Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep - Being revamped!

Chapter 9: Metamorphosis

Something had changed between them during the night. As she held him while he dreamed of things beyond bearing, and the agony that had forged a man destined to rule, her feelings had changed.

And so had his – though he made no mention of it.

She knew, though, as surely as she knew her own name, that things were different now. She was a slave no longer, not inside where it mattered the most. His pain had freed her somehow, freed him in some unimaginable way.

What this might mean to her future –their future - she did not know.

Now it beckoned, though, a light glimmering ahead, full of hope.

****************************************************

She was getting dressed and anticipating another long day of doing… nothing at all. She had devoured the small library and since she knew no one other than Vader, there were no pleasant visits to contemplate. He was with the Emperor, discussing some matters of state.

He had thanked her for being such a pretty distraction for his enemies.

Ree contemplated what he had in mind and why he needed those around him distracted. Often when she looked at him, he would have a faraway look in his eyes, as if seeing a future that only he could envision. This should have concerned her, but for some reason, she found herself longing for whatever it was that he saw with those mesmerizing blue eyes.

“Ree,” he called softly, dragging her from her thoughts. His head tilted and he smiled at her secretively, as if they had shared a confidence.

She looked up to see him standing in the doorway, leaning negligently against the wall, a half-smile on his face. He came to her and wrapped his arms around her lightly.

Then he kissed her soundly and pressed a credit chip into her hands. “Go shopping,” he said. “There are two guards outside the door who will accompany you. And wear your veil,” he reminded her.

Flashing him an impudent grin, she nodded, staring at the credit chip. “I promise I won’t spend too much, milord,” she remarked.

He laughed and shook his head. “My Master pays me well for my unquestioning loyalty,” he said quietly. “Spend as much as you like. I have more credits than I know what to do with,” Vader waved his hand dismissively while Ree gaped at him.

“No one has that many credits,” she scoffed.

He arched one brow and pursed his lips. “Well then, I suppose you shall have to spend as much as you can and see if I yell about it, won’t you?”

She laughed and tucked the credit chip into her skirt pocket. “I am up to the challenge, milord!”

Kissing her one last time, he told her, “I’m quite sure you are.”

*********************************************

Vader scowled at the guards who had accompanied Ree on her shopping expedition.

“You do realize that if the Lady Samri had been seriously hurt, your lives would be forfeit?”

The two men shifted uneasily on their feet and sent a sidelong glance to each other.

“Yes, Lord Vader,” they answered in unison.

The Sith sighed heavily, drumming his fingers on the desk. He brought one hand up and wearily brushed back his hair. Then he turned his baleful gaze back toward the incompetent guards. His other hand twitched, anxious to take their throats in his grasp and feel their lives slowly flicker out of existence.

But he had seen the knowing look Ree had given him as she retired. She would be checking on the two guards, whose only real sin was youthful inexperience. Ree would be quite unhappy with him if he killed the guards. He tamped down the urge to kill them anyway, cursing himself for his softness even as he did so.

Damn that girl – she had gotten under his skin.

“Get out of my sight,” he snapped, almost amused at the way they stumbled over each other in their haste to leave his presence. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair as he considered the problem. This time it had merely been some common street thugs who had threatened her, seeing an easy mark to rob. But as his plan went into motion, an assassination attempt against him, or a bid to hurt him through Ree, was likely.

Her death would make his victory a hollow one, he acknowledged. Lord Vader had plans for his gentle companion and he meant to see that she lived to fulfill them.

It was time to start putting some of the pieces of the puzzle into place. He picked up his comm and keyed in a sequence he rarely used.

************************************************

Ree looked into her mirror, grimacing at the black eye that had begun to bloom on her fair skin. Testing the edges of it with her fingertip drew a hiss of pain from her. Pulling back, she rotated her head so that she could study the small cut on her jaw and the abrasion on her right cheek.

Lord Vader would not be pleased.

The door to the bedchamber slid open and she resisted a sudden urge to grab one of the annoying veils. Such a tactic would not fool him, nor would it stop him from flying into a rage over her injuries. What she needed was a distraction and that was something she was learning to do quite well.

He came to her side in a few long strides, his fingers lifting her chin to study her face. The frown on his face deepened and his nostrils flared. He lightly touched the bruise around her eye.

“You didn’t have this when you came in,” Vader noted.

Ree shrugged and then murmured, “I guess it took a while to show, milord.”

Turning her face, he lightly traced her other injuries. “They dared…” he hissed.

She put her hand over his and turned it palm up to place a gentle kiss there. “I am fine,” she whispered. “You will not get upset,” she replied in an imperious tone she copied from him.

His fingers curled against the heat of her kiss. “I do not think my mistress should give me orders,” he drawled slowly.

Looking up at him through her lashes, she flashed an impish smile. “What if I ordered you to make love to me now to take my mind from my little pains?”

Growling, he picked her up in his arms. “Then I suppose this once I could follow her orders,” he replied.

Ree laughed and threw her arms around his neck. “I knew you could be reasonable, all evidence to the contrary aside. of course,” she murmured just before she licked at his pounding pulse in his throat.

Instead of taking her to their bed, he crossed the room to the big chair that was near the balcony. He settled himself in the chair with Ree straddling him.

Bemused by this unexpected development, she gaped at him. A grin appeared on his face, taking years and worries off his appearance.

He lightly touched the bruise around her eye and the warm tingle she now knew was his healing power kissed her face. The bruise would be gone when she looked in the mirror next.

Then he turned his thoughtful gaze to her bodice. “Hmm…. Let me see, what shall I savor first?” He frowned, concentrating deeply, one finger winding around the ribbon from her gown. “What will happen if I untie this, I wonder?”

Ree waited, breathless as he slowly – much too slowly – untied the ribbon lacing her dress together. When it was undone, he pushed apart the fabric with a sly smile, baring her breasts to his hungry gaze.

Leaning forward, he took one hard peak in his mouth, suckling lightly as she arched into his touch. Ree grabbed him by his hair, bringing him closer. She felt the warm trickle of her response slick her thighs.

“Yes, please,” she begged as he licked and nipped, his hand coming up to torment her other breast.

She arched once more and the movement caused his erection to brush against her sex. The friction of her shimmersilk undergarment ripped a whimper from her throat. His hips thrust upward and his hand clenched on her breast.

“By all the gods, you taste sweet,” he muttered against her flesh.

Murmuring incomprehensibly, she rubbed against his aching length in a tortuous, circular motion.

His mouth crashed down and hers and his hand came up between her legs, teasing her deftly. Sneaking in around her clothing, one long finger slid inside her heat, slowly stroking her from within. She clenched her muscles around his finger and he groaned into her mouth.

Shoving aside the silken barrier, he lifted her and freed his cock from its prison of cloth and leather.

With a mischievous look, she resisted his efforts to impale her on his throbbing erection. Instead, she eased herself off his lap and onto her knees. Her fingers explored his hard length of flesh and then she leaned forward to delicately lap at the drop glistening on the crown.

He cried out, arching up into her warm mouth. His hands were on the arms of the chair, clenched so tightly that she heard wood begin to give way beneath his black glove.

Her eyes locked with his as she lowered her mouth onto his cock, softly sucking as she descended. Now it was Vader who whimpered helplessly, his hands shaking as they clutched at the chair.

When she moved her mouth back up his cock, she let it slip free from that warm haven, the cool air dragging a broken moan of protest from him. Steadying it with her hand, she licked softly, teasingly, for several moments until he reached for her head, trying to bury himself in the hot, sweet haven of her mouth.

Groaning as she did so, she swallowed him once more and he thrust up quickly, his movements frenzied.

Then she found herself being hoisted into his lap once more and in the next instant, his cock was sheathed inside of her. She put her hands on the back of the chair and slowly began to ride him. He seemed too dazed to set the rhythm himself, so Ree set her own pace.

She began slowly, with a long, steady glide up and down his cock. His hands twitched at her hips, but he did not change the pace. Then she quickened the timing of her strokes, feeling her orgasm building deep inside of her.

Unable to stand his passive role any longer, he grasped her hips hard, and his hips bucked up twice…

He spilled himself inside her with a loud cry but she was too swept away by her own climax to even hear him.

Shuddering, she collapsed against him. She found a tiny bit of strength to whisper in his ear, “You followed my orders quite well, milord.”

She felt the rumble of his laughter throughout her body. “I’m glad milady approves.”

**********************************************

The next morning as they ate their meal, he studied her carefully. He looked every centimeter the contained military leader that he was.

”The bruises are all gone,” she informed him with a smile. “Thanks to you.”

He shrugged and turned his attention to his food. “Other than being attacked, was your shopping expedition satisfactory?”

Ree looked down at her plate and bit her lip. “Yes, it was,” she murmured. “A bit [i]too[/i] satisfactory, I must confess.” She looked up somewhat warily.

Vader grinned at her. “Gave that credit chip a good go, did you?” Then he winked.

Catching his mood, she laughed. “A pretty good one, yes.”

“And will I get to see some of these extravagant purchases, Lady Ree?’

“All of them…eventually,” she answered.

“Anything…[i]revealing[/i]?” He asked hopefully, a boyish smile transforming his face yet again.

“Perhaps,” she replied.

“That’s not fair,” he protested. “You can’t say something like that and leave me wondering.”

Leaning forward a bit, she brushed back his hair. “Of course I can, I am a woman.”

He sighed heavily, letting her know he was disappointed, but laughter still lurked in his eyes. “Is there anything I can see right now?’

Ree stood up. “Actually there is,” she said. “Hold on a moment while I get it.”

Vader sat back and patted his belly. The meal had been excellent and Ree’s company even better. He had made the right decision to keep her with him; he would just make very sure that she was well protected.

He heard her come up behind him and when he started to turn, she stopped him. “Wait,” she instructed. “Close your eyes.”

Dutifully, he closed his eyes and sat quietly.

“Okay, you can open them.”

When he opened his eyes, there was on the table before him an exquisite model of his ship, the Executor. His eyes flew to hers and she smiled, confident that he was both pleased and surprised by his gift.

“You bought me a gift?” he asked quietly. “Why?”

Opening her mouth to answer, she paused. Finally, she shrugged. “I’m not quite sure, actually.”

Vader sensed the truth of her response. Reaching out to touch the model with a reverent hand, he smiled sadly. “No one has bought me a gift since-” He shook his head and met her eyes. “It has been a long time since anyone has given a gift to me, not Palpatine’s fist.”

“Do you like it?” she asked softly, though she already knew the answer.

“It’s perfect,” he answered. “Where did you find it?”

She laughed. “You wouldn’t believe what you can find here – models of your ship, copies of your lightsaber,” she listed. “And your face is on all sorts of things!” She exclaimed. Ree glanced at him from under her lashes. “Apparently, you’re quite popular.” Then she shook her head. “Though I confess, I can’t see the attraction.”

Her squeal of laughter rang out as he suddenly grabbed her and whirled her around. “Maybe I should refresh your memory?”

Lifting her lips to his, she murmured, “Perhaps you should.”

As he kissed her, satisfaction surged through him.

He had chosen well.