The Flower in the Lion's Den(Katarine/Private)

[Christian Slade]

Christian couldn't deter his eyes when she was bending and leaning to get whatever she needed as she cooked. Those amber eyes were curious for her all the time, and he couldn't deny that there was attraction to a degree that he'd never experienced before on his part. He couldn't help it, and that was why he couldn't stand it. He felt weak for the woman, and it was frustrating to say the least. The more he tried, the harder it was not to watch the woman and think about her in ways that he knew he shouldn't. It was starting to become a maddening experience for him that he would have to break. That or she was going to drive him crazy.

"Please, woman...", Christian said, scoffing and trying to pretend he wasn't enjoying her taunts, but he certainly was. At least it would keep him distracted from her as she cooked, taking special precautions to keep his attention on what she was doing rather than the way she was doing it. "I could get used to this, though.", he said as he watched her mix the ingredients together before she prepared to pour it out onto the heated pan.

"I haven't used it even one time, though I am here more often than anywhere else.", he said, finally admitting that he frequented this room and that casino and resort the most often. It was, after all, his most successful one and there was little need to visit and stay at the other ones unless he was entertaining politicians or investors.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

"Well then perhaps I have a future as a personal cook. Since SOMEONE lost me my last job." She winked at him as she flipped the first large pancake in the pan. She turned away from him and started looking for plates. They were on the top shelf of a cupboard and Katarine literally had to stand on tiptoe to reach them. She stretched as far as she could, the robe she was wearing ridding up her thighs as she did so. Katarine was oblivious to the effect she was having on Christian. Katarine was still a little niave to things. She winced, since her leg was still tender and sore from the other night. She probably ought to wear the brace but Bacta was a miracle and helped. Katarine wondered if her leg had really been broken or just wounded. It didn't seem like it was hurt enough to be a break.

She slid a few plates off the stack carefully and then returned to the stove. She slid the first pancake onto one of the plates and then poured more batter in the pan. After a few more moments she had two plates with a few pancakes each. She opened few different drawers to find silverware, and made a trip back to the fridge where to her delight she found syrup and whip cream. She decorated his pancakes artfully with each and then slid the plate to him. "Tada!"

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Chrisitan smiled at the woman's comment who still seemed to be bashing him for all the things he'd done wrong the night before instead of the things he'd done right. Still, he understood it for playful, as was her nature. That was why he wasn't bothered by it in the least, in fact, he even displayed a half smile as she joked with him. That smile fell away quickly, though, when the woman turned around and tried to reach for the plates in the kitchen.

He watched as her muscular legs tightened, her bottom clenching as she reached for a plate. His golden eyes could take no more, but he couldn't look away. That robe rolling up her smooth, tight thighs. It was overwhelming for just about any man, let alone him who had begun to feel something for this perfect creature in his kitchen.

Not realizing it, Christian had started to become aroused, which he noticed and attempted to remedy by crossing one leg over the other. That didn't last long, however, considering he actually hurt himself doing so. His face began to take on a light shade of red as he looked from his own lap back up to the woman, his eyes scouring her body as she turned and fixed him a plate. "Tada!", she exclaimed feeling proud of herself as Christian carefully lifted one hand from his lap and took a fork. He cut the piece off, dipped it into some syrup and took a bite.

It took a moment to get used to all that sugar that was in it, but he had to admit that it was impressive. "Well done.", he said, adjusting in his seat in order to hid his situation better. "You should take a room here and be my personal cook and confidant.", he said, jokingly, trying to hide what was truly going on right now.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She watched him take a bite of the pancake with a smile on her face. He seemed to like it, which made her happy but his next statement made her laugh. "Anybody can make a plate full of sugar. From the looks of this place you could hire yourself a cook who could make you meals from every planet in the galaxy. You don't need a backwater runaway." She stuck her tongue out at him and started to cut up her own pancake, but was secretly pleased he seemed to want her around.

She took a bite and smiled at him. "We are going to have huge sugar rushes after this." Her smile faltered when she seen he was slightly red in the face. "Are you okay? You didn't get sick in the rain last night did you?" And completely oblivious to the real problem Katariine leaned across the counter and put the back of her hand on his forehead, the neckline of her robe opening slightly as she did so. His forehead felt warm, but his skin always felt warm and she couldn't tell if it was normal or not.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian braced himself as the woman leaned over the counter and gently placed the back of her hand on his forehead. He put down his fork and reached up to the edge of the counter with both hands, gripping it tightly as her scent trickled up into his nostrils. His eyes then wandered again, like they had been despite his efforts. This time, however, they glanced down and watched as the neckline of the woman's robe fell open just enough for him to see straight down her shirt.

His eyes grew a little wide before he noticed that his fingers were digging into the wood of the counter. When he heard the first crack of wood, Christian's eyes darted away from the woman's chest and he pulled away from her. He was looking away, not able to stand it anymore, and unfortunately for him he could feel one of the leggings of his pants growing uncomfortably tight. "I'm fine.", he said rather firmly and abruptly as he started to stand up from the stool, but thought better of it considering his current state.

"I told you. I never get sick."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine winced when she noticed his tone change. He sounded angry or at least annoyed. She pulled her hand away slowly and watched him with wide apologetic eyes. The girl didn't know what she'd done, but she wasn't any stranger to sudden mood changes. At home someone was frustrated or upset with her every other moment, and it was usually when she did something she didn't understand as wrong, like show concern over someone. Her eyes fell to the floor, in an unmistakable sign of someone submissive and clearly used to abuse because she didn't challenge him or ask what his problem was. Instead she just stood there and quickly whimpered "I'm sorry."

Katarine hadn't been away from home more than a few months. She had been raised her entire life under the notion that she wasn't supposed to talk to, look at, think about, or even concern herself with anybody who wasn't in her blood line. She spent every second of her life either alone or with her twin, who would never have tried to restrain himself like Christian was doing. Kat wasn't stupid, but she had next to no experience with any culture that wasn't her own. If Christian had been fortunate enough to meet her years down the line when she was more confident and in control of her own life she might have apologized and asked what was wrong. Now however Katarine just stood there, her eyes downward as she wondered if she should leave and stop bothering him. She didn't move however, having made that mistake once when she upset her mother. The result culminated in Katarine having her jaw wired shut for two weeks after her twin had put it back in it's socket. Christian didn't seem anything like her family, but over two decades of brainwashing and abuse didn't go away just because someone treated you nicely for a night.

After a few seconds it became apparent he wasn't going to start yelling at her, or hit her, and she wasn't sure if that meant he wanted her out of his sight or not. "Should I go away?"

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Chrisitan took a deep breath for a moment to compose himself, trying to will his sexual response to fade, but it wasn't working as well as he had hoped. He glanced back over at the girl with those amber eyes again and saw the hurt look on her face, which was not what he'd intended, but she was pushing him in ways that he hadn't been pushed and pressuring him, which wasn't something he had ever had to deal with before. He never played the disadvantage. Every time he'd ever had a woman, he was always the one in control. Always the one with the power and the driver's seat.

"No...", he whispered, not knowing how he could possibly tell her that she needed to cover up without her knowing exactly why he needed her to. Turning in his seat, Christian picked his fork back up from the counter top and cut another piece of pancake, dipped it in syrup and took a bite, chewing it with a more pleased look on his face, though his eyes still were intentionally finding other things to look at besides her, the skin of his cheeks still slightly red as he reached down with his free hand and readjusted himself.

"...just...", he started to say, looking over at the woman finally with hesitant eyes. "...find yourself something to cover up with... and...", he said, looking away again and half sighing as he was half way through the hard part. He gulped down the rest of the pancake that was in his mouth, but this time wouldn't look at her when he finished what he had started to say, "...mind your robe."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

He said no and she heard the clank of his silverware, meaning he was eating again. She glanced up timidly and seen he wasn't looking at her. He started talking again and she felt her cheeks burn scarlet. Was THAT was this was about? She half smiled, happy he wasn't telling her to leave, but a loud snarling in the back of her mind made her jump. Her eyes went wide in understanding and she pulled her robe very tightly closed around her. "Okay." She said, still blushing really bad. "I'm sorry... I didn't... know... " She shut up quickly, and went back to her pancaked, one hand still holding her robe closed. She had worked out that the rest of the galaxy didn't believe in the stupid doppelganger prophecy that her family believed in. In fact most of the galaxy would think she was some sick freak if she told them her family was trying to marry her off to her twin brother. So Kat wasn't exactly eager to share that bit of information with Christian.

She started cutting her pancakes again and kept watching him every time she was certain he wasn't looking at her. When his eyes finally caught hers she smiled at him, trying to see if he were mad or not.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian was half looking at her and half looking away the rest of the meal, which was relatively quiet and a bit awkward. They both felt something, on some level in some way, they both felt an electricity. Something drew them together, and Christian knew that for his part it was extremely powerful. He wanted to get up and walk around that counter and wrap the woman in his arms and not let go, but he knew he couldn't do that. He couldn't just kiss her, could he? He couldn't just touch her...

"Thank you...", Christian finally said, finishing the last bite of his pancakes as he slowly stood up, making sure to hide his lingering problem before he walked around the counter with his plate and placed it in the skin, reaching out and turning on the water faucet so that the water could run over the sticky plate. As he cleaned his plate, however, he glanced over his shoulder at the girl, unable to keep himself from looking at her for very long now. It was getting worse, and he didn't know exactly what he was supposed to do about that, but he was sure that he'd figure something.

Turning off the water, Christian reached out and gripped either side of the sink as he leaned over it and thought for a moment, his head bowing down as he did. "It really was very good. I appreciate it.", he said, half grimacing, knowing that the compliments about the food had already been made, but he didn't know what else to say.

Finally having lost all of his patience, Christian raised his hand and dropped them again against the sink, making a popping sound like someone might do when they got to the climax of an argument or had a mind opening realization. When he slapped the sink, Christian rose back up and turned around to lean against the sink behind him. He watched her there for a moment before he finally said, "I'm sorry, but I need to try something.", and then leaned forwards off the edge of the sink and walked over to her.

Stopping right in front of Katarine, Christian reached out, without a moment of hesitation, and grabbed her with either hand by the waist. He then pulled her snugly to him, his amber eyes looking down on her with lust and intent in them as he leaned in, stopping only when his lips were just barely apart, his body actually aching for him to go that last inch as he smelled her sweet smell and tasted her hot breath on his lips. He waited there for a long time, feeling the electricity between them which made him weak. So weak, in fact, that he leaned into her and gently rested his forehead against hers for a moment as he breathed slowly, gathering himself.

Then he pulled away, fear in his eyes, not knowing what to do or what she'd done to him as if she were some kind of culprit that meant him harm or wished to collect him for some ulterior motive. He backed away from her slowly scooting across the kitchen until he bumped into the sink he'd been leaning against before. He cast his eyes down at the floor as he leaned against the sink in silent thought, not remembering a time where he'd been more lost than he was in that very moment.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine was eating her pancakes but she had really lost her appetite. She was worried he was going to tell her to leave. She pushed most of the pancakes around on her planet, unenthusiastically, still holding her robe closed with one hand. He got up and put his dish in the sink and thanked her, saying it was good. She smiled weakly at him, and then glanced down back at her plate. She didn't know why it mattered so much. She'd only met him a few days ago after all and realistically he wasn't going to let her stay around him forever. True he was the closest thing to a friend she'd had since laving home but that didn't mean she couldn't make other friends. There was no reason to be this miserable, and yet she was.

The next thing she knew he said he had to try something and was coming towards her. She didn't know what to do but the second he grabbed her and pulled her to him she felt overwhelming dizziness. It made her head swim and her stomach feel floaty. He leaned down and was so close to her that she felt like she might collapse from dizziness. She whimpered and watched his golden eyes as he rested his head on her forehead. The next second he pulled away from her and was backing up towards the sink, leaving Katarine swimming and dizzy and floaty. She stumbled sideways and caught herself on the counter. Her deep green eyes watched him as he was lost in thought and completely miserable. She watched him for a long second before she came forward slowly and worked her way into his arms. She hugged him for a long second, hiding her face in his chest. She hugged him for a long second, as if saying goodbye, before she let him go and headed back towards the bedroom where her clothes were probably dry from yesterday.

She glanced in the mirror at her sulky reflection and sighed. Maybe her family was right and she should just go home. At least there she could only cause misery to just a few people. She sighed and sat down at the edge of the tub and buried her head in her hands. She didn't want to go back to her apartment. A few weeks ago it had felt like paradise, so far way from her family, but now it felt like a lonely prison so far away from Christian. She sighed, knowing putting off going away wasn't going to make it any easier. She didn't want to make him miserable, but like always she seemed to ruin other peoples lives. Katarine got up and took her robe off and folded it neatly before she started washing her face at the sink. She'd just wash her face, put her clothes on and get out of his hair.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian stood there for a long time staring down at the floor as if he'd already been defeated. She walked out of the room, and when she did, he just knew that she was going to clean herself up, get her clothes on and leave him there, his mind shot and his heart rattled, and that he didn't know if he would be able to stand. It was hard enough not to throw himself at the woman. He didn't know what she wanted because he couldn't read her like he could read everyone else. The material were so easy to ready, but she held more important things in higher value. Things like people and what you believe in.

It was driving him crazy how badly he just wanted to take her in a frenzy of lust, but would she reciprocate such feelings? Did she want him the way that he wanted her, or would she just be offended or frightened of his advances? He didn't know, but he got up the courage somehow, quietly opening the door to his room, wishing not to disturb her. He was watching the floor just in case she was changing, but when he saw nothing in his peripheral vision he raised his head and looked around. The door to the balcony was open and all of a sudden he panicked a bit. Surely she hadn't jumped out the window or tried to scale the outer edge of the building to try and get away from him, right?

Frantically Christian rushed across the room and he had started looking for her things, if she'd left anything, so that he could gather them up and pursue her. He knew that she'd spent a lot of time in the bathroom, but when he turned the corner into the bathroom she was standing right there, nothing but her undergarments on as she was getting cleaned up. His eyes grew wide and he panicked, not wanting to intrude. His eyes took in every inch of that perfect body, however as he backed out of the bathroom saying, "Oh. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I...", and it was only when he slammed into the door frame that his eyes left her figure and he stumbled backwards into his bedroom.

He fell on his back, strewn across his bed, his head popping up immediately as he pushed himself up on his elbows, unable to look away. He then sighed and shook his head as he said. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me..."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine was busy washing her face when the door opened and he walked in. She turned to look at him and suddenly he was apologizing and trying to back out of his own bathroom. It would have been comical to see him stumble backwards onto his bed, if she wasn't worried he'd hurt his head. She came forward, abandoning the running water in his sink. "Are you okay?" She walked towards him where he was propped up on his bed, and sat down next to him. He seemed okay, just embarrassed. Katarine watched him with concern for another second and then slowly, a small smile formed and she giggled, genuinely happy he wasn't hurt.

"There isn't anything wrong with you. I got really scared too the first time I seen someone changing." She smiled kindly at him, completely misinterpreting his discomfort as a lack of experience with women. She was still smiling, but the smile faded when she thought about going home again. "I don't really want to go away... but ... you don't really seem to be enjoying my company anymore." She realized just as soon as she said it that it had been bothering her and that for some reason she cared what he thought. She glanced away from him, unable to look at him anymore. "I'm really sorry."

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian's eyes grew a little wide when he heard Katarine talking as if he'd never seen a naked woman before. What she didn't know would surely have surprised her, but then again he guessed it was better to just keep some things to yourself. Then again, he wasn't about to start off his relationship with the only woman who'd ever caused him to doubt himself or second guess what he was doing with a lie. "I'm not as inexperienced as you may think.", he admitted, although there was a hint of reluctance clear in his voice. "I just... I don't know what I'm doing when I'm around you, and no one has ever... ever made me feel so..."

He laid there in thought for a long time, but he couldn't think of the right word. All of a sudden, he glanced back over at the woman, her almost naked body right next to him, so close that all he would have to do is reach out and touch her. Then, the very next second, he had the right word. "helpless..."

As he said it he could tell that it was the best possible way to express the way he felt around the most amazing woman he'd ever known in over twenty years of living. It was like he was staring into the face of an angel, features so perfect that they could bring a tear to your eye while her body could cripple a grown man who wasn't expecting perfect proportions from such a delicate little package.

"Ughhhh...", he groaned as he laid back in his bed, his sculpted midsection stretching out as he raised his hands up and covered his face, rubbing his tired eyes as he took in a deep breath and sighed. "I don't want you to leave.", he said, then letting hist arms fall on either side of his head like he was defeated on the battlefield of love just waiting to be claimed. "In fact, I want the exact opposite."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine nodded, her cheeks burning when he said he wasn't inexperienced. She realized she was completely a moron and sounded like one, but he didn't tell her she was stupid. Instead he admitted that he felt very differently about her and that she made him feel helpless. Her smile widened slightly and then he fell backwards on the bed and hid his face in his hands, letting out a groan. She smiled even broader now, her playful streak in full swing. When he admitted that he didn't want her to leave her smile was so bright it could have lit up the room.
She watched him for a second, and did genuinely feel bad that he felt so conflicted. She wanted to cheer him up so she smiled at him. "I don't want to go away either."

Her eyes roamed down his bare chest but she turned away, blushing slightly. When she looked back at him she was grinning mischievously. "Sooo.... helpless huh? Sooo does that mean I can do this... and get away with it?" The next second Katarine had started tickling his side, wondering if he was ticklish at all.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian jerked away just slightly when her soft fingers grazed his skin gently with the intent of sending a sensation though his body. His hands slipped down his face, a rather surprised look on his face, though he was hiding a smile behind those hands after he heard her admit that she didn't want to leave any more than he wanted her to. It actually calmed him down a bit to hear her say that she didn't want to leave, something that made his heart beat a little faster as he watched her with those golden eyes he had.

Finally he let his hands slid down off of his face, his hands falling back to his side, pushing against the bed to scoot him away from Katarine a bit, putting some distance between them both as he propped up on his elbows. "absolutely...", he said, pushing against the bed again, putting just a little more distance between them.

"...not."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine grinned a little wider. "But if your helpless.... there isn't much you can do about it... now is there?" She reached over like she was going to tickle him again, but hesitated just over his chest. "Soo noo more talk of me leaving... until you get sick of me or decide I should go?" She smiled at him and pushed her hair behind her ear before leaning as if she was about to get off the bed. The next second however she leaned back over and started tickling him again.

"Sucks to be helpless doesn't it?" She grinned.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

"I'm not going to get sick of you...", he said in response to the girl, smiling a bit at the playful look on her face. "...and I'm not going to decide that you should leave.", he then said, scooting back on the bed a little further. "The only way you're getting away from me is if you truly want to leave.", he finally said, his golden eyes glancing down at her hands carefully and then looking back up at her, that smirk finding it's way to the corner of his mouth.

"Ahhhh! Hah! Quit!", he yelled at her when she all of a sudden attacked and began to tickle him. "Okay! Alright! If you keep this up I might have to ask you to leave, dammit!", he said, pushing against the bed to put distance between he and the ravishing tickler. The only problem was, there was no more bed.

"OOOF!", was all that came out of his mouth as he flipped backwards off the bed and landed flat on his back, his legs straight up in the air. Slowly his legs came back down, flopping across the bed as he sighed and stared up in the ceiling as he breathed in deep after having collected himself. She had tiny, soft little hands and a gentle touch. If she planned to make her tickling thing a habit he was going to have to arrange a suitable defense.

"Ow..."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine realized he was about to fall of the bed and reached for him, but too late. He hit the floor and she glanced over the edge, looking down at him, her dark hair falling all around her face. She smiled apologetically at him when he said ow. "Tiger how can you take on a full bounty hunter but you can't even handle a tiny little girl?" She grinned at him and then disappeared from his view as she rolled over the bed, scooping up the clothes he had brought in here with him.

The next moment she had pulled her tight black flight pants over her legs, and her white tank top down over her top. She then went over to where he was curled on the floor and offered her hand to him with an innocent smile. "I'll behave."

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian watched her with a curious look, still laying there where he had been before as she got herself dressed. He was thankful that she had, because he had already shown that he didn't have much resolve when it came to pretty women, especially Katarine, a woman all too beautiful and interesting in ways that no one could ever come close to. She made it hard for him to want to do anything else but take her then and there on that bed, but those clothes helped him more than she could ever know.

"Yea, we'll see.", he said, reaching up and taking her hand as he pushed himself up off the floor with the other. He then looked down at his bare chest and realized that he had been a little rambunctious that morning. He'd broken a bit of a sweat, and he hadn't had a shower that morning. "Thank you.", he said, smirking at the young woman as he turned and made his way across the room towards the bathroom, pulling his pants down and discarding them and then rolling his briefs down so that he was completely nude.

Stepping in through the door to the bathroom he glanced over his shoulder with a smirk on his face as he said, "Care to join me?" Of course she wouldn't, but it was exactly what she had deserved having tortured him late into the night and all that morning, intentionally or not. The look on her face when she saw him discarding his clothes before getting into the shower was payment enough.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine helped him up and felt her brain go fuzzy again when he was so close. This was nothing however compared to what he pulled next. He completely disrobed in front of her, making Katarine turn so red she looked like she was dying of sunburn. Her eyes traveled downward and then she stumbled and fell back onto his bed. She watched him smirk at her and head into his bathroom, leaving Katarine practically hyperventilating in the bedroom.

She heard his shower turn on and got up, peering into the bathroom for a second before she stopped herself. What was she doing? Her cheeks burned once again and she forced herself back in the living room, where she sat on his sofa and willed herself not to think about him. She was anxious and nervous, being so far away from him, which was absolutely stupid because she barely knew him and he was only in the other room. She curled up on the sofa and turned his holo on, trying to find something to watch to take her mind off his biceps. She groaned and hid her face under a pillow, wondering what in the world was wrong with her. She didn't necessarily believe everything her parents had taught her... but she hadn't ever ... wanted... someone like this. She groaned and pushed the pillow down hard on her head, trying to block out the sounds of the shower.

[member="Christian Slade"]