Great thoughts, great feelings, came to them, Like instincts, unawares - Richard Monckton Milne

Booth hadn't even though about it; he had acted purely on instinct. There had been no way she had done anything wrong, and her earring lying there at the crime scene would have thrown the suspicion of guilt even more squarely on her shoulders. The handling of evidence and processing of a crime scene, ingrained for years, were completely left behind without even a thought. In hindsight, in that instant he knew the feelings he had for her were so much more intense than just a partner or even a friend; he would have gone to any lengths to save her. The strength of his emotions had almost shocked him; they had completely snuck up on him.

He'd returned the earring and watched as understanding flitted across her face. Booth then left the room and exited the building, making his way to the parking garage, where he waited by her car, leaning against it. She showed up a few minutes later, phone in hand.

"There you are. I was just calling…I needed to ask you…wait, what are you doing here?" Brennan walked the rest of the way toward him, closing her phone.

"Waiting for you; I figured you'd be heading this way. Want to get some dinner?"

"Sure, but I need to find out…I need you to tell me why…"

"Later." He cut her off, forestalling the conversation until he had some kind of clue how he was going to answer her. "Dinner first. Is Sid's okay?" Bones spooked easily, didn't trust relationships. He needed to handle this very carefully; he had no idea how to. "I'll drive. We can come and get your car later."

"You always want to drive. I do not understand your need to always be in control of the vehicle. I own the nicer car, why aren't we taking it?"

Booth just walked away, glancing with a smirk over his shoulder to make sure she was following him. "Come on, Bones. You wanna eat, or argue?"

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Booth watched her as they ate, listened to her talk about the rest of her trip to New Orleans, before crazy voodoo guy and her horrible night from hell, telling him about the things she had seen and the stories she had heard. He loved the intensity she displayed while she was talking, the rhythm of her voice and the expressions on her face.

Finally she worked her way back to her original question, asking, "So where did you find it?"

"Find what?"

"The earring Booth, you knew what I was talking about."

"Bones, you really don't want to know." Booth looked away from her, across the restaurant, afraid of letting her see too much.

"Was it at Graham's? It must have been, or you would have given it to me when you found it. Why would you do that? You could have lost your job; you could have gone to jail if anyone had found out. That was not a rational choice, Booth."

"No, it was the only choice. I'd do anything to protect you and make sure you are safe. Anything."

"I don't understand," she replied, exasperation etched across her face. She reached across the table, resting her hand on top of his.

Booth looked back toward her, the twinges of desire he always felt from even the briefest contact with her filling him. "No, Bones, you choose not to acknowledge it, maybe aren't ready to face what is going on here, but you do understand, somewhere deep in that squinty brain of yours. You are way too brilliant a woman to be that clueless." He looked away again, closing his eyes briefly, struggling to get his feelings back under control.

"Booth…" At her voice, he turned back to her face. Her expression was slightly shocked as she took in the intensity of his gaze; Booth saw her begin to respond to it, found the same longing he felt reflected in her eyes. His breath came faster as he observed the flush that ran down her face and neck; the barely perceptible tightening of her nipples. His groin stiffened in reply. Booth didn't think he'd ever been so aroused before with the barest touch and a glance. He sat there - in a near panic, no idea how to handle this without scaring her off.

"Maybe we should go," Brennan continued, gaze unwavering.

"Yes," he replied, thinking to himself, "Before I climb across the table and do something that will get me in huge trouble."

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They stood and exited the diner, walking slowly to his SUV, Booth's hand resting against the small of her back, heat radiating between them. He still felt clueless about what to say, how to keep the situation from breaking. All the cleverness he possessed had been stripped away by the strength of his desire and his feelings for her; he so desperately wanted not to screw this up. As they reached the car, he stretched around her to open her door; suddenly she turned, leaning her body into his and kissing him full on the lips.

Now this he had no trouble figuring out how to handle; he pressed against her, trapping her body between his and the car. Booth's hands tangled in her hair as her tongue slipped between his lips, dueling with his. The intensity of the kiss astounded him, and need tore through him; he could feel her everywhere, breasts pressing tightly to his chest, hands insistently rubbing his back. The soft little mewling noises coming from her inflamed him even more. He rocked his erection into her heat, a groan emerging from deep within him.

Booth slid his hands around to her face, cupping her cheeks, and pulled back, panting, desperately trying to regain some measure of control. "Wait…what are we doing here, Bones? Because I can't do casual with you. Being partners and having our friendship is too important to me. This needs to mean something more or we need to walk away now." Where had that come from? That was the opposite of not scare her away, you idiot. He watched her face, his thumb gently running across slightly swollen lips, grateful they hadn't broken open the cut. Her eyes were still veiled with arousal. He desperately wanted to take the question back, but he knew he had spoken the truth.

She moved closer to him, kissing his throat, tongue flickering quickly against it, tasting his skin. His breath caught; instinctively pressing into her again, he felt control beginning to slip away as he waited for her response.

"I have no idea what we are doing. But I think something important is happening here. And maybe we owe it to ourselves to figure out what that is. I trust you…us…"

Booth interrupted her words, lips descending to hers, thanking the patron saint of the insane. This time instead of frantic, the kiss was gentle. Lips brushed, lingering and nibbling over and over; tongues caressed instead of dueling. Booth felt himself begin to shake with something far more than desire.

Brennan leaned back, saying, "Come home with me."

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Booth had no idea how they made it to her apartment in one piece. He drove much too quickly, her hand resting on his leg. Brennan talked quietly, almost normally, filling him in on the things that had gone on in the lab while she had been gone. He supposed he must have responded in kind, but all he could think about was her touch. It wasn't an overtly sexual act, merely intimate, but he found it so arousing, anticipation surging through him, mingling with the fear that she was going to change her mind.

When they finally arrived, he drew her into his arms there in the car, holding her for just a moment before brushing his lips across hers once - delighting in the shiver he felt run through her. They walked from the car to the elevator, hands clasped; when they rode up to her floor, their gazes met, and Booth saw his feelings, desire and something much deeper, mirrored in her eyes.

They finally entered her apartment. As Brennan turned, closing and locking the door, Booth leaned into her back, his lips trailing down her neck. He wrapped his arms around her, hands sliding under her shirt, against her stomach as his lips worked their way up, teeth grazing her ear.

God, I want you," he whispered

"Yes," she sighed in reply. He felt her breath hitch as she turned in his arms; and he kissed her jaw, making his way up the side of her neck, returning to gently press against the corner of her mouth, carefully nibbling on her bottom lip before finally deepening the kiss.

They stood there that way, lips and tongue communicating all their pent up, hidden feelings, until Booth began to walk her backwards toward the bedroom, buttons being undone, hands sliding over skin. They stumbled into a wall; Booth stopped, just looking at her as he removed her shirt, undoing her bra, sliding it from her shoulders.

"You are so beautiful," he breathed, her nipples already pebble-hard with excitement as he brushed them with his thumbs. He bent down to take one in his mouth, her fingers tangling in his hair, back arching to press herself even closer; she moaned his name. He loved the smell of her skin, the mixture of soap and her perfume and her arousal all put together.

He moved to the other breast, feeling her uninjured hand skim over his chest, learning it, scoring his nipples; then sliding down, flinger nails scraping across his abdomen. She began to undo his pants; slipping inside and stroking him. Booth pressed into her touch, almost coming undone right then, her name on his lips.

He tenderly removed her hand, bringing it to his mouth, licking the palm, feeling her whole body tremble. He closed his eyes, struggling to calm himself. The first time he made love to Temperence Brennan, he was going to take his time, enjoy everything about her; he lowered his arms, letting her lead him the rest of the way to the bedroom.

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He woke later, feeling her slip out of bed. She returned; he reached for her, laying his head on her stomach, kissing it softly, and then shifting to look up at her. She was holding the earring, watching it in the dark. He scooted up, kissing her lips and taking the earring from her hands. He set it on the bedside table and shifted across her, careful of her wrist.

"Thank you for finding it. Those earrings are one of the few pieces of my mother I still have. They're important to me. I wish…" Booth leaned down, licking where her shoulder and neck came together, causing her voice to catch.

He paused, looking into her eyes. "Wish what?"

"You stole evidence from a crime scene for me. I hate that I am the reason you crossed the line, that you broke the law for me. That was wrong, and I never ever want you to have to make that kind of choice. And yet another selfish part of me is so very glad you did. Not because I got her earring back, but because it led us here."

Brennan reached up with her good arm, threading her fingers into his hair, pulling his head down to hers, kissing him. When they broke apart, panting, his forehead rested against hers, he whispered "I would do anything for you, Bones, anything."

fin

A/N: Mrs. Pollifaxis an exceptional beta! Without her Booth's forehead would be whispering, and we couldn't have that! :) Plus commas are not my friend.