Chapter Fifteen: Trial

Disclaimer: I own nothing here, but I'm afraid the energy shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.

I consider this chapter to be TEEN rated, though not necessarily mature in nature. Some sexual themes are present, so reader discretion is advised. If this makes any of my readers uncomfortable, please do skip this chapter. I intend to provide a summery of events in chapter 16 so that no one feels they are missing anything crucial to the story if they do happen to skip this chapter. Limey content ahead, proceed with caution or turn back now...

Pulling out of her highly unusual and oddly shared dream, Rey found herself lying on her side and blinking blearily at an even more puzzling situation. The lighting in the room was scarce, but it was enough that she could see outlines and shapes, while her other senses made up for whatever she couldn't see.

Her hazy mind slowly came to terms with her location, her position and... she could feel something solid wrapped around her midriff, holding her in place while a pleasant warmth radiated against her front like a morning sun. She breathed in a familiar scent, one that reminded her of the meditation cave on Ahch-To, where rich minerals alkalized between the stone and the water.

Rey blinked again, her vision clearing further until she realized she was staring at Kylo's chin and neck, only inches away from her face. She instantly felt her heart rate quicken as she wondered how she had managed to migrate from the sheer edge of his bed to the very center of it, on the of him. She lifted her head to inspect their respective positions and noted that the pressure around her midsection was his bare arm embracing her, the implication of the situation causing a shameful heat to crawl up her neck.

Despite having thrown a mocking gibe at him some hours earlier about bedding her, she had somehow managed to plant herself in that very predicament, stupidly allowing herself to fall asleep beside him when she had been so certain she wouldn't.

Blood turning to ice, she looked back to his face and watched him stir to wakefulness, wondering when he would acknowledge her presence. She felt a twinge of a warning to flee from the dilemma she suddenly found herself in, but she concluded that it wouldn't do any good to try and back out of his hold. She felt like a bird in a snag, the more it struggled to get free, the tighter its bindings became. She set a resolve to hold her ground and face this, whatever was.

His brown eyes were clear and cognizant when she met them and they betrayed nothing to her as a silent, almost intimate moment stretched out. Rey could feel his warm breath on her forehead, his intent gaze studying her every detail, and his arm around her adjusting slightly. She didn't want to admit that she was starting to melt into the concept of feeling both comfortable and safe in his hold. She offered up a sheepish grin and chose to break the fragile silence. "In my defense, this was not what I intended to happen."

"Not intended, yet yearned for nonetheless," he replied in a low rumble, though his voice was more like thunder in Rey's ears due to his proximity and the black silence of the chamber. "Stop fooling yourself."

Rey swallowed nervously as she slowly began succumbing to her fear, to the concept of escaping the situation while she still had the chance. She started to pull away against his firm hold but he didn't relent, just like she had expected and a chill of dread snaked up her spine.

"Normally I'd let you run off," he told her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But you're in territory now." He released his hold on her only to bar her only escape with the same broad arm, though he didn't straddle her but angled his torso to hover over her dangerously.

"B-Ben," Rey squeaked out in response to his dominant display and tried to retreat only to bump into his arm. "You said you wouldn't-"

"I said I wouldn't you wanted me to," he replied as he moved his hand to her hip to pull her even closer. "And your thoughts betray you. You me to touch you."

"Ben..." Rey gasped as his touch, even through the fabric of her clothes, seemed to shatter sparks across her skin. She tried to shy away as his face inched ever closer to her own but there was nowhere left for her to go and she couldn't contain the whimper that escaped her throat. "Please."

"?" Kylo growled with a vein of annoyance. "Please ?" He hovered his lips over hers, ghosting contact as he spoke. "."

Rey couldn't, she felt like she had lost the ability to speak in response to whatever spell he had set upon her. Their breath mingled, his body heat was overwhelming, and she was starting to lose herself in his electrifying brown pools, where all his intense emotions seemed to pour out unceasingly. His thoughts flashed in her mind, projected strongly through the Force.

Kylo didn't make any further advances, but didn't give any ground either, merely readjusting his hold at her hip in response to her meager squirming.

Rey's willpower dwindled dangerously as his mouth hung there, so tantalizingly close to her own and she had to wonder how he was holding himself back so remarkably well... Just, waiting. Waiting for her compliance. Any further protests her muddled mind had thought up were lost and she felt her resolve rip apart like a weakened tether.

Hesitantly and softly, she closed the gap between their lips, not prepared for the onslaught of fire that the contact inflicted throughout her body. . Kylo responded instantly, as if he too had snapped some invisible bonds, reciprocating her kiss and repositioning his hand to her thigh to pull her lower half to his possessively. .

Suddenly acutely aware of all the places their bodies touched, Rey couldn't contain a moan of pleasure as the burning intensified tenfold, a foreign pang blossomed in her stomach and her lower regions ached. The sound only seemed to spur him on more as his hands shifted to her waist and fumbled with her belt and clothing there.

Something about his new interest in her lower half fired off an alarm in the back of Rey's mind and she had to put forth great effort not to ignore it as another part of her mind wished she would. It nearly demanded she just let it be and let him have his way, but her stubborn, contrary, side won out in the end. She got the distinct sense that this was the point of no return and something about it was , something was .

She hadn't noticed it earlier, but there was a notable shift in Kylo's imprint through the Force. It was something that she had always sensed inside him but it had mainly been dormant except for brief flashes every now and again. Currently though, it was a paramount trait, a deep, dangerous darkness that demanded power, dominance, and pleasure all at once. It had been what frightened her when they kissed two days prior, and it frightened her now, rightly sobering her out of any trance she had been in.

Setting a determined expression, Rey drew up all of her resolve and firmly placed her hands against his chest to push herself back, effectively catching his rapt attention away from his frustrations with her clothes. "I'm sorry Ben," she said, sounding and feeling miserable. "I can't do this."

"You ?" Kylo hissed fiercely in reply as his hands moved to restrain her again, to keep her from retreating any further.

Rey gasped at his demanding grip, his agitated expression startled her and she thought the dim lighting in the room was playing tricks on her as she was sure she seen his eyes flash a menacing yellow for an instant. "We're not done yet," Kylo growled devilishly as he curled his arms around her middle and leaned in close to nuzzle the tender flesh of her neck.