Title: Savor the Last Shot
By: Midnight Unicorn
Disclaimers: The usual, main character semi-mine, others and places are not.

Warnings: Pure unadulterated smut. I did some extrapolation on the sex lives of turians, you're not obligated to agree with or like them.

A/N: I've had this written for quite some time now, but I'm glad I didn't post it sooner as I made some key changes that I'm happier with. In the same universe as my Artemisia Shepard: War Hero fanfic, but I didn't want to up the rating.

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Somehow they made it to the bed, and Shepard urged Garrus to sit, pressing on his shoulders; when he did she moved to straddle his lap. Garrus held her hips as much to stabilize himself as her; she seemed willing to take the initiative and he wasn't going to interfere just yet. Her violet eyes were intent as her fingers explored his features, tracing his fringe, the shape of his carapace, gently stroking his mandibles and his scar, feeling his neck and shoulders.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do this," she said, voice low and rougher than usual.

Garrus' grip tightened at that tone and pleasure fizzed under his skin. Taking cue from her, he flexed his fingers a little, and then dragged them up her sides, feeling the reflexive contractions of her muscles even through her shirt. One hand he shifted back between her shoulder blades and the other slowly began undoing the catches on her wrap top while he watched her face for any indication to the negative.

Instead she smiled and kissed his mouth lightly. He didn't have lips the way humans did that could return the gesture but she didn't linger there, moving her kisses to his cheeks, jaw and forehead. At first it was just a sensation, different but not unpleasant, but the more she pressed her soft mouth to his skin the more acutely he felt the heat of that orifice and his own temperature began to rise sharply. Shepard must have felt it because she stopped and leaned back slightly. "Are you alright?"

Garrus murmured quietly and she shivered agreeably, concern melting away. "It's perfectly normal." Seized by an idea, he pushed aside the halves of her shirt and pulled her closer so he could press his mouth to her neck. He marveled that she immediately tipped her head back permissively; a turian woman would never allow him to put his teeth anywhere near such a vulnerable point. Testing to see if she would let him—if she would trust him—he bared his teeth against her skin, just enough to leave an impression, not to cut, and all she did was hum slightly, her fingers crawling curiously over his back. Intrigued, he flicked his tongue out, discovering the texture of her flesh with this method and her sounds of approval encouraged him as he moved along her throat and collarbone before pausing to look at her face. "I had read that the neck could be an erogenous zone for humans, but I don't think I believed it. I didn't see how it could be."

"Some people are turned on by having their feet handled. Humans are strange like that," Shepard shrugged, using the motion to let her shirt slip off her shoulders to the floor. She watched his expression as his eyes scanned her torso.

He knew she was strong by human standards, although her build was lean rather than overtly muscled, but without her armor there was nothing to stop him from digging his talons into her abdomen and tearing her open. He touched her stomach, having no intention to inflict harm, just prodding to see if her organs really were as defenseless as it seemed. She twisted slightly away and he stopped, looking up quickly. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No, it tickled," she said with a half-smile. Her hands had wandered down to his hips and she began tugging lightly on the hem of his top. "May I?"

Garrus obliged and freed his arms from the sleeves so she could pull it over his head. For a moment his nerves dampened his building arousal; before that rocket he had been a perfectly acceptable form of a turian, but now burn scars dominated the right side of his upper body and most of his arm, giving him something of a wasted look though his muscles were as capable as ever. In that moment he didn't see how she could find that attractive, turian, human, or otherwise.

But then her lips curved up and her eyes were bright with interest, her fingertips roving unabashedly over his chest, touching the scars the same as the rest. He wondered how she knew or guessed how much pressure to apply so he could feel it, because he never would have been able to really enjoy the ginger way he had been touching her.

His level of comfort restored, he returned one hand to her hip, moving his fingers idly just to touch her skin and with the other attempted to remove her bra. He knew how they worked, one of his female squad-mates on Omega had been less-than-modest, but it seemed the practice was not as simple as the theory. He didn't want to tear it but those stubborn hooks were trying his patience.

Laughing a little, Shepard decided to help and twisted her arms to undo the clasp, which also had the effect of pushing her breasts towards him. By her sly smirk, she realized this, but then relaxed to let the bra drop away. For a moment Garrus just eyed her chest, unable to forget that she had no natural defenses, but reminded himself that she would let him know if he did something wrong. He quickly learned that as soft as he found the rest of her body it did not compare to her breasts, which yielded to his touch, and startled him when the tips stiffened. "Is that a good sign?"

Shepard grinned. "It's perfectly normal," she teased, while her fingers traced the part of his abdomen where his hard skin turned soft on his lower belly. This was something he would not have been comfortable with had a turian female put her talons there. Partly to distract himself from the sensation just above his sex organs, he continued kneading her breasts experimentally which Shepard did not seem to have the slightest issue with. Wondering if the darker skin of the peak was any different from the rest of her flesh, he lowered his head and she stilled for a moment but made no move to stop him. Applying his teeth again, which she had enjoyed so much on her neck, he tasted first one nipple, then the other, and though it was firmer it was still mostly the same.

It was at that point he realized Shepard was watching his progress from one breast to the other and biting her lip hard enough to leave marks. Her voice was a little shaky when she spoke. "I suppose you read that breasts could be an erogenous zone as well."

"Perhaps," Garrus murmured, pleased with himself. He had honestly worried they would ultimately find each other too alien to pursue this but it was rapidly becoming clear that was not the case. He realized the strong scent that was making him light-headed was a manifestation of her arousal and inhaled slowly, savoring it.

He blinked when she slid back and stood, bracing her legs a little wider than usual and quickly divested of her pants. Eagerly, he stood and followed suit and for several seconds they scrutinized the other with masks of calm over any passion or anxiety. With an affect of humor, Shepard propped a hand on her hip, locking one leg the way she did when confronting merc leaders. "What do you think?"

He did not voice the first truth that came to mind that right up till that moment he half-expected he might still find some hardened bit of flesh, scales, shell, anything somewhere on her, some proof of the primitive ancestry they all came from. But he didn't; it was irrelevant. "I think you confuse me as much as you excite me, Sheaprd," he said with a smile.

Garrus hadn't realized her shoulders were tense until she relaxed them. "Part of the fun, isn't it?"

"Definitely." He reached out to touch her shoulder and then let his hand slide down until he caught her wrist and lifted it to his mouth. With their gazes locked, he gave her a moment to appreciate his exposed teeth in case she wished to withdraw, and then clamped down on her limb a little harder than he intended in his excitement, but she did not flinch, and there was something predatory in her eyes as she watched.

For the life of him Garrus could not have said why it afforded him such a thrill that not only did she allow this seemingly threatening move but she appeared to like it as much as he did. Slowly he worked his way up the delicate inner part of her arm, pulling her closer as he did so until she was flush against him. Then he shifted back to her neck, dragging his tongue over her jugular and feeling the rapid pace of her pulse, unable to help a quiet growl of satisfaction.

This had an interesting effect on Shepard, the most obvious being an answering moan, accompanied by a full-bodied shudder, and then she leaned into him like she couldn't quite hold herself up for a moment. When he chuckled, she retaliated by turning her head and biting him near the hinge of his mandible, startling and briefly alarming him. As she had allowed him to place his teeth on her, he repressed the instinct to remove the threat, particularly as it didn't really hurt. His flesh wasn't supple like hers and her teeth were altogether blunt so all she could inflict was pressure, until he felt her tongue not on his metallic flesh but the thin, soft membrane over the connective tissue of his jaw. His gizzards squirmed as heat darted through them straight to his groin with each movement of her tongue.

After a few moments she pulled back and grinned at him. "So I'm not the only one with erogenous zones."

With her free hand, Shepard touched his cheek gently, wordlessly expressing her concern. Garrus knew he was trembling and his grip on her wrist must have been painfully tight. Part of it was fear. Most of it was a conflict between past and present and what they might do now.

"Garrus?"

She had lost her playful attitude and he felt guilty about that. Belatedly releasing her arm, he cupped her face and, since he couldn't kiss her, he lightly bit her lip before answering. "Just over thinking. I'm not used to some of the things we are doing, but I am fine."

She nodded but didn't look entirely convinced. "You had me worried for a second. Tell me if I'm going too far."

Garrus shook his head, stroking her face lightly with his talons and he could see the bumps rippling along her arm in response. He did the same down her neck and then her breasts and received a positive reaction from her in little noises and small movements. Grasping her hips—resisting the impulse to squeeze—he pulled her back towards the bed and sat as before but kept her standing between his legs. From this position it was a comfortable angle to put his mouth to her breasts, half-considering finding out just how hard she would let him bite before saying enough. All the while, her deft fingers exploited the seams and soft points of his neck, fringe, shoulders and upper back, places a turian woman would never bother with, sending ripples of warmth through his entire body and building heat in his groin. Soon he wouldn't be able to contain himself and had no reason to want to.

Scraping his teeth enough to scratch the skin without drawing blood, Garrus pulled her closer still, feeling the warmth of her nether regions against his abdomen. Clearly one reaction they shared.

Now interested in that, he pushed her back, giving him room to drag his teeth down her stomach, more carefully as he could feel her muscles tensing here, and briefly poked his tongue at her belly button. Different, but not precisely appealing. He continued, stroking her dips of her hips first with his talons, then the rough pads of his fingers, nipping at the soft flesh lightly.

"Garrus," she spoke hesitantly, resting one hand on his shoulder, the other touching his face. "You don't have to—" she stopped, blushing at the intense expression he focused on her.

"But I want to," he said before thinking and released her hips. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you didn't like it." And why should she? It's not like he would let a turian female put her teeth near his genitals, either.

"No, I do like it." She squeezed his shoulder as firmly as she ever did when acknowledging their friendship, their camaraderie. "I just wasn't sure what exactly you'd researched and thought you might have to do."

"Oh, well, I did read up on human physiology, male and female, but I…I just couldn't watch the vids. Generally speaking, I'm just not attracted to human women." He lightly ran his talons down her side and her nipples, which had softened without his attention, became peaked again. "You're an exception, Shepard. An amazing, attractive, talented exception."

She didn't say anything for several seconds, looking at him with heavy-lidded eyes, and then she swallowed before answering. "I suppose I can accept that."

Garrus grinned and nuzzled her stomach for a moment before playfully asking, "May I continue?"

"Certainly, although it might be easier if I lie down."

"If you insist." She caressed his carapace for a moment, which wasn't usually a particularly sensitive body part, but for some reason tingles fizzed through him wherever she touched. He watched her intently as she crawled onto the bed and then settled, lying on her back, an odd expression he couldn't quite define dominating her face.

Still, he knew an invitation when he saw one and followed her, laying over her body for a moment and lining up his pelvis to hers. Her eyes widened fractionally but she didn't move to dislodge him, scraping her nails up his back and sides and shifting her legs slightly. Perhaps she would have scratched a human male with that pressure, but his flesh was tougher and pleasure coursed through his muscles. He slid back down to the point he had been interrupted at, making note of the roughened red of her skin after friction with his own. He refrained from actual biting gestures now, not wanting to upset her or harm her if she moved suddenly and used just his tongue to explore the source of that intoxicating scent. She also seemed to enjoy it when he used his knuckles to manipulate her folds (he didn't dare use his talons on such delicate skin) and spread her legs more. He didn't forget her thighs, more fleshy and muscled than his own, and she did nothing to muffle a low groan when he applied his talons again.

Her flesh was so soft and yielding, it was fascinating to watch the red lines rise on her skin and it didn't seem to harm her. She was sweating, too, something he'd noticed humans did, but never associated with the exertion of sex. When he shifted back to the apex of her legs he noticed her scent, overwhelming as it was, became stronger and she whined softly. He would have stopped, alarmed by the sudden tension wracking her body, but she gripped his fringe tight and he understood he was to stay put and continue.

Seconds built to almost a minute and she was hiccupping for air, relaxing from the mini-convulsions that had run through her though she still twitched at points. "Oh, that felt nice," she said hoarsely, propping herself on her elbows to look at him directly. "Did you research that one or figure it out just now?"

"A little of both," he answered quietly, examining the moisture that had collected on his fingers before cleaning it off. He liked the taste almost as much as the scent. In the next moment, he was pawing at her; there was no other word for it, like he couldn't help it. "Shepard, please, I feel like I'm going insane."

A lazy smirk curled her mouth and she sat up, stroking his mandibles for a moment, then hooking her finger tips behind his jaw to pull him up as she stood. It was just short of pain to be dragged like that but in his heightened state he did not like it and hissed reactively, grabbing her wrists and shoving her against her fishtank.

Shepard didn't make a sound, still smirking, and pushed against him, just enough for him to think she meant it and he pressed her back again, rubbing his body against every part of her he could reach. Now she gasped and he wasn't sure if it was pain or pleasure, but didn't think to ask. "Garrus." She made his name a primal sound and he shuddered, forcing his jaw open instead of down so he did not bite her to the blood. She made it harder by mouthing at his mandible again and he growled in frustration, dragging her hips up in an attempt to bring her to a more suitable angle. "Garrus…Garrus, can your hips support me?"

It was several seconds before the question sunk in. "Ung, I don't…I don't know, I've ever tried…"

She quieted him with a finger to his mouth which he nipped at playfully, making her smile. "Time to find out." She reached above her head and grasped the lip of the tank to lever herself up, lifting one leg to find the notch of his hip. Garrus was impressed; it didn't even look easy. Gripping the back of her thighs, he helped her get up, hearing a definite grunt of discomfort before she settled, exhaling slowly and bringing one hand down to balance on his shoulder. Now the heat of her groin was right above his and the last thing he wanted to do was wait.

Tilting his pelvis, he nudged her opening. Shepard tipped her head back, thumping against the chill glass, in the same movement dropping down just enough that he could slide into her. It was almost maddening then to find a way that would permit him to move when all he wanted to do was push deeper inside her.

Entrusting her balance to him, Shepard returned her hand to the top of the tank, grateful for the extra lip that allowed her to have a hold at all. Garrus found he was able to support her better by gripping midway down the back of one thigh and brace his other hand against the glass. She knew the moment he found a suitable angle because he thrust hard, his caution eaten away by impatience. Biting her lip against temporary discomfort, she soon began to shake, overwhelmed by the texture inside her, reaching deep and rubbing in ways quickly shifting from foreign to arousing.

If Garrus' brain still functioned normally, he would have reflected on these additional differences, how though turian women were hotter and wetter, they didn't flex internally the way Shepard did, producing inconsistent pressure that was taunting him. There was so much softness, he knew he was a bad turian for taking so much pleasure from it, but he didn't think about that then. Those were thoughts for later.

Now it was just a drive, going deeper, harder than he would have normally to achieve the same resistance he was used to, it was the sounds Shepard made, her outcry when he bit her shoulder far too hard, and that scent growing stronger again while she shook around him. In a last push he leaned against her, a low keen ripped from him involuntarily as the heat and the pressure burst through a dam, making his head spin and his whole body shudder.

Shepard began to slide down, startling him back to awareness and she had lost her grip on the tank. A trembling was working her over and he released her leg so she could stand but she kept on going till she sat on the floor, panting and wiping her flushed face. Garrus started to kneel, and then decided he might as well sit on the bed since it was near enough. The front of her torso had a raw, scraped look to it, and he realized the back of her leg was bleeding. Guilt pinched his gizzards, but she hadn't seemed to have noticed, so it probably looked worse than it was.

"That was fun," she rasped, rubbing her shoulder carefully. "We'll have to do it again if we survive."

Garrus was startled by the thought, but then he smiled and offered her a hand up. "I find myself in agreement."

She took his hand, wincing a little as her muscles strained in places. "I might have to steal some medigel from the supplies, though. Just in case you get rough."

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Let me know if I did any good!