Just a little warning…an R rated chapter….
It was a warm summer night and the water from the pool felt wonderful. What felt even better was the thrill of sneaking in to the academy past the arrogant cadets guarding the gate who thought their mong was made of gold clusters, when in reality the baby faced cadets were only a yahren or two older than her, and not any smarter.
They tried to convince Ari to join them. Her shy brother blushed and turned away as she and her friends began to strip off their clothes. He was so hooked on Kalea he was paralyzed by the wanting. He played the gentleman and stood guard outside the fence, his back turned. He had turned noble since joining the Academy. Or maybe he just wanted to show off in his uniform that Kalea had fawned over.
Rene shook her head turning away from him to grin at Jake. The water was warm and delicious against her skin and she waited for Jake to swim to her. A rare smile was on his features as he too loved the thrill of sneaking in and doing unspeakable things in the Academy pool. They both treaded water, sharing the wicked emotion of the moment. He reached for her and playfully she swam away, diving for the drain at the bottom of the deep end. Her ears popped at the depth before reaching it. As her fingers brushed the grate, the bottom of the pool bloomed red. She spun in shock to look up to Jake, but instead of her friend, there was a man in the water. He floated arms spread, silhouetted in blood as another explosion colored the water the blood red. The man's white robes billowed in the water. His smile was radiant against the dark sky above.
"You won't cheat me this time." The words echoed in the water, spilling into her head.
Her only means of escape was to turn away and swim down deeper. Her lungs burned as she pulled at the grate, but it wouldn't give way. She felt a current of water rush past her as the water drained away in an instant and she was falling, landing face down in the muck of the sewer. She scrambled to get up, confused and lost in the dark, her clothes soaked and clinging to her. Where had she put them on? She had been swimming with her clothes by the side of the pool. She spun her head taking in the tunnels of the sewer wondering how she got here.
"Move!" Ari pushed her towards the shadows. She wanted to reach for her brother, but then she heard the drone behind her instinctually began racing down the tunnel, chasing the safety of the darkness, forgetting that it was no safer there than in the light. Ahead was the ladder up, and she leapt for it, climbing so fast that her wet sneakers slipped on the rungs, but she held on. The heavy cover to the sewer shifted aside and a hand reached down. She looked up to the man clad in white. His smile beckoned to her, but above him was the silver gleam of a centurion. She let go of the ladder, dropping back down, landing hard as her feet slid out from under her, and she plunged back into the muck.
Hands reached for her, pulling her to her feet. There were people all around and the press of the crowd was stifling with the smell of unwashed bodies and fear. Laser fire sizzled above her head and she looked around disoriented. Centurions exchanged fire with an unseen enemy, then they fell one by one. There was roar of turbos as vipers screamed overhead. A landram pulled up to the gates, Colonial markings boldly visible. The men on the vehicle were warriors, their clean uniforms golden against the mud colored sky. The shoulders of one bore shining epaulets, his hair jet black. He stood like an avenging angel, the man in white by his side. He pointed and the crowd parted, the men firing clearing a path. The man in white strode to her, his robes impossibly spotless amongst the grimy crowd.
"You have what I want." His voice cut the air, sizzling like the laser blasts around her.
She turned to run, but there were too many people in her way. She pushed at them as they pushed her back. A hard blow knocked her to the ground, and she landed in the mud. She tried to bring her head back up, but it was so heavy. She reached out trying to grab onto someone, but the crowd was gone. She was alone on a dark night. Flames were all around her as a heavy rain poured down streaming into her eyes. She heard an explosion behind her. She looked over her shoulder as he stepped out of the darkness, unscathed as the fire flared. He was bright white against the dark night sky and as his hands moved, the flames grew higher.
"You can't escape me. I own your soul."
"I got a new one," she mumbled as she tried to stand, her feet slipping on the wet ground. She crashed down into cold hard cement. She struggled to raise her head, her back burning from where he touched her, the smell of blood heavy in the air.
"You are mine." His voice echoed against the brig's walls, the bars rattling with the force of it.
She closed her eyes, muttering to herself, "No I'm not. I'm free." A hand touched her, but when she looked, it wasn't Jake or Starbuck reaching through the bars for her. It was Count Iblis pulling at her jacket, commanding her, "Come to me."
She struggled to crawl away, the pain in her back unbearable, her right arm collapsing underneath her. She closed her eyes as a shiver tore through her body. She felt the blood pooling beneath her.
"This isn't real." She heard her own voice echoing off the walls of her cell. She shivered again as the floor grew ice cold. She opened her eyes to a different scene. The room was a blinding white, walls all around, a soft voice calling to her.
"Rene? Are you okay?"
She looked up into Starbuck's blue eyes, but what she saw there was worry, pain and hopelessness. His uniform was gone, a ragged old hunting sweater in its place. He was bruised and bleeding, trying to hold on to her. Then a shock went through him and he jerked away, falling painfully hard to the floor, his body convulsing.
"No. Make it stop!" she shouted, and a robed figure leaned towards her, his smile surprisingly warm and human despite the chill of the cell.
"He will pay until you give me what I want. They all will." His hand reached for the button, pressing as Starbuck yelped before his muscles went tight as he shook.
"NO!"
The shout shattered the scene around her as she jerked away from the arms trying to hold her. She gasped at the feel of the water, spinning her head around, looking for the incoming raider in the night sky. She looked behind her, towards the fence for a last look at Ari, but he wasn't there. The bright golden glow of the Rising Star's lights and yellow hued walls confused her.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's just me." Starbuck's voice brought her back to the present. "You're okay. You just fell asleep, it's okay."
She nodded her head, feeling it wobble on her neck uncertainly still trying to figure out why she was warm, wet and naked. She latched on to his voice, seeking his eyes.
"You're okay. I'm here. You're on the Rising Star. Wake up, Rene."
She let the words penetrate the haze of her dream, holding onto his voice like a lifeline, bobbing her head again in acceptance of the safety they offered. "Just a dream," she mumbled. His hands held her shoulders, his grip strong and real.
"Probably wasn't the best idea to let you fall asleep in the tub, but damn it felt nice and…you're okay?"
"Yeah," she mumbled looking around trying to orient herself. He spun her to look at him.
"You're on the Rising Star. In the honeymoon suite, with me. Still a little lost?"
She tried to take a deep breath. "Yeah, no, I know where I am." She shook her head and leaned into his arms, resting her head back on his chest. "You're safe."
"Of course I am. I always make it. That's what the heroes do, with pretty girls in their arms," he said tightening his hold on her. "I think you might be right though about getting out. I am wrinkled everywhere and I don't want you to get a preview of what the yahrens have in store for you when I get old."
He gently moved her from him and stepped out of the tub, reaching for one of the big fluffy towels, wrapping it around his waist as he reached for another, holding it open for her. She stepped out and back into his arms as he wrapped the towel around her.
"How about we get some lunch and see what they have in the way of entertainment, at least until I get my second wind. We have a whole suite to explore."
She didn't move, keeping her head against his chest, letting his heartbeat bring her back to the present. He kept his arms around her, content to stay there all day if she wanted. She took deep breaths to bring her heart rate back down, waiting for it to settle into a normal rhythm before she pulled away.
He didn't speak, just reached for her robe on the floor, helping her into it before he reached for his own, wrapping it absently before reaching for her hand and leading them out into the bedroom. The bed had been made with all the pillows arranged artfully. His dress uniform was hanging up neatly and her dress was laid across a chair, the buttons piled up on the dressing table by the chair. He chuckled when he saw the pile.
"Think they found them all?"
"You're still answering to Vanna for that," she warned. He just grinned as he guided her out to the main room to a sofa before going to the comm and ordering up soup and sandwiches. She tried one of the strategies Dixon had taught her, clearing her mind, just concentrating on her breaths, in on the count of four, holding for the count of five, releasing on the count of six.
He sat down beside her, waiting quietly for her to open her eyes before wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. "Wicked dream?"
She nodded slowly.
"Want to talk about it?"
She shook her head no and he nodded in acceptance before reaching for the data pad for the entertainment system. "Wow, they have a lot of vids. How about this one?"
She tried speaking, a simple "Yeah, that's a good one," that came out soft and hoarse. He cued it up and they watched the intro to a classic from their childhood, a story of heroes of old and the uniting of the twelve worlds. It was full of action and somewhat comedic, but the hero was handsome and the ladies were fair. It felt comfortable as they both settled in to watch. They were twenty centons into the vid when lunch arrived. She wasn't hungry but Starbuck insisted.
"Doc said I needed to fatten you up and I don't like to eat alone." He pulled up a low table, loading it up with the food. "You want to tell me about the dream?" he asked again, focusing on the food, but she knew that was an act. When he dug for information, he pretended it wasn't important.
She didn't want to talk about it, but knew she was being too quiet, trying to pull the pieces of it apart. Dixon was right, talking wouldn't hurt anything. "It was about Iblis."
Starbuck froze, a sandwich halfway to his open mouth, before moving the food back to the plate. "What about Iblis?"
"I was dreaming about the destruction and he was there on that night, and then he was in the brig on Dilmun, and then…" she shook her head, already not remembering how it ended.
"What was he doing?"
She wanted to tell him it was just a dream, but they both knew better. Her dreams were sometimes prophetic. This dream didn't feel like that, but she never knew until some things came true. Some things never came true. It was frustrating.
"It's not an exact science," she muttered to him.
He raised his eyebrows at that. "No, but he doesn't show up in your dreams often, does he?"
"No." She shook her head and looked down at the plate of food that she didn't have the stomach for anymore. "Only when he wants something. I thought he was gone. I thought I got rid of him when I cheated him."
"When he showed up before, did you give him what he asked for?"
The anger rose up fast and hot as she met his eyes. She'd been desperate with few options and none of them a good choice. "I cheated him, didn't I? From what I heard, you took what he offered."
It was his turn to look down. He nodded slowly before looking back up. "He was very persuasive and I don't always earn the gold clusters."
His admission doused her rage. He met her eyes again. "What does he want now?"
She shook her head. "It was just a dream. It doesn't mean anything."
"That's what we tried to tell you about the ones you were having about Caprica." His voice sounded odd, like an out of range transmission half caught on the comline.
His point was fair and accurate. He deserved the truth. "He wants the same thing as before. He wants what I can do and where I can take him. When he shows up, usually John isn't far behind."
"John?" Starbuck's eyes clouded over as if he were trying to remember something but couldn't. "You've not mentioned him before. What does he want?"
She sighed. "He doesn't want anything. He just shows me things and then sits back and watches. I can't figure out his angle on all this, but he doesn't deliver on his promises either and I don't appreciate being in the middle."
"Do you know who John is?" he asked, looking away again, picking up his sandwich.
"Do you?"
He was still looking away when he answered. "He is with the ship of lights. You said you had seen the ship of lights." He took a bite, letting her know this wasn't going to be a two way conversation. He wanted answers.
"In dreams. You've seen it in reality?"
He nodded and she waited for him to chew and swallow. "It's usually followed by passing out and waking up somewhere else, so you don't see it for long. But yeah, I've been inside it, but I don't remember much, just that Apollo was dead and then," he looked up to the ceiling as if searching for the words. "Then we were there on the shuttle and he was alive. I just remember it being all white and I think I offered to trade my life, but," he shook his head not finishing the sentence.
"They can bring people back?" She felt her breath catch on the fragment of hope.
He heard it in her voice and he put down the food, turning to face her. "I'm not sure it works that way, Rene. Iblis had killed Apollo when he got in the way of him killing Sheba. Apollo sacrificed himself and the beings in white said something about it not being his time. He wasn't dead for long."
She let out the breath she had been holding in a defeated sigh. "So neither of them can give me what I want then. They need to get the frack out of my head and leave me alone."
He nodded slowly, reaching out his hand to stroke her cheek. She wanted to jerk away from his touch as it held too much pity for her to take.
"I'm not crazy," she said reaching for his hand to still his touch.
"I know," his eyes gazed deep into hers in his effort to convince her that he understood. It helped to think he might believe her that she was sane and none of this was just hallucinations. She let go of his hand, and he resumed stroking her cheek.
"We're quite a pair, aren't we? Neither of us sleeping much, too much going on in our heads. So let's just take it a cycle at time, what do you say?"
She nodded but it felt like giving up. She didn't know exactly what it was she was supposed to be doing, but she knew it was something more than just sitting around waiting for them to take a slow route to Earth.
Starbuck read her impatience. "Okay, so let's say we take a break for these couple of cycles, and then we go back and we look into what you can do, how you do it. Peryton says he can create it without you, so let him. We let others play around with it, just until the baby is born and then Apollo has a plan. It's one I can live with because it involves all of us going into your rift together. We would be together and we go find a home where our kids can be safe. Deal?"
"Deal," he answered, leaning forward to kiss him to seal the pact. It was an easy agreement to make as it seemed to ease something within her new husband.
He pulled away with a fresh smile on his features and he dove into the food. She wished it could be that easy for her, but she'd never been able to control the dreams. If she could, she would have stopped them long ago. Of course, then she never would have found the route to Dilmun or found the Galactica and the fleet.
"Why me?" she thought to herself. There had never been any reason why they chose her. She had asked the question often, but neither John nor Iblis ever gave her an answer. It left her wondering if others had the same dreams and they were just better at ignoring them. She knew that might actually be the case based on the dreams she had before Caprica of images that were not part of her memories, but the memories of others. "If they can ignore them, so can I," she decided, renewing her resolve to accept Starbuck's attitude. She had earned them these few days off from all the worries and concerns of the family and the fleet. They were hers to enjoy.
Starbuck pushed a sandwich on her and demanded that she eat as well. She tried to, reminding herself that she needed to regain her strength before she took on any new missions. Starbuck was right, there wasn't much she could do for now but rest and remind all the beings in her head that she could only do so much.
Once they were done eating, Starbuck settled back pulling her into his arms and restarted the vid. It didn't take long for him to doze off and she tried to memorize the moment, to store it away in her brain for when things turned bad like they always did. It had been bad on Caprica, very bad, but they made it. She was here in a luxurious suite wearing the fluffiest bathrobe ever with the arms of a very handsome man wrapped around her.
He woke when the vid ended, the closing music rousing him. "Mmm, that was a nice nap. I think I have my second wind." He smiled down at her mischievously. She matched his grin, sliding a hand under his robe knowing what she wanted this time. He pulled her to him and began kissing her neck as he stretched out on the sofa with her on top of him. The vid started up again, but neither of them paid it any attention. She took her time, exploring his body with her lips and her hands. Finally, it was his turn to grumble, "Stop teasing me. I want you."
She didn't make him wait like he sometimes did with her like it was a challenge. They fit together easily and she leaned into the passion, letting it chase away any thoughts other than how his body felt when it was with hers. She focused all her attention on making Starbuck speak to her in his sighs, moans and gasps. She marveled at how he could throw himself wholeheartedly into the moment. Nothing existed for him but how his body felt here and now. She wondered briefly why it felt so decadent to want to be able to have the time to make love properly? She tried not to wonder when they would have this kind of time again or if they would be back to frantic half fraks in the stolen moments before sleep overtook them from their long exhausting days.
"Don't think," she reminded herself again, trying to mimic Starbuck's lascivious smile as his lips found another spot she didn't know could feel so good to be kissed. His lips worked like a drug, chasing away the pain.
The vid was ending when they slowed down.
"I always did like that story," Starbuck mused.
"That was nice," she murmured as sleep threatened to steal up on her. She fought it off, looking up to stare into his eyes.
He reached for the remote, flicking off the vid. "Was? I'm not done yet."
"Starbuck," she plaintively teased, but he shocked the rest of the words from her as he swiftly moved, rolling her over, shifting her as he moved on top. He took the opportunity of her surprise, kissing her while she gasped. Once she caught her breath, he moved again, rolling her over to where he was behind her, a position he had never really tried with her before. The shift in the arrangement of their bodies startled her. He pressed down upon her and she couldn't move caught between him and the cushions beneath her. His sudden strength of movement and hurried pace woke up a hidden fear deep inside. She was trapped. Dark memories filled her vision, and she tasted blood on her tongue. As Starbuck reached to shift her hips, she was able to get a hand beneath her, to push against the sofa as she found a voice from her past.
"No!"
He didn't seem to hear her at first, or like so many other men, simply ignored her protest, intent on his purpose. Maybe she hadn't spoken? She didn't know if she had as the old fears played out in her mind of her small body beneath a man so much larger and stronger than she. In the past she would have stayed quiet, shut her eyes and hoped it would end soon. But then there was a time when she fought, and sometimes won. That urgency to put an end to the pain increased and gave her the strength to begin to fight, to push away.
"No!" She knew she spoke this time as he stopped moving for a moment. She took the opportunity to try to push up and away. She gagged at the old sensation of being choked, the voices from her past gravelly in her ear and contradictory as they told her, "Stay still. Or fight. I like a good fight."
Panic rose as she recognized the voice as Agenors. She struggled to get away, pushing against the couch to throw him off. The pressure of his body on hers let up, but his hands still held her.
"Rene?"
Starbuck's voice pierced through the fear and she tried to remember where she was. "He doesn't know," some part of her spoke the words of advice to her.
"Get off me. Get off me now."
She tried to keep her voice calm but suspected she failed by how quickly he moved rolling his body to the back of the couch. The release of pressure was a relief, but she began to shake anyway, tremors she couldn't control. She still felt Agenor on top of her, his meat hands grabbing at her, his breath on her neck.
"Rene?! What's wrong? What did I do wrong?"
She felt his hand grip her arm, but the pressure was gentle, soothing, versus restraining. She held her position, trying to breathe through the panic, not wanting to admit that she was waiting for a blow to land on her body.
She tried to breathe, to remember where she was, who she was with. "He doesn't know." The words kept replaying in her head. His grip on her arm shifted, and he began to stroke lightly.
She finally found the ability to move and she slowly shifted back to put the sofa at her back, but she didn't meet his eyes at first.
"Rene? What just happened?" he asked, his voice surprisingly composed. He reached tentatively for her chin, guiding her gaze to his own.
"You've never…" she started, then halted unsure how to describe what he had just tried. Her friends understood when she called it "the Colonial way to frak" but he wouldn't. He'd find the words deeply offensive and irrationally she didn't want to upset him, not now.
"Not a good position?" he stated frankly.
She shook her head emphatically, grateful that he understood. "No. Not good."
"Okay," he said as if checking off a preflight list. "Noted for the record. You're right, we have never, and…uh…I just thought to try something new…but not a problem. Off the menu from now on."
She nodded, wanting to explain to him, but unsure how much to share. It seemed wrong to sully their time together with anything Agenor or the others had done to her.
"I should have known. Dante's desk in his office and on the Zakar is set up…" he abruptly stopped speaking perhaps noticing the shiver that ran up her spine.
She closed her eyes as she whispered, "I'm sorry." A tear escaped as she tried to blink it back.
"Hey, no, it's okay. Not your fault. I should have asked first. I took you by surprise. I know better. Not that way, got it."
"I'm sorry," she said again.
"There are two hundred other ways to do this. I can live without that one," he said, reaching out to guide her chin and her gaze back to him. "You let me know what you are okay with, and what you aren't, alright? This is no fun if you don't, and I'll try not to take you by surprise."
She nodded.
"Can I kiss you?"
He waited for her to answer yes before he gave her a soft kiss. She reached around his head to pull him back down for another, and another, frantic to go back to the moment before the fear and panic wanting to wash the dark memories away.
He pulled back. "You sure? Maybe we should stop for a while."
But she didn't let him, reaching to kiss him deeply. She was gratified when it worked, taking them back to the place of pleasure and love instead of the one of panic and pain.
Afterwards he held her tenderly, not letting go until she suggested that maybe they find another vid or some music. He let her disengage and put on his own robe. She watched him as he scrolled through the entertainment files and she regretted that she had broken the mood. In all their times together, he had never pushed her. She couldn't help thinking back to their first time alone in the Landram, and then later on beach of her favorite planet. Even in a moment of passion he had taken the time to make sure it was what she wanted. He would never hurt her, not even by accident. The realization made her burn with shame.
He cued up a vid, another action movie, and pulled her back into his arms. She wanted to tell him again that she was sorry, but he smiled down at her obviously enjoying himself. "I forgot this is one of my favorites." He pulled her closer and his strong arms reminded her that he was on her side. She let sleep in, hoping when she woke the awkward silence she had created would have faded.
The door chime woke her, and Starbuck cursed pausing the vid that was almost over. "I put it on 'Do not disturb.' This had better be important."
He tightened the sash on his robe as he opened the door. It was Vanna, but she waved tickets in front of her. "There's a performance in the Astral Lounge and I got you two front row tickets!"
Starbuck stepped in front of her, blocking her and the cameraman trailing her from entering the suite. "We have all the entertainment we need right here. We are not going out tonight."
"Not even for a show? What about if we gave you some credit at the chancery or…"
"No. Now get out."
"But Lieutenant, don't you want the fleet to share in your happiness?" Vanna tried playing upon his altruism. He looked back to Rene who rolled her eyes while shaking her head.
"Just give them a few shots or they are not going to leave us alone," she said.
"And what do we get for giving in? They just hound us some more, like they're doing right now!" He turned back to Vanna, putting up his hands to physically push her from the room.
"Alright, alright, but we brought dinner. Could we at least just get one shot of the two you over a candle light meal? Just one and then I promise, you won't hear a peep from us again."
"Depends. What's for dinner?"
"Bovine steaks and grilled mushrooms with sea scallops," Vanna tempted.
Starbuck considered for a moment enjoying making Vanna sweat. "Alright, fine. One shot, just one, then you go."
Vanna went into action, wheeling in the cart, setting up a table with the cloth and cutlery, lighting the candle and telling Starbuck and Rene where to sit and how to pose with the vino glasses raised. "Oh just perfect. You look divine."
They took more than a few shots and Starbuck was indulgent until she began to ask questions as to how the honeymoon was going. "It would be better if we were left ALONE! You're done. Get out."
Vanna rolled her eyes. "Really lieutenant, you think you would be more gracious as we are paying for this."
"Nope, we earned it. Now go before I give you a real show." He reached for the sash on his robe, beginning to undo the knot.
Vanna leered at him for just a moment before gesturing to the cameraman to pack up. "Really lieutenant, you can be so extraordinary. Enjoy your evening."
Starbuck just shook his head at their departure, before sitting back down to the meal before them. "I haven't had this much food in sectars. I'm not sure I can eat anymore."
Rene laughed and he perked up at the sound of it. "We can't let it go to waste. Maybe tomorrow they'll actually leave us alone."
"Wanna make a bet? Odds are they'll be ringing the door chime by early morning. You know, we could sneak out and head home, where we might actually get some privacy."
"I like the tub here," she said, cutting into the steak. "And we can't hear the chime in the turbo."
"Good point. Sounds like a great way to spend our evening." He raised a toast to her suggestion.
Once the meal was done, they both looked at each other as if wondering what to do next. Truth be told, she would have liked to have seen the band in the lounge or played a few hands of seven-eleven, but Starbuck had made up his mind, and she wasn't going to contradict him. They settled back on the sofa and Starbuck scrolled through the vids again. It was still early, but she kept yawning. Being pregnant was starting to catch up to her, or was it still her recovery from Caprica? Whatever it was, lately her energy waned after dinner. Starbuck cued up another vid that neither of them saw much of as they both dozed off, waking when it ended.
"Should we enjoy that tub again and get some sleep? Maybe tomorrow we'll hit the club and catch a triad game, what do you say?"
She smiled and said sweetly, "Whatever you like dear."
His eyes flashed at the hidden challenge in her words. "Oh really? Is that so? I think I'm going to like marriage if that's the answer to everything."
"Well, keep suggesting things I like and this will go your way." She stood up reaching for his hand to lead him to the turbo and the waiting tub.
"You mean your way. I've been warned that how it's supposed to go. Do it her way or suffer the consequences, I was told." He took her hand following.
"Happy wife, happy life," she teased as they entered the room and she undid her robe, letting it fall from her shoulders.
"Happy husband, happy…nothing really rhymes with husband," he said, taking a long hard look at her. "I must say, marriage has improved my view of life."
"Has it now? And what about my view?" She liked the flirtatious banter and the way it made his eyes dance.
He slid the robe from one of his shoulders giving her a peek at his chest before he slid it back up. "Are you sure you can handle it?"
She laughed as she said, "No. The gold clusters are too bright for me."
"That they are. Avert your eyes," he said before dramatically flinging the robe from his shoulders. "Tada."
She shook her head, taking in the sight of him, including the still healing cuts, scrapes, bruises and bright red kisses Crius had left on him.
"Meh," she teased.
His eyes sparked at her word, as he swaggered towards her.
"You really have no shame, do you Starbuck?" she said.
"Far too many compromising situations to have any pride. And may you never hear about any of them," he said reaching for her shoulders before leaning down to kiss the side of her neck.
"I'm sure your old girlfriends and half the fleet will love filling me in."
"Let's keep them out of this and you keep your old boyfriends out of our quarters."
She teased him at his warning, "But you like him."
"I do. At a distance. Let's keep them all that way, in your distant past."
He concentrated on kissing her neck as she mumbled, "Yes dear."
"Mmm, music to my ears. Shall we enjoy that tub while it's still ours?"
She sighed a yes and let him help her in before he got in and she settled into his arms.
"I could get very used to this," she said as he went back to kissing her, his hands roaming.
"So could I, pretty lady," he said.
She let him have his way that night, it was his honeymoon after all. They eventually moved to the bed, where he dramatically tossed each pillow to the floor before going to retrieve a few of them. She wanted to cringe each time he asked if what he was doing was okay before he would move forward, but she masked it well with her teasing words of "Yes dear." She finally had to ask for him to stop, uncertain if he would if she didn't suggest it. He'd worn her out and she was so tired she doubted she even had the energy to dream.
"Did I do good?" he mumbled into her ear as she started to fall asleep on his chest.
"Yes dear," she murmured.
"Mmm, words I love to hear."