Next morning

In the morning, she woke slowly to the feeling of Brennan's warmth spooned against her back. She was glad that he was still here. Maybe she shouldn't have been surprised – this was after all his room and his bed. His arm was around her, his hand resting lightly on her stomach, holding her more tightly in sleep than he hand in waking. She tensed with something that fell just short of a full stretch, feeling the delicious languor that suffused her body, and smiled to herself. She'd never thought that spending a night in Brennan's bed could feel so good.

From friends to lovers, just like that. One sweet gesture, one kiss, and everything had changed. Last night, they had truly and deeply loved, so suddenly after all this time...

Gently she rolled over in Brennan's arms, trying not to disturb him. He was breathing deeply, his dark lashes spread against his face, giving him a curious vulnerability and softening the handsome angles of his face into a sort of boyish innocence. She wasn't expecting the swell of emotion that suddenly tightened her chest, or the tears that were threatening to fill her eyes. All she could do was kiss him, his lips, his closed eyes, softly and tenderly.

Last night, whether or not she wanted to admit it or even believe it, he had touched something in her soul.

His breathing changed – sleepily, Brennan's arms tightened around her, hugging her close. Winding her arms around him, she tucked her face into the space between his neck and shoulder, returning his affectionate gesture, leaving a trail of kisses along his collarbone.

"Good morning," she said softly, nuzzling her face against his neck.

Opening his eyes, he looked at her. He touched her face, gently wiping the droplets of moisture from her lashes with his thumb.

"Please don't cry," he said to her.

"I can't help it."

"Shal, sweetheart..."

He kissed her, and the tears spilled down her cheeks. He kissed them away.

"I love you, Brennan," she whispered in his ear.

"I know," he said, his voice warmer than she had ever heard it. "I love you, too."

Then he kissed her again; she could smell a hint of some sharp masculine scent heated by his warm skin, and felt a very familiar twist of desire low in her abdomen. Her heart sped up. A reaction to pheromones...but her heart wanted him, too, wanted him so badly that it hurt.

Thatwas when both of their comlinks beeped.

"Guys? Is anybody home?"

Jesse was back.

"Don't answer him," Brennan said, tracing her ear with his tongue.

"Shal, are you there?"

Oh god, she didn't want to answer Jesse, but she felt guilty just ignoring him...

"I'm here, Jess," she finally said, rolling over and disentangling herself from Brennan. "What's up?"

Brennan was doing wicked things to her body with his hands, and it was all she could do to keep her voice steady.

"Well...I just got back, and the place seemed deserted. When I couldn't find anyone, and I saw that you weren't in your room, I got worried."

"I'm sorry," she said, trying not to gasp.

"Where are you, anyway?"

She panicked. What could she say? The reply, 'in bed with Brennan' flashed through her mind, but she didn't dare say it. Brennan did something to her then that made her brain short out altogether. She had to bite down hard on her lip to keep from whimpering.

"Listen, Jess, I'm a little, um...indisposed at the moment. How about you put on a pot of coffee and I'll meet you in the kitchen in a few?" There. That would keep him out of the way and occupied so he wouldn't see her come out of Brennan's room.

"Sounds good," Jesse replied easily. Then, "Where's Brennan? I saw his car in the garage –"

"We had kind of a late night," she answered in a rush. "I think he's still asleep in his room." The lie came out easily enough, but she hadn't been able to keep her voice from wavering. Brennan was anything but asleep, and if she had to try and speak again, Jesse was going to hear something he shouldn't.

"Okay, Shal. See you in a few."

The comlink clicked off...just as Brennan brought her to a quick, shuddering release, holding her tight as she arched back with the intensity of it. Shivering with tiny aftershocks, she relaxed back against his body, feeling her heart slamming in her chest.

Oh god...it was good, so good that she was crying again. If anything, she was even more turned on now than before. She wanted to make love with him this one last time, before it was too late and last night's spell was broken...but she couldn't.

"I have to go."

Brushing her hair softly aside, he kissed the back of her neck, making her shiver all over. "I wish you wouldn't."

"I know."

She didn't want to go.

The roses survived their of neglect with no real harm done. A few more of the petals had found their way to the floor during the night, the buds just the slightest bit wilted from the lack of water – it was nothing a little care wouldn't fix. Tending to them was the first thing that Shalimar did after meeting up with Jesse, who seemed to be blissfully unaware that anything had happened while he was away. The flowers were already responding her tender care, petals starting to unfold into full bloom. How could they not respond to her love?

The door to her room was open, and Brennan could see the bouquet where it sat on a shelf in a simple glass vase. The rich red softness of the petals made him think of her soft lips, of the flush that had colored her cheeks... The roses paled in comparison to her.

It was then that he heard her soft, distinctive footsteps coming toward him.

"Hey," she said warmly.

"Hey." He looked at her and smiled. "I'm glad you liked the flowers."

She walked up and leaned against the arm of the chair he was sitting in.

"The flowers aren't the only thing that I liked." A sexy smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

"Oh?" he teased, feeling desire start to stir at her not-so-subtle comment.

"Mm." She walked around in front of him, stepping close between his legs.

He sat up, his arms coming around her waist, and rested his head against her flat stomach. He could feel where the fabric of her shirt had ridden up, exposing the warmth of her skin, warmth he had held in his arms only just this morning.

He'd been with her like this last night, realizing that she was going to let him make love with her, that she wanted him, too. He still couldn't believe that last night had been real – any doubts he might have had about her loving him were erased when he'd kissed her and tasted her tears.

Her hands toyed with the hair at the back of his head. He let her play, loving the feeling, her gentle affection, before turning his head and pressing his lips against her belly. She made a soft, animal sound, and if he hadn't known better he would have said she was purring. The thought made him smile.

"Thank you for being my valentine," she said, very softly. He heard the love in her voice.

"Thank you for being mine."

Her hand dropped to his shoulder where she squeezed once, twice quickly. Then she was stepping back, out of his arms. She was leaving him?

"Hey, Jess," she said brightly, as if nothing had been happening between them just now.

So that was why she had suddenly moved away.

Jesse grinned at her. "So, did a secret admirer send you those roses?" He nodded in the direction of her open door, and the bouquet visible inside.

Brennan didn't fail to notice the warmth that crept into her smile and lit up her already beautiful brown eyes.

"Brennan brought them for me."

Jesse's eyebrows shot up, and Brennan felt his stomach plummet. "Really?"

She nodded, smiling that sweet smile of hers. "Made my day."

Without another word, she sauntered off. With a pang of longing, Brennan watched her go, observing the light playing on the golden cascade of her hair, the gentle sway of her hips, and silently cursing Jesse for showing up. She gave him one last loving look before she disappeared around the corner.

Jesse was eyeing him strangely.

"What?"

"I don't know..." Jesse answered slowly. "I just thought I sensed something different about you two."

Brennan hoped that his light chuckle didn't sound as forced as it felt. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jesse frowned. "Did you put the moves on her?"

"I gave her the flowers to cheer her up, smartass."

Jesse continued to eye him, but his suspicion was fading. "I've tried flowers before – never cheered her up like that. C'mon, Brennan, I could almost hear her purring. What did you do?"

He stood, grinning at Jesse then in a way that said everything and nothing at all. Walking over, he patted his friend on the shoulder.

"A magician never tells his secrets, Jess," he answered cryptically. "And speaking of telling, why don't you tell me how your date went last night with... What was her name? Sarah?"

"Jennifer, actually," Jesse corrected. "And we had a really good time."

"I'd say so, since you didn't come home last night."

Brennan knew then, watching Jesse blush, that he was safe. His friend had already forgotten anything he might have thought he saw going on with he and Shalimar. And that was a very good thing. They weren't ready for anyone to know.

"It isn't what you think," Jesse told him. "We stayed up all night talking."

Brennan looked at him with patent disbelief. "Just talking?"

"Yeah," Jesse replied, grinning stupidly. "It was great."

"Sometimes you're too much of a nice guy, Jess. You miss out on all the fun."

"Well, I had fun," Jesse retorted, and then his eyes twinkled. "I think she wants to see me again."

Brennan just laughed.

"There is one thing I want to know, though," Jesse began, and Brennan felt a very sharp stab of panic. "Shal said you guys had a late night last night. What were you doing?"

Brennan pinned on his most charming, most believable smile and lied right through his teeth.

"Just talking," he said smoothly. "Lamenting over our mutual lack of a date for Valentines Day."

Jesse laughed, and Brennan knew that he had bought it.

He might not have had a date, but he'd ended up with something much more special instead – Shalimar. And she really loved him, when he'd never thought that such a thing was even possible. It still seemed too good to be true. And with the way things had been going before Jess showed up, he had a feeling they would be reliving their very special Valentines Day together very soon.

No matter what, no matter where things went or didn't from here, he would never forget it or regret it. He didn't think she would either.

The End