I don't own anything Andromeda.
Prep-School
She was sulking. They had been for already four weeks in orbit around Tarn Vedra, and in all this time he had been stuck planetside, while she was supposed to keep things running smoothly and supervise the terraforming from the Andromeda. They saw each other about twice a week at best, and then he was either tired to the bone or still preoccupied with one problem or other... or full of praise for Doyle. Last option being by far the most irritating both for her and Rommie, as she was forced to admit.
And now, with her shift over for more than an hour, all alone in the huge, empty quarters she slowly felt herself starting to lose patience. The beep of the doors startled her out of her ungracious mood.
„Harper!" she exclaimed, pleasantly surprised and grinning widely at the sight of the slightly fidgeting young man hesitating on the threshold. „Don't tell me that they let you off the hook already? Are you through for today? Come in, come in, I think I'd have been going crazy if I'd have had to spend just one more hour all by myself..." she spurted out, dragging him into the room by his sleeve and without giving him a chance to answer her. Finally having him standing in the middle of the room, she planted a welcome kiss on his cheek and left him, going over to the small bar.
„Do you want something to drink?" Rumaging on a shelf she produced a dark red bottle and two glasses. „Tomato-juice," she said, waving the bottle around. „They are growing lots and lots of interesting stuff down there. Want some?"
He nodded, but kept silent.
„So," she then asked casually, after having manoevered both of them, glasses in hand, on the couch, „what have you been up to lately, stranger?" She smiled at him encouragingly. By now she had had enough time to notice that something seemed to be up. Harper was agitated even by his rather hyperactive standards.
He swallowed, but did not answer immediately.
„Harper? Talk to me," she urged him gently.
„It's... it's Doyle," he finally said. Beka sighed wearily. Great. Doyle again.
„What of her?" she inquired, doing her best to not sound too annoyed.
„We... we've been... we've been dating!" Harper burst out.
In a swift motion, Beka placed her glass on the table, stood up and started pacing, her gaze glued to his face.
„You've been dating?"
He nodded.
„Doyle?"
Another nod. He stared at her wide-eyed, a blank expression on his face, himself utterly incapable to read hers. And then he sighed relieved, seeing her bright, cheeky smile spread all over her face, her eyes lighting up. With only two strides she stood next to him, hauling him up to his feet and embracing him warmly, almost pressing the breath out of him. His arms locked by hers, he couldn't even respond, resigning himself to smile wearily, while she was squeezing the air out of him.
„I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed with passion.
„Thanks, Beks..." Harper managed to get out, sounding slightly strangled. Noticing the strain in his voice, she laughed and released him quickly.
„Sorry," she laughed at him, holding him at arms' length and beaming down on him. He smiled a little awkwardly. „That's such wonderful news, Seamus," she went on, but stopped short upon seeing his frown. „Is it not?"
He shrugged, grinning a bit pained.
„Sort of..." he admitted.
„Sort of? Harper, you've been dreaming about this for years. What's wrong?"
„We'll have our third date tonight..."
„So?"
„So?" the Terran asked, reproach in his voice. „The third date, Beka!" he repeated, his tone emphasising each word more. „The third date..."
„Oh, I see," the blonde nodded, suddenly understanding. „But, Seamus, that means nothing. A third date can very well be..."
„Yeah, I know, I know, but on our last date she already kissed me and... And she seemed to expect me to... To make a move, you know?"
„I know," Beka said earnestly. „But then everything's all right, yes?"
„No, it isn't," Harper replied furiously. „It isn't. I didn't. I just couldn't."
„Why not?"
„I... I don't know..." he tried to answer her, but stopped, blushing violently. Beka Valentine stared at him quite puzzled.
„You don't know? Harper, surely..."
„No, you don't understand. I know. Of course I know. But it's been years and years, Beka, since the last time that those things really mattered. I was still on Earth. It's been almost ten years. And ever since I only had just brief encounters that weren't meant to last. They were not important, but this..." He had spoken quickly, as if rushing himself through all he had to say, afraid that if he'd stop to take a breath he would no longer have the courage to continue. „This IS important, Beka," he concluded in a small, pleading voice.
She stood there, weighing him and his worried, troubled features and the imploring eyes. And then she smiled, more gentle than he had ever seen her.
„I see," she told him lowly. „Don't worry, Harper. We can sort it out."
His eyes widened in surprise.
„We can? How?..."
„Shh," she ordered, gently placing a finger on his lips. „Andromeda, please lower the lights."
-
It took her only minutes to make the room more cosy, soft music playing lowly and candles lit here and there. Minutes that had Harper still standing in the middle of the living, looking stunned... and also more than just slightly embarrassed.
„Beka," he finally ventured, „I really don't think..."
„That's good," she interrupted him in a deep, smoky voice. „You're not supposed to think." And then, with a small laugh: „Don't worry, Harper, I will just show you... You know, set you on the right track."
He swallowed convulsively, not really put at ease by her reassurement. But then she planted herself firmly mere inches away from him, and as he perceived the suave, light perfumed mixture of lillies of the valley, lavender, fir tree, whatever (he really had no idea) and her own very personal scent emanating from her, he realised that seconds ago he had actually been at ease.
„Beka... What... what now?" he managed to croak out, his eyes unable to move away from the exquisitely elegant line her collar-bone was tracing on its way to her neck.
„Now you take off my clothes," she murmured very softly.
„What?"
„Come on, Seamus. I'm wearing full uniform. We're a long way from touch-down. Just do it. Undress me..."
With shaking fingers he started pulling at her leather jacket, but then he heard her laughing slowly, and her hand captured his. Leaning into him, she whispered to his ear:
„I said: undress me, Harper. But not right away, and certainly not too fast..."
And as he slipped his hands under the heavy jacket, gently letting it slide down from her shoulders and along her arms, she stepped back and looked him in the eye.
„That's it. Look at me. Look me in the eye. And keep looking at me while you continue... I need to know that you crave for me. That you desire me, that I'm enthralling you..."
The jacket slid to the deck. Breathing heavily, Harper just stood there, looking down on it. Gently, Beka cupped his chin with one hand and lifted his head, while the other was grasping for his fingers, placing them against the buckles of her vest.
„Go on," she urged him gently. „But really, really slowly. Don't be in a hurry; too many tend to be like that. And look me in the eye. But take care, take your time, and don't be rough. Devour me with your eyes, but with your eyes only. Nothing in your movements is allowed to show your greed, your hunger. Undress me, but gently. I need to get slowly accustomed to your hopes, until I myself become ravenous..."
Beka's voice had continuously dropped both in height and volume until it became only a hypnotic whisper. Harper followed it like in a trance. And then the vest went too, and he found his arms encircling Beka's waist, pulling her hard against his own body. He loved Doyle, but this... this was just too much of a good thing. Placing her lips again next to his ear, she complimented him:
„That's it. I think you got it... And while you're at it, talk to her, tell her all she wants to hear in carefully chosen words. And don't forget to mention love..."
„Am I interrupting anything?"
-
The lights flashed up and Harper found himself suddenly blinking at the figure standing in the doorframe. Oh my God, I'm toast, he thought frantically, he's gonna kill me. But then, as his eyes grew accustomed to the light, he noticed Dylan standing there quite relaxed, albeit a bit puzzled, his eyes darting from Beka to Harper and back again to Beka.
„Dylan!" Even to his own ears, Harper's voice sounded a bit strident. „What are you doing here?"
„I live here," the tall man replied calmly. „Again: am I interrupting anything? Because if this should be the case, I could just go to Obs Deck and join Doyle..."
„Doyle!" Harper shouted breathlessly. „Oh my God! Doyle! Beka, thanks, I really owe you..." And with this cryptic remark, the engineer rushed with flushed cheeks past his commanding officers, disappearing into the corridor as if there were some ancient furies on his heels.
-
„He owes you?"
„I suspect you want some kind of explanation..." Beka told Dylan smilingly, as soon as the doors closed behind Harper.
He marched into the room, nestling with the buckles on his uniform. As his foot stepped on Beka's discharged jacket, he bent down and picked it up, continuing his stride towards the bedroom, where he tossed both it and his on a chair.
„'It's not what it looks like' is the traditional phrase, I believe," he then answered mildly, smiling back at her.
„It's not what it looks like," she complied obediently.
„Well, what is it then?" Beneath his well-tempered tone of moderate curiosity there seemed to be a slight edge of... sharpness? Beka chuckled, provoking a frown.
„Harper's third date with Doyle..."
Finally. It was with satisfaction that Beka saw Dylan's eyes widen in surprise. Before he could answer, she closed in on him, encircling his waist and resting her forehead against the juncture of his neck, where the collar of his t-shirt ended revealing first skin.
„Private lessons, hm?" he inquired softly. „And just how far were you planning to coach him?"
„Not much further," she admitted huskily. And then, replacing her forehead with her lips she murmured against his skin: „But that was far enough."
He laughed, his arms closing firmly around her.
„Oh yeah? Serves you right," Dylan teased. „Why was it far enough?" he then gasped, as he felt her teeth gently nibbling at his neck.
„He is a fast learner," she replied. „What about you?"
He leaned into the nibbling.
„What about me? Do you want to teach me something, too?"
And then she all of a sudden felt his hands all over her.
„Why, the way you're rushing things, I almost think I must. Behave yourself."
His hands on her hips, he pushed her away, searching for her eyes.
"Why?"
"Because you can't stay away for days and then barge in like you owned the place..."
"I DO own the place," Dylan ventured, but then hissed as her teeth dug into his skin a tiny little bit sharper. "Sort of..."
"Still," Beka insisted, "that's the not the way things go..."
"They're not?" he asked, one of his hands stealing its way beneath her shirt, one finger lightly tracing up her column, while his other hand firmly cupped the back of her head.
Lifting herself up to stand on her toes Beka sucked in his earlobe.
"You're not playing fair..." she admonished him gently.
"And you are?" Dylan sharply drew his breath in. How does she do that? he thought. How can she speak so clearly while doing this with her tongue?
"Beka..." he whispered, "if you really want me to behave myself..."
"Okay, maybe I don't want you to..." she admitted softly.
"So then what do you want me to...?"
„Undress me!" she told him, in an even softer voice. „But try to hypnotise me, while doing so. Capture me, hold on to me with your eyes."
Sinking to his knees, he slowly began to unfasten her belt, nestling with her pants and gently pushing them down over her hips, his eyes never losing contact with hers.
„Mhm..." Beka commended him with a small, ironic smile on her lips, „that's nice, you're very dextrous, I like the way you can control yourself, and that you're neither going too slow nor too quick..."
In a swift pull he brought her down to him really fast and gently forced her to lie down on deck. In a flash his mouth was over hers, soft and hot and desperate.
„What now?" she heard him moan into her breath, before his lips started a fascinating journey down her neck.
„Now? Now you have me just where you wanted me, at the mercy of your expert touch," she informed him with a little laugh catching in her throat. „Now I want you to take control, possess me, consume me, savour me... Go on... take off all of my clothes..."
He ripped her underwear – the only things left – from her, and stood up with her in his arms, throwing her on the large bed.
„And now?" he asked with laughing eyes, standing, but for his jacket, fully dressed above her.
„Now?" she told him, stretching herself lasciviously, a gleam in her eyes. And then she answered, her voice loud and clear and as sharp as a whip-lash:
„Now take off your clothes."