Dangerous Lines of Thought 02

It was another duo mission. I boarded the jumpship in the hangar, my only luggage the silver case containing my psysuit. Jericho, as always, had taken care of the rest of our provisions. Thanks to the spotless and sterile interior, I could see my reflection in the smooth metal and glass displays. As the cargo bay door closed behind me, I took a moment to check myself on one of the larger panels, making sure everything was in order.

Rather than the practical sweatpants and loose shirt I'd usually wear, I'd decided to ambush Jericho with a showier outfit. Although my dark blue a-line skirt went down to my knees, the high waist emphasized the curve of my hips and the prominence of my bust under my white blouse. My legs were covered in sheer white stockings which went down to black kitten heels. I'd grown my hair out a bit in the six months since that mission, the wavy golden tresses reaching a bit past my shoulder blades. Two locks framed my face, which was lightly dusted in "natural" makeup.

My blouse had been buttoned up to the top for my trip through the company ship, though I reached up with my free hand and popped the first three, coming just short of revealing the surprise I was hiding under my ensemble while exhibiting my deep cleavage.

The extra skin I was now showing notwithstanding, I could never have imagined dressing up like this on the company ship before. But ever since Jericho and I had gone public with our relationship about a month ago, the catcalling and harassment had stopped almost overnight. As my heels clicked against the deck, I focused on the scent of sandalwood to quell my annoyance.

Jericho had sworn up and down that he hadn't told anyone to stop bothering me now that I was "his" (my word, since he'd never refer to me so possessively). The worst part was that I didn't doubt him in the slightest. The other men in the company had had no qualms creeping on me when I was unclaimed, but now that everyone knew I was dating Jericho? In their minds, they'd be slighting him if they kept up the behavior.

Still, I wasn't the only one chagrined at how company culture interfaced with our closer connection. As I entered the cockpit, I noted the new stripe on his uniform marking him as a Master Sergeant. He'd "earned" it the day after we'd gone public, and he'd led every mission I'd gone on since. This was our first duo since the one six months ago, and I was so looking forward to the quality time. Not that I would tell him that.

Jericho turned to the opening door. He froze when he saw me, watching with a blank expression as I turned to stow my case in the storage compartment. I bent a bit more at the waist than necessary as I did. I bit back a smirk as I sensed the burgeoning desire tinging him, and at the way his eyes darted back up to mine when I spun back around.

"You look good," he said, smiling at his allusion to the first time he'd used that word to describe me in this very cockpit. His eyes stayed fixed on me while I strapped in, appreciating how incautious I was in maneuvering the harness around my bust.

Rather than fastening it over my chest like I used to, I adjusted the straps to allow it to fit lower, resting on my sternum and propping my assets up even more. I turned to him with a deadpan look which revealed none of the stomach-churning warmth elicited by his earlier compliment, replying simply, "I know."

He tore his eyes from me to bring his attention to the controls, addressing the construct, "Andy, ready check. Mission E2JC602. You've got our destination." That same familiarity he held towards the construct returned.

[Acknowledged, Sergeant Hart. I have downloaded a partition into the jumpship. There is a backup partition in the air gapped storage. You are cleared for departure. Stay safe, and best of luck.]

Jericho thanked the construct, as always. I still didn't like the thing, even more so now that it had taken to subtly needling the two of us about our relationship. Thanks to its omniscience of the happenings on the company's ships, it had not exactly been possible to hide our new dynamic from it. But while the machine had no emotions I could read, Jericho assured me "Andy's" ribbing was in good fun, and that it was supportive of us. I gave it the benefit of the doubt for his sake.

The jumpship lifted off from the floor of the hangar with a gentle lurch. After a few moments waiting before the air seal while the last safety checks were performed, we were out. The inertial dampeners kept us from feeling any of the dramatic acceleration maneuvering us to the right vector out of the system, towards the star-speckled void.

The Fafnir, our mothership, was captained by an old military man, so he liked to park inside the star's gravity well to avoid surprise attacks. It was a bit silly given our current line of work, but it meant we always had about fifteen minutes to kill before jumps. I turned to Jericho, asking, "Why do you think they only sent the two of us on this one? There's no psionic threats, so I'm not going to be of much help beyond the thought-pattern."

His expression shifted into a gentle smile, and I could sense how pleased he was that I'd read the briefing. It was kind of adorable. There was an edge of annoyance, though who it was directed at became clear in his reply: "This site clear is going to be pretty safe and rudimentary, but there's no newbies to train. The boss wanted to reward us with some... alone time."

"Oh," I replied. From the flickering irritation, I could imagine the outrageous conversation he'd probably had with our boss. My own feelings began to mirror his as I pictured Jericho being asked to help me "unwind" since I was always so "high strung", as the boss liked to say. But perhaps more vexing was that I had every intention of taking advantage of the opportunity. I asked, "How long will the jump be?"

"About thirty-six hours," Jericho replied. His expression didn't change, but I could sense his flaring excitement that I'd asked, rapidly overshadowing any discomfort at how the situation had been engineered.

Knowing we were stuck in our seats until the jump started, I bit back another smirk and decided to tease him. I reached down to grab the hem of my skirt, watching as his eyes darted to follow the movement of my hands. I flipped up the garment, revealing the surprise I'd prepared for him.

Framed by the white garters holding up my stockings was a pair of sapphire blue lace panties. The patterning was sparse over most of my nethers, revealing my smoothly shaved skin. But the denser weave over my slit kept it tantalizingly hidden.

The raging inferno I'd lit in him prompted me to flip my skirt back down--sensing his emotions now was a bit like staring at the sun. But I said in a low, demure voice, "You'd better not be planning to spend the jump doing anything besides entertaining me."

He took on a broad grin at that, locking eyes with me as he gave a heartfelt reply: "Yes, princess."

We went over the mission in a bit more detail while we waited for the jump. Though any time I felt his lust beginning to fade, I would adjust my posture to bring his attention to my chest, or run my hands over my thighs like I was about to flaunt my choice of underwear again.

My cool demeanor belied how enamored I was with his self control. No matter how crazy I drove him, he wouldn't act on it until I allowed him. And of course, there was my own growing excitement at how he would take out his pent-up frustration on me once I did.

Finally, our back-and-forth was interrupted by the construct.

[Jump imminent. Estimated time of arrival at destination system is thirty-six hours, fifteen minutes, twelve seconds from now. Be prepared to return to your assigned seats no fewer than five minutes before jump completion, or sooner in case of emergency.]

I turned my attention to the viewscreen at the announcement. I let my walls down a bit, allowing the wonder at the beauty of the streaking stars crease my lips into a slight smile. From the corner of my eye I could see Jericho admiring me, and I felt a pang of affection so intense it was almost painful at how happy my smile was making him.

[Jump achieved. The Fafnir is now out of communications range. All systems are operating within accepted parameters, and jump stability is close to ideal. You may exit your assigned seats.]

I resisted the urge to sprint for the sleeping quarters as soon as the message finished. I undid the harness, standing and making for the door at a reasonable pace. Jericho was mirroring me, though he stopped to allow me to leave first.

"Carys," he said once the exit opened. "You forgot your psysuit." He was holding the silver case out for me when I turned to him, smiling softly.

I frowned at the lapse. It was far from the first time, and though he never teased me for it anymore, I was still as embarrassed as I was grateful. As I snatched the case back from him, my reply was a bit snippier than I intended. "Remembering my psysuit is your responsibility, since you're in charge of everything on the ship."

Thankfully, I sensed nothing but amusement in him at my retort despite it being objectively wrong and a little rude. Then there was a surge of playfulness as he replied, "I suppose I am, aren't I?" Suddenly, he took a step forward while crouching down, wrapping his arms around my thighs.

Before I could protest, I felt a sudden weightlessness as he stood back up, throwing me over his shoulder. "Hey!" I shouted, slapping him on the back while he carried me through the halls of the jumpship. "If you're going to call me 'princess', you should hold me like one!"

"This is the most efficient way to carry a person, and I have a feeling I'm going to need to preserve my stamina," Jericho replied. One of his hands rubbed the inside of my knee, though despite the fervent desire to bring it further up and start grabbing handfuls of my ass, he contained himself.

His continued show of restraint mollified me, and I replied only with a huff as he hauled me to the sleeping quarters. Once we were inside and the door closed behind us, he gently set me down on the floor. He took the case and rested it on the desk while I pouted at him, then turned back to loom over me with an expectant grin.

Although I was buzzing with as much anticipation as I could sense in him, I wasn't about to just tell him he could have at it. Instead I turned up my chin, locking gazes as I asked dismissively, "What are you waiting for?"

He pounced immediately at my roundabout invitation. His strong hands started at my blouse, undoing more buttons. My bra, sapphire blue lace to match the panties, came into view, and he wrenched the fabric out from under my skirt and pulled it over my head, not even bothering with the rest of the buttons. "Where did you get the underwear?" he breathlessly asked as he discarded the garment and found the zipper on the side of my skirt.

"The station we were on leave at a few weeks ago," I replied, fighting to keep my voice nonchalant even as my heart raced while he frantically stripped me. "I thought my perverted boyfriend might like it."

"You were right," he replied, yanking the skirt down my legs and leaving me standing in my lacy lingerie. He was not shy about getting an eyeful now, his gaze roaming up and down as he practically drooled over my curves. His touch followed, soft in spite of his rough calluses as he took a more hands-on approach to the inspection.

He traced the garter straps over my thick thighs with his fingers, cupped my huge breasts in his hands, then found the thin strip of fabric running between my legs to the top of my ass. He took in a sharp breath at that, craning over me to look down at my plump rear as he asked with a voice full of excitement, "A thong?"

"It's more comfortable than I expe-ack!" my blasé response was interrupted as he clenched his fist around the tail and pulled upwards, making the front panel dig into my pussy. I hissed against the stimulating discomfort, "I am not buying another if you ruin this one."

"I'll keep that in mind," was his noncommittal response. Though at the mischief I sensed in him, I suspected he'd interpreted my warning to mean he was allowed to ruin my clothes if he bought the replacements. He kept up the pressure for a few more moments, waiting until my eyes had started to water before he finally relented.

Then he reached his other hand around to roughly squeeze both cheeks. As his handling got more fierce, he growled. "You are such a tease, Carys. Bending over in that skirt, unbuttoning your blouse to show off your fat tits. And you even flashed your panties in the cockpit. You must have really been looking forward to this mission."

"You're imagining things," I replied. My arms stayed rigid at my sides as I continued, "I had to bend over to stow my suit. And I had my blouse unbuttoned and fanned myself with my skirt a bit because it was hot in there. It's not my fault you can't stop yourself from leering."

He rolled his eyes at that, though I could sense his warm mirth at the little game we were playing. His hands went back around to my front, and he smoothly grabbed the cups of my bra and jerked them down. My breasts spilled out into his waiting palms, and he began rubbing his coarse skin against my stiff nipples.

He began to smirk at the gasp I failed to suppress. He leaned closer, saying in a low voice, "You're so needy. Is thirty-six hours going to be enough for you? You know we'll have to take breaks to eat and sleep, right?"

I took a deep breath to keep from panting when I countered, "You should be wondering if thirty-six hours is enough for you." Another deep breath. I shivered at the sweet sensation of his rugged skin against me. "What kind of man would be unable to leave a woman satisfied after that long?"

He gave a slow nod at that, lips pursed in faux-contemplation. "I'd better get to work then." He gave my nipples a soft pinch, flashing his teeth as I gasped again. Then one hand went behind my head while the other found the small of my back. He leaned down, pulling me into him as he pressed his lips against mine.

I didn't keep up my tough act while he was kissing me. I eagerly received him, wrapping my arms around his neck and fervently returning his affection. However exquisite the pleasure he could give me with his fingers and his dick, I felt complete with our lips locked, our tongues intertwined. I used every bit of leverage I could muster to keep him against me.

Just as much as I was held in his embrace, I was enveloped in his emotions. He was completely infatuated with my flagrant need for his touch despite my persistent backtalk. His hand on my back began to go lower, first caressing my ass again, then between my legs to find the fabric covering my slit.

There was a flash of satisfaction as he felt how damp my panties were. Then he deftly pulled them aside, plunging two fingers into my soaked slit. Almost immediately they found my weak point. He oozed with pride in his performance as I began moaning into his mouth while he stroked the most sensitive part of me.

Although the thought-pattern we'd "fought off" together those six months ago was long gone, Jericho had maintained the uncanny sense it had given him of how to please me. But even as he was getting me nice and worked up, he didn't fingerblast me straight to climax.

Jolts of pleasure shot up my spine, pitting my arching back against my arms which tightened their grip around him to resist the motion. I let out a deep, guttural groan and winced at the exquisite stirring of his deft digits.

As I rapidly devolved into a drooling mess, he moved his lips away from mine, pressing our foreheads together as he relished my dazed expression. But then, when he'd hit just the right tempo, when he could feel my muscles managing to tense even further against him in anticipation of release, he stopped.

I trembled in pent-up frustration. "Jericho," I complained, some focus returning to my gaze to pout. But behind my displeased expression, I was only more hot and bothered as I sensed his imperious attitude and knew what would come of it.

"Do you need something from me?" he grinned, leaning forward to press his forehead harder against mine and forcing me to start bending backwards. He withdrew his stilled fingers to run them over my slick lower lips. "Use your words, princess."

No longer ruled by the thought-pattern's urges, Jericho had no end of willpower to resist the urge to start railing me. Although I let out a shaky sigh as I wondered how long he'd keep me waiting, he wasn't the only one with determination to spare. I tilted up my chin to give him a quick peck, then smirked and said, "If you can't finish me off, move your hand so I can do it myself."

He let out an annoyed huff which masked the competitive excitement beneath. Immediately he was back in, and my eyes were rolling back at the sudden intensity. But though I was wracked to the extent that he needed to loop his other arm under my shoulders to hold me upright, he began to slow. He didn't stop, but he kept up a pace that wouldn't give me anything but further desperation.

I panted, struggling to string coherent thoughts together against the onslaught of pleasure. Despite myself, I began working my hips in time with his movements, fervently trying to wring every bit of feeling out of his fingers to bring myself to climax. But after a solid minute of impotent humping was foiled by his skill, I whined, "Jerich-OH!"

He interrupted me by flicking my clit with his thumb. My head reared backwards at the sudden shock, and he leaned back just in time to avoid my chin flying up to meet his. But though he paused his efforts, my trembling had only intensified--maddeningly, that hadn't brought me over the edge.

"That didn't do it?" he asked with faux surprise. He began to move again, slower than before. A domineering reminder that he was still in complete control of my arousal. Then he started to pick up the pace, but at a rate so gradual it left me with an aching yearning.

"Fuck you," I groaned. I was vibrating like the ship's engines at full throttle, and that spasm had left me as drained as a real orgasm with none of the relief. I dropped my arms from around him, lolling back in his grip and letting him hold me up completely. The added pressure of being partially supported by his grip on my pussy only added to the stimulation. But he had no trouble adjusting his technique to keep it from bringing me over the edge.

Past his eagerness, I could sense the deep well of frustration my teasing had filled that he was taking out on me. Knowing he was holding onto far too big a grudge to let me off so easily, I gave in. I batted my eyelashes as I begged, "Please let me cum. I can't take it anymore." My stomach twisted in perverse glee at the feeling blossoming in him at my request.

He wore it as a vicious smirk, but it was far more nuanced than that. Such a warm, good-spirited meanness directed at me. Far from finally hitting the right rhythm to get me moaning in climax, he withdrew his fingers entirely to rest them on my slit again. Then he said, "If you get my dick ready, I'll let you cum with it."

I made a show of hesitating for a moment, frowning in disappointment even as I thrummed with excitement at his condition. Then, as soon as I nodded in assent, he let me go. Still weak at the knees from his ministrations, I immediately collapsed into a heap at his feet without the support.

As I felt him balling up my hair in his fist I mewled softly, half lust-drunk moan, half protesting groan. He didn't pull hard enough to hurt me, but he firmly guided me upwards as I got my knees under myself and rose to the right height. Without his fingers in me and his arm around me, most of my trembling now was from exertion as I supported my own weight.

He kept his grip on me once I was kneeling beneath him, tilting my head back so that I could see him sneering down at me. I had another violent tremor as I knew how I must look to him, so desperate for release I was kneeling under him.

A tug in the other direction brought my gaze back to his crotch. His baggy cargo pants concealed what was lying beneath, but I made quick work of his belt, button, and zipper. I eagerly got my fingers under both waistbands, pulling his pants and underwear down. His dick sprang to attention, throbbing with need for me.

I didn't stop to savor it. I put my arms around his waist and lunged forward, opening my throat to get it all the way in. His balls bounced against my chin, and I could feel him shiver at the sudden sensation.

Still, having my mouth around Jericho's dick felt like plugging his lust straight into my brain through the empathic connection. His base, savage, desire to start fucking my filled my mind with the same urge. I took fervent brutal motions up and down his shaft, his hand in my hair all but forgotten. I could feel flashes of concern at the obscene choking breaths I managed each upstroke. But they were overwhelmed by the raw carnal pleasure of being serviced like this.

It didn't take long before I could feel it coming, mostly from the swelling heat I could feel building in him. Before he reached the point of no return, I managed to get ahold of myself and pull myself off his length. It oozed with precum and my copious spit, dripping on the floor while I looked up at him with a needy gaze.

"Good girl," he gasped, staggered by the intensity. But Jericho was quick to recover, and he put his hands on my shoulders and practically fell on me as he forced me down onto the floor. Now kneeling over me, he smoothly lined himself up with my entrance as he pulled my panties aside again. Then he thrusted.

I arched my back at the sensation, instinctively bringing up my legs to wrap around him. His fingers slipped under my garter straps to dig into my thighs as he started to pound me. Thanks to my powers, I could gauge his intent and perfectly time my hips with his movements. He bottomed out in me on every thrust. The clap of his thighs against my ass started to drown out our heavy breaths.

I started cumming almost immediately, electrifying pleasure setting me rigid. I tightened my grip on him and clenched the soft carpet while screaming his name. But that only spurred him to start going harder and faster, pounding another climax out of me while I was still coming down with the first.

I completely surrendered to the sensation, my eyes forced shut as my face screwed up in ecstasy. My senses were filled with the back-arching pleasure, the profane squelching and slapping of our union, and the pungent smell of semen and sandalwood.

He bent down to wrap his arms around me, resting his weight on me for a few moments as he took a moment to recover. "You are too fucking sexy in that getup," he said, wrapping me in a tight bearhug while he lifted me up off of the floor.

It had turned out that Jericho's inexhaustible supply of cum during our first encounter had come from a physiological change from the psionic ward. So he'd need about half an hour to recharge after filling me up.

While my baseline Enhancement wasn't enough to keep him hard like the ward had, it left me capable of keeping up with his impressive stamina. I upped my output, focusing on my sore muscles and my shaky breaths as he laid me on the bed. By the time he was straddling me again, I felt like I could run a marathon. I cocked a condescending eyebrow, asking, "Done already?"

He rolled his eyes, then replied with not two but three fingers in my drenched pussy. Still sensitive from my double climax, he had me belting out moans and drooling on the pillow in moments. As he brought me back up to my peak, he spoke in a flat affect to hide the eagerness I sensed in him, "Let's see how many times I can get you off before I'm hard again."

The answer turned out to be a lot. He took a more measured pace the second time, and also held my knees up toward my head to take me in a mating press so that he could control the encounter. But even then he didn't last longer than a few minutes.

We settled into that rhythm. A few minutes of passionate rutting, half an hour of mindblowing orgasms fueled by his encyclopedic knowledge of my body and my psionic powers keeping me from passing out like I had in our first encounter. We kept it up for a solid twelve hours before finally settling in under the covers, spooning with me nestled in his arms. Jericho was stark naked, and I'd ended up in only my stockings and garters. While trying to drift off, we had a false start when he got hard again and his dick "somehow" ended up inside me, but one load later I placed myself under a thought-pattern that put me to sleep.

I was roused from my dreamless slumber by white-hot rapture. I thrashed around like I'd just woken up from a nightmare, but my shrieks were more "well-fucked" than "terrified" as I convulsed around something hot and hard filling my pussy.

Firm pistoning was working me up again, and the delirium of the half-sleep and pleasure kept me staggered for another dozen thrusts before I got my bearings. I was lying on my front. Not stomach, since Jericho's hands were wrapped around my waist to lift my rear up to facilitate him taking me from behind.

Seeing me stir, Jericho gave a grunt of satisfaction and a slap on the ass. I could sense his amusement at my protest. "Good morning, princess."

My arms were hanging uselessly at my sides, so I crossed them under my pillow to support my weight and look behind me. Gritting my teeth against the moans threatening to spill out of my mouth, I asked in exasperation, "Have you been fucking me all night?"

"Oh, that's a fun idea. I just woke up though," he replied with a yawn. There wasn't a shred of deception in him, so it wasn't just for show. "You sleep like you're dead, so I thought I'd take advantage." His apparent tiredness did not reflect at all in his performance, which was virile as ever. Despite a slight uncharacteristic softness in his dick, he was full of vigor as he pounded me.

I imagined the scene: Jericho waking with me in his arms, gently rolling me over so that I was lying on my stomach, pulling the covers back and seeing me unconscious under him, then hefting my appreciable ass and lining my lips up with his shaft hard from morning wood. I was already sensitive from the day's first of many climaxes, and now the imagery had me buzzing with arousal. In only a few more thrusts I was twitching and drooling again.

Jericho, of course, kept working me right through it. Jolt after jolt of pleasure arcing straight down my spine and into my brain, forcing my back into a deep bend which pressed me further onto him. He waited for me to come down from it before ordering, "Spread those cheeks. I want to go deeper."

Despite his crass instruction, I was well past playing hard to get after waking up as his sex toy. I rested my head on the pillow, dutifully bringing my arms back around and grabbing handfuls of my ass. I could feel it jiggle with every slap of his thighs against it. I moaned with delight as he leaned forward, getting even further in while pressing his hand between my shoulders to hold me down. The other hand fished one of my breasts out from under me and started mauling it.

His increased depth and domination was quickly bringing me back to my peak, and I had to start using Enhancement to maintain enough strength in my arms to keep myself spread wide for him. I was loving every second of it, and rueing its approaching conclusion since there was no way Jericho could keep fucking me for much longer at this pace.

And yet, he pounded me through another screaming climax. And then another, even after my arms had dropped back to my sides and my knees could barely keep my ass up for him. "Where are you getting all this stamina?" I forced out between groans.

He was panting with exertion at his continued performance, but he managed to breathily reply, "Hard to get off when I just woke up. Even using you." He punctuated this with another, harder slap on my ass.

He truly had a way with words, but I wasn't in any position to complain. Pinned under him, and all. I fought to keep myself kneeling while he pounded me. As the grogginess from having just woken up cleared, every climax only added to the haze of lust keeping me stupefied.

It made it hard to count how many times he was getting me off. But eventually I started to feel him getting harder. This led to a few more before he finally started twitching in me. He moved his hands back to my ass, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me up off of the bed as he pitched backwards. He groaned as I fell back onto him, and we shared an explosive climax as all of my weight was forced onto connection between my pussy and his dick.

"Damn," he said, panting as I sprawled. Seeming enticed by the heaving of my own chest, he took advantage of the position by fitting a hand around either of my tits and squeezing them enthusiastically. He added, "We should sleep together more often."

I gave a noncommittal, "Mmm." Though it sounded closer to an appreciative moan than I'd intended thanks to the feeling of his girth still filling me. I rolled off of him, forgetting I was in the smaller bunk of the jumpship and not my spacious bed on the mothership. After a brief flash of panic had me wide awake, I hit the floor with a substantial thud.

"You alright?" Jericho said, trying to keep his voice cool and composed despite the worry I sensed in him. He swung his legs over the bed to look down at me, smiling with relief and amusement as he watched my curves jiggling while I got my legs under me. He stopped my ascent with a hand on my shoulder, smirking, "Why don't you clean me off while you're down there?"

I glared up at him for a few moments, briefly considering resuming my usual frosty attitude. But I didn't have any dignity left to defend after... well, everything that had happened since I woke up. My eyes went to his dick flopping onto his thigh, covered in my slick and his cum. I obediently got my mouth around it and started sucking.

"Thanks, princess." He gently patted my head while I slurped the mess we'd made off of him. Much of it was still running out of my pussy and down my thighs, but I didn't really mind and I knew he'd think it only added to my allure.

Once he was nice and clean we ate a meal. Then after checking the time--14 hours to exit--it was back to business. We were both still drained from yesterday's marathon and from our morning exercise, so we spent the first few hours in bed watching a miniseries. Only I was sitting on his lap with his hands roaming up and down my body and his dick between my legs. He edged me the entire time, getting me so worked up that he had to start holding me down as we reached the end of the last episode. Once we finally finished, he picked me up and dropped me on his dick, hitting my peak on the first thrust and fucking me through another three climaxes before he came.

That left us with eight more hours. Another meal, then it was back to yesterday's rhythm of him getting me off over and over again while we weren't fucking. We completely lost track of time, awash in our hedonism.

Hours into it, I was on his lap again, this time with the two of us chest to chest and our arms wrapped around each other while he sat in the chair. I held him as tightly as I could, pressing my tits into his firm chest and resting my head in the crook of his neck. My knees were on either side of his lap, and rather than working his shaft, I was gyrating my hips to move him around.

It felt amazing, of course. Especially with the little thrusts he gave me every now and again to set me off. But more than the pleasure we could give each other like this, I loved it because I could hold him without worrying what face I was making. I was beaming over his shoulder, a big dumb fucking smile I still couldn't get myself to show him while he was looking. Even when my body was wracked with orgasmic bliss, my chest felt like it was tightening into a knot with how fulfilled I felt embracing Jericho.

And like when we were kissing, I felt enveloped in his emotions. There was the lust, the animalistic urge to mate with me, the tinge of sadism as he enjoyed tormenting and toying with me. But in this moment, with him in my arms, I recognized the emotion I'd so rarely seen shining in him like a beacon: love.

It was terrifying and exhilarating to know I was so loved. He hadn't told me yet, maybe because he didn't want to make me uncomfortable or because he knew I already knew. But I squeezed him tighter, wondering if today was the day I would finally work up the nerve to tell him I felt the same--

[Specialist Wynn, Sergeant Hart. I am glad to see the two of taking such an active approach to team-building, but please wrap things up. We are forty-five minutes to exit, and you both need to get cleaned up and dressed. I will not tolerate anything dripping on my ship's jumpseats.]

My grin shifted to a glare, directed at nothing in particular since there was no presence for me to focus my ire on. I felt like I'd been stabbed in the chest, the knot of tense euphoria unraveling into dissatisfied angst.

Jericho, noticing that I'd gone rigid and my hips had stopped moving, started rubbing my back. "Want to finish up, Carys?" he whispered in my ear. "Wouldn't want you feeling pent-up on the mission." Behind his vulgar words, I could sense his deep-seated concern for me. Born of that love still shining through.

The construct--probably intentionally--had not exactly picked a bad time to interrupt. I'd just come down from another climax. Now acutely aware that we were not really alone here, all of my proverbial armor was back on, and I coolly replied, "Your performance has been adequate, Jericho. Consider me satisfied."

He gave a slow nod, suppressing the faint flickers of amusement. Probably at how ridiculous I seemed saying that when I'd just been in the middle of enthusiastically riding his dick, which was still balls deep in me. But he was fighting that animal instinct still shrouding his thoughts, which drove him to say, "I'm happy to hear it, princess. But I'm not."

I was torn between my shyness at the pseudo-audience and his unparalleled restraint in being such a gentleman, asking if I'd please let him finish fucking me instead of just taking what he wanted. And faced with both the rock-hard physical evidence of how much he wanted me and the incendiary psionic evidence of it, how could I say no? My chin rested on his shoulder, I gave a small nod.

As always, he immediately recognized my invitation. His hands went to my ass, clenching it so that he could lift me off his thighs. He started guiding me up and down his shaft, not even really needing any assistance from my hips as he worked me.

I tightened my grip on him further, quickly forgetting the other details of the encounter as I admired his display of strength and skill. His hips worked in time with his movements, finding just the right pace to stir me up. I realized with an embarrassed twinge of glee he was trying to get me off one last time before getting off himself.

Worked by his strong arms and his relentless member, it didn't take long. In a minute I was shouting his name and tightening my embrace on him even further. Feeling him shooting up into my waiting pussy sent me over the edge, the two of us sighing in satisfaction as we leaned against each other.

After taking a minute or two to catch our breath, I used another burst of Enhancement to recover and climbed off of him. I gave him a quick kiss, my face fighting a smile as I felt what he was feeling toward me while I left him to recover.

I took a quick shower. As quick as I could given all of the fluids I was covered in. By the time I'd finished, Jericho was ready for his turn. I parried his attempt at another smooch with a smirk, pointing out how dirty he was and that I was freshly cleaned.

I suited up while I listened to the water running. First the full body coating of the psychoactive gel, maddeningly stimulating given what I'd just spent the past--it hit me like a freighter that I'd just spent almost thirty-six hours having sex with my boyfriend. I was smiling again at the thought, how unbelievably horny we were for each other.

The expression had faded by the time I had the zipper up under my breasts. Hearing the blowers running to dry Jericho off, I surrendered immediately to my bust instead of trying my usual fruitless tug of war. Some clever application of my limited telekinesis had my breasts out of the way enough to finish suiting up. I had the zipper at my neck right when the door opened.

Jericho, in all his naked glory and semi-hard (probably at the thought of what he'd find when he opened the door), had a brief flash of disappointment seeing me suited up. It didn't stop him from swooping in for the kiss I'd denied him earlier, but after a few sloppy moments I had to push him away from, he commented, "I was hoping I'd get to watch you suit up."

I was so chagrined by the comment that instead of some rude comeback, my reply was a flirtatious, "Maybe next time," accompanied by the ghost of a smile. I felt an odd if not unpleasant twinge at being so honest with him, then immediately continued, "I'll see you in the cockpit."

I made it with about fifteen minutes to spare, and Jericho with about ten. He was fully suited up, the only thing out of place a hickey near his collarbone, visible thanks to him leaving a few buttons unbuttoned. I narrowed my eyes at it, mostly because it was a reminder of the similar marks covering my neck and chest. Though none of them peeked out from under the high neck of my psysuit.

Jericho made smalltalk about the miniseries we'd watched earlier. I started wriggling in my seat a bit as I remembered the much more interesting part of the viewing, namely what he'd been doing with me the whole time.

Five minutes after the construct's message warning us of imminent exit, the blue glow of the viewscreen faded, replaced by streaking stars which gradually stilled.

[Exit successful. Scans show no abnormalities in system. Estimated time of arrival is ten minutes, plus two minutes for landing. You may exit your assigned seats.]

I got up and headed for the door, Jericho close behind me. The two of us wordlessly made our way to the cargo bay, where we sat next to each other like we always did. It was time to apply his thought-pattern.

I was even more aware of his mental presence than usual as I prepared myself. I used to find him all-but inscrutable even reading his emotions. Now there was nothing to misinterpret about the affectionate smile he regarded me with, even if I couldn't see the genuine warmth filling him as I put my hand on his forehead.

For so many years, this was the least favorite part of our missions together. I remembered likening it to carving lines in granite. Him likening it to having his head "squeezed through a tube". But now the thought-pattern locked into place effortlessly, like it was exactly where it belonged.

That deep ache in my chest returned as I knew what this meant. Jericho wasn't resisting me anymore, and I wasn't resisting him. We'd completely accepted each other. Partners, in every sense of the word. As I moved my hand from his forehead, I brought it to rest on his cheek. My lips curled slightly into a nervous smile.

Jericho's eyes widened slightly, though he did well to control the surprise I could sense welling up in him. He hardly dared to move, fixing me with an earnest gaze as he waited for me to... do what I was about to do. Sensing his patience, his devotion, his everything, I knew he would wait forever if that's what it took.

But I didn't want to wait forever. I took a deep, shaky breath, my smile faltering a bit as I steeled myself. Unlike all of those characters in those dramas, I already knew he felt the same way. So what was there to worry about? I nodded to myself, determined to just come out and say it. And I did. "Jericho... I love you."

He paused for a moment, face completely blank even though I could sense that I'd just made him the happiest person I'd ever seen. Then he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around me. One went across my shoulders to pull me tightly into him, the other against the back of my head to pull me in even further. And then, far more powerful than that explosion of joy, his monumental love began to envelop me. He didn't have to say it back. But he did anyway.

Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has been following the series. I wanted to celebrate a year straight of regular releases with an epilogue to the first story, since it kicked everything off and is one of the most loved. Unfortunately, this is paired with an announcement that the series will no longer have regular releases. I may release additional installments in the future, but there will not be a set schedule. Thank you again for your support and inspiring me to write and publish more than I ever thought I would.