A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who gave me reviews and ideas for this chapter - I hope you enjoy it... It's kind of gratuitous smut-fluff, as the title suggests.

A/N 2: Apologies for any inaccuracies in the poker descriptions - Snap was always more my level :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.


Chapter 11 - Tequila and Whipped Cream

"Fold."

Booth dropped his cards face down in front of him and pulled off his one remaining sock, depositing it in the growing pile of clothing in the middle of the table. He checked his watch and saw that it was now past midnight.

They had all been drinking for hours, but Rick Young had only recently instigated the game of strip poker which they were all now involved in. Booth had tried to keep himself out of it, wanting to avoid gambling of any kind, but since Mendez had taken the role of the (fully-clothed) dealer, he'd had no choice but to participate.

His, and Brennan's, strategy had been to fold early, thereby keeping the majority of their clothes and also being spared the large shots of tequila that the winner was forced to consume. It's a good gameplan, he thought to himself, realising that he was relatively sober and still dressed in his wife-beater, jeans and boxers. He glanced over to his partner and corrected himself, It was a good gameplan.

Brennan had stuck to the plan for the first two rounds, but her competitive instinct had soon taken over. Booth looked round the table and smirked to himself when he saw that most of the rest were already in their underwear, staring daggers at his completely dressed partner. He focused his attention back on the game, finding that Anderson and Brennan were the only two left in.

"I will see your pants and raise you my top," she said confidently, her words slightly slurred by the amount of tequila she had won so far.

Anderson laughed, "I will raise you my shirt."

"Then I," Brennan continued, shaking her finger at him while Booth tried not to laugh, "Will raise you my bra."

A few of the men round the table whistled, and Anderson smiled broadly, "Okay, let's see what you got."

"Ladies first," she replied innocently and her inebriated opponent spread his cards on the table, not realising what he'd done until the rest of them began to laugh.

"Flush - all Spades," he said triumphantly.

A smug smile crossed Temperance's face and she placed her cards out slowly, "Three Kings and two Queens. Full House - I get your clothes."

Anderson grumbled as he stripped off, leaving him sitting there in only his white underpants with a scowl on his face. Brennan finished her fifth tequila with a grimace, then smiled brightly, "Play again?"

Booth was frankly quite impressed by her poker capability when she was this far over the limit, but Jackson Thomas whispered moodily in his ear, "Maybe you shouldn't have brought this one. Takes all the fun out of it."

Looking round the rest of the group, he saw that most of them seemed to share Thomas' point of view. Not wanting to arouse any kind of suspicion or hostility towards his partner, he spoke loudly, "Alright, I'll play again."

Mendez raised an eyebrow, "Rest of you in?"

They all reluctantly agreed, despite having gone head-to-head with Brennan before and surrendering most of their clothes. The cards were dealt and exchanged, but Booth was not surprised when everyone else folded on the first round, giving up any remaining stockings and socks. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Brennan and said firmly, "I'm in."

She gave him an enigmatic smile and simply said, "My left shoe."

"My wife-beater," Booth replied, trying not to show any emotion.

She narrowed her eyes, "My right shoe."

He responded quickly, "My jeans."

She checked her cards again, "My jeans."

"My boxers," he said, praying that she didn't win.

"My top," she countered with a broad smile, hoping that she did win.

Booth held up his hands, "I'm all in. Let's see you."

Temperance gave him the same smug smile as she had previously given to Anderson and laid her cards out, revealing four Aces and a five. "Four of a Kind," she said with satisfaction, then added teasingly, "Let's see you."

"Whatever you say," he answered with a shrug and placed his cards down one by one. Her smile widened when she saw he only had a four of clubs, but it quickly faded as he produced a five, six, seven and eight of the same suit. "Straight Flush beats Four of a Kind," he said with a grin and smiles broke out around the table when they realised Brennan had finally lost.

Glaring at him, she removed her heels, jeans and top, leaving her sitting in a black lacy bra and matching panties. Booth's mouth fell open in amazement when he saw her, and he felt a slight pang of guilt for making her strip in front of him. However, he realised that the tense atmosphere around the table had evaporated now that they were all equals again and his guilt was further eased by the extra large shot of tequila that he then had to consume.

As he threw away the lime rind, he saw Rob Anderson coming out of the kitchen, holding a tall white and red can in one hand and the empty tequila bottle in the other. "Okay folks, time for Spin the Bottle!" he shouted, walking unsteadily back towards the group.

Booth rolled his eyes but Anderson's proposal was met with a drunken cheer from the rest of those gathered around the table, including Brennan, who he guessed had no idea what Spin the Bottle was. Anderson cleared his throat to sniggers from the others and explained grandly, "One person spins the bottle. Whoever it lands on has to lick this whipped cream," He rattled the can for dramatic effect, "Off somewhere on the spinner's body. Exactly where is my choice."

This announcement was followed by more whoops and cheers, and a slurred objection from Rick Young, "Why do you get to pick the place?"

"Because," Anderson replied, full of self-importance despite the fact that he was wearing only underwear, "I got it out of the kitchen." He placed the bottle in the middle of the table, sweeping the pile of clothes onto the floor, and pointed to the now topless Ana Lopez, "All yours, sugar."

As the game began, Booth scanned quickly round the group. Most seemed entranced in the action before them and he noted with a grin that Brennan had a look of mild disdain on her face. Looking over towards Mendez, he saw that he had distanced himself from the game and was speaking quietly to his partner.

While the bottle moved round the circle, he tried to overhear their conversation and caught Sophia whispering quietly, "Do they know to come to the pier?"

"Where else is there to go?" Mendez replied in annoyance. "We're the only people around for miles. Why do you think I chose this place?"

"Just asking," she snapped back. "How many men are they sending?"

"Just the two, last I heard," he answered bluntly. "I'll get my guys to help bring it in, but we'll leave the girls here. Don't want to take more than necessary."

"What time's it due?" Sophia asked and Booth leaned in closer to hear the answer.

"Hey! Booth!"

His attempts were foiled as Anderson yelled his name and he looked back to see that it was his turn with the bottle. Fixing a smile on his face, he reluctantly spun.

Temperance watched her partner spin the tequila bottle, still annoyed by the fact that he was wearing more clothes than her. It gradually came to rest and she felt an unexpected twinge of disappointment when it landed on Heather White instead of her. Brennan's eyes narrowed as Heather got to her feet happily, dressed in a flimsy purple bra and g-string, and moved to stand in front of Booth, a large smile on her face.

She watched as Heather whispered something to Anderson, who then turned to Booth, "The lady would like the vest removed." Booth shrugged and took off his wife-beater, leaving him in his low-slung jeans. Anderson grinned and called loudly, "On your knees." He dropped to his knees in front of Heather, and laughed at the chorus of wolf-whistles from those still seated.

Anderson sprayed a line of whipped cream along Booth's shoulder and up the side of his neck, and Brennan felt an overwhelming surge of jealousy as Heather bent low over him, licking the cream hungrily from his muscular shoulder. Her mouth moved up, nibbling softly on his earlobe, and Temperance couldn't help but feel angry when Booth smiled at the intimate gesture. She trailed her lips back down his jaw, catching any last remnants of cream and finally kissed him firmly on the lips. It took all of Brennan's willpower not to stand up and pull her off him, but she felt relief flood through her when Booth broke away from the kiss, giving Heather a small smile but backing away.

Sophia King took that juncture to announce suddenly, "We're going to call it a night." Everyone turned to face her in surprise and she gave them a knowing smile, "See you all in a few hours."

As she and Mendez headed up the stairs, Booth decided to seize the opportunity. Nodding towards his partner, he said with a wink, "I think we'll be heading to bed too."

Brennan started to get to her feet, but Anderson interrupted, "Not yet you're not." He looked straight at her, waving the bottle. "It's your turn."

Temperance glanced at Booth for confirmation and he gave her a helpless shrug as he sat back down. Taking a deep breath, and hoping that she'd judged the momentum right, she spun the bottle.

It landed on Booth.

"Perfect!" Anderson called, still overly excited. She felt her heart start to beat faster as Booth came to stand in front of her while the other shook the can of cream. Surveying her carefully, Anderson crouched down and trailed the cream from her sternum to just below her belly button. Stepping back with a satisfied nod, he clapped Booth on the shoulder, "All yours, man."

Brennan looked up at her partner and gave him the tiniest nod of permission. He placed his hands on her hips to reassure her and bent over so that his mouth just missed the bottom of her bra. She felt his lips brush against her stomach and her skin tingled as his tongue ran lightly over her sternum. As he continued down, she heard him move from a crouching to a kneeling position but his mouth never lost contact with her body. Temperance closed her eyes as his tongue played teasingly round her belly button, moving expertly in tiny circles. Her body relaxed as he moved lower still, and she released a breath that she never knew she'd been holding in.

To her slight disappointment, the line of whipped cream then ended and Booth broke contact with her, standing up slowly. She opened her eyes to find him standing in front of her, looking at her with concern. She gave him a small smile and saw him breathe a sigh of relief that he hadn't gone too far. He put his arm around her shoulders and spoke loudly enough so that the others could hear, "Let's go to bed."

Anderson made no move to stop them, having now moved on to the next person round the table. Booth gently led Brennan towards the stairs, picking up his discarded shirt as he went and slipping it round her exposed shoulders. She leaned into his chest, overcome by tiredness and alcohol as the adrenaline faded. They wandered up the stairs in a comfortable silence and made their way towards their room at the end of one of the many corridors.

Without warning, Booth suddenly clamped a hand over Brennan's mouth and dragged her into a room off the hallway. She instinctively tried to scream but he held her tightly, closing the door of what seemed like a linen closet with his foot. Panic flashed through her and she struggled desperately against his grip, knowing that her co-ordination and reflexes were slower than his due to the drink.

Fearing the worst, she was surprised when he whispered in her ear, "Shh, Bones. I'm not trying to hurt you, but you need to be quiet. Okay?"

Temperance nodded as much as his hand would allow and he released her. She whirled round to face him, whispering indignantly, "What are you-"

She stopped when she saw that he had his ear pressed to the door and was motioning for her to be quiet. Curiosity aroused, Brennan squeezed next to him in the cramped closet, trying to make out what he was hearing.

She was rewarded when she heard Sophia King's voice down the corridor, "Have you told the rest of them?"

"Yes," came the reply and she recognised the voice as Mendez's. "They know to meet me at 5 downstairs, and to make sure their girls stay here."

"What about Booth?"

Mendez paused and they both strained to catch his response. "I've not decided yet," he said eventually. "There's just something that I don't like about him."

"What's not to like?" Sophia asked with a laugh. "He's done all you asked at the Bureau, he's a lot less stupid than Anderson, all the rest of the girls love him... "

In the closet, Booth gave Brennan a cocky smile and she rolled her eyes.

"I don't know..." Mendez answered, uncertainly. "Maybe it's that girl of his."

Brennan's mouth fell open, insulted, and Booth couldn't hide his smirk. She put her hands on her hips in annoyance, but as she did so, her elbow banged loudly against a hard wooden shelf. They both froze in horror, hoping that the couple outside hadn't heard. Booth leaned close to the door again as they both held their breath in anticipation.

Their eyes widened in panic as Sophia asked, "What was that?"


Hope you're all still enjoying the story - most of this is new writing territory for me.

Please review if you have time. Thanks.