Author's note: I've been totally blown away by all of the kind, kind reviews! Thank you, everyone. I will try to respond to each of you. And welcome aboard, all of you new story alert-ers!
I was telling some of ya'll that this is so out of my comfort zone. Haha, I'm such a Booth in some ways. I've been sputtering and blushing pretty much the whole time I've been writing this story, haha. But, someone's got to do it, and it might as well be Booth and Brennan, am I right?.
Speaking of…let's get to it!
--b&b--
Chapter Three: Tuesday
Booth moaned as sunlight creeped in and out between the gap in his curtains. Normally he didn't mind because it helped him get up in the morning, but in the back of his mind, he knew for some reason, being awake right now really sucked. His weight shifted to his left hip and then his knee brushed against something cool and damp.
What the…?
Cracking open one eye, he peered over to the alarm clock. Damn it…he was late for…work
Sitting up quickly, he pressed his palms to his head as he quickly scanned his room. Frantic, his eyes took in the way his pants were folded on his desk chair, the way his bathroom door was slightly open. He pushed aside his bedspread to see a washcloth and everything came rushing back.
Falling back to his pillow, he groaned. Jeez…it hadn't been a dream.
Bones had actually been there and managed to get him naked in bed in less time than it took for the elevator to get from the top of the Jeffersonian to the bottom.
Familiar guilt coursed from his brain and heart and he covered his eyes with one of his arms. This had to stop. This was crazy. Really crazy.
Crazy good…
Booth felt his lips curl up in a wry grin at the memory of her hands on his stomach, her curious eyes locked on his face as she'd rocketed him to some of the sweetest pleasure he'd ever known.
She'd been so damn inquisitive. She surprised him every single day, and one of these days he figured he'd stop being shocked by that.
But he'd never expected her to be quiet and curious in bed. Sexy as hell and demanding and all that, yeah…he'd dreamt about that more times than he cared to admit. But she'd been more thoughtful than anything, cataloguing his reactions in that whirling brain of hers.
And Bones using her brain on him in bed was a heady experience. It softened his limbs and his quick thoughts, and he allowed himself to remember the pretty curve of her cheek, the softly scented skin in the crease between her neck and shoulder, the long cool grip of her fingers, and the tender way she'd cleaned him up after.
It had been a long time since being with someone had felt so special. Which made waking up alone feel even all the more disconnected.
Sitting up again, he swung his feet off the side of the bed and threw on a pair of shorts to go for a run. He needed to put a stop to this. Before it went too far, and he really had something to feel guilty about.
--b&b--
11 hours later…
"Hmmm…back to burning the midnight oil, I see." Angela leaned in Brennan's office doorway and smirked. "It's nearly 7:30 PM."
"First of all, there's nothing burning in here" Brennan didn't look up from her desk, and instead kept looking back and forth between her notepad and the large book opened in front of her. "And secondly, you seem inordinately preoccupied with my schedule lately."
Angela chuckled and walked inside, propping her hip up on the side of the desk. "What are you working on?"
Brennan looked up then, a frown furrowing her brow, "If you must know, I'm dissecting an article on mass graves vs. cemeteries. Whether or not the latter is really a vanity or if it really is important for every human to have his or her own resting place."
"Fascinating" Angela examined her fingernails, "And which do you agree with."
"Neither" Brennan answered rationally, "I'm still conducting research, of course. I need more information to make a conclusive decision."
"Right, right…" Angela narrowed her eyes, "I'm still not convinced, by the way."
Brennan wasn't so clueless to not understand what she meant, and she huffed and leaned back in her chair. "You're being irrational, Ange. Nothing is happening between Booth and me." She shook her head and closed the book, leaning down to pull her purse from her bottom desk drawer.
"Did I say anything about Booth?" Angela fairly crowed and grinned as Brennan straightened up, blowing her hair out of her face. "Interesting that you brought him up."
Brennan rolled her eyes and walked out from behind her desk toward her office door. "Were you or were you not already thinking about him and me together?"
"Hmmm…maybe" Angela fairly skipped after her.
"So then," Brennan turned on a confident heel, "Evidence points to the probability of you trying to mention Booth and connecting me to him. I'm merely analyzing a pattern, Ange, there's no deeper meaning. "
Angela chuckled and caught up with her, twining her arm in Brennan's as they walked to the parking lot. "Okay, I believe you."
"Thank you" Brennan nodded. "So…what are you doing tonight?"
"Meh," Angela shrugged. "Don't know yet. The night is still young. Probably dinner, maybe something civilized like reading a book. But more than likely, a hot bath with a tub of Ben and Jerry's."
Brennan smiled and pulled her arm free as she reached her car in the parking garage, "Well, have a good time, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"You too, sweetie."
--b&b—
Brennan's arm felt a bit heavier than normal, and she realized it was from the way it had been looped with Angela's as they'd left the Jeffersonian. Not usually one for touches or other physical signs of affection, she smiled slightly as she sat in her car and pulled on her seatbelt. Arm in arm wasn't so bad, she figured, and immediately her hand clenched on the steering wheel at the memory of Booth's fingers twining with hers. Her whole being shuddered then, and she cursed the sensitivity tingling in her fingertips.
Brennan made it a point to never hold hands with anyone, especially not a man she was dating or sleeping with. It was way too intimate.
And this week with Booth wasn't supposed to be about intimacy either. It was supposed to be about fantasy.
So no more hand holding or soft words or sad eyes. No more of that, she promised herself as she sat straighter and unbuckled her seatbelt, pulling out her cell phone.
--b&b—
"This is crazy" Booth repeated to himself as he stepped out of the shower, roughly running a towel over his head then down his body. He wiped a streak of fog off his mirror and peered at his face. "This isn't a good idea, Bones" he rehearsed, "I mean, Temperance…I mean…"
Gritting his teeth, he pressed his knuckles against the porcelain sink, "Last night was a mistake, and I think we should prevent ourselves from making more mistakes."
He rolled his eyes and pushed off from the sink, turning to walk into his bedroom. He grabbed a clean t-shirt and some sweats from the laundry basket near the door and just as he was about to grab some socks, he heard a knock on the door.
"Booth?"
Brennan knocked again, and he shuffled to the door. "Kind of eager, there…Bones?"
He paused when he opened his door to see her standing there in her labcoat, biting her bottom lip.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
She sighed, annoyed. "I thought it was, but…" her eyes met his, and she smiled sadly. "I have to go back to the Jeffersonian. I have some work I really need to get done."
Booth felt an odd mixture of relief and extreme disappointment. "Nah, don't worry about it, Bones. I mean…" he paused and cursed the flush he could feel rising up his neck, "It's not like we really had plans or anything" he finished in a low voice. "It's no big deal. I promise."
"Okay…but…" she looked down and away, her arms coming to cross in front of her chest.
"But what?"
"Well…I kind of…" shaking her head, she turned away, "Never mind, sorry I bothered you."
"Wait!" Booth grabbed her arm, and she paused, then turned his way. "Just wait a minute. What is it, Bones?"
"Forget it, Booth. You're on vacation." She huffed and clenched her jaw, "AND, this isn't supposed to be about work. It' just supposed to be about releasing.."
"Yeah, Bones…got it" he palmed the back of his neck, "Come on, what's going on? You can tell me."
Her head tilted to the side as she considered, "It's just this one set of remains at the lab. I know there's something I'm missing, and I thought…I don't know, that maybe you'd want to come back to the lab. Maybe help me or something." She cleared her throat, and flushed. "Would you please help me?"
Booth's eyebrows rose. "Oh…I see." His conscience did a robust cheer as his libido groaned. "Well, sure, Bones. I can help you. I mean, I'm not really dressed to go out or anything."
Brennan's eyes traveled from his still damp hair to his bare feet, and Booth felt her gaze like a caress. And considering he now knew exactly what a real caress from her felt like, his skin felt like it was about to evaporate from heat.
"You look fine to me," she shrugged. "We're just going to be in the lab. It's no big deal."
"Okay, fine." he agreed, "Should I just ride with you, or……?"
"You can drive. My car is there already; I just grabbed a cab here."
Booth looked at her for a moment, and Brennan tried to school her features to indifference. "Ready?"
He nodded, then grabbed his keys, "Yeah, just let me put on a pair of shoes."
Brennan watched as he stuck his feet into a casual pair of sandals and then tossed his keys up in the air and caught them. "Let's go."
--b&b--
Booth felt strange sitting beside her in the SUV when she was dressed normally and he was in his old Penn State t-shirt and sweatpants. The ride was quiet so far, and he figured she was probably thinking about whatever it was she had back at the lab to examine.
She looked at him then, and he realized he'd been caught staring. He chuckled, then looked back at the road, rotating his shoulders back against his seat.
"Are you disappointed that our plans changed?" she asked him, looking over at him from the passenger seat.
Surprised, Booth spared her another glance as he tampered down a yes and just shrugged what he hoped was a casual shoulder. "I don't know."
"Oh…" she answered and clasped her hands in her lap.
"Yeah, Bones…" he sighed and clicked his tongue against his teeth, "But I gotta tell you…you asking me for my help? That is a pretty good fantasy."
He kept a straight face but watched her from the corner of his eyes, taking note of the moment she realized what he'd said.
"And it's your idea to let me drive?" he continued, shaking his head. "I never thought in my wildest dreams this would ever happen."
Brennan shook her head, and he laughed then. His smile grew wider when she shoved his arm slightly across the console, and their laughter faded as their eyes met and held for a long moment.
Brennan felt her lips quivering slightly, and she bit her bottom lip before turning back to look out the passenger window. "Well, don't get used to it."
Booth snorted and grinned as he pulled into the Jeffersonian parking garage next to her car.
--b&b--
Feeling confident at the turn of events, he opened his door, then waited for her to come around, "So what are we going to be looking at, hmmm? Is there anything I need to know before we get in there?"
Brennan shook her head as they climbed the steps into the lab, "First. I need to go to my office. I forgot gloves." She looked over her shoulder, "Follow me, and I'll tell you everything you need to know."
I'll follow you anywhere…
Booth frowned at the direction of his thoughts, cursing himself for mixing the fantasy with the reality. And that's why this whole week wasn't a good idea. But this night was working out better than he'd thought it would. He'd help her here at the lab, and maybe make her laugh a bit, and then he'd explain very carefully that they made better partners than lovers…
Booth was lost in his future speech and didn't notice when she closed her office door behind him.
"You know, Bones" he began, "I've been thinking…"
He looked in front of him and realized she wasn't there any longer.
"Bones?"
"…down here…" was all he heard before his sweats were tugged down to his ankles and he inhaled the quickest breath ever as her mouth…. "Ahhh!..." Oh…oh…
Oh…baby.
--b&b—
Brennan smiled to herself in pure feminine pride at the success of her plan. Booth's knees locked in front of her, and she slid her hands down to steady them. He gasped and whimpered, and she realized he was ticklish behind his knees. His left more than his right…
She leaned in and pressed kisses against his knee caps, and one of his hands came down to rest lightly on her head. Yes…
"Bones, Bones, Bones…" his throat worked, "What? I mean…what?"
She merely looked up at him from below, a smile on her face. "What does it look like?"
He chuckled a surprised gasp as his prepared speech flew out of his mind. "This is me helping you?" He laughed again, and Brennan paused.
Brennan lifted his t-shirt up a bit, and leaned in. "Do that again."
"What?" He asked. "Do what again?"
"Laugh" she grew serious. "I want to watch you laugh again."
"Bones" he groaned, "I can't just laugh. Come on…"
Brennan let one thumb slide and then twist against the back of his left knee, and it gave slightly as he giggled. And she sighed as his stomach muscles rippled and pulled with his laughter. She'd never seen anything like it. And now, just knowing that every time he laughed, this was happening under those crisp white dress shirts was almost more than she could take. "Again" she mouthed against the cut lines of his stomach, the tip of her tongue snaking out every once in awhile for a quick taste.
He whimpered through his nose as the side of her cheek brushed against his now very eager erection, and he watched as she suddenly turned to examine it.
"Last night went too quickly, don't you think?" she murmured and let her lips just barely graze the skin of his thigh.
Booth's eyebrow arched, "Well, hell, Bones. Thanks a million."
Surprised at the change in his tone, she met his eyes, "For what?"
He huffed out a short laugh. "Never mind…" Shaking his head, he looked up at the ceiling, "Just that maybe no man ever wants to be told that he was too quick, you know?"
"Oh" Brennan frowned. "I was merely stating that last night I lost focus. And I accept responsibility for that" Her jaw tightened "I'm prepared to make up for it tonight."
"Is that so?"
But instead of answering verbally, she opened her mouth and wrapped her lips gently around the head of his aching…
He hissed and his buttocks clenched as the tip of her tongue scraped gently against the very tip of him, "Mmmmmm….oh yeah…"
He opened eyes he didn't even know he'd closed and looked down, and the sight there was enough to make him weak at the knees again.
His Bones was sucking his…
She pressed her thumbs into his hips, and he looked down to see her in that damn sexless labcoat.
Correction…
Dr. Temperance Brennan, world famous anthropologist, and New York Times Bestselling author was on her knees, her arms wrapped around his thighs as her sassy, obnoxious mouth did the most amazing things…things you couldn't learn in a lab, that was for damn sure.
Brennan felt the way his thighs were clenching and knew he was close to losing control. She wanted to dive for that; she'd discovered that she could easily become addicted to finding all of Booth's tipping points.
Wanting to watch his face, she lifted her eyes and saw his neck tilted back, his mouth open as he tried to pull in deep breaths. Booth was beautiful like this, in her opinion. All man, and totally at her mercy. And she loved every minute of it.
But she wasn't quite finished with him yet, and with one last lingering suck, she pulled off of him and stood up. Smiling at the way he hadn't quite realized she'd stopped, she turned and made her way to her desk.
"Bones?" he rasped, his chest heaving.
What a picture he made, Brennan thought as she sat in her desk chair. Wild eyes, tight shirt covering a tighter stomach, trailing down to strong thighs that supported his hips and the evidence of his arousal between.
"Come over here, please" she motioned with her finger, adding the please for his benefit.
He looked surprised for a moment, and she wondered if he was going to obey her. It was entirely possible that he'd just pull up his pants, shake his head and toss her cab fare. And Brennan watched as he leaned over for the waistband of his sweats. Time seemed to stand still until he lifted one foot, and then the other, taking his pants and shoes off completely before coming to stand beside her desk.
Brennan reached under her desk for the towel she'd brought with her that morning and she spread it out on her desktop right in front of her chair. "Sit here, Booth."
He came to other side of her desk and propped his hips up before settling completely against the towel, squirming slightly against the terry cloth. "Is uh…is the door locked?"
Brennan chuckled and leaned back in her chair. "Yes. I'm not interested in fulfilling anyone else's fantasies tonight."
Booth sighed in relief. "That's good."
Their eyes met for a moment, and Brennan could feel herself responding the way she had the night before, and she quickly shook her head and looked down. She braced her hands on her desk on either side of his thighs and rolled in her chair toward him until she'd taken as much of him in her mouth as she could.
He shifted and tossed slightly, so obviously trying not to thrust, and Brennan rewarded him with a hard press of her tongue to the underside of his cock. Her own reward was the way he panted her name over and over. He leaned back, and she had to stand slightly in order to keep him in her mouth. Soon he was leaning back so far on his elbows that his head practically fell off the back of the desk. But Brennan just kept right with him, working him now with her hand as well.
"Bones, you're so gorgeous" he called, and then they both froze.
Brennan met his eyes and backed away slowly. Damn it…there it was again. That infuriating tenderness in his tone, in the way his fingertips slid gently against the nape of her neck. Something needed to be done.
Seductively, she stood and let her hands reach under his t-shirt, stroking up his chest. "Tell me your fantasy, Booth. In here…where, hmmm?"
His eyes widened at her almost predatory change in demeanor, and he pulled a quick breath through his teeth, "What?"
She smiled, knowing she had him where she wanted him. "Come on, Booth…this is fantasy week. And we've spent enough time in here, you're bound to have thought of me at least once. So tell me…was I wearing my labcoat? Or should I take it off?'
His eyes closed and his neck twisted back and to the side, "Leave it on" he whispered, and Brennan felt her victory all the way to her toes. Yes…she knew it.
"So where, then…?" she teased. "Here on the desk, still? Or maybe you want to go back to the door or against the wall…whatever you want, Booth. You can have it."
If Booth would have been really listening, he would have laughed at the irony of her statement. But he couldn't do anything but answer her. "The couch…"
Brennan's eyes widened and she smiled and backed away. "Excellent…"
--b&b—
Booth stared at her ceiling for another moment as he sensed her walking away from him and toward her office couch. He could not believe he'd admitted that.
"Come on, Booth" she purred, and he felt it all the way to his groin. "What are you waiting for?"
He moaned and sat up carefully, all the blood not centered between his legs rushing from his brain. He turned then and saw her standing behind the couch, her hands resting lightly on the back, "It's all yours…"
Like the good soldier he was, he obeyed and went to lie down. "I don't know how I'm ever going to get any work done in here ever again after this."
She'd walked around the side of the couch and was sitting at his feet. He could feel her hair against his legs as she leaned down. "You never work when you're in here, anyways…" she muttered.
Booth's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure if she was teasing. She was leaning forward, and just as her lips slid over the tip of his cock, they curved up in smile, and he chuckled. The motioned tightened his stomach muscles and Brennan smoothed his shirt back again to look.
This time her eyes caught on a small scar near his hip and her stomach clenched. Willing herself to just stay in the moment, she closed her eyes and tightened her lips. But her hands came up to rest on his thighs, and she felt another small scar on the back of his leg, this one longer.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to contentrate on Booth's body, on the pleasure she could give him.
Pleasure to ease pain…
No, no, no…that was NOT what this was about!
But when she smoothed her hands to his sides to hold on, she could feel deeper scars there, and it was too much. Pulling her mouth away to catch her breath, she couldn't stop herself from pressing her cheek against his smooth stomach.
--b&b—
Booth felt her press her face against his lower belly, and he wondered what she was thinking about. "Bones…did I hurt you?" he whispered. God in heaven, he'd never want to do that. Ever.
"No" she whispered in return and moved her face to slide her cheek of his warm length. Booth felt a drop of moisture on his groin that he knew didn't come from him.
"Bones…"
He thought he heard her sniffle slightly, but then all thought left as she tenaciously returned to her earlier efforts to send him out of the stratosphere. Hell, ionosphere, baby, and then Booth didn't have time to analyze, or think, or question or anything except close his eyes and……5, 4, 3, 2, 1…lift off.
"Oh, baby. Oh…BONES." He gasped and moaned as she took everything he had to give. And more. It had to be more, because she was Bones. And if he was going to give anything to anyone, it was going to be her. Bones. Bones. Bones…She was Bones…here, with him.
His hands felt like weights on his arms as he sat up and reached for her, hauling her up to crush her to his chest. "Sweet Bones…"
Once again, his reaction was so tender, and Brennan tried to stop herself but couldn't, and she allowed herself to gently slide her fingers into his hair at his neck.
Booth was mumbling something into her neck, but she couldn't quite make it out. She thought it might be something about tomorrow. Sliding her hands down his arms, she gently pushed him down onto his back.
His eyes were closed, and his lips are curved into a smile. For a moment, Brennan wanted to settle beside him, but she didn't.
"See you tomorrow" she whispered, then turned to rise off the couch.
As she turned from him, Booth grabbed at her hand. She turned, and he was still lying there, his eyes still closed, and she wondered how he'd caught her hand so expertly. "See you tomorrow" he whispered.
His eyes opened then, and he smiled again before squeezing her hand and letting go.
--b&b—
Brennan watched as his limbs grew heavy and his eyelids matched and within a few moments, he was snoring lightly. Smiling slightly, she walked over to where his pants were lying on the floor. Knowing he'd be pretty embarrassed if he woke up tomorrow with no pants on, she gently dressed him in his pants before setting the alarm on his watch for early enough in the morning that he could get out of there without an audience.
All of a sudden feeling foolish, she backed quickly out of her office and out of the Jeffersonian to the quiet sanctity of her car.
Driving quickly through the city, she clenched her teeth in self disgust. What was wrong with her? She'd never been emotional during sexual encounters before, and two nights in a row she'd practically cried.
"No practically about it" she chided her reflection in the rearview mirror and had to admit that the feel of Booth's scars against his soft skin was something she hadn't planned for. The contrast of pain against what she'd hoped was pleasure made each seem more intense.
Pleasure for pain…
Where was that coming from? She cursed her weak mind and slammed her car door before rushing into her apartment only to lean against her front door. But even there, all she could remember was the feel of his fingertips along the nape of her neck.
Closing her eyes against the inevitability, she let her own fingers follow where his had been, the tips sensitive against her hairline, her knees going weak at the sensation.
Although she'd never done it before, she was able to walk to her bedroom with her eyes closed almost the entire way. And in her mind, Booth's warm hands were caressing her body, encouraging her with soft words toward her warmer bed.
And once she was there, it was easy to remove all of her clothing, smoothing her hands up and down her stomach and thighs, finding her own ticklish spot behind her own knee. And she arched up into air, and her eyes flew open.
Breathing hard, she looked around in shock at how quickly she'd almost been able to bring herself to orgasm without even touching any of her sweet spots, just from the image of Booth with her. Booth with his quick teasing smiles and his cute feet in sandals and low slung sweatpants, and….. "oh yes, right there, Booth…"
The pillow placed strategically between her quivering thighs felt like the smooth skin of his stomach and she could imagine Booth lying there, watching her, his eyes dark and smiling, his hands…his hands…
Brennan fought it as long as she could, trying to manufacture her pleasure without the one thing she suspected would send her over the edge. But admitting that would be admitting more than she wanted to.
Desperately she rubbed against the satin, clenching it with her thighs, begging the Booth in her mind for a deeper pressure. But he wasn't going to give it to her, not until she did what he wanted.
And so finally, she capitulated, lifting one of her arms over her head.
And then very gently, she let the fingers of her other hand begin at her shoulder. They lightly skimmed her skin up to her elbow and the sensation was almost enough to send her. But not quite. So tired of fighting it, so so tired, she finally let her fingers slide up the rest of her arm to her other hand.
And imagining it was with Booth's, she twined her fingers together as waves of pleasure washed over her so intimately it was long moments before she could open her eyes or lower her arms, her fingers still clasping one another…his name still on her lips…
--b&b—
See you in about 24 hours when we shake it up a bit for…
Chapter Four: Wednesday,
where I promise there will be a little more…mutual satisfaction. But just a little.
It's only Wednesday, after all! ;)