In the moonlight her skin was the purest of silvers.
His darkened to deepest night's indigo.
Here, in this place of secrets, they held no fear of discovery. No dangerous watching eyes to see them touch. No betraying ears to hear their whispered desires. The stars alone kept guard over their hidden lovers' bed and the wind breathed sweet stirring hunger over them as the gods themselves sent their approval gently upon the moonlight.
His fingertips slowly caressed her, his lips lowering to trace the smooth curve of her throat. Beneath him, she inhaled and arched her arousal, her hands sliding along his skin to slip into his unbound snow white hair and draw him closer.
He drew the heady scent of her thick chestnut hair into his nostrils, reveling in the mingling scents of their bodies' passion as if it were rich incense.
Her mouth found the delicate cups of his antennae and he gasped her name breathlessly amidst the unbelievable hot pleasure.
"Thuray?"
He jolted out of sleep in almost mindless panic, tangling himself unmercifully in his bedding and finally dumping himself in an ignoble heap of blue sweating skin at her boots.
He sighed miserably and wondered exactly which divine being he had so managed to mortally offend and cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, Exterior?"
"I have need of your presence."
He smiled bitterly against the deck plate.
If only that were so.
"Yes, ma'am."
She turned on her heel and went back out his quarters.
He heaved a soulful sigh.
And damned himself again for being a fool.
What use was a heart if one could never have the love one dreamed of?
Her ship lay hidden amongst the stars, the cloak sweeping a concealing silken shield over the sleek emerald hull against hunting enemy eyes.
They lay in secret.
Her quarters were lit only by star shine and the heavy scent of their fiery passion mingled with the crisp formal scent of standard issue sheets and the metallic tang of weapons oil.
She took his mouth hungrily, drawing desiring nails hard along his burning skin. Beneath her, she felt the power building in his body and reveled in the sheer hot whirlwind of their love making.
Her breath was ragged and sweat made her flanks slick. She urged him faster, feeling her own rise gathering.
"Commander Ragnhilh!"
She exploded out of sleep in sheer battle rage, her disrupter muzzle targeting instantly before her Starfleet guest comm unit lit again and Ambassador Araek's voice barked her name again.
She swore and collapsed back onto the all too empty Federation bed, dropping her disrupter to her chest so she could shove her sweat tangled hair out of her heavily flushed face and ease her dream labored breathing. She slapped at the unit, relieved that she had put the automatic screen on blackout before she went to bed.
"Commander Ragnhilh, here."
"I require your presence immediately."
"Yes, Ambassador."
She cursed long and angrily when he signed off. Partly at the Elements who tormented her by showing her once again what she lacked. Partly at herself for being fool enough to be grateful for even that vicious crumb. And partly at the damned spoiled Ambassador Araek who didn't even have the sense to be spending this unholy hour with his Vulcan lover.
She dragged herself out of bed, keyed the guest shower to a brutal ice and fought the weak urge to weep. For once she bitterly envied her old friend's Vulcan control.
What use was there in feeling Romulan passion if there was none to share it?
The secret alcove where they met was shadowed and unknown to all but a bare trusted few. Here they were safe from suspicious eyes as they put the final edges to their plot.
The Security of the Exterior and the Romulan Ambassador stood as close as young lovers, not daring to raise their voices more than the breath of a whisper it took to carry their words to each others' pointed ears.
"He will be there." Saavik murmured.
"She will be waiting." Araek breathed.
"T'Kel has altered their ship's drive system. Four point three hours into their flight, it will fail. The collapse of the system will deprive them of communications ability."
"How long will it take them to rebuild systems and reach the nearest port?"
"One week, fourteen hours."
"Is the Klingon ship in place?"
She inclined her head. "He will remain in cloak and guard them until they are safely in port."
Araek scowled. "Can you trust him?"
Her eyebrow lifted.
He snorted.
They looked at each other a long moment.
"I am in your debt," she oathed.
Araek bowed his head formally, accepting the promise. And then his eyes glinted and he grinned. "I will collect."
She gave him a narrow-eyed look and vanished into the shadows and back into the corridors beyond.
He shook his head and then thought of his still sleeping lover, curled in his bed with soft scented skin. He stilled, suddenly disquieted, and sent a silent prayer to the Elements on behalf of the two Fate crossed lovers, one Romulan and one Andorian.
When he lifted his head, he stared out the doorway Saavik had vanished through.
And then sent a second prayer for two others. One on either side of a Zone.
He made love to T'Pren in that last hour before dawn with an intensity that made her dark lashed eyes widen in confusion at the unexpected fervor of it.
Then when they lay entwined together, he asked for what he knew he long should have held.
He asked for her bonding.
Both the Vulcan Ambassador and the Romulan Ambassador missed their scheduled appointments for the day.
What good was love if one wasn't daring enough to keep it?