Academic curiosity

A.N. Sorry for the delay. I originally wrote one extremely long chapter, but I've decided that it was too long and have cut it in half. I hope the ending of this artificial entry is not too dissatisfying—it will conclude properly (the chapter, that is. The story ending is a fair way off)! Sexy stuff ahead etc. etc.


The pair were lying side by side on the bed. "Can I ask you something?", said Cameron, looking up at the ceiling.

"Given what you just did for me, I'll allow it. But if you're thinking of trading sexual favours for questions…then I'm totally on board", replied House, who had closed his eyes for a few moments.

She snorted but carried on with her question. "What's the deal with you and Cuddy?".

"What do you mean?".

Cameron tried to think how to frame the question without sounding jealous. "Like, what's the deal? It's just that sometimes I feel there's crazy sexual tension between the two of you".

House's hand slipped to his side and took hold of the other's. "Well, sure, but I can't control my raw erotic charm".

"I'm serious, House".

"OK, OK. I suppose that's a fair assessment. But if you're going off sexual tension alone, then I'd say we have that base covered ourselves. Most of the last two years were spent eye-sexing with you".

"I can agree there, but still". Cameron sighed, though she was committed now. "I guess I feel that given your chemistry you'd happily go for her if I was out of the picture".

"Why would you think that?", asked House, genuinely curious.

"Come on". She turned to face him. "You go way back, you have so much in common, plus she's really hot and successful professionally". As she listed off these qualities her face fell a little, the reality of her apparent failings relative to their boss hitting home.

"Everything you say is true, Cameron. But you're forgetting one thing".

"What's that?", she asked, even more self-conscious now that he had agreed with everything she'd said.

House turned his face towards the other. "Cuddy isn't you".

"No, she's better than me in every way", she replied, hating herself for her insecurity.

"Listen. Cuddy's great; she's one of my best friends, and I've known her since college. But because I've known her that long, she's more like a sister, maybe even an aunt". House brushed a thumb against her cheek. "But more importantly, when I see her, I don't feel a rush; I don't feel excited; I don't feel aroused. When I see you, I feel all these things. You've no idea how many times I've wanted to rip your white coat off, throw you on to the conference table, and…well, you get the picture". Cameron's gaze flickered, but she remained silent as he continued: "yet for all that physical stuff, I also feel excited about seeing where this can go. It's a sea of possibility that we can sail together. And that's the truth".

"OK, House. If you care enough to use 'sea of possibility' in a sentence, then I'll accept your explanation at face value". Cameron kissed his hand and held it against her cheek, delighted that he seemed also to be open to a long-term relationship.

House smirked. "Now that that's sorted, I want to ask you something".

"Go ahead", she smiled.

"I want you to tell me exactly why you think Cuddy is hotter than you". House's eyes were darkening and his voice had deepened.

Cameron noticed the subtle change in his expression and tone. She swallowed. "I didn't say she was hotter than me. I just said she was really hot".

"What, are you a lawyer? The implication was that you compared yourself to her. I'd like to hear a few of these comparisons".

"Why?".

"Call it academic curiosity". House propped up on an elbow and levelled his gaze at the other, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Cameron could feel her face blush and her heart beat faster. He was looking at her hungrily again; his mouth was open slightly, and she could make out the creases at the corner of his eyes and the veins in his neck. House was back in charge: he was the predator and she was the prey. She moistened her lips a little. "I suppose I wish I had her tan. I think my skin is too pale". The statement emerged in a voice suddenly thick with increasing excitement. It no longer surprised her that House could turn her on so quickly. With him, it seemed, she was resigned to being especially sensitive.

House dipped his head and kissed her jaw, then her neck, then the area between her breasts. After this he moved downwards, shifting into a more comfortable position over the other, planting kisses on her stomach before circling the well of her belly button with his tongue. "This skin, you mean?", he murmured, looking up her body.

"Yes", she whispered, glancing down to meet his eyes over the rise and fall of her chest, closing her eyes briefly at the scratch of his stubble. House's hand slipped to rest flat against her stomach.

"Hmm. Well, I'm no dermatologist, Cameron…", he began, before kissing right to the edge of the black laced underwear, "but I think…", he continued, carefully avoiding her panties, but continuing to kiss from just under the seam, along her inner thigh to her knee, while his hand roamed down the other leg, "…that your skin is perfect just the way it is". As he spoke, he could see the tiny hairs stand on end. "What other comparisons do you have?", he asked, sliding back up her body but, once again, purposely avoiding brushing against her groin or her breasts.

"I..I wish I had Cuddy's full, jet black hair. Mine is too plain", Cameron muttered, feeling her heart thud in her ears. House manoeuvred up so that his face was millimetres away, his shocking blue eyes boring into her own. But before she could even think about kissing him, he winked, and moved up to brush his lips against her forehead, before travelling to her ear, which he took in his teeth for a moment.

Cameron exhaled and moved to grasp his length reflexively, but he took her hand in his and placed it to the side. "Not yet", he growled, burying his face in her hair, breathing deeply, while a hand travelled up and entwined itself in the long brown locks that lay fanned around the pillow. "Again, I'm no expert, but I know enough to say that every time your chocolate hair shimmers in the light, it takes my breath away, Cameron. Though I imagine it would do that whatever colour it was, if that's what you fear. Anything else?".

"I wish…", Cameron began, noticing that House's hand rested just on the waistband of her thong. If he slipped down a little more, he'd find her to be wet already. God, he's barely touching you. "I wish…".

"Don't be shy", he breathed, brushing against her lips, before nicking her chin delicately. "Tell me. Let me put your mind at ease".

"Sometimes I wish I had her breasts. I think mine…are too small". She blushed, whether out of embarrassment or arousal she couldn't tell.

"Hmm", rumbled House. "There's no embarrassment within these walls, Cameron. I've shown you my leg, the one part of my body I'm most self-conscious about. If we're going to be together, we have to commit fully; we have to be honest. Do you agree?".

"Yes", she whispered. It was typical of House to banish her insecurity in a way that heightened rather than dampened the mood.

"Good. Now, seeing as you confided your fantasy in me earlier, I feel it's only fair that I confide one in you". House moved so that he rested over her body, using his arms as support. "You mentioned earlier that you thought Cuddy and I had a lot in common. As it happens, though, we have something in common. Like you, I've often dreamt of us fucking, as you put it, 'in various positions in various places'; and, like you, one of my fantasies is specific. Would you like to hear it?".

Cameron nodded, filling her eyes with his rugged features.

"One of our earliest cases together, there was a young guy with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis…".

Adrenaline flushed through her system as she realised what he was about to say.

"…I don't normally remember individual cases that we solve, only the ones that we fail to solve. But this one success is burned into my brain, not because of the medicine, but because of you". At this, House once more began to move down her body, speaking against her skin. "I remember you had on a black blouse, a blue cardigan, and this necklace". House snagged the silver chain in his teeth, pinching her skin a little. "You said just now that our monster trucks evening was the trigger. But for me, this outfit was the trigger. It's when I discovered something", he edged further down.

"What?", Cameron breathed, running a hand through his hair.

"It's when I discovered that I was going to be in trouble with you, firstly; and secondly, when I discovered that I just had to have these breasts, which you seem not to like, in my mouth".

"House…".

"Cameron, I know I said I was going to taste you, but the truth is I can't wait much longer". He lifted his head up and winked at her. "I'm gonna have to give you a partial chest examination for now then, if the first course of treatment is successful, move on to a full body workup next time. Deal?".

"Deal", she sighed softly, bringing her other hand to rest in his hair, anticipating his attention.

"Then I suggest you lie back and relax".

With this, House drew his tongue from the necklace down her upper chest, leaving a trail of saliva in his wake. Cameron shivered a little as it dried, though it was more to do with the thrill of anticipation than the cold. He made slow progress, passing through the valley between her breasts with one continuous movement, allowing his stubble to catch against her skin but as yet not touching anything else. His hands remained planted on the bed either side. His tongue stopped midway towards her navel and lifted, before running horizontally across the breadth of her ribcage.

Cameron did nothing except close her eyes and keep a hand loosely entwined in his hair.

Having marked out his area of focus, House moved back up her body. "I can taste coconut".

"Yes". She cleared her throat. "Coconut cream. My shower gel".

"Yummy".

Cameron didn't say anything further, and she tilted her head up to watch under hooded lashes as House once more licked with the flat of his tongue down from her neck, over the silver chain. Rather than continue towards her navel like before, he veered to one side and this time used just the tip of his tongue to caress the pale flesh of her right breast, intentionally keeping the contact feather-light, and avoiding the peak of her nipple.

Once the area was slick with saliva he moved over to the other breast, again ignoring the hard pink nub. His hands hadn't moved from the side of the bed. Cameron's chest rose and fell, and she kept her own hand on his head, allowing him time to complete his explorations, forcing herself not to rush. Her other dropped to the side and rested over House's, which rested flat against the bed.

"Very nice", House whispered. "Are we done, then?".

She met his eyes but didn't answer, aware that he was playing a game.

House smirked and made as if to pull his head up, but she held him against her chest with her hand. "What's wrong?", he asked innocently.

Again, she refused to engage, in case any word she uttered might disrupt the fog of anticipation.

"Oh, I seemed to have missed a couple of spots. Careless. I'll try again, shall I?".

Cameron sighed softly, realising that her observation from earlier in the evening was proving accurate. House was playing her like a piano. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

For a third time, House drew his tongue down to her right breast, but now he used the flat of his tongue to lap firmly up to her nipple, which had remained defiantly dry throughout the course of his attentions. Meanwhile his right hand slipped to her stomach and edged upwards. He then used the tip of his tongue to trace around the circumference, still avoiding direct contact.

Cameron attempted to shift herself so that his tongue hit her nipple, which stood out like a pencil eraser, but he held her firmly in place with his hands and a growled "no". As punishment, he abandoned the area immediately and began licking along the underside of her breast, before moving once again to the other and repeating the treatment.

She glanced down, observing how House's eyes danced with mischief. She suspected that her eyes betrayed a desperation provoked by a looming, yet so far denied, anticipation. This man has me in his power, and I love it.

House smiled against her skin. Perhaps it was time to stop the game—he didn't want to torture her too much. He returned for a final time to the only part of her chest which was still dry. Once more he glanced up her body and saw how Cameron had propped up a little to look at him. Her green eyes were hooded and dark, and her mouth was open in shallow breaths. Despite himself, he swallowed. Then, with a grin, he engulfed a breast in his mouth, flicking her rock hard nub with rapid tongue movements.

At this, Cameron sank back into the pillow with a groan, forcing his head against her chest with a hand entwined in his hair. While he feasted on one breast, his hand travelled up her belly and groped the other, pulling lightly on a nipple. "Fuck", she whispered.

"Yes, I think it's nearly time", he replied, using his teeth to softly nibble and bite each peak, and his lips to create a vacuum; mixing hard consistent pressure with periods of light tongue brushes. Cameron squirmed beneath him, forcing his mouth harder against her flesh. House took this as his cue and began to apply little bites to her nipples, being careful to let her movements guide him. If her hand in his hair pushed down, he applied more pressure; but if she pulled softly upwards, he at once returned to using the flat and tip of his tongue and the cushion of his lips and gums.

They remained like this for some time, Cameron manipulating the other, using him to caress herself the way she liked, allowing herself to reach the delicious threshold between sharp arousal and soft pain, pulling back if it got too much, before going again. After some time on her chest, his free hand edged downwards and began to caress her through her thong. The fabric was already wet, and House growled against her skin. He could wait no longer, and, with a final flick, he headed lower, kissing in a straight line to her navel.

Cameron's breathing, which had been deep and regular as she had focused on enjoying his attention, shallowed out as she glanced down and tracked his progress southwards.

House was so close to where she needed him to be.