AN: My goal with this scene was to show how Liara's growing confidence in herself has allowed her to explore her sexuality (and thus become more attached to Shepard before the events of ME2). Please let me know if you think I succeeded.

. . .

Chapter Three:

Liara looked up at Shepard with nervous, blue-black eyes, her heart hammering somewhere in her throat. She tried to swallow it back down, but that only made her pulse pound harder. "Shepard," she said, hoping that her lover would not hear the slight crack in her voice. But Liara caught the concerned twitch in Shepard's brow, and knew that her slip had not gone unnoticed. She blundered on anyway, a little short of breath. "Perhaps we... perhaps I… have over-thought this. It might be easier if we simply do something else tonight. Something that is not quite so complicated."

Shepard reached out, stroking up and down the side of her thigh. "We can do whatever you want, Liara," she said. "Anything you want, and nothing you don't."

Her low voice and the soothing motion of her hand helped Liara remember how to use her lungs again. She inhaled through her nose and blinked slowly, staring up into Shepard's green eyes. "Thank you," she said at last. "Sometimes, I wish I was more experienced. Then, maybe I would not have so much trouble negotiating something like this. Or, at least, I would not be so uncertain."

"I wouldn't exactly call you inexperienced." Liara trembled slightly as Shepard's hand halted just above her knee. It veered inward instead of sliding up to her hip, resting just short of the crease where her leg met her torso. Even though Shepard was not gripping or forcing her legs open, Liara could still sense the power in that hand, and in the rest of Shepard's body. She was connected to Shepard in a very physical, primal way, and hyper-aware of her ever touch. "Besides," Shepard continued, "isn't that what you're doing now? Gaining valuable experience?"

Liara had to force herself to process the words. It was surprisingly difficult, even though Shepard's fingertips had halted a few inches short of their goal. A few seconds ago, she had been too nervous to continue, and now, all she could think about was Shepard's hand cupping between her legs. The heel would grind against the hard ridge of her clitoris as two knowing fingers slid inside, and then Shepard would dip her head, whispering forbidden things…

She shook herself, struggling to find an answer to Shepard's question instead. "I suppose I would not be much of a scientist if I did not experiment."

Shepard's face glowed with her grin, and her other hand reached forward to find Liara's, lacing their fingers together. "That's my girl."

"Why do you look so pleased?" Liara asked. "This is my fantasy, not yours."

"Because the Liara I rescued on Therum wouldn't have had the guts to ask for anything like this," Shepard said, and Liara suddenly recognized the expression on her lover's face. It was pride. And, Liara realized, Shepard was completely right. The shy, stuttering Liara of almost a year ago would not have asked for this. But she had blossomed since then in so many ways. Something about Shepard had helped her tap into an inner strength that she had not even known she possessed.

"I want to try," Liara said, feeling her confidence begin to grow. "I just… do not know how to begin."

Shepard leaned a little closer, her fingertips inching up along Liara's thigh. Soon, their faces were hovering only inches apart. "You don't have to figure it out," she said. "This one's on me. You already gave me a starting point."

Liara's cheeks flared as she remembered. Sometimes, her thoughts ran away with her when they were in the meld together, and Shepard caught some of the overflow. It had prompted Shepard to ask a few pointed questions, and eventually elicited a confession. However, tonight had been Liara's idea, and her request. "And if I do not like what I hear?" she asked, voicing one of her last doubts.

Shepard brushed the tip of her nose against Liara's. "Then you tell me to shut up. You won't hurt my feelings, especially if you just kiss me really hard."

Liara took Shepard's not-very-subtle suggestion, shoving her fingers through the short, choppy strands of red hair at the back of her neck and crushing their lips together. She took control of the kiss at first, partially to convince herself that she could before pulling back so that Shepard's tongue could slide into her mouth. Finally, she surrendered to the heat and firm pressure of Shepard's lips, and the tense strings of her muscles began to relax as she sank into the mattress.

The fingertips scorching her inner thigh crawled up a centimeter at a time, and Liara let out a soft, needy whimper as their lips finally tore apart. Her heart was back to thundering in her chest, and she found herself gasping for air all over again, but this time, she was not afraid. She was excited, curious to see what Shepard would do next.

"God, you're wet," Shepard murmured in between long, hot kisses. Sometimes she missed Liara's mouth on purpose, nipping her chin and nuzzling her jaw. "I can tell even though I'm not quite touching you yet."

Liara shuddered. Even though this was fairly mild compared to a few of the embarrassing phrases that Shepard had heard echoed in her head, just the sound of her lover's voice was having a dramatic effect on her. She pushed her hips forward a little, hoping for more contact, but Shepard's fingers pulled back just enough to stay out of reach. "Mm, not yet," she said, tugging Liara's lower lip between her teeth. "I know you're eager, but you have to be a little more patient than that."

Since she could not come up with a verbal response, Liara decided to encourage Shepard with her actions instead. She let go of Shepard's hair and slid her hand down along her Commander's muscular back, drawing circles between her shoulderblades. She pushed up with her hips, and although Shepard's fingers remained tantalizingly out of reach, she did manage to rub herself against the swell of Shepard's hip instead.

Shepard reacted instantly, and Liara gasped as her wrists were taken in an harsh grip and stretched above her head. "Keep these here," Shepard ordered, and a heavy throb pulsed directly between Liara's legs. Her brief purchase against Shepard's hip had not been nearly enough contact, and she was already dripping wet, with trails of warmth beginning to run down over her thigh. Soon, they would meet Shepard's fingers, and just the thought had Liara blushing and squirming a little beneath her lover's weight.

"You just can't resist, can you?" Shepard continued with a teasing edge to her voice. "I can see your hips twitching. You want me inside of you so badly."

It was true. Liara's inner muscles twitched with a heavy, aching emptiness, and she was desperate for Shepard to fill her. She was embarrassed by how quickly her need had overtaken her, but somehow, it only added to her arousal. There was something about the humiliation, the vulnerability, that pushed her even higher. "No," Liara murmured, tilting up her chin and hoping for another kiss. "I can never resist you, Shepard."

"I know you can't." Shepard kept grinning down at her, and it took Liara a moment to realize why the expression seemed out of place. After confessing some of her desires, she had expected Shepard to put on a performance. She would be the stern, unyielding lover of Liara's fantasies, barking out commands in a strict military fashion and tossing insults at her. But somehow, this gentler, intimate approach was working for her as well, and it was certainly less intimidating than jumping straight into some kind of role play.

Liara noticed Shepard glancing down at her face, searching for any sign of hesitation, and she allowed herself to smile back. Then, she shuddered and lowered her hands to Shepard's back, completely forgetting Shepard's orders to keep them in place as those teasing, gentle fingertips finally slid the rest of the way up. They slipped between her outer lips almost immediately, grazing over the slick bud of her clitoris and dipping down to tease her entrance. "Exactly what I thought," Shepard murmured against her cheek, leaving a soft kiss there. "So wet for me. So open. I could just slide inside of you and take you right now…" But she didn't, and a soft sob of disappointment broke in Liara's throat as Shepard's fingers continued slipping up and down, up and down, touching everywhere, but focusing nowhere.

"Please," she whispered, her hips rocking forward helplessly against Shepard's hand. "Shepard, I need you."

"Oh, I can tell," Shepard said. She pinched two of her fingers around the base of Liara's clit, pulling them back, easing the tight, sensitive ridge out of its hood. "I can feel how swollen you are. You're desperate for me to fuck you." Liara's hips bucked a little at the harsh word, but Shepard's touch did not shift. "You'd do anything, say anything, to get off right now."

Liara's nails raked between Shepard's shoulderblades, trying to pull her closer. She slid the sole of her foot along Shepard's muscular calf until she could hook her knee around her waist. "Anything," she repeated in a low murmur. "Anything…"

Shepard's fingers finally released the shaft of her clit and slipped down to rest at her entrance instead. "You'd spread your legs for me whenever I asked, wouldn't you?" The low growl of her voice sent a shiver down Liara's spine, and she buried her burning face in the crook of Shepard's neck, unable to hold her eyes. "And you'd let me pose you however I wanted. Maybe on your hands and knees, with your legs apart and your ass in the air so I could fuck you from behind." Liara groaned, praying the noise would be muffled by Shepard's shoulder, but the sound came out louder than she had hoped. She sank her teeth into the warm, salty flesh instead, trying to keep quiet and preserve at least a little of her dignity.

"Or maybe…" Shepard's voice dropped into a low, seductive purr. Liara released her bite and took in a fast, ragged breath as wetness spilled from deep inside of her, running over Shepard's probing fingers. "Maybe, if I wanted you really badly, I'd just bend you over the galaxy map in the CIC. Thrust into you from behind. Fill you with everyone else watching, so they could hear how loud you scream for me."

And Liara did scream, not even bothering to swallow the sound back as Shepard's fingers finally pushed inside of her, filling her hard and fast. They began pumping almost immediately, thrusting in and out, curling to find all of her sensitive spots and drawing out a flood of slick heat. Liara was already hovering close to the edge, but when Shepard's thumb began circling over her clit, she nearly melded. It was all she could do to resist, to savor the moment for a little longer and hold off against the wave of pleasure that was already threatening to crash over her and sweep her away.

"Shepard," she said, unable to call up any other words except for her lover's name. "Shepard…"

"You like that idea?" Shepard asked. She curled her fingers again, and Liara yelped at the sudden pressure. Shepard always seemed to know just how to coax the neediest sounds out of her. "You want to everyone else to see how desperate you are for me? How much you love taking my hand and my cock? How you beg for me to fuck you?"

Liara rocked her hips up to try and take Shepard's fingers deeper, and she tightened her knee around Shepard's hip. Trapped in the cage of Shepard's arms, forced to listen as she said unrepeatable things, she felt surprisingly safe. "Yes," she admitted, scattering a few needy kisses along the curve of Shepard's neck and up towards her jaw. She knew the scene Shepard was describing would never happen, not on a professional military vessel like the Normandy, but in this moment, the fantasy was driving her wild.

"Some of them might want to have a turn," Shepard whispered by her crest, so close that Liara could feel her breath. "Might want to know how tight your azure is. Feel how hard you clamp down…"

The words made Liara clutch at Shepard's fingers, pulling tighter than she had imagined possible. Her head was buzzing with lust and embarrassed need, and she could not help pleading for more. "Shepard," she stammered as Shepard's thumb sped up over the sensitive head of her clit, flicking it over and over again, trapping it and grinding down. "I - I need to meld. Need to…" She craved that connection, and not just for the release it would bring. She wanted to be wrapped in the warmth and comfort of Shepard's familiar mind when she felt so vulnerable.

"Not yet," Shepard told her, taking her lips in a kiss to try and soothe her. But Liara was anything but soothed. With Shepard's fingers pumping in and out of her, stretching her with a pleasant burn, dragging torturously along her sensitive front wall, all she could do was cry out against Shepard's mouth. The pressure at the back of her skull increased, and she knew she would meld soon, with or without Shepard's permission. She could only hope that her lover would forgive her for spoiling the scene early.

Then, just when Liara thought she could not bear anymore, Shepard continued the fantasy. "But even if they wanted to have you, I wouldn't let them. Your body is mine. You're mine. My good little pureblood whore."

That was it. The words Liara had been afraid of, but desperately wanted to hear. It was too much, and she exploded out of her own mind and into Shepard's, spilling over with desire and fear, confusion and love. What came to meet her was steady acceptance. Shepard's mind normally shone like a beacon, drawing her towards it, but this time, it was her anchor. Shepard was firm and solid and there, something for her to cling to as she shattered. Liara trembled, clutching Shepard tight in every possible way.

'I love you,' Shepard thought above everything else. 'Now, come for me.'

Liara arched and stiffened, freezing for a split second, and then broke down in a series of shudders. The ridge of her clit jumped beneath the pad of Shepard's thumb, and her hips jerked, but somehow, Shepard managed to keep pushing deeper inside of her. She came around Shepard's fingers, flooding them with slickness and warmth, and somewhere between pulses of thick heat, Shepard's name tore from her throat. Each contraction was bliss, and she did her best to share her pleasure with Shepard, pouring her feelings into her lover's mind and hoping that she would be able to catch some of them.

"Fuck, Liara," Shepard forced out through gritted teeth, pushing her own hips forward and grinding against Liara's thigh, painting it with wetness. Even that indirect pressure was enough, and Liara felt her own orgasm push Shepard over the edge through the meld. Her inner muscles clamped down all over again, and she threw her head back as Shepard's teeth sank into her shoulder, screaming out a second release and drawing every drop of pleasure that she could from their union.

It took Liara several seconds to come down from her high, and when she did, the first thing she saw clearly was Shepard's eyes. She let out a dreamy sigh, stroking her hand down Shepard's spine and letting her head roll to one side. She had expected to feel conflicted, perhaps even guilty, but instead, she felt only the warm, fuzzy sensation that often settled over her after really good sex. With Shepard's weight on top of her and Shepard's fingers inside of her, she was perfectly content. "You were perfect," she murmured sleepily, not even caring when one of the pillowcases stuck to her cheek. "So perfect."

"Glad I didn't go too far," Shepard said, giving Liara's knee an affectionate pat before gently unhooking it from around her waist. "I know you aren't used to being talked to like that."

"I am, actually," Liara said. A little of the fuzzy, sleepy feeling melted away, and she looked back up at Shepard, figuring that her lover deserved some kind of explanation. "Some of the things that my classmates said to me in school were much crueler." Her smile wavered for the briefest moment. "Sometimes, I wonder if that is why I want you to say those things, too."

"Maybe." Shepard paused just long enough to press a gentle kiss over the bite mark she had left on Liara's shoulder. "But maybe not. Plenty of other people fantasize about humiliation, and they didn't have experiences like yours. It's possible you would have turned out that way even if you'd grown up completely different."

"I suppose you are right. As long as we both take pleasure in it, it does not matter." Liara let out a sigh as the last of her worries seeped away. She was not the same person she had been then, not even close. She had saved the galaxy, taken a wonderful lover, and made close friends. She was no longer shy or ashamed of herself. It had started because Shepard saw worth in her, but now, even that did not matter. She saw worth in herself with no help at all. So much worth that she could hear the insults that had tormented her all those years ago and process them as something pleasurable instead of actually believing them.

Liara stretched beneath Shepard, raising her arms above her head and arching her spine. Unfortunately, the movement caused Shepard to remember something that she had forgotten, and her eyes narrowed. "You know, you disobeyed me earlier," she said, shaking her head in disapproval. "I told you to keep your hands up above your head, but you forgot as soon as I pushed inside of you." Liara let a low moan slip from her throat as Shepard gave a soft thrust for emphasis. "Maybe I should punish you."

"This is supposed to be a punishment?" Liara asked. Her strength was returning, and Shepard's fingers still felt wonderful inside of her. "It is not very effective."

"This isn't the punishment," Shepard said. "That's going to come later, when you beg me to make you come, and I force you to wait."

Liara shivered, then smiled. "Well, I did disobey you," she said, spreading her legs wider and offering Shepard more room to move. "I suppose I deserve it." And being loved by Shepard, Liara thought, was exactly what she deserved, and exactly what she wanted.

. . .

The End

AN: A lot of very good but very stressful things have come up for me lately. Therefore, I'm taking a bit of a hiatus (but not a long one, promise!). After one too many mental breakdowns over the past few weeks, I've realized I need to get some of my Original Fiction stuff in order for publication before I can continue writing fanfiction. It's getting to the point where I'm worried I've over-saturated the fandom with stuff people aren't interested in anymore (I reeeeally hope that's not true), and I'm worried my Original Fiction is suffering, too. Basically, I'm a slobbering, insecure mess right now. I'm going to toss you guys the final chapter of Now And Then (and maybe a chapter of Love Alters Not later this month if I get inspired), but I need to edit stuff I'm getting paid to publish for a few weeks so I'm not totally overwhelmed anymore. I've got two novels about to be published, and three more old ones to go through, in addition to two fresh ones I need to write. I try to put out a LOT of free content for you guys, and I hope you'll forgive the brief break while I get my shit in order. I'll be back on February 1st with shiny new fics for you. I hope you can live without me for 19 days or so. xD My stuff on the kink meme with psychotic-cat will still update.