Kathryn spent the next day-and-a-half refusing to admit to herself that she was hiding from Tom in her quarters, 'Nothing can happen if we don't run into each other.' She wanted to go to Tom and her denial of her need was beginning to make her feel like a caged animal.

When she heard the door chime she asked the computer for the identity of the person. While she was expecting Chakotay, she worried that it might be Tom. After the scene yesterday, she had been left wanting and she was positive that Tom was feeling the same way. Could she ignore it if it was Tom? And if she could, what would her first officer say if he found her helmsmen stalking around outside her quarters? Luckily, it was Chakotay, and she didn't have to worry about it.

They spent an hour, on her sofa, going over Chakotay's dealings with the Pineran government Liaison Officer. Everything seemed to be set for an easy and successful trade operation with the planet. The planet also had a spacedock, and they preferred that Voyager dock rather then orbit their planet. There were some added bonuses to that arrangement, as they could do some ship repairs much easier when docked, rather then in space, and they would need much fewer crew on the ship, giving more people the chance for shoreleave.

"I'm going to talk to the Doctor about Lieutenant Paris and myself being cleared for the bridge while we are docked. That will give you, Harry and Tuvok more down time."

"Do you think you can talk the Doctor into that?"

"I guess we'll see."

The door chimed and Kathryn knew immediately who was on the other side. She couldn't ignore it, Chakotay would find that strange and it would raise a lot of questions. "Enter," she said and Tom Paris walked in as his eyes easily found Kathryn's.

Tom was seething, he had been walking the corridors earlier, trying to think of a valid reason to go and see Kathryn, when he had run into Chakotay.

"Commander, how's the bridge?" he had asked, trying to remain calm.

"Quiet. Nothing going on other then negotiations with the Pinerans. I'm on my way to discuss matters with Captain Janeway, now."

Tom felt his insides clench at this knowledge, but, kept his voice steady. "I've been rather bored. Let the Captain know if she needs something to do, I'm free as long as she is, we can play cards, or something."

She had made it perfectly clear he was suppose to stay away, he'd really been trying to do just that. She'd be angry. But, there was only so much he could take and that damn man had still been in her quarters more than an hour later. He had to do something, so he had gone to her quarters.

"Sorry to interrupt, Captain, I thought you would be finished by now."

"We were just finishing, actually," Chakotay said as he stood up, not noticing the predatory look that crossed the other man's face. "Time to talk to B'Elanna about the repairs she wants to do while docked."

"Thanks for the update, Chakotay." she said as he left her alone with Tom.

The minute the door closed, she whipped around and faced Tom, hands on her hips. "What the hell was that?" she said in a low menacing voice.

He knew she'd be angry with him. He had even figured on her yelling at him. Yet, he hadn't been able to make himself not go to her quarters. "That man was here too damned long," Tom said with an angry edge in his voice, instinctively moving closer to her.

Kathryn glared, "That man, as you called him, is my first officer and your superior. It would do you well to remember those facts."

Now that the threat of Chakotay was no longer present, his head began to clear. Tom let out a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry. I can't seem to help myself. I saw the Commander in the corridor and he mentioned he was on his way here to see you and I saw red. It only got worse the longer he was here. I think I'm better now."

Kathryn closed her eyes for a moment and it looked like she was praying for patience. Tom bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. "Tom, you can't go off the deep end every time I talk to Chakotay," She told him as she rubbed her forehead with her fingers.

"I agree, this is completely crazy, there's no reason for it," he said, exasperation clearly present in his voice. "It's not as if my intention is to act all territorial about you. You're my captain, not my girlfriend. There's just something about him; I don't like it when you're together."

Kathryn gave him a sharp look. Tom raised his hands in front of him, in mock surrender. "I can't explain it better than that. It's only the Commander, though. I mean, I've seen you with The Doctor, Tuvok, Harry and Neelix; none of them bring up this irrational jealously in me."

"Tom," she sighed, staying focused on the discussion was hard, she really just wanted to grab him and kiss him. She needed him. "Whatever your feelings are about Chakotay, you can't do this every time I'm with him. I can't send him to scrub the jefferies tubes for the rest of the journey. He's my first officer and my friend, we spend a lot of time alone together.

"Hopefully, these side effects won't last much longer," she said. "Until then, you need to find away to control your reactions towards him."

"Considering my usually impulsive nature, I thought I did rather well. I was able to leave the messhall yesterday, alone. When what I really wanted to do was go over there and let Chakotay know that you were off limits and then drag you out of there. Today, I didn't try to knock him out when I heard he was coming here," Tom gave a small smile. "Now, what about you? I saw the way you looked at B'Elanna yesterday. It's not just me who feels this way."

He moved towards her and she backed up. It really wasn't her style to back down, but, she was aware of her lack of better judgment when he touched her. Not to mention that the episode yesterday had left her unfulfilled and wanting. He smiled and moved his hand out to touch her.

"No, you're not the only one," she agreed. "At least I'm making an attempt to keep us in control," she finished as she tried to step away from his touch, to reinforce her words with some distance. She needed a buffer zone against his enormous appeal.

He dropped his hand away from her and gave a dramatic sigh, "All business, aren't you?"

She nodded an affirmative, though she knew it was a lie. Her body was hyper-aware of Tom, of how close he was, of how with one step forward she could throw her arms around his neck and kiss him.

'Then why don't you?' she blinked at the thought, her gaze locking on his mouth. 'Damn, he has a beautiful mouth.' She knew the feeling of that mouth, of the delicious pressure, of how her body heated and flared just at the thought.

"Cap-, Kathryn, if you keep looking at me like that ..." passion flared in his eyes and she shivered.

Kathryn stopped thinking and let her body take control. She stepped forward, looped her hand round Tom's neck, lifted up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Tom gasped in surprise, he hadn't expected her to initiate the kiss.

=/\=

Surprised by her sudden change in mood, Tom gave a growl and drew her to him as he returned the kiss, hot and passionate. Kathryn was withering against him as she opened her mouth beneath his, her tongue delving, pleasuring, teasing.

It was one hell of a kiss, sensual and deliriously passionate, and Tom couldn't get enough, wanting more even as she gave him more.

Kathryn pulled him towards the sofa, gasping as she broke the kiss. She pushed him to the cushions and with a low moan she straddled him, pulling his shirt off with eager hands.

She pulled her own shirt off and tossed it aside, then reached behind her and undid the clasp of her bra, stripping it off with amazing speed.

Tom couldn't believe his eyes. Sitting astride his lap, topless and smiling softly, her full breasts within him lips grasp, was the woman of all of his current fantasies, his captain. He slid his hands around her waist and captured a perk nipple with his mouth.

She moaned and arched against him, her hands threading through his hair instantly as she pressed forward, offering herself.

Tom slid his hands down her back, lifted her hips and pulled her more firmly onto him. She could feel his growing hardness, the sensation of being pressed onto him sending her need sky rocketing. He moved his hands back up her back, he found the clip that held her hair back and released the clasp. With her hair now free, he twined his fingers through it and pulled her to him. He moved his mouth from her breast and up her neck until he reached her lips, invading her mouth with wet possession.

She broke the kiss with back arched , her lower body pressed into him, writhing on his lap. He looked at her straddling him and was amazed by the woman he saw before him.

She rose up and off of him, putting her feet on the ground. He groaned at the loss of contact, but, was instantly mesmerized as she undid the button of her pants and in a swift motion removed both the pants and her panties, kicking them both aside. She leaned over him, her breasts pressed against his leg as she undid his pants. She tugged on his waistband and he lift his hips as she pulled his pants and briefs down and over his hips. He was at a disadvantage, he had his boots on and she didn't bother removing them, she pulled his pants to his ankles and left them there, as she quickly straddled him again.

She brought her head down and kissed him again, long and deep, her hair falling around them, brushing his cheek. Tom moved from her lips, to her chin, down her jaw and to her neck, mapping his way with his lips and his tongue. He pulled her up to rest more firmly against his erection, again, but, this time it was flesh to flesh and so much more delicious. He tipped his head and sucked a nipple into his mouth as one hand grabbed her hip and the other kneaded her other breast.

"Oh, yes," he heard her moan with pleasure, and he smiled against her skin.

Kathryn placed her hands on his shoulders, locked her elbows and arched her back as she lifted her hips above his hardness. Her breast pulled itself from his mouth as he took the hand from her breast and with one hand on her hip and the other on his own erection he guided her down onto of him.

Her hands pressed his shoulders firmly into the sofa cushion, her inner muscles clenching and releasing around him. The heat between them was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. He was completely lost in the feelings flowing between them.

He watched her as she let her head drop, her hair covering her face. He heard her let out a ragged breath as she settled herself firmly on top of him. She didn't move for agonizing seconds, then suddenly she arched her back, throwing her head back, exposing her long neck, and rotated her hips in the most tantalizing movement.

The fingers at her hip dug into her flesh as he used his other hand to stroke up her arm and to her neck. She continued to move above him, driving them both mad. Tom's fingers pressed into her collar bone, his breathing becoming more labored with her every move.

She was utterly magnificent above him, his eyes taking in the way her body moved. "You are amazing," he said in a rough voice as he moved his hand from her neck to her clitoris, making lazy circles with his fingers as he raised his hips up into her to give her more pleasure.

He watched her body flush, as her rocking became more frantic, her breathing more erratic. He was close and so was she. He felt her body clench around him as she let out a long low moan and collapsed on top of him, she continued to undulate her hips as he took her hips in his hands and held her firmly to him as he drove his hips up and into her. His eyes slipped closed as he let out a growl and exploded.

"Oh, um, … ohmygod," he heard slip from her lips as she buried her face in his neck, biting gently on his sensitive skin and came, again.

They stayed like that for a while, with Kathryn pressed against his body, her fingers entwined in his hair. He slid his hands up and down her back in long lazy movements, a feeling of total contentment settling over him.

"This is beyond wrong," she said softly and unconvincingly into his neck. Awash in feelings of contentment, not wanting to break the contact with him, she made herself more comfortable atop him.

Tom smiled slightly, he'd expected she would get up and order him to leave. The continued contact, flesh to flesh, had been a pleasant surprise and he intended to hold on to her for as long as she'd let him. "Maybe. But it feels amazing."

She raised her head, looking him in the eyes with a look of exasperation on her face. "Tom, amazing or not, I shouldn't be sleeping with a subordinate. It's not as if I can transfer you off the ship. While Starfleet wouldn't object to the relationship, they would have a hell of a lot to say about you staying under my command"

"You thought it was amazing?" he'd latched on to the first part of her tirade and let the rest fall to the wayside. 'The Captain thought it was amazing,'he thought and gave himself a silent round of applause.

"That was hardly my point," she smiled, unable to stop herself from placing her lips lightly against his jaw, thinking how easy and comfortable it was to just sit here, with her body wrapped around his.

"I know; it was something about how we shouldn't be doing this and you'd be in so much trouble if we were anywhere near Starfleet," he pulled her to his lips for a quick kiss, before continuing. "You could always blame it on the evolution, or whatever the hell that was. You're not in complete control of your body, you are not to be blamed for this. You're persuasive, you'd be able to make Command see that you are not at fault. It's a medical condition."

"I don't know that Command would agree that a Captain wanting to jump her helmsman at every turn is a medical condition. To add fuel to flame, I didn't come clean to the Doctor, my description of my symptoms was vague, at best. I know that I should have gone directly to sickbay and spoken to the Doctor about all of this as soon as I left the cargo bay."

"Jump me? At every turn? Really? Yeah, the cargo bay," Tom smiled dreamily, "The cargo bay was phenomenal and a bit crazy. Who knew the Captain was such a sex fiend."

"A bit?" Kathryn questioned.

"Okay, a lot. But amazing. You are amazing," he punctuated his words by squeezing her ass.

"Tom, stop thinking only about the sex."

"How can I? When you keep bringing it up. Let's not forget the fact that we're both naked, you're sitting in my lap and I'm still inside you. You should count yourself lucky I can even have a conversation at all," he stated, as his hands moved over her soft flesh.

"Tom," she started in reproach, but changed her mind. Instead, she said, in a slightly disappointed voice, "I have to get up."

"Okay," he said as he moved his hands up into her hair. Pulling her mouth to his. She opened to him immediately, his lips wildly claiming hers. Kathryn moaned into his mouth as she raked her hands through his hair, keeping her lips locked with his.

As they parted, Tom gave her a languid grin,. "Are you sure you need to get up? We could just stay here like this?"

"Don't think for one minute I'm going to be taken in by your sexy smile."

"Are you sure, Kathryn?" he drew out the syllables of her name, making it come out in a sexy purr and she shivered at the sound. "I've been told that I'm charming and irresistible."

"You are both of those, among other things. I'm just not going to fall for it," she said as she pulled herself off of him and the couch.

It took a moment for Kathryn to gain use of her legs as the blood rushed back into them. For one glorious moment she stood before him naked. He sat up fully, before she had time to move, grabbed her by her waist, pulling her towards him and placed a light kiss on her stomach, just below her breasts.

"You are amazing and beautiful. Don't forget that when this all ends and I go back to being just Lieutenant Paris, the guy who flies your ship" he told her with seriousness, "As for the rest of your worries. Don't sweat them. There are definitely extenuating circumstances here. Besides, we're nowhere near the Federation, and while I believe command is full of old sticks in the mud, I can't believe they would expect you to spend the next 70 years alone. Even they're not that heartless."

"I'll remember, Tom," she said quietly as she placed a light kiss on his lips and turned to go to her bedroom.

He'd had every intention of quickly getting dressed and calling out a goodbye to her while she was still in the other room. He wasn't quite sure how to end an evening of sex with the one person you shouldn't be doing it with. He figured, at the very least, if he left it would save her the trouble of telling him he had to leave.

He watched her as she walked away from him, she didn't try to cover herself, appearing completely sure of herself and unashamed. 'Damn, that's sexy,' he thought, 'She walks like she's in command even when she's naked.' He found the slight sway to her hips inviting and his desire for her flared, the musky scent of her filling his nostrils. Something inside him flickered back to life, his body hardened and a fierce urge welled through him. He quickly stripped his boots and pants from his body and got up to follow her. All thoughts of leaving forgotten on the floor with his pants.