Lee was doing his best to focus on what the President was saying and not keep checking the doorway to the reception hall every other minute. He had been here for half of an hour, and there was still no sign of Kara.
"Captain Apollo, are you listening?"
Lee was surprised to see the President staring at him with raised eyebrows. He really needed to be less transparent. "I'm sorry, Madam President. What were you saying?"
"I was saying it's awfully nice of you to get clearance for most of your pilots to be here. They need a break."
"I thought so," Lee agreed.
"You need a break, too," Roslin pointed out with a slight shake of the head. "I won't keep you."
Lee gave her a small nod and smile before walking over to the bar. He was going to need a drink if he wanted to convince anyone else that he was here for the right reasons. The President obviously wasn't buying it. His eyes scanned the dance floor as he walked past it, but she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere. He took a seat at the bar and motioned for the bartender.
"Are you looking for someone in particular?"
Lee turned to the man sitting on the stool next to him. If he remembered correctly, this was the assistant to the Quorum delegate from Canceron.
"If you're not waiting for someone specific, I highly recommend you give the blonde over there a try. She's been ignoring every advance that's come her way so far. I'm trying to figure out if she even likes men. I swear to the gods, if you can get a looker like that to even glance your way, it'll be a miracle." The man chuckled lightly to himself. "And if you can get her to dance, I will buy you the finest glass of ambrosia this ship has."
Lee turned to see the woman the man was referring to. His eyes recognized her immediately, and he drank in the sight of Kara with a ravenous hunger he had long thought misplaced. Her hair was pinned up off her shoulders, giving his eyes the opportunity to glide over every inch of the smooth skin he had been admiring for weeks. Kara had definitely saved the best dress for herself. It hugged her body in all the right places and stopped just short enough to give its viewer a satisfying taste of what was underneath. Lee knew without a doubt, she had worn that dress for him. He finished off the drink in his hand and smiled at the man at his side. "I think I'm going to give it a try."
"Good hunting, Captain," the man said with a laugh.
Lee was about to let him know that this was probably going to be the easiest kill of his career when Kara's eyes finally caught his. His breath caught in his throat as a smile spread across her face. Pushing off the bar, he cut his way across the hall to her side as quickly as he could without seeming desperate.
"How did you know I have a thing for men in uniform?" she asked as soon as he got near.
"How did you know I have a thing for blondes in little black dresses?"
She shrugged. "Don't all men?"
Lee had to laugh. She had a point. He held out his hand. "I have a bet going with that man over at the bar. He said he would buy me a drink if I could get you to dance."
"Lee, if you want to ask me to dance, just ask. You don't have to make up some crazy story about a man at a bar."
"Do you want to dance?"
Kara suddenly felt a shyness wash over her, and all she could do was give him a small nod. She took the hand he had offered and allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor. A tiny voice inside of her wondered if maybe tonight was the night he finally stopped worrying about what other people thought.
"You look amazing," he whispered, spinning her into his arms.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Lee gave her a small nod, and she leaned in towards him. "This is all for you."
Lee bit back a moan. Plenty of woman had dressed up to go out on dates with him, but it wasn't the same. Nothing was the same when it came to Kara.
They danced in silence for the first few songs. Lee was just glad he could be this close to her and not worry about someone pointing out military regulations. They were probably breaking at least twenty of them, and the night was still young. Lee's eyes drifted around the room, and he thanked the gods for small miracles. There were at least a hundred couples out there with them, and most of them were some sort of combination of pilot and crew. Not one of them was paying attention to how close the CAG was dancing with his wingman.
"Can I interrupt?"
Lee automatically tensed at the sound of his father's voice. He felt Kara step away from his arms and tried his best not to hate his father a little more for it.
"You probably want to talk to your son," Kara said with an understanding nod. "I'm sorry. I know I've been monopolizing him."
Adama shook his head. "I don't think the Fleet is ready to see me dancing with my own son."
At seeing Kara's confused look, Lee couldn't help himself. "Sometimes you can be really dense, Kara."
"I think what my son is so tactfully trying to point out is I was actually asking you to dance, Miss Thrace."
"Oh." A pink blush crept across her cheeks. "Sorry."
Lee rolled his eyes and stepped away. His gaze fell on the sight of Cally talking to a few of the other specialists. Kara was always telling him he needed to loosen up and put himself out there more for his crew. He was going to start with the pretty girl who always managed to keep his Viper in top condition.
Kara watched Lee work his way over to Cally and ask her to dance. She couldn't help but smile. He could be such a hero sometimes. No wonder he had the call sign of a god.
"Lieutenant, I wanted to thank you."
Adama's words broke her back to the present. "I'm sorry, sir?"
"I haven't seen my son this happy in years."
It slipped out before she could stop herself. "You haven't seen your son in years." Her hand came up to cover her mouth, and Kara wondered if the gods would turn back time if you prayed hard enough.
Adama gave her a sad smile. "That's very true and something I'll always regret."
"He'll forgive you in time. You know that right?"
"I'm hoping," Adama said. He twirled Kara before pulling her back into his arms. "He seems particularly enamored with you, Lieutenant."
"I don't know why, sir."
"You can drop the sirs for tonight," Adama insisted.
Kara gave him a small nod and looked around the room. A lot of people were staring at her right now. She had a feeling after tonight Kat was going to accuse her of moving on to the last Adama in the Fleet.
"I'm glad to see that Lee has finally found a wingman he can trust. He struggled for weeks to figure out Beehive, and I don't think he ever truly succeeded."
"We fly well together."
"That's an understatement."
"How would you know?" Kara exclaimed, her mouth dropping open even before he answered.
This time, it was Adama's turn to look sheepish. "You two have been the talk of the ship since you started your training runs. Sometimes, if I wasn't on duty in the CIC, I would go to the observation deck to see what everyone was talking about. The things you two did? I've never seen that before."
Kara felt herself blush. "We were just messing around."
"If that was you and Lee casually flying, then I can't even begin to fathom what it would look like when you two get serious." Adama gave her a genuine smile. "I remember the day my son came to my office to give his report on the nuggets. His enthusiasm when he was talking about the progress you were making was infectious. He really saw something in you."
"Sometimes I wonder if he's completely lost it," Kara smirked. "I'm just a pyramid player trying to make a niche for herself in this new world."
"You used to be a pyramid player. You're a Viper pilot now, Lieutenant."
The song faded out, and the people around her applauded. The Commander gave her a slight bow and made his way off the dance floor. Kara watched him work his way over to the President before she started searching the crowd. She found Cally talking with the Chief, but Lee wasn't in sight. A few of her fellow pilots asked her to dance, but she politely shook her head and kept moving through the crowd.
Kara was thinking about whether Lee would have gone out into the halls of Cloud Nine when a husky voice whispered in her ear, "Looking for someone?"
She turned to smile at him. "There's this flyboy I met a month ago, and I was hoping he would be here."
"Just a flyboy?"
"No, he had something special about him."
Lee smiled and put his hand on the small of her back. He guided her back to the dance floor. "We always seem to hit the slow ones, don't we?"
"The gods are kind to those that believe," Kara said, rattling off a scripture passage she had learned when she was little.
The rest of the night went exactly the same way. Someone would interrupt Lee and Kara, and they would part for a few minutes. Then they would naturally drift back together. If anyone noticed, they didn't say a word. The CAG looked happier than he had in ages, and Starbuck was laughing for a change, really laughing.
Zak had interrupted them only once to talk with Kara. He teased her for being unavailable for the past few weeks and then reminded her to be careful. The only difference was this time he told her to do what she had to in order to be happy. Then, he thanked her for making his brother, the man who had helped raise him, smile again. Lee found Kara standing on the edge of the dance floor with tears in her eyes after that one.
"What's wrong?" he asked, reaching out to take her hand.
She shook away the tears and smiled. "You did an amazing job, raising your brother."
Lee looked out at the dance floor where Zak was currently twirling Cally to the beat and smiled. "Sometimes I think that's my greatest accomplishment. But then he says something completely asinine and I wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to just leave him on the beach at the end of one of our family vacations."
Kara was laughing when she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Her eyes met Lee's, and she knew they were both thinking the same thing. These distractions needed to stop before they went insane.
"Lieutenant Thrace, I was wondering if you would mind allowing me the honor of a dance?"
Kara did her best not to shrivel back from the slimy voice of the newly elected Vice President. She had only met Gaius Baltar a few times while on Galactica, but frankly that was enough for a lifetime. Something about this little man put her on edge. She couldn't imagine having to spend a whole song in his arms. Then again, you didn't say no to the man of the hour.
Kara was about to reluctantly move from Lee's arms when she felt them tighten around her. "I'm sorry, Doctor. She's a little busy right now."
Kara's eyes went wide. Had Lee just shot down the Vice President of the Colonies?
"Lieutenant Thrace?"
Kara turned to look up at Lee. He was smiling at her. She bit her lip and shook her head, trying to hold in a laugh. "I promise to come find you when I'm not already occupied, Doctor."
She didn't even notice him slinking away. Her eyes couldn't move away from Lee's. His hands were warming her body, and she could feel something slipping away inside of her. It was as terrifying as it was exciting. Their bodies moved in time with the music, and Kara surrendered herself to the moment.
"What are we doing, Kara?" Lee whispered after a few minutes. "What the frak are we doing?"
"I don't know," she said honestly. "Whatever it is, we can't stop it."
"I know." His hands tightened around her waist as he turned to scan the room. "The party's ending."
Kara couldn't hide the disappointment as it flashed across her face. "It was a nice break," she said quietly, pulling herself away from Lee.
Lee watched her as he finally realized he had always been right. She was trouble for him in every way. He held out his hand for her to take. "Come with me, Kara?"
She gave him a small nod, a wave of inexplicable shyness coming over her. Lee took her hand and led her out of the reception hall. In the back of her head, she knew that he shouldn't be leaving without speaking to, among other people, his father and President Roslin. In her heart, she was glad there weren't any more distractions.
Lee dropped her hand as they neared the docking bays. His eyes caught with the first Colonial officer he could find. "Lieutenant Findley, I'm about to make your night," Lee said, walking to the nearest Raptor.
The pilot rushed down the open hatch and threw a quick salute at his CAG. "Sir?"
"I need to get back to Galactica, so you get to stay here for the night." Kara tried not to let her mouth drop open. Lee was being awfully blunt. "We'll send someone back with it in the morning." The man still didn't move. "Dismissed, Lieutenant!" Lee said, raising his eyebrows.
Findley jumped into action, saluting again as he rushed out of the docking bay. Kara laughed as she walked up the ramp into the ship. "That was a little dramatic."
"It was the only way I could think to get him to leave and not to say a word to anyone," Lee said, sliding into the pilot's chair. He motioned for Kara to sit in the seat next to him.
She immediately kicked off her shoes and rested her feet on the consul, letting out a soft moan. "I forgot how much those fraking shoes hurt."
Lee chuckled as he slid on the headset and requested permission to launch back to Galactica. He would never understand why women felt the need to put themselves through such pain just for the sake of being fashionable.
Kara waited until they were drifting through the open space to break the silence comfortably hanging between them. "So, Captain Lee Adama, how did you learn to dance like that?"
Lee settled back into his pilot chair and let some of the tension filter out of his body. "Like what?"
"Come on! Every woman there was watching your every move. When you dipped me, I swear to the gods, I saw half the room orgasm."
Lee shook his head. Kara could be so obscene sometimes. It was weird how he loved that about her. "When I was eighteen, I dated one of the choreographers for the Caprican Ballet Company." He smirked at the memory of it. "She was twenty-seven."
Kara feigned shock. "Lee, do you have a thing for older women?"
"I have a thing for blondes," he smirked.
"I knew that," Kara said, letting out a deep breath. They were already nearing Galactica, and she could feel the dread of going back to that world as it pushed down on her. She had been enjoying the freedom. There had been this little bubble when she was dancing in with Lee for the past few hours. She could have sworn there was something shifting between them. Then he took her here. He pulled her from the one place they could probably have found a secluded corner where no one would care that the CAG was kissing one of his pilots, and he had brought her here, the one place they couldn't even touch without alarms going off.
The Raptor bounced lightly against the deck, and Kara picked up her shoes off the floor. She was about to step off when she felt Lee's hand grab her wrist and pull her back. She gripped her shoes tightly against her body as he tugged her into a sweet, soft kiss. She lost herself from the very moment he touched her up until the moment he pulled away. Being near him wrecked havoc on every inch of her body.
"Why did you bring me here, Lee?" she hissed, shutting her eyes as she tried to calm herself. When she opened them, she saw Lee was staring at her, a mixture of confusion and fear in his eyes.
"I thought you knew."
Kara shook her head. "I have no fraking clue."
Lee bit down on his lip and decided to lay it all on the line. "My father gave everyone who isn't already on shift an overnight pass on Cloud Nine."
"I know. I gave mine up to follow you back here." Kara's lips came out in a pout, and she wasn't surprised to see Lee's eyes glaze over with desire. It took all her might to push Lee away and step off the Raptor. If he was going to bring her back to the one place she had to keep her guard up, then she wasn't going to give him one inch of her. "You do realize the message you're giving me by taking me away from what tonight could have been."
"You're misunderstood me then."
Kara looked over at him as they made their way through the hangar bay, and she could feel her heart break just a little more. Why did she ever think she could be the type of girl a man like Lee Adama would ever want? She turned to look at the empty corridors in front of them and willed the tears to settle back down. Lee's fingers moved to trace the pulse of her wrist before sliding down to lock with hers.
Okay, that might be why she thought Lee could want her. Because after everything they said and did, he still wanted to touch her.
"Kara, everyone's going to be on Cloud Nine tonight. Every pilot, every crewman… they're all on that luxury liner." Lee tipped her chin to look up at him. "And you and me, we're not."
Kara felt her breath catch as she realized what he was implying. "Oh."
They walked in silence, hand in hand. Kara could feel the cool metal grating of the corridors against her bare feet. It was a stark contrast to the way the rest of her body felt on fire. They were alone, really alone, for the first time.
Lee led her silently through the corridors to her bunkroom. That choice of destination had been made simply because it was a lot closer than his own shared officers' quarters. Now that he had decided to finally let this happen, he'd be damned if he made himself wait one second more. He opened the hatchway door and let Kara step into the room first.
The hatch clicked shut behind them, and after taking the time to turn the lock, Lee leaned his back against it. He watched as Kara walked to her locker and set her shoes down. The way her hips moved was positively intoxicating, and it wasn't just because she was in that sinful little dress. He had watched her walk across the hangar bay in her flight suit or a dirty pair of orange coveralls too many times to count. Every single time, he had to take a minute to calm down before letting his presence be known. She had the strangest effect on him.
Unable to take it anymore, Lee walked over to her side and reached to pull the hairpin from the back of her head. Her hair cascaded down in waves around her shoulders as she turned to look at him. He had expected a smirk or even a soft smile to be on her face. Instead, she looked curious. He knew she was wondering how far he would let her push this.
Kara stared at Lee for a moment and then reach out to slowly unhook the buttons of his dress jacket one by one. Her hands slid against smooth skin as she reached inside the jacket in order to push it off his shoulders. He had chosen to forgo the usual tanks underneath, probably because of how hot luxury liners could get. Kara was silently grateful. She leaned in to kiss his chest lightly, and she could feel his heart pounding against her gentle touch.
Lee's hand was shaky as it slipped the thin black strap off her shoulder and he kissed the silky skin. His lips were barely a whisper against her, but he could feel her shivering already. He kissed his way along her shoulder to the curve of her neck while his other hand pushed the remaining strap down. The dress fell into a pool at her feet.
Kara dipped her head just low enough to shift Lee's kisses exactly where she wanted them. His lips held barely any pressure against hers, and she wondered how their relationship had changed so much. A few weeks earlier, they would have been frantically trying to consume one another, body and soul. Now she didn't want to rush this one bit.
Lee bent down to sweep her up in his arms, taking care not to break the contact of their lips. Her arms tightened around his neck as he walked the few feet over to her bunk and laid her down. Kara's eyes burnt his skin as she watched him kick off his shoes and then slide his pants to the floor. She held out her hand, inviting him to join her, and her heart soared at the smile she was given.
There wasn't much room in the bunk. That was something Lee had always been frustrated with up until this point. Now he was pretty sure the shipyards made it that way for just this reason. If they hadn't been destroyed by the Cylons, he would have written them a letter of thanks.
Pushing all thoughts of Cylons and shipyards and letters out of his mind, Lee let his hand slide along the smooth skin of her body. He wanted to touch every inch of her, feel her shift in anticipation, and know it was because of him.
His hands slid up the inside of her thigh, pausing briefly to brush the smooth silk still covering her. She was already primed for him. He felt her moan against his touch and trailed his fingers up along her stomach, taking the time to kiss a small circle around her belly button. Her skin was tan, tan and perfect and pure and smooth and so fraking soft that he never wanted to stop touching it.
Kara shifted her body up off the bed, forcing Lee onto his back. She slid one leg across his body, straddling his waist, and was pleased to feel his arousal pushing against hers. There was still a thin barrier of clothing between them, and Kara silently thanked the gods for giving her a reason to keep this slow. She knew the second they were free of their clothes she would be sinking her body down onto his. She had no self-control when it came to Lee.
She was idly running her hands over the smooth, hard muscles of his chest, just enjoying the moment, when Lee's hands left where they rested on her thighs. He pulled her fingers to his lips and kissed them just like he had the day a Cylon tried to frak with their minds. Her heart broke as if it was happening all over again. "Lee," she whispered, bending her body down to kiss him firmly on the lips. She opened herself to him and hoped he could understand just how much he meant to her.
His hand roamed her body freely, and Kara was awed by how natural this felt. It was as if the two of them had been doing this exact thing for years. The desire she was feeling radiated back at her through the kisses and the gentle way his hand was caressing her backside.
Kara forced herself to wait until the anticipation of the next move got to be too much. Pushing up off his chest, she reached her hands behind her back to unclasp her bra. The silky black material fell off her body, and her nipples immediately puckered against the cold air of the bunkroom.
Lee watched in awe as her breasts rose and fell with every breath she took. Time was frozen. All he could hear was the pounding of his own heart. He couldn't move. "I have never wanted anyone as much as I want you in this moment," he confessed.
Kara's voice came out as no more than a whisper, but it was enough. "I'm yours for the taking."
Lee took her words to heart and sat up to hold her against him. His hands cupped her breasts, making soft circular strokes with his fingers. The sensitive flesh molded against the pressure of his touch. Kara could feel her breathing quicken as he kissed the side of her neck and worked his way down to meet his hand. His lips teased her hardened peak before taking it into his mouth, and she could feel a shiver of impending release already. She unconsciously bucked against him, and her hands came up to run through his hair as he switched his attentions to the other side.
Leaving her wet from his touch, Lee pulled back to smile at her for a moment. The smile faded into something serious as his fingers teased a trail between the valley of her breasts. He was watching her with such intensity that Kara couldn't help but moan.
He pushed her gently back down onto the bed. His hand tenderly slid over the small black silk still covering her most sensitive area, and after only a slight hesitation, his fingers pushed the material to the side. She arched against his touch as he teased the small bundle of nerves that was already singing. "Oh gods," she muttered. She reached out to grasp his shoulders just as he inched one finger inside of her. She came apart immediately. This was the moment she had been hoping for since she first met Lee Adama in that bar.
Lee didn't let up as the waves washed over her. He watched her unravel and it only caused him to want her to do it even more.
Kara was panting wildly, trying to regain control of her body, when she felt his hands slip her panties from her body. She was on the verge of screaming it was about fraking time when the words caught in her throat. Lee gripped her knees to spread her wide in front of him, and her heart froze in her chest as she realized what he intended.
Lee wished he could say that this would be it, that he could just let his defenses down for one sweet night with Kara and it would all be over, but as he took her sensitive flesh into his mouth, he knew he couldn't let go.
Her body tensed against him as his tongue delved inside of her, and her nails cut into his shoulders as she did her best to hold herself back. Lee pulled back to look up at her. Her eyes were half closed in desire, and she was biting down on her lip to keep from crying out. "You are so fraking perfect," he said before renewing his assault on her body.
Kara's moan turned more primal as he played her body like a finely tuned machine. He knew exactly where to push and when to pull back. It was official. Lee Adama was put on this world to frak her good and proper. That was his job, and she was going to make sure he knew it. Her body came apart at his gentle insistence, and she had the sudden desire to make him do this for the rest of their lives.
Lee pulled away from her as the waves finally subsided. Kara let out a small sigh of satisfaction before opening her eyes and frowning. "How is it possible that you're still not naked?" Lee's laugh mingled with her own as her hands came out to frantically pull his boxers away from his body.
The laughter drifted out as Kara felt the full naked length of his body against hers. It amazed her that her body could have this strong of an effect on him. "Finally," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his back and holding him in tight.
"Finally," Lee echoed, smiling down at her. "Thanks the gods."
If it was possible, her smile became even brighter. She wasn't alone in this.
Lee rubbed himself against her heat, teasing her each time she bucked up against him.
"Please." Kara hated the way she was begging, but her body really felt like it was going to explode if he didn't fit himself inside of her right this minute.
Lee could see her struggling and knew that he was torturing her, but he wasn't going to stop. They needed the build-up as much as they needed the release. He had no idea when or even if they were ever going to do this again. It had to count. He pushed himself inside her an inch before taking a deep breath and pulling out. He laid a kiss on the side of her head as she gasped at the small intrusion. He continued to just barely enter her and tried his best to keep the little bit of control he still had. Just feeling her body writhing against his was enough to make him come.
"Gods, Lee," Kara said. She tightened her legs around his waist and tried to pull him in deeper. He didn't budge. For the first time, she cursed those impossibly perfect muscles that made up every inch of his body. There was no way she could get the upper hand in this small little alcove. "Frak," she groaned as he pushed himself inside another inch. She was about fed up with this.
Lee was taken by surprise when Kara's hand came down to take him in hand. It gave her just enough time to move out from under his body. Lee stared at her in wonder as she walked over to the metal table in the middle of the room, stark naked except for that infuriating smirk.
She motioned with her finger, beckoning him to get up off the bed. "Come here, flyboy."
Her voice was a husky whisper, and Lee couldn't help but obey. She twisted his body until he sat on the cold table. His body stiffened, and she let out a small laugh before leaning in to nibble on his bottom lip. "Don't worry. I'll be warming you up shortly."
Kara desperately wanted to fall to her knees and show him just how much she wanted him. Taking him into her mouth would be ecstasy, but she knew she couldn't. She didn't have the patience to do it right, and there was no way she was going to frak up an opportunity to have Lee right where she wanted him.
Lee shuddered as he wondered what ideas were floating around that deliciously wicked head of hers. He didn't have to wait too long for an answer. Kara kicked one leg up onto the table and used his body as leverage to push off the ground. Her body settled in against him as her legs straddled his waist. Lee gripped her hips tightly and prepared himself for Kara to take him on a ride, hard and fast.
He was taken aback when she sank down on his erection inch by excruciating inch. Kara's hands wrapped around his neck as she slowly worked her body against his. Her mouth dropped open as a gravelly moan fell from her lips, and Lee couldn't help but pull her down towards him. She smiled against his lips as she continued to slide her body against him, working them both into oblivion in the most deliberate way.
Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on taking him deep within her. Lee was intoxicated. He couldn't look away even if the Cylons chose this very moment to attack. Seeing her get pleasure from riding his body so well was more breathtaking than anything he had ever seen. Her body was shivering against his, and he knew that it wasn't because of the cold bunkroom.
Kara let out a tiny cry of surprise as Lee shifted the angle and hit a new spot deep inside her. Her eyes flew open to meet his, and she found herself smiling for the thousandth time that night. She leaned in to slide her tongue along the inside of his mouth. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. She silently thanked the gods for having enough compassion to keep her from making this amazing man a quick one-night frak. She wanted more than that.
Lee hadn't known something so slow and painful could be so satisfying. The gradual build-up allowed him to keep control at first, but when he felt Kara break with him still deep inside of her, he knew that all hopes of restraint were slipping through his fingers.
He pushed their still-joined bodies up off the table and walked them back to the bunk. He refused to let the first time he came inside her be on a cold table in the middle of a bunkroom. She deserved more than that.
Her arms came up around him as he laid her down in the bunk. His name was on her lips before he had even settled himself against her. There were a thousand things he wanted to say to her, starting with how stupid he was to let some stupid regulation keep him from her and ending with how much he wanted to quit it all to be with her twenty-four hours a day.
The heat between there flared up instantly, and Lee could feel Kara's nails digging into his back as her legs tightened around his waist. He was still trying to keep the slow pace, afraid that if he let himself go, he would hurt her. There was so much desire built up inside of him.
Then she was whispering in his ear, urging him to go harder, faster. He held back until he felt her tighten around him, and then he let go of his control, pushing in as swift and as deep as he could. He bit down on her shoulder as she contracted around him, causing him to release inside her.
The tension flowed out of his every nerve when he felt her holding on to him for dear life as she gasped for breath. He fell down at her side, the last bit of strength finally leaving his body. His arms came up around Kara's body to tuck her in to his side. Sighing in satisfaction, he felt his eyes begin to droop. She had taken everything out of him.
"There's going to be a shift change," Kara reminded him, trying to squirm away from his arms. "There might not be a lot of people left on this ship, but they're not all gone."
Lee stared at her for a moment before sighing. "Kara, how many of the people assigned to this bunkroom are on Cloud Nine?"
Kara did a mental tally in her head. "All of them."
"There's your answer." Lee tugged at her arm. "Now I'm tired. Could we please get some sleep while we still have the time?"
Kara leaned down to brush a kiss along his forehead. She turned to pull the bunk's curtain shut just in case. "I didn't peg you for a cuddler," she lied. The truth was she knew he would be a cuddler. It was simple fact that any woman who got this man in their bed would move heaven and earth to fell his arms holding her. Lee would be a cuddler by default.
"I just want to keep you close in case I want to do this again."
Kara cocked an eyebrow. "In case?"
"When," Lee corrected sleepily. "Definitely when."
Kara laughed and settled back into his arms. She was glad he wasn't leaving. It helped cement this whole thing in her mind. It wasn't a dream. She wasn't going to wake up and realize she was still a lonely ex-pyramid player with no family and no purpose.
After tonight, she knew without a doubt that she had a family.
She had Lee.