Steve wandered out after changing, feeling a sense of sweet stress as he made his way to the refrigerator. His pajama bottoms were nothing more than sweats, and the white ribbed tank top he wore was equally utilitarian; unlike Bucky Steve had never gone in for fashion statements when it came to clothing. He'd been in boy's sizes up until the Super Serum program, and even now still didn't see any advantage to stripes, checks or paisleys when it came to boxer shorts.
In the freezer sat a quart container of Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory Rocky Road. Humming in anticipation, he pulled it out and rummaged through the cupboard for bowls, feeling hungry on a few different levels.
Steve was well-aware of the undercurrent of flirtatious tension with Lauren. In each glance and casual conversation he felt growing hints of giddy anticipation that left him feeling quiet joy unmarred by anything else, not even Tony's surprise visit.
Tony had teased him outside the shop, offering up a three pack of condoms, adding instructions on how to use them that grew louder until Steve had taken the damned things just to shut the man up. They were stuffed deep at the bottom of his shaving kit now, waiting to be disposed of . . .
Or used, Steve acknowledged mentally with a blush. He'd read enough of Doctor R's books over the past year to have a pretty good understanding of contraception along with all the other aspects of the sexual revolution. In fact, he'd spent a good bit of time catching up and supplementing what he already knew in theory.
A chance to put some of it into practice with Lauren was definitely tempting and becoming more of a possibility all the time. Steve didn't want to rush things, but he couldn't deny a sense of rightness in the here and now.
He wondered if Lauren loved him.
Certainly he loved her, Steve reflected as he added a third scoop of ice cream into his bowl. Lauren made him laugh and think and feel things he hadn't thought he'd ever feel again.
Steve heard footsteps and turned, preparing to earnestly justify why he had so much Rocky Road in his bowl when he caught sight of Lauren's pajamas and froze.
Thin silk bottoms clung to her hips low enough to reveal her little navel and smooth stomach while the spaghetti strap top barely veiled her rounded chest. She looked like a perky genie, and adding to the unbearably sexy cuteness, her pajamas were pink.
With scampering white kittens printed on them.
Steve clung to the bowl so tightly he felt the plastic start to bend under his fingers, and fought a wheeze as she sauntered in.
"There'd better be some left," Lauren muttered, peering around him to the carton on the counter. "Meatloaf I can take or leave, but I'll fight to the death for Rocky Road, Steve Rogers!"
Wordlessly he surrendered his bowl, trying not to stare, and feeling that his blush must be full-body by now. Lauren didn't seem to notice as she took the proffered ice cream with a happy squeak. "Ohhh, wait, this is too much even for me. This one was yours, wasn't it?"
"Yeah . . ." Steve managed, aware that he needed to move before Lauren had a chance to notice his body's swift and unmistakable response to her pajamas. "But I think I, uh, overdid it."
"We'll share," Lauren decided, putting the carton back in the freezer. Steve couldn't help but notice that the chill from it had made her nipples perk up; biting back a groan he strode out to the sofa, trying to get himself under control. He sat on the far end of the sofa and crossed his legs, caught between feeling absurd and amused at his situation.
Lauren. Beautiful, sexy, clearly clueless Lauren, he thought in wry discomfort. They weren't pajamas as much as gift wrapping, and Steve wondered how the hell he was suppose to concentrate on Errol Flynn when there were cuddly little kittens barely covering sweet and enticing womanhood within arm's reach.
She wandered out, digging a spoon into the ice cream and plopped herself down next to him. "Remote's on the coffee table," Lauren murmured. Steve reached for it, acutely aware of her proximity now, and feeling dizzy. He fumbled with the remote, and finally got the movie started, then leaned back and draped his arm over the back of the sofa, forcing himself to relax.
Nope. Not possible, he realized a moment later.
The situation became infinitely more complicated when Lauren took this as a cue to snuggle up against him, and the press of her warm body cranked his senses into overload. Steve closed his eyes for a second and ran a quick mental assessment of his situation.
Say nothing and suffer for the duration of the film, or confess to his raging lust and throw himself on the mercy of Lauren's compassion?
Throwing himself on Lauren in any scenario had Steve gritting his teeth to keep from groaning. Manfully he set the remote down, took a deep breath and turned to look at her tucked against his side.
She glanced up at him, and when their gazes met, Steve noticed Lauren was licking her lower lip, and not because she'd gotten ice cream on it either. In a flash he caught on: she was nervous too.
Which meant she was just as sensitive to their situation as he was.
Steve took a breath and felt a heady sense of confidence flood through him in a reassuring rush; he took the bowl from her hands and set it on the coffee table, keeping his eyes locked on hers the entire time.
"I'm not exactly scared and I'm not exactly nervous," he told her, "however you've got to know that I have zero interest in this movie right now. None. Zip."
"Yeah?" Lauren squeaked at him, blinking timidly.
Steve gave a slow nod. "I cannot tell a lie; your pajamas are making my teeth sweat, Lauren. Pink silk would be tough enough to ignore in any case, but throw in the kittens and the little belly button and I'm pretty much focused on making whoopee."
Lauren snickered, and the snicker turned into one of her bubbly giggles. "M-making whoopee?"
"Yeah," Steve nodded. "A dorky euphemism for uh, you know." He would have said more, but Lauren slid a hand up to touch his chest, and her fingers were warm against the thin fabric of the tank top.
"Well I can't concentrate either if you're going to sit there in a shirt I want to take off with my teeth, Steve!" she confessed, eyes bright. "You're not the only one trying to be good!"
He grinned. "Sounds like a serious problem for both of us."
Lauren's fingers hooked at the neckline of his tank top and she pulled him closer, mock-glaring at him. "You know I'm in love with you, right?"
He felt a sharp pang of joy rocket through his chest. "No, I'm the one in love with you," Steve countered, the heat of his breath inches away from her mouth. "Give me a chance and I'll show you how much."
"I think you'd better do just that before I go crazy!" Lauren whimpered, and pounced, her mouth meeting his in a hot rush.
Steve felt the cognitive part of his brain shut down because she tasted of chocolate and woman, and before he realized it, Steve had pulled her into his lap. Lauren's weight was perfect, settling over the throb of his cock and making him groan with pleasure.
"Want you," Lauren murmured between kisses, plastering herself against him. "Sort of need you . . ."
Steve caught the back of her head in the palm of one big hand and settled into kissing the breath out of them both, giving himself over to instinct. Lauren let him take the lead, relaxing a little as she entwined her arms around his neck.
Beyond them the movie droned on, and by the time Errol Flynn was proving his archery marksmanship, Steve was trying not to hyperventilate. Lauren had peeled her top off, tossing it lightly to the floor, and the perky heft of her breasts as she did so held him mesmerized.
Breasts. God, Steve liked those and Lauren's were magnificent. He stared, and she giggled, reaching for his hands and pulling them to her chest, where they cupped the bouncy weight lightly.
"A little big," Lauren murmured, as if this was something to be ashamed of. "My mom's side was always that way."
"Shhhhh," Steve whispered. "I'm . . . I'm looking at something almost holy here . . . you're gorgeous, Lauren. They're terrific!"
She gave a pleased squeak as Steve rubbed his thumbs over her hard little nipples, and that squeak turned into a soft cry of pleasure when he followed up with his mouth, sucking ever so gently on the warm puckered rivet of each one.
He felt fevered, aching, and alive for once in his life: completely free. Steve nuzzled the soft skin, aware of the intimate sweetness of Lauren's skin and how much he wanted to wear the scent of her on himself. Steve raised his face reluctantly, his hands sliding away to stroke her waist. "Lauren, sweetheart, if we . . . about protection . . ."
"Got some," came her answering moan. "Yesterday. In my room. I know that sounds bad, but I figured . . . might be a good idea . . ."
Steve kissed her quickly. "Good, because I think we'd better . . ."
"Move this in there," Lauren agreed in a lust-soaked voice. "Yeah. I don't think I can wait much longer . . ."
Steve gave a grunt of agreement and moved, holding her close as he rose off the sofa with her in his arms. He carried Lauren into the bedroom, leaving Errol to banter with Olivia De Havilland.
Lauren helped him peel off his tank top, and when she reached for the drawstring of his sweats, Steve caught her hand, making her look up at him questioningly. "Um, I'm . . ." he hesitated, "not circumcised."
She blinked. "Okay. Does that . . . matter?"
Her mild and unsurprised tone caught Steve off-guard, and he gave a crooked smile. "I guess not. Just letting you know."
Lauren plucked the drawstring and gave a tug; his sweatpants pooled at his feet while she gazed at him, eyes wide. "Wow."
It was the best thing she could have said, and Steve held his hands up in a placating manner, feeling both pleased and embarrassed as he stepped out of the sweats. "Yeah, the one part of me the serum didn't have to enhance, actually."
"I can see why you needed a shield to go with that spear," Lauren teased, holding out her arms to him. Steve snorted and slid onto the bed, reaching for her pajama bottoms.
"I think you're overdressed there, sweetheart," he croaked. Lauren lifted her hips to help slide them off and rolled to press against him, shivering a little herself.
"Steve—" she pleaded, "Right now I'm so close I'll probably die if we don't just . . ."
"Me too," he admitted in a shaky voice. They shifted and Lauren reached for the nightstand, fishing out the box of condoms and handing it to Steve. It was awkward and sweet as they fumbled to get one on him; neither of them was too steady at this point, and for a moment Steve worried he might go off like a rocket when Lauren's fingers slid around his shaft in a lingering caress.
She shifted until she was under him, kissing his throat and murmuring hungry little sounds drove him slightly crazy. Steve knelt between her thighs, grateful for Lauren's gentle guidance as he shifted forward.
"There, oh puuushhhhh . . ." came her delighted cry, and he did, thrusting into her and giving a hoarse groan as the hottest, slickest squeeze he'd ever felt enveloped his shaft. He shuddered, nearly overwhelmed by the raw sensation of it all, and when Lauren slid her hands down his ass to pull him in deeper, Steve thrust again.
It only took a second before both of them were caught up in the desperately sweet rhythm; their bodies rocked together, building heat fueled by kisses and nips and groans. Steve couldn't think or breathe as the molten sweetness of driving into Lauren seared through him, need and passion fusing up through his cock unrelentingly.
A few minutes later Lauren gave a slow soft cry and tensed; Steve felt her go taut under him, her legs tightening around the back of his thighs, and the little pulsing squeezes of her cleft around his shaft was enough to bring him to climax himself. He rocked harder, trying not to growl as rich waves of pleasure crested though his big frame.
Steve shuddered and slumped onto Lauren, the damp of his sweat mingling with hers as he kissed her chin and nose and mouth, trying to convey his gratitude, his joy. Her cheeks were wet, he realized, but he couldn't tell who was crying.
Probably both of them, he realized.
"Love you," Steve whispered, "Kitten."
Lauren sniffled and clung to him, smiling. "Love you, Hero."
