Interesting Positions (1/2)

Don't ask why Ivanova and Garibaldi were in Sheridan's closet. Just don't. It was
one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. Perfectly harmless
in the beginning; an opportunity to fix a birthday surprise for a commanding
officer. He was supposed to be at the Command Center for the next hour and a
half. They were supposed to be out of there in ten minutes, fifteen tops.
Unfortunately, the Captain re-entered his quarters unexpectedly, and the two
Alliance officers were forced to make a dash into his walk-in closet. The dim
light made Garibaldi trip over the shoes, and Ivanova almost got her fingers
caught shutting the door, but their superior officer had no idea they were in
there when he walked into his bedroom.

Still, Sheridan's return to his suite wouldn't have been a big deal if he'd been
alone. They'd have stayed in the closet while he did whatever (changed his shirt,
retrieved the folder he forgot, combed his hair) and then left after he did,
using Michael's Security access to get them both out of there without any records
of their presence being recorded. No problem. And the balloons and presents would
have been in place for when he got off-shift.

That this was not going to be the case became obvious after approximately three
minutes inside the closet.

"John, do you really think we have time?"

Ivanova's eyes widened visibly in the dim light available, and Michael felt a
sense of simultaneous denial and disbelief wash through him. That wasn't... it
was. Ambassador Delenn. Son of gun. He'd thought she and the Captain weren't past
the kissing stage yet. But no. No, she couldn't mean---

"The command staff thinks I'm in the War Room. The War Staff knows I had to take
care of a diplomatic emergency. Lennier is covering for you with G'Kar. We are
totally, completely..." a sound like a kiss (hell, who are you kidding Mike, that
*was* a kiss) and then, "alone. For the next two hours."

Ivanova was shaking her head violently, pointing at the door, and then him. That
was the second when Garibaldi screwed up. He was willing to admit it later, but
at that moment, he was so panicked and shocked that he did a dumb thing: he
mimicked Ivanova's gestures, then backed away and crossed his arms over his
chest. No _way_ was he going to be the one to walk in on them. Susan could do it.
She could get away with it, whereas if the Captain saw Garibaldi emerge from the
closet, a PPG blast in the chest would be the least he'd have to worry about.

Ivanova didn't have time to do anything, not after what they heard next.

"Alone. What a lovely, lovely..." Soft sounds, the slither of silk falling to the
floor, "word."

----------------------------------

Delenn was smiling dreamily, her eyes half-closed, enjoying the feel of John's
mouth on her neck. This was only the third opportunity they'd had to be alone
together since the assasination attempt a month ago. The first time they'd made
love had been lovely; a little awkward perhaps, but still, a wonderful
experience. That their rapport and efforts at physical intimacy was still
improving was a never-ending source of delight and hope to her. She had assumed
that there was only so much that two human beings could *do* together; and while
she knew there were limits, it was sweet to know that John wasn't showing any
signs of being bored or dissatisfied. Quite the contrary.

"Ahhhhhhh," she breathed out, as he found that one spot below her ear that burned
with heat when he kissed it. Sheridan's lips trailed down from there to her
collarbone, tracing a slow flame down to the hollow of her throat, then up to her
lips, tugging on them softly with his own, then tonguing them open as she
involuntarily whimpered. Delenn reached up to lace her fingers behind his head,
pulling him with her as she slowly backed up to the bed, one step at a time. John
followed until they reached the bed, still kissing her as the Ambassador
collapsed backward, giggling as she pulled the Captain down with her.

Sheridan was chuckling as he kicked off his shoes, and Delenn helped him pull off
his socks while they indulged in a long, slow, open-mouth kiss, the like of which
would have made their associates stare in amazement if they'd witnessed it. Well,
perhaps not Susan, Delenn mentally amended to herself. After all, Commander
Ivanova was probably aware of what was happening between John and herself. But no
one else, hopefully. It would become too complicated, too messy, if the
relationship between the former Earth Alliance Captain and the Minbari Ambassador
were made public at this time.

But oh, oh, it was sweet, so sweet, to have these moments alone with him. No one
else existed. Delenn gasped a little as John kissed his way down to her nipples,
pushing open her blouse, slowly sliding the sleeves down her arms, caressing her
skin every inch of the way. As he began to suck on one of her breasts, she hummed
deep in her throat. It was so warm, and yet tight, and then he would do--*that*,
yes, with his teeth... "Ohhhhh."

"I love watching you when I do that," John murmured against her chest, bestowing
one last kiss on her nipple as he moved to the neglected breast, still stroking
the first lightly with his fingertips. Delenn squirmed a bit on the bed, giving
him a better angle to take the breast into his mouth. She idly caressed his back,
feeling the muscles move beneath the surface as she did so. The War, the Shadows,
the world could just wait for a while. This was their stolen, private, separate
place, and nothing could spoil it. Absolutely nothing.

----------------------------------

"You idiot," Ivanova hissed between her teeth. "Now we have to stay here until
they're done."

Michael tried to glare at her, but it was difficult to see his fellow officer in
the little light leaking through the edges of the closet door. He was starting to
sweat; the darkness and crowded clothing were bad enough, but the extremely
audible sounds from the other side of the door weren't helping. From the sound of
it, Delenn and Sheridan were in no hurry. He and Ivanova might be stuck a while.

A masculine groan from the bedroom made Garibaldi swallow, then force himself to
fight back a totally immature impulse to snicker. Actually, if you considered it
a certain way, it *was* pretty funny. Susan leaned in closer, then swatted him on
the chest when she got a glimpse of his expression.

"This is nothing to laugh about!" she whispered.

"Ah, lighten up, Ivanova. It's not the end of the world. It could be worse."

"How?"

Garibaldi didn't have a good answer, but went on denying it anyway. "So we have
to wait here for an hour or so. Big deal. They won't find us---"

"You can't be sure of that."

"This is a big closet, you know." Michael gestured to the depths of the storage
space, where Sheridan had put boxes and excess furniture. "We'll hear him
coming--" Susan punched him in the side for that, but he'd forseen that move and
took it mostly on the arm, "--ow. And we'll hide. Stop stressing. We're fine." He
kept his voice low, unsure of how much the couple in the room could hear, but
still certain that this wouldn't be a disaster. Awkward, embarassing, and
potentially hysterical, but not a disaster.

A medium-pitched giggle, and then a throaty moan from the main room distracted
Michael at that moment, and made him loosen his collar. Ivanova smiled grimly as
she whispered, "Oh, you think so?"

----------------------------------

Both of them were completely naked now, and Delenn was just starting to feel a
warm tingling along her skin as John kissed his way back from her knees up to her
thighs. Each kiss was deep, soft, and wet, and less and less did his lips
actually lose contact with her body as they slid closer to their goal. "I can't
believe how soft your skin is," John marvelled, pausing for a moment, his breath
sending shivers along the wet surface of her legs where he had licked. Delenn
chuckled, twining her fingers in his hair, then let out a sigh of happiness as he
slowly licked and kissed his way to her lower lips. John was very, very good at
this part. Admittedly, she didn't have much basis for comparison. Perhaps other
human men were better. If they were, Delenn didn't want to know. She barely
managed to survive the pleasure as it was.

The first touch of his tongue along her outer lips made her tense, as always, and
then the feeling of liquid fire in her veins spread through her body. How could
she be tense and relaxed at the same time? All of her muscles were bunching,
contracting, and yet she couldn't have moved if her life depended on it. A flick,
then she'd shiver uncontrollably, and another zing! and her back would arch as
she moaned, unable to stop herself from doing so. Then John would become more
intense, applying pressure with his tongue and using his teeth just the slightest
bit, and she'd start sobbing his name. Like now.

"John... yes, right.. *there*, oh, OH, John, oh yes, oh please, oh, oh, oh oh oh
oh OHHhhhh, John, John, oh *JOHN*" and a string of Minbari that she still
couldn't bring herself to translate for him, but always let him know when she was
happy. The tightening, shuddering contractions started, and Delenn dug her
fingers into the sheets, her eyes closing as the orgasm seemed to radiate out
from the center of her body in waves, then bounce back to her hot, throbbing sex.
Another involuntary shiver, and Delenn lay gasping and spent, shaking in the
aftermath of her lover's ministrations. He was kneeling above her now, straddling
her body and smiling smugly. It would have been intolerable if he weren't so
handsome, so happy, and so much hers.

"Nice?" John asked softly, gently teasing her mouth open with his tongue again.
Delenn wrapped one arm around his neck and pulled him down onto her body, then
rolled on top of him, her tongue deep in his mouth. She broke away after a
moment, and began tickling him. He yelled, and she started giggling, still
gasping for breath from their lovemaking, until Sheridan yelled "Mercy! I'm suing
for peace!" as he grabbed her hands. "I yield, I yield---"

"And so you should," Delenn panted. "Or else..."

Sheridan's eyes widened in mock terror, sending Delenn into another giggling fit
which left her collapsed across his chest. "Threats don't scare me," the Captain
boasted, stroking her hair lazily.

"Good. I have other weapons which will," the Ambassador responded, sitting up
with a knowing smile. Sheridan raised an eyebrow at her, his expression wary and
amused. "Don't move..."

----------------------------------

This was getting bad. Very, very bad. Garibaldi already knew that if he was going
to Hell, the last half an hour would be knocked off the time to be served paying
for his sins. At first, the enthusiastic sex in the next room had only been
embarassing and amusing. Okay, so he'd had to fight off the urge to giggle every
other minute. That had been dumb, but it was better than it was now.

Now, he was left remembering how long it had been since he'd had sex. Hell, how
long it had been since he'd had the _opportunity_ to have sex. Dodger. Two years
ago. Damnit. Had he been out of his mind? Why hadn't he gone to bed with her? Oh,
yeah, he'd had some stupid scruples---and the timing had been all wrong---but
still---

Another groan from the bedroom. Ivanova was pointedly NOT looking at him, and he
was trying desperately to keep his eyes on his toes. This was not the ideal
situation in which to be trapped with Susan. *Definitely* not. If they got out of
this without being detected, she'd either kill him or hold it over his head for
the rest of their lives. Right now, Michael was hoping for being killed. It was
extremely preferable to the position they were currently in.

A whimper. Amazing. You wouldn't think to look at Ambassador Delenn that
she---Garibaldi cut off that train of thought and tried to remember his eleven
times tables. The lifetime batting average of Andres Gallaragga. Who had invented
the jump gate targeting system. Anything, except how good it would feel to get
out of this closet and grab the next available woman he would see, go back to her
quarters, rip her clothes off, and then show her what happened when a normal,
red-blooded guy like himself was denied the pleasures of the flesh too long.

Actually, there was an available woman standing in front of him right now. But if
he even suggested it to Ivanova, he'd never be able to do anything about
available women anywhere ever again. Forget how rigid and hard his sex had become
by about the fourth moan from the bedroom. Forget how he was sweating, or the
fact that he couldn't breathe without smelling what was happening only thirty
feet away. Forget that Ivanova was fairly gorgeous, his trusted friend, and right
*there*. Forget it, Garibaldi. Better to suffer now than to do without forever.

"Ohhhhh, yes....."

Michael clenched his jaw in sympathy, and tried to visualize himself in a cold
shower. In the Arctic. Without a shower stall.

----------------------------------

If Susan had been clenching her hands any tighter, she'd have broken her fingers.
Excruciatingly embarassing and potentially catastrophic as this stunt could be
for her career, the fact that Captain Sheridan and Ambassador Delenn were having
sex practically in front of her and Garibaldi wasn't as bad as her reaction to
it. She shouldn't have been turned on, she should have been appalled, but there
was nothing she could do about it. She *was* turned on. Worse; she was horny.

How long had it been since she'd had a real teeth-rattling, mind-bending,
body-slamming, fuck? Too long. Far too long. Every time Susan tried to pin down
exactly when the last time was, someone in the next room would make some sound,
or she'd hear the bed move, and she'd forget where she was. Damn, damn, damn,
damn, damn. Even mentally cursing in Russian didn't completely shut out what was
happening on the other side of that door. Ivanova didn't deal well with being
trapped at the best of times; knowing that she had no one to blame but herself
didn't help. Having her stupidity reinforced with torture was going over the top,
though. Damnit. She didn't deserve this.

Well, she could blame Garibaldi too, if she wanted to. But that wouldn't help.
Especially since she was about six inches and five minutes away from grabbing his
crotch. No, no no no no, don't think about that. Think about... C&C. That's it.
Perfect. Flight patterns. Docking sequences. Getting ships into port... no, this
wasn't helping.

"*JOHN*" and then a string of unintelligble Minbari. Ivanova bit her lower lip so
hard it hurt. Garibaldi was whistling under his breath, not looking in her
direction, staring at the ceiling, seeming unphased by what was occuring. Damn
him. He wasn't sweating; *he* wasn't feeling a palpable ache in his sex from
frustrated lust. It was enough to make her want to rattle that complacent
amusement, to kick his legs out from under him and jump on top of him when he
fell. Or to calmly take two steps forward, kiss him hard, on the mouth, then take
two steps back. Make him deal with *that*, damnit.

Susan yanked herself back into the present, and began to mentally recite regs on
not entering Senior Officer's quarters until the next lull. Maybe they were done.
Please God, let them be done.

Then Ivanova heard Delenn say, "Don't move..."

[A pretty rose rule]

WE INTERRUPT THIS STORY FOR A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.

One of the purposes of this story was to torture Gary, as we said at the
beginning. Here's where that happens.

Unless Gary apologizes for his teasing of the list ASAP, nobody, but nobody, gets
the second half of the story.

All we want to hear from Gary is: "I'm sorry I teased the list with Final Five
Clips. It was bad of me. I won't do it again, really I won't. Really."

That's it. Then we'll post the next bit.

Cool? Not cool? Well, like we said. It's all Gary's fault. [Image] :)

Yell at him until he apologizes.

[A pretty rose rule]

Subject: Interesting Positions (2/2) Date: 07/11/96 12:28 AM

After six hours of frantic hysteria and demands for the next bit from the list (I
deleted Part 2, and couldn't get a hold of Lianna, 'cause she's out of town!)
Sara came through and sent me her beta-copy of it. WHEW! (Hope Li doesn't hate
the editing changes...)

Can't even work up the energy to taunt Gary. Except to say:

Here's your cookie (or biscuit, to you Brits). We knew you could do it.

[A pretty rose rule]

[A rose] Interesting Positions (2/2) [Image]by Lianna

"Don't move," Delenn said, smiling wickedly. Sheridan smiled up at her, feeling a
tiny drop of apprehension in the midst of his absolute trust in her. When she got
like this, anything could happen. It was what made her a great leader, a terrific
partner in war as well as love, but it didn't make him feel comfortable. Not for
a second.

"What are you up to?" he rumbled, as she held his hands away from his body, and
rose to straddle his hips. Delenn raised both eyebrows, not answering him as she
placed his arms down at his sides, then took his sex in both of her hands, biting
her lower lip in concentration. John's head fell backward, and his eyes closed as
a low groan escaped his lips as his lover opened and closed her hands in a rhythm
mimicking his pulse. Delenn slid her hands up and down the shaft of his penis,
faster and faster, opening and closing her fingers as if she were playing an
instrument. Sheridan opened his eyes and started to reach for her, needing to be
inside her, needing her body close to his, but Delenn shook her head, smiling
that Mona Lisa smile, and then... and then did something.

"What---" Sheridan blinked, unsure of what he was feeling. The pleasure was still
there, the heat gathering in his groin; but some of the pressure seemed to
have---not diminished, but stalled.

"There is a point... here, beneath your scrotum," Delenn whispered, moving her
fingers softly over his testicles, one hand still on his shaft. "If I apply
pressure here, it is almost impossible for you to.. mmmmm, come, yes, that's it.
You can't come until after I remove my fingers from this point."

Sheridan's eyes widened. "Delenn.. oh, God... Delenn, I'm not sure this is a good
idea...." Christ, a month ago she'd had almost no idea what to do in bed,
although enthusiasm and natural sensuality gave her great instincts. But if she
were going to try stuff that wasn't supposed to be done by humans---

"It's perfectly safe. I checked with some of Dr. Franklin's medical texts." She
laughed breathlessly, bending down to bestow a kiss on his stomach, placing
little kisses as she worked her way lower. Sheridan was still debating whether to
stop her or not when she took the head of his shaft in her mouth, sucking very,
very lightly.

A sound between a whimper and a groan came out of the Captain's throat without
his having anything to say about it. He didn't dare move. God knew what Delenn
would do next. *He* didn't even know about that spot, how the hell did
she---"Ohwwwwwwwww, oh owh, DELENNNNNN---" Rational thought fled. She just had to
keep doing that, that, whatever it was...

"Nice?" she whispered mischievously, prompting him to groan something in the
affirmative. "Now, let's see." The Ambassador rose up on her knees, just hovering
over his shaft for a moment, her breasts rising with her quick breaths. "Perhaps
you'll enjoy this... I'm almost certain I will..."

----------------------------------

When Ivanova bit her hand to keep from screaming, Garibaldi realized that he
wasn't the only one in danger of coming inside his uniform. In fact if he had to
guess, he'd bet that Susan was in worse shape than he was, if possible. Michael
could almost swear he saw blood around the edges of her mouth.

"Bad, hunh?" he whispered. Ivanova's eyes flicked up to his, then away, her jaw
stiff with tension, her free hand clenched into a ball. The Security Chief nodded
in resignation. "You have no _idea_ how sorry I am. Well, no, that's not true..."
Garibaldi wiped at his brow for about the fifteenth time in twenty minutes. "Does
it help to know I'm paying for it already?"

Susan took her hand out of her mouth. "No," she whispered, "it doesn't. Damnit.
I'm never going to be able to look either of them in the eye again."

"Tell _me_," Garibaldi muttered. Here he'd always thought of Delenn as the
reserved type, and yet she and Sheridan had been making enough noise to set off
the station alarms for the last hour. He shifted his weight again, wondering
miserably how much time he'd have after they got out of the closet before he had
to be back on duty. He could not, would not, embarass himself any more than he
already had in front of Ivanova. Another groan from the bedroom. Garibaldi felt
his eyes cross in frustration, then he mumbled to Susan, "Could you just kill me
now? Please? Please?"

Ivanova swallowed, and her eyes narrowed. "Don't think I haven't considered it."
She was breathing heavily, and Michael could see that she, too, had opened the
collar of her uniform. "On the other hand..."

"What?" Garibaldi leaned back against the only portion of the closet walls
without any shelves, and speculated about whether going to the farthest portion
of the closet and stuffing his ears with Sheridan's shirts would help any.

"Michael, we're friends." Susan's expression was strained, and she took a step
toward him hesitantly.

"Yeah." Garibaldi was the one swallowing heavily now. Damn, Ivanova was
beautiful. Especially knowing that... well, you don't *know* that, Michael. She
might not be as turned on as you are. She might just be embarassed. Angry.
Royally pissed off at you.

Hot lips descended on his and shut off all avenues to calm consideration within
moments. A desperate kiss, full of frustation and hunger and need. Garibaldi
responded with all the pent-up longing that had been growing for the last half
hour, and then some. Susan broke away for a moment. "Friends help each other."

"Definitely," Michael whispered, his hands roaming downward to her pants, cupping
her buttocks and pulling her against his pulsing sex.

"Help," Susan muttered between her teeth, kissing him again as her hands fumbled
at the clasp on his pants.

"I'm trying," he mumbled back, sucking on her tongue, not thinking, not caring
about what would happen after, not being sensible, because for Chrissakes, there
was only so much he could be expected to resist. Anyone breaks under torture, he
thought incoherently as Ivanova freed his rigid cock from his uniform.

----------------------------------

Delenn slid downward, encasing Sheridan's penis inside her, wet heat surrounding
him as he groaned in pleasure. His hips bucked involuntarily, but the Ambassador
tightened her thighs around him, holding him down while she adjusted her
position. "Wait, wait," she scolded him softly. "I told you not to move."

"Delenn," John growled, cords on his neck standing out as he tried to stay still.
"This isn't---I don't want---"

"You're not enjoying it?" Delenn was slightly disappointed, and shifted her
weight slightly, squeezing her inner muscles around his shaft. Perhaps she'd read
the text wrong. There was still so much she didn't know. She moved to one side,
tightening as she did so, and Sheridan's eyes rolled up in his head.

"I didn't. Say. That." Her lover seemed to have trouble breathing. "But...
please, Delenn, it's sooo good... I can't take---"

"Ohhh, I'm sure you're underestimating yourself," Delenn teased as she rose up
along his shaft, then came down suddenly, rubbing the edge of her opening against
the thick base of his penis. "You're a very... mmmhmm... strong person, John. I'm
certain that you can do this for a very long, long ... ahhhhhh... time..." Up
again, then down again, the slick friction building as she rocked, feeling his
testicles slap against her buttocks, careful to keep her fingers in place beneath
his scrotum. Up. Down. Up, longer, teasing him, then down very fast, the
tightness building inside her vagina, squeezing harder around him as she rose
again, then lowered herself again, three times fast, then another slow time,
almost unbearable in its tension. John groaned louder this time, his hands coming
up to rest on her hips, trying to slow her down. But Delenn couldn't slow down
now, it was starting to happen inside her...

----------------------------------

Ivanova was up against the wall now, one leg wrapped around Garibaldi's waist as
she frantically ripped his shirt open. They were trying to be quiet, and quick,
and every other second it would occur to her that she was going to regret this a
lot tomorrow, but right now she didn't give a damn. Her pants were open, her
underwear ripped aside, and Garibaldi already had a finger inside her, making her
crazy as they maneuvered for position.

"Just do it, damnit," she almost snarled. "What the hell are you waiting for?"

"Shhhhh," Michael breathed against her mouth. "Relax for two seconds---" He moved
his finger, and she could feel herself clamp down around him, hard. A gasp into
his mouth, and then he removed his finger and replaced it with his cock, sliding
into her with one easy motion. The relief was wonderful, for about an instant.
Then she had to have more. He was thick and almost unbelievably hard, except that
she knew that Garibaldi had been in a state of arousal almost since they walked
into the closet, so she had no trouble believing it. God, he knew how to kiss.
Thank God he wasn't taking his mouth off hers, otherwise she'd embarass them
both.

Michael grunted, and started to move, his hands around her ass, supporting most
of her weight as he plunged into her. Ivanova hooked her free leg to twine around
his, and he shifted his weight to pound even farther into her. Oh, Christ. It was
so... good... She bit down on his lip to keep from screaming, and she could hear
him groan softly in mingled pain and pleasure. One of his hands moved up to
stroke her breasts, and Michael started to move faster as Susan's hips slammed
against his, her breathing becoming more and more shallow....

----------------------------------

The contractions inside Delenn built up to an unbearable point as all the blood
rushed to her sex. She and John were moving together now, faster and faster,
their bodies rhythmically sliding up and down. Delenn's fingers slipped from
beneath his scrotum, and Sheridan's eyes widened. That was all the warning she
had, before his hips began to thrust harder, and harder, making her moan and
whimper as he bucked upward. Up, and up, and then----shivering, she felt her body
clench once, twice, and then again, dissolving into uncountable pulses of
pleasure. John was still coming, his body rigid, voice hoarse with the effort as
he yelled her name. "Delennn... Jesus Christ... Oh, yes, goddamnit--- DELENN..."
Heat flowed through her one last surprising time, nearly making her unconscious
with ecstasy. Then she went boneless, gasping for air, her eyes closed in
exhaustion. John drew her down, one arm around her possessively, holding her to
him with all his remaining strength. He turned her face up to his gently, and
softly as silk, kissed her on the mouth.

"That was..." he chuckled slightly, then brushed light kisses over her cheeks,
eyes, nose, mouth again. "Amazing," he whispered, caressing her back and
buttocks, a punch-drunk look on his face.

"Mmmm... Amazing." Delenn smiled to herself. "Better than nice, then."

"Much," John sighed. They lay together quietly, just revelling in the feeling of
closeness. Delenn could feel her eyes closing, and forced them open. They didn't
have the luxury of spending the night together. Someday, Delenn promised herself.
Someday, they would never have to leave each other for more than a day at a time.
Wistfully, she wished she could really be certain that it would happen; that the
War would not end even this brief bit of happiness. "Hey," John whispered,
kissing her on the forehead, his fingers tracing the edge of her headbone, down
to her ear. "Where did you just go? You looked sad."

"The future." Delenn licked her lips, then softly said, "No matter what happens,
we have this. Nothing can ruin this. It's ours forever."

John turned her face to his, his eyes serious. "We'll have more than just this.
You deserve more than a few stolen hours, Delenn. I promise, when this is all
over---" he kissed the tip of her nose, "Nothing, and I mean nothing, will keep
us apart. I have faith. Remember?" He smiled, the smile that had made her trust
him in the beginning. "The universe knows what it's doing."

"Yes." Delenn smiled in return, kissed his fingertips, then rested her head on
his shoulder. "Yes, it does." But she didn't say what she feared. Permanence had
never been part of the Universe, and while love could last forever, their dreams
might not be able to do the same.

----------------------------------

The sounds outside the closet had become completely irrelevant; the only thing
that mattered was the woman wrapped around him tighter than any glove, the lips
hungrily devouring his, and the steady beat of his pulse as he moved inside her.
He was so close; Garibaldi could feel the accelerating need and he thrust in and
out of Susan. Jesus, this was unbelievable. He'd never have imagined this in a
million years. He kept his mouth on hers since she seemed to want to scream, and
that was the one thing he couldn't let her do. She had one hand holding onto the
back of his neck, keeping him near her, and one snaked down the back of his
pants, squeezing his butt. Michael groaned as Susan started to come. The hot,
fast clenching of her sex around his cock was making him crazy.

The fluttering pulse inside her got faster, and Ivanova was whimpering, her
fingernails digging into his ass as her hips ground into his. It was too much; he
felt his own orgasm start, and tried to pull away, but Susan wouldn't let him. He
groaned under his breath and then thrust himself into her as far as he could go,
his body straining with the effort--- then the release, the wonderful relief that
seemed to go on and on and on as Susan mumbled "oh, yes oh yes oh yes Michael,
that's it, oohhhh yesssss......" and then something throaty in Russian.
Shuddering, he held onto her, unable to think straight. Distantly, some part of
his mind noticed that there was no more noise coming from the bedroom. Now was
when Ivanova would kill him. He couldn't care.

But she wasn't angry, she was just stroking his head, a low purring coming from
deep in her throat. Michael tried to get his voice to work, unlike every other
muscle in his body. "I guess I'll survive after all," he mumbled huskily. He was
still inside her, and he couldn't yet bear to pull away. Garibaldi raised his
head to look at his friend, the woman he'd just made love to, who was so
beautiful in the aftermath that he couldn't stand to think of leaving yet. A
thousand thoughts went through his head at once, but Susan was staring at him
clear-eyed, no embarassment or regret evident. Finally he whispered, "Thank you.
That was..." He shook his head, smiling ruefully.

"The feeling is mutual," Ivanova said in a low voice. She sighed slowly, letting
muscles relax throughout her body. Garibaldi realized that one of her hands was
idly tracing his jawline. "Michael?"

He swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Why haven't we done this before?"

He closed his eyes, fear welling up in him. Fear of getting too close. Fear of
losing her. He forced himself to open his eyes, and look at her again. "I don't
know. But..." He felt his jaw tighten as he leaned into her hand. "I don't want
to think it's the last time. Or the only time." Susan just nodded, a judicious
look on her face. Garibaldi wasn't sure how to interpret that. "And you?"

Her eyes got more distant for a second, then focused in on him abruptly. "I don't
want this to be the last time either." Michael nodded, then slowly, very slowly,
moved away from her. He adjusted her jacket and shirt without looking at her
face. "Michael." He jerked his eyes up to meet hers. "We're going to have to...
think about this. Later." Susan's mouth quirked. "But now..." she whispered,
drawing him close again, her fingers already busy in his pants. "Now is *not* the
time for thinking..."

"Susan!" Garibaldi wanted to laugh, but he was too shocked. "We're gonna get
caught, I thought you were worried about that---"

"They left ten minutes ago." She shrugged lazily. "You were kind of busy, so I
didn't bother telling you." She pulled his mouth down on hers, and Garibaldi gave
up on thinking about consequences and reasons why not. They were already
involved; this wasn't going to be easy; but who the hell cared? It was too late
for turning back...

"Shoulda known you'd get me in trouble..."