Despite everything that had happened, Lorash found herself relaxing near the driftwood fire on the beach. Several watercraft had zipped over to their island, bringing more curious nautolans. Zeet and his siblings scampered around as the adults drank and ate. The roasted fish was delicious and the bottles their hosts had brought left a warmth in Lorash's stomach. She was careful not to have too much alcohol, but refusing entirely seemed rude. She hoped Vori wouldn't think less of her if he found out she'd used an intoxicant.
The refugees were just happy to make new friends and learn a bit of news. Eso had done most of the talking while Seia was asleep on the ship. The pilot's awkward charm and Yyrfh's surprisingly relaxed nature smoothed over suspicions. Lorash found herself grateful to bask in the presence of friendly faces and the warmth of their affection for each other.
Seia emerged halfway through dinner and found her seat at Eso's side, across the fire from Lorash. There was something even more intense about the sith at sunset, the glow of flames dancing in those golden eyes. She'd put a clean shirt on, much to Lorash's relief and disappointment.
Lorash wasn't certain if Seia was intentionally avoiding her, but no matter how long and hard she stared, the sith seemed focused on the others. The jedi padawan knew she should be grateful for the break, but the longing sank its roots deeper than she would have liked.
"You like her, don't you?"
Lorash jumped, immediately flushing as she realized she'd been caught staring. The intruder into her thoughts was Kherang, the unofficial head of security and the nautolan man who'd been so interested in a half-dressed Seia. "I—"
Kherang chuckled. "Your friend is foolish to leave such a beautiful woman as a wallflower."
It took Lorash a second to realize he was talking about her. She shook her head, blushing fiercely.
"Allow me to offer my assistance," the nautolan said with a sweeping bow. "You want her attention on you, yes? I would like a dance with a lovely partner."
"I think that might draw the wrong kind of Seia's attention," Lorash admitted. "She's very protective."
Kherang laughed as he sat down next to her, slinging a companionable arm around Lorash's shoulders. "A little sting of jealousy can be a powerful tool, my friend. Besides, I have known those with that kind of intensity before. Their passion is best when stirred."
Lorash thought of the intense darkness in the Force around Seia. No one else could sense it, but even the nautolans seemed to understand something simmered underneath the relatively genial surface. For Kherang to tempt it meant he'd probably had plenty to drink. "This sounds like drunk logic."
"Well, are you having fun here, pouting at her?" He prodded Lorash gently in the ribs. "Dance with me, beautiful. It will be fun and I'll teach you some steps she might like."
Lorash looked over at Seia. The sith seemed utterly oblivious to Kherang's proximity to her, engrossed in her current conversation with Eso and old Uxe, the patriarch of the refugee group. As much as it was a bad idea, she remembered the tease from earlier. Too easy. I want a challenge.
"Trust me. She won't ignore us."
"I don't know the steps," Lorash said, heat starting in her cheeks when she realized that wasn't a 'no'. Maybe she wanted to get Seia back just a little bit more than she'd thought. What could it really hurt? It'd be stupid for her to be too angry when she's barely even looked at me all evening.
Kherang hopped up to his feet and held out his hand. "I'll teach you." His friendly grin broadened when she took his hand. "I promise you, perfect gentleman."
"Alright," Lorash conceded, already starting to smile a little as the music picked up. It felt good to just let go and enjoy something, and she'd watched enough of the nautolans dancing to know at least the basics of their movement. It reminded her of the water-like movements of Niman, the lightsaber techniques that Seia had been teaching her.
"You move well," Kherang said with confidence. He cocked his head slightly. "Do you like to dance, Lorash?"
"Every time I get the chance." She listened intently as he explained, head bobbing slightly to the beat. Soon her body followed, turning and flowing. Kherang was inside her space, strong hands on her hips as he coached her through steps of increasing complexity. She let her sense of the Force expand, anticipating his movements and keeping herself from stepping on his feet. They were close, but she was so focused on the next step that it didn't bother her. Besides, just the music and joy of moving to it brought a smile to her face that had been lacking earlier.
He dipped her gracefully once she had all the movement essentially learned, leaning down with her. "You told me you didn't know this one," he said teasingly. "Quite the quick the study."
Lorash shrugged easily, aware that she might have just made a mistake in following too well. "I'm just following your lead."
"Soon you will not even need me."
"You promised me it'd get her attention."
Kherang nodded, letting her turn in his hands. Now he was behind her, so close his breath tickled against her ear. "It is."
From her new position, Lorash had a perfect view towards the fire and the people seated around it, though she really only cared about one. Seia was seated on a rock near the fire with one leg draped over the other, illuminated by dancing flames as she drummed her fingers against the stone. Lorash felt the return of the blush from earlier hit her cheeks when she realized the sith was staring with a smoldering intensity, either firelight or hints of that furious ember glow giving golden eyes an infernal orange cast. It was impossible to really read Seia's expression to determine if it was anger or envy, but she didn't look pleased.
"She looks upset."
Lorash's dance partner leaned in slightly closer. "So did you. Turnabout is fair play, and she does not own you."
Before the jedi padawan could answer, she caught a sudden flare of something in Seia's face at Kherang's movement. The sith rose to her feet and approached like a stalking panther, bringing that aura of conflict with her. Lorash's heart skipped and raced along, chased by a little shot of adrenaline through her veins. Whether she liked it or not, Seia's mixture of power and grace was as enthralling as it was dangerous. She froze in place, interrupting Kherang's attempt to keep moving to the music. He caught the cue and stopped as well.
Seia flashed a feral smile as she stepped into reach of the pair, almost as tall as Kherang and somehow much more imposing. Lorash didn't think she was imagining the hint of glow to Seia's irises, but fortunately her dance partner didn't seem to notice. "Pardon me for cutting in, Kherang. I only wanted to tell Lorash I was retiring for the evening."
"Not a problem at all," Kherang said graciously, letting go of Lorash.
The dark rasp of Seia's voice seemed to come from every direction in the jedi padawan's thoughts. Are you enjoying your little game? For a moment, that presence was overwhelming and intoxicating again, as intense as it had been in the shallows.
Lorash swallowed hard. It was hard not to have a very visceral reaction to that purr. What if I am? she challenged, not ready to surrender just yet. You were ignoring me. She didn't hear Seia's farewell to Kherang, too overwhelmed by the sith.
The darkness seemed to intensify at that answer, a sense of thunder rolling across the surface of her mind as the Force responded to Seia's mood. If you care to settle for something lesser, by all means, continue. To Lorash's surprise, the sith turned and headed for the ship, that same prowl in her walk.
Seia, what does that mean? Lorash asked, hurrying after the sith. She didn't really care what anyone else thought. The interaction had probably seemed strange, or perhaps Seia had played well enough at pleasantness to cover it.
The sith didn't turn or answer, striding up to the ship and hitting the access panel. Her movements were almost lazy, not the sharp anger that Lorash had been expecting. The door hissed open, allowing them both into the shadows of the cargo bay. There was minimal lighting since everyone else was outside, but she and Seia had sparred enough in the darkness to navigate through the stacks of crates without a problem. Lorash cursed under her breath as Seia went to cut through the bay towards the stairs up to her quarters and then reached out to grab the sith's arm.
There was a sudden shift in the Force and her back hit one of the crates, hands pinned by invisible binds against the box on either side of her head. It was about as gentle as Seia always was when they sparred: not at all. Seia turned sharply on her heel. Here in the darkness, it was much easier to see her eyes burning like coals. You know, I was going to let it go, but this is far too tempting, the sith warrior purred in her mind, closing the distance between them.
Lorash sucked in a deep breath. She knew she wasn't going to be able to wriggle out of the bind, but that didn't stop her from instinctively testing the hold. She froze a split second later, when Seia cupped her chin in one hand, bringing them eye to eye. "Seia, I–"
Tell me to stop and I will. Seia's kiss seared her lips like burning kyber, so intense that Lorash gasped into it in surprise. The sith used the vulnerability to deepen the kiss, but kept their bodies maddeningly apart, even if only by fractions of an inch. Lorash had experienced plenty of fiery emotions from the sith, but not like this. She could barely think through the tidal wave of desire that hit her, lost in sensation and the ideas of more that were cast up like embers from an inferno.
Seia broke away suddenly, drawing a keening sound from the jedi padawan's lips. Judging from her catlike smile, the sith knew exactly the effect she was having. "Something wrong, Lorash?" she whispered, leaning close enough to brush her lips almost chastely against the younger woman's cheek. Her voice raised goosebumps across Lorash's whole body. That same, featherlight bite touched the lobe of her ear next, but the distance remained. The only contact between them was wherever Seia's lips went and the hand holding Lorash's chin firmly, preventing her from even chasing a kiss.
"Seia, this isn't fair," Lorash said even as her cheeks flushed. "I can't even–"
"No, it's not," Seia agreed with a hint of that arrogant self-satisfaction in her tone, trailing kisses down the column of Lorash's throat as if to punctuate the thought. "That's rather the point." Her free hand plucked at the young woman's collar, pulling fabric out of the way.
Lorash's protest turned into another gasp as teeth scraped along her collarbone. She tried to twist her wrists free of Seia's bind, but somehow the sith was still focused enough to keep the hold iron. It wasn't bruising, just immovable. "Seia!"
The sith laughed at that. "You can twitch and squirm all you like, Lorash. See how far it takes you. I know I enjoy it."
Her cheeks were positively incandescent, but Lorash knew she was going to have to change tact if she wanted anything. She felt embarrassingly desperate under that hungry gaze. "I want to touch you."
"Mmm…no." Seia's lips ghosted tauntingly across hers, just the barest hint of what she actually felt like she was going to die without.
"Seia, please ."
Her tormentor smiled wickedly. "That was a pretty please," Seia allowed before catching her in a kiss that burned just as intensely as the first. The bind at Lorash's wrists didn't ease a bit, but now both the sith's hands were on her, starting to roam possessively as the kiss almost became a bite. Whether it was Force-enhanced sense or just attention to detail, Seia was finding every way to tease little shuddering sounds out of Lorash without removing a scrap of clothing, something the jedi padawan was quickly finding the most frustrating thing in the universe. Her fingers flexed as she tried to break the hold just so she could pull Seia closer, but the sith's will remained unshakable.
She needed more, but Seia seemed absolutely content to instill madness, always stopping just short of what she wanted, and no amount of begging or coaxing was changing the sith's mind. Lorash tried to slow her racing heart with thoughts of tranquility, but there was no amount of breathing or peace that could overpower the raw need coursing through her body. It seemed to double every time Seia plucked at her clothes, undoing a fastening with agonizing slowness.
Then, the worst of all things happened. Lorash heard the door to the cargo bay hiss open and Seia broke their kiss, fingers still toying with the fastenings on the front of the padawan's shirt. Eso and Yyrfh came stumbling in, the wookie practically carrying their mirialan. There was no chance that they weren't going to be caught, not when they were directly on the path to the stairs.
"Have a good night, Lorash," Seia whispered, giving her a quick peck on the lips with an absolutely wicked grin. "Think of me."
Lorash tried to move and realized that the hold was still there. "Seia!" she blurted out, watching the sith saunter off. After the door to the sith's room closed, the pressure on her wrists suddenly released.
She fell into Eso and Yyrfh, face burning like a brand.
"Whoa! Somebody got into trouble," Eso said, fumbling to catch Lorash. "Are you, uh, all r–oh!" He at least had the presence of mind to look embarrassed as he took in her disheveled appearance and the obvious marks all over her neck and shoulders.
Lorash didn't know what she wanted, but it was clear that Seia wasn't going to finish what she'd started. "Damn it, Eso!"
Yyrfh made a curious, almost cooing sound of concern, which only made the blush worse.
Eso cleared his throat awkwardly. "She's, uh, fine, Yyrfh."
The idea of a drunk Eso explaining her current condition to an equally drunk wookie was not a level of embarrassment Lorash was ready to tolerate. She smoothed out her clothes and hurried away without an explanation or a good night, weak at the knees and her ears practically incinerating from the heat of her blush.
Think of me , Seia's purr echoed in her mind. It was just the memory, not even a further push by the sith. There was no trace of Seia's conflict in the room anymore, only a hammering in Lorash's chest.
As if I could do literally anything else, the younger woman retorted mentally all the same.