Chapter 16:

Oops, I Messed Up Again

Castle jolted awake, breathing harshly as he tried to clear his mind from his slumber. He blinked, and was surprised to find that he wasn't alone in his bed.

Kate.

How he could have forgotten that she had stayed the night, he'd never know. Sometime during the night, she had nestled herself snugly against him, a leg wrapped securely over his. He could feel the heat from her center emanating through their clothing, and his erection rose from half- mast to fully engorged in seconds. He cursed himself inwardly at his weakness. Kate would surely kick his ass if she were to wake up and find them in such an intimate position.

That last thought almost had him laughing aloud. The moments they had been sharing together lately seemed to prove the opposite, but he didn't want to rush things between them.

As he went to move, however, Kate surprised him completely by ghosting her hand down his front, stopping to cup his erection. Castle glanced quickly from her hand to her face for a sign that she might be awake, but found none. She seemed to hum her approval, but never took her hand off of him for one second.

Castle's mind raced a million miles a minute. How was he going to explain their current position to her if she were to wake?

Shifting carefully, he dislodged her leg from around his waist and pulled her wrist from around his erection, hissing when her hand tightened around him. Jolts of pleasure crackled down his spine, and he decided then that he needed to get out of the bed and take a cold shower so that he could calm himself down. Pausing for one more second, he gently placed a kiss to each of her fingertips before placing her hand on the pillow next to her head.

Sighing, he got up then and trudged to the bathroom, shedding his clothes as he went. Castle turned on the water, not even bothering to check the temperature before jumping in. Grasping his hard cock, he closed his eyes and thought back to the kiss they shared earlier.

A muffled sound roused Kate from her comfortable slumber. Blinking in confusion due to the unfamiliar environment, she listened again for the noise. After several moments of hearing nothing, she gave up and laid herself back down, prepared to go back to sleep. She closed her eyes and forced herself to relax.

The sound occurred again. What the hell was that?

Groaning, she stumbled clumsily out of bed toward the sound. It was happening now in earnest. Discovering that the sound was coming from the bathroom, Kate paused. She was curious to see what he was up to, but she also didn't particularly want to overstep her boundaries.

Finally gathering her courage, she turned the knob and entered the spacious bathroom. Due to the steam rising from the shower, visibility was poor, but she could still make out Castle's silhouette as he faced away from her. She turned away then, deciding to give him his privacy.

However, the sound of her name from his lips stopped her.

She turned, curiosity getting the better of her. He had turned, head still faced away from her, so it didn't seem like he was aware of her presence. His hand was furiously working on himself, and she licked her lips in anticipation of what was soon to come. Her own body was betraying her, muscles clenching.

Oh, what she wouldn't give to interrupt him and give them both something they sorely needed.

She couldn't stop staring. His arousal had set a fire deep within her veins, and she almost hated him for having so much power over her.

And he hadn't even touched her yet.

She quickly retreated from the bathroom, trying to regain some semblance of control over her frazzled nerves. She shut the door and leaned against the wall next to it, closing her eyes. She tried to think about anything else, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw him in her mind's eye. Naked, saying her name breathlessly while touching himself.

Unbeknownst to Castle, he had just started a fire in her that seemed to never want to be extinguished. She moved, parting her legs so that she could be able to relieve the tight ball of pressure that pulsed deep in her core. Her fingers began to ghost over her body, teasing to drive herself even higher.

She was so distracted that she didn't even hear him turn off the shower; she was lost in her own imagination. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she realized that her secret had been discovered.

"Kate," he began, gazing at her with a confused look on his face. "What are you doing?"

When she didn't answer, his eyes left hers to roam her body freely, pausing to take in her erect nipples and rosy skin. Her breathing quickened as his gaze strayed lower to where her left hand was inside her pants. She watched horrified as he grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her hand free. She hissed at the loss of her own touch, but she couldn't help but watch Castle as he pulled her hand up to his face, pulling each individual digit into his mouth and licking her clean of her own juices.

His eyes seemed to change from a warm chocolate brown to onyx black in seconds as he processed every iota of her taste. At her last finger, he gently bit down on the pad, rendering her speechless as her brain turned to mush.

He leaned close then, trapping her against the wall so that she couldn't move. His hot breath fanned her ear as he gently grazed her earlobe his teeth.

"Why Detective Beckett," he gloated, seemingly proud of himself due to the fact that she hadn't yet pushed him away, "It seems you're in quite the predicament. Is there possibly something I can help you with?"

Her mouth opened, then closed again. She knew that she'd been caught, and would love nothing more than to let Castle throw her up against the wall and fuck her senseless, but she knew that he couldn't afford the lack of sleep. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

"You need your sleep," she told him, cursing herself for how shaky she sounded. "The case-"

"It'll be fine, Kate. That has nothing to do with what's going on here. You're upset because I caught you pleasuring yourself, and you couldn't finish the job before I noticed. Well, you know what? I'm a little irritated that you were doing it without me. Maybe I want to have the pleasure of making you feel good. I just wish you'd let me."

"Castle," she began in protest, but that quickly died off when his lips brushed hers in the most gentle of kisses. Her insides turned to mush, and she was thankful that his body was pressing her into the wall. If he let go, she knew that she'd melt to the floor. She felt the gentle prodding of his tongue asking for entrance, which she happily obliged. It wasn't until she felt his hands on her waist that she decided she needed to slow things down.

Frustrated, Castle angrily shoved a hand through his hair. This woman was going to be the death of him, and he knew it.

"Am I not good enough for you? Is that it?"he asked, eyes slamming shut as he tried to control his anger and burning arousal. He couldn't touch her now and have her regret it later.

"No," she began, but Castle cut her off.

"Maybe you should go."

Kate opened her mouth in protest, but no sound came out. Her heart beat painfully, as if he had stabbed her in the heart with a knife.

"Castle-," she tried, but he had turned away from her and went back into the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind him.

Alone, angry tears filled her eyes. She refused to give him the satisfaction of letting him know she was crying. Things were so messed up between them now. How was she even going to fix this if he wasn't going to listen? She quickly grabbed her things and changed, deciding to follow his orders to leave. She prayed that he would stop her.

She hastily left his apartment, climbing into the car and driving away from him as fast as she could.

Distance is good, she told herself. We need this.

Picking up her phone then, she dialed the number of the only person she could think of at that current moment. When they answered, all the emotions she had been holding back spilled over, and she cursed Castle all over again.

"Hey," she sniffed. "I messed up."

A/N: I have FINALLY been able to update (since I started going to college again to FINALLY finish my undergrad, I had to revise my list of priorities). I've been working on this chapter amidst school and a really bad case of writer's block, knowing where I want my story to go, but lacking the steps to actually get them there. BIG thanks to my bestie (who is also a fanfic writer) for talking me through it when I get stuck! I love having friends like that! Anyway, REVIEW as always! Much love!