A/N: HEAVY 'M'-RATED SMUT WARNING — This chapter depicts the first time Xiùlán and Samantha make love.
(Humble thanks to Desert Sunrise for some of the ideas I used for descriptions of Sam and Xiùlán's lovemaking.)

I want you any way I can get you. Not because you're beautiful or clever or kind or adorable, although devil knows you're all those things. I want you because there's no one else like you, and I don't ever want to start a day without seeing you. — Lisa Kleypas,Tempt Me at Twilight

• 16 AUGUST 2179 •

In the four months since Yuán Xiùlán had been prohibited from sparring with other hand-to-hand combat specialists, she had been using the training room to teach her skills to Samantha, who turned out to have a real aptitude for the subtleties of Jing Quan Dao. Traynor had even been paired with two of the opponents Xiùlán had defeated in the two-month period she had been allowed to test her skills, resulting in a draw with the turian F'lar'Jid—who had shown a lot more respect for human females than when she attempted to take down Xiùlán in February—and a decisive win over a male batarian—Samantha had taken real offense at some of the illegal 'holds' he had employed on her, so had taught him a lesson he would not soon forget.

Xiùlán continued to insist Sam should be prepared to defend herself against any and all. "You have to let go of conscious thought, Sammy. Every movement you make must be done automatically, whether for defense or offense. You have to train yourself to maim or kill each time you strike someone. Do not leave your opponent capable of getting up from the floor. If you are attacked by anyone, you can and must defend yourself. Someone puts a hand on you from behind, teach them why that's not a good idea. You have personal space around you … don't let anyone violate that space."

"What about you, Xiùlán?" Traynor snarked. "You violate my space all the time."

Xiùlán managed to look hurt. "If I have offended you in any way, Ms Traynor, please for …"

"No! NO!" Traynor took the bait. "I was teasing you … I wasn't serious! Oh, Xiùlán! I am so sorry I said that!" Traynor attempted to wrap her arms around her friend, only to have Xiùlán place her palm on Sam's chest and hold her back.

"You have to be careful that words don't get to you as well, Ms Traynor," Xiùlán said somberly. "You just offered yourself up to me … I could just as easily have placed my hand a bit higher and crushed your larynx, like this …" Xiùlán swiftly moved her hand up, grabbing Traynor by the bare skin of her throat and gently squeezing as she pulled the unresisting woman to her.

Her friend's demeanor was frightening. "Xiùlán," she said in a halting voice, "please, you're hurting me. I'm sorry … please …" Sam had both her hands on Xiùlán's wrist and forearm; feeling the mass of muscles and corded tendons under her skin, she realized her life was quite literally in the palm of this woman's hand. "Xiùlán … you're scaring me", Sam cried. "Let me go … I'll leave."

Xiùlán relaxed her grip ever so slightly as she pulled Sam closer. "Why would I want you to leave, Sammy? I love you," she said as she leaned in and kissed her thoroughly confused student on the mouth. "I needed to teach you a lesson in preparedness." Another kiss. "Never let an opponent get so close Sammy, unless you plan to take them down."

Xiùlán was enjoying kissing Sam, so she held this kiss until Sam hesitantly returned her kiss. "I am the only person you can ever allow into your space like this, míngbái wo?" [明白我？– Understand me?] Xiùlán let go of Sam's throat and hugged her. "Did I really scare you?"

"Damn right you scared me. Damn near broke my heart, too! You are a frightening woman, Yuán Xiùlán," Samantha huffed.

"Remember what you've learned today, Sam. It could save your life. None of us are born capable of killing others. We have to be trained in that art, and we have to choose to use that knowledge to kill. Now, let's continue on …"

Today Sam was being taught how to use her fists to permanently take down her opponents. "Key to this is moving your arms fast, getting your fists in someone's face 1-2-1, but in slightly different locations each time," Xiùlán said, as she demonstrated on the heavy bag. She had dusted her sparring gloves so each would leave a trace on whatever it hit. On the heavy bag, she left three distinct impressions, all so close together they were almost one. "What you're after is precision and speed in placement" She moved around the bag slightly and attacked it again, the 'Whump whump whump' sound of her fists smacking the surface of the bag coming so close together as to be virtually indistinguishable as individual sounds. "As you may have noticed, I didn't move the bag. That's the advantage of using 'snap' punches."

"I have a feeling I'm going to need to practice this a lot," Sam observed, trying to keep the discouragement she felt from coloring her voice. "And just what the 'ell are snap punches? A punch is a punch, right?"

"Answer to your first statement? Damn right you are," Xiùlán replied. "Sammy, you need to be able to pull this combo out whether you're fresh in the first minute or your arms are heavier than lead in the final minute of a match or in combat. What I'm teaching you could very well save your life someday." Xiùlán placed her gloved hands on Sam's shoulders. "As for your question, we're women. Neither of us will ever have the mass of a male … it's not in our hormones. We can build up our muscles, bulk up our bodies, especially our legs, to a certain degree, but the upper body strength advantage will always belong to the males … it's a matter of testosterone … they have it, we don't. So, we have to fight smart. What I'm going to teach you, the 'snap punch', is a quickly thrown punch in which you strike the target and your arm quickly snaps back after the punch. You want contact time with your target to be minimal."

Xiùlán turned and fired a triple combination at the bag, then said, "Think of your fists as weights connected to your waist rather than the end of your arms. Your arms and hands will drop relaxed to your waist as you move around the heavy bag. When you're ready, quickly ground your feet to anchor your hips and imagine your hands suddenly picking up weight and firing with power from your hips. The muscle that starts relaxed has more potential to burst with more speed and power than a stiff muscle. Your focus should be on explosive power, so you can maximize damage to your opponent. Treat the punching arm as a rubber band accelerating to maximum velocity, striking the target, and then bouncing off relaxed immediately afterwards."

Samantha's expression betrayed her uncertainty. "Everything you're saying seems to contradict a lot of what I've seen."

Xiùlán smiled and motioned towards the heavy bag. "Start practicing, Sammy. Don't worry about punching with power … keep your arms and body relaxed and loose. Don't try to punch hard or fast. Loosen up. You're going for proper technique. Now begin …"

Traynor stepped up to the bag, took her stance and let fly, causing the bag to react from each strike.

"Relax, Sammy. Do it again."

Sam could tell this was going to be a long morning as she attacked the bag again and again. Each time she struck, she increased the speed of her punches as she decreased the apparent power applied. She relaxed, allowing her arms to become extensions of her muscular hips.

Xiùlán said, "Let your fists bounce off the bag, Sammy. It'll help build your timing. Keep after it, you're doing great."

Sam continued to hit the bag, concentrating on her technique. She could feel her muscles complaining, knew she'd be sore as hell tonight, but visualizing the bag as each of the people that had abused her in college kept her going. She took a break after thirty sweat soaked minutes, barely able to raise her arms. "Jeez, Xiùlán, what a workout. Need some water."

Xiùlán gave her some water, then sat her down on a bench and began gently massaging her shoulders and upper back. "Ni zuò de hěn hao, sà mi." [你做的很好，薩米。– You are doing very well, Sami.] Xiùlán said softly in her ear. "You get really good at this and Jing Quan Dao, you'll never have to worry about having your ass handed to you, ever."

• 19 AUGUST 2179 · 2045 HOURS •

Samantha Traynor began Xiùlán's five-minute countdown as the woman began hacking her way into a computer deliberately rigged to douse her with water if it detected an intrusion. For her part, the top of Xiùlán's head was wet from several previously unsuccessful attempts, and her frustration was showing as she gave vent to her feelings by cursing under her breath in Mandarin. "Yī dài hóuzi jiānguo! Gou shi! Fuchòu de zhūròu! Jìnü de nü'ér! Húndàn! Gou niáng yang de" [一袋猴子堅果！ 狗屎！ 腐臭的豬肉！妓女的女兒! 狗娘養的! – Bag of monkey nuts! Shit! Stinky (rancid) pork! Daughter of the prostitute! Asshole! Son of a bitch!] The last became a shout as the computer beeped and splashed water on her head yet again. Rising from her cramped, kneeling position, she had pulled back an arm and was ready to let her fist fly when Traynor grabbed her.

"No no no NO NO NO, Xiùlán! Come on, take a break." Traynor hugged her friend and kissed her cheek as she handed her a towel. "Do you want to stop for the evening? I think you're getting too wound up. You tell me not to lose my temper, no matter how badly I'm goaded by whatever miserable bastard I'm fighting. You, my dear, have lost control of your temper. Can't do that on a mission, 'specially if I'm not alongside to talk you down. You almost had it, too. You were doing so bloody good!"

Xiùlán's expression softened as she returned Sam's hug.

"Dammit, Sammy! I don't think I have the touch. I can't seem to get past that last, little bit of encrypted code. Frustrating as all hell!" She hugged Sam tight, enjoying the feel of her body held tight to her own. I know what's really frustrating me, but I'm not going to tell her, she thought.

"You'll get there, Luv. Just give it a rest tonight. We'll tackle it in the morning before class after you've had a good night's sleep. Come on. Showers and bed time …"

• 2205 HOURS •

"You going to stay with me tonight?" Normally, it would have been Traynor asking that question, mostly in jest, but the pair were in Xiùlán's quarters, and Sam was surprised to hear the question from her friend. Xiùlán had scared the hell out of Sam today, and wanted to make sure things were okay between them. "Just had my birthday, Sam … I'm 22 years old. Should be out celebrating with friends, except …" here she trailed off into an awkward silence.

"Happy Birthday, Xiùlán! You should have told me! I would have baked, well, bought a cake for you!" Sam kissed her friend. "I suppose I can stay, as long as invading your personal space is on the agenda. Don't have anything to wear, and I'd bet all your stuff is too large for me."

Xiùlán stood, went to her small closet, rummaged about for a few seconds and produced a short sleep shirt, which she tossed to Samantha. Moving towards her sleeping area, she began removing her own clothes, hanging her shirt and pants over the desk chair; she sat on the edge of the bed to remove her socks, then said to Sam, "How's it fit?"

Sam strolled into the room wearing just her bra and panties, outer clothes draped over an arm and the sleep shirt in her hand. "It's a bit baggy." She set her clothes down with Xiùlán's, then tossed the sleep shirt at her before joining her on the edge of the bed, knees together, just her toes touching the floor. Xiùlán moved closer to her and asked, "Sure you don't want to wear something? It gets pretty cool in here at night."

"If you're in bed with me, it really won't matter, will it?" Sam replied. She brought her arm up around Xiùlán's back and tentatively drew her closer as she looked into her eyes, searching for any sign of rejection.

Xiùlán allowed Sam to pull her close, until she could reach in and plant a kiss on her cheek. Reaching around in front of Samantha, Xiùlán placed her hand under Sam's left arm, making sure her wrist and forearm were pressed firmly against Sam's breasts. "Do we really want to do this, Sēn měi? Are you sure?"

Traynor's twisted herself to face Xiùlán by bringing her right leg up on the bed, placing the sole of her foot high against the inside of her left thigh. "I love you, Yuán Xiùlán. Other than being …" she couldn't quite keep her voice from hitching, " … raped, as you say, … in college, I've never had a sexual experience with anyone. I want you to be my first true lover, Xiùlán … if you'll have me."

"Sammy, I told you shortly after we met that I'm a virgin. We can either spend this night together as very close friends, or …" Xiùlán leaned in, gently placing her lips on Traynor's, enjoying the butterflies in her stomach, the spreading feeling of warmth brought on by this simple act as she pulled away slightly and whispered, "we can spend tonight exploring each other's bodies, learning to enjoy our sexuality, learning what we mean to each other on a physical level."

"I want to make love to you, Xiùlán," Sam replied. Looking down as a sudden bout of shyness overcame her, she softly added, "And I want you to make love to me … I want to know what having sex feels like with someone that loves me … someone I totally love and respect. I want … I'm ready … for you to take me, Xiùlán." Sam looked into the twin pools of inky darkness that were Xiùlán's eyes. Her tongue stumbled a bit over the pronunciation of the words in Mandarin: "Wo ài ni yongyuan, Yuán Xiùlán!

Sam's use of her native tongue brought a smile to Xiùlán that crinkled the corners of her eyes and lit her face with the soft glow of happiness.

"We need to work on your pronunciations and inflections, and I love you forever as well, Samantha Traynor." She kissed Sam again, with purpose this time, using the tip of her tongue to explore soft lips that gradually parted, as if suddenly reluctant to allow entry.

Sam still had her right hand on Xiùlán's shoulder; she slid her palm and fingertips towards her neck, then down her backbone to the back of her bra. Index finger and thumb swiftly released the hook and loop fastener, allowing the straps to swing free. She reached out with her left hand, sliding it under the loosened cups to caress uncovered breasts, something she had wanted to do ever since Xiùlán had pushed them up in the shower to show her the massive, long-since healed bruise on her chest.

Xiùlán's hands were busy as well … she had reached into the left cup of Sam's bra to caress the fullness of her breast. When she managed to release the fasteners one-handed and Sam's bra started to fall away from her chest, Sammy grabbed it, shyly holding it across her boobs as Xiùlán continued to fondle her left side. Xiùlán broke her kiss to softly say, "Ba ni de shíjiān, sà mi." [把你的時間，薩米 – Take your time, Sami]; she then rose to stand in front of Sam, hips at eye level, and finished removing her bra. Setting it aside, she turned around and bent at the waist slightly to dim the lights, knowing full well she was providing Sam a close-up view of her muscular butt.

Reaching around behind with her hand out, she said softly, "Let me have it, Měilì" [美麗 – Beautiful]. She felt the fabric settle gently in her hand, then gasped in surprise as fingers looped into the waistband of her own panties and began pulling them down. Placing her own hands on her hipbones, she slowly turned and parted her legs slightly so Sam could get her panties down to her knees, where they dropped to her ankles. Stepping out of her last piece of clothing, she reached behind her head to re-tie her long hair, knowing the effect having her arms up had on the appearance of her breasts. Done with her hair, she slowly cupped each of her boobs in her hands, lifting them up as she tilted her head down and kissed each nipple, then asked, "Jiù xiàng ni kàn dàole shénme?" [就像你看到了什麼？– Like what you see?]

Sammy's face was mere centimeters from Xiùlán's pubic mound, which she leisurely kissed before looking up at her face; placing her hands on Xiùlán's hips, she slowly stood, planting little kisses as she rose; with her nearly nude body firmly against Xiùlán's, she wrapped her arms around her torso, kissed her neck in the hollow between her collarbones and replied, "You're gonna need to teach me Mandarin if you're gonna keep asking questions I can't understand."

"Just wondering if you like what you see, is all," came the husky response. After a few seconds of looking into her eyes, she added, "Well, what do you think?"

"I think … I know! … you … are … absolutely beautiful, Xiùlán," Traynor whispered in her ear. She planted a little kiss on that ear before continuing, "I don't know what I did to deserve you for a friend, much less a lover."

Xiùlán sat her back down on the bed, then followed, choosing to lie on her back behind her. Sam half rose and turned, using one hand to gently massage a breast; she moved her other hand down the center of Xiùlán's tight belly, fingertips spread wide, barely touching skin, causing her to arch her lower back slightly. Sam dodged her hand to one side, using her fingertips to explore inner thighs just below Xiùlán's sex; groaning in anticipation, Xiùlán raised her arms over her head and gripped the corners of the mattress. As the skin on her breasts tightened, Sam used a fingertip to lightly circle first one, then the other areola, as if tracing an oval to remember the shape and feel of each. Her other hand had finally reached the place she'd sought as she placed her palm on the soft hair covering Xiùlán's mound and ever so tenderly used her fingers to explore the soft, pliant flesh of Xiùlán's vulva, moist and engorged in anticipation.

Xiùlán reached around her friend and slowly pulled her down on the bed to lie beside her. Sam continued to stroke the damp folds of Xiùlán's labia as she brought her head up so she could kiss her yet again. After teasing her with her tongue, Sam bent her body slightly; feeling a hand once more exploring her own breasts, she leaned over and kissed Xiùlán's nipples, then used her tongue to swirl around the stiffening bud of each. Capturing both nipples in turn, she used her teeth to gently nibble on the fully erect blossoms, enjoying the little whimpers, catches in breathing, moans of pleasure and the arching of her back her hand and mouth were causing.

Sam could feel Xiùlán's stiffened clitoris under her fingertips, and concentrated her efforts there; many months of using Haptic interfaces had made her fingertips especially sensitive to slight differences in temperature and pressure feedback. She stroked Xiùlán's clit between her thumb and forefinger, causing her lover to move her hips and bend her legs alternately as she dragged her feet up and down the sheet—as Sam continued massaging all 'round, Xiùlán began panting, the skin on her torso slowly becoming slick with sweat. Xiùlán had moved her arms down beside her, powerful hands grasping the mattress edges in a death grip through the sheet; her entire body gradually stiffened, then came clear of the bed as she gasped, crying out repeatedly as her orgasm washed over her in waves accompanied by rivulets of liquid marking each receding wave.

She gradually relaxed, dropping her body back to her bed; as Traynor continued to lightly stroke her sex, Xiùlán released her grip on the mattress to gently bring Traynor's face to hers, where she applied a kiss, gently to begin with, then adding passion to the probing of her tongue. She finished by using her teeth to nibble tenderly on Sam's lower lip, then said dreamily, "My god, Sà màn shā … that was the most intense climax I have ever experienced. Will we always … I mean … I just never expected …"

Sam placed a fingertip across her friend's lips to quiet her. "I love you, Xiùlán. That makes all the difference in how you respond to me. I take it you really enjoyed your birthday present."

"More than you will ever know, wo de baobèi." [我的寶貝 – my darling]

Traynor lightly dragged her fingertips up from Xiùlán's vulva, tracing a meandering path around her navel before laying her arm on her side, hand resting on her hip. Xiùlán rose to a sitting position, then moved and got to her knees beside Sam, who obligingly slid towards the center of the bed, where she could now lie on her back. Xiùlán brought her right leg over so she could straddle Sam's body, knees on the bed beside her hips, hands on either side of her head.

Bending down, she placed another kiss on a willing mouth, then asked, "Nàme, ni shì wo de shēngrì dàngāo?" [那麼，你是我的生日蛋糕？– So, are you my birthday cake?] She slowly jackknifed her body down so she could kiss the pair of beautiful breasts beneath her, then took first one then the other nipple between her fingers and teased them into attention. As she alternated her mouth and fingers from side to side to pleasure Sam's breasts, she unhurriedly slid her other hand down across an extremely firm belly to the waistband of a pair of lacy panties. "These need to come off, my sweet …" Xiùlán whispered around the nipple on which she was currently nibbling to an accompaniment of little moans interspersed with the hiss of air being drawn into lungs through clenched teeth.

Sliding fingertips under the waistband, Xiùlán surprised Sam by simply continuing on down until her fingers rested on the moist flesh guarding the entrance of Sam's vagina; another pair of hands, previously busy massaging a pair of deliciously firm breasts hanging down like ripening fruit, moved to hook the waistband of the last bit of cloth guarding Sam's modesty. Raising her bottom in order to slide her panties past her ass first, she looked into Xiùlán's eyes with just a hint of trepidation. "Wo ài ni, Xiùlán. I am giving up my virginity as well."

Xiùlán kissed each of Sam's knees as she finished removing panties from her muscular legs, then gently spread those legs apart, bringing her own knees up one at a time and placing her legs together between Sam's before sliding them down towards her feet. Sam groaned in pleasure as Xiùlán's talented tongue carved a path down the center of her chest to her stomach, pausing at her navel to explore its delicate folds.

Traynor sighed as she grabbed the length of Xiùlán's hair and laid it to the side, watching as Xiùlán planted little kisses down her belly until reaching her mound, where she buried her nose and mouth in Sam's neatly trimmed bush and teased her with that talented tongue before sliding the tip into Sam's glistening flesh.

She cried out as Xiùlán used her lips to gently pinch her clit; then, as she alternated lips and tongue, kissing and licking, she brought a hand down and slowly inserted two fingers into her vagina, curving them upwards to touch her front wall … this caused Sam to cry and arch her back in ecstasy as Xiùlán massaged her slot with her fingers and continued to caress her clit with her lips and tongue. Sam was panting now as she raised her legs and grabbed them behind her knees to give Xiùlán as much access as she needed. She never knew her sex could be the source of such intensely exquisite feelings of pleasure after the painful shame of Oxford; whimpering and moaning changed to crying out as she got closer and closer to an orgasm, only to have Xiùlán withdraw her fingers and raise her mouth! Sam couldn't believe it! … she was so damned close, and Xiùlán was holding her back!

Xiùlán slowly reinserted her fingers and resumed gently caressing Sam's labia and clit with her tongue and lips. By this time Samantha's entire world had shrunk to the engorged nerve endings in her breasts and vulva as Xiùlán slowly coaxed her closer and closer to an explosive orgasm … she was so close, but wasn't … quite … there … until … Xiùlán again removed her fingers, only to quickly jam her tongue as far into Sam's vagina as she could, causing her to scream as she climaxed in enormous waves of ecstasy and went crashing over the edge, rewarding her lover with several waves of liquid, which Xiùlán readily captured as it cascaded onto her face.

Sam reluctantly released her legs, grabbed Xiùlán's muscled arms and pulled her up over her between her upraised knees – their sweat soaked bodies gliding easily together. Sam kissed Xiùlán's lips, tasting her climax on her tongue and in her mouth. "Damn! Is that … the way … it's always supposed … to be?" Sam panted. "I've never known that kind of pleasure, Xiùlán. That was fantastic!" Giggling, she added, "Ah, I hope you enjoyed your birthday cake as much as I enjoyed feeding it to you!"

Xiùlán hugged Sam tightly, reveling in the feel of her nude body. She kissed Sam, enjoying the taste in her mouth and on her tongue. "May my revered ancestors forgive me! That was absolutely wonderful, Sam!"

A/N: Found great tips for snap punches on this website, ( /boxing-techniques/punch-techniques/how-to-throw-a-snapping-punch.) with comments and instruction by Johnny N. - the man seems to really know his stuff, and I cannot imagine fighting techniques will change that much in 165 years.