The young Jedi Sentinel felt himself blushing even more as he felt her draw closer to him - though he was unable to answer how he slept.  Indeed, he was fairly sure she knew how well, but it still did not allow him to answer her vocally.  He felt shy for reasons he could not completely explain, and far hotter than he could ever recall being.  It was as if he was on fire, but it was not a searing heat which was unpleasant.  Rather, this fire felt so perfectly divine, and in the Force it felt...powerful.  He actually gulped hard as he continued to gaze into her perfectly divine blue eyes, but still no words formed even as her lips came closer to his own...much closer...so close...not touching, but the illusion of doing so there all the same.  The warmth of her was like his own, and her heart was racing as wildly as his was.  Without even realizing it - he found himself massaging Alethea's waistline intimately just about the time she was apologizing.<br/><br/>Yet, what was she apologizing for?  Why had said she was sorry?<br/><br/>Of course!  She felt like she was being invasive...perhaps too bold, but Thal-ion enjoyed her closeness.  He even wanted more of it if possible.  Had she really been about to kiss him?  The curiosity of such a thing hit him hard, and he found that if he was to do such a thing...he could think of absolutely no other woman he would rather do so with.  The desire to kiss a woman had never once crossed his mind, but with her lips so close to his own - the desire was now there in full force.<br/><br/>And, the Force hummed around them.<br/><br/>Thal-ion smiled reassuringly at his companion as he massaged her waist without yet fully realizing what he was doing.  He would not push her away...indeed, such a thing was beyond him.  He felt as if he truly belonged with her in this moment in time...with her like this.  Never mind the fact that they had just been through two grueling duels.  Never mind that they were on their way to Tatooine with legendary figures from their history.  None of that mattered one wit to the young Jedi Sentinel.  What mattered was her...only her, and in that moment - he reached the last little space between them, and softly brushed his own lips against her own.  It was a feather soft kiss...so tender and slow...just a kiss...nothing more, but the kiss lingered on...  One second...three....five......ten.....twenty seconds, and still the kiss continued...slow...sensual....soft...his other hand slipping behind her hair to massage her neck ever so gently.  In it all, his heart raced, his soul called out to her own, and he felt more drawn to her than he had ever dared imagine possible.<br/><br/>And, the Force hummed around them more.<br/><br/>When the kiss ended...it was with him nearly breathless with wonders and delights he had never before dared to imagine or dream of.  He actually bowed his head with eyes closed...unshed tears there, and he reached out this time consciously for Alethea's soul...reached out with his own and caressed it.  Never had he felt so complete as he did in that perfect moment in time...when all time seemed to freeze in place.  There was no ship carrying them across the stars.  There was no waiting Dark Lord of the Sith trying to manipulate the Republic, and slaughter the Jedi.  There was no Grand Master Yoda for them to talk to.  No Obi-wan or Qui-gon.  No Queen Amidala trying to free her world from the Trade Federation.  Nothing except each other...just that.  He belonged to her, and this realization he accepted without reservation.  Ever he caressed her soul with his own through their bond in the Force, and when his eyes opened...it was to gaze back into her own with more warmth and desire than he had ever believed possible in his life.<br/><br/>And, the Force hummed all the stronger around them.