Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Thank you so much to Fameanon, 2redbird, Ahlysha and jackiemack916 for reviewing!
Ahlysha: Same Trent.
A/N: This first part of this chapter is...kind of smutty. As in rated M. As in don't like, don't read.
The rain pounded against the slopes of the northern mountains outside the capital city of Coridan, wetting the jungle with tiny crystal droplets, flooding the river, and streams of water poured off the moss hanging in front of the cave where Sopek and Celia slept.
The blankets in combination with their body heat and the dying embers created a warm cocoon, and the Vulcan moaned in his sleep as Celia, unaware of her actions, moved her hand from the floor to his chest. Sopek slept on, but his sleep, which had been dreamless, began to change...
Steam rolled out of the shower stall in front of him, and he knew he was naked. The sound of water echoed around the dimly lit tile room, and he strode forward through the mist, confident that he was supposed to be here...
His hand wrapped around her waist, stroking up her back, then back down to the hem of her pants. Celia groaned in her sleep and pressed herself to the warmth...
Indeed, when he drew back the curtain that separated him from his prize, he saw her there, naked, her hair dark around her shoulders. Her green eyes lit with recognition and welcome as she gestured him forward, dropping her washcloth on the floor...
She moaned again as his hand slipped beneath the hem of her cargo pants, the heat of his fingers making her core tingle with want...
Celia pressed herself to him, leaping into his arms and wrapping her muscular legs around his waist. He groaned as arousal hit him full force, and he shoved her against the wall, gasping as the hot water trickled down his back.
"Sopek," she moaned, gripping his hair with feverish fervor. "Yes..."
His lok bulged as her pelvis brushed over it, and his hand stroked back up her back, toying with the clasp of her bra. His unknowing fingers examined it, puzzled over the simple mechanism...
She took hold of his lok and stroked it, lovingly, heatedly, and he groaned, diving for her neck. He tasted blood and sweat and warm water on her neck, and he purred, licking her, nibbling her, then nipping suggestively at all her erogenous regions around her neck.
"Do you want me?" she demanded, scratching her nails down his back.
"Yes," he whispered, biting down hard on her shoulder. She screamed in delight, stroking him harder, and he growled in frustration until she parted her legs wider and gave him a knowing look...
She moaned, moving her pelvis in a circular motion over the bulge, and she moved her leg, intertwining it with his. "Sopek..." she whispered, nuzzling into his muscular chest...
She howled as he obeyed her silent command, and it was suddenly as if both of them had been struck with sudden fever. Kissing, scratching, biting, growling, squeezing each other as close as possible to their bodies...they were as madmen, groaning and yelping like animals, and he roared with it, driving her harder, grunting like a sehlat in heat. And she was no more composed than he, moaning, writhing, pulling his hair. His entire body felt doused in flame, and he forced her legs wider as he increased his pace.
His lok was responding now to her moans and writhing, straining against his undergarment, and he moaned, holding her hips closer to his. A sudden increase in pressure from her pelvis caused him to jerk upward, and she replied with a tantalizing roll of her hips. He was purring now, his grip deathlike as their hips moved back and forth in tandem...
"Sopek!" she howled, throwing her head back, her eyes flying open. "Oh God...oh my..."
She didn't even finish her sentence before he felt her release, and he purred in satisfaction, increasing his pace still. He wanted to bring her to the very heights of pleasure, and she screamed as he took her higher.
And then they were both falling, falling into a paradise of heat and sweat and ecstasy...
His unconscious body flushed with heat under the stuffy blanket, and with a great sigh, he relaxed, the slightest smile touching his lips. Celia gasped as her body relaxed over his, and a wetness soaked the seat of her pants, matched by the dark stain on Sopek's undergarment. They groaned in satisfaction and held each other close, resting peacefully as night rushed on into the early hours of the morning.
…
Sopek awoke with a gasp, his internal chronometer informing him that it was nearly 0300. Celia was draped over him, and her scent was drowning him. The smell of Earth mint drifted in and out of his nose, and he closed his eyes again, reigning in his illogical desires. Her scent was stronger than before, and the smell of it, so cloying and sweet, made his mouth water in anticipation. Hunger roiled in his gut, but not for food...
He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, but opened them when he felt a flash of contentment and peace. The emotions had not come from him, but from her...
For a wild moment, he thought he had bonded to her in his sleep, but he calmed himself and realized (with a strange pang of disappointment) that he was touching her, that he had been touching her all night...her emotions, even her thoughts, were bound to seep through his telepathic touch...
He gasped as he remembered the dream from which he had just awoken, the pure lust of it, the passion...he breathed in a steadying breath and was assaulted with another whiff of her minty aroma. His eyes drifted shut, and he was suddenly aware that his undergarment was stained with something wet...
He tried not to think of it as he felt his face flush in shame, but even more pressing now was the cloying cold. The fire had obviously died some time in the night, and the rain had slowed to a sparse, mournful drip. Celia shivered in his arms, and despite the fact that he had shamed himself by intruding on her dreams, he held her closer to his body in an effort to keep her warm.
Thirst tickled the back of his throat, and he sighed in irritation, ignoring the sensation for now. He would have to wait until Celia was awake.
A few minutes later, she awoke as well, blinking heavily in fatigue, and he stroked his hands up and down her back, attempting to create enough friction to warm her chilled body.
She sighed. "Damn, it's cold."
He murmured an agreement and cleared his throat, but no saliva formed in his mouth to lube it. "Forgive me, but I am thirsty," he croaked, leaning back into the thin blanket.
Celia slowly pushed herself up off of him and reached out from the blanket, fumbling around in a blind search for the water. She slid off of him and poked her head out from under the cover, then grabbed the waterskin and unscrewed it for him.
She cradled his head with her hand and held the spout to his lips. "You're already cold," she explained as he stared at her incredulously. "Drink, captain."
He stared at her for a long moment, searching her gaze for her motives, but compassion and empathy were the only things he could feel through her touch. He parted his lips and tilted his head back as she tipped the skin forward, and cold, fresh water gushed into his mouth. He exhaled sharply in satisfaction and swallowed.
"I believe the proper phrase is, as your people say...thank you."
She gently laid his head back onto the blanket and settled herself over him, rubbing her hand up and down his chest at a rapid pace. "I wish it were morning," she groaned, nuzzling into his chest. He stroked her hair.
"As do I...perhaps we can both go back to sleep."
She snorted, causing the hair on the back of his head to stand on end as her breath ghosted across his bare flesh. "Fat chance of that..." She nuzzled him aggressively, moaning in frustration. Then she paused and inhaled his scent in the middle of his chest. "Hm...you smell like woodsmoke..."
"Do you find it agreeable?" he asked before he could censor himself. She grinned into his shoulder.
"It smells nice...I probably stink. And I'm sure I'm breaking some Vulcan rule by sleeping with you like this...and lo, Surak said, thou shalt not sleep under a blanket with a stinky human, or face eternal damnation..."
She paused again. "What is your people's punishment for not abiding by Surak's laws?"
"Usually ostracism and chastisement."
Celia made a small noise of understanding. "Been there, done that...it's an effective punishment..."
She sighed and rubbed his chest, absentmindedly staring at the crack of dim light drifting in under the cover. Sunrise came early this time of year, and in a few hours, it would be light enough to see outside.
"Your scent is very agreeable," he said after a long pause, letting his eyes flutter closed as he stroked his hand down her back. "It is particularly strong at the moment, and it reminds me of Earth mint. And Surak said nothing of the sort. What is necessary, Celia, is never unwise."
"Well, that's a relief," she said with a giggle, nestling into him. She fell silent, and he could feel a sudden burst of shame.
"Ms. Alvarez? Are you unwell?" he murmured, lifting his head to look at her. She had her eyes closed tight, and her invigorating caress of his chest stopped.
"Oh, damn," she breathed, squeezing her eyes closed even tighter. "Oh, damn it..."
"What precisely are you condemning?"
She looked up at him, her green eyes clouded with shame. "My stupid body..."
"Your body is neither stupid nor worthy of condemnation. Please do not do so in my presence."
She frowned at him, propping her chin up on her hand. "You're incredibly polite, you know that? Granted, I haven't met many Vulcans, but...you're very considerate. I like that about you."
"Truly?" he asked, holding her gaze. "Tell me, Celia...how much of Vulcan culture are you aware of? You know of Surak, but do you know of Vulcan traditions?"
"I know extremely little about Vulcans."
He took a deep breath, blinking slowly against another wave of her strong minty scent. "I know you are unaware of this tradition, but when you give an unbonded Vulcan man a drink of water, you are offering yourself to him."
"Offering myself?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. Her eyes also grew dark...
"Yes. As a mate. And to share water with he who is your mate is a rare and precious intimacy."
She was silent for several seconds. "But we're sharing water out of necessity..." she breathed. "I didn't mean...you're...I'm sorry if I offended you."
"I am not offended," he said firmly. "And I understand the necessity for us to share water at this time. I simply wished to educate you about a practice of which you were unaware."
Celia nodded and laid back down. "Sorry, but I'm still cold...thank you for the education. I'll remember that before I hand someone a drink."
"It is usually not seen as a proposal, unless the male in question is...open to suggestion."
She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"On...rare occasions...Vulcan men are more...open to...touch and intimacy, especially if he is unbonded."
"Are you unbonded?"
"Yes...when the male first wakes from sleep...when he is in need of something, such as medical aid, food or water, and she gives him aid...when he is fatigued...and other times, which I will not discuss...a Vulcan male is more open to...female seduction."
He felt her body flush with warmth, and she blinked heavily, shifting slightly over him. His eyebrows rose as he sensed slightly heightened arousal in her, and her scent intensified. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to savor the scent.
"So am I being promiscuous right now? Didn't you just wake up like fifteen minutes ago?"
"Seventeen minutes, ten seconds. And no, you are unaware of this...information. I only wish for you to be aware."
"Why?" she asked, her heartrate increasing.
"Celia...blonde hair is absent from the Vulcan genome, as are green eyes. Your physical features are only seen on Vulcan when my people meet a Denobulan or a human. You saved me, when you could have left me and saved yourself, and you have tended to my wounds when you could have spent that time escaping to a secure location. You lent me the very warmth of your body to help me survive, and you quenched my thirst."
She shook her head. "I told you, I have no quarrel with you. I did what any good human would do."
"And you ask me why I am telling you when unbonded Vulcan males are at their most vulnerable, why I am informing you about the ancient water ritual? My people may be reserved, Celia, but they are not blind, nor are they foolish. They know a good thing when they see it."
Her stare was guarded. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"I am simply informing you of rituals and traditions that you are not familiar with. I wish you to be informed."
She closed her eyes. "Okay..."
"We should attempt to sleep a little more before the sun rises. The trek ahead will be dangerous. I'm sure you're aware of the notorious fog that engulfs the city after rainfall?"
She snorted. "Do I ever. Thank you for sharing all that with me, Sopek. I'll try to use it wisely."
