Chapter 31 - Can't Stop

"Oh come on, Dad! You can't be serious?" Alexis exclaimed with a disbelieving laugh.
It was just past 8am on a Sunday morning with all three-and-a-half Castles huddled around in the kitchen for breakfast. They were the picture of domesticity - Kate was feeding a very awake Lizzy (complete with train noises), Rick was making coffee dressed in a robe and looking adorably bed-ruffled and Alexis was sitting at the counter eating a bowl of cereal like she always used to.
"What?" Rick asked with a bemused expression. He turned to look at his wife, who was sporting an arched eyebrow. "What?" he asked again.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," Kate muttered, turning her attention back to feeding Lizzy.
Rick glanced between the two women. "Wait a minute. You two-" He gestured between Alexis and Kate "-don't think I can keep up, do you?"
"We don't think so, Honey. We know you can't." Kate winked at Alexis and smiled.
He scowled at them both. "The confidence you have in me is astounding," Rick hit back sarcastically before taking a sip of his coffee. Kate sighed, shook her head and proceeded to giving Lizzy another spoon-full of oatmeal goodness… while her husband continued to pout like an unhappy six-year old.
Alexis sighed and patted her father's shoulder. "Dad, it's not because we don't have confidence in you, but because we are concerned about your wellbeing," she placated. Kate's mouth curved briefly as she listened to the girl – she was fit to be a diplomat. Just then, Lizzy shrieked and started to babble incoherently.
"See, your youngest offspring also agrees with us," Alexis pointed out with a grin.
"Nah-uh, she's on my side. You can't take her too." He turned to look at his baby girl (who was still focused on her mother's every move). "Lizzy, stay in the light! Don't let these two drag you down into their dark pits of- ow!" He exclaimed after Kate pinched his arm.
"Your daughter is right," Kate said, glancing at Alexis. "And I agree with her. It's not the best idea for you to be running around with these guys, getting tackled and Lord knows what else. You could get hurt."
He huffed and rolled his eyes. "It's only one lousy little football game. Esposito said that they just needed someone to fill in. That's all."
Secretly, he found her concern endearing and sweet... Not to mention the fact that protective Mama-Bear-Kate was extremely hot. Especially if she just, a mere hour before, indulged you in some adult morning excercise.
Hot damn.
"Yeah," Kate said, lifting an oatmeal-smeared and cackling Lizzy out of her seat. "Someone to fill in after the guy you're replacing broke his collarbone in one of these lousy little football games." Rick sobered immediately. "Esposito didn't mention that, did he?" She suppressed a smirk.
"Uh, no- no he didn't," Rick stammered slightly much to the amusement of his daughter and wife. He recovered quickly however and shrugged off the alarm. "But it'll be fine, I'll be fine. It's just football with some cops." He shrugged. "No big deal."
Kate raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrows. "Just some cops, huh? Honey, those guys work out almost every day. They're fit. You're not."
He flashed her an impossibly cocky and arrogant grin.
Why the hell did she find it so sexy?
"Babe, I am in great physical condition." His grin turned devilish. "You of all people should know that."
Kate blushed. "Castle!" Trust him to turn everything into some sort of innuendo.
The man was insufferable.
"Ew, Dad. Over share," Alexis mumbled, frowning disapprovingly.
He ignored their reprimands. "Besides, I work out… regularly."
"Oh please," Kate snorted, wiping Lizzy's hands clean with a wetwipe. "When exactly do you work out, Mr. Castle?"
His lips curved into a grin. "When the kids are asleep and you and I are alone, Mrs. Castle," he returned coolly, waggling his eyebrows at her. Kate froze and felt the heat rise to her cheeks (again).
He was on fire. He usually got worse with sexual innuendo just after he got lucky. She glared at him, cheeks burning.
Smug bastard.
Incredibly sexy, ruggedly handsome smug bastard with very talented hands and a fantastic mouth and a big-
"Ugh, I just lost my appetite," Alexis commented with a grimace, abandoning her bowl of cereal. "Seriously, Dad. You need a memo on what is appropriate to say in the presence of your children." She walked over to Kate, who was still sporting red cheeks and studiously avoiding eye contact.
"Isn't that right, little sis?" Lizzy looked up at her big sister and giggled, bouncing excitedly in her mother's arms. "What do you say, should we get you dressed and remove ourselves from possible psychological damage that could take years of therapy to recover from?" Lizzy sucked on her little fist as she watched Alexis before extending her small arms to the young redhead.
Alexis laughed. "Thought so."
Kate smiled broadly and handed Lizzy over to Alexis.
"Thanks, Lex."
"No problem... Mom," the younger woman teased with a smile before turning her attention to the youngest Castle. Lizzy was groping her older sister's hair, fascinated by the bright colour. "Come on, Adorable One, let's get you dressed. You know what I'm thinking? That polka dot shorts with the…" Alexis' voice trailed off as she and Lizzy ascended the stairs.
Rick leaned against the counter and watched the whole exchange, trying not make it into a Hallmark-moment in his head and failing miserably. He felt like enveloping all three of them in a bear-hug and shedding a few sentimental-
Oh yeah, he needed a manly football game.
"What does a girl have to do to ge some service around here?" Kate asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Looking at her, Rick concluded that his wife was absolutely irresistable in a pair of yoga pants, a loose-fitting NYPD t-shirt that occasionally slid off her shoulder while silky, unruly chocolate brown locks framed her striking face.
He grinned and strode over to where she was sitting, arms folded and a challenging gleam in her olive eyes. Oh, he enjoyed this game so very, very much. Rick leaned in, invading her personal space and entrapping her body with his. She was surprised, but recovered well.
"Oh, all you have to do is ask, Detective," he breathed into her ear, a hand brushing her hair away from her shoulder and neck. She shivered and briefly closed her eyes.
Holy crap.
Richard Castle did seduction well, very well.
He placed a kiss just below her exposed ear and hummed. "What do you want... Beckett?" He murmured, nudging his nose against her pulse point as he breathed her in.
Kate let out a shaky breath, a rush of arousal washing over her. 'Beckett' was her version of 'Stud'. If it weren't for Alexis and Lizzy upstairs, Richard Castle would be half-naked on the kitchen counter with Kate draped all over him by now. Instead, she fisted her hands to keep her from grabbing him and doing just that.
How the hell did he make her want to lose control like that?
"Uh," she started, but lost track of her thoughts as he gently nipped at and sucked on her earlobe.
"Mm-hmm?" She could feel his grin as he trailed kisses down her neck. Smug bas-
Time to turn the tables.
She slowly let her left hand sneak in under his shirt, lightly caressing the skin just above the hem of his pajama pants. Rick jerked back at the contact with wide, dark eyes.
Kate's lips quirked. Mission accomplished.
She bit her lip and gazed at him from under her dark lashes. He clenched his jaw, his eyes growing nearly black with lust. Kate leaned up, making sure to press herself flush against him while her fingers continued to toy with the hem of his pants.
She brushed his cheek with hers before positioning her mouth next to his ear. "Whatever you have to offer... Stud." Her voice coming out rough and throaty, like when she's about to-
She unexpectantly dipped her hand inside his pants and stroked him once before quickly removing it.
"Kate," he growled, folding over as she darted away from him. She was grinning, a wild twinkle in her eye.
Cruel tease.
Brilliant, gorgeous, sex-on-legs cruel tease.
He watched her, still slightly bent over and breathing hard. If it weren't for Alexis and Lizzy, Kate Castle would be naked on the dining room table and screaming his name right about now.
He wanted to do dirty, dirty things-
"You can make me an omelette while I shower."
They were playing with fire. It was fun, but... there were kids in the house.
"Kate, come on! Don't leave me like this," Rick protested. He still didn't dare to stand up straight or to move from his position at the counter. She had rendered him incapable of doing that for at least a few minutes.
"No, no, you already got lucky once this morning and you promised me breakfast. Furthermore, you started this little game. I am merely ending it, Writer Boy," she shot back, smiling sweetly.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're being very mean, Detective, and it's Writer Man. Writer. Man."
She paused and licked her lips, glancing pointedly at his pants. "Oh, believe me - I know you are... Stud." And just to torture him further she slipped into a Russian accent. "You're a beeg, ghandsome man." With that she disappeared, laughing, up the stairs.
He dropped his head and groaned, viciously gripping the counter to keep from chasing after her.
'Kids in the house, kids in the house, kids in the house.'

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You have everything I could ever want

You speak to my soul like you've known it before

And I just can't stop

Lord I can't stop myself

I can't stop

Lord I can't stop myself, now

Title of the chapter and lyrics at the end are from Mozella's song 'Can't stop'.