"Dance with me." Booth smiled at Brennan, his voice soft and husky as he whispered in her ear.

It was almost 1 AM when they arrived at her apartment. Booth had removed his coat and his tuxedo jacket while she draped her stole over the couch and slipped off her heels. As he loosened and tossed aside his bow tie, she sat on an arm of the sofa and massaged one of her feet. After dancing with so many different partners that evening, it felt good to take off her shoes.

"Booth," she whimpered softly. "My feet already hurt from being on the dance floor for so long." She shook her head. "I don't know if I can dance any more." She took the other foot in her hand to give it the same treatment.

Booth dropped onto the couch and began to remove his shoes and socks. "You can dance barefoot. See, I took off my shoes, too, okay? That way I can't hurt you if I accidentally step on your feet." He wiggled his toes with a laugh and stood up. "Please?" He stepped in front of her and pulled her into his arms. "I just didn't get enough opportunities to dance with you tonight. My colleagues were always faster than me." He wrapped his arms around her. "Before I chased them off, that is…and just so you know, I didn't like seeing them dancing with you at all, okay? Not one little bit," he whispered into her ear. With one hand he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started a playlist. Then he put the phone on the table and put both arms around her again. "But one thing was clear to me the whole evening...the last dance of the night was gonna be mine."

She looked deep into his eyes. Somehow he'd held her spellbound all evening, as if it simply wasn't possible to escape Seeley Booth and his charm. If she was honest, she didn't want to escape, either. She couldn't help but sink against his chest and rest her head on his shoulder as they slowly moved to the music coming from Booth's phone.

They didn't know how long they moved in unison with the music. Time seemed to stand still. She had one arm tucked under Booth's arm and her hand rested loosely on his shoulder blade. Her other hand was on his chest. Booth's arms were possessively wrapped around her, his hands slowly sliding down her back, playing with the straps of the dress.

Every inch of her skin that his rough fingers touched began to glow…to tingle. Pleasant shivers ran down her spine. Why did this feel so good? Why did his hands evoke such a strong reaction in her? Suddenly his words rang in her ear again. Magic. She was beginning to believe he was right.

Without a doubt, the woman within her wanted him to be right. She just had to find a good reason for him to kiss her again. Perhaps there was some holiday custom or tradition somewhere that would allow that to happen. She couldn't let this evening be over until she felt his lips on hers at least one more time.

But luckily, nothing indicated that he'd let her out of his arms anytime soon. On the contrary, his hands grew bolder, slowly sliding over her hips and lower, pressing her more and more against his hard body. Brennan's heart was racing, and it felt like her body was on fire.

As if that wasn't already sensual enough, he also began to slowly brush his lips over her face. First the forehead, then along the temple and towards her ear. It wasn't really a kiss…it was more like his lips only occasionally touched her skin as his hot breath awakened all her senses.

"Well, Bones…" His voice was little more than a whisper in her ear. "Am I right about what I said about New Year's Eve? It's pretty good, huh?"

She couldn't really answer. She was enjoying his caresses too much, because that was what they were, caresses. His lips now glided over her cheek and occasionally brushed lightly over her mouth, but always just a soft light touch. He hadn't really kissed her yet.

Slowly her knees went weak, finally realizing that he understood how seductive that was. She turned her head slightly to look at him, her gaze blurred. "What do you mean exactly?"

He continued to cradle her gently in his arms, but leaned back slightly to get a better look at her. Unfortunately, that meant she couldn't feel his lips brushing her skin anymore, which she regretted.

"Well, we had fireworks, we celebrated the beginning of a New Year, we danced, and we kissed. All that stuff made the evening magical, don't you think?" He held her gaze and she was enchanted to see the devotion and affection in his eyes . She nodded slightly.

"Angela told me the same thing…I mean, that New Year's Eve is magical."

He looked at her in astonishment. "You talked to Angela? I mean about tonight...us?"

"Yes, of course." She felt a little unsettled, afraid that she had broken some rule. However, he kept looking lovingly at her, obviously surprised, but nothing more. "She helped me choose this dress." She stepped back to give him a good look at her dress and then she quickly moved back into his waiting arms, looking a bit confused. "She also said, and I quote, 'This dress will knock him off his feet'." Grimacing slightly, Brennan shook her head. "I didn't understand what she meant by that. Why would you fall over just because I'm wearing this dress?"

He laughed softly. "Tell Angela she was absolutely right, okay? It blew my mind." He took a step back to admire her once more before pulling her back into his arms. "And Bones, she meant it figuratively, like... it was going to take my breath away because you look so beautiful in it...and she's right."

Brennan didn't know how to respond to the compliment so she just leaned back into his shoulder. "That wasn't all Angela said."

"Hmmm." He didn't say anything more. Obviously, she wanted to tell him something else. As they talked quietly, he hadn't stopped running his hands down her back, something that constantly hampered the flow of her thoughts.

"Yeah, she told me about the magic of the night and that, statistically, more people are having sex on New Year's Eve than any other night…even more than Valentine's Day!" Her eyes looked at him, stormy, a little uncertain, but also determined and courageous.

He paused their dancing, stunned about her remark. He had to find out what she was trying to tell him, even if it was subconsciously instead of directly. He knew he was going to risk a lot in the next few moments, but the whole evening seemed to have thrown their entire partnership somehow off balance. They'd opened a door to a new world…to a way that would change their partnership forever. The kisses had affected them both deeply and he knew he wanted more, and obviously, she did, too. Was it too soon to confess his love to her? Would he risk too much? Would knowing his truth make her immediately put up her walls again? Would she flee because of his feelings for her?

His heart was at stake here, but the magic of the night had pulled him in as well. Something in him told him it was worth a try, that he could take the risk. Maybe it was just his gut feeling, but he'd always been able to count on that. He took a deep breath. "Bones…I will not have sex with you tonight."

Her eyes widened, and she looked at him more than surprised. All night she'd had the impression that he wanted to take that next step with her. She felt as if he wanted her. Why was he giving her this harsh rebuff?

Booth saw the incomprehension in her eyes, so he quickly tried to clear up the misunderstanding. He immediately pulled her back into his arms, hugging her tightly so that she could feel exactly how much he wanted her. "That's because I can't just 'have sex' with you, okay? I want to make love to you instead."

He felt her tense body relax as she sank even deeper into his arms. He took another deep breath. "I love you…and I'd love to make love to you. Would you allow me to show you how much I love you?"

His voice was low and gentle, his lips gliding lightly over her face again as he'd done before. Again, they glided gently over her mouth as he waited for her answer…an answer that would change everything.

Their life together would begin today. Somehow he knew that she'd understood him and also what the consequence would be.

Her mind raced. He'd often talked about the idea that there was one person you'd want to spend the rest of your life with. It was clear that he wanted to be that person for her, and that he hoped that she would be that one for him. If she said yes now, she'd be saying yes to a life with Booth.

The answer was easy in the end, since she couldn't imagine a life without him anyway. In fact, she didn't want to imagine it at all.

"Yes.," She could only breathe her answer lightly. "Yes, of course."

He didn't hesitate for a second before his lips were already on hers again. The midnight kisses had made her weak in the knees, but this was so much more intense. What was the term they had just discussed? Yes, it knocked her off her feet.

His kiss was tender, yet demanding and passionate. She was breathless and a small moan escaped her as he released her mouth to let his lips slide down her chin to her neck. Open kisses swept down her collarbone and over her shoulder. His fingers slowly slipped under the strap of her dress and let it slide down her arm. His lips followed his hands.

Simultaneously they moved toward her bedroom as eager hands and wandering lips searched for bare skin to be explored. The way to her bed was lined with more and more clothes that they disrobed each other. His shirt, her dress, his pants and boxers, her tights and panties. They bumped against walls and door frames to press up against each other, enjoying the feeling of being close to each other. Every inch of skin was a new sensation under their fingertips.

When they finally got to her bed and sank down on it, they were skin to skin. He caressed every inch of her body with his hands, with his lips. Every curve was explored as he found out what made her moan, where she was most sensitive, or how she squirmed with pleasure when he found a particularly sensitive spot.

She ran her fingers restlessly over his body, exploring every muscle, every dimple. She wanted to memorize it. She lovingly stroked the scars she found and realized that she already knew the story of each one of them. Yes, they had shared their lives together for a long time by now. There were no secrets between them. She knew all about him.

Tenderness, desire, passion, a tangle of feelings pelted them both, making them stagger until finally they couldn't wait any longer to overcome the last barrier and become one.

He looked deep into her eyes as he slowly entered her. She pressed up against him

to take him in even deeper. Completely intertwined, the deep sense of oneness was overwhelming for both of them.

"I love you.," dropped from his lips before he captured hers in a deep kiss, making their connection complete.

She met his every move. Together they built up a tension that drove them higher and higher only to make them fall…deep, satisfying, exhilarating.

When he finally reluctantly pulled away from her, he immediately dragged her into his arms, hugging her tightly and pulling the covers over them both. She smiled at him with bright eyes.

"Well Bones, is it magic or what?" He stroked her face lovingly with his finger. She shook her head slightly. "No, I guess it's not magic, it's just love."

"God, yes, and I love you, too."

He turned off the light and she snuggled into his arms, as he pressed a light kiss into her hair. She felt sleepiness slowly overcoming her. Then she heard him whisper,

"Happy New Year, Bones."

AN: Thank you, thank you to my Beta 554Laura. I am blessed to have you.

There will be another story coming soon. You have to look for it in the "M" section. It is a short story about one special night… and a bathtub.