For a couple seconds Dax just stared at her, and she had the niggling worry she might've pushed too far. Then, to her shock, he actually laughed. “Actually, they did.” She let out a soft gasp as he abruptly pulled her closer again. “But I'll try not to use any of it.”
His lips once more found hers, as eager and hungry as her own. In the haze of what she was feeling, Lana was only distantly aware of moving with him until they were lying in a tangle on the couch with him mostly on top of her. A surprisingly pleasant tangle, especially as their clothes gradually found their way to the lounge's floor.
Then Dax hesitated, green eyes staring down at her in concern. “Lana, I, ah, need to make sure you know where this is going.”
“Because I'm a Blank Slate?” Lana felt like she should be annoyed at him for putting a damper on their fun, but she was too giddy for that at the moment. She nuzzled his chest. “I know about sex, Dax. I've researched it, I've talked it over with Ali. I've even, um . . .” she paused, feeling her cheeks heat, “done some investigating on my own. I wanted to make sure I was ready for this.” She tenderly kissed the hollow of his neck, then looked intently into his eyes. “With you.”
For one of the few times since she'd known him, he looked shocked. And elated. “You were anticipating this? Us . . . together?”
She giggled and tugged him insistently towards her. “I'm not sure I'm making how I feel about you quite obvious enough. Or what I've been wanting to do about it for a while now. But if it's any hint, I've been taking the birth control pills Ali gave me for over a week.”
Before he could raise any more protests, if he planned to, Lana pulled herself up to his face to continue the fierce kiss he'd interrupted.
It didn't take long for Dax to prove he wasn't in any way an unfeeling automaton. Although he certainly had the stamina of one.
* * * * *
Aiden lay on his stomach on his bed, eyes closed and breathing deep as Ali's nimble fingers kneaded away the deeply embedded tension in his muscles.
She was masterful at massages, like she was with everything, and this was a longstanding tradition after battle. Especially tense ones such as this last had been. But for some reason, it wasn't relaxing him like it usually did.
His companion paused when he shifted. “You're unusually restless, my love,” she murmured. He could almost hear the playful smile on her lips as she continued impishly, while at the same time her hands drifted lower. “Were you in the mood for something else?”
He ignored the unspoken invitation. “Do you know Grovsin's 13th Procession?”
Ali got the hint and resumed the massage. “Of course.”
“Could you sing it alto?”
She laughed lightly. “I could sing it bass, my love.”
He knew from previous experience that she could keep her vocal patterns consistent no matter what range she was singing in, but hadn't ever asked her to go quite that low. It was somewhat amusing to imagine her sounding like herself while at the same time singing that deeply, especially since she always tried to mimic the subtle body posture, movements, and expressions that usually accompanied such singing.
“Alto is fine.”
Ali obligingly began to sing, voice technically perfect, but managing to inject warmth and intimacy into the song as well. Aiden settled down as her fingers continued to knead at his tense muscles, lost in the rising and falling swell of the grand song.
He should have her do this more often.
During the song's rousing crescendo the answer finally came to him, why he felt so much more restless after this fight: because the Deek boarders had come within a hairsbreadth of taking the engine room.
Sure, the idea of them blowing up the engines and half the ship along with them was never fun to contemplate, but that was just part of battle. And he wouldn't lose a second of sleep worrying about Belix.
But Lana . . .
For the first time since losing the last of his old Stag crew, he was worried for the fate of someone on his ship. Truly worried for a friend, not just a subordinate and fellow crew member. Among everyone else, the only one he might feel any concern for was the gunner. But that was a special case, and not one he particularly enjoyed thinking about.
Was it just friendship, though? Or did his feelings for Lana run deeper, in spite of the disparity in their age and the mitigating circumstances of her memory loss?
He spoke up suddenly, interrupting Ali's song. “If I took another lover, would it affect you?”
“How could it, if it made you happy? That's ultimately what I exist for, to ensure your wellbeing.” His companion hesitated, voice becoming gentle, inviting him into her confidence. “Did you have someone particular in mind?”
Aiden was sure she could guess who he was thinking of, but found it embarrassing to say it. Was it because he'd somehow found himself viewing Ali as capable of feelings, including jealousy? Or maybe because he didn't want to admit he might have feelings for someone else, thus giving those feelings weight.
“If I did, it's not worth mentioning.” He rolled over, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her to him, prompting a startled giggle. “I think I'm in the mood for something else now.”
Hours later, probably close to the middle of the night, he found himself still restless, unable to sleep in spite of Ali's reassuring softness and warmth against him. He was being a fool, he knew, an old fool. But at the moment he found he didn't care.
He hadn't liked seeing someone else reassure Lana. He hadn't liked not being the one to hold her. Maybe she didn't see him that way, but he had to let her know how he felt. Had
