Let the Sunshine In
Chapter 11 - Assessments
San Francisco, Earth
Early May, 2264
Sarek
He parked the flitter in the Embassy garage and ascended in the turbolift. He paced down the hall to his suite, and entered. He went straight to his meditation area and lit the incense waiting there, folding himself down, removing only his shoes. He centered himself and began to think.
She was pleasing to the eye, not beautiful, but symmetrical and well structured. Her coloring was unusual to him, but intriguing. Her eyes in particular, greenish-brown one moment and brownish-green another, depending on what color she was wearing, and the way the light hit them. He had found himself contemplating her eyes far too many times already. The way her hair curled, almost in abandonment, fascinated him. He found himself wondering what it would look like, spilled out over his pillows. He shook his head, no, that was not the direction his thoughts should be going in now.
Her mind was bright, her conversation interesting. She was well educated, interested in many things. She enjoyed a variety of activities. Her body was tall, not slender, but not fleshy either. If he pulled her against his chest, her head would come just beneath his chin. He would be able to bury his face in her hair, inhale her scent there. Again, he pulled his thoughts away from where they seemed to go, all on their own.
He had made very discreet enquiries. She owned her apartment outright. She had almost no debt, and a nice amount of savings and investments. She had been working steadily since finishing her education, and had had offers to move to other magazines, which she had turned down. Unfortunately, her current occupation was not something easily transferred to New Vulcan, as there were no tourist facilities there, no magazines of the type she had worked for. But writing itself was a skill always in demand, and her writing was very good.
She had almost no surviving family. A few cousins, that was all. And she did not seem to be particularly close to them. A pity. Family was important. But perhaps that was another reason that she was casting her net so widely. She had nothing to hold her here.
He had found nothing that he did not like, did not appreciate. And so much that he did. It was becoming much more difficult to hold back, to restrain himself from touching her, from feeling and tasting. They had come to this prepared, wanting, the both of them. This was not a chance encounter, he did not need to move slowly, as he had with Amanda, building a friendship first, only becoming aware of what could be between them after months had passed. This was very different. It still felt strange to him, almost improper, the way he was beginning to feel. He examined his feelings carefully. She appealed to him on many levels. And he had begun to feel - stirrings, the beginnings of arousal. Things he had not felt for years now. This spoke well for their future. If he had not felt those things around her, it would have been much harder to continue. But somehow, he knew, that if he touched her, those feelings would grow, and grow quickly.
He sighed. He inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, willing his body to relax, his mind to clear. Yes, it was time to move to the next stage, to see whether his feelings were returned. Somehow he had no doubts. She had reached out to touch him several times already, pulling her hands back and chiding herself. Surely she was ready. He drifted down into a slightly deeper stage of meditation, his mind easing. Surely.
Elinor
When the door closed behind him, she turned and went back into the kitchen, putting the few dishes they had used into the 'fresher. She stood in the middle of her kitchen, not really seeing anything. She needed to think, and think hard. She went into the living room, and built a small fire and settled down on the soft rug, leaning back against the couch, watching the wavering flames.
He was just tall enough to suit her. And he was muscular enough. She didn't really like men that were overly muscled. But Sarek was solid, and strong. That was appealing in a man. His eyes could be so deep. Sometimes she felt like she was just falling into them. And those ears! She wanted so badly to run her fingers up the curved edges and over the pointed tips. She shivered, just thinking about it. How would that feel to him? Whoa, back up girl, too soon for that!
He was so very intelligent, and so well educated. She hadn't mentioned anything that stumped him, and she really, really, liked that. He was soft-spoken, even when things weren't going exactly the way he had anticipated. She had never seen him angry, but somehow she did not doubt that he could be. He had a very respectable, responsible job. She had searched the comlink, and found numerous clips of him, at conferences, speaking to the press, addressing groups. His behavior was always correct, perfect, and he conveyed his thoughts well. She had been very impressed.
He appeared to have a wide variety of interests. And all the places he had taken her had been so nice. And the hoverbike! That ride had been so wonderful! She couldn't remember when she had had so much fun. It was another side to him that she had not expected. Sitting on the blanket in the clearing, so close, sharing the picnic. She had wanted to touch him so badly. But she must wait. She must let him choose whether to take their budding relationship in that direction, and when. That had been drummed into her very firmly. She was not to touch unless and until he initiated it. No matter how she felt. And she felt. Oh, she definitely felt!
She watched the flames shimmer and twist. That was how she felt now. She hadn't expected to feel this way, and certainly not this soon. But she had known, going in, what she wanted. Why she was there. She had been prepared. She had thought she had been prepared. So now she just had to wait. She leaned back against the couch. Waiting was hard.
