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

[Christian Slade]

After about twenty minutes the sound of the shower fell silent. The condo fell silent after that for a time as Christian stepped out into his bedroom, drying his hair as he listened to the sound of the news or something of the like playing on his holo in the living room. He took his time and made sure to dry himself good before he took a clean pair of briefs, black training pants and a gray tank top out of his chest of drawers. He bundled them up under his arm and took the towel in his right hand, draping it over his privates.

Walking out into the living room Christian stopped, his amber eyes watching the holoscreen as a towel hung only over what needed to be hidden, the rest of him completely exposed. He tossed his clothes down on the sofa and looked over to Katarine with those piercing eyes and said, "Would you like to get a shower?"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine heard him enter the living room, but her head was still covered completely by a pillow. He asked her if she wanted a shower and she nodded, then spoke, her voice slightly muffled because of her holding a pillow. "We should go get my clothes from my apartment if I'm going to stay a little while." She sat up, finally moving the pillow, only to see him standing in a towel. Her mouth fell open for a second and her cheeks turned pink as her eyes quickly glued themselves to the holo, not really seeing a thing on it.

"Thank you." She whispered, still trying not to look at him as she got up and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower, her cheeks still bright pink.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian smirked as she walked past him and headed for the bathroom. He followed her into the bedroom and took the towel from in front of him and held it out in front of the girl before she could go in. "I'm pretty sure this was the last towel I had that was clean if you'd like to use it.", he said, smiling at the woman confidently as he watched her, waiting for her to take the towel with not a thing covering him.

After she took the towel he smiled at her and said, "We'll go get some things from your apartment after you get out of the shower." He then turned and walked out of the room, confidence in his stride as usual. When he reached the living room he found his clothes and pulled them on one by one. He then found a pair of socks and his boots, pulling them on as well as he waited for his young companion to get out of the shower and join him again.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine narrowed her eyes at him when he handed her his towel and strolled from the room completely nude. She watched him go, feeling herself blush and also feeling a challenge hanging in the air. He was toying with her and the competitive side of her wouldn't allow that. She narrowed her eyes after him before she took her clothes off in the bedroom and wrapped the towel around her. She turned and went into the bathroom to shower. The hot water felt amazing and she relaxed a little, washing her skin and her hair. When she was clean she stepped out of the shower and started to dry off. She stopped however when she glanced at her clothes laying on the floor in the bedroom. Her jacket wasn't there. No doubt he had flung it in the living room when he took her clothes off the other day to put her in the bathtub. She smirked and the fluffy white towel fall to the floor.

A moment latter a still damp completely naked Katarine, with wet hair dripping down her back was walking out into the living room. She seen him sitting on the couch, having pulled on his pants and grey shirt. She smirked at him and picked up her jacket, which was tossed over a chair, and then turned, walking back into the bedroom where her clothes were. She smirked, happy with herself and then grabbed the towel to continue drying her hair.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian had been minding his own business when a completely nude Katarine had pranced into the room. He didn't notice immediately that she was nude, catching something out of the corner of his eye, but he found out. Turning and glancing across the room, Christian's mouth fell open like it weighed a thousand pounds. If it would have hit the floor it would have caved into the floor below them.

Wide amber eyes watched the woman with an entranced look on his face, his eyes scaling every nook and curve of her newly confirmed flawless body as she made her way across the room and took her jacket. She then retreated back across the room with a smile on her face that said she felt very good about something. He could only guess that this meant she thought she was winning their little game. Even he would have to admit it, at least to himself, though he couldn't see himself ever admitting it to her.

Something he could see, though, was the way her hips swayed as she turned and made her way back to his bedroom. He wasted not a second as he shot off that couch to watch the way she moved, but he caught he leg on the couch and fell to the floor, his head turning and watching her as the door came to a close behind her perfect behind.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine literally pranced back into the bedroom and shut the door on his watching eyes. She smirked, satisfied with herself and continued drying her body. She ran her fingers through her hair as best she could, knowing she would get her brush when they got to her apartment. A few moments latter Katarine emerged, this time fully clothed in her tight black pants and her tank top. The jacket, which had been seemingly so important, was folded over one of her arms.

"Hi." She said brightly to him in an innocent would be casual voice. "Well come on Tiger. Let's go see if there are any other big bad bounty hunters hanging out at my house." She smirked at him acting as if she was the most innocent little thing in the world as she skipped towards the door.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Rolling his golden eyes, Christian pushed off of his knees and raised up from the sofa, slowly walking across the room to stand behind her as she made her way out the door and headed for the turbo lift to take them to the ground floor. He didn't look as pleased with himself as he had when this game was his and his alone, but he couldn't deny that he had seen everything the woman had to offer, and what she had to offer was more than perfection. Youth, perfect proportions, supple, ample in symmetrical in all the right places.

He was envious of her, but if she wanted to play that game he wouldn't deny her the right. He'd play too, and he intended to play hard. That's why he stood behind her in the turbo lift, intentionally allowing his sculpted upper body to brush against her back, and even certain other aspects of himself to brush against her leg. "We'll see if I need to rough anyone else up today..."

"...now won't we?"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine glanced over her shoulder and swallowed hard when she felt his arms brush her back. They were without a doubt her favorite part of the male body, and his skin alone was enough to make her weak at the knees, let alone his arms. She narrowed her eyes at him and smirked. "Don't get too confident Tiger. I'm sure even you have a weakness." As if to demonstrate she leaned backwards, pressing her bottom against his lap for the briefest of seconds before she was leaning against the lift, acting as if nothing happened.

The lift clanged opened the next moment and they were on the ground floor of his casino. Katarine had been out of it when they arrived last night but now she was fully awake and curious. She glanced around with her jaw slightly open. "You own this entire place?" She asked in amazement. He didn't seem that old.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian gasped ever so lightly when he felt her bottom push back into his lap. It was enough to make him double over, his forehead coming down to rest on the woman's shoulder the moment before the lift's door opened. He took a moment to compose himself after that, but quickly he followed the young woman, his golden eyes circling around the room in every direction that she seemed to be looking to see if there was something he was missing, considering all of it looked so normal to him.

"Yes.", he said very simply, confirming her question about him owning the entirety of the casino and all of it's contents. "All but the people who fill it.", he then said, speeding his step up for just a moment so that he could walk side by side with the girl.

"It's nothing special.", he said, smiling down at her next to him. "It's just a way to make a living."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine was looking at every corner of the casino with an amazed stare. "How old are you?" She blurted out and then realized that probably sounded very rude. She blushed and pushed her hair behind her ear. "I just meant... you seem really young to be so successful."

She pulled on his arm and headed towards the door. Once they were out in the street Katarine slipped her hand into his and started the walk towards her apartment. The streets looked a lot different in the Zeltronian sunlight. Most of the party goers were resting or sobering up for the next night fall. "Have you ever been anywhere else besides Zeltros?"

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

"23.", Christiain said without a moments hesitation as he glanced down at the woman next to him. He smiled at her when she sounded half apologetic the next second after having asking him something so outright and from out of nowhere, but it didn't bother him. "Don't worry about it.", he assured her as they walked. "I'll just take it as a compliment."

As they reached the door she pulled him out into the open so that they could head off towards her apartment, but before they really got on their way she slipped her hand into his, which was surprising for Christian, but he couldn't deny that he liked that closeness. He had, after all, been without it for so long.

"I was born on another planet, actually, and from a young age I moved between ten or so different planets before I settled on Zeltros."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine smiled when he answered her question anyway. She wondered what it would be like to see a bunch of different places, especially growing up. They walked for a while and Kat pictured a really young Christian playing with a few siblings on a snow covered world. The thought was amusing, especially when the sibling threw a snowball at him.

"I bet you have seen some really neat places."

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

"I have indeed.", Christian admitted as he walked with the woman, oddly enough still holding her hand and not trying to pull away from her. For some reason it felt good, and like he'd thought before, it had been a long time since he'd felt that kind of closeness with anyone in a long time. "I've seen beasts from the Rancors of Velusia to the Wampas of Hoth. The planets all so foreign and mysterious to me even now.", he said, glancing sideways at the girl.

"I don't believe that any of them were my home, and Zeltros is the only one that ever really felt at all like home, so I came back after...", he stopped, realizing that he was about to share with her some things that he wasn't sure he could yet. "...well, after I was on my own I remembered how much I enjoyed it here, and so I came back to live here when all was said and done."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

They walked along with Katarine trying to imagine all the places he'd seen. She knew what a Wampa was of course, they had books on her home planet, but she had never seen one and she was willing to bet it was different up close. He kept talking and Katarine caught his falter. She looked at him sideways and suddenly wondered what he though he couldn't tell her.

She opened her mouth to ask, but closed it. She barely knew him and she didn't want to be nosy. He was being extremely nice to her and she was starting to feel attracted to him in a ways he hadn't ever felt with anybody else. She wouldn't call him her boyfriend... that would just be absurd since he barely knew her... but... her cheeks blushed when she thought it secretly to herself.

She watched the sidewalk below them for a while until finally she said, "You can tell me anything you want about your life. I like learning about you." That was all she would say. She wouldn't try to drag it out of him. That would be rude. They continued to walk for a while and Katarine decided she better keep talking so things didn't get awkward again. "Did you ever see a Nexu?" Those were one of her favorites from the books back home.

@Christian Draclau

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian didn't respond when she told him that he could tell her anything that he wanted to with confidence that it stayed between them, though he appreciated what she had said very much. His origins and younger life wasn't something the he much enjoyed talking about, remembering only blood and barely surviving on his own. Still, he knew that she wouldn't push about things that he'd prefer not to talk about and smiled at her, nodding as if to show her that he got the message and appreciated her response.

As they walked along he heard her ask if he'd ever seen a Nexu, to which he smiled and looked over at her. "Cholganna isn't the most friendly of planets, but it was one that I lived on for a time.", he said, as they neared the bar she had shared a drink with him at the night before. "I had to kill one, in fact, just to survive there one day when I was hunting and didn't realize that I was actually the prey."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine eyed the bar they had passed the other night. It didn't seem so rough during the day lit hours but she still didn't want to go back in there. They continued to walk, Katarine thinking about what it must take to hunt Nexu. "I think the Nexu are really cute when they are cubs. I wanted one as a pet when I was a little girl." She remembered asking Dax if she could have one and him laughing at her and pointing out that it would eat her.
They passed the corner where the usual drug lords and slime lords hung out but most of them were not there. A few prostitutes were and they eyed Christian with hopeful interest. Katarine narrowed her eyes at one, who half looked like it wanted to approach Christian. She felt an insane wave of jealousy wash over her and blinked, realizing she shouldn't be so jealous over a man she barely knew. Still the prostitute faltered and didn't walk over to him and Katarine found herself tugging on his hand, willing him to pass the girls more quickly before any others could get any bright ideas.

Finally they made it to her apartment and climbed the rickety stairs to her door, which she opened easily by jiggling the rusty lock a certain way. Inside was nowhere near as nice as the place Christian was staying. Everything look used and worn, though Katarine kept it very clean. The wallpaper was peeling in places and the furniture looked like it might be from a few decades ago. She bit her lip and realized it probably looked horrible compared to the places he stayed, but to her this little apartment was the first safe haven she had ever known.

"Well let's take the grand tour." She grinned at him sarcastically and pointed to the living room. "Living room... kitchen...." She tugged him down a very small hallway. "Bathroom... and my bedroom." There was only one bedroom in the place. It was a small room with a large bed taking up most of it. There was a small closet where some of her clothes hung. Other than the bed and a lamp there was no other furniture in the room.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian's golden eyes beheld the pitiful little apartment with a decent look upon his face, knowing that he shouldn't judge the young woman. She wasn't living in the best of places, though, and certainly not the nicest neighborhood. Still, she was independent, and Christian respected that very much about her. There were so many young woman who relied on the pocked books of other men or boyfriends, even loved ones, on order to get by rather than getting their own jobs and working hard, no matter how little they had. It was respectable, and one of the reasons he liked that woman as much as he did.

When she showed him her bedroom Christian stepped inside, looked around and realized that as big as he was he couldn't walk anywhere. He could take as much as a single step in just about any direction and his long stride would have taken him as far as he could go. So, Christian reached out and braced himself on the bed as he turned and took a seat on it, noting that it was rather comfortable and motioned for her to join him if she wished to.

"You know...", he started to say as he looked around the room and smirked, "...it's really not that bad. At least it's cozy." He then leaned back on his elbows on the bed, the edge of his shirt just barely pulling up above his belly button revealing his abs just slightly. He had been about to pull the shirt down, but he remembered the game they had started and didn't bother.

As he relaxed for the moment, letting her clean up a bit, Christian glanced up at the woman and said, "You should gather some of your things and come back with me. You're welcome there and I really do like your company.", he said, his eyes looking away from her as he got a little shifty having realized what he was about to say. "Plus I don't really know how I feel about you staying in a neighborhood like this."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She watched him take a seat on her bed and bit her lip, wondering when the last time something so beautiful had sat on that bed. She decided never, since she doubted any creature in this galaxy looked like such a perfect statue of some god. Her point was only proven when his shirt rode up his chest and Katarine looked away shyly, concentrating on picking up things in her room.

He asked her to come back with him and she smiled, but when she turned around she tried to hide how pleased she was. "I like being with you... but I don't want to be some pest or charity case. Besides if your wife or girlfriend shows up I'm likely to get my throat slit. I don't think you would be someone a woman would want to let go so easily." She turned away from him, on the pretense of hanging up a few of her folded shirts, but she felt a wave of unease. All of those things were true of course, but there were other reasons. Katarine didn't want to start any type of friendship with him with lies though and so she sighed and turned back around.

"My family is going to keep looking for me. I'm a walking magnet for bounty hunters and... darksiders. I don't want to get you mixed up in anything. My brother... is a little insanely over protective. If he hurt you... I would... I ... Well..." She blushed and turned away from him, going back to hanging up her shirts. "You are just too wonderful to be hurt like that."

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

"You could have a job at the Casino and work for a room of your own if you like... if that would make you feel better.", he said, looking not so excited that his offer hadn't been so greatly received, though he had a feeling that she wanted it more than she let on. "Or you could stay with me.", he finally said, rather abruptly, which was admittedly a little forward, though he hadn't expected to hear what she had to say next.

He laughed at her, a smile finding his face again finally as he realized why she was so careful around him and about such conversation like the one they were having. "I'm... not spoken for.", he said, pushing himself up from the bed and coming to stand. He then took the WHOLE step across the room so that he was standing right next to her where she was tending to her clothes, one of his hands reaching out to brace the wall next to them as he leaned into it. "I'm very much single, and I think I'd surprise you with how much trouble I could get you in.", he said, not jokingly at all, but reassuring her that anything that might happen to him while he was around her was nothing compared to the life of a Rogue, Casino owning Sith.

"Frankly I'm surprised you haven't run for the hills."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She had her back to him so he couldn't see the delighted grin on her face when he admitted he was single. She intended not to let him see it too when she heard him get up and step towards her she tried to rearrange her face so she didn't look too pleased. He mentioned her staying with him or in her own room and working for him, which she wouldn't mind doing. At least she wouldn't feel like a complete pest if she did that. However she didn't want to stay away from him. It was a lot more fun to have him around than to be alone like she had been, and Katarine liked being around him.

He was leaning against the wall when she eyed him sideways. She smirked at his running for the hills comment. "I don't scar easily." It was true. Katarine was bred to play with monsters, even if she didn't want to be one herself. She folded the shirt in her arms and eyed him again. After a moment she stepped closer to him, looking up at his hypnotic golden eyes he had. She spoke softly to him, feeling the heat from his chest so close she could touch it if she leaned just a centimeter forward. "How about I stay with you and we will work out details that will leave us both equally satisfied?" She winked at him and then turned back to her clothes, folding the next shirt laying on the small stack. She was being flirty but truthfully Katarine wouldn't mind working for him. She didn't want to be a burden and she hadn't just ran away from her rich parents to find another rich guy to sponge off of. She had no idea what to do with her life but this seemed like the best offer she'd had in a while until she figured out exactly what her path should be.

"I've got some boxes in the living room." She smiled brightly at him and practically skipped down the hall to get them.

[member="Christian Slade"]