Author's note: Thank you very much for all your messages and reviews (honestly, I don't know why I came up with the nightmares thing but I promise you it won't be too dramatic)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Leaving Evidence Behind

It was late – Bastia was plunged in the dark – but the temperatures were still extremely high. Maura could feel a semblance of summer breeze brush her back before dying in the bubbles of the hot tub. The touch was arousing, almost as much as Jane's kisses on her shivering skin. She opened her eyes between two sighs – repressed a moan of pleasure – then looked at her lover.

Jane had prepared everything. She had waited for all the guests to go to bed to finally grab Maura by the hand. She had dragged her outside – on the upper deck – before motioning the hot tub in a silence worth a thousand words. A bottle of Champagne and two glasses had been set down near the tub.

The underwater lights seemed to rise in the darkness of the night, invitingly enough.

It hadn't taken Maura very long to know that they wouldn't spend the night star gazing. This wasn't in Jane's mind and even in less in hers.

Was their relationship too carnal? They spent a lot of time making love, a lot more than the average amount Maura usually did with her dates. Whenever they were alone, a mere touch could set off the whole thing and – within five minutes – clothes started sliding down their skin before embracing the floor quietly.

She was over-thinking way too many things: her mysterious nightmare, the character of her relationship... She needed to let go, she needed to focus on the time being. Jane's caresses for a start. She had won in boldness within a few days. Maura was not the only one who initiated everything anymore. Jane dared to make the first step, to let Maura know what she wanted and when. Such attitude was extremely arousing. Jane didn't show authority – she was extremely sweet in her demand – but she nonetheless assumed it all with a brand new self-confidence that Maura found sexy.

Very sexy.

Like the way she was now straddling her. Jane had wrapped her endless legs around Maura's waist. She had molded her body against her lover's before her lips had started drawing a path of kisses on Maura's wet skin.

Jane's fingertips brushed Maura's breasts – her hips – and her nape in an incessant and sensual ballet while her left hand had disappeared in the depth of the water between their legs to match the pace of her own pelvic movement.

There was a time when Jane wouldn't have dared. What if someone walked in on them? It was late but still, anyone could show up. At any moment. The deck was plunged in the dark but the hot tub was lit up by powerful lights. It wouldn't take more than a couple of seconds for someone to realize what was going on in there.

Jane sped up the pace of her caresses, causing Maura to arch her back. The bubbles of the hot tub brushed her lower back and made her swallow hard. The mere contact with her sensitive body was enough to drive her crazy. She was on the edge – desperately trying to hold everything back – but she knew that it was only a matter of minutes now.

"C'mon... Stop resisting me."

Jane's hoarse voice embraced Maura's ear of a tantalizing whisper. She closed her eyes anew then took a deep breath. She could feel it build in her lower stomach, the irreversible moment when she wouldn't be able to hold anything anymore and she would abandon herself to the powerful pleasure of her senses.

There. In the middle of the night. Under the stars.

...

"Where is your friend? Where is Jane?"

Maura quickly turned around as if caught on the act. She looked at her father – seemed to ponder the question – then finally shrugged. She had absolutely no idea where Jane was and the truth was that she didn't care much. She had other priorities for the moment: finding the bra she had lost the night before during their hot tub session before anyone else to see it was one of the aforesaid priorities, for instance.

"I don't know... Why?"

Would her father really see it as an impolite gesture if she turned her back at him and resumed her investigation? They were both standing by the hot tub. Her bra had to be there. It was barely 9am. Nobody had decided to enjoy the hot tub earlier in the morning. The conclusions were easy to draw.

"I wanted to spend some time with her, this morning. Do you think she would like to go to Furiani with me?"

Maura blinked. She knew that Jane would be more than eager to go for a tour outside of the city that they had visited the day before but something also told her that going there alone with her father was not in her bucket list. Jane was terrified by Maura's father. For whatever reason.

"Oh... That would be very nice. I mean... Furiani is a beautiful village." Of course Jane would probably prefer to visit the soccer stadium but Maura's father wasn't much into sports. Going to a village seemed to be a good compromise. "Do you want me to go with you?"

The question was rhetorical. Maura had understood that her father wanted to spend some time with Jane and Jane only.

"No, thank you. You should spend some time with your aunts and uncles instead. They would be happy to be with you this morning. I know Jane means a lot to you so... I would like to take advantage of this cruise to get to know her better." Maura's father shrugged, a bit hesitant. "Your mother and I understood that you didn't want us to interfere with your life. You don't have to worry, I won't say anything to your friend regarding this matter... I just think it's a nice occasion for me to see who this infamous Jane really is." He laughed warmly.

Maura slowly nodded. The suggestion sounded very formal but then it wasn't very surprising. Her father was a very formal man. When he said something, he stuck to it. She knew that she didn't have to worry. He wouldn't try to make Jane talk about the nature of their relationship.

Everything was okay. It would go smoothly.

"She was about to have a shower when I left our cabin so I think this is where you will find her. I'm sure she'll accept your invitation. It's very nice of you..."

Chances were that Jane would then complain to Maura but Maura found the situation to be rather amusing. Jane was too polite and too intimidated to turn Maura's father down.

"Perfect. By the way – if you're looking for a very personal and feminine belonging, black and lacy – it is on a deckchair on the lower floor. Have a nice day, Maura."

Her father turned around then walked back inside. He was obviously going straight to Jane's cabin to ask her whether she accepted his invitation. But who cared? Certainly not Maura herself. She was way too mortified by her father's very last comment to react to what was about to happen. How had her bra landed two floors down?

Troubled by the unexpected situation, Maura walked towards the buffet. She grabbed a plate rather absentmindedly then began to fill it. Perhaps she should go for her bra first. What if someone else saw it?

"Are you alright, Maura? You're very pale." A very cheerful Angela smiled at her. She was drinking a cup of coffee and seemed ready to go on a brand new Corsican adventure. "Bastia is such a beautiful city... Battistu and his boyfriend showed Vince and I a very picturesque district yesterday... They're getting married in September. Did you know France allowed same-sex couples to get married? How wonderful it'd be if I had the chance to attend a wedding in France one day..."

Maura forced a smile. Had Angela and Constance been plotting? Angela was anything but subtle right now. Thankfully Jane wasn't around or else she would have heavily blushed before throwing a fit at her mother.

"I'm sure this would be a fantastic experience that would make all your friends green with envy, indeed."

Was she really supposed to spend the whole morning with her aunts and uncles? Maura pouted. She wasn't in the mood to face the same kind of remarks as Angela's. If Jane decided to go somewhere else then Maura wanted to have some time for herself. Perhaps the presence of Susie and Frost would be nice although Jane's colleague had probably other plans with Frankie. Something sport related.

They would go to Porto Vecchio in two days to celebrate her birthday out there. Then they would hike in the mountains and resume their tour of the island. There were many activities Maura could choose from but – as ridiculous and clingy as it sounded – all of them lost their appeal if Jane wasn't around.

"There's a 36C Agent Provocateur bra two floors down, Maura. What did I tell you about being discreet? Gosh I don't even want to know what you did on that deckchair."

Maura cast a brief glance at Margaret but barely reacted to the comment. She was way too focused on her slight dependency to Jane. It wasn't healthy, was it? Of course, it wasn't. Not a single forty-year-old woman behaved the way she did.

"Nothing happened on this chair but I would keep a reasonable distance with the hot tub if I were you..."

Margaret's horrified face echoed the smirk that played on Maura's lips. Maura wasn't known for her repartee but something told her that Jane would have been proud of her this time.

She turned around – her plate full of food in her hand – then went to sit next to one of her uncles. By the time Maura reached her seat, she realized that Margaret hadn't moved an inch. She still looked completely taken aback by the hot tub remark.

Maura took a deep breath then joined the conversation her uncle was having with Korsak. It would be a glorious day, obviously.