The Proposal
 by Terry L. Gardner
 Pairing: Sarek/Amanda
 Rated: NC-13
 Disclaimer: Paramount/Viacom own Star Trek and its many characters. I just write about them.
  
 Summary: After dinner and a walk in a moonlit rose garden, Sarek proposes to Amanda.
  
  
  ~oOo~
  
Sarek and Amanda had been seeing each other steadily for a year. They had shared meals, read poetry, attended concerts and spoke to each other of their lives, homes and families. She wasn't sure when it had happened but Amanda knew she was hopelessly, totally, head over heels in love with him. Could he love her too? She didn't know. She only knew that in the last six months he continually sought out her company and seemed reluctant to separate from her at the end of their evenings together. It was a special day for Amanda because it was exactly one year ago that she had met Sarek and they had started on this special relationship journey together. Would this day be special to him too? She hoped so. She hoped for many things that she knew Vulcans would say were illogical as she dressed for her dinner date with Sarek.
  
He knocked on her door at precisely
7:00 p.m., punctual as ever. She let him in and as she picked up her purse to go, he said, "You look especially beautiful in that dress, it matches your eyes perfectly."
  
"Thank you, Sarek. You look magnificent in that deep burgundy suit, is it new?"
  
"Indeed, Amanda, I purchased it to wear for our dinner engagement this evening. It was exactly one year ago today that we met and I have come to know that anniversary dates are very important to humans."
  
"
I am honored, Sarek." Amanda's pulse quickened as she thought, 'Perhaps my dreams and wishes are not so illogical after all!'
  
  ~oOo~
  
A few minutes later they pulled up to Zaybo's Restaurant where they had their first dinner date and Amanda was very touched. Zaybo greeted them cheerily at the entrance and escorted them to the very same table they had that first time, on the patio next to the rose garden, and were served the same wonderful, delicious meal and bubbly champagne that tickled her nose. They ate in silence and when they finished Sarek asked her if she would like to go for a walk in the rose garden. She accepted his invitation and they strolled through the fragrant pathway in the moonlight. They came to a secluded spot in the garden behind a tall rose trellis and Sarek stopped and turned to face her. He looked at her beautiful face and gazed intently into her sapphire blue eyes.
  
Sarek bent closer and she read his intentions in his eyes. Amanda parted her lips, waiting breathlessly for his kiss, but he had paused to study her face anew. He slid his hands around her back and drew her closer as Amanda's hands slipped upwards to his shoulders. Her body fit against his as if it was made to be there. Amanda made a soft sound as her lips parted under his.

 

Femininity, passion, warmth, strength and softness all lay in the sweetness of her kiss. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before.  He felt as if he had wanted her forever, and needed her always to become whole and complete. He needed her with a desperate need that burned deep inside him. Somehow he knew that she was the only one who could satisfy that need. Her lips softened under his and passion instantly blazed up between them, the earth moved as their lips moved in a shattering explosion of need, fire and tenderness.
  
Amanda allowed herself to feel every breathless, blistering second of that kiss, knowing it would be burned into her memory for the rest of her life. He broke off the kiss but her lips were still tingling from the touch of Sarek's and her eyes were huge, filled with wonder.
  
Again, he captured her lips with his own. She tasted salty and sweet and a little bit like the ocean, all at the same time. Her mouth was warm and soft, her lips incredibly pliable and she responded, adjusting to the pressure of his mouth on hers. She felt a bond flare into life between the two of them, as if a channel had been cut between their souls, allowing a bit of her to seep into him and a bit of him into her.
  
When he pulled away from her, his body was trembling. He had not really wanted to stop but he was shocked at what he had done. He had invaded her mind, invaded the mind of the lady he desired to become his wife. Noting her bright red cheeks he said, "Than was inexcusable of me, Amanda, I beg your forgiveness."
  
She glanced away from him, then back again. The faint flush had not quite faded from her features, giving her face a soft glow that only enhanced her attractiveness. "The kiss? Or the touching of our minds?"
  
"Both."
  
"I ... you weren't alone in the kiss, in what happened, I mean. I know I'm not innocent, but I won't allow you to take the blame all by yourself." Amanda looked up at him and put her hands up and cupped his face, bringing his mouth to hers again.
  
As their lips met, an electric spark passed between them, jolting both of them to awareness. The attraction seemed like that of a magnet and she leaned yearningly into him, kissing him with all the fervor that had been pent up inside her since she had met him.
  
If she took him by surprise, he didn't act like it, and the passion exploded between them. Then he eased his mouth away, but only to plant a string of satisfying kisses from ear to throat, hitting every sensitive nerve along the way. He returned to her mouth, caressing her lips with his, lightly at first, then with a second full kiss that took all the strength from her legs. She sagged into him, every bone in her body dissolving until she had no will, nothing but the kiss to end all kisses.
  
"I should not be kissing you like this," he whispered at last, his voice so husky and suggestive that it melted her inhibitions further. "You are a lady and we are not even betrothed, although, you are wishing to be, are you not?"
  
"Oh yes!" She went on tiptoe and touched her lips to his again, just because she wished to. 'Watch out what you wish for.' It was a rational thought, one of the last Amanda formed. She had wanted to taste the fevered hunger of that kiss but she wasn't prepared to defend herself. This kiss simply undid her; heat and need, give and take. A bone-threatening trembling beset her. Sensation after sensation battered her, too many to deal with at once. She could only feel. A soft, accepting sound rose from her throat. She couldn't stop the kiss; she couldn't stop the trembling or contain the building need to let everything she was melt into him.
  
Her head fell back, and Sarek studied her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were closed, her breath ragged. Her lips were moist and parted, fully colored with passion. He thought she would look just like this lying beneath him. His body clenched with need until he ached. He must not do this! He utilized his bio control and the ache faded away.
  
She opened her eyes and looked deeply into his and he asked the question she was longing to hear. "Amanda, will you marry me?"
  
"Yes, Sarek, I will."