'I'm the gambler.'

She turned to look at him, unsure of his meaning.

'I believe in giving this a chance.'

A sadness crossed her eyes, still not sure what he was trying to say.

'Look, I wanne give this a shot,' he continued.

Brennan looked at him. 'You mean us?' This was territory she didn't want to enter into.

'No, the FBI won't let us work together as a couple..'

He shook his head, knowing she was looking for excuses.

'Don't do that, that is no reason,' he said and with that, he kissed her.

She almost kissed him back, but at the last moment, pushed him away.

'No. No.'

'Why? Why?' He didn't understand.

She looked at him with a sadness he'd never seen in her.

'You thought you were protecting me but you're the one that needs protecting.'

He frowned. 'Protecting from what?'

'From me!' She hade a hopeless gesture with her hand. 'I don't have your kind of open heart.'

There were tears in her eyes, she wasn't ready for this.

He looked at her with despair. 'Let's just.. Give it a chance, that's all I'm asking'.

She shook her head. 'You said it yourself, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.'

His expression saddened. 'Then let's go for a different outcome here, allright. Let's just.. Hear me out, allright. You know when you talk to older couples, that have been in love for thirty, or forty, or fifty years, it's always the guy that says, I knew. I knew! Right from the beginning.' He wished and prayed to God he was getting through to her.

A tear dropped from her eye. 'Your evidence is anecdotal.'

He stepped closer. 'I'm that guy. Bones, I'm that guy. I know.'

She looked at him for a second. Another tear.

'I.. I am not a gambler. I'm a scientist. I can't change, I don't know how.

He felt her take his heart and shatter into a million pieces.

'I don't know how,' she repeated. 'Please don't look so sad.'

He stood there, not knowing what had just happened. He wanted to give up. He wanted to run and never look over his shoulder ever again. But he couldn't. This woman possessed his entire heart. He'd been fooled into thinking that it was his brain tumor, but it wasn't. He had known for almost six years that he would never be able to live without this woman. So he held on.

'I don't want you to change. You don't have to change, Bones.'

'I am not you. I can't love unconditionally. I don't know what it means.'

'I'll show you, I'll teach you. We'll be fine, please, just give it a chance.'

She had tried stopping her tears but it was no use. She wanted to let go. She wanted to try and make him happy but the risk was so great.

'I can't lose you, Booth.'

He looked at her with wide eyes. 'You won't. It'll work out, I promise.'

'And if it doesn't and if I fail you, you'll leave me and I won't survive,' she explained in one sentence. He couldn't believe his ears. He took her hands, squeezed them and put them over his heart. 'Bones, I promise you. You won't lose me. I'm here to stay. If this doesn't work out we'll go back to being partners. I'll always be here for you. I need you in my life.'

She wiped away some of the tears that were freely flowing down her cheeks. 'You can't promise me that.'

'I can't, but I can promise you that I'll love you. In thirty, forty or even fifty years from now, I'll still love you as much as I love you today.' He hoped his confession wouldn't scare her off. It didn't.

'I.. I don't know,' she said.

He decided to take her home and just slowly try to show her what he meant. He put an arm around her shoulder and walked her to the car. She rested her head on his shoulder, unsure what their conversation had meant and what it had changed. She hoped he would show her.

As she opens the door to her apartment, she feels him behind her. His hands are on her hips, directing her inside. She puts one hand on one of his and takes it off her hip. 'Booth..'

She is pleading with him, like the night he had convinced her to take his 'guy-hug' and let her believe that was all it was. This time however, he couldn't deny her the truth.

'Look Bones, I just.. I feel like we can be so much more. I want us to try. Just trust me. Let go, for once. If you don't like it we'll go back to what we are now, ok?' He takes her face between his hands, thumbs stroking away the tears that are flowing again. She looks sad.

'I can't.. I can't let you hurt me.'

He shakes his head, grateful for her truthfulness. 'I'll never hurt you. Never.' He moves closer and then he stops. Her breathing quickens, he is so close. If she just raises her chin.. No.

She moves away, unbuttoning her coat and hanging it on a hook. 'I don't know..'

She still wasn't convinced. He follows her into the kitchen, and he decides a harder approach may just overwhelm her enough to give him a chance. As she is pouring wine at the kitchen counter, he approaches her and with one hand on her shoulder, turns her around. Before she can say anything, his other hand is in her hair and his lips are on hers. He kisses her with such tenderness, but his hands tell another story. The hand on her hip pushes her back into the counter, keeping her in place, while the hand in her hair softly rakes through her locks, keeping her head to him. She is amazed by the feelings he stirs within her. His lips softly nibble on her upper lip, and then her lower, before his tongue sneaks out to lick each lip. She sighs and his tongue sneaks in and out of her mouth.

Finally, she regains her control and pushes him away. 'Booth.'

He is not about to give up. His other hand moves to her hip as well and he pulls her to him. She drops the wine glass that was still in her hand and it shatters on the tile floor. She looks down at it, but Booth hugs her to him and her arms instinctively hug him back, a combination of shock from the shattering glass and the need for human warmth.

She realizes what she is doing, pulls back a little, and Booth shoots a prayer into the sky. She sighs and puts her head back on his shoulder, both arms tightening around his body.

'Just guide me, ok?'

It was almost too soft to be a whisper, but he heard every letter of it and he pulled her in tighter, never going to let go ever again. 'Just tell me when you need me, Bones. I'll be here.' She nodded into his chest. They forgot about the wine glass, they walked into the living room and they sat down on the couch. Brennan snuggled into Booth and he kissed the top of her head.

'What do we do now?' she asked, careful.

He smiled into her hair. 'I'm taking you to bed, you're going to think about what happened and tomorrow, we'll see where you want to take it. We do this at your pace.'

She nodded her thanks and he stood, her head still tucked close to his heart.

When they had reached the bedroom, Brennan finally let go of him. 'I'll be right back,' she said and disappeared into the bathroom. 'Do you want me to stay?' Booth called after her. She didn't answer. 'I'll just clean up the kitchen for you,' he called. No answer.

He put his coat on the couch and cleaned up the broken glass in the kitchen, grateful it hadn't snapped in her hand. He was feeling unsure of what she wanted him to do. He knew he wasn't going to make love to her tonight, she'd see it as satisfying his needs and she wouldn't understand the meaning of 'making love.' He needed to give her time to adjust and to think about what she wanted him to mean to her. Just as he walked back into the living room, he heard Bones call to him. 'Booth?' She sounded a little scared. He hurried to the bedroom, to find her sitting up in bed. 'I thought you'd gone.'

'I'd never leave without telling you,' he said. All the corny stuff he kept saying to her made too much sense. She'd laugh at anyone else if they'd say something like that to her, but from Booth, she believed it. She dropped her eyes to focus on the hands in her lap and she seemed hesitant.

'What?' he asked.

She looked up at him and actually blushed. 'Thank you.'

He nodded. 'Anything you need.' He understood her. She smiled at him, snuggled in her pillow and he pulled the blanket over her. 'Good night.' Her eyes were already closed but he knew she wasn't asleep. He slowly leaned in and kissed her on her forehead before leaving and softly closing the door behind him. He had no idea wether he was getting through to her, but she seemed to allow him in more than he had dared to dream of.

He was about to open her front door when he heard her voice. 'Booth.'

He turned around and walked back towards the bedroom, only to be met halfway by Brennan, who opened the door right in front of him. Before he could think, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. He kissed her back for a second before his brain was working again, then he slowly parted them and looked into her eyes. 'Bones, don't..'

'I'm not doing this anymore, Booth.'

'Do what?'

'Be scared. I'm no longer scared.'

He backed her into the bedroom and sat her onto the bed before sitting down next to her. 'Scared?'

'I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. Logically, we should be together but it's so difficult to let go.'

'I know,' he said. 'I know.'

'Do you really?' she looked him deeply in the eyes.

'You can explain it to me, Bones. All I need to know is if you're sure about this.'

She nodded and placed a soft palm on his cheek. His heart jumped at the contact. 'I'm sure.'

He nodded, took her hand in his and placed it over his heart. 'You need to know something,' he said. She looked at him, her eyes starting to water.

'I'm not ever going to have sex with you.'

A tear escaped the corner of her eye. 'Why?' She didn't understand. Was she not good enough for him? Why had he lead her on like this?

'I'm only ever going to make love to you. Sweet, wild, passionate love. Never just sex, Bones.'

Her mind was processing his statement and he saw her eyes starting to shine with something new. Curiosity. 'I've never made love before,' she admitted. He had guessed. She'd had sex, sure, but love was something she hadn't wanted to understand. Tonight, he would show her.

He looks deeply into her eyes. She seems unsure what to do, so he helps her out. He takes his coat off for the second time this evening, puts it on a chair in the corner of the room and closes the bedroom door. He removes his shoes and unbuttons his shirt, when two hands stop him. She is in front of him, blushing furiously again. 'Can I..' He releases the buttons and cups her face with his hands. 'Of course.' He puts feather light kisses on her eyelids, nose, cheeks and jawbone. She seems annoyed, being obstructed from a clear view of the buttons. He smiles at her irritation, then puts his hands over hers and helps her out. She lets him pull off his shirt while her hands sneak under his t-shirt.

He wants tonight to be about her, so he pulls off his shirt and his t-shirt before taking her hands and leading her to the bed. His heart is pounding, this is his chance. He can't screw this up. This is it.

She looks him in the eye, a mischievous glint shining bright in them. He touches his lips to hers and she responds immediately, softly fitting her lips to his, and then she gently bites his bottom lip. A shot of electricity runs straight to his groin. He smiles in her mouth and becomes a bit rougher, wanting her to feel his need for her. His hands are busy undoing the buttons on her pajama top as his tongue slips inside her mouth. She welcomes him into her with a moan, her arms tightening around his neck.

Finally, he unbuttons the last button and pushes the top from her shoulders. He stands back, his mind misty and his vision blurred by the beauty in front of him. She is wearing a black lacey bra and the contrast with her pale skin was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. She watches his eyes darken with desire and she reaches for him. He looks into her eyes and he knows right then and there that he'll never be able to deny this woman anything. She completely owns his heart, and he wants her to know. He avoids her reaching hands and kisses the base of her neck, his hands on her ribs right underneath her breasts. She gasps as he finds the tender spot behind her ear and sucks lightly on it. Her own hands are busy with his zipper, but he takes them and puts them on his chest.

'This is for you.'

She nods, understanding. He doesn't want her to have sex with him while he is making love to her. He wants her to let go of her clinical vision of sex for once. She moves away from him and climbs onto the bed. He follows her every move and he is once more rendered speechless when she removes her pajama pants. Her legs are the same creamy white color as her upper body, and the matching panties make a beautiful contrast with her pale skin, dark hair and piercing blue eyes. She watches him again as he admires her body and then, the dam breaks. The tenderness in his eyes is too much for her to bear, as she breaks down in tears.

He moves over her, careful not to scare her but enough to protect her. He puts an arm around her head and holds her to his chest, trying to soothe her. She breaks free from his arms and startles him when she throws herself on him, kissing him with more passion he has ever seen in her. He answers with equal passion, moving his hands up and down her back, his hands moving from the rim of her panties to the lace of her bra.

When he is on the verge of losing himself in her, he lifts her from him and lays her down beside him. She looks up at him with teary eyes.

'Let me show you how to let go,' he says. She nods, not hiding her tears from him. She'll give him all of her, she'll trust him on this.

He straddles her, sitting up and admiring the beauty of the woman lying under him. He aches to see her breasts, to touch them, to weigh them in his hands, to taste them, so he takes her hands and pulls her into a sitting position, her face to his chest. He kisses her ear and cheek and briefly nuzzles her hair before unclasping her bra. She is amazed by his speed and ease.

She kisses his chest, her tongue searching for his nipple but he gently pushes her back down, the bra sliding down her arms and ending up on the floor. He takes her wrists and places them gently above her head, not quite holding her in place. He whispers his admiration to her.

'You're beautiful, Temperance.' The use of her given name tears a sob from her. She doesn't understand the spiraling feelings inside of her. It's arousal, but a different wilder kind than she's felt before.

He moves down to touch her breast, seeing her darker nipple react to the cool air and his piercing hot eyes. He touches it with his thumb, causing Brennan to snap her head back and gasp. He smiles, and unable to resist, kisses her chin, down her neck and along her sternum until he reaches the other breast. Slowly licking around but never quite on her nipple, he watches the expressions cross Brennan's face. Pleasure, wonder and slight embarrassment at her own reactions cross her features and when she opens her eyes to look at him, he sees all three emotions stronger than ever. She doesn't complain, but unable to deny her the pleasure, he shifts his attention to her nipple while his other hand kneads her breast. She whispers his name and it's the most beautiful thing he's ever heard.

'You're gorgeous, Temperance,' he tells her again. She smiles, is that shyness he sees in her? He loves it. He adores it. 'You're quite an eyeful yourself,' she says, amazed at the huskiness of her voice.

She is becoming impatient, taking one of his hands and directing it down her body. When she releases him, she takes the opportunity to brush her hand over his pants. He groans and she smiles, but he doesn't want her to go there yet. He seeks permission with his eyes as his hands reach her panties. She nods, but the answer was already in her eyes. She raises her hips and he kisses them, swiftly removing her panties. She sits up a little bit more, her back leaning against the headboard of the bed. He kisses down one beautiful, toned leg and back up the other.

He is lying on his stomach, looking up onto the piece of art in front of him. Tears spring to his eyes at the sight in front of him.

Bones is looking down at him, her eyes teary and her cheeks glistering with tear drops, her hair in beautiful disarray and her full breasts slightly red from his admirations. He pulls himself onto his knees in front of her and she moves her legs to each side of him. She pulls him to her by his hair and devours his mouth with hers. Her tongue seems to have lost all its inhibitions, not wasting any time and dueling with his in a battle of passion. He wipes her tears with one hand, while the other secretly searches for her treasure. When it makes contact with her core, She almost jumps and bites down on his bottom lip, but he barely notices it. All he registers is the scent coming from her, hot and ready for him. His Bones.

She softly kisses the spot where she bit him before throwing her head back once again, a moan tearing from her throat at the delicious contact.

He slides his fingers through her wetness and around her clit. She bucks her hips towards him, and he continues his ministrations.

Brennan was at a loss. She'd never been this aroused, this needy and this emotional. Together, they were a dangerous combination, She cried out in agony, and Booth's eyes snapped to meet hers. He saw soon enough he wasn't hurting her, but she needed more of him.

She sighed at the loss of contact while he sat down next to her, undid his pants and discarded them, leaving his boxers for her to remove. She immediately sat up and straddled him, her hands going straight for his boxers. He caught them half-way and looked into her eyes.

'Bones.. Stop for a second.' She thought he was cutting this off, that he wanted to stop, so she pulled back her hands and sat back down next to him and pulled up the sheets.

He stopped her. 'No, baby. Not that.'

She looked at him, that brave look of uncertainty back in her shining eyes. He took her hands again and kissed them.

'I want to teach you something. From now on, I want you to do what you want, not what you think I want. If you touch me, it has to be because you want to. From now on, this is about you,' he whispers to her. She takes a second to process what he's telling her and then, in one swift movement, she is back over his legs straddling him and kissing him, hard. His hands go back to her beautiful spine and down her back to cup her ass, the best ass he has ever seen or felt. He pulls her closer and his mouth leaves hers to latch onto her breast. She throws her head back and tries to stifle a moan.

He releases her ass to softly stroke her breasts while his mouth kisses its way back up her neck. 'Let go, Temperance. Let go,' he whispers into her mouth.

She feels a hinge of embarrassment but pushes it away. If he wants all of her, he can have it. She can't hold back anymore.

He feels the change in her. She becomes warmer in his arms, softer, even more beautiful. His erection is painfully hard and having her core so close to him makes his cock twitch.

She moves her hands to his boxers, and this time he doesn't stop her. She moves backwards to pull his boxers down his legs and onto the bed, and he follows her, embracing her with a strength unknown to her and flips her around, so she is lying on her back once more. His eyes are so dark, so passionate that it almost scares her. She reaches for him and her hands explore the muscles in his arms, his chest, his abdomen, when finally they make contact with his manhood. He jerks forward. 'God!' He knows he won't last long with her continuing her ministrations, so he leans forward, making her lie all the way down. Instinctively, she moves her arms around his neck and spreads her legs so he can lie between them. The tip of his cock is barely touching her entrance and she is amazed at how close she is. 'Please, Booth,' she whispers.

The raw emotion in her voice is beautiful to him. She is finally showing him the true Temperance and he is in heaven. Slowly, he pushes forward and barely into her.

As soon as she feels his broad manhood enter her, she feels the wave beginning to crash over her. 'Boooth!' She calls to him to catch her, and he does. He pushes in further and holds her close, whispering into her hair while she rides out the hardest and most intense orgasm she has ever had. He bites his lip to control himself, her clenching walls too much for him to bear. She is so soft, so wet and so tight that he is unsure he'll ever be able to be anywhere else but inside her.

When she has ridden out all the waves, she opens her eyes, awash with tears of love and joy. He loses it and kisses her hard while starting to move inside of her. She encourages him, matching his pace and raking her nails down his back. It only takes seconds for her to be on the verge again, and this time she wants him to join her.

She touches his cheek and he locks eyes with her. 'I love you,' she whispers and with that, they crash over the edge together, him pushing into her as far as he can go, while she loses her grip on reality as they fly in a bliss unknown to either of them.

'Temperance. Bones!' she heard him call to her. Where was she? She opened her eyes, suddenly remembering where she is and who she is with. 'What happened?'

'You passed out, I'm sorry,' Booth kisses her forehead. He is lying next to her, naked, the blankets pulled over them after the best sex she had ever had. No, this hadn't been sex. She understood the difference now, this was making love.

'Don't be sorry,' she smiles at him. 'I'm fine.'

He continued to look at her, unsure what to expect and how to continue. He wanted to kiss her, soothe her, pull her close and sleep next to her for the rest of his days. If she stopped him now, he would never be able to love like this again.

She propped her head up on one elbow, unconsciously knowing she was in control of the situation and this position putting her head above his. She looked at him, and he was unable to read her eyes. Then, she sighed, a slight smile appeared on her lips and she snuggled close to him, pulling on his hand to embrace her.

He pulled her close and smiled in her hair.

The conversation could wait.

Tell me what you think! This story is finished so I won't be changing anything, but I'd still like reviews. Also, this is my first M story, so tell me how you think that worked out as well.