The hot sand burned her feet as Padme shuffled between tents to get to ‘the lesson tent’ as she had so named it. Her dress of a deep emerald green was shorter than the day before, barely skimming her knees. All it did, though, was make her step quicker, freeing her legs to move. Olpa had stopped by this morning to give both she and Qui-Gon fresh fruit and a knowing eye. Soon afterward, the slave ushered Qui-Gon out of the tent and towards the main meeting center to talk with the rest of the men.

Olpa had left Padme to change clothes and to meet her at the water tent. But the walk was not as easy as the walk had been the day before, Girand’s men were all around…and they were not as easy to be around as Hi-Jan’s were. She had already received two offers and one order of her presence for the evening. She would have turned back to her tent and remained inside until the negotiations had begun, but there were going to be new women in the water tent this morning and she wanted to find out as much information as she could.

The sooner she got to Coruscant safely, the better. The Gods only knew what was happening on Naboo. She only hoped that Sabe could keep her head together in the Senate on Coruscant to get help. Sabe was as well versed in parliamentary procedure as she was and could get as much help as Padme could have, but it still made her uneasy to be away from Naboo for so long. This side trip had not been planned. But as Qui- Gon had said previously, they were here and there was nothing for it except to get out of here.

“Hey there!”

Padme smiled to see Olpa leaning out of the tent, her close cropped blond hair shining in the sun. “Good morning, again, Olpa.”

The woman held out her hand for Padme to grasp and pulled her inside the cool tent.

“We have much to do today, Padme, so very much to do,” Olpa was barely able to contain herself. “Your lesson will only be for a short time, and then you must meet with the rest of us for the afternoon…you will meet my sister and mother. And then this evening, you will be using this tent…”

Padme stopped walking through the interior at the last sentence. “I will be using this tent….”

“You and Qui-Gon…you should….you need the privacy…at least from what I saw in the tent last night.” Olpa sighed and shook her head. “It will be hard to get you ready in that short of a period of time…between meeting with the women and being here for your mate…but we will do it.”

Olpa walked around Padme as she held a finger to her lips. “I have just the material for you…just the color…and I will lend you my oils…”

Padme blushed slightly, turning quickly as she stood to watch the older woman circle her. “Olpa…I don’t understand…we are meeting with your family? And material, oils….what are you talking about…why are you being so nice to me?”

Olpa smiled gently. “I have often found that women in our situation are not happy. Being the slave to a man that can be brutal, that can be mean and hurtful, can only lead to desperation and anger. You, Padme, are mate and slave to a gentle man, a thoughtful one with a gentle hand. And you care for him, truly care….”

Padme squinted at the elder woman and shook her head. “I don’t know…”

“As he cares for you…” Olpa held up her hand to keep Padme from continuing. “I want to see a woman like me happy. And you could be happy with him. He could free you out of that caring. So I help you as much out of selfishness for seeing someone happy and free as I do for you. As for my family, they saw you last night in the meeting tent and would like to know you better. We will be meeting them in three hours.”

Padme nodded, the last part of the Olpa’s speech made more sense then the first part. “And in the mean time?”

“A lesson on manual and oral pleasure, I think. The sooner you learn these skills the better.” Olpa pulled aside the material flap to let Padme into the inner sanctum of the tent.

“Manual and oral…” Padme repeated in a lower tone. She was upset to hear her voice sound unsure, but this was completely new territory.

“How to touch and pleasure a man with your hands and mouth, Padme….it will come in handy tonight, trust me.” With that last word, Olpa turned and entered the inner water room.

“A J-type. How do you wish to find parts for a J-type in the middle of the South Desert?” Qui-Gon shook his head, his hands anchored on his hips.

Girand lowered the pipe from his lip and glared at the tall man that he had just met that morning. He was unaccustomed to dealing with one such as him. “My client wishes the parts as soon as possible. I am obliged to help him. Hi-Jan told me you were a mediary, and parts for this type of ship should be easy to find….”

Hi-Jan lowered his cup and stretched his leg out. It was not often that anyone showed disobedience to his father-in-law, but it appeared that the offworlder would be one.

“It might be easy to find, Girand, but bartering is another matter. Your client has gold rigans, yes? Titaries are not accepted here.”

Girand sat up straight, lowering the pipe from his lips once again. Qui-Gon could see the dilated pupils and the saliva to the side of his mouth. “How did you know…”

“J-types are native to Coruscant. If your client is from there, he ought to be advised that there needs to be alternative forms of payment. What parts are needed?”

Girand relaxed a little at the slight change in the topic of conversation. “A hyperdrive spanner and a few other parts that are necessary for take off. Time is of the essence as far as my client is concerned. “

Hi-Jan grinned and looked back to the Jedi who inclined his head slowly. “The hyperdrive spanner will be expensive, but I might be able to negotiate a lower rate, my friend.”

Girand’s coal black eyes sparkled in the muted daylight. “That is good, it is imperative that my client makes it back to Coruscant in good time.”

With a short nod, Qui-Gon turned to sit by Hi-Jan. The cushions crunched under the weight of the Jedi as he reclined. With a sure hand, he reached out to take a grape from the plate in front of him. “Your client should have had these extra parts on board; they are often damaged in landing planetside…”

Girand shrugged, clearly appearing more heavy-lidded as time wore on. “That is not my problem. If he had, I would not be making money, would I, trader?”

Qui-Gon chuckled. “That you would not. Let us see if we can keep you earning money.”

Hi-Jan drained his cup with a small smile. Qui-Gon was able to play his father-in-law well.

“Let’s seal the pact then, offworlder. I offer you my wife tonight in exchange for your mate….”

Hi-Jan was surprised at the speed with which Qui-Gon stood up and towered over the older man. There was fire in his eyes and a tightness in his body that Hi-Jan had not seen in Qui-Gon previously. From the black boots up to his flowing hair, he looked like a snake poised to strike.

“Impossible…”

“Girand…he is to be in the water tent tonight with Padme. They will not be joining us in the common tent. That cannot be rescheduled.” Hi-Jan stated simply, setting his cup down on the table. With slight grunt, the man rose to his feet. “The pact will have to be sealed with the mingling of water before the transaction. Qui-Gon is under my protection until we reach Mos Eisley, and as such, his bond with his mate is observed as I observe my marriage. The offer is null.”

Qui-Gon turned to glance at Hi-Jan. The younger man nodded and gestured toward the flap.

With a small wave of his hand, Qui-Gon calmly stated. “You don’t want Padme. She is of no consequence.”

Girand nodded and sighed. “I don’t want that slave Padme anyway, Hi-Jan. She is small, too small for my taste. Very well, then, Jinn, our pact will be sealed in the usual way: by blood or water.”

Qui-Gon did not spare a glance as he moved out of the tent and into the sunshine. He acknowledged Hi- Jan’s presence with a nod. The suns were getting low in the sky. “Thank you, my friend. I think your father-in-law found my weakness. I will not share Padme, with anyone. But I will honor the bargain.”

“I know you will. And as for Padme, both Olpa and I watched you last night in the common tent. Another night with this collection of people might end up killing your little slave. The water tent is yours tonight. You will have privacy.” Hi-Jan wiped his dark hair back from his eyes. He held out his hand to Qui-Gon to shake and the shake was completed. “Good luck, my friend. Enjoy and I will see you in the morrow.”

Qui-Gon turned toward the tent with a frown on his face. His reactions in the tent mere minutes ago, although an act, were not the carefully planned actions that he was known to use. It was a sudden tight reaction to the anger of seeing Padme with another man that a mate would use. It had come too suddenly and too easily for his liking. It was not the action of a Jedi Master. It was the reaction of…a man, a mate.

But it felt right…as though it had flowed from the Force to him.

Something to contemplate he thought as he moved into the tent he called home. Something he needed to deal with to keep a clear mind.

Qui-Gon moved aside the tent flap with a sure hand. His arrival sent the tent into a flurry of action, as several women bowed and shuffled to the outside. Several others moved about storing items and leaving food on the table. He could see Olpa at a far table standing alongside of his charge. She was speaking in low tones to Padme and the smaller woman was replying in a similarly low tone. As he ducked and entered the tent, Olpa turned to greet him.

“Master Qui-Gon, you are early.”

“I have not seen Padme all day; I…” Qui-Gon set the parcel he had been carrying down on another table.

“Of course, of course,” Olpa said, leaning over Padme to tuck a stray braid into a knot on the seated woman’s head. Turning she clapped her hands together to get the women moving from the tent. She followed the group, and stopped at the entrance. “Enjoy yourselves this evening; we will see you on the morrow.”

Qui-Gon folded his hands and bowed formally to Olpa, eliciting a smile from the older woman. “I thank you for your hospitality, Olpa. Good evening.”

With one last worried look to Padme, Olpa turned her back and walked away from the tent.

Padme faced the low reflecting surface and kept fiddling with her hair. She had never worn it in this frivolous of a manner. Her hair was completely braided from scalp to tip. Each braid was then either put in a knot on the top and back of her head or was left hanging about her head. She liked the look, although it would not serve her well on Naboo.

“Padme?” Qui-Gon began to walk across the tent to her. She had not acknowledged his presence yet and that fact worried him.

She turned quickly on the low bench and held a finger to her lips. With a nod to the side, she indicated a small annex of the tent. Instantly, Qui-Gon could sense the presence of a person in that annex. They were being spied upon apparently. “It has been a long day, dearheart. Have you no greeting for me?”

Padme smiled gently and rose to stand in front of him. As she did so, the Jedi’s breath caught in his chest. She was dressed in a shimmering collection of material that changed color dependent on light direction. It was tied in a new manner: her arms were completely free, her torso from the bottom of her breasts to top of her pelvic bone was bare and the material on her legs only covered to the middle of her thighs. It was exceedingly revealing.

Her hips swayed as she approached him and slipped her hands up his chest slowly to loop over his shoulders. “Welcome, Master Qui-Gon.”

Qui-Gon bent to press a kiss to her lips as they were offered to him. His hands automatically slidi down her torso to hold her hips to him. When he pulled away, a small smile was on his lips. “That is more like it, Padme. What is this tent?”

“It is a water tent, used for pleasure amongst other things. They have left us a meal, a bed and a tub of water. How we use any of these things is our business.” Padme slid her hands down Qui-Gon’s chest to press into his muscular stomach. “And I will leave the decision to you.”

Qui-Gon leaned to nibble on her ear and whispered, “THAT was very un-slavelike, Padme.”

She pushed him away and moved to stand with her hands folded in front of her. “Your wish, Qui-Gon, is my order.”

The Jedi turned around taking in the situation within the tent. There were many things to do, but only a few would create an intimate setting that would allow them to whisper almost silently to each other. The table would have them sitting apart, the bed was a little too intimate, but the tub on the other hand….

“I have not had a cleansing bath in more than a week, Padme. How would you like a bath?” Qui-Gon moved to the tub in the room and felt the water. Cool and refreshing.

Padme opened her mouth to agree but found that she was unable to respond. Her mouth went dry in an instant. Although she saw the logic of it -- the closeness would allow them to talk even with their unwanted company in the next room – but to be that close to Qui-Gon…the thought caused her heart to flutter. “If that is what you wish…” she said quietly.

He turned and lifted his wet hand to cup her chin. “I wish it.” His voice was so low that her toes curled in the sand. In the soft light, she could see his blue eyes searching hers. “I wish it.”

Slowly his hand traced down her neck and his finger rubbed against the top of the material that covered her chest. Her neck arched in response to the touch and she shivered from the feel of her hair brushing the small of her back. “I wish it more than you will ever know,” he stated quietly.

He stepped back from her and began to unbutton his shirt. Her hands quickly joined his, taking over the job in a short period of time. As the shirt fell open, her hands helped to guide it from his skin…across the lightly haired chest, across his broad chest to fall and pool at his feet. “I’ll get your shirt, Qui-Gon, could you get your pants? I will ready the oils for use.”

Qui-Gon’s brow arched in humor at the plea that he heard in her voice. She was still embarassed around him. “Come now, Padme, its me.”

Padme turned her back and searched through a selection of bottles. “I know, Qui-Gon, I know.” She picked up a cobalt bottle and sniffed the contents. It was a light fruity smell. She busied herself until she heard Qui-Gon lower himself into the tub. “I think this one will do…” she started to say as she turned.

Qui-Gon sat with his back against the rough metal and his arms stretched out along the edges of the tub. His hair was completely loose and fell about his shoulders. Water reflected light on the material stretched overhead, on his face and arms, on the sides of the tub…everywhere. She walked slowly to the tub and added a little of the oil to its contents. Then she climbed the given steps and slowly lowered herself into the tub as well.

The shock of the cold water on her skin was invigorating. The feel of wet silk sliding along her body was delicious, but it was the warmth of his legs under her that grounded her in the weightless environment. His hands landed on her shoulders and slid down, holding up one piece of the slik in his fingers. “Padme? You are still clothed.”

She ducked under the water and came up, pushing two errant braids out of her face. Water coursed down her face and reminded her of the small pond in the Grand House in which she would swim. “I want to wash you first, Qui-Gon, before I undress.”

His hands landed on her hips and drug her effortlessly onto the shelf of his lap. The heat of him bled through the layers of cold silk and cool water to make her toes curl again. “I need no washing, my heart, but I do need you.” His arms closed around her holding her to his chest. Her knees wedged onto the seat alongside of his thighs and she faced him. The hairs on his body brushed against her legs, the tender skin on the inside of her thighs.

Her head lowered to rest on his shoulder. “I have much to tell you,” she whispered into his ear.

“As do I…” he murmured against her neck as he lifted her hair away from her skin. His mouth was fire as it moved down her neck to her shoulder. “They have a client that is eager to return to Coruscant….”

Her head fell back to rest in his open palms as his mouth found and exploited a throbbing vein in her neck. Cool desert night air, hot body and slippery water had her mind spinning in textural wonder. With a shaking hand, she grasped at his thick neck and tightened her thighs to remain above his lap. Padme raised her head slowly to stare at his face and a patchwork of reflected light playing across his hard features. His eyes were heavy-lidded but did very little to cover the ice fire that burned there.

With one tentative finger, Padme traced a drop from Qui-Gon’s beard as it rolled across his clavicle and down to his chest and the water. She was surprised at how good it felt to touch him, and yet how scared she was to do it. Her eyes shut was well as her palm flattened against his chest and inched down his torso. One of his hands palmed her skull to hold her as the other joined her hand between them. As her hand fell in its exploration, Qui-Gon murmured. “What did you find out?”

Leaning forward against his body, she captured both of their hands just under her breasts. “It sounds like the thing you fought. The women describe him as dressed all in black with tattoos on his body.” The words were whispered against the skin just under his ear. He twitched slightly at the touch of her lips. “He is due here tomorrow and will accompany you and the others into Mos Eisley.”

Qui-Gon swallowed violently as he felt her nails scrape against his chest under the water. He had fought arousal since her body had swayed over to his outside the tub, but the close confines, cool water, and her cool body had sealed his fate. Her silk floated around him and her like arms of vapors holding them together. Her lips, now less tentative than they had been previously, were flames licking at his skin. Her hair was heavy and full in his hands, making him ache to pull it…to make her arch. “Then,” he sighed, cupping her neck to pull her lips to his again, “we will need to leave tonight, Padme.”

“But…” Padme’s hand fell to his abdominal muscles and traced the layers there. “What of…”

His lips stopped any further argument as they slanted across hers with a faintly veiled want. She whimpered slightly at his onslaught, but allowed the caress. Her hand and his slipped down his body a little further, but he stopped them both before they encountered his lap. With a slight gulp for needed air, he stated: “I know where he is based. He knows what I look like. And I cannot encourage a fight in the position that we are in here. I cannot endanger you.”

Padme stopped his argument by lowering her hand, once freed of his, to the top of his thigh. Her eyes met his and he sighed at the intense feeling there was in her chocolate depths. “I like these people as well, Qui- Gon. I would not want them endangered any more than you do.”

“My first…” he groaned as Padme’s hand found the root of his erection and her knuckles lightly grazed against the heated, swollen skin.

Padme felt the heat in his body and nearly whimpered at the power she felt from him. Her morning had been spent understanding the male anatomy and how to pleasure most parts of it. She had almost moaned at the thought that morning of taking Qui-Gon’s body in her mouth as she was shown to do with Andre. It had seemed so clinical and….strange with that boy…but this…

Her hand turned and pressed his flesh against his flat stomach. This was evidence of his want. He wanted her. Qui-Gon, the Jedi Master, a friend…wanted her. The thought made her bold and her hand moved to cup his evident arousal. He was so much larger than Andre had been. All thoughts were set aside in her mind as her body wanted to explore.

With a sighed moan, Qui-Gon stopped her hand from stroking him. “My first duty is to get back to Coruscant and report,” he whispered, his voice harsh and hoarse in the night air. “Padme, don’t…”

Padme removed her hand and slid forward on his thighs so that her stomach captured his erection between them. His head fell back as the cool silks and her warm body increased his arousal. “You…” she began with a soft voice.

“You are bold tonight,” he commented in a low but loud voice.

“ I learned much about men today, Qui-Gon,” she kissed the tip of his nose. “And I want to…”

Qui-Gon wanted her hand on him again. He wanted to feel her stroking him, to help her practice what she had learned. If he let her slide her hands over him and gave into the want to hold her, kiss her, make love to her that he felt in his bones at that moment, the mission to get them out of there would be null and void. “Later, Padme.” His voice left no room for argument. With a gentle hand, he traced her lips. “Later. We have to leave. Preferably very soon.”

She grabbed his hand and stopped the stroking. He was right. As quickly as she thought to loose herself in the moment, Padme remembered everything else. It had not been a real forgetting, just a masking of priorities. Quickly she climbed off of his lap and climbed out of the tub. She found, however, that her legs were weak when she tried to stand.

Qui-Gon climbed out after her, reaching for a towel to cover his body. He was not quick enough, and as Padme turned to speak with him, she saw his body in its naked entirety. Although not a bashful man by any measure, the Jedi felt uneasy as the woman’s eyes fell from his face to his chest to his jutting erection to his legs and back. His eyes fell from her face as well, gazing intently at her breasts that were quite visible through the soaked silk. In the cool night air and under his gaze, her nipples rose against the material. She shivered, and with difficulty, he broke off the heated stare.

“We’ll need food, Padme,” Qui-Gon stated, as he stood there.

She nodded and moved to the corner of the tent. By the low table there were several pouch skins filled with water and wine and several loaves of bread, a rind of cheese and fruit. “There is plenty here, Qui- Gon.” She turned to her old clothes, folded on another low table and shook them out. Within a few parsecs, she had created a satchel which contained the supplies.

When she turned back around, Qui-Gon had put on his pants and his shirt was hanging open on his chest. He did not wear boots, nor did he tie back his hair. “Let’s go.”

“Your saber…cloak…the comlink…” Padme choked out.

“Here…but Padme we must move, our little spy left parsecs ago, more than likely to report us.” Qui-Gon stepped forward to grab her hand. It shook in his grip, and he could tell it was not from fear. “I know this is sudden, Padme…”

“We have to do it, I agree. I am just…I cannot just…the tub…” Padme stumbled over the words.

His eyes were calm and supportive as Qui-Gon bent down to meet her gaze. “I know. Our bodies can be our worst enemies. Think of Naboo, think of your Queen, think of anything but….”

“You.” She said quietly. “And I don’t want my body to be my enemy.”

Qui-Gon could not disagree with her on that point. “I don’t want your body to be my enemy, either, dearheart. We can work out a truce between them on neutral ground.”

She shook her head as he broke off the conversation to pull her to the flap. Her small laugh brought a smile to his face. “Was that an attempt at humor?”

“If it has you thinking about things other than sex, Padme…it served its purpose,” his lop-sided smile washed out as he stepped fully into the moonlit night. “Can you ride a horse?”

“Just get me to one and I’ll be fine,” Padme stated as her hand gripped his tighter. She felt more sure of herself, more steady as they walked away from the tent. She missed the fluttering feelings and the feeling of being so heavy that her body could not contain her.

“That, my dear, will be the problem. The corral is next to the main meeting tent. What we need…” he began, moving with purpose through the tents. His bare feet shuffled through the sands.

Padme jogged and kept even with his purposeful strides. “Is a diversion.” She finished for him. “And I think that I can give you exactly what you need, Qui-Gon. Two minutes in the corral with the animals and you will have your diversion.”

Qui-Gon grinned in the night, thankful that the cloak of darkness would mute his facial features. Her fire was serving her well. The tightness in his groin that he could not completely abate testified to the heat at which she was capable of burning. He increased the speed of his step as they broke into the open ground between the main camp and the meeting area corral. Fire was best when left wild. And he had no intention of taming it.

Padme ran, her bare feet slapping against the sand. Behind her, like a dark cloak flapping in the wind, her braids streaked. They were thrown back by the speed of her movements. Her silk lay against her skin, cool and wet. But she loved the feeling. Speed and open area, animals and moon….it had been years since she had run amongst the farm animals. Too many years, by her estimation.

Not since she had lived on the farm, not since her young childhood had she run with abandon. Not since before her training to become queen. She only wished that her running was under less harsh conditions.

“Eeesh!” she hissed, slapping a horse as she ran past it. “Move,” she shouted as she pushed on the Eopie.

Only a touch and then she danced away. A diversion was what Qui-Gon wanted and a diversion was what he would get.

Within a few parsecs, animals were running everywhere. Stirred air, animal and flying sand surrounded her. The noise was incredible and the ground shook. She ran for the edge of the tents, keeping as far out of the way of the panicked animals as she could.

As one of the horses passed her, she grabbed ahold of the mane and wondered at how to mount such a large animal. Suddenly, she found herself lifted by invisible hands onto the animal’s back. Force lift, she thought with little surprise. The satchel containing the water and the food slapped against her back. Yanking on the mane, she brought the animal under some semblance of control and pointed the animal toward the edge of the running herd.

Leaning forward, locking her knees, she rose and looked around for Qui-Gon. His orders to her had been to cause a diversion, grab a horse and get to the edge of the herd. If he had not met her in ten parsecs, she was to ride west to Mos Eisley.

Like hell, she thought.

“Hey!”

“Stampede!”

Men poured from the meeting tent, flooding into the area between tents quickly. Blasters were drawn, shining black on black in the night. Guards from the edge of the corral ran around the stampede trying to find an animal to ride, to climb on to help steer the herd. Padme could see nothing clearly but swirling sand and running horses and the dark night.

Wind whipped her face. Time stood still amongst the incredible noise around her, until…..

A blaster shot hit the fence post nearest her. The horse startled and reared and she found herself lying flat against the neck of the horse, clinging to the hot animal. Another blaster shot flew past her head. They had spotted her on the horse.

“Padme! Crouch!” Through the thundering noise and confusion, Padme heard Qui-Gon’s bass voice ring through the night.

A brilliant green laser jumped to life not more than ten meters from her. It illuminated Qui-Gon as he stood, his hair wild, his cloak about his shoulders. The next two bolts were soundly reflected by the lightsabre. The smell of burned animal flesh and hot sand filled the air. She yelled as she felt the heat of the saber pass by her.

“Qui-Gon…”

“Watch out!” He leapt over the horse to intercept a pair of guards as they approached the horse at a dead run. Several shots were fired toward him, but were stopped with a flick of the lighted laser.

She suddenly felt a heavy and warm arm land about her hips and waist as the Jedi mounted the horse effortlessly. Turning her head, she saw that Qui-Gon still had his saber lit. Leaning forward with one arm, he gripped the mane alongside of her own hands. He shouted and nudged the horse with his heels. The animal started and began a controlled run in the westerly direction, away from the herd.

Two men ran forward to try and stop them, but Qui-Gon swung his saber, maiming both men quickly. Padme turned her head and grabbed the horse’s mane more tightly. Her eyes drifted shut and she prayed to the Nubian Gods to protect them on their way. Qui-Gon urged the horse with a shout. Soon they broke the sentry dunes of the camp and rode out into the cool desert night.

“Do you think we have ridden far enough?” Padme asked, the strain evident in her voice.

“Far enough? I don’t think so, but I think we need to stop quickly and give this horse some water,” Qui- Gon answered. Her head was against his chest, and she felt the rumble more than heard it.

She nodded tiredly and helped him to stop the horse, her hands buried deeply in the coarse warm mane. As it stopped, Qui-Gon slid from the animal’s back to land in the sand. He motioned for Padme to lean over and caught her about the waist and lowered her to the ground. It was then that Padme noticed the extra skins that were tied to the back of the horse. Qui-Gon quickly seized the rope holding the skins to the animal and untied them.

Padme grabbed at the one of the skins and opened it, smelling the wine within. She readied it and some of the food. After much snorting and some stomping of feet, the horse took the water.

“They are following us, aren’t they? Are we that important to them?” Padme asked, lowly.

Qui-Gon petted the nose of the horse thoughtfully before capping the skin. The horse had not taken much water. It was an indigenous type and would be good at conserving water. “Important? No. Following us, yes, I am sure they are. We do have one of their horses and I have effectively broken my pledge to them. It will be a matter of honor now.”

Padme ran her hands over the horse’s torso. “Give me your cloak.”

Qui-Gon stripped quickly, knowing what she was going to do. As quickly as he took it off, she had it folded and placed over the animal’s back. At least the horse would be protected from having their body parts up against it. AS she secured it with a little ingenuity, he took the time to look at her. She wore the same enchanting outfit that she had worn in the tent the night previously. In the rising suns’ new light, the pearlized material seemed to be all the colors of an Alderaanian sunset. It hung about her thighs in strips, covering only the tops of her thighs in entirety. Her shoulders and arms and half her back and torso were bare as well. He tilted his head back to the sky and sighed. The sun would burn her…they would have to figure something out to avoid that eventuality.

“Done. We should get moving again.” Padme nodded to and grabbed ahold of the mane without turning around.

“Not yet, Padme.”

Padme turned and watched as Qui-Gon began to unbutton his shirt. The soft white material fell open to show his chest. As it completely laid open, she could see where his body met the top of his black pants. He was still barefoot. “What are you doing?”

“You will burn, and badly, Padme. You need to put this on.” Qui-Gon stated, pulling it away from his body.

Her hand landed on his sternum and he sighed at the cool touch. “No.”

“Padme, don’t argue with me…” he started.

“And Jedi don’t burn? Is that what you are telling me? And how will we cover this much open skin?” she asked, as she spanned the midpoint of his chest with her hand.

“We burn….”

She nodded and turned away from him. With a pull and a swing, she remounted the horse. Qui-Gon followed along with a sigh. “You will be the death of me, dearheart.”

Within two parsecs, the horse was walking quickly across the low dunes into the still night sky to the west.

“Ouch.”

Qui-Gon shook his head with a mixture of exasperation and humor. The suns were finally setting. Throughout the day, they had continued to ride west. Although time was of the essence to them, they had stopped, drank, watered the horse and just plain stretched their legs. He had used his saber and that fact would be repeated to another that used a saber as well. The Sith. Qui-Gon had won the first confrontation, but his instinct told him that a second time he might not be as lucky. Yes, they had little time to spare for anything.

“The sun has burned your back, dearheart.”

Padme grumbled and tried to shift, but the tightened, hot skin of her back allowed for very little movement. “Yes, it appears so.”

“My shirt would have softened the impact…” Qui-Gon looked down at the very red back that was stretched out in front of him. Padme lay face forward on the horse’s neck, her hands cradling her head. It truly looked to be extremely painful. It would blister soon.

“Is that your way of saying ‘I told you so’?” Padme pushed up slightly and almost wilted back against the horse in pain.

“In a word? Yes.” The horse’s short, rolling steps were constant. They had made much distance and Mos Eisley would be reached in the next two, maybe three days…if travel were constant. Padme had spent most of the day asleep just as she was, stretched on the horse’s back.

“Is it bad?” she asked, wiggling slightly.

“I’m afraid so.” Qui-Gon pressed his finger into her back and heard her hiss. It took a very long time for the skin to go from white to red once again.

“Can I do anything for it?” Padme tried to look over her shoulder to see the skin.

“Wear my shirt next time I offer it,” he chuckled, moving his hips slightly forward. He anchored his legs and leaned back to grab at the secured pack on the horse. It had been there when they had stolen the animal. Grabbing a small collection of cactus like fronds, he sat forward once again. “I am sorry you are in pain. I found Upil brush. It is good for burns and damaged skin…”

Qui-Gon began to grind the fronds in his hands. He could feel the cool sap flow out onto his fingers.

She nodded slightly and grunted with pain. She lay completely against the horse’s neck; her legs spread wide to accommodate the girth of the horse. Her hands slipped down to lay against the side of the neck. If not for the pain, Padme thought, she would be asleep once again.

With a whimper and a slight shout, her eyes flew wide open as she felt the almost icy touch of Qui-Gon’s sap covered palms against her skin. “Eeep.”

“It will be cold,” he said, leaning forward a little to whisper into her ear. “Better prepare yourself.”

“Thank you for the warning…” she grumbled. She gripped the neck tightly as her body tried to handle the temperature difference. Within seconds, the icy feeling of the sap had changed to a silky feeling. Qui- Gon’s hands glided over her bare skin with sweeping strokes. They curled over her bare shoulders, down her arms and then moved down to her back, sweeping across her ribs and down to her waist. Before he could go very far, she sat up quickly and pulled on her top so that it slid upwards and uncovered her breasts. Just as quickly, she lay back down, grunting from the pulled flesh.

“It hurts even under the material, Qui-Gon,” she muttered.

“The material is flimsy at best, Padme, its no surprise you burned under there as well,” he returned, moving his hands up to rub at the newly revealed skin.

She sighed as his thumbs and hands spread, running in gossamer strokes down her skin. The rhythm was slow and sweet. With his thumbs running midline down her back, his hands would sweep outward so that they skimmed the sides of her breasts. All she could concentrate on was the slow gait of the horse between her legs and the steady strokes of Qui-Gon’s hands. “Yess…”

“Feel better, Padme?” he whispered.

Her hands tightened in the horse’s mane. The gait of the horse rubbed between her legs and the strokes on her back were making her hips rub into the horse’s back as well. It was creating a pressure that she had not felt before. It was similar to the heavy feeling she received when Qui-Gon was kissing her.

“Your body is beautiful, Padme.”

The deep hoarse tone of his voice made her legs tighten around the horse. Her hips began to rub with more pressure. The feelings were incredible.

Qui-Gon gazed down at Padme through eyes warmed with passion. He could tell that her pain was gone and that it had been replaced with another feeling, one of desire. With gentle strokes, his fingers lightly touched the sides of her breasts and down the side of her ribs. Even though her skin was red, it looked lighter next to his tan, large hands. Each time he completed a stroke down, she tilted her pelvis down into the horse, and whimpered. The movement of her barely concealed backside was just mere inches in front of his crotch.

Each of her movements increased his discomfort.

Each of her movements increased his arousal and the size of his erection.

“Qui-Gon…” she whispered, her voice caught on a sigh.

“Let it happen, dearheart,” he answered back in a whisper. One of his hands crept down to rub at her upper thigh, just lightly skimming the tight muscle there. She hissed and pressed herself harder into the animal. “Let your feelings flow.”

She began to press herself rhythmically into the animal without the guidance of his strokes. As he leaned forward over her, he nudged the braids out of the way with his chin and his mouth landed on the sensitive skin at the back of her neck. He stopped his hands on the sides of her breasts, just lying there, their coolness against her hot skin. With a strangled sigh, he pressed his aching erection into her moving backside.

Padme arched under him, keeping her hips moving. Gods, the feelings were incredible, it was like she was climbing a high mountain or a long stairway and the heat in her loins throbbed with each step. His mouth was hot, but it was his tongue that was slowly drug across her skin that made her whimper and sigh. Pulling back slightly, he blew across the now wet skin and listened to her soft cries. His mouth twisted from the bitter flavor of the sap, but it was not enough to keep him from continuing his attentions. Her hips were moving steadily and with a lot of force.

“Padme…” he whispered into her earshell. “My heart, do you know what you are doing to me?”

Without another word, his mouth fell to her skin again and she arched further, driving her hips with quick quirks. As his teeth gently nipped the skin, she cried out, his name shouted from her lips. He continued to bathe the area of her neck and pull at the skin until her breath slowed.

He sat back up slowly, regaining his height and continued his ministrations to her back. His hands were now familiar with the territory. Qui-Gon kept his groin against her backside, allowing the animal’s slow gait to continue the rubbing contact. His need was powerful, and he could not pull away from her.

Padme stayed as she was, weak against the horse. She could feel the intense heat from the man behind her. His body was sending out physical waves of desire and she could feel it like a dry, hot breeze, rolling across her skin. Slowly she pushed upright to sit against his chest. “Qui-Gon…”

His hand curled into her hips to bring her up against him fully. The now cooled skin of her back felt wonderful against his chest. He moved the braids away from her neck again, as they had fallen to block his availability to her skin. Without answering her, he leaned and kissed the skin of her shoulder.

“Qui-Gon…”

“There is nothing to talk about, Padme.” His voice was very hoarse and tight, as if he was fighting something physically and it was taking all of his strength.

“What just happened?” she leaned her head back against his chest and stared up into his face.

“A reaction to physical attraction on both of our parts, dearheart. You just had an orgasm.” His face looked as impassive as his voice sounded. She could feel the heat of his erection firmly pressed between her buttocks and up against the small of her back. His words were directly contradicting his attitude.

She lifted one leg and swung sideways on the wide back of the horse to face him. He had to catch her as she came to rest in the new position; her legs were too weak to hold her. Padme faced him fully and reached up a hand to curl around his neck. “So clinical and detached…” she started.

He looked down at her momentarily and the heat in his blue eyes amazed her. “It is the only way that I can remain riding right now, Padme. Time out for a tryst in the sand could get us killed. I have to have some way of remembering that. We need to get to Mos Eisley.”

Padme chewed on her lip and sighed. She knew the logic. But she was growing tired of it. Needs and wants were always second to duty with people who served others and she and he were both of that persuasion: he as a Jedi and she as a ruler. In the past, she had not wanted to act on any feelings; to act on them would have involved her in things that she would not be able to control or be able to brush off lightly. But for once, the burning of the blood in her veins and the thudding of her heart would not allow her to think of duty, job, or country. She was not a queen with Qui-Gon. He knew her as the bodyguard, the handmaiden; a woman, and not as a ruler. His adherence to duty went as far as her safety and his own need to return to Coruscant and no further.

His breathing was heavy above her and she could still feel his erection against her thigh. He was fighting his want for duty. She wanted to return to Coruscant, to punish the Trade Federation, to help her beloved Naboo. She wanted to lie with Qui-Gon and learn what it was that she had not learned in the camp but that had always been assumed. She wanted to kiss him, hold him, and let him be a man driven by desire and not a man driven by duty for once. All they had was time. The horse would move no faster. A transport off this desert planet would be hired no quicker.

She only wondered if he wanted these things of her.

“Qui-Gon?”

He tightened his arm and held her against his chest and groin, but did not answer. Padme sighed again and ran her hands up his shoulder and buried them in his hair. His eyes wavered from the horizon where they had been fixed and looked at her. The eyes were sad, and almost seemed to beg her not to push the issue with him.

“Don’t do this…” she said quietly.

“We have a duty, Padme. You have to get back to Naboo, and I to Coruscant and my Padawan.”

Padme kissed the line of his jaw. “We won’t get there any slower if we talk about this, Qui-Gon. I just want to ask you a couple of questions. What happened in the camp…the closeness I felt to you…”

He cleared his throat. “Was not completely an act, Padme. As I think it was not with you either.” His arm tightened again and his chin rubbed against the top of her head. “I am attracted to you and I do care for you. Your personality matches mine, just as strong and just as stubborn. You are a handful and I find that I like that.”

Padme released a heavy breath. “It was not an act for me, either, Qui-Gon. Although I don’t entirely know what it is that I was asking for, but I did know that I wanted you.”

Her mouth found a vein in his neck and suckled gently on the sensitive area. His voice broke on a moan as his hips thrust against her hip for a few moments. “Padme…”

“Is it uncomfortable?” Padme asked quietly.

“Very…” he murmured as he encouraged her to kiss his mouth. “Kiss me, Padme..”

She slid her mouth up his neck to his ear. Her hand cupped his rough cheek and she moved her mouth up to his lips with ease. His arm tightened and brought her up on level. With a sigh, she opened her mouth to allow his tongue inside, allowing him to gently probe within. She groaned at the roughness of his tongue and the softness of his lips, the moisture of his mouth and the slowness with which he moved his lips.

Her hands landed on his shoulder and she leaned back on his arm to look at him. “This should not be a problem, Qui-Gon…we are both attracted to each other and we care….”

“I am a Jedi Master almost three times your age, Padme. You are a handmaiden who carries responsibility.”

“You are a man; I am a woman.” She stated firmly as her hands crept down his chest.

She sighed, running her hands across his neck. His eyes were burning with a mixture of sadness and desire and shone an almost midnight blue in the falling night. “Do you want me?”

“Yes, you can have no doubts of that.” Qui-Gon answered truthfully.

“Then….” Her hands aggressively reached down to cup his erection.

He groaned, but ended the outburst in a chuckle. “And how do you propose to make love on the back of a horse, Padme?”

Qui-Gon’s hand wrapped around hers and brought them up to his lips. His mouth kissed each palm and then gently suckled each finger. Her eyes flew wide and she gasped at the wonderful feelings. “Qui- Gon…”

“We cannot fight nature. I cannot fight my body. But I refuse to make love to you on the back of a horse, Padme. It will have to wait…”

“But your….” Her eyes turned downward to indicate his erection, still straining against his pants.

“Will abate if you don’t tease me any longer, Padme. It is only two days to Mos Eisley…we are not animals…we can wait that long.” Qui-Gon tilted her face up to receive a gentle kiss. “And then we will have to talk. It will complicate things, Padme.”

Padme sighed, still feeling his erection against her. Two days. Two days during which her mind could talk her out of the course she had already decided to follow.

“Two days,” she grumbled.

“I share your impatience, but it must be that way.” Qui-Gon dug his heels into the horse to try and coax further speed out of the animal.