Chapter 28: Studied

Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to BioWare.

Author's Note: This story does not necessarily follow any particular timeline and may not be considered chronologically accurate.

#

After what felt like hours, Cass was nearing the end of her—Anara's—shift. She felt even more exhausted than normal, the combined stress and exertion of her training with Vadix along with the effort and bustle of her old waitressing job taking a toll on her stamina. As the clock continued its slow approach to 11 pm, the woman stole a moment to herself in the tiny bathroom tucked in the back corner, taking a breather both mentally and physically.

Now, standing alone and peering into the mirror, the human could finally see the results of her friend's attempted makeover. Needing more than a little alteration due to its elf-like size, they'd sliced the skirt open nearly to her hip so that she could walk and not just mince from table to table. The top was so tight she couldn't take a deep breath, but there wasn't much they could do about that other than 'think flat-chested thoughts'—at least she had been able to shed her sports bra for the evening. Then Anara had insisted on applying "just a few" makeup touches to her face, resulting in an overall nearly-skank look, which effectively covered up her haggard appearance to the average (or drunk) observer; Cass grimaced internally at the trade-off.

But now, she was willing to exchange for a little more skanky if that meant she could breathe easier. After only an hour, she felt winded, continually seeking more oxygen. In the main room of the club, the lighting was so low she'd been afraid to make too many adjustments and expose more skin than even her old boss would like to see. True, the recessed lamp here had seen better days, but it still provided better illumination than anywhere else at the moment. Combined with the foggy mirror, it was the best option she'd have available for a good while. Knowing her absence would be noticed sooner than she'd like, Cass quickly dipped her hands beneath the fabric. As she pulled at her exasperated breasts, the relief was immediate and she sighed deeply.

"Can I help?" asked an unfamiliar timbre.

Whirling around, Cass gripped the sink edge behind her with both hands, shocked at the intrusion, now unable to breathe deeply for an entirely different reason.

A turian stood in the doorway, the room too small to hold both of them comfortably.

A hot turian.

He gazed at her appreciatively, lingering at the swelling curves of her chest. Finally he met her eyes, and it was like wading through a field of life, teeming with potential.

"Can I help you?" she stammered out before she could tumble headfirst into this sexy trap.

"I think I just asked you that," he answered smoothly, taking a small step forward, pulling the door behind him until it was nearly closed. Cass was pressed as far back as she could go, and he was less than a handspan away.

Her brain shuttered, unable to process what was happening. It felt like something from a vid, completely unreal. "I'm sorry, but, do I know you?" She tried to stall, to give herself time to think.

A rumbling laugh deep in his chest seemed to echo in the small space. "Not really, though I did pretend to be your boyfriend last night. Guess all you know about me is my name and my job." Again, he inched toward her, and the woman felt that if she inhaled too deeply their bodies would connect.

The thought was as terrifying as it was thrilling.

Then her mind caught up with reality, sliding the borrowed puzzle pieces of memory into place. "Duron," she breathed, a flicker of familiarity flitting through her mind but it was gone before she could seize hold of it.

"I'm afraid I couldn't wait until 11," he drawled. In one fluid motion he grabbed her hips and lifted her onto the edge of the sink, fully closing the door behind him. The overhead lighting that earlier had pointed out her own fatigued appearance now illustrated the man's masculinity, seeming to caress the grey plates covering his frame which towered over her. Cass looked up, the light source now hidden behind his head was reflected in the mirror at her back and again into his soft green eyes, highlighting the red marks painted subtly on his skin.

His assertive manner was definitely a turn on, but it was the gentle desire she saw in his eyes that made her trust him in that moment.

Reaching up with one hand, Cass placed a tender palm on his mandible, caressing the edge with her thumb. He leaned into the gesture, eyes closed, and she felt the turian somehow vibrate from within.

"You've done this before, haven't you?" Duron murmured around the almost-noise emanating from him.

Mute, the human shook her head, feeling uncharacteristically unsure of herself.

Opening his eyes at her lack of response, he saw the end of her movement and his eyes widened. "Wait, like, ever?" he whispered, horrified at his own presumption.

The terror in his voice was somehow humorous, and she giggled at him like a schoolgirl. "Oh no, just never with a turian."

Slowly he nodded his head, placing his talons lightly on her hips. "That's a relief then." He nuzzled the top of her head, then, with a nudge, pushed Cass to lean against the wall, resting the flat of his face against her clavicle.

"I can hear your heartbeat," the turian mentioned softly. "Never ceases to amaze me." Then, almost as an afterthought, he asked, "What do you know about turians? When it comes to lovemaking, I mean."

Despite her long and storied history in the bedroom, the question made Cass strangely uncomfortable. Normally she was the one asking the questions, educating her partner. It was bizarre to be on the opposite side of it. "Um, your fringe," she began, touching the associated anatomy, stroking the length of his crest now erect at her eye level, earning her another almost-silent reverberating moan.

The human paused, uncertain if she should voice her suspicions.

Casually Duron began to run his hands up and down her sides. "Anything else?" he prompted, curiosity leaking into his tone.

"Well, I suspect there's something about your hips, but I don't know what…" she trailed off, feeling ridiculous.

On his next upward pass, he continued along the bottom of her arms, lightly directing her to rest her hands at his waist. Covering her palms with his talons, the turian lifted his head until he was breathing on her neck, just behind and beneath her ear. "Mimic me with your fingers," he commanded in a low voice.

Cass wondered what exactly he meant until he began to rub the edges of his mouth plates against her sensitive skin. The sensation was unlike anything she'd before experienced, her body jerking forward unconsciously, eyes closing surreptitiously. After a moment, her nerve endings reconnected and her thumbs rubbed slowly across the raised corners of his hips, following the ebb and flow of his mouth on her neck.

When she increased the pressure, the razors in his mouth grazed her ionized skin in the most delectable way. Feeling more confident she quietly queried, "Alien erogenous zone? That's hot."

"Mm, well, my pet, lucky for you I know all about alien erogenous zones." With that vague preface the man dropped his head once more, resting his forehead at the base of the human's neck. In a flash his tongue darted out, flicking once against her flesh. Before she could react to the first time, again he opened his mouth. This time, his tongue plunged between her breasts, stroking the lower curve of one. As the foreign organ rubbed against her, Cass thought it was like being licked by a cat, rougher than she'd expected.

But oh so erotic.

"Damn," she groaned, chest heaving. "I have to get back to work," Cass realized with not a little regret as she opened her eyes once more, remembering where exactly she was.

Chuckling against her, Duron replied, "Yes, and now we're almost on equal playing field."

"How's that?" she asked, still lost in the torturous pleasure of his tongue, wishing for more.

The turian stood to his full height once more, smiling down at her like he was about to let her in on a secret. "I said earlier, all you know about me is my name and my job. But all I know about you is your job. Care to even the score?"

A sly grin overtook her face. "And if I don't?"

Looking ponderous, the man looked around the room, seeming to contemplate his answer. "I've made it a point never to fuck a woman whose name I didn't know," Duron said, before meeting her gaze. "But for you," he paused, unrestrained passion etched across his features. "I'd make an exception."

With a pointed gaze, she mentally measured him up. Despite her much experience with handling matters such as these, she was not the type to rush into a sexual relationship. Since breaking up with her ex so many years ago, Cass had vowed to be more careful, to weigh the pros and cons more honestly so as to avoid being hurt yet again.

And honestly? There was nothing safe about the opportunity which now presented itself, nothing guaranteed about the stranger standing in front of her.

She should hightail it out of there before she gave in to her own selfish desires.

At the same time, somehow, she did feel safe with him. Something deep within her recognized something deep within the man who now offered himself to her.

Perhaps it was his shameless desire to have her, his obvious physical attraction to her, so opaquely different from what Vadix felt for her.

But that was the crux of it, wasn't it?

Cass wanted Vadix more than she'd wanted anyone else before.

The only problem was, he didn't want her.

He'd already found someone else, someone who could relate to him in ways she could hardly dream of understanding.

Of course, her new work partner had been completely upfront and gentleman-like about it. She couldn't resent him for having feelings of his own. He owed her nothing.

So why should she owe him something, anything?

No. She belonged to no one, and she could do whatever—whoever—the fuck she wanted.

"Very well," she decided aloud. "You may call me Cassana." Meeting his green eyes, her own alight with the promise of satisfaction, Cass nodded once. "And once my shift is over, you may take me home where we will continue this…lesson." As she finished her sentence, the woman reached up to tweak the turian's head fringe before hopping down from the sink, taking up what little free space remained. Body to body, she reached around him to open the door, gracefully slipping out of the tiny room into the minutes which marched between now and the moment she could resume the delightful instruction begun in that dimly lit stall.

#

It was 10:49.

"Cass," Vinok, the night manager, caught her arm as she passed the bar. "Finish with that table, I need to speak with you." After only a week, already she was unused to the salarian's abrupt manner of speaking. Nevertheless, she nodded her understanding.

He released her and turned back to another task, but not before she saw the look in his eye: the man was not happy about something.

Trying to hide her internal anxiety, she delivered drinks to the table she'd just left then returned to her old boss, preparing for the worst.

The grey-blue alien motioned for her to join him behind the counter, his reflective eyes more serious even than normal. Cass simply stared at the ground, waiting for the verbal onslaught to begin. And she deserved it, after leaving without any sort of heads-up.

But still he did not speak.

Peeking up, she saw him darting glances over her shoulder toward the entrance. "Vinny, is something wrong?" she asked tentatively.

Now his gaze snapped back to her. "Shouldn't call me that," he demanded. "Told you thousand times. But yes, something is wrong. Think you know what, eh?" With a cock of his head, he added a layer of warning to the question.

Cass resumed her stare-down with the floor. "Yes," she sighed. "I just stopped showing up to work, without notifying you at any point."

A moment of relative silence passed between them, interrupted only by the bass pounding throughout the club.

"Forgot that," he mumbled to himself. "Yes, yes, that too."

"'That too'?" the human asked in alarm. "What do you mean, 'that too'?"

The salarian glared at her now, but she was too confused to drop her eyes. His lower eyelids lifted, narrowing his large eyes in suspicion. "Always thought you were the smart one," he muttered again. "Not so sure now." Then, with wide eyes once more, he grabbed her hand and stuffed what felt like a credit chit into her palm. "You help today, after no help all week. With this, consider us even."

With surprise, Cass looked down at her hand to verify what he'd given her. It was, in fact, a credit chit. She stared back at him in dismay, uncertain what exactly what going on.

"Your tips from tonight," the blue man clarified, a deep sigh making evident his opinion of her own imbecilic responses during the conversation. "Minus fees for my time to replace you with no notice."

"Oh," was all she could muster. It was completely unexpected and so unlike the logical salarian. Perhaps he wasn't so emotionless after all. "Thank you," she whispered, throwing her arms around his long torso to engulf him in a hug.

The man stiffened, clearly uncomfortable by the sudden physical contact. When she didn't immediately release him, he patted her twice on the shoulder. "Yes, yes, now then," he stuttered, seeking escape.

With a soft giggle, the woman stepped back, gratitude shining in her pale eyes. "Thank you, Vinok," she murmured.

"Yes, yes," he repeated. "Now please take care of that." Pointing over her shoulder, her ex-manager turned her to face the thing that had him worried in the first place. "Been there all night, scaring customers."

Seated in the booth closest to the doors was her would-be seducer.

And, somehow, from across the room she felt like he'd already begun to ravish her. Cass felt her cheeks flush, her inner awareness moving out her brain to flood her core, eager for what was to come.

"But my shift isn't over," she said to Vinok, unsure if he was still near enough to hear her, unable to take her eyes from Duron's. He seemed to burn from within, like the tropical forests she longed to see, emanating heat and energy and life.

He burns for me, she thought possessively.

Remembering she'd just been paid, Cass realized with a jolt that meant she'd also been dismissed.

That meant she could leave anytime.

Right now.

Mechanically, she shed the waitressing accessories she'd donned earlier that night, her gaze never breaking contact from the turian across the room. Almost like an echo, she heard something fall to the floor; the woman had misjudged the distance to the countertop in her covetous haze.

But she didn't care.

For perhaps the first time in longer than she could easily recall, Cass strode across the room ignoring the needs of everyone around her, seeking only what she truly wanted: him.