Prompt #40 - A gentle kiss that quickly descends into passion, with little regard for what's going on around them.

Rated G

Context: Christmas Party

Juliet walked down the stairs leading into the living room of the main house to join her friends who were already in a celebratory mood. She smoothed down the black, shimmery fabric of her dress self-consciously and tried to instill confidence in her gait even though she wasn't accustomed to her new black stilettos.

She nervously touched the skirt of her dress again. She didn't know if wearing that outfit had been such a good idea. She had wanted to follow Kumu's dress code for tonight, but she was worried that her new dress was a bit too daring. It was a pretty simple black dress with a flowing skirt that ended just above her knees; the bodice was tight around her torso but it revealed no cleavage, since Juliet knew she didn't have those types of assets. However, if she were to turn around, her friends would see a whole lot of her skin since the dress was backless, showing the expanse of her back and even the two dimples in her lower back. Yes, this dress was pretty revealing; and she felt stupid wearing it because she didn't have anyone to impress.

She threw a circular look around the room - a habit from her spy days - and spotted all of the people she cared about the most in this world. Kumu was refilling the large bowl of eggnog while chatting with Gordon, Rick was showing something to Shammy on his phone, and TC was laughing with Magnum next to the French doors that led to the deck.

Her partner was wearing black dress pants with a crisp white shirt neatly tucked in his trousers and a black tie with a perfect knot. He looked very handsome, especially since he had one hand in his pocket and was leaning nonchalantly against the wall while sipping his drink. Not even the Santa hat, perched on his head, could lessen the tingling she felt in her chest when she looked at him.

Everyone was accounted for and engaged in somewhat regular activities during their Christmas party and yet, Juliet's spidey senses were tingling. Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on what.

She cleared her throat and decided to fully enter the room before going straight to Kumu and the eggnog.

"Juliet! You look lovely!"

"Thanks, Kumu."

Just as she turned fully towards the Hawaiian woman to pour herself a drink, she heard someone cough as if he was choking slightly. She turned her head towards the noise to check if the person was okay and saw Magnum with his eyes widened while TC was patting his back firmly.

"I guess your dress is making quite a sensation here," Kumu said knowingly.

"What?" She chuckled nervously, "No, I'm sure Magnum just swallowed from the wrong pipe."

The older woman hummed noncommittally before joining Katsumoto to resume their earlier conversation.

Juliet decided to stay away from her friends for now as she took a sip from her glass. She grimaced; she truly hated eggnog and couldn't believe this recipe had traveled all the way across the Atlantic first to the United States and then all the way across the Pacific to Hawaii, but she was in dire need of something stronger than orange juice to handle tonight and eggnog was the only alcoholic beverage around.

She was always a bit nostalgic at Christmas. She missed her family and how Christmas was one of the only times of the year when they had spent time together like a normal family.

Then, of course she thought of Richard. Christmas had been his favorite holiday and he had been so giddy while decorating their tree or opening presents that he had looked like a kid. She smiled bitterly as she tried not to imagine where she would be right now if Ian hadn't ripped him away from her.

Her nostalgic thoughts flew away from her as her eyes accidently met Magnum's across the room, where he was talking to TC. She smiled at him gently to assuage the frown that was on his face when he had noticed how wistful she had been.

Magnum.

They had grown a lot closer these last six months; everything that had happened between them with the marriage debacle and the transfer of Robin's Nest into her possession had changed the dynamic of their relationship. He was more attentive and less childlike, not that he had lost that part completely to Juliet's relief. She liked Magnum sprinkled with mirth and innocence, that was part of his charm.

Just like tonight as she watched him play with the white pom-pom of his Santa Hat. He looked so cute with his hat and so handsome in his fancy attire that she wanted to march down to him and wrap her arms around him to find solace in his warmth.

Yes, for the past month or so, she had been wondering if her feelings for her partner were more than just close friendship and it seemed like she wasn't the only one feeling that way.

Magnum had been way more tactile towards her, invading her personal space more often than was necessary for no other reason than to be close to her. And she liked it, a lot.

She liked how much time they had spent together lately: from watching movies, having brunch or taking long walks on the beach. During these walks they would talk about every little subject they could think of and she cherished those privileged moments with him when she would discover a whole new side of him. She had wanted to grab his hand so many times when she felt their fingers brush as they walked side by side.

Her heart raced at the thought of becoming more than friends and work partners with Magnum. She gulped another sip of eggnog, even if the sugary taste was making her nauseous.

These new feelings were scaring her while thinking about Richard filled her with guilt. Maybe she needed something stronger than eggnog to numb it all, but at the same time she didn't want to get hammered either.

She went for the next best thing: getting some air. She put down her glass on the table and slowly went towards the French doors where Magnum was standing, intending to walk past him when she caught Kumu's urgent look addressed to Rick accompanied by her head bobbing quickly in some sort of signal.

What was happening with those two? She knew something was going on but still couldn't tell what.

Just as she was about to cross the threshold, she jumped slightly as Rick appeared in front of her out of nowhere, while TC pushed Magnum towards her quickly, which resulted in the PI crashing into her side.

"Ouch!" She cried out.

His reflexes kicked in quickly as he wrapped an arm around her to prevent her from falling, his hand making contact with her skin in her lower back, while she tried to steady herself on his shoulders. Juliet had her breath taken away at the feeling of his warm palm against her. She dared look up to him and when their eyes locked she knew he felt the exact same way as she did.

Time stopped as she got lost in his warm chocolate eyes until someone near them cleared their throat. They jumped apart slightly but he didn't remove his hand from her back; not letting her escape too far away from him.

They turned their gaze towards the person who interrupted their intense staring and found three scheming partners who seemed very proud of themselves: Kumu, Rick, and TC.

They were all sporting huge grins and Juliet didn't even have time to throw them a murderous look before Kumu pointed towards the ceiling above her and Magnum. Everyone followed her gaze upwards only to discover a sprig of mistletoe just above their heads.

She and Magnum groaned in unison, annoyed at being tricked like that by their own friends by the oldest ruse to make two people kiss.

Not that she didn't want to kiss Magnum. She wanted to, very much, though maybe not in front of all of their friends. She felt his body heat more fully as he dragged her back against him until their hips were touching. She looked at him again and the heat she saw in his eyes made her shiver.

"What do you say Higgy? Should we give them a show?" He whispered for her only.

Normally, those words would make her cringe, but when pronounced by Magnum she just wanted to agree to everything. Her lips stretched in a small smile.

"Okay."

Her eyes lowered immediately to his lips; those luscious lips she has daydreamed about so many times before. His warm palm cupped her cheek while he kept a firm arm around her waist before he bent slightly towards her. He stopped an inch before reaching her mouth and she was the one closing that last distance between them.

As soon as their lips touched, all sounds disappeared and she only focused on him - his scent, his warmth, his silky skin. She felt and heard the tiniest moan coming from him and she couldn't hold back anymore. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and flicked her tongue against his lips to demand access into his mouth which he gladly granted her.

She didn't know how long they stayed in that intense embrace, but she didn't want it to end, didn't want to think about the repercussions of this kiss. She just wanted to feel as warm and safe as she felt right now in Thomas' arms.

She didn't have a choice, however, when air became scarce and they had to separate to breathe. They were both looking at each other while trying to calm their respective hearts and when Juliet's eyes dropped to his reddened lips from their kiss she didn't resist the urge to press her lips to his again; even though she didn't deepen the kiss this time. When she broke away for the second time, she was met by Magnum's wide grin.

Her heart lurched at how handsome he looked, with brilliant eyes, moist lips and this silly Santa hat on his head. She didn't know how to engage in conversation again so she looked around, remembering about the Christmas party and their friends who must have gotten quite a show; but the room was empty.

« Where did everyone go? » She asked.

« Don't know and don't care, » he answered her in a gravelly voice that she found so very sexy.

« You realize they orchestrated the whole thing, don't you? » She asked him as she looked back at him and strengthened her hold around his neck.

« Remind me to send them a thank you card then, » he stated and swallowed her chuckle as he dove for another kiss.

She had to agree there, maybe their friends' method had been quite unimaginative; but she couldn't argue with the results.