Author: eponinesghost (EppieG)
Title: I Want To Kiss You All Over 4/?
Pairing: Rizzoli/Isles
Rating: Still PG I'm afraid
Disclaimer: Characters belong to the creators of Rizzoli & Isles. No infringement intended.
Notes/Summary: ... wherein we hope no one is disappointed. References Seasons One & Two.
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Maura had repeatedly tried to tell her friend that she was gorgeous, but she had always suspected that Jane believed that she was just being nice. The woman who stood in her doorway right now was simply stunning. Maura's pulse had quickened even before she'd answered the door, but now that it was open ...
She would never have expected the reaction she was having. Jane was fully dressed, but that seemed like a formality. The thin white top left very little to the imagination and her imagination was suddenly obsessed with every inch of it. The well-worn jeans fit like a glove, and the glimpse of skin visible just above them made Maura's mouth go dry.
Jane's incredible mane of hair looked so windswept and tousled that she wouldn't have been surprised to see a motorcycle helmet instead of the bottle of wine cradled against Jane's hip.
The image of all of this combined was breathtaking, but what was really throwing Maura so off kilter had nothing to do with styling or fashion.
It was Jane herself. Her bearing, her presence ... she was somehow different than Maura had ever known her. The frequently self-depreciating, self-described "goofball" was nowhere to be found. Everything about this person exuded confidence. A quiet yet powerful confidence that contained no whiff of arrogance or aggression. A total sense of casual control that was at once both magnetically calming and slightly disconcerting. Totally tempting and yet potentially dangerous.
The dark eyes never wavered as they scanned Maura's body with slow deliberate purpose before drawing up to meet her own. The intensity there was just as startling as the outfit she wore. Maura could feel it to her toes.
Dear God this version of Jane was almost unbearably sexy.
"Hi." It came out more like a gasp than a greeting.
A hint of a smile played about Jane's lips as she acknowledged the welcome. "You're beautiful."
Maura was surprised to find herself flustered. And blushing. "I ... everything's ready." She fought against rolling her eyes as she turned to the side and gestured with her arm toward the interior of the house.
Stepping across the threshold, her body sliding close to Maura's as if there was far less room to pass than there obviously was, Jane simultaneously pressed the bottle of wine into Maura's other arm and leaned in to place a soft kiss on her cheek. "Thanks for inviting me."
All of her motions were fluid, and she was well past Maura before the tingles caused by her breath and lips reached the hand that clutched the wine tightly to the doctor's side. Using the time it took to close the door and turn back around to steady herself and take a deep breath, Maura was determined to regain her equilibrium and level the tilted playing field.
Then she glanced up to see the small tear in the upper thigh of Jane's jeans, just under the denim-clad curve of her perfectly proportioned ass, and she felt the ground shift again. As she forced her eyes away from further distraction, they fell on the wine label. Her heart melted. Somehow, Jane had remembered ... from just a brief mention in a distant forgotten conversation ...
"I love this."
Her tone was hushed, full of appreciation and wonder. When their eyes met again, Maura didn't miss the small gleam of triumph she saw in the warm gaze.
"Good. I read about it somewhere and thought it might be right up your alley."
For a brief second, Maura was confused. Then the light went on again. Jane was here as someone else. A virtual stranger who shouldn't know about all of their previous interactions and conversations. It was the moment of clarity she needed to shift back into gear. Swiftly she moved toward the kitchen.
"Did you have any trouble finding the place?" She located the corkscrew and began opening the wine as she covertly observed Jane lean against the counter.
"No problem at all. You gave very good directions. I would have been here sooner, but I had to finish up at a job. Barely had time to shower and throw something on." Jane grinned. "I thought about dressing up for you, but decided that if we were going to have dinner in, casual and comfortable would be fine."
Maura concentrated on pouring the second glass. "Oh ... what you have on is ... fine." She took a shaky breath. "...absolutely fine." Her head snapped up as she suddenly had another thought. "I should have asked you before I assumed ... is wine okay for you? Would you rather have a beer? I have some ..."
Jane hid her amusement over Maura's stumbling manner well. "I'd love a beer later. Actually, I'm looking forward to tasting that ..." She nodded toward the bottle in Maura's hand. "I usually don't have wine because I know so little about it, but tonight I'll follow your lead."
Smiling brightly and trying not to read anything further into that comment, Maura handed her a glass. Then, picking up the remaining one and carrying the bottle, she moved toward the impeccably set table. As she placed both items near her place, she felt Jane move up behind her, stopping near her hip.
"Wow. Your idea of 'casual dinner at home' and mine are miles and miles apart." She could hear the admiration in Jane's humor. "Think less placemats and more pizza boxes. This is fantastic."
"Don't be too impressed. I didn't have time to do any of the cooking. Instead I picked up some of my favorites." Her hand hovered over each dish as she named them. "Mussels posillipo ... beef carpaccio with black truffle oil ... and fettuccine al grappa with organic baby tomatoes ..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the disappointing response she'd had to this selection before.
"Ooo ... I love baby tomatoes."
Without hesitating, Maura took the closest deep red orb between her fingers and offered it to Jane, just inches from her face. The piercing intensity of the dark eyes fixed on hers once again threatened her balance. She willed her hand to stay still. Almost as if answering her plea, she felt Jane's hand circle her wrist, holding it in place as she leaned in to take the tomato into her mouth.
Maura felt her knees go weak at the first touch of Jane's lips on her fingers, but when the edges of her teeth gently scraped along the skin as she pulled away, Maura was certain that the only thing holding her up was the soft grip on her arm. She had to stifle a whimper as she watched Jane's eyes close and the tip of her tongue chase a small drop of juice at the corner of her mouth.
Every part of her body was impossibly warm. But that was nothing compared to the fire that spread through her when Jane gently turned her hand over and placed a kiss right in the center of her palm.
Trembling, she felt, and only barely heard, the murmur against her skin before Jane raised her head and slowly released Maura's arm.
"Delicious."
The chill she felt without Jane's touch was such a strange contrast to the heat emanating from within. She'd never felt this combination of desire and disorientation. It was both completely unsettling and … yes, delicious.
She moved in virtual slow motion toward her chair, not surprised in the least to find Jane holding it out for her. As she adjusted herself at the table, she felt the warmth of Jane's lips press into the top of her head.
Her hands twisted the napkin in her lap as she struggled to control her emotions. Jane had kissed her three times now since she'd arrived. All three were simple, sweet kisses. Yet Maura was rocked to her core.
She had wanted to explore and assess the feelings between them, determine whether or not there was a sexual element to the relationship. She had planned to induce Jane to open up, show her hand … for them to discover together what potential this held.
The whole scenario seemed upside down. Despite being in her own environment, with everything according to her rules, she was not the one holding the reins. She could barely keep up.
Even though she had orchestrated the evening to dissect Jane's motivations and glean important insights, she was the one torn wide open. Right at this moment she could care less about thinking, or analyzing, or anything rational. There would be no debating or weighing of options. She knew what she wanted. She wanted more kisses. Everywhere.
She wanted Jane. Desperately.
In the back of her mind, she heard Jane's voice before she had returned to her apartment earlier, when she was laying all her cards out on the table:
" … I know why Giovanni was here that night."
Maura shivered at the memory. Of course Jane had known. She'd been crudely clear about her goal for that night. She'd wanted, in Jane's terms, to "get laid." That had seemed so simple, so cut and dried. This … this was nearly overwhelming.
But, because of what Jane had said - promised really - if Maura just somehow managed not to mess this up, she was going to get everything she wished for tonight. And then some.
The anticipation made her shift in her seat. Swallowing hard, she reached for her glass. Jane was already tilting her own glass toward hers for a toast.
"To tonight."
As the rims clinked together, Maura wondered how in the world she was going to make it through dinner.
Dear God.
She had to focus. Serve the food. Make conversation. Stop looking Jane's at nipples in the nearly see-through tank top.
She took another healthy sip of wine and reached for the tongs in the salad.
"So … is the 'J' short for something?"
Jane nodded as she held her plate to receive the portion Maura was lifting out of the bowl. "Yeah …. Julianna."
Smiling as she served herself, Maura continued. "That's such a lovely name."
"My parents thought so. Not such a great name for a plumber, though." She stretched to retrieve one of the pasta dishes. "Each time Pop would get a call and need to send one of us out, if he told them to expect me … 'Julianna's on the way' or something similar … they would have a sudden change of heart."
Maura paused to scowl and raise her chin slightly. "That's a ridiculous bias."
"Maybe, but it's real life." Jane surveyed the table until she saw the parmesan cheese in the hand grater. "So, anyway, at my suggestion, Pop starting using just my initial. 'J. will be right over to fix that up for ya.' By the time I got there, even if they were pissed, they'd usually want the problem fixed more than they wanted to make a point."
Nodding as she sliced a small piece of carpaccio, Maura made a mental note that Jane had studiously avoided the raw beef dish. Steak and potatoes were more her style. Still she was impressed that Jane seemed to be enjoying the wine and the pasta.
"After a while, J. just stuck. I liked it and it made a lot of things easier. Only my mother calls me Julianna now."
"When I saw you, that night at Merch, I would have never imagined you were a plumber."
Raising one eyebrow, Jane took a sip of wine before she countered. "And I would never have believed that you cut up dead people."
"Touché."
"What did you think? When you first saw me?"
Maura wiped her mouth daintily with her napkin as she pondered the question. "I thought you were strikingly attractive. You didn't seem to be looking for anyone, and were quite okay being by yourself … I think some of the women there found you very intimidating because of your self-confidence, your aloof manner."
"But you didn't. You approached me right away."
"I was intrigued. And I like a challenge. Besides, you were the most gorgeous person in the room."
Jane was shaking her head. "No, I couldn't have been." She held up her finger to stop Maura from protesting. "Not once you walked in."
Despite the fact that they were pretending, flirting this way, Maura felt herself blush again. She was well aware that they had both stopped eating. "Did you want some dessert? Some more wine?"
"Maybe later on the dessert." Jane looked toward the couch. "Can I take you up on the wine over there?"
"I'd like that." Maura could feel her heart start hammering. She hoped her legs would work long enough to make it to the living room. Before she could push her chair back, Jane was there behind her, being so chivalrous. She was embarrassed to find that she stayed motionless longer than they both expected, hoping for another kiss …. somewhere ... anywhere.
Standing finally, she started to lean for the wine bottle, but Jane waved her away.
"Go ahead and get settled. I'll bring it."
Her pulse skipping, she could feel Jane watching her as she walked. She moved haltingly around the end of the sofa, sliding sideways onto it and looking back toward the table.
Biting her lip, she saw Jane remove the work shirt, revealing her shoulders and sculpted upper arms. Bringing even more emphasis to her chest. Her hair swinging sideways as she picked up the wine and turned toward Maura. Moving steadily closer, smoothly, making Maura's heart nearly stop.
This was crazy. She had seen Jane nearly naked before. They had changed clothes in front of each other, worked out together in tight-fitting minimal outfits. None of those occasions had ever affected her this way.
How had things changed so dramatically and so quickly? Or had they been on this collision course all along?
Her mind was reeling, her thoughts a blur. Was she only responding to a sexually charged situation she had set in motion? How much of this was part of the act? Did she even care?
She just didn't want wait any longer. She wanted to run her hands through that thick dark hair. She wanted to feel how thin that tank top really was as she peeled it off. She wanted to slide her hands into the back pockets of those jeans and anchor Jane's hips against her …
She wanted Jane so much she was nearly incoherent, and Jane had barely touched her. Once she did …
Dear God. She might not survive it.
Le petite mort. The phrase that invaded her mind at that moment had never seemed so appropriate. The little death …
Couldn't come soon enough.
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end part 4
thanks for reading!