"Come Undone"
Chapter Two
By Darthelwig
*** I own nothing. I'm just having fun. ***
Dryden was quick to raise his hand when Wanda suddenly ran to the window, stopping his enforcers from firing on her. He approached her cautiously, calling her name to try to get her attention. She didn't even seem to hear him. Her horrified gaze was fixed outside, her face pale, hands trembling as she pressed them against the transparisteel.
He was quick to catch her when she fainted, his arms sliding under and around her like it was the most natural thing in the world. He lifted her against his chest, and holding her felt so extremely right it was unnerving. She was light in his arms, as if she were barely there, and he held her closer almost instinctively.
"Send a medical droid to my quarters," he said, before carrying her into the lift. He should be taking her somewhere else, guest quarters almost certainly, but he wanted her closer for reasons he couldn't quite explain. Whether he understood his own motivations or not he was always one to follow his instincts, so he went with them now, and everything in him was saying to keep her close.
He set her on his bed, and she looked so right there, so perfect. He sat on the bed next to her and pushed up her sleeve enough to see his words, a vivid red trail on her skin. He'd always thought soul marks a thing of fancy, a fairytale to warm the hearts of younglings, something to make the galaxy seem less cold and hard a place, but here was all the evidence he could ask for. He'd felt the sting of it appearing on his skin, and even now he was acutely aware of the mark. It pulled at the heart he'd thought ruined years ago.
A chime signaled the arrival of the medical droid, and he moved away so it could have full access to his unconscious guest. He poured himself a drink as it worked, tried to focus on the way the drink burned going down instead of on the droid and woman behind him.
"There is nothing wrong with her," the droid told him. "She simply needs rest and proper nutrition."
Dryden sipped from his glass as he waved the droid away. It exited the room and suddenly he was left alone with her again, and even with her unconscious, she still commanded his attention. He sat next to her still form, contemplating his options as he studied her features.
He could imprison her while he debated what to do about this whole… soulmate situation, but that didn't feel right. He could kill her and just be done with it, go back to life as he knew it and never think of her again, but that thought made him physically ill. No, he wanted her close, wanted to learn more about her. And not just because she was beautiful, which she very much was, but because something in her called to him. Was it his soul yearning for hers?
He had to scoff at that line of thought. Here he was, a grown man, succumbing to flights of fancy. It was embarrassing, really. Thank goodness no one was privy to his thoughts. His reputation would be ruined.
He trailed his fingers over her cheek and lips, then lower, over her arm and the exposed soul mark. The moment he touched it, she moaned and her eyes fluttered, her entire body shifted and seemed to come alive under his fingertips. Still, he was surprised when her eyes opened and focused on him, gaze filled with heat.
She ripped her arm out of his grasp and took a shuddering breath, and he waited as she pulled herself together.
"Don't do that," she said a bit breathlessly.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Don't touch me there." She rubbed at her mark.
"I don't see the problem," he said, frowning. She sat up with a bit of struggle and pulled her legs up to wrap her arms around her knees.
"Soul marks are… sensitive," she said. "You've really never heard of them before?"
"Like I said, only in stories. I've never known anyone to have one, let alone dreamed I would have one myself. I must admit, I'm having a hard time believing in this."
Wanda sighed again and held out her hand. "Let me see your mark," she said. Dryden pulled up his sleeve and held it out to her, curiosity getting the best of him. She brushed her fingers over his mark and a sudden jolt of arousal rushed through him. She brushed her thumb over it and he felt like he was going to burst out of his skin if he didn't take her in his arms immediately. He watched her eyes travel over his face, knew she was taking in the way the striations on his skin had grown more vivid in his arousal. He focused on his breathing to get his mind off of her soft touch, but then she removed her hand and he felt the loss of it keenly.
"I had no idea," he said, voice hoarse. He forced himself to take deep, even breaths, calming himself.
"I know," she replied, "but it was easiest to show you. I'm sorry I didn't warn you."
"No, no, my dear. That was absolutely thrilling." He found the blush that spread over her cheeks when he said that entirely too appealing. Actually, she seemed designed to appeal to him in every way, which was a bit unnerving when he considered it. But wasn't that the point of a soul mark, to mark you as belonging to the other? "So you belong to me," he said, voice low.
"I don't belong to anyone," she snapped, and he swore he saw a glimmer of red in her eyes. Intriguing. "We may be soulmates, but that doesn't mean you own me."
He chuckled. "A poor choice of words, perhaps. The point remains, though. We are meant to be together, aren't we?" She seemed uncomfortable with his words, but she nodded.
"Like I said earlier, I don't know where I am, and I don't know how I got here. I thought I was going to die, but instead I turned up on your ship in fucking space, and you look exactly like the soulmate that I lost. This is crazy, and I don't know what to do, so I'm just going to be honest with you. I don't think I'll ever be ready to move past him. Vision…" She swallowed hard and blinked away tears. "I loved him with all my heart. I still do." Her voice cracked at the end.
"My dear, if you are meant to be mine, you will be. Mark my words, I will find a way to change your mind." He was certain of it. She was his, meant to be his, and he would have her.