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1.2

Tiberius Towers, Silversun Strip

The Citadel

Gabriel Montes knew it was unbecoming of a grown man to be feeling so giddy. He knew. The kind of excitement that was humming through his nerves was better fit for a younger man. Like a boy getting a BB gun for Christmas. Or a teenager getting his first car.

But truthfully, Montes couldn't fucking help it. Resting on his sofa, amidst the soft sound of salarian jazz filling the halls of his luxury apartment, the human soldier felt a sense of elation. A shit-eating grin hadn't left his face since the day before.

Yesterday, he had taken the risk beyond all risks. Even beyond the trials he undertook as a Council Spectre. He had blackmailed an asari matriarch. Marched right into her office and coerced her into his bed. Of course, he hadn't enjoyed the pleasure of her company yet. But he had offered her terms. Keeping her family's reputation intact in exchange for an evening of... engagement.

So he sat and waited, tending to a glass of Thessian sweetwine. She was going to show up. Eventually. Cut-throat CEO or not, Benezia T'Soni was still a mother.

Montes didn't particularly enjoy threatening the woman's daughter, but then again, there were a lot of things about being a Spectre that he didn't enjoy. He had done worse. And using those kinds of measures to get what he wanted… Well, that was just the kind of man he had become.

The moment he saw those holo-images of Lady Benezia staring back at him, he knew that the asari was going to be his. The hard part was already over. The Matriarch knew the price of his silence. And tonight he was going to collect.

The doorstep VI pinged from the terminal across the living room. Montes' shit-eating grin broke into a shit-eating smile.

She had arrived.

Montes leisurely strolled over to the terminal screen fitted to his wall - He didn't want to appear too excited. But he was excited as the stirring in his loins would attest. Lady Benezia was going to find out for herself soon enough.

He pressed a button and the holo-screen blinked to life. It was a live feed from the lobby. Benezia glared at him through the screen, dressed in a long black coat with a thick, white fur trim along the collars. It looked expensive, likely costing more than what Montes made in a year. By comparison, the garb of the asari standing beside Benezia looked far more casual: Grey shirt and pants. Though the muted clothing did little to diminish the other woman's beauty. Even in such simple clothes, she appeared as radiant as the Matriarch. Full lips, high cheekbones, enthralling blue eyes, the woman was downright gorgeous. But such was the case with the asari.

Montes would have been as enamored with her as he was with Benezia if not for one thing: He had told Lady T'Soni to come alone.

"Benezia T'Soni. The Lady of the hour." He greeted, smiling at the two blue women. "Who's your friend?"

"I will not hold a conversation with you while waiting outside your apartment like a streetwalker. Buzz me in." Her voice came clipped and heated, her glare burning holes in his face even through the screen.

Montes' smile widened.

"Oh, I love a demanding woman." He tapped another key on the terminal screen, allowing Benezia and her guest access to his floor. So what if the woman brought a friend? Montes had handled two asari before. In his bed and in the field. And a woman like Benezia, know matter how stubborn, would never gamble with her daughter's future. Not even for a chance to get even.

Montes wasn't worried about his guest's "plus one". But he did have some questions.

A few minutes later, both asari walked into his apartment. Benezia, of course, had a confident strut. She moved through the human's dwelling not like she owned the place but rather that the man's home was graced by her presence. The other woman had slower, more purposeful steps. Montes immediately had her pegged as either military or former military.

A body guard? Makes sense.

She was of similar height to Benezia, so Montes towered over the both of them. A head shorter than him, they both seemed soft, dainty. But Montes knew better. Asari weren't so easily broken. Which made them perfect for his particular tastes.

"I told you to come alone." He said plainly, crossing his arms.

Benezia had passed by him, taking deliberate steps further into the spacious apartment. She looked from the holo-fireplace to the large entertainment holo-screen to the real books lining the walls of his shelves. It was then that Montes realized that she was silently judging him. As a younger man, he might have felt nervous - a beautiful woman evaluating him. But this was why he had chosen her to begin with. Benezia was the woman who was not so easily impressed - or tamed. That was why he was going to make her his.

"This is Samara." Benezia finally said after a short moment of silence, pointing to the other asari who was now sitting on the far end of his sofa. "She's the head of my personal security team. Her presence here is non-negotiable."

"Is that right?" Montes gave a half-hearted wave towards the other asari. He noted that she was unarmed and pointedly not wearing a kinetic barrier harness. He let himself relax then. Even asari trained with biotics wore barrier harnesses when going into a fight. It was becoming clear that Benezia brought the woman as a precaution. Given the circumstances, he couldn't really blame her.

"She's here to ensure that I am not brutalized. Barring that, she will not interfere." Benezia confirmed his suspicions, turning from his bookshelf to face him. Even when giving him a withering look of disdain, the Matriarch was the vision of beauty. Montes thought about what she was wearing under her heavy coat, all the tantalizing ideas he had of the special outfit she chose to wear for their rendezvous. What was it going to be? Lace? Silk? Nothing at all?

"Hmm," Montes grunted, leering at the asari. This time she didn't shrink under his hungry gaze. Not like she did back in her office. This time she stared back, daring him to undress her in his mind. "Fair enough. You've got nothing to worry about from me, Miss T'Soni. You have my word."

"Good. She'll hold you to it." Benezia nodded towards Samara.

Montes spared the bodyguard another glance. The woman was still seated on his couch, one leg crossed over the other, eyes scanning him, the room, the windows, everything. A silent sentinel. Montes wondered if Samara even knew about the true nature of her employer's meeting with him. Did Benezia tell her she was being coerced into a man's bed? Did Benezia tell her why?

The human Spectre went through the questions in his head for a moment before realizing that he didn't actually care. Benezia T'Soni was in his apartment. She had agreed to his terms. She was giving herself to him now. All he had to do was take.

"Master bedroom is upstairs." He told her.

Benezia pursed her lips and gave a short nod.

"Samara, stay here." She said softly.

"My lady," Came the other asari's musical, queenly voice.

Such as it was with asari.

---

The human followed her up the stairs - no doubt trying to get a good look under her coat, the bastard. Benezia tried to maintain a sense of dignity, with purpose and grace in every stride. But the Matriarch felt tense. She couldn't help it. The man who trailed behind her had threatened her family. And tonight she was giving herself to him. Benezia felt her cheeks burning as she moved towards what could only be the master bedroom.

The shame of being bent to another's will - a human's will - was almost too great for the woman to bear, even in secret.

Samara knew next to nothing, only aware that her friend and employer was meeting with a human Spectre for an evening rendezvous. But that did little to sooth Benezia's embarrassment. Her head of security might not have known the reason she was there, but she had to have known the purpose of the visit. Asari didn't make evening visits to mens' apartments to have friendly chats.

Montes' master bedroom was more modest than she expected, barring the large, king-sized bed. King-sized, because of course patriarchal humans would turn their noses up at asari classifications.

Benezia stared at the bedding. She felt a tremble through her back, her belly coiling and uncoiling. That bed, she realized, that was where this man was going to have her. That was where he was going to take her.

The asari swallowed. Her mind was screaming at her but she snuffed those thoughts out. She was here for Liara, she reminded herself.

Benezia turned to face the man called Montes, ready to strike him with a scathing glare. The human hadn't even dignified her arrival with decent clothes. Simple pants - what humans called 'jeans' - and a simple black shirt. Such as it was with humans to flippantly ignore asari courtesies. The fur-lined coat she wore was likely worth a year's rent for the man's apartment.

She glanced past the human Spectre and frowned.

"You've left the door open." Benezia observed.

"The walls are soundproof. Your bodyguard needs to know that I'm not hurting you." Montes said simply, leaning against his desk.

Benezia's cheeks burned again. Samara was going to hear everything. The thought of her friend knowing exactly what this man was doing to her… The Matriarch felt a stab in her heart. Then she felt angry. She shot the human with a venomous look, scowling. This was likely an attempt to get back at her for bringing an uninvited guest. A juvenile power play by a bull-headed man.

"Fine." Benezia hissed. She peeled off her gloves, tossing them carelessly on the nightstand beside the bed. "Before we begin, I believe there should be clarity between us. I detest you, human. I meant what I said to you yesterday. I think you're a lecherous brute."

"That's fair."

Benezia seethed silently at the man's cordial demeanor. He didn't care about the insults. He didn't care about her anger, her humiliation. She would strike him with her hostility, her ferocity, biting words to let him know how loathed he was. She would shower him with her hate but he would just stand and smile.

The truth, Benezia realized, was that Montes had already won. And he knew it. And now Benezia knew it, too.

"You're extorting me for sexual favors. Let's not pretend otherwise. But I will do anything to protect my daughter. I… submit to your terms." Benezia forced those last words out, sighing heavily. The asari closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She had spoken the words and brought her nightmare into existence. Now it was real. "I will serve your desires to the best of my ability. But in order to do that, I need to know what those desires are."

Montes smirked, pushing himself off from his desk. He strode around the bed, slow and deliberate, his eyes upon Benezia. He drank her in, seemingly appreciating her presence in his bedroom. There was a smug pride about his face and Benezia knew why. Not only had he successfully ensnared an asari Matriarch, he had gotten her into his den willingly. He offered her a choice and she had chosen him.

The asari felt her belly doing flips again. The man closed the distance between them until he towered over her. Even out of his Spectre armor, Montes struck an imposing figure. Such was common when humans and asari were seen together. The two species may have had similar appearances, but there were still distinct racial differences. Humans were simply larger creatures. Taller, stronger, hardier. Despite the outward similarities, the humans were closer to krogan than they were to asari.

Benezia felt a sudden jolt of anxiety then. What good would her wisdom do her here? The domain of stamina and vigor, the carnal battle of flesh and lust. The asari's heart began to race. She had travelled into the lion's den willingly. And now there was no way out.

"I'm a man who's in the best shape of his life." Montes told her. From what she saw standing before her, Benezia had no reason not to believe him. She hated to admit it, but physically the human was as impressive as he was intimidating. "Even before the genetic enhancements I received from the Alliance, I was considered beyond impressive. Now? Let's say I have an abundance of pent up energy."

"You want me to help you unwind?" Benezia spat mockingly, staring up into the human's eyes.

Montes smirked, an insufferable sight. Then he reached forward, casually undoing the belt of her heavy coat. Benezia nearly jumped as his hands came to her waist, her eyes widening at the man's pointed disregard for her personal space. The absolute nerve the human had was infuriating.

"I'm sure a matriarch would be up to the task, no?" His barb came smooth and jovial, like he was teasing a lover instead of his blackmail target. He began to undo the large buttons running down the front of her coat.

"I have centuries of experience in the art of lovemaking." Benezia fumed, slapping the man's hands away. Glowering at him with blazing eyes, she began to undo the buttons herself. She kept her gaze locked on Montes, not looking away for even a moment as she slowly revealed the evening wear her coat had hidden away. Even when giving him something the leer at, she would never let him forget her loathing. "Even with your enhancements, I doubt you could handle me."

She opened her coat then and shrugged her shoulders, letting it fall down her back. The feeling of the soft white fur brushing against her bare skin on the way down sent a shiver through her body. The human's hungry eyes upon her only amplified the sensation of vulnerability.

He had told her to wear something sexy, so she had. Benezia didn't know why she followed that particular order to the letter. Perhaps it was fear? Concern for her daughter? It didn't matter now. She couldn't escape the truth of it.

She had worn this outfit to please him.

Black silk, the dress was. The fabric was spun by specialized artisans from the villages deep in the valleys between the Armali mountains. Or so Benezia had been told when she purchased it. It was a deep black, contrasting beautifully against her rich, blue skin. The short skirt exposed much of her legs, more appropriate for a Maiden than a Matriarch. It was snug to her hips and waist, clinging to her body like a second skin.

The dress itself was a wrap-style, common to the tropical coastal cities of Serrice. Bands of black silk wrapped around her body, exposing a great blue swath of her belly, slipping under her breasts and cradling them with support from the band wrapped around her neck.

Benezia T'Soni, dressed like the kind of giggling maiden draped over a human or turian's shoulder at any nightclub on the Citadel. She had enough blue flesh on display to be mistaken for a club dancer. All for the pleasure of this Agent Montes.

And it was certainly to his pleasure. Benezia stood before him, feeling just as exposed as she did back in her office, her belly doing flips as he drank in the sight of her.

"That sounds like a challenge, Miss T'Soni." His voice was low, rumbling, almost a growl. He drew his hungry eyes slowly across her body, closing in on her until they were inches apart. He reached forth again with his hands and Benezia wanted to inch away from his foul touch. She found that she couldn't move, her feet, her body rooted to the spot. She inhaled sharply as his fingers grazed her exposed belly. They were like embers dancing on her skin.

"It's an observation." Benezia almost stammered, the realization of what was about to happen shooting through her mind like lightning. Montes hummed, the sound rumbling deep in his chest, as he wrapped an arm around the woman's waist and drew them closer together. The warmth, the damnable heat of his body, the unmistakable presence the man had... They nearly killed the words in Benezia's throat. "You humans have a habit of overestimating your abilities."

"We also have a habit of making our detractors eat their words. Among other things…" He grinned down at her, eyeing her plump lips. She bit them in response. Her mind became a storm of worry as she thought of all the horrible, wicked things he might have been imagining about her mouth. "Just giving you a fair warning: I like to get a little rough."