"You said you spent two years here. What brought you to Illium, anyway?" Shepard asked casually.

Thane looked up from the taxi kiosk as their vehicle pinged and its doors sprung open.

"Business," he said simply.

Shepard frowned, rolling a shoulder as she settled into the driver's seat. They were running a little bit late, but Liara's apartment wasn't far. Automatic controls took over after just a few inputs, and they were off. She leaned back into the leather seat and looked over at Thane.

"You spent two years on Illium just… killing people…?"

"An assassin does not spend all of his days killing, as you say. Much of the work I did on Illium was not unlike what Ms. T'Soni was doing when you arrived here looking for me. Gathering intel on a target is arguably the most important thing an assassin does."

"Makes your job easier in the long run," she agreed.

"I don't strike until I understand exactly how to engage. Think of it like entering a pool of water. Jumping right in will cause splashing and disruption. But slip into the current of its mother stream and you will be but a drop of rain on an ocean."

The corner of her mouth quirked at the natural poetry of his candor. "Who taught you to talk like that?"

Thane chuckled.

"Another thing I spent my time doing - reading."

Their taxi rounded the side of a tall residential tower, clad in reflective azure-tinted glass. The setting sun lit the facade in oranges and purples, gleaming in shifting tones as they passed by.

"We are actually not far from where I lived," he said, letting his hand fall over hers.

"A city man, huh? How does an assassin keep a low profile in a place like this?"

Thane hummed. "There is only one way. Trust."

Shepard eyed him through a few errant locks of hair.

"Trust in yourself, or trust in others?"

"Both."

"So you lived with other people?"

"Occasionally. But I tried to keep my travels within a few hours' distance. More often than not, I returned… home."

She twined her fingers with his, but did not linger on the uncertainty in his voice. The concept of 'home' was a difficult one for all of them by now.

"My network of contacts is as important to my survival as my training," he continued. "Trust is for the man who forged my false identity, for the person who owned my loft apartment. Trust is for the contractor who built the structure without a thirteenth floor."

Shepard cocked a brow. "Humans think 13 is an unlucky number."

"Indeed, the only way to reach it was through the security elevator. I placed my trust in the building's attendants, as well." He smirked. "It was not a hard thing to buy."

They surged ahead as the sun dipped below the neon horizon.

Nos Astra looked like it had been ripped straight from the pages of the science-fantasy novellas she'd read as a child. The warmth of Illium's brutal sun slanted across her face and she let herself relax. How long had it been since she'd just enjoyed the passage of travel without the weight of responsibility tugging at her bones?

They sat in peaceful silence until greeted by the untimely downside of civilian transport. A line of red taillights stretched out before them.

Gridlock. Shepard groaned.

"I better let them know we're running late," she sighed as she punched up her omni-tool and fired off a message to Liara. Hopefully whatever Feron was cooking tonight didn't require their punctual arrival.

"There are worse places to be stuck in traffic, Siha."

Their hands reconnected on the center console as she sank further into her seat. She understood why Joker made such a fuss about his pilot's chair. This was far more comfortable than the hard plastic benches in the Normandy's shuttle.

"What was your favorite thing about living here?" She asked Thane with closed eyes, resting her head as their taxi crawled forward.

"Anonymity, I think. This planet is host to many species. Locals are accustomed to such visitors."

"I thought drell were rarely seen off Kahje. No one ever bothered you about that?"

Thane sounded amused. "I became used to being approached offworld long ago."

"Must get annoying."

"Many are aware of the hanar reputation for training my kind as assassins. Most people keep their distance. But we do tend to attract the more…" he made a thoughtful sound, choosing his words carefully. "Let's say, 'adventurous types.'"

Shepard cracked a smile. "Boy howdy, I bet you have some stories."

Thane's lips twinged upwards. "There was a gentleman on Palaven who simply would not let up. He approached me about moving narcotics. When that failed to garner my attention, he attempted a more sensual dialogue."

"I didn't know turians had a thing for drell."

"The year is 2185, Siha. Anyone is fair game," he deadpanned. "But he was attractive by turian standards, if a bit boisterous. Tall and generously proportioned with a wide cowl and long fringe - studded, as well. I remember he was wearing a leather ensemble that flashed the hide at his waist, tattooed in black and red."

"Where were you on Palaven that had you engaging with guys like that?"

"My target was a drug pusher known for cutting his product with hanar toxins. It was not an idyllic location."

"Does compact training prepare you for turian tweakers trying to get in your pants?" She teased.

"Moreso to resist than to detect," he chuckled. "Perhaps in my youth, I would have…" Thane waved a hand, dismissive of words he hadn't even said.

Shepard had his full attention at that.

"Oh come on, you can't just leave me hanging on a story like that. Now you're telling me you have a thing for turians?" She tugged his arm, her tone jovial as she continued, "I better warn Garrus."

Thane took her hand and met her gaze. "I've had remarkably few partners in my life, Siha. I would rather not be burdened with the memory of unsatisfying trysts. But I do have eyes."

Her face split into a grin.

"I'll take that as a compliment, then."

He kissed the back of her hand, pulling her toward him.

"As well you should," he said as he gently tucked her hair behind her ear. "I have never regretted sharing my body with you."

Shepard leaned over to touch her lips to his. The gesture was meant to be appreciative, but he drew her into his arms. She didn't resist. There wasn't much else to do, stuck in traffic as they were.

"Must be nice to remember the best human sex you've ever had with perfect clarity."

"The only human sex I've ever had," he corrected. His lips brushed the shell of her ear as he pulled her into his lap. "But I don't think I need to tell you how reality supersedes memory."

That deep rumble in his voice made her nerves light up in ripples down her back and thighs. She sighed as he kissed along her jaw, his lips firm and gentle.

"If your memories feel like reality, what makes the real thing better?" An involuntary sigh escaped her throat when his mouth found her pulse.

Thane seemed to pause at her question, but as his fingertips slipped just below the hem of her shirt, she was not content to wait for his calculated response.

Her mouth covered his parted lips, tongue slipping out to taste him, exotic and warm. Fingertips tightened on the small of her back and slid upward, his large palms framing her waist. The warmth of his hands radiated through her, contentment scattered in the wind to be replaced with the low roar of oncoming desire.

Shepard pulled back to give him a knowing look, blinking against the venom-induced halos blooming around every point of light that flashed past their vehicle. Beneath her, she felt the stirrings of his arousal and she twisted her hips to align herself with the blessed pressure between his legs.

"Something you wanted to say?"

"That." He said simply.

She arched a brow. "What?"

"Spontaneity. An impatient kiss while I consider your question." Her eyes followed his tongue as it ran along his bottom lip as though he could still taste her. "That is why, given the choice, I prefer 'the real thing.'"

Her face softened. "You wanted me to do that."

Thane was without a hint of shame.

"I had hoped."

His hands slid up her body, palms rounding her curves until he arrived beneath her breasts. Fingers grazed briefly over her bra, nipples peaking and evident beneath the fabric. That ghost of sensation zipped through her body like a spark on a wire, igniting every cluster of nerves on its way down to the heat building between her legs. From the pressure of their gently rolling hips, she felt the slick of her own arousal and blushed. She was already soaking wet for him.

"More importantly," Thane continued, "I wanted to see how 'high' you'd volunteer to be when we finally arrive at Liara's." Thane quickly yanked down the zipper on the front of her compression bra, releasing her breasts into the confines of her shirt and molding them in his palms. "From your response, I'd wager dangerously so."

Her whole body heated at his words. As the sun slipped below the horizon, she pretended not to notice how the windows were beginning to fog up, exacerbating her already hazy vision. She focused on his face. Dark eyes, plush lips, the muted iridescence of his scales throwing each passing light around in a blooming spectacle of color. His hardness pressed insistently against her center and she rolled herself against his lap, eyes drifting closed as she groaned.

"You're a fucking criminal, Thane Krios."

"Is that right?" There was a glimmer in his eyes, the corner of his mouth turning up into a sly smile. "Are you placing me under arrest, Spectre?"

He withdrew his hands from beneath her shirt and she whined at the loss of him. "Yeah, actually, I think I am."

He laughed, a sound she felt through her entire body. He removed her sweatshirt, unzipped and tossed it behind her before returning his mouth to her neck and shoulders.

"And what, may I ask, are the charges?"

"Possession of-"

She gasped when his hands fisted in her t-shirt, pulling it over her head and settling it behind her neck until all that remained was a stiff tangle of the shirt and bra around her shoulders. He pulled back to admire his work - the inviting expanse of her body, the rise and fall of her naked chest, nipples tightening with sensitivity as the air washed over her bare skin.

"God-" she only had a moment to breathe before he was mouthing his way over her heartbeat, cursing under her breath when he kissed between her breasts. "-on my authority as a Council Spectre, you're under arrest for possession of - oh - a deadly weapon."

Thane withdrew then, meeting her gaze as he peeled his tunic off and flipped it casually into the backseat. His answering tone was thick with mischief.

"I'm unarmed, Commander. I'd have thought this would be obvious."

Blinking to clear the bright spots in her eyes, Shepard summoned her composure and laced her fingers behind his neck, focusing on the delicious view of his long stripes diving beneath the waistband of his pants.

"The weapon, Sere Krios, is your mouth."

"I see," He murmured, caressing her breast before closing his lips around one peaked, sensitive nipple. Shepard arched against him, eyes fluttering closed, begging him for more under hushed breaths. He made no attempt to stop her from tugging him against her chest.

"In that case, I should warn you. These hands..." His teeth grazed her flesh and she gasped, "Are legally recognized as lethal weapons by the Illuminated Primacy."

To emphasize his point, he closed his fingertips around her other nipple, drawing a sharp gasp from her throat.

In whatever corner of her mind that still had clarity, she realized his statement was likely not a fabrication.

"I may have to confiscate those hands, Sere."

Thane gazed up at her with an intensity that threatened to set her on fire.

"You may try," he murmured into her skin.

Watching him tease her like this made her ache with need. Her back bowed, offering her breasts to his generous affections.

At that moment, their taxi lurched, diving to a lower altitude and coming to a near stop again as they joined a new queue of cars exiting their current lane of traffic (the cab's VI chirped a cheerful 'We remind you that seatbelts must be worn at all times'). The momentum carried her forward and then suddenly back again, and Shepard swore, falling in an awkward sprawl against the dashboard.

For a moment all she saw was the dazzling lines of traffic zipping past in Illium's night sky. Passing cars tracked slants of light across her exposed chest as they finally broke free of the exit queue and took off down another sky corridor. She thanked gods she didn't quite believe in for the cab's tinted windows.

Thane wasted no time taking advantage of her thighs, parted as they were over his lap. Nimble fingers unfastened her belt and yanked her pants to her knees. Dizzy, she contorted just enough to get one leg free, content to be half-dressed as long as he had access - as long as he would keep touching her.

Their lane was moving almost swiftly now. Drunk on light and lust, she could only hang on as Thane's palms slid up her muscled thighs. He teased the edges of her panties, never quite close enough to the ache of desire between her legs. She reached for his hands but he clasped her wrists and guided them to her chest, humming in satisfaction as she cupped her own breasts.

"A spectacular view," he murmured.

Shepard swallowed. She could nearly feel the heat of his gaze crawling up the bared expanse of her body, the scent of sex filling the tiny cab. Outside, the skyline was whipping by.

"Siha," he sighed as he used one gentle thumb to swirl her cotton panties over her drenched, aching cunt. "I have to wonder why you wear these at all."

She was about to tell him it'd be pretty fucking obvious if he would just get on with it when she heard a quick snap and they were gone, torn and forgotten on the floor. Those last thoughts fled her mind as both of his hands went to work, eager fingers rippling along her slit before sliding easily into her wet heat.

She bit back a moan, not wanting to give him the satisfaction

"You're a damn savage."

Thane smiled. "I did warn you about my hands."

The position was uncomfortable but she didn't care, not with his fingers doing absolutely unholy things inside her. He pushed deep, massaging her walls in slow, firm strokes as one scaled thumb rolled over her clit.

She clenched her teeth, fighting the alluring surrender of his venom. "We don't have... a lot of time here."

"Tell me what you want, Shepard."

She pushed herself against his fingers but he did not relent, fingering her at his leisure.

"God fucking damn it Thane, you know what I want."

That earned her a rare and authentic laugh, but he didn't let up.

His fingers curled against her walls. The gesture was as much for him as it was for her - a demand and a promise.

"Say it."

Her head fell back with a groan as he stroked the deepest, most sensitive part of her cunt.

"Holy shit, just fuck me."

"Very well," he said with his usual dry candor. "...since you are so eager."

Thane withdrew his hand, bringing it to his mouth as he kept her still with a palm on her belly. His tongue gathered the arousal that coated his fingers and she writhed, desperate to feel him on her, inside her, pounding the truth of his desire into her body until she couldn't speak or move.

Finally - he unbuckled his pants.

The vibrant color of his rigid cock was a blurred smudge in her venom-hazed eyes. He gripped under her thighs to haul her closer, teasing her clit with the tip of his length.

Shepard braced her palms on the dashboard and eased herself down on his prick. No human had ever filled her quite like Thane did. Her pulse pounded in her cunt, heat blooming between her legs as he opened her body to pleasures only he could provide. Heady waves of sensation rippled under her skin when he bottomed out. Her eyes rolled back. She panted hard atop him.

"I may never tire of teasing you like this, Siha." Thane crooned, rocking his hips gently.

"Shut it, Krios."

Hands settled on her thighs, squeezing as he smiled. "I'm afraid you'll have to earn my silence."

Shepard groaned, pushed herself off the dash and nearly collapsed over him, her mouth seeking his, buying his silence with her tongue. High as she already was, his kiss envenomed her further, transporting her far above the clouds of common decency and restraint. She rolled her hips in his lap, moaning into his mouth as his tongue slid against hers.

Fucking him was overwhelming in the best way. Between his delicious tongue and his thick ridged cock filling her to completion, Shepard damn near forgot about their more civil plans for the evening. Lights flashed behind her closed eyes, their bodies moving together in his arms as the skycar's momentum carried them across Illium's neon sky. His kiss was so potent she was sure they'd left the atmosphere entirely. She was alive with need, slipping into a humming world of color and sensation. Fingers of heat crawled up her spine, overpowering her with nothing but raw desire. The need to stake herself on him, to ride him and claim him so completely that he would forever be a part of her.

And to that end, he guided her, fucking her with single-minded purpose. Scaled fingers squeezed her hips, sliding down over her backside to lift and pace her, stroking himself with her body. She cried out with every deep thrust, arms looped around his neck, gasping into the moon roof as he overtook her. His mouth slid over her breasts and worked her nipples one by one, forked tongue and plush lips, seeking, suckling, his tingling saliva leaving icy trails across her skin as he gave as much as he took, and then some.

He was incredible. At the mercy of his mouth and split open on his cock, she surrendered. Pleasure screamed through her veins as she climaxed, suffocated in skin and scent and sound. Shepard howled in his arms, fire pulsing between her legs and flooding every hollow corner of her body. An orgasm that stole her rhythm, made her sated with fatigue until all she could do was hold on, adrift on the ocean of his rolling hips and rasping breaths.

She felt him swell inside her. He gasped, his voice raw as his cock pulsed with the promise of oncoming release before he spilled himself in the deepest part of her cunt. He felt like heaven. Captive in his arms, she no longer gave a damn where they were or from whence they came.

How long they remained entangled this way, she didn't know. The sky had long since faded into the electric colors of Nos Astra's night. Reality came back into blurred focus as the skycar slowed to a stop in front of Liara's building. Shepard hid her face in Thane's shoulder. A light rain was falling, little rivulets clinging to the fogged windows like some kind of otherworldly ocean reaching from above.

There was no question - she'd overindulged.

Thane soothed her with warm hands, easing himself from her body. Neither of them were in any hurry to move, but as their vehicle began to beep in irritation, they began to untangle their heavy limbs.

She cleaned herself up - or tried to. Her eager lover pushed past her hands, slipping his fingers inside her freshly fucked cunt, massaging his cum into her walls.

"You're incorrigible," she whispered. His hands drew a soft sigh from her, threatening to reignite her lust as he gently coated her folds in his tingling release.

"We are already late, Siha. Shall I have the taxi take us around the city one more time?"

His fingers slid over her clit and Shepard bit back a moan.

"Don't make me pull the Spectre card again."

He grinned against her lips. "Very well."

Thane retrieved her torn panties from the back seat. Shepard accepted them with a sheepish smile before tossing them in the vehicle's waste receptacle.

Finally dressed, they stood in the vestibule of Liara's apartment. Shepard attempted to neaten her hair while Thane stood unmoving, hands clasped behind his back. No doubt he was prepared to deliver some kind of smooth excuse to explain away her blown pupils and buzzed behavior. Liara was too smart for that, but with any luck she'd be too polite to acknowledge her lack of inhibition.


Thane wasted no time engaging Liara about the many archaeological relics adorning her apartment. It was sobering to think that she'd been through not one, but two impossible missions with Liara by her side. She sounded like the woman Shepard remembered - bright eyed and fascinated by intricacies that would not have drawn anyone else's attention.

Shepard sank into one of the too-soft couches and stared up at the vaulted ceiling, watching the elegant pendant lamps sway with the waning venom in her mind. There was a loft bedroom up and to the right. As she rubbed her thighs together absently in attempt to soothe her scale-bitten skin, she wondered - if walls could talk, what stories would they tell about her friend and her unlikely lover?

"Food's almost done," Feron shouted from the kitchen. "Water and tea okay?"

Liara took a seat. "Yes, thank you."

Feron rounded the apartment moments later, handing out glasses of ice water and setting a tea tray out on the table. He stood and paused, his brow crinkling as he considered Thane's proximity to Shepard's uncharacteristic slouch.

"You guys fucked, didn't you?"

Liara choked on her drink.

"You mean in general?" Shepard began, "Or on the way to-"

Thane covered her hand with his own and cleared his throat.

"Shepard shared a drink with an old acquaintance before departing Nos Astra," he calmly explained.

Feron raised a brow, nictating membranes sliding in silence over his vivid amber eyes.

"You're a bad liar, Krios," he muttered. "You think I don't recognize an envenomed human when I see one?"

"The drink she ordered is a cocktail made with drell venom."

Shepard turned Thane's hand over in hers, inspecting his scales like they were the most interesting thing in the room.

"I like your freckles," she whispered - loudly.

Feron rolled his eyes. "Gods, you let her drink that?"

"To say I let her do it would imply that I have any say at all in what Shepard chooses to do."

Feron's eyes narrowed.

"Ha se'vah donn'um raav tor. (She's had more than just a drink.)"

Thane sat quietly a moment, a smile reaching slowly across his features as he responded in a low, confident tone.

"Ha se'vah donn'um fara. (She's had much more)."

Shepard was about to ask what he said when Liara abruptly cleared her throat and excused herself. Feron barked out a laugh as she passed.

"Ravash sered. (Dirty old man.)"

"One day you may learn that your sharp tongue is better suited to pleasing your lover, serét (young man)."

Feron extracted an ice cube from his glass and flicked it across the room at him. Thane dodged it neatly and smiled devilishly.

Shepard squeezed Thane's arm. "What are you guys even talking about?"

"Our host wishes to be assured of your good health, Siha."

Shepard grinned.

"Never been better."