A/N: Due to all the flattering popular demand for a "Step Six," here is a second chapter of this tag. Thanks so much for your interest and encouragement. And I'll get to your reviews very soon.

Chapter 2: Step Six

The two lovers lay on the softly carpeted floor of the living room, their heavy breathing and the ticking of the wall clock the only sounds disturbing the silence. They hadn't made it to the bedroom.

Jane was on his back, his pants and boxers bunched uncomfortably about his knees, staring blindly into the sparkling popcorn ceiling of Lisbon's rented apartment. For the first time in years, his mind was completely blank; the aftermath of pure pleasure overwhelmed all other sensory perceptions.

Beside him, Lisbon lay where she'd fallen, her blouse and bra open to reveal her heaving breasts. She had no idea where her slacks were-not that she cared at the moment-and the slip of lace that had once been her panties were torn beyond repair, lying in tatters on the carpet. Ironically, she still wore her boots.

Her state of dishabille had been the result of Jane's relentless pursuit of what he had termed, step six. A residual shiver radiated from her core just thinking about the skills the man had with his tongue and dexterous fingers. He was relentless in making sure that he fulfilled every promise he'd whispered in her ear—the words that landed them here in the first place. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised he should be any less dogged when it came to sex; he was like that in everything else he set his mind to.

When Lisbon's body began to cool and her pulse slowed to just above normal, she turned her head to look at Jane. Had it not been for his steady breathing, she would have sworn he was like the innumerable corpses she had seen in her career—eyes wide open and fully dilated, face contorted into a frozen mask. In retrospect, however, she hadn't known many victims to have died with a smile on their face.

"Hey," she said, her throat hoarse from her earlier cries, "you alive?"

His smile spread wider across his face, but he still lacked the energy to move.

"Barely," he replied.

"For future reference, my bed is actually quite comfortable."

"Sorry, my love, but I was quite overwhelmed by your…charms. I'll keep that in mind for six point two."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow—about all she could raise at the moment.

"There's more?"

"I've had nearly ten years to imagine the things I'd like to do with you, Lisbon. Believe me, this was just an appetizer."

She was shocked anew at this admission.

"If that's true, why didn't you ever approach me before? Think of all the time we've been wasting."

Jane somehow summoned the energy to roll to his side and prop his head on his hand to look down at her. His eyes swept with pleasure from her delicately flushed face to the passion-wrecked state of her clothes and body. An unkempt Lisbon was something to savor.

I did that, he thought smugly.

"We haven't wasted time, Teresa. We've been gradually building up to this, like those volcanoes waiting to erupt after hundreds of years of pent-up pressure. All is well for years, then one day—boom!"

She rolled her eyes. "Your metaphors are so romantic, not to mention clichéd."

He grinned and leaned down to press his lips softly to hers. Her hand came up to touch the faint stubble of his cheek.

"I admit, however," he said after a few moments, when coming up for air, "that this first time lacked a bit of finesse. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"I wasn't complaining," she said, smiling softly up at him.

He chuckled. "No? You just dropped a pointed hint about the comfort of your bed."

"When the rug burn on my ass heals, I'm sure I'll be able to look back on this very fondly."

His forehead wrinkled in concern. "Here, let me see."

She laughed and swatted his seeking hands away. "No."

Jane was feeling quite reinvigorated all of a sudden, likely due to the proximity of Teresa Lisbon's mostly naked body, and the fact that she was wriggling to keep him from getting a glimpse of her glorious derriere, which, he realized, he'd only felt with his hands.

His hands slid up to cup her breasts possessively, and he leaned in to nuzzle the scented softness at her nape. Her back arched and she sighed into his touch, her pulse racing once more.

From a distance came the ping of a text message alert. Lisbon, good cop that she was, always had her ears attuned to her phone should a case rear its murderous head.

"Jane," she said, after a moment, when the sound penetrated her passion-fogged brain. "I'd better check that."

"Hmm?"

"My phone. There's a message."

He sighed, rolled off her and onto his back again, while she got up and went in search of her discarded pants, the pocket of which contained her cell phone. He grinned as he watched her flitting to the foyer in her top, boots, and nothing else.

"It's not so bad," he commented, when she bent to retrieve her clothes.

She looked over her should at him. "What?"

"The rug burn. Let me rub it with some arnica—it'll heal up in no time."

"Stop ogling my ass, you—Jane! What the hell is this?"

She forgot what she was saying upon reading her text message. She handed the phone down to him. It was from Rigsby.

Have you seen Jane? I can't get hold of him. He was supposed to do a magic act for the party. The kids are getting restless and Sarah's about to kill me.

Jane looked sheepishly up at his old friend and new lover.

"Oops. I left my phone in your car. It's in my suit jacket."

"I can't believe you forgot something this important to Rigsby." She narrowed her eyes in that suspicious Lisbon way she had. "Was it on purpose? You blew off a kid's party so you could get in my pants?"

"Now, Lisbon, I honestly forgot. He asked me like a month ago. Besides, Benjamin's only one, as we've established, and you weren't so conscience-ridden a half-hour ago, when my mouth was on your-"

Her face flamed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment—a feeling with which she was not unfamiliar when it came to Patrick Jane.

"For God's sake, Jane. Sarah's older nieces and nephews are there. They're expecting a magician. Now pull up your pants and let's go. I can't believe you forgot," she repeated. "Someone seriously needs to clean the cobwebs out their memory palace."

She pressed a button and put the phone to her ear.

Jane sat up reluctantly, then awkwardly pulled up his boxers. His movements caught her eye and her gaze alighted on his arousal. She looked shyly away and he grinned impishly.

"Hey, Rigsby. Sorry we're late. Jane and I were just coming—I mean, we are on our way."

A bark of laughter escaped Jane at her Freudian slip. Lisbon shot him a dirty look while covering the mouth mic, as Rigsby gave an agitated reply. Even from his place on the floor, he could hear the sounds of screaming children in the background.

"No, we got held up at the toy store," Lisbon was saying. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Please apologize to Sarah for us. Okay. Okay. Bye."

By this time, Jane was standing and fastening his trousers, then his belt. He walked over to her as she set down her phone and picked up her mutilated panties, balling them up in her hand to toss in a nearby waste basket.

"Hey, don't get your panties in a twist," he quipped in amusement. "I'm sorry I've disappointed the kids, but I'll give them a great show, I promise. All I need is a handkerchief and a few coins, and I can entertain them for hours."

His hands dropped to her waist, and when she looked up into his handsome face, her ire slipped away, as usual. She hated him for that sometimes. She could never stay mad at the bastard long enough to suit her. He caught her lips in a swift kiss of apology.

She looked at him in consternation. "You're lucky that I love you so much, Jane-you really are an ass sometimes."

Jane's face softened immediately, and his eyes grew serious. That was the first time she'd actually said she loved him.

"Yes," he said. "I'm extremely lucky." His hands came up to frame her face, as dear to him as Angela's and Charlotte's ever were. Seeing his intense expression, Lisbon found herself in his arms once more, forgetting for a few minutes longer children's parties and magic tricks—at least the kind done with coins and hankies.

"Stop," she said after awhile, as Jane began moving her toward the bedroom this time. "Later, okay? People are counting on you."

He took a deep, shuddering breath and raised his head. "All right. Have it your way."

"Good. I'll uh, just go put on a new pair of unmentionables, and we can go."

His hands dropped to her bare behind. "You could go commando. All the grittiest cops do."

"Ha. I doubt that. Now quit distracting me."

"As long as you promise the moment we leave the party, we head back here to continue what we've begun."

"That's an easy promise to keep. I'll try not to let it slip my mind…" she said with a hint of sass. He resisted slapping her ass, knowing that she'd have him pinned on the floor in a wink, and not in a good way. So he let her pull reluctantly away and move toward the hall.

"You owe me a pair of panties, by the way," she called from her bedroom.

He laughed. "A small price to pay, my dear Lisbon."

Jane thought about the hours it would be before they would be back here again, and it took all his self-control not to waylay her in the bedroom this minute. But the sweet anticipation, the build-up once more of the volcano within them would make the eruption much headier later. Bad cliché or not, it was true. A grin split his face at the very thought of it.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, a box arrived on Lisbon's desk. She unwrapped the expensive pink paper, her eyes shooting to Jane in the bullpen, asleep on his couch. She didn't really blame him—after last night, he deserved his rest.

Inside the box were several pairs of boutique panties, every color of the rainbow. She picked up the white note with the familiar handwriting of her consultant.

Here's a replacement, plus some to spare…in case I get any luckier.

~Jane

She laughed and blushed and quickly closed the box, stuffing it under her desk out of sight.

Loving Patrick Jane would never be short of embarrassing surprises.

THE END

(Seriously.)

A/N: Thanks for reading this silly fluff. It was fun, and I'm preparing for another multi-chapter very soon, and perhaps even a tag or two.