Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters. Andrew Marlowe & Co. are doing a fantastic job...I'm just having some fun.

What had he been thinking?

That question tugged insistently at the corner of her mind, exasperated, even as she easily answered it herself. Castle had been thinking of fun and friends and frivolity; the silliness that was bound to surround them if they all shared a cabin. The two of them vacationing with Ryan, Jenny, Esposito, and Lanie, skiing all day and sipping spiked hot chocolate at night. It was partly her fault for not paying closer attention as he ricocheted off the walls of the loft, overwhelmed with the excitement of planning a long weekend getaway for the group. The promise of laughter and memories being made…in one cabin.

"And, Kate, I found the perfect place for us. I mean, it's a little smaller than what I would normally pick, but it's got three bedrooms and a kitchen and a big family room that will be so perfect for game night. And it's so close to the ski lodge, and you can't underestimate the convenience of being near your cabin when you've just spent an entire day on the slopes. Seriously, it's going to be great!"

So, she hadn't listened carefully enough and he had run off to book the cabin, all his exuberance for group fun dropping a brightly colored blanket over the forethought of anything more romantic. And now, weeks later, they were in upstate New York with their friends, having just retired to their bedroom after an evening of Monopoly and truth or dare (seriously, were they thirteen?). Kate might have been insulted that he had been more focused on party games than on her, but any potential anger was being steadily drummed out of her by the beat of frustrated arousal tapping its way through her bloodstream.

Castle was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling off his thick socks and tossing them aside before he moved to remove his cozy thermal shirt; he didn't seem to notice the way she was staring down at him hungrily. She slithered into his space, situating herself between his knees.

"As much as I love our friends, please don't ever make us share a cabin with them again."

He looked up, startled. "What's wrong, Kate? I thought you were having fun out there, playing games and-"

She bent forward to interrupt him with a quick and dirty kiss. "Yes, Castle, all of that was great. But the games I really want to play don't involve me being particularly quiet, nor do they involve an audience of people I consider to be like family."

His eyes simultaneously lit up with realization and darkened with desire. He reached for the waistband of her pants, his finger trailing along the soft skin just under the horizon. Castle lifted her shirt enough to tease her stomach with his lips, mumbling into her skin.

"Yeah, you do have a problem with volume control, don't you?"

They had been over this a dozen times, but she had gotten past the point of being embarrassed by how vocal she could be in bed, how all of her long-stifled need for him now poured from her mouth with the subtlety of a profane troubadour. Still, this wasn't the place for it and she needed to step back before her judgment got clouded by the swirling heat in her abdomen. Kate wiggled out of his embrace and damned the sturdy cabin with unreasonably thin walls.

As she undressed, she could sense his eyes on her. When Castle came up from behind, wrapping his arms around her bare waist, she wasn't surprised to feel his obvious reaction to her naked body, even through his clothing; it pleased her to know that she had at least managed to awaken the want in him, to share the frustration of unresolved tension. He swept her hair aside to kiss along the back of her neck, the tip of his tongue darting out to connect with her earlobe just before he took it between his teeth.

"Castle, we can't do anything here. Let's just go to sleep and continue this when we get back to the city." Kate knew her shaking voice was anything but convincing, but she pulled away from him and padded to the bed, throwing back the luxurious down comforter. Once she had slid between the sheets, she allowed herself to make eye contact with him, willing her heart rate to slow as he dropped his pants and boxers to the floor.

He looked smug. She supposed he had reason to be. "You know, Kate, I could just give you a nice massage, help relax the muscles that must be sore after a long day of skiing."

She said nothing, but rolled over onto her stomach, kicking the comforter even further down the bed, along with the newly neglected sheet. Castle searched through her bag for the cherry blossom lotion that had captured his imagination long before it had any appropriate right to do so and eagerly hurried over to the bed to join her. Honestly, she knew this was a bad idea, but she couldn't resist the temptation to get his hands on her in any way possible, even if it wasn't going to end in the screaming ecstasy she craved.

Straddling her slim body, he opened the bottle, the sharp click of the lid cutting through to her already excited core. Castle poured the lotion into his hand and carefully warmed it before lowering his palms to her back. Then he began the slow glide across the peaks and valleys, the angles and arcs that he knew so well. His strong fingers danced along her vertebrae and dug into the sore muscles of her shoulders, causing her to moan with relief. Massages from him were always a blessed combination of sensations, erotically therapeutic, and she melted into the mattress just as surely as he melted into her.

Kate buried her face in the pillow as he squeezed the back of her neck, releasing some of the pressure there. When his thumbs worked against the tightness below her shoulder blades, another sound escaped her lips, balanced on the edge of pain and pleasure, and he dropped to kiss her temple. She squirmed, so he sat up and continued the rubdown, moving to her lower back. While he continued to apply comfortable pressure to her muscles, he also paused to caress the curve of her ass, his hands spanning her tiny waist as if to hold her there while he admired the view.

The knowledge that Castle was staring, something he had done for years but could now enjoy with such open intimacy, caused another wave of excitement to course through her body. Her tenuous grip on self-control slipping, she ground her hips into the bed, seeking any contact that might douse the flames licking at her center. Lost in the moment, she was brought back by the sound of his gentle laughter.

"Are you okay, Kate? You seem to be getting restless." She heard the slight strain in his voice and was reassured that she wasn't the only one trying to hold back.

Before she could answer, she felt him reposition himself so that he was curled near the bottom of the bed, his head near her calves. His fingertip trailed across the lean line of her leg, starting at her ankle and stopping just as he reached the sensitive spot behind her knee. Castle pulled his hand away, but chased its absence with a kiss, sucking lightly on the tender skin and sending a torrent of goose bumps over her body. She couldn't help but thrust into the mattress again when his tongue traced a wet path over the back of her thigh, stopping only when he could nip at the crease created by the welcome appearance of her ass.

"Castle-" Whatever argument she was about to make vanished as he crawled over her, the electricity between their bodies short circuiting her thoughts. Sprawled across her back, he supported himself on one arm, while his free hand found its way under her hips. Kate lifted herself enough to allow him room to explore, enjoying the feeling of his erection pressed against her so tightly. He parted her with a thick finger, sliding it slowly through her slickness as she shivered.

"You are so wet." She felt him pull his hand away and turned just in time to see him suck his finger clean, causing her to close her eyes in a futile attempt to quell the need that was overwhelming her. There was no hope of stopping their inevitable coupling, so she focused on staying as quiet as possible, not wanting to draw any embarrassing attention from her friends.

He nudged her legs apart with his knees and returned his hand to her abdomen to help tilt her to where he could enter her smoothly. Kate was still mostly flat against the bed, so when he buried himself inside her, it was exquisitely tight; their mingled moans celebrated the sensation. And even though the sound from his own mouth had matched hers, he brought a finger to her lips as a gentle reminder to stay quiet.

Castle began to rock his hips into her, nearly withdrawing from her completely on each stroke, before plunging deep once again. He built up a steady rhythm, careful to move more slowly than normal so that the wet sound of joining skin was nothing more than a melodious lullaby in the relative silence of the room. A thin layer of sweat mixed with the cherry lotion he had applied several minutes ago, a sensual delight of external pleasure to counter the delicious friction inside her. They were getting increasingly breathless and she couldn't help but gasp when his hand roamed her body and palmed her breast, a knowledgeable thumb teasing her nipple to a peak.

She didn't have much leverage in her current position, but met his gentle thrusts with as much strength as she could muster, her hands fisted in the fitted sheet that she had almost pulled free of the mattress. When the slow churning passion was driving her to the edge of something indescribable, she heard herself getting louder; the keening uncontrollable and the danger of outright begging just around the corner. Castle seemed to recognize her inability to corral the wild noises, so he returned his fingertips to her mouth once more.

At the same time, Kate needed more and sneaked her hand between their bodies so that she could press practiced fingers against her swollen clit. The leisurely pace of their lovemaking was allowing him to last longer than he might have under other circumstances, but she couldn't wait any more. Her hand began to work frantically against her arousal-soaked nerves, desperate for her impending release. He was filling her so perfectly, repeatedly strumming her wall at that ever-elusive spot, and she knew her orgasm was going to shatter her. Castle knew it, too, and he slid his hand over her mouth to muffle her cries, keeping clear of her nose so that she could breathe with no trouble.

When she came, she felt her body clamp down on his, hungrily pulling him deeper inside with a primal urge to milk him dry. She kept grinding against her own hand, unwilling to let go of the wave that had crashed down on her with such carnal force that her heart might never return to its regular beat. Just as she thought it was falling away, Castle spilled into her with a grunt, and the sensation crested again. Finally easing her hand out from under her sated body, she kissed his palm, letting him know she was safely quiet; he let go and carefully slipped out of her, rolling onto his back next to her.

Kate wasn't sure how long they stayed there, recovering separately side-by-side, but he eventually took her hand in his and squeezed it lovingly. "You know, I love making you scream, but nearly silent Kate was pretty hot, too."

She shot him a look that suggested he not push his luck.

"Okay, okay. Next time, we'll get our own cabin."

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!