Lee closed his eyes and let himself relax just for the moment. Kara's hands were on either side of his face, her lips were on his, and he couldn't think of a single place that he'd rather be.
He had missed her. They had been together only once, and even that had been a moment out of time, but somehow – body and soul – he had missed her. Having her kiss him now was like coming home, and it was something he couldn't refuse.
He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. Moving his legs from their crossed position in front of him, he placed them on either side of her legs and tugged her in tight. She was just a little higher than he was, on her knees instead of her butt, but he didn't mind reaching. She bent his head back just a little, slid her tongue over his lower lip in a clear invitation, and then withdrew so that he would follow.
Once he was inside, she sucked gently on his tongue, her lips still in motion and her hands moving slightly to thread fingers through his short hair. His arms moved from her sides to her back, bringing her down just a bit so that they were lined up eye to eye.
"This is going to get complicated," she told him as she lifted her head for a much needed breath.
"I think it already is," he corrected. "Do you care?"
She shook her head, smiled slowly, and then placed her full lips over his again. They kissed for a long time, sometimes deeply and sometimes playfully, but always with tenderness. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed having someone to trust. He didn't feel like he had to guard himself with Kara. Whether it was the friendship they shared, the connection of his brother, or just something indefinable he wasn't sure. But he trusted her, and that made it easy to open up, made it easy to just… feel.
Her kiss was moving off center, now. She trailed beautiful lips along his jaw, nibbling at his left earlobe, and then tracing around the edge of that same ear with her tongue. The sensation was breathtaking, leaving him shaking and breathing more heavily than before. When he gave a slight moan at his body's response to her play, she laughed in a deep and sexy voice and gently placed her teeth on his ear in a tender bite.
He let his hands leave her back then, trailing down to her waist, and then up under her loose shirt. As before, she wasn't wearing the regulation undershirts beneath, but only a thin cotton bra. Easily he slid hands beneath it, rubbing her back gently until she groaned, dragging a smile from him. If she was still as sore as he was, that had to feel good. He rubbed her shoulders gently, remembering where she'd shown him the bone repair, and then moved the massage down her back, carefully kneading the muscles and enjoying the way she sighed and molded herself against him.
By the time he got to her lower back, his fingers edging beneath her waistband to rub firm buttocks, she had stopped kissing him and was just resting her head on his shoulder. "Sleepy?" he asked.
"Enjoying," she replied.
"I'm glad," he told her, and he was. Who would have thought that just giving someone pleasure – even if it was just a backrub – could feel so good? And how something so simple, and essentially innocent, could be so arousing was beyond him. But it was. Her body, relaxed and lined up with his, had him so hard that he couldn't see straight. Unable to resist the temptation, he moved his hands inward from where they had been kneading her bottom, to find the heat waiting between her legs. Her relaxed sigh changed to a gasp of surprise, bringing a smile to his lips. "Can I get rid of these?" he asked, referring to the pants that were making his task more difficult than it had to be.
She shook her head and moved back to face him. "You first," she told him. "I never did get your boots off last time."
He felt heat start at his chest and move upward in the first true blush he'd had since… hell, he couldn't even remember when. He wasn't one who blushed easily or often, but she had a point. The last time he had taken her without even getting all of his clothes off, and then he had slept that way as well. It wasn't exactly the sign of a man in control of his body. He looked up to meet her eyes, wishing that the light were a little brighter so that he could see her better, and yet grateful that it was probably hiding the blush. "Sorry about that," he said softly. "You were… distracting."
"And you were amazing," she countered. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see the whole package."
He shook his head and smiled again, not sure whether to be pleased or intimidated by her honesty. It occurred to him that it might be wiser to close the hatch rather than strip before it, but the chances of them being found were minimal. He was sure she'd closed the outer hatch, and what little access lighting was available was worth the obscure chance of discovery. He hoped.
Reluctantly, he withdrew his hands and arms from her pants and she eased away so that he could go to work on his own. Several snug buttons later, he was reaching down to untie his boots so that he'd be able to get the pants all the way off. He felt like blushing again when he looked up to see her watching him, but he didn't say a word as he lifted his butt and removed his pants. Sitting back down on the flooring, he sucked in a breath. "Damn, that's cold," he muttered.
Her deep, throaty laugh sent shivers down his spine. "Tell me about it," she said with a wink. "I was on the bottom, remember?"
"I didn't hear any complaints," he said as he reached for her.
"Yeah, well some things are worth a cold back," she replied in amusement.
"Let's find out," he suggested, and then he kicked his pants and underwear off the rest of the way, reached down and grabbed the tails of his undershirts to tug them over his head, and with gritted teeth he lay back on the cold flooring, tugging her with him as he went.
She laughed as he pulled her down, and then their lips met and the laughing was over. Lords, but she could kiss. Her mouth seemed to be made for kissing, with soft, full, warm lips that were never still. She gave herself entirely to the moment, using tongue and teeth and those gorgeous lips to her full advantage as she pinned his head to the floor and kissed the living daylights out of him. She was right; after a moment, the flooring didn't feel all that cold. Her mouth was generating too much heat for him to think about anything else.
But whether it was from instinct or desire, he couldn't just lie there and enjoy. His hands went to her sides, both supporting her and edging under the tails of her work shirt to find warm skin beneath. He moved his hands up her back again, but instead of rubbing there, he eased beneath the back of her bra, moved his hands around to her chest, and shoved the material out of the way. He loved the way she sucked in a breath of air and her lips lost their rhythm for just a moment as the sensation hit her
But it wasn't enough. He wanted her against him, and he needed that damned shirt off to make it happen. Leaving the warmth of her skin, he began a battle with stubborn buttons in an effort to get her free of the work shirt. After an eternity he managed it, and then he moved his attention to her pants. He slid his hands beneath the material and shoved the regulation gray workout gear down her smooth legs. He felt her moving around, and it took him a moment to realize that she was just kicking away her shoes so that the pants could come off. And then they did.
Once more, Lee wished for light. He could see her in the dim illumination that the passageway lighting provided, but he couldn't see her clearly. So he did the only thing he could think of to remedy the situation. He reached out to help her remove the bra that was in his way, and then he "looked" with his hands. Kara didn't complain.
In fact, she was arching into his movements as though she enjoyed his touch. Her breath was breaking, soft sighs surrounded him, and then she finally pulled herself together to return the favor.
She had him at a disadvantage, in that he was lying on his back and pretty much at her mercy. She didn't let the fact escape her as she ran her hands over every surface of him that she could reach. Starting with her fingertips and palms, and then followed by lips and tongue, Kara managed to make him forget that the floor was cold, hard, or even there. It was just the two of them, lost in a world of physical sensation, and neither of them eager to find a way out.
Her hands were thorough, her tongue quick and clever, and within moments she had him so close to the edge that he was half afraid he'd already gone over. "Lords, do you have any clue how good that feels?" he muttered as her lips found a particularly sensitive spot inside his right thigh. As an answer, she sucked gently on the skin, making him groan in some combination of anticipation and relief. She just felt so damned good – every touch – and not just the ones to the most eager parts of his anatomy.
She didn't neglect anyplace; that much was certain. She cupped and caressed, kissed and nipped, rubbed and kneaded. By the time she moved up to straddle his hips, he was an inch away from flipping her over and just getting the relief that his body so desperately craved. But as her heat rubbed over him, slick and wet and so hot that he could barely comprehend it, he was grateful that he'd left her in charge. For the moment.
"Kara," he choked out, his body starting to shake.
"Need something?" she asked, a whisper in his ear just before she gently nibbled at the lobe.
"God, yes," he said on a broken breath. "You. Now."
She moved her mouth to his, kissed him with aching thoroughness, and then changed the angle at which her lower body was rubbing over his. More slowly than he could have imagined, she took him inside her. Smooth, wet heat surrounded him, taking his world from beneath him. Everything around him narrowed to her body, holding him and squeezing him with gentle, absolute heat.
She went slowly. Very slowly. He would have thought too slowly, but he could deny neither the pleasure evident on her face or what he was feeling himself. While he wanted to plunge deeply, he instead used his hands on her hips to steady her, help her balance, and he let her set the painfully slow pace. It was worth his patience to see her expression change, watch her swallow convulsively, and then feel her body's rhythmic contractions as she hit the top. Her hands clutched on his arms where they had gone to support herself, and she didn't exactly cry out, but she was certainly not quiet. He held his breath, just watching her come apart, awed on more levels than he could really understand that he could give her this, or that she would take it.
As her body went limp over his, he moved his arms up her body to keep her upright and then he moved his hips upward. Hard. Her eyes flew open as he rocked upwards into her, his movements much faster than hers had been, much deeper, and harder. She wasn't complaining.
She smiled. Wide and generous and just for him, she smiled. It was his undoing. Her body might bring him to the edge of ecstasy, but it was her smile – that sign that she was enjoying this as much as he was – that shoved him over the edge.
He felt the explosion begin, and he pulled her down to him even as his hips bucked up to drive him further within her one more time. And then he couldn't feel anything beyond the pulses of his own release, pleasure and relief and everything else that he needed all rolled up into one glorious feeling. If he had died right that moment, he wouldn't have cared. He had everything he could have ever hoped to want or need. He had her, and it was enough.
The next thing he was conscious of was her head on his chest and his arms around her body. She was resting most of her weight on him – and she wasn't light by any stretch of the imagination – but it felt good. Damned good. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her, keeping her close as he kissed the top of her head with a tenderness he couldn't hold back. She was truly amazing to him. She gave everything; it was a generosity he wasn't used to.
"I felt that," she whispered.
"The kiss?" he asked, just a little embarrassed. It was just sex, he reminded himself. It didn't have to be any more than that.
"That too," she admitted. "But I meant…" Her hips moved then, and while his body was no longer hard, he was still inside her and he very clearly felt the movement. "I missed it last time," she admitted.
"How could you miss it?" he asked wryly. To him, it had felt as intense as a nuclear blast.
"You had me distracted," she told him in a disgusted voice. "But this time, I… felt it. It's dumb. Forget I said anything."
"You can say whatever you want," he said while giving her a gentle squeeze. "I won't hold it against you."
"If you try, I'll make sure you regret it."
She didn't sound like she was kidding. That didn't really bother him; she had a right to keep her pride. What bothered him was that she might think he would consider saying or doing anything to… Aside from the fact that it would have been damned ungrateful, he had never been one to kiss and tell.
"I'm hoping you won't regret anything," he said softly. "But you know I wouldn't ever say anything to…"
"Can we drop this conversation?" she asked.
"If you want."
"Good. I'm sick of fighting with you all the time."
"Then quit fighting," he recommended reasonably.
She sighed, but was quiet for a short while. He continued to hold her, but was reluctant to say anything. He didn't want to mess this up, and he had the feeling that anything he said would be wrong.
"I need to go," she said softly.
"Why?"
She raised her head up to glare at him. "You have to ask?"
"I know," he admitted. "But… stay for a minute. You're warm."
She shook her head in apparent disgust, but then she laid her head back down on his chest. He felt like he'd been given a gift – one more moment of peace before he had to go back to the real world. The floor was cold against his back, but she made a warm blanket and for the moment at least his mind wasn't having to puzzle out schedules, personnel, and supplies. He was simply a man, with a beautiful woman draped over him, and he could just… be.
He knew almost the exact moment when Kara fell asleep. Her body relaxed completely, her breathing deepened slightly, and the hand she had been holding his shoulder with fell limply away. It would have been more comfortable to roll onto his side and snuggle with her, but he didn't want to take the risk of waking her up. So instead he wrapped her in his arms and closed his own eyes. He didn't sleep deeply, but he did doze in and out while Kara slept soundly atop him. In all honesty, he had to admit that he actually rested more that way than he would have managed lying in the bunk he'd inherited from the previous CAG. It seemed someone always needed something, and no one was above knocking on his door – day or night – to ask for something he couldn't provide. It was more comfortable to lie on a hard floor with Kara's dead weight on his chest than to try to bear the weight of a position he hadn't been ready for.
Granted, if he'd moved into a normal CAG position he would have had some preparation. He would have had the chance to see what the job entailed, receive an orientation of sorts, and probably even work under the current CAG until he was ready to take it himself. But he'd had neither the orientation nor the luxury of peacetime work requirements. He'd taken the job when the flight decks were a disaster, most of the pilots were dead, and his deck crew was decimated. They didn't have time to put it all back together, either. They were at war, with no way to get either supplies or assistance, and they were essentially living on borrowed time.
To make matters worse, the last couple of briefings had involved discussion of Cylon spies hidden among the crew. He was to keep a lookout for any behavior that was suspicious, and yet do this without letting anyone else know what was suspected. It was an impossible job, and he was failing at it just as everyone had probably expected he would. It wouldn't have bothered him nearly so much if it hadn't been his father who was watching his every failure.
They hadn't really taken time to mend the family fences since the beginning of the war. He had tried once to speak to his father – to apologize and even ask forgiveness – but his dad had cut him off. At the time he'd been grateful, but since then Lee's subsequent efforts to get his father alone had proven as unsuccessful as his assuming the responsibilities as CAG. He hadn't been able to resolve anything, either professionally or personally, and it was beginning to wear on him. Lee wasn't used to failing at anything, much less at everything, and that was exactly how he felt.
He had even failed his brother. He should have been looking out for Kara, but instead he was taking advantage of her vulnerability to satisfy his own needs. He could only hope that she was getting something out of what had happened between them as well, even if it was only a couple of nights of uninterrupted sleep. Lords knew she deserved that much from him. Hell, she deserved far more. Aside from simply being a family responsibility, she was a good friend. She didn't take any shit from him, and she kept him on his toes. If she was also a CAG's worst nightmare, more inclined to fight than to work, and in a minor war with the ship's XO, well then she was also the finest pilot he'd ever seen – anywhere, anytime, in anything.
But at this moment she wasn't a pilot. She was just a woman who was tired, lonely, and clearly hurting. He knew the feeling. He just wished he knew if what he was doing with her was making the situation better or worse. The last thing he wanted was to make this time harder on her, and yet she had offered something he couldn't refuse. Maybe it was weak, and certainly it was inappropriate, but it was the truth. He needed… something. And right now she was providing it without asking for anything in return. He didn't know how to tell her no, and he didn't want to learn. He hoped that he wouldn't ever have to.