BioWare owns the toys that we like to play with.
Thanks to Brody and Sia who further enhanced the sensual nature of this scene.
Mood Music: "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse, "Earthquake" by Family Force Five, and "Mad About You" by Madonna.
10. Overload
Kimbri awoke to the sense that she was being watched. She sat up, her right hand reaching for her hand canon and her eyes automatically scanning the room. "All clear, Commander. Bag 'em and tag 'em," a low smoky voice teased.
She flopped back on the pillow as she looked at him. "Geez, Alenko. Stare much?"
He was propped up one elbow, his smile bright and teasing. "Sorry, Ma'am," he said and bobbed his head with the reply. "It's just that—" he started, his cheeks coloring, "I certainly didn't expect to find a beautiful woman in my bed this morning. Not after having made a spectacular ass out of myself yesterday."
She groaned, rolled over, and covered her face with a pillow. "Do we have to talk about it now? I haven't even had my coffee yet."
"Yes. I'd like to get this out of the way now." His voice had lost the playful tone and now was all business.
"What is it with you and serious conversations in the mornings?" she asked, exasperated.
"I guess I like to make sure the slate is clear for the rest of the day. Or know right away if the day is going to be one helluva mess that's going to end up with me incapacitated for the night." He took the pillow off of her head and nudged her to roll over so he could see her. Kaidan swept her blonde hair back and tucked it behind her ear. "Thanks for taking care of me last night, by the way. I sure as hell didn't deserve it." His soft brown eyes held hers—so like the eyes that she remembered another lifetime ago, set in the older, more hardened face.
She got lost in those eyes, her chest roiling with old feelings for him struggling with the new, trying to make sense of them. She knew she should be angry with him—furious. But after the previous night's revelation about her former treatment of him she couldn't be angry. Instead, she was caught in his eyes. "I always take care of you when you have your migraines. You know that."
"I don't, actually," he responded, still holding her gaze and noticing a change in her demeanor. "It has been two-and-a-half years since the last time you know. A lot has changed in that time, Shepard." He sounded a little sad.
"I'm beginning to get that," she said softly.
He lifted an eyebrow. "You're trying to change the subject, Shepard." His voice was firm. "We have to talk about this."
She stood up, turned away from him and wrapped her arms around her chest. "Talk about what? You had my feelings for you in writing. I understand the power of the visual 'evidence.' But you should have known me well enough to know that I couldn't have betrayed my feelings for you like that with one of those men—let alone…" She shook her head as if to clear the images from her mind.
He got up as well and stood behind her, wanting to touch her, but unsure. "But they were all there for you and I wasn't."
She turned toward him and laid her hand on his cheek, her eyes holding his. "You were. I told you that. Part of you is always with me. I wouldn't have gotten through the suicide mission if that weren't true."
Something unreadable flashed behind his eyes. "Why aren't you yelling at me for yesterday? Why aren't you angry?"
Her mouth turned up in a mischievous smile. "Commander Alenko, are you looking for a fight as an excuse for hot makeup sex?"
His dark skin flushed pink. "No, Shepard." He looked down embarrassed, then back into her eyes again. "Hell, maybe I am." His gave her a slow, lingering appraisal from her long legs, over her flat stomach, stopping briefly at her breasts unfettered under the threadbare old shirt. "Dammit, woman. You're changing the subject again!" She giggled. He let out an exasperated sigh. "I see that I'll have to start the discussion if I'm going to have any hope of having a serious conversation with you. I'm sorry, Kimbri. I'm sorry for trusting my eyes and my…jealous emotions rather than my heart."
"I know, Kaidan."
He looked confused. "You know?"
"Yeah. You gave me a half-delirious apology last night. And you apologized again this morning. Twice, actually. Oh! Three times now, I suppose."
"I don't remember that from last night. But this morning? No. I didn't."
"Yes, you did. Just not in the words that most people would consider an apology. But luckily I've been studying my Kaidanese." She stood on her tip-toes kiss him on the tip of his nose, then sat bouncing on the bed.
He tried to keep his eye line up, but with the bouncing and lack of a bra… "Look, am I forgiven, Shepard? Or is this some sort of punishment?" His clothing had started to feel restricting.
She gave him an impish look and held her hands out to him. "Would I do that?" He took her hands and she pulled herself up, pressing her body flush against his. She slid her hands up his sides, then draped her arms around his neck, her fingers lightly caressing his ears. She gave a little wiggle with her hips, causing her body to rub teasingly against his. His groin tightened insistently against her as blue static licked up and down his skin. He wrapped one arm around her and slid one hand to the small of her back, pressing her body firmly against his. "Forgive me?" Kaidan whispered as he lowered his mouth toward hers, his breath ragged.
A very large part of Kimbri wanted to relent, to melt into his embrace and into his kiss. But a larger part of her wanted him to work for it just a little more. "Hmmm…I'll think about," she said teasingly, then slipped out of his arms and moved just out of reach.
Kaidan's eyes closed. "Kimbri, can you be serious for just a moment please?" But his calm was belied by a miniscule tremor of his body and a barely perceptible tint of blue surrounding his body. Shepard's mouth turned up in a mischievous smile. It was the perfect opportunity to see how far she could push the Boy Scout's resolution. She dashed behind him, wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers over his chest making sure to include his hardened nipples in the attention. She trailed hot wet kisses from his shoulder and up his neck. "I. Don't. Think. So," she whispered huskily as she punctuated each word with another kiss. She reached his earlobe, drew it into her mouth and sucked.
Abruptly Kaidan spun them, pressing her against the wall. His mouth was hot and insistent against hers. One of her long legs wrapped around his waist. One hand travelled up her leg to her butt, gripping her close and pressing himself against her. Her head fell back and she gasped his name.
He put his lips to her ear, he whispered, "Now that I have your attention…do you forgive me, Shepard?"
"This is duress, Alenko," she moaned. His lips slipped down her neck to the sensitive area at the base of her throat. "Okay. Yes. Kaidan. Oh, God, yes."
His mouth returned to hers, his tongue searching. His free hand slipped up under her shirt and cupped a breast, a rough thumb trailing over the sensitive tip. She gasped, her own biotics flaring and electric tingles ran over her. His entire body was glowing a wild bright blue as she hooked her fingers under his waistband and desperately tugged downward. Kaidan broke all contact with her, then pushed his hands against her shoulders to keep their bodies separated. He leaned his head against hers, foreheads and noses touching. His eyes were squeezed shut. "Stop! Please stop!" he let out in a strangled sob.
Every cell in her body felt like it was in overdrive with desire for him. "What? Why!" She felt like she was going to break into tears of frustration. She tried to reach for his mouth.
He roughly pushed away from the wall, away from her. His eyes were large, wild with blue streaks crackling across them. His hands were balled into fists. "Look at me, Kimbri! I'm on the verge of losing control. It's not safe. I'm not safe."
She took a cautious step forward, her palms held out. "I'm not exactly made of glass, Kaidan. And I'm a biotic, too, remember?"
He took another step backward, and put trembling hands over his face. "I feel like I'm going to go supernova." His voice was shaky.
Her ardor had quickly cooled in her fear—not for herself but for him. She knew L2's were known to snap. Was that what he was afraid of right now? Kaidan had always been so controlled, so steady. She never really thought of him as an L2. She edged forward toward him again. "What can I do to help you?"
"Give me space. Leave me alone."
"Not going to happen, Alenko. Come with me." She lead him into the bathroom. "Just take off your shorts, okay?" she instructed soothingly. She went to the shower and turned it on. She turned to him, appreciating the view and noted the blue was less erratic that a few moments before. Gently, she took his hands and pulled him along. "Come on, Kaidan. I'll take care of you." She guided him to the seat in the shower. She pulled off her own clothes, feeling his eyes on her on the entire time, but saying nothing. She stepped into the shower and sat on his lap. She kissed him tenderly and he returned the kissed a bit hesitantly. She ran her fingers through his hair, slicking it back. She did love his hair. She ran her fingertips down his neck to his chest where she lightly stroked the skin with her nails.
Kaidan broke the kiss to look at her for a moment with his soft honey-brown eyes. He caressed the side of her face. "I love you, Shepard."
Her clips curled into a roguish smile. "You better." She pulled his mouth back to hers. Her hands wandered down to his thighs. She deepened the kiss as she slid her hands to find him. His head fell back as she worked. She trailed kisses down his neck as she lowered herself to kneel in front of the shower seat. His biotic flare had returned to its erratic level again. She raised a barrier over herself as a precaution, then began kissing him where her hands had left off.
Kimbri laid spent and very happy for the first time that she could remember in…well, since that night before Ilos. But that time the clock was ticking. There had been no leisure time to enjoy the aftermath. She felt all…glowy and tingly. Ugh! So girly! And she felt safe and sheltered wrapped in Kaidan's arms.
The shower gamble had mostly been a success. There were only some minor casualties in the form of a few broken bathroom nick-knacks from the biotic discharge that resulted. Nothing that Chakwas would chide them for. But something that Joker will likely ride Kaidan about for a while. She giggled.
They had cuddled for a little while under the warm running water until Kaidan recovered. He then took the bath sponge and started gently scrubbing Kimbri from head to toe, lingering in her sensitive areas. He patted her dry with one of the fluffy blue towels on the rack, then carried her into the bedroom. He draped her over the side of the bed and slowly, lovingly returned the favor.
Now the man's arms were wrapped around her and he even had his fingers interlaced with hers. His face was buried at the base of her neck and she could feel his deep even breaths stirring her hair. His bare skin was in contact with hers down to their feet, except for the one leg he had draped around hers. It was like she was wrapped in a big Kaidan blanket. She had never felt so pampered in all of her life. She had always been the responsible one, the one in charge. The one everyone turned to for leadership. But she was also the one people always seemed to forget was a human being just like them that sometimes needed love and support. Kaidan had been the first and only one apart from her family who saw her as a mortal who sometimes needed help shouldering the weight of the galaxy. Even those she considered friends, such as Tali, Garrus, and Joker never quite saw past her "Commander Shepard" façade. She had felt that deeply after Horizon when she could have used a shoulder to cry on. Yet, despite their fight and bad parting, Kaidan still reached a loving hand out to her in that message. Somehow, he was able to see past her barriers even to the ugly parts of her parts of her personality. And for some reason that she couldn't quite fathom, he loved her despite them.
Her stomach grumbled and she sighed. All good things must come to an end. And all the sooner for two hungry biotics who have to eat frequently.
Mood Music for Chapter 11: "Every LIttle Thing She Does is Magic" by The Police
And yes, Trouble. My cheeks were pink when I thought of you reading this.