A/N: Post epi 7x17 therefore spoilers if you haven't watched yet.

He keeps her there, coiled above him, hands hovering at her sides, too stunned by her words to reach for her.

It doesn't matter, she's relishing the upper hand. Power and sexuality raw in her eyes, each little shift of her body tells him she needs this. Needs the sweetness of their kisses and the confirmation of their naked bodies writhing, the love and lust combined that enhances everything between them.

The tender, and the rough.

She hasn't doubted them, he knows that, but the faint wisps of uncertainty she's felt about herself have left her clamouring for reassurance, seeking it in the safety and sanctity of their marriage. And if she wants to climb him before she finds her Everest, he's all for it.

Mount away. She can plant her flag and claim him as often as she sees fit.

Kate sinks her teeth into his tendon and he flinches, throws his hips up, hard, off the bed. They thud together and he earns a growl, does it again just to drag that feeling out for the both of them.

The buzz already burrowing under their skins.

And whilst her insecurities have been right in their faces, taunting her, she still managed to pick up on his. To ease them in the best possible way.

Kate keeps up her praise, her breathy murmurs that he's better, the best, best ever, mouthing her way closer to his ear. Sucking on the lobe, her tongue swirls its appreciation for his input, his participation, curses slipping from her lips as she lays out her plans for his body. She mounts a little expedition there and then, gropes him through his sinfully thin pajamas, squeezes, and rumbles her approval at what she finds.

She's a whirlwind of sensation, hands and lips and tongue everywhere all at once as he does little more than chant her name and flex against the roll of her hips.

She's not proving a point so much as reclaiming one she's made a thousand times over in this bed. Not giving him a chance to contradict to agree, or state a case of his own.

She's running the show and he's more than willing to play his part.

Grinning against him, he can feel the warmth of her smile, her hands wicked as they map his chest. She pushes his shirt up and off, grunts to get him moving, get his hands involved and helping. Changing her mind so fast his fingers stumble to catch up.

She's doing all the work, but it's working for her because when he does reach to vest himself of clothing, touch her, help, she bats him away, takes charge.

"Mine," she hums, not elaborating if she means the task, the clothes she's ridding him of or his body. Maybe all three.

He shudders, groaning. His words may do something to her, for her, touch somewhere inside that no one else can, but she underestimates the power her pride, her love and her devotion has over him. He's putty in her hands, awed. And yet she still doesn't understand the weight of her own words.

If he's the best, she's better, and together they are sensational. Astounding.

He loses the ability to think, to praise, when her hands slide low and she mumbles her intention.

He's hard between them now and Kate brushes him with the backs of her knuckles, hard strokes that spiral shards of pleasure the length of his spine.

Intense.

Sharp.

He's said it from the first, she's extraordinary. He's doesn't know how she doubts it. But if she does, when she inevitably does again, he'll be right by her side, reminding her. Spurring her on.

She arches, rolls, drops down until they're nose to nose. Fascinated, Castle gets lost in the reflection of light in her eyes, wondering suddenly how he ever got so lucky.

"Keep up, babe." She laughs, before claiming his mouth, dragging him back into the moment and stealing his response with a deadly play of pressure over the thick weight of his growing erection.

There's a challenge in her phrasing, the twist of her body, that he's more than ready to meet. Up is not an issue here, up is easy. Done. Up was up and at em the moment she landed in his lap.

"Not. A. Problem." He bites out when she nips at his shoulder, thrusting to prove it. She grinds the length of his leg and this is gonna be short and sweet. It's also gonna be the first of several because she's alive with it and he won't get enough just the once.

She's got something to prove and he's her partner. He'll have her back. And her front. Her side and her naked, wet, everything, until they're plastered together, stained with sweat.

No one does this better than them.

Her shirt follows his and he growls, tugs her hair free, brushes the sweeping curl behind one ear and stares up. His wife is gorgeous, no matter what else - who else - is poking at her confidence and sapping her self belief. He knows.

She knows it too, and he's glad. Doesn't mean he won't show her though, tell her, whisper it into her ear as she comes just to feel her clench and shudder around him. Harder. Faster.

He'll remind her with every touch and caress, until she's filled up with it. Breaking apart with the force of his conviction. Doesn't matter if she needs it or not, he'll tell her because he can, because he wants too.

His fingers ripple up her spine, span her ribs, trace her breasts and nipples, pinching. Castle strokes at the patches of skin that make her melt, make her flex and roll her hips. He knows them all, learns them again, sets her body dancing in his lap.

"I love you." Kate gasps and their mouths pop apart. Hands tangling in the desperation to rid each other of the last of their clothing.

Elastic snaps against her skin and she yelps. Shudders hard.

"Do it again."

He smacks her ass instead, caresses the soft curve of her cheeks.

Eyes cloudy, bodies entangled, she mumbles his name, tells him she loves him again, but her vision is focused on his lips, lost in the feel of his mouth long before it's ever on her.

It's memory now. Repetition. A habit neither seeks to break. So absorbed in each other the world blinks out of existence.

"Love you too," he gets out, breath frantic, hands clenching.

Tugging her flat to his chest, Castle rolls them over, spreads his wife out beneath him, relishing her words, her pride, her love and abandon. The heat of her body permeates his skin, burns him up with wonder at how amazing she is.

How kind.

Loving.

Sweet.

Still new. Proving everyday that there are layers to peel, lessons to learn, mysteries to unravel. His wife is formidable, phenomenal and beautifully human.

Laced with insecurity, yet never backing down.

Woman and warrior, both.

She claims his mouth again, fingers in his hair, tugging him down to feel the weight of his body draped over her own.

He strokes a hand between her legs and catches the keening whimper on her tongue before it turns into demand. He has no intention of denying either of them what they want.

His fingers fan out over her and he hums into her kiss.

He's her sounding board, her confidant, friend and lover. Her partner even when he stumbles to grasp her meaning, says the wrong thing. Hints at threesomes that he doesn't need. Doesn't want.

Not that it matters, he grins into her kiss, feathers his fingers so she shakes, she'd shoot him first.

"Not sharing." She growls arching up, reading his mind when he cups her. She shudders under the blatant perusal of his fingers against her pants, damp now with her arousal, but the threat never leaves her eyes.

She's crazy with it. Possessive.

It sends splinters of light and electricity through him to know that she wants him this fiercely. He kisses her, revels in it, gives it back with equal ferocity.

There could never be anyone else.

Castle kisses her again, deeper, feeding from her mouth as they cling. He nudges her nose until she sucks in breath that rattles her lungs, pushes her breasts up, into his chest.

It's an invitation he accepts. Dropping his head, Castle takes her nipple with his tongue, sucks it hard to the roof of his mouth and rides the quake that surges through her body.

She's magnificent, bucking hard, shaking with every stroke and swirl. Kate throws her head back and moans. His mouth full of her skin, he shakes his head, loathe to tear himself away. But he agrees.

No.

No sharing.

Never sharing.

Mouth still attached to her breast, sucking in slow rhythm until her hips flare in time, Castle slips his thumbs beneath the waistband of her pajamas and tugs as she lifts.

His hands span her legs, drift over her thighs and spread her wide, moving in unison until she's bare and brazen. Buoyant below him.

She arches and throws her thighs wide, one wrapped around his hip and the other angled away on the bed. A stretch of silken skin guides his way, an enticing path his fingers traipse.

Testing.

Tormenting.

He teases the heat that gathers at his fingertips, strokes flame against her lips and parts her to feel the billow of sensation ripple through Kate's body. Each well timed movement flint and spark, until her nails are digging in and her heels are blanched white with pressure.

She writhes in the bed, demanding he join her.

"Just us." He swears, promises, demands. Kate pushes herself further into his arms, wrapping her own around his shoulders. Her cheeks flushed, eyes wide, he takes her to the edge, determined to push her over, watch her free fall her descent, but she'll have none of it.

Kate catches his palm, lifts her leg, flipping them over and smirking her intent. Her nails rasp the skin of his stomach, marking him, dragging low until he springs free. She pushes his pants down with one fierce shove and curls her palm around him so tightly he has to fight the urge to come there and then.

Her grip is blistering, a choke hold on desire, the barest graze and he'll be gone. She knows it too. Relishes her ability to keep him on tenterhooks only to lose patience with herself.

She wants more. Needs it.

Kate whimpers, releases him and rises to her knees.

His pants barely make it halfway to his thighs before she's climbing him - scaling the heights of his hardening cock - taking him in hand and sinking down.

She smiles and his world whites out around the edges, bathing his wife in an erotic halo as she rides him.

It's fast.

Frenzied.

Explosive.

Castle feels the bite and strain of her muscles engulf him, clench tight and quiver with her release. She flies apart, not leaving him behind but taking him with her.

Side by side in their race toward oblivion.