Commander William T. Riker stood before the mirror in his quarters, fighting with the bowtie on his tuxedo. Just over a week ago, Data had gotten the bright idea to throw a party. When he invited the senior officers, Will had eagerly agreed, never one to turn down a fun evening. Afterwards, when Data told everyone it was a formal party – tuxes and evening gowns required – Will had cringed. When Data had followed that up by saying that they were expected to bring dates, he had wanted to crawl under the table.
The day after the invitation, Will was moping around his quarters when his door chimed. "Come in!" he yelled, and turned with a smile when Deanna walked in. She greeted him with a smile, and perched herself on the edge of a chair. Will had sprawled on the couch, waiting for his ex-lover to speak. "So, Will, who are you taking to the party?" Will had groaned and covered his face with his hands. "I have no idea Deanna. Who are you going with?" She smiled. "Worf asked me to go with him." Will grinned. "Guess I won't be stealing a dance then. No need to piss off a Klingon!" She laughed lightly. "Who should I take Deanna? I feel like I'm a teenager again, all nervous and everything." "I think you know who you want to take Will, you're just too scared to ask her."
Will did know who he wanted to take. Tasha. The fiery security chief was a close friend of his, and they spent a lot of recreation time together. Will had realized his feelings for her went beyond friendship while they were on the planet Rubicun III. When the Edo male had wrapped his arms around Tasha in a very intimate embrace, Will had felt a flush of jealousy rush through him. Surprised at his own feelings, he had practically ignored the gorgeous Edo female hanging onto him. Deanna had caught his eye and raised an eyebrow, but he just ignored her. They had never talked about the incident, but Deanna had noticed the way Will watched Tasha whenever he had the chance. What Will didn't know was that Tasha watched him in the same way.
Now, as Will tied the bowtie around his neck, then untied it in frustration when he saw how lopsided it was, he thought back to when he had asked Tasha to go with him. It had been after bridge duty for the both of them. They almost always had dinner together after shift ended. Joking over the days events, Will had been happy to see how often he could make Tasha laugh. Knowing her sad history, he always tried to bring laughter to the beautiful woman. As he had walked her back to her cabin that evening, he paused outside her door and took her hands in his. "Tasha, would you go to Data's dance with me?" She had smiled up at him, a slight flush spreading over her cheeks. "I would love to Will." Grinning, he had hugged her goodnight, and practically skipped back to his quarters.
The door chimed as Will considered throwing the bowtie down the garbage receptacle. "Enter!" he called as he adjusted his collar in the mirror. He saw the door open behind him, and his jaw dropped. Turning, he gazed upon the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Tasha stood just inside his doorway, giving him a shy smile. She was wearing a sleek silvery dress that reflected tiny particles of light into all the colors of the rainbow, and then some. The dress had a high neck in the front, sleeveless arms, and the bottom was barely long enough to be decent. A tiny slit ran up the right side, showing off Tasha's gorgeous legs. She blushed at his scrutiny, but when he asked her to spin around she did. The back of the dress was low cut, in sharp contrast to the modest front. Only a tiny swath of fabric covered Tasha's perfect butt. Will bit his lip as his eyes traced down her legs, to the silvery high heels she wore. She finished her circle, and he took in the sleek hairstyle she wore. Pale silver shadow adorned her eyes, and her lips sparkled with a glittery red lipstick that stood out on her pale skin. He walked over to her. "You look amazing," he said. Her blush intensified, and she dropped her gaze. "You look wonderful too, sir. If you ever get that tie fixed." She raised her eyes back to his, and they sparkled with mischief. He chuckled. "May I?" she asked, reaching up towards his neck. He nodded, and within moments she had perfectly tied his bowtie. He turned to look in the mirror, and shook his head. "How do women do that?" he mumbled. Tasha giggled. Will offered his arm. "Shall we, my lady?" She took his arm, and they headed to the party.
As they entered the holodeck, all eyes turned their way. Will had no problem being the center of attention, but Tasha blushed yet again. Data came over to welcome them, and soon everyone was back to chatting amongst themselves. Will led Tasha around, mingling and enjoying the wide variety of food presented for their enjoyment. Music drifted down from above as the first dance of the evening began. Will led Tasha out to the dance floor, and they enjoyed a slow dance together. They remained for the second song, but halfway through it Worf cut in and asked to dance with Tasha. Will let him, despite the fact he wanted to keep the beautiful security chief to himself. Deanna appeared at his side. "Shall we?" he asked, gesturing to the floor. She smiled, and took his hand. Will chatted with Deanna as they danced, but he couldn't stop his gaze from traveling to Tasha as often as it could. Deanna laughed at him, and offered to go steal Worf back so he could have his Tasha again. "No, it's ok, really," he said, laughing. "She's just so beautiful tonight." Deanna smiled up at him. Just then, Data came over and asked to dance with Deanna. Will used the distraction to go for a drink.
Hours later, Tasha had danced with just about every male there, much to Will's dismay. Of course, Will had ended up dancing with each man's companion as well. And not a single woman there missed the fact that Will was interested only in Tasha. When he finally got her back to himself, he jokingly told her she wasn't allowed to dance with another man for the rest of the night. "That's fine with me," she had replied, "I enjoy dancing with you the most." He had picked up on the soft lilt in her voice, and pulled her closer to him as they danced.
The night went on and the party began to dwindle. Couples began to drift out. Will started to take Tasha for one last dance when she stumbled on the way out to the floor. "I can't take anymore Will," she pleaded, "My feet are killing me!" She sat down in a nearby chair, slipping the heels off her aching feet. "Let me go tell Data we're leaving and thank him for the party, then we can get you back to your quarters, okay?" She had nodded, and he went to find Data.
On his way back to Tasha, after speaking to Data, Deanna stopped him. "Will, can I talk to you a moment?" "Of course, Deanna." "Will… I sense you are extremely interested in Tasha. If you two spend the night together… if you sleep with her…" Will opened his mouth to say something but Deanna held up her hand to hush him. "I'm not saying anything is wrong with that Will, just that if you do, stay the whole night with her, okay?" At his confused look, she explained a bit more. "Tasha has had very few lovers. Part of the reason is that the act of making love, while extremely pleasurable, causes her to have nightmares of the rape gangs from her childhood after. If you stay, you can be there for her." Chilled by the reminder of Tasha's painful past experiences, Will nodded his agreement and went back to Tasha.
He helped her back to her room, where she promptly kicked the offending shoes off again and fell back onto the sofa. Will's eyes widened at how the act caused her short dress to rise another inch. He sat down at the other end of the sofa and took her foot into his hands. He gently massaged her tired feet, and she moaned her enjoyment of it. "Oh my, that feels wonderful Will." Her voice had a seductive purr to it when she spoke, and it sent a shiver down his spine. He spent about half an hour massaging her feet. As he finished up, he glanced over to see her eyes heavy with fatigue. Inwardly saddened, he stood to leave, to let her get her rest. But she stood as well and padded over on her bare feet to stand in front of him. She reached up, her arms wrapping around his neck, one hand idly caressing the back of his neck. He felt his hairs stand on end at the sensation. "You don't want to leave yet, do you?" Tasha purred, her voice heavy with desire. He didn't answer with words. Instead, he cupped the side of her jaw in his hand, sliding his hand behind her head as he leaned down and kissed her. Her lips parted under his, and his tongue slipped into her mouth. Her fingers tightened on the back of his neck, her other hand resting on his chest. He slid his free hand to her lower back, feeling the heat of her bare skin under his palm.
Will felt his body begin to respond to Tasha's body against his. He pulled her closer as the passion between them intensified. He released her long enough to slip out of his tuxedo jacket. Tasha playfully undid the bowtie she had fixed for him earlier. He pulled her back to him, one hand reaching down to cup her ass. She moaned into his mouth, their kisses hot and hungry. Her hands undid the buttons on his shirt, pulling it out of his pants and opening it to reveal his chest. Her hands traveled over his chest. Wanting to even things up, he reached up to the back of her neck, unzipping the one zipper that held her dress on. He peeled the dress down to her waist, gasping softly when he discovered she wore no bra. His hands went immediately to her wonderfully perky breasts, teasing her nipples as he gently squeezed them. She moaned, pressing herself into him and tugging at his shirt until he paused long enough for her to slip it off him.
Will took Tasha's hand and led her to the bedroom where they could continue more comfortably. She stretched out on the bed, modestly pulling her undone dress up to cover her breasts as she waited for him to join her. He dimmed the lights and climbed up beside her, pulling her back to him as he kissed her deeply. His now extremely hard erection pressed tightly against his pants. He moved on top of Tasha, between her legs, pressing himself against her long enough for her to feel his desire. She moaned and her hips thrust upwards against him. She panted lightly as he pulled himself away from her. He slid the dress the rest of the way off her, revealing shimmering silver satin panties. And more. Even in the dim light, Will could see the shadows of scars crisscrossing Tasha's belly and hip. He ran his fingers lightly over one, and felt Tasha immediately tense up. Leaning down, he carefully planted tiny kisses from one end to the other of the largest scar, one that arched over her right hip. The tension melted out of her as quickly as it had come.
Relieved he hadn't ruined the moment, he quickly undid his pants, and rejoined Tasha on the bed with just his boxers on. She turned towards him, meeting his eyes. There was a passion in her eyes that he had never known could exist, and his heart soared as he realized he was the cause of that passion. He kissed her gently on the lips, then the neck, planting a trail of kisses to her breasts. He placed one hand on her hip as he took a nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over it. Tasha threw her head back and trembled. Encouraged, he sucked at her breasts, feeling the heat of her body intensify. She threw her leg over his hips, causing the tip of his erection to bump against her covered mound. He squeezed her hip, and she responded by trying to press herself against him. He moved his hand to her thigh, then slid between her legs, gently cupping her mound. He could feel her moisture through the silver panties. She reached for him then too, and it was his turn to moan as her hand wrapped around his erection.
Will wasted no time in ridding them of their remaining clothing. His hand returned to where it had been, this time though he slid his finger through her moist lips, teasing her with light touches. She moaned louder, stroking his hardness. Will slid a finger into her, surprised at how tight she was. He silently hoped he wouldn't hurt her when he replaced his finger with something else. Her hand tightened around his arousal in response to his gentle thrusts into her with his finger. "Will, please…" she murmured. He moved on top of her, balancing his weight above her enticing body. He slowly guided himself into her. She gasped as he slid all the way in, whether in pain or pleasure he did not know. He stayed still, poised above her, his erection fully buried inside her to give her a few moments to adjust. She panted lightly beneath him. After a minute, she raised her hips, indicating she was ready. Will kissed her deeply, passionately, as he began to make love to her. Her body melded perfectly with his. He gave her one more kiss before raising himself up off of her, enough to slide a hand between their bodies. Tasha gave a loud moan as his fingers found that magic spot. He increased the tempo of his thrusts as he increased the speed of his fingers, feeling her tighten around him in response. It didn't take long. Tasha came hard, her hips bucking up against him as she moaned his name. The trembling contractions around him inside her brought him to orgasm with her, and he called out her name in response to her moans.
Will collapsed next to her as the waves of pleasure subsided. He wrapped her in his arms, kissing her softly, lovingly. She curled up in his arms, listening to his heartbeat. It wasn't long before the combination of too much dancing and wonderful lovemaking caused them to drift off to sleep together.
Hours later, Tasha was dreaming. She whimpered softly and a tear fell down her cheek as her nightmare began to intensify. It wasn't long before she started crying out, and thrashing against Will. He woke in a half panic, hearing her cries. "No, no, please stop, please! Don't hurt me, I'll do whatever you say, please!" She let out a scream, one hand instinctively going to her hip, covering the old scar. Will's heart beat fast as he reached for her. "Tasha! Tasha, wake up please!" His hand grabbed her shoulder and she recoiled from his touch, believing it to be her dream attacker. He grabbed for her wrists and held them tight. "Tasha!" he yelled. This time he got through to her. Her eyes flew open. Will saw the terror on her face as she frantically scanned the room. Once she realized she was safe, the tears came. She broke down into sobs that shook her lithe frame. Will pulled her to him. "Oh Tasha, everything's ok. You're safe, it was a dream." He rocked her in his arms, feeling her tears wet his bare skin. He remembered what Deanna had said, and silently thanked her for telling him. He didn't want to imagine Tasha facing this terror alone. Tasha mumbled something against his chest. "What?" he asked, pushing himself away a bit so he could understand her. "They were raping me Will. Don't let them rape me anymore. Please." Her voice was weak, frightened, like a little girl's voice. Tears came to Will's eyes as he pulled her close again. "No one will ever hurt you that way again Tasha, I promise." He closed his eyes, feeling a tear trickle down his cheek. "I promise," he whispered again.
After some time, he sensed her tears had stopped. He moved back to look down at her. Embarrassed, she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Tasha…" His hand caressed her cheek, brushing away remaining tears. He tilted her face up and gently kissed her, the action saying more than any words could at that moment. When he released her, she met his eyes. "Thank you," she said softly. He gave her a gentle smile. "I'm just glad I could be here for you." "Me too," she replied as she snuggled up close to him again. He ran his hands lightly over her back and they slowly drifted off to sleep again together.