Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep - Being revamped!

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Chapter 19: There is Still Light

Anakin looked around the empty throne room and a wicked grin appeared. “I seem to remember something about bending you over that black throne…,” he murmured as he began to nibble on her earlobe.

Ree groaned and wrapped her arms around him.

“The guards…” she whispered.

“They know better than to interrupt the Emperor while he takes his pleasure,” he assured her as his fingers began to make quick work of the intricate fastenings of her gown.

“But-”

Her protest was cut off by a demanding kiss. Then she found herself lifted into his arms and carried to the dais where his throne sat. He placed her on the throne with a gleam in his eyes. Her gown had fallen open, revealing her breasts to his hungry gaze.

“Now this is even better than I imagined,” he said as he knelt in front of her.

“It’s not right,” she teased. “You’re kneeling to me.”

He lifted up her skirts and then looked up at her with a leer. “I have to kneel if I’m going to do this…” Anakin spread her legs and leaned forward.

She felt the unbelievable heat of his tongue gently stroking her and she arched up into the touch.

“Oh, gods,” she hissed as he held her open to his touch.

Ree could see only the top of his head as he licked and suckled, stroked inside of her with his skilled tongue. He whirled around the sensitive nub, only to leave it again to lick at the inside of her thighs.

She grasped his head and tried to arch up again, but his grip was too firm. He laughed against her, causing a ripple of need to race through her body. “I’m in charge here,” he chided.

Giving herself up to the sensations, she relaxed her grip on his head, though her fingers remained twined in his hair. His hold on her hips gentled and he let her thrust up gently into his mouth.

Slowly, he licked and stroked with his tongue, then two long fingers joined the torture, thrusting inside of her with swift, deep strokes. Ree felt her orgasm crashing over her and clutched at him once more.

He gulped up her response, his hands soothing the flesh at her sides as she trembled against him. When he raised his head, his mouth glistened and his eyes flashed. “Now it’s my turn,” he said just before he lifted her again, whirling around so that he was seated on the throne and she was straddling him.

With impatient hands, they unfastened his pants and she freed his cock, sighing when it bounced into view. Ree stroked it, making Anakin tremble.

“You like this position,” she teased as she began to undulate above him, never quite close enough for his cock to enter her.

“Less work for me,” he groaned as she brushed the tip of his erection.

She leaned down and kissed him, tasting herself on his lips. Then she grasped the back of the throne and impaled herself on his cock in one swift move.

He grunted as he thrust up hard. His eyes rolled back in his head as he took hold of her hips once more and steadied her for his frenzied thrusts. Having been so close to death, they were desperate to prove themselves alive and their mating became an animalistic joining of two bodies.

Soon the sounds of grunts and moans, and flesh hitting flesh filled the throne room. They tore at each other with lips and tongues, their hands moving furiously over each other’s flesh. At last, Anakin gave a triumphant shout that surely the guards heard and thrust up once more, shuddering his completion. She joined him with a cry of her own.

Ree collapsed against him, pressing her face against his damp tunics.

Then she giggled and snuggled up closer as his arms came up to wearily embrace her. “I wonder what the guards thought of that,” she whispered.

He laughed and hugged her. “I imagine they’re thinking that I’m putting this throne to better use than my predecessor,” he said against her temple.

The guards outside heard a peal of feminine laughter.


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Later that night, they were in their big bed. He would not move into the Emperor’s apartments until they had been redecorated, Palpatine’s presence eradicated.

“What kind of Emperor will you be?” she whispered to him that evening, his body still intimately embedded in hers.

He rested his weary body on her, letting her warmth temporarily banish the chill that seemed to reside in his very flesh.

“I shall be a new kind of Emperor,” he murmured in answer.

“A Jedi Emperor?” she asked.

“No, not a Jedi, nor Sith either,” he answered quietly. “I’ve had a Jedi Master and a Sith Master; I am neither.”

Ree was silent for a moment and then asked, “What happened to your Jedi Master?”

Anakin went still and then sighed. “I killed him,” he said. “I was told a lie and I fought with him.” He shuddered and clasped her closer. “He died of his injuries, but not before he showed me the truth and gave me his forgiveness.”

Ree reached up and kissed him gently on the cheek, trying to comfort him. He shook his head, shook away the memories of his own brutality. “I’ve waited a long time to avenge his death,” Anakin murmured. “And others…”

“And you have,” she reassured him.

He nodded and then sat up, leaning over her on one elbow. “You’ve seen the woman in the holo – my wife.”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Her name was…” He swallowed hard. “Her name was Padmé,” he finished in a rush. Then his eyes met hers. “She died five years ago.”

Ree saw the raw agony in his eyes and stroked her hand down his cheek, unable to find words to comfort him.

He shuddered and closed his eyes, pressing a kiss into her palm. Then his eyes opened and the depth of grief she saw in those blue orbs stunned her. “She was pregnant with my child when Palpatine killed her,” he whispered.

“So that is why…”

“Yes,” he answered, brushing back her hair. “That is why I was so careful. Why I could not have a child until he was dead.”

“How you must have hated him,” Ree murmured. She was surprised now that Anakin had been patient enough to kill the old man and shocked that Palpatine had not anticipated the move.

“He knew it would happen one day,” Anakin said, picking up on her thoughts. “He just thought he had more time.” His voice was dry, mocking.

“That is why he had to think that you were growing soft, like the other cronies surrounding him,” she guessed.

He nodded. “It was the only way,” he explained. “He was a Sith; he expected treachery. But it’s all in the timing.” Anakin laughed softly. “I just had to pick my moment, and I did.”

“So – you are not a Jedi and not a Sith. What you are you, my love?” She asked, her lips quirking in amusement.

“I shall be an Emperor who can use the Force, nothing more or less.” He said the words quietly, as if just realizing the truth for himself.

Ree stroked her hands down his broad back. “You shall be an Emperor whose name goes down through the ages.”

He trembled against her. “My soul is tainted with darkness, Ree,” he whispered. “But I have you to show me that there is still light in this galaxy when I grow too fond of those shadows.”


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Three months later, Anakin paced outside a chamber door. Inside, the Imperial Medic was examining the Lady Samri. Though they had shared their suspicions with no one, it seemed everyone in the Palace was awaiting the outcome of the examination. He noticed sly looks sent his way as he paced.

He scowled at them, and the rumors of his temper were enough to ensure that they scampered away. He grinned when they were out of sight. None of them realized that the young woman inside would have begged for their lives and he would have granted her that favor without thought.

Especially now. Nothing must upset her.

At last, the doors opened and the medic stepped out. She gave him a nod of acknowledgement and then curtsied. “They Lady Ree wishes to speak to you, Your Majesty,” she said in a voice that did not reveal anything.

With a growl of impatience, he stalked into the chamber to find Ree sitting by a window looking out. When she turned, there were tears tracing down her cheek.

Immediately, he knelt before her and brushed away the tears. “It’s all right, Ree,” he murmured. “We have all the time in the galaxy to have a child.”

She shook her head. “You’re so male,” she sobbed against his shoulder. “I’m pregnant, you great fool!”

He picked her up and twirled her in his arms. Then he stopped abruptly and set her gently on her feet. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Still crying, she shook her head. “No…”

He tilted up her chin. “What’s wrong, Ree?” A horrible thought struck him. “You’re not unhappy about the baby, are you?”

She sobbed again and shook her head, then buried her face in his chest. “I’m happy,” she assured him.

Puzzled, he leaned back and urged her face up to him again. “Then why are you crying?”

Ree smiled through her tears. “Because that’s what pregnant women do.”


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