Castle can count on one hand the number of times he and Beckett have been this close, outside of bumping shoulders while walking and the infrequent occasion in which she has to shove him out of the way (for his own safety) when they're after a suspect. He doesn't mind admitting that he's feeling a little greedy now.

He slides his left hand up the side of her neck, gently easing her cheek into the cup of his palm. His other hand attends to the right side of her neck, to the long tendon that stretches from her throat to the edge of her shoulder. Her hair falls across the backs of his knuckles.