The doors of the morgue swing wide and Castle catches one, holding it as Kate breezes past him. She's tense, shoulders rolling and her head tilts so he can barely catch a glimpse of her face before she's moving into the room and calling for Lanie.

But the lingering trace of her smell drifts past his face, the fragrance of her hair, or her skin...something.

He inhales deeply, again, as if he can't get enough. Because he can't, he physically cannot stop when it comes to Kate.

And all day they have been putting this new plan of secrecy into action.

No lingering looks, she said, no doing that thing where he undresses her with his eyes, no staring at her ass.

No giving them away.

Castle smiles as he lets the door drop, remembering that he had to convince her that him not doing those things would give them away faster than the occasional glance when she bent over in those skin tight jeans.

But they are keeping it, them ...this new wondrous thing they have, a secret and that means rules. And Castle is learning how very much Beckett likes rules...and the sneaky ways he finds to break them.

And she's started breaking a few of them herself. But not now...not here, here he has to be good.

No touching, which was hard enough before. Hands brushing around coffee cups and the squeeze of her palm when they came through a battle together and sought the quick warm touch of the other.

Gentle comfort.

But now his mind is full of the lingering trace and swell of her lips, the taste of her mouth, the slide of her tongue. He knows exactly how her skin feels fitted into the curve of his hand, his grasp spanning her waist, thumbs at her hips bones...digging in.

He knows the quiver of her body, breasts rising and falling against the wall of his chest when he unbuttons her shirt and the tug of her nails through his hair.

He knows what sweat tastes like, glistening, before he licks it from her skin, what her hair feels like, wet and warm in the shower.

He knows what underwear she put on this morning.

"We must have beaten her here." Castle shrugs, clearing his throat and stepping after Kate. She starts to unbutton her coat, giving him a glimpse at the black lace beneath her shirt. Kate groans and her fingers slide against the arch of her neck and he really wants to snag her hand and pull her into him, let his fingers drift across her throat and press at her muscles until she's loose.

"I guess." She states, shrugging within the confines of the material, and in a thoroughly un-Beckett move she uses one hand to balance herself and hops onto the slab. Running her hands down the front of her pants before dragging them through her hair.

Castle leans into the wall and watches as her feet swing back and forth, heels brushing in gentle rhythm. The solid muscle of her thighs tensing and flexing as she moves and his eyes feel glued to her.

"Tonight." He suddenly hears himself blurt in the quiet room, shattering the silence with the sound of his over eager voice and her head snaps up. He pushes off from the cold tile and takes the separating steps towards her...wanting, always wanting.

Her lips quirk, eyes scrunching briefly before she buries it down deep inside, her face serene. But her eyes, brilliantly bright, sparkle with anticipation for whatever he's about to say.

"My place." He says more forcefully, determined as he takes another step, coming to rest in front of her feet, forcing them to stop their incessant and distracting swinging by standing in front of her.

"Dinner...or a movie."

He can hear her panting breath as he steps between her legs. "Maybe both?"

Kate hums, her fingers sliding down the front of his shirt, toying with his buttons, "Mmmm both, that sounds nice."

There is a soft 'waap' sound as the door opens behind them and Castle steps back, turning away fast and Lanie enters the room, her eyes on the form in front of her before she freezes, her head snapping up. She steps closer with narrowed eyes, watching as Castle moves to stand beside their body and Kate hops down from the table.

"You guys fighting again?" Lanie asks, eyeing them suspiciously, "Cos I speak for everyone when I say let's not start that crap again." The tiny M.E casts her threatening eyes between the two of them, staring them down, waiting for their usual casually obnoxious comeback.

No one speaks so Lanie moves around the table, watching them both before she continues. "Wasn't a mugging." Lanie confirms as she circles the body, grabbing more forms and waiting as Kate and Castle move from their places on opposite sides of the room and head towards her.

"How can you tell?" Kate asks, glancing down at the womans body, the red line of what looks like a handprint drawing Kate's eyes to her shoulder.

"Blood spatter on the blouse indicates the shirt was ripped after the gunshot." Lanie drops her clipboard down onto the table next to the dead woman, looking up.

"And what about the bruising?" Castle asks.

"Post mortem." Lanie confirms with a nod.

Kate lets her eyes drift as she takes in the information, "To make it look like a mugging." She turns to Caste, smiling and raising her eyebrows.

"Someones trying to cover their tracks, speaking of which..." Lanie raises her hands rolling her eyes slightly, "I figured out what's different." She let her hands fall forwards, fingers pointing at Kate and Castle, "You're having sex." Lanie smirks, her finger waggling between the two of them and Kate feels her heart drop. A sudden whoosh through her chest, because they can't have been found out this fast...they just can't.

Her eyes opening wide, she can hear Castle's sharp intake of breath at her side. "Excuse me?" Kate asks, her brain frantically searching for ways of hiding it, stepping around it, covering up...something, but Lanie is already talking.

"Oh...Don't try and deny it, there's a glow, I know that glow." Lanie points at herself with confidence.

Kate feels her head turn, almost out of her control, to stare at Castle, her eyes flashing wide as she screams at him in silence to help her, all the while her mind fills with images of Lanie knowing all about that certain sex glow, and Espo and ...

"So, who's the guy?" Lanie demands her hands dropping to the table in front of her.

"Yeah Beckett who's the guy?" Castle asks, catching on fast and throwing her to the wolves as he jumps on Lanie's sex bandwagon.

Kate spins, as slowly as she can force her body to move, watching his eyes dance as she answers him, "Nobody that you would know. Ok?"

"Are you sure? I know a lot of guys." His voice is dark, laced with something evilly sweet as he openly mocks her in front of Lanie.

"I'm sure." Kate says slowly, nodding back at him, catching her lips and fighting the smile, "Anything else?" Kate turns back to Lanie hoping that this will put an end to it.

"Castle can get out and we can have a little girl time." Lanie grins, looking up at them, before quirking her eyebrows to show she's serious.

"I don't think that that..."

"I'm gone." Castle replies, with a smirk over his shoulder as he leaves her to deal with an interrogation the likes of which only Lanie can deliver.

"So..." Lanie waits, her eyes on Kate's face as little sparks of pink start to flood her cheeks.

"Lanie I really don't think now is the..."

"How long?"

"Time to...what?"

"You and..." Lanie nods towards the door "The writer...how long?" She folds her arms and waits out her friend again, watching the way Kate's mouth falls open, her nose scrunching as she gasps, a very un-Kate like fish in the middle of her morgue.

"Fine." Lanie states, "You don't want to say, I'll just guess."

Kate tries desperately to hold herself together as her friend, her friend who isn't but totally should be a detective tears her cleverly constructed lies to pieces in seconds.

"The day you almost fell off of the roof?"

Kate's mouth morphs her face as it opens wider, snaps shut again.

"I'll take that as a yes." Lanie looks her up and down, "What did you do, turn up on his doorstep and make it all up to him with sex?"

Kate feels the rush of blood to her face, ok there was a little more to it than that, but, yes, pretty much.

"Ohhh my god seriously?" Lanie starts to bounce on the spot. "It's working for you girl, whatever it is that boy is doing to you, for you..." Lanie nods, smiling the entire time and gyrating with happiness.

"Ok, enough." Kate states loudly, spinning on the spot and heading towards the door, "I have a case."

"Just one thing." Lanie calls, even as Kate steps out into the hall, the mischief dancing through her voice.

Knowing better but asking anyway, Kate yelps back, "What?"

"You better be using protection." Lanie yells as the door slams shut and a smile lifts her cheeks, muttering about damn time under her breath.

The call of Kate's voice making her bark out a laugh when she hears "Shuuuut uppppp." echoing down the hall.