AN: This is the M rated part of chapter 7 of 'A Time And Place'. I split it up simply because I was afraid I would break the rating guidelines and get punished for it.

I did warn I was new to this T rating guff :)

A TIME AND PLACE (M SCENE)
CHAPTER 7: APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

0200 LOCAL TIME
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

Nightfall was beautiful up here in the mountains. The stars twinkled with an unclouded brilliance as if connecting the ground itself to the rest of the universe.

Sarah 'Mac' MacKenzie though wasn't looking at the stars outside the window of this secluded, rustic cabin in the woods. She was mesmerized by the sight of the man sleeping under the twisted sheets in front of her. His tall, muscular frame was barely covered by the thin material around his hips, one hand tucked under his pillow and the other splayed out over the spot where she slept until mere minutes ago.

Mac was seated at the foot of the bed, as naked as the man she shared her bed with. She stared at the sleeping face of her best friend, Harmon 'Harm' Rabb Jr, and admired every inch of him silently.

She always knew that he was handsome, but seeing him asleep now, he was not the man with the playful sparkling eyes and deliciously sexy grin. He looked incredibly at peace. He looked innocently boyish. He looked... increasingly wonderful.

Being awake in the middle of the night to observe him was a rare occurrence for her. She had bouts of insomnia, always had ever since she was a child. With an abusive father, she never really learned how to sleep soundly through the night.

But not with Harm. Whenever she felt Harm's arm wrap around her waist, or his hand stroke her back, she could easily fall asleep, safe in the knowledge that he would protect her. That was the keyword - safe. He made her feel like she was worth something, worth protecting, worth the trouble and worthy of his love. He was everything she had ever dreamed of, and she hoped he felt the same about her.

This was the first time since just after New Years' they were in the same state, much less the same room. Seven long months had passed where they shared very rare and very short phone calls. Seven long months where they were forced to resort to the written word to convey all they felt and wanted for each other. Mac couldn't believe she had become one of those women who waited anxiously on a love letter from her beau and having her good mood depend on him sending one.

Mac blushed recalling some of Harm's letters. Of course like anything else he did well, he needed a little gentle prodding at first, but once he got going, the man was dedicated to being the best there ever was. His love letters really were something else. When he was heartfelt, he was surprisingly romantic, and when he was being steamy...

The man was a master of mash notes. He could make her blush from head to toe with just a few words. She swore even the way he signed his name seemed like an act of sexual union between pen and paper.

She saw him stir as his hand searched for her. Not feeling her body next to his, his eyes popped open instantly and caught sight of her sitting there, naked as a jaybird and looking all the more beautiful for it. His brain cleared his vision immediately to allow him to take in her beauty.

"Hey." he said, not able to formulate much more than that one syllable. Not that he wanted to, he just wanted to admire her in all her naked glory.

"Hey." she replied, unashamedly letting his eyes roam all over her body. She could feel her skin heat up under his admiring gaze. She had to admit she had felt self conscious the first few times Harm had stared at her body this way, but with each reassuring word, each loving gaze, each tender kiss that he trailed down her body, he had made her feel... desirable, invincible, precious. Adored.

He completely adored her and she couldn't help but love him back with equal fervor.

"Whatcha doing all the way over there?" he finally asked, his voice husky from sleep, sending chills to her core. She loved his voice this way.

"Admiring the view." she said with a smile, letting her own eyes drink in his body.

A slow smile formed on his lips, "See anything you like in particular?"

"Oh, yeah." she teased back, "The painting above the bed is quite nice."

Harm frowned deeply and stared up above the headboard. There was an old watercolor painting framed there. It wasn't the finest example of the art form.

"That's nice?" he asked incredulously.

"Mmm-hmm." she hummed as she crawled over to his body. "It's especially beautiful when it hangs above the bed of the sexiest sailor in the world..." she kissed his muscular abs before looking up at him, "...especially when he's naked."

Harm saw desire make her brown eyes go onyx black. She kissed downwards from his abs and Harm saw her move the thin sheet covering his modesty aside. And still her mouth went lower and lower.

He felt her lips wrap around him and he gripped the sheets tighter, trying to hold on to his sanity and control. Trying to hold off the inevitable. It felt as if every nerve ending on his body was now centered on that one spot and his body trembled under her attention.

She brought him to near completion over and over, but always pulled back before he was too far gone, heightening his arousal while prolonging his pleasure. She let her lips explore the rest of his body, teasing him as he often did her, returning the sweet torture he inflicted on her each time they made love.

"Mac..." his voice came out strained and she knew she had to back off. Harm might be strong, energetic and athletic, but even he had his limits. Even she could send him over the edge as quickly as he sent her.

Of course, she didn't need more than a couple of minutes to recover. Harm, like all men, didn't enjoy the grand design benefit that women had in this regard.

She backed off and admired the strain on his face, sweat already beading his furrowed brow. He had his eyes closed, no doubt trying to remember imagery that would dim his aroused state and stave off a too early end. She started to pull away.

But he had other plans. He rolled over and pinned her down, his blue eyes staring deep into hers. "I need you now." he said, no subtext, no word play, no clever repartee. Just his desire stated plainly without guile or malice. Just pure want.

She guided him to what he wanted and they both moaned as they fit together perfectly. He moved with a gathering momentum until Mac was sure their mutual grunts and shouts echoed through the four walls of the wood cabin and out into the forests beyond.

The bed creaked loudly underneath their movements as if protesting this act of love, but even it was drowned out by their unintelligible moans. They were loud but they didn't care. The world ceased to exist for them as there was only each other. As there was only this.

She rose to meet his every stroke and clung on for dear life as he plundered her body. He quickly brought her to a state of excitement she often felt with him, but rarely this fast, this soon, this intense. Still he moved with the force of a freight train, pressing her further into the bed with each powerful stroke.

Mac was sure he'd break her as he slammed against her with all his might. There was nothing gentle about this but she didn't want gentle now. She could feel the tightening spring within her wind to breaking point, over coil, twist and finally snap all in one swift motion.

She screamed his name and soon she felt him join her over the edge.

Once the lust was gone, sanity returned and Harm was horrified by his lack of restraint. "Mac, I didn't hurt you, did..."

She kissed him hard to shut him up. Sometimes his concern was overbearing. Granted she knew she'd be more than a little sore tomorrow, but there were times to be gentle and there were times to be just good.

And God, he was extremely good.

She felt him roll over, taking her with him and perching her on his chest. His hand stroked the back of her thigh until he was rubbing her naked six. She arched an eyebrow at him.

"You wanna start round two, squid?"

He laughed, "You're gonna be the death of me, Marine."

"Well I wouldn't want you to die all the way up here in the woods. So, I guess no more sex this trip?"

The smile died on his lips and he stared at her with wide-eyed horror. She smiled demurely back at him. She saw the spark in his eyes and knew he was trying to think of something witty to say back. She waited.

Instead he tucked a stray strand of hair that had fallen over her face back behind her ear, and Mac blushed at the act. She didn't know why she did as she was rarely bashful around Harm but whenever he did something like that, something so... caring, she always blushed.

"You're so beautiful, Sarah." and Mac felt herself melt even more.

"Right back at you, flyboy."

She kissed him tenderly this time as he stroked her back. Soon she was curled up against his chest and deep asleep with him. She was safe.

She was home.

AN: Please let me know what you think. Is it T rating safe or M rating unworthy?