Rodney was drifting off to sleep himself when his alarm clock rudely dragged him from the promise of sleep, although Elizabeth didn't stir in his arms. God, it was so tempting to let her keep sleeping, consequences be damned. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to shake her awake. As much as he wanted to spent what remained of the night with her in his arms, he had already decided she wasn't in a state of mind to make that decision – so he made it for her. Elizabeth was going back to her own room. "Liz," he whispered urgently as he shook her. "Liz, wake up."
Elizabeth groaned at the sudden assault and responded by snuggling up to Rodney closer. "Go back to sleep," she murmured sleepily.
He sighed and disentangled himself from her arms, retrieving a bottle of water from the side of his bed. He dumped the contents onto her face, which got her awake, wiping water from her eyes, glaring at him hatefully. "What did you do that for?" she demanded.
"You need to go back to your own room," he said calmly. "I don't think you want people to find you in my bed in a few hours."
"That's my decision to make," she said crankily.
"You're not in a state of mind to make that decision," he returned. He knew he sounded condescending but he really thought it was for her own good. When she made the choice to spend the night with him – even just platonically – he didn't want it to be because she was vulnerable and not thinking straight.
She glared at him hatefully. "I'm not some weak little girl who doesn't know her own mind," she spat at him.
"I know you aren't, Liz. Maybe I'm just being over cautious. But I've made up my mind, I want you to go back to your own room."
Seeing Rodney had made up his mind, Elizabeth glared at him and stormed out of his room. He reflected wryly that she wasn't the first girlfriend who'd stormed out on him, although he certainly hoped she'd be the last. She'd looked pretty ticked that he'd thrown her out of bed, he hoped she'd get over it.
She didn't speak to him for two days, bot beyond cool professionalism. When he tried to steer the conversation towards the personal, she cut him off abruptly and walked away. Yep, she was still pissed.
The truth was, Rodney throwing her out at some god-awful hour had made her think. He had only been concerned with how people would react to knowing they'd spent the night together – she herself had put that caveat on their relationship, that she didn't want people knowing. He had only been respecting that, even beyond her insistence that she didn't care. Poor Rodney, he was bending over backwards to do what she wanted – and to make sure it was what she really wanted when she changed her mind.
She supposed she had given him quite a scare over the blow job thing – no wonder he had insisted she leave his room, he hadn't trusted her ability to change her mind. She loved him for his foresights, although the more she thought about it, the more she realised she wanted to make their relationship public, and accept whatever consequences came.
She thought about it for two days until she knew she was absolutely certain this was what she wanted and it wasn't her acting out of insecurity or vulnerability.
In those two days, she realised she'd been a little short with Rodney but she was distracted by the ongoing problems of Atlantis as well as their relationship – actually, mostly their relationship.
After two days, she called a general meeting in the gateroom. People struggled in until she had a fair sized crowd that was maybe half Atlantis's population – well, this ought to teach people not to ignore her meetings. She made sure Rodney was present – otherwise the purpose for calling this meeting would have been defeated.
"Thankyou, those of you who showed up," she began awkwardly, her famous diplomacy abandoning her. "Doctor McKay and I have something to tell you all, Rodney," she asked him, directing him up to where she was standing.
Needless to say, Rodney looked surprised – he wasn't aware they had anything to tell people. He walked up to her side. Without warning, she snaked one. Without warning, she snaked one arm around his waist and her free hand through his hair and kissed him full on the lips, much to his surprise. After a few seconds of just standing there, trying to get a grip on the situation, he kissed her back, full on the lips. He didn't know what had possessed her to do such a thing, but he was glad she had forgiven him.
Whenever he was kissing Elizabeth, he easily got lost in the passion of the moment and forgot they had an audience until the sounds of applause and cat-calling interrupted his thoughts. Reluctantly, he broke away from her and broke away from the amused crowd. He wasn't used to such attention for his romances – it wasn't exactly a common occurrence that beautiful women called general meetings to kiss him in front of dozens of people – so he just smiled and pushed Elizabeth towards the exit.
He didn't say anything until he got her into her room and shut the door behind them – Elizabeth's little stunt had not doubt stirred the gossips up and he did not want anyone overhearing their conversation.
"What was that about?" he asked her when the door was shut. His eyes searched hers for an honest answer as he tried to focus on Elizabeth's reply and not the taste of her on his lips.
"I would have thought it was obvious," Elizabeth said. "You kicked me out of bed because you didn't think I was capable of making the decision to let people know about us. Well, I thought about it – a lot – and I decided this is what I want. For us to be together. And for people to know about it."
Rodney's heart leapt, although he tried to stay calm. He'd so badly wanted Elizabeth to stay with him that night he'd made her go back to her own room, but he'd been determined that she should make that decision when she was in the right frame of mind. "Are you sure?" he asked, although there wasn't much either of them could do about it now. She had just kissed him very passionately in front of dozens of people, most of whom were this very minute telling other people what they'd seen – with embellishments, of course.
"Goddamnit, Rodney, when are you going to accept I can make my own decisions?" Elizabeth asked a little irritably. She wished he She wished he wouldn't second-guess her decisions quite as much as he did.
He gently took her hands in his. "Liz, you really freaked me out the other day. I don't know if you really meant what you say. You told me you wanted to, then you made me feel like I'd used you. I don't know what to think." This last statement was a huge thing for Rodney ; it wasn't in his nature to admit that there was something that was beyond even his considerable – even if it was women and relationships.
Elizabeth caressed his cheek gently. He looked troubled, confused. She couldn't blame him. "You've figured it out pretty well," she said "I've seen how frustrated you are sometimes – I know you want to take things further."
"Not if you don't want to!" Rodney said indignantly. "Jesus Christ, Liz, how many times do I have to tell you that?" He softened his voice when he saw the alarmed look on Elizabeth's face. "I want us to see Heightmeyer together. She has experience with couples counselling. I can't work this out on my own anymore." He was close to tears, and Elizabeth realised just how hard the last month had been for him. She would never be able to repay him for the patience and love he had shown her. "OK," she agreed, thinking it was a better idea then her seeing Kate alone and Kate doing her best to steer Rodney through their troubled relationship. "But – I meant what I said before, Rodney. I do want us to go public, I'm sorry if I caught you by surprise. I should have consulted you."
He smiled at her lovingly. Like he cared about how she'd gone about it. "I was getting sick of having to be with you in secret," he admitted.
"And not being able to defend yourself when people teased you about your pathetic little crush on me?" Elizabeth asked, a teasing smile playing on her lips. She'd had plenty of people come up to her to tell her Rodney had a hopeless crush on her, and she assumed since people tended to gossip down, not up, that was only the tip of the iceberg of what was being said.
Rodney looked embarrassed. That had been a reason, but he didn't want to make it about his ego. "I didn't care about that," he insisted. Although it would be a relief to know that no-one would be giving him grief for following Elizabeth around like a puppy dog – or, at least, be giving him less crap then usual.
She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. He had cared, she knew – it was human nature, he was always being teased about his bad luck with women, why wouldn't he want to brag when he finally got the girl? The fact he hadn't said anything through all that teasing was testimony to how much he cared about her. He cared about her more then he cared about what people were saying about him – for a man as arrogant as Rodney was, that was quite an achievement.
"I'm going to see Kate tomorrow," she said, suddenly shy. "Do you want to come with me?"
"I think that would be a good idea," he said. He didn't like the idea of having to get someone else in to help them with their relationship problems, it just wasn't in his nature to accept help from people. But – he had to concede, he couldn't do this on his own anymore. Elizabeth's freak-out had scared the crap out of him. His options were either to accept help from Kate or walk away from his relationship with Elizabeth. And walking away from his relationship with Elizabeth was not an option.
Rodney left Elizabeth's room later that afternoon feeling better but lost in his own thoughts. He didn't see or hear Kavanagh until he spoke. "I hear you and Weir are together?" he said in a snide, suggestive voice. Rodney had never like Kavanagh, thought the man was arrogant and irritating without contributing anything productive to the expedition.
"That's none of you business," Rodney said coldly.
"It's everyone's business if you're getting special treatment just because you're sleeping with the boss," Kavanagh retorted.
He would think of that, Rodney thought. "If I get special treatment, it's because I deserve it for my contribution to this expedition," Rodney said sweetly, implying that Kavanagh had made no such contributions – which he hadn't.
The thing with such people was, while they're the first to complain about other people's behaviour, their own behaviour tends to be less then admirable – and they resent anyone drawing attention to the fact. Kavanagh was immediately on the defensive, and determined to rile Rodney. "No need to get defensive just 'coz you're balling the boss," he sniped.
He immediately earned Rodney's wrath. Rodney punched Kavanagh hard in the face, giving him a black eye that would be noticeable for the next two weeks and causing his nose to start bleeding. Kavanagh stumbled back, howling with race. He glared at Rodney, but upon seeing the deadly glare from the scientist, decided it would be best not to take him on one-on-one. "You haven't heard the last of this," he snarled.
Rodney knew he hadn't heard the last of it ; Kavanagh wasn't the type to let things go, even when he'd been the provoker. Although he didn't expect it to bite him on the ass so quickly either. The following afternoon, when he swung by Elizabeth's office so they could go to see Kate together, he knew from the look on her face she had been informed of Rodney's little altercation with Kavanagh.
"How could you be so stupid?" Elizabeth asked her. Kavanagh had made it very clear he expected Rodney to be reprimanded for assaulting him and that he would get no special treatment because of his 'relationship' with her (the snide way he'd said 'relationship' had made Elizabeth want to deck him herself). It was exactly what she'd been afraid of ; that when Rodney played up, which he often did, there would be people like Kavanagh who expected Rodney to be made an example of just so Elizabeth couldn't be accused of giving him special treatment.
Rodney squirmed. He knew it had been wrong to lose his temper like that, especially since, now their relationship was out in the open, there would be some people like Kavanagh who expected Rodney to be made an example of just so Elizabeth couldn't be accused of giving him special treatment. But his love and protectiveness of Elizabeth had gotten the better of him – he still cringed when he thought of the idea of him 'balling' Elizabeth. It made him want to go and punch Kavanagh again. "It was the way he was talking about you," he complained. "He was totally undermining your authority."
She sighed. "You undermined my authority by punching him," she reminded him. "I can deal with people like Kavanagh, I have so far, haven't I?" Rodney nodded ; she had been far more diplomatic with such people then he would have been. Which was why she was head of the expedition and he was head of the science team. "What I can't deal with, Rodney, is you sticking your nose in. It'll cause more trouble then it will solve." She sighed again. "Now I have to make an example out of you, just so people don't think I've given you special treatment."
Normally, Rodney would have screamed to the heavens if Elizabeth would have dared dole out any punishment for breaking the rules. He was a firm believer that he was always in the right and therefor what he'd done 'wrong' wasn't really a wrongdoing. But things were different now, he was much more aware of the position Elizabeth was in – and the position he'd put her in. "Whatever you decide," he said grimly, visualising weeks of being grounded at Atlantis, "I'll accept it."
At least he was being good about the trouble he'd caused – that was something. Incidentally, it was unlike Rodney to cop it sweet like this – normally he'd be screaming to the heavens that he was being victimised, that he was in the right and therefor not capable of any wrongdoing to be punished. "Thankyou," she said. She thought quickly. "Two weeks grounded – and apologise to Kavanagh."
Rodney cringed. The two weeks grounding he could accept, it was only what he'd expected, but to apologise to Kavanagh – he looked at Elizabeth, saw the weight of leadership in her eyes, and decided not to make it harder for her. "OK" he said.
She looked at him in surprise. "OK?" she asked. "You're folding, just like that."
He looked sheepish. "I don't wanna make things harder for you," he admitted, looking almost embarrassed that he, Rodney McKay, was so mad about a woman he'd fold so easily. He reached for her hand. "Let's go."
It was their first time as a 'couple' outside of their rooms, and people looked at them as they walked through the halls of Atlantis to Kate's office. Rodney was torn between immense pride – not to mention the very human urge to gloat to all the people who'd teased him about his crush on Elizabeth – and a little embarrassment. He wasn't used to people looking at him like that, like they couldn't wait to run and tell people of what they'd seen. He was used to being looked at in awe and annoyance, but not like his actions were worth gossiping about.
"Rodney, I wasn't expecting to see you today," Kate said when she saw them together. Like everyone else, she had heard the gossip that Elizabeth and Rodney were an item – unlike most of the gossips, she knew the truth, and she had assumed they had decided to out themselves – but she had expected to have that confirmed by one or the other, not both together.
But then, maybe one of them had decided that her constant pushing them to see her together was a good idea after all.
Rodney looked embarrassed. "Uh, Liz thought –" he looked a little chastised when Elizabeth sent him a look, "– we thought it would be good to see you… together. As a couple."
Kate smiled ; good for them. She had been forthright in her concern to both Rodney and Elizabeth that she didn't think Rodney was handling the stress of dealing with Elizabeth's trauma very well – which was understandable, given it wasn't exactly his area of expertise. Hell, women in general were far from his area of expertise. It was a wonder he had gotten this far without completely losing it. "Take a seat," she said to the newly-outed couple.
She eased them into conversation, starting out with something fairly innocent – how people were reacting to their being together. Gut instinct told her something had happened to bring them to her together, and that same thing was mostly likely responsible for them outing themselves, so she skirted around the issue to start off with.
Rodney admitted it was hard dealing with people like Kavanagh who saw fit to talk down about Elizabeth to him. He just wasn't used to the mantle of diplomacy, and he didn't like it. He didn't see how it should be anyone's business but theirs.
"That's what you get for dating the leader of the expedition," Elizabeth chided him gently. Kate noticed the way he looked contrite. He was trying hard to do what was best for Elizabeth. If only people could see him now, Kate thought ruefully.
"It's not something that's going to go away entirely," Kate pointed out. "After a while, people will mostly get bored, but there will always be someone determined to hold a grudge." Like Kavanagh. "How do you feel about that?"
Rodney shrugged. "I can handle it, I guess," he said. "I wanna make Liz happy. I just wish people would mind their own damn business."
Kate smiled wryly. "Unfortunately it doesn't work like that," she sympathised. "But if it's any consolation, when people see you're happy together and can work together, they'll mostly lose interest."
"Can't come soon enough," Rodney grumbled. He wasn't used to his love-life being under such scrutiny – admittedly because he didn't have much of a lovelife, but still – people should mind their own business.
Kate skilfully manoeuvred the conversation to what had brought them to her office together. Elizabeth slowly and disjointedly told Kate what had happened in her disastrous attempt to further their sexual relationship. Rodney stayed silent the whole way through, realising this was something Elizabeth had to tell on her own, but he looked more and more uncomfortable, ashamed of his actions, regretting he hadn't been able to read her better.
"It was fine, until the end," Elizabeth finished in a whisper, half-reliving the moment and half embarrassed at confessing such details. She wasn't a prude, but neither was she used to sharing the details of her sex life to anyone but her lover. "Then he was… holding my head down so hard… I felt like I…" she struggled to find the words.
"Didn't have a choice?" Kate offered. Elizabeth nodded, and Rodney sunk a little lower in his chair. He felt like a complete cad. He should have known that would have happened. He should have been able to read her better.
As if she could read Rodney's thoughts – although his body language wasn't that hard to decipher, even for a psychiatrist – Kate asked Elizabeth, "You didn't entirely feel comfortable taking that step, did you?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "He's been so patient with me, I really wanted to give him something then just kissing."
Rodney broke his silence. "Liz…" he said, gripping her hand tighter. Although he'd gathered that already, to hear her say the sentiment out loud broke his heart a little. Hadn't he made it clear he wanted nothing from her that she wasn't willing to give?
She turned to face him. "You don't understand… I can't just take and take and not give anything in return. I don't understand how you put up with it sometimes. All I do is cry and let you kiss me."
"And what, the alternative is for you to just lie there passively and endure sex with me?" Rodney snapped. He could handle Elizabeth's apprehensions towards sexual intimacy, but he had little tolerance for the guilt she felt over it. What did she take him for, someone completely insensitive to her emotional needs? It was an attitude he would have understood, expected even from most people, but he thought she knew him better then that.
"Rodney's got a point, Elizabeth," Kate said, not for the first time surprised by the sensitivity the arrogant scientist displayed towards Elizabeth. Every day he continued to confirm her suspicion that underneath that arrogance was a kind-hearted man capable of a great deal of love and respect for his fellow human beings. "He cares about you very much and he doesn't want you to push yourself for his sake. If you can't accept that you won't be able to move forward in your relationship."
She noticed the look of panic on Rodney's face when she said this ; clearly, the possibility of their relationship stagnating was something that had played quite heavily on his mind.
Elizabeth felt it in the way he gripped her hand in a sudden bout of insecurity. He was terrified of losing her, intimacy be damned. She realised that he loved her far more then he wanted to have sex with her and that brought a great sense of peace to her. "I think I can accept that," she said, her voice quite but confident.
Kate was satisfied with the determined glint in her eyes and said to Rodney, "I'd like to talk to Elizabeth on her own."
Rodney got up and planted a quick kiss on Elizabeth's cheek. "I'll be in my office if you want me," he said, knowing he wasn't going to get an iota of work done until he saw her again. But then, if he stayed in his room and moped everyone would talk about how Rodney McKay was sitting in his room, moping about his girlfriend so better to at least look like he was working. It wasn't like any of the plebs were anywhere near his level of knowledge to know the difference between him working and him not working. At this thought, Rodney smiled. He might be displaying unprecedented levels of sensitivity, but he was still proud, arrogant Rodney McKay.
Half an hour later she poked her head around the door of the office Rodney shared with Zelenka. Zelenka took the deathly glare Rodney sent him to mean he was meant to amuse himself somewhere else. He took off.
"I didn't mean to scare him off," Elizabeth remarked wryly, although she suspected it had been Rodney's death glare that had scared him off. She supposed she should be flattered.
"He had, uh, other stuff to do," Rodney said vaguely. He was sure Radek could find something else to do on Atlantis, what, he didn't really care, so long as it wasn't in his – their – office. He took her hands in his and smiled that special smile her reserved just for her and led her over to the couch he'd had installed for when he'd been working all night and was too lazy to go to his own room to sleep. "How did it go?" he asked. Then he sheepishly added, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
She kissed him on the cheek. He was so sweet. She wished he would show his softer side to more people. She had tried to defend him when people came up to her and wanted to know what had possessed her to date someone like Rodney, only to be met with incredulity that Rodney could be sweet and sensitive. "She told me I need to trust you more," she said. "That it's detrimental to our relationship… that you love me and don't want me to push myself."
"Liz…" he sighed, cupping her head with his hands. "I've been trying to tell you that the whole time we've been together."
Tears welled in her eyes when she thought about how stupid she'd been, how baldy she'd underestimated how much Rodney loved her and respected her. "I know," she said in a small voice. "I'm sorry."
He kissed her lightly on the lips. "Don't be sorry," he urged. "Just please trust me a little more." There was desperation in his voice when he thought about the possibility of losing Elizabeth to her insecurities.
He leaned over to kiss her. He used all his restraint not to be too aggressive in his embrace and was relieved when she kissed him back. Automatically he read her body language and didn't pick up any stress – although she had deceived him before. He pulled away from her so he could look her in the eyes. "You're not pulling one over me again?" he asked. He could do with the stress of a hard-on that he couldn't do anything about, but not the guilt of having pushed Elizabeth too far.
"No," she said. "I'll tell you… or I won't hide it from you," she said.
Rodney cupped her face gently. "I don't think I can handle it if you freak out on me like that again," he said honestly. He still felt guilty that he had 'allowed' Elizabeth to do something she didn't want to, as if he had forced her to her knees and made her give him a blow job at gunpoint.
"I won't, I promise," she said. If she had known she would have reacted so badly, or that Rodney would feel so guilty about it, she certainly wouldn't have done it. She was sure it had put him off sex for a while. "Please… kiss me again?" she asked.
He leaned in to kiss her again, a little more aggressively this time. She responded eagerly, opening her mouth to his, meeting his tongue with hers. They had kissed before, and kissed since the disastrous blow job, but their meeting with Kate had been intense so their connection after it was too. He groaned softly into her mouth. She felt incredible. "I love you, Liz," he murmured.
She looked at him lovingly. "I love you too," she said. She slid into his lap and rested her head against his chest. He secured his arm around her waist and played with her hair with his free hand. When she tilted her head up, her lips pouted invitingly, he didn't see that he had any choice but to kiss her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and manoeuvred slightly so she was straddling him. She whimpered in delight as his mouth explored her face and neck and his hands ran down the back of her body, resting on the small of her back. When she didn't give off any signs of anxiousness, his hands slid lower to her backside. "Liz, Liz," he called her name over and over.
"I like hearing your voice," she admitted softly. She ran her fingers through his hair. She loved the texture of his hair. She loved everything about him.
"You mean you like hearing me say your name?" he asked distractedly. He had other things on his mind, like her ass. She didn't seem to mind when he squeezed it – smiled playfully even – although he didn't dare try and take her pants off.
"No, I like hearing your voice. It's… soothing," she said. There was something very reassuring about hearing Rodney's voice while he kissed her and touched her, a constant reminder of who she was with. It made it easier for her to return his caresses, made her feel much more comfortable with him.
He smiled playfully at her. "Does this mean you want me to babble?" he asked incredulously.
"Not if you're going to complain about stuff," Elizabeth thought it was prudent to deny him that option before it took fruit in his mind, "but… when I hear your voice, it's comforting. I'm reminded I'm with you."
He cupped her head in his hands. "Does that bother you?" he asked quietly. "That you feel like you're with him?"
Elizabeth squirmed. Talking about Koyla with Rodney made her feel uncomfortable, she was very aware of how he felt being compared – even if the comparison was obviously favourable. But if it helped their relationships – "Not exactly," she said. "I always know I'm with you but sometimes I think about him and it's hard to forget about it."
"You mean you think about him when I take things too far?" he clarified.
"When we take things too far," she corrected. "And yes. But what we were doing just then – it felt good, it felt right. I mean that, Rodney, I'm not just saying it to make you feel better. I heard your voice… and it reminded me I was with you. I feel safe with you," she added, just in case he hadn't got the message.
He smiled. "Say that again," he urged.
She kissed him softly on the mouth. "I feel safe with you," she whispered, her mouth an inch from his.
He slammed his mouth hungrily against hers, for the first time in a week confident he could be a little rough with her and she wouldn't freak out on him. She returned his kisses with her own hunger and embraced his touches. She ran her fingers through his hair, down his face, across his neck until they were both hot and shaky…
"Rodney? Can I come in yet?" Radek's plaintive voice came from the other side of the door. He desperately needed a particular document and had been waiting for Rodney and Elizabeth to take their private life elsewhere – like their rooms – to no avail.
Rodney looked apologetically at Elizabeth. "We probably shouldn't get too carried away anyway," he said. Radek's interruption was a blessing in disguise. A few more minutes of making out with Elizabeth and he would have started thinking about taking her on his couch, and in addition to doubting she was ready for that, he did not want their first time to be on his cramped, crappy couch in his office.
Elizabeth sucked on her bottom lip. God Rodney tasted good. She was reluctant to leave his arms, even for a few minutes, but he had a point. If nothing else, she owed it to him to wait until she was ready. He had been too patient with her to settle for sex when her heart wasn't completely into it. Hell, she owed it to herself. But she didn't want this to be it for the day. "I want to spend the night with you," she blurted out.
He smiled at her and stroked her hair. "I'd like that," he said. He kissed her on the cheek and reluctantly eased her off him. "You can come in, Radek," he called through the door.
The Czech scientist poked his head around, afraid he'd be confronted by Rodney and Elizabeth in a state of undress. He was relieved to find them fully clothed. "We were just leaving," Elizabeth said. "It's all yours."
The lab, all to himself for an extended period of time? No Rodney around to yell at him for cluttering up 'his office'? Radek was overjoyed. He could definitely see the advantages to this relationship.
"… Did you see the look on his face when he walked in?" Elizabeth asked a few minutes later as they were walking through Atlantis to Rodney's room. They'd agreed it was best to sleep in Elizabeth's room because it was bigger but they stopped by his room to pick up a fresh change of clothes. "I think he thought he was going to find us naked."
"He's probably thanking God for getting us together now that he gets the office all to himself," Rodney countered. He stopped so he could kiss her, prying her mouth gently open with his tongue. They'd agreed no overt displays of affection in public but he couldn't resist, just this once. Besides, the hallway was nearly deserted. He pulled her into his arms. "God I love you so much," he murmured. Elizabeth sighed happily and allowed herself to give into the embrace. She loved Rodney, and she loved the way he loved her.
They stayed up talking for several hours before sleep started to get the better of them. They changed into their sleeping clothes – Rodney wore boxers and a sweatshirt and Elizabeth wore full-length pyjamas – and settled into bed. It was far from having sex, but the act of sleeping together in itself was quite an intimate one. As she lay in his arms and gradually drifted off to sleep, she felt secure, more secure then she had since Koyla raped her, more secure, in fact, since she'd come to Atlantis.
I've got a forth chapter in mind depending on the feedback so get reviewing, people