Surprise, I managed to get this chapter ready sooner than I expected.
There's a little more smut ahead, I'll mark it just like in the previous chapter.
I don't have much more to say. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and you know I always appreciate feedback!
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Kate awoke to a cold shiver wandering over her body from the cold air hitting her skin. With fluttering lids, she opened her eyes, needing a second to process where she was. The tent was lit up by the first light of the sun slowly rising behind the hill, shining through the fabric of the tent. Now she remembered where she was. Her gaze fell to her hand resting on Castle's chest, rising and sinking slowly in the rhythm of his breaths. Memories of the last night came flooding back to her mind. His hands on her body in the dark, his breath on her skin, how he wrapped her tightly in his arms after she had let her walls come down.
A feeling of panic flickered in her chest. Now, every chance to ever go back to what had been their normal was gone. Now, she would have to face all the changes she had decided to accept just to be able to give in to the overwhelming feeling of desire to be with him. Well, it actually hadn't been a conscious decision. All of it had somehow just... happened. Maybe she should have fought harder. Maybe all of this wouldn't work out and ruin everything. Maybe it would hurt her more than the yearning had ever done. A quick thought of wanting to run away from everything she would have to face crossed her mind.
He took a deep breath beside her, a little snoring mixing into it, making her smile. She had promised him she wouldn't leave. And she didn't want to. With a furrowed brow, she raised her head from his shoulder, looking at him as the chaos in her head roared on. He was still fast asleep, his features so calm and relaxed that they seemed to be the exact opposite of what had to be written all over her face. Taking in his face, she slowly felt the cold feeling in her chest melting. He looked so innocent, he almost reminded her of a child, but not for the reasons he often did. She couldn't resist reaching out her hand to touch his face. There was no way she wanted to destroy that peace by being a coward and backing out.
No, now was the time to finally be brave and face whatever would become of them. And maybe it wouldn't hurt, maybe it would bring both of them the happiness they had been searching for. As softly as she could, she placed a kiss on his cheek. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but he didn't wake up. Smiling, she kissed his face again. His cheek, the stubble on his chin and throat, down his chest. With every kiss, the touch of her lips grew firmer as she felt desire rising in her core again.
She knew he had woken up when he ran his fingers through her hair, stroking it away from her face. Looking up at his face, she saw his expression mixed with disbelief and amazement. When she softly smiled at him, he smiled back and pulled her up to him. Kissing him slowly but deeply, she swung one leg over his body, suddenly not feeling cold at all anymore, even though her naked body was now completely exposed to the crisp morning air.
Letting her hips wander down, his hands stroked over her back, and when she hit his groin, she could feel how his body was immediately reacting to her. For her, it was the same. She could feel the need from last night arising fast again. She brushed her center against his pelvic bone in slow little circles, and he softly moaned into her mouth. Kate released his lips and bit hers as she sat up straight. Gasping at the view, he treid to process what he saw. She was more beautiful than he had ever imagined. He trailed his hands over her body, completely in awe of her. His hands seemed to easily remember the feeling of her body under them, but now he tried his best to memorize the images, too.
She shifted back a bit more and raised her hips just far enough to take him into her hand and lead him to her entrance once more. Both of them fought to keep their eyes open and their voices silent as she sunk down on him, her walls stretching to take him in. Seeing the pure lust on his face, Kate knew this wouldn't last long for either of them. She rocked her hips back and forth, having him hit back deep into her again and again.
His hands desperately roamed over her body as he stared at her, his mouth slightly opened, and his brow furrowed with concentration to hold back his groans. Squeezing her breasts and running his thumbs over her nipples, hardened by the cold and arousal, he almost couldn't take it anymore. He threw back his head, closing his eyes in a last try to fight back his climax. She couldn't suppress a smile. She wouldn't allow him to hold back. Speeding up her movements, she leaned back a bit to let him reach a little deeper.
His hands firmly held onto her hips, pushing her down on him as she felt his body tensing under hers, a choked little sound escaping his throat no matter how hard he fought it. Relieved, she leaned her head back as she allowed her own climax to take over. It took her a few more rubbing movements against his body, and as she came, she could feel him looking at her face, her brow deeply furrowed, and her lips parted, desperate to call his name.
She muffled the sound in the back of her throat just as Coarly's wake-up call roared over the clearing."Get up, everyone! Sleeping in is over!"
Low, frustrated groans could be heard from here and there as the people got torn out of their sleep. Kate looked down at Castle with a beaming smile, and he felt like he was melting into a puddle underneath her. She ran her hands over his chest and bent down to kiss him. Pulling her in, he rolled them over as he let the kiss grow deeper and deeper. He was more than ready to go again, but the noises of people getting up and out of their tents grew louder around them, so he stuck with enjoying another long kiss.
Reluctantly, he pulled away, a soft smile on his face as he stroked the hair from her face. He wished for nothing more than to make this moment last, but in the back of his mind, he knew they would have to get up and out of the tent soon. Taking in every detail of her face, her flushed cheeks, and the glim in her eyes for a moment longer, he sighed softly.
Fear that once they got out of the tent, this new fragile bubble they had built around them would burst, and they might not find a way back into it formed in his mind. Yes, a lot had changed in the last twenty-four hours. But would that be enough to make it last?
The lack of time and space to talk about it made it even worse. He wanted to ask her how she felt about this, what it meant to her, but he couldn't. They were surrounded by people, curios ears and eyes, not giving them a chance to figure out the meaning of the last night.
But when Kate reached up her hand to cup it around his cheek, softly brushing her thumb over the stubble that had grown on his face, he felt hope overpowering his fear. This couldn't possibly be a one-night thing. No, not the way she looked at him and with how their dynamics had changed since they arrived at the camp.
He bent down to steal a last, soft kiss, just in case, and then pushed himself up. Without a word, he started to get dressed, and she did the same. The silence wasn't uncomfortable; it just felt like no words fit the situation when all they wanted to talk about was what happened.
Castle was ready to leave the tent before Kate was. But before he pulled open the zipper, he turned to her once more, finding her gathering her hair up to tie it into a ponytail. He wished she wouldn't. Shifting back to get close enough to reach her, he absentmindedly reached out his hand and cupped it around the back of her head before she had time to tie her hair together.
She let it fall down again to wrap her arms around his neck as he pulled her in for another kiss. Combing his fingers through the soft brown curls, he leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, "You're beautiful."
He said it so quietly that he was sure no one outside the tent could hear it. And if someone did, he almost wouldn't care. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but this was the least he had to tell her.
A smile spread over her lips, and crimson crept up her cheeks, making her blush in the most tempting way to push her back down to the mattress again and pretend the world outside this tent didn't exist anymore.
But he couldn't. Instead, he forced himself to slowly let go of her and back up to the tent's exit. Looking back at her once again, he finally pulled firmly at the zipper, and immediately, the crips air hit him, a stark contrast to the muffy air inside the tent.
The fresh air felt sobering, but at the same time, he didn't like how it seemed to wash away the feeling of her on his skin. He promised himself to do everything he could, only to get that feeling back as soon as possible.
He left her behind to fix her hair and breathe away the flush on her cheeks, and casually made his way over to the sanitary cabins. It wouldn't be easy to pretend everything was still the same as yesterday when he actually felt like his whole world had turned upside down, and the center of it was only a few feet behind him, now slowly climbing out of the tent as well.
But she didn't have to tell him that what happened last night was supposed to stay a secret. He knew that himself and wouldn't want it any other way, at least for now. A part of him wanted to climb up to the mountains on the other side of the lake and yell his love for her into the world. But the other, bigger, part wanted to protect what had just started to form between them at all costs.
And the best way he could do that was by pretending it didn't happen as long as there were people watching. He could win them some time to gain safety about what it was, and he knew Kate would most probably need more time than him. But he was okay with that. He would be okay with anything as long as she would give this a chance.
He longed for an opportunity to ask her if she would. Doubt wanted to take over, but he refused to let it. She would. And it would turn out to be the best thing to ever happen to him. He wouldn't let himself believe anything else until he got to talk to her.
Coming back out of the cabin, he strolled over to the fireplace but didn't sit down since the trunk he would usually sit on was still wet from last night's rain. Most of the other people seemed to think the same and started eating their breakfast standing up.
Deciding he should get something to eat, too, he walked over to the cabin and poured himself a cup of instant coffee. He considered it for a second, then he poured a second cup, grabbed a pack of crackers, and walked back to the trunk.
His thoughts had wandered off to last night, and images of her and memories of how she had felt and moved flashed through his mind. Absentmindedly, he sat down and forcefully got pulled out of his daydream when the cold wetness soaked through his pants.
"Shit!" He exclaimed, jumping up again, spilling the hot coffee over his hands.
Hissing, he sat the cups down on the trunk and wiped his hands on his pants. Mumbling swears under his breath, he didn't notice her walking up to him. But when he did and looked up at her, he found her smiling at him, and suddenly, he didn't feel the cold on his backside or the burn on his hands anymore.
God, he was so much in love with her. It was ridiculous.
"I.. um.. I.." He stammered, shaking his head at himself. Like he hadn't just spent the night with her, he just stared at her like an idiot lost for words, his mind blank. "I brought you a coffee." He finally forced out.
Kate's gaze shifted to the half-empty cups on the trunk, and her smile turned into an amused grin. "Thank you," Kate mumbled and picked up one of the cups, bringing it to her lips and taking a sip. When she let the cup sink again, she trailed the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip, her eyes still fixed on his.
His jaw fell open when he noticed the teasing spark in her eyes. He had to physically shake his head to get his attention away from her lips and the thoughts of what he would like to do with them. He straightened back up and narrowed his eyes at her little smirk.
She knew exactly what she was doing, and she enjoyed it. He would be lying to himself if he said he didn't, too.
But that definitely wouldn't make it any easier to get through the rest of this trip without giving away what was going on in his mind and between them. He grabbed the other cup and turned away from her to find something else to look at, something to distract him, even though all he wanted to look at was her.
His eyes met the view of two people at the other side of the fireplace, talking to each other, smiling, and standing way closer together than most people would. A grin sneaked up to his lips as the young blonde man looked up and met his gaze. His lips stopped moving, and he seemed to feel caught in the act.
Castle slowly led his cup to his lips, giving the man the slightest gesture of raising it to him. He looked down, a blush spreading over his cheek, and Castle grinned into his cup as he took a few big sips of the quickly cooling coffee. Oh, he knew how amazing that guy was feeling right now.
His attention was suddenly drawn away from the chatting couple when he heard the deep voice that automatically made him flinch a little.
"Gather around!"
Coarly walked into the circle of people with an angry glare. The conversations around the fireplace fell silent in a matter of seconds. Castle shot a glance over at Esposito, who had just walked over from the cabin with the food along with Ryan, his body posture straight and just a little bit over the top. Castle couldn't fight another grin and hid it behind his cup.
"So, you idiots," Coarly rumbled through gritted teeth. "Who of you was the last one here last night, supposed to put out the fire?"
Castle's grin died behind his cup, and he quickly tried to regain control of his facial expressions. He wanted to look over to Kate but didn't dare to move.
Everyone remained silent, a few glances were exchanged, some people shook their heads. Castle's eyes briefly met those of the young man on the other side of the circle. Both of them knew who had been the last one. But the way the man lowered his gaze told Castle they wouldn't have to fear him revealing what he knew. He felt a massive amount of gratitude towards that guy.
"No one? Good to know that the people who are supposed to protect the people of our country are a bunch of cowards!" Coarly spitted.
Kate kept staring down at her feet. She felt guilty and ashamed. She hadn't even wasted a thought on the fire after they had started talking. And she knew how risky it was to leave a fire unattended and not put it out properly. Usually, she would step up and take the blame for her mistake but right now, she couldn't. She felt Castle's presence next to her without looking at him and knew if she admitted she had been the last one to leave the fire, every single person around her would be able to connect the dots. They all were detectives for a reason. But she couldn't let that happen. Not now, when they hadn't even gotten the chance to talk to each other yet.
So, she stayed quiet, chewing on her lip, and tried not to look guilty.
"You are lucky it rained last night! You could have gotten all of us killed and burned down half the national park." Coarly glared around the circle again, everyone looking to the ground, avoiding her gaze.
"Good for you I don't have a chance to find out who it was until someone speaks up. Because if I do find out... Oh boy, we're gonna have fun."
Castle swallowed against the lump in his throat. He really felt no desire at all to experience whatever kind of fun Coarly was talking about.
"I sure hope you take this as a warning for tonight." Coarly grumbled on, receiving shy nods from everyone in response.
"Anyway, we need to talk about today's schedule. Yesterday, we took on water. Today, you'll be facing the woods instead." Castle dared to look over at Ryan and Esposito and felt the grin returning to his lips at the expression of pure despise on Ryan's face.
"I have a little hike planned for you guys. It should only take you about six or seven hours."
Mumbling erupted around the circle of people but was quickly shut down by Coarly raising her hand.
"Of course, that's not all. Yesterday, you had to work physically together as a team. Today, we are going to focus on the mental aspect. But I figured it would be much easier with your feet moving."
She clapped her big hands together and looked very satisfied at the unhappy faces looking back at her. "So, while you follow the track marked with red tape, I will give you three questions you will have to reflect on and answer. I'll be waiting at the camp for you to return, and when you do, I will see what you came up with."
She glared around the circle, meeting every pair of eyes for a moment. "And believe me, I'll be able to tell if you didn't do this task properly. And if I find you tell me some bullshit just to get done with it, I won't hesitate to send you back on the track, even if that means you'll be walking all night. Is that clear?"
Murmured agreement returned from the cops, none of them looking thrilled about today's task. But Castle couldn't keep his heart from jumping in his chest. Seven hours alone with her, walking in the forest with no one there to hear them talk. A chance to ask her everything he wanted to so desperately.
He glanced over at her, but her expression was casual, not giving away what might be going on in her head or if she felt the same excitement as he did. He couldn't wait to get going.
"Everyone pack something to eat and drink, and then come by here to grab a map, an emergency phone, and the list with the questions you'll be working through. And I don't want you to walk in groups! I want you to focus on your individual partnerships, so the teams will head off with a fifteen-minute time difference between them."
Movement spread among the people as they followed Coarly's instructions, and soon, the first team vanished between the trees. Castle waited for Kate to return from the tents to get her backpack before he got his own. They packed them just like everyone else and remained silent until it was their turn to start.
Castle thought about how long he should wait and how much distance they should bring between themselves and the camp before he should address his thoughts. Or maybe he should wait for her to talk first? He wasn't sure.
So, they walked in silence for ten, twenty, thirty minutes, and slowly, insecurity started to take hold of him. Why wasn't she saying anything? She wasn't even really looking at him but instead kept her eyes on the ground, seemingly caught up deep in her own thoughts.
Looking around them to make sure they really were alone, he gathered his courage and reached out for her hand. Wrapping his fingers around hers, he came to a stand, and with a slight startle, she stopped walking, too, looking up at him.
The words drained from his mind at the soft smile on her face, and before he could focus enough to piece back together what he wanted to say, she took a step in his direction, grasped onto his jacket, and pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss.