CBs

Chapter 2

Kate returned to the loft after her shift to find it empty, but as she was shedding her coat, her cell buzzed with a text from Castle. "Have a case, but home soon. Bringing dinner. Open a red."

Kate smiled at the screen and went to the kitchen to peruse the offerings in Castle's wine rack. As always, Castle had the red wine that made her insides eager for action, not that she needed much help at that moment. When they'd been on the run, she'd become accustomed to being joined at the hip. It was no longer necessary, but that didn't mean she didn't miss him when he wasn't around, even when she had captainly duties to perform. Lanie wasn't far off the mark when she joked that Kate and Rick had a shared brain. They definitely were better together than apart, even if they were doing something purely platonic. But who wanted platonic anyway? Even though the scars from their capture and torture were still fresh, it was hard to get enough of him. Impossible really. She ran her hands up and down the wine bottle and hoped that the dinner he was bringing home was something they could eat quickly. Pulling a corkscrew from a drawer, she quickly uncorked the bottle.

The minutes seemed to drag, but it wasn't long before Castle showed up laden with moo shu pork, beef with snow peas, spare ribs, rice, and of course fortune cookies. He looked approvingly at the wine glasses on the table and the breathing bottle of red. He filled the crystal goblets, skillfully twisting the bottle to avoid drips. Kate was already opening the carry-out cartons.

Kate was savoring the last of her wine as Castle broke open a cookie and read the slip of paper out loud. "Your days will be full."

"That's certainly true, Babe," Kate opined. "You have two cases to work on now."

"Really one," Castle corrected. "My P.I. case, it's the disappearance of Lily Merchant."

"She's one of the kids on our team case!" Kate realized.

Castle nodded. "Her parents are aware the N.Y.P.D. is looking at the case hard and they know I'm involved, but they wanted more hours put in specifically on their daughter, so they hired me."

"So you're going to concentrate on Lily?" Kate asked.

"In a way, but I'm convinced if we find out what happened to Lily, we'll find out what happened to all the other missing kids."

"Isn't Lily's mother the president of a corporation?" Kate queried.

"She is," Castle confirmed. "Lilysoft Cosmetics."

"That's kind of sweet, she named her company after her daughter."

Castle shook his head and sighed. "Actually it looks like it might have been the other way around. Lilysoft had been around for five years before Lily was born. Ruby Merchant is a very busy lady. I got most of my information from Ted Merchant, the father, while Ruby took calls. Ted was the one who wanted to hire me."

"What does Ted do?" Kate questioned.

"He's a freelance journalist. Lots of domestic stuff. Sort of a male Martha Stewart. He stayed home with Lily when she was younger. We sort of bonded over that. Alexis was the one that first took his call, so he was aware of the whole father-daughter thing."

"So Castle, how are we going to handle this?" Kate wondered. "Are you going to be running your investigation out of your office or the precinct?"

"Both," Castle replied. "Obviously I'll be keeping you and the CBs up on everything I find. First thing tomorrow the housekeeper, Mandy Lewis, is supposed to help me go through all of Lily's things. They're pretty close and Mandy knows where everything is."

Kate pulled on Castle's collar. "What about tonight?"

"Tonight," Castle reminded her, unnecessarily, "you promised me a nap."

"So after we put dinner away shall I get you a bankie?" Kate teased.

Castle quickly scooped up the empty containers and dumped them in the trash. He turned back to Kate and drew her tightly against his groin. "I think we can find something better to hold onto than a bankie."

"I think we can," Kate agreed, taking his hand and leading the way to the bedroom. "I think I have the perfect thing for a nap. I'll be right back." Kate pulled a tiny garment from a drawer and headed for the bathroom.

Castle pulled impatiently at the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt, finally sending one skittering across the floor. The rest of his fastenings gave his anxious hands less of a fight and he was soon stripped down to his boxers.

Kate returned to the room, barely covered in a purple silk teddy with cutouts that teased Castle's vivid imagination, and invitingly pullable white satin ribbons. Castle swallowed. "Isn't that the one you said you didn't need when we were at Surprise Shack?"

"That was the surprise," Kate purred. "I went back and bought it. I couldn't resist the purple."

"You're not the only one who can't resist it," Castle responded. "Come here."

Kate stepped back a couple of inches. "Why don't you come and get me?

Castled covered the distance in record time, scooping her up in his arms and rapidly dumping her on the bed with a bounce, before joining her.

Kate reached for the bulge under his shorts. "And here I thought you needed a nap. You feel pretty alert to me."

"We'll just have to see how much more awake I can get." Castle lifted Kate and pulled her above him to straddle the area under discussion. His mouth found the pouting pink nubs exposed by the peek-a-boo design of Kate's adornment. Pressing against his seeking tongue, Kate slipped her hands beneath his shorts, raising herself to pull them away from his rapidly growing insistence. She could feel the heat of his breath against her breasts as her hand encircled him. Her fingers stroked as his tongue twirled, a rush of blood further exciting what was already exquisitely sensitized. Kate raised herself again, sheathing him as she fell back. Their mouths collided hard, tongues darting and twining. Kate rode him with increasing urgency, her fingers digging into his back. He reached between them to the seat of her desperation, fingers massaging the moist engorgement. He swallowed Kate's moans as she struggled for even more pressure, more friction. At last, her head fell back in a final scream of triumph and his body gave its answer.

For moments they could only breathe, muscles limp with release and exhaustion. Finally they separated, Kate rolling to lie next to Castle. Castle's eyes slowly drifted shut as his breathing became deeper and more even. Kate squirmed uncomfortably against the satin sheet. "What's wrong?" Castle asked drowsily. "Scars from our adventure with Hammett still tender? What we just did beats Pilates all to hell but it was still quite a workout."

"No," Kate admitted. "I feel great, I'm just in the puddle."

Castle tried and failed to suppress a laugh.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Not funny, wonderful. You just sounded so married." Castle edged away to give her room and patted the bed next to him. "Just come sleep on my side. We'll snuggle."

Kate pressed herself against the warmth of his bare skin, her head pillowed on his chest. She sighed contentedly. "This is the only way to finish a nap."