"Dr. Brennan. You look very nice today. Special occasion?" Sweets asked, eyeing her black pencil skirt, heels, and blue silk blouse.
She pressed her lips together and shrugged. "No, no reason." She shot a glance at Booth that plainly said thanks a LOT.
Booth grinned and folded his hands in his lap. He was wearing a black suit as usual, but both his socks and his tie had similar shades of blue as her shirt.
"In fact," Sweets continued, "You two are quite co-ordinated today. Did you get ready together?" He probed.
Two blank faces stared at him. "No." "Of course not."
Sweets leaned forward and steepled his fingers together. "This is VERY INTERESTING."
Booth cut in. "No Sweets, what is very interesting is that Bones has been having nightmares lately."
Sweets turned his eyes to Brennan, momentarily distracted. "Is this true?"
She glared at Booth and crossed her arms across her chest. "Maybe. It's not really any of your business."
"But it is!" Sweets exclaimed, reaching for his pen and pad of paper. "Nightmares can be caused by any number of things, one of which is overworking. Have you been working too hard lately Dr. Brennan?"
She tapped her foot impatiently, crossing her legs. "No, I have not."
Booth's eyes followed her legs appreciatively.
"Eaten any strange foods lately?" Sweets asked.
"No."
"What about that faux-chicken frittata you ate the other night?" Booth suggested.
"I've had it before Booth."
"Looked like a nightmare waiting to happen to me." He held up his hands in mock defence. "Just saying."
Brennan rolled her eyes and looked away.
"It could be sexual frustration." Sweets suggested. "There have been numerous studies which show a correlation between frequency of dreams and how much or little sexual gratification you've been getting."
Booth and Brennan both stared at him silently.
He looked up from his notepad. "What? We're all adults here." He smiled. "Come on guys, in the interest of science, let's discuss this."
"What does science have to do with sex?" Booth asked in alarm.
Brennan sighed. "Sweets is right, this should be an avenue we explore. I've read similar studies." She glanced from Booth to Sweets then stared at her shoes. "I will only answer if Booth does as well. And you Sweets, though I have no actual interest, I feel I would be more comfortable if we were all on equal grounds."
"Absolutely." Sweets nodded, "Agent Booth?"
Booth snapped his jaw shut and growled, but gave a tiny nod, mostly because he wanted to find out the last time Brennan had sex.
"You first." Brennan said to Sweets.
"Ok." He shrugged. "Last night."
"Seriously?" Booth snorted.
"Yes. How about you Agent Booth? When was the last time you had sex?"
Booth swallowed. "Umm. Bones should go first."
Brennan glared at him.
"Ok, fine. It was about eight months ago."
Brennan raised her eyebrows. "Anybody I know?"
"No."
Sweets narrowed his eyes at him. "You are discounting the physical intimacy from your coma I see."
Booth's hand covered his eyes. "I never told you about that, how did you know about that? It never happened Sweets, it was some weird four day hallucination, alright? It doesn't count."
Brennan's eyes opened very wide and cut to Booth for a nanosecond before returning to study her shoe. He'd dreamed he was having sex with her. Now THAT was very interesting.. She'd known that they were married in his "Dream state" but she hadn't realised that it had been so graphic. Though she should have, he did say she was pregnant, and …. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"It's your turn Bones." Booth repeated himself, a tiny smirk in his eyes.
"Eighteen months."
"WHAT?" Booth and Sweets both stared at her.
"What? Booth said that I should be monogamous, that men didn't like sharing, and I just haven't had time to search out someone who interests me both physically and intellectually." She bit her lip.
Booth's eyes narrowed. She was lying, he knew it, but about what?
"Eighteen months." He repeated.
She shrugged. "Yes."
So she wasn't lying about that. It was the other bit, not finding a man who interested her.
"I thought you were dating Hacker?" He asked.
"Wait." Sweets interrupted. "Our Hacker?"
"Yes. But we didn't sleep together, he was very charming and I'm sure I would have enjoyed myself, but.."
"But what?"
"He didn't measure up, ok?" She stood up in agitation, smoothing out her skirt. "When did this turn into a gossip session. I have work to do."
Booth stood up instantly. "Yes, we have a conference we need to attend. See ya Sweets."
They left the room silently.
Sweets stared after them, a befuddled look on his face. "Hacker? Really?"
They got into the elevator and stared silently at the door.
"So.." Booth started. "Measured up to who?"
"Who did you sleep with?" Brennan countered.
Booth coughed in embarrassment. "Nobody."
"oh, so someone I know then?" Brennan nodded. "Angela?"
"No! God no! Why would you think that?"
"Well she thinks you're hot." Brennan pointed out. "You wouldn't sleep with her?"
"No, I wouldn't sleep with your best friend. I really meant nobody. I lied."
"What?" Her head swivelled towards him. "Why?"
He shuffled his feet. "Well, It's been a long time Bones, and for a guy, well, that's not something we brag about."
"But it was just me and the kid."
"Yes, but the twelve year old had sex last night, and I haven't had sex in I don't know how long."
"Oh. Yes, it is kind of embarrassing."
"Gee, thanks Bones."
She shifted awkwardly.
"So, you didn't answer my question."
"Oh. You."
"What about me?"
"You're the one I use as a measuring tool. If I don't think that you will approve, I don't date them. I haven't dated anyone in ages." She shook her head. "You have a very strict checklist you know."
He smiled. "Yeah. I do." He glanced at her. She was staring straight ahead. "So you haven't found anyone that measures up to me, huh?"
"No, I have not."
Booth smirked.
The doors opened, and he took her arm, leading her towards the SUV.
"Where are we going now Booth?"
"My place. You're going to tell me about your nightmare."
"Oh."
Booth sat on the couch, flipping through the channels while he waited idly for Brennan to come out of the bathroom. She was stalling, but eventually she'd either give up or get hungry. It was just a matter of time.
Brennan stretched out on the bed, flipping through the pages of the men's magazine she'd found in a shoebox in Booth's closet. He really did keep his masturbatory aids with his shoes. She turned the page and inspected the scantily clad woman sprawled across the page. "Not very symmetrical bone structure," she thought, "but I like the underwear set. I think I saw one of those in that online catalogue I was browsing the other day." She turned the page, and started reading the Editor's column. Her eyes widened in appreciation. There actually was writing in these things.
Very Interesting.
She flipped through the rest of the magazine, admiring a pair of shoes and a pair of sunglasses, before closing it and reaching for the next one, a Hustler. She'd heard about this one. Time to see what all the fuss was about.
Booth stood up and checked the clock. She'd been in there an hour, maybe he should go see if she was sick or something.
He strolled down the hallway, pausing when he noticed the bathroom door was open and the lights were off.
Where the hell did she go?
He checked Parkers room, the peeked into his own.
Brennan was sprawled diagonally on his bed, her shoes kicked off, reading a magazine. A shoebox lay empty beside her, a half dozen magazines were piled on her opposite side, she'd obviously already read them, they were stacked alphabetically by name.
Probably by month and issue as well, he thought, as he leaned up against the doorway, his arms folded across his chest.
"Having fun Bones?"
She gave a start, then looked at him innocently. "These are very interesting."
"Uh-huh. Where did you find those?" He squinted at her.
"In a shoebox in your closet." She turned a page and stared down at yet another naked female. "These women have some very nice accessories."
"Accessories? I never noticed." He frowned, stepping forward to look before catching himself. "Good one, you almost got me. So why were you in my closet?"
"I'm serious Booth." She held up the magazine so he could see. "I really like those shoes, I'm going to try and find a pair."
He stared at her. She WAS serious.
He sat down beside her. "So, you're looking at my porn mags, which I'm pretty sure were on the top shelf, behind at least three other shoeboxes with actual shoes in them, and all you're seeing is accessories?" He said incredulously.
"Yes, though some of the jokes are quite amusing, and there is an odd article or two which I found very informative." She looked up at him. "What am I supposed to see?"
"Naked women."
"I can look in the mirror if I want to see that. Though there is the odd picture which has a man participating in a sex act with the female lead, but I find they look…. Fake."
"Fake." Booth nodded. This had to be the weirdest conversation they'd ever had.
"Yes, in my experience, men don't usually shine like that. The glistening effect is kind of distracting. Perhaps they wiped them with baby oil. It would produce a similar effect."
"It's called sweat Bones."
She shook her head. "No, I've seen you sweat lots of times, and you never glisten like that, he's almost reflective."
Booth squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember why they were discussing skin rags.
The nightmare. Right.
"So, this nightmare you keep having.."
"This position must be very uncomfortable." Brennan interrupted.
Booth looked. "No, it's not actually, you use a pillow and…" He stopped and shut his eyes, a taking a deep breath. "Will you shut that thing and pay attention please? We have to go back to work sometime today, and we're not leaving until you tell me about your nightmare."
She blinked up at him, a calculating look in her eyes. "You've tried this position? I've never tried it. I've tried most of the others, but there is one, in that magazine," She pointed, "which I would very much like to try one day, may I borrow it?"
"WHAT? NO, yes… I don't know? God Bones, what are you trying to do to me? Look," he said in frustration. "I'll let you have ALL of them, hell, I'll even show you how to get into the positions, but for God's sake, would you just tell me about the nightmare!!!!"
She raised her eyebrows. This was an interesting development. "Well, I'd be an idiot to refuse an offer like that, and I'm not, I'm a certified genius, so, it's a deal."
"What's a deal?"
"I'll tell you about my dream, and then you'll teach me those positions."
"Oh hell, did I really say that?" He winced.
She nodded.
He put his head in his hands. He would have stood up and paced, but that would have been embarrassing, he was once again aroused. This was going to get messy. There was no way he could teach her those positions so she could try them with another man. He would have to make sure that he showed her so effectively that she didn't even want another man. Was she ready for that?
He glanced at her, then rolled his eyes and gave himself a mental shake. She was lying on his bed, reading his magazines, which she'd had to search to find, having a frank discussion about sexual positions.
"FINE. Start talking Bones."
She closed the magazine and put her chin on her hands, focusing on the duvet cover as she prepared to tell him about the nightmare, obviously reluctant.
Booth stretched out beside her, his hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. She would find it easier to tell him about it if he wasn't looking at her.
She cleared her throat. "It's just a nightmare. But it's the scariest nightmare I've ever had. It starts out, I'm laying in a ditch, watching wheat sway in the wind, but I can't hear it. The entire dream is silent…A man comes along the road.."
"There is a road?" Booth asked, his voice purposefully low and mellow.
"Yes. I'm beside a road, looking up at it, there are trees on the other side, a driveway." She frowned. "The man goes down the driveway, and I follow him."
"Are you sure it's you? Could you be someone else? Am I there?"
"I can't be anybody else Booth, that's impossible. No you aren't there, it's just me, and it's like I'm invisible, it's all so quiet. And then it all changes, I'm in a little shed.." Her voice cracked.
"It's ok Bones, it's just a dream. Talking about it will help, it can't be that bad." He soothed.
She swallowed and rested her forehead on her thumbs, closing her eyes. "I'm hanging on the wall. I can't move, but I can see. There are two women beside me, naked, their heads are tipped foreword, there are big meat hooks threaded through the back of their skulls, holding them up. I think that's how I was too. Their hair… It just hangs there, like a curtain around their face, but it's not shiny and pretty, it's kind of limp, sad looking somehow."
Booth swallowed and closed his eyes. He was wrong. It was bad.
She continued softly. "The man is there, he opens the door on a big wood stove, it looks like a boiler almost, one of those old coal ones, like on the Titanic, though obviously not that large. I can see the fire, it jumps, and it throws shadows, his face is in shadows, but I can see his hands, they look similar to talons. He reaches for me, and he puts me into the stove and shuts the door."
"Do you scream?"
"I can't. I'm already dead. I was dead the whole time. I think he strangled me. The other two had bruises on their necks."
He sat up partially. "That limbo case you were working on. She was strangled too. Could that have caused your nightmare?"
She considered his theory for a moment. "No, I've dealt with hundreds of strangulation cases Booth, besides she was strangled by a female, and there was no indication of being burnt."
He lay back down on the bed. "Well, I'm not going to lie to you Bones, that's a pretty horrible nightmare."
She nodded, scrambling into a sitting position. "Ok, your turn."
"What?"
"Our deal, remember?"
He grinned at her boyishly. "You don't want to take a few minutes to compose yourself before pretending to have sex with me?"
She tilted her head, and something flickered through her eyes quickly. "I'm good." Her smile was a little crooked, but it was more caused by the intense rush of heat that had flooded her body with his words. She reached for the magazine, finding the page she wanted, holding it up and pointing to it. "This one first please."
He narrowed his eyes, looking at her, then took the magazine, studying the page.
He was going to approach this like she would, as an experiment. But the goal of his experiment was to see if he could get her to scream without taking off her clothes, or his. Though his shirt could probably come off, it kind of hampered his mobility. He smiled.
"Piece of cake Bones."
He sat up, pulling off his shirt.
She gulped. "Is that really necessary?" She squeaked, her eyes glued to his pecs.
"Absolutely Bones, dress shirts are very confining."
She nodded. "Oh, yes. Of course."
He leaned over and pushed her gently onto her back, enjoying the way her eyes widened as he loomed over her, gently pulling her arms over her head in imitation of the girl in the photo.
He lifted her hips with one smooth movement and moved between her legs, whispering in her ear. "Are you sure about this Bones?"
She nodded dumbly, her brain focused on every touch, every muscle in his chest, the way his smell was wrapping around her, until she realized with a start that she was, in fact, being wrapped around him.
He glanced at the picture again, pulling one leg up over his arm, the other over his shoulder, then adjusting his pose slightly, till he looked down at her with a triumphant grin. "Told ya."
She stared up at him, her chest heaving, and her body tingling where it was pressed against his.
She blinked, and opened her mouth. "I don't know, it doesn't seem plausible somehow." She looked up at him hopefully.
He lowered himself onto her gently, and moved against her. "See how it works now?" His eyes were inches from her own, and fully dilated.
She could feel his chest rumble when he spoke, and it made her want to roll her eyes up in her head in ecstasy. "Oh." She breathed, tightening her legs around him. "Now it makes sense."
He pressed his lips to her throat, whispering "Which other one did you want to try?"
Her shudder of desire didn't go unnoticed, and it took everything he had to stay in control. He'd always wanted her legs wrapped around him, and now they most definitely were.
Her jaw tipped towards his, her eyes smoky. "Page 34." She replied huskily.
He adjusted her legs, pulling them around his waist so she'd be more comfortable, and then pulled the magazine over, resting on top of her like it was no big deal, while she tried to keep from squirming beneath him.
Page 34.…. He found it and studied the picture. "You've never done that? Really?"
"Is that odd?" She didn't really care, she just wanted him to slide forward, oh about an inch, then he'd be pressed right up against her..
"It means I have a lot to teach you." He smirked happily, before looking down and seeing her flushed face. He slid his hand down her thigh, under her skirt, which was already pushed up around her hips. "You alright Bones?"
She licked her lips and nodded. "How can you be so …. Unaffected?" she whispered.
He let himself pull forward and press his straining erection against her, right where she wanted it most.
She gasped, "Oh."
"Nobody could be this close to you and not be effected." He whispered back. "Least of all me."
She pressed against him, and before he knew what was happening, his hand had somehow found its way to her butt, and was grasping it firmly, as he helped her.
She grabbed his head and kissed him, full on the mouth, a kiss that was overflowing with need and pent up desire.
He kissed her back, enjoying the sensation, enjoying everything.
He kissed her neck, and her shoulders, and continued pulling her against him, until she was staring at the roof and gasping, clutching his shoulders.
"Booth, please." She begged, "it's been so long.."
He shook his head. "I think we should take it slow Bones."
She groaned and pulled him against her, moving her hips urgently, "I'm begging Booth, please!"
He smiled into her neck, and moved his hand to her crotch and slid two fingers deep inside her. "How about second best?"
Her nails left marks on his back as her eyes fluttered shut. "Booth!"
"Shh…" He moved his hand expertly, his palm rubbing against her clit, as he thrust with his fingers.
She exploded beneath him, her eyes rolling up into her head, her chest shuddering against his.
"I can't believe I just did that." She finally hissed.
He raised up on his elbows. "Please tell me you've at least done that before?" He smirked.
"Not like that, I had no idea…."
His smirk turned into astonishment. "Seriously?"
Her eyes opened, and stared into his. "Teach me Booth, teach me everything."
"Are you asking me to be your lover Bones? Your boyfriend?"
She felt like she was floating. "Yes."
His kissed her again. "It's a deal Bones. But we're going to do this my way alright?"
She nodded wordlessly.
"Good." He smiled down at her flushed face. "It's lunch time, let's go out on a date."
"A date? Now?" She blinked at him, stupefied.
"Yeah." He stood up, adjusting his clothes.
She raised up on her elbows, taking in the sight that was Seeley Booth. "But don't you want to.."
He held a hand out to her, a roguish grin on his face. "I never do that until the third date."
"But.."
"No, no." He smirked. "We're going to do this right, remember? No more loving till after the first date."
"You're serious!"
"Yes, Bones. Serious about you. I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you."
"Three dates." She repeated, sitting up, nodding. "I think I can wait that long."
Booth leaned down and kissed her, his tongue sneaking into her mouth, dancing with hers.
When her hands clutched at his shoulders, he took a step back, breaking the kiss.
Her eyes were glazed again.
"I'm sure you can." He said.
She glared at him. "I guess we'll have to see if YOU can." She stood up and grabbed her shoes, then walked out of the room, her hips swaying seductively. "Let's go then, on our very first date."
Booth tilted his head, admiring the view. "Yeah."
A challenge had been issued.
They both knew they were going to pull out all the stops, to see who caved first.
Who's self control was the strongest.
The dance had begun.
Booth adjusted his pants, putting his shirt back on, tucking it in.
Three dates.
He could do it.
He wondered how many cold showers that would require.
"Angela!"
"Bren? What's up? Why aren't you here? Do we have a case?"
"I'm on a date with Booth, and I need your help!"
Silence…
"Angela?"
"Ok, you're on a DATE with BOOTH? Seeley Booth?"
"Yes."
"And you need my HELP?"
"Yes."
"Oh, this is going to be good…. Shoot."
"I'm in the bathroom Ang, if I shoot everyone will come running in."
"Brennan."
"Oh, too literal?"
"Yes, Sweetie. Tell me what the problem is."
"There is no problem, everything is great, well actually that is the problem. He gave me the most amazing sexual release, but he insists on not having intercourse until after the third date, and I don't want wait that long!"
"Omigod! What did he do? Did he use his tongue? Were you naked?"
"Angela! No he did not, and no we weren't. How do I get him to cave in?"
"Beg."
"No, Angela, I want him to beg!"
"Oh, ok. Well…."
Brennan wound her way back to the table where Booth was sitting, drinking a glass of water.
"Sorry about that." Brennan said, sitting down.
"How was Angela?" Booth smirked.
Brennan opened her mouth to deny it, then smiled instead. "She's good, really good." She picked up her glass of water, slowly sipping it. "She says Hi."
Booth watched her lick her lips as she set the glass back down on the table. "I'm sure she did. Did she give you any tips?" He winked, and let his dimples appear.
She stared in appreciation. "Yes, she did." She reached down and, keeping her eyes latched to his, slowly began undoing her shirt, button by button, until a good bit of cleavage was on display. Then she casually leaned over the table, giving him an excellent view.
He leaned forward to see better, calling her bluff, loosing his tie, "Are you getting hungry yet?"
She froze, and blinked at him, as her brain debated whether he meant for food or him. Then she smiled, and let her eyes caress the angles of his face. "Yes."
"Well played." Booth chuckled.
"I know." She smirked.
The waiter hurried over. "Have you decided what you'd like to have?"