TITLE:   CHECKMATE
AUTHOR:  RHONDDA LAKE
E-MAIL:  rhonilak@icontech.com

Disclaimer: They are owned by CC. They are not owned by me. I give credit
where it's due, in the hopes that they won't sue.

Oooh... I love a challenge... A Game, a bed and strawberries.

MSR of course... NC-17 of course.

No relation to anything else I've done. A 'First Time' type story.

Second disclaimer: I took writer's license here. I know unprotected sex is
dangerous and even deadly in this real world. If I don't mention it when I
write, please assume proper measures were taken.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She enjoyed the mental exercise. Trying to anticipate what he was going to
do, to turn what she knew of his way of thinking to her advantage. Move and
countermove on a level that was safe and had no lasting repercussions.

She reached for her glass absently as she studied the board. Her seeking
fingers closed over the smooth coolness. She lifted the glass to her lips
and sipped at the burgundy inside it. Savoring the dark, sweetness as she
was savoring the moment.

The moment. No thoughts of the past. No looking into the future. Just
herself, the board, and the man seated on the floor across from her.

Setting the glass down again, she reached forward and moved her black
knight, taking his bishop in the same hand. Setting the bishop to the side
with three pawns and a rook she finally looked up and smiled.

He didn't see her. Mulder was examining the board. He was intensely
focused.

She could almost hear his mind clicking away at his options and what they
could lead to. He was biting down gently on his lower lip. She had him
stymied.

The light from the table lamps reflected off his glasses with little
movements of his head, making reading his eyes near impossible. So she sat
back and enjoyed the view.

He was wearing jeans. He filled them nicely. She always liked it when God
granted her the present of seeing Mulder in jeans. They hugged his legs
better then pants, and did nothing to hide the fact that he had a great
ass.

Even if it was currently hidden from view due to the fact that he was
sitting on it.

The black v neck sweater over a white t-shirt. It called attention to his
neck. There was just something about his neck. Long, for a man, and almost
graceful, but not skinny or gawky. When seen it begged for someone to touch
it, to taste it. His adam's apple bobbed slightly as he swallowed
reflexively.

All in all, a pretty impressive site. Especially when topped off with those
glasses. She would never betray it by look, word or deed, but she found
Mulder in glasses incredibly sexy. It was one of the reasons she never
bought a normal chess board.

They used the small, traveling set she and Missy had used long ago for
endless over the road moves. Hours on the road had developed into game
matches by way of this small board and it's magnetic pieces.

Mulder's hand hesitated over the board, then he moved his other bishop to
take her knight. She now had the choice to take his second bishop with her
queen and risk loosing her to a pawn, or to move the queen out of the way,
because his next move was sure to be the removal of that powerful piece if
she left it where it was.

*

Mulder watched her while she studied the board. Her eyes darting to every
available space, each option explored and discarded in turn.

He had been aware of her scrutinizing him as intently as she now did the
board. It was all part of the game. Look but don't get caught looking. Be
aware but don't acknowledge the awareness. Move and counter move.

Tonight she was wearing her black jeans. He loved those jeans. So
flattering and fitting like she had poured herself into them. A tan plaid 
cotton shirt that was completely unbuttoned over a white muscle tee. Was 
she aware that the tee hugged her so closely that he could follow the 
outlines of her bra?

He knew she was aware of his own inspection by the distinct shadow of her
hardened nipples. Did she find this arousing? 'Intellectual Intercourse'?

She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought. Letting it slide through her
teeth so that it reddened slightly, and glistened.

He shifted slightly and reached for his own glass of burgundy. He sipped it
cautiously as she reached out to move, not her queen, but one of her pawns.

It now endangered his knight.

His eyes stayed on the board as he reconsidered his options.

*

He was studying the board again. He set his glass down without any real
attention, and it clinked softly against hers.

What was he willing to risk? Would he make a play for the queen? If he did
he'd lose his knight. To preserve the knight he'd have to forgo the queen.
Either move would leave an opening that would allow her to put him in check
in another move.

He moved his bishop and swept her queen off the board.

His softly spoken "Check," was acknowledged with a nod. She moved her rook
between the bishop and king and aligned it with his own king. "Check."

She reached over to the bowl of strawberries sitting at the other side of
the board, opposite their glasses of burgundy. She didn't have chips or
pretzels in the house. Mulder had chosen the strawberries over the apples
or the oranges. Less of a mess.

He looked at her as she bit into the ripe, red fruit. Seeming to forget the
rules of the game for a moment. He licked his lips briefly then looked back
to the board. His answer to her check was to castle.

Hmmm... she hadn't thought of that. Damn... the move forced her to rethink
her strategy.

Any way she looked at it he was going to have her in four moves. She ran
through every option. Every conceivable outcome. It was useless. She was
lost.

With a frustrated sigh, she flicked her king over with one finger.

No recrimination. No gloating. Mulder just started to set up the board
again, then turned it so they had switched colors.

"I don't think I want to play anymore, Mulder. It's getting tiring."

"I thought you liked the challenge." He took another drink from his glass
and she watched his throat work as he swallowed.

"It ceased to be a challenge ages ago. We each win some and we lose some.
We are too equally matched. Now it's just an exercise. An excuse. A rut." She
bit into another strawberry. "It's just become a pleasant past time with no
real resolution. Nothing more to learn or explore."

"So, do you want to quit or change games?" He seemed to hold his breath in
anticipation of her answer.

"No more games, Mulder. I'm tiring of the games." She picked up the board
and placed it on the coffee table.

"So it's over? Just like that?" He breathed out, disappointment in his
eyes.

Scully nodded. "How it's over is up to you, though." Her eyes caught and
held his. A challenge cast to the floor between them. He had to choose to
pick up the gauntlet or allow the moment to pass.

He reached between them and caught up the gauntlet by running his fingers
down the side of her face, playing them over soft skin and fine bones.
"Putting me in check?"

She turned her face towards his caress, rubbing her cheek into his palm.
"You could say that."

His hand slid down her neck, then moved around to cup the base of her skull
as he pulled her toward him. She felt his breath warm on her face, smelled
the scent of burgundy and strawberries there and she breathed him in.
Tasted his breath. Her eyes never leaving his, she saw them darken. Challenge 
met and accepted.

"Check and mate." He breathed softly before claiming her mouth with his
own.

She hadn't thought a man's mouth could be so soft, so sweet. Sugar and
spice. He made a hungry sound in the back od his throat as he pulled her
closer. His other hand had moved around to the small of her back. His
fingers there making tiny circular movements through her clothes.

She could have died happy from that kiss and that was before he slipped his
tongue between her lips and caressed the roof of her mouth, stroked along
her own tongue. Then she was aware that she had died. And gone to heaven.

She moaned, her own sound harmonizing with his. Unwilling to remain
passive, she gave back. Invading his mouth and caressing the smooth porcelain 
of his teeth.

He pulled back, his breathing ragged and his eyes dark. He stood up and
drewher with him. "No more games." He bent to capture her lips again. He drew
her into the depths of a deep, hot kiss that left her blood thundering in
her veins.

She felt herself soften, grow moist, ready for him. And all he had done was
kiss her.

He jerked her up and into his arms with a sudden force that surprised her
and left her breathless.

She never much cared for foolish displays. She always thought a man
sweeping a woman off her feet to carry her off was primitive and downright sexist,
in her own mind. As if the woman couldn't think or function around an aroused
man. Ha!

But as she felt herself lifted she knew it wasn't sexist, although it was
rather primal. This method of transport held her close, allowed for no loss
of contact, as he took them to her bedroom. He didn't need to see where he
was going, which was a good thing as their mouths chased each other, toyed,
explored, tested and tasted the entire short journey.

He lowered her to stand between him and the bed. Sliding her down his
length, creating a friction their clothing did nothing to disperse.

The moment. No thoughts of the past. No looking into the future. Just
herself, the bed, and the man standing before her.

They undressed each other slowly. Savoring the moment. Savoring each bit of
flesh revealed. Slow touches, gentle caresses. All barriers crumbling. Each
taking in the sight of the other. Only approval and desire in their eyes.
Longing. No more games.

Anticipation left her gasping for breath. The way he looked at her, his
eyes devouring as his hands explored. Lightly skimming her flesh, memorizing.
Tactile adoration on a level she had never known. His eyes caressed her as
thoroughly as his hands and her insides clenched. Pooled. With need. For
him.

He drew her against his hard body. Where his flesh pressed against hers she
felt burned. Raw. Exposed and completed at once. The heat of his flesh
scorched her breasts, belly and thighs at a slow burn. He swept his hands
down her back, following the curve of her spine. Moving them over her hips
he pulled her against him. His desire throbbed against her belly. Hot and
alive.

She smiled then, knowing they were well matched. He needed her as much as
she needed him. No more games.

She ran her hands down his sides and muscles moved beneath her fingertips.
She moved her hands lower, over his narrow hips, his well defined ass,
feeling them tense and tighten beneath her touch.

He lowered them to the bed. His hands skimmed over her again. She quivered
beneath him as he touched her intimately. His fingers gliding lazily over
her folds before parting them, stroking deeper. She curled up into his
hand. Wanting more. Needing more. He lingered there. Softly stroking, gentle
pressure. Devastating her. Promising her. He kissed her again, his tongue
matching the movements of his fingers. She clutched at him and made a soft
mewling sound in the back of her throat.

Her breasts ached, her nipples impossibly tight, waiting for him to touch
them, to take them into his wonderful mouth.

He didn'd disappoint. His mouth pulled from hers and trailed hot and wet
down her throat, to her breasts. He flicked his tongue over her sensitive
flesh, then bit down gently on one nipple. Suckling and lathing it at once.

His fingers never ceasing their movements.

She dug her nails into his shoulders, cried out as her body tensed, rode
the wave to it's crest and crashed over into the sea. Carried away on currents
too strong to resist, too beautiful to make the attempt.

He moved then, removing his fingers as he positioned himself. She opened
her eyes to see him staring at her, searching her eyes and her soul. She nodded
once. No more games.

He surged forward, impaling her with a sudden, sharp movement that stole
her breath away and rocked them both. He speared her heart as he did her body
and her eyes fluttered closed with the exquisite pleasure of it.

"Look at me." His voice was demanding. She opened her eyes and met his
challenge. The strain on his features was plain. He was beautiful. She had
wanted this for so long. They both had. But they had become lost in the
games of it. The moves and counter moves that not only marked their work,
but their lives as well.

He wound his fingers through the red silk of her hair, cradling her head
and stilling her restless body with the press of his hips. He moved slowly at
first. She wrapped her arms around him and followed his lead. Each powerful
stroke, each dip into her body, felt deeper then the one before. Sensation
rippled out from her center, yet focused there as well. She watched his
hazel eyes cloud with an emotion she accepted and returned with her own.

Gazes locked.

The pace was steadily quickening, deepening and it stripped her of the
ability to articulate what she felt. Eyes riveted on each other they
matched stroke for stroke. Scully clung to him as he increased the pace 
again and she met his quick, deep thrusts with the sudden uptilt of her 
pelvis. He buried himself to the hilt again and again.

"Do you feel it?" His smokey, smooth voice purred into her ear as she
quivered and quaked around him.

"Yesssss." Reduced to monosyllables it was all she could utter.

He became her focus. Her world. No one and nothing else existed as she
wrapped her legs around him and gloried in the hammering thrusts of his
body. A thousand unspoken emotions flowed between them as the made their
way to the fire they both sought.

Her release startled her with it's suddenness and fury. So hard she feared
her heart would stop, so complete her entire body shook with it. His
release came in the fullness of hers, the milking movements of her body 
pulling him along. Into the fire. Into the heat. Into each other. Into 
eternity. Into...

They lay together, entwined. Complete. Holding one another. listening to
their own heartbeats merging and settling into the same rhythm.

"Mulder..."

"Shhh..." He kissed her again, silencing her with his mouth. After an
eternity he broke the kiss. "No more games."

She nodded and felt sleep sweep over her. At ease in his arms.

She awoke to the feel of something cool and semi smooth being rubbed
against her lips. Opening her eyes she found Mulder teasing her mouth with a
strawberry. She opened her mouth and he gently placed the fruit between her
lips. He darted forward to close his mouth over hers, over the strawberry.
His teeth bit the fruit in half as his lips played over hers. He drew back
and smiled as he chewed and swallowed.

"I wanted to do that from the moment you took the first bite out there."

"I wanted you to. It was part of the game, I think."

He nodded.

No more games. They didn't need them. Not anymore. He had captured the
queen at last.

End...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

So did I meet the challenge?

Feedback more then welcome. Highly encouraged as a matter of fact.