Chapter 27

Garrus
May 29th, 2191

My nose pinched as I walked through the front door, a very unpleasant odor greeting me as I entered. It was a pungent, sour smell, with a slight hint of salt and an even slighter hint of Amelia's shampoo.

"Ame?"

"In the kitchen!" Came the immediate reply. I padded over, seeing my mate standing at the island counter, chopping a cylindrical green vegetable with a wicked-looking knife. Sitting in front of her was a small plastic container with a clear liquid inside, the smell's origin.

"Hey," I approached her, leaning over the counter to give her a quick peck on the cheek before the smell drove me away, "What is that?" I asked, pointing to the container, "It smells terrible."

A smile appeared on her face, "It's vinegar. I'm making pickles."

"Pickles?"

"Yea. I craved them when I was pregnant last time, so I thought ahead. I went to the Levo greenhouse earlier and stocked up." She took a medallion of the cucumber and popped it into her mouth, the vegetable crunching loudly under her teeth. "Mmm… these are good."

I watched her for a moment as she finished cutting the cucumber and threw the medallions into the vinegar, closing the container and moving to the fridge.

As she moved away, I got my first glimpse of her body, previously hidden behind the counter. She wore a sky blue sweatshirt, the edge cut off right at the bottom of her ribcage, leaving her tight waist open to view. My eyes tracked down, seeing the skintight black leggings hugging her ass.

I must have rumbled because she turned back to me with a sly smile. "You ready to spar?" Her voice was innocent, but her smile made it clear she knew exactly what she was doing to him.

"Yes."

Amelia

I stepped off the edge of the mat, dabbing my sweating face with a towel and taking a swig from my water bottle, taking a second to catch my breath. Garrus pinned me in three of our seven spars, evenly matched as always.

I stepped back into the tape ring, signaling I was ready for the final round.

Garrus

I squared up my stance, ready for Amelia to make the first strike, something she was prone to do, being a very aggressive fighter. As always, our sparring match was dead even. I had reach, but she had flexibility, speed, and a spirits-damned annoying knack to flow around my strikes like water.

As expected, she approached, her arms in a defensive position in front of her face. I easily deflected a quick jab, sending one back her way, but she was no longer there. Two strikes hit my waist, followed by an ankle hooked around my leg, pulling me to the mat.

She was on top of me instantly, trying to secure my legs, but I got my feet onto her chest, pulling her arm and pushing my legs out, flipping her over my shoulder.

I flipped, getting on top of her and pinning her arms and legs. She struggled determinedly but couldn't free herself from my iron grip. The smell of her arousal hit my nostrils, and I dipped his head down, licking from her collarbone up to her ear.

Amelia

I saw my opening and took it, delivering two punches to his waist, stunning him for long enough to sweep his leg. He tumbled to the mat, but I couldn't pin him. The next thing I knew, he flipped me over his shoulder and got on top of me.

So many emotions were running through my frazzled head; happiness for executing my move, annoyance for letting him get the best of me so easily, and arousal because I was pinned down by the sexiest man in the galaxy. That emotion won out as he slowly dipped his head, his rough tongue dragging up my neck. I felt my center warm substantially, moaning loudly, and shivering as his tongue finished its path.

His flanged voice cut through the silence. "Tiebreaker?"