<strong>~ Sasha Dearing, First Officer - Aboard The Gamble, heading from her cabin toward the Captain’s quarters and the cockpit - approaching Persephone ~</strong><br/><br/>The muted clink of her heeled boots against the metal floor of the corridor provided percussive accompaniment to Sasha’s purposeful stride as she made her way toward the Captain’s quarters. Reaching his cabin she paused and raised her hand to knock; her wrist loose, she sharply rapped the back of her knuckles against his closed door.  Not hearing an answering reply she continued on toward the flight deck; but as she was about to step into the cockpit she heard the Captain’s voice behind her.<br/><br/><strong>“Sasha, a word please?”</strong><br/><br/>Turning back toward the corridor, Sasha followed Griff’s disappearing form as he slipped inside his cabin, her mouth puckering into a slightly irritated moue at his tone of voice. Stepping into his quarters she stopped just inside the entryway, her slender hands resting jauntily on the black lace fabric curving softly over her hips as she cooly watched Griff undressing in front of her.<br/><br/>“And apparently the word is...‘naked’?” she tossed at him as her eyes roamed appreciatively over the wide expanse of his bare chest, her glance slowly traveling to skim over his form-fitting white boxer briefs and strong muscular thighs, all of which were nonchalantly exposed to her view. With his fatigues pooled at his ankles, Griff’s state of undress left little to the imagination. Sasha’s nostrils flared almost imperceptibly as she inhaled the masculine musky scent of him, her pupils dilating slightly in subconscious reaction. Her pink tongue slipping out to lick the corner of her mouth, Sasha felt a pleasurable heat begin to coil within her as her warm blue gaze lingered on Griff’s toned, taut body. Suddenly the cabin felt a bit too intimate for her comfort.<br/><br/>Sasha was appreciative of the camaraderie she had with Griff, the ease with which they worked so well together, but she knew sometimes there was only a razor’s edge between fun flirting and furiously fucking. The fact that Griff felt comfortable enough to strip practically naked in front of her she chose to safely interpret to mean that he saw her as “one of the guys”. The last thing she needed was to complicate things by sleeping with the captain of the Ri shao gou shi bing ship she worked aboard!  Besides, it was the well-know fact that the Captain was a shameless flirt that made her feel comfortable flirting back with him. If his flirting ever turned serious, or narrowed in focus to just herself, she’d no doubt shut down immediately.<br/><br/>Men and women working together in such close quarters for extended periods of time was definitely a potential minefield. Sasha had picked up on the fact that there was some level of sexual tension between Mae and Griff...and Mae and Vincent...and hell, Mae and probably every red-blooded man in the ‘verse and no small number of women as well, she chuckled to herself - and who could blame them? But the beautiful and high-spirited young pilot was blessedly emotionally unscarred and therefore could afford to play in dangerous emotional waters fearlessly. Sasha honestly hoped Mae would continue to navigate life the way she always seemed to navigate the black; adventurous enough to play with fire but also smart - and lucky - enough to always skip away unscathed.<br/><br/>With Sasha and Griff it was considerably more complicated, and any sexual tension weighed much heavier between them. Each carried their own emotional baggage from painful pasts - Sasha with vast trainloads of the stuff.  And, their business relationship was such that they worked side-by-side so often, if the flirty banter ever slid into serious it would no doubt careen their working relationship completely off the rails.<br/><br/>Her hands crossed behind the small of her back, Sasha leaned her body against the doorjamb, her head tilted back against the frame and her long legs crossed at the ankle. As Sasha stood fully clothed in all black and Griff lounged practically beneath her on the couch almost nude, the air between them was suddenly thick with barely leashed sexual energy. Alone together in this room, at this moment, they were simply a man and a woman, the overpowering chemistry between them calling out an irresistible siren’s song of seduction.  But as Sasha’s heated gaze focused on where the perfection of Griff’s golden mocha skin was marred here and there with various scars - parting gifts from his days of combat - she suddenly felt the familiar churning, gut-clenching pain take hold as she was reminded of the war...of the Alliance. Jarred back to the moment and the reality of their professional positions of Captain and First Officer, Sasha straightened to a tall standing position, growling with an edge to her voice, “So what’s the plan, Captain?”  The moment - or probably her imagination of a moment - had passed.<br/><br/><br/><em>Ri shao gou shi bing = Pile of sun-baked dog poo</em>