Chapter 11: A Forceful Tug

The ship's ramp hisses closed behind us with a pneumatic sound as I throw my helmet on the ground. My legs feel like lead as I drag myself into the cargo hold, each step a monumental effort.

Vae drops the dripping bag containing Dreeg's severed head onto the metal floor with a wet thud. "Bounty secured," she announces, her voice filled with satisfaction as she wipes bloody smears from her vibroblade.

I can't respond. My throat constricts as if invisible hands are squeezing it shut. The air in The Handsome Gentleman feels too thin, insufficient for my desperate lungs. I stumble backward until my back hits the cold bulkhead, sliding down until I'm huddled on the floor.

"I can't…" My voice cracks. "I can't do this anymore."

My hands won't stop shaking. I stare at them, these unfamiliar appendages that have taken so many lives in such a short time. The tremors start in my fingertips and radiate up my arms, my entire body vibrating with horror and exhaustion.

Vae's head tilts, those crimson features softening with something that might be concern or might be curiosity. She approaches slowly, crouching before me like I'm a wounded animal that might bolt.

"Ty-Lar," she says, reaching out to brush sweat-soaked hair from my forehead. "You're distressed."

A laugh escapes me. "Distressed? That's what you call this?" My voice rises with each word, hysteria bubbling up like acid. "We've killed so many people. That woman blew herself up. You almost died."

"But I didn't," she reminds me, her tone maddeningly calm. "I'm right here."

Tears spill hot down my cheeks, and I don't even try to hide them. "This whole universe is a fucking madhouse. All the killing, the constant danger, I can't take it. I wasn't built for this."

Her eyes gleam with something feverish as she watches my breakdown, not with sympathy but with a strange, hungry fascination. She cups my face between her hands, thumbs catching my tears.

"You're beautiful when you're broken," she whispers, and there's an unsettling excitement in her voice that should terrify me, but somehow doesn't.

Before I can respond, her mouth claims mine in a kiss that's both desperate and possessive. Her lips move against mine with bruising intensity, tasting of salt and copper. I should push her away, we're covered in blood and sweat and the remnants of other people's lives, but instead, I find myself clinging to her like she's a life raft in a storm-tossed sea.

When we break apart, I'm gasping for air, my mind a jumbled mess of contradictions. In this moment, I realize the truth that's been lurking beneath my fear and moral objections. Vaelix is my lifeline in this brutal galaxy. Without her, I wouldn't survive a day.

I surge forward, trying to reclaim her lips, desperate to lose myself in her embrace, to forget everything we've done and everything we'll do tomorrow. But she pulls back, one crimson finger pressing against my mouth, stopping me.

"No," she whispers, her eyes gleaming with that predatory light I've come to know so well. "Not like this."

The denial stings, but I don't care. I need her. Her touch, her strength, her certainty. My hands reach for her anyway, trembling fingers grasping at her robes.

Her lips curl into that arrogant smile that somehow makes me want her more. She knows exactly what she's doing to me, knows I'm falling apart, and only she can put me back together.

"Come," she commands, her voice soft but leaving no room for argument.

She takes my hands in hers, her touch gentle as she helps me to my feet. My legs are still shaky, but her firm grip keeps me steady. The contrast between her tenderness now and our violence earlier makes my head spin.

"We're a mess," she says, leading me away from the cargo hold and down the corridor. "Let's get cleaned up first."

I follow without protest, letting her guide me toward the refresher. With each step, I feel the weight of my breakdown lessening, not because it's resolved, but because she's taken control.

The refresher door slides open with a hiss, and she pulls me inside. The small space feels even smaller with both of us in it.

"You're thinking too much again," she observes, her fingers working at the clasps of my armor. Each piece falls away, clattering to the floor until I'm standing in just my sweat-soaked underclothes.

"Can you blame me?" I ask, my voice hoarse. "After everything that happened down there..."

Her own robes join my armor on the floor out of range of the water, revealing that perfect crimson skin that somehow remains unmarked despite the day's violence. She reaches past me to activate the shower, and steam immediately fills the small space.

"The past is dead," she says, pulling me under the hot spray with her. "Just like everyone on that planet who might have hurt us. This is your life now, Ty-Lar."

I can't help myself. I push forward again, capturing her lips with mine. This time she doesn't push me away. Water cascades over us as our mouths crash together, desperate and hungry. My hands find her waist, pulling her against me with an urgency that surprises even me. Her skin is fever-hot beneath my palms, slick from the shower spray.

"I need you," I gasp against her mouth, the words torn from somewhere deep inside me. "Please, Vae."

She responds by pressing me against the wall, her body flush against mine. Her hands are everywhere, in my hair, on my chest, gripping my hips. Each touch anchors me to this moment, to her, drawing me away from the horrors we've witnessed and the lives we've taken.

"You're mine," she growls, biting my lower lip hard enough to make me gasp. "Say it."

"I'm yours," I whisper without hesitation. In this moment, it's the only truth I know. "Completely yours."

Her smile is feral, triumphant. She kisses me again, deeper this time, her tongue claiming my mouth with the same effortless dominance she exerts over everything else in her life. I surrender to it, to her, letting her wash away my doubts and fears with each possessive touch.

Nothing exists beyond us, not the bodies we've left behind, not the blood we've spilled, not the moral compromises I've made. Just Vae and me, skin against skin, breath mingling as we cling to each other.

Suddenly, I feel a strange sensation. An invisible pressure wrapping around my shaft. I glance down, confused by the phantom touch stroking me with increasing intensity.

"What the…" My words dissolve into a gasp as the invisible grip tightens, moving with perfect rhythm.

No hands touch me, yet I'm being pleasured. The Force itself caresses me, controlled by Vae's will, her fingers splayed in the air between us.

"Look at me," she commands, grabbing my chin and forcing my gaze to meet hers. Her eyes burn with possessive fire, pupils dilated with desire. "Not down there. At me."

I try to respond, but she claims my mouth again in a kiss so deep I feel it in my soul. Her teeth catch my lower lip, biting down just hard enough to send sparks of pain-laced pleasure shooting through me. I moan against her mouth, the sound swallowed by her hungry kisses.

The invisible pressure around my cock increases, stroking faster, twisting in ways no physical hand could manage.

"Vae," I gasp when she finally releases my lip. "This is… Fuck… This is incredible."

She smiles, predatory and proud. "The Force flows through all living things," she purrs, her fingers making a subtle twisting motion that translates immediately to the phantom grip around me. "Including you husband."

My head falls back against the shower wall, eyes threatening to roll back as the invisible pressure builds. Steam swirls around us, hot water cascading down our bodies as Vae holds me captive with nothing but her will and the cosmic energy she commands.

Vae drops to her knees. My breath catches as she leans forward, those ruby lips parting just enough to place delicate kisses along my length. Each touch of her mouth sends electric pulses racing through my body.

"Holy shit," I gasp, my fingers finding their home in her wet hair.

She looks up at me through the shower spray, those red eyes glowing with wicked intent as she continues her teasing.

The dual sensation overwhelms me, her mouth so gentle while the Force grip around me strokes with increasing urgency.

"Vae," I pant, my voice breaking. "I'm going to cum. I can't hold it anymore."

Without breaking eye contact, she takes just the tip between her lips, her gaze locked with mine in a challenge I couldn't look away from even if I wanted to. The invisible pressure around my shaft tightens, strokes faster and faster. The rhythm becoming almost punishing.

"Vae!." When I finally break, it's with her name on my lips. A broken sound that echoes off the shower walls.

My release pulses down her throat as she holds me there. Her eyes never leaving mine, watching my complete surrender with possessive satisfaction. I whimper pathetically as my legs tremble.

She swallows everything, her throat working as she claims every part of me as thoroughly as she's claimed everything else. When she finally pulls away, her face is one of complete and utter jubilation.

"It's like I said, Ty-Lar. This is your life now."