Chapter Text
March 23, 2178
SSV London
The ride back to the ship had been subdued, quieter than it had been when they’d come in. John dropped his gear in his cabin and went in search of the showers. He hadn’t fed, so he hadn’t begun to heal yet. Just as well. There were too many eyes aboard to explain a miraculous recovery. His body ached in a way it hadn’t since Shanxi, and he wanted nothing more than pounding hot water to wash away what it could.
He walked into the showers where one was already running. Someone else had apparently had the same idea. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, dropping his pants a moment later. Looking over, he saw Shepard watching him openly. Naked Shepard. Naked wet Shepard.
“Like what you see?” he asked shamelessly. He stopped by her stall, leaning a shoulder against the divider.
“Yes,” she said just as brazenly, reaching up to rinse the soap from her hair.
His gaze went to her breasts before scanning her from head to toe, taking in the colorful tattoos and noting each scar. She was as sexy as he’d imagined. He wondered if the tattoos meant anything or if she just liked the aesthetic. He wondered if her breasts were as soft as they looked. He wondered again if she’d flare when he made her come. She let him look, flashing an inviting smile. That was all he needed.
When he stepped into the shower and hooked his hands under her thighs to lift her up and slam her against the back wall, she met his lips with equal desperation, digging in her shower kit for a condom he didn’t need. He slid a hand under her ass to support her weight, reaching between them to stroke between her legs, a finger slipping over her slick flesh. His mouth covered her nipple, sucking the bud into his mouth. If they’d had more time, he’d lift her up onto his shoulders and bury his face between her legs until he answered his question.
She choked down a moan, tearing the packet open with her teeth and taking him in hand, stroking him as he dipped a finger into her. He forgot to breathe as she stroked him like she’d done it a thousand times and knew exactly what he liked. Her thumb circled his tip, and he buried his face against her neck, groaning against it.
“Fuck, Shepard, do it,” he said tightly, nipping at her throat and wishing he could sink his teeth into her while he fucked her. He slid another finger inside her, stretching her for him as she rolled the condom onto him with a practiced motion.
Snarling, he lined himself up and sheathed inside her in a single stroke of his hips, pulling her down onto him and grinding their bodies together. She wrapped him in heat, her biotics pulsing into and through him in an echo of his thrusts into her. Their moans echoed against the tile as his hips snapped, driving into her. His hand fisted in her wet hair, his mouth crashing against hers. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she rode him.
“Fuck me, Schaefer,” she said against his mouth, tugging his bottom lip between her teeth.
“John,” he groaned, his tongue sweeping into her mouth.
“Red,” she answered when they parted for breath.
“Always did have a thing for redheads,” he said, a hand sweeping down her body to circle his thumb over her center. “Wanna see if you flash when I make you come. That night in the Mako, I was thinking about this. Having you alone, making you moan my name. Moan for me, Red.”
She did, her head falling back against the tile as his mouth found her throat again. His thumb stroked around her nub, and he drove into her, shifting his angle to keep her hanging on the edge. She rode him hard, her hand cupping the back of his neck, the other on his jaw, her thumb dragging his lip down and catching on his teeth. He nipped the pad of it, groaning as he watched her. Fuck, she was beautiful.
The door opened, and he reached behind to yank the curtain shut, but his pace didn’t change. He didn’t give a damn if they got caught at this point. Wild horses couldn’t have dragged him from her body in this moment.
“You don’t get to come till they leave, Red,” he murmured against her ear.
He fucked her as the other shower heads turned on, dragging her nipple between his teeth and thumbing at the place where they were joined, mercilessly holding her at the edge of the peak, driving her up until she was writhing against him. His finger found her amp port, circling it experimentally, and dark energy washed over her body and across his skin. Oh, fuck. He needed to see it. He needed to feel it.
“Everybody out,” he barked. “Your CO wants to shower in peace.”
The other showers turned off with an echo of ‘sorry, sir’ and the muffled sounds of people rapidly drying off and dressing. The door opened and closed again, and he lightly tapped her amp port with a finger, his thumb sweeping over her clit as he thrust against her spot, holding her there and grinding into it. She shattered, her biotics flashing like lightning as she called his name and he pulsed inside her.
His head dropped to her shoulder, and he grinned as he pulled out and slid her to her feet. He looked down at her and kissed her soundly, stripping off the condom and tying it off.
“A flare for a flare,” he said, and left the stall.
He managed to hold himself together until he reached his cabin, then sank down into a chair and let his head fall back. Fucking Shepard had felt like something he hadn’t experienced in over a century. Home. She’d felt like home.
Holy shit.
Three days later, his comm pinged. Steven. He answered, noting the old vampire’s quirked eyebrow at the sight of him. He still looked like shit. Too bad.
“You should feed, Shepard.”
“You’re calling me to tell me I look too thin, Mom?” he snarked.
“No. I want your opinion on something. Lieutenant Shepard. What was your read?”
John perched his hips against the desk behind him and propped his hands against the aging metal. “Damned if she’s not the best fucking soldier I’ve ever fought with.”
“You’re not concerned about her history? I’m certain she’s got secrets we haven’t pieced together yet.”
He snorted. “Hell, Steven. Our entire lives are secret. If you’re suddenly concerned about shady pasts, we should be looking in mirrors first.”
Hackett hummed noncommittally. “I’m curious about that blast wave you described.”
John shook his head. He’d replayed that moment again and again. Between that and the shower, she’d featured heavily in his sleepless nights since they’d left the moon.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I didn’t know biotics could do that. I think if the general public knew biotics could do that, they’d be a lot more worried about them than us.”
“Describe it.”
He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “You know the way the air feels just before lightning strikes? That’s what it was like. Your entire body feels electrified. Your hair stands on end. Everything in you is shouting to dive for cover and kiss your ass goodbye. And that was just her gearing up for it. Like an electric storm personified. When she released it…” he shifted, looking the other vampire in the eye through the vid feed, “it was like a tidal wave. Unstoppable. Inevitable. A force of nature. It just washed away everything unlucky enough to be in her path. That quick, and it was all over.”
“Think that’s how she survived Elysium?”
“No fucking clue. What I do know is that woman is the biggest weapon the Alliance has got. She’s wasted where she is. With that much power, she needs the training to back it up.”
Hackett nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that. Give her a recommendation for ICT. I’ll sign off on it.”
John hadn’t known Steven for a century and a half without learning that he never did anything without a reason. His eyes narrowed on the admiral.
“What are you scheming up, Hackett?”
Steven’s gaze sharpened. “This is the last go-around for us, John. The Alliance is getting better at detecting us every day. We’re not going to be able to recreate ourselves again. Not with biometrics and VIs doing facial recognition and talk of registering for donors.”
“You’re the one who wanted to go public,” he pointed out.
“I’m too damn old to be reinventing myself every decade or so, Shepard. I’m not you. I can’t go thirty years without drawing suspicion. It’s high time we came out of hiding. But until the Alliance pulls their heads out of their asses and starts treating us the way they do biotics, we don’t have a choice. We’ve got the strongest human biotic known to man at our disposal. Get her by your side. Let the galaxy see what she can do. Next to her, we’ll look harmless as kittens. The two of you could be a powerhouse. And if the Alliance won’t accept us, then we go somewhere that will.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Citadel Council. The Spectres. The aliens don’t give a damn about human politics, and they’re already comfortable with biotics. If we present them with a powerhouse team and show them what an asset the two of you could be together, we could get you into the Spectres. Think about it, John. If a vampire becomes one of the first human Spectres, humanity will have to accept us. We can come out into the sunlight.”
John scoffed. “We barely have an embassy, and you think they’re going to invite us into the Spectres? The next step after that is a seat on the Council, and there are half a dozen races in line ahead of us for that.”
Hackett shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe not this year or the next five years, but soon enough. You just make sure she makes it to N7.”
“I’m not giving her a free pass, Steven.”
“I didn’t say that. She’ll earn it. You’ll make damn sure of that. I’m assigning you to the Villa.”