A/N: Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews! They are making me so happy... I didn't expect to be welcomed back so warmly after disappearing for three years, but I really hope I can make it up to you!

Hope you enjoy this little chapter :)

Chapter 49

They landed in the Maldives at 6:00am in the morning. As soon as they collected their luggage and went outside to wait for their transport, Padme was hit with a wave of intense humidity. It was so different to where they had come from. Sure, Boston could get hot, but it was nothing like this. Padme could practically feel her curls becoming frizzier and frizzier by the minute, and was thankful she'd put her hair in messy bun, otherwise she might look a whole lot scarier.

Eventually, their transport arrived, and the driver helped them with their luggage. As they drove through the landscape, Padme was blown away by the beauty of the surroundings. Everything was lush and green, and out on the horizon, the sea sparkled a bright, periwinkle blue. The island vibe already made her feel relaxed.

As they passed resort after resort and then headed down a windy gravel road towards the ocean, Padme grew a little concerned. Where was this driver taking them? She looked over at Anakin to see if he was just as confused as she was, but he was staring out the window with a content smile on his face. Her question was soon answered, however, when their driver pulled up in front of a wooden bridge. As Padme looked out the window, her mouth opened in surprise. The wooden bridge was connected to a large wooden bungalow that sat on stilts above the water. It had a large thatched roof and was circular in shape. It was the only bungalow for miles, and Padme could see others littered across the horizon.

Immediately, her heart swelled with affection. Anakin had organised this! It was incredible, beyond anything she could have hoped for. It was so private and intimate; like they had their own island where they wouldn't have to see anyone. They would be completely alone, with only the pristine, clear water and blue skies to keep them company.

"Ani, what did you…?" she began, completely awestruck. He'd done all of this for her, because he loved her and wanted to celebrate her graduation, and it was such a romantic gesture. She took his hand in hers and squeezed his fingers.

He beamed brightly down at her, sincere and innocent. "Wait 'til you see inside!"

He jumped out of the van and raced around to open Padme's door, before taking her hand and helping her down. His eyes flashed in the sunlight and he was bouncing on his toes like an excited puppy. It was adorable and Padme couldn't help but giggle gleefully.

The driver placed their luggage inside the front door, bid them farewell, and Anakin tipped him generously. Then, before Padme could take a step forward, Anakin swept her up into his arms, carrying her underneath her thighs and shoulders and carried her inside dramatically. She gasped in surprise and clung to him around his neck as he held her. He stepped over the threshold with flare and Padme was taken about by the sheer beauty of the inside of the bungalow.

Light filled the space, piercing through the large, wide windows that lined the walls. The main room was taken up by a kitchen, two wicker sofas with large, thick, white cushions and a large, round, glass-topped table in the centre. On the table was a large platter of fruit and a bottle of expensive champagne in a bucket of ice. Everything looked so lush, and zen, and Padme was speechless.

"Happy graduation, Angel!" Anakin announced excitedly, as he put her gently back down on her feet, but kept his arms around her waist. He bent and kissed her sweetly on her temple and she leant into his chest, taking in the sight before her.

It was luxurious, like something out of a travel blog. Padme took careful, slow steps, as she gently explored the bungalow. A room broke off to the side – the bedroom, framed by a wide, bamboo arch. In the middle was an enormous king size bed with a crisp, white duvet and several plush pillows, draped by sheer, white curtains. Sprinkled artfully over the duvet were handfuls of rose petals, with folded towels on the end of the bed, two chocolates sitting on top. Off at the side was the ensuite bathroom, which opened out to the bed with large window. Inside, was an enormous tub, pressed right up to the wall with a clear view of the ocean. A part of her immediately wanted to run a bath and soak herself for a long time – having been on a plane for 17 hours, plus the waiting at both airports, she felt dirty, especially after what happened during their journey through the air.

"Anakin, this is incredible!" she cried. When she headed back out into the main area to see Anakin helping himself to some watermelon, wolfing it down like he hadn't eaten in weeks, watermelon juice dripping down his chin, she only shook her head in partial amusement. Of course, the first thing Anakin would do would be to start eating. His stomach was like a never ending pit! No wonder he was so tall.

He looked up at her mid-bite and grinned, "Yeah!" he echoed her excitement, though Padme was sure it was because of the fruit he was eating and not the decadence of where they were going to be staying for the next week. "Babe, you've gotta try this watermelon. It's so good, oh my God!"

Padme laughed. "Maybe later, Ani. I'm going to have a bath. I need to be clean."

Anakin nodded, half-listening, clearly more interested in eating. Padme decided to leave him be. He could be so easily amused by the strangest things, sometimes it reminded her of the age difference between them. He really could be so very childlike, sometimes.

She wheeled her suitcase into the room, and then drew the bath. What she hadn't noticed were the rose petals that littered the porcelain floor of the tub. As the water rose, they floated along the surface, giving a very romantic aroma, and Padme couldn't wait to submerge herself in the water. While she waited for the tub to fill, she began to sort out her suitcase, and transferred her neatly folded clothes into the available drawers. Whenever she was travelling, she enjoyed doing this the most. It was therapeutic, something that kept her calm, and she hummed quietly to herself while she did so, before tucking her empty suitcase into the cupboard and heading back into the bathroom.

Hanging behind the door were two fluffy white bathrobes, and Padme reached out and fingered the plush fabric longingly, imagining wrapping herself in one and sitting out on the tiny little balcony that looked out into the ocean, drinking a glass of champagne and reading her book. The thought brought a smile to her lips.

Stripping out of her clothes, she sat on the edge of the tub, stirring her finger in the water idly, watching the rose petals swirl about from her touch. At last, the tub was full enough, and Padme stood up, easing herself gently into the steaming water – first a toe, then her left leg, then her right, before finally sinking down until only her head and the tops of her shoulders peeked out from above the water line. Immediately, she felt a sense of cleanliness, as the fragrant soap filled her nostrils and soaked into her skin. Her muscles relaxed at the weightlessness of the water and Padme let herself float for a little bit. The tub was enormous – definitely big enough for several people. It was like a small pool. Feeling content and satisfied, Padme tilted her head back to rest on the ledge and closed her eyes, submitting to the relaxation.

She was stirred from her dozing by the feeling of water sloshing around, and blinked her eyes open to see Anakin, stepping non-too-gracefully into the tub at the other end. There was this adorable concentrated look on his face, as though he was trying not to disturb her. She watched him with mild amusement as he steadied himself, before sitting down unceremoniously, splashing water up the sides of the tub. Even though it was large, he looked so uncomfortable, his knees bent, sticking out of the top of the water, and he was crouched almost comically, as he was so tall.

"Stretch your legs out, Ani," Padme told him, shuffling to the side so he could stretch out beside her. "There's plenty of room."

He met her gaze, brow furrowed. "Oh, I woke you up," he sighed, seeming disappointed.

Padme smiled sweetly at him. "It's okay, Ani. I was just resting." When he continued to frown, she raised her eyebrow teasingly. "You're not very stealthy, y'know."

He smirked and leaned back, resting his arms behind his head. His biceps flexed and tensed with the action, and Padme admired him shamelessly, how the water glistened on his exposed chest, how the end of his curls were damp and clung to the side of his neck. He had stretched out his legs, and they lay beside her own, crossed over at the ankles, and one of his feet gently rubbed up and down the dip of her waist.

"I'm pretty sure I've snuck up on before, Babe."

The honesty in his voice made Padme aware that he wasn't talking about scaring her. He was referring to him sneaking back into her life, charming her into falling in love with him. Because that was what had happened. He'd practically forced himself to be a part of her life, was persistent to a fault, and she had surrendered helplessly to him, falling deeper than she ever thought possible.

"Mmmm," was all she said. She reached out and gently stroked his shin as it rested against her leg, feeling the damp blonde hairs against her smooth fingertip. "This place is beautiful."

"You're beautiful." There it was. That honesty again. No matter how many times she heard those words from him, they never failed to make her blush fiercely. She adored how devoted and almost, obsessed he was with her – like she was the only woman in the entire world. He was gazing at her lovingly, eyes wide with infatuation, and Padme melted. "C'mere." He reached for her and gestured her to move towards him.

She inched herself slowly towards him, then turned around and settled between his legs, her back against his chest and his legs either side of her hips. His arms came around to hug around her waist, stroking soft circles along her skin, and he nuzzled his nose into her hair, breathing her in. Padme could feel him, semi-hard against her buttocks, but he made no attempts to touch her, other than his gentle caress of her skin.

Padme sighed happily as she settled more comfortably against him. Anakin pressed a sweet kiss to her temple. Slowly, his hands moved up around her back to rest on her shoulders, and he began to kneed the tense muscles of her upper back and neck. The act made her moan softly – sleeping on the plane had not been the most comfortable of positions and she hadn't realised how tense we was until that moment. Anakin's long, skilled fingers pulled and plied at her muscles, releasing the tension, and she felt her entire body melt into goo at his touch. That, combined with his gentle kisses to the side of her face, made her feel more relaxed than ever, and she closed her eyes, submitting to his control and letting him made her feel.

In her barely conscious state, she felt Anakin take her hair out of her bun and card his fingers through her curls, tugging them loose until they fell around her face, the ends swirling across the top of the water. Another moan slipped passed her lips as he massaged her scalp tenderly, all the while continuing his gentle kisses all over her face.

"Ani…" she whimpered, a sort of half-protest, because he was being too good to her and she didn't want him to stop.

"Shhhh," he hummed low in her ear. "Just relax, Beautiful. Let me take care of you."

That was good enough for her to comply. She heard a clicking sound, and then Anakin's hands were back in her hair, rubbing more firmly into her scalp. She realised he was washing her hair, as the familiar coconut scent of her shampoo filled her nose. There was something so intimate about this act, more intimate than anything they'd ever done during sex. It made her heart flutter in her chest, and she turned her head to look at him, to convey how much she loved him in that exact moment.

"Ani, what are you…?"

He frowned at her, brow furrowed. "Don't move, Padme. I don't want to get shampoo in your eyes."

She smirked at his seriousness and nodded her head. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry." He made a satisfied noise in his chest. "I always double shampoo, just so you know."

Anakin cupped his hands and began to wash her shampoo out of her hair, dragging his fingers through it, making sure all the suds had disappeared, before completing the action again. When it came to conditioner, Padme reminded him to lather the most through the ends of her hair first, before dragging it up towards her scalp. As she had curls, she needed to take care of them carefully.

Anakin complied and then piled her conditioned hair on top of her head and went back to massaging her shoulders, as per her instructions. Then, after several moments, he took her curved comb and began dragging it gently through her hair, combing out the tangles and knots as gently as he could. Padme winced a few times, and Anakin muttered a thousand panicked apologies for hurting her, but she just laughed.

"It's alright, Ani. It happens all the time. My hair is very tangled."

"I had no idea," he muttered, voice filled with curiosity. "Your hair always looks so beautiful, I love your curls."

Padme giggled. "Curls are tricky, Ani. They take a lot of work to look after. Especially when my hair is so long."

"What else do I need to do?" he asked once he had combed her hair through so it was silky and smooth.

"Rinse it out."

Grunting in response, Anakin repeated his rinsing action until her hair was completely clean and clung to the back of her neck. Pressing a kiss to her check once more, he returned his hands to their position around her belly, stroking her skin like he couldn't not touch her, any part of her, all the time.

"What was that for?" she asked him meekly, satisfied but curious.

She felt him shrug his shoulders against her back. "Dunno. Just wanted to. Wanted to make you feel relaxed." He skimmed his nose up the side of her neck. "You looked so gorgeous lying in here and I… I just wanted to make you feel good."

Padme felt her cheek flushed deeply, and lifted one of his hands out of the water to kiss each of his fingertips. "You always make me feel good."

He rumbled a laugh behind her, making her whole body vibrate with the sound of it, like melted chocolate and syrup. "Not as good as how you make me feel."

He took her hand and brought it down behind her, to brush atop his hardening erection and Padme couldn't help but grin devilishly. This hadn't surprised her. Whenever they were naked, especially in a bath, it wasn't long before their desire for one another took over.

She twisted in his lap and straddled him in the tub, her legs bending around his waist, so that his erection was bumping against her lower lips. "I don't know about that Ani," she whispered seductively, curling her fingers in his damp locks and capturing his mouth in a deep kiss. When she pulled back, her teeth caught his bottom lip and bit down, making him groan, his hands resting on the dip of her waist, pulling her closer to his chest so their nipples chafed deliciously together. "I have a feeling you're about to make me feel so…. fucking… good…" On each word, she ground her hips against his and Anakin growled low in his throat, an animalistic sound that shot straight to her throbbing clit.

"You have no idea," he muttered between clenched teeth, and thrust up hard into her.

This was going to be one busy week.