On instinct, as Castle woke he rolled them over. The first thing he was aware of was the fact that his body was hovering over Kate's, then he registered that his hand was on the back of her knee. He opened his eyes, to find himself staring into Kate's. His panic over the position he found himself in fled as he saw the intensity in her eyes. She was biting her lip, which he had always found irresistible, and he had to use all his restraint to stop from acting, waiting for a signal from her. When he got his signal it was not the one he had been expecting. He was waiting for something subtle – a glance at his lips, or maybe just Kate leaning towards him – so when her eyes closed and her hips rolled against his, her breathing already a little ragged, he was torn between believing he was still asleep or that he had died and gone to heaven. Once his sleep and heat addled brain realized this was real he felt his heart stop briefly before kicking into overdrive.

Kate hadn't been able to stop herself. He was so close, and her body was reacting of its own accord. For once, she was going to let go and not over think, the way she had with every previous interaction with Castle until today.

The flurry of motion would have amazed anyone who knew how painfully slow the relationship had developed. Both moved toward the other, lips meeting, anything but tentative. For a first kiss it was like nothing either had experienced before. Her teeth grazed his lower lip, and he pushed his hips forward in response. For once, neither held back. Kate threaded her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer; Castle's hand was already in her hair, but moved down to cup her face. The hand on her leg moved back up under the shirt, gripping her waist, his fingers tracing patterns on her lower back, before slowly moving higher to brush the underside of her breast over her bra. He paused a moment to give her a chance to stop where this was headed, and was nothing short of awestruck when she arched her back, her mouth moving from his in the process. He moved his lips down to her neck, and she made a sound of frustration when he slid his hand back down her body and out of her shirt, only to groan her appreciation when both his hands went to the buttons of the shirt. He managed to free most of the buttons before pulling the shirt apart, the last few pinging off around the room.

Kate felt a little dazed, but in a really, really, good way. Everything was happening fast, logically she knew that, but it didn't feel fast, it just felt right. Two years of almost-foreplay, a day of realizing (or admitting) her feelings plus the last few hours trapped in this room… it was too much. She finally knew that she needed to act – that they both did. Every single emotion she had gone through that day made it clear that this is what she wanted, and without the blinkers she'd used for the last two years she was able to admit that Castle had made his feelings for her very clear, in his own unique way. So when she rolled him onto his back and sat up to take off the shirt, it felt natural to unhook the clasp of her bra at the same time. As she moved to take off the garment Castle's hands stopped her, giving her a moment of uncertainty.

"Let me." Castle sat up, his face inches away from hers, and pulled the straps off her shoulders and down her arms, slowly, eyes never leaving hers. He kissed her again before looking down, taking her in. "You're beautiful, Kate."

She flushed in response, and then in desire as his hands brushed against her breasts, his fingers slowly rubbing her nipples, pinching them lightly, before moving his head down to take one in his mouth. He felt, more than heard, the soft moan that escaped her lips. Pushing her onto her back, he kissed his way down her body slowly, then back up to her mouth. His hand trailed down her side, brushing the top of her panties, her breathing hitching as he moved his hand to her inner thigh. He slowly slid his hand into her folds, groaning when he felt just how wet she was already. He pushed two fingers inside her and pumped slowly, his thumb gently brushing against her clit. She made a sound of frustration and moved her hips against his hand more urgently, signally that she needed him to pick up the pace. He added a third finger and moved them in and out of her faster, putting more pressure on the bundle of nerves with his thumb, feeling her walls tighten around his fingers. Crooking his fingers at the knuckle, he moved even faster, kissing her mouth hard, swallowing the noises she made as she came apart against him. He kept kissing her lightly until she came back to herself. She gave him a lazy smile, flipping them over with an ease that made Castle take a mental note never to spar with her. Well… depending on the situation.

Kate stood, and for a moment Castle thought she was having seconds thoughts, that she had decided this was only happening because of their current environment and someone needed to put the breaks on. He knew that the fact that he even thought that meant he was worrying about it himself. People often made him out as a playboy, and until he met Kate he was fine with that. But he had changed since meeting her – in some ways intentionally, but he was aware that there were times when he acted differently without even having to think it through. His time with Kate had changed him, no matter what anyone else wanted to believe. He had gone from being completely happy to be unattached to any one woman, to yearning with everything he had in him that he could share his life with her. With Kate. He knew it was too early in what could tentatively be called their new relationship to be in love, but the truth was he had fallen for her a long time ago. Fallen hard, he was willing to admit. As he looked up at her standing over him it took everything he had not to tell her. As fast as things were moving, it still felt like there was a delicate balance to their relationship, and he wanted to do nothing – nothing – to scare her away from him now.

He watched, swallowing hard, as she slipped out of her underwear. She leaned down, her face now parallel to his, and unfastened his belt and jeans, moving to pull them off him. In an unexpected display of restraint he lifted her chin and met her eyes, asking her, "Are you sure?"

Not trusting her voice, Kate just nodded. Signaling him to lift his hips, she dragged his jeans down his legs, taking his boxers with them, and pushed him so he was leaning against the back of the couch. She gently reached for his cock, slowly running her hand up its length, her thumb brushing the tip lightly. She knelt in front of the couch and leaned down, running her tongue from the base of his shaft to the tip, swirling her tongue around the tip before taking the head into her mouth. All vestiges of restraint gone, Castle groaned and touched her cheek, knowing he needed to slow this down or risk embarrassing himself. She looked up to his face, not releasing him from her mouth. The sight alone was nearly enough to make him come. He shook his head and reached for her, pulling her up and into him. She sat down in his lap, straddling him so they were face to face again.

He pulled her face to his and kissed her deeply, imitating with his tongue what he wanted to do with the rest of his body. It was too much for Kate. She broke the kiss and raised her body over his, holding the base of his cock with one hand, lowering herself onto him until he was as deep as he could go. They both groaned at the sensation. His hands found her waist as she began to move over him, slowly at first while they found their rhythm. When the need became too much, she began to move faster, rising and falling over him quickly, her eyes closing. Pushing his hips up to meet hers, Castle moved one of his hands to her clit, rubbing in time with the motion of their hips, which was becoming frenzied. He felt her inner muscles begin to contract around him, and his mouth latched onto her nipple, tugging at the little bud with his teeth. When she came it was loudly, her mind going blank as her muscles spasmed around him.

Castle held on to his control long enough to roll them, so her back was against the couch. Still inside her, he began to thrust deeply, kissing every inch of skin he could find and repeating her name over and over, almost like a prayer. Her back arched as she unexpectedly began to feel another orgasm building within her. She pulled his face to hers, kissing him until they had to break apart for oxygen, winding her legs around his back, pulling him in deeper. Castle groaned at the sensation and lost control, thrusting harder and harder, the high pitched sounds coming from Kate on each thrust encouraging him to increase the pace, feeling her inner muscles beginning to flutter around him again. This time when she came, she threw her head back, her hips rising to meet his, her muscles clamping hard around him as he pounded into her, drawing out his own orgasm. It was on another level to any he had experienced before. He peppered her skin with kisses as he came back to himself, not wanting to speak, not sure if he had the words to tell her how much she meant to him, how much this had meant to him. When he looked in her eyes they were shining, and the emotion in them made his heart skip a beat. They were both still figuring out what to say to the other when Kate's phone vibrated to say there was a new text message. Unable to bring himself to pull away from her, Castle reached out his hand and brought the phone to Kate. She murmured her thanks and quickly read the text message, passing the phone to Castle to read.

The power will be back in a few minutes. We should be able to get the door open in about 30.

"I guess we better get ready to leave." There was a touch of wistfulness in Kate's voice, but Castle wasn't about to let her think their relationship was going to go back to the way it was before, especially considering the fact that he was still buried inside her. Other than the fact that he knew they needed to move before the doors opened (the boys would never, ever, let them live this down if they found them in their present state) he really had no desire to move, to let her leave, to go back to real life where the two of them could spend years denying that they felt anything but friendship for the other.

Kate squirmed underneath him, which had the opposite effect to that she had intended and made Castle even less eager to let her leave as he felt himself hardening again in response. Knowing he didn't really have a choice, he withdrew from her, but the little shiver that went through her, combined with the moan she made as he pulled out of her, made him change his mind. Castle brought his face down to hers to kiss her, unable to stop the yelp he made when she rolled them over once again, putting a finger over his lips. "We don't have time. We need to get cleaned up before they open that door, because I am not letting the boys see what happened in here."

"They'll figure it out." Castle knew his voice sounded a little pleading, but he just wasn't ready to let her leave.

"I have no doubt that they will, but that doesn't mean I'm prepared to let them see it with their own eyes, no matter how much I would love to stay here with you on this couch, Castle."

"Really? You would?" The – and this time she allowed herself the use of the word – adorable, eager smile on his face made Kate smile.

"Yes Castle, I would. Look… we can keep talking around the subject as much as we like, but we're just gonna end up hurting each other, and anyone else that gets hit by the crossfire."

Castle nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"I really like you. I know I left it kinda late to tell you, but I do. I don't want you to leave for the summer, I want you to stay here with me, or take me to the Hamptons with you. Your choice, but they're your only options." Castle rolled them back over, laughing a little at Kate's surprised squeak - at the motion and the fact that it had left them lying on the floor, with Castle's body pressing into hers.

"You know, I always loved when you used your detective voice on me." He started kissing her neck, causing Kate to groan slightly in frustration; more than one kind of frustration. She pulled his face up to hers and gave him a heated kiss, breaking away as the power was restored and the overhead lights came back on.

"Do we have a deal?" She asked a little breathlessly.

Castle responded by cupping her ass and grinding his now raging erection into her, causing her to moan into his mouth. She tried to swat him away, which had absolutely no effect. "Castle, we don't have time for this."

"I can be quick." The grin on his face was downright evil.

"That's not a very convincing argu…umph!" Her sentence was cut off by the groan she made when he drove himself back inside her. His hand slid back down to her clit, rubbing in circles, while the other hand pulled her closer towards him with each thrust. Kate bit down on his neck in an attempt to stifle the groans she couldn't stop herself making every time their hips ground together forcefully, but her orgasm washed over her almost out of nowhere, and she couldn't stop the surprised but loud scream that came out of her mouth. The sound and the sensation of her clamping down like a vice around his cock was too much for Castle and he came with her, his hips pinning her to the floor as he pumped inside her a few final times.

This time, instead of letting her try to convince him to allow her to get up, he picked her up, somehow managing to stay inside her, finally letting her drop her feet to the floor as they reached the shower and he turned on the water. He kissed her gently before pushing her under the spray.

"I'm not going anywhere." He promised, in the serious voice Kate hardly ever heard him use before tonight.

He washed them both with the new bar of soap he had found in the shower, running it over Kate almost reverently.

"I had this amazing dream earlier about this shower," he breathed into her ear.

Kate looked up at him in surprise. "Me too," she whispered.

"Maybe we can compare notes later," he said with an expression bordering on a leer, which made Kate laugh just a little. It was nice… feeling like she didn't need to watch what she said or did around him. It felt kinda… freeing, and she liked it. A lot. Castle didn't comment on it, but he enjoyed watching the little transformation that came over her.

They dressed, Castle making sure that his shirt was tucked in enough to hide the missing buttons. Clearing away the candles and everything else they had moved, Castle surreptitiously flipping a couch cushion while Kate wasn't looking. They both struggled to stop themselves touching the other, more for reassurance that they weren't dreaming, that this had really happened, than anything else.

As they waited for the door to open, they both sat on the couch, a little closer than they usually would, both nervous about what would happen after they left this little bubble they'd constructed, but each was determined that they would, under no circumstances, allow things to go back to the way they were before.

As the door opened they rose together and walked out.

"Maybe I should get one of these built into the loft." Castle couldn't resist whispering in her ear, his playful tone making it clear that he wasn't thinking about building it for safety reasons.

Kate just raised an eyebrow at him and smiled, before replying, "Why don't we just start with the closets and see where things go."

Any hope they had of hiding what had happened from Esposito and Ryan was lost when the pair saw the matching grins on Castle and Beckett's faces, but neither of them could bring themselves to care. Even when Gina walked up to them, clearly unbelievably pissed at the situation and making no effort to hide it, they kept on walking to the elevator, although Castle took a moment to take his phone from her hand.

When she gathered her wits and yelled his name, Castle just turned his head to her and said, "We're not going to the Hamptons."

When Gina just stared at them open mouthed as the doors began to close, he spoke again. "I'll call you when I finish the book, I promise."

The last thing Gina saw as the doors closed was Kate leaning into Castle, who was smiling down at her in what, to Gina's well-trained eye, was obvious adoration.

I swear these characters have a mind of their own! This didn't end up the way I had originally planned. Would you believe me if I said they weren't supposed to have sex in the panic room? Because they weren't, honestly! Anyway I hope it lived up to expectations. If there are any mistakes, put it down to the fact that I really needed to get this finished before season 3 starts. Thank you for all the reviews, I feel so much more confident than I did before. You're all awesome.