Warning: very NSFW! I blushed and giggled and banged my head against my keyboard as I wrote this one. I'm the world's biggest prude, so this was a struggle!

He took a shower.

He styled his Mohawk.

He brushed his teeth.

He even flossed.

James leans over the basin in the men's bathroom and stares at his reflection in the mirror, the drumming of his heartbeat echoing in his ears.

Pathetic, he bitterly thinks. You're fucking pathetic, Vega. There's nothing to be nervous about, pendejo, so stop acting like a sixteen-year-old virgin.

He takes a deep breath, nods once at his reflection, and heads out to the elevator. Before he takes the elevator to deck one, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a packet of mints that he "borrowed" from Cortez. He pops two into his mouth, closes his eyes, rests the back of his head against the cool metallic wall of the elevator, and waits.

His legs feel like lead when the elevator doors slide open to reveal that one, solitary door on the deck. His green eyes move up to read the sign on top of the door.

Captain's Quarters

Holy fuck.

He pauses before the door, takes another deep breath, and even though the green light clearly indicates that it's unlocked, he knocks lightly, trying his best to ignore the rampant beating of his heart.

"Come in, James," she calls out.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

He steps in, his green eyes immediately spotting her leaning over her desk, still in her uniform, looking over nearly half a dozen scattered PDAs and datapads. She looks up and turns to look at him.

"Hey," she smiles. "Just going over this report I have to send off to Admiral Hackett. Won't be a minute."

"Sure, Lola, take your time," James smiles back.

"In the meantime, make yourself at home," she says, pointing over to the leather lounge. He feels a new wave of jitters when he spots the two glasses of red wine waiting for them on the coffee table.

She prepared for this. For tonight.

On his way to the lounge, the only thing he can see is her bed. He'd never been so painfully aware of a piece of harmless furniture before in his life. Gulping to get rid of the dryness in his throat, he smiles to himself when he sees a sound system on the bedside table. He looks over his shoulder to see Shepard still leaning over her desk, her brow furrowed and her eyes intently focused on her report. He makes his way to the sound system and turns it on. The familiar soundtrack heard in the upper level of Afterlife starts to play, immediately attracting the Commander's attention.

"Thought we could do with a little music," James says, bobbing his head to the beat as he heads to the leather lounge. Shepard smiles and shakes her head as she straightens up and stretches.

"You're an evil distraction," she says, setting down the datapad in her hand and making her way to the lounge.

"Can't help it," James grins smugly, bobbing his head as he moves (more like dances) towards her. He takes her hands in his and dances with her on the spot, his heart melting at the shy yet amused smile on her face.

"What, are you trying to prove a point here, Vega? We both know I can't dance!"

"It's never too late to learn, Lola," he says as he twirls her around on the spot. She trips over her own foot and nearly falls face flat on the floor. James swiftly grabs her from around the waist and pulls her back up.

"Or maybe you are as hopeless as you say you are," he laughs. He raises his palms up in surrender when he sees her fold her arms across her chest and raise an eyebrow at him.

"You done laughing yet, Lieutenant?" she asks him dryly.

"Oh, so it's 'Lieutenant' now, is it?" James grins. "Okay. I see how it is, Commander. I'll just leave before I-"

"Shut up and sit down, Vega," she says in a playfully serious tone.

"Aye, aye, Commander," James salutes her and chuckles at her exaggerated eye-roll. She heads over to the sound system and changes the track to a much slower piano piece.

James watches her smile at him as she joins him on the lounge. The way she moves, the way she looks at him… everything about her does something to him, something he can't explain or describe. All he knows is that she's touched something in him that he never knew he had.

"Still with me, James?"

He blinks and sees Shepard sitting next to him on the lounge, two glasses of wine in her hands. She hands him one and watches him, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Yeah," he nods, feeling his face grow warm. He takes a sip of wine to try and get rid of that damned dryness in his throat. "Still here, Lola."

"Good," she places her glass on the coffee table and scoots closer to him. "I was beginning to think I'm boring you."

"You?" James lets out a loud laugh of disbelief. "Bore me? Not gonna happen, Lola. You're talking to someone who would've stood in line to get your autograph a few years ago."

"A few years ago? What, I'm not good enough for you anymore, Lieutenant?" she smiles.

He laughs lightly and sets his glass next to hers. He turns to her and closes the distance between them by scooting closer to her on the seat. Hesitantly, he brings his right hand to the side of her face and caresses her cheek with his thumb, losing himself in the depths of her warm brown eyes.

"On the contrary, Lola," he murmurs, intoxicated by the clean, soapiness of her scent, "You're almost too good to be true."

She blinks up at him, and he can feel the warmth rush up to her cheek beneath his palm as she blushes.

He closes his eyes and leans in to kiss her. It's slow and hesitant—almost enough to drive himself insane. She sighs and opens her mouth as she wraps her arms around his neck. He slides his tongue in and feels her shudder at this new experience.

In one swift movement, Shepard swings her leg over James' hips and straddles him without interrupting the kiss. He leans back against the lounge, feeling the heat and need intensify when he feels her weight against his groin. He moans and shivers, tangling his fingers in her dark hair to pull her closer against him.

She pulls away from him and flashes him a smile so seductive, it takes his breath away. She snakes her hands down his chest and pulls his shirt up. He lifts his arms up to help her, still unable to believe what's happening. He watches her as her brown eyes sweep over his torso, appreciating every taut and sculpted muscle being revealed to her for the first time. She leans in and softly kisses the tattoo on his neck, down to his collar bone, and finally to his chest. He closes his eyes and shudders, his breathing shallow and quick. He lets out a loud groan when he feels her warm tongue teasing his nipple, involuntarily thrusting against her. He opens his eyes, gently pulls her face back up to his, and kisses her deeply.

Hungrily.

He quickly unbuttons her shirt and pulls it off, revealing the small yet plump breasts held in her black bra. He snakes his fingers to her back and undoes her bra clasp, covering her nipples with his mouth as soon as her breasts bounce out of their support.

He hears her moan and whisper his name as he licks and sucks on her sensitive nipples, her bare skin hot and sweaty against his own. His lips back on hers, he places his hands under her lower back and lifts her up, her legs quickly wrapping around his waist as he walks them over to the bed.

He gently sets her down on her back and makes a trail of kisses starting from her lips, down to her perfectly taut and smooth stomach. Her breathing hitches as his lips near her groin, and he sees her hands clutch the bed cover beneath her. He unbuttons her fatigues, his eyes marvelling at her slim yet muscular thighs as he pulls them off her and throws them over his shoulder. He looks up at her to see her chest heaving as her breath comes in quick, shallow gasps, her head resting halfway down the bed with her eyes closed.

Fire. You set me on fire.

He slowly pulls down her underwear, feeling her tense beneath him. He glances up at her again when she sighs.

"You're killing me here, James," she whispers weakly when she meets his eyes.

Smiling slightly, James slides his tongue against her and starts pleasuring her slowly and deliberately.

"Oh my god," she moans, twitching uncontrollably beneath his mouth. He pushes her legs up and apart and holds them firmly as he quickens his pace, his eyes fixed on her face.

Her eyes roll into the back of her head, her entire body scorching hot and trembling with pleasure. She places both her hands on the back of James' head and pushes him against her, moving her hips in time to the rhythm of his tongue.

"James," she whispers over and over again. "Oh my god, James!"

He quickens his pace as she comes, her hips bucking against his mouth. He slows down in time with her breathing, giving her one final kiss before pulling away.

Shepard immediately sits up and crawls to the edge of the bed, where James is still kneeling. She kisses him ravenously, turning his mind blank.

"Stand up," she commands him breathlessly. He immediately does as he is told, his heart drumming rapidly in his chest.

She impatiently unbuttons his fatigues and yanks them down, doing the same to his black briefs immediately afterwards. She takes him in her mouth as soon as he's out.

Dios!

James' knees buckle beneath him as he feels the heat of the inside of her mouth enveloping him as her head moves back and forth, her tongue teasing the tip.

Fuck. I'm not gonna last long. I'm just not gonna last-

Sensing his hastening approach to the edge, Shepard pulls away and props up onto her knees on the bed. Her smouldering eyes meet his, and she flashes him a sinfully seductive smile before she pulls him down over her.

At that moment, time stops for the two of them. Shepard cups James' face in her hands and smiles up at him lovingly, warmth and tenderness filling her dark eyes to the brim.

The moment is perfect. The most perfect moment in James' life. After over seven months of being around her and loving her from a distance, she's finally in his arms, willing to give herself to him fully. Willing to join herself with him, both physically and emotionally.

"I love you, Shepard," James murmurs without really thinking. Her eyebrows rise and her eyes widen in surprise, but her expression very quickly softens back to a smile and she gently pulls his lips down to hers, kissing him so tenderly, he feels the prickle of tears starting to form behind his closed eyelids.

She doesn't say it back, though.

Even as he drowns in his intoxication and happiness, James notices that detail. But it doesn't bother him at all. Commander Shepard never was one to wear her heart on her sleeve and openly declare her feelings. After guarding her for so long, James has come to learn that about her. The tenderness of her kiss was enough to let him know that she felt the same way about him.

As he feels his need growing, James deepens the kiss, sliding his fingers through her hair. Slowly, he brings himself to her entrance, touching her with his tip to prepare her. She sighs and wraps her legs around him to press him closer against her. He takes that as a sign that she's ready and slides into her.

Nothing could have prepared him for this moment. James has been with a number of women in his life, but it was all always purely physical. He'd never been with someone he loved before, and the difference between the encounters is almost staggering to him.

He groans, echoing her as she moans and lightly bites his lower lip. They move together in a slow pace, their ecstatic moans echoing off the cabin walls surrounding them. She urges him to move faster, and he obeys. She whispers and moans his name into his ear, and he does the same, their hot, wet bodies sliding against each other as they move back and forth. The bed starts to creak as James moves even faster, his mind completely taken over by the sensation of being enveloped by her warmth—the warmth of this woman that he loved more than his own flesh. This woman, who was dead and out of reach for two long years, before she was miraculously brought back to life.

And into James' life.

He feels her muscles tighten around him, and they both come together, their gasps and moans now replaced by loud, carnal noises of mind-numbing pleasure.

Panting, James slumps over Shepard's sweaty body, still twitching from the overwhelming experience.

"I'm willing to say that this beats getting my autograph," Shepard jokes breathlessly as James catches his breath, his face buried against her neck. Both of their bodies shake as the room is filled with his giddy laughter.

"You're not off the hook, though," he grins, carefully sliding off of her and resting on his back beside her. "I still want one."

"You're a greedy son of a gun, aren't you, Lieutenant?" she grins.

"Only when it comes to the things I like, Lola," he smiles. He looks away from the stars behind the skylight and turns to see her silently watching him.

"What?" he asks playfully.

She smiles warmly and shakes her head, rubbing the side of her face against her pillow.

"Nothing," she murmurs. "I'm just glad you're here, James."

He takes her hand and kisses it before pulling her into his arms and burying his face in her dishevelled hair.

"Right now, Lola…there's nowhere I'd rather be," he whispers.