First of all, thank you so, so much for the kind reviews! This is my first venture into fanfiction and the fact that anyone took the time to read it at all, let alone it being well-received means a lot to me! So, per your requests, here is my second chapter! Not sure if it's as strong as my first, but I trust all of you to let me know. I don't know how long this story will end up being when all is said and done, but I'm seeing at least 3 more chapters after this one. So… enjoy! And tell me what you think! I LOVE hearing from you!

Chapter 2

Four rusty but competent locks started to unlatch one by one with loud pops. Most places these days didn't use such old fashioned locking mechanisms. Cad Bane preferred to stay in these older style dwellings, as they rarely contained the high tech guest monitoring systems so many hotels often had. It made it easier for him to cover his tracks and disappear. Besides, he always had a few tricks up his sleeve so that HE knew who was coming and going from the building, even without the in house monitors.

The heavy durasteel door groaned open. At least the place was modern enough to have durasteel doors… even if he DID like older motels, he knew better than to take a room with a wooden door. They were too easy to kick in. Standing in the doorway backlit by the hall's dingy, greenish light, stood the unlikely pairing of an intense, silent Duros and an impressively intoxicated Togrutan.

Ahsoka Tano was deep in the thralls of yet another rambling tale of past adventures as she was ushered into the stale and sparsely furnished room. She wrinkled her nose.

"This is where you live?" she asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Today," Bane hissed.

Ahsoka broke from her momentary pause to continue where she left off. "So… like I was saying… Skyguy and I got separated, right? So then I had to run ahead and try to get Stinky to the palace! But... but I got intercepted! By THREE MagnaGuards!…"

Bane, always a man with a mission, was humoring her stories with preprogrammed smirks and grunts while he went to manually lock the door behind them. He then turned back towards her constant jabbering and groaned. This young one's voice was particularly grating when drunk and she had been talking non-stop since they left the bar.

"So I had to fight all three MagnaGuards… BY MYSELF! But I did it! Man, you should have seen it! I was AMAZING! Slash slash slash," she said while stumbling over the imaginary lightsaber moves.

Bane shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the small round table in the corner of the room. He gingerly removed his hat and set it down.

"And theeeeen, this other time… um… oh yeah! This is a GOOD one. So…"

Bane took off his satchel and long, brown duster and draped them both over a chair.

"We were on Naboo, right? And had just arrested this CRAZY mad scientist guy who wanted to release this horrible virus all over the planet. The Bluuuuuue Shaaaadow Virus," Ahsoka slurred "So, after, we were in the lab making sure it was secured and guess what! A stupid tinnie went and released some of the virus and trapped us in!…"

Bane methodically undid his holsters and belts, tossing them next to his hat.

"SO, we were now like, aaaall INFECTED! We had to find the tinnies that were trying to breach the lab, or they were going to infect the whole planet! Everyone would have died!"

Bane licked his lips and raised a brow at the clueless girl. He then sighed and started removing his gauntlets.

"So, we're hunting the droids down, right?… but we're starting to feel worse and worse. And then Padme's protective suit got compromised! It was hooorrible!" Ahsoka's arms flailed as she recounted the story.

Bane unhooked his breathing tubes with a pop-hiss. He then pulled his mottled brown shirt over his head, revealing a slender but muscular torso kissed with a wide array of scars. With his bare back to her, Ahsoka continued to tell her story, oblivious to the fact that the Duros now had far less clothing on.

"We were all starting to feel the virus' effects. I was soooo sick. My entire body hurt, and like, my eyes were throbbing and I couldn't breath. Of COURSE we found the tinnies just in time and saaaved the day. Of course! But… we thought we were dying! I actually passed out! I thought that was it! I would have likely cracked my head when I fell, but Captain Rex caught me! He's so nice to me." Ahsoka blushed "He's always looking out for me. Anyways, we totally thought we were goners, but..."

"Ashoka!" Bane had turned to her. She jumped, silenced by the sudden intensity of her name. "I'm not interested in viruses or your Captain Rex," he said coolly.

She lowered her head and looked up at him in the same punished pose she often took when being reprimanded by her master.

"Come here" Bane said, motioning her over.

She stood in front of him, a couple feet away and looked up into his face. It was scarred and slightly weathered, but it was always difficult to tell the age of a Duros. Ahsoka was swaying slightly, obviously still reeling from the alcohol. She felt heat radiating off of his entire body, which she thought odd. She always thought Duros were a cold-blooded species. A low growl was in his throat, and he hooked a long hand around her waist and another behind her neck, pulling her body against his. They stood like that for a few beats more, breathing deeply as he stared into her eyes.

"I… I feel really dizzy" Ashoka whispered.

"Shhhh…" Bane ordered and in a further effort to shut her up, he quickly planted his mouth on hers. Caught off guard, the awkward youth stiffened up, unsure what to do. But as he kissed her, slowly massaging the back of her neck and toying with her lekku, she quickly relaxed and returned fire.

Their mouths mingled for what felt like an eternity, growing more and more urgent. Ahsoka's petite hands ran up and down Bane's smooth back, tracing the various lines of muscle and scar. She felt a warm sensation growing inside her that she had never felt before. She instinctually pressed into him harder, causing a groan to escape his lips as they continued to kiss. Her ears were buzzing and the entire room started to spin. Bane lifted her top up and over her head, only separating his lips from hers for the brief instant needed to pass the thin cloth through. He bent down to kiss and tease her petite breasts.

"I really… I'm really dizzy" Ahsoka whispered again breathlessly. But she was quickly distracted as Bane smirked and snuck a hand down into her small, red skirt. A gasp escaped her lips and her eyes shut closed and his fingers started to work their magic. Everything was so new and happening so fast. His other hand pulled down the skirt and leggings to her knees. Her body was grinding against his as his impossibly long fingers danced between her legs.

She felt like she was going to scream. Intense pleasure was radiating throughout her body in waves. She felt powerful. She felt energized. She felt… she felt… sick? Ahsoka pushed away from him, out of breath and swaying. Sweat was beaded on her face and she eyes looked glassy.

"No… I… I think I'm going to… going to..." and with that, she suddenly threw up with an intensity that should have been impossible for such a small frame. Her stomach rid itself of bile, alcohol and what little she had to eat that day… and it ALL landed directly on Banes boots in an awful splash. Mortified, she tried to take a step back but was caught off balance by her garments still wrapped around her legs and fell to the ground. She sat on the floor staring up at Bane, looking confused at what had just happened. Never having been drunk before, she had no idea that too much to drink could cause such an adverse reaction. She offered up an embarrassed smile. Bane glared at her, eyes wide in disbelief and ran a hand over his face. She started to try to pull herself up onto the bed. "I just need... to lie down... for a little bit," she mumbled sleepily as she crawled up the mattress towards the pillow. Bane grunted, frustrated and annoyed. He stormed off to the fresher to clean off his boots and to take care of some unfinished business.

He reentered the room after some time, splashed water still dripping off his face, to find Ahsoka curled up in a ball and completely passed out on the bed. Unbelievable.

"Well dis is just my luck… first girl I've gotten in months and DIS!" he mumbled to no one in particular. He kicked the bed, but she didn't stir. "I SHOULD just dump her in the hall… or I SHOULD just hand her over to my Sith client. I'll bet she'd fetch quite a few credits," he thought to himself sourly while glaring at the girl sleeping so sweetly in HIS bed. Bane sighed with defeat and slumped into a stiff wooden chair. He valued his reputation as a skilled lover almost as much as he valued his reputation as a bounty hunter. If word got out that sleeping with Bane got you killed, well there'd be even less females lining up to go home with him then there once had been. No, as much as his instincts screamed against it, he would just let her sleep.

He resigned himself to sleeping in the chair for the evening, but the discomfort he felt as it dug into his back caused him to think twice. He growled and kicked the chair over. The

slumbering Ahsoka didn't flinch. "It's MY credits paying for dat bed… there's no reason why I should be sleeping in dis kriffing chair!" he snapped out loud.

With a protesting grumble, he trudged over to the bed and set down next to a now snoring Ahsoka. He laid his head back against the pillow, waiting for sleep to overtake him.

It was going to be a long night…