OK, so I went back and forth for a while, do they go out, do they stay in, do they just stay on the couch and veg out? Personally, I know what would be going on if I had Simon Baker in my house, but that's another story for another time, lol!

Chapter 6

"What are you wearing?"

"My suit with a blue shirt, why?"

"Just asking. I'm going to get my shower, OK?"

"OK. I think I will, too. Reservations are for 7. We've got plenty of time."

Lisbon headed down the hall to her room. Momentarily, Jane heard the shower start, and then the slam of the door as she got in. He headed into the other bath, turning on his own shower and adjusting the temperature. Then, he turned to grab a towel, only to be greeted by an empty cabinet. That's right, she put them all in her bathroom after we folded them. Jane weighed his options. Go get a towel, or wait till Lisbon got out? He glanced down the hall. Lisbon's bedroom door was open, as was the bathroom door. Jane walked slowly into the bedroom and paused outside the bathroom door.

"Teresa?"

"Yeah?" She had to yell to be heard over the spray.

"There's no towels in the other bathroom. I think they all wound up in here."

A pause, then, "Well, crap."

"Never mind, I'll just get one when you're done." Jane turned to walk away, pulled up short by Lisbon's shout.

"No! Not, crap, don't come in here. Crap, I can't believe I did that. I'm all steamed up, come grab one. You're not gonna see anything."

Jane hurried to the cabinet and grabbed a towel, carefully avoiding allowing his eyes to stray to the shower. He exited her bathroom and headed back to the other one, stripping down and stepping under the spray. He finished and toweled off, opening the shower door and stepping out onto the mat. A stack of towels sat on the counter across from him. Jane wound the towel around his waist and exited the bathroom, looking into Lisbon's room as he did so. Lisbon sat at her vanity table, brushing out her hair.

"Brought me a delivery, I see?"

Lisbon eyed him in the mirror. "Yeah, if you're going to stay a while, figured you'd need them."

Jane nodded. "Much appreciated. Lisbon?"

"Mmm?"

"You're blushing." At this, Lisbon blushed even harder.

"I am not! I have nothing to blush about." Lisbon brushed even harder, finally succeeding in tangling the brush in her long dark hair. She pulled and tugged to no avail.

Jane crossed the room again. "Here. Let it go. You'll end up with a bald patch and the team will never believe how it happened." He began loosening the hair a few strands at a time. Lisbon sat, tensed up tighter than a bowstring. Jane finally put his detangling hand on her shoulder, keeping the other in support of the brush so it wouldn't pull any more.

"Will you relax? Gee whiz, woman, we had our tongues down each other's throats not two hours ago and you're all worked up over my hands in your hair. Or was it something else? I didn't mean to embarrass you, Teresa. I know you. You wouldn't look." Lisbon's answer was to duck her head. "Would you?" She blushed again. "Well, my my. A naughty little minx, aren't you?" Jane went back to untangling her hair.

"I couldn't see anything." Lisbon mumbled something else under her breath. Jane grinned.

"Sorry? I couldn't quite make out that last part."

"Much. I couldn't see anything much." Lisbon practically spat.

"I see. And was it for lack of trying?" This was too much fun. No answer. Lisbon's gaze remained squarely on the floor. "Teresa?"

"You said you wouldn't embarrass me, Patrick, so stop."

Jane set the brush on the vanity and crooked his index finger under Lisbon's chin, tilting it up so she met his gaze. "If you wanted to look, Teresa, all you had to do was ask."

Expecting a huffy response, Jane nearly faltered when Lisbon responded, "OK".

"OK?"

"OK. I'm asking."

Jane swallowed hard. Well, nothing for it but to pay the piper, he supposed. His hand moved slowly to the knot securing the towel around his waist. Loosening it, he opened the towel by degrees, finally subjecting himself to Lisbon's scrutiny, all the while keeping his eyes averted. A gasp had him looking up. Lisbon stared, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide. Her tiny hand lifted marginally, then fell back to her lap, where she clasped it with the other hand as if to restrain herself. Jane broke the silence.

"It won't bite you, Teresa."

"I didn't think you'd do it."

"And now that I have?"

"Wow." Jane grinned again.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Jane began to wind the towel back around his waist, a feat made much more difficult by the burgeoning erection he was currently sporting.

"Wait." Lisbon's voice stilled his hands.

"Yes?"

"Um, nothing."

"All right. I'm going to go and get ready, then."

"Are…are…will you be OK?" Lisbon gestured to the evidence of his arousal still visible under the towel.

Jane quirked an eyebrow at her. "I've had more experience than I can tell dealing with this. I'll be fine."

"Oh! Oh, well. I'll…give you a few minutes then." Lisbon hurriedly sat back at her vanity. Jane paused, then realized exactly what it was she thought he meant to do.

"Biofeedback, Teresa. That's my method. Any other would be impolite in someone else's home."

Lisbon snorted, turning to face him again. "It's not like this house is a stranger to that, Patrick. We're both adults here." She made to turn back to her mirror, but was stopped by Jane's hand on her cheek.

Cupping her jaw, he leaned to brush a kiss over her lips, back and forth, then trailing up her cheek to her ear.

"I won't waste myself on that, as you say, when the real thing will be so much sweeter for the wait." His breath fanned across her skin, raising gooseflesh and making her shiver. Lisbon's hands moved of their own volition, back to the towel at Jane's waist, pulling at the knot. Jane stepped back.

"Teresa…"

"Patrick…" They spoke at the same time, then laughed. Jane spoke first.

"Either we go out, or we stay in. Once I have you, I'm not stopping long enough to get dressed to go out and eat. It's your call. I want to court you, to show you respect. I don't want you to think that I see you as a cheap thrill. So, either we get dressed and go eat, or we stay here. What do you say?"

"There's food in the house." Lisbon punctuated that statement by flicking open the knot on Jane's towel. It puddled to the floor around his ankles, his arousal still as impressive as ever. She grinned up at him. "Biofeedback, huh? Looks like it's falling down on the job." And with that, a tiny hand gently encircled Jane's erection.

Jane gasped as his vision went black, then sparkly, then red. His knees went weak, but he managed to remain upright. It wouldn't do to collapse in front of the lady, after all. Not dignified.

Right about then, dignity took a fast trip out the window as Lisbon's thumb ran across the tip of Jane's erection. He hissed, causing her to pause. She looked at him with concern.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Only if you want to."

"Am I hurting you?"

"No." Jane gritted out through clenched teeth.

Lisbon jumped up. "I am hurting you. Patrick, I'm so sorry. Are you all right?"

Jane took an involuntary step back to keep her from bumping into a very highly sensitized part of his anatomy. "You're not hurting me, Teresa. It's been a while and I'm pretty sensitive." He smiled at her sigh of relief.

"Thank God. I thought I'd ruined it before I even got to try it." Jane couldn't help but laugh at that exclamation.

"Why do I get the sneaking suspicion you've been thinking about this for quite a while?"

"Hmm. Maybe because I have?"

"And why did you never say anything?"

Lisbon pointed to Jane's left hand. "That. I know how strongly you feel about Red John and your family. I've never been the other woman. I didn't plan to start."

Jane stooped to retrieve the towel and wrapped it around his waist again. He moved to the bed and sat on the edge, patting the spot next to him. Lisbon joined him, adjusting her robe to cover her thighs. Jane smirked.

"Don't you think we're a little past that? You've seen everything I've got."

"Well, you haven't seen mine."

"No, and I find it quite unfair. We need to talk, Teresa. Maybe it'd be better if I got dressed."

"No. I like you like this. Not all buttoned up. It makes you seem more, not vulnerable, more human. All I ever see you in is a suit. You wear it like armor."

"That's not true. The first time we met, I was wearing jeans."

Lisbon smiled, remembering. "You were. I had forgotten. Oh, what a pain you were, right from the get-go."

"Well, thank you very much."

"You came in and refused to leave until you saw the files…" Lisbon held up a hand "Let me finish. And turned the whole unit on its collective ear. You were so broken. I'll never forget that. I hurt for you. It was so raw, it was coming off you in waves. As much as I wanted to strangle you, I wanted to hold you as badly and tell you it was all going to be OK. But it wasn't. And nothing I did or said would have made it OK. Then you stayed. And you stayed. You slept on my couch, in my office. You caused Heaven-only-knows how much controversy, you stayed by me through Minelli and Bosco, and you let Hightower use you as a hostage. And somewhere along the way, I fell head over heels for you and never looked back. But I was resigned to it being just me. I knew I could never compete with Angie. I didn't want to try." Lisbon finished with a sigh.

A small sniff had her looking up from where her gaze rested on her hands. Two small crystalline tears slid down Jane's cheeks. Lisbon jumped up and spun to face him, framing his face with her hands.

"Patrick, I'm so sorry. I should never have said her name…" Jane's lips were on hers before the words were complete. He eased her down into his lap again, reminiscent of the sofa, and broke the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her steady.

"Never apologize for speaking her name. She was my wife. She is gone from me. You are not now nor will you ever be in competition with her. She would adore you. She would say you're exactly what I need."

"You think?"

"I know. You know what else I know?"

"What?"

"I know you knew hers and Charlotte's names. You had the files before you even knew I existed. True, you never heard me speak them, but you knew. When you were cleaning my hand the other night, you acted as though you didn't." Lisbon took a deep breath.

"I was afraid if I didn't keep you talking, I'd lose you. That I'd never get you back. At the very least, I figured it'd trip your bullshit-meter and snap you out of it. I was desperate." She felt Jane begin to convulse under her. "What?!"

"My 'bullshit-meter', eh? Ah, what would I do without you, woman? C'mere." Jane turned Lisbon to face him, and untied the knot holding her robe closed. He parted the lapels marginally before looking her in the eyes. " Now I'm asking.".

Lisbon's response was to shrug her shoulders and let the robe drop, baring her to Jane's gaze and reveling in the huff of appreciation that followed. She scooted backward off his lap and stood, closing her eyes when she felt gentle hands on her shoulders, followed by her breasts, belly, hips and thighs. He caressed her back all the way down to her ass, then stood and dropped the towel for a third time.

Lisbon reached out, caressing him in much the same way, admiring the surprisingly muscled form. She'd never noticed that he worked out.

"How do you want to do this, Teresa? If you don't have any…supplies, I have some in my bag."

"I'm clean. I have a physical every year, and I haven't been with anyone since…well, you know."

"I haven't been with anyone since her, and my wife before that. I used protection with her, but I've been tested since then. I'm fine."

"So…"

"So we're agreed? Nothing but us?"

"Nothing but us." Lisbon nodded.

"Then, come here." He crooked his finger. "I want you, my love."

"I want you. I know you said I wasn't the wham-bam type, but could we please pretend I am?" Lisbon laughed at Jane's look of surprise. "I'm dying, here." He grinned, pupils dilating even further as he bent to kiss her.

"Whatever the lady wants." Jane moved fast, swooping her off the ground.

And there, it starts…next chapter is adults-only, so please don't go if that's not your cup of tea. Thank you for reading and Happy 4th!