Pleasure Before Business

Chapter 6: Doubts In the Morning Light

"Excuse me, ladies," Carth said after their racing hearts and breathing had slowed. He flipped Revan onto her back and took his time withdrawing from her.

Revan vented a soft moan as a wash of their come dripped out, drenching her thighs. She reached out to Carth, but he evaded her grasp, his motion making his come-soaked cock and testicles sway. Bastila noted that even sated his size was impressive.

"Dammit, woman, give a man time to recover first," Carth growled, though Bastila could tell he was not really disgruntled. "You're insatiable."

"Look who's talking," Revan shot back. "I should tell Bastila about that time after the big party, when I barely got any sleep because you--"

Carth stopped her words with another deep kiss. "Why tell her when we can show her--later." He leaned over, grasped Bastila's chin and gave her another kiss, one that seemed to be full of promise in addition to wordless passion.

Bastila watched, her cheeks coloring, as the soldier gathered clean clothes and a towel from a locker, her eyes riveted to the play of the muscles under his skin. Like Revan, Carth also bore scars, though his were mostly burns from blaster bolts. They reminded her of the markings on Juhani's pelt.

"Dibs on the 'fresher--we've stayed in dock long enough," Carth said, unaware of her scrutiny. He sighed as his eyes raked their naked bodies. "I'd ask you to join me in there, but it's too damned small."

"I thought you needed time to recover," Bastila said, raising her chin at him despite her blushes.

Carth grinned. "Can't blame a man for trying."

"Next time, buy a ship with a bigger 'fresher," Revan retorted.

"Sorry, beautiful, but it seemed more important to get a ship with decent weapons and adequate armor. But I'll keep that in mind for next time."

He bent and picked up their discarded panties. The fire in his eyes as he held the crumpled wads to his nose warmed Bastila from her head to her toes, burning hotter than the wine. Carth flashed them a smirk before disappearing into the refresher.

Revan gave Bastila an apologetic look. "I guess we should be glad he got one that had a decent-sized bunk."

Bastila disentangled herself from the other woman's arms and from the twisted sheets. "I am sorry--I did not mean to intrude upon your privacy."

"Hey, wait..." Revan turned Bastila to face her; Bastila could not meet the other woman's eyes.

"Bastila, we're glad you're here," Revan said quietly, tilting her head so that she could look into her face. "You're not intruding on anything."

"I... I never intended for... for this" --Bastila waved a hand at their naked, sweaty bodies-- "to happen when you brought me aboard this ship."

Revan grinned. "Really? You've never thought about it?"

"Well, of course I--that is, I would never come between--" Bastila spluttered.

"Come on, I felt your attraction in the bond," Revan said cheerfully. "I know you thought about it. Not that I blame you--Carth has that effect on women."

"I must disgust him, acting like a, a wanton joygirl the first night I am aboard--"

"He didn't look disgusted to me," Revan said. Her expression softened. "That's what's bothering you, isn't it."

Bastila nodded her head, too ashamed to look the other woman in the eye. "I am supposed to be a Jedi--I am not supposed to have these... these base lusts, these shameful thoughts."

"Bastila, believe me, you're not some kind of lusty joygirl--for one thing, joygirls've had their lust fracked out of them when it comes to paid sex. It's just a job for them." Gently, Revan turned Bastila's face back towards her. "You've wrapped up these feelings for a long time, burying them under discipline. You've been frustrated all these years--you couldn't help but let them out when we made our offer."

"My behavior doesn't repulse you?"

Revan raised an eyebrow. "This is me you're talking to, here. Of course not. Carth and I are delighted that you've opened up to us." She grinned. "In more ways than one." That drew a smile from Bastila.

"I know what the masters say about emotion, same as you," Revan said, sobering. "You know I don't agree with them about that. Maybe in a few decades age will temper your urges, but right now, I think you need this--you need us."

Bastila was startled when Revan pulled her into a warm, affectionate embrace. "Revan, what--"

"I'm so sorry, Bastila."

The sight of the unshed tears in Revan's eyes shocked Bastila. "For what?"

"I know what Malak did to you," Revan said unsteadily. "I felt it through the bond--how he used you and twisted your passions. I'm so sorry that I couldn't spare you from that. Please believe me when I say I did everything I could to rescue you."

Bastila shut her eyes, attempting to banish those terrible memories. Even now, after all these years, they still held power over her. A little less now, thanks to the lovemaking she had just shared with Carth and Revan.

"Don't be, Revan. Only the bond, the strength and support I drew from you, kept me sane."

Revan drew in a shuddering breath. "I'm so glad."

Tenderly, Bastila kissed the salty tears on Revan's cheeks. "Enough... let us put the past behind us, where it belongs. We will start anew."

"Bastila... didn't you find anyone, anyone at all to share your life with?" Revan asked, after they curled up together for several minutes.

"No... not really." Bastila shook her head.

"Not even one of Carth's soldiers? There were quite a few handsome ones running around on Citadel Station... not one of them caught your eye?"

Bastila wrinkled her nose. "They all looked so... young. Keen and eager. They looked at me as if I were a hero, marching onto the station in triumph. The worship in their eyes made me feel so... so old." And corrupt, she who had fallen to the Dark Side.

Revan harrumphed. "Speaking as someone several years older than you, I find that hard to believe."

"It's true." Bastila idly ran her fingers through Revan's silky hair. "They looked like fresh-faced boys, and they acted like puppies. Not someone I would prefer."

"What about Canderous?"

Bastila shivered. At Revan's look of concern, she explained, "I won't deny that the Mandalorian wasn't attractive, but the looks he would give me... they reminded me so much of Malak. As if I were something to be possessed. A trophy he could win. A... a thing, not a woman. He frightened me."

Revan nodded, sympathy and understanding in her eyes. "I can see where that would be a real turn-off for you. A pity--his physique is almost as impressive as Carth's." Bastila shook her head at Revan's incorrigible grin.

"Did you ever--" Bastila began.

"Sleep with Canderous?" Revan finished. At Bastila's nod, she said, "I was already half in love with Carth by the time we met him... I thought about it, but I never did. He's the kind of guy who can't resist bragging, and you know he would've taunted Carth with it afterwards. I'm not the kind of girl who'd be flattered being just another notch on his belt."

"I've always envied the rapport you enjoyed with Carth," Bastila said, sighing. "I could see the love in his eyes whenever you entered the room, whenever you spoke to him."

"Huh... you didn't see how he was after Malak stole you away." Revan snorted, a look of sadness and bitterness passing across her face.

"I'm sorry for the pain I caused you--both of you--with my deception--" Bastila began.

Revan stopped her words with a gentle touch of her fingers on Bastila's lips. "Stop, Bastila. We've had this discussion before. I've long since forgiven you."

Carth's voice startled both of them. "I'm done," he said, poking his head around the door. Bastila wondered just how much of their conversation the soldier had heard. "I'm gonna go and start the engines--we're scheduled to lift off in twenty minutes."

"All right," Revan said as she rose. "Okay if I wash up first, Bastila? I need to start breakfast."

"Very well." Bastila rose, but she nearly collapsed back onto the bed when her thighs rubbed her sore labia together. She took a breath, then stood, and minced over to her pack, wondering if every woman Carth had ever slept with had trouble walking normally afterwards. It was truly amazing that Revan was not bow-legged.

Bastila busied herself with putting away her few possessions in the empty locker Carth pointed out to her. She paused as she pulled out the soiled sheets from the mattress; the smell of sex was tantalizing and arousing. Stop it, get ahold of yourself. There will be time enough for that later.

There were red purplish wine stains on the cloth; in the dim light, they looked like splatters of blood. As if she really had lost her virginity last night. And in a way... Bastila had.

With more force than necessary, she crammed them into the cleaning hamper, and finished making the bed.

When Bastila entered the 'fresher, waddling a little to keep her thighs from rubbing together, she found a stack of fluffy towels waiting for her on the rack. A robe was neatly folded next to it. They were meant for her, and not Revan, because lying on top of it were her crumpled-up panties. She was touched by their solicitous gesture--and a little mortified by how they had chosen to show it.

She wished the 'fresher had water for a real bath, but a ship this small could not provide that particular luxury. Her skin bore the marks of their vigorous night of sex, and her lips were swollen from kisses; lovebites and the impressions of fingers stood out as livid spots on her white skin. Bastila could see more reddened blossoms of teeth marks on her neck and collarbone as she examined herself in the mirror. She touched the puckered bumps, and felt the soreness of unused muscles.

Carth and Revan have truly marked me as their own, Bastila thought as she gingerly touched her swollen labia. Her insides felt raw where Carth had pulverized her with his cock.

Still, she knew she would do it again for the mind-melting pleasure he had given her. Repeatedly, as she recalled his boast about bringing her to orgasm again and again.

By the time Bastila had finished bathing and dabbed kolto where she could, she could smell the delicious flavors of caffa and nerf bacon pervading the ship. She pulled the bed up into a vertical position, then pushed it into its niche. The couch dropped down into the empty space, turning their bedroom back into a common room. She watched as a cleaning droid rolled in and scrubbed the floor, erasing every trace of the lovemaking that had stained the carpet.

After she had donned clean clothes, Bastila walked a few steps down the cramped hallway towards the tiny galley. With some bemusement, she watched Revan expertly place sizzling bacon onto three plates. Three perfectly browned biscuits were placed next to neat piles of scrambled eggs. Revan looked up and smiled when she heard Bastila's stomach growl.

"You know, of all the things I imagined when I thought about you... a short-order cook was not on the list," Bastila remarked.

Revan laughed. "Here, take this to Carth," she said as she held out two plates piled with food. "You'll need to keep your strength up if you're going to be traveling with us."

Bastila blushed at the other woman's comical leer and retreated. She had her hands full as she carefully balanced mugs of caffa with the food as she walked into the cockpit.

"That smells great," Carth said, turning his head when he heard her footsteps. "I'm so hungry, my stomach is attacking my backbone."

"Do you require assistance?" Bastila said as she sat in the copilot's seat. Like the Ebon Hawk, the converted long-range fighter had a primary pilot console, and a second with firing controls and secondary navigation instruments.

"Nah, I just finished the preflights," Carth answered after swallowing a bite of his food. "Just gotta wait for Traffic Control to give me the go ahead to launch. Relax, enjoy your breakfast."

"This reminds me of old times," Bastila commented as she ate.

"Sure does." Carth smiled at her. "We had some good times, didn't we? Mostly crazy, but... definitely some good ones."

"We did," Bastila agreed.

She examined the soldier's profile as he busied himself with his food. Time had been kind to Carth; while his face had a few extra lines at his brow and around his eyes, his hair was as thick as ever, and there were few gray strands. He still looked as handsome, and her soreness was a testament to his stamina.

Carth looked up when she cleared her throat, his brows rising in questioning.

"I... I can't help but wonder about your, ah, generosity," Bastila said tentatively as she stared out through the window. "I must admit that your attitude baffles me, considering how... devoted you were to your wife."

A flash of pain and old grief flickered in his brown eyes. "Are you trying to suggest that I was unfaithful?" Anger deepened the rasp in his voice.

"No, of course not." Bastila had to look away from him. "I am simply curious at what seems like sudden change in your personality. You are a very private man, and you offered me quite a startling proposition."

Carth sighed. "Fine... since we're practically gonna be living inside each other's skins, I'll indulge your curiosity." He set his empty plate aside and contemplated his caffa. "I may have seemed all proper and prim on our mission, but before I married Morganna, I played around like every other young soldier on shore leave."

"What is the expression? Ah, I believe it is 'a woman in every port'?" Bastila raised an eyebrow.

"Not quite, but close," Carth admitted. "After all those years in the academy, I was ready to give my virginity the wildest going-away party in the galaxy."

She laughed. "I must admit, it is hard to think of you as anything other than a proper commanding officer."

"You wouldn't say that if you'd heard the tales from the guys I've served with." Carth grinned, his eyes staring at a point in the air that was light-years away. "The stories I could tell you--after every battle there'd be wild parties and orgies going on in someone's bunkroom. People would be going in and out during shift changes--if you didn't come out walking funny, the party wasn't considered crazy enough."

Bastila had no doubt Carth was popular with the ladies. An inexplicable jealousy wormed through her. Stop it. You were just a child when he was having those riotous bedroom adventures.

"I take it that all changed when you married?" Bastila scrutinized the soldier, trying to imagine Carth as a wild young man. Dustil was not anything like his father, resemblances aside. His son would be terribly shocked if he ever discovered this side of Carth. A perverse part of her wanted to be there to see Dustil's face if he ever did.

"It all changed when I was promoted," Carth corrected. "Can't have the captain mingling with his subordinates like that--not only is it against regs, it ends up twisting the chain of command into something unrecognizable. I only had a few brief affairs with women outside of the hierarchy. Besides, I couldn't command any respect from the veterans and older soldiers if I acted inappropriately, even on shore leave."

"Then you were not unprepared when you met your wife."

Carth nodded. "I learned to keep my trousers fastened, not that I wasn't tempted sometimes during the lonely, quiet hours of the night. There was this one ensign that served with me for a while--she practically made me salute and come to attention every time I saw her," he added sheepishly.

"You never led me to believe that I was attractive to you," Bastila said, somewhat accusingly.

"Sorry, but you annoyed the hell outta me at first," Carth said with a shrug. "But for all the irritation and grief you caused, I couldn't deny that you're a beautiful woman. I'd have to be dead not to see that." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't exactly go out of your way to give me the time of day, either."

"Such base thoughts were against the Jedi Code and everything that I was taught." And you flagrantly broke those unwritten rules last night, hypocrite, she told herself. Bastila turned a chagrined look at him. "Any feelings I had for you, I blamed on the bond I had with Revan. I felt her attraction to you quite clearly."

"You also acted like you thought Jedi were better than those of us with all the Force Sensitivity of a permacrete block," Carth added dryly. "I figured you wouldn't be interested in someone who couldn't share emotions and thoughts with you."

Bastila felt her cheeks turn red. "Carth, I must confess I have never shared that with anyone."

"What, never?"

His incredulity made her blush even hotter. "Not all of us had the depth of experience you did."

"You mean you didn't even have anyone to, uh, experiment with? Not one cute Jedi caught your eye?"

"Yes, I... had a few... encounters with others, but that was all on a physical level," Bastila said haltingly. He had been honest with her; her honor demanded that she do the same. The lovemaking they had shared in only the past day made her early teenage fumblings look like the play of children.

Carth blew out a relieved sigh. "Good--at least you weren't a complete virgin when Malak--uh, nevermind." He winced.

Bastila hid her disquiet at the mention of Malak's name with practised ease. It was her turn to say dryly, "I may not have given it a grand going-away celebration, but I did indeed lose it years ago." She was rather proud that her voice was steady.

He gave her a chagrined smile. "What about with Revan?" Carth made a vague wave at his forehead. "You've got the bond and all..."

"It is no longer as intense as it was in the beginning. Now I only receive vague impressions of her emotions." Bastila stared down at her caffa. "Perhaps later... but I doubt Revan would wish to exclude you simply to share my thoughts and feelings."

"I admit I'd be pretty jealous, but that's no reason for you to hold yourself back," Carth said, his expression sober and serious. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Bastila--don't let it get away."

"I... I will consider it, if Revan agrees." Bastila was touched by his generosity. It was not an experience he could share in, and yet he still urged her to it. "However, neither of us would wish to hurt you in any way."

"Anyway, to get back to the original subject, I thought my age didn't help, either--I mean, I'm almost old enough to be your father." Carth gave her a worried look. "Does... does that bother you?"

Her cheeks felt hot. "No... not at all." She glanced at him. "Is it true what Revan said? That you... fantasized about me?"

It was the soldier's turn to blush. "Uh... yeah. I'm still a man with needs, just like every other guy in the galaxy. My imagination went into overdrive after I met Revan--after four years without love, I finally met a woman that interested me." He huffed a laugh. "Turned out I wasn't dead below the neck after all."

"It feels... rather odd to know that I was the subject of such thoughts."

Carth shot her a wary look. "Are you disgusted that I, uh... thought about you that way?"

"I can hardly control your thoughts, Carth." Bastila shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I'm rather flattered, actually. I would feel differently if a man like that disgusting slug of a hunter we met on Tatooine said that. But not you."

"That's a relief... I was afraid you'd skewer me with your lightsaber one of these nights." Carth grinned at her.

"That would be a terrible waste." Bastila grinned back, surprising him.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you smile like that. You look gorgeous when your face lights up."

After he had made love to her until she was sore, there was no reason why she should suddenly feel shy now... yet she was at hearing his compliment. She leaned over, glad that there was no partition separating their seats, and kissed him on the cheek.

Carth touched the spot on his face with wonder in his eyes. "What was that for?"

"For making me feel beautiful."

The sudden squawk of Traffic Control's incoming message made them both jump. Bastila suppressed a sigh as the intimate moment was ruined. Carth gave her an apologetic smile before speaking to the controllers. She finished her breakfast, feeling the engines beneath her feet humming. With Carth's usual skill, the ship lifted off so smoothly her caffa was undisturbed, and soon they left the drab planet's spaceport behind.

She took the opportunity to return their empty plates and mugs to the galley. Revan was doing something mysterious with packages in the food container, so Bastila decided not to disturb her.

She sat back down in her seat. "Did... did your wife know about your... ah, reputation?" Bastila asked as they entered hyperspace.

Carth snorted. "She sure did--her boyfriend at the time hated my guts." He frowned. "I can't even remember his name now--or why he hated me."

"I am surprised she married you."

"Me, too!" Carth laughed. Bastila was struck by how handsome he looked when he smiled. "That guy'd filled her ears with stories--most of them were true, I'm afraid. Took a long time for me to show her she wasn't just a girl I'd use and then throw away."

Bastila tensed as she stared at the readouts, though she did not really see any of the data they measured. "Are you using me, then?"

"Hell, no!" Carth swiveled his chair and leaned across the small space separating them, clamping his hands on her chair's armrests and turning her so that she faced him. "Bastila, look at me."

She looked down into the deep depths of his eyes. In a low, intense voice, Carth said, "Listen to me, Bastila. I left that part of me behind when I got married, and I don't intend to start back up again now. Even back when I was just a young horny kid, I never played with a woman's feelings that way."

"Never?" Bastila raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Hey, I may have tried to sleep with as many women as I could, but that doesn't mean I promised them anything I couldn't give." Carth reached up and caressed her cheek.

"I know you are attracted to me--you said as much yesterday, but... do you truly care for me?" Bastila forced herself to go on, "Or is it simply lust?"

"If it were just lust, Revan is all that I need to take care of that," Carth said, shaking his head. "Like I said yesterday, I really do care about you, you know. I'm not a man who'd take advantage of any woman, much less one I admire and respect."

Bastila could not help but smile as she remembered their heated arguments. "You hid it well."

Carth looked chagrined. "Yeah, well, it was hard for me to take orders from someone my son's age. That haughty attitude yours drove me crazy. I didn't think of you as anything more but a proper young Jedi who followed the Jedi Code to the letter--until much later."

Intense sexual heat flashed like lightning between them.

The soldier's lips were sensual and full, emphasized by the stubble that surrounded them, Bastila suddenly noticed. That mouth had kissed her body in ways and places no man had ever done.

She drew away when his fingers touched her mouth, his callused thumb rubbing along her lips. Carth took the hint and backed off, leaning back in his chair. Bastila was able to breathe more easily when she was no longer so close to him. He seemed to realize she needed more room--and more time--to adjust to her new situation. The heat that he exuded was tamped back down, though she was fully aware it was still there, simmering.

"Speaking of your son, how is Dustil?" Bastila asked, trying to turn the conversation onto a more neutral topic.

"He's working with the terraforming teams on Telos," Carth said as he tapped keys at his console.

"Did he not wish to accompany you?"

Carth shook his head. "He did but the terraforming process has reached a critical point--he didn't want to risk the project failing if he weren't there to keep an eye on things. If they make any mistakes now, it could set back the restoration by several years."

He shot her a sidelong glance. "I hate to say it, but I'm glad he decided not to go. His presence would've been an added complication in an already complicated situation."

Bastila suspected Carth's son would have put a damper on any such proposal as they had extended yesterday.

"I didn't want to risk him, in any case."

She shook herself from her thoughts and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Not many people outside of our crew know he's a Force Sensitive, so no one's actively hunting him like they did with you." Carth blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "We're both hoping his relative anonymity will protect him."

"Do you not wish him to develop his powers?"

"I'm not sure that I do. No offense, but they didn't do the rest of the Jedi much good." Carth shrugged, but his nonchalance did not fool Bastila. This was a very serious matter to him. "Anyway, he's a grown man--it's his choice, not mine. I'll support whatever he decides."

"Are we returning to Citadel Station?" Bastila asked as she returned her gaze to the viewport.

She was not sure she wanted to return so soon, back where people would expect things of her--where she would have to re-don her armor of Jedi calm and serenity. She would much rather stay with these two friends, who knew her and loved her even after they had seen her true self.

"No--I told you I asked for an extended leave from my duties, and I haven't even used up a quarter of it yet," Carth replied. "It would be best if you disappeared for a while--the bounty hunters who almost got you will think we stole their prize and turned it over to another buyer."

"What happened to them? How is it that they did not recognize you?" Bastila asked as she tried to go over her fragmented memories of the previous day's hectic fight.

"No, we had disguises on--well, half on because we didn't want to take too long if you were in mortal danger. We'll show you later. Anyway, don't worry about them." His deep brown eyes seemed seemed to burn with secret knowledge. "It's just gonna be me... you... and Revan for the next six months."

Bastila's mouth went dry. She was going to experience six more months of pleasures beyond her wildest dreams. His dark gaze seemed to promise to show her every decadent and depraved act she had ever heard of--and no doubt some she had not.