In The Light Of The Moon

Rating: R+ (mature content)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Luis turned away from the window to gaze at Sheridan lying on the bed, she was peacefully asleep. She shifted in her sleep and the sheet that was drawn to her chest dropped below her breasts. Lying completely naked in the moon light, with only a sheet draped over her, she looked more beautiful and seductive than any woman he had ever seen. The alluring sight made his heart quicken and he had to fight his urge to wake her and make love to her again. He raked his hand through his hair and turned to stare out the window again, at the moon that shone full and bright against the dark sky. He was feeling many things at that moment, but one thing he couldn't bring himself to feel was regret. The truth was he didn't regret what they shared. Making love to Sheridan was like nothing he had experienced before any woman. Yet, he couldn't help but think of their current situation and the future. He also couldn't stop thinking about the way it happened, though he didn't regret what happened he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that he had somehow taken advantage of her. She was only trying to comfort him and then things started to go out of control.

She wanted more, and so did he, but he should have had enough control not to take it further. He still didn't know how the comfort he found in her arms turned so quickly into pure hunger for her. All he knew was that his judgment was tangled in too many emotions to control at once. He had wanted nothing more than to forget the pain and drown himself in her, he wanted her kisses, her touches. She aroused a deep yearning...a fierce need inside him that had been waiting to get out for months. He couldn't resist her, and he didn't want to, he admitted silently.

3 Hours Earlier

They were fighting again. She wanted to go a friend's dinner party and he refused to allow her to go. After almost thirty minutes of argument, he still didn't relent the slightest bit to her nagging. Her accusations of him trying to control her life only caused to anger him farther. "I thought we had an agreement that you weren't going to interfere in me life, that you were just going to guard me and stay out of my way." Luis leaned back against the arm chair and glared up at her. "We did but you don't have an ounce of good judgment," He said and saw her mouth open to protest but he continued before she could get a word out. "You don't cooperate, you keep putting yourself and me in danger, and you refuse to believe that someone is trying to kill you regardless of the many attempts made at your life. My job is to keep you alive and that's what I'm doing." "By treating me like a prisoner," she said angrily, tapping her foot impatiently against the hard wood floor of the cottage.

She was desperate to get out of the cottage, atleast for a few hours. Luis was a constant temptation and a daily reminder of something she wished she had and knew she couldn't. The only protection she had to control her feelings was the horrible memory of that night on the wharf when she heard Luis say he was using her. But even that painful memory failed her everytime he was near. Luis stared down at the ground and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, trying to stay calm. He could hear her talking but refused to look at her. It was hard to look at her and not focus on the sexy movents of her lips while she spoke. They were even more sensual and kissable when she was angry. Come to think of it, there wasn't a place on her body that didn't distract him. "Luis are you listening to me?" she asked, irritated that he wasn't even paying attention to her. "Sheridan I'm tired of arguing with you." "Maybe we wouldn't argue so much if you weren't so stubborn," she snapped.

He looked up at her, "I'm stubborn." She threw both hands up in the air, "Arr...why do I even bother?" "You got me," he shrugged. "You are the single most annoying, unreasonable, overbearing, infuriating, controlling-" she stopped and took a deep breath, and silently counted to ten. "I'm going to bed," she announced through clenched teeth. "It's only 7:30." "I don't care, I can't stand being in the same room with you for another minute!" "That hurts," he grinned. Sheridan narrowed her eyes at him with hatred then stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door shut. She changed into her night gown and laid down on the bed still fuming. The phone rang and she heard Luis answer it. There was a long silence, then Luis spoke. She could hear his voice from her room but couldn't make out his words. There was something in his voice that gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and she knew something wasn't right. Then she heard him hang up.

Slipping on her rob, she walked back into the living room to find Luis standing by the phone, his hand still clasped on it. His eyes were closed, Sheridan's heart sank at the grief on his face. "Luis..." At the sound of her voice, he opened his eyes and noticed her standing there. "Who was on the phone?" she asked softly. Luis looked away from her, staring down at the phone. "That was Alice Berlin," he said slowly, "her son Matthew is on the basket ball team at the Youth Center..." Luis struggled to get the next words out, he closed his eyes a moment then opened them again, "He's in the hospital...he tried to commit suicide." "Oh my God...is he going to be okay?" "I don't know...his mother said he's in pretty bad condition, he-" Luis broke off suddenly and raked his hand through his hair, "It my fault." Sheridan reached out and put her hand over his arm. "It's not your fault Luis. How could it be?"

"I could have prevented this, I should have known something was wrong." "You can't blame yourself for this. You couldn't have known this was going to happen. You haven't even been to the Center since you were assigned to protect me." "No," he said slowly, " before that. I noticed a change in Matthew's behavior, he was angry and agitated during practice. I tried talking to him but he said he was fine, that I was getting on his case for nothing." "Luis..." "I could have helped him Sheridan. If I had only tried harder to find out what was wrong, I might have been able to help him. It wouldn't have come to this, Matthew wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life right now."

After all the hours she'd spent with Luis at the Youth Center, she knew how important the kids there were to him. "Luis, I've watched you with those kids and there was never a time when you didn't give them your undivided attention. You were always sincere and caring, and you always listened when they needed someone to talk to. You tried to help Matthew-" "I should have tried harder," he said and walked away from her. He dropped into a chair, leaning foreward and resting his forearms on his lap as he stared at the floor. He looked so sad and alone in that moment that Sheridan could hardly bear it. A silence hovered in the air as she walked to him and stood before him. She felt his arms close around her waist, as he buried his face against her stomach. Lacing her fingers gently through his hair, she held him to her. Her closeness and the warmth of her touch brought a comfort to him he couldn't begin to describe. He stayed like that for a long time then he pressed a long lingering kiss on her stomach and slowly stood up. She looked into his eyes, a single tear streaked his cheek. Sheridan placed her hand on his jaw and without even thinking about it what she was doing, brought her face to his and kissed the tear from his cheek.

She moved up to kiss his eyelid, his forehead, his nose, then brought her lips down to press a soft kiss on his mouth. Her lips lingered sweetly on his as she gently sucked his bottom lip. Luis's arms closed tightly around her waist drawing her closer against his body and he kissed her hard in return. The sweet taste of her ignited a fire in him immediately. She moaned softly against his lips and it only fed the fire that had started to burn a hole in him. His lips slid down her face to her neck, kissing her with desperate need. Then he suddenly realized what he was doing. Coming to his senses, he pulled away from her. He looked at her and saw the passion he felt in her eyes. "Why did you stop?" she asked searching his eyes. "I can't do this, " he said but didn't move away from her. "Don't you want me?" she asked unable to hide the hurt confusion in her voice. "I do. I want you too much Sheridan. That's why if I don't stop now, I won't be able to later." "I don't want you to stop," she said softly.

"If I kiss you again, it wouldn't be enough. It could never be enough to satisfy the need I feel for you right now." Sheridan moved closer, running her hands up his chest. "I know," she said and brought her face close to his until she could feel his breath on her mouth. She felt his hands close around her waist as he pulled her close against his body, crushing her breasts to his hard chest. "I want to love you Sheridan," he said, his voice deep and husky. "Then love me," she whispered into his mouth, "show me how much you want me Luis." He slid his hands beneath her rob and pushed it from her shoulders, letting it fall in a puddle at her feet. Sheridan slipped her fingers through his hair and drew his mouth to hers as his hands closed over the back of her thighs. Luis lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his hip, then he carried her into the bedroom. He lowered her down on the bed and sat on the edge beside her. The moon shone through the windows, casting a blue gray light through out the room. Moving his hands up her bare thighs, his hands slid beneath her panty and he pulled it slowly down her legs. Then he raised the hem of her gown to her hips, and she sat up to pull it the rest of the way up her body.

Tossing the gown on the floor she moved closer to him as his gaze moved over her naked body, his eyes dark with pleasure. He ran a finger down her body causing a slow shiver to run up her spine. "You look so beautiful in the moon light," he whispered. She watched him as he stood up and stripped his clothes off one by one. The sight of his beautiful aroused body made her tremble and ache with need. His eyes never leaving hers, Luis joined her on the bed, pressing her onto her back and moved over her. She felt his hands slid up her thighs again. He parted her legs and touched her intimately, finding her wet and swollen. She cried out his name, as her head fell back against the pillow, and her hands fisted in the sheets. Luis watched her flushed face while he continued to stroke her there. Her soft moans and heavy sighs of pleasure made him grow even harder. She finally reached up and took his face in her hands and pulled his lips down to hers.

He took her mouth hungrily, devouring her lips and tongue, as his hands caressed its way up her body to fondle her breasts. He kissed her long and deep leaving her breathless when he finally tore his mouth away from hers. Then he lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth. Sheridan arched toward him, her fingers digging into his hard shoulders. "Oh Luis," she moaned breathlessly. He gently suckled her as she held him to her. She laid back down as his mouth began to move over her body with caresses so hot it made her limbs weak. "I want to kiss you everywhere," he murmured against her skin. She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his mouth on her body. When he worked his mouth back to hers again, he slid his tongue over her lips before pressing a hot kiss on it. "Luis...I need you," she whispered. Need coursing through him, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, kissing her long and deep.

Then his eyes locked with hers as he pushed her legs apart and entered her. Her body tensed and she gasped as he slid into her, and whimpered when he penetrated even deeper inside her body. "It's okay," he whispered into her mouth. Gazing down at her body, he began moving his hips against hers. He lifted his head, his gaze locking with hers again as he started to move faster and harder into her, pushing her body up with every thrust. He watched the tension and pleasure build on her face, her body tightening as she arched her hips harder against his. Her chest heaving beneath his, Luis entwined his hands with hers and pinned them above her head. She felt the pleasure building inside of her then it suddenly shattered. She cried out his name and clung to him as the explosive climax over took her body, sending her reeling off the edge. She felt waves of shuddering pleasure sear through her and felt Luis tense with his own peak. Burying his head in the hollow of her shoulder, Luis' hands released hers and he moved them down her body.

His hands closed over her bottom, lifting them so he could thrust even more harder and deeper inside of her. She felt the pain mix with pleasure like nothing she had felt before. When it was over she was left weak and trembling. Luis lifted his head to look at her, he saw the tears streaked across her face. "Sheridan?" he said, his voice soothing but concerned, "Did I hurt you?" She nodded weakly, "a little, but it was a good kind of hurt," she whispered against his lips. He lowered himself to her side and held her, as she snuggled in close to him and drifted to sleep. Holding her in his arms, he felt content and at peace, it was something he hadn't felt in a long time. * * * Sheridan woke up hours later to an empty feeling, then realized Luis wasn't in bed with her. She focused her eyes on the figure standing by the window, his skin glowing in the light of the moon. Wrapping the sheet around her, Sheridan walked up behind him. He didn't realize she was there until she stroked his back. He turned around slowly and lifted his hand to slide his fingers through her hair and cup her jaw. "I'm sorry if I was a little rough with you"

Sheridan kissed him softly on the lips, "It's okay," she whispered. "I called the hospital to see how Matthew is doing, and the nurse told me he's doing much better." "Luis, that's wonderful news," she said but felt like he was so distant from her, and uncertainty began to rise in her mind. "What's wrong?" "I was thinking about what happened between us," he said slowly and the next words he said made her heart ache. "It shouldn't have happened." A long silence drifted by as they stared at eachother. Luis saw the hurt in her eyes. "Sheridan, I shouldn't have crossed the line. I'm here to do a job, not get personally involved with someone I'm suppose to be protecting. I feel like I took advantage of you and I'm sorry." "Luis, I kissed you first," she reminded him. "Yeah, but I took it farther and I shouldn't have."

"You regret it don't you?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes. "I didn't say that." "You didn't have to," she broke their gaze and looked down, "I don't regret what we shared, but obviously you do." Luis placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face up to meet his gaze, "I don't regret making love to you Sheridan." She suddenly turned away from him as another thought entered her mind. "We didn't use protection," she said softly. "I know." That thought hadn't escaped Luis's mind either. "What if I get pregnant Luis?," she asked worried. He covered her bare shoulder with his hands, then slid them down her arms. He linked his hands with hers, folding his arms across her middle and drew her back against him. "Then we'll get married, and live happily ever after."

A smile crept on her face but she fought it back. "If that isn't the worst reason to get married, then I don't know what is." He leaned in and kissed her shoulders. "How about that I love you." Sheridan felt the hot tears slid down her face. She turned around in his arm to look into his eyes. "Don't say you love me if you don't mean it," she whispered. "I do mean it Sheridan, I love you with all my heart and soul." She lifted her hand and touched his face. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited to hear those words from your lips?" "Not as long as I've waited to say them to you," he said and kissed her lovingly on the lips. "Aren't you going to say that you love me too?" "I love you too Luis, I love you so much."

THE END