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Jane pulled in a sharp breath as she rose to her feet and took off across the roof of the building. Two hours they’d played this game of cat and mouse, with Thane always no more than a few steps behind her.
Sometimes she feared he played her, that he could have ended the game at any time, that her close calls were just his pity.
Then she remembered, damnit, she was Commander Shepard. Nothing had bested her yet, so she could hold her own against the galaxy's most feared assassin, at least for a simple game of tag.
The piece of fabric tied to her wrist, the trophy he chased, proof that he’d won, still hung around her wrist. At first, she’d thought to use a cloth tucked into a back pocket, like flag football, but Thane had insisted they make it ‘sporting.’ Instead, he’d wrapped the cloth around her wrist and secured it with a tight knot. It meant he’d need to pin her and work free the knot for his win.
In the two hours, he’d found her three times. The railings, the back alleys, the dock, nothing seemed safe from him on Illium. Jane had given a heads up to Liara, who had enough strings with enough people to ensure no one sent security after them for their little game.
Jane stopped just before the edge, the jump too far for her to risk. Even she wouldn’t risk death for a game, no matter how much she wanted to win.
If she could keep the cloth for three hours, she’d win.
When she turned, Thane stood a few feet away, lips pulled into a grin that said her perseverance charmed him. That amusement chafed. “A nice show, siha. You have nowhere to go, however. I have you trapped.”
Her lips curled up. Thane was better at tracking, better at a lot of things, but he lacked her creativity. She’d never have never gone up on the roof without a plan.
The cocking of his eyebrow said he’d caught her reaction, but even he wasn’t fast enough to stop what she had planned.
Jane dropped to a crouch, caught the railing of the ledge, then kicked her feet down. It left her hanging from the railing. A quick catch of her heel on a pipe to the side and Jane reached a hand over to grab it. She slid down the pipe two floors, happy not to look down and catch sight of the sprawling city below her.
She swung herself into the window she’d left open earlier as she’d scouted the area, then slammed it shut and latched it closed just before Thane landed on the ledge outside.
Jane blew a kiss, met with that same subtle amusement she knew so well.
Thirty-five minutes later, Jane crept past the railings above a crowded nightclub. Twenty minutes and she’d have won. She just had to avoid him for twenty more minutes, then she could hold this over his head forever.
Not that he’d pout. Thane was a believer in skill, in work, in practice and the art of his profession. If she could outwit him, he’d likely add in extra training to hone his craft, but he’d never begrudge her an honest win.
The music in the nightclub crowded her, but she’d chosen it for that reason. Few security cameras, and not a place either she or Thane would typically spend time in. She didn’t expect it would take him more than a few hours to find her, even if she tried her hardest to hide, kept moving. Still, with so little time, she pulled in a thankful breath.
Jane rested her forearms on the railing and stared out at the crowd, at the bodies. Sometimes she wished she could have been one of them. She wanted to lose herself in the sway of bodies, the music, the anonymity of it. She wanted not to be Commander Shepard, to not be responsible for everyone else.
Maybe that’s what she enjoyed about Thane. He never looked at her like Commander Shepard. He hadn’t joined up with her because of her name, hadn’t cared about her reputation. As they’d fallen for each other, it hadn’t been about either's reputation. They both carried the results of their years of work: her as a hero, him as an assassin. Those resumes hadn’t drawn them together.
She loved him for his kindness, for his ability to feel things so deeply, for that quiet strength he had. He made her feel grounded, steady. He said he loved her for her passion, her humor, and her stubbornness. That last one she wouldn’t have considered an endearing trait, but he still smiled as he said it.
“That was a dirty trick, siha.” Thane’s voice blew past her ear.
How the hell did he manage to be so silent, he could sneak so close without her noticing? Times like that, Jane had to remember Thane was far more than many realized.
She slid her hands to the railing, ready to vault forward, out of range. A quick swing and she could land on the floor below. She only needed to avoid him for another fifteen minutes or so.
Thane caught her wrists and pulled them behind her back, holding them between one hand. “I think not. You avoided me for a long time, but I believe I am ready for my prize.” He reached forward with his free hand, slipping it into the front of her pants.
Jane threw her head back, aiming for his nose out of instinct. She encountered nothing but air. Of course, he knew to counter it.
His chuckle joined a soft kiss to her ear as he pressed his fingers against her, and to her shock, she was drenched already. Had the entire chase turned her on that much? And why was it that being bested by him felt better than having avoided him?
Those thoughts passed her as he set a slow and teasing rhythm of his fingers, each press into her causing his hand to stroke her clit as well. “I love that even after hours of this game, you have as much fire within you as when we started. Others would have tired by now, would have given in. You? You fight until the last moment.”
“That cloth is still on me,” Jane taunted, the fabric still knotted against her wrist.
“I supposed you still have reason to fight, then.”
“You just like it when I do.”
He turned her and pressed her back against the support beam. It meant she wouldn’t topple down, but anyone who gazed up could still seem them. “I do like that. I like knowing you are capable, that you can defend yourself, that you are powerful. I wanted a partner in you, and when you fight me, I know you are exactly that.” He dragged his nose up the side of her throat, over her pulse, drawing her into his lungs. He’d admitted that his sense of smell was superior, and he’d seemed always to enjoy indulging in that with her.
The moment of distraction let Jane move. She used her foot to yank the back of his knee toward her. The time it took him to regain his footing allowed her to shove her weight against his shoulders and knock him back.
Even though the doctors had cleared him to fight, Jane always avoided his chest. The fear of accidentally hurting him kept her up, so she ensured they never sparred much or risked him.
Still, Thane moved with the ease of years of practice. He pulled her down with him, careful to take the fall himself so she didn’t strike the ground. The moment his weight settled, he rolled them and pinned her, capturing her wrists again and pinning them above her.
Jane lifted her hips to toss him off, but he shifted to keep her beneath him. Once more she tried it, but Thane leaned up, using the motion to roll her to her stomach. Despite her struggles, he grasped the waist of her pants and worked them down, over her hips.
She froze, uncertain.
Thane stopped and leaned down, lips near her ear. “I secured all doors to this pathway, siha. No one will happen upon us. Would you like me to stop?”
She remained still, the hand on her wrists stroking over her skin. Finally, she shook her head. “Don’t stop.”
He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then leaned back up, demeanor changing back to the roughness of their game. “I tracked you all about the station. I’ve well-earned my prize.”
“The prize was the cloth.”
“I am not interested in winning the cloth. Why would I be? This is far more interesting.” An adept hand managed her pants and underwear down to mid-thigh before he stopped. His knees spread her legs, though with the pants they couldn’t go far. Still, he kept her still while his fingers reached between her legs and stroked her.
Jane’s head swung back, this time not to hit him but just because of the touch of his fingers. He avoided it, of course, his hand pinning her wrists, his fingers pressing into her, his knees keeping her legs spread. It all overwhelmed her, goosebumps across her skin, her breath shaky and uneven.
So much lead-up, a game of cat and mouse she hadn’t even realized had been foreplay, to lead them there.
He pulled his fingers from her, squeezing her ass once, before shifting above her. His weight lifted from her for a moment, but when it settled over her, his cock pressed into her. There was no resistance, no hesitation.
Jane lifted her hips as much as possible to press back against him, to have more of him. In that position, he never went as deep, but right then it didn’t matter.
Thane used his now free hand to angle her head and lavish kisses to her shoulder, her neck. “This was worth the chase,” he whispered.
She had no chance to respond before he began, sharp and quick thrusts. They fit their game perfectly. No slow, careful motions that led to a night of slow love-making. This was frantic, like their chase, and stole her breath.
His hand kept her wrists pinned, prevented her from doing anything but accepting the rough treatment. The railing pressed into the bare area of her hips and the tops of her thighs, but it only added to pleasure rushing through her. Those tiny bites of pain helped her, kept her present.
Thane’s body pressed against her, warm and solid and hard. His breath warmed her skin, the kisses turning harder, his teeth joining in, using suction to leave marks she knew would spring up the next day.
A groan vibrated through his chest, his thrusts quickening. When he came, he slid in as far as he could, his thrusts turned into small rocks of his hips. The rough love bites turned back into gentle caresses, the roll of his hips and the jerks of his cock as tempting and teasing as anything else he’d done.
Why the hell was it that everything he did made her want him?
The timer on her omnitool went off, and Jane chuckled. “I still win.”
Thane’s laugh, soft and quiet, mocked her. “Are you sure?”
Jane looked up to find her wrist bare. When had he managed to. . .
“I couldn’t risk my reputation by losing, siha.”
“You’re impossible.”
He moved off her to pull her pants and underwear up, motions so much gentler than he’d been during. “Probably. However, I believe I can offer you a consolation prize back in your quarters?”
Jane winced as she stood, muscles tired from the chase and from the hard flooring. “You better. I didn’t even get off.”
Thane pulled her again him, looking down at her, the darkness of the rafters making his eyes look black and bottomless. “Well, it was my prize, was it not? Trust me, by night’s end, you won’t care who won or loss.”
She smiled, knowing he was right. Any night she spent with him made her feel like she’d finally won.