Warning: THIS CHAPTER is rated M for sexual content.

Chapter: 8 of 10

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Note: This is the longest chapter for a reason. To those of you who asked for it (many times), you're welcome. :)

Bed of Roses

The following evening they sat by the smoldering fire, once again pressed closely together, their arms around each other, listening to the general chatter around the circle. Teyla had been pleased to find that John was affectionate with her in front of her people; the other Athosians did not seem in the least surprised and she wondered how transparent she had been over the last few months.

John ran his hand idly across her back and she reveled in the warmth of his fingers felt through her thin shirt. As the night darkened and the stars emerged, he traced his hand up her spine and under her hair, running his fingers along the sensitive skin at the back of her neck, and the thrill it sent through her caused her to arch her neck into his touch. She turned to look at him in the glow of the flames, but he was facing Halling, seemingly deep in conversation about crops. She suppressed a smile and indulged in a little of her own surreptitious foreplay, running her hand under the edge of his t-shirt at his side and trailing her fingers up his ribs, grazing along his bare skin. His conversational tone faltered a little and she smothered a laugh, pleased that she had affected him. A few moments later he was pulling her to her feet and they made their exit, calling good nights over their shoulders as they headed to her tent.

A crescent moon was silvering the grass at their feet, and Teyla inhaled deeply, savoring the moment of expectation and longing. She glanced over at John, his profile starkly handsome against the dark blue of the night sky, and her eyes trailed down his body. She smiled secretly to herself when she saw that he was already visibly aroused, and she felt a giddiness of anticipation she had not experienced since she was a young girl. When they reached her tent, John held open the flap for her and she stepped inside, brushing her body against him slightly as she passed. Once inside, she slipped off her sandals and he knelt, unlacing his shoes and removing them. "Would you like some tea?" she asked, not knowing what else to say, the moment stretching in front of her with potential, as she turned to light the candles on the table next to her.

"Hmmmm," he mused as he moved closer, drawing his eyebrows together in a thoughtful expression. "Tea wasn't really what I had in mind." She laughed and then he stepped to her and set his mouth to hers, and the softness of his lips and gentleness of his touch in her hair made her legs tremble and her heart pound with anticipation. She raised her hands to his chest, tracing the strong lines of muscle and tendon and the toned strength of him through his soft t-shirt. Their kiss grew more intense, and he pushed into her mouth, pulling her lower lip between his and sliding his tongue along it, raising goosebumps that raced down her arms.

Lowering his hands from her arms to her waist, he pressed her to him, pulling her body into his hips. Even through their clothes, the feel of his hardness against her was intoxicating to Teyla and she pushed even closer, pressing her lower belly into him until he gasped and pressed back, rubbing himself against her, but then he broke from their kiss, breathing heavily, and pulled away slightly. He stared down at her, a wild look in his eyes, and she could tell he was trying to gather his wits; it thrilled her to her bones to know that she could influence him this way.

"Whew," he managed. "You're not kidding around, are you."

She grinned at him mischievously, sliding her hands across his shoulders. "No."

"Well, I'm not kidding either," he informed her and arched an eyebrow at her, then reached for her, placing his hands on either side of her jaw and kissing her with an intensity that stole her breath. He was still keeping some distance between their bodies, but soon one of his hands slid down to her neck and across the fabric of her shirt to her back. Tracing across her shoulder blade, John ran his hand underneath her upper arm and caressed up along her ribs.

Teyla's breath quickened when she realized where he was headed, and she felt him grin into her mouth at her clear anticipation. He teased her a little longer, lingering at her side, then finally raised his hand to her breast and cupped her, massaging gently.

Teyla knew she had always been particularly sensitive in that area, and the feel of John's hand brought back memories of darkened tents and long sessions of kissing and touching with a young boy, feeling nearly dizzy with arousal from the boy's touch at her chest. She had always enjoyed this aspect of foreplay, but Kanaan had not been one to linger in any stage of lovemaking, as his focus was very narrow. Teyla had not realized how much she missed this kind of touch and pressed into John's hand further, murmuring softly to let him know how much she enjoyed it. He rubbed his thumb across her nipple through her thin shirt, and she gasped and gripped his upper arm tightly, digging her fingers into the thick muscle.

He pulled away slightly and looked down at her, grinning. "So, I'm guessing you kinda like that," he smiled, raising his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Gazing up at him through lowered eyelids, she merely nodded, too caught up in the wave of arousal that had coursed through her body to form a coherent reply.

"Well, I can do better than that," he said in a low voice, suddenly serious. He withdrew his hand from her breast and ran his fingers between her cleavage, where he began to release the fastenings of her woven shirt. He urged her to raise her arms, and he pulled the shirt from her, then placed one arm behind her waist, leaning her back into the circle of his forearm and bending to lower his mouth to her chest. Licking across the side of her breast, he pulled her nipple into his mouth, running his tongue around it and she could not help but whimper. She leaned back into his arm and her head dropped back, the pleasure of his mouth hot against her skin leaving her totally enthralled. He raised his free hand to her other breast, tracing his fingers lightly in circles around its peak, and she thought she would fly apart at the electrifying sensation. She could feel her pulse beginning to throb between her legs and she gripped the muscles of his neck convulsively, allowing him to support her weight fully with his arm.

She did not know how long he continued like that, alternating mouth and hand between breasts, pleasuring her to the point of near euphoria, when she dragged her mind from the fog of arousal and straightened, lifting her weight from his arm. He lifted his mouth from her reluctantly and she realized that he would have continued to gratify her as long as she let him, and the patience and passion of him melted her heart.

"Come," she told him, tugging on his hand and walking backward until she felt the heavy wood of the bed frame at the back of her knees. She sat and pulled him toward her, and he lifted his knee to rest it beside her on the bed. He reached for her jaw with one hand, bending over her to slide the other hand around the back of her neck, running his hand through her hair, and kissed her deeply, his mouth pressing into hers more eagerly than before, tongues sliding together. It hit her then in a rush that the John she had known for so long was making love to her. She had thought of him as just a friend for all those years, but this moment did not feel awkward or strained between them; on the contrary, it seemed right and inevitable.

Suddenly she wanted more from him and standing from where she sat on the bed, Teyla reached for the hem of his t-shirt, grazing her hands up his sides and pressing against the underside of his arms until he lifted them, and she slid the fabric over his head and tossed it to the floor.

The sight of him in the candlelight, his broad shoulders and flat stomach, the tense masculinity of his muscles, filled her with delight and she made sure he saw the admiration in her eyes. Then she reached for his belt, unbuckling it and yanking it swiftly through the loops and throwing it to the floor.

"In a hurry?" he smiled, hands caressing up and down her backside through her pants.

"Merely eager." She returned the smile, then reached for the fastening of his jeans. The way he clenched his jaw and tightened his hands on her told her that this simple action greatly aroused him, so she took her time, slowly releasing the button. She tugged at the metal pull, grazing her hands against his erection as she pulled the zipper down, and heard his breathing speed up. She leaned slightly closer, just touching her breasts to his naked chest and ran her hands around his toned waist and down his spine to his backside, sliding his jeans and boxers from him, letting them drop to the floor. She gazed down at his straining member, delighted to see how tight and eager he was for her, but he interrupted her reverie by quickly running his hands down her back and pushing her pants to slide over the curve of her hips and down to the ground. Teyla reached up to rest her arms around his neck and he turned her slightly, lifting her to lie back on the bed lengthwise, while he softly kissed across her cheek to her ear.

Resting his knee on the far side of her, he nudged her hips and she raised them so he could slide her underwear over her legs and the touch of the soft fabric grazing over her thighs made her feel as though every nerve of her body was alight. Then he rose over her and lowered himself onto her, his erection pressed between them against her belly. The weight of his body, the smell of his cologne, the feel of his breath on her ear, sent her pulse soaring and she breathed his name as he kissed her deeply, then ran his tongue down her neck to her collarbone. Lifting slightly from her, he set his lips to her breast again and she arched into his mouth, hands gripped in his hair and murmuring her approval. She allowed him to suck and tease her for a few moments, then she pushed against his shoulder gently, and he rolled onto his back next to her. Placing one knee at his side, she lifted the other over him and straddled him, sitting up and allowing him a full look at her naked body. She saw the intense desire in his eyes as he raked his gaze over her and she knew that she always wanted him to look at her this way. He reached for her breast with one hand, sliding the other hand slowly up her leg to her inner thigh, the rough texture of his palm against the soft skin sending a thrill through her. She closed her eyes tightly in pleasure when he grazed his fingers along her folds down to her wet opening.

"John," she murmured, pressing into his hand and gripping his muscular forearm tightly. He looked up at her, his eyes dark, and she saw that he was gaining as much pleasure from the act as she was. He pushed his fingers deeper, entering her and moving them in and out while he brushed his thumb against the crux of her arousal, his eyes never leaving her face. She sighed with contentment and pushed against his hand, allowing his fingers to press deeper, but she was reaching the edge of climax and so she pulled away from his hand. Lifting her hips, she rose up and reached under her to grasp his erection, guiding it from where it pressed against her bottom to move it in front of her, between their bodies. Settling on his hips again, she looked into his eyes as she reached to touch herself, pressing her fingers inside, then moved her hand to stroke her wet fingers over his anxiously straining arousal.

"Teyla," he ground out, clenching his jaw again, his eyes burning into her, as she repeated the caress, touching herself to wet her fingers and then sliding her hand over him. She saw that he was clinging desperately to his self control, so she waited a moment, then lifted from her knees again and lowered herself on to him, slowly sinking down as he stretched her, losing her breath at the feeling of him inside her. His face was tense with arousal and he clamped his hands to her hips, holding her down while he breathed deeply. Finally his gripped loosened slightly and she rose on her knees again, sliding up his erection, then back down, gasping at the friction and the excitement that shot through her. She rose again, once, twice, and her senses were reeling, blood pounding in her ears and her arousal at its limit. Closing her eyes and lifting once more, she ground down against him, leaning back slightly to grip her hands around his muscular thighs behind her. She felt her inner walls contract and her orgasm hit her then and she whimpered loudly, rocking against him and her thoughts flew away, leaving her to ride the glorious wave of sweetness that bloomed up from her pelvis.

She heard John whispering encouragement and felt him caressing her breasts, obviously thrilled at her enjoyment, and she looked down to see him gazing up at her, his eyes glazed with need. She breathed out a long sigh of contentment, and rose to her knees intending to lie beside him, but he grasped her hips with both hands. "Stay," he gasped, holding her over him.

She smiled down at him. "Do you not wish to take your pleasure?"

"We can do that together," he managed to pant out, fingers gripping into her skin.

"Very well," she grinned, and began to move herself up and down him again. But it was too much for him, and he groaned. She stilled, trying not to look smug that she could push him so far. He moved his hand to trace his fingers around where they joined, circling and teasing against her nub again and she felt a rush of blood returning and marveled at how quickly he could bring her to arousal again. It took no time for him to push her to the brink once more, and he loosened his other hand on her hip and urged her to ride him once more. She quickly acquiesced, leaning forward to rest her hands on his chest and he began rock against her. She cried out almost immediately, rubbing herself down onto him in ecstasy. She felt him tense suddenly and then he thrust up into her, groaning loudly and pulling on her hips, forcing her harder onto him, and she watched his eyebrows draw together and he closed his eyes tightly, his face tense with pleasure as she felt his warmth releasing inside her.

Finally he opened his eyes, his face relaxing into an expression of complete contentment. "Teyla," he whispered, staring up at her dazedly, and she felt a rush of glee at the fact that she had driven him to such satisfaction. He was certainly more engaged in their lovemaking than Kanaan had ever been, eager to please and take pleasure.

He rolled her from him, settling them on their sides to face one another, and she chuckled. He pulled back to look into her face.

"What?" he asked, a look of concern flitting over his features.

"We were not quiet," she laughed.

"Told you so," he grinned, and gathered her in his arms, pressing her as close to him as possible.

TBC