I'm awfully sorry for making you wait this long. Life has been hectic, you all know how it can get. I hope you enjoy this one.

Somewhere in between kisses, their hungry stomachs decided to make their presence known and they decided to interrupt their morning activities so they could have breakfast.

"What would you like?", Kate asked, "pancakes? omelet? waffles?"

"You'd make all those for me?" Castle couldn't stop grinning.

"I'll do anything you want me to", she replied in a sensual voice and sultry eyes before she dipped a teasing finger under the waistband of his boxers.

Castle froze on the spot. Damn, woman.

Then, she hopped off the bed, put her underwear back on, slipped his deep red shirt over them. But once she was in the doorway, she turned back to him with an innocent look in her eyes.

"You coming, Castle?"

Castle broke out of the transe she had put him in a few moments before, shook his head and smirked. "Aren't I always?"

He ran after her, swiftly wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, making her burst into a fit of giggle. He looked down at her face, in awe. Her dimples were irresistible. He wanted to kiss them again and again.

He sweeped her off her feet and settled her on the counter before dropping tender, little kisses on her mouth and cheeks. Kate put her hand on either sides of his face and moaned, encouraging him to go deeper into her mouth. Their tongues brushed.

"Hmm. Castle. Breakfast."

"Right." He sighed and dropped one last kiss on her nose. "Okay, tell me what you need, and I'll hand it to you."

They made breakfast together doing their best team work. Beckett commanding him and him going out of his way to make her laugh and try new things. Their usual dance.

That thought made his eyes twinkle.

"We should shower before Alexis gets home", Kate suggested once they were done with breakfast.

"You know, that might be really soon", Castle glancing at his watch, "I don't see how we could fit two showers into that small amount of time."

Kate narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head.

"Oh, and what exactly are you suggesting, Mr. Castle?"

"Me? Just a time saving alternative, nothing more."

"Right", she smirked. "Well? Lead the way."

She could tell by his shocked look that he had been joking earlier and he was probably expecting her to decline his proposition.

"Do you plan on standing there all day? I thought the plan was to save time."

The boyish grin on Castle's face was infectious.

Once in the bathroom, they undressed each other again in record time and stepped into the shower together. Castle tested the water temperature first. "Is this okay?", he asked. "not too hot?"

He was so sweet. Kate only smiled devilishly before pushing him in. "I like it hot."

As steam filled the room, Kate seized the body wash and poured a good amount in her hand. But instead of using it to wash herself, she scrubbed his body down gently. She spread it from his arms and back to his belly and even squatting to reach down to his legs before straightening up to apply soapy fingers to his face and neck. She let her thumbs brush affectionately under his eyes, over his eyebrows and around his chin. She avoided his gaze the whole time, her eyes solely focused on his skin. But she could feel his heated look on her, he was watching her like he couldn't believe she was doing this.

Yet she was. Kate. Washing him. It was both the sexiest thing and so very tender.

He could have watch her do it all day but what he wanted more was to retaliate. He reached for the body wash and began to run his hands along her body. He spread the fresh scented soap down her arms, taking each of her hands into his own and making sure he had every finger. He spent extra time drawing shapes on her belly and on top of her breasts with his fingers. Then he stepped behing her to rub it into her back delicately and took the time to knead her shoulders which elicited a moan from Kate. Her head dropped on his shoulder of its own accord and her eyes closed when he started massaging her neck.

She could feel his body respond to her moans and when he buried his nose in her wet hair and inhaled, his sighs were shaky and his fingers trembling.

"Castle, are you sure we have time-" He cut her off by shushing in her ear.

"I haven't done your legs yet." He licked at her earlobe before stepping back in front of her and dropping to his knees. He poured some more body wash into his palm and proceeded to spread it down her thighs and shins before lifting off each of her feet to rub in between her toes, which tickled her of course. "Castle, watch it."

He grinned up at her and she used her index finger to tap his nose in warning.

Her eyes were filled with so much love it took his breath away. God, Kate. It had only been a few hours since she'd showed up at his doorstep. She had fueled more passion into his limbs than he had ever felt. He felt like he was possessed, like it was too much for one man, one body, like he could eat her alive.

He pressed his eager mouth to her knee and applied open-mouth kisses up her thighs slowly, torturously. He used both hands to pry her legs open and when he licked her inner thigh, Kate started to shake. She gripped his head, held him back so she could catch her breath and her fingernails scraped his skull.

Castle's mouth finally reached its destination and then all hell broke loose.

Kate's mind was sent tumbling down the drain. After that, it was all tongue and lips and fire. Sounds she didn't recognize erupted from her mouth. God, it felt so good.

In one swift motion, he got up and brought her numb body up with him, her back pressed up against the bathroom tile right under the spray of water, her legs locked tightly around his waist and then he was inside her, and they were climbing, higher and higher towards their inevitable but oh so pleasurable fall.

She clinged to his back. He was carrying her full weight, she only had to let herself go. Her vision blurred. Castle.

He pressed his mouth to her collarbone in an attempt to bury the roar that came from deep inside of him and she felt it vibrating through her whole body mingling with the aftershocks of her own eruption.

They stayed like this for a while, struggling to calm their erratic breathing, their chests fighting for space to fill up their lungs with much needed air.

Enventually, he let go of her legs and before she could register what he was doing, he had seized the shampoo bottle and squeezed a generous amount on top of both their heads. He let his soapy fingers glide through her strands gently, then he made little circles making it bubble. And when he tried to blow one in between his fingers, she laughed.

In her current blissful state, Kate could only grin at his boyishness. She slipped her own fingers through his soapy hair which made it stand straight up on top of his head and elicited another fit of laughter. She used the shampoo foam left in her hands to blow a bubble of her own, much bigger than his. And sent a victorious glance in his direction.

Castle shook his head. She couldn't be any more enticing if she tried. When would he wake up from this dream?

The sound of the front door shutting broke him out of his reverie. Alexis was home.

Kate immediately snapped out of their fun-filled haze and dropped her head back under the spray to finish rinsing her hair. Their love bubble had burst.

"Dad?" Alexis's voice could be heard from the other side of the door, along with a small knock. "Dad, are you in there?"

"Yes, honey, I'm here. We'll be out in a minute."

Hearing him mention her, Kate's eyes snapped opened reminding him those of a deer caught in the headlights.

"We?", she squeaked before elbowing him in the ribs. "Castle!"

"Ow! Yes, we. Kate, she's going to see you eventually."

"Yes, but she probably doesn't want to know about-"

As if on cue, Alexis chose this moment to speak through the door once again.

"Ew, Dad, I don't need to know that. Just wanted to let you know I'm home. The clothes scattered all over the room were kind of a clue anyway. Ew. Uh, see you in a bit."

Castle turned to a mortified Kate.

"See?", he tried with a smile, "she already knew with the clothes-" which only earned him another elbow in his side.

"Ow! Okay. Shutting up, now," but he couldn't hide the smirk which threatened to take over his face in a full on grin.

They got dressed and cleaned up the mess in Castle's bedroom quickly. Castle could sense that Kate was nervous so he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. He kissed the back of her hand affectionately before brushing his thumb over it. He didn't need any word. His look was reassuring.

When they stepped into the living room, Alexis was sitting at the counter, pretending to read a magazine but clearly waiting for them to come out though she would never admit it. Her deep blue eyes grew larger when she took notice of the two dressed and freshly showered people before her.

"Detective Beckett?" The surprise was all over her face.

"Hi", Kate greeted shyly.

"Hi, daughter", Castle beamed at her before landing a kiss on her forehead. "How was the party?"

"Great. How about you, Dad? I guess you managed to survive an evening at home without me after all."

"I guess you could say that. Let's just say I found something on my doorstep much more interesting than cable channels and video games."

Castle glanced at Kate who was looking down at the floor, her face flushed.

"Okay. Well, do you have something planned for lunch? Because I'm starving. And I'm in the mood for spaghetti. Will you be staying for lunch, Detective Beckett?"

"Alexis, you know you can call me Kate. And I'd like to. I mean, if you don't mind. Unless you want some father-daughter alone time, in which case I'm perfectly okay with-" Man, she was starting to ramble.

"No, no, stay. Sorry if it takes a while for me to call you Kate. I'm so used to calling you Detective Beckett by now." She glanced at her Dad and smirked. "Plus, it's all I hear", she added,"Beckett this, Beckett that..."

Now, it was Castle's turn to blush.

"So, you're okay with the three of us... hanging out here?" Castle and Alexis shared a look and Kate could tell that there was some hidden meaning lying under his question.

Alexis's reply, however, was loud and clear.

"Sure. As long as you're happy, Dad. And you don't get hurt. Then I'm okay with it."

Kate could feel that the remark about not getting hurt was directly addressed to her - in a "if you hurt him, I'll kill you" kind of way - but it was also oddly adorable how protective she was of him.

Castle took a pan out of the cupboard to start boiling water for the spaghetti and listened to Alexis chat him up about her graduation party. Kate sat next to his daughter. The smell of his body wash lingered on her skin and invaded her nostrils, it helped her relax a bit.

She would have given them their privacy, had Alexis wanted her to leave. But hearing she wanted her to stay was a such a relief. Because, truth be told, though she had only been with Castle for a few hours, she couldn't imagine leaving his side.

As if he could read her mind, Castle locked eyes with her, his blue orbs gleaming with joy. He winked at her.

Yeah, there was no way she was leaving.

My inbox has overflown with story alerts and I really appreciate it but reviews make the time I spend editing all worthwhile. I'd like to say that I'm not the type to beg for reviews, that I write for me only but it simply isn't true. Let's be honest, your opinion matters. So, please use the blue button below. Thank you!

I have loads of ideas but little time to write this month. However, if you're still interested, I promise I'll try my best to post more frequently. All the best to you all Castle fans!