The End Justifies the Means

****

Padmé closed the drawer of her dresser with a soft click and sighed wearily. The weight of our deception had already tired her out and her shoulders were stooped as if she carried some invisible burden. My heart ached for her. It was only going to grow increasingly heavier and there was little I could do about it. She was walking through fire for me, she was proving herself willing to live a life full of the lies she so despised so we could be together. But what else could either of us do? I didn’t want to just be her lover with no legitimate rights or position in her life. No, I wanted it all and I was going to have it. My trials would be taken, I would be a Jedi Knight and I would have Padmé.

I came up behind her, my bare feet silent on the cool tile floor, and carefully brushed her mane of brown hair aside to expose the vulnerable curve of her neck. A sigh of sheer bliss escaped her as my hands began to massage her rigidly held shoulders, kneading the tense flesh and muscle. I closed my eyes and inhaled the familiar scent of her hair and skin, taking a moment out of time to just enjoy the closeness, to enjoy the compatible silence that surrounded us like a warm, comforting blanket. Only the occasional soft moans of pleasure from Padmé marred the quiet. But I enjoyed those.

I glanced at the chrono on the wall. It was late and we would have to be out of the house by five in the morning if we were to catch the first shuttle to the Lake Country. My fingers dug into the skin hidden by her robe, working hard to loosen the knots with strong, steady movements. Padmé braced herself, holding on to the dresser’s edge, arching her back with feline grace. Her head dropped forward as my thumbs pressed hard into the flesh at the nape of her neck, dissipating bit by bit the tension that had been building all day.

“That feels wonderful.” Padmé said softly.

A boastful smirk tugged at my lips and I kneaded her flesh a little harder.

As I eyed the curves of her body outlined by the silky robe, I found myself in a quandary, a moral dilemma really. Should I leave her and sleep elsewhere or should I stay? We hadn’t spoken of the sleeping arrangements but I knew without her having to say anything that she wasn’t at ease with me alone in the home she still shared with her parents.

Being in familiar surroundings and faced with a wedding her parents could neither attend nor know about was weighing heavily on her mind. It was for that very reason I was afraid to leave her alone. Even though I knew she was in it just as deeply as I was, I couldn’t shake my fear of losing her. After all, there were still over six hours before morning and who knows how many more before we could arrange the ceremony. That was a lot of time in which to simmer and stew, mulling over all the reasons why we shouldn’t go through with it.

Common decency and conventional manners told me I should leave. But my instincts weren’t so much whispering as screaming at me to stay and give her something else with which to occupy her mind. Besides which, I had to admit there was something decidedly wicked and arousing about the thought of sleeping with Padmé in the room she grew up in.

The bed suddenly seemed overly large in the confines of a room I’d previously considered spacious. Its presence mocked me and my admittedly weak attempt at trying to be a gentleman so late in the game. To stave off the heat spreading thorough my body, I closed my eyes in silent prayer, fighting the temptation even as the blood rushed from my head directly to my groin.

When entreaties to the local gods had no affect on my rising excitement, I tried focusing on the holo’s hanging on the wall in front of us, the ones that showed a girl way below the legal age for all the sexual scenarios that insisted upon running through my mind. The image of Padmé smiling back at me with youthful innocence filled my vision and I gulped hard, feeling like a dirty old man. Desperately, I looked to my left and imagined Padmé playing some silly game with a younger version of Sola, on the floor beneath the window overlooking the back garden. I thought of the trusting look in her parent’s eyes and the angry features of Ruwee should he ever find out that we had anticipated our marriage vows – many, many times over.

None of it helped. The tide of desire had its own agenda and I had as much hope of fighting it as I did in stopping one of Obi Wan’s tiresomely repetitive lectures.

My hands roamed lower, fingers sliding to curve around her sides as I kneaded the flesh just above her shoulder blades. The silk slid sensuously beneath my hands and against Padmé’s skin, making me ache to be touching her bare flesh instead. As I moved further down her slender back my long fingers grazed the sides of her breasts and Padmé bit back a strangled gasp. I smothered my own groan as I hardened further at her telling response. My body was begging to be appeased but unaccountably I hesitated.

We should wait, I reluctantly decided, unsure of where my sudden nobility had come from. It was rather pointless after the past two weeks but I thought Padmé might appreciate the gesture. My hands slipped lower, gripping her around her waist workworking the flesh at the small of her back. Another sigh escaped her as she began to gradually relax, her muscles loosening under the influence of my soothing caresses. Instinctively she leaned forward. The action caused her round behind to press back against me where she couldn’t help but notice my aroused state. The breath caught in her throat and her hands tightened their grip on the dresser’s edge. The tension so recently banished came flooding back into her limbs instantaneously.

That little noise, so arousing in nature, wiped out every single good intention I had managed to dredge up, obliterating in one fell swoop my newly found scruples. Neither of us moved. Only our mutual labored breathing broke the stillness of the room. Somewhere in the house I thought I heard Threepio snipe at Artoo.

For a moment I lingered where I was but my inherent weakness for Padmé won and I slid my hands up to the curve of her shoulders to give them a quick squeeze before slipping slowly down the length of her arms to close over her hands. I marveled at the way her delicate hands disappeared completely from view under mbefobefore pressing the length of my body to hers. Restlessly, Padmé flexed her fingers and our hands conjoined, fingers twining to grasp the edge of the heavy piece of furniture as one.

I deliberately rocked my hips against her. Instinct led her to push herself back into me despite her as yet unvoiced misgivings. I knew she wouldn’t be silent for long; that she had to put up a token resistance to appease her conscious. And I was right.

“We should not do this here. It is not right…my parents…” She said in a low, clipped voice that shook with nervousness and desire.

“I know.” I whispered into her hair but the next moment I pressed myself against her more firmly, grinding my erection hard against her bottom and back. An anticipatory shiver rippled down her body. The delicious sound of her gasping my name in a tangled mix of warning and desire sent a tendril of excitement curling in the pit of my stomach.

Bending my head, I gently sucked and nipped at her earlobe before moving my mouth lower still. Her flesh was warm and sweet beneath my lips and tongue as I explored the curve of her neck down to the juncture where it met her shoulder. I nuzzled my face against her, my light stubble rasping sensuously against her delicate skin. A breathless sigh filled the air.

The heat of desire pummeled me. The temptation to lift up the skirt of her nightgown and immediately alleviate the building pressure almost overwhelmed me. I stifled a deep groan and brought my mouth up to blow a hot breath into her ear.

“Do you want me….to go?” I murmured in a low and insinuating tone. Gods, if she said yes, I was in for some serious trouble. But I needn’t have worried; she was as aroused as I was. Duty, responsibility, propriety - all were taking a backseat to want and desire.

“No. Stay.” Padmé whispered after the barest moment of indecision.

It wasn’t long before the rocking motion set the dresser thumping against the wall rhythmically, the sound mingling with our panting breaths and low moans of hungry desire. The vibrations shook the wall behind the dresser and after one particularly forceful bump; one of the holo’s tilted and then fell from the wall. It was the one that showed Padmé surrounded by the now extinct Shadda-Bi-Borian children and as it hit the floor with a crash; she came out from passion’s influence and cried out in distress. I released her hannd wnd whipped her around, taking her mouth with mine in a ruthless attempt to wipe everything else from her mind. I was too aroused to care that a precious memory may have been destroyed and I was unfairly indignant that she was so easily distracted. It rankled that she wasn’t as carried away as I’d thought she had been.

Padmé stiffened but as my tongue slid past her lips to stroke hers, she melted, molding her body into mine, winding her arms around my neck without a further hint of protest. My hand had just closed around her breast when the haze of passion evaporated, destroyed by the voice of an unannounced guest.

“Master Anakin, I’ve taken the liberty of ….Oh! Oh my, I’m terribly sorry. Oh dear, this is an unforgivable lapse in my etiquette programming. I’m sure I…”

Behind the flustered Threepio, Artoo beeped and whirled with what could only be called amusement.

“Yes, well I see that now, Artoo. Oh dear...”

At the first sound of the protocol’s voice, Padmé and I jumped apart as if scalded, both of us looking like guilty children caught raiding the sweets keeper. Immediately, Padmé pivoted and then knelt down to crouch on the floor, averting and hiding her face as she picked up the fallen holograph. I watched absently as she cradled it in her hands, checking worriedly for damage. Conveniently, it also meant she didn’t have to look Threepio in the ‘eye’. I cleared my throat in awkward embarrassment. Suddenly, I felt like a parent caught out by a child. I belatedly thought to attempt to hide the all too obvious bulge making itself known against the thin material of my sleep pants. With as much nonchalance as I could manage, I crossed my hands in front of me. On the floor at my feet, Padmé coughed to cover up what sounded suspiciously like an amused titter.

“I do apologize, Master Anakin, Miss Padmé…please, please don’t deactivate me!”

Despite my irritation at being interrupted during such an intimate moment, I couldn’t quite hide the amused smile that threatened to ruin my stern face as Threepio begged theatrically for his life. Had he always been such an old lady, I wondered dryly. Force, when I had the time I’d have to do something about his prissy programming, I decided with an irritated grimace as the diatribe continued unabated. Unfortunately, the distressed droid noted my expression and that set him off on another panicked rant thinking his untimely end was imminent.

“Threepio...”

“…if Artoo hadn’t insisted….”

“Threepio…”

“…clearly he’s most unhelpful and I…”

“Threepio!”

I had to raise my voice to be heard above both his hysterical tirade and Artoo’s loud indignant sputterings. By that time, Padmé had re-hung the undamaged holo and turned back around, managing to present a composed face to the repentant droid, though there was still the faint tinge of crimson coloring her cheeks.

“Threepio, it’s fine. No one is going to deactivate you. Just knock or something next time, alright?” I said with weary exasperation. My head was beginning to throb more than…other parts of me.

The protocol droid brightened immediately and began an effusive prattling apology that set my teeth on edge. At my side, Padmé choked back a sharp snort of laughter and her shoulders shook as Threepio without pause instantly launched into an effusive exhortation of gratitude at my “generous benevolent nature in the face of his failure.” Idly, I wondered how many threats of deactivation my step-brother must have issued to cause Threepio to get so worked up over what amounted to such a minor incident.

My eyes danced with sympathy. How many times had the protocol droid infringed on a romantic moment between Owen and Beru? Even in the short time I’d been around him, I could tell the young farmer didn’t care for talkative droids and gods knew Threepio was a talker. No wonder Owen had had such an air of relief about him when Cliegg offered the droid back to me. The secretive and satisfied look Beru and Owen had exchanged behind his father’s back was suddenly all too clear.

“Oh, t you you, Master Anakin. It won’t happen again. I…”

I held up my hand to stop him. “What is it that you wanted?”

If it was possible for a droid to convey a look of blankness then Threepio succeeded admirably. Behind him, Artoo let out a string of beeps that sounded like the droid equivalent of mockery.

“Yes, yes!” He hissed, waving his hand in annoyance. “I was just coming to inform you that I had made up the bed in the spare room.” He finished and looked expectantly between myself and Padmé.

There was an awkward moment of silence as I racked my brains trying to figure out how to tell Threepio that a second bedroom wouldn’t be needed when Padmé took pity on either me or the droid, I wasn’t sure which.

“Thank you, Threepio.” She said diplomatically. “That was very thoughtful of you. Now, why don’t you both go power down for the night? We will be leaving very early and you wouldn’t want to cheat yourself of a decent rest.”

“Oh, yes. What a good idea, Miss Padmé. How kind. Most humans simply do not realize….”

Of course, he couldn’t let it end there and we had to suffer through some figurative bowing and scraping before Threepio finally turned to leave the room with Artoo hot on his heels. The little droid let forth with a stream of beeps that apparently didn’t sit well with the taller droid.

“But why share a room when two are available? I just don’t comprehend human behavior.” Threepio paused as Artoo beeped a response. “Well, I can’t think why you would say that, how very rude.”

The last outraged words floated back to us as the door slid shut and there was blissful silence. That is, until Padmé sank down at the foot of her bed and started to laugh. I stared at her with a frown of affronted dignity, still annoyed at having been interrupted at such a critical moment, but my expression only set her off on another laughing tangent. She collapsed onto her back, holding her sides and giggling until tears came to her eyes. I realized with a start that it was the first time I’d seen her act so carefree since I’d teased her in the meadow or perhaps when I’d amused her with my definition of ‘aggressive negotiations’. I had missed that side of her while I had pursued her so ruthlessly. And suddenly I wanted to prolong that innocent moment for as long as I possibly could. I wanted to carry the lighthearted memory with me to warm and sooth me on all those long, lonely nights I knew lay ahead.

I stepped up to the bed and glared down at her in mock outrage, crossing my arms over my chest in pretend disapproval. In short, I imitated my Master, right down to his often irritatingly correct accent.

“It’s quite undignified for a senator to be rolling around on her bed and giggling like a school girl. Really, Senator Amidala, what would your fellow senators say if they could see this disgraceful display?” I arched one eyebrow at her in a fair imitation of Obi Wan.

It was the brow quirk that did it. Padmé gazed up at me for a long second and then she was off on a fresh peal of laughter that echoed around the room and made my heart flip over in my chest. Love, warm and wonderful spread through my body. It felt like I’d come home and the beautiful girl with eyes crinkled in helpless laughter was the cause. For that moment in time I was at peace and happy too.

With a grin of my own, I flopped down on my stomach beside her, the bed shaking with both her continued mirth and the aftershocks of my fall. I rolled onto my side so I could watch the laughter chase away that faint but present haunted look she’d worn for far too long. How different it all was from that first time I’d been there with her. Had it really only been four weeks ago? I’d been so tense and nervous that day. Padmé had been dragging clothes from her seemingly limitless wardrobe and all I could do was try not to stare at the bed. I was uncomfortably aware of her welcoming but stern father’s presence somewhere in the house but that hadn’t stopped my head from filling with fantasies that had threatened to embarrass both of us by manifesting themselves physically.

I propped my head up with one hand, the metal appendage smooth and cool against my cheek. The sound of her laughter was starting to fade away and she gasped for breath between the last few giggles. I smiled as she made a half-hearted attempt to brush several disobedient curls away from her face and out of her eyes. Finally I reached out and swept aside the last one for her. But once there I couldn’t resist the compulsion to trace the delicate liof hof her face.

Starting at her brow, I drew one lazy finger down the bridge of her nose, over her softly parted lips, down her chin to the long column of her throat, and between the valley of her breasts. When I reached the flat plane of her abdomen, I splayed my hand out and slid it around her waist, using my handhold to gently cant her hips towards me. The warmth of her body seeped through the thin material, singing my nerve endings and causing my heart to beat violently in anticipation. I lingered there, stroking and caressing her through her gown for a long while. Desire pulsed and throbbed and I swallowed hard. The last vestiges of humor faded from Padmé’s face and she regarded me back solemnly, the atmosphere turning serious and heated in the space of a few seconds.

Her face was level with mine and we shared a moment of such peacefulness my throat tightened painfully from the sheer beauty of it all. Padmé raised her hand to follow the lines of my face in much the same way I had just done to her. Under her delicate touch heat blossomed and I fell into the brown eyes that had bewitched me from the first moment I’d seen them in Watto’s dirty shop. I captured her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles before gently but determinedly rolling her over onto her back. In the next instant, I moved over her, blanketing her body with mine.

Neither of us looked away. Neither of us spoke.

Gently but firmly, I took both her arms and stretched them up over her head, pressing them down into the thick bedcover as I switched my hold. With both wrists held willing prisoner by myal hal hand, I dropped the other down to play with the delicate neckline of her nightgown. A shaky sigh escaped her and I smiled at her tenderly before allowing my eyes the delight of following the path my fingers were taking. I skimmed her breasts, painting imaginary patterns over the swollen curves, making her writhe beneath me in expectation. I kept just centimeters away from the hardening nipples that were begging for my attention, always circling, tormenting her with promise. Padmé trembled, shifting restlessly as she whimpered deep in her throat in protest, too shy to ask for what she wanted.

A primal sense of male satisfaction that would have infuriated Padmé had she been privy to it filled me. It heated my blood and made me feel arrogantly confident in the power I exercised over her body. Being there with her in her childhood bed, reminded me anew that I wielded an immeasurable amount of control over someone I normally would have been in awe of. Instead she was in awe of me. I made her melt at my touch. I could fluster her like no other. The rush of recognized power surged through my veins like an unnecessary aphrodisiac and sped directly to my already pounding arousal.

I moved my shaking hand back to the lace edging that fluttered beguilingly at her breast with every shallow breath she took. At the last moment I looked back up at her face in silent inquiry, my eyes burning into hers as I took firm hold of the neckline of her nightgown. The breath hitched in her throat and a shiver shook her frame as she realized my question wasn’t really a question but a statement of intent. Something, some feminine wile, some ancient instinct told her that even should she say ‘no’ it might not matter. Reluctant excitement sparked and flared in the depths of her brown eyes and she gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head.

It was all the permission I needed and with a harsh grunt, I tore the fabric down the front in one fluid motion. The flimsy shoulder straps tore as easily as if they were paper and the delicate shimmersilk fared no better. A loud gasp of shock came from Padmé. She had known what was coming but had still been ill prepared for the lust and violence that were the driving force behind the action. The triumph of seeing me so close to losing control gleamed suddenly in her half-lidded eyes and the sultry smile that accompanied it sucked the air from my lungs. The mix of innocence and womanly beguilement drove me mad. The knowledge that Padmé had apparently discovered this was both disturbing and unexpectedly exciting. The tiniest flicker of annoyance ignited within.

No! The tables weren’t going to be turned. I led this dance, not Padmé! I ground my hardness against her sex, hitting her sensitive bundle of nerves with what should have been a little too much force to be comfortable. A visible tremor skittered through her and she said my name on a long drawn out breath that tickled along my spine like tiny fingers. The seductive little noise sent the fire licking under my skin and suddenly who was in control seemed incidental.

Even so, when I took her mouth in mine it was with a hint of savagery. I was determined to reassert my dominance and prove my mastery over her body and mind. Jedi controlled their emotion, their environment, and the events that shaped the galaxy. Therefore I thought it only natural to think I should hold a measure of control over the one who held my heart. There was always the fear that if I didn’t hold on tight enough she would slip away and disappear.

I plundered her sweet mouth with brutal passion, forcing her lips apart with my tongue and teeth even though it wasn’t necessary. At the first aggressive flick of my tongue she yielded to me with such sweetness I could barely stand it. A wildness rose up inside of me and I deepened the kiss, pressing her beneath me with the full weight of my body. The feel of her pliant form trapped under me, knowing she couldn’t move and was subject to any and every whim that might come to my mind inflamed my senses. Excitement and raw lust raged through me and I ground my hardened erection against her again, groaning my ravenous hunger into her mouth.

It was like a small fire had been fanned and flamed into a raging, consuming inferno. My tongue plunged into her mouth in an imitation of the act our bodies would soon be engaged in. The kiss turned frenzied and I impatiently shoved the ripped material aside to expose her beautiful body to my roving hand. Unable to bear it a moment longer, I left Padmé gasping for air while I drank my fill of the soft curves laid out before me like a banquet for a starving man.

The soft mounds of her breasts beckoned and I lowered my mouth with a stuttered moan of surrender to lick one distended nipple teasingly, moistening it first and then blowing a cool current of air across the wet surface. Padmé trembled beneath me, a tortured breath hissing past her lips as the bud grew harder just for me. A possessive growl rumbled from my chest and I lashed out at the deliciously tight little bud with my tongue until she was pleading for something nameless but desperately wanted. The intensity of pleasure made her legs jerk uncontrollably and suddenly I was sinking into the cradle of her hips as her thighs willingly parted, her legs instantly bending to hug my sides.

I continued to use my teeth and tongue, feasting on her breasts, alternating between them both so as not to neglect one for the other. Mewling cries and keening moans rose from Padmé’s throat and her body bowed beneath the onslaught of my mouth and the touch of my hand. I could have suckled at her breasts for the rest of the night, and before I left Naboo I was determined one night would be spent in that manner, but at that moment the ache inside was calling me, screaming for me to push into her hot, wet passage and lose myself in her honeyed tightness; a tightness I knew would pull me down into spiraling oblivion and make me forget everything else.

With my hand still kneading one soft breast, I licked and sucked my way up the arch of her neck. Between nibbling kisses and harsh breaths, I whispered words against her scented skin; words that make her quiver and squirm; words that made desire flow as her body readied itself for invasion.

“So sweet, so warm for me…what do you want? Do you want me inside you? Do you want me filling you? Tell me, Padmé, say the words.” My voice was heavy and thick with lust and I shook with hot desire as my fingers slipped from her breast, down over her stomach and then finally between her creamy thighs. I insinuated my hand between our bodies to stroke her sex.

Padmé was so wet that at first touch I had to take several deep, shuddering breaths to keep from spilling myself in my pants like an inexperience boy. I swallowed hard and I had to pause while I rested my damp forehead against the hard curve of her collarbone, fighting for control. It wasn’t until the throbbing between my legs lessened somewhat that I dared to continue. My lips moved to her ear and Padmé whimpered as my tongue darted inside on the heels of my hot breath.

“You like this, don’t you?” My voice crackled with fire, want licking each word. “And this.” I said as I slicked one finger inside her, knowing she wanted more than what it could provide.

Still captured in a tight metal grip, Padmé strained against the hold her body shuddering at my throaty tone. “All the power and control given over to me. You love the surrender. You love this.” I squeezed her imprisoned wrists to emphasis my meaning.

Passion-lit eyes met mine and I knew my words had fueled their flame, knew my words had built her excitement up one more notch. The touch of resentment that also lurked in the depths of her slumberous eyes just added more fuel to my own fiery lust. My fingers delved into the soft folds of her sex, circling and worrying the center of her passion with the skill born of long practice. Padmé’s body bucked hard and her legs trembled under my relentless ministrations. With single minded purpose I worked to wind her coil tighter and tighter but never pushing far enough to snap it.

“Don’t you, Padmé?” I continued, flicking my tongue against the rapid beat of her pulse at the base of her neck. “Tell me.”

//Den il lu’neta ceree juun ney ki-lay tu ah//

The lilting words brushing against her mind sent a violent tremor through her and drew a gush of liquid heat that saturated my hand. A groan full of longing was ripped from me and Padmé drew in a sharp breath.

“Say the words, Padmé. Say the words you said that night in your cabin.” I growled, freeing myself with a hurried tug, nearly biting through my lip at the heady scent of her arousal.

Padmé arched her body, pressing herself against me with a helpless whimper. Her wrists pulled against the restraining metal of my hand.

“I don’t…remember.” She finally panted with a stubborn set to her jaw. It was a gesture I recognized all too well.

“Yessss…you do. Say it.” I demanded and then sucked the flesh at her pulse point in sharply, flicking my tongue against it and using my teeth to mark her.

Beneath me, her entire body jerked, a desperate cry sounding her capitulation and assuring me of my conquest.

“Tee’ana et…na loska mile…tu’et.” Padmé ground out, unable to finish her sentence in just one breath. The sound of her gasping pants bled her need and called to me on a level I never knew existed.

Triumph went hand in hand with the rush of primal exhilaration that raced through my veins and tingled along every nerve ending. I smiled into her neck and then lifted my head to meet brown eyes dilated with desire, begging for culmination, for the release that only I could give her.

My mouth brushed hers but I drew back after the briefest of contact.

“Anakin…” Padmé bit out, frustrated with my teasing, by the presence of my arousal pressing against her entrance but not breaching it.

With that plea urging me on, I used the tip of my tongue to outline her lips with delicate strokes, thrilling to every impatient wiggle, every whimper sounding from the back of her throat. Finally, even I had had enough of the torment of anticipation.

“As milady commands.” I murmured against her mouth, a lazy smile lighting my eyes, promising of delights to come. “Bey ni ma'hal su no'le re'tá, nia yettu." I whispered into her mouth just as I slid hard into her tight sheath.

In that way, I made sure that Padmé had no time to consider changing her mind before morning broke.

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TBC
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