Chapter 30

Kylo had to admit, as far as sparing exercises went, that one was certainly vigorous. Typically, he liked to give his breakfast a little more time to settle before moving on to more physical training but if Rey needed to get this out of her system first thing, so be it.

The living room was completely destroyed. It looked as if a hurricane had swept through the room. Not a single piece of furniture had been spared. No matter he thought, it was worth it to settle Rey down a little bit.

Looking over, he saw she was still lying on her back taking deep breaths.

"That is enough of a break. We are already behind schedule. Get up. We need to get moving."

The look that Rey gave him was so menacing that Kylo made a mental note not to teach her how to do a Force choke until after he had won her trust.

Still Kylo was grateful to see that she sat up without comment and assumed the same cross-legged position that they had assumed yesterday for the Force meditation. Good, she was learning to follow his instructions, albeit begrudgingly.

"I said we are behind schedule. Meditation will have to wait until this evening. I still have an empire to run."

"Good," came Rey's petulant response. "Go run your evil empire. I am going back to bed."

"How quickly you forget, Rey. Your punishment from your earlier escape attempt is still in effect. You will not leave my side."

"Fine," she responded. "But you will regret it. Believe me, you will."

Kylo didn't respond. He just walked into the bedroom and started taking off his clothing. Casting a glance over his shoulder he saw that Rey was still seated and that she had turned bright red.

"Come on Rey. I won't have you delay us any longer."

Kylo didn't think she could get any redder but apparently, he was wrong.

"I will be in after you. I am the queen of fast showers."

"The shower is big enough for two and we are already late. Get a move on or you will add to your punishment."

"You can't be serious."

"I won't repeat myself again."

They starred at each other and just as Kylo was about to force the issue, Rey got up and started walking towards him. Satisfied that she was following, Kylo finished undressing and turned on the shower. Within moments, the temperature was ideal and Kylo stepped in. He took the set of sprayers towards the back of the shower. It took every bit of resolve that he possessed not to look back. The soft footfalls behind him as well as the sounds of furious scrubbing confirmed that Rey had joined him.

Kylo took his time. Letting the warm water run down his body to work out any aches and muscle knots from their earlier sparing. She had certainly given him a workout this morning. With a little more training Rey would be ready to take on any opponent that might challenge her. Kylo wanted her fierce. He wanted others to quake before her. She was his other half and he wanted nothing and no one to stand in her way.

Keeping his eyes closed he turned to let the water strike his back. He dipped his head back and rinsed his dark hair. It was getting long, even by his standards. Just as he turned, Kylo thought he heard a sharp intake a breath and then he heard the other faucet turn off and the sound of quickly retreating steps. When Kylo emerged from the shower, Rey was already dressed and furiously drying her hair. She was also doing everything in her power not to look at him.

Kylo smirked and stepped out into the bedroom with his towel hanging precariously from his lean hips. He ignored Rey as he went about dressing but knew that she was unable to ignore him. His smirk grew into an outright grin as she gave up on drying her hair and practically ran from the bedroom.

When Kylo emerged from the bedroom, he found her standing by the door tapping her foot. Her damp locks leaving pools on her shirt. He retreated back into the bedroom to pick her towel off of the floor as well as a comb.

"Come here," he commanded.

Rey looked like a skittish fathier but she did as he commanded.

He sat on the edge of his bed and when she neared him, he grasped her arm and firmly but gently directed her to sit on the ground between his legs. Once seated, he took the towel and dried her locks until they no longer left pools behind on her shoulders. Then he took the comb and began running it through her hair.

"What are you doing?" Rey's voice was high and full of anxiety. Clearly, she wasn't used to someone doing this for her.

"Isn't it obvious," came his droll reply. "I am combing your hair."

The rigidity of Rey's back betrayed her nervousness but gradually she relaxed under his ministrations. Kylo carefully combed small sections of her hair until all of the knots were untangled. She didn't ask him anymore questions as he silently worked.

When he was finished he gave her the comb and told her to put it back on the dresser. She did as he asked and then met him out in the living room. Kylo waited for her and as she approached he handed her a piece of the savory breakfast bread and a container of water.

Rey stared at the items dumbly before following him out of the door.

"Eat," he commanded.

…

Rey didn't know what to think. At first, the morning had gone the only way that she thought that it could, with the two of them fighting.

It hadn't been and easy training exercise either. The fight seemed like a test of dominance with neither party willing to give an inch. Unfortunately for Rey, Kylo's size and superior technique won out in the end. Still she took comfort in the fact that she made him work for it.

Then the entire universe shifted. Rey remembered his comment about her punishment but she didn't think that he meant every single second. And she certainly didn't think that he meant in the shower.

Rey thought she was going to die from mortification as she stripped down and climbed into the bathing chamber with him. His back had been to her and try as she might, she couldn't stop looking at him. There was not an ounce of fat on him. He looked like he was sculpted from carbonite. And the way his long locks cascaded under the water…. really, she couldn't be blamed from staring. Rey admitted that in the end, she gave up any pretense of ignoring him. Really, how could she? At least until he turned around.

Rey had never seen a naked human male before. There were some species on Jakku that eschewed all clothing but this was the first time that she had ever seen a member of her own species naked. Rey thought the image of him might be burned permanently onto her retinas. He looked just as good from the front as he had from the back. Broad shoulders, sculpted chest, mouthwatering abs all leading down to an appendage that literally caused her heart to skip a beat.

Rey had to get out of there. She couldn't handle the intensity of her reaction to him. This didn't make any sense. She had just been trying to bash his skull in minutes earlier. She thought that she would return to normal as soon as she but some distance between the two of them but as soon as he entered the room she lost the ability to function again. She just dropped the towel and got out of there. If the door leading outside hadn't been locked she would have just kept marching.

Even more embarrassing was that she was the only one reacting this way. It seemed easy enough for him to ignore her as they bathed together. He never peaked in her direction and he didn't seem to be the least bit perturbed by bathing with her. Had he seen so many naked females that the sight of them didn't impact him anymore? Was that the solution? Did she need to see more naked human males so that she could also be indifferent? Rey needed to get it together. There was no way she was going to find a way to escape if her mind and emotions were rioting like this.

Rey's blood froze in her veins when Kylo commanded her back into the bedroom. It was a testament to how jumbled her mind really was that she obeyed. The last thing she wanted right now was to be back in that room with him. What she needed was distance. Distance and time.

At least he was dressed. That should have helped more but Rey's mind kept flashing back to images of him in the shower. She really needed to get it together. She was prepared to pick another fight with him just to get back on more comfortable ground when the feel of the towel rigorously rubbing her scalp once again put her off her game plan. What in the name of the universe was he doing? Her confusion only deepened when he stopped drying her hair and started combing through it.

Never would Rey have ever thought that she would find herself in this situation. Fighting Kylo in a black fortress located in a sea of lava…. sure, why not? Being strapped to an interrogation chair while he tried to pry into her mind…been there done that. But gently combing her hair, never. This was all too much. Eventually she gave in to the surreal nature of the situation and just relaxed and enjoyed the feeling of the combing gliding through her hair. It was nice. Rey never spent this much time caring for her own hair. Vaguely she wondered if this was why Kylo's hair always looked perfect.

She was almost sad when it stopped. Almost. She needed to focus. Kylo was her enemy and clearly a master of manipulation. She needed to steel herself against his tricks. With that thought in mind she met him back in the living room only to have her resolve shattered once again when he handed her food. It was the same bread that she favored at breakfast. No one had ever taken care of her like this before. What was going on?