Author's Note: Bioware owns all. Adult content; explicit sexual themes.
"You have unread messages at your private terminal," Kelly told the commander as Shepard was heading toward the elevator.
"Thanks, Ms. Chambers; I'll see to it." Shepard rolled her eyes as the elevator door closed. What she wanted was some peace and quiet. She didn't need some hovering Cerberus lackey telling her that her Inbox was full.
The first thing that Shepard felt when she entered her quarters was that she was not alone. It was a sense honed from years of battle where alertness and situational awareness could mean the difference between life and death. On pure instinct, she pulled the pistol from her holster and stepped carefully around the corner.
The Illusive Man was sitting casually on the edge of her bed.
"You know, sneaking into the cabin of an armed woman who also happens to be an excellent shot is generally not an intelligent move." she told the Illusive Man with unconcealed venom.
"You don't need that, Shepard," he assured her, referring to the pistol. "I thought that we should finally meet in face to face." He looked at her from head to toe and then back up. "You're even lovelier than your hologram, if I may say so."
Shepard narrowed her eyes.
"Somehow, I doubt that you came up here just to shoot the breeze. So let's get right to it. What do you want?" She figured that he was there to share intel for some highly classified Cerberus operation that he wanted her to investigate, or to admonish her about some perceived infraction on her part. Maybe he wanted to share information about an upgrade for the Normandy or to brief her on some new cutting edge technology that might help her against the Collectors.
TIM chuckled and put up his hands. With debonair grace, he sauntered over to the couch and sat down. "Come sit with me, Shepard, and let's have a chat. Bring the pistol if it makes you feel better. Would you like a drink? There's a bottle of Pinot Noir on your bedside table and a glass. It's your favorite wine. I only drink scotch myself but I might make an exception tonight—" again, he ran his eyes from her face all the way down the rest of her body—"if you're willing to share the glass."
"My morbid curiosity is the only thing motivating my indulgence and stopping me from kicking your ass," Shepard informed him as she sat across from him on the leather sofa. "Why do you keep looking at me like-" Shepard paused. "Are you flirting with me?"
"If you have to ask, Shepard, then I will have to do a better job. I've always thought that honesty is the best policy. I won't insult your intelligence my making up a pretense." He leaned forward toward her. "I came up here to see you—at great risk on my part mind you—because I would very much like to fuck you."
"You'd like to—," Shepard parroted, trailing off. It took her a moment to assemble the words in her head so that they registered any kind of concrete meaning. This was singularly the most bizarre experience of her 32 years.
TIM almost smiled. "You are a beautiful and exceptional woman, Shepard. I have an affinity for beautiful and exceptional things. I recognize and value what you are. This makes you incredibly desirable to me."
"I'm not an object," she said coldly.
"I know that. And I certainly do not wish to make you feel that way."
"I see that subtlety is not exactly your strong point."
"Unfortunately, I don't have a great deal of time for subtlety. Forgive me if my offer offends you. I thought that you might appreciate a direct approach. I would never dream of taking advantage of you, Shepard. That's not how I want you. That is not-nor ever has been-my intention. I'm merely trying to ease your apprehension."
"I don't even like you so why do you think for one moment I'd even consider getting into bed with you? I've never liked Cerberus or what you stand for. I-"
The Illusive Man interrupted her. "You're talking business. This isn't about business. This is about a man and a woman who have chemistry. You want to bury it. I want to act on it."
"Chemistry? Sorry to break it to your overweening ego but I don't find you attractive and I don't want to have sex with you."
The Illusive Man was unfazed. He gave her a long, appraising look. "One night only, Shepard. Would you believe me if I told you that you won't regret it? It's true." He smirked. "You won't regret it. And I'm not being arrogant. I will make you feel incredible. Don't you think you deserve a little mindless pleasure? You've worked so hard. Done everything right. Defeated Saren, saved the council, saved countless lives. What thanks do you ever get? Aren't you tired of always making all of the decisions, carrying all of the weight on your shoulders? Wouldn't a few hours of oblivion be a welcome change? All you have to do is give in to the experience. Take the plunge. Test the waters."
"Have you lost our mind?" Shepard asked with an incredulous toss of her head.
"Are you so certain that you don't find me attractive? I know that you don't agree with my methods or my morals. For the record, I don't always see eye to eye with your ideologies either-and yet I still respect you and find you to be a very attractive woman. I could be wrong, of course, but I think there is a mutual attraction between us. Unconscious on your part. But it's there. I'm just-helping to bring it to the surface. It's been a long time, hasn't it, Shepard? Why deprive yourself of something that—I assure you—will feel very, very good?"
"You came all the way up here to ask me to go to bed with you-and you actually thought that I would consider the idea?," she asked him with disbelief.
"We can continue to discuss it further. Of course, you could allow me to convince you in other ways," he said suggestively.
"What you can do is get the hell out of-"
The Illusive Man closed the distance between them. In one fluid motion, he took the pistol from her hand and placed it on the end table beside her, still within her reach. He knew full well that if she wanted to stop him, she could do it in an instant. He took her face between his hands and kissed her long and full on the mouth. The touch of his lips sent a potent current through her entire body, dissolving her desire to protest. His kiss was hot and demanding. When he could tell that she did not want to resist him, he forced her lips to part and eased his tongue inside her mouth, teasing and tasting her. His hands roamed freely over her body, gliding around her waist. He pressed his body against hers and maneuvered his knee in such a way as to part her legs. He then pressed his groin against hers while he kissed her, wanting her to feel how hard he was. His deft hands moved to open her jacket and to undo the first few buttons of her blouse. He slid his hands under her shirt and let her feel the flat of his palms against her bare abdomen. His touch was incredibly warm. He brought his hands upward to her breasts and cupped them over the silky fabric of her bra, squeezing and rubbing.
Shepard couldn't believe that she was being felt up and dry humped on a leather sofa in her quarters by her "boss." This was one hundred degrees of naughty and she couldn't deny that she liked it. The bastard was right. It did feel good. It felt very, very good.
"I don't like you," she managed, her voice a throaty whisper.
"You don't have to."
The Illusive Man took off her jacket and pulled the middle of her blouse apart, causing the remaining buttons to pop off. He threw the garments aside and proceeded to make quick work of her bra, sliding his hands under her to touch her back to find the clasp to take it off. When she was naked to the waist, he straddled her on the sofa. Leaning over her body, he pinned her wrists behind her head. Pressing his hands into her wrists with enough force to still her but not hurt her, he took a long moment to look her over with appreciation and lust. He looked at her face and her neck. His eyes roamed over her breasts and he watched her nipples form two peaks now that they were freed from her clothing. He looked down at her stomach and raked his eyes lower. He then looked back into her eyes. It was clear that he was claiming her. And if she had any doubts, he confirmed it by whispering in her ear, "Mine. Tonight. To do with as I please." He kissed her neck, puckering his lips and sucking on the place where it curved. He licked upwards to her earlobe which he took into his mouth, nibbling a moist path down to her collarbone, causing her to gasp and shudder.
Releasing her wrists, he told her, "Be a good girl and keep them above your head." He proceeded to completely undress her. He removed her boots and socks, her pants, and then her soaked panties—which he tugged down nice and slowly. While she lay completely naked and exposed on the sofa, TIM shed his clothing. He had a hard, lean body and he seemed to enjoy showing it off with his usual casual arrogance. His cock was long, thick, and very hard. TIM tugged Shepard's wrists and eased her upward into a sitting position. He led her to the bed and pushed her down underneath him, spreading her legs and kneeling in between them.
He slid his hands up and down her thighs, getting closer and closer to her sex every time but not quite touching her there. She let out a plaintive moan and rotated her hips. TIM chuckled.
"For someone who didn't want what I'm offering, you're awfully wet," he scolded. His voice was as smooth as silk. "But I won't gloat….much."
"You are such a cocky bastard," she answered, each word punctuated by the heaviness of her breathing.
"And you are an exceptionally beautiful woman."
He slid his hand in between her legs and brushed his thumb over her clit. She moaned and tipped her head back, arching her hips against his hand. He slid two fingers inside her and then curled them, pushing them in and out. The sounds that she emitted were passionate and primal, intermingled with the quick pace of her breathing. Her responsiveness inflamed him with the urgent need to possess her.
TIM replaced his fingers with the head of his cock. He rubbed it against her clit and until she frantically wiggled her hips against him, trying to coax him inside. As much as he was enjoying the preliminary, he knew he had to have her right then and there and he wouldn't wait another second. With a low growl, he pushed inside her with one deep thrust. She cried out when he entered her and he responded with a satisfied grunt. He set a quick pace, pushing into her with deep strokes. He felt her squeezing him with her inner muscles and it only incited him to pump harder. With her strong, supple body, she matched his movements stroke for stroke. Shepard wrapped her legs around him and squeezed, arching her back and making a breathy high pitched sound that was part whimper and part scream. Her body shattered underneath him, the tremors making her hips buck against him. TIM came inside her with a guttural moan, long and hot and hard, hips pumping furiously until he was completely spent. They were both panting. Eventually, their movements slowly dissipated to stillness and they lay together, still joined, for several moments. Finally, TIM rolled off of her with a reluctant sigh and lay next to her, sliding an arm lightly around her waist. Neither spoke.
"What the hell was that?," Shepard asked, looking up at the ceiling. She wasn't really asking him. She was asking herself. TIM didn't answer her. He got out of bed and retrieved his suit jacket. He pulled a lighter and a cigarette from the pocket and lit up. Pulling a bottle opener from Shepard's desk drawer, he opened the bottle of wine and poured some into the glass. Cigarette in one hand and drink in the other, he walked back over to the bed, still completely naked and unabashedly nonchalant. He handed her the glass of Pinot Noir and planted a kiss on her cheek. The gesture was almost affectionate.
"That," he said, answering her question, "was the beginning of something exquisite."
