Attraction
There was always mutual attraction and quite a bit of sexual tension between Esperanza and Jacob. They both knew it was there but had agreed to keep things professional for the sake of the mission. Ever since that night in the shuttle bay after Horizon, it became increasingly harder for the both of them to keep that promise. Shepard was used to being the one caring for and giving to others. She was used to listening to other people's problems and helping them solve them. It was rare for anyone to really just sit and let her vent. It may seem like a tiny thing to anyone else, but for her it meant the world.
In the days that passed, Shepard found it increasingly hard to sleep. Not because of the nightmares she usually had but because of dreams of a more distracting nature. They would always start the same way. A large, calloused hand lightly caressing her neck and Jacob's familiar deep voice in her ear. He would step up behind her, his body flush with hers and describe in explicit detail every single thing he wanted to do to her. His other hand would travel to her waist, slip under her shirt, and slowly caress her stomach. His hand would travel very slowly up her torso, before stopping right below her breast.
"Do you want me to stop?" Jacob would ask her, his hand so tantalizingly close to where she needed it so badly.
"No," would always be her breathless reply.
"Ask me nicely," he would say as his grip on her neck tightened ever so slightly.
Shepard could feel her knees going weak. His commanding presence never failed to turn her on. At this point her chest would begin to heave rapidly and she could barely get out her reply. "Please. Please don't stop. I need you."
"Good girl." He would smile, kiss just the right spot on her neck, and begin to move his hand to cup her breast. Right when he's about to give her nipple the attention she so desired, the dream would end. Shepard would wake up hot, horny, panting, and pissed off at a dream that ended entirely too early.
"Fuck that god damn dream." Shepard murmured to herself while grabbing a cup of coffee in the mess hall. They had finally gotten everyone from the dossiers and were now focussing on upgrading the ship. As the Suicide Mission got closer, the crew started coming to Shepard with personal missions. She figured it was their way of tying up loose ends and saying what could be their last goodbyes. They were currently headed to Bekenstein to steal back a graybox for Kasumi. Esperanza had the feeling she would feel right at home on this mission. What the general public and most of the Alliance military didn't know was some of her early N7 missions dealt with stealth and infiltration. Some of those missions were so highly classified she doubted even Anderson or her mother knew about them.
"Why so grumpy Shep?" Kasumi said, uncloaking right beside Shepard. The first few times she did that, Kasumi succeeded in scaring the hell out of Shepard. She'd done it so many times that now Shepard could sometimes hear her coming.
"Didn't get much sleep last night. I'm hoping coffee will make me feel human again."
"Aw, what happened? Bad dream?" Kasumi hopped up on the counter and grabbed an apple out of a nearby bowl.
"Not a bad dream per se," Shepard said staring into her now half empty mug. "It was a dream. A very distracting dream."
"Ooooh! Were you dreaming about your boyfriend Jacob?"
"He is not my boyfriend!" Shepard said very quickly.
"Really? Then why are you blushing?" Kasumi smiled and bit into her apple.
"I hate you Kasumi."
"Love you too Shep!" Kasumi began to laugh and Shepard couldn't help but smile herself. The elevator doors swished open and both women looked up as Jacob walked into the mess hall.
"What did I miss?" Jacob plucked an orange out of the bowl and stood on the other side of Shepard. The temperature in the room seemed to go up ten degrees and Shepard blushed even deeper. This caused Kasumi to laugh even harder.
"Speak a word Kasumi and you can go pick up that graybox by yourself." Shepard said trying her hardest to keep a straight face.
"You secret is safe with me Shep!" Kasumi hopped off the counter, still giggling to herself, and started to walk back to port observation. She got to the tables before turning back around to look at Shepard and Jacob. "Oh Shep! Do you need an outfit for the mission tonight?"
"No, I have something. I'll be ready." With that, Kasumi turned back and went into port observation. Esperanza took a seat at one of the nearby tables, still nursing a half empty cup of coffee.
"Outfit?" Jacob asked, throwing away the last bit of the orange peel.
"Yeah, in order to get her graybox I have to infiltrate a party. Should be a lot of fun."
"You've done these types of missions before?" Jacob took the seat across from her and began eating his orange.
"Here and there. Mostly before I got command of the first Normandy. I always liked them. They gave me opportunities to dress up and attend rich people's parties for free." Shepard said with a small laugh.
"You planning on dressing up for this mission?"
"Yep," said Shepard grabbing one of his orange slices. "I have the perfect outfit in mind."
"Oh really," Jacob said quirking an eyebrow. "Can I take a look?"
"Nope. You'll have to wait to see when I leave for the mission." Shepard popped the orange slice in her mouth and rose to put her cup away. "Speaking of the mission, I need to go get ready."
"Now? I thought the mission wasn't until tonight?"
"It is. It's gonna take a while to get my hair done though. Can't have anyone recognizing 'Commander Shepard'."
"You're a very recognizable woman Shepard. It's gonna take more than a new hairdo for people to not know who you are." Jacob said with a small smile.
"You'd be surprised what wonders a new hairdo and some makeup could accomplish." Shepard said, smiling, as she walked towards the elevator.
"You sure you don't need some extra backup?"
"We'll be fine Jacob but thanks for asking." Shepard got in the elevator and went up to her cabin.
It took her hours to wash, detangle, and straighten her hair. She decided against doing anything too complicated with it and just kept her hair parted down the middle, her now straightened hair flowing down her back. For a dress, she chose her favorite black cocktail dress. It had a deep V neckline, thin straps, and multiple panels down the body of the dress that hugged her figure like a glove. She chose her favorite pair of vintage Christian Louboutin heels. They were made of black suede and had multiple mesh cutouts. She kept her makeup simple, deciding on a smoky eye and a dark red lipstick. To finish off the outfit, she wore a pair of white gold and diamond earrings she picked up on Illium and a thin silver necklace with an angel wing pendant that her mother got her before she died. By the time she got her outfit together, it was time for her to head down to the shuttle bay to meet Kasumi.
When she got to the shuttle bay, Shepard was surprised to see that most of the crew had come down to see them off. They were all talking amongst themselves and hadn't heard the elevator doors open or seen her get off. The first person to spot her was Jacob. When he saw her, they both froze. After a tense moment, he made his way over to her.
"Damn Shepard. When you're right, you're damn right." Jacob said, slowly looking her up and down.
"What do you mean?"
"Earlier you told me a new hairdo and some makeup could work wonders. You were right." Jacob locked eyes with her and smiled. "You're beautiful on a normal day but I'll be damned if you don't look absolutely stunning right now."
"Thank you," said Shepard. She smiled and blushed a bit. "It's nice to know I haven't lost my touch."
"Hey lovebirds! Could you stop eye fucking each other and get the fuck over here already?" Jack's voice startled them both and they laughed and looked over to where the rest of the group was standing. Apparently, the crew had been watching them the entire time they were talking.
"Um, question," Shepard said, still giggling from Jack's outburst. "Just why in the hell are so many of you down here anyway?"
"Seeing you in a dress was something none of us could pass up." said Tali
"I have to admit, you do clean up quite nicely." said Garrus, his face plates quirked up in a smile.
"Why thank you very much!" Shepard said. "One of these days I'm gonna take you on an infiltration mission just to see what you look like in a suit."
"Promises, promises."
"I'm just here for the blackmail material. Never know when you're gonna need it." Jack said as she snapped pictures with her omnitool.
"I love you too Jack." Shepard said, shaking her head.
"Come on Shep! We don't wanna be late. If you're lucky, they might have some birthday cake." Kasumi said with a smile, hopping into the shuttle.
"Birthday cake?" Jacob asked, walking with her to the shuttle.
"Don't tell anybody," Shepard said in a theatrical whisper, "but today is actually my birthday. Still not sure how old I am though. I'm either 29 or 31. I'm not sure if I should count the years I was dead."
"Huh. So you're either one year older than me or three years older than me. That's kinda surprising actually."
"What's wrong Jacob?" Shepard said stopping beside the shuttle door. She smirked and leaned in, making sure no one else could hear them. "I thought you liked older women." She then kissed him on the cheek and got in the shuttle before he could react.
"Not your boyfriend, huh?"
"Shut up and drive Kasumi."