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Eventually Evan's breath evened out and he became aware of the sweat cooling on his body, the well-used ache in his muscles, the deep satisfaction that came with a warm afterglow. He smiled as Sasha kissed his hand. Even she seemed softer now, her intense heat subsiding into soothing warmth now that they had gotten what they wanted from each other.

He shifted to accommodate her as she moved against him, propping himself up just enough to look comfortably down at her. He smiled, pleased with her question, and shook his head. "No, no one else," he murmured, the hand he wasn't supporting himself with trailing up to her face to brush rogue strands of hair away. He bent his head to briefly press their lips together, not pushing for anything more than that. "Just you."

Evan's eyes drifted half shut as Sasha gripped his hair. He tilted his head back to rub it against her wandering fingers, pleased with the sensation. This was just as good as the sex had been, this almost-tender link between them. He craved this just as much as Sasha wanted rough hands and sharp teeth.

His free hand wandered back down her body and settled on her hip, stroking and squeezing for the tactile pleasure of it before he carefully rolled to the side. He tugged at her hip, encouraging her to move with him, to keep them connected. He was feeling pleasantly lethargic more than outright sleepy, but he didn't want to risk falling asleep on top of her.

Besides, he wanted to touch, too. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close as his hands trailed aimlessly up and down her back, her waist, through that luxurious length of hair. He idly carded his fingers through it. "If you want to stay the night, I could make you breakfast in the morning," he offered.

Evan frowned, disappointed as Sasha's soft touches suddenly stopped. It grew into actual concern as his offer was met with her complete withdrawal. He didn't know what about the concept of breakfast had set her off; it was something he offered freely to all of the women who stayed overnight, to random people who wandered in while he made it, to best friends who only contributed by peeling potatoes and washing dishes.

He reached out to her before she could get too far, his hands stroking soothingly wherever he could reach. "Okay, we don't have to do breakfast, that's fine," he said. "You don't have to leave, though, if you don't want to. I can't make you stay, but--I'd like it if you did." She had felt good in his arms, and he always slept better with someone in them. Besides, he had apparently upset her; he didn't know how, but he wanted to make it right. He didn't want her to leave like this, not when he felt like they were finally starting to get comfortable with each other.

Evan remained silent as Sasha made up her mind, content to touch and stroke and resigning himself to the fact that he might have to find solace in the memory of her skin if she wanted to leave. He smiled, relieved, as decided otherwise. He held her close, his hands resuming their idle wandering as if they had never stopped. "Glad to hear it," he replied softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

He laid awake for a long time considering the implications of her decision to stay and what it would have meant if she had decided not to. She had undoubtedly awoken something in him that he wanted to explore further that went beyond the sharp edges their sex had had. There were concepts of control and restraint, an equal giving and taking that he couldn't articulate. He wouldn't have to, though, with Sasha; she was the one leading him. More than that, he realized that they had never really been friends before they had started sleeping together, and it bothered him. Their interactions had always been businesslike and amicable. This was like falling into the deep end after wading through safe, shallow waters. He didn't really know which was up, but he knew he wanted more. Sasha had stayed, so maybe she did, too.

Eventually, he slept.

Evan had not been surprised to find himself alone in bed when he awoke only a few hours after falling asleep. Sasha had nearly run away when he had suggested something as innocent as breakfast; something as intimate as waking up together had probably sent her running for the hills. Still, he was disappointed. The few hours they had spent in each others' company had been amazing--beyond amazing, and well in the range of <******** he had no idea where they stood now.

Sasha had always been one of those few people on the island who instantly commanded his respect without demanding it. She had been his superior in all forms of the word, but now she had lowered herself to his level. They had sparred, they had slept together--more than once--they had even cuddled, but they had never really talked. That alone made her different than the other women that he had slept with on the island. It was especially awkward because he wanted more of all of her and had no idea how to go about getting it. He didn't know if she would welcome further overtures of friendship, at the very least, or brush him off entirely, or laugh in his face.

His quandary lingered with him as he went about his day, through the morning's training and breakfast, and even beyond lunch. By then, he had concocted a half-baked plan to find her room number and knock on her door one night with the excuse of returning the underwear she had left in his room, tempting as it had been to keep them as a souvenir. That had been the full extent of it. Maybe she would invite him in, maybe she wouldn't. If she did, then he could probably consider his mission accomplished; if she didn't, well, he'd always have the memories.

Fortunately, Fate was on his side. He had been down in the warren of the Life labs running errands for Ami as gratitude for letting him participate in her pet project. He was lost, of course, because he always got lost down there, because they could bond weapons made of monsters to human hosts but they couldn't make a convenient floor plan. He was sure he had been down this corridor before--maybe even a few times before, he didn't know, and he was late enough in reporting back to Ami that she would probably literally kill him once he did show up anyway.

Still, he had to get out of there first. The few Life hunters he had questioned for directions had given him smirks that ranged from smug to pitying, and so he had stopped asking. The sudden slamming of something a few rooms down had him curious, though, and he was headed that way anyway. He poked his head through the open door way, his mouth already halfway open to offer help, and froze. There sat the very person who he had been distracted with thoughts of all day, looking like she was in no ******** mood.

He had to offer, though. He couldn't not. "Ma'am," he said quietly, giving her a tentative smile. "Everything okay?"

Evan hadn't been able to see her face when he'd first caught sight of her, and his smile wilted into a concerned frowned as he noticed how tired she looked. He had just assumed that, after she left him, she had gone back to her own room to sleep. He hadn't considered the possibility that she hadn't slept at all. Maybe asking her to stay had been ultimately selfish after all, but Evan couldn't bring himself to regret it.

He could feel the shift in dynamic as she gave him permission to call her by name. It was a friendly gesture, though she still seemed distant. He hesitated, unsure of whether to stay or leave so she could get her work done and maybe get some rest. "I was just running an errand," he said, deciding that if she had wanted him to leave, she probably would have made it an order already. "I just saw you there, and...are you okay? I can get you some coffee, if you want, or," no, no, that had probably been a bad thing to suggest. Too--too far along the lines of whatever she had seen in breakfast that made her want to run, maybe.

How was he even screwing this up? He sighed and rolled his shoulders, trying to shrug some of the awkwardness away. "I wanted to see you again," he admitted. "But I can go if you're busy."

Evan watched as Sasha stretched, admiring the shapes her body made. He remembered the way she had flexed against him just like that not too many hours ago and it almost drove him to the point of distraction.

He blinked back into awareness as she questioned her motives and told him, point blank, what she wanted. He could admire her bluntness and he could respect the fact that she knew her own mind, but there was a coldness to her delivery that he felt wary of. It was hard to reconcile who she was now to who he had fallen asleep holding.

"This doesn't have to be complicated," he replied, soothing and gentle. "I'm not asking for any kind of commitment. I just--I'm not used to not knowing who I'm sleeping with. I don't know you at all, Sasha, and I'd like to know more than you're incredible in bed and you like it rough. I'm not looking for more than whatever I can get. Even if it winds up being just a lot of great sex." He shrugged. It was that simple.

It was also only half-true. That woman who was content to kiss instead of bite, to stroke instead of scratch, he wanted to know that side of her, too. He wanted to know why the idea of breakfast made her run. He wanted to make her breakfast anyway.