Andronikos found a bottle of whisky in her bar and poured himself a large drink, drained it and poured another. He was about halfway through the bottle when she rounded the corner.
"I would have joined you," she said, gesturing at the glass.
The alcohol made him relaxed, reckless, focused.
"Would you?"
She caught her breath in alarm and walked over to the table, pouring herself a glass of vodka. She drained it, and had another. She looked at the wall, her hand running down over her hair. "I don't know," she admitted honestly.
Andronikos got up off the chair and walked over to her. "I thought-" He kicked himself, but said it anyway. "You seemed to like it."
She knew what he meant. "I did, but that level of emotion." She drained her glass and poured another one. "It's dangerous. Better to just have the rough stuff."
"I'm not picking out fucking china, trust me." His voice softened. "It was just nice, to feel like I was-" he scowled and turned back to his bottle. He heard her catch her breath. "In a couple of days, we'll be out of sight, out of mind. Why not just take this time and pretend? Or let ourselves go?"
"You asked me to come back for you," she murmured.
"So don't. But what we did, that was-"
Their eyes met, she smiled at him and he held his control with some effort.
"It was great," she admitted softly.
"I don't either of us is exactly the settling down sort," he eyed her. "What we did, that wasn't a promise. That wasn't commitment or love." She nodded, biting her lip. "So why did it freak you out so badly?"
She pulled her hair forward over her shoulder and ran it through her fingers. "Let's just say I have a past and leave it at that?"
"I'm not your past. And we'll only have as much time together as you want."
"I do need a crew," she said abruptly. "I hate living on the ship alone, but I'm not looking for a boyfriend."
"I'm not very good at being a boyfriend. I always get bored and move on." She looked relieved when he said that. "So, how about I let you call the shots. Once you're gone, you decide to come back or not. No difference to me."
"But for the next few days-"
"For the next few days we let ourselves go."
"Caution to the wind?"
"Caution to the damn stars. Then you leave and figure out if you're coming back for me or not. Don't even tell me."
"I know why that's so appealing to me, but you," she ran her hand up to his face. "Why do you want this?"
Andronikos drained his glass before answering. "Because I can." He smirked, "I realize how stupid that sounds, but years from now, having never seen each other again, I can tell the story of this weekend. I can look back and say that I got it right with a woman once in my damn life." He laughed, moving away from her and pouring another glass. "Hell, it might be that the only reason this is so charged between us because we have a time limit."
Ryli snorted, "That's true." She took a sip from her glass and then caught his eyes again. She sighed and Andronikos caught the note of acquiescence, "Alright then."
He grinned at her wickedly, "Really?"
She approached him slowly and then she paused before she tilted her mouth up to his. He kept his eyes on hers until their lips met. This time the mood that fell over them wasn't as precarious as before and Ryli pulled back for a moment.
"It doesn't have to be like that every time."
Andronikos chuckled, "I'm aware of that."
He waited until she pressed her lips to his again to crush her against him.
He pulled back, "Trust me, I know how to mix it up," he murmured. His arms tightened around her and her body fit into his.
Andronikos ran his hands down her spine slowly, pausing every so often. He ended up gripping her chest tightly, holding her against him as they kissed. He slowly wound her hair around his wrist and then gently pulled her head back with it, his mouth landing on her neck.
His teeth hit a spot on her neck that made her clutch him hard and he gently bit down on it. She pressed against him, a soft moan coming from her. Andronikos shifted his growing erection against her. She drifted her thigh against it, making him harder. He tangled his hands in her hair, drifting down it softly and then lifted her into his arms, carrying her back to her room. He laid her down on the bed and took a deep breath, moving to kiss her.
Ryli was torn, but she'd realized it was stupid. For one thing, this wasn't anything serious if she didn't want it to be, because he was right. She could just leave once her cargo was done and never come back. It was a big galaxy and there was a good chance they'd never run into each other again. Being alone on the ship had made her fearful, but the truth was it felt good to have someone like this. Having someone on the ship to care about again, plus someone who fucked like this, there was nothing wrong with that. She'd been alone too long.
Andronikos was kissing down her neck, pausing to bite that one spot and she gave in to what he was offering that moment. His mouth ignited sparks along her skin. He shifted up and murmured, "I want to make you scream my name."
She felt herself get turned on by his words and then he slid a finger into her. He lifted her to sit on his lap, his fingers working inside and outside of her. She squirmed around a bit, making his breath catch every time she brushed over his erection. He put her hand on his cock and she stroked it lightly, eventually tightening her hand more until he grabbed her hand and moved it slower. "Too much, beautiful. Always too much."
His fingers were moved slowly against and she nipped his neck gently as her hand pumped slowly. "Ryli," he murmured. She gave up thinking and safety. She got up on her feet and positioned herself slowly over him, sinking down as his mouth ran to her breasts and then her neck. She gently pushed him down on the bed, so she could straddle him further. He wrapped his arms around her back and tried to move them so he could sit against the headboard. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I don't let women ride me like that," he answered, then shifted up into her so that she lost track of the conversation.
"Just for a little bit," she answered and he sighed, sinking down on the bed, his hands on her hips. She moved on him then, arching and getting different angles as she moved. Eventually she was driving against him, her orgasm slow as it crept up. She came, his hands digging into her hips hard as she rode him, crying out. The minute she slowed and slumped on him, he lifted her off of him and then flipped her onto her back, sliding gently back in. She still had a momentary buck when he thrust fully into her. He started to move, slowly and she let herself go in the sensation. After a moment, he cupped her chin and she opened her eyes to stare at him. He held her gaze as he moved and the moment was charged with passion.
It was then that Ryli realized Andronikos was moving with the beat of the music. Beat, sliding in. Beat, sliding out. The combination of senses being assailed was almost overwhelming. He locked eyes with her and she could feel her muscles trembling against him. He managed to kiss her deeply then and his tongue moved at the beat. She shuddered and then every muscle in body was painfully tensed, relaxing in an explosion that made her scream. When he murmured her name, she cried out his and he groaned desperately in her ear, his thrusts increasing and his mouth moving to cover hers again. He was so rough, but at the same time he was kissing her tenderly and then he came howling, pushing her back over the edge. His final, violent thrusts were soothed afterwards by him kissing her again, a hand in her hair.
Andronikos kept kissing her, then pulled out gently to lay beside her. She relaxed fully, savoring how her whole body shook. This wasn't scary. This was lovely, but she still didn't know if she was going to come back for him.
Andronikos sat on the bridge, sipping from his glass. Ryli had gone to sleep sometime before. He had flown for awhile, getting her express permission before she fell asleep, and now he was just gazing out into the stars.
She was amazing. Everything about her. He hadn't met a woman like this before and comparing her to Casey was like apples and oranges. He could fall in love with her; some part of him knew that and wanted it. He let himself picture all the things he wasn't allowed to wish for, all the things he never let himself want. He took a big swig of his drink and felt his breath catch. She'd kick him off the ship if she had any idea what he was thinking. They'd be good together though, they already were in a way.
Andronikos hadn't gotten to where he was by letting himself picture the future in a certain way. He couldn't have this. He couldn't have her and the sooner he made his peace with it, the better this would go. After all, a couple of days together didn't mean anything.
If she came back for him though, the possibilities were endless.
He landed the ship back on Tatooine thoughtfully.
Andronikos wanted her, but he wasn't the sort to hang out and wait for her to come to the same conclusion. She might never get there and there were plenty of other women around. If she did come back, then he'd be allowed to think about it.
He sighed and ran his hand over his mohawk absent-mindedly. He'd have good memories of her at least. Even if they never saw each other again. He needed to make sure she had good memories of him too. He stretched; her cargo might be getting loaded tomorrow, but they still had awhile.
The next day, the droids loaded her hold up with what Andronikos suspected were guns. he wondered who she worked for and then immediately cut that thought off. Questions like that got you killed. She hovered over the cargo, arranging things precisely and they were able to fit a lot more than he thought they would. The ship was impressive. Half of him hoped she came back for that reason alone. Getting to fly whenever he wanted, that was the dream. He tipped his glass her way, which she ignored while she made sure the cargo was secure.
Once her cargo was loaded, Andronikos waited for the movers to leave the ship, then grabbed her arm and smirked, "One for the road?"
She grinned back and purred, "Let's go."
"Go where? This looks like as good a place as any." While he spoke, he pulled her against him and then backed them against the wall.
The solid metal held her in place while he got her shirt up and off. He ran his hands up her rib cage. She hadn't gotten fully dressed when they'd woken up that morning and he dropped to his knees to unzip her boots. Her ran his hands over her shins and then her thighs before practically ripping her pants down and off of her. His shirt came over his head and got dropped to the floor, his pants only unfastened when she grabbed his rams and pulled him against her. He slid a hand down between her breasts, pushing her back so he could get his pants off and then he shoved her roughly against the wall, her teeth at her neck.
Ryli grabbed a hold of a bar above her, pulling herself up against him, her legs wrapping around his waist. She was already moving against him, already wet and he paused his assault on her neck to murmur, "I have quite an effect on you, huh?"
She wrapped her arms around his neck and then when he settled her on him, she gasped out, "Are you really surprised after the weekend we've had?" One hard thrust had him in her and he pulled her back off the wall, taking her entire weight on his arms, his body starting to move
Her head tilted back a little more with every thrust into her and he growled, "Look at me."
Gasping, she caught his gaze, her purple eyes half-closing as they moved and he slammed her back into the wall, his mouth on hers.
The pace was frantic and he could feel her straining against him. Her body pushed against his then as she cried out loudly. He kept going, watching her body shudder, her back bowed and the power of being able to that to her tensed his whole body before he howled something. He finished roughly and then just sank down to the floor, taking her with him. She slid up a bit and he pulled her head down to kiss her.
After a moment, they both got their clothes together and she walked with him off the ship. He caught her for another rough kiss and then stayed a minute, his forehead against hers. Without a word, he let go of her and spun, heading back into town. It was up to her now.
Ryli caught her breath and then input the coordinates for Ord Mantell. The guns would be a quick drop off and then she could come back if she wanted. She sat in her captain's chair, running her hands over the console. She wasn't sure if she wanted this. She wished, more than anything, that Juran was there. He was always such a good judge of character. He'd hated Damiar the first time he'd met him.
Stars, she missed Juran so badly. After every random hook-up they'd share stories. She'd watched him fall in love with Geotre and some part of her had been jealous of what they had. Andronikos sparked something in her, but she wasn't sure it was something she was ready for.
She just really didn't want to be alone on her ship anymore.
Once the ship was set for the jump point, she wandered down the hallway, brushing her hands over the walls. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She'd go back. She'd go back for him once she wrapped up this job. The decision made, she sat down in the Captain's chair and waited to reach Ord Mantell.