II. Something New

Half an hour later Booth opened his apartment door for Temperance Brennan. He hadn't planned to take her home, hadn't intended to seduce her. It felt as if they were balancing on the brink of something amazing, but if they slipped, they would fall hard and it would hurt. Awfully.

He was scared.

Turning around, the sight of her soothed his ache somehow. Moonlight and fireworks lit up her face, caressing her features. The black dress emphasized the elegance of her silhouette, and Booth wanted to look at her forever. He felt an emotion deep inside of him he had no words to describe, and for the very first time he realized in all its clarity how much this woman meant to him.

Scared to death.

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he whispered hoarsely, and his candor touched her deeply.

"Booth, is this real?"

He crossed the distance with two steps, taking her hands into his own, bringing them to his burning face.

She could feel the bobbing movement of his Adam's apple as he swallowed, the soft lines on his forehead, the curve of his lips. It was real, and as always he had given her exactly what she needed. Evidence.

Taking another leap of faith, Brennan pulled him closer to seal it with a kiss, and one more time their lips were moving against each other in perfect synchrony. Soon their tongues joined in the game, eager to find and greet each other. They knew how to kiss each other – as if they had always done it – and both of them were overwhelmed by the profound rightness of it.

Just a few hours ago they had discussed this rationally, pondering their options as if they really had them, completely oblivious to the fact that the dices had long been thrown and that the decision had never been in their hands. They could have delayed the inevitable, but there are some things in this world which are simply meant to be.

She was his, he was hers, they were it.

Burying his hands in her armpits, Booth lifted her effortlessly into the air, looking up at her. Her feet were dangling somewhere around his shins, and Brennan found herself torn between protesting and giggling.

His entranced face tipped the balance, and she smiled down at him tenderly, cradling his cheeks in her palms.

"I think you have proven your physical strength quite impressively, Booth, you can let me down now."

Chuckling at her words, her started to spin them around, and now she was laughing, her stomach bubbling with millions of metaphorical butterflies.

Eventually, he had satisfied his alpha male tendencies and let her slide down his body carefully, creating pleasant friction between them. His hand found its way into her hair again, and he removed the pins that restrained the auburn mass until the silkiness could cascade down her shoulder blades.

"I'm in awe of you," he smiled.

His happiness made her lightheaded, and she felt the urge to tease him.

"I begin to realize that, Booth."

Running his fingers through her hair, he lowered his lips to her anew.

"You already wanna run?"

The high spirits abandoned her for a moment, and she tried to reassure him with her eyes.

"I don't want to and I won't. Do you trust me?"

"More than everything else."

"Then believe me, Booth, that I want you. Wholeheartedly."

He inhaled sharply, her words sending vulnerability and joy to his core.

"Is it possible to feel weak and strong at the same time?"

"Yes," came her prompt reply, and he regarded her with surprise.

"Just 'yes᾽? No poking, elaborating, rationalizing?"

She shook her head, and her hair waved around her shoulders like pure silk.

"It might be illogical and questionable, but I feel it as well, Booth."

He shook his head in wonder.

"Only a few hours into this, and you're already capable of reassuring me when it comes to emotions?"

A proud smile tugged at her lips, and he found her adoringly cute.

"Well, I have an exceptionally steep learning curve."

"What am I supposed to do with you now?"

Tilting her head in sudden shyness, she played with his fingers absentmindedly.

"I've never seen your bedroom..."

Considering the events of the night, her suggestion shouldn't have surprised him, but nevertheless, Booth felt a sting of insecurity.

"Are you sure? Because if you're not, we don't have to do that right now. We can just talk, have another drink and cuddle. I had no plan to lure you into my bed tonight."

She chuckled.

"Cuddle?"

Sensing his hurt expression, she made a quick recovery.

"I'm sure you're a great cuddler, Booth, and I'd love to do everything you suggested. But tonight I want to feel you. Everything of you. Wasn't that what you were talking about?"

She tilted her head and looked at him earnestly, her lower lip between her teeth.

"I'm shit-scared to ruin whatever we shared tonight."

Exhaling deeply, she closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"I have no words to tell you how glad I am that I'm not the only one. Booth, do you want me?"

"Yes, oh, yes!"

She extended her arms.

"Then show it to me. Let's cross this stupid line."

Within a heartbeat she was in his arms, and he scooped her up, each of his palms supporting her back and her legs.

Kicking air, she protested against his chivalry for a moment, but he stilled her with a grunt, carrying her into the privacy of his bedroom and lowering her to the mattress.

Taking his time to let the picture sink it, his gaze caressed her lovingly, and she felt desire raising its head. Although she was still fully dressed, it seemed as if she was naked under the intensity in his eyes, and warmth spread in her lower belly.

Outstretching her arms, his name left her lips on a whisper, and something deep inside of him responded to her call.

Joining his partner on the bed, Booth covered her whole body with his own. She was so small, so delicate underneath him, and afraid that he might crush her, he braced on his elbows to support most of his weight.

Her palms roamed over his arms, tentatively at first until they closed around his biceps. She was nowhere near able to encircle him fully, and the evidence of his physical dominance sent a stream of heat to her core.

Lifting her head from the pillow, she searched his lips, gently tugging them between her teeth, and a low growl escaped his chest, the muscles in his arms working hard. Her tongue was damp and hot against his own, and Booth sucked her into his mouth greedily. Cupping her nape with his hand, he held her in place, as he deepened the kiss until he was stroking her so intimately that the feeling made another part of his body pulsate in jealousy.

Releasing her lips, Booth showered her face with feather-light kisses, one for each reason why she was the most amazing woman ever.

Her hands slipped under his tux, caressing the hollow of his lower back. Even through the fabric of his shirt Brennan could feel heat radiating from his body, and a hungry moan left her lips. She needed more.

She tugged at his jacket until he got her implications. Between the two of them they managed to free him from the superfluous garment in no time. His shirt followed shortly after, and soon Brennan drank in her partner's bare chest. She knew his body by heart, but for the first time she was allowed to touch him like it pleased her, to satisfy her curiosity.

Her fingers grazed over strong muscles and smooth skin, finding every scar and every sensitive spot that made him suck in a breath. Whenever he did it, his abdominal muscles clenched, and Brennan was addicted to this. She wanted to touch him forever, induce reaction after reaction from his firm body.

Unfortunately, he seemed to vote against it because suddenly he caught her wrists with his hand, pinning them above her head. Her protest didn't last long, though. The new position arched her back so that her chest was pressed closer against his, and immediately Booth lowered his head, licking the swell of her breasts.

Brennan bit her lips not to cry out at the sensation of his raspy tongue on her bare skin, but a muffled whimper escaped her nonetheless. It only seemed to fuel him, and soon his teeth were tugging at the fabric of her dress, eager to expose more skin, more flesh.

His exercises were quite futile, though, and with a frustrated growl he released her wrists and lifted her upper body from the mattress. Brennan sighed as he undressed her, her cheek pressed to his own until they had to break the contact so that he could pull the dress over her head. Looking at the mass of satin for one loving moment, Booth brought it to his nose, enjoying the exquisite material and the trace of her unique scent he found there.

"Did I tell you how much I love this dress? How wonderful you looked in it?"

Thinking back, she couldn't remember clearly, but there was another answer she could give.

"You made me feel truly beautiful tonight."

"Oh, you were. Are."

Extending his arm, the black satin ran through his fingers, falling to the floor with barely a sound.

Kicking aside her ballerinas, Brennan was almost naked now, only black panties and a matching bra remaining to cover the last of her secrets.

Locking his arms behind her back, Booth pulled her into a powerful embrace, and for the first time they met each other skin to skin. The contact was intense, electrifying even, and both of them moaned in pleasure.

After a moment of hugging and feeling, Booth lowered her again, bringing his lips back to her breasts. Her hands flew into his hair, as he sucked one lace-covered peak into his warm mouth. He licked her through the fabric, dampening it, and when he released her with a final suction, the chilly night air hit her taut nipple, eliciting a gasp from her.

Opening the front clasp of her bra with shaken fingers, Booth nuzzled her soft curves with his face, and she bit her lip again.

"I love the noises you make. Please, don't hold back, Baby."

She whimpered at his words, and he closed his lips around naked skin for the first time, gently grazing the sensitive nub with his teeth and taking it into his mouth. She was soft and firm at once, a perfect contradiction.

"Yes, yes, yes. Don't stop."

Her head rolled around on the pillow, and Brennan was slightly worried about this out-of-control experience. Never before had she felt so much from just a man's mouth on her breasts, and it seemed as if he was sucking and licking her right into sweet oblivion. Then he slid down her body, tracing a line with his tongue from her cleavage right to her belly button, and the fire was on the tail of his touch.

She felt his lips tracing the seam of her panties, and when he lowered them slowly, she sensed his question. He was waiting for a sign of acceptance from her, and weakly she spread her legs for him – just an inch, but it was enough to grant him permission, and he thanked her with little kisses around her belly button. Briefly, his tongue plunged into it, and Brennan felt a sharp tug at her insides, as all her heat seemed to gather in one particular spot low in her belly.

Her back arched as she threw her head back, and Booth brought his hand back to her breasts, gently kneading the soft globes, encouraging her response.

Suddenly his face was between her legs, and she knew that he was studying her, but lust had banned every thought of modesty and shame to a very distant corner of her mind. Still, she tried to protest.

"Booth, not that I'm complaining, but what you're doing there seems to be quite one-sided and not very fair."

He tore his eyes away from her female beauty, meeting her lust-clouded eyes.

Azure.

He filed this new piece of knowledge safely aside.

"Oh, believe me, Temperance, this is more than fair. You are so stunning. So beautiful. So adorable."

Holding her gaze, he brought his fingers between her legs. At the first touch of his knuckles, a whirlwind of emotions flickered through her irises, and her mouth opened in a silent "Oh".

More information to file away.

Then his finger dove into her, and her head fell back, out of sight.

She was so wet. For him, it was all for him, and Booth lowered his lips in awe to taste her for the first time. His tongue licked over the full length of her, lapping up her delicious dampness, skimming over the swollen bundle of nerves that was the center of her pleasure.

She tasted like exquisite wine, the salt of the ocean and the sweetest pie he had relished so far. Her flavor was the most delicious thing that had ever touched his tongue, and Booth felt an almost painful throbbing in his shaft as he reveled in his new favorite activity.

He had no rhythm, no plan, he could just lick and taste her with primal urge. Her whimpers and little cries drove him crazy, and she wriggled so much that he had to grab her hips to hold her in place.

Brennan was in heaven. Or hell – it depended on the fact if he would ever stop and if she might survive it he didn't. She had been pleasured orally before, and she had never been particularly fond of it. It required a certain level of trust she could rarely muster, and it was a favor men did, not something they truly needed or liked.

But Booth... Booth!

He was eating her up as if it was pure pleasure for him, and as he groaned against her flesh, it hit her with sudden clarity that he did that for himself not for her. The realization almost broke her, and Brennan fought hard against the orgasm. It was too early, she wasn't ready to let go.

Every muscle, every tendon in her body was tensed, and she breathed deeply in and out to control the stirrings he created with his plan-less, passionate pleasuring. Every time she thought she might have identified his rhythm, guess his next touch, he surprised her with a swirl of his tongue or a light suction on her clit, and she could start her calming process anew.

Eventually, his hands left her hips, sliding to the insides of her thighs, caressing the tender flesh there and opening her wider to his mouth. When his finger joined in his tongue, gently invading her body, stroking her so deeply, so intimately in exact the same moment he closed his lips fully around her swollen little bud, tugging it into his mouth completely, the explosion took her by surprise.

Crying out in frustration and pleasure, her whole body clenched uncontrollably around him, her legs spreading even wider on their own accord. Waves of sweet electricity rolled through her, and the noise of her own blood rushing through her veins made her almost deaf.

Then she fell back to the pillows as a puddle of limbs and bones, and still he was sucking her lightly, lapping her up. Her hand found his head, fingers tangling in his hair, gently tugging.

Distant pain in his hair roots invaded the haze of desire that was fogging his brain, and Booth looked up in surprise, finding drowsy eyes looking down on him, her irises almost gray.

'I've made her come!᾽ The realization overwhelmed him, and for a second he felt as if he might burst with pride. The second vanished. 'Shit.᾽

Crawling clumsily on top of her, Booth found her mouth for a gentle kiss, and Brennan could taste herself on his lips. Intimacy.

"So sorry, Babe, I got carried away. I've never lost control like that, forgive me."

A puzzled look decorated her face, and she tried to interrupt his ramblings.

"Booth. Booth! Look at me!"

Finally he did, anxiously awaiting her next words.

"That... that was new. I... I've never felt that way before. I think I like it when you lose control. It doesn't make me feel so bad for losing my own."

It touched him deeply that she shared her insecurities with him, and his heart opened faced with her beautiful vulnerability. It was breathtaking, and he cupped her face tenderly.

"Bones... Temperance... You mean so much to me, honey... If only you knew how much."

Something inside of her broke at the tone of his voice, and the strongest affection she had ever felt for another human being was burning her from the inside out.

"Booth... I think I might love you."

He gasped sharply, his eyes wide open, and Brennan felt so damn much, as she saw moisture pooling in his brown depths.

"Love me?" he whispered, discreetly covering his eyes with the back of his hand. Removing it slowly, she pulled him down to kiss his tears away.

"I have no reference value because I've never experienced something like this before, but still, it feels true."

He nuzzled her nose with his own, teetering on the brink of mushiness.

"Oh, Bones, I love you, too, so, so much."

His words were soft, almost reverent, but they came on a wave so warm, and it cradled her safely, carrying her away, lifting her. Dizziness was making her nauseous, and to prevent falling, Brennan wrapped her arms and legs tightly around his body, pressing him close to her.

He was trembling with suppressed sobs, and she felt him struggling against the weakness. Drawing slow circles on his back, she tried to calm him, murmuring soft endearments into his ear.

Somehow Brennan had always thought that she wasn't made for love, that it was a language she simply didn't speak. Right here, right know – all her walls broken, every pore of her consumed by pure... love for the man in her arms – she realized how wrong she had been about it.

"It's okay, Babe, I'm here to catch you."

He lifted his head to drown into her clear blue eyes.

"It's real?"

A nod.

"You're not going away."

Another nod.

"And you love me?"

Now she was nodding wildly, feeling almost giddy with happiness.

Cradling her face in his hands, Booth kissed her deeply and thoroughly. A roller coaster ride was nothing compared to this night, but never in his boldest dreams had he dared to imagine that she could actually tell him that she loved him.

His heart was beating fast, and the passion of the kiss caused a so far neglected part of his body to stir again.

Splayed out underneath her partner, his pelvis nestled between her open thighs, Brennan felt his swelling erection against her own core, and out of the clear blue sky arousal washed over her anew – but this time it was enriched, deeper.

Love. They were making love.

"Booth, take off the rest of your clothes, please. I want to feel you."

They were absolutely on the same page here, and without much fanfare Booth got up to loosen his belt buckle. She was watching him like spellbound, and as he unzipped his pants, her gaze fell to the prominent bulge, and she swallowed hard.

'Mine.᾽

A moment later he had his shoes and boxers discarded as well, standing naked in front of her for the very first time. Well, almost for the very first time, but today he wanted her to see him. He was hard for her, and the evidence of his desire sent more wetness to her core.

"Oh, Booth. I cannot tell you how much I want to lick and suck and touch you, but I'm afraid I cannot wait anymore. I need you now. Please?"

He almost laughed at her words.

"I agree out of the bottom of my heart. You. Me. Now."

Crawling back on top of her, he positioned her underneath him so that he would be able to enter her in one swift motion.

One last time he sought permission with his eyes, and she placed a soft palm on his cheek.

"Yes."

Then he pushed forward, just an inch. Immediately, he was gripped by silky wetness, and he groaned as he lowered himself deeper and deeper until he filled her completely.

It was perfect.

Her head fell back on a gasp, and he licked the exposed skin of her throat.

"So... good..."

She moaned in response, and after a still moment of sweet torture, he started to move inside of her. Her legs crossed behind his back, and her hands found his buttocks, gently squeezing the firm muscles, pressing him tighter into her.

His tongue at her pulse point, Booth could feel her galloping heartbeat as he stroked her so intimately. It was as if she was made for him, and he wanted to howl at the sensations, so new and so familiar at the same time. A few hours ago he had confessed on a whisper that he could picture her in his home.

It had been the understatement of the year because she was his home.

She was whimpering now, the movement of her hips out of control, and he thrust into her with full force – until he hit that special spot which elicited another cry from her. She went rigid in his arms, except for the pulsating rhythm deep inside of her, and with a loud growl Booth surrendered himself to it, falling apart in the sweet paradise of her body for the first time of so many yet to come...

Silence followed, as their overheated skin cooled down in the first hours of the new year, and eventually Booth slid out of her, rolling down from her. Brennan mew at the loss of contact, but it didn't last long because a blink later she was back in his arms.

Wrapping her tighter into his embrace and the blanket, he rubbed her naked back in slow circles, earning a drowsy smile and a languid kiss from her.

"Forever, Booth."

Her words caught him off guard again, but he made a quick recovery; a skill he had perfected during the years with her.

"Baby, have I ever told you how much I love this steep learning curve of yours?"

Her lazy chuckle turned into a yawn.

"I just love you."

He kissed her head in a gesture full of gratitude.

"Happy new year, my love."

The End

Happy new year to all of you :-) Reviews make me happy!