Succumb

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"By your truth she shall be true—
Ever true, as wives of yore—
And her Yes, once said to you,
SHALL be Yes for ever more."

E. B. Browning


Harsh, metallic breathing.

Fire and blood.

Death stalking its intended prey.

I woke with Anakin's name on my lips, my throat painfully tight with remembered fear. The heavy arm wrapped possessively around my waist tightened, pulling me closer to the body curled at my back. Anakin's breath warmed the nape of my neck, his lips just brushing the sensitive skin.

"It's alright…you were just dreaming." Anakin whispered into my hair.

Grasping at his quiet, comforting words, I allowed them to chase the remnants of the nightmare away. Anakin threw his leg over mine and pulled me closer still. I relaxed back into the soothing heat of Anakin's body letting his presence serve as my talisman against the memory of that haunting dark figure; of blood and fire.

I had rarely been plagued by nightmares before, why now? And why twice in one night?

"Jedi don't have nightmares."

I shook off the lingering effects with considerable effort.

The ship's night cycle was almost at an end. Soon the lights would brighten to the programmed day level, the ship would come to life and another tedious day would begin.

Attempting sleep was pointless but neither did I wish to leave my place at Anakin's side. Lying there with our limbs entwined, I could pretend for awhile that we were just two ordinary people who had no obligations or expectations to live up to. For a brief span of time we were just Anakin and Padmé with no monikers like Jedi or Senator to weigh us down.

My thoughts drifted aimlessly, eventually settling on the previous afternoon when I had come back to the stateroom to find Anakin fast asleep in the lounge. How he had asked me a question in that strange but beautiful language and I had answered with a 'yes' for some unexplainable reason. Anakin's expression at my response had been so….victorious.

"Anakin?" I asked suddenly.

"Hmmm?" His voice was thick with sleep.

I shifted around to lie face to face with him, wincing when my sore muscles cried out in protest at my sudden move. Anakin's eyelids rose languidly to meet my questioning gaze. My ability to think was momentarily suspended when his hand began to slowly stroke the curve of my hip. I forced myself to ignore the sensuous feel of his skin upon mine, determined not to be put off from asking the question that suddenly seemed so imperative that I ask.

"What does 'Tee'ana su kom tiya' mean?" I asked quietly, trying not to mispronounce the unfamiliar words.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Immediately my internal warning system went off and suspicion tensed my muscles.

"If you didn't know what I asked, why did you say 'yes'?" He asked in a husky voice.

"I-I am not sure."

A troubled frown lit my face as the smile on Anakin's face widened. Trepidation prickled along my spine and scalp. All my fears and unease rose again to the forefront of my mind. My heart constricted painfully in my chest, my hands fisted tightly and my fingernails bit into my palms. When Anakin leaned forward I barely managed to refrain from jerking backwards.

His voice purred in my ear, his breath warm against my chilled skin.

"Do you really want to know? Does it even matter after last night?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Anakin's breath continued to caress my cheek as he waited for me to answer him. The hand at my hip slid up my ribcage to cup my breast. When his thumb began a slow circling of my hardening nipple an involuntary moan rose from me. Anakin's own breath quickened in response.

"Yes, it matters." I finally managed to get out between clenched teeth. It was all I could do to stop from leaning in to taste the skin of his neck.

Anakin brushed his lips against the shell of my ear and whispered the Basic translation of his question.

Immediately my hand came up to still his seductive kneading of my breast. I drew away from the lips that were leisurely tracing the curve of my temple. A helpless anger was growing inside of me. I did not like to be tricked or made to feel the fool. I had been royalty too long to not have an inbred expectation of respect and a strong sense of propriety that often made me appear overly formal. Ingrained habit forced a frown of affronted dignity to cross my face. Unconsciously, I raised my chin and looked down my nose at Anakin.

"You tricked me." I said stiffly.

The imperious tone, the same one that had been known to make politicians twice my age shift uncomfortably before me, did not have the desired effect. Laughter lit up Anakin's face turning him back into that little boy I had known ten years previous; the charming man who had teased me in the meadow a lifetime ago. The memories tugged sharply at my heart, weakening my angry indignation.

Suddenly I saw myself through Anakin's eyes. The realization of how ridiculous I must look with my haughty expression framed by tangled curls that spilled down my naked chest sent warm color to my face. Reluctantly a smile fought its way to pull at my lips as I acknowledged how laughable my own behavior was in light of our situation.

Anakin took possession of my hand and brought it to his lips. With exaggerated formality he placed a kiss on the back of my hand in a mocking courtly manner.

"I humbly beg your apology, your Majesty." He said before releasing my hand.

I stared into blue eyes laced with amusement.

"You tricked me." I repeated. "It does not count."

Amusement died and his face grew somber as he regarded me with that intensity that frightened and thrilled me so.

Anakin's eyes darkened, "I know."

His agreement did not appease my growing disquiet. There was an odd edge to his voice that lingered in my head. Anakin's hand returned to my hip. Tendrils of warmth slowly uncoiled themselves to spread out from my center, wending their way up and outwards.

I gasped out loud when, with no warning, Anakin pulled me towards him and quickly moved his body over mine. He shifted slightly so that his hardened arousal was poised at my entrance. Desire spiked through me sending my pulse racing and my heart pounding.

The heavy weight of Anakin's body pressed me down into the soft mattress. Two hands, one flesh and one metal, cradled my face.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment as his thumbs delicately stroked the curve of my cheekbones. A sigh of contentment escaped my lips.

"Padmé." Anakin breathed.

I met his eyes through lowered lashes; those eyes that could both threaten and adore. Anakin ran a finger along my trembling bottom lip. Want and fear warred within my body and my head.

"I've loved you forever. You know that don't you? I always will."

I knew. Oh gods, I knew.

"You're my life. You're the reason for my existence."

Each word sent a dagger of pain into my soul. There was an air of heartbreaking desperation to his declaration that filled me with anguish. My voice refused to work and I could only stare at him mutely, wondering at the fierce love and longing that hardened the planes of his face.

No escape. The awful certainty that I was the key to Anakin's sanity, his anchor to the light side, came flooding through me with a rush of pain. I was cold, so very cold.

I loved him too much to turn away from him. Or he loved enough for the both of us, came a hiss from a dark place in my mind. Childhood affection turned into something else; my feelings and thoughts manipulated and twisted beyond recognition.

I continued to stare into his penetrating cobalt eyes, mentally and physically unable to tear myself away. Swirling blue sparked and spun, luring me deeper into their mesmerizing depths.

Even when Anakin slowly eased himself inside me, I did not so much as dare blink. My breath hitched harshly as Anakin filled me completely, burying himself deep within my aching body. I wrapped my arms around his neck without conscious thought, biting my lip at the overwhelming feeling of completeness.

Slow, steady thrusts rocked my body. Anakin's face hovered above mine, his lips drawn tight, his nostrils flaring as his breathing became increasingly ragged. The cords of his neck were taut with the effort he was putting forth to hold his power in check. Even so each thrust jolted me sharply, wringing tiny whimpers of token protest from me. But my body proved me a liar as my desire flowed slickly with each smooth stroke.

This possession was unlike our other couplings - before it had been furious and wild; hungry and desperate. This time Anakin was not allowing his control to slip. His movements were designed to stoke the delicious tension at a painstakingly tortuous pace. The pressure of his hard thighs kept my hips from rising up in response leaving me with a frustratingly helpless feeling.

I tightened my hold to stop my body from being driven further backwards. With a final wrench I finally managed to free my legs, allowing Anakin to sink into the cradle of my hips.

Anakin's hypnotizing hold remained steady. A sense of lightheadedness overcame me as I saw my future reflected in his eyes. The unmistakable sound of someone sobbing uncontrollably filled my ears, drowning out the sound of flesh hammering into flesh and our heavy labored breathing. Flames licked at my heels. The smell of smoke and fire seemed to waft past.

I tamped down on those frightening sounds and images; concentrating on the feel of Anakin moving inside me.

Measured stroke followed measured stroke. I was moaning unrestrainedly as his hard length scraped my walls. Each meeting of our flesh tightened the coil of tensed desire. My breath came in uneven shallow pants. I was drowning in Anakin's love and lust.

A tingling buzz brushed insistently against my mind.

//I love you. I love you//

The same words over and over, battered my besieged mind, leaving me a quivering mess; a mere shadow of my former self. I was being torn apart bit by bit only to be put back together again as a completely different person. But for all that I felt alive, truly alive. I needed that feeling as much as I needed air to breathe.

It was Anakin who made me feel that way. With sudden clarity, I knew I could not go back to the way I had been before he brought me to life. Half alive was no longer good enough. The thought of not having his touch, of not feeling his lips upon mine, of not having his love was too unbearable to contemplate.

The moment was chosen well for that was when the irresistible, indomitable force that was Anakin Skywalker, my love and life, reached out to pull me under the swirling waters one last time.

The bewitching words caressed my ears in a silken voice.

"Padmé…….say you'll marry me."

The command had barely passed over his lips when I was shoved over the edge. The tightly wound coil deep within me snapped sending intense waves of pleasure coursing through every part of my body. Enraptured, I cried out, my body arching off the bed in an effort to maintain that stunning moment filled with heat and light. Anakin's mouth latched onto mine to swallow the wordless moans that continued to spill from me. The feel of Anakin, hot and hard around my contracting muscles thrust me over and over into that state of blissful nirvana.

Anakin emptied himself inside my body, each stroke sending him deeper. I reveled in the feeling of completeness that this act of lovemaking inspired. It was an addiction that I could not do without.

{Youbelongtomeyoubelongtomeyoubelongtomeyoubelongtome}

Gradually, I floated back down to the feel of Anakin's lips raining kisses down upon my face. Murmured words of love weaved a magical spell in my head.

My fate, our destiny, was speeding towards me too fast to stop. It was too late, much too late to avoid the high cost we would surely have to pay for the deceit we would have to practice.

Trembling hands fluttered up to either side of Anakin's face. He pulled back slowly to meet my eyes that were shiny with unshed tears. Whether they were from happiness or sadness it was impossible to say. But there was relief at finally accepting defeat.

The battle was lost, the war won; the only thing left was my official and unconditional surrender.

Even to my own ears my voice sounded sorrowful. It was as if I were pronouncing my death sentence instead of an acceptance of a joyous event. And perhaps I was, I thought as I uttered the words that sealed our future for better or for worse.

"Yes, Anakin, I will."