She waited in the barracks for Ronon’s group to finish eating, once more watching the door for his frame. Her head continued to throb dully and though it had swollen a bit she could tell that it was not going to worsen. She rose when he entered and he hastened towards her, engulfing her in a hug and kissing the top of her head. Her throat tightened with tears of relief as she hugged him back, clinging to the fabric at the back of his shirt. His voice was a whisper in her hair. “Are you alright?”
She nodded. “What are we going to do?”
He sighed, closing his eyes as he nuzzled into her hair. “I don’t know.” He was quiet for a moment, feeling her heart beat against his chest. “They’ve noticed he’s missing. I heard two other drivers joking about where he could have gone off to. When he doesn’t come back tonight they’ll start looking for him.” He paused for a moment then let go to hold one of her hands. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”
She squeezed his hand with a small smile. “As alright as can be expected.”
The two made their way to their corner and sat down. Ronan kept an arm around her waist and she rested her head against his shoulder. It was now dark outside and the barracks were full. For a long while they held still and listened to the noises of the people around them as the others drifted to sleep. A mother was quieting her child and two other lovers were whispering to each other in another language. Ronon lay down and Teyla follower, pressing herself against his side.
“Several saw me leave with him,” Teyla whispered, her hand resting on his chest, feeling his heart beat.
He kept his voice low and whispered near her ear so they wouldn’t be overheard by any still awake. “I’ll sneak out tonight and hide the body.” He hesitated, fingering a lock of her hair. “Then I’ll find the ‘gate and come back with help as soon as I can.”
She let his words sink in while she felt several of his breaths fall upon her chin.
“When I overheard the drivers talking they were calling him Jenkins,” he continued. “Joking that they probably wouldn’t see him for a few days if he quit early to go drink.”
She sighed and her exhalation tickled his collarbone. “Then his vices have gifted us several days.”
Ronon nodded. “I plan to be back with help long before they figure out what happened to him. But if you stay here and stay quiet like you have they won’t suspect you. If anything goes wrong and they talk to you, tell them it was me and that I threatened you if you told. Just act weak and scared – these guys love power and they feel manly when a woman acts like that. But hopefully they won’t notice anything until I’ve gotten you out of here.”
She slid her hand into his and squeezed it. “You are a Runner, Ronon. I trust you of all people to do this swiftly.”
He raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed hers. “I promise you, I won’t stop until you’re safe by my side.”
Her throat was painfully tight and tears were beginning to sting her eyes. Her voice was barely an audible whisper. “Then you must leave tonight.”
He squeezed her hand with a reluctant “...Yeah.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “What if you are caught?”
He shook his head. “I won’t be. Hounds and a few men don’t really compare to Wraith and tracking devices.”
She knew he was right and the memory of what he had fought through to survive his second capture on Sateda only strengthened her faith in him. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug, sniffling quietly as he squeezed her tightly, unable to chase away the fears that this would be her last opportunity to hold him again. The sounds of the deep breathing of their tired fellows echoed to her as Ronon eased his hold on her waist to kiss her. She was surprised to feel the tears on her cheeks press against those of his own as she kissed him back and after a heartbeat she pulled away to wipe at one of his with her thumb. Her nose bumped against his, her lips still tantalizingly close as she whispered, “I love you, Ronon.”
He leaned forward to kiss her again and as their pulses quickened he pulled back to whisper, “I love you, too, Teyla,” before she silenced him with a surge of passion, tangling her fingers in his locks of hair as she kissed him, sliding one knee over his hip as he rolled onto his back. She slid her hands over the bumps of thinning muscle on his arms, fueled by an aching need to memorize every curve and stretch of his body for fear that her memory of him would be all that remained after this night.
She arched her back against his hand as it slipped under the back of her shirt and traced her spine, her desire heightening as his other hand traveled up her clothed thigh to rest on her rump. She shifted her kisses to his neck, allowing her tongue to linger on the sweat salted flesh, feeling the racing rush of his pulse before traveling to his collarbone and gently nipping it with a light moan. His quiet gasp of pleasure and the tightening of his fingers was enough to undo any resistance to her yearning.
She yanked at his shirt and he let go of her to help her tug it off over his head, tossing it to the side. She kissed his lips once more, her hands traveling up his sides and over the bumps of rib and muscle, making him shiver pleasantly. She shifted to kiss his chest once more, lightly scraping her teeth against a pectoral muscle as she gently pinched the flesh of his abdomen with teasing kisses. One of his hands rested on her hip and the other gently tangled in her hair. His breath came in intermittent spurts as she kindled the flame of his skin, encouraging her into unthinking, unhesitating action as his quiet gasps of pleasure undid her.
Her lips trailed lower, pausing at the waist of his trousers with a teasing nip, eliciting a pleading gasp from Ronon. She paused, looking up at him as he propped himself on his elbows to meet her gaze, his chest heaving. For several painfully long, pulsating moments the two studied the glint of what they could see of each other’s eyes while their blood raged through their veins, rushing in so many directions that neither could focus on anything other than the feel of the other’s body pressed against theirs, the ache in their loins. Ronon cocked his head a little before shifting his weight to rest a hand on Teyla’s shoulder and she could see that there was a worry line between his brows. His voice was questioning, cautious, as if asking her to continue yet begging her to stop at the same time, all uttered in one word. “Teyla...”
She studied him for a moment, knowing he was silently warning her that he was afraid. She turned to his hand on her shoulder and lifted it to her lips, kissing his palm before kissing the flesh below his naval. Prevailing in his confused, meek utterance of resistance was his questioning her readiness, and she realized with mild surprise that it had only been a few hours since she was attacked, though it felt like many days. He was worried she wasn’t thinking clearly as a result – that she might regret this later. She gently squeezed and massaged his hip with one hand as she kissed his abdomen again, then silently let him know her answer as she slid her other hand up his thigh, her thumb teasingly pressing along the inner length, making him choke on his breath once more as his shoulders wilted.
Her fingers nimbly traced the lacings of his trousers, searching for the tie, making him pant with their pressure. Her knuckles tantalizingly bumped against his groin as she unlaced his fly, making him gasp out a moan that had her straddling him in a heartbeat, their lips locking once more as he arched against her and tugged at the hem of her shirt. Their kiss was interrupted as he pulled off her top then reached for the buckle of her pants, the unfastening of which made increasingly difficult as the gentle rocking of her hips against his swiftly stole coherency from the rest of his body with a flush of shuddering heat as she kissed him again, her fingers tangling in his locks.
Both had learned long ago that privacy was next to nonexistent in the lives of the slaves – all life was experienced together and accepted. One morning they had been awoken by the wails of a mother whose child had frozen to death in the night, weakened by malnutrition. Yet Teyla and Ronon still kept their voices as quiet as possible, muffling the cries of the other with their lips as they writhed in rhythm with each other, their bodies singing of their need for the other.
Branded Heart
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