The Glens on the Islay
A/N: This chapter contains scenes of a sexual nature. Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, I have a collection of one shots published (which I will continue to add to) called 'A Collection of Bones'.
The ferry from Portavadie to Tarbert only took 25 minutes but the water wasn't choppy enough to affect the sailing and they found a small cafe overlooking the harbour to have lunch. 'The Mariner' was warm and cosy with an open fire blazing and two ladies in their 60s buzzing around Booth and Brennan like they were the first visitors they'd had in years.
"We don't get a lot of tourists, this time of year!" One of the ladies who had introduced herself as Agnes twittered joyfully. "Honeymooners by the look of you!"
"Oh, we aren't married." Brennan corrected as she handed Agnes her coat to hang on the hooks next to the fireplace.
"Ah but there's a newness coming from both of ye" Agnes waved her finger "Somethin' undiscovered."
"Agnes! Take yer third eye away and stop botherin' these two" This other woman had a more commanding presence, even from behind the counter where she was setting out cups and saucers.
Agnes rolled her eyes and leaned conspiratorially "Betty was never a believer, even when I told her she was havin' twins before she was even showin'! Now, let me guess … coffee for the gentleman and hot chocolate for the lady?"
Booth looked at Bones and shrugged, Bones nodded and shrugged back. "That's a good guess."
"I knew it!" Agenes grinned at him and walked behind the counter while Betty came over with a one page menu.
"Today's soup is lentil and tomato, we've run out of link sausages, there's only lorne left but plenty of tattie scones and bacon."
As the only two customers sitting in, Booth and Brennan had the undivided attention of Agnes and Betty until a group of men in waders and thick sweaters came in to get food to take away. Brennan watched, fascinated as their broad accents made it difficult to understand anything bar a word or two.
"Do the accents get less like English the further north you go?" Booth whispered to her.
"Scots is a language all on its own, first recorded in 600AD, it has Germanic, Latin, Gaelic and Scandinavian influences." Bones' eyes twinkled in excitement as she put to use everything she had learned about Scotland over the years. "I think it's very accommodating for them to revert to an Anglicised dialect when they speak to us."
Booth listened for a few beats more "Well, they kind of have to if they want us to understand them."
"Usually, the onus for learning the local language is on the tourist. It's odd that it isn't the case here, unlike in Guatemala or India … even in Spain and France I've heard that small villages and towns often struggle with visitors who don't speak a little of their language."
Booth reached over the table and held Bones hand lightly in his own "I guess Scotland is just special, I mean we've only been here 24 hours and it feels damn special to me."
Betty came over to the table with the bill and Booth took out his credit card and extended it towards her, she looked at him oddly and muttered about being back in a wee second. She brought a card reader over to the table and held it out to him.
"Umm …" Booth looked at Bones.
"Chip n' PIN." Betty gestured to the card reader. "You put your card in the wee slot here and put your PIN in to pay."
"We … we don't have that in the States … usually they take my card and bring me back a receipt to sign …" Booth's eyes went between Betty and Bones like he was watching a tennis match. "Let's just do cash!"
Betty smiled and took the £20 note that he held out to her. Booth was still turning his credit card over in his hands when she brought back his change.
"Some places still have the wee bit you can swipe yer card, we got rid of ours last year." She shrugged.
"Betty" Brennan took her credit card out "How do you know if a card has the chip and PIN ability?"
Betty looked at both cards and turned them over to look at the magnetic strip on the back before going back behind the counter and coming back with a purse. She took a pocketbook out and removed a card placing it next to theirs.
"See the wee silver rectangle?" They nodded at her. "That's the chip, you put that side of the card into the machine and it asks for your PIN to pay. There was a big to do about it - all cards had to have a chip by 2006, it was on the telly and everything!"
"I can't believe a cafe in a village in Scotland has better payment technology than Macy's in New York City." Brennan shook her head in bewilderment. "I imagine it's a much more secure system than we have in the states, the anti-fraud systems we have are positively primitive compared to this."
"So if we want to pay by physical card rather than pre-pay online, we need to ask if they have a swipe machine?" Booth asked Betty and she nodded.
"You have been incredibly helpful, Betty. Thank you so much!"
#
Booth was still ranting about not having a chip in his credit card by the time they got to Kennacraig. "It's 2008 and the diner in our Nation's capital is still taking my card away to the register and asking me to sign a strip of paper but Agnes and Betty in the Scottish version of the boondocks are living in like … 2020 or something!"
"It's probably because the UK has a smaller population and it's easier to roll out major technological changes, I'm sure it takes a massive amount of planning and logistics to enforce change like that and we'll get there eventually. Getting 60 million people over 95,000 square miles to do something is quicker and easier than getting 300 million people over 3 million square miles to do something."
Booth just grunted. "How long is this boat ride?"
"Over 2 hours, this vessel has a cafe, a bar and lounges to spend time in so we can get out of the car and stretch our legs."
"Maybe find a quiet corner and make out?" Booth grinned at her.
"I'm unsure of the public indecency laws in Scotland, so we should belay making out on transportation routes until we're well versed on what actions to avoid." Bones nibbled at the sea salt and black pepper chips she had bought earlier.
"I'm not talking about screwing you against the bulkhead, Bones. Just a little … okay, a lot of kissing." Booth shrugged.
"You would screw me against the bulkhead?" Bones blinked at him.
"I will make love to you anywhere you want, baby." Booth cleared his throat "But not for our first time … we shouldn't talk about that, right now. Let's just get to Islay, get in our room and … let things happen."
"I apologise, I know talking about sex makes you uncomfortable. Are you looking forward to visiting all nine distilleries on Islay?"
"The only discomfort I get from talking about sex around you is in my pants, Bones! We're not visiting all nine on the same day are we … cuz that's a lot of whisky!"
Brennan chuckled and explained that she had hired a local to drive them around the distilleries over the next two and a half days - when she had contacted Mr Glendinning about hiring his cottage annexe they had exchanged a number of emails where she agreed a very fair price, in her opinion, for him to supply accommodation, stock it with enough food for their stay and chauffeur them to the distilleries that were outwith walking distance. She had also contacted the Ardbeg and Lagavulin distillers to arrange shorter tours with tasting outside their usual opening hours. Everyone she had contacted about their tour around the country had been more than happy to acquiesce to her requests, not only because the tourist season was over but due to her notoriety in the literary world.
#
Despite Booth's concerns about how he would handle longer sailings in rougher waters, he was fine. It was far too cold to walk the outside decks but they found comfortable chairs in the onboard cafe and tried not to notice their coffee sloshing from side to side in the cups. Due to the winter timetable, the ferry was busy because there were less sailings, and there were no dark, uninhabited corners for Booth to pull Bones into for make out purposes. The two hour journey to Port Ellen wasn't as scenic as Brennan hoped, the grey skies and drizzle hiding most of the views.
The weather had clouded and obscured their view from the windows but not so much that Brennan didn't notice the staff pointing out to the Kintyre Peninsula and a couple of other passengers joining them. Curious, Brennan joined them next to the guardrail and gasped.
"What is it, Bones?" Booth squinted out into the distance.
"Minke Whales!" She watched the pair of cetaceans surface and dive shallowly.
"They're a bit late in the season for going south." The crew member commented. "Ah! That's why!"
"A Calf! Oh Booth, look!"
"I see it, baby." He put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
"An early calf" The crew member frowned. "We keep a note of anything usual with the wildlife we see along the route."
"Will we be likely to see dolphins?" Brennan's bright eyes and wide smile rubbed the frown from his face.
"Sorry, the bottlenose dolphins have moved on by now, but the grey seals are birthing and weaning in droves along the coast, there's a fair sized colony near Lagavulin."
"Hey that's close to where we're staying, right Bones?"
"Yes, it is." Brennan shivered as she realised how strong the wind was. "We'll need to come back in the summer, for the dolphins."
Booth pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her temple before moving behind her and wrapping both arms around her waist. "Sure, for the dolphins."
Brennan was not used to this behaviour from him, she had known he was tactile and affectionate as her friend but had been unprepared for an increase in public displays of affection as part of a romantic dyad. Agnes, third eye or not, had been right; Brennan wondered what other new, undiscovered things she would find out over their vacation.
#
There was a brief break in the clouds as they entered Port Ellen, a very rotund grey seal taking the opportunity to stretch into the banana pose under a ray of sunshine on the rocks nearby. Brennan regretted leaving her digital camera in her suitcase and decided that it needed to be on her person at all times for the rest of their trip, not just when they were visiting attractions. The cottage in Lagavulin village was only a five minute drive from the ferry slip and Brennan had called their guide as they were coming into port.
She drove over the linkspan and felt an odd sensation being on dry land after the last two hours of swaying. Booth, also, seemed glad to be on terra firma and when they took the road towards Lagavulin Bay he was pleased that the first large building they saw was the Laphroaig distillery.
"We'll be going there after we check in with Mr Glendinning, it's within walking distance of the cottage."
"That is so cool" Booth grinned then looked ahead and pointed "Is that another distillery?"
"Yes," Bones chuckled and turned down a dirt road, stopping outside a cottage. "And there's another one a ten minute walk further along the road. We'll be visiting them this evening after we've had some dinner."
A waving family of four were waiting for them as they got out of the car, Booth and Brennan approached them with hands outstretched to shake.
"Dr Brennan! Pleasure to have ye at our wee cottage." Mr Glendinning smiled widely as he welcomed them.
"Thank you, Mr. Glendinning, not only for this warm welcome but for your generosity in volunteering to be our guide while we're here!"
"Call me Glen, please! This is my wife, Gail, our son, Glen and our daughter Glenda."
Booth and Brennan glanced at each other and followed Glen Glendinning to a side door of their home. He opened the door and handed Bones the keys, the smell of a log stove wafting from the inside of the cosy house.
"Okay, here we have the shower room to your left and the smaller bedroom to the right. The next door on the left is the big bedroom and straight ahead is the living room and kitchen. Would you like a wee hand with yer bags?"
Just as Brennan was about to refuse Glen's help, Booth stepped in "That would be great - hey, Bones why don't you get some coffee started and we'll bring the luggage in."
Brennan looked into the shower room, pleased at how clean it was before opening the door to the 'big bedroom' so Booth and Glen could put the luggage inside. A standard double bed with nightstands each side, a chest of drawers and a small wardrobe didn't leave a lot of floor space for their bags but, as they were now 'letting things happen' Brennan figured they could leave the cases on the bed until they removed what they would need before storing them in the smaller of the two rooms. The living room had two sofas either side of a crackling log burner, there was a small dining table with four chairs and a basic kitchen with a two ring stove, oven, toaster, coffee maker and electric kettle.
The wall units of the kitchen had glass paned doors which made it easy to find cups for drinks, and finding silverware was almost as easy considering there were only two drawers in the base units. The cottage was small but functional and would definitely suit their needs for the three nights they would be here. Brennan smiled as she heard Booth and Glen chatting as they brought the luggage from the Land Rover and she was just stirring the coffee as she felt Booth slide his hands around her waist from behind and press a kiss into her hair.
"Glen, Gail, Glen and Glenda Glendinning?" Booth chuckled, "They're not too imaginative with names in that family."
"They seem like lovely people, no matter what their names are." Brennan turned in his arms and smiled at him. "I've noticed you're far more tactile since we decided to act upon our feelings."
Booth pulled back. "Is it too much? Am I making you uncomfortable?"
He watched Bones think for a moment and smiled when she shook her head. "I'm not uncomfortable at all, it's just … new, I guess."
"Oh well, you better get used to it, baby!" His hands gravitated to her hips and he bent down to kiss her thoroughly.
Brennan felt her nerve endings thrum with excitement as she pulled back a little "You called me baby before, not just on the ferry but when Dr Leacock attacked me."
"It's a term of endearment." Booth bent to nuzzle her neck.
"As much as 'Bones' is a nickname … you are the only person allowed to call me that, I thought …" She gave a low moan as Booth nipped underneath her ear and tilted her head so he had greater access. "I thought 'Bones' was your term of endearment for me?"
"It is" his tongue sneaked a lick at the side of her neck and he grinned as she shuddered in his arms. "But so is 'baby', you're so special I need two terms to show you how much I love you."
Brennan lifted her hands and placed them on his shoulders, catching a glimpse of her rolex as she did so "Oh!"
"Mmm, yeah, Baby!" He pressed his pelvis against hers and nibbled on her earlobe.
"No, I mean, unless you can bring this to a satisfying conclusion for both of us in 20 minutes, we have a distillery tour to get to!" Booth sighed and pulled away from her. "And our coffee is getting cold."
"Well cold coffee and an unsatisfying conclusion doesn't sound great right now." He chuckled, shook his head and picked up his mug. "But tonight? When we've had some whisky to loosen us up and we're locked in this little cottage all alone? You're mine, Bones, no interruptions."
His voice was low, almost dangerously seductive, and Brennan felt the pulse of arousal between her legs. "Well, if we don't want any interruptions, I'd best call Angela now."
#
Angela was loading the tissue marker information into her computer and sipping at a bottle of Snapple when the notification of Bren's video call popped up. She smiled excitedly, looking forward to hearing from her best friend.
"Sweetie! How is Scotland?"
Brennan's expression was relaxed and happy "We've only been here 24 hours, Ange! But it's been wonderful so far, despite the cold temperatures, and very enlightening!"
"Enlightening, eh? Would that enlightenment have anything to do with our federal friend keeping you company?"
Brennan rolled her eyes and moved her laptop slightly so Ange could see an amused Booth sitting next to Brennan on the sofa.
"So far we've been very surprised by the advances in banking processes they have here, in addition to the wide array of wildlife we've seen and heard. But we've also determined that we're in love with each other and are very excited to progress to sexual activities later this evening!"
Angela choked on a sip of her drink while Booth leaned forward on the sofa and buried his face in his hands.
"Well, it … uh, it sounds like the vacation is off to a great start!" Ange chuckled.
"Yes! We saw minke whales and seals and we're about to head out to the Laphroaig distillery for our first tour and tasting of the Islay malts."
"And you didn't want me calling you later to check up on you in case you were otherwise engaged?"
"Exactly!" Brennan smiled. "We'll be spending the next two days exploring the sights and different whiskies of Islay and will only have wi-fi access in the evening. So if we're not having intercourse, I'll be in contact again around lunchtime in DC to update you on everything we've seen."
"Oh honey, you don't have to contact me at all for the rest of your trip - I think you'll be absolutely fine but I do expect lots of photos and stories when you get your ass back in Washington."
"Very well. I'll call you before we come home to alert you as to whether our flights are on time." Brennan nodded and ended the call.
Angela sat back in her chair and sighed happily. The dancing around each other was over, now they had to deal with what Bren and Booth dancing together would bring.
#
Laphroaig was a 20 minute walk from the cottage along a coastal road that had the soundtrack of crashing waves and seals barking. They walked holding hands, another new experience for Brennan and a joy for Booth who had dreamed of being able to do that for a long time. They arrived for their 4pm distillery tour and tasting and met with their tour guide and the other three people in the group.
The malting in the saladin box, the drying in the peat fired kiln, the mashing and pungent fermentation processes before going to the pot stills to continue the whisky making process until the liquid is casked and matured. At the end of the tour both Booth and Brennan chose to taste the Laphroaig Oak Select and were very pleased they got to keep the whisky glasses and lanyards they'd been issued at the start of the tour.
As they were walking back to the cottage, Booth held his glass up to the moonlight. "We should get some bubble wrap to protect these in our suitcases for the flight home - I've seen how the luggage gets thrown around at airports."
"That's a very good idea, I'm sure we'll be able to buy some on our travels." Brennan said lightly as she inspected how Booth was walking. "Your feet are bothering you."
He shrugged, "It's no big deal, they always play up in the cold."
"Still, it's something I'm aware of and we'll be out in the cold frequently during our time here. After we have dinner I'll massage them to increase blood flow …"
"Plenty of other ways to get my blood pumping, Bones." He laughed and pulled her to his side.
"As I was saying before you interrupted me with your innuendo - we should increase the blood flow to your feet before we walk to Lagavulin and Ardbeg this evening. The whisky we drink during those visits should help warm you on the way back to the cottage."
"Yeah, what was it the tour guide called it? A nip?"
"We'll have more than a nip tonight" Bones smiled "As the process is much the same between distilleries, tonight we'll be having a short tour and tasting 3 whiskies at each location."
Booth whined dramatically "there's so much still to do before I can take you to bed!"
Bones chuckled and shook her head "We'll be back at the cottage before 6pm, have a quick pasta dish for dinner then out to Ardbeg for 7.30pm, Lagavulin at 8.30pm and we'll be tucked up in bed before 10pm!"
He stopped walking and pulled her into his arms, slanting his lips over hers passionately. "You will not be tucked in Dr Brennan, you will be spread out on top of the blanket like a buffet until I've drunk more of you than those delicious whiskies."
"Oh" Brennan gasped breathily before grabbing Booth's hand and dragging him toward the cottage at double the pace they'd been walking.
#
After partaking in the full tour at Laphroaig, the short walk around Ardbeg and Lagavulin was sufficient enough to note any differences in the distillation process but tasting 3 whiskies rather than just one gave insight into the maturation processes. While Booth preferred the drams which had been casked for 18 years or longer, Brennan preferred those that matured for between 12 and 15 years.
Warmed by the alcohol, and the thoughts about what they would be doing when they got inside the rental home, they walked back to the cottage from the distillery with unbuttoned coats and no gloves. Booth was pressed into Bones' back as she tried to unlock the door, his lips and tongue giving her a preview on her neck of what being his buffet would feel like elsewhere on her body.
They practically fell through the doorway and slammed it closed behind them, stripping off coats and boots on their way to the bedroom, pants and shirts on the way to the bed until Booth picked Brennan up and tossed her onto the bed in nothing but her bra and panties. He descended upon her, his hands and mouth stimulating far more areas than he should have been able to, her entire body was on alert for pleasure and trembling with anticipation.
Booth licked and kissed every inch of her skin as he removed her underwear, she was salty and sweet and the combination with her scent drove him insane with desire. His fingers stroked her intimately and he moaned at how wet she was for him, working her with his fingers was like dipping them into a pot of warm honey and he just couldn't hold back from tasting her any longer.
Brennan gasped and threaded her hands into Booth's short, dark hair as he drank from her, her insides coiling and her body twisting when his lips wrapped around her clit as his fingers slid against the swelling bump inside her walls. Every moan and exclamation of encouragement made him harder and harder, his arousal verging on painful as he gorged on her until she tensed and he felt her walls squeeze at his fingers and her smoky voice groan out his name as she passed the peak of her orgasm.
He expected her to languidly smile at him in her recovery like other women, but his Bones wasn't like other women. She pushed him to the floor and sheathed him inside her while her inner walls were still quivering and he let out a gasp of surprise and pleasure at finally - finally - knowing what it was like to be surrounded by her soft, dripping heat. She was incredible, undulating her hips with her fingers pulling her dampened locks away from her neck and exposing her entire upper body for Booth to explore with his hands.
Firm, high breasts with nipples that puckered at the slightest touch, a narrow waist with a toned stomach that flared saucily to her hips where she rode him slowly and expertly. The visual stimulation was pushing him too close to the point of no return but Booth was greedy, he wanted that sweet release but he also wanted the feeling, the connection to last forever and he couldn't have both no matter how much he wished for it.
"Bones, Baby, tell me we can do this for the rest of our lives." He gasped on a particularly astounding roll of her hips.
Brennan looked down at him, locking her vibrant blues with his expressive browns. This moment, this very moment, was the reason she hadn't been with a man in over a year. She hadn't realised it, not fully, but she'd been waiting to share this experience with Booth and only Booth.
"Yes, I think we can." She inhaled sharply as he grabbed her leg behind one knee and rolled them.
Booth worked his cock in as deep as he could, his pelvis rubbing against her engorged clit and forcing an unintelligible expletive from her roughened throat as he pushed and pulled out at a steady pace. Bones grabbed his head in both hands and leaned up as much as she could to have their lips connecting as closely as the rest of their bodies. Their tongues swept over each other again and again as Booth's thrusts lost their finesse, one of his hands landed heavily next to her shoulder while the other gripped her hip so tightly she was sure there would be bruises.
Her second orgasm crowned and her hips tilted firmly upwards to attempt to keep Booth deep inside, her muscles clamping around his hard length wrenched his completion from him in a shower of stars and perfect pleasure. In the moment he called out her name. Not Baby. Not Bones. Temperance.