"Tell me your plan, Ben Solo."

He kissed her hard, the fear and passion driving him suddenly to what was more of an attack than an embrace. Her response was eager, enthusiastic and energetic. He kissed down her throat, across to her ears, and gently nibbled on the lobe while she panted in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck. As he traced lower down the neck and towards the edge of her sweater, she pushed him back, and he worried he'd gone too far too soon until she reached to her waist and with a brisk movement, pulled off both her sweater and her top, exposing her bra and the breasts that had haunted his mind since he walked in on her in the bath less than a week before.

"Does this help?" She hesitated. He could see she was nervously following a new path, and he was not the one to stop her. Not at this point, at least.

"Plenty."

"Would you … could you go back to where you were before?"

"Where was I?"

"About here." Rey's finger touched her sternum, just above where the bra's bottom strap ran.

"Wasn't I here?" He touched a space a couple of inches above, and she took his hand and ran it down to cover her left breast.

"Compromise. Go again from here. Ohhh." As his hand reached the delicate cotton with the sweet softness underneath, he felt her shudder. Her moan inflamed him even more, and he gently squeezed the breast through the fabric as his mouth traced down between the mounds. With his lips, he pushed aside the bra on the other side, but the breasts were so small and the fabric so snug that he could not get to the soft flesh beneath. Instead, he used a combination of his teeth and the active hand to pull the bra up, releasing the breasts. He watched as the nipples contracted slightly in the cool air, and blew softly on the closest to see it again.

She was still holding his hand, but now she let go, her eyes closed and her head lolling back as she offered her body up to him. Slowly, reverently, he licked around her nipple, feeling the corrugations as he did. Once, twice he circled the nub, then he sucked at it delicately, using the small squeaks she was making as an indication that he was doing the right thing. For a minute or two he laved the nipple, the breast and the chest wall around it, making it his business to learn every inch of the sweet soft skin.

"Oi."

"You want me to stop?"

"The other side is feeling neglected. It will not do." She chuckled, and the sound aroused him further.

"I am at your command." Ben's other hand felt around the back until he located the middle of the bra strap, then he laughed. It had no hooks. Slowly he lifted it both front and back, and Rey raised her arms so that he could remove it. Then he lay her back down on the sofa and gave her other breast the attention it had been missing, while his left hand drifted down her stomach and ran around the edge of her jeans.

"Please." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Stop?"

"Keep going. Help me." She reached down and undid the buttons down the fly, opening it and reaching up to remove the jeans, but he stopped her.

"Not so far."

"I want …" Her eyes were unfocussed, and it was all he could do to limit his response. But this was not the time, nor the place, to do all he wanted to. Or all that she wanted.

"I won't make love to you here. Not now. But I can help you, if that's what you want."

"I want."

He watched the flush rise on her body as he returned his attention to her breasts, moving from one to the other as his fingers crept down her mons veneris, seeking the slit at the bottom and the sensitive part there. Her mound was covered by hair like down. She was damp, soft, opening her legs to give him at least that access, and his middle finger slipped between the lips and made contact.

She jumped a little, and he held still, waiting for her to be ready.

"You stopped." Rey sounded both breathless and annoyed.

"You seem to be rather sensitive."

Blushing, she pulled him up to kiss her. "It's so different having someone else do this for me."

"Are you all right? Do you want me to continue?"

"Ben," she breathed as she kissed him again, her body reaching up for the touch to continue, and he circled her clitoris slowly, feeling the fluid build up and allow his finger to slip around. He delicately brought a second finger in to play, and delighted in the gentle swelling of her arousal as her kissing became more passionate and distracted. Running up and down her labia as far as he could reach, he started softly stroking the clitoris directly, adoring her body's reactions – the breasts peaking, the breaths accelerating, the body thrusting towards his fingers.

"Ben!" Suddenly it was a guttural cry and she threw her legs around his hips as her whole body shook. "Ben, Ben, Ben." She held him close, her kiss wild and desperate, and he slowed his fingers as she coasted through the aftershocks, taking his cue from her movements, and stopping when the whimpering ceased. There were tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face, and she couldn't quite meet his eyes.

"Rey." Slipping his hand out from her jeans, he brought his fingers up to her mouth. She looked up at him, then took one in her mouth and sucked it clean. He did the same with the other, the taste of her like a wild musk. Kissing her, he tasted her juices on her tongue as she languidly did the same.

"Still stressed, Rey?"

She laughed. "I'm going to sleep well tonight. But what about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"I want to help."

"Upstairs." He ran his fingers through her hair, then kissed her again. "You can help me when we're upstairs."

He stood and gathered her in his arms, and she just managed to snatch her discarded clothes and satchel before he was carrying her through the front porch and around to the staircase. Once more he needed to take the stairs one at a time, and she giggled when the fifth one squeaked. Then they were at his bedroom door, into the room and he lowered her onto the bed. She scooted over to the side he normally slept on, looking up at him as he lowered himself beside her.

"I want to help," she repeated. "I know what to do, but I don't know what you want me to do."

"Nothing too involved, Kitten. I … " Suddenly he was bashful, a feeling he had not felt in years. He had been brought up with hints and subtlety and supposedly-well-known conventions that often weren't. Talking openly about sex was strange, something that seemed more common with younger people but his was an older generation, still struggling with concepts such as consent and tell me what you want. It had taken all his mental energy to bring it up on Thursday, and now he had to be as clear and as straightforward as he could.

He wrapped his arms around her, her bare chest against his sweater. "One day, in the not-too-distant future, I want to take you somewhere safe, feed you dinner, cuddle you in front of the fire, then slowly and magnificently make love to you. I know virginity is a construct, but sex is an experience, and I want your first time to be full of joy and wonder and amazing pleasure. And that is why I won't make love to you here." He sighed. "I want us to have the place and freedom to do whatever we want, or even just to hold each other and enjoy being together, and this is not that time."

"I know, Ben. I want you desperately, but not like this. Not hurriedly and fumbling and hoping nothing comes to interrupt us." She looked up at him, and he reached down and kissed her. "But you've still given me extreme pleasure tonight, and I'd like to reciprocate."

"You mean put one over me?"

Rey's eyes widened and she cracked up, the pair giggling like manic school children as the tension and amusement blended. "And here I was thinking you didn't understand complex mathematical concepts!" She sat up and slipped her leg across his hips so she was sitting astride him, her weight pressing on a rather sensitive part of him as she ran her hands up his chest under the sweater. "Now I'm over you."

"Should I take the sweater off?"

"Not this time. Just tell me if I'm doing anything wrong."

"What are you doing?"

"Trust me." She slid her body off his groin and down his legs, and stopped when she'd cleared enough space to start undoing his trousers. The button came off easily and the zipper slid down as if it were in a rush to go somewhere. He lifted his hips and slid the trousers down to where she was sitting, but then she swatted his hands away.

"Close your eyes."

He obeyed. She moved again, pulling his trousers down to his ankles, then started running her hands over the front of his briefs.

Always wear nice underpants, dear. What if you're in an accident and they see your pants are worn out and full of holes. His mother's voice floated into his head, and he had to suppress another giggle. If only she'd used this as a situation. You don't want your lover to see how badly you keep your underwear. It made much more sense …

His train of thought was derailed immediately by the soft coolness of Rey's hands as she gently pulled his cock free of the underpants, the move slightly impeded by the fluid that had already leaked and moistened the fabric. The slight friction and the feel of her skin on his most sensitive part was almost enough to set him off.

Rey was slowly running her hands up and down his length, her fingers moving as if reading Braille, and her palms giving a welcome pressure to the sides.

"What do you like?" She paused, one thumb brushing over the top and smearing the pre-cum over the glans.

"That. Your hands. Go back to what you were doing. Please."

She did, the sensation building in him like a boiling, a rumble deep inside that pulled from his whole body and focussed on his cock like a capacitor charging. His balls tightened and he groaned. Then his eyes flew open.

She had put her mouth over the head.

Crying out her name, he felt his orgasm let loose with a force he could not hold back. It must have caught Rey by surprise as well, but she kept her mouth there while he spurted, the fluid spilling back down over his groin and onto the sheet. She kept up a gentle motion while he rode out the sensation, finally reaching down to lift her off his cock and to the side. Then he kissed her, tasting himself on her just as he had with her taste earlier.

"Did you … was that what you wanted?"

"So much." He kissed her again. "Hold on." The tissue box was still by the side of the bed, and he grabbed a handful and wiped her face, then himself.

"Is it usually that fast?" Her curiosity was genuine but he felt as if he were instructing a child.

"Not usually. You … I was incredibly turned on, and you …"

He paused, and she looked expectantly up at him.

"You are beautiful."

They kissed, long, hard, then she grinned. "Good thing I hadn't cleaned my teeth yet. I'll be back in a moment."

"I'll come with you." A second later, he realised what he had said, and blushed as she laughed out loud.

Rey threw her own clothes back on and lifted her satchel. "What about shoes?"

"Have one pair downstairs and one up here?"

"Yes." Almost before he could think, she had dived into her room and brought back a pair of black lace-up leather shoes. "These will be fine outside for a short while, if I need to."

He took advantage of the moment to rearrange himself and pull up his trousers. "You realise of course that now that I know what's in your toiletries bag, I can't stop thinking about it?"

"I figured as much." She kissed him again then headed downstairs. From the front of the house he heard dripping, and realised the rain must have started. That, and the house was not as cold as it had been other nights. The warmer wind must have arrived.

They curled together afterwards, relaxed despite what he thought they might be up against. The room was dark, save for a glimmer of light over the top of the open walls and another sliver across the bottom of the door.

"Tell me about your parents." Rey held his arm against her chest again, in what was now his favourite sleeping position.

"What did you want to know?"

"What are they like? I know your mother's some sort of political analyst, but not much more. And that they live in Chandrilla."

He chuckled. "You and Dad would get on wonderfully. He's a mechanic himself. Runs a small factory making all sorts of things for places where they don't have regular electricity or water. I helped him invent a solar-powered water pump when I was a kid. They're all the rage in Bangladesh now, I've been told." He smoothed her hair, running his fingers through the strands. "Remember that harvester you were admiring our first day in? He'd have it on the ground and in pieces, trying to analyse it, before you could believe it. He's supposed to be retired, but he can't really let go of it all. Mom's involved in women's rights and workers and equality."

"What do they think of your work?"

"It terrifies them. But they know why I had to do it." He ran his fingers down her cheek. "I needed to make a difference in my own way, not theirs."

"Ben …"

"Yes, Kitten?"

There was a pause. "What will they think of me?"

"They'll love you. They'll love your spirit and your resilience, and the way you kept your grandfather and his people in the dark for so long. They'll support your studies and Mom will want to dress you up and Dad will drag you to the garage to look at his car …"

"They won't think I'm too young?"

He laughed out loud and held her tight. "We're eight years apart, Kitten. You're older than Mom was when she met Dad, and I'm younger than he was. If they even think about mentioning the age difference, I'll just remind them. Now sleep. I'll take the first watch, and wake you in four hours."

"Like a Dungeons and Dragons game. Got it." She snuggled back into him and was soon breathing heavily. Ben waited a while longer, then slipped out from the bed and over to his duffel. From it, he extracted the papers from the end compartments, his spare bullets and a clean pair of socks. He put all of them into his own satchel, which he stashed beside hers. Then he pulled a thin blanket from the closet and laid it over Rey's head. Only once he knew she wouldn't be woken by the bedside light did he move it to the floor where it wouldn't be seen from outside, and pull out another of the books Miss Holdo had sent to him.

He was grumbling to himself over the misogyny present in Stranger in a Strange Land when he felt something odd – a shiver, a breath – he wasn't sure. The rain had stopped an hour before, and the wind had blown away the clouds and let the moonlight through the window. Then he realised – somehow someone had got into the house, and in doing so, a cold draught had blown through the place. He closed the book quietly, and gently lifted the blanket from Rey's head. Putting a finger to her lips, he squeezed her shoulder until she woke.

Leaning over so his mouth was directly over her ear, he was about to whisper when a sound came over the open-topped walls.

The squeak of the fifth stair.

She looked at him, and he unholstered his gun, but she put a hand on it to stop him.

"Trust me," she breathed, and slipped out of bed. Padding silently to the door, she reached behind the jamb. In the dim light, he couldn't tell what she was up to.

The sliver of light across the bottom of the door flickered.

Rey's arm moved, and there was an almighty crash and the door flew open. A large dark shape fell forward and remained motionless on the floor. She stepped over it to turn on the light. On the floor lay a man, dressed in a dark coat, clutching a heavy revolver, and not moving at all. What was moving was the bundle of Rey's textbooks swinging on a cord at head height in the middle of the doorway.

"It worked." Her voice was part triumphant, part horrified. "Oh hell. It's him."

"Lollipop man?" Ben glanced out the window, then ran over and pulled her down onto the floor. "You shouldn't have put on the light. Now they know."

"Who?"

"Whoever's waiting in the car." They were both speaking low, and he was listening as he did.

"Shit. Sorry. Are they still out there?"

"Yes, but not for long. They're bound to come in, try and find out what happened to their friend."

"How many?"

"I don't know. We need to go. But not out the front door."

They slipped on their shoes, grabbed their satchels and sweaters and crept down the stairs. Stopping near the bottom, Ben opened the latch on the fifth step and they climbed in, shutting it silently behind them. He used the torch facility on his phone to flash where the gap at the back was, then took Rey's hand and they scrabbled as quietly as they could across the rough boards and down to the hard-packed dirt below. The moonlight outside was visible through the gap at the top of the locked hatch to the tools, and Ben ushered Rey across to wait with him. From the hatch, they could clearly see a form on the driver's seat in a dark car not ten feet away that had driven silently to the cabin.

"Fucking silent fucking Tesla." Ben whispered into Rey's ear. "We wait until they go inside, then we go for our car and get away."

She nodded beside him. "Did I kill him?" She was murmuring – clever of her to know that carries less than a whisper – but her voice was shaky and close to tears.

"Probably not. But I'm not hanging around to find out." They huddled down on the cold dirt to wait, and he wrapped his arms around her for warmth. In the rush, they hadn't brought their coats and the undercroft was freezing cold.

It didn't take too long. Fifteen minutes later, the door to the car opened and a person stepped out. In the moonlit snowy landscape, it was easy to see the gun they were holding silhouetted against the white background. The figure crept to the back of the house, and Ben realised they must have forced the kitchen or bathroom window. He reached through the gap in the hatch, turned the lock then carefully opened the little wooden door.

"Go!"

The command was quieter than a breath, and he started towards the hire car at the front, before noticing that Rey wasn't with him. He stopped and turned as she rose up from beside the Tesla and ran towards him. Throwing themselves into it, Ben hit the start switch and turned it towards the track. Rey was looking behind at the back of the house, but Ben pushed her head down as low as he could. There were a couple of cracking noises, and he was grateful that a revolver is not particularly accurate at anything past close range. There was one ping that must have been a hit, but he'd worry about it later.

He couldn't go too fast on the track, but in the light of the crescent moon he could see the dark figure run for the car, start it and turn towards them. The driver obviously gave up on secrecy as they turned on their headlights, and drove on the diagonal to try and catch the smaller, slower vehicle. But within twenty feet, the other car stopped.

Ben laughed out loud.

"What is it?"

"He's bogged in the septic!" Ben threw his head back in delight, thinking how hilarious his father would find the story. Especially now that they had a chance to tell him.

"And his tire is flat. That should give us a while." Rey was shaking beside him, the heater in the car not yet fully operational, but she held out her hand. In it lay his grandfather's knife, sharp enough to slice through the sidewall of a tire in a second. He pulled her to him and kissed her head as they drove off.

"You're clever. That was your homework upstairs, wasn't it? Like something out of Home Alone?"

"Those textbooks are going to cost a fortune to replace," she grumbled.

They watched as the moonlight delineated the road they must follow.

Reciprocate – a mathematical term that means take a number and put a 1 over it. So the reciprocal of 3 is 1/3, the reciprocal of ½ is 2, etc. Also a terrible joke in my mathematical family.