Three months later
Luke watched Mara as she sat on the large boulder. During the past weeks she had spent on Yavin IV her skin had gotten a soft shimmer of gold as her freckles had become more prominent. He loved the way she looked, it was as if the sun itself had tinged her with golden rays.

For a moment he just stood still, savouring the moment as he watched Mara stretching out on the boulder. She was beautiful, a towel draped around her slim waist while her breasts were covered by what once had been one of her crop tops, but she had cut off a fair amount of fabric. Thus her breasts, even modestly covered were clearly visible through the fabric and pertly pointing towards the sun. Luke sighed and tried to suppress the shudder of need coursing through his body.

They had now lived for over two months in the seclusion of the Northern hemisphere of Yavin IV. They shared the bed at nights, holding each other tightly, but both had never crossed the line where comfort had turned into passion. Then, a couple of days ago, Mara had asked him about a possibility to get rid of her conditioning by the Emperor.

Luke had been weary but had agreed and two nights ago, they had prepared for a Jedi Trance. The Jedi Master remembered as their Force senses had mingled as they'd opened up to each other and a momentary stab of fear had been exchanged between them. Luke remembered how he had sent her all his love, kissing her deeply while he had established a shield around themselves.

Her Force sense had been deeply intermingled with his own, had felt Mara opening up to him more than she ever had. He felt grateful that she trusted him this much and carefully he crafted on the bond that was between them while Mara sat cross-legged in front of him and cupped his hands with her own.

The Jedi had not been able to determine where Mara's thoughts ended and his started, and he had not cared anymore. Soon he had located the part of her memories that still haunted her and weaving the cocoon of safety around them, he shut them out effectively.

One by one he had bound the memories, destroying them with his and Mara's Force strength.

Luke tried to retrieve his breath, he had not known he had used so much Force, but now as he lay panting in Mara's arms, he felt his strength weakening. When he finally opened his eyes, he was surprised that they lay sprawled across the floor, holding each other tightly. But what surprised him even more was the intense green gaze that rested upon him.

"I'm sorry, Mara," he whispered and drew himself up on his elbows. Even in his weakened state, the passion for this woman had not subsided and for a moment he battled the tightening that was starting in his groins.

*I love you, Luke,* he had heard Mara's weak voice through their bond and Luke was glad, she had not picked up on his sudden arousal.

He had gathered her in his arms and carried her back to the bed. Her close encounter leaving him with a need to hold her, kiss her, smother her with his love.

Jerking himself out of the reverie, Skywalker smirked at that. Even though he had lived celibate before, it proved to be increasingly difficult to keep his distance toward Mara, but he was not sure how she would react. After all, she had miscarried their child and Tovar had tried to rape her. It was still too soon, and perhaps they might never share any intimacy ever again.

Slowly, he walked over to the edge of the lake and took off his trousers. As they were alone here on the Northern hemisphere of the moon, they had both taken to wear as little clothes as possible due to the heat of the Yavin summer. Mara had called it going tribal and after he had gotten over his initial shyness, he actually enjoyed it very much. So after he had gotten rid of the pants he crashed into the water, relishing the cold on his naked form.

Mara heard the crash into the water and she watched lazily as Luke made his way to the opposite bank of the lake. She had felt Luke watching her and although he had shielded his feelings from her, she had felt him being aroused by her sight.

She smiled sadly at that and sighed. She had felt Skywalker's apprehension and she asked herself if Luke felt embarrassed or even disgusted by her. She too still felt embarrassed thinking about the day Luke and Talon had found her. It had been messy, so much blood, she thought and closed her eyes, battling down the images that her memories tried to push to the foreground of her mind.

Sitting up on the warm boulder, she closed her eyes as she tilted her head towards the sun and like a Calamarian sponge, she soaked up the warmth of the sun. Mara listened to the soft splashes of water and tentatively she stretched out her Force sense only to meet with the soothing presence of Luke as he swam and jumped in the water, the joy clearly evident in his Force signature.

*I love you*, she sent and felt him smile.

*I love you too, Mara,* Luke replied silently and she felt his presence coming nearer. Squinting against the glare of the sun, she watched as Luke approached her. Admiring the play of the muscles beneath his sun tanned skin, she asked herself again how someone who had been raised on a dustball of a planet was such an avid swimmer.

"Hey," Luke said as his head appeared in front of her feet, his blonde streaked hair plastered to his head.

"Hey," Mara replied and playfully splashed water into his direction with one foot. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, it is refreshing. Want to join me?" he asked as he stood in front of her in the waist deep water.

"Naw, Farmboy," Mara's green eyes sparkled in the bright light. "I'll pass."

"Aww, come on, Mara," Luke grinned and hoisted himself up, each strong arm on either side of Mara's shapely legs. "It'll be fun, you'll like it to train those lazy muscles of yours."

"Ohhh training, huh?" she teased and bent forward. "Last time I saw you, you were frolicking like a young pup in the water, but training ... I doubt it."

She shrieked when Skywalker pulled her to him and further down into the water. To avoid herself getting wet, she encircled his waist with her legs and kept herself suspended. Both groaned when realisation hit them of just how intimately parts of their bodies touched.

"Luke," Mara gasped when she felt his manhood pressing insistently against her secret core through what little garments she was wearing. Their gazes met, green jewels drowned into blue depths and for a moment time stood still for the both of them.

Luke was the first to recover, and slowly, he caressed her legs before gently prying them off his waist. "I'm sorry, Mara," he breathed, sounding as if he had just finished a long run through the jungles. "I didn't think. I'm sorry."

Mara felt her throat tightening and without thinking, she strengthened her hold on his waist, drawing him nearer.

"Why should you be sorry, Luke?" she asked softly while their heads, already close to each other, came slowly together in unison. Her lips brushed barely over his mouth as she spoke, "Why are you sorry, Luke? Don't you want me?"

Her words almost pierced through his heart and for a moment, his whole body shuddered. She was so close, too close, and Luke was not sure if he could win the battle of not making love to her there and then.

"Mara, I don't ... want to hurt you," he whispered, shuddering again when he felt her breath on his face. "I want you too much ... I don't think I can stop ..." he admitted breathlessly.

"Why would you stop, Farmboy?" Her voice was barely a whisper as her hands started to roam over his chest, her whole body sliding closer to him till skin met skin.

"You're still recuperating," Skywalker ground out through gritted teeth. "I ... I ..." he stopped when he felt the soft lick of her tongue brush across his lips.

One kiss, he pleaded with himself. Just let me taste her this once! Like a drowning man, he clutched her to himself, his hands cupping her beloved face while his tongue plundered her sweet mouth. Both groaned as passion and the Force ignited between them, soft blue light eliciting tingles of electricity on their skin.

"Oh gods, Mara, I want you so much," Luke groaned between kisses, while their tongues fought a relentless duel for dominance in each other's mouths.

"I want you too, Luke," Mara panted, her hands roaming desperately over the heated skin of his shoulders and chest while she re-acquainted herself with the hard hollows and angles of his body. "I need you ..."

Time stood still. Only these three words mattered to them as their bodies reacted. With a groan Luke hoisted himself out of the water, lying Mara down on the boulder again as he stretched out on top of her. With a gentleness he didn't really feel, he showered her face, her neck and her whole body with open-mouthed kisses, licking, tasting, marking her skin.

Mara groaned softly under his ministrations and her arms and legs rubbed restlessly against his skin, over muscles that bulged from sheer desperation to pleasure her. One hand snaked down between their bodies and she gently cupped him, enjoying the groans that escaped his lips as she started to caress his erection.

Suddenly Luke stopped and Mara looked at him in surprise, her chest heaving. She felt a twinge of regret and anger surging through her, but that quickly subsided and was replaced by sadness. Turning her head away, she did not see Luke's desperate struggle for control.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and squeezed her eyes shut, suppressing the tears that threatened to spill out. Suddenly, she felt feather-like kisses on her brow, on her nose, trailing softly down her cheek to her jaw.

*Why are you sorry, my love?* she heard Luke's voice and her eyes snapped open.

*You stopped ... I thought ... you don't want me ... after what happened...*

"Oh gods, Mara ..." Luke groaned out loud and kissed her deeply. "I stopped because I don't want to make love to you here ... you deserve a soft bed and ...," he grinned sheepishly when Mara stared at him with an expression of utter surprise on her face. "I seem to recall the last time we made love, you complained about wanting to make love in a bed for a change, not on the floor or propped up against a wall or somewhere else."

At that, Mara laughed and she hugged him to her tightly. "And I thought you didn't want me ... that you ..."

"Shhhh," Luke whispered gently and pecked her lips lightly. "You are the most wonderful woman in the galaxy. But I want you to be comfortable when we first make love again after ..." He fell silent and both knew what he meant.

*I'm sorry, Luke,* Mara sent him, feeling his own despair about the loss of their child like her own. *I really fought to keep him, I really did.*

"Shhhhh, Mara, it wasn't your fault," Luke reassured her. "Things like this happen and perhaps it was the Force telling us that we weren't ready to be parents yet. We will have other children, my beloved, but not just yet."

Skywalker disentangled himself from Jade's grasp and pushed himself to his feet. In one languid movement, he pulled her to her feet and before she could complain, his right hand snaked beneath her knees and he pulled her up into his arms. Carefully he picked his way across the boulders with his precious burden in his arms and made his way to the small cabin.

Once inside, he hurriedly entered the bedroom where he laid down Mara in an almost referential way. During their little tryst on the boulder, Mara had lost the towel that had hugged her waist, and Luke quickly shed the rest of her clothing, while she helped him with shaking fingers. As she lay before him completely nude, his passion was ignited anew, even more so. Joining her on the bed, he lay on his side, drinking in the sight of the woman he loved.

"I love you, Mara," he said again and wiped his eyes awkwardly. Mara looked up at him lovingly, caressing his face, wiping away the tears that slowly made their way down his cheeks.

"And I love you, Farmboy. Never doubt it," she whispered and drew his head down to her. This time their kiss was sweet and lazy. Their tongues tasted each other, languidly teasing as their bodies drew closer. Hands that had long forgotten how to caress re-acquainted themselves with each other's bodies.

The tension building up inside urged Luke on but with the help of the Force, he quenched the passion to a bearable level. He needed Mara, wanted her as he had never wanted anyone else in his life, but this time he needed to be gentle, needed to slow down as not to hurt her.

He listened to her soft moans as his callused hand ran over her breasts, gently massaging the pert mound until its nipple was hard and swollen. Latching his mouth onto it, he suckled on the nub, teasing it with his tongue while his other hand massaged and caressed her second breast.

He groaned against her soft skin, when her hands found his erection, squeezing, rubbing him in an age-old rhythm. Slowly, they aroused each other, teasing and playing as they kissed and caressed. All the while the Force grew stronger around them, soft blue light enshrouding them, as they kissed, licked and caressed.

Slowly, as if to savour every second, they moved in unison, Mara opening herself up to greet Luke and when he entered her, their groans mingled, their Force senses intertwined and in a soft cocoon of blue light, they joined their bodies in perfect unison.

*I love you,* Mara sent him and for a moment, Luke stilled all movement, almost drowning in her presence in the Force and also in her physical warmth.

Their eyes locked and their Force senses intertwined even more deeply, almost drowning them as emotion of how much they felt for each other overwhelmed them.

*I love you, Mara,* Luke sent her back, brushing her mind with a soft mental caress while his hands slowly gripped her hips as he eased deeply into her. Skywalker groaned when he felt her gripping him like a vise, fluid heat encased him with a tightness that was almost painful.

Their kisses grew more frantic as their bodies moved to further their passion. Arms and legs gripped, caressed and stroked as they fell into a comfortable but urging rhythm.

Several hours later, after much more love making, hot, dirty and soft, two bodies lay within tangled sheets, both trying to calm the drumming heart beats as the two Jedi lay on the wide bed.

"Are you alright?" Skywalker asked as he drew the sheet over them and pulled Mara closer onto his right side, his hand hugging her around her waist. Now, in the aftermath of their frantic lovemaking, he was afraid he had caused her pain so soon after the miscarriage, and he turned slightly to look into her face. What he saw both amazed and assured him, Mara's eyes were closed but her lips were curved into the most beautiful smile.

"Couldn't be better ... and you?" Jade murmured and her lips found the ridges of a scar she knew was on his shoulder. A scar she herself had inflicted on him eight years ago.

Her tongue flicked out and Luke gasped when he felt the tip of her tongue tracing the rigged scar and a tingle of passion, albeit heavy and half-sated, shot through him. "What ... are you doing, Jade?" he breathed heavily and he could feel the woman's smiling lips against his heated skin.

"Just fulfilling a dream," she smiled wickedly as in a lithe movement she moved on top of him, straddling him with her thighs just beneath his hips. Her lips had found another scar on his chest, and with butterfly kisses she traced that one as well.

"A dream, huh?" Luke asked and held her tightly as she bent forward again, latching her lips on a nasty scar just beneath his breastbone. He remembered the day he received it as if it had been yesterday, and he knew Mara had similar scars on her back ... the scars of a Force-whip. His hands found the scars on her back and with every lick she administered, he traced her own with his fingertips, eliciting shivers and low moans from her.

"Interesting," Luke murmured and hugging her closer, they both laughed.

"From my perspective it's always interesting," she continued giving him nibbling kisses as she worked her way up to his throat, sucking gently on his pulse point. "I've always wanted to do this," she whispered as she worked on giving him a love bite. "I've always wanted to mark you right here." A slender finger caressed the recently abused flesh.

"Always?" Luke teased her and for a moment, Mara stopped what she was doing and deep green eyes met those baby blue ones of the Jedi Master. "Even way back on Myrkr? I still remember how you devoured me with your eyes when you gave me that bath..."

"Yes," the woman murmured and smiled. "Even way back on Myrkr, and I remember that certain parts of your anatomy grew considerably when I gave you the bath, Jedi Master!"

"Do you now?" Skywalker whispered, his eyes danced with blue fire, as he slowly traced the scars on her back with his fingertips. "And I never thought you had those kind of feelings for me ... You should have acted upon them, Miss Jade," His voice was like a caress, slow, deep and incredibly sexy, sending shivers down Mara's spine.

Jade felt her face heat up and she hid it in the crook of his neck and Luke wondered why they had not acted upon the strong attraction that had been between them since the first day they had met.

*But we have, Luke,* he heard Mara's voice in his mind. *We exactly did that, back on Tatooine.*

He smiled at that. *You are right, Jade. We were more sensible then than we were in between.*

"More sensible?" Mara asked aloud and raised her head to look down on him. "I was perfectly sensible in the years in between!"

Mirroring her cocked eyebrow, he rose one of his own at her. "Were you?" he teased her and raised his hands to cup her face. "Perhaps we both were not so sensible, we both were fighting hands and feet against what we felt. But no more, Mara. From now on the only sensible thing I will do is love you to bits."

"Is that a promise?" Mara asked and smiled.

"No, Jade, this is not a promise, it's a fact," and with this he drew her down onto his chest and kissed her with all the passion that he had felt since he had first seen her in the glaring suns of his home planet all these many years ago.

The End