A/N: Thanks to my reviewers Twyla Mercedes, CharlotteAshmore, JosephineM, anneelliotscat, jewel415, AquaJasmine23, Erik'sTrueAngel, crazykat77 and Guest.

In case you missed the last one, Colonel Young and Eli walked in on them shortly after they'd finished banging one another's brains out. This was followed by some shower sex. For no other reason than that they wanted to have shower sex (I am so not in control of these one-shots!)

Once they were clean, Rush and Belle dressed, Belle rubbing at her hip where she'd fallen to the ground.

"I'm gonna have a bruise," she said regretfully, and he grinned at her.

"I could kiss it better for you later," he offered, earning a smirk from her.

"That sounds intriguing," she said, wriggling her toes in her sneakers. "I guess you can see to that after our shift, Doctor Rush."

He pulled on his shirt, still grinning at her with a sleepy-eyed look of contentment, and Belle chuckled.

"Come on, let's get some food," she said, finger-combing her hair. Rush buckled his belt.

"You head down there, I just need to pick up a new notebook."

"Really?" She slung her arms around his neck, looking up at him and shaking her hair back. "All the tasteless goop will have gone if you don't get there fast, you know."

"If only that were true," he said dryly, but kissed her, his hands firm on her waist. Belle dropped back onto her heels with a sigh.

"Okay, I'll see you soon," she said. "And don't skip breakfast, you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said gravely, making her giggle.

Belle almost skipped to the mess hall, her body aching pleasantly from their exertions. She couldn't keep the grin from her face, and earned a few strange looks as she walked along. The mess hall was busy, the majority of Destiny's crew refuelling before a shift change. Belle got in the queue and received the customary dollop of protein and nutrients that the crew had learned to call food.

"Hey, Belle!" Eli's voice made her look around, and she smiled, carrying her meal over to the table where he was sitting alone, stirring his own food.

"Hey!" Belle sat down and dug in. She found that she was hungrier than she'd thought, and the tasteless swill was actually not too bad. Eli watched her, and Belle wondered when he was going to ask her whatever it was that was on his mind. She decided to make it easier on him.

"Sorry about earlier, and the general nudity," she said, with a shrug. "But you really need to learn to knock, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry," he said uncomfortably. "I didn't mean…I mean, I would never have wanted to see you…" He trailed off, blushing.

"I know," said Belle gently. "Just, please knock, next time."

"Next time?" Eli shook his head with a look of horror. "The Colonel can go himself next time, Belle."

Belle giggled, shoving him playfully, and Eli grinned at her, taking a mouthful of food.

"Soooo…" he said, a little awkwardly. "You and Rush, huh?"

"Yeah." Belle dug into her food, looking at him. "Is it weird?"

He scrunched up his nose. "A little, I guess. I mean, you two are always yelling at one another. How does that…work?"

Belle shrugged. "I know we fight, but it's not that we don't respect each other. We just get frustrated. We're both kind of stubborn, I guess." She grinned. "It makes things very – passionate."

Eli closed his eyes. "Don't feel the need to share too much, okay Belle?" he said, and Belle giggled. She took another spoonful of food, and he resumed eating, watching her.

"I guess you guys have a lot in common," he said eventually. "I mean, you're both interested in the same things, you both read Ancient, you both…"

"Aren't afraid to yell at one another," nodded Belle, with a smirk. She squeezed Eli's hand. "How are you? You seem a little down lately."

"Oh. Well, kind of, I guess," he shrugged. "We're stuck out here, apparently with no way back right now, the food's horrible, and if I have to put these same clothes on for one more day I think I'm gonna cry."

Belle giggled. "I can definitely sympathise with that," she confirmed. He shrugged, looking suddenly self-conscious.

"So, I guess it must be nice to find someone to bitch about the little things to," he went on. "That's all I'd want, if we never left this place."

Belle bit her lip. Poor Eli was lonely. She leant forward, a conspiratorial gleam in her eye.

"Tell you what," she said. "How about, next time we have a break together, you, me, TJ and Chloe go and drink ourselves so far into oblivion that our hangovers have their own personalities?"

Eli cheered up considerably.

Rush didn't join them for breakfast, and Belle was frowning to herself as she made her way to the main controls of the ship. Sure enough, when she entered, he looked up from one of the workstations, and gave her a brief, unapologetic grin. She gave him a flat look that promised retribution at a later date.

"Good of you to join us, Doctor French," he said smoothly, and she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. So, it was like that, was it?

"I'm on time," she said dryly. "Just because you choose to survive on adrenalin and whatever by-products your massive ego can produce doesn't mean we all can."

Rush smirked at her, turning back to his work, and she hid a grin as she went to her own screen, running her eyes over the coordinates in front of her. They worked in a reasonably comfortable silence for a while, Rush occasionally muttering under his breath about something. The swish of the door admitting Colonel Young made them look up.

"Doctor French, could I have a word?" he asked, without preamble. Belle dusted off her hands, straightening up and following him into one of the tiny rooms that housed banks of computer equipment. Young turned to her, hands on hips.

"Is your father still bedridden?" he asked, and Belle's brow wrinkled in surprise.

"No. He's up and about. He's using a wheelchair to get around. It's tough, but he's coping."

Young leant back against one of the panels. "You know, if you needed to get home any time soon, I could probably swing a visit. It's Chloe's turn on the communication stones next, and she's trying to avoid her mother, for some reason she won't tell me." He gave her a brief, warm smile, which Belle didn't entirely trust.

"Okay, sure," she said uncertainly. "I mean, if you're certain Chloe wouldn't mind…"

Young waved a hand. "No problem. We're all going a little stir-crazy up here. I think a break would do you good."

Belle's eyes narrowed. "This is about Rush, isn't it?" she said abruptly, folding her arms. Young opened his mouth as if he was about to deny it, then closed it again with a rueful expression.

"Okay, you got me," he said. "I just want to make sure you're okay, that's all. Some time away could help you get a little perspective."

"Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be okay?" she demanded, her eyes flashing. She transferred her hands to her hips, squaring her jaw as she faced him down. "What 'perspective' am I supposed to be getting, Colonel?"

Young held up placating hands.

"Look, I have a responsibility to every member of this crew…" he began, and Belle tossed her head.

"Yeah, well, when you think your 'responsibility' extends to my sex life, I think you need to take a step back, don't you?" she said tartly. Young sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily.

"Belle," he said gently. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"No," she said sarcastically. "I actually thought I was going to my own room, took a wrong turn, and ended up accidentally sitting on his penis."

Young's eyes widened, and she wanted to giggle. She bit back a snort of amusement as he frowned at her.

"Look, I just wanted to make sure that you were – happy with the situation, that's all," he went on. Belle bristled.

"Are you suggesting to me that I don't know my own mind?" she said tartly. "That I'm some sort of besotted idiot who can't make her own decisions?"

"Of course not," said Young patiently. "I'm just saying, Rush is much older than you, and he's…"

"I'm not a bloody teenager!" snapped Belle. "I'm well aware of what he's like, thank you very much! I happen to have arguments with him on an almost daily basis. And, unlike the rest of them, I don't back down. If you want to worry about someone, worry about Eli."

"Eli?" said Young, confused, and Belle rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. I think the solitude's really getting to him. I keep hoping he'll get fixed up with one of the girls, but we all seem to see him as a friend, and…"

"I didn't call you in here to talk about Eli," interrupted Young.

"No, you came in here because you think I somehow need your help," said Belle dryly. "Well, as much as I appreciate your concern, Colonel, I don't need anyone's help. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"I don't want Rush taking advantage of you," said Young firmly, and Belle giggled.

"Oh my God, you really have no idea who he is, do you?" she said, and put a hand on his arm, shaking her head with a smile. "Look, Colonel Young, I understand what you're trying to do, however misplaced. I do. But, for your information, I seduced him." She shrugged. "The first few times anyway," she admitted. Young looked surprised, and Belle giggled again.

"Seriously, don't worry about me," she said, and made her way back into the control room, leaving Young with an unwanted mental image of Belle taking her pleasure with the one man aboard Destiny that he truly disliked.

Belle stomped back in, muttering under her breath and earning a curious look from Rush. She said nothing, returning to her work station and scanning the screen of code in front of her.

"Everything alright?" he asked, and she opened her mouth, just as the ship juddered to a halt. Young came stalking back into the room.

"Let's get a visual," he said abruptly, and Belle flicked at keys. A large green planet appeared on the monitors, and Rush shared an interested glance with Belle.

"Lots of vegetation," she said eagerly. "Maybe there's something decent to eat down there."

Young nodded curtly. "I'll put an away team together. Send Eli to the Gate room with some kinos." He stomped out, leaving Belle and Rush looking over the images in front of them.

It was the work of less than ten minutes to get the away team mobilised, and Eli sent two kinos through the Gate. Rush watched avidly as the pictures sent back started to appear on screen.

"Looks like rainforest," said Belle, at his shoulder. "There has to be something good to eat in there."

"As long as there's nothing that wants to eat us," said Rush grimly.

"Look!" Belle pointed eagerly at some bell-shaped yellow objects. "Is that fruit?" She spoke into the intercom. "Looks like some sort of fruit off to the south of the Gate."

"Copy that," said Scott. "We'll go in just as soon as we get the all-clear."

Rush was scanning the screen, and frowned suddenly.

"Wait, what was that?" he asked, and pressed the intercom. "Eli, go back a little."

The picture changed, and Belle watched with interest as an intricately-carved stone panel swam into view.

"Oh!" she said, as Rush started scribbling in his notebook. "Are you reading this? It says that there's a city here, or at least, there was, I guess."

"Hmm." Rush was engrossed, copying down symbols. Belle started on her own translation, rolling her eyes at him. It would be nice to beat him to it, for a change.

"I hear there's a possibility that this new planet may hold some decent food." Camille's voice interrupted her thoughts, and Belle looked up to see the woman walking into the control room with Eli and TJ in her wake, Eli still fiddling with the kino controls.

"Maybe," said Belle vaguely, still noting down the Ancient. Rush looked up briefly.

"What'd I miss?" asked Eli, moving to the screen, and Rush gestured at it.

"There. Evidence of a city. I trust the Colonel and his men are through the Gate?"

"Yeah. They have about eight hours. They took a sled with them." Eli grinned. "God, I hope they come back with some good food!"

"Interesting that the urge to explore unknown corners of the universe is forever stymied by the lack of palatable foodstuffs," said Rush dryly. "I'm personally much more interested in this panel. It states that the city had its own transportation system and piped water."

"There were thermal baths in the north side," added Belle, to which Rush nodded.

"I'd kill for a bath," sighed TJ, rolling her shoulders tiredly. Belle gave her an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I'm guessing they're completely overgrown, looking at the rest of this place. We may be able to scavenge some parts, though. It says that there was a hangar on the east side. There could be old ships there."

"No it doesn't," said Rush, under his breath, still scribbling. Belle frowned at him.

"Yes it does, it says it quite clearly. Fourth line down. Read it."

"I have." He straightened up, showing his teeth. "And unlike you, I interpreted it correctly."

Belle put her hands on her hips. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, Doctor French, that there is an extra set of communication stones down there," he said, sticking his notebook back in his pocket. "Rather useful, wouldn't you say?" He bent to speak into the communicator. "Colonel, this is Rush."

"Go ahead." Young's voice was somewhat crackly.

"There's a ruined city nearby. Head to the east. You should find a set of communication stones there."

"Or possibly a bunch of abandoned ships," put in Belle, and Rush gave her a flat look as Young cut out. She folded her arms across her chest.

"What? I'm right."

"Of course you are," he said quietly, and turned away, making her bristle.

"Rush, the fourth line down clearly states…"

"That the east side of the city holds communication stones," he interrupted. "I know. Perhaps you could continue with the rest of the translation, Doctor French, it appears that you need the practice."

Belle was frowning at him. "I accept that there are some characters on that line which some academics have argued about…" she began, and Rush snorted.

"Idiots have argued about them. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows what they mean."

Belle tightened her jaw, hands on hips, facing him down.

"Doctor Rush, could I have a word in private?" she demanded dangerously, and strode towards the tiny room she had been in with Young. Rush followed her, looking amused, and closed the door behind them.

"Oh, crap!" said Eli with a sigh.

"Yeah, what is it with those two?" wondered TJ. "If I didn't know any better I'd tell them to get a room."

"Trust me, if you ever tell them that, knock before you go in," said Eli despondently, causing Camille and TJ to exchange curious looks.

Rush leant back against the door, arms folded across his chest, and Belle whirled to face him.

"Okay, let's see that bloody notebook of yours!" she snapped, and he sighed, fishing it out of his pocket. She flicked through it.

"Do you want to tell me why I'm standing in what's practically a broom cupboard?" he asked dryly, and she scowled at him.

"Shut up! I wanted to check something, and I didn't want everyone else listening to us fight."

"Oh, are we going to fight?" He sounded almost pleased. "Well, it's been fifteen hours or so, why not?"

"There!" Belle jabbed her finger at the line of code. "See? That's 'hangar'."

He looked it over ostentatiously. "So…people communicate by use of this hangar? I hardly think so."

"That's not 'communicate', that's 'contact'," she objected. "As in 'travel to'."

"Oh, so not as in 'communicate', then?" he asked, grinning at her.

"It's perfectly obvious!" she insisted.

"Yes, it is," he agreed. "It's obvious that I'm right."

She planted fists on hips, the pages of the notebook fluttering against her sweats.

"Why can't you just admit I'm right?" she demanded, and he shrugged.

"Because I'm not a bloody liar, that's why. You're wrong. The translation clearly states that the eastern quadrant of the city contains a set of communication stones. It does not contain, and never has contained, spaceships."

"The thirty-seventh character is unclear," she admitted. "But the context is obvious if you just read the thing! How you can say otherwise is completely beyond me."

"Yes, well, it seems there's a great deal that's completely beyond you today," he said dryly, flicking his hair out of his eyes. "Starting with interpretation."

"Oh, stick your head up your arse!" snapped Belle, and he smirked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the door again.

"Biology clearly wasn't something you studied, was it dear?" he said sarcastically.

"Bite me!"

"With pleasure." He grinned at her, and she could feel irritation boiling up inside her, wanting to burst out and smack that smug little smirk right off his face. Belle glared at him.

"Go fuck yourself, Rush!" she snapped, and he shrugged.

"I'm afraid I'll have to courteously decline," he said smoothly. "Not only would it be physically impossible for me to fuck myself, but it's also so much more enjoyable when you do it." He waggled his eyebrows at her. "For both of us, as I recall."

"Really?" said Belle sarcastically, mirroring his pose. "I can't say I recall anything particularly mind-blowing." She was aware that she was lying through her teeth, but felt that the ends justified the means. Rush shrugged, looking at the floor momentarily before grinning at her.

"Well, I presume that's because you were too busy screaming my name to stop and savour the moment," he said easily, and Belle bristled with indignation.

"You arrogant little shit! If you think for one second that I'm gonna let you touch me…"

Rush cut her off, lifting a peremptory hand and shaking his head.

"As you've pursued me every single time thus far, I fear your record's somewhat against you," he said nastily. "But by all means hold tight to that flawless virtue of yours, Doctor French. It's by no means compromised by my – vivid – memories of you yelling at me to fuck you harder."

Belle felt a flush rise up through her body, warming her face, her fists clenching and unclenching in her anger.

Outside the room, the listeners exchanged looks. Camille raised her eyebrows.

"Wow," she remarked.

"Anyone else's ears bleeding?" asked Eli helplessly.

TJ had her hands pressed to her mouth, her eyes as round as saucers.

"Oh my God!" she whispered. "Belle and Rush? How…no, never mind, don't answer that."

"Happy to oblige," said Eli, pressing buttons to give himself something to do.

"Well, there's absolutely no chance of me yelling that any time soon, got it?" snapped Belle, glaring at Rush. He was still grinning at her, his eyes alight with mischief, and she took a step closer to him, unsure whether she wanted to shake some sense into him or kiss him senseless.

"We'll see about that," he said calmly. "I seem to recall that our fights get you rather hot under the collar, Doctor French. I'd hate for all that energy to go to waste. If you're not going to pull your weight in the control room, you may as well do something you're good at."

"How dare you!" she shouted, and he held up his hands.

"What? I'm pretty sure that was a compliment."

Outside the room, TJ sighed, sharing a look with Camille.

"Maybe I should go in there," she said unwillingly.

"Just make sure they're keeping their clothes on first," said Eli hastily, and Camille snorted with laughter.

"Compliment?" Belle drew herself up, stepping up to him until her face was inches from his. "You…you…wanker!"

He met her eyes, dropping his hands and slipping his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans. Belle was bristling with anger, and his lips curved upwards in a smile.

"You want to kiss me, don't you?" he said knowingly, and Belle threw up her arms with a growl of frustration, pulling away from him and wrenching open the door.

"I'm not working with that bastard today!" she snarled, and stormed out of the room.

After exchanging a brief, worried glance with the others, TJ ran after her, catching her up before she rounded the corner.

"Hey Belle," she said, causing Belle to whirl on her toes, then settle back with a growl and continue marching along. TJ frowned thoughtfully.

"You know, you could always come and help me out," she offered. "I could use some help cleaning the place up, if you don't want to go back in there."

Belle gave her a grateful look. "Thanks, TJ, I could use something to take my mind off things."

"Sure thing."

The two women walked along in silence until they reached the medical rooms, and TJ instructed Belle on what to clean. Belle threw herself into the work, and TJ watched her out of the corner of her eye as she scrubbed vigorously.

A couple of hours later, Belle was out of breath and sweating, and TJ called to her to take a break.

"Thanks." Belle took the water offered and drank deeply.

"Feel better?" asked TJ, and she nodded, wiping her mouth.

"Yeah." She sighed, rolling her shoulders to ease their stiffness, and noticed TJ watching her.

"Soooo…" said TJ, taking the water from Belle. "You and Rush, huh?"

"How did..?" Belle sighed, running her hands over her face. "You heard us."

TJ shrugged. "Kinda hard not to," she admitted. "How long has that been going on?"

"A few weeks," said Belle awkwardly. TJ nodded slowly.

"Serious?" she asked, and Belle wrinkled her nose.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Serious enough that he annoys the hell out of me, but I really want to go and jump him right this second."

TJ giggled, blushing a little. "Okay, normally I'd say that's serious, but this is Rush we're talking about. Pissing people off is what he does."

"The sex part doesn't usually come into it," agreed Belle, giggling herself. "Unless Colonel Young's been hiding his true self from all of us and harbours a secret passion for him."

TJ laughed aloud then, and Belle sat down on the edge of one of the cots with a sigh.

"He's so annoying!" she complained. "But he's also brilliant, and interesting, and really, really good in bed."

"Dilemma," nodded TJ sagely. "They say nice guys finish last, but I always thought that was a good thing."

Belle burst out laughing. "Yeah, well, he's got the finishing last thing down, he's just not particularly nice. Most of the time." She frowned. "Maybe I'm being unfair. Sometimes he is."

"Post-coital doesn't count," said TJ, taking a swig of water, and Belle shrugged.

"Okay, then scratch that whole nice thing. He's an arsehole. An irritating, unshaven, morally questionable, sexy-as-hell arsehole, damn him to the deepest pits of Hades!" She sighed, running her hands over her face, and TJ put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"Get some rest," she said gently. "Have something to eat, take a break. If you still don't want to go back on shift, I have plenty more for you to do here."

"Thanks," said Belle gratefully. "Maybe if I can stay out of his way for the rest of the shift I won't want to kick him the length of the corridor next time I see him."

Ten hours later, Rush marched up the corridor with a scowl on his face, which made everyone he passed avoid his eye and duck out of the way. He wasn't looking forward to this. Okay, he'd gone over the Ancient again, and he could see what had happened, but that didn't make it any bloody easier. He reached Belle's quarters, and hesitated before knocking at the door. To his surprise, it opened straight away. He had been expecting her to make him grovel. She was sprawled on the bed, reading one of the few books on the ship. He doubted she was actually reading it; he'd read the thing himself and it was utter drivel. This was an act, a show of nonchalance before she tore into him. He folded his arms, and waited.

After a couple of minutes she looked up, a tiny smile on her face.

"Doctor Rush," she acknowledged, and he gritted his teeth.

"Doctor French," he said, and the smile widened, her blue eyes gleaming. Why did she have to look so fucking beautiful when he was trying to be aloof?

"I understand the scouting party returned," she went on. "With the most wonderful news. An old hangar, with abandoned ships. Eli says they should be able to scavenge enough parts to keep Destiny going until the end of time." She was grinning at him now, and he scowled.

"They also found the extra set of communication stones," he grumbled, aware that he was sounding childish, and hating it. Belle sighed, dropping her book.

"Look, Rush. I was right, and you were right. Can't you just accept that?"

He tightened his jaw. "I accept that my translation was correct, and you got lucky."

Belle pushed herself up off the bed with a bound, making his eyes widen. He resisted the urge to step back as she stormed towards him. She jabbed a finger at him.

"Look, mister! Just accept for one second that you're not the only one on this ship with a high level of intelligence! I got my doctorate, just like you did, and I'm bloody sick of you always having to be bloody right! Sometimes you're not, okay? Just…suck it up and bloody be a man about it!"

His eyes flashed.

"Alright then," he growled, and grabbed her upper arms, pulling her to him and kissing her roughly. Belle squirmed, her eyes wide with shock, but after a second or two she was kissing him back, her arms snaking around his neck and pulling him against her. Rush ravaged her mouth, stubble scraping roughly against her soft skin, and Belle moaned as he pushed her backwards, towards the bed. She tore her mouth free.

"Dammit, Rush!" she hissed. "You feel so bloody good I can't stay mad at you!"

"Likewise," he whispered, and licked along her jawline to her mouth. She was tugging at his shirt, trying to get it off, and he lifted his arms to help her, grinning at her yowl of satisfaction as he was suddenly naked from the waist up. She bent her head to his chest, sucking his nipple in between her lips and making him groan. Belle bit down on him, making the groan turn into a yelp, and he slid his hands up inside her top, lifting it up and tugging it over her head. She unhooked her bra, shrugging it off, and he cupped her breasts, growling into her mouth as his thumbs worked over her hardening nipples. Belle moaned, pressing the length of her body to his, feeling him against her belly. Hard, rigid. She wriggled a little, making him gasp, and tugged at his belt.

Their clothes hit the floor piece by piece until both were naked, and Belle savoured the feel of his hot skin against hers, undulating against him as her tongue probed his mouth. Rush's hands dropped to slide under her buttocks, pulling her against him, and she waited for him to push her to the bed and onto her back, to trip her to the floor, to slam her against the wall. She pulled her lips from his, breathing hard, her eyes raised to capture his in a heated gaze. She bit her lip, and his mouth went slack.

"What are you waiting for?" she whispered, and Rush's jaw tightened determinedly. He lifted his hands to her face, cupping her cheeks and kissing her thoroughly, and just as Belle's knees were weakening her suddenly grasped her upper arms, spun her around and pushed her down onto the bed on her hands and knees. He knelt behind her, using his knee to part her legs further. Belle was panting, her excitement rising, and he reached between her legs, his fingertips teasing her.

"Yes!" she breathed, as his fingers stroked through her slippery folds. "God, yes!"

He pushed into her, two fingers together, easily sliding inside with how ready she was for him, and Belle moaned, arching her back, her dark curls fanning across the pale skin of her shoulders as he gazed down at her. He could see the firm muscles of her back and shoulders working as she moved in time with his hand, rubbing herself against him. He let his thumb flick out across her clit, and Belle cried out at the sensation, making him grin. So, he felt good, did he? He'd make her remember just how good, before the night was over.

Belle's movements were quickening, her body rocking back and forth on her knees as he worked her, and he could feel himself straining, fluid leaking from him as he longed to be inside her. He slipped his fingers out, and she yowled in protest, shooting him a reproachful look over her shoulder. Her eyes were dark with want, her lips plump and parted. He was torn between wanting to gaze on her beautiful face as he had her beneath him, and wanting to mount her from behind, to plunge deep inside her. He took himself in hand, lining them up, and Belle's mouth curled upwards in a grin as she watched him, his hair hanging in his face, his breath coming hard and heavy.

"Come on then," she said invitingly, and Rush thrust his hips forward, sheathing himself in her wet heat. Belle moaned, her arms and shoulders stiffening as he filled her, as he got deeper inside her than he'd ever been. He gritted his teeth, trying to stop himself from coming there and then at the feel of her tight walls pulling at him. He began to move, sliding in and out, the feel of her like silk and cream and everything he'd ever wanted.

"Yes!" she whispered fervently, moving in time with him, and he reached around, sliding a hand over her smooth hip and down between her legs. Belle moaned as his fingers pushed through her curls, finding the wetness he had caused. His forefinger teased her clit, the flat of his other hand pressing down on the base of her spine, keeping his rhythm. Belle let her head drop, mewling as he worked two fingertips in tandem, dancing across her clit as he stroked in and out of her. She was starting to tremble, her arms shaking as she neared her climax, and he ran his eyes from the top of her dark head, down the hollow of her spine, down to the cleft of her rear. His free hand stroked over her left buttock, trailing across the soft, pale skin as he quickened his thrusts. Belle was shaking, her tiny moans turning into cries. She was so close he could feel it. He kept up the wriggling pressure of his two fingers on her clit as he fucked her, and slipped the thumb of his other hand into his mouth. He brought it out, wet and slippery with his saliva, before reaching down and pushing the tip gently into her tight back entrance.

Belle screamed.

He felt her break, felt her soft flesh tugging at him, her entire body seeming to clench around him. A wave of ecstasy hit him hard enough to hurt, to knock the breath from his body. Constellations exploded in his head, pulling him with her, making him shout incoherently, his cries of pleasure matching her own. His hands pulled away from her, fingers gripping her waist as he pumped his hips, hot seed flooding through her. Belle was still jerking and twitching and letting out tiny cries, and they collapsed forward as one onto the bed, Rush pulling out of her as they fell. He lay on top of her, perspiration coating his face, and he pressed his nose into the groove of her spine, running his tongue over her skin as he tried to catch his breath.

"Fuck!" he gasped, and heard her low chuckle.

"Oh, yeah," she murmured, and he smiled against her. He nibbled along her shoulder, sinking his teeth into the back of her neck, and she moaned again. He could see part of her face, the deep red of her lower lip, her flushed cheek, the rest of it covered with her tangled curls.

"You're heavy," she said, and he rolled off her onto his side, pulling her against him and sweeping her hair to the side to kiss his way up her neck. Belle wriggled a little, turning her head to kiss him hungrily, her fingers pushing into his hair.

"That," she said sleepily. "Was bloody amazing. We make a pretty good team, Rush."

He grinned, his arms tightening around her slightly. He couldn't have agreed more.