It was early evening when Booth came down the stairs. He'd just taken a shower and was on the way to the kitchen where Brennan and Emma were preparing their dinner. Just as he reached the corner of the living room, he suddenly heard his name and stopped in his tracks, wanting to get a hint about what they were discussing.

"Aunt Tempe, can I ask you something?" As Brennan and Emma sat at the kitchen counter, chopping some vegetables to make a salad, the girl looked up at her aunt expectantly, waiting for a response.

Brennan smiled at her. "Of course. What do you want to know?," she said as she put some red pepper pieces into a bowl.

"Um…is Uncle Seeley your boyfriend?"

Brennan stopped what she was doing and gave Emma a questioning look. "May I ask the reason why you want to know that?"

Emma blushed a bit, but then tried to explain. "Well, I asked Mom if she knows whether you two are girlfriend and boyfriend, but she said she doesn't really know. She also said that you two have been partners and friends for years but she didn't really know if something had changed between you. So…has it?"

Brennan's expression grew serious. "What do you think? And why are you asking me about that anyway?"

Emma smiled shyly at her. "Because I'd really like to have him as an uncle." She beamed at Brennan as she continued. "I had a great day today…with both of you."

Brennan put down her knife and stroked Emma's hair. "That's very nice of you to say." She went back to chopping vegetables again. "But you know, Emma...Booth and I don't have to be a couple for you to spend time with us. We're all family, in a way. I can see that you like him a lot, right? Well, he's a very good father to his son, Parker, and he also likes you girls very much, too."

"Hmm…," Emma thought about that comment for a moment. "But wouldn't it be better if you were together, so we can be sure he stays?" She gave Brennan a sheepish grin.

Brennan stopped chopping the vegetables again, considering what Emma had said. "Well, I understand your logic, but truthfully, I don't think we have to worry about that. I can't imagine a time when Booth wouldn't be a part of our family. I can't imagine a future without him being here."

Booth held his breath as he listened to their conversation. What Brennan was revealing made his heart jump with joy.

"But I don't understand, Emma. What made you think that Booth and I are a romantic couple? We've been friends and partners for years now. That hasn't changed." As she waited for an answer, Brennan went back to her task. The salad was almost ready and only needed to be mixed a bit.

"Well…" Emma again gave her a knowing smile. "There's the way he looks at you and how he acts around you, you know…he's so affectionate…" Emma hesitated for a few seconds. "And I've seen you guys kiss… I mean, you know…like at the beach today."

So Emma had noticed. Booth chose that moment to make his presence known, turning around the corner to enter the kitchen. He didn't feel comfortable eavesdropping anymore.

"Hi, girls." He wanted it to appear as if he'd just come down the stairs to join them in the kitchen. "Looks like dinner is almost ready. You two need some more help?"

They were both a bit startled by Booth entering the kitchen but were quick to shake their heads no. "Um...," Brennan pointed to the dining room. "You can set the table. We'll be ready to eat any minute." She just finished tossing the salad and asked Emma to put some bread in a basket while she looked after the chicken breasts that were frying in the pan.

They brought everything to the dining table, where Booth had set out some plates and silverware. He was just adding some bottles of water to the table and when everything was ready, they sat down.

Emma was looking from Brennan to Booth, back and forth, watching them intently. She liked to have them around and enjoyed having their complete attention.

§§§

After dinner the girls took turns in the shower and then Brennan helped Emma get ready for bed. Booth was already in their room, waiting for Brennan to come to bed soon.

After a while Brennan entered the room, already in her sleepwear. She was surprised to find Booth spread out on their bed, lying on his stomach, and wearing only his boxers.

"Booth." She chuckled as she sat down at her side of the bed, finding barely enough space to do so. "If you keep occupying the bed like this, there won't be room for me, you know?"

He turned his head to the side so he could talk to her. "I need your help." Using the hand that was laying next to his body he pointed to his back. "When I got ready to shower I looked in the mirror and I noticed that there are some places at my back that look kinda reddish. I think I got a sunburn there."

Brennan bent forward to take a look. "Yes, I can see that. I have some aloe vera lotion to use for burned skin. Just a minute…I'll get it."

With that she stood up and got a small bottle out of her toiletries bag and showed him the brand. "Here, this will help your skin to get better." She sat down next to him and put some lotion in her hand and started to apply it on the red areas she saw on his back.

Booth enjoyed feeling her hands on his skin, gliding slowly over his back, but he winced a bit at one point when she found a particularly burned area. That stings a little, but who cares? I could lay here like this for hours, he thought. He was already getting a bit sleepy, humming a little tune as he became more and more comfortable.

Brennan finally pulled back her hand. "You know, I noticed a red spot at the middle of my back, too." She sat upright again, having finished her task. "I mean, from where I have a little sunburn. We're not used to being out in the sun for so long, you know. Maybe you can put some lotion there for me, too?"

"Sure.," he mumbled into the cushions. "Glad to help…"

She had moved from the side of the bed, and Booth had rolled over to his side to make some room for her to lay down, so he could take care of her burned skin. What he didn't expect at all was Brennan getting rid of her tank top while having her back turned to him before quickly laying down next to him.

She heard his deep intake of breath. "Booones!"

She wiggled a bit to get comfortable on her stomach and pulled her hair out of the way. "What is it, Booth?" She was absolutely aware of his shock at her being so brazen, reclining with her tank top off, but she was in the mood to tease him a bit. "I'm only giving you easy access to my back."

"Well, you could've let me push your tank top up just a bit so it'd be out of the way. There was no need to take it completely off." And nearly give me a heart attack, he thought. "But I like the access…very much so., " his voice whispered next to her ear.

Then he pulled back and put some lotion on her back. He started to rub it all over her skin, slowly and deliberately, to get her whole back covered. Even when he was sure he'd gotten all the skin moisturized, it seemed he just couldn't stop. His fingertips kept running over her smooth skin, up and down, along her spine, over her shoulders. He found her so addictive.

Then he bent down and let his lips trail along her spine, pressing short kisses on her shoulder blades and smiling when he heard her soft gasps and moans. His hands and lips were caressing her, and the mood in the room was shifting.

Finally it seemed all the air had left his lungs because she turned around, a shy smile on her face. At the same time, her eyes were stormy, turning a shade of dark blue he had never seen before.

"Bones." A reverent sigh left his lips because of all the beauty in front of him. He didn't know where to look first: her beautiful eyes, her soft and alluring lips, the pulsing point at her throat, the tan line of her bikini or the soft skin of her breasts that was calling out to him, begging to be nuzzled.

"Babe." His voice was dark and hoarse. "I…. I…" He didn't know what to say…and he didn't know what to do next. He wanted to stay like this for hours, just admiring her and never letting her go. He hadn't expected her to react that openly to him, so full of trust.

Yes, they'd kissed this afternoon and he'd promised some more affection, so he was sure he would've kissed her tonight…but nothing more. He didn't want them to rush into something if they weren't both 100 percent sure what they wanted their next step to be.

She laid the palm of her hand on his face and the gesture brought him out of his stupor. The love and trust she had in him was showing in her eyes, and he was overwhelmed.

"Are you going to kiss me now or do I have to wait forever?" Her soft whisper echoed in his ears and then reached his heart.

"Of course.," was his answer, already spoken against her lips when he finally closed the gap.

It was soft and hesitant at first but quickly turned into something deep, passionate and heated. He pulled her into his arms, his chest sliding along hers, feeling every inch of her tempting body touching his skin as he pressed her hard to his torso.

When he pulled back, his hands started roaming, his fingertips sliding along her tan line, finally cupping her breast, his thumb stroking her gently. Listening to her gasps and soft moans was intoxicating. He couldn't get enough of her: his lips tasting her, licking her, then they traveling along the swell of her breast, over her throat and finally finding her lips again, kissing her hard and deep, his tongue sliding into her welcoming mouth and then sliding along her lips.

When they eventually parted, they were both breathless and panting heavily. Finally Booth croaked, "Bones, we need to stop. Sorry Babe, but we need to stop."

Her eyes were clouded with desire, not wanting him to back away right now. "Why?"

"Because I'm definitely not making love to you here, in Haley's room. I swear Barbie is staring down at me from her shelf and that toy dog over there…well, let's just say I haven't trusted him right from the beginning."

Brennan chuckled, but she nodded as he continued.

"Our first time together…it shouldn't be like this…not when there's a nosy girl sleeping next door. You understand, dontcha?"

"Yeah, I get it." But she still looked a bit disappointed.

He let one finger slide along the side of her face. "Our first time should be in private. I don't care if it's in your bed or in mine, but I want you there all for myself. I plan to make love to you the whole night long. It'll be loud and passionate, it'll be soft and slow and intimate and it'll be everything in between….and I don't want anything to disturb our first time together."

She met his gaze and was taken aback about the deep love she found in his eyes. Obviously he'd given some thought to their first time…he'd even made plans. She could only smile at him. "I understand and yes, I'm with you in this, today or whenever it'll be…I mean, our first time."

However, it was hard to be so close to each other, with her soft body pressed against him making his blood boil, and his hard body over her, making her want to be as close as possible to him, and his desire for her evident enough to feel against her thigh.

She couldn't suppress the moan that escaped her lips when she ground her hips to his. It'd be so easy to give in.

"Bones." He shook his head slowly. "Stop it, okay?" But a wide smile grazed his lips. Even if they'd somehow agreed they wouldn't go any further that evening, it was just too tempting to not to tease each other a bit. So he bent down and gave her another long, deep kiss.

"Should I put my tank top back on?" She looked at him innocently.

"No." His answer was short, and it surprised her. "No. If nothing else, I want to feel you next to me…all of you. I want you in my arms tonight. I want to feel your skin against my skin. I want to be able to touch you whenever I want to. Is that okay with you?" His eyes were pleading with her.

"Yes." She beamed at him. "I'd like that very much."

He lay on his back and pulled her into his that her head was on his shoulder. With one arm he pulled the blankets over both of them and turned off the lights.

A wide smile on his face, he pressed another soft kiss to her lips, to her cheek and a last one into her hair.

Sleep tight." And then, after a short pause, he murmured, "Bones. I love you!"

AN: Hope you where this is going ;-) Have a great weekend.