A/N welcome back!

Thank you all for your continued support of this little story.

You asked for Rated M…. You got rated M, coming right up! (Pun intended!) LOLOLOL

Disclaimer: Nope… still don't own 'em…

When she lowered her beer, she hadn't regained the nerve to meet his eyes, but he smiled and reached out, tapping gently against her chin with his knuckle and then hooked his finger beneath it slightly. "You were awesome today, Bones. I'm very proud of you."

"You are?" Her genuine surprise at his statement told Booth that she really didn't understand how wonderful she was. For all her lack of pride in many aspects of her work, she honestly did see the same amazing woman that he saw whenever he looked at her.

"Mm-hmm," he nodded as he affirmed his statement. "I'm always proud of you." He smiled as his eyes skipped over her features. In the soft light of his single table lamp, part of her face was in shadow, but he knew what she looked like by heart, so his mind was able to fill in what he couldn't quite see. "The way your brain processes evidence, the way you can string it all together, the way you justify and support your beliefs… I love to watch you work…" His words were quiet and carefully chosen; the low lighting and their close seating arrangement allowed an intimate feeling to settle over them.

Brennan set her bottle down on his coffee table and turned her body to face him, leaning her left shoulder into the overstuffed back cushion of his couch and looping her left leg up underneath her right thigh. "You were quite impressive to watch, also, you know. You knew it was Jason before we ever had the evidence to back it up. I will never understand your gut instinct, Booth, but I trust it. Seven years ago, I thought you were crazy to follow a 'gut feeling', but now…" she smiled softly, "now I know it's just a talent that you have – a knack for knowing the unknowable... And sometimes I wish I could experience a gut feeling… I feel like I'm missing out on something amazing…"

Booth leaned forward and rested his beer bottle on the table beside hers and leaned back again, this time, turning his body so he was facing her in a mirror image of how she sat, leaning into the couch-back with his right shoulder. When he repositioned himself, he was closer to her than he had been before, but she didn't pull away. He wasn't yet in her personal space, but he was close to it, and Brennan felt her pulse begin to race.

"Bones…" He searched her eyes momentarily then dropped his gaze to his own hands where they rested on his legs. Looking back up, he took a deep breath. "Bones, do you still feel…impervious?"

She looked deep into his chocolate orbs and held her breath. She slowly shook her head. "No…" It was a quiet response, and she slowly exhaled the air she was holding. "Not with you, Booth… There are a lot of things that I don't believe I'll ever allow to emotionally penetrate me…But…you've done that already." She smiled softly when she saw the relief in his eyes.

"That's good…" His response came out in a breathy whisper as he studied her face; her bright eyes, her flushed cheeks, her slightly turned-up nose…her oh-so-soft lips. He remembered the sweet taste of those lips and he paused to outline them with his eyes before looking back up into her blue-green irises.

"Are you still angry, Booth?" Her pleading oceans asked as much as her words and he saw her uncertainty as she awaited his answer.

"No, I'm not angry." He reached for her left hand and covered it with his much larger right one, resting them on her thigh. "I'm so sorry, Bones…" He fought back emotional tears as he remembered the pain he'd caused her after they came back from their respective corners of the earth. Before she could cut him off, he continued. "For everything…I'm sorry I tried to push you that night at the Hoover…I'm sorry I scared you into running half-way across the globe…"

"Booth, I…" she started to interrupt, but he shook his head.

"No, Bones. Please let me finish…" He wrapped his fingers around her hand, still keeping it situated that his palm was flat against the back of her hand as he held her. "If I hadn't pushed you, we wouldn't have run from each other. And I was angry…I'm not going to lie. I was angry that I couldn't have what I wanted… And that was you…" He swallowed thickly and was happy that she remained silent so he could continue. "And I'm sorry that I tried to find happiness with someone who wasn't you…"

"You don't have to be sorry, Booth," she managed to interject, although she knew he wasn't through speaking. "You did exactly what you said you would do…exactly what I told you it was OK to do…"

"But I should have known, Bones. I claim to be able to read people; but I wasn't anywhere close to understanding what I was reading in you…" He turned her hand over in his, and traced her palm with his thumb as it hooked completely around her much thinner hand. "That night… in the truck during the Eames case, when you told me you didn't want regrets…I can't explain to you the pain…the anguish I felt that night. And when I told you that Hannah wasn't a consolation prize…that was a lie. It was a lie and I shouldn't have said it…but I was angry then as well. I was angry that you waited until I was trying to move on to decide that you actually cared. And somewhere, in the back of my mind, I knew that I should have broken it off with Hannah that night; immediately…But my conscience got the better of me; and then I worried that if I did that…what if, once the case was over, you went back to being cut-off and distanced from me… I didn't know how I'd handle that." He studied their hands; her pale skin against his olive tan pigment…her soft daintiness against his hardened callouses…her elegant long thin fingers against his thicker, stronger ones… "I hated being angry and I'm so sorry… I hated the man I became, and I will forever be grateful that you didn't dump my ass as your partner, demanding a new one from Cullen when I was such a dick…"

"Booth, please stop." She reached her hand up to his cheek and palmed it until he looked up into her eyes. "I never held anything against you… I won't lie and say I wasn't hurt; because I was feeling more pain than I ever thought possible. And I don't say that to make you feel bad, I tell you that so you understand that I knew I had made a mistake in turning you down. Once again…I should have trusted your 'gut instinct'… But I was scared…"

"They're usually pretty reliable – my gut feelings…" He smiled tenderly, looking deep into her blues as he turned her hand once more in his, this time so her palm was against his. "Not always…but most times…" He could see her cheeks turning pink, and he knew she was feeling something akin to the nervous emotion was he was also experiencing. "Like the first time I saw you…Up there on that lecture stage at American University…talking about dead bodies or whatever you were lecturing… I not only thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on, but I also knew that together, we would make a great partnership… I didn't understand a damn thing that came out of your beautiful mouth, but I knew I wanted to learn more…" He intertwined their fingers intimately. "And I asked you if you believed in fate…"

"And I told you 'no'…" she replied immediately, "absolutely not... Ludicrous…" She smiled at the memory as she tightened her grip.

He watched in awe as her eyes started to sparkle at the shared memory, and her cheeks grew even rosier. "And then…you helped me solve the case…and somewhere in there we kissed…you hit me…we fought…You hated me…"

"You bullied me…and you fired me," she rebutted, playfully, now knowing that he was not at all bullying her back then.

"And I lost you for a whole year…" His statement was rich with emotion, and spoken barely above a whisper. "You wouldn't answer my calls…you wouldn't respond to my emails…" He swallowed thickly as he saw the telltale signs of tears building behind her eyes. "But still, somewhere in my gut…I knew… I knew that we were destined for great things." He smiled when he saw the threatening tears subside from behind her watery blues and a tiny smile touch her lips.

She couldn't help but tighten her grip, her fingers trembling slightly from nerves or anticipation – she didn't know which. She searched Booth's deep chocolate eyes and saw so much emotion within them that her breath caught in her throat; her mouth suddenly felt like it was full of cotton. "Did you really believe all of that back then?" She wondered aloud, letting her thumb stroke across the back of his hand involuntarily.

"I knew, Bones…I never had a doubt that we'd be the best. My gut told me so…" He grinned and leaned closer to her by a few centimeters. "Your gut talks to you, too, Bones. You just have to learn how to hear it…and listen to it once in a while." His smile reached all the way up to his eyes and he brought his left hand up to brush a loose tendril of hair from her cheek.

"I think my gut is trying to tell me something now, Booth…" She held her breath and searched his face with wide, questioning eyes, noticing that he was still getting closer.

"Is it?" He tucked the same lock of hair behind her ear and tightened the hold he had on her hand. "What's it telling you?" His eyes bore into hers, searching for an answer, or perhaps for permission…

"That… you would never hurt me…" She fought back tears she didn't understand.

"I'd rather die before hurting you again, Bones…" He could feel her hand tremble a little more.

"And…That you will never leave me..." Her eyes traveled from his eyes to his lips and back.

"I'll always be right beside you..." He saw her bottom lip quiver in his peripheral vision, before she sucked it in between her teeth for a moment.

"That… you believe in me… and trust me…" She felt her cheeks flush with the familiar heat she'd been experiencing lately whenever she was alone with her partner.

"Like I believe in no one else, Bones; I trust no one more than I trust you…" His honesty was clear to see and hear in his immediate response. "I trust you with my life."

A moment passed.

And then another.

"Wanna know what my gut is telling me, Bones?"

He was so close that she could feel his warmth breath as it caressed her cheek. She couldn't talk, her throat stopped working. So, she simply nodded as she struggled to control her breathing and the erratic racing of her heartbeat.

Booth's left hand, which had brushed the loose hair behind her ear, still held on to the bottom fringe of that tress, winding and unwinding the silk between his roughened and weathered fingers. He let the hair fall from his hold and moved his open palm to the back of her head, gently pulling her to him as he closed the rest of the distance between them.

"My gut is telling me that now is finally the perfect moment to do this…" His words were mumbled against her mouth as he slanted his own to capture her lips in a tender, but heated kiss. He silently asked for permission and she granted it, parting her lips beneath his, allowing him entrance into the warmth of her mouth.

She swallowed his deep moan and echoed one of her own into his throat. Brennan let go of the death-grip she'd had on his hand and brought both her hands up to his shoulders, grasping him hard, as if to ensure he wasn't going to pull back. Booth had no intention of pulling back. He cradled her smooth, square jaw in his large hand and deepened the kiss even further, using his thumb to pull down on her chin, opening her mouth further for his exploration.

Booth felt dizzy as he swept his tongue against hers in a warm, soft dance. He trailed the very tip along the line of her adorably small teeth, learning and reminding himself of her distinct flavor and feel. He moaned as he felt her hands run along his shoulders and come to rest at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer…impossibly closer to her… He felt the moment she started demanding more from him. Her tongue chased his back into his mouth, so she could become reacquainted with his essence. They tangoed, nipped, sucked and tugged. Booth fisted into her tangled hair, tilting her head in the direction that he wanted it to lean. The palm that had been holding her jaw skimmed down towards to waist, his knuckles barely glancing off the soft mounds of her breasts as he moved. Reaching his destination, he wrapped his fingers around her tight waist and forced his hand between her body and the back of the couch until he was wrapping his entire arm around her torso.

Using his shoulders for leverage, Brennan pulled herself closer, raising to her knees on the cushion next to him as she spread her fingers into the short hair on the back of his head. As she rose up, Booth used that to his benefit and pulled his mouth from hers until he was trailing open, wet kisses along her jawline towards her ear. As his mouth moved along her skin, Brennan let his manipulative hands and arms pull her to his lap, where she straddled his thick thighs without question. Letting her head fall backwards, she bared her throat to her partner, giving herself to him to do with as he pleased.

Booth kissed the long, thin column of her neck in no particular pattern, skipping from side to side, nibbling and licking. As his mouth worked wonders on her neck, his hands started doing some exploring of their own. Finding the bottom hem of her blouse, Booth traced it around to the front, where the two sides came together in a row of tiny buttons. Not wanting to push her too far, too fast, but simultaneously struggling to maintain some semblance of control, he let his fingertips duck beneath her shirt just enough so he could touch the smooth, soft skin of her abdomen and waist.

When Brennan felt the touch of his calloused fingers against her bare skin, she felt a jolt of electricity course through her body, lifting her head immediately. She placed her open palms on either side of his face and angled him the way she wanted, and crashed her mouth onto his, involuntarily bucking her hips against him as she moved. As she ravished his mouth, her skillful fingers started tugging at his tie, loosening it further than it already was.

When she rotated against him, Booth slid his hands down and splayed them around her hips, holding her tight as he bucked up in a primal response. They dueled for control until the sheer lack of oxygen made it necessary for them to break their kiss. Bringing his large palms up to cradle her face, Booth watched Brennan try to catch her breath. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks flushed, and her lips were kiss-swollen and red; he was mesmerized by her… by everything about her. He could feel the flex of her femininely strong fingers along his shoulders, as she moved them back and forth, memorizing his musculature, and he smiled gently, waiting for her to open her eyes. As if on command, her dark lashes fluttered as her lids opened, and he was struck breathless at the brilliance of the blue-green oceans that threatened to swallow him whole.

He rubbed his thumbs against the softness of her cheeks, then brushed another errant curl away as it crept forward, covering his fingers. "Bones," he breathed her name as he leaned in, pressing a tiny kiss to the corner of her mouth. When he pulled back, his smile grew as her lips spread into the most gorgeous smiled he'd ever laid eyes on. "Bones…Tell me that I'm reading you right…Tell me that you want this just as much as I do…" His features grew serious before he continued. "Because I need you to be all-in…Please tell me that you are…" His molten chocolate eyes pleaded with her. "I can only do this if we're both going into it with our eyes open…no misunderstandings…no misleading…" He swallowed slowly, watching her as she watched him.

Her eyes searched his handsome, rugged face and she brought the fingertips of her right hand up, brushing them across his lips carefully. "You want it all…right? Everything?"

He couldn't answer; his throat had closed up. He knew she didn't believe in that kind of relationship… a monogamous, long-term devotion to just one person. He knew she was afraid to let people grow too close to her for fear that they'd bring her more unbearable pain… He knew that she trusted him; but how much she trusted him, he simply didn't know… And that one little morsel of knowledge that he didn't have terrified him.

He nodded slowly, trying to read her expression and bracing for the worst while praying for the best.

After several silent moments, as the partners searched each other's eyes and caressed each other's skin, Booth caught a sparkle of acknowledgement shining in her eyes. She let one side of her lips curl into the sexy, crooked grin that served to drive him mad with want since the first time he witnesses it grace her irresistible mouth.

"You can have it…All of it, Booth. It's yours… I'm yours…."

The words had barely left her lips before he was reaching up to her again, his tongue seeking immediate entrance, as if to test her promise. Of course, she didn't deny, allowing him to claim her through his heady and demanding kiss. She recognized, as she returned the kiss just as eagerly, that she'd said exactly what he wanted to hear… She'd done it right. Through all her fears of messing up the relationship they'd spent so much energy on trying to repair, she finally realized that all she ever had to do was give him that one promise… He could have it all… It was a promise that she never imagined herself making to another human being. But here, in the safety of her partner's embrace, feeling all of his emotions as he poured them out to her through his strong, sensual lips, she knew he would not use that vow against her. Quite the contrary, she thought…If I know Booth, which I do, then I'm certain he will cherish that promise. And in return I will do whatever it takes to make sure he's satisfied and happy…

Before she knew what was happening, she felt Booth's large hands spanning her ribcage, beneath her blouse, his calloused touch sending shock waves through her body. His thumbs brushed against the undersides of her heavy breasts as they fought against the confinement of her bra. She speared her fingers into his hair, gripping his short spikes as she leaned into the kiss, effectively pressing her torso against his completely as she rotated her hips against the impressive bulge she felt growing beneath her heat.

Not having the patience to bother with the way-too-many buttons he was facing, Booth bunched her shirt up, pushing it up her body and forcing her to lift her arms so he could pull it over her head. She complied without resistance, letting Booth maneuver her the way he wanted. She lifted her arms, and shivered when she felt the cool air from his apartment touch her warm skin.

Suddenly, Booth's vision was filled with that which he'd only dreamt about for years. As he pulled her green blouse from her body and dropped it to the side, he watched as his partner's loose auburn curls fell down over her pale shoulders. Booth looked at her in silent awe, his lips parted, but not speaking. His fingers itched to touch her, but he couldn't make his body move; he couldn't make his fingers unclench from here they had molded themselves against her clothing-covered hips.

The milky white skin that was bared before him left him breathless. Brennan's breasts were heaving, nearly spilling out over the low-cut cups of her demi-bra. He let his eyes trace the shoulder straps of her sage-green bra, down to where those straps met the rest of the skin-hugging material. He followed the outline of the lacy cups over each perfectly shaped mound then settled at the cleavage they formed, his mouth watered in anticipation.

"Bones…" He finally trailed his fingertips up her arms, where he hooked his forefingers beneath the elastics and slowly pulled them down over the lightly-freckled skin of her smooth shoulders. He saw her shiver and raised his eyes to hers. Booth saw openness, vulnerability, and nervousness staring back at him. He was suddenly afraid that he'd moved ahead too fast.

She felt anxious about what he would think of her…about how she should react to his touch…about what he expected from her… Temperance Brennan was not a shy woman; she knew she was pretty; she knew men found her sexually attractive. But in all her life, she never had a man look at her with the awe that she witnessed in Booth's eyes. He was silent as he watched her and that made her uncharacteristically nervous. She was concerned about the scars on her body – about what he would think of them when he saw them… They were testimonies to what she'd endured through her years in the foster system. Instinctively, she knew that she had nothing to be ashamed of, but that common-sense did nothing to ease her anxiety.

Recognizing her tension, Booth brought both hands up to cradle her jaw and brushed one thumb against her lower lip. "Bones…You're so beautiful…" he breathed heavily as he saw the telltale signs of tears starting to form behind those oceans of blues. He leaned up to kiss her tenderly once when he felt her chin quivering. He pulled back, but only slightly, so he was still speaking against her mouth. "It's OK, Bones… We don't need to go any further, baby… I'm sorry…" He pushed his fingers backwards, into her hair and pulled his eyes back to look at her. "I shouldn't have moved so fast…"

She smiled down at him through her tears, and brought her hands to a mirror image of how he held his. "It's not that at all, Booth." Her words were soft and she bent to kiss him lightly. "I just don't want to do anything wrong…now that we're…" She shrugged shyly, "I just don't want to mess up… I didn't know what you would think of me…"

"Oh, Bones…" he pulled her in for a kiss once more, deepening it immediately and he smiled into the kiss when she responded just as heavily, plunging her tongue into his mouth impatiently. She sighed against his lips when she felt his hands slide from where they'd been holding her face, and lowered until they circled around to her back. His left hand pressed against the small of her back, that familiar spot that he claimed as his long ago; his right hand fingered the hook at the back of her bra, deftly and quickly snapping it open before running his palm across the whole silky surface of her back and bringing it up to cup the nape of her neck.

She struggled to shift her arms so she could lose her bra completely, but he was pressed against her so fully, it was a near-impossible task. "Booth…" She muttered when he finally broke for air, "I need…" She couldn't get her words out because he took control of her mouth again, covering it completely with his.

Knowing what she wanted, what she needed, Booth moved his hands and pulled each strap completely down her arms, feeling the cups that were containing her soft breasts pull free with a tug. He growled when he felt her hardened nipples scrape against him, through his work shirt, and suddenly, he felt overly-dressed.

As if reading his mind, Brennan returned to her task of removing his tie, tossing it aside and proceeded to unfasten most of the tiny white buttons until she couldn't continue – the bottom of his shirt was still tucked into his work slacks. He moved his mouth from hers and left a trail of wet kisses along her jaw and neck while his hands came up and measured the size and weight of each perfectly-sized breast, lightly pinching her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. Mumbling against the hollow of her throat, something resembling the words 'gorgeous' and 'fucking awesome', he moved his lips southward, until he could take one pert breast into his eagerly awaiting mouth.

"Ahh!" It was a sudden, unexpected moan from deep within Brennan's chest when she felt the wet warmth of Booth's tongue against her skin. She tried to push his shirt from his shoulders, but it didn't get past his muscular biceps, because he wasn't moving his arms from where they were currently stationed on her body. She gave up the struggle to disrobe him and just let herself get lost in the feelings he was eliciting in her body, holding on to his shoulders to avoid falling backwards as he laved each nipple in turn, lavishing attention equally and occasionally settling in the valley of her cleavage, licking and kissing her body in ways that she never thought she'd feel.

Without conscious thought, Brennan began to once again rotate her hips against his; positioning herself so she could feel the growing length of his cock against her clit, despite the layers of clothing separating them. She needed pressure…she needed release…she needed him. More than she ever needed anyone in her life – more than she ever needed another man – she needed Seeley Booth. All of him.

She grabbed his jaw and pulled his face away from her breasts and up to her lips, where she licked into his welcoming warmth without protest. Remembering a discussion from long ago, Brennan pulled back, but only slightly, and whispered against his stubbly cheek, her breath grazing his masculine skin back to his ear. "Teach me, Booth… Make love to me…and teach me how to 'become one', breaking the laws of physics…"

Without a second thought, Booth scooted forward in his seat cradling her bottom in his hands, and stood from the couch. She wrapped her strong legs around his hips as if they'd rehearsed the move for years, and dug her fingers into the flesh of his shoulders, her nails biting his skin, even through the material of his shirt. The change of position as he stood, caused her core to be pressed against his abdomen, and he could feel her heat radiating, drawing another deep growl from his chest as he bit her neck lightly, and licking it to then sooth the sting. He walked them back into his bedroom and silently encouraged her to lower her legs as they reached the edge of the bed.

When she was standing in front of him, still pressed completely against his body, he looked at her with desire dripping from every pore. "I want the lights on, Bones…I want to see you…" When she met his eyes, he was uncertain of her preferences, so he asked, "Is that ok?"

"I want to see you, too, Booth…All of you." She stretched up on her tippy-toes and tugged his lower lip into her mouth tenderly, licking the length of it before letting it go once more and dropping back flat-footed. With a resurgence of insecurity, Brennan searched his face. "Booth…I have scars…" she struggled to hold back the tears of fear that he'd find this repulsive. If there was one person in the world that she feared would find her scars ugly, it was Booth.

"I've got scars, too, Bones…But when I look at you, I don't see them…I see the woman I love…" He hadn't meant to say it just then, but once it was out, there was no retracting it. He just hoped that it wouldn't be too much for her to handle all at once.

"You love me?" She asked simply and innocently.

With a single nod, he met her intense gaze. "I've loved you for a long time, Bones. And I will continue to love you until the day I die…" There it was…his hand was out on the table for her to see…

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him close, pressing her face into the side of his neck and breathing in his familiar cologne and a scent that was just 'Booth.' She closed her eyes and nuzzled, "I love you, too, Booth."

The words came out into the world in a choked whisper, and Booth felt faint. He knew that for Brennan to say those three little words, it took great effort and bravery on her part, and a countless amount of faith in him. He knew his Partner had never 'loved' anyone, outside of her family when she was a child. She carefully loved her friends, but would not openly vocalize those feelings… But what she confessed in that quiet moment, as his hands were splayed across her bare back and her arms had drifted down to encircle his waist tightly, was a moment of evolution in the ever-changing-Temperance-Brennan.

Booth bit back tears of relief; happiness; awe… He held her tighter against him, lowering his head so he could press his lips to the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. "Thank you," he breathed against the shell of her ear. "Thank you, Bones…"

After several tender moments, Booth's body began to scream for more. He pressed against her slightly, testing to see if she would be receptive to continuing where they left off before their emotional declarations to each other. He moved his lips from her ear to her forehead and then lowered his face, so his forehead was pressed against hers. He could see the remnants of tears clinging to her dark lashes, where they rested against her upper cheeks. He brought one hand up to her cheek and thumbed away the wetness he found. "Bones…"

She looked at him without hesitation, opening her wet, but bright, blue eyes wide in silent question.

After a moment of silently watching each other, Booth's mouth curled into a lopsided grin. "I love you, Bones…" He was just testing how it felt to say it out loud, and truth be told, testing how she'd react.

Brennan met his smile with her own crookedly adorable grin. "I love you, too." This time, when she said it, she was staring him in the eye, not nuzzling into his neck, and she felt a sudden freedom in the phrase. "I love you…" She said it the second time because it felt so damn good to say aloud. Her half-smile grew into a full-blown, radiant beam of metaphorical sunshine and she kissed Booth in return as he lowered his lips to hers.

Booth slid his hands down to the waistband of her slacks and thumbed open the button and zipper quickly. Hooking his fingers into her pants and panties together, he stepped back slightly, so he could appreciate what he was about to reveal, and he peeled down her clothing slowly. Almost stumbling backwards, Booth caught himself as he saw her, for the first time, in a way he had only imagined. And the 'Bones' in his imagination didn't compare to the 'Bones' that now stood in his bedroom, at the edge of his king-sized bed, gloriously naked for him to see.

He must have been staring for too long for Brennan's liking, because she smirked and tilted her weight to one hip. "Booth, you're wearing too many clothes." Her voice was husky with seduction and her eyes shone with anticipation. She reached forward and finally shoved his white oxford from his shoulders, revealing a skin-tight white undershirt beneath. She grinned when he didn't resist her hands as they popped the Cocky belt buckle loose at his waist and let his pants drop into a puddle at his feet. She ran the palms of her hands against his stomach, beneath the t-shirt and pushed it upward, sliding her hands along his body as she undressed him.

Booth raised his arms without argument and let his lover remove his shirt until he was standing before her in just his black and white striped boxers, which, incidentally, matched his black and white striped socks. He met her amused smirk with one of his own.

"What? I happen to be a very coordinated kinda guy…" He mused as he looked down and wiggled his toes as she chuckled about his matching set. Without pause, Booth brought his hands up to her laughing face and cradled her as he leant in for a soft kiss. He felt her smile fade into the kiss beneath his mouth, as she rubbed her hands across the bare skin of his abdomen and chest.

"Mmmm…" she moaned into him. "I always figured you'd have smooth skin, Booth, but this…" she ran her fingers up his sides, from his waist to just below his arm pits, "is better than I imagined…"

"Glad to know I wasn't the only one imagining things, baby…" he mumbled in response as he nuzzled the soft area beneath her earlobe.

"Don't call me 'baby', Booth…I'm not an infant…" Her rebuttal was weak, if anything, followed by a sigh of approval at his ministrations.

"OK, baby…" He switched sides and licked beneath her other lobe as he grinned. He spanned his hands around her ribcage once more, using his thumbs to press up on the fullness of her breasts from beneath, while simultaneously moving her back towards the bed once again. When he realized her calves were pressing against the mattress, he reached down and took her hands, one in each of his, and brought them both up to his lips, kissing them in turn. "Lie down, Bones…Let me look at you…"

At a request that would normally have struck her as odd from any other lover, she simply blushed at the predictability of her partner's desire. She sat on the edge of the mattress slowly and, before scooting back towards the pillows, reached out for the waistband of his boxers. Booth caught her wrists, however, and stopped her movement.

"Nu-uh…" He shook his head no, as his eyes darkened with desire. "I have to keep these on for now…otherwise this ain't gonna last long…" He bent at the waist, effectively moving said-waist out of her reach, and kissed both wrists, before meeting her gaze again.

"Booth…" Brennan's voice was low and raspy, "we can take our time later…For now…just…I need you." Her hands reached up and gripped his shoulders, trying to pull him down on top of her as she attempted to lay back.

"No, Bones…We can never recapture our first time…And I'm gonna make this perfect for you…We are going to bend science to our will, and we will occupy the same space…" When he saw the telltale sign of his partner's inevitable rebuttal, he laid a finger against her lips. "Bones…I promise, next time, and any time after that, you can have it however you want it…Fast and hard; slow and lazy; kinky or straight…Whatever… And believe me, there will be times that I just take it because that's how I need it…and you will demand it because that's how you need it… But tonight, we do this my way." He silently encouraged her to lean back onto the bed, to which she complied, spreading her body out for him to admire.

"Bones…Tonight, I'm gonna learn what makes you purr in pleasure…and what makes you scream in ecstasy… and what makes you moan my name breathlessly…" He kissed her as she settled into the softness of his over-stuffed king sized pillows. "Tonight I am going to watch how beautiful you are when you cum around my fingers…" he traced one finger along her outer thigh as he crawled further up on the bed beside her. "And I am going to memorize how delicious you taste when you explode against my mouth, coating my tongue with your juices…" he bowed his head and licked one nipple with the flat of his tongue, causing her to shudder. He raised his head to look at her and she felt her lungs seize at the unveiled desire she saw in his ebony eyes. "And I am finally going to experience what it feels like to have my cock buried deep inside your pussy as you squeeze me like a vice, cumming all around me…" He shifted so he was straddling her legs with his. "Cumming for me…" he braced himself by planting his fists on either side of her head as he looked down on her. "Cumming because of me…" He lowered his lips towards hers, but didn't close the distance completely. Instead, he left several centimeters between them, so he could continue so speak. "Tonight, I am going to make you completely forget about every other man you've ever been with. Tonight, Bones, it begins…You're mine…and mine alone…" He challenged her with his eyes to fight him on his possessiveness. He knew she hated the whole ownership-thing that went along with monogamous relationships, but he was willing to tempt her wrath, because he wasn't backing down on this front. "I won't share you, Bones… With anyone…Ever…"

She struggled to control her breathing as she searched his eyes for any signs of malicious tendencies that she associated with blatant claims of ownership, but she found none. She found only desire, and devotion, and the promise that he was hers in return. Satisfied with what she was witnessing, she smiled seductively and writhed to open her thighs for him, but found that he had her pinned beneath his much-stronger legs as he sat astride hers.

Recognizing her acceptance of his proposal, he sat back on his heels and stared at her unabashedly. "You are fucking gorgeous, Bones… Un-fucking-believable… that's what you are…" His eyes raked over her body as she lay as still as possible while trying to control the excited vibrations radiating through her body.

"I like it when you swear like that, Booth… I never liked it when I heard someone talk like that… but when I hear you say it like that…Mmm…" Her honesty was clear for him to see, and he appreciated her candor.

"Well, I don't always swear in bed, Bones…But that's good to know." He grinned as he continued to study her body. He ran his fingertips, in mirror images to each other, up her thighs and over her hip bones, outlining the protruding skeletal structure as he moved. She was thin, but not too thin; he could see her hip bones when she was lying on her back, sprawled out for him like this, and he liked that… He then traced one palm over her flat tummy, pausing to dip one thick finger into her delectable bellybutton, drawing a giggle from her. Filing that little piece of information away for later use, Booth continued touching her, learning her, exciting her…

He watched as his strokes caused goose bumps to erupt on her otherwise perfectly smooth skin, and he listened as his caresses pulled moans and hums of approval from her sultry alto voice. All of these details and reactions were mentally catalogued and stored for future reference, as she allowed him to touch her intimately, as no man had ever bothered to do before. He reached up, grabbing her wrists carefully and pulled them over her head, pressing them into the pillow. "One day, I am going to tie you up, Bones…" he spoke right next to her ear, letting his breath tickle her skin as it glanced along the surface. "I am going to take your pretty little wrists and wrap one of my silk ties around them, and torture you until you can't take any more…"

"ahh…nnggg…" she groaned in response, immediately feeling herself grow wetter, as if that were even possible…

Leaving her hands against the pillow, Booth dragged his fingers down her arms until he was cupping her pert breasts, admiring their perfect fit in his palms. He was fighting his baser instinct to simply shuck his boxers and slam into her, making her his own in the most primal way imaginable. But he wanted her to experience what it was to 'make love' versus to simply 'have sex', so he reined himself into control, determined to ensure her satisfaction before he could even consider his own.

Bending over, he took one perfect pink nipple into his mouth while tugging on her other with his fingers. He tugged and sucked at her repeatedly, sharing his attention between both breasts until her hands finally shot down from their spot on the pillow and fisted his short hair, pulling his head back up to her mouth, so she could thrust her tongue into his warmth. He smiled into the kiss, knowing that she'd lost a little bit of her ever-present control simply by his ministrations on her perfect tits, and he groaned when her blunt fingernails bit into his bare shoulders as she fought for purchase on his body.

Brennan once again tried to spread her legs so he would settle between them, but he still had her confined by his own sexy thighs. "Booth…" she moaned against his mouth. "Please…"

He nodded, understanding what she needed and framed her face tenderly. "Relax, Bones. I want you to enjoy this." He slowly backed away, nipping at her breasts once more as he passed then and she arched up to meet him eagerly. When he was passing over her tummy, he paused and gave her irresistible bellybutton a slow, warm French kiss, once again memorizing the delicious sounds that were emanating from somewhere deep inside her chest. When she thrust her hips upward again, he got the hint and continued his journey.

Finally freeing her legs from beneath his, Booth held his breath as her thighs fell open for him immediately, another silent testimony to the amount of trust she was bestowing upon him. Settling his shoulders between her parted knees, Booth ran one thick finger along her bare folds, admiring how beautiful she was. "This is nice, Bones…bare…and soft…" She bucked against his finger, causing it to press against her clit before he had intended, gathering moisture as they moved. "Jesus Christ, Bones… You're fucking soaked…" He felt his cock twitch in anticipation as he pressed it against the mattress while lying on his stomach at his perch just below her dripping core.

Unable to wait any longer, and frankly unwilling to let her become any more riled, for fear she'd get pissed at him, he gathered enough juice on his fore- and middle fingers, growling at her breathless reactions to his touches, and plunged his fingers deep into her waiting sex.

"Yessss!" Brennan rotated against him immediately, pressing her hips down toward his hand, trying to get him as deep as possible. It'd been so long for her… So long since she had someone other than herself to take her over the edge, and she knew it wouldn't be long with his skillful fingers dipping into her as he built the perfect rhythm, before she plummeted into the abyss. She let herself get lost in the feel. No one had ever taken this kind of time with her… The kissing…the stroking…the spoken and unspoken promises… And now, the devout attention he was giving to her, focusing on her pleasure before his own… Just as she had always suspected, Booth was a selfless lover.

She about came off the bed completely when, on a particularly deep thrust of his thick fingers, his tongue came into contact with her clit. She lifted her head from the pillow, intent to see him as he pressed against her with his mouth, but it was all too much. She speared her wiry fingers into his short hair, holding him in place as she met his tempo, raising her hips to meet his hand and mouth. He raised his blackened eyes and met hers, and in that split second, she felt the unmistakable coil unwinding as she shattered beneath his touch, beneath his lips.

"Booooothhhh…." She groaned, letting his name drip from her lips in a low, guttural sound.

He suckled and drank everything she had to offer to him, licking her clean as his fingers stroked her inner-walls, letting her ride out her powerful orgasm. After several moments, as her hips slowed their involuntary movements, he withdrew his fingers slowly, as he rested on his elbows, watching her from below. When she met his gaze, he lifted his fingers, ensuring she was watching as he licked his hand clean of her nectar, not wasting one perfect drop. At seeing his actions, Brennan felt her throat close, stopping her from breathing momentarily, in awe.

"You…Bones…" He started to crawl up her body, dragging his lips and tongue along her skin as he moved. "I gave up gambling for you, years ago…knowing that I had to be better than that if I ever was going to have a shot with you… I had to shake my addiction…" He nipped her hips, her tummy, the valley of her breasts… "But now…I have a new addiction…and it's you, baby…" When he reached the hollow of her throat, he pressed his tongue there again, feeling the pressure of her still-racing heart.

She reached for her cheeks, palming them and turning his face up to meet hers. She could feel her own slick juices on his skin and when she kissed him, tasting herself on his lips and tongue, he groaned in arousal.

Mumbling against his open mouth, she pleaded with him, knowing at this point he'd do anything for her… "Make love to me, Booth…I want to feel you inside me."

He pulled back and met her large eyes; her pupils were dilated with desire and the blues were darker than he'd ever seen. "I just have to get-" he started reaching for his bedside drawer, but she stopped him as his arm shot out.

"Booth, I'm clean…and I believe you are too…"

"I am, I just had my annual physical," he said, comprehending what she was saying immediately.

She nodded; she knew he was safe. "Nothing between us…if that's OK with you, Booth. Please… It's OK…"

Booth thought his head was going to explode. A dream come true…that's what she was offering to him. "Are you sure, Bones? I'm fine with it, but I wanna make sure you're-"

She cut him off with her mouth as she slanted it over his in an immediate deep kiss. Brennan wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed his boxers with her toes, pulling them down as she stretched her legs out straight once more.

"Booth… I want to feel you… all of you." She mumbled against his neck as she moved along his jaw towards the soft area below his mandible. "I've never let anyone…" she gulped, gathering her thoughts as she nuzzled. "Booth, I want you to do this…but only if you're comfortable also…"

"Fuck yeah…" He nudged her thighs with his hips, pushing them apart further to accommodate his width and met her eyes once more. "Bones…" He said her name just because, and he reached his hand between them, stroking her once to make sure she was ready for him so soon. So Goddamn wet…still…fucking-A, his thoughts ran rampant as he pressed two fingers completely into her once more. He pulled out and coated his throbbing cock with her moisture, giving himself one solid yank while never taking his eyes off hers.

As he positioned his head just inside her heat, he waited, silently asking her permission to continue; and she understood. With a nearly imperceptible nod, she pressed her hips up to meet his as he pushed into her tightness.

He groaned.

She moaned.

And after letting her adjust to his girth, he began to move – only slightly at first, because he knew that she hadn't been with anyone for a long time…As far as he knew, she hadn't been with a man since they'd been back in the States, and before they went their separate ways, she hadn't dated anyone in several months. Once she started to pick up the pace, he knew it was safe to begin to lose himself in the sensation of what it was to be buried deep inside her sweet, hot sheath.

"Oh, God, Bones…" He braced himself on his elbows, cradling her head with his forearms and hands. "You feel so good, baby…Better than I ever imagined…" He set an easy pace, trying to make it last as long as possible, but pressing deep so he was balls-deep with every plunge.

"Booth…" she panted as she bent her knees, so her feet were flat on the mattress, giving her the leverage to meet his movements thrust for thrust. "Booth…move faster…more… please…" She guided him in her wishes, increasing the pace so he understood. It only took a couple of bucks against him before he picked up the pace to where she needed it. "Yeah…" She pressed her lips against his throat, because that was the only place she could reach as he pressed her head into the crook of his neck.

Pulling back so he could look at her while they moved, he was overcome with sudden emotion…the kind of which he was not expecting, and he felt the sting of tears behind his eyes. "Bones…" He searched her blues for something he didn't even know he was seeking.

Without warning, his hips started to increase the speed at which he was thrusting in and out of her and soon, he was pounding into her wet heat with such force that she could feel his head pressing against her cervix with each plunge. She lost herself in the feel of his size as he spread her from within, at the speed of his driving force as his hips met hers repeatedly, and in the sheer fact that he was the first man she was about to permit to cum inside her without the protection of a condom. The raw intimacy was so much more than she had expected and she met his wet eyes with tears of her own.

He smiled as he fisted her hair in his hands. "I love you, Bones… I love you so much."

That was all it took. The combination of the physical contact mixed with the deep emotional attachment she felt to her partner sent her pummeling over the ledge. Squeezing him with a force she didn't even know she possessed, she writhed as she rode out her second orgasm of the night.

He watched…he learned…he memorized…and he pounded…harder. Once he recognized that she was coming down from her high, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. He knew she understood because he could feel her brace herself as she reached her arms around his waist and dropped her hands to his strong ass muscles.

"Yes, Booth…" she arched up to meet him. "Take me…Take it however you need to, Booth. Don't hold back…"

That was all the permission he needed. He felt the tight rein he'd been gripping loosen and his rhythm faltered as he picked up the speed and pressure until he was pounding into her deep, hard and without a steady tempo. Needing more, he lowered his head and found that sweet skin just where her shoulder met her neck and he bit down gently, immediately following the sting of his teeth with a soft lick and a harder suck. He knew it was wrong…but he was about to mark her, and he couldn't stop himself.

Sucking hard, Booth pulled the skin into his mouth, sucking in time with his thrusts until he was at the precipice. Just a couple more thrusts, he thought to himself… just a couple more…

"I love you, Booth…Oh, my God… I love you… Cum for me…"

Her husky voice, her demanding order and her confession of love did to him what he'd done to her and he came. He emptied himself in white hot streams, shooting deep inside of her body as he tilted her hips so high against him that she was almost perpendicular to his body. He pressed…and pushed…and groaned until he had nothing left. "Bonessss… Fucking incredible…" He muttered against her skin as he tried to catch his breath. He couldn't remember ever feeling so intense…so out of control…so goddamn incredible…

He didn't want to crush her, but his arms were about to give out beneath his weight. He rolled to the side, pulling her with him so she settled against his chest as she draped her leg over his hips, molding her body to his completely.

"That was amazing, Booth… I think we did it… I think we broke the laws of physics." She smiled against his strong pec as she traced random shapes across his sweaty skin.

"Yeah…" Booth still hadn't caught his breath. "Just think, Bones…this is just the beginning. Imagine how incredible we're going to be after we've had some practice…"

"Mmm…" she stretched up and kissed his pronounced Adams Apple, feeling it bob beneath her lips as he swallowed thickly. "Do you think we can practice again in tonight?" She smiled devilishly.

"Jesus, Bones… let a guy catch his breath, huh?" He smiled down at her, cringing lightly when he saw the bite mark he'd left on her neck. "I'm sorry, Bones…" he carefully ran his finger along the skin that was quickly turning purple.

"That's OK, Booth... I kind of liked it… But you know turnabout is fair game." She smiled, knowing she'd be marking him before the sun came up that morning.

"Fair play, Bones…turnabout is fair play…" he grinned. "And I'm looking forward to it." He pulled the sheet up to cover their cooling bodies before they drifted off into a sated nap, wrapping his arm around her possessively as she nuzzled into his side. "Love you, Bones… Get some rest. You're gonna need it."

Postscript A/N

Please take a moment to review what you read here. The only way a writer knows if what they're writing is liked or hated is to receive a review, so I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy Birthday, once again dharmamonkey. I hope you liked your present!

hugs!

Peace & love, my friends,

~jazzy