A/N: Okay okay! I'll stop teasing y'all about the proposal! XD
Warning: Let the proposal lemons commence!
P.S.: I dedicate the part in the elevator to you, LitNiche! Thanks for the inspiration! ^_^
Chapter 16
Liara wasn't at all sure what to expect as she stepped out of Bailey's transit car. He had refused to say a word on the matter the rest of the way back to the apartment, but his broad grin certainly gave her a clue. Shepard had been thorough in hiding her plans from Liara, though. She had not seen that fireworks show coming. She vaguely remembered something Shepard had whispered when she thought Liara had fallen asleep: "I love you, and soon the galaxy will know it."
Apparently Shepard meant that literally.
The Citadel was the political hub of the damn galaxy. She wasn't sure if she should feel incredibly flattered or terribly embarrassed, or possibly both. She'd already received a flood of calls from their friends, starting with Emily Wong and Diana Allers, who of course both wanted exclusive interviews. She finally had to shut off her Omni-tool. Not only did she not want to talk to anyone until she talked to Shepard, but she didn't want the galaxy intruding tonight. Tonight, she was going to show Shepard how much she loved her. And what she had in mind had no place on galactic news.
She felt a wonderful giddiness building in her as she stepped out of the elevator and hustled down the hallway to the apartment. As she approached it, she saw an odd sight. One of her dresses (that she'd only ever worn once on the Normandy after defeating the Shadow Broker) was hanging on the door with a note attached it. Even from across the hall she could see it said "WEAR ME PLEASE." When she reached the door, Glyph appeared through it, startling her. His color had been reprogrammed to a soft shade of pink and he was wearing his festive bowtie. She bit back a grin.
"Good evening, Dr. T'Soni," he said in his cheerful voice. "Commander Shepard requested that I relay a message and provide cover for you to change in."
A holographic changing barrier appeared next to him.
"Thanks . . .?" she said, pulling the dress from the door and began disrobing behind the barrier. "What's the message from Shepard?"
A hologram of the earlier fireworks display appeared over him, showing the same "I LOVE YOU LIARA T'SONI" as it had earlier. "She told me to tell you it is a reiteration of her earlier message."
The grin which was still on her face turned into a wide smile that warmed her to the very core of her being. She hastened to finish changing then took a moment to straighten herself and the dress. Then she slid her feet into the provided heels, and Glyph opened the door for her.
The sight that met her eyes overwhelmed her, stole her breath away. The entire main floor of the apartment had been elegantly decorated with flower garlands and candles, and dozens of paper lanterns hung on long strings from the ceiling. A large, breathtakingly beautiful vase of Rannoch Lilies sat perched atop the grand piano-her favorite flower in the known universe. The only light in the apartment came from the candles covering almost every surface in the apartment and all the blinds had been drawn.
Pink sakura blossoms began falling from the ceiling like snow as she crossed the threshold and into the apartment, and Glyph settled into the piano and began playing their song. Her hand once again fluttered to her mouth to catch a gasp. When her eyes made their way to the balcony, her heart skipped a beat, then began pounding in her chest. Standing there leaning against the rail, stood her lovely Commander wearing the most beautiful, most elegant dress she'd ever seen. The dress was a tradional asari gown, used only by the asari for very formal events. It was easy to forget that the formidable woman could be incredibly feminine when she put her mind to it. Her beautiful red hair was styled in a flattering hairdo around her face, and her lips were covered in a delicious-looking lip gloss. And to top off the gorgeous scene, Shepard was wearing a smile that melted every inch of Liara's heart.
Liara ascended the stairs with deliberately slow steps, feasting her eyes on her bondmate all the while. She'd never seen Shepard looking so soft, so feminine, or so beautiful, and she wanted to savor every moment before she peeled her out of that lovely dress. Which she had every intention of doing.
When she reached the human, Shepard lifted Liara's hands to her lips and kissed her fingertips with infinite tenderness. Liara's breath caught in her throat from just that simple action. She had never so thoroughly ensnared by Shepard's tenderness before; not like this. She was completely cocooned by it, trapped by it. She was entirely at Shepard's mercy and it was wonderful.
Shepard pressed her body against Liara's and their lips met in a kiss filled with passion and promise. Liara's knees almost buckled. With one simple kiss, Shepard successfully wrapped Liara around her little finger. Liara had never wanted to meld so much in her life, to feel every emotion hiding in those enthralling fuchsia eyes. She was right where Shepard wanted her and she knew the human knew it.
Liara protested softly when Shepard pulled back to gaze at her. But she quickly forgot why she had protested when she saw absolute love and adoration filling Shepard's eyes. Her heart again skipped a beat and she was left breathless. Shepard broke the gaze after a few moments to reach for a small box resting on the railing Liara hadn't noticed before. When Shepard opened it, the emotion that had been building within Liara spilled from her eyes in the form of the most happy tears she'd ever cried in her life. A beautiful ring made of White Thessian Diamond lay inside, but it wasn't the ring that caused her tears. It was from knowing what that ring represented.
"It would make me the happiest human in this entire galaxy," Shepard took Liara's hand and slid the ring up her left ring finger so gently it made her entire left side tingle in delight, "if you would allow me to be yours for the rest of my life." Shepard's voice was so soft, so tender, so loving. Liara was certain she couldn't have denied the human anything at all in that moment. Her bondmate brought her fuchsia eyes up again to pierce every inch of Liara's soul with a single look. "Marry me, Liara T'Soni?"
Liara didn't trust her voice so instead she answered with an impassioned kiss. She answered with every fiber of her being. She could feel the meld she so desired clawing its way through her body and she sent out an inquisitive tendril to her lover's mind. Shepard didn't hesitate to open herself to Liara. A moment later Liara cascaded into Shepard's mind, filling the human's every thought with a single word.
'Yes!'
Shepard's happiness at the simple word overwhelmed Liara so much she actually went weak at the knees. Shepard caught her in an embrace filled with tenderness and held her tightly for a long time. After a few minutes of happily crying in each other's arms, Liara could feel a light laugh bubbling up in Shepard's throat through the meld.
"We're such girls," Shepard said, brushing Liara's tears away with a grin. "You'd think with all my military bravado I'd be able to keep it together for a simple proposal. And yet here I stand, crying like the girl I am. I guess I can't be too macho. You probably wouldn't like me if I was too manly. Your entire race is female, after all."
"Probably not," Liara said with a cheeky smile. "It would be a terrible tragedy for me if I never got to see you in this dress. Which, by the way, you look gorgeous in, fiance of mine."
Shepard's smile broadened. "I could get used to you calling me 'fiance.' And especially 'wife.'"
"Mmm," Liara purred. "Wife does have quite the ring to it, doesn't it?" She suddenly pulled back when she remembered the bizarre events of the day, ending in quite a beautiful fireworks display. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about a fight that broke out between Grunt and Zaeed, would you?"
Shepard plastered an innocent look all over her face and shrugged.
"I see," Liara said, lowering her voice to a more seductive tone. "And you are of course oblivious of my incarceration earlier? Or the brawl that happened? Or the fact that Wrex dragged me all over the Citadel?"
Shepard continued her failed look of innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about. Wait, you were incarcerated? Good goddess I'm marrying a criminal."
"It was you!" Liara exclaimed with a triumphant smile. Then she glared Shepard down with an accusatory look. "You got me arrested! Not only that, you got me arrested with a bunch of drunk, brawling, rioting men!"
Shepard laughed. "What? I had to keep you distracted somehow, and keep it a surprise. Plus, I knew Zaeed, Wrex, and Grunt had your back. There was never a moment I wasn't in complete control of the situation. If any of those men would have tried a damn thing, they would have had the full wrath of three of the most dangerous men in the galaxy reigning down on them. And if any of them survived that, they'd have me to deal with."
Liara put her face mere centimeters in front of Shepard's. "Just for the record: If you ever have me arrested again, I'll have to punish you, Commander."
Shepard snickered. "Noted, Doctor T'Soni."
Liara put her hand behind Shepard's neck and pulled her in for a kiss, unable to hide another smile tugging at her lips. She couldn't seem to help it. She felt impossibly happy in Shepard's arms. Within moments they began to feel the pull of their bodies desiring more. Shepard pulled back and, to Liara's surprise, lifted her bridal style. She rested her arms around Shepard's neck with a small giggle as the human began heading toward their bedroom.
"I have one more surprise," Shepard said with a grin, kissing Liara's cheek.
Liara's heart once again fluttered in anticipation. When they rounded the corner to their room, yet another breathtaking sight met her eyes. Shepard had covered the room in white and red rose pedals, and dozens of pillar candles lit the room.
"Oh Shepard . . .," she breathed, all other words stolen away from her lips by another tender kiss from her beloved Commander.
Shepard gently laid Liara on the bed, settling next to her amidst the soft rose pedals. Liara reveled, not for the first time, how wonderful it felt to be in Shepard's arms, how protected and safe she felt, and how very loved. Shepard could sense Liara's adoring thoughts through the lingering meld and rewarded her with a smile.
"What?" Liara said, nuzzling her nose against Shepard's. "You've never taken me on a bed of roses before."
"Never?" Shepard purred, teasing Liara's neck with her lips. "Then allow me to take you everywhere you've never been."
Liara shuddered in sheer delight at the thought. Shepard plunged into Liara's mind, sending her a flurry of images of all the places she wanted to take Liara. Liara saw herself writhing beneath Shepard's tongue in the pilot seat of the Normandy, she saw herself being beautifully violated in the lake on the Presidium, saw their bodies entangling in zero-gravity with nothing but the stars as their backdrop.
"Goddess, Shepard . . ." she gasped. She was already writhing and her bondmate wasn't even touching her. She was already so close, so full of want.
Shepard placed a tender hand on her cheek. "Oh my sweet Doctor T'Soni. That was just a taste. Now see the rest."
Liara cried out in response to the image she saw. In it, she was completely naked, her back pressed up against the wall of an elevator somewhere on the Citadel. Both her legs were around Shepard's shoulders, and Liara's fingers were entangled in her bondmate's red hair. Shepard's face was buried deep between Liara's thighs and her tongue was relentlessly circling Liara's swollen azure.
The image was so powerful, so vivid, that it pushed her over the edge. Without even touching her, Shepard made her climax.
"Goddess . . .!" Liara gasped as she contracted, her body aching for more. When she opened her eyes, Shepard was giving her a very pleased smile.
"Do you know how long I've been wanting to do that to you?" she purred, sprinkling soft kisses on her lips and cheeks.
"Take me in the elevator?" Liara panted.
"Make you orgasm with my mind."
Liara's eyes darkened even more with arousal. "As much as I love seeing you in a dress, you're wearing too many clothes, fiance of mine."
Liara rolled Shepard onto her stomach so she could easily access the zipper on the back of the dress. Shepard snickered into the rose pedals as she allowed herself to be undressed. Liara kissed the newly exposed skin of Shepard's smooth back, taking a moment to enjoy the fact that Shepard had chosen not to wear a bra. Apparently she was well prepared for the evening they were about to have. She smiled into her lover's smooth skin and kissed her way up to Shepard's neck. She nuzzled into Shepard's red hair when she reached it, inhaling the wonderful aroma of the human's hair. She happened to mention at some point that she loved the scent of the flower from Earth called Lavender, and ever since, Shepard always bought lavender-scented soap and shampoo. Her smile widened.
"I love you, my beautiful Commander Shepard," she whispered, sliding Shepard's dress down her shoulders.
Shepard lifted her hands from the sleeves, her eyes drifting shut as she basked in Liara's affection. Liara laced their fingers and settled on Shepard's back, enjoying how wonderful it felt to hold her Commander. How often during the war had she fantasized about this moment? How often had she longed for it, ached for it? How often had she dreaded Shepard would be taken from her? And now here she lay beneath her, wanting her, loving her, and offering herself to Liara for the rest of her life. Of all the proposals she'd allowed herself to secretly fantasize about over the years since meeting Shepard, none of them held a candle to reality. Shepard was hers, and she was Shepard's. Shepard had announced to the entire galaxy that she loved Liara. Then she made it rain cherry blossoms. That was probably her favorite part.
Liara pulled the dress the rest of the way down and it fell, forgotten, to the floor. She ran her hands over the newly bare skin, memorizing every scar, every freckle, and the lovely color of her bondmate's skin.
"Shepard," she whispered, kissing her back between her shoulder blades. "Show me I belong to you. Let me feel that I am yours and yours alone."
She saw slight concern wrinkle Shepard's brow, but she soothed the human's worry with a reassuring pulse through the meld. Shepard, it's okay. I want to feel your possessiveness. I know you work very diligently to hide it from me, but I want to feel it. I have wanted it since the first time we melded. Even then you couldn't fully hide it. You've shown the galaxy I belong to you, now show me.
Liara was very suddenly and completely pinned beneath her naked Commander and her heart once again began pounding in her chest in anticipation.
"You sure about this, T'Soni?" Shepard whispered, though she couldn't hide the excited inflection in her voice.
'Let go, Shepard. For me.'
That was all she needed. Liara only had a moment to brace herself for the oncoming storm. Shepard wasted no time tearing Liara out of her dress, and when she did, Liara actually felt it tear in several places from the aggressiveness of the onslaught. But she didn't care. How long had she waited for this? How many times had she dreamed about it, longed for it, wanted it? She'd gently encouraged Shepard many times in previous melds, but Shepard's staunch refusal to be controlling of Liara in any way had always put a stop to it during the war. But the war was over now. She was engaged now, she wanted to be possessed in every way by her Commander. Her Nicole Shepard.
'I thought I was the one being possessive, Doctor T'Soni,' Shepard sent through the still-lingering meld. Liara felt herself flush as Shepard flipped the asari onto her stomach. She then straddled Liara and pinned her wrists down against the bed. Liara's asari pride wouldn't allow Shepard this kind of dominance every time, but tonight, pride be damned. She had a taste of the full power of that beautiful mind and she wanted more.
Liara felt lips on the back of her neck, Shepard's practiced tongue teasing the most sensitive ridges without mercy. She seemed determined to draw out every possible sound of pleasure that she could from Liara's lips.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Dr. T'Soni," Shepard growled in her ear. "Because I plan on holding nothing back. Are you sure you can handle it?"
"Yes . . .!" she gasped out, already panting from sheer delighted anticipation.
Shepard ran her right hand along Liara's body, settling under her stomach to lift it off the bed. Then she used her knee to push Liara's legs further apart then slid her hand down to Liara's azure, circling it with practiced fingers and spreading her wetness over the sensitive bundle of nerves. Liara's breath hitched. This position was all new to her and Shepard's imagination never ceased to delight her. During the war they had so few chances to be together, they tended to just focus on the basics, and not on being adventurous. But tonight it was just Liara and Shepard. Not Commander, not Prothean expert, not Ambassador, not heroes of the galaxy. Just two star-crossed lovers losing themselves in the bliss of each other.
When two of the human's fingers entered her, her mind followed, digging as deep, if not deeper, as her touch. Liara's mind was completely overtaken by a single, powerful word.
'MINE.'
Liara's back arched of its own accord and she cried out her lover's name. It almost felt too good to feel so completely possessed by Shepard.
'You belong to me, Liara T'Soni. No one can touch you like this. Only me. It has only ever been me, and it only ever will be me. And if anyone ever tried - she deliberately paused - I'd snap them in half. You. Are. MINE.'
She emphasized her point by repositioning herself behind Liara and pushed her legs further open. Then to Liara's continued shock, Shepard lowered her head and plunged her tongue into Liara's azure from behind. Liara's head fell forward on the bed. She was glad she wasn't standing or she very certainly would have fallen over. Shepard placed both hands on Liara's cheeks and pushed her even further open, then laved her tongue along both openings. Liara could feel Shepard's enjoyment of the complete act of control and violation and it made her arousal all the more intense, almost to the point of painful.
'Can anyone else touch you like this, Liara?' she crooned in Liara's mind - an interesting contrast to what she was doing.
Liara's stomach muscles began tightening. She was so close, so wonderfully close . . .
Not yet, Love, Shepard purred. She pulled away, the action causing Liara to whimper from the loss in contact. But she quickly forgot why she was complaining when Shepard deepened the meld and sent out a reassuring pulse. The human rolled Liara onto her back and hovered over her on all fours.
'I want you to look at me when I make you come.'
Liara swallowed reflexively. They'd looked at each other before during a shared climax, but never by herself. Shepard pushed Liara's legs further open then returned her hand to Liara's throbbing azure, circling it without mercy with those wonderful fingers.
"Goddess!" Liara couldn't stop herself from crying out and arching off the bed. Shepard's fingers were driving her to madness.
'Look at me!' Shepard sent the overpowering command through the meld, and Liara was compelled to obey. She could feel her cheeks flush dark purple, but she held the other's gaze. She'd never received a look of such hunger, such want. Shepard slipped two fingers deep inside, and her thumb replaced the massaging of her fingers which curled deliciously inside Liara.
Liara's breath hitched, but she held the gaze. She could feel all of Shepard's painful desire flowing through the meld. So much more than just physical, her Commander ached from having lost so much time during the war. So many missed opportunities, so many times they'd been torn from each other's arms, so many times "the mission" called them away. Shepard's want had somewhere along the way turned to a burning covetousness of Liara. She'd felt echos of it in previous melds, but she'd never quite understood it until now.
'Look at me, Liara. Come for me. Every day for the rest of our lives.'
'Shepard . . . Goddess . . .'
'Mine. You are mine. Always and forever.'
Liara's breath caught in her throat, climbing up with each sharp gasp as she felt inevitability tempting her body with pure bliss. Sensing this, Shepard doubled the speed of her ministrations, her eyes pleading as much as they were demanding.
'I want this. I want you like this every day, Liara. Come for me.'
It started like a building tidal wave, neither of them fully prepared for then intensity until it was crashing over them. Liara screamed out her lover's name as the wave carried her away. She shamelessly drove her hips into Shepard's hand and she came for her. She came harder than she'd ever come in her life. She wasn't sure if it was her own desire or Shepard's that made her body react so intensely, or maybe both. They both wanted it so much that her body could not be denied. Her fluid spilled from her, soaking both Shepard's hand and the sheets beneath them.
'Look at me . . .'
Somehow Liara managed to open her eyes to look into the most beautiful fuchsia eyes she'd ever seen. Wave after wave made her body continue to convulse and her walls contracted again and again around her lover's fingers. It was almost too much, to feel all of Shepard's love, her desire, her overpowering longing to be with Liara in every possible way. She was surrounded, swimming, drowning in everything Nicole Shepard, and that was more beautiful and pleasurable than anything her body could experience.
'Love me, Liara T'Soni.' It wasn't a question. It wasn't even a demand. It was a plea.
'Goddess, Shepard. I do. I do . . .'
Shepard settled on top of Liara when her contractions at last slowed, pulling the sheets over them as she did, and rose pedals cascaded to the floor around them. Liara sensed that it wasn't from being cold, but from a desire to hide their moment from the prying eyes of the galaxy. When their breathing returned to normal and their muscles could function properly again, Shepard began tracing the lines of Liara's hips with her fingers and trailed them up to cover Liara's heart.
"How do you do that?" Shepard asked softly.
"You'll have to be a little more specific," Liara said with a small grin.
"You always know just what I need. How do you always know?"
"I am your soon-to-be wife. It's my job to know," she teased, but she could sense Shepard's seriousness in the question. "I know for the same reason you always use lavender-scented shampoo, my love. Because I listen and because I love you."
Shepard's continued gaze of complete adoration left Liara's heart feeling so fuzzy she was beginning to feel light-headed.
"I love you, Liara T'Soni. My love. My life. My soon-to-be wife."
Liara answered with a kiss and poured all of her love through the meld. They spent the rest of the night showing each other over and over how much they loved each other until all thought, all existence outside their bed no longer mattered. They made love until they could make love no more and their bodies were stolen away by sleep. And even in sleep, they were wrapped inside each other, surrounded by each other, loving each other.