The warm air blew gently through the open bar and the mixed scent of sea water and coconut oil circled her like a comforting embrace. The brunette brought the shot glass up to her lips and tossed her head back, the whiskey burning a pleasant path down her throat. She quickly followed it with a generous swallow from the pint of island beer. Her index finger lazily wiped the foam from her upper lip before tapping the bar.

"So how was your last day in paradise?" the bartender asked as he poured another shot of whiskey.

She looked at him appreciatively. "You remembered."

Laughing, he said, "Of course I remembered. No offence, but you've been my biggest tipper in the last week. I'm gonna miss that! Well, that and those legs." He winked, leaving no awkwardness in his comment.

"Craig, if I were straight, you'd be the first person I'd call."

He made a little pump-fist motion. "Yes!"

The arrival of other customers drew him away, and she repeated her whiskey-beer routine.

Paradise, she thought, looking around at the groups of people. Friends, lovers, enjoying themselves and their company. Not for the first time did she think she must have made a sad figure, sitting alone on a bar stool. Of course, for some, sitting alone was an invitation.

"What's a lady like you drinking a boilermaker in a place like this?" a voice asked behind her left ear. He motioned to the bartender. "Another whiskey for the lady. I'll have rye and coke."

Craig sauntered over and flipped the bar towel over his shoulder. "The lady won't be having another whiskey," he informed the man, "but I can still get you your drink, sir."

The blonde man frowned. "What do you mean she won't be having another whiskey? I think she can have whatever she wants." He pulled out a garish roll of bills and threw a $50 on the counter. "There. That should cover the tab."

Quietly, but with steel in his voice, the bartender leaned forward and said, "The lady has been coming into my bar for six nights. She orders a shot of whiskey and a beer. When she's done the whiskey, she orders one more. After the beer, she'll order two more before the night's done. That's how it goes and that's how the lady-" he stressed the last word, much to her amusement "likes it. Now, do you still want your drink?"

"If I may interrupt," she said. Turning to the man at her shoulder, she held out her hand. "I appreciate the gesture, I really do. But you know what else I like?" She watched him tilt his head at the question. "Women. So please, I encourage you to take your money and your beautiful blue eyes and find someone that will actually work on."

He had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry," he mumbled and pushed away from the bar. When Craig handed him the $50 back, he waved it away. "No, it's a small price to pay for being an idiot." He looked at her. "Treat yourself."

"Well, that went better than some of the others," she said as she watched the would-be suitor walk away.

"I like the fact his eyes didn't light up when you told him you liked women."

"Oh, god," she rolled her eyes. "That guy the other night. With the Magnum, P.I mustache?"

"The one who then went around to every woman and asked them if they were lesbians?" Craig recalled. "Or would they be for the right price?"

The two groaned at the memory. "Anyway, thank you for being my buffer this week."

"Hey, what did I say? I gotta protect my investments." He looked at her bottle. "Time for another?"

"Yeah, please. And put that 50 in my protection fund," she smiled.

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The crowd grew larger than expected, and the bar was hopping. It took Craig almost ten minutes to get back to her, and when he did, he brought another shot glass. She looked down at it in confusion.

"Have you forgotten I've already had my two?"

He shrugged. "Someone was insistent that I give it to you."

"Really?" she asked. "Was the 50 bucks not enough?"

The bartender laughed and shook his head. "She was insistent that I give it to you." With a subtle tilt of his head and a quick movement of his eyes, he identified the woman. "Blue sarong top. Here she comes."

He walked away before she had a chance to protest. Gazing into the shot glass, she wondered if she had it in her to play this game tonight. When she saw the woman who filled out the blue sarong top, she decided she did.

Honey blonde hair framed a perfect smile and eyes that defied description. "Hello," she said. "I'm sorry if the drink was too forward. You just looked like you needed one."

"I'd prefer the company more. Please, sit."

She raised her eyebrow when Craig brought a drink for the blonde. He shrugged sheepishly. "Rum cocktail for you, Maura."

"Thank you, Craig."

"This might sound like a pick up line, but do you come here often, Maura?"

The woman laughed. "I have a house at the top of Ala Hills…" her voice trailed off, clearly hoping for a name.

"Jane," the brunette replied with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Jane. If I may ask, what brings you here to Hawaii?"

Jane smirked and called the bartender. "Craig, what brings me to Hawaii?"

He leaned forward and whispered, "She's on a case."

Maura looked at Jane's seat. "I don't understand."

Craig grinned. "Not literally. I mean, she's a spy."

Maura's eyes widened, but narrowed just as quickly when she realized it was a joke. "Oh, I see," she said, deciding to play along. "CIA? FBI?"

Jane downed the shot of alcohol and bumped shoulders with the blonde. "MI-6," she whispered. "Bond. Jane Bond." Maura threw her head back and laughed, and the sight sent a course of electricity through Jane.

"Funny, you don't sound English."

"That's because I'm undercover." Continuing the charade, she said, "I'm here on the trail of a double agent."

"Oooh, I see. Male or female?"

"Female."

"A femme fatale?"

"Yes," Jane replied, giving Maura an obvious once over. She surprised herself at her openness, but Maura didn't seem to mind. In fact, there were obvious signs she felt a charge, too. After 6 days of wallowing in the real reason she was in Hawaii, Jane decided to throw all caution to the wind. "Very sexy. Amazingly seductive." Her eyes wandered over Maura's body again. She noticed how the blonde shifted in her seat, turning her body towards her, knees slightly parting.

"Sounds like a woman who is willing to do anything to get what she wants," Maura replied. "Sounds very dangerous."

"Mmmmm," Jane hummed with a wink. "Hazard of the job, I'm afraid." She watched as Maura took a sip of her drink, her eyes peering over the rim of the glass. "So what brings you here to Hawaii, Maura? Or do you live here?"

"No," she said simply.

There was a definite sharpness to her reply, but also a tinge of sadness. Jane couldn't resist softly asking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

The banter was gone, but it was replaced by a warm comfort that surprised them both. There was something so genuine, so inviting about Jane's manner that Maura couldn't help but reply with a similar honesty. "My divorce came through last week."

"Oh," the brunette replied, unsure of what to say.

Maura took another drink. "My husband fought me tooth and nail for this house, but it means the world to me. I told him he could have everything else."

"Bastard," Jane muttered under her breath, and tried to ignore the disappointment of finding out Maura was married to a man.

"Fortunately," she continued brightly, "the judge didn't think a man who was caught with his pants down- literally- screwing his secretary on the company desk should have anything at all." Jane's eyes almost jumped out of her head. "So, as disappointed as I am that a 12 year marriage is down the drain, it's also a celebration of sorts." She held up her drink. "To new beginnings."

Jane lifted up her beer and tapped Maura's glass. "To new beginnings."

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The night faded around them and they talked for hours. Craig substituted drinks for coffee, yet neither seemed to need the cover of alcohol to share parts of each other truthfully and honestly. Jane told stories of her childhood she had thought she'd long forgotten, and Maura admitted how she yearned for that kind of childhood. Maura spoke of her deepest fears and Jane confessed her worst failures. By the end of the night, both women felt like they had known each other for years, as if they had suddenly found a piece of themselves they didn't realize was missing.

"I'm sorry, ladies," Craig said, "but the bar's closing up."

They looked around and smiled. They hadn't even noticed they were now the only ones left in the bar. Standing, Jane stretched, her short tank top pulling up to reveal a flat toned torso, and she pretended not to catch Maura staring. She reached across the counter to shake Craig's hand.

"I'm going to miss you, Craig," she said with a smile.

He took her hand in his and leaned over the bar to hug her. "You were my second best customer, Jane."

"Second best?" He glanced over to Maura, then back to Jane. "I see," she said. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that. Thanks, Craig."

"Come back soon, Jane. There will always be a place for you at my bar."

The women stepped outside and Maura turned to Jane. The wind blew a strand of blonde across her face. "Are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning," Jane said.

"Oh." The disappointment was evident. "I…"

"What is it?"

Maura laughed, but there was no mirth in it. "I don't know. I just felt… an incredible connection with you, Jane. It just started, but now it's going to end."

Jane took a chance and laced her fingers through Maura's. When the woman didn't pull away, she smiled wistfully. "It doesn't have to end yet. Not if you don't want it to."

Maura gazed back at Jane and marvelled at the war her emotions were waging. She looked down at their hands. "I've never… I mean…"

"You've never been with a woman." The red flush that burned Maura's cheeks could be seen even in the darkness. Jane tilted up Maura's chin with a finger. "I'm going to walk you home. There doesn't have to be anything more to it than that. Okay?"

Drawing in a shaky breath, Maura nodded. "Okay."

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The walk was quiet and tense, but it was a tension caused by anticipation. The trail was a gentle slope framed by fauna and trees, and a soft breeze brushed over them.

"It's a beautiful night," Jane said.

"This is the perfect time of year to visit," Maura replied. "The average temperature at night is 73 degrees, which is perceived as an optimal temperature." She saw Jane's smirk and apologized. "I'm sorry. I have a tendency to rattle off useless bits of information when I'm nervous."

"First off, it's not useless." Jane squeezed her hand. "Second, why are you nervous? Unless you're the double agent…" her voice trailed off, mock-accusingly.

Maura laughed, immediately at ease. "Maybe you should be the one who's nervous, Agent Bond," she purred, feeling confident once more. "I might be luring you back to my lair."

"Maybe I can't wait to see how you're going to try and make me reveal all my secrets."

The blush returned and Maura shyly turned her head. "Well, we're about to find out." They stood outside her door and she pulled a key out of the small leather pouch that hung on her hip. With a slight shake in her hand, she unlocked the door and disarmed the security system. She saw Jane still standing on the doorstep. "Did you… did you not want to come in?"

"Did you want me to?"

Their eyes met and locked. Both knew Jane stepping over the threshold would be more than a simple invitation into the house. Subconsciously, Maura licked her lips and pressed her hands together. "May I be honest?"

"Of course."

"I don't think it's about what I want anymore. I think… I think it's about what I need."

Without breaking eye contact, Jane entered the home and closed the door behind her. Slowly, she approached the blonde until they were a hair's width apart. The heat from their bodies entwined around each other and Jane closed her eyes at the scent of Maura, something flora, something earthy, something indescribable. She risked resting her fingertips on Maura's hips, just above the edge of her sarong. "What do you need?"

A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. "I don't know. I mean, I know, but why now? Why with you? I saw you across a room and… here we are. This only happens in the movies."

Jane looked around, trying to find an explanation not only for Maura's questions but her own. She wasn't inclined to just jump into bed with someone, let alone a woman who had no sexual experience with other women. Or maybe she was. She had been in a relationship so long that maybe she had forgotten what it was like to just be with someone, without history, without expectation.

"You have a great view."

Maura looked over her shoulder, towards the big picture window that overlooked the ocean. "It's too bad it's so late. I can watch the sun set from there. It's beautiful."

Jane gently tugged her hand and lead them to the window. Taking advantage of her height, she stood behind Maura and wrapped her arms around her. "I love the reflection of the moon on the water. If you stare at it long enough, you can almost convince yourself the world has stopped for a while."

"I like that," Maura said. "Though, look." She pointed into the distance. "It's going to rain."

"And everything starts fresh again."

Slowly, she uncurled her arms and laid her hands flat against Maura's torso. The blonde inhaled sharply but didn't protest. Taking this as a sign of encouragement, Jane's hands began a slow circular pattern, fingers meeting at Maura's belly button before trailing outward, grazing tantalizingly close to the underside of her breasts. Maura's breath hitched and she arched forward, seeking more. It was a silent request Jane was more than willing to fulfill. Hesitantly, but for Maura's sake rather than her own, she trailed her fingers up Maura's rib cage, tickling along the outer curve of her breasts and meeting at her collarbones. They both held their breath until Jane's hands lowered to cup Maura's breasts. A moan escaped the blonde's lips and Jane pressed her nose into thick tresses, eyes squeezing shut at the sensation.

A flick of her thumbs against already sensitive nipples made Maura twitch and she couldn't help pressing her right hand against the glass, pushing back into Jane. She turned her head, exposing her neck, and her not-so-subtle hint did not go unnoticed. Using her left hand to brush aside Maura's hair, Jane softly bit the proffered skin, and again, Maura pushed back into her hips, this time grinding against Jane's center. The brunette's right hand slipped underneath the sarong top, and her left hand gripped Maura's right hip, encouraging the soft bump and retreat, pushing into the contact.

"Had I known the trip would have lead to this, I would have brought some equipment." Maura's head turned to look at Jane in surprise… and something more. Jane caught the look and forgot to breathe. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she asked. When she got no reply, she smiled and sharply pulled her hip into her, watching Maura's eyelids flutter. "Would you like me to push you against the window and take you from behind?" Maura whimpered and pressed her forehead against the cool glass, her breath creating small puffs of condensation. Jane's grip tightened and her pace increased. She placed a hot kiss behind Maura's ear. "I bet you would. Wouldn't you?"

Maura reached up to grab Jane's aimless right hand, and without pride or hesitation, she pushed it under her sarong, into her wetness. Both women groaned at the contact.

"Jesus," Jane moaned. "You would like it. You want to know something?" She didn't wait for a response. "So would I."

The words shot through Maura's brain and sent bolts of pleasure throughout her body. She leaned back into Jane, resting her head in the crook of the taller woman's shoulder, and writhed shamelessly against Jane's hand. The brunette brought her left hand from Maura's hip and draped it across her breasts, holding her close and letting her dictate the pace.

"Keep talking," Maura begged.

"Oh, you like that, too, do you?" Jane husked into her ear. "Should I tell you all the things I'm going to do to you when I get you on the bed? How this is just a teaser of how hard I'm going to make you come later?" She felt Maura's hand push forcefully into hers, pressing her fingertips against the hard nub. The contact made Maura go rigid.

"Yes. Yes. Yes."

Jane didn't know if the chant was an answer to all her questions or a benediction to the pleasure she was feeling. Either way, Jane knew she didn't want it to stop. "Wait until I show you what I can do with my mouth."

Maura would never be able to say whether it was her words, her fingers, or her promises that sent her over the edge, but what she did know was it was unlike anything she had felt before. The intensity was so overwhelming, it was almost painful, and the lack of oxygen almost made her pass out. Or maybe she did, because she barely felt Jane carry her in a traditional bride lift to the bed, gently laying her down.

She blinked rapidly and tried to catch her breath. "What… what just happened?"

Dark brown eyes came into focus above her. The smile was soothing, yet not without a certain smugness. "You just had the best orgasm of your life."

Maura couldn't help but chuckle at the confidence in Jane's voice. "But I thought that was just the teaser."

"It was."

She turned her head into the pillow. "Oh, God." When Jane remained silent, Maura peeked at her. "You're enjoying this."

The corner of Jane's mouth twitched. "Aren't you?"

Maura's laugh was a soft one. "I think it's fairly obvious I am." At the realization of what just happened, she covered her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Jane's heart sank, but she asked anyway. "Why?"

She peered through her fingers. "Oh! No, I'm not sorry about what we did." Without thought, she reached up and pulled Jane in for a kiss. There was a tenderness in it that surprised them both. "I'm sorry I was... well... like a 16-year old boy having sex for the first time."

Jane frowned, then the meaning dawned on her. "You're sorry you blew your load so soon." Maura scrunched her face in embarrassment, but Jane would have none of it. She gently teased her with a smirk, but soothed her with a kiss. "That's why it's a teaser. Maybe trial run would be a better term?"

"So we'll get to try it again?"

"I don't know who you've been talking to, lady," Jane said sternly, "but I don't make promises to break them."

Maura smiled at her words. "Good. Because what you said about your mouth..." she trailed off, embarrassed again.

Jane straddled Maura's knees and pulled her to a sitting position. She reached around and undid the knot of the top, then with agonizing slowness, pulled the single ribbon of material away. Gently, she pushed Maura back down and curled her fingers under the waist of the sarong. As she inched to the foot of the bed, she pulled the fabric with her, leaving the blonde exposed to her hungry gaze.

"Your ex-husband is an idiot." She watched as Maura turned her head into the pillow, and saw a small tear roll from the corner of her eye. "Hey! Hey, no." Jane leaned forward and kissed the tear away. She continued to gently pepper Maura with kisses, whispering, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. Give me a chance to help you forget."

Maura brought Jane's mouth down to her own, and the tenderness of their earlier kiss was replaced with a fierce desire that threatened to consume them both. She raised her hips into Jane's, fortuitously finding the seam of the brunette's shorts, gasping as the hard stitching grazed across her clit. The sensation encouraged her to buck up, again and again, wantonly pressing her body into Jane's, seeking release in any way she could find it.

Jane lifted herself on her knees, preventing any further contact, much to Maura's chagrin and pout. "Not yet," she said. "I'm not done with you yet." The words made Maura moan and Jane chuckled against her lips before moving lower. Her tongue trailed along the line of Maura's jaw, her breath hot against the soft skin, her mouth ghosting its way down the column of her neck to her collarbones. Maura raised her shoulders from the mattress, aching nipples demanding contact. Jane would not deny her.

The silence of the room was broken by Maura's sharp exclamation of pleasure when Jane captured a nipple between her teeth. Maura dug her hand into dark hair and arched hard into Jane's mouth. She began rubbing her thighs together, seeking relief, any relief, for the want between her legs. Jane shook her head, even as she lavished attention to Maura's perfect breasts. Adjusting her position, Jane slipped a thigh between Maura's, preventing any further satisfaction for the blonde who all but whined in protest.

"All good things to those who wait," Jane's voice hummed into Maura's sternum as she made her way lower. "And it's going to be so good." Her mouth marked a tortuous path from Maura's breast bone to the line where her coarse curls began.

Pressing her feet into the mattress, Maura bent her knees and pushed up. Hands gripped and released Jane's thick hair as she writhed on the bed, chanting, "Please, please, please, please."

When Jane's tongue finally flicked across her needy clit, Maura thought she would explode. Blood rushed to her ears and a blanket of white stars flashed in front of her eyes. Her knees opened and closed, uncertain of what brought the most pleasure. Normally thriving on being the one in control, Jane left Maura unhindered, letting her writhe with abandon, bucking and twisting as she raced towards release. Every lick, every nibble sent the blonde higher and higher, and Maura was almost fearful of the height. But her body overrode her brain, letting nothing but this feeling consume her. It was a spark that began inexplicably from the very first time she saw Jane; a spark that grew into an inferno that engulfed her. Gasping, moaning, begging, she couldn't want for more. So she thought, until Jane slid two strong fingers inside her warm, eager heat.

The stars that blinded her exploded into pure whiteness, and Maura craned her head back into the pillow. Heels dug into the mattress and her back bowed off the bed, causing a small pool of sweat to collect in her suprasternal notch. Her mouth was open but only a stuttered breath escaped. Her voice abandoned her, her body using all its resources to capture the pleasure, to burn the feeling into her brain. She found just enough strength to utter one word: "Jane."

Her knees fell to her side and her body lay limp on the bed. Fingers untangled themselves from unruly dark curls, and the tension in her neck slowly faded away. She let out a shaky breath and collapsed. Only the comforting weight of the woman responsible for her current state prevented Maura from letting go of consciousness completely.

Jane kissed her temple and gently brushed away strands of hair from Maura's sweat-soaked brow. "That was fucking amazing."

Maura gathered enough energy to smile. "I was just about to say the same. Perhaps without the colloquial epithet."

The two women were silent for a long time, content simply to be with each other like this. Jane reached over to pull the corner of the sheet over them. "Sleep," she told Maura.

The blonde opened her eyes, and firmly said, "No." Averting her gaze from Jane's probing eyes, Maura summoned the courage to say, "I want to do that for you. I mean… I want to make you feel like that."

"You don't have-"

Maura silenced her with a kiss. Pulling back, she said, "I know."

Jane looked into endless hazel eyes as if searching for truth. She seemed to have found what she was looking for, because she rolled onto her back and slipped an arm under her head. They watched each other, neither moving, until Jane's left hand began lazily skimming down her torso, then up again. Down to her hipbone, then up to the curve of her breast. Maura's eyes were transfixed. On the next downward trip, Jane popped the button of her shorts, and this time, instead of stopping at her breast, she continued up, gently squeezing the rounded flesh. Her eyelids fluttered, though her gaze remained on Maura. Down again went her hand, slowly lowering the zipper. Back up, where she teased a nipple into a hard point. She pushed down her shorts and it finally snapped Maura into action. Touching Jane's hand to stop her, she sat up and took over the task of removing the shorts, tugging them off angled hips and down to her feet. Uncertain of what to do next, she kneeled between Jane's legs, and once again found herself mesmerized by Jane's fingers. Unencumbered by the shorts, Jane spread her legs and teased herself through her underwear.

"Don't make me wait," Jane said, a blend of an order and a plea. Maura's mouth opened at the evidence of Jane's arousal, a dark patch seeping through black material. Jane nodded at Maura's realization. "Yes," she whispered. "You did that."

Maura all but whimpered, and she lowered her head, at first taking Jane's fingers into her mouth, then tentatively nipping at the damp fabric. Jane immediately twitched her hips upward, and Maura pulled back, surprised at how such a simple action could send a bolt of arousal to her own clit.

Jane looked down at her with cloudy eyes. "You like knowing you can do that to me, don't you?"

"Yes," Maura whispered honestly. Bringing her attention back to Jane's arousal, she pressed her mouth against the wetness, this time without hesitation or uncertainty, and Jane responded in kind.

"Fuck, Maura. Yes."

The encouragement spurned her on, and she practically tore the underwear from Jane's body, wasting no time bending forward and capturing Jane's clit in her mouth. She moaned at the unfamiliar taste and revelled in the sounds she was drawing out of the woman beneath her. Though completely inexperienced, she knew what she liked and imagined Jane would be no different, so with an eagerness she never expected, she pulled Jane to the edge of ecstasy with her mouth and her tongue and her lips. Never had she been so turned on by turning someone else on. The groaning of her name, the tugging of her hair, the squeezing of the thighs all told her how much Jane was enjoying it, and it surprised Maura to discover how much she was enjoying it, too.

Remembering how it felt to have Jane's fingers inside her, she returned the favour, sighing at how easily her fingers slipped in. As it had done for Maura, this was the final piece that sent Jane over the edge. Maura looked up, in awe of the beauty of watching Jane come undone. Shifting her weight, she pressed her fingers into her own wetness and shuddered in release. Her groan vibrated against Jane's sensitive clit, and another aftershock rolled through the brunette's body.

After an eternity, Jane reached down and pushed Maura away. "Mercy. Uncle. Whatever."

Maura smiled into Jane's thigh and kissed the sensitive skin. Crawling up beside her, Maura pulled the sheet with her. She covered them both before the sweat could cool on their bodies. Lightheaded and satiated, Maura kissed the outer shell of Jane's ear. Now it was her turn to whisper, "Sleep."

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