"His expression was serious, but I liked how it softened slightly when he looked at me. Like the way he looked at me was different from how he looked at everyone else." Amy Tintera.

Eyes closed to the incredible sensation, the General's breathing was deep and steeped in utter enjoyment. He could feel her fingers; dainty as they massaged with the light pressure that did not quite reach his feet like they usually did. Hux's head tipped back and a slight groan escaped those usually pursed lips.

"I forgot how pleasurable this can be when the proper time is taken." He uttered to the tiny female behind him as she reached up and worked her fingers into his lathered scalp, not kneading but flexing her fingers gently in a rhythm that still managed to get right to the root.

"Most things can be pleasurable if you give them the proper time." Lucilla countered with her usual sweet softness, now satisfied that every fiery strand had been attended to. "Close your eyes." He did and felt the still warm bath water wash over his head, rinsing through his hair, aided by Lucilla's fingers until no suds remained. "Done."

With that task accomplished, the General slid back in the bathtub so his long, pale toes stuck out of the water. The back of his head rested against her naked chest and her arms wrapped around his shoulders, meeting at the front at his chest.

"Shall I tell you what I'm thinking?" Lucilla inquired quietly in her master's ear, laying a kiss to his lobe once she had done so while his hand trailed lazily up and down her leg, one sat on each side of his waist.

"Tell me, little dove." He murmured, eyes still closed as the water dripped from his hair and the ripples from their movements ebbed away at the kinks in his muscles.

"I think we should get out, get dried and have an early night." She told with yet another amicable kiss to his earlobe. "Because you are quite clearly exhausted."

The redhead heaved a blissful sigh; he was comfortable in the bathtub but the water would go cold eventually. At least the bed would stay warm and it would be much easier to hold Lucilla, he could look at her and kiss her which his current position prevented him from doing.

"Where would I be without you, Rose of my Empire?"

"Washing your own hair, I would imagine, General." That elicited a brief but tired chuckle from the eldest of the two. She wasn't wrong.

"You're absolutely right. Come, we'll get dried and into bed. I do feel the pull of fatigue."

Lucilla was held as always; guardingly, jealously. Her head rested on his bare chest while two firm arms encased her. Either his cheek or his chin rested on the top of her head or his nose would bury into her hair, greedily taking in the scent of berries from his childhood. Lucilla didn't mind how she was held as long as she was.

Both their injuries were fully healed by now; the first thing the General had done upon the last stitch in his lip dissolving was making a brief detour to his quarters where his companion was sought out and kissed like she had never really been kissed before(despite Mitaka's presence). He left without a word while she blushed at the sudden impulsive act.

Both had recovered from their physical wounds, the General had been forgiven and Kylo Ren's name was never mentioned. It had (understandably) taken Lucilla a while to come around from that particular incident; not to mention relaying to her master the humiliation and horror she had endured before she was gifted to him.

That in itself had prompted a mission to the Undercity of Coruscant. Drowsy and all as the General was; her voice when she spoke about it had pained him, he couldn't have imagined her face. Now as he recalled it, his eyes burned and his chest tightened. He had heard nothing from Mitaka yet but however long it took, he would wait. It would be more than worth it.

"General?" Maybe she wasn't asleep after all.

"Yes, little dove?"

"I forgot to ask. Where is Lieutenant Mitaka?" The shy, dark haired officer had been absent in the last day or so. Her meals had been brought to her by a staunch, disapproving woman who looked the companion up and down with something akin to disgust.

"Mitaka is away on official First Order business, little dove. Classified." Her General answered with a tired husk but placed a kiss to the side of her neck nonetheless. "Do you miss him?"

"I was just surprised when my meals and clothes were brought to me by someone else, that's all." Lucilla replied but something about her tone suggested that she wasn't too happy with the situation, he knew her well enough by now to know when she was displeased with something. And that wasn't very often.

"Tell me, little dove." He probed with yet another kiss against her neck but she adjusted her head to ensure the next one landed on her lips.

"There's nothing to tell, General. Just the woman who has been fulfilling Lieutenant Mitaka's duty is not very pleasant. It's nothing to be concerned about."

"I love how you try to spare me trouble. But that's not good enough, I'm afraid. Not very pleasant how, darling?"

"She's just very….. Disapproving?" Lucilla tried to find the right word as she conceded. "She's smug, like she's looking down on me? Condescending, I suppose? Like she knows what I am-"

"Lucilla, you haven't been that for a long time." He reminded her with another amicable and lasting press to her lips. "I'll have someone else bring your meals from now on. Just until Mitaka returns."

After the incident on Starkiller with Mitaka, the General had toyed with the idea of changing Lucilla's care to someone else. He thought maybe a female member of the staff; she might not be so uncomfortable though he was aware she was fond of Mitaka. He was glad now that he didn't make that change, especially with this revelation.

It had escaped his realization that another woman might behave enviously towards his companion when Lucilla bore absolutely no malice whatsoever. In fact, unwarranted hostility would confuse her if anything.

She was beautiful; anything she could ever want (bar freedom to leave the quarters) would be fetched for her and she was the apple of a very powerful man's eye. What woman wouldn't be resentful of her?

"Thank you, General." Lucilla's dark, butterfly lashes closed down as she settled into relaxation. Head still resting on her master's chest, one arm was stretched across his torso while the other stayed by her side. "Did you finish that speech?"

"I did, I'll show it to you tomorrow." Hux promised, dipping his head down to nuzzle his nose into her hair. If this wasn't bliss, nothing would be. He prided himself on preparedness; he felt it was sensible to have the christening speech of Starkiller prepared but he didn't think he'd be using it so soon. "I'm apprehensive of how it will be received."

"A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of sheep, General. Remember that."

"Wise doesn't begin to describe you, empress."

"Mmmm…."

"Rest, little dove. I'll wake you when I'm getting dressed." He didn't think she heard that part.

Lucilla woke the next morning to murmuring but only one voice. Bleary eyed and in that place between awake and asleep, she could just about make out he was on the com. Tucked to her General's side, his arm stretched around her shoulder and rested the palm of his hand on her back, the other held the com.

She shifted slightly with a sleepy groan then was pulled tighter to his thin but firm side, his conversation continuing regardless.

"Excellent, Lieutenant." He was doing his best to keep his voice low but it seemed Lucilla was already awake. "Tie up any loose ends and make your way back here. Ensure it is treated properly before you hand it over. It is to be completely stripped."

She didn't inquire as to the nature of the call. Lieutenant Mitaka was on classified First Order business, it wasn't her place to ask nor (she assumed) would she ever know. With the com set aside, her General rolled onto his side and his forehead was pushed against Lucilla's as if he intended to go back to sleep.

"Tell me I don't have to go to the bridge." He mumbled with his eyes closed and his companion pulled close.

"Give me your uniform and I'll go for you." The dark haired darling answered alluringly innocent with sleep still in her system. She didn't expect one of her General's icy blue eyes to open and regard her with interest but she descended into charming giggles.

"Now that I'd like to see." Came the roused growl as he rolled onto her and pinned her to the bed. The delightful bouts of laughter continued as he smothered her neck until they were silenced by his lips against hers. Passion, longing, affection, kindness; it was all there on both sides. Until the redhead pulled away with a frustrated groan.

"I can't. I need to get dressed." Lucilla's hand caught his in an attempt to pull him back to bed as he moved off her but her General was stronger. He managed to pry himself away with a gentlemanly kiss to her hand before she sunk back into the pillows in playful defeat.

Only a year ago, if someone had told him he would be tempted back to bed by a dark haired woman rather than going to the bridge, he would have had them sent to reconditioning but here he was.

"I think you should give Lieutenant Mitaka the rest of the day to himself." His blue eyed beauty sat up in bed now with the sheets strewn almost in protest of him leaving. Observing her in the reflection of the mirror while he tamed his hair, he found himself bending to her will. "He's worked exceptionally hard, I would imagine."

"I think you could be right, little dove." Hux agreed, picking up his cufflinks. She knew his routine well by now. "If what he's told me is true and I have every reason to believe it is; he's done extremely well. He's due back in the afternoon, his duties can resume tomorrow." Dressed and ready, Lucilla was kissed again before her General went to assume his command.

When Hux returned, Lucilla was waiting. There was something predatory in the way they watched each other. He carried something, a velvet bag; she ignored it. She kept her place in front of the fireplace, inviting him with slow lowerings of her lashes and her short, silk night robe covering everything it should. For now.

"Bedroom." Fully clothed and completely sober; her master followed her, the strings of the bag clutched tight in his still gloved hand. The sliding door was shut and his companion's lips were claimed with the same fire they had earlier.

"Lie down." Of course, Lucilla obeyed; lying down in the middle of the bed where they would have plenty of room. His gloves were stripped and the velvet bag landed on the dresser with a sharp thud. Curious, she lifted her head and watched as his hand reached in.

The white, newly shined object took its new place on the dresser and Lucilla stared, her stomach turning slightly as she did so. She almost didn't even realize her General had kicked off his boots and tossed his coat before crawling up the bed to her.

"General? What is that?" She knew what it was but she needed confirmation.

"That, little dove…." Hux began, pressing his cool lips to Lucilla's neck but she still stared, as if not feeling him. "Is a fresh, human skull."

Fears confirmed, she didn't seem to be able to remove her sapphire gaze from the macabre object. It stared at her with invisible eyes and she stared back. Dumbfounded, she didn't know how else to react.

"And why is there a skull in our bedroom?"

Her robe had been undone and a gap of a mere few inches, about the size of the space between her breasts was opened. The kisses dropped lower and lower, staying within the confines of the gap but he had no intention of answering her just yet.

Lucilla's gaze faltered momentarily when her eyes closed automatically at the feeling of his tongue stroking her clit and seeking out the honey he had tasted before. An ivory hand passed through his fiery strands as her breathing hitched; subtle signs of encouragement.

Her distraction broke and her attention returned to the skull but still stroked his hair absentmindedly with one knee bent and the other leg thrown over his shoulder. What had he done? And why did he seem so proud of it?

She had heard of that kind of behaviour in cats (not that she had ever owned one); they kill and bring their prey home to their loved ones. Should she have been afraid? The occasional gasp or flickering of her eyelids would disturb her when he hit a sweet spot with the variants of his tongue movements but for the most part, her gaze never left the skull.

When he looked up to monitor the reactions that he loved so much, he found that (as he should have expected) the skull had captivated her and not necessarily in a good way. He stopped and she barely noticed. His tunic, his undershirt, and his trousers were removed and tossed aside; closely followed by his socks and underwear.

Naked, her General lay beside her, leaning over so his arm crossed over her torso and kept her on the bed while he leaned his face in close to hers; his voice quiet.

"That skull belongs to or should I say used to belong to a man named Varden Zedar. You know that name, don't you, little dove?"

Lucilla's eyes widened in understanding and now more than ever, all she could do was stare. Hux had started to lather her neck again and this time she was far more responsive. Her head tilted, her eyes half closed but it remained turned in that same direction.

"He ran the compound…. He ran the whole operation…." His lips lifted and his nose rested against her cheek almost in a comforting fashion.

"I couldn't bear to see you melancholic, little dove." He breathed, stroking her other cheek with his spare hand. "Now he's yours."

Before he realized it and before he could prepare himself, Hux found himself on his back with his companion's knees on either side of his waist; straddling him against the bed. Looking up with something akin to surprise; he found her smouldering, desire stricken.

"Is that what you sent Mitaka away for?"

"He doesn't seem like the kind of man who can decapitate someone, does he?"

"No, indeed he doesn't."

"I gave him the means, I gave him the orders and he took it from there. He's cleverer than he lets on."

That was the last of the conversation. There was almost desperation in that kiss now with the way it batted back and forth between them; the mutual need to pleasure the other was there. Lucilla leaned down and Hux found himself behind the dark curtain of his companion's hair, surrounded by the sweet smell.

The redhead's large hands palmed every inch of skin as lips and tongues fought mercilessly, open-mouthed and wet. Who would have thought his precious Lucilla had a dark side? That she would be so aroused by the death of another human being, their crimes aside. Her thighs were gripped to direct her and with a pleasured hiss, his darling Lucilla sank her full weight down onto his length.

Foreheads pressed hard together, one daring the other to move away first; their mutual thrusts met in the middle, hard, fast and rough. Both rocked their hips viciously in an effort to outdo each other and simultaneously, their foreheads seemed to separate.

It was replaced instead with yet another brutal and sloppy kiss. Whether the General's quarters were soundproof or not, Lucilla didn't know but if they weren't; the Stormtrooper squadron patrolling the hallway were sure to hear some strange noises.

Skin slapped off skin, the light squelching of body fluids separating and reuniting with every savage thrust and of course, the shameless moans that neither the ebony locked companion or her ginger master bothered to restrain.

Lucilla ripped herself away from her General and straightened up but still continued colliding her lower quarters with his, primal urges being sated with every movement. She was close and he would soon follow.

Her head tipped back, the ends of her curls dancing on his knee caps and he couldn't help but stare at the magnificence that pledged herself to him on a daily basis. Gods, she was beautiful. Even more so when she was screaming, begging herself to come with her face contorted mid-whimper.

Lucilla shook with one long, drawn out; guttural moan then went limp against her General's bent knees but kept herself taut enough for her master to finish. He did only a moment or so later with a feral growl and burying himself as deep as possible and releasing his load inside the female.

The blue eyed beauty was plucked off him and laid down on the bed before her body was covered with his. She accepted wholeheartedly, draping an arm across his shoulders and returning the much calmer kiss that was born of their post-coital exhaustion.

"Do you like your gift, little dove?" He asked, lips trailing lazily along her jawline; he could feel the crack of a smile under them.

"I love it."