Thank you all so much for the reviews. Sorry about leaving you hanging on last time... hope you enjoy the pay off.

I've never written this sort of scene before, so I hope it's okay... (And that I got therating right!)

Please R&R.


Their kiss swept all thought away. Temperance, her hand still buried in his hair, urged Booth closer. He complied, and bruised her lips with his. They had been sitting side by side on the bed, so he dropped his hands to her waist and lifted her, swivelling her round to face him. His hand lingered at her waist, stroking the a narrow strip of skin that had been exposed where her top had ridden up. The kiss continued unbroken as their bodies pressed closer together and their hands explored and touched the other's face.

Eventually they paused to draw breath, pulling away slightly, their foreheads touching. Booth slowly opened his eyes, and gazed as Temperance's eyes fluttered open. Her pupils were huge, surrounded by an emerald green halo. Booth felt his chest constrict as he realised that he had kindled that passion in her. He curled a coil of her red hair around a finger, as his hand rested on her shoulder. He loved its silky texture and the way it flashed with fiery highlights. It was intoxicating, like her smooth, soft skin and subtle scent. He wondered distantly how it had taken them so long to get this far, before leaning in to trail kisses from her lips and down onto her neck.

Temperance gasped as he kissed her again. Then she planted a hand on his chest and pushed him back onto the bed. Booth's arms locked around her and pulled her down on top of him. She lay, pressed against his body, revelling in the contact with his muscular frame, as he ran his hands down her back. She couldn't describe the feelings surging through her body, but as she gazed into his beautiful brown eyes, she realised that the wonderment and joy she saw in them probably mirrored her own emotions.

They continued to kiss, tugging at each other's clothing as buttons came undone and more skin became exposed. Temperance's top was unbuttoned half way, with one sleeve pushed halfway down her arm, underneath, her silky camisole with a lacy trim peeked out. Booth's kisses trailed lower, tracing along the line of lace and Temperance's breathing became ragged. He undid the rest of the buttons and gently pushed her top off entirely; her camisole stayed on, but his hands were tracing lazy circles on the skin below the hem. She pulled ineffectually at his shirt, which was unbuttoned all the way, trying to remove it. He sensed her urgency and, wrapping his arms around her again, flipped them onto their sides. He shrugged out of his shirt and removed the fitted T-shirt underneath, revealing an expanse of toned muscle. He wanted to feel her skin against his and crushed her to his chest, rolling up the camisole until only her breasts remained covered. His mouth covered hers and his tongue demanded entry. She surrendered with a moan of pleasure before hooking her thumb around his belt buckle, pulling the waist band down as her fingers stroked the sensitive exposed skin of his stomach, causing him to stifle a groan of his own.

As her hand settled on his belt again, Booth forced himself to pause. He loosened his grip slightly and propped his head up on one hand, while the other hand stroked her face lovingly. She lay on her back, looking up at him and with a mixture of puzzlement and desire. Her hand reached up to touch his cheek and draw him down towards her. He turned his head to kiss her palm, smiling into her hand and he felt the insistent pull towards her again. His resolution crumbled and he kissed her again, cradling her head with his hand and lifting her from the bed to meet his lips as he was still lying with his head propped up. Her nails scraped his bare back, causing him to shiver in response.

They kissed with increasing passion, their bodies moving together and limbs tangled. Booth's hand plunged into her hair and she felt herself arching her head away from him but pushing her chest towards him, the fabric of her camisole pulling tight against her skin. She whimpered as his hand brushed her breasts through the straining fabric.

Her whimper cut through the fog of desire in Booth's brain. He laid her back on the bed, "Hey," He said, looking at her with a tender smile.

She looked up at him silently, her eyes heavy lidded and her chest heaving.

Booth reached down and cupped her cheek, not sure what he was going to say until the words were out, "I love you." He felt as if his heart would hammer out of his chest as his words echoed in his head.

He watched as her eyes sprang open and telegraphed disbelief, delight, fear and confusion in rapid succession. She was shaking her head and he found himself nodding at her, repeating his words quietly, as he traced feather-light kisses across her face.

Temperance had felt a wrench as Booth moved apart, her hormone-addled mind wondered if she was doing something wrong - she couldn't have pulled away from him if she'd tried. Then she realised that Booth was going to say something. At first the words didn't register; and then she didn't believe them. She lay rigid in his arms, until the gentle kisses stopped and he looked at her again, his heart in his eyes - fearful that she didn't feel the same.

Suddenly, she found her voice, "I love you too," she whispered, feeling as if she was stepping off an impossibly tall building. She watched in amazement as delight suffused Booth's features. There was a pause as they both reflected on the enormity of their confessions, then they began to smile at one and other.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked, with a grin, tracing figures of eight on his chest.

Booth rolled his eyes, "I thought actions might explain better than words." He nibbled her ear lobe to illustrate.

"I don't know, the words you choose were pretty good." She said, her hand moving lower again.

"Yeah?" He said, grinning as his pathway of kisses along her stomach caused her to gasp.

He paused, as her hands framed his face and moved his head so they were looking in each other's eyes again.

Temperance gazed at him. She wanted to him to say it again, just so she could be certain, but she didn't dare ask him.

Booth looked at her, his expression becoming totally serious, "I love you." His words were punctuated with kisses. "And I probably have done for ages." He kissed her again, "But I only realised it properly this weekend." He paused, hesitant, then ploughed on, "I want us to be together."

Temperance nodded slowly, "That's what I want too."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in to nestle below his chin. He pulled the blankets and cover over them and held her close. They would worry about all the complications - like working together while being in a relationship - tomorrow, for now they knew that had each other and that was enough.


The alarm trilled insistently, and for some reason Booth found that he couldn't move his right arm to shut it off - something was pinning his arm in place. Then he became of aware of a warm mass shifting against him as the alarm stopped. Realisation dawned and he opened his eyes to see Temperance watching him sleepily. Memories of the previous night surfaced and he smiled at her.

"Morning." He leant in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "You okay?" He asked.

He felt her nod and murmur in agreement.

As Temperance watched Booth wake up, she realised that this was how she always wanted it to be: waking up in his arms, remembering the night before and looking forward to another day together. She suppressed a smile as she recalled that they'd fallen asleep still wearing half their clothes. Falling asleep at vital moments seemed to be an emerging theme in their relationship. If she was honest, she was pleased that they hadn't taken things any further last night, frustrating though it undoubtedly was. She wanted the declaration of their feelings to stand as a memory on its own, not be forever mixed up with memories of first time sex. She hid a wicked grin - plenty of time for that tonight! Then she sighed as she remembered that she'd promised to start on the identifications at 6:30. She'd set the alarm on her phone for six at the town hall last night - she needed to get up.

She shifted in his arms and looked at him with a wry smile, "Sorry, I need to get up." His face fell, "I said 6:30 remember? I don't want to undo all last night's hard work by being late."

Booth nodded, but pulled her in for a searing kiss. They pulled apart, breathing heavily - eyes darting from face, to chest, to lips. Temperance took a shuddering breath and gathered her willpower. 'I have to get out of bed' she thought, trying not to look at Booth's stubble shaded face.

Booth realised that she was torn and he couldn't help being pleased that he could distract her from work, that had to be a first he thought. Then his good manners reasserted themselves and he opened his arms to release her.

She stood by the bed, tugging her camisole back down into place distractedly. Booth sat up, and her eyes widened as she watched his abdominal muscles bunch. He rubbed his eyes with a hand and smiled at her.

"I'm going to take a shower." She announced.

"Feel free, it's just through there." Booth pointed to the door in the corner.

"Oh." She hesitated, "I.. er..."

Booth laughed, "Go back to your room and use the one in there if you prefer." He got out of bed and stood next to her, taking her hand in his, "It'll be too much temptation if you're in here anyway. You'll never be ready in time."

She blushed at the promise in his voice and looked away. Booth kissed her gently on the forehead and then reached down to pick up her shirt. She took it off him, then picked up her bag and pulled out her key.

As she turned to leave, he reached for her again, pulling her body against his. Their mouths crashed together and the tongues slid and danced.

Temperance could feel desire flaring in both of them again, so she forced herself to pull away and walk towards the door, "I'll be ready in about 10 minutes. See you here?"

Booth nodded silently and abruptly sat on the bed as she left. Wow, she's hot!' He let out a slow breath and he wondered how he was going to get through the day - anticipation was only pleasurable up to a point. He screwed his eyes shut and opened them quickly, as his mind replayed images their passionate kisses, her taut stomach and the swell of her breasts under the skimpy silk top. 'Time for a shower' he thought 'and a very, very cold one at that.'


By 9:45, Temperance had run through the procedures with each of member of the coroner's staff. The grim setting of the makeshift morgue had dispersed other thoughts from her head. Booth had sat and listened for over an hour, but then had wondered off. She assumed that he was dealing with the sheriff or something.

She had learnt that another ten graves had been opened the previous day and that all five of the older ones did have the right occupants. They now had the right number of bodies for the remaining number of graves - a total of 35. The local officials were hopeful that they would be moving speedily to final identification and bringing the matter to a close. It appeared that it was unlikely that the Jeffersonian's assistance on identification would be needed, which was a relief as she had been worried that she would find herself with large numbers of bodies to work on. She stifled a yawn and moved towards the exit.

Booth was leaning against the wall opposite the door, waiting for her, chewing his way through a cereal bar. He was clean shaven, and wearing a dark suit and a heavy overcoat. She noticed a few flakes of snow on the coat. He smiled, and offered her a bite.

She held up her hands, still wearing her surgical gloves, and said, "Thanks, I'll pass." He shrugged and ate the last part of the bar.

"How're you getting on?" He asked as they fell into step next to one and other.

Temperance gestured to indicate so-so, "Procedures are done. I've been through it with everyone. I'd like to supervise a couple of identifications..." She paused at a doorway, and Booth pushed it open for her, following her in as she dumped the gloves in a surgical waste bin and then washed her hands, "Shouldn't take too long, then I'm done." She looked at him, "Is there anything we need to stay for?"

Booth shook his head, "Nope and it looks like those blizzards are coming in early. The sooner we can leave the better, or we're going to be stuck here."

Temperance looked at him in alarm and then nodded, "Okay, I'll get on it. I need to see at least three identifications. That can be done by lunchtime. Is that going to be okay?"

Booth considered for a moment, then nodded, "Should be. Snow's still pretty light and it'll be following us back to Washington, not coming to meet us." He smiled encouragingly at her, "I'll collect our bags and check out of the hotel. I'll be back in about half an hour."

She smiled gratefully and held the door open for Booth, before following him out and then going to find her students from earlier. As she walked, she felt a glow of pride that she and Booth had been able to interact on an entirely professional basis. As soon as they had left the hotel, they had slipped back into their normal routine. She was aware of the undercurrent between them, but their behaviour was strictly professional.

Booth too, was pleased that they had picked up their working relationship where they left it yesterday. He was impressed that he seemed to be able to divorce the woman that he wanted to kiss senseless when he was off duty, from his brilliant scientist and partner at work.

As he walked back to the hotel he noticed a florist, with a huge display overflowing with roses and bouquets of pink flowers. There were little hearts stuck on the glass. He paused, frowning, there's something significant about all that pink... Then it fell into place. He started to fiddle with his phone, as he walked towards the shop.


(Somehow this ended up needing another chapter...)

(TBC)