Here's the final chapter. Thank U all soo much for the lovely, immense support with this story. I'm certainly going to miss it. :)

XXX

There was a desperation in Castle's kiss that she hadn't expected or ever experienced with a man before. A roughness to his eager mouth as though if he didn't have her, he wouldn't survive… Almost as if he was afraid that she'd vanish into thin air if his lips weren't attached to her own.

It thrilled her to no end.

This man. Richard Castle. Her partner. Her best friend. He was about to become her lover and Kate knew how significantly this would impact her life. She was going to give herself completely to this brilliant, charming, annoying, ruggedly handsome man and allow him to have more power over her than she'd ever imagined possible.

And God, it felt so good, so wonderfully right that they were together like this, wrapped in each other's arms with his amazing lips fused to hers... Soft, full, confident lips that explored hers greedily. His tongue did something incredible inside her mouth, driving her to distraction as it danced and probed inside the dewy depths.

His hands seemed to be on auto-pilot, running frantically over her shoulders, her arms, her back, … learning her curves, reaching for unknown places, searching for bare skin.

He grudgingly pulled his lips away from her and huskily moaned her name, "Kate, oh Kate," and squeezed her tiny waist deftly, almost as if he was checking to make sure she was real and not a dream.

She couldn't stop the sensuous sigh that floated from her lips. "Castle, don't stop."

His eyes darkened to midnight as her voice spurred him to new heights. Rick delved his fingers into her hair. He cupped the back of her head and blanketed her mouth with his.

The drugging taste of Kate threatened to consume him. He needed more of her. He needed to taste her silky skin to try and fill this never-ending hunger that surged through every fiber of his being.

He tasted, probed, tangled his tongue with hers. She tasted of hot, erotic nights and of fine merlot. It added a dark richness to the kiss that made him hunger for more.

He was starving. Starving for Kate Beckett. She was the only one who could curb his insatiable hunger. He sought her out like a Monk who has been denied pleasure for his entire life.

Fire licked through his veins. Fast. Furious. Deadly.

Kate's hands trailed over Rick's chest, then his large biceps, exploring his firm muscles without reservation. Her hands molded the flesh of his upper back and then trailed lower to his waist, her fingers in constant motion massaging everywhere she could reach.

Everywhere she touched felt as though it was set to flame.

Castle couldn't remember the last time he'd yearned for a woman's touch to this degree,… if ever,… and when her hands finally found his ass, Thank God, he moaned deeply into her mouth and rocked his hips into hers.

She lost her breath when she felt him between her thighs. Fuck, he was hard. Hard as tempered steel. He was going to stretch her beyond limitation and the thought sent liquid heat spiraling to her core.

Her eyes flew open and she moaned in protest as his lips suddenly left hers bereft, but then she mewled in satisfaction as his lips found a new home on her jaw line. He tickled her jaw with open-mouth kisses and then blazed a hot trail down the slender column of her throat.

When the flat side of his tongue found her collar bone and he tasted her sweet skin, her nails dug into his hip bones and made him growl, "I've never needed a woman like this before."

She shivered in response to his continued on-slaught. Her fingers bunched at his waistline, holding on for dear life as her knees weakened due to his teeth wreaking havoc on her sensitive flesh. Her breaths quickened as his mouth became more bold, moving erotically to the center of her chest and then down, searing a vertical line on her sternum with his wet kisses. Lower and lower his lips descended until he reached the top of her costume, where he suddenly hesitated.

Kate was in a frenzy of need, … needing immediate gratification, … needing to feel his scorching lips on her bullet scar, and then the mound of her breast. She wanted to feel his lips on every dip and curve of her body.

She needed him like a drowning man needed air. She needed him like she'd never needed a man before.

Kate then did something that completely threw Castle off-guard.

"Fuck!" tore out of her mouth and she shoved him away from her with brute strength… The unexpected shove caused him to stumble backwards, almost comically, but he was able to retain his balance just as she gave him 'that look'.

'The look' he had fantasized about on many an occasion. The wild, feral, brazen look of a woman in heat claiming her man.

Her curls were disheveled, falling in disarray around her flushed face. Her eyes were smoky, stormy, … devouring him with every breath she took. Her lips were fantastically red and swollen from his lavish kisses.

She stared at him longingly while her arms reached behind her back to find the zipper on her costume. Her gaze never left his as she unzipped the zipper and then teasingly, slowly, removed the outfit from off her upper body.

She paused to take in Rick's dilated pupils, his slightly-parted lips, the skewed bow-tie and mussed-up clothes, finally resting on his tented pants. She licked her lips before wiggling and shimmying her hips, (Ohhh Gawwd, it was like his very own strip-tease show) and the costume fell and pooled at her feet. Her left foot stepped out of the outfit and the other? She kicked the fabric off her toe and it hurled towards Rick. He caught it with an outrageous grin. He brought the material up to his nose and inhaled deeply before saying smugly, "I'm going to keep this."

Then he was gawking at her like he'd never seen an undressed woman before in his life. She was in a word, stunning. As stunning, if not more so, than any Victoria Secret model he'd seen in magazine or television ads. The bright red strapless bra hugged her breasts beautifully and (gulp) her nipples were straining against the fabric. The bold red color of the bra highlighted her creamy, white skin and displayed her six-pack abs to perfection. She wore extremely classy, 100% lace, black panties that resided just below her belly button. He smiled as the lingerie screamed, "Kate." They were not demeaning or slutty in any way. Her choice confirmed his suspicions from the first day she'd handcuffed him and brought him gleefully into the precinct. She preferred feminine, conservative lingerie. He was thoroughly delighted with her choice.

"Mmm… If you'd like a souvenir, Rick," she purred, "I can certainly give you something more memorable."

Oh, he'd take anything she wanted to give him and Wait! What in the world? How had he missed that? When had he missed that?

She stood with her legs about 6 inches apart and when his eyes traveled off her very tempting undies to take in the curve of her hips and upper thighs he suddenly realized, something was missing… She was no longer wearing a part of the costume she had on earlier in the evening. He groaned out loud as the meaning of that missing piece became clear… She'd removed the nude tights, and that meant, Bloody hell, that her boots could stay on, … all freakin' night long. Those blazingly hot, leather boots that hugged her calves like a second skin and showcased her magnificent legs like she was related to Gisele Bundchen or Karolina Kurkova.

His mouth watered, his heart practically beat out of his chest, and his manhood throbbed with this new titillating knowledge.

Beckett, being the observant Detective that she is, easily interpreted Rick's body language and practically read his mind.

"I assume, Writer-boy," and she swung her hips lazily while walking towards him, "since you chose this costume for me," her index finger jabbed him in the chest and then she drug her fingernail across his body while walking around him, "that you wouldn't mind if I keep the boots – on."

His neck cricked as he tried to keep his eyes on her the whole time she circled him.

"Uh-huh," he stumbled. "No, I mean, nuh-uh, I don't mind."

She smiled coyly at his obvious confusion; his mind befuddled with thoughts of touching her slick skin; thoughts of making her pant and beg, thoughts of making Kate Beckett scream.

She stopped directly in front of him and shyly batted her eyelashes at him. The minx. She lifted on her toes and without touching him whispered into his ear, "Hold very very still, Rrrick." She pulled back and looked deeply into his desire-laden eyes as one by one her nimble fingers began unbuttoning the short-sleeve shirt. His chest twitched when one of her nails skimmed his nipple.

He didn't move a muscle. He got lost in the mesmerizing way her fingers tripped over the buttons on his shirt. The way her eyes changed color as a bit more of his chest was revealed.

When all the buttons were undone, Kate drew the shirt off his shoulders, purposefully dragging her fingers across his bulging pecs. Her hands found their way to his waistband next and pulled the shirt out from his pants. He hissed as she grazed his strong muscles beneath his navel. His lower abdomen instinctively clenched from her torturous touch. She dropped the 'Clark Kent' shirt onto the floor.

"Mmmm," she took a step back and looked at him intently. "I really like that bow tie." But her eyes were not on the tie at all, … they were roving over his smooth, hairless chest, admiring his fine pecs and then traveling downward to the light brown, baby hairs peeking above his waistband. "Keep it on."

His grin said it all. "Anything you want, Beckett. Anything at all." His hands quickly retied the jumbled tie into a perfect bow.

Oh My. Kate smiled coyly as now he resembled a ruggedly handsome Chippendale dancer. He's going to be extraordinary.

Castle couldn't take it any more… Kate, half naked, looking like a Siren and Goddess all rolled into one, standing within inches of him; her passionate smell driving him insane.

In a blink of an eye, before she even grasped what was happening, his hands splayed into her hair, pulling her inexplicably close, and his mouth latched onto hers. In two steps he'd backed her into the wall for support. Kate gasped as her back hit the wall with a thud. His hands dropped to her upper arms to hold her firmly in place. His mouth sought her luscious neck once more and in between excruciating nips and sucks, he ground out, "You are such a tease. Do you have any idea how crazy you make me?"

"Yesss," she purred, "Almost as crazy as you make me." Her arms squeezed his neck tightly as she lifted her athletic legs, wrapping them intimately around his pelvis.

Thank God Martha was a heavy sleeper because the animal growl that escaped Rick's mouth seemed to echo throughout the room.

He reached behind her to grab that exquisite ass to help hold her up and at the same time his body began to move in an age old rhythm. She was writhing beneath him, encouraging him to continue by gyrating her hips and her breathy sighs were literally shooting fire straight to his loins and Shit! How he wanted to take her right here against the wall… Fast, furious and filthy … but the condoms, dammit, were in a nightstand in his room and there was no way he'd ever be irresponsible with Kate.

She moaned in protest when his strong legs pulled her from the wall but her lips never left his as he speed-walked her into his bedroom. She could happily kiss him everyday for the rest of her life and why in the hell hadn't they done this sooner? ... As Rick stepped into his bedroom, he awkwardly lifted his leg behind him to kick the door closed.

Her lips found his fresh stubble and she delightedly sucked on his Adam's apple until he placed her on the edge of the bed. Kate immediately felt bereft without their intimate connection.

"Don't move," he commanded.

He quickly grabbed a foil packet out of the end table and a cheshire grin started blooming across his face.

He was feeling a bit giddy as this was actually happening… After 3 LONG years of desiring this woman and dreaming about her on a daily basis, this was really –

Rick stopped dead in his tracks; the cheshire grin slowly faded from his face. Uhh- (gulp) Heaven help him, - she'd moved.

Kate had whipped off the brassiere and was leaning back on her elbows, her beautiful breasts displayed in full view.

They were just as he'd imagined, … small, perky, perfect mounds that would fit into his hands like they were made for him.

He couldn't speak, just leaned over her in awe and his fingers brushed tentatively across the tips of her breasts. He reveled in watching her nipples react to his touch.

With a guttural sound, he grabbed both her small breasts simultaneously, squeezing and kneading them to his heart's content, creating a mixture of both pleasure and pain that had Kate feeling like she might explode in a matter of seconds. She arched her chest up into his experienced hands.

"Please," she begged and he knew that she was asking him to replace his hands with his mouth.

He put his hands to the side of her shoulders to brace himself and bent his head. Kate closed her eyes as he opened his mouth wide enough to fit completely around her areola. His lips closed over the dark beige area and he sucked in, slowly and agonizingly pulling the nipple into his mouth… Then he used his masterful tongue to lick around the sensitive nipple before grabbing the base of it with his teeth and scraping upwards to the tip. He lavished the same attention on her other breast as well.

She curled her fingers through his jet-black hair as hot flames licked through her abdomen… She lifted her hips eagerly, needing to feel friction between her thighs but Rick wasn't quite close enough. She demanded in exasperation, "Get your clothes off now."

Not one to ever refuse a lady, and especially Kate Beckett, Castle pulled the belt from out of his slacks and then hurriedly unbuttoned and unzipped them. He slid them from his legs and Kate watched in fascination as he removed the silk boxers at the same time.

"Mmm," she blushed. He's certainly all man, and her heart skipped a beat as his hands boldly reached for her wet underwear. His eyes never left her heated flesh as Kate lifted her hips for him so it was easier to remove the panties.

She was thankful that she'd kept her spa appointment last week and had the full wax treatment. By the look in Castle's eyes, he was extremely grateful as well.

"God, you're gorgeous," and before Rick could get out another word, Kate had taken those fabulous legs of hers and grabbed him around the ass and pulled him towards her.

She sat partially up on the bed and encircled his neck, pulling him down to her. She suddenly attacked his lips, plunging her tongue inside his delectable mouth, scraping it along the roof of his mouth, dueling her tongue with his. She massaged his incredible, muscled ass with dexterous fingers, loving the way he felt beneath her hands. Her inner thighs began quivering from the exertion of holding him in place, making her body burn with the knowledge that they would soon be one.

"Now, Castle, now," she whimpered as she couldn't take the tension a second longer.

She's begging. Katherine Beckett's actually begging me to take her and at that point, Castle felt like the luckiest man on earth.

He took the condom and opened it with shaky fingers.

Kate smiled thinking he looked like a nervous, virginal teen. He slipped the condom on and when he focused on her fully once more, … (she swallowed) gone was the insecure teenager and in his place stood an accomplished lover, one who knew his skills and how to use them.

His facial expression clearly said, 'I'm in charge now, Beckett. No-ifs-ands-or-buts.'

She would never tire of that look.

He reached under her butt and slid her ass to the very edge of the bed. He grabbed those red, devilish boots and hauled her ankles onto his shoulders.

Kate's eyes widened when she realized his intent. She grabbed hold of the bedspread for leverage as he positioned himself at her entrance. She gasped as her eyes froze onto his. She would never doubt the depth of Castle's feelings for her from the pure, raw emotion residing in his cerulean eyes.

Their eyes stayed locked together as he slowly edged himself inside her, allowing Kate to stretch to accommodate his size.

When he was fully inside her, he clenched his jaw, straining against the overload of sensation. She felt so warm, so wet, so tight. Everything he ever imagined and more.

Kate's breathing was stymied. Her hips were involuntarily twitching and jerking with him being completely inside her, driving him mad.

He began sliding in and out of her at a steady pace.

His hands roamed along the slick boots and then found her thighs for support while moving in a smooth, sensual rhythm. He had to fight the urge to go off just looking down at her sinful body, exquisitely displayed below him.

Kate's forehead glistened with perspiration; her green-brown eyes were foggy with pleasure. Her cheeks were rosy from the sexual tension as her body fought to hold off her release. He felt so damn good inside her and she wanted it to last as long as possible, longer than she knew it would.

His thrusts picked up in intensity. He was shoving so deep that she was slowly being pushed up the bedspread. Kate flexed her hips and readjusted her grip so she wouldn't move. Rick bent his knees slightly to change the angle of his strokes and began rubbing her legs sensuously.

She was grateful that yoga had increased her flexibility because he had her bent at such an angle that it was stretching her quads to the limit… Fuck, she bit into her lower lip as the muscle pain increased her sexual awareness even further.

Castle's hands found her breasts and he tugged on her nipples, rolling them between his fingers; he began telling her in a rough, low voice how delicious she was, how she was his and he couldn't wait for her to shatter around him.

That was her undoing. That was his undoing.

Kate had never experienced before such an intense, deep emotional connection with a brand new lover... That incredible, binding connection where they both climax simultaneously. Together. At the exact same moment.

They did.

She reached her peak and screamed his name as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her at the exact second he exploded inside her with a groan, pumping his seed into her which lasted an unbelievable amount of time, heighening her orgasm even more... She was soaring through the midnight sky. Stars bursting into flame behind her eyelids while she rode out the most intense orgasm of her life.

Her cry, plus the exquisite expression on her face, carried Castle to a new height of ecstasy that he'd never experienced with a woman before. It confirmed what he'd suspected about her all along... She was his missing half, his soul mate. The one woman who could make him feel whole in this world.

After his breathing slowed, Rick moved her legs from off his chest and collapsed on top of her, kissing her face tenderly, … on her forehead, her nose, her chin, while coming down from the aftershock of their incredible love making.

He chuckled softly, "I may not survive you, Katherine Beckett."

She took her thumb and traced his lips. "If you can survive the dangerous streets of New York City with me, you can certainly survive me in the bedroom."

"Promise?"

"I promise," she breathed with twinkling eyes, "That next time - will last longer."

"Next time?" he teased. "It's pretty arrogant of you to presume there's going to be a 'next time'."

Her eyes smoldered as she gazed up into his handsome face. "Yes," she rasped, "There will be a next time, ... and a time after that, and a time after that, Richard Castle." It sent chills through his body as she whispered his name like a prayer. "Because I'm afraid, deathly afraid, that I'll never get enough of you."

A maelstrom of emotions crashed through him upon hearing her possessive words... He was undeniably hers, and she was going to make him a very happy man indeed by letting him prove it to her - over and over again.

"Ditto, Beckett. Ditto," and his soft lips captured hers once more.