Epilogue - Several Months Later

Another ruined night, Kathryn thought as she nearly stumbled into her quarters, the hour much later than she had intended, wondering if B'Elanna was still in engineering or if she'd managed to sneak out to get some rest.

The small plasma storm had come out of nowhere and was finished before it had even really begun, but it wasn't short enough to not have caused havoc with several of Voyager's systems. While nothing vital had been affected, things that made prolonged starship life a little more bearable had been. Getting these systems in working order, as soon as possible was in everybody's best interests. Especially Alpha shift's bridge crew's best interests, Kathryn could freely admit she wasn't always pleasant if she couldn't have her coffee. Neelix had yet to come up with an alternative she found acceptable.

"Well, look who finally decided to leave her ready room?" B'Elanna said, smiling as Kathryn looked up at her in surprise.

"Hey there, you managed to get out of engineering," Kathryn said, a smile spreading across her face, perhaps the first one of the day. She loved to walk into her quarters to find B'Elanna waiting for her. She was even willing to overlook the fact the woman misused her engineering authorization codes to do so. It was always such a nice surprise.

Not for the first time, the idea of asking B'Elanna to move in with her crossed her mind. An interesting idea, she'd never shared living space for an extended time with a lover before.

"I did," she agreed. "Just a few minutes ago. I left detailed instructions of what I expected to get done before the start of the Alpha shift tomorrow. All of it tedious, none of it something I wanted to do. So here I am," she smiled as she moved in for a kiss.

"Here, I took the liberty of making sure your replicator was back online," she reached for one of two glasses on the table and handed a tumbler of whiskey over to the captain, watching the smooth line of the woman's neck as she tilted her head back and drank the harsh liquid down in two quick swallows.

"Perfect. The replicator is never this nice to me," she joked as B'Elanna handed her the second cup. This one filled with coffee. She gave B'Elanna another quick kiss before taking a sip. "Again, perfect. Why is that thing so nice to you? It never tastes like this when I ask for it."

"Perhaps, because I don't call it a thing ." B'Elanna laughed. "Really, Kathryn, it's all in your head. There is nothing wrong with your replicator; it's not out to get you."

"I wouldn't bet on that." Then she asked, "Do you have your engineering report ready for me?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Well then, I'm listening."

Taking another sip, she smiled at B'Elanna and brought her free arm around her, pulling them both down into a chair. B'Elanna landed in her lap. While she held her coffee with one hand, taking a sip every now and then, she used her free hand to unzip B'Elanna's uniform jacket, work the uniform shirt out of the waistband of her pants, and run fingers gently over the tight muscles of the woman's stomach. All the while, Lieutenant Torres verbally gave her engineering report to Captain Janeway as if the woman's ministrations weren't arousing her.

It was a game they played, to see how far she could get into the report before she lost the ability to recall the precise numbers that the captain needed to know. Kathryn softly kissed her lover's neck until she heard the soft growl she'd been waiting for, the growl that let her know she was having more of an effect on the engineer than she was willing to show. Kathryn continued to kiss B'Elanna's neck and her hand moved up to caress her breasts, teasing her nipples through the fabric of her bra, until it was too hard to pull the numbers out of her brain and she was finally unable to give her report; only the rumble of soft growls and small gasps left her lips.

Kathryn took a final drink, before setting the cup on a nearby table and getting to work on removing B'Elanna's uniform 一jacket, crewneck and tank were quickly on the floor. Briefly palming B'Elanna's breasts through the satin fabric of her bra, a deft flick of her fingers and Kathryn had the bra off, the delicate curve of her breasts laid bare for Kathryn's hands and eyes.

B'Elanna squirmed in her lap, trying to reach Kathryn's jaw with her teeth. Kathryn easily evaded the other woman's questing mouth while, at the same time, she undid B'Elanna's pants, working them down her legs far enough to stroke her fingers over a bruise on her inner thigh. Kathryn's tongue slowly explored B'Elanna's neck and shoulder, enjoying the salty tang of her skin. Her fingers slid inside B'Elanna's underwear, she slowly glided a finger over the cleft where B'Elanna's folds met, careful not to delve between them, with each painfully slow stroke she parted her a little more.

Impatiently, B'Elanna tried to open her legs further, to open herself up to Kathryn's questing fingers, but her pants were around her thighs, effectively binding them in position. B'Elanna wriggled, trying to get the pants off. When that didn't work, she tried to use her hands. She knew Kathryn wouldn't allow that, and she'd been right, before she'd even reached the waistband Kathryn, using the hand that wasn't occupied with teasing B'Elanna's center, slapped her hands away. Kathryn grabbed a breast and squeezed roughly, then flicking a taut nipple with her finger. "B'Elanna, we'll be doing this on my terms, or not at all, is that understood?" Using her Captain's voice to command B'Elanna into obedience.

Heat rushed through B'Elanna's body; that voice, so deep and husky, did amazing things to her. B'Elanna remembered back to the first time Kathryn had said 'do it!' during sex. She had been teasing the captain mercilessly, bringing her to the edge over and over, but, never allowing her to reach completion. Kathryn had let loose a string of expletives that would have made a mercenary blush and had ended her verbal tirade by screaming, "Damn it, 'Lanna, do it! Do it, now , or I will kill you." Now, every time Captain Janeway uttered those two small words, B'Elanna remembered Kathryn naked and panting for release.

And every time, Lieutenant Torres would lose the train of the conversation—which was not the best thing to have happen during a senior staff meeting. Knowing what had caused B'Elanna's distraction didn't stop Kathryn from calling her on it, every time. B'Elanna would mumble out some lame excuse and Kathryn's perfect little crooked smile would appear on her face. Every time, B'Elanna stayed behind as the rest of the senior staff filed out, to work on whatever it was the captain had commanded them to do, and Kathryn would saunter over to her, with a smirk on her face and ask, "Is there a problem, Lieutenant?" And, every time, B'Elanna replied with a 'no, Captain' before pulling the woman in for a brief, but, searching kiss. The scene always ended with B'Elanna saying, "It was your fault," before walking out of the conference room.

"Is that understood?" Kathryn repeated when she received no answer, bringing her hand down on B'Elanna's thigh with a stinging slap. Her fingers dug into the flesh, Kathryn's thumb pressing into the already purple bruise on her thigh.

"Yes, Kathryn," she answered, stilling herself on Kathryn's lap.

Kathryn nipped B'Elanna at the juncture of her neck and shoulder with happy approval of B'Elanna's willingness to allow her the upper hand—for the moment. B'Elanna tipped her head to the side, giving Kathryn full access to her delicate flesh. Kathryn stilled the fingers pressing against B'Elanna's center as she turned her attention to the other woman's neck, alternating between sucking hard on the sensitive skin and lavishing it with her hot, wet tongue. Kathryn lightly kissed up her jawline, across her cheek, and anywhere else her lips could reach. Kisses that frustrated B'Elanna in their softness.

When her mouth finally met the engineer's, her tongue delved between welcoming lips as two fingers finally slid inside B'Elanna. Moving her fingers slowly around, feeling B'Elanna's walls clench around her, Kathryn used her long, elegant fingers to stretch her further. She pushed a third finger inside. Kathryn pressed her thumb firmly down on B'Elanna's swollen clit as she roughly worked her fingers in and out of B'Elanna's body, fingers reaching further inside with each stroke. Just like Kathryn knew would happen, B'Elanna was quickly at her peak and falling over the edge.

With a roar, B'Elanna ripped her lips away from Kathryn's. In a blind haze of passion, B'Elanna searched for, and found, the delicate flesh of Kathryn's ear and promptly bit down on the lobe hard enough to draw blood.

"Damn," Kathryn muttered, in pain. She worked B'Elanna through her orgasm and helped bring her back down again. When she felt B'Elanna began to relax on her lap, she reached up and grabbed a handful of her hair, using it to force B'Elanna to face her, even though B'Elanna would have done it, if only she had asked.

"Does everything need to lead to biting?" Kathryn asked, a crooked smile spreading across her features as she relaxed her grip on B'Elanna's hair.

"With you? I'm afraid so," B'Elanna answered.

B'Elanna kissed her slowly, exploring her mouth in great detail. When the pair finally pulled apart, B'Elanna brought her arms around Kathryn. "It would seem that you bring out the best of both sides of me."

"I'm glad. I wouldn't want you any other way."

End Notes

The poem Kathryn recited was

Every day you play with the light of the universe - Pablo Nerudo