Games
by Cheree Cargill
art by Laura Sherman
PART 2
Leia's shields went up immediately as Han swung his gaze to his new target. "Say, there'san idea!"
"I have no interest in you, Captain," the princess informed him. "Other than your piloting skills, that is."
"Your Worship! You wound me to the quick!" he answered. "Do you mean to tell me that you've never had designs on my fabulously sexy body?"
"None whatsoever." Leia was tiring quickly of this topic of conversation.
But Han was just getting warmed up. "That surprises me! Most women have a tough time keeping their hands off me!"
"Do they have weapons in their hands at the time?" Leia inquired coolly, her eyes narrowing.
Nola laughed out loud. "Oooh, she gets ten points for that one, Han!"
"No female teaming, Nola," he scolded. "Come on now, Your Royalness. Do you mean you can actually say that you've never fantasized about getting me into bed?"
She simmered for a moment, unable to find a suitably scathing reply. "Captain," she finally responded, "I have more interest in my droid than I have in you."
This caused Han to perk up in delight. "Why, Your Worship! You never mentioned you were into thatsort of thing!"
She could only shake her head. "What a deluded, nerf-brained bloodslug you are!"
"Why? What's the matter? Don't you like guys, Your Highnessness?"
"I like guys just fine, Captain Solo. I just don't like you."
Luke Skywalker was feeling the tension building between the two. "Come on, Han. Lay off already."
"No," Solo insisted stubbornly, his smile becoming a bit feral as he locked gazes with Leia. "I'm really curious. Surely you must have an interest in someone,Your Worship."
"I don't think that's any of your business, Captain Solo," the princess answered.
"Who is it? Wedge? General Rieeken maybe? Don't tell me it's ol' Dodonna! Oh, no, I get it. There really isn'tanyone because we're all so far beneath you." Han crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, satisfied. "The Princess of Alderaan may deign to mingle with the commoners at meals, but not on truly--uh, how shall I say?-- socialoccasions."
Leia stared at him for a minute then shook her head sadly. "You know so little about me, Captain. You think because I'm not attracted to youthat I must live a very lonely and solitary life."
"Oh, is that so? I'll bet there's not one guy you can name that you'd get physical with."
Leia paused, then slipped her hand around Skywalker's arm and looked adoringly up at him. "Oh, I don't know about that. I happen to think Commander Skywalker here is extremely attractive."
Luke's startled eyes widened but he didn't pull away. Han's grin faded as he glanced uncertainly back and forth at the pair. "Come on now," he finally said. "You've hardly spoken to him since the award ceremony back on Yavin."
"That doesn't mean anything," Leia shrugged. "Captain Solo, why do you think that I'm some sort of virginal innocent? The Court on Alderaan was an extremely sophisticated place and I was not kept in seclusion there."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that your ideas about me are wrong. I am not opposed to taking a lover into my bed. But I do so with discretion. The man has to be someone I enjoy being with. That is an honor you will never have." Han had shut up but she decided to twist the knife a little further. Turning to look up at Skywalker again, she purred seductively, "I've really had a great time this evening, Luke. I'd like to get to know you better. Would you be interested in coming by my quarters a little later? We could have a drink and, um, continue our conversation in private."
"Sure. Uh, do you mind if I clean up a bit? I haven't been off duty long."
"By all means. It's cabin D-27. I'll see you at, oh, nineteen-thirty? Good, I'll be waiting for you." She looked at him meaningfully. "Don't be late." She rose, trailing her fingers along his arm. "Thanks for letting me join you tonight, Nola. Captain Solo." She nodded in dismissal at him, smiling a bit smugly as she turned and strolled from the room.
She hadn't gone more than a few steps down the corridor when she heard, "Princess!" and turned to see Han Solo striding briskly toward her. Luke and Nola stood in the doorway to the mess hall, both looking dumbfounded.
Han rapidly caught up with her. "What do you think you were doing in there?" he demanded in a low voice.
"I don't know what you mean," she responded, regally.
"You know exactly what I mean," he answered. "That performance. That was the biggest load of bantha crap I've ever heard. Taking lovers to your bed whenever you wanted."
She clenched her teeth to maintain her control. "I don't see how any of this concerns you, Captain Solo. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment to get ready for." She turned away.
Quickly, he reached out and grasped her upper arm. "Leia, don't dothis," he pleaded, a note of desperation in his voice.
So startled was she by his actions that she never noticed he'd addressed her by her first name. Instead, she jerked her arm away and snapped, "Let go of me! You're not my Kinsman!"
Han flinched in surprise and caught his breath. Then his brows lowered and he responded angrily, "No. No, I'm not. If I wereyour Kinsman, you'd behave properly."
"Oh? And how is that? As a Corellian clanswoman or an Alderaani noble? You forget yourself, Captain Solo. As you pointed out, I am Princess of Alderaan and you have no right to govern my actions or my morals."
"Then govern them as an Alliance officer," he growled.
For the first time, Leia noticed that they had attracted quite an audience of stunned crew personnel. But she couldn't back down now. "You're not a member of the Alliance," she reminded him coldly. "You have no right to criticize my behavior there either."
"Then bed the whole goddamned Alliance for all I care!" he exploded. Spinning on his heel, he stalked off down the corridor, people hastily getting out of his way.
Leia pounded off in the opposite direction, toward her quarters.
Force, what a stupid thing to do!she chided herself. For Goddess' sake, she'd just invited a man to her room for an implied sexual encounter! All to show up a loudmouthed, micro-brained spacer she didn't care about anyway! And then had a fight with him over it in front of the whole crew! Well, enough of the crew, anyway. Now Luke was going to appear at her door expecting a tumble and, if she didn't follow through, he was sure to go right back to the mess hall and broadcast the fact to everyone within hearing range. She'd be the laughing stock of the Alliance fleet and possibly the Galaxy, if word leaked out, which it was sure to do. Han Solo would make sure of that!Her standing as an Alliance leader would be absolutely ruined, her effectiveness at an end.
Well, there was nothing for it but to give Luke Skywalker what he was expecting. A single sexual rendezvous meant nothing and she could shrug that off in the long run. If anything, it might enhance her reputation as a sophisticated, no-nonsense leader and get rid of that stupid Virgin Princess aura she'd somehow picked up. She'd just make sure that he was assigned far away where she'd never have to deal with him again. Hoth. Yes, the new base on Hoth would be ideal.
Leia began taking the pins out of her hair as she hurried back to her quarters, eliciting curious looks from people in the corridors, both because of the princess' determined expression and because they had never seen her with her hair down before. She ignored them; she was of a mind to go through with this because she had initiated it and wanted to get it over with.
She changed out of her uniform and into her silky dressing gown and began brushing her long tresses, but she couldn't get Han Solo out of her mind. How darehe behave like he owned her! He was acting, as she'd said, like a Corelli clansman with his subordinate female relatives. On some parts of Corell, underage females were viewed as the property of the highest ranking male, to be used or sold as chattel. She hadn't meant to strike him verbally like that; it had just popped out, but she was glad now that she had. It had stopped him in his tracks. She had put up with him as long as she intended to, had put up with his infuriating grin, his sarcasm, and the way his eyes changed color from green to gold sometimes when the light hit them just right, the way her heart leaped when she heard his voice over the intercom--
Roughly she shook her head. What was she doing? She couldn't stand Solo! He was impertinent, obnoxious, everything she hated. He had proven it again tonight in the mess hall. And he obviously loathed her, too, or he wouldn't go out of his way to be so rude to her. He showed her no respect, either for her rank or her authority. She wished she could ship him off to Hoth too.
To calm herself down, she poured a glass of wine, drank it too quickly, then poured herself another. She began to feel better and, using her ingrained discipline, dismissed Solo from her thoughts and began to prepare for the encounter ahead.
She was still brushing her hair when the door chime sounded. Her heart pounding, she put away her brush and opened the door to find Luke standing there. He was dressed in a clean uniform and suddenly seemed taller and more muscular than she remembered him. It struck her that he didn't look so young and innocent anymore, but more like the battle-tested pilot he was. And there was a decided air of sexual hunger about him that caused her to wonder suddenly what she had gotten herself into.
Involuntarily, she moved back as he stepped into the room and the door slid closed behind him.
Then he had taken her in his arms and was kissing her, not brutally, but thoroughly and longingly. His lips were soft and insistent on hers, his arms about her firmly but not crushingly, more as if he couldn't believe she was real and was determined to hold on to her reality. It went on for what seemed like a very long time, to the point where she began to melt against him and respond. She let her lips part against his and her tongue moved to explore his mouth.
Abruptly, he broke the kiss and released her.
She blinked in confusion as she looked up at him. The hardened pilot had been replaced by the nice young man she had first encountered and he was smiling gently and sadly at her. "Don't get carried away, Your Highness. I just did that so I could say I'd kissed the princess," he explained softly. "I'm sorry if I startled you." He ducked his head and then looked back at her. "You don't have to worry. Nothing is going to happen here. And I won't say anything about it, either."
"What?" she finally managed to say.
"You don't want me. I know that. You're in love with Han."
"Han?" she echoed, still fumbling to orient herself. "Are you serious? You've seen how he--"
"Your Highness, what I've seen is how you look at him," Luke answered. "I know you did this to make him jealous. And I went along with it because he was being a jerk tonight."
"No--" she protested.
"Yes," he nodded, cutting her off. "I'm not stupid, Princess. You're in love with him. And, moreover, he's in love with you.He should be here instead of me. Call him. He'll come. Don't throw away something special. You're a very beautiful and desirable woman. I wish you didfeel that way about me but I know it's not true. Han's a lucky man. I envy him that." The young pilot smiled and bent to softly place a lingering kiss on her cheek, then stepped back, the door sliding open behind him. "Good night, Your Highness." Then he was gone.
Leia stood silently for a moment, her mind whirling as it readjusted to the sudden turn of events. Then it sank in what Luke had said. Call him. He'll come.For an instant, wild hope flared of its own accord, making her breath catch, then she shook her head in denial. No, he wouldn't. He was too proud, too stubborn. If he came, it would be to taunt her. She couldn't bear that, couldn't face the humiliation of it. She was shamed enough as it was. She'd made a fool of herself in front of the crew and in front of Han. Love her? Never in a million years. That was impossible. He'd made that abundantly clear.
Another woman would have leapt at the chance of love. Another woman would have railed bitterly at the loss of it. Leia was not that woman. She had borne too many losses already and was practiced at shouldering the burden of them. With steel determination, she crushed down the heartache and went to bed. But she kept seeing the haunted look in Han's eyes just before she slapped him down in the corridor, the look of a man about to lose the one thing he loved more than life itself. She denied it with all her soul but the look of fear stayed with her and finally the tears squeezed out of her burning eyes.
It took her a long time to fall asleep.
I n the pilots' lounge, Han Solo sat with a cup of kleven before him that had long ago gone cold, watching the chron on the wall click off the minutes. His insides felt as stone-cold as the kleven. He had walked the corridors of the ship for over an hour before he finally gave up and came back to the lounge to wait. For what, he didn't know but it was deserted now and the solitude made it seem the place to be.
He had seen Luke sauntering down the corridor half an hour before, coming from the direction of Leia's quarters. The other pilot had smiled at him and jerked his thumb jauntily in the direction he'd come. Did that mean he'd been with Leia and left her already? Han knew he didn't have any right to feel possessive of the princess. She'd made it perfectly clear that he had no claim on her. Yet the thought of another man with her twisted his guts so tightly that he had to grit his teeth to stand it.
On the other hand, maybe Luke hadn't been with her at all. Something in Han's soul couldn't believe that she would actually go through with her threat. He'd caught her watching him too many times, a little smile on her lips, her expression unknowingly affectionate. It wasn't just an outsized male ego that made Han believe she wanted him. Maybe that's what Luke's gesture had meant to say. Maybe he was telling Han to get up and go to her. That the princess needed him and was waiting for him.
But why didn't she call him if that was so? Why didn't she let him know?
Han took a sip of the cold kleven, not even tasting the bitter liquid as it slid down his tight throat. How many times in his dreams had he kissed her lips and breasts, loved her, held her, protected her? How many times had he ached when she'd put herself in the path of danger and then marveled at her courage and resourcefulness? A princess and a guy like him... It was impossible. She was right. She could have any man she wanted and he couldn't say a word about it.
He buried his face in his hands for a moment, then looked back to the chron. The display clicked past another minute.
Miserably, he shoved himself away from the table and left the lounge. For a moment he paused in the corridor outside, his feet turning of their own accord in the direction of Leia's cabin. With a force that surprised him, his heart urged him to go in that direction, to run to her, to pull her into his arms and never let her go again.
Almost involuntarily, he took a step, then another.
Then, clenching his fists, Han swung around and strode quickly in the opposite direction, back toward the docking bays and his solitary quarters on the Millenium Falcon.In the early hours of the morning, he finally put a pillow over his head and managed to block out the name pounding through his brain.
...leia...leia...leia...
back to Kiss contents
PART 1