A/N: Sorry for the long delay, a combination of writers block and some medical issues kept me away from writing. Thankfully I have a new job that isn't as stressful and I should be able to keep a more regular writing schedule. Thank you so much to those of you who keep reviewing during the long absence. It really brought a smile to my face to see new readers encouraging me to continue. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
Chapter 8:
The good doctor wasn't sure how to respond to the tongue currently nipping and suckling at her fingertips. She was aroused, that was for sure. What had aroused her she wasn't so sure about. Was it really just this very sensual act and the scene that had played out on the living room, or was it the fact that Seeley Booth was the one doing them?
Suddenly the air in the room was a bit warmer than usual and Temperance was having a harder time drawing breath. Booth was oblivious to the reaction she was having, pupil dilation, labored breathing, flushed skin, or he was a much better actor than she gave him credit for? Where the hell did he learn how to do those things with his tongue? What else could he do with that tongue she wondered? As her thoughts grew more and more descriptive, Seeley's lips grew bolder, moving down his thoroughly preoccupied partner's fingers till he was nipping at her knuckles.
Without realizing it, Dr. Brennan let out a moan. The instant the sound escaped her lips the partners froze. Both stood perfectly still, Booth's lips still wrapped around his partner's fingers. Bones didn't know how to proceed. Her brain couldn't even form a thought, let alone a plan as what to do next. It was as if her body was disconnected from her mind. In more ways than one. Motionless and distracted by the suddenly stilled tongue, Temperance's fingers went limp. It was the sound of Brennan's plate crashing on the floor that seemed to break the spell on the two.
Seeley stepped back slowly, with a slight grin as Bones' fingers slid past his lips. Brennan took a step, before suddenly gasping in pain.
"Ouch!"
"Bones, what's wrong?" Booth asked, concerned.
As if to answer, Temperance lifted her foot to reveal a gash along the instep of her left foot, a small piece of plate stuck out of the flesh.
"Oh geeze Bones. Here, let's get you to the couch and we'll get you all fixed up. Where's your first aid kit?"
"In my bathroom, the 3rd shelf of towel closet opposite the sink." Temperance called out to Seeley as he started to walk back. She let out a little gasp when she tried to step forward towards the couch. Even limping hurt. Booth looked over and noticed his partner's plight. Without another word he turned around and scooped her up before carrying her into her back to the couch. Dr. Brennan, to her credit, allowed this without a single word of how demeaning it is for a man to carry a woman simply because she slightly injured her foot. Okay, maybe it was more than slightly injured, but she had walked out of worse things than this. Why was she letting Booth carry her now? Was she really that thrown off by the noodle? She had dropped the plate. But what was it about Booth that always had her off her game, to use one of his phrases?
While she pondered these questions, Agent Booth was hustling back from the bathroom with a suitcase sized white box bearing a red cross.
"Wow Bones this thing weighs a ton, just how many band-aids do you need?" Seeley asked jovially. He was no slouch in the "be prepared" department. In fact he was proud of his ability to be ready regardless of a situation, but the doctor looked so deep in thought that he just had to break her out of the seriousness. Besides, a good mood makes removing dishware a lot easier.
Temperance jumped slightly upon hearing Booth's voice and in the process moved her leg just enough to jar her foot.
"Ouch, Booth you scared me. Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to sneak up on injured people?" Temperance chastised lightly. She was more startled by her own thoughts than the idea of Agent Booth sneaking up on her.
"Sorry Bones didn't mean to startle you, but you looked lost in though. Let's just get you cleaned up and then we can get started on that paper work."
Temperance nodded, still frowning slightly as Booth came around the couch to sit beside her. He laid the giant first aid kit on the coffee table before carefully placing Dr. Brennan's leg over his lap and positioning it so the foot was right in his line of site. Opening the kit, Seeley took out all the necessary implements before turning his attention back to the injured doctor.
"Bones, it doesn't look too bad, the bleeding has stopped but it's right in the arch so it's going to smart for a few days while it heals. Just relax and I'll try to make this as quick and painless as possible." Seeley stated sincerely. His partner looked, perplexed maybe? She looked something and Seeley Booth just did not have enough fancy words in his vocabulary to accurate describe the expression on her face. But that could wait, right now there was a piece of ceramic plate sticking out of her foot and Booth was fairly certain she would want use of said foot back sooner rather than later.
"Okay Temperance, this will sting a little, but I'll try to do it fast." Agent Booth gently grasped the plate with a pair of rubber tipped tweezers with one hand while securely holding Brennan's foot against his stomach with the other. Skillfully he pulled out the piece as delicately as if he was cutting a wire to the timer in a bomb. Dr. Brennan for her part held her breath and didn't so much as whimper as the broken ceramic left her foot. That had in no small part been due to the warm hand carefully holding her foot. The same hand whose thumb was rubbing up and down the top of her foot in small circles while it's companion cleaned up the wound. That thumb was getting damn distracting. So much so that Temperance began to feel a warm rush shooting straight up her leg and into her core. That delicious heat was so strongly capturing her attention that when the final band-aid was place on her foot she barely noticed what Seeley was saying next.