For Those Who Wait: a Mass Effect fanfic 3.1/4

[xenzen]

Damn character limits...


"Major Alenko," EDI said, breaking into Kaidan's reverie, "you wanted to know when Commander Shepard returned?"

"Yeah. Is she back?"

"She is currently in the process of decontaminating in the airlock."

Kaidan checked the time on his omni-tool; it was 1700, an hour before their date. "Thanks for the heads-up, EDI."

After waiting about ten minutes, and failing to take in a word of the book he'd been reading to pass the time, he gave up and shut the pad down. Picking up the long, narrow box sitting next to him on the couch, he walked out of starboard observation, stuffing his free hand into his pocket to keep from fidgeting as he headed towards the elevator.

He was ready; he had planned for his date with as much rigour, attention to detail, and discipline as he would for a covert spec-ops mission, though the goal would hopefully involve a bed and a naked commander, not just a completed mission objective and a commendation in his file.

While trying to imagine the kind of form that would have a place for broke regs, slept with commanding officer, didn't regret it at all, deserves a medal, he felt someone nearly yank the box out from under his arm. Combat reflexes took over, and he spun away as his barrier sprang to life around him, one hand raised to form a mnemonic, the other clutching the box close. The would-be thief was wise enough to freeze in place, three-fingered hands raised to show they were empty.

"Garrus!" Kaidan snapped, letting his barrier subside. "What the hell are you trying to pull? And how the hell can a turian in full armor sneak up on me, anyway?"

Garrus's mandibles fluttered in the turian equivalent of a grin as he leaned against the wall next to the elevator. "I was curious, and I wanted to take a closer look. As to your second question - turians naturally walk around on tiptoes, and, well, it's obvious even to a non-human that you've had something on your mind all day."

Kaidan scowled at the other man as he attempted to smooth out the wrinkles their brief struggle had left on the box. "You, of all people, should know not to take a biotic by surprise - I could've thrown you into the wall!"

"What can I say - I like living dangerously." Garrus pointed at the scars on his face to illustrate the point.

Punching the button to summon the elevator, Kaidan growled, "You could've just asked me."

"Not as fun."

"Or asked Liara." Kaidan snorted. "Hell, she probably knew what I'd buy before I did."

"Even less fun. Besides, she's still on the Citadel - wall-to-wall meetings." Garrus glanced at him, mandibles flared. "But if my eyes aren't mistaken... that looks like wrapping paper from a pretty exclusive florist shop on the Citadel."

Kaidan shuffled the box around to his other side, away from Garrus's scrutiny - and reach. "What of it?" Damn, the elevator sure was taking its sweet time.

"Hmm, I wonder who they could be for?" Garrus teased.

The elevator finally arrived; Kaidan stepped in and glared at the turian. "Don't you have something to go calibrate?"

"If only I could calibrate your love life, right?"

Kaidan's eyes nearly crossed at the comparison of his love life to a giant gun, and he wasn't sure whether to be insulted or flattered. "I... don't think I'll answer that one."

"You know, if you need some tips or some good lines, I can help," the other man suggested.

The rumble of laughter started deep in Kaidan's chest, rolling up his diaphragm despite his best efforts to keep it down, but at least he managed to turn it into a coughing fit instead. "Garrus, if you're talking about that old 'reach and flexibility' chestnut, I think you need to come up with a new one."

"Huh," Garrus grumped, somehow managing to look offended with a face covered in plates. "It's not the age that matters - it's how you use it. Say, maybe you should see Chakwas for that cough - Shepard wouldn't want you coming down with a cold, right?"

"Uh-huh," Kaidan said, humoring his friend. "Yeah, I'll do that."

"Hey, Kaidan... good luck."

Shooting the turian a suspicious look, he said, "Thanks." Then he waited.

Garrus's mandibles fluttered again. "You'll need it."

"Ass." Kaidan made a rude gesture - there were some things that crossed species boundaries; Garrus just laughed until the doors closed. Then he heard the turian asking someone, What's a chestnut?

Taking a deep breath, Kaidan pressed the button for the captain's cabin, then released it in a long, slow exhalation to dispel the panic that suddenly welled up and ambushed him. With all of the steps he'd planned, somehow he'd forgotten to write down what he should say; everything that came to mind sounded so corny he cringed, and now there was no time.

The elevator, usually so slow it seemed to take a whole galactic cycle just to get to the next floor, was quick to open its doors, revealing the small landing in front of Shepard's quarters. Wiping his sweaty palms on his thighs, he stepped out and knocked on the door. Ready or not, here I come. And if he was lucky, there'd be a lot of that later. A whole lot.

"Kaidan!" Shepard said, looking surprised when she greeted him at the door. Her hair and skin were wet, as if she'd just come from the shower; she wore only a simple black shirt and trousers, and her feet were bare. "Come on in. What's up?"

"I, uh, I wanted to give you something," he said as he walked into the cabin, and handed her the box.

"What's this?" she asked with a puzzled smile as she took it.

"Open it, and you'll see."

While the commander occupied herself with undoing the ribbon and the wrapping paper, he slipped a couple of smaller packages - for later - onto the shelf that held the hamster cage, one of the few indulgences she'd allowed herself, like the model ships and expensive tea. And himself, Kaidan supposed. A small gasp told him she'd opened the box, and he turned to see her stunned expression, so that he could memorize it.

"A dozen roses?" Shepard said, and stared at him, apparently struck speechless - and without a turian Councilor around to tell her Reapers didn't exist.

He shrugged and smiled, drinking in her radiant face as she buried her nose into the blood-red blossoms and took a deep breath of the fragrance. She should look like that all the time. "What can I say? I'm old fashioned."

"Flowers all the way from Earth... they must've set you back quite a bit."

"Worth every credit to see you smile," he assured her.

Putting the box down next to her computer terminal, she threw her arms around his neck; a static shock popped and burned for a brief moment against his skin, but he was used to it. "You are such a romantic," she declared, and kissed him.

The clever little tongue that she'd used to seduce treaties from both the krogan and the turians first teased at a corner of his mouth, persuading his lips to part, little by little, with moist little swipes. Shepard smelled of soap and shampoo, and she tasted of cinnamon and spice, and the heat of her skin soaked into him through both of their shirts when he wrapped his arms tight around her.

When he yielded with joy to her unspoken demand, then turned the tables by capturing her with his own tongue and teeth, she made a hungry little sound deep in her throat that weakened both his knees and his resolve. For a wild, lust-filled moment, Kaidan thought about throwing his carefully laid plans for the evening out the airlock, to instead take his commander to bed, burrow into a nest of blankets, and make love to her until they both forgot their names.

Then he remembered how bright and happy she looked when he gave her the flowers, and realized how rare it was for her to be given a frivolous gift that wasn't alcohol, something that had no relation to the war, with Reapers, or Cerberus. Well, there was that small crystal she said the female krogan shaman had given her, but even that was a reminder of pain and struggle and suffering.

With reluctance, he withdrew, breathing hard, but only enough to see her face; he wasn't ready to let go just yet. "Why don't you go get dressed? I'll find something to put the flowers in."

The pupils of Shepard's gray eyes were dilated, and a faint blush darkened her cheeks. "We could always stay in, and I could cook dinner," she suggested, a little short of breath herself.

Great minds thought alike, apparently. "And I bet it'd taste better than anything a five-star restaurant on the Citadel could come up with, but I don't want you to do any work. I want you to relax, take a breather, you know?"

She smirked. "Anyone eating one of my meals would be so relaxed, they'd be positively torpid."

He laughed. "I remember." A line from one of his father's vid letters suddenly came to mind: She can cook? Don't let her get away! "But let me spoil you tonight."

"I have to finish getting dressed, and I can't do that if you're still holding me so tightly," Shepard teased, though there was something in her eyes and the way she was running her fingers through his hair that said she didn't really mind.

"Right." Kaidan let her go and took up the roses, letting the thorns poke into his palms to remind him he had this thing called self-control, and that it was important to his plans to have some. "Do you have anything I can put these in?"

There wasn't, but they improvised, using a tall drinking glass she found in a cabinet. He went to the bathroom to fill it with water, keeping his gaze averted from the shower in an effort to suppress the erotic fantasies insisting on playing across his mind's eye in all of their lurid, sexy details. If you keep this up - and that, too, he told his libido, I'll have to use it myself. His libido was unimpressed by the threat.

While they were soldiers, and soldiers were used to having no privacy whatsoever when they dressed, this time was different; he felt shy, even though he'd seen her before in nothing but her dog tags, and looked around her cabin instead of watching her put on her makeup. There were no personal touches that he could see in the bedroom section, he realized, no imprint of the one who lived here; all of those were in the office, consisting of the model ships, her hamster, hardcopy reports, and the messy pile of data pads. Well, now there was a makeshift vase filled with a dozen roses on the low table. It was a start.

It was less than five minutes later when Kaidan turned from the empty fish tank - why a fish tank on a warship, he wondered - when she called him. He blinked, taking in the immaculate, crisp dress blues she was wearing.

"Well, now I feel underdressed," he said without thinking, feeling rumpled and shabby in his BDUs compared to those elegant lines and sharp creases.

She smirked as she led the way to the elevator. "Not underdressed enough, Major."

He leaned over and breathed into her ear, his voice deep and hoarse with promise, "Later." Unable to resist, he licked at her earlobe, and heard her sharp inhalation as he took her hand. In a more normal voice, he added, "Have I told you how much I love seeing you in your dress blues?"

Shepard raised her brows as she pressed the button for the elevator. "No, but... tell me more."

"I, uh... I have a real weakness for a woman in uniform, Shepard." And he did, considering he was the only one who would ever see the entirety of what that uniform was hiding. "Especially when you look so hot in them."

"One of the reasons you joined the military, huh?"

"Yeah," Kaidan said before he could stop himself. "I mean, no! I, I mean..." he sputtered.

The commander laughed like a delighted child, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Kaidan, you haven't changed a bit."

"You wouldn't have it any other way," he said, pulling her into the elevator when the doors opened.

"No," Shepard agreed, and squeezed his hand. "I wouldn't."

By unspoken agreement, they stopped holding hands when the elevator opened, even though the existence of James's betting pool meant they had betrayed themselves somehow. Kaidan knew he was fooling himself if he thought no one would notice; any of the crew wandering on the Presidium would be able to see them having dinner at Apollo's, holding hands - and he fully intended to hold her hand - which was not what two ranking officers serving together on the same ship should do. He couldn't really bring himself to care very much - and he used to care a lot about regs, when did he stop? - but it would be best if they exercised discretion on the ship.

They made a clean escape off the bridge, with only Joker's knowing Have fun! to speed them on their way. He breathed out a silent sigh of relief as they stepped out of the airlock; he'd been dreading the moment when EDI would alert Shepard to some emergency or a vid-comm call from Hackett, and he could hardly believe it hadn't happened, that they'd gotten away.

"Ready?" Kaidan asked, taking the commander's hand and tucking it in his arm with a proprietary air.

Shepard's lips curved in a broad, enigmatic smile. "Lead on."

The journey from the docking bay to the restaurant was all a bit of a blur, distracted as he was by the way the commander pressed against him, the heat radiating from her body, even through their uniforms, her thigh rubbing against his, and the touch of her warm, callused fingers on his bare arm.

The only jarring note that impinged on his awareness was the brightness of the Presidium, which was blazing with artificial sunlight from the simulated blue sky above, when it should've been evening. It would've been more romantic to see the stars at night, with maybe a moon or two, but considering how often he'd caught her shooting sidelong glances at him, it would probably be a waste.

At Apollo's, a salarian waiter directed them to a table and handed them menu pads; Kaidan remembered enough of his manners to pull out a chair for Shepard and seat her before sitting down himself.

"Wow, pretty good selection," Kaidan commented as he studied the menu and scrolled through it. "I didn't think they could get supplies for half the dishes listed here, what with the war and everything."

Her smile took on a cynical twist. "Considering the prices, I wouldn't be surprised if they're tapping into the black market for most of it."

He shrugged. "Well, however they did it, I'm just glad you were willing to take the time out to do this. We could both use a sanity check, I think."

"I remember making a promise to you, Kaidan - three years ago for you, but it was just one for me," Shepard said, her warm, rough hand covering his. "Whatever I have left after the crew, after the mission... is yours."

Turning his hand palm up, Kaidan curled his fingers around hers. "Considering it was one of the most memorable nights in my life - how could I forget? But when that life flashed in front of my eyes on Mars -" he felt her hand tighten on his at the mention "- I realized there weren't enough of those nights - not enough moments like this, with people that I care about." That I love, he wanted to add, but he couldn't quite get those particular words out just yet.

"I know what you mean," she murmured, a hint of rue in her tone. "Things have been pretty crazy lately. With the war, Cerberus, and my biotics nearly getting out of control, I haven't really been able to live up to that promise."

He stared down at their hands, unable to bring himself to look her in the eye. "I... I didn't exactly make it easy for you."

Reaching across the table with her other hand to tilt his chin up so that he couldn't help but look at her, she said, "We're here now, aren't we?" Her sweet, radiant smile made his heart melt - there was nothing mysterious about her sentiments in it.

Kaidan leaned into her touch as she caressed his cheek. "Yeah. We are. It's amazing, really, when I think about it," he said with a self-deprecating chuckle. "When you've made it your mission to save the galaxy from the Reapers, I was afraid you wouldn't be willing to take even half a second to relax."

"As long as you're with me, how could I resist? Besides, you've been working hard, too." Shepard traced the lines on his forehead before taking her hand away.

"Trying to butter me up? I'm not that easy, you know." His fingers tickled her palm and pulse point. "It might take a nice steak sandwich, too."

Her gray eyes flared with heat before it was hidden by a sweep of her eyelashes. "Well, now that I know your weakness, what else would you like?"

"A shot of whiskey and a good old Canadian lager." Kaidan smiled to mask a mild wave of homesickness. "Think they have it?"

An intent look flickered across her face, as if she were committing the information to memory. "I'm afraid they're more likely to have batarian shard wine," she said with a small grimace as she perused the menu. "I've tried it. It's better than vinegar and piss - barely."

The waiter came back to take their orders; Kaidan ordered a beer - not Canadian lager, sadly, but at least it had been brewed by humans on Elysium, while Shepard ordered a carbonated wine popular with salarians. For the main course, a grilled porterhouse steak - medium rare - mashed potatoes and coleslaw for him, and lasagne with ground varren meat for her; with each additional dish they ordered, the salarian's already wide eyes grew even wider, but it was just a typical meal for two hungry biotics.

"That reminds me..." For a moment, he wasn't seeing the Presidium, but the sun setting over an ocean, and the homesickness grew until it felt sharp as a knife. It was difficult to drag his attention back to the present, back to Shepard. "I drank more than a few beers on my parents' balcony, looking over English Bay. Beautiful view, wasn't it?"

"It was," Shepard agreed, the same nostalgia he felt reflected on her face. "I'm glad you convinced me to see Earth and meet your parents after that mission on Luna."

"Feels like it happened a million years ago." It was a time that felt innocent and carefree, when they were young and beautiful, and the threat of Saren and the geth seemed distant and far away. They hadn't known about Sovereign's true nature, yet.

"We'll see it again, Kaidan," Shepard promised, her rough voice gentle as it broke into his thoughts.

It won't be the same. It'll never be the same. Kaidan managed to stop himself from saying the words; if anyone understood the devastation he felt, it was surely a survivor from Mindoir.

Making an effort to put it all out of his mind, at least for tonight, he said, "I know. This might seem strange, but... I feel good about our chances."

"Yeah?" The commander seemed surprised, as if she didn't know just how inspiring she was to him.

Maybe she didn't - or maybe his hope and belief in her were just more things that only added to her burden.

"Yeah," he echoed her. "Helps me sleep better at night."

Concern clouded her expression. "You're not sleeping?"

"Probably about as much as you have." Kaidan reached out and traced the dark circles under her eyes. "Been feeling a little restless. I've been thinking, not just about the war, but... about us."

Shepard gave him an encouraging nod. "Us," she prompted.

He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table even though it was bad manners, and took hold of her other hand. "I love you, Shepard. I always have. And I want to understand what this is between us, and I... I want to make it real. I, I mean, not that what we had before wasn't real - but I want more." He couldn't stop a nervous laugh from escaping. "I guess that sounds pretty selfish, now that I say it out loud. It was a lot less awkward in my head."

She took a long time to answer, time in which both his panic and dread grew, but it turned out she was just gathering her thoughts. "Ever since I entered the military, I've followed orders, obeyed rules. Even when I bent them or broke them, it was to stay true to the oaths I've made - to the Alliance, to my family, to myself."

Her expression was rueful, but full of wonder, too. "You've always been the exception to that, no matter how many times I told myself that it was wrong to feel that way for a subordinate, no matter how much trouble I'd get us both into. I guess what I'm saying is that I love you, too, Kaidan," she said with fond exasperation, giving his hands a reassuring squeeze. "I thought you knew that. And I guess that makes me selfish, too."

Kaidan somehow managed to speak around the lump in his throat, and his heart felt far too big for his chest. "That... that makes me so happy."

This time, it was Shepard who looked away. "I'm sorry - I should've said something sooner. But I didn't want to pressure you - I didn't want you to think I wanted to be with you just because the world's ending, and I know you still had doubts about me."

The old shame and guilt made him feel like a complete heel, made worse by her apology. "Hey," he said, getting her attention. "I'm the one who should be sorry, after all those things I said to you on Mars, and after that, I - I almost shot you. I... I should've known better."

She shook her head. "Don't be - you didn't say anything I haven't thought of myself." That was Shepard - always so damned reasonable.

There was a soft, polite cough, interrupting them before they could reiterate yet another round of apologies. Kaidan looked up to see their salarian waiter, both spindly arms burdened with trays of food, and let go of Shepard's hands so that the poor guy could set them down on the table.

"Hey, Shepard," he said, once the waiter had left, "the thing about being so happy is that I'd like to share that happiness."

She paused in the middle of spreading the napkin on her lap. "Oh?"

Deliberately deepening his voice, he said, "If you know what I mean."

"I don't know..." Shepard said, though her smirk indicated otherwise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that there are benefits to that happiness," Kaidan answered, taking a sip of his beer to hide his smile. "But more on that later."

Her eyes narrowed to predatory slits. "Later? We have to get back to the ship. ASAP."

Feigning disappointment - and probably not doing a very good job of it, what with the grin that kept trying to break free - he shook his head and said, "It'd be a shame to waste all this good food, not to mention this beer. Sorry, but I'm going to take my time."

"What'd you call it? A sanity check? More like a libido check!" she said, trying to give him a thwarted glare, but the grin won out, and they shared a laugh.

They ate like soldiers, with a minimum of conversation and time spent on the task, though he did cut some of his steak and offered it to her, and she gave him some of her lasagne. The rest of the dishes were split up in a similar way, giving each other indulgent smiles and encouragements like This is great, try some! and I know you like this one, go on.

Replete with good food and good company, Kaidan wiped his mouth with his napkin, leaned back in his chair, and asked, "Well?"

"It was great," the commander said with approval as she surveyed the empty plates; the devastation had been complete and thorough.

He called the waiter for the check, and tried not to wince too much when he saw the damage. "Ready to get out of here?" he asked as he cleared the transaction on his omni-tool, as well as leaving a generous tip for the salarian.

"Well, since you paid for dinner, I suppose it's only fair I pay for dessert." She rose to her feet and held out her hand. "Come on."

Kaidan looked up at her, at the glint of merriment in her eyes, then took his commander's rough, callused hand, pressed it against his face, and kissed her palm. Shepard's eyes turned scorching, and her lips stretched in a slow smile that warmed him up inside like a shot of whiskey on a cold autumn day.

"Or maybe we should just skip dessert and head straight back to the Normandy," she murmured in a voice that was even more smoky than usual, her thumb stroking his bottom lip in a suggestive way.

Kaidan swallowed, his mouth dry. What that voice could do to him shouldn't be legal. "I've got no objections," he said, releasing her hand before he succumbed to the impulse to suck on her finger.

She pinched his chin and smirked before grabbing his hand, pulling him to his feet. "Oh, wait, you said you wanted to take your time, didn't you?" she said in a tone of mock realization.

"You are such a tease," he accused her.

"Pot, kettle, black," Shepard agreed, unrepentant, as her free hand flicked to him, then to herself.

She started to pull away, but Kaidan kept his grip on her strong fingers, not caring in the least that he was holding hands with his commander in full view of, well, everyone. Shepard's smile broadened into a grin.

With his hand in her warm, dry grip, his awareness of her scent, and the lassitude that always came upon him after a good, large meal, it was not until they were in the elevator that he thought to question their destination. "Where are you taking me? I thought we were going to that bakery on the Presidium."

"That overpriced tourist trap?" Shepard scoffed. "I don't think so. For our first date... well, ever, I had something more... special in mind."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Special, huh?"

"Mhm." Even after three years, Shepard's smile was still an enigma - and it hadn't lost its power to take his breath away.

The elevator deposited them in Zakera Ward, and they had to shoulder their way through a crowd of people waiting to get on. He smiled when not one of them gave them a second glance; none of them cared that he was holding hands with Commander Shepard. Then he took in the view the mob of waiting passengers had been blocking: the Citadel arms, stretching out into the night sky.

"Shepard, look! Do you remember when we first came here three years ago?" he said, tugging her towards the observation window. The view was as spectacular and breathtaking as he remembered; Zakera Ward was set further back than the Normandy's docking bay, showing more of the arms.

Her voice was quiet and pensive. "Yeah... with Ash. Remember how she teased you?" Letting go of his hand, she propped her forearms on the windowsill and stared out at the lights; as they were eclipsed by the shadows of speeding air cars, the constellations delineating the Citadel arms looked as if they were winking like real stars, though he doubted she was really seeing any of it.

Kaidan slipped his arm around her waist as he rested on the cool ledge next to her, and felt her lean into him. "Yeah."

He gave her a moment to gather her thoughts back from where they'd obviously gone across time and space, then he pressed a kiss against her temple. "Come on... Ashley wouldn't want us to mope."

Turning her head, Shepard pressed her face into his neck; he felt her smile against his skin, and her warm breath feathered his cheek when she said, "Yeah."

When she turned away, Kaidan kept his arm wrapped around her waist, and she didn't pull back. Out of the commander's sight, he held out a fist towards the observation window; a breeze blew against his hand, and he imagined the gunnery chief had rapped her knuckles against his from across some otherworldly divide. It was probably just a draft from the ventilators, but...

I hope you're looking out for us, Ash.

Zakera Ward seemed more crowded, busier and louder than the last time he was here, worse even than morning rush hour in downtown Vancouver; more than once, the press of bodies forced Shepard close against him - not that he minded one bit. It was just unfortunate that the smell of so many people of so many different races didn't mix well in an enclosed space.

"So where are we going?" Kaidan asked, needing to speak right into Shepard's ear in order to be heard above the noise.

An elcor chose that moment to pass through, shoving them both into a holo-sign, though he - or maybe she - was very polite and apologetic about it. Kaidan wrinkled his nose; elcor might communicate through their pheromones, but the smell was as strong and pungent as a wet dog to his uninformed olfactory sense.

"Sorry, Kaidan, we're almost there," Shepard said, peeling herself off the wall, and gave him an apologetic look as she tried to pat out the wrinkles in her uniform. "Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all... I should've realized the lower wards would be teeming with people hiding from the war, and I know how you hate crowds and noise."

"It's okay, really," he was quick to assure her. "The Presidium is so clean and open, it's easy to forget the rest of the Citadel's not like that."

"It's only going to get worse - no," the commander cut herself off with a shake of her head. "Dammit, we're not going to talk about the war, or the Reapers, or Cerberus - this is about us," she muttered, though Kaidan wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to herself.

The scent of something fragrant wafted through the air, somehow cutting through the smell of too many people in too small a space, and he realized they were down by the food market section. The area was unfamiliar to him, since Shepard had been more interested in weapons and armor than anything else, but now the mystery of where she'd gotten the ingredients to make those incredible brownies was solved. Where else could she get them but the Citadel, with Earth under attack?

"Here we are," Shepard announced, pulling Kaidan over to a tiny little shop with a colorful pastel pink-striped awning.

The store was just as small inside, and crammed full of patrons, young and old alike. Shepard waited in line like the rest of them, even though she probably could've cut to the front if she wanted to.

"Doesn't it smell wonderful in here?" she said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the sweet-flavored air.

Kaidan took in the rare expression of peace on his commander's face. "Yeah... it does."

"How may this one serve you?" a pleasant male voice said from behind the counter.

Kaidan stared as the hanar - whose coloring matched the pink in the awning outside exactly - stretched out its long tentacles towards the customers in front of them, ice cream cones clutched in all four. Okay, now I've seen everything.

"The usual, Menshi," Shepard said, her hand striking fast as a snake when he tried to pay, and held out her omni-tool to transfer the credits. "I told you, this is my treat."

"Okay, okay," Kaidan said with a laugh, and rubbed his smarting wrist.

"Of course, Commander," the hanar said.

"You've been here before?" Kaidan asked in a whisper while the hanar did mysterious things that seemed to involve a disturbing amount of tentacle waving and stuff crunching behind the counter.

Shepard ducked her head, a charming blush on her cheeks. "Yeah. It's, um, sort of my secret vice." She shrugged one shoulder, embarrassed. "Other people go drown their sorrows in some seedy bar - I get ice cream. Good thing I'm a biotic, or I'd be as fat as a volus by now."

"Don't tell me - 'I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite ice cream shop on the Citadel'," he teased.

She laughed. "Hell yes!"

The hanar interrupted whatever else Kaidan might've said when it presented the commander with a cone piled high with two generous scoops of ice cream: vanilla on top, chocolate on the bottom, and all of it covered in hot fudge and crushed nuts. "Please enjoy, Commander. This one hopes you will have a pleasant day."

"Thanks," Shepard said as she took the cone, and pulled Kaidan out of the shop.

"Hey, where's mine?" he protested. He tried to turn back, but the customers who'd waited behind them had already closed the gap.

She gave him a smile that was equal parts sweetness and wickedness, and took a long, leisurely lick of the ice cream. Kaidan sucked a groan back behind his teeth, and his pants grew uncomfortable as he imagined those lips somewhere else entirely. Then she held out the cone to him in a silent invitation.

Holding her gaze, he leaned down and licked at the same place she had; the dark, sinful hot fudge and the cold, creamy taste of vanilla and chocolate mingled in his mouth, and the chopped almonds added a wonderful crunchy texture.

Her eyes crinkled at him. "You've got some chocolate on your mouth. Here, let me..."

Kaidan wasn't prepared when she darted forward, swiping her hot tongue across his lips; pressing the advantage like the brilliant tactician she was, she invaded his parted mouth and stole his breath - just like she'd stolen his heart. The hot spiciness of Shepard's cinnamon swirled in chaotic joy with the fudge, chocolate and vanilla, blazing a trail down to the pit of his stomach and warming him from his head all the way down to his toes.

When they both broke apart to breathe, he found he had her pressed up against the ice cream shop's menu sign, one hand on the back of her head, fingers tangled in her short hair, and the other on the small of her back. The ice cream he'd eaten only made her warm body seem even warmer, and his muscles untensed as he basked in it, his heart at ease like it hadn't been for a very long time.

"Anla..." he breathed, and felt her quick inhale when he said her first name. He took it slower this time, savoring her scent and the taste of her as he nibbled on the corner of her mouth, his tongue touching hers as she parted her lips for him.

"Kaidan?" The breathless way she said his name with that husky voice sent a shiver down his back.

"Mm?" He leaned back a little, enough to see her smiling lips were swollen from their kisses.

Her quiet laugh puffed against his cheeks. "The ice cream is starting to melt, there're little kids watching, and Menshi is too polite to tell us we're blocking the door."

Kaidan stole a bite of the softening ice cream, his teeth crunching on the crushed almonds as he pulled her away from the shop. "Then I guess we'd better get back to the Normandy."

Shepard licked at the cone, where some of the melting chocolate was threatening to drip onto her hand. "I thought you wanted to take your time," she said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"I changed my mind!" he retorted as he tightened his arm around her waist, eeling his way through the crowds until he reached the nearest elevator. "Bay D-24," he told the VI.

Now that that was taken care of, Kaidan turned his attention back to Shepard, who was licking at the diminishing ice cream cone with an oh-so-innocent expression that fit her about as well as a pink polka-dot pattern on a Reaper destroyer. The momentum of the other passengers had forced them towards the back of the elevator, which was just as well, when the commander held out the ice cream towards him again with a coy smile on her face.

"We should finish it before it all melts," Shepard said as she licked the fudge off her lips. "Think we can make it back to the ship before that happens?"

He couldn't stop himself from kissing that smug smile off her face, nor chasing bits of almonds that had gotten stuck to her upper lip. "Sounds like a tough mission, but someone's got to do it -"

Shepard kissed him back, cutting off any further words - as if he could still remember what he wanted to say. Then he recoiled when something cold was smeared on his cheeks and nose.

"Hey!" Kaidan protested, but she held away the ice cream cone before he could grab it. Then she laughed, and he just stared at her, mesmerized, as all the years and cares and the weight of the galaxy fell away from her face.

She grasped his chin, holding him still so that she could lick the ice cream off his face, and while he was distracted by the warm swipes of her tongue against his cheeks, he didn't notice her wandering hand. The circles she was massaging on his nape, just below his bio-amp port, lulled him into complacency, and he paid no mind to the fact that same hand was now sliding from his neck, down his back.

His indignant cry of Shepard! was sucked from his mouth and into hers when she suddenly grabbed his ass. "Shepard," Kaidan hissed, feeling a blush bloom on his face when she gave him a squeeze, "we're in an elevator. With other people."

The commander just smirked, and licked the last of the ice cream off his nose before turning her attention back to the cone, which had been decimated down to the crispy cup by their combined efforts. Well, two could play at that game - and he had both hands free.

After a glance around to make sure no one was looking, he pushed her against the back of the elevator and grabbed her ass. This time, Kaidan was the one who stole the breath from Shepard's mouth as she stiffened in surprise, and he grinned against her lips. Giving her firm, round buttocks a squeeze - there wasn't an ounce of spare fat on her - he used his hold to pull her hard against him - and against something hard.

"Do you know how many times I stared at your ass when I was following you, way back when we were first starting out on the SR-1?" he whispered into her ear, her hair tickling his face. "You've got no right to look that sexy in your armor."

Her eyes darkened, the color of an overcast sky dimming to gun-metal gray, pupils dilated. "I love it when you talk dirty, Kaidan," she purred, and then she bit down on his bottom lip. "Now help me finish this so I have both hands free."

"Aye aye."

The ice cream cone didn't stand a chance with two eager, enthusiastic mouths tearing at the crunchy shell, even though Kaidan kept pausing after each bite to kiss her. He licked at the vanilla and chocolate painted in messy blotches on her lips and chin in their hurry to finish, a cool contrast to the heat building between them where they were pressed so close together, but his efforts were hindered somewhat when she tried to do the same for him. They were down to the pointy bit when he felt the spot between his shoulderblades itching, and he turned around to see a couple of salarians staring at them with clinical dispassion.

"Can't be hygienic," one said with a disapproving blink of his eyes.

The other gave this pronouncement a grave nod. "Germs could be problematic."

Kaidan scowled, giving Tweedledum and Tweedledee his best bristling-browed glare, and was happy to see that what could cow recalcitrant biotic recruits also worked on salarians; the pair scrambled out at the next stop. Then he swooped down on the forlorn remnant of the cone, devouring it with a single savage bite; Shepard snatched her fingers away before they could disappear into his mouth, too - not that she was ever in any real danger.

"Mission accomplished," he mumbled as he crunched down with diligence.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," she admonished him, then undermined the scold when she used her tongue to swipe bits of cone and ice cream that had escaped, sticking to his lips and dripping down his chin, from what turned out to be an overly ambitious mouthful.

"Now arriving at docking bay D-24," the VI announced.

Kaidan pulled himself away from her alluring lips to see that the elevator had emptied in the time it had taken to arrive at their destination, leaving them alone. Attempting to peel the rest of himself away, the better to get back to the ship, he groaned, and pulled her back against him.

Crap. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"What's wrong?" Shepard asked, looking confused by the abrupt movement.

"I can't go back like this!" he hissed. Cheeks flaming, he pointed down at the front of his trousers.

"Oh? Ooh." She reached for him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could make things better - no, worse, definitely worse; he'd already given some unnamed C-Sec minion manning the cameras a show, and he wasn't interested in humiliating himself.

Kaidan sucked in a surprised breath when he felt dark energy form, light and gentle enough that there were no biotic flares; he shivered, the hairs rising up on his body, as it swiftly moved to envelop his barrier and began to sink through, but her goal wasn't to give pleasure - at least not deliberately. He only just stifled a startled shout when he felt a tendril of her biotics pushing down his erection, enough for it not to show.

"Don't worry, Kaidan - I've got your back. And front." Shepard grinned, then pulled him out of the elevator.

"Nhgh, n-not so fast," he complained, dragging his heels as he attempted to walk normally without exacerbating his... condition. The friction of the cloth on his aching flesh as he moved was killing him.

Though he relied on her to steer him while he ran through every omni-tool design he knew of in his head, he was sweating by the time they got to the airlock, and he tried not to whimper at the thought of the long walk to the ship's elevator. The commander's arm dropped from where it had been wrapped around his waist, but he could still feel the currents of her biotics rippling around him as they waited for the decontamination procedure to finish.

The tiny corner of Kaidan's mind that wasn't preoccupied with a recalcitrant part of his body marveled at her fine control of her power as she used it to move him in the right direction, even catching him when he stumbled on the shallow steps leading down from the bridge to the CIC. Since he couldn't hear Joker's jeering voice, the pilot must be at Purgatory with EDI, thank all the deities for small favors.

Please, God, don't let anyone stop them on the way...

"Kaidan, are you all right?"

Damnitdamnitdamnit.

He directed his attention back outward, and saw Liara framed in the elevator, staring at him with a perplexed expression that would've been cute if she weren't standing in his way. Why couldn't she have stayed in her office, with her nose buried in Shadow Broker reports like usual?

He smiled, though it felt more like a grimace, and said through gritted teeth, "Fine, I'm fine."

"But your face is all red, and you're walking a little hunched over," the asari observed, sounding concerned. "Perhaps Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you -"

"No!" Kaidan coughed, subsiding when Liara stared at him, and said in a more normal voice, "No. I'll be okay, thanks."

"Don't worry, Kaidan's just had a little too much to drink," the commander assured the other woman; butter wouldn't have melted in her mouth.

"Oh! Should I walk you to crew quarters, then?" Liara offered, choosing that moment to be solicitous and kind.

That was unfair - the archaeologist was always nice to people who weren't trying to kill her or hurt her friends, Kaidan reminded himself. It was just that her timing was rotten.

"I'll handle it, Liara," Shepard said. "I'll put him to bed, don't you worry," she added, a certain smug quality in her voice. "Go on, get outta here. I'm sure you were looking forward to some time away from all those monitors and meetings."

"Well, Garrus and Tali did invite me out for drinks, and my father said she'll give us a special discount. If you're sure?" Liara hesitated, while Kaidan restrained himself from shouting at her to just go away, or worse, using his biotics to throw her out.

"I'm sure. Go on." The commander took him by the elbow and pulled him into the elevator.

Inside, he collapsed against the wall, wiping the sweat pouring down his face with a shaky hand. "God, that was close," he croaked. "I thought she'd never let us go."

Shepard chuckled, the hoarse little sound not exactly helping with his self-control, then hit the button for the captain's cabin. "She's grown up a lot in the past three years, but I guess there're some things she's still clueless about. Liara's smart, though - she'll figure it out soon enough. But enough about Liara."

Then she faced him, her eyes predatory, her smile wicked, as she stepped close and braced her arms on either side of him. Her biotics dispersed all of a sudden, causing his erection to knock against the fabric of his trousers, and he groaned at the sensation.

Screwing his eyes shut, Kaidan thought about electronic counter measures, diagrams of various geth platforms, the omni-tool microframe speed of a Logic Arrest versus a Savant, anything but the scent of her skin, her warm breath feathering his face, and the heat he could feel radiating from her body like hot summer sunlight. Visions of circuit boards shattered, running though his fingers like water, as she kissed him, moist tongue teasing his mouth, trying to pry apart the lips he'd pressed hard together to hold in the needy whine.

The sound of the elevator doors opening didn't register until the commander stopped kissing him and grabbed his arm. His eyes flew open when she tried to pull him into her cabin, but he resisted.

"S-slow down, Shepard," he hissed as he dug in his heels, but he was dragged along by main force anyway. "I can't -"

Shepard turned, gray eyes suddenly glowing blue as her biotics flared for a brief moment, and gravity disappeared - at least for him. "No, I will not slow down," she growled as she towed him behind her like a balloon into her quarters.

Well, it was better, now that the fabric of his trousers wasn't abrading oversensitive skin every damned time he took a step, but if he wasn't careful, her determined, I-take-what-I-want attitude was going to undo him anyway. Her impatience was flattering, really, when he thought about it. Not that he had two brain cells to rub together right now, what with all the blood flowing to one spot on his body.

"Shepard," Kaidan began, once they were a few steps inside and the doors were closed, "you can put me down now -"

All the breath was knocked out of his lungs when she slammed him against the fish tank, and all thought flew out of his head as she slanted her mouth over his in a hungry, needy, sloppy kiss. She tasted of cinnamon and chocolate, sweetness and sin, the salarian wine a dark accompaniment to the sharp fragrance of almonds. A groan escaped him when she pressed herself close, like she wanted to get right into his skin, and a sweet, fiery agony flared a warning in his tightening groin as she grabbed his ass and ground against him.

Wrapping his arms around her and crushing her to his chest, he kissed her back with just as much fervor, mouth wandering along her jaw and down her neck. Tilting her head back with a small sigh to give him better access, she shivered and cried out when he bit down on the underside of her chin and sucked on the soft, vulnerable flesh. A primitive part of him howled with savage glee when he realized it would show the next day, and he was unable to resist taking another bite, and another; his commander was going to be sporting some mighty impressive hickeys tomorrow, and he felt no regret whatsoever.

As tight as his embrace was, Shepard was still able to move her arms enough to undo his belt and trousers, and before he knew it, her rough, callused fingers were inside his underwear and wrapped around him. All it took was her other hand cupping his balls before the tenuous threads of his control snapped, and a torrent of whispered profanity and prayers, interspersed with her name, fell from his lips as he came. Through the roaring in his ears, he heard her murmur things like You look so beautiful when you come and I love you so much as he thrust without shame into her hands.

When the white fire and blue flames cleared from Kaidan's sight, it took him some time to get enough air, and even more to form coherent speech. Hell, he could barely stand, he felt so boneless, and only the fish tank at his back held him up at all.

Feeling his face burn, he muttered, "God, that was - I, I haven't done that since I was, I think I was fourteen, sorry, I didn't mean to - I made such a mess -"

A gentle kiss, with only a hint of teeth, silenced his babbling; judging from the scorching look in her eyes, she didn't mind the mess at all. He whimpered when she took one sticky hand away, leaving the other in his boxers to stroke his softening cock, then he stared as she licked her fingers with slow, luxurious swipes of her tongue, just like she'd done to the ice cream cone earlier. His already wobbly knees grew even weaker; the sight was just so incredibly hot.

Without speaking, and holding his gaze, she slid down out of his limp arms, until she was kneeling in front of him, and he tried to swallow with a dry mouth when he realized what she intended. Though the dark fabric was a little wrinkled, and her short hair was a bit mussed, Shepard still looked immaculate in her uniform, ready to lead an army or give an inspiring speech. He wondered if she knew that having her wear full dress blues while going down on him was one of his more cherished fantasies - and suspected she knew now.

God, the sight of his commanding officer on the floor between his legs had to be one of the most erotic things he'd ever seen. If he wasn't careful, he was going to salute her with more than just his hand the next time they were on duty.

Shepard pulled his pants and his boxers down to his knees, exposing his hot skin to the cool air of her cabin; she kept the temperature lower than elsewhere on the ship to accommodate the heightened body heat of her biotic metabolism. Kaidan bit down on his bottom lip and let his thighs fall open as much as the constricting cloth let him, shivering with anticipation even before her mouth touched him. But she didn't do that yet, instead switching the hand she'd licked clean of his come with the one that had stayed on his cock, and began sucking on her fingers.

"Tease," he accused her, not taking his eyes off her busy lips.

"What a horrible thing to say, Kaidan," she said, pausing to smirk when she saw him trembling from the hot breath of her words caressing his groin, "when I'm the one who's making sure your pants aren't stained."

He had a witty comeback, he was sure of it, but the retort was lost in a groan when she swooped forward and licked him from tip to base, his knees threatening to give out altogether when she took his balls in her rough palm. Caught in a firm grip, she rolled them, pulling and squeezing with enough force to blur the line between pleasure and pain - just the way he liked it.

Then his eyes damned near rolled back in his head when she sucked his cock into her hot mouth at the same time, and, as if that weren't enough to overload his senses, he felt the saliva-slick fingers of her other hand dance and tease around the puckered entrance hidden behind his testicles. Quiet curses fell from his mouth when she ducked her head, and he felt her hot, wet tongue replacing her fingers, circling, testing, then dipping within; he shuddered, feeling her breath on damp skin and her hair tickling his thighs.

"Sh-Shepard," Kaidan breathed, shaking from the pleasure, and not caring if she knew.

As if saying her name summoned her, she rose to her feet, eyes half-lidded, not quite hiding a glitter of lust as she licked her lips. Not having the strength yet to do much more than let her pull him up from his involuntary crouch before he slid off the fish tank and onto the floor, he kissed her, tasting himself on her tongue.

"Mm, Kaidan... you taste as good as I remember," Shepard purred against his mouth.

It wasn't fair that he was the only one with everything all hanging out, so he started undoing her uniform jacket. Even half out of his mind with post-orgasmic bliss, his hands still knew what to do. "Well, now it's my turn to see if you taste the same."

She smiled against his mouth at his eagerness, but caught his wrists before he could do much more than undo the braid and top button holding the front placket closed. "We can do that once you're not in danger of tripping over your own pants and breaking your neck."

"That just sounds like a poor excuse to get me naked," he complained, but began to undo the fasteners on his shirt with fingers that were still trembling a little.

"As long as it works," she retorted, dropping down on one knee to take off his boots, though she made the task harder when she pressed kisses on his bare thighs.

How did she expect him to be able to support his own weight if she insisted on making his knees weak? By relying solely on her own considerable strength, apparently, as she lifted up his left foot with one hand and pulled the boot and sock off with the other, then repeating it for the right.

Tossing his shirt to one side and kicking off his pants and underwear, Kaidan hooked his hands under her arms and surged forward, slamming her up against the divider separating the office area from the bedroom. A startled grunt escaped her when her back hit the support column, and he caught a glimpse of the surprise in her wide eyes.

Music started to play, for some reason, but he was past caring about anything other than tearing off her jacket - his impatient fingers were less than kind to the shiny gold buttons - then the tight black shirt underneath was yanked up over her head. Using the garment as a makeshift restraint, he pinned her wrists up above her head with one hand, and distracted her with bruising, sloppy kisses while he fumbled with her bra with the other - then he had to tear his mouth from hers to see why he was having such difficulty.

The answer was apparent at once; Shepard wasn't wearing her usual sensible sports bra - with its equally sensible easy-to-unhook clasps - but a black bra with peekaboo lace stitched in an abstract flower pattern. It was so unexpected he had to pause and stare.

"Don't tell me someone who makes hacking geth anti-aircraft gun controls look so easy is having trouble taking off a bra?" There was a laugh - but also a hint of self-consciousness - hiding in her words.

"I'm just... surprised." Kaidan let go of her hands and cupped her breasts, thumbs running over her hidden nipples; the thin material was silky and smooth against his palms, fine enough to catch on his calluses. "I've never seen you in anything like this before."

Tossing aside her shirt, she draped her arms over his shoulders, arching her back and sighing as he bent to breathe in her scent and nibble on the swell of one breast; he watched, fascinated, as a faint blush formed on her skin and crawled up to her face. "I wanted to wear something sexy for you. Do you like it?"

Raising his gaze to meet hers, he said against her skin, "Are you kidding? Just thinking about you wearing this, this whole time, makes me so..."

Unable to find a more eloquent answer, he swirled his tongue around an areola, a subtle shadow behind the lace. Her bra might've been a sexy little number, but it still tasted like cloth, though it was worth it to hear her quiet moan as he sucked the hardening nub into his mouth. Slipping his fingers underneath the silk, he pulled down the cup covering her other breast so that he could devote some attention to that nipple, too.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell me," Kaidan murmured as he suckled on the dark brown bud, savoring the scent and taste of clean woman, and felt her silent laugh puff against the top of his head. "You could've told me and watched me fidget all through dinner."

Her fingers raked through his hair, nails digging into the back of his neck as he pulled down the other cup to pinch and roll her other nipple; he was going to have little red half-moons branded on his nape, and he didn't care if people saw them.

When she spoke, her voice wavered and sounded rougher than usual. "I was tempted, but I didn't want you to have a heart attack - at least, not before I had my wicked way with you."

His hands slid around to her back, and, after a bit of fumbling, managed to unhook her bra. Tugging it off, he said, "Well, if I'd known, I wouldn't have taken my time."

"Oh yeah?" There was a hint of challenge in her words.

"Yeah." Kaidan straightened up to kiss her twitching lips as he ran his hands up her bare back, feeling the hard, solid muscle shifting underneath her soft, smooth skin. "I would've dragged you to the nearest empty room - or maybe the Spectre office." Or bent you over the cafe table.

He felt her mouth curve in a smirk under his. "I had no idea you were an exhibitionist, Kaidan - that office is under constant surveillance."

Fingers trailing down her warm skin to play at the waistline of her trousers, he retorted, "I can hack geth anti-aircraft guns - I'm pretty sure I can hack the cameras."

There was a certain smug quality in her tone that both irritated and aroused him. "If you could even think straight - and I'd make sure you couldn't."

"We'll see about that."

With those words, he swooped down and bit hard on her nipple, sucking on it and scraping it with his teeth with none of the gentleness he'd displayed earlier. Shepard cried out his name as he switched to devour her other breast with the same savage voraciousness, leaving a trail of bites in his wake, and while she was distracted, he scooped her up into his arms; a tall, muscular marine in top condition, she was heavy, but he didn't have far to go - and if it meant always holding her close, he'd carry her anywhere.

With his hands full, he cheated a little, using his biotics to pull the two items he'd brought to her cabin and hidden behind the hamster cage, then leapt down the shallow steps. He tossed her onto the bed hard enough for her sweet breasts to bounce in a mighty distracting way, and pounced on top of her, his mouth stealing the surprised exclamation from her lips as he let the packages fall where they may.

Being who she was, Shepard wasn't about to lay there passively, letting him ravish her without reprisal, and she retaliated in kind. Tearing her mouth away from his, she clamped her teeth on his neck, biting down and sucking hard enough to leave marks that would surely last until the next day, while her fingernails raked ten stinging trails down his back. Her strong legs, still in her trousers, wrapped around his waist, and he groaned into her hair as the fabric rubbed against his groin.

They wrestled for a few moments, both of them trying to get the upper hand; she used her enhanced strength to flip him over onto his back and pin his arms down on the bed, her mouth everywhere she could reach without releasing him. Sharp teeth nipped at his ears, his jaw, his neck, only to soothe the little pains away with her tongue afterwards. Her breasts brushed, then flattened against his chest, hard nipples stabbing into his skin, the sensation driving him mad enough to make him resort to biotics to get out of her hold.

The eezo nodules in his system flared, creating a dark energy field that enveloped her body, pulling her off him and leaving her floating in the air; Shepard's eyes widened in outrage right before they narrowed and glowed blue, her grip on his arms tightening as her own biotics manifested and clashed with his. 'Clashed' was too strong a word, it turned out; her power was subtle and gentle, weaving through his barrier, twisting gravity just enough to counter the effect so that she could straddle him again, clamping her thighs against his.

The concentration she needed to counteract his biotics loosened her grip on his arms, though, allowing him to insinuate his hand down into her trousers. It was a tight fit, since her belt was still fastened and his hand wasn't exactly small, but enough for a small static spark to jump from his fingers on the damp cloth of her panties. The tiny shock surprised her long enough for him to break her hold and reverse their positions, and this time he had her arms pinned above her head.

His victory would be short-lived, to judge by the fierce, defiant light in her eyes, but his free hand was already caressing her ribs on its way down, pausing only to tweak and pinch her nipples before he worked on undoing her belt. It wasn't easy, doing it one-handed, with her struggling and undulating beneath him while her biotics ran tingling tendrils over his bare skin, but he managed to get the clasp open at last, then the simpler fastener on her trousers, and then his fingers were finally inside the open fly. She writhed with renewed energy as he stroked her hot flesh through the thin, damp silk; by the feel of it, it was part of a matching set with her long-discarded bra, and he felt a sudden impulse to use his power to tear her trousers open to see before he squashed it. Still, they were better off than on - but he needed both hands for that.

Leaning down until his lips were at her ear, Kaidan whispered, "Do you trust me?"

It wasn't until the words were out of his mouth that he realized how important the question was; she seemed to sense it, too, and stopped struggling, though her hips still moved against his hand.

"Yes." The word ended in a hiss when he bit down on her earlobe, but there was no hesitation in her voice, no doubt in her eyes.

He withdrew his hand from her panties, smiled at the small noise of protest she made in the back of her throat, pulled her belt out of her belt loops and wrapped it around her wrists, cinching it tight. God, she looked beautiful, her slim, muscular form stretched out half naked beneath him, black hair a sharp contrast to the white pillow on which it was spread out in a small halo.

The belt was made of faux leather and tougher than the real thing, but he had no illusions that it could hold her for even half a second if she was determined to get out, without even needing to resort to biotics - but she was making no move to free herself. The sight of all that strength and power, restrained and leashed by his hand, obedient to his every whim, was an incredible turn-on; he shivered a little at the thought - and so did his cock.

It took an effort to tear his attention away from the alluring sight, but Shepard still had her trousers on, and that had to be rectified. She shivered as he ran his hands down from where he still had them clasped around her wrists, and a sigh escaped her as his fingers caressed her breasts and sides before he got up to divest her of the rest of her clothes. Her shoes - thank God he didn't have to contend with combat boots, he didn't think he had the patience - dropped to the floor with two unceremonious thumps, then her socks followed as they were flung over his shoulder, and then, finally, he got his hands on her trousers.

Her panties did indeed match her bra, Kaidan discovered when he pulled her trousers off; for all her aloofness and control, a faint stain on the front betrayed her excitement. Shepard was still holding back, but he wasn't going to have any of that. He folded a pant leg instead of tossing the trousers aside like the rest, then wrapped it around her head as a makeshift blindfold; she couldn't anticipate, couldn't prepare herself, if she couldn't see. It looked awkward and bulky, and he made a mental note to find something more comfortable and classy on the Citadel. Black silk, maybe? Or leather?

"Kaidan?" She hadn't resisted, but he could hear the uncertainty in her voice even if he couldn't see it in her eyes. The biotic field she still maintained wavered, as if in sympathy.

"Shh," he murmured as he settled himself between her legs, drawn by the intriguing scent emanating from her sex.

Her panties had the same peekaboo lace and abstract floral design as her bra, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of what they hid. Shepard squirmed as he caressed her through the sheer fabric, her swollen lips parting on a silent sigh, then her whole body jerked as he generated static shocks at the ends of his fingers, and she broke her self-imposed silence with an incoherent screech.

He doubted she would've done that if he hadn't blindfolded her; after a year of constant surveillance, first by Cerberus, then by the Alliance, she had used silence as a defense - not that she'd ever been all that demonstrative in the first place. It was a fortification he fully intended to shatter and demolish to pieces tonight.

Giving in to impatience, Kaidan rolled her panties down, and took a moment to bury his nose in the silk and breathe in the musky scent of her arousal before tossing it aside. The only thing she wore now were her dog tags.

Blind though she was, Shepard either consciously or accidentally arranged herself in a provocative pose; her breasts were lifted up and out with her hands pulled up above her head, her dog tags only serving to accentuate their curves, and her legs splayed wide, revealing all of herself to him. Sweaty skin darkened by a blush, she looked so sexy and hot, but vulnerable, too - she must really trust him if she was willing to put herself in such a compromising position. After all, she was Commander Shepard, and she didn't take shit from anybody - but she was just a woman tonight; a beautiful, desirable, willing woman, who wanted to be with him. Humbling thought.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered as he pressed a kiss to her raised knee, and felt her tremble. "I wish you could see yourself - you're so wet, you're dripping."