Blood of My Heart, Beloved of my Soul
Chapter 15
Hello, I Love You
Jacob Carter rapped on the side of the open doorway. He still had problems with the openness and lack of privacy in private chambers. He was lobbying the Council for some type of covering, but it wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon. They hadn’t needed doors in thousands of years, why would they need them now?
No one answered his light knock, so he entered only to see Martouf standing quite still in the middle of his room with what looked to be a shirt in his hands. He was staring with vacant eyes at the crystalline structure of the wall. Jacob cleared his throat. When that didn’t work, he tried again a little louder. He finally realized that his friend was in some faraway place that discreet throat clearing could not reach; he tried another tack. “Martouf.” Okay, once more. “Martouf!”
“A-a-a-ck!” Martouf whirled around towards the person who
was yelling. “Jacob, why are you
speaking so loudly?” Martouf’s brow furrowed,
as he pondered the unusual action.
Jacob hid a smile, as he answered, exasperated, “I’ve
been attempting to get your attention for the last five minutes. Where the hell were you, anyway?"
Martouf flushed, before Lantash could
prevent it. “I was, uh, thinking.”
Looking at Martouf’s face, Jacob
decided not to pursue the questioning.
“Never mind, I don’t think I want to know.” Nodding to the shirt in his hands, he
questioned, “Aren’t you ready to go yet?
You’ve already had three days to pack.”
“It has occurred to me, Jacob, that
perhaps we do not have the proper attire for a prolonged stay on earth. It might be better if I remained here for the
time being and just…” his voice trailed off and he sighed, again staring, but
this time at the shirt in his hands.
Jacob snorted. Now what was eating at his friend? Maybe they should have gone right away
instead of taking the three days rest first.
Martouf looked as if he hadn’t been sleeping well. Evidently, instead of relaxing, Martouf had
worked himself into a state of tension. Moreover,
why wasn’t Lantash helping him?
“Perhaps Lantash is as
nervous as Martouf, Jacob. Samantha has
given neither of them a great deal of encouragement. Samantha, Martouf,
and Lantash are all confused and unsure of the feelings of the other. Samantha has the added burden of dealing with
the remnants of Jolinar’s memories.”
Jacob nodded to Selmak. “You’re
right Selmak. So, what do we do for
them? Martouf, at least, seems to be
obsessing about that shirt.” Selmak looked thoughtfully at the man standing
in front of them. He saw Martouf’s eyes
glow.
“We will be ready shortly, Jacob. It is difficult to know what to take with us
for this extended a visit. It is not as
if we will need our uniform every day,” He said, as he folded the offending
shirt and put it with the meager pile on the bed.
Jacob strode to the small room adjacent
to their quarters where they stored their few possessions and clothing. Every Tok’Ra had one. He threw open the lid to a large trunk and
proceeded to pull out clothing. Lantash
was correct. Most were not appropriate
for Earth.
Then he came across what looked to be a
garment similar in make to a smoking jacket, and it had a matching pair of
black satin pants. He tossed those to
Lantash, who caught them
and looked at them in confusion.
They had been a gift from a grateful
old man on a planet where they had been able to help stop the Goa’uld. The old man had given them to him and told
him to keep them for his mate to enjoy.
Lantash had forgotten all about them.
“Those will do for something to relax
in during the evenings,” Jacob informed him.
“I can’t believe I’m
giving them clothes to help seduce my own daughter,” Jacob grumbled to Selmak.
“You are doing very well,
Jacob. See if there is anything else
useful in there,” Selmak
urged him. There was.
“Where’d you get this, Lantash?” Jacob asked, as he held up a beautifully embroidered white shirt. It looked very much like something a pirate,
or perhaps a poet, of long ago might have worn.
The front opened in a very deep v and had leather lacing. The sleeves were long and full with long
tight cuffs. It was the type of shirt
that women loved and men looked askance at.
“It is part of a disguise I had to wear
on a mission once. There should be a
pair of pants to go with it.”
Sure enough, under some odds and ends,
he found them. Jacob remembered an
historical flick he and his wife had once seen where the leading man had worn
pants just like this. Made of soft
suede, they looked as if they would fit like a second skin. He frowned for a moment. What was that color? Buff?
No. Not really brown, either. Fawn.
That was it. He remembered his
wife calling those pants the actor had worn fawn. Yup, fawn.
He grinned. Sam would love
them. With another internal grin, he
tossed the outfit to Lantash who looked at them with something very like
distaste on his face.
“This is appropriate to wear on earth,
Jacob?” Lantash asked, warily.
Jacob relented. “Well, I wouldn’t wear them out in public,
but they’ll be fine as long as you are just sitting around the house. Trust me on this, Lantash; women really like
those types of clothes. And, before the
question even makes it out of your mouth, No, I don’t understand it, and I don’t know why,” he answered, as he saw the questions forming. Lantash looked puzzled, but acquiesced.
Other than the robe-like clothing the
Tok’Ra seemed to favor, there was nothing else in the trunk. Jacob looked at one robe that could have been
worn by a sheik. Somehow, he could not picture the dark blonde, silvery-blue eyed
Martouf in it. He put it back. Maybe next time.
After replacing the clothes, Jacob
turned his attention to the pile of belongings on the bed. When he came to a small item wrapped in a
small square of velvet, he carelessly set it aside. As he did so, a ring fell out. Jacob let out a whistle. “Lantash,” he began.
“You did say that the Tau’ri
presentation of a ring is a ritual that couples who wish to become mated
participate in, Jacob. Is something
about it incorrect?” Martouf had reassumed
control and he sounded distinctly anxious.
“Well, Sel, now we know
what’s wrong with him…he’s sweating bullets because he’s going to propose to
Sam. I guess it doesn’t matter what
species you are, when it’s time to try to take a mate the male gets crazy.”
Jacob was amused. “You are enjoying this a little too much,
Jacob. I will remind you of this should
we ever decide to ask a bonding of Jocasta and Daur’rin.” Jacob frowned.
“There is something incorrect with it,
is there not? I was not sure it was
appropriate at the time, and now I have…”
“Whoa, slow down, Martouf. I was talking to Selmak that’s all. I’d like to have another look if you don’t
mind.”
Martouf cleared his throat nervously,
and then placed the ring in Jacob’s outstretched hand. Jacob looked at what, on earth, would be an
extremely expensive bauble, lying in the palm of his hand. It certainly was a beautiful thing. Sapphires and blue topaz stones surrounded a
large Marquis-cut diamond. The matching
band was ablaze with more of all three of the stones. Both rings were made of intricately woven
gold.
“I know you said that you gave your
mate a diamond, but I had hoped it would be acceptable to add the blue
stones. She has blue eyes and I, that
is, I thought,…” his voice trailed off once again and he looked faintly
miserable.
Jacob lightly touched the rings, and then said, “They’re perfect,
Martouf, so stop worrying. It’s a
beautiful set of rings. The type of
stone is a personal preference. There is
no rule that says it must be a diamond.
I think she’ll love it, because it’s beautiful, yes, but she’ll love it
because you thought about it and chose it for her based on her eyes. Be sure you tell her that, women like that
kind of stuff and, since it’s true, it’ll be great.”
“Why would I tell her if it was not
true, Jacob?” Martouf asked, obviously confused.
Jacob shook his head and sighed. “Never mind, Martouf, just trust me on
this. You’d better put that in your
pouch. You’re gonna lose it carrying it
loose like that.”
Martouf took it and opened the piece of
velvet to re-wrap the ring and a necklace fell out. Again, he blushed before Lantash could stop
it. Jacob picked it up, looked at it and
nodded. Sam would like this, too.
Sapphire and topaz stones surrounding a Marquis cut diamond were set in
intricately woven gold and were a perfect match for the ring. “Stop stressing yourself over this. She’ll love them both.”
“Thank you, Jacob.” Martouf stopped, and Jacob waited knowing he had more
to say, “I am sure that you see no reason for my trepidation, but I feel that
Samantha is very unsure of how she feels about us. I know there are some very real reasons she
could reject us.”
“Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever
known a man that wasn’t scared out of his mind at the idea of asking a woman to
marry him, er, bond with him. I’m not
going to give you platitudes. You do
have some strikes against you. Sam’s
confused. We both know that, but I think
this time with you will help her decide.
For what it’s worth, I hope she says yes to you,” he added, gruffly.
“Come on, we still have to figure out
what clothes you need to take.” Jacob
once more started to go through the clothes.
He sighed, “Looks like it’s a choice of whether you should take the
brown uniform or the brown uniform. I’d
take several changes, then those black t-shirts you keep holding, and the BDU
pants. We’ll get you some Tau’ri clothes
when we get there. Jeans, slacks,
shirts. You can leave them at Sam’s when
we come back.”
Martouf looked at him and told him
quietly, but sincerely, “Thank you, Jacob.”
Jacob grinned at him, “Well, if we want
to get there today, I had
to do something.” Again, he went into
the closet, this time to pull out a small trunk. The two men packed Martouf and Lantash’s
belongings in it and turned to leave the room.
As they walked down the crystal corridor towards the ring transporter,
they saw Garshaw in the distance coming toward them.
Garshaw nodded to a Tok’Ra named
Torleck who was standing in the corridor and reading something on a small hand
held viewer. Jacob and Martouf moved
past him and came up to Garshaw.
“Jacob, you are leaving, now?” She smiled slightly at them. “We will hope that your visit on earth and
your time with your grandchildren is pleasant.”
“Martouf and I are looking forward to a
nice relaxing visit. If nothing pressing
comes up we may even extend it for a month.”
He grinned at her, “I’d like to spend some time with Sam, as well as
with my grandkids and son. You can
always contact us, if you need us for anything.”
“Certainly. I do not see your stay as being a
problem. As you say, should something
come up, we will contact you. It is not
often you both can go to the Tau’ri with no mission to go on or information to
gather.” Yosef came forward, and said, “You and Martouf have both
been very busy almost nonstop for months, Jacob. We truly hope you have a nice time. You need the time off. Both of you.”
“Thanks, Garshaw,Yosef. We will.”
He nodded as he and Martouf continued toward the rings. Torleck followed them at a discreet distance,
but still within hearing range.
“Jacob, you are taking nothing with
you?” Martouf asked, as he realized that the only chest
they had was his.
“No.
I keep clothes at Sam’s. No point
in having them here, I wouldn’t wear them.
I’ll change into something after we get there and then take you shopping
for some good old fashioned blue jeans.”
“What are these blue Jeans,
Jacob?
“Standard casual dress for the
Tau’ri. You’ll like them. Everyone does.” The two men stopped at the rings and transported
to the surface moments later.
Torleck was elated. They had no idea that Bastet was planning
anything. He could tell his master that
the little problems that kept delaying the finishing of the fleet were simply
inconveniences. They would be completely
unprepared. Two of their most trusted
people were off on a visit to the Tau’ri.
This time there was no one to interfere.
The Tok’Ra would be destroyed.
Once on the surface, Jacob turned to
Martouf, “Well, we’re almost there. I’m
beginning to get a bad feeling about this, but I don’t know why. If something really important was going on
they wouldn’t have been willing to wait for three weeks for us.” He sounded perplexed.
“I, also, am having some odd feelings,
Jacob. I had put them down to the
situation with Samantha, but I am not so sure that is what they are,” Lantash
had come forward to discuss his uneasiness with Jacob. “I feel like we are going into something
larger, but I do not know what. As you
say, the Tau’ri would have notified us if there was something important going
on.” His feelings of disquiet were
obvious to Jacob.
“We’ll know in a few minutes, Lantash,”
he said, as they
approached the Chaappa’ai. He watched as
Lantash input the glyphs for earth and came to stand beside him.
Jacob turned to him, and said quietly, “Listen, when we arrive, if Sam is there, I’m gonna ask her to take you to her lab or something. I want to talk to George about getting her some time off while you are there. You may as well use the time to your advantage. You understand?”
Lantash answered readily, “Perfectly, Jacob. You wish us to begin our, ah, courtship, of Samantha immediately. We will do our best.”
Martouf took control, and said, "We have an acceptance of our IDC.”
“Great. Let’s do it,” Jacob replied, as they both stepped into the pool of shimmering blue light.
Kataya
and Daniel had only been gone for fifteen minutes, and already, Sam was pacing
her lab. It did no good to sit down; she
would just jump up again after a minute or so.
She had tried several times to bring Jolinar’s emotions forward into her
mind and to feel them. She couldn’t do
it. It was almost frightening. If Martouf and Lantash came with her dad, she
would know, once and for all, if any of the emotions she felt when she was with
them were really hers. She decided to
head for the control room. At least
then, she’d be present when her dad arrived, and she’d know immediately whether
Martouf and Lantash were with him.
It didn’t take her long to arrive, and
no one paid much attention to her, so she made herself comfortable at a
computer terminal. Maybe she’d run a few
diagnostics and that would keep her busy.
Suddenly the klaxons were going off.
She held her breath. Unscheduled
off word activation. She got up to stand
behind Sergeant Davis.
“Is there a code, Sergeant?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It’s the Tok’Ra.”
“Open the iris, Sergeant Davis.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said, but he was
talking to air. Sam was almost in the
Gate Room already.
As she halted at the bottom of the ramp,
her thoughts raced in circles in her head.
This was it. Whatever she felt if
he came through the gate would be her emotions, no one else’s. I swear, she thought to herself, if they come
and I feel the same desire and love I usually do, I am taking them to lunch in
my room...and they are the appetizer, the main course, and the dessert.
Her eyes searched the event horizon
anxiously. Two figures stepped
through. One was her father. The other was…oh, god, Sam thought, as she began to smile. The other is the men I love.
Martouf’s breath caught in his
throat. Samantha was smiling at
him. Really smiling. And, her eyes were saying something, but he
was afraid to really believe it. It was
a dream, he was sure. He expected to awaken at any moment in the
middle of it, as he has
been doing for the last three nights. Of
course, Jacob had never been in one of his dreams before.
“Hey, Kiddo. How’s my girl?”
Sam turned to her dad. “I’m fine, dad. You look good. Rested.”
“Yeah, we took a couple of days to rest
after our last mission, since George said there wasn’t any rush.” He gave her a big hug and hailed General
Hammond as he came through the door, “George.
Good to see you.”
“Hello Jacob. I’m glad you’re both here.”
Jacob sobered, “That tone doesn’t sound
like we came for something unimportant, George.”
General Hammond nodded, “As of
yesterday afternoon, the status of our meeting changed from pleasant
information sharing to critical operations.
Come on, I’ll give you a quick briefing before we all gather.”
George Hammond sighed, “Airman, we have
more people and luggage to accommodate.”
“More people and luggage, George?”
“Yes.
And it’s only going to continue and get worse. I’ll explain in my office.”
Jacob nodded and turned to Sam, “Sam, take
care of Martouf for me for a while. I
have some personal things I need to discuss with George.”
Sam sent her dad a surprised look,
“Sure, okay, dad. No problem. I’ll take him to my quarters so he can be
comfortable until they get his quarters ready.
I assume the luggage means both of you are staying?” She sent an inquiring look to her father.
“Well, depending on what George has to
say, we had planned on at least three weeks,” Jacob said.
George Hammond spoke up quickly and
quietly, “You and Martouf need to plan on at least eight and maybe as many as
twelve weeks here, Jacob. The news isn’t
good. However, eight weeks of that is
lead time, which will allow us to get plans laid and, perhaps, even
implemented.” He led the way out of the
room and toward his office.
“I guess those feelings of uneasiness
were justified, Martouf. I assume from
what George said there will be a briefing.
I’ll call you at Sam’s quarters, or they’ll announce it.” Jacob turned and left to follow his old
friend.
“Samantha, what is going on?” Martouf asked, as soon as they were alone and walking toward her
room. Why was she taking him there? She always took him to her lab
“Martouf, I’d rather not try to explain
it. Please, can we just wait until the
briefing? It’s a very complicated
situation.”
“I will not ask any more questions if
you will answer only one for me.”
“All right. If I can without going into an
explanation.” She smiled up at him. “Here’s my room. Come inside.”
As Martouf walked farther into the room, Sam unobtrusively locked the
door. She didn’t want to be interrupted.
“What was your question?” She asked quickly, as she walked away from the door.
“Was General Hammond serious? Or is this some odd Tau’ri piece of humor?”
“That’s two questions. However, I’ll answer both. He’s deadly serious and it isn’t humorous at
all. You do need to plan on being here
for at least eight weeks,
minimum.”
It was Lantash who turned around, and said, “I do not know the reason,
but I will tell you that I am glad, Samantha.”
As Sam looked questioningly at him, he smiled the smile that never
failed to make her melt inside.
Moreover, she was happy to realize that it was indeed, Sam who was
melting, not Jolinar.
“Why are you glad, Lantash?” Sam asked, quietly, as she moved to stand
directly in front of him.
He cleared his throat, and looked down for a moment, before raising his head enough to look
at her in a gesture that was extremely endearing. He needed to stop smiling like that. She was going to kiss him if he didn’t.
“I, we, Martouf and I, have grown very
fond of you, Samantha,” Lantash said,
quietly, “and we would welcome the chance to become better acquainted with
you. We are hoping that you will someday
be able to separate your feelings for us from Jolinar’s.”
Sam stepped closer. She could smell the male scent of him. The scent she could now recognize as
Lantash. She had never realized before
that he had a scent all his own. Just as
Daniel did. Her breath caught. Just as Martouf did. How long had she been aware of that? She wondered idly if all men had a scent all
their own, and she just never paid attention to it. Probably, she thought.
Of its own volition, her hand came to
rest on his chest. She heard the quick
intake of his breath. Was he
surprised? She spread her fingers and
kneaded them gently into his chest.
“Samantha?” Lantash asked, somewhat dazedly.
“Yes, Lantash?” Her hand, again as if it had a mind of its
own, slowly found its way up and around his neck until it found the spot at the
base of the head it was looking for,
and she slowly began to stroke on either side of him. Hearing a strangled gasp, she looked up into
his face.
“Samantha, what are you doing?” Lantash finally managed to get out.
“Well, I hope I’m pleasuring you,” She
replied, her answer surprising her as much as him.
Lantash reached up to grab her wrist as
he stepped back from her,
and said, “You do not know what you are
doing, Samantha, you must stop.”
Sam again stepped closer to him, only for him to back up a step. One more step. Lantash was mesmerized by the look in those
beautiful blue eyes. He took another
step back and immediately tumbled onto the bed.
Samantha smiled and followed him down to lie beside him.
As she lowered her head, she saw the
look of wonder that came to rest on his face.
She was going to enjoy this; no wonder men enjoyed seducing women so
much. It was a heady feeling.
She rolled him onto his side facing her
and her other hand found the spot on his back that Kat had said could drive the
symbiote to lose all reason if you continued to do it. They didn’t have time for that of course, but
they had time for some other things.
She heard a deep moan come from his
throat; suddenly she was on her back, and he was lying with one of his legs
over her holding her down. There was no
mistaking the hard ridge that was pressing into her hip. Feeling what she had done to him was increasing
her own arousal. She wanted him.
He grabbed her hands and held her wrists
pinned on either side of her head.
“Samantha, what are you doing? Why are you doing this? Do you have any idea what will happen if you
continue with what you were doing? I will
not be able to control myself.” Looking
suddenly hurt, Lantash asked her, “Is this some type of game you are playing?”
“This is no game, Lantash. I’m not asking you to control yourself. You're always so restrained with me. So careful.
I won’t break and you won’t scare me away if you show some emotion. I need to know if you are, or could be, more
than fond of me if we are to go forward with this.”
“And what of you, Samantha? The only thing you have ever told me is that
you are afraid your feelings are not yours and you will not get involved unless
you can sort them out. What do you want
from me? Am I supposed to give you the
words so you can throw them back at me?”
He asked angrily. “If emotion is
truly what you want, I can show it to you, but I cannot promise it will not
frighten you. Shall we see if you truly want
what you seem to be asking of me? Are
you really ready to accept a man’s passion for a woman?” He ground out.
As the last word left his mouth, he
rolled on top of her pushing her down into the bed with his weight. His mouth lowered to hers and his kiss was no
gentle exploration; it was an assault on her senses. She struggled, wanting to touch him, and that
seemed to inflame him more. His mouth
ravished her lips first, drinking in the sweetness of them, and then the
softness of her throat.
He released her wrists, only to use his
hands to pull her t-shirt free and push it up under her arms, exposing her
breasts still covered in an odd piece of cloth.
It was a flimsy piece of nothing and ripped easily in his hands. His mouth immediately sought her
nipples. Knowing she would begin to
fight any moment, nonetheless, he continued to ravish those buds, to suckle and
then bite them.
He filled his hands with the fullness
of her breasts,
alternately squeezing and rubbing them.
Moving his mouth to the top of her breast, he sucked until a bruise appeared and then moved to give
the other the same rough, but erotic treatment.
As the matching mark appeared, he moved back to her nipples, which had
turned into hard pebbles of need. He
ravished them again and again, alternating licking and suckling, with gentle
nips and light bites.
His hips started a steady rhythm,
rocking his hardened member against the apex of her thighs, where he lay
cradled. She wrapped her legs around him
tightly and met each of his thrusts with one of her own. She moaned in frustration…why, oh, why hadn’t
they taken these damned clothes off? She
wondered feverishly.
Suddenly, he realized what he was
doing….and what she was not doing. She
wasn’t fighting him; she was encouraging him.
She was holding his head to her breasts as she moaned their names
repeatedly. One hand was stroking his
neck rhythmically. He sat up dragging
her with him. His breathing was ragged
and his face was strained.
“Samantha.” He shook her slightly. “What does this mean? What are you doing?”
Sam realized she wasn’t being fair. She would like him to declare himself first
so she was safe and secure in the knowledge before she had to say it. However, she had given him little or no
reason to think she might care for him in return. Okay, it was time for that Carter courage to
come forward.
Sam sighed and closed her eyes for a
moment. When she opened them, she took his face gently in her hands
and looked directly at him
“Lantash, Martouf, I love you. Both of you.”
She held her breath as she watched him.
He closed his eyes and bowed his head.
Martouf came forward.
“We do not understand, Samantha.” Martouf looked bewildered.
“I’m sure you don’t. Look, I’ve known for a long time that I care
about you, I’ve just not been sure if what I was feeling was being,” she paused, trying to find the correct words,
“made stronger by Jolinar’s memories or if they were all mine. Today, when you walked through the gate, I
knew. I’ll tell you everything later, I
promise. I wish I had time to explain it
all now, but I don’t. For now, please, just believe me, that today, I knew,
without a doubt that I, Samantha Carter, love both of you.” She looked at him waiting to see what, if
any, response he would make.
“Martouf, I wish to take
control, please. I must apologize for my behavior,” Lantash was vehement in his anxiety.
“I agree. Please do so.” Martouf was just as anxious not to
spoil this moment with their previous behavior.
As Martouf’s eyes flashed, indicating
that Lantash was taking control,
Sam smiled at him. She could almost read
his mind already. She placed her fingers
over his lips and then leaned to press her lips to his in a swift gentle
caress. “Please, don’t apologize. You did nothing to apologize for. I should have talked to you first, instead of allowing my feelings to get
the better of me. I’m the one who should
apologize for my behavior, not you.”
Lantash motioned towards Sam’s chest
saying, “But, I ripped your, er, clothing.
That was inexcusable and I must apologize. My only defense is that we have been thinking
of being with you in this way for months, and the last few days thoughts of you
like this have been almost constant.
When you started caressing me in that manner, I lost my control. I am sorry if I frightened you in any way,
Samantha. I will promise that it will
never happen again.”
Sam chuckled lightly and then smiled at
him. “Please, don’t promise that. I found it very, um, stimulating to know that
I could do that to you. It was a very
revealing look at myself and I liked what I saw, Lantash. I liked it very much.” By the end of her speech, Sam was blushing
furiously. She clasped her hands to her
cheeks as she shook her head. I can’t believe
I’m telling you these things.” She
straightened and looked at him. “But,
they’re true. I do feel that way, and I
do love you and hope that someday you will come to love me the same way.”
Lantash stared at Samantha unable to
speak. “Tell her, Lantash. Do not just
sit there. Tell her! Give me control. I will tell her.” Lantash never had the chance to do Martouf’s
bidding. Samantha had reached down and
stripped her t-shirt over her head. “Then again, perhaps you should continue for
the time being.” Martouf gasped as if he could not breath. Sam proceeded to remove her bra and go over
to her bureau for another one.
“What is that?” Lantash finally managed to say in a strangled
voice. Sam stared at him. It had never occurred to her that he would
not know what a bra was. “It’s a bra.”
“What is its purpose?”
“It, um, it’s for, you know, support.”
“Support of what?” He wanted to know.
“My, um, my breasts.” Sam stumbled through the answer.
“Why?
You have no need of such support, Samantha. Your breasts are quite firm and beautiful.”
Sam blushed a fiery red. “That may be, but it’s, um, uncomfortable if,
say, I have to run or something. It
keeps them from, well, from bouncing, you know, which can, um, it can sort of
hurt.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m standing here half naked
talking about body parts and underwear as if it’s a perfectly normal topic of
conversation,” she finally mumbled.
“Tell her. Tell her now before she changes her mind.”
Martouf was practically screaming at Lantash.
“All right, all right.”
“We love you, too.” Lantash suddenly blurted out. “Will you bond with us?”
“Not yet, it is too
soon. Take it back,” Martouf coached.
“Would you like to take
over?” Lantash shot
back.
“Yes.” Came the immediate reply.
Martouf came forward and started to try
to fix any damage Lantash might have done.
“Are you asking me to sleep with
you?” Sam asked suddenly. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to answer
the question if it was something a little more serious, although she suspected
that if he was asking something else she’d say yes to that, too.
“Yes.”
“All right. You can stay with me tonight.” Finally getting her clothes back on and
arranged she walked toward him. “Would
you like to practice until time for the briefing?” She asked with a smile that was unconsciously
seductive.
Martouf was sure he was going to
embarrass himself in some way. He
swallowed nervously. Lantash was not
offering to come forward. He watched as
his hands reached for her of their own accord.
They clasped her securely on either side of her waist. He watched as they slowly drew her
closer. As they continued to lead his
arms to bring her closer, to bring her in snuggly to fit sweetly to the length
of him, he finally found his voice.
“Yes,” he breathed, as he lowered his lips to hers.
TBC