A/N - Welcome back! I'm super excited for you to read this chapter! Let's just say it's the moment you've all been waiting for...
NicoleRen: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Hope you like this chapter!
a.k.n23: Wow, I'm so happy you feel so strongly about the story! We'll see whether Rey will ever swallow that infamous Jedi pride...
"Hux?" The general rose to his feet.
"Yes Ren?" Hux looked at him expectantly.
Leaning against the doorway, he fought the urge to strike the man down then and there.
"I'd like to know why you think you have the right to lay your hands on my property."
He looked confused as he frowned at him, but Kylo had not missed the alarm that flashed through his eyes.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Don't play with me, Hux. I will not hesitate to kill you," the man took an instinctive step back as his fight or flight response kicked into gear. "Now tell me, why did you feel you had the right to damage her?"
"I just wanted to see what was so special about her," He protested.
"And that involved beating her to the point of a broken rib?" Kylo was furious, aching to snuff out this man's life.
"I thought maybe you were training her, that maybe she had the same power you do," He admitted. "I thought I would prove to the Supreme Leader you were hiding things from him. But clearly I was wrong. The girl has no significance, she is weak and use-"
Hux was cut off as Kylo lifted a hand, sending Hux flying into the nearest wall. As the man struggled to his feet, his gaze drifted to the doorway behind him. Kylo knew that Rey had entered the room; he could feel her presence.
"Don't look at her," He commanded, and Hux's eyes snapped back to his face. "You will pay for damaging what is mine."
He began to draw his lightsaber, and saw Hux's gulp with fear, before feeling the soft brush of Rey's mind against his.
Don't, she whispered quietly in his head, please don't.
He didn't understand her request. The man had tormented her for a week. Why didn't she want him dead?
Nevertheless, he obeyed her request, relinquishing his saber.
He walked over to Hux, and, looking deep into his eyes, commanded him: "You will forget every encounter with Rey that you have ever had."
He could feel Rey watching him as he shoved the newly brainwashed general out the door.
"How did you do that?" She asked him. "When I tried, it didn't work."
"Drawing your power from the Dark side makes you stronger," he replied simply.
She frowned, but didn't reply.
Kylo was surprised by the dark hostility simmering in her eyes. Was this the same girl that he'd woken up to find half sprawled over him, and her hair spread across him?
The awkward position had made it difficult to extricate himself without waking her. He'd been half afraid that if she'd woken he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from easing the frustration her body pressed against his had aroused.
She'd been so peaceful and trusting in her sleep that he'd almost forgotten she could be as prickly as a cactus.
It was impossible to forget it now.
"You would have killed him." It wasn't a question, but rather a statement.
"Are you saying he didn't deserve it?" He had to fight to keep the disbelief from his voice.
Rey tilted her head. The radiance streaming through the windows accentuated the deep brown of her hair. She was still wearing the nightgown, but in the sunlight he could see through some areas of it. He didn't think she was aware of the effect the light had upon it - if she had, he was certain she wouldn't be wearing it right now.
Something new began to curdle through him, rising up out of the hopeless pit that had been his soul for so long. Something that had nothing to do with his unfulfilled desire from this morning. He didn't know what was going on with this strange girl, why she affected him the way she did, but for the first time he admitted to himself that whatever she did to him was deep and profound. It was something that he had never experienced before.
He knew that she was special, that she caused a strange reaction within him, but for the first time he admitted that he was not going to let her go. He had been keeping her here, under the delusional assumption that he would one day turn her to the Dark side himself or give her over to Snoke.
He realized now he never would.
"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't," she responded quietly. "But it's not up to you to decide what he deserves, to decide whether he lives or dies. That's not right."
His eyes narrowed upon the frail slip of a girl. Was she really scolding him?
His hands fisted at his sides, and he fought the urge to go to her and shake some fear into her, because he was beginning to realize that she didn't have a healthy enough dose of it for him.
"Am I supposed to care?" He grated.
She blinked in surprise, her hazel eyes darkening with disbelief. Then, she shook her head, her eyes cleared, and her face became blank. Her hands folded demurely before her, but he was beginning to realize that it was just an act.
There was nothing demure or weak about this girl - she may play the part well, but there were many layers beneath her docile exterior.
"I suppose not," She responded, and even her voice had taken on that decorous tone.
"He harmed you," He reminded her, and her demeanor changed completely as she glared at him.
"I remember," she replied testily. "But don't you dare use me as an excuse, like you care."
Kylo paused.
"You really don't think I care?" He asked slowly. "You really think that little of me?"
She observed him with a keen new interest.
"I don't know what to make of you," she admitted. "I really don't. This whole situation… I don't know what to make of any of it. It's scary and disconcerting and I'm so far out of my league here that I have no idea what is going on. I don't know if you're just playing with me while plotting a way to get the map from my head. I don't know if this is the calm before you turn me over to Snoke. I don't know what's going on here and it's tearing me up inside! I've heard the stories, I've seen the damage you can do. I don't know how to play these games, I don't understand the hatred and resentment that festers here! How the hell am I supposed to know what to think, or what to do, when I don't even know how much longer I'll be allowed to live?"
Her voice was ragged and filled with raw emotion by the time she stopped speaking. Her shoulders were heaving, and her eyes were earnest and pleading. For the first time her facade completely crumbled and he was able to see the terrified, irate girl beneath the timid exterior. She folded her hands before her and tried to appear sedate one more, but they both knew she couldn't un-ring that bell.
For the first time he began to understand how she truly felt. She had kept so much of it hidden from him, but in that one brief moment she had laid it all bare. He started to see her in a new light, and though he had known something more lay beneath her docile exterior from their confrontation on Starkiller Base, he began to truly see the pride and heart of this trapped, cornered girl.
He had tried to be as temperate with her as possible, but after the events of today he realized it was going to take a lot more to earn her trust, and he was beginning to understand that he wanted it.
It was strange to realize he was going to have to work for this; he was used to getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He was used to women throwing themselves at him - even if he never reciprocated - not ones constantly challenging him and refuting him.
She wasn't even quite a woman in his eyes, not yet anyway. She was young, and she had known so little in her short life. Yet she was strong-willed, vibrant, and far more willful and captivating than anyone he had ever met.
"How old are you, Rey?"
She was startled for a moment, but then her mouth curved into a pleasant smile.
"I'm nineteen," she replied, and he nodded. He had figured as much. "How old are you?"
"Twenty nine."
Her eyes widened.
"Wow, you're old."
He snorted.
"Thanks," he muttered sarcastically. "Surely you aren't that surprised."
Rey just shrugged,
"I don't normally give much thought to my enemies, other than trying to survive them from day to day."
"I see."
"Do you?"
She met his gaze head on. It was a trait that he admired, even though her stubbornness and inability to look past his allegiances were beginning to aggravate him. He decided to let it go for now; to continue to bicker with her wouldn't get either of them anything other than frustrated and irritated.
"Come here, let me take a look at your ribs."
For a moment, he thought she was going to defy him, but she seemed to decide against it as she reluctantly came toward him. He tried not to focus on the subtle glimpses of flesh that the light revealed, but he found his gaze repeatedly drawn to her.
She stopped before him, her hands folded in front of her, but at least she didn't pretend to be demure as she gazed haughtily at him. He examined her carefully, admiring the fact that she didn't flinch when he pressed against her broken bone.
"They should be good in a few weeks."
"I know," She paused as his hand lingered against her side, holding her gently for a moment. "You know, I read something in the Jedi text about force-healing. But I can't do it myself. I already tried."
She seemed embarrassed to admit such a fact. He realized what she was trying to ask him. Force-healing was an ability drawn from the Light side of the force, one he shouldn't be giving into. But he could sense the amount of pain Rey was in, and knew he couldn't refuse.
He wouldn't heal it entirely, just enough to make her feel a little better, to make some of the pain go away.
He carefully pressed a hand against her broken rib, focusing his energy on transferring some of his life force to her. He could hear her sigh of relief as some of the pain subsided, and he pulled his hand away
"Thank you," she whispered, and he nodded in return, shocked at his own decision. He had tapped into the Light side of the force for the first time in years, yet he had no regrets. In fact, he felt fantastic.
She studied him for a long moment, seemingly trying to puzzle him out. He felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her, to know what she would feel like against him, what she would taste like.
To solve at least a little bit of the enigma that was her.
Before he knew what he was doing, he moved gradually toward her. He half expected her to tell him to stop; he gave her the time to do so, but she remained unmoving as his lips brushed against hers.
She stiffened beneath him, and he pulled slightly away from her. He waited for her to shove him back, to tell him to stop, or to leave her alone. It was the last thing he wanted to have happen, but he didn't want her to think that he was going to force this on her.
She observed him circumspectly as she seemed to try and decide what exactly it was that he expected from her. He searched her hazel eyes before bending down and kissing her again.
Her surprise was palpable; he could sense some fright underneath it as she remained unyielding against him for a moment more. He believed that the fear she felt was more from the unknowing of what he intended rather than the actual kiss.
Then, to his surprise and delight, her lush mouth yielded and he could feel the heat of her breath against his lips. He cradled her face as he pulled her closer to him, careful not to scare her as he deepened the kiss.
She was one of the most magnificent things he had ever tasted. She was sweet and giving, her body was warm against his as she yielded even more, pressing closer to him. He hadn't expected this from her - actually he had expected some resistance, a fight even, but there was none of that.
In fact, she was far more receptive than he had ever imagined she would be, and she felt far better than he had ever thought possible. It felt right to hold her, to touch her. His hand entwined in her loose hair, smooth as silk as it slid between his fingers.
Her hands curled around his forearms and a faint breath escaped her as he ran his tongue against her lips. To his surprise her mouth parted further, granting him access. He explored her mouth, pleasure overtaking him as her taste seemed to brand itself upon him. He couldn't stop the low groan of satisfaction that escaped him as her tongue hesitantly, and then more boldly, met his.
He almost lifted her up and carried her from this room, but he knew he couldn't move too fast. She may be responding to him now, but she wouldn't continue to do so if he frightened her. And her ribs, he had to remember the ribs. He had to remember that she was injured, but even as he thought it his control began to swiftly unravel and his passion for her escalated sharply.
He pulled away before he couldn't. Pulled away before he lost complete control and either re-injured her or scared her. He'd never lost control of himself, but realized that there was a good possibility that it could happen with her. She unraveled him in strange ways, tested his restraint in ways it had never been tested before. She could make him a monster, or perhaps she could simply make him more human.
He wasn't sure which thought unsettled him more.
The force of her breaths caused her chest to brush against his. Stroking her cheeks he rested his forehead against hers. He savored the feel of her as he picked out the green flecks within her turbulent hazel eyes. He was trembling, nearly shaking with the effort it took for him not to kiss her again.
"I didn't expect that," Her voice was shaky as her grip on his arms intensified.
"Neither did I."
The admission rattled him as he brushed the hair gingerly back from her face. What was this girl to him? Why did she affect him so? What was going on here?
The questions raced rapidly through his mind, but he couldn't answer any of them. There were no answers for him. He couldn't deny that she was special, that he was supposed to have found her, because he knew both of those things to be true.
He was, however, beginning to doubt that he could keep her safe in his world, or even keep her safe from himself. This was not where she belonged. If Snoke discovered her existence, she would be forced to the Dark side or killed for her refusal.
What was he going to do with her?
She peered questioningly up at him, her concern and hesitance evident. He forced himself to become expressionless; she had obviously seen something that troubled her on his face.
"Ren?"
"No."
She blinked at him, her forehead furrowed in confusion.
"Excuse me?" She asked in surprise.
"That's not my name. You never say it. I want you to use it."
"Which one?" She asked, her mouth quirking up in a small smile. He sighed.
"Whatever you prefer," he muttered, knowing he would likely regret the decision. She grinned happily.
"I like Ben," she declared, and he simply rolled his eyes.
"Of course you do."
A/N - What did you think of Rey and Kylo/Ben's first kiss? Let me know!
As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)