Chapter 53 (Warning - Basically Pure Smut)
Anya couldn't help jumping when she felt his hands on her lower back, the lotion cool on his palms."Too cold?"
"No, it's fine. Just surprised me a little. I think I'll live."
He responded by beginning to carefully apply pressure and she let out a contented noise. She closed her eyes, savoring the way his big hands felt as he massaged her muscles, slowly working his way up to shoulders.
"Spirits, I love how soft you are," he murmured, almost to himself, and she laughed, though it was cut short by the way his thumbs started to knead gentle circles into the base of her neck.
"Oh, God, this is even better when I'm not sore," she mumbled with a sigh.
"Mmm, I'm sure. Say the word and I'll happily do this whenever you want."
"I know you would, honey, but I also know that you're as busy as I am, or close to it. I don't like bothering you."
"You aren't bothering me, Anya," he reproached gently. "I always have time for you."
"With how much you have to get done between me running you ragged on missions, and the Primarch, and keeping our weapons running their best, and staying in contact with your family, and four trillion other things, I don't know how."
"There are secretly six of me. Didn't I tell you?"
"You must have forgotten," she said with a laugh, and he chuckled.
"Honestly, the Primarch has other people to bother now that he's been established for a little while, so I don't hear from him nearly as often, and keeping up with my family is a lot easier now that they're off Palaven. That mostly just leaves you and the big guns, sweetie. I can handle that much on my plate." His hands started making their way back to her shoulders.
"I can't help worrying about burning you out. I know I lean on you for a lot."
"Not as much as I wish you would. I'm not saying that I'm upset with you being independant, I just...feel like asking me for help with things shouldn't be your last resort."
"I'm sorry, honey, I'm not trying to make you feel like I don't need you. I promise that I do," she murmured.
"Don't apologize, you haven't done anything wrong."
"But I make you worry on a very regular basis, and I am guilty of not asking for help, even when I probably should."
"While technically true, it isn't something that I want you to feel bad about. I have known how capable you are for pretty much as long as I've known you. You shouldn't feel like you need to apologize for self-reliance," he responded softly, dragging his talons lightly down her skin until he reached the small of her back. She couldn't help the moan that escaped her when he started applying pressure there again. It took her a moment to gather herself enough to speak.
"I guess...I don't know. I think being on the street so much as a kid left me with a weird combination of coping strategies when it comes to dangerous situations. If you're in trouble, calling for help just distracts your allies and makes you more of a target. I guess it's hard to turn off that mindset sometimes. A little part of me is always going to worry that if I distract you too much, something bad could happen to you, and I don't think I could handle it if you got hurt, or worse, because you were trying to save me."
"Do you think I could handle it if you got killed because you were afraid of asking me for some backup?" She swallowed at his words.
"I'm going to try to do better."
"I'm not asking you to do or change anything, Anya, I just...hope you take what I've said into consideration. Okay?"
"Okay," she answered with a small nod.
"I'm sorry if I'm being overly protective. I know that you're a strong woman. It's one of the many things I admire about you. I just wanted to remind you that your strength, both real and perceived, isn't the only thing about you that matters."
"Thank you, honey. And you shouldn't apologize, either. All you've ever done is tell me that you care."
"I really do." The words were tender, and the tone, low and loving, made Anya smile.
"You're amazing, you know that?"
"Of course I do," he answered, now smug, and she laughed. "Feel free to keep going, though."
His hands worked their way lower, so that he was massaging the cheek of her ass with one hand, the claws on the other trailing down the back of her thigh. His hand reversed its direction about halfway down, slowly moving upward and inward so that his talons teased her inner thigh. He stopped short of her center and she let out a shaky breath. He repeated the motion, toying with her deliberately, and she had to bite her lip to keep from letting out a whine.
"Hard to keep going when you're being a tease," she muttered hotly, and he laughed, the sound reverberating through her and making her clench.
"We've barely started," he chided, doing it again, one finger barely grazing her sex, and she let out a frustrated noise.
"You're being a lot more direct about the teasing than I was." He switched which side his hands were tormenting, and she squirmed.
"I've seen you take a bullet and barely miss a step, how is this getting under your skin so well?" This time, when his hand reached the juncture of her thighs, he started as if to sink in a fingertip, but stopped short, his hand moving away from where she wanted it.
"Probably helps that I don't want a bullet in me," she managed, her voice strained at the way his talons glided down, and then started towards her center again. She whimpered when his next touch had him rubbing her slit, her hips rocking involuntarily.
"Spirits, you're getting so wet." She felt her face heat, and she glanced back over her shoulder at him. He seemed enthralled, hunger in his gaze as he watched her in turn.
"Garrus," she all but whispered, not caring about the need in her voice.
"Yes?"
She swallowed, and in that moment of hesitation, he started to move his hand away. She blurted, "Please, honey. I want to feel you inside me so goddamn bad. Please."
He seemed pleased, and she nearly wept with relief when he responded, "You want to push yourself up on your knees for me?"
She hurried to shift as he directed, elated when she felt his hand on her hip. She stilled when she felt his tip press against her. He started to press forward, slowly and carefully, and she tried to lean into it, impatient, but he pulled back.
She whimpered his name, and he only responded by murmuring, "Eventually, you're going to learn not to rush me. If you want me to do this, you need to behave."
She swallowed and nodded, her hands fisting in the blanket while she waited, the ache almost torturous. He started to nudge forward with his cock after a moment, the slow press of his length making her eyes squeeze shut. It took everything in her to stay still as he thrusted, each languid motion driving him a little deeper than the one before. She moaned in spite of her frustration, her sex throbbing, when he'd finally burried himself to the hilt.
She felt him shift so that he was on all fours above her, covering her back with his front, and she wondered what he had in mind just before he started nuzzling and nipping the nape of her neck. His hand moved so that he was touching her where they were joined, and she felt herself clench when he used her fluids to moisten the pad of one finger before he started gently rubbing circles around her clit. Her hips bucked, and she had to force herself to be still, panting.
"You can move now," he murmured, his voice rough, and she let herself rock her hips in time with the motions of his hand. His own hips stayed still, letting her alternate between chasing the feeling of his shaft deep with her, and more pressure on her clit. She felt the tension building in her lower belly as she moved, his breath hot on the back of her neck.
"I'm getting close," she managed, unsure if the words were a plea or a warning.
"Then make yourself finish. I want to feel you fall apart," he practically growled, and she let out a needy noise as she continued to chase her peak. Her movements quickened, and she felt him let out a shuddering breath right before she came, the pulses of ecstasy tearing his name from her lips again. She hadn't yet caught her breath when he pulled out, flipping her onto her back and tugging her knees apart again.
"Hurry," she begged, reaching for him, and he complied, settling easily between her thighs and pressing his mouth to hers. She let her tongue tangle with his, hungry for more of him, and he groaned at the way she pressed herself against him as they kissed.
"Oh, spirits, I hope you weren't planning on doing a lot of walking tomorrow," he rumbled, lining his tip up with her entrance again.
"Fuck everything I had planned for tomorrow, I need you, now," she panted, lust clear in her voice.
"Whatever you need," he agreed, his voice still husky and raw. "Are you ready?"
"Yes. Please, honey. I'll do whatever you want, just hurry." She felt a wave of triumph when he started to sink into her again, and she bit her lip at the familiar stretch. He groaned when he was plates deep in her again, and she whimpered.
He looked down at her, looking almost feral, and he murmured the words that made her belly twist, "I hope you're ready for it to be a long, long night, Anya."
She swallowed, and her voice was breathy when she managed to reply, "Promises, promises."