Discovery

She held the piece of chocolate between her teeth, barely putting pressure on it, not even touching it with her tongue. Her breath, warm and moist, caressed the sweet, slowly softening it. Beside her, Shawn sighed, barely suppressing a groan. Tara had no idea how sexy she looked, so focused on her programming that she'd forgotten about the piece of chocolate she'd broken off mere moments before.

He shifted in his seat, the leather creaking. The sound must have roused her somewhat from her concentration, because Tara finally took the chocolate into her mouth. He could see the slight dimpling of her cheeks as she sucked on it, which only made his thoughts race. He flushed, glad she wasn't looking towards him.

"Hey, Shawn, could you look over this for me?" she asked, somehow managing to speak with only the slightest slur around the still melting candy.

"Sure, Tara. What part are you concerned about?"

She pointed to the screen, one long nail lightly touching beneath the line of code she'd been working on. "There. You see it? I think I got it translated right, but that bit's tricky."

Shawn scooted his chair closer, leaning in to take a closer look at the screen. Tara smiled at him, moving back slightly to allow him room. Out of his peripheral, he could see her licking her lips, removing a bit of chocolate. He suppressed another groan. These last few weeks had been hell, working with her. She was oblivious to anything but the code, and he was far too aware of her. He could feel her breath on his arm, tickling the hairs, and startled, glanced over to see she'd leaned in again.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked, eyes wide with her eager curiosity.

That I need a cold shower, he thought, but aloud said, "It looks good. Send it on up to Processing. Getting closer and closer to deciphering those tablets every day. Good work, Tara." And maybe we'll finish this soon so you'll stop driving me crazy.

Glass Petals

The humid air carried the heavy scent of orchids, their soft petals open wide to release their various perfumes. Leliana reached out a pale hand to cup a delicate blue flower, her eyes closing as she inhaled the scent.

She felt a warm presence at her back and released the flower, her eyes flickering open to look up at the man who had approached her. "Caleb," she said, smiling, and gave his cheek a gentle caress. "Come to enjoy the flowers?"

He grabbed her wrist, pressing a rough kiss to her palm before moving her hand away. "Not today, Leliana. I've come for something else." There was an edge to his voice, a hardness to the set of his jaw. His eyes, normally a gentle blue-green, were dark.

Leliana jerked her hand from his grasp, rubbing her wrist where he'd grabbed her, realizing he'd squeezed so hard it would leave a bruise. She frowned and peered at him again, golden eyes narrowing. "You can't have it, Caleb. You know that."

"I have orders."

"Damn your orders!" She whirled around, once more facing her orchids, her fists clenching at her side. "Get out. You cannot have what it is you seek."

"Leliana," he growled, his voice a warning. "I will have to take it by force if you will not hand it over."

She straightened her spine, squaring her shoulders, and Caleb mentally cursed his superiors for forcing him to antagonize this woman. He knew how dangerous she could be, and he had just put her into an offensive stance. "I dare you to try, Caleb Thorne." She turned, her eyes flashing with anger. "You will have to kill me to get it."