I know you're all deeply disappointed to see it go but I'll find something to fill the void. Eventually. I actually don't know what to do. I have two more fan fics that I'm planning to write in the month of July so I might post those here but I'd prefer to start focusing this blog.
Originally the themes of this blog were sex and death and how they play into writing fiction. We haven't really done that. Now that doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing reviews, guests posts and blog tours for books that are outside of the genre but I'm definitely going to try and get more focus. Do more stuff like Forensic Fridays and post more of my writing and not just fan fiction.
On top of that I have a giant pile of books that I was supposed to read and I just haven't gotten around to so I'm hoping to do more reviews in the coming months. Lots of fantasy and new adult.
I'm still learning what things work for me as a writer and as a person - I always will be - and I'm so glad that I have you guys to support me. So thanks.
Here's to a never-ending flow of words.
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| This is totally how I plot stories. 'cept I'm not as hot as Stana Katic...or have a window with cool shutters like that...just me. And my wall. |
Beckett leaned against the bar, holding her champagne flute in one hand, her eyes
skimming the crowded ballroom looking for her boyfriend. She'd been casually –
not so casually – looking for him for the last twenty minutes while she chatted
with Mayor Weldon about the recent budget proposal for the NYPD asking her
opinion on it. It's not that she didn't like the Mayor or enjoy his company –
or needed to stay on his good side – but she hated these Charity Balls and the
only reason she was here was because her currently MIA boyfriend had brought
her along to keep the gaggles of fans away. It hadn't worked so far.
And speaking of gaggles, Beckett finally caught sight of her
illustrious boyfriend on the other side of the ballroom leaning against a side
table while a waitress stood in front of him, grinning and not-so-subtly
showing off her cleavage.
Ever so calmly the detective placed her flute on the table behind
her, straightened her dress and stormed straight across the floor. She barely
took notice of the sea of dancers and chattering well-to-dos that parted for
the red-faced woman in the shimmering navy
dress, glaring at the man across the room. The only
person who didn't notice was Castle who suddenly turned to her in shock when
she stopped a few feet from him. "Richard Castle what the hell are you doing?"
He opened his mouth to respond but before he could even squeak she took a step
forward so all he could see was her and the fiery light in her eyes "I
cannot believe you dragged me to this function, ditched me and now you're
chatting up some blonde bimbo; no offense."
"Some taken." The waitress placed her hand on her hips
but had wisely stepped out of Beckett's direct line of fire.
"Good." She didn't stop to even take a breath. "I
came here for you but if you'd rather be with someone else then you can find
your own goddamn way home." And just like that she was turning on her
much-too-expensive heels and storming past the waves of people and out the main
doors of the ballroom leaving Rick completely horrified and confused.
Before anyone could dare approach him to ask what the hell had
just happened, he decided to investigate for himself and followed his
girlfriend out the elegant double doors and into the dimly lit hallway. He
moved to rush out the doors and into the chilled evening air when a hand grabbed
him roughly from the side and he saw his life flash before his eyes…well, maybe
just the evening.
It had taken all of his charm – and begging – to get Kate Beckett
to agree to attend the charity ball with him. It was for a good cause, he knew
that, but he still hated having to get dressed up and shake hands and kiss
babies. The ego boost had lost its magic once he started working with the NYPD.
Now it seemed more like a nuisance. But if Kate was there he would at least
have someone to distract him from the boredom of talking to the stuffed shirts
of upper Manhattan.
So after promising to treat her to an in-house spa day – like that
was punishment to him – he finally agreed to pick her up at seven o'clock in a
town car so they could arrive in style; so the perks of spending a night out on
the town sometimes outweighed the bad. Sometimes.
At 6:53 Kate opened the door to find a dapper looking Rick in a
suit and tie, looking just delectable.
Rick, for his part, found himself feeling very underdressed and
completely turned on. He unabashedly looked his girlfriend up and down with an
awestruck, hungry look in his eyes. There was no way he couldn't admire her
beauty. "Wow," he breathed "you look…wow."
She rolled her eyes but the dark colour of her cheeks betrayed her.
"Writer's mind at work there, Castle?"
He reached out to run his hand down her side, his fingertips
brushing her hips and pulling her flush against him. "It's what you do to
me."
She smirked, her hands falling to his biceps "it's not hard
to make you speechless is it?"
"Not with you."
She let out a little sniff of laughter before patting his arm and
slipping past him, smiling "come on, we've got to go." She pulled the
door closed and stepped out of his embrace.
He grabbed her hand to stop her with a sweet, sincere look that
melted her heart "You really do look beautiful, Kate."
She smiled slowly, squeezing his fingers and swinging them.
"I know. We match." She tugged him along behind her until they
reached the elevator and then they were shoulder to shoulder, sharing a secret
smile because they were already imagining what they could do to each other
after the party was over.
Outside, she hugged herself against the chill of the evening air
while Rick rushed forward to pull her door open and usher her inside. He
settled in beside her so their thighs were brushing and she rolled her eyes at
his less than subtle move. So he was going to try and feel her up on the drive
to a professional dinner? Well two could play at that game.
As the car drove off, Kate took a deep breath, ensuring her chest
heaved in an exaggerated manner so Rick could see just how tight the bodice of
her dress was. She felt his eyes on her in an instant but kept the smile off
her face. Barely a block into the drive she decided to up the ante and heaved a
loud sigh, letting her fingers fall from her thigh and onto his. He was staring
directly at her but still, she kept the smile from creeping onto her face.
Playfully, she squeezed his knee and slid her hand up higher on his leg,
repeating the motion five times before he finally grabbed her hand and held it
where it ways, dangerously high up on his thigh. This time she bit her lip and
the corners turned up. As punishment, he removed her hand from his leg and
placed it squarely – and forcefully – in her lap, making her gasp in surprise.
She turned to glare at him but he had a matching smirk to the one she had worn
just moments ago. So the game was on.
By the time the town car pulled up to the swanky hotel Beckett
couldn’t remember, her dress was around her hips and his pants were practically
on backwards. The driver, whom they now
realized had seen the entire show, graciously gave them a moment to compose
themselves before opening the door for the couple with a kind, if not awkward
nod. Rick couldn't even look him in the eyes.
Inside, the ballroom was breathtakingly beautiful but Kate and
Rick were still back in that car so they couldn't really enjoy the wonder of
it. And apparently they both had the same idea because not moments after
entering the ballroom, the couple were turning around and heading back out the
door.
"Well there you two are." They froze in the same
position, half way out the ballroom doors, panicked, desperate looks to match.
"Paula," Rick plastered a smile on his face in hopes of
fooling his book agent into believing he wanted to be here "we were just
looking for you."
The gorgeous brunette placed her perfectly manicured hands on her
hips and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Really, because it looked
like you two were trying to sneak off without doing your job."
"Paula," he tried to laugh, looping his arm through
Kate's and squeezing tight; she was not getting out of this without him.
"My job is to write. This is really the stuff that you and Gina and Sloan
like to do."
She simply stared at him in disbelief before taking a step into
his personal bubble, pointing her dangerously sharp fingernails at his face.
"Don't you ever
say stuff like that to me again okay?" He gulped and Kate physically
jumped back. Not many people could intimidate her but when she was caught off
guard like this, Paula scared the crap out of her. "Your job tonight is to
shake hands and kiss babies and maybe I'll excuse the fact that 'Frozen Heat'
was three weeks late okay?" She patted his cheek but turned to glare at
the detective like she knew exactly why
his last manuscript was so late. She wasn't wrong – which was probably why she
blushed even harder when she looked away. "And you are going to stay
longer than half an hour alright? Tonight is the first night in months that
you've made a public appearance; please make it a lasting one?" She waved
them goodbye as though they were the best of friends and she hadn't just – in
her own way – threatened them severely, clicking down the marble steps that led
into the grand ballroom.
Inside were people buzzing around, chattering and clinking
champagne glasses while a small orchestra played in the corner unappreciated.
Near them, an older married couple were slow dancing to their music which made
up for the rest of the room in the band's mind. Now in a somewhat less horny
state of mind, Kate took a moment to breathe in her surroundings and the utter
pretentiousness in the air was enough to make her gag. "Is the room filled
with enough perfume and cologne?" She whispered behind her partner's ear.
He snickered in return and pulled her closer to his side as they ventured down
the steps into hell.
As Rick reached out for two flutes, Kate subtly slid her hand over
to grab his ass, making him jump and nearly spill the drinks. Okay so maybe she
was still pretty horny. And the less time they were here, the more time they
had alone – win-win for everyone. The moment the waiter had walked away with a concerned
and uncomfortable expression, Rick returned the favor by cupping his
girlfriend's butt as he pulled her flush against his side. She wanted to claim
him? He could claim her right back – which was good because there was some
shifty guy in the corner that he just knew
was ogling Kate. "You know just because everyone knows we're together now
doesn't mean you get to grope me in public." He was practically nibbling
on her earlobe. "Unless you want to get yourself arrested for public
indecency." She caught herself just before she let out the giggle that had
bubbled in her chest and she managed to push him away without anyone seeing.
"Rick," she warned, masking it behind a sip of what
would not be her last drink of the night.
"But I hate these events." He whined and she rolled her
eyes at his childishness, refusing to agree with him.
"Just think," she smirked "as soon as we're done
here we can go home."
She almost laughed out loud at the way his face visibly brightened
and then darkened to a leer "and what will happen when we get home?"
Oh he was going to play that
card? Well, she'd hate to leave him hanging. She leaned over breathed in his
ear the very slow, dirty things she was planning to do to certain parts of his
anatomy while we was wearing just that navy tie. When she pulled back, the
flush had spread to her chest where she felt that familiar tighten of arousal
and Rick was glad he hadn't taken a sip; with the way he was breathing and
coughing it could have been dangerous.
He took a moment before he leaned over in her ear, his breath
heavy and hot against her skin, sending deliciously cold shivers down her spine
"how long did we have to stay here?"
She did laugh at that, glad their minds were in the same place.
"She said more than thirty minutes." Suddenly Rick stiffened and
released his hold of her waist, leaving the entire side of her body cool and
missing his enveloping heat even more. "Where are you going?"
He downed the last of his champagne and passed it to a waiter who
happened to be nearby. "I'm going to find the most boring person in the
room to see if they can talk my ear off for thirty-one minutes.” She would have
scoffed or scolded him if she suddenly wasn't filled with the image of nibbling
on his ear and moving lower down while she slowly stripped him so she could get
a real grip on
those biceps of his. And suddenly it didn't matter that they were in a public
place and whatever happened tonight would be documented by the tabloids, she
just needed to have wild, passionate sex with her boyfriend because god damn it
he looked absolutely delectable in his suit.
"I'll go with you." The words had just left her lips
when she heard her name from behind and she spun to come face to face with
Mayor Weldon. Just great. She briefly wondered if it would be rude to tell the
Mayor to excuse her so she could jump her boyfriend's bones but when she looked
back at the boy in question he was already headed across the ballroom. Even
better. The coward.
Twenty minutes of just budget talks and she was done with the
Mayor no matter what he said. Of course that was followed by eleven minutes of
just searching for her boyfriend who seemed to be nowhere in the ballroom. She
had spent the last twenty minutes entertaining herself by taking everything the
mayor said as a sexual innuendo and it only served to make her horny as hell
and make the poor mayor think there was something wrong with her. Finally, finally she spotted him and instantly
she found a way out.
After she stormed out of the room, leaving an entire ballroom
shell-shocked, she really
hoped it was Rick who followed her out to do damage control. They didn't need
it of course – she trusted him – but it would give them an excuse to get away. She
couldn't wait for them to get home anymore and if he ran out those front steps,
he'd probably head home looking for her so she swiftly grabbed him – choosing
not to comment on the unmanly squeak he'd elicited – and pulled him into the
nearest unlocked door: an empty conference room at the end of the hallway with
a sign that read 'reserved for tomorrow' – or something equally as inviting.
The instant she released him, shoving him against a white-clothed
table, his eyes widened in panic. "Kate, it wasn't what it looked like I
swear. We were just talking. I had just finished talking to that old couple
near the orchestra and at first I thought they were boring but they turned out
to be sort of interesting with the their time stories and I was starting to
like them so I ditched them and I had just stepped over to talk to her when…
you…" his voice trailed off as he watched Kate pull the zipper off her
dress and let the silk material slip down her arms leaving her bare except for
a thin piece of lace keeping her decent...well, decent was a loosely used term.
She pulled her tongue between her teeth as she blushed at his
indecent look making her flush even more. "That’s always effective in
shutting you up. Now," she stalked towards him until he was completely
against the back of the table, all pleasure and no business. "I believe I
have a promise to fulfill."
Kate tilted her head to just the right angle when he pulled her
back to standing. "What happened to the 'when we get home' part?"
The pointed look she gave him was enough to shut him up. "Do
you really want to wait?"
Paula came stalking down the hallway as the couple exited the
conference room, smoothing dresses and dress shirts looking satisfied and
frazzled. “Where the hell have you
two been? I’ve got a waitress complaining to me about being insulted by a guest
and several reporters asking if you two are going to get a divorce.” She threw
her hands up. “I didn’t even know you two were married.”
“We’re not.” They answered in unison.
The agent just fell into her hip. “Sure. So are you two going to join
the party and clear this up? Please?”
Rick’s arm came around his girlfriend’s waist. “Yes Paula, we’ll
stay for a little longer.”
The raven-haired diva shook her head. “Of all the writers I’ve
ever worked with, Ricky, you are by far the biggest handful I’ve ever handled.”
Both the detective and her writer coughed in shock but the agent had already
turned back to the party.
Alone again, Rick bumped Kate’s hip playfully. “What do you say; a
few dances and then we’ll go home?”
She smirked before bumping him back. “Sure. A few dances. Assure
the masses that we’re not breaking up.” Arm in arm, they stepped back into the
ballroom where a handful of eyes watched them walk down the stairs with casual,
reassuring smiles. From the corner near the tired orchestra, the elderly couple
winked at the pair, making Rick blush harder than Kate. “I suppose we should
also let everyone know that we’re not getting a divorce.” She smiled as she
kissed his cheek, convincing the last pair of eyes that there was nothing else
to be seen.
They stopped at the edge of the dance floor, observing the crowds,
carefully avoiding maintaining eye contact with anyone lest they attempt to
strike up polite conversation. "Dance with me." He startled when she
offered her hand to him but he just stared at it. "Please? We did say we
would stay to dance." He took it then with a soft smile, letting her lead
him out to the open dance floor and pulling her close. The passion that had
bubbled over all evening was left simmering; soft touches and sweet whispers
replacing thrusts and growls.
It felt like a different time, a different place – especially when
a familiar tune began to serenade them and Rick began to sing along softly. "I
can't give you anything but love, baby." They fell into step instantly,
their muscles doing the work of pulling each other close and breathing each
other in while their minds raced a mile a minute in opposite directions. Rick
was writing out the scene between two young lovers content in the stillness of
this one moment amongst the chaos of the world. Kate was running down the road
of “could be”s and “one day”s leaving this moment in the dust.
"Rick?" He looked down at her expectantly only to find
apprehension in her eyes like this whole situation was making her completely
uncomfortable. The urge to wrap her tighter in his arms surged through him but
he resisted, waiting for this nervous Kate Beckett, this soft Kate Beckett, to
make her move – even if she looked positively lost and unsure in that adorable
puppy way. "Do you ever wander what it’d be like if we were normal?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” she wasn’t looking at him; she was searching the air
around him for the right words. Definitely adorable but he tried not to smile. “what
it be like if we could get married and” she dipped her head “do dirty things to
each other” he smiled “and just dance
like this and not worry that this is going to end up on Page Six. Or that there’s
some psycho killer watching us right now.”
So that’s what this was about. He pulled her closer so their words
were just for them. “Sometimes I think it would be easier. But then I think,
what you do is incredible.
Extraordinary, even,” her eye roll turned to a sweet smile. “and I am very
blessed. I get to do something I love and be with the people I love.” It was so
easy to kiss her cheek and forget the world. “And if that means I have to watch
what I do and say in public then I’ll take it. So long as we both get to keep
doing what we do.”
He turned her out and she followed his lead effortlessly, her mind
still racing with ifs and buts. “But what if we didn’t have to?” She cupped his
shoulder blade, hugging him tightly. “What if we both worked nine to five and
we didn’t have to attend charity balls or late night body drops. What if”
“What if,” he dipped her, bringing her back in for a kiss on the
nose “what if we were normal? We’re just two people out for a night on the town,
and we’re dancing. Right now.”
She closed her eyes as they swayed to the slow rhythm of the band
behind them. “Okay.” A tired smile graced her lips as she opened her hazel
eyes, watching his loving expression. “My parents used to do this. Dance. Every
anniversary. They never went out, they just stayed home in their pyjamas as
soon as they got home from work. They would make dinner together – though mom
did most of the cooking part – and then they would turn on some old records and
just dance. When I was little I used to stay up late and sit on the stairs and
watch them.” She smiled when she looked away, the intent of his eyes a little
too much for her memories. “When I got older I always made sure I was out that night
so they would have the whole place to themselves. They were so in love.” Her
voice dropped so low he barely heard her. “So normal.”
“Hey,” she looked up automatically. “If you are imagining a
scenario where we turn out like our parents then I can assure you – with great
hope – that neither of us will be exactly like our predecessors. Can you
imagine if I had turned out like my mother?”
“Well you’re both kind of drama queens.” She bit her lip to keep
from smiling too hard.
“Hey now I’m trying to be comforting.”
“Sorry.” She laughed and he swore he heard bells. When had he
turned into such a sap? “Continue.”
“We can still be in love and pretend to be normal and dance in the
living room and make dinner – and you know I can cook – and that’s great. But I
would never trade what we have for what we could have. We never would have met
if I weren’t a writer and you weren’t a cop.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He gaped when she winked at
him, the smile finally gracing her lips that he’d been waiting for all evening.
“You’re snippy tonight.”
“Yeah well I didn’t get to finish what I started earlier.”
One, two, three, dip, he pulled her tighter when she came back to
him. “See, normal people don’t get to do stuff like that in the conference
rooms of swanky hotels.”
“They don’t?” She looked so disappointed that he was so tempted to
kiss away the twinkle in her eyes. “Well then I guess being normal isn’t all it’s
cracked up to be.”
“Here’s to being… abnormal.” They stopped dancing even though the
song had ended long before.
Her melodious laughter filled the room. “Here, here.” She brought
her lips to his in a sweet – public-friendly – kiss. “Now, I think I need to go
and apologize to the waitress.” She pulled out of his arms but he tugged her
hand and followed her.
“You were really rude to
her.”
She squeezed his hand too hard and he jumped but kept pace. “You’re
going to apologize, too.”
“What for?”
“For leaving the invigorating
conversation that you so rudely left earlier.”
He caught up to her ear and growled low, rumbling through her
chest. “Oh you are so getting it when we get home.”
“I’d better."
Great post :)
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