Chapter Seven: Sara
Sara distinctly remembered her attempts at seducing Bond while the scorpion poison was working its way out of her system. It had lasted for a full three days, the withdrawals another week, as she lay shivering and vomiting. She wasn't sure what was more embarrassing, stripping naked and dancing on the table while singing Britney Spears songs, or vomiting all over Bond as he tried to get her to drink some soup broth. Either way, he was extraordinarily patient about the whole thing, helping her dress again, or carrying her to the bathroom to clean her up.
If they were Starmates–wait, she didn't believe in that–if she started dating him, was this the kind of treatment she could expect all the time? Or was he just putting on a show to convince her to be with him?
She wandered into the training room to see Bond going at a training bot as though it had just slaughtered his family. It never ceased to amaze her. Even though she had seen his fighting prowess and the violence he could inflict, he was just so sweet and gentle with her that sometimes she had a hard time reconciling the two images.
Within minutes, the bot was completely demolished. Sara winced. "That's gonna cost a lot to fix."
Bond was shirtless, wearing only the var'ki skirt T'shav warriors preferred. His skin gleamed with sweat, and his massive chest panting made Sara's mouth water. He was just too well put together to be possible! She shook her head–those types of thoughts were what got her in trouble while she was high on scorpion venom.
"How are you feeling?" Bond muttered, not looking at her. He crossed the room and shoved on his boots. Odd. He told her more than once that he hated footwear, and he rarely wore it on the ship.
"Much better, thank you."
"Good. I'm glad. Look, there aren't any planets in our course until we reach the ship where the humans are, but if you want, I can deviate my course and take you somewhere else."
Sara's brow furrowed. What was he talking about? "Is this still about our fight from before? Because I don't want to leave. I want to save those humans. You have no idea how lonely it feels to say things like 'Luke, I am your father' and have nobody get that you're quoting Star Wars."
Bond began cleaning up the demolished bot. "My mother told me about Star Wars."
"It's not the same." Sara sighed. She wanted to get those humans to safety as soon as possible. They would be terrified and confused, and since she had experience with that, she could help them. "Unless it's that you want me to leave."
His head jerked up. "What? No. No, I don't want you to leave. But I have to tell you something that might make you want to leave."
What could be so bad? Sara waited.
Bond sighed and shrugged. "It seems like the violence that we've been encountering has brought my musth on early. I've checked my blood, my testosterone levels are nearly twice as high as normal. Other hormones are increasing, too, but I'm fairly certain that my pheromone production hasn't started yet. It'll just be a few days, though. I know I can control myself on my musth, but I understand why you'd want to leave."
Sara stared at him, a confusion of emotions swirling through her. A part of her said to run, as far and fast as she could. The horror stories she had heard of T'shav in musth–beheadings, disembowelments–were enough to frighten anybody. But this was Bond, and she knew he could control himself. After all, he had always gently but firmly insisted that she dress again every time she threw herself at him.
"I don't care."
Bond's eyes widened.
Sara shook her head, stepping closer to him. "If you think I would run away screaming, you're dead wrong. We haven't known each other very long, but if there is one thing I am more certain of than anything else, it's that you believe we are Starmates, and you would never, ever do anything that you thought might hurt me. So no. I don't want to leave."
"You're going to stay?"
The wonder in Bond's voice hurt her unexpectedly. What experiences did he have in his past with women doing just that–running as soon as he told them he was entering his musth–to make him look so wide-eyed in amazement that she wasn't going to do the same?
"I'm going to stay." She stepped closer again, pressing her hands against his slick chest. His skin was so hot, so warm, and she shivered with the desire for her body to press against his. "I think I've made it clear that I'm not averse to sharing a bed with you, Bond. And as crazy as I find the whole concept of souls being born into stars, I believe that you sincerely believe that we are Starmates."
Bond's fingers brushed her cheekbone, his hand trembling as though he couldn't quite wrap his mind around what was happening.
"It's not just your body that I like either, though that is a huge part of it," she continued. "I like that you cook and that arrogant smirk when you're sure you're right, and I love how you are traveling so far away from civilization to help these humans. I know that you were hired to do it, but you could have taken the money, and then sold their location to somebody who doesn't want to help them."
"I wouldn't do that."
"I know. And musth or no musth, I think you're worth taking a chance on. So I'm staying. And I'm going to help you through your musth." She leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. "And not just because I've heard amazing things about sex with T'shav."
Bond laughed, catching her mouth with his. He pulled her closer, bodies pressing together, her shirt clinging to the sweat on his skin. Sara closed her eyes, grinning as heat pooled in her belly. She pressed herself to her toes to throw her arms around his neck, undulating her body against his. Bond groaned and picked her up, hands supporting her under her thighs, and began walking.
"Where are we going?" Sara purred, moving her mouth to his neck.
"Shower," he grunted.
"No, too far," Sara protested. "Just brace me against the wall and rip off my clothes."
Bond stopped. He shifted her so she was a little higher than him and rose his brows. "You only have two sets of clothes and you want me to ruin one?"
Sara wrinkled her nose. "Good point. When we have the chance, I'll go buy some old things for you to tear to pieces. I guess we have to be more careful now."
Careful. She sucked her lip as Bond pinned her to the wall with his body. She didn't have birth control. But she also hadn't had her period in something like four years. On earth, she was regular as clockwork, but since her accident… well, the doctors had said there was a possibility that she couldn't have children, anyway.
"Is something wrong?" Bond asked.
Sara smiled and shook her head. Her legs circled his hips, drawing him in closer. The friction between their bodies made them both moan, and the lieutenant leaned her head back, giving her lover better access to her neck and throat. Her skin tingled where he kissed. Bond tugged at her pants, and when they didn't move, he set her down. Kneeling before her, he undressed her from the waist down and slung one of her legs over his shoulder.
"Oh!" Sara gasped when he pressed his face into her. Her legs went limp as he started working, her fingers digging into his hair. Bond had to hold her in place as he reduced her limbs to so much jelly.
Sara moaned with pleasure as the heat built in her body. All of her dreams, her fantasies were nothing compared to the actual thing. The feelings he evoked in her were so powerful, and not just physically. In the past she had always made sure to stay in control, to reserve some part of herself.
But with Bond, she knew that she could let it all go. Give herself to him completely. She was safe with him. He'd take care of her.
Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, Bond stood. With a slight growl, he tore his garment from his body and pressed against her again. Their bodies, both slick with sweat by this time, slipped together. Bond wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, thrusting his tongue into her mouth as he entered.
"Bond!" Sara gasped, clinging to him.
"My name is Tom," he whispered.
The brief thought that it was an odd name for an alien fled as soon as he began moving. Sara gasped and cried out as pleasure flooded her, driving all thoughts from her mind. She answered his rhythm, trying to keep up as his movements became more and more desperate. He kissed her hard then just stared in her eyes, the warmth in his black eyes the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
It had been far too long since she last enjoyed this; it was only a few minutes later that Sara peaked, throwing her head against the wall and screaming as everything inside her snapped and exploded. She gasped, clawing at Bond's back as she fought to regain control. All too soon it passed, and she felt Bond echo her orgasm before they both went still, bracing themselves against the wall, his arms still around her.
Sara leaned into his embrace, panting as she tried to keep her mind in place. It insisted on darting every which way, so she merely closed her eyes and enjoyed the aftershocks, welcoming the warmth Bond–Tom–gave her.
Tom kissed her again, his touch far gentler this time. "I loved that."
Sara hummed, smiling. "Me, too. Let's do it again."