because I need to finish up my summer homework and other things before I can focus on this fic again. I hope you enjoyed this bit of fluff (kind of OOC), because there's going to be more when I get back. Hopefully, I can find some time during the school year to write, as I have plans in mind for this fic and I just need to sort out my ideas first. See you in the fall ;)