Fighter

Shock rolled over him in waves as Alico yelled, "Where's my ship, Skavak?" and stormed across the room with her blaster angled at his face and Corso in tow, blaster rifle twitching between him and the Imperial guards. How the hell had she gotten off Ord Mantell alive? Come to think of it, how the hell had she gotten off Ord Mantell at all? How had she even found him? How—

Cool anger bubbled up and overtook his shock as all the little cogs clicked neatly into place. She had tracked him, somehow, to and across Coruscant—as if that damn Sullustan lawman wasn't enough—and was very likely responsible for all the trouble he'd been having recently. His plans had been a complex, well-oiled machine and her crusade had been throwing monkey wrenches into the smaller cogs. It wouldn't stop the machine, but it certainly pissed him the fuck off.

"Skavak! Is this some kind of trick?" the commander asked.

He was good at a lot of things and one of them happened to be staying cool under pressure, keeping his head in spite of the chaos. She had blindsided him, true, but he would never let her see that.

"Captain. Seriously." Skavak stepped up to the barrel of her blaster and grinned. "I admire your persistence, but this is ridiculous."

"Skavak! Who is this woman?" the commander huffed. "One of your many conquests?"

Skavak chuckled, mind instantly going back to his fantasies. He had thought it was out of his system after Green Eyes, but seeing her again—and all fired up to kill him—his desire hit him like a scattergun blast to the face.

He looked her right in the eyes and said, "She wishes."

Alico narrowed her gaze on him, quiet rage playing under her calm expression. Oh, he liked that. He liked that a lot. He wanted to rip it out of her, unravel her until she was writhing in anger, unravel her in other ways, too, until she was writhing in pleasure.

"You're gonna be a floor stain when we're done with you, Skavak," Corso growled protectively and nudged him back with the butt of his rifle. Skavak looked at Corso as he was brought out of his private thoughts, just then realizing he was there.

"Corso. I heard about your job," Skavak said enthusiastically. "Hey, don't let unemployment make you bitter, all right?" He looked at Alico again, smiled, and neatly folded his hands in front of him. "You the one who fouled up my identity record and sent half the galaxy chasing me? That wasn't very nice, Captain."

Alico smiled back, venom in the quirk of her lips. "Wait 'til you see what I'm going to do next," she said casually, eyes glittering with dangerous delight.

Once again, he found himself wondering if he had time to fuck her. Sure, seducing her was out of the question and, in spite of his morally gray-to-black value system, he wasn't a rapist. They would have to reach a compromise that would likely result in violent yet passionate sex while simultaneously trying to undermine the other, fucking relentlessly and fighting for the upper hand. Someone would die about ten seconds after the climax, but damn it would be worth the risk.

Unfortunately, he just couldn't work the details out. In order to get into her pants, he'd have to double-cross his Imperial pals and somehow manage to not get shot by the Captain or the cocksure farm boy. Then he would have to get rid of Corso. It sounded like a lot of work, especially when the situation was already perfectly set-up to deal with the good Captain and allow him a quick escape.

"I gotta ask," he began, taking a step toward her. Her aim didn't waver. She didn't thrust her gun in his face to push him back nor did she twitch at the sudden move. She was confident, even with all of these Imperials with rifles aimed at her. Interesting. "Was it necessary to tell every woman in the civilized galaxy that I have Bothan Nether Rot? That's just low."

Seeing his face flash through the entertainment and red light district with a giant warning label hadn't done anything to improve his mood. Knowing Alico had a hand in it, well… it both infuriated him and amused him.

"So is stealing a girl's ship and leaving her stranded on a war-torn planet."

"Didn't seem to stop you."

"Nothing can."

He would make her eat those words. "I can think of a few things," he mumbled. Because what she didn't realize is that she couldn't win. She didn't know where her ship was and she had marched straight into a nest of enemies that she couldn't possibly hope to get away from. She had lost. Even if nothing else could stop her, Skavak could, and he had.

"Enough of this," the commander interjected. "The captain is your problem, Skavak. Deal with it."

"Commander," he began, tearing his gaze away from Alico, "would you mind vaporizing the captain for me? I've got places to be."

And then he was running, crossing the secret base and ducking into the tunnel.

"Skavak!" the commander yelled after him, but he dashed up the coil and out of hearing range. He could hear someone pursuing him and guessed it was the Captain, and then blaster bolts bit the ground near his feet. He sprinted through the Works' maze, stringing her along just long enough to lure her into a false sense of pursuit. Then, he ducked behind a wall and waited for her to round the corner.

When she appeared, he grabbed her from behind and locked her against his chest, immediately finding a hold on her blaster hand. He tried to wrestle it out of her grip but her hold was too firm, and so they twisted around, both struggling for the weapon. She was a fighter. He liked that. Unable to disarm her, he twisted it around and aimed the barrel at her skull.

"Careful, Captain," he growled in her ear, grunting with the force he had to exert to restrain her. "You wouldn't want to accidentally shoot yourself, now would you?"

"You slime, Skavak. Where the hell is my ship?"

"You mean my ship?"

"Let's settle this once and for all, coward."

"You're in no position to make demands of me, Captain."

With her this close, he could smell her. With her pressed against him, he could feel just how her small body would fit against his. And with her own blaster pointed at her head, he had an overwhelming sense of control and domination. It made him excited. He wanted her. He could probably have her. They were far enough from the Imperials that they shouldn't be interrupted by battle, and Corso would be too busy fighting to come to her rescue.

He nuzzled her neck and she jerked her arm to elbow him in the gut. He sank into the blow but she still made light contact. He grunted and reaffirmed his hold on her.

"You're so feisty, sweetheart," he growled. "Holding onto your anger like that will give you health problems."

"Whoring yourself out to the galaxy will, too. That's how you got the Rot."

"That's a nasty rumor and you know it, Captain." He grinned against her neck. "Now do yourself a favor and give up this ridiculous vendetta. You were beaten. It happens. It's not like you're the first to have his ship swiped."

"Steal ships all you want, Skavak," she growled, struggling against him. "I don't care what you take as long as it's not mine. But you took my ship, and that's about the worst sin you can commit."

She had no idea.

"I've done a lot worse than that, sweetheart," he whispered, lips pressed to her ear. He felt her shiver beneath him and then she turned to face him, their noses brushing from the close proximity.

"You'll be rethinking that before the end," she said. "I'll make you regret crossing me."

He grinned again, ripped her blaster out of her hand, tossed it across the way, and pinned her against the wall.

"You're so cute when you're deluded, Captain," he murmured and leaned in to kiss her. She jerked her knee up to catch him in the groin but he was expecting that and dodged. She barely managed to clip him. He recovered quickly, throwing himself against her before she could do anything else violent. And this time when he bent to kiss her, he made contact. It was a quick kiss, firm and chaste, but a bolt of excitement speared down his stomach straight to his manhood. And then he heard Corso down the coil, shouting her name. So much for privacy. So much for a good time.

"See you around, sweetheart," he growled, desire thick in him, and then he made his escape.