Their journey down from the roof was littered with stolen kisses and frantic embraces as Luke hurried her towards his goal. At one point, he had stopped and pushed her against a wall, the hardness of his body pressing into hers making no secret of the fact that he wanted her very much.

Finally, they reached the entrance to the springs. Mara hesitated at the entrance. "Luke, I don't have a suit."

"You won't need one," he muttered clearly at the end of the Jedi Master's famed patience and guided her inside. "I don't have one either."

Mara stood as Luke picked up the sole continually burning sconce. He lit the others until the cavern flickered with the dancing lights of the flames, reflecting off the water as it swirled and bubbled in the pool.

"This is perfect," she murmured softly. "Absolutely perfect."

"No, that's you, Mara." He moved in front of her and placed his hands on her cheeks, drawing her face towards him. They kissed slowly and deeply, learning the taste and texture of each other's lips with a thoroughness that left them wanting more. "You're perfect."

Luke stepped back, an enigmatic smile on his lips and raised the shirt over his head, leaving his chest bare. Mara's mouth went dry at the sight of his perfectly sculpted physique, and sank down upon some stone steps leading down to the pool. He kicked off his boots and then stopped. He sat down next to Mara and raised an eyebrow, "You just going to watch?"

"Well…" she drawled. "I was enjoying myself." Mara said, smoothly, but she took pity on his growing embarrassment and took hold of the tab to her zipper. She pulled the silver jumpsuit down the length of her body. She wore very little underneath. His eyes grew wide as he watched her strip with an elegance and confidence that was incredibly enticing. Mara shrugged out of her clothes and took a step towards the water. "Are you joining me?" she continued moving down the steps until she had immersed herself in the warm bubbling spring.

Luke stood like a man turned stone. The sight of Mara, naked and wet was almost too much for him.

"Luke," she summoned, her voice low in her throat.

His heart hammering in his chest, Luke tore off the rest of his clothes and dashed down the steps into the water, grabbing hold of her smooth, slippery body and fastening his mouth over hers in a fierce kiss of desperate hunger. His hands travelled all over her body, caressing and stroking her until she was pleading with him to put her out of her sweet torment and make her his. He moved through the water until he sat on the bottom step, the water lapping round about his waist.

"Mara?"

They gazed at each other; the sight of their wet, naked bodies was both surreal and arousing. Just a day ago, they were just friends, now they were about to make love.

"Please, Luke," she whispered. "Make love to me now. I can't wait any longer. Please," she begged.

Luke groaned, his flesh was on fire for her. The pressure was almost too much to bear. The Force swelled around them. Their barriers dropped and they shared the incredible physical sensations with the other, as well as their love. With a muffled oath he lifted her out of the water and placed her on the blue blanket he had miraculously managed to bring down from the roof.

Between frantic kisses, Mara managed to mutter. "The Jedi… got to… shield…" Her hair had come unbound from its neat plait and surrounded her in a mass of riotous curls, her pale body, tipped by dusky pink and framed by its vivid colour. As lost to sensation as his lover, Luke managed hastily to erect a barrier shielding them from the other Force sensitives on the planet.

"Force, Mara. You feel incredible." Luke gasped as the Force broke in waves against them, blinding them with euphoria. Mara collapsed on Luke, replete.

They lay in a state of satisfied exhaustion listening to their breathing slow and the beating of their hearts return to normal. Luke's hands began to move against Mara's back, caressing her.

She raised her head and kissed the small mark she had left on his shoulder. "Sorry." She said slightly abashed.

"Don't be." Luke assured her calmly. "You can do that to me anytime you want. It shows that you've marked me as yours."

"And you're quite happy about that?" She chuckled, the small movement causing her to tremble against him, the movement of her breasts making him to regain some of his ardour. Mara's eyes widened as she said, "Again? After that… you're ready again?"

"I… think so…"

"I know men like to brag about their stamina but you're not like that. You're the real thing." Mara's eyes darkened. "All man."

Luke flushed, but there was the sound of male satisfaction in his voice when he spoke. "Not if you don't want to. I don't want to hurt you and believe me Mara. I'm very happy to be yours." Mara found that her insides were turning to liquid again. He only had to touch her and she was ready for him.

She moved against him and Luke responded instantly.

"I love you, Mara!" he cried as he shuddered to completion in her arms.

"And I, you," her answering call.

They remained in the cavern making love until nearly dawn. Mara had missed an early evening class, and she and Luke had both missed supper but no one wondered much about their absence. Despite the Jedi Master's hastily erected shielding, there was no doubt in the minds of Luke's staff what he was up to with Mara Jade. Strange warm ripples of sensation in the Force would sweep through the Academy building from time to time. Corran Horn assured the others that she was receiving private tutelage from the Jedi Master himself and tried to ignore the knowing smiles.

"And about time too." Kyp sniggered.

"You'd better not say anything like that to either of them," Corran warned.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not Jade's favourite person and she would gladly make me one with the Force prematurely."

*******

Luke woke Mara up with a kiss grinning broadly at her momentary disorientation. They were on his bed in his quarters at the Academy. Mara vaguely remembered returning there very late last night or was it extremely early this morning? She found that she didn't really care. "I have to make an appearance; I can't expect Corran to continue to teach all my classes."

"You afraid they'll figure we've been up to something?" Mara asked teasingly. She sat up, realizing that he was fully dressed and ready to depart.

Luke waggled his eyebrows at her. "I think our last time together caused so many ripples in the Force, I'm surprised they haven't come to investigate by now. They will know."

"Luke!" Mara said. "I thought you were shielding?"

"I tried but I think some of the emotions got through. They were pretty powerful feelings." He blushed profusely. "They're pretty perceptive; I guess they realized that we weren't in any danger."

Mara inspected the blond man, who had tipped his face away in embarrassment. "You're pretty cute when you blush, Skywalker."

"Aw, Mara!" he muttered his face reddening even further.

"I would have thought you were used to comments like that. Being the most eligible bachelor in the galaxy?"

"I'm not eligible now." Luke wanted to move her attention away from his looks. He grinned audaciously at her, meeting her gaze. "You look even better in the flesh, if I might say so. Perhaps I should make a rule that Mara Jade shouldn't wear clothes when alone with the Jedi Master." 

"Luke Skywalker!" This time Mara blushed.

His skin tone was returning to normal, and she could feel his cheerfully good mood. She didn't think she had ever been happier in her life.

Luke chuckled, "Just as I thought. Your blush gives your entire body an enticingly rosy glow."

Mara slapped at the quickly retreating Jedi and missed.

Luke pointed to a spot on the floor beside the bed.  "I never had time to return your bag from the trip to the Ruins to you. I think you should find a change of clothes and anything else you might need."

"I'll manage." Mara muttered, still smiling at this bolder Skywalker. On the surface, he was as cool and composed as glass, but she had discovered an entirely different man last night; a discovery, which she enjoyed thoroughly. Who would have thought that Luke could please her in so many ways?

************************************

For the rest of the day, Mara relaxed and continued her recovery. Eventually she grew restless without Luke. She wanted his presence with a hunger she hadn't realised she possessed. When finally she went to find him, she discovered that he was still in the middle of instructing a class.  He stood at the head of a bare room with a relatively small group of students seated facing him. The students' eyes were closed, as Luke guided them through a memory exercise. Mara knew the Jedi Master was aware of her the moment she neared the group of Jedi but did not falter in his task. She took a deep breath, wondering why she felt so nervous and stepped inside. As the door hissed shut, Luke met her eyes immediately, and she could feel the heat of his blue gaze across the room. His inattention did not go wholly unnoticed by the students, but they did not open their eyes. They waited patiently for the Master's voice to instruct them on the next stage of the process. Realizing that she was in danger of disrupting his class, Mara gave him a slow, warm smile and retreated.

The minute she was gone, Luke found it next to impossible to focus on the remainder of the class. Her presence called to him so strongly. He inadvertently instructed the students to repeat the previous step, and then after realizing his error, quickly corrected their course. None of the students were particularly surprised when the Jedi Master called the class to a close ten minutes early. 

Luke Skywalker went in search of Mara, sensing her presence in the vicinity of the outdoor teaching arenas. This exterior training area consisted of a series of droid attackers as well as physical challenges in which a student could test their endurance, speed, strength, and Force skills. Although, no one suffered serious injury in the course, it was highly unusual to escape these trials without suffering at least a few stinging blaster bolts.

As he neared, he could hear the distinctive wine of blaster fire and the crackle of its interception by a lightsaber. He didn't sense anyone else in the area, and was both mildly annoyed and proud that she had decided to activate the tests alone. He knew she was not one to seek approval from the other Jedi for her successes, nor was she likely to request assistance from someone in order to oversee her actions in the arena. Still, he worried about her. She'd been through quite an ordeal in the past few days and although she was fit and healthy, he would have preferred if she'd refrained from such activities for a day or two longer.

Luke was mesmerized by the swiftly moving lightsaber, controlled with uncanny skill in the beauty's hands.  She was dressed in a black short sleeved jumpsuit, which clung in all the right places. The shine of the faintly metallic, made her red-gold hair gleam in the afternoon sun. The image of her expertly fluid motions and vivid beauty was a lethal combination from which Luke was not immune. He knew Mara could sense his sudden proximity, but she did not acknowledge him as she quickly sliced a large battle droid into a smouldering ruin. Luke winced at the smell and the knowledge that he would have to order another replacement.

She turned to smile at him.  Her chest moved with the effort to regain her breath, and her hair was slightly disarranged, curling lightly around her face. His heart swelled with love for her. A low grumbling noise emerged from a metal panel in the rocky ground, as another droid wheeled itself into place, poised and ready to initiate another series of attacks. Luke slapped a switch on the control board, shutting down the program.

"Hey!"  Mara protested.

"I already have to replace one battle droid; I didn't really want to requisition another."

"Three, actually."  Mara said proudly, her mouth twisting slightly. She nodded to the pile of smouldering metal he had originally thought to be part of the obstacle course.

His eyes grew wide and then he chuckled. "Trying to bankrupt the Jedi Order, Jade?"

"Care for a rematch?"  Mara asked playfully, swinging the blue lightsaber blade in a circular arc in front of her.

"And risk breaking my winning streak?" Luke smiled, stepping onto the proving ground so that he was just a few feet away.

"Oh come on.  Is that a hint of fear I sense within you?" Mara teased, but a glint in her eye allowed Luke to see that a part of her was serious.

"Please, Mara. I don't want to fight you." Luke said. His pride was still stinging from the knowledge that he had lost concentration; her very appearance in his class had made it almost impossible for him to bring the lesson to its conclusion. Yoda's tests of concentration were nothing compared to dealing with the effect his emerald-eyed Jedi had on him.

"Oh but I do."  Mara lowered her blade and peered at him contemplatively, "I still have to prove that I can best you in a saber fight. By your cheating that last time, you robbed me of my victory."

"I did not cheat," Luke burst out indignantly.

"That's debatable," Mara said slowly, her hands smoothing suggestively over the handle of her saber.

Luke felt his face flush as unbidden images of passion sprung into his mind. "If it was a life or death situation, the battle is not lost or won until one of you cannot rise again. You of all people should know that. Never underestimate a beaten foe, Jade."

Mara knew he was right, but her innate desire to prove she really was his equal rose. "What can I do that would convince you to duel with me?

Luke smiled and he responded incapable of remaining remain impervious to her good humour. "You're pretty creative.  I have faith in your ability to come up with something."

Her delicately arched eyebrows drew together in consideration, then her expression relaxed. "What if I say that you can have whatever you want if you win?" Mara's voice was low and suggestive.

Luke's eyebrows rose, one corner of his mouth tipping upward in a smile. "Oh really?" He started to caress the hilt of his lightsaber as if pondering her offer. "Sounds intriguing. And what do you get if you win?"  Luke inquired.

"I get to demand anything I want from you." 

Luke couldn't pass up an opportunity like this, to be able to exact anything from her. Even if he lost, just knowing what she would want of him, was incredibly enticing. "Anything?"

"Anything," she repeated.

"That is very tempting," he agreed slowly.

"Is the deal sweet enough?" she asked, her tongue darting out of her mouth to delicately moisten her lips.

Luke's eyes darkened to navy as they fastened on her soft, ripe mouth. "It's certainly sweet."

"Take it or leave it." She ignited her saber, the blue blade stretching upwards.

Luke's eyes narrowed with intent. "It's a deal," he said clearly.

It was only after the words were out that he wondered, deep in the shadows of his heart, if Mara had planned this in order to flee him. She would never escape him; their destinies were entwined for ever. Then the doubt nurtured by years of loneliness crept in - supposing they weren't destined and he'd been wrong about this? What would he do if she won, and then demanded that they go their separate ways? Luke told himself that she would never do such a thing, but the dark side was always present feeding on his fears.  He would have to trust in Mara and the Force that this eventuality would never come to pass. He would have to find a way to banish these fears forever and then he knew what he would ask from her. Suddenly the game was not a game any longer. Suddenly, for Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, it was life and death. In a moment his decision was made. There could be no going back.

Luke grabbed her, holding the lightsaber safely away from them, and kissed her passionately. He wanted to claim her, impress upon her that they shared a destiny, to remind her of his love. Her mouth opened under his, accepting his tongue as it duelled with hers. Mara's lightsaber dropped from her hand and rolled away, the blade extinguishing itself at the loss of its owner. Luke's hands gripped her shoulders tighter and tighter as he pulled her hard against his body. Then with a suddenness that was shocking, he let her go.

"What was that for?" Mara asked breathlessly when he pulled back, feeling the intensity of his emotions. 

His eyes were dark, the feel of his warm breath caressing her cheek. "I just thought we should seal our deal with a kiss." Luke answered seriously. A lock of his dark blond hair had fallen across his forehead, his face was composed. She could see his transformation from farmboy to the Jedi Master. Mara was faintly troubled by the solemn tone the Jedi had adopted. He was treating this as a serious match. She bent to pick up her abandoned lightsaber attaching it back on her belt.

"Luke, perhaps this isn't such a good idea. . . ."  She began, confused at the emotions she felt coming from her lover. "I mean…"

"Having second thoughts, Mara?"  Luke inquired, "Afraid that you won't win?"

She shook her head, and he stepped back his hands going to his belt and unfastening it. The belt dropped to the floor with a dull thud. "This is just a practice duel… Luke?"

"Is it?" Luke stripped off his Jedi tunic leaving his sculpted chest bare.

Mara's mouth went dry at the sight. He really wasn't playing fair, damn the man. Her impulse to duel was quickly overcome by a far more potent desire. She wanted to caress the muscular, firm expanse of tanned flesh displayed to her hungry eyes until he capitulated. He was going to have to curb this habit he had of removing his shirt at every opportunity. How was Mara expected to fight off the legions of woman who would be overcome at the sight of his toned, muscular chest? "Luke… this isn't…"

"You want to concede?" he taunted, a sly, sexy smile covering his well shaped lips. "Don't think you can win – is that it?"

She could never resist a dare and his challenge awakened her fire. "Sithspawn!" Mara cursed, her saber flying off her belt and into her hands.

Luke assumed a fighting stance.  He ignited his green blade, and watched her, his face intense. Mara was uneasy about the air of determination surrounding the man. He smiled slightly, in an effort to reassure her. This only served to put her more on her guard. Something had got him all fired up.

She shifted her balance, reaching out to the Force, her natural competitiveness determined not to be bested by the Jedi Master. Luke waited for her to make the first attack. She paced slowly toward him, at an angle. He moved to maintain a certain distance between them. The slowly circled around, regarding each other. She stepped forward, he stepped back. She grinned at him, unwilling to do what he expected. She wanted him to make the first move.

"Why, Skywalker, I never knew you were such a good dancer." she said humorously. 

He exhaled, but she could sense a slight lightening in his mood. "We've had lots of practice over the years dancing around each other, don't you think?  I had to learn fancy footwork just to keep up with you. Dancing and fighting," he shrugged. "Good footwork is important for both."

"What is it? What's really going on? You don't fool me, farmboy. Something is brewing in that sneaky little mind of yours" Mara muttered. "We don't have to do this, if you don't want to."

At these words, Luke narrowed his eyes and lunged at her. "'Sneaky little mind,' Jade. I'll show you who's sneaky. I thought you were the one who said "All's fair in love and war.  " Mara blocked the attack expertly and they began to duel with a controlled fervour. 

The sun was high in the sky; the students were still in the various buildings immersed in classes. The two lone Jedi duelled until their clothes clung damply to their bodies, sweat running down Luke's naked chest, their breathing was laboured, and the drumming of their hearts almost drowned out the deafening sound of lightsabers crackling with each impact. Never had a man and a woman been so evenly matched.

As athletic as she was, Mara wasn't used to fighting for so long with another Jedi at the peak of their fitness. Everything she tried he matched. In desperation Mara used the Force to toss some mechanical droid fragments at Luke. 'Let's see how you deal with a little extra distraction, Skywalker,' she thought.  The jagged edge swiped at his arm, and he turned just in time to avoid injury and knock it away with his blindingly bright green blade.