He heard his breath mingling with hers. His eyes slowly shifted from the windows to the presence that had joined him.

Rey knelt on the ground facing the opposite direction. She quickly rose to her feet, swiveling around. Their eyes met.

Kylo beheld her lovely complexion, her eyes swirling with unnamed emotions.

Rey finally spoke. "I thought that after Snoke's death, we would no longer connect."

"Evidently not," Kylo growled. He hadn't meant to become incensed. He really hadn't, but when her beautiful face was peering at him from across an unreachable distance, he couldn't help it. His fingers curled into a fist.

Rey's eyebrows drew together. It was true that they had not parted on good terms, but he had never been overly harsh in their private talks together. Fearing the worst, she asked, "Ben, what is wrong?"

"Don't play dumb! I offered you everything, and you spurned me," he snarled.

Of course, Rey realized, his pride was offended, but that wasn't fair. "Ben, I made you the same offer," she uttered gently.

He rolled his eyes, deciding that he would have to spell it out. He was unused to explaining himself, and he wouldn't admit it, but he wasn't very good at it. "No, you offered me a place with the rebels. I didn't offer you a place with the First Order; I offered you a place with me."

As his words sunk in, Rey's eyes became wet. She bowed her head, folding in on herself. After several moments, she met his eyes, her own reddened. "You wanted to let everything die. How could I allow that to happen?" she said quietly. "And anyway, aren't you still with the First Order now?"

His expression closed off, and he was quiet for a long moment before he spoke. "If I had you beside me, I would have left. Rey, your fear holds you back, but all across history, the bravest, most controversial things we do and create are the most fruitful."

Her voice became very small. "Leaving behind everyone I love to be with you—that price is just too great."

At this, Kylo's eyes skipped across her features, assessing. Loose curls framed her face and rested sweetly on her glistening brow. He suddenly noticed the dark circles rimming her eyes and her otherwise bedraggled appearance.

He quietly released a held breath. "You haven't slept. Why?"

Rey huffed and pushed her hair away from her face. "Because we are at war."

"No, no, that isn't why," he realized. "Tell me the truth," he demanded.

"What?" Rey narrowed her eyes in irritation.

"It's because you're lonely. You're surrounded by more people than you ever have been, and you're still lonely."

Rey's eyes widened, and she took a step backwards. How was it that when he spoke, it was as though he knew everything about her? It had become difficult for her to breathe.

"What good are the ones you love if they leave you aching to be understood?"

Navigating the world of the First order had taught Kylo Ren one thing that was essential for his survival: keep the visage of ruthlessness and dominance at all costs. But with Rey, he had no restraint. Against all of his greater instincts, Kylo did something he swore he would never do: he asked again.

"Come to me," he pleaded.

How many times had he asked now? His pride was like a support beam that had crumpled under the weight of her rejections.

He took a step toward her. Before she could respond, he intoned, "I am the supreme leader now. You would not have to do anything you did not want to do, and you could help me shape the galaxy to your ideals. Our bond shows us that the will of the force is for us not to be parted any longer!"

His slew of words was like slap. It took a moment for her to cry, "Snoke was responsible for the bonding; not the will of the force!"

Kylo slashed his hand through the air in dismissal. "When I learned of you, a female force-user in my age range, you were a ... curiosity." He admitted sharply.

Rey's face and neck became hot, believing that she might know what he meant.

"When you pushed into my mind, everything changed. You were not simply a second-rate force user. You were my equal, which the force had purposefully delivered to me." Kylo approached her. The warmth radiating from his near, towering body and his breath made her feel both stimulated and warmly sedate. He whispered into her ear. "You long for someone to fill your aching loneliness."

She couldn't hide the fact that his nearness affected her, his gentle, deep words resonating through her.

"But there is no one for you," Kylo murmured suddenly, cruelly twisting her heart. "No man can compete with your wield of the force; no man knows your most secret desires. What man could accept that your destiny is not decided by you but by the force alone? I am the only man who could ever truly understand you."

Rey closed her eyes in pain and conflict against the reason in his words. When she opened her eyes, her gaze searched his face.

"You feel it too. You are not so innocent that you thought of me only as someone to be saved and forgot that I am a man." He wanted her to admit it. No more toying with words. He wanted to hear her say that she knew how he meant for her to be with him.

Rey had not forgotten that Kylo was male. She had tried to forget, but it wasn't the same as truly being blind to his magnetism.

"You long for guidance and, again, we are matched as my experience is greater than yours."

At his reference to experience, heat roared to life at Rey's cheeks and neck. It was enough to break the spell. He disappeared from her view, leaving her to gasp in frenzied confliction. She had stayed far too long, long enough for her to question the resolve in her heart.