Week 3

"Seven days, twenty hours, and forty-two minutes left," Jack grumbled to his empty room. He'd just checked his watch for the third time in less than five minutes. Despite the considerably reduced output of the light device, he was still on edge. His brain to mouth filter was slowly slipping back into place, but his body had yet to get the message. His 2IC was off limits.

Sam hadn't exactly made the last fourteen days easy on him. She insisted on wearing either those flirty sundresses or shorts that left her long legs uncovered. Her scent teased him whenever she entered the room. He would never be able to smell lilacs and roses again without thinking of her. The scent drove him so crazy that he had actually snuck into her room one evening, convinced she'd started wearing some sort of perfume just to torment him. To his shock, he'd discovered the scent was simply her shampoo.

Daniel had caught him coming out of Sam's room, an inquisitive eyebrow raised. Jack had broken down and confided in the man what he'd been been searching for. Daniel had been no help; told him that Sam smelled the same as she always had then laughed at Jack's disgruntled expression.

A soft rap at the door blissfully ceased Jack's thoughts of his 2IC. Crossing the room, he pulled the door open with more force than was necessary, ready to tell Daniel to leave him alone. The sight of Sam standing there in one of her damn sundresses, her floral scent tempting him yet again, utterly deflated him. This was hell pure and simple. The woman before him a demon, sent to torment him with desires he couldn't entertain.

"Hi, sir," she smiled sweetly, completely unaware of the turmoil rolling through him.

"Carter," Jack greeted, trying to sound pleasant and failing miserably. It wasn't her fault he was attracted to her.

"May I come in?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Jack forced himself to say, hating the way her face fell ever so slightly.

"Sir, I know things have been…difficult the last two weeks," she lowered her voice.

Jack bit back his reply. Difficult was taking on a fleet of Jaffa with no backup. These last fourteen days had been torture.

"Your point, Major?" He needed to make her go away or else his resolve to resist temptation was going to crumble.

"My point is," she glanced around to ensure no one was within earshot. "Maybe they didn't need to be."

What the hell was she saying? He was doing his damn best to ignore the response she elicited in him. He knew he wasn't being subtle around her, had slipped up a few times and let his thoughts escape. Okay more than a few times, but she hadn't exactly helped. Her damn giggles ignited his libido past the point of reason.

"I'm doing my best, Carter," he practically glowered as he stepped back from the door, leaving it open and crossed to the bedroom window. "I'm sorry that I make you uncomfortable. I'd leave if I could, but we're both stuck here another seven days, twenty hours and thirty five minutes."

"Not that you're counting," Sam giggled quietly.

Jack heard her enter the room and close the door. She either didn't possess an ounce of self preservation or was so intent on tormenting him that she failed to recognize how dangerously close he was to losing control. Regardless, the woman didn't know when to stop.

"I think you misunderstood," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jack's entire body reacted to her touch; his back went ramrod straight as the blood pounded between his ears. Up until this moment, they'd been careful not to touch since beginning their isolation. The feel of her hand, warm against him, was too much.

"You need to walk away, Sam," his voice was harsh. "I can't—"

"Enough, Jack," she said, her use of his first name catching his attention, making him turn around. "This has gone on long enough. These feelings between us," she pressed her palm flat against his chest. "They're becoming a liability. We need to do something about them before they become too overwhelming to manage."

"The device—" Jack started to argue.

"Has already been turned down two settings," Sam interrupted. "The machine only lowers inhibitions, it no longer has any influence on our decision making. Everything you're feeling right now has nothing to do with its effects. Same with me. What we feel, at this moment," she allowed him to see exactly what she desired. "Is all us."

Jack's hand covered the one Sam had pressed against his heart. He meant to move it away, but only held it closer. His eyes locked with hers, reflecting the same message as they had during the za'tarc tests.

"Jack, please," Sam whispered, emotion cracking her voice. She took a small step closer to him. "Please, kiss me."

A pleading Samantha Carter, Jack realized as his self-control shattered, was one of the few things he couldn't resist.

With a semi-feral growl, Jack crushed his lips to hers. The ferocity of his response both thrilling and frightening. Sam's knees buckled, the intense fissure of energy sending electric shockwaves throughout her entire body. But she didn't fall. Jack would never let her, holding her against him, he maintained the sensual assault to all of her senses.

Finally, regaining a twinge of control, Sam refused to be a passive participant. She wanted to make him understand how much she craved his touch. A hand buried in his short hair, while the other grasped one of his hips. Grinding her hips into his, she simultaneously pulled his lower body forward, eliciting a moan from herself and another growl from him.

"Christ, Sam," Jack murmured against her mouth, his entire body quaking once before he seemed to reign in the response.

Contrary to what she expected, Jack refused to be rushed. He traced her lips with his tongue before gently pushing between them again, causing Sam to hum in the back of her throat at the sensation. No one had ever kissed her like this. Kissing had simply been the means to an end with her other lovers. But Jack's kiss was exhilarating and frustrating at the same time. She wanted more, she needed more, yet the idea of breaking the kiss to demand more was unthinkable.

Instead, she pushed her hips forward again, using her body to demand what she wanted. In response, Jack pulled her off balance and onto the tips of her toes. He rotated slightly, knocking her equilibrium off even more, making her cling to him for support. At her height, she had rarely met a man who could make her feel small and feminine. Yet Jack was doing it effortlessly. But he had also just taken away her leverage; she could no longer use her body to demand more.

"Jack," she managed to force past her lips. His name coming out as a gasp as he dragged his lips to a spot just below her ear.

"What do you want, Samantha?" Jack asked, nipping at her sensitive flesh. "Tell me," he commanded.

"You," she barely recognized her own voice, the deep sensual tone almost shocking.

"You have me," he replied, shifting to support her weight with one arm and running the other down to her backside. "What do you want from me?"

He was going to make her say it. She knew it had to be her choice; he wouldn't take this any further otherwise. Everything between them needed to be on her terms.

"I want—," she squeezed her eyes shut as a wave of embarrassment coursed over her. She wasn't good at sexy talk; had never been able to say something dirty to a lover. It felt so foreign.

Sensing her hesitation, Jack eased her back onto her feet, allowing the barest hint of space between them. Pushing her own insecurities aside, Sam lifted her eyes and locked onto his gaze. "I need you. In bed. With me. Now."