There is no instinct like that of the heart
The lack of decent sleep the night before had taken its toll and Ronon fell asleep within minutes of hearing Grace's breathing evening out. The sound of the door opening pulled him instantly from the best sleep he'd gotten in months. He reached beneath the pillow for his gun, only to remember too late that it wasn't there.
The sight of Mira entering the room with a tray laden with food and drinks did little to relax him. She flashed him a shy smile and placed the tray on the low table by the windows and then dared to step closer to the bed. She glanced toward them both, eyes lingering on the slight form of the woman beside him before her gaze came to rest on him once more. She leaned forward, the words coming softly. "All the Elders are in a meeting with the council. All the acolytes are with them, and most of the guards. You have privacy for the next couple of hours." The girl glanced to Grace once more, her eyes betraying sorrow for the first time. "They've heard rumors of insurrection from within the city, so this morning they armed all the guards with stunners."
Ronon frowned. "Stunners. Where did they get those?" He'd never heard of the Makanesh arming themselves with more than bladed weapons.
Mira shook her head. "I don't know."
The words were concerning, but even more concerning was the fact that the slave was risking her life to help him. He stared up at her for a moment, unsure of whether to trust her. "How do you know this?"
She licked her lips and then extended her right hand. There on the heel of her palm was a scar much like the one that would form on Grace's own after the wound he'd made healed. "My husband was rejected from their faith for failing to handle me harshly enough. They killed him."
"You're Satedan?" He breathed out the words as he stared at the mark, eyes flicking to her face a moment later. She couldn't have been more than a child when Sateda fell. Suddenly a lot more about the girl made sense now.
Mira inclined her head and drew her hand back. "I have to go. Be careful. Please."
Ronon watched her go, his gaze flicking back toward Grace as he listened to the door close behind the girl, and heard the lock slide into place once more. He glanced to where Grace had rolled away from him in her sleep and now rested on her belly. Her face wasn't even visible beneath the mass of dark hair that had gone wild in her sleep. He turned to his side, studying her intently.
His fingers itched to reach for her again, and even as he waited for the guilt to rise in him, but none came. The only thing that did rise were the twin needs that called to him at the same time. The need to protect her from these people, to get her out safely, and the need to bury himself in her all over again. He'd taken her virginity, he'd been beyond rough with her. Ronon's body began to tighten all over again at the memory of her whimpering beneath him, the way she'd begged him for more even as he'd fucked her with an intensity that had bordered on violent. And she'd responded to the display of brutality by pleading with him for more and more until he'd been reduced to little more than a creature driven by need.
The words he'd spoken to her still resounded in his head just as loudly as her response to them. They'd slipped from his lips without conscious effort, thoughts given voice in the midst of the most primal moments a man could have. He edged forward toward her, pushing the sheet down the line of her back until it rested just at the curve of her bottom. As he swept his gaze over her body, he noticed the bruises on her hips, in the exact shape of his hands where his fingers had bitten into tender flesh.
Unbidden, Ronon found his fingers touching those marks, tracing over them lightly. Still, there was no guilt. That was the most surprising thing of all. He dared to move closer to her, until he was able to track his fingers up her back lightly, the heat from her body seeping into his. The Elders weren't satisfied and neither was he. Even the simple feeling of her soft skin beneath his fingertips made his body react, blood surging into his cock as he began to harden.
Beside him, she slept on, oblivious to the light drag of his fingers over her back. His eyes fluttering closed for just a moment and Ronon flattened his palm over the small of her back. He'd not had the chance to savor this, to really relish the nearness of another person beside him. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze dragged over her form once more. As he slid his hand around her body and to her waist, he heard the soft hum she gave. That one little sound had him rock hard in less than a second.
He bowed his head, his fingers skimming lower over her pretty rear end, before tucking to her thigh as he nuzzled against her ear. She made another of those low humming sounds that went straight to Ronon's cock. Without a word, he curled his fingers around her thigh and tugged gently, rewarded when she complied with the silent demand to open her legs. Her eyes cracked open, blinking at him sleepily and the slow, sweet smile she gave sent his body into overdrive once more.
Ronon smiled despite himself as he peered at her, his hand rising to push the mass of dark hair from her face. He bowed his head, his lips brushing the shell of her ear, hand dragging over her shoulder and back once more, his voice low as he spoke softly for her and her alone. "Hey there."
He watched as she closed her eyes and that smile broadened as she murmured in answer. "Hi."
A pulse went through him at the sight of that smile. Her hand lifted, touching his face and Ronon's gaze flicked toward the mural for a moment. If the girl were telling the truth, it might be the only chance he had to speak to Grace freely. What if the girl had been lying? His gut told him she wasn't, but there was always the chance that he was wrong.
Ronon closed his eyes for a moment to banish the thoughts that threatened to spin his focus out of control. One thing mattered right now and that was keeping Grace safe, getting them both out here, preferably in one piece. Even so, it was a precious moment of privacy that he knew could end at any moment, despite what the girl had said. "How are you feeling?" He should have told her they were well and truly alone, or at least that he thought they were. Instead, he selfishly didn't, knowing it would change everything, make her pull away, treat him as she always did.
The polite distance that he'd come to rely on normally was now, in this moment, something he despised. He slid his hand over her back once more, barely grazing her flesh with his fingertips before letting them drift over the marks at her hip. He felt her shiver, watched as the hairs on her arms raised up at his touch. In that second, the decision was made for him by his traitorous body. This time, Ronon had no doubt there would be guilt. He would debate the morality of what he was about to do later, he knew. He slid his fingers lower, his voice still low. "Open your thighs wider, Grace."
Those blue eyes locked with his and he saw a flush spread over her face as he felt her moving, obeying him without hesitation. Gods, how he wanted there to be a day when she did this for him for real, responded to him when it was only them, when she didn't think their lives depended on it. Ronon bowed his head, brushing a kiss over her shoulder. This time though, he would take her as he'd meant to the night before, before he'd unleashed years of loneliness and anger on her, driven by blind lust.
He heard the soft intake of breath as she buried her face in the pillow when he slid his fingers between the soft petals of her sex. She was already slick, or perhaps still was. Truly, he had no way of knowing except to flatter himself and at this moment, Ronon wasn't above even that. He lifted his head, nuzzling against her ear before he breathed the words. "Are you too sore?"
He saw the question hit her and the realization of what he was asking. He was giving her the chance to deny him, and heat unfurled him as she gave a barely perceptible shake of her head. On pure instinct, he brushed his forefinger over her clit and was rewarded with a sudden, harsh gasp. She was trying to keep quiet. Ronon rose up on one elbow, his leg sliding between hers to nudge them further apart. This was for him, for her, for what the fuckers here had taken from them both. He stroked quickly, knowing that time was something they didn't have much of. He wanted so much more than just this hour, just this day. But for now, he'd take what he could get and feast on it like the starved man he was at his core.
Her gasps quickly turned to whimpers as her hips moved. Within seconds, it was as though she were unraveling, her head dropping forward as he listened to her trying to muffle the sounds into the bedcovers. He was so hard he ached and he made no effort to hide it from her as he moved his fingers faster over that little bundle of nerves.
She was beautiful, her body flushing as she gave herself over to sensation in that rare way of a woman who was discovering depths to her own sexuality that she'd never known existed. Ronon watched as she tipped over the edge, crying out sharply as she came. He drew his hand away from her center, rising on his knees as he slid an arm beneath her. "Lift your hips."
His eyes locked to the line of her back as he shifted his hips just enough to grip his cock and align himself with her entrance. He began to sink into her slowly, his hand moving to brace against the headboard as he realized her body was still trembling in his grasp. Silken walls still spasming with the last vestiges of her release as he sheathed himself inside her with agonizing slowness. He could barely breathe as the pleasure of being inside her again threatened to rip all control away from him. This woman was going to be the end of him.
She'd only barely realized what he intended when his arm went around her hips, hauling her upward even as Grace was still fighting to recover some sense of equilibrium after the unexpected orgasm. Even so, the second she felt the thick head of his cock breaching her, she moaned again, unable to stop herself from speaking his name quietly in a plea. She expected him to drive home, to slam into her, even braced herself for it mentally. Instead, he moved slowly, sinking into her inch by inch, forcing her body to accept the wide girth. Grace hadn't lied. She wasn't sore, but she was tender and she ached. Oddly, it was an ache she loved as she felt him sheath himself inside her completely. Unbidden, Grace shuddered when she heard him release low sound from the back of his throat.
He stilled for a moment, his hand leaving the spot where it had braced on the headboard to slid around her shoulders, hauling her upward until she all but dangled from in his grip. The shift in position made him go even deeper, until she could feel his pelvis and thighs against her. "Ronon." She tried to utter his name, but it only came out in a whimper as he held her there, locking her into place for a second before the arm at her hips eased away, bracing himself as he began to withdraw, leaving her bereft of his presence inside her. She lifted her hands, one moving behind her, trying to grip at his hip to pull him back only to be rewarded with a low, throaty chuckle that turned into a masculine moan that was pure sex when he began to thrust back into her.
In the next moment, he had bent them forward, his arm locking around her as his voice came in her ear. "So fucking good." The words were murmured, as he began to move in a slow, steady rhythm that reminded her of just how much strength he possessed. The raw power of his body curled over her own barely restrained as his movements began to increase.
Something in those raw, crude words only made her awareness narrow to him and him alone. Earlier he'd been as a man possessed, but this time, it was as though something were different. The intensity was different. Ronon was different. Her hands lifted, gripping at the arm that held her as her head dropped forward and she began to try to meet his movements, hips rising to meet his of their own accord.
Another of those deep groans issued forth from him as she heard his voice once more, deep and rumbling. "That's it. You like it, a'ko?" She didn't know what the word meant, but it had to be an endearment of some kind. It wasn't the first time he'd called her that and the way he said it, the way his voice thickened with the pronunciation only made her belly tightened more.
"Yes." She whispered the word as something akin to defeat began to thread through her. She was out of control, or more precisely was in his control. And it wasn't for the people watching. It was simply the effect he had on her. It was frightening and exhilarating both at the same time. "More. Please. More."
She heard his harsh intake of breath as if something in those words made his control snap and in the next second he was driving into her hard and fast. Each striking of his hips against hers served to spark something deep in her belly as the pleasure began to build. "Only mine." The deep rumbling vibration of his voice came again, breathless and ragged in her ear as he locked her into place and simply began to pound into her.
Grace lost the ability to do anything but feel as she surrendered to that moment. Nothing mattered outside of that feeling, the knowledge that he was with her, inside her, taking her, claiming her. Even if it wasn't real, it didn't matter. It felt real enough. It was enough to hold on to. Pleasure ripped through her unexpectedly, her entire body clenching as she felt him driving into her with the same force and power he had earlier. The aggression should have scared her, but all it did was send her spiraling into the place where there was only him.
The darkness within him was something that she knew should be terrifying, but all it did was make her want to cling to him as he gave her this piece of him that no one else got to see. She screamed out suddenly as she felt her body giving way once more as the exquisite, heady ecstasy tore her apart in an entirely new way. She felt his arm tighten around her as his strokes became more violent, his rhythm faltering. In the next second, she felt his teeth sinking into her shoulder, clamping down as he shuddered. An instant after that she registered the sensation of his cock jerking inside her as the first hot spurt of his release washed into her. She felt every single twitch, every instinctive movement of his hips as he tried to bury himself as deeply inside her abused pussy as he was capable of, even as he gave a low snarl. The pain of his teeth clamped onto her flesh only made her cry out again as a new rush of pain mingled with a fresh wave of pleasure so hot it seemed impossible that they were two different things. She could only form his name in breathless pants that came interspersed with aftershocks of an orgams so intense she hadn't even thought it was something she was capable of. What the fuck was this man reducing her to?
Unable to hold himself or her up any longer, Ronon collapsed on top of her in an untidy heap. He fought for air, even as the dizzying haze of pleasure that enveloped him lingered. "Give me a second." He panted the words out into her ear before he brushed a kiss over the place where he'd bitten her. He'd never done that before, bitten a woman during sex. But she'd responded with a wildness that had only deepened his own pleasure, inexplicably tightening around him as she'd orgasmed around him again.
Ronon summoned the last of his strength to roll off of her flopping onto his back, eyes falling closed as his fogged brain tried to process the extent of what had just happened. He'd been even harsher with her this time, despite his intentions that he was going to treat her with more gentleness, showing her the tenderness she deserved. Instead, he had devolved all over again, and she'd met him eagerly in that dark place.
He threw one arm over his eyes as his breathing finally began to slow to some semblance of normal. The other was still trapped beneath her but slowly she began to move. To his astonishment, it wasn't to push away from him as he expected. It was to sluggishly roll to her side, curling her body into his as she reached for the sheet and pulled it up to her shoulders.
Was it a byproduct of so long alone? Was he really that starved for affection and sex that he was turning into some kind of a person that had forgotten all the tenants of lovemaking? Or maybe it was simply this place that was getting to him on a whole new level. Ronon decided to go with that. There would be time to mull it over later. He glanced toward the windows, realizing it had to be early afternoon, at least. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that neither of them had eaten since the night before, but he wasn't inclined to move just yet.
He spoke quietly, his voice low as he uttered the words he'd known had to come eventually. "They've increased the guards on the doors. Equipped them with stunners." He kept his gaze trained on the ceiling as he continued, knowing the time to relay it was limited.
Grace's head lifted, staring at him for a moment. "How do you know that?" She barely breathed out the words, her eyes darting to the mural and then back to him. "Ronon?"
Ronon drew in a breath to steady himself, turning his head to study her as he explained quietly. "The girl brought food before I woke you up. She told me. There might be a rebellion in the city, so they doubled the guards and armed them." He watched as the words sank in.
She pushed herself away from him and into a seated position. "They're not watching." Ronon braced himself for anger and fury, but instead, she merely glanced toward the wall once more. "How long do we have?"
Ronon shook his head. "The girl said a couple of hours at most." There was no fury, no anger, no resentment. It was as if she didn't even register that he'd just admitted to fucking her for his own pleasure under false pretenses. She was, instead, focused entirely on the opportunity it presented.
She reached out to tap his chest with one hand lightly, excitement lighting her eyes. "Ronon, you're brilliant."
Well that was something he didn't hear every day. He pushed himself up into a seated position, frowning at her faintly. "What are you thinking?"
She gestured toward the bathroom. "If there's going to be a rebellion and they've doubled the guards on our room… fuck. You're fucking brilliant." Her eyes held only realization as she nodded.
Ronon resisted the urge to smile, though he wanted to, just at her praise of him for doing nothing at all. "Thanks. Glad you think so. Want to clue me in as to why you suddenly think so?"
"Well, I've always thought so." She said absently as she shot up from the bed. "If they think they're in some kind of danger, they are going to be focusing their efforts on protecting themselves and their power position most of all. Which means that if we can get out of the temple, we can get out of the city. God. You're a fucking genius."
Ronon watched as she reached for her dress and pulled it over her head, then crouched and tossed his pants and shirt at him. He caught them as they hit him in the chest and rose from the bed. "Okay. I'm smart. But maybe you can tell me why so I'll know why I'm a genius too?"
He pulled on his pants as he watched her twist in place, trying to reach the zipper. He paused in his own dressing to step around the bed and reach out to bat at her hand, pulling it up. "Thank you." Her voice was soft as she pushed her hair from her face and pulled it over her shoulder. Grace didn't miss a beat as she turned to face him, combing her fingers through her hair. "If they expect an attack, they're going to pull all the men they can spare from the city. And if they're holed up somewhere discussing strategy, do you think they'd do it in a place with only one entry point?"
He began to catch on, understanding now just what she was thinking. "There's another way out." He snapped his fingers, and reached for his shirt, pulling it over his head as he began to search the floor for his socks. "You're pretty smart for a scientist, Grace."
Ronon watched as her fingers stilled on her hair where she was braiding it hastily. She hesitated for a moment before she spoke again. "When we get home, do you think you might… keep calling me that? I.. uh… like it better than when you call me Becque."
He gave a singular nod. "I will." The words were soft, but something in his belly tightened as he realized she didn't understand, not really, just what had happened between them over the course of the world's longest two days. "Okay, so what's the plan?"
She arched a brow at him as she reached for the robe and began to search out the openings, her voice holding a trace of wry humor. "Oh no. No no no. You're in charge of this whole thing. The only thing I'm in charge of is strangling McKay when we get back. And I only ask that you give me a solid two minutes before you peel me off him. Deal?"
"I'm in charge?" Ronon didn't try to resist the grin as he buckled his belt. "Okay. I'm going to hold you to that."
He loved the way her smile lit up those icy blue eyes with a warmth that he'd only ever seen directed at him. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of it and he cleared his throat, moving toward the bathroom where he'd put their bag. "You finish getting dressed. I'm going to gear up."