Maybe it was because the Wraith had left them alone for some time now. Maybe it was because they had just come back from that Athosian party on the mainland. Maybe it was because everyone seemed to be in a rather cheerful mood these days.
He didn't know. He only knew he hadn't seen her this relaxed in a long time and he rather liked what he saw.
Though he admitted the picture still needed some improving.
Being in a rather good mood himself on coming back from the mainland he had asked her what she thought about strip poker. She had smiled sweetly at him and said she would like to try. Sounding as if she had never ever in her life heard the word "poker" before.
And now she was clearly winning. Very clearly. They were sitting on her bed, across from each other, and the last piece of clothing he had left on by now were his boxers. She had only taken off her socks so far.
She caught his contemplative glance and grinned at him triumphantly. "Looks like you're losing, Colonel."
He met her eyes, a grin spreading across his face. "Oh yeah?"
She caught a brief glimpse of a mischievous glint in his eyes, and the next moment she was lying on her back and he on top of her, the cards scattered across the bed, his arms on either side of her shoulders, his face mere inches apart from hers. "I think you're cheating."
She tried to put on her most innocent face. "Me? I would never do that!"
He captured her lips in a short and heated kiss. "Yes you would!"
"Never!"
The cards completely forgotten for now, he shifted his weight to one arm, sliding his other hand under the hem of her shirt in an attempt to tickle her. She fought back, laughing, trying to buck him off, succeeding eventually and rolling on top of him, straddling his hips, her hands firmly around his wrists. "Losing again?" she teased him, her flushed face hovering over him. He raised his head, pressing his lips against hers, his tongue darting into her mouth in a passionate assault, driving all coherent thought from her brain, so that with a swift movement he could throw her off, coming to rest on top of her again.
They kept playing around like that for a while, wrestling and laughing, before they collapsed on the bed, giggling and out of breath.
His head was resting on her belly, her hands brushing lazily through his hair.
For a while they just lay there, silent, not needing to talk or to do anything, until he lifted his head to look at her, smiling. "It's still not fair!"
"What?"
"That you're better at poker, and get to see me naked, and can leave your clothes on all the time!"
She raised her head, too, grinning at him. "First, it's not my fault that I play better than you, second, you're not completely naked, and third, I did take off my socks already. And fourth, it's not like you've never seen me naked!"
The mischievous glint was back in his eyes. "Yeah, but I think you're really wearing way too much clothes tonight!"
She gave him a challenging smile. "And I assume you already have a plan to do something about that?"
His hands lifted the hem of her shirt, exposing the soft white skin underneath. "I always have a plan." he mumbled against her belly, as he started to slowly kiss his way upwards.
She allowed him to remove her shirt completely, then pulled him down for a deep and hungry kiss.
His mouth left hers, kissing along her jaw line, and down her throat, caressing and demanding at the same time. She rested her hands on his back, feeling the shifting of his muscles under the skin at each of his movements.
Again it surprised him how powerful this feeling was, this need to claim her as his, to make her understand that she was the one he wanted, the only one. It was something he wouldn't say to her in words, because he couldn't. They had agreed to keep this casual. Just sex. No feelings. In fact, he had been the one to tell her they could do this. That this would work. And now he seemed to have more problems sticking to the plan than she did, though she had been the one who had been reluctant to agree to give in to temptation, who had told him it would get complicated sooner or later.
He knew they should stop it now, stop this before it went too far, before they couldn't turn back anymore. But on the other hand it was probably already too late. He knew he was in love with her, and he was pretty sure she knew that he was, and he could see her falling in love with him, too, and he knew she would never admit it, not yet.
They could still end this, it would be painful, sure, but no one had ever died of a broken heart. And yet he simply refused to take that option, he didn't want to end it. He wanted to be with her, even if it was driving him insane sometimes not to be able to tell her how he felt, how he really felt.
She probably knew, anyway. Because she always knew everything. It was part of who she was. She simply had the ability to know what people thought, to see through them. He thought it probably came with the job.
If this was all he could get for now, he'd take it, because he didn't even want to consider the alternative.
And he enjoyed being with her.
And he knew she enjoyed him, too, enjoyed the feeling of his hands sliding over her body, caressing, exploring.
He started tugging at her pants, sliding them down her legs until she could kick them off. He had moved down her body, hands and lips and tongue now roaming freely over naked skin, and with another quick movement of his hands her bra was gone, tossed carelessly across the room, and she arched into his touch and moaned his name as his hand went to one of her breasts, thumb brushing over the hardened nipple, while his tongue started circling around the other one, before he closed his mouth over it, sucking and biting gently.
He could feel a shiver running through her body, her hips grinding against him and he buried his face between her breasts, resisting the urge to simply rip away their last pieces of clothing and just take her hard and fast, now. No, he would make this last a bit longer.
He started kissing his way down her stomach again, overwhelmed by the softness of her skin, the taste of it that he knew so well, but that could still drive him crazy, make him want her so much it was almost painful. In a good way. He needed her, needed her so much he could hardly breathe.
With an almost impatient gesture he started dragging her panties down her legs, ridding her of the last piece of clothing. He took a moment to simply look at her, taking in the sight of her, again admiring how beautiful she was. She looked so fragile, yet he knew there was so much strength in her. He knew her, and yet in a way she would always remain a mystery to him. Every day he could discover new things about her. He never got tired of that, just as he never got tired of the way she felt under his fingers, of the sounds he could draw out of her.
"'lizabeth" he murmured against the skin of her inner thigh, lips and tongue moving close, so close to her throbbing core, causing her to whimper in anticipation.
He slid a hand between her legs, plunging a finger deep inside her, making her moan deep in her throat, as his tongue started attacking her clit, her back arching up as the pressure built inside her. She was so close already, her hands fiercely grabbing for the sheets. And then he simply stopped, his finger slipping out of her, his lips placing soft kisses on her belly, and she groaned in frustration.
He slowly crawled up her body, his lips and tongue leaving a wet line from her navel up to her throat, and then his lips claimed hers, his tongue exploring the soft inside of her mouth, and he felt her body pressing against his as she tried to pull him closer, wrapping her legs around him, helpless, begging almost.
He let a hand slip between her legs again, and with only a few skilled movements of his fingers she arched up into his touch, panting. She screamed his name as he drove her over the edge. He watched her come, watched her body convulse as she climaxed and he couldn't help but feel proud and amazed at the same time that he could do this to her, that he was allowed to do this to her.
He watched her flushed face. She closed her eyes, fighting for breath. He gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She was his, and his alone. And he knew, just knew, that he was hers, too, that she owned him in a way no one else ever had, that he was completely under her spell and liked it.
She opened her eyes, still breathing hard, and raised one hand to pull him into a slow but passionate kiss. Those moments were the most precious to him, those moments when she wasn't able to hide from him anymore. In bed he could make her self-control crumble away, catch a glimpse of what was really going on inside her, look behind those damn walls she had built up around her and see that this was as complicated and confusing for her as it was for him. Those were the moments when she couldn't pretend anymore, when her eyes silently admitted what her soul already knew and his heart secretly hoped for.
He continued kissing her, a series of small tender kisses, soon becoming more needy and passionate, his hands on her body again, until she wrapped one of her legs around his, her lips wandering down to the curve of his neck, teeth tugging gently at his skin.
She made him roll over on his back, climbing on top of him, her lips slowly moving over his body all the way down to his boxers which she removed in an instant.
He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up again, raising his head to crash his lips against hers and the hunger and need in his kiss made a small whimper of impatience escape her lips. Moving her hips over his she brushed against him once, making him groan wildly, then he felt her sink down on him, taking him all in, her internal muscles adjusting around him deep inside her and it was almost enough to make him come already.
And then she started to move, slowly, much too slowly. He grabbed her hips, not caring about bruises at this moment, and started thrusting up, meeting each of her moves.
When he couldn't stand her slow torture anymore he flipped them over, slipping out of her for a moment, but then he was pushing into her again, deep and fast, hitting her in exactly the right spot, his hands grabbing her shoulders as he felt her wrapping her legs around his back, drawing his body closer to hers, making him go deeper with each thrust.
Her breathing became heavier and he felt her tighten around him, arching up against him and then she screamed his name the second time this night, her fingers digging into his back and he kept thrusting into her, his movements becoming ever more desperate and erratic, and then he came hard inside her, clinging to her, before he collapsed on top of her, spent.
They lay like that for a while, their breathing slowly returning to normal. When he attempted to move off her she held on to him tightly in silent protest, causing a wave of tenderness to rush through him. He moved off her all the same, not wanting to crush her, but rolled onto his back, taking her with him so that her head was resting on his chest.
Feeling her breath on his skin, her palm placed over his still racing heart, he held her tight while she drifted off to sleep.
Running a hand up and down her back, he pressed his lips softly against her forehead and closed his eyes, too, thinking that what they did resembled a poker game in many ways. In the end, it was all about taking chances. Maybe they should play poker more often. And maybe next time he would win.