A/N: Broken record... sorry about the delay. The final Chapter is here... finally.
What's wrong? She wants to know what's wrong! We're sitting here in silence because I don't know how to answer that. Well, that's not true. I know how to answer it, but I don't know if I want to answer it. I'm afraid of the response.
Which brings me back to the same predicament I was in before I got here. I'm running my hands up and down her legs, and I can feel her smooth skin forming goose bumps under my touch. I have no doubt that this attraction between us is intense. I just hope that Frost was right, and Maura really does… you know. Love me, or whatever.
"Don't you want me, Jane?"
My eyes snap up to meet hers, and the uncertainty I see in them makes me sigh. I can tell she's trying to be strong here.
"Too much," is all I can say, and it comes out rushed and in a whisper. I'm beginning to think she didn't hear me, but then she responds.
"You want me too much?" she says, clearly confused.
"No, I…" I'm stuttering. I'm looking around the room like a nervous perp. "I want too much of you."
After a moment, I return my eyes to hers. The uncertainty that was there is gone, and has been replaced with… hope. Anticipation.
"How much?"
How much do I want of her? I want everything. I want her body, I want her mind, I want her heart and soul. I want her mornings, and her nights, and every moment in between. I want morning cuddles and night time spooning. I want picnics in the park and coffee breaks at the morgue. I want to hold her hand and hold her heart. I want to grow old with her. And I've never wanted anything more than I want her.
"All of you," I say to my lap.
"Jane…" she says, waiting for me to look at her before finishing. "You have all of me."
My eyes snap up to meet hers.
I do?
"What?" It comes out strangled because suddenly my throat feels a little constricted.
"You have all of me, Jane. You always have."
I feel her hand cup the side of my face as her words sink in. And that's all the invitation I need to seal the deal with a kiss. A soft kiss, not as frenzied as the first. It's tentative, and slow and when our lips part, I open my eyes to see her own searching mine; she's looking between them. At first it looks as though she can't believe this is actually happening. And hey, I'm with her there. This is crazy! Crazy real! Crazy… but oh so good.
Then I see a sparkle in her eyes. Happiness. And her lips turn up at the edges, and her hand brushes the side of my face, and I can't help but mirror her smile as she slides herself up onto her knees to straddle me. But it's not frenzied, and it's not sexual. My hands instinctively move to rest on her hips. Her eyes are still locked with mine, and her hand is running softly through my hair… as unruly and crazy tangled as it is.
"So this is really happening then," I say as my eyes close, enjoying the feel of her so close to me.
"Yes," she whispers, as I feel her kiss my cheek. "I hope so," she says, moving to kiss my other cheek.
I open my eyes when I feel her finger run along my bottom lip, and her eyes are transfixed as my tongue comes out briefly to wet them. I watch her eyes flutter momentarily before rising to meet mine.
"Are you ok?" she asks, clearly noticing the hesitance in my eyes.
"Yea, it's just…" I'm searching her eyes, not really sure what to say. This is really happening! Maura and I are… what? Confessing love? Making out? I have all of her, and I've realised that she has all of me. She always has, really. But could it really be that simple? Can we really just go from friends to lovers so simply?
She's watching me patiently, waiting for me to finish.
"It's just a little surreal," I finally say, bringing my hands up to wrap around her waist. "Can it really be this simple?"
And then she smiles that heart breaking smile, and her eyes glimmer with an innocence that only Maura Isles could have after everything she has been through, and I start to believe that it really can be this simple. She runs her hands over my shoulders to the back of my neck as she leans back to look at me.
"I love you, Jane." She says it with so much feeling, and so much confidence. I can't help the giddy smile. I can't help the way my body breaks out into goose bumps. I can't help the way my heart leaps at her words, or the butterflies in my stomach.
I bring my hands up between us and cup her face, running my fingers over her soft skin. I lean in and kiss her softly. I pull back to look her in the eyes.
"I love you too, Maura."
It really is that simple. She puts up with me because she loves me. The lingering touches, the long, meaningful looks. It's love.
Her eyes are sparkling, darting between my own. I look down to her lips; lips that I want to kiss more than I've ever wanted anything; and I see her pull her bottom lip between her teeth. And damn if that look isn't the sexiest thing I've ever seen. I look back into her eyes and they are full of love and lust and I feel like I'm about to burst. But then she says something that takes me out of my daze.
"Show me."
And you better believe I am going to show her. Every day, for the rest of my life.
The End
A/N: It took me a while, but I finally got this out. I'm starting to realise why I enjoy writing one-shots. In future, I may just wait until I've finished a story before publishing it. As it turns out, life has a knack for getting in the way far too often :-(
I do hope it was at least worth the wait xoxo
