Hey! Welcome back!

I need to thank Sohypothetically. Without you, this would be trash! Yep, she's that good.

Ropes… if you want to explore this, please do some research. The internet is a big, knowledgeable place these days, just as Ben and Rey say, you want to be safe, sane and everyone involved need to want to be involved. Rope play can get scary very quickly if you don't know what you're doing. that's why you need to always have scissors. And it would break my heart if any of you got hurt.

The simple chest harness Ben uses is the same one that Twisted Monk has on YouTube. And yes, that's where the name for the club and my Hunger Games fic, Twisted comes from. Plus, where I live we have more breweries than anywhere else in America. And the one closest to me is called Twisted Laurel.

And Monk does make organic bamboo rope. It's so dreamy. But then all of the rope he makes is wonderful.

Thank you for coming back, I hope you enjoy it!

He feels silly.

On the bench seat beside him are flowers, daisies and lilies, her favorites she told him. There's even a box of chocolates.

And the letter.

He gives Christmas cards at Christmas. He had a pen pal when he was ten. He even kept a journal at one time.

So why is he so nervous to let her read it?

Her porch light comes on, and he can see her peeking out the window. It's past ten, but her door flies open and she comes running out in an oversized t-shirt and bare feet.

Unable to wait any longer, he climbs out of the truck so he can catch her in his arms. Like a cheesy romance movie, he twirls her around while she kisses him. "I have something for you," he whispers in her ear.

"You do?" Rey asks, a grin on her face.

"I do," he says as he steps back to the truck. He sets her down long enough to grab the presents on the front seat.

The letter is left, and he almost pretends to forget it, but she sees the paper on the seat. "What's that?"

"Don't laugh," he says as he hands her the letter. That's when she notices the flowers and the chocolate and throws her arms around his neck again.

"I won't. Will you come in?"

"I was hoping you'd say that." She lets go of him and leads him inside. Once they're in, she locks the door behind them. He sets the flowers and the chocolate on the island. She looks at the folded paper then at him. "Read it," he almost pleads.

She opens it and he watches her lips move as she reads. He doesn't miss her tears. "I feel like home?"

"You do."

"I've never— no one's ever-" she starts. More tears run down her cheeks. He takes her hand and leads her to her couch. He sits first and pulls her onto his lap. She tucks herself into his chest and he inhales her. A heady mix of sunshine and lavender, his heart speeds up since she is finally in his arms. "I grew up in foster care," she tells him, looking up at him. "I was left at a hospital when I was two." She tries to laugh, but it comes out broken. "I'm in therapy, so I'm not as demented as I used to be. That's why I'm a little needy."

"That's alright. I think we can handle it."

She raises herself up so she can look at him. "You think so?" She teases before she kisses his neck.

"Well, if you keep on doing that—"

"What about this?" She murmurs as she starts unbuttoning his uniform button up shirt. "I always did like a man in a uniform."

"What about a man, when I say man I mean me, out of a uniform?"

"The uniform would look better on the floor." She eases the shirt off his shoulders. He leans so she can finish taking it off. "You're still overdressed, Mr. Solo."

"You are too," he replies as he stands up with her in his arms. "Let's go upstairs."

"That's one of the best things I've heard all day," She says as he starts to climb the stairs.

"What were the other good things that you heard today?" She asks.

"Your letter and your truck in the driveway." He sets her down but not before he kisses her on the tip of her nose.

"It's your truck—"

"Shhh," she hushes him as she unbuttons his pants. They end up on the floor, and her sleep shirt lands on top of the pile. "I've got condoms."

"Oh good," he whispers against her skin as he reacquaints himself with the taste of her. "I was in a hurry—" he picks her up again and they are on the bed. She reaches for the box but his longer arm finds it first. It only takes him a moment to roll the bit of latex over him, and then like a starving man allowed to eat for the first time in days, he slams into her.

Her eyes roll back and she moans, "Fuck, Ben."

"What did you say, Love? Did you say fuck me?"

"I did."

"As my love wishes." Before he starts to move, he slides his arms under her knees, then her ankles line up with his shoulders. He slides in and loves how her eyes roll back, not to mention how good she feels.

It's been almost a week since he was deep inside her. He tries to wait, at least until she's come, but he can't hold back anymore. He growls at her as he comes, and that seems to trigger her orgasm.

He falls to the bed beside her, and she curls up into his side, happy that her Ben is home.

"Don't be nervous," Ben says as he sorts through what Rey now knows is his gear bag. He tucks a pair of scissors that EMTs carry into his jeans back pocket.

"I'm not nervous," she replies. They're in one of the rooms off the stage at Twisted. Most of the equipment is stored throughout the club, but Rey can't keep her eyes off the St. Andrew's cross against the wall.

"Yes, you are, you're shaking."

"I'm going to be wearing a leather bikini in front of a lot of people."

"And you look beautiful in it. Do you remember what we're doing today?" He asks.

It's his first class, and yes, she's nervous. She doesn't miss that he's not. "Yes. No. Tell me again, please?"

"I'm going to start with a simple chest harness, then show them how to make it more complicated by adding more ties. I'm thinking you'll end up in a corset dress, but I might change my mind once we start. The only time you'll actually be restrained is when I tie your hands and ankles to the frame. What's your safe word?"

"Orange-bananas."

"Good girl. I even brought out the good rope for you," he says with a smile.

"You did?" He holds up a skein of green. "Can I feel it?" It's so soft that she runs it over her lips. "I didn't think rope could be that soft. What is that?"

"Handspun bamboo. A friend of mine makes rope."

"That's nice. I love how soft it is."

"There you two are," a familiar face appears, but sporting a bright yellow wing that has to reach at least a foot higher than her head appears. Rey doesn't miss how her dress matches the wig. "There's a crowd out there. Are you ready?" Effie asks.

"Now I'm nervous," Rey whispers.

"Don't be, sweetie," Effie says. "You probably know several of them."

"I think that's worse," Rey moans into her hands. "No one told me that they signed up."

"Rey?" She looks up and has to smile at how close Ben is. "You're not alone."

"Neither are you," she murmurs back. He leans in for a kiss. She wraps her arms around his waist as she returns it. "Just keep doing that."

"What?" He asks before he kisses her on the tip of her nose. "This?" Then he kisses her on the cheek. "Or that?" This time, his kiss on her ear when he nibbles on her ear lobe.

A warm shiver dances along her nerves making her gasp for breath. "Yeah that. Keep on doing that."

"Are you sure about that? This will turn into much more than a rope tying class if you want me to continue." That smirk of his is back promising all kinds of things.

"Is that a promise?" She whispers against his cheek.

Before he can answer, they hear, "Come on you two. It wouldn't do at all for the teacher to be late," Effie fusses.

Rey waits for her to leave the room before she adds, "Can I call you Professor Ren?"

"That reminds me!" he goes back to his gear bag and pulls out something black. "I'll be wearing mine, but you never mentioned it," he says as he offers her what's in his hand. "Do you want to wear one of my masks?"

"Oh—" she breathes. "I think so. I mean it makes sense." She accepts it from him but looks at it. There's a sense of relief that he's taking care of her. "It feels a little sad."

He freezes on the other side of the room where he's gathering the rest of his rope. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, we wear masks when we don't feel like we can be ourselves, right?" She waits for him to nod. "That's basically fear, right?"

"I never thought about it that way. I was just trying to protect everyone."

"But it's fear that makes you say that. If you weren't trying to take care of everyone, you wouldn't have to have this," she says as she holds up the satin. "Sorry, I've been in therapy for a while."

"No, it makes sense." He fiddles with the satin while he keeps his eyes down. "What is that saying? Perfect love casts out all fear?"

"It's a Bible verse. But we are just human, and yeah. It's hard for us to love like that." She walks over to the mirror and tries to tie the mask on. He sees her struggle, and takes over. "How do I look?"

"Amazing. Oh, you need a name, one I can use during class."

She thinks for a moment. "Kira, I guess."

"I figured you'd say Sunshine or something like that." He leads her to the make-shift stage. "Now, if you need to use your safe word, do it. It will show the newbies that it's ok to do that."

Effie sees them and motions for them to join her. The click of her heels on the hardwood makes the room go silent. The couple of times Rey has been here, it was at night, and dim. But today, it's ten o'clock on Saturday morning. The curtains are open, the sun is streaming in and it looks like a beautiful late spring day.

Rey tries not to think about how many people are actually watching them.

"Welcome, welcome," Effie begins. "This is basic ropes bondage with Kylo Ren."

He steps forward. "Welcome," he greets them. "I know that I'm not the usual teacher, but his wife and partner is expecting and he didn't want to find a new partner and she didn't want him to either." There are several laughs and some awwws from the students. He looks behind him and their eyes meet. Her heart melts as he motions for her to join him. "Since Phasma retired, this is—" he pauses, and she thinks she falls for him just a little bit more when he lifts her hand to his mouth. But instead of a kiss on her knuckle, he turns her hand over so he can kiss her palm. She doesn't realize that she steps closer to him until she feels his touch on her waist. "Kira."

He doesn't let go of her as he begins. "The purpose of this class is to learn how to use ropes safely to do several things. For this first class we will—well let me show you. Now, we all know the number one rule of any BDSM activities, we have to make sure our play is safe—" Rey looks out to the students and almost all of them are saying the same words along with Ben. "Sane and consensual." His eyes meet hers and there's that smirk again. "Kira? Do you want me to tie you up?"

"Yes, Sir." Several of the men groan at the way she answers him.

"Excellent." He turns his attention to the students. "In your welcome pack you should have received three skeins of rope, safety scissors, and a three-ring binder. We will be passing out instructions each week on the ties for you to keep." He looks out at the crowd. Rey can see several of them looking in the bags they must have received when they came in.

"Now, I know there are enough tables in here but some of you might have to share." That's when Rey notices Effie and several men and women who are wearing the Twisted staff t-shirts move amongst the people.

"I feel like I should go help," Rey whispers.

"They know what they are doing," Ben says. When it seems that everyone has enough room, he continues. "Alright, now empty your bag and find your scissors." He's grabbing a worn piece of rope and says to her, "Hold out your hands."

Rey offers them to him, and he puts them together. He twists the rope and ties it over her wrists in no time. "Wow," she says. "That's kind of amazing."

He gives her one of his little smiles and shakes his head at her. He clears his throat and the class quiets. "Ok, riggers. Hold up your scissors." He holds them in his hands like he was holding a sword and he's pledging his oath to his emperor. "Repeat after me. These are my scissors."

Rey has to smile at the mumble that echoes back.

"I promise from this day forward that I will not attempt to tie—" he waits for them to repeat. "Or tie without these on my person." The crowd grows bolder. "My goal is to make my play partner feel safe with me, not afraid."

She has to smile at the promises they all make.

"Now, can everyone see?" He waits for affirmation. "When you do have to use them, see this flat side? That's the part you slide in between the rope and the skin." He shows them Rey's wrists as he slides the metal. "Then you snip just like this." The rope falls to the floor. "There ya' go. Any questions?"

No one says anything, so Ben continues as he picks up a skein of green rope. "First tie we are doing is a simple chest harness. Then from this, you can add many other ties to it." He meets her eyes and gives her a wink. "Don't forget to make this enjoyable for your partner. This is when you get to drive them crazy."

"Yes, we know," she mutters. Her voice must carry across the room because several others chuckle.

"Kira? Do you know what mouthy partners get?" There's an audible gasp from the ones who must be the submissives in the group.

"No, Sir?" she asks and doesn't miss how everyone in the room, even Effie on the side watches. She's just glad that they can't see how her desire pools in her veins for him.

He meets her eyes and smirks. "They get punished, of course," he murmurs before he kisses her on the nose. A deep murmur reaches her ears. That could only be the doms in the room agreeing with Ben.

He gives her a look with brows raised. And she answers, "yes, Sir."

"Good girl," he praises. All the voices join together in a universal Aww… their eyes meet and she can only smile as he comes in for a kiss. "Now, back to the program. Grab a skein of rope." He waits for the room to follow. "If you'll grab this rope here," he says as he lifts the rope over his head. "And pull, the whole thing will come loose."

It's the same harness he tied in her garage. It's the same rope, his same hands, that same voice whispering in her ear as the soft rope slides against her skin. Logically rope sliding against her skin shouldn't make her feel this way.

Especially since he has her tied so that she can't even move her arms.

He hasn't touched her in any of the places she really wants him to. But she wonders if this is how sunflowers feel when they follow the sun across the sky because she can't keep her eyes off him.

She wobbles and almost falls. Still lost in those whiskey colored eyes, he barks out some orders and, in a moment, she's kneeling on some kind of padded leather table, offering her up to the room like some kind of sacrifice to an unknown god.

"Do you trust me?" He whispers as he bends to claim a kiss. She's unable to speak as desire flows through her. She nods. "Can I do something that we didn't talk about before?"

Words manage to form, "As long as I still get cuddles with you afterwards?"

"Yes, Kira."

"Kira seems to be entering into subspace." Several knowing awwws surround her. "For the newbies, subspace is what happens when a sub reaches a natural chemical high. This usually happens when a sub totally trusts in their dom. In other words, because she trusts me, she has lots of happy endorphins bouncing around her head.

"You've now learned how to do a chest harness. Who would like to learn how to tie their partner down?" He waits for the unanimous yes. "Come closer. It's almost time for class to be over, but let me show you this. Much like before, grab some rope. Find the bite." He shows them the middle of the rope. "This is what's called a single column tie." He loosens some of the rope already tied around her and she moves her arms.

"Give me your wrist, Kira." She does what he asks with a goofy smile. As he weaves the rope around her arm, he asks, "How are you feeling, Love?"

"Drunk." She nods and in the sea of faces she sees nothing but acceptance. "And really happy. Does being tied up always do this? If it does, can we do this every day?" The students chuckle. "See, they agree with me."

"From here," Ben starts, "I could lay Kira down—" he doesn't even have to ask her, when she's stretching out on the leather. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she whispers with a grin.

"Stretch out." She lifts her arms over her head and the tail of the wrist restraints brush her face. He guides her hands out to her sides, then adjusts her until her hands almost reach the corners of the oversized ottoman. "Now from here, you can tie the ends just right here, under the legs. Also, every piece of furniture here has hidden places to either tie someone with ropes, or handcuffs or even chains. How are you feeling, Kira?"

She wiggles. "I can't move my arms."

"That's the idea Kira." He continues talking, taking the attention off of her. She tries to pull her arms back to her, but her frustration grows.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Kira?"

The happy feeling ebbs just a bit. "I'm ok."

"Do you need to use your safe word?" He asks.

"No, I'm alright, Sir." She just wants him to touch her and tell her that she's a good girl. Just think of something else. He'll untie you in a minute. Or two. She looks up at the rafters above the stage. But then the feel of the ropes holding her just so. The way the ropes felt against her skin as he wove them together. She pulls on her wrists again, but this time, instead of frustration at not being able to move, that wave of desire she's been feeling all morning, builds.

She remembers how he felt last night after being away all week. How good his touch felt. How nice his kisses are. How she loved touching him.

How big he felt inside her.

And the letter! That wonderful and amazing letter. She knows there is a smile on her face but it must get Ben's attention because he's bending over here and murmurs, "What are you smiling about?"

"Last night and how amazing you were." She opens her eyes and smiles into them. "I want to touch you but I can't."

He kisses her nose and then announces, "Alright everyone, class is over!" Most of them laugh or smile because they've heard what Rey has been saying the whole time. "You're welcome to stay as long as Effie will let you. I'll be back in a couple of minutes to answer questions. Feel free to practice with your partner." He meets Rey's gaze. "I need to go help someone."

"I hope that someone is me."

"It is," he whispers as he bends to loosen where her hands are tied. When both are loose, he sweeps her into his arms. He walks offstage back to the dressing room. Now that they are alone, he kicks the door shut and then claims her lips. "Can you stand?" She nods and he walks over to a chair in the corner. He sets her down and she helps him to unbutton his jeans as she wiggles out of the bikini bottoms.

His cock is out, and he's pumping it as he sits. "Come here impatient one."

"I'm just happy that you're finally going to touch me." She moans as she sinks onto him. "And this. You inside me always feels good." Once he's all the way inside her, he grabs the ropes that are still crisscrossing her chest. "Put your hands over mine and don't let go." He slides down in the seat far enough so he can pump his dick up into her. The way he pulls on the rope, plus what she's feeling… "A harness makes this so much easier," he groans as he moves.

"Ben," she whispers. Her eyes roll back and she turns to jelly. "You feel so damn good." she didn't think he could go any faster or deeper, but somehow being on top, he's doing both.

She comes the first time like a freight liner runs over her. The second time, which is right after the first, he comes too. He lets go of her harness and pulls her close. When they both can breathe again, they get up and go back to their students.