Chapter 73

The sun was long gone when they rode the subway home to Castle's apartment just over an hour later. They didn't care if they were seen together, because they were always at each other's side anyway and others just accepted it. They skipped the grocery store to go directly home. Beckett made a beeline to his bedroom where she promptly extracted herself out of her boots and clothing. She dressed in yoga pants and one of Rick's t-shirts. By the time she returned to the living room he was on the couch with a beer in his hand. There was another bottle on the coffee table, opened and waiting for Beckett.

She picked up the bottle and clinked it with Rick's.

"Cheers." They simultaneously said. She plopped herself onto the couch beside Castle, folding her legs beneath her.

"You look comfy." He commented.

"I am. Also beat." She had a swig of the beer.

"You look tired," Castle confirmed but smirked with a thought.

"What?"

"Enough sex?" He inquired.

She smiled, "Enough with the sex." But she leaned in to give him a kiss.

"C'mere." He ordered and immediately she came in close and rested against his body. He put his left arm over her shoulders and held her. "No one's home. We have the place to ourselves."

"Where are they?"

"Not sure. They will be home for dinner so I will start preparing that in a bit." He pressed his lips to the side of her head, "Just want five minutes with you."

"That's really sweet, Castle. And we've been together all day."

He laughed. "But you now have my undivided attention."

"Same." She snuggled into him, "My undivided attention."

Castle cooked a pasta sauce for dinner while he had time alone. Time to be the master in his kitchen. It was only when he was boiling the noodles that his mother arrived home and she entered the loft without the usual fanfare as he requested in a text both his daughter and mother had received.

Martha inspected what he had prepared, and observed he didn't seem to be interested in his efforts, "Are you straining those noodles or just my patience?"

"Hmm?" Castle looked between the pot of noodles and his mother again who had taken a spoon tip of sauce from the pot. "Oh, I'm... sorry. Just... This case. I keep thinking that I'm missing something."

"Yeah, me, too." She tasted the food. "Salt. Where is your girlfriend?"

"Napping."

"Shame, because she's a lovely cook." She poured salt, a lot of salt into the sauce then stirred it.

"Whoa. W-whoa." He exhaled in frustration. "Ma! Doh. Can you die from sodium poisoning?"

"Richard. For …." Martha tasted a bit of sauce, screwed up her nose, "Ooh. You have a point."

Rick waved his daughter over when he caught sight of her closing the door. She gave him a questioning look. He pointed at the sofa. She followed his direction then nodded with acknowledgement. At the kitchen counter she took in what was going on.

"Hey, that smells good," she commented but Castle immediately shook his head and mouthed not to eat.

"But..." Alexis tried to figure out her father's communication, "I already ate?"

"Oh, no." Martha said.

"So, did you and Ashley do cheerleading practice?" Castle inquired.

"Uh, no. Turns out, cheerleading conflicts with my fencing schedule, my violin lessons and French Club. Cheerleading is more of a lifestyle, and as much as I like to visit, it's not really a place I'd like to live."

Martha lightly touched her son's shoulders. "I told you she'd figure it out."

"Well, we both learned a valuable lesson today." Castle said, "You learned that you can expand your horizons and grow. I learned that if that involves short skirts and boys, I'm not gonna like it."

Alexis replied, "Fair enough."

Martha said, "Fine. Now that you've both learned your lessons, how about starting on something else?"

Castle said, "I think we're done. We're gonna need a fire hose to clean this up."

"Someone else cleans up." Martha said as she commenced to leave the kitchen.

Rick paused and repeated mostly to himself, "Clean up. Shit. How didn't I…" He turned off the stove top, rushed out of the kitchen to the living area. Hands to the back of the couch he leaned over to find Beckett who was still asleep. He couldn't for the life of him figure out how she slept through the noise of his family. Cautiously and very gently he touched her shoulder using his fingertips, "Honey?"

"What is it, Castle?"

His hand was quickly retracted. Nope, she didn't sleep through their noise. "Um. Who washed the pillowcase?"

Beckett opened her eyes, blinked, bewildered, "What?"

Castle swept strands of hair from her eyes. "God you're cute." With a bit of a jiggle, he raised a hand and pointed towards his bedroom as he whispered, "Do you think-"

"Castle." She cut in. She wriggled to her back so she faced him better. She reached for his forearm to lower it. "No. We already done that. Pillowcase?"

He shot her a look of frustration. She shot him back her look.

"Okay." He agreed in resignation. "Well, Esposito said earlier that CSU didn't find anything until they stripped the bed."

"Keep going."

"Well, doesn't that mean there was saliva on the pillow, but not on the pillowcase?" He fell silent and waited.

Beckett thought about it, then her eyes brightened. "Oh my God. You're right." She slumped her head against the cushion, "Someone washed the fucking pillowcase."

"Yes."

"But hang on, Babe." She sat up. "The washer-dryer cycle would've taken at least an hour. I go to a yoga class when-"

Castle nodded, "Yes. At which point, the roommate would've been home."

"Irena couldn't have gotten out in time."

"No," he agreed, "Only one person could've cleaned the apartment."

"Shit." She breathed out, long and hard in thought, "Its late, Castle," she groaned. "Everyone's home." Heels of her hands rubbed her eyes. "Fuck. I should…"

"Its late and she has no idea we're on to her." He checked his watch, then patted the back of the couch, "Yep. We'll sort it out in the morning. You hungry?" The question was rhetorical. He knew she was hungry solely by her choice of words.

She looked to him, and nodded, "A little."

"Don't eat the pasta," he whispered.

She looked in the general direction the kitchen where Martha was cleaning up. "Is it that bad?"

"Not if you like salty food."

"Oh." She screwed up her nose in distaste, "I might skip. I thought you cooked." She whispered.

"Mother decided to join in."

"Oh." Beckett watched as Martha gave up the cleaning. She quietly left the kitchen and headed towards the stairs. "Castle?"

"Mm?"

"Your Mom." She gave a nod and instantly Rick followed her cue.

"Oh yeah. Exit left of the stage."

A laugh escaped her. "I'll make myself something." She hopped off the couch.

"I have an avocado for you." He suggested as he sidled up to her on their way to the kitchen. An arm dropped over her shoulders and he brought her close, gave the side of her head a kiss. "You stay here tonight and we'll book em tomorrow."

"It will give me time to get my evidence together." She replied glancing to the ceiling when thumping came from it.

"Alexis running to the bathroom."

"Oh."

"May I suggest avocado on toast?"

The lips pressed together in thought. "You know, I'm not that hungry, Rick. I might," She waved an arm towards the bedroom. "Head off to bed. Maybe read a book."

"Okay. I will finish up in the kitchen and meet you there."

She smiled, a hint of a secret showing in her eyes.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing, Castle."

"Not nothing Castle. What?"

"I will see you in the bedroom writer boy." She patted his chest with her palm, kissed his left cheek then sauntered off towards the office doorway. Half way across the room she paused, looked back over her left shoulder with a seductive smile then kept on going.

He saw everything and pointed when he noticed she was going to trip in to the armchair. "Watch it, Baby."

She spun back, and destabilized her balance as she stepped to avoid the furniture. "Whoops!" A giggle escaped her. A hand sought the arm of the chair to rescue her balance.

"You're gonna kill me." He called after her and she hopped into the office. "Sexy and clumsy."

"Hurry, Castle." She enticed.

When he couldn't see her anymore, Castle resumed tidying up the kitchen for the night. He allowed her about 10 minutes to have her nightly shower and to prepare for bed. The house lights were turned off and he retired to the bedroom, comfortable the home was secure and his women were all in their respective beds. The moment after he closed the door of the bedroom, he looked up to see Beckett sitting in the arm chair on her side of the bed.

"Holy fuck!" He stopped dead. She rose from the chair. His eyes widened. "You did that in ten minutes? Striking." He'd last seen Kate wearing one of his shirts, yoga pants and hair tied up not that long ago. "Impressive."

She laughed. "That's not the reaction I was anticipating, but, yes, I did."

"Geezus." He soaked in the sight of the long legged woman. She was attired in long black boots. A one piece of lingerie in black lace. She'd straightened her shoulder length hair and her make up was equal to that, if not better than Lady Irena's. The position she held wasn't much different to when she was about to make an arrest.

From her fingers dangled two pairs of Police issue cuffs. It turned him on.

"Mmm. Very nice indeed." He glanced at his watch, pressed his lips together. He gave the watch a light tap as he hinted. "But it's kinda gettin' late to be getting out the cuffs."

"What?" Beckett dropped her pose. She peered down her own body in what seemed like pure disbelief.

It took everything he had not to laugh at her disappointment, to remain supposedly serious.

"I dress up like this and you want to go to sleep?"

"Well, yeah." He nodded. Teasing her was one of his favorite things to do.

The large eyes had darkened as she ordered with distinctive Police authority. "Take off your clothes."

"Whoa." He reacted slowly, as though he was really thinking through his choices. With reluctance, he kicked off his shoes, left then right. She gave the cuffs a bit of a rattle, drawing his attention to him.

"Step it up, Ricky."

He grunted. "What had you got planned, Katie?"

She suppressed a smirked, barely. "I'm cuffing you to the bed."

"Oh. Kinky." He threw his jeans to the chair on his side of the bed. Socks followed.

"Mm." She agreed. "Then we will let Lady Beckett come out to play."

"Mm." A grunt of wariness followed. "I had a feeling that comment was gonna come back to bite me on the ass." He kept his eyes on the black lingerie.

The right eyebrow shot up in interest. "Only your ass?"

"You have somewhere else in mind?" He lifted off his t-shirt and threw it to the pile. He was down to his boxers and glancing down he saw it was blatantly obvious he was sexually aroused by his damn hot partner in her devilishly black clothing.

"You will have to wait and see."

"How did you get those boots here?"

"Sneaked them in. They've been here a few days."

"Well that was a surprise. Where were they?" He struggled to think of a place she had hidden them.

"Never you mind."

"They go all the way…." He cleared his throat. "They go for a long way."

"They do. Good for winter with my black jeans." Her expression was of arrogance, that she'd got away with something which was a rare thing. He didn't miss much.

He saw her take a sneaky glance of his groin, saw the slight curve of her lips. Somehow she managed to restrain herself, to not break her role play.

"You can take off the rest." He stated as he flicked the elastic waist of his silk boxer shorts.

"Cocky." She commented.

"Always."

"I mean your boxers."

Another glance at his boxers to see Foghorn was printed on the blue material. He gave her a quirky smile. "My girlfriend bought me these. Got a Coyote pair too."

"I'll take them off you."

"You have to if you want your present. Your present is inside them."

"Present?"

"Perhaps more a treat, so long as you don't bite it too hard."

A burst of laughter was suppressed with a harsh clamp on the bottom lip. That tickled her. Attempts to play a dominant were a failure. Totally adorable.

Then she pointed at the bed.

"Alright. On the bed, supine." She commanded, quite successfully.

He assessed the bed, the cuffs. "I would prefer prone."

"Prone?"

"I don't want to watch."

"Supine." She replied. "On the bed now."

Rick had a plan. She was looking too damn hot for him to be restrained. Exhibiting reluctance and lack of interest even if his body was responding how Kate had expected, he made his way to the bed.

"Middle of the bed." Beckett ordered.

On his back, he waited. Confident her routine was going to plan, Beckett straddled Castle and cuff in her right hand. The moment she reached for his right arm he snatched the moment.

In a split second, he flipped them.

Kate squealed in surprise.

Inside seconds, he was dominant, her wrists were cuffed and he had her pinned to the bed.

"There we go," he said with a lot of satisfaction. "Master Castle is in the house." He smiled down at her wide eyes and brushed hair out of her eyes.

"How did you do that?" She struggled against the cuffs, against his weight.

"My signature move, Baby." He grinned. "You are in so much trouble."

"Fuck." He mumbled, blindly reaching for the phone. He hit the snooze. "Frigging time to get up already."

"No." She groaned in total denial.

"Snooze." He flopped his head back down to the pillow. "Like fucking groundhog day."

"More tired today," she muttered.

Rick rolled over towards Kate, his eyes closed, "Ten more minutes." As usual, he drew the body to him, kissed her bare shoulder, felt his way down her ribs, over her pelvis. "Still naked." He muttered, "Sweet."

Her fingers clamped over his hand, putting the brakes on his destination, and she growled.

"Baby." He barely whispered.

"Sleep."

Half hour later . . .

"Da-aadd?" His daughter yelled.

Rick's eyes opened. "Shit."

"Beckett!"

He lifted his head, concerned his daughter was about to enter the bedroom. The room scattered with evidence of their middle of the night affairs. Alexis knew the rules. Understood if a girlfriend stayed over the bedroom was off limits until he signaled she could enter.

"Dad! Are you awake?"

"Coming Alexis." He took a deep breath. "Fuck, I'm already knackered." His hand gave Beckett's hip a squeeze hard enough to wake her. She didn't respond. "Beckett. You need to wake up."

"No."

"We've slept in."

"How long?"

"Umm. Almost a half hour."

Beckett sat up. She grabbed her phone to check the time. "Fuck. Gotta go."

She was gone directly to the bathroom. Rick flopped back down a hand resting to his chest. He didn't have to rush off to the Precinct. Seconds later Beckett flew back into the bedroom. She collected the long black boots, threw them on the bed and hissed.

"Hide them."

He lifted his head, peered at the boots an eyebrow raised, then looked at her naked, beautifully bare girlfriend, "Why don't you re-hide them wherever it was you hid them."

Kate pointed firmly in the general direction of the living room as she whispered assertively, "Do you want your teenage daughter scarred for life?"

He laughed out loud. "Oh baby, I've already scarred her enough for life. I will hide them, and the cuffs, and the lingerie. Get in the shower."

She gave a grunt of objection, but seeing what the time was, she rushed off to the bathroom to shower.