A/N A sweet interlude before the drama of the end of season one. Thanks for waiting!

Chapter Ten

The dark fabric was soft on Leah's skin. She adjusted the scarf around her neck and swirled the skirt just to enjoy the way it swayed against her calves. Rodney would love it. She hoped. Slipping on the light sandals she'd also acquired, she picked up the picnic basket and headed for the balcony she'd chosen earlier that day.

Having left a note for him to come to her when he had time, Leah relaxed and spent time doing some stretches and contemplating the evening ahead. She was excited as well as nervous, and she hoped that McKay was as ready for them to make a sexual connection as she was. She'd been waiting for nearly an hour when he arrived, full of apologies and excuses which dried up when he finally actually looked at her.

She was beautiful. McKay knew that. He'd spent time surreptitiously watching her since her arrival, admiring her pale skin and the contrast of her sable hair. He hadn't had nearly as much time as he wanted to looking into her big, expressive blue eyes. But now, she was here, and she was smiling at him. This gorgeous woman wanted him. He stood and stared, speechless.

"I'm sure you're hungry," Leah said, trying to break the nerve-wracking moment. "Come sit down with me and eat."

They ate, and afterward, Rodney couldn't even recall what had passed his lips. All he knew was that once the food was gone, Leah packed the basket up and moved closer to him, settling right beside him, her face turned to his expectantly.

"I, um, well, I suppose I should say thank you. This is…um, romantic, and, uh, such. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me, about us, and um, expectations, and—"

"Rodney. Shut up and kiss me," Leah said. She'd read every moment of his emotional state as he ate, and she knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. With who-knew-what coming in the future in this dangerous, cut-off section of the universe, she would make sure they grabbed every bit of happiness they could. He hesitated again, so she leaned closer and kissed him softly.

The gentle kiss ignited McKay's passion, and he quickly took control. Holding her face, nibbling lightly on her neck and ears, he had her panting in moments. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders and tugged it free, one-handedly placing it where it would pillow their heads when they laid back. They sat and kissed for a few more minutes before she realized she'd have to encourage him to move further. She shifted his hand from her neck to her breast, and he moaned lightly as he began kneading it through the fabric of her dress. Leah was trying to keep herself from being overwhelmed by both their responses to the achingly perfect sensations of them touching this way. 'Finally,' she thought. 'Finally.'

Their clothing seemed to melt away almost as easily as it had in the dream they'd shared. Leah felt dizzy as Rodney ran his hands everywhere on her skin, reveling in the ability to feel the touch from both perceptions. When he moved on to exploring her with lips and tongue, she was utterly lost in the sensations.

Sensing him hesitate as his kissing and tasting moved him to the inside of her thigh, Leah gave a sighing moan and shifted her hips toward him. He looked up at her, and she met his gaze. She licked her lips and nodded to him, wanting him to touch her, wanting him more than she had ever wanted another person. He saw how dilated her eyes were, how her moistened lips hung slackly. He noted how shallow and rapid her breathing was. He knew his physiology, and his mouth quirked into a smile. She was the picture of sexual arousal. Her full lips curved, returning his expression, and she lay her head back, trusting what she sensed in him.

With his empirical mind in agreement with his own desires, McKay rearranged his body and settled himself more comfortably between her pale, soft thighs. He ran one hand down her side, across the swell of her belly, skirting the edge of her dark curls, down to the line where her leg met her pelvis. She shuddered slightly, and he closed his eyes sensually and kissed her bush. He could smell the scent of her that was so uniquely Leah, as well as the increasing scent of her arousal. He rubbed his lips against her, inching down until he felt the top of her slit. He probed that topmost point with his tongue, then slid lower. His hand moved as well, probing, pressing into her wetness with one finger as his tongue reached the hood of her clit. Leah cried out and her hips moved. He paused, smiling, listening to her shuddering breaths, then began in earnest. He worked at her clit while flexing his finger, exploring inside her. She whimpered, and he saw her fingers tangling rhythmically in the blanket from the corner of his eye. He was ecstatic, relishing the sensation of having her pleasure so totally under his control. His own arousal was intense, and he wanted to rise up and sink himself into her, but he wanted this, their first time together, to last. He wanted to make her come again and again before they even got to that part. He settled into a rhythm with his tonguing, and experimented with a second finger inside her. She cried out in the affirmative when he did, so he kept it there, moving in and out, side to side, up and down. Her hips were bucking like a horse, and he struggled to keep his position right. He was rewarded for his troubles when her whole body arched and froze for long moments. The sides of her vagina rippled and squeezed his fingers as she came, and his mind went into a fog, imagining what it would be like to be inside her as she clenched like this. Wetness spread over his hand, and he closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the moment. She finally collapsed, panting. He moved up, slowly, creeping up until he lay atop, but not inside her. Leah brought her hands to his face and kissed him passionately. He returned the kiss, feeling smug.

Leah laughed against his mouth, and he drew back, frowning. She grinned at him, still chuckling.

"You are just so proud of yourself!" She exclaimed. She kissed him again, then moved her mouth to his ear, sucking on his lobe seductively. "As well you should be, love. Oh my God, I came so hard…" She breathed in his ear. He grinned and blushed. She looked at him, sharing the incredible nature of the moment. She felt him, still hard, against her, and her smile changed. She bit her lower lip and squirmed under him, trying to get the right angle. His smile vanished, and his breath quickened. He stared at her face, gasping when she'd arranged their bodies and he rested on the precipice. "Mar, I want you. I want to feel you inside me. Please…" Leah whispered. He kissed her, and they both kept their eyes open while he incrementally pushed forward. She inhaled shortly against his lips, drawing breath out of him into herself. He gasped in return, and she let the air flow back to him. His eyes were wide, and she sensed that he'd never done that before, shared breath that way. She smiled against his mouth and flicked her tongue between his lips. He responded by pushing the rest of the way into her, and they paused that way for a long moment, her tongue in his mouth, his hardness inside her. Then he moved, thrusting a few times, and they kissed deeply. He raised himself up on his elbows and watched her face as he plunged in and out. She was panting and returning his gaze with eyes half closed.

"Feel it, Leah, feel what I'm feeling," he whispered, and her eyes opened wider. Then they closed, and her head fell back. She arched and moaned as he thrust, and she began experimenting with different angles and squeeze rhythms. He cried out in ecstasy, and her voice echoed his. Her orgasm came suddenly, almost surprising both of them. Her hips bucked against his, her body seeking every millimeter of him. The rippling pressure her body produced as she came sent him soaring over the edge as well, and he clutched her, ramming forward as his whole body constricted in the most intense orgasm he'd ever felt.

He collapsed, his face pressed against the side of Leah's. They lay gasping, and he finally raised his head to look at her. Horror gripped him as he saw tears on her face.

"Oh no, I didn't hurt you, did I? Leah—"

"Shh, shh, baby," Leah breathed. Her hands rose and stroked his face. "You didn't hurt me. I'm just…overwhelmed. I've never experienced anything like that. I just…" She swallowed hard, still crying, but smiling as well. Her body still shook with the aftershocks of their climaxes. She kissed him. "Oh, Mar, that was…Oh God, I love you."

McKay smiled and wiped her tears away tenderly. He kissed one of her eyes, then the other. Her crying finally stopped, and he rolled off of her, still laying pressed against her side.

"You, um, you keep calling me that: Mar. I don't mind, it's just..." He asked, a bit nervous about her answer.

Leah smiled softly and turned to look into his eyes. "Your initials. M-R. Run it together: Mar. It's something my family does, at least back to my grandparents on my dad's side. I'm L-F; Elf, Jordan is..." Her voice trailed off. She regretted terribly what she'd said and done when her twin had come to help her. She wondered if Jordan was uncharacteristically holding a grudge or if something was wrong. Rodney shifted, drawing her attention back to him. "J-J; Jage."

He looked at her strangely. "How...how did you know my first initial?"

Leah reached up and stroked his face. "Meredith Rodney McKay. I'm telepathic. You had me delve into your mind to study my abilities, remember?" He frowned and she could sense his fear and self-consciousness at her knowledge. "Mar, it's okay. It's not that uncommon of a male name in England. Did you know that?" He shook his head, starting to process the idea that she wasn't going to make fun of him. "I also had such a crush on you before I came that I looked up your papers and tried to read them." Leah blushed at the revelation.

"Tried?" He smirked. She used the hand with which she'd been caressing his face to slap him lightly, not even enough to sting.

"Yes tried. I'm not an astrophysicist or an engineer," she defended, wrinkling her nose at him.

They laid together for a while after that, but when Leah began to doze, Rodney shook her lightly. "You should go to bed," he suggested.

"Aren't you coming?"

"I have an idea I need to work on," he said. She sensed him running equations about linking power and ergs necessary to do something. It was completely beyond her, but was such an inherent part of McKay that she smiled and agreed.

"Will you come sleep with me, when you're through?"

"If you want me to," he said, still uncertain.

"Always."