Maura was already home when Jane showed up at her house. The detective had had to negotiate with the park's authorities in order to keep the potential crime scene off limits to the public, until they could complete their investigation.
It was already dark when Jane walked in through the front door. The familiar scent of Maura's home wafted over her and as always, it comforted and grounded her. It felt more like home than her apartment ever did, she realized.
"Hi Jane!" Maura looked up at her from the kitchen island, where she was chopping some hearts of palm for the salad she was preparing.
"Aw, are we having salad?" Jane whined at the sight.
"Yes, but the pizza should be here any minute, don't worry."
Jane clapped her hands excitedly. "Thank you!"
She walked behind Maura to wash her hands in the sink, something Maura had insisted on since they'd known each other, and Jane was now well trained.
As she dried her hands on the towel, Jane was very aware of the doctor's presence behind her. She didn't quite know how to behave. She had never really paid attention to their greetings, and Jane had never gone out of her way to be touchy-feely with Maura. Yet after the revelations of the afternoon, it felt strange to just walk in without acknowledging the monumental shift that had occurred. When she turned around and rested her eyes on the back of Maura's head, Jane felt a strange melancholy, mixed with longing and lust wash over her. Maura's hair was beautiful, and the detective knew it smelled wonderful too. She imagined herself taking a step forward and dipping her face into that hair, inhaling Maura's scent, then brushing it aside to reveal her neck. The detective was rooted in place, enthralled and paralyzed with indecision.
Maura heard Jane stop behind her. She could almost feel the warmth of her body, even though she knew it was impossible. The doctor felt her heart rate accelerate, and her breath become shallow. But she didn't stop what she was doing. She diced up two small beets and scooped them up to drop them into the salad. What was Jane doing? She wasn't moving. Maura's heart tightened and caused her eyes to shut. She laid the knife down on the chopping board and waited, bracing herself against the counter. Her heart was pounding violently in her chest, and she almost wished for Jane to just walk away so she could breathe again.
Finally, Maura heard the detective's clothes rustle softly, closer to her, and then Jane was touching her hair. The detective's warm breath brushed against her neck and Maura heard herself gasp softly.
"Oh god, Jane, ..." she whispered, breathless. Her eyes closed, she leaned back slightly and tilted her head to the side, to give Jane better access. A gentle hand came to rest on her hip, and tentatively slid across her front, over her tummy. It settled right under her breast.
Jane touched her lips to Maura's neck, right under her ear. Maura's perfume was intoxicating, and she inhaled it greedily. She slowly opened her mouth to taste it, and latched on to Maura's neck, sucking gently, kissing and licking the soft skin while her hand was threaded in her hair, to sweep it away and expose her neck. Unconsciously, she was kneading Maura's stomach with her other hand, pulling her back into her, pressing her whole body forward, into Maura's back.
On her side, Maura was arching back as much as she could, overwhelmed by Jane's bold moves. She couldn't decide whether to let Jane continue or to turn around to kiss her like she wanted to. They were both breathing hard.
The doorbell rang.
"Go away..." Jane whispered into Maura's ear, but she took a step back and expelled a deep breath. She took a second to regain her wits, then walked over to open the door for the pizza man. It was the first time in her life she wasn't excited about pizza.
Jane dropped the warm box on the counter and looked across at Maura, who hadn't moved. Both her hands were propped on the counter in front of her. They stared at each other for a few seconds, not finding any words worth speaking out loud. Jane's gaze dropped to the wet spot she had left on Maura's neck and she bit her lip at the sight.
Maura finally straightened up and walked around to Jane's side. She pressed herself against the brunette and grasped a fistful of wild hair. She pulled Jane down and received her open mouthed for a searing kiss. Jane let herself melt into it, pushing in with her tongue, tasting and savoring Maura's hungry mouth. Their moans got drowned in wet, languid sounds, punctuated by their frantic breathing. Hands grasped and pulled, hungry for flesh to knead, yet staying away from any obvious goals. The passion was still new and shy.
After a few minutes, they slowed down and Maura broke the kiss to cradle Jane's face in both hands. They breathed together, lips almost touching, nuzzling gently. It gave them time to catch their breath. The flare-up had been intense and overwhelming, and Maura was afraid to push Jane too far. The doctor gave Jane a peck on the lips and pulled back, slightly dizzy. Jane kept her hand firmly locked around her waist.
"Are you hungry?" Maura's voice was deep and hoarse. Her eyes darted at the pizza box next to them.
"Yeah..." Jane nodded with a wink.
They both smirked.
Without letting Maura out of her embrace, Jane flung the box lid open and pulled a slice out. She lifted it up in front of Maura's mouth. The M.E. smirked and opened wide. Jane fed her a bite, then took one herself. They ate three slices together, and Jane never let go of Maura's waist. After the pizza, Jane scooped out a handful of salad in her hand, dredged it in the dressing bowl next to it, and shoved it in her mouth. Maura cringed at the idea of being fed that way and slowly shook her head in apprehension. Yet she didn't move away. As unappealing as the prospect was, she didn't want to break the spell.
The detective picked up a slice of heart of palm, deposited it on a lettuce leaf, and delicately picked up her little raft to dip it in the dressing. She presented it to Maura.
"Thank you," Maura accepted gratefully. The relief was obvious in her tone.
The doctor opened her mouth and let Jane feed it to her. As she chewed it, Jane let her finger linger on her upper lip. Maura swallowed, and touched the tip of her tongue to the brunette's fingertip. Jane's heart skipped a beat, and she slowly let her finger slide inside Maura's mouth, until the tawny blonde closed her lips around them. She sucked gently, in and out, and Jane watched, breathless, as her finger disappeared inside Maura's warm, wet mouth, again and again.
"Uuuuunh..." A deep, low moan escaped the detective's throat, and she closed her eyes.
Maura wasted no time in reclaiming her mouth, and they were kissing again, the passion renewed and fierce. Jane spun them around and grabbing the doctor's ass in both hands, lifted Maura up on the counter, hiking her skirt up her thighs. The doctor wrapped her legs around Jane's waist and her arms around her neck.
Panting, gasping for air, neither could stop the wave of lust that swept over them.
Still with one hand around her waist, Jane fisted the other into the doctor's hair and pulled back to expose her neck. She sucked on the tender skin with an ardor she had never known, causing Maura whimper in ecstasy. Jane tugged at the tawny blonde's blouse, needing more, dipping lower down her chest. Frustrated, she yanked at the garment and the buttons ripped open. She pressed her face in the valley of Maura's breasts, where she greedily inhaled Maura's perfume.
Maura decided then that there was no going back. More than a decision, it was a surrender. She ripped the rest of her blouse off, and after a glance at Jane's hungry mouth on her breast, she reached back to unfasten her bra.
"Wait... Wait, please.." Jane looked up at the doctor and stood straight. She paused to catch her breath.
Maura's heart sank. Even though Jane wasn't pulling away, she was having second thoughts. The doctor tried to pull her ripped blouse together around her shoulders.
" I'm sorry. I think we should talk. I wanted to talk, remember? I don't want to stop, I want you. I want you so bad I'm going crazy."
"Badly." Maura flinched in apology as soon as she heard herself correct Jane.
After a few more deep breaths, Jane spoke again.
"I've been fantasizing about you all week. I thought I was going mad. I thought it was the tea." The detective rolled her eyes at herself. "I know it's not the tea. But I don't understand how after all this time, I would suddenly..."
"Jane, is it just lust? Is this just a physical need?" Maura had to ask.
The detective paused. She slowly shook her head. "I don't think so..."
"You don't think so? You're obviously aroused and I know you want me. I want you Jane, I want you and as I told you, my infatuation goes back long before the tea." Maura's voice trailed, and she added softly: "But I don't want to lose you for a one-night stand."
She motioned to free herself from Jane's embrace, but the detective held fast. Jane pulled her into a hug and she continued talking into Maura's hair.
"Maura, it's more. It's more than physical attraction." Jane sighed. "I want the Morning After. I want the Morning After, every morning. I want to wake up next to you and hold you, I want to get up and have coffee together. In our home."
Jane felt Maura's breath catch, and gave her a tighter squeeze. She lifted her head up and looked at the doctor. A tear escaped Maura's eye and Jane lifted her hand to wipe it off.
"You have no idea how much I want these things," Maura croaked. "With you."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Maura rolled her eyes. "Can you imagine your reaction two weeks ago, had I told you I was in love with you? You would have rolled your eyes at me and ran away!" Maura gave a weak smile, and became serious again. "And it wouldn't have been fair to you. We work together. There's nothing more embarrassing and inappropriate than a co-worker declaring their love when it's not reciprocated, is there?"
"A co-worker?! We're not co-workers! You're my best friend! I like to think that I would have been able to handle it! Thank you very much for the vote of confid..."
Maura pressed her lips to Jane and silenced her. She gave her a few kisses and Jane promptly forgot what she had wanted to say.
The tawny blonde looked up at her again.
"Are you done talking now? I believe we were in the middle of something."
The brunette smiled and shrugged. "I'm done..." She glanced down at Maura's ruined blouse, and noted that the way the doctor was gathering it was pressing her breasts together in a very sexy cleavage. However, now that she had regained some of her senses, Jane was shy again. She realized she had been on the verge of seeing, touching, and kissing Maura's breasts. Maura. Her best friend. She swallowed and looked away.
"Jane, it's ok. Please? I need you..." The doctor wasn't about to let her run away. She took Jane's hand and placed it on her chest, and slowly guided it down, over the swell of her breast. She leaned forward and touched her lips to hers, without kissing. She continued directing their hand down, until Jane was cupping her breast, and her thumb rested over the bump of her erect nipple. They closed their eyes, and the detective smoothed her finger over Maura's nipple, hard as a pebble, and Maura arched into the touch. She gasped and parted her lips to kiss Jane, moaning into her mouth, and Jane kissed her back, falling right back under the spell.
She reached behind Maura and unclasped her bra.