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Part II

°:. *₊ ° . ☆

   This close she could see every sharp contour of his face. The shadows seemed to breathe around them, stealing her breaths whilst caught within eyes that blazed like liquid fire.

  Nevertheless, she gritted the words out between clenched teeth in refusal to bow under his intimidation. "It says, in the darkest depths, burns a cold star."

  "Hauntingly poetic," he breathed, hitting her lips with a spiced aroma. A perceptible smile graced his lips, his head tilted while ascertaining the truth.  "A star that dances in the shadows... wielding a power within the dark..."

  Hydrea's silver eyes widened at the malevolence that flickered in those eyes, the enigmatic puzzle slowly being pieced together before her. "You... sound like one of those Sith..." Her voice was barely audible above the club's music. "Are you...?"

  His half-smile deepened with a mixture of amusement and fascination. "Hm, impressive deduction."

  The revelation sent a shiver down her spine. From what little knowledge gleaned from a denizen of patrons, the Sith were figures of mystery and danger. Now here she was, standing off with one.

  "And what exactly do you want from me, a mere waitress of a club?" she asked, her curiosity overcoming her trepidation.

  He leaned evenly closer, a dark force pressing upon her senses as their breaths mingled in the charged air between them. "To gather intel in the underground shadows of Coruscant. The underbelly that thrives on fears and secrets. I promise, you'd be compensated beyond your imagination for your... loyalty."

  Hydrea hesitated eyes flicking to those lips leaving no room for doubt about the price of defiance. A shiver rippled down her spine as his presence enveloped her; a heady scent of sandalwood engulfing her senses.

  "I see that mind turning," The arrogance in which was demonstrated, rolled off his tongue with an ease of an assured, dominant leader. His head cocked to the side, a slow beguiling smile unfurling. As he leaned in a cool breath rolled across the nape of her neck, pebbling her skin. The edge of his lips just barely grazed the shell of her ear. "I feel what calls to you. It resonates in your very spirit... a hunger, a darkness waiting to be freed."

  She swallowed hard, her heart pounding in sync with the strobe of lights dappling the walls. Thrusting this decision upon her shoulders that beckoned with a proposition wrapped in a tantalizing promise.

  The club's vibrant ambiance seemed to fade away with his touch blazing a fire across her skin. It left her nerves like dying embers that yearned to be stoked.

  "I've watched you, you know." His confession was anything but apologetic, peeling back her every layer exposing secrets she'd long kept buried. "For a long time now, actually. The patterns, the crime, the very pulse of this city is mapped in that cunning mind of yours." His lips curled into a predatory smirk as he inclined towards the balcony, "All of them out there, they underestimate you. But that works to my advantage... and for the Empire."

  Hydrea's heart raced at the notion that not only had she been observed by this force wielder of the dark, but also her actions and knowledge. Considered just a small part in the vast tapestry of Coruscant such as she, she felt that facade of anonymity suddenly shatter under this stranger. An icy dread crept into her veins as her blood ran cold. "Just who... who are you?"

  The allure of power, the tantalizing promise of influence to carve out a role in this grand design. These were not trivialities to the man before her. He was no mere simpleton or nameless outlander in the shadows. No, he was someone of notorious influence woven into the fabric of the Empire. The answer was there itching beneath her skin with the forbidden truth.

  "Ah, I see the answer has just surfaced in your eyes." His tone was darkly amused, triumphant, as if her realization was nothing more than an inevitability he had orchestrated from the beginning. One gloved hand released its hold, reaching up with a deliberate slowness. The leather creaked under the pressure of his fingers as they brushed the faint shadows dusted beneath her eyes—a delicate, almost mocking gesture.

  "What resilience I see in these eyes," he murmured, his voice a seductive, dangerous whisper. "Like molten moonlight, fierce and unyielding." His fingers traced down, an icy warmth lingering where they touched. "Indelible impressions... you've left your mark upon many souls, haven't you?"

  He paused, his gaze locking with hers, a predator's smirk forming as he leaned closer. "So, why don't you tell me who I am?" His words were a command wrapped in velvet, compelling her to speak the truth she could no longer deny, to face the darkness that had been staring back at her all along.

  Say it, those scorched eyes seemed to demand.

  She swallowed.

  This was the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces. The Right Hand of the Emperor. This, was the Dark Lord of the Sith: Darth Vader.

  "I am nobody of importance. In your position you could have anyone at your disposal." She kept her voice steady despite the maelstrom of emotions. She was acutely aware of the danger before her, the infamous temper of his the galaxy was well versed in. Yet here he was lacing his words with seductive promises, painting a picture of what her life could be with visions of power and purpose. But she wasn't naive. This was her life. Thus, she'd need to understand his true motives.

  The Sith Lord's half-smile faltered, the crack in his expression as subtle as it was revealing, as if he'd plucked the doubts right from her mind. "Doubt is a natural reaction when faced with the unknown, Hydrea." Her name rolled off his tongue with a measured calm that barely concealed the flicker of annoyance in his gaze, his patience clearly tested by her skepticism.

  Hydrea borne from the planet was no fool to the perils this put her in. "If I remember how a Sith operates, it's with power and purpose." Her voice carried a resolute tone. "I won't be a pawn, no matter how many credits are offered."

It was clear he appreciated her strength and resolve; rare qualities, and ones he found surprisingly intriguing. A hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he took a deliberate step back, giving her space yet holding her in the intensity of his gaze. "Power and purpose," he began, his voice a dark, seductive murmur, "are the very essence of the Sith philosophy."

  He paused, letting his words sink in, his smirk widening as he observed her reaction. "But remember," he continued, the glint of ambition flickering in his eyes, "with great power comes great opportunity."

   "And with opportunity opens more doorways."

   "Correct, with far more superiority than you could ever dream. Think of the power you could hold over those who've wronged you."

  The atmosphere around them shifted, the weight of a decision reflecting in her eyes.

She yearned for more than the meager existence she'd been handed, unwilling to remain a mere waitress dwelling in the depths of the lower hubs, forever. Yet, pursuing such aspirations meant entangling herself in a perilous alliance, one not easily severed with the enigmatic dark prince of the galaxy.

"Think of your mother," he whispered with a knowing glint in those shadowed eyes. "She would've wanted more for you. The galaxy has no shortage of those who've underestimated you, who have taken without consequence." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper, barely more than a hiss. "Imagine them at your mercy, bowing to the strength they once overlooked."

The usual anger that flared anytime the subject of her mother was broached, didn't come. Which gave her her answer even without having to speak her acceptance aloud.

He alone already knew, a pleased expression on his face as he leaned into her once more, sealing the silent pact between them. "There will be no regret in this," The hand that had kept her caged against the wall, moved to thread through the dark tresses of her braid, pale whisps unraveling into his grasp. While his other traced a slow, deliberate path along the sweetheart neckline of her dress, skimming over the flushed skin. "With power also comes passion," he started in a silken, sinuous whisper, "Siths are no strangers to the same wants... the same desires..." His brow arched, the bold suggestiveness in his eyes unmistakable.

  Before she could even think to protest, his lips brushed the soft spot beneath her jaw, a featherlight graze that left her pulse throbbing. "I know what what you burn for. And I know exactly how I'd reward for your obedience... Hydrea."

She felt her breath catch upon the way he drew out her name. Methodic as it was sensual.

Though usually less susceptible to such advances, she was unable to deny the magnetic pull of the Sith. It had been a long time since her last affair had ended—short-term and fervid. But this, this was anything unlike she'd had. She could feel it in the way his very presence seeped into her very core, the very gasoline setting those desires, aflame.

  Slowly she drew back, eyes boring into the smoldering, hooded gaze of his own. Her gaze trailed over his chiseled jawline to the lower, glistening curve of his lip.

He was just as affected.

  Those eyes hungrily roved over the tight dress that accentuated her figure.

His gloved finger traced slowly across the fullness of her lips, a featherlight touch that sent a shiver down her spine. He held himself back, his own lips retreating with a slow, deliberate drag of his teeth as he watched her, eyes darkened with a hunger he could no longer hide.

"Let me show you," he whispered, his voice a low, velvety promise, "what it's like to sate an irrevocable hunger."

At this her breaths shallowed uncharacteristically over the hypnotic sway of words, "I-Is that an invitation?"

  "A promise," he drawled, his voice low and edged with a possessive huskiness that sent a thrill through her. "Right now, there are very explicit thoughts of you swirling in the minds of every lowlife in this room." His gaze darkened, fierce and unyielding as his fingers lingered at her jawline, tracing a possessive path that left no room for doubt. "And understand this," he added, his tone laced with warning, "I am not one to share."

  A slow, simmering heat settled in the pit of her stomach, an undeniable warmth that defied her usual instincts. In any other situation, she would have scoffed, perhaps even retaliated with a cold disgust. Yet, here and now, standing before this exotic, enigmatic Sith, those defenses melted away, vanquished as if they'd never existed. Like a moth drawn helplessly to a flame, she felt herself pulled into his orbit, intoxicated by the dark allure that radiated from him. Her gaze lifted, meeting his once more, her resolve slipping as his words lingered in her mind, wrapping around her like a binding spell. There was an inebriating power in his presence alone.

A pull she couldn't resist.

  His gaze, sharpened with intent. He leaned in, his voice dropping to a velvety murmur that brushed over her senses, thick with promise and challenge. "Shall we take this somewhere more private, then?"

As she grasped the hand he offered, his grip tightened, pulling her flush against the solid expanse of his chest, muscles taut beneath his dark attire. His voice, rich and as seductive as velvet, caressed her ear. "Let me rule you," he whispered, a dark command laced with an allure, drawing her deeper into the shadows he claimed as his own.

That night, he showed her what it truly meant to burn, igniting passions that left her breathless and wanting, her own desires stoked like embers into a consuming flame. And as the nights stretched on, he returned, again and again, each encounter a dark dance of power and surrender. He left her every time with a frenetic anticipation, a pulse of hunger that only he could sate. By the night's end, her yearning was always met, her desires indulged, as he fulfilled every unspoken promise with an intensity that left her craving his presence... as much as she feared it.