Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update, I've had a lot going on these days and I didn't want to update until at least some of the next chapter is ready… But here it is now, I hope you will like it!
Also, thank you so much for all the feedback on last chapter! Your reviews and alerts make me so happy! And I would like to say thank you to those of you who left an anonymus review, even though I couldn't reply to you, I hope you know your words are dearly appreciated! :)
Now, onto the new chapter!

Oh, and it might have a K plus plus or a T rating, depends on how serious you take these things… But I hope you will find it enjoyable anyway! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own The mentalist or the characters…

Chapter 8

For a moment the man continued to ravish her, not caring about the shouts that sounded closer every time.

Then suddenly it was all over and when Lisbon opened her eyes she saw Jane right beside them, his hand clutching the drunk man's shirt, holding him away from her.

"Leave her alone! She's mine!" he growled menacingly, his blue eyes dark and dangerous. Lisbon felt a shiver run through her but this time it was followed by a maddening warm wave of desire. Jane was wearing a denim jacket and black jeans, his hair was tousled, standing in all directions. She was certain she had never been so happy to see him, but as she looked at him she realized they were in trouble.

She had no gun on her since Jane told her it would be suspicious and the drunk man was taller and stronger than Jane. That meant that he was going to get a hell of a beating. Then probably her too...

"What the...?" the man blinked, completely taken aback by the sudden change of events, then he looked back at her. "You better let me go blondie, or you will find it hard to even have sex again!" he threatened.

Jane instead of letting the man go stepped closer and fisted his right hand.

"Oh yeah? I think you better go now before I beat the crap out of you..." Jane murmured and Lisbon cursed his big mouth.

The man laughed loudly then caught Jane's wrist with his hand and squeezed until he let the man's shirt go. Lisbon prayed for a miracle as the man took a step back and prepared to hit Jane. But then suddenly Jane's fist came up and with a strength she didn't know he had, he punched the man in the nose. He fell to the ground, holding his face, groaning in pain. When he pulled his hand away his whole face was bloody and as Lisbon glanced at him she guessed his nose broke.

"Now get lost!" Jane spat at him, and rubbed his fist with his other hand.

Only then did he look at Lisbon and she felt her blood race in her veins from the fire in his stare. Then he crossed the distance between them and pulling her into his arms he walked them backwards until her back hit the wall of the building next to them.

"Jane?" she murmured questioningly, her mind a confused mess. His body was pressing into hers and his face was way too close and she didn't know what he was playing at.

"Shh... Just go with it. Play your part, Cassandra!" he whispered into her ear and she didn't even have time to think it through when his lips were on hers.

She sucked in a surprised breath and he used it to push his tongue into her mouth. He was passionate and dominating yet gentle at the same time. Lisbon knew he only made this show for the other hookers and the drunk men still lingering there, but his kiss completely made her forget where and who she was.

In that instant, she didn't know they broke up, she didn't remember all those nights she cried herself to sleep. She couldn't care less about Derek and all she was capable of was clinging to Jane as tightly as she could.

She let him devour her for a minute then kissed him back, driving her hands up his broad chest and into his golden hair. When his tongue slipped against hers she let out a sensual moan and arched her back to press into his body.

He pulled his mouth away from her lips to kiss along her jaw and down the side of her neck and her blood boiled in her veins.

"This doesn't mean anything..." she murmured quietly and a bit angrily when his lips weren't on hers anymore and she could think straighter. She had to make sure he didn't think it did but with her face hidden in his shoulder and her nails dug into his back so he would be closer to her it was quite misunderstandable. He squeezed her waist stronger and her clear thoughts seemed to float away again.

"I know!" he growled and continued to nibble her skin. When his tongue darted out and he licked the spot behind her ear she let her head fall back and she slowly slid her right leg up and circled it around his thigh.

His hands left her waist and while one of them came to rest on her lower back, pushing her more flat against him the other found its way to the exposed skin of her thigh and smoothed over the edge of her dress.

"Oh God!" she gasped and was about to grip his hair harder when she suddenly became aware of the cold wall at her back. The damp air around them, the multiple pair of eyes staring at them. She slowly untangled herself from Jane, a slight smirk escaping her when she heard his protesting grunt. "Let's go someplace more intimate..." she purred, making sure that the other prostitutes heard it too.

"All right!" Jane nodded, his voice hoarse. Then he sneaked an arm around her small waist and started towards his car. "Ladies!" he waved to the hookers and Lisbon looked back to smile at Vicky.

They almost ran to his car and as Jane helped her get inside they didn't look into each other's eye. Lisbon's blood was still rushing through her system crazily and she saw that Jane had a hard time catching his breath too.

When his door was closed too she turned to him and decided to break the silence.

"How's your hand?" she asked, looking at his right hand. There was an ugly red bruise on it that must have been killing him but he took it as a man and didn't whine.

"It's fine, thanks." he swallowed and started the engine. As they drove off Lisbon took another look on the street, regarding the prostitutes who just got some company again.

She reached for her jacket and put it on, zipping it up to her neck.

"You were right, she was a prostitute." she muttered and Jane chuckled.

"Yeah, did you get anything else out of them?" he asked as they took a left turn and Lisbon realized he was taking her home.

"No, those drunk idiots showed up before Vicky could tell me more..." she sighed.

"Vicky? Seriously Lisbon, you made friends with a hooker?" Jane laughed and looked at her incredulously.

"I did not. I just had to fit in, to use your words. She seemed nice and anyway, I had to make sure that our vic was one of them somehow!" Lisbon defended herself but Jane kept grinning and swaying his head which made her blush. "Oh, bite me!" she smacked his arm and turned her face away from him.

A few minutes passed by and looking out the window Lisbon saw that they were almost at her house. She took a big breath and laced her fingers together.

"Hey Jane?" she started quietly and waited for his hum to continue. "Thanks for, you know, coming to my rescue!" she said, never looking up from her lap.

"You're welcome. I was your only back up, I couldn't let him hurt you. I shouldn't have let him get that near you..." he growled darkly, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"You did a great job!" she smiled at him reassuringly, then tried to joke to lighten up the mood. "I had to maintain an image after all..."

The car stopped in front of her building and Lisbon was about to ask Jane if he wanted to come up for a tea, then she remembered their situation. Nope, she couldn't invite him up, or to stay the night since they weren't together anymore. They were just beginning to rebuild their friendship. It was all fragile and foggy and elementary.

She ran a hand through her hair and unbuckled her seatbelt. Their eyes met and she saw that he had the same thoughts as her. Or maybe not quite the same because he was Patrick Jane. Nobody knew what went on in that mysterious head of his. Lisbon's glance shifted to his lips, still red and swollen from their pretend make out session on the street. She moved forward to give him a kiss on the cheek as a way of saying good night but her cell phone interrupted the moment. She fished it out of her jacket pocket and saw Derek's name appear under a text message sign. The cozy bubble that she was in broke by seeing his name. It brought her back to harsh reality and the fact that whatever happened between her and Jane that day was truly meaningless. He didn't love her, not the way she loved him. The pain which that statement brought with itself never stopped hurting her, she only wished it would fade with time. She stared at the device for another moment, just cleaning all the remaining feelings for Jane out of her system before turning her green eyes up to look at him.

The streetlamp lighted his face, gave his cheek an angelic glow, his eyes an innocent sparkle that warmed her heart but she ignored it. Friends, that's what she would settle for. That's what her goal was.

"Thank you for the ride, Jane!" she said, proud of herself for her strong voice. She managed to crack a smile before she got out of the car and ran up to her apartment. From the door she looked back and waved at him then she stepped inside and closed the door.

Jane drove much faster than he should have. He was actually probing the speed limit of his beloved old car but he couldn't slow down. His thoughts were running which wasn't the best thing either when he was quickly approaching 65 miles per hour.

He couldn't stop thinking about Lisbon. Her eyes, her hair, her legs, her smell. Her sweet smile, her soft voice that could bring him out of his misery any time. He needed her more than his next breath. He loved her more than he thought he would ever be able to love.

And yet he hurt her so badly that he wasn't sure she could ever really forgive him. All because he couldn't get rid of his damn past.

He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them immediately when he realized he was still speeding on the highway, going God knows where exactly.

He couldn't blame all his problems on his past. His past was Angela and Charlotte. They were his everything. He didn't ever want to get rid of them. He just wanted the guilt and pain decrease. He wanted to be able to love Lisbon without wondering what Angela would think. He wanted to be able to look at a small girl without thinking it could be Charlotte, if only he wasn't so much of an idiot and didn't offend Red John.

Lisbon always made him feel better about these things. She always told him reassuring nothings that had no other purpose than to ease his pain away. They were like tender caresses to his broken heart.

Jane needed that, needed her. And he could tell himself it was all right to still love his family. Hell, even she could tell him it was okay. But he knew perfectly it was unfair to her. It was cowardice not to let himself love her wholly. He was afraid something would happen to Lisbon and he would break. And then there wouldn't be anybody to collect the pieces. He would stay miserable and aching.

It was not okay to be hanging onto Angela and Charlotte. To use them as an excuse for being an ass. He had to learn to let them go, to get used to their absence.

He had to do it for Lisbon. Because she deserved the best he could be. She deserved to be loved fully and with a whole heart. She deserved his entire heart and soul, not the part he could spare for her. She shouldn't have to share his heart with Angela and Charlotte and get so little of it.

Jane knew that he would always love his family. That they would always have a special place in his heart. And he knew that Lisbon knew that too. What she didn't know was that she was just as important for him as they were. Angela and Charlotte were his past, but Lisbon was his present and he had to focus on the present.

Jane left the highway behind himself and finally found the willpower to slow the car. His thoughts started to clear out and he could breathe more easily. He knew what he will have to do and that was better than the messy hole he had been since he broke up with Lisbon.

He looked through the windshield and actually saw where he was for the first time since he left Lisbon's neighborhood. More accurately, he realized he had no idea where he was and as he checked a street sign he had to find out that he drove way more than he planned. He was out of Sacramento and driving around in the suburbs. He pulled over to stretch his legs out and walk a few circles around his car then he got back in and turned back.

It was getting darker and darker and by the time he got back to his motel it was already 11 pm. His plan had to wait one more night. And until then, he would sort all of the remaining questions out, so that next day he could have a fresh start with light and calm thoughts and ready plans for every outcome that tomorrow would bring. Just like the Patrick Jane that Lisbon knew.

Before he went to bed he stood under the shower for half an hour, just allowing himself to get lost in the memories of kissing Lisbon that afternoon. The way she pressed her slim body into his, the sound that left her mouth as he kissed her neck. It all made him think about their first undercover kiss.

It had happened years before they got together, but Jane could never forget the day their lips met for the first time. It was completely different from their kiss on the street, it was almost accidental. But it was as sweet as he could imagine. He didn't appreciate it enough at the time, but later he realized just how much of a life changing point it was in their journey. Which just made it all the more special for him…

Lisbon sauntered closer with a soft smile on her face. Jane was sure he had never seen her so relaxed and he was rather surprised to see the serious Agent Lisbon being such a good actress.

He looked around in the golf club where they were meeting one of their victim's business partners. They were playing Mr. and Mrs. Miller, friends of the victim George Johnson also really interested in buying some share of the well known Butler Microbiologic Company. From who else than the very owner of the firm and the friend of the victim Mr. Randall Butler, head suspect.

Jane looked his boss up and down, amused at the sigh of her in a tennis outfit. Her skirt was way too short for a CBI agent and her tight top was making every man in the room turn towards her. Yes, Teresa Lisbon could look quite feminine and attractive if she tried. Not that she really tried now, because if was kind of a costume that she had to wear. For the same reason was he clad in a pair of white trousers and an awful cotton t-shirt with a checked flat cap.

"Lisbon, you look delightful!" he complemented her truthfully but only got an annoyed eye roll as a reply. "Our eagle is in the nest!" he winked at her, nodding his head in the direction of the restaurant of the club.

"Good, now you know what we have to do so please don't come up with anything stupid, all right?" she told him and he put on his best innocent face. She snorted and tugging down the edge of her skirt she started towards the restaurant.

"Hey wait!" he caught up with her and grabbed her arm. She spun around with questioning eyes, her death stare burning a hole in his fingers where he was still clutching her elbow. "Sorry, but don't forget we are supposed to be married and hopelessly in love." He told her a little theatrically. She sighed and pursed her lips, clearly not even a bit impressed with the idea. "Okay, at least let me hold your hand or something…" he suggested and after a resigned chuckle she held out her hand for him. "Thank you Mrs. Miller, you know how important this case is to Minelli…" he murmured into her ear before pulling her to the door.

They made small talk while searching for a vacant table, holding hands and shooting love eyeballs at each other on their way to sit down.

"I'm going to get ourselves something to drink!" he told her quietly when he pulled her chair out and she was about to say something when he added "I know, alcohol free because you're on duty…" he whispered and to Lisbon's great horror he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple.

While he was away Lisbon scanned the room for their suspect and spotted him talking to a young brunette not so far away from their table. He was sitting with his bar, facing just towards her. She waited until the brunette was gone then she watched him intently, hoping to make him feel her stare. Luckily she didn't have to wait too long until he looked up and saw her eyes on himself. Then she stood up and with confident steps she walked to his table.

"Hi, are you Mr. Butler?" she asked in her most friendly tone and when he nodded with a grin she knew she succeeded. "I'm Julie Miller and my friend George used to talk about you a lot…" she told him then looked down, seemingly taking a moment to mourn her dear friend.

"Hello, any friend of George is a friend of mine. Please take a seat!" he answered charmingly and motioned her to take the chair across him. "And feel free to call me Randall!" he added. "And what had George told you about me?" he asked.

"Just that you own a huge company that has a big future…" she smiled at him and wondered if flirting with him would help her. Maybe, but she didn't get to find that out because Jane appeared in that moment, putting a glass of lemonade in front of her and sitting down into the chair beside her.

"Sweetheart, I thought you got lost!" he told her with a masterly made up expression of concern. "I was glad to see that you're just abducted by this gentleman!" he smiled at Butler teasingly and held out his hand. "I'm Robert Miller, her husband…" he introduced himself then put an arm around her waist.

"I'm Randall Butler and I wouldn't call it abduction at all, your lovely wife came over to me to talk a little about our shared friend George." The man shook his hand firmly, but his eyes remained unsuspecting and friendly.

"Oh poor Georgie… May he rest in peace!" Jane said sadly then took a drink of his own ice tea.

"Randall, you were just about to tell me why your company had such a big future!" Lisbon decided to get the control of the conversation back.

"We do microbiological experiments in order to develop alternative uses of the presents of out nature." he said and Jane grinned at how diplomatic that sounded. It didn't tell anything about the work they did there. It only sounded like a slogan.

"Wow, that sounds interesting..." Lisbon chirped in fake awe and he had to resist smirking.

"Would you like me to show you around in the laboratories?" Butler offered and even though the question was for both of them, his eyes never left Lisbon.

Jane felt a wave of jealousy mixed with a hurt ego that caused him to lean close to Lisbon and breathe his question into her skin.

"What do you say dear, do we have time for that?" he asked and felt Lisbon go rigid under his touch. He ran his hand up her thigh as a message for her to relax a bit and she only hesitated a second before she turned her head to him so they were nose to nose and with a bright smile she nodded.

"Yes, I think I'd love to see it!" she murmured as their noses brushed.

"As you wish!" he whispered, then from a sudden idea he lifted his hand, cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers.

She froze and he could feel the inner battle as her instincts urged her to slap him but her mind reminded her that they were on an undercover mission and she had to restrain herself. It was only a second before she melted into him and to his astonishment she gently kissed him back. It wasn't more than a soft press of their lips together, a slight dance their parted lips did without any tongue but it was totally unfamiliar and new. She tasted like vanilla and freshness.

Then it was over in a flash. She pulled back and when he opened his eyes he saw the lovely blush that colored her cheeks as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Their eyes met and she turned her gaze away quickly, self-consciously. But in those few moments he saw the sparkling in her green eyes, the surprise mixed with pleasure and he suddenly felt proud to be the cause of those emotions in her, to be the one who made her eyes glisten like that. He gave her a tender smile and subtly without looking at her while doing so he reached for her hand under the table and gave it a small squeeze.

Jane laughed softly at the memory. He rubbed his hand over his face and tried to allow the hot water wash away the stress of the day. He knew he didn't have a lot to smile about nowadays but he was grateful to have those memories that would always warm his heart. They would get him through the rough night until the morning came and he could see Lisbon at work. And that solution had to be good enough for him until he finally made up for the stupid things he did and earned her forgiveness to have her at his side all the time to brighten up his days.

So, this was it! What do you think? I can not wait to hear your opinion so please write me a review! Your words are the light of my days! ;)
Thank you for reading and reviewing! I promise I will hurry with next chapter, and I can also promise an update at the very last a week from now, unless something horrible happens! :)
Until then, xxx

PS.: If there are any Castle fans out there, I started a Castle fanfiction with the title A Dangerous Game… If you are interested, you can find it on my profile! :)