Summary: Some things are better left unsaid. Some, on the other hand, need to be heard.

Disclaimer: The Mentalist doesn't belong to me, but I am willing to look after Jane if Lisbon becomes fed up with him…

Warnings: Some swearing, some sexual content, a bit of angst … the usual fare when dealing with these two and their feelings.

Spoilers: Up to 5x16 – There Will Be Blood, but only vaguely referenced.

A/N: Ah, the dreaded M-rated second chapter. I hope all of you enjoy, even if it's just a little. My first attempt at any kind of smut, so fingers crossed it isn't too bad. A slight switch to more of Jane's POV in this chapter as well...

Jane quickly realised that Lisbon wasn't responding to the kiss. In fact, she seemed to be trying to free herself from his grip. He stepped back slightly, her hands still trapped in his. He glared down at her, and he could tell she had not been impressed by his actions.

"I will not be a substitute for her Jane," she growled, her voice sharp, "I am not stupid. I am not a mark to be played, a pawn for your games. I will not be used by you. At all! I'm not so blinded by my feelings for you that one kiss will make me forget what happened, that I'll just roll over and let you walk all over me again."

He looked at her then; studied her for the first time since that fateful conversation in the dark townhouse. He dropped her wrists, allowing her arms to swing aimlessly to her sides. Her fists clenched briefly, as if she was planning to strike him again, but she seemed to have resisted the urge. He had spotted something briefly in her eyes, though she had tried to hide it. A flicker of self-doubt, a look of jealousy, anger and of fear. He had to make her understand or their tentative hold on their relationship would shatter irreparably and they'd both be left alone to face the consequences.

He tried to keep himself composed, to remain rational, but it seemed that he could be none of those things with her at that moment. His voice sounded almost aggressive as he spoke, stepping forward inch by inch as he did so, closing the gap between them until she was once again trapped between himself and the wall.

"Damn it Lisbon," he stopped in front of her, daring her to break eye contact with him. "You have to be the most infuriating woman I have ever met! You aren't even listening to me are you?" He lifted his left hand to rest by the side of her head, his warm palm making contact with the cool brick of the wall. "You are not a mark. You are not a substitute for anyone," he emphasised, moving his right hand to mirror the left, surrounding her with his presence, "and you are certainly not going to be used by me. I believe I already told you that. You're just choosing to ignore me."

Her look was defiant, but he could see that she was struggling with herself, trying to make a decision. He knew what she needed. He couldn't make this final leap, she had to. He had taken so much from her over the course of their relationship, but he could give her this; should give her this. He took a breath. Just a little push…

"I think you like it…," he murmured, moving his lips to her ear, "I think you like the idea holding all of the cards when it comes to this. You want the control, want the power. You love the fact that you can use me for cases, use me for insight and results but know you can just kick me to the curb if I go too far. You know how much power you have over me Lisbon. If anyone's using anyone, it's you…"

"Stop trying to read me you son of a bitch," she snarled, as she grabbed his jacket and pulled him closer, bringing his lips to hers in a bruising kiss.

There was no hesitation in his response. His mouth opened immediately under hers, his hands moving from the wall to hold the sides of her face as she clutched at his jacket. Neither of them held anything back. All the anger, frustration, pain and love from the last 10 years went into their kisses, each one growing more frenzied than the last. A dam had broken between them, the final straw had snapped and there was nothing to hold back the wave of emotions they both felt. Their argument had been the catalyst for something that had been in the offing for years, the final link in a chain of events that had brought them closer than Jane had ever believed possible. Nothing else mattered but the feel of each other lips on their own, as if it was the only way to communicate what they had actually been trying to say for the last half an hour.

Their kisses were brutal, Lisbon nipping at his lower lip at every opportunity, seemingly taking pleasure from hearing him gasp at the pain. He returned the favour, leaning into her and then deepened the kiss, pushing himself closer.

Jane grinned against Lisbon's lips as he heard her groan, and he moved one of his hands to her waist. His fingers tickled her ribs, gliding up and down her side as they kissed. Lisbon shivered as he pushed closer, letting her feel the hardness of his arousal against her stomach through his slacks. He moved his lips from hers, instead planting rough kisses on her throat, moving up to a spot just behind her ear that made her moan. He could hear her shuddering breaths as she vied for control of herself, probably realising what the hell she was doing and just who she was doing it with. Lisbon released his jacket, her fists clenched once more, ready to lash out. He caught the movement and took both her wrists again, pinning them to the wall in the same position his own hands had been in minutes before. Lisbon groaned again and dragged her lips away from his.

Her voice was thick with arousal and Jane could see that her lips were red and full from their kisses. Both of them were panting hard in the quiet of the house.

"Let go of my damn wrists Jane or so help me…"

He complied immediately, grinning again as Lisbon instantly grabbed his hair and dragged him down for another brutal kiss. She was still crushed against the wall, and Jane had no hesitation in using his position to his advantage. While Lisbon's hands were otherwise occupied, his own worked on removing the button up shirt she was wearing. Lisbon realised what he was doing and moved her hands from his hair to his jacket. All of a sudden they were not close enough, and every piece of clothing between them was just an obstacle to what they both needed.

Suddenly, her lips moved quickly from his own, the urgency in her voice apparent as she spoke.

"I don't want a pity fuck Jane…" Her voice broke slightly, and his heart, normally so closed off, seemed to shatter just a little. What had he done to her?

"Never," he replied, dragging his teeth across her collarbone, "could never pity you Lisbon. You mean too much…"

She gasped at his admission, as if knowing that despite the cold-hearted façade he occasionally hid behind with her, he was worthy of her trust, of her love. The world seemed to tilt between them… too much had been shared now to ever go back to the land of deniability.

They couldn't move quickly enough. Lips still locked together, Jane succeeded in undoing her shirt and removing it, while his own jacket and vest followed, thrown half-heartedly behind him as Lisbon remained pinned to the wall. His shirt was half undone as he drew her jeans and underwear down her legs so quickly that Lisbon gasped. She didn't return the favour as she slowly inched the zipper down on his slacks, knuckles grazing his erection and she chuckled as he groaned, eyes dark and hooded as he looked at her.

He took a deep, shuddering breath and growled a warning.

"Don't start games with me Teresa, I don't play fair."

He was done for as soon as she smirked at him. He reached for her, lifting her so her legs wrapped round his waist and her arms instinctively went round his neck. He could feel the heat emanating from her, and he gasped as she leaned in and scraped her teeth against his throat. Her breath was hot against his ear as she caught the lobe between her teeth and bit down. Not hard enough to draw blood but with enough force to know that if he didn't move very quickly, very soon, he was going to be in deep trouble.

"No games Patrick," she emphasised his name as she whispered, her voice low and seductive in his ear, "just you and me. Now."

Jane didn't need telling twice. He reached down, and after fumbling for a couple of seconds, managed to force both his slacks and his boxers down past his knees. He was still holding her up, her back against the wall, and he was trying so hard not to take her there and then. He knew he should stop, should probably move them to somewhere more comfortable, but it seemed fitting. It was nothing like his time with her. That had been meticulously planned, a necessary evil. But this, this was him and Lisbon down to a tee. Passionate, spontaneous, their actions so full of love and anger and frustration that he didn't know if he could hold anything of himself back.

She leaned in to kiss him, seeming to sense that he was losing himself in his thoughts. The world tilted again as her lips met his. The frenzied embraces from before were long gone, the anger dissolved into something else, something that they had both been avoiding for so long. They both sighed as Jane lowered her slightly and pushed slowly into her. He stilled immediately, resting his forehead on hers, overwhelmed by the feeling that this was finally happening.

She tightened her legs around him, digging her heels into him, urging him to move, to do something. He chuckled and kissed her then, and slowly began to move, settling into a steady but relentless rhythm. Lisbon's hands were everywhere; running down his arms, across his back, through his hair. Her lips melded against his, tongues matching the rhythm of his thrusts; deep, slow, powerful.

His lips touched every part of her that he could reach. Her bra was still on, but he didn't think he could concentrate enough to remove it now. It didn't matter, he could investigate every inch of her later if she'd let him. He kissed her chest, her collar, her throat, not caring if he left marks or bruises, knowing that she was giving him a set of his own.

Lisbon's gasps urged him on, gave him focus as he tried to draw out their pleasure for as long as he could. He reveled in the feeling of being surrounding by her, filling her, teasing her, loving her with every stoke that he made. He watched as she closed her eyes to the pleasure, her mouth open as her breaths echoed through the room.

One of her arms had settled round his shoulder, pulling him as close to her as she could, while the other hand rested in his hair, pulling on the curls every time he entered her. He kissed her once, twice, drawing out a moan before resting his head in the crook of her neck, concentrating on the deep thrusts he was making. He could feel a bead of sweat form at his hairline, and he shuddered as she kissed it away.

They moved quickly towards completion, and Jane soon felt her begin to clench around him. He sped up, knowing that he was not far behind… the tension and relief between them was too much to hold them back. She looked beautiful as she reached her peak, crying out his name as she came. Jane had no option but to follow her over the edge. He held onto her, pulling her close as he released into her, and he whispered anything and everything that ran through his head into her ears, remembering nothing as he tried to express everything he felt for her in one single moment.

He kept her pinned to the wall as their breathing and heart rates slowed, resting his forehead against hers, but he soon released her and groaned as she slowly slid down his body, his legs trembling as she stood in front of him; hair messed, lips red and looked thoroughly dishevelled.

She reached for him again, pulling him closer for a sweet kiss, while seemingly trying to take off his shirt. He let her remove it, and nearly grabbed her again as she wrapped it around her own body, doing up a couple of buttons. Lisbon lent over and pulled up her panties, but didn't put her jeans back on. Smiling at him almost shyly, she moved across the room, appearing to head towards the couch. She motioned for him to follow her. He tried to, but almost tripped over as he realised his slacks and boxers were still around his ankles. Lisbon laughed at the sight of him attempting to pull up his trousers and underwear while trying to move across a room to join her.

He eventually got himself sorted and reached the couch. He sat down, happy to take some weight off his weary knees and he noticed that Lisbon seemed tense as she sat next to him. They hadn't said anything in so long, their actions speaking louder than any words could, but Jane could tell the moment that self-doubt reappeared in her mind. He reached for her, pulling her across to him so that she leant against his chest. He closed his eyes, breathing in her scent; cinnamon and apple and sex, and he knew then what he had to say.

"I meant it you know," he whispered. "I meant what I said after Vegas." He couldn't see her face, but he suspected that she had shut her eyes too at his words.

"I know," she replied, pausing before continuing. "And I wouldn't kick you off the team out of spite. You know that right?"

He tried to pull her even closer then, arms wrapped round her, holding onto her as if she was the lifeline he knew deep down she was.

"I know. I'm sorry about today, truly. I let my frustration get the better of me and dragged your name into the ring unnecessarily." She nodded against his chest in understanding, and he hoped, in forgiveness. "And," he continued, "I wouldn't ever consider using you, your feelings or anything between us to lure him out of hiding. I couldn't. I don't think I'd survive if he took you too. That's why I wanted to protect you. I can't lose you."

She smiled and turned slightly to plant a short kiss on his lips.

"I know. I understand. But remember you're not the only one who's in danger of losing someone. I wouldn't survive either." She left the unsaid words hang between them, knowing he would understand. It was a dangerous path they were both on, and they might stand a chance of making it through to the end of it if they could just work together. There were still some issues they needed to work on, but he knew they were finally on the same page again.

He didn't reply, just nodded and rested his head against hers. They sat on the couch for a while, both of them starting to doze off, before Lisbon finally stood up and headed towards the kitchen. He looked up at her: his friend, partner, lover and everything in between, smiling as his shirt rode up her thighs as she reached into the cupboard over the sink. She turned around to him and grinned, a question on her lips.

"Tea?" she asked, waving the cup at him inquiringly.

It was an offer he couldn't refuse.

A/N 2.0:

Well, there it is: the end of my first Mentalist and M-rated fic. Thank you to all who made it this far for reading! I had a bit of an internal debate when I re-read this chapter today before I posted. I ended up adding more and re-writing parts to try and make sense of their actions in relation to the argument… hopefully I pulled it off, but I certainly found it a challenge!

Constructive feedback is always welcome!