Sorry for the long delay but life has been hectic and I fit in writing when I can but not as much as I would like. Thank you for the reviews. I honestly get excited about receiving the comments and encouragement. This story is what I would like to read so I'm creating it and hope that you continue to enjoy it.

Chapter 71

The alarm woke them at 6.15 am. Castle blindly found the phone and tapped the snooze, then rolled over to find the feminine body he had totally ravished and then some, for most of the night. That warm bundle of body released a sound of contentment when he wrapped his arm around her. He dragged her body to him, kissed her shoulder.

"More sleep," she mumbled.

"Ten minutes." He agreed.

"Mm." She snuggled in to his body.

Ten minutes later….

Rick slapped the snooze button, then hugged into Kate. "Ten more minutes."

"Mm."

Forty minutes later….

Beckett managed to arrive at work before the Captain, only by a matter of minutes. Castle followed her through the door. They had decided to go into together by the subway and he stopped by a coffee store to buy extremely needed coffees. Before the team arrived, she sat at her desk holding the coffee cup like it was the only sustenance that would keep her alive. She needed to wake up. The bull pen was quiet. The night shift had left but the day shift weren't in.

"How much sleep did we get?" Castle softly asked, nursing the bridge of his nose.

"Not much." She replied just as quietly, using her mouse to wake up the computer. She was sleepy and she looked at him. "I had so much fun." She whispered her confession.

He looked up. "Me too. Best time with you."

"Lose track of time."

"We certainly did last night." He sat back in his chair thinking about their night together. When they hadn't been making love, they'd talked. A midnight snake of cheese, fruit and cracker, washed down with sips of expensive wine, and intimate conversations during which Kate had shared things with him, exposed her desires, what she wanted in the future. She'd been physically affectionate, constantly fondling or caressing him, treating him in a way no other woman ever had. He hadn't wanted it to stop. Had wished the night would last longer.

Naps had been repeatedly interrupted by either of them waking the other to make love.

As the universe had shown the first hints of dawn, she had drifted off to sleep telling him she longed to be with him next time he went on a book tour trip. He thought she'd been on the edge of telling him she loved him, but sleep had taken over.

He was beat this morning but happy. Content. Very content.

He too recognized that Kate had woken as a happy woman. She was weary but she was happy.

Hazel eyes stared at him, bringing him from his thoughts.

"What?" He inquired interested in why she had a soft expression.

She timidly glanced away.

"Tell me." He pressed with a quiet voice and watched her cheeks brighten.

She waved her hand in the negative. "Can't." She whispered. Instead she looked at him and touched over her heart. "Last night." She whispered.

Rick couldn't help but smile, "I'm breaking through huh? More than anyone has before."

Her smile faded but her fingers unconsciously played with the ring that always hung around her neck. It wasn't the right time for her to be without that ring or the watch, but given time, he understood she would one day want what she felt in the presence tense rather than holding on to the past. Her eyes glanced around the bull pen then rested on his blue eyes. She studied him.

"The first night I've ever done that."

Rick gave a nod, fiddled with his coffee cup unable to think up a suitable response, so much in thought he barely hear her whisper.

"It scares me."

His eyes shifted from the cup as she continued.

"It makes me feel things inside."

Speechless, unable to breathe, he waited. She fell silent and turned to face her computer when a couple of detectives stepped out of the elevator.

For several seconds Rick looked at the detectives, suited up and shaved, then returned to his coffee cup.

"Don't be scared of us." He said quietly then looked at her, noting she had paused, "Don't ever be scared of what we have."

"That we will lose it."

Esposito held up a couple of large photos of a man in his mid thirties for Castle and Beckett to inspect. "These were in Jessica's material."

"Mm." Beckett scanned the photos and waited for Esposito to continue.

"He's one of Jessica's subjects," he said. "She calls him 'sam-I-am'."

"Is that because he has a Dr. Seuss fetish?" Castle asked.

Ryan shook his head and took over, "No. It's because he's a SAM, a smart-assed masochist," he explained, "And according to her notes, a SAM pretends he wants to be submissive, but what he actually wants to do is dominate his Mistress, usually with passive-aggression."

Esposito picked up, "Instead of asking for what he wants, he makes a game out of making other people upset so they can be punished."

Beckett looked at Castle in question, "Really? There's people like that?"

Castle gave a nod.

"Only these SAMs can be dangerous." Ryan said, "Sometimes resorting to threats to provoke their response."

Beckett who had picked up a piece of paper left on the corner of her desk, that she read, said, "Listen to this. "He said Mistress Venom was the one who needed to be punished. He said he was going to find her, tie her up and drown her, but in something... sweet, like caramel." She looked to the three men with widened eyes.

"What?" Castle prompted seeing she had an idea.

"I think we've found our way of getting Lady Irena to hand over the client list." She looked to the Captain's office, happened to catch his attention and promptly waved him to come out.

Montgomery wandered out to join the group and viewed the murder board and the photos Ryan pegged to the board of SAM.

Castle filled him in on where they were at, finishing up with the belief that their SAM man had the key to getting them the right to obtain a subpoena. Montgomery quickly read the notes Jessica had left about her SAM client.

Montgomery passed the paper back to Beckett as he said, "Sexual obsession and a description of the crime scene. Sounds like our guy to me."

"Yeah, but we only got a nickname," Esposito replied.

"We have more than a nickname." Montgomery pointed at the photo of the unidentified male, "We have enough to force Lady Irena to turn over her client list." He gave Beckett the nod. "Get Judge Markway on the phone and see if you can get his signature."

"Yes, Sir." Beckett swung in her chair to commence preparation of the paperwork.

Castle said to the group, "Ooh. Sounds like someone's gonna get punished." He stood up. "I'll go make more coffee."

"Great idea." Beckett replied.

Touching on lunch time, the team gathered in the observation room at the Precinct, all of them captivated by the man who waited in the interrogation room. Expensive haircut, expensive sharp suit, manicured nails, a body that was toned by hours in the gym. He oozed education and money and vanity. It was not only his appearance that had them intrigued. It was who he was on their short list of suspects.

Beckett buzzed with anticipation but she didn't make a comment about how she felt, what she thought. She simply and subtly chewed on a piece of gum and observed. Castle sensed her mood.

On the surface, the man who sat in wait appeared to be in control and calm but he unconsciously fiddled with the desk, studied his fingernails, or looked about his immediate surroundings. He stood and commenced to walk the room.

Esposito broke the silence in the viewing room, "William Caraway, aka Sam-I-am. He is the senior vice president at Stewart, Cabot and Sagansky."

Castle raised an eyebrow in surprise as he queried, "The global consulting firm?"

"Mm-hmm." Esposito replied.

"No wonder Lady Irena was protecting his identity." Castle commented and turned his attention to Beckett who took a deep breath of focus. She disposed of the gum in a nearby trash can then commenced to migrate out of the viewing room to the interrogation room.

"Castle, why don't you sit this one out?" She suggested as she commenced to connect the zipper on the leather jacket she wore, "I think Mr Caraway will respond better to a strong... female hand."

"Sure." He replied.

"Let's see what he has to say, shall we?" She promptly zipped up her jacket right up to her neck which caused Castle to smile. The way she had done up the zipper had aroused him. She left the room.

"Shit." He stated, "That was fucking hot what that woman just did."

"Mmm. But that's Beckett you're talking about." Ryan said.

"Yeah. So? She's modelled." He carefully said glancing between the men. They stared at him. "What?" His eyes widened.

"Dude, you touch her man… and she gets hurt…"

"I know Espo. I'm clear on that."

The men turned back to the glass and waited. After a about ten seconds Castle muttered, "Sam-I-am... in a box.."

Beckett stepped into the room and firmly closed the door. She wore her gloves, stood erect her jaw set in a serious matter.

Esposito smirked, "With a fox."

Castle released a growl that morphed into wicked laughter. "Oh geez, guys. We're gonna need some popcorn."

"I'm not missing out on a second of this to go get popcorn." Esposito replied. "Beckett as a Dominatrix?"

Castle cleared his throat, momentarily catapulted back to fun times tied to the bed with Beckett in control.

"I'm sure she'll be good at this," he managed to say.

"Beckett would make an excellent Dominatrix." Esposito said, which caused Castle to turn his head to look at him.

"I'm never going to admit I heard you say that." He pointed at Beckett. "She'll kill you." He looked back into the interrogation room. "But I reckon you might be right, after all, she bosses us around all day long."

The boys snickered.

A step inside the Interrogation room Beckett stopped, stood as tall and erect as she could and stared Caraway down. He didn't so much as acknowledge her which pissed her off just a little. She could make a safe bet the guys were dying to see how she approached this. She firmly ordered, "Sit."

Caraway turned to face her, took her in from head to boot and back up, and with a tone of authority he asked, "First why don't you tell me why the hell I'm here? I got a board meeting –"

"I said sit down... now!" Beckett demanded.

In the viewing room three men snickered.

"Exclamation mark." Castle commented.

"Whoo… Look at her go!" Esposito exclaimed.

"Yeah. Happy it's not directed at me for once." .

They watched Caraway sit upon the chair he had previously vacated.

"Good boy." Beckett firmly praised, as she approached the desk, He was upright, shoulders back, expectant. "Your Mistress would be very proud of you."

Caraway's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"Mistress Venom." Beckett said, "Lady Irena's House of Pain." She sat on the chair opposite him, observed him for a moment or two.

"You like to be tied up," she stated. "You like to be spanked, but more than anything, you like to make threats." She stared at him in an intimidating manner.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Caraway instantly replied.

Beckett leaned in, "There is no dominatrix-client privilege in New York." She gave him a moment for that to sink into his consciousness. She lowered her voice, "And your Mistress was very thorough in documenting your deepest, darkest desires." She glanced to her notes then looked up at him, "The thing with the matches. How you liked it messy."

"She wrote that down?"

"You sound surprised." Beckett said, "She also wrote how you wanted to turn the tables on her, how you threatened to tie her up and drown her in caramel."

"I-it's fantasy."

"Fantasy…" Castle echoed inside the viewing room. "My fantasies don't include sticky substances." He murmured.

"You know we can hear you." Ryan hinted.

"I know." He replied and closely observed Beckett. "And she's being a tease." He watched her move in a mildly suggestive manner. She'd been the focus of his attention many a time now. The moods, the mannerisms, her voice, her tones and subtext were also ingrained within him now. He knew when she was unhappy, contemplative, playful or when she was being seductive. She was exceptional at it, day and night.

"Excellent management." Ryan remarked.

Inside the interrogation room Beckett continued, "But the fantasies weren't enough, were they? And so, you had to make your dreams come true." She brought a photo from her folder, held it up to show him an image of the crime scene of the deceased woman.

Caraway looked at the photo. His eyes widened, he leaned forward, disgust replacing the shame over his face. "No, that's not possible." He looked at Beckett.

"The more she said no, the more you became obsessed." Beckett said, "You didn't want to be the submissive. You wanted to dominate her, and the ultimate domination is murder."

He shook his head in the negative, retreating from the photo, "No, I swear. I didn't even know she was dead."

"You were very specific in your threats, and that's exactly how we found her." The detective stated. She gave the sheet of photo paper a little shake. "Do you really expect me to believe that this wasn't you?"

Reality set in with the panic that he was being framed, set up, accused of something he didn't do. He wiped his face, flustered. "Well-well, someone must have found out. Someone could've read her notes."

Beckett sat back observing him. She decided to get to the point. "Where were you two nights ago?"

He leaned back in sort of what seemed a decent state of worry.

"Mr Caraway. Where were you?"

The man frowned, and replied with resignation, "I was with my wife. It was our anniversary."

In the viewing room, Rick smiled in disbelief. "What?" He glanced from Beckett to Ryan. "No way." He saw Kate wave her left hand in the air, a signal. "Espo, she wants the wife called."

"I'll get onto it." He turned to leave the viewing room.

"She's gonna keep at him. Wife will kill him when she finds out why Espo has called," Castle commented.

"She will." Ryan agreed.

Castle leaned against the window sill with Ryan closing in closer him.

Beckett continued her questioning, her voice flowing into the viewing room via a small wall speaker, "What did you do with your wife?"

"We had a party. Small group of friends at a place a block from our home."

"Mr Caraway," Beckett tapped at the photo on the table between them and instantly looked at is as she continued, "This is very specific to what Jessica described in her notes."

"Her name was Jessica?" He asked with empathy.

Beckett gave a nod. "Yes. She was engaged and studying. She had a future." She sat back sensing there was no point in pressing this man further. It might have been Caraway's twisted fantasy how the victim had been murdered, but Beckett's gut was telling her he had nothing to do with Jessica's murder. She looked at him as she stood up. "Please excuse me for a moment."

As Beckett stepped in to the corridor, Castle came from the viewing room. They faced each other.

"Good job," he said, and tugged at the zipper of her jacket. "Espo has gone to phone the wife."

"Cool." She pulled the zipper right down undoing the jacket. "I will tell Ryan to cut him loose. He didn't do it."

"Sure?"

"Mm. Gut tells me he's been set up."

"Okay. Ryan is still in there." He pointed at the viewing room door.

Kate glanced about to ensure no one could see or hear them. "Hey Castle?" She whispered and stepped closer.

"Mm?" He looked down at her face his eyes anticipating, expected. Fuck, she was cute when she put on the seduction, when she bit her bottom lip. She had a mischievous look and her eyes glistened as she glanced between his eyes and lips.

"Umm. Do you think we could have lunch at my place?" She spoke only loud enough for him to hear.

His eyes immediately widened as his brain lit up with what she was referring to, and his glanced at the time. "For sure."

She gave him a devilish smile and whispered, "I have an idea." And with that she reached to the door way of the viewing room and said with a commanding voice, "Hey Ryan, could you let him go and meet us at the murder board please."

"Sure, Beckett. He didn't do it, did he?"

She shook her head in the negative.

A few minutes later Castle and Beckett were at her desk waiting for Esposito to get off the phone. When he did finish the call to Mrs Caraway, she said, "His wife confirms it. He was with her at the anniversary party all night." He shook his hand like he'd touched a hot frypan, "Dude, is that man in trouble."

Castle laughed, "Oh yeah." He turned his attention to Beckett, "I wonder what you'd be like as a pissed off girlfriend."

"You wouldn't want to find out." She replied calmly, then gave him a look that caused Esposito to laugh.

"Don't go there, Castle."

As Beckett contemplated the information they had at hand, she planted a look on Esposito that had him retreat, then she picked up the photo and tapped it. "This staging, Castle, it was way too specific to be just a coincidence. Somebody knew." She looked at Castle, waited for him to think.

"Are you suggesting there is a third person that knows his fantasy?" Rick queried, while his brain rattled away for a story that wasn't coming.

Esposito who had leaned against the desk suggested, "Maybe she told someone."

"Or maybe someone had access to the research." Castle said, "Filing cabinet's not Fort Knox. Anyone with access would've read exactly what we read and could use it to throw us off their trail."

Beckett sat up, "Okay." She looked at Esposito, "Can you and Ryan go back to the dungeon. See if any of the girls swap stories after work. Meanwhile, Castle and I will go to the university and see who had access to her research."

Esposito said, "Okay."

"See you back here in a couple of hours." She glanced to Rick silently telling him it was time to go. They both rose from their seats and Kate grabbed the phone and the car keys.