Cinder-Effing-Rella

Chapter 7

The autumn breeze had a chill to it and Rey tugged the sleeves of her cream cardigan down glad she'd slipped it on over her thin floral summer dress. Kylo had hired a small cruiser for their boat trip on the Thames. Thanks to his father, he knew how to navigate on water as well as on land. After stopping on a whim for a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, they moored up at Greenwich. The park had started to fill up with people eager to make the most of a warm late September day. Kylo vetoed two potential picnic spots for being too crowded leaving Rey desperately hunting for a less populated area.

"How about here?" She pointed hopefully to a sunny patch away from other picnickers and the shade of the trees.

Since leaving the boat, Kylo had been glued to his phone screen. But he tore his gaze away from it long enough to critically survey their surroundings. Alfresco dining wasn't really his style, at least not from a picnic basket. However, Rey wanted to do it and found he couldn't refuse her. She took his lack of reply as a sign of rejection for the third spot she'd chosen. Letting out a puff of exasperation, she moved a little further up the grassy slope and began to unfurl the blanket.

"We're sitting here," she declared her steely glare daring him to argue. "I'm absolutely famished and you can't give your phone your undivided attention if you have to keep finding fault with my location spotting, can you?"

Her joy at Kylo taking the day off work to spend with her began to fade as he paid more attention to checking his messages than to her.

"Sorry," he muttered sheepishly slipping the device into his pocket.

His uncle had finally sent him a text message. He said if Ben called his mother, then they could talk. No amount of re-reading would make it say anything different, he knew that. He missed his mom but he wasn't ready to speak to her yet, why did his uncle have to be so stubborn? Tomorrow could well be the end of SkyTech and Luke Skywalker was once again willing to risk the future of the company for what he regarded as a higher principle. Kylo felt all his old anger and resentment resurfacing. If that's the way his uncle wanted to play it, so be it. Maybe he had made the right choice six years ago when he decided to throw his lot in with Snoke Industries.

Rey couldn't help sneaking glances at him as he lay sprawled out on the grass. She had never seen Kylo dressed so casually and it suited him. He wore a plain black t-shirt and matching jeans with a dark brown leather jacket. But she could see his mind was elsewhere and it pained her.

"You know you didn't have to be out here with me if you have important work to be getting on with." She tried not to sound hurt and failed. "We've only got today and tomorrow night together. I just wanted to… Oh, never mind, it doesn't matter."

A cloud drifted over the sun and it suddenly got colder. Rey began unpacking the contents of the basket, slamming down the plates with such force they might have shattered if they weren't made out of melamine. She took a deep breath to calm herself, knowing she had no right to be upset with him after all he'd done for her.

Kylo caught one of her hands in his and pulled it towards his lips. "Believe me," he implored giving her a smouldering glance, "there's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be right now."

She broke into a wide smile, her distress over his recent distracted behaviour forgotten.

The picnic, which the hotel had put together for them, didn't take long to devour. Kylo had a large appetite to match his frame and Rey always ate every meal as if it might be her last. Old habits she'd picked up in children's homes were hard to break. The other kids would steal her food if she took too long about it, and so she'd learned to eat fast. She sipped at her Champagne, though. Still unaccustomed to the finer things in life. As they glanced out on the city skyline, Kylo fumbled around in the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small red, leather-bound book. Rey's eyes widened in surprise to see it was a collection of Shakespeare's sonnets. He must have bought it at the gift shop when they'd taken a tour of the Globe Theatre. After watching a sword fighting display and listening to a romantic soliloquy from Romeo and Juliet, he'd obviously been moved to acquaint himself further with the works of the Bard.

Kylo cleared his throat as he fumbled through the pages with his large hands. "I, um, would like to read you something," he began falteringly, his cheeks taking on a pink tinge.

Rey nodded her heart fluttering in anticipation. His deep voice did things to her and she suddenly wished they weren't in such a public place.

Kylo found the page he'd marked with a turned down corner and started to read aloud…

"When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings."

He glanced up at her to find her brushing away a tear.

"That's so beautiful," Rey sniffed.

He could give her a hundred diamond necklaces and none of them would be as precious to her as the moment he'd just spent reciting that sonnet. Grateful and touched as she'd been by his expensive gift, the best things in life really were free as far as she was concerned. She leaned in to thank him by pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek. It soon escalated until they were rolling around on the picnic blanket, in danger of putting on a public display of their passion.

"I want you so bad," Kylo drawled in her ear.

Rey felt her arousal soaking through her underwear and making the tops of her thighs damp. "There must be a quiet spot around here somewhere," she gasped, desperate to have him inside her.

Their eyes scanned the landscape until they simultaneously spied a wooded area at the top of the hill. The crowds had started to thin as most of the lunchtime picnickers headed back to work or went to resume their sightseeing. It would be a risky venture, giving way to their passion in a public place, but lust made them reckless.

"Grab the blanket and leave the rest," Kylo commanded.

He tugged impatiently at her hand as the pair of them bounded up the hill towards the woodland. Fallen leaves dotted the ground as the lush greens of summer gave way to the melancholic golds and reds of autumn. The foliage mercifully remained thick enough to hide them from prying eyes. In the midst of fevered kisses to his face and neck, Rey tossed the blanket to the ground. Kylo pushed her up against a thick tree trunk and she could feel the rough bark grating her back through her thin clothing. With one hand, he trailed his fingers up the soft skin of her thighs and yanked down her soaked panties.

"Lie down on the blanket," she instructed him her eyes burning with desire.

He did as she asked unbuckling his belt and unzipping his jeans. His erection strained against his boxers as she knelt down to free him. She kicked off her underwear and straddled him, wasting no time in impaling herself on his hard cock. He let out a hiss of pleasure as her velvet heat encased him. The flared skirt of her dress covered them where they were joined, not that it would disguise the true nature of their activities should they be discovered. But neither of them cared.

"You feel so good inside me," Rey purred as she rode him.

"You're always so wet for me," Kylo gazed up at her in awe.

He wet his fingers and sought out her clit circling it in time with her hips.

"Oh," she gasped increasing her pace. "I'm going to come all over your magnificent cock."

Kylo held onto her waist and thrust his hips up to meet hers. Both of them were racing frantically towards their peak. She crested first and it didn't take long for him to follow. He mouthed at her tits through the thin fabric of her dress to muffle the aftershocks of his orgasm.

If the old man walking his Fox Terrier nearby saw or heard anything he shouldn't have, he gave no indication of it.

Rey watched the dog walker pass and collapsed into giggles against Kylo's chest. "That was so naughty but oh — so nice."

He wrapped his arms around her tenderly pressing his lips to her forehead. Something had changed in him. He wasn't sure what exactly, only that he felt different. Perhaps it was because with each day he spent with Rey, the innate loneliness he'd felt ever since childhood had slowly been ebbing away. She fitted with him so perfectly, as if she was the missing piece he'd been unwittingly searching for all his life.

For her part, Rey had never been as contented as when she was nestled in his embrace. It wasn't the sex, mind-blowing as it was. But rather, a sense of belonging. No one in her life, except Finn, had ever made her feel as if she mattered. Kylo treated her with respect. He didn't think less of her for her humble beginnings or for the choices she'd made to survive. Foolish as she knew it to be, to let herself get so attached to him, Rey couldn't help it. It broke her heart that he would soon be heading back to New York. He might as well live on another planet for all the opportunity she'd have of ever bumping into him again. But she knew it would do no good to dwell on it, especially if she wanted to enjoy the short time they had left together.

Kylo felt her shiver in his arms, putting it down to the cold, he got up and pulled her to her feet alongside him.

"We should head back to the boat," he said making sure his jeans were fastened.

He handed Rey the blanket so she could clean herself as best she could, promising her a long soak in a hot bath before he took her out for dinner. Kylo grabbed her discarded underwear and stuffed them in his pocket along with the book of sonnets. Somewhere along the way, he had fallen in love with her and it terrified him.


After dinner, Kylo and Rey took a walk together by the Thames. The stars were barely visible in the clear night sky because of the light pollution. But the moon shone brightly, its silver beams reflecting on the inky waters of the river below them. Kylo couldn't stop dwelling on his uncle's message. He wanted to heal the rift with his family, but he didn't know how to begin. After six years of estrangement from them, he worried they wouldn't want him back at all.

Earlier, while Rey had taken her bath, he'd typed his mother's number into his phone. He sat staring at the Call button for what seemed like an eternity. When it came to it, he couldn't go through with it. In the space of a week, his carefully constructed life had begun falling to pieces. His realisation about the depth of his feelings for Rey had shaken him to the core. If he confessed his love only for her to reject him - Kylo knew he wouldn't be able to handle it. And even if she did want to be with him, it might not work out. He had never been in love before or sustained a relationship for more than a couple of weeks. It would be much better for him, he resolved, if he concluded his business in the way he had originally intended. Snoke Industries would acquire SkyTech for a bargain price and he would take the company apart like the old man wanted. He had to let go of the past and his foolish dreams for the future. Six years ago, he had chosen a life in New York and it was almost time to get back to it.

"Is everything alright?" Rey inquired giving him a worried look. "You've gone awfully quiet."

In an attempt to disguise her inner turmoil over the way she felt about him, she'd ended up wittering on endlessly about the artsy food they'd been served at the restaurant. She feared she had bored him to death with her thoughts on the mint sorbet. Kylo moved in circles where a person needed four different forks to get through dinner. To her embarrassment, she couldn't tell a salad fork from a dessert fork. When she wasn't being wined and dined by a millionaire, Rey lived on pizza and barely used cutlery at all.

Kylo gazed into her eyes and tried to memorise every fleck of colour within her hazel orbs. His attention then turned to mapping the freckles across her nose. As they stood bathed in moonlight, he imagined kissing her as if they were in a romantic movie. What he would give to press his lips to hers like they had all the time in the world. "Let's go back to the hotel," he suggested his voice low and seductive. The days they had spent together would become a fond and precious memory for him. Something he could summon for comfort when the loneliness got too much to bear. He rested his head against hers as she nestled into his arms in the back of the limo. At that moment, he knew perfect contentment.

Once they arrived at the hotel, Kylo had a few messages from his New York office he needed to catch up on. He got ready for bed first so he could get the work out of the way while Rey used the bathroom. The prospect of what he was about to do to his family's business gave him no pleasure. He wanted to forget about it for a while and make some more memories with the woman he loved. It didn't take him long to answer his outstanding emails and he closed up his laptop and waited for Rey to reappear. He only meant to rest his eyes for a few seconds but ended up dozing off.

Rey called Finn from the bathroom in a state of desperation.

"Calm down, babe," he pleaded as she babbled on.

"I need you to come to the hotel tomorrow morning, I have to talk to you in person," she explained as clearly as she could in her emotional state.

"What's going on?" Finn asked his concern for her growing. "Is it that Kylo bloke? Has he upset you?"

She took a shuddering breath unable to stop her tears from falling. "It is about Kylo, but it's nothing bad… Well, it's not exactly good, either. I mean, you warned me about getting in too deep and I still couldn't help it. He is so sweet and sexy and I don't know what the hell to do. He's going back to New York soon and I can't bear the thought of losing him."

"Oh, Rey," Finn sighed wishing he could give her a big hug. "It's late, but I think you should come home right now or at least first thing in the morning. Don't stay that last night with him. You're gonna end up saying something you'll regret and he will break your heart."

"It's already breaking," she wept. "But I want to stay here with him."

Finn could tell it would be pointless to argue. "I'll meet you outside the hotel tomorrow morning. Call me when you're ready. We'll talk about it then, okay?"

Rey agreed and they said their goodnights. She splashed cold water on her face and took deep breaths to calm herself. Kylo would be wondering what was taking her so long. She finished up and stepped into the bedroom to find him asleep. He had propped himself up against the pillows, his bare chest exposed by the blankets pooled around his waist and his raven hair falling over his face in waves. Rey inched closer to the bed. He looked so peaceful, she almost didn't want to wake him. She sat down by his side and gazed at him for a while imagining an impossible future. Hiring her services for a week was one thing, but he'd already told her he wasn't looking to get into a relationship. For all the wonderful things Kylo had done for her, he never once spoke of extending their arrangement. Not that she wanted him to keep paying her for sex, but she did want to see him again. Rey tore her gaze away from him with a sorrowful sigh. She had never had a proper boyfriend. Her line of work wasn't exactly relationship friendly. Not that she intended to be a prostitute forever, but she hadn't even tried to find a guy who wouldn't mind her sleeping with other men for money.

Kylo stirred in his sleep muttering something she couldn't quite make out. His sensual lips looked so tempting. Her no kissing on the mouth rule, be damned, Rey couldn't help herself. She leaned in, brushing his lips gently with her own. His eyes flew open and he kissed her back with an unexpected intensity. He had been wanting to taste her lips every bit as much as she wanted to taste his. She could feel his excitement growing as he eased her down onto the bed, his mouth never leaving hers. He kicked off his pyjama bottoms and she wriggled out of her white silk slip. No words were exchanged. None were needed as their bodies moved together in perfect sync.

When they were both sated, they laid blissfully exhausted in each other's arms. Enough time had passed in silence that Rey thought Kylo had fallen asleep. She held tight to him wishing he knew how much he meant to her.

"I love you," she whispered relieved to confess it even if he couldn't hear.

Kylo opened his eyes, unsure if he'd been caught in a dream. Rey appeared to be sleeping and so he concluded he must have imagined it. Heaving a wistful sigh, he buried his face in her hair fantasising about a life that could never be.


The Shakespeare sonnet I used in this chapter is the one that Edward reads to Vivian during the scene in Pretty Woman where they are laid out on the grass together - Mrs. P