Whisper Your Weakness

Luke stood outside the door to Mara’s apartment, finding his earlier upset slipping away with just the thought of seeing her again. When he was apart from her, he agonized over not having a real and complete relationship. When he was with her, all he could think about was how much he loved her and how unbelievably happy he was to have even made this little bit of progress in winning her heart.

Because he had to believe that was what had happened. He had won a tiny piece of her. Mara Jade wasn’t the type of woman who shared her body with just anyone. Now all he had to do was somehow convince her to share her heart as well.

When he rang the anunciator, he was surprised to feel her stretch out with the Force to determine who was calling. His smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger as he touched her Force presence, letting her know he was there. It only lasted an instant before she quickly pulled away again, but Luke treasured that moment and imagined in his mind how wondrous it would be if she would only open up to him fully. Patience, Skywalker, he reminded himself again. Patience was not his strongest trait, but for Mara Jade? It would be well worth it.

The door slid open and Mara greeted him with her usual smirk. Poking her head out the door, she looked left then right. Luke’s face showed his confusion until she grabbed him by the front of his tunic with one hand, simultaneously yanking him inside her apartment and bringing his head down so that she could kiss him passionately.

The door closed unnoticed behind him as Luke eagerly took her into his arms and deepened the kiss with a groan. After a long moment, Mara reluctantly pulled away and Luke let her know what he thought of that idea with a sullen look.

“Don’t give me that sulky farmboy face. I’ve got a little more work to finish and then we can move on to more interesting things,” she promised.

“Okay. Have you eaten? I stopped and picked up something for you on the way over.”

“Well, how sweet, Jedi,” she said with a laugh. “You didn’t get anything for yourself?”

“Nah, Leia fed me pretty good. But I’m always open to a handout if you’re willing to share,” he grinned.

Mara laughed again as they moved into her living room and she walked back over to the desk where a pile of datapads lay. She sat down and said, “You can put it in the kitchen and I’ll get to it in a bit. I’ve probably got about thirty more minutes here. Think you can amuse yourself until then?”

“I think so.”

Luke walked into the kitchen and put the sandwich he’d picked up into her refrigeration unit, then wandered back into the living room. Glancing over at her, he stifled his groan of desire and impatience. The light from her desk lamp caused a soft halo to glow around her fiery hair as she bent her head to her work. She looked utterly beautiful and very desirable.

Moving over to the curio stand she had beside her sofa, he picked up a tiny figurine of a dancer. He smiled as he ran his thumb over the red hair of the piece. Mara had disguised herself as a dancer many times in her life as the Emperor’s Hand, but Luke knew that she had a genuine love for dance. He hoped one day to convince her to dance for him, as he hadn’t managed to talk her into that yet.

After several minutes of inspecting her bric-a-brac, Luke looked up when he heard a muffled groan come from the desk. Mara was rolling her head back and forth, one hand rubbing the back of her neck. Putting the porcelain piece he was holding back onto the curio stand, Luke moved up behind her and gently replaced her hand with both of his own.

After an initial start of surprise, Mara let her head fall forward, obviously enjoying the feel of his calloused hands expertly massaging her neck and shoulders. Luke loved the softness of her skin, and at the same time he loved and admired the strength of the muscles underneath.


Sweeping her hair aside with one hand, he leaned down to press a kiss against the nape of her neck. He was very pleased to feel the tremble that went through her body. Half-heartedly, she tried to protest.

“Skywalker, I still have work left to do.”

“You’re done working,” he said softly as his lips trailed across the back of her neck and over to her shoulder.

With one hand, he pulled the sleeve of her tank top to the side so that he could access her whole shoulder. At the same time, his other hand stole around under her opposite arm and crept under the tank top to graze across her already hardened nipple. Luke smiled in satisfaction at the tiny whimper that escaped her lips.

He stepped around and gently dropped to his knees to kneel in front of her. Mara spread her legs apart so that he was nestled in between them. Grasping the bottom edge of her top, he grinned at her as he pulled it up and off of her. She tried to give him an exasperated look, but he could see the desire in her eyes and knew she wouldn’t stop him.

Leaning forward, he kissed the hollow at the base of her throat, while his hands slipped around her to press against her back, pulling her closer to him. Ever so slowly, he traced a trail downwards with his mouth, gently grazing the side of her breast. Her hands threaded through his hair, trying to push him closer and make him do what she wanted. Luke had discovered, however, that he loved to tease her to the point of anger when it came to their lovemaking. It was a dangerous game at times, but the rewards were always enormous.

“Sky-walk-eeerrr,” Mara moaned, drawing his name out in frustration.

“Uh-uh. You know what I want,” Luke whispered, rubbing his cheek against her nipple. He looked up at her and when she saw the teasing glint in his expression, her eyes narrowed.

*You know you want to,* he sent to her daringly.

*You’ll pay for this later,* she warned.

*I’ll look forward to it.*

Watching Mara’s inner struggle between giving in to what they both wanted and maintaining her precious sense of independence, Luke longed to reassure her that he loved her and didn’t want to change anything about her. But he was still on uncertain ground, so he merely watched her silently. As subtly as he could, Luke let her sense his intentions through the Force. Whether or not she picked up on it, he couldn’t tell, but Mara looked down at him and gave him a little smile.

“Luke,” she whispered.

Desire flared sharply in him. He would never have thought that just hearing this woman say his name in that certain tone would be enough to make him want to make love to her for hours. With a growl of satisfaction, he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked deeply. Mara let out a startled cry and arched her back into his embrace. Shifting his attentions to her other breast, Luke caught the nipple he’d just abandoned between his thumb and forefinger and gently squeezed. He was rewarded by a throaty groan from Mara and just the sound of her pleasure was enough to cause his manhood to harden with want and need.

Mara’s hands slid around to the sides of his head and pulled him upwards, her mouth crashing down on his roughly. Luke’s lips parted eagerly and their tongues met, dancing off one another wildly. Her hands moved to the front of his shirt and she began impatiently tugging at the buttons.

“Too many clothes,” she muttered around his lips.

Luke chuckled softly and reached down to help her undo the fasteners on his shirt before she decided to rip them apart. When he had them undone, Mara pushed the shirt off his shoulders and it fell unheeded to the floor. With a sigh of satisfaction, Mara ran her hands over his chest, grazing his nipples and squeezing them in what he knew was retaliation for his earlier teasing.

“Are you laughing at me, Skywalker?”

“Never, sweetheart,” Luke said, even as another chuckle slipped past his lips. Daringly, he slid a hand down between her legs and lightly pressed just the spot that he knew would send a jolt of desire through her. “And it’s Luke when we’re ma- messing around, remember?”

A tiny part of his brain froze in fear. He’d almost said ‘making love’. Praying she hadn’t caught that little slip, Luke held his breath. They’d been very careful to avoid that word in particular. He began to breathe again when she laughed.

“You don’t play fair…Luke.”

“Just keeping up with you, Mara, requires some bending of the rules.”

“Why don’t we move this into my bedroom then, and you show me what other rules you’re willing to bend?” she said huskily.

“Gladly,” he whispered back to her as he wrapped one arm around her waist and stood up, lifting her completely off the floor. As she twined her arms around his neck, their mouths met again. Walking swiftly and surely to her bedroom, Luke fell forward onto the bed, pinning her underneath him. Kissing his way down her body, he used his teeth to untie the string on her loose lounging pants and nuzzled her belly.

Raising up to his knees, he pulled the pants down and off of her, gazing hungrily down at her now naked form. Her fingers found the buckle of his belt and fumbled to undo it. Grinning, he pushed her hands aside and completed the task himself, getting rid of his clothing as efficiently as he’d gotten rid of hers. Almost reverently, he caressed her breasts, trailing his hands slowly down to touch her stomach and then her hips.

“Force, you are so beautiful,” he murmured.

“So stop admiring the view and let’s get to it, Jedi,” she growled playfully.

“Patience, Jade,” he admonished, deciding to let the nickname go this time. There was a limit to how far he could push her. “Some things are best taken nice and slow.”

“But sometimes we like them hard and fast,” she said with a wicked grin.

Answering her with a low laugh, he then swooped down quickly to lave her mound with his tongue, swirling the tiny bud hidden in the folds with the tip of it. He was gratified at the sharp gasp that faded into a helpless moan, her hands clenching the sheets beneath them.

“That hard and fast enough for you?”

“Not enough,” she gasped. “More, Luke, I need more!”

Obliging her, he moved more slowly this time, pleasuring her with his mouth and tongue almost lazily. Her moans and gasps increased in volume as she came closer to the peak of satisfaction. When he knew that he had her at the very brink, Luke paused and raised his head to look at her face. A sound of frustration came from her as she opened her eyes to meet his gaze.

*Do you trust me?*

A glimmer of uncertainty appeared in her expression and she nodded slowly.

*I want to try something. Just relax.*

Hesitantly, he sent her a mental picture through the Force of what he wanted to do to her. He could see her tense up as his presence brushed against hers. Leaning down to kiss her inner thigh, Luke gently but firmly persisted.

*Trust me.*

It was nearly a plea, but Luke didn’t care. If she was ever going to let them be more than just lovers, he had to push her a little. If that also meant giving up some of his pride, so be it.

Cautiously, Mara nodded again, giving him permission to do what he wanted. Luke was elated at the show of trust, but was careful not to let her see his excitement and apprehension too much.

Lowering his head, he began the intimate caresses again. At the same time, he sent her mental images of the two of them together in every position he could imagine. Her response was immediate and fierce in its intensity. Arching up off the bed, she screamed his name. Reading her - as much as she would allow him to - through the Force, Luke could tell Mara was nearly overwhelmed at the combined physical and mental sensations flooding over her. Her entire body writhed and twisted on the bed, her hips bucking up towards his mouth uncontrollably.

Knowing that she needed only the smallest push to send her completely over the edge, Luke swiftly moved up and plunged into her with one smooth stroke. Just that was enough to send Mara spiraling into oblivion, and she cried his name again as her inner muscles contracted tightly around him. In only seconds, Luke was groaning as his own orgasm washed over him. Seeing her so lost in the haze of passion had nearly made him come before he ever got inside her.

Burying his face in her neck, he inhaled the scent of her, a scent that by this time was imprinted in his brain. He could be blind and deaf and stumble across her and know it was her just by the unique fragrance that was Mara Jade. She was lying there, breathing heavily, her eyes closed, her arms clasped loosely around his neck.

Luke lifted his head and kissed her softly on the lips. Her eyes opened and Luke saw what looked suspiciously like tears in the sheen of them. He smiled lazily down at her, still half-lost in his own bliss.

“Luke,” she breathed. “That was…I’ve never…I…”

“Shh. I know. Neither have I.”

Shifting over to lay beside her, he pulled her back up against his chest, wrapping her in his warm embrace. As their heartbeats slowed, it seemed to him that they began to beat in rhythm together. Luke could hardly contain his elation, as he thought happily that he had made another step forward in winning her heart.

It was probably about an hour later that he discovered how very wrong he was. He woke up from a sound sleep to Mara pushing him out of the bed. Startled, he looked up at her in confusion from the floor and then cursed silently as he saw the panic in her eyes. Damn, she’s had time to think about it and it’s scared the wits out of her.

“You’ve got to go, Skywalker. I still have work to do and I don’t want anyone to see you leaving here in the morning.”

“And it’ll be better for them to see me leaving here at 2300, Jade?” he asked quietly as he got to his feet.

“Look, Jedi, I’m not going to argue with you! This is my apartment and I want you to leave, so leave!”

She leapt out of the bed and gathered up his pants and boots, walking over to shove them at him. Taking them automatically, Luke reached one hand out towards her, but she scurried back around the bed out of his reach. Sitting down on the edge, she kept her back facing him and he could see the tension in every line of her body.

“Mara, I-”

“I don’t want to discuss this,” Mara said in a low tone and Luke could hear the fear in her voice.

“Okay, I won’t push. But please, Mara, don’t shut me out completely. I couldn’t bear to lose your friendship. It’s far too important to me,” he pleaded.

“Just…go, Luke. We’ll talk later,” she said, her voice strangely muffled.

Luke stood there uncertainly for a long moment, wanting to go to her, to reassure his redhead that he loved her and would never hurt her, but it wasthe the right time. With a sigh, he pulled on his pants and his boots, then walked over to the door of the bedroom. He glanced at her one more time.

“Promise that we’ll talk later?” he asked. She never broke her promises, he knew that much and he needed to hear those words from her before he left her alone.

“Yes, I promise,” she whispered.

As he stepped into the living room and retrieved his shirt from the floor by her work desk, the bedroom door closed swiftly, effectively shutting him out. Staring at the door, Luke could feel the sorrow rising up in his chest. If only she would let him love her! If only…

“One step forward, two steps back,” he murmured sadly to himself.

Slowly, Luke made his way back to his own apartment, where he would spend the rest of the night in his own bed, alone.

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