"Somebody's coming."
In one fluid movement Obi-Wan grabbed a large book from the shelf and pulled out a chair at the leather-topped table in the centre of the room. "Behind me," he whispered, opening the book and sitting down. "Try to look busy."
Noticing his position opposite the door, Chloe nodded and stumbled behind him so his body hid most of her crumpled dress. She had barely regained her breathing when the muscles of Obi-Wan's shoulder stiffened under her hand.
"She's here," he said, activating the overhead light with a flick of his wrist.
Chloe blinked in the sudden brightness and glanced at the floor. "Oh!"
The black scraps of her torn underwear lay discarded and very visible on the polished surface to the right of her feet. With a little gasp and a jerk of her leg, she stretched and kicked the material beneath the nearest bookshelf.
A second later the door opened. Chloe fixed her eyes on the book in front of Obi-Wan.
He waited a second before raising his head. "Ah, Master Nu, good evening," he said, his voice as smooth as honey and as calm as a glassy lake.
Feeling about as calm as a stormy sea full of Neimoidian devil fish, Chloe looked up.
"Master Kenobi, what a surprise," said the woman at the doorway, arching one thin eyebrow.
Jocasta Nu.
Chloe had only met the Master-in-charge of the Jedi archives in person a couple of times. Their exchanges had been perfectly cordial, but Chloe had not found it difficult to believe the reputation Master Nu had for making Padawans - and apparently even some Jedi Knights - whimper with a single sharp word. Under her headship, the archives had been run with military discipline for over twenty years.
Now the librarian's gaze of cold, feminine steel fixed on her.
Chloe became instantly aware that her hair was a tangled mess, that her lips were puffy and swollen from too-urgent kisses, and that her right cheek was quite possibly glowing - visibly - thanks to the friction from Obi-Wan's stubble. Master Nu's eyes narrowed very slightly, and Chloe's heart sped up.
"Ah, and Miss O' Brian," the librarian said, in a voice as icy as her eyes. "Good evening. I was just checking over the catalogue and I thought I heard a commotion. Is everything alright?"
Chloe tried to smile, praying her voice would not wobble when she spoke. "I was just helping Obi-Wan with an enquiry about…"
A beat. Two.
"About…" No. Her brain refused to cooperate.
"Wookie… war cries," Obi-Wan interjected, and Chloe could almost feel him wince as he spoke. "I was looking for some reference information and Miss O'Brian managed to track down some recordings. Perhaps that's what you heard? We're just, um, cross-referencing the details here."
Chloe nodded emphatically, glancing down to Obi-Wan and noticing a large red smudge on his left cheek. Oh dear…
"I was unaware the archive had such an impressive audio collection… " Obi-Wan was saying, apparently going for the option of blatant flattery.
Just as Chloe was wondering how he expected to get away with something so unsubtle, Jocasta Nu's expression softened. A hint of an upward curve flitted across the older woman's pale lips.
"I have some extra records in my office," she said, "if you need to hear more. Although it's late… perhaps you'd like to call in tomorrow? I will be back here in the Temple for the next week."
"Wonderful," said Obi-Wan, stressing each syllable rather too much, his voice loaded with enthusiasm. "I'll stop by first thing in the morning."
Chloe half-expected a cruel laugh or a sarcastic remark. Surely Master Nu wasn't so easily charmed? But then the librarian smiled. A real smile. Chloe had previously doubted that Master Nu was even capable of smiling. The expression transformed her face, and for a second Chloe caught a glimpse of the attractive younger woman she must once have been.
"And I trust you are settling in Miss O'Brian?" Master Nu continued, and Chloe thought she might even be able to detect a hint of humour lingering behind those grey eyes.
"Y-yes ma'am. Thank you."
"Then I'll leave you to your work and see you both tomorrow." With a final curt node to Chloe, she turned sharply on her heel, raising one hand in goodbye, without looking back.
"Thank you. Good evening Master Nu," Obi-Wan called after her.
Chloe waited until her footsteps had faded into the distance before letting out a long breath.
Obi-Wan shook his head, looking a little perplexed, and got to his feet. "Let's make our escape before she decides to come back."
Down the hallway, as the door of the turbolift closed safely behind them, Chloe finally dared to look up at Obi-Wan, her chest bursting with a strange, bubbling mixture of relief, excitement and hysteria.
Obi-Wan bit his lip and looked back down at her, his frown doing nothing to hide the laughter in his eyes.
Chloe shook her head. Obi-Wan's serious expression dissolved into a grin and a second later they were laughing together.
"She knew," Chloe managed to say, eventually, still struggling for breath, her chest aching. "No question about it."
"Because the book was upside down, or because you called me Obi-Wan?"
"Oh… ah, well, neither, actually. I think it might have had something to do with this." She traced a finger along the large and quite obvious smudge of lipstick lying charmingly across his right cheek.
Obi-Wan stooped to peer at his reflection in the mirrored control panel. "Ah…" He rubbed at the coloured mark distractedly. "Master Nu does have a bit of a soft spot for me. You know-"
"She's actually human after all?"
"Apparently so."
"But hang on a moment, what was all that about Wookie war cries? Are you really implying I sound like-"
"Of course not." Obi-Wan flashed her a mischievous grin as he stepped closer and slid an arm around her waist. "Although to be quite certain I think I might need to hear it again."
But just as he moved to kiss her, the ping of the lift announced their arrival at Obi-Wan's floor.
Inside his apartment, Obi-Wan headed to the kitchen to get drinks while Chloe waited in the living area, not quite sure whether to sit down or wait to be asked. The soft carpet and silence were a striking contrast to the bright lights and banter of the lift just a few moments before, and it suddenly seemed strange, to be here, in his apartment, with Obi-Wan. Really with him; both of them quite clear about what was going to happen before she left again.
"Only water, I'm afraid, the kitchen is almost bare." Obi-Wan's voice made her jump. He neatly moved the glass out of the way to miss her flailing arm as she jerked around.
"Sorry," she mumbled, taking the drink.
"No need to apologise," he replied, gently taking her free hand and leading her to the sofa.
"So…" she started to say, looking everywhere but his face.
"Are you tired?" he asked, squeezing the hand he was still holding before letting it go. She closed her eyes for a second.
"No… not at all." She smiled brightly, and looked up at him. "I'm just trying to get used to the idea of being here… like this."
"Do you want to leave?" His eyes were intent on her, the same intensity that had set her skin on fire when he'd looked at her in the Hall.
Unmistakable desire. For her.
She raised a hand to his chest, edging over the rough fabric towards the bare skin at the opening of his tunic. The urge to touch him was overwhelming. She couldn't have fought it, even if she wanted to. "No."
She moved her hand higher, running her fingers lightly over his neck, the stubble of his chin, exploring the texture of him slowly, hesitantly at first, but then with increasing confidence when he did not stop her. She grazed a thumb over his lower lip and he opened his mouth slightly. She felt his fingers brush against those of her other hand as he took the glass of water she was very close to spilling. Then she watched in amazement as he floated both glasses to the coffee table.
"Show off."
"You don't know the trouble I'd get into if my Padawan saw me using the Force so frivolously."
Somewhere in the room an alarm beeped. Obi-Wan's forehead creased in irritation.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing. But would you please excuse me for a moment? There's something I need to attend to."
"Of course," Chloe said. "Are you expecting visitors?"
Obi-Wan had stood up, and was pulling off the top layer of his tunic. "No, nothing like that." He crossed to the 'fresher. "Just a little injury I picked up on the mission."
"I thought it was a wild bantha chase?"
"Not entirely," he replied, raising his voice over the sound of running water. "We did manage to retrieve a large surveillance archive. It might even prove useful, if the intel droids can patch it back together."
Chloe nodded to herself, and rested her head back on the sofa. Better leave him to do whatever he had to do. Although she was curious about the mission, those questions could wait until the morning.
First there was tonight.
Her stomach twisted with a sudden bout of nerves. This was what she wanted, she was certain; two long weeks away from him had been plenty of time to figure that out. It was perfectly rational. How many sane women could not want what Obi-Wan was offering: an exciting affair with – as a bit of holonet research had revealed - one of the most talked-about, most well-respected men in the galaxy? A man who was attractive, intelligent, had the power to infuriate her completely, yes, but in such a charming way that she could not help but like him all the more for it. Someone who, for a reason she hadn't yet been able to work out, seemed to want her. For now, at least. And if their relationship fizzled out after a few months, who cared? She could do this, couldn't she? She could hold herself back. She was a young professional, an independent woman, she could have fun, and walk away.
But as her temporary, adrenalin-induced confidence draining away into the dark corners of Obi-Wan's elegant, tranquil, impossibly neat apartment, a small, unwelcome voice in Chloe's head continued with the thoughts she had tried to suppress.
Who was she kidding.
She had been so happy to see Obi-Wan earlier; so relieved, so needy. She'd never felt that kind of need with anyone else before, and she knew that, in truth, she would gladly take whatever part of himself he was prepared to give.
And that was just the problem. She would take any part of him. Desperately. Gladly. Far too gladly.
Self-control. That single phrase epitomised Obi-Wan. He had spoken about emotions as if they were something you could turn on and off; feelings that you could acknowledge then choose to override. And although he had not said it in so many words, there was one thing Chloe was pretty certain was not supposed to happen in Jedi relationships. What else could be responsible for making her feel so totally and incontrovertibly out of control?
The way he had touched her in the archives, nothing had ever felt as good. But actually she would have been just as happy if he had only kissed her… or simply talked to her, or held her hand… and well, to be honest he didn't even need to do that. He seemed to possess the power to turn her into a pile of hormonal, highly un-feminist goo with a single sweep of his eyes.
Chloe closed her eyes and sighed. If she had not been swept away by her stupid lust for the past two weeks, perhaps she could have thought about this rationally. Perhaps she could have worked out that she should hold back, and try to control her own emotions before she leapt into Obi-Wan's bed.
But now it was too late. How could she be honest with him and retain her dignity? What was she supposed to say? "I'd better not sleep with you because I think I might be in love with you?" Right. How pathetic. She wasn't even certain… it could just be a crush. He certainly made her feel more like seventeen than twenty-four.
"Okay in there?"
Obi-Wan's cheery voice startled her again. The water had stopped running. When she didn't reply he popped his head out from behind the fresher door. "I'll only be another couple of minutes." He leant out further, exposing a bare shoulder.
Chloe gulped and smiled. "Sure."
He nodded and disappeared again.
Get a grip, Chloe.
Taking a long breath, she stood up. Nonsensical as it seemed, she actually felt better when she was talking to him. It was as if he gave her some sort of mysterious confidence boost, or at least distracted from being so annoyingly self-aware. She walked slowly over to the fresher door.
"So what happened to you?" She tried to sound casual.
"Oh, nothing serious. Just a run-in with an over-enthusiastic vulture droid too stupid to know it was supposed to attack ships, not people. The healers insist the bacta dressing is changed every twelve hours."
Chloe peeked in through the gap in between the door and the frame. Obi-Wan, naked from the waist upwards, his back to her, was leaning slightly forwards, over the sink. A medical pack lay open on the counter to his left.
She heard him hiss, then curse under his breath.
"Need some help?"
He glanced over his shoulder. "It's not pretty."
"I'm sure it's nothing I haven't seen before."
"Really?" He said, half-turning towards her.
"I trained as a medical doctor for three semesters before switching to cryptography. I specialised in battlefield injuries."
But Chloe couldn't help but wince when Obi-Wan turned to face her fully.
An ugly, red half-healed gash stretched right across his abdomen. It was widest at the centre, the skin jagged and swollen at the edges. Across his chest the wound faded to a thin pink line that disappeared under a partially-removed dressing; a smattering of small, similarly-coloured marks spotted the surrounding area.
"Does it hurt?"
"I've had worse."
"Looks like it was deep." She stepped beside him to wash her hands. And dangerous, she thought, scrubbing her fingers with soap, trying not to imagine the rough metal of a vulture droid's cutting arm gouging through his skin. Just a little deeper, just a little to the left… She suppressed a shudder. "Here, let me finish that off for you." She almost expected him to flinch away as she reached for the strip of gauze still attached to his chest but he remained motionless. She focused on her fingers, his skin warm beneath them.
"So why did you switch?" he asked, as she worked quickly to clean and re-dress the wound.
"My bedside manner was found to be somewhat… wanting." She knew he was probably smiling in amusement, but she kept her eyes on his chest. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for all that empathy and sympathy. It was a bit of a shock at the time. I'd always assumed I would study medicine like my father."
"You thought a great deal of him, didn't you?"
Chloe fixed the last bacta strip in place, and looked up, finding her breath caught by the combined gentleness of Obi-Wan's voice and his expression.
"No man has ever quite lived up to his standard."
At least, not until now…
She looked away quickly, and packed up the medical bag. "You're done."
"Isn't this the point where you ask me how I'm feeling, doctor?"
"Um…, yeah, how-" she stopped herself, and threw him a sarcastic look. "Tease."
"Actually I prefer the strict, unsympathetic approach."
"Oh really?"
"Mmm-huh. It's quite sexy."
"You're crazy, Kenobi."
"Is that a medical diagnosis?"
"Yup." Chloe rinsed her hands and dried them.
When she had finished, he raised a hand to her chin, turning her face up to his. "Then what does that make you?"
"Hopeless case."
He looked down at her for a long moment, and she hoped he hadn't noticed the tremble in her voice.
He ran a thumb gently along her cheek.
Please, no more questions. She was certain she would struggle to speak.
Thankfully, he decided to kiss her instead. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her against his chest. Chloe ran her hands over the muscles of his back, surrendering to his lips, his taste, his heat.
Obi-Wan's lips dipped to her ear. "Bedroom?"
"Mmm." Too late to back out now.
His arms lifted her easily, and his mouth found hers again. She was barely aware of being carried across the room, of her sandals slipping from her feet; seconds later she felt the softness of his bed beneath her back.
"Turn over," Obi-Wan whispered, and she obliged, wriggling onto her front. He swept her hair from her shoulders and pressed soft kisses to her neck, sliding his hand over the silky back of her dress, until he found the row of tiny hooks that held the material together.
"I'm not sure this dress was designed to come off," Chloe said, voice muffled by the pillow. "I could barely get into it in the first place."
"I might be able to help with that." He ran a finger lightly down the row of fastenings. The material slipped to her sides.
"Cheat," she said, shivering in pleasure as his cool fingers grazed her flushed skin.
Obi-Wan chuckled, and tugged at the material, trying to slide it from under her. "Hey, be careful." She raised herself slightly so he could pull it free. "The deposit on this thing is half a months' wages."
But she forgot all about the dress the second Obi-Wan's hands returned to her bare back. She felt his hair tickle her shoulder then his lips nuzzled her neck, stubble pricking slightly, his hands smoothing down, over her arms, to the ends of her fingertips.
"Turn over, Chloe," he murmured. "Let me see you."
She did so slowly, serious now as she felt vulnerable, naked before him for the first time. His expression was solemn too.
He brushed a stray lock of hair back from her face. "I would never do anything to hurt you, you know."
"I know."
It was true. She trusted him. She just didn't quite trust herself…
Obi-Wan bent to kiss her, gently at first, inviting her response, running his tongue lightly over her lower lip. She opened her mouth, sliding her hands into his hair to pull him closer, meeting his tongue, enjoying the sensation of his weight resting against her.
His hands started to move over her body, exploring, gently, just firm enough not to tickle but to caress. She surrendered completely, letting her mind drift and her limbs relax as he kindled and then inflamed her body's arousal once again. How did he manage to touch her with just the right amount of pressure, she wondered, to give the impression that his hands were made to do this? And how in the galaxy did he manage to convey so much feeling – reverence, desire, and an awareness of exactly the effect he was having on her – with just the simple pressure of skin against skin?
The answer, of course was simple.
Because he's a talented lover. And, well... the rest is all in my own mind.
As his fingers moved to her thighs and drifted higher, Chloe tensed instinctively. She had still barely touched him; she didn't want this to end just yet, but her feeble body was aching for release and that it would only take the smallest of touches with those talented fingers...
Sensing the tension, Obi-Wan paused and pulled away, leaving his hand resting on her thigh.
"Open your eyes."
She forced open heavy lids. His face was just inches away from hers.
"Relax. I want to show you something."
Eyes locked with hers, his hand started to move higher again, over the very softest skin of her inner thigh, then higher…
"Ohhh…" the sounds tumbled from her lips with no control whatsoever.
He caressed her sensitive, yielding flesh slowly, perfectly. She bit her lip and forced herself to relax, focusing on his eyes above her, at any moment expecting to feel the crash of her orgasm. But it didn't happen; instead the sensations just continued to build and build.
Perspiration beaded on Obi-Wan's forehead and a small groan escaped his lips.
Strange, Chloe thought, since she was not touching him at all, paralysed as she was by the pleasure he was inflicting on her. Then, as his next moan coincided with hers, she realised.
He smiled and nodded. "I can feel you. Through the Force, your pleasure..."
She closed her eyes, swamped and half-numbed by sensation. What hope did she have, when he so-easily rendered her almost unable to move? The prickle of annoyance that accompanied the thought helped her focus enough to force out an irritated groan.
"That. Is. So. Unfair." With a great deal of willpower, she managed to raise one arm and wrap her fingers around the wrist of the hand that was touching her. "You're not even naked yet."
He chuckled, and bent to kiss her on the lips. Then his hands left her body.
The mattress shifted, and Chloe opened her eyes just in time to see him stand up at the bottom of the bed, and begin to pull off his boots. She quickly pushed herself up onto her elbows to get a better view. Noticing her appraisal, he smiled wickedly, pushing trousers and underwear down with just slightly too much of a roll of the hips for a respectable Jedi Master.
Chloe grinned and twisted a lock of hair around her finger.
Deliciously naked, he crawled back up the bed, holding out a hand to pull her into a sitting position opposite him.
"Better?"
She cast an approving glance over his body. "Yes."
His hand still held hers but he made no attempt to touch her, waiting now, for her to make the first move.
Freeing her hand, she shuffled towards him, raising herself onto her knees so her mouth was level with his forehead. She placed a kiss there, tasting salt on his skin, and ran the fingers of both her hands through his hair, over his shoulders, tracing the muscles of his arms.
Then she sank down a little, pressing her forehead to his, and turned her exploratory caress to his chest, skirting the edges of the dressing, then tentatively moving lower, to his hips.
There was no intention, in her touch, to generate pleasure for him; she was simply responding to her own need to feel his warm skin beneath her fingertips. Chloe was surprised, then, when her fingers skirted over his belly and tangled into the coarse hair below and she felt his long, exhaled moan against her cheek. And she could not help but smile when she finally encircled the silky hardness of his erection and his hips jerked forward involuntarily.
He pressed his face into the crook of her neck, his breath hot and increasingly erratic against her skin as she stroked him, cautiously at first, but then a little more firmly as she grew in confidence. She let a second hand join the first, exploring while the other kept up a steady rhythm.
His hands were placed flat on the bed by his sides, and she glanced down to see his fingers twisting into the coverlet, the muscles of his forearms rigid with tension.
Chloe was mesmerised by this mysterious power she suddenly seemed to have over him. The way he had touched her was incredible, but the notion that she could have this effect on him was even more erotic.
And perhaps a small part of her was relieved he wasn't quite as in control as she had previously thought.
"Relax, Obi-Wan," she teased, moving her mouth to his, running the tip of her tongue over his lower lip, stroking him just a little harder. He moaned again, louder this time. She wondered if he could feel how much this was turning her on. How far could she push him? What would it take to make him lose control?
"Do you want my mouth on you?" she said, so intoxicated by arousal that she forgot how embarrassing she usually found talking during sex.
"Just here?" She slid her thumb through the drop of moisture at the tip of his erection, spreading it slowly in a circle, visualising her lips moving over the same place. "I want to taste you. Please, let me-"
The noise he made next was almost a growl. His hand was suddenly against the back of her neck as he closed the centimetres between their mouths, claiming her lips and pushing his tongue against hers.
She opened her mouth willingly, losing grip on his body as he pressed her back down into the mattress.
"Too much," he murmured, moving his mouth to her neck and biting the flesh there just a little too harshly. He soothed the same spot with soft, wet kisses. "You're too much to handle." She felt him smile against her skin.
Chloe giggled. "Sorry."
In this position their bodies were aligned and Chloe wrapped a leg around Obi-Wan's hip, his hardness pressed against her softness, slick and ready for him. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest; just one small movement and he would be inside her.
He rested his weight on his elbows, cupping her face and watching her for a long moment.
"Okay sweetheart?" he whispered. "Just tell me to stop now, if you don't want this, and I will."
Good Gods he was going to kill her.
"No... don't stop," she said hoarsly, but then frowned. "Do we need to use… anything?"
He smoothed a thumb across her forehead and shook his head. "Our regulation dietary supplements take care of that. It's been policy for a while now, even if the Council don't officially recognise that we may get ourselves into procreative situations."
"Fine." She raised finger to his lips. "Enough of the Jedi politics. Where were we?"
"Sorry." He closed his eyes and composed his expression then looked at her again. "I believe I was asking if it was okay to make love to you."
I'm already dead. This is heaven.
"H-mm," she said, nodding since even the word "yes" seemed too much of a challenge right now.
He smiled and kissed her gently, then stroked the thigh that curved around his hip, and pressed forward, pushing slowly, but steadily inside her.
Chloe pressed her eyes closed, crying out at the sudden sensation of being filled by him. Instantly, Obi-Wan froze.
"Am I hurting you?" His voice was strained.
She shook her head quickly. "No. Don't stop." But he didn't move.
"Please…" she implored, wrapping both legs around him in an attempt to pull him deeper. Opening her eyes, she watched his pupils dilate, his face tense in concentration as he moved forward again, and then back, slowly thrusting in and out. Chloe moaned at the exquisite friction and rocked her hips against his, a delicious tension winding rapidly within her.
Open-mouthed, their lips met and lingered together, the sensation of being so close to him stealing Chloe's breath. Her eyes fluttered closed; her head fell back. Breath ragged in her ear, his hands slid up her thighs to cup her bottom, calloused fingers pulling her closer with each thrust. Together their movements quickened, and Chloe's pleasure built, faster and more intensely than she had ever felt before.
Higher and higher she climbed, clinging to him, lost in herself, but suddenly he was there with her, wrapped around her mind, whispering for her to come for him, now.
Her body responded instantly; her orgasm slammed into her like a wall, wave upon wave crashing over her, and she cried out his name, unable to stop herself, unable to think. Only a moment later she felt his body tense. Prying open her eyes, she watched his beautiful face relax, bliss washing over his features as finally, he let go, his hips bucking wildly against hers as his own climax hit.
Chloe let her heavy eyelids fall closed, smiling sleepily as his weight slumped against her.
Slowly, the aftershocks ebbed away, and time lost its meaning he held her close, whispering things she couldn't quite hear. Eventually, she began to regain normal consciousness, and he shifted them both and held her in the crook of his arm, fingers tracing the tears forced out by the sheer immensity of the experience.
He smiled down at her. "Okay?"
Through blurred vision, she smiled back. She very nearly laughed. Okay wasn't exactly the word she would use to describe how she was feeling… or what she had just experienced. She wasn't sure if it would even fit into words.
She closed her eyes and snuggled into his warmth, trying to be content, trying not to worry.
Because of one thing she was now certain.
This was no crush.