Author's Note: Thank you very much for all the reviews and messages (I really need to take the time to reply to your PMs... So sorry for the delay!)

Chapter Twenty-Three

The kisses had shortened at the same time as their respective breathing while the movements of their hips had abandoned themselves to a staccato and tantalizing pace.

Maura smiled as she felt Jane's moist lips brush her neck with a feather kiss. The house was quiet except for Jane's sighs, and the stifled moans that died in her throat as soon as Maura's fingers sped up slightly.

"Look at me."

Maura's husky voice hit the air and filled the bathroom for brief seconds. Suddenly. It swept away the silence of the night with sensuality. She wanted to look at Jane, to look into her dark eyes as her friend straddled her and matched the pace of her fingers between her legs.

Jane's hand tightened on Maura's shoulder. She swallowed hard and finally looked up. They both knew this game way too well for they had played it more times than they could remember. It was a favorite. Maura found it to be very arousing to say the least. Her competitive spirit usually matched Jane's until the last seconds when one of them finally abdicated to their orgasm.

Jane arched her back which caused small waves to form in their bath. The water brushed Maura's lower back like a feather touch.

A late-night bath. Perhaps the suggestion had never been really innocent but they both needed it after the dinner they had shared with Lucy.

They had openly talked about their relationship with someone for the very first time. The conversation had brought a well needed relief to them but life was still just as stressful. They were only at the beginning of something new. Many questions remained unanswered, and these questions led to a thousand doubts.

A low and hoarse laugh passed Maura's lips as Jane sped up the pace of her fingers between her legs. She perfectly knew what her partner was trying to do. As a matter of fact, it was even the whole point of their game: make sure the other would come first.

"You won't win this time."

Maura shook her head. She could say that Jane was closer to her orgasm but the way she now looked at her, with this stubborn defiance in her eyes, drove Maura on the edge. Perhaps she wouldn't last any longer.

The tip of her tongue followed an invisible path along Jane's shoulder collar. Until her throat.

Then she headed down towards Jane's breasts while her free hand held her friend's lower back for balance. Jane's body was hot and damp. Sensual at its best. Maura swallowed hard and tried to focus on the pace of her fingers instead of the pace of Jane's.

This game was a torture. A sweet, delicate torture.

"Gosh." Jane bit her lower lip as Maura's lips reached her nipples. "You're cheatin'..." She subconsciously sped up the pace of her hips and pelvis. Her fingers brushed Maura's in the process. "I'll still win."

Maura shook her head but she decided to remain quiet, too afraid of losing control if she ever opened her mouth to speak. She could feel her orgasm build in her lower stomach. Quietly. How her body was ready for the powerful wave of warmth that would rush from her feet to her head soon enough.

Jane was just as close.

"C'mon... Let it go."

Maura's hand plunged in the water to caress Jane's buttocks. It was only fair since Jane had now begun to massage her breasts.

"Nope."

Maura's voice had never been so low, so husky. She pushed Jane towards her with her knee and sped up the pace of her ministrations again. She couldn't hold it any longer. She was panting loud now. Too loud.

Their respective orgasms hit them with a rare synchronicity. Neither of them usually really looked for such timing. What was happening now was a pure coincidence, one of these moments you can't control. They shivered in each other's arms as a gasp of pleasure slid on their lips and the frenzy of their movements reached its peak.

They froze, at the mercy of powerful feelings.

They would need time to catch their breath back, to feel the heat of their intertwined bodies in the water and to finally go separate ways if only to get out of the tub. Much later.

...

"Oh. I didn't know you were spending the night here."

Jane's blood turned icy in her veins as her mother's voice rose loudly in the kitchen. She jumped and closed the door of the fridge immediately.

She hadn't heard anyone come in. Her mother's presence in the kitchen was completely unexpected.

Jane had gone back downstairs to pick up two bottles of water. She and Maura were thirsty, even more after their private bath tub session. Still on the edge after her orgasm, Jane hadn't assumed that she would come across her mother. Even less at this time of the night. It was quite late, actually.

"Ahem... Yes, I am." Jane looked down at her bare attire. She was wearing a shirt and a pair of boxers. It wasn't very appropriate, even less when spending the night at a friend's. "I had more than a glass of wine so I couldn't drive back home after dinner."

Something was off. Under other circumstances, Jane would have begun to speak about Maine, about the little town she and Maura had stayed at. But the current context was such that she had to force the words out.

"Thank you for the vase."

The fact Angela kept her distance intrigued Jane too. Her mother should have taken her in her arms for a hug already. That was how it worked when Jane came back to Boston after a few days out of town. Yet Angela still had to move an inch.

"Mau-... I'm not the one who chose it... But we thought you'd like it. I'm glad you do."

Pronouncing Maura's name was too hard for Jane. She was afraid her mother would understand if she ever began to talk about her friend. Her partner. The person who had made her come fifteen minutes earlier in the bath tub upstairs.

She blushed as a timid we slid on her lips.

"Well, I like it a lot. Thank you for bringing me something from Maine. I'm glad you and Maura had... Had a lovely time there. I won't bother you any longer. I just stopped by to get some ice. It's hot in the guesthouse."

Within a minute, Angela had packed the ice she needed and she had left after wishing Jane goodnight.

Confused by the quietness her mother had showed, Jane turned around and walked upstairs to the master bedroom. She closed the door behind her and held out a bottle to Maura.

"Are you alright? You're a bit pale, Jane."

Jane sat on the edge of the bed. She took a sip of water then gave Maura a shrug. She didn't know what to say. She was physically fine but her emotions were all over the place. However it was something way too hard to say, especially after a love making session.

"I saw ma' downstairs. She took ice with her... 'Cause it's hot in the guesthouse."

Maura got tense. Her hand froze on Jane's back after travelling up and down at a comforting pace. She cleared her voice and forced herself to smile even if Jane had turned her back at her and she couldn't see her face.

"What did you tell her? What did she tell you?"

Jane took a deep breath. She needed to find the courage to face Maura. In bed. The moment couldn't be more awkward. She settled next to her partner then stared straight in front of her. Her answer would be dull because the semblance of conversation she had just had with her mother had been dull. Awfully random, and terribly awkward.

For a reason she couldn't explain.

Her very own hesitation made sense but her mother's timidity and the ounce of sadness that had showed in her voice didn't. Jane didn't know what to do with the whole thing. As a matter of fact, she felt like panicking right now.

"She thanked me for the vase... She told me she's glad we had fun in Maine and then... And then goodnight."

"That's sweet."

"Yeah it is."

Jane sank in bed. She rolled on her side and looked into Maura's eyes. Her partner's remark was fair. More than fair.

Perhaps Jane was seeing things where there was nothing to see. The decision she and Maura had taken on their way back to Massachusetts was big and it probably had an impact on her perception of things that she hadn't thought about at first.

At least sex with Maura was still alike. The intimacy between the two of them was strong, sensual and arousing. There was a permanent sexual tension that floated above their heads. The frenzy in the bath tub had reassured Jane. She had finally found a reference into this new chapter she and Maura were about to write together.

Yet sex couldn't be the only link between the two of them.

A bit uncertain, she cuddled against Maura and planted a kiss on her partner's temple. Maura slid a leg between Jane's and rested her head against her shoulder.

They needed this quietness. Together.