A/N: So…officially no more writing at work. Just too busy. Sad:( We'll make it work though…don't you worry. You keep telling me you want this, and I'll deliver. Slowly. But it'll happen;)
Um….have I mentioned the Happy Holidays series that KJ and I are doing under nekkidboothinc? Yes? Oh well, you get to hear it again. Check it out! It's basically the funnest thing ever.
Have a fabulous holiday for those of you who celebrate it….I'm so totally grateful for all of my readers, who make this experience so worth it. You are on my "give thanks" list!
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"I don't like this. Have I mentioned that I don't like this?" he griped. To be fair, by this point he was only halfheartedly griping, laying on the bed in his boxers and flipping through the pictures they took today of the empty rooms. He was mentally filling them. They would get new furniture for the living room, they had agreed on that. Well, maybe he'd keep his old recliner. He had worn it in just the way he liked. And they'd keep Bones' bedroom stuff. He was sort of attached to this bed; call him sentimental.
"I know, Booth," she called from the adjacent bathroom, a little garbled because she was brushing her teeth. "We have discussed how neither of us like this. But that it is surely harmless."
"It's not a good idea to be giving business advice to family."
"He's not…" she started automatically, but then stopped, catching herself before she said something that he would surely find hurtful, even though it wasn't intended that way. "I'm not going to give him advice, really. Just some guidelines." Rinsing the last of the foam from her mouth, she poked her head out of the bathroom for a second. "Besides, you want me to form bonds with your family, right? Jared's identity is formed primarily through his work. By helping him become more successful in his business venture, he'll accept me more readily than he would otherwise. What are you doing?"
"Planning our new bedroom. I don't know if I want you bonding with my brother. That makes me feel weird."
"Don't worry Booth. We won't bond that much. I don't bake cookies."
"Huh?"
Looking out again, she saw him looking intently at the pictures, only half paying attention to her. She frowned, not knowing what could possibly be so interesting about digital images of empty rooms. Suddenly finding herself in competition with the camera for his attention, she strutted out of the bathroom barefoot in her pink lace boyshort panties and matching bra. "Cookies. Hot, sweet, tasty cookies." She struck a faux sexy pose, with one hand on her thrust-out hip and the other laced through her hair, giving him a pouty look and nearly collapsing in giggles when he glanced up and his eyes nearly bugged out. "So I have to practically walk around naked to get your mind off interior decorating?" she teased.
"Apparently. Do that again."
"What? This?" she asked as she posed again, smiling. Quick as a flash, he lifted up the camera and snapped her picture.
"Booth!" she admonished, still not being able to help her laughter.
"What?" he said innocently, slipping the camera under the pillow and looked at her with wide eyes.
"That was completely inappropriate," she laughed, grabbing his own discarded dress shirt off the bed and slipping it around her shoulders, buttoning a few buttons. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her down to the bed, giggling the whole way. Once she was down, he hovered over her.
"I need something for when you go on those long trips for your book signings or for research…something to get me through those long nights."
"Aren't your memories enough?"
"Man can't live off memories alone." He was mostly just teasing her. But damn she looked sexy lying below him in his white shirt and her delicate panties, face free of makeup but flushed from her laughter.
She saw his fingers slip under his pillowcase to the camera and she gave him a warning look.
"Please?" he asked nicely, his question accompanied by the smile that made her insides flip a little bit.
"Will you delete them?" As soon as she asked, he knew he had her, and he grinned.
"Smile, baby," he whispered. He pushed the bottom corner of her (his) shirt up, exposing pink lace and just a swatch of the milky skin of her abdomen. His eyes locked on hers for a moment, tacitly assuring that this was okay with her. In answer, she smiled seductively and stretched, her hair splaying across the white sheets and putting every model in every men's magazine he'd ever seen to shame. Dear God. Slowly, he raised the camera, capturing her pose in the lens and holding in there until her smile grew in anticipation—perfect—click. Greedily, he flipped the camera mode to image view, anxious to assess his…um…photography skills. Oh, she didn't really expect him to delete these, did she? They belonged on the walls of a museum somewhere. A personal museum that only he would have access to, of course…His thoughts were interrupted when she flipped around to her knees and pushed him to his back on the bed.
Somehow, the camera had brought out her inner exhibitionist, and even she was a little surprised at the show she was making in crawling towards him, catlike, while he snapped frame after frame of her every movement: biting her lip almost innocently while her fingers nimbly unbuttoned her shirt, shrugging it off and looking at him over her shoulder into the lens, pulling down the straps of her bra and pushing her breasts together to create the most tempting cleavage. All of it, somehow arousing her as much as it was him. Why? Maybe it was because the intensity of his eyes on her—and his eagerness to capture everything about her. It made her feel somehow more than ordinary; like she was the most exceptional creature to ever walk the face of the earth. Reaching behind her back, she flipped open the hooks of her bra; before she let it fall, she reached for the camera and gently took it from Booth's hands, tossing it aside before letting her bra fall off to the bed. She loved the way his eyes turned black when she bared herself to him. "Why do you want me so much?" she whispered, not entirely sure what prompted her to ask the question but now very interested in the answer.
His now-free hands trailed their way up her body as she straddled him. Pulling her chest a little closer to his mouth, he pressed gentle kisses against the marks where her bra had pressed into her before blowing cool air onto her already-hardening nipples, enjoying how they puckered in response to his teasing. "Why do I want you…" he repeated slowly, now tracing his fingers around the tight peaks of her breasts, making her squirm in an effort to increase the contact. "I want you because when I see how passionate you are about everything you do, I just know how incredible it's going to be to be the focus of that passion. And I want you because you bring so much excitement to the world, and just being in your presence kicks my energy up." He tugged her face downwards to his so that he could kiss her now, deeply, while stroking his hands down her bare back and then circling them around to finally give her nearly-aching nipples the attention they deserved. "I want you because you are incredible and sexy and unique and fun. And I want you, Temperance Brennan, because you aren't like all the other girls. And I love that."
That worked for her. It was enough of a reason to kiss him lustfully in thanks, while grinding her lower half against his. She felt him grow in response to her stimulation, which in turn made her grow wet. Her memory had neatly catalogued most every encounter in which he had used that part of him, hot and hard and throbbing, to bring her the most exquisite pleasure, and all those memories flowed through her now. She wanted him. Wanted to take everything that he was willing to give her. Wanted to be shown, by him, just how incredible she was. Lifting up, she dragged her moist center up his body, higher, and higher, adjusted her legs over his shoulders, until she was straddling his face, looking down at him with a wicked smile. "I want…"
"You want me to fuck you with my tongue." The man had a good memory, that was for sure. And he would never forget that time, so long ago now, that she first made that request of him. He was now less surprised, but just as aroused as he was then.
"Into oblivion," she whispered, and chuckled with him softly until he pressed a light kiss onto her pulsing center, through her panties. Gasping, she fell backward a bit, bracing herself against his hips while she strained against him, trying to get contact back with his mouth without smothering the poor man. Thankfully, he seemed happy to be smothered, as he carefully pulled what was covering her aside, took a hold of her ass, and gently circled her clit with his tongue. Shuddering, she groaned, her fingers digging into the skin of his hips.
If this pained him, he didn't show it, only gripping her harder and probing more deeply, running his tongue up and down her wet flesh to vary the stimulation, pausing to thrust hard inside of her one moment and to flick rapidly over her clit the next. All in all, giving her the tongue lashing that she so richly deserved. And it was all she could do to stop herself from leaning forward and madly thrusting in her face, so intense were the feelings spiraling through her. He sensed her frustration from her moans, and didn't want her to hold back any longer. "Fuck me, gorgeous," he pulled away and whispered raggedly, drunk on the taste of her, wanting nothing more than to make her scream with pleasure.
With a moan, she complied, struggling to sit up and then move her hips downwards again, low, and lower. And she found him with her center at the same time her lips found his, tasting herself and him while she sunk down on top of him and swallowed his groan into her mouth. "Fuck, Temperance," he said shakily. "How the hell do you feel so good, every single time?"
"Because I'm not like the other girls," she responded breathlessly, moving, letting his slick length caress every part of her inside. Sighing with need, she slowly ascended, leaning back again like she had before as he made love to her with his mouth. This caused him to slide to a new position inside of her. A really good one, too. Quickly catching on to which of his movements brought the most whimpers to her lips, he responded to her the best he could while letting her ride him on her terms. Between groans of ecstasy, he wondered at how she could be so demanding and giving of a lover at the same time, and at her power to thrill him like she did. He bucked her, hard, and she held on to his thighs, fingers gripping tight enough to leave marks. And there was that face he looked for, that sound he loved to hear; she cried out, fingers contracting on him while her taut body stiffened.
He rocked her gently, making sure her pleasure was brought to its highest peak before he allowed himself to let go inside her, letting her then take her turn pulling every last good feeling out of him. And once he was so high that he could barely see anymore, she soothed him down again, dropping to his chest gasping, until their breathing synchronized and everything was clear again.
"I dare you to find anything better than that," he told her with a sigh, pushing her damp hair back so he could see her heavy-lidded eyes.
"Pretty close to perfect," she agreed, kissing him lightly before rolling to his side. Perfect. That word bothered him somehow.
Something bumped her shoulder and she looked over and laughed breathlessly. Picking up the camera, she suspended it in front of him.
"You won't let me keep them?" he asked, pretend-pouting.
"Well, I could…but I can promise you there ain't nothing like the real thing, baby," she teased, pulling back the sheet and sliding underneath them.
"True." Flicking on the power, he flipped through them, looking admiringly, then regretfully as he deleted them. "Hey Bones?"
"Yeah." Her eyes were already falling closed; she would sleep like a baby tonight, he thought, a little proudly.
"If Jared starts talking shit about me tomorrow…you'll steer the conversation back to business, right?"
Her eyes cracked open again. "You really think he'd do that?" She looked doubtful.
"I don't know. All I know is that I never want you to stop looking at me the way you do when we are done…you know."
"I'm pretty sure you don't have to worry about that," she mumbled, eyes closing again. Booth looked at her briefly before turning back to the camera.
She might never get it, he realized, looking at the last undeleted picture: the one where she posed playfully in all her sweet, sexy, silly, and unassuming glory. He loved that side of her, and the fact that she was willing to show it to him. But for all her smarts, she was still naïve when it came to family.
Switching the camera off, he put it on the nightstand, turned off the lights, and climbed under the sheets with his partner, mostly trusting in the knowledge that she would always be on his side. It was everybody else that he didn't trust so much…
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By midmorning on Thursday, Booth's uneasy were mostly forgotten. There was too much work to be done to focus on his insecurities. In fact, he nearly had forgotten all about his brother's odd lunch request. Until he came into his office around 11:30 and found Jared there, gazing at the pictures and commendations that Seeley kept framed on his wall. "Jared."
His brother turned, giving him a patented Booth family grin. "Hey bro."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Suspicion crept into his voice, although he didn't know why.
"I'm not allowed to visit my baby brother at work? See what he does with his days? And nights?"
"Well, maybe. But I thought that today, you were trying to schmooze your baby brother's partner."
"Partner?" Jared snorted. "Would hope you've moved beyond that."
Seeley felt his face redden a little. "She doesn't like to be called 'girlfriend,'" he mumbled.
"Well, that's a shame that you embarrass her."
'Don't let him get to you, Seel. You know that just makes it worse,' he told himself. "So did you come for something? Other than to irritate me?"
Jared looked innocent. "I'm hurt. Did you are didn't you tell me to come pick up your key so that I can help you start moving things in your new place this weekend? I figured I'd pick it up before my lunch with Temperance."
Well, now he just felt bad. "Oh…yeah. Sorry."
"No problem. I forgive you. That's what family's for." Jared laughed. "Can't wait to see the new place. You're moving up in the world"
"Yeah…we were there taking pictures and measuring the other day, getting ready. Getting pretty excited."
"I bet you are. This is your biggest achievement."
"I don't know if I'd go that far." He could only imagine Brennan's reaction if she found out that landing her was "an achievement."
"You're a lucky man, Seeley." Booth was about to brush it off when he caught a look that he'd never seen from him brother before. Was that…envy. Whatever the hell it was made him just a little uncomfortable.
"The key's in my locker. I'll go get it," he muttered, sort of anxious to get out of there for awhile. He left his brother in his office while he took a walk.
Wasn't this part of what he wanted, if he was honest with himself? His brother and his father had a mutual camaraderie based on respect, and Seeley had always felt left out of that. Everything he had, they already had…or they didn't want. And he felt the loss of not being part of that world, but he learned to cope, learned to appreciate the things he did and what he possessed, even without their acknowledgement or approval. Sort of. He always thought that the day he earned a nod in his direction—true appreciation--would be the day he felt largely complete. But if he had seen what he thought he saw on his brother's face…he opened the locker and fished for the key inside his bag, slamming the door closed a little too hard when he was done. He was overanalyzing things. It was only making him anxious. On his way back to his office, he forced himself to relax. But the sound of his brother's laughter put him up in arms.
He walked back into the office, indignant. "What the hell's so funny?" he asked, not processing the scene before him for a second.
Jared was still chuckling, with a disbelieving expression. "Shit, bro. I knew you were lucky just about now. But I didn't know you were this lucky." And at that moment, Seeley realized with horror exactly what was in his brother's hands. And what he was staring out. With that look on his face.
His first thought should have been about what Bones was going to think when she found out he forgot to delete one of her pictures from the camera. The cute one, with her being that her that no one else saw. And that he brought it to work so that he could download the pictures of the house. And that his brother, seeing the camera so carelessly lying on his desk, got the eyeful of his life when he went to check out the photos of the rooms. He should have been worried about that. But right now, all he was worried about was erasing that image from his Jared's mind for good. "Gimme that," he snapped, trying to snatch the camera from his brother's hands. He didn't give it up easily.
"Aw, c'mon Seel, share the wealth," he said with a grin, pulling it back. "You certainly don't have anything to be embarrassed of. Jeez, this is what you go home to at night? I'd never leave."
"Jared I swear to God…"
"Damn. Relax, Seel." Jared flipped the power off, and handed the camera back to him. "Does your partner know about the soft porn you keep of her at work?"
He didn't know what to say, and could feel the heat rushing to his face.
Jared's grin had faded a little. "You fucked up, didn't you?" Seeley's silence gave him the answer he needed. "I'll tell ya bro, you better be careful. This isn't the kind of woman you risk losing."
Booth could read him right now. Was that concern on his face? Smugness? "I'm never gonna lose her," he muttered.
"Lose her, or have her taken away." Seeley's eyed flashed, and he looked at his brother with horror. "Settle down Seel. Don't worry. I'm not gonna tell her. Your secret's safe with me. Just be careful." Jared winked at him, and patted him on the shoulder before moving to the door. "It was great to see you. I'll tell Temperance you said hi."
Booth was left red-faced in his office, not really being able to identify what he was feeling. All he knew was that the last thing in the world he wanted was his brother spending time with one of the two people in the world that he couldn't live without.