Moving on - Part 2
It wasn't just some planet lucky enough to have a breathable atmosphere that they had landed on – it was a paradise!
Slowly, and still hand in hand, they descended the landing ramp.
The ship had come to rest on a wide rocky peninsula that stood perhaps twenty meters above an ocean of the deepest blue Mara had ever seen. As they walked across the stony surface of their makeshift landing pad to where it fell away to the ocean they were greeted by another surprise. They found themselves overlooking a bay, guarded by the very bluffs they stood upon, which swept to their right and then back again at the far end of the bay in the distance.
The bay was blue like the ocean to their left but gradually lightened, shading to dark green then aquamarine as it swept up to a beach that was red as Tatooine's setting suns. They watched as gentle waves drifted lazily across the bay, gradually rising up to the beach and finally curling over before crashing on the sand and pulling back again. The beach was cut by a single rocky stream that disappeared into a grove of tall branchless trees, which appeared to sport green puffballs for tops. Behind the trees, a short cliff as red as the beach, climbed to their level and behind that soared a mountain, its peak hidden in pillowed clouds.
The mountainside was fluted with impossibly deep valleys and razor sharp ridges, both covered in a blanket of green. Each valley had a ribbon of white. "Waterfalls beyond count," she heard Luke whisper beside her. "Wow! This is even better than Yavin!"
"Yavin is a jungle, humid and dank" Mara countered. "This is…" She drew her breath and the salty tang of ocean air, laced with fragrant flowers filled her senses, "...pleasant!Warm, but in a nice way…"
Artoo whistled something behind them and Luke let go of Mara's hand to turn to check his display.
"Artoo says we're on an island. That could explain the agreeable air."
"Nothing hostile, as far as I can detect," Mara remarked, reaching out with the Force.
"Me neither," Luke murmured, still looking at the display. "The island seems to be a pretty big one, but is also far from any of the continents. It's possible then that there are no bigger predators."
"Nothing with big teeth, huh?" Mara was listening intensely at the sounds surrounding them. There was the intermittent breaking of waves on the beach below, the call of birds, the occasional sound of a light breeze in the tops of the trees below and…
"Is that a waterfall I can hear? It must be close."
Luke cocked his head and listened too.
"I'd say so. It sounds like that. It might even be the source of that stream on the beach. Let's have a look, shall we?"
They started to walk but a whistle from Artoo made them stop.
"Er… Artoo, I think we need to explore a little before we make repairs," Lukemumbled and glanced at Mara. She grinned and tugged his hand.
The droid whistled again, a bit disappointed this time, and beeped some comments. Luke threw a glance at the display. "You've found the breach and it will be easy for you to fix? Why, of course, you can just start on your own. Actually that would suit us … er, just fine! Hey!"
Mara had let go of his hand and ran along the edge of the bluff, searching for and quickly finding a path down to the beach below. She started down toward the sand and the alluring sound of the assumed waterfall. She laughed at Luke over her shoulder as he tried to sooth his droid. "Ok Artoo, you stay at the ship, right? We'll be back soon – or as soon as…" she heard him say. Then she saw him start to run after her but Artoo continued beeping. "No, no enemies. None that I can feel. You'll be fine, just fine!"
Mara was careening almost out of control down the path to the beach, trying to suppress her giggles as she heard Luke abandon Artoo and run after her. Determined to reach their destination before him, she slogged briefly through loose sand before she managed to get on the darker wet sand near the water's edge. Reaching the stream, she followed it up toward the stand of trees where the sand gave way to what appeared to be some sort of short grasses.
The stream was flowing in sand at the shore of the beach, but the sand gave way first to cobbles, and finally, water smoothed boulders as she ran, following the stream to its source. Shortly after passing beneath the tall trees, the vegetation grew thicker and the streambed began to climb steeply. She fought through this, for a moment considering whether she should use her lightsaber to cut through more effectively. But as the streambed broadened and climbed more slowly, the clinging vines gave way and the banks became easily traversed gravel. All around her, the strange trees were not too dense for her to be able to maintain a steady jog. She could hear Luke right behind her and the spontaneous hunt made her already teased senses go wild. Her heart was pounding much more wildly than seemed reasonable and she started to feel a bit silly.
Suddenly the streambed took a sharp turn, broadened to a wide pool and she was there.
She stopped in awe.
Before her, the roughly egg shaped pool was rimmed on three sides with the same puffball trees they had seen by the beach. Beneath them, the sand was dappled by sun and shade and faded from red-gold to almost purple. And diagonally across from them, a gossamer stream of water cascaded into the pool from perhaps forty meters up the red cliff beyond. Mara could see a small sand beach behind the falls, the sun playing shadows on it through the cascading water. The pool was large, easily three hundred meters across at its greatest length.
Luke had caught up and now slid his arms around her from behind and rested his chin against her temple.
"Isn't it romantic?" he murmured.
Mara couldn't help a wry smile.
"Romantic? Sure… "
Typical, Farmboy! Just typical!
But leaning against him, her back against his chest, his arms steadily around her, she felt a strange peace, unknown to her earlier.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath – and was instantly distracted by an aroma somewhat different than the fresh, salty air.
"It could be even more romantic…" she mumbled tentatively
"Hmmh?"
"… if we'd wash. You see, you… stink", she purred.
Luke straightened a bit and gave her the accusing expression of a hurt ego. Then his face cracked to a grin.
"Just you wait until I get my boots off…"
Mara made a mocking face.
But the romantic moment was gone and it gave her an excuse to focus on action again.
"Let's jump in!"
She opened her suit and peeled it quickly down her spine. Then she bumped down on her buttocks to pull the suit off together with her boots.
The sense of a sudden embarrassment from Luke made her glance at him.
"What?"
"Er… Nothing…or… well, perhaps we should wash our clothes too…"
She couldn't believe her own ears.
"You'd jump in with your clothes on?? Luke!! We're going to get married for Force's sake!!"
She started to laugh.
"…and besides…"
Mara brought herself up short in alarm as she started to wonder how the earlier excitement they had shared fit together with this unexpected chastity. After all, one had to get rid of clothes to…
"It's not the same thing," Luke mumbled, blushing heavily as he caught her line of thought.
"No? I don't see the difference?" She raised her eyebrows teasingly.
He looked away, clearly very embarrassed now. He had even started to shield.
Mara shrugged. "Well, I'm going in naked. You can do as you choose. But don't expect to come near me until you have washed everything thoroughly. "
Turning her back to him, she pulled her top off and wriggled out of her knickers. She gave him a taunting look over her shoulder, long enough to see a nonplussed look on his face, and ran out into the mesmerizing blue water.
The water deepened almost instantly. She moaned with pleasure and took a few strong strokes that brought her far out into the pool.
She could feel Luke shielding insistently behind her and dared to throw a quick glance in his direction. Well, he was on his way - top off already - exposing a well built and muscular chest he certainly had no reason to be embarrassed about. She could feel that kindling arousal rise in her again, despite the cooling water.
Why was he embarrassed? Was it only his Tatooine upbringing, or did he have… a reason? The last thought popped up in her head and right then she was grateful that he was shielding at that moment.
Mara was an experienced woman and knew perfectly well that a man's size didn't play an important role in the sexual act. But size could heavily influence a man's confidence and that, on the other hand, did play a vital part. Certainly, she had sometimes considered Luke Skywalker to be a bit buttoned up, but she had never assumed him to be inhibited or hesitating. Maybe she'd been wrong?
Maybe she should prepare herself for their first time not being all that grand…
Especially since…
The line of thought made her suddenly realize that certain things about herself could be out right discouraging for Luke, if they didn't put things straight from the start.
Through her upbringing, sex for Mara had always been just about the only way to satisfy her basic need for closeness and contact. And due to that she had, after her first sexual experience at 14-years old, seized every attractive possibility. In a world like the court of Palpatine no one had raised an eyebrow. On the contrary, she had just filled yet another role expected of her. But though she had always enjoyed the act and that form of physical closeness with all her senses, she had never let her private barriers fall. She had never managed to give her body the full satisfaction an orgasm with a partner would provide. Those had remained something she only managed to receive in solitude.
Later, after the death of her former Master, she had avoided all physical relations - partly since she had needed to withdraw and had quickly realized that her sex life 'on her own' was satisfying enough and partly because the world of the galactic smugglers was a world of gossip. It was also a world where women were quickly turned to objects with virtually no provocation. Only precious few times in the past fifteen years had she met a man that she actually felt attracted to, and even fewer times had the needed discretion been attainable to allow her to take the step.
Her lacking the ability to have an orgasm during intercourse had never bothered her. Not before now.
Suddenly she was troubled that it would add to Luke's possible feeling of inadequacy.
What if he really felt that way? Or perhaps it was just she who…
She was interrupted in her musings by a splash. She turned around and could see the water making ringlets where he had jumped in. She grinned in relief. Well, he'd had the balls after all!
But he didn't pop up right away. Mara tried to see him under the water but failed. Attacked by a sudden nervousness she stretched out with her senses but still couldn't find him. She looked to the right and to the left and fought a rising and unfamiliar sense of panic.
"Luke!?"
Suddenly something grabbed her from nowhere and pulled her downward. She yelped and reflexively kicked out towards her attacker. She hit only water but her panic dissolved when Luke's head popped up beside hers. His hair was slicked to his head and he grinned like a gungan.
"You rascal!" Mara swung at him and hit him rather hard on his shoulder.
"Ouch!" he complained but didn't stop laughing. "That hurt!" He splashed water on her.
Mara had started to laugh too. No man had ever dared to be so insolent with her and now she was about to show Luke Skywalker precisely why that was the case. She punched at the water and sent a whole shower straight up his face.
"Hey!" He blinked and gasped for air. "NOW! That will be revenged!!"
"Going dark side now, are we??" She swam away from him with ease.
"I don't need the dark side or the Force to get my revenge," he exclaimed and took up the hunt.
He was a decent swimmer, she had to admit and she was just starting to wonder where in the galaxy he had picked that up when he managed to grab her ankle and pull her fiercely towards him. She was nearly splitting her sides with laughter and got her mouth full of water so her defence wasn't working too well. Suddenly Luke managed to give her a stinging smack on her buttocks. Mara cried out in astonishment and mocked anger and started to kick for real.
Despite coming from a desert planet, Luke was surprisingly good at manoeuvring in the water. Yet Mara managed to get in some proper kicks. At one point she was afraid she had been too violent since she sensed severe pain from him momentarily. But he didn't complain and they continued their playful fighting until Mara suddenly noticed she had sand under her feet. The next instant she was halfway up on the bank and let herself sink down in a lying position, hips still in the water.
Luke stiffened for a second, prepared to continue their battle, but then their eyes locked and he relaxed again. He slowly let himself sink down on top her and Mara opened her arms to him, leaning back in the soft sand. Never before had she thought of how much bigger than her he was despite his lack of height. As he loomed over her, he seemed to cover her completely and a shiver of expectant lust ran through her spine. Their lips came softly together as his arms encircled her waist and hips and she let her own arms slide around him, pulling him into a close embrace. The water lapped gently at their movements as their kiss deepened.
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