They passed the elevators and scurried down the small corridor that led to an old storage closet. He opened the door, pulled her inside and closed the door behind them, plunging them into darkness.
"I didn't fully think this through," he commented.
Beckett couldn't help but smile and - for just a brief moment - she was thankful for his blunder and the fact that they stood in the dark: she didn't want him thinking he was off the hook that easy.
"Hope you're not claustrophobic," she snarked.
"Kate-" His hands found her hips and she sucked in air, not having expected the touch. "I was put on the spot and, in a moment of panic, I thought I had found a perfect cover," he explained.
The sincerity of his voice crumbled her defenses in an instant and she reached out for him, curled her fingers around the material of his shirt.
"It was never my intention to upset you," he assured her.
"I know."
He inched closer, towering over her so the bold outline of his body was all she could see, all she could feel.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, bringing one hand up to cup her cheek.
"I know," she whispered back.
Castle pressed his forehead to hers and they stood for a moment in stillness and in silence, just basking in this private moment. In the freedom of this touch, the freedom she had missed so much more than she had expected she would.
"I missed you last night," she confessed. "My fault, I know."
But Castle shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "Not your fault. I'll call and cancel."
His hand moved from her cheek to comb through her hair, then fell back to her waist.
"Don't." She sighed. "You're right; it's a good cover."
"I said perfect cover," he corrected. Sensing her frown, he continued, "but good works, too."
Again, she smiled. And again, she was grateful for the cover of darkness so he wouldn't think he was off the hook.
"Just promise me one thing," she bargained. "Don't be too charming."
"That's like asking the sun not to shine-"
"Humble," she muttered sarcastically.
"But, for you, I'll try."
"Okay, well, maybe just one more thing?"
"Anything," he promised.
She covered his hand with hers, guided it down her hip and around to rest on her ass.
Then she slowly leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "Just keep in mind what will be waiting for you when you get home."
The growl that came from Castle was guttural, primal. It sparked something within her, something that told her to throw caution to the wind (not that she was being particularly cautious to begin with) and, so, she did exactly that.
She reached up, wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled herself up onto her tiptoes. He met her in the middle and their mouths clashed in a heated, impassioned kissed. In the dark, her hands found the buttons of his shirt and made quick work of undoing them. She flattened her palms to his abs and smoothed them over his chest, savouring the warmth of his skin under her touch.
Two small steps was all it took to have her back pressed against one of the shelves that lined the walls and she grunted on impact. But Castle didn't stop, couldn't stop. His hand slipped under the material of her shirt, roamed freely until he reached the rough lace of her bra. He cupped his hand over her breast and she arched into him. Her head dropped back against the shelf behind her and sighed as he ghosted his thumb over her sensitized skin.
Castle dropped a kiss to her throat, to her jaw, to the ticklish spot just below her ear and then whispered to her, "I love you, Kate. You're all I will ever need-" A kiss to her jaw. "or want." A kiss to her chin. "Ever." A kiss to her lips.
As their tongues danced, her mind screamed for her to stop. She had very strict rules against this kind of thing: at work, she was a professional. Nothing about this was even remotely close to those standards but she couldn't bring herself to care. She regretted that she let some irrational insecurity keep them apart last night; the first time since she showed up at his door, drenched and desperate to fight for one last chance. She regretted that she had been so angry at him and that her anger had momentarily clouded her mind of what she knew to be true: Castle wanted her. Only her. And right now, despite her own rules, she wanted him too: more than ever before.
"Yeah, I'll get it!"
They heard the faint, muffled sound of a voice from the other side of the door and they both froze in fear. Time seemed to move impossibly slow and yet entirely too fast as they heard the doorknob rattle and twist. Light began to leak through the crack of the door as it creaked open just an inch and Beckett pushed Castle off of her: not that the extra ten inches of space between them would make any difference at all. There was no time to button Castle's shirt, no explanation for the state of Beckett's mussed hair or the very telling swell of their lips.
No, there was no getting out of this one. They were busted.
"Hold on!" They heard another voice, and the door stopped moving.
Castle stepped forward, pressed his body against Beckett's again in hopes to not be seen through the small gap in the only slightly ajar door.
"Pretty sure they dumped it with Robbery," the second voice said. "Check the storage on third."
Today, luck was on their side. The door closed and they were left in darkness once more.
They both exhaled a heavy, held-for-too-long breath and Castle let out a relieved chuckle.
"It's not funny," Beckett scolded as she combed her fingers through her hair.
Rick fumbled with his buttons. "I know, I know. I'm so sorry."
But after a second, she laughed too. Simply because the overwhelming relief that flooded through her needed an outlet.
As soon as he was satisfied with his blind attempt at buttoning his shirt, Castle placed his hands on Beckett's hips and rested his forehead against hers. Together, they took a deep breath.
"Shit," she said as she exhaled. "That was too close."
"We gotta stop," Castle agreed.
"No more. Not here, not anywhere that isn't either the loft or my apartment. We can't afford to get caught."
"Agreed."
And it was the first logical decision they'd made thus far.
Just when they thought they were safe, the door opened again.
They both turned; their horror so evident on their faces.
LT shook his head, looked at them like a disapproving father.
"You two have got to get your shit together," he warned them. Then he pointed to something behind Beckett's head. "Can you pass me that box? Garcia is looking for it."
In that moment, they both realised that the second voice they could hear had been LT.
He saved their asses.
He knew.
Castle grabbed the box from behind Beckett and passed it to LT.
"Thank you," Beckett whispered, still a little too shocked to really process what was happening.
LT smiled. "You should go before someone wanders past and starts asking questions."
if you made a thousand pieces of art with your staple background trees it would still not be enough 💚
HAHAHA thank you so much!! I know deep down that I should not overuse this leaf brush to THIS extent (it's in every damn image recently), but I just love it, it's so fun to use and it looks decent
Uh... It was... only once! And the folks we were playing with were bad at aim so she didn't even drink much! Heck, I think she only had, like, one drink, and it was, like, a quarter full...!
