by Vivien Dean
"But you couldn't.” Her fingers toyed with the collarless edge of his shirt, almost of their own accord.
"No.” His lips brushed hers faintly as he spoke, an electric, teasing caress. “I was called up the next day and put on security duty elsewhere. It's taken me this long to worm my way back to you."
"But that horrible man who took your place, he came through, too."
"Don't be too hard on Rigitt,” he said, lips teasing along her jaw. “He was just following orders, wrapping up loose ends. Who do you think got me on tonight?"
"So that's what you're worried about now.” Her breath was coming quicker now, her fingers no longer resisting the urge to undo his shirt. “You've broken the rules again by bringing me through, and you're waiting for them to come and arrest you."
"No.” He caught her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I'm waiting for them to come take you away from me."
His mouth crashed down on hers, and she welcomed it.
"Did you bring me all this way just to have sex?” she gasped when he finally released her mouth.
"I didn't really think about it at the time.” His beard tickled lightly against her skin as he kissed inch by slow inch down between her breasts. “All I could think about was seeing you again.” Pausing, he grinned up at her. “But now that you mention it, I think it sounds like a great idea, don't you?"
His boyish innocence was infectious, making her giggle. She caressed his cheeks with both hands, tugging playfully at the soft threads of his beard. “Do you have beds in the future?” she teased.
"Yes, we have beds in the future,” he responded in kind.
"Well, how should I know? For all I know, you all sleep upside down like bats or something."
"Well, maybe we don't use the beds for sleep.” He stood suddenly, making her squeal and clutch at him with arms and legs. His hands cupped her ass as he strode through the small apartment. Another magic door slid open and he carried her through into his bedroom.
The windows here were clear, revealing more of the splendor of this new city, but she paid little attention to it as Trev lowered her to her feet. Men hadn't changed much in two hundred and fifty years. There was clutter scattered around the room, and the bed was a tousled mess. He spooned up behind her, his arms curling around her waist. “See? A bed."
She nestled back against him. “Big enough for two."
"You're right.” He began undoing her blouse even as his lips danced havoc along her neck. “Maybe it's too big. Don't want you getting away from me."
She gasped, rolling her hips against him when he palmed her breast through her simple bra. “Maybe it just gives us room to maneuver."
"I like the way you old time girls think.” Turning her, he eased her blouse off her shoulders before twitching the straps of her bra free. She hadn't even been aware he'd undone it. His gaze on her as he undressed her was so intense, it started to embarrass her, and instinctively she brought her arms up to cover herself.
"No.” He caught her wrists and gently but firmly drew them down again. “We didn't get this the first time. I want to savor every inch of you. No hiding from me."
"Well, what about you?"
With that smug little curl to his lip, he held his arms wide. “Feel free."
More comfortable with an active role, she made quick work of his buttons, revealing pale skin and a thatch of fine honey-colored hair covering muscles that were firm without being overly defined. She ran her hands up his chest, enjoying his soft hiss as her fingers caught on his curls as they passed. Her arms curled around his neck, and for the first time their bare chests touched with an electricity that overwhelmed her.
He must have felt it as well because he groaned softly, burying his face in her hair. “You feel so good, Dani. So amazingly good.” A small turn of his head brought his lips against her throat. “You feel good,” he repeated, slowly backing her towards the bed, “and you smell good, and you taste good.” Catching her just as her knees hit the back of the bed, he lowered her into the tumbled bedding. He knelt beside her, his mouth continuing a slow descent along her breast. “I'm going to enjoy tasting all of you."
Her soft whimper turned to a moan as his lips closed around one flush nipple, teasing it to full prominence before tracing every crinkled curve with his tongue, alternating tight lines with broad strokes until she was trembling beneath him. Meanwhile his hand toyed with her other breast, working that nipple erect so that when he was ready for it, it eagerly waited on his pleasure. She sobbed, her fingers tangled in his hair to guide him back up to her mouth, but he resisted, dancing eyes glancing up at her as he worked her.
"Delicious,” he murmured, descending down her belly.
"Trev, please,” she tried again, anxious and aroused at once with where this was headed.
His fingers were already searching out the zipper on her skirt, mouthing gently over her navel as he pushed the fabric down. “Don't stop me, Dani. I haven't had enough of you yet."
Still she was tempted to argue with him until his warm, coarse palms stoked up her legs, pressing them apart while his mouth explored the crease of her thigh. She whimpered and squirmed, but he held her tight, shifting side to side, his whiskers tickling at sensitive skin while his mouth barely brushed over her cotton covered sex with each pass. She was already out of her mind by the time he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her panties and started easing them down. Then he was kissing her intimately, tongue teasing folds apart in gentle worship, the warmth and softness suffusing her whole being. He traced each crease, finding the bottom-most point and swiping up in a slow, broad stroke that had her sobbing in pleasure. “Knew you'd taste amazing."
The vibration of his voice against her sensitive flesh made her groan.
He set to with a ferocity that surprised her, like a starving man at a banquet. Lifting her legs over his shoulders, he opened her up to him even more, tongue slicking up over her aching clit before dropping down to circle the fragile lips of her pussy and back up again—no hesitancy, no awkwardness, as though this was all he wanted in the whole world. And she was the lucky one who got to give it to him.
Her fingers clutched, fighting for purchase on the mattress beneath her. The sensations were all quickly becoming too much. His teeth nipped at tender flesh before soothing it with soft, catlike licks, and his fingers dug into her hips as he held her trapped between his mouth and the mattress. “So close, Trev, God,” she mewled, fighting with every ounce of restraint to keep her hands in place.
He simply shook his head, adding to the friction against sizzling nerve endings.
"Please, Trev, I can't—"
"No!” His head snapped up, fierce eyes pinning her as his thumb took up the patterns of his mouth. “Not yet or I swear I'll stop."
It was no casual threat. She could see it in the hard line of his jaw. But she had to be honest with him. “I can't, Trev, please. I want to, but—"
"You can.” His eyes softened, in passion, in pride. “You deserve this. Let me do this for you. Let me drive you mad with it."
His devotion was almost as powerful as his attentions, buoying her up, making her want to give him all he asked for and more. Slapping her palm against the headboard, she struggled for control, cocking her knee to rest her foot against his shoulder. He chuckled and resumed his attentions.
Using the headboard for leverage, she joined in, rocking herself on his face as he added his thumb to his play until finally her body betrayed her, orgasm sneaking under her control, leaving her bucking against him in spasms of release. He didn't stop until she collapsed limply beneath him, his mouth returning to the soft, almost affectionate kisses he had begun with to ease her back into reality.
"I'm sorry,” she panted weakly as he came up to lie beside her.
"Sorry? Why?"
"That I couldn't hold out longer."
"Don't be sorry.” He pushed a lock of her hair back from her face. “I shouldn't have asked. Making love isn't work. I just ... it felt s
o good to make you feel that good. I didn't want it to end."
His hand wandered freely over her torso as their mouths met in short, almost chaste kisses, the passion slowly building again as her energy returned. She grew more eager, trapping his mouth longer, tongue teasing his and escaping again until he softly growled, sending a primal shiver through her, all power and desire waking her sated senses.
She startled him, shoving him hard to fall on his back before quickly straddling his thighs, trapping him. “My turn,” she insisted, fingers already scrabbling at his waistband.
"I'm all yours.” His voice was as rough as it was playful.
There was just one problem.
"How do you get these things open?” she growled in frustration when she could find no snap, button or zipper on his pants.
He chuckled, hand catching hers to guide her fingers to a tiny catch next to the fly seam. Together they pressed it, and magically his pants opened. “Magnets,” he explained roughly.
She didn't care, she was much more interested in the rewards of his instruction. He wore nothing beneath the fine leather, his cock already eagerly rising up to greet her. Shoving the pants lower, she freed him completely, rising up to give him room to kick them off. Watching his face in the half light, she slipped her hand down between his thighs to cradle his balls in her palm and was instantly rewarded with a low groan as his eyes fell shut. With carefully judged pressure, she massaged him, fingers probing at the sensitive muscle beneath as she rolled his testicles across her palm until he arched against her, struggling for more. More was easy. A small shift of her wrist and she was grasping his length, easing along it in firm, slow strokes. “You like that?"
"Don't stop."
Chuckling, she leaned forward to trace a kiss over his lips, her hand never slowing.
To her surprise, he caught her, deepening the kiss into something more erotic and demanding, his free hand clutching her hip to draw her up. “Now, Dani.” It was part plea, part command. “I've waited too long."
"Shh.” Her mouth brushed softly over his, her dark curls hiding their faces from the world. “We have plenty of time."
He caught her mouth again, passionate but gentle, but his hands on her hips were more insistent, guiding her up to straddle his waist, his cock probing at her thigh. She surrendered, using her gentle hold to guide him in, and then letting go, bracing her arms on either side of his head. “You're all mine,” she whispered before slowly sinking down onto him.
His head snapped back, jaw tight, fingers clutching into her hips as he fought the obvious urge to quicken her pace. “Yours, Dani. Take me."
She was gasping by the time she had him fully seated, every inch of him shooting pleasure along her nerves, leaving her blind to everything but him. When she rose again he hissed, but immediately she descended again, setting up a quick rhythm that had him growling his approval. It felt so good, so much more intimate then their quick encounter in the station—skin warm and soothing against skin, hands searching, caressing, holding, mouths hungry and eager. When he rolled them over to take control, it was the most natural thing in the world. She twined her legs around his waist, lifting to meet every quickening thrust with soft sighs and fierce kisses until he started shaking. A hoarse, “Oh, God,” escaped him before his whole body went rigid, pulsing to set her writhing as her second release took her as well.
He didn't let her go when he collapsed onto the bed, holding her close against his chest. His mouth never stopped, raining gentle kisses on her hair and face as his hands offered comfort instead of arousal. “So worth it,” he whispered against her hair.
Craning her neck, she looked up at him. “What was?"
"You are.” Tenderly he combed the damp curls back off her cheek. “You are worth everything. Even if it's only for now."
She curled tighter against him, as though his presence would block out the reality waiting for them like a merciless enemy.
* * * *
Dani woke up suddenly. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep. There weren't any clocks in the room. But it was still dark outside Trev's window, the same faint glow of the city she was familiar with lighting the glass.
Trev slept on beside her, his features soft and relaxed, his arm loosely draped over her waist. She was tempted to reach out and touch him, assure herself that this was all real, but she didn't want to wake him. He looked too peaceful.
Instead she carefully slipped out from under his arm and, wrapping the sheet about her Greek style, went over to the window to look out.
New York was still the city that never slept. Many of the windows on the surrounding structures were dark, but there were thin strips of light at regular intervals, encircling each building at the elevator landings. The fine web of lights from the walkway corridors continued to glow along the ground. The river remained a dark band winding along at the feet of the great towers, lined by pearls of light and crossed occasionally by glowing bands from walkways that arched above the water. In the far distance, she could see a slender filament of amber light rising almost invisibly up to the sky, and high above them a patch of sky shimmered with translucent iridescence, colors pale but visible even in the darkness.
She wasn't surprised when Trev's arms slid around her waist, holding her comfortably without saying a word. “It's all so amazing,” she whispered quietly, almost reverently.
"I don't really think about it.” His voice matched hers, not breaking the quiet reverence of the moment. “I've seen it all my life."
"What is that?” she asked, gesturing to the cloud of color in the sky.
"What's left of Eta Carinae. It went supernova the year I was born."
She couldn't resist turning her head to grin at him. “A sign of things to come?"
"Superstitious primitive.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips before turning her attention back to the window. “It was so bright that I didn't see a star until I was four.” He stared out the window with her, seeing it through her eyes, she suspected. “See that?” His finger traced the fine amber line of light in the distance.
"It's beautiful. What is it?"
"It's the Lake Superior Space Platform supply line. It's an elevator to carry supplies up to one of the exploration ship platforms in orbit up there."
"Exploration ships? Like space ships?"
"Yup.” He held her closer, eyes still focused on the sky. “We've made it beyond the edge of the solar system already. They're getting ready to try for the next one."
"My God.” She just stared, overwhelmed by everything. This was the future. And it was beautiful. “It's all so incredible."
"I just wish I could show you all of it."
There was mournfulness in his words that reminded her again that this was all borrowed time. She turned in his arms, resting her head on his chest as she held him close in return.
"It's enough."
* * * *
Dani woke up nestled in the security of Trev's arms. The sheets that tangled around them were warm and felt vaguely not-cloth, but all she was concerned about was the velvet slide of his skin against hers. She snuggled back closer against him, and his arms tightened, hands caressing her stomach as he leaned closer to suckle gently at the curve of her neck. She smiled and rolled onto her back. “Good morning."
"It's pretty good so far.” Brushing a loose curl off her cheek, he bent down to tease at her lips. “I bet it could get a lot better."
"Nice to know guys in the future don't change,” she teased, curling an arm up around his neck. “All you think about is sex."
"Nah.” His hand coasted down her belly and along her thighs. “When you're not around, I'm thinking about really important things."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"I don't know.” His hand settled on her hip, pulling her closer against his burgeoning erection. “I can't remember anything else when you're around."
"Sweet.” She pulled him down to her slow, inviting kiss.
Shoving the sheets off them
, Trev shifted, the heavy weight of his body coming to cover her, his ardor infectious as Dani tangled her legs around him to draw him even closer.
"Trev, they're coming."
The strange voice was a dash of cold water on both of them. Dani sat up, clutching at the sheet in belated modesty, looking around anxiously for the speaker but finding only an empty room. Trev, however, was a flurry of motion, scrambling for clothes, throwing hers at her even as he stumbled into his own. “Get dressed. Hurry."
"Who was that? What's going on?” Trying not to panic, she struggled to find the right openings in her blouse and slip it on even as she climbed off the bed.
"Riggit. Ear comm.” He tapped at his right ear before sealing his trousers shut. “We have to get you out of here."
She stumbled trying to pull on her underwear, giving up on even attempting her pantyhose. “What happens if they catch me?"
He stopped, his expression agonized. “I don't know, Dani."
His uncertainty stiffened her own spine. “Well, then, let's not find out.” She finished buttoning her skirt around her waist, brushing it straight with a flourish. “Let's go."
Trev grinned in relief, tugging her to him for a quick fierce kiss before taking her hand. “Come on."
They stopped briefly in the lounge to gather her shoes and her bags. She didn't bother putting the pumps on, as the heels would only slow her down. Instead she stuffed them in the front pocket of the computer case while Trev peeked out the door. “All clear. Come on."
There were people moving about out in the corridor, but Trev just smiled and nodded, his arm around Dani the whole time as he led her back towards the elevators. “You're going to have to call it,” he murmured as another resident passed.
"Why?"
"If I scan my print, they're going to know I used the lifts and where I went. Yours won't register, so the system will mark you as a guest and let you out. It will take them a little while to track it once they realize we aren't in the flat."
She shouldn't be nervous, but she couldn't help catching her lip between her teeth as she ran her fingertip over the small blue light. The blue turned yellow, then blue again a moment later, and the call light on the elevator lit up.