Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Star Wars characters. I do own the OCs, though. I do not make a £ from this.

Thanks to katherinesallen and revanchist131 for the follow!

CHAPTER WARNING: lemons and fluffiness

Flame all you want, I'm fireproof.

Hours later, the infirmary people transported a barely conscious Xalek into her room. There was no way she was leaving him in a part of the building that strangers could access now that he was rather helpless. News traveled fast on Korriban and her apprentice was a prime target to anyone that wanted to undermine her power base. If anyone had got wind of what had transpired between the two of them, it would be even worse. No, he would not get out of her immediate reach until he was able to defend himself again, she had decreed, so it was either transporting him to his or her quarters, or allowing her to stand guard in the infirmary. After a bit of resistance, Talos had finally caved in and allowed the transport to her chambers, as his weren't large enough to accommodate the required equipment.
Finally, everyone else left and she was left alone with her apprentice. He was lying on his right side on her bed, slightly curled upon himself. A bag of fluids was hooked to his left hand and his torso was wrapped in bandages. They had done their damned best to kill each other, and it showed. They both had a few cracked ribs and assorted cuts and burns, plus the doctors had extracted at least twelve shards of glass from his back, one of which had nicked one of his kidneys and nearly made him bleed to death. They'd have scars to remind them of this day, of how they had been close to lose each other and of how they had discovered their love.
Love..., Sereq thought to herself, as forbidden to a Sith as it was to a Jedi. A weakness, an obstacle, and yet Ashara looked so happy with Nikki and little Jhothy, so radiant.
Sereq sat on the bed next to Xalek and gently petted his hair. He made a small, happy noise that sounded a lot like a purr and opened his eyes, looking at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
She was happy too, she realised. She felt peaceful and complete, as if she had just found a part of her that had been missing.
Xalek sighed and closed his eyes again, rubbing his face against the pillow as if trying to find a comfortable position. Gods, he looked so cute and awkward like that, like a sleepy, fangy kitten. He was still wearing his mask, she had not allowed the doctors to take it off and leave him worse than naked in front of everyone, and it didn't look comfortable to sleep in.
"Do you want me to help you take it off?" she whispered, placing her hand over it. Her intentions were not completely selfless. She wanted to see him. She knew that showing one's face to another was a sign of complete trust among the Kaleesh, and she wanted him to willingly surrender that last barrier and be hers without reservations. At the moment he was probably high as a kite on anesthetics, and it wasn't really fair to ask that of him when he was in such a vulnerable state, but she couldn't wait.
Xalek opened his eyes again and looked at her for a long moment without replying, then his hand covered hers and he nodded. He still trusted her, even if she had nearly killed him and subjected him to what amounted to mental rape.
"Please." he whispered, guiding her hand to the back of his head and to the tie that held his mask in place. She untied it as deftly as she could with trembling fingers, awed by the solemnity of the moment, and shifted her hand back to his mask, looking deep into his eyes, again seeking permission.
His hand covered hers again, stilling it, and for a long moment he hesitated, then he nodded again and guided her hand as she peeled the mask away from his face. His eyes never left hers for a moment and she could sense his apprehension, his fear that she would find him too alien and disgusting. She held his gaze, she looked, but she couldn't find anything but love in her heart as she finally saw him.
He looked strange, she couldn't deny it. His cheekbones were high and sharp, his mouth broad and nearly lipless and his nose... well there wasn't a lot of it, but she had figured that out already from the shape of his mask, and it was upturned, with a few ridges of skin crossing the bridge. Without the mask, his tusks and jaw-horns looked even more prominent, and his eyes larger and more almond-shaped. His features were very dissimilar from those of a near-human, but there was a certain harmony to his face. He wasn't ugly. He was different, and he was hers.

Sereq placed the mask on the bedside table only by touch and luck, without turning away from him and then, finally, she could touch him. She traced his alien features with the barest touch of her fingertips, getting used to the texture of his scaly skin and to how it had been rubbed smoother in places by his mask. It was astonishingly intimate and yet chaste and tender.
His eyes fluttered closed and he let her explore at leisure. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He looked completely relaxed and peaceful.
"You are beautiful." she whispered. It wasn't a lie. She let the truth of that statement surface in her eyes and in the Force so that he would see, so that he would know.
"Mistress..." he whispered, taking her hand and fervently kissing her palm. The look in his eyes was enough to send a shiver through her and make her want more, but she restrained herself. There would be time for passion later, now what they needed was peace.
She smiled at him and shifted her hand to his hair, caressing the back of his head. She found the tie that held his queue together and untied it, gently threading her fingers through his hair and smoothing it on the pillow. Xalek groaned in pleasure and for a moment she fought with the impulse of fisting her hand in his hair and kissing him hard enough to make the blood boil in their veins. She forced herself to keep it gentle, instead, and kept petting and caressing him until little by little he fell asleep, and then a bit more. It was very relaxing and she only stopped when her eyes started closing spontaneously. She needed to sleep.
For a moment, she considered the idea of just slipping beneath the covers next to Xalek, but decided against it. He needed to rest and they were both too bruised for randomly bumping against each other in the night to be that fun. There would be time for that as well. There was all the time in the world, she told herself. For now she'd sleep on the armchair. She sat there, with a blanket wrapped around her body and her hastily repaired saberstaff across her knees and promptly blacked out.

When the soft knocking awoke her, some time later, Sereq got to the door in fractions of a second, with her saber lighted. The doorknob twisted slowly from the outside. Sereq grabbed the inside knob and pulled hard, then darted out, ready to strike.
She pulled up short however, when she saw who was the intruder: her ex-girlfriend, almost apprentice and self-proclaimed little sister, Ashara Zavros.
"Did I disturb anything?" the fallen Jedi asked with a wink and a sly smile.
"Ashara!" Sereq exclaimed, rather vexed. Ashara had been extremely shy and inhibited about sex when they started their brief relationship a couple of years before, but now, after having a child with Nikki and marrying him (in this order) she was very comfortable with the idea and with her body.
"Just asking! - Ashara declared, defensively raising her hands over her head - It was rather transparent that there is something between you, and as they say, a lone woman with a lone man will not waste time on reading the Jedi Code..." she added.
"Even Xalek doesn't heal that fast. I nearly killed him. - Sereq said, shaking her head in horror - Maybe love is really as dangerous as the Jedi say." she added with a sigh.
"Only when it is repressed. - Ashara said assuredly - Otherwise it is peace and passion at the same time. It is the best thing you can have in your life, sister." she added with a soft smile.
Sereq smiled as well. "I am starting to realise this. - she admitted - Do the others know?" she added as an afterthought, trying to mask her anxiety.
Ashara nodded. "Know and approve, I think. - she replied - At least, Nikki and I do approve."

"I do not, instead." a disembodied voice chimed in.
Sereq turned towards the spirit of her ancestor, Aloysius Kallig. "Didn't I help you pass over?" she asked, crossing her arms on her chest.
"You did, but I can still pay a visit to my wayward scion and tell her what I think about her choice of lovers." the ghost said.
"Cheer up, Kallig! At least this time he is from the right gender." another voice commented.
Kalatosh Zavros, the fallen Jedi ancestor of Ashara, had appeared out of nothing, most likely also to express his disapproval of their marital choices.
"Don't you old men have anything better to do instead of meddling in things that do not concern you? - Sereq asked, more and more irritated - You could be watching some construction works."
"Or queuing up at the medicenter at opening time." Ashara added with a cheeky smile. She couldn't really see or hear distinctly the ghosts, but she had seen her interact with them enough to be able to butt in as necessary.
"That was very ageist!" Lord Kallig protested.
"Oh, yes. So funny. - Kalatosh commented, rolling his eyes - Spirit speaker, tell my descendent that she could at least have made the effort to go to Shili and find a mate from our own species to continue the bloodline. Why did she have to pick a human?" he lamented.
Sereq sighed but passed on the message.
"Well, if you don't like it, kriff yourself, old man. That's all I'm going to say." Ashara declared belligerently, crossing her arms under her shapely breasts.
"She told you to kriff yourself." Sereq told the rather astonished spirit.
"I had heard that the first time." Kalatosh said, crossing his arms as well in a pose of offended dignity that was almost identical to that of his descendant.
"I just wanted to press the point." Sereq replied, shrugging and regretting it immediately as her bruised bones and muscles protested.
"I think he is right." Lord Kallig butted in.
"No one really asked your opinion, you know?" Sereq retorted.
"Well, I am giving it anyway. - Lord Kallig insisted petulantly - How do you plan on continuing our bloodline if you keep on choosing lovers from the wrong sex or species?" he asked.
"What is wrong with you ancestral people? - Sereq exclaimed, losing her patience - It sounds like you are trying to breed us like cattle!" she added, and she was angry enough that lightning spilled from her fingers.
"When and if I decide to have children, it will be on my terms, so forget about me marrying some guy from Iridonia I barely know." she growled.
"I'd like to know how you will have offspring from a Kaleesh. Your two species are not compatible." Lord Kallig provoked, crossing his arms on his chest and sounding smug. If he had not been a ghost and an old man, she would have kicked the smugness out of his voice.
"I know that, genius. - she hissed - I guess you haven't ever heard of artificial insemination, right?" she taunted.
Both ghosts remained silent and Kalatosh actually looked quite disgusted.
"That sounds really awful..." he commented with a grimace.
"What is that? Some way unwanted women have of having children?" Lord Kallig asked with audible disdain.
"A way busy women have of having it all without wasting time with dickheaded men." Sereq retorted.
Lord Kallig shook his incorporeal head and muttered to himself, while Ashara laughed.
"I won't waste breath on this issue. - Lord Kallig conceded -I don't really care about the mechanics, as long as you make at least a child for the Kallig bloodline."
"Hey, you can make no demands of me!" Sereq protested.
"I can. - the spirit replied - I helped you and protected you on your way to greatness. You owe me this. You owe it to your whole family and to yourself." he added peremptorily.
Sereq hesitated an instant to reply to that nonsense, but it was an instant too long. With a "Let's go, my friend..." directed to Kalatosh, the two ghosts disappeared back into the Force before she could say a single word. The only way she had left of discharging her frustration was to throw a lightning bolt in the general direction of their retreat. It accomplished nothing apart from charring the wall, but it helped her calm down a bit.

"Are you alright, sister?" Ashara asked solicitously, laying a hand on her shoulder.
Sereq shook her head. "I've just managed to messily resolve my sentimental issues and this arsehole from the past comes to pressure me into sprogging brats!? That is mental! Absolutely mental!" she hissed.
"I know, I know... - Ashara tried to comfort her - Us women, we have it hard from all sides. If we have kids we come across as not committed enough to our mission, if we don't, we disappoint our families. We can't win." she lamented.
"I can't have kids, Ashara. - Sereq said, feeling rather panicky - Sometimes I think I'd like to, but I'm not stable enough for kids. And I mean mentally." she added.
Ashara didn't say anything but looked at her as if encouraging her to continue.
"I mean, I love Xalek, and yet I nearly killed him because I got angry with him. - Sereq said, shaking her head - I'd end up hurting them or worse..."
"We wouldn't let you. - Ashara declared firmly, squeezing her shoulder - About you and Xalek... well, nothing of this would have happened if you had talked to each other about your feelings."
Sereq grimaced and gathered her breath to talk, but Ashara raised her hand and made her stop. "I know Sith don't talk about their feelings, but you keep on saying that you are not a stereotypical Sith, and we are your friends. You trust us, don't you?" she asked.
"Yes, I do, but..." Sereq replied.
"No buts. - Ashara interrupted her again - Next time there is a problem between the two of you, talk it out."
"Easier said than done." Sereq commented.
"Pah! Xalek talks to you a lot more than he talks to anyone. - Ashara said, dismissing her objections - And, anyway, if you think you're getting stuck into a bad mood, you can always talk to me. I am always happy to help and advise you." she added cheerfully.
"And now you are an expert in relationships?" Sereq teased.
"Well, I'm a married woman now..." Ashara replied smugly.
"Fair enough, but I don't think you've ever gotten to the point of violence with Andronikos." Sereq objected.
"Well, actually, I threw all our plates and pans at him about a month ago." Ashara confessed, colouring in embarrassment.
"Really? - Sereq commented, eyes wide in surprise - What did he do?"
Ashara coloured even more. "I found a data crystal full of porn movies in our video system." she confessed.
"Oh, boy, that is bad..." Sereq commented with a low whistle.
"He claimed he was trying to educate Xalek about, you know..." Ashara revealed, trying to defend her husband.
Sereq stared at her with a look of total incomprehension.
"Yeah, well... - Ashara said, looking away - He was... I mean... He had never... had any experiences before. That's what Nikki said." she explained, looking very uncomfortable.
Sereq's face fell. Xalek had been a virgin before he married?
"Oh.." she managed to say.
"Please, sister, don't get too hung up on that. - Ashara pleaded - You told me yourself that it does not mean anything."
"I did, but this... this is different." Sereq objected weakly.
"No, it is not. - Ashara insisted - Unless you were lying to me just to get in my underwear..."
"I didn't lie to you. I believe a woman's value does not reside in her chastity." Sereq retorted.
"Then a man's value does not reside in it either. - Ashara argued - I know you wish he had only ever been yours, but he loves you and only you, so does it really matter that he has had some... experience before you? You said it's much more fun with with an experienced partner..." she added.
"Do you always quote me so often?" Sereq asked, managing a smile.
"Only when you are right. - Ashara replied cheerfully - Now would you do your little sister a favour and listen to some advice?"
Sereq nodded.
"Good. - Ashara approved - Now you stop worrying about what happened and go back to your man. Make him happy. Be happy yourself. We will watch your back, whatever happens and whatever you decide about having kids." she promised.
Overcome by a sudden moment of affection, Sereq hugged the fallen Jedi. "Where would I be without you and the rest?" she asked.
Ashara hugged her back gently, mindful of her battered state. "And where would we be without you?" she retorted.
Sereq hugged her some more, then let her go and took a step back, feeling her eyes sting with happy tears.
"I... Thanks, little sister." she stammered.
"Don't mention it. - Ashara retorted, waving a hand in the air - Now go. You deserve to be happy." she added, and turned about, walking briskly away down the corridor.

Sereq watched her disappear behind the corner and slipped back into her room, padding as quietly as she could to the bed.
At first Xalek appeared to be sleeping, but his eyes opened and zeroed in on her as soon as she was close.
"Did we wake you up?" Sereq asked, sitting on the bed next to him and taking his hand in hers.
"I woke up when you left the room, Mistress. - he replied softly - I didn't hear much of your conversation, though." he added hastily.
Sereq smiled. "There was nothing secret." she reassured him.
"Was your ancestor here?" he asked.
Sereq nodded. "He likes to meddle, but it was nothing urgent." she replied, altering the truth only slightly. She still had time to think about having children.
"Now, Ashara told me something interesting about you, Andronikos and porn movies. Care to explain?" she asked, abruptly switching subject.
Xalek's red skin became even redder in embarrassment. "He was only trying to be helpful." he said.
"And was he?" Sereq asked, lowering her face next to his and tracing the shell of his ear with the tip of her tongue. Xalek gasped and arched in pleasure and surprise.
"That night... - Xalek started, his voice rough with desire - That night I dreamed of you. I woke up mad with need." he confessed, twisting in the bed so that his mouth was only a breath away from hers. Sereq nodded and he grabbed her by the nape of her neck, pressing his mouth to hers gently but passionately nonetheless. The shape of his lips was different from that of any other person she had ever kissed, but she didn't mind: it was as if it was her first kiss all over again. Her real first kiss had been wasted on some fellow slave whose name and face she barely remembered. Her second chance, instead, was being shared with a person she truly loved, and it was wonderful.
It was a gentle kiss, but there was nothing tentative or hesitant. They were learning each other still, but they were enjoying every moment of it.

"Gods, Mistress..." Xalek panted when they surfaced for air a little later.
Sereq smiled. "You're not too bad yourself." she teased.
Xalek managed to roll onto his back and pulled her on top of him for another kiss. She followed his lead eagerly, straddling his hips, and kissed him passionately, feeling his manhood already hard beneath her. The kiss however lasted only for a moment, before Xalek broke it with a gasp of pain.
Sereq surfaced from her lust-intoxicated state and took her weight off him.
"Did I hurt you?" she asked, feeling horribly guilty.
Xalek shook his head. "I was just a bit too optimistic about my recovery. Sorry about this." he replied in a tight voice.
"Don't worry. You are worth the wait... - she reassured him as she sat back on the bed - Anyway, it is my fault that you are like this."
"We are warriors. It happens." Xalek said, shifting back to his side with a sigh of relief.
"I guess it does, sometimes. - Sereq commented softly, caressing his cheek - Are you in much pain, my brave?" she asked then, feeling the tension in his frame.
"It is uncomfortable. - he admitted, which meant it was quite painful- But it will pass."
"Roll onto your front. I can help." Sereq instructed. He did as told, exposing his wounded back to her and glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Sereq straddled his hips again but without putting her weight on him. She brushed his hair onto the pillow and gently laid her hand on his shoulder.
"Ever heard of Force-healing?" she asked.
"Isn't it a Jedi thing?" he asked.
"It is a useful thing." she replied.
"You can do it?" he asked again, rather surprised.
"A little. - she admitted - I can teach you, if you want." she offered.
"I do." Xalek declared.
"Good. - she commented happily - Then pay attention to what I do, because you'll have to do it to me later." she instructed.
Xalek nodded eagerly and Sereq could not help but smile. She closed her eyes and immersed herself into the Force, letting it flow through her hands, scanning for pain and damage under the bandages as she gently slid them down his back, touching him only with the barest amount of pressure.
The still raw wounds flared in her senses as flashes of red and blazing white, and she could feel their shape and depth as if she was probing them with his fingers.
"Can you feel what I am doing?" she asked.
"Yes..." Xalek replied softly, his voice sounding slightly strained.
Sereq slid her hands over the deepest wound, the one that nearly killed him, and sent a pulse of Force into it, coaxing the tissues to knit back and the flesh to mend. Xalek gasped in surprise and instinctively strengthened his mental shields, trying to keep the alien sensation out.
"Don't resist. - Sereq instructed, frowning and cutting the stream- I need you to let me in. Do you trust me?" she asked.
"It feels strange." Xalek protested.
"It does, but only if you fight against it. - she conceded - Let go, my brave. Let it happen. I promise it will not hurt."
Xalek sighed and tried to relax. Sereq could see his Force-signature smoothing out and could feel his mind shields dimming. She sent a tendril of Force as a caress to reassure him and resumed her attempt at healing. This time he did not resist. He willingly tore his shield down and let her in, deeper than anyone, even Ashara, had ever done before, literally baring his soul to her. She could have done anything to him. She could have killed him, she could have broken his mind. He knew it, but he gave himself up to her nonetheless. Sereq hesitated only an instant before doing the same. Now that she didn't have to worry about shielding, she could use more Force to heal him. She did and Xalek let a moan of pleasure escape his lips as she went deeper.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" she asked, feeling an echo of that pleasure herself.
"Yes... - he rasped, arching into her touch - Is it always supposed to feel... like this?... to feel so good?"
"I like making you feel good." Sereq replied. It wasn't much of an explanation, but he accepted it anyway.
Sereq worked her way across his back, trying to heal him as much as possible, wanting to make him whole and happy again. At first, he just let her work passively, but after a while, she could feel his Force thread around hers and help her, supporting her as she used more and more of herself to heal him.
"You need to stop now." Xalek said eventually, shutting her out again and forcing her to cut the stream.
"I wasn't done yet." she protested, feeling weak and sleepy.
"You are exhausted." he objected.
Sereq sighed. "I am." she conceded, sliding off him and standing next to the bed. Her legs felt wobbly, and her head too light. Maybe she had overdone it a bit.
"Time to switch roles, then." he said, rolling back to his side and drawing the covers back and patting the bed next to him to invite her in.
Sereq's mouth dried at the sight. Apart from bandages, he was wearing only a pair of dark boxer briefs and looked very happy to be alive. She blushed, feeling even more light - headed. I should say no, was the first thing that occurred to her, but she struggled to think of a reason why, possibly because there wasn't one apart from her nerves.
"Wait for me. I'll change into something more comfortable." she said, dashing to the refresher without even waiting for an answer.

She closed the door behind her and quickly shed the dark fatigues she had been wearing since they had been brought back home by the IRS. The only other garment she had close by was a sleeveless nightgown of thin, quick-dry space-cloth. It was nothing sexy, with its essential, straight cut, but it would have to do. Sereq toyed with the idea of shedding her un-sexy, plain cotton panties and going back to bed commando, but her nerve failed her.
Maybe he was still too hurt and not yet ready. Maybe it was her who was not ready. It meant so much to her that she wanted it to be perfect. She didn't want to blow it...
And now she was overthinking again, she realised. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and splashed her face with cool water. It helped a bit and she tried to cool herself down even further by applying more water to her wrists and neck.
It was then that she realised that her arms, and her legs up to the knee, and even what passed for her cleavage were uncovered.
She had never worn so little in front of her apprentice and he probably had never realised that the ritual tattoos she had gotten in a moment of species pride were not confined to her face but went all the way down her body. Ashara had not found that off-putting, but togruta were naturally patterned and appreciated that sort of markings on their partners. Would Xalek like her even if she was flat-chested and striped, and in general as far as possible from the ideal of Kaleesh female beauty?
There was only one way to know, she told herself, and at any rate, she couldn't stay locked in the 'fresher forever. Feeling acutely self-conscious, Sereq stepped back into the room.

Hearing the door open, Xalek lifted his head from the pillow and turned towards her. The look in his eyes, the fire it contained, burned away all her fears and she padded towards the bed with a lighter step.
She ended up on her side, facing away from him. Xalek encircled her with his arms and pressed the length of his body against her. He was warm and solid and reassuring, and she found that it was easy to relax, being held like that.
"Shall I, Mistress?" Xalek whispered, close to her ear.
Sereq nodded, feeling a shiver go through her. "Have a go." she said, preparing herself to drop her shields.
He laid a hand on her side, over her bruised ribs. She could feel the warmth of his touch through the nightgown, and then she felt his Force flowing through her, gently soothing her pain. She let go of her shields and let him in as deep as he would go. It tickled, but it felt good, and she couldn't prevent herself from moaning in pleasure and arching into him.
His hand went slowly down towards her bruised abdomen, still tender from the kick he had given her, and then to her left tight which sported a shallow lightsaber burn, healing as it went and extracting whimpers from her lips as it healed her, then slid lower still, until it reached the hem of her nightgown and kneaded her flesh through the fabric.
Sereq gasped at the contact, then gasped again when Xalek's hand climbed upwards again, sliding under the hem. He had let go of the Force, but his touch still made her squirm in pleasure.
"Tell me to stop, Mistress. " he whispered, and she shivered at the feel of his warm hand on her skin and of his warm breath on her neck.
"Don't stop." Sereq managed to whisper and his hand resumed its climb up her leg. It reached the edge of her panties without stopping, even if she fervently wished it did, and climbed even further upwards, skimming over her side and her ribs, until it glided feather-light over the underside of her breast, where it stopped, just short of where she wanted it, possibly waiting for her authorisation.
"Please..." she moaned.
Xalek growled low in his throat and shifted his hand upwards, covering her breast with it and kneading it gently.
Somehow he had managed to free his other hand from under her and now it travelled to her other breast. His touch was light as he rubbed, twisted and pinched her nipples, but her mind was overwhelmed by pleasure and then his left hand started sliding lower again, caressing her belly and inching closer to the edge of her underwear. Sereq instinctively spread her legs for him, but his fingers skipped over the edge again, sliding between her thighs and teasing her through the fabric. She was aching so much for him already that that barest contact was enough to force a sharp cry from her lips.
"Gods, Mistress... I love the way you sound..." Xalek whispered, stilling his fingers just above her nub.
"If you stop now, I'll kill you." Sereq panted, finding her voice for a moment.
"I'm not stopping now. Not until you tell me to." he replied heatedly, resuming his gentle friction as his other hand teased her breast. Sereq arched into him, feeling him hard and ready against her backside. His touch was sending her into a frenzy. She wanted more, she wanted everything, and just as she was going to beg him, his fingers slid into her panties and over her heated, sensitised flesh. She could feel him throb against her, but his touch was still gentle, almost reverential, and yet her pleasure built higher and higher inside her. She tensed in his arms, struggling and panting, until his it brought her to a trembling, whimpering climax

"I'm sure this is not how the Jedi do it..." Sereq commented sleepily when she resurfaced, moments later.
Xalek chuckled lightly. "Then they are missing out." he retorted.
Sereq smiled to herself and turned on the bed, facing him."They always will, because you are mine." she declared.
"Yes. I am." he admitted contentedly. He rolled to his back and dragged her closer to him, so that her head rested on his shoulder, and Sereq sighed in pleasure, thanking her luck for the fact that her horns were mostly on her forehead and crown and not on her temples. That would have restricted their cuddling possibilities quite a bit, and she had to admit that she liked cuddling almost as much as she liked sex.
Xalek didn't seem to mind either, and started caressing her face gently. It was very relaxing and Sereq felt herself falling away, but there was something missing, and the thought kept her reasonably awake. She had taken her pleasure, but Xalek was still waiting for his turn. He wasn't protesting, but it felt very selfish to fall asleep and leave him hanging.
She nuzzled his neck, almost purring, and let her hand slide down his body, wishing that there weren't so many bandages in the way, so that she could feel his skin against hers. His hand covered and stilled hers just as it was nearing its target.
"You don't have to do this, if you don't want it." he told her quietly.
"But I want it." Sereq replied. She freed her hand and gave a gentle squeeze to his still-hard manhood through his underwear. Xalek gasped and jerked his hips in pleasure.
"And you want it, don't you?" Sereq asked.
Xalek nodded frantically and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. They got rid of their clothes as well as they could without breaking it.
Some stuff might have gotten damaged, but finally there was nothing between them and it felt glorious.
Sereq toyed with the idea of rolling on her back and letting him have his way with her as he pleased, but discarded it. She had already had her needs seen to, now it was time for her to do something for her apprentice, and she just knew what he desired. She had seen it in his mind when she nearly broke him.

Gasping for air, Sereq broke the kiss and straddled his hips once more, rubbing herself against him. Xalek's eyes fluttered closed and he cursed softly.
"Is this what you dreamed of?" Sereq asked as she took him in hand and guided him into herself.
"Yes! - he cried out - Oh, gods, yes!"
Sereq smiled to herself and let her body sink slowly over his. She felt him move and reacted, trapping his wrists against the bed with her hands before he could grab her waist and force her to speed up.
"I'm... I'm not going to last, if you do it like this..." he confessed, tossing his head on the pillow.
"No one is giving any prizes for endurance..." Sereq replied hoarsely, moaning as their bodies finally joined as completely as possible. She stilled and bent low to kiss him, giving him time to get used to the feeling.
"Please, Mistress... - he gasped, finally breaking the kiss - Please, move for me..."
"Do you want me to fuck you?" Sereq growled.
"Yes! - he replied frantically - Yes, please, Mistress! Take me. Use me as you wish."
She did. She rode him as hard as she dared and it felt so good... His hands were on her hips, supporting her, urging her, and his eyes looked into hers, full of need and wonder and love... Sereq had imagined that this time she would give him pleasure without tending to her own needs, but her pleasure started building higher and higher as she brought him closer.
"Mistress... So close..." he gasped.
"My name... Say my name!" she urged him, bending again to brush his lips with a kiss.
"Sereq!" he cried out.
He grabbed her by her hair and held her so that she was looking into his eyes when he came undone. Something shifted inside her, deep in her heart and soul as well as in her body, and she succumbed to a wave of tenderness and pleasure. She cried out his name as she climaxed again in his arms.

"I love you..." Xalek whispered sometime later, as she lay slumped over his chest. Sereq wasn't very comfortable in that position, her arms and hips were straining, but she didn't want to end that moment. She wanted to stay like that (sated, peaceful, loved) forever, but eventually the demands of her body won out and she had to slide off him.
She lay down by his side, resting her head on his shoulder and entwining her legs with his. He held her close and she closed her eyes, realising that the moment had subtly shifted its mood, but had not truly ended. She felt more peaceful than ever in her life, and yet that peace had been born of the deepest passion she had ever felt.
You can have both, she realised. Maybe you can truly have everything: power and friends, responsibility and a family, duty and love.
"Don't ever leave me, Xalek, understood?" she mumbled, holding him as close as she could.
"Never. - he promised - Beside you is my place. It is home."
"Home... - she repeated, raising her head to look at him once more - Yes, home." she whispered.

A.N.

This could be complete now, unless people request that I continue with some short vignettes about duty and kids...