Never Talk to Strangers...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Star Wars universe, and I make no money from these writings.

Chapter 8

Time moves slowly on the desert planet. For over a year, Aislynn’s life remained the same. The only thing that seemed to change was the bouncers. She went through about one a month.

The endless days and nights were broken by occasional drunken scuffles, and sometimes visits from white suited Imperial troopers. They took their bribes and left quickly, never causing much of a stir. Sometimes, they stayed for the show, but they never tipped. And through each show, she watched the door, waiting for him to return.

She had finally talked Kip into hiring some other musicians, and after many rough “auditions” she had a pretty good group together. Most of the music was done on the keyboard, which tapped directly into the synthesizer, but she had also acquired a drummer and a decent facsimile of a guitar player.

The three of them were sitting at the table closest to the bar, sipping tall glasses of beer, as she showed off her newly acquired command of Huttese by cursing vehemently at the piece of machinery in front of her as she shocked herself for the sixteenth time. She leapt up from the floor, and stormed out of the bar into the streets. The sun was already beginning to set, and she couldn’t get the fucking reverb working.

As she rounded a corner, she found herself staring down the business end of a blaster.

It was Messina.

“Shit.”

“How have you been, darling,” the woman purred. “So glad to see you again.” The bounty hunter pointed the blaster directly at her head.. “Where’s Fett?”

“Have no idea,” Aislynn answered, quite truthfully. “I haven’t seen him in months.”

“He’s been here though. I know he has. He always comes back here. To see you. I should have killed you both that night. Taken you apart like your stupid friend.”

Aislynn balled her hands into fists.

“He ruined a very good piece of body armor with that primitive gun. But in the end, he was like all the rest. Scattered bits of flesh and bone. Fool,” she snarled and spat into the dirt.

Aislynn swung her fist into the bounty hunter’s face with all her strength. It was enough to knock the woman back, but she recovered instantly, grabbing the girl by the wrist. Aislynn heard bones crack and felt searing pain as she was flung to the ground.

Cradling her wrist, she glared up at the woman above her. “Bill Machphail was the best man who has ever lived. He was a far cry better than you, and you keep his name out of your mouth!”

The woman just laughed, “I spent almost a year on that shithole planet of yours, before I could ...persuade... one of the imperials to take me back to civilization. I hope they blow the whole place to rock and ash.”

“If you want to shoot me,” Aislynn said, gritting her teeth against the pain, “please get it over with. Otherwise I have a show in a couple of hours.”

“I’m not going to shoot you unless I have to, girl. Not yet. You’re worth much more to me alive. Now, I’ll ask you one more time. Where is Fett?”

“Behind you,” a familiar voice answered.

Messina started to turn, but his next words stopped her.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” he growled. “Get your blaster out of her face, or I’ll blow your fucking head right off your pretty neck,” his voice was flat.

“Really,” Messina purred, dropping to the ground and rolling to the left, away from Aislynn.. Blaster fire flashed from both guns. Messina came to her feet unharmed, and dropped into a crouch.

The two bounty hunters circled each other. Messina laughed, seductively, “So easy, Fett. Too easy, really. I’m going to finish you, and leave you in pieces in the street so there will be no mistakes. Then I’m going to take your little slut and sell her to the Hutt for a very sweet price. With all the talk, she should fetch a nice price.”

Aislynn felt inside her vest for her pistol, and drew it swiftly. The movement caught Messina’s eye. The moment of distraction was all Fett needed. He squeezed off two quick blasts, dancing out of the way of her final return shot.

Messina dropped to the ground, one smoking hole in her chest and a second in her forehead.

Fett looked down at the blaster in his hand and remarked, “Nice piece,” then handed it to her. “Add that to your arsenal. I bought it for you anyway.”

“Nice timing,” Aislynn said as he helped her to her feet.

“Lucky,” he said. Quite a crowd had gathered. Boba picked up his Blastech from where it was leaning against the wall, took her uninjured wrist and led her back into the bar. Kip had seen the whole affair from the doorway and ordered her to the corner table, while assuring the few patrons at the bar that she was perfectly fine.

Boba followed her. No one tried to stop him.

“Why didn’t you use the big gun?”

“Didn’t want to hit you,” he said, leaning the rifle against the table. “Let me see your wrist.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s broken,” he countered.

“I’ll put some ice on it, wrap it up and get it fixed in the morning. I have a show to do,” she insisted.

Kip, Mac, and her current bouncer walked over to the table. Mac and the bouncer posted themselves about five feet away. Kip looked at her wrist and quickly said, “Show will wait, girl. Take her to the med, Fett. Now. Go.”

“Kip, it could take half the bloody night. Even without the reverb, we...” She trailed off, knowing she couldn’t win the argument.

“Come,” Boba said, then, picked up his rifle and headed for the door. She sighed, and followed him. The crowd opened up for them, already whispering furiously amongst themselves.

She noticed Boba readjusting the settings on his helmet as they started out into the dark streets. “Walk in front of me. Stay to the left. I don’t want any more surprises tonight.”

“So I guess we’re even now.”

“Hardly... turn right here,” he said, scanning the alley with the light on his rifle.

“I know where we’re going. I had to walk Riley over here the other night after he got too drunk, puked all over the bar, and ended up getting his head put through the stage floor.

“Who’s Riley,”he asked, a bit too sharply.

“My drummer, Boba,” she said. “Why?”

“Sounds like you need a new drummer.”

“You jealous?” she asked.

He scoffed at the suggestion.

“You are,” she stopped in the middle of the alley. “You show up here every couple of months, see a few shows, bring me pretty trinkets or another fucking gun, and then soar off into the stars without a word, and you have the nerve to be jealous.”

“You are reading too much into my words,” he scanned the alley again. “We need to keep moving. Messina may not have been alone.”

“Sure,” and she started walking again.

They reached the med-tech’s all night hospital a short time later. She paced the waiting room, while he stood against the wall, watching. Amazingly, they were the only ones in line, but the night was still young. As they waited for the front desk attendant to run her credit account, she sat in the chair with her wrist cradled against her chest.

“Do you want something for the pain?” he asked.

She jumped at the sound of his voice. “No, I’ll be all right.”

“I could take you to Coruscant when I leave here. There’s a contact of mine there who owns a much nicer lounge than Kip’s. He asked me about you last time I was there. It would be safer for you.”

“And would you still come and see me?”

“As often as I could.”

“You told me that once before. It was a lie then, and it’s a lie now. Don’t lie to me, Boba.”

“I do not visit Coruscant often.”

“Then no. Thanks, but no. Besides, Kip needs me.”

The nurse came out then and called her back. He reluctantly agreed to wait for her outside, posting up next to the door.

It only took about 15 minutes for the med-tech to repair her wrist. She rejoined Boba in the waiting room and they headed back towards the bar.

“I understand now why you were so pissed off while you were at the farm. Until I came here, I never would have imagined a bone could be mended in so short a time,” she remarked, flexing the wrist, which was completely whole.

He grunted in agreement.

She started to go inside the bar, then changed her mind and stepped into the alley instead, and turned on him.

“You know, I don’t get you. I don’t understand you at all,” she began as they stopped just outside the bar. “You keep coming back here. Why? You never fucking touch me. I mean, I understand why you don’t talk to me, or touch me when we’re in public, but...Is it someone else? Do you have a wife stashed on a planet somewhere, couple of kids? Maybe a few different worlds?” The words flooded out of her. A year of pent up frustration pouring forth.

“No. There is no one else.”

“Then what the hell did I do wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Then what is the deal? Every time you leave, they talk and talk about things that never happen. I know you fucking care about me. You have to care, at least a little, or you wouldn’t keep coming back!”

“Curse me for showing you some respect Aislynn,” he growled. She started to speak again, but he interrupted her, “What would you have me do? Walk up into Kip’s every few months, toss you over my shoulder and take you to my bed? Fly out a few days or a few weeks later, leaving you behind to pine for me?”

“Yes, damn you, yes! Then when they talk,” she spat the words like a curse, “they’ll have something to talk about!”

“Have you forgotten about Messina so quickly? I have many more enemies, far more vicious than her. Would you care to meet them?”

“I’m not afraid. I’ll be more careful. I’ll hire a bodyguard, not just for shows. I’ll do what I have to do. I don’t depend on you to protect me. I'd be in trouble if I did, since you're never around!“ she turned and slammed both her palms flat against the wall behind her. Whirling back around, she snapped, “I wish you’d take that fucking helmet off, and look me in the eyes.”

He reached up and wrenched it off his head throwing it against the side of the building. She took a step back. He dropped the rifle on the ground and stepped towards her, eyes blazing. Despite his anger, his voice was soft when he spoke, “Look at me. Look well and don’t turn your eyes away. Is this man worth your life?”

She matched his gaze and met his challenge. “You’re a far cry prettier than most of the men I grew up around. I don’t mind scars.”

“And what will you do when I don’t return? When you hear of my death on some distant planet and are left without even a body to bury? Are you prepared for that? Or will you spend the rest of your life mourning a man who is completely undeserving of you affection? Bounty hunters’ women become bounty hunters’ widows. I can’t do that to you.”

She struggled with her anger, forcing her voice to match his, “If that is the price I have to pay to have you, then so be it. At least I will have my memories of you to comfort me.”

She could see his hands shaking, even in the shadows of the alley.

He lowered his eyes and turned away from her. “You don’t realize Aislynn, how difficult it is for me not to think of myself. Of my own desires. I am a selfish man...” he stopped, his breathing ragged. “I have taken enough from you. I have finally managed to give some of it back. I will not take anything else from you.”

“When are you going to stop blaming yourself for what happened to me? It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t my fault. It’s taken this long for me to realize that. It was Messina. And if I had it to do over again I would make the same choice.”

“Why?” he snarled.

“Because that is who I am. You are the way you are. I have never tried to change you. And I am a stupid sentimental fool who could never leave a man to die, no matter who he was, or what he’s done.”

She stepped towards him, slowly, stopping when they were inches apart, but she didn’t try to touch him.

“I am well aware that there’s a lot in the galaxy I don’t understand, but I am not nearly as naive as I was when you left me here a year ago. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. I don’t expect you to feel the same way about me. But don’t avoid me because you have some stupid noble idea about protecting my feelings or my honor. I will pine for you from now until the day I die, whether you touch me or not. Whether I ever see you again or not. Until I die.”

She finished and stared at the ground between his feet.

He seized her head and forced it up, as his mouth descended on hers. His left hand slid down her leg to her thigh; his other hand twisted into her hair as he kissed her savagely. He lifted her off her feet and pressed her back against the wall. She winced as his armor dug into her chest.

He held her pinned against the wall moved both hands to her outer thighs and wrapped her legs around him. She struggled against him, completely unprepared for the ferocity of the embrace, panic rising in her chest. She tried to push him away, but he would not allow it.

As suddenly as he had begun, he stopped, and set her on her feet.

He slung the rifle over his shoulder and picked up his helmet and slid it into place. Slipping his free arm around her shoulders, he led her past the door of the bar, back out into the dark night. He did not speak at all as they walked. It only took a few moments to realize they were headed back to his ship.

He paused outside the ship and took his arm from around her shoulders. Very quietly, he said, “Be sure this is what you want.”

She hesitated, remembering the fierce embrace in the alley. Then she strode up the ramp past him. He closed the hatch behind them and reset the security system.

Silently, he discarded his weapons and stripped off his armor. She was standing in the cockpit watching him, wanting to know his thoughts, a thousand questions running through her head.

When he had finished, he came over and knelt in front of her. He sounded like someone else as he spoke, his voice thick with his desire, “I want there to be no misunderstandings between us. I am not a gentle man, and what I have claimed as mine remains mine. But I swear I will allow you your freedom. When we are together, you are mine, and mine alone. When I leave this place, what you do is your own concern.”

She started to speak, but he placed his finger against her lips.

“Just let me finish. There will be talk, and rumors, lies without end and some which are not lies. There will be more like Messina who come seeking your life for my sake. The only thing I can promise you is that one day, I will lose a hunt and you will be free to seek another.” He rose to his feet and waited, silently. One last chance for her to turn back.

She came into his arms.

He wasted no time, moving his hands down her body and lifting her tunic over her head, throwing it into the corner. He took her breasts in his hands, kissing her neck, murmuring words against her neck in a language she couldn’t understand. He moved his mouth down to her breasts, taking one swollen nipple into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around it, then took it in his teeth. She cried out in pain and pleasure, and pressed her body against his.

His other hand reached between her legs pressing against her warm slit through her pants. She rocked against his hand. .

He made a sound, deep in his throat, halfway between a moan and a growl and she could feel his stiff cock straining to be free. She pulled impatiently at his clothing, her head spinning with the heat. He released her for only a moment, long enough to strip off his clothes, then lifted her off her feet.

She wrapped her legs around him as they fell onto the bed. She heard material ripping as he tore her pants away. He bent her legs up and entered her in a single savage movement. He began to thrust, slowly at first, she felt his teeth at her throat, his lips on hers . His body was hard against her, each movement feeling as if she would split in two from the inside, building to a crescendo of pleasure mingled with pain.

She felt her body rocking wildly against him, struggling to meet each powerful thrust, heard her own voice repeating his name. She squeezed her legs around his hips and dug her fingers into his shoulders. She felt the whirlpool building and as she reached the peak, she heard him cry out, a wordless release, and she felt the liquid heat of him explode inside of her. His body jerked against her a few more times, and he collapsed on top of her.

Sweat poured from both their bodies, soaking the sheets. He filled her senses, the smell of him, the taste of his sweat on her tongue, the weight of his body lying on top of her. He lifted himself onto one elbow, and kissed her, more gently now.

His free hand traced lightly across her body, as if he were memorizing each curve. In the glow of the running lights, she could see his lips curved in a rare, sensual smile.

She pressed both palms against his chest. “I hate to bring this up, bur I need to get back, or Kip will go out of his mind.”

“You are not leaving here tonight,” it was not a request. It was a statement of fact. “Kip will know where you are.”

He dimmed the lights, then pulled her against his chest. His arms held her fast, against the warmth of his body and he draped one powerful leg over hers. A few minutes later his breathing and heartbeat had slowed, and she knew he was asleep. A short time later, she joined him in sleep, feeling for the first time in over a year, completely safe and thoroughly contented.

~ ~ ~

He took her again in morning, before the sleep was completely gone from her mind. And although she relished his attention, when she finally did get up and start moving around, she discovered she was quite sore in some very interesting places.

He couldn’t seem to stop touching her and kissing her. He was like a starving man who had just had a feast laid out before him. It was as if he were trying to make up for all the denial of the past year in those few hours.

When she finally insisted on leaving the ship to find some breakfast, the sun was already past its zenith. He replaced her torn pants with a pair he claimed to have found in “storage,” and she remarked that they fit surprisingly well.

As they left the ship, she reached self consciously for her throat. She had made the mistake of looking in the mirror earlier. There would be no doubt where she had been or what she had been doing when she reached the bar. He gently removed her hand. She could imagine his smile behind the mask, and it made her smile. He escorted her back to the bar, and they drew stares all along the way.

The door was unlocked when they arrived. Aislynn stepped into the bar, only to be mobbed by Kip and the band. Mac was seated in his usual spot. He glanced up and took a quick survey of her appearance, and his face split into a wide grin. When Boba stepped through the door behind her, he called out, “You owe me 20, Kip, you fat fuck.”

Kip muttered something quite uncomplimentary under his breath and glared at Aislynn. “Could have waited a day, and saved me some money.”

She laughed.

Riley staggered over to the table. “Lynn, what the fuck happened to your neck, girl! Look like you got chewed up by a... Oh. OH. Damn,” he glanced nervously up at Fett, “Sorry, man, I’ve..uh. Shit. Lucky fucking bastard,” he muttered the last under his breath and slunk off to nurse his drink in the corner.

“I’m going to go upstairs and take a shower,” she announced, then turned to Boba. “You coming to the show tonight?”

He nodded, then turned and walked out the door.

“Doesn’t talk much,” Mac quipped from the bar stool.

“Apparently, he has better things to do with his mouth,” Aislynn snapped at him as she started up the stairs.

She could hear Mac’s laughter all the way up the stairwell.

~ ~ ~

Boba did come to the show. He stood as he always had, at the back of the room. Silent and aloof. After the songs were finished, the money collected and the chairs put away, she returned with him to his ship. She relished each kiss, each caress, and stored them away, knowing their time together would be short.

He stayed for a week, and then left without saying goodbye.