It's their first real kiss. A kiss that's real, that's them, that nobody will interrupt.
She isn't a double from an alternate universe, he isn't a hallucination, and the captain isn't about to step into their field of view.
It's just them, here, together.
He leans into her, she melts against him, and his head lowers. For the moment, he bypasses her lips, and in a move her brain had somehow known, he presses nose and mouth against her neck, inhaling. His chest rumbles, but the sound doesn't leave his lips. As he lifts his head again, he murmurs her name, his voice low, resonating through her body.
She reaches up with one hand, digging her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer as her lips part in anticipation. Taking her hint, he finally brings their lips together, softly, sensuously, passionately... and then the dam breaks, and his rumbling growl fills her mouth, drawing an answering moan.
There can be no other word for his kiss than claiming. He claims her with his mouth, and it pulls at her soul, making her arch into him. Clutching at his shoulder with her free hand, she anchors herself to him, feeling like she's melting and floating and if he doesn't hold tight to her, she might drift away. As if to answer her silent plea, his arms slide around her body, hands splaying across her back to hold her against him, his own senses telling him she needs to be close, closer, closer...
Finally, finally, their kiss breaks, and they stand, sharing panting breaths.
He begins to pull away, regretfully, but needing to leave before he loses control, before this goes too far, before they discuss the consequences.
And then she says his name, her voice deep and warm in a way he hasn't heard before, and one word breaks his resolve to leave, persuades him to postpone the conversation, at least for a few hours.
Stay.