Perfect

Chapter Seven

The commotion of the celebration had increased as soon as the fireworks display began. The plaza was now overcrowded, as were the streets leading up to it. We couldn't risk returning to the palace without being asked a thousand questions. The after-dinner crowd as well was beginning to spill out onto the palace terrace, pushing us further back into the gardens.

Giddy with excitement and happiness, we laughed and ran through the maze of shrubbery, stopping once in a while to kiss each other breathless. Overhead, the sparkling light show continued, casting strange, passing shadows upon the stone beneath our feet and the bushes lining the path. One more kiss and a flash of teeth and it hit me: I was a married woman! It was a surreal thought and caused my blood to warm. There was nothing more I wanted at the moment than to be with Obi-Wan - alone.

Beyond the southern garden was a tool shed used by those responsible for the upkeep of the grounds. I led Obi-Wan inside, and although it smelled of moist dirt and fuel, it was dark, private, and quiet. After discovering a bundle of tarps in a corner, we tossed them on the floor to create a makeshift bed, and then Obi-Wan turned to me and smiled.

"Mrs. Kenobi," he said in a way that was both pleased and proud. "You were planning on taking my name weren't you?"

"Of course," I replied before kissing him sweetly. "Outside of political circles."

"Of course," he agreed with a chuckle before turning his attention to the skin of my neck revealed by the low neckline of my gown, which his finger casually traced, causing a shiver to race down my arm.

"I like this dress much better than that other one," he told me before lowering his head to replace his digit with his mouth. Tortuously slow, he kissed his way across my upper chest, and then burned a trail with his lips up onto my neck before finally coming to rest softly upon my mouth. I felt vulnerable and fragile and opened to his touch like a delicate flower in need of rain.

Obi-Wan's kiss was thorough and I clung to him desperately. This time, when he fumbled with the clasps closing the bodice of my gown, I not only allowed it, I assisted him. In quick order, a pile of lace and satin was mounded upon the stone floor, topped off with shades of tan and brown wool and leather.

We were both shaking as we held each other; captivated by the electrifying feeling when our bare skin made contact. The moonlight shone through the roof's windows and once in a while, a burst of color exploded overhead, casting a prism down upon us, adding to the belief this was a night I would never forget.

"I've wanted you for so long," Obi-Wan whispered gruffly as his hands smoothed down my bare back before cupping the rounded flesh beneath.

"I'm yours," I responded as if I was the one intoxicated. "I'll do anything you say."

He smiled devilishly at first but then carefully eased me down upon the pallet we'd made. The shivering of my body had increased, from both nervousnesses as well as desire. During my many fantasies of us being together like this, I had always pictured Obi-Wan as an attentive lover and I wasn't disappointed. He took his time studying every inch of my body and seemed to be memorizing every mole, childhood scar, dimple, and crease; first through sight, then with touch, and finally by taste. By the time he finished, I was nothing but a quivering mass of need, and with shaking hands I grasped onto him, proving how badly I wanted him.

"My beautiful Padmé," he whispered in a low voice strained by his own heightened passion. "I will remember you always like this, and will carry this image of you in my mind wherever I go."

I was trying my best to not think about the morning, about him leaving. All I wanted to focus on was the present; Obi-Wan with me right here, right now.

"I love you," I whispered back in reply as a spray of fire lit up the skies above us. "Please, ease this ache inside me."

My request was clear and he positioned himself with an impressive amount of restraint and gradually, ever so agonizingly slow, granted what I had wished for.

Obi-Wan set the tempo and at first, I merely responded to it. However, as my own passion increased, along with the friction our bodies' movements were creating, I urged him to go faster, wantonly arching up against him.

We climbed higher together and desperately clung to each during the fall, the echoes of a distant thunderclap announcing our completed union.

I fell back, completely sated and exhausted with Obi-Wan lying across the right side of my body.

"It's raining," I informed him after I'd caught my breath.

"That's strange," he said before rolling off me and looking out the skylight above us. "I thought that sound was my orgasm."

I teased him by poking in the ribs and would've done so again had he not grasped my hand and began tasting my fingers one by one.

"Looks like the party's over," I said with some disappointment. The light show had cost a small fortune and it wasn't even halfway completed.

"That's where you're wrong," Obi-Wan told me as he rolled back over and rubbed his stubbled cheek against my breast. "I believe the party is just beginning."

Like most people, I didn't enjoy being wrong, but I was delighted this time as we continued to make love and share our bodies throughout the night.

Come morning, Obi-Wan assisted me back into my gown and tried his best to fix my hair. I chuckled after a couple of failed attempts and told him not to worry about it. As I helped him into his uniform, the closer I came to completing the task, the slower my fingers worked.

"Everything's going to be all right," he assured me while cradling my worried face. "I'll be right back."

"You'd better be," I informed him with a strength I was surprised to possess. I refused to allow our final moment together to be sad, though. We had experienced such a wonderful night. That was what I wanted him to remember, not me sobbing on him like a child. Speaking of..."Where's Anakin?"

"I left him in the care of Jar-Jar," Obi-Wan told me. "I do hope he's still alive."

"Who? Anakin?" If the lad wasn't alive, I figured he'd most likely been talked to death.

"No, Jar-Jar!" Obi-Wan explained around a smile. "Anakin can be a handful sometimes."

"He's sweet. Tell him goodbye for me."

"I will."

With a prolonged gaze and a caress to my face, he left me standing in the shed alone. Still, I refused to weep. I had found what I'd been looking for when others never did. Now all I had to do was find a way to get back into the palace without the handmaidens noticing.