The End Justifies the Means

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Days to Remember


“They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.”

Ernest Dowson


The gentle patter of raindrops splashing against the broad, green leaves sheltering the balcony mixed companionably with the distant low rumbles of thunder that rolled down from the mountains before traveling across the rippling surface of the lake. The balcony doors were flung open wide as they always were. No one worried about damaging water reaching the interior, the threshold was too far back and too well protected by the flowering canopy for there to be any chance of that happening. The result was the feeling of living out of doors without the fea the the elements to spoil the mood.

Lazy puffs of air stirred the curtains. The breeze floated in the smell of fresh rain and damp vegetation to merge and mingle enticingly with the clean scent of expensive linens. I settled deeper into the thick bed cover as I stretched and yawned in silent contentment. Such luxury wasn’t something I was accustomed to as a Jedi. Temple accommodations were utilitarian, sparse and practical. Except for the Temple garden, everything there was hard edges and bland, the colors of the living quarters dull earth tones. My childhood in the slave quarters had been spent sleeping in a tiny room on rough hand loomed blankets layered atop only the thinnest of pads. The level of decadent comfort available at the retreat was a revelation. Indeed all of Naboo seemed to enjoy a higher standard of living than many of the worlds I’d visited with Obi Wan. I wondered if they realized how very fortunate they were in a universe so full of ugly things.

Behind my closed lids I could see the glow from the brazier fire the servants had lit. The heat from the flames reached out and stroked my face like the rays of the sun. Not skin-scorching hot like the twin suns of my home world but gentle, like the one that normally favored Naboo. I frowned. At that particular moment I wasn’t too thrilled with its absence, no matter the current level of my comfort. Our last opportunity for a picnic had been a wash, literally.

****
The morning started out with the familiar blue skies and those same fleecy white clouds I remembered from our first foray, the ones that kissed the far off mountain tops before eventually drifting lazily by overhead. Padmé and I set out for the high meadow as more clouds rolled in but were too busy talking and picking our way up the hillside to pay any attention. Though even had we been standing still and silent, I likely wouldn’t have noticed anything except her.

Always her.

The first fat drops of rain started falling before we’d finished spreading the blanket on the ground. Valuable time was wasted as we lightly argued whether or not we should wait it out. Our decision was made for us when the air was filled with a resounding explosion of lightning and thunder, too close for our safety to be called into question aongeonger. The darkened landscape lit up with the stunning vibrancy only lightning can cast and then we were sprinting for the welcome shelter of the retreat.

Two picnics with the same outcome - both ending before they should have and both ending with us running down the hill as if the Sith hellhounds were on our heels. Only the motive for our flight was different. No longer was I chasing Padmé. Since that first visit to the meadow, I had captured her, won her love, and that second time we ran hand in hand.

I ignored the vicious whisper that reminded me I hadn’t so much as won as I’d stolen the love I was flaunting to myself.

We arrived back at the villa out of breath and soaked to the bone. Padmé’s hair was plastered to her skull, giving her the appearance of a drowned womp rat. Or what I imagined one would look like since drowning was never much of a problem when living on Tatooine. The curling ends of her hair hung down her back, sleek and heavy with moisture that dripped chilly water. Rainwater puddled at our feet and our muddy foot tracks marred the once pristine polished floor of the entryway.

Members of the staff descended upon us the moment we rushed inside. Above the din of the storm, it was nearly impossible to make out Padmé’s contrite apologies for creating such a mess over the maternal sounds of the servants cooing and clucking. One of the older women had a dry blanket around their honored guest shoulders instantaneously and Padmé shot me an embarrassed, put upon glance as she diplomatically accepted their attentions. So I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like to be treated like a child, I thought with a smug look.

Seconds later the women had whisked her away leaving behind my shattered hopes of being the one to divest her of each sodden piece of clothing personally. I glowered at the sour faced old man assigned to attend to me by one of the harried ladies as if he were responsible for ruining my day. He started forward reluctantly but I dismissed him with a wave of my metal hand – the sight of which both fascinated and repelled him simultaneously. Without a word, I left him standing in the hall wearing an expression of profound relief and made my own way to my room.

It was an almost an hour before I was able to go to her.

The reason for the delay, the reason for my increased level of annoyance, was a pile of talkative machinery. After searching his newly updated data banks, Threepio had made the horrifying discovery that Jedi weren’t allowed to have possessions. As I struggled out of my wet clothes and tried to get to the refresher, I had to listen to a worried oration that grew increasingly more agitated as the minutes slipped away. The only thing missing from the scene were the sarcastic beeps and chirps from Artoo, who was thankfully no where to be seen. The shorter droid had the unfortunate talent of spurring Threepio’s rants on by interjecting his own wordless, and I’m sure quite derogatory, commentary. Their constant bickering on the way to Naboo had ended only when I abruptly flipped the distracted protocol droid’s power switch off.

“Master Ani…”

“Don’t call me that.” I snapped automatically, my dislike of my childhood name showing in my irritable tone.

“But what will happen to ME?” Threepio cried with barely a pause. “Surely you won’t sell me. Or give me a way? Who knows who I will end up with – why it could be one of those dreadful Hutt’s or a dug or a…a…Corellian!”

Threepio’s mechanical voice raised several octaves in horror and I had to grin. It was the same high register Obi Wan had spoken in after I’d accidentally kneed him during our last saber practice session. After all the cuts, burns and bruises, not to mention the verbal tongue lashings I’d suffered through, I hadn’t been all that sorry about it. He’d walked funny for a least an hour afterwards too, I remembered with a widening smile of remembered satisfaction.

The door of the refresher slid shut in Threepio’s face leaving me in quiet solitude to take a hot water fresher and clean myself up. However, I hadn’t counted on his persistence. When I re-emerged, the droid resumed the conversation as if it had never been interrupted.

“Perhaps Master Owen would take me back?”

I choked back a sputter of laughter as I hunted for my sleep pants, the only thing on hand that was both clean and dry. Take him back? Owen couldn’t wait to see Threepio’s dull metal backside disappear up the ramp of Padmé’s ship. I doubted anything could induce him to accept the gabby droid evad iad it been a feasible option. Since the interruption at the Naberrie home, I was beginning to appreciate my step-brother’s position on the subject.

“They’ll turn me into scrap metal, I’m doomed!” Threepio wailed sadly.

Sith. I couldn’t decide if I was amused or irritated at how easily I’d been maneuvered by the men of the Lars family - though now that I thought about it, Beru was more likely the one pulling the strings. She was quiet but her eyes had been watchful and all knowing. I’d sensed a practical head on her shoulders.

“Threepio, we’ll work it out.” I promised as I finally located my pants and slid into them. “Maybe you could work in the Temple library.”

“Oh, Master Ani - kin, would that be possible?” The droid grabbed onto that feeble thread of hope with desperate hands.

“I don’t know. But I do know I’m not talking about it anymore today.” I turned to him and wagged a finger in warning. “I don’t want any interruptions from either you or Artoo - is that clear? We’re leaving for Coruscant tomorrow and we’ll…no, scratch that, I’ll have enough time to figure something out by the time we get there. Understood?”

I hated being short with my childhood companion but he picked the most inopportune times to barge into a room or start up pointless discussions. The bright electronic eyes gleamed back at me through the murky light of the storm darkened room.

“I’ll make sure that Artoo behaves himself. You have my word.” He reassured me.

My groan was audible. How was it that an astrotech droid designed for mechanical upkeep seemed to understand what was going on around him better than a droid designed for protocol? I made yet another mental note to look into Threepio’s programming when I got back home. But as I slipped through the double doors and made my way across the balcony to the room where Padmé waited, the problematic droid retreated back into the shadowed recesses of my mind.

****
M>
My eyes flickered open reluctantly at the sudden sharp pop-crackle followed by the hiss of renewed flames as a piece of firewood shifted on the smoldering pile. I watched the sparks take flight, dancing and whirling in their last moments of life before dying out and falling harmlessly on to the old hearth. A figure wrapped in a deep blue velvet robe stood to the side watching the flames meditatively.

Padmé took a sip of wine from the goblet she held in one hand and ran her fingers through her tousled and still damp hair. At her feet were the scattered remnants of the aborted picnic lunch I’d managed to rescue only because we hadn’t had a chance to unpack it before the heavens opened their deluge. I glanced at the gloomy sky through the doorway and grimaced. No doubt she was at that very moment making plans for our agreed upon two hour stint in the communications room.

I rolled on to my stomach and cleared my throat. Padmé started, looking as if she’d forgotten my presence in her room.

“I thought you were asleep.” She said, looking down at the contents of her glass as she swirled the deep burgundy liquid.

“No, just thinking.”

I watched while she took a long sip. If she wasn’t careful she wasn’t going to be in any shape to make nice with the other politicians over the HoloNet. Immediately, my shoulders perked up at the thought. But even as it occurred to me, Padmé set the half filled glass down on the little table and scooted it back, a clear indication that she was done. It was an odd little habit. When she did that it always seemed to me she was trying to put temptation out of her reach. And it made sense. Hadn’t she pushed me away time and time again in an effort to keep me at arms length?

Padmé sank gracefully to the floor and leaned her back against the rough stone of the raised hearth. After fanning her hair out so the heat radiating from the fire could help dry it evenly, she reached for the small bowl of jinjo berries and balanced it in her lap. Engrossed in picking out the ripest one, she spoke without looking up.

“And what were you thinking about?”

“What we’re going to do.” I replied carefully, my eyes following her hand’s path as she raised the berry that had made it through her intense selection process and popped it into her mouth. Her jaw stopped working for the briefest of seconds as she considered my words and then resumed.

After a moment, over another low boom of thunder, Padmé asked, “Anakin, what are you talking about?”

“I live at the Temple, you live at the Embassy of Naboo surrounded by a detail of security personnel. Have you given any thought to how we’re going to spend anytime together when we’re both on Coruscant?”

The bowl of berries was placed with a thump on the floor and pushed aside.

“No.”

‘No’, just like that. No thoughts about how we could be together once we left that idyllic place. No time pondering the dilemma we were facing. But I bet she knows her upcoming strategy to try and end the war front to back, came the taunting whisper. I ignored the inner voice of reason that told me I was being selfish. How could I possibly weigh the good of the universe and the lives of all its trillions of inhabitants so lightly, it asked incredulously. Deep down I knew, just as I had known on the transport on Geonosis, that Padmé was in the right. She was doing her duty, as always. But I shut that door and concentrated on what I wanted and what Padmé wanted too, damn her She just wouldn’t give herself permission to think of herself first. So I would give her that permission.

“Well, I have.” I said. My tone was firm and decisive. I had thought about our problem and reached a decision and that was the end of it as far as I was concerned.

{You’re arrogance has made you reckless}

I silenced my Master’s voice echoing in my memory with a rebellious scowl. What was he, my conscience?

Padmé inspected the velvet of her robe for non-existent lint with uncharacteristic fascination. The level of care she received both at the retreat and with Dormé meant she never had to worry about the state of her wardrobe. The avoidance vibration was sounding loud and clear.

Outside the soft splat of rain changed in tempo and intensity as another dark cloud passed over the villa in pursuit of its brother storm.

“I know somebody who’d probably let us use the rooms he keeps for an emergency.”

Wary brown eyes lifted from their unnecessary task. “What kind of emergencies?”

I grinned as I thought of Yantur and his penchant for gambling. I’d met the Sacarrion at one of the underground clubs he ran on Coruscant and we’d become friends in the sense that he trusted me just a little more than he trusted the riffraff he normally associated with on a day to day basis. But after I’d saved him from being throttled by one of the local debt collectors’ thugs, he owed me.

“Sometimes he needs a place to stay until things cool down.”

“Anakin, I do not think…” Padmé began worriedly.

“We have no choice.” I interrupted with such serious conviction, Padmé blinked in surprise. Continuing in a softer tone of voice, I said more gently, “There’s no other way. We can’t be together at either of our places. An apartment somewhere anonymous makes perfect sense, and you know it.”

“It would mean telling Dormé.” She pointed out quietly.

It was my turn to look surprised at the swiftness with which I had apparently won her over. Why couldn’t that be the outcome of all our disagreements? My lips pursed with suspicion at her readiness to accede to my suggestion.

“You think she would help us?”

Padmé smiled a slightly bitter smile. “I think she would be surprised if all this had not happened. She was there that day I packed for home. You do realize Dormé saw everything?” A shadow passed over her face and then it cleared and I was left wondering if it had just been a trick of light.

{I am n upn up. You said it yourself}

{Please don’t look at me like that}

{Why not?}

{It makes me feel uncomfortable}

{Sorry, milady}

Dormé had heard us? She’d seen us? Gods, it was a wonder I hadn’t been hustled out of the room by her security entourage what with the naked passion that must’ve reflected on my face. When Padmé had turned back towards the wardrobe my mask had slipped and I hadn’t been able to stop the floodgates from unleashing all my pent up longing and raw hunger for the beautiful girl just meters away from me. When Padmé’s back had stiffened I’d been afraid she’d somehow seen or sensed the intense emotions burning in my eyes but I’d disregarded that notion immediately. I was certain I would’ve been slapped across the face if she’d known what I’d been thinking.

“So she’ll help?” I asked cautiously, waiting for the other boot to drop.

Brown curls fell forward and then were swept aside.

“I think she will. But I am still not sure about your plan.” Padmé hesitated and then locked her eyes on mine. “This apartment, where is it?”

“The lower levels.” I admitted reluctantly. “But the district where it’s located isn’t dangerous like some of the other parts.” I hurried to reassure her, misunderstanding the direction we were headed in. As a Jedi, I really should’ve seen what was coming.

“You have been there before?” The question was a little too nonchalant and there was an odd undercurrent to her words.

“Of course, I wouldn’t suggest it if I hadn’t been there.” I replied with a frown of puzzlement. Didn’t she know that her safety was paramount to me?

“Just with this friend or with someone else?” Padmé looked down to where her fingers were nervously plucking at the material of her robe.

I stared at her bowed head in growing comprehension. Sith! She thought I’d actually take her to a place where I’d been with someone else? Annoyance and shock spiked through me. Did she really think I’d do such a thing! And then it hit me. Padmé was jealous!

I scrambled into a sitting position, reaching hurriedly for my pants lying at the foot of the bed and then thought better of it. The hell with it, I thought grimly. I was off the bed and crouching by her side an instant later. Padmé lifted her head defiantly and then turned bright red when she saw I was completely naked. Immediately she averted her eyes and would have scooted back if it hadn’t been for the few tons of hewn stone at her back.

“Padmé, look at me.” I demanded gently.

Deep brown eyes slid to meet mine, carefully avoiding anything lower than my chest.

“My friend, the owner of the flat, his name is Yantur. I went there one time when I kept him from being seriously injured by some people he owed some money to. That was the only time, all right?”

“I still do not think this wise. We could find another way.” She said stiffly, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the information I’d just given her. But I saw the flash of relief in her eyes.

Some of the tension eased away from her shoulders and neck and she lost a little of the worry that clouded her expression as she realized that I wasn’t suggesting what she had originally thought. But from past experience with the stubborn senator, I could tell she was still not entirely ready to fall in with my plans.

“It’s the only way.” I said firmly before she could interject again.

I brushed a tiny smudge of soot from her cheek, my fingertips lingering to stroke her face before slipping to caress the soft skin at the nape of her neck. Solemn eyes kept watch in the same manner they had the day I’d first kissed her. Once more I felt as if she were a skittishness animal, ready to run at the first impatient move. One side of my mouth curled in a smoldering smile and Padmé caught her breath, her attention riveted. Slowly, centimeter by centimeter, I drew her forward until her warm lips met mine.

Oh, gods, I was definitely addicted to the hunt. The seductive exercises I was constantly forced to perform were habit forming. Always before the women had been the ones to pursue me but not Padmé, who needed constant wooing and careful handling. The never ending chase left me feeling lightheaded, almost drunk with the power of the game.

//You’re the only one I’ve ever loved//

The intent of a reassuring kiss faded into nothingness as I probed for admittance with my tongue. After a brief moment of hesitation, Padmé parted her lips with a sigh and allowed me inside. Blood pumped fast and furious through my veins. The kiss deepened, growing harder, more demanding at my instigation, and I rose to my knees, bringing her with me. The metal hand I’d slipped around to the small of her back, along with the pressure from the one at her nape had Padmé up and pressed against me before she realized what was happening.

My wine scented breath shimmered across the delicate lines of her face as I left her warm, sweet mouth. I feathered my lips over the curve of her cheek, along the turn of her jaw, before starting the slow descent down the arch of her neck. Hooking two fingers on each side of the wide neck of her robe, I eased the material aside to reveal her soft, rounded shoulders to my hungry touch.

The banked fire inside me was roaring back to life when the heels of Padmé’s hands abruptly pressed themselves hard just below my collarbone. She twisted her head away so suddenly; I was left kissing air instead of her scented flesh.

“I have to go. I am supposed to contact Senator G’aliin today.” The words came out in a breathless but purposeful rush.

Savage need curled in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t even try to hide the impatient growl that rumbled from my chest and my hands tightened around her bared shoulders reflexively. Through narrowed eyes I regarded her flushed face and disordered hair, her image too tempting an attraction. My thumbs stroked her satiny skin of their own volition. A tiny ripple traveled through her and that’s when I knew there was no way in the universe she was going anywhere near the resented communications room. I had right on my side after all.

“We’ve been here three days, Padmé. By my calculations, at two hours a day you’re already at your limit of six. The two extra hours from yesterday are about to be made up.” One hand slipped down to lightly trace a circle around the hardened peak jutting out beneath the velvet. “It’s our last full day…you aren’t going anywhere.”

Padmé bristled at my commanding tone. “Anakin, you are being completely unfair. You know I have to….oh!” The impassioned chastisement was cut abruptly short.

In a blink of an eye, I’d lifted Padmé up and pivoted her swiftly to the side, sitting myself down in the process and settling her atop my thighs. I smiled to myself in smug satisfaction. My back was against the small couch angled near the fireplace, which was much more conducive than the unforgiving surface of the hearth for what I had in mind. We’d missed out on that same promising position before thanks to Benor and his cohort’s untimely interruption. Not this time.

I almost felt sorry for that arrogant swamp lizard. There I was with the most beautiful woman I could ever have hoped for and he was most likely lying in a cold, lonely bunk on his way to some desolate system. I could only hope.

“Anakin Skywalker, let me go…now!”

My hold tightened its iron grip around her waist as Padmé immediately raised herself up on her knees in an effort to put her words into action. I had to give her credit for dedication. If all politicians were like her then perhaps the galaxy wouldn’t be in the horrible situation it was.

“Stay.” I whispered as my hands slithered down to where the parted flaps of her robe gave a tantalizing glimpse of her legs. The outrage in her expression increased when she realized I was keeping her pinned to the floor with the Force.

“You are not supposed to be using the Force like this. Obi Wan - inappropriate…grumpy…does that sound familiar?” She huffed.

My hands curled around the flesh of her lower thighs, tickling the delicate skin with a ghost touch. A harsh intake of breath sounded above me and I began to trail my fingertips in random patterns over the sensitive surface. An involuntary sigh stole from her lips as the endearing warm blush spread slowly, staining her cheeks pink.

“I’m not planning on telling him, are you? I’d like to be there if you do, though. Red becomes you.” I said with an arrogant smirk.

I listened with half an ear while Padmé tried to reason with the unreasonable, putting her considerable diplomatic skills to the test. She did her best but the words could’ve been in binary code for all that my mind took in. I was far too busy working my way up the beckoning planes of her slim legs. A tug at my Padawan braid distracted me and I glanced up to find her staring down at me in exasperation. Padmé was stubbornly trying to hide her body’s betraying response to my touch but failing miserably – as usual.

When would she acknowledge that it was pointless to resist the consuming flame that ignited our senses and seared our bodies with its intensity? Still, I thought with a mental shrug of my shoulders, it was infinitely entertaining to watch her try.

“Later . . . Anakin, I have an appointment.”

“Stay.” I murmured again in a low, seductive voice, my heavy-lidded eyes refusing to allow her to look away. Tiny flecks of amber sparked under my sultry gaze. Beneath the robe my hands glided over the soft swell of her hips.

“I can’t.” She said in a voice that was neither sure nor convincing. But it was an unwelcome reminder of that other time, in front of that other fireplace in the study, when she’d treaded painfully on my ds. s. So much had changed since then but her dedication to her responsibilities and priorities had not shifted.

Behind her, my knees slid up to brush her rounded cheeks, one more golden thread to wend its way around and keep her in place, bringing her just a little closer to where I wanted her to be. Under the increasing insistence of the hands stroking and caressing her heated flesh underneath the rich material, Padmé’s ability to argue began to falter and her breathing grew increasingly labored with every pass I made over her soft skin.

Working from the inside out, I managed to free the sides of her robe to reveal the hidden perfection to my appreciative gaze. I turned my attention to that tight bud between her thighs next and was rewarded when Padmé convulsively released her grip on my shoulders and the robe completed its fall from her body as her arms slipped uselessly to her sides. I whipped the robe away leaving us both free of all cing ing except one. Silky strands of hair, soft as gossamer, cascaded over my knees and down my shins as her head fell back under the knowing caress of my seeking fingers.

The crackle of the flames blended with our ragged breathing and the pleasurable whimpers from Padmé. Anticipation’s desire ignited my blood and my excitement spiraled downwards to my rapidly hardening shaft. More, my body cried. More, my heart screamed. Force, I wanted to be buried deep inside of her and stay that way until I had to depart the following day.

I stopped my ministrations and seized her waist, pulling her down until my aching cock was teasing her entrance. Padmé’s head lolled forward. Chocolate eyes drowsy with arousal, fixed on mine. Her breath caught sharply, a soft whimper sounded, and then her hands wrapped themselves over mine, not to hinder my progress but to urge contact quicker.

‘Stay’, I whispered as I slowly pushed up into her tight sheath at the same time I eased her down, my pulsing length filling her, stretching her walls. ‘Stay’, I hissed as I gripped her waist, raising her back up a little quicker only to impale her once more. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she crooned low in her throat - a sound of urgency and submission. ‘Stay’, I commanded as Padmé caught the rhythm and began to move with me, her body accepting my languorous strokes with quiet gasps of pleasure.

I smoothed my hands up her torso to cup and fondle her breasts. Her nipples were hard pebbles against my palms even before I rolled them gently between the balls of my thumbs and forefingers. When I pinched the swollen nubs, Padmé cried out in rapturous awe and a flood of desire coated my already slick erection.

“Stay.” I growled, forcing her to an excruciating slowness when I took control of her hips once more.

“Yes.” The word came out on a soft moan and her hands curved around my neck possessively. “Anakin…please…I need…gods, harder…”

Triumph pushed me onwards and I kissed her long and slow, tasting every part of her sweet mouth. My tongue worked to devour her, twisting, mating, and thrusting against hers in primal promise. The soft mewling cries coming from her, as intoxicating as any wine I’d ever drunk, sent a tremor of hot lust through me and my flesh hand tightened convulsively where it had tangled in her hair.

I pulled away, pressing onwards while I had her at my mercy. Tugging her head back, I skimmed my lips along her collarbone while I continued to control our tempo with the metal hand at her hip.

“And the apartment. We’ll use Yantur’s place, like I suggested?” I demanded, licking the hollow of her throat with the tip of my tongue, grazing her glistening skin with my teeth. I savored the slight taste of salt on the honeyed flesh.

No words came but she shook her head in the affirmative. I pulled back, my eyes fixed on her expressive face. “Say it out loud, Padmé.”

“Yes…the apartment…we’ll meet there…Anakin.” Padmé pleaded, willing to agree to anything so long as I kept thrusting into her wet core, angling my strokes to hit the spot that gave her the most intense sensation.

I sucked in a sharp victory breath at her capitulation. I felt no guilt about securing her acquiescence through what amounted to sexual bribery. Her reticence had been born of obstinacy and I would've prevailed in the long run, she would only have been delaying the inevitable. Padmé was no match for me; I was too good at wearing her down.

The rich scent of sex in the air around us, wet and musky, caught in my nostrils, driving my desire ever higher. Our mouths met and retreated, low grunts melded with the softly begging cries that tumbled from her in a mix of Basic and her native language. My hands moved restlessly, over her delicate shoulder blades, down the fragile knots of her spine, over her flushed breasts, around the curve of her hips. Padmé’s fingers bit into the flesh of my shoulders as she rode me, grinding her hips into mine. I was mesmerized by the sway of her hair and breasts, the way her body writhed with such beauty and grace.

I pushed back the heavy weight of sweat-dampened hair, fisting it at the back of her head so I could watch her face as she lost herself in the throws of our coupling. Then I forgot everything but the sensuous rocking of our bodies, the feel of our skin dewed with sweat sliding together while we climbed higher and higher tos ths the slippery precipice together.

“Do you know how good it feels to be inside you?’ I rasped, the fervency in my voice as dark as the storm clouds that continued to thunder overhead. “Hot and wet, so tight, so delicious…”

Heated arousal shone back at me from a pair of glinting brown eyes as she slid up and down my swollen shaft. The slumberous air of sensuality was dragging her under its hypnotic spell. A dangerous smile played at the corner of my lips. More, the voice of dark indulgence cajoled. I let my feet slide over the rug and stretched my legs flat, my metal hand still guiding her movements.

“Watch, Padmé…watch me fill you, see how hard you make me.” Sin, thick and heavy, rolled with my words. “And how wet I make you.”

Padmé faltered, thrown off kilter by my unexpected and wicked request. But like the proverbial moon moth to the flame, she was unable to keep her eyes from straying down to where I disappeared inside her sheath with every downward shift of her body.

“Watch how you take me in.”

The air hissed in her lungs and I felt her inner walls crunch, contracting deliberately. Hot, melting brown eyes shot up to meet and hold mine. They burned a fiery path through me, excitement at the forbidden shuddered through her. She was so close to the edge she either didn’t care or notice the crude words I continued to murmur.

“Do you see? Ki me’lu ni am. Do you want more?” I asked hoarsely, barely managing to find the air to get the words out.

Surrendering to me, her mouth opened on long, slow sigh. “Yes…please.”

They were the same words she’d whispered seconds before I took her against the wall of her cabin and the memories they invoked washed over me, pulled me under and wrested all control from my sweaty grasp. A hoarse growl-cry was ripped from my lungs. There was one long moment of exquisite agony and then I was coming in hard, drugging waves, pumping my seed into her body, again and again, as she gasped and cried out her own release. I continued to thrust up, slamming her down on my cock while my essence spilled from her. Time stretched infinitely while we rode the climactic waves one by one and then Padmé collapsed against me, her panting breaths heating my chest and neck.

A surge of tenderness, satiated lust, and overwhelming love rolled through me and I hugged her roughly to me, crushing the very air from her lungs. Still lodged deep inside her, nowhere near spent, I sucked her earlobe into my mouth, scraping it gently with my teeth.

“Again?” I murmured, sliding down the column of her neck, licking at the salty rivulets.

Padmé threw her head back, her mane of hair once more brushing against my legs. Delicate fingers tangled in my hair, urging me down to suck and tug at her pebbled nipples.

“Again.” She agreed, a raspy whimper escaping her as I grazed my teeth over one hardened nub.

I smiled against her flesh. “I knew you’d see it my way.”

There was no more talk of leaving, or of politics, or of duty. Padmé stayed.

Neither of us left the room until we departed the next day.


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TBC
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