By JediGirl
CATAGORY: New Republic
SPOILERS: Tim Zahn's Hand of Thraw duology
RATING: R
SETTING: Those missing chapters that Mr. Zahn forgot to write in Visions
of the Future. Luke and Mara have just taken off from Nirauan and heading
out to meet up with Leia,
Han and Karrde. This is my version of what happened between Luke and
Mara during those days alone on their "borrowed" Chiss ship. And of course
how the "family" hears
about the pending nuptials.
DISCLAIMER As always, these charcters do not belong to me. They belong
to wonderful people such as Mr. George Lucas and Mr. Timothy Zahn, among
others. They inspire
me to make up my own tales and share them with others....just for pure
enjoyment. There is more to life than just money :)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A huge big THANK YOU to my wonderful beta reader,
Michele. This story would never have happened without her. She completely
inspired me
and helped to make it as good as it could be. Plus, if it wasn't for
her, the "challenge" would never had happened
----------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 5
Mara let the warm water run down her body. It had been so long since
she had felt
the soothing water of a hot shower on her skin. The warmth eased her
sore muscles
as the water washed away all the dirt that had filtered into her flight
suit over the
past weeks. She leaned against the tiled wall and tried to relax her
body. She let
herself reach out to Luke and felt his loving response flow over her.
She smiled
broadly to herself as she relished the sensation. She thought of all
the turns her life
had taken and how each one surprised her more than the last. She wasn't
really sure
how she got to this point in her life, but at the moment it didn't
matter. She hadn't
lied to Luke when she told him she was starving, but it wasn't just
food she was
starving for.
Luke got out of the shower and dried himself off. He pulled on the pants
Mara had
given him and looked at himself in the mirror. He ran a hand across
his chin and
examined the hair growth that appeared there. Tromping through caves
for days on
end didn't allow for much personal grooming. He wasn't partial to facial
hair on
himself. Maybe in 10 or 20 years he thought, but not now.
He wondered what Mara thought about it. He laughed at himself. How long
had it been
since he wondered or cared what a woman thought about his appearance?
*Callista*...The name echoed in his mind. He felt a quick tightness
in his heart, but
just as quickly as the sensation appeared, it was gone. And he knew
it was because of
Mara. Sure he loved Callista once, a small part of him still did. How
could he not, she
was part of his life. But she was the past and Mara was his present.
What he shared
with Mara was completely different than what he and Callista had. Both women were
part of his life, but only Mara was part of his future.
Luke searched the small refresher for a shaving device, but came up
empty. He
looked in the mirror again and frowned, he just wasn't the beard and
mustache kind
of guy. He thought it made him look scruffy and that honor belonged
to Han.
Maybe Karrde had something he could use in his refresher. He headed
for the master
bedroom.
Luke entered the refresher off of Karrde's room to find Mara toweling
her hair dry.
She was wearing a short, light-weight robe that clung to her damp body.
He stood in
the doorway, openly admiring her well formed body. Mara didn't seem
to notice he
was there.
After a few moments Luke gave a small cough to get her attention. He
noticed that
Mara had jumped a bit as if startled and she turned to look at him.
"Sorry," he
apologized.
Mara quickly gained her composure and wrapped her hair up in the towel
she was
holding. "I didn't hear you come in," she said. "My mind must have
been elsewhere."
Her eyes roamed up and down his body as she realized that he was only
wearing the
pants she had given him. She smiled and her eyes glittered as she admired
his strong
muscular form. Though it was only a few hours ago that she was wrapped
up close to
those muscles, she really didn't get a true sense of how he was built
until she saw him
from this point of view.
"Something wrong with the shirt?" she asked.
Luke's cheeks flushed a tint of pink at Mara's roaming eyes, which surprised
him
since they had been much more intimate only a short time ago. "Ummm,
no," he
fumbled a bit, "I was hoping to shave first." He brushed a hand across
his chin to
indicate the hair growth there.
Mara walked over to him and ran a hand along his jaw. "Oh, I don't think
anyone
would notice," she teased him.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha," he said, and rubbed his cheek to hers.
"Ow!" Mara pulled away from the rough bristles. "Ok, ok, maybe I'll notice."
"I couldn't find a shaver in the other refresher," he told her. "Do
you think Karrde
has one in here?"
"Hmmm, he should have something," she said as she walked over to some
cabinets
along one wall. "As I said before, he has a spare of everything."
She opened a few doors and a couple of drawers and finally found something
for him
to use. "Ah ha! Here you go." She held up a piece of curved wood about
palm size.
"What is it?" Luke asked.
Mara flicked a finger and a glittering metal blade folded out from the
piece of wood.
"It's a razor," Mara announced.
Luke walked over to give it a closer look and raised an eyebrow to Mara.
"I don't
know," he said to her. "I've never used anything like that before."
Mara gave a little chuckle in response to his look. "I'm not surprised,"
she said.
"Karrde may take advantage of all the "modern conveniences" but he
is an old-
fashioned guy at heart. That's why he collects things like those pots
out there. He
could use a power shaver, but he admires the skill it takes to use
an item like this."
She held up the razor. "There are alot of men out there who prefer
it. It was a status
thing among a lot of the Imperial officers."
Luke took the razor from Mara and looked at it more closely. He gently
brushed his
thumb across its blade. "Sharp," he said. "I don't know, I'm sure someone
in this base
has a powered one."
"Oh come on Luke, what happened to that brave Jedi Master that rescued
me a few
days ago?" Mara teased. "Where's your courage now?"
Luke frowned at Mara's dare. "Mara..."
"Don't get all up tight with me now," she interrupted him. "Here sit
down." She moved
a stool out from under the counter in front of the mirror. "Sit down!"
she said again
when he just stared at the stool. "Trust me," she sighed.
Reluctantly he seated himself on the stool. "You do know what you're
doing, don't
you? he asked."
"Sure, I've watched lots of people do it before," she answered as she
pulled a jar out of
the drawer she had gotten the razor from. She looked up to see him
giving her a
worried look.
"Relax Luke, I've done this dozens of times."
His look turned from worry to astonishment.
"Long story," she said in a reassuring voice as she opened the jar.
"It's not that
interesting, but I'll tell you about it sometime."
After she filled the basin, that was set into the counter, with water,
she slipped in
front of him so she stood between his legs and leaned back on the counter.
She
scooped out white foam from the jar. She rubbed it between her hands
and then
gently lathered it onto Luke's cheeks, chin, and neck. The simple act
of her hands
caressing his face seemed to relax Luke. He closed his eyes and leaned
his head back
to enjoy the sensation.
Mara picked the razor up off the counter and stepped behind Luke. She
placed
her left hand on his forehead and tilted his head further back to expose
his
neck. "Ready?" she asked.
Luke opened his eyes to looked up at her and glanced over at the sharp
razor that was
held only a few centimeters from the side of his neck. He took
a deep breath, smiling.
"You know, a few years ago I may have felt very nervous to be in this
position."
Mara smirked at his joke and replied with one of her own, "Well let's
hope I
don't have a memory lapse anytime soon.
"Besides," she went on, "a few years ago we would have never found ourselves
in
this position. Now close your eyes and relax, this won't hurt a bit."
Luke did as he was told and leaned back into Mara as she brought the
cold metal of the
razor against his neck. He breathed slowly as she carefully dragged
the razor along
the underside of his jaw. She pulled the razor away, rinsed the
foam off the blade in
the water basin and repeated the motion on the other side of his neck.
She was right, it didn't hurt a bit, in fact it was quite soothing.
Luke settled down and
allowed Mara to continue at her leisure.
His bare back pressed against Mara who was still only wearing the light-weight
robe.
He could feel the heat of her body through the thin fabric. His mind
started to
wander and he thought about the soft skin that lay beneath that cloth.
He thought
about how nice it would be to have that skin against his own with no
barriers in the
way. He relished the contact that her body made with his as she moved
about behind
him to finish her work.
He noticed that she was humming quietly to herself as she worked at
her task. He
opened his eyes to look at her and smiled broadly when he saw the glimmer
in her
green eyes. She was having thoughts similar to his.
"Eyes closed," she whispered. "You'll distract me." Once again, Luke
did as he was told
and thought about how lucky he truly was.
Mara made a final swipe along Luke's left cheek, put the razor
down on the counter
and picked up a damp cloth. She moved to place herself between Luke
and the
counter once again. She lightly wiped away any remaining foam from
his face and
ran a hand across his now smooth cheek. "Ahhh... much better," she
said and brushed
her lips across the same path that her hand had just taken.
Luke opened his eyes and leaned his body around Mara's to look in the
mirror behind
her. He twisted his face left and right as he inspected Mara's work.
"Hmmm...you are
good at this. Maybe if the whole Jedi thing doesn't work out, you can
become a
barber," he teased her.
Mara scowled at him and pinched his ear in response.
"Ow! I was just kidding!" he said as he rubbed the pain away. "I was
just kidding," he
repeated as she grabbed for the other ear.
Mara laughed and caught his lips in a kiss. Luke dropped his hands to
her slender
hips and pulled her to him. He slipped his legs between hers, causing
her to wrap
them about his waist as she was pulled forward. She snaked her arms
around his neck
to keep her balance.
Luke held her tightly around her waist. Their kiss deepened as their
bodies made
contact. He slipped one hand free and searched for the tie that held
her robe
fastened. He found it easily and quickly undid the loose knot. He pushed
away the
fabric as Mara pressed her now naked body against his bare chest.
They broke from the kiss to catch their breath, but their lips quickly
found other
body parts to make contact with. The fingers of Mara's right hand entangled
themselves in Luke's hair as her left dug into his back trying to find
a hold.
Luke reached up to pull the towel loose that bound her hair when a chime
sounded
from the main room. Mara snapped her head back and looked to the door.
"Someone's at the door," Mara said breathlessly. "Its probably our food."
She reluctantly disentangled herself from her lover and walked to the
bedroom door,
trying to straighten her robe and catch her breath at the same time.
"Enter!" she
said, as she stuck her head out of the bedroom doorway.
The door swished open and a young man, wearing a basic flight suit entered
the suite.
"Ah, hi," he said, "I was told to bring this up to you." He held forth
a covered tray.
"Yeah, ah, I'm getting dressed," Mara said with a smile. "You can leave
it over there
on the counter." She turned her head to see Luke standing very close
to her tugging
at her already loose robe. She swatted at him and whispered "Go away."
"Is everything okay?" The young man asked from the front room. He was
leaning to
one side trying to get a better look into the doorway that Mara was
peeking out from.
He must have noticed her movements while she tried to defend herself
from Luke's
roaming hands.
"Yes, fine," Mara answered quickly and tugged at her robe once again.
"My robe just
got caught on something."
The young man seemed to accept Mara's answer as he placed the food tray
on the
counter she had indicated."Is there anything else I can get for you?"
he asked.
Mara tried to fend off Luke with one hand as he continued to tug at
her robe and
towel. "No, no thank you. I think I'm all set."
The delivery boy raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Robe's still stuck," Mara replied to his look.
"Uh-huh. Well, just hit the comm switch if you think of anything."
"Will do," Mara returned and ducked back into the room as the young
man walked out
of the suite. She turned and glared at Luke. "What do you think you
were doing?" she
asked in a cold tone.
Luke grabbed hold of the front of her robe and pulled her to him. He
kept a smile on
his face, he wasn't going to let her ruin his mood. "Having fun," he
said happily.
Mara tried to hold onto her glare, "Well how much 'fun' would it be
when you got to
Corusant and your sister thought I was having your baby?"
Luke's face dropped into a perplexed look, "Huh?" he asked.
Softening her glare and relaxing her body into his, she wrapped her
arms around
his bare shoulders "Luke honey," she said softly, "you never know how
rumors will
evolve."
"I thought you said you trusted them?" he queried.
"I do, with things like stolen goods and strange ships, but 'personal
relationships' is a
totally different story. You know how people are about stuff like that.
It's free game.
Especially when it comes to celebrities." She kissed him gently on
the nose. "Let's just
keep it behind 'closed' doors for now."
"You're right. Sorry, I got caught up in the moment," Luke responded,
but chewed on
his bottom lip with a look of worry in his eyes.
"What is it?" Mara asked.
Luke worked his jaw as he tried to find the right words to express his
thoughts.
"Mara, could you be pregnant?"
"Huh?" Mara was taken off guard by the question. "Why would you think that?"
Luke's eyes swirled with anxiety. "I didn't even think about birth control
last night.
We should have discussed it before....before we slept together. I should
have been
more responsible than that."
"Hey, it's alright," she said in a soothing voice. She could feel his
distress over the
matter, and was slightly taken aback by it. Most men never even concerned
themselves with the matter of birth control. They saw it as the woman's
responsibility. But of course, Luke was definitely not 'most men'.
"Don't worry, I'm
covered," she assured him.
"Oh," Luke responded. He tried to hide his surprise at the information.
Mara was a
grown woman and could do what she wanted with her life. He didn't have
any right
to judge her in that matter.
Mara noticed Luke's surprise right away and knew what direction his
thoughts were
probably going. "It's not like that," she stated, a look of hurt showing
in her eyes. "A
girl can't be too careful when she's bouncing around the galaxy. You
never know
when you might get yourself into a situation you can't get out of.
It's best to avoid
having any lasting "effects" after the fact."
Luke swallowed the lump of guilt that had risen in his throat. "I'm
sorry," he
apologized again. "I seem to be having a problem thinking clearly as
of late."
"You're right, you have," Mara replied, as she placed her hand on his
cheek and
softly brushed his lips with her thumb. "But because you are a man
who can admit
when he's wrong, I will forgive you...." She gave him a loving look
and her lips to
meet his. She kissed him passionately, and opened herself to
him so that he could
truly see she had forgiven him.
Slowly she pulled away, ending the kiss. "Now, our lunch is getting
cold," Mara said as
she started to twist away from him to head for the front room. She
didn't get very far,
Luke still had a firm grip on her robe. She turned back to meet his
eyes and saw a
look there that she was not used to seeing. It was a look of raw passion,
utter desire.
She could feel him through the Force calling to her. His energy engulfed
her and
made her body temperature rise. A bead of sweat began to run down the
middle of her
back, sending a shiver up her spine.
They continued to stare at each other intensely. Finally Mara blinked.
"The food is
getting cold," she said in a hoarse whisper.
"Let it," Luke said in a very low voice, "Food isn't what I'm hungry
for." He pulled
her to him once again and grabbed hold of her lips with his own. His
intent came
through loud and clear.
Mara quickly forgot all notion of lunch. She was caught up in Luke's
passion and
more than happy to be there.
How they made it to the bed, Mara couldn't recall, however, in bed was
where they
were and once again her naked body was entangled with Luke's. But this
time their
love making was quite different than their first encounter on the tiny
Chiss ship.
This time it wasn't about discovery of one another, this time it was
about passion,
pure and simple.
Luke was on top of Mara, pushing hard and fast against her body. Her
arms and legs
held tightly about his body. He dug his fingers into the pillow behind
Mara's head. He
didn't dare grab hold of her, afraid that he would harm her if he did
so.
Their breathing was quick and labored. Moans of pleasure escaped both
of them as
they rushed onward. The climax came quickly and forcefully. Mara arched
her head
back as she tried to stifle a cry of ecstasy that was threatening to
rise from her
throat. Luke quickly covered her mouth with his, knowing she would
not want those
cries to be heard by anyone possibly passing by.
Mara returned the kiss, pressing her lips hard against his. Her slender
fingers
clawed at Luke's back as orgasmic waves pounded through her body. She
felt as if she
was caught in some wild galactic storm. Her mind screamed for her to
gain control,
but her body wanted nothing but to ride it out--her body became the
victor.
Slowly the pounding waves lessened and the lovers' bodies came to a
gentle stop.
Luke remained on top as they both tried to catch their breath. Mara
could feel Luke's
body trembling and lovingly massaged his shoulders trying to calm him.
She
whispered words of assurance in his ear. "Shhh, it's okay, it's okay.
Relax."
Luke took a deep haggard breath as he tried to regain control of his
body and
emotions. Unfortunately it didn't seem to help. He was still shaking
all over. He had
completely lost control, emotionally and physically and he was sure
this was his
punishment.
"Luke, calm down," Mara continued to whisper to him. Her strong, yet
slender
fingers kneaded the taunt muscles up and down his back. "It's okay,
really."
Luke's face was buried in her hair to the right of her own. He shook
his head
violently indicating he did not agree with her words. And then he sobbed.
"Whoa!" Mara responded in surprise. She brought her hands up and placed
them on
either side of Luke's face. She lifted it so that she could look him
in the eyes. "What's
going on? What's wrong?" she asked.
Luke couldn't bring his eyes to meet hers. He tried to blink away the
tears that were
forming, but was unsuccessful. "I...I...I lost control, I shouldn't
have. I could have
hurt you. I don't know what came over me. I...I.." He didn't know what
else to say and
so instead bit his bottom lip nervously.
"Oh Love," Mara began, keeping her voice soft and even. "You didn't
do anything
wrong. I'm okay, you're okay. You just let your body take over. Okay,
you did lose
control a bit, but as long as it is with me, it's fine. I can take
it, I'm a big girl. Trust
me, you didn't hurt me. And if you did, I would have definitely let
you know.
"I actually enjoyed it," she said with a wry smile and a wink in hopes
to lighten his
mood. "It's definitely a side of you I have never seen before."
Luke took another deep breath and this time was finally able to stop
his body from
shaking. He swallowed hard and brought his eyes up to meet Mara's.
"I don't like to
lose control," he stated in a very quiet voice.
"I know," Mara whispered back. "I know...
"Why don't I..." Mara was just about to suggest that he allow her to
give him a back
massage to ease his tense muscles when a buzzer sounded from the front
room.
Luke released a heavy sigh. Mara answered his unspoken question,
"It's the comm
unit. Gerri probably located Karrde."
Luke wanted to suggest ignoring the call, but knew they shouldn't. He
eased himself
off of Mara and rolled onto the bed. Mara slipped out of the bed and
gave him a quick
kiss, "I love you. Be right back." He watched her pick up the discarded
robe near the
bedroom door, hastily wrap it about herself and run her fingers through
her hair in
hopes of making it look more presentable. Then she exited the room.
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