Warning: This chapter is a mild M.

"What I want is to be needed. What I need is to be indispensable to somebody. Who I need is somebody that will eat up all my free time, my ego, my attention.
Somebody addicted to me. A mutual addiction."
~ Chuck Palahniuk

Chapter Five: Brown Sugar

Brennan followed Booth through the door of their large brownstone, dropping her bag dispassionately on the floor next to the entryway. She watched, oddly detached, as he checked the first floor of the house as he always did when they arrived home, no matter that the alarm was still engaged when they entered.

She walked into the comfortable living room, moving a soft picture book and a doll from the sofa before flinging herself down in exhaustion. The day had been long and emotion-filled, and although she loved her daughter to distraction she was a little glad Alex had spent the night with the Hodgins. Right now, she wanted to grab her husband and curl up on the sofa with him and just…hold him. Tightly.

Despite the calm air Charlotte had put forth earlier, Brennan had seen the hollow look in the other woman's eyes, the desperation in the way she twisted her fingers on her lap, the obvious signs of fear and exhaustion she was trying so hard to hide in front of Booth. And that, really, was the crux of the situation. Beyond the history between the players, beyond the political implications, beyond the secrecy and hidden agendas, the woman in front of them had just simply been terrified for her husband. And that fact made Brennan her biggest and most loyal ally. She knew what it was like to worry for the man you loved, and she was going to do everything in her power to make things right for Charlotte, no matter how Booth felt about that.

"You look like you're doing some serious thinking there, Bones." Booth sat next to her on the sofa, pulling her legs across his lap and absently rubbing her ankles. "Everything okay?"

She gave him a sideways glance. "You mean besides the fact that the Speaker of the House, who happens to be married to your ex-girlfriend, is missing?"

"Bones." He sighed and pulled her completely into his lap. "Listen, I know…I don't want you to think that I am treating Charlie any different because we dated. I am trying to be as objective as possible."

"I realize that, but you might be overcompensating." Brennan said. "Did you really tell her that it's possible Clay is dead?"

Booth let his head drop back. "Yeah. I may have been…a little harsh there."

"A little?" She looked at him in disbelief. "Booth, how would you feel if I was missing and someone told you that it was probable I was dead?" He blanched in response. "Exactly. What you did there…it was cruel, Seeley. And you are not a cruel man."

When she called him by his first name, which she had done exactly one other time in their lives, he knew she was seriously upset with him. "I know. I know, Bones. I'll talk to her tomorrow." He kissed her softly. "I promise, okay?"

She nodded, considering the subject closed. Then she sat up, threw her leg over his lap and straddled him. "There is something I would like to tell you."

"Okay…" He didn't recognize the look in her eyes, at least not from her. She looked…desperate. "You know you can tell me anything, babe."

Brennan began kissing along his jaw line in response. He relaxed into her kisses, letting her take her time. "I need you to know something…something I have been aware of for quite some time." She continued her journey along his neck, pulling at his tie and unbuttoning his collar and shirt.

Booth lifted his arms and let her slide the shirt off. "Far be it from me to stop you from…oh, that's nice."

"Shhh." She kissed his lips again, and then moved to his now-naked torso. "Booth, I need for you to be careful with this case."

"Bones, you know I'm always-"

"No. Please listen." She circled one small nipple with her tongue, drawing a gasp from him and causing him to grip her hips almost bruisingly. "I love you. I know I took a long time to come to that realization and even longer to make peace with the idea and embrace it." She ran her blunt fingernails down his sides, causing goose bumps to appear on his lightly tanned skin. "You…you allow me to explore emotions I've never wanted to explore, feel…need." She stood suddenly and pulled on the zipper of her skirt, letting it fall to the floor and stepping out of it gracefully.

"Thigh highs, Bones? Oh God…if I'd known you were wearing those…" He groaned and reached for her, moving to the tiny buttons on her blouse.

"No touching." She moved his hands to her waist, holding them there until she was sure he would obey. Then, she began slowly unbuttoning each little pearl, watching him intently. "You taught me that these feelings are valid and justified and freeing…but you also keep me grounded enough so that I don't lose control of them. The dichotomy is extremely arousing." Her blouse fell from her shoulders, leaving her wearing only lace and satin.

"Bones…I have to…."

"Booth. Look at me." She snapped the clasp on her bra and slipped it off, leaning forward until her nipples brushed his, drawing twin groans from them both. "I am more, I am better, I am whole with you. And I need you to know that. I need you to realize that I need you…more than I ever wanted to need anyone." She undulated her hips, grinding down on his lap and reveling in his moans as he tipped his head back in desire. She took advantage of his position and kissed, licked and nibbled her way down his throat as her nimble fingers unsnapped his belt buckle and unzipped his pants. She slid down off his lap to the floor, ending up on her knees between his legs. Reaching up for his pants, she continued. "All I am trying to say to you is that…" She swallowed thickly and stood again, and it was then he noticed she had removed her panties at one point. With the grace of a cat, she slid back onto his lap and pulled him to her, holding his arousal in one hand while cupping his cheek tenderly with the other. "I need you more than I need anything or anyone in this world. And I need you to promise me….promise me….that you will be very careful from here on out."

Booth looked into her eyes, still seeing that desperation there, now tinged with arousal and what he could only describe as fear. "I promise you, Temperance. I will be careful. I swear."

She nodded and kissed him softly as she simultaneously took him into her body, both shuddering with the sensation and the emotion this act always brought out of them. She sighed as she slid down, head tipped back in ecstasy, her breathing speeding up to what he recognized as her pre-orgasm pace sooner than he had ever seen before. Between breaths, she continued to talk to him, holding onto his shoulders as he finally moved his hands where he wanted them, cupping her beautiful breasts in his hands and leaning forward to take each nipple into his mouth, one at a time. As he took her left nipple in and bit softly, just like she liked, he felt her begin to tip over the edge….thighs clamped on his legs, body bowed back and shaking, a litany of 'oh's' falling from her lips. Booth watched, entranced as always, as Brennan took her orgasm, holding onto her waist tightly as she shook from the aftermath, tiny shudders breaking across her entire body.

As she sat back up, satisfied smile on her face, Brennan's breath was taken away by the look of complete and total amazement on her husband's face.

"Every single time, Bones." He shook his head and kissed her, hard. "It amazes me how unbelievably sexy you are, and that you're mine."

"Yours…" She began moving on him again, desperate to draw out his orgasm and make him feel as wanted and needed and loved as she did when she was in his arms. "Booth…" she moaned. Then she leaned forward, took his earlobe in her mouth, and breathily whispered an erotic command in his ear.

He was helpless to do anything but obey her, his body following hers again into complete bliss.

B&B

December 23, 2010, 12:32 PM, Royal Diner, Washington DC

She is off on one of her trips again…Cairo, this time. And once again, Cabina is here, with that partner of his. They're eating and talking and laughing…he looks at his co-worker more like a lover than he does her.

How does she not see the way he looks at this other woman? What is it about him that makes her blind to the reality right in front of her? He might not be unfaithful with his body…but he is cheating with his heart.

I'm just not sure which woman is the injured party…