He sat perched on the end of her desk, smiling down at her, with that annoyingly irresistible smile. She was well aware that a good 90 of the women on the base found that smile utterly adorable. She was also aware that he knew this, and used it to get whatever he wanted – his laundry done first, the biggest slice of cake, anything at all.
Well, it wasn't going to work on her.
It does send shivers down my spine
"I found it." she said, staring into her laptop screen with unusual intensity. He didn't respond for a moment. He was too lost in her. The fine-boned fragility of her. The slenderness. The strength that had everything to do with her mind, and little to do with the slight physicality of her.
So delicate to touch. I remember that. I remember being afraid to put my arms around her in case she broke.
"Hmm?" he said suddenly, snapping out of the spell. "Found what?"
"The planet. The war. The one Phoebus and Thalan were fighting." she said, impatiently. He always seemed to be not quite paying attention to what she was saying, although he always seemed to be paying full attention to her.
Whatever he's thinking, he's not listening to a word I'm saying. It's like he's listening to what I'm thinking.
"Why would you want to know about that?" he asked, frowning.
"Because I want to know who the person was who had control of my body for so long. Don't you?"
What I really want to know is how much of Elizabeth was in that kiss?
"Not really. I'm just glad he's gone." He groused. Nevertheless, he walked around her desk and leaned over her shoulder to stare at the computer screen."What am I looking at?"
I can feel his breath on my neck. Just there, in the sweet spot, just where my pulse beats. Can he see it beating it faster?
Elizabeth cleared her throat. "A map. I found it in the Ancient repository. It's a star system millions of miles away."
I can see her pulse beneath that translucent skin of hers. A faint blue pulse, beating so steadily. I can't take my eyes off it. I just want to lean forward and kiss it, ever so gently.
"Two planets, orbiting one star." he said, leaning in a little closer. His arm had been on the back of her chair, but as he bent forward to look at the screen, his hand fell on her neck. It lay there, his thumb absent-mindedly circling the skin just above her collar.
Oh God, I can barely breathe. He's barely touching me, but I can feel the heat rising.
She swallowed.
"It appears they didn't know about each other for millions of years. There were both hidden from the other by the sun, you see."
Does she know what I'm doing? That I'm stroking her skin, that soft skin, like silk warmed by sunlight?
"And then they discovered space travel, then each other, and weren't happy about it." he concluded.
Elizabeth nodded, and her hair swept along John's bare arm.
Oh God.
"They broke out into open warfare, and it never stopped. They never got round to exploring the rest of the galaxy." she continued, her voice calm, but sad.
Every nerve in my body, every inch of my skin knows he's so close, and I'm aching for him to move closer.
"But they had spaceships." he argued, perching on the desk again, her side of it, leaning over her.
She's blushing. Why is she blushing? Is it me? It's the most beautiful colour, rose pink, down her throat, down...
"One planet must have built them to escape, and the others followed. It's sad really." she said, standing up. Now she faced him, looking into those mercurial eyes, so light, so intense.
I should sit down again. I think my knees are going to buckle. How can it be, that one kiss can change everything like this? I never used to be so ...aware...of him.
"Escape." he said. "But not each other. Together for eternity." he said, grinning carelessly to show he was teasing.
I can't stop thinking about that kiss. I dream about it. God, her eyes are beautiful. I knew that before, though, didn't I? Did I always want her so much, so badly?
"They must have felt bound to each other, in an odd way." she said, picking up a pen and fiddling with it. "Both the last survivors of their race."
She suddenly felt oddly nervous around him. She never had before. She wanted him to leave, but couldn't bear to let him go.
"Hey, they could have founded an entirely new race!" he kidded. She looked up, surprised.
"I don't know if you noticed, but they were trying to kill each other." she said dryly.
"Yeah, but they seemed to enjoy the kiss. At least from my end."
So soft, so gentle, so strong, so fervent. I've never been kissed like that before.
She looked down, and away from him, then back up again. She smiled.
"From my end too." she admitted.
Like I'd always imagined it, only a hundred times better. I didn't think kisses like that existed outside the movies.
"And it was just them kissing, wasn't it." He said. "I mean, they were the ones enjoying it."
"Yes, they were." she said, putting the pen down.
"Okay." he said, seeming deflated. "Okay, well, I have work to do, so I'll just...
"John." he stopped, and turned to face her, questioning. She smiled once, a little nervously, then before he had time to react, she leaned forward, and kissed him.
Her hands reached up to cup his face, and her lips pressed against him,opening, her tongue flickering into his mouth, exploring, tentatively at first, then ardently as he returned the kiss. He pulled her to him, his entire body responding to her, and this time, he wasn't afraid to pull her close, so close he knew he could never let her go again, his entire body trembling with desire for her, with need born of love.
It was an eternity before they pulled apart, panting and breathless.
What would she do? It was her choice, it had always been her choice, all along. He loved her so much, but he'd do whatever she wanted, but oh God, he couldn't bear it if she sent him away, she was everything, and had he just made the biggest mistake of his life?
She stood there a second, perfectly still, then smiled, slowly.
"It wasn't just them."
He relaxed a little.
"No, it wasn't. That was definitely all us this time, and it was..."
"Better," she finished, grinning and blushing. "Definitely better."
"I guess that's because we're in love." he said, trying not to seem anxious.
There. I took the last step. Come on, Elizabeth, don't let me down now. Everything lies in your hands now, my heart, my soul, my life. It always has.
She stared up at him, her eyes wide.
When did this happen? How did this happen? What do I do?
She swallowed.
"John." she said, softly
"Elizabeth." he replied, his voice barely more than a whisper.
I've lost her.
She smiled, suddenly.
"I guess you're right."
"Right?" He wanted to be sure.
"That we're in love." she said, smiling, smiling so hard there were tears in her eyes. "Kiss me again, John."
And he did.