I could feel Anakin's joy from the outer edge of the island. Qui-Gon was smiling against my forehead, his arms around me, holding me close. "Amidala just may be a match for Master Yoda when it comes to manipulating the Force."

He chuckled into my hair. //And she's only fourteen. Think what she'll be able to accomplish as an adult. The galaxy and our lives will be very interesting in the next few years.//

//As if it's not now?// I couldn't help the incredulity in my thought.

His soft lips brushed against the skin at my temple, sending a tremor through my whole body. //Interesting is not the word I would have used about what we are doing. Fascinating ...// He moved down my face with each word. //Delightful ...// He ghosted over my tilted chin and down over the tender skin of my throat. //Captivating ...// His warm tongue lapped at the hollow in the base of my throat and I began to vibrate in his arms. //Enticing ...//

I could hear myself gasping for breath in the still air of the glade. "How about suffocating?"

His quiet laugh resonated through my skin. //Very well, Obi-Wan. Perhaps we should adjourn to the hot springs so you can relax after your long journey.//

I matched his laugh with my own. "And I can tell you how Yoda and I enacted our little play for the benefit of any unseen watchers."

He guided me into the cottage, taking my cloak from me with sure hands. //Were there watchers?//

Sighing, I undid my utility belt and let it drop on the table. "I think so. There were two listening devices in the Council chamber. I could sense them like a ... a metallic pulsing in the Force." I rolled my arms to relieve the aches of traveling. Then continued, remembering my surprise in the Meditation Gardens when I'd talked to the diminutive master. "But Yoda couldn't."

Qui-Gon rubbed my shoulders tenderly. //Master Yoda is attuned to the natural aspects of the Force. He has never quite come to terms with the mechanical universe.// He pulled me back against his solid chest and wrapped his strong arms around me. //And your connection to the Force has grown since our joining in the Chapel.//

"Our mental joining only, Master." Pressing back against him with a little wriggle, I reminded him that we had not yet completed our physical bond.

//I am no longer your master, Obi-Wan. And I have not forgotten a thing.// He tickled my neck with his beard while kissing the stub of my former braid.

Turning in his arms, I looked up into the glowing face, so tension free after too many years. "You will always be my master, Qui-Gon. The master of my heart." I reached up and pulled his face down to my lips. I would never get enough of his taste. Not if I lived to be as old as Yoda. "The master of my soul." Tracing his lips with my tongue, I tasted the spices from his lunch. Dipping inside his heated mouth, I imbibed the rare essence that was so much a part of him that I'd be able to tell him from any other in the galaxy.

//The master of my body.// I completed the thought while entwining my tongue with his in a slippery duel that brought only pleasure to us both. Long moments were spent in lazy fulfillment of several of the fantasies I'd dreamed while returning to Naboo. None of them came close to the passionate reality of his hands on my back, his breath mingling with mine and the soft curtain of silken hair that flowed over my face and neck.

//Ah, but my fantasies go back several years, my Padawan.// He was tasting me again with his soft lips and agile tongue. Each rasping lick sent a shiver through me until it felt like my skin was in one continuous ripple. Pushing my tunic away from one shoulder with his bearded chin exposed a new erogenous zone for his taking.

"Y-y-years, Master?" I could feel my legs getting shaky and I clung to the sturdy material at his waist to keep myself upright.

//Why do you think I practiced my meditation so frequently, beloved? The other Masters were most impressed at my fervor. It was the only thing that kept me from exposing my feelings to you prematurely.// He had pulled away just a little so he could look at me.

"Exposing sounds good." I let go my grip and began to tug loose the simple sash that encircled him. "Fervor sounds even better."

I don't know if he used the Force or not but he had me completely undressed before I'd managed to get his tunic off. His smile lit the room at my exasperated thought. //Practice makes perfect, uh?//

//I've been practicing that in my sleep, beloved. Every time I dreamed of you, it always began the same. Somehow, our clothing always melted away like magic.// His callused fingers skimmed over my skin, raising goose bumps in their wake. But when he followed them with his tongue, I just held on and shivered at the sliding wet trail down to my right nipple.

Pulses of energy traveled straight from the hardened peak to my groin and I felt myself grow and lengthen. //Master. Please.//

Our bond quivered with amusement and he helped me remove the rest of his clothing, exposing both of us to the cooling draft from the open door. //We have time, beloved. For everything.// His gaze alone could ignite a torch and I felt like dry kindling. //But for now, perhaps ... a bath?//

A bath.

Naked, wet Qui-Gon.

"What a good idea, Master. Lead the way." I really hoped I wasn't leering but the very thought of following that lean muscular figure with the, oh ... so ... enticing ass, was playing havoc with my concentration.

He knew exactly what I was thinking and he leaned in, kissing me with a barely restrained passion that disoriented me completely. I came back to myself to find him disappearing through the door at the back of the long main room. And I was right, the long lean muscles that flowed down his back to his feet were definitely worth following.

Well, that and the mischievous look over his shoulder combined with the ghostly feel of a Force induced caress to my hardening cock. I followed him with a growing need to touch him ... everywhere. When I entered the bath chamber, my eyes widened at the rough stone walls and sunken pit of steaming water. But mostly I stared up into the gaping hole in the roof.

//Taking a hot bath in the rain takes on new meaning, Obi-Wan.// Qui-Gon smiled at me from the center of the pool, holding out a hand to welcome me in. //There is a modern unit behind that door with a fresher and shower but it seems the height of luxury to sit for long moments in the waters of these hot springs.//

"Wow, it's really hot." I sat on the side and dipped my legs in, finding a ledge about a foot below the surface.

//Body temperature only, beloved. Not too hot, surely?// He tugged on my hands and I quickly joined him in the middle of the pool. His lips covered mine again and I wondered why the water did not boil when he touched it.

//Qui-Gon!// My thoughts were hazy and my body was on fire with the wanting. All I really wanted was for him to take me right now. Nothing else mattered. Just our joining.

//Sh-sh-sh, beloved. We will join soon. But first you need to shed the memories of your trip.// He sprinkled kisses over my face, down my throat and over my shoulders. Each one was a starburst of sensation that sent tingles all over my body.

It was too much trouble to stay upright and when my legs went boneless and I submerged into the hot depths of the pool, he followed me down. His lips on mine gave me all the air I needed to breathe, his soul entwined with mine was all I needed to exist. Floating to the surface of the clear water, enfolded by Qui-Gon's arms and wrapped in his love, I felt the last remaining grief drain away.

//Beloved.// Qui-Gon read my memory of watching his shape burn in the cremation chamber and gently admonished me. //Let it go. Let the reality of now erase the memory of then.// A picture grew in my mind of ocean waves curling up onto a golden shore and retreating, leaving the sand smooth and untroubled by any stray footprints.

I opened my eyes and feasted on the reality of the face above me. Eyes the color of the sea at dawn, lips the rosy red of one of the flying fish of the planet of Anemone, hair fanned out over his broad shoulders like a waterfall of darkened silk. //Beautiful.//

His smile was lazy, his eyes crinkling in amusement. //Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you. I think I have never seen anyone more vibrant and sensuous in all my years.//

//I have. Did you know that Naboo has legends of a merman god? You look just as I would imagine such a water deity. Powerful and commanding.// My hand gained weight when I raised it from the water which floated the rest of me in weightless splendor. But when I touched his cheek, I felt the old familiar feeling of wonder encompass me.

Shaking his head, he turned just enough to breathe across my palm in a silent kiss. //I am just a man, Obi-Wan. One who loves you more than life itself.//

//Just a man.// I echoed his words but couldn't find any of my own to show him what he meant to me. Inarticulate longing throbbed through our bond while I flung a hundred memory-images from our lives together at him to try and show him what I meant.

The sea-dark eyes widened and I felt a shift in the Force while his hands gripped my hips a little tighter. Suddenly, the water felt hotter against my skin and my hand fell heavily to lay cushioned on the liquid Force that surrounded me within and without. Bending over me, I felt his lips brush across my chest, leaving trails of cooler dampness behind. His tongue licked across my flesh like a gourmand tasting a new flavor.

But then he was nibbling on one of my nipples and I could feel the Force gathering tight and low within my groin. His teeth pulled gently at the hardening peak and I groaned as quietly as I could. I felt his desire to explore me vibrating through our link and I relaxed and let him have his way. I needed to learn him as a lover but for now, I was content to learn this new lesson without ... helping.

//That would be a change, my Obi-Wan.// His thought was tinged with humor but also a quiet sense of satisfaction at my acquiescence. I could feel his determination to map every inch of damp skin pour through me. I melted beneath his loving assault until I could feel no difference between my physical body and the water that cradled me.

Except where he touched me.

Each caress a reminder, that even water could burn if heated high enough. And my blood was simmering at a slow boil when his mouth finally closed about my shaft. Quivering, I kept my concentration on maintaining my equilibrium. I could not thrust further into his heat without destroying the balance that kept me floating on the blood-hot water.

//Another lesson, master?// I managed to mind whisper.

//Everything is a lesson, padawan. But this ...// He slowly engulfed me to the root and ever so gently slid back up. //... is a pleasure as well.//

Sensations flooded my pores, deluging me with impressions of taste and feel. I realized through a fog of desire that I was tasting myself on Qui-Gon's tongue through our link. Salty and slightly bitter, I was leaking fluid that he lapped up with delight. The rasp of his rough tongue across the suddenly too-thin skin of my cock was an exquisite torture.

The tingles were back but harder than before, flooding through my body towards my groin. Qui-Gon seemed to sense that my control was slipping and the suction increased until with a mind shout that Master Yoda probably heard on Coruscant, I burst forth in a spray of blood-hot seed. My involuntary thrust up would have sunk me but I was still connected to Qui-Gon and the Force and they kept me afloat.

He was still lazily mouthing over my abdomen when I stirred and reached for him. //I am here, beloved. I think we should leave the pool before you become water-logged.// He was smiling broadly when he let my hips sink while pulling my shoulders up and out of the pool. Water flowed down over my skin and I caught a glimpse of ...awe?

//You are the merman, Obi-Wan. Beautiful and bewitching. Come to seduce this old Jedi into your lair where you can work your wicked way with me.//

I closed on him, sliding my arms around his trim waist and kissing the small burn mark that was the only sign left of the light saber wound. //When I've rested, beloved, I will make you dissolve into the Force the way you just did for me. I promise.//

He drew me from the water with a deep laugh that almost sounded like his old self. We dried off with slow caresses and Qui-Gon led me through yet another door into a small bedroom whose only piece of furniture was a wide bed with cool green sheets. I was suddenly weary beyond belief and I let my lover tuck us both under the covers. Settling into my new favorite position, my head on his chest so I could hear his heartbeat, I fell asleep between one breath and the next.

*******

We slept the night through awakening at dawn. I retrieved our neglected dinner from the foot of the bridge and we feasted on the delicacies the cooks seemed to think would tempt my appetite. After all the energy we'd both expended, it could have been roots and berries and we'd have devoured it.

In between bites, I filled him in on the events of the last week. He questioned me closely about my impressions of those I had come into contact with both before and after the funeral. I'd finally let go of the horrible vision of his surrogate body burning in the red gold flames and could detail what had gone on around me. Even though I hadn't been concentrating, my subconscious self had listened for me and now I was able to retrieve the conversations of the others at the funeral.

He nodded at some of the comments from other Jedi but he seemed more interested in the others. Ex-chancellor Valorum, his administrative assistant Sei Taria and Senator Palpatine and their measured conversation about the turmoil in the Senate brought a tremor of disquiet to our bond. I looked at him quizzically.

//There is still a Sith Lord for us to consider, Obi-Wan. He may be hiding in plain sight.//

"Valorum or Palpatine?" I couldn't quite keep the disbelief from my voice. "When would they have the time to train or maintain their abilities?"

Just then, a major disturbance in the Force brought us both to our feet. Qui-Gon's golden aura intensified until he was blazing like the sun. I could feel him reach out into the pulsating energy that surrounded Naboo and follow the shaking back to its source.

//He's come.//

*************************
End of part four