Chapter 12

Their rest was temporary however, as they slept only for a few hours before waking up again to the sunrise. The feel of their bodies against each other was enough to drive them to explore their passions again, despite their mutual physical exhaustion.

And on it went. Every couple of hours they would awaken, enjoy new intimacies with each other, and then fall asleep again.

It was the perfect vacation.

Once, Princess attempted to use Mark's shower, but he quickly joined her, and they discovered more ways to play in their bouts with Eros. It seemed as if they would never be satisfied: as if they would never get enough of each other.

About thirty-six hours after Princess had arrived at the airfield, they finally both realized that they hadn't eaten since before they had left Center Neptune, and a ravenous hunger overtook them both.

"Well, we have been working out." Mark grinned.

"Do you have any food around?" Princess asked him.

"No. Let's go to Jill's."

"Jill's? In public? Do you think we can… make it?"

"We can if we satisfy our other appetites first."

"Ohhhh…"

An hour later, they had managed to get dressed, and Princess mounted her motorcycle, Mark getting on behind her. She had always loved having him ride with her and hold her close, but this time, instead of his embrace being a wish for what could be between them, it was now a reminder of the intimacy they shared.

Princess sighed happily to herself, kickstarting the bike and heading out to the open road, Mark's arms wrapped tightly around her.

They realized their error in judgment about a mile from Jill's Restaurant. Mark's body pressed against Princess', as he pulled himself more and more closely to her, until she felt his hard masculine length pressing against her backside. Unconcerned with the actual task of driving, Mark's hands explored, moving over her waist, hips and breasts, his mouth nibbling at her neck.

Princess nearly lost control of the motorcycle in her attempt to ignore his actions and arrive at their destination in one piece. Once she had safely parked she turned around to lecture him on his behavior, but the devilish glint in his eye banished all such thoughts from her mind and had her kissing him instead. It took a whistle from a passing pedestrian to bring her back to her senses.

"We're in public, Mark!" she hissed.

"I can't wait." he moaned, his face buried in her hair.

"Just… one… minute…" she gasped, wrenching her body from his iron embrace and off of the motorcycle. Obediently he followed, not touching her, but with an expression that promised that he would only tolerate a momentary delay in their amorous activities.

Hurriedly, Princess marched into the restaurant, managed a cheerily forced, "Hi, Jill!" and waved at her landlord and sometime employer, before dashing up the stairs to her apartment, Mark coming closely behind. She had barely managed to get her key in the lock when he grabbed her again, growling his frustration at the delay as he attempted to loosen her t-shirt from her belted hips.

Laughing, they stumbled into the apartment once Princess had managed to open the door, and the Swan gladly gave up control to the man who was, after all, her Commander.

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A few hours later, the couple finally made it downstairs to Jill's, their need to satisfy a different hunger finally overtaking them. Mark and Princess sat across from each other in a booth, not physically touching, but clearly entranced with each other, communicating through meaningful glances, shy smiles, and soft conversation.

After they had eaten, Princess brought their dishes over to Jill, and the older woman grinned at her tenant.

"You've finally snagged him!" she whispered happily. "I can tell by the way he looks at you, Princess. Whatever you did, it worked!"

Princess' only answer was a slow wink in Jill's direction, before returning to Mark. The pair were too occupied with each other to notice the pleased, doting expression on Jill's face as she gazed at the pair, or her smirk as they vanished upstairs again together.

To them, no one existed but each other.

But just as they were considering how long they could hold out before being drawn to each other again, Mark's bracelet beeped.

Princess looked at her Commander in horror. It hadn't even been two days and the G-Force Team had been promised an entire week off. Had Spectra attacked the Federation against all of Galaxy Security's projections?

"Ears on." Mark said grimly, his eyes reflecting the fear in Princess' heart.

"Mark, I hope this isn't an inconvenient time for you." came Chief Anderson's apologetic tone. Princess breathed a sigh of relief. If this were something urgent, the Chief would not be nearly so solicitous.

"Well, actually…" Mark began.

"Good." Anderson cut the Commander off. "Colonel Cronus heard that you had the week off an insisted on taking you out for some special flight maneuver training."

The Eagle groaned audibly. Colonel Cronus was far from his favorite person. The man acted as if it were the Red Rangers who were on the front lines every day protecting the Federation, instead of G-Force, and the Colonel attempted to show up the Eagle and his team whenever possible. It was as if the man had something to prove… something that annoyed the hell out of the Commander.

Other than Zoltar, and perhaps Zark, there was no one Mark liked less than Colonel Cronus.

Worst of all, the Chief and Zark attempted to throw the Commander together with the Colonel at every turn, even going so far as to constantly claim that the two of them had a close friendship, as if simply stating it would make it so. But as far as Mark was concerned, it was all a load of bull. The Colonel had never shown Mark one ounce of respect, much less friendship, and therefore Cronus had never earned those privileges from the Commander.

Deep down, Mark knew that he never would.

Every so often, Cronus liked to rub Mark's nose in the fact that he had once been the Eagle's instructor at the Space Academy. Cronus would take Mark up for 'flight training', which usually ended up being an intensely boring hour-long lecture on the Colonel's prowess when it came to aircraft, followed by an 'examination', after which the Eagle would receive a scathing assessment from the Red Ranger Captain, usually in front of the Colonel's men. Even the scrupulously polite and dutiful Commander was unable to deal with these sessions, and he usually ended up boiling over, clenching his fists and swearing under his breath, wishing with every fiber of his being that Colonel Cronus had never been born.

A 'training session' with Colonel Cronus was not how Mark had anticipated spending his week off, especially now that he and Princess had connected.

"I'm sorry, Chief, but I'm not available." Mark replied. "I have made other commitments, given the leave you granted us less than two days ago…"

"You will have to cancel those commitments." Anderson insisted.

"I don't want to cancel them." Mark replied, pushing back at his foster father as much as he dared.

"This is your duty, Commander." the Chief retorted angrily. "Or should I tell the Colonel that the Condor is now taking over all of your duties?"

It was a low blow. Princess' face was white with shock, while Mark's was rigid with fury. Chief Anderson was actually threatening to remove Mark's command over this?

"When does he want to see me?" Mark growled in frustration.

"He's arriving to pick you up at your airfield in about ten minutes." Anderson replied, his tone calm now that he knew he was getting his way.

"I'm at Jill's actually." Mark sighed in frustration. "I'll be ready. Over and out."

Mark slammed his fist into his hand before looking at Princess helplessly.

"This isn't what I wanted." he said quietly.

"I know." Princess replied soothingly. "Just get it over with and think of the fun we'll have when you get back." she flirted.

"At this point, that's the only thing keeping me going." Mark replied wryly.