Author's Note:

As promised - here's the tag to Dark and Shadow... it's DEFINITELY an M rating boys and girls... so don't read it if you're not wanting an M rating. :) It's hot and steamy and very yummy if I do say so myself! Enjoy! :) Oh - and ignore the typos please... I tried to read it as best I could but it's hard when you get all aflutter. I totally borrowed Ronon's "little one" from KeiraMarcos because I totally can hear him calling her that. It's such an endearing term! :) So read Keira's stuff if you haven't! :)

Nika

Jennifer Keller was the first one to admit she wasn't the bravest person in the world. And right now, she was feeling about as far from courage as a body could get.

Her fingers trembled, her heart beat erratically, and her mouth was dry. She wanted to run, she wanted to hide, she wanted to be anywhere but where she was right now.

She listened intently – waiting for a repeat of the sound from the other room, but it never came. Still silence. She was still okay. He wasn't here yet.

She exhaled, a long shaky breath, and closed her eyes, sinking lower into the hot water, wondering if she could possibly hide beneath the massive pile of bubbles. She'd spilled a little too much into the tub, chalking it up to nerves, but right now she didn't mind the added blanket of frothy white to cover her nakedness.

Because she'd obviously lost her bare-assed mind.

What if he said no? What if he laughed? Could a person die from embarrassment? She was a doctor, she should know the answer but the question kept coming up anyway. Then she started getting mad. He's the one who started it. He's the one who said…

Oh don't you start thinking about what he said. That's what got you here in the first place. Oh hell, what am I doing?

Taking a long series of deep, calming breaths, she concentrated on the relaxing heat of the water, and tried to shove away whatever insanity had gripped her when she thought up this plan.

The longer the silence continued, the easier it was to calm down. With her eyes closed, she couldn't refute the warmth of the water, or the soothing smell of the bubbles, and she slipped into a state of half-awake.

Ten minutes, she promised herself. Give it ten minutes then you can go and pretend like you were never here. None the wiser.

Except for the fact that his bathroom now smelled like a field of daisies. A very big field of daisies. It would certainly impress the Marines on the sparring mat. Very floral.

That made her giggle… which turned into a laugh… which turned into a series of silent snorts and hiccups that had her nearly crying with glee.

And of course, that would be the exact moment he'd appear.

.

.

Ronon wasn't sure what shocked him more.

Finding Jennifer in his bathroom.

Finding Jennifer naked in his bathroom.

Or finding a naked Jennifer, buried beneath a blanket of white bubbles, in his bathtub, laughing so hard she was crying.

He stood in the doorway like an idiot – staring.

When she finally noticed him, it only seemed to make her laugh all the harder, and he watched her face flush further.

She slid lower beneath the foam, which lifted her knees up out of the water. Naked, slick knees. He stared as a large blob of soapy bubbles trailed slowly down the side of her calf to join the others.

With a bubble covered hand over her eyes, the laughter trailed off into a fit of giggles. Her free hand shot up out of the water, flinging white globs of foam onto the floor as she waved her palm back and forth.

"I'm sorry." She hiccupped. "It was just really… really… funny."

"Apparently." Was all he could think to say.

His eyes kept returning to her knees.

Naked knees.

Naked Jennifer.

He shifted his weight as his body instantly responded to the picture in front of him. Her hair was twisted up onto her head, attached with a tiny clip that made no logical sense on how it could possibly keep all that hair there. Her face was flush from the heat of the water, embarrassment adding its own layer of pink to her cheeks. Her skin was wet and slick – what he could see of it – making him wonder just what was beneath the rest of those bubbles. His bathroom smelled like a meadow – she smelled like a meadow – sunny, flowery, beautiful.

He didn't want to presume anything. But she was here – and naked – in his bathtub. But Earth women weren't as forward as Satedan women. He'd heard the stories from the Marines of misunderstandings because the man expected one thing while the woman expected another. But Earth men were also stupid. They never asked for clarification.

He now understood why.

What could he possibly say that would make sense in a situation like this, that would also keep her from leaving? Because right now – there was no way he was letting her out of here until he knew exactly what she was doing. And why. And all the other questions bounding happily over his libido. He briefly though of locking his front door – but her CEO status had medical overrides. She could leave if she wanted to.

So…

"Jennifer?" He finally croaked.

She lowered her hand from her eyes, leaving a small cluster of bubbles sliding down the side of her cheek.

"Why are you… What are you…" He cursed his inability to speak. "Doing here?"

Jennifer's embarrassment heated then skipped gleefully away as she realized that she – little Jenny Keller, Doctor and CMO, had one Ronon Dex, Specialist and Warrior – fully, and completely… flustered.

Well, well. Maybe this wasn't going to be so hard after all.

Er… unless he asked her to leave.

Oh hell.

"Taking a bath?" She finally answered.

He nodded. "I see that." She watched his eyes move down the bubbles towards her knees, then back up to her face. "Why?"

"Because I wanted one?" She started to smile, suddenly feeling a lot more bravado under the knowledge that he was obviously having an issue. Not her. Him. Having an issue. Because of her.

And… he hadn't tossed her out on her naked ass yet…

Although he still hadn't moved from his original position in the door frame. And the way he was staring at her… those green eyes so dark. She watched his hands curl into fists, tighten, then release. He wasn't moving. He was just… staring. Obviously trying to figure out how to get her to leave. She'd gone too far. She shouldn't have come. She misunderstood. This isn't what he meant. It was just the heat of the moment. He'd had time to think about it… and he didn't really feel that way.

She stiffened, her shoulders raising above the waterline. "I'm… Oh geeze this wasn't what you meant, was it…" She mumbled, her newfound bravery sliding away with the bubbles that dripped off her shoulders. "I just thought you would… I didn't mean to… I… I wanted to… I want… Oh, this is so not how it was supposed to go…" She collapsed against the side of the tub and slid in up to her neck. "I… um… I'm sorry. If you leave… for a few minutes I'll get my stuff and we'll just pretend… pretend this never happened." She muttered, covering her eyes with her hand, the heat in her face rivaling the worst sunburn.

Silence echoed through the room as her voice petered out. She kept her eyes closed and prayed for salvation.

"If I don't leave?" His voice sounded closer. More emotional.

"Oh…" She whispered, scrunching down until her chin hit the bubbles, squeezing her eyes tightly closed behind her hand. "Drowning is also an option."

"And if I don't want you to drown?" His voice was almost beside her now.

Her insides trembled just a little more. "Death by embarrassment would be a close second."

"Jennifer." His voice whispered beside her hear.

She shivered, despite the covering warmth of the water and the heat creeping up her skin. "Yes?"

"Open your eyes." He commanded softly.

"Do I… have to?"

Silence. Then "No."

When his mouth touched hers she gasped, her parted lips giving full access to his tongue. She dropped her hand from her eyes and opened them in shock, meeting dark green persuasion as he watched her. He pulled back, and she caught her breath.

With one hand bracing himself on the wall, and the other on the side of the tub, he hovered above her, his mouth a breath away from hers.

"Jennifer." He growled her name low in his throat, and her entire body reacted with a building tension.

She nodded, not trusting herself to say anything.

"I want to hear you say it." He asked, his eyes locked on hers, his breath blowing across her lips as he leaned ever so close.

"Say what?" She exhaled, her eyes dropping to watch the corner of his mouth twist up.

"What you want."

She inhaled sharply through her nose, the answer teasing her lips, but not passing aloud. She squeezed her eyes shut, not trusting them to show her the truth hovering beneath the surface of his eyes.

"Jennifer." He said again, his breath warm and teasing against her ear.

"Ronon." She answered, afraid to open her eyes. Afraid to admit what was ripping through her soul. "I'm not very good at this."

"Tell me what you want."

Jen's heart was beating so erratically she could feel the blood pounding all the way through her finger tips. Just say it. Just say it. Just say it!

"I want you." She whispered, her voice barely a breath of sound. Her eyes opened slowly, worried about what she'd see, afraid to know the truth, and finding only desire. Strong, heated, desire. She almost sighed with relief. Okay maybe she did sigh.

Then he kissed her, firmly, his tongue dancing around hers, pressing her back against the side of the tub. His hands kept him off the bubbles and out of the water… but barely. She felt herself falling, the world spinning away leaving only her. Only him.

He pulled away again, leaving her gasping for air and felling as though she were floating on the water, not sitting in it.

"Are you sure." He asked, his eyes searching her face.

She nodded, her heart slamming behind her ribs with anticipation, trepidation, fear, at what she was admitting too. Agreeing too. Wanting to do.

"Yes." She nodded again.

With a low growl his mouth claimed hers, the kiss stronger, more urgent. The intensity of pressure pushed deeply and brought out an incredibly urge for more. She quickly reached under his hair to clasp her fingers behind his neck. He tangled with her tongue, pushing and pulling, exploring her mouth. He gave up the arm holding the side of the tub and slid his hand around the back of her neck, cupping the base of her skull while he trailed a quick succession of kisses along the side of her jaw.

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against his palm, turning her face as his mouth moved down her neck. When he kissed the sensitive spot directly below her ear, the combination of his soft lips and the rough feel of his whiskers, sent a tremor down her spine and she arched her back, her fingers digging sharply into his shoulder.

With an answering groan the level in the tub suddenly shot up as he crawled into the water, sending a bubble topped waterfall sloshing over the edge and across the floor. His hand slid up her back, his mouth kissing behind her ear, across her neck, down to the hollow of her throat. The feel of his arms around her, the touch of his skin against hers, sent her frantically searching for more. She had no idea what she was trying to control. She couldn't control it. Didn't want to control it. She just wanted more.

When his mouth closed over an exposed breast she almost shot out of the tub, and would have if he hadn't been holding her so firmly in the water. The way his tongue rotated around the hardened nipple sent a convulsing tremor through her lower abdomen. With his mouth fully occupied, his tongue slipping across her wet skin, lapping water droplets as he moved from one nipple to the other, his hand moved slowly down her back beneath the surface of the water, to slide beneath her.

She gasped at the feel of his palm across her naked cheeks.

He shifted her forward, twisting himself around in the water so she was positioned on his lap. With his legs hanging over the edge of the tub, she was sitting high enough out of the water now the bubbles stopped just below her navel.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he moved across her breasts with his tongue. Licking and nipping. She couldn't stop herself from moving, her hips sliding without order, without understanding. Just a deep seeded need of the long, hard feel of him burning the naked flesh between her legs. The leather between her thighs was slick from the soap and the water, and she ground herself against him.

He groaned and clamped his hands down on her hips, holding her steady, raising to press himself against her.

A moan escaped her lips and she dropped her head back, her eyes closing as she let her body ride the moment. She'd never, ever experienced such a raw, fiery lust before – her body fully attuned to every movement. She'd never wanted it so badly. Never understood what it meant to truly crave… to need… to desire completion with a ferocity that was making her dizzy.

His tongue ran up between the valley of her breasts and he pulled her head down, ending the licking, nipping kisses on her mouth where he pressed himself closer, pulling her against him.

With one hand wrapped firmly around her waist, and the other against the wall, he shoved himself up out of the water, arching his back, and sliding up onto the rim of the tub. Water and bubbles cascaded onto the floor as he balanced on the edge of the tub, her body still firmly planted in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she'd ever held back. She couldn't fight it. Wouldn't fight it. Her body had already made it's decision and so had her heart. She'd go wherever he took her.

Ronon stood slowly, nearly losing himself at the sight that met him in the fog-misted mirror over her shoulder as he lifted her with him.

Her wet, dripping backside… incredibly sexy backside… covering his front. A trail of bubbles sliding slowly down the curve of her spine to where her naked bottom rested firmly across his arm. Her neck, long and graceful, arching while she placed soft kisses along the side of his jaw. The angle of her hips as her legs lifted to wrap around him, locking behind his back. The way she gasped and arched when he shifted her lower, pressing his erection to the heat between her legs.

He nearly lost it.

Giving up his view he staggered into the main room, his body wanting her here – now – on the bathroom counter. On the floor. In the tub.

His control was escaping so quickly if he didn't move now, he'd never make it to the bed before burying himself inside her. He was barely holding on as it was with the way she was wriggling against him. When he felt her teeth nip his shoulder he almost dropped her when a spasm of desire wracked his body.

He leaned over his bed, laying her onto the covers, falling with her. Her fingers slid up under the edge of his wet shirt and seared the skin of his lower back. He fought with the sopping material and after several loud curses was finally able to pull it over his head and throw it onto the floor.

His mouth returned to hers as she continued the exploration of his back with her fingers. The additional score of fingernails over his shoulders nearly drove him over. She arched herself against him again and the pressure made him light-headed. Good lord the woman was going to kill him.

He pulled back, a frantic desire to rid himself of his pants hindered by the realization that her legs were still locked around him. He tugged her ankles, pulling her legs down and lifted himself off the bed, his eyes drinking in every detail of her wet, writhing body. She was beautiful. Incredible. Soft. Passionate. He needed her. All of her.

He tugged the pants off his bare feet and covered her body with his, the rocking of her hips when he pressed her skin for skin hissing through her teeth. His arm slid under her shoulders, lifting her back and raising her nipples to his mouth. He attacked them hungrily, responding to the soft keening noises in the back of her throat. She buried her hands in his hair, twisting his dreads through her fingers as she arched into his mouth.

He traced his fingers across her abdomen, teasing through soapy water, pausing to tease a circle around her navel before moving lower. His palm slid across the incredible heat and wetness between her legs and she cried out, her hips bucking to press against the heel of his hand. Oh gods she was so wet.

He slid one finger inside. So tight. So hot. He withdrew it slowly before plunging deeper. She moaned and arched her back, the movement pushing her breasts higher into his mouth, while her head thrashed to the side. He suckled and pulled, feeling her body bucking against the press of his fingers. Her hips pushed against his hand, her soft whimper of need sliding across his skin like a breath of heated wind.

He couldn't take any more. He couldn't wait any longer. She was too hot, too wet, too passionate to keep him from burying himself inside her again and again until she screamed his name.

He rose higher, his body sliding up hers, one parting nibble of each nipple before kissing the pounding heartbeat at the base of her throat, nipping the sensitive skin beneath her ear, before burying himself with a long, driving thrust inside her. She was so tightly clamped around him he felt as though they were locked together.

She gasped and arched against him, her fingernails digging sharply into his biceps. Too sharply. He froze, his groin screaming for more as his brain yelled at him to stop.

Buried to the hilt inside her, he fought to keep his body still, his eyes searching her face as she stared up at him. Confusion. Desire. Worry. In a blinding flash of realization he staggered.

He could practically hear the beat of his heart as the words left his lips. "Jennifer? Are you… have you done this before?" He hadn't felt any resistance… but he hadn't been feeling for it… He hadn't… tell him he hadn't… Not like this…

She shook her head, her fingers releasing their death grip on his shoulders as she slowly wriggled her hips against him.

"I'm not a… virgin." She said softly, her words washing over him, bringing a mixture of relief… and… jealousy? He hadn't wanted to be… but he had wanted someone else to be either…

"It's… tight." She confessed. "I've never…" Her hips shifted to the right as she arched her neck, her eyes rolling back. "I mean… once… but… " She wriggled left. "It was never…" She shifted right again. "Never like this." Her legs lifted, her heels digging into the back of his hips. "Oh God, Ronon." She moaned, using her heels to lift her hips higher, pulling him inside her. "It was never like this."

He growled – a deeply male satisfaction taking control as she writhed around him, her hands sliding down his arms to clamp around his wrists before twisting themselves in the blankets. He could feel her pulling at the covers with every arch of her back. He slid away and returned, her body climbing to meet his every thrust.

He moved faster, harder, plunging deeper with every answering kick of her hips. Her fingernails carved into his shoulders as she lifted her back off the bed, her face buried against his neck as the explosion took her, and she screamed his name.

Her hips bucked furiously as the tightening release washed over her, clenching around him and driving him over the edge. He drove deeper, releasing himself, releasing her, claiming her with his body, his heart, his soul, as he cried his satisfaction against the side of her neck.

With a shuddering tremble he collapsed on top of her, his heart beating frantically against hers, her fingernails slowly releasing his shoulders. When her heels slid down the back of his thighs he shivered, blood returning to his head, slowly releasing him from her dizzying effects. He hugged her tightly and flipped onto his back, unable to release her, unwilling to let her go. She was his.

With her body now lying splayed across his, his spent member still locked tightly inside her, he groaned softly, his arms sliding slowly down her back as she sighed against his chest.

Jennifer couldn't move. She was completely broken. Every muscle of her body was rubber and she wanted nothing more than to just lay here and die happy. Because if this was the last thing she'd ever know… then it would be worth everything she'd ever done just to get to this point in time.

"Ronon?" She finally whispered, nuzzling her head further into his shoulder, her fingers tracing a lazy figure eight across the heated skin of his collarbone.

"Yes?"

"I think I'm dead."

She felt the rumble of his chest before the laughter escaped.

"No, little one. You're not dead." He moved her hair and kissed her forehead. "Although I think, quite possibly, you may have killed me."

She joined in the laughter, lifting her head, her fingers sliding up along his jaw. At this point she was too far gone to feel any embarrassment at their incredibly intimate position. What they'd just done, just shared, was too much for her to even begin to feel anything other than incredulous over.

Even if she had only tonight – it was worth everything – because tonight wasn't over.

Ronon watched the smile slide slowly off her face, her eyes shifting from sedated, satisfied pleasure to flicker with sadness while the cool skin of her palm lay gently against the side of his cheek.

"Did I hurt you?" He voiced, suddenly worried he'd done some damage. She'd said she'd only had one other… perhaps…

"No." She smiled again, hazel eyes darkening. "No. I just…" She lowered her head to his shoulder and nuzzled closer.

"You just what?" He angled his head, trying to see her face.

She laughed softly against his chest, her palm splayed over his heart.

"You'll laugh."

"I won't laugh."

She didn't answer, so he reached for her chin, gently lifting her head so he could see her eyes. He saw the flash of worry and something… something deeper, darker, buried beneath the gold and hazel specks.

"What?" He whispered, wanting the answer, not wanting the answer.

"I want more." She whispered, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"More?" He quirked an eyebrow, wondering just what more he could possibly give her because right now, he'd given her everything he had to give. His body. His heart. His soul.

"More." She said softly, raising slowly off his chest until she was sitting astride him, still clutching him tightly inside her. She slowly gyrated her hips, pressing against his groin, her hands sliding down to the sensitive skin of his lower abdomen.

"More." She whispered, her eyes shifting with pleasure as he felt himself stiffen inside her.

"Oh." He finally heard himself say, his hands reaching for her hips, sliding over the soft skin of her thighs, her waist, her breasts.

She gasped when he reached her already hardened nipples and dropped her head back, letting her hair fall in wet tangles down her spine.

"That," he groaned when she ground herself sharply against him. "That… I can do."

And he did.

Several times.

And then once more just to make sure she understood.

She was his.

And he was hers.

.

.

END