Take me to bed.

Just a quiet, simple invitation, but that was all it took to spike Jane's temperature up about 500 degrees. What had started as something soft and sensitive had in an instant shot Jane into being more turned on than she ever had in her entire life. Desperate to capitalize on the energy now sizzling through her veins, Jane grasped Maura around the waist to lift her up—but all this led to was an uncomfortable few seconds of her hoisting Maura off the ground like a dead weight with Maura just staring down at her. After a few straining moments, Jane put her back down.

"Wait, what was that?"

"I thought you'd like, put your legs around me? I was…tryna take you to bed," Jane mumbled.

The confusion in Maura's expression vanished at once into a brilliant smile. "Oh! Look who's being literal for a change, I like it."

She hooked one leg up around Jane's waist, and there came another awkward pause as Jane took hold of it but neither of them did anything else. Some self-conscious laughter was shared before Maura tried another way by hopping up onto the counter. From here she pulled Jane into a kiss, wrapping her legs around her. Once again emboldened, Jane secured her arms around Maura's back.

"Yeah?" she asked.

Maura nodded, smiling at her. "Yeah."

Jane stepped back from the counter and teetered a bit, but held herself steady. Maura didn't feel too heavy; it was just a situation Jane had never been part of and she had to try readjusting her stance a couple of times to accommodate the new but very exciting position. She could tell Maura was trying to make herself as light as possible for her benefit, sometimes propping her hand against the wall as they walked past to give them a little balance. That made Jane laugh, and she did so with extra bravado to let Maura know it was all right as she headed towards the bedroom. Given Jane's steady stride, Maura felt safe enough to relax a little for the last few steps, running her fingers through Jane's hair and clearing a spot on her neck to kiss.

"You're beautiful, too," she said. "I hope you know that."

"Ah, stop it," Jane said playfully. "'Beautiful' is what my mother calls me when I put a dress on for Easter. 'Beautiful' is for women like you."

"Would you prefer another word instead?" Maura asked. She grasped one of Jane's arms, which felt hard with the strain of holding her up. It made her light-headed for a moment. "Studly? Handsome, gorgeous?"

They'd reached the bedroom, and Jane said, "I bet you're good at telling because you know all those good thesaurus words. But why don't you try showing me instead?"

On trembling legs, Jane deposited her on the bed, and Maura's robe fell open a little. Jane hovered over her but didn't kiss her right away, unable to keep herself from taking in the sight of the newly exposed skin. It wasn't the ravenous sort of look Maura was used to getting; it was almost understated, just a quiet gaze that made Maura feel like she was burning up in the best way. She took gentle hold of Jane's hand, slipping it inside her robe, and the skin-to-skin contact almost made Maura moan. Her chest heaved with the deep breath she had failed to stifle, and Jane's hand shifted up to meet it, cupping her breast as she initiated a kiss.

Somehow, it was only in this moment that it occurred to Jane to think she'd never been remotely close to doing something like this with a woman before, and it further dawned on her that she had no idea if Maura ever had, either. But rather than be unsettled by this, she was exhilarated by the prospect of unfolding something new together. Even if neither of them had exact experience, Jane could put her full trust in how well Maura knew her own body and how to excite it. Not that it was all rocket science: Jane passed her thumb repeatedly over Maura's nipple, and the sensation of making it harden was thrilling for them both.

Maura arched into the touch, and she blindly started groping for Jane's belt. The clinking of the unbuckling was something Jane had heard thousands of times before but it had never struck her as an enticing sound until this moment. Already in the back of her mind she was looking forward to the next time they'd do this, just so she could hear Maura do that again and maybe watch it happen that time.

"I know you sometimes like to wear your clothes and your shoes to bed," Maura said, trying to tug off Jane's pants. "But would you consider indulging me—? What do you usually sleep in, when you haven't accidentally dozed off at my place?"

"A little more than you, but a little less than this," Jane answered, as she hurriedly rolled off of Maura to yank her pants off. Her fingers were shaking as she tried to undo the tiny buttons of her shirt.

"Wait!" Maura said, kneeling on the bed. Eyes gleaming with excitement, she took hold of Jane's button-up as if ready to tear it open. "How much do you care about this shirt?"

Jane frowned. "Oh, um, really? I'm—it's my favorite flannel."

"Oh."

"That's why I wore it over here, actually."

"Aw. That's sweet. I'm sorry, I've just had sort of a fantasy about doing that for some time. But I can make this quick regardless."

As Maura made nimble work of undoing the buttons, Jane's head swam and she asked, "You've fantasized about ripping my shirt open?"

It intrigued her that Maura didn't seem embarrassed by this. "In a harlequin romance sort of way, yes."

"Harley Quinn? Are you saying I drive you…crazy?" Jane asked, pumping her eyebrows. Neither of them understood that they were referencing entirely different things. "You're fast," Jane observed, shrugging off the flannel.

"Yes, well, I have a lot of experience with minute precision," Maura said. "Want to see what else my fingers can do?"

Now down to the tank and boxer briefs and struggling to keep up with seductive tone of voice Maura had just employed, Jane all but fell back on the bed. She moved to straddle Maura, but with surprising strength Maura flipped them over, pushing Jane down on her back. Jane barely succeeded in repressing a yelp.

Looking almost shy for the first time, Maura bit her lip then said, "I like to be on top."

Jane shifted so that she was propped up a bit more, her hands anchoring themselves in the pools of Maura's sheets as she tried willing her heartbeat to slow down. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined the night was going to end this way. She'd just made the resolution at some point not to avoid the possibility of talking about it if it ever came up, and it had, and all of a sudden here they were. High tension was thrumming throughout her entire body, warmed by the complete adoration she felt for the person smiling down at her. She barely knew where to start.

"What else have you fantasized about?" Jane whispered.

Maura pursed her lips, but she looked amused. "If you mean erotic things, it was really just that one button-ripping notion. It didn't seem appropriate to let my mind wander beyond that. Did you ever…?"

"Not really, no," Jane said softly. "I mean, maybe stuff like we'd be watching TV on the couch and I'd notice you getting tired, and I'd wish I could tell you to just go ahead and lean on me. Fall asleep on my shoulder." The fact that she could share such an innocent fantasy while they were so positioned struck Maura as incredibly endearing, but she didn't want to interrupt to say so. Jane went on: "Or I thought about just wanting to hold you, and not have to let go. Which I guess I did, after a while, or I mean I didn't—let go—because I think that's… that's how we got here. I just stopped thinking, 'oh, friends don't hug this long' or 'friends don't look at each other like this.' It felt like you were doing the same thing, like, not pushing me away if an embrace went on forever or not asking me why I was smiling when I looked over at you."

"Does it feel like this is happening kind of fast?" Maura asked, and she didn't need to elaborate.

Jane's voice was hoarse. "Yeah, but no. Feels like I've been waiting a long time. Does it to you?"

"It's sudden, but not in alarming way. Colloquially speaking, I guess you could say I'm going with my gut," she said, and that got Jane to grin. "I think I like it in this case."

"Guts, and maybe something else?"

There came that warm smile again, sincere and striking. "Forgive another colloquialism, but yes, my heart got me here too."

"Oh," Jane said with a short laugh, looking touched. "That's so sweet, Maura."

"You sound surprised."

"No, only 'cause I was gonna say it's not just your guts, it's that you feel very, um… I mean, I feel really, uh…" Oh geez. If she wasn't going to be direct about this, what was the point? "I was thinking something a little more carnal than guts. I'm so wet right now."

Even having gotten to this point, Maura looked surprised that Jane—normally so squeamish about sex—would be so blunt. "Oh, yes. I am, too."

"I know," Jane moaned. She moved her hands to Maura's hips. "I can feel it."

Not quite in Jane's lap, Maura was straddling one of her legs. She leaned down to kiss her and slowly started to roll her hips. Jane was unsure if her hands were guiding this action or just along for the ride, only cognizant of their placement as Maura's thrusts got a little less relaxed and her own grip got a little more tight. The sensation was too much and Maura broke the kiss, trailing her lips over to Jane's ear so she could whisper into it, making her hushed words feel loud and intimate:

"Can I touch you?"

Jane's neck was too stiff to nod, and she could only pant in reply: "Yes—yes—"

That would be the last word she spoke for a few minutes, because as soon as Maura's hand slipped between them, Jane wasn't even sure she was breathing anymore. Maura was sure, though, because she relished the sound of Jane's gentle gasp. It morphed into quiet, wordless cries, pitched a little higher than Maura would ever have expected to hear from Jane. Jane did actually try to say something more than once, something to encourage Maura or at least vocalize the euphoria she was experiencing, but it seemed that every time she got ready to do that Maura would alter her fingers in just such a way to bring about a new electric sensation, rendering Jane once again too stunned for words. Ultimately, all she got out was a tiny "oh, my God—" when Maura slid inside her. Jane's back arched off the bed, and Maura, once again with impressive force, pushed her back down with a lusty glint in her eye that Jane found both surprising and exciting. It was just there for a moment, though, before Maura's soft expression of joy, of eager encouragement, came back, and it didn't take much longer to coax a release from Jane.

Only a few silent seconds passed, where incredulous smiles were exchanged instead of words. Maura untied the very loose sash on her robe, shrugging it off, and Jane propped herself back up at full attention to stare in what Maura would consider very flattering surprise. She mouthed the word "wow" and seemed frozen at the thought of what to do next. After a lengthy hesitation, Jane yanked her tank-top off, then struggled to un-hook her bra.

"Oh, my gosh," she muttered. "Why do I suddenly feel like a teenage boy trying to—"

"I've got it," Maura said, reaching around and deftly undoing the clasp.

Before she let go, Maura leaned forward and caught Jane in another kiss. She traced her tongue along Jane's upper lip, dipping into Jane's mouth. This drove Jane to rock forward, clutching Maura's back, only relenting because pulling their bodies so close together was making it hard for Maura to remove Jane's bra. They separated for a moment to accomplish this, and Jane was too turned on to laugh. She was a little surprised at the lack of decorum Maura exhibited by just tossing the bra over the side of the bed, but Jane didn't have time to linger on this because now Maura's hand—so soft, so smooth no doubt due to the copious time she put into skincare that Jane used to mock her for—was palming her breast. Maura's fingers fanned out before two of them pinched Jane's nipple and pulled. Jane's tension melted and she fell back limply against the pillows.

"Is this okay?" Maura whispered. "Do you like it?"

The questions were sincerely asked, not intended as would-be sexy rhetoric Jane had heard boyfriends grunt out in the past.

"Yeah," she moaned. "Yeah, s'good."

With this approval, Maura stepped it up a notch. She resumed their kiss, and the free hand that had been innocently resting at Jane's waist shifted down between her legs. Jane broke the kiss for an involuntary gasp, but Maura was quick to continue it. It didn't take long for her swirling fingers, the movements mimicking her tongue's, to make Jane come again.

Jane found herself struggling to catch her breath, but relaxed as she remembered she wasn't in a hurry. "Holy shit," she managed between deep breaths. "I didn't know that was… like… allowed."

"Which part?"

"Twice in a row like that, uh, whoa. I've never…"

Maybe at some point they'd talk about this, but it didn't need to be right this second. Jane hadn't disliked sex before now, so much as she had felt sort of indifferent to it. At worst it was an obligation; at best, it was a demonstration of affection that men seemed to enjoy a lot more than she did. Only one boyfriend had made her come before with what seemed to be a fluke, and she'd been too embarrassed to straight-forwardly ask him to touch her that way again. She had to laugh at the contrast to Maura "I've-never-told-a-guy-he-was-good-when-he-wasn't" Isles, but some sense of propriety or more likely self-consciousness about sex and sexuality had always kept Jane from talking about what she thought would feel good. Her heart was still racing. She was already making a mental list of things she wanted to ask Maura to try—maybe not a conversation she'd be eager to have in daylight over breakfast, but in the semi-darkness of this bedroom, the prospect didn't intimidate her too much.

"I'm not a score-keeper, Jane."

"Hm? What?"

"I took an elective art class at BCU, and my professor said something in response to students who tried to rush their way through assignments to, I don't know, prove they were doing a better job than everyone else. She said that art is like sex: it's not about who finishes first—or in tonight's example, perhaps, who finishes however many times—as much as it's about enjoying the process." Her mouth quirked into a one-sided smile. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you're enjoying the process."

All Jane had the energy to do right now was rub Maura's thighs. "Hell yeah, baby. …hm. Baby? How do we feel about that?"

"Hmm. I don't hate it. But I'd use it sparingly."

"Yeah, fair."

She continued massaging Maura's thighs, waiting to finish coming down. Maura noticed that Jane's eyes didn't seem to rest: they would travel down to various parts of her body before periodically coming back to meet Maura's gaze, and each time this happened, Jane's subdued smile would get wider. All Jane felt was the most tremendous glow filling her from the inside out. Maura was looking down at her, now having shifted more to be over Jane's lap, a look of serene patience and affection on her face.

"Okay." Jane hadn't meant to whisper, but she was feeling parched and her voice was going. She cleared her throat and sat back up. "Tell me what you want."

Maura opened her mouth to respond, but seemed to think better of something. "What do you want to do to me?"

Jane's mind burst with possibilities, hazy half-formed images, some of which would require items she was pretty sure Maura wouldn't have on hand (or if she did, that Jane wouldn't be ready to wield yet). "I, um. I…"

"Oh right, you prefer to show, not tell," Maura said. "Go on, then, Jane, please. I'm so…"

Half-expecting a clinical answer, Jane asked, "You're so what, Dr. Isles?"

Maura shivered and leaned down closer. "I'm so ready for you." She relished the effect these words seemed to have on Jane, whose response was an audible moan. "I'm so ready that I could just take care of the job myself in a matter of seconds, but I want my chance to—or rather, I want you to have your chance to ah, enjoy the process. Please."

It was hard not to go right for the money, but there was plenty to enjoy here. Cradling Maura close to her, Jane kissed her jaw, then started leaving a trail of soft kisses down her neck. Her hands also progressed downwards, shifting from Maura's waist to curve around her backside, pulling her closer still. This forced Maura to straighten her back, which in turn pushed her breasts into Jane's face. Moving on pure drive alone, Jane didn't pause to think about it before she took one of Maura's breasts into her mouth. The breathy, surprised "oh" she got in response surged a new excitement through her.

Maura's hands glided up into Jane's hair, and as her body started to rock, her grip got tighter. It got tight enough that it started to hurt a little, and for a few moments Jane could get down with the pain because the intensity of Maura wanting her this badly was ecstasy in its own way. But that feeling soon passed, and the pain was an unwelcome distraction.

Jane was loathe to stop what she was doing, and her only consolation when she pulled away was the wordless sound of disapproving confusion that came from Maura.

"What's wrong, are you all right?" Maura asked, her words almost slurring together with their speed.

"It's, ah, I've got kind of a sensitive scalp," Jane said. "Really sensitive, actually, so uh..."

Maura looked relieved that this was all. "Oh, okay, I'm sorry. Hm. I can't wait for you to see how much that isn't a problem for me." Jane barely had time to register the implications of this before Maura had reached over her to grasp the headboard with both hands. She looked down at Jane expectantly, and the cockiness in her tone dropped. "Please, Jane. Touch me."

Jane didn't need to be asked twice. A little more repositioning was required for her to be able to semi-comfortably reach between them, and Maura accommodated her by widening her stance. Jane glanced up, torn between wanting to watch Maura and wanting to bury her face in her chest, and what helped her decide to go with the latter was the stirring remembrance that this wasn't going to be a one-and-done deal for them. She didn't need to get burnt out trying to see and touch and do everything in one night.

A little unsure, she relied on Maura's quiet, feverish directions about how to move her fingers, the most urgent of which came between semi-formed strings of words that would make a sailor blush: "inside, inside." Jane timed this movement to coincide with another kiss to Maura's breast, and stars exploded behind her eyes as her lips and tongue took in the silky soft, puckered, and hard textures. Maura cried out and one of her hands flew to Jane's head, but she quickly remembered herself and banged her fist against the wall before grasping the headboard again. Jane moved her free hand up to Maura's other breast, and had barely gotten a secure hold before Maura grasped it with her own and squeezed.

After a few more frantic thrusts, Maura tensed up. When Jane felt Maura's grip on her hand slacken, she leaned back against the pillows, taking her chance to look up at her. Though she appeared relaxed, Maura was trembling, heaving deep but quiet breaths. Before releasing Jane's hand, she gently pressed her lips to the palm, then brushed over each finger before she slid back down into bed. Jane kissed her side, her arm, her neck as Maura made her slow descent. They met at the lips for a brief but torrid few moments until Maura kept going down.

The relaxed pace was a welcome change from the frenzy they'd worked themselves up into. Maura had slid down enough to let her head rest on Jane's chest, but with the proximity this offered, she didn't seem able to stop herself there: she shifted to kiss Jane's breast, her tongue swirling lazily around a hardening tip while her hand massaged the other.

Jane groaned, and it was the sexiest thing Maura had ever heard. "Mmm… wow," Jane managed. Her hands came to rest in Maura's hair, but in keeping with the leisurely rhythm Maura had established, Jane's grip was so, so soft. "I was h…" Her breath hitched as Maura draped her leg between Jane's, allowing Jane to gently rock against it. "I was hoping you'd do that."

It wasn't long before Jane stilled her movements, and Maura soon followed, also satiated. She moved up to draw Jane into a languid kiss. It had many stops and starts, unhurried as they both simmered down. The only break came when Maura reached down to the end of the bed to pull the covers up, and Jane tugged off her underwear. The moment she rolled back, Maura pulled their bodies flush together and let her hands wander, luxuriating in the fact that they were met only with bare skin.

"Ohh, kay, that was amazing," Jane whispered. "I. Wow."

Maura still felt like she was catching her breath, and her words came out in a rush between them. "It was. It really, really, really was."

This, Maura realized, was now just a slightly more intense version of the innocuous fantasies Jane had described earlier: the freedom to be this close to her, and not worry that it might be construed as weird or inappropriate. She snuggled in closer, and Jane rubbed her back, kissing the top of Maura's head. It had been a cool, rainy evening, and the warmth of each other's skin brought an unprecedented level of coziness. They were content to lie there in comfortable silence for some time, until Maura's curiosity got the best of her.

"What are you thinking right now?"

"I'm thinking I'm so glad I didn't make penne a la vodka and garlic bread, like I originally planned," Jane said, and this answer earned her a snorted laugh and light slap to the stomach. "Man, I dunno if even mouthwash could've helped me in that situation."

"Might've made this more of an uphill battle."

The laughter died out, and Jane resumed massaging Maura's back. "Nah, but really, though. I'm thinking how glad I am that this happened." When her hand stilled its movements again, Maura looked up at her. "I'm just so glad we got here. Do you wish it had happened sooner?"

The swiftness of Maura's answer surprised Jane as much as it surprised herself: "No, I don't."

"No?"

"No. Because to me, that would indicate a feeling that we'd wasted time. I don't believe we have." She craned her neck, leaning up for a kiss that Jane happily gave her. "I think in instances that aren't life-or-death, instances where we have a choice—those things can happen only when we're ready for them to happen. If I'd tried to instigate something a year ago, maybe you wouldn't have been ready. If you'd tried to instigate something six months ago, maybe I wouldn't have been ready. This happened now because we were both ready, and it happened because we're each other's best friends. That friendship developed because we gave it time to thrive. So, no, I'm not going to look backwards and think 'oh, if only.' All I'm going to do once I recuperate from the utter elation I'm feeling right now is think about all the things we're going to get to do now in the future. Together."

Maura could feel as much as see Jane taking a deep breath, but didn't expect it to come back out as a sob. Before Maura could sit up to see what was wrong, Jane had clumsily enveloped her in an uncomfortable if touching hug. "How'd you do that?" Jane asked. "How'd you do that, Maura? I can barely think straight enough right now to put two sentences together and when I do, I'm like 'blah blah garlic bread' and you're like—saying stuff like—oh, my gosh. Thank you. Just… thank you."

It had occurred to Maura before that, possibly as a carryover from work, Jane had a tendency to let her mind drift to worst-case-scenario places in her personal life. Usually this manifested as some kind of imagining about the future, not a manner of rear-window regret, and Maura hoped she could minimize that as much as possible. The intensity of this embrace seemed to indicate success.

"Please don't tell anyone I cried after sex," Jane said, and Maura laughed. "I'm gonna lose my street cred."

"Your cred is safe with me," Maura chuckled.

"Something tells me I'm gonna be thanking you for the rest of my life."

"I'll strive to be worthy of it."

"Maura, I want you to know that this is in no way an exaggeration," Jane murmured, once she had recovered. Her eyes were closed and she had a tranquil smile on her face. "I have never felt this damn good in my entire life. Like in my heart and in my soul, but just my body, I mean wow."

"Would you believe me if I said the same was true for me?"

Jane opened one eye, giving Maura an amused but disbelieving look. "I would consider it only because I know you can't lie."

"So that surprises you."

"I mean, just 'cause it seems like sex is something you're really, like… good at? Or at least you seem to have more of it than me."

"Well, that's certainly true," Maura said, and her tone made Jane laugh. "No, I mean your latter point. That first one, though, this idea of a person being 'good' at sex, is such a fallacy."

"Really? I've sure heard a lot of dudes brag about it…"

"That should be your first clue," Maura teased her. She propped herself up on her elbow and started to trace indiscriminate patterns on Jane's stomach. "This degree of intimacy is subjective, though, which means regardless of how many people a person beds, it doesn't make them an objective master of it. I think in my case what you'd mean is that perhaps because I have a background in studying anatomy, I might have various notions about the best ways to stimulate pleasure in myself or my partner. That certainly helps me attain a release when I need one. But this… this is different."

Jane reached over, stroking away a few stray strands near Maura's forehead. "Showtime is over. Tell me."

Maura looked a little shy again as she took Jane's hand, lacing their fingers together. "Sometimes, it is just about the right angles and such. But I know the reason I feel so good right now is because…"

Jane felt her heartbeat picking up again. "Because why? C'mon, it's not like you to be vague."

"I'm not trying to be vague. I'm trying to be careful. I mean, I don't know if it's way too early for me to say what I want to be saying."

It was a little hard for Jane's detective theorizing to cut through the blissful, dreamy haze that surrounded her right now, but she did her best. "Maura, if it was 'way too early' for saying that, I wouldn't have done what we just did. I'm not super casual in general when it comes to—well, to borrow your phrasing, this degree of intimacy. But I could for sure never be casual with you."

She had taken Maura's hand and brought it to cover her heart. Maura smiled at the gesture and leaned over for a soft kiss. "Jane. I love…" She pecked one of Jane's dimples. "Your smile. I love your laugh. I love when you make me smile, and make me laugh. I love that I can laugh with you in bed." She drummed her fingers where they lay on Jane's chest, making that dimpled smile widen and getting a throaty chuckle. "I love your good heart. I love how much you care about people, even people you don't know when you're on the job. But to be honest, I especially love the way you care about me, and how you show that to me every day. What we did just now, that was just an extension of it all."

This was something Jane had struggled to articulate—how bringing things to this level had just felt like a logical progression in her semi-undefined relationship with Maura. There had been instances in the past where she'd slept with a co-worker or friend and felt wracked with embarrassment or some other sense of wrongdoing immediately afterwards, gnawed by shame or doubts as he lay there blissfully unaware. That wasn't the case here. All she felt was the affirming glow of something so right, so natural.

Maura was still going, her hand now drifting along Jane's arm. "I love your strength," she said. She rubbed her thumb along Jane's bicep, smiling when she flexed. "The physical strength is arousing, yes, but I meant your emotional strength. That's something you've really warmed up in me, too, and I'm so grateful for it. I love that you were really vulnerable with me."

"It's because I feel safe with you," Jane said. It seemed like a redundant thing to say, but ultimately that was why she wanted to say it. Maybe things that seemed obvious to her were things Maura still needed to hear out loud, just to be certain. Just to have the scientific proof. Jane smirked. "Sounds like you've got it bad."

Maura could only offer her a weary smile. "I'm afraid I do."

Jane beckoned for her to lie back down, and Maura did, resting her head on the crook of Jane's neck. Jane kissed Maura's forehead a few times before it occurred to her that it was her turn to speak, and that whatever she said wouldn't be redundant.

"Maura?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, too."