Reyes sighed as he closed the status report he'd just read on his omni-tool. He folded his arms across his chest as he viewed everyone milling about the Hyperion's main atrium. The human Ark had been repurposed into the first of many planned structures to grace Meridian's surface, and was the chosen location for the current soirée everyone present was taking part in.

He tracked Sara's movements as she worked her way around the room. She was making a valiant effort to mask the fact that she found the event as tedious as he did, but he'd learned to read the signs, the slight fidget in her movements as she read console reports in between bouts of listening to each and every person that approached her, carefully paying attention to what was said to her by slow talking technicians bothering her at a party about things that could absolutely wait.

He knew just about every person in attendance, important Initiative players, top members of the angaran Resistance, as well as Sara's personal crew and friends. Some were merely there to catch a glimpse of the small woman who'd set them on the right path, others possibly recognizing that history was being written, here, at this very moment, and longing to be a part of it. Tann was there. Reyes was still getting used to the fact that he need not fear being thrown out by the weaselly salarian. Plans would have to be made regarding an official pardon from the Nexus, but it the meantime, it was nice to simply acknowledge the possibility of new opportunities as well as witness the very first seeds of forgiveness on all sides.

A table had been set up on one side of the room, offering various finger foods and libations. Reyes took note of every single trip Sara made to it, and by his count, she was on her fourth cup of quilloa, and he felt his amusement rise apace with her blood alcohol level. An hour rolled by and then another. Convinced that Ryder had spoken with each and every person on hand save for himself, he watched with hooded lids as Sara finally made her way in his direction.

"Hi," she said simply, her small white teeth sinking alluringly into her full bottom lip. She was in her comfortable casual clothes, the leather gloves and jacket over a simple shirt and pants with black boots topped off with a scarf that shrouded the delicate skin at her throat.

"Hi," he said back, feeling a grin kick up the corner of his mouth.

"Have you done any mingling?"

"I only came here for you." He recalled her saying something similar to him back when they'd attended Sloane's party together.

He saw color bloom in her cheeks as she smiled with pleasure at his comment. "Well, I certainly appreciate it, don't doubt that."

"Hmm," he considered. "Maybe you should prove it to me. I found the perfect place for us to slip off to." Moving forward, he caught her by the upper arm, leading her down the stairs, across the atrium, and into a dimly lit hallway. They went past a janitorial closet toward a vacant supply room.

She dug in her heals. "Reyes, people are going to notice I'm gone."

He tightened his grip, pulling her along with him. "They'll just assume you're with Scott. Come on."

He could hear her breathing pick up with excitement as he steered her into the darkened room, waiting for the door to shut behind them before he keyed the door lock with a simple hack program from his omni-tool.

The space was filled with shelving units and storage crates. He nudged her into a corner, where containers had been arranged neatly in a stack. Placing his hands around her waist, he lifted her up to sit on them, stepping in between her open legs.

"Someone's going to catch us," she whispered, but he could feel her anticipation as her hands came up to grip his shoulders.

"SAM will warn us if somebody comes," he said softly against her, brushing her lips open with his thumb. He claimed her mouth with his own, covering her softness in a passionate kiss. Eagerness shot through him at the taste of her. He needed to get back to Kadara and there was no way of knowing when he'd get to see her again, so he needed to make this experience a vivid one that would last them both.

The angaran quilloa lingered on her lips, adding an intoxicating sweetness to her natural allure. He drank her in with intense sips, employing lips and tongue to explore all of her, licking into her, stroking inside before pulling her tongue into his mouth to suck.

She gasped into his mouth as he pulled her hips close, allowing her to feel how hard he was through the layers of their clothing. One large hand gripped her ass, pulling her into him as he ground against her, savoring the ache that filled his crotch at the rough treatment. He wanted to ride her hard and aggressively, so she walked funny afterwards, and felt a sore reminder of his possession for days, but contrarily, he knew he'd give it to her gently and slow, determined to love her with his body, and worship everything she was.

Pulling the zipper down on her jacket, his hands moved inside, squeezing her breasts through her shirt. He thumbed her nipples until they stood out in sharp points and she whimpered, asking for more. He pulled open the fly of her pants, pushing her trousers and panties down her legs and off her feet along with her boots.

He looked down when she was bare below the waist, his stomach clenching at the sight of the pink flesh between her legs. It was happening too fast, it was too much, too sharp. He pulled his gloves off, dropping them at their feet before he reached for the most sensitive part of her. He brushed his naked fingertips over her, just the barest whisper of a touch, and her mouth fell open as she arched toward him. His touch became heavy, and he traced the length of her labia, loving how incredibly hot and soft she was. Applying pressure with his thumbs, he pressed open her folds, pushing two strong fingers into her, past his first set of knuckles to seat them fullly. He caressed her deep inside with his hand, twisting his wrist as he pulled his fingers nearly free before moving them deep again, rubbing up against the most receptive places inside her, circling his fingers, stirring her heat. He took her with quick strokes, his pace increasing as he felt her thighs tense around his hand, and she bit her lip as she broke apart around him, coming with a low, sexy moan. Her head dropped to rest on his shoulder and she reached one small hand to sharply squeeze his cock through his pants.

He grunted at the stab of pleasure that shot up his spine, his hands grappling at his zipper and fastenings to free himself from his armor and all he wore beneath it. His aching shaft sprung free, and he rubbed himself against her scalding slick flesh. He pushed until just the head popped inside, holding there to feel her hips lift as she fought to impale herself on him. He groaned at the delicious torture of it, fighting the overwhelming desire to fill her in a quick firm push, holding himself just inside as she shoved herself against him. Her hips rocked into his as she sucked him in one slow increment at a time. His toes curled as he let her continue to take him, her bare legs coming around his ass to drive his cock into her. He tilted her chin up with his thumb, his mouth covering hers as he gave in and bore down. He pushed past resisting muscles to settle himself deep, feeling it with every inch of his body when he reached full penetration, the feel of her a wet hot slide, clutching him from root to tip. His hips began a slow roll against hers, and reaching between them with his free hand, his thumb brushed against her clit.

She cried out, then cried out again as his hips drove into hers. The hand under her chin moved to cover her mouth, his calloused palm closing over her soft lips. She was always very vocal during sex, and while the sounds she made usually really got him going, right now they were something they could do without.

He set a frantic pace, one hand manipulating the bundle of nerves at the top of her slit while the other muffled the delicious sounds she made. She constricted the length of his cock in the most wonderful way, pushing him much to quickly toward the place where the ground fell out from beneath his feet, and when he felt her sharp contractions as she peaked, he jumped into the abyss, embracing the ecstatic fear that washed over him, hearing himself whisper, "Sara" into the cramped space back in the real world, his accent thick and heavy over the name of the only thing that mattered.

His vision failed and his breath was stolen from his chest, and he died, just a little, before he slowly came back to himself and the reality of the woman in his arms and the darkness of a storage room on the human Ark during a party in her honor.

His cock twitched inside her, and taking a fast breath, he quickly pulled out of her body, rushing to replace her panties so she could savor the sweet slickness of his seed as it slowly squeezed out from between her folds, causing the cotton to cling to her wetly. Moving so he could see her face, he kept his gaze shuttered and predatory, "I need more time with you. When can I see you again?"

She gasped for breath, swallowing hard before she answered, "I've been cleared to leave. I have to make a stop at the Nexus, but I'll head to Kadara just as soon as I'm done there."

He traced his thumbs over her kiss-swollen lips. "Promise?" he asked, turning his own favorite avowal against her.

Her gaze locked with his and she whispered fiercely, "I promise."