Chapter 46

Anya could hear her heart pounding in her ears as his talons grazed her jawline as his hand began to trail downward. He gently drug a blunted claw along her collarbone, then downward, between her breasts. She nearly shivered when he took the pale mound in his hand, kneading it briefly before letting his thumb graze the edge of her nipple. She arched into the touch, and he responded by rolling the sensitive nub between his fingers.

He started licking and nuzzling his way to her other breast. She bit her lip when his tongue darted out, and she struggled not to squirm when his attention turned to her nipple. He carefully took it between his teeth, and she barely suppressed a moan at the sting. He kept teasing her with his mouth as his hand made its way down between her thighs.

"Hurry," she urged him softly, her hands creeping up over his shoulders, and he chuckled.

"Always so impatient," he teased as he pressed the tip of one thick digit into her sex.

"Can you blame me?" she managed as he started moving slowly his finger in and out.

"I mean...technically." He shifted enough to start working his way back up to her throat, and she moaned when he nipped her once, his finger suddenly sinking deep. It took her a moment to realize that her nails were digging into a spot between his plates, and she tried to make herself relax.

"You...fuck," she panted.

"Want to try that again?" He started pumping a little faster, and she started moving her hips in tandem with his motions.

"You're a tease, you know that?" she muttered, her cheeks heating.

"Maybe a little." He sounded pleased with himself.

"Garrus…" she managed breathlessly.

His finger slid out of her slick heat, and she wanted to protest until he started to tug her legs apart to settle between them more comfortably. She was quick to help, angling her hips to meet him in the middle when he pressed the tip of his length against her. He slid in slowly, and she found herself whining at the tantalizing feeling.

Her hands made their way up to graze his fringe, and he stilled for a beat before he caught both of her hands and pinned them just above her head, his fingers laced through hers.

"Just this once," he murmured, "you are not going to rush me. I want to savor every moment of being inside you."

The words, hot and low in her ear, made her clench, and he let out a noise. She felt her breathing hitch and he returned to teasing her throat and shoulder with his mouth. She couldn't help the soft moans that escaped her as he kept going, his thrusts bordering on languid.

"Oh, God, honey," she whimpered, feeling like she was burning from the inside out.

"What do you want, Anya?" he all but growled, and she felt another wave of heat rush between her thighs.

"I don't know," she mumbled, and he responded by adjusting his angle and rhythm, so that he was grinding against her, every roll of his hips feeding into the pressure slowly building inside her. She found herself panting, her body arching to meet his. Abruptly, he stopped, and she had to choke back a whine.

"What do you want, Anya?" he repeated, and she shuddered.

"Fuck me," she begged, her face hot. "Please, Garrus, I want you so damn bad."

"Attagirl," he managed, his motions starting up again, and she shuddered. "Why do you want me to fuck you?"

"I...I…" She mentally scrambled for a beat before she said, "Because I trust you, and because all I can think about is cumming once your cock is in me."

"Oh, spirits, that's perfect. Tell me more," he rumbled, and she felt the words heat her to her core. His movements against her sped up, and it took her a brief moment to gather herself enough to string together a response.

"Once you start fucking me, I can't think of anything else," she whispered, swallowing once. "Between that and wanting you to finish, too, I feel like I'm going to go crazy if you stop. I crave the way you feel when you're plates deep inside me like other people crave water."

He groaned at that, and she let out a noise of her own when he started pounding her, every thrust driving her relentlessly towards her peak. "Tell me you want it."

"I want this," she panted. "Oh, God, don't stop."

She went over with a whimper, and his hands tightened on hers. He kept moving, burying himself to the hilt while she endured the pleasurable throbbing emanating from her core. His breath was coming in ragged gasps when he stiffened, and he ended up with his face buried in her throat as he came a few moments after her orgasm ended. He released her hands as she tried to slow her breathing, and she laced her arms around his neck.

"Spirits, that was nice," he murmured finally, and she snorted, lifting up to look at him.

"You tease the hell out of me before fucking my brains out, and the best description you can come up with is 'nice?'"

He laughed at that. "In my defense, I think it takes more than twelve seconds for the blood to return to my brain."

"Fair," she said with a contented noise, her head falling back against the mattress.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes."

"Are you sure I wasn't holding you down too hard?" he pressed.

"Definitely not." The surety in her voice made him chuckle.

"You like it when I pin you."

"Very much."

"We're going to have to play with that more later," he said as he gingerly pulled out.

"Please, feel free."

He rolled off of her, settling on his side, looking at her. She shifted so that they were face to face, and she was quick to press her forehead to his. His hand came up to cup her cheek again, and she sighed at the gentle touch.

"How did I ever get so lucky?" he asked softly.

"You didn't," she deadpanned, and he chuckled.

"Oh? And how do you figure that?"

"If memory serves, I had to drag you, kicking and screaming, into this," she teased, stealing a kiss.

"It wasn't that dramatic."

"You protested at almost every turn."

"You say that like I didn't almost take you in public spaces on two separate occasions," he reminded her playfully, and she grinned.

"Missed opportunities, right there," she joked, and he smiled.

"You say the word, and we can go to the bar or mess right now. I'm not above making up for lost time."

"Mmm, don't tempt me." She ducked her head so that she was tucked under his chin, and he pulled her in closer with a pleased hum.

"But you're fun when I tempt you," he teased, his talons trailing up and down between her shoulder blades.

"I'm starting to think you're right about being the bad influence," she pretended to complain.

"You had doubts? That's just hurtful, Shep." He squeezed her once, and she returned the gentle embrace.

"I'm not a nice lady."

"Agree to disagree?" he offered, and she shook her head.

"You're crazy."

"No comment."

"Alright, don't defend yourself. We should probably move though," she murmured, pressing a single kiss to the skin at the base of his throat.

"Why? This is perfect."

"Well, we're the wrong way across the bed, for one."

"That did not matter five minutes ago," he countered, and she smiled.

"You were...enthusiastically distracting me five minutes ago."

"You seemed pretty eager to be distracted, too. This is only half my fault."

She snorted. "Fine, I'll claim fifty percent, but I'm serious. We can't get under the comforter if we're laying like this. You're the best heat rock, but you can still only keep about half of me warm at a time."

He feigned an exasperated noise, pulling away and moving up the bed. He started tugging the heavy blanket back, and she hurried to help him. In a few moments, they were wrapped up under the comforter, and she let him pull her against him so that they were spooning.

"I better not hear any more nonsense from you the next time I complain about being cold after we get back from somewhere like Noveria," he warned with a chuckle, and she shook her head.

"Not the same," she said primly.

"Alright, if me not wanting to freeze to death is fair game, so is the Mako," he teased.

"And now we're at a five," she muttered, and she could feel him shake with silent laughter.

"Alright, where is the danger zone for me on this? I don't want to get kicked out of bed."

"I'm thinking, about an eight. Beyond that, you're probably going to end up in trouble."

"Okay. Okay. Quick question: how often does this reset? Monthly? Yearly? Does it not restart for the duration of the relationship? I need to know," he said, mirth in his voice.

"Ass." She turned just enough to playfully slap his shoulder, the impact barely making a noise.

"That doesn't answer the question."

"And I don't intend to answer it, either," she groused, pretending to be annoyed. "You're just going to have to find out for yourself."

"Mmm. I may need to rethink some things. These last few jokes may need to count more than I originally anticipated."

"You're going to regret this eventually."

"Promises, promises," he teased, nuzzling her hair from behind, and she struggled not to laugh.

"Just hush and go to sleep already."

"Yes, commander."

"You…" she growled threateningly, turning to mock scowl at him, and he laughed before stealing a quick kiss.

"Sweet dreams, Anya," he murmured earnestly, pulling her in closer. She smiled and rested against him, her head falling back onto the pillow.

"Sweet dreams, Garrus."