Teasing

Summary: Kaidan committed he and Shepard to attend a fundraising function for the efforts to rebuild on Thessia. Shepard offers up a little payback to remind him of her opinion on public functions.

A/N: I should be writing on my WIP. Instead, I keep allowing myself to be distracted by people posting pictures of pretty dresses. Any who! Enjoy!

In the dim lights in the suite Kaidan really hadn't noticed the most shicking feature of the dress. The fabric. It was startlingly soft and the way it had moved around her body was almost as intriguing as the embroidery he could feel. When she crossed to the elevator he noticed it-the reason why she was smirking. Her silhouette was entirely visible through the fabric. The fitted bodice was modest enough to leave enough to the imagination, but as his eyes traveled the well-known length and curve of her legs from ankle to thigh Kaidan became aware that it was going to be a incredibly long night.

For a moment he thought maybe she didn't realize. "Love, you do know that this skirt-"

"Is translucent?" she turned slightly and glanced up at him over her shoulder. "Yes."

Kaidan was frozen in place when she stepped into the elevator. The hand in his pocket balled up tightly. Shepard stepped forward and grabbed his free hand with both of hers. Once the doors closed behind him, she pressed her body against him. One hand still clasped his, while the other trailed across his cheek and over his ear, she kissed him lightly.

"I told you before. Payback is a son of a bitch."

Kaidan swallowed trying to relocate his voice when she moved the hand she held and placed it on her hip.

"Besides, the other dress had a slight up to here. So you'd have been staring at my legs all night anyway. Only difference is that in this dress I don't have to remember to stand just so," she whispered in his ear as her fingertips scratched against the back of his neck.

Shepard chuckled lightly when he pressed her against the wall of the elevator. "There's nothing saying we even have to go to this thing tonight."

"Except that you swore to High Command that we would be there to support them."

He growled lightly.

"Now you see just how much I hate it when you're all dressed up, tempting and delicious, and you get all logical and responsible. Remind me of duty and position and all that, when all you're really reminding me about is that I have to spend three hours thinking about just how much I'd like to peel you out of those blues," she purred up into his desire-filled eyes.

"I could just rip you out of it here and now."

She shrugged, a normally innocent action that only incited him more because her shoulders were bare. His hand darted out of his pocket and moved over the pale flesh.

"Very true, but I know how much you hate to be late to these things," she replied as the elevator announced their arrival at the lobby of the building.

Kaidan gritted his teeth against the urge to grab her, sling her over his shoulder like some hormone-crazed Neanderthal, and carry her back up to their room. His eyes darted around the open area, people stared, but they always did when Shepard entered a room. But this time too many eyes were on her legs rather than her face. The distraction was lessened outside, the dimness of the early evening camouflaged the object of his current obsession, even though her legs weren't actually visible in that moment, his mind tricked him into seeing that body he knew every inch of.

She slipped into the waiting car before he did, and Alenko took a calming breath knowing she would likely tease him relentlessly for the twenty minute trip across Armali. One thing remained constant about Nyx Shepard, she tested his resolve at every turn. From the moment he met her, she had pushed him at, first, unintentionally, then, later, it was a heavy mix of both. Since the end of the war, she had a lot more time and energy to put into the effort. He slid into the seat beside her and she wrapped her arm around his, slipping her hand into his and lacing their fingers together.

When she rested her head on his shoulder, he thought she might just allow the dress and his imagination to work a number on him. His nerves sparked warmly as she cuddled his arm. When she looked up at him, his response was instinctual-lips grazing hers while his hand skimmed along her neck. It was going to be a long night, even longer once he got her back to the hotel, he thought holding tightly to the hand of the woman he loved.