Stepping out of the shuttle, Raina looked around in awe. She had finally made it to the academy. After the pain of losing her mother at 15, she wasn't ready to join Starfleet so soon after, but the month after her 17th birthday she made the decision that her mother would be proud of. She had spent time prepping for Starfleet, learning as much as she could. Engineering and genetics were her passions, but her end goal was always to have her own command. Being a Cavendish meant that she had the reputation to live up to. Raina walked to the student admissions building, surrounded by other students, some nervous, some excited like her. Taking a seat, she smiled at the Vulcan male beside her, who nodded respectfully in return.
A grey haired human entered the room, scrutinizing all the new students. "Morning Cadets. I am Professor Shepard. Welcome to Starfleet Academy." The Professor moved around the room with purposeful steps. "When I point at you, I want a name, reasons for joining Starfleet and goals." He pointed at a male trill, who stood up with too much eagerness. "Go."
"Nadin Kars. Exploration. Engineering." He said quickly before sitting down.
A Vulcan female stood up next. "Dema. To expand my mind. Command."
The Professor pointed at Raina next. She stood up knowing the moment she said her name all eyes would be on her. "Raina Cavendish. I want to make the impossible, possible. Command."
Shepard regarded the young woman. "A Cavendish? As in….?"
"Admiral John Cavendish is my father, sir."
"People will expect great things from you, Cadet." He warned.
Raina smiled. "I expect greater things from myself, Professor."
Shepard couldn't help but smile at Raina. She had what it took to go the distance in Starfleet. "Well, I look forward to seeing what you can do."
By lunchtime, Raina had met several students that had already become friends. While walking to the mess hall, she had caught the eye of another Cadet that she had seen in the welcome meet. In an instance, he was beside her. "Can I help you, Cadet?" She asked, giving him a sly smile.
"You can help by having lunch with me."
Raina laughed at his lousy pick up. "Do I get to know your name first?"
"I'm Jason Cohen and you have very beautiful eyes."
"That's much better." She picked up her pace, moving away from him. "Are you coming?" She called over her shoulder.
"Oh, you'll see me soon enough, Raina." He said, his voice low and menacing.
Raina gasped for air as her eyes snapped open. She tried to sit up, but her head hurt so much she had to flop back down on the bed. Confusion hit her as she tried to piece together what happened. She guessed she was in a hospital but couldn't remember why. The door to her room opened and familiar face walked in. "Julian, where am I?"
"You're in hospital. You were caught in an explosion and knocked unconscious." He told her as he checked her vitals. "How are you feeling?" He put his hand on hers, stroking his thumb over her knuckles.
"My head feels like I've been a weeklong drinking binge with Klingons."
Julian laughed. "You had us worried."
Raina sat up suddenly despite the pain in her head, panic rising in her throat. "Julian, where's Talyn? Is she ok?"
"She's fine." He assured her. "Gul Dukat had to bribe her to leave your side though. She was sobbing when they brought you here."
Raina huffed out a relieved breath, laying back down again. "I need some pain relief."
Julian prepared the hypo with pain relief and pressed it into her neck. "That should make you feel better. But I want you to stay in for a few more hours." He gave a stern look, but there was a smile behind it. "I know you, Raina."
"You're so bossy." She teased.
"I'm a doctor. I'm allowed to be bossy." He caressed her forehead, giving her an easy smile. "I'll come back later."
As Julian left, she allowed her eyes to close, too weary to keep them open much longer. She sighed deeply, relieved that little Talyn was ok. She would never forgive herself if she was seriously hurt or worse. The door to her room opened again, but Raina didn't have the energy to even open her eyes. She whimpered slightly as a familiar feeling washed over her, soothing her weary body and soul instantly. A sigh of contentment escaped her as a gentle kiss was pressed into her forehead. "Hi, lover." She chuckled, turning towards him. The worry on his face nearly broke her heart. She reached up to caress his face. "I'm fine, love." She cooed.
"Please don't do that to me again." Dukat pleaded.
"How's Talyn and Mekor?"
He sighed as he sat down on her bed. "Mekor has said very little and Talyn is blaming herself."
"And Jacen?"
"Much the same, although your doctor friend has managed to stall the disease for now." He gave her an apologetic look, his head slumping down. "I think I may have made the good doctor suspicious."
She strained herself to sit up, scooting closer to him. "It's fine. Julian isn't the judgemental sort and he'll keep quiet. I love you, Skrain and I won't feel ashamed of that."
He caught her lips with his in a tender kiss. He wanted nothing more than to spend the night hours holding her in his arms, having come so close to losing her for good. He couldn't let that happen. She so deeply embedded into his very being that the pain would end him. "I love you." He whispered against her lips. "Will you stay with us tonight?"
She nodded. "Keep your hands to yourself though. I don't want to add to the kids worries."
Raina wasn't sure how to feel when she stood in Dukat's home. It was his marital home. A home he shared for many years when another woman and raised kids within the walls. She felt like an intruder and should leave immediately. His arms wrapped around her as if he sensed her apprehension. "It's a beautiful house."
"Hmmm, never felt like a home to me." He rued. "You need to lie down."
When led her to his bedroom, she a wave of revulsion hit her. She couldn't sleep in the same sheets as he slept in with his wife. That was too much even for her. "Skrain, did you and your wife share a bed?" She asked, trying to hide her panic.
He could see in her eyes that the enormity of sleeping with a married man had hit her quickly. While so far away it was easier for both of them to pretend that neither had any attachments, but in his home that he shared with his wife, it couldn't be hidden. He had one chance to prevent her backing away from him so only honesty would work. He sat on the bed, trying to tempt her into his arms but she stayed by the door. "Athra and I haven't had anything that came close to a marriage since Talyn was conceived. We married out of duty, had children out of expectations and stayed together because it was easier." The weight his upper armour suddenly felt unbearable, so heavy that he had to take it off.
"But now she's gone?"
"I'm glad she's gone." He said bitterly. "Sad for my children though. They deserve more than a mother who forgets them so easily."
Raina felt overwhelming guilt wash over her. She didn't know when his feelings became hers, but it told her of a bond that ran far deeper than either of them realised. She approached the bed, standing in between his legs. "You're a good father, Skrain. Your kids will be fine because of you and if you don't fancy leaving them with your mother all the time, then bring them to DS9. I'd love to have them around."
Dukat finally understood what his cousin meant when he called him a "fortunate idiot." He really was fortunate to have such a wonderful, passion woman. If he could, he'd parade his good fortune in front of the other officers, for them to know he had what most of them could only dream of. "Lay with me a while?"
She laughed wickedly as she pushed him flat on the bed, climbing on the bed to hover over him. "I can think of a better use of our time." Her lips met his with light, teasing kisses, tugging on his lower lip.
"I thought I was meant to keep my hands to myself." He grinned as he gripped on to her hips, pulling her flush against him. His hands slipped under the fabric of her vest, the warmth of her soft skin soothing his soul.
Raina sat up, purposely grinding her backside into his groin. Gripping on the hem of the vest, she yanked it over her head before throwing it on to a chair in the corner. "Perhaps I should stop there?" She gave him a look that nearly sent him over the edge.
"Perhaps not." He pulled the straps of her bra down, watching eagerly as she deftly undid it with one hand and discarded it. His breath hitched as she slowly, teasingly pulled down the zip of his body suit. She pressed a kiss into his chest as her hands slipped into his uniform. "What have you done to me?" He groaned, gasping as her fingernails grazed the most sensitive part of his chest.
She leant down to caress his nose with her own. "I can't explain it, Skrain. From the moment we met, I feel bound to you." She pressed her forehead to his, cradling his face with her hands. "Embrace it, lover and you'll understand it."
He opened his mind to her, and he felt overwhelmed by her emotions that his body began to shake. He had no words he could speak, instead he pulled her to him with a bruising kiss. His tongue teased her mouth open and the feel of her warm human tongue on his sent waves of desire to his core.
She pulled away and quickly undid her trousers with shaky hands. She pulled him up and forced his body suit down his arms, frustrated at the levels of clothing they still had on their lower bodies. They both stripped their boots and trousers, both caught in a lustful haze, trying to strip each other as quickly as they could. "I need you." She pleaded.
They fell on to the bed into a tangled heap, limps intertwined, hands caressing every inch of the skin they could reach. He entered her slowly, both groaning at the connection. They clung to each other as he moved slowly, the ridges on his Cho'Ch grazing the walls of her vagina in the most delicious way. She gripped the back his head, pulling him to her for a desperate kiss, her whimpers of passion getting lost against his lips.
He pushed her arms above her head, pinning them to the bed. He pulled his lips from hers, eager to taste her skin, kissing her throat and shoulders. He nipped her skin experimentally, drawing a quick, heavy groan from her, so he did it again. In response, she freed her arms and her nails dug into the skin of his back, making him hiss with more pleasure than it should have given him. He slid his arms under her and lift her from the mattress to cradle her in his arms, settling her into his lap, giving her more control. She rolled her hips back and forth as the new position caused a ridge at the base of his Cho'Ch to graze against her clit. "Oh god." She cried out as her orgasm has built to unbearable levels and her body began to shake. All the air escaped from her lungs and she clung to him desperately as she climaxed, crying out his name.
They collapsed back into the bed and Dukat lifted her legs to rest on his shoulders as he pounded into her, desperate for his own release. She whispered into his ear to spur him and he willingly threw himself over the edge as his body went ridged with his orgasm. He spilled into her, coating her vagina walls with his ejaculate. He collapsed on top of her and the laid together in a sweaty breathless heap. They kissed lazily, lovingly as they came down from their post-coital high.
It was Raina that spoke first. "Such a bastard." She laughed.
"What?" He shrugged, nipping the skin of her neck.
"You know what, Gul Dukat." She pushed him away, but he wouldn't move. "You got me here with nefarious intent."
He moved, holding himself above her. "I got you here so I could worship you as you should be."
She laughed against his tender kiss. "I love you, you devious swine."
"I love you, my human beauty." They kissed lazily, until they heard movement downstairs. "Shit, that'll be my mother."
They pulled apart, getting dressed as quickly as they could. Dukat left the room quickly, as Raina fixed the bed and climbed into it at least so she could pretend that she had been sleeping. The sound of raised voices started to alarm her and when the sound of two sets of feet stomped up the stairs, she closed her eyes. Two people entered the room and she sensed one of them hovering over her.
"So, you are sleeping with this…Human." His mother angrily spat at her son.
"Shut up, mother." He growled. "She saved Talyn's life."
"Athra might still come back."
"She walked out on my children. I care not if I never see her again."
"Do you love her, this Human?"
"Yes, mother, I do." He said with confidence.
"I could disown you." She threatened.
"Do what you will mother. But you'll be left with nothing but the sting of your own bitterness."
His mother seemed to think over his harsh words. "I will accept her when she proves herself. I will bring the children home shortly."
Dukat sighed heavily when his mother left. He laid on the bed next Raina, pulling her close to him. "I apologise." He uttered as he pressed a kiss into her neck.
She turned to him, laughing. "Why. She'll have the best reaction of our parents, because my father will kill you when he finds out."
"I'm glad you find it amusing." He huffed.
"She'll come around and my father will get over it." She shrugged. "He'll just hurt you a bit first."
He kissed her gently, caressing her silky brown locks. "For you, I will endure."