He was remembering with perfect clarity his ex-wives.

They did this too.

Maybe he did have Kate Beckett on a pedestal.

An hour, it took her an hour, to get ready for bed. God he had been so duped that first night of love-making. She had been spontaneous and they had shared an amazing sexual chemistry.

He knew they would.

Amazing.

But now, after a few go-rounds, reality was setting in. Having a woman, any woman, was maintenance, even a self-sufficient woman like Kate Beckett. He could only imagine what it took to keep up her perfect hair, perfect legs, perfect make-up, perfect body. He loved every part of her, just wished it didn't take up so much of his time. The time he could be with her. He'd love her with hairy legs and smudged mascara, why couldn't she see that?

She was exposing herself to him, a little at a time. Last night she had come out of the bathroom in a sexy little set of pajamas (really all her pajamas were sexy, although he was sure she hadn't purchased them to be). On her face was some crazy cream. Like white whip cream, he sighed as he thought about licking whipped cream off Kate Beckett. Alas, this didn't taste a bit like it, a reality he'd discovered the hard way and managed to annoy her at the same time.

"Seriously Castle, too much." She squirmed to get out of his embrace. Embarrassed he had caught her looking like this. That's when he had gotten a taste of it. This was how birds learned not to eat the pretty bugs – yuck.

That's when he'd gotten the idea. One of his best, if executed correctly, he was pretty sure it was going to blow her mind. Maybe she'd blow his (mind) in return.

God he was so smitten. He couldn't remember a woman he had ever wanted so much, and that included his first, Susan Carlson in ninth grade. He had the hormones of a teenager, but was over age 40, pathetic. He was definitely addicted to Kate Beckett. He wasn't so bad at giving her what she needed either. It was so easy for him to want to please her, to sacrifice for her.

He set his naughty plan into motion.

He'd left her at the precinct early and with wiggling eyebrows. Oh god, she was pretty sure he was planning something. Her only hope was that it wasn't too overboard. Keeping up with Richard Castle was proving to be harder than she thought. It was true, all the things that attract you to a person can also be very overwhelming once you've got them. And she definitely had Richard Castle.

He was good to her. He was good for her. She loved him. But some days? Some days she was sure he was part octopus.

She called his name as soon as she was in the door. The smell of baked goods was overwhelming.

He already knew she had a bear claw addiction and he'd been exploiting her sweet tooth on a regular basis for years. Now she wondered what he'd baked for her.

She wandered into the kitchen, didn't see anything. She opened the fridge, no yummy treat could be discerned. Where was this smell coming from? Where was he?

"Castle?"

She didn't hear anything, but made her way into the office to open the bedroom door.

She stood in the doorway of their bedroom, threw back her head and laughed harder than she had since she had known him. Harder than she had when he'd accidently defused that bomb, saving the world.

Rick Castle was in the middle of their bed, stark naked except for the food strategically covering his most intimate parts. His eyes were closed and, other than the irrepressible smirk he was wearing at the sound of her discovery, he was motionless.

"Richard Castle, what if I had been Alexis?"

Whipped cream was piled in random places across his face and body. A cherry was strategically balanced on his nose.

He wasn't able to move his face without destroying his work, so through tight-lips he replied.

"Sheez a skool."

He peeked at her through slit eyes as she took off her coat, threw it on a nearby chair and locked the door.

As she approached the bed, working her belt and the buttons on her blouse, she took stock. Her stupid man-boy had made himself a human-smorgasbord for her. She rolled her eyes as she noticed the cake that was covering his manhood was a chocolate one she'd raved over when he made it a month ago.

"You-are-ridiculous," she stood over him trying to decide her strategy. Funny how she hadn't really been up for play when she left the precinct and now he had swept her right into the mood.

She unhooked her bra and pulled off everything but her panties. There were cracks starting to widen in his armor. She watched him swallow hard. He was peeking for sure.

He wasn't the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve. She loosed her hair from the chignon it had been in since this morning. She flicked at it until it pooled over her shoulders and down her back. Now his eyes were definitely open, her hair was a turn on for him, one she'd used successfully even before they were bed-partners.

She leaned down over him slowly and licked the whipped cream off his belly, watched him twitch.

"Oh Castle, whatever am I going to do with you. What's next? You gonna pour hot coffee over yourself?"

She climbed in next to him, leaned an elbow across his now clean belly. Face-to-face with him, she licked the whipped cream off his ear, pulled the cherry off his nose and teased him with her sexy-cherry-tongue play.

That was a move he knew he had to act on, he reached up, grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to him. She used that cherry for everything it was worth, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

"Hmm," he hummed," you taste like cherries."

"And you . . ."

She licked the whipped cream off his nose.

"taste . . ."

Off his cheeks

"like . . ."

His forehead

"the perfect partner."

She kissed him soundly on the lips as he laughed into her mouth.

Pulling back, he smiled at her. God he loved her.

"But I don't know what you are thinking with the placement of that cake, mister." Uh oh, he hadn't thought of what it looked like he was asking from her. It was really just a sexy strategy to make their game exciting.

"Wardrobe mal-function, won't happen again."

"Hmm," she reached back and took the cake plate covering him, making sure to brush him in just the right way, as she moved it between them on his chest she dipped a finger in the frosting. She made sure his eyes were tracking her finger as she provocatively sucked the sugar from her own hand, re-dipped and held out the digit for him to do the same.

Sexy, sexy Kate.

Silly, hypnotized Castle.

He dipped his finger in the frosting, moved it toward her mouth, but at the last moment, moved his hand to trace her breast.

"Oops," he declared. Not at all sorry.

This was going to get messy. Her eyes were wide with anticipation.

He rolled her beneath him, abandoning the cake. Gave his attention to cleaning his mess off her chest.

With his tongue.

"Castle!" she gasped. Felt herself arch into him as he lay in the v of her legs, pushing her chest deeper into his mouth.

Her fingers tangled in his hair as he kissed his way down her body, her navel, the crease of her thigh, her satin covered center. And then back up her body, dwelling again at her breasts, finding the sweet spot on her neck.

She was gone. Couldn't think, didn't care. Her eyes closed to block out some of her overloaded senses.

"Kate?" He was working her neck, calling her name.

"Hmmm," wasn't really an answer, but the best she could muster.

"Kate, you are by far my favorite dessert." He bit at the tendon on her neck. Yeah, that was going to leave a mark.

And then his lips were on hers, softly kneading her mouth into a promise, a surrender. She could taste the chocolate, the hint of cherry. Succumbed to his demand for more; faster, more aggressive. She stroked down his back, pulled at his hips to rock against her.

"You will have to take care of me sweet Kate." He kissed her eyelids.

"When I'm older." Her nose.

"And have diabetes." Her mouth.

She was ahead of him, trying to push him along. She already had her thumbs hooked around her panties, tugging on them under his weight. He helped her pull them off and took his place over her, staring down into her eyes. She moved her hands to lace her fingers behind his neck for the ride.

"You are an extraordinary man and you taste like chocolate." She kissed him to show him how happy he made her.

His hands took a firmer grip on her hips, "Which one turns you on more?"

"Hmm, definitely the chocolate." He was starting to move with her.

He stopped.

"Let me get it for you." He moved to stretch across the bed to get the cake.

She slapped at him, his movement had shifted the intensity she was feeling, pressing on her sweet-spot. She took a sudden breath as he gloated and continued his movements. They were silent after that, both caught up in the recipe for the rightness of the universe. The first signs of her climax, her arched neck and open mouth, were enough of a visual cue to throw him into his own. Both their bodies shuddered, spasmed, released. His sated weight pressed the length of her. She held him tight while he caught his breath, his mouth at the side of her neck.

She had that moment when her emotional mind completely outweighed her rational mind, when her love for him was overwhelming. When she was so grateful to the universe that he was hers. That she was his. She squeezed him, feeling the emotion well-up.

"I love you so much more than chocolate. I'm sorry I teased you. You have no idea how much I love you or how grateful I am for you."

"Hey," he used his finger to turn her cheek so they were nose-to-nose, "I will take that, I'll take anything you give me Kate because I'm the lucky one. I'm the lucky one." He kissed her nose. Captured her lips and sucked gently.

They lay that way a while, while the twilight of the city overtook.

"Come on, we are going to have to interrupt this culinary session for another. Don't worry, we can have more dessert later, after we eat our dinner." He pulled her up, took advantage of her euphoric state to put his hands on her backside, squeezing her against him a little.

"Richard Castle, anytime you want to surprise me with your charming, spontaneous foreplay, I'm all yours."

"Counting on it Kate."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

It was hard not to look at Kate after dinner when Alexis asked accusatorially:

"Dad, why are their fingerprints in the frosting on this cake?"

"Save that piece for Kate."

A/N: I don't write 'M' rated fictions. This is the second time I have not-written one. No one wants to review them, I don't want to not-write them, but let's face it, that totally turned you on. Now, be a grown-up and review, even if it's only with a .