Have I mentioned I have the best readers around? The support here is tremendous and awesome! Thank you!
[A special shoutout and thanks to Arrallute for playing the part of a muse thus causing me to go back and involve Cargo Bay#3 in a more prominent way]
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Chapter 9: Cargo Bay #3As much as she was trying to pay attention to the information being discussed in the morning meeting, her mind was elsewhere. Specifically, it was back in the Millennium Falcon's Captain's cabin …and the lounge …and the ringed corridor that led from the lounge to the cabin.
The bet proved an opportunity to take back control. For a smart guy, Solo could be pretty dumb. It was her plan the whole time. She won either way. If she won the bet, he would've surely lost interest in her by the end of three months. Likely, he would've found someone else to satisfy his sexual needs or he would've left the Alliance entirely.
Leia had figured if he won a few more rounds in bed with him and it wouldn't be so forbidden and enticing. It would become expected and boring for both of them. At that point, she could let it and him go, allowing her focus to return to its rightful place. In fact, it had to be working already. There was nothing she hadn't done with him now. Nothing her fantasies deemed 'naughty' to inflame her secret lust that she battled.
Han's confession of wanting only her had thrown her, though. She had always thought his pursuit of her to be something not quite that important to him. Sex with them was exhilarating and she had guessed any of his proclaimed interest along the way was more motivated by what lived just below his belt rather than just below his neck.
Once they had hit his bunk, Solo had stopped to drink in the moment. She felt as if he was trying to purposely engage an emotional connection with her rather than keeping it on a sexual level. She hadn't counted on that when she had come up with the idea of the bet. Afterwards, he asked her to stay. Confessed… The sincerity of his tone and his eyes were unnerving and she knew she would have to give herself completely to him sexually to once again get to the unemotional state of pure sex between them. She didn't count on her own emotional fallout from that moment.
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Han had thought about Leia all night after she had left. She was the first thing on his mind the next morning. She had truly given herself over to him and it had been incredible. He knew she liked to let go in the bedroom more than she cared to admit. He also knew she liked taking the reins as well. But this last time had been over the top with her. She was either taking their bet very seriously or her emotions were getting the best of her. Ideally, it would be both.
As great as it was, it effectively left her in control of him with his crushing passion for her confounding his every move. That was not gonna work. He needed to control himself so he could focus on developing the emotional aspect of their relationship while he still had the chance. With spy missions, strategy planning, and a base to oversee, Leia was indeed a busy woman. Han pitched in as much as he could. He lent his effort and skills wherever and whenever, but he couldn't afford to get tied down with his own obligations hanging over his head. Still, there was very little he wouldn't do if she asked.
One way he could really put his best skills to use was to see to it that Leia took time to relax and remember there was more to life than just fighting the Empire. In fact, on that note, he was going to make a point to spoil her now that he had an excuse for her to spend some alone time with him.
As he walked back to the aft engineering station in the Falcon, he ticked off things that needed maintenance or repair. Any ship required constant maintenance, but the Falcon required a little more than most. Then again, she was a lot better than most. He passed the rear cargo bay and inspiration struck. It would take a couple of days and it was a dirty job that he had been dreading, but Leia would be worth it. In fact, the more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed. Sometimes I really do amaze myself.
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It was getting late. The skeleton night crew was all that was left in the Command Center. She had skipped dinner which in hindsight might have not been a good idea. She was more than a bit peckish and wondering if she could scrounge something up in the mess hall or if she should just made do with a nutrition bar. She would have to decide soon because her rumbling stomach was getting louder and while nobody was in her immediate area, they were that far away.
She blamed Solo for this. If she hadn't' spent so much time the last couple of days distracted by her thoughts of him, yet again, than she would be further alone on this strategy project that she planned to present to the High Council in the next meeting in a few days. Her evening meal time had been spent trying to catch up. At least Solo hadn't sought her out to –
"Hey, there, Sweetheart." His voice rumbled happily into her ear from behind her chair.
Leia closed her eyes momentarily to steady herself from not reacting in any way. "What is it?"
"I think you already know." Coolly, Han turned and leaned back on the console in front of her and let a hint of his smirk shine through.
"Now is not a good time. I'm busy." Leia knew she probably couldn't put him off the idea for very long, but it was worth a try.
"Life and death busy? Or your normal level?"
To her annoyance, he began reading her screen and then in the ultimate betrayal, her stomach gurgled loudly again. That was it. She was done for the night and there was no way to get out of it now.
Han's head turned back towards her with a smile. "Let me guess. You worked through dinner again?"
She said nothing. She didn't have to answer to him.
"C'mon, Princess. Time to call it a day."
She looked up at him with narrowed eyes. Bet or no bet, how dare he order her around. "You do not tell me what to do, Flyboy."
He must've seen the fire in her eyes because his smile grew. "You do have other obligations, Your Most Royal Worshipfulness, remember?"
With an aggravated sigh, Leia pushed herself up to her feet. He couldn't have caught her less in the mood! Then she realized that this was exactly what she had wanted all along: to be not interested. Perfect. It had only been two days and it was already working. She knew her plan would work.
"Fine." She stole a look around the Command Center and lowered her voice, "Let's get this over with. I have important work to do."
She lead him out the door.
As they passed 3PO at a console, Han called to him. "Good work, Goldenrod."
Leia's eyebrows knitted. Since when did Han compliment 3PO? She waited for Han to file in beside her as they walked down the passageway. "Why did you just say that to him?"
Han shrugged. "Maybe I'm in a good mood."
She rolled her eyes. He was hiding something, but this wasn't the time to get it out of him. In a few minutes, she would have him under her control and she could find out then if she was still interested.
"Where are we going exactly?"
"To the Falcon. We have to work on some fantasies."
Her fist flew backwards into his stomach with lightning speed to shut him up and punish him for slipping. "Are you crazy?"
She halted in place. Her voice a harsh whisper, "Somebody might hear. You're breaking the deal."
"Ow! Don't be so rough." He rubbed his stomach more out of drama than anything else. "Nobody heard. It's late. People aren't roaming the halls this time of night."
"Either you hold up to the deal or it's off. Understood?"
She turned left and started walking down the passageway that led to the hangar with Solo right on her heels.
"You are very tense, you know that?"
"Of course, I am. I have responsibilities. There's a lot riding on our actions. We can't waste time or we might miss an opportunity to take down the Empire."
"I know all about it, Sweetheart, but how about we switch gears for a bit?"
Her interest in speaking to him stopped until they had reached the foot of the Falcon's ramp. Han was right, the base was basically shut down for the night with only the guards on duty. At least she wasn't in their direct line of sight as they approached the Falcon. It wasn't so late that it was unusual for her or Luke to be hanging around the ship at any rate. No suspicions would be raised from her being seen boarding or even leaving later. They were known to hang around with the smuggler until late.
"Where's Chewie?" she whispered.
"He was working on the lifters all day. It's heavy work even for him. He went to bed early. Probably snoring away."
She nodded and walked up the ramp. Leia made a point to look around anyway for the Wookiee as they entered the hold. He was nowhere to be seen and the ship 'felt' quiet. Still, she felt strange. It wasn't like they were on a date. It was feeling more like a business deal. Perhaps her plan was working and she wasn't feeling as emotionally attached to Solo as she thought, but now she felt too unattached. She should be happy, but she wasn't.
She was definitely tense. They had never walked together to a planned sexual encounter. It had just happened when they were together and the desire overtook them. She wasn't sure how she would last three months doing it this way.
"Are we going to your cabin?" Leia said feeling more awkward around him than ever before.
"I have something to show you." He took her by the hand and led her around the access ring walking beyond the Captain's cabin to Cargo Bay #3. She had only been in there once. It was the smallest of the cargo holds on the Falcon. Bay #3 had been full of various junk when she had seen it last. It also happened to be the furthest away from Chewie's makeshift cabin.
He punched the door lock and the door slid open to reveal nothing but junk piled high almost right to the door.
"What's going on?"
"C'mon." He pulled on her hand to follow him down the narrow space between the door and the junk pile.
"Just what sort of fantasies are you talking about? I thought we took care of that last time."
They turned the corner and Leia's jaw dropped at what she saw in front of her. She stood stock still absorbing the scene, trying to make sense of it. She couldn't have imagined this.