Mass Effect - Dancing with Vega

"Hey, Lola, relax." James chuckled at how stiff she stood before him. "You've gotta let the music flow through you." She replied with a frustrated groan.

"That's easy for you to say, party boy. I've been a little busy fighting the galaxy's deadliest enemies. There's not a lot of time to dance when you're zooming around space. Not much shore leave. And anyway, dancing isn't important. I can shoot the head off a Geth from 200 yards away. So what if I don't have any rhythm?" He laughed and rose from the chair where he had been watching her.

"Everyone knows what you can do with a gun, Lola. And that's all well and good. But you need to relax, belleza. You can't run around killing things all the time. Sometimes a person has to blow off some steam, or just forget about the chaos for a while. Besides, you're the one who asked me to teach you to dance, remember?" She sighed and nodded her head.

"You're right. Sorry. It's just not something I've ever had the need to do before. But the crew deserves a break, even if it's just a few hours. And I don't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone at Purgatory." James walked around behind her and placed his large hands on her shoulders. She began to relax slightly as he massaged her tense muscles.

"You won't, if I can help it. That's why I'm up here. To make you look damn sexy on the dance floor. You're in good hands, Lola." His hands moved down to her hips, and he gently shifted her balance back and forth. "Just loosen up, don't jerk around, just flow side to side. Like water. Yeah, just like that." He slid a foot between her legs and eased her feet apart so they were even with her shoulders. He let go of her hips and walked around to face her. "You've got a balance now. Now feel the rhythm. Listen to the music, and listen here." He reached out and placed two fingers over her heart. "It's good to let the music sink in, but you have to listen to your body, too. La música del cuerpo."

"Right, right, music of the body, OK…." She bit her lip in concentration, doing her best to find her body's natural rhythm. She failed to notice James's eyes lingering on her hips a few seconds longer than necessary.

"OK, that's good. Now, concentrate on your center, and slowly move that rhythm up your body. Muscle by muscle." Shepard closed her eyes and listened to the sound of her heartbeat and the pulsing sounds of the music playing from the speaker on her nightstand. And the sound of Vega's deep voice encouraging her, which seemed to direct each muscle in her body. "Loosen up those arms, Lola. Don't stiffen up, let them hang and move on their own." His voice came closer, then she felt him grab one of her arms and lift it up, setting it down on his shoulder. She felt his muscles move, and heard a soft shuffling of feet as he began to dance with her. "All right…bend your knees a bit, don't lock them up. Good, perfecto." James adjusted her arm to drape around his neck as he moved his other hand to her hip and pulled her slightly closer. From the hand on her hip she could feel the muscles of his arm connecting their movements. He applied gentle pressure to lead her in a small space around the floor. She felt no need to open her eyes, trusting him to lead her, and finding the experience of simply feeling the movements and losing herself in the rhythm quite tantalizing. James cleared his throat suddenly. "Lola, you're a natural."

"Don't make fun of me, James," she mumbled, still lost in their movements.

"I wouldn't dream of it. What do you say we kick it up a notch?"

"Kick it up a notch?" she repeated in a daze.

"Dance floors get crowded, Lola." He grinned and gently pulled her body closer, closing the gap between them. He could feel the heat from her body now, and feel her body move up against his. "Now, move with me." She obeyed, and it was easy to feel his large muscles move beneath his tight t-shirt, which helped her keep in synch with his movements. His hand moved to the small of her back, and she leaned into it, even as he held her close to him. Somehow she felt like they were a single person rather than two separate people dancing together. She hadn't known dancing could be so euphoric. Getting into the moment, James slid his hand down Shepard's back and rested it on the top of her ass. Immediately her body tensed up and her eyes popped open.

"James…." She gave him a warning look as her body froze.

"What?"

"You know what." He sighed and stepped back.

"When are you going to get over that pendejo?" he muttered.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed. "What was that, Lieutenant?" He shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"You heard me, Shepard. How long are you going to mope around over the Major? You try to hide it, but I've known you long enough to see through that. Remember, I was there on Mars, too. I heard what he said, and I saw your face. And now he's running around Spectre-ing across the galaxy and hasn't once tried to see you. You need to move on."

"Don't tell me what I need to do, Vega. You may think you know everything about me, but you don't." She strode forward and shoved a finger into his broad chest for emphasis. "You don't even know half." James smirked and grabbed hold of the offending hand.

"I know more than you think, Lola." He pulled her close to him and planted a hard kiss on her lips. Shepard swung at him with her free hand, punched his arm and his chest, tried to pull away. James just held her tighter, kissed her harder, and after several seconds she calmed down. James relaxed his hold and took a step back, admiring the fierce blush in her cheeks that betrayed the indignant look she was trying to give him. There was silence between them for a few moments, and irritation slowly etched its way into Shepard's face. Vega took another step back, concerned that maybe he really had gone too far, but this time Shepard held him in place with a firm grip on his arm.

"Are you quitting midway, Lieutenant? I thought you'd be the type of man who finished what he started." Vega chuckled, surprised. So she had grown angry because he had backed off, huh? He grinned and pulled her close.

"Lola, I always finish what I start. Satisfaction guaranteed."