Star Trek Enterprise Bk. 02 - Inherit Ch. 06

"What are you laughing about?"

"I was just thinking about you trying to dance with that little girl. The look on your face when she clapped those hands together." Once more she giggled at the memory.

"I don't know, you looked pretty shocked when Xipilli approached you," Archer added. "For someone Trip uses as a wire and tunnel rat, you were not so light on your feet," As they both laughed, a light buzzing feeling went through their heads and the captain was having difficulty walking a straight line. That drink they were given at the end certainly had an effect . . . at least for humans. The Gintare didn't seem to be behaving any different. Their guest house was just coming into view when Danaë stumbled against him. "Am I going to need to help you get back to the hut, like the last time you were drunk?" he asked, falling against a piece of fencing a few yards from the hut.

"I'm not intoxicated . . . exactly . . . and besides, you're not what I would call sober," she giggled. "And . . . and when did you ever help me get back to my quarters?"

"That night in the mess hall, before you joined the crew." He waited a moment expecting Danaë to recall the time he was referring to, but she just looked at him confused. "The night you kissed me."

"I think you're making it up," she responded, looking at him suspiciously. The captain only grinned and shook his head. "Well, perhaps we should help each other get back to the hut."

"Sounds good."

The Captain managed to pull himself back to a complete standing position then the two wrapped an arm around each other and managed to remain somewhat steady as they made their way to the hut. Whatever stability they had walking together quickly gave out as they approached the door and both reached for the knob. Together they lost their balance and landed haphazardly against the heavy steel door. The two couldn't help laughing riotously at their clumsiness. It felt so good to smile and share a good laugh. It seemed like such a long time since they had experienced anything light and mirthful.

Once the giggling had finally subsided, Archer told Danaë to open the door forgetting that they were leaning against it. With a twist of the knob the door came open and both the captain and lieutenant fell, splat , to the ground amongst the plants in the entry conservatory. A few seconds of surprise passed between them before they once more erupted into another fit of laughter. Archer managed to pull himself up and stumble to the next room where he landed on the foot of the bed. Danaë tossed her make-shift shawl aside then pulled herself and staggered behind him before flopping down into a chair.

Carefully the lieutenant began to reach up and pull the pins from her hair. Archer watched in silence as her long golden curls fell loose down her back. Looking at her brought back thoughts and feelings that he knew better than to entertain. He wanted to believe that his current lusty thoughts and feelings were simply the result of the stresses he was under coupled with not having been intimate with someone in quite a long time. This had been brought glaringly to his attention with one simple question from Dr. Phlox quite sometime back. He had vehemently dismissed it at the time, but now he was beginning to wonder. The only trouble with that idea was that from the moment the captain and Danaë had laid eyes on each other, there had been something between them. Something he didn't understand. It was like they were both caught in a gravity field and drawn to each other. Some moments were worse than others.

Despite their attraction to one another, both had agreed to maintain a professional relationship no matter what. He was the captain of a starship and as such there was always a certain distance he had to keep between himself and his crew. If that wasn't there then how could he order them into dangerous situations, like this Xindi conflict. Now, seeing her dressed in that gown of red silky material and delicate gold embroidery, made her so . . . so soft and feminine. He knew there were thousands of reasons why their relationship had to stay the way it was, but his tipsy brain couldn't remember what they were.

"Oh, now I remember what night you were talking about," Danaë exclaimed, breaking the captain from his thoughts. It seemed her memory had finally broken through her drunken haze. At the recollection she once again giggled. "That was a good night." She turned and looked at the captain. He was watching her with a warm smile that extended to his twinkling eyes. She remembered that night quite well, despite her drunken state at the time. "I won't deny that I kissed you, but as I recall . . . you kissed me back." In evoking that night another memory came to mind causing her to giggle again as she pointed a slender finger at the captain. "You're the one who kissed me in the cargo bay."

"Okay, things might have gotten a little out of hand in the cargo bay, but you were just as much to blame for that as I was." This was something the two had never really mentioned before, not even to each other. Speaking of it now, the lieutenant felt herself becoming quite heated as she recalled the taste and feel of his lips on hers. Hoping to push away the thoughts, Danaë got up and went over to the box of medical supplies the Gintare had left. She opened it and took out a roll of fresh bandages and ointment then, holding them up, she requested the captain remove his shirt

He did as she asked and Danaë looked at him sitting there, bare-chested, his eyes watching her every move. Silently she removed the old dressing from his upper arm and gently applied the cream to it. Something inside kept trying to remind her that she shouldn't be so close to him. Being here in this hut at this moment with Jonathan Archer was reckless and foolhardy, but for some reason she couldn't remember why. Looking into his eyes and seeing the intensity of his gaze, she couldn't help but wonder if he was finding her as enticing as she was finding him. There were a million reasons why they needed to walk away from each other, yet for some reason neither of them could move.

Her eyes closed as she breathed in, hoping to clear her head, but rather than calm herself, she was immediately surrounded by the scent of him. Stale sweat, the sharp tang of the blood from his wound beneath the antiseptic ointment. On top of it all was the overwhelming smell of "him", that indefinable scent that bespoke the man himself. She exhaled quickly then mentally scolded herself for her amorous thoughts before continuing his treatment.

Carefully she wrapped the new bandage around his arm and fastened it, believing for a moment that she had gotten past whatever desires she had been feeling. This turned out to be false as Archer's hand reached out and softly stroked her long soft curls then gently began to brush the skin of her cheek. Danaë closed her eyes luxuriating in his touch. How she longed to comfort the man, not just his physical wounds, but the turmoil inside him. Unable to ignore the response of her body, her hand gently moved along his arm to his broad shoulder and down to his upper body where she softly stroked the hair on his chest. For a moment she was completely lost in the feel of this man, so much so that she was startled when he abruptly caught hold of her hand and held it tightly in his.

"Captain . . . I . . ." she started to say, trying to come up with an excuse for her behavior. To her surprise Captain Archer clasped her face and swiftly brought her to him, kissing her fiercely. Swiftly he pushed aside the red wide straps of her dress and pulled her to him, feeling her bare flesh against his. Oh God, how long had they both wanted this? There could be no doubt what was to happen and yet for a moment rationality tried to stem the tide.

"Dani . . . " he panted into her hair, momentarily catching his breath. "This . . . this can't happen . . ."

"I know . . . it's a bad idea." she nodded, before whispering in his ear, "I've always been drawn to bad ideas . . ." Archer groaned in acknowledgment of her words, knowing that they echoed his own thoughts. He crushed her mouth with his own . . . a taking of all that he wanted and also a giving of all that he was. Danaë gasped at the forceful assault, then moaned against his lips as she tilted her head and accepted him, surrendering to what he was offering her.

The shadow of Starfleet with all its rules and regulations was swiftly thrown aside as their long harbored desire for each other took over. They could no more stop this then they could stop the beating of their own hearts. Her fingers made fast work of the fasteners of his pants as the captain moved to the edge of the bed where he slipped them off. He pulled Danaë down onto the bed to lie beside him, the entire length of their bodies touching. He grunted in satisfaction with this result before going back to work. His hands explored her body as he slowly divested her from the rest of her dress.

The lieutenant's hands roved all over him as well, growing bolder in her explorations. She sucked in a sharp breath of air as their bodies joined and began to move in unison. It had been so long since she had been touched by anyone or enjoyed such pleasure. In each other's arms there was no Xindi weapon to stop, no battles, no missions. All of their frustrations, anger, hurt and pent up desire was being laid bare in every thrust. They were explorers and their bodies were galaxies ripe for exploration and filled with pleasures and sensations they had either ever felt before or perhaps they had long forgotten what it was like. At the moment of zenith, Danaë cried out Archer's name and clung to him even as he continued to pump before finally melting into her with a deep guttural moan. Looking at each other as each of them tried to catch their breath, they somehow knew the night was only just beginning.