Nikita lay back in the bathtub, surrounded by countless candles. There was no light other than the candlelight. It was one of the few perks she allowed herself. She tried not to pamper herself, thinking it would spoil her for working in Section One. But sometimes, a girl just had to have a little fantasy. Like now.

She closed her eyes and thought of someone. No, not someone. Michael. With his grey-green changeable eyes. Hot eyes. She imagined him caressing her, and she sighed out loud. He touched her all too infrequently these days. She could just feel his hands sliding up her wet body. The water would part, then splash over them both. She arched her foot as she felt him nibbling on her toes. She moaned, then slid under the water for a moment, hoping that might cool her off, but the water was hot, the way she liked it. She resurfaced, her hair wet and clinging to her face, large droplets running down her cheeks like tears. Oh, she wished he were here with her right now. But maybe someday...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at Section, they were preparing a test of a new drug. Without telling anyone, TPTB had decided to test it on Nikita. No matter that she was too important to Section to lose or even risk damaging, TPTB had spoken. But Walter had a few things to do with the testing, and he arranged for the vials to be switched at the last moment. Instead of the drink laced with the biochemical weapon, Nikita received an aphrodisiac. That’s when things got very interesting...

Nikita first realized that something was wrong when she was trying to follow Operations’ briefing on their next mission. Granted, Operations was hardly a scintillating speaker at the best of times, but she usually had no difficulty concentrating on what he was saying. Now, however, she was unable to focus on anything other than the fact that she wanted Michael. She coughed politely and crossed her legs, feeling strangely warm between her legs. How...inopportune, she thought. Wasting a great feeling like this at work. She unconsciously pumped her leg up and down, and Michael stared at her.

“Nikita...” he hissed. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” she whispered back, bewildered.

“You know...” he said, trying not to look at her.

Operations noticed the backchat going on and stopped his briefing. “Is there a problem?” Nikita said “No” at the same time that Michael said “Yes”, and Operations gave them both an exasperated look. “Well, which is it?”

“Um, Nikita’s restless...she needs to work off a little energy before the mission...” Michael said lamely, trying to get Nikita to stand up. Operations nodded and dismissed them with a suspicious glance.

Michael almost wrestled Nikita out of the briefing area and into his office. “What the hell were you doing out there? Are you crazy?”

“W-what was I doing, Michael?” She looked honestly puzzled.

“You don’t know?” he said, incredulous. “You were, y’know, masturbating in the middle of Operations’ briefing.”

“No-o-o-o-o, really?” she squeaked. “I-I couldn’t have been...I don’t--”

“Well, you certainly were.” Michael shook his head. “You can’t go out on a mission like this. You’re dangerous!”

Nikita felt herself starting to sweat. “Is it hot in here?”

“Not especially. Why?” He looked more closely at Nikita. “Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not taking any clothes off, Nikita. Nikita. I said no.”

Nikita opened her black leather vest and pulled up her poorboy sweater, exposing her abdomen. She leaned against Michael’s desk, fanning herself with her hand. “I can’t help it, Michael, I’m so hot.” She grabbed his hand and placed it on her abdomen. “Feel me.”

Michael whisked his hand away as if burned. “You’re not doing this here, Nikita. I don’t know what’s gotten into you--”

“You. You’ve gotten into me. I need you, Michael. Please.” She leaned against him, and he became aroused. He couldn’t help it. She was a beautiful woman, she desired him, and she was the love of his life, whether she knew it or not. He kissed her, open-mouthed, his tongue finding hers. They kissed wetly several times, and he could tell he was losing the fight for control. He shuddered and said, “No, Kita, we can’t do this here. We’ll both get cancelled.”

“Then take me home, Michael. I can’t wait till after the mission. I need you now.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “How am I supposed to explain our disappearance to Operations? We just suddenly left the briefing, and now we just as suddenly leave Section?”

“Oh, hell...” Michael turned and locked the door. He pushed everything off his desk and helped Nikita climb up onto the desk. “You’d better start praying the mission doesn’t leave on time, or we’ll both be dead before morning.” She took off her vest, ignoring Michael’s negative comments. She pushed her sweater up and unhooked her bra, lying back on the desk. Michael took one look and started to kiss her breasts. Nikita sighed with unfulfilled passion, and Michael’s body responded. Without removing the rest of their clothing, he managed to join their two bodies, unconsciously tensing as he entered her. Nikita kissed him again and again, unable to keep her hands off his face and neck and arms. He lifted her against him, and they rocked together as one, faster and faster. All the time without speaking another word. Michael for fear that someone would hear them, Nikita because her mouth was sealed against Michael’s in an effort to keep her quiet. She bit his shoulder and that was all he needed to surge heatedly into her one last time. He panted against her ear. “God...I can’t believe we did this.” She relaxed against him, her body wet with sweat and love

“There’s more where that came from.” She licked his ear enticingly. “Kita, are you trying to kill me? Now we have to go.”

She pouted prettily. “Is that all?” He removed her arms from around his neck, rubbed her mouth with his a few more times, then gave her a warning glance. “Stop it right now.”

She crossed her legs and smiled mysteriously. “Maybe I’ll have to go find someone else to satisfy me...”

He kissed her hard, feeling unbelievably frustrated despite their lovemaking of moments ago. “No, you wait for me. I’ll tell Operations something. Maybe we both got sick.”

“I don’t care what you tell him, as long as you come back to me, Michael.”

He smiled weakly. “Hold that thought.”

Nikita sat on Michael’s desk and adjusted her sweater and vest. She smoothed her skirt down and crossed her legs. She didn’t know what had come over her, so suddenly, but she was glad it did. Michael, cool, cautious Michael, had satisfied her, right here in his office. No wonder he couldn’t believe it. She could hardly believe it herself.

Michael told Operations that Nikita was sick, but unfortunately for both of them, he merely grinned and said, “Tough.” Michael sighed. “But she’s really not looking good at all, Operations.”

Operations leaned into the younger man’s face and said, “You don’t look too good yourself, Michael. Maybe you should both go have a nice stay in Medlab.”

“But I think she’d be okay if she could just take some time off at home...”

Operations stared at Michael. “At the risk of sounding like a parent, if she’s sick enough to stay home from the mission, she’s sick enough to go to Medlab. So are you. You’re both grounded till further notice.”

Walter overheard the last part of Operations’ comments to Michael and grimaced. Evidently, the aphrodisiac had kicked in a bit sooner than he had expected. He’d thought that it would work right after the mission, and Nikita and Michael could enjoy some much needed r ‘n’ r. But as usual, things had backfired and in a bad way.

Walter walked up to Operations and tried to explain what had happened. Operations began to laugh in earnest. “You mean, she’s not sick, she’s sexually preoccupied?”

“Well, actually, quite a bit more than that. She’s got an uncontrollable itch right about now...”

Operations grinned. “No wonder Michael looked worse for wear! Nikita’s on some kind of sexual amphetamine, he’s not going to be able to keep up with her!!!”

“That’s cold, even for you, Operations,” said Walter.

“Not a word to anyone, Walter, this should be...interesting, to say the least.”

Operations walked away, chortling. Walter gnashed his teeth and wondered what Michael was doing right about now. Probably cursing him, if he only knew the part he’d played in bringing this on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael walked back to his office and found Nikita gone. He should have known he couldn’t leave her in her condition. She was liable to end up having sex with the next available male. He looked down the corridor. No sign of Nikita. He ambled casually over to Birkoff’s station. “Seen Nikita?”

Birkoff looked positively frightened to death. “Yeah.” He whispered to Michael, “She grabbed my crotch and said, ‘“You and me, right here, right now.”’ Michael looked grim. “I trust you didn’t take her up on the offer.”

“Hell, no, Michael, I know what you’d do to me.”

“Good boy, Birkoff.” Michael smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He found Nikita wandering around the hall outside Walter’s workshop. He grabbed her away from a reluctant Walter, who was apparently trying to explain to Nikita what was wrong with her. “No, Walter, don’t waste your time. She has a one-track mind. But I imagine you might know something about that, judging from your guilty expression.”

“Michael, I was trying to help. Nikita was scheduled to take a test of a biochemical weapon.” Michael gasped. Walter nodded solemnly. “But I switched the vials and gave her an aphrodisiac instead.” He looked positively miserable. “I’m sorry, Michael, I thought it would make her amorous and you two kids could have a good time after the mission. That’s all.”

Michael sighed. “You have no idea what you’ve unleashed.”

“That good, huh?” Walter inquired curiously.

“Like I said, you have no idea.” Michael said without a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael pulled Nikita down the hall and into the elevator, hitting the button for Medlab. “Operations thinks we’re both sick. So sick he insisted we go to Medlab.”

“Awww,” she pouted again, “we can’t go home?”

“No, we’re going to have the spend the night in Medlab.” Nikita smiled wickedly. “I’ve always wanted to make love in Medlab.”

“You have? That’s...interesting.”

“Now me...I have a thing for elevators.” Michael ran his hand under Nikita’s skirt and rubbed her thigh. She didn’t need much encouragement. He pushed her against the wall of the elevator and slid his hand inside her panties. He kissed her mouth until it was swollen, then licked the side of her face tantalizingly slowly. “Oh, God, Michael...” He whispered to her, “Kita, you’re under the influence of drugs. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. But I’m going to do my damnedest to keep up or die trying.”

“You seem to be doing just fine so far.” He grinned to himself, hiding his smile behind a nibble to her shoulder. “Well, it’s not like it’s hard work.”

“Michael...I feel so out of control.” She moaned as Michael found a spot on her inner thigh that cried out for his attention.

“You don’t know how much I wanted this,” Nikita admitted. “Then it’s a good thing I came along.”

“That wasn’t an accident, Michael, I’ve been dreaming of being with you for months.” Under ordinary circumstances, she supposed she would have felt inhibited or embarrassed to admit such a thing. But now...making love in an elevator? Her paltry admission of love seemed to pale by comparison.

Michael liked the way Nikita melted in his arms. Her skin felt silky smooth against him, and the way she was rubbing his groin was distinctly arousing. But he knew that it was more than sex with Nikita that aroused him. He liked her quick mind and her intelligence, and her intensity about life in general, even though it was Section’s version of life. Her compassion, her humanity. God, he was in love with her, and he kept going right past that thought, every time he came upon it. Well, maybe it was time he stopped doing that.

“Kita?”

He stopped kissing her, and she looked up at him, her face softened by passion. “I’ve been dreaming about you, too.”

She looked genuinely surprised. “You have?”

He nodded. “This feels good...” he indicated her body by running his hand over her lower back. “But...there’s more between us than just sex...”

She sighed against his neck, burying her face there. Her lips found his pulse point and kissed it. “I know...I feel it, too.”

The elevator doors opened on Medlab. They stood inside the elevator, totally unsure what to do. He released his grip on her, and they walked slowly into Medlab. The nurse met them, saying, “Operations gave specific instructions about the two of you. You’re to be placed in the same cubicle.” She seemed quite detached from what was going on, and Michael assumed that she had not been given the full intel on what had occurred.

They were taken to a cubicle with a privacy screen. Once behind the screen, Nikita undressed. She felt peculiar now, as if she wanted Michael, but she had no control over her feelings. It made her feel vulnerable, and she disliked feeling that way. Little did she realize that Michael was feeling the same way. Out of control was one thing that Michael never aspired to be, and vulnerable was worse. But he was overcome by such a wave of feeling, he couldn’t ignore it. “Kita? Are you coming out?”

She joined him in the cubicle. She was clad only in her bra and panties. Somehow removing everything smacked of pre-arrangement, and it made her feel as though she were on display for someone. Maybe Operations was watching them even now. Getting his jollies.

Michael had taken off his shirt, but nothing else. He was still wearing his mission black pants. He kicked off his shoes and socks. “Kita, we don’t have to do a thing. We can just lie here on the bed and talk.”

“I know. But then the urge will come upon me, and I’ll be all over you, like a little animal.” She looked curiously miserable. He wanted to reassure her. “Kita, what’s been going on has been wild and unpredictable. That makes it scary for both of us. As exciting as it is, it raises questions for us. At least, it does for me.”

He began to stroke her face, his fingertips repetitiously grazing her cheek and her hair. “I need to tell you something. Maybe it will help.” He leaned over and kissed where his fingers had just been. “You are incredibly beautiful, inside and out. I don’t know if you know that yet.”

“You feel secure expressing yourself sexually, it’s your way of showing how much you care. Maybe you think I don’t care. I don’t know.”

He looked sad for a moment. Then his eyes lit on her face, and he brightened. “I don’t want you to take this wrong. The sex has been great. I’d be a fool to walk away from you in this mood.” He laughed softly to himself. “And I’ve done it before,” he admitted.

“But the truth is, all this sex has merely clouded the issue.” He continued to strum his fingers through her hair, almost hypnotically, interspersing the gesture with soft, tender kisses on her face. “You could have gone with anyone else. But you wanted to be with me. You know why?”

“Because I’m in love with you,” she said in a hoarse whisper, trying to avoid his eyes. He cupped her chin in his hands and drew her eyes level with his. “And?” He paused. “Because I’m in love with you, too.”

“Oh, Michael...you don’t have to say that just bec--” She looked like she was about to cry.

“Kita, you are so special, and you don’t even realize your own worth.” He tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. He smiled. “I can’t believe I actually have to convince you of this, but apparently I do.” He kissed her. “I love you, all of you, not just this part of you.”

She hugged him and she felt tears burning behind her eyes. “Michael, I thought my fantasy was to make love endlessly, but it’s not. I love making love with you, but if we never did this again, I would still love you with all my heart and soul.”

“Come here.” He held out his arms, and she went into his embrace. They lay together on the bed, unmoving, for long minutes, and Michael pressed a kiss to the top of Nikita’s head, thinking she had fallen asleep. He closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt a curious tickling under the sheets. Nikita had slipped away from him and was kissing him beneath the sheets. He pulled her up the length of his body. “You don’t have to do that, Kita.”

She kissed him on the mouth. “I know. But I love touching you, and feeling you, and loving you.” He smiled. “Are you telling me you’re still under the influence?”

“Michael, if you think I need drugs to make me feel like loving you, you have no idea how much I care.”

He laughed. “Walter thinks his plan to bring us together backfired.”

“Shall we prove him wrong one more time?” He kissed her deeply, his mouth nudging hers open. “I’ll try.”

She smiled against his mouth, and he felt it. In his heart this time.

THE END

This story © Copyright 1999, Jade