A/N: I couldn't help myself. I saw that nobody else had written a sex-pollen fic on these two and…. You know how that goes.

Jenny Lewis buried her head in both arms, trying to force her breathing to remain steady, but it was next to impossible with him so bloody close. In her head, she cursed the ARC's top-of-the-line security measures, even though she knew how vitally important they were. That didn't mean she had to like them. Sweat trickled down her skin, sticking her blouse to her; heat crawled through her veins, making her nerves tingle and prickle. It was maddening. She didn't dare to raise her head, no damn way, because if she so much as caught a glimpse of him at the moment…she quivered to think what might happen.

Cutter wasn't exactly in the best situation of his life, either. The last thing he ever wanted was to be locked up in some bloody lab with her, utterly unable to leave because the entire place was on lockdown. He sat on the floor, back to the corner, with his arms wrapped around his legs and his forehead against his knees. Not exactly comfortable, but he couldn't risk looking at her. He didn't know what the hell was in those prehistoric flowers, but it surely was potent. Gritting his teeth, he fisted both hands on the fabric of his trousers, eyes tightly shut; it did nothing to stop the most enticing fantasies from dancing across his feverish mind. Keep it together, he thought, but the faint smell of her was driving him to madness with temptation.

"Abby, I found those files you—oh." Jenny paused in the doorway when she realised that it wasn't Abby in the lab at all, a different set of blond hair and blue eyes waiting instead.

Cutter straightened up slightly, turning around to look at her. "Hello, Jenny," he said quietly. "Abby just left. Something about the menagerie needing her help. She had called me before about her flowers, and I didn't believe her at first, but—" He made a gesture towards the prehistoric flora all around. The plants had only been brought in a few days ago, and now several of them were covered in bright leaves and flower buds just about to burst into bloom, most of them in shades of colour she'd never seen before. Some were odd-looking plants, too, with odd spines and strangely-shaped leaves, like something one would find in an Alice in Wonderland illustration.

Jenny nodded. "I know, it's incredible. I didn't know that any plant could grow so fast," she answered, walking into the lab. She stepped around Cutter to place the requested files on Abby's desk. The former zookeeper had asked for the files on previous excursions, looking for…something to do with plant life and how they affected animals, she couldn't remember exactly. Curious, she turned to examine one of the nearest plants. It had a dark purplish stem and vibrantly green leaves edged with small red thorns, about a foot tall; the uppermost six inches of stem was covered in an array of buds that looked just about ready to burst open. She was almost tempted to touch one, see if it would open at the slightest touch, but she kept her hands securely at her sides. Abby had given strict instructions that nobody touch the flowers until she knew if their pollen had any effect on human beings.

"Could you imagine what could be done with these?" Cutter had somehow sidled up beside her without notice, standing just next to her. "I mean, these plants haven't been around for millions of years; the new medicines that could be made from them, the possibilities…it's incredible to think about."

She nodded slowly, not entirely trusting herself to speak. Her entire body bristled with awareness at their close proximity; God, didn't he ever learn the concepts of personal space? He stood near enough to her that she could feel the heat from his body, smell the faint traces of aftershave and musk. Jenny pretended to study the plants in front of her, but at the moment, flowers were the furthest thing from her mind. Lately, things had become tense between her and the professor; she knew that she had to do something about it. The real question was what? He wasn't exactly the best 'people' person, and she was reluctant to even consider the possibility of being attracted to him—out loud, at least, because she'd thought it over in her head more times than she could count.

"I think I ought to get back. Lester still wants me to finish up some report or another, probably so he doesn't have to do it," she said, breaking the silence. Coward, she mentally scorned herself.

Cutter blinked in surprise, as if he'd forgotten she was even there. "Right. Of course." He took a step backwards, allowing her to slide past and walk towards the door.

As she took a step forward, she heard a sharp pop sound from beneath her foot, and she nearly fell over flat on her face, off-balanced. Cutter's arm shot out, his hand wrapping around her arm. Instead of doing a hideously embarrassing face plant into the ground, she staggered and ended up slamming against the counter, surely bruising her hip in various ways. Her elbow struck the edge of the metal tray hard enough to add a new bruise. The tray slid sideways, the plants swaying and brushing against each other; they both turned to look as the flower buds burst open upon the slightest touch, practically exploding in small clouds of shimmering gold pollen.

Cutter released her arm as if it was a poisonous snake and took a hasty step away from her; she wobbled, off-balanced, and nearly cursed at him. But then he covered his face with one sleeve and sneezed several times, backing further away from the flowers. "Allergies?" she queried, bending to inspect the situation—her heel had broken off. Great. She tried to avoid wearing heels to this job, but since Lester had her going to a meeting early in the morning, she'd tried to appear somewhat professional.

"It's only certain flowers that do it," he answered, voice slightly muffled by his coat sleeve. "And it certainly doesn't help that they exploded in my face. You alright?"

Jenny nodded as she took off the offending shoe and held it up so he could see. "Broke the damn heel off," she replied, then sneezed herself as the pollen aggravated her nose.

She still couldn't see all of his face, but she could practically feel his smirk.

Jenny was weighing the risks of tearing the plants up by their roots and stomping them into oblivion. Sure, Abby would be pissed, but then again, they'd never have to worry about being forced into lockdown again. And she'd never be trapped in any confined room with Cutter for any extended period of time again.

Turning away from the flowers to resist temptation, she padded barefoot across the lab to ineffectively rattle the doors. No dice—they were still tightly sealed and were likely to stay that way for a few hours more. Anger bubbled up in her, momentarily pushing aside those ever-growing feelings, and she kicked the door furiously. They still didn't open, and now her foot was sore.

"Feel better now?" came a low, muffled voice.

"Infinitely," she growled back. "Right about now, I just wish I could do the same thing to your head."

He actually had the audacity to laugh at her, the sound low and husky from disuse. His laughter sent a slight thrill down her backbone, gooseflesh breaking out across her arms and shoulders despite the warmth of the lab. She whipped around despite her earlier vow not to so much as look at him, furious that he would dare to laugh at her. She angrier about her own reaction to the sound of his voice than anything, but either way, anger was better than longing. However, the moment that her gaze settled on him, she regretted looking in the first place. Cutter was on his feet, though she'd never seen him get up, and was staring right back at her.

All at once, her whole body went rigid, freezing her in place. Jenny felt trembling warmth cascade through her limbs, flooding her from head to toe, and she could practically feel his gaze wandering over her form, nerves prickling. Her heart began beating faster, reacting to…whatever it was that had her body reacting like this. Stop staring at me like that, she wanted to snap at him. "Cutter…" she began, but instead of coming out hard and irritated, it sounded more like a plea than anything. She snapped her mouth closed again, but the damage was done. His gaze whipped back up to her face, and the intensity of those blue eyes made her knees feel like they were made of rubber. Without ever looking away, he took a step towards her, then another, treading slowly and lightly as if afraid she'd bolt if he moved too fast. Jenny felt like she ought to run away, but her body rebelled against her mind, stubbornly refusing to move. She stood rigid against the counter, heart in her throat as he crossed the lab towards her.

He was once again close enough to her that she could feel the heat of his body, the faint smell of aftershave and musk driving her utterly crackers with desire. Jenny couldn't bring herself to look away from him. Fine tremors ran throughout her body, shivers tracing their fingers down her backbone, along her nerves. Her stomach tied itself in knots, and it was hard to get a proper breath in. He put out both arms, grasping the edge of the counter in his hands and trapping her between them. "Jenny Lewis," he said quietly, his voice dipping into husky, wine-rich tones she'd never heard from him before.

"Cutter," she repeated, but now it really was a plea, soft and almost pathetically needy. To hell with it, her mind relinquished, buckling beneath the pressure of her own desperate longing. Christ, how she wanted so badly to kiss him, to find out if he tasted as good as he smelled, but she forced herself to remain still. That first move would have to be his.

He stared at her a moment longer. Something in his eyes seemed to snap, and then his lips were against hers and her entire world seemed to explode.

They both turned towards the sound of the doors locking. "The hell?" Cutter muttered under his breath, walking over to rattle the doorknob. "What's going on? Oi, someone open the damn doors!"

Jenny heard her mobile begin ringing, and she hastily took it out, flipping it open. "Hello?"

It was Abby's voice that answered. "Hey, Jenny. Where are you?"

"In the flower lab. I was bringing by those files you asked for. Why, where are you?"

"In the menagerie still. Look, did any of the flowers bloom?" Abby demanded.

Jenny blinked in surprise. "Abby, what's going on? The doors are all locked, and we can't get out of here."

"We?"

"Yeah, Cutter's in here, too. Hold on, let me put you on speaker," she said, then took the mobile from her ear and pressed the speaker button so the professor could hear the young woman's voice as well. "And yeah, your flowers did bloom. Why'd you ask?"

Abby muttered out a string of choice swears. "It's the pollen, then. The ARC's air vents are equipped with sensors that are meant to pick up any high levels of foreign substance in the air like…I dunno, poison chemicals or toxic dust, anything that could be construed as deadly, in case someone tried to poison us through the air conditioning system. When the flowers bloomed, the sensors probably reacted because they're not programmed to recognise flower pollen yet. And when the sensors are triggered, the ARC security protocols kick in, the whole place automatically locks down, and the air vents seal themselves shut so nothing can escape outside. Connor just explained it all to me."

Cutter groaned quietly. "How long does the lockdown last?" he asked.

"Well, all the vents are sealed up, and the doors all locked, so now the air system is going to reverse flow, suck all the contaminated air in, and sterilise it. Once the air's clean, the lockdown ends," Abby replied.

"And how long does that take?" Jenny queried.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and they could hear the muffled sound of her voice, as if Abby had put her hand over the phone, probably to ask Connor the same question. "Well…the ARC's a pretty big building, so maybe a few hours, four at the most."

Jenny and Cutter both cursed at the same time. "Okay, thank you, Abby," she said quietly.

"Sorry, guys. Bye." The line went dead. Jenny closed her mobile and resisted the urge to fling it across the bloody room with frustration. She was going to be locked in a lab with Cutter for at least four damned hours.

Jenny couldn't quite remember how she ended up on the floor, but at the moment, she didn't particularly care. His warm embrace seemed to envelop her completely. One hand pressed to the small of her back, the other caressed the back of her neck; pulling away, he kissed her cheek and jaw and ear. Blindly, she turned her head, lips seeking his, and he kissed her again with a heat that flared out of control, feelings pushed aside running rampant between them. Her lips parted beneath his, and a fiery, wild rush coursed through her body when his tongue brushed her own. She ached for him, needing him in the deepest ways. Heat flushed beneath her skin, and she could feel a wetness between her thighs. She could almost taste arousal, his and hers both. He kissed her with a bruising urgency, one hand curling around the back of her neck, and she responded with the same desperate need, gripping his shoulders tight. Liquid fire poured through her veins, making her heart race and her breathing quicken. She parted her lips, inhaling the heady scent of him; his tongue snaked past her lips and filled her mouth with the taste of him. Oh, God, he could kiss.

Breaking away from the passionate kiss, he instead attacked her neck. He bit at the skin of her throat and then licked the tender red marks he left, a low rumbling noise escaping his chest. She buried her hand in his hair, other hand sliding around his waist, moving up his back. He slipped a hand under her blouse hem, slowly caressing up her ribcage to her breast, skin hot even through the lace of her bra. Moaning at the contact, she arched her hips upwards, pressing into him. He pulled away suddenly. Jenny whinged at the loss of contact. But then he was unbuttoning her blouse, exposing more of her to his hungry gaze. Jenny pushed his jacket down his arms, shoving it away impatiently, and she pulled at his sweater, hungry to feel his skin against her own. He sat up just long enough for her to pull the damned thing off over his head, and then she had hold of his shoulders, drawing him back down. He unclasped her bra, no fumbling with it; dipping his head, he traced the ridge of her collarbone with his tongue, kissed a warm path down her chest, and took one oversensitive nipple into his mouth. She cried out wordlessly as the tug of his suckling caused bolts of pleasure to shoot from her breast into her core, connected by nerve endings she hadn't known existed in the first place. Jenny grasped his hair in both fists, moaning at the rasp of his rough tongue against her nipple. Her mind grasped nothing but the feeling of his touch—the heady scent of his skin, the strength of his muscles, the texture of his chest hair, and the heat of his skin. His lips traveled back up to her neck and shoulder, nipping at her.

Her hand grasped his hair, drawing his head back down to her. She brought her lips to his once more, fire searing through her veins. Her hands skimmed down his back, tracing along his hips, and coming around to his front; without breaking from their kiss, she unbuckled his belt, pulling it off. The sound of leather sliding against denim made her tingle, tremors of anticipation running through her body and gathering between her thighs. Jenny rested both hands on his hips, pushing his jeans down and off. He unzipped her skirt, slid a hand under her back, and lifted her up so he could strip away the rest of her clothes as well. The sharp bite of cold tile against that much bare skin was a splash of ice water to her face, momentarily breaking through the haze of lust. The pros and cons of sex with Cutter raced across her mind, but they were outweighed by the fact that they were there now, both of them more-than-ready, almost painfully aroused. She ran her hands up his arms, slid them over his shoulders to the back of his neck, and buried her fingers in his thick hair, kissing him long and deep.

A trembling gasp left her throat as his hand slipped between her thighs, fingers gliding over the sensitive flesh. Then she had one leg around his hip, the other hooked over his arm, and he was inside her, filling and stretching her. She cried out softly, nails digging into his back as sensation burned through her nerves, white fire gathering low in her belly. He held tight to her, his voice low and rough in her ear; his accent had gone so thick she couldn't understand him, but it sounded decidedly filthy. "That sounded dirty, Nick," she gasped.

"It was," he growled back, catching her earlobe in his teeth; she gave a delighted shiver.

She could feel every inch of him moving in and out of her, nerves aflame with sensation, making her moan. It'd been such a long time since she'd ever felt anything like this. He slid his hands beneath her shoulders, curling his fingers around her hair, lips, teeth, and tongues melded in another dizzying, breathtaking kiss. She could feel her orgasm growing, rising higher with each deep thrust, her breath coming in short gasps of air, hands clutching at his back. "Oh, God, Nick!" she cried out, body arching up to meet him. Her vision briefly went white, every nerve and cell singing. He rode her faster, harder, bringing her to the peak of orgasm again; her entire body strained up to meet him, crying out, tears welling in her eyes from the sensation onslaught. He came with her, the muscle of his back going rigid as he hissed through his teeth, spilling into her, and she bit down on his shoulder with a low groan. His head fell onto her shoulder, breathing heavily. Jenny slid her arms around him, stroking his sweat-damp hair and holding him close. She could feel him quivering, muscles shaking slightly. "Nick, you're trembling," she murmured in his ear.

"Don't worry. I'll be alright," he replied wearily, lifting his head to look at her with a small smile.

She kissed his forehead, tasting the faint tang of sweat on his skin, and she brushed her lips to his cheek as he laid his head down on her shoulder once again. Exhausted, physically and emotionally, she closed her eyes. After several long minutes, he shifted his weight. "I s'pose I must be gettin' heavy," he murmured thickly, pulling out and shifting so that he lay beside her now. She whimpered at the loss of him, turned on her side to face him, and snuggled close to his warmth. Cutter wrapped both arms around her, drawing her close; his fingertips traced lazy patterns across her arm and shoulder.

She wasn't sure how long they laid there like that, but she was nearly asleep when she heard the doors of the lab unlock. A tiny whimper of protest left her throat as she pressed her face against his chest. The idea of getting up at the moment was absolutely abhorrent, but so was the idea of someone walking in on the pair of them naked on the floor. With a reluctant groan, Cutter slid his arm out from underneath her, got up, and wrapped his jacket around his waist, walking over to the doors, and he locked the doors once again before returning to her. Jenny immediately curled herself around him, burrowing into his embrace.

"Wonder what was in those flowers," he mused after a time.

"Don't care," she answered, burrowing closer against him. "I've been waiting for you to make your move for the past three weeks."

He glanced down at her in surprise. "You have?"

Jenny nodded against his chest, eyes still closed. "Mm-hm. Took you long enough, you thick git. Now I know that next time I want to get anything out of you, I'll just have to find a way to trigger a quarantine," she mused with a smile.

Cutter tugged lightly on her hair. "Hell, you ought to know by now that you can get anything you want out of me, especially when you wear those damned skirts of yours. I can hardly think straight with you prancing about in them," he growled back.

"I-I do not prance about," came the indignant response.

"Oh, I think you do."

She lifted her head to level a look at him, eyes narrowed slightly. "Shut up," she ordered.

"Make me."

Her eyebrows rose. Make him? Alright then. She slid a leg over him and slid over atop him before he had the chance to open his mouth, both hands braced on his chest, dark hair curtaining around both their faces. "Very well, then, Professor," she answered huskily, and he gave a little groan at the use of his title. How in the hell did she manage to make it sound so hot? Damned minx. "I suppose I will have to find out ways to keep you quiet without the help of Abby's magic flowers."

And that is just what she did.