Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews (there is one chapter left; or two).

Chapter Fifteen

"Is she coming?"

Jane paused – blinked – then rolled her eyes as she realized who Maura was talking about. They hadn't really talked about Liv Mayer since their argument. As a matter of fact, they had simply pretended to turn the page over whatever had happened but what had seemed to be a good idea at the time was now turning into an issue they would obviously need to talk about. And the sooner the better.

"It's a BPD party, Maura... Of course, she's coming." Jane straightened up and took a deep breath. She wasn't in the mood to argue. "Her husband is coming too." Jane smiled.

The extra detail didn't seem to satisfy Maura the slightest bit. She pursed her lips and shrugged before looking at a stack of papers that she had previously left on her bedside table. She needed to read most of these articles tonight. It couldn't wait. The case they would study tomorrow in Newport was connected to these limnologic essays. She needed to prepare herself for it.

"It bothers me that you get along with her."

Because the only woman Jane should have enjoyed spending some time with was herself yet Maura didn't dare to say it out loud. It would have sounded way too territorial. And stupid. What kind of person prevented her partner from having friends?

"We just work together, you know... Yeah sometimes she joins us for a drink at the Dirty Robber but so do Frost and Korsak. Maura..." Jane's hoarse tone of voice vanished in a semblance of painful whisper. "It's not every day I get to work with a nice woman at the BPD. There's no competition between us unlike with some other female cops and... I don't know. It's good to not be the only woman around; especially when you're not here to counterbalance the whole thing. You know how it is to work here. Liv... We're just colleagues who get along."

Jane's point was fair, Maura couldn't but admit it. She knew that – as much as she didn't complain – Jane still had a hard time working in such a male environment once in a while. The psychologist's presence must have been relieving. Besides it wasn't Jane's type to literally jump on the first person who showed up. Even less a woman.

The fact they were now together didn't make of her some sort of a womanizer. As a matter of fact, she didn't even seem to be attracted to any other woman around.

"Why did you kiss me? At the airport, at Logan International. Why did you do this?"

The question hit the air rather sharply. It took them both aback. Maura hadn't really thought about alluding to it ever again; so let alone tonight. She was tired and didn't want to spend much time analyzing the wanders of her heart.

"I don't know. I guess it seemed the right thing to do at the time. I just... I didn't really think much by then. It just happened. It felt natural. Like... You know, a normal gesture. The one I was supposed to go for."

Disarmed, Jane looked down at the keyboard of her computer and waited for a reply. She still didn't manage to find an explanation to this kiss but her obsessional quest of some truth regarding it had now vanished.

Perhaps it had simply been a subconscious desire. As a matter of fact, the current situation – the relationship she had with Maura – seemed to go on this direction.

"I'm glad you did because... Because it felt right."

Maura's smile embraced her softly murmured reply. She locked her eyes with Jane's then nodded with determination. It had felt right. Everything felt right when she was with Jane.

...

"Hey..."

Maura's voice slid on her ear in the sweetest way ever. Shivering at the whisper, Jane opened her eyes and rolled on her side. She squinted her eyes in the dark. Maura was standing there, all smile. Confusion embraced Jane's face.

"What are you doing here?"

Maura still had a week to spend in Oregon. She had absolutely no reason to already be in Boston. Besides, what kind of flight allowed her to make it to Beacon Hill in the middle of the night? Taken aback, Jane went to turn the light on but Maura prevented her from doing so. Her hand brushed Jane's wrist – furtively – before she captured her lips for a kiss.

They had all the time in the world to speak. Jane didn't insist. What for, anyway? Finding back the heat of Maura's arms around hers had suddenly changed her priorities.

She helped her partner take off her raincoat then smiled in their kiss as she felt Maura pass on top of her. The urge of their caresses echoed the frenzy of their lips against each other's skin. The rustling of the sheet - clothes being taken off - resounded loudly in the electric silence of the bedroom.

Jane closed her eyes as a deep satisfaction started filling her. She took a deep breath. Maura seemed rather determined to lead the whole dance and – truth to be told – Jane was perfectly fine with it.

She was still a bit sleepy besides, hanging between two dreams.

"I've missed you..."

The words barely had time to pass her lips as a sigh swept them away immediately. The path of kisses Maura was tracing down her neck was a lot more arousing than what Jane had assumed it to be. She needed to focus and calm down her heartbeats if she wanted to last more than two minutes.

Succumbing to the delicate – feathered – ministrations, Jane plunged a hand in Maura's blond curls and arched her back to pull her lover even closer to her body.

Maura's hands had already reached her stomach, her fingertips brushing the flesh with a mischievousness barely hidden. It didn't take her long to get rid of Jane's tank top but the sudden pause had nonetheless been too much for her mouth that eagerly found back the shivering skin of Jane's breasts.

The touch – unexpected yet desperately wanted – made Jane gasp. They had made love in a sweeter way when in Oregon. This time, a blatant eagerness caused Maura to be a lot more direct. It was arousing and drove Jane on the edge.

The cotton fabric of her hipsters slid down her legs and – before she had a chance to catch back her breath – Jane felt Maura's lips dangerously going up her inner thighs while her hands kept a firm hold on her hips.

They had barely exchanged two words – as a matter of fact, Maura had only pronounced one – but Jane couldn't care less. As a matter of fact, the lack of conversation emphasized the sensuality of their carnal purposes. She found it arousing, terribly arousing.

She froze as soon as the tip of Maura's tongue brushed her flesh – just there – between her legs. Unable to say the slightest thing, Jane bit her lower lip and abandoned herself to the pleasure of the caresses.

She was fully awake now. Her half-asleep state had been swept away by the sensations stirred up by Maura's tongue and the way her fingertips kept on playing with the shivering skin of her hips.

The absence of light seemed to create a degree of intimacy that Jane appreciated. She had got used to the dark by now anyway and the moon pierced through the windows of the bedroom.

Maura's bedroom.

She had spent all her nights there since she had come back from Oregon. She needed it as if she could feed herself of the ghost of Maura's presence that kept on wandering there. The room carried her smell, every single detail belonged with her.

The pace of her heartbeats kept on increasing, following the staccato movements of her pelvis. She had lost control of her body a long time ago. Maura's lips – her hands – had shut down Jane's brain rather suddenly.

Jane's reactions were instinctive, almost primary. She had no hold whatsoever over the way her body got tense under a more evident caress, a more direct touch. The only thing she knew was that her orgasm kept on building in her lower stomach and that it wouldn't take her long to reach this point of no-return if Maura didn't slow down a bit.

And it wouldn't happen, Jane could sense it.

The palm of Maura's right hand began to travel up Jane's hip. It slid on her lower stomach – brushed her side – before cupping her breast with a sweet authority. Combined to a change of pace between her legs, Jane held her breath and tried to refrain what was now irreversible though.

She held it one second barely before it rushed through her veins – through her whole body – in a powerful and burning wave that made her shake immediately. Words died in her throat, swallowed back by a gasp. She froze again; her back arched.

3am.

Breathless – still aroused by her dream – Jane barely cast a glance at the alarm o'clock in the dark before rolling on her back. It was the second night in a row that she had such a dream, that her subconscious took her to Maura's arms for a whirl of exhilarating feelings.

The second night in a row as well that she woke up alone in bed.

She ran a hand through her hair and – still breathless – swallowed hard. She didn't want to get up to have a glass of water or even splash some on her face. She wanted to stay in bed and enjoy this state of lethargy that the hormones released by her brain kept on producing.

It was sweet, hypnotizing.

A blue light rose from the bedside table along with a sound of vibration. Someone had sent her a text message. Still at the mercy of a numb state, Jane rolled on her side and grabbed the device. It was Maura's.

I'm thinking about you, tonight.

I wish you could be in my arms.

Maura

Jane bit her lips and hesitated for a couple of seconds before sending her a reply.

You're the only person I have in mind. All the time.

I miss you so much...

Jane