Here is the next chapter, sorry for the wait.
Ben Solo woke up from a dreamless sleep, a bit disoriented. His eyelids fluttered, the darkness surrounding him barely licked by the dim glow of the ship's safety lights.
He was lying in his bed, naked, the black sheets tangled around him. He was waking up to the same bed, the same sheets and the same dull view of his unused and profoundly useless desk, and yet everything felt different. Goosebumps went up his arms, his body protesting not from the cold, but from the loss of Rey's heat.
Rey. Her fiery eyes locking with his, her incredibly soft skin grazing his chest, her parted lips chanting his name, her body rocking over him…
God, he could picture it so vividly, he groaned out loud, hardening at the flash of fresh memories flooding him.
His eyes snapped open, his fists grabbing a hold of the sheets and throwing them aside. Where is she? He wondered, alerted, tracing back his last memory of the night.
After their second tryst, the lull of sleep had circled to claim them, their bodies spent and their hunger satisfied. They'd retired to the ship, not trusting the planet to be clement, wanting to avoid waking up to a cold, abrasive rain.
She'd hesitated as they'd passed her cot in the engine room, her body tilting towards it but he'd instinctively put both hands around her waist, pushing her decisively towards his quarters. He'd never been one to cuddle after the act, but just the idea of letting go of her was painful. He badly wanted to see her in his bed. She'd fallen asleep almost instantly after her head hit the pillow, but he'd held on, wanting to engrave her in his memory. He'd marveled at the succession of events that had lead them there, to this precise moment in time, knowing how improbable this outcome had been. And yet, here they were, intimately entwined. Despite it all, it had felt incredibly right.
At least, it felt right to me, he thought, his stare breaking from her empty spot beside him.
Where was she? Why hadn't she waken him? He asked himself again, this time reaching for her with the Force. He concentrated lightly on her feelings, trying to be stealthy. He wanted to know what kind of mood she was in, his pulse quickening at the thought that maybe she regretted everything that had transpired between them.
The link was crystal clear, and he smelled the trees and tasted the dew suspended in the morning air as if he'd been right beside her. She was making her way to the water, her stride slow but steady. He could feel the soft moss bending under her feet and the humidity lapping at her skin. He let out a nervous sigh.
Rey plunged in the water, the refreshing depths enveloping her like silk. She grabbed the bar of soap she kept in a crack between two distinctive stones. She let it glide eagerly across her skin, a delicious ache tingling between her legs as she washed away the remnants of her night with Ben. The name was like music to her, proof all this hadn't been a —very inappropriate but earthshattering—dream. Proof that he was embracing a different path, at least that's what she hoped.
She knew it was naively optimistic of her to see it this way, but she wouldn't let herself worry. It was obsolete to think about the future right now. The whole galaxy was out of reach anyway, and today she didn't really care.
She closed her eyes, reliving the events of the night. At first, he'd been just like she'd expected him to be. Desperate, demanding, and his fervor had aroused her immensely, but it was his softer side that really melted her. He'd been more affectionate and tender than she ever thought he could be and her world had shifted.
She knew for a fact how his brain really worked, how his heart still bled at all the atrocities he'd inflicted upon others, how lost he felt in the darkness. In her sleep, the Force had shown her a vision of what he could become.
He'd been set all along on luring her to the Dark, and she hadn't realized before last night that maybe she could turn him to the light instead. Her heart started beating wildly in her chest as she forced herself to consider it for real.
If he could be swayed permanently to the light, he would be fucking magnificent.
She scoffed, afraid to be delusional, but hadn't he changed so much already? She'd been in his mind with the walls down, she'd sensed his yearning to find some balance, some peace. What if she could help him keep the darkness at bay? She would try, if he let her.
She tore herself from her daydreaming when she felt him coming towards her. Her pulse quickened, a solid heat spreading inside her despite the chilly water. She sank to her shoulders in the water, a bit self-conscious. Last night, they'd been half hidden in the shadows. Would his fascination, his affection for her survive the harsh light of day? She would try to push him toward the light either way, but somehow she sensed it mattered and not just for her pride's sake.
He appeared, closing the distance to the water in a few, confident strides, his eyes searching for hers. She was hiding her body beneath the water, her wet hair drawn back, away from her face.
They gauged each other for a moment, both scared that what they'd found last night had been an ephemeral spell, a short-lived lapse in judgement.
The electrifying bond soothed their fear, the current passing between them as intoxicating as yesterday.
He hadn't anticipated what the sight of her bathing would do to him, not really.
He raised his shirt over his shoulders, his tanned body glorious under the rays of the midday sun.
She blushed when she saw her marks on him, purple and red blotches adorning his chest.
God, I'm an animal.
"A beautiful one." Mine. The low baritone tone of his voice made her quiver.
She didn't even rebel against the proprietary word. She was his; utterly. It should have bothered her, but again the gentle smolder of the bond was too enticing.
He stripped himself quickly of his pants, standing completely naked in front of her before jumping into the water, a predatory look on his face.
Her lips parted and she drew a quick breath. What are you doing?
A playful smirk appeared on his lips as he answered: fishing.
He pulled her towards him with his mind effortlessly, because she let him.
Every fiber of her being longed for his touch again, a scary and disarming fact that she saw reflected in him when his hand grazed the side of her neck and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. She wrapped her legs around him, arms around his neck to rise up to his level, feeling him already hard and ready against her inner thigh.
The drops of water were making her seem translucent under the sun rays, her slender body now exposed to him down to her hips, her nipples pebbled hard because of the relatively cold water. His hot hand pressed against her cold breast, making her whimper, and she arched into him. His other arm encircled her waist, his thumb caressing her lower back. Their eyes connected as she sheathed him avidly, impatient to close any distance left between them.
He cursed at the sudden heat surrounding him, not expecting her to do that just yet.
Fuck, you feel so good Rey. There was no way he was spending another day without doing this.
The ardent, enslaving tether between their minds swelled in exhilaration. They were so attuned to each other, their ragged breathing were in perfect synch, each shallow gasps punctuating the elation they felt at blurring the lines between their souls again, their fogged brain in a trance-like state.
She started to move against him but he grabbed her hips, wanting to control the pace. He could tell she was a bit uncomfortable there, because he felt it too.
Aren't you a bit sore? He asked, concerned.
I don't care.
The pain was only mild, and in a way she was grateful for it. It served as an anchor, otherwise she feared she would shatter into a million pieces at the exquisite completeness. The coexisting thrill of invading and bliss at being invaded were making her head spin, the lavishness of the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Nothing could ever compare to that, she was sure.
She tugged on the nape of his neck, letting her fingers brush his wet hair, pulling him into a slow, deliberate kiss.
He grabbed her sides, pushing her up and down his length languidly. She rasped at the sensations this angle created, relishing at the feeling of having him so deep inside of her. The contrast between the molten union of their bodies and the cold water was almost too much. She came hard around him in a manner of minutes, her body insanely responsive to his touch and he lost it too, the sensory overload proving too much to resist.
They could barely hear anything over the sound of their own hearts hammering in their chest when the unmistakable roar of a space engine filled the air. They froze in each other's arms. Rey gazed up at the sky, curious to see if she could catch a glance of the ship.
Ben's sight was riveted on her, and he pulled her into a desperate kiss. She gasped in surprise but kissed him back, both of them indulging in a last second of peace.
They reluctantly separated, hurrying to dry land, putting their clothes on hastily.
She could feel his energy turning from worry to annoyance before finally landing on anger as he cursed: Shit, I don't have my saber. The one time he didn't take it with him, there were intruders. Fuck.
He kicked the ground hard with his boot, making her frown, thinking his bad temper was still forcefully in place.
Let's hurry, they are landing near our ship, she pressed, a dull ache in her stomach.
He nodded in agreement and tensed up even more, realizing that even though the fight within him had subsided, the war was not over. Not in the least. Their enemies were still lurking, and this ship finding their wreckage was surely no coincidence.
Their gaze met, a choking cloud of worry on both their faces.
She bit her lower lip, trying to find a way to calm him down. We can totally kick the ass of whatever or whomever is on that ship.
A fugacious smile passed on his lips and he grabbed her hand in response, their fingers intertwining and her heart skipped a beat. They exchanged one last look before letting go of one another, and departing toward camp at a fast pace.
He let her lead through the forest, away from their sanctuary, a hint of sadness in his heart. He didn't fool himself thinking this fragile thing they had just discovered would survive in the real world. They were living in a fantasy, thinking there was a way to cheat his past, his darkness and most importantly his string of wrong choices. Horrible decisions that had left a wake of bodies, tears and bruises in his footsteps. Misplaced allegiances that would now come back to haunt him, that would not rest until all he cared for was obliterated, or until he was dead.
Whoever was on that damn ship, Resistance, First Order or else, it didn't matter. The countdown to the end of their delicate affair had undeniably started, all they had left was borrowed time.
Help me
I've fallen on the inside
And all the men in cloaks
Trying to devour my soul
Show me mercy
From the powers that be
Show me mercy
From the gutless and mean
Show me mercy
From the killing machines
Show me mercy
Can someone rescue me
Mercy, Muse
Coming back from vacation has been harder than I thought, I hope you liked it. It's always hard to find fuel to continue a slow burn fic after the inevitable has happened, question is should I wrap this fic up or do you still want more?