Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 14
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.
Chapter warnings: Reference to sexual activity
That evening, a fully rested Sam and Jack were taken by Leyna to another new room in the temple. This one had no windows, and was lit with dozens upon dozens of candles. There was a pool in the corner of the room, which lapped gently. Gossamer drapes cascaded from the ceiling at intervals – prompting both air force officers to blanch at the fire hazard – and the floor was covered in cushions of various sizes. Leyna settled onto a cushion at the edge of the room, and indicated that Sam and Jack sit in the centre.
'This is the second to last marriage rite, and it is to assess your romantic compatibility.' Leyna informed them, her voice soft.
Sam could have groaned. She met Jack's eyes and saw the exact combination of regret and resignation there, that she was currently feeling swamped with.
'I will guide you through the rite. First, sit facing each other, and take each other's hands.'
Jack shifted, folding his legs awkwardly, while Sam crossed hers more fluidly. Jack held out his hands with a wry smile, and Sam joined them with hers self-consciously.
'Now, I want you just to sit for a while, and be together. Hold each other's gaze if you can.'
Jack let out a huff of air, and determinedly met her eyes. He looked like he was on a mission. Sam tried to follow suit, and stared back.
After a couple of minutes, Leyna spoke. 'Samantha, Colonel, this is not a children's staring competition. You should be communicating with your eyes, not attacking with them.'
Sam closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and tried again. When she opened her eyes Jack was looking at her more softly, and she felt a sharp stab of pain at the sight. He wasn't supposed to look at her like that. She wanted him to, desperately, but it promised things she couldn't have.
To her dismay she felt her eyes tearing up, and she blinked furiously to try and clear them, but a couple of hot, fat tears spilled down her cheeks. She wiped at them hurriedly, muttering an apology.
'Samantha, what is wrong?' Leyna asked.
'Nothing, nothing, I'm fine. Sorry.' She breathed in deeply and took Jack's hands again, trying to get back to what she was supposed to be doing. Jack was looking at her with concern.
A couple more minutes passed in silence, and she found she just couldn't do it. She couldn't meet his eyes, while he was looking at her so tenderly, without her eyes filling with tears.
She glared down at her lap angrily and shook her head. 'Leyna, is there any chance we can move on to whatever comes next?'
Leyna waited a moment before answering. 'Samantha, tell us why you are getting upset.'
'I don't know.'
'I don't think that's true.'
Sam huffed but didn't answer. Jack squeezed her hands and she looked up at him. 'It might be time to cross one of those lines, Sam.'
She almost sobbed. 'We can't.'
Jack sighed, and bodily turned towards Leyna. 'Leyna, cards on the table. How far are we going to have to go?'
Leyna looked startled and confused. 'I'm sorry Jack, I don't understand.'
'I mean, physically and emotionally. What's the endgame, what is the most you need us to say and do before the marriage rites are complete?'
Leyna frowned at the question. 'Typically we don't give out that information ahead of time.'
'Leyna, Sam's upset because what you're asking us to do is actively breaking the rules of our military. I'm Sam's commanding officer and she's my subordinate, we're not supposed to have romantic feelings for each other, and we're certainly not supposed to act on them. We've gotten very good at pretending not to have romantic compatibility, and now you're expecting us to do the opposite and flaunt it. It would help if we knew exactly how broken those rules are going to have to get before this is over.'
Leyna thought for a moment. 'I need to see that you are romantically compatible. So far, with Sam not being able to even hold your gaze, I haven't seen that yet. If we need to escalate the physicality of this exercise to demonstrate that, we will do.'
Sam closed her eyes briefly and then looked down at her hands.
Jack's finger entered her field of vision and tapped her hand. 'Hey, look at me.'
She looked up at him. He looked so … kind. 'We can do this. It's you and me, we've got romantic compatibility in spades.'
'It also sounds like it might be better to warn you ahead of time about the content of tomorrow's rite.' Leyna said. Both Jack and Sam turned to look at her. 'In the final rite, we look for sexual compatibility.'
Sam stopped breathing.
Jack coughed. 'Excuse me?'
'In tomorrow's rite, you will need to demonstrate that you can satisfy each other sexually.'
Sam buried her face in her hands.
'You're telling us this now?' Jack asked indignantly.
'You asked to be told now.' Leyna said, confused.
Jack groaned and leaned backwards, scrubbing his face with his hands. 'Ok … Leyna, I think we're going to need a minute here.'
Leyna looked annoyed, but rose. 'We will take a short break. I will be back soon.'
She left the room, and Jack stood and paced around a bit before sitting on the raised edge of the pool.
'You ok?' He asked.
Sam nodded. 'Yeah, I'm ok. I guess we knew this might be coming.' She sighed. 'I feel pretty ridiculous for making a fuss about just looking at you now.' She added wryly.
'I figured it might help to know what we're building up to. Makes the steps up to it seem a little less scandalous.' Jack explained.
He came back over to his seat on the cushion in front of her, and took up her hands again. 'Look, Sam …' he trailed off. She met his eyes uncertainly, and he seemed to draw strength from that. 'We are going to have to cross those imaginary lines the air force drew for us. We both have to find a way to be ok with that.'
Sam nodded mutely in agreement.
'Alright, how about this for a game-plan for tonight: rather than the somewhat ridiculous 'gaze deeply into each other's eyes' routine, how about when Leyna comes back in I just kiss you?'
Sam licked her lips. 'That could work.'
'I mean, she seemed pretty pleased with the results when I had to kiss you the other day.'
'Yeah, it's a good plan.'
'Ok then. So, I'm going to kiss you, and we're both going to be ok with that?'
'Yes.'
'Excellent.'
He looked at her awkwardly for a moment, and then cleared his throat. 'I'm going to go get her.'
Leyna settled back down onto her cushion, and Jack settled himself down, this time next to Sam rather than opposite her. She offered him a small smile, which he was pleased to see. He needed her to trust him, or this wouldn't work.
'Are you ready to continue?' Leyna asked.
'Yeah. We'd like to try and demonstrate what you're looking for ourselves though, rather than doing what you were telling us to do before.' Jack said. Leyna nodded.
'Very well.'
Jack shifted and twisted his upper body slightly to face Sam, and she did the same. He looked at her carefully, wanting to be sure to catch it if there was even the slightest indication that she wasn't comfortable with this. He ghosted a hand over her cheek, barely touching her, and she closed her eyes briefly in response. Taking that as encouragement, he settled his hand there gently, and leaned in towards her. She copied, leaning towards him, and then they were as close as they could be while maintaining eye contact. Just as he had the other day, he asked in a whisper if she was ready, and she nodded. He closed the distance quickly, and then paused just before touching her lips, before claiming them tentatively.
He kissed her ever so softly, and she kissed him back in exactly the same way. It was the single sweetest experience of his life. Although they'd kissed four days previously at the end of the second rite, this felt like a first time.
He ended it and looked at her, cupping her jaw in both hands and stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. She smiled sweetly, smiling with her eyes as much as with her mouth.
He leaned in to kiss her again, still tenderly, but with more passion. She matched him once again, and he marvelled at how good they were at this considering how little experience they had with each other. He tried to pour his feelings for her into this kiss, his respect, his passion, his love. This kiss lasted a while, neither of them wanting it to end.
When it did end, he rested his forehead against hers, and realised that one of her hands was on the skin of his back under his shirt. He shivered in pleasure and pulled her close, tucking his face into her neck as he wrapped his arms around her.
After a long moment, he pulled away enough to look in Leyna's direction, one arm still around Sam.
'Was that enough?' He asked.
Leyna smiled. 'Yes Colonel. That will do for tonight.'
Jack looked down at Sam with a wry half smile, and she grinned back.
Leyna rose. 'I will take you out now, Colonel. Please ensure that you are both fully prepared for what will be required of you tomorrow.' She entreated earnestly.
Jack winced. He stood up, as did Sam, and he turned to face her, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. 'I guess I'll see you tomorrow.'
Sam smiled nervously. 'I guess so.'
He smiled briefly as a goodbye, and then turned to follow Leyna out the door. At the last moment Sam rushed over to him and grabbed his arm.
'Wait.' She said, and pulled him to face her again, before putting her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly.
He growled deep in his throat in pleasure, and breathed deeply when the kiss ended.
'Damn, Carter. Are you trying to kill me?' He said in an undertone. Her eyes sparkled with fire and mirth, and he was supremely glad to see it.
'Colonel?' Leyna called, and he reluctantly pulled away from Sam.
He had a feeling that if they could get over their nerves and fear of crossing imaginary lines, they wouldn't have any problems with sexual compatibility at all.