Chapter Text
Shepard nodded her head as the bartender raised her empty glass in a wordless would you like another? She absent mindedly tapped her finger on the edge of the bar as she waited. She cast a quick glance behind her and off to the right to the stairs to see if he was making his way up them.
“On the tab again, Commander?” She turned around to face the asari bartender, who was trying desperately to yell over the music to catch Shepard's attention.
“Yeah, thanks.” The asari nodded and smiled before moving on to serve the turian beside her. As she sipped (or rather, sculled) her third drink, doubt began to creep into her mind. Zaeed had never responded to her flirting back when the ship was under Cerberus colours (except for a well placed smirk and a few sweethearts here and there), but she had been sure that the way he raised his eyebrows and looked her up and down when she had met him in the refugee holding bays had been not even remotely innocent, but the more time she had to think about it, the less she wasn't sure.
“Purgatory, Shepard? You know I can't goddamn dance.” Zaeed rasped as he wedged himself between her and the turian, which earnt him some lowered brow plates from the alien.
“You know I can't either, that's why we're at the bar and not over there.” Shepard managed to say evenly as she tilted her head back slightly to notion towards the packed dance floor behind them. He still wore the same spicy cologne; the cologne that stayed in her nostrils and drove her dizzy with desire long after he had left the room.
“Can't complain about that, then.” He replied as he held up two fingers and the asari bartender nodded. Shepard watched as she poured Zaeed two scotch on the rocks.
“You've got a regular order here?” Shepard grinned, and Zaeed gave her a sideways glance as he pulled his credit chit out of his pocket. Shepard glanced down, and stopped him with a firm grip on his wrist.
“Tab.” Shepard mouthed, and the asari nodded again. When she pulled her hand away, Zaeed was frowning at her.
“Times have changed old man, let a lady treat you.” Shepard winked at him, and he rolled his good eye, but the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. Shepard took that as a win; she could count the amount of times she'd seen Zaeed smile on both of her hands (and only just).
“So what's all this about, then? I told you, I've still gotta get in contact with some of my old-”
“That's not what I wanted to talk about.” Shepard interrupted. Zaeed's brows furrowed as he waited for an explanation. Suddenly, Shepard felt nauseous. There was no trace of the (potential) lust in his eyes like earlier that day, and he instead looked mildly irritated. She looked back down at her drink and gripped it with both hands.
“Everything alright, Shepard?” Zaeed asked when Shepard's silence stretched out.
“Yeah, fine. Sorry, I didn't... you've probably got lots to do.” Shepard waved her hand in the air and gave the merc a small smile. His frown deepened as he tilted his head slightly.
“Doesn't seem fine to me. Is it Cerberus? Those god-damned assholes, I'll-”
“No, no, Zaeed, it's not Cerberus. Well, they are still a problem, but that's not what I asked you here for-”
“Is it Elvis giving you a rough time again? Fucking pompous little prick, knew we should've put him down on Horizon.” Zaeed growled. Shepard couldn't help but let out a short bark of laughter.
“No, it's not Kaidan, everything's fine with him too.” Zaeed grunted in disappointment, and Shepard had to purse her lips to hold back a grin.
“What is it then?” Zaeed asked impatiently. Shepard looked up from her drink and turned to face him. Taking down a reaper on foot? No problem. Walking through the broken hull of a geth dreadnought when she was still suffering from PTSD from her death? No problem. Propositioning a hardass merc that she could crush under her foot if she really wanted to? That seemed to be a problem.
“Shit, it's bad, isn't it? What is it? The council again? Unhelpful motherfu-”
“I want to sleep with you.” Shepard let the words spill rather ungracefully from her mouth. Zaeed frowned and leaned in closer. She held her breath to protect herself from the increased intensity of his cologne.
“What did you just say?” Shepard wasn't sure if he actually didn't hear her, or if he was trying to embarrass her further by getting her to say it again.
“You heard me.” She decided on the latter.
“Bloody hell, Shepard, you know I'm half deaf. Tell me again, because what I thought you said was...” Zaeed trailed off as they stared at each other. His brows rose from their frown when he realised that yes, he had heard Shepard correctly.
“Are you having a laugh?” He asked as he leant back and brought his glass up to his mouth. He kept his eyes focused on Shepard's as he tilted the glass upwards and swallowed all of it's contents, minus the ice.
“No. I'm serious.” Shepard said. She forced herself to hold eye contact; she didn't want to stammer and stutter like a flustered teenager. She was thirty one, for fuck's sake.
“Why?” Zaeed asked as he practically slammed his empty glass back down onto the bar.
“Why?” Shepard repeated.
“Let's say I entertain the idea that you're not having me on. What's the saviour of the goddamn galaxy want with this old asshole, when just about every person, alien or otherwise, in this shit hole is staring at her?” Shepard refused to blush. The way Zaeed gave compliments felt like a sucker punch and a passionate kiss at the same time.
“Firstly, I'm not having you on.” Shepard made air quotes as she put on a fake British accent. Zaeed watched her with a neutral expression. The first time she had seen him smile was when she had put on a British accent during an undercover operation to take down a Blood Pack sect.
“Secondly, I haven't saved it yet, and thirdly, if I wanted someone else, I wouldn't have asked you to meet me.” Shepard realised that she was shouting and broadcasting their conversation to the immediate vicinity when the turian beside Zaeed turned around and flared his mandibles at her. She glared at the alien, and he quickly turned back around. In that moment, Shepard was glad that she was known for punching reporters. When she looked back to Zaeed, he was staring at her with an intensity that made her nervous and aroused at the same time.
He leant onto the bar on his elbows and stared straight ahead. Shepard mimicked his movement, and stirred the small purple straw around in her drink as she waited for the fuck off, Shepard, that she was sure was coming. Shepard squeezed her eyes shut as she thought about how Garrus was going to fold his arms and grin his stupid pointy needle-like grin as he rumbled a smug I told you so, Shepard.
“Yeah, alright.” Zaeed said suddenly as he stood up again and leant his side against the bar.
“What?” Shepard said in disbelief.
“You heard me, sweetheart.” Zaeed smirked as Shepard glared at him. Smartass.
“Your place or mine?” Shepard said, and Zaeed's brows shot up.
“You want to do it now?” He said gruffly.
“Why, too soon? When were you thinking? I'm free tomorrow from ten th-” Shepard clamped her mouth shut when she realised that it sounded like she was trying to make a business transaction with Zaeed rather than arrange a time to fuck. Zaeed reached for his second drink and downed it in one gulp.
“Now's fine. My place.” He said firmly, and Shepard knew that it was a statement, not a question, so she nodded and took out her credit chit to pay her tab, then followed Zaeed as he left the bar. She followed him down the stairs, and almost bumped into James when Zaeed stepped out of his path.
“Woah, Lola. You goin' somewhere?” The lieutenant asked as he looked between Shepard and Zaeed, who had stopped and turned around to watch the exchange with a frown.
“Yeah, James this is my... friend, Zaeed Massani. Zaeed, this is Lieutenant James Vega. He's currently serving on the Normandy with me.” Shepard said quickly. She inhaled deeply as she tried to calm her nerves. The two men nodded at each other and shook hands.
“I'll see you back on the ship later.” Shepard said to James. The corners of his mouth turned up briefly, and Shepard knew that he knew exactly what was going on. It was no secret on board the Normandy what kind of man Shepard liked, and James only had to take one look at the scarred, impatiently waiting merc to know that he'd briefly cock-blocked Shepard. She swore under her breath; apart from Garrus, James was one of her closest friends and he was definitely going to grill her about it later.
“Yeah, see ya.” James gave her a casual salute, then resumed his mission to get to the bar. Shepard turned to look at Zaeed, who was giving her a tight lipped grin.
“Nervous, are you?”
“Fuck you.” Shepard retorted as she folded her arms, and Zaeed laughed. That made it five times she'd heard him laugh.
“Come on, then.” Zaeed was still grinning when he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. He let go when she started walking again, and Shepard hurried her pace to keep at his side. They exited Purgatory, and got into a sky-car. Zaeed leant forward to punch in the location of his place, then leant back. He slung his arm lazily behind Shepard's head. Shepard tried desperately to think of something to say; something witty or funny or sexy or anything, but her mind was an indecipherable buzz at the anticipation of finally having Zaeed. She'd always known that she'd liked rough men, but even she was surprised when she realised just how rough. She turned her head slightly to glance at Zaeed, who was watching the Silversun Strip fly by through the window. Things were much more awkward than she had imagined they would be.
“Is it... far to your place?” Shepard asked, and she tried not to visibly cringe. Zaeed turned to look at her.
“You have reached your destination. Please take all rubbish with you upon departure. Have a nice day!” The sky-car’s cheery voice informed her. Zaeed gave her a lopsided smile.
“Oh.” She muttered as they both got out of the cab. Shepard waited at it's side as Zaeed walked around to meet her.
“Here.” He tilted his head towards the hotel on the other side of the bridge. Shepard raised her eyebrows at the building. The Emporium was one of the nicest apartment buildings on the Citadel; in fact, it rivalled Tiberius Towers for style and luxury.
“What's that look for? Didn't think I've got any class?” Zaeed growled, but Shepard knew there was no malice in it.
“Zaeed, I know you have no class.” Shepard winked at him as she gave him a light punch to his armoured shoulder and started walking towards the bridge. Zaeed was next to her within seconds.
“What's that make you then?” Zaeed teased. Shepard snorted, but didn't reply. They completed the rest of the journey to the elevator and up to his apartment in silence. Shepard loitered awkwardly behind him as he fumbled with the holo key for his apartment. She frowned. This wasn't how she imagined this situation going; in her fantasy, she was a lot more confident, and he was a lot more willing. In her favourite fantasy, he would come up from the decks below her cabin and and saunter into the loft silently before grabbing her and fucking her against the wall hard and fast until she practically became part of the bulkhead.
“Fucking useless thing.” Zaeed snarled as the door beeped; denying him entry.
“What's wrong with it?” Shepard asked as she peered over his shoulder.
“Fuck knows. It's never done this before.” Zaeed muttered as he swiped the key over the door's sensor again. Shepard threw her head back and laughed. Of course. Zaeed groaned and turned around.
“Of course the goddamn piece of shit won't work when I-” Before Shepard had time to back out, she stepped forward, threw her arms around Zaeed's neck, and kissed him. His lips were surprisingly soft, and she relished the way his stubble scratched against her hairless flesh. It only took a second for Zaeed to adjust to the situation, and Shepard almost gasped into his mouth as he brought his hands up to to her hips to grip them tightly as he pulled her against him. Their mouths moved against each other's rough and insistent, and Shepard did gasp when one of Zaeed's hands slid around to grab her ass. She shamelessly pressed her front against him as hard as she could, and Zaeed let out an appreciative grunt as she did so. Shepard raked her nails down the back of his neck, and Zaeed became more ferocious; his tongue demanding access to her mouth and his hand squeezing her ass so hard it was almost painful. Shepard could feel his erection pressing against her hip, and she ground against him. Suddenly, moving so fast that Shepard was sure not even Thane could've moved so quick, Zaeed had pulled away and had turned back to try his holo key again. Shepard stood in a daze; her heart racing and her core aching.
“Fuck!” Zaeed shouted as the door beeped again. He banged a fist against the uncooperative door, then waved the key over the sensor again, and it finally turned green. Zaeed turned around and grabbed her wrist, then pulled her into the room after him before reaching around her to shut it. Shepard didn't get to take in any of the surroundings before Zaeed had her pinned against the door; one hand on her shoulder, and the other on her hip. He looked down at her, letting his eyes wander across her face and body as she tried to steady her breathing. She cursed her memory for not doing his scent justice; it was completely intoxicating. She reached out to grab his shirt to pull him closer, but he didn't move. Shepard gave him a questioning glance.
“I thought you were screwing with me, Shepard.” Zaeed said in a low voice as his good eye focused on her. Shepard frowned in slight offence.
“Why would you think that?” Zaeed took his hand from her hip and ran it through his cropped hair.
“Shit, why wouldn't you be screwing with me? Who'd bloody want to...” Zaeed didn't finish his sentence as he took a step back. Shepard straightened up and smoothed out her tunic.
“You're not half bad, you know.” Shepard said in jest, but Zaeed didn't lift his gaze from the floor.
“Hey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have joked. What's wrong?” Shepard took a cautious step towards him. Zaeed took a step back and turned around, before sauntering towards the floor to ceiling window on the opposite side of the room. Shepard stayed in position as she took a quick glance around the room. Modern furnishings, Jessie on the large cube-like coffee table, a lush shag rug in the center of the lounge area, empty bottles of alcohol littered around on the various surfaces throughout the room. She looked back to Zaeed, who was leaning against the window with his forearm over his head. Slowly, Shepard went to his side. He was a hard man to read, and the unknown made her feel uneasy.
“Would you like me to leave?” Shepard asked. As much as Shepard was sure that Zaeed liked her to think that she was bothering him when she visited his quarters on the Normandy, he had never actually told her to leave. Not once. Not even that time when she had picked up Jessie and accidentally let a loose panel fall to the floor. Hell, he hadn't even sworn at her then, and she'd seen him chew other people out for a lot less.
“No.” He grunted. Shepard nodded, then turned her gaze to the window. Sky-cars flew past at impossible speeds, and the neon lights of Silversun Strip had been turned up to full intensity in preparation for the oncoming night cycle of the Citadel. To her left, she could faintly make out a sign for Tiberius Towers.
“I've got an apartment at Tiberius. You should come and see it. I'm... I'm going to be throwing a house-warming party soon.” Shepard said quietly. Zaeed nodded; his forehead making soft thuds against the thick glass.
“Yeah, alright.” He said. Shepard shifted her weight onto her left foot. An indeterminable amount of minutes passed before Shepard straightened.
“I'm going to leave. I'll... I'll send you the details for the party. I know Garrus would like to see you again, too. Also I think he's planning on talking your ear off about some scope that he got at the-”
“Don't. Don't leave.” Zaeed said as he tilted his head to look at her. The neon lights reflected in his cloudy eye and across his scarred face in a way that Shepard found visually pleasing. She'd always found his scars and eye interesting; she thought that he was very handsome for someone who had been shot in the face.
Zaeed snorted.
“What?” Shepard said in confusion. Her eyes widened when she realised she'd said her last thought out loud.
“You're pretty good looking for a woman that got spaced.” Zaeed said as he pushed back from the window and turned to face her.
“I didn't mean to say th-”
“'S alright, Shepard. People have said worse.” Zaeed said as he used his hand to motion towards the couch nearest to them. Shepard nodded and complied, and sighed as she sank into the soft material. Zaeed shuffled over to the kitchen area and opened the fridge. Shepard watched as he took out a bottle of what she assumed was asari wine, then picked up two glasses from an overhead rack and made his way back to the lounge.
“I think it tastes like poison, but you'll probably like it.” Zaeed shrugged as he set the glasses down (as far away from Jessie as possible, Shepard noticed) and poured both of them a drink.
“A little poison never hurt anyone, remember?” Shepard grinned, and Zaeed brought a hand up to his forehead at the memory of the situation that warranted that statement from him.
“Yeah, I remember. Vakarian was so worried about you it looked like his face flaps were gonna fall off.” Zaeed said with a toothy grin. Shepard laughed as she leant forward to take her glass.
“You weren't worried?” She asked as she settled back against the couch. Zaeed shook his head as he walked around the coffee table to sit next to her.
“Nah, I knew you'd be fine. Told Vakarian that I'd seen you do twenty ryncols and still be able to get up on the bar at Afterlife and try to shake your ass, so you'd be alright in an hour or so.” Shepard grinned and shook her head.
“I still deny that happened.” Shepard said.
“Well, I think Aria T'Loak can remind you.” Zaeed smirked, and Shepard visibly cringed.
“Last week I went out for drinks with Jack and I woke up with my head in her lap.”
“Jack's?” Zaeed spluttered in surprise.
“No, Aria's!” Shepard grinned, and Zaeed stared at her in disbelief.
“That was my face exactly.” Shepard said as she took a sip of her drink. It was extremely sweet, but not entirely unpleasant, so she took a second. Zaeed watched her with a very faint smile.
“You know you're welcome back on board any time.” Shepard said as she kicked off her shoes and brought one leg up underneath her. Zaeed frowned and looked into the drink in his lap.
“Yeah, I know. Thanks Shepard.” Shepard nodded and took another sip.
“So, uh, what have you been up to? Didn't have much time to talk in the docking bay today.” Shepard said, trying to keep the conversation going. Zaeed was obviously struggling with something, and if he didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't going to sit there and watch him stew in his emotions. If she wanted to do that, she could've just sat in the observation lounge with Kaidan back on the Normandy.
“A few contracts, here and there. Same old. Popped a few Cerberus assholes when they tried to take the Citadel a couple weeks back.” Zaeed looked proud as he spoke.
“Killed a few Blue Suns that were trying to restart the whole thing, too.”
“What?”
“Yeah, they were trying to recruit in Dark Star Lounge. Fucking idiots.” Zaeed shook his head.
“I thought with Vido gone, no one would even think of trying to start that whole clusterfuck up again.” Shepard said as she leant towards Zaeed slightly.
“Neither did I, but they weren't the smartest bunch.” Zaeed shrugged. They sat in silence for a few moments, both staring into their violet coloured wine.
“I'm sorry if I was... too forward earlier.” Shepard said. Zaeed slowly lifted his head to look at her, but didn't speak; instead giving her that neutral expression that gave nothing away and had infuriated her ever since she'd seen it for the first time.
“Anyway, it's nice to just sit here with you. It feels like forever since I've seen you.” Shepard continued, somewhat shakily. Zaeed nodded. Shepard let out a small sigh; maybe they weren't as compatible as she hoped.
“Ah, shit.” Zaeed said at Shepard's sigh.
“Look at us, like a pair of teenage twats too nervous to make out 'cause someone's parents are home.”
“Are your parents here?” Shepard grinned, and Zaeed shook his head as he leant forward to place his glass on the table. He turned back and reached for Shepard's. She watched him with a questioning expression as he took it and set it on the coffee table next to his.
“Come here, love.” Zaeed said as he sat back and patted his thigh. Shepard raised a brow and fought the urge to laugh. That was such a Zaeed thing to say. She swallowed her words and stood up, then made her way to stand in front of Zaeed. She'd started wearing her armoured tunic instead of her BDU's on the Citadel after the Cerberus coup, and she would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed some of the looks that it had got her, but none of them compared to the look of complete hunger that Zaeed was staring up at her with. She smiled as she slowly lowered herself onto his lap; her knees either side of his hips and her hands on his shoulders. She took her weight off of her legs and settled into his lap, and she grinned when she felt his erection underneath her. His hands slid up her thighs before gripping her hips.
“This is an Alliance patrol! Pull over your vehicle immediately!” A robotic voice blared from outside the window, and Shepard looked past Zaeed to see two sky-cars zoom past, followed closely by a car with blue flashing lights.
“Alliance assholes.” Zaeed mumbled, and Shepard looked back to him. He had the decency to look mildly bashful as she frowned at him.
“Weren't you in the Alliance once?” Shepard asked. She'd prodded him on the subject before, but he'd never given her any information. It was a dirty tactic to ask whilst she was seated on his hard length, but she had never been above playing dirty.
“Yeah, for about two months when I was eighteen until they kicked me out.” Zaeed said roughly as he stroked her hips with his thumbs.
“For what?” Shepard said with a bemused smirk. His thumbs stopped moving and he looked up at her.
“Inappropriate relations with a commanding officer.” Shepard stared at him for a moment, then threw her head back and laughed. She laughed until she started coughing, and then she started laughing again when Zaeed started slapping her back in an attempt to help her breathe.
“Funny, is it?” He said when she had regained her composure.
“Considering our current situation, it is.” Shepard gently ground against his lap to emphasise the situation. Zaeed's eyes closed slightly as she did so.
“You're not my commanding officer any more.” Zaeed replied as he resumed his ministrations on her hips.
“Is that why you never responded to my flirting? Or were you just not interested?” Shepard frowned.
“Are you even interested now, or just doing this for the hell of it?” Zaeed's forehead crinkled as he looked up at her in offence at her suggestion.
“I didn't respond to your terrible attempts at flirting because I thought you were just fucking about.” He replied in a low voice.
“My terrible...? I wasn't fucking about, Zaeed.” Shepard slid one hand around Zaeed's neck to stroke the base of his skull.
“Yeah, well should've just come right out and said so.”
“Well, you should've... you should've...” Thankfully, it seemed Zaeed had had enough of her talking, and she no longer needed to think about a smartass response as he slid his hands up to her shoulder blades and pulled her down towards him. Their mouths met again, and Shepard kissed him as passionately as she had fantasised about doing. Zaeed let out small groans when she moved her hips against him, and she whimpered as she felt her already soaking panties sticking to her sensitive skin inside of her tight pants.
Zaeed gently pushed her away to look up at her.
“What is-” Shepard let out an undignified gasp as Zaeed slid his hands under her ass, then stood up. She clung to him as he started walking towards the hallway next to the kitchen.
“If you want to do this, we're not doing it on the bloody couch.” Zaeed mumbled as he carried her towards what Shepard assumed was going to be his bedroom. Shepard yelped as her elbow smashed into a door frame.
“Sorry.” Zaeed said sincerely as he continued to carry her into the dimly lit room. He stopped, then leant forward and gently placed Shepard down on what felt like a bed. Zaeed took a few steps back, then disappeared back into the hallway. Shepard propped herself up on her elbows and glanced around his room. Like the living area, it was clean and tidy, except for a few randomly placed empty bottles and a disassembled rifle on top of a chest of drawers opposite the bed.
“Thought you might want this.” Zaeed said as his silhouette stepped back into the room, his arm extended out and her glass in hand. Shepard noticed that he had removed the large piece of shoulder armour that he usually wore. She shook her head.
“No. I just want you.” Shepard said in what she hoped was a seductive tone. Zaeed studied her for a moment, then put the glass on the chest of drawers. He walked back to the end of the bed, and stood between Shepard's parted legs. The slight part in the curtains allowed a neon blue stream of light into the room, and it illuminated Zaeed's silhouette. Her heart was beating insanely fast in her chest, and she could feel her skin flushing with colour in anticipation of what was to come.
“Do's and dont's?” He asked as he leant forward and placed both palms on either side of her hips. Shepard frowned briefly in thought.
“Nothing overly full on. No water sports, that kind of thing.” Shepard grinned, and Zaeed snorted.
“Do I look like the type of man that wants to piss on women?” He asked.
“No, but you never know.” She gave him a lopsided grin, and he rolled his eye.
“Anything else?” He leant down and placed a kiss against the side of her neck, then lifted his head up to watch her. It took a moment for Shepard to gather her thoughts as she was momentarily distracted by the heat that his action had sent to her core.
“Um, no anal penetration. At least not the first time.” Zaeed raised an eyebrow.
“Not the second or third, either. That's strictly reserved for special occasions.” Shepard added, and Zaeed frowned.
“What's a special occasion, then?” He asked before leaning down to place another kiss against the opposite side of her neck. Shepard laughed.
“Disappointed, are you?”
“Don't think you could disappoint, Shepard.”
“Oh?” She said as she ran her hands down his back. Her fingers snagged on armour and a gun holster, and she gave up, instead moving her hands out to her sides to stroke the arms that were either side of her body. Zaeed grunted in a non-committal response.
“A man of few words, huh? I can respect that.” Shepard teased, and Zaeed responded by dipping his head into the crook of her neck and nipping at her exposed flesh. Shepard bucked her hips up against him and gasped.
“Anything else?” His lips brushed against her ear as he spoke, and she bit her lip to stop an embarrassingly loud moan from escaping.
“No. You?” She panted.
“Same as you.” He mumbled before nipping at her earlobe.
“So I can touch your ass on special occasions?” Shepard joked breathily. Zaeed nipped her earlobe again; much harder this time.
“I'll take that as a maybe.” Shepard grinned, and Zaeed groaned.
“Bloody hell, Shepard, can't you just stop joking for one second? I'm trying to concentrate.” Zaeed said as he held himself above her.
“Oh. I'm sorry.” Zaeed was glaring at her. Shepard resisted the urge to make another joke.
“What's a 'do' for you, then?” Shepard asked instead as she raised a hand to lightly trace the deep scar on his chin. When he didn't answer, she let her fingertips wander over the scars on his cheek.
“I... I dunno.” He finally said. Shepard stilled her fingers and caught his gaze. He cleared his throat.
“What about you?” Shepard moved her hands to his chest, then pushed him off to the side, then climbed atop him to straddle him.
“Anything that's not a don't.” Seeing Zaeed under her was making her already aching cunt throb with desire. She'd wanted to fuck some respect for authority into him ever since she'd met him, and the thought that she was finally going to do it made her legs feel weak.
“Yeah, same.” Zaeed said as he gripped her thighs. Shepard moved her hips slightly, and she grinned at the way Zaeed's breath hitched.
“Do we... do we need to use anything?” Zaeed said. Shepard shook her head.
“I've had the shot and I'm clean. Are you?” She asked as she rested her palms over his pecs. He snorted softly.
“What? Don't believe me?”
“Nah, I believe you sweetheart. Wasn't laughing at that.” Zaeed's eyes flitted away from hers, and Shepard thought that he almost looked self conscious.
“It's... it's just been a while, Shepard.” Zaeed said quietly, confirming Shepard's suspicions. She slid a hand up to his jawline to tilt his face back to face her.
“Yeah, me too.” Shepard confessed. There was Kaidan before Ilos and then... nothing. It wasn't that she hadn't tried; there had just been so much to do, and whenever they had shore leave, Garrus or James had fed her so many shots that she couldn't even speak a coherent sentence, let alone pick up.
“I bet it's been longer for me.” Zaeed said.
“I don't know, it's been a pretty long time for me.” Zaeed snorted and shook his head.
“How long, then?” Shepard asked softly. Zaeed stared at her for a moment.
“No one's interested in a face like this.” Shepard struggled to keep her expression nonchalant.
“Twenty years? Yeah right, Zaeed. I've seen you get lap dances at Omega, remember.” Shepard said as she leant back and folded her arms. Zaeed tilted his head and looked toward the curtains.
“Oh. You're not joking. I'm sorry.” Shepard cringed. His head snapped back to look at her.
“I'll pay for a lap-dance because I don't want to forgot how a woman feels against me, but I ain't paying a prostitute to pretend she wants me.” Shepard swallowed, then nodded slowly.
“Fair enough.” Her throat felt as dry as the atmosphere in the room. She mentally cursed herself; why couldn't she just shut the fuck up for once in her life instead of ruining everything? She moved to lift herself off Zaeed, but he grabbed her wrists.
“Don't leave. Please.” Shepard nodded, but his grip tightened again when he felt her beginning to move away.
“Let go. I'm not leaving, I just... trust me?” Shepard said, and Zaeed slowly let go of her wrists. She shimmied backwards off the bed until she was standing, and Zaeed propped himself up on his elbows to watch her with an uncertain expression. She let her hands drift up to the zipper at the front of her tunic, then looked back to Zaeed, who nodded for her to continue. Her eyes moved down his body; over his chest and then down to the very obvious bulge in his pants before they settled on her zipper. Even though it was somewhat a relief that he hadn't been with anyone for a while either, she was still nervous about her performance. She blinked, cleared her mind, then slowly pulled the zipper down. She could feel Zaeed's eyes focused solely on her as she slipped the tunic off and let it fall to the floor. She made eye contact with him, and he held it for a moment before turning his attention back to her body. His undivided attention renewed her confidence, and she turned around. She reached behind her back and undid the clasp of her black satin bra, and let it fall to the floor next to her tunic. Her hands moved to the zipper on her pants, and she undid that just as slowly. She was certain that Zaeed was going to shout at her to goddamn hurry the fuck up any second, but he stayed silent. She hooked her thumbs into the top of her pants, then bent forward as she slid them down just as slowly as she had undone her zippers. When her pants fully revealed her ass, she heard Zaeed groan softly. She grinned; she'd brought a matching satin thong to go with the bra, and it seemed like it was producing the desired reaction. She stepped out of her pants, then straightened before slowly turning around to face Zaeed. Even in the poor lighting, she could see that his cheeks were flushed slightly darker than the rest of his face, and his lips were parted slightly.
“God-dammit, Shepard.” He whispered as his eyes roamed across newly revealed skin. Shepard walked over to the end of the bed; putting an extra sway into her hips as she did so. She could feel just how wet she was with every step she took. She stopped when her knees hit the bed between Zaeed's legs.
“Fucking beautiful.” Zaeed mumbled as he stared at her bare breasts. Shepard grinned again; she had relatively small breasts when they weren't in a push-up bra, so it was nice to see that they were appreciated.
“I think you're very overdressed, Massani.” Shepard purred as she leant forward to grab the neckline of his shirt. She pulled him up to a sitting position, and he smiled smugly at her.
“Take it off.” She commanded as she took a step back. With no small amount of fumbling, Zaeed removed his shirt. Shepard hummed in approval as his tattooed and surprisingly muscular chest was revealed. Zaeed opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped when Shepard pushed him back down onto the bed. She knelt at the foot of the bed and reached up to undo his belt, letting her forearms brush against his hard bulge as she did so. She had just managed to unhook to clasp when Zaeed placed one of his hands over hers.
“I'm not the man that you deserve, Shepard.”
“Shut up, Zaeed. I'm trying to fuck you, not marry you.” Shepard said as she tried to resume undressing him. His hand gripped hers.
“Shepard. I mean it. You can do better then me.” He was looking at the ceiling. Shepard frowned.
“I want you. I don't give a fuck about doing better. To me, you're as good as it gets.” Shepard meant it. Even though Zaeed was bat-shit insane and did a fucktonne of questionable things (Shepard couldn't judge him on those things; if she did, she would be a giant hypocrite), he was a decent man, and she found him extremely attractive.
“You don't believe that, do you?” Zaeed sat up on his elbows again so he could look at her.
“Yeah, I do.” Shepard said as she rested her elbows on his thighs. She sighed and rested her cheek in her hand.
“I'm going to go, ok? This whole thing is clearly making you very uncomfortable.” Shepard stood, then walked back over to the pile of clothes that she had abandoned earlier. She bent down to pick them up, but was pulled back up and spun around.
“Zae-” He was kissing her harder than she ever thought possible, and his blunt nails were digging into her back with such force that she was sure he was drawing blood. Her hands moved between their bodies and she tore off his belt and flung it behind her. It made a metallic thud as it hit a piece of furniture, but neither of them stopped to assess the damage. Shepard gripped the top of his pants and pushed them down. Zaeed sidestepped slightly to get out of them, then Shepard slid her hand between his thighs. Her eyebrows shot up when she cupped bare flesh instead of underwear covered flesh like expected, and she could've sworn that Zaeed smiled as he was kissing her. They fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs, and Zaeed moved on top of her. He broke the kiss as he moved off the bed. They looked at each other for a moment; both panting and flushed, before Zaeed grabbed Shepard's thighs and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He pushed her thighs together before grabbing her underwear and roughly pulling it off her. Shepard gasped as he pushed her thighs apart again to expose her bare cunt to him. He let out a small growl before dropping to his knees and sliding his hands under her backside to pull her sex against his mouth. He ran his tongue and lips over her with so much enthusiasm and skill that Shepard briefly doubted his claim that he hadn't been with anyone for two decades, but her mind was wiped blank of any coherent thoughts when he slid a finger inside of her. Her hands fisted in the sheets and she let out a hoarse moan as he pumped his digit in and out of her as the tip of his tongue slid over her clit. She watched the perfect sight of his head moving between her legs until the pleasure was overwhelming and she had to lay back.
“Mmmm.” Zaeed groaned against her in appreciation as he worked, and Shepard arched her back as his free hand angled her up more and his finger reached the extremely sensitive spot inside of her, that when combined with clitoral stimulation, made her come almost instantaneously. She felt her orgasm building quickly, and she untangled one hand from the sheets to rake her nails over Zaeed's scalp. Her moans were short and quick, and Zaeed seemed to have not forgotten what those sounds meant as he sped up his finger and tongue. Shepard practically howled as she came, and Zaeed groaned as he felt her inner walls clench around his finger. He kept going until he felt her body relax, and only then did he slowly remove his finger. He kept lapping at her with his tongue, determined to taste her properly. Shepard moaned softly at the continued stimulation; she was still throbbing from her orgasm and every time Zaeed flattened his tongue against her opening and dragged it upwards and let it penetrate her slightly, fresh jolts of pleasure caused her to tremble.
“Fuck, Zaeed.” Shepard said breathlessly as she moved her hand through his hair to grip the back of his neck and pull him up. When he finally relented, he was grinning like a kid from a rich family on Christmas morning.
“Yeah, yeah, twenty years and you've still got it. Come here.” Shepard rolled her eyes as she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her; softer this time, and she trembled again when he slid his talented tongue inside of her mouth. Shepard didn't think it was possible to become any more aroused than she already was, but the taste of him mixed with her fluid made her see stars even though her eyes were closed.
“Your turn.” Shepard said as she moved her mouth away from his and pushed him onto his back beside her. She resumed Zaeed's earlier position, and raised her brows in surprise as she finally got a proper look at his cock.
“.. Oh.” Shepard said after a moment. It was a relatively average size, but impressively thick.
“Alright?” Zaeed asked in concern as he got up on his elbows again.
“Definitely alright.” Shepard said as she slid a hand around the base of it. Zaeed swore as he tilted his head back. Shepard leant forward, then slowly slid her hand up and down. She repeated the motion, but when her hand slid down, she let her mouth follow. Zaeed dropped onto his back, and Shepard watched as his chest rose and fell heavily each time she fucked him with her mouth. She moved her free hand underneath her chin to firmly cup his balls, and Zaeed swore again as he reached down to hold onto Shepard's shoulder.
“Stop! Fucking hell, stop.” Zaeed shouted, and Shepard pulled back immediately, concerned that she had hurt him. She looked up at him with wide, apologetic eyes.
“I'm going to blow like a first timer if you keep doing that.” He said as he looked down at her through heavily lidded eyes.
“Fuck, Zaeed, I thought I'd hurt you!” Shepard said as she placed a hand over her heart in relief.
“Not even close, sweetheart.” Zaeed gave her a lopsided smile, and Shepard's heart began beating a little faster again. He reached a hand down towards her, and she took it and let him pull her on top of him. His erection pressed against her perineum, and she gasped when Zaeed gripped her hips and pushed her back slightly so that it instead pressed against her almost dripping entrance. Shepard glanced from between her legs up to Zaeed.
“I've wanted this for so long.” She whispered. Zaeed's face softened.
“Yeah, me too.” He replied. Shepard smiled at him and brought a hand up to stroke his cheek, then let it drop to grip his shoulder as her other hand held the base of his cock so she could guide it inside of her. She bit her lip at the sensation of him stretching her slightly, and she became slightly embarrassed at how long it was taking for her to adjust, even as relaxed as she was.
“You alright, love?” Zaeed asked. Shepard tilted her head up to look at him. It was surreal to be there on top of him as he asked her genuine words of concern. Sure, he'd mumbled inquiries about her health when they fought together, but this was intimate. She doubted that many people had seen this side of him, and she felt pride pool in her chest that she was privileged enough to be counted amongst them. She lowered her hips further, and a few seconds later, their hips met. They both groaned in pleasure, and Shepard rested her forehead against Zaeed's shoulder. He placed one hand on her tail bone and held the back of her neck with the other as he slowly tilted his hips upwards. They let out a synchronised moan again. Shepard rolled her hips, and Zaeed's grip on her tightened.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” He growled in her ear, and Shepard tilted her head sideways so she could kiss his tattooed neck. Zaeed met her thrusts, and soon Shepard was riding him with a pace that brought her so much pleasure that she could hardly make a sound. When she finally managed to work out a moan, she only got half way through it before Zaeed flipped her onto the bed without separating them and kept thrusting into her. He leant back on his knees until only the tip of his cock was inside of Shepard, and slid his hands under her thighs. Shepard watched with heavily lidded eyes as Zaeed pushed her thighs back until her knees were touching her shoulders. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a throaty moan as Zaeed leant forward against the back of her legs and slid the entirety of his length back inside of her. Shepard let out a mixture of incoherent curses and words of encouragement as he slammed into her with reckless abandon. She was so wet that she could her him smacking into her with each thrust, and the sound made her clench her inner walls subconsciously. Zaeed swore again, and his pace faltered for a second at the extra stimulation.
“Open your eyes. Look at me.” Zaeed said gruffly, and Shepard complied.
“I'm gonna come.” He stammered, and Shepard nodded slightly; too lost in the throes of pleasure to speak.
“Are you?” Zaeed panted, and Shepard shook her head. Zaeed frowned, and let go of her leg. He pressed a finger to her clitoris, and rubbed it from side to side.
“Yes!” Shepard corrected as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She felt dizzy as another orgasm built inside of her. Zaeed grinned, and snapped his hips against her over and over in perfect synch with his finger, and in less than a minute, Shepard was screaming his name. Zaeed's thrusts became more erratic, and he shouted something incoherent as he filled her. Shepard's inner walls were throbbing around him, and she let out a softer moan as he gently pulled out of her. He stepped back off the bed and leant forward to grab her ankles, then brought her legs back down. When he was satisfied that Shepard was in a comfortable position, he lay back on the bed beside her. The sound of the sky-cars buzzing past Zaeed's did little to drown out their ragged breathes, and it was many minutes before either of them had calmed down enough to be able to speak.
“Fuck.” Zaeed said.
“Fuck.” Shepard agreed. She turned her head to face him, and they both grinned at each other. Shepard turned her head back and laughed. Zaeed frowned, but he soon joined her with his own deep laughter. Eventually, they stopped and fell back into a comfortable silence. Zaeed scooted up the bed to rest his head on the pillows, and tapped Shepard's arm to get her to follow. When they had adjusted to their more comfortable position, Shepard rolled onto her side and moved closer to Zaeed. He glanced down at her then lifted up his arm so she could curl up against his side. She flung her leg over his thigh and pressed her breasts into his side, then closed her eyes. Neither of them spoke, and eventually, they both fell into dreamless sleep.
****
Shepard rolled onto her side and frowned as what felt like a piece of paper crinkled underneath her back. She reached under her body to grab it, and opened her eyes slightly to squint at the message written in neat, cursive script.
Had a job I needed to get to. Don't know when I'll be back, but you're welcome to stay as long as you please. I'm sure you need a break from those tightass Alliance types anyway. Door code is 2185 if you need to leave.
-Z
Shepard tossed the piece of paper over the side of the bed and rubbed her eyes as she wondered if he did actually have a job, or if he was just so awkward that he'd left in the hopes that she would leave. Either way, she wasn't going to infringe on his space any longer. She knew that Zaeed was a man who liked his space, and she wasn't going to stay unless he asked her to (suggesting she could stay if she wanted to sounded like a comment made out of politeness). She rolled out of bed and cringed at the dried out mess on her thighs that was making her skin itch. She glanced towards the door to the left of the room that she assumed led into his bathroom, but she bent down to pick up her clothes instead, deciding that she would shower back at her apartment. She got dressed lazily, and shuffled out of Zaeed's bedroom and into the living area to find her shoes. She flopped onto the couch, then reached forward with a sigh to grab them and pull them on. She winced as she got back off the couch; before she had fallen asleep she had hoped for a morning repeat of the previous night, but the way her body currently ached made her somewhat glad that Zaeed had left. She dragged herself towards the door, and put in the code, then quickly opened the door and left before the alarm reactivated itself. She leant against the closed door for a brief moment, and a passing asari glared at her. Shepard grinned when the asari had passed; she could only imagine how unkempt her hair and makeup currently was. With another sigh, she pushed off from the door and made her way back to the Normandy.
****
“Who the hell is that?” Shepard wondered aloud as the buzzer for her apartment door rang. She got up from the floor and left James and Garrus to argue over whether the mod that Garrus had picked up would work better on Shepard's Carnifex or her Vindicator. She opened the door, and raised an eyebrow at the fragrant, colourful garden that greeted her.
“Shepard? Commander Shepard? These are for you.” A female of as of yet undetermined appearance said from somewhere behind the extravagant flower arrangement.
“From who?” Shepard asked as she folded her arms and stuck out her hip.
“There's a card at the front, if you could just-” The flowers jutted towards her, and Shepard plucked the red envelope from a slot in the front of the silver box that held the flowers. It was hand written in a familiar cursive script.
A goddamn classy flower arrangement for a goddamn classy lady. Sorry for skipping out on you – the job was a bust. Should've stayed in bed.
- Z
“Who is it?” James called from behind her.
“Ma'am, if you could please take these, they're really heavy!” The exasperated mystery person said. Shepard stepped forward to relieve her of the bouquet.
“Thank you.” Shepard turned to the side to see a young, dark haired human girl wiping her brow.
“Thank you.” Shepard said in return as she inspected the flowers.
“No problem. Enjoy.” The delivery girl waved her hand and left. Shepard stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at the arrangement in shock.
“Oh, one guess who sent her those.” Garrus said, before erupting into roaring laughter along with James. Shepard ignored their teasing, and leant forward to sniff a vibrant purple flower. It smelt beautiful, but there was only one scent that she found absolutely heavenly.