In Its Time and Place
Chapter 6
T'Pol awoke, every muscle in her body protesting her position and the unyielding surface. It took a moment to pull herself back to reality, to pull herself out of the haze which had descended upon her after her discussion with T'Lar. The burning of pon farr still filled her body, but its power was much reduced. Also, she quickly discovered an unexpected reservoir of calm and content that allowed her to quickly control and subdue the yearnings.
She opened her eyes to the dark of her quarters. Even with a Vulcan's legendary night sight, it could take a few seconds for eyes to adjust and recognizable patterns to form out of the darkness. But feeling was enough to warn her that something had happened, something that she needed to recall. A warm body slept at her side, radiating the calm and content she was drawing upon to stabilize herself.
With a gasp, the hours before returned to her. The memory of Archer coming to her cabin as she sunk into the twin depths of desire and despair, the feelings of his hands and tongue both arousing and cooling the fires that drove her. He was still here, still asleep, and she could feel the touch of his mind against hers. Shock numbed her. Humans weren't supposed to be telepathic!
As if her sudden disquiet had disturbed the man besides her, Archer suddenly began to rustle, and his mental state headed towards awareness. He mumbled and his hands suddenly embraced her body, taking her breath away with the desire the gentle touch stirred ... a desire she felt rebounded and enhanced by his. She quickly put mental shields into place, dampening but not removing her awareness of him.
She pulled away from him and turned on the cabin lights, watching him blink in the sudden brightness. But the lights had only been set to fifty percent of normal, allowing him to adjust quickly. He sat up, propping himself against the bulkhead.
"T'Pol." He said, and a small smile flickered across his face. But it was almost immediately repressed, and she knew it was repressed out of worry, out of fear of rejection. She could feel his fear, his worry that she would be disgusted or angered by what he had done, or that she would completely reject what had occurred as what was necessary. Feel him mentally persuading himself that any of the above was acceptable.
"Jonathan." She answered, damning herself even as she allowed herself to keep it on this level. Her body still desired him, and to make it worse, her mind did as well.
"You were willing to go among strangers to handle this? Why, when there are several who would be willing to help you here?"
"It needed to mean nothing. I wanted it to mean nothing." Her explanation sounded empty to her, and she didn't want to know what he thought about it.
"Do you still want it to mean nothing?"
The full understanding of the escape he was offering her hit T'Pol. Even though it would wound him, he was offering her the escape back to the fully professional relationship they had shared before, no matter what a lie it had been. He was offering her a return, no matter what had occurred or would occur, and he meant what he offered.
"No." The word was almost torn out of her, forced to meet his honesty and willingness with her own honesty.
He closed his eyes for a moment, and she could feel a confusion of emotion flood him. He reached for her, and she allowed him to pull her down against his chest, intensifying those emotions. "What do you want it to mean?"
She shook her head, and quietly answered, "I don't know."
"Okay." His hands began to trace her body again, and she realized that they both were still naked, and the scent of the sex they had shared still clung to their bodies. She found herself pressing against him, her own hands exploring his body, as the desires of pon farr, enhanced by his passion and desires, began to engulf them both once again. She sighed and began to allow it to flood through her, to abandon herself to its demands, when he suddenly stood, lifting her with him.
As she returned to herself in shock, he grinned down at her. "I think that we'll find the bed far more comfortable," he said, and laid her down on its soft surface. Then, he began to trace all the sensitive areas of her body with his tongue, lips and fingertips, each flicker she felt seeming to drive his efforts. Within moments, she was moaning and reaching for him, frantically desiring to feel him inside of her again. He quickly obliged, and she allowed herself, her thoughts, to be carried away on waves of illogical emotions and feelings, losing herself in the demands of her body.