Sitting in the little side office, Dr. Dennis Martin threw his PADD back on the desk in temper.
It had been three days. Three days since Laryn had relinquished his hold on his host's body, and while the headaches and the initial disorientation were gone, Dennis found it hard to concentrate. He was the one who had pushed to come back on active duty, pestering Vedder and Maddock for their signing off on it, but now he was wondering if that had been the right thing to do. Not that there had been any serious cases to oversee or any emergencies since the Tal'Kyr had come and gone, but he just didn't seem to be able to get his head together for any decent length of time.
Standing up, he went to get himself a coffee from the replicator, checking through the opened door to see who was pottering on the other side. Nurse Janice Clayton was there, apparently not very busy since he spied her flicking rubber bands to a fellow nurse, Tyler Everett. The ghost of a smile stretched his mouth for a moment before he brought the mug up for a drink.
Turning around, he walked back to his desk, sitting down again. It struck him that he felt like an animal in a cage. He still felt Laryn around, still questioned everything he did, every thought, wondering if they were his own. Whenever he slept or just relaxed enough for a near doze or daydream, he was plagued by what he had done... gassing the crew, the very people he'd sworn to care for, grabbing one of his doctors with the set intent on snapping her neck. He also kept thinking of his late wife, the memory of her death so fresh now since Laryn had played with it, using it to make him pliable and easy to manipulate. His three lost children too... he felt like he had seen them all just yesterday when in fact it was near a lifetime ago. Running a hand over his face, he tried to stop that slippery slide before it brought him to a certain corporal...
~~~~
Okay, she was pathetic.
She was pathetic because she was a Shark. A MACO Shark and right now, Corporal Deidre Sheridan AKA Dee, was looking for a reason to go to Sickbay not because she was sick or required treatment but because since the Vulcan mind fuck, her nights had been filled dreams about
him. Him being the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Dennis Martin, who was twice her age but still ridiculously hot. It was insane, all this time on the Vanguard, she had never given him a second thought other than in passing. Oh, she'd seen him around, talked to him on occasion when she came into Sickbay to treat injuries resulting from missions and found him a nice enough guy but beyond that, he wasn’t on her radar.
However, since they had shared minds, where their bodies had been hijacked by ancient Vulcan lovers, Dee had been unable to do anything except think about Dr. Dennis Martin and it was driving her crazy.
She had thought that once free of Temaria's possession of her body, her mind would be her own again but instead, since the departure of the Tal'kyr, her nights were filled with memories with that moment when they had stood in the fire as Dee and Dennis, not Temaria and Laryn. How it felt to be held by him, how his lips felt against her. The sensations were so vivid, she could almost imagine how he tasted. And worse yet, of late these imaginings were spilling into the day as well. It was maddening. After all, it wasn't really her feelings, she insisted, just residuals left over from Temaria, her passion for Laryn, which had been pretty intense, considering the length of time the two lovers had been separated. And yet, during that meld, Dee had felt somewhat awed by what she had seen. The inferno of passion they felt for one another. It was hard for both Dee and Dr. Martin to not get swept up in it. However, it should have diminished after they were free again.
Except it hadn't and today she had to report to Sickbay for her check up.
This wouldn't have been a big deal if Dee hadn't realised how much she was looking forward to it. To seeing him.
Like she said, pathetic.
~~~~
Arriving at Sickbay, she figured the examination would probably be done by Cate or Ronnie. The best she'd hoped for was a glimpse of Dennis Martin, little more. A glimpse and a word exchanged and she'd get this itch out of her system once and for all.
He heard her voice first. Hadn't noticed the doors opening to let anyone in or out, no, just her voice when she greeted Janice and Tyler. His mind on overdrive suddenly, he wondered if he was just hearing things, Laryn again, wishing for an opportunity to love his mate, and by the same token, screw the pretty human redhead. Oh, yeah. Laryn had found Sheridan real appealing, incredibly grateful his Temaria had ended up in that body as opposed to, say, Ka'ana's.
Feeling his spine straightened as well as another part of his anatomy perked up, Dennis groaned. Christ, what was she doing here?
"Hello," she called out again as she stepped through the doors, not wanting to intrude. "Anyone home?" Dee didn't think that there was a rash of injuries that suddenly drove everyone out of Sickbay.
Alright, that was odd. Wasn't Janice and Tyler just there a minute ago? Grumbling, Dennis stood up and poked his head out of the office. "Here. Oh, Corporal Sheridan. What can we do for you today?" he feigned surprise. Yeah, man. Real grown-up-like.
For a second, Dee didn't do anything but stare at him like a deer frozen in headlights. Christ, she hardly raised an eye brow when she saw Ka'ana, Finch walking around hard bodies, (she wasn't even going to start with Mercer) and none of that had affected her as much as Dr. Martin saying hello to her. "Uhm... I need a physical. I mean I'm here for my check up." Good god.
His eyes nearly bugged out and Dennis fought a near panic attack as he scanned Sickbay again, making sure Clayton and Tyler weren't punking him. "Now?" he asked stupidly, his eyes back on her face, making a Herculean effort not to let his gaze drift the length of her body.
Come on, man. She could be your daughter! Yeah, well, it's too late for that, he told himself, remembering how she'd felt against him. All woman. Nothing like the nubile image he had kept of his own daughters.
"I go on duty in an hour," Dee replied, noticing the surprise. "If it's too uncomfortable for you I can come back later." It would have helped if she didn't sound quite so... disappointed. Once again, an inner voice said snidely, pathetic. Still, it was hard to not be affected by him. He was tall and still a ruggedly good looking man. In short - her type. CRAP.
"Uncomfortable?" Dennis winced. That should have been his damn line and he knew it. Snap out of it, moron. Stepping out fully from the office, he approached her. "No, it's okay," he started to say and then decided to cut the bullshit. "I just thought... you know, after..."
Yeah, that sounds a lot better, old man.
He shook himself. "Come on." He led her to a biobed and pulled on the curtain a bit by habit and then stopped, thinking maybe he shouldn't have done that. Christ, why was it so complicated? Well, because you've been dodging her since you woke up from that Laryn nightmare is why. And,
because, it hadn't been such a nightmare when he'd come across her during the meld. Far from it. A special hell for sure but a damn nice one. "Hop on." He winced and rolled his eyes. "Sorry. Dee..." He paused, looking at her. "Can I call you Dee?" Seemed ridiculous to ask now.
"Sure," she said easily, breathing a bit better when they were on more familiar ground. A check up, lie she'd do any other time she's come in here. "Can I call you Dennis?" She almost asked with a hint of flirtation.
"Sure," he heard himself say, sounding rather pleased she'd want to. He groaned internally. Surely this wasn't right. Her expressive green eyes held him captive for a moment and he forgot why they were both there. Clearing his throat when he caught up with the rest of the world still going forward, Dennis reached across her to grab a medical scanner from the counter on the other side of the bed. His chest brushed the side of her arm and shoulder and he realised he was really acting like a dumbfuck teenager.
"Hum... so how have you been? Any lingering... side effects from the fusion?"
Oh yes, Dennis, I've been dreaming about riding you until I come screaming your name.
"No," she said with a perfectly straight face and then added, "Actually I've had some trouble sleeping." Christ knew what she'd tell him if he asked why. A moment ago he'd made contact with her skin and the brief touch had gone straight to her nipples. It wasn't as if it was freezing in the place either. Damn those Vulcan bastards for this. "What about you?" she asked, genuinely interested in the answer.
"Seems to be the norm," he replied, generally speaking. Every host were experiencing trouble sleeping, lack of concentration but the need to keep busy. Even Privates Wallace and Chou. Some had a clear sense of detachment too... like Capt. Mercer, or displayed open anger, literally walking around like a ticking bomb... like Sgt. Ka'ana.
Drawn to her face again so he wouldn't find himself wishing her uniform showed more cleavage, Dennis, Chief Pervert Officer, said, "Trouble sleeping as well." He could tell her as much. Not about the mess Laryn had left behind in his mind, or how every time he closed his eyes he felt her, hot and sweet, in his arms, still had her taste on his tongue... that a big part of him wanted to taste the rest of her... no, he couldn't tell her that but he could admit his lack of sleep. It was evident anyway, no sense hiding it.
"I could give you something to help you sleep," he offered. "Want to tell me why you think sleep is eluding you, Dee?"
Yeah, that's bright, man. What if her reason is the same as yours? What then? You're going to offer her your dick, for medical purposes of course?
Once again, Dee ended up staring at him like the deer caught in the headlights. "I'm sure it's just restlessness," she remarked, finding the need to fold her arms across her chest because just being near him like this was doing all kinds of things to her arousal. "I mean I don't know what else it could be..." she stuttered a response and wondered when she had gone from cool and collected to gibbering wreck? God, this was so bad. "My head space seems to be working over time, you know… too many thoughts."
He thought he got the real answer in the first fraction of a second, her eyes letting him see near as much as what he'd seen during the meld. The need to lean in to capture her mouth with his in that instant was near painful, his desire to step between her knees and gather her to him, his hands tearing that MACO grey uniform open to finally feel that silky skin he'd only imagined and dreamed of so far, made him clench his hands into fists, nearly crushing the tricorder. But it was only a flash, a glimpse. What if he'd only wished it there, projected it there... Laryn and Temaria superimposing themselves again, and not Dennis and Dee? He looked down and took a deep breath.
"I know what you mean," Dennis replied instead slowly, not missing the sudden closed off signal in her body language. "I find..." His blue eyes found her gaze. "I'm not always sure if what I'm thinking is really me thinking it," his voice rumbled. Maybe that was something he should have kept to himself, but if he was going to talk about it - like the damn shrink told him he should - then Dee was probably the only person onboard who could understand. Actually, Mercer and the other
hosts could too, he was certain, but something else had taken place, something shared, and that had only happened between he and the Corporal.
"I know the feeling." Dee nodded, realising that he might be in the same fix as she and if so, what do about it? "I mean... I have," she swallowed thickly, "these feelings and I don't know if they're mine or not but they're distracting. It used to be just the nights but now my head's lingering on them during the day too. Maybe we should get together, trade coffee and talk about it." Hesitantly, she added, "Maybe even dinner."
What the fuck was that? She asked herself as soon as the words left her lips.
Dennis was with her right until she suggested dinner. Dinner? He straightened, his eyes found hers and he stared at her, waiting for her to confirm what he was reading between the lines. He could pretend there was nothing there when he thought all this was only coming from him... when it had felt one-sided only. But looking at her now, after what she'd just said, he realised there was nothing one-sided about this. He'd long stopped playing games when it came to women and he wasn't about to start again now. If she wanted... Dennis crushed that possibility. Even if it was real, it wasn't really an option, was it? As the Chief Medical Officer, he should pack her up and send her to Lieutenant Loki, the Vanguard shrink. He should but he didn't. That was the responsible thing to do, the very thing the older adult between the two should do - but he still didn't.
His gaze and expression softened and Dennis found his hand reaching for the side of her face, thumb and forefinger closing on a lock of her hair, soft and shiny even in Sickbay's horrible flat lighting, and tucking it behind her ear. "Dee... what are you saying?" His voice had dropped an octave and barely carried to her.
What was she saying? She had no idea but she knew the touch was what she was wanted. "I can't stop thinking about... what happened between us. I guess I wanted to know if it was driving you as crazy as it was driving me." Thank God, he had reacted the way he did, any other and she'd just go to the Armoury and shoot herself.
Letting out a sigh, he pulled back his hand and looked down. Just her proximity made him hard and her scent and warmth was sending him right back into that heated maelstrom that Laryn's and Temaria's bonding had been. "It's driving me crazy," he admitted quietly, his gaze going back to hers. He frowned, sorry to hear she'd been plagued by the same demons he had. Now that it was out in the open between them, he guessed the question was what would they do about it.
Dee let out a similar sigh of relief, dropping her arms and the pretext now that it was out in the open and they were actually talking about it. "Thank Christ.." she said with a little smile. "I guess the question is what do now that we're both agreed we're crazy?"
"Thank Christ, huh?" Dennis let out with some surprise. He wasn't sure there was anything to thank Christ about. They were fucked, more like. "Crazy is right." He gave her a small smile in return.
What do we do now? Dennis was tempted to answer her with what he really felt like doing... which was grab her and carry her to his office, sit her on his desk. There, behind closed doors, he wanted to do exactly what Laryn had wanted... bury his face between her legs, taste her, taste a woman like he hadn't in years. Laryn. These wishes were Laryn's and that's where the lines blurred and left Dennis wanting, but unsure of where his own real desires began.
"I don't know what we can do," he began saying with some measure of disappointment. "Anything we can do would have consequences..."
"Compared to what?" She challenged, uncertain if what they had now was any better than where they could be. "There are already consequences. Neither of us can sleep, if you're half as bad as I am, this isn't going to go away. Maybe," she swallowed. "Maybe we ought to get it out of our systems. You know just get it out of our systems."
She had a point. Maybe. "Have you talked about this with Loki?" he asked. He was curious. Maybe the man would have some insight but Dennis had been damn too proud to broach the subject, to even admit he had a problem.
"God, no." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I mean he's been telling me that separation issues are to be expected but that doesn't change that I can't sleep at night without thinking about you," she placed a hand on his cheek, "or that I'm daydreaming about you during the day. I'm a goddamn shark. I'll get myself killed if I don't deal with this. So to hell with the consequences, if this is just Laryn and Temaria, then maybe one night might put everything right and if it doesn't, we'll cross that bridge when we get back to it. Because right now, doing nothing isn't helping."
Wow, she had really thought about this, he realised, feeling like the ass, like a teenager with raging hormones, buffeted and overwhelmed, refusing to face it head on and maybe hoping it would all go away if he ignored it hard enough.
When he looked at Dee, he saw her youth, her sexiness and the fact she was a capable female soldier, yes, but her youth first and foremost. And like many times in the past, it turned out he had to be reminded women were still a mystery to him and this one was wise and mature enough despite her young years. Conceited old bastard, he told himself. She was old enough. Had seen enough. Had lived through enough crap since Earth and its colonies had been destroyed to last her a few lifetimes. Like they all had. Though he was old enough to be her father, she was not a child.
His hand covered hers on his face, pulling it away after a pause, still feeling the heat it had generated on his skin. "I don't want it to get you killed, and I certainly don't want it to make me cause injury or worse. You're right; it's preventing me from seeing straight," he admitted quietly, his gaze holding hers. Feeling protective of her like he had with Laryn still within him, again not knowing if it was his own feeling or Laryn's, or unsure as to whom it was aimed at, Temaria or Dee, Dennis winced before adding, "Dee... I can't guarantee if what I'm... feeling... is just his." He squeezed her hand, still holding it in his large palm.
Okay, that wasn't what he had meant to say. Quite the opposite. More like he didn't know if he felt anything for her beyond what Laryn felt for his wife. He didn't want Dee to get hurt thinking there could be more while it might turn out there wasn't. But then again that was conceited as hell. It could very well go the other way around and Dennis knew himself well enough to recognise he was trying to protect himself a bit there too.
"Neither can I," she admitted honestly. "but you know, Dennis, we're not kids, either of us. It may turn out that there's something more and if there is, we'll deal with it like two people in this situation would deal with knowing they feel something for each other. If not, we shared a moment of something, something special we'll look back on and think of fondly, I hope. But what I don't want is to twist into knots, never answering the question. It's the riddle of
what if that's gonna drive us crazy, Doc. I say we take a chance and see where it goes. If it makes you feel better, I'm not sentimental when it comes to sex. I'm a Shark, I can't afford to be."
That last comment made Dennis grin. She might grow old to be... sentimental. He sure had. Taking a breath, he shook his head. "That's fine while we're on the same wavelength, but what if it turns out it's only one of us that ends up feeling 'something'?" As she put it. It wouldn't matter which one of the two. It would still make things painful for one party and awkward for the other.
"I don't know," she admitted, wondering why these Fleet types had to be so analytical about things. "All I know is right now, at this moment, I want you so bad I can't think. Now, if that means going at it for the next two days like rabbits, that works for me right now, because if I'm thinking about you on the line or in combat, I'm going to get my ass shot off, or worse yet, I'm going to get someone else killed."
She wanted him that bad? Her words made him do a double take and, just like when she'd entered Sickbay, made him and his cock straighten up and pay attention. Idly, he wondered if she even realised that her admission had just cost her active duty. But that was beside the point and he knew it. Eyes darkening with desire, he didn't even dwell on the idea of shacking up with her for two whole days, mating like rabbits. (Hey, her words...) He was certain she would kill him after the first at this rate and if not, he wouldn't mind her trying.
His gaze left her to look down at the biobed as he placed the tricorder down. Stepping in front of her, his hands found her knees and, as he slid them up her thighs slowly, feeling toned muscles beneath her fatigues, he looked up again, studying her face. Did she have any idea what she was asking him to do?
A slow smile crossed her lips, shuddering as she felt his hands glide up her thighs. The sensation went from anticipation to extreme need as she leaned forward, hands grabbing his shirt and pulling him forward so she could capture his mouth in a hungry kiss. She'd know how this was going to go by this one act alone, when touch and innuendo became reality, became more than words.
Fuck, Dennis thought as she pulled him into a kiss. It had been too damn long. Like he finally got permission from whoever had been holding his leash up until now, one hand sank into her hair, bringing her head closer still, fisting the red locks, his tongue seeking entrance just his other hand felt along her ribs down to her hip before cupping her ass and moving her closer in one quick movement that pressed her flush against him.
And with that kiss, Dee knew that it wasn't just some memory that made it feel so good; the reality was more than equal to it. His response pushed her own need for him into overdrive. In the back of her mind, a tiny voice reminded her that he was old enough to be her father and in response, the part driven by desire reminded her quite pointedly, that he fucking wasn't. His fingers threading her hair, she was clawing at his back, needing him closer, needing to feel him.
As he kissed her, tasting her again and finding that the meld had been damn close to the physical of it, her hands on him were like a balm. The memory of her had had him on fire since he'd woken up from that fal-tor-pan experience and now that he was really kissing her, feeling her body close to his, it was soothing. Dee had been right; not knowing was making him crazy. But while finally holding her for real was calming in a way, it was also making him burn rather fucking brightly.
Pulling away from another bruising, questing kiss, his hand moved to her throat, palm feeling her quick pulse beneath as his thumb caressed her jaw line. "This is not the place," he explained, almost with a growl as he tried to catch his breath and rein in his rampant hard on.
She had to blink twice to realise that she was back in the land of decent after taking a rather sharp detour from the land of carnal, filthy sin. Damn. However, she did have to agree with him on location. Heart pounding under her breast, Dee tried to remember when it was she wanted anyone this badly. Not even her comrades, with their hard bodies and their youth, made her body crave the way it did for him now. She could feel the sultry wet glide of heat between her legs.
"Where?" she said breathlessly, licking her lips, savouring his taste as she waited for him to tell her where because she was so there when he did.
"You have bunk mates, don't you?" he asked to check but if he remembered correctly, Sharks her rank did. His eyes remained on hers, his pupils shot wide by arousal, like it was the only thing keeping him from ravishing her on that biobed, anyone walking in on them be damned.
"Uh huh..." she nodded, trying to focus her thoughts on forming words. The irony was that Dee had never had to consider where to have sex on the ship when her living arrangements were what they were for a corporal. It had always been a rule of hers that she didn't sleep with the guys she served with. Oh, she had an active enough sex life but only when she got to Gaia and never a Shark in her squad. That was just asking for trouble.
"Then it'll have to be my quarters," Dennis said quietly, leaning in despite himself. His hands found her hips and he took in her scent again, his lips caressing her neck before enveloping her earlobe, nipping at it briefly. "We'll need to be inconspicuous." He straightened up and lifted her off the bed and let her slide to the floor.
"Sure." She nodded, trying to compose herself. "Where are your quarters?" she asked after he had set her down on the floor again. God, his voice was so amazing. Dee didn't know that accent of his could be so damn sexy. Her fingers raced a line up his arm, revelling on how it felt to feel his hands on her hips.
"E Deck." Dennis' eyes flashed at the touch as he studied her face, wanting to make sure she really wanted this. "Forward port section, next to the turbolift." He reached for a lock of her hair again, feeling the silkiness and telling himself the rest of her was surely just as soft, before his eyes met hers. "And what about when?" He didn't particularly want to wait. His head - and not to mention his cock - might explode if they had to postpone this for long now that they had decided to go down this path. Old pervert sod, he told himself.
She filed the location away in her memory, tilting her head to the side, leaning into the fingers at her hair. Dee could see the smouldering desire in his eyes and knew that they mirrored the heat in her own. "Now," she replied, swallowing hard. "You go first, I'll meet you there." He'd have to go first any way to let her into his quarters. Licking her full lips, Dee asked.. "Unless you want to wait." God, she hoped not.
"No." His answer was quick and left nothing to guess as to why. Amused at his own reaction, he smiled. "You know, this is crazy," he commented, unchecked. "But it's making me feel alive." His face sobered up fast and he pulled away, eyes avoiding hers suddenly. "I better go find out where my stray staff has gone to. I can't leave Sickbay unattended."
"They say that there are two times in your life when you never feel more alive," she said, kissing his neck. "When we're born and when we're about to die." She nibbled at his neck. "They forgot when when we're about to fuck." She licked the skin under his jaw line. "Shall I wait in my quarters until I hear from you?" she asked.
Minx came into his mind. Sheridan saw something she wanted and went for it. Thing was, Dennis would have never imagined being on the receiving end of it. Her attentions made him shudder again and this time he thought that was all her and all him - not Laryn's latent feelings for Temaria. Hell, he couldn't be sure but a wave of lust travelled straight to his cock and he found himself nodding. It would be best if she left or else he'd be walking to his quarters with the front of his uniform tenting like that of a teenage boy. "Won't be long though." Hell, no. As it was both Clayton and Everett were in trouble for leaving their post without so much a word to him.
"Good," she said, forcing herself to pull away from him. If she didn't they'd end up on that biobed again and this was forbidden enough as it was. "I'll see you soon," she said, cheeks flushed, her skin sensitive to the air even. Dee couldn't remember feeling so charged ever. God, the anticipation of it was almost electricity sparking between them. Retreating to the doorway, she winked. "Don't make me wait long, Dennis."
A minx and coquette as well, he decided. "Not planning on it."
Hell, he couldn't believe he was going along with this but he had no intention on backing out now. Dee had a point. They were walking around with their heads in the clouds, wondering how it would - could - be without the Vulcan consciousness inside of them. He wouldn't have said anything but now that she had, he had it as bad as she had described it and he knew it.
He moved to the comms and raised Everett and Clayton, asking both to get their asses back to Sickbay ASAP.
A short time later, Dee found herself on E deck, having gone back to her quarters long enough to change her under things. She had been wearing boxers under her fatigues and had no intention of ever having any member of the male gender see her in the things. Dee hadn't thought about sex when she'd gone to Sickbay initially, only to catch a glimpse of Dennis. However, now that it was on the cards, she wanted to be dressed more appropriately.
Unfortunately, the clandestine nature of their meeting ensured that she still had to be in uniform but at least she could control what she wore beneath it. Waiting outside his door, activating the chime and hoping he let her in before someone saw her outside his door, Dee couldn't remember being this anxious about any tryst ever.
It was a second after he heard the door that he got it open to wrap an arm around the corporal's shoulders to usher her in quickly. Not that he had been waiting. Right. With her inside, he kept his head out a little longer to check both sides of the corridor before pulling back into his quarters and sealing the door shut in the next movement. Turning to her, his hand still on her shoulder, he dipped his head to catch her gaze. To be honest, he hadn't been sure she would show. Part of him had even wished she wouldn't. Would have kept things simpler...
"Hey..." He noted she'd freshened up and that pulled the corner of his mouth into a half smile. He had to admit he'd come here and cleaned up too, which was rather funny because he hadn't bothered with that for some time. Then again, he hadn't been with anyone in the last couple of years. "You sure about this?" He could offer her a drink, make pleasantries, but she didn't strike him as the type. If she was here, it was for one thing only... but he was too much of a gentleman not to make sure she still meant it.
She answered him by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him forward in a hungry kiss, wanting no doubt in his mind that she was anything but certain about this. Dee found herself standing on her toes to reach his mouth and it occurred to her that he was rather tall, with broad shoulders and a form that belied his age, if she cared about these things, which she did not. As soon as her lips felt his, she was once again overwhelmed with the same feverish want that had gripped her in Sickbay and she pulled back long enough to say with a hint of teasing, "Pretty sure, Dennis."
That was all he needed to hear, her voice and mouth on his galvanising his need for her. His hands grabbed her waist, pulling her to him just shy of rough, and he deepened the kiss, breathing her in. He could still sense Laryn somewhere in there, feel him burn for his mate, but he knew without a doubt that he wanted this also... wanted Dee.
When he returned her kiss, Dee was relieved that they were finally here, that all the pent up frustration of the past few days and nights, whether hers or Temaria's, would finally find expression. A soft moan escaped her throat when he pulled her in. It followed the shudder of pleasure that came from feeling those large hands on her hips, holding her firm. Dee clawed at his back and then through his hair, needing him to burn her skin with his passion. Her mouth opened under his demanding lips, inviting him to taste her, to possess her, to burn her alive as he had done in the scorching heat of that non existent desert where Laryn's and Temaria's passion had consumed them too.
She showed him her need openly and it only stoked his own, fuelled it until all the thoughts he had entertained since the meld clashed in his mind in a jumble. The feelings were so raw, it made his head swim and his trousers damn uncomfortable. He wanted to bury himself in her, sink in and rock her into bliss. He needed to feel her skin against his, wanted her scent and taste on him, was totally focused on getting her slick and ready just for him. He was beyond caring if all that, what he was feeling when it came to her, was really his; they needed to do this for their sanity.
Reacquainting himself with her mouth, which was weird in a way because they hadn't really kissed during the meld but it felt like he had thoroughly explored that part of her, his tongue pushed past her lips to slide against hers, dance and tease. Her moan echoed all along his spine, generating a groan out of him, her hands on his back spurring him on to move and do something. His fingers worked her uniform open, sliding the overall-style garment past her shoulders and down her arms, his hands holding her arms against her sides as he walked her against the bulkhead, pushing into her, liking her softness against his body. She was warm and sweet and he soon left her arms with a caress to go find the hem of her t-shirt, the back of his knuckles feeling the soft skin as they passed over her ribs, fingers pulling up her top.
This was what she needed, what she craved from him. Once he was fully invested, Dee was happy to let him take the reins, seeing as to how he wasn't fighting this anymore. When she felt herself pressed against the bulkhead, with no place left to go, trapped by her lust for him, Dee let out another moan of appreciation, one that made her clit tingle with anticipation as she lifted her arms up, and allowed him to strip the t-shirt off her body. She wore no bra beneath, having discarded that piece of material when she had returned to her quarters. Rightly so, she didn't think it would be of any use.
Her lips began working his neck, kissing the lines of that perfect jaw, tasting the flesh of his neck as her hands began working the fastening of his coveralls off the broad shoulders of his well-formed body.
The tee dropped to the floor and Dennis was surprised to find she wore nothing else underneath. He pulled back, long enough to give her a smile and appreciate her form, awe on his features, before his hands cupped her breasts, the feel of them in his palms making him even harder. They were perfect and his thumbs and forefingers worked her nipples into exquisite little peaks that his mouth feasted on moments later.
"Oh God... Dennis," she whimpered softly as he suckled her a moment later, his name becoming a hiss of pleasure. Her nails raked through his hair as her jaw went slack, her eyes closed as the sensation of insistent tugging at those sensitive points overwhelmed her. "So good..." She managed to say as her legs turned to jelly.
"Luv, you feel incredible," he returned, his voice tight with need and barely pausing to move from one breast to the other, and swap again a few seconds later. Feeling her knees give, he snaked an arm around her while he took care of pushing her uniform down her legs, his palm feeling along a silky smooth thigh.
The urge to be free of her clothes was almost an imperative now, particularly in the midst of what his mouth was doing to her. When he pushed her coveralls down, she composed herself enough to step out of them, helping him take them off her. The boxers had been replaced by a small slip of material, a combination of creme satin and lace, which she never wore while in fatigues or on duty. Then again, today had been a day of exceptions and this was just the latest.
Her uniform having joined her top on the floor, Dennis slipped an arm under her knees and picked her up to carry her to his bed. After laying her down, he stepped back and finished undressing himself, his eyes never leaving her form. She was beautiful and inviting and, while part of him still questioned whether they should be doing this at all, he couldn't deny or ignore that the woman before him wanted this. The desire he recognised in her eyes, though he still found it difficult to believe it was for him, the breathy words, her arousal, which he could smell even from where he stood.
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
An old song entered his mind, lyrics he didn't even know he had memorised a lifetime ago, but nonetheless appropriate. Another odd thing. Dennis had never gone for redheads before. After another second of contemplation, he crawled on the bed next to her, his hand caressing her toned and flat stomach until he reached that little slip she had on. His fingers teased its contour, eliciting goose bumps behind them.
"Standard issue?" he asked, teasing, his gaze still drinking her in.
Dee blushed despite herself. Being a Shark, she tried to appear as sexless as she could possibly be in order to work with men but little things like satin underwear and perfume hidden in her foot locker was what she used to remind herself she was still female and that it was nothing to be ashamed about. "Absolutely," she smiled, watching his fingers exploring her flesh. "Just to remind me that I'm still sugar and spice and all things nice underneath the fatigues." It was a silly thing she supposed but important to her, to maintain her sense of self.
"Oh, but you're sugar and spice, Dee," Dennis said, a wolfish smile on his face he could not help, as he moved to hook his fingers around the two thin straps on her hips and remove the garment.
"More spice than sugar, I hope," she replied, helping him by wiggling out of the satin lingerie, kicking it off the bed. Now, they were lying against each other bare, with Dee admiring his form, which was pretty good for a man of his vintage. Running her fingers down his chest, she raked her nails over the soft fuzz of his stomach and rolled a thumb over the head of his cock, growing harder by the moment just as she was whetted by the sight of it.
"Don't say that..." He smiled, eyes flickering with lust. "I have a sweet tooth." He hissed suddenly as she touched him, glancing down to watch what he had already felt her hand do. Okay, while he wanted to do the right thing, get to know her little more
sans parasites in their heads, he didn't know if he could hold back much longer before doing what he sensed she wanted him to do, something along the line of fucking her brains out. Which was something he was partial to, pretty certain he'd be losing his mind in the process as well. And he also guessed she would ask straight up if he took too long to get down to it. One thing he'd learned not to ever do, and that was to keep a lady waiting.
He pulled her into a kiss, his hand grabbing the back of her head to guide her to him. Moving over her, his body covered her form, the sensation of skin on skin making him groan with need. Sliding down her body, he took his time kissing and tasting it. Her neck and shoulder, drew a path between her soft but pert breasts before nipping along her ribs, and the lower south he got, the more frenetic and demanding he became, his hands soon running along her inner thighs, pressing them apart for him. Sliding down between her legs, he inhaled her true perfume, felt parched in front of her already glistening centre and leaned in to blow cool air on her teasingly.
"Oh, Jesus," she whimpered softly as she felt his breath against her insides, tingling her clit with delicious sensations. Her nails ran through his hair instinctively, the muscles in her thighs twitching in anticipation of him. She wanted him to taste her, wanted to feel his tongue probing her flesh. She was licking her lips, her hand playing with her own breast idly.
Her plea was nearly his undoing. Not waiting any longer, his mouth fastened on her hot flesh, tongue pushing into her and drinking her in. Fingers parted her labia, exposing her to him and his mouth. Her musk was causing misfires in his brain and he was so damn hard it hurt. But he wanted to make her come with his tongue, please her and taste her fully, before anything else.
Dee's body bent like a bow being pulled when his mouth made contact with her aching flesh. Clutching the sheets with one hand while another raked fingers through his hair, her eyes clamped shut as a long, yearning moan escaped her lips from the pit of her stomach in total surrender.
Bloody hell, Dennis hadn't heard that for a long while, had even figured he was over and done with this. Taking his cues from her, he licked and nibbled and sucked, his tongue twirling and flicking at her swollen clit. He held her down with one hand on her hip, thrilled by the flutters he felt in the muscles of her tummy and thighs. He teased her and brought her on the brink only to pull her back, leaving her wanting, before he started all over again until she was trembling in need.
Oh God... he was so good... he was so damn good. Her legs coiled around his shoulders, her lips chanting his name mindlessly as she felt herself brought to the brink which each swirl of his tongue. Dee found herself begging him not to stop, needing that sweet release so bad she would have promised him anything. "Oh God, Dennis.... pleases don't stop! Oh please, don't stop...!" She was so close, so very close.
Sweet music to his ears, Dennis decided to give in, pushing one finger into her tight tunnel, sliding it in and out, thinking on how she would feel around his cock in a few short minutes. Soon he was pressing in another, his own breath hitching at how wet and tight she felt... "So damn hot, luv," he groaned against her flesh, before his lips closed on her clit so he could torment it just as she'd asked.
His voice combined with his lips suckling her clit was all Dee could take and with an unrestrained cry of pleasure, she came and hard, her muscles tensing, her thoughts fragmenting, dragging the broken pieces of his name as she tipped over the edge. It was possibly the most intense release she had ever experienced and in the miasma of pleasure, satisfaction and half-formed thoughts, Dee decided that there was a lot to be said about a man who knew what he was doing and Christ, did the good doctor know how.
Oh, yeah, sweet thing, Dennis told himself, his free hand holding one of her legs up and back as he carried on licking and fucking her with his fingers, his knuckles still touching that sweet elusive spot, not wanting to miss anything. She tasted divine, and for half a second he cursed the ghost of Laryn in his mind, who was still piggybacking on the experience, twisting his own thoughts and feelings. No, this was his and his alone.
Mindlessly, she rode his face, her hips thrusting back and forth, desperate for his tongue, feeling her orgasm ripple through her in waves and waves of seemingly unending pleasure. She was almost sobbing his name, needing him inside her, begging him to not let this end, to bury himself in her depths to complete this experience. "Dennis," she whimpered, "I need you, god I need you inside me... please." She was so ready for him, so whetted, she could hardly think.
With what was left of her orgasm still rippling through her, Dennis moved up along her body, kissing her skin like he would never get enough. She tasted and felt like peaches, he decided and, settling between her legs, one hand sliding under her shoulder while the other caressed her hip before bringing her thigh around his waist, he pressed his cock into her. He slid in slowly, his blue eyes staring at her face not to miss her reaction, wanting to witness her pleasure, the one he'd only heard and felt through her body earlier. Fuck, she was tight and hot. When he reached bottom, the shock running along his cock to his balls, ricocheting to his brain, he thought it would take the top of his head off. He stilled... needing to get a grip but also wanting to give her a chance to adjust, if she needed it.
When he slid into her, Dee thought she might die at how good he felt. He filled her so completely that she could feel every inch of him pressing against the walls of her inside. Instinctively, her inner muscles began to clench around his cock, drawing him into the depth of her until he was buried to the balls. It was maddening enough when he had slid in slow, torturing her with every exquisite inch of territory he took. When he was finally inside her, clenched in her heat, he paused, not moving.
"Christ, Dennis," she groaned, her nails digging into his rump, her legs coiling around his waist so that he could claim every last bit of space inside of her. "Fuck me hard." She didn't want tender, not now, when the delicious foreplay had made her so very ready for him.
"Woman, if you think it was rough on you..." He pulled out slowly, until just the head of his cock was inside, before he pushed all the way back in, his thrust harder and faster, knocking the breath out of her with some satisfaction. The impatience of youth. He'd show her; some things should not be rushed.
While he settled into a still rather slow rhythm, he partially answered her wish for
hard. Driving himself into her purposefully, he did so until his cock was fully embedded each time, his hips crushing her to the mattress. At the same time, he bent down and kissed a full breast, sucking the nipple into his mouth, biting and flicking his tongue around it, relishing her panting and gasping pleas.
Dee was starting to clue onto the fact that she might have been missing something with all these hard and fast encounters she'd shared with men in the past. The partners she slept with were mostly Sharks she knew she'd never serve with. On occasion a civilian even. However, in all those encounters, she had considered them nothing but a night's entertainment, nothing that she'd plan on revisiting again anytime soon.
However this, this was different. He wasn't just fucking her and Dee was smart enough to tell the difference even if she rarely got to experience any other kind of sex.
This was love making, driven there by the feelings of Temaria and Laryn but there was also some of Dennis and Dee in this too and as he took his time, making her feel every inch of him in a way she'd never felt any man take the time to show her, Dee appreciated the effort. Even if she was becoming lost with every, slow, sensation filled slide into her body. Her legs coiled around his waist and her nails raked at his back, daring not to disrupt the exquisite movement of his hips or the sensual ministrations of his oh so beautiful mouth.
All she could do was tell him how good it was and beg him not to stop.
There. He still had enough sense left in him to recognise she was coming around to the fact they should savour this, however it would end between them later on... after. Shifting slightly, his mouth moved to her other breast while his hands opened her thighs wider for him. He pushed into her deliciously tight sheath again with force, a little deeper too it seemed, wanting to bury himself in her and stay there. She was so beautiful, felt amazing, and she fitted so nicely against his body. "Dee... luv." Her nails on his skin made him shudder, thrust in that much harder while he tried to keep control, wanting to make her come again before he would allow himself peace.
When he parted her legs just a little more, a soft sigh escaped her and then a shudder when he pushed in harder and she felt that delicious bump along her spine that told her he had gone as far as he was going. Completely inside of her, she realised, and the thought made her clench her muscles around instinctively, wanting to feel every inch of his flesh within. She could feel the pressure building inside her, the aria she could feel in her ears reaching crescendo with hard thrust. Even his voice made her react, sent tingles through her nipples until all she could do was let herself go, let herself be taken by another blinding wave of pleasure.
"Dennis!" she cried out again when her stamina gave out, her voice unrestrained, full of helpless surrender.
Yeah, luv, come for me. His face scrunched up in concentration as he pistonned into her faster and harder into the tight fist of hot, slick flesh, riding the tide of her orgasm, biting his bottom lip to keep himself from following her. She looked amazing in the throes of passion and he wanted to burn that image into his brain.
Sitting back on his heels, his hands grabbed her shapely ass and lifted her hips up as he slid his thighs beneath her, changing the angle of penetration. Her gasps and calls pulled at his sanity while her clenching muscles seemed to draw him ever so deeper on every stroke. "Fuck, Dee," he groaned, his hands reaching for her hips, taking a firm hold. He wanted to see her through an other, and maybe another one after that. His cock riding along the top her lovely tight passage and against that sweet spot women were so partial to, he continued to drive himself into her hard. Fuck yeah, with her body draped away from him, splayed open in wild abandon, he continued to fuck her, half with his hips meeting hers and half with his hands pulling her onto his cock.
Fuck Dee? It should have been Oh...my...fucking...God...Dennis. She managed to think as she rode out another orgasm and then he was lifting her up, manipulating her pliant body against his, creating another burst of pleasure as she felt pressure in different places and her mind was splintering again. Thanks to being a Shark, she was limber enough to accommodate his needs and the effort was so worth it because she could feel his cock pushing against insides, creating electricity when it hit one particular place that made her cry out his name again.
And with a flash of insight she had no idea what to do with, Dee also realised that this was not Temaria and Laryn, at all. This was them, Corporal Dee Sheridan and Dr. Dennis Martin, accepting no substitutes. As Dennis continued to pound her in the sweet oblivion of bliss, Dee wondered how she could ever have sex without wanting this again...
Dennis felt her go through another climax, her tight muscles milking him, trying to swallow him whole, and he nearly shouted for managing to reach that goal he'd set himself. "Fuck, you're beautiful," he gasped, one second feeling in total control, and the next realising he didn't control a damn thing. She was calling to him, his need for her now totally unbearable. He bent down over her, bracing himself on one elbow, the fingers of his free hand digging into her hip while he stroked into her jerkily, his earlier rhythm totally shot to hell. "Dee... beautiful sweet thing," he pleaded as he came hard, emptying himself into her depths in a few more short jabs of his hips, before he half collapsed on her, his heart beating so fast it might jump out of his throat.
Dee couldn't speak but her soft sighs of pleasure were more than enough indication of how satisfied she was. As he pounded the last of his pleasure into her, Dee felt strangely completed and as she dug her nails into his back, heightening his climax with a tinge of sweet pain as he collapsed onto her, spent. Eyes closed, she kissed his face with tender kisses, her legs coiling around his, marvelling at how well they fitted together. She traced lazy circles on his back and revelled in the heady aroma of sex and sweat in the air.
"Dennis," she found her voice. "I think we have a problem..."
Slowly coming down from the nicest high in a long time, Dennis shifted a little so he could partially lay next to her while still feel comfortably cushioned by her softness. When he started feeling his extremities again, he nuzzled her neck before kissing her shoulder softly. "We do?" His voice was low and hoarse still.
"Uh huh," she said lazily, her fingers still tracing invisible lines on his back. "I don't think I'm going to be happy with this being a one time deal. That was incredible..." she spoke, eyes closed, still drowsy from pleasure.
Oh. Dennis grinned against her skin, smirked more like, thinking the old man still had few years left in him after all. "It was..." His palm glided along her cooling skin, from her shoulder down to her hip and back up along her breast and throat until it settled against her cheek, turning her face to him so he could kiss her gently. "I haven't felt Laryn for a while..." he admitted, instead of answering her unspoken question.
Opening her eyes to look at him, they twinkled with mischief as she answered him. "Laryn who?" she teased, relishing the slow movement of his hand, exploring her body before pulling her in for another kiss. "I want this again, Dennis," she spoke honestly. "For me, not Temaria."
Smiling, Dennis found himself agreeing with her but wanted to define
this. "And by this you mean sex?"
Uncertainty crossed her face and this was where youth showed, she supposed. "I don't know." She met his gaze. "This between us... feels good, feels like something I don't want to let go of. I didn't expect it but I'm not sure what it is either... do you understand?" She knew she wanted encounters like this but it didn't feel like just sex even though at first appearances it might.
On some level, he understood her confusion. This had started as an experiment almost, a way to try and rid themselves of Laryn and Temaria, of their need for each other, as well as working out if they - Dee and Dennis - had any beyond those brought on when they had shared the Vulcan couple's passion.
Dennis wasn't sure what he had expected this would do. He had agreed to it out of sheer desperation, but also because he had seen how it was affecting the Corporal. What he'd seen in her was like looking at his own feelings in a mirror. Beyond that, it was a total unknown. That said, he had expected Laryn's
imprint to stick around... to be harder to shake off. Truth was, after a while, after losing himself in her, if he was honest with himself, Dennis had been the one with the desire to pin her to his bed, to bury himself in her and find that little piece of heaven. Laryn's own lingering feelings and needs had been overshadowed by it all.
"I think I do." He rolled on his back, an arm encircling her shoulders and bringing her to close to his side.
Once again, she marvelled at how well they fitted together as he rolled onto his back and she sidled up to his side, her fingers stroking his chest lightly as she lay against him. "So I guess the question is..." She closed her eyes and allowed herself to just enjoy the moment with him. "Where do we go from here?"
"I don't know," he answered honestly. She was right; this felt nice... comfortable. And for the first time in three days he had silence in his mind and no craziness stirring in his loins. "Can be tricky on a ship such as this, even with the laxed regulations." He wasn't her superior. Hell, they weren't even in the same outfit. But he had the unenviable position of being responsible for everyone on this boat, Fleet and Marines. He was the one to sign off on her physicals, overseeing her health. He could even supersede Houser's position if the need arose. "Could get complicated." They could call it just sex if they wanted, but even sex had consequences. Even sex could get messy. If it turned out this was more, he would have to raise this with the Captain. Eventually.
His fingers found her chin and he raised his head to kiss her mouth briefly. "What would you like?"
"I'm not afraid of complicated." She lifted her eyes to his, to show him perhaps that she knew what she was doing. "And I would like us to see each other again but what do you think? If you're not comfortable with this, I'll walk out of here and we won't ever mention it again."
Yeah, she knew the fallout. Technically this wasn't against regulations but she worked with Sharks half his age, who would ask the question why him and not them? To say nothing of the fact that he was Fleet. Dee could deal with all that but only if she knew that she wasn't in it alone.
"I'm actually quite comfortable," he said, with a wistful smile. His arms tightened their hold on her form and, just like that, Dennis Martin realised he had just taken on a lover. "I know it's a little late to ask, but this wasn't exactly planned..." It had bowled them over, more like... "But don't you have someone?" It was hard to believe that a pretty woman like Dee Sheridan would be on her own. Then again, he couldn't pretend to know what it was like for female Marines...
"No." She shook her head. "No one."
She had lost everyone that mattered when Lunar was destroyed. Family, friends, neighbours. She had a distant memory of being handed off to a Starfleet officer by her mother, whose face Dee didn't even remember. She was raised like so many orphans were raised, with limited attention paid to them with what limited resources there had been. Faces in her life were fleeting, she had gotten used to that and had only joined the Sharks because it seemed a good a place as any other. Always a little disconnected from the people she worked with, it was only until Temaria's and Laryn's connection did it occur to Dee that she had been missing something important.
He recognised the loss in her eyes and the lack of having anyone to go home to. He swallowed, saddened by this but not really surprised. He had pictured her with a man her age, but given her posting on a ship, it also made sense she would be on her own. Reaching out, he kissed her again, turning on his side to face her, bringing her flush against him. He liked how she felt in his arms and, yes, he wanted to have this again with her. Whatever this turned out to be.
He didn't ask her about it and she was grateful for that. In fact, his silence told her that this could turn out well because he wasn't going to be one of those men that wanted to talk about things too much, that accepted that sometimes, life was just a bitch and you had to deal with it. She kissed him again, the edge taken off their heated passion earlier but did the craving remained and Dee knew she wanted him again.
"You okay?" he asked when they came up for air again. She'd been quiet and while her body told him otherwise, he wondered if she was having second thoughts.
"I'm fine," she said with a smile, "I'm just thinking, that this was so not the place I expected to be when I woke up this morning." She kissed his mouth again, tracing the line of his jaw and planting soft kisses down his neck.
"Me neither." He wondered briefly what in heavens she could possibly find in him, but he didn't tarry along those lines. However this thing with Laryn and Temaria had played out, they had connected. In this world they now lived in, you couldn't hope for much more. And even those connections could be ephemeral. Feeling her arousal, the meld making him know her body beyond what he could ever wish for, he rolled on his back again, dragging her on top of him. "But I find I'm liking it," he grumbled playfully.
"Me too," she smiled and continued her kisses down his jaw, wanting to explore him now things were a little calmer and they weren't in the grip of whatever residual heat that Laryn and Temaria had left in them. Titian hair trailing along his arm, she nipped at his neck, tasting his flesh as she moved southwards, enjoying her downward slide down his chest.
Dennis sucked in a sharp breath, one hand caressing the creamy skin of her back while the other sank into her hair. "You're not trying to kill me, are you?" he asked, smiling, his cock already stirring for her.