Authors Note: Story Rating
The more eagle eyed of you may have noticed that I have amended the rating of this story from T (or Age 13+) to M for Mature (Age 16+). An anonymous "concerned parent and reader" asked me to change the rating because they believe the content of chapters 8 and 9 is too mature/graphic for a 13 year old. They even go on to suggest that it might require an MA (Mature/Adult) rating. I strongly disagree that it might rate as MA. If it did, I would not post it here. IMO it does not cross that line but, having reread chapter 9, I suppose it is possible that it crosses the T/M rating line.
Normally I would ignore an anonymous review that criticizes something about one of my stories. If the person feels that strongly about something, they should have the courage of their convictions and provide their contact details. They should give the author the opportunity to respond, be willing to debate the point with them and provide a constructive argument for their criticism. If criticism is not constructive, it is not helpful either - generally, quite the reverse. A person who is unwilling to stand up and be counted doesn't usually deserve to be. If they want to make a serious and valid point, they should not cower behind anonymity. Nevertheless, this particular anonymous reviewer might have a valid point.
This, therefore, is my chance to respond to that anonymous reviewer and, even if they do not read this (rather lengthy – sorry!) note, other readers deserve to be told why I have changed the rating. After all, some of you might in theory be unable to continue this story because of this change. If that is the case, then I apologize.
I am not convinced the reviewer is correct in their view and it certainly was never my intention to deceive readers with an erroneous rating. This story started as a T rating and upfront I flagged that it would include sexual situations. Originally, I didn't intend for the story to continue beyond the first four chapters, nor did I plan for it to include any sex scenes. The story evolved as I wrote it. Most of my stories do.
Although I am not wholly persuaded they are right about the rating - after all, the reviewer did not attempt to make a persuasive case – I nevertheless changed it. I recognize that my personal view of the rating might be wrong. Some chapters of this story might contain "possible strong but non-explicit adult themes" rather than "minor suggestive adult themes" (Fanfiction Net rating definitions). Thus, I prefer to err on the side of caution.
Now, on to the story…
Staking a Claim Part 10
See Part 1 for additional information
Present day, a few weeks later:
Now, here they were in Las Vegas, the marriage capital of the world, and about to do the deed. No one knew they were there. Their union was an elopement of sorts – a rapid tying of the knot before Jack's new posting restored Sam to his chain of command.
They felt slightly guilty about not telling their friends what they planned. Sam knew they would be a bit pissed. Daniel, her family: Mark, his wife and kids. If her dad had been alive, perhaps she would have insisted others be present. He would have been happy for her and she would have wanted him to do the fatherly thing and be there for her. She couldn't have handled his disappointment at them running off without saying anything.
Her dad was gone, however, and she tried not to let that sad fact spoil her present upbeat mood. She'd got more years with him than she might have and they'd grown appreciably closer during his unnaturally extended life, a huge comfort.
Jack was the most important man in her life from here on in and always would be. She glanced at him again as the limo he'd hired drove them to the wedding chapel they'd chosen. He looked so handsome, smartly dressed in his dark blue suit, happy and self-satisfied. Sam had never seen him look as cheerful as she had over the last few weeks. It pleased her enormously that their changed status as a couple made him as happy.
He caught Sam looking out of the corner of his eye and threw her a heart-stopping smile. His eyes wandered to appraise her bright pink outfit again obviously appreciating what he saw. She smiled back, lacing her arm through his.
"Still feeling wired?" she asked. Back in their hotel room, Jack had used this phrase to describe his groom like state of panic and Sam deliberately chose the same words. He shook his head.
"Nope," he replied truthfully, his groom-like butterflies having flown away and left him with a level of anticipatory excitement but no more nervous jitters. He'd even managed to resign himself to the unruly grey hair he'd spent precious time trying to tame. Sam seemed to love it sticking out all over the place like that, so he thought what the hell? Who needs total perfection on their wedding day, right? It simply wasn't the usual way of things with weddings. "Feels like the most natural thing in the world to be marrying you."
"I know what you mean. You've no idea how happy that makes me feel."
"Let's not get into a pissing contest about who's feeling happiest, okay?" he joked with a wink and she laughed.
"I love you, babe," he added more seriously leaning over to peck her cheek.
"Backatchya, old man," she replied. Grinning inanely, she tenderly squeezed his arm, recalling the first time he'd uttered those words, when he eventually had.
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A few weeks earlier:
Sam met him at the airport, the first time they'd managed to get together since she'd moved, and she anticipated seeing him again with excitement. Her stomach growled and rumbled with nervous tension, not caused by anxious qualms just thrilling expectations.
Jack was the most alluringly attractive man she'd ever met in her life. There was something indescribably enthralling about simply being in the same room with him. He was a very physical person; handsome, sexy and sensual. A bright light of a presence, and sometimes she just couldn't keep her eyes off him.
The few days they spent their spare time together before her transfer had been a revelation. Sam had never anticipated the reality of Jack. Almost everything she could have wished for both in and out of the bedroom.
He had not been lying when he'd told her he could do way better making love to her than that first time. Cocky, arrogant and self-assured he might have sounded, but it certainly was with good cause. Sam knew he'd been kidding around but his lighthearted bragging was accurate and he'd proved it in no uncertain terms.
It was very clear that he adored making love to her, making her feel good and satisfying her, and he did so with an enthusiasm and athleticism that might have surprised her in a man half his age. Jack also seemed to love what she did to him. He found her beautiful, sexy and sensual too - gratifyingly mutual admiration and delight.
Jack was an adventurous lover and had not confined their lovemaking to the bedroom. He had taught her quite a lot about the sexual act in those few days and encouraged Sam's inner passion to blossom with a vengeance. Thus, she responded to his zeal, doing things to him that she'd never done to a man before, and Jack loved it. It seemed they sparked off each other sexually, which was terrific.
He was a very tactile person, affectionate, even a touch romantic, which was something she had never expected from O'Neill the arch cynic and pragmatist. They might not have spent all that spare time making love but outside of those wondrous hours, he loved to touch her even in a small way.
Jack would stop whatever they were doing, often the most mundane of things, and turn to look at her. He'd smile, approach and kiss her briefly on her cheek, her hair, her nose or lips. He'd hug her, take her hand in his and squeeze, softly grasp her arm, run his fingers lightly over her neck. Tangible demonstrations of his deep held feelings.
This moved Sam to do likewise with him, unselfconsciously and ardently in a way she had never done with any previous lover. Their mutual responses drove them ever closer, more intimate than anything she'd experienced before.
So, Jack not only taught her much about the sexual act, he showed her a lot about intimacy and love too. She learned much about herself, what unexpectedly lurked inside Samantha Carter waiting to come out. He brought it out and she loved him even more intensely for that.
For his part, Jack was in as deep as he could ever get. Setting his feelings free liberated him in ways he had not considered possible for many years. He loved and admired Sam with an abandon he sometimes believed unseemly for a man of his relatively advanced years. That was when he thought about it at all, which most of the time he didn't. He simply did what came intuitively, what Sam inspired him to do, and it felt natural to do it.
Thus, this relationship was a revelation to him as well. He couldn't have felt much happier and content with her in his life this way. She moved him as if a fresh summer breeze had entered his life and allowed him to breathe freely again after many years of struggling for air. He could relax with her, be him, and believed that if Sam had not been as candid and forward that first day things might have been different.
There probably would have been more unease between them as they adjusted to the novelty of becoming lovers. She had released them from all of that, quickly and powerfully intensifying the already strong bonds they had forged as close colleagues and sometime friends. It was gratifyingly refreshing.
In the past, Sam often appeared too uptight and out of reach but she wasn't like that at all it seemed. Jack liked to think maybe he had freed her and allowed her to breathe too, which pleased him immeasurably.
Now, as he landed at the airport to meet up with her in the flesh for the first time since she'd left, Jack was as excited as she was. He'd always considered himself a level-headed kind of guy but Sam made that level head of his soar among clouds. Like her, his stomach flipped and flopped with eager anticipation and by the time he reached airport arrivals, he wasn't sure his heart would handle the acute adrenalin rush.
Then he spotted her and to his surprise gasped aloud, almost like a sigh of longing. His face lit up at the sight and he grinned, but Jack wasn't a man who went for showy public greetings. He did not rush toward her and throw his arms around her like a cliched scene in a romantic movie, although his heart might have dictated he should. Instead, he approached at a normal pace, dropped his weekend bag and gave her a brief bear hug and peck on the lips, keeping his exhilaration tightly locked away.
Taking his lead, and because Sam wasn't one for overly dramatic public demonstrations either, when he loosened his grip she met his eyes and smiled warmly. Briefly, her fingers smoothed over his cheek as if seeking confirmation he was actually there.
Then they stood unspeaking and simply staring at each other, continuing to say nothing when they finally broke eye contact and made their way out of the airport arm in arm. They said very little too as she drove them to her new place. Their silence, however, was not an uneasy, awkward one but the kind that stemmed from a feeling of shared understanding and intimacy.
Jack kept glancing at her as she drove, very happy to see her at last. Sam caught him peeking every now and then and they would exchange goofy grins. Once they made it over her threshold into their own private world, he didn't contain his excitement any longer. Barely looking at their surroundings, he swiftly pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her with deep passion. They had only just about made it through her front door.
Although the warm hug made it obvious, Jack didn't say anything about how much he had missed her or wanted her. What he said instead was almost entirely astonishing.
"God, I love you, Sam," he whispered in her ear, kissing her hair.
Slightly overwhelmed by this first utterance of those words, for a moment Sam froze with thrilled shock. The declaration seemed to come out of nowhere and was totally unexpected. When he withdrew from his embrace, Jack noticed tears forming in her eyes. Grasping her chin affectionately, he turned her head up to face his.
"Hey, what's all this?" he asked, softly running a thumb under one of her eyes. She sniffed, feeling somewhat foolish about her reaction to the affirmation of love she already knew to be true. "You knew didn't you?" he queried and she nodded.
"But you never said it before."
"They're only words." He appeared to be studying her, slightly taken aback by her reaction.
"Important words."
"I'm not so good with the important words," he replied with a vaguely rueful expression and tone.
"You can be a bit clueless sometimes but I love you anyway."
He smiled. "Clueless? Me?" he retorted with amusement. She was right. Maybe he should have confessed his feelings before now but Jack thought they were obvious after the time they'd spent together a few weeks previously. "I'm nuts about you, Sam," he added, attempting to re-emphasize the point. "Certifiable. We're committed, right?" His eyes bored into hers making her shiver with delight.
"Till death us do part," she replied in a quavering, emotional voice and Jack pulled her into his arms again.
"I show you how I feel, don't I?" he asked seriously and he felt her head nod agreement.
"Demonstrably."
"So if I don't say it you know I feel it, right?" He was whispering softly, brushing her ear with his breath, and Sam sighed with longing.
"It's good to hear it anyway."
"I'll bear that in mind."
They pushed away from each other again and Sam offered him a quirky grin, gently reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. "You know what they say. True love is sharing a toothbrush and you did that on that very first morning."
"They say that do they?" he retorted with a chuckle. "And I always thought love was never having to say you're sorry. I'm disillusioned - and I failed that test. Good to know I passed with the toothbrush."
She laughed at his reference to that old movie, "Love Story" and his quip. Sam loved his sense of humor and it was very typical of Jack to divert such an intense moment with it. She loved that about him too.
Taking her hand, he tugged, and although he had never been inside this house before, led her straight into her living room and indicated she should sit on the couch with him beside her. He cupped her cheek in the flat of his hand and she looked at him with heart thumping rapidly, thrilled he was there, elated by his declaration.
So far, Jack had been full of surprises - mostly good ones. A range of emotions surged through her making Sam's heart flutter and her stomach churn as badly as they had at the airport.
"I remember telling you I couldn't love you more than I do right now," she said, harking back to that first morning. "I was wrong Jack. I do love you more."
"That's…um… really cool," he responded thinking it an understatement and eyeing her with mischievous grin. "So where's the bedroom?"
"You want the guided tour?" she asked, deliberately misconstruing him.
"Don't play coy, Sam. You know exactly what I want." To demonstrate, he sank his teeth into her neck and ran his hands under her top, starting to undo her bra. Sam grunted softly, moaning in his ear as the bra loosened and he fondled a breast. "You're lucky I didn't do this in the hall."
"I might have enjoyed that."
Glancing at her, he waggled his eyebrows. "Right up against the wall," he muttered breathlessly, trailing his hands over her back.
"We haven't tried that yet."
Jack made a mental note of this fact, adding it to his list of things he wanted to do with Samantha Carter and continuing to caress her. Abruptly, he lifted her top to kiss her bare flesh while a hand moved to unzip her jeans.
"Going too fast for ya?" he asked as his tongue wandered over her midriff.
"Never," she whispered longingly, pulling on his top to access his bare back. "Just give me a chance to respond."
"You seem pretty darned responsive to me." Nevertheless, he pulled away to allow her to manhandle him anyway she pleased. Whatever she did, Jack knew he would be enthralled. He loved virtually everything about her, even the parts he never imagined he would.
She was a fascinating woman, and as sensuous as anyone he'd ever had the privilege of making love to, possibly more so. If it was Sam making the moves, he couldn't be more delighted and turned on by them. She had fine, agile hands and a way of using her mouth that was to die for. During those first few days they'd spent together, it seemed almost all she had to do was whisper in his ear and he was ready for sex.
Quickly, she whipped his t-shirt right off, pushing him down onto the couch. Straddling his thighs, she paused to look at him admiringly, lightly running her fingertips over his bare chest.
"I don't know how I kept my hands off you for all those years."
He grinned with pleasure. "Well, now you don't have to and they are welcome to do whatever they want to me anytime, babe."
"Have I ever told you that I hate being called babe?" she asked without rancor. Nor did her fingers cease their meandering.
He didn't look surprised or in the least regretful about referring to her that way. "No. You think that means I'll stop saying it?"
"No." She knew Jack better than that. In fact, Sam realized she probably should have kept her big mouth shut on the subject because he was almost certain to use the endearment from now on simply to wind her up.
"Right. Just as long as we understand each other, babe." Typically, Jack emphasized the word she professed to hate in a sarcastic manner.
"Just as long as you know I hate it."
"Stop moaning and get on with it, babe," he replied, his eyes twinkling with roguish merriment, and Sam knew she had to find a way of turning the tables on her lover. "I haven't seen you in weeks."
"Getting desperate, old man?" she said in the sweetest, most innocent tone she could muster. Jack's responding grimace was short-lived but enough for Sam to understand that she'd hit a nerve. It satisfied her to know they were now on an even footing.
Jack didn't comment but got the message. She would probably call him 'old man' whenever he called her 'babe'. So be it. If she wanted to play word games, he could fight his corner with the best of them, but it might be more prudent to try and remember not to call her babe.
He loved that Sam didn't let him get away with anything if she didn't want him to. She could fight her corner as well. An admirable trait. He'd been her CO for so long that he had wondered whether she'd let him dominate her too much. Not so and their relationship would be all the better for it, he thought. Jeez, he loved this woman.
"Getting desperate? Moi?" he retorted, pointedly ignoring her 'old man' jibe. "Let's just say that my right hand could do with a rest," he responded with a light laugh.
"Jack!" she exclaimed and he could have sworn she was blushing.
"What? There something wrong with that? I've gotta get my rocks off somehow when you aren't around, babe. Don't tell me you don't do it?"
"Sure I do, old man," she responded with a mocking smile and Jack reacted with a grin. "I don't really talk about it though."
"I bet you look real hot doing it. I'd love to watch." He shot her a lascivious leer.
"Really? Oh my." She paused for a moment, her blush deepening. Then, thinking about it, she nodded. "Okay, you got a deal. I'll show you mine if you show me yours."
She winked and Jack laughed heartily. This relationship is going to be a blast, he thought. The fact that Sam was willing to try almost anything once appealed to him, and why wouldn't it?
"Come on. Bedroom." he suggested, and she quirked an eyebrow, surprised he didn't simply want to have sex right there on her couch. Nevertheless, she got up, taking the lead to show him where her bedroom was.
When they entered the hall, he surprised her, taking her breath away by slamming her against the wall. Not violently but certainly forcefully, sufficiently to cause her to gasp aloud and cry out with astonishment. She said nothing, meeting his broodingly dark eyes, and Jack stared at her for what seemed like long moments.
"You did say we'd never done this before," he said, his expression seeking agreement to his plan.
Again, Sam didn't speak. Instead, she whimpered softly, bit her bottom lip and clutched his back, firmly kneading it with her fingers. Her warm breath breezed over his face like a gently refreshing zephyr and Jack could detect pleasure and lust in her eyes. He smiled wickedly, his desire upping a notch, if not many notches.
"You are so gonna enjoy this," he murmured, thrusting his hips forward and pressing into her groin.
Groaning lustfully Sam was thinking he was probably right about that. Life with Jack was going to be one heck of a ride.
To be continued in Part 11
Another Author's Note!
I am not aware that the saying "True love is sharing a toothbrush" actually exists but it probably should! :-) A discussion on the subject with Sol3bug and feedback from Starnight inspired my reference to it in this story. Thanks to both of them.
I am taking this opportunity to thank ImmerRDA once again for all the hard work she is putting into beta reading this series. Her comments, suggestions and feedback are very helpful and I feel my story is all the better for them. Of course, if I screw up after she's commented I only have myself to blame!