A/N: I wrote this one shot for the Booth Express challenge. Before you say it, I KNOW it's a bit OOC, but I hope it isn't so bad it spoils the story for you. Let me know what you think. Thank you for reading

"Bones? Where are you?" Booth called as he strode through the lab.

"She's in her office, Booth," Angela called from the platform where she and Hodgins were sitting at a computer. Angela smiled slyly at Hodgins. She wished she could be there to see Booth's reaction.

Booth stopped in the doorway of her office, struck speechless by the vision before him. Brennan had her back to him. She wore a calf length backless black gown that dipped at the small of her back and her hair was gathered atop her head with tendrils curling down here and there. He must have made some kind of sound or she sensed his presence, because she suddenly turned, a hand pressed to her middle. The front of the dress had a halter top with a deep vee and fit her like a second skin. He'd never seen her look so beautiful.

"Booth! Oh, you startled me," she said breathlessly. Her eyes were wide and brilliantly blue.

Booth shut his mouth when he realized it was hanging open. "Uh, sorry, I, uh—wow, you look—uh, that is, you really look—"

She blushed a little and looked down. "Thanks, Booth. You don't think its too revealing? Ange made me buy it, but now, I don't know—"

Booth swallowed. "No, its perfect, it looks—are you going somewhere?" he finally asked, trying to get his mind working again.

"Yeah, remember I told you? Robert is taking me to a gallery opening. His friend is an artist. He's picking me up here since there isn't time for me to go home. He promised to give me a ride in to work tomorrow since I'm leaving my car here." Booth's brain locked up again as she smoothed her hands down her hips, twisting her torso this way and that to judge how the dress was hanging. "I don't know, what do you really think? It seems to be a bit too form-fitting."

She looked up as Booth remained silent. His eyes were fastened on her cleavage. She cleared her throat and his eyes snapped up to meet hers. He blushed and she smiled.

"Oh, no, it's perfect—" he broke off as he realized she was wearing this mind-numbing dress to go on a date with another man. He frowned suddenly. "Who is this Robert guy? How long have you been dating?"

"I met him at that seminar I went to last month. Don't worry, I checked him out, he's okay," she assured him.

Booth wasn't convinced. "I don't know, Bones—"

There was the sound of a throat clearing behind him and he turned around. A lanky guy about 6'4" stood in the doorway. He had brown hair and brown eyes and Booth thought he looked familiar.

"Hi, Tempe. Wow, you look amazing," Robert said with a wolfish grin. Booth felt his temper rise. The guy was looking her over like she was a piece of meat. It didn't occur to him that just minutes ago he'd been looking her over too.

Booth stepped between Bones and Robert. "She can't go," Booth said before he knew what he was doing.

Robert frowned, looking at Brennan over Booth's shoulder. "Tempe?" he said, puzzled. "What's going on?"

Brennan walked around Booth, giving him a nudge. "Nothing, Robert, its okay. This is my partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth. This is Robert Delaney."

Booth drew himself up, trying to look taller. He had a bad feeling about this guy, and there was no way he was letting her go with him. "Bones, can I talk to you privately?" Booth asked darkly.

Brennan threw him a frown, then looked at Robert. "Would you excuse us please? We'll be just a moment," she assured him. Looking back and forth between them, Robert nodded and stepped outside.

Brennan turned on Booth as soon as the door was closed. "What's the matter with you?" she said in a low furious tone.

"Bones, I have a gut feeling about this guy. He's just—wrong, I feel it."

Brennan held onto her temper—barely. "You want me to break a date based on your gut? Have you completely lost your mind?"

Booth sighed, frustrated. He'd have to do better than that if he was going to be able to stop her from going with that joker. "I—I love you," he said softly, his eyes locked with hers.

Brennan's mouth dropped open. "You—what?"

Booth swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. Maybe he was crazy.

Putting a knuckle under her chin, he looked deep into her beautiful blue eyes. "I'm not sure how long, but its been building for awhile now. But I don't want you to date anyone else, I want you to date—me."

Brennan's gaze probed his for a long moment, her gaze unreadable. "Excuse me," she said softly. Walking to the door, she opened it and said something to Robert in a low voice. Then she closed the door and pulled the blinds. Turning slowly, she walked back to where Booth stood, frozen in place. Kicking her shoes off, she stopped inches away from him.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time," she murmured huskily. Sliding her hands up his chest, she hooked them around his neck and pulled his head down. "No more substitutes," she whispered just before their lips touched.

Booth's senses wheeled as her tongue darted in to touch his. Groaning deeply, his hands framed her hips then moved to the small of her back where he discovered the skin there was just as soft as it looked.

Brennan shivered as his hands moved over her naked skin, sending incredible sensations shooting in all directions. Pulling him closer, she groaned huskily and deepened the kiss. Her world spun and she suddenly found herself lying on the couch with his knee between her thighs. He shrugged out of his jacket and discarded his tie and she started working on the buttons of his shirt feverishly. Meanwhile his open mouth had discovered the sensitive skin just above her collarbone. Finally the last button was free and he shed the shirt quickly. Brennan hummed with pleasure as she ran her hands over the well sculpted planes of his chest.

"Hey, Bren, why are your blinds—" came Angela's voice. They froze and both of them whipped around to look at Angela, who had stopped just inside the door. A huge grin broke across her face and she backed away slowly. "Uh, sorry, guess I shoulda knocked. I'll just—go." And she did.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other, embarrassed.

"You forgot to lock the door," Booth pointed out unnecessarily.

"Yeah," Brennan said, pushing at his shoulders "Let me up," she said a bit grumpily. Coming down from an emotional high like that so abruptly couldn't be healthy, she thought.

Booth stood up, retrieving his shirt and shrugging into it. "Listen, I'm sorry—"

"Why are you sorry? I started it. So when do you want to do it?" she asked bluntly.

Booth's mouth dropped.

Brennan smiled. "Date, Booth. When do you want to go on our first date? Jeez, get your mind out of the gutter," she muttered, smoothing her hair back. She'd lost almost all of the pins that had held it up.

Booth sighed. "Well, sorry, that's where it generally goes when someone kisses me like that—" She stopped digging for pins in her hair and shot him a dirty look. "Not that anybody's ever come close to kissing me like that—" he protested quickly.

"That's okay, Booth. We both have experience with prior partners and there are bound to be comparisons—" she said, turning to walk away.

He grabbed her arm and turned her back around. "Bones—Temperance, nobody has ever kissed me like that. It was amazing," he said, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms again. Her office wasn't the right place, that much was clear.

She looked up at him with a sweet little crooked smile. "Yeah, amazing."