This is the very first fanfiction I write about Castle... Please, be indulgent. :)
Also, English is not my native language, I apologize in advance for any possible grammatical error.
** SPOILER ENDING SEASON 4**

Hope you'll enjoy!

CHAPTER 1

They were lying on their side, facing each other, catching their breath. Kate was grinning, but Castle was not. He looked dead serious. He was looking at her as if he was looking at a sparkling piece of jewelry. Beauty. Rarity. He was stunned. Was that really happening?

"You okay?" she said softly.

He didn't say a word. He kept looking at her with the same sense of awe. She looked at him, a bit worried.

"Castle... are you okay?"

"I... I just..." It took a few seconds for him to utter those words, but that's all he could say for now.

"A seducing best-seller author left speechless. How is that possible?"

He closed his eyes, swallowed. But when he opened his eyes, she was still here. Her hand was now caressing his cheek. She came closer, brushed her nose against his before she put a soft kiss on his lips. It looked real. It felt real. But was it?

It had started as a game. The first time he met her, he wanted her; just another conquest to add to the list. Just to have some fun. He knew nothing about her, only that she was a cop, and that she was hot. But she said no. Hotter. It raised the game. It then became a challenge. He swore to himself to find a way to have her. One day or another. Intriguing. Exciting. Fascinating. That's why he had chosen her to be his muse. She was unlike any women he had ever known.

But year after year, being by her side every day, going through all those ordeals and rough times together, he got to know her a bit more. At first, she was a mystery, a mystery he thought he would never be able to solve. He figured her out a bit. And he had loved everything he had learned about her since that first day.

Remarkable. Because of her strength, her determination in everything she did. Challenging. She had made him push his own boundaries, made him do things he had never thought he would. Maddening. She had given him a hard time... many times. It was hard to get a clean understanding of her. She would not let anybody in. Frustrating. Her stubbornness sometimes could be irritating.

But remarkable. She was remarkable. Now he was really in love with her. The list had came to an end. He didn't want anyone else. He had found the one.

He remembered what Kate's father had told him. It was about a year ago, when he came to his place. When he personally came to ask Castle's help in order to make Kate back down. Jim Beckett had explained to him how it had taken three years for him to realize he was in love with the woman that would then become his wife and the mother of their daughter. They had spent three years working together every day. But only after three years had he figured out she was the one. Same thing had happened to Richard Castle a year ago.

Castle was looking at Kate. However hard he tried, he just could not believe it was true. After so many years of waiting, of trying to get to her... it was happening. She had opened up to him. She had offered herself to him. She had let him in.

He took her hand that was still caressing his check and started kissing it, gently. Her palm first. Then the soft skin of her forearm. Once. Twice. She was lying there, smiling, her eyes closed. He came closer and kissed her.

His forehead against hers, he was still looking for words. Words that could explain how he was feeling at that precise moment. But there was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to ask her. He could not find any word that could translate his emotions.

"I love you, Kate," he murmured and that was still not enough. She already knew that. So he kissed her again, more passionately. How else could he make her understand. "Are you okay?"

She smiled at him. A real gentleman. He had been a gentleman ever since she had walked through his door. Even though he was dying to kiss her, to make love to her, he had taken the time to ask what had happened, to make sure she was alright. He was doing it again.

"Never been better," she answered with a huge smile.

"You promise?"

"I promise, Castle. Everything's fine."

He smiled at her. It definitely looked like she was fine, like everything was fine. But was it too good to be true?

"You know..." he started very seriously, "you can call me Rick if you want. I think we know each other well enough now."

His coping mechanism had rushed back. Humor. Or maybe that was just Castle being... Castle.

"Rick, huh?"

"Yeah."

She thought about it. Castle. She liked the sound of it. She was used to it. There was something enthralling about it. Rick. That made them sound so close, it felt much more personal. She bit her lip and asked, smiling, between two kisses:

"What else can I call you?"

"Whatever you want."

They kept on kissing each other.

"Ricky?"

"Oh, I like the sound of it in your mouth! Turns me on a bit, I-"

"Kitten?" she asked with a mischievous look.

He stopped short and bent his head on one side as he's used to.

"Okay, let's say anything you want except kitten."

Kate kissed him back while placing herself on top of him.

"Wh- What are you doing?" Castle asked, uncertain of her next move.

She started kissing his neck without answering him. He was running his hands up her bare back, her breast was resting on his chest. Their lips were locked. Oh, that was good.

How the hell was that possible. He wanted her. Every inch of her body. How could you want someone that badly.

He made her roll on her back. He caressed her round scar that the bullet had left in the middle of her chest. He kissed it, then went for the other scar. The long one that she carried on her left side and that was going from her breast to her waist. He kissed it, from top to bottom. He kept on kissing her skin, her belly, her bellybutton... and below. He disappeared beneath the sheet.

She moaned of pleasure. Castle... Yeah, she liked the sound of it, and so did he. Her hand was running through his hair, then his shoulder as she kept moaning. How much more could he give her?

When he appeared again, he made his way to her by kissing every inch of her body before he could get to her mouth. He stopped, to look at her. She had her eyes closed but he could see tears.

"Kate, I'm sorry. I'm-... you're alright?" She nodded with her eyes still closed. "I'm sorry if I did something I shouldn't have. I-"

She put her finger on his mouth. Shut up, Castle. It was perfect. She made him come closer to kiss him. He needed to hear it. Yes, she had tears in her eyes. She was not sad. She was happy. Beyond happy. Did that even exist?

"It was perfect. I..."

He looked at her, silently, lovingly, as she was caressing his cheek. She wanted to say something but it looked like she didn't know how to put it.

"No one..." she swallowed before going on, "no one had ever made love to me the way you did." She finally opened her eyes, full of tears. "Thank you."

She had the power of leaving him speechless.

"No one loves you the way I do, Kate. Come here," he said rolling on his side, pulling her closer as she nestled against his chest.

To Be Continued...

Reviews are always appreciated! :)

I decided to go with the FFN standard and add double spaces between lines and paragraphs. I will use two scene/section break symbols :

# # # # # : minor scene break. There's a small passage of time between two scenes that are connected.
########## : major scene break. It separates two scenes that take place in a different setting or at a totally different time (several hours later or on different days for example).