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It was hot.
Laura Roslin had already removed her blazer, her shoes, and her stockings and was currently plucking at the neck of her white blouse, which she had untucked and unbuttoned at the top and bottom in order to try to increase the air flow over her clammy skin.
Sitting across from her was Bill Adama, also stripped down to essentials, his tanks and a pair of work out shorts providing a bit more relief for him than her presidential wardrobe did for her, but the thin sheen of sweat that graced his skin was proof that he too was uncomfortable.
Picking up one of the ubiquitous brown folders that lay in front of her, she pushed the rest aside and started fanning her self. “Gods, Bill,” she moaned, leaning back in her chair. “Any word on when this heatwave will pass?”
Bill looked over at her, fascinated by the way her head was tipped back with her eyes closed, by the way her hair fluttered with each pass of the make shift fan in front of her face. He smiled because he knew she wouldn’t see.
When she cracked an eye he cleared his throat and looked away. “Chief needed two hours to replace the environmental controls computer, it’s been almost that now. Sorry, I didn’t think about it or I would have moved our meeting to Colonial One, but it’s either crank the heat up, or let the cold leak in from space. ”
“Gods, at this point I think I would take the cold.” She switched hands and continued fanning herself.
He looked up. “I’m surprised to hear you say that, I always assumed you were a warm weather kind of girl.” Noticing the way her lightweight shirt clung in certain places to her damp skin, he tried to offer a glimmer of hope. “He’ll have it done soon. Trust me, it’s better than freezing to death if something goes wrong.”
As she fanned herself she let her eyes drift shut again. “My mother always kept it cool in the house. She would say, ‘You can always slip on a sweater and pair of slippers or grab a blanket and snuggle by the fire. But when it’s too hot, once you’re naked you’re out of options.’”
“Madam President,“ he started, affixing one last signature to the stack of reports in front of him. “I feel compelled to point out that you're not yet naked.”
She opened her eyes, fixing him with a playful glare and abandoning the folder back to the endless pile on the desk. “It was my mother’s saying, not mine.”
He smiled. “Your problem isn’t that it’s hot.”
“Oh no? Then what is my problem?”
“You’re problem is location.” She quirked an eyebrow at him, inviting him to continue. He rose and she took his offered hand, allowing him to lead her toward the couch. “You need to pretend you're somewhere else. Say the beach at Emerald Bay on Picon, have you ever been there?”
“No, I can't say that I have.”
“Lie down.” When she did, the cool leather felt wonderful against the skin on her arms and legs and she found herself wishing she had on a bathing suit so she could feel it against her back as well. She closed her eyes, flinging one arm over her head and letting the other rest on her hip. “I don’t think this is helping.”
He pulled over a chair and sat next to her. “You’re not trying hard enough.”
She peered at him through one eye. “I told you I’ve never been there. I’m having a hard time visualizing.’
He huffed and ordered her to close her eyes again. “The sand is the whitest you’ve ever seen, but with little flecks of green and blue sea glass that sparkle as the sun beats down. and the water is a clear bluish green that never seems to darken as you look to the horizon.”
“Oh, that sounds lovely.” Her lips turned up in a little smile and she managed to turn the orange glow from the lamp above her into the Picon sun, welcoming its mid morning heat.
“It is. And of course we’re only laying a few feet from the water.”
“We?” she asked, her playfulness in full swing now.
“I’m not staying here while you go to the beach.” He groused.
“Fine. We’re there together. Tell me more.”
“The surf isn’t rough, there’s just a gentle crash of water every few seconds. It’s sort of rhythmic. It’s nice. We can hear a few other people on the beach. A dog barks. Kids splash in the water. Once in a while the seabirds cry, and the whole time the sun bathes everything in a nice warm blanket. Your skin feels warm and you start to feel a little sleepy.”
“That’s nice. But, you know what this is missing?”
“What?”
“That nice sea breeze that you always get coming off the water. That always helps cool you off. I assume they have that on Picon too.”
He didn’t answer but after she heard him get up from the chair, she sensed him kneeling beside her. She was about to open her eyes when she felt a gentle stream of air flowing over the delicate skin on her wrist. It made her shiver and she emitted a small satisfied hum. She heard him inhale deeply and the cooling air continued up her arm, tickling the sensitive flesh and causing her pulse to speed up.
He shifted and the next breath caressed her hair line, her forehead, her cheek. Laura let herself get lost in the feeling, the light tickle and subtle cooling of her skin everywhere he moved. She found herself wishing he would move lower still. She wondered - hoped - he might be bold enough.
Bill had no idea what had possessed him to start blowing on the President, but she wasn’t objecting and the way her breathing had become shallow and the goosebumps had risen on her skin let him know it was having an effect. He took another breath blowing it across her lips, which had parted, her jaw and, when she raised her chin in invitation, the length of her neck.
He roamed this territory over and over, noticing the way she would turn her head so he could reach behind her ear and then the junction of her neck and shoulder. He let his eyes wander and watched as she slipped one more button free, giving him access to a large expanse of her chest and the swell of her breasts. He didn’t need an engraved invitation and, letting out a large huff of air as he marshaled his own growing desire, and went back to the task at hand.
He blew a steady stream of air over the curve of her neck, across her collar bone almost to her shoulder. Took another deep breath, reveling in the smell of her skin, in the memory of the nights he had spent learning it, learning her not on a sandy beach, but in the damp cold of her New Caprican tent.
He wanted desperately to let his lips follow the slight bones across to the edge of her shirt on the other side but he didn’t touch her, he couldn’t or he knew he wouldn’t stop. Instead he just kept up the fantasy, he was the wind cooling her overheated body.
He blew a zig-zag pattern slowly down her chest. and then blew down between and then over her breasts. He felt himself swell when he noticed the peaks that were now visible through her shirt and bra. He looked up and knew from the look on her face that he was not the only one battling desire.
This was turning into a very dangerous game. He noticed she had bent one leg at the knee, causing her skirt to ride part way up her thigh. He also noticed the small triangle of flesh that was exposed on her stomach, just above her skirt where the bottom of her shirt had slid up and apart. So many choices.
He’d always had a thing for her legs so he moved down the couch and started at her ankle, weaving a random pattern slowly up to her knee and then back down. Next he switched his attention to her bent leg which allowed him to tease not only her calf and knee, but halfway up her thigh as well. He saw her flex her hands, looking for something to grip, finally finding the edge of the cushion.
He took another breath this time spending the lungful on overlapping circles on the inside of her thigh, allowing his eyes to wander to the valley between them, wondering what would happen if he blew across the delicate fabric of her panties, which he could just see as he followed the line of her leg under the skirt. He took his next breath right near the hem of her skirt and his mind and pulse raced when he smelled her arousal.
He shook his head struggling for control. He hadn’t meant to seduce her - or was it him that was being seduced? It didn’t matter. Better to travel to less tempting territory, he thought and instead turned his attention to the small patch of skin on her stomach. He was thinking of how soft the skin of her stomach would feel if he nosed the fabric of her shirt open just a little bit more, but right as he started to move back up her body there was a loud clunk as the air handlers cycled off.
The noise broke the spell and their eyes met in surprise and understanding, they had both gotten a little carried away. She sat upright, quickly straightening and redoing the buttons on her shirt. He turned away quickly, embarrassed, as his gym shorts did little to hide his current state of arousal. He sat back at his desk giving them both some much needed space.
The air handlers cycled back on bringing a noticeable current of cool air into the room. She slowly came back over and sat on her side of the desk, though neither of them said a word for what seemed like an eternity. “Thank you, Bill,” she finally said, but only to break the uncomfortable silence.
That was not what he was expecting her to say. “For what?”
“The distraction? I don’t know? One of us needed to say something.” That earned her a smile and a chuckle.
“Yeah, I guess so. I’m sorry. I got a little carried away there. I didn’t mean to...” He just trailed off. She wasn’t surprised that there seemed to be real regret in his voice. They tried very hard to stick to their agreement, maintain their professional boundaries. They had both slipped a little.
“Don’t be, it wasn’t just you.” He looked at her, desire and affection evident on his face. It broke her heart as surely as she broke his, not once, but a hundred times a day since they’d last made love. The night she told him more than convinced him that their relationship would have to wait.
She rose from her chair and walked to stand next to him, running her fingers affectionately through his hair. He slipped his arms around her waist and held her tightly to him, his head against her stomach. They both sighed in unison, happy to have regained their footing, happy to know that things between them hadn’t changed, to know they still wanted each other, loved each other.
She kissed him on the top of the head and held him to her. “Someday, Bill.”
He held her tighter. “Someday.”