The Long Way Home

Chapter One Hundred and Nine: Slow

Bed was swiftly becoming Ronon's favourite place. He had never been one to laze around between the sheets. He rose when the sun did and packed his days with flurries of activity, starting with a run and ending with several sparring matches between Sheppard and the Marines. Only now Hope was in his life and he had been spending his nights in her bed just holding her close against him in the way that she belonged. She was the perfect fit for his body and soul. He was calm when she was near, he had never been so happy and contented as he was right here and now huddled against her.

Hope was tucked into the spooning frame of Ronon's protective form. He slept with his back to the door in case of incoming danger, his body shielding Hope from harm. It was an unconscious urge that was ingrained deeply into the primal side of his being. He couldn't stand watching Hope being tortured by the Wraith and he would do everything he could to make her feel safe and to set his own mind at ease. The animal in him curled around his mate's body tucking himself in even closer. She was his and he would never let her go.

The human side of Ronon was responding to this closeness in the usual way it did when he woke up in the morning. The erection he was struggling to hide within his sweats was growing more insistent by the second as his large hand settled on Hope's small waist, his thumb lightly caressing the line of her rib cage. His cold nose chased up the curve of her throat followed by the warm sweet kisses he planted upon her flesh. He loved feeling her against him like this, it felt so right. Ronon knew that she belonged here with him for eternity.

Hope stretched out along the length of Ronon's body unfurling like a kitten, her ass came to rest right against his pelvis causing a delicious sensation of friction against Ronon's aching cock. He growled in approval into her ear compulsively as she arched just a little more against his hips. Ronon's fingers skated across the hem of the large T-shirt that she was wearing. It was his own and it gave him a sense of pride to see her adorned in it. It was a sign of ownership to him, she was allowing him to become her partner and it was just another shining example of how comfortable they were becoming with one another. His heated palm lightly massaged her smooth, bare thighs caressing them in an affectionate manner.

He was only just getting used to touching her, it had been so long since he had been anywhere near intimate with a woman and he understood that there were boundaries between them that he didn't want to over step. Hope was someone who brought reassurance with the simplest of gestures, she was used to showing affection, she never had to hide her emotions and Ronon was learning by example. He found it hard to reach out, he shirked away from it because he feared rejection but even now he was changing and re-adapting to be with this amazing woman.

When they walked down the corridor Ronon would linger in Hope's proximity enjoying the chemistry between them and wondering whether it would be ok to take her hand, to put his arm around her shoulders, to kiss her in public. She seemed to sense his unsurity and she would make the decisions for him. Her tiny hand would slip into his and instantly he would clasp it gratefully, he enjoyed showing other people she was off limits. He constantly bared his teeth or snarled at any of the marines that seemed to take an interest in his woman.

If Hope found this overbearing he would have tried to stop immediately but she seemed to take having a mate like Ronon in her stride. It was one of the things that made her perfect for him. She was easy going and laid back, she could put him at ease in seconds and that was no mean feat.

Now Ronon was more distracted by other things, they hadn't engaged in any sexual conduct and he worried about his abilities as a lover. It had been a long time since he had made love and he wanted to give Hope the most pleasurable experience imaginable when the event eventually did happen between the two of them.