Thanks for the comments, they keep me going!
Oh and please note the M rating kicks in right here...
Hands caressed her. Rough fingers over smooth skin, curling under the back of her knee, sliding up the outside of her thigh, under her skirt, pushing the material higher. Indecently high. Stubble scratched her neck, words whispered against her ear as his thumb traced the hem of lace encircling her thigh.
"Tell me what you want."
Seated on the table, she spread her legs wider and tilted her hips to his touch: feather-light circles on damp silk. This was what she wanted, more of this, harder, deeper, yes, but this alone would not be enough. Wherever this was going would not be enough without...
"To kiss you, I need to kiss you." She turned her head towards him, but it was dark; she couldn't see his face and he evaded her, chuckling.
"Not yet. Not quite yet."
Deftly, he unbuttoned her shirt with one hand and pushed it off her shoulder, placing kisses along her collarbone, his hair falling forward, soft strands against her exposed, overheated skin.
"Perhaps, a little more like this…?" he murmured, slipping her underwear aside, one finger sliding, teasing, then penetrating. She gasped, bucking against him, but he held her still, one hand firm on her hip, teeth against her shoulder. His thumb traced exquisite circles and she moaned loudly, stars showering her vision.
"Lie back," he whispered, his fingers falling away from her body to ease her backwards on the study table. She obeyed, and his hands cradled her head to rest against the hard surface. Then, his attention returned to her thighs, swiftly shoving the skirt to bunch at her hips, sliding her panties over her hips.
Breathlessly, she anticipated his weight on her, his tongue in her mouth; but, agonisingly, he retreated, only air against her skin, the contact she ached for lost.
She raised her head, expecting to see a sly grin, but instead his eyes met hers with fierce, devoted intensity.
Holding her gaze, he hooked her leg over his shoulder, then half-turned his head to place a slow kiss at the top of her inner thigh. His breath lingered, caressing her for a moment, then, slowly, lowered his mouth again to the same place, teeth teasing, tongue swirling.
"Please…" She moaned, letting her head back down into the table with a bump, as his tongue, very slowly, began to trace higher. "Obi-Wan, please…"
Obi-Wan?
OBI-WAN?
Chloe work with a start, his name on her lips, disorientated by bright sunlight on her face and the thunderous pounding of her heart.
"Oh, Gods…" She wrapped her arms around her face and groaned.
A dream, just a dream. But it had been so vivid!
And Obi-Wan! Oh Obi-Wan!
Obi-Wan?
What had her subconscious been thinking?
Still lurching between dream-world and reality, Chloe sat up slowly, blinking through bleary vision.
What was that? Something strange.
Something smudgy and brown.
A brown robe hung on the door opposite.
Wait. Bright sunlight? And silence?
This was not her apartment.
A Jedi robe. Obi-Wan's robe.
So did that mean. Had she? Had they…?
Chloe lay back down so quickly she bounced on the mattress. She stared at the ceiling, taking a few deep breaths, trying to recall falling asleep, finally remembering Obi-Wan's couch, the soft cushions, the soothing tea, and then… nothing.
Slowly, she turned her head to the right. The pillow next to hers was pristine, the bed covers uncrumpled.
Biting her lip, she yanked back the bed covers.
Relief, tinged ever so slightly with disappointment, flooded her body. She was fully clothed. She'd fallen asleep on his couch. Nothing had happened.
Of course it hadn't. Obi-Wan was an honourable man.
He'd carried her to his bed. He'd taken off her boots. Chloe blushed at the idea, but smiled at the same time.
And so where in her poor, overwrought, twisted brain had that incredible dream come from? Okay, Obi-Wan was attractive, yes, in a sort of devlish, flirtatious way, but she'd hardly spent all day fantasising about him doing unmentionable things to her on the library office table.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of a small chrono on the bedside table.
Seven-thirty. That gave her exactly one hour to get back to her apartment, shower, change and get to the archives to start work on time.
Right. One step at a time. She took a couple of deep breaths then sat up again, taking in her surroundings.
The room, simply decorated in shades of cream and green, contained pleasant, rustic-looking furniture: a dresser, a closet and a bookshelf. Several green and leafy plants were lined up neatly on the windowsill.
In fact, everything was very neat and tidy, from the rows of old books on the bookshelf to the simple and crisp linen on the bed...
Obi-Wan's bed.
She was lying in Obi-Wan's bed…
And where was he? Sleeping on the couch in the living room? And, oh Gods no, had she really called out his name? Had he heard her?
Trying to mentally block her imagination from embarrassing her further, Chloe flung back the cover and hopped quickly across the cool tiles to grab her boots from the rack in the corner.
A small datapad dropped onto the floor and she picked it up, turning it over to read the display.
Slept well? Lavendirum tea is very relaxing, didn't want to wake you. Council meeting at 10, will be in touch this afternoon.
- O.W.K.
So, she told herself, firmly, he must have popped in when she was fast asleep, long before the dream started. Yes, she breathed, it was fine. It was all absolutely fine. No need to panic.
Her hands shook as she smoothed down her skirt.
Still disorientated, Chloe deactivated the datapad and placed it on the dresser, then frowned slightly and picked it up again, looking for somewhere where it didn't look quite as messy. There wasn't anywhere so she put it down again with a shrug.
Catching sight of the chrono again she cursed, straightening the rest of her clothing and headed for the door.
In the living room, the data terminal caught her eye. She'd nearly forgotten about the decryption program.
Chloe paused at the terminal and tapped a few keys. It was still running, and would need a couple more hours to complete. Two more hours, to pull herself together, get that dream out of her head, and focus.
Focus, Chloe, focus.
She sighed. Then, with one last look around the room she activated the door panel, she stepped into the corridor and hurried in the direction of home.
"I have it right here, General. I put it aside for you earlier." Chloe turned to retrieve the old-fashioned bound volume of papers.
"Ah. Excellent," Obi-Wan said. "Certain books can only be properly appreciated in this form."
Chloe frowned at the spine of the volume as she handed it over. "The natural history of the fungal spores of the Sio system?"
"Yes, it's fascinating. You should read it."
"Hmm, something about freezing over and Mustafar comes to mind, but I can't quite remember what," she said, wincing at the same time; what was intended to be sarcasm seemed to come out of her mouth as downright rude. Damn nerves.
"By the way, your dispatches are all archived," she added quickly, looking down at her work, indicating one of the many piles of flimsiplast with a wave of her hand.
"Already? I'm impressed. They must have impeccable training at librarian school these days."
"I don't go to…" she stopped mid-sentence. "You know I don't." Chloe looked up to find his eyes locked on hers, and had to fight the memories of the scandalous behavious her dream-self had been getting up to with his dream-self that morning.
Across the room, Li-Sei was removing old notices from the office pinboard, and replacing then with new, neatly laminated versions. The intermittent sound of stapling punctuated the silence.
Obi-Wan smiled, blue eyes twinkling. For a long, uncomfortable moment Chloe wondered if he really did know. Even if he hadn't heard her, had he sensed her dream through the Force? How much of a person's thoughts could Jedi read anyway? Did he know what she was thinking now?
"Don't worry," Obi-Wan whispered, leaning closer.
Chloe very nearly whimpered out loud.
"The Council are meeting right now," he continued. "We should have a decision by the end of an hour. I'll send for you."
"Hmm," Chloe squeaked. Ah, yes. The Onori virus. Of course that's what she was concerned about. Her whole future career and intergalactic warefare and the future of democracy and everything. She nodded and smiled mutely, mentally stamping on herself.
"Is there anything I can help you with, General Kenobi?" Li-Sei called across, one hand placed seductively on her slanted hips. "Chloe is still learning the ropes."
Obi-Wan smiled. "No thank you, Sapphire, I have everything I need."
Sapphire? Chloe thought, distracted by the sudden need to bite back a giggle. Li-Sei's first name was Sapphire?
Obi-Wan bowed, then turned and winked at Chloe before leaving the room.
Chloe watched him go, then sighed and leant back in her chair.
She was still smiling as she turned to look at the wall-chrono, only to find the ice-blue glare of her office-mate.
"Daydreaming?"
"No," said Chloe sharply, turning back to her work.
The façade of civility was starting to crack. Earlier that morning Chloe had finally received her internship information pack from Jocasta Nu. The pack contained a list of duties for Chloe to perform, and also stated, very clearly, that Li-Sei was not Chloe's superior, but merely a co-worker. Someone had obviously forgotten to inform Li-Sei of that fact.
"You should smile more often," the other woman was saying. "You know you're quite pretty when you smile."
"Mmm-huh." Chloe typed a little more vigorously.
"Such a shame he took the celibacy vow, don't you think?"
Chloe swallowed, then looked around.
"He did?" Her throat was a little dry. "I thought he was supposed to be involved with some princess or something?"
"Lady Sabé Essara of Naboo." Li-Sei nodded. "There were rumours, a long time ago. But no, of course we Jedi are not allowed to marry. Eventually she married a gentleman from Alderaan. And now General Kenobi is strictly off limits, as it were. His own decision."
"You seem to know rather a lot about it."
Li-Sei's pale cheeks flushed a delicate pink. "Only as much as anyone else."
Ah, thought Chloe. I understand. So someone has a little crush…
Like you don't, replied a small voice in her head.
Of course she didn't! Just because she'd dreamt… well that didn't mean she had a crush on him. That meant he confused her. Desperately.
Besides, she wasn't looking for a relationship. She was incredibly bad at relationships. And there was very little chance someone like Obi-Wan Kenobi would be interested in having a relationship with her…
Incorrect, the small, annoying voice interrupted. There is precisely zero chance he would want to have a relationship with you. He's celibate. You're lucky he even speaks to you.
Shut up! Thought Chloe. I'm going mad!
Relax. She could cope with this. Yes, this afternoon she would be working for a well-respected, but celibate Jedi, who induced very strange behaviour in her, and with whom she'd had graphic, one-sided dream-sex.
But heck, she'd been in weirder situations than that.
Okay, she hadn't. But every new experience was an adventure, wasn't it? That's what her father had always said.
After the rollercoaster of the previous twelve hours, a whole day in the archives was soul-destroyingly tedious. The time passed incredibly slowly. By late afternoon, there was still no word from Obi-Wan.
Just when Chloe was beginning to wonder if everything about the Onori virus had been part of that terrifying, if (she was now beginning to admit) rather wonderful dream, Li-Sei entered the office, a frown creasing her pretty forehead.
"Chloe. I, err, well, actually, Master Windu has requested you leave early today and go to help General Kenobi on an urgent matter."
Chloe couldn't stop the broad smile that spread across her face at the prospect of escape, even if it was to spend the rest of the day trying to avoid eye-contact with Obi-Wan.
In seconds she had gathered her belongings together.
"Sapph... Li-Sei," Chloe said, nodding politely, if rather gleefully, before dashing for the door.
"In his quarters…" Li-Sei called after her, "for some reason you're to go to his quarters, I…"
Li-Sei's voice was cut off by the sound of the turbolift door closing. Chloe tapped her foot nervously, watching the levels count upon the monitor, wondering how she should raise the subject of how she ended up in Obi-Wan's bed last night. It would be odd not to mention it, wouldn't it?
Nervously, she exiting the lift and walked along the corridor.
Obi-Wan answered the door of his quarters with a frown, indicating her to enter with a wave of his hand.
Chloe's frivolous, jittery embarrassment was quenched instantly.
His expression was deadly serious.
Something was wrong.