<div align="center"><strong>~ First Officer Sasha Dearing in her cabin with Si... experiencing déjà vu with Cap’n Cockblock, The Sequel... ~</strong></div><br/>As Sasha adjusted her upper body to be able to better look into Si’s eyes, her slight change in position caused her hips to press more firmly into his. A soft growl purred deep in her throat as her lower belly came into contact with the indisputable indication of the man’s physical interest straining toward her through his trousers. Her own body’s rising interest was no less acute; as a woman it was simply a little more subtle. Yet more than likely very obvious to the experienced older man pinned beneath her. Sensuously undulating her hips against him ever so slightly, her body unconsciously responded to his arousal with confirmation of her own. The spark of desire warmed the blue of her eyes to an azure glow, as she acknowledged the answering heated glint in his dark eyes with a soft sultry smile.<br/><br/>Although Sasha had never taken a lover so many years older than herself, the age difference didn’t bother her at all. In fact, Si’s maturity and refinement held its own allure. Besides, she knew well enough that Simeon took excellent care of his body, a fact she knew firsthand from their many paired workout sessions. In truth, he was in better physical shape than most men half his age. Although not a large man, Sasha found the innate strength coiled within his slender form enticing; and the fact she knew he easily bench pressed his own weight was proof the man held at least a certain degree of physical prowess...one of her personal turn-ons. But truthfully, in all the months they had been working together, Si had almost been...asexual to her. She just hadn’t thought of him in<em>that way</em>in the slightest, not to mention having never witnessed him display any of the practically requisite male behaviors of blatant sexuality.  So it was a considerable revelation to begin to perceive him in a sexual context, especially in such a sudden manner.<br/><br/>For months now Sasha and Si had been working closely together on the job, he as the proverbial “muscle” - the physical presence and strength she counted on to back her up in any type of sketchy situations that may arise.  The emotional anchor he had slowly evolved to become for her had been a completely unanticipated and unnerving element. Only recently had she even begun to acknowledge it consciously, that she relied on him at all. Sasha definitely wasn’t one usually prone to caution or hesitation, but as his First Officer she was this man’s superior - making their current delightful but reckless path all kinds of wrong. Or maybe exactly right.<br/><br/>Somehow, the precipitous slide from “all business” to intimately personal gave the shared moment a feeling of illicitness, adding extra spice to their sensual interlude. And Sasha was a big fan of spicy extras. A shiver of tantalizing pleasure and anticipation snaked through her as the bare skin of the tops of her thighs stroked against his trousers with her slight movements, her naked front pressing wantonly against his still-covered chest. Actually, as per his usual choice of attire, Si was pretty much covered from neck to toe; for Sasha the sensations engendered from lying half-naked atop a fully clothed aroused man were...erotic. She felt both the smallest measure of vulnerability but mostly a large dose of empowerment from the discrepancy in their states of undress. Besides enjoying him clothed for at least the moment, she also figured ripping off the genteel man’s clothing would come across as uncouth to him. As she quickly thought of a number of tempting ways she could no doubt shock her currently restrained gentleman, the ideas that came to mind brought a wicked smile to curve her soft red lips.<br/><br/>Sasha felt his body tense beneath her as he raised his upper torso up off the bed toward her. Readjusting, she parted her legs and pulled her knees forward alongside his hips and moved to a sitting position on top of him. Her palms softly slid from cradling his face, to gently caressing down the column of his neck, until coming to rest on his chest. Stroking her fingertips lightly over his chest muscles, she met him halfway for their kiss.<strong>"Let me get your coat."</strong>As his hands slowly slid her shirt off her shoulders and down her back, he lifted his mouth to reach for her lips. Obligingly, she leaned over him, curving her body to allow her mouth to reach his, her shirt catching at her wrists now positioned behind her.  He tasted of...Si; warm, solid...safe.  It was abundantly clear Si was equally willing to take this moment farther; just how far they would go would be a choice for them to make together. Or perhaps not.<br/><br/>Abruptly, the door to her cabin opened without warning, and a shirtless Griff entered without bothering to knock. Startled by the intrusion and not quite comprehending what the<em><strong>hell</strong></em>a half-naked Griff was doing interloping into her private quarters, her mouth lifted from Si’s as she looked toward the Captain with a dark scowl, although the rest of her body remained unmoving where it was.<br/><br/><strong>“I... I take it that the debriefing went well? Or… maybe I should say it’s GOING well. I'd... like to hear what you found... whenever you're done...”</strong><br/><br/>The Captain’s presence alone would have done the job of dispelling the intimate mood, but the look on Griff’s face as he left was like ice water dousing all existing flames of desire that had only just begun to burn.  Sasha replayed his words in her head. “Whenever you’re done...”<em>What <strong>have</strong> I done? <strong>What</strong> are we doing?</em>Her demeanor instantly transformed, Sasha slipped sideways off of Si, and shimmied her shirt back on, swiftly starting to button up its front. After closing a few buttons she paused and looked at Si, reaching out to stroke softly across his cheek, her manner momentarily softening once more. “I’m...sorry, Si. I really....I really didn’t think this one through. I’m not saying no...just no to<em>right now.</em>” She hoped Si understood, and prayed that this - almost liaison - didn’t sully their working relationship. Because whether she would admit it out loud to anyone, she was beginning to realize how much she had begun to depend on this reserved, quietly strong man.<br/><br/>Finishing buttoning her shirt with sharp, angry movements, Sasha inwardly seethed at Griff's controlling nature. She wasn’t going to go off on some girlish romantic tangent about Griff’s reaction, and took it for what it was.  She was well aware that the Captain only cared for her in the same way he cared for the rest of his crew. Nothing he had ever said indicated otherwise, and in all their time together he had never made even one single intimate overture toward her. Their Captain was simply...protective and possessive. Of everything and everyone he considered<em>his</em>. This included all of his crew, but particularly the women. She’d seen this very same reaction with regards to Mae. And if Dani ever ended up bringing someone back to her bunk, she’d get a taste of this side of Griff as well. Plus, it was a damn good thing the two of them weren’t truly attracted to each other, she rationalized to herself - Griff had the complete opposite effect on her that Si did; that...MAN fueled her churning emotions, not calmed them.<br/><br/>Gruffly she stalked to her cabin door, intent on confronting the cause of so much of her irritation. Pausing with her hand on the doorhandle, she stood with her head cocked to the side, hand on her hip.<em>Hold up...</em>No telling why, but Griff was on the other side of this door half naked; to follow him while she was also not much better than half naked, and both of them in none-too-pleasant moods - what would she expect to accomplish? Better to just get in a good hard workout, eat a decent meal, and face the Captain fully dressed and at least in a hopefully<em>better</em>frame of mind. His rude interruption would be just another unsavory topic to be discussed on the ever-growing list. Stepping back from her still-closed door, she angrily kicked the door with forceful aggression, using the bottom of her boot. “Ta ma de! That Qing wa kao de liu mang!” First Jacob, now Si.<em>Goddamn him, it’s almost as if he was TRYING to keep her from getting any.</em>Spinning around to face Si, hands on her hips, it was clear her mood had definitely swung back to the dark side. Still, she mustered as much control as she could to speak kindly to Si; after all, he was not the focus or cause of her current once-again highly frustrated state.  “I<strong>really</strong>need to hit the weights, then grab some grub. I’m guessing most of us missed out on dinner tonight; you want to see if Dani is in any mood to whip us up one of her delicious impromptu meals?”  Reaching behind her she opened up the cabin door before striding purposefully back to her wardrobe to snag her workout clothes. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason - she supposed there were many to choose from - but her emotions were churning in agitation again, and she really needed to work off the almost unbearable tension and frustrations burning inside her...and she needed to do it<em>now</em>...hard, and fast.<br/><br/><br/><em>Ta ma de!</em>- Fuck!<br/><em>Qing wa kao de liu mang</em>- frog-humping son of a bitch<br/>