A/N: First of all, I've got my Stargate fan site up and running. Not much to it yet, but it's a start. (Feel free to go into my author profile and click on my homepage link to pop in and have a look.) I've got the complete archive of "Reap" there, plus lots of links.

Secondly, THANK YOU to whoever nominated "Reap" for a S-J fanfiction award! (Voting starts February 6th, so I'll keep you updated as things progress.) You are the most awesome readers a gal could ask for. I was so excited when I got the email, I literally shrieked!

And, finally, I must admit that this chapter was a challenge for me. It's hard to do sizzle without being cliché. Besides which, Jack O'Neill isn't exactly a textbook romantic hero! However, I think I'm finally satisfied enough to post it. Hope you enjoy my latest creation! (And for those who wonder how this can be a "Reap" prequel… just wait. You'll see.)

I'll repeat the "STEAMY ROMANCE AHEAD" warning. This chapter REALLY earns the R rating. (As always, please tell me if I've gone overboard. There were actually one or two places I felt a little scandalized by my descriptions. But I left them in anyway, just for the benefit of all my horny readers. LOL!)

Okay, now that I've got that out of the way…

Chapter 9

Jack watched carefully as Sam's lovely face first turned pale as a sheet, and then flushed a becoming shade of pink. Her thoughts flickered across her face in rapid succession; first registering apprehension, then embarrassment, then barely-restrained desire.

It was that last one which really interested him.

Exercising patience, he remained quiet as he took in her rosy cheeks, enormous blue eyes, and shallow, rapid breathing. She seemed rooted to the ground and totally unable to look away from him.

When it came to matters of deeply buried, tender emotions held by members of the opposite sex, Jack was the first to admit his complete incompetence. He was not a sensitive guy, nor did he have any idea why anyone would want to be a sensitive guy. Seemed like too much damn work to him. He'd seen Daniel analyze people's feelings on countless occasions, and, from his perspective, it was usually boring and unfathomable. Blowing stuff up was much less work and far more satisfying.

And yet, as he now looked into the intense, expressive eyes of his sexy, adorable Carter, Jack began to wonder if there might not be something to all that touchy-feely stuff. She appealed to him on so many levels – and Jack really hadn't thought he had all that many levels. Unquestioningly, something about the gorgeous woman standing in front of him just totally blew him away. She was complicated and emotional and so damn smart it made his head hurt. Still, under the geekiness and soft, girly exterior, she was surprisingly, amazingly strong. No question about it, Sam was a damn fine soldier, one tough cookie, and probably the sexiest woman he'd ever met.

So, he wondered idly, what the hell was she doing staring at him like Homer might stare at the last Duff in the fridge?

He had no idea, and suddenly, he was more than a little unsure of himself.

Sam stood motionless, trying to mentally gear up for the all-out assault that she knew must be coming. Jack had accepted the inevitability of their attraction days ago, and she realized that his next step would be a sensual, irresistible seduction. It only took a moment for her to decide that such an action would be perfectly acceptable to her.

Because, heaven help her, she wanted him – badly.

She felt her cheeks get warm with that knowledge, but she was far too… libidinous for self-consciousness. Mostly, she was just rejoicing in the fact that they were finally, blissfully alone. The time had come to shed their inhibitions – among other things – and give in to the tidal wave of unfulfilled longing that had been building between them for years.

So why the heck was he just standing there?

Sam abruptly realized that Jack had grown unusually still and quiet. Focusing on his face, she was somewhat stunned to see vague reluctance painted on his features.

Reluctance? Now?

Oh for cryin' out loud.

"Jack?" she asked softly, breaking the tense silence.

He blinked, somewhat startled by her prompting. "What?"

Sam resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What? Wake up, O'Neill! "Um, weren't you just saying something?" Seeing his blank look, she tried again. "You know, about the radios? Something about them not working…?"

She saw understanding creep into his eyes, but, much to her surprise, it wasn't followed by the expected rush of mindless passion. Instead, he looked quickly at the ground, seeming to avoid her gaze. "Yeah, well, I'm sure they'll figure out some way to contact us soon."

Sam's jaw practically hit the ground. After days of torment from the radios, Jack almost sounded disappointed by their absence. What the hell was going on? "Jack!" Her exclamation was both baffled and forceful.

"What?" This time he almost sounded annoyed.

Finally, she abandoned subtlety. "Aren't you supposed to be ripping my clothes off now?"

Now it was his turn to gape. "What kind of question is that?" He sounded astonished by her frankness.

She threw up her hands in frustration. "I'd say it's a pretty fair question, all things considered!" She gestured rapidly, indicating his bare chest, her barely-covered one, and the heap of their t-shirts lying on the ground. Seeing his gaze shy away from hers, she sighed loudly. "Jack, would you please tell me what's going on?"

He abruptly turned around so that his back was to her. "Hell, I don't know, Sam. It's just maybe we should…" he trailed off. "I mean, don't you think this is…" Again, he stopped himself short. Shrugging helplessly, he turned back to her and finally completed a thought. "I thought you might want to change your mind."

Sam rubbed her forehead disbelievingly. "What, exactly, in the last ten minutes made you think that? Was it the part where I was sticking my tongue down your throat? Or maybe it was the part where I was taking off your pants?" Sarcasm and amusement both resonated in her voice.

Jack didn't immediately respond, and she was about to launch into another incredulous tirade, when something strange in his disposition finally slithered past her sexual frustration.

It wasn't reluctance or concern for their careers that was making him pull away from her. It was something totally unexpected.

Jack O'Neill, Special-Ops-trained Colonel in the United States Air Force and witness to countless mysteries of the universe, was inexorably but undeniably feeling insecure.

Sam processed this revelation with a mixture of shock and relief. How could such a sharp, capable guy be so totally dunderheaded at times? Well, she decided abruptly, at least this she knew how to handle.

Jack watched his beautiful second-in-command with an unnatural feeling of anxiety. He realized that he ought to be hauling her back to their tent for, oh, at least four or five days of 'recreational' activities. But something in his mind just wouldn't give him the green light. He'd always had an overriding need to protect her from danger, which was generally a good quality for a CO to have. But this time, the feeling was decidedly different. This time, he wasn't protecting her from a Goa'uld staff weapon or a piece of alien technology. This time, Jack was protecting her from him – or at least the feelings she had for him.

Sighing, Jack decided there was no use fighting his protective instincts. He couldn't help it.

She deserved better than him.

Looking up, he saw the frustration on her face suddenly transform into understanding. And that's when he began to get a little worried. Jack knew better than anyone that if Samantha Carter discovered a solution to a problem, wild horses couldn't keep her from putting it into action. Which, in this situation, could only mean one thing.

Their eyes locked, and a simple, silent message flew through their electrically charged stare.

She was taking matters into her own hands. And nobody was going to stop her.

Before another heartbeat passed, Sam had literally thrown herself at him. With the fury of a small hurricane, she began scolding him softly, punctuating her words with a barrage of sweet, forceful kisses on his lips, cheeks, and chin. "How on earth… could you think… I wouldn't want you… after everything we've… been through… in the last… four years?" Her words grew less exasperated and more tender as she progressed, as did the kisses which accompanied them. "You are… the most amazing man… I've ever known… even though… you're an idiot sometimes." Her mouth gentled as she gradually slowed down. "You were right about us… We can't avoid it… We shouldn't even waste our time trying…" Finally, her lips met his in a sweet, lingering caress. "Jack," she murmured, "Don't you get it? I wouldn't throw caution to the wind for anyone but you. You're the only one who makes it worth the risk."

At her words, Jack felt his heart lurch into his throat. All the tension of the last few days – or, perhaps more accurately, the last few years – had been building up to this moment. Since the first spark had been struck between them, he'd been expecting a physical release of that friction. As a result, he was now totally unprepared for this emotional confrontation. "Sam," he rasped quietly, "you do realize you're totally off your rocker." He pulled away slightly and looked affectionately into her eyes. "We both know you could do better."

She sighed and shook her head. "Most women spend a lot of time dreaming about Mr. Right, Jack. But you more than anyone should know that I'm not like most women."

He sensed where she was headed, and was about to argue with her. She might be unique, but she had to have some ideas about her ideal guy. And, damn it, she deserved to have those ideas fulfilled. She wasn't going to convince him otherwise – especially not so she could settle for a potentially career-ending fling with him.

However, before he'd completely open his mouth to voice his objections, she raised a hand and cut him off abruptly. "Just let me finish. I don't dream about finding the right guy." She paused meaningfully and looked him straight in the eye as she repeated her statement, this time altering the emphasis on her words. "I don't dream about finding the right guy, Jack. I dream about holding the right guy." Her voice grew thick and emotional as she finished quietly. "See, I already found him. I just can't have him."

The all-too familiar longing in her words resonated powerfully in his heart. Lord, did he ever understand how she felt. He'd been fighting these feelings for so long, he'd nearly given up hope of ever being able to express them. Suddenly, a light switch turned on in his brain. Right here, right now, he had the opportunity to fulfill all those hopeless dreams. They both knew their time was limited, and that they'd eventually have to walk away, but for one precious moment, he could actually have what he wanted so very badly.

So why the hell was he just standing there?

Sam saw realization dawn on his face, and she silently rejoiced. Finally.

Their eyes met for the barest of instants, during which they both reveled in the shared moment of surrender. Then, sheer, primal instinct took over.

Jack's mouth zeroed in on her firm, eager lips, while his hands seemed to be everywhere at once. Passion, mindless and exhilarating, carried them on a tide of sheer delirium. Sam felt her feet being swept out from under her as he effortlessly picked her up.

"You shouldn't be carrying me," she gasped in between fevered kisses. "Your knees-"

"Shut up, Carter," he commanded, cutting her off. "I'm trying to be romantic."

Stifling a laugh in another blistering kiss, Sam happily obeyed. The tent was only feet away, and in moments, he was lowering her to the ground in front of the entrance flap. Not releasing her lips, he pulled her down with him as he adeptly knelt and yanked up the tent's zipper. Then, seconds later, Sam found herself blissfully horizontal on her bedroll with Jack's lean, hard body nestled on top of her.

A noise of pure satisfaction crept out of her throat. She splayed her long fingers over the smooth muscles of his back, reveling in the feel of his warm, smooth skin. Her pleasure doubled tenfold when she felt his hands creep up to her torso, insistently pushing up the elastic on the bottom of her sports bra.

The cool whisper of air on her bare breasts electrified her. Without hesitating, she pulled herself up off the sleeping bag and raised her arms, allowing him to pull the small, stretchy garment from her body. This time, when they collapsed back onto the ground, it was flesh-to-flesh. The sensation was exhilarating.

Sam suddenly decided they weren't moving fast enough. Before Jack had a second to process her intentions, her hands were at the waistband of his fatigues, eagerly undoing fastenings and exploring the interesting, uncharted territory they discovered there.

When her delicate fingers finally brushed up against the rock-hard evidence of his driving physical need for her, Jack nearly shot through the roof of the tiny tent. Groaning, he somewhat roughly clamped down on her wrist and pulled her inquisitive hands away. "Slow down, Sam," he ordered hoarsely. "I want this to last."

Sam would have none of it. "Next time, we'll make it last," she gasped. "This time, I'll have you now."

At her words, he felt the delicious sensual pressure inside him build exponentially. Growling, he followed her example and expertly undid the button and zipper on her own fatigues. Still, when it came time to draw the pants over her impossibly long legs, Jack couldn't make himself rush. He'd been wanting to run his hands down those gorgeous limbs from about the first time he'd seen her in a skirt. His fingers caressed every inch of bare skin revealed as her pants slid off her body. In fact, he performed his task so thoroughly, by the time he'd reached her ankles, Sam was literally gasping for breath.

Once the pants were discarded, Jack rocked back on his heels and surveyed the picture of unearthly beauty before him. Though the fevered need he felt for her was currently as unstoppable as his need for air, he absolutely had to pause and absorb the vision she presented. She was, quite simply, perfect. Smooth, alabaster skin, made only more interesting by a host of tiny, irregular scars accumulated during years of saving the planet, was glowing in the soft light inside the tent. Outside, the sunlight was harsh and bright, but inside their tiny shelter, it was muted and sensual. Her eyes radiated desire, and her full, swollen lips were set in a small, mysterious smile. Clad only in a pair of impossibly small bikini underpants, she was a sight he knew he'd never forget.

Looking deeply into her shining blue gaze, he slowly leaned back over her body. With quiet reverence, he reached up and traced the smooth contour of her cheek. "In case I forget to tell you later… Samantha, you are absolutely gorgeous."

She smiled brilliantly, powerful emotions blazing in her eyes. "You make me feel that way," she whispered.

Jack wanted to tell her that he had nothing to do with her incredible beauty, but he was unwilling to diminish the look of admiration she was currently directing at him. So, instead, he lowered himself the rest of the way to her lips, and kissed her with all the tender reverence he felt in his heart.

In spite of her desire to keep things light and non-threatening, Sam felt her throat close with sweet, aching emotions. As their lips met with an extraordinary combination of fierce desire and gentle affection, she felt tears slipping out from the corner of her closed eyelids. She wished, more than anything, that she could put this moment in a box and keep it close to her heart forever. The poignant awareness of their limited time together was almost a physical presence in the tent. Sam relished these precious moments, knowing that they would soon be little more than fond memories, learned by heart and kept always in mind.

Sensing the undercurrent of bittersweet emotion in his lover, Jack softly redirected his lips from the warm softness of her mouth, up her flushed cheeks, to the corner of one tearful eye. Gently kissing the moisture away, he tried to wordlessly reassure her that, no matter what the future held, these moments would never fade.

Feeling a nearly-supernatural connection to him, Sam gave herself over to the crushing need she had to be close to him. Reaching up, she forcefully propelled his lips back to her mouth and desperately poured her soul into a scorching kiss. Drinking in the sensation of his fevered caresses, she immediately resumed her campaign to divest him of his pants

As soon as her hands wandered back below his waist, Jack felt his desire flare up in a mighty surge. Suddenly, he couldn't be rid of his fatigues fast enough. With eager determination, he assisted her efforts by tugging and kicking until his pants and boxers were finally removed.

Sam groaned in satisfaction when she felt the hard length of him straining against her thigh. Impatiently, she took his hand and guided it to her hip, pointedly leaving his fingers settled on top of the waistband of her underwear.

Apparently, he took the hint. In a fog of sensual haste, the last of the barriers between them seemed to melt away. Finally, they were laying beside each other in the most pure, elemental way possible.

As awareness of their positions settled in, the pair instinctively opened their eyes and met each other's gazes. Sam felt her chest constrict at the naked longing in Jack's eyes. She knew, more certainly than she'd ever known anything before, that this moment was one which would change her life forever. From this moment on, every event in her life would be weighed and categorized based on whether it fell before or after this perfect ripple in time.

A smile suddenly materialized on her face. "Do you have our gift from Daniel?" she asked quietly, warmth resonating in her voice.

Jack chuckled and, without pulling away from her, reached behind her head to the crease where his bedroll met the tent's canvas floor. As if by magic, he pulled out a tiny foil packet and held it aloft proudly. "I spent the morning hiding these anyplace I thought we might need them," he admitted with a twinkle in his eye.

Sam laughed appreciatively. Then, imagining the naughty treasure hunt they'd likely be engaged in over the next several days, she shook her head with delighted amusement. "Well, then, Colonel," she said mischievously, "please carry on."

He needed no further prompting. Frenzied passion instantly sprang back to life between them, as eager hands and mouths took great satisfaction in caressing intensely sensitized flesh. Soft words of mindless pleasure were punctuated by soft sighs and low moans of enjoyment. In no time, the handy foil packet was deployed, and the two lovers lay face-to-face, reveling in a dance as old as time itself.

When they were finally, blissfully joined, Sam felt a surge of pleasure so intense, it was almost too much to bear. The perfect harmony of mind, body, heart, and soul was an experience unlike anything she'd ever encountered before in her life. Here, in this moment, Sam felt completed and whole in ways she hadn't even imagined were possible.

Jack, too, found himself awestruck by the mystical power that linked them. Pulling his face back a few, tiny millimeters, he was able to look into her luminous expression and revel in the breathtaking forces at work between their very souls. He watched in awestruck reverence as her eyes widened with every movement. He could sense the sensual energy within her building quickly to the breaking point.

Then, in an explosion of blistering, glorious satisfaction, Sam's entire body seemed to constrict with spasms of sheer bliss. Crying out, she clung desperately to him as her body rocketed to the highest reaches of the heavens. Her fulfillment quickly brought about one of his own, and in seconds, his cries of pleasure also echoed in the small space.

In the quiet, serene moments that followed, Jack decided he could now die a happy man. When confronted by the sheer perfection he'd just experienced, he couldn't help wondering how he'd denied himself access to this essential sensation for so long.

Gathering her in his arms, he reached over and found a spare emergency blanket on the floor beside them. Covering their naked, exhausted bodies, he smiled softly against the top of her head. "Sam?" he murmured quietly.

"Yeah?" Her own voice was drowsy and lethargic, full of blissful satisfaction.

Jack couldn't keep the amusement from his voice as he replied. "We should have done that a long time ago."

Sam chuckled in reply. "Guess we'd better make up for lost time…" she said huskily.

And, not surprisingly, they did.