Title: The Cure

By: ½ of ESB²

Rating: FRAO

Archive: tayryn’s tower

Summary: Secrets are revealed at a party.

Disclaimer:  Amblin owns them.  I’ve just taken the seaQuest and her crew out for a little joyride.  I promise to bring them back unharmed… and definitely a lot happier.

 

Notes: ½ of ESB² thanks the other ½ of ESB² for beta’ing

 

~sQ~

 

 

“I hate these damned things!” Nathan Bridger groused to Bill as he turned back to the bartender.  “Laphroig, sixteen year old if you have it and make it a double!”

 

“Getting drunk isn’t going to make it any better.” Bill grinned as Nathan tossed back half of his drink with one gulp.  “Your crew seems to be acquitting themselves well.”

 

Nathan’s glance scanned the room, seeing Jonathan and Crocker deep in conversation with their counterparts from other ships.  Lucas had landed in the corner with some Admiral’s pretty teenage daughter where they were busy discussing the latest computer technology.  Then his eyes fell on his CMO, Doctor Kristin Westphalen.

 

Kristin looked gorgeous, he could think of no better word.  She wore a mauve silk cocktail dress that hung to mid thigh.  The tiny sleeves of the dress wrapped around her upper arms before running into the low neckline. The hem ended at mid thigh and black heeled pumps drew his attention to the line of her bare tanned legs.  A sheer chiffon overlay with floral embroidery accented the femininity of the dress' wearer, while the matching scarf draped around her neck drew attention to her generous bosom.  Kristin’s auburn hair was pulled up and away from her face but a few tendrils had been allowed to escape.  Those wisps of hair made Nathan want to pull out the pins and run his fingers through the fiery mass then slowly pull the scarf away…

 

“Hey, you okay?  You’re sweating and it isn’t that hot in here.”  Nathan jumped at Bill’s voice.

 

“Sure, I’m fine.  Just…thinking.  I’ll be back in a few minutes…I will come back, Bill.  I promise.”

 

Nathan moved away from his friend into a secluded curtained alcove.  He wasn’t okay and he needed a few moments to get his composure back.  Seeing Kristin dressed like that, her body so ripe and alluring reminded him of all the very erotic dreams that he’d been having about her lately.  The beautiful doctor had been the object of most of his dreams since the day he had met her but lately the frequency and intensity of those dreams had increased.

 

Nathan dropped into a chair in a dark corner and sipped his drink absently as his mind wandered back to one particular dream.  He couldn’t see the woman’s face clearly but he could hear her voice…Kristin’s voice.  In the dream his attention was firmly riveted on the small design etched into the golden skin just below Kristin’s shoulder blade…a tattoo.  The figure moved and swayed in time with the thrust…

 

The sound of the curtain being pulled back brought Nathan to his feet and he started to make his presence known but the two figures that entered were so intent on their conversation that they didn’t notice him.

 

“What’s all the secrecy about, Thomas?” Nathan recognized the voice of the Secretary General of the UEO.

 

“I was just going to give you an update on my latest personal research project and I didn’t want us to be overheard.”

 

“What project is that?” The Secretary General sounded bored.

 

“We are working on a new biochemical method of extracting information from enemy operatives.”

 

“That’s what sodium pentothal is for.  What makes your drug any better?”

 

“The whole premise of the toxin is that the agent doesn’t realize he’s been infected.  We slip it into his drink, sometime later he’s hit with an uncontrollable desire for… companionship of the opposite sex… or the same sex if that’s the orientation.  We move one of our agents in to extract the information, give the agent what he needs, then disappear.”

 

“You send our people in to have sex with the enemy.  That’s prostitution, Thomas, and that makes you a pimp.  What results have you gotten?”

 

Thomas looked uncomfortable.  “Well, we are still in the development stage.  We did try an earlier formulation on one of our own men last month.  We sent the captain on a mission to a small country in Southeast Asia, let him complete his job then introduced the agent.”

 

“And did our own man spill his guts to you?’

 

“Not exactly.  We believe that we miscalculated the time it would take for the substance to act.  He didn’t respond to our agents attempts to seduce him.”

 

“So he may have spilled his guts to someone else… the enemy, perhaps?”

 

“No… I’m sure he didn’t.  He returned to his ship almost immediately after ingesting the drug.  I watched the medical reports but never saw anything out of the ordinary listed on his file.  I am going to speak to the ship’s CMO tonight about any information that may have been omitted from the medical log.”

 

“Well…the research sounds as if it may have some promise but I don’t like the idea of you using our people as guinea pigs.  I’ll have to give this whole project some thought.  I don’t expect you to try another test run without authorization from me.”

 

“Yes, Madam Secretary.” Thomas said as his superior exited from behind the curtain.  “Bitch!” He muttered once the fabric fell shut. Thomas stared pensively into the dark for a moment before following the Secretary General out.

 

Nathan remained in his chair, dumbfounded for a few moments.  ~ It was me.  That bastard sent me on that trip then he drugged me.  But…that virus I had.  It must have been the toxin.  Surely Kristin would have caught the difference.  Kristin… ~

 

Suddenly Nathan remembered his dreams and knew with certainty what had happened.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Kristin jumped when an iron band closed around her upper arm.

 

“Excuse us, Janet.”

 

Nathan propelled her away from Janet Noyce and toward the exit door.  Kristin tried to protest but he just kept moving, his face daring her to make a scene in front of all of the assembled brass.  She kept silent until they exited the room then her temper exploded.

 

“What are you doing, Nathan!  You can’t just walk up and manhandle me.  I was having a conversation…well I was trying too.  My reputation preceded me as far as Janet Noyce was concerned.”

 

Nathan kept walking, propelling her across the lobby and into the waiting elevator.

 

“Will you please tell me what is wrong?  Why are you so angry?”

 

Nathan remained silent, his hand still gripping her arm firmly.

 

The doors slid open and he pushed her out of the elevator and down the hallway.  They stopped in front of a door and Nathan pulled the key card from his pocket.  He swore softly as the card failed to read the first time and tried again. 

 

Kristin had had enough rough treatment and began to struggle against his restraining hand.  Nathan’s second attempt to unlock the door succeeded and he pushed her through, kicking it shut behind them and locking it before he freed her.

 

“All right, Bridger.  You’d better have a damn good explanation.  I may be a member of your crew but I am not military and I will not be treated in this manner.  You had no right…”

 

“That virus I had last month…how did you cure me?”

 

Kristin turned away.  “That again?  I told you…antibiotics.”

 

“Antibiotics don’t work on a virus.  How did you cure me?”

 

“Your own immune system kicked in.  The antibiotics just kept you from getting a secondary infection.”

 

“And what about your own special touch?”  He threw her flip words back in her face.

 

“That was a joke, nothing more.”

 

“I don’t believe you.  I overheard a very interesting conversation a few minutes ago…General Thomas talking to the Secretary General about a new biological ‘weapon’ in development.  It seems this drug is more for one on one use, an instrument to get information…of torture if you will.  Its effects were very interesting…I heard all about them plus the fact that they had tested it on an unsuspecting officer…but it didn’t seem to work.  Was I that officer?”

 

Kristin turned away.  “I don’t know what you are talking about.  How would I know that?”

 

“I’m not saying that you knew about it beforehand but I think that you figured out what they had done.  I also think that you found the cure.”

 

“This is crazy…I’m not going to talk about this anymore.  I’m leaving.”

 

Kristin moved quickly toward the door but Nathan was faster.  He grabbed her arm and spun her against him, his arm wrapping around her waist to press her back tightly against his body.

 

“You don’t have to talk.  I just have to see.  I’ve been having some extremely erotic dreams lately.  They started just after that ‘virus’ that I had.”

 

“I don’t need to hear about your subconscious fantasies…” Nathan felt her breath quicken.

 

“Lately I’ve been wondering if they really were dreams…at least the first one.  There is a beautiful woman…I can’t see her face but I can hear her voice…your voice, huskily accented…wanting…in my ear…and I remember something else…a tattoo…here.”  Nathan’s hand fell to the bottom of her shoulder blade and caressed it lightly.  “A beautiful dolphin.”

 

“Let me go, Nathan.  You are talking nonsense.”

 

“Am I?  Let me look, Kristin.  If the tattoo isn’t there then I’ll know that it was all a dream, that I wasn’t the target of Thomas’ hair-brained scheme.”

 

“I told you I don’t know anything about that.  Please let me go.”  Her tone was changing from anger to pleading as she struggled in his arms.

 

“Just show me your back, Kristin.  That’s all it will take… are you afraid?”

 

Kristin’s head fell toward her chest and she didn’t reply.  Nathan knew in that instant that he was right, that he had made passionate, beautiful love to the woman in his arms, that his dreams were instead memories.

 

He shifted his upper body back slightly and moved his free hand to the zipper at her back.  The mauve silk was warm to his touch as he found the pull and began to slide it slowly down.  The smooth fabric fell down Kristin’s arms as the zipper released the tension holding it to her body.  Nathan faltered slightly when he realized that she wore no bra but he’d come too far to stop now.  He felt his arousal growing as the zipper slid lower. 

 

Kristin’s body strained away from his but Nathan couldn’t tell if she was trying to get away from him or if she was trying to push her upper body into his arm that lay just below her breasts, now covered only by the silk scarf hanging around her neck.  He opted for the later and freed his grip on her arm, moving his hand beneath the silk to cup a peaked mound.  Kristin moaned as she made a quick grab for her dress but without Nathan’s arm to hold it up the garment slipped to her hips before she could stop it.  Her eyes closed as her skin flushed pink.

 

Nathan’s eyes were also closed as he slowly shifted them, the hand that had unzipped the dress sliding back around to caress her other breast.  He knew by her breathing pattern that her own desire was rising with his and he pressed his hips closer into her as he opened his eyes to stare in the mirror before them.

 

Kristin stood in his embrace, her torso almost naked to his gaze, her breasts covered only by the scarf that hung loosely over them.  She whimpered as Nathan rubbed his thumbs across her erect nipples.

 

Nathan steeled himself and then pulled his torso away from her warm flesh.  He blinked once then again as he stared in disbelief at the tiny figure etched into the skin under Kristin’s left shoulder blade, the delicate dolphin just as he remembered it from his dreams.

 

His head fell to her shoulder.  “It was you.  We did make love.  We made the most incredible love I’ve ever…You tried to make me forget.  Why?”

 

“I had too.”  Her voice was made huskier by desire, enflaming Nathan’s senses even more.  “I didn’t want that to be between…you would have been embarrassed…changed the way you treated me…I didn’t want to lose your friendship.”

 

“That never would have happened.  God, Kristin!  You did that for me?” 

 

Nathan released her abruptly and walked away, sitting down hard on the edge of the bed.  He buried his hands in his face.

 

“Why did they do this to me?  I know that General Thomas doesn’t like me and frankly, the man is an ass but this…”

 

Kristin moved to sit beside him, one hand tugging her dress up to cover her chest while she rubbed his back comfortingly with the other. 

 

“I don’t know why you were chosen but I could probably make a very good guess.”

 

“Tell me everything that happened.  As much as you know.”

 

Kristin sighed.  “You came back from whatever mission the UEO sent you on and I knew immediately that something was wrong.  You seemed distracted…not quite yourself but I didn’t realize that there was a physical problem, at least not at first.  You called me later that night…you were having trouble sleeping but I think you knew that something else was happening as well.  When I arrived at your cabin you were sweating profusely and your breathing was ragged.”

 

“I remember that.  I remember you taking me to med bay and poking me with a hundred needles or so…but then things get blurry.”

 

“Levin and I tried every test we could think of but nothing came back positive.  You kept getting worse, less coherent…I don’t know when I finally began to figure it out but…We were alone in your cubicle in med bay.  You seemed to be out of it and I caressed your cheek before bending over to check your heartbeat.  As I placed the stethoscope to your chest I looked toward your feet and I noticed…well, you were very…erect beneath the sheet.”

 

One eye peeked from beneath Nathan’s hands.  Nathan was surprised at Kristin’s embarrassment.  After all she was a doctor. 

 

“That’s when I realized that your symptoms were those of a man who was highly and almost uncontrollably aroused.  You were responding to me…to my proximity in a way different from my female nurses.  I knew that some areas had been doing research into that area as a means of…torture I guess.  I didn’t approve of it and I suspect that the UEO didn’t sanction it either.”

 

“But why pick me for their first guinea pig?”

 

“My guess would be some sort of blackmail.  You were in the perfect area to be set up with…that sort of woman.  A few well made pictures, some videotape…then maybe you wouldn’t be as vocal against some of the military stupidity as you have been.  You become more controllable.”

 

“That wouldn’t have worked.  Who in the hell would pictures like that have hurt?  I’m not married anymore and I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks of me.”

 

“But you are a public figure and you are a very moral man.  I know you Nathan.  You would have been embarrassed for those pictures to be released…especially if a certain teenage boy had seen them.”

 

Nathan ran his fingers through his hair before straightening up and looking at her.  “I could have explained things to Lucas.  He would have understood.  I mean he is almost an adult.  He knows about the birds and the bees.  He knows about sex…that sometimes people have certain needs.  Even if he saw me in a compromising position he wouldn’t be too blown away.”

 

“What about several compromising positions?”  Nathan knew that her words slipped out before she could stop them.  Her face told him she wished she could take them back.

 

“Tell me…” His hand reached out to rub her cheek, surprised to find it warm to his touch.

 

“Once I knew what to look for I quickly isolated the agent but I couldn’t find a cure.  I tried everything I could think of but you kept getting wrapped tighter and tighter and I couldn’t come up with anything else…I had you moved back to your quarters then I volunteered to keep first watch.”

 

“Once everyone was gone I…did what I had to do…then I gave you a shot to make you forget…I should have realized that the dolphin might be a trigger for your memory.  From the first moment you found it you seemed to be fascinated with it.  You kept staring at it…”

 

“What else?”

 

“You kept kissing it, caressing it while you…” Kristin turned her head away as she blushed.

 

“Kris…I didn’t…Did I…hurt you?”

 

“No, NO!” She rushed to reassure him, taking his face in her hands so that she could stare into his deep blue eyes, unmindful of her dress sliding back down to her waist.  “You couldn’t hurt me, not even under the influence of that damned drug.  I was willing.  I wanted to help you. It was my choice.”

 

“But your tattoo…I remember staring at it while I was…inside you...watching it move as I did…I didn’t…did I?”

 

“That falls under the several positions part…but it was normal, Nathan.”

 

Kristin saw the relief pass over his face.  “It’s just…that isn’t the way I would normally make love to a woman.  I’m a very traditional kind of guy.”

 

“And so you were…the first time.  I think that was the fourth…no, it was the third time.”

 

“Fourth!  How many times…”

 

“For you?  Six…over about ten hours.  I don’t even remember how many times I…climaxed.  Once the initial edge wore off you were very…generous.  My pleasure seemed to excite you even more.”

 

“How…”

 

Kristin was embarrassed once again.  “Nathan, I don’t think that I can sit here and describe…”

 

Her words were cut off as his mouth covered hers hungrily.  The desire that she’d banked quickly flared back to life, a whimper escaping from deep in her throat as his hands slid back to her breasts.  The fine silk of her scarf abraded her marble-hard nipples as he circled the fullness of the heavy globes beneath.

 

“Then show me..Let me love you, Kristin.  Help me remember just exactly how incredible our first time was…”

 

He kissed the pulsing hollow at the base of her throat as he began to wind the fabric of her scarf around his hand, slowly pulling the silk around her neck and away from her body.  She gasped as the fringed end brushed enticingly across her aching breast on its journey.

 

He moved slowly up her neck to her face, caressing her mouth as much as kissing it, every touch a plea.  Her body recalled the ecstasy she felt while being held in his strong arms and responded to his touch, desperate to experience that feeling again.

 

She returned his kiss with reckless abandon, releasing all of her doubts and fears as she opened her mouth to his whisper touch.  Nathan stabbed his tongue in, devouring her with kisses as his hands tormented her now naked breasts.

 

Kristin attacked the buttons on his black uniform jacket, desperate to touch Nathan as he was touching her.  One flew across the room, torn from its mooring in her desperate attempt to undo it.  Nathan released his hold on her chest briefly to help her push the jacket from his shoulders.  He stripped the underlying white turtleneck over his head and threw it across the room before returning to his task.

 

He pulled her roughly to him, her soft contours molding to the length of his lean torso.  She couldn’t disguise her body’s reaction as hardened peaks drilled into his chest.  Their tongues mated wildly, stroking and stabbing in a bid for dominance, until the need for oxygen necessitated that they part. 

 

Kristin cried out as Nathan wrenched his body away from her to stand by the bed but a cat-like smile grew on her face as he began to wrestle with his belt then his shoes.  Within moments he stood before her clad only in navy blue silk boxers, the fabric straining across his monumental erection.

 

She reached out to lightly stroke him, the touch of her hand sending a shiver through his body.

 

“Kristin…” He whispered, his voice heavy with his need.

 

“You kept losing clothes throughout the evening until finally, once we were alone in your cabin, I returned from the bath to find your boxers on the floor.  When I realized that you were naked beneath the sheet I…” A frission of pleasure ran through her at the memory.

 

He placed a knee on the bed and pushed her back into the pillows, long fingers stroking through her upswept hair, throwing hairpins to the night stand as the fiery mass tumbled to her shoulders.  His knee slid between her parted legs as he loomed over her planting a series of slow kisses across her flesh.  She shivered in delight as he reached the pebbled peak of her breast, her back arching as her body begged him to taste.

 

Nathan did so languidly, beginning by flicking his tongue lightly over the rosy tip, barely touching but still eliciting a gasp from her lips.

 

“Please…Oh, Nathan…I need for you to touch me.  I’ve been crazy with wanting you… dreaming about you for the last month.”

 

Nathan complied; bringing his lips into play as he slowly began to nibble pink flesh.  One hand eased beneath the hem of her skirt to skim across her hips and thighs.  He paused over the delicate scrap of lace covering her most intimate parts and touched lightly.  The answering dampness he felt there caused his own desire to surge even higher.

 

He felt Kristin’s body tremble beneath his touch and was overcome with the desire to see all of her as he’d seen her in his dreams.  His hands fell to her hips and lifted, working the delicate silk of her dress carefully down her legs, enjoying the way the she writhed beneath him.  He shifted so that he could pull the garment from her body and toss it away. 

 

Nathan knelt beside her and stared, the shape of her nearly naked body taunting him. 

 

“Did I…was it good for you the last time?  Did I make you…satisfy you?”

 

“Do you think I would be so eager for you now if you didn’t?  Oh please, Nathan.  I need to feel you inside me.  I’ve been going crazy remembering.”  Her passion continued to grow beneath his gaze and she reached out to touch him, stretching her fingertips until they lightly grazed the very prominent bulge between his legs.

 

His fingers caressed her knee; his eyes never leaving her face as the strong digits worked their way slowly up her inner thigh.  Her legs fell even further apart, begging for his touch at the center of her desire.  Blue eyes made even darker with longing fell to stare at the wet spot seeping across the tiny scrap of lace.

 

Kristin gasped as a strong finger touched her intimately through the fabric of her panties, pressing into the dampness as it moved slowly up to thrust into her sensitive sex.  She moaned with pleasure and pushed her feet into the bed to increase the contact. 

 

“You like that?” Nathan teased with his words as his fingers continued to tease her pressure point.

 

“Uhm…yes…YES!” She bit out the words as her body continued to beg for more.

 

Nathan hooked his index finger into the bit of string holding the front and back of Kristin’s panties together and pulled down.  Her hips jerked from the bed and he removed his other finger from her wetness to help as he worked the bit of fabric off her body.  In seconds she lay before him, gloriously naked except for the heeled black pumps still encasing her feet.

 

Her open legs invited him and Nathan shifted back between them, his gaze riveted to the glistening pink folds peeking through auburn curls.  The hands at his sides fell to her partially raised knees and began to stroke, lightly as a feather down her thighs.

 

Kristin raised her hips toward him, her body in torment, needing to find release, but Nathan kept his fingers on her thighs.  The desire in his gaze as he looked into her most intimate parts heated Kristin’s blood beyond bearing.  She pushed her torso up and ripped the button on Nathan’s boxers off.  He sprang free, so aroused that his member bounced against his stomach.  She wrapped both hands around his length, one on top of the other, her thumb caressing the engorged head that peeked out of the top.

 

Nathan nearly came right then and there, her touch pushing him to the very edge.  He grabbed her hands and pushed them back toward her head, their fingers laced together as he kicked his boxer shorts away and lowered his naked body to hers, shifting so that his erection was pushed back from his body to rest along the dampness of her core.

 

Nathan growled low in his throat when he felt the press of Kristin’s lower muscles as they begin to lock around the sides of his arousal, coating it with her desire.  His mouth covered hers hungrily; sending even stronger waves of want spiraling through her body.

 

He entered her swiftly, burying himself within her warmth in one smooth thrust.  Her inner muscles clenched around him, clasping him deep within her womb.  His mouth continued to work hers with savage intensity; she met his tongue thrust for thrust, her body straining to mimic that same motion.

 

Kristin lifted her legs to wrap around Nathan, one at his hips and one at his waist as he began to rock within her, setting a slow but satisfying pace.  Their lips burned trails across each other’s faces before moving to attack other body parts. 

 

His mouth slid back to her breast, lips pausing to taunt her pearled nipple before pulling as much of the creamy white flesh as he could into his mouth to suckle.  Determined not to be left behind, Kristin shifted her head around to attack the shoulder nearest to her mouth, her teeth sure to leave marks as she nipped and laved her way across the tan skin.

 

A gush of wetness washed over Nathan and he realized that Kristin’s release was fast approaching.  He increased the force of his stroke, pushing harder into Kristin’s slick passage with every thrust.  Random sounds began to emerge from deep in Kristin’s throat as she fought to take more and more of Nathan into her welcoming body with each plunge.

 

“Nath…Nat…please…oh, Nath…I can’t take…”

 

One hand pulled free from their embrace and forced itself between their bodies, the fingers moving straight to the tight bud that held Kristin’s release.  She wrapped her suddenly freed arm around Nathan’s shoulders in an attempt to hold him even closer to her damp body.  Nathan began to pound into Kristin forcefully and erratically as he felt yet another wave of wetness wash over him.

 

He fingered her clit lightly and she ground her hips against him vigorously, begging for more.  He fought to hang on to the last threads of his control as he increased the pressure of his moisture coated fingers, rubbing her center as hard as he could.  He felt the heel of Kristin’s shoe scrap along his inner thigh near to his throbbing sacs and lost all command of the situation. His hot seed spewed into Kristin’s womb even as she clenched him within her and screamed his name, waves of ecstasy washing through both of their bodies.

 

They lay together, passion ebbing, their moisture coated bodies locked in each other’s embrace as Nathan rolled to his back.  Hands roamed lazily up and down warm bodies, the sound of light kisses punctuating the silence. 

 

Kristin laid her head in the hollow between Nathan’s shoulder and his neck and sighed with pleasure as his caresses continued. 

 

“I remember.”

 

Kristin’s head flew up; her whiskey hued eyes filled with apprehension but the ocean blue eyes that met her gaze held only a smile.

 

Nathan pulled her back into place.  “I remember how nervous you were…you stood by my bunk, looking down, scared to death.”

 

“I was not scared!  I was just…well…”

 

“It took you ten minutes to drop your robe.  Then you climbed into the bunk with me and almost fell out; you were hugging the edge so closely.  You felt so fantastic, Kristin.  The way you touched me.  I was half out of my mind with wanting you anyway and then you touched me.”

 

“I wanted you…I didn’t know what to do…”

 

“You were so beautiful and the way you felt when I pulled you close…I couldn’t wait.  I was so rough with you the first…oh, Kris…I didn’t satisfy you.”

 

“Shh…oh course you did…well, maybe not that first time but your need was too great…you said you remember so you know that you more than made up for it.”

 

Nathan shifted her lithe form until she lay on top of his firm body.  Her buried his hands in her hair and pulled her closer, shattering her calm with the hunger in his kisses.  Kristin felt him growing against her lower abdomen and involuntarily shivered; once again overcome with the intense desire to have Nathan buried deep within her.

 

“Sh…patience…” Nathan whispered between kisses as his hands stroked her body, searching and finding her own special pressure points.  He continued to tease and torment her with his fingers and his lips until waves of pleasure were washing through her.

 

“NO!”  Kristin stopped Nathan’s hands on yet another downward run from breast to thigh.  She captured his hands in her own and propelled her upper body upward until she was sitting astride him.  Nathan didn’t fight at all, allowing her to push both of his hands above his head and pin them to the bed with one hand.  Her free hand moved between their bodies to capture his length.  She rubbed gently but firmly and was rewarded with a groan from Nathan as his shaft turned to steel beneath her agile fingers.

 

Kristin held him steady and slowly began to impale herself on his body, her breasts bobbing just above his face as she fought to keep his hands immobile and control her rate of descent.  Her control slipped further as his mouth managed to capture a sensitive nubbin.  She stretched out over him and ran her hands up and down his outstretched arms as she took him completely into her welcoming warmth.

 

“Oh god, you feel so fantastic wrapped around me.  Kristin…please move…ride me…”

A burst of hungry desire spiraled through her body at his sensual urging and she began to undulate her hips against his.  Nathan continued to lave and suck the milky globes swaying in front of his face, indecipherable noises issuing from his throat as his pleasure grew.

 

“Faster…please…ride me faster…”

 

Once again Kristin complied with his wishes, increasing the pace of her movements.  Nathan planted his feet firmly against the bed and thrust upward to match her every stroke. 

 

The grip she had on Nathan’s arms slipped as her body began to jerk erratically, her climax beginning to overtake her.  Nathan watched her fight to control her movements and suddenly he wanted to break her control.  His hands moved to her hips and added momentum so that he sank even deeper within her with every thrust. 

 

Kristin felt the tip of Nathan’s manhood brush against her womb, leave, and then return, this time pushing forcibly against it.  Nathan began to rotate his hips in a circular motion increasing the friction between their bodies even more.  He felt the burst of wetness slide down his arousal and flow across his abdomen as Kristin’s breath caught and held.

 

Nathan hit just the right spot within her tight sheath and Kristin’s world exploded into a million stars as her body convulsed in climax.  Nathan could hold his own release back no longer.  He flipped Kristin onto her back and drove wildly into her wet passage, her muscles rippling in her own orgasmic aftermath adding steam to his.  He felt a spurt of liquid leave his body and cried out as bliss overtook him and he emptied himself within her warmth.

 

Nathan attempted to roll off Kristin; conscious of his greater weight on her delicate frame but she locked her legs around him and sleepily asked him to stay. They dozed together off and on, exhausted in the wake of their lovemaking, but not wanting to waste a moment of their time. 

 

Nathan woke, not sure of how long he’d been asleep but knowing that it hadn’t been long.  He felt Kristin’s eyes boring into him and turned to look down at her.

 

“Hey there, gorgeous.”

 

“Hey yourself, sailor.”

 

“Two down, four to go.” Nathan’s eyes twinkled at her.

 

Kristin frowned.  “You don’t think that we are…Nathan!  We can’t…”

 

“We did the first time.”

 

“You were under the influence of an outside force.  I must admit that I thought once would take care of your…problem.  I never expected…”

 

“The most passionate night of your entire life.  A lover beyond your wildest expectations.”

 

A giggle escaped Kristin’s lips.  “I was going to say a marathon but your descriptions cover the situation very well too.”

 

“I might be persuaded to skip number four…the logistics of that one completely escape me at the moment…but number three…I’d definitely like to try that again.”  His fingers crept beneath her to finger the small design on her shoulder blade.  “And number five…oh, please say that we can do that!”

 

Kristin couldn’t believe her lover’s stamina; he was growing hard within in her at the memory of their previous night together. 

 

“We can…but wouldn’t you like to get some rest first?”  Her muscles clenched around him, belying her words.

 

“Later…can I ask you something, Kris?” Nathan murmured, his lips buried in her neck.

 

“Umm.” She shifted her head to give him better access.

 

“That thing they gave me was a virus right, man made but still a virus…so does that mean that it was contagious?  Did I give it to you?”

 

“Mmm…I don’t think it works that way…right there…oh yes…it wasn’t contagious.”

 

“So I didn’t infect you?  But you were so…fantastic…Does that mean that you were just horny?”

 

Anger flared in Kristin’s eyes and she wriggled beneath Nathan in an attempt to get away from him.

 

“Or perhaps you were hiding your overwhelming attraction for your Captain the same way that he was hiding his for you?”

 

The struggling stopped.  “Nathan?”

 

“I’m crazy about you, Kristin…I have been for a very long time.  I think that the reason the damned virus didn’t work like they thought it would was that you were the only woman who could trigger that response in me.  Shall I describe some of the highly erotic dreams I’ve had about you over the last few months?  I’ve never thought about making love in my captain’s chair, or on the mag lev, or in the middle of sea deck before.  But my subconscious thought about it…with you as my partner, only you.”

 

“How about med bay, or the science lab, or the horticulture section?  I’ve dreamed of you and I there…together…”

 

“Naked?” Nathan rocked against her.

 

“Always.”

 

“And what are we doing?”

 

“Most of the time either number one or number six…sometimes number three.”

 

“Oh God, I loved number three.  Your tattoo…I can’t believe that you of all people have a tattoo.  I would have lost a huge bet on that one.”

 

“That’s why I have the tattoo.”

 

“You lost a bet?  I can’t imagine that.  How long ago?”

 

“When I was seventeen.  I learned a valuable lesson.”

 

“What sort of bet did you lose?”

 

“That will go to the grave with me.  All you need to know is that I lost and I ended up with a permanent reminder.  Tattoos were very popular at that time if you recall.”

 

“Mmm…I remember.  But what could be so bad that you won’t tell me.  Especially after this…”

 

“It wasn’t that bad…it was just stupid and I prefer not to talk about it.”

 

“So you were fascinated with the ocean even then?”

 

“Actually no, not really.  I don’t know why I chose a dolphin.  Isn’t that strange?”

 

“Extremely…especially since…I don’t guess you were ever in a position to take a really close look at my back were you?”

 

“Hardly.  That would have been an impossible position.  Nathan?  Where are you going?”

 

Nathan levered off of her body and shifted to her right side.  “Look at my shoulder blade.”

 

Kristin sat up and leaned over his body.  There, at the base of Nathan’s left shoulder blade, in the exact same position as hers, was a small tattoo of a dolphin.

 

“How…that’s amazing?  We have similar designs in the same spot!”

 

“Just one of those strange quirks of fate I guess.  Now where were we?”

 

“I was on my way to the ladies room.”  Kristin slid to the edge of the bed and glanced around.  She picked Nathan’s dress uniform jacket up and slid it around her shoulders before crossing the room, a stain of pink on her face.

 

Nathan slid to the head of the bed and leaned back against it, artfully arranging pillows behind his back for comfort.  Kristin returned to find him like that, legs splayed, one knee bent, and his full erection pointing straight to the ceiling.

 

“See what you do to me?” He whispered as he held his hand out to her.  “Come here.”

 

“You can’t be ready again this soon.  It isn’t possible.”

 

“Don’t tell me…tell him…because he is dying to get back inside of you.  I think it’s too cold out here and he wants to be someplace hot.”

 

A light giggle slipped from Kristin’s lips as she allowed Nathan to pull her onto the bed and back astride his lap. She settled onto his thighs, his arousal slipping beneath the hem of the uniform jacket she still wore to rest against her belly.

 

“You know…that jacket looks a hell of a lot better on you than it ever did on me!”  Nathan eyed the full white swells burgeoning out from the deep vee of the coat.

 

“I doubt that this is what the designers had in mind.”

 

“Well they damn well should have!” Nathan’s hands slipped beneath her arms and squeezed gently.  He was rewarded with a dusty rose nipple popping from the neckline.  His mouth immediately captured it and began to feast.

 

His hands slipped to her hips to urge her to her knees and Kristin quickly found herself impaled on Nathan once again.

 

“I can’t believe you…the last time you had an excuse…but this time…”

 

“I’m just a love machine…and I don’t work for nobody but you!” Nathan began to sing in her ear.

 

“I’m glad you are good at something useful because you can’t sing worth a damn.” Kristin laughed as Nathan continued to hum.

 

“Wait ‘til you hear me in the shower.”

 

“You are better under water?”

 

“Not at singing but you’ll be so sassified that you’ll think I’m Clarence Carter!” Nathan broke into a chorus of ‘Strokin’, his hips mimicking the words to the song.

 

Kristin’s chuckles soon turned into a moan as she sank deeper and deeper onto Nathan with each stoke.  Nathan pulled his knees up to press into her back and Kristin shifted her legs until they were wrapped around Nathan, one locked at his waist the other thrown up his back so that a black pump rested on his opposite shoulder.

 

It quickly became apparent to both of them that neither was going to last very long, the increased contact of their new position arousing their desire exponentially.  Nathan’s hand delved into the neck of the jacket Kristin wore and freed her other breast so that his hands and mouth could have free access.

 

His face was buried between the ivory mounds, Kristin’s head thrown back against his knees in the initial grip of climax when he heard the exclamation.

 

“Oh my God!”

 

Nathan’s head jerked up to see Bill Noyce standing in the open door of his hotel suite, one hand firmly locked over the eyes of the seventeen year old boy standing next to him.  Nathan tried to speak but the force of Kristin’s orgasm, her strongest yet, pulled him along with her and he came, long and hard, his words turning into screams as he once again released himself within her.

 

Nathan fell back into the pillows against the headboard; Kristin slumped against his chest.  He forced his eyes open to look in the doorway again but the door was closed, no one there.

 

~ Maybe I imagined them. ~ But he knew that he hadn’t.  Kristin stirred against him as she tried to pull her legs into a more comfortable position and Nathan knew that he didn’t really give a damn. ~ I wish Lucas hadn’t seen…but I’ll explain things to him.  And Bill…maybe he should be told what General Thomas has been up to. ~

 

With effort Nathan pulled his torso up and slid down the bed before resettling the two of them in a prone position.  Kristin mewed lightly at his touch, fighting to keep his now flaccid member locked within her body.

 

“Sleep, sweetheart.  I’m not going anywhere.  I promise.” Nathan whispered into her ear as he covered them both then gave in to his own exhaustion.

 

*~*~*~*

 

“So…how did you know about this damned thing?  I can’t imagine that someone just walked up to you and said ‘hey, Doctor Westphalen, we are working on a biological weapon to make our enemies so horny that they spill their all of their secrets to the working girl we hook them up with’!”

 

“Actually I was offered…Nathan! I thought we were trying to have a conversation!  If you don’t stop doing that…Nath…we are supposed to…talk…”

 

“Sorry…you were offered?…Now who’s interrupting the conversation…Kris…you have wicked hands…”

 

“Okay…I’ll be good…for the moment.  I was offered a position on the team developing the damned thing.  I turned it down of course.  Only an idiot pretending to be a scientist would accept a job like that.”

 

“Who made the offer?”

 

“It came through channels.  I found it strange when I found out that project was General Thomas’ baby.  There is no way he would have wanted me anywhere near it.”

 

“You’ve had dealings with Thomas before?”

 

“Of course, but that was before you came back from your island.  General Thomas and I didn’t see eye to eye at all about the science team’s place onboard the seaQuest.  I’m afraid he doesn’t like me very much.”

 

“Hmm…I wonder.  Thomas had to have wanted you on that team or you would have never heard of it.  Did he…Did Thomas ever ask you out?  Come on to you?”

 

“Thomas?  No…nev…well, maybe he did ask me out for a drink once.  I turned him down.”

 

“So you make it a policy never to get involved with your boss, hmm?”

 

“Smartass!  I don’t like Frank Thomas.  Something about him makes my flesh crawl.”

 

“But perhaps he does like you.  You are a very beautiful woman, Dr. Kristin Westphalen, and I’d lay odds that Frank Thomas has a yen for you.”

 

“What if he does?  That still doesn’t explain why he’d choose you as a guinea pig.”

 

“Perhaps it does.  Haven’t you heard that half of the UEO navy thinks we are involved, I mean before this…”

 

“How could they think that?”

 

“My sources tell me that a certain Lieutenant embellished a certain instance where, at your behest, I zipped you into a very attractive ball gown.  In his version the zipper was going the other way…”

 

“That’s ridiculous!  Ben wasn’t even on the George with us.  Besides, I still don’t see why that would make you the prime target, even if we had turned the sub into a floating house of carnal delight!”

 

“Thomas wasn’t intending to try to embarrass me publicly.  He was going to use the photos to break us up…make you mad at me, turn you against me.”

 

“But that’s ridiculous!  I would have known that you wouldn’t have done anything like that.  Nath…mmmmm…what was that for?  Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”

 

“That was for your unwavering trust in me.  And this…is because you are…gorgeous…and sexy…wildly exciting…and…I think I need to run downstairs and talk to Bill.”

 

“NATHAN BRIDGER!  If you dare think that you are going to do THAT to me and then leave me hanging…”

 

“I guess that Bill could wait a few more minutes…”

 

*~*~*~*

 

The clock was nearing midnight when Nathan made his way back into the ballroom.  The crowd had thinned considerably over the four hours since he’d dragged Kristin away.  Nathan fought back the flush that rose to his cheeks as he caught Bill Noyce’s eye.  Noyce gave him a slight nod as he danced by, his wife in his arms.

 

Nathan headed to the bar and ordered a double.

 

“Scotch, right?  Let me see…Laphroig, sixteen year old.” The young bartender said, one eyebrow furrowed in thought.

 

“That’s right.  You’ve got a great memory.”

 

“Customer service, that’s what brings in the tips.” He placed Nathan’s glass on the bar.  “Charge to…Bridger in room 46.”

 

Nathan saluted the young man with his drink and made a mental note to leave him a handsome gratuity as he downed the fiery liquid in one swallow. 

 

“Another one, please.”

 

A low whistle issued from the young man’s lips but he quickly filled the glass again.

 

“You know you have that backwards.”

 

Nathan looked up to find that Admiral Noyce had finished dancing with his wife and joined him at the bar. 

 

“What are you talking about, Bill?”  Nathan suddenly became fascinated with the glass in his hand.

 

“According to the song you are supposed to get drunk first then screw…not the other way around.”

 

“Don’t you dare start on Buffet, too…not after interrupting us…”

 

“The man is a rock star wanna be at best and it didn’t seem to me that we interrupted a damn thing.  The two of you just kept right on going and going like that damned pink bunny from television twenty years ago.  But Nathan…Kristin Westphalen?  The woman has ice water in her veins.”

 

“Jimmy’s music doesn’t speak to the average rock fan.  His music appeals more to the soul of a sailor.  And what the hell were we supposed to do?  We weren’t really at a stopping point if you know what I mean!  And she felt like fire to me.”

 

“I’m a sailor and his music makes me gag.  How the hell did you do that anyway?  I haven’t heard screams like that out of Janet in years!”

 

“Talent my friend! And you have no taste in music…anyone who would pick the Who over U2…”

 

Bill’s face turned serious.  “You’ve put me in a hell of a position, Nathan.”

 

“Seems to me like I’m the one who’s been in a position, Bill.  And excuse me for saying it but what was happening in my private bedroom doesn’t have a damned thing to do with you or the UEO!  Why were you in my room anyway?”

 

“I was concerned.  I saw you standing in the corner earlier holding your head so I knew that you had a headache.  Janet told me how you dragged the Westphalen woman out of here so I figured you needed something for the pain.  I asked Lucas and he said he had a key to your room so we went to check on you.”

 

“Lucas, dammit!  Where is he?  I need to talk to him, explain what he saw.”

 

“He’s seventeen years old, Nathan.  He knew exactly what he was seeing.  Luckily I think I got my hand over his eyes before he saw too much.  I couldn’t cover his ears though.  What did you do to make her scream like that?”

 

Nathan glared at his friend.  “Lucas…remember him?  What did he say afterwards?”

 

“He didn’t really say anything, just kind of shrugged his shoulders and took off with some of your crew.  He didn’t seem phased at all.”

 

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and downed his drink in one gulp.  The barman moved to fill it again but Nathan stopped him. 

 

“I’d better quit.  I wouldn’t want to impair my performance.”

 

Bill snorted.  “I would think you’d be exhausted.”

 

“That was only round three.  The finale is still to come.”

 

“Three…that was three…and she still had her shoes on?  What in the hell have you been drinking?  Bartender, I’ll have what he’s having.”

 

“Funny you should ask that, Bill.  It wasn’t what I was drinking…if you have a minute I’ve got a little story I’d like to tell you.”

 

“How detailed is this story?”

 

“Not that detailed.  Look, do you want to hear this or not?”

 

“Let me go tell Janet I’ll be a few minutes.”

 

Nathan nodded as he turned back to the bar and motioned to the young man behind it.  “So you want to pick up a little more spare change?”

 

*~*~*~*

 

The feel of satin stroking across her bare flesh caused Kristin to smile as she stretched, cat-like, and slowly opened her eyes.  Her gaze fell on the single red rose the man lying next to her proffered.  A brilliant smile cut across her face as she offered him a thank you kiss.

 

“Good morning.”

 

Nathan tilted the rose until it once again lightly touched her cheek before trailing it back down the slope of her shoulder to circle a peaked breast.  Kristin’s breath caught at the sensual feel of the petals on her skin.

 

“Good morning to you.  You seem to have been a very busy boy.”

 

Nathan grinned.  “Why whatever do you mean?’

 

“My entire body is tingling and I suspect that the flower in your hand may have something to do with that.  What do you think?”

 

“I think you are a very astute lady.  Also a very beautiful lady…and a very sexy lady.”

 

“And you are a very sexy man…I thought you might wake me up when you came back upstairs…”

 

“I haven’t been back that long and it’s still very early.  Besides I’ve enjoyed watching you sleep…been getting lots of ideas…”

 

“I think I should take a blood level and see if that damned agent has reactivated in your blood.  What kind of ideas?"

 

“I am glad you asked.”  Nathan shifted away from her and Kristin sat up for another stretch.  Her eyes grew wide as she surveyed the room in the dim light.  Every available countertop was filled with roses.

 

“Nathan!  How did you…?”

 

“I met a very enterprising young man who knew a florist and wanted to make a buck.  They delivered them to the hotel and I brought them in the room.  I wanted to shower you with roses.”

 

Kristin glanced down to find most of her body and the bed covered in fragrant petals. 

 

“So…about this idea?”

 

Nathan pulled the pillows up against the headboard and patted them.  Kristin pointed and looked at him. ~ There? ~

 

Nathan nodded. ~ Right here…trust me ~

 

Kristin slid through the petals and reclined into the pillows, Nathan settling in on top of her.  The strong hardness of his kiss sent shivers through her body. Kristin felt the tickle against her skin but Nathan’s lips dominated hers so completely that she didn’t realize what was happening until she felt the pull of the silk around one wrist.

 

“Nathan! What…” She pulled her mouth away from his, clearly startled.

 

“Shh…let me love you, Kristin.  I won’t hurt you.  See?”

 

Kristin watched with apprehensive eyes as Nathan pulled her silk scarf through the bed railing and brought the free end to her other wrist.  He placed the end in her palm and closed her fingers around it then moved her wrist in a circular movement so that the fabric wrapped around her wrist.

 

The fact that she wasn’t completely fettered along with the trust she felt with Nathan gave her a sense of security that she’d never had before and she nodded slightly. 

 

“As long as I get to do the same…”

 

“Anytime you want, sweetheart, any time you want.”

 

Nathan settled back into her lush body, stealing one more deep soul-stirring kiss before his lips left hers.  She murmured in protest but he shushed her.

 

“You’ll enjoy this…I’ll make sure you enjoy it…” 

 

The touch of his mouth was a delicious sensation against her sensitized skin.  His lips seared a path down her neck, pausing to drink at the hollow of her throat before moving on to assault the line of her collarbone.  He filled his hands with rose petals and worked them beneath her to caress the planes of her back, silk and steel on her heated flesh.

 

Kristin had never experienced anything like the rush of sensation that coursed through her as Nathan continued his leisurely trek down her body.  She strained against the scarf, a small but satisfying orgasm rocking her body as Nathan loved her breasts with his tongue.  The aftershock had barely subsided when Nathan settled his head between her thighs.  His fingers made a casual foray into her depths and felt her juices flow over his hand.

 

He spread his fingers wide over her hips, his thumbs catching the edge of her silky folds to hold her open.  Kristin’s body arched in anticipation, her hands straining against their bonds as he slowly lowered his mouth to her aroused sex.  His tongue curled gently around her clit, causing her to moan and rock her hips against him.  Nathan danced across her sheath, licking and sucking until she was crying out to him, her sobs barely coherent.

 

Nathan felt a rush of wetness against his face and knew that Kristin was at the edge of her endurance.  He shifted his hands beneath her thighs and pushed them up and out so that he could press closer into her.

 

“Please…oh, please…God!…I need…something…you…Nathan!”

 

Nathan thrust his tongue deep into her warm sheath, two fingers rubbing frantically against the hard bud of her desire.  Kristin was fighting her bonds, her body arching as she desperately sought release.  Nathan pushed his free arm back up her body, a glove of rose petals covering his hand as it palmed a heavy breast and lightly pinched the taut nipple.  He pulled his mouth back to her clit, pulling as much of it as possible between his lips while his fingers thrust into her.

 

Kristin screamed and came with a force so strong that it scared Nathan.  Her body continued to convulse around him as he lapped up her juices until she lay quiet before beginning his journey back up her damp body.

 

Nathan wrapped his arms around Kristin’s shivering body as he murmured words of love in her ear, punctuating them with soft kisses.  Finally she opened her eyes to stare at them, the brown pools full of contentment.

 

“I love you.” She whispered, cuddling into his side.

 

Nathan started to respond but Kristin’s eyes flew open and she struggled to sit up, the scarf impeding her movement.

 

“I’m sorry…I didn’t…I…”

 

“Kristin, I love you too.”

 

His words stopped her.  “You…love me?  You don’t have to say it just because I did…”

 

“I would never say that to you unless I meant it.  I, Nathan Bridger, love you, Kristin Westphalen, with all my heart.  I guess I should have mentioned that at least four love-making sessions ago, but it was true then as well.”

 

Kristin leaned into to catch his lips with a whispered “I love you with all my heart too.”  Nathan moved to embrace her but realized that she was still tethered.  He moved to untie the knot that bound one wrist while she unwrapped the scarf from the other. 

 

“Oh my God…I don’t believe…”

 

Kristin followed Nathan’s gaze to the head of the bed and blushed at the obvious bend in the brass bar beneath the scarf.

 

“I knew that you…but DAMN!”

 

Nathan grabbed her when she would have removed herself from his reach.  “Don’t ever be embarrassed with me, Kristin.  Do you know what it does to me to see that…to know that I was able to bring you to that point?  Give you that much pleasure.  Now…where were we?”

 

Nathan slid back down into the bed pulling her with him, limbs entwining as they went.

 

“Don’t we have a meeting to attend this morning?” Kristin asked as she wiggled against him, enjoying the feel of his arousal against her thigh.

 

“It’s barely seven and the meeting isn’t until ten.  I figure we have time for a little more fun and a good long shower too.”

 

“No food?”

 

“Okay, I’ll see if we can’t work food in as well.  How about strawberries and whipped cream?”

 

Kristin groaned.  “We are never going to make this meeting, are we?”

 

“Depends on what kind of inspiration you give me in the shower…yes, we will make the meeting.  I’m never late for anything important.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

“I never said that I thought this meeting was important!” Nathan hissed as they slipped through the doors of the conference room.  All eyes turned to stare at them.  Bill waved his hand slightly and motioned to the two empty chairs beside him.  The slipped through the crowd, Nathan’s hand resting lightly on the small of Kristin’s back to guide her, and sank into the chairs.

 

Bill leaned forward and stared at Nathan, then Kristin, and then back at Nathan again, shaking his head.

 

“What’s wrong?” Nathan asked, ignoring the quelling look Frank Thomas shot his way. 

 

“I didn’t get any sleep.  Seems the couple in the room next to ours was very…active…all night long.  The woman kept screaming and the man kept moaning…”

 

“You should have taken a page out of their book…at least you might have been exhausted enough to sleep well.”

 

“AHEM!”

 

Nathan leaned back into his chair, saved from Bill’s retort by Thomas’ pointed throat clearing.  He tried to listen to the presentation but Thomas spoke with a horribly monotonous tone that he couldn’t concentrate on.  The touch began innocently enough, a reassuring grope of Kristin’s knee beneath the tablecloth, but when his fingers slipped beneath the hem of the short skirt of her suit he was lost. 

 

Kristin shifted in her chair as Nathan’s hand traced lazy patterns along her upper thigh, fighting the urge to encourage his caresses.  She casually pushed her hand beneath the cloth and swatted at Nathan’s roving digits but he ignored her, continuing his upward path.

 

“Wouldn’t you agree, Captain Bridger?”  Nathan started at the sound of his name, his fingers having at that instance encountered the damp barrier of Kristin’s panties. 

 

Nathan reluctantly stood up, bending to push his chair back and catching Bill’s eye with a questioning glance.  Bill held a hand out palm down, just below the view from the podium, and waggled it slightly in either direction.

 

“That’s a difficult concept to agree or disagree completely with, Sir.  I can see both sides of the argument.  But since my humble opinions have no bearing on UEO policy I’ll just keep them to myself.”

 

Nathan sat back down, effectively ending his contribution to the meeting, which continued on at a boring pace. His hand resumed its previous position but Kristin had angled her body away from him and crossed her legs, refusing to open to his teasing touch.

 

Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief when, after two and half-hours, General Thomas finally called a break for lunch.

 

“Why the hell are we here, Bill?  I don’t see what good I’m supposed to be gleaning from the Frank Thomas hour.”

 

“I don’t really know why.  Thomas insisted that you come.  He said there was something that he needed to follow up on with you.  I didn’t know what that was at the time…”

 

“You told him?” Kristin hissed, her skin turning pink.

 

“I didn’t have to tell him.  He saw us last night.  Lucas let him into my room during round number three.”

 

Kristin’s eyes cut to Bill, her face shocked and embarrassed.  “Oh God…” She whispered before turning away.

 

“Doctor Westphalen, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.  You went above and beyond the call of duty…that is…oh hell.  This idiot here is my friend and I’m glad that you helped him.  Anything beyond that is between the two of you.”

 

“It wasn’t a duty…I care about him, too…What are we going to do about this?”

 

“We’ve got a couple of ideas stewing but we are going to need your help.  Are you willing, Baby?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Why don’t we go get some lunch and talk about our next move?”

 

*~*~*~*

 

“So…we’re agreed then?” Nathan questioned his coconspirators as they huddled over a table in the corner of the hotel restaurant.

 

“Yes.  We have to make that asshole pay for what he tried to do to you.”  Bill answered.

 

“Hey, I’m kind of glad in a way.  Now that I remember what happened I should probably thank the man before I beat the shit out of him.” Nathan laughed lightly at the blush that crossed Kristin’s face.  “Bill saw us in action, honey.  It’s not like he doesn’t know.”

 

“I didn’t see a thing.  I closed my eyes immediately, I swear.”  Bill’s skin tone was also light pink.

 

“Are you going to be okay?” Nathan turned to Kristin and laid his hand over hers with a gentle squeeze.  “If you don’t want to do this then it doesn’t get done.”

 

Kristin returned the pressure.  “Thomas needs to be punished and we need to know the extent of his little project.  As long as you promise to stay nearby.”

 

“Oh, honey, I’m stuck to you like glue.  Lucas will have your room wired so well that we’ll be able to hear a mouse fart.  At the first sign of trouble Bill and I and an entire security force will be in that room so quickly that Thomas won’t know what hit him.”

 

“Speak of the devil, there he is.  I guess that it’s time for phase one.” Kristin inclined her head toward the restaurant entrance where Thomas stood surveying the room. 

 

“I’ll meet you in my room in ten minutes.” Nathan slammed a palm down on the table and half stood as he huffed at Kristin.

 

She responded in kind, standing abruptly then, with a little wink at Bill, she pushed her chair back, glared at both of them and stalked out of the room.

 

“Bloody military mentality!” Thomas heard the woman he’d been surreptitiously observing mutter as she passed near him.

 

“Dr. Westphalen!” Kristin paused in the lobby when she heard her name called, happy that Thomas had stopped her in a public place.  She turned as she heard his footsteps approach.

 

“I’m sorry, General, but I really don’t wish to deal with anymore military personnel at the moment.  I need a little time to compose myself before I have to return to the conference.”

 

“I’d be happy to escort you to your room.”

 

Kristin cringed inwardly but kept a half smile plastered to her face.  “Not now, General.  I’ve just had an earful of Captain Bridger and Admiral Noyce.”

 

“I would like to talk with you, Doctor…perhaps we could have a drink after the afternoon session.  No military talk, I promise.  I am very interested in the research that you are doing.”

 

“I don’t know.” Kristin didn’t want to appear too eager or Thomas might grow suspicious.  She could tell by the patronizing smile on his face that he thought he was luring her with talk of her research.  “It depends on how long the session lasts this afternoon.  I have to get ready for the mandatory dinner.”

 

“You have a little trouble with authority, Doctor?”

 

“I have a problem with stupid rules and I don’t like being told how to direct my projects.”

 

“Then we should definitely talk, Kristin.  You don’t mind if I call you Kristin, do you?”  Kristin shivered internally as her flesh crawled at the sound of her name on the general’s lips.

 

“Of course not!” She beamed back at him.

 

“There are other areas of research in the UEO, areas where you could be afforded more control, more autonomy.  I could help you…if you’re interested.”

 

Kristin allowed a spark of excitement to flash briefly in her eyes before she dampened it.  “I don’t suppose that talking could hurt.”

 

Frank Thomas was gloating from within.  He’d been fascinated with Kristin Westphalen from the first moment he’d met her.  He had even tried to ask her out a time or two but for some reason she had taken an instant dislike to him.  But now he seemed to have found her weakness and he knew that he would be exploiting it.  He wanted this woman in his bed and, by God; he was going to have her.

 

He laid a hand on the small of her back as he directed her toward the elevator.  “Then we will definitely talk this evening.”

 

Kristin stepped over the elevator threshold, anxious to get away from Thomas’ touch.  “Then it’s a date.” She smiled at Thomas as the doors slid closed.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Nathan moved confidently down the hall way toward his room, his mind whirling over the next step of their plan.  He and Bill had exited the restaurant just in time to see the end of Kristin’s performance and the smug smile on Thomas’ face as he turned away from the elevator. 

 

The general had glared at Bridger with a mocking sneer for a moment then snapped, “The conference reconvenes in an hour, Captain.  Perhaps you could make an effort to be on time this afternoon?”

 

The key card slid effortlessly in and out of the lock and Nathan swung the door open only to be caught by the arm, dragged into the room then slammed back against the now closed door.  Kristin pressed her body fully into his as she wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged his face down to hers for a mind-numbing kiss.

 

“Wow!” He murmured as Kristin broke the kiss and began to work the buttons on his shirt loose.  “A bit impatient are we?” He asked, realizing that Kristin’s blouse was hanging open, her bra nowhere to be seen.  His hands crept inside to cup her full breasts.

 

Kristin wrenched the last button free then moved down to his trousers.  Before Nathan realized it his pants were around his ankles with his boxers resting on top of them.

 

“Whoa,” he twisted them until Kristin was pressed against the door, his hands gripping her shoulders.  “What’s wrong?”

 

“He touched me.  I know that it was only my back but his touch made me feel dirty.  Take it away, Nathan, please.”

 

He couldn’t resist the pleading look in her sable eyes and he moved closer, wedging his knee between her legs as he captured her lips in a hungry kiss.

 

Kristin lifted a long shapely leg and wrapped it around Nathan’s upper thigh, pulling him into closer contact with her.  He slid a hand between them and found the lace of her panties soaking wet.  She moaned loudly at his touch.

 

“Please…now!”

 

With a start, Nathan realized that he didn’t need any more foreplay.  He was as ready as Kristin obviously was.  He moved both hands to the bottom of her rear and lifted her up against the wall, pinning her there with his hips and knees while she wrapped her legs around him.

 

Using one hand to steady them both, he slid the other back between them and yanked the damp crotch of her panties to one side before positioning himself and pushing forward, seating his erection deep inside her with the first thrust.

 

Nathan had never thought that making love against a wall could be so intensely erotic but Kristin made it an experience to remember.  She moaned and panted as her desire quickly grew in intensity.  Her hands roamed his body, teasing his nipples, clawing his rear, rubbing and touching until Nathan knew that he was going to burst.

 

Kristin exploded in a frenzy of pleasure; the pressure of Nathan’s weight the only thing holding her convulsing body to the wall.  Nathan was amazed at the strength and longevity of Kristin’s orgasm as it continued on and on.  He continued thrusting deeply, driving her up and over yet again, before he finally gave in to the pull of her spasming muscles and let go.  His release was as intense as hers was, his juices gushing forward over and over until he was completely drained.

 

His legs were trembling as he carefully lowered both of them to the floor then shifted so that he was on his back, Kristin lying on top of him.

 

“Oh…my…God!”  Kristin panted against his neck as she struggled to control her ragged breathing.

 

“You are going to kill me, woman.  There is no way I can keep up with you.  But Lord, will I die a happy man!”

 

“I’m going to kill you?  You are the one who started this with a night of unbridled sex.  You are the one who didn’t even take the time to remove my underwear.”

 

Nathan rolled them so that Kristin was on her back with him on top; their bodies still joined together.  He grinned as he ran his fingers through her hair.  “I like being attacked at the door.  And you were the one who was too hot to wait.  You were incredible.  General Thomas really turns you on, huh?”

 

His mouth moved quickly to cover hers, his lips swallowing her angry retort.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Every male head in the room turned to stare when Kristin entered with Lucas.  Her black sleeveless dress was simple, the scooped neckline of the tight bodice showing her generous cleavage to perfection while the flared skirt ending just above her knees accented her shapely legs.  A short strand of pearls hugged her neck while matching earrings dangled just below her upswept hair.

 

“You look great, doc.  Can I get you a drink or anything?”

 

“Thank you, Lucas.” Kristin squeezed the boy’s hand.  “You are the perfect escort.”

 

“You should be here with the captain.  What did you two fight about?”

 

“I don’t want to discuss that, Lucas.  Captain Bridger and I often have differences of opinion.  I am sure that this one will pass eventually.  Why don’t you go get me a glass of champagne?”

 

“The Wolenczak boy is right.  You do look great… very beautiful.”  The hair on the back of Kristin’s neck bristled at the sound of Thomas’ voice and the touch of his hands on her arms.  She quickly plastered a smile onto her chiseled features before turning and taking a step back.

 

“General, how nice to see you.”

 

“I’ve been waiting for you, doctor.”

 

“I’m sorry I was late.  It took me a bit longer than I expected to get ready.”

 

“The wait was worth it.  I’ve saved us a table if you would like to sit?”

 

Kristin glanced at the bar and saw that Nathan had intercepted Lucas with her drink.  She quickly turned her attention back to Thomas.  “Of course.”

 

Thomas held the chair for Kristin to sit then looked back toward the bar.  “It seems that your drink has been waylaid.  What would you like?”

 

Kristin flipped her hand casually.  “I’ll have whatever you are having.”

 

As Thomas made his way toward the bar, Kristin took advantage of his absence to take several deep breaths in an attempt to settle her nerves and her anger.  Her eyes scanned the room, searching for Nathan or Bill.  She found them standing together against the wall, to all observers looking like they were in a deep conversation but Kristin knew that they were watching Thomas closely.

 

“Don’t worry.  He can’t make a move that they don’t know about.  Every officer from the seaQuest in this room is on watch, although they don’t know exactly why.”

 

Kristin looked up in surprise to find Janet Noyce standing next to her.

 

“You know?” She hissed.

 

Janet nodded in response.  “My husband gave me a rough sketch of the situation and I offered to help.  You can’t really talk with Nathan or Bill since you are supposed to be angry with them but a conversation with another female doesn’t look suspicious at all.”

 

“But you don’t like me!” Both women kept pleasant looks on their faces as they chatted.

 

“Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot.” Janet offered.  “My perception of you comes mainly from my husband and I’ve heard Bill rant and rave many times about four torpedoes…If I’m completely honest I would also have to admit that Nathan’s feelings about you were very obvious to me and Carol was a dear friend of mine.”

 

Kristin’s smile faltered slightly.  “I understand.  But I would never do anything to hurt Nathan.  I…care about him.”

 

“No woman would do what you did for him if she didn’t care about him…if she didn’t love him.  Bill says that you probably saved his life.  I am grateful to you for that.  I think that the General is coming back and Bill is giving me the signal that Thomas spiked your drink.  Once he puts the glasses on the table, accidentally drop your purse and bend down to pick it up.  He should bend down to help and if you play it just right he’ll be looking down your dress too hard to notice me swap the drinks.”

 

“How can you be sure?”

 

“If he isn’t then you’d better quit the sisterhood of women.”-

 

A short laugh escaped Kristin’s lips.

 

“I thought you might find that amusing…oh, General Thomas!  How nice to see you.  Dr. Westphalen and I were just having a little chat…girl talk you know.”

 

“Lovely to see you, Mrs. Noyce.” Thomas’ voice was polite but not inviting.

 

“Oh, I see my husband beckoning me.  Kristin, we must do lunch the next time you are in port.”  From the tone of Janet’s voice an observer would have thought that the two women were best friends.  She bent to hug Kristin and as Kristin hugged back her purse slid from her lap to the floor, the contents scattering around the table.

 

“Oh dear!” Kristin slid off the chair to her knees and bent to pick up her belongings. 

 

Thomas quickly joined her; his gaze riveted to the swell of her chest as it threatened to spill over the neckline of her low cut dress.  “Let me help,” he stammered out.

 

Kristin was aware of the movement above her but only because she was in tune for it.  A tube of lipstick rolled beneath the table and Thomas followed it, allowing Kristin time to glance up at Janet.  The other woman gave a brief nod then moved to help Kristin stand as Thomas emerged from beneath the table with the last stray item in his hand.

 

“I’m so sorry.” Janet apologized as Kristin slid back into her seat. 

 

“No harm done.  I shouldn’t be so clumsy.  The Admiral is still waiting for you.  I’ll call the next time I’m home.”

 

Janet murmured her good-byes then moved away from the table toward her husband.

 

“Thank you for gathering my things.” Kristin turned to Thomas and smiled.

 

“No problem at all.  Cheers!” Thomas held up his glass and tilted it toward Kristin.  She responded in kind, noticing that his attention returned to her chest as their glasses clinked.

 

*~*~*~*

 

“Calm down, Nathan.  She’s just acting.” Bill placed a restraining hand on his friend’s shoulder as Nathan glowered at the scene playing out across the room.

 

“He’s touching her,” Nathan made reference to Thomas’ casual tracing of the back of Kristin’s hand with his fingertips.  “She can’t stand for him to touch her.  He makes her skin crawl.”

 

“She’ll get over it.  You’ll help her.” Bill didn’t understand the smile that crossed Nathan’s face at that statement and he was pretty sure that he didn’t want to.  Both Nathan and Kristin had arrived back from the lunch break flushed and winded, with only seconds to spare.

 

The two men watched in silence as the couple finished their drinks, the angle of their bodies becoming steadily more intimate as the evening progressed.  By the time they stood to go Thomas’ hands were all over Kristin’s bare arms.  He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked toward the exit.

 

“Okay, that’s it.  Let’s go.” Nathan impatiently dragged Bill from the room.

 

A few words with the hotel management had given them access to the staff stairway and the two men climbed the stairs, Nathan at a double pace and Bill huffing behind him.  They watched through the tiny glass in the emergency exit until they saw the couple enter Kristin’s room and close the door, then moved out into the hall to knock quietly on the room next to Kristin’s.

 

The door swung up and Lucas waved them in before darting back to the desk and slipping his headphones back on.  “Nothing much going on yet.  The doc just asked him what he would like to drink.” 

 

Lucas pointed to the small monitor that showed Thomas sitting on the sofa in Kristin’s small suite.  A few moments later she joined him there, sitting not too close but not too far away either. 

 

The flirtatious toss of her head and batting of eyelids told Nathan that Kristin was turning on the charm big time, letting Thomas think that his compound was really beginning to take effect.

 

“Let us hear what they are saying, Lucas.”

 

Lucas eyed his captain thoughtfully.  “You sure, sir?  If you get angry and go busting in there before Thomas talks we are gonna be in big trouble.”

 

“I’ll behave, Lucas.  Just do it.”

 

Bill Noyce moved between Nathan and the door the led to Kristin’s room as Lucas popped off the earphones and toggled a switch so that they could hear everything from the next room.  ~ Just a precautionary measure. ~ The Admiral told himself.

 

Nathan glanced at his friend.  ~ Like you could stop me, Bill. ~ He turned back to the monitor.

 

“Is the tape recorder running?”

 

“Yes, sir.  Plenty of tape too.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

Thomas’ arm stretched out along the back of the sofa, his hand running lightly along the line of Kristin’s neck. 

 

“Your latest project sounds absolutely fascinating, doctor.  You really should consider coming to work for my research team.  We have some ground breaking research in biochemistry going on.”

 

“Mmm…but I do so love the ocean.  More autonomy over my work would be very…appealing…though.  Tell me more about some of your projects.”

 

“We’ve been working…is it warm in here to you?” Thomas wiped finely beaded sweat off his forehead then continued.  “I’ve been meaning to ask you…Captain Bridger went on a mission for us about a month ago and we received reports that he might have been exposed to an enemy biotoxic agent.  Did you notice anything…unusual…about him, medically speaking, after he returned from that mission?”

 

“A month…oh yes, the trip into Southeast Asia.  Doctor Levin performed a routine check-up on the captain after his return but he found nothing amiss.” Kristin spoke truthfully; all of the tests had come back negative. “The Captain did come down with a virus soon after his return but it only lasted twenty-four hours or so.”

 

“Can you give me more details about this virus?  It may have something to do with the agent he was exposed to.”

 

“It was just a standard…I am feeling a bit warm, you know.” Kristin’s slender fingers dipped into her drink and retrieved a piece of ice, which she then began to run slowly over her neck and down her chest.  “Oh, that feels nice.” ~ Come on, Thomas… you are so close… talk, please! ~

 

Her movements mesmerized Thomas.

 

“The captain experienced chills and fever, standard viral symptoms.  Why are you so interested…I bet it wasn’t an enemy agent at all, was it?  You used Nathan as a guinea pig for some of your experiments.”  The melting piece of ice moved lower, sliding along the neckline of her dress.

 

The general’s head fell slowly forward, his tongue lapping his lips as he moved.  A drop of icy water broke free of the cube and began a slow slide down.  As it slowed over the swell of Kristin’s breast his mouth closed over the fluid, pulling it in as he laved her skin with his tongue.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Bill had both arms wrapped around Nathan and his heels dug firmly into the carpet, trying to hold him away from the door that would let him into Kristin’s room.  “She’s just acting, Nathan!  Don’t you trust her?”

 

“Of course I trust her!  I just don’t trust that son of a bitch in there with her.  Let me go, Bill, or I will hurt you.”

 

“She’s close to getting him to spill his guts.  If she was feeling threatened she would have said the code word.  He’s already touched her, Nathan.  Don’t let her sacrifice be in vain.”

 

“Captain, I think the doc is trying to send you a message.” Lucas’ voice penetrated through Nathan’s rage.

 

They whirled to stare at the monitor; Nathan sickened to see Kristin submitting to Thomas’ touch, the general’s head buried in her chest.  Her face held a sick look but she was holding out a hand behind her companion’s back, palm up in the classic stay away sign.  Then her thumb and forefinger joined.  ‘It’s okay’ she mouthed.

 

“Five more minutes.  Five minutes and I am going in there and beat the shit out of that bastard…less if he continues to touch her!”

 

*~*~*~*

 

Kristin pulled away from Thomas’ touch and stood abruptly, grabbing both of their glasses.  “Would you like another drink, General?  I know I would.”  She flashed him a sexy smile.

 

Thomas looked a little dazed as he watched Kristin cross the room, a more pronounced sway to her hips he was sure.  ~ The drug is definitely taking effect.  Look at the way she’s coming on to me.  She can’t keep her hands off of me.  But I never dreamed that I would be so affected by her…damn she is gorgeous!”

 

Her husky voice dragged his attention back.  “How did you infect Captain Bridger?  Would this be a project I might be working on?”  She sat the drinks down on the table before them and returned to the sofa.  Her eyes glittered at Thomas as she ran a hand casually through her hair, tucking stray pieces back into the upswept twist.

 

“Umm…one of my men slipped the drug in his drink.  We had him tailed for the rest of his journey but we never saw any evidence that the toxin had any effect.  We’ve been playing with the formula a bit, getting a new variant ready to try.”

 

“Perhaps I could help you discover what went wrong?  What effect were you looking for?”  She leaned against the sofa, propping an elbow there so that she could rest her head on her hand.  The action pulled her dress tight against her chest.

 

Thomas shook his head slightly, his thinking becoming muddled.  Something warned him against saying anything but then Kristin leaned slightly forward again, her movement allowing him to see the round swell of her breasts down the front of her dress.

 

“The compound…it makes the victim a prisoner of his own sexual desire.  He’ll do anything to obtain release, give us any information that we need if we dangle an object of desire before him.”

 

“But this didn’t work?”

 

Thomas shook his head as he moved in closer, his hand moving behind Kristin to find the tug of her dress zipper. 

 

“We had several exotic ladies approach Bridger but they got no response at all, just a polite no thank you.”  The tug began to slide slowly down.

 

Kristin pulled away and turned to pick up her drink, anxious to put some distance between Thomas and her self.  “I’m curious.  Why Bridger?  I know that you and he have been at odds over some things but he seems like a straight arrow military man, disgustingly by the book sometimes.”

 

“Bridger can be a royal pain in the ass.  I am tired of his outspokenness about my projects at every turn, his unwillingness to carry out my orders.  We are a military organization.  He needed to be taught a lesson and what better way than to have the UEO’s star captain caught up in a sex scandal.  At the very least I could have blackmailed him into silence for years with the tapes we had planned.  And after you’d seen them you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him.”

 

“Me?” Kristin pushed away from him and stood, effectively stopping him from pulling her dress away from her shoulders.  “Why should I figure into your plans?”

 

“You are a gorgeous woman, Kristin Westphalen.  It’s obvious that Bridger wants you.  What man wouldn’t?”

 

“Captain Bridger wants me?  Where did you ever get that idea?  And why should you care?”

 

“Because I’m a man, too.  What would you have thought if you’d seen him behaving improperly…taking a woman against her will?  It would have disgusted you.  You wouldn’t have had anything more to do with the man.  Then you would have considered moving on to my projects…and my bed.  Come to bed with me now, Kristin.  You know you want too.  Can’t you feel the need humming in your veins?  I know I can.”  Thomas lunged for her, grabbing the front of her dress and pulling it down her arms.  “Have sex with me now and I guarantee that you’ll get any funding you need for your research…any posting you want.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

“We’ve got it!” Lucas shouted excitedly.

 

Bill breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to wrestle Nathan any longer and released the angry man.  Nathan wrenched the door open and raced into the adjoining room. 

 

Thomas staggered backward as Kristin’s palm struck his cheek just a moment before Nathan grabbed his shoulder and flung him bodily across the room.  Thomas hit the wall solidly and slid down; a dazed look on his face as Nathan helped Kristin fix her dress then pulled her into his arms.

 

“It’s okay, baby,” he soothed her as she trembled against him.  “We got everything we need.  It’s all over now.”

 

Thomas struggled to his feet.  “You…what are you doing here?  Kristin…I don’t understand…” he shook his head again, trying without success to clear the cobwebs away.

 

“You bastard!” Kristin’s voice was like ice as she addressed him.  “I knew that you were the one who ordered Nathan infected but we had to get proof.”

 

“Proof?  You have nothing.  I’ll never admit anything.”

 

“You don’t have to.  We got your complete admission on tape.” Bill Noyce’s voice came from the doorway where he stood.

 

“I’ll be right back.” Kristin whispered to Nathan and moved away from his side to enter the bathroom.

 

“What are you going to do with that?”  Noyce asked.

 

“Nothing…at the moment.  However, I am going to make some recommendations to the governing council about a few realignments in duties.  Your area of interest will no longer include the seaQuest.  Furthermore, you will immediately close down your research program.”

 

“And if I refuse?”

 

“Then this gets sent to everyone who matters.  I am sure that your wife might find the video interesting, along with the review board that we will convene to hear charges of sexual misconduct.  By offering Doctor Westphalen any funding she needs in exchange for her sexual favors you committed the classic definition of sexual harassment.”

 

“You wouldn’t!” Thomas stuttered, shocked. 

 

“Try me,” Bill answered quietly, his voice hard as steel.

 

“You okay?” Nathan murmured to Kristin as she returned to his side and moved into his embrace.  She nodded and wrapped an arm around him.  He noticed that her neck and chest were damp and that she’d refastened her dress.

 

“It’s that simple?” Thomas asked.  “I stop the program and don’t make any waves when the seaQuest is removed from my jurisdiction.  I don’t suffer at all?”

 

“Well…” Nathan smiled sardonically, “ for what you’ve done I think there should be a little suffering involved.  We performed a little slight of hand with your spiked drink tonight.  Instead of Kristin ingesting your little addition you got it.  So now I guess you are all hyped up and have no one help you out of your predicament.”

 

“You’ll have first hand knowledge of the effects of your little drug, so be sure to take notes.” Kristin added sarcastically.  “Now I would like for you to leave my room.”

 

Thomas remained in place, staring at the group in front of him.  “You…you switched the drinks…”

 

“You tried to slip Kristin something; we were watching.  My guess was she was going to be your next guinea pig.  We arranged to have the drinks swapped so you ingested your own concoction.  So go…have fun.”

 

Nathan stepped away from Kristin to grab Thomas’ arm and propel him toward the door.  “Admiral Noyce will be in touch.”

 

“But…but…what am I supposed to do?” Thomas glanced down at the large bulge in his trousers.  “How am I…?”

 

Nathan grinned sarcastically.  “There is an all night drug store down the street.  Might I suggest a tube of Bengay because your hand is gonna be awfully tired come morning.”  He slammed the door in Thomas’ face.

 

“What do we do about the General now?” Kristin asked as Nathan returned to her side.

 

“We do nothing.  Bill has a security detail watching to make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble until the drug wears off then we all go back to work.  The only difference is that Bill will be keeping a close eye on the General’s involvement with the UEO navy and I suspect that Thomas’ research teams will be disbanded, assigned other duties.”

 

“Speaking of which, I’d better get those recordings from Lucas and make sure they are in secure hands.  I will see the two of you in the morning.”  Bill waved and disappeared through the door to the adjoining room.

 

“Lucas?  Lucas is in there?  He saw that display? Oh God.  He’s just a child, Nathan.  If Thomas had succeeded in getting my dress off…”

 

“But he didn’t,” Nathan turned Kristin into his body as he softly soothed her.  “Lucas knew what we were doing.” ~ He knew what we were doing last night, too, but there is no way in hell I’m gonna tell you he saw that! ~

 

Finally Kristin lifted her head and gazed around the room.  “I can’t stay here…not after this.  I’ll have to ask the management for another room.”

 

“Hey, I know a lonely sailor who’s got a really big bed in his room.  He wouldn’t mind sharing it with you at all.” Kristin laughed at Nathan’s lecherous grin.  “Did you really think that there was a chance in hell of you sleeping alone tonight, my love?  I understand if you don’t want to…not after that…but at least let me hold you.”

 

Kristin smiled brilliantly.  “I’d like that.  And I don’t think that there will be any problem…I want you to wipe his touch away.”

 

Nathan caressed her cheek.  “Why don’t you gather up a few things…Why don’t you pack all of your things and we will move them to my room?  I’ll go speak to Lucas, make sure he’s okay with everything, and be right back.  Just yell if you need me.”

 

Kristin nodded and, after a light kiss, moved to pull her suitcase out of the closet.  Nathan slipped through the door to the next room and raced for the phone. 

 

He quickly dialed the front desk.  “Yes…I need to speak to Liam…the bartender in the lounge…yes, now…”

 

*~*~*~*

 

Half an hour later Nathan deposited Kristin’s suitcases on the floor of his hotel room while she closed the door securely behind them.  He straightened and eyed her suspiciously as she approached him.

 

“Are you gonna slam me against the wall again?” He asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

 

“If you want me too,” she replied huskily. 

 

“Why don’t you get your night things together while I go and run a warm bath for you?”

 

Kristin smiled and nodded.  “That sounds heavenly.  I need to wash away…will you scrub my back?”

 

“And any other part you want scrubbed.”  He popped his eyebrows at her and disappeared into the bathroom.

 

By the time Kristin had retrieved her pale green nightgown and robe and moved toward the bathroom, Nathan was ready for her.  Steam rose from a mound of bubbles as water poured into the large tub.  Candles covered the vanity counter and soft jazz floated from a player in the corner, filling the room with music.

 

Nathan stood waiting by the tub, already stripped to his blue silk boxers.  He took Kristin’s robe and gown from her hands and hung them over a rail on the door. 

 

“Let me help you.” He gestured at the tiny stool in front of the vanity.  Kristin turned to face him as she sat down and Nathan knelt in front of her.  He carefully pulled off her shoes, smiling as he remembered the feel of them against his legs the night before.  He placed the black pumps against the wall then placing his hands on her knees; he ran them slowly up her thighs.

 

Nathan gasped when his fingers ran into bare skin above the tops of her thigh high stockings. 

 

“Oh, honey!” He gasped as his fingers deftly began unsnapping the garter straps.

 

“You like?” She questioned, her fingers drifting forward to ruffle his hair.

 

“Mmm, there is something about a woman in stockings…”

 

Kristin lifted her right leg slightly so that Nathan could carefully roll the silk stocking down her calf, his fingers stroking the flesh he was baring as he went.  He lingered over her foot, caressing her instep until a slight moan escaped her lips before repeating his actions on the other leg.  By the time that her legs were bared Kristin’s head had fallen back, eyes closed, breathing ragged.

 

Nathan trailed his fingers lightly over her thighs, as he stood then moved to her side.  He carefully pulled her dangling earrings from her ears then stroked the delicate lobes.  One by one the pins holding her hair in place surrendered to his gently tug until her hair fell in a fiery cloud around her shoulders.  He scattered the pins across the vanity surface then ran his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp and temples.  Kristin sighed contentedly.

 

After a few minutes Nathan removed his fingers and moved to grasp her hand.  She smiled languidly as he pulled her to her feet and turned her to lower her zipper.  Kristin stood motionless as Nathan slid the garment down her arms, over her hips and to the floor.   She stepped out of it and watched silently while Nathan carefully hung the dress on the back of the door.

 

Nathan turned back to her and stared, drinking in the sight of her standing before him.  The delicate lace of her skimpy pushup bra and bikini panties did little to hide her from his gaze.  Kristin blushed under his scrutiny, her skin turning a delicate shade of pink.   A knowing smile crossed her lips as she watched Nathan’s boxers begin to tent.

 

A bubbly laugh left his lips as he moved back to her.  “None of that…at least not yet.”  He moved behind her and pulled her flush against his body then moved to the front clasp of her bra.  The garment fell apart; Kristin whimpering as Nathan’s hands cupped her breasts and squeezed firmly. 

 

“No…” she whispered as he released her aching mounds. 

 

“Patience, my love.  Just relax…feel my hands on your body…no one’s hands but mine ever again.”

 

“Oh, yes…” Kristin gasped as Nathan’s hands slid beneath the sides of her panties and slowly lowered them.  When they hit the floor he stepped back and stripped her bra down her arms, leaving her there in nothing but her pearl necklace.

 

One arm moved to cradle her back and the other reached beneath her knees to scoop her into his arms.  Nathan moved the few steps toward the tub then stooped and slowly lowered her feet into the warm water, her body sliding down his as he did so.  His knees bent as he continued down, lowering Kristin until she was seated in the mass of bubbles.

 

“Water okay?” He asked as he released her.

 

“Mmm…perfect.” She murmured, savoring the scent of the relaxing lavender bubble bath.

 

Nathan’s hands moved to her neck, his fingers deftly unfastening the clasp of her pearls and removing them.  He grabbed a rolled up towel and laid it against the back of the tub to support Kristin’s neck.  Once she was comfortable he handed her a glass of chilled white wine and grabbed one for himself then sat on the floor beside the tub staring at her.

 

Kristin took a long sip of the wine then dropped the hand holding the glass back over the side of the tub.  “You are an amazing man,” she whispered as she stared at her lover.  “When did you find time to do this?”

 

“Liam, the bartender…the roses man…I told him what I wanted and he had it waiting in here when we arrived.  I sat everything up while you were getting your things.”

 

“You are going to owe that young man a fortune.”

 

“Worth every penny.  But you are the amazing one.  The way you kept your cool and got that information out of Thomas…Bill was bodily barricading the door to keep me from ripping it off its hinges and beating the shit out of him.  But you hung in there and got the information.”

 

Kristin smiled sexily.  “I was a big fan of Mission Impossible.  I learned my technique from Cinnamon Carter.”

 

“So you are both sugar and spice.” Nathan grinned and took a sip of wine.

 

“I thought you were going to wash my back.” Kristin asked quietly after a few moments of soothing silence. 

 

Nathan took another sip of his wine then returned the glass to the countertop.  He sat up on his knees as he moved to the end of the tub and placed his hands on her shoulders.  Kristin’s head fell forward slightly as he worked the muscles of her neck; she pulled it back with great effort.

 

“Kiss me, Nathan.” Her lips pursed toward him and he quickly dropped his face to hers.

 

Kristin’s hand slid up and around his neck to hold him to her as their lips meshed together.  Nathan’s hands slid beneath the bubbles to wrap around her chest as the kiss deepened.

 

“Join me.” Kristin pleaded as their lips parted.

 

Nathan stood and stripped off his boxers then stepped over the side of the tub.  He stared down at Kristin, the swell of her breasts rising above the blanket of bubbles and his already hard erection bobbed against his stomach.

 

Kristin stretched her torso up until the hard tips of her rosy nipples were peeking through the suds.  She smiled saucily and lifted her right knee up toward her chest then tossed her calf over the side of the tub.   Nathan’s breath was expelled forcibly as he imagined the image that lay just beneath the effervescent soap.

 

He lowered himself into the water, sitting back on his knees so that he was facing Kristin.  He reached out and grabbed a thick wash cloth and the bar of scented soap with a grin on his face.  As he moved to lower them into the water Kristin’s hand reached out to stop him.  She flipped the washcloth over the side of the tub and shook her head as she smiled.

 

Nathan nodded in understanding and lowered his bare hands into the water, wetting the soap then pulling back out to work up a thick lather in his palms.  He laid the bar back in its dish then reached for the foot Kristin had thrown casually over the side of the tub.  Strong fingers soaped the sole of the limb, working carefully between each toe before moving over ankle and calf, stopping only when he reached her knee.  He lowered her leg into the water beside him and rinsed it carefully before turning and repeating his movements on the other leg.

 

“You are very good with your hands.” Kristin gasped as his soapy hands dove beneath the water to carefully wash her thighs.

 

Nathan just grinned and lathered once again before moving on to her abdomen.  Kristin’s head fell back against the towel pillow, her eyes closing and her back arching, as her blood began to hum with desire.

 

Nathan drew a thumb along the line of her cheek as he stared at her.  “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life.” He whispered as her eyes fluttered open.  Her gaze was dreamy as she turned into his hand to kiss his palm.

 

“You are the most handsome man, the most caring man, I have ever known.”

 

“I will never let you be put in that position again.  I shouldn’t have let that bastard paw you.”

 

“According to Bill you almost killed him trying to get to me.  I would do anything for you, Nathan.  I love you.”

 

Nathan picked up the soap and coated his hands once more then dropped them to Kristin’s shoulders.  “I love you.  I can’t stand the thought of any other man ever seeing you like this…touching you like this.” His hands slid sensuously down her chest, lingering over the area that Thomas had groped with his mouth before sliding down around her breasts.

 

“Nath… an!”  Kristin’s voice caught in her throat as a wave of pleasure washed through her body.  “Oh please…no more…”

 

He watched her hand tighten around the stem of the wineglass as her torso pulsed into his touch.  Kristin whimpered as Nathan’s hands left her body but he murmured soothing words as he carefully unwrapped her fingers from the goblet and placed it on the ledge then returned to her breasts.

 

“Look.” He whispered to her.

 

Kristin glanced down to find that the bubbles had begun to dissipate under the heavy influx of soap, allowing her to see through the thin covering into the water below.  The position of Nathan’s hands wrapped around her full breasts drew her gaze lower to where his rigid staff hovered just above the vee of her legs.

 

“I want you.” Kristin begged as Nathan’s thumb and forefinger worked over her straining nipples

 

Her left knee rose, pressed against the cool porcelain of the tub as Nathan worked his hands forward down the sides of the tub until he was directly over Kristin then pressed his body down into hers.  Her arms moved to wrap around his shoulders as he locked one arm around her waist and used the other to steady them.

 

“You know, we are probably gonna drown.” He whispered against the curve of her neck.

 

“Umm…or get the floor very very wet.” Her hips pushed up against him, his massive rod riding between her blooming folds.  The water began to undulate around them, matching the movements of their hips.

 

Nathan felt Kristin’s hand on his bottom and shifted slightly, allowing her to push his engorged member into place.  He thrust quickly, the soapy water providing added lubrication as he slid into her slick sheath.

 

At first Nathan thought the drop of wetness on his cheek was a splash from the water around them but then another hit and he pulled up to see tears falling from Kristin’s eyes.

 

“Baby?” He froze then began to withdraw from her body, unwilling to force his attentions on her if they were unwelcome.  She wrapped her hands around his bottom and pushed him back into place.

 

“I was scared…when he kissed my breast…I was afraid of what I would have to do to get him to talk…of what you would do to him.  His touch made me feel…dirty somehow.  I only want your touch.”

 

“He’ll never touch you again.  I never want any man to touch you but me…you belong to me.” Nathan’s voice was rife with possessiveness.  “I want you with me always.”

 

“No other woman will ever touch you.  We belong to each other.”

 

“Always!” Nathan reinforced his words with his mouth, his lips and tongue caressing the upper swell of her breast, wiping the feel of Thomas away once and for all while he branded her with his own touch.  Her head fell back once again as her chest thrust upward, hard peaks breaking the thin bubble barrier.  The towel behind her head fell unheeded into the water as Kristin pulled Nathan’s head up to hers and attacked his lips ravenously.

 

The water began to cool around them as they moved against each other but neither noticed, so caught up in their passion were they.  Water lapped at the side of the tub and eventually swept over the side to flood the floor.  Their moans filled the room, echoing off the tiled surfaces as their slow burning passion sparked into something more.  Nathan pressed his feet into the end of the tub for added leverage and began to push forcibly into Kristin’s warmth.

 

One of Kristin’s hands shot back to hang on to the edge of the tub as she wrapped her legs tightly around Nathan’s hips.  The intensity of her orgasm shocked them both; she came without warning; one minute she was moaning softly the next screaming his name as her world turned upside down.  Her body locked, her inner muscles binding Nathan’s rampant erection, milking it until he joined her in a heaven of their own making.

 

Their bodies turned sideways as they slid down into the tub, managing to stop as the water lapped at their necks.  Kristin’s eyelids fluttered open, a sated look in her brown orbs. 

 

“Have I mentioned this evening how very much I love you?”

 

“Once or twice but I will never get tired of hearing it…or of returning the sentiment.  I love you, woman…my woman.”  Nathan leaned forward slightly to nuzzle her cheek.

 

“My man…I think we are going to have to sleep here because I certainly can’t move.”

 

“Just give me a minute to recuperate…your evening isn’t over yet, my love.”

 

“Mmm…dinner?”

 

Nathan laughed.  “I might arrange to have food delivered at some point.  We both need to keep up our strength.”

 

Nathan levered his body out of the water and stepped out of the tub, grabbing a towel and running it over his legs before reaching down to pull Kristin into his arms.  He rubbed the towel over Kristin’s skin until it glowed bright pink then tucked it around her body, grabbing another one to wrap around her damp hair.

 

“Why don’t you get dressed while I go order dinner?”  Nathan placed a light kiss on her forehead then exited the room.

 

Kristin emerged from the bathroom about ten minutes later to find Nathan lying naked on his side in the middle of the bed; his head propped on his hand.  His eyes roamed over her body, encased in the almost sheer green silk of her gown and robe.

 

“You’re looking at me like I am dinner.” Kristin laughed.

 

“Well…most definitely desert.  I’m thinking…in that color green…key lime pie.  So sweet and yet a lovely tang, too.” 

 

“My…someone is feeling very energetic again.”  Kristin cooed as Nathan reached a hand out to her and pulled her onto the bed with him.

 

“You don’t know the half of it, my love.  Dinner should be here in about ten minutes.”

 

“And…” Kristin asked.

 

“And…after dinner…number four!”

 

Kristin’s laughter was quickly smothered as they sank to the bed, limbs wrapped around each other in a passionate embrace.

 

~fin

 

Want to find out exactly what steps Kristin used to cure her captain?  Read the prequel… “In Need of a Cure”

 

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