How do you get yourself into these messes, Starbuck? Oh sure, it had started as a simple favour to Luana. Lords, they had barely spoken for a sectar after the ill-fated trip to Alrin. Starbuck had known he had hurt Lu badly when he had retreated back to Cassie's arms as he lay seriously injured while strapped to a hover stretcher on a shuttle. However, the pain in Cassie's voice as she explained the affliction that was loving Starbuck to Luana had hit him hard. He knew in that moment that he needed to do some serious growing up if he was going to make a success of their relationship.
To his credit, he had been an attentive mate to Cassiopeia since then. He had even backed off on his natural tendency to flirt incessantly with every warm-blooded, semi-attractive female that passed close enough to him to start his heart pounding just one, two or twenty-seven beats quicker than it had the moment before he noticed that particular perfume that had always put a smile on his face and covered him in a warm glow of . . . What the frack was that anyhow?
Well, whatever it was it enveloped him now. Yeah, in fact it enveloped him so fracking thoroughly that his body told him it was making up for a decided lack of that special something that had really been a part of him for a very long time. Lords, that little voice in the back of his mind that had reminded him each time he started to say something flirtatious to a woman, other than Cassie, had been positively oppressive. Maybe, it just isn't natural, Bucko, to go without flirting. It plays havoc with a guy's bio-pulse lines, after all.
He reminded himself that though he and Cassie seemed to be back on track with their personal relationship, the rest of his life had taken an unusual turn. His famous luck had completely deserted him. He hadn't had a decent hand of cards since . . . well, coincidentally, since he had stopped flirting. And lately when he played triad with Apollo he looked more like a lumbering troglodyte than the hotshot athlete he had always been. Apollo had told him patiently that he was still recovering from his injuries and it would come. Still, Apollo hated to lose as much as Starbuck, so he wasn't fooling his best friend when he tried to be understanding and supportive about frequently missed shots, sloppy blocks and too many penalties. The thing that had really hit Starbuck was just the other day instead of touching down as he landed his Viper, he had bounced her. Bounced! He hadn't made a landing like that since he was a first yahren Cadet. Face it, Bucko, that was almost as bad as your first simulated landing back at the Academy. Well, maybe not, but it sure seemed that way when all systems were go and he simply had no excuse for it. He could console himself that no one else had noticed, but he was his own worst critic when it came to his skills as a pilot.
Yeah, somehow he had lost his . . . Starbuck-ness. How could a little thing like flirting be so related to everything else that was essentially him? That was it! He had lost his essence! Frack, his body was telling him right now his very essence was hinging on what would happen next as those dark eyes stared down at him, looking at him with desire, determination and something else that he couldn't quite read.
It had started innocently enough. Luana wanted to become a part of the increasingly popular league of women triad players. Of course, being Luana, she wanted to be just as good as the rest of the seasoned veterans before she started. Enter Starbuck. He knew he owed her big for their failed romantic liaison, so he didn't hesitate when the young woman he had once thought of as a little sister had asked him to coach her privately.
Yeah, that was how he had come to find himself pinned beneath the lithe, beautiful woman that he had shared some of the most passionate kisses of his life with in the wilderness of Alrin. His heart was pounding so hard he was sure she could hear it, as she leaned slowly towards him with that felix-that-caught-the-avian look on her features. His breath caught in his throat as he watched the tip of her tongue languidly wet her lips.
How the triad lesson had evolved into him being pinned beneath her, he wasn't sure. He had been showing her one of his new moves that would get her parsecs ahead of the others providing she could master it. It was a difficult shot that took determination, practice, upper body strength and a steady hand, all of which Luana had. She had been astounded when for about fifteen consecutive shots he had simply hooked his shot over her attempt at a block and scored. That was the beauty of it really. Unless your opponent was three metrons high, they couldn't stop it. However, the form required to maintain the extension of your arm while jumping and delivering the triad ball on target each time was difficult . . . especially for a woman.
Even back on Caprica Starbuck had never seen a woman successfully score consecutive hook shots in triad. Really, there weren't even that many men who used the shot anymore. It probably had something to do with the fact that most professional triad players had ended up being genetic mutants. The players had started off at an average height yahrens ago, but somehow the hyperfunctioning pituitary cases had taken over the sport. It had become more a game of height than skill. Thank the Lords, there were plenty of amateur leagues where the level of play was exceptionally high. Frankly, Starbuck figured that he and Apollo could have given Metal Arc and Curl Lee a run for their cubits when they were both in top form.
Yeah, the classic and rarely used hook shot had him in serious trouble this time. Well, if you were trying to teach the shot to someone, you had to be close enough to either shoot over them if you were the offense, or to block if you were the defense. Face it; triad was a full contact sport. Well, full contact was exactly what he was getting now as Luana stretched her lean, scantily clad figure over his equally underdressed form in the middle of the deserted triad court.
Looking back, Luana had just landed her first point using the hook shot. She had launched herself into his arms shouting in glee and Starbuck had laughed out loud at her joy. Suddenly and inexplicably she had hooked her foot behind his and given him a gentle push. He had toppled onto his astrum in total surprise. However, it didn't stop there. The next thing he knew she was laying on top of him with a feral smile on her face and purring, "So, tell me what kind of defensive posture I should take if this happens."
It wasn't so much that he was physically pinned beneath her. Hades, he outweighed her significantly. Luana was a long, slender, young woman whose body was well toned from yahrens of recreational activity. She was a natural athlete, much like Starbuck, and her grace of movement reflected that. Yet somehow he was immobilized beneath her. That niggling little voice was screaming at him to move. Klaxons were going off in all cranial lobes, but still he was frozen to the spot. It was as if she were a mysterious siren with mystical powers that had been sent to ensnare him.
No, it wasn't a physical snare by any means. It was purely psychological. Her eyes were mesmerizing and as he dragged his gaze away to look anywhere but into their depths, he could see a faint pulsation at her slender neck and knew her heart was beating as quickly as his own. There was a fine trickle of sweat running down her neck and he briefly recalled the tantalizing taste of her skin. Oh, frack, he was in trouble! His body ached to pull her to him and reacquaint himself with her touch.
It was like he was going through withdrawal and was suddenly presented with his drug of choice. He had all the symptoms. Elevated heart rate, flushed skin, agitation, and delirium. Yeah, delirium was definitely setting in. It must be for him to even consider tasting those lips that were drawing closer to his own. He knew if they kissed they would be swept up in a passion that was so intense that nothing would stop it . . . well, other than the paralyzing agony of blood trying to make its way out of your kidney and through tight urinary passages, Bucko. Yeah, that was what it had taken to cool their ardour when they had come together on Alrin.
"I need you." Luana whispered huskily. "No commitments, no expectations, no kiss and tell." She stared into his intense blue eyes. His body was taut with tension. She knew he was holding onto his self-control by a thread. As much as she had tried to move on, she had been unable to do so. She had dated every available single male and even a couple attached ones, just to raise the stakes a little. Still, she couldn't get over Starbuck. Luana had kissed every convenient man in the fleet looking for the same degree of passion she had felt when she had connected with Starbuck on Alrin. It just wasn't there. She had tried to remember everything Cassiopeia and Athena had told her about Starbuck being a bad bet, but Lords, if you didn't place your bet, you'd never have a chance at winning the pot! Starbuck had taught her that sectars ago. Well, whose advice should she follow in things concerning Starbuck, his ex's or his own? Yeah, well maybe her logic was a little convoluted, but then desperate times called for desperate measures. She nipped at his lower lip and felt his body react beneath her. Oh, she had missed that feeling of power she had when his body betrayed itself due to a simple touch. Her touch.
Starbuck could feel his convictions fleeing with the speed of recon Viper one. What was it about this woman that caused him to act like a schoolboy every time she pressed her body against his? He didn't remember deciding to encircle her in his arms and pull her close, but he had. Maybe it was some residual effect of the Empyrean Curse? Maybe he should have worn his Empyrean Talisman to protect him? Maybe he hadn't fully explored the depths of his emotions for this compelling woman . . . no, no, that can't be it! Why did he always get in so much trouble when he was around Empyreans?
Lords, save me from the Empyreans, he thought as he was swept away by a consuming passion for the woman he well and truly . . .