When he awoke, a mere two hours later, he was slightly startled, and unsure of where he was or how he had gotten there. His eyes flew open, and it took a second for them to focus. He realized he was lying on his stomach in Naseema's soft, mossy bed. He quickly checked his internal chronometer, and then his most recent memory logs.
Oh no, he thought as he scanned them, and was suddenly overcome with embarrassment as he remembered what had happened, and worse...how he'd behaved. He shouldn't have been able to feel it, and yet his head was pounding. He raised himself up a bit, his arms still folded underneath him, and his stirring was immediately detected by Naseema who was seated next to him, propped up with several pillows, reading.
She tossed her book on the nightstand, turned on her side, and caressed his cheek. "How do you feel?" she asked. Her eyes were full of worry, and guilt, and acting on reflex, she felt his forehead.
He groaned softly, "I am experiencing a rather intense sensation of pain in my head. Is that normal?"
She furrowed her brow, and examined his face. "It is normal for humans. It is usually the result of the dehydrating effects of alcohol, but you should not be susceptible to that," she replied, and thought for a second. "Perhaps your head aches for the opposite reason, because you have consumed too much liquid." She adjusted herself to sit cross-legged, "Rest your head in my lap," she instructed him.
He readily obeyed. Rolling on his back, he slid over to rest his head in the crook of her legs. She delicately touched her fingertips to his temples, and began to draw small circles. He felt a warm flow of energy come from her, and as he relaxed his headache subsided. She continued to massage him until it was gone, and when she moved her hands away she asked, "How do you feel now?"
He rolled on his side, and nestled his head into her lap. She stroked his hair, and he let out a small sigh. "Thank you, my headache is gone...but I am terribly ashamed," he said, and turned his face to look up at her. "I am sorry for the way I behaved, Naseema, I feel like...an idiot."
She looked back at him. "I am the one who is sorry. I should never have encouraged you to drink so heavily with us. It was very foolish of me, and while I did not intend to release the energy that caused your behavior..." she paused, and an embarrassed smile crossed her face as she remembered how eager he had been to make love, "and your headache, it was still reckless. I should have been more careful."
Data sighed, and sat up, turning to face her. "Naseema, I am perfectly capable of making decisions for myself, and I was the one who chose to join you, and Jagger in your version of entertainment. I do not regret what happened. The surge may have been an accident, but it resulted in a new, and rather fascinating experience. Despite my...headache, I had a good time," he told her, reaching out to take her hand as his own embarrassed smile appeared. "Although, I do feel I should apologize for being so..." he dropped his face down, but kept his eyes locked with hers, "...persistent."
She couldn't help herself, and she burst out laughing. "So you are able to remember everything that happened after we fell off the swing?" she asked, a broad smile still on her face.
He nodded, still keeping his head lowered. "Yes. I hope Jagger does not repeat everything I said," he paused, "and I am certainly glad he was unable to hear my thoughts."
Naseema laughed again. "Were they really so terrible?"
He sighed, and arched his eyebrow. "Let me just say, they were well beyond the point of inappropriate," he said.
She gave him a cheeky smile. "Well, Geordi will certainly be disappointed," she giggled. "He was very excited at the prospect of you two getting married."
Data rolled his eyes at her, and swung his legs off the bed. He stood up, and went into the bathroom to fix his hair which he was sure was a disaster, and once he reached the mirror, it confirmed his suspicions. He used her brush to smooth it back to its normal state, and then examined his face. It gave no indication of his extremely inebriated state only a few hours before or that he had been unable to prevent his temporary system shutdown, but still, he felt different. The more time he spent with Naseema, the less he found he needed to rely on interaction sub-routines, and imitation of humans. Reactions were coming to him more easily now, and he felt more comfortable with himself than he ever had before. His experience with alcohol had certainly been a learning curve, and while he was in no hurry to be that drunk again any time soon, he was not opposed to the idea of having a few drinks, and getting a little...silly, just perhaps not so out of control. Even though he knew Naseema wasn't angry with him, there was still lingering embarrassment over the vulgarity of his earlier comments, and he had the inkling that feeling wasn't going to go away anytime soon. He didn't care what Jagger thought, but he hoped Geordi wouldn't think less of him.
He let out a small sigh, and went back into the bedroom. Naseema was just returning from the living room with two mugs of a steaming, hot beverage. She held one out to him. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked.
"Is that what one normally drinks after one completely humiliates themselves in front of their mate, and best friend?" he asked.
She smiled. "Yes."
"Then yes, I would like some coffee," he replied, accepting the cup she was offering.
She took a sip of hers, and sat back down, cross-legged on the bed. He sat down next to her, but kept his feet on the floor. He looked down at them, and wiggled his toes. "What happened to my boots?" he asked.
Naseema shrugged, "Probably the same thing that happened to your shirt, but I do not know what you did with them."
He pressed his lips together as he searched for the memory, and quickly found it. "Ah." He handed her his mug, and dropped to the floor on his hands and knees. He fished around under the bed briefly before straightening up with both boots, and his shirt in hand. He smiled, and said, "I kicked them under there after removing them so you would not make me put them back on. I assumed the less clothing I had on, the less likely it was that you would make me leave."
Her eyes widened, and she burst out laughing again. "You must certainly have been hoping for some romance last night," she teased, and leaned back to put the mugs on the nightstand.
He dropped his gaze from hers. "That fact has not changed," he admitted. He stood up, and sat back down on the bed next to her. "My drunken suggestion remains intact as well," he added with the delightful shyness she loved about him.
She blinked, pretending to be confused. "You mean the one about marrying Geordi?" she asked, feigning innocence.
He gave her the same derisive look as he had the first time she made that joke. "No," he replied. "It is not Geordi that I wish to marry."
She gave him a small smile. "I know." This time she was the one who dropped her gaze.
He touched her hand, and she turned it over so he could slide his fingers between hers. "I know it is very sudden, and perhaps a little fast...and certainly not the most romantic approach I could have taken, but the sentiment is genuine. I am in love with you, Naseema, and I very much would like to be able to call you my wife," he said softly. "I do not expect you to agree right away, but please tell me you will consider it."
She stroked his face with her other hand, and sighed gently. "It is not that I do not want to marry you, Data," she replied. "It is just that...I am not particularly fond of being the center of attention, and the idea of a wedding...well, it frightens me."
"I did not say we had to have a wedding, I only wish for you to be my wife. Any way for that to be possible is fine with me. I do not want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable," he told her, and caressed his hand down the length of her hair. "If you would prefer to keep it secret, we could elope."
She sighed wistfully. "That would be ideal, but I believe the captain would be very upset if we did not tell him or allow him to perform the ceremony," she replied.
"You are probably correct," he nodded. "I do not want an answer right away, I only ask that you think about it." Then he leaned in closer to nuzzle her ear, and whispered, "Perhaps while you are thinking about it, you would allow me to take your dress off, and make love to you."
A pleased smile spread across her face, and she turned so that her cheek brushed against his. "That would be agreeable," she whispered back.
He pulled back slightly to stare into her large, shining eyes, and keeping his one hand interlocked with hers, he used his other to slide one side of her dress off her shoulder.
She arched her head back, and sighed as he buried his mouth in the curve of her shoulder, and began trailing kisses up her neck until he was nuzzling her ear again.
He released his grip on her hand, and buried his fingers in her hair. Then he shifted his weight, and leaned into her, lowering her to the bed. He pulled the other side of her dress down, and treated her neck and shoulder to the same soft, sensual kisses as the first side.
She moaned, and brought her hands up to run them delicately down his back to his hips where she slid her fingers inside his waistband, and dragged them around to his belly. She tugged at the buttons located just above his nether region, finally tearing them free, and pushed his trousers as far down as she could reach until they slipped off, and dropped to the floor.
He raised one knee, and leaned it on the foot of the bed as he pulled her dress down to her waist. She freed her arms from its short sleeves, and lifted her hips as he gave the garment a sharp yank, and sent it billowing out behind him, a smile on his face.
She inched backwards towards the pillows, but he grabbed a hold of her ankle, and dragged her back down the bed, pulling her up to straddle him, holding her in close, and pressing his body against hers.
He sank his fingers into her hair again, grabbing a handful, and gently tugging to arch her back so he could tease her nipples with his tongue.
She moaned again, louder this time, and he could feel her body temperature steadily rising as he enticed each one to a ripe hardness.
She let her soft, warm hands wander around his body, up his arms, and along his strong shoulders. Then down his chest, and belly to the attractive lines of his inner hips, gliding her fingertips along them. She could feel him shiver under her touch, and the sensation elated her. She moved around to squeeze his backside gently, making him laugh softly as he nuzzled her ear, taking it delicately between his teeth. She dragged her hands slowly up his toned back until she finally gripped his hair, and pulled him in to kiss him hard before releasing him, and whispering, "Show me what you can do to make me want to be your wife."
She looked at him with lust in her eyes, and he said nothing in reply, but a devilish smile crept across his lips. In a swift, incredible move he slid his hands to her backside, and swung around to push her hard against the wall. He held her there, and she arched her head, and gasped with delight.
He took each breast in his mouth again until she was almost screaming with pleasure, and she wrapped her legs tightly around him, pulling him closer.
Her cold, blue flames erupted as he ground his hips against hers, and she begged him, "Please, oh please!"
Her pleading excited him beyond description, and he became rougher, more forceful. He buried his face in the curve of her shoulder, and bit her neck.
"I want to hear you scream my name," he demanded, crushing her against the wall, and bringing his hand up to grip her hair again.
She obliged him, whispering it breathlessly at first before crying it out, and begging him once more to take her.
He finally relented to her pleas, pushed into her, and her ecstasy, combined with the position he held her in, made her tight, and the sensation nearly overloaded his positronic relay right there. He gasped loudly, but quickly collected himself, and thrust against her as she gripped his shoulder, and held onto his hair.
He brought her up to the brink with hard, steady strokes, but slowed to become more tender as he felt her about plunge over the edge. His teasing drove her nearly to insanity, and she clawed at him frantically, trying to encourage him to continue ravishing her.
Instead, he whirled around, and brought them crashing back onto the bed.
She cried out, and grabbed his face, pulling him in to devour his lips, and pushed her tongue into his mouth.
He met her with equal enthusiasm, and continued to drive her back to the edge, thrusting his arm under the small of her back, raising her up to deepen his strokes.
The cresting tidal wave inside her finally crashed, and almost immediately swelled up again. She arched herself up to him, and held his face between her hands, keeping their eyes locked as she climaxed again, unable to make any sound.
She could see his building pressure reflected behind his beautiful golden eyes, and she gasped, "Do not hold back, I want to feel you explode with me."
He growled, and buried his head in her neck once more as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him to her, sinking the fingers of one hand into his hair. He let himself go, the sound of his cry muffled in her flesh.
She tightened her legs around him, and when the third wave crashed, she felt a powerful shudder course through him as he finished with her.
He collapsed on top of her, and sighed shakily as she continued to hold him, breathing heavily, and releasing intermittent gasps of satisfaction.
As the intensity of their love-making slowly ebbed away, he kept his head rested in the soft, wonderful curve of her shoulder, and when his pulse finally returned to normal he raised himself up to gaze into her still flushed, and glowing face.
She met his gaze, wide-eyed, and amazed. "Wow," she said, still slightly breathless. "You just gave me three of the most powerful sensations I have ever experienced."
His eyes lit up, and a huge smile stretched across his face. "Does that mean I scored a hat trick?" he asked, and there was a definite laugh behind his words.
She returned his smile, and giggled, "Yes, a hat trick indeed."
He bent his head to kiss her, gently at first, and then he grew more passionate. He rolled over, and wrapped his arms around her, keeping their lips locked, and bringing her with him so that she came to rest on top of him. Once their kiss was broken, he brought his hands up to stroke her hair, and shoulders.
She gave him a beautiful smile, and for a moment he was overcome by her radiance. He sighed softly, and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "You are so gorgeous, especially right after we have made love. You are absolutely glowing," he told her, and she shyly diverted her eyes from his. She seemed to be pondering something, and he touched her chin to bring her face back to his. "Is everything alright?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice. He hoped he hadn't hurt her with his enthusiasm.
"Yes," she replied, giving him a delicate smile in reassurance. She stroked his hair lightly with her fingertips, and her feathers quivered slightly. "My answer is yes," she said quietly. "I will be your wife."
His eyes widened with surprise, and he searched her face for any sign that she was unsure of her reply, but he found none. Her conviction was firm. He felt an enormous surge of joy rise up from his core, and he couldn't have stopped his broad smile from erupting even if he'd wanted to. He hugged her tightly, and kissed her, and she laughed softly as he released her lips. "You do realize what this means, do you not?" he asked, and moved to sit up. He kept her in his lap, and she rested her arms across his shoulders, caressing the back of his neck while she wrapped her legs around his waist.
She looked at him quizzically, and shook her head. "We have to tell the captain?" she guessed.
He arched an eyebrow, and broke into another devilish grin. "It means that I am going to make love to you again," he replied, moving in to kiss her.
"Yes sir, Commander," she smiled, and met his lips, allowing herself to fall backwards, and pulling him down with her.