A/N: Short chapter but wanted to put something up as I have had a busy week and not had much time to write. Should be more by the weekend. Hope people are still enjoying :)
Zaeed cracked open one eye, aware of both a soft mattress beneath him and a warm body behind him. Neither of these were usual occurrences and he took some time to remember where he was and what had happened the night before.
Christ, he thought, that was a turn of events. He wondered what would happen now, whether it had been a one-time thing for Shepard - maybe to prove a point - or if, for some Godforsaken reason, she was actually interested in him.
And if she was? He sighed, stretching his body against the soft sheets. This had not been on his agenda. But last night… he knew he would never forget it, no matter what. First time in however many years he had felt something beyond the physical act. He closed his eyes again, a smile playing over his lips as he remembered how Shepard had looked, how she had curled around him, how she had felt…
Just like that, he was hard again. He twisted his hips, pressing himself into the mattress with a quiet groan. Shepard stirred behind him, her breasts brushing against his back.
"Zaeed?"
Her voice was sleepy, his name a lazy drawl. It sent shivers of desire along his spine.
"Morning, Shepard," he said, rolling over on to his back, his erection obvious under the thin sheets. "Sleep well?"
"Mm. Best night I've had in ages. In many ways," she said, pressing herself into his side, fingers stretching out to trace circles on his chest.
"Don't regret it, then?" His voice was slightly hesitant, trying not to give away how much he wanted to know the answer to that question.
Shepard laughed gently, surprised at the mercenary's vulnerability. "Not one bit. How could I? I would regret not having done it," she said, "and I would regret not doing it again."
With that, she pushed back the sheets and straddled him, sliding his length along her slit.
Zaeed cried out, low and husky, as she sank down on to him, and was soon lost in the soft feel of her around him, her flexing muscles under damp skin, the musky scent of her arousal. The sight of her tanned stomach rising and falling with the deep breaths she took as she rode him, her breasts swaying with the rhythm of her body.
He could never grow tired of this feeling, he thought, each time he was inside her he was already wanting more. Already wondering when the next time would be. Never wanting it to end. Fuck, he was in trouble. He didn't even care.
They had made love one more time, standing in the shower as they soaped each other clean. Zaeed was sitting in the mess hall now, his hair damp and his appetite enormous. He was wolfing down the bland, watery porridge that Rupert had made as if it was the best breakfast he had ever had.
"You look cheerful," Garrus said, plopping down into the chair opposite him.
Zaeed chuckled. He was cheerful. Odd feeling.
"That not allowed?"
"Oh, it's allowed," Garrus said, picking up a dextro sweet roll. "Just confusing."
"Man can't be in a good mood round here without being picked on," Zaeed rolled his eyes dramatically, a smile breaking across his face.
Garrus blinked at him and shook his head. There were some weird things going on round here lately, but this took the biscuit. He opened his mouth to ask what had happened to make the grouchy mercenary so uncharacteristically happy, when Shepard appeared and pulled out the chair next to Zaeed. One look at Shepard's face and Garrus began to put two and two together.
"You too?" he asked, his mandibles flaring in an unmistakeable grin.
"What are you on about, Garrus?" Shepard raised an eyebrow, her tone casual but her cheeks turning an attractive pink colour.
"Well, you got Zaeed here, sitting with that look on his face like he's the cat that got the milk. Not exactly usual, I'm sure you'll understand," Garrus said. "Then you show up, all flushed and grinning. Just wondering whether there's something in the water. Or some other explanation."
"Cream, Garrus."
The turian frowned. "What?"
"The cat that got the cream, not the milk. Stupid phrase anyway. Cats aren't even supposed to have cream," Shepard said. "We had cats on our farm when I was little, if we gave them dairy they were sick. I can tell you, they didn't ever look too happy about that."
"You had cats?" Zaeed asked with a smile. He knew full well what Shepard was doing.
"Yeah, loads of them. My mother was like a crazy cat lady," Shepard said. "Mostly old farm tabbies, kept the rats away. I remember this one giant ginger tom cat, half an ear missing, scars across his nose, breath that could take out a Reaper. Slept on my bed every night. I called him Cuddles."
"Cute."
"Yeah. I miss the old bastard. Wonder what happened to them all, the cats."
"Pretty resourceful animals, Shepard," Zaeed said. "Bet they're all fending for themselves now, raising thousands of kittens."
"Probably," she said, sighing. "God, listen to me, getting all worried over a cat. Not as if we don't have bigger problems to deal with, is it?"
"Talking of which, Shepard," Zaeed said, "how much longer until we hit that old Collector ship?"
"Pretty much hoping we aren't actually going to hit it, given that we have Joker at the helm," she said, "but we ought to be there in around seven hours. Time for plenty of calibrating."
"I hope you're referring to me, Shepard," Garrus said.
"Of course. What else?"
Shepard grinned at them both, patted Zaeed on the shoulder and disappeared back to her cabin. Zaeed waited until Garrus had gone back to the main battery and there was nobody but Rupert around before following her.