Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 58

Book 3, Chapter 9 - Tiny Dancer

*****

Breakfast was interesting the next morning. I wandered in, whistling a tune as I headed to the counter, grabbing a plate, piling up bacon, eggs, toast, baked beans, making sure I had a coffee. Taking a seat at my usual table, I looked around to see some very hungover women, and most of them couldn't meet my eyes, more than one pair of cheeks colouring quite brightly.

"Are we well, girls?" I asked. I received more than one groan in reply at my cheerful demeanour. Kelly was awake but taking her time heading downstairs. "Any of you capable of doing anything today?" More groans. "Well, good thing we've got at least another twenty-four hours here. Maybe take it easy on the drinking today?"

"I think just sniffing alcohol will make me hurl," Jack muttered.

"I remember most of what happened, and I'm still not sure if I should be embarrassed by any of it or not," Miranda muttered.

"Well, I had a very pleasant evening, for the most part," Samantha said, "Vega was surprisingly well behaved."

"I was out with my good man, Esteban. Can't go embarrassing him. What's the plan, loco?"

Yes, I'd learned I now had a nickname. Apparently it was something Vega did. I didn't mind, the same rules as being called Shepard nowadays. In front of senior officers and dignitaries, I was 'Commodore' or 'sir'. Any other time, I preferred Shepard. "I have a couple more errands to run today. Two of my ships are in dock with us. The other two ships are on patrol. List as long as my arm of jobs to complete. Guess word has spread about my squadron of ships, now everyone is calling in favours."

I finished breakfast and left the rest to it. I figured most wouldn't be doing much but we were technically on shore leave, so I couldn't really complain. Considering what was happening, I wasn't going to criticise them for letting their hair down and having fun. And from what I'd seen the previous evening, they'd been having a lot of fun.

Heading upstairs, I grabbed what I needed, wandering over to the bed where Kelly was still lying down on her side. Crouching down, she opened her eyes and smiled. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, but now I wonder what you're after."

She giggled. "Nothing. Just wanted you to know that I do. And thank you for last night." Confusion definitely passed my face. "A lot of us have always wondered if you might not like not being involved at all."

"Kelly, I could see how much fun you were all having. Trust me, it gave me a couple of hours to put my thinking hat on, deal with work shit. Ignoring it even for one day causes it all to pile up. And while I might have been busy, receiving all those pictures and videos made me smile." I leaned forward and kissed her. "Miranda is an arse bandit."

"Did you see the tattoo?"

"I saw something on her lower back. Guess she'll show me later?" She nodded. "Well, I think everyone is now more than aware how much she enjoys anal. How big was that toy?"

"Bigger than your dick, and you have a big dick as it is. Helps that it's part of that strap on we bought, so most of us had a go fucking her with it."

"I noticed. Even Jack?"

"I think she wanted to make Miranda cry. By the end, I think she was impressed with what Miranda could take. That woman sure loves a cock in her arse."

"Glad they're getting on now, at least."

"Definitely respect now, perhaps a slight attraction, but nothing more than that. If you're involved, they'll give each other attention for sure. We like each other, but we all love you." She leaned forward to kiss me again. "I'll get up soon. I doubt much will happen today. How were they at breakfast?"

"Those actually up are barely alive." Kelly almost snorted in humour. "I'll be back later tonight."

I was just about to head out of the airlock when I heard footsteps hurrying behind me, turning to see Liara jogging towards me. I couldn't help grin, immediately having visions of what she'd been up to the previous night. She couldn't help her own smile as no doubt she knew exactly why I was grinning.

"Are you going to visit who I think you are?"

She actually had me confused with that question. She could have literally meant half the Citadel, so she clarified. "Aria, Shepard. I'm aware of what happened to her, or at least the fact she's no longer on Omega."

"Yeah, I got the message and figured I'd at least see what she wanted."

"I'd recommend it, Shepard. Despite what you think of her, she still has tremendous influence."

"Should have known she'd base herself in a club."

"It's open all hours so you can visit her first."

"Hint heard loud and clear, Liara."

She kissed my cheek and headed back towards the elevator. Kasumi had been at breakfast so assumed she was still on board. She had an invite to stay until we departed, left feeling after our conversation the previous night that she'd been left feeling a little lonely after we'd split apart. I had a thought that she might not join up straight away but she would eventually give in. She'd want to be part of the action again.

Finding Aria in a place called the Purgatory Club was rather apt, if I thought about. Our previous interactions had always been professional and somewhat respectful. I'd heard rumours about what had happened to Omega but I guess hearing straight from Aria would help fill in some gaps. Whether I'd been spun bullshit or not was anyone's guess.

As it was still only mid-morning, there wasn't a line to head inside, the bouncer to either side of the door giving me half a salute. They either recognised me or the uniform but said I could head straight in. Despite it being mid-morning, the place was still busy. Revellers on the dance floor. Others at the bar drinking. Plenty of tables and booths were full of people.

Aria had a section of lounges all to herself, flanked by a few batarians. Surprised to see them on the Citadel, in all honesty. Recognised me immediately, nothing but hateful glares received. I made sure I put on my best smirk, as I knew exactly what I was receiving the glares. Did I feel guilt about what happened? I'd have to be a psychopath to say no. I'd killed a lot of people to stop the Reapers.

Would I do it again? In a fucking heartbeat.

Aria met my eyes and gestured with her head to the couch beside her. I sat down and was immediately approached by a nervous waitress. Asking for a coffee, Aria laughed at my selection, asking for some sort of cocktail for herself. She remained silent though I could feel her eyes judging me. She waited until our drinks arrived and I'd taken a sip before she said something.

"Little birdie tells me you're trying to bang the asari councillor," she finally said. I managed to stop my jaw from dropping. Then she met my eyes and smirked. "Oh, don't look so surprised. We're actually old... hmmm, not friends. Let's say acquaintances."

"You expecting me to confirm? Deny? Say I'm fucking someone else?"

"I don't care who you're fucking, Shepard. And while I don't know the name of every woman you're fucking, I know there's a long list of them."

"I'm sure you didn't come here to talk about my sex life, Aria."

"At least someone is getting some. I hate this place. So sickeningly uptight."

Figured I might as well get straight to business. "Then why are you here?"

"Cerberus stole Omega from me. The Illusive Man is now squarely at the top of my shit list. He will pay for every second I've spent in this bureaucratic hellhole."

"Okay, I've got to ask, how the hell did Cerberus manage that?"

"Deceit. Distraction. And a big fucking army. They lured me away from Omega and ambushed me. I escaped, but Cerberus had already laid siege. By the time I could launch an assault, they were too entrenched."

"You should know what I think of Cerberus, Aria. Not many people out there who hate Tim more than myself. You're preaching the choir if you're insinuating what I think you are."

"We'll worry about that situation later. You're here because I have a proposition."

I knew she wasn't interested in me personally, so I figured it was something else. "Consider me intrigued."

What she offered didn't actually surprise me. As I already knew, she'd ruled Omega with an iron fist. Any dissent was dealt with ruthlessly. The three biggest groups - Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse - followed her every word, at least on Omega, and to some extent, outside of her considerable influence elsewhere. And she was now offering them on a plate, under her guidance, of course.

It was quite the proposition. And I agreed to it immediately. I think that genuinely surprised her. "You're that desperate for help, Shepard?"

"I don't care what emblem you're wearing. If you're willing to fight Reapers or Cerberus, you're an ally. And I'm assuming you already have a plan to take back Omega."

"Not exactly. I haven't exactly been left with an army to take on the one now residing on Omega. Going to call in far too many favours for my liking, but Cerberus will not continue to hold my home."

"Whenever you're ready to make the move, let me know."

"You'll actually help?" I nodded. "And what will you want for payment? I know you won't do it for free."

"We'll worry about that later."

She nodded then fell silent again for a few seconds before opening her omni-tool. She pinged me a message. "Head to that address. Consider it a down payment in regards to your future assistance."

Heading out of the bar, I will admit to being intrigued as to who would be at the address. Noticing it was one of the wards, I caught a taxi and directed it towards the address. It was a rather fine looking residential building in a trendy what I would have called suburb. Riding the elevator to the top floor, I entered a hallway where there was one door at either end. Heading towards the correct number, I pushed the doorbell.

The door opened, immediately greeted by an asari who burst into tears upon seeing me, leaping up into my arms a second later as she kissed me. I carried her easily into the apartment, kicking the door shut behind me, managing to manoeuvre my way over to one of the lounges where I could sit down. She eventually pulled back, needing to wipe her eyes, before she caressed my cheek.

"Shepard," she whispered.

"Tara," I whispered back, "You got off Omega?"

"Long story but I've been safe here for a while now. I made enough money to start again. Sort of..."

"Sort of?"

"I still dance but don't need to sell myself," she said bluntly. She kissed me deeply again. "Now I can do this and we both know it's real."

"Tara, it was real then too."

"I know it was, but... I always wondered..." She kissed me again, running my hands down her back to her tight little arse, making her smile as she kissed me. "I want to make love," she whispered.

"Immediately?" She nodded eagerly. "Okay."

She slid off my lap to the floor first, helping me with my trousers and boots before my bottom half ended up naked. As I took off everything else, her tongue was working my shaft, and by the time I was naked, her lips were wrapped around it, using all her talents as she blew me, her eyes looking up at me, nothing but an eagerness to please me. I caressed her cheek and her crest as she took more and more of my length.

"Forgot how good you were at this," I murmured.

"Want to make you cum," she said before I watched my entire length disappear. God, she was far better than good. Understatement of the year.

She did her best to stretch it out but once my head started to roll back, and she had me groaning rather loudly, we both knew it wasn't going to last much longer. She was ever so determined to make my orgasm mind-blowing and she pretty much did that. A last warning before I felt that first blast. Her lips practically clamped around my shaft as she didn't want to spill a drop, hearing her swallow loudly as I filled her mouth. Even after I'd quite clearly finished, she didn't want to stop, looking up at me with a smile in her eyes. I caressed her cheek and crest again. "Wow," I whispered.

My cock eventually popped out of her mouth. "Yummy," she said with humour, "Hope I get to do that again."

I pulled her up onto my lap and kissed her. Wearing a short dress, that ended up on the floor next to my clothes, amused she was naked underneath, hearing her giggle as she admitted to not bothering with underwear when at home. "Well, good reason not to wear it now if I'm visiting," I said, "Now I can feel your pussy resting against my cock right now, but I definitely want to do something else first."

"I loved it when you went down on me before," she murmured, "The only visitor who ever cared about making me cum." I hugged her tightly and stood up, feeling her legs wrap around me, as she directed me towards the bedroom. Lying her down, she scooted back, spreading her legs for me as I sat on my knees for a second, just drinking in her body. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Thought that the first time we were together, Tara."

No idea how long she'd sucked my cock for, but I definitely ate her pussy for double the time. Not that it mattered, but she enjoyed every second, particularly as that wasn't the only part of her body I gave attention. She let herself go completely, always aware that she'd likely held back when with me before. I made her cum. I made her giggle. I made her cry. That last one happened first when the orgasm hit her, but all she did was plead with me to keep going because I made her feel so good.

I only stopped when the last orgasm she had made her legs tighten up too much that she had to gently push my head away. She kept on giggling though as I kissed up her body, taking one of her hard nipples in my mouth, making her moan again, before I ended up resting on my forearms, just gazing into her eyes.

I felt her soft fingers around my cock, guiding it inside her. I took my time burying it, simply savouring the feeling of being inside her once again. The smile that lit up her face suggested she was already enjoying it, and I'd barely done anything.

"You're my first," she said. Raising an eyebrow, she elaborated. "I've been single since I left Omega. I do my dancing but I come home alone every night."

The sex has been fantastic whenever we'd met on Omega, but there was something added this time. To her, I think it was the fact I wouldn't be leaving credits when I left. To me, I'd always liked her, but now I knew she was with me because she wanted to be. She'd liked me but I was still a customer before. Now we were making love because we were attracted and actually liked each other.

Her calves eventually ended up next to my uppers arms, her arse lifted slightly, starting to move faster as the tempo increased further. She moaned loudly, really letting herself go. I grunted and talked a little dirty, which made her blush but her eyes lit up, generally just telling her how good she felt, and how much I was looking forward to doing this again, perhaps introducing some friends.

"Bring them around," she murmured, "Long as I get this dick though."

"Oh, trust me, you'll be getting it."

Our eyes met and we both laughed, needing to stop for a moment so we could kiss, feeling her legs moved so that were loosely wrapped around me. "Cum in me," she breathed, "Goddess, I need you to."

"I'll send a message, let everyone know I'll be returning to the ship in the morning. I'll take you out for dinner."

She burst into tears at that. Worried I'd ruined the moment, she assured me I hadn't, begging me to finish so I could just cuddle her afterwards. Finishing wasn't a problem, and once I'd cum, I pulled out within a couple of minutes so I could lie next to her, Tara turning to cuddle into my chest. Holding her in my arms, she did seem tiny. Even Liara was much taller than her. Like humans, asari did come in all sizes, at least in regards to height.

"I haven't been taken on any sort of date in a long time," she said softly, "If I wasn't dancing or... entertaining, let's call it... well, I'm sure you figured out it doesn't make it easy."

"I'll be on the Citadel a lot. I'll come visit, and I reckon my girls will absolutely adore you, Tara."

"You think so?" she whispered, hearing her voice catch.

I lifted her chin with a finger so she met my eyes. "Absolutely. Play your cards right and you'll get an invite to stay on the ship, and I mean not from me." She giggled at that. "They know about you anyway."

Eyebrows raised that admission. "They do?"

"Of course. You were the first woman I was intimate with after my return. I would have liked to return far more often, trust me on that. And the only reason to return to Omega would have been to see you."

She hugged me tightly, feeling her head against my chest again. I kissed the top of her head and hugged her tightly in return. We made love again a little later, and again after that, and a fourth time in the shower when I suggested we should get ready to go out. I was surprised when she asked me to pick out something for her, and naturally I went for a dress, stockings and shoes that I knew would just look fantastic on her. When she'd dressed and was almost ready, she burst into tears again, needing me to hug her for a little while before she laughed, stating she'd have to re-apply some of her make-up. She didn't need any but it was faint at best anyway.

I'll admit, I showed off a little bit as I escorted her to the Presidium, and did drop my name to get us a table at a rather fine restaurant that sold both human and asari cuisine. I offered to pay for the meal, which earned one of those smiles I already loved seeing on her face, but what amused me even more was the feeling of her foot running up and down my leg while she innocently sucked at her straw, though her eyes looked up, full of mischief.

The food was exquisite, as was the wine that the waitress suggested to accompany each course. We both ate our fill but not so we were almost bursting. Suggesting we carry on the night elsewhere, I escorted her to a cocktail bar, where we enjoyed a couple of drinks. She did try and persuade me up to the dancefloor. I told her I could not dance to save my life. I had failings, but a lack of rhythm on the dancefloor was number one. She giggled and suggested sitting back and relaxing was just fine.

But I had a little surprise for her, as half a dozen of my other girls walked in to join us. She was very shy at first as they surrounded us in the booth. Kelly was immediately friendly, as I expected, asking her a million questions, and they were all aware why I still considered Tara special after all this time.

"Invited her onto the ship, Shepard?" Miranda asked, "Perhaps give her a uniform too?"

"No. Just a good excuse to return to the Citadel quite often, don't you think?"

"I'd like to see your ship," Tara whispered, cuddling into me, "Get to see where you usually call home when you're saving the galaxy."

"Goddess, she's got it bad," Liara joked, before she looked around the table, "Well, guess she's not the only one."

"Shepard, is there anyone at the table..." Tara started to ask, before she must have received looks from the others. "Never mind. It works?"

"It does," Kelly replied, "We love him. He loves us. And we're all incredibly happy."

"I think we should go back to the ship, Shepard. Maybe the lounge?" Miranda asked.

"You just want to show off again," I retorted.

"Still haven't shown you what we bought."

"I'm thinking we do that when we leave so we can talk."

"Oh..."

"About good things, Miranda. Trust me on that."

That earned a smile. I ordered one more round of drinks that the girls did knock back quite quickly, including Tara, so I was left thinking all of them were eager to return to the ship. Walking back, it was easy to see that Tara was immediately 'one of the girls'. Liara certainly took a shine to her as a fellow asari, Miranda, Jack, Kelly, Kasumi, Emily and Chakwas all surrounding her, taking her under their wing. I walked behind them, unable to stop the grin forming.