Disclaimers: Not mine! Don't sue.
Author's note: Don't know where the heck this one came from (other than the morning bus ride). Did someone write this already? I ask honestly 'cause reading over it I kinda got some déjà vu, so if I inadvertently stole this from one of you or someone else, I apologize profusely (I looked, but couldn't find anything like it). Really I don't think I wrote this… it's entirely too happy. Maybe it's the weather….
John had never been so grateful to Roxy for not fixing the AC as when he walked in that afternoon. Natalie had changed out of her work clothes and into a flimsy camisole and a pair of silky pajama bottoms that barely covered her hips. Her skin glistened ever so slightly as she lay on her side on the bed, propped up on one elbow, absorbed in a textbook.
"Is it that late already?" Natalie groaned looking up at him.
"'Fraid so," he said. "You're home early."
"Yeah," she yawned, "I had a lot of studying to do so Uncle Bo let me cut out at three."
"Ah," he said sitting beside her on the bed and kicking off his shoes. Her back was turned to him as she reimmersed herself in the book and he wondered if she had any idea how damn sexy she looked. "Whachya studying?"
"Human anatomy," she sighed.
"Oh yeah?" he leaned down and nipped lightly at her earlobe. "I can give you a lesson in human anatomy."
"I'll bet," she said, playfully swatting him away, "but I don't think it'll help me memorize the human skeleton."
"Oh, I have a song for that," he volunteered.
"Really?" she said skeptically.
"Didn't you ever sing it when you were a kid?" he asked. He ran his hand lightly and slowly up her top leg to illustrate as he said, "You know, the leg bone's connected to the thigh bone. The thigh bone's connected to the hip bone."
She grabbed his hand as it started to wander under the silky fabric of her shorts and placed it firmly back on the bed. "Well the song kind of glosses over some things," she said.
"Like what?" he asked trying to sound indignant.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Well I don't remember the clavicle getting mentioned in there."
"Oh I know that one," he said leaning down to kiss her exposed clavicle, "it's this one right here." As he continued sucking and nipping at her skin there, Natalie let herself roll over onto her back, giving him easier access. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the sensation for just a moment before pushing him off and sitting up.
"Okay, fine, you want an anatomy lesson?" she asked.
"I am your eager pupil," he said.
She took one of his hands and slyly lifted it to her mouth. "These are called phalanges," she said kissing first the tips of his fingers. She continued kissing her way down as she narrated, "and these are metacarpals. And these are carpals. And this is your radiocarpal joint…" She kissed his wrist then lowered his hand and looked into his eyes. "And John," she said, "I'm pointing these out because if I fail my test tomorrow because you can't keep your hands to yourself, those bones are going to be the only place you're getting action for a while."
"Okay, I'll behave," he promised standing up. If he was going to keep his hands off of her he was going to have to be out of arm's reach.
"You could make yourself useful and go get us some food," she called returning to her book.
"Food," he nodded, "I can do that. What do you want?"
"Whatever," she said.
When he returned she was sitting propped up against the headboard with the book in her lap. One of the straps of the camisole had slipped off her shoulder and she seemed totally oblivious to the generous portion of her breast that was now exposed.
"How's it going?" he asked.
"I am ready for a study break!" she announced marking the page in her book before shutting it.
"Really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Catching his hint immediately she clarified, "And by study break I meant food."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said plunking the Rodi's sack down at the foot of the bed. "You're killing me you know that."
"You'll live," she grinned rifling through the bag.
She ate quickly, periodically shutting her eyes and mouthing words as if she were mentally quizzing herself. When they were done eating she banished him from the bed, insisting he would just keep disturbing her.
He sat on the couch watching her; she was now lying on her stomach, feet up in the air, the camisole hanging so low her breasts were almost entirely visible… she had to be doing this on purpose. Was she paying him back for something or had she just decided if she had to suffer through studying he should suffer too?
"Stop it John," she said without looking up.
"I'm not doing anything!" he insisted.
"You're looking at me," she said scribbling something in her notes.
"What, I'm not even allowed to look at you now?" he asked defensively.
"Not with that look you're not," she said, still not even glancing up at him.
"Which look is that?" he asked.
"That superhot combination of hurt puppy dog and 'oh baby I want you.' That one which has generally been successful at getting my clothes off. Before tonight."
"You're not wearing that many clothes," he pointed out.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked finally looking up, "I'm hot!"
He smirked at her as he stood up, "Yes you are."
She held up a hand in a stop signal, "Stay back John. Seriously, I have to learn this tonight!"
"You've been studying since three," he said, "I'm sure you know it by now."
"Well I'm not sure."
"Well you know what they say," he said ignoring her warning and walking towards her, "all work and no play makes Natalie-"
"Head of her class?" she supplied with a grin. "Really, John I need to-"
He sat down on the edge of the bed, "Seriously, doesn't your brain need a rest? You can't take five minutes-"
"Five minutes?" she asked raising an eyebrow, "Not feeling very confident, are we?"
"I'm a desperate man," he said.
"Why don't you do something?" she suggested, "Take your mind off… you know."
"Don't think that's possible," he said thoughtfully.
"I know!" she said, "Go buy us some ice cream! It'll cool us off at least."
He laughed. "I'm not sure it'll be enough, but if you want ice cream I'll go buy you some."
"Thank you!" she said with a smile that was somewhere between Shirley Temple and Marilyn Monroe.
He returned to find her sitting up again with her hand covering her eyes murmuring something to herself. "How's it coming?" he asked, putting down the grocery bag. He'd bought three tubs of ice cream because he wasn't really sure what she'd want and because he figured they needed all the help cooling down that they could get.
She looked at him triumphantly. "I think I might know this."
"Really?" he asked sitting across from her hopefully.
She handed him the text book and her notes and said, "Quiz me."
"Okay," he said scanning the drawings. "Where is the… mandible?"
"That's easy," she said taking a finger and tracing the outline of his jaw, "it's right here."
He raised an eyebrow at her, "Are we studying or are we-?"
"We're studying," she said, "ask me another."
"Okay… humerus?"
"Right here," she smiled running her fingers up and down his upper arm, "you're asking me all the easy ones!"
"You want me to make it harder?" he asked thinking to himself he didn't think he could get much harder.
"I need to know them all," she said.
"Fine," he said clearing his throat and scanning the page, "malleus."
"That's in the middle ear," she said sitting up on her knees suddenly and leaning forward. "Right about here," she purred a second before swirling her tongue around the inside of his ear.
"If you want to keep studying you are going to have to cut that out," he said, pretending to be stern as she sat back.
"Okay," she said trying to sound innocent, "I'll keep my hands… and tongue to myself."
"All right then," he said figuring two could play at this game, "what's this?" He ran his fingertips slowly down her spine starting at the neck.
She shivered slightly as she spoke, "Spinal column." She took a shaky breath to steady herself as she recited, "The first seven are my cervical vertebrae, and then my thoracic vertebrae are the next twelve, and then the rest are the lumbar vertebrae."
"And these?" he asked sliding his hands under the camisole and touching her ribs.
She gasped. "Those are ribs. Which connect to-" She moaned slightly as he let his hand close around her breast, "Those aren't part of the skeletal system, John."
"See?" he said as she let him ease her back on the bed, "you know this stuff."
"You'd better hope I do," she said through raspy breaths as she tugged off his shirt, "otherwise-"
"I know, I know," he murmured, nipping at her clavicle again. "Otherwise my radial-carpal whatever is going to be getting a workout for the next week."
"Try month," she said, pulling open his pants, not even noticing when the textbook got knocked to the floor.
"I'll take my chances," he said, "in the meantime I'm ready for my own anatomy lesson."
The End.