A/N: Hi, guys! Sorry about the wait on this... RL caught me with a vengeance! But I am now much less busy, not to mention a college graduate (WOOHOOO!) and I finished and wanted to post this, for all of you that asked for it. See the A/N at the bottom for more... and enjoy!

Reaching into your eyes
I can feel you crawling
Through my veins like
Catching the first sunrise
Mesmerized

Breaking the kiss again several minutes later, the pair stared at each other, breathing heavily. A slight shiver ran through Stella as goose-bumps began to dot her flesh. Noticing, Mac gently ran his finger over them.

"We better get inside," he said, voice husky. She simply nodded and smiled at him, gently twisting away to face the sky again. After a brief moment, she turned back and grabbed his hand. They were walking back to the shelter of the porch when the rain suddenly started to come down harder and a flash of lightening split the sky, followed seconds later by the crack of thunder. They glanced at each other and simultaneously broke into a run, reaching the safety and shelter of the porch out of breath. They stood for a second, watching the rain, listening to the thunder, Mac's arms wrapped around Stella's waist, until another shiver wracked her body.

"We better actually go inside and dry off," Mac said softly, directly into Stella's ear. The heat of his breath sent a different sort of shiver down Stella's spine as she tilted her head back to look at him.

"Yeah, maybe so," she agreed, breath catching at the heat in his eyes. Looking back into the rain one more time, she allowed herself to be led back inside the cabin.

Mac stopped just inside the door, and turned to face Stella. Smiling at her questioning expression, he quickly swung her long body up into his arms, grin widening at her muffled shriek. "Better one set of wet footprints then two," he said, when she looked at him in disbelief, and she laughed, and nodded.

When they reached the bathroom, he kept his eyes locked on hers, gently setting her on her feet. The feel of her body sliding down his nearly undid him, though, and once she was steady, he leaned back in, catching her lips with his in another kiss.

Even soaking wet, Stella could feel the heat of his body emanating from him in waves, warming her chilled skin, and she sighed, allowing his questing tongue the entrance that it sought. Leaning further into the kiss, she threaded her fingers through his dark locks and changed the angle, allowing the kiss to deepen.

Breaking apart a third time, Mac rested his forehead against hers, arms wrapped around her waist, wondering if his heart rate would ever return to normal. It seemed that now he'd had a taste of her, he couldn't get enough. Raising his head as he felt her shift, he watched her grab one of her giant, fluffy bath towels, wrap herself in it, and begin to dry off.

"Wait," Mac said, voice husky, and she looked up at him. "You brought two of those, right?" At her nod, he smiled and continued. "Why not let me take this one, and you take a hot shower while I get you the fresh one? I know you're already wet, but it'll feel good. And this way, I can heat up our breakfast." She tilted her head to the side, considering, and nodded, smiling.

"Sure. On one condition," she replied.

"Oh? And what's that?" Mac answered, grinning, tugging a corner of the towel away and wiping the water off his face.

"That you join me," she said quietly, swallowing hard. Mac froze at her words, body immediately tightening, and she pulled away gently, turning to the bathtub, keeping her back to him as she reached down and turned on the water, setting the dial on hot.

Mac's mind was still trying to process her words over the roaring of blood in his ears when she turned around, hands folded in front of her. Raising her eyes to his, he saw desire, love, anxiousness – and fear.

"I… there hasn't been anyone since… well. I love you, Mac. I want you to be…" Stopping herself again, she cleared her throat, glancing down at the narrow fingers with their scarred tips, then back up to meet his eyes. She jumped slightly, finding him inches from her when she hadn't heard him move. "I want you, Mac," she finished simply.

His throat tightened, and he closed his eyes, rocked by the depth of emotion in her statement. Opening them to stare into hers again, he was further moved by the conflicting emotions in her eyes. Swallowing, he nodded, reaching for her hands as steam began to drift through the small room.

"I love you too, Stella," he said without hesitation, twining his fingers with hers. "You set the pace."

A smile bloomed across her face as some of the anxiety faded from her gaze. He reached around her, and turned the dial to start the shower. Glancing at her again, he saw the hesitation remaining in her eyes and smiled, knowing his next move would completely surprise her. Still holding her hand, he turned from her and stepped, still clothed, into the tub. Turning so that his back was to the hot spray, he grinned at her expression.

Quirking an eyebrow, he grinned. "Care to join me? The water's great!" She gaped at him, the amazement on her face slowly turning into a grin. Stepping up to the tub's edge, she grabbed his soaking wet t-shirt and, standing on her tip-toes, pressed a hard kiss to his mouth before stepping into the tub and pulling the curtain closed behind her.

He shifted, placing her directly into the path of the spray, letting the warm water wash over her, easing the shivers that had overtaken her body. Noticing her bath products on one corner, he reached down and grabbed her shampoo. Pouring some into his hands, he smiled at her raised eyebrows and simply raised his in return. His smile widened into a grin when, after a second, she simply shrugged. Setting the bottle down, he turned her around so that her back was to him and began to wash her long curls.

Stella closed her eyes, a small moan escaping her lips at the feeling of his strong, capable hands running through her hair. The man has magic hands, she thought as he used the pads of his fingers to massage her scalp. Her muscles, tightened due to chills and nerves, began to relax and she swayed on her feet, pressing back into him, feeling the growing evidence of his desire for her. The pure sensuality of the moment hit her, and her own arousal began to grow as his hands ran through her curls.

"Turn around," he rasped. She did, allowing him to tilt her head back to begin rinsing her hair. She moaned again as he continued to massage her head, making sure her curls were clean before raising her head again.

"Open your eyes, Stel," he said huskily. "I need to see that you're still with me."

She lazily lifted lids that she didn't remember closing, breath catching at the desire in his eyes. Swaying towards him, she reached up, twining arms about his neck.

"I'm… here, Mac." She said, and, unable to resist the glazed arousal in her eyes, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes drifted closed again as desire began to uncurl within her. Deepening the kiss, she opened to him on a sigh, stroking his tongue with hers. One of them moaned, she wasn't sure who, and it was swallowed as mouths fused and bodies pressed closer.

Her hands drifted from his neck to his back and she whimpered, frustrated at the lack of skin under her hands. "Mac," she whispered into his mouth, moaning when he briefly pulled away and began to trail kisses down her neck. "I want…" She gasped as his mouth latched onto a sensitive spot behind her ear. "I want… off!" was all she managed before moaning again when he pulled back. Searching her eyes with his, he smiled when all he found there was desire and a hint of frustration at his hesitation. Letting her go, she rested a hand on his waist for balance as he stripped his shirt off, grinning at the delight on her face before briefly recapturing her lips.

She explored his chest, fascinated by the tiny male nipples and the sounds he made when she gently tweaked them. His hands continued to roam her back, but when he made no attempt to take the nightgown off, she growled again.

Raising his eyebrows, he simply said, "Your pace, Stel," and stilled his hands on her waist. Realizing that he had misunderstood, she smiled up at him, pressing another brief kiss to his mouth before raising his hands to the straps of the nightgown she still wore. His breathing hitched as she helped his hands lower the thin straps down her arms.

He stopped trying to breath altogether when the soaking wet garment finally fell away from Stella's body, leaving her in only a pair of soaked lace panties. She stood still, watching his face as he looked at her, shifting when the silence got to be too much. Raising her hands, she jumped when his reached out and caught her wrists, catching her by surprise.

"Don't," he said quietly. "Let me look at you. You're so lovely." Hesitating, she nodded, and tried to relax. A minute later, he released a deep breath and looked up into her eyes, and it was her turn to forget how to breathe at the emotion that she found there. "You're so beautiful, Stel. All long muscles and gorgeous curves." Sweeping a hand down her side, he pulled her back to him and gently kissed her forehead, nose, eyelids and finally, her mouth. "You're so beautiful." He repeated, and paused. "Am I pushing things to ask if we could take this to the bedroom?"

Looking at him, she realized that it was now or never. She'd never felt this loved, this cherished before, and she wanted him, she wanted this. Swallowing hard, she shook her head.

"I think I'd like that. A lot."

Surprising her again, he didn't immediately move. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, and she shivered at the contact. Holding her for a second, he gently leaned and pressed his mouth to hers, savoring the contact before shifting her so that he could reach the taps. Turning them off, Mac pulled the curtain back, and swiftly stepped out of the tub, retrieving the towel they'd left lying on the floor. Wrapping it around her as she stepped out of the tub, he pulled her to him, buffing her quickly off before using the towel quickly to dry the worst of the drips off of himself. Swinging her back up into his arms, he carried her out across the cabin's main room and into the bedroom.

Setting her gently on her feet, he glanced around the room, spying the other towel folded on the dresser. Making sure she was steady, he quickly stepped over to grab it, back almost before she'd realized the loss of his body heat. Smiling as she looked over at him in confusion, he simply wrapped the towel around her as he bent down to kiss her. Spinning her gently in his arms, he tenderly began to towel her dry, not missing a single part of her. He dried her hands, paying special attention to her fingertips before moving to her palms and wrists. Moving up her arms, he buffed them dry, massaging them as he went. Stroking the towel down her torso, she moaned lightly and arched her back as the dragging of the towel tightened her nipples.

She leaned her head back against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Mac couldn't help but notice the think cord of muscle this brought out, and losing focus on his movements, he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning in to nuzzle the hollow where the slender arch of her neck met the slope of her shoulder. Sighing, she tilted her head to allow him better access, and he kissed his way up her throat, finally stopping to nibble on the cord that had attracted his attention in the first place. She moaned again as one of his hands came up to cup her breast, strong fingers tugging lightly at her nipple.

Opening her eyes, she took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "M… Mac?"

He smiled into her throat, secretly pleased at how breathy she sounded. "Mmm?" he murmured, returning to the juncture of her throat and neck and biting delicately into the soft flesh he found there. She cried out and her knees buckled. His arms immediately tightened around her waist, as he laved the small red spot with his tongue. "You were saying something?" he said after waiting a beat to see if she would continue on her own.

"I…I was?" She couldn't seem to get her brain to function smoothly and was having a hard time thinking at all, let alone clearly. "Ah… right. I was… just… thinking…oh hell," she said, frustrated when she couldn't find the words. Instead, she forced her spaghetti-like legs to hold her weight and spun around to face him again, single-mindedly claiming his lips with hers. She was tired of being passive, and Mac wasn't moving fast enough for her. He was startled for a brief moment, his hands clenching in the towel bunched at her waist before releasing and allowing it to drop to the floor while they moved to her shoulders to press her closer to him. Tilting his head to allow her better access, he returned the kiss with the same single-minded intensity while still allowing her control. Stella's hands roamed his chest, playing with his nipples briefly before dropping her hands to the waistband of his soaked track pants.

Mac's breath caught as her hands briefly danced along his waistline before dipping under to play with the sensitive skin near the crease of his hip. Breaking the kiss lightly, leaving both of them panting, she met his eyes, her own beginning to glaze with passion. Returning her hands to the waistband, she tugged lightly and raised her eyebrows, almost asking permission. Mac smiled and nodded, but made no move to help her, allowing her the choice. She smiled back and turned her gaze his pants. Gently she started to tug them down, taking his boxers down with them. Her breath caught as she uncovered his erection, and she took a moment to admire it before continuing her mission to remove his pants. Once the wet material was free, he kicked them away and stood, bared to her gaze. He wanted to reach for her, but stopped himself. He'd gotten his chance to look, he reminded himself. It was only fair to give her the same opportunity.

She finally looked up at him and smiled hesitantly. Lifting a hand to her, Mac waited until she took it, stepping close enough that she could feel his body heat. Leaning down, he gently pressed her lips to his, allowing her to decide when to move closer. His other hand swept up the curve of her waist, again reaching her breast. She sighed at the contact and closed the final gap between them, pressing herself against him. They both moaned at the full body contact, and the sensation of his hardness against her belly. She pressed herself more fully into his body, and suddenly took control of the kiss.

He smiled into her mouth and when she nipped at his bottom lip, he gladly opened them for the soothing tongue that followed. Sliding his hand down her back, he gently smoothed it over curve of her ass, gently squeezing it through the soft lace of her panties before sliding it around front to lightly tease the soft skin just above the lace. She moaned and arched, as if trying to create contact somewhere else. Waiting for explicit permission, his fingers didn't move but continued to tease the smooth, taut skin of her lower abdomen. She pulled away from the kiss gently and looked him in the eye. Grabbing his wrist, she tried to move his fingers further south, aiming for the moist heat in between her legs. When he resisted, she frowned slightly, taking in his raised eyebrows.

"Are you sure, Stella?" he asked quietly, voice raspy. She nodded and smiled, loving him all the more for his care. Reaching up, she kissed him and broke out of his hold. He frowned and moved to reach for her when she held up a finger. Sliding her hands into her panties, she slowly slid them down her legs and removed them, tossing them aside as she straightened to face Mac. His throat was working convulsively as he tried to swallow, and her smile grew, gratified by the look on his face. Stepping back up to him, he wrapped his arms back around her as she pressed herself close once more, eyes drifting shut, taking in the feeling of skin against skin.

Stepping back slightly, she slipping her hand between their bodies and tentatively brushed a finger over the head of his erection. At his sharp intake of breath, she smiled and ran the same finger down his shaft, watching his face as his eyes closed and his hands fisted against her back. Emboldened by his obvious response, she reached down and grasped the base of his manhood, and slowly stroked up to the head. At this, his body jerked and a low, hoarse groan escaped his lips. As she repeated the gesture, he moaned again before moving one of his arms long enough to grasp her arm.

"Stella…" he said, voice an octave lower then normal. She looked at him, eyebrows raised in question. "If…if you keep that up… I won't…I won't last. And I want to." He tugged lightly on her arm and she gently stroked a single finger down the shaft, enjoying his answering shiver, before allowing her hand to be removed.

Leaning down to softly brush her lips again, hands roaming her body, he cleared his throat. "Stel…" She looked up at him again, eyes dreamy. "Can I… I want…" he stopped, frustrated. "Can I touch you? I want this to be at your pace, and I don't want to rush you… But… it's…making me insane…" his voice trailed off and she grinned, hugely.

"Of course, Mac. Please, I want you to touch me." Her voice was soft and raspy but the words were clear, and Mac's eyes lit up. He reached for her, pressing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. Swinging her up into his arms, he carried her the few feet to the bed and laid her in the center of it, lips fused to hers. Breaking the kiss to join her, he leaned over her, kissing her lips again gently before moving to press gentle kisses to her forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Her eyes drifted shut and he brushed a gentle kiss over each eye before moving down to her neck as his hands mapped her breasts and belly.

Gently he kissed his way down her body. He licked gently along her prominent collarbone, before trailing kisses down to the valley between her breasts. Moving to the soft flesh, he continued to trail kisses in a spiral, laving as much skin as he could before conceding to her arching body and moans and lavishing attention on her nipple. Switching his attention to the other breast, he allowed his hand to drift down slowly to the soft curls between her legs, he ran a feather-light finger along the crease of her sex, unsurprised to find her already moist. When her eyes flew open and her body arched into a tight bow, he took this as a sign to continue, and continued the gentle teasing as he kissed his way down her belly.

Resettling himself in between her legs, he glanced up at her, to find her head thrown back and her eyes tightly shut. Her hands were fisted in the sheets at her side, and one of her legs had come up to press against his back as if urging him forward. Leaning forward, he happily obliged. Gently, he parted her, sliding a finger in along her inner lips before moving to slide it into her core. She moaned and arched her back further as he continued, and a hand came to fist on his shoulder instead of in the blankets. Leaning forward even more, he gently dropped a light kiss on the tiny bud in front of him before blowing lightly on her and adding his tongue to his fingers.

Her head tossed back and forth as he continued to gently suck on her, finger still sliding in and out. Her hands moved restlessly, fisting alternately in his hair, on his shoulder, or in the blankets, as her moans got louder and her orgasm approached. He added a second finger and latched his lips onto her clit, sucking lightly, and she came in a rush, calling his name.

Floating, she drifted down and slowly realized that Mac had moved and was gently rubbing a hand over her belly, watching her patiently. She forced her eyes open and smiled at him. Moving a hand gently over, and ran a finger lightly over the head of his now raging erection, smiling at his moan.

"I want you, Mac." Her voice was barely a whisper, but her words were music to her ears. Keeping his eyes on hers, he slid his arms around her waist, and rolled over, taking her with him. Landing on top of him, she sat up, straddling his waist, and raised her eyebrow.

He looked back at her, stroking his hands up and down her back. "You're in control, Stella," he reminded her. Her eyes widened as she realized to what level he meant that, and she leaned down and locked her lips to his. The kiss continued to grow, as more and more heat pooled in her belly. Breaking the kiss, she slid down his body and lifted herself, preparing to take him in. She was physically ready, she knew. Was she emotionally? This was Mac, who loved her, and who she loved, and she knew without a doubt he would never hurt her.

Poised over him, she hesitated and he, always the observer, noticed. Catching her eyes with him, he read the hint of anxiety that had clouded them, and reached out to lay a hand on her cheek. "Stella… We don't have to do this."

His words removed all of her doubts. Holding his gaze, she smiled. "I know," she said quietly, and slowly sank down onto him. Feeling herself stretch, she waited while her body adjusted to the invasion, awash in the sensations. Her eyes closed of their own accord and as her body adjusted, her hips began to rotate, wanting more. She slowly, deliberately began to move up, pulling herself almost all the way off before sinking down again, moaning as she did. Slowly they found a rhythm, and as they moved, she opened her eyes, staring down at the man under her. His eyes met hers, and he read the passion and contentment there.

Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her down to him, he whispered to her to hang on before rolling over with her. Raising himself on his forearms, he looked down at her. "Is this… ok?" he asked, panting slightly. She nodded and smiled, and he felt her legs wrap around his waist. Raising his hips, he sank back into her warmth, renewing the rhythm they'd had before. His thrusts quickly began to gain speed as both their bodies neared release. Their moans gathered in intensity, along with his thrusts, her hips rising to meet his, and when she came, crying out her love for him, the contractions of her inner muscles pushed him over the edge, and he came, moaning her name, as his arms gave out and he collapsed onto her.

Stella could feel the weight on her chest as she began to come down from a mountainous high that made her first look like a molehill, and knowing it was Mac, somehow found the strength to move her arms up to curl around his waist and into his hair. Stroking idly, she drifted, enjoying the sated relaxation of her body.

Feeling Mac stir, she smiled and pressed a kiss to his temple. Turning his head, he smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips before shifting so that she was laying on him. Running his fingers along her back, he pressed a kiss to her brow and tilted his head so he could look into her eyes. Opening his mouth, he tried to speak. Clearing his throat when nothing came out, he tried again, lips curving into a grin at the sparkle in her still slightly glazed eyes.

"You ok?" he asked huskily. She nodded, reaching to kiss his mouth. Clearing her own throat, she, too tried to speak.

"I'm fine, Mac. I'm wonderful. That was… I've never felt anything like that," she answered, blushing. "Thank you," she said, very quietly, looking down to his chest where her fingers were idly rubbing his scar.

"Stella," he said, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. "You have nothing to thank me for. I love you."

She smiled her trademark blinding smile, and leaned in to gently touch her lips to his. "I love you, too, Mac." He released her chin and she laid her head back down on his chest, and they both were thinking of the brand new start they were about to make.

Sometimes when I'm with you
These feelings falling
Like a landslide
As both our dreams collide