35. No Mistake

The game ended in a win for the Capitals over the Maple Leafs, 2-1. Parker fell asleep curled up on the ottoman while watching the post-game show. Booth knew he should get Parker to bed, but instead he grabbed the remote and turned down the volume a little further. All he could focus on now were the maddening words that kept popping up in the transcripts he was reading. Fool's gold, fools gold, fool, fools, and gold. All of those terms were cropping up in the transcripts in various contexts. It was painstaking work, and every transcript so far seemed unrelated to his 'fool's gold' hunch about the pyrite mine.

By the time the post-game wrap up had finished, his eyes felt raw and gritty from the constant reading. He blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the sensation. When that failed, he put down the transcript and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, which didn't help much either. Brennan looked over at him and whispered, "Eye drops?"

"Yeah," he whispered back. "I have some. You okay?" he asked as he stood up and stretched.

She nodded and glanced towards Parker's curled form. His knees were drawn up close to his chest, and at least one of his hands was tucked under his head. From her vantage point, she could see small fingertips peeking through blond curls. She set aside the file in her hands and asked quietly, "Where are the drops? I'll get them, if you want to put Parker to bed."

"Medicine cabinet in my bathroom, thanks," Booth said. He knelt down on one knee beside Parker and lifted him slowly to his chest. Parker barely stirred when Booth stood up and carried him down the hall.

Brennan made her way to the bathroom and found the medicine cabinet behind a hinged mirror over the sink. The cabinet was neatly stocked with shaving cream, deodorant, band-aids, swabs, antibiotic ointment, burn cream, hair styling gel, cologne, lotion, and a few over-the-counter pain and cold remedy products. The eye drops were tucked behind a nearly empty prescription bottle on the top shelf, which she noticed was for Hydrocodone/APAP 7.5/750, a generic narcotic painkiller. A stab of despair coursed through her chest when she turned the prescription bottle and saw the date, the day of his "funeral." She snatched the eye drop bottle and shut the cabinet quickly.

"That's what you get for snooping, Brennan," she told herself silently. She turned around and leaned against the sink, then closed her eyes and let her head roll down so her chin rested against her chest, while she took a few deep breaths to compose herself. No matter how hard she tried to put his faked death behind her, it still brought up horrible memories and a nagging fear of loss.

A minute or so later, the tightness in her chest began to dissipate, and she turned for the door. She walked through the doorway into the hall and gasped loudly as Booth caught her by surprise about the waist and swept her into his arms. "Shhh," he said as he nuzzled against her neck. He backed her against the wall beside the doorframe, trailing kisses down her neck, his hands exploring her curvaceous figure. Her gasp of surprise quickly turned to moans of pleasure, and the sounds of her desire and the taste of her skin sent his senses reeling.

She threaded the fingers of her free hand through his hair and roughly pulled his head up. A sharply moaned, "Ow," briefly escaped his lips before she smothered it with a demanding kiss. The despair she so recently felt was transforming into an insatiable hunger. Remotely, she hoped she had not actually hurt him, but the thought flittered away as their tongues became locked in a frantic battle for dominance, their joint need growing exponentially stronger. Rational thought was gone. Only this mattered.

She pulled back far enough to pant, "Bed. Now." Then her swollen lips found his once again.

Booth needed no further urging. He slid both his arms around her waist and then dropped them lower to her hips and lifted her, holding her steadily between the wall and his own body. Instinctively, she leaned into him and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. The eye drop bottle fell to the floor unnoticed when he turned and carried her to his room.

Brennan managed to pull her blouse most of the way to her neck by the time Booth pushed the bedroom door shut with his foot. When he leaned her back against the bed, he was able to free his hand left hand to pull her blouse the rest of the way over her head in a fluid motion, trapping her arms above her head against the bed. With his right hand, he gently caressed the smooth skin peeking above the silky smooth fabric of the pewter bra that clung to her like liquid silver. She arched her back to lean into his touch. "Booth, let go of my arms," she said, writhing under his steady hand.

"I will, but not just yet," he rasped, rubbing the back of his head where she had pulled his hair. "My bed. My rules. Otherwise, we're gonna wind up hurting each other, physically. And, I don't know about you, but I'm a lot more interested in pleasure," he said, emphasizing his point by dragging a finger low across her abdomen, causing her to jump under his touch, "than I am pain right about now."

"Oooh. Why do you have to decide to be rational at a time like this?" Brennan nearly whined, still writhing under his touch.

"Temperance, we talk about everything, why should this be any different?" he asked in a hushed voice, then released her arms and stretched out beside her on the bed. "Tell me what you want, and I'll do everything in my power to make it happen."

Her eyes blazed when she rolled up on her side to face him. "I dont' want to think, I want to feel," she said, trembling. "I just want to fe...."

Booth silenced her with a soft, probing kiss, and pulled her blouse the rest of the way off and tossing it to the floor. He moved his kisses from her generous mouth to her neck and then her ear and whispered, "Then let me lead, Bones. I won't disappoint you. Just let go."

She turned her head slightly so she could gaze into his eyes. "Okay," she said simply, trusting him fully.

Booth smiled. "Yeah, everything's gonna be okay." Booth pulled her close against his chest until her breathing became more regular.

The fierce need she felt earlier succumbed to a slowly burning desire.

"If it's all right with you, Temperance, I'd really like to make love with you now," Booth said with hint of humor in his voice.

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Seeley," she said, caressing his stubbled cheek.

Booth stood up and pulled her to her feet with him. He leaned in for another slow kiss while he unfastened her jeans and pushed them down past her hips, revealing her matching silvery panties. She stepped out of her jeans and helped him out of his.

They disrobed in between caresses and kisses. When Booth pulled his t-shirt over his head, Brennan ran her hands over his pectorals and kissed the smooth scarred skin below his right clavicle. Booth wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her neck while he unfastened her bra. He slipped the straps slowly over her shoulders and let it fall to the floor.

When he stepped back to admire her beauty, she took the opportunity to relieve him of his boxers. Seeing his sculpted form generated a new urgency with her. She slipped her own panties off and sat back down on the bed. He stepped towards her and she extended a hand to him. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips as he joined her.

Brennan lay back against the pillows, watching his every move. He started by planting featherlight kisses against the tender skin inside her ankles and slowly worked his way up her legs, with his darting tongue, nibbling lips and massaging fingers. Her skin pebbled under his ministrations.

Brennan ran her hands through his hair when he reached her thighs, and she gently persuaded him to refocus his attention on her lips. He claimed her mouth with his and probed deeply with his tongue. Brennan arched her back and shifted beneath him. As one they began to move with an ancient rhythm that carried them away on waves of pure sensation. Their bodies were covered with a slick sheen when Booth groaned and cried, "Oh, God, Bones," and Brennan gasped and shuddered beneath him, incapable of speech.

They clung together afterward, legs twined. Neither wanted to break their contact. Booth cradled her head against his shoulder and rolled over on his back, pulling her with him. Brennan snuggled against him and splayed her hand across his chest. She sighed contentedly and said, "That was...."

"Amazing," he finished. "And definitely not a mistake." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I love you."

"I know," she whispered. "I love you too." She propped herself up on one elbow suddenly and asked, "What is wrong with us? Why on earth have we denied ourselves this for so long?"

Booth chuckled. "We'll just have to make up for lost time," he said, and pulled her close again.

Brennan settled against him and mumbled, "I suppose I can live with that." Booth pulled the covers up over them with one leg until he could reach it with his free hand. He tucked the sheet around them and buried his face in her hair, taking in the scent of her. Their breathing slowed, and a short time later, they drifted to sleep wrapped in each other's arms.