Chapter III

She stepped out of the bathroom again with her head wrapped in one towel and her body wrapped in another. She glared at the bed giving it the evil eye as if it was the cause of her dream. No way could she have that kind of dream about Castle unless some outside forces were involved.

She needed to keep her focus on the task at hand, finding Royce's killer. Not to mention, Josh; what to do about Josh? Yeah, he changed his plans and stayed with her momentarily, but now he was off again and she didn't seem to mind, which brought her to the realization that their relationship wasn't what she was looking for. "When we get back to New York, and he gets back from wherever, I'll deal with that; but for now, focus Kate", she told herself.

She made a wide loop around the bed as she walked over to her suitcase to rummage for a new set of nightclothes. After putting on a tee shirt and tights, she removed the towel from her hair and let it hang dry. The alarm clock on the side of her bed glowed 3:00 AM angrily at her in a slime green color. "Ugh" she sighed.

Going back to sleep was not an option for her right now, so she reached in her bag once again and pulled out the latest Grisham novel she had packed for the trip. She sat in the chair in the room and curled her legs up underneath her as she began to read. After about twenty minutes she realized that the oblivion of a book didn't get her out of her head the way she hoped it would, so she decided a change of scenery might be better.

She got up from the chair and called the concierge to order a coffee service. She expected to be speaking with some overnight clerk, but it was Maurice who answered the call. "Does this guy ever sleep?" she thought to herself. After ordering the coffee she hung up and walked over to the door and opened it.

He was standing there on the opposite side of the room in front of his door. His hair was wet and slicked back fresh from his shower. He was shirtless and barefoot. His chest was broad and firm, abs tight. Not male model tight, like Josh, but tight all the same. He had a thin line of hair that started just above his navel and disappeared into his expertly tailored jeans that sat low on his waist, defining an impressive package in the front and made is ass look spectacular. She would have to remember find an excuse to tell him not to wear those to the precinct; it could make concentrating on work very difficult. The final piece of the picture was that she saw no hint of boxers, which made her knees get a little weak. She caught half of her bottom lip between her teeth as she tried hard to suppress a lecherous smile.

—

He jumped slightly, just as surprised to see her, as she was to see him. Her drying hair was a cross between wavy and curly and framed her face beautifully he thought. She wore a white tee shirt that wasn't tight, but wasn't very loose either. He could tell that she had nothing on underneath. Rounding out her ensemble was pair of gray leggings that made her legs look like they went on for miles.

She was standing there…without makeup… without her fashion forward Metropolitan wardrobe… without her heels… and he never wanted her more. All he could do was stop and stare. His stomach tightened and his crotch twitched as he fought hard not to let his jaw drop. "Oh shit… trouble", he mumbled to himself.

—

She was the first to speak. "Hey...what are you doing up at this hour? Are you okay?" she asked. He swallowed hard and after a minute, answered, "Yeah, uh no, I couldn't sleep. That bed is not as comfortable as it looks", he lied as he looked down and ran his toes through the carpeting. "I thought I'd come out here and write for a while", remembering that he had his laptop in his right hand holding it up to her.

She could always tell when he was hiding something, but then again so was she, so she decided not to call him on it.

"Why are you up, Detective?"

"It must be the time zone change. I couldn't sleep very well either", she replied evasively. "I was coming out here to read. But if you prefer to be alone…"

His heart was beating so fast and loud he could feel it in his ears. He was never more unsure of himself as he was at this moment, but he decided to go with what he knew best; his sardonic wit.

"No please stay...but does it have to be Grisham?"

"Well, he's not my favorite, but he'll do in a pinch."

"And who exactly is your favorite? Would it be a ruggedly handsome, part-time volunteer detective?"

"Oh, does Patterson volunteer at a precinct where he lives?"

"You wound me deeply Detective".

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Are we expecting someone?"

"I called for a coffee service a little while ago. That must be it".

"You must have been reading my mind", Beckett.

She opened the door and it was none other than Maurice with a coffee cart for them. He excused himself briefly, stepping into his room to put on a tee shirt.

He returned to find that Kate had already taken a comfortable position on one end of the couch sitting with her back against the armrest and her legs curled up under her. She was balancing her book with one hand and her coffee cup with the other.

Coffee was just what he needed to even himself out he thought. Between the wine, the dream, and the presence of her, he felt like he was losing it. He busied himself making his coffee. The hot liquid calmed his senses almost immediately as he took his first sip. He walked over to the couch and sat at the other end, placing his laptop on the coffee table. As he sipped, he kept glancing over at her. Kate noticed he was more fidgety than usual, but decided to ignore it. He desperately needed to find out what she was feeling about their earlier conversation, but didn't know how to begin. Finally, he decided to just come out with it. "Beckett, can I ask you a question?"

"You know it makes me a little nervous when you ask me if you can ask me something", she quipped.

"Did…did I overstep our friendship boundaries, earlier? My mouth was kind of running ahead of my brain and if I said anything to make you uncomfortable…I just wanted to know if I did and…" he said in a jumbled mess that came out all at once without him taking a breath.

Kate looked up at him with her best interrogation room expression, uncurled her legs as she sat up placing her book and coffee cup on the table in front of her. "Well, tell me something Mr. Castle, did you mean any of it or were you just trying to get me into bed?" she smirked.

"All of it…I meant all of it. But I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Of course I would love to take you to…but I would never try to take advantage of this situation or you. I know we're here for Royce", he shakily replied.

He looked so sincere that she couldn't bring herself to continue to make him squirm. His eyes were the bluest she had ever seen them. She thought she could see right through to his soul. If she wasn't in love with him before, she was now…at this moment.

If her dream was any indication a night of hot sex with Castle would be great without question, but she wanted them to have more, be more. So she suppressed her lust, replacing it with compassion as she slid closer to him brushing his shoulder with hers and said, "Then no Mr. Castle, you didn't do or say anything wrong. Your gentleman status is still intact". She ran her hand through the hair at his left temple before she could stop herself.

He let out a deep breath that he didn't know he was holding. He relaxed back onto the sofa as his heartbeat began to slow down somewhat and he stared at her. Her eyes were intense.

"Castle", she started softly, "I'm so glad your here with me. There is no one that I trust more to help me with what I have to do. I know you have feelings for me and as much as I try to deny them, I have feelings for you too. But you know why we can't let ourselves get carried away right now, don't you"?

"Yeah, your in a relationship with Josh", he stated flatly.

"Well, yes, that's one thing. And while the relationship with him is not ideal right now, its something I need to sort out. Either way I couldn't cheat on him".

"And I wouldn't want you to. I've been on the receiving end of that scenario and it didn't feel, great". Shit, he didn't mean to tell her that. He hated letting anyone know about things in his past that showed his vulnerability like this, but she just had a way of pulling stuff out of him.

"Oh, I didn't know. Is that what happened with you and Gina"?

He sat quietly for a long minute trying to decide whether to answer her question or not.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Forget I asked".

"No, its okay. It was Meredith not Gina. So...not only was she not so good as a mother, she was not so good as a wife. Maybe I was not so good as a husband and drove her away", he shrugged and took a deep breath then let it out and continued; "With Gina, you were kind of right...every thing was on a schedule, and you know I don't do schedules very well". He averted his eyes from hers, feeling at fault for the failures of his past.

She reached in and gave him one of her life affirming hugs. It warmed his soul. It slowed the staccato rhythm of his heart. For the first time in a long time he felt safe sharing his secrets with someone, with her. There was no judgment, no pity, just a deep sense of trust. They were slow to release each other. Their cheeks brushed each other's and his lips caught the corner of her mouth.

He leaned in.

She didn't back away.

His lips touched hers lightly.

Electricity passed through both of them.

They stared into each other's eyes.

Hers was dancing between hazel and green.

He loved when they did that.

His electric blue.

Full of simmering passion.

He cradled her face with both hands as his lips touched hers again, more deliberately this time. The kiss was slow, controlled, and tender. She responded, closing her eyes allowing herself to melt in to the softness of his touch, the silkiness of his lips. Neither advanced the kiss into dangerous territory, as they were both content with the promises they were giving each other of the things to come. When they eventually pulled apart, he caught her bottom lip between his as he gently stroked her cheek, "Oh Kate…" he murmured.

She stilled his hand, without removing it from her face.

"If you don't stop calling me Kate like that…I'm going to fall apart", she whispered.

No one has ever put so much feeling into her one syllable name. Full of desire, passion, security, love. She secretly hoped he would never stop saying her name like that.

"And I'll be here to pick up the pieces…Always", he replied just as softly.

He would. He was such a goner. He hoped she didn't mean it because now that he saw how saying her name that way affected her, he didn't think he could ever stop.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, smiled a knowing smile that reached her eyes as she kissed his palm and returned it to him. They were silent for a long moment.

"We should try and get in a few more hours of sleep, we have a long day tomorrow, uh, later today I mean", she said finally.

He realized the coffee was having the reverse affect on him, as he was suddenly very tired. "Yeah, I think I can go back to sleep now," as he stood and walked to his bedroom door. This time, he hoped her essence would find him again in his slumber. He turned to get one last glimpse. "Until the sun kisses you awake, Detective", he called after her.

She spun around, opened her mouth to speak then closed it again. She simply smiled and backed into her room. After she closed the door she leaned against it and said to herself softly, "See you in my dreams Mr. Castle".

_fin