Chapter 15
For at least the third time that evening, Miranda Lawson took a moment to appreciate the absurdity of her current situation. She was sitting on the couch in the nude while a woman she had long ago written off as nothing more than a liability finished stripping for her.
And how wrong I was.
Jack's full lips pulled into a smile as she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her jeans. Her torso was already on full display, which gave Miranda a great view of the colorful web of tattoos covering the convict's body. Her eyes trailed up the muscular ridge of Jack's stomach before settling on her pert breasts. They were marked with more subtle tattoos that included a series of black lines surrounding her prominent nipples in a starburst pattern. Jack slicked her short brown hair back behind her ears before she pulled her jeans down, slowly revealing the markings on her legs. Miranda saw more scars there but her attention was quickly captured by the other woman's damp underwear.
"I see I'm not the only one enjoying myself," she commented with a smile.
Jack rolled her eyes and at last pulled her panties down. "I'll level with you, cheerleader. You've got me horny as fuck."
"I guess I'd better do something about that then."
Miranda dropped to her knees in front of Jack. She began by planting a tender kiss on her inner thigh before resting her cheek on the tattooed leg and staring up at her new lover. Jack looked down, her hunger clear in her pretty face. "Shit, you gonna make me beg for it?"
"No." Jack was clearly beyond the need for more foreplay so instead of torturing her further, Miranda got straight to work. Her lips moved rapidly up the soft skin of the convict's legs, before burying her face between them. The thick, musky scent of her arousal was too enticing to resist, and when Miranda's tongue darted past her folds, Jack let out a low hiss. She drew another out of when her hands snaked up to knead the firm, tattooed flesh of Jack's ass. The convict's breath hitched as her fingers came down to rest on Miranda's head. She expected a harsh tug to encourage her efforts but instead Jack only threaded her fingers through her hair, crying out her pleasure.
Hearing those needy sounds pushed Miranda to do more. She found Jack's clit and swiped her tongue across the throbbing bud, making her her lover's knees wobble in response. "Fuck, Miranda!" Jack moaned. "Keep going!"
Her tongue continued to toy with Jack's clit while she sheathed two fingers inside her opening. The slick inner walls fluttered around her digits and Miranda looked up to see that Jack's eyes were screwed shut while her hands tweaked her own nipples. The speed with which the other woman was coming undone was thrilling. It only required a few more strokes before Jack's walls clamped down on her fingers and with one final pass of her tongue, release came spilling out of the convict as she screamed in ecstasy.
The ripples around her fingers and the throbbing of Jack's clit took a long time to taper off, and only once they had stopped entirely did Miranda pulled away. She licked her lips as she looked up at the woman standing over her. "Fuck…" Jack heaved, gasping for air. "That was….shit, that was…"
Miranda rose to her feet and circled around her. "I'm pleased you enjoyed yourself," she whispered huskily as she moved in closer, pressing her large breasts against Jack's back and wrapping her arms around her. "The night's young, Jack. And seeing as it's likely the last one we'll ever see, why don't we make the most of it?" By way of inducement, Miranda nibbled on Jack's earlobe as she brought her hands up to the convict's nipples. Toying the sensitive points drew a hiss from the woman.
"Fuck yeah," she mumbled, biting her lip, "That sounds good, cheerleader. Just don't stop."
"I wasn't planning on it." She ran her tongue along the outer shell of Jack's ear before whispering into it, "But I do think I'd like a bed for the next round."
"Whatever you say."
The two of them stumbled through the apartment, unwilling to release their hold on each other for even a second. Somewhere along the way, Jack turned in her arms, pressing more kisses on Miranda's lips. They were hard but not angry, expressions of raw desire, and by the time the reached the pleasingly large bed, Miranda's legs were shaking. Jack guided her down onto the mattress, and when she looked up into the convict's brown eyes, the hunger there made her quiver. It was the same hunger she felt, heightened by the knowledge that they would probably only get this one chance to be together.
Miranda spread her legs and it was an invitation the convict seemed eager to accept. Jack fell on top of her, one hand cupping an aching breast while the other slid between Miranda's thighs. Calloused fingers slid along her sensitive skin, making her moan, "Yes, Jack. Oh, yes!" One hand shot down while the other threaded through her lover's short hair and gripped it hard. "Take me!" she pleaded.
Jack didn't have to be told twice. Her fingers dug into Miranda's thigh as they slid upwards, only stopping when she reached the slick folds of her sex. As soon as contact was made, Miranda's hips bucked, pushing greedily into the touch. She wanted everything Jack had to give her, and mercifully, the convict seemed to realize that. Soon enough, the pads of two of her fingers were probing against the tight muscle of Miranda's entrance.
She took them easily, her wetness covering her new lover's hand at the first penetration, but even that wasn't enough. Miranda rocked back and forth, coaxing Jack to go further until at last the convict was buried fully inside of her. Just the feeling of the digits sheathed there was enough to make Miranda's inner walls pulse. She couldn't remember needing to come so badly after already having climaxed once in a night, but she no longer cared how desperate she seemed. This moment, this pleasure, was all that mattered.
It seemed she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Even as Jack's hand began to slid in and out of her sex, the convict's mouth was trailing up her throat, teeth grazing the soft skin. Higher and higher she went, and when she reached Miranda's ear, she growled, "Fuck me too."
Miranda couldn't manage to reply with words, but she still tried to do as Jack had demanded. Her free hand slid down the taut muscles of the convict's back and towards the firm swell of her ass. Jack arched up to meet her touch, her legs spreading to invite Miranda inside. Two of the operative's fingers curled into her sex, and she let out a low purr at just how much wetness she found there.
It wasn't easy to find the right rhythm together, but the sheer turn-on of taking Jack even as she was taken herself made Miranda shiver. Somewhere in the haze of pleasure, Jack's thumb found her clit, pressing against it every time she thrust inside, even while the convict ground against her leg in search of additional stimulation.
Miranda was doing her best to keep up her end of the implicit bargain, but Jack's motions were quickly melting away everything but the pleasure she was feeling. She wrapped her long legs around the convict's waist as Jack leaned forward, burying her face between Miranda's big breasts. And then Jack sent a small biotic pulse through the fingers buried inside of Miranda, and her attempts at reciprocation failed entirely. Her whole body shuddered as Jack's tongue dragged around her nipples, and after one more biotic vibration, her knees crashed together, and pulses of wetness covered the convict's hand. Miranda's breath caught in her throat as every muscle in her body tensed. Jack let out a sympathetic moan as the operative's orgasm continued to soak her hand and the bed sheets beneath them with her climax.
It took a while before Miranda could do anything but scream. Her orgasm seemed to go on for ages as she writhed and moaned on the damp sheets while Jack watched her with growing need. By the time the last aftershocks passed, she was left a panting mess under the convict. Her body was drenched in sweat, her thighs trembling and slick with her arousal. She wiped the strands of hair away from her face as she tried desperately to catch her breath.
"That…" Jack hummed as she licked her fingers clean, "Was pretty fucking hot. You didn't tell me you could do that."
"Incredible." Miranda gasped. "It was incredible." She propped herself up on her elbows. "But I fear I didn't quite do my part."
A gleam of anticipation shone in Jack's eyes. "What did you have in mind?"
"How about you sit on my face?"
"I got a better idea." Jack licked her lips. "I want some more of this too."
The convict rolled onto her back and Miranda got the message. She crawled on top of Jack, burying her face between her thighs while she situated her own sex over her lover's face. It wasn't long before she felt strong fingers kneading the soft, round cheeks of her ass. "Get to work, cheerleader!" Jack ordered, accompanying the words with an encouraging spank.
Miranda let out a chuckle before she obliged. As soon as her tongue made contact with Jack's clit, she was rewarded with an encouraging moan, and the feel of strong fingers tightening their grip on her ass. "Damn, ever since the other day I haven't been able to keep my eyes off this," the convict laughed, giving her another playful slap. Once Miranda's tongue slipped inside her though, the joking stopped. A low moan slipped out of Jack's throat, and she leaned forward to reciprocate.
They made love well into the night. Every time it seemed one of them might be spent, the other's desire would pull them back in, and it wasn't until the little light that still remained in the city's night died out and the sounds of battle ceased that they were finally done. Even then, they lay together on the mattress, their entangled bodies were covered in sweat. Jack's head rested on Miranda's chest, and she gently stroked the convict's tattooed back until her new lover broke the long silence.
"Miranda..." she whispered. The sound of her name took her by surprise. I think I've gotten used to Cheerleader. "Thank you. I...needed that."
She kissed the top of Jack's head. "We both did."
"You really think we have a shot at pulling this off?"
"Why do you ask?"
Jack shrugged and trailed her hand along Miranda's stomach. "I accepted this mission because I wanted it to be done with. I never had any plans to leave this planet alive; I just wanted to get myself killed doing the only thing I was ever good at...fucking up Cerberus."
"And now?"
"Now...now I guess I might not mind sticking around for a while. Maybe…" She hesitated before finishing the sentence. "Maybe seeing where this goes?"
Miranda ran her fingers through Jack's short hair. Only days before, the thought would have been ridiculous, but no more. "I'd like that," she agreed.
"Well, then let's try not to fucking die tomorrow."
In spite of the grim sentiment, Miranda couldn't help but laugh. "I'll do my best."
"I know it's a long shot, but fuck it, we've dealt with those before, right?"
"We have." She bent over, giving Jack a final kiss on the top of her head. The convict pressed one back on her breastbone before nuzzling up against her, as peaceful as Miranda could ever remember seeing her. It wasn't long before her breathing began to slow, and Miranda's own slumber wasn't far behind. Actually sleeping in a real bed had become a luxury, and she and Jack had given it, and each other, quite the workout. Tomorrow, they might well die, but at least tonight, she could rest in peace.
When Miranda awoke, she found that Jack was no longer in her arms. Instead, the convict had curled up on the other side of the bed, the blankets wrapped around her into a small nest. The position had stripped her of the size that her power and rage often seemed to give her, replacing it with a vulnerability that pierced Miranda's heart.
She's so young. And she's already been through so much. Is it right that she dies today?
It wasn't. And yet, what could Miranda do about it? Whatever Ford's ultimate aims for this new Cerberus of his, she had already seen more than enough horrors on Typhon to know what he was about. No matter what it cost, the man had to die, and the odds that the two of them would be killed either in the attempt or immediately afterwards were overwhelming. The building was simply too well guarded to storm, and security would probably be too thorough to infiltrate undetected, let alone escape.
No matter how good last night was, no amount of sex changes the odds against us. What else can I do? The realization hit her suddenly and her heart sank in her chest. Cerberus is my mess, the monster that I helped to create. If I die stopping it, maybe that's justice, a balancing of the scales. But Jack was their victim, for most of her life. They don't get to take the rest of it away. She doesn't deserve that; not the way I do.
With a gentle hand Miranda wiped Jack's hair from her face, careful not to wake the other woman as she did. "Thank you for everything," she whispered before slipping out of bed as quietly as she could, going in search of the clothes she'd been so eager to discard the night before.
As Miranda shrugged her jacket over her shoulders and fitted her holster to her hips, she froze.
Jack had stirred, but though the convict rolled over, she didn't wake, only murmuring some slurred words in her sleep. Miranda turned back for one last look, fixing the image in her mind to fortify herself for what she had to do. "Goodbye, Jack."
Jack awoke to the sound of sirens. She jolted upright in the comfortable bed, the cool morning air causing her naked body to tense.
What the fuck?
She looked around in a daze as the siren pulsed on. Her new lover was nowhere to be seen and the other side of the bed was cold. "Miranda?!" she cried out over the screeching noise.
No answer came and Jack stumbled out of bed and towards the bathroom, hoping to catch the operative in her morning shower. Instead she found it empty and to her surprise, Jack felt panic set in.
Where the hell is she?
Jack ran back to the bedroom, calling out Miranda's name one more time as she quickly tugged back on her clothes and snatched up weapon. A million fears raced through her head, an icy sensation who's chill she had started to forget. She hadn't cared about someone like this since her students, hadn't fought for something except the chance to live another day. It wouldn't have been a bad feeling, she realized, except for one thing: the woman she now worried about was gone.
When she finally reached the street, the siren had ceased its wailing. Instead, she was confronted with one of Cerberus' grand vidscreens displaying the emblem she'd learned to despise from when she was only three feet tall. Soon enough, it was replaced with an equally loathsome sight. Their target sat on his pompous throne, his ridiculous white beard flowing from his wrinkled face. Ford leaned forward and as he spoke, the sound of his voice made Jack's fists clench.
"Brothers and sisters of Cerberus, I come to you today with news of triumph. Our campaign against the ungrateful and savage alien menace that has plagued our city has been victorious. Our brave soldiers have proven the superiority of the human race yet again, a superiority that the galaxy will soon come to know."
"Ever since Jon Grissom and his Alliance propelled us into this new galaxy, humanity has been at the mercy of alien life. I come before you today to tell you all that those days of alien rule are numbered. Our army will only grow once we reclaim our homeworld from the pathetic Alliance. And reclaim it we shall, for a new weapon has been delivered into our hands."
Ford made a curt gesture with his hand and the golden curtain behind his chair fell down to reveal what awaited on the other side.
No...
Jack's fists glowed bright blue and the street around her tore apart with the force of her rage. A lone woman sat on her knees, her wrists bound with biotic cuffs. Surrounding her were two Cerberus soldiers clad in their gleaming white armor, their rifles pointed at the head of Miranda Lawson.
Notes- And we're back! We hope you enjoyed this chapter. There hopefully shouldn't be as long a wait between these final chapters. In the meantime we would both love to read your thoughts on the chapter in the reviews.