Missed Connection

[Tmoxin Temi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLgHKHw2ZnY​

If Tmoxin could read minds, she would have wholeheartedly agreed with Alexander as he mused over the strong connection between them. Alas, she could only control minds, not read them, but that wasn't on her agenda. He was making all of the right moves - there was really no part of him she needed to coerce. He was an expert with his hands, his lips and the rest. He had perfect control of the situation and of her own body.

The Hapan Dark Jedi also forgot about the information she had sought from his organization. Even though she protected her business interests with the fierce determination of a lioness, it seemed like everything else would have to wait until this moment passed. And it could pass slowly as far as Tmoxin was concerned.

Hours later, the pair would find themselves in the king-sized bed, their bodies intertwined. Tmoxin's vibrant red-hair was down around her face and slightly touseled from the humidity of the jacuzzi, among other things. The champagne was nearly gone. She had her head resting softly on Alexander's chest, just listening to the faint sounds of the harbor, juxtaposed with his continuous heartbeat. In a way, she longed for more idle conversation with the agent - how she wanted to look at some real estate outside of the capital city. Was he hungry, and should they order room service?

But the Blood Monarch got back down to business, which was why she was on Bothawui in the first place: "I have a list of organizations where you can start... maybe tomorrow," she said. "A list of rivals to Morpho Pharmaceuticals to pinpoint who contracted out the assassination." She didn't elaborate, assuming he knew the details from her original Bothan contact.

[member="Meryn Dupont"]

 

[Minnosh]

His fingers stroked through her beautiful, red hair, his other arm comfortably wrapped around her. There was something so incredibly comfortable about having her resting on top of him, skin on skin. If he didn't know better, he'd define this feeling, the state of mind he was in at this very moment, as happiness. Tired, but content with life. He wasn't sure if he was lying on his back because he was resting, or because he could barely move. She had exhausted muscles he didn't even know existed. That would be one tough act to follow. He really hoped she would try.

His mind drifted back into the present, pulled back down into a reality of responsibilities and time constraints. In this world, he had to think of business. And he had a difficult decision to make. He could try to maintain his cover, pick up the contract, execute it to the letter, and persuade her to continue to use his company instead of the Bothan network. Or, he could come clean right now, reveal he was not his contact, and hope she was still willing to work with him. Given how they had connected, and he truly felt that they had, she was unlikely to be pleased with his deception. He risked everything by telling her. More than just another contract, he felt as if more was at stake. To jeopardize that would be foolish, right? There was really only one thing to do.

"I can do that. If this is how you do mission briefings, I hope you choose to keep me on on a more permanent basis" a woman in her position could surely benefit from an intelligence agency, right? Of course, it all depended on which one she wanted to go with. He was vaguely familiar with her company, but the assassination was news to him. However, he truly did believe that he could take care of her problem for her. There was just one tiny little detail "The Galactic Security Agency would be happy to take care of that, and any other problem for you." he paused for a moment. No doubt, his hands would soon feel the muscles on her body tense up.

"I am not with the Bothan Spynetwork." She hadn't heard wrong, and now he confirmed it, removing any confusion she might have. "I am not your contact." again he paused. At this point, a small portion of his brain was screaming for him to grab a hold of her arms, in case she would strike at him. Yet, for whatever reason, he left himself open. "I represent a rival company. In fact, I own the rival company. Word reached me that they were striking up a deal with Morpho Pharmaceuticals. I decided to hijack their contract. The last minute call to reschedule the time and place was, as you may have been led to believe, standard procedure for the safety of both parties." It had been his company, the GSA, and its team of slicers that had redirected Tmoxin and made it appear as if the Bothans were doing it.

At this point, he could go on about his reasonings, try to sell the company, or other methods to make the GSA appear more lucrative than whatever the Bothans had to offer. Instead, he said nothing more, letting the news sink in, and watch how she reacted. In this moment, he imagined she didn't want a sales pitch. Instead, he offered honesty. His arms were still on top of her, holding her tenderly. He knew it probably wouldn't last long, but he was reluctant to let her go. She would have to be the one to walk away from him. Personally, he wanted nothing more than to stay in this bed for the rest of the week.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

As Alexander stroked her hair, Tmoxin felt defenseless. Breathlessly, she moved closer to his body to embrace him, and as he did, she idly ran her hands up and down his chest. She was only halfway listening to him, so relaxed the Hapan was between the jacuzzi and activity, but she immediately keyed in on the mention of the Galactic Security Agency.

And as she was ripped from a very, deep and engaging dream, she rose up on her elbow, her brows furrowing. Tmoxin's eyes bored into his, looking for the truth or lies in his statements. And she listened very carefully.

As his arms snaked around her, holding her, bracing her for this very unexpected news, she infiltrated his mind with the Force:

"You will not remember tricking me. You will only remember that I hired you to do this job."

Alexander wasn't the Bothan Spy Network that she had contracted. He had his own company, but instead of being outraged that he had tricked her, Tmoxin decided that he had fooled her enough to allow her into his bed and to approach her most intimate areas.

If he had fooled her in this way, he was likely to trick her competitors in a similar manner. One that required dogged pursuit and careful calculation.

But the Hapan Dark Jedi would not let him know that she had implanted this thought. Better for him to just believe that they were now colleagues and lovers. If he wanted to protest, he would need to unravel a series of scrambled puzzles in his mind which lead them to this very place.

 

[Minnosh]

He felt her body tense against his hands. This was, safe to say, a surprise. How well she took that surprise it remained to be seen. Meryn remained clam, trying to explain himself while her eyes dug into him. He was ready to face whatever may come. He understood that she was upset, but hopefully... Actually, no. Why would she be upset? He had not even started the research for his mission, although it had been a very pleasant briefing. If this was how she did mission briefings, e hoped she chose to keep him on on a more permanent basis.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"] had infiltrated his mind most successfully, and Meryn was non the wiser. His memories had been rewired, and to his knowledge, nothing had gone awry. Since he was his own boss and liked to keep his cards close to his chest, there was not likely anyone else to point this out to him either. Her little mind trick had worked like a charm.

Looking up at her, he was trying to figure out what the meaning behind her expression was. She looked so... Focused. Almost upset. It wasn't that she was looking thoughtful, with an empty look into the air. She was looking straight at him. "What?" he asked finally, while putting on that charming smile she had seen so many times before. His hand reached up to the side of her head, stroking against her face, before grasping the back of her head. "What do you think you're doing up there?" he smirked, as he pulled her down for another heated kiss. Well played Tmoxin

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin exhaled loudly, mostly from the effort of the Mind Trick, but with a little relief over the fact that she could now begin to investigate this agent for herself with no added suspicion on his part. Another infochant would need to be hired - a third-party to pay the GSA a little visit. But that could come later when she wasn't completely undressed and entangled with the attractive, blonde human.

But why had he told her the truth? To risk his reputation and a derail a potentially new relationship... it made no sense, unless he felt that to save both of those things, he had no other choice than to come clean. She longed to discuss it with him, but couldn't now that she had made her own choice to deceive him in return. Tmoxin thought back of how often deceipt came second nature. Perhaps this was why the attraction between the two of them was so poignant. One of them would beat the other in this game eventually, but the fun would be in playing it out.

She allowed the confusion to fade from her features and yielded as he pulled her in for a kiss. While it was a deep and passionate kiss, it was fully innocent and devoid of any tension that would have occurred had the Hapan executive decided to confront Alexander about his lie. This was good, because like the intelligence agent, Tmoxin also had no plans to leave the comfortable hotel room anytime soon. The real estate she wanted to see when daytime came back around could wait if it had to.

Presently there was still too much heat between them for a conversation to be had. But once she had time and inclination to come up for air, Tmoxin planned to ask Alexander all about his company, the founding of it and the history. While she had certainly "vetted" him in the bedroom, she had not truly vetted him as a business partner yet. There were many unanswered questions on her mind.

[member="Meryn Dupont"]

 

[Minnosh]

Meryn would have been happy to answer any questions, and explain why he had deceived her, and why he had come clean. Of course now he had no clue himself, as he had no recollection of those actions, or even their train of thought. He was also equally clueless to any confusion on her face, too distracted by the kiss.

Unsuspectingly, he flipped them around. Suddenly he was the one on top, looking down on her with a smile. He immediately regretted his decision, feeling the sore muscles complain, but he made an excellent job of faking it and not letting it show. Instead, as a diversion maneuver his left hand stroked her cheek, and then her hair. He didn't want to be the one to drag them away from this hotel room, but business did call.

There was something strange that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He knew she had hired him for a job, but despite the situation he currently found himself in, he knew surprisingly little about it. He typically was very thorough and did extensive checks before formally going to the briefing. With new contacts, he never knew what and what wasn't a trap, after all. "So... This mission" he started, but stopped. There were so many distractions ahead of him. This time, her eyes.

"Can wait" Yup. She had him. Anything else would be a waste of an evening off and a perfectly nice hotel room. They had plenty of time. Mornings were for working. Evenings? Well, they were for precisely this, if he could help it. Once more he leaned down for a heated kiss. Sore muscles or not, he was a former military man who hadn't lost his habits and fallen out of shape. He was prepared to serve. After all, the night was still young, and he played to impress

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Alexander flipped her over expertly and was now the one on top. She sunk into the soft pillows with no resistance as he stroked her cheek, her brilliant red hair fanning out around her head. But his eyes were confused, the residue of the mind trick was still hanging around his psyche. He stumbled, unable to find the words.

"Let me help you, Alex," she said. But he silenced her with another passionate kiss. She didn't break the stride until he pressed his body closer, eager for more. It was here that she stopped him. Which was good because the Hapan was slightly fatigued as well and welcomed the break to now begin her subtle inquisition.

"It's probably too late for a proper introduction, but I'm curious as to your background. How did you start the GSA? Who are your main clients?"

These were questions she would ask if she had time to properly investigate his company, but she hadn't so now was a good time to start, even if there was an urge to put the questions aside and investigate the more carnal inquiries.

[member="Meryn Dupont"]

 

[Minnosh]

Alex? Why had he given her that name... Oh well, no matter. She was here, and she was beautiful, and she found a way of distracting him from any clear, critical thought. He was in quite a different mood, but it would seem that his companion was not. Softly pushing him away, she started talking business. With a sigh, he rolled over onto her side, on his back on the bed.

"Well" he started, turning to look at her as he spoke. "As you probably guessed, a man of my profession goes by many names. Alexander is one of them, usually one for when I'm in the field. It all depends though, of course." he paused for a moment, as if considering whether or not to give her his real name. He didn't see why not. Perhaps it was their time together at the hotel, or perhaps it was some residue of the Force power she had used on him, but he was feeling rather cooperative. Besides, if she was going to be a regular customer, and he did hope she would be, there was something to be said for transparency and building trust.

"I'm Meryn." again he paused, with an expression that seemed expectant of her name as well. He could not recall her giving it to him previously, and he had a feelings hers was one he would not easily forget. "I used to be in the army. The GSA was founded by me with the help of some connections I made back in those days. Our clients are many, and I promise them all the same thing: discretion. I offer the same to you, naturally. However, what I can tell you is that they are all across the board. We're fairly neutral, and open to work with all sorts of people. Selectivism harms business." he said with the hint of a smile. He wanted to show cooperation, and give her a few truths he did not think would come back to bite him later.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

As the intelligence agent rolled over on his back to answer her questions, she watched him carefully. A flash of disappointment moved across his features, but it didn't last more than a few seconds. His name was Meryn, but could that be a fake name too? A quick background check would put that it to rest, but Tmoxin was too weary to contact her assistant Beulah right now. She could do all of that housekeeping in the morning.

Eventually she nestled herself into the crook of his arm. His warm skin and the steam from the jacuzzi was finally making her sleepy. After he finished, she said, "Discretion is of primary imporantance." A pause and then, Tmoxin continued. "I was also in military service. First on Hapes in the Royal Navy and then as an Officer for the One Sith."

She stopped abruptly. Her tiredness had caused the truth to emerge, but she remembered that not everyone was as nonchalant about the Sith as she was. She manuevered around to see Alex... Meryn's expression. Would he think worse of her now that he knew she was affiliated with a bunch of homcidal maniacs? And would he suspect she was indeed a Force user?

That was a misstep, you silly Hapan, she thought. Tmoxin wanted to stay in control, but drowsy and sheltered by his comforting embrace and his heady allure, she felt a little powerless now to keep up her own charade.

[member="Meryn Dupont"]

 

[Minnosh]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"] curling up beside him was sufficient to draw away any hint of disappointment from his expression. His arm reached comfortably around to grasp her and hold her close to him. Falling asleep like this wouldn't be bad at all. When she told him about her military service, however, he couldn't help but laugh. His reaction had surprised even himself. "Officer for the One Sith, hm? I was an officer for the Republic" again, he gave a chuckle.

His hand gently stroked the side of her arm as he spoke. Clearly, this fact didn't bother him in the slightest. Their similar backgrounds made that he didn't consider her being a Force user at all. "Safe to say, we found ourselves at a... Disagreement. I no longer serve the Republic. Mostly because the Republic didn't have an interest in serving me."

It wasn't that he required pampering, but why toil away his life, serving a cause he didn't believe in, when they offered him little security in return? It wouldn't have been an issue if he had been a normal, law-abiding citizen, but Meryn was not a normal, law-abiding citizen. And he had absolutely no intention to change.

"Now, what do I call you? Or do you prefer Blood Monarch? Miss Monarch?" he teased her a little, but he was genuinely curious. Would she give him a name, or perhaps did she not trust him enough yet? It was a nice way to see where he stood with her.