Exculpatory

Chapter nineteen

This chapter is the biggest reason this story is rated M. Just a fair warning ;) Enjoy!

–––––––––––––––––––––––

They strolled around in a park not far away from her apartment. Kate had suggested they'd go home but Castle had convinced her their date couldn't be over quite yet, saying something about wanting to do something with her he hadn't done in forever. When she'd asked what it was she had chuckled when he answered something in style with 'Walking in the park under the moonlight'. To her surprised he had actually checked in the calendar and had, earlier in the week, seen it was going to be full moon that night. So, not really knowing how to argue against that, Kate agreed to walk in the park under the moonlight. Their hands were tangled and she hadn't known how much she would enjoy it until they actually walked there. He was beautiful under the moonlight, the shadows and the light around them was kind of angelic and she had a feeling he could see her delight all over her face. She couldn't deny she absolutely loved this, had no idea she ever could love something so easy. Simple. It was so easy for her to like him, pretty simple for her to fall for him.

"You know," he interrupted her thoughts. "Some tales says werewolves don't need the full moon to change, though they do prefer the full moon due to the light it provides."

His random fact had her cracking up in a small laughter. "What does that have to do with anything?" she questioned and he only gave her a grin.

"Nothing, just thought you should know," he smirked and she laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, and did you know that in some myths a bite from a vampire can kill a werewolf and the other way around?"

"Why the sudden interest of werewolves and vampires?" she chuckled, looking at him with curiosity.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Saw the moon and thought about them that's all."

She shook her head with the smile still bright on her lips. "You're crazy."

"Crazy about you."

Her head snapped towards him and she could see by his big eyes that wasn't something he had planned on letting pass his lips. She tugged his hand to stop them from walking, turning so they stood face to face. She let her free hand come up and gently stroke his cheek, the skin smooth due to the shaving he'd most likely done before he came to pick her up for their date. Standing onto her toes she let her forehead lean against his, their noses touching lightly. Her eyes closed as she took in a small breath, preparing herself to tell him the same.

"I'm crazy about you too," she whispered close to his mouth, so close their lips brushed against one another.

That was apparently all he need to once again steal her lips that evening, lips brushing before he carefully asked permission with his tongue nudging her lips apart. His taste made her mind spin, as it always did, and she wondered for a short second if the feeling was mutual. Did he always get as dizzy as she did whenever they kissed or was that just her? She felt her hand let go of his to join the other behind his head, her fingers playing with the hair in his neck which resulted in a shiver going down his body. His hands landed carefully on her hips, pulling her closer to his body and she felt her knees weaken as the kiss got deeper. She pulled away when air was a necessity, but kept their forehead together, their noses touching as their breaths mixed in between them. The night had been absolutely perfect, their date just the right amount out of ordinary, yet so perfectly normal. And she wanted it all to end just as perfect, as them. She wanted them to take the step she hadn't done in years. Because she felt safe with him, he wasn't out to hurt her. He would rather protect her than let anything else happen to her. With teeth showing in the small smile on her lips she let her hands go down through his chest to his hands, tugging them towards her as she started walking for her apartment.