I am back! I'm so sorry for the delay, but I have good excuses! I promise. But I won't bore you with them now. So I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait! Read and review please!

Scarlet Fever

Lisbon and Jane walked into the hotel lobby carrying their suitcase with smiles on their faces. Jane's arm was around her waist, pulling her as close as he could while still able to walk straight. Lisbon revelled in the feel of Jane's arm wrapped protectively around her; the irony wasn't lost on her. She was, after all, the one with the gun. Lisbon laughed at this thought and continued towards the check-in counter.

"Welcome to Hotel Scarlet. How may I help you?" asked the cheery girl behind the check-in desk.

"Hello, my wife and I would like to check-in the reservation's under Foster." Jane said, barely looking at the girl as Lisbon had captured his undivided attention.

"You guys have the honeymoon suite on the top floor. Congratulations to you both" She said with a genuine smile.

"Thank you" Lisbon said. She then thought this would be an opportune moment to steal a quick kiss from her 'husband'. It was just a peck, done almost as soon as it started, but it sent shivers through her body nonetheless.

They made their way over to the elevators, Jane's arm still wrapped firmly around Lisbon's tiny waist. He couldn't wait until they got to their room and they could get busy with unpacking their clothes. He hoped that unpacking would give him something to take his mind off of how beautiful Teresa was when she wore casual clothes and allowed herself to laugh and smile more. It took almost all his restraint not to pull her in for a kiss in the middle of the lobby, but he knew that she would most definitely not appreciate that. Even though they had to make it seem like they were happily in love newly weds, he knew that Teresa wouldn't appreciate the public display of affection.

The elevator doors opened, revealing no one inside, so it was just Jane and Lisbon in the confined space. Jane's hand had not once moved from her waist, couldn't he see that he was driving her crazy? As the elevator doors closed, Lisbon experienced the familiar urge to kiss Jane right then and there, but she pushed it down, just as she always did. But then she thought, if they were supposedly married, she could do just that. So without further thought, Lisbon turned in Jane's arms and caressed his face with her hands while brushing her lips against his. She felt his hesitation; obviously she had caught him off guard, and smiled when he deepened the kiss. She felt his tongue exploring her mouth and lost herself in the feeling of him against her.

Jane was just getting into the kiss, when the elevator doors opened, revealing two very startled guests awaiting the elevator. They quickly jumped apart, only to go back to their previous position, with Jane's arm around Lisbon's waist. As the other guests entered the elevator, a heavy, awkward silence fell upon them.

They reached the top floor in just a few minutes; they left the elevator with a quick goodbye and entered their room. Lisbon headed straight to the chest of drawers to unpack their clothes while Jane went out on the balcony to look at the view and examine their room. He was pleasantly surprised by their room, it had a nice, big bed that looked very comfortable, a chest of drawers, a sitting area with a television set, and that was just inside.

Lisbon was almost halfway through unpacking her bag when she heard Jane calling her.

"Teresa, my dear, you just have to come out and see this balcony." Jane said enthusiastically.

"What is so great about the balcony, Patrick?" Lisbon asked, slightly annoyed at being interrupted.

Lisbon walked out the door leading to the balcony and received the answer to her question. The balcony had a table with two chairs looking out at the view, and beside the table was a small heart-shaped hot tub built for two. The balcony had a gorgeous view of the woods behind the hotel; there were no buildings around them, providing them with some privacy.

Jane stepped closer to Lisbon and encircled her tiny waist with his arms. He loved that she relaxed into his touch, like they brought with them some sort of security. She smiled and looked up at him, giving him a quick kiss. Jane deepened the kiss before she could end it, coaxing her lips open so he could taste her. This kiss was gentle and sweet, unlike the kiss they shared in the elevator which had left them both panting and wanting more. This was nice, domestic even.

"What do you say we take a dip in the hot tub?" Jane whispered against her lips.

"We have dinner reservations at the hotel restaurant" Lisbon said, pulling her lips away but staying in his embrace. She liked being held in Jane's arms, the way he held her made her feel safe, protected. It was insane; she was the one with the gun after all! But against all reason she felt safe in his arms, she felt happy with him beside her, she felt loved. Jane was very good at this, pretending to be her husband. Lisbon sighed at that thought; he had been married before, of course he was good at this.

"I'm not that hungry right now. Are you?" Jane said huskily. He just wanted to feel her near him, to hold her and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. He had forgotten how good it felt to hold a woman in his arms, but this wasn't just any woman, this was Lisbon and he wanted to protect her from the world, from their pasts and from their future. But presently, he just wanted to show her how much he loved her and what better place to do it than in a heart-shaped hot tub?

"We have to go, come on and get dressed into something more appropriate for dinner, honey. Then after we're no longer hungry for food, how about we feed this other hunger?" Lisbon said suggestively. She pulled him close so that she could feel her effect on him and so that he knew what she was talking about. They weren't sure if the killer had surveillance set up so Gray's team had set up their own just in case. They'd wanted to be able to react as soon as the killer made his appearance.

"Alright then, I guess I could live with that." Jane said. He grinned and then pulled Lisbon in for another kiss, showing his anticipation for what she'd promised. Of course, he knew that they wouldn't actually be doing to help his hunger for her, they would actually worsen it. He hoped that he could hold out until after the mission was over, he knew that Lisbon wouldn't appreciate him jumping her bones, she had made that clear when they first got the assignment.

"Well let's get ready before we miss our reservation." Lisbon said with a smile. She walked over to the chest of drawers and pulled out a satin dress. It was a beautiful shade of green that matched her eyes perfectly, and had halter neckline that dipped a little lower than she would have liked. Lisbon repressed her urge to run into the washroom to change. After all, married couples didn't feel the need to cover themselves in front of their partner. So Lisbon started to undress, unaware of Jane's eyes on her.

Jane found that he couldn't look away as Lisbon arched her back to rid herself of her shirt. The movement revealed her creamy skin that was as smooth as Jane had always imagined. He could stop his legs from carrying him closer to her until he was right behind her.

"Let me help you with that" Jane whispered. She tensed at the feel of his breath against her bare shoulder; it sent shivers all over her body. Despite this, she allowed him to finish removing her shirt, and then gently glide his hands back down her sides in order to help her out of her pants. When his hands undid the button on her pants with a flick of his wrist, she couldn't suppress a moan.

"All in due time my dear." Jane said in response to her moan. "We do have reservations after all." He quickly rid her of her pants as well, running his hands down the sides of her toned legs. He then pulled her dress over her head and did the zipper up. He gave her a kiss on her neck where it met her shoulder and then proceeded to dig out his suit.

xxxx

Jane and Lisbon were seated on the patio where a nice summer breeze was tickling their arms. Jane had ordered for them both, knowing exactly what on the menu had caught Lisbon's eye. Lisbon was slightly annoyed by this; did he have to read her like a book? But she didn't show it and in the end, she thought that it was kind of nice that he knew her well enough to be able to do so.

"You're so cute when you're having an internal debate." Jane said, smiling lovingly at her.

"How'd you know…?" Lisbon asked.

"I always know what you're thinking, darling." Jane said with a triumphant smile.

"Oh? And what, exactly, am I thinking right now?" Lisbon said with a teasing grin.

"You're thinking that you wish the food would come faster so that dinner will be over faster, allowing us to return to our room to engage in other, more exciting activities that include…" Jane began.

"Alright! That's enough for the dinner table I think." Lisbon said, embarrassed. She had been thinking that, but she hadn't expected Jane to recite her thoughts for everyone to hear, especially not those thoughts. He didn't think he could just say that and get away with it, did he? Well if he did, he was in for a big surprise. Lisbon decided that if he was going to make her uncomfortable, she would return the favour.

"Teresa, my dear, if you think that you can hide your thoughts from me, you are sorely mistaken. I thought that you would have understood that by know." Jane said with a cheeky grin. "But don't worry, the benefits of this far outweigh the cons."

"Patrick, you know what I think?" Lisbon said in that teasing tone of hers.

"What, my dear?" Jane said, curious as to what was amusing her so.

"I think that you are just saying that because you can't take your hands off me" Lisbon said with a pointed stare at his hand over hers. "So you want me to think that it's all my idea, when in actuality, I just want the food to come faster because I'm hungry. It's not my fault you have difficulty controlling your thoughts around me"

This statement took Jane aback. He was surprised at her boldness to suggest such a thing. If only she knew how true it was, he could never fully control his thoughts around her and often teased Lisbon to deflect the attention from him so as to avoid her notice. But, apparently he was not as successful as he once thought. He would have to work on that.

"My, my, Patrick, I never thought I'd see the day when you were rendered speechless." Lisbon said with a grin. She had won this round and she knew it.

Their food came shortly after and they enjoyed their meal in the quiet summer breeze. They talked about everything and nothing. They exchanged stories of their childhood, of the happier times that they remembered. Since Agent Gray's team didn't come up with a story for their childhoods, they saw no harm in discussing their real ones.

Their meals were delicious and when they were finished, their hunger was completely satisfied. They returned to their room after dinner and both Jane and Lisbon were nervous about their upcoming performance. They couldn't get distracted or else they might mess it all up, and no one wanted to face Hightower's wrath if they did.

It was Lisbon who made the first move. As soon as they were in their room, she pushed Jane against the wall. Before he could say anything, she surrounded his lips with hers in a loving embrace. She soon deepened the kiss, sucking his lips into her mouth. They moved their lips in sweet rhythm; they didn't want this to end. Lisbon then tugged his lower lip between her teeth, teasing him to no end.

Lisbon suddenly pulled away and started to walk away, throwing a triumphant smile over her shoulder. She had left him in need of more, uncomfortable in her absence. She thought this was a fair payback for his behaviour at the beginning of dinner.

Jane however, had different ideas. He was helplessly turned on and he was going to make her suffer with him. They both knew that they wouldn't be getting their sweet release tonight. He caught up to her and backed her up against the bed, taking control of her lips once again. He was capturing her lips again and again and she was helpless to resist, not that she even wanted to.

He trailed his hands up her legs, taking her dress with him. He pulled it over her head as she was hurriedly undoing his shirt. He caressed her soft skin as they rid each other of the barriers between them.

They spent their night moving against each other in all the places but the one they desired most, whispering empty promises of a happy ending.

So, what do you think? Do I need to change the rating? I'm still unsure of the lines between ratings so let me know if I've crossed them! :D As always, your opinion matters so please, please, please review :D