Chapter 1 – Stick With the Plan

Corso Riggs stood upright, pulling the smoke-lensed goggles to his forehead and rubbing at the bridge of his nose. He set the arkenstone down on the work bench for a moment and sighed in frustration.

"Corso."

Sometimes it's not so much what is said as the way it's said. Hearing his captain say his name like that – low, soft and sultry – sent prickles up Corso's spine that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

And that was before he looked to the doorway.

He'd seen her wearing next to nothing in the cantina on Coruscant – felt her, too,his mind whispered – but somehow this was worse. Or better. He couldn't really decide.

Her sleeveless white dress was loose and bloused out around her torso, the gauzy material almost luminescent against her olive skin. It was short, too; probably originally meant as a shirt, but someone her size could make it work as a dress. He swallowed thickly, because she really made it work. She had on a pair of tall black boots that went over the knee, but there were several inches of green clearly visible…

He yanked his eyes back upward as she walked over toward him. Her smile offered all sorts of nice things that he tried not to think about. "H-hey, Captain," he managed, knowing his grin was as wobbly as the tone of his voice.

"Riggs, I distinctly remember someone saying something about too much work," she said, tracing one finger up along his bare arm.

Corso had worn the shirt he'd gotten from the gang on Nar Shaddaa – it was comfortable, and it was easier to work without sleeves getting in the way. Of course now he wasn't sure it had been a good idea. Thinking was getting awful hard. He blinked. Felt his face suddenly burning. I hate my brain.

Vacy placed her hand on his cheek, and all he could manage to think was taller and then oh, peaches.

She was so warm in his arms, and her mouth was soft and open. His hands caressed her smooth, bare skin for several moments before it clicked that there was no back to her dress. He stilled for a moment, and saw her smile as she watched him piece it together, his rough fingers gently whispering over her skin. Just skin. Nothing else. Which meant the back of her dress wasn't the only thing that wasn't there.

I am the biggest damn idiot in the entire damn galaxy. Corso Riggs sighed, putting his hands on her shoulders and stepping back just a touch. "Care to tell me what's goin' on, Captain?"

Vacy rolled her eyes. "We were gonna go out, but… well, I saw you, and I thought, hey, why go out to a cantina when I got a good-lookin' guy like this right here?" She grinned devilishly. "Seems a bit inconvenient to go all that way if I ain't got to."

Corso's stomach began to wind into a knot, and he felt his jaw tighten. "Hold on a sec, there. Did you just say I'm convenient?"

"NO," she snapped in reply, yanking away from him. "…not exactly," she muttered. She sighed with a huff, folding her arms. "Don't see why you can't just loosen up a bit."

"You know I want more than what you're offerin' now. I don't want to be another one of your conquests!" He turned away from her, walking to the other end of the workbench, and his voice was bitter. "And right now, sounds like that's all you see."

She sidled up behind him, slipping her arms around his waist. "It's not like I'm gonna toss you out of my bed and off the ship soon as we're done." She pressed against him, curving her body against his.

Corso whirled, pulling free, his eyes snapping. "Dammit, Vacy, you're not listening to me. That's not what I want."

Smirking, she glanced down. "I think there's someone downstairs who disagrees with you quite a bit." Vacy stepped close again, reached up, and stroked the faintly-stubbly skin of his jaw with both her hands before kissing him, deep and slow. "C'mon, babe," she whispered. "Y'know I love you…"

And he suddenly realized who his carelessly-seductive, smooth-talking, ignore-all-protests Captain was reminding him of. Despair twined with disgust in the pit of his stomach, and he simply pushed past her, walking to the door. He paused, looking back at her. "You don't, Captain," he said bluntly. "You ain't got the faintest idea."

With that, Corso Riggs headed back to his quarters to pack.