And another chapter update today! :D

This chapter gets a little... spicy. Just a forewarning.

"You look like you could use someone to talk to," Angela said when she approached her daughter sitting alone in the café. "What's going on that's got you thinking so hard?"

"Ma, if I told you I was in love with someone and wasn't sure exactly how to tell them I wanted to be with them, what would you say?"

"I'd say you and Maura looked a little too cozy for you to not have told her your feelings by now," Angela answered.

"Okay, so we've confessed to each other. I know I love her, and I know she loves me. But we've been going at a snail's pace because of what happened before she left and it's killing me," Jane admitted with a groan.

"Oh, honey… Just let her walk in on you naked. I'm sure that'll get the ball rolling." Jane stared at her mother as the woman waggled her eyebrows.

"Oh God, Ma, I do not need to have you and those thoughts in my head at the same time because it's seriously freaky," Jane said shaking her head as though clearing her brain. "I could give that a shot, I guess. But, we haven't even made our relationship official, you know? I mean, she's been sidestepping this whole issue on whether we're girlfriends or not. If we're not dating or whatever, then who's to say she'd give in to… me naked?"

"Go with your gut, then. You do that with your police stuff and it hasn't really failed you, has it?"

"Except in the warehouse when I shot my best friend's father and caused her to leave me for four months," Jane grumbled. "All right, so if I trust my gut… Dammit, Ma, now all I can think about is having her walk in on me naked and getting down and dirty. Thanks, this ought to be a fantastic afternoon at the desk."

"Good luck," Angela told her as she walked away, grinning.

When five o'clock rolled around without seeing Jane all day, Maura couldn't help but pout a little. She shouldn't expect to see the detective all the time; she did have her own work to do as well. But without a case, she thought Jane would have come down at least once just to get away from the guys upstairs. That didn't mean she had to, but Maura was a little disappointed that she would have to go home without having seen Jane and not knowing if she would see Jane.

Gathering her things, she was surprised to see a text from Jane on her phone.

Yours or mine for dinner and wine?

Maura shook her head as she smiled. Jane always seemed to know what she was thinking, she decided as she pressed the call button.

"Hey, babe," Jane answered.

"Are you sure you want to see me tonight? And are you driving while on the phone again?"

"Yes to the first and if I say no to the second will you believe me?"

"When you say it like that, no I don't believe you," Maura told her.

"Okay, so yeah I'm driving on the phone. But I'm almost to my place, so I didn't see the big deal." Maura shook her head at the brunette. "So, your place or mine?"

"You're already at your place, so I may as well join you."

"Do you have a change of clothes here or in your car?"

"I can grab one of my spare changes that I keep here in my office. Are you sure you want me to stay the night? I'm not complaining, but I don't want to become dependent on sleeping next to you," Maura said.

"Trust me, I want you with me," Jane answered. "Call me when you get here so I can get ready."

"Ready? Jane, what are you planning?"

"Would you believe me if I said I'm following my mother's advice on something?"

"I wouldn't if you'd said that any other way," Maura replied. "I'll call you when I get to your door, is that okay? And just know that the fact that you're listening to your mother is very unnerving."

"I should hope so. This wouldn't have happened if… Dammit, Maura, just get over here," Jane growled. Maura laughed and agreed before they hung up. Nervous about what Jane was planning but confident that this was Jane, Maura grabbed her things and left the precinct.

Jane, on the other hand, was freaking out. She'd managed to convince Angela to cook something for her this afternoon at the café, which was a godsend, and it was warming in the oven. The table was washed and covered with the third table cloth she found because it was the only one that didn't have a stain on it anywhere and two places were set up on one corner.

Knowing Maura would probably change her mind and head home first to feed Bass if nothing else, she took a shower and shaved and cleaned anything that needed shaving and cleaning, some areas more than once just because she was too nervous to remember if she'd shaved or cleaned there yet. Her teeth were brushed, flossed, and she had gargled mouthwash twice. And slipping on the little black dress that her Maura said she was gorgeous in when she'd escaped to her after her mother tried to set her up with Joe Grant, she walked into the other room just in time for Maura to call her.

"I thought you were coming straight here?" Jane asked when she answered.

"Yes, I was. However, then I remembered Bass and was almost home before I remembered I could have asked your mother to take care of him for me. But, since I was there, I chose to go inside and prepare for this evening before returning," Maura answered.

Jane opened the door and smirked. Maura had dressed up from the skirt and blazer combo that she'd left in this morning to a very fitting red dress that Jane hadn't seen before.

"Looks like it's a good thing I changed," Maura said, eyeing Jane appreciatively. "I would have been underdressed for whatever it is you have planned."

"That was actually my goal, you know," Jane joked, putting down her phone and waving for Maura to come in. "I wanted to be overdressed for once." After closing the door and locking it, the chain sliding in place to hopefully keep out her mother should she decide to come see if Jane followed through with this in the morning, she turned and walked right up to Maura to wrap her arms around her. "You still look absolutely gorgeous, though, and I can't complain about how you look."

"That's good, because I wanted to look very good for you," Maura told her. She could practically taste the change between them, the air charged with the sexiness of Jane's confidence over the situation.

"I would have taken you out for something special," Jane said, pulling away to go to the kitchen and pour two glasses of wine. "But, I thought we should start with something special at home."

"I'm happy with anything, Jane, so long as we're enjoying each other."

Jane grinned as she set the glasses of wine on the table and pulled out the chair for Maura to sit before flitting back to the kitchen to get the meal that Angela had prepared, setting it on the table and serving Maura and then herself before also sitting. She looked at Maura to find her watching her, analyzing what she was doing to try and figure out what was going on. Jane reached over and put her hand on Maura's leg.

"Enjoy," Jane told her, smiling because she knew Maura would have one hell of a time figuring it out. And even if she did, perhaps she would be surprised enough that the purpose of what Jane was planning would be fulfilled anyway.

They ate in silence, stealing glances at each other in the meantime, though Maura's were half curious as well as to admire Jane as she sat there confident in how the evening was going. And then she realized Jane had stopped eating entirely and was just watching her, which caused her to look at her curiously.

"You are just so damn beautiful, you know that?" Jane asked her voice just above a whisper. "God, how could I have not understood how I felt before when that's always been one of my thoughts about you?" Maura's breath caught in her throat for a moment, releasing when Jane's hand moved from her thigh to brush the fingertips across her temple to push a lock of hair behind her ear and away from her eyes. "You are breathtaking, Maura."

"Jane…" Maura breathed. She completely forgot they had been eating dinner; her eyes couldn't leave Jane's, not even when the brunette stood up and pulled Maura to her feet. "Jane, I can't think of the words to describe you right now. You are just so… so amazing."

Jane leaned in to brush her lips against Maura's, lips barely touching as they teased her. "You, my love, are amazing," she whispered, hands brushing up Maura's sides starting from the hips and then curving up over her breasts to slide down her front. "I need to clean up the table. Meet me in the bedroom?"

Maura opened her mouth but couldn't make a noise, she was too dizzy with what she was feeling for coherency. So she closed her mouth and nodded. Jane gave her a brief kiss before stepping back. Suddenly able to think, Maura swallowed hard and stepped back to watch Jane carry plates to the sink and put the food in the fridge. When Jane turned and looked at her, their eyes catching, Maura felt dizzy again.

"Bedroom, Maura," Jane commanded huskily.

"Y-yes," Maura said, turning and making her way back to the room, her pulse pounding in her ears. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but as soon as she felt like she might be under control she remember how dark and how hungry Jane's eyes looked when she was told to go to the bedroom.

"Maura…"

Maura turned to see Jane in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Jane…"

It seemed like no one had moved, but suddenly Maura was in Jane's arms again, lips pressed hard against each other and hands exploring feverishly. Shivering, Maura pulled away for air only to realize that her dress was at her feet. She looked at Jane, watching her eyes scan over her body with undisguised desire, tongue wetting her lips. This time, she shivered for a whole other reason.

"Jane…" Those eyes met hers. "Jane, make love to me."