She was lying on her side, pretending to sleep, when she heard him enter the tent. He had just handed his watch over to Teal'c, who was no doubt pacing the perimeter of their camp. Jonas, on the other hand, was out cold and snoring softly in the tent next to theirs.

He always snored, which is why she never liked sharing her sleeping space with him. Well, if she were being honest, it really wasn't that she didn't like sleeping in the same tent as Jonas so much as she so vastly preferred sharing her tent with Jack. Which, she supposed, was why it hadn't happened very often, at least not before they started this…thing they had started.

Now, though, Jack routinely arranged to share the tent with her. She wondered if her other teammates noticed. If they had, they hadn't said anything. Of course, she and Jack had agreed that they would never, ever do anything inappropriate off-world. Their situation was risky enough. Maintaining the proper level of professionalism on missions was crucial to keeping their relationship secret.

She thought back to Aiden Corso's question about whether she had anyone special back on Earth. "Nothing I'd care to discuss," she'd replied. She had thought that response quite clever at the time, considering the complicated nature of their affair. When they were in the mountain, they were the utmost professionals, never giving anyone reason to suspect that, when they went home, they couldn't keep their hands off of each other.

She had never considered herself sexually adventurous, but something about Jack brought out her inner wild child. He was constantly pushing her limits, and she couldn't remember a time when she had enjoyed the physical aspect of a relationship so much.

She took a deep breath. She needed to stop that train of thought, as there was little she could do about the twinge of desire she felt building in her core. In fact, it was damned dangerous, considering that the object of her desire had just removed his shirt and boots and was now lying beside her.

Jack rolled on his side and put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She sighed contentedly as she felt the warmth of his chest against her back. They often allowed themselves this luxury, but that was as far as things went off-world. Which was why she was so surprised to feel his hand begin to wander under the hem of her shirt. As his fingers made their way over her ribs, she felt him begin to nuzzle her neck. She gasped as he palmed her breast, her nipples responding instantly to his touch.

"What are you doing?" she whispered to him.

He began to nibble her ear, causing her skin to erupt in goose bumps. "Want you," he replied quietly.

They had been on this planet for a week now, as the incident with the Hebridan prison ship had delayed their original mission. Since the night he had come to her house and literally swept her off her feet, they hadn't gone more than three or four days without being together. She was missing him, too, but there were good reasons for exercising some restraint off-world.

"Jack. We agreed," she said as softly as possible and with more determination than she actually felt.

He pressed the full length of his body to hers, and she could feel his arousal pressing firmly against her backside. "We can be quiet," he whispered directly in her ear.

As she considered his point, he took his hand from her breast and slowly moved it back down her body, past her waist, to the top of her underwear. He ran his fingers around the edge, then slipped them underneath, quickly finding her slick folds.

She could feel him smiling against her neck. "Been thinking of me?"

Damn him, she thought. He began stroking her, and she moaned softly. "You're not playing fair."

"All's fair, Carter." He gently began pulling her underwear down her long legs.

"Jack!"

He unzipped his BDUs and slipped them off. "Shhhhhh, quiet Major." And with that, he rolled her onto her back and positioned himself between her thighs, gently thrusting against her core. She moaned as the sensations he was causing threatened to override her higher brain functions. Desperately, she attempted to wrestle back some control.

"Jonas and Teal'c will hear us." She didn't sound convinced, not even to herself. She was losing this battle, and he knew it. Tactics, after all, were his specialty.

He smiled down at her, then put his lips against her ear. "They will if you keep talking. Now be quiet Major; that's an order." Then he was inside of her, and she lost whatever will she had to resist him.

They had to take things slowly, to maintain control. In hindsight that might have been their undoing. At first, when one of them would slip up and sigh too loudly or moan too long, the other would shush them, which would in turn provoke a chuckle or, in Sam's case, a giggle. "What did I tell you about giggling, Major?" Jack panted in her ear. Unfortunately, that only made her giggle more.

But after awhile, things became increasingly intense, making it difficult to concentrate on keeping silent. The slow rhythm of their movements, coupled with the incredible restraint they were exercising, was quickly culminating in one of the most erotic experiences Sam had ever had. So, she really couldn't be blamed when Jack finally began thrusting harder, moaning her name deep and low, and she suddenly exploded around him, all thought of controlling herself momentarily forgotten.

After the sensations rippling through their bodies finally subsided, she breathed in sharply and looked up at Jack, who was giving her a small smile. "Do you think they heard that?" she whispered, concern etched on her features.

"Relax, Sam. Listen." She stayed stock still and after a few seconds she heard a soft snore emanate from the tent next door.

She let out the breath she was holding. "Oh, thank God."

Jack rolled off of her and pulled her to him, encircling her in his arms. "See, I told you we could pull it off." He kissed her temple and nuzzled her neck. Within moments they were fast asleep.

She woke to find Jack fastening his pants in the dull gray light of early dawn. He bent down to kiss her softly and then spoke directly in her ear. "Good morning, beautiful." He stood up as best he could in the small tent and in a normal tone of voice asked, "Coffee, Major?"

"Yes, please," she smiled up at him. He exited the tent, and she set to work cleaning herself up a bit and getting dressed – and thought ruefully, not for the first time, how much easier such things were for men.

When she was fully dressed, she walked out into the campsite to find all members of her team gathered around their small fire pit, eating the military version of breakfast bars. She sat down on a log next to Jack, and he handed her a steaming cup of coffee. "Thank you, sir," she said, inhaling the welcome aroma.

"You're welcome, Carter," he replied formally, and she was amazed once again how he could transition from passionate lover to commanding officer instantaneously.

"So," Jonas started, "everyone sleep well last night?"

Sam paused a moment as she brought the coffee mug to her lips. What was this about?

"Fine, Jonas," grumbled Jack.

"I slept very well, Jonas Quinn," answered Teal'c. "Did you have a restful night?"

"Oh, for the most part," he responded, scratching his chin. "Though come to think of it, I think I woke up a few times."

Teal'c's face was as stoic as always. "Perhaps something disturbed your sleep. There are many strange noises on this planet at night."

Oh, shit. Sam looked from Teal'c to Jonas and back again, a flush crawling up her neck toward her face.

Jonas turned to face Jack and Sam. "Did you guys hear anything weird last night?"

"Nope," Jack replied, while carefully picking minuscule pieces of fuzz out of his coffee.

Sam stood up suddenly. "Excuse me," she said and quickly made her way into the woods, her face turning a vibrant shade of red.

A little while later, Jack found her staring out over the same pond in which the Sebrus had crashed. He walked up beside her and likewise looked out over the water. "So," he said after a minute.

"So," she replied, still staring straight ahead. "They know?"

He sighed. "Yeah, they know. Guess we weren't as discrete as we thought we were."

Sam closed her eyes. "Guess not," she said miserably.

"Well, it could have been worse. T and Jonas won't say anything. They told me as much. Heck, Jonas thought we'd been together this whole time anyway. And Teal'c, well..."

She turned to look at him. "Teal'c what?"

"Teal'c told me that he considered the consummation of our relationship long overdue, or something like that." He winced. "And, uh, he might have mentioned something about death being a welcome reprieve from the pain and suffering he would inflict upon me should I ever harm you in any way."

She gave him a small smile. "Really, he said that?"

"Oh, that makes you happy?" he asked with mock indignation.

She smiled wider. "A little, yeah."

They stood there for awhile longer staring out over the pond.

"So, I guess we shouldn't..." Jack made a vague gesture with his hand. "You know, off-world."

"No, definitely not," Sam said quickly.

"Although now that the team knows..."

"Not gonna happen."

"Okay, okay." He continued to look out over the water, then shrugged his shoulders. "Still, there could be circumstances..."

"Jack!"

"Right." He sighed, then after a moment, he spoke again. "Look, Sam, I'm really sorry the guys found out this way. And I'm sorry I embarrassed you."

She turned to look at him, a soft smile gracing her features. "Well, it does take two to tango."

"And that was some tango." He was grinning widely now. He nudged her arm with his. "So, was it worth it?"

She gave him her most dazzling smile. "Oh, yeah." He beamed back at her. "But it's not happening again, flyboy." His face fell, and she turned and walked back toward camp.

Jack looked out over the water for a moment longer. Then a disturbing thought occurred to him. "You mean just off-world, right? Sam?"

He ran as fast as he could to catch up with her.